Top 5 Movie Fathers

Today is Father's Day, and to celebrate, it is time to rank the Best Dads in movies! My rankings are based on how memorable the character is, and less on how "good" a father they are. The qualification for the list is that the father in question is the biological father of characters in a story, which means no father figures, and the character's children must play a part in the film's story.

5: Bryan Mills (Taken)

One of Liam Neeson's most iconic roles, Bryan Mills is a man with a "very particular set of skills," and if he was not included on the list, you might never hear from me again. Aside from number one on the list, no other father has a more memorable quote (watch it above). With that said, the actual Taken films have not impressed me all that much. Sure, the first one is fun to watch with Neeson being all kinds of awesome, but it is an otherwise typical action flick. Regardless, Mills and his "particular skills" deserve a place on this list.

4: Clark Griswold (National Lampoon's Vacation)

 Easily the funniest father on the list, Clark Griswold just wants to have a fun vacation with family, and somehow, something, often times himself, just screws everything up! Clark is at his best towards the end of each film as he reaches the limits of his mental endurance and goes off on some of the most memorable comedic rants in cinema. My favorite being his rant at the end of Christmas Vacation, my favorite of the franchise.

3: Vito Corleone (The Godfather)

When constructing a list of film fathers, how could the Godfather not make the list!? If not, who knows, I might wake up with a horse’s head in my bed. All jokes aside, Vito Corleone, played by the brilliant Marlon Brando, is most definitely an unforgettable film father. Sure, you could make a case that his son should be on the list, but Michael rarely interacted with his children, whereas the entire plot of The Godfather revolves around Vito and his family. 

2: Professor Henry Jones

"Junior? It is you Junior!" Played by Sir Sean Connery, Professor Henry Jones Senior has been one of my favorite film fathers for many, many years. Of all the fathers on the list, no other is featured so prominently with his child than Henry Jones Senior. His banter with son is always entertaining to watch no matter how many times you watch it. The character added another layer of humanity to Indy's character, which made The Last Crusade almost as iconic as the original.

1: Darth Vader 

How could there be any other? If, for some absurd reason, you do not already know the most well known spoiler in the history of cinema, aka The Empire Strikes, do not continue reading. With that out of the way, Vader is easily the most iconic father in cinematic history. No other film father comes even close to Vader, or almost any character. Sure, Vader might not have exactly been the greatest father in the galaxy considering that he chopped off his son's hand, but we all make mistakes, right?  In the end, Vader sacrificed his own life for that of his son, and despite all of the pain he caused; he brought Balance to the Force.

Who are your favorite cinema dads? Please comment below and let me know!

Honorable Mention: Michael Corleone (The Godfather), Howard Stark, Jor El, Pa Kent, Joseph "Coop" Cooper (Interstellar),

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Taken 2 Review

Taken 3 is currently in theaters, and since I have no intention of wasting money to see it, why don't I review the previous entry in the trilogy, Taken 2. 

While the first Taken film had its moments, it did not impress me nearly as much as it did others. Considering how terribly Taken 2 was received by critics, my expectations were incredibly low, and, surprisingly, Taken 2 did not turn out quite as bad as expected.

Directed by: Olivier Megaton
Genre: Action, Thriller,
Release Date: 5 October 2012
Running Time: 91 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Liam Neeson is epic as always, A few fun action scenes, Maggie Grace is not nearly as annoying as expected,

The Bad: Various dumb choices by the characters, Clichés, Missed multiple chances for an epically awesome line, Too much shaky-cam,

Plot: 2.2/10- Taken 2’s plot is expectedly poorly written and full of holes. For one, the simple fact that the Mills family (other than Bryan) would even leave the country is just kind of stupid considering what happened in the previous movie but, of course, we would not have a movie without their stupid decisions. Aside from that, the somewhat slow buildup to the action was actually a lot more entertaining than I had expected, although that is not to say that it was a good by any means, just not as bad.

Characterization: 4.0/10- Bryan Mills is still a cool character. There might not have much depth to the character, but he is at least entertaining to watch. Maggie Grace's character, Kim, was given more to do in film, and she was not nearly as annoying as I had expected. With that said, there are still the incredibly retarded things that the character does, and if you have seen the movie, you know exactly what I am talking about.

Action: 6.5/10- The action is a mixed bag. Some of the action sequences are good, while others have so much shaky-cam to the point where the audience has no idea what the heck is going on. However, the car chase sequence was fun to watch and mostly well filmed.

Neeson points his gun at people a lot.

Acting: 5.4/10- Liam Neeson is epic as always, even though he has much less to do in the movie than the previous one. As stated previously, Maggie Grace was not as annoying as expected, but her performance was far from good, and Famke Janssen wasn't bad either. On the other hand, the actors that played the antagonists all gave flat and clichéd performances.

Special effects: N/A- While the movie is not particularly effects heavy, there is one scene where a car explodes and it looks horribly fake!

Soundtrack: 5.0/10- The score was barely memorable, but never felt out of place.

Humor: 7.0/10- Liam Neeson's witty quips are often humorous, but that’s about it.

Entertainment Value: 5.0/10- Despite all of the problems, the few scenes of Liam Neeson kicking butt are entertaining.

Overall: 5.0/10- The best way to describe Taken 2 is that it is not that bad of a movie. Then again, it is far from a good movie. Overall, it is just a dumb and unremarkable action flick with Liam Neeson doing what he always does.

Closing comments: My thought after watching the movie was literally: “Well, it could have been worse,” and I think that sums up Taken 2. However, if you actually paid to see this movie, your outlook would probably be a lot more negative.

Recommended for: Liam Neeson fans, Fans of Taken 1,

For a superior recent Liam Neeson flick, check out my review of Non-Stop by clicking here.

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More gunpointing.

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Non-Stop Review

Non-Stop, a film that follows Bill Marks, an Air Marshal on a flight, who is sent a text message that if $150 million is not transferred into a bank account, someone on the plan will be killed in 20 minutes. What ensues is an almost Hitchcockian whodunit mystery with Liam Neeson playing a character that is a bit different than his normal bad*ss killer.

Competent mystery thrillers are, unfortunately, few and far between. Aside from a few modern classics, like Memento and the Usual Suspects, it is a genre that is severely lacking in quality content. Finally, we have a decent whodunit mystery with Non-Stop.


Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense,
Release Date: February 28, 2014
Running Time: 106 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Well crafted mystery, Great tension at times, Liam Neeson is as reliably good as ever, Keeps you guessing, Bill Marks is a legitimately good character, Claustrophobic atmosphere, Solid performances throughout, Superb use of on-screen text,

The Bad: A few plot conveniences,

Plot: 7.5/10- Non-Stop's starts out with Liam Neeson's character trying to figure out who is threatening the plane, and setting up the people to be killed. The film excels at giving the audience the ability to try and figure out who the culprit is, along with the main character. Director, Jaume Collet-Serra, is able to create a decent amount of suspense and thrills, thanks to the mystery. The mystery always seems to keep you guessing, as it makes you question who you thought might have been the culprit before the final reveal.

Unfortunately, the films main shortcoming is that there are a few plot conveniences. Certain parts of the plot do have the convenience and unbelievable on par with the Joker's plan in The Dark Knight. However, the viewer's enjoyment of the plot is determined mostly by willing they are to suspend their disbelief. For me, trying to discover who on the plane is behind the killings made suspending my disbelief easy, to the point where the plot conveniences were only noticeable after analysing the film.

Characterization: 7.3/10- Liam Neeson's character, Bill Marks, is a surprisingly likable character that is a departure from Neeson's usual roles. Marks is not a groundbreaking character by any means, but is well developed enough so that the audience is not following a cardboard cutout.
The rest of the characters mostly serve to create tension and mystery, since the viewer is constantly questioning and trying to discover who is behind the whole scheme. The only minor issue is the motivations behind the antagonist's threats are not all that well realized. However, it does make an interesting statement.


Action: 7.0/10- Non-Stop is not really an action film. There are action sequences towards the end, but most of the movie is about the mystery and the mounting tension between characters, which is executed with surprising skill. However, despite my references to the film's tension, it never reaches the level of classic thrillers like any of Hitchcock's classics or more recent work like Memento. It never had me on the edge-of-seat like truly adapt thrillers like Death Note or Parasyte, so keep that in mind.

Acting: 7.8/10- Liam Neeson finally has the chance to play a character that is a bit outside of the norm for him. Bill Marks still has elements of previous roles, but Neeson is given more material to actually humanize the character, and his performance is what makes it work.
The rest of the cast from Julianne Moore to Anson Mount are all excellent in their roles. None of the supporting performances necessarily standout, but they certain do not distract from the mystery.

Special effects: N/A- Aside from a few brief effects shots, Non-Stop is not heavy on exciting visuals. However, with the main character constantly receiving text-messages from the terrorist, the director opts for a unique venue of displaying the information to the audience with on-screen hovering text. Using this technique works brilliantly to keep the film's energy and tension, while displaying the necessary information.

Soundtrack: 7.8/10- John Ottman's score features several tracks that add to the tension and mystery of the film.

Humor: N/A-

Entertainment Value: 8.0/10- The whodunit mystery genre is one that is severely lacking in recent years, so even a less-than-perfect mystery thriller like Non-Stop finally provided me with the mental stimulus that I often crave.

Overall: 7.4/10- With only one noteworthy issue, Non-Stop is reminiscent of the classic mystery thrillers of old, while featuring the new-age rough and gritty protagonist that Liam Neeson is famous for playing. Overall, it the type of experience that you are not likely to find in many Hollywood films today.

Closing comments: Hopefully, with a tighter script, director, Jaume Collet-Serra, can make more of these old-school mystery thrillers, since Non-Stop did succeed at the box office.

Recommended for: Mystery fans, Thriller fans, Liam Neeson fans, Suspense fans, Whodunit fans,

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