The first two minutes and 46 seconds of David O. Russell‘s The Fighter told me — gave me a signed, notarized guarantee — that it would be really good. The brotherly stuff, the swagger, the neighborhood, the music…you just knew. What other films have grabbed you from the opening with some kind of special-ass design and energy and saying “Are ya feelin’ it? We’re doin’ this right off the bat.” Robert Altman‘s The Player, of course. Mike Nichols‘ The Graduate — Simon + Garfunkle plus the robot on the walkway. Martin Scorsese‘s Mean Streets (guilt, church, cop sirens, “Be My Baby”), Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street. Others? And what great or really good films have really slow, sleep-inducing beginnings?
