SNL Presidents Try To Save Obama

Okay, now this is just fucking awesome. Funny Or Die has released a short (directed by Ron Howard!) that features all of actors who have portrayed Presidents on Saturday Night Live over the years. There’s Will Ferrell as George W. Bush, Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Dana Carvey (oh, how I’ve missed you!) as George Bush, Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan, Dan Ackroyd as Jimmy Carter, and Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford. Amazing.

Dana Carvey and Jim Carrey win the battle as far as I’m concerned. Carvey in particular is hilarious. Hammond shines with his few seconds of dialogue; I always loved his Clinton (it would have been great to see Jan Hooks show up as Hillary …). Ackroyd does a good job with Carter, although it’s fairly boring (and he’s too damned fat). Chase is horrible as usual as Ford, easily the worst impression in SNL history. I’m surprised he didn’t break a hip falling on that table.

Anyway, here’s the skit. It’s just awesome:

OK GO Keeps Music Videos Alive

There is almost no reason for a band to make a music video these days. MTV is dead, which is now some sort of reality show whore factory. The music industry itself has collapsed, with only Lady Gaga selling any albums anymore thanks to actually having some talent and vision. And really … who watches music videos anymore?

I would, if they were all like the brilliant new video from OK GO. You might remember the band from their awesome treadmill video from a few years ago. They’re back with a jaw-dropping video that recalls the wonderful Mouse Trap game, full of exotic, triggered contraptions. This might be the most creative video I’ve seen in a very long time. I sincerely hope it was done in one take without any computer graphics.

I just wish the music was better. They’re talented, but the songs aren’t particularly catchy, which is a major reason why the band hasn’t really gone anywhere despite some inventive and amazing visuals.

Check it out:

Tim Burton Sucks

… And this brilliant video proves it. Watch immediately (click on Tim’s picture for more!)

PHANTOM MENACE – The Ultimate Review

We all realize that there is something really, really wrong with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but it’s been hard to articulate. Usually we just end up saying that the movie “sucks” or “Jar Jar sucks” or “George Lucas raped my childhood.” You know, something insightful like that.

But someone has finally taken the time to sit down and tear apart the massive flaws in logic and storytelling that exist in the movie. In fact, there are quite a few that you never grasped in all of the time you watched the film. Even better, the guy is a character in his own right, and this massive 90 minute review is pretty damn funny.

Pink Grammy Perfection

I have no idea why so many people (mostly guys) dislike Pink. At first, she came off like just another pop princess with a husky, throaty voice. But in the last few years, Pink has defined herself as one of the premiere singer songwriters of her generation.

But thanks to last night’s perfect and gorgeous performance at the Grammys, I think it’s safe to say that Pink is now one of the most amazing performers ever.

The song she sang, Glitter In The Air, is a beautiful love song all by itself. Pink took to the stage wearing almost nothing, and then left the stage suspended only in a delicate strip of cloth for an amazing display of aerial acrobatics that left me stunned. She has always been very athletic, but I’m shocked that anyone allowed her to even try this on live television. And it worked to perfection, just like everything this remarkable woman attempts. Awesome.

Anvil Concert Review

This past Friday night, Canadian metal band Anvil made a stop in St. Louis. They played in front of a fairly large crowd at one of St. Louis’s top concert venues, The Pageant. The crowd was full of metal-heads of all ages and while it was obvious that most of the fans there had never heard of Anvil before the documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”, they were loud and into every note the band ripped out.

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Flawsome

A music video popped up on YouTube yesterday from aspiring singer Caitlin Crosby, who is finishing up work on her debut album FLAWZ. The title track is an uplifting and very impressive song about embracing the flaws we all have that make us unique. Not only does the track have a really potent message, but Crosby delivers it with vocal conviction. This thing feels like a hit to me.

Check out the music video:

Even More Aching Beauty

When I wrote up this top ten list of the most beautiful people in motion picture history, I didn’t expect such a varied reaction. I guess it really boils down to the fact that everyone has their own standards of beauty, and it’s fun to argue about those differences.

For me, ten spots isn’t enough, though. So I wanted to write about ten more people that are just too damned good looking for words. So here are their pictures, in no particular order:

Angelina Jolie

Denzel Washington

Zhang Ziyi

Ryan Phillippe

Andie MacDowell

Tom Cruise

Anne Archer

Robert Redford

Michelle Yeoh

Heath Ledger

Pants On The Ground

The new of American Idol premiered this week. As always, the first few weeks of the show consists of the tryout. That basically means we get the see a couple really good singers thrown into an hour of no talent Jackasses that can’t understand that they can’t sing.

In the second tryout episode we may have already gotten the most memorable moment of the season. Gen. Larry Platt was given a tryout despite the fact that he has no shot at winning based on the shows age requirements. Platt, a former Civil Rights activist, made the best of his oppertunity. Not only may he have created the novelty hit of the year, but he’s sure to become the newest incarnate of William Hung. The only difference is Platt has more talent, creativity and personality in his little toe that Hung ever showed.

You’re A Smart One, Mr. Zonday

Tay Zonday had his 15 minutes of fame a couple years ago with the youtube phenomenon Chocolate Rain.  He then was smart enough to capitalize on that brief success a year later when Dr. Pepper introduced the new flavor Cherry Chocolate Pepper and he became the soda’s spokesperson.  Now another year later, Tay is making his online presence know again.  He has recorded himself singing the Christmas classic “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”

I have to give Tay a lot of credit is keeps finding ways to make himself popular online, without getting attested or being a jackass.  I also think he would be a great voice for Hollywood.  He would be perfect for doing movie trailers and voice overs.

Flight of the Conchords Crashes

One of the most brilliant shows to ever grace television, The Flight of the Conchords, has been cancelled after only two tiny little seasons. We first covered it way back in August of 2007, just after it premiered, which you can revisit here.

The show was probably too eclectic for most people, actually. In a faintly meta concept, the show revolved around two New Zealand singers named Bret Mackenzie and Jermaine Clement who perform under the name Flgiht of the Conchords – which is exactly the truth. Every week followed the boys as they struggled with girl problems and career problems, which then segued into amazing song/fantasy numbers.

Just watch this in amazement:

These guys are comedic geniuses who will be sorely missed. I’m not holding my breath for the rumored Conchords movie, either.

Music MVP 2009: Lady Gaga

For the last several years, the music industry has been on a sharp decline in every aspect. Sales are way down thanks to internet piracy. The music produced by established artists has been rote, by-the-numbers albums (we’re looking at you, Madonna). And new artists haven’t had a chance.

But 2009 seemed to shuffle the deck, indicating that we might be on the cusp of another music revival similar to what happened in 1991 with Nirvana. And while there have been some major players in this music revival – the amazing years enjoyed by Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Kings of Leon must be mentioned – nobody was bigger or more influential than Lady Gaga.

As the year opened, Lady Gaga was riding the surprise success of “Just Dance” and the rise of “Pokerface,” both from her monstrous album The Fame. “Pokerface” continued to dominate throughout the early part of the year as Gaga fever ignited, propelling her next singles, “Paparazzi” and “Bad Romance”, into the stratosphere. By the year’s end, there was no doubt about who owned this year in music.

What impresses me even more than the songs, which are well written despite their dance-club aspirations, is the fact that Gaga has such a tremendous voice, insists on singing live, and can capably play piano as well. Gaga is not some white, weird Janet Jackson knock-off, nor is she Madonna-Lite. She is a fully-rounded performer who has pure talent and a raging, inquisitive intelligence. She is not to be underestimated.

 

This decade has been absolutely trashed by horrible rock music, gimmicky rap, and fifteen minute stars. It’s been a long time waiting for a performer that can actually demonstrate talent and vision; this year we were blessed with a few that showed promise … but Gaga, in the end, wins the battle for supremacy.

Christopher Walken Shows His Pokerface

Christopher Walken can be a terrifying presence onscreen, but he is also one of the funniest actors on the planet. His deadpan delivery, his halting speech pattern, his glassy, shark-like eyes … they all combine to milk laughs from even the thinnest material.

Here he is on live television doing a reading of Lady Gaga’s smash hit POKERFACE. Brilliant:

Is Keanu Reeves Immortal?

The guy never seems to age. He also feels wiser, more at peace than other people.

Now we might finally know why:

BRILLIANT!

The Wild Things Are On Video!

With a big screen adaptation of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE looming on this week’s theatrical release horizon, I thought it might be good to revisit the original story by Maurice Sendak.

The story, just a few sentences long, conveys so much wonder and tension. The illustrations are, in a word, art. I hope director Spike Jonze can recreate the atmosphere of this magical little book.

Here it is in video form, narrated wonderfully by John Kelin.

Demand The PARANORMAL

The most promising low-budget horror film since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is a film called PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Made for $11,000 over the course of one week, the film purports to show “evidence” of a young couple under attack by a malevolent spirit.

In order to carefully distribute the film, the studio is releasing it per request. In other words, go to their website and demand that the film play in your hometown.

Here is the brand new trailer for the film:

Jackass

This is what Barack Obama, President of the United States of America thinks of Kanye West.

Spritz Your Smelly Ass

Ya know, I’ve been around enough to see some crazy fads. I’ve seen the Pet Rock, the Flobee, and Ronco GLS hair spray. The common denominator to all of these products is a crazy idea to sell crazy ideas to the public …. and make a lot of money off of them.

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The Top Ten Most Achingly Beautiful People In Motion Picture History

You want to know why there aren’t too many ugly people working in front of the cameras in Hollywood? Because we are forced to see ugly and disgusting people very single day when we go to Wal Mart, stop at a fast food restaurant, or pass in front of a mirror. When we go to the movies, we want to see and identify ourselves with beautiful people and exciting adventures; it ruins the fun if the hero has a bald spot bigger than yours.

And while there are many attractive people in Hollywood, some are too incredibly beautiful to believe. It’s as if God crafted them from a separate pile of dirt than the rest of us … the bastards.

So here is my list of the top ten most beautiful women and men of Hollywood:

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Michael Jackson Admits The Truth

Since Michael Jackson died, people have been asking the million dollar question: “Did he molest those young boys who slept over at Neverland?” Back in 1993, Michael Jackson admitted molesting young boys on national television, so why are people still questioning it? Here is the proof:

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