By CJ Tiernan This two-human combo was a racing comet through sound and space. They whizzed by, lit up the night sky, and then – poof – before we knew it, it was over. Alan Menken was the composer and Howard Ashman was the lyricist for an absolute musical dream team. They wrote songs for Disney staples like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, as well as an Off-Broadway reimagining of Little Shop of Horrors that became the basis for the 1986 movie. That’s

By CJ Tiernan A mockumentary is a film that is crafted like a documentary in almost every way. It is telling a story with talking heads, wherein the characters are interviewed. They may break the fourth wall and the camera work will often utilize techniques like “shaky cam” that mimic a handheld, improvisational style. The difference is, the story and the characters (almost always) aren’t real. It is a small, but important difference, allowing what is otherwise an often sto

By CJ Tiernan Over the years, my vernacular has become heavily populated with movie lines. There are certain circumstances that arise which you can more or less set your timepiece to me delivering a line from a movie, like Woody with a pull string. Off the dome, I’m remembering “Reach for the sky,” “This town ain’t big enough for the two of us,” “There’s a snake in my boot,” and “Somebody poisoned the waterhole.” In that sense, I'm a walking if-then statement. One’s youth i

By CJ Tiernan Video games have become so much more than a way to pass the time or a device over which to bond. People make money, have careers even, based around the playing of video games. Isn't it wonderful? I'm not actually particularly good at playing them, and as I get older I find myself distancing more and more from playing, but I sure do enjoy it. My favorite games are largely multiplayer games. I don't play many solo games anymore. I find a little voice in the back o

By CJ Tiernan I haven't seen a lot of movies from this range of time. I was born in 1988, so movies from 1969 on back weren't regularly ones I would stumble upon. In fact, a majority of the movies on this list were ones I saw as a kid (as five of them are animated). I'd say they're all rated G or PG, but some of them came out so long ago they predate the MPAA. That may or may not be true, but the rating system back in the day was crazy. Have you seen "Splash"? That movie is r

By CJ Tiernan When creating a sequel to a movie, often the deciding factor is whether or not the first one was successful. For that reason, a sequel (or prequel or remake) has a lot to live up to. So when a sequel is able to surpass the greatness of the original, it is worthy of standing up and taking notice. Below is a list of my 11 favorite sequels to movies I've ever seen that I felt were even better than the original. 1. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (200

By CJ Tiernan When you first hurdle the childhood benchmark of learning to read, it opens up a world of possibilities. Suddenly, you can pick up a book and read it all on your own (Awesome!). You can both explore a new world, and learn and grow doing it. It creates your first real moment of autonomy as a human being and sends your squishy little brain into overdrive. Below is a list of my 11 favorite books that I read as a child. I read these books over and over and over agai

By CJ Tiernan The song that kicks off an animated show is often the baited hook that brings you into the episode. Back in the day of live television, a show would attempt to ensnare you (or, as it the case on this list: an unsuspecting child) immediately after whatever previous show you just watched, so you didn't change the channel. They come on loud and strong and typically offer an extremely abbreviated sense of the plot and/or characters. I love the energy of a TV show th