The 5 Funniest Scenes In Movie History

according to me anyway



the stateroom scene from A Night At The Opera



the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail



Jonathan Winters destroying the gas station from It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World



Lorenzo St.Dubois auditioning from The Producers



the eating machine from Modern Times


Honorable Mentions: smashing the printer from Office Space, the courtroom scene from Bananas, W.C. Fields sleeping on the porch from It's A Gift, jive talk from Airplane, the final scene from Some Like It Hot

Terminator 2: Judgement Day July 3 1991 - July 3 2011

Terminator 2 was released 20 years ago today and aside from 1 pretty good tv series and 2 mediocre movie sequels the world has yet to be destroyed by nuclear armageddon. For my money T2 is perhaps the best American sci-fi action movie ever made. Robocop, Aliens and the first Matrix are all cool but I think T2 has them all beat. I think it's because the movie is the bridge between older hands-on action films and today's CGI animated fare. James Cameron mixed the different elements together in a way that one complimented the other instead of overshadowing it.

I have something of a history with Terminator 2. Strangely enough I didn't see it during it's theatrical run maybe because my girlfriend at the time didn't care for those type of movies. Instead we went to see stuff like Ghost and people making out with pottery wheels. When I broke up with said girlfriend I moved to a new town and got a job at the local supermarket. One night I was looking around the video rental section of the store and saw a used VHS tape of Terminator 2 marked down to 5 bucks. I bought it, took it home and was hooked. Being that I was new in town, didn't know anyone and had no money I would often just sit at home after work and watch T2 again and again and again. Sure, it was kinda pathetic but at least I didn't buy a Pauly Shore movie that night. Since then every time a new home video format comes out Terminator 2 is one of the first titles I buy. Laserdisc? check. Blu-ray? check. DVD? double check (I have both the Ultimate and Extreme versions). Many props to James Cameron. You can keep making movies about sinking ships or blue aliens but Terminator 2 will always be your crowning glory to me.

My personal history with Saturday Night Live

Earlier this week I was flipping channels at 2:00 am and found an old John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd movie. Nope, I'm not talking about The Blues Brothers or even 1941. It was Belushi's final film Neighbors. Man, what a strange little movie but I think that's what everybody says about it. Belushi is playing a nebbishy character about 15 years older than he was, Aykroyd has dyed blonde hair with blue contact lenses and that's just the beginning of the weirdness. Maybe that's why the studio hasn't released it on DVD.

Getting back to his age John Belushi was only 33 when he died. Saturday Night Live the show that made him famous is now 36 years old. It kinda makes you wonder how many more of its cast members it's going to outlive. It's also surpassed Chris Farley and is closing in on Gilda Radner. If you're older than SNL then you might officially be declared old myself included. I think I'll step into my wayback machine and relate my own history with Saturday Night Live.

I had just turned six when NBC's Saturday Night (it wouldn't be called Saturday Night Live until 1977) debuted in October 1975. I remember people talking about the show but back then I wasn't allowed to watch it. This was the 1970's and my family had just the one TV in the living room and it was lights out by 10:00 pm. It was also the kind of show my parents hated full of un-American radicals and pinko subversives. They preferred good, clean family entertainment like The Lawrence Welk Show. In the meantime I would have to settle for reading a People magazine article about Chevy Chase or seeing Gilda Radner on The Merv Griffin Show.

When 1980 rolled around I was finally old enough to demand to stay up late and watch what I wanted. My years of waiting were over and I was finally going to be able to see all of those classic characters like the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers and others I had just heard about. Of course by this time the entire original cast had left the show. Psyche! Instead of Belushi and Aykroyd I was now being treated to the comedy stylings of Charles Rocket and Tony Rosato. Crap... Still, I watched the show and it gradually got better. And then worse. And then better again. Saturday Night Live was definitely a strange beast in the 1980's. It went through three executive producers, was almost canceled twice and went through dozens of different cast members.

Still, it may have been the most interesting time in the show's history. Even in the bad years there were brilliant flashes like Eddie Murphy doing his Mr.Robinson sketches or Piscopo's Frank Sinatra impression. 80's SNL also featured a lot of up and coming performers like Penn & Teller, Sam Kinison, pre-Night Court Harry Anderson and future MST3K creator Joel Hodgson. It was a true variety show when you might see a comedy sketch, a musical number, some stand-up and even a magic act all in less than half an hour.

At the beginning of the 90's SNL was completely back on track and may have had the best cast in the show's history e.g. Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, etc. I remember the sketches of legend like Wayne's World and the Star Trek "Get a life" bit with William Shatner. There are also lesser-known sketches I still think about like one where a guy dies, goes to heaven and gets to ask an angel all of those nagging questions that could never be answered here on Earth like "Who had a crush on me in high school?", "Is Jim Morrison still alive?" and "Where did I lose that 100 bucks during graduation?" (The answer was that he didn't lose it, his uncle stole it.)

For 20 years during the 80's and 90's I was a hardcore SNL fan never missing an episode if I could help it. Then about 10 years ago I kinda stopped watching. I think it all began when the cast began to change in the mid 90's. Lorne Michaels tried to overload the cast when Carvey, Meyers and Hartman left but sheer numbers couldn't fill the void. I stuck around until Molly Shannon left but after that I became just an occasional viewer. I might watch until Weekend Update comes on but click off after that. Besides with the internet you really don't need to watch the entire 90 minutes like people used to. Just identify the sketches that are funny and skip all the rest. But yeah, 36 years is one helluva long time. If I live longer than SNL it'll be something to see and if I die before SNL goes off the air I won't be surprised.

My 30 Favorite Films

I recently bought a Blu-ray player just so I'd stop agonizing back and forth whether I really needed another home video format. In order to feel less like a stupid sucker I decided I would only buy movies on Blu-ray that I felt I would want to watch over and over again and not sell in a few weeks. That's when I drew up this list of my 30 favorite films of all-time to help rein in my Blu-ray shopping. I'm not saying these are the pinnacle of motion picture achievement only what I personally like and enjoy. This post is mainly for my own benefit as I want to see how much the list will change over time.

1. Seven Samurai
2. Blade Runner
3. Star Wars IV - VI
4. Duck Soup
5. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
6. Dr. Strangelove
7. The General
8. Jaws
9. Taxi Driver
10. King Kong
11. Apocalypse Now
12. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
13. Battle Royale
14. A Clockwork Orange
15. Terminator 2
16. Planet of the Apes
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark
18. Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!
19. Superman
20. Airplane!
21. Goodfellas
22. The Matrix
23. Modern Times
24. Yellow Submarine
25. The Wizard of Oz
26. Fight Club
27. The Producers
28. Drunken Master 2
29. Godzilla
30. Brazil

Honorable Mentions : The Maltese Falcon, Evil Dead 2, Animal House, North By Northwest, This Is Spinal Tap, Harakiri, Groundhog Day

Role With It

The casting process in television has always fascinated me. What would a show have been like if someone else had landed their big starmaking role? Can you imagine anyone else besides William Shatner playing Captain Kirk? Or how about William Shatner as Maxwell Smart? Actually, that might have been pretty cool. Still, with every TV show there's a long auditioning process where studios reject actors, actors turn down studios and sometimes parts are switched around or entirely new characters are created. Here's a dozen or so casting anecdotes I've heard over the years.

Lucille Ball wanted radio co-star Gale Gordon to play Fred Mertz but he was already committed to another series. He would later make three appearances as Ricky's boss.

The part of Rob Petrie on a pilot originally titled "Head Of The Family" came down to two relative unknowns, Dick Van Dyke and TV game show host Johnny Carson.

John Astin at first auditioned for Lurch on The Addams Family. He was offered the part of Gomez provided he could grow a moustache.

The role of Samantha on Bewitched was originally offered to English actress Tammy Grimes who turned it down. She went on to star in her own self-named show which lasted a month.

Two screentests for the 1960's Batman TV series were filmed one starring Adam West and the other Lyle Waggoner.

Fred Dryer, former NFL star, was considered for Sam Malone on Cheers. Julia Duffy auditioned for Diane Chambers. They both later made appearances on the show.

Blanche on The Golden Girls was a role intended for Betty White since it was modeled after her Sue Ann Nivens character. She and Rue McLanahan agreed to switch parts.

Lisa Kudrow was cast as Roz on Frasier only to be replaced after one week of filming.

On Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar originally landed the role of Cordelia while Charisma Carpenter and other actresses auditioned for Buffy.

Korean actress Yunjim Kim unsuccessfully tried out for Kate on Lost but impressed the producers enough that they created a part just for her.

Among the actors who were considered to play Michael Scott in The Office were Paul Giamatti, Martin Short, Hank Azaria and Bob Odenkirk. Rainn Wilson also auditioned for the part and was later cast as Dwight.

Music's no fun anymore but lists still are

This is supposed to be one of those 30 day, one question per day type of memes but since I don't have the patience for that I'm going to do them all tonight.

First album you bought - I think it was Snoopy vs The Red Baron. Hard to remember since we're going back over 30 years.

Last album you bought - Do 8-tracks count? If so Abba's Greatest Hits Vol.2 and Frampton Comes Alive. The last CD I bought was The Beatles "Revolver".

Favourite debut album - Love The Clash's first album.

First album you listened to all the way through - Cheap Trick Live At Budokan

Last album you listened to - that Abba 8-track

Favourite album of 60s - The Kinks Are The Village Green Appreciation Society

Favourite album artwork - "Weird Al" Yankovic's debut album

Most underrated album - The Muffs "Blonder and Blonder"

Worst album you own - Probably one of my 80's records either Quiet Riot or The Fat Boys.

Best album to dance to - I don't have much in the way of dance music. B-52's maybe?

Favourite album of 70s - Bob Dylan "Blood On The Tracks"

Album you like, but you never thought you would - The Minutemen "Double Nickels On The Dime"

Most overrated album - Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue"

Best album to cheer you up - Shonen Knife "Let's Knife"

Most disappointing follow-up album - Devo "Duty Now For The Future"

Favourite album of 80s - The Clash "London Calling"

Last album you listened to - Didn't you already ask this?

Best album to relax you - The Beach Boys "Sunflower"

Favourite second album - Elvis Costello "This Year's Model"

Most listened to album - probably that Ramones greatest hits cassette I had back in the 80's.

Favourite album of 90s - They Might Be Giants "Flood"

Last album you recommended to somebody - Unknown Hinson "Future Is Unknown"

Last album you downloaded - I downloaded some Mojo Nixon from Amazon because it was free.

Most pleasing follow-up album - "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D

Favourite album of 00s - The White Stripes "De Stijl"

Favourite third album - The Who Sell Out

Favourite fourth album - The Ramones "Rocket To Russia"

Last album you listened to - Seriously, stop asking this.

Favourite album of 10s (so far) - can't think of anything

Favourite album of all-time - Probably Village Green or Blood On The Tracks. Or London Calling. Or maybe The Beatles Revolver. I also forgot Johnny Cash's Live At Folsom Prison. Can I do this thing all over?

Best Unboxing Video Ever

People opening packages seems to be a common thing on YouTube but this video of Dana DeArmond opening a birthday present from her brother is comedy gold. And I thought getting a trash can for Christmas was hilarious.

The Forgotten Mouseketeers

The Mickey Mouse Club is a beloved Disney institution with most people remembering either the classic 50's show with Annette Funicello or the 90's incarnation with future pop superstars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Few people unless they watched it during its original run (like I did) seem to recall the 1970's version.



I think that's a shame since The New Mickey Mouse Club as it was called is pure 70's cheese at its finest. Just picture it, 12 new Mouseketeers decked out in pink and lime green polyester pantsuits doing vaudevillian comedy sketches and musical numbers set to a disco beat. They kept some of the traditions of the old show such as the mouse ears but added moog synthesizers, robot dancing and an ocean of color. There's not a trace of cynicism to be found. It's like Up With People only with 12 year olds.



The new Mouseketeers included Allison, Angel, Curtis, Julie, Kelly, Lisa (Blair from the Facts Of Life), Nita, "Pop" (he liked soft drinks), Scott, Shawnte, Todd and Mindy (the youngest and Corey Feldman's sister). Sadly the show never quite caught on and was cancelled in less than two years. While the 50's and 90's shows have had DVD releases the 70's version remains locked somewhere in the Disney vault possibly next to Song Of The South.

Unknown Hinson On Dental Hinson

I went through my tapes today and uploaded a clip from The Unknown Hinson Show. Gotta admire a guy who's that committed to a character. I would love to see an Unknown Hinson movie. I may start uploading more clips from my video collection or I may take another 3 months before a new post. We'll see.

Confessing My TV Sins

They say confession is good for the soul so I'm going to list some of my most blashphemous transgressions against almighty television.

- Even though it's listed as one of TV's top dramas, I've never seen an entire episode of The Wire. People say you have to watch at least a dozen hours to appreciate the rich storytelling but that makes it sound like a chore. What if I watch an entire season and still don't like it?

- I'm looking forward to a new series of VH1's Scream Queens.

- The only episode of Conan I TiVo'd last year was the one where he bashed his head on the studio floor. Sorry Conzie.

- I miss Pimp My Ride.

- Craig Ferguson's funny but I also think he panders a bit much to us Americans. Perhaps it's the way he wears an American flag as a kilt on the cover of his book.

- I've spent more time ogling pictures of Christina Hendricks than actually watching Mad Men.

- I once TiVo'd The Jay Leno Show. In my defense it was the episode where Garfunkel & Oates made a guest appearance. I recorded their part on a DVD-R and deleted the rest of the episode. Oh, and for people who say the whole NBC/Tonight Show debacle isn't Jay's fault, yes it is. Leno agreed to give up The Tonight Show five years ago. No one forced him to but he wanted to please his bosses at NBC. Changing your mind later and telling everyone you want your old job back is a punk move.

An Explanation

You know, I really didn't mean to abandon this blog but stuff happens. Going through old videotapes takes time, the holidays rolled around and now my DSL modem is on the fritz. It'll stay on for a while and then just shut off. I've had it barely one year. If I ever buy a Motorola product again please shoot me in the head. They make the crappiest electronics in existence. This DSL modem is made of cheap plastic, weighs about 3 grams, has no extra ports or even an on/off switch and yet they charge $50 for it. This is also the product Motorola sent me a hot rebate check for. Unless this modem suddenly explodes acid I don't see how I can become more unhappy with it than I am now.

Taxi

Taxi has always been one of my favorite shows. For me it holds up better than a lot of other 70's sitcoms that hung around way too long until they became pale imitations of their former selves. Taxi on the other hand lasted just five seasons all of them great. I even think their last season was better than their first which I can't say about many other shows in TV history.

The talent level both in front of and behind the camera was incredible. While you had comedy legends like Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman delivering the lines, there was a hall of fame writing staff typing them out. People who would go on to create more TV classics like James Brooks and Sam Simon (The Simpsons), Glen Gordon Caron (Moonlighting), Glen and Les Charles (Cheers) and then there was David Lloyd who wrote for just about everything (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, Cheers, Frasier, etc, etc). David Lloyd died earlier this month which made me take a look back at his work and the shows I grew up watching. Taxi may not have even been his best work but when you combine it with all the other writers it becomes a once in a generation television landmark.

Anyway, here's a couple of my favorite moments from Taxi. And if anybody would like to get me the Taxi complete series DVD set I'll be your best friend for life. Just kidding. Maybe.

Unknown Hinson

I went through my video collection last night and uploaded another clip from The Unknown Hinson Show. You probably know him best as the voice of Early Cuyler on Squidbillies but in the 1990's he was a public access TV star in Charlotte, North Carolina. A friend in NC sent me tapes of his show and I've been a fan ever since.



I've also decided that from now on I'll use this blog as an extension of my YouTube account where I also go by Yamtastic. My goal is to go through my musty heap of old videotapes and put whatever I find worth saving online. My collection dates back to the mid-80s when I got my first VCR but I can't keep them forever even if I wanted to as tapes degrade over time. Hopefully by doing this blog and uploading more videos I'll be free of a lot of old videotapes that I won't have to break my back carrying the next time I move.

This girl cracks me up

You've gotta admire someone who'd make a life-size Barbie doll box just for a YouTube video.

Elections

I guess I should have posted this last night but it's still funny so who cares. Black Adder is comedy gold especially the third and fourth series.

WW2 Cartoons

I'm a fan of Hollywood's Golden Age which includes movies of course but I also love the cartoons of the period especially World War 2 themed ones. Film studios were at the peak of their power in the 1940's and I think it shows through in the quality of their work. Here's a few of my favorites.



Walt Disney made a lot of cartoons supporting the war effort. "Der Fuehrer's Face" and "Education For Death" are famous examples but I also like "The Spirit Of '43" starring Donald Duck which subtly reminds Americans to pay their income tax.



"Draftee Daffy" may be my all-time favorite Warner Bros cartoon. Besides the manic off-the-charts energy, it also shows Daffy's transformation from lovable psychotic to the cravenly coward he'd become in later Bugs Bunny shorts.



What's funnier than Hitler as a duck? How about Mussolini as a goose? Yeah, ducks were the default animated characters in that era. Back then nobody had the idea yet to create an animated character out of a sponge or a wad of hamburger meat.

The Axis powers had their own propaganda cartoons too. They didn't exactly have that Hollywood polish but the message comes through. Actually, I'm not sure if the message came through either. Watch these and decide for yourself.



This first one was made by the Nazi-supporting Vichy government of France. Mickey Mouse, Popeye and other American cartoon stars bomb the hell out of French civilians.



And this cartoon from Japan is a complete mystery. Who are the rats and snakes supposed to represent? Chinese? Americans? Imperialists in general? Your guess is as good as mine.

Crush The Castle

I guess there are worse ways to kill 30 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. It's a fun game if you're into medieval weaponry or just like demolishing stuff.

My Favorite TV Musical Performances

Music on television is often a pretty disappointing affair. When I watch a talk show most of the time I change the channel by the time the musical act takes the stage at the end. Even when it's a band I like they're usually just lip-synching or going through the motions confined by the program's rules and regulations. However, there are some exceptions...


You'd think They Might Be Giants and the Tonight Show band led by Doc Severinsen would be an odd combination but together they did an amazing version of "Birdhouse In My Soul". Love the way the guy with the flattop is bobbing his head along to the music.


After playing "Less Than Zero" for about 10 seconds, Elvis broke into "Radio Radio" a song he'd been forbidden from playing on the air. Lorne Michaels later chased him off the studio and was banned from American television for 5 years.


I can relate a lot to this song. And hell who doesn't like Johnny Cash?


It's so legendary that it's almost a cliche'. Keith Moon fills his drum kit with extra flash powder. Pete Townshend temporarily loses his hearing in the resulting explosion. Bette Davis watching offstage faints into Mickey Rooney's arms.


The Whites Stripes studio version of "Let's Build A Home" is a bit tepid but live on Conan O'Brien they completely killed it. Maybe with a little luck they'll include it on a greatest hits album.

Things I Miss About TV part 2

Back in television's golden age every city had their own locally produced kiddie show, a cavalcade of cartoons, skits and whatever other hijinks the station could afford. And of course every kiddie show had to have their own host to keep the little rug rats in line. Dozens of these hosts often portraying some colorful character like a clown or a hobo kept kids entertained after school across the country.

For example, if you grew up in Baltimore you may have tuned in to Captain Chesapeake.



Or if you lived in L.A. you might remember Engineer Bill. (Love the trains)



But if you're from North Texas then the kiddie show host above all others was Icky Twerp.



Icky Twerp (real name Bill Camfield) was the host of Slam Bang Theater on KTVT channel 11 in Fort Worth, Texas. Wearing horn-rimmed glasses and an undersized cowboy hat he was the master of ceremonies over a show that included The Three Stooges, cartoons of all kinds as well as their own comedy sketches. His style was most definitely slapstick with someone taking a pie to the face in almost every show. As an ardent supporter of The Three Stooges he was even cast in their movie "The Outlaws Is Coming".

To be fair Twerp wasn't the only kids show host in the Dallas area. The CBS affiliate had Mr.Peppermint who always dressed in a red and white striped outfit. Mr.Peppermint was also really boring. If Icky Twerp was like Krusty The Clown with the zany antics then Mr.Peppermint was more like Grandpa Simpson telling tales about onions on belts before falling asleep in the middle of his own story.

Bill Camfield pulled double duty at channel 11 by also hosting the horror movie show Nightmare. That was the nature of local TV in those days. The whole kiddie show format died out in the 1980's and Bill Camfield himself died in 1991. Still, classic kiddie shows and their hosts hold fond memories for many people. Icky Twerp seems to be especially well remembered with a fansite and even his own movie!

Good Night Moon

When I heard that NASA had fired some kind of rocket probe at the moon I immediately thought of this.