By CJ Tiernan Every now and then, a character will become synonymous with an article of clothing. They wear it so well, or it’s so interwoven with the plot, the two become inextricably linked. Mario and overalls. Cinderella and clear shoes. Batman and eyeliner. I’m not a big “remember what people look like” guy myself. If asked to close my eyes and reveal the hair color of friends and family I’ve held dear for decades, I’m not likely to surpass (in a statistically significa

By CJ Tiernan I suppose it’s possible someone watched the Harry Potter movies without first reading the books. It’s unfathomable to me, but possible. For those of us that did read the books, we experienced a fantasy world for the ages, full of life and color and possibility. As a result, it set the stakes really high for the movies. Like, really high (James-Franco-at-the-Oscars level high). The characters in the books are so fleshed out and J.K. Rowling utilizes a very visu

By CJ Tiernan Every single person has a name. It’s famously a common way of telling one another apart (along with finger prints, dental records, and whether you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob) or used to gather ones attention when shouted across a room. If it’s supposed to be a unique designation, why do we end up with so many people named John or Jack or Bort? Names, to make a long story short, need to be more adventurous. We need to normalize having names crazy enough that

By CJ Tiernan There is an inherent desire, lurking in every performer, to be a star. We are drawn to the center of the spotlight, to shine brighter than anyone else, to stand out. It takes a great deal of grace (or a series of failures) to willingly step aside and yield the floor to someone else. But making a movie, as with most victories, is a team game. It takes all parties pulling the rope in the same direction to be successful. Sometimes, those supporting players do the

By CJ Tiernan Remember School? That was crazy, huh? We basically worked a 9-5 (well, 7-3) everyday but, unlike most jobs where you learn what you’re supposed to do and it gets easier, we had to keep learning new stuff. Like, all the time. A constant barrage of new stuff. It was tough! Throw in cliques, bullies, and hormones and you’re talking about running through a non-stop, ruthless gauntlet at an impressionable age. However, now that it’s in the past, there is a wistful

By CJ Tiernan Have you ever heard someone’s name and thought: "oh, that’s delicious!" Well I have, and I did something about it. I made this list. I went through all the celebs I could think of and weeded out the ones with animal names (see that Top 11 List here) or location names (like America Ferrera, A’ja Wilson, and Diamond Dallas Page) or vacation option names (like Lake Bell, Tom Cruise, and The Beach Boys) and was left with this sweet and savory list. Here are my Top

By CJ Tiernan Jim Carrey is one of the funniest actors to ever grace the silver screen. His comedy chops are unmatched by absolutely everyone in history (with the possible exception of Robin Williams. See my Top 11 on his Movies here). As such, he has amassed an impressive filmography over the last 35 or 40 years. His signature move is an elastic face coupled with a Gumby body. He moves his body as though he's made of rubberbands and Jell-O brand gelatin and his comedy is b

By CJ Tiernan With acting, as with most professions, there is typically a ramp-up period. You don’t hit the ground running, and you don’t expect to. You slowly learn and grow to reach your destiny of greatness over time. This is a list designed to honor the exception to the rule. For whatever reason, the following humans managed to blow us out of the water right off the bat (Yikes! That sentence was one idiom short of a Bingo). This is the list of my Top 11 Debuts by Actors

By CJ Tiernan There are few instances in this world where one sets out on a journey, bound for greatness, with receipt of an award as the goal (for the ‘gram? Maybe). It’s an honor just to be nominated, after all. That said, there are some pretty wonderful awards out there (I wonder if NFTs were around long enough to have an award). Below is a list of my Top 11 Awards, ranked by a combination of acclaim associated with the award and the design of the award itself. Please en

By CJ Tiernan What does Captain mean to you? In the military, they rank pretty high. On board a ship (sea or air), they are in control of your fate. In gym class, they pick teams. I think we can all agree those are three equally important jobs. Yes, the Captain is in charge of making important decisions. It is with that understanding I acknowledge the gravity of the following list. Below is my Top 11 List of my Favorite Captains throughout media (and one real life character

By CJ Tiernan Character actor is the term often used for people that make a career playing supporting roles rather than starring as your typical leading man or leading lady. When you call J.K. Simmons one of the most prolific character actors to ever grace the silver screen, you pay him great compliment. He has earned it. Simmons has worked alongside countless stars and held his own on screen against them all, having played menacing, loving, and even characters using only h

By CJ Tiernan In the immortal words of John Mulaney, “We’re all on board. We all love mom.” Our moms are almost universally meaningful to us. Caring, nurturing, steeped in unconditional love, the mother is the quintessential symbol of familial love. All that said, it’s fun to watch a show that plays on the trope by showing the other side of motherhood, or taking love and adoration too far. Below is a list of my Top 11 Favorite TV Show Moms I’ve ever seen and, as you will no

By CJ Tiernan Nicknames of historical figures are curious. For instance, did all the members of his cabinet refer to Abraham Lincoln as “Honest Abe?” Did he even like that nickname? Did they just whisper it in halls of the parliament building or wherever it is they did whatever they did or were they actually saying it to his face? Did that nickname even exist, or was it manufactured after he, so to speak, bit the bullet? I don’t know whether some of these nicknames were cra

By CJ Tiernan Canada has exported an incredible number of actors to Hollywood. Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Michael J. Fox, Keanu Reeves, John Candy, both Ryans Gosling and Reynolds, and Donald Sutherland are some of the laundry list of Canadian actors we've had the pleasure of being entertained by. Rachel McAdams belongs on the list. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and has starred in some of the best movies of the last two-plus decades. Below is a list of my Top 11 Fa

By CJ Tiernan A song has the power to hit you in the face; to bowl you over. It can strike an emotional chord that plucks your heartstrings like a harp. Or, sometimes it’s just really funny. Either way, when you hear a song that hits, you often seek that song out to discover more songs by the artist. Unfortunately, sometimes that song is by an artist that doesn’t exist. They have no sprawling oeuvre because they are simply a character in a TV Show or Movie. Alas, you can’t wi

By CJ Tiernan The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was one of the largest undertakings a studio has ever engaged in. At the time of my publishing this list, there are 37 movies that have been released so far, earning more than 32 billion dollars at the box office (Achoo! Sorry, that number is nothing to sneeze at). It is kind of big deal. This particular list is focused on the beginning stages of the MCU (Phases 1 through 3), ranging from the movie that started it all (Iron Ma

By CJ Tiernan When you watch the Pilot episode of a TV Show, you get to see the foundation. You are given some sense of who the players are and where the story is headed. However, many shows have their characters evolve and grow as the show goes on. This leads to the need for new characters. Anytime a TV Show can introduce a new member into the established cast, in a manner that is additive, it's impressive. It requires great writing to establish a need for the character and

By CJ Tiernan Will Ferrell burst on the comedy scene in the mid-'90s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. He was fearless in his commitment to the bit. It seemed as though he was willing to push the audio/visual medium as far as possible for a laugh. He quickly became the star there. He walked away in '02 to pursue a film career full time. I reckon I'm not the only one to feel this was a good decision. He was an absolute staple in comedy movies throughout the 2000s. Below

By CJ Tiernan Adages, Idioms, Axioms and Proverbs. These are phrases that we use, some almost daily, to convey our thoughts and our meanings. They're often things we've heard from others over and over again and they serve as a shortcut (our brain is always down to clown with a shortcut) to deliver our message, or an opportunity to avoid answering the truly daunting questions like "How are you" and "How have you been?" I am always positively smitten when I encounter a characte

By CJ Tiernan Flying. There are few super powers quite as fantastic as flying. Humans have yet to achieve this power outside of a flying machine (often referred to a plane). When will The Jetsons become a reality? I want my future with a side helping of being able to fold up my space ship and carry it as a briefcase. Or, you know, just magic. Can we invent magic and fly that way? That'd be sick. Anyway, I compiled a list of my favorite characters that take flight in movies an