20 hours Ago
Over the past couple of years, we've had many amazing movie moments. The testing of the bomb in Oppenheimer, the argument scene in Anatomy of a Fall, Jesse Plemons' terrifying cameo in Civil War, riding the Sandworm in Dune: Part Two, the truck action sequence in Furiosa, the home invasion scene in Anora, the canal boat chase in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the incredible endings of Past Lives, The Iron Claw, The Substance, and Wicked..
. the list goes on. Many of these great moments were expected, at least to a degree, and built up either by the film or the marketing.
There are, nevertheless, plenty of other insane recent movie moments that were not only phenomenal but genuinely came out of nowhere and caught viewers completely off guard. Such moments are so, so satisfying, especially in an era where many films are excessively predictable. The following ten pictures offered some of the best recent examples of these, with moments varying wildly from out-of-left-field gags to shocking outbreaks of violence, from crazy cameos to mind-blowing bits of cinematography.
What they've all got in common is that they were stupendously satisfying surprises, especially as a couple of these were lurking within otherwise terrible movies. 10. Challengers - Tennis Ball POV Challengers is no great movie; it's a classic case of a talented cast and crew elevating a subpar script.
Despite the marketing promising a transgressive, psychological, and kinky sports drama, the movie instead boasted a bog-standard love triangle plot that could've come out of any trashy airport novel. Nevertheless, it's still a decent work that's lifted up quite a bit by the many talented people onboard: leads Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (whose score should've been Oscar-nominated), and most of all, director Luca Guadagnino. This excellent Italian director has, throughout his filmography, firmly established himself as an inventive director who plays around with filmic techniques in interesting, often unexpected ways.
Just watch his awe-inspiring Suspiria remake, which was probably the most WTF movie of that year. Having said that, this bonkers moment from the ending of Challengers was unexpected even for him. During the climactic tennis match between Patrick (Josh O'Connor) and Art (Mike Faist), the film eventually moves to the POV of the tennis ball itself, and this is one of the most insane pieces of cinematography in any recent movie.
Again, even by the standards of Luca Guadagnino, this was glorious and unexpected. Even if Challengers has its issues, it's worth seeing for this ending alone..
