#31 X-Men: The Last Stand: Phoenix rising

Director: Bret Rattner
Genre: Action/Superhero
Key Players: Famke Janssen, Hugh Jackman

Even though the first two installments of Marvel's cinematic series of the X-Men were significantly better, it's the third one (and the bad one) I've chosen for my ongoing series of memorable moments from the movies. In the the third and final act of the movie, Famke Janssen's Jean Grey embraces her buried persona, The Phoenix, in a pretty grand and astonishing fashion, releasing all her raw power on people and X-Men alike. There's fire, water, junk flying around, soldiers disintegrating to dust. It's quite spectacular and the only real moment that gets my nerdy comic book heart pumping with adrenaline. Piece of shit movie with a great climax.

#30 Alien: Chestburster

Director: Ridley Scott
Genre: Sci fi/thriller
Key Players: Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt

What would be more appropriate for my thirtieth posting than doing a scene from a film released some thirty years ago. Ridley Scott's slow-burning horror set in space redefined sci-fi for years to come and introduced the almighty Chestburster; a moment for the history books. Feeling a little queezy, John Hurt (fitting name, don't you think) starts panting, at this point unaware that a little monster soon will burst through skin and bone, in a flood of blood and gore, ruining a perfectly good meal. The unexpected horror and total shock of the event is so visceral and authentic, perhaps because no one really knew what was going to happen, and has become one of those extremely iconic moments that, even if you haven't seen the movie in question, you know of it and what it entails. Pure brilliance. Pure Ridley.