It seems I've slowly been compiling a list of scenes and music from movies and TV shows that give me chills and, in some cases, make me tear up a little. Here they are, in no particular order:
(1) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- The Battle
First of all, Harry Gregson-Williams' score for this part of the movie is amazing. It finds its way into all of my playlists. At about 4:32, when Peter turns to Oreius and asks, "Are you with me?" and gets, "To the death," in response, you know something huge is about to go down. And from the moment Peter leads the charge a few seconds later to the time the two armies actually collide in battle, the timing of the score is perfect. Instant chills.
(2) Braveheart -- the charge at Bannockburn
The score plays a huge role in the buildup on this one too. The first time I saw it, I had no clue what was coming since Robert the Bruce was, well, sort of a traitorous douchebag in the film and I had no idea how the Scots would respond to his request for them to bleed with him as they did with Wallace (although I guess since it's a movie, you can kind of guess how the response would probably go). Then the music starts to crescendo up to the point when you see the claymore wedging into the ground, and you know 100% what's coming next. The look of "WTF??" on the English lord's face as the Scottish begin to charge is just icing on the cake.
(3) Battlestar Galactica -- Adama reunites the fleet
Unfortunately, the only video of this actual scene on YouTube is clips in a fan's music video done up to Evanescence's "My Immortal" (first video above). It's much, much better with the original Bear McCreary score and the dialogue from the show, of course, which is timed perfectly with the moment that then-Commander Adama appears through the brush to see Lee and Kara, who have both bailed on him to join Laura Roslin in her search for the Tomb of Athena on Kobol. I teared up a bit when Adama lowers his weapon and hugs his son; between the music and the action on-screen, you know everything is forgiven (unless you're unfortunate enough to be Sharon Valerii).
(4) Battlestar Galactica -- "If it were you... we'd never leave."
No video of this on YouTube, but here's the pertinent summary: Kara has been shot down and crashed on an otherwise-desolate planet. The two Adamas launch a search and rescue operation and refuse to leave her behind, a move that places the fleet in jeopardy. Laura Roslin obviously is not happy, and tells them to break it off. After the order is given, this exchange ensues between Lee and the then-Commander, who have not always had the most fantastic father-son relationship:
Apollo: I need to know something: Why did you do this? Why did we do this? Is it for Kara? For Zak? For what?
Adama: Kara was family. You do whatever you have to do. Sometimes you break the rules.
Apollo: And if it was me down there instead?
Adama: You don’t have to ask that.
Apollo: Are you sure?
Adama: If it were you…we’d never leave.
The music had no part in this one. The dialogue alone and the delivery by Edward James Olmos was golden.
(5) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian -- Raid on the Castle
The full castle raid begins in the YouTube user's previous video clip; the actual charge takes place at about 1:40 onward in the one I've linked above.
A scene that did not appear in the book, but was pretty great on-screen. The chill/tear factor was not as great here as for The Battle from LWW, but once again, Harry Gregson-Williams' score was perfectly timed. When the Narnians come charging through the gate, the score kicks up a notch, and Peter draws his sword and proclaims, "For Narnia!", there's still some chills shooting up the spine. And of course, the tragic outcome (I blame Caspian) is pretty tear-worthy.
(6) The Lion King -- King of Pride Rock
Almost didn't remember this one, which would have been unfortunate. Great scene. And I swear, the prevalence of lion-related movies in this list is purely accidental.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Ya see what I... ah screw it, brain's too tired.
Since I started learning WingTsun, there have been a lot of things in life that I wish worked as intuitively as WingTsun. In this specific instance, I'm speaking of learning law and preparing for the bar exam. One of my law professors once opined in class, "The practice of law is a lot like kung fu training. You memorize different things a court might ask you and memorize the appropriate response to each question, just as in kung fu you learn different blocks for each different kind of strike." I, of course, being well on my way to cruising through my 3L year, didn't really feel like drawing attention to myself by pointing out that it's a lot more effective to train in a way where your baseline response to everything is to step in and send your hands forward.
Unfortunately, my professor was right in that learning the law is a lot like the traditional paradigm of martial arts where you have to conjure up response #42576 when someone throws attack #1125 at you, but if they use attack #1124 or #1126 instead, you have to then come up with response #314 or #9987. To some extent the bar prep classes try to convince you that knowing how to answer a bar exam essay question is more like WingTsun than like other kung fu styles, by telling you, "No matter what topic or subject your exam question is on, just remember to apply the IRAC [law student lingo for 'Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion'] format." Unfortunately, the IRAC advice exists at such a high level of generality that it would be the equivalent of a kung fu instructor telling his student, "If someone attacks you, you have to defend yourself." Duh.
In conclusion: WingTsun good, law bad. I suppose I should get back to studying instead of dallying in the blogosphere.
Unfortunately, my professor was right in that learning the law is a lot like the traditional paradigm of martial arts where you have to conjure up response #42576 when someone throws attack #1125 at you, but if they use attack #1124 or #1126 instead, you have to then come up with response #314 or #9987. To some extent the bar prep classes try to convince you that knowing how to answer a bar exam essay question is more like WingTsun than like other kung fu styles, by telling you, "No matter what topic or subject your exam question is on, just remember to apply the IRAC [law student lingo for 'Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion'] format." Unfortunately, the IRAC advice exists at such a high level of generality that it would be the equivalent of a kung fu instructor telling his student, "If someone attacks you, you have to defend yourself." Duh.
In conclusion: WingTsun good, law bad. I suppose I should get back to studying instead of dallying in the blogosphere.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Ya see what he did there? He kicked a car!
As I was driving out of the lot where I parked at Stanford the other day at the end of my bar prep class, I had the amusement of witnessing a bicyclist almost crash into the side of a car whose driver had apparently forgotten that, when on the road, bicycles follow the same rules at intersections as cars. Having so forgotten, the driver of the car didn't yield to the bicyclist even though the bicyclist had arrived at the 4-way stop before the car. Apparently, yelling at the guy in the car was not enough for the biker. He also kicked the driver's side door of the car before continuing on his way.
What's the point of this? I don't really know. I just found the whole situation extremely amusing. It did make me consider, however, that had it been me in the car, my response probably would have been to swing the driver's side door open with extreme prejudice, hopefully knocking the bicyclist on his ass in retaliation for his kicking my car. And then it probably would have led to some sort of absurd physical confrontation. So it's probably best that it wasn't me. Then again, I also yield to bicyclists when it's their turn since I hate bicyclists who behave like pedestrians (e.g. riding around on sidewalks, crossing intersections in crosswalks as if they have absolute right-of-way, etc.).
Other random observations:
(1) Law school was such a huge waste of time and money. I think I've learned more law in 3 days of BarBri (one of which was an introductory day) than I learned in all 3 years of law school. Too bad such a huge fuss is made over having a law degree. And the Socratic method that they're so proud of in law school? Total crap. All of the law that I've learned over the past 3 days, I learned via video lecture. No interaction with the lecturer, nobody asking me questions, just some guy on a video screen talking and me filling in blanks on an outline sheet.
(2) Right turns on red lights are kinda scary. Not that I did any driving while in New York, and I was only in cars on a handful of occasions, but still. Somehow I'm no longer used to making those turns.
(3) In spite of point (2) and the absurdly high gas prices ($4.11 a gallon at the Arco down the street from me!), I really enjoy driving. Perhaps a little too much.
What's the point of this? I don't really know. I just found the whole situation extremely amusing. It did make me consider, however, that had it been me in the car, my response probably would have been to swing the driver's side door open with extreme prejudice, hopefully knocking the bicyclist on his ass in retaliation for his kicking my car. And then it probably would have led to some sort of absurd physical confrontation. So it's probably best that it wasn't me. Then again, I also yield to bicyclists when it's their turn since I hate bicyclists who behave like pedestrians (e.g. riding around on sidewalks, crossing intersections in crosswalks as if they have absolute right-of-way, etc.).
Other random observations:
(1) Law school was such a huge waste of time and money. I think I've learned more law in 3 days of BarBri (one of which was an introductory day) than I learned in all 3 years of law school. Too bad such a huge fuss is made over having a law degree. And the Socratic method that they're so proud of in law school? Total crap. All of the law that I've learned over the past 3 days, I learned via video lecture. No interaction with the lecturer, nobody asking me questions, just some guy on a video screen talking and me filling in blanks on an outline sheet.
(2) Right turns on red lights are kinda scary. Not that I did any driving while in New York, and I was only in cars on a handful of occasions, but still. Somehow I'm no longer used to making those turns.
(3) In spite of point (2) and the absurdly high gas prices ($4.11 a gallon at the Arco down the street from me!), I really enjoy driving. Perhaps a little too much.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Ya see what I did there? I created a blog...
Hopefully this is the first of many "Ya see what I did there..." adventures to come. Since I'm on poor quality stolen wireless internet for the time being, there will not be much to this first one... but everyone keep your eyes peeled. And remember: ya see what I did there?
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