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 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 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 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 Between approximately 252 million and 66 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth (they may have also RULED the earth but, to date, no dinosaur crowns have been located in the fossil records). Freaking dinosaurs, man. They are just a breathtakingly awesome concept. Creatures as large as 120 or 130 feet long that weighed 100 tons or more is just insane. Plus, with the curious manner of their sudden demise, the true-crime crowd should be champing at the bit t

By CJ Tiernan Disney World has four distinct theme parks in Orlando, Florida: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and one that keeps getting renamed but I think is currently called Hollywood Studios. EPCOT was the second of these four parks to open and stands as my favorite one. EPCOT is an acronym for E xperimental P rototype C ommunity o f T omorrow and was a land of the future in Walt Disney's eyes. It came to fruition well after his death, but was designed to honor the

By CJ Tiernan Amusement parks are the bees knees. The proverbial cat's pajamas. I have been to Universal multiple times over the years and have always loved my time there. Now I haven't been to Universal Studios Florida in several years, so I haven't gotten the chance to explore DreamWorks Land. I've also had the pleasure of attending dating back to the early '90s, so I have several attractions on this list that no longer exist (insert sad face emoji here). This list doesn't