Emotional Movie Scenes

I don't cry at many movies. Certainly not most love stories, and pure tragedies are too predictable o dramatic to invoke that kind of emotion. There are a handful of movie scenes, though, that absolutely get to me every time I watch them. Here are my top 5 emotional movie scenes, with links to videos if I can find them:

WARNING! THESE ARE PROBABLY SPOILERS!

5. Pay it Forward - Funeral Scene

4. Dead Man Walking - Execution Scene

3. Shawshank Redemption - Brooks Was Here

2. American History X - Danny's Death

1. Schindler's List - End

Honorable Mention:

• Saving Private Ryan - Gravesite Scene
• Requiem for a Dream - Ending Montage

Most of these are about death, as you can tell. There are plenty of emotional scenes out there that don't revolve around death, like the breakthrough scene in Good Will Hunting, but admittedly they don't get to me the same way.

Michael Redd

I'm sitting here playing NBA Live '10 with the Bucks, and Redd is a freaking star. He hits from everywhere on the floor, he posts up any guard in the league, and he finishes in traffic better than most players in the game. You know what the best part is, though? The game throws out his player-option for 2010-2011, so I can dump him after the first year if I want. Is there something I can call it when I daydream about video-game Michael Redd and have nightmares about real-life Michael Redd?

Happy Playlist is Happy!

I'd never really used playlists while listening to music before. Mostly just listened to albums, genres, artists, etc. on shuffle. Recently, though, I've gone on a bit of a kick as far as making playlists for certain moods, activities, and the like. Perhaps my favorite is the "Happy Songs for Happy People" playlist, containing all my favorite upbeat, bright, cheerful songs. Mostly I'm concerned with melodies and structure, as far as what I consider "happy," as I've never been much of a stickler for lyrics. They might not be the most complex musical arrangements, but they make for excellent listening while walking to class on a sunny morning. Here's what I've got in there right now:

• Hoppipolla - Sigur Ros
• Baba O'Riley - The Who
• Steal My Sunshine - LEN
• Concrete Schoolyard - Jurassic 5
• Ooh La La - Faces
• She's Electric - Oasis
• Superman - Goldfinger
• Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough - The New Radicals
• I Wanna Know Girls - Portastatic
• Do You Love Me? - The Explorers Club
• Stay (Wasting Time) - Dave Matthews Band
• No Rain - Blind Melon
• Black or White - Michael Jackson
• Sun Lotion - Steadman

Incidentally, Hoppipolla gets my vote for "Happiest Song Ever Written." I linked the music video in my last post. I dare you to watch it without smiling. If you want to check any others out, go to Playlist.com and search 'em. It's a decent song database and lets you listen to full songs. If you're clever, you can even download them for free in an only-slightly-illegal way!