Humor District

H. Jon Benjamin is not a household name, but it should be. If you enjoy watching hilarious cartoons with grown up jokes, then you have probably heard H Jon Benjamin’s voice. He has worked with big names in comedy such as Demetri Martin, Sam Seder, and David Cross, and has appeared in live action shows such as Rescue Me as well. His unique voice, perfect timing, and dry sense of humor make him one of the most entertaining television personalities alive today. That’s why it is not surprising he has been involved in so many shows, and here are some of his best.

Jason and Coach McGuirk in Home Movies

Home Movies was one of the best shows to ever be aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, and H. Jon Benjamin was the one who brought it together. He lent his voice talents to arguably the two funniest characters on the show, 7 year old booger eater Jason, and the heavy drinking Coach McGuirk. He varies his voice enough that I had to double check to make sure he was actually doing both of those characters. The amount of laughs both of these characters cause just confirmed they were the work of H. Jon Benjamin.

Sterling Archer in Archer

Archer is one of my “can’t miss” shows, and has proven to be a huge hit for F/X. H. Jon Benjamin plays the main character, Sterling Archer, a suave, heavy drinking super spy. The kicker is that Sterling Archer is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he somehow manages to get the job done in his own bumbling and hilarious way, cutting down all who stand in his way with witty one-liners. Archer really exemplifies H. Jon Benjamin’s dry sense of humor, and has some very intelligent jokes to boot.

Bob Belcher in Bob’s Burgers

H. Jon Benjamin also voices the lead character on Fox’s newest animated show, Bob’s Burgers. Like Archer, Bob’s Burgers plays off of H. Jon Benjamin’s dry sense of humor and perfect sense of comedic timing, but the content of the jokes is toned down a little bit. After all, Archer is a late night program. That doesn’t detract from Bob’s Burgers though, as H. Jon Benjamin proves he can make just about any show entertaining. It is a credit to his ability as a voice actor (along with the writers and others involved in the creation of Bob’s Burgers) that he can make a poorly drawn show about a fat, balding guy who runs a burger joint with his family into an absolute laugh riot.

F-Bomb in Rescue Me

In one of his rarer live action roles, H. Jon Benjamin played the pimp F-Bomb on the show Rescue Me. This wasn’t a huge role, but dammit, he was one of the most entertaining pimps I have ever seen. This role also proved that H. Jon Benjamin isn’t just a voice actor, but he can do live action acting just as well. The fact that he held his own in a live action role while acting opposite Denis Leary is a testament to H. Jon Benjamin’s acting skills.

Various Roles in Human Giant

H. Jon Benjamin is not just a hilarious actor, he is also a hilarious writer. He demonstrated this best with various sketches he did on MTV’s comedy show Human Giant. It also helped that he was working with other great funny men Aziz Ansari and Paul Scheer. These sketches are the perfect embodiment of H. Jon Benjamin’s offbeat sense of humor, and he got pretty creative with some of them. While Human Giant is no longer on the air, H. Jon Benjamin has continued to do comedy sketches with various groups, and for that we thank him.

There hasn’t been much news about Zack Snyder’s Superman movie, especially because he is busy promoting Sucker Punch at the moment. We have finally gotten word on what is perhaps the most important decision to be made about the latest Superman movie, who will be playing the iconic Man of Steel. Following in the footsteps of Brandon Routh and Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill of The Tudors fame will be the next man to wear the big “S” on his chest.

Henry Cavill certainly has the chiseled good looks to play Superman, and he has shown that he has pretty good acting chops on The Tudors. The problem here is that Superman is such an iconic feature, and Christopher Reeve did such a good job portraying him. It will take a stellar performance for the legions of fanboys to accept Cavill as the new Superman. I believe Brandon Routh proved in Superman Returns that it is actually more the movie itself than the actor that will make or break Henry Cavill as Superman. A lame story that has Superman acting like a child abandoning wuss will not make people grow to like that character, even if the actor playing Superman was pretty darn good. Luckily Zack Snyder has been known to create some fairly entertaining movies, and one thing he is never short on is action. We can expect a more exciting Superman movie with Snyder at the helm, which will definitely help Henry Cavill in winning over fans.

Gemma Arterton has joined Jeremy Renner on the cast of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters as a very attractive Gretel. I also like to think she has made a mortal enemy in Hollywood in Eva Green, as this is the second role in a short time that Arterton has beaten Green out for. It is only a matter of time before those two settle their differences in the most epic mud wrestling match ever. But that is neither here nor there, the important part is we now know who will be doing the witch hunting as Hansel and Gretel.

As of now, Gemma Arterton has really just been an above average looking lady who has had bit roles in movies where she pretty much just stands around and looks good. Hopefully Hansel and Gretel will show off more of her actual acting skills. At the very least, she should be getting some more screen time. I don’t think it will take too much quality acting from Arterton or Jeremy Renner to make this an entertaining movie though, as the premise itself is already awesome. Basically the story is Hansel and Gretel decide if they can kill a witch when they are kids, why not choose the easy career path of killing witches as adults? It’s an interesting idea, and I expect a quirky movie to result. The only problem here is that there is a limited window for filming as Jeremy Renner has other projects going on, including the all important Avengers movie. This movie will really be the “wait and see” kind, it sounds interesting but who knows how it will actually turn out.

Simon Pegg has cemented himself as one of the best funny men in Hollywood. He is not only hilarious as an actor, but has had success as a writer as well. It seems that Simon Pegg is at his best when he works with writer Edgar Wright and writer/actor Nick Frost. The next Simon Pegg movie, Paul, is actually written by Pegg and Nick Frost, so it already sounds like it will be hilarious. The plot of two nerds finding a smart ass alien voiced by Seth Rogen seems to confirm that assessment. When you watch this trailer, it is confirmed without a doubt.

Yes, Paul looks like it will be great. Now let’s take a look back at some other great moments in Simon Pegg’s career.

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead was Simon Pegg’s breakout role. It was an extremely well written movie that perfectly blended humor, zombies, and even some romance. The bromance between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is what brought Shaun of the Dead together. They were both great, and Nick Frost delivered some big laughs as the dimwitted friend. Simon Pegg proved to the world that he was a funny man for the first time and launched his now successful career of making us laugh.

Hot Fuzz

Nick Frost is very good at playing the dimwitted friend, and he ramped it up a notch from Shaun in the Dead in Hot Fuzz. That is to say Nick Frost’s character Danny Butterman is extremely dimwitted, and it leads to some great comedic moments. Simon Pegg is also great as the gruff no nonsense cop, and the two team up to make one of the best buddy cop movies that pokes fun at buddy cop movies of all time. While there are some definite satirical overtones in Hot Fuzz, it also has some pretty awesome action scenes and showed that Simon Pegg can go from the straight man to funny all on his own with ease.

Run, Fatboy, Run

Run, Fatboy, Run was the first big role Simon Pegg had that didn’t involve him working with Edgar Wright and Nick Frost. While it had already been proven that Simon Pegg fit in perfectly with that creative team, it was his role in Run, Fatboy, Run that showed he could be funny all on his own. It also showed that Simon Pegg could write a hilarious movie with somebody other than Edgar Wright, and this time it was with Michael Ian Black.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

How to Lose Friends & Alienate people was not Simon Pegg’s best movie, but it was an important one in his career. This movie came out when Megan Fox was at the peak of her popularity, but Simon Pegg’s performance was not overshadowed by her at all. This could be due to Megan Fox’s actual acting talent, but it proved that Simon Pegg was officially a star in his own right.

Star Trek

Simon Pegg didn’t have the biggest role in Star Trek, but he fit in seamlessly and brought new life to a fan favorite character. He had some great comedic moments as Scotty, and was very believable as an unorthodox genius. More importantly, he showed that he could be part of an amazing cast in what was the definition of a successful blockbuster movie. Only time will tell, but the smart money is on Simon Pegg starring in many more great movies in the future.

Leslie Nielsen is one of the funniest men Hollywood has ever seen and will definitely be missed. His death leaves us without one of the most entertaining actors of our generation. Nielsen’s deadpan style of humor has appeared in a ridiculous number of movies, many of which are classics that everybody should see at least once in their lifetime. While Leslie Nielsen is best known for his comedic routines, he actually started his career as a more dramatic actor. Let’s take some time to look back over Nielsen’s career.

Leslie Nielsen in Forbidden Planet

The beginning of Leslie Nielsen’s career involved a lot of work on television shows and doing narrations for documentaries. His first big role was in Forbidden Planet in 1956, a sci-fi thriller that landed Nielsen leading roles in a number of other serious movies. Some of the highlights from his early career in movies included The Vagabond King, Ransom!, and Hot Summer Night. Nielsen spent many years as a respected actor, but it wasn’t until 1980 that he became the comedic icon that he is today.

Leslie Nielsen in Airplane

Leslie Nielsen’s career took a drastic turn in 1980 with the release of Airplane. Airplane was not only a great comedy in general, it also perfectly displayed Nielsen’s amazing deadpan comedic abilities. His response to question “surely you can’t be serious?” has become one of the most well known lines in movie history. Even people who haven’t seen Airplane know the line “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” His success in Airplane landed Nielsen a role in the police movie parody The Naked Gun. Somehow Nielsen’s performance in The Naked Gun and the various sequels is still more entertaining than seeing OJ Simpson make an attempt at acting. After 1980, Leslie Nielsen cemented his place as one of the greatest comedic actors of all time.

Leslie Nielsen in Scary Movie 3

While Leslie Nielsen’s later movies didn’t have the same impact as Airplane or The Naked Gun, he still managed to make us laugh. Later in his career, he basically just did parody movies. While the quality of these movies weren’t always impressive, Nielsen still managed to make us laugh. One of his best later roles came in Scary Movie 3. It was so good that he was asked to come back for Scary Movie 4. One of his last roles was as a spoof of Spider-Man’s uncle Ben in Superhero Movie. While the parody movies themselves might not be missed, Leslie Nielsen most certainly will.

Let Me In looks like it just might be the best horror movie released in quite a long time. It has all the elements to make up something truly terrifying, including vampires that don’t sparkle and little kids being creepy. There is nothing more unsettling than creepy kids. This might even be the movie to bring a date to, she’ll want to cuddle when she’s scared. Or he’s scared, it could work for you too, ladies. Read on for some more great reasons to see Let Me In.

Chloe Moretz

Chloe Moretz made her Hollywood debut in Kick-Ass as the deadly Hit-Girl. She did a damn fine job of it, which is very impressive. It is hard to make a little girl believable as a ruthless and efficient killer, but Chloe Moretz pulled it off. At the same time, she still made it clear in some scenes that she was just a little girl. It was a terrific performance, and it showed that she could be a great kid character in movies that aren’t for kids. In Let Me In she will be draining blood for her victims and will no longer be a vigilante. She will still be awesome though.

Cloverfield

Matt Reeves is the director of Let Me In. He also happens to be the director of Cloverfield. Cloverfield managed to be an entertaining and scary movie despite the fact that the monster is rarely seen. What Matt Reeves showed with Cloverfield is he knows how to create truly scared characters without a whole lot of need for blood and gore. It relies on the pacing and the build up of suspense, just like Let Me In will. If he mixes in that blood and gore, Let Me In has a chance at being great.

John Lindqvist’s Novel

If you didn’t know, Let Me In is based off of a novel by John Lindqvist, also titled Let Me In. It is a great read, I would go so far as to recommend going out and getting the book before you go see the movie. It is also the type of book that translates well into a movie, as proven by the Swedish film Let the Right One In. Let the Right One In was a good movie, but now that Matt Reeves has seen that movie, he knows how to make John Lindqvist’s novel into an even better movie.

Kodi Smit-McPhee

Kodi Smit-McPhee, like Chloe Moretz, is a young actor who has proven himself to be quite capable. You might remember him from the movie The Road as the son of Viggo Mortensen. In The Road Smit McPhee had to deal with cannibals, intense cold, and generally being one of the last human beings alive. Dealing with the little vampire girl next door shouldn’t be any problem for him at all.

Elias Koteas

There is one reason why I am excited about Elias Koteas being in Let Me In. He is Casey Jones from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. It is just a perfect bit of nostalgia for my inner nerd. For those of you who didn’t have childhoods, Casey Jones was the guy who wore a hockey mask and used various sports equipment to hand out his painful style of vigilante justice. Koteas is playing a policeman in Let Me In, but he will be having a much harder time handing out any justice to vampire children. Where are the turtles when you need them?

Deadpool has become a very popular character amongst comic fans. When it was announced that Ryan Reynolds would be playing him in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, fanboys everywhere lauded the genius casting decision. Reynolds has the six-pack abs and quick wit to perfectly match the merc with the mouth. Then everybody became depressed when the Wolverine version of Deadpool was lamer than your dad’s jokes. Marvel heard the outcry of the fans and announced that a Deadpool movie would be put into the works, hopefully redeeming the character from the previous monstrosity. Ryan Reynolds has been leading the charge for a Deadpool movie, and it has been widely accepted that he would return to lead Deadpool to redemption. Now it seems that he is setting everyone up for heartbreak.

Ryan Reynolds recently announced that he will have to choose between the leading role in Deadpool or the leading role in R.I.P.D. On the plus side for comic fans, whichever he chooses he will still be doing a comic book movie. R.I.P.D. is about undead police officers working together to find a murderer, so that still sounds pretty awesome if he decides to go that way. The biggest problem here is it seems that Ryan Reynolds has been the driving force behind moving a Deadpool movie forward, who knows what will happen if he backs off the project. Even if it does get made without him, many people will probably wonder what could have been if Reynolds chose Deadpool. He hasn’t made any official announcements yet, but I know a lot of Deadpool fans are crossing their fingers that he chooses regenerating, psychopathic mercenary over zombie cop with a taste for brains and vengeance.

The Rock has come a long way from the days he spent grappling with other large sweaty men while wearing a speedo and elbow pads, so far that nobody even calls him The Rock anymore. Now that he is a respected actor he goes by Dwayne Johnson. Dwayne Johnson has tried his hand at action films such as Doom, Walking Tall, and The Rundown. Being a former professional wrestler, he was a pretty good action star. It is fairly believable that a man of his stature could beat the crap out of other men. Then something changed.

Dwayne Johnson, the man known for kicking the asses of others, made the transition from action star to the leading man in kid’s movies. Now we see him in movies like The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain, and Tooth Fairy. For testosterone laden men like myself, this is a bit of a disappointment. Still, he has made quite a name for himself in Hollywood and looks as if he will continue his trend of starring in kid’s movies. His next project is the Journey to the Center of the Earth sequel, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. One thing that can be said for certain is that Dwayne Johnson will be better for action scenes than Brendan Fraser. I expect Journey 2 will do well, but personally I am looking forward to Protection more. Protection features Dwayne Johnson as an American Special Forces operative who goes up against a Mexican Cartel. That is the Dwayne Johnson I want to see!

Once you become a celebrity, people start paying very close attention to the things you do. People will write articles about your daily bowel movements if you are famous enough, and every rumor about your life will be turned into an exaggerated tabloid article that will be read by millions of people waiting to checkout in the grocery store. You can imagine the uproar caused when something actually interesting happens with a celebrity, such as a sex tape being released. I mean we all know celebrities probably get more action than anybody, internet writers excluded, but it is big news when there is video evidence of it. Maybe that is why some sex tapes are released. Not to be cynical, but a good sex tape brings up a celebrity’s name in the media and shows off their prowess leading to more sex tape opportunities. You devious celebrities!

Pamela Anderson is on a Boat

One of the first celebrity sex tapes to surface was one featuring actress Pamela Anderson and her ex-husband, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee. The controversy this caused resulted in Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee being talked about frequently in the media, and got Tommy Lee’s man parts complimented. The benefits of having a sex tape were shown worldwide! Have you fallen out of the limelight? Do you have a new television show or movie coming out? All you have to do is be like Pam and Tommy and make a sex tape.

One Night in a Simple Life Promo

Speaking of using a sex tape to market a new show, it is interesting that Paris Hilton’s sex tape was leaked right before the premier of The Simple Life, a show about Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie being stuck up brats as they went to live with decent hard working Americans. Yeah, there were multiple seasons of The Simple Life, mostly because everybody had seen Paris Hilton naked and in night vision. It sure as hell couldn’t have been because people enjoyed that show, other wise I’ll just lose faith in humanity. Paris Hilton is still riding the waves caused by that sex tape to success today, her latest show featuring people competing to be her friend. Classy.

Screech? Is That You?

Saved by the Bell brought me many great memories during my childhood. A lot of those memories featured the goofy antics of the character Screech, played by Dustin Diamond. Those memories were all ruined when Dustin Diamond decided he wanted to get in on the whole celebrity sex tape thing. He thought having a sex tape featuring a threesome would make him big talk, but he made the mistake of admitting he wanted to release the sex tape just to get famous again. That sounded pretty pathetic, and people started ignoring his sex tape almost right away. He now serves as a lesson to other celebrities in how not to release a sex tape.

Lady Wrestlers Should Not Have Sex Tapes

I remember when wrestling was really popular. Men in tight underwear and elbow pads would pretend to beat the crap out of each other, and women who looked like men would pretend to beat the crap out of each other. Alright, that is a generalization, but it cannot be denied that female wrestler Chyna had more testosterone than an NFL middle linebacker. This did not make for a very appealing sex tape, two overly muscled people awkwardly grinding against each other is not what most people find entertaining. It did bring the sport of sweaty men in underwear and elbow pads groping each other back into the media spotlight though! Of course many people find that far more entertaining than Chyna’s sex tape.

Holy Crap, That is Mini-Me!

Te Austin Powers movies were hilarious, and a big part of that hilarity can be attributed to Verne Troyer, the actor who played Mini-Me. There is something inherently hilarious about little people, especially if you are a college age male, a fact that TLC has capitalized upon with their various shows about midgets. Unfortunately for Verne Troyer, people just knew him as Mini-Me and he soon began to fade into obscurity. His sex tape was then released, proving that a celebrity sex tape can be awkward, disgusting, and intriguing all at the same time and earned Troyer a spot on the reality series The Surreal Life. That little guy is moving up in the world, although the myths about Mini-Me being a tripod were dispelled.

Ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange shirtless

The cast of The Expendables rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Terry Crews does it a little differently. Sylvester Stallone amused, Jason Statham wishes he was as cool, and Dolph Lundgren’s all like “where my poker bitches at?”.

White Chicks

Terry Crews MADE White Chicks!

 

Wife & Kids Cameo

Terry absolutely killed it Damon Wayan’s Wife & Kids.

 

Terry Crews Old Spice Commercials – All of Them

Class!

 

Friday After Next

Group Hug!!