Humor District

Halloween is a great time of year. Girls dress up in revealing outfits, we eat lots of candy without feeling bad about it, articles use terrible Halloween puns, and tv shows put out awesome Halloween specials. I personally find the Halloween episodes of many shows to be some of the best episodes. There is something inherently entertaining about seeing our favorite fictional characters dress up as other fictional characters. Some shows know how to create a better Halloween special than others, perfectly encapsulating the essence of the holiday. These episodes have scares, costumes, and are just an all around good time. Here are some of the best Halloween specials to ever be shown on television.

The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror V

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror has become a staple in Halloween programming. Every year The Simpsons parodies famous scary movies and books with the residents of Springfield, and these episodes are consistently hilarious. Perhaps the best Treehouse of Horror installment was the fifth, which featured parodies of Ray Bradbury’s story A Sound of Thunder and Stephen King’s The Shining. Homer’s line of “No tv and no beer mak Homer go crazy” captured his insanity in a way Jack Nicholson wishes he could have. Well maybe that is a bit of an overstatement, but it is very rare that watching a man try to murder his family is as entertaining as this.

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown is one of the best Halloween specials ever made. While it wasn’t part of an ongoing series, it has become an annual television tradition to show this episode on Halloween. Charles Schulz had great success with his Charlie Brown comic strip, Peanuts, and it made the transition to television beautifully. The show had all the innocence of the comic strip, along with the bittersweet feelings of childhood. Watching Linus wait for the Great Pumpkin to appear is one of the sweetest things to ever be shown on tv. If that’s a little too sappy for you, you also get to see people call Charlie Brown a blockhead and give him rocks instead of candy. I still think he should have thrown those rocks at some windows.

South Park – Spookyfish

South Park has had some great Halloween episodes. My personal favorite was the episode entitled Spookyfish. Stan gets a pet fish who somehow manages to go on a killing spree. Perhaps more terrifying than that is Stan’s mom’s reaction, who buries all the bodies she believes her little boy has killed. The highlight of this episode though is Cartman’s evil twin, complete with a goatee. Of course Cartman’s evil twin is one heck of a nice guy, which leads to some great misunderstandings.

Scooby-Doo – Headless Horseman of Halloween

Scooby-Doo was essentially an entire series of Halloween specials, but one actual Halloween episode stands head and shoulders above the others. The episode Headless Horseman of Halloween was great for several reasons. First off, the mystery part of the show was pretty good. Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and the rest of the gang go to a regular 70′s Halloween party, where Fred is definitely planning on putting a move on Daphne. Unfortunately he is interrupted when the Headless Horseman crashes the party. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy get scared, and most likely high, eat some Scooby Snacks. What separates this episode from the standard ones was the inclusion of Scooby-Dum, who is apparently Scooby-Doo’s mentally handicapped cousin. That’s great television.

The League – Ghost Monkey

The League is surprisingly hilarious for a show about friends who play fantasy football. The second season Halloween special is one of the funniest Halloween specials ever made. First, Taco steals a monkey, who subsequently gets accidentally thrown for a moving car. Strange things begin to happen and Taco suspects the vengeful spirit of the monkey. Ruxin goes absolutely insane when Pete gives him access to his fantasy football line-up, and Jenny tries to be sexy in the “fat old frog” costume her six year old daughter makes her wear. Oh yeah, Pete also starts to date a girl in a witch costume, who turns out to be an actual Wiccan. The episode culminates in a seance for the ghost monkey. As you have probably guessed by now, hilarity ensues.

Personally, I think the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been sliding since The Curse of the Black Pearl. One of the few things I found really enjoyable about the third installment was the casting choice of Keith Richards as Johnny Depp/Captain Jack Sparrow’s father. It takes a certain kind of man to spawn such an eccentric character as Captain Jack Sparrow, and Keith Richards is exactly that kind of man. For those of you who are unaware, Keith Richards is a legendary guitarist for The Rolling Stones. He is also quite legendary for his drug use, ranging from marijuana to heroin. This drug use probably got him the role as Captain Jack Sparrow’s father. He certainly looks like a dirty ass pirate who has never seen a decent meal in his life. The probable brain damage his drug use has caused also helps when portraying the father of a character as crazy as Sparrow. All in all, he was the perfect choice.

Now there are rumors that Disney is doing an about face and giving old Keith Richards the boot. It seems that the execs don’t want a known drug user to be involved with two of their family oriented movies, one is their limit. If they let him into the next movie they would obviously be sending the wrong message. Drudge Report says that this has to do with the release of Keith Richards’ new book, in which he explains how to do drugs safely. Disney does not want a book about doing drugs to be in any way connected to their movie, so they consider doing the thing that will bring the most attention on themselves and Keith Richards by abruptly cutting ties with him.

What really makes this interesting is the recent backlash about the cutting of Mel Gibson from The Hangover 2. Apparently there was some sort of cast uprising against Mel Gibson having a cameo in the movie because Mel sometimes has issues, loud drunken issues, with people of Jewish faith, women, and African Americans. On the other hand, they were fine with Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist, having a cameo. People called them hypocrites and looked past the fact that Mike Tyson has a very funny voice. How will people respond to Disney giving Keith Richards the boot after he has already been in a previous installment for the franchise? Will they rise up in anger? Lounge around in apathy? Nothing has been announced for sure about whether Richards will stay on the cast or not, but I will be curious to see what Disney does after word of this spreads.

There are some movies that have been so iconic that later generations of filmmakers have to make their own versions of the same movie. Most of the time, this does not work out very well. It seems that the magic of the original is often lost when people try to remake classic films. Expectations for the remakes are so high because of the beloved status of the original movies that it is almost impossible for those expectations to be met. On rare occasions the remakes actually do meet these expectations and can be considered to be on the same level as the originals. It looks like the Coen Brothers’ remake of True Grit might actually be on this level. Check out the True Grit trailer below.

Yeah, it looks pretty damn good. Here are 5 other remakes that compared favorably to their predecessors.

3:10 To Yuma

Like True Grit, 3:10 to Yuma was a remake of a classic western film. The star studded cast of Christian Bale and Russell Crowe gave some great performances. Christian Bale was great as a former soldier who has lost his foot and the respect of his son. While he can’t get his foot back, he tries to earn the respect of his son by escorting a dangerous criminal, Russell Crowe, to the train that will take him to prison. Russell Crowe manages to be believable as a ruthless criminal who improbably has a very strict moral code. It all added up to a great western movie for a new generation.

The Fly

The original The Fly was made way back in 1958. It was an astounding movie for the time, but when 1986 rolled around it was decided that The Fly needed a remake. Director David Cronenberg cast Jeff Goldblum as his eccentric scientist who tries to use transportation technology to woo Geena Davis. As usual, trying to impress a girl leads to disaster and ruin when a fly gets into Goldblum’s teleportation device, turning Jeff Goldblum into a man/fly hybrid that is unfortunately more fly than man. Since this was not a romantic comedy, the transformation led to horrifying events rather than quirky misunderstandings and audiences loved it.

Friday the 13th

Jason Vorhees is one of the most terrifying characters in modern cinema. There were numerous Jason movies made in the 80′s but they went down in quality and he eventually fell off the map. Around 2009, moviemakers decided that kids at camp were not filled with enough terror, so Friday the 13th was reborn. Jason came back with a vengeance, making up for all his lost time in killing sexy teenagers. The remake captured the walking specter of death that was Jason Vorhees perfectly and gave young campers a new reason to be homesick. At least there aren’t homicidal maniacs back there.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of the most iconic horror movies of all time. It has spawned many sequels, including a terrible one called Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation starring Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zelwegger. The 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre starring Jessica Biel was incredible. First of all, she looked damn good in it. That had to be said. The carnage that Leatherface inflicted was gory, disturbing, and awesome. Adding in fake police footage for the “based on true events” side of the movie was a great touch as well.

The Thing

The Thing is a remake of the classic movie, The Thing from Another World. The Thing is a far superior movie to The Thing from Another World, not least of all for shortening that bulky title. The suspense in The Thing was a work of masterfully created art. The audience was kept in suspense about the identity of the shape changing killer and every character was a suspect for most of the movie. The final reveal was shocking and horrifying as the true killer was revealed and the final battle for survival began. The Thing is not only one of the best remakes of all time, but one of the scariest movies as well.

When most people think of comic book or anime conventions, they think of hairy overweight men who are socially awkward and enjoy wearing costumes that make the people around them uncomfortable. While this is true of most conventions, they are also a place for people with similar interest to gather and discuss said interests like normal human beings who happen to be dressed like Klingons. There are also booth babes. So it comes as no surprise that indie film company Monkey Kingdom Productions has been working on a mockumentary following the convention scene. This movie, Con Artists, will give a new look at the world of conventions from the perspective of Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal, two well known anime voice actors best known for their work on Naruto. You will be able to see conventions from their viewpoint and count how many awkward male fans can build up the courage to actually say something to Tara Platt.

Con Artists also features appearances from some other big names on the convention circuit, such as Wil Wheaton, Vic Mignogna, and Aaron Douglas. Wil Wheaton, as you of course remember, was none other than Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. That alone should tell you that Con Artists is going to be kind of a big deal. If you enjoy indie films, documentaries, or nerd stuff, then you will definitely want to check out Con Artists. You can learn more about the progress of the film at the Con Artists Twitter page and at the Monkey Kingdom Productions website.

Jackass 3D is coming out soon, and the trailer promises that the stunts will be more dangerous and outrageous than ever. It is kind of hard to imagine where the Jackass guys are going with their stunts, as they weren’t exactly tame before. If the preview of Steve-O getting launched into the air inside a port-a-potty is any indication, they are going to push the limits on all of their stunts as far as they possibly can. Luckily for us, we will get to watch their craziness in 3D. In honor of the new Jackass 3D movie, here are 5 of the most outrageous moments in Jackass history.

Steve-O Makes Great Shark Bait

This stunt went from crazy to flat out insane. It started with Steve-O attempting to jam a large fishing hook through his cheek. When he was unable to do it himself, Chris Pontius had to lend a helping hand in skewering his friend. Once the fishing hook was secure in Steve-O’s flesh, he jumped into the ocean. This spot of ocean is right where they had dumped chum to attract sharks. As you can see, Steve-O was the bait in this situation. The most intense moment was when Steve-O actually kicked a shark in the face, accidentally of course. He got back to the boat quickly after that close encounter.

Johnny Knoxville Flies to the Moon

If you ever try to ride on a homemade rocket, you have officially earned the title jackass. This is exactly what Johnny Knoxville did. The first clue that this might not be the best idea was when part of the rocket exploded by Knoxville’s side. Yes, that qualifies as a near death experience. Never one to be backed down by safety concerns, Johnny Knoxville proceeded to light the rocket up again, straddling it as it flew gloriously into the wild blue yonder. To his credit, he at least set it up so the rocket had a somewhat less deadly water landing.

Riot Control Takes Down Bam Margera

Embassies and other important buildings need to be well protected. That is why they are equipped with anti-riot devices that shoot out ball bearings at high velocity. These injure people to the point where they no longer pose a threat. Apparently that description made Bam Margera, Johnny Knoxville, and Ryan Dunn decide that it would be hilarious to be shot by such a device. Bam and Dunn donned protective masks, while Johnny Knoxville decided his hand would provide adequate protection. You know a stunt is crazy when it leaves Bam Margera crying like a little girl.

Penis Vs. Python

A man’s penis is one of if not the most prized possession he has. Dressing it like a mouse is one thing, but then sticking said penis mouse into a snake’s enclosure is a whole different level of insane. Chris Pontius did exactly this, and was somewhat amused when the snake lunged for the penis mouse. Things took a turn for the horrifyingly hilarious when the snake got a firm purchase on its prey. The penis mouse tried to escape from the snake’s habitat, but that tenacious little reptile would not let go. The ensuing expressions were priceless.

Bam’s Dick Farm

Bam Margera has quite a few tattoos, so it is not surprising that he would be cavalier about permanently marking his body. A brand is just an interesting choice for creating that permanent mark. What is even more interesting is that the brand was shaped like a dick, and Bam decided that the best place for a dick shaped brand was on his butt cheek. Unfortunately, Bam’s flinching and Ryan Dunn’s unsteady hand created a multitude of half formed dicks across Bam’s ass. It was a veritable dick farm. The worst part was Bam showing the clearly infected dick farm to his parents. Needless to say, his mother was not pleased.

Banksy is a world famous artist who is best known for his controversial graffiti work. Pretty much all of his work sends a strong message, mostly one that speaks out against the corporate machine. Speaking of the corporate machine, The Simpsons have often poked fun at the Fox corporation, despite the fact that Fox broadcasts The Simpsons. Fox puts up with this mostly good natured ribbing, but it just got a lot more intense.

The thing is, Banksy usually sends a darker message than The Simpsons. It is no surprise that having Banksy create the opening sequence for the episode MoneyBART resulted in a somewhat controversial product. The tone of the famous couch gag wasn’t as lighthearted as most of us are used to, devolving into images of a sweatshop producing Simpsons DVDs and merchandise. Some think that this isn’t the proper message for a show run by a large corporation like Fox to be sending, especially not when kids often view the program. Others say to chill out because it is just a cartoon. Watch Banksy’s controversial Simpson’s opening and decide where you stand on this hot issue.

We all know the Old Spice commercials that propelled Isaiah Mustafa into the spotlight are awesome. We have seen all of these commercials many times, enough times so that we have his entire speech memorized. It seems that we weren’t the only ones watching as he turned the two paper entries to that thing you like into an allotrope of carbon and rode astride an equine beast. Sesame Street was also taken by this commercial and decided to make their own version, starring the blue furry monster known as Grover. Apparently this Grover version is supposed to teach small children the definition of the word “on” or something. I maintain that Isaiah Mustafa’s lesson in being a man is more valuable to the youth. Watch the video and decide for yourself.

Iron Sky is an independent film project by Blind Spot Pictures and Energia Productions, with support from 27 Films and New Holland Pictures. You could also support the creation of Iron Sky with donations, purchases, and volunteer work. Iron Sky is the kind of movie you would want to support, as the description is awesome with a little sprinkle of amazing. The premise of the movie is that some Nazis launched themselves to the dark side of the moon in 1945 and have been living there ever since. In the year 2018 the Nazis return to earth, more evil than ever! Who wouldn’t want to help this science fiction comedy reach DVD players everywhere?

It isn’t quite clear where the comedy is going to fit into the movie from the trailer, but there are plenty of ways to fit it in considering this is a movie about Nazis from the moon. I assume they are going to be in for a bit of a shock when they see the values of a 2018 world. What is really surprising is the quality of the trailer. The special effects seem to be up there as far as production values go. Really, the combination for a good movie is there. If you want to help support an indie movie that actually looks promising, you can buy “war bonds” to support Iron Sky here, or donate your time to the actual production of the movie here. Spread the word and make Iron Sky a reality.

The next installment in the Batman franchise has been creating a lot of buzz. This is mostly because nobody has any idea where Christopher Nolan is going to take it. The only things that can be said about the movie with any certainty are that Christian Bale will be Batman, Christopher Nolan will be directing, and at least some of the filming will be done in New Orleans. Other than that, it is pretty much just speculation at this point. The really big question at this point is what villain Batman will be facing off against. One thing is for sure, the next villain will have some big shoes to fill after Heath Ledger’s portrayal of  Joker.

Killer Croc

According to the creator of Kick-Ass, Mark Millar, Killer Croc is going to be Batman’s nemesis in the next movie. Mark Millar hinted on his Twitter account that he had insider information on who the villain was going to be, and that the filming location of New Orleans was very relevant. Killer Croc is a man with tremendous strength, great lung capacity, and less than impressive intellect. He also resembles a crocodile. What villain would fit better in a New Orleans location?

Riddler

Most of the villain rumors floating around the internet involve the Riddler in some capacity, and whether it will be Johnny Depp, Dane Cook, or Eddie Murphy who will be portraying him. The thing is, the Riddler makes sense as a Batman villain. He is capable of setting up an elaborate crime spree/puzzle that will keep Batman on his toes and the audience on the edge of their seats. Christopher Nolan is also the type of director who can analyze the Riddler’s motivation, and whether he leaves riddles because of the thrill of the game or because he wants to get caught.

Catwoman

With the death of Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, both Batman and Bruce Wayne are pretty much devoid of female company. Sure, Bruce Wayne has the whole billionaire playboy schtick that involves numerous lady types, but they don’t really count as romantic interests. Catwoman could fill this role quite nicely, leading Batman on chases throughout the city while he struggles to discover his true feelings about her. Her alter ego, Selina Kyle, could also enter Bruce Wayne’s life around the same time. The plot thickens!

Penguin

Christopher Nolan has gone on record as saying Penguin is a bit too campy of a character for his taste. At the same time, he could easily transform the Penguin from a waddling joke to a criminal mastermind that has to be taken seriously. One actor whose name is thrown around frequently for this role is Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Give him a beak-like nose and a big budget and he could give Batman some real troubles. I don’t think Nolan would keep the umbrella machine guns, though.

Scarecrow

The Scarecrow might appear in the third installment in the Batman franchise simply because he has been in the previous two movies. It is highly doubtful that Scarecrow will be the main foe Batman faces off against, as he and his fear toxin were already featured prominently in Batman Begins, but he might make an appearance. It could be one of those little details that helps to bring a series of movies together.

That’s right, I said it. A fan made Star Wars video is better than all three prequels, even the one with Darth Maul. Everybody knows that the original Star Wars trilogy was a work of art that made the term Space Opera relatable, while the last three were more of “I’ll watch them if I have nothing better to do” quality. Jeremy Messersmith decided that the best way to pay homage to the older movies was to make a short video featuring key scenes from the original trilogy. What makes his video so great is how he perfectly catches the nostalgic value of the series with his paper animations. Perhaps the best part of this video is seeing an adorable paper Chewbacca choke Lando Calrissian while a dismantled C-3PO looks on in shock. All of the paper facial expressions are priceless. The music is what really brings the video together. The original song, Tatooine, is also performed by Jeremy Messersmith. It is calm, relaxing, and reminds us of better times, before we knew who Jar Jar Binks was. Enjoy the video below.