2. Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog (2008)
Joss Whedon is a genius. He can make a show about a girl who fights vampires one of the most dramatic, heartfelt dramas ever of TV. He can team up superheroes under one film and make it work. He can adapt Shakespearian comedy beautifully. And he can promote Mitt Romney and the zombie apocalypse as a genuinely brilliant piece of political campaign advertising for the Democratic party. He can also script and direct a series of webisodes about a diabolical evil scientist and a floppy haired superhero and make it a musical too.
Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog is the story of a wannabe super villain (Neil Patrick Harris again) who desperately wants to be recognised for his achievements and fall in love with the girl of his dreams - Penny, the mysterious red head at the laundromat (Felicia Day). Except he finds himself thwarted at every turn by superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), humiliating him, beating him war a car and stealing the girl. Considering the sole aim of Dr Horrible (with his Ph.D in horribleness) is to join the Evil League Of Evil, you're on his side every step of the way, thanks to Neil Patrick Harris' heartwarming performance. Despite his mad brain schemes, he can't pluck up the courage to talk to Penny and his attempts at evilness just make you want to give him a hug. And Nathan Fillion plays a smug, self involved, cheesy hero brilliantly; hair blowing in the breeze, every thought followed by a pose - he's a bit of a arse really. The music, like the plot and setting is simple yet clever, making great use of the cast's vocal talents to create a superhero love story with a twist. Its dramatic and heartfelt and creates a musical in a genre you could not have imagined would support it. And being Joss Whedon, it works. Take a look at Captain Hammer's entrance. It's cheesy and its fun. An it captures motivations of the two leads perfectly!