The Ten Most Memorable Scenes of 2008

Posted by Kevin Carr

There’s no doubt about it: 2008 was a memorable year. We had the second biggest movie of all time rip through box office records. We had a huge slate of CGI flicks, and many of them quite good – one might even say they were the best of the year. Superheroes rocked at the box office, and we got to see Laura Ramsey completely naked in The Ruins. (Okay, so I might be the only person championing that last one.)

With such a memorable year, it was hard to pick the top ten memorable scenes from all the films. Of course, to be fair, I had to choose only one scene from any given movie (otherwise, The Dark Knight would easily take five or six spots on the list).

So here are the most memorable scenes we had in the theaters this summer, for better or for worse. Here’s hoping 2009 is just as memorable.

10. Giant Robot in Hancock

As much as it pains me to put this turd of a superhero movie on this list, I cannot deny the buzz generated by the alleged giant robot that wandered through the climactic battle in Hancock. More people talked about this scene than anything else in the film, and it lit up the interwebs with controversy. Turns out, it was a guy on stilts, but nonetheless, it was something that we all seem to remember.

9. Scarlett and Penelope Lock Lips in Vicky Christina Barcelona

Woody Allen loves the ladies. (Yeah, that made me shrivel up a bit, too.) In his latest film, he got two hot, young starlets to make out on screen. I would have liked a little more skin in the scene, but I’ll take what I can get.

8. Brad Pitt’s Demise in Burn After Reading

Forget The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. My favorite performance this year by Mr. Jolie was the dim-witted gym employee Chad in Burn After Reading. It’s a shame he bought it so early in the movie, but it was a memorable sight, nonetheless.

7. The Space Dance in WALL-E

WALL-E was such a perfect film, it was hard to narrow it down to a single moment. But the space dance that WALL-E and Eve shared in the middle of the movie was a great way to symbolize two robots finding love in this tiny little universe of ours.

6. Shit Covered in Zack & Miri Make a Porno

Jeff Anderson is a trooper. I know it wasn’t real, but damn!

5. Rock Me, Sexy Jesus in Hamlet 2

Audiences didn’t flock to this film, but the “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus” number from the acerbic comedy Hamlet 2 still has me tapping my toes.

4. Nuking the Fridge in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I know this was the point in the film where many fanboys threw up their hands and almost walked out of the theater. But you can’t say it wasn’t memorable. Hell, it became its own slang phrase, like Jumping the Shark.

3. Crossover Cameos in Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk

If there was anything that showed us that Marvel Studios was planning on weaving together their superhero stories, it was the appearance of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark at the end of The Incredible Hulk. Thank God Hollywood is finally figuring out how to make these flicks.

2. Real Fake Trailers in Tropic Thunder

Yeah, there were a lot of memorable scenes in Tropic Thunder – from Steve Coogan snuffing it to Tom Cruise’s Golden Globe nominated booty dance at the end of the film. But the moments that stick out the most for me are the real fake trailers for movies like The Fatties: Fart 2, Satan’s Alley and the Scorcher series. Oh, and there’s that whole Simple Jack clip that caused all the R-word hubbub.

1. How About a Magic Trick? in The Dark Knight

This was the hardest choice of all. So much of this film lingers in our memories. One might be tempted to go with the huge, explosive scenes – like the Batpod chase or when the Joker blows up a hospital. But like Heath Ledger’s performance of the Clown Prince, it was the little things that were most powerful. And so, as voted by the Rejects themselves, the Joker’s making a pencil disappear is the most memorable moment of the movie… and of the year. (And don’t try this at home, kids.)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

What’s a list without a few honorable (and some dishonorable) mentions. Who can forget Angelina bare-ass naked in Wanted (or Jason Segal bare-junk naked in Forgetting Sarah Marshall)? And who doesn’t remember that freaky Hutt in drag from Star Wars: The Clone Wars? Finally, what about Dakota Fanning getting raped in Hounddog. (Just kidding on that last one. We all know that nobody saw that movie.)

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