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The Worst Final Lines in Good Movies | Pajiba - Scathing Reviews for Bitchy People

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The Worst Final Lines in Good Movies

Seriously Random Lists / Seth Freilich

Seriously Random Lists | May 5, 2009 | Comments (116)

This seriously random list is not only random, but short. Last week, I saw something that reminded me of what is, in my opinion, the single stupidest line an otherwise good movie has ended on. “Perfect idea for a seriously random list,” I thinks to myself. Trouble is, I couldn’t come up with other items with which to populate said list. The best I came up with is “They called me Mr. Glass” from Unbreakable, and that’s a really a half-assed entry because (i) some folks would beg to differ as to whether Unbreakable is a good movie (those people who argue otherwise are wrong, mind you); and (ii) an thin argument can be made that a cheesy line like that works because the movie really wound up being a comic book movie. Whatever.

Since I, sadly, couldn’t find any other contenders, I’m leaving it to y’all to fill out the rest of this list — and I’m sure you guys will do the job well. But there can be no doubt about Number One, with a bullet:

1. “I know things about pigeons, Lilly.” Clint Eastwood, In the Line of Fire.

So what’s the rest of the list look like?


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Comments

Wait a minute - you really thought Unbreakable was a good movie? I thought it was awful.

Posted by: Tracy at May 5, 2009 3:05 PM

Recently, Doubt comes to mind.

"I have my doubts!"

That was just a lame ending to a pretty decent film.

Posted by: annoyingmouse at May 5, 2009 3:06 PM

Four Weddings and a Funeral. That insufferable Andi McDowell and her
"It's raining? I hadn't noticed".
Kick her in the teeth.

Posted by: courtney at May 5, 2009 3:08 PM

Worst last line of a good movie:

"It's the first day of the rest of our lives."

-Clerks 2

I'm sorry, that line's just too fucking corny.

Posted by: George at May 5, 2009 3:09 PM

True story: when my dad took my sister and I camping up and down the East Coast, we had a weekend in DC... my sister and I specifically went to buy ice cream, sat at the top of the steps, and replayed that pigeon scene for Dad, who love In the Line of Fire.

Posted by: Stella at May 5, 2009 3:12 PM

"I am IRON MAN." -RDJ

um spoiler alert!

Posted by: gayfish at May 5, 2009 3:13 PM

Kirk Douglas: "You've got a lot to learn, boy"
Kirk Douglas-in-a-hat: "He's not a boy, brother. He's a man. He's a man!"
Clancy: "The Man from Snowy River"

And cue sappy music... and end an otherwise perfectly serviceable Disney movie.

Posted by: Stella at May 5, 2009 3:18 PM

Unbreakable was a fantastic movie.

Don't hate. Appreciate.

@courtney - Andie McDowell ruined what was otherwise a fine film.

I was going to list the last line of Peter Jackson's "King Kong" as a qualifier for this list, but then I remembered that "King Kong" was absolutely fucking awful. I'd rather be teabagged by Newt Gingrich than watch that thing again.

Posted by: Big Daddy Bacchus at May 5, 2009 3:20 PM

"It's a shame she won't live - but then again, who does?"

-Blade Runner

Posted by: ed newman at May 5, 2009 3:20 PM

"It's a shame she won't live - but then again, who does?"

-Blade Runner

Posted by: ed newman at May 5, 2009 3:20 PM

------------------------------------------------

Let's you and I have a little talk, friend.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 5, 2009 3:27 PM

Unbreakable was awesome, eff you haters.

Posted by: Kayanne at May 5, 2009 3:27 PM

Sorry, ed newman, but I don't think there was a single line out-of-place in Blade Runner.

You may now fall on your sword.

As for this list? I got nothin.

Posted by: malikvlc at May 5, 2009 3:30 PM

Clearly Groundhog Day "Let's move here"

Posted by: Marriott67 at May 5, 2009 3:32 PM

Was anyone else bothered by the last lines from the first two Terminators?

Terminator
"What did he just say?"
"He said there's a storm coming in."
"I know."

Terminator 2
"The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too."

Posted by: branded at May 5, 2009 3:33 PM

"A polar bear fell on me."--Road House

Posted by: Bd at May 5, 2009 3:33 PM

"It's Chinatown."

WTF does that even mean?! "This particular neighborhood is dominated by an ethnic majority that enacts its own culture; thus, when a woman is shot in the head and her rapist father absconds with his daughter/granddaughter for some more family fun-time, there is little that we as outsiders can do without appearing to be ethnocentric." Stupid. I hate that movie.

Posted by: Geetch at May 5, 2009 3:35 PM

that a cheesy line like that works because the movie really wound up being a comic book movie.

Noooo, the point was realizing that you'd been watching a comic book movie the whole time. "HE'S A SUPERVILLAIN! HE'S GOT A FUCKING SUPERVILLAIN CAR!!!" *smack head* "THAT WAS GREAT!!!"

"It's a shame she won't live - but then again, who does?"

Try getting the line right first, shithead.

I was going to list the last line of Peter Jackson's "King Kong"

Oh Christ, get sharp objects away from me. And RUN!

Posted by: Jay at May 5, 2009 3:36 PM

Um, yeaaah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and say that Unbreakable is actually a damn good movie. (Also, is that the last line of the movie? It's been a while since I saw it, but I thought that was in the middle somewhere.)

And isn't the last line of Peter Jackson's King Kong the same as the last line of the '33? Am I forgetting everything today? Getting old sucks.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at May 5, 2009 3:37 PM

Star Wars: "Rrrrraaaaaooooowwww!!"

Seriously, Chewie, just phoning it in there...

Posted by: bluesilver at May 5, 2009 3:37 PM

What was that line in GIANT? Rock Hudson was complaining about his 'papoose' grandchild?


Honourable Mention:
*whisper, whisper, pfft, pfft, pfft.*
-Lost in Translation. (But where's your sense of wonder?)


'Perhaps we should continue this meeting--in BED.'
No, that was the best.

Carry on.

Posted by: Jo 'Mama' Besser at May 5, 2009 3:39 PM

Am I forgetting everything today?

You are not.

Posted by: Jay at May 5, 2009 3:39 PM

Loved Unbreakable. Especially the scene in 30th St. Station where he's touching everyone and seeing their sinful ways. So creepy.

I have nothing to add off the top of my head...but I immediately thought of how much I love "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads."

Posted by: Julie at May 5, 2009 3:40 PM

Last line in Unbreakable would have been so much better if they had made his closing monologue a little earlier, and less descriptive. Then ended it with "I think this is where we shake hands."

Posted by: PissBoy at May 5, 2009 3:41 PM

OK, I didn't love The Dark Knight, but I know people think it's good, and that last line...holy preachy tripe, Batman.

Posted by: frumpiefox at May 5, 2009 3:43 PM

Lost in translation, anyone?

We didn't even get the privilege of HEARING the last line.


(and yes, it's a good movie!)

Posted by: mae at May 5, 2009 3:44 PM

Re: Chinatown...

The last line has nothing to do with the story per se (nor, really, with the neighborhood). It has to do with events that are out of your control. It's a reference to the life and times. It's actually one of my favorite closing lines (and one of my favorite movies) of all time.

Posted by: TK at May 5, 2009 3:45 PM

Marriott67...the last line in Groundhog Day isn't "Let's move here."

It's "We'll rent to start."

Posted by: PissBoy at May 5, 2009 3:46 PM

branded, My wife was just ranting about that "There's a storm coming/I know" exchange when that movie was TNT on Sunday.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at May 5, 2009 3:47 PM

Happy birthday, Pissboy!

Posted by: Julie at May 5, 2009 3:52 PM

Gotta go with the best one here:
"Hey Dad, you wanna have a catch?"
"I'd like that, son."
Field of Dreams
*sniffle* Damned dust.

Posted by: Kballs at May 5, 2009 3:53 PM

"And then I woke up."

Somewhat unsatisfying end to an incredible movie.

Posted by: KatSings at May 5, 2009 3:56 PM

Chinatown is about corruption. "Chinatown" is synonymous with corruption. Jake wants to fight, but he'll never, ever win. Why? It's Chinatown.

That movie is perfect.

"Shut up and deal." I've always been on the fence about that one. On the one hand it's true to the characters and the moment. On the other, it leaves you empty.

Posted by: Duane at May 5, 2009 3:58 PM

In The Line Of Fire is a great movie, and - sorry - I like the pigeons line.

Someone is defaming Blade Runner? What the hell?

I love Unbreakable as well. It's the only M. Night movie that I feel compelled to rewatch.

As for Terminator, perhaps they are a little heavy-handed, but I love the storm line set against that shot of the highway, the mountains, and the gathering clouds. It's simple and fully relevant, back when time-traveling Terminators weren't so passe.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at May 5, 2009 4:00 PM

How about that one movie where those two dudes are all:

Awesome Guy: Now I'm gonna smash your goddam face good!

Other Guy: Just go. Seriously. Please? Don't be a dick.

Awesome Guy: You're the dick, (hic!) you stupid dickface!

Other Guy: Listen, Jeremy - I just want you out of my garage. If you're drunk, I'll call you a cab. You've been hiding out here for two days now. It's time to go...

Awesome Guy: You're a garage! You are! I'm isn't going to not go anywhere until you give me back my nunchucks, you stupid... GIVE ME THEM TO ME!

Other Guy: That's it, I'm calling the cops.

Awesome Guy: Fine! I don't even care! We... what?

Other Guy:I said I'm calling the cops. You're obviously drunk, there's either pizza or vomit all down the front of your shirt, and your pants, your soiled pants, are on backwards. It looks like Wendel dislocated his arm, and my lawnmower's on fire. Like I said, I'm calling the cops.

Awesome Guy: I will smash your... Dude, don't be... We're cousins, man. COOOOOUSIIIINS!

Other Guy: I think you just crapped your pants...

Awesome Guy: You are a pants! HA! STELLAAAAAAAAAA!

God, that seemed so real, y'know? Like it really happened to real people...


Posted by: Skitz at May 5, 2009 4:02 PM

The last line of Doubt is actually:

"I have doubts. I have such doubts"

and it's a brilliant fucking line that ends the whole ambiguous drama on a final note of ambiguity. It just works better as a play.

Posted by: Popcultureboy at May 5, 2009 4:04 PM

Annoying Mouse: It's actually just "I have doubts", not "I have my doubts." I must admit that this line fell flat in the movie whereas it was extremely powerful on the stage.

May I vote for best closing line? There are so many, but "I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." from Shawshank kills me every damn time I see it. And I love how it's so true to the novella.

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:08 PM

Popcultureboy: Jinx, buy me a Coke!

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:08 PM

Samantha, that ALWAYS makes me cry. Damn.

Posted by: figgy at May 5, 2009 4:13 PM

Figgy: I may have to YouTube that shit for a little afternoon weepie.

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:14 PM

Re: Chinatown...

Yeah, yeah, corruption, futility, blarghy blargh, best movie evar, I know. I just hated it the whole time I was watching it and then it got to that line and it just struck me as a crappy end to an unenjoyable movie.

Posted by: Geetch at May 5, 2009 4:15 PM

Bring it on all you Blade Runner lackeys! That line was just OK, but what made it "worst" is the fact that there shouldn't have been any Dekkard narration at all. Wasn't supposed to be there originally and Harrison phoned in the reading because he didn't agree with it.

Posted by: ed newman at May 5, 2009 4:16 PM

Figgy: I might add that TSR is one of perhaps five movies I know of in which a voiceover isn't simply a lazy-ass tactic to convey the story.

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:19 PM

I'll probably get beat up for this, but I thought that the very end of Dark Knight, when he actually SAYS "...a Dark Knight." seemed unbelievably cheesy to me, and not worthy of the movie. The whole speech was awesome, but I really hate when movies refer to their own titles.

My other favorite also comes from a Stephen King adaptation:

"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

Posted by: figgy at May 5, 2009 4:24 PM

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:

Sallah: You are named after the dog? HA HA HA...!
Indiana Jones: I've got a lot of fond memories of that dog

Posted by: BWeaves at May 5, 2009 4:24 PM

frumpiefox, I loved the Dark Knight, and Gary Oldman was fantastic in it but final speech at the end couldn't have been any preachier if Gordon was holding a bible in one hand and a venomous snake in the other while Batman and his son were undulating wildly to acapela gospel music. So, yeah, I second the Dark Knight nomination.

Posted by: Laughner at May 5, 2009 4:25 PM

Whatever inanity that they have James Franco's character say at the end of Milk.

Something like, "Does anyone even care?"

I know it wasn't the exact end of the movie, but it was pretty close. It made me cringe, though I loved the rest of that movie.

Posted by: Anna at May 5, 2009 4:27 PM

That line was just OK, but what made it "worst" is the fact that there shouldn't have been any Dekkard narration at all. Wasn't supposed to be there originally and Harrison phoned in the reading because he didn't agree with it.

Posted by: ed newman at May 5, 2009 4:16 PM

-----------------------------------------------


Oh, we are gonna GO there?

Let me hit you with some knowledge little man, while it might be right that Ford "phoned it in" even he admits that in the end it made the movie better. Scott has bitched and moaned about his vision for years (which is a perversion of K Dicks's work anyway) but the truth of the matter is this ONE time were the studio's meddling made the film better.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 5, 2009 4:28 PM

Figgy: That's a great one, too! As you can tell, I'm a Steven King fan.

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:29 PM

"Thank you" - Salvatore in Cinema Paradiso

Posted by: Sofía at May 5, 2009 4:32 PM

*is

*when

Oy see what you made do.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 5, 2009 4:33 PM

Popcultureboy wrote: "The last line of Doubt is actually:

'I have doubts. I have such doubts'

and it's a brilliant fucking line that ends the whole ambiguous drama on a final note of ambiguity. It just works better as a play."

I've never thought that line was ambiguous -- but I seem to be the only one. Everyone I've ever talked to about the movie (I never saw the play) has your reading of the line in mind when we discuss it.

I think, though, that what Sister Aloysius has doubts about isn't her thoughts about Father Flynn; I think she's as convinced of her theory at the end of the movie as she is in the middle. What I think she has doubts about is the Catholic Church. She has doubts about a system that lets a man like Flynn sail through when he's clearly doing harm. Why I love the movie as much as I do -- in all its leaden symbolism and heavy-handed direction -- is because of that final moment.

KatSings wrote: "'And then I woke up.'


Somewhat unsatisfying end to an incredible movie."

I really super duper disagree with you on this feeling (which you're totally entitled to; I know the drill). That last line, and the opening monologue: there's your picture.

Posted by: Mike B. at May 5, 2009 4:38 PM

I have nothing to add off the top of my head...but I immediately thought of how much I love "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads."

Julie, can i have your babies? Right now?

Posted by: lizzieborden at May 5, 2009 4:38 PM

*whisper, whisper, pfft, pfft, pfft.*
-Lost in Translation. (But where's your sense of wonder?)

Really? You didn't like that line? I thought it made the entire movie to be perfectly honest. The fact that what he says is unknown to really anyone but Bill, Scarlett and Sofia makes the scene so haunting and bittersweet.
I agree with all of the people who disliked Angie McDowell's delivery of an already hokey line in Four Weddings. Other then that, that movie is so great, the eulogy stands as one of the most gorgeous things I've heard recited. I actually did it for a drama class, but that's besides the point.

Posted by: Kamikaze Feminist at May 5, 2009 4:38 PM

"It's raining? I hadn't noticed"

I agree that both that line and Andie Macdowell are both absolute shite, but that's not actually the last line of that particular film. Charlie asks her NOT to marry him, and she says "I do," and that's the end, other than the montage of stills over credits.

Posted by: socalledonlycousins at May 5, 2009 4:39 PM

Mike B: I agree, though I thought her doubts also extended to whether she approached the whole thing with Father Flynn in the right way. Fine, he couldn't bother young boys at her parish anymore, but now it'd be occurring in a new parish without her watchful eye. Also, was depriving that little black kid of a positive force in his life really the right thing to do? She had such a strict moral code and the fallout made the wisdom of that questionable.

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:43 PM

I was just reminded of the perfection of "Nobody's perfect" from "Some Like it Hot."

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 4:47 PM

It's Deckard.

Shithead.

Posted by: Jay at May 5, 2009 4:49 PM

@ samantha:

I can definitely get behind your additional subtleties to that line reading and the complicated psychology of Sister Aloysius.

(I love her. I love her a lot because, in some much of my life, I am her. Only, I think she manages to match her wardrobe better on a more consistent basis than I ever can. I need G'ranimals for adults.)

Posted by: Mike B. at May 5, 2009 4:51 PM

@ BarbadoSlim:
Thank you! finally someone else that knows how much better the studio version of Blade Runner is!!
Scott is so overestimated.
You know, here in Italy the original version is not available on dvd...

Posted by: marigi at May 5, 2009 4:53 PM

Mike B.: I'm a fan of Sister A., too - as a practicing Catholic and secret hard-ass. I think we're supposed to dislike her, but I found her extremely sympathetic. The whole play/movie also raised the question of the extent to which the nuns knew precisely what was going on with molesting priests and were silenced.

I'm having a son in September and have joked that he'll be named Aloysius (a family name).

Posted by: samantha t at May 5, 2009 5:06 PM

Bweaves -
I could be wrong but I thought the last line to Last Crusade was
Marcus - "Follow me, I know the way!"
Indy - "Lost in his own museum, huh?"

Maybe that was right before the whole fond memories of that dog part though. I'm not the best at this type of recollection.

Posted by: Handel at May 5, 2009 5:14 PM

Unbreakable is a good movie and a superhero movie. That's the twist. Caped crusaders aren't required for the genre. Just look at most of Wolverine. And even the costumed ones weren't so voluntarily.

Posted by: Robert at May 5, 2009 5:17 PM

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who loved Unbreakable and Samantha that line is perfect. In fact, I can think of more great ending lines from older films than bad ones (Like, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.")

Posted by: s. pisaster at May 5, 2009 5:20 PM

I am a fan of the star wars, but I refuse to watch the ending of Return of the Jedi. So, I think: "no, he's my brother" + 10 minutes of fucking ewok celebration merits inclusion.

Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at May 5, 2009 5:25 PM

Well this whole thread went in a circle because the request was for "worst last lines to good movies" but it ended up with everyone shouting down each proposed worst line as the best part of each movie. So here are two awesome ending lines that someone will inevitably argue are horrible and thus meet the criteria:

"As you wish." -The Princess Bride

"You met me at a very strange time in my life." -Fight Club

Posted by: Steven Lloyd Wilson at May 5, 2009 5:36 PM

Goddamn, I can't think of any last lines that bother me except for what Jack Sparrow says at the end of the first Pirates of the Carribean. Something like "Bring me that horizon."

Best line at the end of a good movie: "And like that -- he's gone."

Posted by: Lucky at May 5, 2009 5:42 PM

Whoa, whoa, WHOA, who in the fuck thinks the last line of Doubt was stupid?!?! That was one of the best lines in ANY film from 2008! Fuck, people.

Oh, and the end of Slumdog Millionaire. Not because the line was shitty, but because there were three or four lines that should have been the last lines of the film, as if the screenwriter couldn't decide how to end it, so he just threw them all in together. Pissed me off.

Posted by: ChristianH at May 5, 2009 5:51 PM

It's not a line really, but I just watched 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' again today, and I fucking hate that talking-straight-to-the-audience ending bit. I mean, it's kind of obnoxious through the whole thing (it strikes as too cutesy, I guess), but I can get over it if it's just in a voiceover. It ruins an otherwise kick-ass movie, and while you would think the line "I shot him with the small revolver I keep near my balls" would make for it, it just doesn't. That's how much it sucks.

Posted by: Mimi at May 5, 2009 5:56 PM

Or that one movie where I totally outran that security guard and he tried to call for backup but I turned around and chucked a hunk of cinderblock at his face and he went down and when I came back after dark he was still there 'cept he was lying face down in the dirt and moaning and I flipped him over on his side and said "Here's where my Red Fern grows, you Pinko sumanabitch" and then I kicked him in the face and took his wallet and spent all his money on Pull Tabs and a handjob behind the Dairy Queen from that meth girl with the creepy teeth?

"Where my Red Fern grows..." Man, who writes these things?

Posted by: Skitz at May 5, 2009 5:58 PM

Wow, I missed a lot of words in that comment. I even forgot to put the "in" at the beginning of this one. What the fuck is wrong with me today?

Posted by: Mimi at May 5, 2009 5:59 PM

The reason I stated the final line of Doubt strikes an ambiguous note is because of the play. Cherry Jones delivered it much like Meryl Streep, that the whole wretched affair had made her doubt the church and her faith. When the much older Eileen Atkins took over the role on Broadway, her take on the role was that she was suspicious of the younger generation of teachers and their methods. Given the chance to rid herself of the teacher she dislikes most, she takes it, whether there's an ounce of truth or not. Her delivery of that line was much more on the wavelength of doubting whether she'd done the right thing in essentially hounding him out of her school.

Posted by: Popcultureboy at May 5, 2009 6:00 PM

samantha wrote: "I'm having a son in September and have joked that he'll be named Aloysius (a family name)."

I'm a September baby. I think September is the best month for a birthday. (You can also wear the skirt as a cape.) If you're in the Northern hemisphere, though, and you have to lug that baby inside you around through the summer, then you also have my condolences.

What does Aloysius shorten to? Al? Aly? Wishy? Vicious?

Posted by: Mike B. at May 5, 2009 6:06 PM

"He's not coming back."
Point Break

Posted by: Greg at May 5, 2009 6:07 PM

Although I love the movie, I loathe Alabama's final monologue in True Romance, which ends with "I probably wouldn't have named our son Elvis." It always strikes me as extremely cheesy in a movie that has deftly avoid cheese (with the exception of the OPENING monologue, which I also hate.)

Posted by: Siege at May 5, 2009 6:42 PM

The last line in Last Crusade is "Yes, sir." And then Indy takes off. Which is awesome.

It's too bad she won't live, but then again, who does? Is fucking brilliant. Eat dicks, all of you.

Hey dad, wanna have a catch? Beautiful. I'm crying right now.

Unbreakable sucks because the last line of the film is actually a scrolling text box telling us what happens afterward. I did not go to the movies to watch motherfucking Unsolved Mysteries. Finish your fucking story.

Posted by: JakesAlterEgo at May 5, 2009 6:45 PM

"Jack, I swear." So goes the last line of Brokeback Mountain. I watched the movie and had to Google 'last line Brokeback Mountain', b/c the line is completely garbled and i had no idea what Heath Ledger was saying despite about 10 rewinds. If anybody can tell me what Ang Lee was trying to get across there, it would be appreciated. Otherwise...huh uh.

Posted by: stryker1121 at May 5, 2009 6:47 PM

Clearly I'm going to have to re-watch Blade Runner, because when I saw it I was horribly disappointed. I was bored to tears, and didn't get anything out of it that I hadn't got time and time again from other, more enjoyable, Sci Fi.

Can someone (briefly) explain why this movie is so phenomenal?

Posted by: Vince Noir at May 5, 2009 7:42 PM

Can someone (briefly) explain why this movie is so phenomenal?

A huge part of it is simply timing. Those other films you reference that did the same things more enjoyably, came after Blade Runner. The film all but invented the dystopian futuristic noir visual style just to pick one of the elements of the film that have become embedded in sci-fi. Dark faceless skyscrapers, endless rain, uncountable anonymous crowds, the odd mixing of western and asian street culture ... it was cliched in the Matrix, but it wasn't in 1982.

Posted by: Steven Lloyd Wilson at May 5, 2009 7:57 PM

Re:stryker1121 "Jack, I swear"...Ennis was overcome by emotion, not easy for his character. He was also kind of pissed that even thinking about Jack could make him farklempt.
For the record, Pajiba has the best review of Brokeback, hands down. When people say "that gay cowboy movie", I ask them to read the review here.

Now then...worst final line?
"He was my dad." Road To Perdition.

Posted by: brouhaha at May 5, 2009 8:09 PM

Plus, and I have to agree with the earlier poster, Deckard's narration really DOES make the movie. It's noir, people, and the narration helps bring that home. It's Mickey Spillane meets dystopian future, and nobody had ever done it before, so the narration was kind of necessary to get the audience there in one piece. The whole film feels flat and empty without it; with it, we get a better sense of the counterpoint to the soulless future that the Replicants represent so directly - the thoughts, fears, and hopes of a human being. Scott screwed up his own movie, and Ford didn't get what was going on, but it wouldn't be the first time that an artist has gotten so caught up in a project that he missed the best way to pull it off with style. Whether the studio knew what it was doing or just lucked into it, the narration was the right thing to do.

Posted by: Landon at May 5, 2009 8:20 PM

Is the last line to four weddings really about rain? Cause I find that odd. The last lines between McDowell and Spader at the end of Sex Lies and Videotape are pretty much the same.

last lines:
Ann: I think it's gonna rain.
Graham: [chuckles] It is raining.
Ann: Yeah.

But then I looked up the script for 4weddings and the last line doesn't end about rain. It ends with "I do"

Posted by: Some Guy at May 5, 2009 8:57 PM

Just to be clear, everyone apparently is favoring the original version of Blade Runner? With the driving off to happily ever after and all that?

Posted by: JakesAlterEgo at May 5, 2009 9:02 PM

"You met me at a very strange time in my life."

Who'd argue against that one?

I don't care about "The Princess Bride" and I've never seen "Field of Dreams", and "a catch" doesn't sound right to me.

The sunlit driving isn't the best thing that could've ever been filmed. For me the best would be to stop the International Cut as the elevator closes. I love that it's got a noir voiceover. Always have. As I've said before, if Deckard's a replicant then Batty's death is a meaningless waste of screen time.

Posted by: Jay at May 5, 2009 9:37 PM

Ew, final line of Doubt was terrible. I don't care if it works better as a play - they made it a movie, so they should have made it work as a movie.

I could do without the clunky final line of The Hours, too: "Always the love, always... the hours." Oh! That's what the title of the movie was! Thanks, Nicole!


Posted by: whatBENwatches at May 5, 2009 10:19 PM

And the issue I think most people (including myself) have with the last line of Doubt is that it's suge a sledgehammer moment. When Meryl wails "I have doubts!!!!!!" it's like, no shit, Sherlock. That's what the entire flippin' movie was about.

Posted by: whatBENwatches at May 5, 2009 10:22 PM

I've never seen "Field of Dreams"

Why do people keep making me take out my horsewhip? Huh? Why do they do that?

Posted by: mightygodking at May 5, 2009 10:31 PM

Field of Dreams! Awww shit, some waterworks about to come out up in here!

What? I don't know.

And, as someone already said so it doesn't need repeating but screw you here it goes anyway, the Andie McDowell (God, she's a blot on humanity, isn't she?) rain reference does pertain to Sex, Lies, and Videotape, not Four Weddings...

That being said, Rocky has the worst last line ever, "I love you." Say what?!

And for the record, A Fish Called Wanda has the best line ever, "Assssshooooooole!" Ah, Kevine Kline!

Posted by: Sarah at May 5, 2009 11:04 PM

And the issue I think most people (including myself) have with the last line of Doubt is that it's suge a sledgehammer moment. When Meryl wails "I have doubts!!!!!!" it's like, no shit, Sherlock. That's what the entire flippin' movie was about.

no, no, no, no. You are killing me, here! Did you even watch it? The story is not about Sister Aloysius's doubts. Until that moment, she has not allowed herself to have any doubt. Her moral rigidity drives her forward throughout the play. When she finally admits her doubts, it's devastating. You can see her entire world crumble around her.

Posted by: marya at May 5, 2009 11:59 PM

Sorry to add fuel to the fire that is the studio cut vs director's cut of Blade Runner debate, but I kinda dig both versions, I used to love the narrated version (mainly because that is how I saw it the first time waaaaay back when) with the happy ending (yay she's a replicant, but she'll live longer because the studio thinks the audience wants it that way), but after seeing the director's cut with the non-happy ending, the unicorn scene and the stronger inferences of Deckard being a replicant, it pretty much blew me away again. So in essence I love both versions, Rutger fucking ROCKS, And I can't recommend the 5 disc edition enough, if only for the 3 hour doco on the making of it, very interesting stuff...

blah! and another vote goes to Andie McDowell... FFS one of the singular worst lines ever!

Posted by: tj at May 6, 2009 3:20 AM

Honourable Mention:
*whisper, whisper, pfft, pfft, pfft.*
-Lost in Translation. (But where's your sense of wonder?)

Haha love it. Also ditto on Andie McDowell.

Jay, how can you say that Batty's death becomes irrelevant!?! Batty becomes someone to aspire to, leaving the world in peace, perfectly accepting of death. If Deckard is lucky he'll go out in the same way. I like both endings.

Posted by: Mebe at May 6, 2009 4:04 AM

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Posted by: linda shake at May 6, 2009 6:25 AM

the Andie McDowell (God, she's a blot on humanity, isn't she?) rain reference does pertain to Sex, Lies, and Videotape, not Four Weddings...

No, it's "Four Weddings and a Funeral".

The poignancy of Batty's death is that there's this human that barely knows he's alive, but he witnesses this artificial man who's clung to life desperately like it's something of value.

"I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life - anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die. "

You don't have a bad point though.

Posted by: Jay at May 6, 2009 6:30 AM

"And then I woke up..."

Last line in No Country for Old Men. I can't believe no one mentioned this one yet!

Posted by: Matt 2.0 at May 6, 2009 8:34 AM

@ Matt 2.0:

(a) Someone did. Yesterday. At 4:00 PM.

(b) You're wrong.

Posted by: Mike B. at May 6, 2009 9:16 AM

If you heard 'Jack, I swear' as garbled then I think it's your speakers. It's a killer last line, anyway. Perfectly encapsulates the inability of the character to express himself and the greater impossibility of ever putting real love into words. N that.

'Bring me that horizon' is forgivably cheesy, I think. And the actual last line is 'Drink up me hearties yo HO' which is fucking excellent.

Posted by: lethalbuzzle at May 6, 2009 10:30 AM

The worst line in cinematic history is from Roadhouse and it comes from the head tough guy in his final fight with Patrick Swayze .
Are you ready for this gem ????

"i used to FUCK guys like you in prison"

need i say more .

Posted by: GILP at May 6, 2009 10:39 AM

Okay the BEST last line (my apologies for not answering the question):
"And how can this be, for he is the Qwisatz Haderach!"

Awesome.

Posted by: quelish at May 6, 2009 12:06 PM

i loved the final "I know" in Terminator. it was perfect.

Posted by: Terminatrix at May 6, 2009 12:41 PM

with the exception of a few of you, pajiba is pissing me off the past coupla weeks. and is it just me or is dustin angry in his post-feminist, cynically hopeful, loveable way? I think 've smelled non-disclosed walkouts in reviews. better not to review them at all. just include the venom in a short blurb in those constant E news updates. glad the pajibettes of yore are keeping the core intact.

Posted by: Jackseppelin at May 6, 2009 2:13 PM

I guess I need to see Doubt the play, where "A Parable" is included in the title.

And I need to learn how to spell "such" apparently.

I guess I just thought the movie was about how these characters have doubts. Silly me. The twist is that Alyosius doesn't have doubts? I guess I need to go reorder my Netflix queue STAT.

Posted by: whatBENwatches at May 6, 2009 2:28 PM

Pretty Woman:
"She rescues him right back"
Ugh!

Posted by: Kim at May 6, 2009 2:54 PM

Eyes Wide Shut

"You know, there is something very important we need to do as soon as possible.... Fuck."

Yes, it's a good movie if you do your homework.

Posted by: Brian at May 6, 2009 3:08 PM

They didn't say the movie title though, so I (wrongfully) will call first mention on a technicality. I also reserve the right to come up with other technicalities.

And YOU'RE wrong. Perhaps also on a technicality.

Posted by: Matt 2.0 at May 6, 2009 3:35 PM

WhatBENwatches, I thought the point of Doubt is that the audience is never really sure that what Sister Aloysius is right or justified? It's never confirmed that her suspicions have any basis in fact. Yet she never wavers in her certainty that she's right. The whole experience shakes her so much that she's left doubting her faith.

And I TOTALLY second the last line of Eyes Wide Shit (no, that's not a typo). I was open mouthed with disbelief when that was the ending. Godawful.

Posted by: Popcultureboy at May 6, 2009 4:50 PM

I vote the the last line(s) from Speed be on that list.

Keanu: "I have to warn you, I've heard relationships based on intense experiences never work."

Sandra: "Okay, we'll have to base it on sex then."

Keanu: "Whatever you say, ma'am."

*end scene; battered couple embrace in the middle of spectators and rubble*

Posted by: bombscribe at May 7, 2009 5:21 AM

Coyote Ugly:

So tell me, what do you do when you realize all YOUR dreams have come true?


The Mummy Returns:

Would you like to see what heaven looks like?

Later.


Obsessed*:

What happened here?

I think you know what happened.
(very reminiscent of the entire movie/trailer, surprisingly enough)

*I swear I did not pay money to see this money.


Posted by: bombscribe at May 7, 2009 6:55 AM

"They fought like warrior poets"

ugh

Posted by: tclove at May 7, 2009 10:48 AM

That line was just OK, but what made it "worst" is the fact that there shouldn't have been any Dekkard narration at all. Wasn't supposed to be there originally and Harrison phoned in the reading because he didn't agree with it.
Posted by: ed newman at May 5, 2009 4:16 PM
-----------------------------------------------

But the "last line" people were talking about earlier in the thread was "too bad she won't live...but then again who does?" That line wasn't part of Deckard's narration, it was spoken by a young Admiral Adama (and it's only the last line in the Director's Cut, which removes Deckard's narration)

Posted by: Jesse M. at May 7, 2009 11:05 AM

Best Last Line- Double Indemnity

Walter Neff: I love you, too.

There were three lines in the last bit of dialogue, but I won't spoil the end. A friend of mine is taking a Noir class, and had me watch some homework with him. It was spectacular. Fast Talkin' High Trousers.

Posted by: Sweetie Dahling at May 7, 2009 11:44 AM

"And I TOTALLY second the last line of Eyes Wide Shit (no, that's not a typo). I was open mouthed with disbelief when that was the ending. Godawful."

True, but the list is bad final lines in good movies, and the ending was so bad it made the entire movie suck too.


That might be a great alternative random list, though: Endings so bad they completely ruin the entire movie. In addition to Eyes Wide Shut, I'd nominate 3:10 to Yuma.

Posted by: Laughner at May 7, 2009 1:55 PM

How about FIERCE CREATURES where John Cleese refers to Jamie Lee Curtis character as WANDA in his last line, making a reference to a fish called wanda but not making sense in the context of the film?

Granted, it is a shit film though.

Posted by: eurofoti at May 7, 2009 3:33 PM

Man, not to shit on everyone here, but I loved Eyes Wide Shut. Does that make me a bad person?

Popcultureboy: yeah, that's how I viewed Doubt, which made Meryl's last line so sledge hammery. Of course she has fucking doubts! Doesn't she know what the hell movie she's in?

Posted by: whatBENwatches at May 7, 2009 9:57 PM

The end of LA Confidential still makes me cringe...

"Some men get the world. Others get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona."

Oy.

Posted by: The Naked Vine at May 10, 2009 8:18 PM

I can't remember it, that's how lame it is... the last line in Broadcast News is just some lame-ass piece of non-essential dialogue. James L. Brooks decided to let the film end on a drifting-off-into-nothing scene.

A brilliant film ends on...pffffffffffffft. A script full of incredible lines and he gives us... NOTHING to remember it by.

Posted by: Maryscott O'Connor at May 12, 2009 12:41 AM

Oh man, "Jack, I swear" is one of my all-time favorite last lines. It makes me weep every time.

Posted by: little ya at May 23, 2009 7:05 PM

re: brouhaha at May 5 Thanks for the tip about the pajiba review...

Posted by: Goinhome at June 12, 2009 7:30 PM





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