Wow. Ten years?! When I started this blog I didn’t think I’d still (sort of) be doing this a decade later.
Well, it’s been the very worst year of my life since the start of January. As watching movies is one of the few things that helps keep me sane, I’ve continued to do that but find it difficult to put much time into the blog at the moment.
I’ve now (finally!) set up a CinemaParrot Letterbxd account (here) so that I can more easily & much more quickly log the films I’ve seen & write very short reviews. I then do a monthly roundup on this blog with my Letterbxd reviews & I’ll try to keep doing that until I maybe have time to do the occasional longer posts here again as well. I miss reading all the blogs but will mainly be on other social media sites for now, especially after I go into the hospital this week & then will be recuperating. I like that word… Recuperating! Even comes up with an emoji: ❤️🩹 (Not sure if that’ll show up on the blog)
You can still find me on Twitter for now here: @tableninemutant (I’d make that a direct link but I’m too dumb to figure out how)
I’ve also joined Mastodon with a bunch of other Film Twitter people & so far there’s a lot of good interaction there. And I know how to do a link to that, I think! You can find me here: https://mastodon.world/@CinemaParrotDisco
I’m going to do what I did for my blogiversary last year & just list my Top Ten Lists For 2022 So Far as it’s nearly the end of the year anyway. I have to avoid cinemas (I’ve only gone to see Maverick), so this is mainly movies “released in the U.K. for the first time in whatever format in 2022 that I actually managed to watch”. So, yes, most big cinema releases are sadly missing if they aren’t streaming yet.
So here are My Top Ten Movies Released To U.K. Cinemas Or Streaming Services In 2022 So Far (very disappointing):
(I just watched Drifting Home yesterday, knocking Everything Everywhere All At Once out of my top ten to 11th place. Know that’s at the top of many lists but I found it disappointing)
I’ve seen much better older films this year than 2022 releases. Seen so many decent ones that I need to make this one a Top 20. So here are My Top Twenty Older Release Movies Seen In 2022 So Far:
The full list of absolutely everything I’ve watched & read this year is here if you’re super bored or want to see what terrible movies I ranked the lowest (Blonde & Spencer). 🙂
Thanks to those who are still around these parts. I’m glad you’re still here! Hope that everything is going well for all my past & present blog buddies.
I know I say this every year but I can’t believe I’m still here (somewhat) blogging. 9 years now!
I almost completely forgot to put a post together for it this year. Work has been crazy busy and I was badly wanting to catch up on actually reading other blogs this month. I’ll try to visit my favorites soon, I promise! 🙂
So as I’m preparing this post at the last minute, I’ll keep it short again & just list my Top Ten Movie Lists For 2021 So Far as it’s nearly the end of the year anyway. I’m still not really braving the cinemas yet, so this is mainly movies “released in the U.K. for the first time in whatever format in 2021 that I actually managed to watch”. So, yes, most big cinema releases are sadly missing.
So here are My Top Ten Movies Released To U.K. Cinemas Or Streaming Services In 2021 So Far:
Hello Everyone! Another year of blogging. Why am I still here?!? No one else is. Oh well – I have to keep this movie diary going. If I didn’t spend time making lists, I don’t know what the hell I’d do with myself. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. Avoid people. (And that was before lockdown…)
What can I say? 2020 has been a terrible year for the whole world. So I just keep watching movies & reading books as usual. And that’s all I write about on this blog so I’ll shut up now & just stick to that. 🙂
As the year is almost over, here are my current Top Ten Movie Lists For 2020 So Far. Very awkward doing a “2020 Releases” list this year as I always go by U.K. cinema release date. But as so many went straight to streaming services, it was harder to determine which movies “became available to watch in the U.K. in the year 2020”. I ignored festival release dates. I may be wrong on some of these. Oh, who the hell cares what list they end up on?!
My Top Ten Movies Released To U.K. Cinemas Or Streaming Services In 2020 So Far:
I’m not posting as regularly these days & plan to cut down even more in the New Year. I’m not sure if I’ll continue to post anything other than maybe my Monthly Roundups with mini-reviews of what I’ve watched each month. Because the one thing I’ll never stop doing is keeping lists of what I’ve watched. I’m a List NERD.
So, as the year is almost over, here are my current Top Ten Movie Lists For 2019 So Far. Will be interesting to see if they change much over the next month. Please please please let Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker be good enough to make the list…
These lists are from numbers 1 to 10 (just to be awkward as I usually count down to number one).
1. A Matter Of Life And Death – 8/10
2. Yojimbo – 8/10
3. Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) – 8/10
4. Ip Man – 8/10
5. Infernal Affairs (Mou gaan dou) – 7.5/10
6. In The Heat Of The Night – 7.5/10
7. Wind River – 7.5/10
8. The Hunt (Jagten) – 7.5/10
9. Miss Hokusai – 7.5/10
10. The Great Adventure Of Horus, Prince Of The Sun (aka The Little Norse Prince) – 7.5/10
I seriously thought I’d quit this blogging thing once I hit my five year anniversary. Well, shit – I’m still lingering a year later. Sorry – I think you’re stuck with me! I enjoy this online movie diary. I may not post as many full-length reviews anymore but I’m obsessed with keeping lists so I’ll continue my monthly roundup posts.
As it’s so close to the end of the year, I’ll do what I always do for my anniversary posts & just do a short roundup of my favorite things I’ve watched & read so far this year. That means lists! So here are My Top Tens for 2018 so far (and likely to change order by the end of the year as I’m totally indecisive).
My Top Ten Books (& Short Stories) Read This Year:
A quick comment on the ones I’ve just finished & not yet reviewed: I really enjoyed Bird Box by Josh Malerman. It has been made into a Netflix movie starring Sandra Bullock but the trailer looks rubbish (it looks like too much has been changed). I recommend the book to horror fans, especially if you liked A Quiet Place. And I got a nice surprise as the UK version of the book has a bonus story called Ghastle And Yule. I loved this!! If you’re a lover of films, and especially if you’re a lover of classic horror films & filmmaking, I highly recommend finding a copy of this story about two rival horror filmmakers. I loved it so much that I tweeted the author & got a nice reply. It’s great having these kind of exchanges with authors, filmmakers & actors whose work you appreciate.
A quick comment on these: I’m clearly enjoying exploring more anime as so many are in my top ten (I’ve watched loads of movies this year – the full list is HERE). And I certainly didn’t expect a martial arts film to easily be my number one so far (Bruce Lee kicks ass!). I’ll say that the Blind Spot project is worth doing each year as most of them end up being in my top ten. So far, my top three are all Blind Spot choices of mine.
A quick comment on these: I always go by UK release date so I, Tonya makes this list. It’s still my favorite, although I wouldn’t say it’s the “best” film on the list. I’ve just always been fascinated by the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan story and the movie was entertaining as hell. Plus I love dark comedy/drama. “Best” film is probably A Star Is Born. Cooper & Gaga are brilliant. Not sure if it’ll stay in second place, though. Straight drama isn’t really my thing and I probably enjoyed some others on this list a bit more. I do have the urge to move Mandy way up the list but I’m not sure why. I’m not sure if I even liked it all that much! But it’s weird and trippy and crazy as shit and looks good and sounds good and is maybe a little bit pretentious. It’s so my type of thing.
Thanks to everyone who still reads my occasional posts and my annoying lists. I do appreciate it!
I usually end these posts with a music clip so I’ll go with Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger from the thoroughly entertaining anime Interstella 5555: The 5tory Of The 5ecret 5tar 5ystem:
Yikes. Five years?! I honestly didn’t think I’d be doing this movie blogging thing for five years.
I want to say a huge thank you to the fellow bloggers who’ve dropped by in these last five years & had little chats with me on my silly movie & book reviews. I’m sorry I’ve been around a lot less this year and hate that it’s becoming almost impossible to spend any time on my blog or on the blogs that I follow. The whole reason for starting this blog was so that I could discuss movies with fellow film lovers since, in the real world, it’s hard to find obsessive movie nerds. You think I talk about movies all day long with people at work? Hell no! (That would be fun, though – where can I get a job like that?). So, thank you again to the special few who were here from the start and are still around and to all the lovely newer bloggers who’ve come along since. I feel like an “old blogger” now!
I always say I need to cut back on the time I spend here and I’ve done that this year but I’ll be doing it even more in 2018. I’d always kind of planned on quitting on my 5th anniversary but I’d miss the occasional movie chats as well as the one other reason I keep this thing going: to use it as a “movie diary” and keep a log of all I’ve seen & read. Because, as well as being a movie nerd, I’m also massive LIST NERD! I now have a record of every movie I’ve watched since 2012. Which is totally not important when the world is f*^%ing falling apart, right?! To psychoanalyze myself, I think it helps keeps me calm in the face of all the bullshit in the world. Or something. Nicely ordered lists! Nicely ordered lists could create world peace!!
So, I do have a plan to keep this blog going with a bare minimum of posts in 2018. I’ll focus only on reviewing 12 more Blind Spot movies (as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed that project) and the 2018 UK cinema releases I manage to see. The main other thing I’ll do is bring back an end-of-month post so I can at least very briefly discuss all I’ve watched in that month. At the moment, the movies I watch at home are getting no attention as I don’t have time for full-length reviews. I’ve watched a lot of really good movies this year and am annoyed to have not even mentioned some of them (For example, I really liked an obscure movie called The Frame.Here’s the IMDb link. I believe it’s still showing on Amazon Video.)
With these blogiversary posts, I tend to do a “Year In Review” post since it’s close to the end of the year anyway. This time, I’m going to do a “Five-Year Review“(!!). One thing I can really thank this blog for is that I’ve seen some TRULY brilliant movies since starting it because of things like my IMDB Top 250 Challenge and the Blind Spot project. Knowing you’ll be writing for a blog kind of helps “force” you to finally watch the more highly acclaimed classics you’d been avoiding for no good reason. Plus there’ve been some damn good new movies released since 2012. SO GET READY FOR SOME LISTS!!!! Let’s see if these can create universal harmony.
Here are some ranked lists of my favorite movies I’ve seen & the best books I’ve read for the very first time since starting this blog in November 2012….
My Top 20 Books Read Since 2012 (No one gives a shit about books so let’s get this list out of the way first.): 😉
Yep – I can’t NOT have a Star Wars film as my number one movie released since 2012. I can’t wait for The Last Jedi in a couple of weeks!
As you can see from these lists, I really do have this blog to thank for my newfound love of Studio Ghibli & Charlie Chaplin. I’d seen & loved My Neighbor Totoro & Spirited Away before blogging but decided to watch all the rest of the Miyazaki films for a month of Ghibli reviews. I’d seen no Chaplin at all before 2012. I highly recommend his stuff to all true film lovers, especially City Lights & Modern Times.
The other two directors I’ve been trying to further explore are John Carpenter (I’d already seen the majority of his best films, though) and Akira Kurosawa. That’s why they have the only two films in the lists above which I haven’t yet reviewed as I want to devote an entire week (or month) to their work someday in the future.
Okay – it’s time for me to shut up. You all probably stopped reading halfway through my lists anyway. Ha! I don’t know how many movies I’ve seen in these last five years (I’m too lazy to count, although I do have them all listed year by year on my blog pages). But I’d say I average about 100 per year. So… Narrowing it down to 60 favorites out of 500 isn’t too bad! Thank you again, everyone! Especially those who made it to the very end of this post… 😉
Now, as I feel really bad about putting The Warriors in second place after originally having it at number one, I’ll end this post with the ending of the movie. Seems appropriate. All our lives deserve appropriate songs that play over our end credits. Hmm. That sounded a little morbid. Sing it, Joe!
Actually, I want Morricone to score my real life end credits…
Here we are! My final list of the four started by the fabulous Abbi of Where The Wild Things Are. You can see her list of “The Top Ten Actors I Would Watch In Almost AnythingHERE. This is a great thing you started, Abbi! I believe others have made similar lists so let me know if you want me to add your link. I know Zoe of The Sporadic Chronicles Of A Beginner Blogger also did her list of actors HERE. 🙂
I did my most annoying actors & actresses last week but, surprisingly, it took THIS LIST of my favorite actresses to piss people off the most (yes – I grew up with Drew Barrymore & I love her. So sue me!). 😉 Thanks for all the wonderful comments on these – I’ll be replying to each & every one of you soon.
Now here are my Top Ten Actors I’d Watch In Pretty Much Anything (in no particular order plus I’ve narrowed it down by only including living actors):
Okay – it was fun bitching about my most hated actors & actresses last week but now it’s time to do another list that Abbi of Where The Wild Things Are has done. You can see her list of “The Top Ten Actresses That I’d See In Pretty Much Anything” HERE. So here’s my own list of actresses I love. (Yes – I do love Drew Barrymore!). 🙂
With my favorite actors list, I’ve had to narrow it down by only including living actors so I’ve done the same here. Otherwise, Grace Kelly would be on this list. Now here are The Ten Actresses I’d Watch In Pretty Much Anything (in no particular order…):
Amy Adams
Best Movie: Her or Catch Me If You Can but she was lovely in Junebug
Emily Blunt
Best Movie: Edge Of Tomorrow but I also love The Adjustment Bureau
Drew Barrymore
Best Movie: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial but I also love The Wedding Singer & Whip It
Chloe Grace Moretz
Best Movie: Hugo
Sandra Bullock
Best Movie: Gravity but I do love Speed. (Gravity helped to put Bullock back on this list. But I still wouldn’t watch that thing she did with Melissa McCarthy. Damn! I missed her on my “Most Annoying” list…
Carey Mulligan
Best Movie: Shame but she was better in Never Let Me Go. (If I’ve forgotten someone, Carey Mulligan would be the first one replaced. I found her disappointing in Shame and beyond bland in The Great Gatsby. Hopefully she’ll have another good role soon…)
It’s finally here! My All-Time Top Ten Favorite TV Shows! Thanks for all your comments on my first list (30-21 HERE) and my second list (20-11 HERE). Sorry – I’ve had a hectic week but I’ll catch up on replying to all of you this weekend. 🙂
I’ll shut up as you’ve all probably lost interest by now anyway. 😉 Here, counting down, are the Top Ten of My All-Time Top Thirty TV Shows:
10. Lost
**Warning: a tiny bit spoiler-y** Maybe a controversial choice for my top ten seeing as this show jumped the shark in the last few seasons. Or should I say a wheel was turned and that damn shark MOVED… But I’ll never forget the excitement I felt when this came on each week – it was the first TV show in YEARS that I truly looked forward to. I thought it was the greatest thing ever and spent waaaaaay too much time at Lostpedia trying to figure out what the hell it all meant. Too bad that, in the end, all that time felt wasted… But it still deserves a place in the top ten as there’s really been no other show like it and, to begin with, it was amazing.
Favorite episode: I have no idea any more… So I’ll say the “getting it on with Sawyer” episode. What a hottie. Actually – the first use of flashforward in an episode was brilliant. As was the pilot episode.
9. Amazing Stories
This Steven Spielberg series should have been amazing EVERY week considering the talent involved (loads of famous guest stars & guest directors such as Clint Eastwood & Martin Scorsese) but there were some less-than-brilliant episodes. However, the good episodes more than made up for the bad ones and the show was a very worthwhile watch. I so wish there’d been more than two seasons! It was a new story every week & they were mostly sci-fi, supernatural & fantasy types of stories so this show was VERY much my cup of tea. Loved it.
Favorite episode: Either “The Mission” (directed by Spielberg) or “Go To The Head Of The Class” (directed by Robert Zemeckis).
8. Seinfeld
At one point this will have been much higher on my list – I was pretty obsessed with this show when it was first on then watched reruns of it for years every weeknight at 10:30 (I think!). But I’ve not seen one episode since moving to the UK & it’s faded a bit from my memory. Main thing was that it was SO brilliantly written! Remember when it used to be Seinfeld vs Friends because they were on at the same time?? I went with Seinfeld & caught reruns of Friends if I’d not recorded it.
Favorite episode: Wow – SO many to choose from. I’m going to go with “The Contest” and the very obvious choice of “The Soup Nazi“.
7. The Cosby Show
Who didn’t want Cliff Huxtable as their dad?? He was the definition of “perfect father”: loving and loads of fun but also strict when needed and always making sure his kids did the right thing. And he had the most awesome sweaters in the history of TV. I wanted to be a Huxtable. I still do! A lovely family and a lovely show that managed to be genuinely funny with no vulgarity. Then Lisa Bonet had to go & break Bill Cosby’s heart by starring in that nasty Angel Heart movie. Way to go, Denise!
Favorite episode: Hmm… Everyone remembers the one with the goldfish funeral. Oh – I loved that one where they’re in the recording studio with Stevie Wonder! “Roooobert!” “Jammin on the one!” Lol. Oh! And when Cliff was bouncing that fat kid on his knee! Hehe! I loved this show…
6. The Brady Bunch
I need to explain why this is so high on the list. Was it a really “good” show? No. But I grew up with it. I was an only child & a bit of a latchkey kid – I admit I watched WAY too much TV during all that time alone. The Brady Bunch (and numbers 5, 2 & 1 below) kept me company. I think I also loved the thought of having that many brothers and sisters. Now I sound like a pathetic, friendless loser… Lol!
Favorite Episode: Let’s see – Marcia’s nose being broken was pretty funny because she was annoying. I loved when they built the house of cards as a contest (Girls win! A sewing machine? WHAT?!). The one with Davy Jones. The one where Kitty Karry-All was in Tiger’s doghouse all along. Peter & his “Porkchops & applesauce! That’s swell!” (I had a crush on Peter. You’ve tainted him, Eric!). Oh, and his voice changing!!! When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange! The one where Alice snaps & kills them all. I’m just seeing if anyone is reading this. The one where Jan wears that stupid wig. It’s late & I’m exhausted so feel free to correct any mistakes I’ve made on these. To be honest, I’m hoping I have because I haven’t watched these in well over 25 years and it’s pretty sad to remember so much…
5. Little House On The Prairie
What can I say? Like The Brady Bunch, I grew up with this. I loved Laura and I hated that bitch from hell Mrs Oleson and her evil offspring! This show was so damn wholesome and soooo damn depressing at times! Oh – Why did they always sing that same song in church all the time?? Bringing in the sheaves? WTF does that mean? Damn – it’s stuck in my head now.
Favorite episode: Probably the Ernest Borgnine one: “The Lord Is My Shepherd“. Also loved the episode where Laura pushed that bitch Nellie down the hill in the wheelchair because she knew she was faking not being able to walk. And Johnny Cash was in one! I preferred episodes with a bit of “fun” in them to the ones where everyone was dying of anthrax or going blind from scarlet fever…
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
So I put Star Trek in at number 14 as, without it, we wouldn’t have had The Next Generation, which is the one I REALLY loved. This show was absolutely brilliant. I don’t even know where to start. As I get closer to number one, I’m struggling with explaining my choices. I loved this show. I loved the characters. I loved the stories. I LOVE PATRICK STEWART! The number of times I watched this show late into the night instead of doing homework…
Favorite Episode: The Borg ones, of course. And the one that was, basically, the movie Enemy Mine (but that’s okay – that’s a great underrated movie). The one where Beverly Crusher kind of had weird, kinky ghost & Mrs Muir/alien being type of invisible sex. Raunchy! And I always loved any episodes that focused on Geordi or Data as they were my favorite characters.
3. Sesame Street
I ADORE Sesame Street with all my heart. A couple things in life will never fail to cheer me up when I’m really down. One is Snoopy. The other is Sesame Street. I know I’m an old woman now but I’ll never stop loving this show and everything it represents. I think it’s always been a great influence on kids and has all the right values without ever being preachy. It makes learning FUN and no other kid’s show has ever come close to topping it. And it’s NO LONGER SHOWN IN THE UK. I think that’s a crime. Honestly – I’ve written letters! (Well, e-mails). Seriously – I’ve tried to get this shown here again. What a shame that kids here can’t experience this show.
I almost put Sesame Street at number one as it’s my “first” TV show and it taught me SO much from a very young age. However, numbers 2 & 1 really shaped me & are probably responsible for my taste when it comes to all forms of entertainment today. I kind of see the top three as a three-way tie. They helped make me who I am. Don’t go thinking I’m sweet because of Sesame Street – the next two took care of that…
Favorite episode: It’s more about individual “skits” than episodes and there are loads I still love to this day. I’ve rambled enough, though, so I’ll just name a couple. First are the Yip Yip Martians. HILARIOUS. And I’m going to be obvious and mention the The Pointer Sisters’ “Pinball Song” (Clips of both at the end of this post). The most memorable episode (that I only got to finally see in recent years) was the one where they had to explain Mr Hooper’s (real life) death to Big Bird in a way that little kids would understand. Absolutely HEARTBREAKING!
2. Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
When I first started this blog, one of the first things I posted was about my favorite Hitchcock episodes listed below. You can read that HERE (Warning: my old posts are shockingly bad). Where The Woodbine Twineth haunts me to this day. I still hate dolls… (You can watch the whole episode on YouTube HERE. I refuse to!) 😉 The stories were terrifyingly brilliant. Hitchcock was a genius. If you love his movies but haven’t watched his TV shows, I highly recommend them.
Favorite episode: “Where The Woodbine Twineth” followed by “The Jar” & “The Magic Shop“. All three gave me nightmares and, quite frankly, probably helped make me the slight basket case I am today.
1. The Twilight Zone
This show was so ahead of its time. It’s amazing that you can watch it now and the stories are just as relevant. I loved how most episodes tried to “teach humanity a lesson”. I watched this from a very young age and it’s probably why I now love all things sci-fi and anything weird & wonderful.
Favorite episode: Impossible to pick just one! I could easily do a top ten of these. The first ones that spring to mind are: The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, Eye Of The Beholder, Time Enough At Last, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, To Serve Man, It’s A Good Life…. Okay -Yep, I’m going to do a top ten of these someday. 🙂
That’s it! My Top Ten! Thanks for reading these, everybody. I’d love to get some more feedback on these choices – I’ll be replying to comments this weekend. Were my top two a surprise after quite a few sitcoms in the top 30? Does anyone else love my Top Five as much as I do? I’d especially love to hear from other fans of The Twilight Zone and I’d love to know people’s thoughts on Sesame Street. And if the end of Lost just pissed you off too much… 🙂
Finally, I have to add (way too many) Honorable Mentions. I should have done a top 50 but I really can’t NOT mention these:
Yo Gabba Gabba
Beavis & Butthead
Only Fools And Horses
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Family Ties
My So-Called Life
Roseanne
One Day At A Time
It’s Your Move
Silver Spoons
Diff’rent Strokes
Punky Brewster
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Alice
Home Improvement
Supernatural
You Can’t Do That On Television
ER
And here’s my Full Top Thirty all together:
30. Highlander
29. Fawlty Towers
28. The Wonder Years
27. The X Files
26. My Name Is Earl
25. Quantum Leap
24. Growing Pains
23. The Facts Of Life
22. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
21. Saturday Night Live
20. Frasier
19. M*A*S*H
18. The Golden Girls
17. The Simpsons
16. South Park
15. Doctor Who
14. Star Trek
13. Friends
12. The Muppet Show
11. 21 Jump Street
10. Lost
9. Amazing Stories
8. Seinfeld
7. The Cosby Show
6. The Brady Bunch
5. Little House On The Prairie
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
3. Sesame Street
2. Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1. The Twilight Zone
**FYI: I MET Gordon from Sesame Street! Got his autograph and have a picture of us together. One of the best days EVER! 🙂
Okay – so I’ve already posted 30-21 of My Top Thirty TV Shows HERE. I was surprised at the great response that post got and am really looking forward to posting my Top Ten on Friday. And, wow – a lot of you sure loved Quantum Leap! 🙂
So here, counting down, are 20-11 of My All-Time Top Thirty TV Shows. (My Top Ten will be posted on Friday. I think my Top Five may be a little unexpected)
20. Frasier
When they made this Cheers spin-off, I was surprised they’d chosen Frasier as the Cheers character they thought should have his own show. But it worked! Loved the relationships with his father & his brother. And dog. And that manky old chair. What a great show.
19. M*A*S*H
Who didn’t love these characters?? This was on every evening after the news when I was in my mid-teens & I watched every single one. **SPOILER**: I still won’t name names but that was one of the MOST depressing TV deaths ever. I may have cried a little… 😦
18. The Golden Girls
Admit it – these women RULE! My favorite will always be sweet & dumb Rose. Betty White is possibly the coolest woman EVER – I worship her. I’m very sad she’s the only “Golden Girl” left. Also loved Sophia and all her rude remarks, especially about that “slut” Blanche. Lol! And her relationship with Dorothy was always so loving & hilarious at the same time. I’ll shut up now… I just loved these ladies. 🙂
17. The Simpsons
I’ll admit that I haven’t watched The Simpsons religiously for at least ten years now. Supposedly it’s not as good as it used to be anyway? Hey – who cares? How many people could keep making something THAT good for SO long? The Simpsons gave us such iconic characters and the world is a better place for having Homer Simpson in it.
16. South Park
Yes, I have this above The Simpsons although I think that’s the better show overall. Similar to The Simpsons, South Park has had some pretty dodgy episodes and isn’t as great as it used to be. But when they get an episode right, they get it VERY right and nothing else makes me laugh quite as much.
15. Doctor Who
Chill out, Eric – top 15 isn’t bad! 😉 This has the potential to move further up the list if I ever see more. I moved to the UK a while before the Christopher Ecclestone ones started up so that’s where I started. I LOVED him and then ended up loving David Tennant even more. Then came the Matt Smith ones and it all went very downhill for me… Hopefully it gets better again. In the meantime, yes – I need to make a start on some older ones. I know, Eric. I know… Lol. I will say I love the stories and the characters and it’s amazing how this show keeps going. I totally understand the love for it.
14. Star Trek
It was hard to know where to place this one. I probably “like” some of the shows I’ve already mentioned more than I actually like the original Star Trek series. But you have to credit this for the start of, well, something pretty great. The movies (that I’ve seen) and the other shows (that I actually liked more)… Shit – does that give something away? 😉 It looked a little dodgy but the writing was fantastic!
13. Friends
Okay – I know there will be some “Friends Haters”. I was almost going to say this was a “guilty pleasure” but, screw it – Why make excuses? It was a HUGELY popular show so clearly these characters really worked for lots of people. Joey & Phoebe were my favorites (I always love the dumb ones). Like all the most successful shows, we grew to know these characters so well that it was almost like they were real. I liked Friends! And I know some of the rest of you did too. But, WOW – this thing looks soooo “90s” when you watch reruns now! (Yeah, I had a Rachel haircut at the time. So sue me). 😉
12. The Muppet Show
It’s THE MUPPETS! Do I really need to explain myself? I’m not going to. 🙂
11. 21 Jump Street
Showing my age again. Younger people won’t QUITE realize JUST how freaking cool the young Johnny Depp was. This show was loads of fun (Cops pretending to be teenagers & going undercover in high schools? HELL YEAH! That was awesome!) but it really was Johnny Depp who made this show what it was. It wasn’t at all surprising when he went onto bigger things and the show definitely suffered after he left. Favorite episode: When Tom Hanson (Depp) had to protect a teenage boy who was HIV-positive. The show got pretty heavy at times – I don’t think it got the credit it deserved. Hmm… Maybe I should have been listing my favorite episodes all along.
Oh well – maybe I will for Friday’s top ten… See you then! 🙂
In recent years, I’ve found that I have less & less time to devote to watching TV shows. Plus, half the time I start watching a new show, it’s cancelled after one season & I’m pissed off at having wasted my time. So when I have any spare time these days, I watch a movie instead and, of course, that’s what 90% of this blog is all about anyway. But I LOVED TV as a kid! And I still make time for the occasional show (The Walking Dead & The Good Wife are the main two that I currently watch). So many movie bloggers have been posting about TV shows lately and I feel really left out as I don’t watch them (Game Of Thrones being the main one. I’ll make the time someday, people!). So I figured I’d do a top ten of my all-time favorite TV shows. Well, it turns out that I wasn’t able to narrow it down to only ten. So…
Here, counting down, are 30-21 of My All-Time Top Thirty TV Shows. (Stay tuned for 20-11 being posted on Wednesday and 10-1 on Friday, by which point you’ll be sick of me). 🙂
30. Highlander
I liked it! Duncan was hot (even though the ponytail was kind of weird). And you have to admit the show was better than all but the first movie…
29. Fawlty Towers
My first introduction to a British TV show after moving to the UK (Monty Python doesn’t count – all Americans have seen that). It was close between including this one or Only Fools & Horses. Both are great but I think this one is slightly better.
28. The Wonder Years
I think a very big part of the reason I liked this was that it made me think of Stand By Me, one of my favorite movies ever. And I loved the time period in which it was set. Plus the music was great!
27. The X-Files
I couldn’t WAIT to see this every week. But I have to admit I got bored with the overall “alien abduction” storyline and far preferred the individual stories about other weird & wonderful shit.
26. My Name Is Earl
This. Show. Is. Freaking. Hilarious. I don’t find many things all that funny and this was the first “sitcom” I’d liked in YEARS. I miss good sitcoms. Plus they’re short – I have time for that!
25. Quantum Leap
This show had the BEST concept! Well executed as well. Very original. And I love shows with such different stories each week. Such a fun watch.
24. Growing Pains
Leave me alone. Being the age I am, I’d be a complete liar if I didn’t include this. Hehehe… “Boner”…
23. The Facts Of Life
Again, it’s my age talking but I LOVED this show! I wanted to BE Jo. Jo was cool.
22. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
So many classic skits (and many bad ones, just like with SNL). But the good ones are brilliant, making us forget all the rest.
21. Saturday Night Live
Since moving to the UK over a decade ago, I no longer see this as it isn’t shown here. We all have our favorite SNL years, mostly according to our age. My favorite years were, naturally, the ones that brought us WAYNE’S WORLD and two of my all-time favorite characters. Like with Monty Python above, SNL has made some utter shite over the years but the classic skits more than make up for those not-so-funny ones.
**As I said above, I’ll be posting 20-11 on Wednesday and 10-1 on Friday. As usual, I’ll have IMDB Top 250 Guest Reviews on Tuesday & Thursday. One is of a Hitchcock classic & one is the first movie that’s part of a beloved trilogy. The same blogger has reviewed all three, which I’ll post over the next three weeks. This IMDB thing has been so much fun – thanks again to everyone who has contributed! 🙂
My Top Ten Iron Maiden songs in order starting with my favorite:
1. Phantom Of The Opera
2. Fear Of The Dark
3. Wasted Years
4. The Number Of The Beast
5. Strange World
6. Run To The Hills
7. Iron Maiden
8. The Trooper
9. Can I Play With Madness
10. Prowler
That was difficult. I like ALL Maiden, okay?! My all-time favorite band. So hopefully no Maiden fans come here and go “where’s this song and that song?”. Lol!
Just enjoy this photo of my Maiden box set and Maiden Beer. How cool is that beer?? I hate beer! I’m totally never drinking it. I’m going to put it in a nice glass cabinet with lots of pretty girly things. 🙂
Okay – Now that I’ve finally seen Monsters University (My review HERE if you’re interested), I figured now is the time to finally rank my favorite Pixar films. Because I’m sad like that. And obsessed with Pixar. And list-making…
In order, starting with my favorite & ending with my least favorite (Cars 2, no surprise there): 😉
1. WALL-E
2. Toy Story
3. Monsters, Inc.
4. Finding Nemo
5. Toy Story 3
6. Toy Story 2
7. Monsters University
8. Up
9. A Bug’s Life
10. The Incredibles
11. Brave
12. Ratatouille
13. Cars
14. Cars 2
A co-worker asked me yesterday to rank my favorite animated Disney films (not including any Pixar). Two of my favorite things – making lists & Disney! So I of course accepted the challenge & spent my lunch ranking them. 😉 In order from my favorite to least favorite (and subject to change according to my mood):
1. Sleeping Beauty
2. Beauty And The Beast
3. One Hundred And One Dalmatians
4. Bambi
5. Cinderella
6. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
7. The Aristocats
8. The Jungle Book
9. The Lion King
10. Dumbo
11. The Princess And The Frog
12. Tangled
13. Pinocchio
14. Lady & The Tramp
15. The Rescuers
16. The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad
17. The Fox And The Hound
18. Aladdin
19. The Little Mermaid
20. Peter Pan
21. Alice In Wonderland
22. Wreck-It Ralph
23. Mulan
24. Robin Hood
25. Pocahontas
26. Bolt
27. Tarzan
28. Brother Bear
29. Lilo & Stitch
30. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
31. The Emperor’s New Groove
32. Chicken Little
Not seen or seen so long ago that I can’t accurately rank without seeing them again 😉
Fantasia (seriously. it’s been years.)
Saludos Amigos
The Three Caballeros
Make Mine Music
Fun and Fancy Free
Melody Time
The Sword in the Stone
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Black Cauldron
The Great Mouse Detective
Oliver & Company
The Rescuers Down Under
Hercules
Fantasia 2000
Dinosaur
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Treasure Planet
Home on the Range
Meet the Robinsons
Winnie the Pooh
I don’t keep track of the books I read as obsessively as I do with the movies I watch. These are all the books I can remember reading in 2012 (although I think some may have been end of 2011). It’s a pretty pathetic list – my goal is to read more in 2013 but it’ll still always come after all my movie-watching. 🙂 Think I’ll set a goal of 20 books…
Anyone have any recommendations based on the list below? I have to admit I’m really enjoying young adult fiction these days as it seems to be getting better & better. When did that happen? The young adult fiction these days certainly beats what was available to me in the 80s when I was reading Christopher Pike, Sweet Valley High & Judy Blume! (But, hey- they were awesome at the time) 😉
Cinema Parrot Disco 