I can say that I have been blessed to have some great friendships in my brief time of being alive. Whenever I watch a movie, or read a book, I tend to compare the characters within it to the people around me. There have always been those pairs in fiction that make me evaluate my own relationships. Am I the loose cannon cop sporting a mullet, or the aging professional that is just getting too old for this shit? Am I the goofball, or the straight man? To give all of you readers a brief road map to what I view as the best dynamic duos of fiction, here are Josh’s Top 5 “Fictional Duos.”

5. Cory Matthews and Topanga Lawrence from “Boy Meets World” – ABC Broadcastings gift to the ‘90s known as “TGIF” gave us the television series “Boy Meets World” in 1993. The series covered the events in the tight knit family of a boy named Cory Matthews and his ordeals that he faces as your everyday American kid. Topanga Lawrence began the series as one of Cory’s friends and confidants, and in later episodes blossomed into Cory’s love interest. The two were eventually married after almost seven seasons of friendship and high school drama. These ‘90s lovebirds represented all that a friendship could be for TGIF viewers.

4. Conner and Murphy MacManus from “The Boondock Saints” – Never has religiously fueled vigilantism been conducted with such style and dark humor then in the tattooed hands of Conner and Murphy from “The Boondock Saints.” For those of you that haven’t seen the film, the Irish Catholic brothers are fraternal twins that receive a divine calling to clean up the streets of gang infested South Boston with all the guns, knives and Irish stereotypes at their disposal. Notable deeds of the saints include shooting pornstar Ron Jeremy as he’s whacking the weasel, holding up a courtroom to execute a mob boss and killing a Russian gang member with a toilet.

3. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from “Sherlock Holmes” – Whether you’re referring to the film portrayals of Watson and Holmes, or their origins as the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the pair of super sleuths represented the original “buddy cop” formula. Holmes played the unpredictable and eccentric genius that could either be solving a murder case or indulging in opium use. Watson was the straight laced assistant whose “elementary” observations and mature nature balanced out the often socially awkward Holmes. Their perfect partnership had its ups and downs, and showed how a working partnership could also be a great friendship.

2. Han Solo and Chewbacca from “Star Wars” – This duo was so famous for always accompanying one another in the iconic Millennium Falcon that an alternative to the shotgun rules called “Chewie” has been developed by geeky guys just looking for a good time. Han and Chewie were space hot rod cruising, blockade running, gun toting badasses who gave a roguish charm to the Star Wars universe. Han Solo was a Corellian smuggler portrayed by the still suave Harrison Ford (seriously, if you’re Indiana Jones and Han Solo you get to do whatever the hell you want) who found his calling to help the Rebel Alliance while chasing the tale of future wife Princess Leia. Chewie was the furry co-pilot of the Falcon from the planet Kashyyyk that can rip the arms off of people that upset him. They represent the perfect “boy and his dog” formula, but with blasters and spaceships.

1. Snoopy and Woodstock from “The Peanuts” – These iconic “Peanuts” characters top off the list of duos. Debuting in 1950, Charles Schulz demonstrated the strength of friendship through Snoopy and Woodstock’s fictional adventures. Snoopy was the dog of Charlie Brown, the prematurely bald boy next door. Woodstock was a small bird who was originally a baby bird that was left in a nest that had been built on Snoopy’s stomach. His trademark chicken scratch filled speech bubbles were only understood by Snoopy. The two had adventures as the “World War I Flying Ace” and his co-pilot, golfing buddies and trivia rivals. Their friendship is perhaps the most pure, innocent and long running friendship on this list. Their keen understanding of one another shows that even if the rest of the world thinks you’re a lazy dog, or can’t understand anything you say, there is always that person that will stand next to you.

The villains in a movie make the story. There’s no other way to say it. Heroes are predictable, normally fighting on the side of the perceived “good” with a set of personal rules that prevent them from being too crazy. Villains on the other hand are not hindered by a society’s view of good, only required to do everything but that good. They can be unpredictable, cruel or are often dark character foils for the main character. For everything that heroes can show us about the good we are capable of, there is a villain prepared to show us the darkest depths of the human psyche. Here are Josh’s Top 5 movie villains.

5. Reagan MacNeil/Pazuzu from “The Exorcist” – Regarded as one of film history’s most disturbing films, “The Exorcist” original film print is believed by Evangelist Preacher Billy Graham to have an actual demon in it. “The Exorcist” pits an aging priest, and one who is losing his faith, against the ancient demon Pazuzu in a battle royale for the soul of 12 year old Reagan. Pazuzu takes the cherubic little girl and turns her into a vulgar, supernaturally strong and pea soup vomit spewing hellhound. Favorite line: “Your mother sucks c@&$s in hell Karras, you faithless slime.”

4. Darth Vader from “Star Wars” – Darth Vader is easily recognizable as the darkly clad antagonist of the “Star Wars” trilogy. Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones in the original trilogy, and wowed audiences with his force choking, light saber slashing, no-holds barred pursuit of the Rebel Alliance. It was later revealed that Vader was the father of hero Luke Skywalker, and the character gained a whole new depth. He became a tragic figure, much like Lucifer in Judeo-Christian mythology, who fell from grace to become the figure of ultimate evil in science fiction. Unfortunately for audiences, the aforementioned fall from grace was portrayed by cardboard cutout actor Hayden “Mannequin Skywalker” Christensen in the recently released prequel films. Favorite line: “Remember… no disintegrations!”

3. Alex DeLarge from “A Clockwork Orange” – “A Clockwork Orange” tells the tale of a dystopian future England where teenage gang leader Alex DeLarge wreaks havoc with his gang members. Alex rapes, murders and controls his cronies with disturbing, almost childlike, glee. The tables are turned on the teenage terror when he is imprisoned and forced to give up violence through brainwashing. An odd twinge of pity enters the viewer when watching the terrible struggle Alex faces when tempted to fall into his old habits. Alex deserves a top position for the unpredictable and wanton nature of the violence he perpetrates. Alex was even listed by Heath Ledger as an inspiration for his Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Favorite line: “I’ve suffered the tortures of the damned, sir – tortures of the damned.”

2. Amon Goeth from “Schindler’s List” – Goeth embodies the terror of the Holocaust in a manner that was horrifically real to the viewer. Goeth was the commandant of the camp that Oskar Schindler’s Jewish workers were imprisoned in. Ralph Fiennes, famous now for his portrayal of Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, plays the Nazi officer in a cold, calculating manner. He’s selfish, loathing of the dirty prisoners he lords over and views the extermination of the Jews as a task that he’s required to do efficiently by Hitler. Goeth executes prisoners in a random manner, at one point shooting from the porch of his villa at any random prisoner in his sights. He smokes, drinks and has no remorse for the lives he takes – in essence taking all the pleasure of living while depriving others of it. Goeth is nearly the perfect villain. Favorite Line: “This is very cruel, Oskar. You’re giving them hope. You shouldn’t do that. That’s cruel!”

1. The Joker from “The Dark Knight” – I hate to jump on the Heath Ledger Joker bandwagon, but the unpredictable and chaotic deeds of “The Dark Knight’s”  antagonist went beyond a mere battle of good and evil. Ledger’s Joker asks every viewer about where their hearts lie in the age old debate over humanity’s inclination to chaos or order. The Joker’s monumental task of battling Batman appeared to be no different than taking out the trash as the whole of Gotham City was plunged into chaos by the “Clown Prince of Crime.” Knives, explosives or poison; The Joker had no qualms about who he iced. Favorite Line: “Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can’t savor all the… little emotions. In… you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?”

I’ll be the first to admit that women carry a certain burden that men can never quite understand. In the traditional social roles that have been maintained by a patriarchal system the domain of women has been the home and family, while we boys get to go outside and play cowboys and Indians. Well, in honor of Women’s History Month, I am going to recognize what women I think best went out to play with the boys, and often kicked their asses. Here is Josh’s Top 5 “Badass Beauties.”

5. Annie Oakley – Annie Oakley was a famous sharpshooter of the Wild West, and considered by many to be first true American female superstar. Born Phoebe Anne Mosey, she initially began shooting to support her widowed mother and seven brothers and sisters, but became widely noticed when she beat her future husband (also a sharpshooter) in a shooting contest. Standing at five feet tall, the little lady stunned audiences of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with her shooting expositions. Oakley was rumored to be able to shoot a playing card facing the edge, and then shoot it six more times before it hit the ground. Clint Eastwood: eat your heart out.

4. Boudicca – This queen of the ancient Britons, whose name means “victory” in her native tongue, came to prominence when her husband died around 60 A.D. Her husband was a King of the Iceni tribe that was allied with the Romans, and according to his wishes he wanted his daughters to rule his tribe after his death. After his death, the Romans flogged Boudicca, raped his daughters and seized his tribes holdings. Boudicca roused several of the tribes of Briton together to rebel against the occupying Romans, and in her campaign of retribution it is estimated that she killed between 70,000-80,000 people in the three major settlements she attacked. Her attacks prompted the emperor Nero to consider abandoning Britain altogether, and forced him to reroute whole legions from other places to put down this female rebel filled with righteous indignation.

3. Anne Bonny – Anne Bonny is remembered simply for the fact that she was a female pirate during the “golden age of piracy” in the 18^th century. Bonny married a small time pirate, and then promptly cheated on him with another pirate named “Calico Jack” Rackham. Rackham offered Bonny’s husband money to buy her for marriage, but she refused to “be bought and sold like cattle.” Bonny joined Rackham’s crew and with another female pirate, Mary Read, they stole a ship called the “Revenge.” The infamous three sailed around the Caribbean taking ships and money. Bonny was eventually captured but used the fact that she was pregnant with Rackham’s child to delay her execution until her father could pay her ransom.

2. Lyudmila Pavlichenko – During World War II the Soviets became renowned for their use of snipers, particularly the skill of Vasily Zaytsev who was portrayed by the significantly less fugly Jude Law in the 2001 film, “Enemy at the Gates.” He had 242 verified kills, and got enough bling from Comrade Stalin to make Lil’ Wayne jealous. Uniquely, the Soviet Army also allowed females to serve as snipers, where Pavlichenko became famous for her 309 confirmed kills. This woman from Ukraine, who was also a successful student at the University of Kiev, was one of 2000 women to volunteer to be snipers for the Red Army. Only 500 of them survived the war, with Pavlichenko being one of them. Pavlichenko received the Order of Lenin and Hero of the Soviet Union, which is less recognition than what Zaytsev received for killing fewer men. She went on to be the first Soviet citizen to visit the White House, had her own stamp made in the Soviet Union in 1943 and 1976, had a Woody Guthrie song written about her and finally had a ship named after her posthumously. She is considered by military historians to be the most successful female sniper in history.

1. Joan of Arc – If you ever wonder what God tells people to do, look up Joan of Arc. This 15^th century maiden of France rose to prominence when she claimed that God had told her to drive the occupying English back to their homeland. Joan did not simply stand back and watch what her visions could inspire, but instead strapped on armor and rode out to the city of Orleans where she helped break the long standing siege in only nine days. She took bold action in leading French forces when their strategy up to that point had been one of caution and cowardice. Joan was captured when she was unhorsed by an archer, and she was kept in prison due to her family’s inability to pay her ransom. She died being burnt at the stake by English clergymen for heresy after being sexually assaulted and signing a confession she couldn’t read. Joan was canonized years later when Pope Callixtus III declared her innocent of any charges of heresy.