Film Buffs Break Down Which Movie Sequels Are Actually Better Than The Original

Movie sequels are often an incredibly contentious topic among movie lovers. Some love them, some hate them, and some sequels are just objectively terrible and everyone dislikes them.

Some, though, aren’t that bad. Even rarer are the sequels that are actually better than the films they follow, but those are few and far between.

Redditor Tall-Elderberry asked:

“What movie sequel is actually better than the original?”

Khaaaaaaan!

“Star Trek II, but I do love the first film, and I’m excited for the 4k release.” -HulkBlarg

“This also applies to the reboot series, where the first one may as well be called ‘James Kirk fails upwards’” -crowwreak

“You mean Navies don’t promote ensigns to Captain for disobeying orders in a plucky way?”-brocht

“I swear they must not have been planning for a Trilogy until that one sold well, and just decided “hey he has to be captain by the final act otherwise fans will be mad.” so… Gives Spock a mental breakdown and gets rewarded for it? (I think, anyway. It’s been like 7 years since I’ve seen that film)”

“Like, I like the film, but I felt like they could have held off on finishing his rise to the top until the second film. He gets kicked back down the ladder at the start for something stupid anyway.”

“It’s kinda the antithesis of Michael in the Discovery premiere playing a stupid game and winning a stupid prize for it.” -crowwreck

Rescue Aid Society

“Rescuers Down Under” -zachfive87

“So much more superior, though I wonder if that’s more due to just the swamp vibe of one.” -Jetsam_Marquis

“The first one always gave me bad vibes as a kid. Down Under rules though” -cats_suck

“Omg, I saw that so much on VHS.” -Makarov762

I Am Vengeance! I Am The Night!

“The Dark Knight” -Chief_Odin

“In every single way. The action is far better, story was much more interesting, better performances, script and direction.” -insane__knight

“Batman Begins gives an origin and really establishes Nolan’s version of Batman, and the Dark Knight already has that established universe to play around in. Dark Knight Rises (still something I enjoy) has its issues, but it really is kind of the result of events of the first two movies.” -TheGentlemanLoser

“Ledger’s Joker might not only be the best Joker performance, but also one of the greatest villains of cinema.” -Vicous

Mad Max

“[Mad Max 2:] The Road Warrior” -CoopedUp1313

“As much as I love the original it’s hard to disagree. Road Warrior ups the ante in every way while keeping the charm and feel of the original.” -Megamoss

“And then Fury Road is my pick for greatest action movie of all time and the best film of the 2010’s.” -lastcallface

“I have to agree, Fury Road is an unbridled masterpiece. You could slap that story and action on any backdrop and have it still be utterly perfect.” -HaydenScramble

“Are They Made From Real Girl Scouts?”

“Addams Family Values” -Born2dodishes

“Wednesday is such an amazing protagonist in that movie.” -MokitTheOmniscient

“‘You sent us to camp. They made us sing.’” -ParanoidAgnostic

“I came here to say this. The first one wasn’t bad, actually, but the sequel has all that social commentary Paul Rudnick added to the script, like the Thanksgiving dinner scene…” -SniffleBot

“Find someone who looks at you the way Wednesday looks at the girl she’s about to burn at the stake.” -obscurereferences

“I’m Not Freaking Out, I’m Freaking In”

“Kung Fu Panda 2” -Zeliv

“I love everything about Shen” -RadiantHC

“The one thing that disappointed me a little about the movie was Shen. Don’t get me wrong: from a visual and auditory design perspective, Shen is incredible. He’s stunningly intimidating, and his VA knocked the performance out of the park. When he was on screen, he radiated the menacing aura befitting someone that commissioned the genocide of an entire race.”

“That said, compared to the first movie, I feel like Shen fell short as a villain from a character perspective. Shen was evil as hell, but his motivations as a character felt shallow. He was obsessed with weaponizing gunpowder, but why? Where did that obsession come from? Why is it that his first reaction after hearing the prophecy was to slaughter all pandas? It really felt like he was evil for the sake of being evil.”

“Compare that to Tai Lung’s backstory, which had a lot more nuance. Tai Lung grew up under Shifu and was indoctrinated into believing that he would become the Dragon Warrior (hell, Tai Lung literally means Great Dragon!). But then Oogway basically shattered all of his life’s ambitions by rejecting him with no hesitation, seeing darkness in Tai Lung’s heart.”

“Which, when you think about it, is kinda f*cked up. Shifu was Oogway’s student, which means that Oogway probably had the opportunity to observe Tai Lung many times throughout his life — yet he seemingly never tried to guide Tai Lung away from the darkness.”

“The movie was fantastic, but I kinda wish they made Shen as complex as Tai Lung. It would have been interesting if he had been given stronger motives.” -RiceAlicorn

“I totally understand where you’re coming from, but in my opinion, sometimes a villain doesn’t need complexity to serve their role in the narrative.”

“That being said, Shen was obsessed with his ‘right’ to rule China which was threatened by the fortune teller when she predicted him to be defeated by a warrior of black and white (Po) this leads to him fighting against this destiny with the genocide of the pandas and the violent takeover of China. Only for that very genocide to be what sets Po on his own journey to stop him. A callback to Oogway saying, ‘One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it’”

“What really puts this movie over the top for me is not the villain though, it’s the themes of inner peace, dealing with your grief, and not letting your past haunt your present and sabotage your future. Shen, while not as complex a character as Tai Lung served as the perfect antagonist to showcase those themes. Po reaching inner peace and dealing with his repressed trauma really won me over, plus the art direction in that movie is amazing.” -Zeliv

“He’s A Friend From Work!”

“Thor Ragnarok” -DF_Symbiote

“Thanks to Taika Waititi” -Wishart2016

“It’s sort of become popular to hate on Ragnarok because it’s so ‘quippy’, but I totally disagree – the movie was so damn FUN when it came out. I had a big smile on my face the whole way through.” -ExperimentalSorbet

“What Are You Doing In My Swamp?”

“Shrek 2. Obviously because of the Holding Out For a Hero scene.” -pandyabee

“It’s basically a perfect sequel. Takes everything great about the first film, steps it up, and improves the pacing, the heart and the depth. All the while it feels like the natural progression to the first film, expanding on themes from the first film. Really couldn’t ask for much more from a sequel tbh.” -SolVracken

“NOT THE GUMDROP BUTTONS” -schofield101

Bucky Is Best Boy

“The Winter Soldier” -Zealousideal-Rich-67

“That’s probably the only superhero movie I liked watching where I didn’t really care for the main superhero as in I don’t really care for captain America but the movie was still good anyway” -Jack1715

“Agreed. The first movie seemed a bit lackluster and I wasn’t fussed about watching the sequel, but I was on a 27 hour flight and I’d seen everything else I was interested in. Winter Soldier came as a pleasant surprise.” -I_throw_socks_at_cat

Toothless!

“How to train your dragon. The first one is really really good, which is why I didn’t expect the second and third one to be better but it was.” -theassassintherapist

“The second one was the best one IMO. It had great world building, character building, heart, and a f*cking awesome soundtrack.” MotorwaveMedia

“I cannot watch HTTYD 2 without crying, they did that movie so well!” -JulzCrafter

Opinions can get pretty heated when it comes to movies, especially sequels, but at least these ones are pretty enjoyable.

Get a Black Icee at AMC Theaters in Honor of the New ‘Addams Family’ Movie

I’ve been praying for a black Icee to come along for almost my entire life, and now here it is!

I guess you could say this is my personal peak. Is that sad? I’ll let you be the judge.

But I digress: in honor of the new animated version of The Addams Family that hits theaters on October 11, AMC will sell a black cherry Icee that is totally jet black. Boom!

It's creepy, cooky, altogether ooky, just like Addams Family Movie. Try the Spooky Black Cherry Icee at participating…

Posted by AMC Theatres on Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Spooky Black Cherry Icee will be available at the concession stand at AMC Theaters, and you know what the really good news is? It’s gonna turn your tongue black when you drink it so you can run around the lobby after the movie is over and creep out people waiting in line!

Going to the movies has never been so much fun.

If you’re a youngin’, let me fill you in with a brief history of The Addams Family. The characters are based on a comic strip by artist Charles Addams that ran in The New Yorker from 1938-1988. There was a live-action version of The Addams Family on TV in the 1960s (in glorious black and white) and then the early 1990s saw a revival of the characters with two feature films.

Posted by Ashley Slone on Saturday, September 7, 2019

AMC released a similar black Icee drink this summer for the release of Men in Black: International, and I’m sure there were a whole lot of black tongues at those showings as well.

Here’s the trailer for the new film that comes out on October 11.

See you at the theater with my black Icee in hand!

The post Get a Black Icee at AMC Theaters in Honor of the New ‘Addams Family’ Movie appeared first on UberFacts.

A Study Showed That Older Parents Still Lose Sleep over Their Adult Children

I’ve wondered if my parents still do this, even though all five of the kids they raised are grown up and out of the house.

And now I have an answer.

A study published in The Gerontologist Journal shows many older parents worry about their adult children as much as they did when they were raising them as youngsters.

It also found that there was a correlation between sleep quality and parents worrying about their adult children.

It makes sense when you think about it: when kids are raised by their parents, mom and dad are always home and around the children. It’s when the kids leave the house to go out into the world for college or a job that mothers and fathers begin to experience more worry and stress due to uncertainty and not being in close proximity to their sons and daughters at all times.

Amber J. Seidel of Penn State York, the leader of the study, said:

“I feel that many share this value, yet I think much of the socialization in our culture focuses on the family when children are younger. I seek to study topics that help us understand how family continues to be a central part of our lives throughout adulthood, and I encourage considering family-level influences in all situations.”

The study is obviously more reflective of parents in the West and in Europe, as it is more common for children to live with their parents longer in the East. In the U.S. and Europe, children are pushed toward independence at a younger age.

Seidel ended the study by encouraging parents to consider the type of relationships they have with their adult children because the level of involvement they have with their kids and how much support they offer them affects parents’ sleep cycles. The questions Seidel thinks parents should ask themselves include, ‘Are you enabling your child by rewarding lazy or destructive behaviors?’, ‘Are you trying to control your child in any way?’, ‘Or are you simply letting your adult child live their life while providing unconditional support?’

Asking and contemplating these questions can lead to a more transparent relationship between parents and adult children.

Hey, adults who are out of the house, your parents are most likely worried about you and wondering what you’re up to, so check in once in a while.

Call your mother.

The post A Study Showed That Older Parents Still Lose Sleep over Their Adult Children appeared first on UberFacts.

IHOP Has an Addams Family Menu Full of Creepy Treats

I love all of this.

I love Halloween. I love pancakes. I love The Addams Family. What else do I need in this life?

Wait, I need this! IHOP launched an entire Addams Family menu on September 16 to go with the new 3-D animated Addams Family movie that hits theaters on October 11.

Alisa Gmelich, IHOP’s vice president of marketing, said, “Halloween, and the months leading up to it, are filled with such unadulterated fun for families, so it made perfect sense for IHOP to get in on the action.” She continued, “The quirkiness of The Addams Family matches our own playfulness as a brand, so a partnership with MGM felt like a great fit.”

Addams family pancakes/hot chocolate @ihop tonight. So good ?

Posted by My Pretty Zombie on Saturday, September 21, 2019

Gmelich added that signature IHOP items like pancakes, milkshakes, and omelettes were given a fun twist: “Our culinary team had a lot of fun playing around with distinctive flavors and eye-catching colors to create a menu that will be delightfully spooky and delicious to families of all ages, including grown-up kids, all month long.”

We NEED a IHOP restaurant here ?#Repost @_halloween_and_fall_ with @get_repost・・・Birthday breakfast @ihop !!! This…

Posted by Wonderland 13 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The food menu includes Wednesday’s Web-Cakes, Gomez’ Green Chili Omelette, and the Kooky Kids’ Combo.

If you’re thirsty, you can get some creepy drinks as well! Choose from Uncle Fester’s Chocolate Ice Scream Shake (I know what I’m ordering) or Morticia’s Haunted Hot Chocolate.

They're Altogether Foodie: IHOP Announces ADDAMS FAMILY Tie-in Menu For Octoberhttps://nofspodcast.com/theyre-altogether-foodie-ihop-announces-addams-family-tie-in-menu-for-october/

Posted by Nightmare on Film Street on Tuesday, September 17, 2019

For you youngsters out there who only know about The Addams Family from the movies from the 1990s, you should probably know that the characters also had their own live-action TV show in the 1960s and the characters were based on artist Charles Addams’ cartoons that ran in The New Yorker between 1938-1988.

Here’s a trailer for the new animated film, by the way.

The limited-time menu runs through November 3, so don’t sleep on this! See you at IHOP!

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