My Favorite Little Things In Movies Pt 1

Let's talk about the details

Saul Malone

Aug 25, 2023

As longtime readers might know, the output of this newsletter slows to a crawl from early August - early September because I am, unfortunately, a big fantasy football guy. Instead of talking and writing about movies, I’m planning on which big strong boys I should select for my fake football teams that will determine much of my mood for a good chunk of the next 6 months. It’s a very healthy hobby. I am normal about it.

I don’t like writing NOTHING about movies, though. My brain simply won’t allow it. I gotta get my thoughts on something movie-related out in this newsletter at least once a month or I start getting really weird on Letterboxd.

Today’s edition of Working Title is maybe the simplest edition we’ve ever done and the purest distillation of what this newsletter is really about. It’s just a list of the little things that happen in movies sometimes that I love. Real bread and butter stuff, but sometimes all you need is bread and butter. It’s similar to our Movie Hypotheticals, a fun little exercise before we start back up ranking movies or diving deep into a genre or movie topic.

Okay! Let’s list some of my Favorite Things™️

When a hacker cracks their knuckles before they start to hack.
When a hacker says “I’m in” after they’re in.
When the protagonists of a movie involving a deadly creature (big shark, big snake, the Leprechaun from LEPRECHAUN) see the damage done to something around them but don’t fully realize the danger they're in yet.
When two or more characters are boarding a helicopter and they duck their heads to avoid getting hit by the blades.
When a helicopter is landing and everybody around the landing area puts up their hand to shield their eyes from the dust and air the blades are blowing around. (Just don’t approach the helicopter until after it lands?? Seems obvious??)
When a helicopter is taking off without one of the main characters and they have to chase it down and grab landing skids while it’s hovering.
I guess pretty much just anything with helicopters.
When people are eating in a movie and it’s clear they’re actually eating in real life too because they enjoy the food on set
When the actor playing an athlete in a sports or sports adjacent movie has obviously never played that sport in their entire life
When the actor playing an athlete in a sports or sports adjacent movie has obviously played that sport before.
A “getting the team together” montage in a heist movie.
When something doesn’t go to plan in a heist movie
When it’s revealed that “something going wrong” was part of the plan all along in a heist movie
When the chef is a rat controlling a human. (only one movie that has this but they should make more).
When a big-name celebrity does a cameo but their name isn’t in the credits but you know what you saw.
When Denzel Washington is a man who has been wronged and is seeking retribution, for either himself or on someone’s behalf.
When the TV in a movie is playing another movie or TV show that you recognize in the background.
When the rebellious teen has a poster of a band in their bedroom that you listened to as a rebellious teen or also maybe as a 32-year-old man.
When Willam Dafoe is being a weird little freak.
When someone you know purely from their comedy roles does a small, dramatic part and it’s actually pretty good.
When you’re watching a movie from the 80s and it’s super clear when the stunt double in a wig is doing an action sequence
When somebody in a movie set in, like, 1800s England says something like “Unhand me.”
When somebody from a niche TV series you discovered plays a bit part in a big movie.
When a girl becomes hot by simply taking off her glasses.
When the score features a lot of synths.
When the movie has Keanu Reeves.
When you’re watching a sequel and there’s a little nod in the background to the previous movie.
When the movie has a chase scene set to nu metal.
When you’re rewatching a movie you haven’t seen in a while and it’s got an actor that went on to be a big star, but you kind of forgot about it.
When a movie features a home or an apartment that seems way out of budget for the main character’s career or job and you think “There’s no way I’m they can afford that.”
When you’re watching the previews before the movie in a theater and you pass judgment to your buddies/significant other on if that movie is worth seeing.
and finally to end part 1
When you’re watching a movie and you recognize a character actor and you think their name to yourself and you stick around to watch the credits which confirm you were right about their name before you go on IMDB and see what other movies you recognize them from.

There you have it folks. Some of my favorite things in and about movies. Once all my big strong boys have been drafted onto their respective teams, Working Title will return to it’s regularly scheduled programming. As always, please subscribe and share to help us grow our readership!

In the meantime, you can follow me on Letterboxd! See you soon.

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