Happy Arbor Day: Top 10 Iconic Movie Trees

Happy Arbor Day's Eve, dear reader!

As I'm sure we all know, tomorrow is the last Friday of April, also known as Arbor Day. It is the annual day of observance when we celebrate our forests and trees, and encourage each other to plant trees. To celebrate this monumental occasion, I decided to rank the most iconic and memorable trees from the world of cinema. Let's do this!

10. The Honey Tree from the Winnie the Pooh franchise (1977-)

I only remember bits and pieces from the animated Winnie the Pooh movies, as I watched them as a small child and they weren't among my biggest favorites although I did enjoy them. But I do remember the Honey Tree. It was a beautiful location, with its huge interior and honey-dripping ceiling. Pooh getting stuck in the Hone Tree is quite the classic moment.

9. The Tree of Souls from Avatar (2009)

In James Cameron's Avatar, the Tree Of Souls is a spiritually significant location for the Na'vi, the indigenous people of the planet Pandora. I don't exactly remember what its spiritual significance was, because even though I've seen the film twice, the plot is a bit forgettable. What isn't forgettable is the film's mesmerizing visual imagery, and I definitely remember what the Tree Of Souls looks like. It is a fantastic piece of graphic design, beautifully glowing branches and all.

8. The Tree of Life from The Lion King (1994)

Rafiki (Robert Guillaume) lives in a large and exotic baobab tree, which is a delightful part of the magical world of the Pride Lands. The scene where (spoiler alert for people who haven't seen The Lion King, who should immediately stop reading and go watch The Lion King) Rafiki finds out that Simba (Matthew Broderick) is still alive and restores the smeared picture of Simba drawn on the trunk of the tree, is one of the most epic moments in a film filled with epic moments.

7. The Arm from Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

Okay, I'm bending the rules here, as the title of the list is "Top 10 iconic movie trees", and Twin Peaks is a television series. But, in my defense, the third season of Twin Peaks (also known as The Return) was written and filmed by David Lynch as if it were an 18-hour movie, after which it was chopped into hour-long pieces. Thus, I'd argue that it's enough of a "movie" to qualify. Hey, I don't make the rules.

Now, about The Arm. How to explain The Arm. If you remember the Man From Another Place (Michael J. Anderson) from the show's original run (he's the dancing dwarf from the Red Room), the character appears in The Return as well. But because the actor didn't want to return due to a falling-out with the director involving murderous conspiracy theories (no, really), Lynch did what any sensible director would do and rewrote the character as a tree. No, really. The tree even has some lines as it interacts with Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) in the Red Room.

6. The Christmas Tree from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

The huge Christmas tree that Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) cuts down from the nearby forest is at the forefront of this comedy classic's shenanigans. The trip to get the tree, not to mention the troubles in putting it up in the house, are hilarious to follow as the film's writers clearly had Murphy's law in mind. The hijinks continue later when the larger family celebrates, as an incident involving a cigar has some exciting consequences - I won't spoil all the specifics here. Rest in peace, Fluffy the cat.

5. The Twin Pines / Lone Pine from the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990)

This tree (or these two trees, originally) is the key to one of the greatest subtle jokes in cinema history. In the first act of Back to the Future (1985), Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) meets Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) at a place called Twin Pines mall. Later in the film, when he has travelled back in time to 1955, there are two large pines in the location where the mall would be by 1985. Marty ends up accidentally running one of the pines over with his car, and lo and behold - when he returns to his original timeline at the end of the film, observant viewers might notice that the familiar mall is now called Lone Pine mall. Absolutely genius.

4. The White Oak from The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This one is powerful. I can't say much about this particular tree and its place in the story without spoiling the one film that everyone should watch and no one should spoil for people who haven't seen it yet. Let's just say that the narrative relating to this white oak in a field in Buxton, Maine, is an important and emotional one.

3. The Whomping Willow from the Harry Potter franchise (2001-2011)

This particularly lively and violent tree from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books translates beautifully from page to screen. Whether it's smashing the Weasley family's flying car in the exciting first act of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) or serving as a secret passageway to the Shrieking Shack in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), this tree has an important role to play in the franchise. Even when it's not affecting the franchise, the unique visual imagery of the Whomping Willow adds a lot to the milieu of Hogwarts in various transition shots of the school's surroundings.

2. Treebeard from the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003)

I know, I know. Ents are technically not trees, and they are quite sensitive about it. But still, let's face it - they are the walking and talking version of trees and we all know it. They look like trees, they reside in forests, and they have names like Leaflock and Beechbone. I mean, Treebeard literally has the word "Tree" in his name.

Biological debates aside, if ents do count as trees for the context of this list, then Treebeard is one iconic member of the species. It is a little-known fact that John Rhys-Davies, who plays the dwarf Gimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, also provided the voice acting for the role of Treebeard. And what a voice acting performance it is - the character's slow and drowsy way of speaking sounds exactly like one would imagine when reading the source material. And the amazing visual effects department of the franchise did a great job with what the character looks like, making for a remarkable cinematic tree-like creature if I ever saw one.

1. Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and other Marvel movies

Quite the no-brainer. Which movie tree could possibly be more lovable than this tree-like alien superhero who is played by Vin Diesel, has a sweet bromance with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and can only speak the sentence "I am Groot"? My favorite thing about Guardians of the Galaxy is just how incredibly random the main group of heroes is, and this extraterrestrial tree monster is the icing on the cake. He has multiple moments of greatness throughout both Guardians of the Galaxy films as well as the last two Avengers films, between being hilarious and heartfelt and downright bizarre in pretty much every scene he's in. Maybe someday I'll do a post on the top 10 greatest Groot quotes.

Thank you for reading - I hope everyone has a safe and triumphant Arbor Day! I'll be back next week with a ranking of all films in the DC Extended Universe, with both versions of Justice League (2017; 2021) included separately.

P.S. my Oscar predictions were just a tad better than last year, as I got 13 out 23 correct! I'd be satisfied, if it weren't for the fact that my predictions made me lose ten euros due to an incident involving an octopus. Better luck next year!

Sunday Special: My 2020/2021 Oscar Predictions

Hello, dear reader!

Well, the 93rd Academy Awards are tonight, and I for one am hyped up! This year was quite an interesting one to make predictions for the Oscars, as so many of the heavily nominated movies haven't been available for me to see due to a nasty combination of my student budget, the pandemic situation and the various ways of movies being released. I've only seen three out of the eight Best Picture nominees, for example. Still, after taking a careful and analytical look at critic reviews, movie trailers, award season trends and other factors, I've been able to compile a list of predictions for each category that I feel quite confident about.

Best Visual Effects - Tenet (Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson, David Lee and Andrew Lockley)

Full disclosure - I haven't seen the other four nominees in this category as of yet. But it's hard to imagine any of them beating Christopher Nolan's Tenet, which seems to be the category's clear frontrunner by all accounts. Critics have been raving about the film's visuals all year long, and such an exceptional visual department certainly deserves such an accolade for their meticulous work.

Best Sound - Sound of Metal (Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Philip Bladh, Carlos Cortés & Michelle Couttolenc)

Does Sound of Metal have the best sound design I've ever seen in a movie? Perhaps. I can't say for sure. But have I ever seen a movie where sound design plays such a huge and crucial part to make the film great as it does in Sound of Metal? Certainly not. The film is a largely auditive experience, as what you hear matters a lot more than what you see. The protagonist's gripping struggle with hearing loss comes to life with startling realism, as the film's sound mixing and sound editing departments do a brilliant job conveying exactly what he hears, what he doesn't hear and how he hears things to the audience. There are hardly any categories where I feel as sure about the winner as I do in this one.

Best Short Film, Live Action - The Letter Room (Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan)

I haven't had a chance to see The Letter Room, but it sure is uncommon for a short film to gain this much attention and acclaim. Directed by Elvira Lind, starring Oscar Isaac and having gotten attention at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Palm Springs International ShortFest, this short seems to have a lot more Oscar-hype behind it (I mean, the lead actor's name is literally Oscar) than the other nominees behind it, making it a clear frontrunner.

Best Short Film, Animated - If Anything Happens I Love You (Michael Govier and Will McCormack)

God, this short film f*cked me up. If you thought that the Animated Short category is just a bunch of children's movies, this heart-shattering frontrunner will definitely make you think again. It is a beautifully animated, beautifully told and extremely depressing short film that touches some very important societal issues that we all should care about. I won't spoil any details, but I recommend spending 12 minutes on watching this masterpiece to all Netflix users out there.

Best Production Design - Mank (Donald Graham Burt & Jan Pascale)

This one is quite the no-brainer; Mank has some of the very best set design and production value that I have seen in any movie from the last five years or so. The film details the story behind the legendary screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941) - truly the Citizen Kane of movies, wouldn't you say? Anywho, this setting makes for some delicious scenery, as the film's production design team does a beautiful job recreating early 40's Hollywood, making for an end product that truly feels as if it had been shot right then and there.

Best Music, Original Song - One Night In Miami (Leslie Odom Jr. - Speak Now)

While I haven't yet had the opportunity to see One Night In Miami, I'm still very much rooting for this song to win - it's an awesome song and I reckon it fits the film well based on the premise and trailer, and furthermore, I'm a humongous fan of Leslie Odom Jr. both as an actor and a musician. He does a great job with the song, which feels like quite the Academy Award winner with its powerful message and emotional atmosphere.

Best Music, Original Score - Soul (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Jon Batiste)

I must admit that I still haven't seen Pixar's Soul. But I listened to all five nominated soundtracks on Spotify, and this was definitely the standout. The variation between Jon Batiste's snappy and jazzy compositions and the more otherwordly, epic soundscapes created by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails fame, is quite startling. The film has also gotten a lot of critical acclaim for its score, including the Golden Globe for that category - all the more reason for it to win the Oscar.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal & Jamika Wilson)

This film, based on August Wilson's play of the same name, sure had a big emphasis on its aesthetic. The way everyone looks really adds to the atmosphere, especially the look of leading lady Ma Rainey. Her over-the-top makeup immediately makes you wonder about her attitude, presence and motivations, and actress Viola Davis is made to look very much like her real-life counterpart.

Best International Feature Film - Another Roud (Thomas Vinterberg)

It's always a dead giveaway for this category when one of the films is also nominated in other categories. Just look at last year with Parasite - while we didn't necessarily see its Best Picture and Best Director wins coming, it was clear based on its list of nominations that it was going to win Best International Feature Film. The Danish Another Round may not be Parasite, but it did get nominated in the Best Directing category, while the other four nominees are only nominated in this category. Therefore, the Oscar goes to Another Round.

Best Film Editing - The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Alan Baumgarten)

This one is a bit of a toss-up between The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Nomadland, made all the harder to predict due to the fact that I haven't seen Nomadland yet. But while I have heard good things about the editing in Nomadland, I'll have to see it for myself before believing that it outdoes Alan Baumgarten's work in The Trial of the Chicago 7 in this category. The film flows smoothly, as the editing plays a big part in Aaron Sorkin's brilliant script coming to life in a tight and entertaining manner.

Best Documentary, Short Subject - A Love Song for Latasha (Sophia Nahali Allison and Janice Duncan)

I wouldn't bet any money on this one, as I haven't had the time and energy to acquaint myself with all of the nominees in this category. Therefore I'm going with the only one that I've seen, Netflix's A Love Song for Latasha, which certainly is a fantastic short documentary that wholeheartedly deserves to win unless there is a better nominee out there that I'm unaware of.

A Love Song for Latasha is Oscar material for sure, with its well-documented material and gripping themes as it details the story of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old African-American girl who was shot and killed in a vicious hate crime that sparked mass protests back in the 90's. It's infuriating to watch this film and reflect on how little things have changed, but watching it serves as an important reminder of the victims of hate crimes being actual individuals with lives to live, and not just weekly statistics of how horrible things are.

Best Documentary, Feature - Time (Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino & Kellen Quinn)

Garrett Bradley's documentary Time has gotten a lot of acclaim for its gripping look at the flaws in the U.S. justice system, a topic that has been extremely relevant for the last 250 years or so. I haven't seen the documentary, but I've seen some of its rivals in the category and none of them seemed quite as Oscar-worthy as Time seems to be based on all I've heard (although Netflix's Crip Camp was very well-made and touching, and I'll be happy if it pulls a surprise win!).

Best Costume Design - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Ann Roth)

It's a period piece based a play, so of course the costume design is fantastic. While I have a lot of respect for the dapper costume aesthetic of this film and am pulling for it to win the category, it's a tough call - Costume Design is definitely one of the most even categories this year, and one of the most likely ones for me to get wrong. I see Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as the most likely winner when forced to choose one, but I won't be surprised if the 1940's Hollywood fashion from Mank or the Regency-era royal clothing from Emma take the Oscar home instead.

Best Cinematography - Nomadland (Joshua James Richards)

This one is a real toss-up between Nomadland and Mank. It's difficult to compare, as I've seen Mank and therefore have firsthand experience of Erik Messerschmidt's clever and intricate cinematography, Citizen Kane -channelling and all. But, based on the reviews and ravings about Nomadland (it really sucks that I haven't gotten a chance to see this film yet), it sounds like its cinematography might be even more Oscar-worthy. I can certainly believe it based on the trailer, full of atmospheric shots of beautiful scenery.

Best Animated Feature Film - Soul (Pete Docter and Dana Murray)

Every year, there are a few categories that I could fairly confidently bet a hundred euros on. Last year, it was Best Cinematography for 1917 and Best Foreign Language Film for Parasite. This year, Pixar's Soul is definitely among these done deals. The Animated Feature category always seems to follow the same archetypes with its nominees, and this year is no different: there's the out-of-the-mainstream film that has the second-best chance of winning (Wolfwalkers), the mainstream Disney/Pixar hit that was very popular but not as acclaimed as the one that's going to win (Onward), the slightly different movie that sounds good but definitely not Oscar-y enough to win (Over the Moon) and, of course, the "Oh crap we have four great nominees but have to have a fifth one" (no offense, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon).

And then there's the one that's clearly going to win: Pixar's Soul, which is nominated in several other categories and has gotten an insane amount of critical acclaim. Here's a promise to show how serious I am: if Soul doesn't win this category, I'm going to watch all the Sharknado movies and do a blog post where I rank them in excruciating detail.

Best Writing, Original Screenplay - The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin)

While many movies have a foot in this race (I won't be shocked if Minari or Promising Young Woman takes the win), my money is on Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7. It was my #1 favorite movie of the year 2020, so I'm definitely hoping that it wins something - and what category better than best Original Screenplay? Aaron Sorkin is definitely one of the greatest screenwriters in modern cinema, and the script for this relevant historical drama is among his best work.

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay - Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, based on the book by Jessica Bruder)

This category has three nominees that seem exceptionally unlikely to win it, and two quite likely candidates. Between Nomadland and Father, I see Chloé Zhao's screenplay as the more likely option. Again, I haven't seen the film yet, but I've heard many good things about how the story comes together in a rather unique manner. If Nomadland is to win Best Picture, as many are guessing, it would stand to reason that it wins quite a few other categories too - and I'm guessing that Adapted Screenplay is one of them.

Best Director - Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)

This one I'm pretty sure of. From an "Award shows are all politics" standpoint, it is realistic that the pragmatist members of the Academy want to respond to criticism in recent years of female directors being snubbed by giving this award to a female director, and what better time for that than now, when Chloé Zhao's brainchild is one of the frontrunners in the whole ceremony? That alone gives a lot of likeliness-points to Nomadland in this category, but its biggest asset is still the more "Oscars tend to go to good movies, more often than not" viewpoint, which my idealistic mind still wants to see as the more important metric. By all accounts, Nomadland is an extremely well-directed film, and Chloé Zhao a very Oscar-worthy director.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Judas and the Black Messiah (Daniel Kaluuya)

It's weird how much I'm hoping for Dan Kaluuya to win this, in addition to it being my prediction, even though Judas and the Black Messiah is among the Oscar films I haven't seen yet. But the film sounds awesome, and Kaluuya is such a fantastic actor that I'd be extremely happy if he won an Academy Award. Furthermore, I've seen many of the other films nominated in this category, and while the likes of Paul Raci in Sound of Metal and Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7 were very impressive and deserving of being nominated, they didn't quite have that "THIS GUY NEEDS TO WIN AN OSCAR FOR THIS PERFORMANCE" vibe to them. Daniel Kaluuya playing legendary historical figure Fred Hampton in this film has that vibe based on the trailer alone.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Minari (Youn Yuh-jung)

Yet another toss-up, as there are no clear frontrunners in this ambitious category. But Minari is bound to win something, with all the critical acclaim and Award Season hype surrounding it, and Youn Yuh-jung's performance has gotten a lot of praise its way. I'm guessing that Minari won't quite make in the categories of Best Picture, Director or Screenplay (although there definitely are less likely options), but I'm betting it takes home at least one award and this might just be it.

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Chadwick Boseman)

Chadwick Boseman was an amazing actor and a fantastic human being, and his untimely passing was one of the most heartbreaking moments in a year full of heartbreak. Not only would it be a touching tribute to his legacy if he won a posthumous Oscar, but it would be one hundred per cent deserved as well - he does a breathtaking job in the difficult role of Levee, an ambitious horn player who has trouble getting along with his colleagues (to put it mildly). From his brilliant interactions with his fellow cast members to his tear-jerking monologue concerning racism, everything in this performance is brilliant and totally Oscar-worthy.

Rest in Power, King.

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Promising Young Woman (Carey Mulligan)

The biggest toss-up of them all this year. The Best Leading Actress category will have me on the edge of my seat, as it is such a big category and the race is exceptionally even this year. Four of the five nominees have a very fair chance of winning, as the Oscar hype seems to be split four ways; Andra Day won the Golden Globe for this category for her performance in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, Viola Davis did a unique and Academy-standard-pleasing performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Frances McDormand has a history of winning Oscars and starred in the year's biggest predicted Oscar-winner Nomadland, and Carey Mulligan has gotten immense critical praise for her role in Promising Young Woman. While none of these four would surprise me, my money is on Carey Mulligan at the end of the day. She is a remarkable actress and I've heard so much praise about this particular role that it feels right to put her on my Oscar ballot this year.

Best Picture - Nomadland (Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears and Chloé Zhao)

As I have mentioned roughly 20 times throughout this post, I'm sorry to admit that I haven't seen Nomadland yet. But based on all that I've seen or heard relating to the film, well, it will win Best Picture. It seems to check all the boxes - conventional enough to agree with the more traditional Academy members but different enough to please the ones who want something fresh, critically acclaimed in pretty much every aspect of filmmaking, topical and emotionally powerful, not to mention the fact that it won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Most of the Best Picture nominees seem to belong to the "No way this is going to win" category, and while films like Mank and Minari have a small chance to pull off an upset, Nomadland is the clear frontrunner in my book.

Thank you for reading! I'm excited to see how well I do - last year I only got 12 out 24 correct, which was fairly disappointing (although I was so happy to see so many surprise winners that I didn't really mind). This year I'm hoping to get a better score; there is one category less as the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories have been combined, so 12 out of 23 or more will be an improvement. Tune in next week for my post on the Top 10 Iconic Movie Trees in honor of Arbor Day (no, really!) and a reveal on how well I did with these predictions!

Top 5 Traditional (And Top 5 Unconventional) Shakespeare-Based Movies

How now, mine dear fellows!

Tomorrow is Shakespeare Day, and I figured that I'd celebrate by ranking some of the greatest movies based on the Bard's works. I decided to do two simultaneous top five -lists, one of which focuses on the more traditional cinematic adaptations that stay faithful to the source material, while the other focuses on the more unconventional adaptations that take some major creative directions. The line between traditional and unconventional is drawn somewhat arbitrarily, as is the line between adaptations and non-adaptations - for example, after a lot of back-and-forth consideration, I decided not to include films like The Lion King (1994) which are very loosely based on Shakespeare plays but so far-fetched that they don't feel like 'adaptations' per se.

#5. in Traditional: The Merchant of Venice (2004)

Michael Radford's cinematic adaptation of this classic Shakespeare comedy is decent, if not mind-blowing. The characters come to life gracefully, especially the Jewish merchant Shylock who is played by Al Pacino in a powerful performance. The adaptation isn't exactly one hundred per cent faithful to the source material, as it zeroes in on the play's alleged homoerotic undertones (in a manner that the Bard would've been proud of, by all accounts). Still, between the setting and dialogue, this adaptation doesn't take any major risks and definitely fits more into the 'traditional' category.

#5. in Unconventional: Hamlet (2000)

One of the many movies that take the story, characters and even dialogue from the original Shakespeare play, but set in a modern-day context (in this case, New York City). The reason for Michael Almereyda's adaptation of my favorite Shakespeare play not being higher on this list is that this juxtaposition doesn't flow as smoothly as in some other cases, making parts of the movie feel quite clunky. But there's still a lot to like, especially in the acting department: Ethan Hawke makes for a fantastic Hamlet, Kyle MacLachlan is terrifyingly magnificent as Claudius, and Bill Murray, out of all people, is surprisingly excellent (albeit a strange casting choice) as the proud and concerned Polonius.

#4. in Traditional: Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Quite possibly the most conventional cinematic adaptation of a Shakespeare play that I've seen, this film takes no risks and feels like a stage play come to life. I appreciate such movies, as I haven't had the chance to see an actual Shakespeare play in the form of live theater, so this is the closest I've gotten so far. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey are spectacular as the titular star-crossed lovers, and the Academy Awards that the film won for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design were very well-deserved.

#4. in Unconventional: Hamlet Liikemaailmassa (1987)

This list has already covered one "Hamlet but in present day" film adaptation. So what sets this similarly themed movie apart? Well, it's Finnish, directed by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland's very own David Lynch), and its title translates to "Hamlet in the business world", as the film recontextualizes the classic tale in the milieu of a Finnish company that manufactures rubber ducks. The movie is bizarre and creative, and national treasure Pirkka-Pekka Petelius makes for a unique but nuanced take on the play's iconic protagonist.

#3. in Traditional: Macbeth (2010)

Now, I'm bending the rules a bit here: BBC Four's TV movie Macbeth isn't a completely traditional adaptation, as many of the locations and costumes have a modern-day vibe to them instead of the original medieval setting. But the dialogue and events are so incredibly faithful to the original that the film truly feels like a stage play, so the end product does feel more comparable to the films in the 'traditional' category than the 'unconventional' list.

What is otherwise an average Shakespeare adaptation with a lower budget than many of its blockbuster counterparts becomes one of my favorites, largely thanks to one thing: Sir Patrick Stewart in the lead role. Macbeth is one of the most challenging roles to play across the Bard's body of work, but Stewart does a mesmerizing job with the olde-English pronunciation and dramatic style of reciting lines, as well as conveying the character's gripping journey from hero to villain with dramatic gravitas. That performance is one for the ages, and one of the major reasons for Sir Patrick being one of my favorite actors.

#3. in Unconventional: The Coup (The Office (U.S.), Season 3 Episode 3)

Apparently, the writers for The Office (2005-2013) haven't confirmed whether or not they had Shakespeare's Macbeth in mind when writing this episode. But of course they did. That is what the cast noticed when filming the episode, it is what fans online have analyzed, and it's what I thought of within the first minutes of the episode and continued to think throughout my viewing experience. The similarities are just too striking for it to be a coincidence: the episode essentially tells the simplified story of Macbeth, but in the hilarious context of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is the Macbeth of the story, as his vaulting ambition takes over and he turns against the leader who mentored him, wanting to grab the power for himself. Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) is Lady Macbeth, manipulating her man in order to make things better for herself (the scene where she whispers "You should be running this office" to Dwight was when I was convinced that I was watching a Shakespeare adaptation in disguise). And poor Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is King Duncan, the man in charge who becomes the target of a shocking coup attempt from the last man he would expect.

#2. in Traditional: Henry V (1995)

As one can deduce from my 'Top 10 Shakespeare Plays' -post, Henry V isn't as good of a play as the likes of Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet. But the film adaptation is one of the better ones, largely for one reason: Kenneth Branagh. The king of modern Shakespeare actors is absolutely brilliant in the lead role, truly bringing every aspect of the fleshed-out protagonist to life in a majestic manner.

Branagh also directed the film, and his deep understanding of the Bard's vision is clear through the movie's stylistic choices. I especially enjoyed the extra-dramatic flair in the iconic Act III battle speech, as well as the way in which the Chorus (Derek Jacobi) was inserted into the film's transition sequences.

#2. in Unconventional: Romeo + Juliet (1996)

The champion of the "A Shakespeare play, but as a movie in a modern setting, but with the original dialogue" subgenre. Baz Luhrmann's zany vision sees Verona re-imagined as a hip suburb, with the extravagant clothing design and set design making for some memorable scenery. The main couple, played by dashing youngsters Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, have amazing chemistry together. Furthermore, the use of Radiohead's best song Exit Music (For a Film) in the final credits is nothing short of spine-chilling, as the tragic overtones of the play's ending become downright haunting.

#1. in Traditional: Othello (1995)

In short, Oliver Parker's Othello is the perfect conventional cinematic Shakespeare adaptation. There are no mind-blowing alterations or revolutionary points-of-view, but the story of Othello is told in a very concise and satisfying manner. If you want to see Othello and a stage adaptation isn't available. this film surely is the next-best thing. All of the source material's best elements, from the dramatic soliloquies to the themes of racism and war, come across in a gripping manner.

Laurence Fishburne is just the right casting choice for the lead role, yet the spotlight is stolen in an extreme fashion by the film's best element - Shakespeare enthusiast Kenneth Branagh, at it again. Branagh's tour-de-force performance as the iconic villain Iago is nothing short of mesmerizing, making for a very memorable and enthralling viewing experience.

#1. in Unconventional: West Side Story (1961)

You most likely saw this one coming - really, what else was it possibly going to be? The story of Romeo and Juliet, re-contextualized as a Broadway-musical-turned-movie-that-wins-10-Oscars, is a classic of the highest order. Between Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim's snappy music and the mesmerizing choreographies that come with them, the impeccable work of the costume, makeup and hairstyling departments, and the powerful performances from legends such as Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, West Side Story certainly earns its glorious place in the movie musical hall of fame.

In addition to standing out on its own due to the aforementioned factors, the musical is also a very successful Shakespeare adaptation - while the time, place, character names and other such things are completely different from the original Romeo and Juliet, the basic premise and the lesson at hand are exactly the same. And the ending is pretty much just as powerful in the context of the Sharks and Jets as it was with the Montagues and Capulets.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for my celebration of Arbor Day as I rank the top 10 most iconic movie trees (no, really) - I might be back before then for a special weekend post relating to the Academy Awards. Stay tuned!

Top 10 Game of Thrones Episodes

Winter (if "winter" was slang for the tenth anniversary of Game of Thrones airing its first episode, that is) is coming.

Two days from now, it will be exactly ten years since HBO aired the pilot to the game-changing fantasy epic Game of Thrones. I'm a big fan of the series, and have even defended its negatively received final season on multiple occasions in this blog. I shall celebrate the ten-year anniversary of my second-favorite television drama of all time by sharing my ranking of its ten best episodes - I originally wanted to do a ranking of all 73 episodes, but some wise input from some of my most avid readers suggested that a solid 10 might be more accessible to the average reader.

SPOILER ALERT: The list is aimed at people who have seen the series, so spoilers will ensue - up to the largely misunderstood final season, as episodes from there have most definitely made the list. Haters, beware.

Here are my honorable mentions: Baelor (Season 1 Episode 9), The Watchers on the Wall  (Season 4 Episode 9), Mother's Mercy (Season 5 Episode 10), Home (Season 6 Episode 2), The Dragon and the Wolf (Season 7 Episode 7).

10. The Rains of Castamere (Season 3 Episode 9)

"The Lannisters send their regards"

One of the most infamous episodes in television history has sure earned its notoriety. In The Rains of Castamere (better-known as the "Red Wedding" episode), a major storyline is upended as Robb Stark (Richard Madden), Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and many others are suddenly murdered during a wedding. It is one of the most classic examples of the show's tendency to subvert expectations: one doesn't see the twist coming beforehand, as the show is seemingly building towards a storyline of Robb's army reaching King's Landing and fighting the Lannisters. But upon closer inspection, the twist didn't come out of the blue, as the clues were there all along; we just didn't realize what the series was really building towards until it hit us and suddenly made perfect sense.

Also, the dramatic escalation of the Red Wedding scene is just done so well. Very little by little, it starts to feel like something is wrong - the doors are shut, the orchestra starts to play that ominous song, Catelyn notices that Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) is wearing chain mail underneath his festive garments, and so on - to the point that suddenly the crossbows and knives are out, and all hell breaks loose. Shocking, heartbreaking and masterfully built.

9. Blackwater (Season 2 Episode 9)

"Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let's go kill them!"

Up until Blackwater, every episode of Game of Thrones had followed multiple different storylines taking place in various locations. Up until Blackwater, the show's plot had felt like the first phase in a game of Risk, as there's no real warfare going on but everyone is picking sides, raising troops and slowly building up towards the eventual conflict. And in Blackwater, the penultimate episode of the second season, the war was finally there. The writers made the smart decision of the entire episode exceptionally focusing on just one storyline, as we spend all of our time in King's Landing, where Stannis Baratheon's (Stephen Dillane) army arrives for the first full-scale battle of the series.

And what a battle it is. We follow it from all sorts of perspectives - Stannis's fleet as it approaches and storms the city, the defensive side struggling to keep the city, and the high-ranking women such as Cersei (Lena Headey) and Sansa (Sophie Turner) waiting fearfully for the outcome of the battle inside the keep. Director Neil Marshall does a fantastic job with the atmosphere, scale and intensity of the battle, and here's the real kicker: I couldn't really decide which side I was rooting for. This was no black-and-white, good vs. evil battle as we often see in the fantasy genre, but a gritty depiction of a war where both sides have their points of sympathy as well as their flaws.

8. The Bells (Season 8 Episode 5)

"They say every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin and the world holds its breath"

The second-last episode of a Game of Thrones season is always a special one, as the biggest shocks are often reserved for that spot. Half of the Stark family had been killed off in various penultimate episodes throughout the season, which raised the question: what the hell was going to happen in the penultimate chapter of the whole series?

Well, it turns out that the biggest shocker in the show's eight-season run wasn't going to be a mere character death (although this episode does have plenty of those), but rather a brutal moment of character development: Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) going into full villain mode. This had been built towards throughout the entire series with more and more subtle clues of Dany inheriting worrying traits from her father, the Mad King, but we didn't want to believe it until the very last moment: after all, she had been one of the show's main heroes all along and we all wanted to root for her. But, in classic Game of Thrones fashion, The Bells showed what the series had really been working towards, instead of what viewers may have hoped for.

This is a major part of my ongoing defense for the negatively received final season: when it came to Ned Stark's death in season 1 or the Red Wedding in season 3, people loved the fact that the series twists viewer expectations and defies fan service by doing things no one would expect (but that make perfect sense afterwards). However, in the case of the final season that came after a two-year hiatus, fans had spent years fantasizing about how the series should end in their opinion, so they were unhappy that the series did what it has always done, and subverted their expectations and revealed that what they have really been working towards was different than what fans may have wanted or guessed. You may disagree, but I see The Bells as the series in its truest form, well-built shocking plot twists and subversion of expectations and all.

7. Winter Is Coming (Season 1 Episode 1)

"Let me give you some advice, bastard. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you"

Rarely has a series started off as well as Game of Thrones. I'm an emotional viewer, so when thinking of what the best episodes of this series have been, I thought about how powerful of a reaction I had to each one. And even more powerful than the absolute shock of The Rains of Castamere or the heartbreak from Daenerys's descent into villainy in The Bells is the sheer excitement that I felt from watching Winter is Coming for the first time. I was immediately certain that I was watching one of the best shows of all time (actually I was quite convinced that I was watching the best series I'd ever see, which turned out to be the case up until the point when I found Twin Peaks which ended up being even an inch better in my book).

If I think of the word "Intriguing" in the context of storytelling, my mind immediately goes to the pilot episode of Game of Thrones. The way we're introduced to the various players with their schemes, the various family hierarchies of Westeros and many exciting locations, is just so damn enthralling that it immediately has the viewer hooked. I've always enjoyed Thrones for managing to simultaneously be an "anti-fantasy" show that goes against the clichés of the genre by bringing the realistic brutality of medieval times into the mix, while still being a successful fantasy show with its moments of magical fascination and creative worldbuilding - and this was clear from the get-go. The pilot episode is dark enough to warn viewers what kind of series they were getting into, but magical enough to promise that viewers who stick with it will be rewarded as they become part of an amazing and compelling world.

6. Hardhome (Season 5 Episode 8)

"If they get through, everyone dies"

Out of all the 'Shit-hits-the-fan' episodes from plot-driven television shows I've ever seen, there is no other where the shit hits the fan quite as thoroughly, aggressively and powerfully as it does in Hardhome. This episode from season 5 was the moment when the world of television viewers collectively realized the big picture: that the Night King (Richard Brake) and his army of White Walkers were the big threat of the series, that this subtly built mystery storyline was suddenly front and center, that none of the power struggles in King's Landing were going to matter unless people united to fight this existential threat. Think of it as the global warming of the Game of Thrones world.

What went on as a normal episode for about two thirds of its runtime suddenly became a groundbreaking part of television's journey to being an art form equal to cinema. When a negotiation between Night's Watch rangers and Wildlings is taking place beyond the wall, they are suddenly interrupted as a freezing barrier of snowy mist blows their way, and something approaches. This quickly escalates into what is one of the best-directed sequences I've ever seen in movies or television, as director Miguel Sapochnik does an impeccable job with the long and harrowing sequence of the gigantic White Walker army storming the village.

The sheer amount of unprecedented production value and directorial skill is off the charts in this chaotic sequence. As the episode ended with Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and others escaping the massacre on their boats, a few things became clear: Game of Thrones had once again raised the bar for how good TV can be, and the world of Westeros would never be the same. After five seasons of "Winter is coming", this was the moment when winter came, catching all of us off guard and leaving us speechless.

5. The Iron Throne (Season 8 Episode 6; Series Finale)

"There's nothing in the world more powerful than a good story"

Here's one of the more clever twists the series pulled: after Hardhome, we were all certain that the White Walkers were going to be the show's endgame and the whole fight for the Iron Throne didn't even matter. But that was just our interpretation, and not the show's ultimate intention; after all, the title is Game of Thrones. And so, to everyone's surprise, the White Walkers were dealt with halfway through the final season, thus making the titular power conflict front and center again for the very last episodes. I have a lot of love for the much-hated final episode, and I can't for the life of me understand why people loathed it so much, other than having made up their minds beforehand because the final season had been filled with things going differently than everyone had envisioned.

All of the major characters who are still left get just the poetic ending they deserve. Daenerys, as painful as it was to see her go full villain after caring about the character for so long, needed to die, as she was the final major villain after the Night King and Cersei Lannister had been killed off previously in the season. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) always was a central character who relied on his words instead of other strengths, so it is absolutely perfect that he became the unlikely hero of the final episode by convincing Jon Snow to do the right thing, and later bringing the lords of Westeros together by proposing a new leadership, with himself as Hand of the King, a position he thoroughly deserves and fits. Sansa Stark, having endured so much pain and learned so much about leadership, finally caught a break and became Queen in the North. Arya (Maisie Williams), having accomplished her hero's journey by literally saving the world (more on that later), set out for an exciting new adventure that is left deliciously open.

And, most poetic of all, the story of Jon Snow. In a series full of backstabbing and betrayal, he always was one of the few truly good people - sure, he was somewhat flawed like any compelling hero, but he always strove to do what is right even when no one else did. And for him, the very hardest moral decision he ever had to make was reserved for the final episode: killing the woman he loved, for the good of the Seven Kingdoms. It is gripping to follow Jon struggling to accept the fact that Dany had gone off the deep end and would lead the world to ruin, and Kit Harington does a fantastic job acting the part. The climactic scene where he kills Daenerys feels nothing short of Shakespearean. And, for the character who never wanted to be king despite his heritage and who spent a majority of the series in the ranks of the Night's Watch where he truly felt at home, it was a wonderful full-circle decision to send him back to the Wall as a compromise between the people who wanted him crowned and the people who wanted him executed. Beautiful.

4. Beyond the Wall (Season 7 Episode 6)

"We'll meet again, Clegane"

"Fucking hope not"

This episode started to mark the point where some fans started to turn against the series, as they weren't happy with the fast pace and "action-movie" atmosphere. Once again, I disagree. I absolutely love the trademark slow pace of the earlier seasons, but it would've been anti-climactic as hell if the series had stayed that way till the very end - the way I see it, the season 6 finale started the show's endgame, and the two final seasons accelerated the speed because we were heading towards a climax, and in any good story (especially a fantasy epic), that part should be exciting. An episode like Beyond the Wall would've felt out of place in the earlier seasons, but as the second-last episode of the second-last season, it was exactly the ultra-thrilling adrenaline rush of insane events that we needed in order to realize that stuff was getting real.

The episode follows an unlikely band of warriors as they travel beyond the Wall in an attempt to capture a Wight. The first half of the episode has some of the show's best comedic moments, as having so many strong personalities from different storylines finally together makes for some top-tier banter - between Bronn (Jerome Flynn), The Hound (Rory McCann), Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Jon Snow, just to name a few, the character interactions are pure gold. But then the episode gets crazy, and very climactic as the titular "Song of Ice and Fire" of the show's source material finally unveils its meaning. Here is a rough translation of a WhatsApp conversation I had with a friend of mine, shortly after the episode aired:

"HAVE YOU SEEN THE GOT EPISODE"

"YES"

"I CAN'T"

"I'M SORRY BUT WHAT THE FUCK"

"GOD DAMMIT"

"SOMEHOW I GUESSED IT THOUGH"

"THE FUCKING ZOMBIE DRAGON THEORY BECAME TRUE. AND THAT FUCKING EPIC BATTLE SCENE"

"I KNOW RIGHT, IT WENT ON FOR SO LONG, AND STILL I WAS LIKE OH SHIT OH SHIT THE ENTIRE TIME"

"YEP IT JUST WENT CRAZIER! AT THE POINT WHEN BENJEN SHOWED UP I WAS LIKE THIS IS THE BEST TV EPISODE OF ALL TIME"

3. The Winds of Winter (Season 6 Episode 10)

"Jon, a raven came from the Citadel. A white raven. Winter is here"

"Well, father always promised, didn't he?"

As previously mentioned, the season six finale is where the series hits its endgame. Six seasons of build-up all leads to this episode, filled with game-changing moments, as everyone gets to the position where they are leading to the show's climax.

After six seasons of building up her army to take back the Seven Kingdoms, this is where Daenerys finally sets sail for home. After six seasons of power plays and political games, Cersei Lannister takes out her enemies in a sweeping blow and ends up on the Iron Throne. After six seasons of training her combat skills in order to avenge her family, this is where Arya Stark gloriously assassinates Walder Frey (David Bradley), the man responsible for the butchering of Arya's mother and brother in the Red Wedding. And, after six seasons of learning leadership skills and slowly becoming the central hero of the story, this is where Jon Snow is chosen as King in the North. This extremely eventful episode sets the stage for the two final seasons, and it couldn't have been done any better.

2. Battle of the Bastards (Season 6 Episode 9)

"You're going to die tomorrow, Lord Bolton. Sleep well"

There are two major reasons for Battle of the Bastards being one of the greatest television episodes of all time. The first one is that the battle sequence is possibly the greatest battle sequence in the history of television and cinema, I kid you not. One wouldn't have imagined that anything, let alone a television series, would surpass the likes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in terms of well-directed, large-scale battle sequences, but this masterpiece achieved just that with its gargantuan HBO budget and Miguel Sapochnik's expert directing. For a fantasy series, the battle feels just so frighteningly real, as everything from the stunt coordination to the cinematography is absolutely stunning in its intensity.

But it is far from being just a well-directed battle with great production value. This brings us to the episode's other major selling point; the way the battle drives the show's plot to what is probably the greatest payoff in all of Game of Thrones. This was no Blackwater, with two morally gray sides fighting one another: this was good versus evil, heroes like Jon Snow and Sansa Stark going up against the twisted and horrid villain Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). The good side winning the battle meant that after seasons of heartbreak and dismay for the likable Stark family, they finally had taken back their stronghold of Winterfell from their enemies. And, while violence might never be the right solution in real life, I think every television viewer felt a well-earned sense of delight when Sansa fed Ramsay to his own hounds after the battle - if any television character ever deserved a brutal death, it was him, and after spending such a long time as his victim, Sansa was the right one to do it.

1. The Long Night (Season 8 Episode 3)

"Everything you did brought you to where you are now. Where you belong. Home"

I'm a big fan of long story archs in television, and a long-built narrative coming to its culmination is often the best part of the series. And in The Long Night, the fourth-last episode of the entire series, many of the best narratives in Game of Thrones reach their point of climax while still leaving some of it for the final three episodes. The storyline of the White Walkers had been fantastically built throughout the series, as they slowly escalated from a mysterious and unexplored threat into a terrifying major antagonist of epic proportions - and it all leads to this episode. After seasons of build-up, the White Walkers clash against our main characters, fittingly in the emotionally important location of Winterfell.

As is fitting for such a climactic battle, the scale of it all is off the charts. Filming took 55 nights and an unknown number of days, with roughly 750 cast and crew members bringing it all to life. The directing by Miguel Sapochnik is impeccable, as the battle feels very large, incredibly intense and extremely real all at the same time. Major characters like Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) reach the poetic ends of their character archs, through some very emotional death scenes. And the final resolution is brilliant: while viewers had thought that Jon Snow would be the one to finally defeat the Night King (Vladimir Furdik), Arya Stark was the right choice. Her journey to defeat the villain had been sneakily built all along, without viewers ever seeing it coming beforehand. What a spectacle.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I celebrate Shakespeare Day by posting two simultaneous lists: the top 5 conventional Shakespeare adaptations on the big screen, and the top 5 unconventional ones!

Top 10 Modern Family Episodes

 Hello, dear reader!

I recently finished the final season of Modern Family (2009-2020), one of the funniest modern sitcoms and arguably the culturally definitive sitcom of the 2010's. After looking back on all the high points from the show's impressive 11-season run, I have come up with a list of its very best offerings.

SPOILER ALERT: as this list is aimed at people who have watched the series, spoilers will ensue. You've been warned!

Here are my honorable mentions: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1), The Old Wagon (Season 2 Episode 1), Unplugged (Season 2 Episode 5), Schooled (Season 4 Episode 2), Under Pressure (Season 5 Episode 12), Finale: Parts 1&2 (Season 11 Episodes 17-18).

10. Party Crasher (Season 4 Episode 12)

"There's all kinds of milestones in life. The kind you expect to live through: first kiss, birthdays, graduations - if you're lucky, a wedding or two. Or even a new addition to the family. And then there's the kind you'd never dream you'd ever live through again. And that's the best kind of all"

There's a lot to love in this season four classic. Laughs ensue as Haley (Sarah Hyland) dates a sleazy man, played by Jason Mantzoukas (known for his guest roles in Community, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and every other sitcom ever made). Meanwhile, the larger story arch of the series undergoes one of its biggest changing points: the birth of Fulgencio Joseph "Joe" Pritchett.

The best part of the episode, as usual, is the show's objectively best character, Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell). His speech to his wife Claire (Julie Bowen) about how much he cares for her daughter is touching, as is Haley's reaction - Phil isn't aware that she's listening, until she bursts from behind to hug her father. A beautiful scene, and masterful acting from Mr. Burrell.

9. Halloween (Season 2 Episode 6)

"Why am I in a cage?"

"Because you're in a house of horrors. You are being held against your will"

"...I know, so why am I in a cage?"

Claire Dunphy isn't exactly my favorite character on the show, but she has her moments. And my very favorite aspect of her as a character is her hardcore love for Halloween (and specifically the most scary and brutal side of the holiday) - it is a nice, out-of-the-box trait to flesh out such a character in a stereotype-defying fashion. This is evident all the way from the show's first Halloween episode, way back in season two.

In addition to Claire being delightfully horror-obsessed, the episode has a myriad of other enjoyable elements as well. Gloria (Sofia Vergara) switching to her attempt at an American accent after Jay (Ed O'Neill) makes fun of the way she talks is absolutely hysterical, and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) constantly bringing up his Halloween-related trauma in a very Cam-esque way is hilarious. All of the episode's threads come together in an amusing fashion, as everyone gathers to pull off an ultimate haunted house at the Dunphy residence. Hijinks ensue.

8. Goodnight Gracie (Season 4 Episode 24)

"I'm gay"

"Oh, my grandson is gay! His name is Daniel Schulman. Do you know him?"

The season four finale is a touching episode - not in a "you'll cry your eyes out" way, but in a very low-key way. While the episode's premise revolves around Phil's mother's funeral in Florida, there's nothing all that emotionally powerful about the setting alone as we never really knew the character. But every storyline in the episode feels moving in a sweet, subtle way, as multiple characters reminisce and deal with Grandma Dunphy's passing in their own way.

The Florida milieu brings its share of laughs into the mix, as well, and there are some classic moments from my favorite recurring character, Phil's father Frank Dunphy (played by the late great Fred Willard). This is one of those understated episodes that won't blow your mind, but will leave a very genuine smile on your face.

7. A Year of Birthdays (Season 10 Episode 22)

"The babies are great!"

"I can't wait to see them!"

"As soon as they're done getting checked out. I'm gonna go get them now!"

"Wait, wait, what about the sex?"

"Doctor says not for six weeks"

The finale of the second-last season would've worked perfectly as a series finale - I'm not complaining that we got one more season of quality comedy after it, but there certainly would've been no complaints either if they ended on this particular high note. Every major character gets their moment in the spotlight as the episode centers on the gimmick of following everyone's birthday from the timeline throughout season ten, which is a neat storytelling device to set the episode apart. But what really gets me is the ending, as the next generation of the Modern Family family is ushered in.

This is the episode where Haley gives birth to her twins. Haley is definitely one of the show's best characters, as she showed tremendous growth in her journey from careless bimbo into caring mother, while still managing to retain the essence of her airhead personality (she's also one of the show's most consistently funny characters without a doubt). It is moving to see the family gather around her as her twins are introduced to the world, and in a brilliant full-circle touch, Elton John's The Circle of Life is the soundtrack as the babies are introduced in a similar manner to Lily's grand entrance in the show's pilot episode. Quite poetic.

6. Phil's Sexy, Sexy House (Season 7 Episode 7)

"This house makes the Playboy Mansion look like an old folk's home...which it kind of is"

There is a subgenre of Modern Family episodes that always works like a charm: the episodes that are eventful and awkward in a specific way, as the writers set up about a million different threads for awkward and uncomfortable situations and then unravel it all in a chaotic final five minutes. And Phil's Sexy, Sexy House is pretty much the ultimate episode from that category.

Basically, a well-woven series of misunderstandings, deceptions and plots are built up for a majority of the episode as multiple characters sneak into a house that Phil is selling for their own various reasons. Towards the end of the episode, all of these storylines collide like a train wreck that you just can't look away from. The amount of cringe, coupled with some genuinely nice moments and absolutely hilarious lines makes for one hell of a final act.

5. Fulgencio (Season 4 Episode 13)

"Fulgencio Umberto. The initials for that are F.U. Pritchett, which is exactly what it feels like right now"

As a fan of the sitcom Community, which famously goes all-out with its large-scale pop culture references and ambitious movie tributes, I often roll my eyes when a series like Modern Family tries to spoof a movie by throwing in a few famous lines and one or two lazy references. However, the series fully redeems this track record in this episode, where The Godfather (1972) is spoofed in a hands-down genius manner.

The famous baptism/massacre sequence from The Godfather is recreated in a well-built, insanely funny manner, as the episode's climax goes back and forth between imagery from the baptism of Joe Pritchett, and sequences of Luke (Nolan Gould) doing Phil's dirty work for him. So many tiny elements throughout the episodes had built towards this wonderful moment, which includes a series of payoffs that had me rolling with laughter (the kid finding the head of a toy zebra in his bed? Who comes up with this stuff??). The "Don't ever ask me about my business, Claire" stinger at the end is the icing on this delicious cake of an episode.

4. Legacy (Season 11 Episode 11)

"We didn't do much that day but, it might have been one of the best days I ever had with my dad. I just didn't know it would be the last"

A gem of the highest order from the final season. Legacy is the final episode to feature Phil's father Frank, and what a touching send-off it is. The actor was in poor health when the episode was being made, and he passed away soon after its airing, mirroring the character's passing in the episode. Frank Dunphy was my all-time favorite role from Fred Willard, and seeing this episode after the actor's death was very emotional - this is one of the two Modern Family episodes that has moved me to tears. It is heartwarming to see Phil spending some quality time with his father for one last time, and the character's philosophy of upbeat optimism is evident as ever.

Gone, but not forgotten.

3. Vegas (Season 5 Episode 18)

"Reminds me of my late grandfather"

"He was Scottish?"

"No, a stripper"

Remember when I said that Phil's Sexy, Sexy House was the best episode out of the "tons of story threads are built up until everything goes chaotically wrong in an escalating, awkward fashion" category? Well, I lied. Vegas is even better. Between Jay's frustration at wanting an elite room in the hotel, Phil's attempt to get into a magician's club, Claire dealing with her gambling addiction and many other storylines, everything comes together and leads to quite the breathtaking amount of laughs as everything goes wrong in a hysterical way.

The episode is made all the better due to the character Higgins, a butler played by Stephen Merchant. He has his hand in every storyline, and Merchant plays the role in a uniquely bizarre and bizarrely unique way. I loved it how Higgins returned in the final season for a similar hotel-shenanigans-episode, but there's no beating the original.

2. The Wedding: Parts 1&2 (Season 5, Episodes 23-24)

"I can't go looking like this! Weddings are where you meet girls"

"Not this one "

And here we have the slightly better one out of the two Modern Family episodes that have moved me to tears. There is a lot to love in the wedding episode of Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam - Claire's 'best person' speech, Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and Luke bickering like an old married couple, Phil officiating the wedding and the overall joy of two people who love each other getting married (not to mention the milestone that this was for the LGBTQ+ community, having gay marriage represented in such a mainstream series).

But what really gets me more than anything else in this episode is Jay's storyline. Along with Haley, he has one of the show's greatest character archs, as he slowly and realistically manages to let go of his more bigoted opinions throughout the series, while still retaining his "old-school" attitude. Having watched the whole series, it's easy to forget how homophobic Jay's attitude was in the first seasons, but the storyline of him overcoming this attitude and letting love win is absolutely beautiful.

At the beginning of this episode, it seemed like Jay was still somewhat against the idea of his son getting married to another man, but by the end, it was Jay who singlehandedly saved the wedding. After everything has gone wrong and the couple are ready to call the whole thing off, he decides to host the ceremony at his country club. Jay saying "Actually, I was thinking you and I would take a little walk" as he walks his son down the aisle - much to Mitch's surprise - is a powerful scene and a real testament to how far the character had come.

1. Connection Lost (Season 6 Episode 16)

"Oh my God, gross! I've been playing Candy Crush with my mother!!"

I mean, what else could it have possibly have been? This ambitious concept episode from season 16 is somewhat of a piece of interpretational art, as everyone sees what they want to see in it; I've heard people say that it embraces the modern age of social media by having an entire episode take place on-screen, and I've heard people call it a Black Mirror (2011-Present) -style warning about the dangers of such things. In either way, Connection Lost works wonders.

The episode was shot entirely with iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. Every major character gets a chance to appear as we follow a series of videocalls as Claire tries to find out what's going on with Haley. Jay's complete bafflement at the use of such technology is the cherry on top of the cake, making for a truly memorable and creative episode.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Game of Thrones by ranking its 10 best episodes!

Getting Honest: My Top 10 Unpopular Movie Opinions

Hello, dear reader!

Avid readers of my blog are no strangers to some of my more controversial opinions - I'm constantly defending the much-loathed final season of Game of Thrones (2011-2019), the generally beloved Kill Bill films were at the very bottom of my Tarantino ranking, and I even have an inexplicable amount of love for Batman V Superman: the Dawn of Justice (2016). However, there are some opinions that I've been afraid to state, as I've thought they might alienate some of my readers due to how much they differentiate from the norms of the movie world. I figured that I've been ashamed long enough, so today I'll gather my courage and post this list of all the weirdest movie opinions that I have!

10. Lazenby is the best 007

Poor George Lazenby - Bond fans never really gave him a chance. Personally, I think that his negative reception is largely due to the fact that he was the immediate successor of Sean Connery, the original 007. People didn't want things to change, so they immediately turned against the actor who followed Connery in the role. Lazenby's performance in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) is some of the best acting from any Bond film, and he really makes the role his own. Too bad that his time in the role was limited just to that one movie.

9. Spielberg is overrated

I wouldn't go as far as to say that Steven Spielberg is a bad director - he does know his way around a camera and a film set. His films are often good, thanks largely to skilfully written scripts, high-budget production design and talented actors. However, as a director, I've always found his style to be quite bland and uninteresting. It's always some other element that blows the viewer away in his films - the visual effects in Jurassic Park (1993), the historically intriguing story in Lincoln (2012) and so on. The actual directing, however, ranges from poor to mediocre in my opinion. And to think that this guy has more Oscars than Steve Harwell...

8. Godfather III is the best Godfather

I'm not here to talk smack about The Godfather (1972) or The Godfather: Part II (1974) - obviously great movies in their own right. I just happen to see The Godfather: Part III (1990) as the culmination of the trilogy, and the overall best film in it. Al Pacino shines more than ever before in the lead role as Michael Corleone, and the presence of Sofia Coppola as his daughter Mary adds a lot of dramatic gravitas to the movie. The three-film spanning mob epic is brought to a brilliant end, making for the perfect closing chapter and thus my favorite part of this wonderful trilogy.

7. Parasite didn't deserve Best Picture

Parasite (2019) does many things right, but overall it is a bit messy and certainly not the best film of 2019 in a critical sense. It grinds my gears that in a movie year full of true masterpieces like Gemini Man, Pet Sematary and The Dirt, the most prestigious award went to this over-ambitious piece of pseudo-art. I do appreciate Bong Joon Ho's directing, but all-in-all the blend of comedy and horror elements with societal criticism doesn't really work, and the ending is quite uninspired.

6. Back to the Future is honestly pretty boring

As a kid, I was excited to see the much-hyped Back to the Future films that everyone seemed to love. Especially for a fan of time travel fiction, you'd think these movies would do the trick - sadly, this was not the case. While the sequels do improve on some of the elements and are fairly watchable, the original Back to the Future from 1985 is a notably eventless and uninteresting film to watch. The visual effects are decent for the time being, but the entertainment value and dialogue just aren't quite there.

5. I prefer the Ghostbusters remake to the original

Let me start by stating that 2016's Ghostbusters remake is far from perfect - but neither is the original 1984 comedy, that cinema buffs still continue to put on a pedestal for some reason. Between the bad guys of the film being environmentalists and the heroes being the embodiment of Republican ideals, the film is nothing short of Reagan-era right-wing propaganda. While the 2016 remake does suffer from its comedic timing a bit, it at least has something important to say with its feminist message, making it the ultimate better film out of the two.

4. Jared Leto is my favorite Joker

Choosing one's favorite Joker is a tough job, as there have been many great actors to fill the shoes of the iconic supervillain role. While I do appreciate Heath Ledger's anarchist take on the character, Joaquin Phoenix's realistic depiction of mental health struggles in the role as well as Jack Nicholson's psychopathic gangster, my favorite version of the character comes from the Oscar-winning DC film Suicide Squad, where the legendary trickster is played by Oscar-winner Jared Leto.

Leto's Joker doesn't get all that much screen time, but the way the character is written into the film is absolutely unique - it's almost like he isn't involved in the film's plot per se, but appears just to be the legendary larger-than-life supervillain, making the film all the better.

3. Forrest Gump is a terrible film

So, let me get this straight - in a year when The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction and Kickboxer 4 came out, the Best Picture Oscar goes to this disjointed and poorly aged film. Between the film's toxic love story, clichéd soundtrack, gimmicky visual effects and glorification of the Vietnam war, I just don't see what's so great about it for the life of me. And don't even get me started on the overrated Tom Hanks mumbling platitudes for half of the film's runtime.

2. The Star Wars prequels are better than the original trilogy

The Star Wars franchise is one of those things that gets better with age. The original trilogy sets a strong foundation for the franchise, with a solid premise but a lot of flaws to improve upon. This is exactly what George Lucas's prequel trilogy does: what the franchise desperately needed in its original run was more comic relief to connect with the child audiences, more CGI to make the sci-fi world more believable (a puppet Yoda? Really, original trilogy?), and more mature and engaging plotlines such as the trade federation's embargo of Naboo. The original trilogy also failed to have a real emotional core, but the prequels more than make up for it - Anakin's (Hayden Christensen) "I don't like sand" monologue never fails to move me to tears.

1. Cats is a vastly misunderstood piece of art

As I mentioned in my ranking of my favorite movie musicals (click to view), I am simply baffled about the overtly negative critical reception that Tom Hooper's Cats adaptation got. The film is loyal to its theatrical source material, the visual effects are groundbreaking and unique, and the song sequences are just amazing. Just when you think that they won't delight you with yet another cat introducing themselves through song, they go ahead and do it again, adding to the whimsical magic of this severely misunderstood masterpiece. Cinematic art at its finest.

...Oh, and a happy April Fool's Day to everyone!

Tune in next week for some actual opinions, in the form of my ranking of the 10 greatest Modern Family episodes.