The third Best Scene for the year occurs at the end of Captain Phillips. These are the moments when the fate of the captain is revealed. Navy SEALs have arrived to save the day yet the Somali pirates are holed up in a defensible position. The marksmen require three green lights in order to gain authorization to pull the trigger. What follows is an odd game of Simon wherein the lights go on and off without ever lining up correctly. The pirates decide to execute Phillips, and the radio communications monitoring by the Seals forces them to take drastic measures. It is a gripping resolution to a taut thriller, and director Paul Greengrass once again demonstrates he is the best in the world at dramatic re-enactments of real life events.

Another scene from Gravity is the next selection on our list. Our second favorite sequence from the movie is the denouement, the moments where the fate of Dr. Ryan Stone lies in the balance. She attempts to find salvation by re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and returning to terra firma. Alas, Alfonso Cuarón’s nuanced implementation of the movie title, Gravity, means that there are further challenges awaiting Dr. Stone even as she has the hope of survival within her grasp. A symbolic baptism in water endangers her yet again, demonstrating that the harsh isolation of space is not the only danger she must overcome to live. The strongest compliment our staff can offer is that the ending of Gravity is totally satisfying and thematically appropriate, an extraordinary achievement for a movie that heightens expectations so much during its proceedings.

A couple of very different kinds of zombies comprise our fifth and sixth place selections. The scene we adore from The Wolf of Wall Street involves the best Quaaludes ever invented. Right as antihero Jordan Belfort begins to question their potency, the drugs kick in. Unfortunately, this happens to be the exact moment when Belfort desperately needs to get in his car and drive. His zombie-like attempt to do so is absolutely hysterical. Our favorite aspect of the scene does not transpire until the gag has seemed to run its course, though. At that point, The Wolf of Wall Street reveals what actually transpired rather than what Belfort believed during his drug-induced state. It is the high point of an extremely funny black comedy.

The more conventional zombies claim a nomination in the name of World War Z. The scene in question that someone on our staff has cleverly titled Zombies Fly Coach involves Brad Pitt and a claustrophobic mid-air combat sequence. As a few hundred passengers attempt to escape Israel via airplane, a ruckus begins further back in the seating area. One of the passengers lacks a pulse. Once he snacks on a stewardess, the zombies begin to outnumber the humans on the plane. Desperate to survive, Brad Pitt’s character is forced to use a grenade to blow up his own ride, thereby sucking the zombies out of the plane. It is the action movie sequence of the year (non-Gravity edition), and our staff is proud to declare it the sixth Best Scene overall.

A pair of diametrically opposed emotional outpourings comprise seventh and eighth place on our list. The heart wrenching fight between Celine and Jesse in Before Midnight left our entire staff scarred for months afterward. In fact, members of the staff took sides in the argument. That statement alone speaks volumes about how emotionally invested we are in those characters. Conversely, the mystery of P.L. Travers is finally unraveled during the singing of Let’s Go Fly a Kite. The scene from Saving Mr. Banks is the first time during the movie that the persnickety woman lowers her guard and lets these strange but well intended Disney employees into her heart. It is a magical outtake from a convivial production.

Rounding out the top ten are another scene from Gravity and our favorite moment from the latest Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright movie. Ninth place belongs to Gravity, giving it a full third of those selections. This sequence is the briefest of the group yet also the most harrowing. It is the moment when Sandra Bullock’s character, Dr. Ryan Stone, finds herself facing certain death if she unable to grab and hold on to the International Space Station. The very parachute chord that has saved her life up until that moment becomes an impediment to her survival in a breathtaking reversal of fortune. The best sequence from The World’s End is when Nick Frost’s character decides that enough is enough. During a moment of self-discovery, he goes nuts and literally starts busting heads. As in they explode. It is the Spaced team at their finest: silly and over the top. It is refreshing to know that after a decade of mind-boggling achievement, success has not changed them.

Narrowly missing nomination this year were half a dozen very worthy sequences that happened to run against the unstoppable force of Gravity. We loved Emma Watson’s takeover in This Is the End. A few of us are absolutely obsessed with the performance of Please Mister Kennedy during Inside Llewyn Davis. We were captivated by the threatened hanging of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character during 12 Years a Slave. James Hunt’s attempt to complete the Japanese Grand Prix in the needed spot to claim the World Championship also enthralled us. And we loved a pair of sequences from Iron Man 3, the interrogation of Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin and the mid-air rescue of 11 civilians. Finally, I would note that the scene that finished 17th in our vote came from Blue is the Warmest Color, but you would probably think that our staff is comprised of a bunch of filthy perverts if I told you exactly which one. You can probably guess, though.

2014 Calvin Awards
Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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