...the "Z" means it's fun!

 Some occasional NSFW language and a few minor spoilers.

7) Dinner for Schmucks

6) Get Him to the Greek

Embed...Denied! LAME. Go here to check it out.

5) Invention of Lying

Click to read more ...

Harrison Ford is still the man. Even though we're 2 weeks away from Cowboys & Aliens, I'm willing to say that he maintains his status as The Man even after that movie. Why? Because if it's good, that'll add to his mystique. And if it's terrible, it'll be another example of Ford's natural ability to be bulletproof. He's been in so many bad movies, but that doesn't stop the fact that we all really like him.

Hell, think of his good movies and you'll see they're made up of a small stable of mannerisms, tics, cliches and delivery.

And yet...we still love him.

We can't STOP loving him.

Here are 9 videos that both defy and define our love for the man the Japanese call "Shouty Punchy Family Lover."

9) Harrison Ford is Undead and/or the Highlander

8) Harrison Must Really Love His Son

Click to read more ...

It's summertime, y'all! That means one thing - pack the kids up and get them the fuck out of your house. And if you can package it as a character-building exercise that'll give them lifelong friends and important lessons - even better!

I only went to sleepaway camp for 2 summers. A Christian camp in New Hampshire called Camp Squanto. It was...honestly, it was OK. This was before I became a secular humanist and when I really thought I'd like to be a pastor. Or a marine biologist. Or Wolverine from X-Men. Time makes fools of us all.

We played dumb games, went on disappointing hikes, prayed to nothing and learned songs - including Christian lyrics for well known song. Camp Squanto is why I can't hear the Rocky theme song without singing to myself "Trust in Goddddddd./He'sYour Friennnnnd./HeWill GuideYouuuuu/tothe Ennnnnnd/Through our trials and tribulations/blessthelord his holy nation!" I also learned the song Shut-De-Do, an a cappella staple that I still find very charming. Not so charming? The eventual revelation that the Camp President had been embezzling millions of dollars over the years from the Christian camp's funds.

Ultimately I thought camp was pretty lame and tame and not filled with any of the assorted hijinks the movies promised. Where was my rival camp with its dark color scheme and swanky clientele? What about some girl who totally hates me at first but eventually kisses me after I break her rough exterior? And the pranks - MY GOD THE PRANKS. Where were they?

Maybe it's because of my middling experience with camp that I've developed a soft spot for summer camp movies. Often times they are atrocious and follow the weird mixing of pubescent sexual depravity with innocent exuberance of youth that was begun by Meatballs many years ago. But there are some that are worth remembering and revisiting. Here are some...

(Honorable Mention) Poison Ivy (1985)

No, not the movies with semi-innocent actresses whoring it up in sub-softcore porn with the most dubious and flimsiest of plots. Although...those ain't bad either. No this Poison Ivy is a 1985 TV movie with such youth icons as Michael J. Fox, Nancy McKeon, Adam Baldwin and Robert Klein. I had this recorded from broadcast and watched the VHS often, but I can't remember much from it. So why is it on this list? Because there's one element that stands out vividly that is CRAZYPANTS.

Click to read more ...

First of all - America is the greatest, freest, fittest, smartest, prettiest, sexiest, sweetest, funniest, nicest, swankiest, toughest nation in the world. And if you don't like it - you can GET OUT.

Secondly - we have a lot of problems. there's a lot wrong with the greatest, freest, fittest, smartest, prettiest, sexiest, sweetest, funniest, nicest, swankiest, toughest nation in the world.

But one thing we do very well? Humor. And nothing is quite so funny as our own history, our own screwed up nation and a man getting kicked in the groin. That's just science.

Here are 7 hilarious patriotic videos that focus on our nation's younger days:

7)  The Whitest Kids U'Know, Jack & Oswald

My favorite part? "You have a flag! That's very nice." Some of the jokes land flat...but then the music picks up...

Click to read more ...

Movies are baffling. Sometimes they are good. Sometimes they are less than good. And sometimes, in those less than good movies, lie some exquisite gems. Today's list are the 12 great - genuinely great, not in an ironic way - musical performances from some less than good movies. The rest of the movie was shite, but for these few glorious beats it was a promising world indeed.

Filled with good choreography, some catchy tunes and people very much committing to the spectacle in an otherwise unremarkable film - these performances deserve some recognition and love.

12. "Prom Tonight" from Not Another Teen Movie

Actually, this movie isn't that bad. It's not good, so it fits in with the defined parameters, but it definitely has a lot of good moments and makes some nice observations about teen movies. Although I fear it's easily lumped in with Epic Movie, Date Movie, Superhero Movie, etc. but it actually has a plot and jokes and not just an ADHD level of references strung together.

Click to read more ...

Look, I get it. He's a badass dude who made his own way by being the meaner motherfucker. A tough guy that only has two things in the world, his balls and his word, and he doesn't break either. He lives by the sword and dies by it; he goes from absolutely nothing to running most of the world. Like I said - I get it.

But even with that aforementioned stuff, there are four things that pretty much kill any reason why people should emulate Tony "Scarface" Montana. These are aspects of his character that should be "deal breakers" to his ever increasing fanbase, but for some reason people overlook them just so they can speak in a bad/borderline offensive Cuban accent.

There's an obvious appeal to Montana, a reason why Scarface is the idol of millions, but for people that watch Scarface obsessively - it seems odd that these 4 dealbreakers are ignored. Don't get me wrong - a Latin stereotype delivered by the constantly screaming Pacino who whacks Salieri and Robert Loggia is cool. Again, it's a badass thug who makes his own rules and takes nothing from nobody. But to celebrate the movie and character without acknowledging some serious character flaws seems like a pretty dumbass move.

Here's a true story to illustrate my point: a friend of my (then) girlfriend had a foreign boyfriend with a lot of money. He was an odd European fellow, let's call him "Don," who came from a lot of money, hobnobbed with the elite in society and eventually begin traveling with a bodyguard. One time we're all at a birthday party at a bar and Scarface is playing on several television screens. Don can't stop watching it, no matter how much people try to engage him in human interaction. Now I hate interacting with people and, worse yet, I'm bad at it. But I can talk movies with anyone. So I start asking him "oh you like this movie?" and he responds "oh man i love it. it's the best. it's like - live like that, right?" To which I nervously chuckled and realized I needed to escape this conversational cul de sac toot suite. A few months later, Don was indicted on a number of felonies and spent some time in the clink. Oh and that money he had wasn't there either, and he has fallen from grace in a spectacular, if a bit ignoble, fashion. My point, and the reason for my awkward reaction to his adoration of Scarface, is that if you model yourself after Scarface - your life is fucked.

So keep sampling the movie, rappers, and hanging the poster up in your dorm room, frat boys - but next time you introduce people to "your little friend," think of these 4 Reasons why Scarface is a pretty shitty role model to have.

[SPOILERS for a 28 year old movie that has been referenced and riffed on ad nausem lie AHEAD]

Click to read more ...

Mash-Ups are the information age's version of ready-mades. The rediscovery and repurposing of the familiar and culturally ingrained not only is a fun juxtaposition that requires a keen ear and real talent, but it also reveals the underlying unity found across all mediums. When done right, songs recorded in different eras, countries and genres are seamlessly integrated with each other to produce one new piece of music that is altogether unique and accessible to all.

The most famous of this new brand of synthesis artists is probably Girl Talk. But whatever, that dude has a movie about him - he doesn't need any more publicity. So fuck him.

The mash-up artist that I really love more than anyone else, though, has to be Mark Vidler a/k/a Go Home Productions. The British DJ takes a handful of songs and creates a sustained hybrid that fuses these multiple threads into one new song perfectly. There are recurring themes throughout one song and he uses the disaparate element to evoke a particular emotional response. That's an incredibly nerdy way of saying that he makes awesome songs out of other songs (even ones that are not so good).  Here are my 7 favorite mash-ups by Go Home Productions.  All of these songs are available to download at his site for free, so be sure to check them out. Enjoy!

Click to read more ...

Via She Walks SoftlyIt's been said that heroes are only as good as their villains. In order to have an interesting hero, he or she must face an interesting and truly threatening adversary. In genre fiction, this is usually done by one of two ways. Either having the villain be a threat so large that it seems unlikely anyone can stop it. Or else have the threat be of a complimentary nature, the flip side of the coin of the hero (dark vs. light, etc.). In either case, when the villain reveals his or her potential for destruction and true horror, it makes the heroes seem even mightier and their (inevitable victories) that much sweeter.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always work out. This can be especially true when the budget limitations of films are coupled with the imagination limitations of most film producers. Toss in the need to adhere to certain formulas (or to create another line of toys), and suddenly you have an impotent villain who is not the definition of threatening but instead the definition of wasted potential. These are the top 5 worst offenders, the supervillains who seemed cool but were just...just awful.

Click to read more ...

[with additional reporting by Rob Dean]

Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. A chance to recognize and reflect the sacrifices made by our very brave men and women in uniform. Theirs is an honorable death, giving up literally everything for what they believe is Right and worth dying for, ensuring freedom for countless numbers of people for generations.

Unfortunately - there's not a lot that's funny about that. So we went the other way with it - pleased to enjoy this list of the top ten ignoble deaths by characters in Film and TV.  These are deaths that are completely devoid of anything approaching honor, class or - in some cases - logic.

Click to read more ...