Pixar Movies ranked

The Pixar was up until couple of years back consider a company that can do no wrong. And than Cars 2 happened. Nevertheless Pixar provided us with some of the best animated movies ever made. When I saw the first trailer for their movie Inside Out it really made me think about their entire lineup of movies, which led me to write this article. So without further ado lets start with the list.

14. Cars 2

The thing with Pixar movies is that you could say even for their weakest movie that is still pretty decent. This was true until Cars 2 came out. This is the only Pixar movie I consider bad, and I am usually lenient on animated movies. Sure the animation is great, but that is pretty much the only good thing I could say about this movie. And the amount of bad car puns in this movie is just jarring. And the whole shift of Mater now being a main character of the film, and him playing a spy was really a poor choice.

13. Cars

Amongst the all early Pixar movies this one received the worst reception from both critics and general public. And more than any Pixar movie this one felt like the most product placement oriented. Come to think about it this is the only Pixar film that doesn't have any humans, and doesn't even acknowledge the existence of humans, which felt kind of weird to me. The story in this one is pretty generic. Its plot bears a striking resemblance to that of Doc Hollywood. One of this biggest reasons for both Cars movies being at the bottom o my list is the fact that it doesn't have a single character I really like or that particularly funny. Mater was supposed to be the most comedic character but they went overboard with him, and quite frankly made him annoying (at least for me).

12. Monsters University

You could say that there is a general rule that prequels don't work. Aside from X-Men First class and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly I can't think of any other prequel I can say that is great (Godfather 2 was both a prequel and a sequel to first one). And this is also true of MU. When I've heard that they were making this movie, especially since it came after Cars 2 and Brave (which I felt was just decent), this one spelled disaster. The idea of following Mike and Sulley through their college years didn't seem for me like a good idea from the get-go. While the final movie wasn't all that bad, it also didn't come up near to Pixar standards that all of us were used to. There were definitely some really funny jokes and some interesting visual things happening on screen, but the hold college thing started to grow tired really fast. The fact that there were so many college movies clichés in this one managed to make this movie not as enjoyable as it could have been.

11. Brave

 Brave is one of those movies I expected to be amazing. It didn't quite live up to my expectations, but nevertheless it was still an enjoyable movie. The whole empowered female aspect made this movie somewhat more mature than some of their previous work. There were also some interesting twist and turns that genuinely surprised me. Also the ending is particularly well done. However the tone in this movie is very uneven. It jumps back and and fort between some serious and some joyful stuff. While this mix might and have worked in some other movies I feel that it didn't really work all that well in this one. With certain tweaks this could have been one of the Pixar classics, that being said this is still a good movie. 

10. Monsters, Inc

I didn't really enjoy this movie first time when I saw it, I was watching it in bits and pieces and I felt overall that it wasn't that funny. Watching it later I've learned to appreciate it. John Goodman and Billy Crystal did one of the best voice-work jobs I've seen in an animated movie. The back and fort between Mike and Sulley throughout the entire movie was really fun.  Premise for this movie was interesting enough but I feel they've could have gone much further with the whole thing. Watching it years later made me realize an interesting think about all Pixar movies in general - none of them have all that memorable villains (aside from Latzo from Toy Story 3). This is particularly true for this film At the end of the day I've enjoyed the jokes and those few heartfelt moments that were in this movie.

9. A Bug's Life

When people talk about Pixar movies that they feel are weak this one usually comes to mind. This is mainly because of the fact that most of the Pixar movies were considered amazing (at least until Cars 2 came out). Another unfortunate thing that was going against this movie was the fact that Dreamworks released the same year their movie called Antz. It was easy to draw the comparison between the two, and it was general consensus that Antz was a better movie. While I do agree that Antz is a better movie (only slightly), I still feel that this is a great movie. This was also the first 3D feature length movie that I saw in theaters (I was too young for original Toy Story which I actually saw a year after A Bug's Life). So you can imagine that my mind was blown at the time. It is been a while since I saw this movie, and I guess that my feeling could change about it. But for the nostalgic reasons it deserves number 9 spot on my list. 

   

7. Toy Story

I can only imagine the way in which people minds were blown when this movie came out back in 1995. However as I said above this wasn't the first 3D animated, so I didn't have that excitement of unknown watching this movie. But still this movie really impressed me. This movie definitely deserves a special place in film history since it revolutionized animated movies genre. A great movie and a true classic. However I still feel that Pixar manage to improve their craft over the years and they manage to make well 8 better ones (in my opinion).

  
8. Toy Story 2

This is I feel the breaking point for my list where from now on each of the following me can be considered amazing (in my book at least). I remember that when there were talks about a Toy Story sequel it was supposed to be a direct-to-DVD. However since the whole project ended up costing more than anticipated and I guess better than anticipated it was theatrically released. While the first Toy Story movie was great and a true animated classic I feel this one really improved upon its predecessor. There are not that many trilogies that get better with each movie (only LOTR comes to mind). I know saying that Toy Story 2 is better than one its a bit controversial. I feel that storytelling was better and jokes worked better in this one. I may be alone in this, but hey that is my opinion. 

6. Ratatouille

Ratatouille work on so many levels. The mixture of action, romance and family drama all work very well. This movie really made me think about how inventive can computer animated movies can be. This movie with introduction of food critic Anton Ego (wonderfully voiced by Peter O'Toole) even makes some serious statements about the creation of art. While the premise of this movie, with a rat wanting to become a world famous chef, seems pretty silly. Brad Bird actually made it make sense and he made it somewhat grounded in reality. This is movie that I feel will better work with adults, although kids will enjoy it a lot too.

5. The Incredibles

This is one of the better superhero movies period, and amongst the animated ones it is the very best. I know that this is personal favorite of a lot of people, but for me it missed a few tender moments to really get in that position. This one is arguably the most mature Pixar movie both story and joke wise. This is I feel how Fantastic Four movies should have been like. The way in which this entire movie is constructed is simply impeccable. The whole introduction of a superhero family that tries to live a normal life in spite of their superpowers was really well made. And the entire sequence of them coming back to being superheroes was real fun. Third act I feel could have worked better with a better fleshed out villain, but that didn't really tarnished my overall enjoyment of this movie. 

4. Up

The first 15 minutes of this movie are pure genius. In those first 15 minutes we get to see the pretty much the entire life of Carl and Ellie chronicled in a very beautiful way. The way in which that segment ends almost put me to tears. After that we get to Carl going on a great adventure that involves a boyscout, talking dogs, a weird bird and a whole bunch of craziness. From the point when Carl decides to embark on this adventure basically hilarity ensues. Aside from that opening scene there were also a couple of great scenes that provided me with some great memories - introduction of Dug, the talking dog, comes to mind.

3. Toy Story 3

There are good ways and bad ways to end a trilogy and then there is Toy Story 3 which provided us with one of the best endings a trilogy can have. All of the new characters introduced in this one were really good with Ken and Latzo being the two standouts. Sure the story is take on The Great Escape, but it is very well done. When we put that The Great Escape comparison aside this movie had some really enjoyable scenes. The way in which Latzo's back-story was presented was just wonderfully done. The ending however has to be my favorite part of this movie,  since it actually made me tear up.  

2. WALL-E

The idea of making an animated movie with almost no dialog, seems like a hard task. We all know how kids can get restless at times, so making a quiet movie, with reliance on just visual gags and visual storytelling seems like a really hard sell. However if someone can pull this of that is Pixar. Wall-E is one of those movies that works almost on every level. It is funny, it manages to stay interesting all the way through. It is also in a way a topical movie since it points the finger at certain things that are bad about capitalism (consumerism in particular). It also raises awareness about the environment. And I got to admit, Wall-E is probably one of the cutest animated characters.

1. Finding Nemo

I was really debating how to rank movies from 6 to 2, but what is going to be my number 1 was never put in question. And that movie is Finding Nemo. I can't really point out what really makes this movie better than others on my list. I guess it has a lot to do with my personal preferences and my general interest in sea life. Generally speaking I like movies that have a great traveling adventure as its centerpiece. One thing I particularly liked in this movie were all the side character. They were all in their own way quite interesting. Ellen DeGeneres was simply amazing as Dory in this one. Lets just hope that they can pull the same magic with Finding Dory.

 Over the last couple of movies it seem that Pixar is losing their mojo. After a streak of amazing movie their last three weren't up to those high standards. Since they didn't have a movie in 2014, they will actually have two in 2015. Inside Out looks like the movie that could be one of their classics. Lets just hope that I'm not wrong on this one.

Dying Light - review

Top 10 Found Footage movies

Many probably associate found-footage style of film making with horror genre, and most of found footage movies are that actually. However there are some of them (two of which are on my list), that try to do differentiate themselves from other movies in the same genre by doing it in found footage style. Whenever I speak with someone about found footage movies I always mention how I'm really tired of them, and how they aside from that gimmick don't really have anything new to give to us. But every once in a while there comes a movie (that is done in found-footage style) that blows me away, proving that there still some cool things you can do by utilizing hand-held camera. So here we go with top 10 found footage movies.

10. The Blair Witch Project

This is the movie that started it all. There were movies prior to this one that had that hand held filming kind of vibe (see Cannibal Holocaust), but this movie really popularized the genre.  I really bought in to the hype for this movie. I came in to it with a blank slate not really knowing what is about and what kind of movie it is. Watching it back then when it was first released and not knowing much about it was probably the best way to watch that movie. And as far as I can remember I was really creeped out by it. Not really knowing if I was watching an watching an actual movie or some documentary footage was what made this movie enjoyable. However watching it years later and knowing what it is I came to not really carrying about this movie. As a matter of fact I found it kind of dull and boring. But for its legacy it deserves number 10 spot on my list.

9. V/H/S/2

It is up to debate, but for me this is the strongest movie from this V/H/S movie series thus far.Much like with other anthology movies there were some segments that really stand out, quality wise, and those that are particularly weak. For me the best segment of this movie (and of every V/H/S in general) is Safe Haven directed by Gareth Evans (dude that directed The Raid and its sequel). Basically this segment deals with a news crew that infiltrates Indonesian cult and a fucked up things going inside of this cult. This segment is just amazing and it pretty much makes every other pale in comparison. Another really good one from this set is zombie themed A Ride in the Park. Slumber Party Alien Abduction (story is pretty much explained in the title) is for me by far the weakest one, and I would even recommend skipping it all together.

8. The Last Exorcism

This is one of those movies that really surprised me, in a good way. Sure it is yet another exorcism movie, but what makes it great is some really clever scare scenes. Sure there are some scenes that are reminiscent of those from The Exorcist (spider walk from that movie comes to mind), but it still manages to take a spin on them. There are definitely some genuinely creepy scenes in this movie. The whole found footage thing made this movie even creepier.

I got to admit the ending of this movie is kind of stupid, but that still didn't take a lot from my overall enjoyment of the movie.

7. Lake Mungo

Lake Mungo is truly a weird little movie. It is basically a horror mocumentaary. It tells the story of this Sixteen year old Alice Palmer who drowns while swimming with her family. After her death the strange things start to happen at her house. And I don't want to reveal anything more in order to avoid spoilers. This is a well executed ghost story that is genuinely compelling.

6. Afflicted

Another indie horror flick on this list, that probably not that many people is familiar with. This is the story of two childhood friend Cliff and Derek (they are also the directors of this film), who have decided to travel all over the world in order to film their web series. Basically one thing leads to antoher and Derek gets inffected with a strange mysterious disease with some strange symptoms. Basically he becomes superhuman with super strength, speed and agility with some drawbacks. This movie is a true testament that there are still some interesting ideas that can be implemented in found footage movies. This movie is very well shot (at least for found footage movie), and being that is a low budget movie it manages to pull off some genuinely impressive effects.

5. End of Watch

It seems that found footage movie genre is reserved for horror movies, but every once in a while comes a movie in a different genre that manages to do something interesting with found footage technique and that is End of Watch. This movie was directed by David Ayer (writer of Training Day), and it follows two cops Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Zavala (Michael Peña) roaming the streets of L.A. and searching for criminals. It is in many ways similar to Training Day but much more brutal and more real. But the dynamic between the two leads is what really makes this movie rise above movies from similar genre.

4. Trollhunter

 This movie follow a group of student who are investigating a series of bear killings. In their search they stumble upon a mysterious hunter who turns out to be a troll hunter. Of course they didn't believe that trolls exist, but soon they found out. This movie is just cool in so many ways. And that dude that is playing the troll hunter is all sorts of bad ass. I really enjoy the dry humor of this movie, it really gelled well with all the craziness that was happening on the screen. Troll design in this movie is quite impressive. Variety in both appearance and size of these trolls is something to behold. Great movie that mixes moment of genuine tension with humor in a nice way.  

3. Chronicle

 The Chronicle was one of those movies that I've started watching with a very low expectations, and I was really blown away by it. This is a strange, you can say superhero origins story. Here we follow three high school seniors who gained telekinetic abilities from an unknown object. At first we get to see them use their newfound abilities to basically prank people and for some personal gain. This is until a shy kid called Andrew (Dane DeHaan) starts using his abilities for more sinister purposes. The whole introduction of the move with kids discovering their abilities and using them was presented in an interesting way, that we don't get to see in that many movies that deal with people with superhuman abilities. To see them using their abilities for stupid shit at first was quite refreshing. Also special effects for a movie with a budget of 12 million $ were pretty impressive. I feel that three leads did an amazing job, acting wise, With Dane DeHaan standing out. It was also cool (and weird in a way) for me to Michael B. Jordan, who I remember as a kid Wallace from the first season of The Wire.

2. Cloverfield

Cloverfield was one of those found footage movies that really surprised me. Watching the trailer I didn't really know what to expect, and the fact that its release date was set in January had me worried. And the movie itself started kind of weak with a bunch of douchey teens having a party. Thankfully this only lasts for about 10 minutes, next thing you see is head of Statue of Liberty rolling down the street. And everything that happens from then on is bad ass as well.  Shaky cam in this movie is used to a great effect. Throughout the movie we get to see only a few glimpses of the monster, until the very end when we get to see it in its full glory, and boy is it intimidating. 

1. [REC] and [REC] 2

First REC is my number one found footage movie. I was thinking of putting the second [REC] movie lower on the list, but in the end I decided to go the other way and put it next to first one. It was a way for me to simply highlight more movies. Basically these two movies play well off each either, where the second one basically follows where the first one left of and expands it in some really interesting ways. The first [REC] movie has got to be one of the scariest and most tense movies I've ever seen. And those last 10 minutes of this movie, boy they are great. It is one of my favorite zombie movies.

Predestination - review

Spreig brothers have become straight up genre directors. Firs they did zombie movie (UNDEAD) then they did vampire movie (Daybreakers) and know with this one they decided to do a time-travel movies. As far as their previous movies go I didn't really cared that much for their zombie flick UNDEAD, but I really enjoyed their take on vampire genre with Daybreakers. It was refreshing to see a true old-school vampire movie, especially after all those terrible Twilight movies. Their movies usually have a bunch of things borrowed from the movies of that genre, but they also add to them their stamp and they have at least a couple of interesting and unique ideas. This movie doesn't borrow that many ideas like their previous ones. It manages to keep its identity and create something truly unique.

Ethan Hawke (who was also in Daybreakers) plays unnamed temporal agent.. He works for Temporal Bureau, a secret organization that sends temporal agents back in time in order to prevent major crimes of happening. The terrorist known as The Fizzle Bomber is the only one that managed to elude them thus. So Ethan Hawke's character gets sent back to 1970s in order to stop The Fizzle Bomber from performing his most devastating terrorist act where he kills about 11 000 people in New  York.. Back in the 70s he works as a bartender, and there he meets a male costumer named John (played by Sarah Snook) who has an interesting story. . That story starts with - "When I was a little girl...", and I will say no more. Her back-story encompasses about half of a movie, but it is a great back-story. After her back-story ends then we get into time travel stuff. I won't go into anymore details about the plot, but lets just say that it gets quite interesting, and like many time-travel movies quite confusing. intricasis It is one of those movies that you would probably need to see twice in order to understand and comprehend all of its intricacies.

Ethan Hawke, who was in my book good in just about every movie I saw him in, and this movie is no different. However the true star of this movie is Sarah Snook, her performance in this movie is just mesmerizing. It is a great movie that manage to keep me entertained all the way through. There are bunch of interesting twist and revelations in the second part of this movie that really made me think about the things that happened earlier.

This is I feel the best Spreig brothers movie to date.

8.5/10

This War of Mine - REVIEW

This War of Mine is a game that I didn't play prior to making a list of top 10 video games of 2014, but if  I did it would have definitely made it on my list. This War of Mine is a war survival game that is somewhat based on war in Bosnia (1992-1995). Instead of playing a soldier you are put in the shoes of several civilians and you are basically trying to survive in the harsh environment.

Story of this game is kept to a minimum. You don't really know why and how this war started, you just know that you are a part of this unnamed conflict.You get a small amount of the back-story of each of the playable characters (this back-story is given through text that gives some explanation of who are the characters you are playing).  This war of mine provides a bit slice of reality. Usually in games bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people. This war of mine reminds us that world (and war) doesn't work that way. It is quite refreshing to have a game that deals with some really complex issues like this game does.

At the beginning of the game you take a role of three survivors with each having some special perk These include things like - good cooking, bargaining skills, trained at combat, good at sneaking etc. Aside from this characters are different in some other things - some are more affected by certain things that happen in the world, some get happy when they aid people while some are apathetic and so on. There is a total of 12 different playable characters. Even though you start with three playable characters, and more survivors will join you down the line

The game consists of day and night cycles. During the day you will spend time in your shelter where you need to focus on crafting and taking care of your survivors. You can craft beds, weapons, radio, reinforce shelter etc. As far as taking care of the survivors goes you have to feed them so they don't starve to death, and if their are wounded threat them with medicine, or have them sitting or laying in the bad if they are tired. Also occasionally some people will knock on your door wither offering a trade or asking for some help.

During the night you go on these scavenging missions. Only one survivor at the time can go on scavenging mission Basically on these missions you will visit different locations in order to get materials and parts you need for crafting and food for survivors you control.  On some of these locations you will find some NPC that are either hostile or friendly (of course if you steal their stuff they will not remain that friendly). What you do in outside world reflect the mood of your character. If you kill innocents or if you steal from some people your character might become sad and depressed. Also if your survivor dies this will affect other survivors you control. On this scavenging mission you will mostly approach them with stealth, you can also fight but you will be at disadvantage. Getting firearms in this game is really hard, so when you are about to face a dude with a shotgun and your only weapon is a pocket knife it is not recommended to engage them. Even when you encounter other civilians like yourself who are basically trying to survive decision on how to deal with them can be game changing. You can either help them, trade with them or kill them and rob them. Whatever you do will have some ramifications on your character. You can also hide in shadows and do stealth attack which inflicts more damage but can't actually be lethal, you still have to fight it off. Each survivor has a limited amount of inventory slots in their backpack. The number of inventory slots varies amongst the survivors (ranges from 8 to 17). Your first instinct would be to send those with most inventory slots. But you can't always send the same guy, since every survivor needs to sleep. You need to exit location where you are scavenging because if the time runs out you will have to spend the rest of the night outside, which may lead to you being robbed, wounded or even killed. Before going on missions aside from choosing who will go on scavenging missions you need to pick what will survivors that stay do. They can either guard or sleep. Since you can get raided during the night, having at least one guy guarding the place is pretty much a necessity.

This game can get really difficult at times. Maintaining all the things can be a very daunting task. It is hard to keep track of just about every little thing that you need do from getting materials you need for crafting, getting food. Deciding what is more needed at given time, as far as scavenging missions go, can be really hard. Paying attention on all of the systems can get sometimes get very overwhelming. And trust me the game can get very difficult. Survivors don't only care about surviving, they care about other survivors; they have ethical lines that they will not cross. And even if you cross those ethical lines there are going to be some real consequences. Your character can be emotionally destroyed. So even if you have a lot of food and materials you could still end up with people being so depressed that they simply won't do anything or even leave. Decision making in this game is really crucial for survival.

 Because of its difficulty you will be probably replaying it a lot before you get to the end, however each playtrough is different. Locations you visit stay the same with different playthroughs but item locations and situations you encounter at this locations are randomized. Also your game might start in summer and you wouldn't need to deal with keeping place warm. On another playthrough you may start during winter where keeping your place warm at all time can get very hard.Music and graphics in this game are pretty minimalistic but they very well establish the atmosphere that this game is trying to convey. It is definitely one of the most thought provoking games I've played in recent years. It is an amazing game that everyone should try out.

8.7/10

Top 10 SImpsons episodes of all time

Picking a top 10 episodes of a show that is currently in its 26 season and has 550+ episodes seems like a daunting task. And for what is worth I saw pretty much all of the episodes. And when I think about episode after season 10 for the most part pale in comparison to previous ones. Even when I compare some of the best episodes from season 10 through 26 there is actually only one that made it on my list. However even picking some of the best episodes out of those initial 10 seasons was pretty hard as well. And there were definitely some hard cuts.

10. The Springfield Files - season 8 episode 10

This is for me one of the best cross-over episodes I’ve seen. You guessed it; this is a cross-over with X files. That being said this episode includes a lot of the references to that show. Also David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson guest star, and also Leonard Nimoy shows up.

After Homer gets drunk at Moe’s, instead of driving home he must walk. On his way home he encounters a glowing alien. So agents Mulder and Scully show up in order to figure out what is really going on here. This is a very clever episode that has some of the best visual gags of any The Simpsons episode.

Favorite quote

Scully - "Now we're gonna run a few tests. This is a simple lie detector. I'll ask you a few yes or no questions and you just answer truthfully. Do you understand?"

Homer - "Yes."

[lie detector explodes]

9. 22 Short Films About Springfield – season 7 episode 21

This episode is basically consisted of bunch of skits, with each one being about 1 minute long. And within of that 1 minute we get to see a little slice of life from a bunch of different Simpsons characters. Just seeing a small part of the day of several characters from the Simpsons was just pure fun. They managed to make each story kind of connected in certain way. I also felt that each skit really worked and was rather funny.   

Favorite quote

Waylon Smithers - "I'm allergic to bee stings, they cause me to... uh... die."

8. Bart's Comet - Season 6, Episode 14

In this episode Bart discovers a comet that is on a collision course with Springfield. After few ideas that got shut down on how to deal with the comet, Homer suggests that they should stay in the bomb shelter that Ned Flanders built. And this is where the shenanigans ensue. Since shelter is too big for everyone to fit in they had to decide who will face the doom. Ned Flanders volunteers. Homer feels guilty and leaves as feel, and other townspeople decide to follow him as well. And in the good old Simpsons fashion the comet enters atmosphere, becomes really small and destroys only Ned’s shelter.  

Favorite quote

Kent Brockman - "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: democracy simply doesn't work."

Bart - "What's really amazing is this is exactly what Dad said would happen!"

Lisa - "Yeah, Dad was right!"

Homer - "I know, kids, I'm scared too!"

7. Trilogy of Error - season 12 episode 18

This is one of those post 10^th season episode that is actually really great. This is essentially a parody of movies like Go and Run Lola Run with a touch of Pulp Fiction. This episodes is made up of three shorts that showcase the day of 3 Simpsons characters – Bart, Homer and Lisa. These stories are connected and overlap in certain ways, kind of like in mentioned movies. In Homer’s day he has to deal with his finger getting cut off by Marge. Lisa’s day shows us her way on to the school science fair. Bart’s day deals with him and Millhouse finding some fireworks. Amazing episode.

Favorite quotes

Homer (drunk) - "Have you ever seen that Blue Man Group? Total ripoff of the Smurfs. And the Smurfs, well, they SUCK."

Marge - "I'm sorry!"

Homer - "Sorry doesn't put thumbs on the hand, Marge!"

 

6. Homer the Great – season 6 episode 16

In this episode Homer discovers that Lenny and Karl are members of ancient secret society called Stonecutters. Basically the members of this society enjoy lots of privileges.    This is for me the ultimate Homer episode. In this episode we get to see Homer in his stupid glory. They managed to poke fun of Freemasonry in a great way. And that song We Do is probably my favorite Simpsons song.

Favorite quote

Homer - "I swear, that if I ever reveal the secrets of the Stonecutters, that my stomach shall become bloated, and my head plucked of all but three hairs..."

Moe Szyslak - "Um, I think he should have to take a different oath."

Number One - "Everybody takes the same oath!"

5. Homer at the Bat - season 3 episode 17

This episode follows the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team, led by Homer, having a winning season and making the championship game. So in order to win the championship Mr Burns bring out some of the famous players from the big league.  However before the game 8 of 9 players suffer some misfortunes that prevent them from playing. Each of these misfortunes is presented in a very hilarious way. Darryl Strawberry is the only one that can play. There is actually one scene where Bart heckles him that is pretty hilarious. Mr. Burns asking Don Mattingly to trim his sideburns was my favorite side gag from his episode.

Favorite quote

Mr. Burns - "All right, you ragtag bunch of misfits! You hate me, and I hate you even more. But without my beloved ringers, you're all I've got. So I want you to remember some inspiring words that someone else might have told you over the course of your lives, and go out there and win!"

4. Treehouse of Horror V – season 6, episode 6

Like many people I'm a big fan of Simpsons Halloween episodes. And this one is for me their best ever. It is consisted of 3 segments "The Shinning", "Time and Punishment", "Nightmare Cafeteria." The Shinning which is parody of Kubrick's movie The Shining is for me the best segment of any Halloween episode. It has so many great and classic lines. Time and punishment is amazing time-travel segment. I really enjoyed watching in which way Homer altered the future with things he did in the past. The last one is probably my least favorite of the three, but it still a great segment

Favorite quotes

Groundskeeper Willy - “Boy... you read my thoughts! You've got the Shinning.

Bart Simpson - “You mean "Shining".

Groundskeeper Willy - “Shh! You want to get sued”

Seymour Skinner  - "Relax, kids, I've got a GUT feeling Üter is around here. After all, isn't there a little Üter in all of us? In fact, you might even say we just ATE Üter and he's in our stomachs right now! Wait…scratch that one."

3.  Lemon of Troy - Season 6, Episode 24

In Lemon of Troy Shelbyville kids steal Springfield's sacred lemon tree, so Bart and his friends venture there to return the tree. Back in Springfield parent are worried about their kids missing, so Homer using Ned Flanders' RV, leads fathers in search of the boys. This is a great episode that shows in a great rivalry between two towns. The funniest thing about this episode is seeing Shelbyville versions of Springfield characters.

Favorite quote

Homer - "That tree's been in Springfield since the time of our forefathers. Give it back or we'll bust in there and take it!"

Shelby's Dad - "Bust in here and take it? You must be stupider than you look."

Homer - "Stupider like a fox!"

2. Marge vs. the Monorail – season 4 episode 12

This is one of those legendary episodes that pretty much shows up on every top 10 list of best Simpsons episodes, and hey it is on mine as well. This episode was also famous for being one of the episodes that Conan O'Brien wrote. This episode starts rather strong. After Mr. Burns gets fined (with 3 million $) for dumping nuclear waste in city park, the town meeting is held in order to figure out how to spend that money from that fine. I always enjoy watching these town meetings because of sheer randomness and hilarity that ensues. And the meeting ends with a great monorail song. So they decide to build a monorail, which is basically a disaster waiting to happen. Leonard Nimoy guest stars as himself, and Phil Hartman does an amazing job as a Lyle Lanley a salesman that well sell them the idea of building monorail.

Favorite quote

Marge - "Homer, there's a man here who thinks he can help you."

Homer - "Batman?"

Marge - "No, he's a scientist."

Homer - "Batman's a scientist."

Marge - "It's NOT Batman."

1. Last exit to Springfield – season 4 episode 17

This is my absolute favorite episode from the Simpsons. The plot of this episode revolves around Homer becoming union leader of Springfield’s Nuclear Power Plant and leading the workers of power plant in a strike in order to get their dental plan back. This episode has just about everything that made those early episodes great – great humor, some heart, and it has a real point to make (this time about Health Care). Also this episode had some of the best references of any Simpsons episode. One sequence that is a take on The Godfather 2 where Homer imagines that he is a Don is just amazing.

Favorite quotes

Mr. Burns - "This is a thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters. Soon, they'll have finished the greatest novel known to man."

Mr. Burns - "All right, let's see... "It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?" You stupid monkey."

Homer - "So what does this job pay?"

Lenny - "Nothing."

Homer - "D'oh!"

Lenny - "Unless you're crooked."

Homer - "WOOHOO!"

 

 

Top 10 movies of 2014

When I was first thinking about making this list I felt that there weren't that many great movies that came out in 2014, especially since movies like Boyhood, The Theory of Everything and The Grand Budapest Hotel weren't the movies I considered top 10 worthy. Not necessarily  because I didn't liked them, it is just because I don't consider them great. But the more I was thinking about about movies and looking at list of movies that came out in 2014, I realized that there were actually many great movies that came past year. So much so that Certain movies that I really enjoyed but didn't made it on the list - Fury, The Imitation Game, Selma, Foxcatcher, A Most Violent Year, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Of the big ones I haven't seen American Sniper and The Tale Princess Kaguya, but I'm pretty confident about my list regardless.

10. Nightcrawler

     This movie proved once again that Jake Gyllenhaal is legitimately a great actor. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a thief who starts shooting footage of accidents and crimes in Los Angeles and seellingt it to different news chanells. This movie is approprietly creepy with a really crazy performance from Jake Gylenhaal. Screenplay and editing were fantastic in this film.

9.Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat

       Edge of Tomorrow proved that Tom Cruise is still capable of making badass action movies. While this movie is a take on Groundhog Day, it managed to add some of its interesting quirks that made it unique. Emily Blunt is one of those actresses that I enjoy watching wherever she is in, and her character in this one was particularly amazing. The way in which her and Tom Cruise's character interacted was rather enjoyable. And those monsters looked really great. Although the ending was kinda on the weak side I still feel that everything that happened prior to that ending was amazing that merits its place at number 9 on my list. 

8.Captain America Winter Soldier

       This is my second favorite movie from Marvel universe, right behind The Avengers. The best thing about this movie were great action scenes all around with some great set pieces (that one with aircraft carier is probably my favorite). I also felt that Steve Rodgers's character was particularily well developed in this one. As much as this movie works as a great action movie it also works very well as a great spy thriller. Evem supportnig character got their time on the spotlight with Anthony Mackie as a Falcon being the true standout.

7.The LEGO Movie

        Phill Lord and Chris Miller in my book can't do wrong. Whenever I watch one of their trailers (and basically seeing whatever material they are tackling) I am always skeptical and basically expecting a train wreck. But each time they manage to surprise, and usually I consider their films to be one of the funniest of that year that it came out. They also had 22 Jump Street coming out this year which was also hilarious, but I preferred this movie. I fell that this is probably their best work to date. They managed to make that LEGO world rather interesting and funny. All of this was helped by great voice acting with Chris Pratt and Will Arnett doing particularly a great job. 

6.Gone Girl

          David Fincher is one of my favorite modern directors, so much so that I can say that aside from Alien 3 I enjoyed all of his movies. This movie is worth watching even for Rosamund Pike's performance alone. But when you add to that a complex and interesting relationship story, a role that is tailor made for Ben Affleck and sure direction from David Fincher you will have truly a great film, which this it is. This movie had Trent Raznor and David Fincher teaming up again, and it was for the best. The score for this movie was haunting and mesmerizing at the same time. The movie really captured the spirit of the book and it managed to even improved it in certain ways.    

5.Snowpiercer

          This is one of those movies that probably not that many people saw. It actually came in certain parts of the world in 2013 but its official US release was in 2014. It came simultaneously in theaters and on VOD. This movie is actually based on  French graphic novel and it was directed by Bong Joon-ho (who made two of the movies I enjoyed a lot - The Host and Memories of the Murder). This sci-fi story takes place in 2031 where some of the last surviving people live in this train which is organized in such way that poor people are in the last train living of these black brick of food (which I'm not going to reveal what are there made of), and rich people live in luxurious front wagons. The movie follows Chris Evans who leads the group of rebels on their journey to the front of the train in their try to overtake it. There are some crazy action scenes and performances (particularly from Tilda Swinton - you probably never seen her like this before) in this movie. This movie also works great as a political allegory basically showing us the all negative part of certain class structures. 

4.The Raid 2

           If you haven't seen first part of this movie immediately watch the first one and then watch this one. The first one really surprised with some of the greatest martial arts scenes, so much so that once I've heard that they were doing a sequel I was wondering how were they going to top that. And somehow they managed.  This movie pick up pretty much where first movie left of. The story this time is much more fleshed out, and instead of taking place in one apartment this time it takes place on several locations, which makes cinematography that much better. They also somehow manage to go even crazier with martial arts scenes. Hell they even have one car chase scene that puts to shame pretty much every car chase scene I've ever seen. This is one of the true action gems of last year.

3.Guardians of the Galaxy

        This movie is just pure fun. Watching this movie was the best theatre experiance I've had in 2014. James Gunn manage to take a material that seemed like a real tough sell and make it into something amazing. A movie that has a talking racoon and a talking tree (which pretty much says I am Groot) seems like a silly movie. While movie does have some silly moments (which are silly in a good way), it still managed to show some heart. This movie is flat out hilarious all the way trough. Even though the villians are kind of weak, the good thing about this film is that it doesn't spend that much with them. It focuses on group of misfits consisted of - Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Chris Pratt is a great lead in this flick, but the true star of this film is Rocket Racoon, who is probably my favorite character of 2014. Special effects and make-up are also amazing in this film.

2.Whiplash
 

       J.K. Simmons is absolutely amazing in this film, he gives not only the best supporting performance of the year but probably the best performance of the past year period. And Miles Teller shows us that he is one of the most exciting up-and-coming young actors. This movie is absolutely amazing. I am a big fan of jazz music, so a big plus for this movie right from the get-go was the fact that it was about an aspiring jazz musician (drummer). It showed in a great way how obsessive people can get and how being a great musician takes a lot of tears, sweat and even blood. It was probably hardest for me to choose whether if this movie will make it number 1 on my list or the movie that eventually made it. I would even say that they are interchangeable as far as placement on my list goes. But for now this is the order of my list.  

1.Birdman

         And finally my favorite movie of 2014 is Birdman. Amazing performances, great script and some genuine surprises were responsible for this movie making it number 1 on my list.  Michael Keaton needed this great performance to prove that he can still give us something acting wise. This movie in a great way pokes fun at its stars. Michael Keaton plays Riggan Thomson who is a washed-up actor who used to play superhero called Birdman and at once point he was a big star (sounds familiar) trying to make it on Broadway. Edward Norton plays Mike Shiner an acclaimed Broadway actor who is really hard to work with (which is pretty much how Edward Norton is when he is working on movies). Then you also have Emma Stone who plays Riggan's daughter, and she is amazing in this movie as well.What is truly amazing about this film is that cinematographer managed to make it out like this entire movie was made in one epic tracking shot. Also music in this movie was great as well, or to be precise the drumming that you could hear almost throughout entire movie was really cool. But for me probably the best part of this movie was the humor. Truly an amazing movie that would be remembered for the years to come.