By CJ Tiernan You know that feeling you get when you’re watching a movie and your empathy senses are triggered to such a degree that you feel a visceral response? The hairs on the nape of the neck stand on end and feel flushed, full of adrenaline and flooded with energy. Those are aesthetic chills and man alive can they feel powerful. I often find that if a movie triggers that response in me, I like the movie a lot and weigh it heavily in my rankings. Below is a cultivated

By CJ Tiernan Jay Dixit, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 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

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 troupe 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 We’ve all heard of the one-hit wonder. A band has a huge hit that everyone loves and follows that single up with…nothing. They never recapture the glory of that one hit. It must be an odd existence to dedicate an entire career to music and only be known for one hit. Meanwhile, John Williams is out here getting nominated for an Oscar every year or two (seriously, he’s been nominated 54 times for scoring films). Well, this list is dedicated to the music artists

By CJ Tiernan Canada has exported an incredible number of actors. 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 Favorite Movies

By CJ Tiernan The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was one of the largest undertakings a studio has ever taken. 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 first movie (Iron Man) to the epic conc

By CJ Tiernan Dire Straits was a British rock band formed in the late '70s and they performed on and off until the mid '90s. They featured Mark Knopfler on lead guitar and lead vocals, David "Pick" Withers on Drums and percussion, David Knopfler on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, and John Illsley on bass and backing vocals. I know you had the same thought I did: how in the world is it the only guy without a guitar in his hand is the guy nicknamed "Pick." It just feels like

By CJ Tiernan Sometimes you hear a song and it just knocks your socks off. You attempt to consume the artist's entire oeuvre or just listen to the song over and over again. But then again, sometimes a song is a miss. It doesn't hit right. It doesn't stick in your mind. You absorb it and move on. That is, until another artist comes along, dusts off the old track, and finds something new in it. Whether it's a new spin or just done in the artist's typical style, a change of scen

By CJ Tiernan Whether written for adults or kids, there are certain movies and stories that follow groups of children. It can be a difficult task for a film production for several reasons. One is simply that there are child labor laws that limit how much a child actor can work in a day, limiting your window to film a scene. Another reason is that it is hard to find a great child actor. They lack the experience to draw on to always be able to create and embody a character. How