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.

Orange You Sorry I Showed You This?

Last year some dude named Dane Boedi created a little film called The Annoying Orange. It was made using the old trick of superimposing human mouths and eyes onto fruit – fairly simple, and very annoying.

Now the orange has its own YouTube channel, and in just a few weeks has over 50,000 subscribers, and is rated the number 2 most popular channel on the site this month. Amazing.

Here is the first video that caused the sensation:

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.

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!

Celebrity Freakshow Fucks Pop Culture

Whenever you type in the words “Michael Jackson Tombstone Revealed” into Google, a curious article appears on a site called Celebrity Freakshow. And with it, a horrible picture like this:

There are other assorted nasties on there, including this very nearly accurate portrayal of Ryan O’Neal pimping a new reality show with the corpse of Farrah Fawcett:

The site is a spoof on celebrity culture – as if that needs much enhancement. If you like The Onion, I’m sure this site is for you … hopefully you also get the psychiatric help you need.

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.

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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Growbama Or Negrow?

The Chia Pet company, which hasn’t been relevant in thirty years, has unveiled their masterpiece. It is a bust of Barack Obama, upon which you can grow the company’s signature plant.

I absolutely love it. Now that Barack’s in the House, can we grow some weed on top of that thing??

Non Christian Family Guy

The whole Christian Bale episode has been pretty played out, although some of the remix stuff is funny in a Star Wars Kid kind of way. Now the scattergory geniuses over at The Family Guy have fashioned their own fun out of Bale’s unfortunate public moment … and it’s hilarious.

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The Latest Toy

We’ve all purchased an electronic device that defies us until we want to go on a supermarket shooting spree. Why all the hidden menus, extraneous buttons, and indecipherable directions?

The boys at The Onion feel the same way … and so they did a piece on Sony’s latest piece of shit:

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Bale Wind

By now we have all heard about Christian Bale’s profane rant recorded on-set while filming Terminator: Salvation.

Now someone named RevoLucian has done an amazing remix of his rant. Hilarious!

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Her Morning Elegance

No Words

Jeff Wells posted this beautiful short film called A Thousand Words on Hollywood Elsewhere today, and I wanted to share it as well. This dialogue-free five minute movie by Ted Chung contains more real human emotion than most Hollywood blockbusters do in a year. It also has a gorgeous, haunting piano score.

A Thousand Words from Ted Chung on Vimeo.

Forrest Button

Chris and I had radically different takes on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He felt that the movie was an expertly-told love story with tremendous special effects; I thought the film was basically Forrest Gump without the humor, warmth, and whimsy.

It looks like the guys over at Funny Or Die agree with me. This video shows the painfully obvious similarities between the two movies. Of course, Eric Roth wrote both screenplays … is it wrong to plagiarize your own work????

Take A Bow

No words for this. Just watch it in amazement.

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