10 Most Paused Movie Moments Of 2012

7. Osama Bin Laden - Zero Dark Thirty

Granted, Zero Dark Thirty isn't available on home video anywhere yet, but anyone who's seen the film can testify to the fact that it definitely warrants a few clicks of the pause button once we get to the stunning raid sequence on Osama Bin Laden's compound at the end of the movie. Superbly staged by Kathryn Bigelow, she's also smart enough not to linger on Bin Laden's face, as the film would otherwise pick up criticism for being exploitative. Instead, the raid sequence takes up only a small portion of a long film, and the moment that Bin Laden is shot is an extremely brief one; the bullets ring out and he drops the floor pretty much without even one lasting glimpse on his face. Thus, it's safe to assume that when the film hits home video, people are going to be phasing through the scene a frame at a time to capture the perfect glimpse of the terrorist leader laid out. Tasteless? Perhaps, but human curiosity knows no bounds.
 
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.