Top Ten - Most Unique Sequels (Part Two)

And now...part two of the most unique sequels of all time!

5. Gremlins 2: The New Batch

On the surface this looks like another madcap journey into insane Gremlins action. Billy finds Gizmo, Giz gets wet, mogwais eat food after midnight, and wreak havoc in a media mogul's skyscraper. But, Joe Dante doesn't seem interested in making just another sequel. Instead, he uses the plot merely as a framework for a constant barrage of jokes, taking the dark humour of Gremlins 1 and amplifying it to bizarre heights. Of course, simply adding humour to a sequel doesn't make it unique. What makes Gremlins 2 unique is that the humour is so deconstructive, ridiculing sequels and film structure entirely. It may be the first postmodern sequel to a film that wasn't originally a spoof. Not only are there countless movie parodies (ranging from Rambo to Busby Berkeley musicals), but the film takes fun potshots at its predecessor. Leonard Maltin shows up as a film critic who lambastes Gremlins before being killed, and Phoebe Cates is allowed to mock her critically reviled Christmas speech from the first movie with a ridiculous story about Lincoln's birthday. Then halfway through, during a tense moment, the film reel burns up, halting the movie so that the Gremlins can make finger puppets on a white screen. In order to get the story up and running again, it's up to Hulk Hogan to scare the Gremlins into restarting the projector. Dante clearly realizes that Gremlins 2, by it's very nature, would be identical to the first one if played straight. By deciding to throw in everything including the kitchen sink, Dante hilariously sabotages the film franchise and makes a true live action cartoon.

4. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jay and Silent Bob popped up in each of Kevin Smith's films before Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. In Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma they had a small storyline that existed beneath the main plot. When Kevin Smith finally let them helm their own movie, he decided to make it the culmination of every film he had ever made, a sequel to all of his previous films. This could create a couple of problems, especially since guys like Jason Lee played a lead character in both Mallrats and Chasing Amy. Keeping true to the idea that this would be an official sequel to all previous films, Smith has Jason Lee show up to play both characters. Then upping the postmodern tactics employed by Gremlins 2, he ends the film in a Hollywood studio...mixing real actors playing themselves (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon), with actors playing characters (Will Ferrel as a wildlife Marshall). It's all sooo complicated, but tons of fun if you have followed Kevin Smith's previous films. (I imagine it would be fairly nonsensical for first time viewers). By the end, it actually feels like a fitting conclusion to Smith's Jay and Silent Bob series...a sequel to four separate movies.

3. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Universal Studios had a pretty awesome collection of horror movie icons with Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, and the Wolfman. In order to spice up some of the previous sequels, they decided to pit different monsters against one another in the films, so a film like House of Frankenstein found a way to incorporate all three villains into one movie. That in itself is enough to get on this list, but then someone at Universal had an insane idea - take their top comedians, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and throw them into a monster movie with all three horror icons. What could have been a disaster ends up being one of the most innovative, and funniest horror comedy sequels of all time. The genius of it all is that it never forgets that it is a real sequel to these scary horror flicks, and the villains are all played one hundred percent straight. They haven't changed from one movie to the next. The humour comes from Abbott and Costello being terrified by the fact that they are being constantly attacked by these nightmarish creatures. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is on this list for successfully cross breeding two seemingly opposing genres, incorporating three movie franchises into one (four if you consider the Abbott and Costello comedies a franchise), and managing to actually be a fantastic movie.

2. New Nightmare

The Elm Street franchise took a quick nosedive into the ridiculous. Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street was a genuinely scary low budget horror flick with a frightening concept (a serial killer slashing his victims in their dreams), but the sequels turned Freddy Krueger, a child molester nonetheless, into some kind of comic anti-hero. Classy! After the pathetic Freddy's Dead (in which Freddy is killed off in 3D), Wes Craven must have felt like his scary concept had been butchered. So, what to do? Well....why not make a sequel that exists in the real world, where the cast and crew of the Nightmare on Elm Street flicks all play themselves. Heather Langenkamp (who played Nancy in parts one and two) plays herself, as does Robert Englund, John Saxon, and even Wes Craven. Instead of following any of the previous plots, New Nightmare decides to be a sequel to the entire franchise. The story, which sounds less ridiculous in the movie, has to do with the fact that by ending the Nightmare franchise, the evil of Freddy Krueger escaped into the real world. To harness it, Wes has to make a new Nightmare movie, but Freddy has decided to terrorize Heather's family, and possess her son, before that can happen. Reality and Fiction become intertwined as Heather's life starts to transform into the first Nightmare on Elm Street movie. As complicated as it sounds, the important fact is New Nightmare is the scariest and most creative film in the entire series, surpassing (in my opinion) the first one. While most producers these days decide to reboot franchises to add new life (Batman, James Bond), Craven did it through innovation, and a story that doesn't discredit the previous six movies.

1. Escape From the Planet of the Apes (spoilers for the Planet of the Apes series)

The writers of this third Planet of the Apes movie really had to work for their money, trying to find a way around one of the biggest plot problems ever created. How do you make a sequel to a movie called Planet of the Apes when the entire planet blew up at the end of the last movie? Ingeniously, they decided that the heroic ape couple of Cornelius, and Dr. Zira (along with "who the Hell is that" Dr. Milo), upon trying to escape the planet were caught in a time vortex, amusingly created by the nuclear explosion, that sent them back in time to Earth circa 1971. It's good cause it's cost effective, but also because, in my recollection it's the first sequel that is simultaneously a sequel to the second movie, and a prequel to the first. That's right - A prequel/sequel!! As Escape From the Planet of the Apes takes shape it tells the story of Cornelius and Zira becoming celebrities in modern America. But soon, they are seen by paranoid government officials as being a threat to mankind (probably because apes end up taking over the world and enslave humanity), so they are hunted down. Before the tragic ending, they manage to save their only child and subsequently put into motion a series of events (covered in the fourth and fifth movies) that will lead to the very same events from the first movie. It's the first curve in the Planet of the Apes vicious circle.

In my opinion these are the ten most unique sequels I've ever seen; movies fighting against the status quo. If anyone knows of any others please share below.

Top Ten - Most Unique Sequels (Part one)

In the next month, or so, there will be a handful of sequels coming out, once again signalling the arrival of the summer movie season. You know the drill; walk into the theatre, watch the storyline from part one or two move ahead (following the same style as the previous film), and leave feeling pretty good about life (unless the sequel sucks). It's a tried and true test of making lots of money. So, I'm always intrigued when sequels take some risks, and create an entirely new viewing experience for the audience. Sometimes, these risks are organic; continuing the story from the previous movie in a new and unexpected way, and sometimes they are bold choices; tossing aside previous storylines to create something all together new. Either way, these are the top ten most unique sequels I have ever seen.

10. Out of Sight

Alright, it's not technically a sequel, and it wasn't advertised as one, but that's why it's so much fun when you find out...Out of Sight kind of is...to Jackie Brown. Out of Sight is based on a book by Elmore Leonard, and like many authors he writes fiction that sometimes takes place in the same world. So, one character from one book will enter into another book, often as a supporting character. It's very difficult to achieve this effect in a series of movies because, unlike a book, unless it's not a direct sequel or a movie by the same director, the creative team gets shuffled around, and the character is often played by another actor (note the constant, jarring cast changes in the Stephen King Castle Rock movies). Well, in Out of Sight, despite the fact that the creative team is completely different, Michael Keaton returns ever so briefly to play the same character he played in Jackie Brown, Ray Nicolette. It's not earth shattering, and Keaton's appearance is really just a cameo, but it's enough of a connective thread to establish that Jackie Brown and Out of Sight take place in the same world. It's the first time where I felt like the expansive world created in an author's books was fully realized on screen.

9. Dawn of the Dead

George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead was a huge hit, but the downbeat ending didn't make it an easy candidate for a sequel. The character arcs were complete, the political message commented on the tumultuous racial violence of the sixites, and everything seemed to wrap up...not nicely...but with some sense of closure. So, 1978 rolls around, and Romero decides to revisit the zombie film with Dawn of the Dead. Instead of following characters from the first film, Romero creates a new cast. This had been done before in sequels (Godzilla films and monster movies), but the best part of Dawn of the Dead, is that Romero takes the zombie infestation to another level (they've taken over most of America), and uses this in order to make a political comment about the 1970s. In Dawn of the Dead a group of survivors hole up in a shopping mall, create a mini-utopian society, and watch as it is threatened by a biker gang and zombies. While Night looked at racial intolerance, Dawn looks at America's love affair with commercialism. That's not to say these films are in-your-face with their politics (they are about scares and gore first and foremost), but with each new Dead film Romero uses the zombies as metaphorical devices to comment on an American issue.

8. Mission Impossible (spoilers below)

I suppose there have been sequels to television shows made before (The Nude Bomb as a sequel to Get Smart), so it's not a completely original idea. The reason why Mission Impossible is included on this list though is that it completely screws over fans of the show, using their knowledge of the television series to create one twist after another. You can almost hear director Brian De Palma laughing maniacally behind the scenes. I had followed the eighties' version of Mission Impossible, so I was aware of the format. A group of ragtag specialists, under the heroic leadership of Jim Phelps, complete a series of crazy missions against foreign enemies, often ending in success. Mission Impossible takes every series cliche and turns it 180 degrees. Those ragtag specialists, including big names like Emilio Estevez and Kirsten Scott Thomas: dead in the first twenty minutes. Successful missions: the first one fails colossally. Missions against foreign enemies: kind of, although the big setpiece in the movie has the heroes breaking into CIA headquarters and stealing top secret American codes. And the heroic Jim Phelps: well, here's where the movie probably pissed off most fans...Phelps is killed off, only to return at the end where it's revealed that he is the villain!!! That's right, the hero of two television series, spanning eight seasons across three decades is the cold blooded, out for a buck murderous villain. Mission Impossible knows what the audience is going to expect when they walk in the theatre, and does everything possible to throw them off course.

7. Back to the Future II (spoilers below)

For the first half of the movie, Back to the Future II seems like a pretty ordinary sequel. Picking up exactly where the first film left off, Marty and Doc Brown travel into the future to save Marty's kids. It's all kind of ho-hum to tell you the truth, but then Zemeckis and Bob Gale decide that it's best to make the last half of this sequel absolutely insane! So (try and follow along) Future Biff steals a sports almanac, takes it back to 1950s Biff, creating a rich, power mad 1985 Biff. Marty and Doc must go back to 1950 (the same day Marty just got back from in the first movie), steal the sports almanac from 1950s Biff, while ensuring that they don't encounter their past selves, which will mess up the entire time continuum. What follows is a sequel that exists literally overtop of the first movie. During the mission to recover the sports almanac Marty accidently puts his past self in jeopardy. So, while Past Marty is playing Johnny Be Good at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance (a scene from part one), Present Marty is trying to make sure 1950s Biff's henchmen don't interfere with the song. The second movie manages to end almost exactly where the first movie ended (minus five minutes). It's exhausting and hilarious how the two movies weave in and out from each other, and Zemeckis juggles the complicated plot with a sure foot.

6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Billed as a remake of the 1950's classic science fiction film, Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers suddenly becomes an unexpected sequel about half an hour into the movie. By now, the ending (without the coda) of the first Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie is extremely famous. Kevin McCarthy slams against a car window screaming, "They're here already. You're next! You're next! You're Next..." In the "remake" Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams are driving down a busy San Fransisco Street. Suddenly, Kevin McCarthy hurtles himself into their car window screaming...you guessed it, "They're here already. You're Next! You're Next! You're Next...". Seconds later he's dead, and our new main characters start to understand the warnings of his statement. Sure, people can argue, that the scene isn't really the same as the one in the first movie at all (different time, city); that it's paying homage instead of continuing the storyline. But, the remake takes the horrors of the first movie, and shows what happens next; what happens when the invasion takes hold. In a way, the horrors implied in McCarthy's warning turn into the horrors unleashed upon humanity in this Invasion, and it's a brutal continuation. So for a remake, that manages to become a sequel (something hinted at in John Carpenter's The Thing as well), Invastion of the Body Snatchers rounds out part one of the most unique sequels list.

The second part of the list will be up shortly...

Top Ten - Lost Episodes - Part Two

And to continue the previous list.....oh and don't read if you aren't up to date on your Lost watching - plot points are revealed.

5. Pilot – Season 1, Episode 1 and 2 – The opening of the Lost pilot is probably the closest television has ever gotten to recreating the epic, big budget special effects feeling of a movie. Jack wakes up in a forest on a mysterious island and before long finds himself saving lives as he walks right in the middle of a horrifying plane wreckage (that he somehow survived). If that weren’t enough, Lost quickly informs the audience that this isn’t Survivor – Fiction Edition, as loud animal noises, shaking trees, a rampaging polar bear, bizarre audio transmissions, and a pilot-eating creature quickly spook the survivors. Thankfully the writers introduce a group of interesting, and layered characters to ground the otherworldliness.

Favourite Moment – Sure the plane crash is spectacular, but for me, the show proved itself when Kate first meets Jack and has to stitch up one of his wounds. It’s easy to do chaos, but much more difficult to create real sparks between actors. The quiet moment between the two of them is very well written and economically introduces everything we need to know about both (for the time being).

4. The Cost of Living – Season 3, Episode 5 – Sure it was shocking in season two to kill off Ana Lucia and Libby, but they certainly weren’t fan favourites. Cut to season three, where Mr. Eko, the intriguing Drug Lord turned priest, spends an entire episode trying to deal with his past sins, only to be viciously killed by the smoke monster when he doesn’t apologize for his crimes (cause as we kind of learn, the smoke monster can take on corporeal form – it’s Lost, so sure). I didn’t see that one coming at all, not even a little bit. Of course the death would be meaningless without a good story to go behind it, and Eko’s flashback dealing with his religious struggle after the death of his brother is great (watching the vicious warlord emerge from his spiritual façade is one of the more shocking moments of this pretty shock-full episode).

Favourite Moment – I’m going with the obvious moment on this one. Seeing Eko pummeled around like a rag doll was just plain shocking.

3. Live Together, Die Alone – Season 2, Episode 22 – As season two comes to a close many plot threads that had been dangling since the pilot are capped off excellently. We learn why the plane crashed, how Desmond found his way into the Hatch, what happens when you don’t push the button, and what the deal is with Michael and Walt. It’s all much more satisfying than season one’s anticlimactic finale (All that and we don’t even go down the hatch!), and ends with a curious epilogue that has yet to be touched upon again. Desmond’s backstory is fascinating as we learn about the love of his life, Penelope, and his long stay in the Hatch. It’s as emotional as it is informative, and sets the stage wonderfully for the so far excellent third season.

Favourite Moment – Seeing the destruction of the hatch is great. I enjoyed the whole button pushing storyline, but after 22 episodes I was ready to see what happens when the button isn’t pushed. This episode doesn’t disappoint, as electromagnetic fields cause mass chaos across the island.

2. Man of Science, Man of Faith – Season 2, Episode 1 – Corey’s (that's me) Internal Dialogue for the first five minutes of this episode “That Hatch better have something good in it….oh crap…what’s this…some guy listening to Mama Cass, washing dishes, and cycling on an exercise bike. This is painful! Whose flashback are we watching now? Wait, that was a dynamite explosion! This isn’t a flashback at all, it’s the HATCH!!! We’re finally inside!!! Hurrah!!” The rest of the episode keeps that excitement level going as Jack ventures down into the subterranean world of the island. Personally though, the reason why this episode places so high on my list is that the flashback is equally strong telling the story of how Jack saved Sarah’s (his ex-wife) life. Jack’s scientific beliefs are put to the test when seemingly miraculous and connected events catch him offguard.

Favourite Moment – I’m going to cheat and choose two. For excitement value nothing beats Jack’s first steps into the Hatch. When Mama Cass blares again, and bright lights start flashing it’s easily Lost’s creepiest scene. For emotional value though, nothing tops Jack’s discovery that Sarah’s spinal surgery so that she can walk again, which Jack believes failed, was in fact a success. Matthew Fox has never been better than he is in this episode, and in this moment in particular.

1. Walkabout – Season 1, Episode – For me this isn’t just the best episode of Lost, but one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever seen. I liked the pilot a lot, but I wasn’t convinced that the show could convincingly blend deep emotionally rich stories with its fantastical premise until Walkabout. John Locke, a mysterious and quiet middle aged man, finally finds his calling when the survivors realize they need to hunt for food. As he takes out his arsenal of knives, he immediately lets everyone know that he is a true hunter. However, the flashbacks slowly start to paint another picture, tearing down the strong image of Locke by showing him as a weak, games obsessed employee at a box factory. His one goal in life is to go to Australia on a Walkabout in order to find his purpose in life. The ending is just amazing as the rug is pulled out from the audience and Locke’s true secret is finally revealed. It’s a twist that completely blindsided me, but adds so much to Locke’s character and his purpose on the island.

Favourite Moment – Locke’s revelation (“Don’t’ tell me what I can’t do”) mixed with Michael Giacchino’s music and that quick flashback blend together to create one heck of a final scene.

Top Ten - Lost Episodes - Part 1

I kind of got a late start reviewing Lost episodes, so I thought I would fill in the gaps by providing a list of my top ten favourite episodes from the series (up until I started reviewing, so as much as I love Flashes Before Your Eyes it won’t be on this list). Again, there are a lot of plot details mentioned, so if you haven’t seen Lost or are trying to catch up, I would recommend avoiding this article at all costs

10. S.O.S. – Season 2, Episode 19

I know it’s not a favourite amongst most Lost fans, but this touching look at Rose and Bernard’s back story always chokes me up. Believing that everyone has become complacent with island life, Bernard decides to build a huge S.O.S. sign in order to attract passing planes, a decision that makes Rose increasingly more and more agitated. Sure the main storyline isn’t really all that compelling (although a subplot involving Kate and Jack trying to make a deal with the Others is interesting), but the flashback is heartbreaking as the audience learns about Rose’s struggle with cancer and how Bernard took her halfway around the world to try and cure her.

Favourite Moment – While Bernard’s “If you can’t leave, neither can I” line provides the emotional heart of the episode, I’ve got to go with Bernard’s Niagara Falls proposal as my favourite moment. He asks Rose to marry him, she tells him that she is dying, and then after a brief tearful pause, Bernard replies with, “you didn’t answer my question.” Call me a sap, but it’s these heartfelt moments that put Lost above any other show on television right now.

9. Do No Harm – Season 1, Episode 20

This is the episode where Lost stated flat out that it was playing for keeps. After Boone’s airplane accident puts him in serious life-threatening trouble it’s up to Jack, sans medical equipment, to save him. The only problem is that Claire goes into labour at the exact same time. Oops. With so much pressure on him, Jack does everything he can to save Boone’s life, but as the episode reaches its brutal end, it slowly becomes clear that nothing can be done. The flashback follows Jack as he prepares to marry Sarah, and has many doubts. It’s not one of the better flashbacks, but the island drama more than makes up for it. Do No Harm is one of the most suspenseful, unrelenting hours of Lost.

Favourite Moment – Jack has a horrible realization that in order to save Boone’s life he is going to have to amputate his leg. With no surgical tools at his disposal he finds an old metal door left over from the crash debris. One quick swing and he believes it will cut right through Boone’s leg. Even though Lost is primetime television and it can’t be all that gory, there’s still enough sweat on your palms tension as Jack puts Boone’s leg in place and prepares for the precision cut.

8. The Other 48 Days – Season 2, Episode 7

The first all flashback episode shows what happened to the survivors of the tail section during their first 48 days on the island. It’s a great episode that addresses many lingering questions from season one (including who Boone talked to on the radio, what strategies the Others are using, and numerous other half answers and further questions). It’s also nice to take a break from our regular band of survivors in order to see things from an entirely different perspective as we follow Ana Lucia (who I didn’t find nearly as offputting as the majority of Lost fans), Mr. Eko, Bernard, Cindy, and more on their perilous journey to escape the Others.

Favourite Moment – I enjoy Ana Lucia’s confrontation with Goodwin (an undercover Other), but the opening, where the tail section of the plane hurtles toward the beach is pretty powerful stuff. People drowning, crying children, and mass chaos blend together into a great scene that is reminiscent (but doesn’t copy) the opening of the pilot.

7. Orientation – Season 2, Episode 3

The first episode that provides a considerable chunk of answers also tells a suspenseful self-contained story about taking a leap of faith. The computer, that is supposed to save the world, is damaged, and as time starts running out everyone, Locke and Jack in particular, contemplates whether or not something as silly as typing in a series of numbers on a remote island can be linked to the safety of humanity. Locke’s flashback, about an old girlfriend, shows that as independent as he tries to be, he is truly a lonely soul seeking human connection, a realization that forces him to ask Jack for help.

Favourite Moment – The Orientation filmstrip is the highlight of this episode. As Jack and Locke watch the filmstrip, the audience is treated to the first juicy plot points about the nature of the island, learning about the Dharma Corporation, who settled on the island to create a remote outpost for their scientific experiments. After this moment, for the first and only time in Lost’s history, I felt like I was handed some no-strings attached answers. Of course, soon after my mind started wandering, and four thousand new questions popped in, but for one moment at least, I felt like I had caught up to the Lost writers.

6. Numbers – Season 1, Episode 18

Lost’s funniest episode finally reveals the long-awaited Hurley backstory in which it is revealed that he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars after winning the lottery. Alas, while helping to translate a map of the island from Rousseau, Hurley sees the numbers he used to win the lottery printed on the surface. This wouldn’t be too bad, except for the fact that after he won the lottery Hurley suffered a horrible string of bad luck where his grandfather died, his new house caught fire, and…well… several other terrible, yet humourous tragedies. Thus begins Hurley’s obsessive quest to see why the Numbers keep following him. The episode also marks the long standing tradition of having 4.8.15.16.23.42 appear in one form or another throughout Lost.

Favourite Moment – The punchline to the episode is perfect. Charlie and Hurley sit on the beach where Charlie finally reveals his heroin addiction to someone other than Locke. When Hurley finally tells Charlie his own secret, how much money he is worth, Charlie pauses and replies with, “Fine, don't tell me. I bear my soul and all I get is bloody jokes.”