Shane’s Favourite Movies of 2015

If you need an introduction, read the title again. Some spoilers ahead.

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service

Plot Rundown: A punk-ass street kid is recruited into a gentleman spy organization and must defeat a mastermind planning mass genocide.

Now here’s a movie that I did not expect would be on my top five list. I remember seeing the trailer for this film and thinking, dear god this is going to be stupid. I rolled my eyes so hard I think I tore something. But the truth is, the movie is stupid. But it’s also hella fun.

Seriously, this movie is more entertaining than I’d ever guess. It’s funnier, crazier, and much more violent than it has any right to be. It introduced me to something I never knew I wanted: Colin Firth kicking severe ass. One amazing sequence that takes place in a church is this year’s hidden action gem. It’s worth watching the movie for that alone.

Kingsman has a bunch of well known actors, it’s full of fun sequences that veer off from conventions, and it has constant energy. This is, without a doubt, my guilty pleasure of the year. I had a blast seeing it in the theatre and I pity anyone who watched Kingsman and dismissed it as silly. The movie knows it’s ridiculous, and it embraces that fully.

4. The Revenant

Plot Rundown: A trapper, named Hugh Glass, is wrecked by a bear and must survive countless other horrific things in order to seek revenge against the man who left him for dead.

The most striking thing about this movie are the amazing visuals. The cinematography in The Revenant is stunning, and the use of only natural lighting really makes the setting more vivid. It pulls you into the past. The opening raid on the hunters’ camp was wild and visceral, and extremely well shot. In fact, all the moments of action feel raw and brutal.

DiCaprio has very limited lines to say, Hardy’s character is often unintelligible, and huge portions of the film have no dialogue at all. Because of this the movie draws you in, and lets you focus on the characters’ actions moment to moment. You feel like you have an intimate view of Glass’ struggle to survive.

It’s a long ass movie but I was invested the whole time and desperate to know how Glass would find his way back and if he would have his revenge. The Revenant is awesome filmmaking and storytelling from start to finish.

3. Ex Machina

Plot Rundown: A programmer wins a contest to visit a private mountain retreat and be part of an experiment with a female A.I. robot built by a reclusive CEO.

I’ve seen people really gushing over this movie. A lot. I really enjoyed the movie, but c’mon now, this is not a ground breaking film. It’s a beautifully shot, well acted movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s also filled with things I’ve seen dozens of times before.

Even if the story is often predictable, the details are what make it interesting. There’s a particular dance scene that stands out; guaranteed to have you confused, laughing, or grinning from ear to ear. The weirdness keeps it compelling, no question.

Ex Machina is dark and seductive. It sticks the audience in a sterile, often claustrophobic setting, and slowly unravels a mystery where each character’s motivations become clear. The whole movie I was waiting for twists that I thought Ex Machina was leading me to, but it turned out the twist was … there isn’t one. You may not be blown away by the ending, but it felt right. Any fan of science fiction should give it a look. Just don’t walk in expecting a masterpiece.

2.  Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

Plot Rundown: Thirty years after the fall of the Empire a new threat arises as The First Order, and key information about the location of Luke Skywalker is entrusted with a pilot’s droid who teams up with a renegade stormtrooper and a scavenger with a mysterious past.

Man, it’s so good to have a new Star Wars movie that I care about. It feels damn good.

The first time I watched the film was great, but I think a part of me was tense with the worry of walking into another Phantom Menace. But The Force Awakens proved that it had recaptured the spirit of Star Wars that I remembered growing up. With those concerns out of the way, my second time watching was pure joy. It’s such a fun movie.

The Force Awakens does so many things perfectly. The characters, creatures, weapons, vehicles, costumes, and set pieces all felt true to the Star Wars universe. They were built with love, often as practical effects, and that infused life into the movie. By comparison, the prequels gave us cold green screen settings inhabited by dead-eyed characters delivering wooden dialogue to CGI creatures who weren’t physically there. So it was a great relief to see Episode VII finally showing us interesting characters who could look at the world around them with awe and emotion. Rey, Finn, and Poe are engaging in the world of Star Wars with enthusiasm. Our heroes look like they give a shit! They’re likeable, and they share a sense of wonder with the audience. There’s even humour and charm! You know, the things that have been missing from the series since 1983.

A weird complaint I kept hearing again and again was that The Force Awakens was too similar to the original film. Are you jerks serious? The prequels stepped far away from the familiar and people hated it for not feeling like the Star Wars they knew. Now people are going to gripe about it being too similar? Make up your mind!

The new characters to the series are great, as I mentioned. Daisy Ridley is a standout performance for me, and Rey is a hero you can care about from the first moment. Plus, characters returning from the original trilogy haven’t just been sloppily written into the story. Their actions are meaningful and true to their characters. Han Solo’s story in particular is handled with care, and by the end of the movie the stakes have been raised in a way that fans old and new can appreciate.

I loved Kylo Ren as a villain. He’s powerful but undisciplined, making him all the more dangerous and unpredictable. The First Order may look like the Empire, but they are something quite different. They are desperate to be the Empire, but haven’t earned power by the same means. They are so blinded by the Empire’s legacy that they haven’t learned from their mistakes (eg. another Death Star!?). The First Order is just as reckless in their pursuit for dominance as Kylo himself.

The greatest thing about The Force Awakens is that it has reignited my love of Star Wars, and made me hopeful again for the future of the franchise. I’m already starving for Episode VIII and my head has been spinning with possibilities and theories. It feels like there are so many surprises and adventures ahead, and I can’t fucking wait.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   

   

Plot Rundown: A drifter named Max is captured and ends up joining forces with a rebel named Furiosa who is trying to liberate a group of female prisoners from a tyrant pursuing them through the post apocalyptic wasteland.

Star Wars is a tough one to beat, but Mad Max is another returning franchise that blew my socks clean off. I watched the trailers for Fury Road dozens of times and I could feel in my bones that something incredible was on the horizon. The hype was real, my expectations were through the roof, and it still exceeded those expectations. I walked out of this movie high on adrenaline and completely satisfied. If you haven’t seen it already, stop everything and watch it now. I mean it. Drop your baby, leave work early, jump out of that moving car and go.

I adored how this movie looked. The colour palette is rich and vibrant, and every explosion is a deep fiery red that that looks like hot magic blood. The design of all the characters and their insane vehicles was goddamn incredible. Every time I thought the movie had exhausted its creativity, another slew of freakish bad guys would come riding into action on all manner of motorized death machines. Spikes and blades and claws and guns and fire-shooting guitars. Everywhere you looked there were details of the scavenged pieces used to build these chariots from a desert hell.

The movie’s energy is incredible. The action starts almost immediately and doesn’t let up for the duration of the film. In the trailers you can see a giant sandstorm with lightning, explosions, and cars being thrown around. I had thought... well, that must be a scene from the climax of the film. Nope. It’s first act material in this fucking juggernaut.

So many characters are memorable, they feel almost iconic from the moment you meet them. Immortan Joe, for example, is a ghoulish motherfucker and a great villain. He leads the pursuit to retrieve “his property” and his presence is pure menace. The peril our heroes experience always feels real.

I’d like to address a dumb complaint I’ve heard about Fury Road: that Furiosa outshines Max as the main hero. Look, Max doesn’t have to be at the forefront of the film. He’s just a tough dude who roams the wasteland and gets caught up in other people’s shit. He’s a hero because he’ll fight injustice when he encounters it, but that doesn’t mean he has to be considered the main hero. That’s why he didn’t stick around at the Citadel when they triumph at the end. He’s going to keep moving on because it wasn’t his fight to begin with. Charlize Theron played the part of Furiosa perfectly and was a total badass. She was the hero, and that doesn’t take anything away from the film.

I will never forget the experience of seeing this film at the theatre. It completely knocked my dick in the dirt. I mean that in the best possible way. Fury Road is endlessly inventive and a one of a kind experience. It looks gorgeous, the action is frenetic and creative, and it moves at a pace that I’ve never seen before. It’s George Miller’s epic vision come to life, and he’s delivered a spectacular chase that will leave you breathless. See it.

Cole's Favourite Transformers

When I was a kid, I watched lots of the popular cartoons of the day ("the day" being the mid eighties through mid nineties, mostly). Some of those even included shows geared towards girls, like the original My Little Pony (more because of its timeslot than anything else, I think, although I'm not trying to make excuses here) and Jem (which I genuinely enjoyed for some reason). But still, being a boy, it was stuff like He-Man (and, yes, She-Ra), GI JOE, M.A.S.K. and Voltron (which became my favourite when I was much older) that I liked the most. Hell, even more forgettable stuff like Bravestarr was alright by me.

But one show stood above them all. This was the show that I followed as closely as I could and collected as many of its toys as my parents would buy for me. Since the entire purpose of this show was to get kids to buy their toy line, in my case I would say mission accomplished and then some. This show of course was The Transformers. Even though some episodes and characters were totally phoned in and stupid, and there were animation errors aplenty (more than any other cartoon I can think of) I'd contend that actually the vast majority of the content was really good. I mean, as this was a show created simply to advertise a toy line, it would be understandable if it was all halfassed, forgettable crap. But I believe its creators really put a lot of effort into the animation, characters and stories. It's amazing how well much of it still holds up even all these years later.

Because the series's main mandate was to sell toys, TONS of characters were introduced. Of all the shows I watched as a kid, Transformers easily had the biggest cast. And as I've said, this definitely led to a quantity-over-quality approach. With so many characters, good guys and bad guys, vying for screentime, many of them were one-dimensional and lame, with their only redeeming quality being perhaps their transformed mode.

This also led to a lot of annoying voices since, with such limited time to develop characters, the easiest way to differentiate between them was making their voices and/or way of speaking somehow stand out from everyone else. This gave us results such as THREE characters who spoke in rhyme (Jazz thankfully only briefly, Blaster occasionally and Wheelie ALL THE GODDAMN TIME),  the tank, Warpath, endlessly punctuating his sentences with exclamations of "Bang!", "Zoom!" and crap like that, some weird accents (Tracks, Outback, and someone who appears on this list) and miscellaneous weirdness like the Dinobots (speaking like braindead retards), Blurr (talking like a superfast retard) and Seaspray (gurgling?).

There were some great characters, though. And, of course, Transformers exists in all kinds of media besides the show, like comics, movies as well as tons of different updates of the show. So plenty of characters were given more dimension there. All are in different continuities and sometimes make changes to various characters. For this list I'm considering characters based on ALL their appearances. Let's get to it.

5. Razorclaw (Transformed mode: Lion)
While hardly a major character in any incarnation of Transformers, Razorclaw is still the leader of the Predacons unit, and that has to count for something. Actually, in the IDW Comics continuity, the Predacons are considered one of the most elite units in the entire Deception force. And, typical of being a Predacon I guess, in most media he's shown to be one of the most capable fighters when it comes to hand to hand combat.

He's proven himself a good leader as well, with a sort of all-business attitude that's actually kind of unique among Decepticons. I guess I like him because the Predacons are my favourite Combiners in all of Transformers and, as their leader, he's their best representative. He transforms into a lion and is often able to overwhelm opponents in this mode. When in robot form he wields a really cool sword (officially called a sonic sword as it's able to emit powerful vibrations) and you know I love swords. Not many transformers, Autobot or Decepticon, have swords so this makes him unique as well. An effective tracker as well as commander, it breaks my heart I never had his toy.

Personal Crowning Moment of Awesome: I'd go with the episode "Nightmare Planet" from the original animated series. Specifically when he's forced to team up with Autobot, Springer in battling his way out of a castle created by Daniel Witwicky's dreams (yeah, it's a weird one).  The castle is owned by a fearsome dragon and Springer, wielding some kind of trident, rode Razorclaw (in lion mode, obviously) and they charged the dragon, managing to kill it. Serving as horsey for the enemy may seem like an odd pick but trust me, it's really cool.


4. Galvatron (Transformed mode: Laser cannon)
Well, I think you'd all agree that this guy definitely is a major character. Some people might've even doubled down, taking the old Megatron/Galvatron route, fitting in two characters
for the price of one. They'd certainly be justified in doing so. But to me, Megatron and Galvatron are separate characters and should be treated as such. While in most continuities, most notably the original show, he was formerly Megatron, he wasn't in all of them. In the IDW comics, for instance, he is a completely separate character who actually predated Megatron by millions of years. And even if you are dealing with a continuity where he isn't, I still believe the change (or, transformation, if you'll allow me) was enough that there's really nothing tying him to Megatron anymore besides a fanatical desire to defeat the Autobots.

If this list was a few slots longer I would definitely include Megatron because he is awesome and probably one of the best villains you can find. He's extremely powerful, brutal, charismatic and, even though it's true he kind of loses all the time (such is the fate of the villain), actually quite a competent leader. He's even shown to be quite rational, sometimes putting aside his hatred of the Autobots for the sake of the greater good (although in those cases the greater good only counts because it involves saving his own skin and that of his Decepticons). It seems every time he dies he manages to come back and just his name strikes fear into the hearts (or...circuits, I guess) of Autobots and those on the side of good.

So why am I picking Galvatron over him? For starters, one key difference between him and Megatron is that he (Galvatron) is most definitely NOT rational. While Megatron could certainly became enraged and occasionally fly off the handle, this is basically the permanent setting for Galvatron. He's always screaming and ranting and raving, threatening everyone around him. While that could just as easily be an argument for why he isn't as cool as Megs, personally, it just really appeals to me. Galvatron is a fucking lunatic and I love him for it. It makes him wildly unpredictable and ridiculously dangerous. In the continuity of the Generation One cartoon, it's his defeat at the hands of Rodimus Prime (The Transformers The Movie) that really drives him over the edge. Things get kind of confusing after that because in both this continuity (as continued in the Transformers Headmasters series that never aired in North America) as well as the Marvel Comics continuity, there are diverging timeliness involving his path, so multiple versions of him result.

In the world of IDW comics, Galvatron hails from Cybertron's fabled (and oft-referenced) Golden Age, which predates that continuity's setting by a few million years. That's before there were such things as Autobots and Decepticons and he was actually close friends with that era's Prime, Nova Prime. Here he's part of a spaceship crew (the first Ark) that is lost in an anomaly sending them into what's known as the Dead Universe, where he became an undead being. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that he eventually shows up in the present to trouble the Autobots.

In most continuities he's presented as even more powerful than Megatron, which is really saying something. Hell, in some he's nigh invincible. I love the purple colour scheme (purple seems to always work so well as the colour of evil in various things for some reason) too.

Personal Crowning Moment of Awesome: For a guy like him, there are many but it's tough to beat his arrival on Char just after his rebirth at the hands of Unicron (The Transformers The Movie). The devastated Decepticons have reluctantly allowed Starscream to assume leadership in the wake of Megatron's demise when suddenly Galvatron touches down with the also newly created Cyclonus.

Starscream: Who disrupts my coronation?
Galvatron: Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy.
Starscream: Megatron? Is that you?!?!
Galvatron: Here's a hint! (Transforms into cannon mode and blasts Starscream to ashes)

It's so awesome you should see it. So here you go.




3. Sky Lynx (Transformed mode: It's...complicated)
Here we have a truly unique transformer. This guy doesn't even have a robot mode. Instead Sky Lynx is a sort of triple-changer who actually has FOUR (just three in the Marvel comics though) unique forms, those being: lynx, space bird (?), space shuttle and...space bird with lynx legs? I don't know. But it doesn't matter because he's awesome. And he knows it too. In fact, he repeatedly lets everyone around him know just how awesome he is. Just how full of himself is he? Well, consider this quote from the Generation One show: "Before you do anything, think, 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?' , and you will not go far wrong." ("Call of the Primitives").

Holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander, which maybe isn't all that impressive because Grimlock does too, I'll always associate Sky Lynx with my memory of the commercial for his toy (which also featured the Predacons/Predaking, something we'll explore in further detail below) which used footage from the show as well as catchy musical hook ("It's Sky Lynx!). I actually had this commercial on tape, as it appeared during an episode of Ducktales, another great cartoon from that era.

By Season Three of the Generation One show, Omega Supreme was still around but Sky Lynx seemed to take over as the Autobots's de facto mode of transportation when going on missions deep in space and/or to other planets. And, unlike the Decepticon equivalent for this, the triple-changer Astrotrain, he actually retained his giant size. Strangely enough, while in his own shuttle mode, Astrotrain is large enough to transport many of his fellow Decepticons (a good example is in the movie right after the battle at Metroplex where Starscream tosses out the nearly-dead Megatron) but as a robot, is the same size as the average transformer. The two have actually battled each other several times. But, as the aforementioned commercial suggests, it's the Predacons Sky Lynx has a real rivalry with, clashing with them on numerous occasions. In the Generation One episode, "Call of the Primitives", where he is front and centre, it must have really galled him to be lumped into the same group as the Predacons as well as the Dinobots and the various animal cassettes. In that instance he immediately named himself leader of that group. Also to his shame, during the show he was often mistakenly animated with a Decepticon insignia. How insulting!

Personal Crowning Moment of Awesome: While his rescue of the Aerialbots (as Superion) in the episode "The Big Broadcast of 2006" (a favourite of mine) deserves a mention, I'd say it was his role in locating and bringing back a Quintesson during the Hate Plague ("The Return of Optimus Prime parts 1 & 2"). Fortunately one of the few Autobots not infected by the plague was the magnificent Sky Lynx as he was the only one left capable of spaceflight. The Quintesson he retrieves is successful in restoring Optimus Prime to life and Prime discovers how to stop the plague. Sky Lynx then helps Optimus against Galvatron and although he later does wind up being infected by Rodimus, his prior actions led to the curing of the plague.


2. Optimus Prime (Transformed mode: varying kinds of 18 wheeler truck)
Like on some of my other lists, we've come to an entry on a character who is so iconic and so celebrated that I'm at a loss for what to say about him. There have been many, many different incarnations of the Transformers over different forms of media. And while some can get pretty different and "out there" when compared to the original show and Marvel comic, the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, is always present. Although his character doesn't exactly appear in the Japanese animated series Super God Masterforce, his form does at the least (Ginrai) and as far as I can tell, that's really the lone exception.

Naturally it's his depiction in the Generation One cartoon that still stands as probably the most iconic and it's the one I draw the most from with the current ongoing IDW comic series coming in second. I mean, honestly, how could he have had the same initial impact without the brilliant voice talent of the legendary Peter Cullen? Even Michael Bay and the geniuses behind the live-action film series realized that there was no way they'd succeed if they didn't get the man himself to once again voice Prime. And  while you can say what you want about those movies, back in 2007 when I saw the first one, hearing Cullen's voice in the theatre literally sent shivers down my spine.

Optimus is leader of the Autobots but he's not the type to lead from the back. Whatever's going on, he's in the thick of the action. And while it's true that many characters on the original show were often poorly written and forgettable, Optimus was ALWAYS well-written, exuding courage, strength, wisdom and compassion that often transcended the cartoon. As weird as it sounds, this giant transforming alien robot warrior was actually a good role model for the children who watched the show. He always showed reluctance to battle the Decepticons and often expressed his disappointment and frustration with constantly being forced to fight. He lamented that Megatron and the Decepticons couldn't learn that their way of attempting to conquer everything around them by force was wrong, that it was anything but glorious. But when it came time to fight, he was ready.

And really, there was no one better at it. As I said, Optimus was an incredibly "hands on" leader. He wasn't just a brilliant commander and tactician but was unequaled in battle prowess. Whether he was firing away with his ion blaster laser rifle, fighting hand to hand or even in vehicle form, he was a force to be reckoned with, able to defeat many enemies single-handedly, best Megatron one on one and even fight off much larger opponents. The Decepticons knew to fear him and few would dare engage him without plenty of support.

Probably the best depiction of Optimus becoming a Prime is the IDW comic miniseries Transformers: Autocracy. Set on Cybertron just before the Great War (the beginning of the millions of years of Autobots vs Decepticons conflict), Autobot commander (of what was a special police unit back then) Orion Pax is given the task of rooting out terrorist Decepticon cells sowing dissent throughout the city-state of Kaon. The Prime at that time was Sentinel Prime.

As noted above, some version of Optimus Prime exists in every incarnation of Transformers and while they have their differences, all are great leaders. Still, Peter Cullen, much like Kevin Conroy with Batman, gives the definitive vocal performance and his is the voice I hear in my head whenever I read any of the comics.

Personal Crowning Moment of Awesome: Too many to mention, obviously. He had one in nearly every episode of the original show and plenty more were to follow in other shows, comics and movies. He even has some great ones in the much-maligned live action films. Personally, I love his highway battle with Bonecrusher in the 2007 movie. Even his death scene in the animated movie could be considered one. But for me, it's not a moment of glorious combat or even that dramatic a moment that always resonates the most. I'm going to give it a pretty long setup because I think that's the only way to give it proper justice so bear with me.

In the Generation One cartoon, there's an episode called "The Core" wherein Megatron has the Decepticons construct a massive drill to tap into the earth's molten core. The plan is to harvest geothermal energy thus giving themselves either an alternative to Energon or possibly an ingredient to make it; it's never explicitly stated.

The plan, as pointed out by Starscream, is incredibly risky as the deeper they drill, the greater the chance of breaching the core and causing the earth to explode. Megatron brushes this off, saying he has a contingency plan in place: a space bridge capable of teleporting the Decepticons to Cybertron is nearby in the event of the drill threatening the earth's stability. The Constructicons build and operate the drill.

As you would expect, the Autobots discover this plan and try to stop the Decepticons. To counter the power of Devastator, whom they know Megatron would surely deploy against them, Wheeljack and Chip (Spike's wheelchair-bound friend) created "dominator discs" - small discs that need to be placed on each individual Constructicon. Once this is accomplished, when they combine to form Devastator, the discs will activate and allow the Autobots to take control of Devastator.

Blah, blah, blah. They get the discs on the Constructicons, predictably the drill goes haywire and the earth is in danger, the space bridge becomes damaged so now the Decepticons are in the same boat and Megatron agrees to work with the Autobots to save the planet. Devastator, who had briefly been under Autobot control as planned but isn't anymore, uses his strength to destroy the drill. But when he returns he finds Megatron and the other Decepticons have fled. Chip tells him his "noble leader" ran to save his own hide but Devastator, loyal to a fault, states he left to plan his next attack, as a good leader would. He takes off and Chip sighs. He says he was hoping that Devastator/The Constructicons really would join the Autobots but dismisses it as a "dumb old dream." As the music dramatically comes up, Optimus comforts Chip with these words: "Hang onto your dreams, chip. For the future is built on dreams. Hang on."

Maybe that seems like me making a big deal out of something rather simplistic but between the writing, the music and Cullen's delivery, I think it will always be my favourite Optimus Prime moment. It's stuck with me ever since I first saw it more than twenty-five years ago.




1. Starscream (Transformed mode: F-15 Eagle fighter jet [Gen 1]; F-22 Raptor [IDW])
Just like with Optimus Prime, you pretty much can't do a version of Transformers without the scheming, treacherous Air Commander Starscream. So known and revered is he for his conniving nature that he is actually the Trope Namer for such characters across fiction. Simply put, nobody out-Starscreams Starscream.

The earliest indication of Starscream's ambition is in his bio on the box for his original 1984 toy, where it's mentioned that he desires to lead the Decepticons. Then in the very first episode of the original show, within the first five freaking minutes his stance is heavily hinted at and he winds up making a power play, beginning a long streak of failure. Seriously, even in the episodes where he didn't have any specific plan to overthrow Megatron, he's always criticizing him, quite openly. This of course leads one to wonder why a ruthless commander like Megatron would ever tolerate Starscream. Hell, Cracked even did their own list on this subject back in 2009.

The accepted explanation for this is that Megatron, as a Decepticon, actually values and encourages a certain amount of ambition and guile in his troops, plus, since Starscream is so bad at seizing power, he gets to constantly punish him and demonstrate the folly of challenging him to the rest of his underlings. And it isn't lost on Megatron that for all his whining, scheming and criticizing, Starscream still is a very capable and effective soldier. He is the leader of the Seeker jets after all and does instill a healthy amount of fear and respect in the Autobots. This is even shown in the 2007 film.

Still, sometimes he does prove to be more trouble than he's worth. The episode "Starscream's Brigade" may be the best example of this from the Generation One show. After another unsuccessful attempt to take out Megatron, Starscream is beaten by his superior then dumped (by Laserbeak - arguably the most effective Decepticon there's ever been if you stop to think about it) on a remote island in the south Pacific. Here he discovers several old wrecks of military vehicles from World War Two and is inspired to create an army of his own. He brazenly makes his way to Cybertron and steals the personality components of five renegade Decepticons that were stored in a detention centre. He returns to the island and installs them in five of the vehicles. Thus the Combaticons were born.

Starscream, by virtue of activating his new "friends" without installing energy absorbers, leaving them dependent on him to get some for them, is able to get them to do what he wants. Eventually he leads them in an attack against Megatron and the Decepticons and at first, they're winning. Megs plays his trump card, having the Constructicons merge into Devastator. However, the Combaticons show they also are Combiners and form Bruticus, who quickly despatches his giant counterpart. Only the late arrival of the Stunticons saves the day, with their combined form, Menasor, taking Bruticus by surprise and defeating him. For once, Starscream's actions have real consequences as Megatron banishes him and the Combaticons to deep space, having Astrotrain dump them on a distant asteroid.

After so many humiliating defeats and setbacks, Starscream finally does manage to depose Megatron, throwing his nearly lifeless body out of Astrotrain (oh, the irony!) after the disastrous attack on Metroplex. Of course, his stint as leader is short lived as the newly born Galvatron arrives to destroy him. (The Transformers The Movie)

As much as I love Starscream from the original show, it was in the comics where he often really shined. Longtime Marvel scribe Simon Furman  would portray him as more intelligent and often sarcastic. Here he suffered less defeats and humiliation and was often the main focus of many stories. He was a bit more respected by his comrades and his enemies here and he was always very competent.  The IDW comics would follow this approach. He's one of Megatron's first supporters before the Great War and, because of his charisma, was deployed as a Decepticon recruiter. Two of his targets that didn't join up were Blurr and Hot Rod but with many others he was successful. But it wasn't just his silver tongue that made him an effective operative. He, along with an assist from Shockwave, assassinated a room full of senators, beginning in earnest Megatron's rise to power on Cybertron (Megatron Origin). However, it wasn't long before he began to conspire against his leader and aided Scorponok in overthrowing him. Once again, this was a temporary state of affairs and Megatron would resume his position. Starscream would grow disillusioned with the Decepticons, tiring of the state of endless warfare. It was revealed that Megatron chose to keep him around as reminder to always watch his own back, as treachery was part of the Decepticon way.

There's plenty more and not just in the versions of Transformers I've mentioned but that's the stuff I know best and we can't be here all day, can we? Starscream will always be one of the most memorable and prominent characters in Transformers and he'll always be my favourite. He's been a scientist (that's his backstory in the Generation One show, where he was friends with fellow scientist Jetfire/Skyfire), air commander, Decepticon recruiter, Decepticon leader and even a freaking ghost. As previously noted, his scheming, treacherous ways are the stuff of legend even outside of Transformers and his deeds as a warrior shouldn't be overlooked.

Personal Crowning Moment of Awesome: There are many but how about personally shooting down Air Force One in the IDW comic All Hail Megatron #3?

Spooky Movies for Halloween

It's that time of year where the days get shorter, the air gets cooler, and the world gets a little spookier. There is nothing better to watch at this time of year than a good scary movie! Here is a list of some great horror films to watch this Halloween season.

5. Trick 'R Treat

Trick 'R Treat is a Halloween anthology film that was released in 2007. Horror typically lends itself to anthology films, but there aren't many with the pedigree of Trick 'R Treat.

The film features four stories, all centered around Halloween and taking place on the same night. The intertwining thread is a character named Sam; a young trick-or-treater wearing orange pyjamas and a burlap sack over for a mask.

Trick 'R Treat is perfect to watch around Halloween, not only because it's set on Halloween night, but also because it features all the spooky stories that you think of around this time of year! There's jack-o-lanterns, tainted candy, urban legends, and monsters.

You can tell a lot of love and great talent went into making the film, which is unfortunate because it went through a development Hell taking two years to be released. As a result, it only saw a limited theatrical run before being released on DVD. The film has garnered a cult following, however, and as a result of great home video sales a sequel went into production in 2013. Hopefully this isn't the last we've seen of Trick 'R Treat and that creepy little costumed Sam!

4. Halloween III

Let's get the obligatory Halloween film out of the way!

The fact of the matter is that this is the time of year to watch Halloween films and there are several great entries that you can pick from that franchise to enjoy during the month of October. I've decided to switch things up a bit and feature the black sheep of the series, Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

Halloween III is a completely different tale from the other films in the franchise in that it doesn't feature the iconic slasher Michael Myers and there are no babysitters in sight! Instead we follow Dr. Dan Challis, portrayed by a mustachioed Tom Atkins, who is investigating a novelties company, famous for their signature Halloween masks.

If it sounds like a weird premise, you seriously don't know the half of it. Veering about as far away as possible from the themes and story of the first two films, John Carpenter (director of Halloween and Halloween II), Debra Hill, and Tommy Lee Wallace (long time collaborators of Carpenter's) went with a story that's about as Halloween-y as you can get! Halloween III blends a tale of witchcraft, science fiction, and Celtic religion.

About the only connection between this film and its two predecessors is the fact that it takes place during Halloween. Originally Carpenter, et al. wanted to make a series of films that would take place around Halloween, but would all have different stories. After the success of the first film the decision was made to make a direct sequel, sew that story up once and for all, and then move on. Halloween III was their attempt to take a new direction, however the film did not do well at the box office, pulling in the lowest gross of any Halloween film to date.

It is an absolutely crazy movie, but if you're looking for something interesting to watch this Halloween season, there's nothing like a movie featuring Druid robots, Stonehenge, and creepy Halloween masks! 

3. The Monster Squad

How could you have Halloween without Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolfman, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon!? Well get this, 1987's The Monster Squad features all of these infamous characters in one film! Not only that, but this is a kid's adventure movie, not unlike The Goonies from 1985. There's just not enough of these movies!

The story follows a group of pre-teens and kids that have an after-school club known as The Monster Squad, where they get together and talk about their favourite monsters and horror movies.

Little do they know that their beloved creatures and tales are real! Count Dracula is anxiouisly waiting for the day when he can sacrifice a virgin and, with the help of a mystical amulet, take over the world. He was thwarted in his efforts 100 years previous by his arch nemesis, Van Helsing, but the famous vampire hunter was unsuccessful in destroying the amulet, so Dracula is back and the only ones that can stop him are the experts... The Monster Squad!

The special effects and monster makeup was handled by none other than Stan Winston, himself, and they looks awesome. They keep the classic look-and-feel you remember from the Universal horror films, but add a fresh and modern look, as well.

The Monster Squad was, sadly, a failure upon its release back in '87. I think it's because it straddled the line a little too much between a kid's movie and something for teenagers. Looking back at it, it definitely seems tame, but some people are just too stuffy!

You have some seriously funny moments and unforgettable dialogue. There are several characters in it that are very memorable, which I can't say about a lot of films I've seen. It's not only funny, but scary and at times even heartwarming. This movie has it all!

It's criminally underrated (a term I don't use often) and is on my Halloween watch list every year. It should be on yours, too!

2. Nosferatu

I would be remiss if I didn't suggest something classic in this list and since most people who know me would expect me to choose my favourite classic horror film, Frankenstein, I decided to switch it up and choose something even older: Nosferatu.

Nosferatu, originally titled Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens in its native German, is an expressionist film directed by FW Murnau in 1921, seeing its release in 1922. Murnau wanted to film an adaptation of Bram Stoker's infamous novel, Dracula, but could not obtain the rights. As a result, many of the terms and phrases of Stoker's novel were changed - vampire became Nosferatu, Count Dracula became Count Orlok - and the movie was made anyway, which didn't sit well with Stoker's widow.

Ultimately the Stoker family won in court and all copies of Nosferatu were ordered to be destroyed. By a little luck a few prints of Nosferatu managed to escape destruction and are now a part of the public domain.

The story is very much the same as that of Dracula, with only a few names changed; an old and reclusive Count in Transylvania is looking to buy real estate in the German town of Wisborg. Thomas Hutter is sent to meet the Count only to come face to face with Nosferatu! The "Bird of Death"! Count Orlok makes his way to Wisborg and the hunt is on to kill the evil Nosferatu.

As I mentioned previously, the film is expressionist, which in my opinion makes it creepy all on its own. To make things even scarier, Max Shreck portrays Orlok, who has got to be one of the scariest looking vampires ever seen in cinema.

Shreck's portrayal of Orlok became legendary in the film industry after Nosferatu was released, because of his own mysterious background and his incredible portrayal in the film. This rumour persisted for years and was the subject of the film Shadow of the Vampire, in which John Malkovich portrayed Max Schreck who was hired by Murnau to play Orlok because he was a real vampire.

The stark imagery, use of light, real Eastern European landscapes, coupled with Shreck's unprecedented portrayal of the Nosferatu make this film a very scary watch. The film is not only black and white but silent and when it was displayed at a theatre a musical track would be played live by a symphony. Most of the original music by Hans Erdmann has been lost, but many composers have created their own soundtracks to the film in its subsequent video releases. I'm not sure which soundtrack I've heard while watching the film, but I believe the release is called Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors (a translation of the film's original German title) and is composed by Hammer's James Bernard.

If you think an old black and white film can't be scary, I dare you to watch Nosferatu with the lights off this Halloween!

1. The Blair Witch Project

I think a lot of people overlook The Blair Witch Project as a great flick to watch at Halloween, but I watch it every year around this time. Not only is it actually set just before Halloween, but it involves a witch! I have watched this movie numerous times - as recently as last night - and I can honestly say that it still delivers the scares and the chills.

The film is infamous for being the mother of the Found Footage subgenre, but I think the thing that really makes it special is its experimental nature. The filmmakers, Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, really put the actors in this film through their paces.

Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams, although they were given direction by Sanchez and Myrick, were legitimately sent into the woods for several days, given very little to eat or drink, and were subjected to actual scare tactics during the night scenes. The film, in a lot of ways, was a real psychological experiment and I think that is what makes it makes it so compelling to this day.

The marketing for the film was ahead of its time, as well. The Internet was a burgeoning phenomenon in the late-90s and had taken hold in many homes in North America. The ad marketing for the film played it up as if it were a true story and the website was chock-full with information and documentation lending to the idea that the film was all real.

This was even coupled with a faux documentary, which aired on TV, that acted as a teaser for the film and gave some credence to the idea that it all really happened. I know I bought into the hype! I waited eagerly to get into a theatre and finally see the film, back in 1999.

If you're looking for a good scare this Halloween season, then give The Blair Witch Project a try. If you're outdoorsy, I guarantee the woods will never look the same!

Star Wars Prequel Rumours

When George Lucas first began making Star Wars in the mid-70s there were many scenes that he stated he wished he could film, but due to budgetary concerns, as well as the state of visual effects at the time, they had to be nixed. Nearly 20 years later, after seeing the revolutionary computer generated effects being used in contemporary films, he believed he could update his original series with those missing scenes and imagery and began development of the now infamous Star Wars: Special Editions.

Regardless of what you think of the subsequent updates to the Original Trilogy, in 1997 my teenage self was stunned and awed as he watched Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi on the silver screen in all their glory.

With all the Star Wars hype surrounding the re-release, and fueled by the newly booming Internet, news quickly surfaced that Lucas was to begin filming a brand new Star Wars film that summer for release in 1999! And with that came the inevitable slew of rumours surrounding this new film.

Here we are almost 20 years later and we're seeing history repeat itself, while The Force Awakens looms in the distance. The rumour mill is churning once again and the Internet is awash with what we may or may not see in J.J. Abrams highly anticipated sequel.

What were some of the stories swirling around The Phanom Menace back in the mid- to late-90s? Here are a few of the biggest rumours I remember cropping up before George Lucas brought us back to a galaxy far, far away.

5. "Obi-Wan Kenobi originally owned the Millennium Falcon"

This seems so outlandish when you look at it now, but back around the mid-90s the idea that a Star Wars film could ever be released without the Millennium Falcon in it was even more unbelievable. It didn't take long before forums and message boards were teeming with talk of who the "Han Solo" character would be in the prequels and who would own and pilot the Millennium Falcon.

Lucas was revealed to have been writing the new Star Wars movie as early as '93, so when inklings started surfacing of what would become Shadows of the Empire - an "interquel" story set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi - there was the belief that Dash Rendar, Shadows' protagonist, would play a "Han Solo"-esque character in the prequels and would be the original owner of the Falcon.

Those rumblings were quickly quashed when Shadows of the Empire hit in '96 and featured Dash Rendar in the continuity of the Original Trilogy. So who would own the Falcon then?

Well Obi-wan Kenobi, of course! As unbelievable as it sounds, Star Wars fans were absolutely certain the Solo void would be filled by none other than ol' Ben. The word on the street was that Obi-wan would end up an exceptional pilot and would be the owner of the Millenium Falcon. He would even have a small Ewok sidekick that would accompany him, which would allude to the Solo-Chewbacca combination that would become famous in the subsequent stories.

What actually happened:

Obi-wan was shown to be a poor pilot that couldn't care less about having his own ship. He left all the piloting to his pupil, Anakin. The Millennium Falcon was basically a no-show in the Prequel Trilogy, briefly making an almost unnoticeable cameo in Revenge of the Sith for the hawk-eyed, avid Star Wars nut.

4. "Boba Fett will be featured in the prequel films"

One of the most popular characters in Star Wars history has always been Boba Fett, which seems surprising considering how little screen time he gets in the Original Trilogy. From the very beginning there was a lot of fascination surrounding Fett as fans learned that originally Lucas had planned on having a group of Supertroopers in the film that wore white armour (much like Storm Troopers), but scrapped the idea, colouring the armour and using it for Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back.

I, for one, always felt there was so much intrigue surrounding the character and I always wanted to know more about him. I wasn't alone, as the history of Boba Fett, and concept of Mandalorians - a renowned group of warriors - became the focus of many books, comics, and more in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It seemed like a no-brainer that Boba's character would take some part in the prequels and we'd finally learn more about this provocative character.

There was talk that there would be a slew of Mandalorians in the movie and that there would even be a massive war featuring Mandalorian Supercommandos versus a Clone Army. Also, Boba Fett would turn out to be... a woman!

What actually happened:

We got way more than we bargained for. It turns out that Boba Fett is the cloned son of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian Supercommando turned bounty hunter and the specimen chosen as the basis of a Clone Army created in secret by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. That Clone Army would become what we know in the Original Trilogy as Imperial Storm Troopers.

Interestingly in filming The Phantom Menace a female character was created titled "Babe Fett", and appeared in one scene during the Pod Races for all of a second. That character would take on a mythos all of her own and would eventually become Aurra Sing, who is featured heavily in the Clone Wars cartoon series, and shares a history with none other than Boba Fett himself.

We actually learned little to nothing about Boba Fett in the Prequel Trilogy. That however will be rectified in the upcoming film Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, which is believed to feature Boba Fett in the time between the Clone Wars and the events of Empire Strikes Back.

3. "Liam Neeson will play Anakin's father"

Before filming began for The Phantom Menace it became known to fans that Liam Neeson would have a role in the planned Prequel Trilogy. Once photography started, some scenes from Tunisia surfaced that showed an unnamed character, portrayed by Neeson, and Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker.

So who was this mystery character? What was his relation to the boy that would become Darth Vader?

Very quickly the talk began that Neeson would play Anakin's father, and himself another Jedi in the Skywalker clan. What's interesting is that in most of the versions I've read Neeson's character would die, probably in the second film. He would be murdered by the Emperor so that he would not be able to stop Anakin from joining the Dark Side of the Force and becoming a Dark Jedi (the concept of the Sith wasn't around yet). It was believed that Anakin would see his father die at the hands of another Dark Jedi, would take up his father's lightsaber and fell the murderer, beginning his path toward the dark.

What actually happened:

These rumours weren't really that far from the truth. Of course, no one could foresee that Lucas would make Anakin a Christ-like figure created from the Force itself (by midi-chlorians... ugh), so the idea of a father wasn't that off-base.

Neeson would play Qui-gon Jinn, who actually played a father-figure to Anakin, in a way, and was killed by the Emperor's apprentice. Anakin's relationship with Qui-gon isn't really explored, but Anakin does begin his descent into the dark side after his mother, Shmi, is killed by Tusken Raiders and Anakin slaughters her murderers.

2. "Amphibious Storm Troopers will have a massive underwater battle"

Again, before the prequel films hit the big screen, the concept of a Star Wars film that didn't feature Storm Troopers as the expendable army of whatever evil plot was afoot seemed incredible far-fetched. It was assumed, almost universally, that Storm Troopers would be in all of the prequels.

George Lucas said that he had always wanted an underwater battle in the Original Trilogy, but there was no way to make realistic water and water rippling effects at that time. So when the new prequel films were announced, fans immediately began speculating what this underwater battle might be like.

The story that gained the most traction was that a group of Amphibious Storm Troopers and an army from the Republic would do battle on a water planet known as Sedri. The Republic would pilot V-Wings, which were ships that had the ability to submerge underwater, so they could attack the Storm Troopers in their submarines.

What actually happened:

Technically there were no Storm Troopers in any of the Star Wars prequels! In Attack of the Clones, however, we meet the Clone Army, which would become the Storm Troopers of the Original Trilogy, as I mentioned above.

There was an underwater sequence in The Phantom Menace, however! We follow our heroes as they travel underwater to meet the denizens of Naboo's watery depths, the Gungans. Their race is infamous for Jar Jar Binks, the most reviled character in the Star Wars series.

Was there an underwater battle? Not really, The Gungans attacked a droid army in The Phantom Menace, but it took place on a huge grassy field. There were some underwater action scenes, but not what the fans had been expecting.

Also, no V-Wings made an appearance in the prequels. A V-Wing ship is featured in the Star Wars: Battlefront video games, but it isn't the semi-aquatic ship that was expected, but instead a precursor to the Imperial TIE Fighter as well as the Rebel A-Wing.

1. "R2-D2 is a Jedi Knight"

This is my absolute favourite rumour that was ever associated with the Star Wars prequels. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever fathom this concept, yet the story persisted before the release of The Phantom Menace put it to rest.

There were many outlandish rumours surrounding the beloved droids of Star Wars; R2-D2 will be Anakin's personal droid and C-3P0 will be an interpreter for the Empire, C-3P0 was a con-artist before he became the butler-like robot we all remember, and another wonderful belief that in the Prequel Trilogy R2-D2 would be the protocol droid and C-3P0 would be an astromech! This one, however, takes the cake.

In the third film of the new trilogy a dying Jedi would somehow use the Force to imbue his life force into an inorganic object, in order to preserve it. That inorganic object would be none other than little R2. Why would anyone ever come up with this idea? The belief was that this explained why R2 would have that spirit of adventure that we see in the little astromech droid throughout the Original Trilogy.

It was also generally accepted that R2-D2 and C-3P0 would probably have their minds wiped at the end of the Prequel Trilogy in order to keep continuity with the original films. For this reason it was believed that because R2 would have a Jedi's mind that our favourite little droid's memory couldn't be erased and he would have an "insight" of some of the events that would unfold in the first three films.

What actually happened:

They were right about one thing; R2 and 3P0's memories would be erased after the events of Revenge of the Sith. However, C-3P0 remained C-3P0 and R2, R2.

R2-D2 was initially an astromech for the Naboo forces, but did essentially become Anakin's personal droid for his starfighting scenes. C-3P0 would end up being built by a young, brilliant Anakin Skywalker! That's right, Darth Vader built C-3P0...

Of all the rumours I've listed here, I bet no one saw that coming!

Cole's Favourite Movies of 2014

I figured I might as well do one of these since seeing Shane's was quite different. Once again, I haven't really seen a ton of releases from the past year so there wasn't a lot for me to choose from. So probably no big surprises here if any at all.

*Note: A lot of people consider Miyazaki's The Wind Rises a 2014 release since, while made and released in 2013 in Japan, it didn't come out in North America till early 2014. That's when I saw it in the theatre but I still consider it a 2013 release, otherwise it'd easily take the #1 spot here.

5. Big Hero 6
Disney's first take on a Marvel property since buying the big M and everything within it basically takes the title and throws everything else out the window. Which was really the best way to go if you ask me. And that they chose such an obscure thing (a limited series from 1998 featuring the X-Men's Sunfire plus some newly-created characters that was basically a sort of tribute to manga and anime) was probably a good move too. As soon as Disney acquired Marvel there was an outcry amongst fans who were concerned they'd start messing with the brand. But they really haven't. They knew Marvel was already awesome and didn't need any "fixing". No one wanted to see "Disney presents Spider-Man" or "Disney's Uncanny X-Force" and thankfully, they knew it. Although that Ultimate Spider-Man show is annoyingly kidsy...but I can live with it.

So Big Hero 6, despite all its changes, still is a superhero movie of sorts. From the same studio that brought us Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, it does also somewhat maintain the Japanese style with its look, some of the character names and its setting, Sanfransokyo - a fictional combination of...well, I think you can probably work that out on your own. It's bright and colourful, fast-paced and quite funny. The robot Baymax is an instant classic character with lots of funny lines and moments and the rest of the cast, while not nearly as memorable, still works quite well.

With all the more serious and complicated superhero movies coming out these days (which naturally, I think is a very good thing), it's still nice to have a more simple and lighthearted option both adults and kids can enjoy.

4. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
I wasn't the biggest fan of taking a three hundred page novel and stretching it into a trilogy of movies two and half hours each but hey, they did pull it off pretty nicely. A lot of content had to be added for this to be achieved and while I was expecting this to annoy me, by the time the third film came along I was actually looking forward to seeing what additions there would be. In a lot of ways, the added stuff helps tie the story together a little better.

A good example of this would be the prominence of the orc leader, Azog. In the novel, he's simply mentioned by Gandalf as having killed Thorin's grandfather, Thror, in a battle in the mines of Moria. Well. In the films he is front and centre as a major antagonist and it really gives a sense of purpose and continuity to the various clashes Thorin's group has with orcs leading up to the huge battle in the third part. In the book, Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves encounter several different groups of orcs but in the films, it's understood that they're being purposely hunted by a group led by Azog, whom they (the dwarves) had believed dead. (Incidentally, in the novel, he was dead by this point, having been killed by the dwarf Dain after Azog had killed Dain's father Nain. Dain also appears in the film, played by Billy Connolly).

Also, Fili and Kili's deaths are given a bit more meaning (they also died in the novel) by having their characters greatly expanded on, up to and including an almost romance between Fili and the elf Tauriel (a character not in the book but invented for the films). Tauriel's inclusion also creates an opening for Legolas, who doesn't appear in the novel either but since he is the son of the king of the Mirkwood elves, Thranduil, who is quite prominently featured, having him appear doesn't seem far-fetched or gratuitous.

The film has great performances and everything has the proper epic feel we've come to expect from the franchise. Even though things can be a bit convoluted at times, it all comes together in this finale. Some critics have dismissed this movie, saying it lacks the feeling of adventure the book conveys and is overly violent. But they're really missing the point since this is the third part of a trilogy and its title is the name of a BATTLE. How could that not be violent? The book itself may not go into as great detail of the final battle as the film does, but isn't that the entire point of having a movie version in the first place? To give us a different perspective?

I feel I'm definitely a Tolkien purist (in case you couldn't tell from all that stuff above) and these movies satisfy me for sure. I think most critics who took the "too violent" angle were really just being lazy because it's so easy to point to other current movies that are full of CGI and violence and try to make the claim The Hobbit trilogy is just following this shallow trend. And what makes this even more offensive to them (or so they claim) is that this is such a break from the great book upon which it's based. But it's clear to me those critics don't remember the book so well or even that some of them have never read it to begin with.

So I went on a bit of a tangent there. All you really need to know is that this movie, while perhaps an easy target for lazy critics, is still one of the best of 2014.

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
As with pretty much any film directed by Wes Anderson, I went into this one fully expecting to like it. And - surprise - I did. It features all the hallmarks of an Anderson film: visually striking and memorable locations, quirky and complex characters, charming music that fits each scene perfectly and an unconventional plot.

As of this writing, I've only seen it the once, which was more than a year ago, so I can't remember a lot of details. I plan to watch it again soon. But I do remember that Adrien Brody's performance is probably my favourite of his career so far. He plays one of the film's villains and he's excellent.

I also recall that the narrative doesn't just use one framing device but two. Maybe three? The story unfolds as a flashback which then dives into another flashback. This isn't as confusing as it sounds because the action stays on course and doesn't do any more time-jumping. Actually, when it's wrapping up, it's easy to have forgotten how it started so when we jump back to the "present" and then it happens again, it's kind of weird. But in no way detrimental, I can assure you. The story flows very well.

I can't really delve much further into detail since the movie isn't fresh in my mind at the moment but I still feel confident in giving it this lofty #3 spot. So you KNOW it's good, right?

2. The Raid 2: Berandal
If not for the makers of this movie and its predecessor, The Raid: Redemption (2011), I might have lost all faith in the action genre moving forward. Let's face it, after the bounty that was the eighties and nineties, the 00's were a big letdown in the action department. Sure there were definitely some standout gems to be found but if you ask me, not all that many. Both Raids are simple and straightforward in their plots and brilliant in their execution. As for Berandal, which is the one I'm supposed to be discussing here, it was tough to believe it could top Redemption. Hell, Redemption was so good it was tough to believe Berandal would even measure up. But I believe it does measure up for sure. And while longer and more complex than Redemption, I believe it succeeds by still keeping things simple.

After all, the plot is one of the most used we've seen in the action and crime thriller genres. We've got our hero going deep undercover to infiltrate an extremely dangerous organization. He even gets himself sent to prison to further cement his status as a real criminal. Yeah, we've all seen that once or twice before. But when it comes to the element that matters the most for this movie, that is, the action, I doubt you've seen much before that compares to this film.

Once again we're treated to spectacular fight scenes showcasing multiple styles of martial arts (although still predominantly Silat, but hey, that's a very diverse one) as well as multiple weapons. And where Redemption offered us one comic book-type of bad guy (Mad Dog), Berandal gives us several. This includes a female antagonist (something totally absent in the former) whose weapons are hammers and a guy who gets a lot more out of wielding a simple baseball bat than you'd think possible. I'd say more about that but don't want to spoil it for the uninitiated. But yeah, this movie is violent as all hell and it's awesome.

The character of Rama has been cemented in my mind as one of the all-time great action heroes and if you haven't yet seen his handiwork, do yourself a favour and check it out.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Hey, check it out: a comic book film in the #1 slot. Who would have guessed? OK, maybe that's not too shocking to some of you. But those who know me and my love of comics are also acutely aware of how said love makes me intensely hard on movies based on them. And sadly, I'm yet to see a movie based on my very favourite Marvel characters that I think does them any justice at all. The second Spider-Man series of films pleases me more than the first but still, not enough. And don't even get me started on my INTENSE SEARING HATRED for most of the X-Men movies. Seriously, don't go there.

Captain America was a character I never appreciated until I actually started reading some comics where he was a main character, that being Brian Bendis's initial run on New Avengers (that being the entirety of Volume One). Before that I'd always been quite disdainful of Cap and the rest of the Avengers. They were Marvel's premiere superhero team and I never could understand why. The X-Men and their related teams were all so much cooler. I still feel that way but I've definitely developed a new appreciation for "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" over the past decade and Cap is probably the character I've gained the most respect for.

But it's time to digress, I think. There is, after all, a movie to talk about.

I loved the first Captain America film and was anticipating its sequel as soon as the credits started rolling. I had to wait a few years but it was worth it as I was presented with the best Marvel movie I've seen so far. I don't just mean Marvel Studios movie either. I mean best movie based on a Marvel property, period. Yes, Avengers is the big one and a lot fun and, for reasons I don't fully understand, everyone lost their minds over last summer's Guardians of the Galaxy. But Winter Soldier tops them both in my mind. It's pretty cool that the top two films on this list are both sequels to movies I adored. Usually sequels just let me down or piss me off.

Anyway, as far as the merits of this movie go, I don't really feel like getting into them too much after such a long-winded introduction. Just see the movie. It really succeeds in bringing some of that secret agent-style feel that Ed Brubaker brought to the comic in the mid 00's. Which makes perfect sense since the whole Winter Soldier arc was his doing. Black Widow and The Falcon are good in supporting roles (which is doubly impressive for a character as lame as Falcon) and you've even got Robert Redford in the mix. It's also just really convenient timing that we currently have a French Canadian martial arts champion branching out into film just in time for this film -  we get to see one of Cap's longer-running villains given life on the big screen and actually made to look cool. In at least his early appearances...um, believe me, this really wasn't the case. Anyway the result is a really strong cold open culminating in a great one-on-one fight scene.

Like most people, I am super excited for the next Avengers movie but to be honest, Cap 3 (which will draw from the "Civil War" storyline in the comics) is what I really can't wait to see. Think about it - a trilogy of comic book movies where ALL of them are good? Has that ever happened?