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 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). 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 as though he is made of rubberbands and Jell-O brand gelatin and his comedy is better for it. Below is a list of the Top 1

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 Production Design is the term used to describe the creation of the visual world of the film. It is the sets and props that one sees on screen. If asked to describe it like one of your French girls, you’d call it the Mise-en-scène, which translates to “placing on stage.” Long story short, it’s everything you see in front of the camera or the physical world of the film. Color, design, placement, lighting, and so much more go into sculpting a world that we believ

By CJ Tiernan Fun fact: You can actually do a countdown from 11 to 1 using movie titles as the numbers (you can actually go all the way through number 146, but I won't waste your time). Please enjoy as I demonstrate: Ocean’s Eleven (2001) 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) District 9 (2009) 8 Mile (2002) Seven (1995) Six Degrees of Separation (1993) Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) Fantastic Four (2005) ¡Three Amigos! (1986) Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) One Flew Over the

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 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 Creating something new is hard. To conjure something from nothing takes time and effort. This is a list showcasing people braggadociously showing off their skills. They have created something new, inside of something they created. My list, drawn from books, movies, and TV shows, illustrates invention within creation. Hat tip to all you intrepid writers. This is my Top 11 List of the Greatest Fictional Games in the history of fiction. 1. Jumanji – Jumanji - M

By CJ Tiernan Over the years, my vernacular has become heavily populated with movie lines. There are certain circumstances that arise that 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 is

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 like that, you will 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

By CJ Tiernan Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. If you're in the midwest like me, you experience cold, snowy days imploring you to while away your hours indoors by the fire with a mug of cocoa in hand watching Christmas movies. Nearly every Christmas movie has its foundation built from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol . One of the main characters has a change of heart at the end and discovers the true meaning of Christmas and basic human decency. My dad like

By CJ Tiernan Magic Kingdom is known as "The Happiest Place on Earth" (step aside DMV). It is a magical wonderland full of child-like awe and impossible thrills. You get to enter a piece of history and nostalgia, a world from various Disney properties, and have an uncompromising blast with friends and family. I have everlasting memories of spending time in Disney World, as I was fortunate enough to return over and over again as a kid. The rides on this list are steeped in the

By CJ Tiernan Normally, I try to create lists to spread positivity in the world. "So shines a good deed in a weary world," if you will. I'm gonna level with you. You probably shouldn't read this list. If you haven't seen these movies, then there are spoilers ahead but, much more pressingly, these are moments in movies that live rent-free in my head. I have essentially compiled a list of things you shouldn't watch if you haven't already seen them. They are gross, graphic, and

By CJ Tiernan We've all had a moment when watching a movie where we saw something that doesn't exist in our world and thought "aw man, I wish that was real." Whether it is a place, a person, or a thing, we've all had that desire. For me, it is often the mode of transportation the characters use. I just want for there to be flying cars already. C'mon, people. Let's make flying cars a thing. In lieu of that reality, we can simply appreciate all the cool stuff we see on screen (

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 First off, I want to clarify that this list covers movies that contain extra-terrestrial beings, whether in space or on Earth. It is not limited exclusively to the Xenomorph-littered series that began with Ridley Scott and Sigourney Weaver back in the '70s. Both Alien and Aliens are in my Top 400 Movies of all time (but unfortunately don't make the cut for this list), but I haven't seen all of the Alien movies and I'm not even sure there are 11 to create an enti

By CJ Tiernan Will Ferrell burst on the comedy scene in the mid-'90s 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 is a list of my

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 character

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. When will The Jetsons become a reality? I want my future with a side 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 and these are my Top 11 Flying movie c