1. Aliens (1986)
-To be honest, this was actually labeled my favorite film of all time for a couple years when I first had became a teenager. I had always considered this film to be the granddaddy of sequels and I was completely blown away the first time I saw it. And also the fact that a new director took over was even a bigger shocker. When ever a new director takes over a franchise from the filmmaker behind the original legend, you get pretty shady. But not with this action packed bad ass classic. In 1979, a young Ridley Scott brought to life a legendary science fiction film, by writers Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. It surely went down in the history books as one of the most terrifying films ever made. I believe my mother kept her eyes closed the entire time in the cinema when she saw it back then. The tension, the story, and the fact that they killed off the leading man (Tom Skeritt) in the first half of the film marked this film one to not forget. This was the real deal. 7 years later 20th Century Fox decided it was time for a second installment considering the major box office success of the original. A young 30-something James Cameron, fresh off the massive success of his previous science-fiction flick, The Terminator, was attached to direct and co-write (alongside Walter Hill and David Giler). Cameron immediately made it his own creation and yes, of course, there were some terrifying sequences with now, multiple aliens (the ventilation scene, anyone???), but he mainly was out there to make a hell of an awesome "guy" movie. And surely enough... he did just that. In this film, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, fresh off playing heroine in the original and now has a kean eye for how to kill these horrifying organisms. She is the last soul survivor of the planet where the alien had attacked years before, planet: LV-426. The government eventually decides to send Ripley and a hard ass team of elite space marines to scope out the destroyed colony to find out what exactly happened, having Ripley on as an "advisor." The main key elements of this film are the colorful space marine characters. A war crew out there for one thing and one thing only... kill as many of them as they can. Packed with non stop action and some disgusting looking creatures, this film keeps you on the edge of your seat but is also a major thrill ride for all sorts of people. Slow? Not in the slightest. Insanely awesome? 100 percent. The cast has some of the greatest chemistry I ever seen in an action science fiction film. Some great names line up this film's cast including, Cameron veteran Michael Biehn, Lance Henrikson (come on. Who doesn't love L.H.?!), Bill Paxton (another frequently used Cameron actor), New York comedian Paul Reiser (giving a delightful performance as a government sleazebag). But the real hard hitter stand out in this film has got to go to California native, Miss Jenette Goldstein as the "tough as nails" Pvt. Vasquez. Not enough good things can be said about this film. Granted this sequel is insanely different from the original. The original being more of an art piece in a way. Very slow, and very dark. The sequel being more in your face and somewhat of a popcorn flick, but with a director who really has a terrific vision. 2 more sequels were made of this franchise after the monstrous further box office success of Aliens. There was Alien 3 directed by David Fincher in 1992, which I have to say, I quite enjoyed. Great concept, it being on a prison planet and Weaver looked pretty awesome with a shaved head. Far better than Demi Moore in G.I. Jane (which coincidentally was directed by Ridley Scott). As well as, most likely, the least successful sequel in 1997, Alien Resurrection, directed by French noir filmmaker, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Main trouble being with the horrible addition of Winona Ryder. However, for those of you who HAVE seen this film... the underwater attack? Come on. That's pretty terrifying, is it not? And then unfortunately a few years later they decided to combine the Predator franchise AND the Alien franchise and have them fend off each other in the insanely bad, Alien VS. Predator. Can you believe they even rated it PG-13?! Who does that?! Well, at least in 2007, they rated the sequel R, which was Aliens VS. Predator: Requiem. Anyway, both these films are terrible. If you ask me, don't even bother with all the Alien films from 1997 and up. Just watch 1-3. You will not be disappointed.
2. Batman Returns (1992)
-Now most would probably disagree with this being the best Batman sequel of all time and not 2008's epic sequel to Batman Begins... The Dark Knight. Now I did rather enjoy Batman Begins and thought The Dark Knight was absolutely outstanding, however, I still and always will prefer the original old school series (not at all including 1997's shit fest, Batman & Robin). In 1989, Tim Burton revitalized the over the top cheesy 60s television show, Batman, which had starred Adam West in the title role as well as Burt Ward as Robin. "HOLY BAJEEZES, BATMAN!" Burton's version had the wonderfully underrated Michael Keaton in the title role, Kim Basinger as his love interest, Vicki Vale, and Jack Nicholson in a perfectly casted performance of Jack Napier (aka The Joker). Anyway, once this long awaited film was released, it was a massive success and received much deserving recognition. Now the die hard fans of the comic book by Bob Kane, would of course prefer the new Batmans over the originals, considering how much closer they are to the comic (i.e. Heath Ledger's Joker vs. Jack Nicholson's Joker). I, myself, am not a fan of comic books. Now 3 years later, Burton and Keaton brought us a second installment entitled, Batman Returns, with a much more darker and horrifying vibe to it. Keaton is fantastic as always, but the true stand outs are the new additional villains. Catwoman (played beautifully by the gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer), and Oswold Cobblepot, aka, The Penguin (played perfectly by Danny DeVito). Again, comic book fans would disagree with the casting of DeVito in the Penguin role, considering the fact that the Penguin character is a tall lanky man. But remember people, Burton has made a career out of taking old stories and starting fresh with his own vision (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the latest Alice in Wonderland). So you can't blame him for that. Batman Returns is everything the original had and more. More violence. More sexual innuendo. And much better special effects and action sequences. Now I would not consider this an aim at families of any sorts. This is an extremely dark and at times, rather graphic, film which really serves justice to DC Comics. Think of it as The Dark Knight but with a lot more jokes. Oh and did I mention that Mr. Christopher Walken plays a corrupt businessman who is working with the Penguin to take control of Gotham City?! This film is entertaining, fast paced, great score (Some of Danny Elfman's best work), disturbing, and the best part is... it does not take itself too seriously. The new Batmans seem to take themselves way too seriously. What I loved about this film is also how they integrated the romantic interest of Bruce Wayne to be the alter ego of Catwoman, that being Ms. Selina Kyle. Who, after being shoved out of a building, is resurrected by cats and evidently becomes the villain she is. Catwoman. I thought that was a great, unpredictable little element. This was a favorite of mine when I was growing up and still remains a favorite of mine. Now in 1995, Burton left the Batman franchise, and Joel Schumacher took over with Batman Forever now starring Val Kilmer in the role (who I, to this day, still think was the best Batman). Jim Carrey played the Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones played Two-Face and sexy Nicole Kidman played Dr. Chase Meridian (aka, Batman's love interest). It's an excellent fast paced film with some outstanding performances by Carrey and Lee Jones. I absolutely loved it (still did not live up to Batman Returns however). We all thought Schumacher was off to a good start... until 1997 with the over the top shit fest entitled, Batman & Robin. When you see that Robin's name is in the title, you've got quite a problem. Robin was never needed in the first place. That's like as if James Bond ran around with a bodyguard. He doesn't need one! George Clooney, if you can believe it, took over the role of Batman and... this is too much... Arnold Schwarzenegger took on the role of Mr. Freeze!!! Hilarious. Oh and did I mention the no-talent Alicia Silverstone plays fucking Batgirl?!? That is almost funnier then Arnie playing Mr. Freeze! I mean, come on, this film practically made Batman look like a pussy with all the help he was getting! I tell you what you do. Smoke a blunt with a bunch of friends and put this film on. The person to hold in their laughter the longest wins. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! This film is a disaster. And then later on in 2004, filmmaker Pitof (yup, that's their name if you can believe it) directed a spin off to the series on Catwoman simply called... Catwoman. I refused to watch it. They didn't even do the character justice or live up to anything. Benjamin Bratt and Sharon Stone in this film too?! Please.... I'd rather videotape my dog shitting than watch that piece of garbage. And then of course in 2005 the new Nolan Batmans arrived, which, to audiences everywhere, were mindblowing. However, I still stay true to what I grew up on. The original Batmans. Especially Batman Returns. Watch this film around Christmas time when it's snowing. You'd be surprised how much more of an impact you'll get. Tremendous sequel.
3. Army of Darkness (1992)
-In the year of 1981, a young ambitious filmmaker named Sam Raimi wrote and directed an ultra low budget campy B-rate horror flick entitled, The Evil Dead, which in time became a gigantic cult classic and a favorite among die hard B horror fans. Something you might have seen Roger Corman be involved with in the early 70s, late 60s, maybe. The simple story centered on 5 friends who stay at an isolated cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash a load of flesh-possessing demonic forces. Raimi had gained the money to make this film after showing prospective investors a vehicle for The Evil Dead, that he shot along with childhood friends, Bruce Campbell and Robert G. Tapert, called Within the Woods in 1978 when he was only 19-years-old. The Evil Dead became such a hit that it spawned off a sequel entitled, Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (as well as a hit over the top Musical years later). Catchy, huh? This film was again directed by Raimi, but now was co-written by him alongside fellow horror filmmaker, Scott Spiegel (From Dusk Till Dawn 2). It was released in 1987 and takes place right after the original, centering once again on our hero and lone survivor, Ashley J. Williams, aka ASH (played by horror icon, Mr. Bruce Campbell). Ash takes refuge in the cabin with a load of new strangers in order to face off even more demons. Not nearly as good as the original, however, the budget was a bit higher considering the added amount of financing they received. But nonetheless, the original was classic bad ass. Until 1992... In the year of 1992, Raimi decided to gear up and make a second and final sequel to his legendary Evil Dead saga. This one, however, taking a whole new path, loading up with a monstrous budget as well as taking place in Medieval times, instead of present time. Let down? Not one bit. This film was even too cool to be called Evil Dead 3. Instead, we call it... Army of Darkness. Written by Raimi and his older brother, Ivan Raimi, this film starts out in the same cabin of which the first 2 took place. However, now, Ash, now working as a discount-store employee ("Shop Smart! Shop... S-MART!"), is time warped to a Medieval castle (1300 A.D. to be exact) by monstrous forces. Ash is first mistaken as an enemy and is thrown into a giant torture chamber, which they like to call... The Pit. Where he ends up kicking the crap out of a couple of ugly beastly suckers. He then proves himself to the village and gains their respect through and through. Now his main mission... battle an army of the dead, locate the Necronomicon in order to return back home, oh yeah, and get the chick, Sheila (played by the beautiful Embeth Davidtz). This film is full of great campy violence, terrifying looking demons, and some unbelievably hysterical dialogue. Especially the character of Ash, who is really showing his true colors in this film. One scene that stands out to me is the confrontation between himself and his new evil clone that has been torn out of his body. The evil clone repeats... "Your gooooooood Ash. And I'm... baaaaaaaaaad Ash." Then proceeds to dance. The script is just absolutely brilliant and even the tagline on the poster alone sums up the whole flick. It reads, "Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas." I mean, how genius is that?! Sam Raimi really went all out on this one, it being given the highest budget of the 3. This film, I would not, however, consider much of a horror, which the first 2 really were geared towards being. This is first and foremost a slapstick comedy with some terrifying and creepy sequences wrapped up into it. I wouldn't be surprised if you found this film in the 'Comedy' section at Blockbuster. Darkness is a very well and fast paced action packed thrill ride that rarely takes a breather. I really don't think there's more than 6-7 minutes of nothing thrilling occurring. It's short and sweet (only 81 minutes) and right to the point. The special effects are hilarious, because (I'm not sure if this was Raimi's decision or not) it seemed like they had a big budget, but not that big. They relied on quite a bit of special effects given the fact that a big studio was financing it (Universal Pictures). I mean, the originals' effects were not exactly up to speed. However, it seemed like Raimi didn't want to make it completely different than the originals and still do them justice and not let down his fan base, so the effects are half amazing, half hilarious. From the miniature Ash's, to the Necronomican antics (when he's trying to recite the words), to the skeleton army. Everything is classic. Now Raimi is planning on doing a fourth installment of this franchise set to be released in 2011. I just really hope he doesn't forget his roots, considering the fact that he has gotten a bit spoiled, being he directed 3 Spider-Man films with insane budgets. Please Mr. Raimi... don't make Evil Dead IV ultra big budget! We beg of you!
4. Christmas Vacation (1989)
-Jeremiah S. Chechick (The Avengers, Benny & Joon) made his filmmaking debut with this wonderful third installment of the classic National Lampoon Vacation series. A film that really set the bar quite high for future National Lampoon films to come. And I truly don't believe another Lampoon flick has surpassed this one's genius. Now back in 1983, Harold Ramis brought to the screen an absolute cult classic for adventurous all American families everywhere. Something that started with a simple short story by John Hughes called Vacation 58 soon became one of the all time funniest road movies, if not, one of the all time funniest movies of all time! Since this being produced through National Lampoon, we could already tell that there were going to be many future installments to try desperately to live up to the original. One would be very careful. Unfortunately the first sequel was a massive letdown, at least... to me. 2 years later, the first sequel was released entitled, European Vacation. We had different actors playing Audrey and Rusty (Dana Hill and Jason Lively), new director signed on (Amy Heckerling), and overall just didn't quite hit its mark. However, Heckerling has always been a hit and miss throughout her career anyway, so... Most likely it was rushed out and was not prepared enough. 4 years later, a miracle happened right before our eyes. Something that would go down in history. A second sequel that has actually surpassed the original 6 years ago? Christmas Vacation fired at us like a rocket launcher with its laughs and oddball characters. And hey, it even wrapped up a nice little holiday message at the end. The difference between this one and European Vacation is that it was simply more prepared and thought out. Brilliantly casting Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki as Audrey and Rusty. Throwing in William Hickey, Doris Roberts and Julia-Louis Dreyfuss all in the mix! And of course, Randy Quaid returns as the legendary cousin Eddie, who probably gives the performance of his career, next to The Last Detail. Christmas Vacation centers right back on the Griswold family led by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as the delightfully lovable Clark and Ellen Griswold. Clark Griswold has taken us to Wally World Amusement Park and Europe. Now were in their own home in good ole Breckenridge, Colorado. Making the vacation come to them so to speak. The Griswolds simply hope for the best Christmas ever... and what do they get? A complete and utter disaster. Now whenever Christmas arrives, I find myself watching Christmas Vacation more than A Christmas Story. I consider this one of the all time funniest films ever made. The acting is fantastic, the jokes are delivered flawlessly, and what's best of it is... the story is as simple as simple gets. Something we can all relate to. I, myself, found this to be very similar to what my Christmas dinners were like with my mother's side of the family. Grandpa yelling and screaming about nonsense. Grandma trying to shut him up. Aunts and Uncles acting looney. Cats and dogs running around. Neighbors complaining about the nose were making. Everything. This film makes you feel like this is truly the funniest and only chapter worth watching in the Vacation series, however, if you do have some time... watch the original Vacation as well. Do not, however, even bother watching the 4th and final Vacation film, Vegas Vacation. It was released in 1997, and was a total let down. It could have been hysterical and yes, there are some 'Ha-Ha's' and some 'He-He's' here and there, but all in all, it's right up there with European Vacation. Oh yes, and I almost forgot. The horrifying spin off sequel to Christmas Vacation. Get this... National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure! You have got to be kidding me. I remember glancing at this at Blockbuster one time when it was first released in 2003. I had to do a double take real quick to make sure it was real. And sure enough... it was. Pretty upset Randy Quaid signed on for this piece of crap. And it being made for TV as well! But hey, we all don't know what certain celebrities' situations are. Maybe in fact, he desperately needed the money. Shame. Anyway, Christmas Vacation is definitely my all time favorite Chevy Chase film and you owe it to yourself to beg, borrow or steal this film, start a fire, make some popcorn and pop in this comedy titan. You will not be disappointed. And if you are, you should better go see a doctor right away.
5. Toy Story 2 (1999)
-In 1995, a magnificent film by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures was released to audiences all over and surely was a groundbreaker in future digitally animated films to come (i.e. Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc, Cars). John Lasseter (Knick Knack, Tin Toy, A Bug's Life) directed and co-wrote this unbelievably sensational animated film about a cowboy toy, Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) who gets extremely threatened and jealous when a fancy new astronaut action figure named Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen), moves in and replaces Woody in the young boy's room. They later build a friendship, once Woody purposely knocks Buzz out the window to take his place, but feels bad and makes it his mission to rescue him. The film is just beautiful from beginning to end. It will hurt your gut from laughing so hard as well as bring tears to your eyes. Kids AND adults. Now in 1999, the sequel was released and many were very skeptical about how it would be... until they saw it. And many still believe the original is the best, considering the impact it had, but I believe this was like The Godfather, Part II to the original. It had everything and more. Triple the laughs, more great characters, and a beautiful message. This sequel had 3 directors assigned to it this time. John Lasseter, Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich. This sequel revolves around mainly Woody this time. He has been stolen by a crazy toy collector at a garage sale named Al (hilarious voice of Wayne Knight). Buzz and the rest of the toys vow to rescue him, however, Woody is tempted to remain where he is after he meets Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl (voice of Joan Cusack). This entire film is just fantastic. Some amazing voice additions including Kelsey Grammar, Joan Cusack and Wayne Knight. Toy Story 2 certainly, I believe, is even more attractive to younger audiences. Throwing the toys in even more locations now. That being the gigantic toy store where Woody is brought to. Now in June of this year another long awaited sequel will be released, Toy Story 3, revolving around Woody and the rest of the toys being dumped into a day care center, after their owner, Andy leaves for college. However, only one director is assigned, and was one of the co-writers of the first sequel. Lee Unkrich. A bit sketchy, but we have faith in him. I mean, this man did co-direct Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. Some fantastic additional voices to hopefully please us including Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Whoopi Goldberg, Ned Beatty, and Bonnie Hunt. Fingers crossed. Anyway, what's even greater about the sequel is that the animation is even more amazing than the original's. I found myself forgetting that it was all computer animation. That is how excellent and crisp it was. Toy Story 2 surely raised the bar quite high for future computer animated films to come and was definitely, once again, another groundbreaker in the industry.
Well, that is what I think are the top 5 best sequels that have not really received the admiration and recognition they fully deserve (with the exception of Aliens of course). Please, like I said earlier, definitely recommend any more classic sequels that you believe surpassed the original! Farewell!
3. Army of Darkness (1992)
-In the year of 1981, a young ambitious filmmaker named Sam Raimi wrote and directed an ultra low budget campy B-rate horror flick entitled, The Evil Dead, which in time became a gigantic cult classic and a favorite among die hard B horror fans. Something you might have seen Roger Corman be involved with in the early 70s, late 60s, maybe. The simple story centered on 5 friends who stay at an isolated cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash a load of flesh-possessing demonic forces. Raimi had gained the money to make this film after showing prospective investors a vehicle for The Evil Dead, that he shot along with childhood friends, Bruce Campbell and Robert G. Tapert, called Within the Woods in 1978 when he was only 19-years-old. The Evil Dead became such a hit that it spawned off a sequel entitled, Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (as well as a hit over the top Musical years later). Catchy, huh? This film was again directed by Raimi, but now was co-written by him alongside fellow horror filmmaker, Scott Spiegel (From Dusk Till Dawn 2). It was released in 1987 and takes place right after the original, centering once again on our hero and lone survivor, Ashley J. Williams, aka ASH (played by horror icon, Mr. Bruce Campbell). Ash takes refuge in the cabin with a load of new strangers in order to face off even more demons. Not nearly as good as the original, however, the budget was a bit higher considering the added amount of financing they received. But nonetheless, the original was classic bad ass. Until 1992... In the year of 1992, Raimi decided to gear up and make a second and final sequel to his legendary Evil Dead saga. This one, however, taking a whole new path, loading up with a monstrous budget as well as taking place in Medieval times, instead of present time. Let down? Not one bit. This film was even too cool to be called Evil Dead 3. Instead, we call it... Army of Darkness. Written by Raimi and his older brother, Ivan Raimi, this film starts out in the same cabin of which the first 2 took place. However, now, Ash, now working as a discount-store employee ("Shop Smart! Shop... S-MART!"), is time warped to a Medieval castle (1300 A.D. to be exact) by monstrous forces. Ash is first mistaken as an enemy and is thrown into a giant torture chamber, which they like to call... The Pit. Where he ends up kicking the crap out of a couple of ugly beastly suckers. He then proves himself to the village and gains their respect through and through. Now his main mission... battle an army of the dead, locate the Necronomicon in order to return back home, oh yeah, and get the chick, Sheila (played by the beautiful Embeth Davidtz). This film is full of great campy violence, terrifying looking demons, and some unbelievably hysterical dialogue. Especially the character of Ash, who is really showing his true colors in this film. One scene that stands out to me is the confrontation between himself and his new evil clone that has been torn out of his body. The evil clone repeats... "Your gooooooood Ash. And I'm... baaaaaaaaaad Ash." Then proceeds to dance. The script is just absolutely brilliant and even the tagline on the poster alone sums up the whole flick. It reads, "Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas." I mean, how genius is that?! Sam Raimi really went all out on this one, it being given the highest budget of the 3. This film, I would not, however, consider much of a horror, which the first 2 really were geared towards being. This is first and foremost a slapstick comedy with some terrifying and creepy sequences wrapped up into it. I wouldn't be surprised if you found this film in the 'Comedy' section at Blockbuster. Darkness is a very well and fast paced action packed thrill ride that rarely takes a breather. I really don't think there's more than 6-7 minutes of nothing thrilling occurring. It's short and sweet (only 81 minutes) and right to the point. The special effects are hilarious, because (I'm not sure if this was Raimi's decision or not) it seemed like they had a big budget, but not that big. They relied on quite a bit of special effects given the fact that a big studio was financing it (Universal Pictures). I mean, the originals' effects were not exactly up to speed. However, it seemed like Raimi didn't want to make it completely different than the originals and still do them justice and not let down his fan base, so the effects are half amazing, half hilarious. From the miniature Ash's, to the Necronomican antics (when he's trying to recite the words), to the skeleton army. Everything is classic. Now Raimi is planning on doing a fourth installment of this franchise set to be released in 2011. I just really hope he doesn't forget his roots, considering the fact that he has gotten a bit spoiled, being he directed 3 Spider-Man films with insane budgets. Please Mr. Raimi... don't make Evil Dead IV ultra big budget! We beg of you!
4. Christmas Vacation (1989)
-Jeremiah S. Chechick (The Avengers, Benny & Joon) made his filmmaking debut with this wonderful third installment of the classic National Lampoon Vacation series. A film that really set the bar quite high for future National Lampoon films to come. And I truly don't believe another Lampoon flick has surpassed this one's genius. Now back in 1983, Harold Ramis brought to the screen an absolute cult classic for adventurous all American families everywhere. Something that started with a simple short story by John Hughes called Vacation 58 soon became one of the all time funniest road movies, if not, one of the all time funniest movies of all time! Since this being produced through National Lampoon, we could already tell that there were going to be many future installments to try desperately to live up to the original. One would be very careful. Unfortunately the first sequel was a massive letdown, at least... to me. 2 years later, the first sequel was released entitled, European Vacation. We had different actors playing Audrey and Rusty (Dana Hill and Jason Lively), new director signed on (Amy Heckerling), and overall just didn't quite hit its mark. However, Heckerling has always been a hit and miss throughout her career anyway, so... Most likely it was rushed out and was not prepared enough. 4 years later, a miracle happened right before our eyes. Something that would go down in history. A second sequel that has actually surpassed the original 6 years ago? Christmas Vacation fired at us like a rocket launcher with its laughs and oddball characters. And hey, it even wrapped up a nice little holiday message at the end. The difference between this one and European Vacation is that it was simply more prepared and thought out. Brilliantly casting Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki as Audrey and Rusty. Throwing in William Hickey, Doris Roberts and Julia-Louis Dreyfuss all in the mix! And of course, Randy Quaid returns as the legendary cousin Eddie, who probably gives the performance of his career, next to The Last Detail. Christmas Vacation centers right back on the Griswold family led by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as the delightfully lovable Clark and Ellen Griswold. Clark Griswold has taken us to Wally World Amusement Park and Europe. Now were in their own home in good ole Breckenridge, Colorado. Making the vacation come to them so to speak. The Griswolds simply hope for the best Christmas ever... and what do they get? A complete and utter disaster. Now whenever Christmas arrives, I find myself watching Christmas Vacation more than A Christmas Story. I consider this one of the all time funniest films ever made. The acting is fantastic, the jokes are delivered flawlessly, and what's best of it is... the story is as simple as simple gets. Something we can all relate to. I, myself, found this to be very similar to what my Christmas dinners were like with my mother's side of the family. Grandpa yelling and screaming about nonsense. Grandma trying to shut him up. Aunts and Uncles acting looney. Cats and dogs running around. Neighbors complaining about the nose were making. Everything. This film makes you feel like this is truly the funniest and only chapter worth watching in the Vacation series, however, if you do have some time... watch the original Vacation as well. Do not, however, even bother watching the 4th and final Vacation film, Vegas Vacation. It was released in 1997, and was a total let down. It could have been hysterical and yes, there are some 'Ha-Ha's' and some 'He-He's' here and there, but all in all, it's right up there with European Vacation. Oh yes, and I almost forgot. The horrifying spin off sequel to Christmas Vacation. Get this... National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure! You have got to be kidding me. I remember glancing at this at Blockbuster one time when it was first released in 2003. I had to do a double take real quick to make sure it was real. And sure enough... it was. Pretty upset Randy Quaid signed on for this piece of crap. And it being made for TV as well! But hey, we all don't know what certain celebrities' situations are. Maybe in fact, he desperately needed the money. Shame. Anyway, Christmas Vacation is definitely my all time favorite Chevy Chase film and you owe it to yourself to beg, borrow or steal this film, start a fire, make some popcorn and pop in this comedy titan. You will not be disappointed. And if you are, you should better go see a doctor right away.
5. Toy Story 2 (1999)
-In 1995, a magnificent film by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures was released to audiences all over and surely was a groundbreaker in future digitally animated films to come (i.e. Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc, Cars). John Lasseter (Knick Knack, Tin Toy, A Bug's Life) directed and co-wrote this unbelievably sensational animated film about a cowboy toy, Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) who gets extremely threatened and jealous when a fancy new astronaut action figure named Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen), moves in and replaces Woody in the young boy's room. They later build a friendship, once Woody purposely knocks Buzz out the window to take his place, but feels bad and makes it his mission to rescue him. The film is just beautiful from beginning to end. It will hurt your gut from laughing so hard as well as bring tears to your eyes. Kids AND adults. Now in 1999, the sequel was released and many were very skeptical about how it would be... until they saw it. And many still believe the original is the best, considering the impact it had, but I believe this was like The Godfather, Part II to the original. It had everything and more. Triple the laughs, more great characters, and a beautiful message. This sequel had 3 directors assigned to it this time. John Lasseter, Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich. This sequel revolves around mainly Woody this time. He has been stolen by a crazy toy collector at a garage sale named Al (hilarious voice of Wayne Knight). Buzz and the rest of the toys vow to rescue him, however, Woody is tempted to remain where he is after he meets Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl (voice of Joan Cusack). This entire film is just fantastic. Some amazing voice additions including Kelsey Grammar, Joan Cusack and Wayne Knight. Toy Story 2 certainly, I believe, is even more attractive to younger audiences. Throwing the toys in even more locations now. That being the gigantic toy store where Woody is brought to. Now in June of this year another long awaited sequel will be released, Toy Story 3, revolving around Woody and the rest of the toys being dumped into a day care center, after their owner, Andy leaves for college. However, only one director is assigned, and was one of the co-writers of the first sequel. Lee Unkrich. A bit sketchy, but we have faith in him. I mean, this man did co-direct Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. Some fantastic additional voices to hopefully please us including Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Whoopi Goldberg, Ned Beatty, and Bonnie Hunt. Fingers crossed. Anyway, what's even greater about the sequel is that the animation is even more amazing than the original's. I found myself forgetting that it was all computer animation. That is how excellent and crisp it was. Toy Story 2 surely raised the bar quite high for future computer animated films to come and was definitely, once again, another groundbreaker in the industry.
Well, that is what I think are the top 5 best sequels that have not really received the admiration and recognition they fully deserve (with the exception of Aliens of course). Please, like I said earlier, definitely recommend any more classic sequels that you believe surpassed the original! Farewell!
OTHER OBVIOUS CLASSIC SEQUELS:
1. The Godfather, Part II (1974)
2. Sanjuro (1962)
3. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
4. The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly (1966)
5. I Am Curious -- Yellow (1968)
6. French Connection II (1975)
7. The Road Warrior (1981)
8. Terminator 2 (1991)
Sincerely,
FILMBOY - Chris von Hoffmann
ENTRY QUOTE:
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney
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