Top 10 West Wing Episodes

Greetings, reader!

Well, next Monday is 4th of July. I've already done a July 4th post about the best America-themed movies befitting the holiday, so this year, I'm ranking the best episodes of a series in the very vein of what my second homeland is at its best: Aaron Sorkin's masterpiece The West Wing (1999-2006). The show is many things: an intriguing look at Washington D.C. politics, an extremely well-written TV gem with the best dialogue in the business, and most importantly, a value-driven and idealistic look at how politics should work, as we follow a White House staff who are good-hearted people out to make a difference. Watching this show after living through four years of Trump was not just feel-good escapism, but downright therapeutic.

I must confess that I'm not done with the show's seven-season run yet, as my summer job has slowed down my TV-binging pace. However, I have seen all of the show's first four seasons, after which mastermind Aaron Sorkin exited as writer and showrunner. The Sorkin era seems to be considered by all as the show's definitive golden age, so I'm happy to rank the Top 10 episodes from those first four seasons. A spoiler alert is in order, but only for seasons 1-4!

Here are my honorable mentions: Five Votes Down (Season 1 Episode 4), Bartlet for America (Season 3 Episode 10), Posse Comitatus (Season 3 Episode 22), Game On (Season 4 Episode 6), Election Night (Season 4 Episode 7), Commencement (Season 4 Episode 22).

Shared 10th Place: Isaac and Ishmael (Special episode between seasons 2&3) and Documentary Special (Special episode between seasons 3&4)

"We don't need martyrs right now, we need heroes. A hero would die for his country, but he'd much rather live for it"

Both of the special episodes that have been released between seasons are on the verge of whether or not they qualify for this list, but as they're definitely good enough to make the top ten and very close to each other in quality (although wildly different from one another), I decided to put them on a shared 10th place spot. These episodes don't take place in the show's canon timeline, yet they are an important extra spice that brings further greatness into the world of The West Wing.

The story behind Isaac and Ishmael is gripping: a conventional debut episode for season 3 had been planned, and less than two weeks before it aired, the World Trade Center was attacked by Al-Qaida terrorists on September 11th, 2001. In just a few days, Sorkin wrote an episode that deals with the aftermath of this tragedy, and it was shot in another few days and aired on time before the season continued as usual. The episode sends the exact message that Americans needed to hear at the time: both that the nation was going to get through those hard times and shouldn't give in to fear, but also that Jihad extremism is very different from the core teachings of Islam, and turning against the entire religion in reactionary racism won't solve anything.

West Wing Documentary Special is a whole different concept - as the title suggests, this episode takes a deep dive into the real-life West Wing, as we get interviews of the Presidents, Chiefs-of-staff, press secretaries, speechwriters and various staffers from many administrations to the backdrop of the music and general atmosphere of the West Wing series. It's fascinating to get a glance into the lives of people who had the same real-life jobs as the show's main characters, and it's powerful as hell to hear them describe how important and valuable the work really is. For a liberal like myself, it's nothing short of heartbreaking to hear Jimmy Carter happily describe the diplomatic decisions he made that ended up being the 100% right thing to do yet cost him getting re-elected.

9. Hartsfield's Landing (Season 3 Episode 15)

"I think it's nice. I think it's democracy at its purest. They all gather at once..."

"At a gas station"

"It's not a gas station! It's nice"

In 2020, the West Wing cast reunited to do a table reading of a classic episode for charity. The episode they chose was Hartsfield's Landing, and no wonder why: while it's no dramatic season finale or epic game-changer, it is in many ways the definitive episode of The West Wing. All of the show's best elements, from Sorkin's clever dialogue and the lovable nature of the characters to the core values of the show and the intrigue of the setting, are at maximum efficiency in this lovely, delightful episode that just feels like The West Wing at its The West Wing-iest.

The game of chess is used as a neat narrative device, as President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) has just returned from a foreign visit, and bought chess boards for colleagues Toby (Richard Schiff) and Sam (Rob Lowe) - with the motive of discussing important topics with both of them while playing chess, as these conversations go on and off throughout the episode. Even better is the subplot, where the White House staff monitors the primary vote in Hartsfield's Landing, a small town with a history of always predicting the eventual winner of the Presidential Election - the debates between Josh (Brad Whitford) and C.J. (Allison Janney) about whether it's a redundant superstition or an inspiring symbol for democracy are illuminating, and ultimately the episode manages to showcase what politics can be at its most beautiful.

8. In Excelsis Deo (Season 1 Episode 10)

"Toby, if we start pulling strings like this, don't you think every every homeless veteran will come out of the woodwork?"

"I can only hope so, sir"

When I first started to watch The West Wing, Toby Ziegler was the hardest to 'get' of all the main characters - his core values and the factors that drive him didn't always seem so clear, until the series went on to slowly flesh him out in a fantastic manner so that eventually he makes more sense than any of them. The first instance that I really found myself feeling for Toby and seeing where he's coming from is season 1's Christmas episode In Excelsis Deo, where after multiple episodes of cynical and cold behavior, we see a very humane and caring side of Toby and this is done in a powerful manner.

After being questioned by the police about a dead homeless person who had his business card in his pocket, Toby realizes that the dead man is a Korean war veteran, and that he wasn't going to be mourned or paid tribute to due to his social status. Taking matters into his own hands, Toby uses his pull at the White House to organize a proper funeral for the man, while reaching out to his remaining family. The subplot where Mrs. Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) opens up about the death of her sons fits into this main story in a gripping fashion, making for one tear-jerker of an episode.

7. Noël (Season 2 Episode 10)

"This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up: 'Hey you, can you help me out?'. The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up: 'Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?'. The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. 'Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?'. And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here'. The friend says: 'Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out'. As long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand?"

These words, spoken by Leo McGarry (the late great John Spencer) to Josh Lyman, are a true testament of friendship that really melt the viewer's heart. Like the previous entry, Noël is also a Christmas episode, which isn't all that Christmas-y as it deals with some heavy topics. The way the episode deals with the delicate issue of PTSD is incredibly respectful, illuminating and powerful, making this a hard-to-watch yet ultimately uplifting 43 minutes of quality television. Brad Whitford is gold in every episode of The West Wing, but this takes the cake as his finest hour.

6. What Kind of Day Has it Been (Season 1 Episode 22)

"Now, I'm an educated man, Charlie, but when somebody tries to explain Cricket to me, all I want to do is hit him in the head with a teapot"

The finale of the show's first season will always be best remembered for the heart-pounding cliffhanger, where things are left open in a horrifying chaos of gunfire. But there's a lot more to this brilliant episode as well: from Toby monitoring his brother's near-death situation to President Bartlet getting to make a heartwarming call to the survivor of a risky military rescue, all of the main characters have character-building moments that are neatly tied together by Josh and Sam's silly hand-upwards signal.

The episode's structure is also classic Sorkin - we begin with a flash-forward, where Bartlet is exiting an event and we cut to the opening credits just as something is clearly about to go wrong, and then we go to 12 hours earlier and it takes the entire episode to get back to that point, as the final scene shows more of the shootout but then fades away before it's clear who got hit. The use of flash-forwards in the opening scene is nothing short of genius, as it's so much more than a mere "someone is about to get shot!" warning - the first scene's dialogue references about eight different plot threads that are left unexplained, and the rest of the episode gives them the proper context. This is a wonderful way to get the viewer hooked from the very beginning of the episode, and a great example of why Mr. Sorkin is one of my all-time favorite storytellers.

5. Twenty Five (Season 4 Episode 23)

"You're relieved, Mr. President"

The season 4 finale is Aaron Sorkin's final episode as showrunner, writer and producer, before he exited for good (and apparently has never watched a single episode from seasons five through seven). The episode's setting is the most dramatic and intense in the show's entire run - President Bartlet's daughter Zoey (Elisabeth Moss) is taken captive by terrorists, and Bartlet must tread the crisis as it gets more and more desperate. Eventually, he realizes that he can't act as both President and a father in such a dire situation, and the twenty-fifth amendment is invoked and power is temporarily transferred to Speaker-of-the-House Glenallen Walken (John Goodman, in the single greatest role of his prolific career).

What really gets me about the episode, in addition to the heart-wrenching atmosphere and Walken's ice-cold and memorable entrance in the final scene, is the episode's function as a metaphor for Sorkin leaving the series. Sorkin (Bartlet) has lost control of his show (his daughter), and in order for everything to work out, he must transfer power to executive producer John Wells (Walken), who he knows to be a good person who will do their best, but also knows to have very different ideas and visions for the job, which makes the transfer of power difficult. Gripping stuff.

4. 20 Hours in America (Season 4 Episodes 1-2)

"When, after having heard the explosion from their practice facility, they ran into the fire to help get people out. Ran into the fire. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight"

The two-part premiere of season four is a masterclass in comedy, in emotion, in political insight, and just generally television. With the storyline of Josh, Toby and Donna (Janel Moloney) being accidentally left behind on the campaign trail, and using trains, plains and automobiles to make their way back through the Midwest, Sorkin made this into the single funniest episode in all of The West Wing - there were a few parts that had me spitting out the tea I was drinking, as the hijinks the trio gets into are so hilarious. The same storyline is also weirdly profound, as the characters exit the 'Washington bubble' we often see them in, and get to witness how 'regular Americans' talk and think during an election year, which changes their perspective on many issues.

In the second part of the episode, the humorous side of things comes to a sudden halt with the abrupt and heartbreaking storyline of a bomb going off in a Midwestern university. Bartlet's speech in the wake of the attack is perhaps the most towering of the many, many "Man, I wish this guy really was President" moments in the series, and the interaction between Bruno (Ron Silver) and speechwriter Sam is pure gold ("When did you write that last part?" / "In the car" / "Freak").

3. Let Bartlet Be Bartlet (Season 1 Episode 19)

"Say it out loud. Say it to me"

"This is more important than re-election. I want to speak now"

"Now we're in business"

More than anything else, The West Wing is a series about what politics should be. It's not exactly a utopia (though it sure as shit feels like one after witnessing four years of a racist pumpkin as President), as there's an impressive touch of realism in how Washington politics are portrayed, but the key difference between real-life politics and The West Wing is how genuinely good-hearted and determined about changing society in a positive manner the main characters are. Not to be one of those "all politicians are selfish monsters" cynics, but more often than not it does seem that nine out of ten politicians will choose winning the next election or getting the support of a wealthy donor over being part of actually meaningful change any day of the week, and this world of half measures and over-careful calculations is one of the most frustrating facets of politics. The West Wing illustrates why things shouldn't be that way, and never more so than in the inspiring Let Bartlet Be Bartlet.

The best episodes of a series are ones that really cause something in the viewer. This episode pumped me full of inspiration, gave me some extra faith in the world, made me want to be a better citizen and filled my head with fantasies about running for office some day - that's quite something for a 44-minute piece of television from 22 years ago. The episode's progression is wonderfully dramatic - Sam and Josh get more and more frustrated in their administration's careful and risk-free policies while trying to be progressive, all while a memo criticizing Bartlet and Leo goes around, until it all blows up in an argument between the President and his Chief-Of-Staff where they realize that they're both on the same page about wanting to be behind meaningful change. In the show's most fist-pump-worthy moment, Leo comes back to the senior staff all fired up, giving each member new marching orders with the general guideline "Let Bartlet be Bartlet", and they all leave to make the world a better place to the best of their abilities.

Also, the episode's cold open is one of the best-constructed comedic payoffs I've seen, and yet another testament to Aaron Sorkin's unbridled writing abilities.

2. In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Season 2, Episodes 1-2)

"I need to ask you some questions, sir. Do you have any medical conditions?"

"Well, I've been shot"

If season 1's gunfire cliffhanger ending was thrilling television, then the season 2 premiere that followed was a whole different level. The aftermath of the shooting is incredibly intense - the moment where Bartlet, seemingly okay, gets into the car with the Secret Service agents, only for them to realize that he's been hit, is one of the more heart-pounding moments of intensity that I've seen in all of television. A majority of this two-parter is spent with Bartlet and Josh in the hospital, fighting for their lives, as the rest of the characters are there for emotional support while trying to keep the country running amidst the crisis. That narrative alone makes this episode hellishly dramatic and compelling to watch.

But then there's the flashbacks - nobody does flashbacks quite as well as Aaron Sorkin in this particular series. Seeing how the series started at a point where the Bartlet administration is already in office, this episode finally gave us the proper backstory for his Presidential campaign and how the different characters came together. It's fun to see younger versions of the characters meeting each other and working on the Bartlet campaign - but it's not just fun, it's also powerful as hell.

Following Sam, who had fallen in with defending shady oil companies in the court of law, as well as Josh, who was working for middle-of-the-road politicians'-politician John Hoynes' (Tim Matheson) campaign, as they see Bartlet speaking and drop both of their jobs in order to start fresh with this inspiring figure, is truly empowering, as is the bond between Josh and the President. In the flashbacks, we see Bartlet delay a major victory speech in order to be at Josh's side upon learning that his father has just died, while in present day, the two recover together and are clearly more glad of their friend surviving the shooting then they are about their own survival.

1. Two Cathedrals (Season 2 Episode 22)

"Yes, I lied. It was a sin. I've committed many sins. Have I displeased You, you feckless thug? 3.8 million new jobs, that wasn't good? Bailed out Mexico. Increased foreign trade. Thirty million new acres of land for conservation. Put Mendoza on the bench. We're not fighting a war. I've raised three children. That's not enough to buy me out of the doghouse? Haec credam a Deo pio, a Deo iusto, a Deo scito? Cruciatus in crucem"

I honestly don't know where to start with this masterpiece. I didn't think anything could top the dramatic and powerful season 2 premiere, yet the same season's finale found even more earth-shattering levels of killer television. To the backdrop of a tropical storm raging through the East Coast while long-built storylines come to a point of culmination, we witness 43 minutes of perfect television as President Bartlet must decide whether or not he'll seek re-election, while coming clean to the public about his M.S., and attending the funeral of Mrs. Landingham while we see flashbacks on their relationship that close her arch beautifully.

And my God, that's the best use of flashbacks I've seen in any TV series (or movie, for that matter). The casting of Jason Widener as a young Jed Bartlet and Kirsten Nelson as a young Landingham is perfect, and it's fascinating to follow what a big-sister-little-brother dynamic they had from such a young age. The flashbacks also resonate with the present-day storyline with perfection: for example, when Landingham urges Jed to confront his father and says "If you think we're wrong, then I respect that, but if you think we're right and you won't speak up because you can't get bothered, then God, Jed, I don't even want to know you", that's a perfect metaphor for Bartlet's present-day dilemma: if he honestly thinks he can't handle re-election and another term, then he shouldn't run, but if he knows he's up for it but won't run because it will be hard, that's a whole different story.

There are two scenes in this episode that are the show's two best individual moments, and would both make my top 10 favorite television scenes of all time. First is the cathedral speech, where after the funeral, Bartlet remains alone in the cathedral as he addresses God directly in the wake of his friend's death and the political nightmare he's living through. Martin Sheen's acting is chilling, and seeing him rant against the God he worships while cursing in Latin is nothing short of profound. Man's smallness and lack of might in comparison to God has been a recurring theme in classic literature, but with Jed Bartlet, they created such a mighty and larger-than-life character, that this episode twists that theme into something like "Man finding the conviction to stand up to God".

And secondly, the final scene, which just might be the single best moment in TV history. Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits starts to play, as the Presidential motorcade makes its way to the press conference where Bartlet will be asked about running for re-election. CJ has carefully instructed him to let one specific reporter ask first as they won't ask about re-election, yet Bartlet ignores this and chooses the first reporter at random. At this point, I'll remind you that the episode's flashback narrative had a scene where Landingham knows that Jed has made up his mind about a decision, because he has put his hands in his pockets and looks to the side while smiling. Anyways, in present day, Bartlet is asked if he's going to run again, and the season ends with Brothers In Arms blasting while a storm rages outside and Leo tells the other staff to "watch this", as Bartlet puts his hands in his pockets, looks to the side and smiles, after which the credits start to roll. There is no better way to end a television season.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week, as I begin the third of my non-movie-related theme months: now that literature and music have been covered, July's topic will be yet another semi-passion of mine: football (soccer, that is). Football Month begins with a ranking of the top 10 greatest players from my lifetime!

Football Month: My Top 10 All-Time Favorite Players

Greetings, reader!

My sporty theme month of football/soccer continues - last week, I attempted an unbiased list of the greatest and most talented football players from my lifetime, and this week, I'm going fully subjective and ranking my all-time favorite players. Any number of factors are considered in the mix: how I like someone's style of play, what kind of person they seem to be outside the pitch, one's role in their team, moments of fair play and likable characteristics, et cetera. These are my favorite football players from as long as I've followed the sport!

Here are my honorable mentions: Danny Drinkwater, Frank Lampard, Jesse Lingard, Mason Mount, Xavi, Declan Rice, Christian Eriksen.

10. Philipp Lahm

For someone with very little personal connections to Germany and who is a die-hard fan of Germany's traditional football rivals known as England, I have a surprisingly big soft spot for the German team. I don't love them, but I also don't hate them, and would support them against many other teams (and I was genuinely happy for them when they won the 2014 World Cup). There are many reasons for this: the way they transformed their style of play from robotic to beautiful across the early 2010's, and many players who I'm sympathetic towards, like old-timers Marco Reus and Manuel Neuer as well as young guns Kai Havertz and Joshua Kimmich.

But the biggest reason for my amiable views on the German team will always be legendary full-back Philipp Lahm.

Throughout his prolific career, this dude was so indescribably passionate on the pitch. He always gave 110 per cent, running like a maniac to assist in the attacking situations but always being back where he's needed the most in defensive situations. He played every moment of every game like a fierce warrior, and even if he was playing against a team I supported more, I couldn't help but cheer slightly whenever Lahm would make a brilliant side tackle or an epic cross.

9. Virgil Van Dijk

Big Virg is the sort of fellow that you love to have on your team, and would absolutely hate to have on the opposing team - thank God he plays for Liverpool. When a rock-solid defender like him is playing for the team you support, you can't help but fall in love with just how downright artistic his defending is - I've lost count of the razor-sharp tackles, beautiful interceptions and immaculate blocks that have made me pump my fist and go "BEST DEFENDER IN THE WORLD!!!!". More often than not, my favorite players include underdog-archetypes more so than jock-archetypes as they're easier to relate to for someone like me, but Virgil is the specific kind of jock that I can thoroughly get behind - there's clearly a big heart beneath the somewhat cold and arrogant-ish exterior.

His devastating injury in the 2020/21 season really made me care for the man on a whole new level - it was heartbreaking to see him out for such a long time, and the way Liverpool struggled that season compared to previous ones was a massive testament to how important he is in Klopp's system. Following his journey to recovery, as he eventually got back into shape and got back to his best, was truly heartwarming to witness.

8. Marcus Rashford

I want to make one thing clear - when I say that I'm a fan of English football culture, I don't mean the side of English football culture where a bunch of heartless asshole dickhead pricks decide to racially abuse a player who had the guts to take the decisive penalty in a European Championship final, and barely missed the shot only to find many of his "fans" taunting and racially abusing him in a true showcase of humanity at its ugliest. No, I don't mean those fucking despicable rat bastards.

I mean the people who showed up in said player's hometown afterwards, to show solidarity and support for their hero at a mural that had been made for him, showing a giant symbolic middle finger to racism and doing their everything to show the player that the real fans have his back and are there to enjoy the sport, and not to desecrate it with racism and bullying. And most of all, I mean footballers like Rashford himself, who hasn't let the haters get him down and is still going strong after all he's been through. On the pitch, he's a talented attacking player who is such a joy to watch that I can't help but cheer for him even when he plays for Manchester United, but it's his work off the pitch that truly makes him one of my all-time favorites: he has used his platform to do valuable work for many causes, most famously standing up to the British government concerning the needs of starving children, and earning an M.B.E. in the process. Rashford is a truly heroic figure who embodies football at its finest, and I sincerely hope that everyone who participated in racially abusing him has an absolutely miserable and joyless rest of their life.

7. Ngolo Kanté

I don't think I've ever seen Ngolo Kanté complain to the referee or lose his temper with an opposition player. Can't think of another player on the world class level that I could say the same thing about. I'm also quite sure that throughout his Premier League victories with two different teams, his Champions League victory and his World Cup victory, I've never seen him display a fraction of arrogance or self-importance. In every interview and off-the-pitch moment, the French midfielder is humble to the maximum with a smile that will melt your heart, and on the pitch, he's the perfectly respectful gentleman type that the sport truly needs more of.

I also love Kanté's style of play; as a combination of his pace, stamina and skills in different departments, he's basically just everywhere throughout the game. In Chelsea's victorious 2020/21 Champions League campaign, Kanté was argued to be the team's best defender, best midfielder and best attacker, as his position on paper is central defensive midfielder but in reality it's "whatever and wherever Chelsea needs him to be at any given moment". It can be the 93rd minute of a match where he has given his everything, and he'll still have the stamina to run across the pitch for an epic goal line clearance.

Oh, and speaking of the 2020/21 Champions League - not only was Kanté chosen as Man-of-the-Match for the final, but one statistic showed that he won more aerial battles than any other player in that game, despite being the shortest player on the pitch. Guys like this are too good to be true.

6. Steven Gerrard

Along with Fernando Torres (who barely missed out on the list), Gerrard was among the very first players that I really, really liked. My Mom is a Liverpool fan and taught me to be one just in the era where Gerrard and Torres were running the show for the Reds, and I remember being fascinated by the modest midfield maestro - in a world of big-ego stars and big-money transfers, Gerrard seemed to care only about the game and not the fame, while playing for his boyhood club Liverpool throughout his senior career from ages 18 to 35.

His autobiography was the first football book I read, and it made me all the more invested in his story - reading about his childhood toe injury that came close to ending what would be a legendary career, and about the 2005 'Miracle of Istanbul' where Gerrard lead the charge in a comeback from 3-0 to 3-3 (and a subsequent penalty shoot-out victory) in the Champions League final, is inspiring as hell. It is a curse and a travesty that this man never won a Premier League title with Liverpool, but be that as it may, he has still gone down as one of the greats.

5. Lionel Messi

In terms of who is objectively better at football, the everlasting GOAT debate of Messi vs. Ronaldo comes very close, with my answer being "Messi, but very barely". But in terms of who I like more, they're in a whole different ballpark (heh) - I never cared for Ronaldo all that much with his arrogance and diva tendencies, whereas Messi has always been a figure I root for with all my heart.

For starters, his story and style of play are just so special. His career had a hard time getting started as his shortness and small physique kept getting in the way, yet the Barcelona academy had his back and helped channel his wizard-like football ability into an unforeseen level of greatness. As I mentioned in last week's post, Messi's style of play is unique; when you watch his greatest performances, it doesn't even seem like he's human, but some strange alien sent from another dimension to show mortal humans what football could some day evolve to. He's just on a different plain of existence with his genius understanding of the game, visionary playmaking, and off-the-charts dribbling (it has been alleged multiple times that he apparently runs faster when dribbling a football than he does when just sprinting without a ball, which would likely make him the world's only person with such an ability).

And yet, through the record-breaking seven Ballon D'Ors, not to mention his 10 La Liga Titles, 7 Copa Del Rey trophies, 4 Champions League wins, 1 Ligue One title and 1 Copa América championship, the dude seems genuinely modest. We've all seen how selfishness rears its heads in players as great as Neymar or Mbappe, but with Messi, he's always happy to make the key pass instead of trying to score himself whenever he deems it to be smarter for the team. Throughout it all, it seems like Messi has built his all-time-great career out of a genuine passion for football, with very little care for ego or fame. What a guy.

4. Mohamed Salah

Speaking of modesty, here's a faithful Muslim who drops down and thanks Allah with a striking sincerity every time he scores a goal. Here are just a few reasons why Salah is one of the most lovable footballers out there:

- He has used his platform to speak out against racism and religious persecution in a powerful manner

- When he was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for a game that was teammate James Milner's 500th Premier League appearance, he refused to accept the MOTM award and gifted it to Milner as a show of respect for his incredible career

- When he couldn't play in the second leg of the 2018/19 Champions League semifinal due to injury, with Liverpool being 3-0 down on aggregate, he showed up to watch the game while wearing a hoodie that said "NEVER GIVE UP" in large print

- As captain of Egypt, he stopped multiple scraps from turning into full-on riots in the 2022 AFCON tournament as the referees couldn't handle the escalating situations and he had to be the one to diplomatically calm down the players on both sides

This dude deserves everything, and I hope with all my heart that one day he'll win that damn African Championship that has so barely eluded him so many times and clearly means the world to him. Also, both to the British fans who have treated him with racism and to those members of the Muslim world who have turned their back on him because he has adopted some western norms like celebrating Christmas, a sincere 'fuck off' is in order - the man is trying to build bridges in a divided world, and deserves nothing but respect for it.

3. Trent Alexander-Arnold

Remember how I mentioned Salah showing up to the second-leg semi-final against Barcelona where Liverpool started off at a 3-0 disadvantage, while wearing a "NEVER GIVE UP" hoodie? Well, here's how that game ended up going.

The 'Never give up' sentiment seemed ridiculous to many, as being three goals down against prime Barcelona seems like such a hopeless situation (especially when your main forward is out due to injury). But, early in the game, Liverpool scores to make it 3-1 and give fans some fragment of hope. The game remains in deadlock for a long time, until super-sub Gini Wijnaldum comes on and scores to make it 3-2. Moments later, the same guy scores again, as it is 3-3, and Liverpool fans start to realize they might be witnessing greatness. But a tie isn't enough, as the team needs one more goal.

After the ball is deflected off a Barcelona defender, 20-year-old defender Trent Alexander-Arnold comes up to take the corner. He has just placed the ball down, which would conventionally be followed by 10-20 seconds of players rummaging to find a spot while he takes aim - but this time, he sees that while Barcelona's defense is still planning how to position themselves, Liverpool striker Divock Origi is all ready. And so, in a moment of unparalleled spontaneous tactical genius, the defender doesn't go through the usual rituals but gives the corner immediately with no warning, leading to Origi scoring the winning goal against an unprepared and shell-shocked Barcelona defense. And Liverpool proceed to the final that they go on to win, all thanks to this moment of out-of-the-box thinking by the young right-back.

That is just one of the reasons why Trent is such a favorite of mine, with others being his unbreakable passion, his creative play and insane goal/assist statistics for a defender, as well as his perfect balance of being the ever-loyal team player yet still having many moments of individual heroism under his belt. I really hope that this dude goes the Gerrard way and never leaves Liverpool, as he would make such a great captain one day.

2. Luka Modric

Watching Luka Modric play ball makes me feel proud, in a way that is quite odd considering the fact that I very much don't personally know the man. But, the thing is, I've followed his career closely and with great investment. The first football tournament I actively followed was the 2008 European Championship, where the Croatian midfielder was just breaking through as a promising young hot-shot, and I immediately liked his energetic and passionate style of play and kept him in mind. By the 2010 World Cup, he was among Croatia's biggest stars, while making a name for himself on a club level in Tottenham Hotspur. By the time he transferred to Real Madrid, he had grown into Croatia's biggest name and one of the world's best midfielders.

My emotional investment in Modric's wonderful career came to a climax in 2018, as by that time, he was the veteran captain of the Croatian national team - and the madman led this bunch of underdogs all the way to the World Cup final. While Croatia lost the final, Modric was named Player of the Tournament, and rightfully so - he had given his everything in every match, and I remember watching in awe as the then-32-year-old sprinted back and forth to have a foot in every situation in the 120th minute of extra-time games, with a pace and energy one could imagine seeing only in 20-year-olds at the start of a game. At the end of 2018, he rightfully won the Ballon D'Or, becoming the only player besides Ronaldo and Messi to win it in the era of Messi&Ronaldo's dominance.

Modric is the very definition of a player who always gives one hundred per cent, and his stamina is just unreal - just last spring, at the ripe age of 36 years, he dominated the midfield throughout Real Madrid's victorious Champions League campaign with no real signs of aging. His team might be called 'Real', but this guy is simply unreal.

1. Jamie Vardy

Picture this: after a few years of not following football all that actively, you hear that a team you've never heard of, one that was just promoted to the Premier League two years prior and barely escaped relegation the previous season, is now leading the league. You start following football more actively again, wanting to see if this scrappy bunch of underdogs can pull it off. You see that their biggest goalscorer and most important player is an English striker, so you imagine him being a typical Harry Kane or Wayne Rooney type. That is, until you read up on him, and find out that he's not the typical star you'd expect.

Here's a few things to know about Jamie Vardy. For starters, he played outside the four highest tiers of English football until he was twenty-five years old, and only really broke through when he was twenty-nine, making him an exceptionally late bloomer. It's a miracle that he bloomed at all, considering what an untypical athlete he is: he drank heavily in his youth (and throughout his first seasons as a pro), smoked cigarettes all the way to his first years at Leicester, chugs a lot of Red Bull to this day, and apparently does not exercise at a gym. Seeing how amazing he is at football despite all that is staggering, although it is a bit sad to think what all-timer levels he could've reached if he had the diet and work ethic of Cristiano Ronaldo (or even of any normal pro footballer).

Furthermore, even after becoming a star, Vardy doesn't have any diva-like tendencies. He always looks like he's just out of a barfight, and everything points to him being a genuine British football-loving lad who just happens to be phenomenal at scoring goals. His goal celebrations are iconic (I can't decide whether my favorite is the one where he picked the corner flag off the ground and played it as a mock guitar, or the one where he celebrated a 90th-minute winner against the biggest rivals of his boyhood club by smashing the corner flag with a slide tackle). His oddball nature is perhaps best described by the time he bought a stake in American soccer club Rochester FC, and became one of its owners while still actively playing at Leicester. When asked about this surprising business venture, he simply replied "I guess I'm not like normal footballers".

It pains me to admit that my favorite Vardy moment of all, in addition to the season-long feat of winning the Premier League against all odds with Leicester City, comes from a match against my favorite team Liverpool from last season: while I wanted Liverpool to win, I couldn't help but root for Vardy as an individual and gape in awe at his performance. After he was clearly injured but his team had used all three substitutions, manager Brendan Rogers signaled that it's okay for Vardy to come off and they'd finish the game with 10 men. But Leicester were leading, which was a rare occurrence against Liverpool, so Vardy decided to stay on the pitch and play some f**king football despite being injured (he later clarified that people shouldn't try that at home, but he simply made a judgement call as he's coming towards the end of his career and decided that winning that match would be worth his injury potentially getting worse).

With his leg clearly in pain, he still made several tackles, sprints and passes to the best of his abilities, only limping off the pitch after the match had ended, with the fans giving him thunderous applause. This guy better get a statue outside of King Power stadium when he eventually retires (presumably at the age of 45 years after scoring a hattrick against Manchester United while hungover and full of Red Bull).

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as Football Month continues with a ranking of my Top 10 all-time favorite football moments.

Top 10 Movie Quotes of All Time

Good morning, Vietnam - and welcome to Jurassic Park!

As one might guess from my ever-subtle hints, this week's topic is iconic lines from the world of cinema. This topic has been suggested to me a few times, and they had me at hello - it was simply an offer I couldn't refuse. If you have a bad feeling about this and suspect that you can't handle the truth and end up disagreeing with my choices, I must warn you that frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. In any case, come next Thursday, I'll be back.

With that out of the way, here are the ground rules for today's list: I'm limiting my choices to individual quotes, which means that longer speeches (as well as conversations that have a series of great consecutive lines) are omitted. A line can make it onto my list for various reasons: the actor's delivery, the context behind the line and its meaning as well as its specific wording, the line's memorability and iconic status as well as the emotional or possibly humorous reaction it causes have all been taken into account. Here are the very best quotes that I have come across in the world of cinema.

Before we get started, here are my honorable mentions:

"I don't think there's one word that can describe a man's life" (Citizen Kane, 1941)

"I do wish we could chat longer, but...I'm having an old friend for dinner" (Silence of the Lambs, 1991)

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads" (Back to the Future, 1985)

"Talk to me, Goose" (Top Gun, 1986)

"Well, nobody's perfect" (Some Like It Hot, 1959)

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain (The Dark Knight, 2008)

10. "Show me the money!" (Jerry Maguire, 1996)

Not only is this line from Cameron Crowe's beloved sports rom-com insanely memorable and quotable in everyday life - its delivery also makes for the foundation of the film's most memorable scene, story-wise. As titular sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is desperately holding on to his last remaining client Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the eccentric Tidwell decides to test just how far Maguire is willing to go in order to keep him as a client. As Maguire is on the phone with Tidwell while in his office, the athlete demands that Maguire yells "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" into the phone.

Maguire's initial delivery isn't loud and believable enough, so the football star pressures him more and more until the protagonist is shouting the line from the top of his lungs, effectively making a fool of himself to any colleagues within earshot. As funny as the scene is, it also is a testament to the impulsive nature of Gooding Jr.'s character and the desperate state of the title character, making Cruise's belting of the famous line just as dramatic as it is entertaining.

9. "With great power comes great responsibility" (Spider-Man, 2002)

By now, it's a cliché and a classic, and not wonder why. The quote may have lost a lot of its meaning due to being repeated so much in popular culture, but when you really think back to watching Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie for the first time and hearing those iconic words, they do carry a lot of weight. The quote is a good guideline to anyone with power, as we have all seen how power can corrupt a person on many levels.

But it is especially fitting for a character like Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire), a kind-hearted soul who has his super-powers thrust upon him, and who struggles to accept them and his role as a superhero who strives to do good in even the toughest of circumstances. We've seen the character tested by darker impulses in many subsequent films, just like we've seen villains who get their powers in a similar manner but who grow power-hungry and violent on their journey, which really makes one think that Peter Parker might've gone down a very different path if his wise Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) hadn't given him this meaningful lesson.

8. "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!" (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003)

Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) may be the main character with the most screen time, while Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) may be the fiercest warrior in this fantasy trilogy, and the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) may be the most powerful character who impacts the story in a major way. But J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings books, has made it quite clear that you've missed the point if you don't see the modest and loyal hobbit Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) as the story's greatest hero.

While more grand-seeming characters are off fighting with various destinies and prophecies in mind, this farmer's son from the Shire just wants to be a good friend and do his part so that the world could return to a peaceful state. Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation of the trilogy does the character justice, as he begins his journey as a side character yet slowly the viewer starts to realize how he is more pure of heart and more important to the story than anyone else, just like in the books. This all comes to a point of climax in the third and best film, where Sam musters the utmost courage while spitting out this legendary line, which really brings home the point on just how loyal of a friend and how good of a person he is. Samwise the Brave indeed...

7. "I have a very bad feeling about this" (Star Wars, 1977)

Sure, technically it's not just one quote in one scene, as the main reason for this line's iconic nature is its repetition throughout the Star Wars franchise. All three films in the original trilogy, as well as the prequels, and the episodes VII-IX trilogy, contain a version of this quote at some point, which is a brilliant running gag and thematic device. While its original utterance, spoken by Luke (Mark Hamill) when approaching the Death Star, may be the most memorable, the quote has had a lot of further mileage afterwards.

Characters like Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) have voiced their various bad feelings about things like space slugs, Jabba The Hutt's (Larry Ward) palace and being in danger of getting roasted by Ewoks. One of my favorite Star Wars details is that in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which walks the line of being canon Star Wars yet not being an official 'Episode', someone begins to say the quote but is interrupted. Similarly, non-episode spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story features a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) amusingly shouting "I have a really good feeling about this!".

6. "Come with me if you want to live" (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 1991)

If memorability and iconic status were the only factors, the Terminator franchise would have a few lines that would tower above this personal favorite of mine, such as "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby". But this one is almost as iconic, and while the others were just cool-sounding things for Schwarzenegger to say without having too much deeper meaning, "Come with me if you want to live" conveys a major turn in the franchise's plot and in the Terminator's character arch in a brilliantly badass fashion.

In the original The Terminator (1984), the T-800 played by Mr. Schwarzenegger is the villain, sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she gives birth to the boy who would grow up to be humanity's savior in the war against machines. In the even-better sequel, however, there's a major twist at the beginning: the advanced T-1000 Terminator (Robert Patrick) has been sent to kill a young John Connor (Edward Furlong), and the T-800 from the first film was re-purposed and sent by the humans in order to protect John. This gave Arnold the opportunity to play the hero, although it took some getting used to: when Sarah first sees that familiar face, she is sure that the T-800 has come there to kill her. However, with these eight legendary words, the Terminator conveys that he is now on the good side, making for a thrilling team-up.

5. "We accept the love we think we deserve" (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 2012)

If I would've allowed longer monologues on this list, the life-changing final words of this film's last scene would've made it onto first place. But even when looking at shorter quotes, my sixth-favorite film of all time has a real gem to offer (also, if I were ranking the all-time funniest quotes, I reckon the exchange of "Dad, can I have thirty dollars?" and "Twenty dollars? What do you need ten dollars for?" would've made the top five).

When stressing over the fact that his love interest Sam (Emma Watson) is dating a guy who treats her like shit, the ever-curious and empathetic main character Charlie (Logan Lerman) asks for advice from his favorite teacher (and my role model from the world of fiction) Bill (Paul Rudd). Bill responds with these hard-hitting words, originally from Stephen Chbosky's novel that the film is based on, that have really resonated with me and helped me understand many of the people in my life (myself included) and the things that don't seem to make sense in the world. Equally important is the follow-up, as Charlie asks if we can make people know that they deserve more, to which Bill responds "We can try". Later in the film, Charlie repeats the quote to Sam herself, in a very emotional sequence.

4. "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" (Casablanca, 1942)

Choosing one iconic quote from Casablanca is like choosing one least favorite Republican senator - there's just such an incredible array to choose from! On one hand, the musician in me has incentive to choose "Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By", while the romantic in me is fond of "We'll always have Paris", and the actor in me adores how Humphrey Bogart delivers "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine". Still, none of those dialogue diamonds are my #1 favorite from the most quotable film ever made: that honor goes to "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".

Being said at the tail end of the film, I can't discuss the line too much without giving away major spoilers in case some of my readers have been meaning to catch this flick for the last eighty years but just haven't gotten around to it yet. What I will say is that the quote and the way it's spoken in its context will put a huge smile on your face, and is the most fitting quote one could imagine for such a scene. I've used it several times in life when making new friends, only to tragically discover that most of my peers aren't up to date on their Casablanca linguo.

3. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986)

One might not expect the perhaps greatest words of wisdom across cinema to come from a goofy 80's flick about ditching school. But that happens to be the case - in the midst of all the iconic class-cutting shenanigans of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, there is also a lot to learn from the film's surprisingly profound themes. Throughout the film, one starts to realize that Ferris (Matthew Broderick) isn't pulling all of this off just to be a bad boy and to fuck with the system - there's a much deeper layer to his plan. His best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), has over-achieved his way into constantly feeling sick and having zero energy.

Caring about his friend, Bueller realizes that what Cameron really needs is a day of impulsive fun, without the pressures of his parents' expectations and the stress of schoolwork. In all his zany rule-breaking, I believe Ferris Bueller to be one of the wisest movie protagonists of all time on a certain level, and all of that is condensed into these iconic words, that everyone should remind themselves of every now and then: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

2. "I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy" (The Departed, 2006)

This quote, spoken by Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) isn't as profound as this list's #3, as iconic as #4 or as thematically swell as #5. It's just the greatest comeback I've ever come across, and snappy dialogue at its very finest. Replying to a lower-level officer asking "Who the fuck are you?" in a challenging manner, Wahlberg's character delivers this unforgettable response, one that is as hilarious as it is satisfying. 

1. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!" (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964)

Ah, the dramatic irony. This iconic line is beyond hilarious, while being poignant to the maximum. One of the central themes in this anti-war Stanley Kubrick classic is the hypocrisy of the people who make the decisions in war, as they send young men to kill and die for their cause while they themselves manage to "stay above it" and not face the consequences. The absurdity of this phenomenon is epitomized in this quote, where the contrast between the place that is literally called the war room, and the fact that it is no place for "fighting", is truly striking. No other quote will make a pacifist like myself pump his fist with appreciation quite as much as this one.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week, as I go deep into storytelling-analysis mode and rank the top 10 greatest villain archetypes.

Top 5 things Top Gun: Maverick did better than Top Gun (and top 5 that the original did better)

I feel the need - the need for speed!

After multiple Covid-19 delays caused Top Gun: Maverick (2022) to top my "most anticipated movies of this year" list three years in a row, the long-anticipated sequel is finally out in cinemas. I'm a massive fan of the original Top Gun (1986), an action classic that would definitely make my top 10 films that I've seen the most times (I'd estimate the correct figure to be somewhere between seven and nine). I went to see the sequel last week with my parents, and just like the film it follows, this one was a massive testament to the power of cinema (in that an environmentalist-pacifist like myself can watch a film romanticizing fighter jets and military culture, and fully pump my fist and feel the "HELL YEAH" effect because the movie just is so damn good). My Mom said it best: Top Gun is great when taken as a fairy tale of sorts, and just not thinking about the real world too much.

The sequel was worth the wait, as there are some elements where it manages to improve on the original, while there are many other factors where the original can't be beaten. Here are the top 5 things that Top Gun: Maverick does better than its predecessor, and top 5 things where Top Gun comes out on top!

Disclaimer: I won't do any major spoilers for the new film, but there are spoilers of the original, as I suppose anyone who bothers to read a blog post comparing the two Top Gun films has at least seen the original.

#5 in things the sequel did better: More tense and exciting

There's no denying that the 1986 original has its suspenseful moments, but they aren't nearly as downright exhilarating as the most tense scenes of the well-directed and often nerve-wracking sequel. This is especially clear in Maverick's final act, which takes you so far to the edge of your seat that you'll nearly fall off. Joseph Kosinski does such a solid job creating tension in the action sequences, that the suspense factor manages to up the ante when comparing the sequel to its predecessor.

#5 in things the original did better: More quotable

The dialogue in the new film is good enough, but the dialogue in the first Top Gun is downright legendary. It says something that the sequel's greatest dialogue moments are the ones where iconic quotes from the original are referenced or recreated, as those are lines that true fans will immediately remember and feel a strong rush of nostalgia for. Top Gun has so many unforgettable quotes, that when I saw my friend Topias a few weeks ago and we were starting to get very hyped about Maverick's release, we pretty much only spoke to each other in Top Gun quotes.

"I feel the need, the need for speed"? Amazing. "Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by"? Ice-cold. "You can be my wingman anytime / Bullshit, you can be mine"? Pure gold. "Talk to me, Goose"? Chills. "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash"? As deliciously 80's as its gets.

#4 in things the sequel did better: It had a harder job to do

Okay, it's debatable whether the cultural expectations for a film should have anything to do with one's opinion of the end result. But it can't be denied that it's hellishly impressive when a sequel to a beloved film, made decades afterwards and massively hyped up, while having to answer the expectations of many different sorts of viewers, manages to score a better IMDB rating than the original that was sort of just made to be an entertaining action flick with no huge prior expectations.

It seemed that a Top Gun sequel was bound to fail in today's atmosphere: wouldn't it piss off the original core action flick fans if it was more suitable for modern sensibilities and less macho-militaristic than the original, just as it would piss off critics wanting a good movie if it was just as cheesy-masculine and military-romanticizing as the original? But, somehow, the end result manages to walk that line by feeling just modern and serious enough to surpass critic expectations, while also being cool and tongue-in-cheek enough to satisfy the core fans who just wanted more Top Gun. The people who made the original sure as shit didn't have to worry about factoring all of that into their product.

#4 in things the original did better: The originality factor

Don't get me wrong, it's by no means a bad thing that Top Gun: Maverick bathes in nostalgia with its callbacks and references. But the greatness of all those moments, from the misty Top Gun Anthem / Danger Zone intro to the scene where Rooster (Miles Teller) rocks Great Balls of Fire with a piano, owes its thanks to the fact that it's coasting off the greatness of the original.

1986's Top Gun doesn't have any prior cinematic product to coast off of, and deserves multitudes of respect for creating scenes so memorable and awesome that it's still fun as hell to watch slightly different versions of the same scenes in a nostalgic sequel decades later. I'm not one of those "The first one is always the best" elitists, but you definitely do get a lot of extra points for originality.

#3 in things the sequel did better: More serious and layered

While for me this is only at third place, I do believe that it is the biggest individual reason for the fact that many critics are praising Maverick so much and downright saying that it's a better movie than the original. While I do like the original slightly more as a whole, I do very much get why Maverick would be considered the better cinematic product especially by conventional critic standards: it's less silly and cheesy than the first film, and much more reflective and serious. There's nuance in the film's themes, and the film has more to say about the world than the original did. Also, the style of directing is much less "entertaining&fun action flick" and more "seriously taken action drama veering on potential Oscar bait".

Although, to be fair: let's not forget that the original Top Gun won the Oscar for Best Original Song (Berlin's Take My Breath Away), while getting nominated for three more (sound, editing and sound effects)!

#3 in things the original did better: More heartbreak

At first, I titled this item "more emotional", but I wasn't sure if that was accurate: Maverick is emotional in a whole different way, and both films have moved me to tears. But the emotion in Maverick comes either from temporary problems that are later solved in an all-ok manner, or simply from heartwarming moments of nostalgia. The emotion in the original film is much more many-sided, as there are moments that will touch you due to being so uplifting and motivational, but there is also genuine heartbreak and some truly gripping material amidst the fun.

Yes, I'm mostly talking about Goose's (Anthony Edwards) death. While the new film has its sad moments, there is nothing that comes into the slightest vicinity of what is felt when the parachute goes down and Maverick (Tom Cruise) holds his departed friend in his arms to the backdrop of Harold Faltermeyer's heart-piercing score. Also, the scene where Viper (Tom Skerritt) finally tells Maverick the truth about his father's death does have a profound sadness to it, even if it deals with heroism and ends up being the moment of closure and motivation that the protagonist needs.

#2 in things the sequel did better: More fleshed-out characters

This one was a no-brainer. It's not like the original needed to have multi-dimensional characters, as it works wonders with the "lovable rule-breaking wild card", "arrogant rival with a secret heart of gold", "by-the-book best friend", "wise mentor", "hot 80's gal" etc. tropes. But when comparing the films as a film buff such as myself is bound to do, one can't help but praise Maverick for really fleshing out its complex characters.

At first glance, you'll look at new hot-shot characters Rooster and Hangman (Glen Powell) and think: "ah, it's the new iteration of Maverick vs. Iceman (Val Kilmer), nice". But then it hits you: it's not that straight-forward, because if these are the new Maverick and Iceman, which one is which? On one hand, Rooster is Maverick Jr. and Hangman is Iceman Jr., as Rooster is the heroic good guy you root for while Hangman is the arrogant asshole standing in his way. But on the other hand, Rooster is Iceman reborn and Hangman is Maverick reborn, as Rooster is careful and goes 'by the book' just like Iceman did in the original, while Hangman embodies Maverick's rule-breaking spirit.

This neat reversal of roles is just one example of how the major characters in Maverick are surprisingly well-written, with more to them than meets the eye.

#2 in things the original did better: Better soundtrack

I mean, the soundtrack in the new film is pretty kick-ass, as it repeats some of the big hits from the original while also bringing in originals like Hans Zimmer and Lady Gaga's score contributions as well as certain rock classics that could've been in the original film atmosphere-wise even though they weren't (The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again in particular).

But it doesn't come anywhere near the all-time great soundtrack of the first Top Gun.

The film makes use of Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone, Berlin's Take My Breath Away, The Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, Cheap Trick's Mighty Wings, Kenny Loggins' Playing With The Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire with a level of greatness that most films don't reach with even just one song. And in addition to that insanely iconic combination, you've got Harold Faltermeyer's Top Gun Anthem - both the intro version that causes the grandest of goosebumps every time, and the full guitar version that is one of the most triumphant pieces of music ever composed.

#1 in things the sequel did better: Clever writing and payoffs

I can't go too deep into this one without doing spoilers, but believe me - there are some epic and well-built payoffs in Top Gun: Maverick. There are many moments that the groundwork is subtly built for throughout the film, only for the moment itself to feel very climactic and earned once it occurs. Some of them you might not see coming, and even the ones you do see coming feel less "yawn, predictable" and more "YES, I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, AWESOME!". As insanely much as I love the original Top Gun, I'll admit that the script isn't among its strongest suits - with Maverick, the writing is much more clever and detailed than you'd expect.

#1 in things the original did better: More fun and entertaining

It's not like Top Gun: Maverick is anyhow boring - it is in fact one of the more thrilling movies from the last couple of years. But the original Top Gun is one of the most entertaining films in cinema history, and if I were to make a list of the most fun movies of all time, it might just top the chart. In action blockbuster cinema, the entertainment factor counts for a lot, and while the sequel does have its share of moments that put a big smile on one's face, the original Top Gun has loads and loads more (a viewer like myself spends about 83 per cent of the runtime with a satisfied grin, with the other 17 per cent being spent tearing up over the heartbreaking moments mentioned in #3). In terms of entertainment value, you can't beat Top Gun.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for my list of the top 10 movie quotes of all time!

Top 10 Cult LGBTQ+ Movies

Happy Pride Month, readers!

I've already done a blog post on the best LGBTQ+ films in general, but my friend Viivi came up with a neat suggestion for this year's Pride Month post - the top 10 cult LGBTQ+ films. Of course, 'cult film' can be interpreted in many ways, which is why today's selection of films is one of the most varied and odd selections that I've ever listed. There are Pride-themed films that simply aren't all that mainstream and have found an underground fanbase, as well as films that weren't intended or marketed as LGBTQ+ films first and foremost (or at all), but for a variety of reasons, have found new meanings from the gay or trans communities and have become surprising cult hits for demographics other than the film's targeted core audience.

10. Tomboy (2011)

This lovely French film follows non-gender-conforming child Laure / Mickaël (Zoé Héran), in a nice coming-of-age narrative. I'm not sure if it's more attributed to the film's ambiguity or my less-than perfect mastering of the French language, but I recall the movie as being quite up to interpretation concerning whether it's the story of a little girl who simply doesn't want to conform to gender norms and expectations, or the story of a misunderstood trans boy finding his true self.

Legendary critic Roger Ebert himself said that it can easily be viewed in both ways, and either way, it ends up being quite a heartwarming story about belonging and understanding. While it was apparently made to be a mainstream film and not marketed as particularly LGBTQ+, Tomboy has gained a cult following within the trans community as it deals with the delicate subject of gender identity in quite a respectful and ahead-of-its-time manner.

9. Single All the Way (2021)

This holiday flick isn't quite the piece of cinema that Tomboy is, yet on the subject of best cult LGBTQ+ films, I find it to be slightly more commendable: after tens and tens of Netflix Original Christmas Movies about heterosexual romance, one was finally made for the rainbow community, and it's a hilarious testament to equality to witness that two men can star in a delightfully generic and over-sappy Christmas rom-com just as well as a straight couple.

Pride Month is obviously on the exact opposite side of the calendar year as the Yuletide season, so I'm not recommending watching this film right now to anyone (bar those who want it to be Christmas every day). I'm just saying - keep this in mind, if you want some entertaining-if-not-cinematically-great cult gay cinema sometime around the next holiday season!

8. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Now bear with me here - while this all-time classic of 50's youth culture is best remembered for James Dean being too cool for school right before his untimely death, and wasn't marketed or intended as a queer film (let's be real, such a movie wouldn't have seen the light of day in 50's Hollywood), Rebel Without a Cause has a foot or two in LGBTQ+ cultural history and has gained somewhat of a cult following in those circles.

This is largely thanks to Sal Mineo, who played Plato, one of the film's three main characters along James Dean and Natalie Wood. Plato is presented merely as a troubled youth from a difficult household, but when you think of Mineo's real-life story (he was one of the first big-name actors to publicly come out as bisexual), it's easy to interpret the character as a queer youth searching for his identity. Mineo even revealed later that he purposefully played the character as a take on being a gay teenager, although the producers, critics and viewers at the time didn't realize it.

7. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Sure, the cult following of The Rocky Horror Show musical and its cinematic adaptation has become so massive, that it can be very much seen as a mainstream phenomenon nowadays. I'm still including it on the list, because of its history as perhaps the most iconic cult LGBTQ+ film over the decades. In an era when mainstream queer cinema wasn't even a thing due to the homophobic norms of the time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show resonated with a lot of of people in non-heterosexual and non-cisgender circles, with its flashy and alternative costume design, satirical humor and playful look at gender identity.

While some aspects of the musical haven't aged in the best possible way (as can be expected for a film from the 70's), many still see it as very enjoyable LGBTQ+ cinema, especially when not taken too seriously - and really, can a film where Tim Curry plays a 'sweet transvestite' called Dr. Frank-n-Furter even be taken seriously?

6. Best in Show (2000)

This delightful dog show comedy by Christopher Guest gained a lot of praise at the time of its release, for how it seamlessly weaves gay romance into the story in a similar way as straight romance is generally presented in Hollywood, instead of turning it into a joke or highlighting the differences, as was the norm in the early 2000's. This was a time before Fox News waged war on Disney for including gay characters ("propaganda to turn our kids gay", they say - "Tucker Carlson can go fuck himself", say I), and before LGBTQ+ representation in media was particularly typical as it is today.

Therefore, a film treating gay characters and same-sex love interests in a healthy and normal manner was quite a groundbreaking move, so it's no wonder that this film has found a lot of love in the gay community (who are united with fans of dogs and fans of the late great Fred Willard as this underrated film's biggest fan demographics).

5. Tootsies & The Fake (2019)

Now we're really in the 'cult' end of things, as this bizarre Thai rom-com is anything but mainstream. A slapstick stylistic flair and an obscure combination of Thai cinema staples and modern Netflix norms set the mood for a colorful and queer film that feels like it's made to be watched at a late-evening hangout with all your gayest friends (perhaps with a drinking game involved), rather than be enjoyed as a serious piece of cinema. It's silly, it's entertaining, and like I said, cult cinema at its most delightfully absurd.

4. Dear Ex (2018)

This Taiwanese comedy-drama manages to be very sweet and wholesome, despite dealing with some heavy themes. We follow teenager Song Cheng-xi (Joseph Huang), as he deals with the loss of his father, the news that the aforementioned father had left his wife for a male lover, and the bitter family feud after the father's money was left with this strange man, instead of the boy's mother. The difficult family dynamics end up taking some uplifting turns, and the film isn't without its comedic moments. The film is fairly under-the-radar, but a deservedly appreciated cult hit.

3. Mulholland Drive (2001)

Once again, life finds a way for a David Lynch film to appear in any given top 10 list that I make. While it was a bigger hit than most of Lynch's films, Mulholland Drive was still too bizarre and Lynchian to become an especially mainstream film - yet it still remains very popular to this day, and this is partially thanks to the home it has found as a cult hit in LGBTQ+ circles.

The love story between Betty (Naomi Watts) and Rita (Laura Harring) is surprisingly healthy and moving for a love story in a Lynch film, as is the romance between Diane (also played by Naomi Watts) and Camilla (also played by Laura Harring), which can be seen as a different take on the same relationship where we follow alternate lives of the same people, or as a whole different love story in a different reality where the characters are played by the same actors for artistic reasons, or really any number of interpretations which are likely all wrong because none of us are on the same plain of existence as Mr. Lynch. Whatever the case may be, the sweet lesbian romance is a point of hope and beauty in an otherwise quite bleak and disturbing film.

2. The Merchant of Venice (2004)

There are cinematic Shakespeare adaptations that are very loyal to the original source material from start to finish. There are cinematic Shakespeare adaptations that take some wild points-of-view to present the story with completely new twists. And then there's The Merchant of Venice, which is otherwise a very straightforward page-to-screen adaptation with little creative twists, except for the fact that it massively zeroes in on the play's long-speculated alleged homoerotic undertones.

This is a wonderful thing, too, because based on all that I know about the iconic playwright (and I know a lot, having had a massive Shakespeare phase as we all do when we're nineteen), the Bard would've been very proud of this interpretation by all accounts. As much as conservative historians hate to talk about this, all signs point to Shakespeare having been very much not-straight, but the norms of the time wouldn't let him pour this into his works except in hidden undertones that later generations would wonder at (they might not tell you about the dick jokes and the sonnets clearly expressing love for a young man in English class, but that doesn't make them any less real). So, if you're queer and a Shakespeare fan (based on my findings on the internet, there's a massive overlap), this is most definitely the film for you.

1. Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

For me personally, this slasher sequel had to be number one. It is the first film to come to mind from the term "Cult LGBTQ+ cinema", partially because it is very cult-followed and very homoerotic (it also barely qualifies as cinema), and partially because it was my original introduction to the phenomenon of cult LGBTQ+ films. When I went through my project of watching all Nightmare on Elm Street films (as well as all Friday the 13th and Halloween films - what a time in my life that was), this wonderfully strange sequel stopped me in my tracks and reading up on it afterwards really opened my eyes.

The film bombed in the box office, but due to its homoerotic subtext, it has become a massive cult hit in gay circles, which apparently was not the intention of the filmmakers. To this day, the producers have claimed that the film's overt homoeroticism wasn't intentional, but when watching the film, one simply can't believe that to be true. The main character Jesse Walsh's (Mark Patton) struggle with Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) dreams are presented in such a metaphor-for-a-teenager-struggling-with-his-sexual-identity manner, that it all just fits. This makes for an entertaining and culturally fascinating, if not all that scary, horror film that has solidified its position as a true cult classic.

Thank you for reading! Also, to the select few who have read this thing all the way through - fuck it, I'm publicly coming out. I realized some years ago that I wasn't the complete heterosexual that I had thought myself to be up until the point that I found myself having a crush on a male friend of mine and thinking "Huh, this is something that can happen". Afterwards, it was easy to realize that I had always found men attractive alongside women, but being conditioned by this very heteronormative society of ours, I had never realized that it was romantic or sexual attraction until it hit me.

Most of my close friends know that I'm bi or pan or something like that (I'm not the biggest label guy, you can happily call me "Straight but with the occasional exceptions" or "Bi but with a strong female-leaning majority in persons of interest"), but I've never really 'officially' come out - not because of fear for being judged, but simply because I was worried it would be a bigger deal for relatives from older generations etc. than it was for me personally. But as I keep reading more and more stuff about how every coming-out helps encourage others to share their truths, I figured I'd do my part as the world really should be a place where everyone could be able to tell who they are without fear or worry.

"Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place"

-Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Top 10 Villain Archetypes

Greetings, reader!

I've wanted to do this post for a long time, as I find the concept of villain archetypes fascinating. When you spend half your life watching movies, bingeing TV shows and reading books like I do, you start to notice certain patterns emerging in the antagonistic characters - there are specific types of villains, and some are generally more compelling than others (although there are exceptions, and every archetype has its better and worse examples). Of course, the archetypes aren't clearly categorized or set in stone, and many villain characters fall into multiple categories. But, roughly speaking, I've specified ten distinctive archetypes that I find particularly interesting in movies, television and literature. Here are the ten most compelling types of villains!

10. The Criminal

By this archetype, I don't mean the occupation of criminal - not all bank robbers and drug kingpins necessarily fall into this category. As a subcategory of villains, I see 'The Criminal' as anyone whose primary function in the story is to be in the main character's way because of unlawful activities: these are the villains who don't have a personal connection or long-standing grudge with the heroes of the story, but who are a part of the story because they keep breaking the law and the heroes are traditionally protecting or upholding it.

Jabba the Hutt (Larry Ward) from the Star Wars franchise is a prime example: in the war between the rebels and the Empire, he isn't on any particular moral side, he's just a gangster looking out for himself. He becomes a part of the story due to his dealings-gone-wrong with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and defeating him becomes an important subplot. The Penguin, who has been played by Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito and Colin Farrell across various Batman movies, is also traditionally a criminal archetype: he doesn't come into Batman's crosshairs due to personal vendettas or grand schemes, but simply because Batman fights crime and the Penguin is a prominent Gotham criminal. This archetype is most prominent in police shows like Person of Interest (2011-2016) and crime films like Lethal Weapon (1987), and it rarely disappoints.

9. The Unhinged

While they often mix in with other archetypes, unhinged villains deserve a category of their own, as being unstable is often the primary motivator behind villains in many stories, most notably psychological dramas et cetera. The archetype does have a somewhat problematic history, as mental illness is far too often represented in Hollywood as extreme cases of over-the-top villains who just go around killing a bunch of people, which understandably isn't very nice for people with mental issues who want to feel represented and understood. But while the trope has been overused in media, it doesn't change the fact that its best instances do make for some of cinema's greatest villains.

Whether it's characters who slowly lose their grip on sanity leading to unhinged and dangerous actions, like Denethor (John Noble) in The Return of the King (2003) and Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in The Shining (1980), or characters who have some sort of underlying motivations yet their primary villain-factor is their unhinged nature, like the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) in Spider-Man (2002) and Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies, this archetype has made for its share of top tier villains. Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) from Game of Thrones (2011-2019) is probably the best individual example of a loose cannon sometimes being the most frightening sort of villain.

8. The Bully

As was the case with 'The Criminal', I want to make the distinction between the archetype and the general term, as these villains aren't always bullies in the literal sense. A bully-villain is anyone whose function in the story is to, on some level, bully the main character, whether it be verbal abuse, causing harm for one's own amusement, or just being a pain in the ass. The more literal and obvious examples include Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) from Harry Potter and Biff Tannen (Tom Wilson) from Back to the Future (1985), but likewise authority-abusing characters like Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) from Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) from The Shawshank Redemption fall into this category.

7. The Evil

This one is a mixed bag - most of fiction's worst villains fall into this category, as a villain with no other motivation than just being evil can easily feel very boring and generic. But at its best, this archetype has made for some of fiction's greatest - Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) from Harry Potter, Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars et cetera. In addition to those fantasy and sci-fi icons, I count characters who are absolutely heartless and morally irredeemable, such as the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) from Dexter (2006-2013) and senator Mitch McConnell from real life, to be a part of this category.

One example I'd like to single out is Michael Myers from the horror franchise Halloween. The slasher films really go deep into his evil nature, making it a whole thing that he doesn't have any particular motivations to his actions, but that due to something mysterious that went wrong at an early age, he simply became, as Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) chillingly puts it, "pure evil personified".

6. The Machine

Much like the "Evil" archetype, "Machine" villains aren't interesting characters in the conventional, psychologically complex and motivation-driven fashion. But for certain types of stories, especially in the world of science fiction, it can be the very best sort of villain. In this world of increasing technology, artificial intelligence and robot workers, the idea of machines taking over humankind can make for some frighteningly real-feeling fiction when done well. And as a contrast to emotionally driven human villains, the cold and calculating nature of a computerized villain can feel dramatic on a whole new level.

The greatest-of-all-time example is undoubtedly the bleak and terrifying HAL-9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which really condenses just how scary a machine villain can be. Other fantastic examples are Ultron (James Spader) from Marvel movies, the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and other Terminators from the Terminator movies, and the well-written artificial intelligence Samaritan from the severely underrated sci-fi crime series Person of Interest (2011-2016).

5. The Beast

Much like the machines, beast villains are not intriguing as humane characters, but they work fantastically in their own category. Fiction exists so that things could happen that cannot happen in this boring reality of ours, so why not come up with some absolutely terrifying monsters from the deepest crevices of human imagination to give your fantasy / sci-fi / thriller story some gravitas? At their best, movie monsters are visually staggering and covered in intriguing lore, just like a monster in a book can be a frighteningly described larger-than-life being.

What would Japanese cinema be without the legacy of Godzilla? Or American cinema without King Kong? Who can forget the Alien from Alien, the Great White from Jaws or the Balrog of Morgoth from The Lord of the Rings? Sometimes no other villain can beat a truly imaginative and memorable old-school monster.

4. The Equal

This trope may have been used time and time again, but it still always manages to captivate: a villain who is, on some level or another, an evil version of the main hero. It can be a person with similar skills and characteristics but a different moral code, like the suave and cold-blooded Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) from James Bond flick The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), who very much feels like "James Bond, but evil". It can also be a 'brother from another mother', who was born similar to the main hero but was nurtured different and thus went down a dark path, like the Ice Truck Killer from Dexter (2006-2013).

And no other medium does the 'Equal' archetype as well as the world of superheroes. DC Comics and Marvel absolutely love to create these sorts of villains, as nearly every major superhero has that one nemesis who has roughly the same skillset and concept but with different morals. Superman has General Zod, The Flash has the Reverse Flash, the Green Arrow has the Dark Archer and Batman...well, we don't talk about the Man-Bat. But most times, this archetype is a thing of greatness.

3. The Fallen Hero

If the idea of villains who started out like the hero but turned out evil is compelling, then the idea of villains who are the hero but we follow them become morally corrupted is downright gripping. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in The Dark Knight (2008) said it best: "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain". In his case, this turned out to be heartbreakingly true, as the district attorney known as Gotham's White Knight undergoes a haunting transformation into the violent and bitter Two-Face.

Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) always was a great villain on his own in the original Star Wars trilogy, but his story becomes intriguing on a whole new level when we get the context on what a heroic figure Anakin Skywalker was before he turned to the dark side. Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) was a downright lovable figure for multiple seasons of 24 (2001-2010), which makes it heart-wrenching when he eventually loses everything and turns against the good guys.

Sometimes, this arch happens to the main character of the story, and you only realize towards the end of the plot that the protagonist was built to be the main villain all along. This was most famously done with Shakespeare's Macbeth, and its modern equivalent, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad (2008-2013). Following a character you care about turn bad will always be a powerful storytelling trope when done properly.

2. The Mastermind

Another archetype that has seemingly been done to death, yet it still always manages to impress when done well. Who doesn't love a villain who is pulling the strings behind the scenes, always many steps ahead of the heroes, having a contingency for everything while pulling off some sort of grand-scale long-con? These villains are the hardest to defeat, which often makes for some dramatic storytelling.

The definitive 'Mastermind' villain for me personally will always be Andrew Scott's take on classic Sherlock Holmes villain James Moriarty in BBC's Sherlock (2010-2017), as this cunning genius sums up everything great about the archetype. Other classic examples are Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) from Saw (2004), Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard (1988), Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) from Breaking Bad and Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) from Silence of the Lambs (1991). The best part of crime classic The Usual Suspects (1995) used to be the earth-shattering reveal concerning its mastermind villain Keyser Soze, until it was somewhat ruined by the even more earth-shattering reveal that the actor in question had been quite the real-life villain himself (though his archetype is less 'Mastermind' and more 'Douchebag creep').

1. The Vengeful

There is no archetype inherently better than another, as the question of which sort of villain is the best always depends on the nature of the individual story. But this ranking is based on averages, on which types of villains do I most often find interesting, and the #1 choice was actually easy: seven or eight times out of ten, the very best villain in a book series or movie franchise or TV show full of good villains is one who is working out of vengeance, as this motive so often makes for delicious character writing.

Of course, it's impossible to distinguish from the "Fallen hero" archetype, as there is a lot of overlap, but I still counted the two separately because there are fallen hero -villains who aren't vengeful (the Winter Soldier, for example, was just captured and brainwashed into his villainous role), and there are vengeful villains who were never heroes to begin with (Freddy Krueger was a bad guy already before his death, but it was the brutal way in which he was killed that made him so bitter that he haunts teenagers in their dreams).

The thing with vengeful villains is that you often see where they're coming from to a degree. They might have a very valid point behind their motivations, which makes the viewer/reader partially sympathize with them, but they simply go too far with their actions. When watching Magneto (Ian McKellen / Michael Fassbender) in the X-Men movies, you can see and feel his pain and care for him, yet you can't help but hate him for the violent way in which he tries to accomplish his goals. When watching Hamilton, you see and understand how and why Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) grows bitter and resentful towards Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), which makes his story all the more gripping.

The other thing about vengeful villains is that they've always lost something, which often means that they have nothing left to lose, which makes them extremely dangerous. One of fiction's great villains, Iago from Shakespeare's Othello, might start out with a plan to get himself promoted to Othello's side instead of the less experienced Cassio, but by the end of the play, it's clear that he really just wants to hurt Othello in the same way that he was hurt, by any means necessary. Walder Frey (David Bradley) from Game of Thrones is another prime example of how the action of wronging the wrong character can lead to disastrous consequences for the story's heroes, as some people will go to insane lengths to get their vengeance. More often than not, these villains are the best of the bunch.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week, as I celebrate the upcoming 4th of July by ranking the top 10 episodes of a series representing my second homeland at its best: Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing (1999-2006).