Top 5 Animated Movies

Who doesn’t love a feel-good animation to remind us of our childhood?  Disney and Pixar have combined to give us some of the best animated features to date and they are still churning them out.  While I may not be a fan of animation personally, I have a great respect for what these companies have managed to create.

 

*Disclaimer:  There will be no Disney princess movies on the list…other Disney movies are not exempt however*

 

#5:  Monster’s Inc. (2001)

This movie and the prequel, Monster’s University (2013), are two enjoyable movies that show people what really is hiding in their closet.  We get to see the world of monsters and how their life is not that different from our own.  Their life is thrown for a loop when a human child accidentally manages to work her way into the monster world.

 

#4:  Up (2009)

Up created a more emotional relationship in the first ten minutes of the film than Twlight did in four movies.  Grumpy widower Carl Fredricksen decides to travel to Paradise Falls in South America in honor of his wife.  Wilderness Explorer scout Russell slips on board and the two go through misadventure after misadventure.  From talking dogs to prehistoric birds, Up is not afraid to throw wacky material at us but make the movie work nonetheless.  For real though, if that montage didn’t give you the feels you’re most likely a sociopath:  http://bit.ly/1I8aWDs

 

#3:  The LEGO Movie (2014)

Everything about this movie is awesome (except that awful “Everything is Awesome” performance at the Oscars).  The cast is astounding, the animation is perfect, and the fact that we got a great movie that never came off as a huge commercial is surprising.  This is also the only movie on the list that wasn’t created by Disney or Pixar.  Who knew other people knew how to create animations?  You should check out Couch Tomoato’s clip showing the comparisons between The LEGO Movie and The Matrix because it is spot on:  http://bit.ly/1DAUedj  He is new to YouTube but this guy has a big future ahead of him.

 

#2:  The Lion King (1994)

The Lion King put animation back on the map in 1994.  After winning two Oscars, The Academy added a new category for Best Animation primarily because The Lion King deserved more than just best sound and original song.  Without The Lion King, we would be missing a ton of the great animations that we get today.

 

Honorable Mention

The Emperor’s New Groove (2003)

The Bee Movie (2007)

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

WALL-E (2008)

A Bug’s Life (1998)

 

#1: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 (1995-2010)

If I were to split up the Toy Story series, I would have little room on my list for anything else, so I decided to combine them into one big pick.  Toy Story is one of the easiest animations to relate to and leaves everybody feeling happy inside.  While it has been announced that there will be a Toy Story 4, it will always be a trilogy to me because there is no way that they can recapture the magic of the third one.

What are you favorite animated movies?  Should a princess movie be on the top five?  Tell me how wrong I am.

Top 50 Movies of All-Time (The Honorable Mentions)

After sitting down for the last few days and making a list of every single movie I have ever seen (yeah that took a while), I have condensed all of them down to the top 50 movies I have ever seen.  I will be breaking them down in groups of 10 and posting them over the next few days.  Today will be the first part with a list of the 10 movies that just missed the cut.  Make sure to check all of them out because these are all great movies.

Honorable Mention

The Immigrant

This 2014 movie was surprisingly ignored by the Academy at this year’s Oscars.  Starring Academy darling Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant seemed to be a great Oscar-bait movie as a historical film on the struggles of 1920s European immigrants.  Definitely a great movie to check out.

Toy Story 2

This movie just missed the cut.  The other two movies in the trilogy definitely made the top 50, but Toy Story 2 just barely missed out.  Almost everybody has seen this movie, but for the few out there who haven’t seen it, make sure to check it out.

Better off Dead

An almost certain future underrated movie of the week, Better off Dead is a comedy featuring a depressed teen played by John Cusack.  After his girlfriend leaves him for a competitive skier, he hates his life until a new foreign exchange student from France waltzes into his life.  Plus there is a funny newspaper kid who seems straight from hell:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iayLBI7nsE0

Star Wars (II): Attack of the Clones

With big franchises like Star Wars, I take each movie and judge it as a stand alone movie.  Attack of the Clones was a solid movie, but not quite great enough to crack the top 50.  This won’t be the last time you read Star Wars however.

Angels in the Outfield

This is just a fun movie to sit down and watch with the family.  Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew McConaughey, Christopher Lloyd, Tony Danza, and Danny Glover, the movie has a great cast and innocent plot line.  It is the perfect movie to order a pizza and sit on the couch with the family.

Field of Dreams

This movie can make even the toughest men cry.  A perfect father-son bonding movie, Field of Dreams features Kevin Costner as he hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field in the middle of his farm.  He overcomes all sorts of ups and downs to walk away successful at the end.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Considered one of the biggest cult comedies out there, Monty Python and the Holy Grail has become one of the most recognizable British comedies out there.  We follow King Arthur and his knights and their hilarious quest to discover the holy grail.  It is definitely a must-see.

The Lion King

While there won’t be a ton of animations on the list of my top 50 movies, The Lion King definitely makes the cut.  Loosely based the story of Hamlet, The Lion King is one of the most popular Disney movies out there.

Man of Steel

While this is by no means the best superhero movie out there, Man of Steel still has some great performances and action sequences.  Henry Cavill and Amy Adams give solid performances and Hans Zimmer’s score both combine to make Man of Steel an honorable mention.  Plus, how awesome is this trailer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejXjZ-k6Myc

Dr. Strangelove Or:  How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Of all the movies in the honorable mention category, this is the one I wanted to squeeze into the top 50 the most.  While number 51 is not too shabby, Dr. Strangelove is great political satire on the Cold War.  If you’re in a sarcastic mood, this is the movie for you.

Make sure to check in tomorrow for when I release numbers 50-41 and let me know what you think.  Is Lion King a top 50 movie?  Should Field of Dreams even be on this list?

Top 5 Movie Soundtrack Composers of All-Time

Movie soundtracks can be one of the most underrated parts of a movie.  Few people realize the difference a good soundtrack can make a movie versus a bad one (imagine watching the fellowship march through the mountains in Lord of the Rings without that epic music).  I decided to show my appreciation of these unsung heroes with a list of the top 5 composers in movie history.

#5: Howard Shore

Best Known For:  Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Speaking of that epic Lord of the Rings Music, Shore was slingshot into the mainstream after his work with Peter Jackson to create one of the most memorable soundtracks of all-time.  Along with the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit franchises, Shore has composed the music for The Aviator and Ed Wood, two other movies known for their great soundtracks.  Although he has been working on movies since the 1970s, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves here in the 2000s.

#4: Bernard Herrmann

Best Known For:  Psycho

The man behind the Twilight Zone theme and Taxi Driver, Herrmann has helped create some of the most haunting recognizable scores.  Not to mention, who doesn’t imagine the shower scene in Psycho every time they hear that high pitch horror track.  Alfred Hitchcock originally wanted the famous shower scene without music before he heard Herrmann’s track.  He launched himself to popularity with his first soundtrack–Citizen Kane.  Considered one of the greatest movies every created, Citizen Kane‘s soundtrack is one of the many great aspects of the movie.

#3: Alan Silvestri

Best Known For:  Back to the Future

Silvestri’s accomplishments stretch far beyond the Back to the Future trilogy.  Forrest Gump, The A-Team, The Polar Express, and multiple movies from the Avengers Marvel Cinematic Universe are only some of the musical masterpieces penned by Silvestri.  He has shown his broad diversity covering all genres of movies.  Silvestri is definitely one of the best musical composers of all-time.  Starting his career in the 1970s, Silvestri continues to compose great soundtracks to this day.

#2:  Hans Zimmer

Best Known For:  The Dark Knight

Considered the best modern musical composer, Zimmer has created a plethora of great scores.  Pairing up with Christopher Nolan, Zimmer has created the scores for The Dark Knight trilogy, Insterstellar, Inception, and The Prestige.  He has experienced great success outside of Nolan as well.  He won an Oscar for his work on The Lion King and has been behind the scenes for many great movies:  Gladiator, Castaway, Man of Steel, Black Hawk Down, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Bee Movie, and Sherlock Holmes.  He started his musical career assisting the The Buggles with the first MTV music video “Video Killed the Radio Star” and his career has shot off from there.  He is by far currently the best in the business.

#1: John Williams

Best Known For: Star Wars

Williams has been at the helm of some of the greatest movie franchises to ever be produced.  Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park , Harry Potter, Jaws, Superman, and Schindler’s List are just the tip of the iceberg.  Williams has been creating music for movies since the mid-1950s.  While he has slowed down his pace, Williams is far and away the greatest composer ever.  His work is unrivaled.  Almost anybody could hear some of his work and immediately recognize the movie.  It will be a long time before somebody tops Williams as the greatest of all-time.