Ranking the Studio Ghibli films

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Nicholas Hayes

I last ranked the Studio Ghibli filmography here in August, 2013. But during my COVID-19 downtime I created a podcast with my friend Trevor where we discussed all of the Studio Ghibli films, with Trevor watching them all for the first time. We also included non-Ghibli films Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind.

I thought I’d re-present my new list below which I pulled together after my revisit for the podcast. See below to see my 2021 opinion of the best and worst Studio Ghibli films.

You can listen to the podcast here: Apple podcasts, Spotify

Continue reading →

Top 25 Albums of 2015

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Nicholas Hayes

Let’s face it, 2014 was a pretty awful year in music. 2015 may have been a top-heavy affair but there were gems sprinkled throughout. This list is mostly an update of my half yearly list with some new additions and rearrangements.

25-11 (in alphabetical order)

Beach House – Depression Cherry

The first of 2 albums Beach House released this year, Depression Cherry sneaks ahead mostly for the unexpected and welcome shredding on single ‘Sparks’.

Continue reading →

Top 20 albums of 2015 (so far)

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Nicholas Hayes

It’s that time of year again where I claim that albums I listened to for the first time last week are destined to become future classics and where I very quickly run out of adjectives to describe simple musical terms.

Continue reading →

List ‘O the Week: Best Songs of 2014 (so far)

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Nicholas Hayes

I don’t often post album reviews here mostly because I believe albums take time to endear themselves to me. So instead of posting a ‘best albums’ list for records that have only been out for a few months, here are my favourite songs from the first half of 2014. As with my list last year, I’m limiting myself to one track per album/EP/single in order to increase diversity.

Continue reading →

List O’ the Week: 20 Worst episodes of The Simpsons (Classic Era) – Part. 2

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Nicholas Hayes

See here for positions 20 -11

10. Lisa the Iconoclast (7×16)

Ahh Lisa. If not my favourite character, then the one I relate to the most. She’s the main focal point for some of my favourite episodes of The Simpsons, including my very favourite. This is because the show always treats her efforts, passions and insecurities seriously, even if they start to bore or annoy other characters in her family and in Springfield at large. She’s also the focal point for many of my least favourite episodes because her earnestness can sometimes start to bore the audience as much as it does those around her. Continue reading →

List ‘O the Week: Top 15 episodes of Community

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Nicholas Hayes

Choosing my favourite episodes of Community is both quite simple and quite problematic, because of the way creator Dan Harmon seems to pitch his show. Harmon is someone who tries so hard, some would say too hard, to produce a show that is more than ‘just a sitcom’. As such there are several episodes each season which will emerge from Harmon saying, ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…..?’. These episodes tend to be high-concept parodies of specific films and television shows or a mere riff on the conventions of film genre and form. Such episodes started being produced towards to end of season 1 and really thrived in season 2.

Continue reading →

List O’ the Week: Top 10 albums of 2013 by female artists

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Nicholas Hayes

Here are my favourite albums of 2013 (so far) by female artists/bands with a female lead.

Also check out this list’s companion music playlist.

10. Laura Marling – Once I Was An Eagle

9. Eleanor Friedberger – Personal Record

8. She & Him – Vol. 3

7. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt

6. Camera Obscura – Desire Lines

Continue reading →

List O’ The Week: Top 25 episodes of The Simpsons (Post Season 8)

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Nicholas Hayes

As I mentioned in my previous Top Simpsons Episode List (up to season 8), I am a lot kinder to the Mike Scully (9-12) and Al Jean (13+) seasons of The Simpsons than many others because I grew up with these episodes. Sure they were muddled in with the re-runs of classic era episodes, but at the time I couldn’t see much of a differentiation, funny was funny and The Simpsons continued to make me laugh, with season 9 and onwards providing me many hours of enjoyment. Having said that, it’s easy to now see a differentiation in the quality and tone of the show. The laughs were still there, but they came from a sillier place. The show became broader, cruder and targeted towards a younger audience. The satire was blunted in favour of Stupid Homer, or worse, Jerkass Homer as he came to be not-so-affectionately titled.

Continue reading →

List O’ The Week: Studio Ghibli films

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Nicholas Hayes

This list represents a ranking of the Studio Ghibli films that I have seen between 1984’s ‘Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind’ and 2010’s ‘Arriety’. This list is to somewhat celebrate the arrival of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film ‘The Wind Rises‘ which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival. I’ve still yet to see ‘From Up On Poppy Hill’. See my updated 2021 list.

Studio Ghibli has made some of the greatest animated films of all time. Almost every film is beautifully textured and thoughtfully written. This list is ranked purely in terms of how much I enjoy these films; it’s not necessarily a reflection of how well made they are but rather how much I enjoy revisiting them, so there may be some controversial choices here.

Continue reading →