Monday 14 July 2014

Top 10 Sequels

Welcome to our first edition of "Top Whatevers." Since we’ve had approximately 26378 sequels come out in the last few months, with the 26379th sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opening in theatres this past weekend, we figured it would be a good time to make a top 10 list of our favourite sequels!

In order for a movie to qualify for this list, it has to be the second installment of a franchise. A sequel to a reboot can count (ex: The Amazing Spider Man 2) and a sequel to a prequel can make the list as well (ex: Attack of the Clones). It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s the second installment to whatever. I know that third installments and so on are technically sequels, but that’s going to be a list we'll be doing for another time… Anyways, on with the list!

Number 10:

Well, I guess I'll start since I always come first... at number 10 on my list...

X-Men: Days of Future Past



This countdown begins with a film that came out only a month and a half ago. I'll admit that it's ballsy to put DOFP on here so soon, but I truly think it's deserves to be here. After being away from any X-Men director's chair for a decade, Bryan Singer was back at the helm for this sequel to the X-Men prequel First Class, and holy fuck did he ever deliver! The stakes in this movie are higher than ever, the old cast from the original trilogy are all back, as well as most of the cast from First Class, and it all came together so seamlessly. The franchise was a mess before 2011, and Singer (along with the help of Matthew Vaughn) cleaned it up and brought it back to life. You may think it's too soon, and you may even argue that it technically doesn't qualify, but who cares? It's on my list, and if you have a problem with that...


Actually it's our blog...

SHUT UP! 

Anyways... So... Donny, what's your number 10?

For my number 10 sequel I'm also sticking with a comic book adaptation, but we're going to go back a few decades...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret Of The Ooze



The biggest thing that holds the TMNT back on this list, isn't the fact that the second helping wasn't good enough, au contraire, it was really quite enjoyable. No what holds this sequel back is the fact that our heroes in a half shell took a step back with this rushed sequel. The first movie was much darker and more thematic, what The Secret Of The Ooze did was make the turtles more kid friendly and traded in some of that darkness for over the top silly antics, not that it didn't work, cause I mean it still made the list, it just could've had a better fate had it of stayed the course, plus we might have avoided the mess that was the third instalment, but I'm no fortune teller... So let's just move on shall we?

It's better than the one coming out next month, that's for sure... How do I know? Megan Fox, that's how...

She'll still get an Oscar before Leo.

Anyways... number 9....

For A Few Dollars More




Not much needs to be said about this one. The Dollars Trilogy is one of the most iconic trilogies of all time, and this is a terrific follow up to the first installment A Fistful of Dollars. The stakes are higher, the characters are more fleshed out, and the addition of Lee Van Cleef to the cast doesn't hurt either. Clint Eastwood gives another stellar performance as The Man With No Name, in what is considered to be the darkest of this Sergio Leone-helmed trilogy. This movie tends to fall below the radar as it's follow up is one of the best movies ever made. But it's still a classic western and more than worthy of being on this list.

Wait so he has no name? But it's the Sergio Leone triliogy? I'm confused. Clint is now named Sergio in everything I ever see him in, including movies he's already made... Gran Sergio anyone? (Pause for laughter)

Riiigggghhhhttt.... Umm....



Aaaaaannnnnnd Donny's up!

Speaking of comedies I'm going back to the early 90's again on my list for number 9

Major League 2



(Pause for laughter) okay now that you got that out of your system, really if you don't take into account that this is a sequel and not a stand alone film you'd enjoy it better, but alas it's Major League 2, which draws comparisons to Rick Vaughan, Willie Mays Hayes and Jake Taylor's first turn as misfit Cleveland Indians ballplayers. Sure they made the sequel more kid friendly, but I was a kid when this came out and I watched it DAILY... Yes, every day, I could recite Bob Uecker's opening radio monlogue off by heart. So maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's Kamikaze Tanaka, maybe I just don't wanna piss off Jobu... Either way Major League 2 is my number 9 film.

Well... just... yeah... I'll just do this again...



Onto my number 8 selection!

Toy Story 2


Another no-brainer... This is hands down the best Disney Animated Sequel ever made (although that's not saying much). This follow up to the CG animated masterpiece Toy Story is also a CG animated masterpiece. This one is a lot more character driven as you get to know the origins of Woody and more of the background of Buzz. It also brings some new toys into the mix with Jessie, Bullseye, and the Prospector (Stinky Pete), who are all part of Woody's Roundup, an old tv show. This also has another great antagonist in Al, the toy shop owner who's trying to sell Woody and the rest of his roundup to a museum. A terrific sequel to a terrific movie, that's all I gotta say...

Donny... what's your numero ocho?

I was waiting for the animated movies to start coming through... It's a much safer platform for sequels than live action I think, just don't tell those awful direct to DVD Disney prequels/sequels they started churning out after Aladdin exploded.

Despicable Me 2



You can make an argument that Despicable Me 2 was the breakout hit of 2013... Okay it wasn't even the breakout animated hit (thanks a lot Frozen...) But no one can deny that Gru and his girls were on top of their game for this sequel. After adopting the girls in the first one as part of a villainous plot, Gru becomes attached to them and decides to clean up his act and become a good(ish) guy while raising 3 little girls on his own. Enter the sequel when Gru is approached to join a CIA type agency to bring down another's evil plot. Despicable Me 2 did what all good sequels do, it built up the characters and checked in on their feelings since the first film, it also introduced us to new characters while keeping the spirit of the original and even improving on it, that means more laughs, more heart and a lot more sheep butt jokes.

Well... It's better than Sheep-on-a-roof jokes... guuhhhuhuhuhuh *cringes*... Fuck Seth MacFarlane!

NUMMMMBBEERRRR SEVEN!!!

Star Trek Into Darkness


Ok, now you can get pissed! This one is sure to get Donny's panties up in a bunch, and is sure to get the comments section raging with keyboard fury. But hey, I love this movie and I'll defend it to my grave.


I absolutely loved JJ Abrams's 2009 reboot of Star Trek, it's one of my all time favourites and I just couldn't wait for a sequel to be made. When I saw this last year, I was blown away from the get go. The action is great, the characters are awesome, Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job in portraying Khan, Star Trek's most iconic villain. I know the "throwback" scenes caused a lot of controversy among Trek purists, but to me, I thought it was a great shout out to the Star Trek of old. It breaks new ground for the franchise and still takes its time to pay homage to its roots, and I applaud the movie for that. I know a lot of trekkies hate the Abrams movies and this one especially, but I guess I'm in the minority by saying that this is an amazing sequel and more than worthy of putting on this list...

I thought we were doing top 10 sequels not top 10 gayest movie scenes in history... Put yo hand on da glasssssss!

That's actually one of the throwback scenes...

You told me that before, still queer.

Anyways at number 7 I have a far superior movie, mostly because you can't get much worse than that (see above)

X2



That's right kids, I'm also jumping into the X-verse on my list, but I'm going original trilogy. X-Men was the first movie to break comic book barriers... Okay well there was Blade... Okay so the first movie since the early 90's to break the barriers of the Superhero genre. It was the first domino to fall that allowed us to have the Marvel-verse we have today as well as the Nolan Bat-trilogy. X-Men took source material generally aimed at kids and young adults and made a dark grounded film that can be enjoyed by all ages, sexes, races and even sexual orientation, so yes Spock and Kirk you can enjoy this film too. What X2 did was took everything great about X-Men and made it 3 times bigger, in X-Men you were sitting around waiting for the badass fight scenes you knew were coming. In X2 after the opening credits there is so much adrenaline that the movie is often compared to being kicked in the balls repeatedly until you vomit on them/end credits what ever happens first. Sure Pyro and Iceman were under utilized and Deathstrike had no character to her at all but you can ask my testicles when I say this was a balls to the wall, thrill a minute for 135 minutes of serene awesomeness.

Wow, homophobic much? Sheesh...

Well, since someone here hates Star Trek (nobody's perfect) I might as well throw another one in here...

At number 6...

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Trekkies can relax now... Did you really think I would do a list of top 10 sequels without including this gem? In terms of how better a sequel is than the first installment, The Wrath of Khan ranks highest in that category. After the colossal failure that was Star Trek The Motion Picture (which is the worst ST movie in my opinion, seriously, did anything even happen in that movie?), director Nicholas Meyer took over the reigns of the franchise and gave it one of its finest, if not the finest film with the name "Star Trek" attached to it. The acting is phenomenal, Ricardo Montalban puts on the performance of his life as Khan Noonien Singh, one of the most memorable movie villains of all time. The chemistry between Shatner and Nimoy has never been better, and Kirstie Alley does great in her first ever role. The story is amazing and inspiring, with a villain whose over-confidence and need for revenge is his downfall, in an almost Ahab-like fashion... Not to mention an ending that can make any grown man ball his eyes out... Seriously, this film is awesome! Absolute slam dunk on this list.


And... well... sorry, I just have to...


Call Star Trek gay again, Donny! I dare you! I double dare you, motherfucker! Call Star Trek gay one more god damn time!

Oh my khaaaan, no more trekkie talk you Kirk loving Spock sucker. Well at least it didn't crack the top 5...

My number 6:

Clerks II



Clerks fans rejoice, 12 years later and Dante and Randal's adventures have grown... These are not the same young listless punks we saw in '94... No siree... Now they are 30-something listless punks. To call Clerks II anything short of a masterpiece... of shit, in the best way, would not be doing it justice. I have never laughed and cried at the exact same moment before but those are the kind of emotions you get when a skinhead biker dude fucks a donkey right before your eyes... And that my friends is a special feeling. The cast is perfectly in sync with each other and the jokes are golden. It really takes you back to those moments in your life where you realize that you really need to grow up... But then you decide to talk about Pillowpants the Pussy Troll instead.

There you go sucking Kevin Smith's dick again... You probably liked to Cop Out too...



.... Annnd my top 5 begins with...mov

The Godfather Part II


WHAT??? GODFATHER PART II IS ONLY NUMBER 5? SEE YOU AT
THE TOLL BOTH YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!


I know I know, I may have put this one a little too low on this list, but it doesn't mean I don't absolutely love this movie! A masterful companion piece to The Godfather, this movie is part sequel and part prequel, as it tells the story of Michael's reign as the head of the Corleone family, all while telling the tale of young Vito Corleone's rise to power in the early 1920s. The themes of love, family, power, betrayal and vengeance are brilliantly presented and prominent throughout the film. The tone is great, the acting is great, the story is great, okay you get it, it's awesome! Moving on...

I've actually never seen this movie... But I can only assume it's less gay than Star Trek, like Brokeback Mountain.

Starting off my top 5 is yet another comic book movie... But which is it? Batman Returns? Superman II? Spider-Man 2? It is a much less heralded movie than those... But one that is much better.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army



At this point no one can deny that Del Toro is a master visionary at the top of the game among all his contemporaries. Hellboy II is a big step up in all departments than his predecessor. Del Toro's scripting is better as his his directing. The casts chemistry is stronger given there past together but what really steps up and makes the original Hellboy look like garbage in comparison, is the world that Del Toro built. The cinematography and the make-up was spectacular. It could have been a piece of shit script but still be beautiful to watch. Luckily it was pleasing to both the eyes and the ears, and anytime a movie can kick off with a drunken sing along with a giant red-skinned demon from hell you know you're in for a treat.

I didn;t know Benicio Del Toro directed! Man, I gotta check his flicks out!

Anyways... Numero Quatre:

Aliens


Those who know me know that they'd be seeing a James Cameron movie on this list at some point. I'm a Cameron fanboy and this is one of his finest works. How many times has a sequel that's as good if not better than its predecessor, been made with a new director at the helm (and the old director having nothing to do with it)? This is probably the only time that has happened (correct me if I'm wrong, internet). Ridley Scott's Alien is a Sci-fi/Horror masterpiece, hauntingly suspenseful, and still to this day is scary as hell. While James Cameron's Aliens stays true to Ridley Scott's vision, it adds tons of action to the mix, and it fits in wonderfully with all of the other elements. Quotable, suspenseful, action packed, and downright terrifying... This is one of the most well crafted sequels ever made.

Let me guess Donny... James Cameron also directed Titanic, which makes this movie gay, right?

I really need to watch this movie... But yes.

Speaking of blood thirsty monsters let's look at my number 4 along the same vein (you'll get that joke in 3-2-1...)

Underworld: Evolution



I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the Underworld franchise is the pinnacle of movie making... It's not. I'm not going to tell you that it's a critics dream movie... Cause it's not. What it is is 100 minutes of unadulterated fun for it's target audience, target audience being anyone that wants to see Kate Beckinsale in a tight leather outfit kicking ass and asking questions later. Do you like the first Underworld movie? Then you'll love Evolution. You thought nothing about it? Then maybe skip one. But for you horror action fans out there, we all know that Underworld is a better Resident Evil, by better I mean less bad acting from wannabe rappers.

So Kate Beckinsale makes it good? Sheesh, there's no difference between that and those who like Transformers 2 because of Megan Fox!

YEAH I WENT THERE!

Number 3:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back


What can I say about this one that hasn't already been said? Nothing really, but I'll ramble on anyways...


After the massive success of Star Wars in 1977, a sequel was a no doubter, and as you could imagine, expectations were high as hippies. In my opinion, TESB didn't meet expectations... it blew them out of the water! This is without a doubt the darkest Star Wars movie, and the best written in my opinion... Oh heck it's the best Star Wars movie of all as far as I'm concerned. The asteroid chase scene is awesome, Darth Vader is as evil as ever, Yoda is cool, Lando is cool, Boba Fett is cool, and the climax is one for ages. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and it only gets better with age.

Note: If this was a Top 11 this would've been on my list, I favour the first Star Wars however so yeah... Number 3.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier



OEMGEEZ Donny WTF? Dis movie is lyke so new... I know, but the reason it gets such high praise is not because it's my flavour of the month, no, in a list crowded with comic based movies, The Winter Soldier did something new and innovative for the genre, instead of being all about action and adventure this movie played out like a political thriller, and being a political guy I could not have loved it any more. The choreographing of the fight scenes was among the best I've seen in recent memory and the chemistry between our 4 leads was reminiscent of the Oceans movies as very rarely you have such a large cast interacting together so well. If this is the direction the Marvel-verse is headed into then count me in, I can also now officially say that Iron Man has some real competition among Marvel-verse films.

Well, if I did a top 11 that would've been on my list. Unfortunately, too much shaky-cam makes my eyes go owie...

Anyways... sticking with comic book movies... the number 2 entry on my list is considered by many to be the greatest superhero movie ever made... 

And... here... we... go!

The Dark Knight


Holy fuck this movie is fucking awesome!!!


Batman Begins is absolutely amazing movie, and to me is a blueprint of how reboots should be done. When this sequel came around... Well, I'll never forget how blown away I was when I saw The Dark Knight in theatres for the first time (and second time for that matter). To paraphrase the Lego Movie: Everything was awesome! The action is pulse pounding, the car/truck chase scene has got to be one of the greatest chases in movies. The suspense is edge of your seat, especially during the attempted rescue of Rachel and Harvey Dent. The acting in this movie is top-notch, I happen to be in the minority when I say I love Christian Bale's performance as Batman, raspy voice and all. Heath Ledger as The Joker... Well, that speaks for itself at this point. Aaron Eckhart was amazing as Harvey Dent, Michael Caine nailed it as Alfred again, and Gary Oldman was perfect for Gordon! The story is just as chaotic as the film's main villain, the cinematography is crisp and breathtaking... Just... Wow! This is an amazing sequel, and it lands at number 2 on this list! Thank you, Nolan!

Are you gonna call this one gay too, Donny?

Well Heath "Brokeback Mountain" Ledger was in it...

My number 2 may shock well pretty much everyone...

How To Train Your Dragon 2



I know, this is unheard of doing a Top 10 about the best sequels to ever grace our local multiplex's and I have not only 1 but 2 movies in the top 3 that was released into theatres within the last few months. However anyone that has seen How To Train Your Dragon 2 knows that this movie was well worth the price of admission, although the first one had better reviews for it's character building. How To Train Your Dragon 2 took all other aspects to a whole new level. I can't actually remember the last time I felt like I could actually cry watching a movie, let alone an animated one (Toy Story 3 was sad... But not cryworthy) but there I was sitting in the theatre feeling sadness rush over me, I'm pretty sure the only reason I resisted was because I was able to make fun of my friends next to me for actually tearing up. In the end only time will tell if I end up sticking with The Winter Soldier and How To train Your Dragon 2 this high up on my list, but at this point in time I can't think of any sequels to share the top 3 with my favourite sequel of all time.

I really have to see that movie... but I haven't seen the first one yet... unfortunately. You see, from '02- '03 up until last year I avoided animated movies like a plague because I felt they were for little boys and I had to be more manly... But in all actuality, I was just compensating for my small penis... Since then, I've rediscovered my love for animated films... hence why Toy Story 2 is on here. Did you know I didn't even see Finding Nemo up until a few weeks ago? I got some catching up to do...

Anyways... Let's get to my number 1, shall we?

Drum roll please...

My absolute creme de la creme favourite sequel of all time IS....

(emphasis on cream)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day


The word "masterpiece" gets thrown around a lot these days, but there's no real other word to describe this movie! 1984's The Terminator has gone down as one of the greatest and most original Sci-fi movies ever made, and expectations with T2 were higher than ever. The result was in my opinion the greatest sequel ever made! Everything about this movie is top notch. The story is fantastic, with the stakes being much higher than they were in the first movie, young John Connor must survive the wrath of the T-1000 and with the help of his mother and the T-800 model 101. The characters have now reached legendary status, the T-800 is one of the most iconic characters in movie history, Sarah Connor might be the most badass chick in a movie not named Ellen Ripley, and the T-1000 is the deadliest villain ever created in the history of film!

Aww man that shot is so cool!

The acting is fantastic as everyone plays their roles perfectly, especially Edward Furlong and Linda Hamilton... And Arnie and Robert Patrick. The special effects still hold up to this day, the cinematography is absolutely perfect. The action is relentless, yet the movie still manages to slow down at the right times to give us depth and allow the audience to become connected to these characters. It combines action, human drama, Sci-fi, and horror. I've never seen a movie before or since that has combined all of those elements so seamlessly! Seriously, there's nothing in this movie that takes a back seat, nothing! This is James Cameron's finest piece of work, and in my opinion, the number 1 sequel of all time! It's cinematic perfection!


PS, this is my all time favourite movie, in case you didn't notice.

Well... there's my number 1! Let's get to Donny's number 1!

Well no surprise here for me...

The Dark Knight



What more could I say about this movie that Mike has not? It's my favourite movie of all time. It's amazeballs and everyone on this planet should have "Watch The Dark Knight Twice" on their bucket list. Why twice? Because the more you watch the film the better it gets and by the time you give it a second viewing you will see that it warrants a third, and then a fourth, and so on. Which is why Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is my number 1 for now and likely for the foreseeable future.


Well, as much as I love T2 and as much as I try to shove it down your throat, I can see why this is your number 1. I sometimes fight with myself to put it number 1 on my list, but I grew up with the Terminator movies and T2 will always have a special place in my heart. It was an awesome movie when I was a kid, and now as an adult I can still watch it and be completely blown away by it. I can't really say that about any other movie with the exception of T1, and maybe the original Star Wars movies. I will say that Ledger's Joker is the better villain though... he may not be the personification of Death like the T-1000, but he's much more compelling and the fact that he's human instead of a cyborg just makes him that much scarier.

Well that's it for us today kids. Remember to keep up with us on our other networks (see below) and remember to keep loving sequels, sure they are generally inferior but for every T(ransformers) 2 there is a T(erminator) 2.

Mike's Personal Blog

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