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) and used to gather 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 aski

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 Shakespeare once wrote something about names and flowers (C’mon, you know the one). Anyway, he was wrong. A name can make or break the essence of a character. Han Solo tells us he’s a lone wolf. Ted Lasso tells us he’s in charge of corralling a group of individuals. Mickey Mouse tells us he’s a mouse. Sometimes, the writer just goes wild with it. Princess Consuela Banana Hammock is a name a character (who already has a name) makes up for themselves. Inigo Mont

By CJ Tiernan This two-human combination was a racing comet through sound and space. They whizzed by, lit up the night sky, and then – poof – 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 right, these

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 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 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 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 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 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 (