Ranking Pixar

So Toy Story 3 finally came out this weekend, and Pixar continues it's streak of awesome films. Now, there are some I liked more than others. But they were all enjoyable, solid movies and I own all of them. (Well, except Toy Story 3, obviously.) Here's my ranking of them, from lowest to highest.

11. Cars
This movie is really popular, and while I like it, I'm not really big about cars. I didn't even see it until years after it came out, actually!

10. Ratatouille
This movie was so hyped, and while it's good, it didn't quite reach it, in my opinion. I'm sure many people can argue with me on this, but I don't think it was the strongest story Pixar has done.

9. A Bug's Life
This was Pixar's second movie, and I just love all the little supporting characters. I also think Hopper is a great villain

8. Finding Nemo
I was surprised to see how low this one ended up, because this is really great movie and I've watched it many times. Just goes to show how great Pixar films are. Who can't love Dory and Crush?

7. Monsters, Inc.
Just love the characters in this one. And the ending is great. Can't wait for the sequel that's on the horizon.

6. The Incredibles
This movie is just so much fun. No capes!

5. Toy Story
The one that started it all. I just watched it yesterday and found I was still laughing and enjoying every minute of it. "The word I'm searching for, I can't say. Because there are preschool toys present."

4. Up
My husband will defend this movie to the death, and he's not even a huge Pixar fan. But the story of an old man's journey to complete what he and his late wife always dreamed of is such an engaging one.

3. Wall-E
There's hardly any talking in the first half of this movie, and yet it's so engaging. The first time I saw this I came away amazed at how easy it was to love characters that couldn't even speak.

2. Toy Story 2
More of the same great characters plus some new ones - including The Prospector, a great villain. "You're outta your box!"

1. Toy Story 3
Pure brilliance. A great continuation of the story. I've never cried at a movie so hard in my life. Very emotional and deeply touching. Pixar's finest one yet.

Top 10 Christmas Movies

Okay, it's that time of year. (Obviously) Every year I tell myself I'm gonna watch alllll these Christmas movies, and I never do. Oh, I manage to squeeze one, two - maybe even three in there. But I never watch as many as I'd like to.

Until this year. I've actually watched 8 of the movies on this list! Plus I've watched other movies and TV specials that didn't make the list/couldn't make the list. (I didn't include TV specials, otherwise forget it!)

So without further ado, my top 10 favorite Christmas movies of all time.

10.  The Santa Clause

I've always had a soft spot for this one. You gotta admit it's pretty original - Santa dies so this working single dad gets stuck being Santa and has a year to accept it. Meanwhile his son runs around telling everyone he's Santa, and everyone thinks he's warping the kid's brain. Funny and touching - all the things a good Christmas movie should be. I even like the sequel, I must admit.

9. A Christmas Carol

I like the old school one starring Alistar Sim - it's my favorite version that doesn't involve puppets. Everyone knows the story here - unless you're secretly from Mars. It's the most classic Christmas story out there. Seriously, it's a brilliant story - far and away the best thing Dickens ever wrote in my opinion. ...And I don't like anything else he wrote, so that's not hard. But I love, love, LOVE a Christmas story, and yeah, I read it. Under my own power. This version sticks pretty close to the book, which is why I like it so much. "Bah! Humbug!"

8. A Christmas Story

"You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" There's a reason this movie is shown in a 24-hour marathon every year - it is hilarious! Oh, little Ralphie's quest for a Red Ryder BB gun never gets old. Who can forget Flik's tongue getting stuck to the pole? Or dad's "major award"? Or the Bumpass' dogs? There are just so many memorable scenes. Most memorable is probably the scene with Santa, where Ralphie grips onto the slide for dear life to tell Santa what he wants, only to get a shoe in the face. Ho ho ho!

7. Muppet Christmas Carol

Muppets? Songs? The story of A Christmas Carol? Yes, please! The Muppets can do no wrong in my book. And they certainly brought their unique sense of humor and their entertaining tunes to this version of the classic tale. Gonzo and Rizzo are great as the Narrators. And Statler and Waldrof as the Marley Brothers? It's packed with great stuff.

6. Bad Santa
This isn't your typical Christmas movie. It's rated R.
And for good reason. The main character is a drunken criminal named Willy who robs malls every year with his accomplice after he's been playing Santa and has had a chance to scope out the place. There is foul language and sex all over the place! But there are tons of laughs - and there's definitely heart here too. This is such a well written movie - you will root for Billy Bob Thorton's character despite his many, many faults. If you haven't seen this one, you're really missing a great movie.

5. Home Alone

If you were a kid in the early 90's, you've probably seen this movie many, many times. I know I have. What kid wasn't captivated by Kevin's fight against the evil burglar's? Plus he got to eat all that junk food and set up all those cool traps! This movie puts a smile on my face every time. And I even like the sequel. But those other movies were never made as far as I'm concerned.

4. Miracle on 34th Street

Colorized? No. That new one they made back in the 90's - hell no! How dare they! The original is an amazing film with a smart script and fantastic acting behind it. There was a reason Natalie Wood was a top child actress - she was brilliant. Just look at her face when Kris Kringle tells her he's really Santa Clause that first time. I absolutely love the scene where all the letters get dumped on the judge's desk. This is the kind of movies they made before they could rely on stupid special effects.

3. It's a Wonderful 
Life

Another old school classic. Watch poor George Bailey's life get messed up time and time again! But in the end, he realizes how much he's has. Jimmy Stewart is an amazing actor. You really feel for George at every twist and turn. And the part where he and Mary are sharing the phone - now that's real sexual tension for you! Also, if you don't at least have tears in your eyes by the end, you're a robot.

2. Elf

Elf is everything a great Christmas movie should be - original, clever, funny and it makes you believe in the magic of Christmas. Okay, call me corny, but I really love this movie. Will Ferrell is always awesome, but he's truly endearing as Budd the Elf who meets up with his real dad in a human world he just doesn't understand after being raised by elves. Sure, maybe the ending is a little corny, but I think the best Christmas movies have a little of that too. Plus, "You sit on a throne of lies" is one of the best lines ever.

1. Christmas Vacation


A small paragraph is not enough to truly convey my love for this film. I can quote large sections of it. Basically the whole thing is one awesome scene after another. It's hilarious and endearing - the best family related Christmas movie ever made. Well, in my opinion anyway. All Clark Griswold wants is to throw a fun old fashioned family Christmas - but his family and boss keep getting in his way. By the end, you'll be singing along with everybody else. And you gotta love Aunt Bethany and Uncle Lewis. And that squirrel.

South Park!

I don't really watch South Park anymore, but EW put together a list of the 20 most controversial episodes, and I've actually seen a large chunk of them. How many have you seen?

7 Best and 7 Worst Minigames/Side Quests in Final Fantasy ~ Part One

What the title says.

Seriously, though. There is a lot to do in the modern Final Fantasy games. (I say modern, because VI and lower really didn't have to much to offer in terms of "extras", so this list is gonna focus on VII and up.) There are games to play, things to fetch, people to see. You can spend hours doing something that has almost nothing to do with the plot, and usually you can score some pretty neat items this way.


In compiling this list, what exactly did I decide a minigame/side quest was? And how can I even put those two things in the same category? They're not the same. Maybe not, but they're still similar. A minigame mostly takes place in one area. I would consider Triple Triad, Blitzball and the Gold Saucer Battle Arena as minigames. Side quests, however, usually take you all over the map looking for something/someone which then sends you somewhere else. I consider Chocobo Breeding in VII, Mark Hunting in XII and the Monster Arena side quests. But there's two things that all good minigames and side quests have in common: they take up chunks (sometimes hours upon hours) of your time, and you get rewarded. So that's why I've clumped them together.


Anyway, that's enough of an intro, don't you think? I do. We don't wanna get into Webster's definition of a minigame or a side quest. (Which I'm sure doesn't exist.) So, on with our list. Let's start with the good.


Top 7 Minigames/Side Quests In Final Fantasy VII - XII


7. "Here The Fighting Never Ends" - The Gold Saucer Battle Arena, VII

 

Not pictured: The grisly murder Sephiroth committed.

Gold Saucer is a minigame mecca. There's tons of crap you can waste your time with there. You can ride a motorcycle, snowboard, of even feed a mog if that suits your fancy. But none of these games are really worth your time. They're more for times when you feel like if you have to feed that damn green chocobo one more green you're gonna scream. The Battle Arena, however, actually has a purpose.


Basically in the battle arena you enter in a series of battles and play until you get knocked out. Each round some slots spin and you are handicapped in some way. These range from status effects to breaking your weapons and materia so they can no longer be used. For each successfully won battle you get BP, which you can trade in for prizes. If you fight a lot of successful battles and save a lot of BP you can get some exclusive awesome prizes such as w-summon materia, final attack materia (I'm comin', Ruby Weapon) and the much coveted Omnislash limit break. This makes fighting in the battle arena totally worth your time.


Unfortunately while fighting can sometimes be fun, the process of getting these awesome rewards is often long and frustrating. The computer can completely fuck you over by breaking all your materia on subsequent turns of its death wheel. And fighting in the battle arena against mostly the same series of monsters can get kind of boring after awhile. That's why the battle arena finds itself on the bottom of my list. 


Plus, what is with the tissues as a prize? What do they think Cloud does in his spare time? ...Or do I even wanna know...


6. "We Like 'Em Rare" - Phon Coast Hunt Club, XII


So there's this point in XII where you find yourself on this beautiful beach. And you run into these upstanding gents that want to ask you a little favor.

Whatever you do, don't follow them into the shack.

They're looking for rare monsters, see. Only they suck at it. Or they're lazy. I don't remember. Either way, they want you to go out and find the rare monsters, and bring the trophies back to them. They'll be more than happy to reward you. Only there's 3 of them, and only one trophy per monster, so you have to decide who you're gonna favor, and who better buck up and go find their own damn monsters.


There's just something about completing a list of something, isn't there? So a list of rare monsters to track down sounds exciting at first. Then all the sudden you're fleeing for your life while some out of control, undead, unholy terror is chasing you, casting spells you wish never existed. (True story.)


So yeah, it's fun for awhile to hunt down the rare monsters. Emphasis on for awhile. Because these monsters are rare for a reason. They don't like to come out and play. So after entering the same screen on the Tchita Uplands for the fiftieth time and seeing nothing, you're almost ready to smash the controller. That fact, along with the decent, but not game changing awards you receive, lands this one at #6.


5. "NBL" - Blitzball, X

And Tidus prepares to get poisoned by the Al Bhed Psyches. Again.

Spira sure loves their blitzball. But I guess when you only got one sport you don't really have much choice. And if you wanna unlock Wakka's ultimate weapon, you don't got much choice yourself. Get in the water and throw the ball around, ya?


Blitzball is a game that's basically like soccer, only it's played in water. How anyone can breathe is beyond me. Because nobody's wearing a suba tank of any kind. But basically what you wanna do is score goals. Whoever has the most goals when the time runs out wins. Really complicated, right? And there are techs and crap and as the characters play they gain experience and level up and such. Basically the only techs you give a crap about involve shooting goals. The Al Bhed team is obsessed with poisoning you.


Blitzball always starts out fun. It's fun to get your team together and put your best players on the field. It's not easy to win at first, but once you get the hang of things and your team starts to level up a bit, winning gets easier.


And not long after that...it gets too easy.


If you recruit Rikku's brother for your team (his actual name is Brother. Apparently his parents didn't give a shit about him.) you will soon learn why major league teams will spend big bucks on one guy. I'm pretty sure he could win all by himself. Before long he's swimming so fast the other team has passed out from trying to keep up. It's almost a joke. Meanwhile, you yawn and shoot yet another goal. Just another blitzball game. Whoop dee freakin' do.


You have to play a LOT of games of blitzball, because the item you need to unlock Wakka's weapon only comes up after you win some tournaments. By that time you're so leveled up the opposing teams are a joke and blitzball games feel like twenty minutes of watching Brother show off. 


So fun at first, but boring in the end...blitzball places fifth.


4. "Vaan The Bounty Hunter" - Clan Centurio, XII


Who wouldn't wanna join a club led by this little guy?

 

He wants you to kill things.

If you want awesome rewards and fun challenges that'll last you all game long, you better sign yourself up.


You can join Clan Centurio at the beginning of the game, and basically what you're doing is bounty hunting. You're given a person to go talk to about a monster, and after talking with them you either accept the job or give them the shifty eyes, claiming you have other stuff to do while you slink away. After you defeat the monster, you return to that person for your reward. The more marks you kill, the higher your rank and the more hunts you unlock. You even get more rewards from the moggle (pictured above.) It's easy...and fun! Oh, and you're helping people. Or something. I guess.



Seriously, hunting marks is fun. It's a great side quest you can go back to all throughout the game if you wanna get away from the main story. And not only are the rewards great, but it's a nice way to level up too, while doing something different. Oh, and there's prime stuff to steal as well.


So this side quest is all over awesome. I really don't have a bad thing to say about it. ...Okay, so following gilgamesh deeper and deeper into the mines for hours wasn't exactly a picnic, but it was worth it to steal his shit.


3. "Beware The Random Rule" - Triple Triad, VIII




Oh, Triple Triad. How I used to curse you. Now I love you. You're like the nerdy kid in school who gets made fun of until the popular kid realizes they can cheat off you in biology. Or something like that.

Selphie wants to be under Seifer.

Triple Triad is a card game you can play pretty much all game long. You walk up to someone, press square, and if they're a card player, a game will start. Now I'm not going to go into the whole explanation of how to play, but there are various rules that change how the game is played. These vary from region to region. Most of them are horrible. Especially the random rule. The random rule is just what is sounds like - you don't get to choose your own cards. Instead, they're randomly chosen from your hand. So while you may have many awesome character cards to choose from, the computer will undoubtedly select all your bite bug and jelleye cards. Not so fun.


The good thing is you can spread the one rule that's good, (open - seeing your opponent's hand is always a good thing...unless it's on your leg) and banish the rules you hate. (Like random, same-wall, random, elemental, random, same, random, plus, random, that other rule that's horrible, and random. Did I mention random?) This takes some work and understanding of how the rules are spread. But it's worth it. Because easier card playing means you'll be able to get all the good cards without much effort. And you won't wanna strangle your kinda sister Ellone for beating you at cards. Again.


So why do you want these cards anyway? To stare at the pretty pictures? No. Because the cards can be turned into items. Awesome, useful items. A big thing in VIII is changing and combining items into different items using GF abilities. A lot of the items you can get from cards are rare - sometimes almost impossible to get without the card. And if you want to fight Ultima Weapon, you're gonna want the gilgmesh card. So just hand it over, Quistis!


So super fun despite the time it might take to manipulate the rules, great rewards - it's a great addition to the game, really. I curse it no more. Only two really awesome side quests could knock this minigame down to number 3.


2. "Gotta Catch 'Em All!" - The Monster Arena, X


Off in this little nook in the Calm Plains is this creepy guide who lives alone with his dragon. He likes to take monsters, breed them with other monsters, and create brand new monsters! Totally a legit operation.

 

You wanna make a what with a what now?!

So you visit this guy, and he'll sell you weapons so that you can "catch" monsters rather than kill them. You can catch a maximum of 10 of each monster in the game. And as you catch all the monsters of a certain species or all the fiends in a certain location, creepy guy gives you rewards. Oh, and you can also fight his creepy creations for prizes. He's not responsible for any of the injuries you most certainly will get.


I'm a bit obsessed with the monster arena. I just love it. I always collect 10 of every monster in the game, and I'm sad when it's over. You'll spend a lot of time gathering monsters, especially if you're determined to get 10 of every kind - hey! Just think of yourself as a fucked up Noah! The rewards you get are great - not only for your sphere grid but there's some rare stuff in there as well.


It's worth it to fight his freaks of nature as well - but be warned. Those things get really difficult to defeat. My team was jacked, and I still kept getting creamed by this one monster. I don't know how they don't murder him in his sleep. But again, for the sweet prizes, you'll keep licking your wounds and coming back.


There's only one side quest that can knock my beloved monster arena to number two.


1. "Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!" - Chocobo Hot and Cold - IX


I love IX. Really. I do. But not as much as I love this side quest.

 

That's the sound of him pooping himself.

Wandering into a forest at the beginning of the game, you find an enterprising moogle exploiting a poor, lost chocobo. If you give the moogle some gil, he'll let you ride his pal and search for treasure for like a minute. Yeah, this moogle is some friend. But it's good for you, because this chocobo will lead you to some great stuff. As you run around to the catchy tune, you press a button to search the area for treasure. Choco's response goes from Kweh. (There's nothing here, you bloodsucking jerk.) to KWWEEH-EHHH! (Here's your god damn treasure! Now get the fuck off!) That's when you wanna dig for shiny pretty things. As you play, Choco's beak strength gets stronger and you can dig stuff up faster. You also start finding "Chocographs" which lead you to even better treasure you can find outside the forest and around the world map. After the forest there's also a lagoon and air garden to explore. And Choco gains powers so he can climb mountains, cross oceans and eventually fly. By the time you're at the end of the game, the moogle's rolling in money, Zidane's draped in treasure, and the chocobo is seeing a chiropractor.


Chocobo hot and cold is just so much fun. It's addicting. And the song is really cute and catchy. Treasures aside (and the rewards are great - definitely worth the time) I would probably play this even if I was just fattening the moogle's wallet. And even though it costs a little to play, you'll save a lot of money by not having to buy all the potions and other items you're digging up at a shop. You also get points for each item you dig up, and for meeting certain other conditions. You can then trade those points for even MORE items. In the end, as far as your gil goes, it's a bargain. So you're happy and the moogle's happy. But not the chocobo. He's still not happy.


Up next...saving the worst for last.

Top 10 Memorable Lines in Final Fantasy Games

(This, believe it or not, was rejected from Gamefaqs for being "too narrow". Oh well. We can enjoy it here, since it took me hours to put together!)

In a series like Final Fantasy, where every game is an epic quest, there are many things said that stand out. These are just some of the memorable lines that may have made you smile, stop and think, or even shed a tear.

10: "...That is my story." - Auron Final Fantasy X (PS2)
The full line: "Legendary guardian? I was just a boy. A boy about your age, actually. I wanted to change the world, too. But I changed nothing. That is my story."
The phrase "my story" was certainly used frequently in this game. When the party finally gets to their destination, Auron reveals that he wavered the first time he came to Zanarkand. This causes Wakka to comment that even legendary guardians choke sometimes. Auron's response is this line. Sometimes it's hard to remember that this tough and experienced warrior was young and naive once too.

9: "........Whatever." - Squall Final Fantasy VIII (PS)
"Whatever" is the full line in this case. Squall uses this word so frequently in the game it's basically his catchphrase. It's certainly the word most associated with Squall. It's his universal answer to everything, even if he might not always say it aloud.

8: "...I just can't handle the pressure..." - Irvine Final Fantasy VIII (PS)
The full line: "I...I can't...I'm sorry, I can't do it. I always choke like this... I try to act all cool, joke around, but I just can't handle the pressure..."
Irvine is the sharpshooter from Galbadia Garden who joined your team for the purpose of assassinating sorceress Edea. Once everything for the plan is finally in place, it's time for Irvine to take up his gun and do his job. But he's only sitting there, shaking. Squall yells at him, but all Irvine can do is speak this line. The once seemingly confident lone wolf shows his true colors.

7: "...I've lost all sense of purpose..." - Locke Final Fantasy VI (PS)
The full line: "I wasn't able to save Rachel... I've lost all sense of purpose... My life will have no meaning until I can right this terrible wrong..."
Rachel was Locke's love, and she lost her memory while trying to save him from a collapsing bridge. Later she was badly hurt in an Imperial attack. Locke feels responsible for this, and goes on a quest for the Phoenix esper, which he hopes will save her. He speaks this line in the Phoenix cave, when you find him again in the World of Ruin. It really makes you feel for Locke.

6: "...I'll control the world with fear..." - Rufus Final Fantasy VII (PS)
The full line: "That's right. I'll let you hear my new appointment speech. …Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."
After his father is killed, Rufus is quick to arrive at Shinra headquarters. He meets up with Cloud and his party on the roof of the building. Rufus doesn't waste time before he details exactly how he plans to control the world. Chilling.

5: "...I am becoming one with the Planet." - Sephiroth Final Fantasy VII (PS)
The full line: "A lost treasure house of knowledge. The wisdom of the Ancients... I am becoming one with the Planet."
This dialouge is classic because becoming one with the planet is the main line associated with Sephiroth. In the temple of the Ancients, Cloud and Aeris see a flashback of a recent encounter Tseng had with Sephiroth. Tseng tries to question Sephiroth about the temple, and this is his answer. His insane plot is finally about to be revealed.

4: "...I'll be your knight." - Squall Final Fantasy VIII (PS)
The full line: (Rinoa...... Even if you end up as the world's enemy, I'll... I'll be your knight.)
This line is thought rather than spoken, but for a man of few words like Squall, that's to be expected. While in space Squall discovers that Rinoa has taken on the powers of the sorceress. When they land, she's taken away to have her powers sealed for the safety of the world. But Squall comes to her rescue. Alone again, they talk in a meadow by Edea's house. Rinoa worries what will happen if she gets posessed again. Squall doesn't respond verbally, but we get to see what's really in his heart.

3: "...What irony..." - Freya Final Fantasy IX (PS)
The full line: "Ahahaha...What irony. To find the man about whom I have dreamt endlessly......only to discover that he cannot even remember who I am!"
Freya's love, Sir Fratley, went out on a journey around the world but never returned. So she went out to search for him. To her great joy she does find him alive, only his memory is completely gone and he doesn't remember her at all. Vivi asks Freya if she is crying, and this is her response. You can really feel her pain.

2: "...You know what they say about the leading man?" - Balthier Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
The full line: "Princess! No need to worry. I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies."
At the end of the game, Balthier is aboard Bahamut trying to keep it from falling and crushing the city of Rabanastre. His odds of survival don't look very good. Ashe asks him if he understands what he's doing. This is his response. Balthier refers to himself as the leading man several times throughout the game, but you can't help but smile at this one.

1: "...But...not like this..." - Sephiroth Final Fantasy VII (PS)
The full line: "....I've always felt since I was small...That I was different from the others. Special, in some way. But... not like this...."
This line comes during the infamous flashback, where Cloud is telling the group what happened in Nibelheim when Sephiroth disappeared. Sephiroth is in the reactor, investigating the mako mutated creatures stored there, when he starts to come to the realization that maybe he too was created this way. Maybe he is one of these monsters. This line really shows the human side of Sephiroth, before he is driven mad. It's the last line Cloud recollects before finding Sephiroth in the Shinra mansion basement.

The Final Fantasy series is full of memorable lines, and this is just a few of them. I'm sure that future installments in the series will have memorable lines of their own. And it doesn't matter if the dialouge is spoken or displayed in a text box. Every Final Fantasy game draws you into the story and gives you characters you care about, whether you hate them or love them.