Top 10 Fantasy Genre Movies of All Time

This is a continuation of my series of posts examining the American Film Institute's 10 lists of Top 10s in order to better define movie genres and give my opinion on the best examples of the genre in question.

Defining the Genre

The AFI defined the Fantasy genre as movies where "live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world". The website Script Lab also added that Fantasy genre movies "themes usually involve magic, supernatural events, or fantasy worlds...an ordinary hero in an extraordinary situation".

At first, I thought that defining this genre would be easy. You've got the classic fairy tale, Ren Faire settings or otherwise otherworldly experiences. Then the more that I looked at these definitions, the AFI list, and other potential movies for this list, I noticed how the Fantasy genre can quickly and easily blend in with other genres like drama, horror, sci-fi, animation, and action. So, though the definitions from AFI and Script Lab seem kind of open and generic, that is because the Fantasy genre can encapsulate aspects of other genres.

AFI's Top 10 Fantasy List

1. The Wizard of Oz

2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

3. It's a Wonderful Life

4. King Kong (1933)

5. Miracle on 34th Street (original)

6. Field of Dreams

7. Harvey

8. Groundhog Day

9. The Thief of Bagdad

10. Big

It's actually surprising how mundane some of these selections are. Who would have thought to put Big, Groundhog Day, Field of Dreams, or MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET into the Fantasy genre category. Though admittedly some unnatural, fantastical things happen in said movies.

There's also a surprising lack of Sword and Sorcery choices on this list, though perhaps that may be because majority of those kinds of movies are very B-level, cheap cult classic type movies that actually have low production value or lack depth to their story. I enjoy the fact that for the most part these selections really emphasis the definition of "ordinary people in extraordinary situations".

My Outline for My Genre List

My list is very much going to be defined by various subgenres that are either legit subgenres or categories that I think define multiple movie choices (i.e. Disney because there's enough animated features alone from Disney that could fit a Top 10 Fantasy list).

Subgenres:
-Contemporary (Modified real world)
-Urban (Specifically located in a city)
-Dark Fantasy (Horror+Fantasy)
-Fairy Tale
-Twisted Fairy Tale
-Epic/ High Fantasy
-Sword & Sorcery
-Hero's Journey
-Arthurian
-Disney 

-A model example of a subgenre or category befitting the overall Fantasy genre
-Either takes place in an alternate world OR something unnatural to our reality happens in the real world.
-Magic is possible.
-Contains a moral, good versus evil element
-Protagonist has little special skills, but is aided by the supporting characters with many special skills.

Honorable Mentions

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Groundhog Day
Hook
Pan's Labryinth
Labryinth
The Neverending Story
The Last Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Legend
Excalibur
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Beauty & The Beast
Peter Pan

I think these options demonstrate that Fantasy is something that can appeal to both younger and older audiences. It just shows that wide range of storytelling to be found from imagination and magical inspiration. Sure, most of these movies are aimed towards a younger audience, but some of them are gritty or best understood by an adult audience. It seems that Fantasy is a genre I've been pretty familiar with most of my life.

 My Top 10 Fantasy List

10. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-Contemporary

Set in a very real world place, all except for the whole Candy Land factory. What childhood fantasy doesn't include a forest of lollipops, a river of chocolate, and an elevator that can go any direction? There's also geese that lay golden eggs, a girl that gets turned into a human blueberry, and chocolate gets transported by television, so it definitely is not real life.

The Oompa Loompas are very exotic and fantastical beings. Charlie is a fairly ordinary boy from a fairly mundane home. He encounters imaginative sights and bizarre, almost cartoonish human characters. There's even a moral lesson throughout, where Charlie is rewarded for his lack of greed and his kind apology for recognizing when he does make mistakes.

9.Who Framed Roger Rabbit-Urban

Just like Willy Wonka, this movie also takes place in a very real-world setting. The L.A. Hollywood setting is very urban and real. However, I think we can all agree that animation characters don't normally run around our city streets. There is an entire other world, or at the very least an alternate town, where cartoon characters live. This movie doesn't really tackle the existential questions on how man-made characters come to life or why the citizenry is just limited to the cartoons that existed in that time period. What it does do well is make the fantasy concept realistic. You really see and can believe that Roger and Jessica Rabbit are capable of interacting with real humans.

8. Brothers Grimm-Twisted Fairy Tale

Terry Gilliam's movies are all generally fantastical in concept and design. The trick with this movie, however, is that it is literally inspired by the fairy tales/ folklores popularized by the real Grimm brothers. The great thing about the fantasy in this movie is that while the brothers are skeptical of the authenticity of the folklore that they profit from, their experiences lead them directly to personal encounters with fairy tale characters like The Big Bad Wolf and Rapunzel amongst even more bizarre creatures.

We tend to think that fairy tales are pleasant and sweet because of Disney, but this movie reminds us that the original fairy tales are much darker than we remember and they would be spooky to encounter in real life. Romantic fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty or goofy stories like the Ginger Bread Man become nightmarish in this cinematic adaptation of Grimm stories.

7. Pirates of the Caribbean-Sword & Sorcery

Hear me out. The most basic elements of the Sword & Sorcery subgenre are that the time period limits the weaponry to mainly melee weapons (ex. swords) and the fantasy elements involved in the story rely on the use of magic and magical creatures (ex. sorcery). Just because this movie isn't filled with half-naked people in a European Dark Ages locale swinging swords at wizards doesn't mean that the elements of the subgenre are not here.

The best and most memorable action moments in Pirates of the Caribbean are the sword duels. There's tons of swashbuckling in this movie, much moreso than guns or cannon fire. There's also the magical elements of cursed treasure that turn the pirates into skeletal immortals. Magic exists in this otherwise realistic world (and you could even argue there is a sorceress in the Tia Dalma character in the later movies).

This story contains a good vs. evil plot element, but with a twist. We understand who the real villains are and who the heroes are supposed to be, however there is the anti-hero, vagabond-with-a-good-heart Jack Sparrow and the gallant Commodore Norrington can be just as much of a threatening obstacle as the pirate villains. In the end, this movie has all of the sword-wielding heroes fighting magic-fueled antagonists one would hope to find in the Sword & Sorcery subgenre.

6. The Sword in the Stone-Arthurian

Technically not a cheat because this is here for the Arthurian fantasy elements rather than Disney animation magic. Despite the various movies that have been made that revolve around the Arthurian legends, the only other real contenders for this slot would have been Camelot, the musical that lacks any actual magic and therefore is pointless on this list, and Excalibur, which had some potential, but led to just a lot of dark drama and hard-hitting swordplay, again not really focused on the magic.

In this movie, Merlin's regular presence leads to a lot of magical moments and transformations. It's still set in the medieval time period with swordplay here and there, but Merlin works hard to make sure Arthur's growth is more about brains than brawn, since Arthurian legend also depends on Arthur's morality and grand vision for things like Camelot and the Round Table. The magic in this movie is both whimsical and adventurous, helpful and powerful. They transform mundane locations like trees and moats into adventurous wonderlands. Arthurian legends are fantastical because of elements like Merlin and the sword Excalibur, and this movie takes time to shine a light on both.

5. Wizard of Oz-Fairy Tale

What's in a fairy tale? With fairy tales, the main characters are often damsels in distress, who encounter a magical world inhabited by enchanted creatures and must find their way back home by overcoming forces of darkness.

In this, Dorothy must find some way back to her Kansas home by journeying through the land of Oz, filled with talking trees, color-changing horses, flying monkeys, and witches. There is literally a divide of good versus evil personified in the two living witches Dorothy encounters.

She receives support and help from the enchanted characters of Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, though she also helps them too which is how their friendships are developed. Though often found screaming, being attacked, and imprisoned, Dorothy breaks the damsel in distress mold a tiny bit by doing things like rescuing Toto from Lion when the others cower in fear or standing up to the Wicked Witch and defeating her through luck.

4. Return to Oz-Dark Fantasy

It starts and ends in the real world, but unlike the preceding Oz movie, this sequel lets you know that the fantasy world of Oz is more than just a part of Dorothy's imagination. The magical powers and fantastical creatures also are more unusual and numerous than in the previous Oz movie. There are head-swapping witches, wind-up robots, pumpkin-men and Gumps brought to life by powder, talking chickens, a desert that murders people, and creatures that are made of rock.

This movie has a reputation for being much grimmer and spookier than the previous Oz movie. There are more shadows and sinister characters that Dorothy faces here. The Wheelers, Princess Mombi, and the Gnome King are all wicked characters with wicked designs. Even the settings are darker since they are either in ruins or prison-esque places where the antagonists try to trap Dorothy against her will. It's still an enchanted land of Oz, but a little grittier than the last time Dorothy and the audience last visited it.

3. Alice in Wonderland-Disney

Yes, the original animated version and not the Tim Burton one. Wonderland itself is a very unique place with bizarre creatures and living objects. It is a place of nonsense and its anything-goes characters makes us appreciate the order and sensibilities of the real world. Though filled with dark backgrounds and characters Alice has to be cautious around, nothing is as threatening as it may seem, or at least there's always a goofy solution to dangerous problems. The sights and sounds in this movie are all colorful and fantastical, nothing sounds or looks like something seen or heard in the real world. Alice is an ordinary girl finding herself in an extraordinary situation.

2. The Dark Crystal-Hero's Journey

Jen the Gelfling has no real powers of his own. He goes on a special quest to defeat sinister forces that are outside of his known comfort zone. Along the way he finds allies that assist him and our protagonist grows to become a hero because of the events that happen in this story. He rescues the girl, utilizes the tools and knowledge shared with him on his journey, and shows incredible courage in times of need.

The use of puppets in this movie helps to vividly create the fantasy world setting which features lots of bizarre creatures. This is a unique world with characters we rarely see in other fantasies, but the magic and moral elements are still recognizable.

1. Fellowship of the Ring-Epic/High Fantasy

The Lord of the Rings movies are, at this moment in time, the greatest series of High Fantasy movies ever made in my opinion. To me, Fellowship of the Ring is the best out of the three. Middle Earth is such a thoroughly established world. Most modern fantasy concepts and characters draw inspiration from the hobbits, wizards, orcs, and melee-weapon heroes found in Lord of the Rings.

The team that Peter Jackson brought together worked incredibly hard to make Middle Earth as real and authentic as possible. From on-site location filming to the special-effects makeup that brought the orcs, hobbits, and other beings to life to the CGI, realism and technology help bring Middle Earth to life. There's much that happens in the story that cannot happen in real life, but the movies do make those impossible elements seem realistic.

It is a classic tale of good versus evil, with our heroes using both strength and heart to defeat their enemies. Frodo is a plain hobbit without any special skills like Gandalf, Aragorn, or Elrond, and yet he is literally a personification of big things coming in small packages. We also see that it is only with the aid of the fellowship that he is able to survive his journey.

Movies That May Replace Choices On My List After Future Viewings

The Thief of Bagdad
Willow

Ranking Movies of 2018

The good thing about this list is that I apparently only saw just a handful of movies that came to the big screen (or Netflix stream) in 2018, so the only challenge came in putting these movies in the correct order instead of sorting through a plethora of garbage.

We all know how ranking lists work and what kind of criteria is required for this list. Let's roll!

12. Solo: A Star Wars Story

Unfortunately the most boring of the movies I saw this year and one of the blandest Star Wars movies ever. Cinematography was dark (hard to see) half the time. References here were subtler than Rogue One, but still they shoved in way too much "what do people know about Han Solo" into here. Alden Ehrenreich did good in the role and his relationship with Chewie and Woody Harrelson's character were the best parts. Otherwise most characters were bland, the droid character was annoyingly on par with Jar Jar, and Paul Bettany was wasted.

11. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Best thing this movie has going for it is the CGI animation. The animals look incredibly realistic while maintaining an animation style in the face and eyes that lets you know they're not actually live animals. Things really slowed down and dragged once Mowgli joined the man village though. The cast all seems talented...but the movie was never really thrilling or engaging. It's hard to tell what audience this movie is for. 

10. Paul: Apostle of Christ

I applauded this movie for being just above average when I first saw it, but second viewing did not improve my impression of it. Cinematography was okay, but sometimes it reminded me of TV quality camerawork. Jim Cavizeal and James Faulkner carry this movie, they're more than half the reason to watch! Appreciation of this movie is limited because it's aimed at a very specific type of audience member. If someone is not the target audience, it's hard to enjoy the movie, and even if someone IS the target audience, it still leaves something to be desired.

9. Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Let's get this out of the way: Not every segment of the six-part anthology is good. I'm specifically referring to the Liam Neeson and Zoe Kazan pieces in terms of bad or boring stories, even if they have intriguing concepts. Then there are the James Franco and Brendan Gleeson pieces, which are good in their own bizarre way but also fall just short of intriguing or engaging. The standouts that seem to be universally praised by everyone are the zany Buster Scruggs opening and the Tom Waits gold miner solo piece. Both showcase Coen Brothers at their best in terms of dark comedy and brilliantly engaging character development. Perhaps if the individual stories had been tied together by something like same city or shared characters it would have been a more enjoyable experience, but just being connected by themes on death let them stumble as individual pieces.

8. Hostiles 

An underrated Western gem that I had trouble figuring out where to put it on the list. Its cinematography is spectacular, it does a great job of putting you into these physical locations in this particular time. The acting is all good, the gunplay is realistically brutal, there's tension between white soldiers and Native Americans, basically everything you want in a typical Western is there. I guess it's also kind of forgettable, even if the plot is simple. The images don't stay with you in the same way that modern Westerns like Unforgiven do.

7. Ant Man and the Wasp

This was a really fun, entertaining movie and I'm sorry I did not see it in theaters. It had great, eye-catching imagery. The main cast was all fun and knew where to throw in humor versus when to deliver serious emotional moments. The best thing about this movie is the relationships, particularly Ant-Man's relationships with his daughter and with Hope. I guess most people dismiss this movie since it does not have the same massive stakes and storyline consequences that majority of the MCU movies have. Yet, it satisfies as a bright, pleasing superhero movie. I put this ahead of Black Panther because I was ultimately more entertained by this movie. My biggest complaint I guess would be that Walton Goggins is wasted as a sad excuse for a villain with limited screen time.

6. Black Panther

For the most part, this is a very average superhero movie. The CGI is good in some places, like holograms, but when the CGI is used on humans and action scenes, it's obviously lacking. The story about the main character is very basic, nothing in the plot is surprising or exciting. Even the main character himself is not the most interesting character in his own movie, all of the supporting cast and villain shine brighter in this movie. If it were not for the real world sociopolitical issues in the story, I do not think this movie would be as highly regarded as it has become. However, with that said, it does a good job of sensibly connecting the real world problem with the plot of the story. It was entertaining enough and offered a couple of intriguing villains along with bright, colorful images that combined the traditional and the futuristic.

5. Avengers Infinity War

This is a very balanced movie that I think delivers on its promises and audience expectations. It has a lot of entertaining, thrilling action pieces at various locations. It gives us interesting character interactions and even a little bit of character development. It delivers a threatening villain that is charismatic yet intimidating. I do think that while the ultimate outcome itself was kind of a no-brainer from the start, there were still a couple of moments where the chain of events genuinely surprised me. For the most part it looked really great and balanced entertainment with melodramatic story arcs. This movie could have ended up being a disaster, but thankfully it was delightful.

4. Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

I am a little uneasy about putting this movie so high up the list. It is the latest movie I've seen and it carries a lot of positive reviews and hype that could influence my decision-making. However, I think this movie deserves all the praise it has received. The animation is unique looking, though it leaves room for variety and experimentation in the visuals. It is colorful and fun, but also dark and serious when it needs to be. I did find myself genuinely laughing at different moments as well as feeling thrilled and awed by others moments. I liked these characters. I surprisingly actually enjoyed seeing a superhero origin story on the big screen.

3. Annihilation

To be honest, the director's other movie Ex Machina is the more memorable and engaging movie. With that said, this is an eye-popping thought-provoking sci-fi thriller in the best ways possible. While the movie works at a slow pace, it keeps us hooked by providing various time jumps for character development and the visuals slowly get crazier and crazier as the story progresses. Even when the characters are not always being engaging, the images, ideas, and creativity involved in the movie keep things thrilling and moving forward.

2. Mission Impossible: Fallout

I don't know if it's because I had certain expectations coming in to this movie or if it was just put together very well, but I had a blast watching this Mission Impossible on the big screen. It has all of the crazy Tom Cruise stunts people have come to know and love. The basic premise is simple enough, almost television-esque, but it is the character relationships and the mystery life of the spy game that keeps everything shrouded in mystery or adds complexity.

1. Isle of Dogs 

Why is this movie not being talked about by more people? The artistry is superb here. It is signature Wes Anderson with all his trademarks, but it also leaves room for exploration in the setting, the stop-motion puppetry, and character interactions. It has trademark actors that Wes Anderson fans have seen in his previous movies, but it also has new voices and even a new language you never hear in an Anderson movie. The story is engaging, balancing humor and drama very well. I think for me the added bonus that sealed the deal for me was the theater experience, where everyone in the theater was respectfully watching and reacting to the movie appropriately in all the correct ways.

Sufjan Stevens Christmas (Music) Lists

Out of all the musicians that have put out Christmas-related music in the last few decades, Sufjan Stevens' collection of such tunes stands out as being one of the most unique offerings. Whether it's traditional hymns, brand new songs, standard folk, or alternative electronica, Sufjan Stevens created a wide variety of sounds in just 100 recorded songs...and yes, some of them are repeats of songs from earlier EPs.

To help you (and myself) sort through this potpourri of holiday music, I have assembled 10 lists. Each of these lists is a breakdown ranking of 5 songs for their respective category of song/ music style.

This is to give everyone a quick guide to specific kinds of songs that Sufjan Stevens created. This way, you and I will be able to quickly find the kind of songs we're looking for from Sufjan without shuffling past 10 non-related songs. At the very end, I will provide my overall opinion ranking of the songs featured on these 10 lists.


Top 5 New Takes on Classic Songs

1. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
2. Joy to the World (Vol. 4)
3. Little Drummer Boy
4. Carol of St. Benjamin the Bearded One
5. Coventry Carol

Sometimes people think of "traditional" things with a sort of disparaging concept of things that are stuck in the past, meaning that they are automatically bad. Yet, Sufjan has found a way of taking traditional hymns or classic songs and reworking them in a way that is both respectful and beautiful. I like the simple guitar strums in Little Drummer Boy, the restructured familiarity of Joy to the World, and the phone message simplicity of Bring a Torch.

Top 5 Sufjan Originals

1. Lumberjack Christmas/ No One Can Save You From Christmases Past
2. Only at Christmas Time
3. Get Behind Me, Santa!
4. Sister Winter
5. Christmas Unicorn

Not all of the songs on Sufjan's Christmas EPs are traditional hymns and modern pop hits. Some were composed specifically by him to capture the current Christmas experience and feeling. The more emotional, folk song Sufjan style is found in Sister Winter and Only at Christmas Time. Then there's some fun songs like Get Behind Me, Santa! (I just love that re-worked reference) and Lumberjack Christmas. And of course, there's the enigma that is Christmas Unicorn.

Top 5 Banjo Songs

1. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Vol. 1)
2. I Saw Three Ships
3. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
4. Auld Lang Syne
5. Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming (Vol. 1)

I love me some banjo in my music. It's got a simple yet distinct acoustic sound. These five songs are dominated by that twangy sound. It's not even complex picking as far as I can tell. It's just simple rhythmic strumming that controls the pace, tone, and style of the song.

Top 5 Medieval Sounding Tunes

1. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Vol. 1)
2. Once in Royal David's City (Vol. 2)
3. Morning (Sacred Harp)
4. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Vol 10)
5. All the Kings Horns

When you think of the Renaissance Faire, or Medieval times in general, what instruments and musical sounds do you hear? To me, they include the shawm, recorder, flutes, harp, lute, crumhorn, and other bizarre wooden instruments. These 5 songs, to me, capture those sounds, though I think most of those sounds are recreated using electronic keyboards. A part of me wishes to be reassured that the music really was recorded with someone blowing into a recorder or a shawm.

Top 5 Instrumentals

1. Morning (Sacred Harp)
2. Hark the Herald Angel Sing (Vol. 2)
3. Angels We Have Heard On High (Vol 2)
4. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
5. Make Haste to See the Baby

Sometimes songs do not need words. Other times some songs are best known for their lyrics and yet can sound just as beautiful just using instruments alone. Some songs have that Christmas time atmosphere with bells, xylophones, and pianos. Others are just hauntingly beautiful, great for contemplation. These 5 reflect that beautiful range of purely instrumental music.

Top 5 Group Jams

1. O Holy Night (Vol. 3)
2. Auld Lang Syne
3. Jingle Bells (Vol 7)
4. Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling
5. Put the Lights on the Tree

This Top 5 list has a companion Top 5 selection that seems similar, but is ultimately different:

Top 5 Choir Songs

1. Idumea
2. The Sleigh in the Moon
3. Ah Holy Jesus
4. How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee
5. Ave Maria

There is a difference between group jam and choir, at least in my mind. Group jam has more of a disorganized feel. It's casual. You can get some friends together for drinks, have a few instruments on hand, and just blaze through some songs in a fun, loud, carefree way.

Choir music, on the other hand, is more focused and controlled. The volume and tone changes depending on the music, there are multiple levels that have to be unified, and really there's more of an art and a beauty to choir sounds than the simplistic fun of group jams.

Top 5 Electro Technobabble

1. Star of Wonder
2. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Vol 8)
3. X-Mas Spirit Catcher
4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
5. Do You See What I See?

Sufjan seems to love experimenting with autotone and techno sounds in the backgrounds, and that's what these songs reflect. They are dominated by gadgetry and computerized sounds.

Top 5 Advent Songs

1. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Vol 1)
2. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
3. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming (Vol 1)
4. Ave Maria
5. How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee

Advent often gets overlooked this time of year, but it's a beautiful period of time for contemplation and anticipation, patiently waiting for Christmas while keeping it as a separate celebration. These 5 traditional songs help reflect these ideas. They also ultimately reflect on the ideas of what Christmas really means, and are great tunes to maintain that patient mindset.

Top 5 Songs About Jesus

1. Ah Holy Jesus (with reed organ)
2. Once in Royal David's City (Vol 2)
3. Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light
4. What Child Is This Anyway?
5. Silent Night (Vol 6)

We wouldn't even have Christmas if we didn't have Jesus Christ, so it's only right that there should be music that celebrates Him at this time of year. These songs put the focus on Our Lord and the wondrous jubilation of His birth. Here, lyrics were as important as instruments and titles. Some other Sufjan songs had wonderful titles and beautiful instruments, but didn't ultimately mention Jesus in the song itself, so they didn't make the cut here.

Overall Ranking of Listed Songs

Some of the selection is based on how the songs were ranked in the above lists. After all, I obviously favor some over others in particular circumstances.

However, ranking ultimately is based on my immediate desire to listen to the song as well as how often I would choose to skip the song. The middle section is the most flexible and therefore the hardest to really choose in that listen/skip comparison.

41. What Child Is This Anyway?
40. Sister Winter
39. Do You See What I See?
38. All the Kings Horns
37. Christmas Unicorn
36. Silent Night (Vol 6)
35. Make Haste to See the Baby
34. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
33. Coventry Carol
32. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Vol 10)
31. Auld Lang Syne
30. Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming (Vol. 1)
29. Carol of St. Benjamin the Bearded One
28. How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee
27. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
26. Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling
25. X-Mas Spirit Catcher
24. Ave Maria
23. Angels We Have Heard On High (Vol 2)
22. Jingle Bells (Vol 7)
21. Ah Holy Jesus
20. Put the Lights on the Tree
19. Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light
18. Joy to the World (Vol. 4)
17. Little Drummer Boy
16. Get Behind Me, Santa!
15. O Holy Night (Vol. 3)
14. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
13. The Sleigh in the Moon
12. Ah Holy Jesus (with reed organ)
11. Morning (Sacred Harp)
10. Hark the Herald Angel Sing (Vol. 2)
9. Only at Christmas Time
8. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Vol 8)
7. Star of Wonder
6. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
5. Once in Royal David's City (Vol. 2)
4. I Saw Three Ships
3. Lumberjack Christmas/ No One Can Save You From Christmases Past
2. Idumea
1. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Vol. 1)

Coheed and Cambria The Unheavenly Creatures Album Review

After completing my ranking of Coheed and Cambria's discography last year, I figured it was worthwhile to checkout their newest album release, Vaxis Act 1: The Unheavenly Creatures. I wanted to give my initial thoughts on the album, providing as much fresh emotion and insight into the music as possible. Partly, I just wanted to see if this was an album that, as a fan with fading love for the band's music, I would love or be disappointed in.

A lot of my focus will not just be on the sounds and instruments, but the relation of this album to previous albums and also on Claudio Sanchez, singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band. It's also fair to warn you ahead, in case you are yet aware, that this album continues the sci-fi story that Coheed and Cambria's music is infamous for.

I had some benefit beforehand of listening to the multiple singles that got released prior to this album release. Basically 1/3 of this album was at my disposal to listen to ahead of the official release of all 15 songs in one package. This kind of colored my impression of the album beforehand, but...well, let's just see what my general first impressions are of this album.

Prologue

Well it's nice to see some things don't change. Coheed has stuck with their album formula by starting this one with an atmospheric instrumental. This time it features rumbling whispered narration, setting up the basics of the storyline this album is to unfold. The instrument selection is both good and bad to me. While it's refreshing for Coheed to utilize both soft piano tunes as well as more synthesizers/electronic sounds in this album, it can feel like a drastic shift away from standard Coheed, being more like Claudio's side project Prize Fighter Inferno. But previous Coheed intros Pretelethal and Keeping the Blade were both awesome, and this one stands out like those do.

The Dark Sentencer

I made a comment on the Youtube video for this song that basically described this song as Domino the Destitute, a song from the band's Afterman Ascension album, if it was written for The Color Before the Sun album. This song, to me, is an example of cliche Coheed music as it currently stands. The tone of the guitars and vocals, and pacing of the drums and bass, sound pretty similar, almost too similar, to other songs in recent albums. It's supposed to be the hard hitting, 7 minute, prog rock opening anthem of the album, but it doesn't pump me up the way In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 (IKSSE3) or...well, Domino does. It's also a tad slow for an anthem to me.

Perhaps two other major crimes this song commits include: 1) Continual "Heys" in the beginning that feel purposefully manipulative so that audience members will chant that live in concert. Compare this to the actual IKSSE3 song, where the audience willingly shouts "Man your own jackhammer! Man your battle stations!" because it's a good part of the song and they voluntarily sing along because it's fun to shout. 2) The lines of "Welcome home" in the chorus also feels intentionally manipulative, giving a throwback shoutout to the band's most successful song ever.

Unheavenly Creatures

This song is kind of more new signature Coheed, representing the strengths and weaknesses of Coheed's music from the last four albums. I'll admit that it is super catchy and probably my favorite out of the singles. It has a pleasing tone, with a surprising start that highlights the electronic keyboard sounds that the band has brought in for this album. This song, even when the song goes hard rock, shows off Coheed's poppy and punkish side simultaneously. The downside to this song is that lyrically, and even to some extent instrumentally, it sounds like something that a high school band would write and perform, which was a critique I had with some of the songs on their album The Color Before the Sun (TCTBS). The odd thing is, I kind of want to hear what this song would sound like if Coheed performed it back in their Live at the Starland Ballroom days, when they were closer to high school age.

Toys

Here is where the album actually begins to truly catch my interest. This is the first song of the album that, to me, demonstrates Coheed's new standard in recent albums while also doing a sonic experiment in a different direction. The first minute or so is like Claudio making an attempt to replicate Justin Vernon's work as Bon Iver. Afterwards it's a Coheed flavored 80s hair metal power ballad. There's also a blazing guitar solo about 5 minutes in that's pretty fun.

Black Sunday

Can't say I'm too crazy about the name, but I actually enjoy the tone of the tune. It's menacing and grungy, drawn out like the nu-metal pieces of yore (meaning early 2000s). The bass and guitar have those sinister sounds that nu-metal was known for. Basically I'm saying this song truly stands out from the rest of the pack, while still maintaining a sense of standard Coheed and Cambria sounds. This truly feels like the progress of a band who made songs like Gravity's Union and The Audience.

Queen of the Dark

For the first half of the song, the instrumentals remind me of Coheed's performance of IRO-Bot at Neverender. In a good way. The pacing is somewhat slow, but there's something about the harsh fuzz on the guitar and the steady pacing of the drums and vocals that keep my attention. It's, as a the name may suggest, a dark sounding song, going for minor notes and lower register for Claudio's voice. The worst thing about this song to me is probably how repetitive the lyrics are (Claudio says Queen of the Dark probably a hundred times before the end).

True Ugly

Dang, this thing kicks off into high gear right out the gate! That snare drum and buzzing bass are in the driver's seat here. This is the kind of song that you blast out your windows as you blaze a trail down the highway. I can imagine this would be a fun song to jam out to seeing this band live. I can see this as the kind of song that flies under the radar for other Coheed fans, but remain an underrated gem in my eyes, similar to their This Shattered Symphony and Mothers of Men.

Love Protocol

This one demonstrates a kind of hybrid of classic Coheed and new Coheed. The plucky guitar and backing instrumentals in the verses are reminiscent to me of songs from IKSSE3 and Good Apollo 1 like Backend of Forever and Mother May I respectively. The main chorus is the kind of galactic love jam that Coheed seems to love in songs like Here to Mars. It's at this point in the album, however, that I begin to realize how many romance-focused songs there are on this thing, which seems to be a topic Claudio loves to write about in recent years. Not necessarily a bad thing per se, and I overall blame this romantic focus on the relationship of the main characters in album's storyline, but there's only so long you can listen to songs about characters who love each other within an hour.

The Pavilion (A Long Way Back)

Is this happy Coheed? It's surprisingly upbeat. This song follows the overall tone from The Dark Sentencer, but makes it brighter and more chipper. The classic string instruments in the background are a nice touch, not overwhelming but pleasantly noticeable. I know I keep bringing up a lot of comparisons in these analyses, but there's something about the echoing rhythm guitar and overall sound that makes me think of The Killers for some reason, just at a faster pace. I can see Brandon Flowers singing this song...if the instruments were a tad quieter.

Night-Time Walkers

Did we enter an 80's sci-fi flick? The intro keyboard tones are very surprising at the start. Then the drums and bass kick in, and you know you're back in Coheed-territory. Those synths dominate this song though, they provide both atmosphere and freshness in the music. This is almost an experimental song for Coheed, it doesn't sound like anything else in their discography. The newness actually works in a good way, it expands the band's overall tone rather than totally divert away from their roots. The vocals kind of annoy me in the chorus, but then Claudio uses some technical effects in the second verse that would impress Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and Kevin Parker from Tame Impala.

The Gutter

What is with these piano intros, Claudio? I'm genuinely confused by this song. It overall has some gentle sounding vocals, except for random sporadic screams in the middle. It wants to sound hard and fresh, but it comes off more harmless and generic. This isn't the kind of progressive rock that has multiple layers of different sounds, time signatures, etc. This is radio-friendly alternative rock not at its finest. The sounds in this song are the new cliche Coheed officially established in TCTBS. Basically, from the first time I heard this single, I expected more out of Coheed and Cambria than what this song gave me.

All on Fire

Seriously, WHAT IS WITH THESE PIANO INTROS ALL OVER THE PLACE? Oh wait...we're in Ten Speed guitar land also?...Okay. This song has got very rough'n'tumble guitars in those low minor notes that Coheed is very comfortable with. This is one of those songs that seems to be playing with quick switches between time signatures and tones, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. In some ways, this almost sounds like an attempt to do classical-inspired metal, but it definitely maintains that Coheed and Cambria flavor.

It Walks Among Us

This song is itself a hybrid of songs on this album, part galactic hard rock, part 80s synth-drven sci-fi soundtrack. Perhaps because it is a hybrid, it doesn't really stand out much to me. The sounds are very repetitive from other sounds I already heard on this album. Every once in awhile, a guitar squeals or the bass drum gets doubled, but that's like the occasional grease pop noise over the sound of frying bacon. Pleasant enough, but you kind of get accustomed to the noise after awhile.

Old Flames

It wants to be as catchy as Unheavenly Creatures, but it's not, and it unfortunately suffers from the same problem of sounding too high school-ish. I've seen some people compare this song to the In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 era songs, but I think the closest connection is the silly "Nahs" that fill the entire last third of this song on constant repeat. Which is another moment in this album that feels like the band is purposefully trying to manipulate the listeners so that the audience will constantly chant that during live performances. The other problem is similar to The Gutter, it sounds like generic alternative rock that makes it hard for Coheed to stand apart as a unique band.

Lucky Stars

Ah, the acoustic ballad! Finally, I get to hear those gentle tones. Somewhat surprisingly, the instruments are lacking an electronic influence (at least in the first half). It's all strings, including a string quartet in the background. Without that classical music influence, this would mostly feel like a 60s folk ballad, almost Simon and Garfunkel-esque (I really do apologize for the constant comparisons). I do wonder though: Why is Coheed putting these acoustic songs towards the end now, instead of using them as a breather in the middle? Also, there's a sweet jazzy rock guitar solo that gives us that uplifting electric feeling.

Top 5 Songs I Recommend from The Unheavenly Creatures

Black Sunday, Queen of the Dark, True Ugly, Night-Time Walkers, Lucky Stars

Additional Thoughts and Comments

There's something about the production quality of this album that rubs me the wrong way. It feels super computerized, too reliant on gadgetry for both the instruments and the vocals. Lots of people gave Coheed's Year of the Black Rainbow (YOTBR) album crap for the studio magic and manipulative production, but for whatever reason lap praise on this one. In YOTBR, the studio magic was an aid. Here on The Unheavenly Creatures, it's a distraction.

Something that stands out to me in this album, and also in some of Coheed's recent work like TCBTS, is the vulgar language. I noticed plenty of F-bombs and similar words throughout the songs. Not that they absolutely ruin the songs for me, but the way I remember it, such words were used sparingly in most of Coheed's other albums, maybe an F-bomb on 1 or 2 songs per album max. It stands out more here, and whenever I hear those words in the lyrics, it just sounds unnecessary and frankly juvenile.

Another bizarre feature of this album worth noting is how repetitive the lyrics can be. There's always that sentence or phrase that Claudio repeats dozens of times in each song that makes him seem if not a little lazy then at least a little unimaginative. Yeah, it sounds like harsh nitpicking, but you try listening to someone say Nah, Hey, or Queen of the Dark on loop for even 5 minutes straight without thinking something negative about it.

A part of me almost wishes Claudio would experience another heartbreak or have some other strong emotional experience. What I mean is that not only was early Coheed was imaginative, but Claudio used that imagination to channel his heartache from a breakup into the songs on Good Apollo 1, the best album the band has ever put out. Either the creativity isn't like it used to be or things are just going too well for Claudio and the rest of the band to get super inventive.

I do not know whether it is a good or bad thing for me to say that this album makes me want to go back and revisit Coheed and Cambria's first three albums. Going back to earlier albums, and hearing the sounds between something like IKSSE3 and this album makes it sound like they were put together by two completely separate bands. Granted, Coheed's earlier production had less money for quality, but they made up for it in skill, energy, and creativity.

The Unheavenly Creatures is drastically different from the past, though perhaps it cements the sound and style that Coheed and Cambria has been going for the last 5+ years. Offhand, this album is definitely better than TCBTS, but only time will tell where exactly I would put it in the bottom half of my Coheed album rankings.

P.S.- Where is the 4 song suite of imaginative prog rock songs!? We only got 1 prog song on here that is over 7 minutes long and every other song being 5+ minutes doesn't make up for that!

Top 10 Directors Working In the 21st Century (Thus Far)

This is list consists of directors that have been busy the last several years making high quality movies. I wanted to ponder and acknowledge which of the directors currently working today have brought me the most entertainment and how much their works have influenced my appreciation of movies. Below are the following conditions for how I have chosen and sorted this list.

Conditions

-I have seen at least 2 of their movies
-Director regularly produces work in the 21st Century
-My selection of movie recommendation choices are limited to 21st Century movies
-Quality over Quantity as the case made be.
-My selections are all based on my subjective opinions.

10. Brad Bird

Brad Bird is a well renowned name these days, though maybe not as big of a public figure as some of the other picks on this list. I was greatly thrilled and entertained by both Mission Impossible and The Incredibles (still haven't seen the sequel). Though I think it is interesting I appreciate an animation directors' live action movie moreso than the animated one.

Recommended Movie Mentions

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The Incredibles

9. Ryan Coogler

The man has made very entertaining movies, with a dash of thematic commentary. I haven't yet seen Fruitvale Station, though I hear great things about it. He and Michael B. Jordan make a great team. Not only do Coogler's movies look good (for the most part. Black Panther had some CGI issues), but they sound good while also utilizing silence or quiet to punch up emotional moments.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Creed

Black Panther

8. James Mangold

The man knows how to direct action scenes and his adventures are quite gritty. It seems his movies are also very individual, it's hard to pick up on particular style or motifs in each of his works, which is a good thing in this case. Mangold is also very good at getting some very realistically human dialogue and emotional performances out of actors in the types of movies that are usually more focused on pure action.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Logan

3:10 to Yuma

Identity

7. Alejandro Innaritu

Innaritu seems to be the kind of director that uses movies as a form of art rather than just entertainment. I've only seen two of his movies, but they're both Oscar winning movies, so that's gotta be good, right? Both have very impressive visuals and terrific acting performances. I like the way Innaritu utilizes angles and camera movements around the actors to get different emotions and atmospheres.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Birdman

The Revenant

6. Damien Chazelle

I realize the kid has only just gotten to the party and just started making a name for himself recently (my recommended list consists of the only two full length theatrical releases he has made thus far-First Man comes out soon). However, Whiplash is just such a great, great movie! It is thrilling and stunning. La La Land, though not as great to me, also shows how well Chazelle can craft a big budget movie and find some way to make it pop out and stand above the rest of awards competitors.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Whiplash

La La Land

5. Denis Villeneuve

Villeneuve, to me, is kind of a combination of Inarritu and Mangold. He crafts movies in a very artistic way rather than just focused on entertainment. He also has created enough diverse movies that it's hard to pick up any particular style, angles, themes, or other connecting factors between his filmography. While much of his work is focused on dark, tense subject matter, there's still some very humanizing moments as well.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Arrival

Sicario

Blade Runner 2049

4. Quentin Tarantino

I think my introduction to Tarantino was actually the Volume 2 of Kill Bill. Somehow that movie and the DVD's trailers for his previous movies was enough to get me interested in checking out the rest of his body of work during my teenage years. Tarantino was one of the first directors where I intentionally sought out his whole filmography.

Though I ultimately prefer his earlier modern crime movies to his current string of cinemsnob genre homages, he does still make some very beautiful movies. I enjoy Tarantino's appreciation of film history and the little nods to the films and styles that came before him. He also gets some interesting performances from a wide variety of different actors. Not to mention that Tarantino is also revered for his quality scriptwriting as much as his direction.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Kill Bill
Inglorious Basterds

3. Joel & Ethan Coen

What a diverse selection of works in this century. Coen Brothers movies always vary in terms of genre, purpose, and quality, but they consistently make intriguing and unique movies. I like that these are brothers that are working together to create high quality entertainment (or art as the case may be). This is also another example on the list of where the director has some great movies in the 20th century, but in order to make the cut for this list, they also needed to have stellar movies in this 21st century. I think what ultimately puts the Coens ahead of Tarantino for me is their movies involve less revelry in the profane and grotesque, but rather enjoy the bizarre humor of life.

Recommended Movies Mentions

No Country for Old Men

Hail Caesar

O Brother Where Art Thou

2. Wes Anderson

Take Tarantino's love for cinema history and then add zany, colorful creativity to the project and you are led to Wes Anderson. He has a very particular style that shows up in each movie he directs, even in the stop motion ones. The symmetry, the color palettes, the dialogue, the Bill Murrays, there's just always those things that let you know Wes Anderson directed it. I like the imagination and enchantment found in his work. Not to mention overall it's more accessible or at least less aggressive than Tarantino's work.

Recommended Movies Mentions

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Moonrise Kingdom

The Grand Budapest Hotel

1. Christopher Nolan

I think Christopher Nolan has made consistently incredible movies. Okay, so Dark Knight Rises didn't make too much sense, and the ending of Interstellar is kinda bonkers, but not everyone can overall manage to film as many impressive and thrilling movies as Nolan. He knows how to take movies in a dark direction without being too spooky, and always with some hope and inspiration to keep this uplifting just enough. The movies always look good, they always sound good, and he even effectively plays with unique narrative time frames (the order in which the story is told) that should make Tarantino envious (Boy, I sure mention Tarantino a lot for someone who puts him at #4, hunh?).

Recommended Movies Mentions

Memento

The Prestige

The Dark Knight

Top 10 Western Genre Movies of All Time

Defining the Genre

AFI defined the Western as a movie "set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier". The online Encyclopedia Britannica specifically defined the setting of a Western as something "set in the American West, usually in the period from the 1850s to the end of the 19th century".

A writer at a website called Filmsite agreed with both of these descriptions saying "Westerns are often set on the American frontier during the last part of the 19th century (1865-1900) following the Civil War, in a geographically western (trans-Mississippi) setting with romantic, sweeping frontier landscapes or rugged rural terrain". Overall though, we know the general time and the general place that define Westerns.

I also liked their description of the feeling and attitude of a Western where they wrote that a Western is "a nostalgic eulogy to the early days of the expansive, untamed American frontier (the borderline between civilization and the wilderness)". I like that emphasis on the borderline between civilization and wilderness, where people in the frontier were not living in big cities or developed areas, but they weren't exactly surviving in the wild either, for the most part.

Westerns are generally also defined by the presence of cowboys, which when you see one you know what it is. Sometimes the cowboys are soldiers fighting Native American warriors, sometimes they're marshals fending off bandits and outlaws, but no matter what there's always revolvers and rifles involved. Most often a cowboy is a lone wolf and a heroic legendary figure, though sometimes they rely on allies and shed back the legendary layers to become rounded, vulnerable people.

AFI's Top 10 Westerns List

1. The Searchers
2. High Noon
3. Shane
4. Unforgiven
5. Red River
6. Wild Bunch
7. Butch Cassidy Sundance Kid
8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
9. Stagecoach
10. Cat Ballou

Majority of these, especially the Top 3, are very well known and well renowned Western genre movies. I had not really heard much of #8 before and I surely never heard of #10 before. Notice also that, while not totally dominating the list in the same way that Disney dominated the Animation list, John Wayne leads 3 of these movies, and there is a surprising lack of Clint Eastwood, though again that might be because AFI was limited to American movies and could not include the Spaghetti Western subgenre selections.

My Outline for My Genre List

I had two guides for helping me outline my own defining features of the Western genre. The first was the basic principle definitions found above. The second was a list of various subgenres of Westerns I found on the New York Film Academy website. Those subgenres include: Epic, Spaghetti, Revenge, Outlaw, Marshal, & Revisionist

-Character archetypes: Heroic cowboy, tough prostitute/saloon gal, marshal/sheriff, prim-proper lady
-Cowboy's features: Wide-brimmed hats, bandanas, boots, spurs, and horse-back riding.
-Morality examination: Right versus wrong and lawful versus unlawful, asks when it's okay to take law and order into one's own hands.
-Beautiful vista shots of rural landscapes including plains, sagebrush, desert, and mountains.
-Small developing town with a hotel, a saloon, and/or a tavern.
-Guns constantly used or play an important role.
-Late 19th century timeframe, not around modern times.
-Romanticized view of the past and the cowboy figure.
-Honest look at the reality of men and the frontier life, if not romanticized.

Honorable Mentions

-Assassination of Jesse James
-True Grit (Coens, I haven't seen the original all the way through)
-Open Range
-3:10 to Yuma (both versions)

As you can tell, majority of these mentions are more contemporary and newer movies. The themes and attitude come from a more modern sense, so they have a more honest look on life and philosophy in the west than older romanticized cowboy movies.

I generally consider Assassination of Jesse James to be more of a melodrama than a Western, though it certainly has the setting, gunplay, and thematic qualifications to be a Western. Not to mention Jesse James is a pretty common figure in Western cowboy mythology and media.

Ultimately, even though movies like Open Range and True Grit have sleek looks and fit within the confines of the Western genre, they ultimately do not hold my interest and excitement upon rewatching them, nor do I find them unique enough to be definitive examples of the genre.

My Top 10 Westerns List

10. Sukiyaki Western Django

A twist on Spaghetti Westerns, where instead of European actors having their lines dubbed over by native English speakers, this movie has Japanese actors speaking their own broken English dialogue. You have the heroic cowboy figure, clad in hat, boots, & spurs, staying in a small town in a desert mountain area. There's lots of gunplay involved, obviously influenced by the more ridiculous B-level Spaghetti Westerns of yore. Though there is also the presence of Japanese samurai movie artistry, it's cool to see another nation and culture interpret the American cowboy mythos and Western genre and put their own spin on it.

9. Hostiles

I was hesitant to put this movie on the list since it is the most recent out of the bunch and not necessarily even the most memorable movie I've seen in 2018. There's not even a typical cowboy figure. What impressed me the most about this movie was the landscapes. The places that this group journeys through out in the wild frontier really reminded me of the kind of landscapes I saw when I spent time in Montana and Colorado. These are very definitive Western locations and the cinematography captures them beautifully. Add in the struggle of frontier survival and antagonistic relationships between white soldiers and Native Americans and you have a recipe for a subtle yet realistically human Western.

8. Tombstone

There had to be some interpretation of the infamous O.K. Corral battle on this list, and it just happened to be the most fun, most Hollywood version of it (technically also the only one I've seen). There's drinking, there's cigar smoking, there's gambling in saloons and taverns. Handsome mustaches, cowboy hats, revolver twirling, marshals battling outlaws. It's very much a definitive Western. What makes this movie stand out though is Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. He embodies that tough heroic cowboy figure often given in to vices, but he's a charming southern gentleman and a good friend to other tough heroic cowboy figures.

7. Magnificent Seven

Yes, a part of me put the movie here for a joke. Courageous cowboys stand up against insurmountable odds out of a sense of honor and pride. Poor farmers take the law into their own hands in a place without law & order. There's plenty of gunplay and dusty trails covered. The cowboys are very romanticized in this movie since they are the heroes, even if they are selfish or troubled.

6. Unforgiven

I initially had this movie in the Honorable Mentions area because of just how dark and revisionist of a Western it is. Our protagonist used to be a ruthless killer who has worked to amend for his past sins but in the end reverts to his old ways. And the antagonist is not really anything too different, it's just a beyond-tough lawman who abuses his power without remorse. There's nothing very noble going on about either of their actions since the main conflict revolves around the protagonist accepting a financial reward by killing men in order to avenge an abused prostitute.

I think what makes this Western work and stand out compared to the others is that if this was a Clint Eastwood movie 20 years earlier (like Outlaw Josey Wales), his character and actions would be glorified, but here it's depressing and examined in a negative light. No one is heroic or glorified here in the traditional sense of standard Western films.

5. Rio Bravo

This one is just more of a model of fun, action Western. You've got John Wayne in his typical cowboy gear with rifle in tow. Dean Martin is an alcoholic gunslinger. There's carefree yet tense use of guns throughout. It's about the courage of a few in the face of many enemies, an alternative take on High Noon. The marshal must defend himself and his friends from outlaw thugs bent on freeing their captured leader. Like I stated earlier, I mainly just remember this movie for the fun interaction between the romanticized cowboys and the gunplay involved throughout the movie.

4. High Noon

What puts this movie ahead of Rio Bravo is the philosophical, moral quandary at its center. Is it better to give up violence and run away, or to stand up and fight even if it means doing it alone? There's the law versus the outlaws. There's a tense gun battle at the end. The protagonist sheriff is obviously afraid and nervous about having to face the battle alone, but none of the other men in town have the courage and loyalty to fight alongside him. The sheriff wants to put away the past, but there's a new prim and proper Quaker wife that he has to live for and protect.

3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Once again, it's the philosophical questions that really make this film special. When is it okay to kill someone? Is truth or legend the better reality? Should a man avoid guns at all costs or learn to live with them? Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne are both known for their dramatic roles in Western movies and these performances are highlights of that fact. This movie both romanticizes the wild past of the west and gives an honest examination on what the men, life, and ideas were really like in the wild west.

2. The Searchers

The cinematography is one of the most outstanding elements of this movie. It really captures the look and feel of living out in the American western frontier. The colors really stand out and the shots are framed with purpose. John Wayne plays more of a gritty Clint Eastwood type in this movie, having a sense of purpose in his actions but lacking the romantic charm and friendliness of cowboys in earlier Westerns. This seems to be the start of the divide between fun, idealized cowboy movies and the gritty honest look at real frontier living. I think had Johns Ford and Wayne not visited this location and made such a stellar team up in an earlier movie, this may have been the number one. 

1. Stagecoach

In my Valuable Films list, I placed Stagecoach as the top Western movie and I still stand by that. Some of the defining traits of the Western film genre that I mentioned included: character archetypes, guns, horseback riding, particular landscape locations in southwest US, 19th century time period. I also mentioned how it lacked gritty violence and anti-heroism seemed to define later Western movies. People are not as good as they seem nor as they as bad as they may seem. I'd say the only characters that really lack depth or complexity to them is the thieving banker, Mr. Gatewood, and the whiskey drummer Rev. Hancock...I mean Mr. Peacock.

Movies That May Replace Choices on My List Upon Future Viewing

Shane
Red River
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West

Valuable Movies: Mission Impossible Fallout

Warning: Your mission, should you choose to accept the consequences of reading this review, is to not freak out when you see any spoilers for the movie without having seen it first. You have been warned.

So, the sixth Mission Impossible movie came to theaters recently. As someone who has been entertained by several of the MI movies, most especially the previous two installments before this latest release, I looked forward to seeing this movie on the big screen.

This was also the first time I can recall seeing a movie in IMAX in a long time. Here's what I thought in terms of artistic and moral values to the movie.

Artistic Value (Rating: 4)

It's hard to talk about this movie without breaking up its artistic value (how the movie was presented) into two categories: Stunts/Action Scenes and Story Plot Points.

I came in wanting crazy Tom Cruise action scenes and I got them! We saw a HALO (high altitude low opening) jump, an intense fisticuffs brawl, obligatory motorcycle chase, obligatory yet hilariously awesome Tom Cruise running, and even a helicopter chase/ literal cliffhanging finale.

The best thing was that none of these stunts were super-hyped in the marketing as far as I can remember (unless I just wasn't paying attention). In Rogue Nation, they pushed the fact that Tom Cruise was hanging onto a flying airplane and held his breath for 4+ minutes underwater. In Ghost Protocol, they wanted you to know that Tom Cruise really was climbing the tallest building in the world.

Here, there's several crazy stunts, and you get a sense of them in the promotional trailers, but I can't really recall hearing things like "Come see Tom Cruise soar through the air in a HALO jump" or "Can you believe Tom Cruise really hung from a rope underneath a flying helicopter?". I was just stunned and impressed by Cruise's running here, especially when he's sprinting along on top of the London train station.

Sound effects and music were prevalent and essential here. These are the second best parts of the movie after the action stunts. Music emphasized important moments and established emotional highlights. Noises stood out too, like the gun shots or moments like Ilsa riding her motorcycle down a Parisian walkway with columns and highlighting the engine and wind tunnel sounds.

Now like I said, the artistic value is mainly split by the action and the story, and unfortunately here's where the weaknesses pop up. Rarely does the script explain much in between the action. It's almost like when developing the story, the action scenes were the primary focus and the idea of how to get from Point A to Point B was only thought up when they needed to set up the next stunt.

Moments of exposition dialogue really highlight this fact, such as the opening mission briefing or the team's drive in to Kashmir and establishing the goals to accomplish the final mission. All of this is to get the audience up to the speed to understand what all is about to happen.

The reason why this is a weakness is because I found myself asking questions I shouldn't have to be asking, wondering what's going on in the story. Here are a few major problems I thought of during my viewing of the movie (heavy spoilers ahead):

-Where is Jeremy Renner?
-Alec Baldwin's character matters in this movie, but he's completely forgotten after his death.
-No real resolution at the end. No "where do we go from here?" moment with intention to establish what's going to happen next time.
-Cruise's wife character comes back, but there's not really much time given to have closure.
-How did the bad guys run away with the plutonium in the middle of the movie? I thought they were supposed to be making a rendezvous with White Widow to trade Lane for the plutonium. All of the sudden, poof, they have plutonium and are about to annihilate the world.

Now, while the script had a few problems, there were also a few strong emotional moments with great drama. There is a particularly touching scene delivered by Ving Rhames that actually worked surprisingly well because the movie took its time to put character development ahead of action. I'm glad to have characters and plot threads from previous installments back and continued here in this story. That continuation in the series is the saving grace of the script's plot.

The visual element, the way that the movie looks, is a mixed bag for me here. In my eyes, the cinematography or types of cameras kept changing. Some shots looked so smooth and high resolution, they looked like they came from a GoPro. Other shots, especially in the dark or distanced from action, looked grainy and low resolution like film stock. Could this have been because of my IMAX movie screen? Either way, the lack of consistent visual style bothered me.

This two hour movie in some ways almost felt like an extended TV show episode. The editor used wipes to move between scenes/ locations. The expositional style of dialogue between the characters was very TV-esque. Even the abrupt ending just made it seem like we'll see these characters again soon in next week's episode. This is not necessarily a bad thing when this is the sixth movie in a major franchise based on an older TV series, with homages and connections to both.

I wasn't initially sure what rating on the 1-5 scale to give this, but I think ultimately I am won over by the astounding and thrilling action scenes. They are the most important element of this movie, and in certain ways made up for any storytelling elements that may have been lacking.

Moral Value (Rating: 3)

Mission Impossible as a movie series has always been a good guys versus bad guys plot line, though understanding who is on which side has been a little more blurred in some movies than others. Thankfully, it's pretty well established here that Ethan Hunt and his friends are all good guys while Solomon Lane and his Apostles are the bad guys.

In this movie, the bad guys, the Apostles, like to pretend that they're the good guys because their ultimate goal is "world peace" but the means with which they're wanting to achieve that goal is by demolishing a third of the world's population. Even the CIA in this movie is willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means killing potential threats, in order to achieve their missions, so they're presented as more anti-heroes, or at least not the primary protagonists.

I do appreciate the fact that in this movie they emphasize the fact that Ethan Hunt cares a great deal about lives on an individual basis, especially the life of an innocent bystander. They put a moral ethic in the good guys and a lack of empathetic morals in the bad guys. However, I often wondered why Tom Cruise...I mean Ethan Hunt...has a problem with killing innocents, but not bad guy lackeys? We see him struggle to shoot people in certain circumstances, but shows no remorse or concern whenever he kills a villain or their henchmen. Just because they work for the bad guy does not mean that their lives are anymore expendable.

I do think the movie makers tried to establish important figures in Ethan's life and had an interesting contrast near the end. This movie builds up the fact that Ethan has a budding relationship with Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and an antagonistic relationship with Walker (Henry Cavill). Near the end, Ethan is reunited with his former wife (Michelle Monaghan) and her new husband (Wes Bently). It may just be me but not only do Monaghan and Ferguson look similar, but (at least in the eyes and facial features/ facial hair) so do Bentley and Cavill. I think it presented an interesting character dilemma where we see where Ethan's passions, concerns, and struggles really lie.

The movie presents some potential religious themes and ideological overtones at first. There was the opening wedding dream sequence, the group name The Apostles, the fake nuclear disasters to three holy sites, and the constant quote "There cannot be great peace without first great suffering". This opening led me to believe that there would be some discussion or examination on themes and ideas from a religious or theological perspective, almost a battle of philosophy and ideology. In some ways it was a battle of philosophy (life is sacred versus peace through death), but the religious aspect quickly quickly disappeared and I feel like that was a missed opportunity.

Some action movies are all about the spectacle, the crazy visuals they can throw on the screen, and that's it. The Mission Impossible franchise, especially here, understands that a good movie with action has to have more than just spectacle. You have to care about characters and have them overcome personal struggles in order to have a good movie (my artistic value and moral value highlights this). Fallout takes some time in between the spectacle to build up characters and relationships, even if that's not the scripts strongest suit.

I found that I laughed at moments I maybe shouldn't have. I laughed because of the overblown action scene over-the-top-ness. Most memorably this was Cavill's death scene at the end. This is where Hunt's blurred line on when it's okay and not okay to kill causes confusion or struggle. We're supposed to root for Tom Cruise because he cares who he is shooting at, but then the moments like Cavill's death scene went to such heights of crazy movie spectacle that I couldn't help but grin and chuckle at the absurdity of it all. It's one of those moments when I become more conscious of how a movie influences the way I think and feel. If the movie examined its good vs. evil themes with some more depth instead of basic action movie formula, I may have given it a higher ranking.

Mission Impossible Fallout is rated PG-13 mainly for the violence of the action, which sometimes can get bloody, as well as profane language, from some using the Lord's name to even a use of the F-word, though ultimately none of the negative language is necessary for this movie.

Overall, this movie is thrilling throughout. Tense action scenes and even tense character moments in between the stunts are all part of the fun. This is a great movie to wonderful on the big screen, despite any weaknesses or issues.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5