Ten Memorable Celebrity Movie Cameos

I love cameo’s! I could be here all day talking about surprise appearances on TV, but I think instead I’ll focus on movies. It’s a real special treat when a celebrity you weren’t expecting appears in a movie. Sometimes they play themselves, and other times they are so buried under make-up you don’t even realize it’s them at first. Yeah sometimes they made no sense (why was Christian Slater in Star Trek VI?) but it’s always a memorable moment. Here now are ten of my favorite movie cameo’s.





Two rules,  the actor/character has to have at least one line (walk-on’s where the actor basically waves to the camera and then is gone aren’t as much fun) and only appear in a single scene to count. Oh and needless to say that these are in no particular order.





10.Big Bird in The Muppet Movie

Of course, I could do all Muppet movies for this list and still not get all the cameo’s they have had in these movies. This one barely counts as a drop in the bucket. But it was always one of my favorites. Kermit and Fozzie are driving along when they run into a big yellow bird. It makes me smile every time.

Top 10 Star Trek Movie Themes

One thing I haven’t really talked about much is the music we’ve gotten over the years in the Star Trek movies. Let’s be honest, there is some great music to be found in these films. And the TV series, but today I am focusing on the movies. So I thought it would be fun to go over the theme’s to all ten movies, and rank them from what I consider worst to best. And I am not including the re-boot movies simply because the music never did anything for me with either of them. Yes I did listen to them they are OK just not “Star Trek”. Besides this way it can be a “Top 10″.




#10.Star Trek Nemesis

This is considered one of the worst Trek theme’s, and I agree. No offense to Jerry Goldsmith but man is this boring. Maybe for a dark movie like The Terminator or something, but it just isn’t Star Trek and really sucks. It’s to dark and to damn dull.








#9.Star Trek V:The Final Frontier

Awesome, Jerry Goldsmith was back! Did he have to use the exact same theme as The Motion Picture? Seriously, The Next Generation was going strong also so hearing this in the theater wasn’t really exciting. It felt lazy, like they didn’t want to try something new. This movie was awful and it started with this recycled theme music. To be fair the standard theme does segue into some new music which is nice, .but….eh.

Five Things I Hated in “Back to the Future-Part II”

It seemed like the ball had barely dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve when all the articles about what BTTF Part 2 got right and got wrong came along. Then a few weeks ago came the 30th anniversary of the original film, leading to more tributes and analyses of this fantastic movie trilogy.



So while I would love to discuss those things, it’s already been done. Including a fantastic pod cast on this very site which I urge everyone to listen to if you haven’t. But since this is the anniversary of the original movie, and the future seen in the sequel was set in our current year of 2015 (October 21st to be specific), I had to do some kind of article. I mean, I only adore these films and have only seen them 244 times. I have watched all three back to back a few times, and love it! So the best thing I could think to do would be for me to do another “Things I Hated About” article. I already did it for the first and third movies, so today I will discuss the second. But to be honest these are nitpicky things more than actual things I “hated” in the movie, so I adjusted the title accordingly




You can read my article on the first movie HERE
And my (kinda old) article on the third movie is HERE

 

Back to the Future II was one of the best movies I have ever sat through. Not because it’s a great movie, but because it is just so much fun. It seems to never stop and has a blast as it’s going. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve seen it a million times. The future part is awesome, the dystopian 1985 is well done, and when we return to 1955 to literally revisit scenes from the original…I mean just fantastic! The original is the superior film, but this one has a very special place in my heart.

But no movie is perfect, and here are five things that do kind of leave me unable to avoid a little nitpicking.




#5.Deleted Scenes They Should Have Kept

Ok maybe this is a cheat, but whatever. Usually when I watch deleted scenes on DVD’s I get why the scene was deleted. Either the scene was stupid or they wanted to get on with the story. But the deleted scenes for this movie bug me. We get Old Marty interacting more with the family including a larger dinner scene and a great line where Marty Sr explains to Marty Jr that when he was a kid when they wanted to watch two programs at once he had to get two TV set’s, Marty running into his brother Dave in the alternate 1985 (setting up where his parents are), Old Biff vanishing after he has returned to the future (establishing the new time line forming), Old Biff talking to Old Terry who reminds him of that day in 1955 (which sets up why Biff would think of that date in 1955 and explains a small plot hole). Finally one do I get is Marty seeing his burned out high school, we were already told that so seeing it isn’t needed. That one makes sense. Maybe they will release a version of this movie with these scenes restored, I’d love that.

Five Great Trek Episodes That Should Have Sucked

It takes a very good writer not to mention fantastic actors to take an idea which is absurd or makes no sense, and turn it into one of the best loved episodes of a series. In fact some of the best episodes of Star Trek involve plots that would be, well, really silly or even stupid. Not to mention laughably impossible or make no sense. But through great writing and acting, fans are able to overlook the goofiness or blandness of an episode, and find what’s really good.


For instance, last April for fun I nitpicked “City on the Edge of Forever”. And yeah, it has it’s flaws and things you could roll your eyes at. But the script is so well written and the acting, especially Shatner and Joan Collins, is so captivating that you can’t help but be taken in. And it’s one of the finest hours of Star Trek ever produced. Here are five more episodes like that :






“The Naked Time (Star Trek-TOS)


I can prove how bad this idea really is with just three words. “The Naked Now”. Why is this episode considered a classic when the Next Generation episode is considered one of the worst of the entire series? I mean, when you think about it the idea is just primed for goofiness. A disease makes the crew act crazy and release their inhibitions? Ooooh, what groundbreaking sci fi! And a lot of it is like that, like Sulu and his sword playing or Riley and his annoying singing which are just silly moments. But the tide is turned after Spock is infected, and we see him try but fail to control his inner feelings. It was one of the first signs of what made the guy tick, and a fantastic piece of acting by Nimoy. Then Kirk is infected, as we get insight into his character and his love for the ship. Spock sees his friend suffering and that helps him to fight the disease and resume control. The episode works because we’ve gotten to know these characters, so the goofy stuff is funny and the serious stuff is very introspective. Unlike TNG which did this with their second episode, before we really knew anyone, and the whole thing just sucked.

Five Un-PC Things Night Court Could Never Do Today

 

A few weeks ago I talked about how Seinfeld seems so dated today. With the technology we have it effectively makes many of those episodes moot if they were made today. But Seinfeld isn’t alone. Night Court was a silly, slapstick show. But the funny thing is, especially in it’s early days, it did a lot stuff that wouldn’t be very PC today. Even toward the end of its run the show started to be safer, but in the first couple seasons even I can’t believe the stuff they somehow got away with. What do I mean? Glad you asked! 

Female’s as Objects

The show had a very odd sense of humor in its early days. One episode the plot was Christine getting mugged. Now most sitcoms would have that mugging happen off screen. Not this show, as we get to see it. True it’s exaggerated to be funny…but how is something like that ever funny? Though the episode ends well with her. There were also many times also when the men would be leering at a woman, openly expressing their desire for them. Yeah women were also strong but usually if they were they were also callous and mean. Strange.

Ten Comic Book Covers I Just LOVE!!

So I talked about covers I hated yesterday, what about covers I love? Wow is that a tough one. I could do five lists and not get them all. But it seemed only fair to come up with ten great covers after doing ten awful one's. The only rule is that it has to be a cover of a book I literally read at least in part because the cover did its job and got my attention. And they are covers I personally love, not just covers which are iconic ally famous. Though a few of those still made it some real obvious choices will be absent.




Superman:The Man of Steel #1

Honestly, I could do a whole list of just Superman books. I love so many of them. That makes sense, not only is he my favorite but is such an icon it is easy to create great covers with him. I picked this one for a very special reason. Not only was it a great cover, but for awhile I had the exact same image as a poster hanging in my room.

Ten Comic Book Covers I Just HATE!!

Fans of AT4w are probably well aware of the things Linkara has discussed regarding covers. A good comic book cover has to be interesting and good enough to get your attention while also giving you an idea of what the story is about. But as he has pointed out often in his show, many covers miss the mark.


Truth is I am no so fussy about covers. It has to be pretty bad for some reason for me to really hate it. But still, it got me thinking so today I wanted to go over some covers of comic books that I personally hate. I went thru a bunch of covers, and picked out the one’s I thought were awful. Just opinion of course, and some of these are not awful for obvious reasons like art work,  but here is what I came up with :

Batman #415
 
See this cover of Batman? There’s nothing wrong with it in terms of how it’s drawn. In fact it’s drawn very well by one of my favorites, Jim Aparo. What’s the problem? The scene doesn’t even remotely happen in the issue. At all. It truly feels like the artist either had no idea what the issue was about, or didn’t care since it was a tie-in and people would likely read it anyway. The cover has to give SOME idea of what is in the issue. It’s a pet peeve but it annoys me.

Memorable Episodes From TV Shows I Hardly Remember

If you read my stuff then you probably know the shows I love and adore. But, what about those other shows? The shows that were on in the 80’s and I did see…but hardly ever talk about because I simply don’t remember them. It’s time to give those shows a little love!


When I talk about some shows, I have watched re-runs of them so many times that it’s no surprise I can remember episodes off the top of my head. But there are other shows that I know I watched but barely remember anything from. Except that one episode which for some reason always stood out.


Here are five episodes that were always in my memory from TV series I either hardly watched, or can hardly remember anything from. This is all 80’s stuff because I was a kid then, so it stands to reason these things would stand out wen I can barely remember any other episodes I watched. Due to space I can’t go into full series details here, so if you’re not sure what the heck show I am talking about feel free to look it up or even ask.




Silver Spoons, “The X-Team”
I really have no idea why this one stayed in my head. This show was a sweet little bland 80’s show that was so bland that I hardly remember any of the episodes I watched of it. They used to air it opposite Punky Brewster and that show was sooo much better. But it was a hit and made a star out of Rick Schroeder. The episode involves Ricky and his friends wanting to watch an x-rated movie. The steal the key from the father, did cable TV’s ever have locks?, and are able to watch the program. The funny part is when Kate comes in and catches Ricky and his friends, in a very funny moment I can’t possibly describe effectively. Maybe I remember it because it was just funny, or maybe I remember because I was close to that age and was as curious as Ricky and his friends were. Whatever the case, it was a good episode.

Top 5 Star Trek Characters Everyone Hates…Except ME

Star Trek has such a long history with so many different characters, that fans tend to be torn of who their favorites are. And who they think is the most annoying. Usually I agree with the characters found to be annoying. For instance, I never hated Neelix as much as others seem to, but he didn’t thrill me either. Though he does have his fans.  I have never heard anyone try to defend Dr.Pulaski, just a god awful character. And I’ve already discussed Wesley Crusher.


However, as I look over lists of hated characters I have noticed that there some characters that most if not everyone hates, and I can’t understand why. It’s not that these characters are without flaws, but I think that people tend to be a tad hard on them. So, here now are five Star Trek characters that everyone seems hate, but I love them.






Ok, before I even start I am not saying I am the only one who nay like these characters. I am sure they have their fans. It just seems like like the majority do not like them. And that’s OK by the way, just offering my two cents.




#5.Jadzia

Honestly, I needed a DS9 example and this was the best I could come up with. Jake never did anything for me, and I hated Vic Fontaine as much as anyone else. But I do see a lot of people seem to be annoyed by Jadzia. Yeah she could be smug and arrogant, but that was the character. The trill which was a part of her was hundreds of years old, and with that kind of experience you’re bound to have that arrogance. Jadzia was smart and kicked ass, I loved her. Though she did get a bit snarky at times. What about Ezri? Ehhh…..  A lot of people also like to say Keiko O’Brien but she wasn’t on enough to really count her.

Five “WTF??” Odd Sitcom Moments

We all love dream sequences. Well, I do anyway. Sometimes the dream sequence is used to give us insight into what a character is going through. Some times it’s used show the torment a character is going through about a situation. And other times it used for a goofy diversion and is only meant for fun. Usually these are lengthy and are no surprise (who doesn’t hear a harp and think of a character on some show going to a dream sequence with that corny ripple dissolve?).


But sometimes the creators will use this device in a very unexpected way, throwing a curve at the viewers. There is no build up or warning, and for a few seconds things get dark! Until the character awakens and we realize we were tricked and it was all a dream. Oh sure we look back and laugh, but the first time around we were creeped out!


Here are five examples of what I mean, in no particular order. There are moments that made us say “WTF”??




“Who’s The Boss?”, Jonathan Kills Tony


Where did this come from? I just don’t get it! Ok, long story short. Jonathan likes a girl but the girl has a crush on Tony. Angered, Jonathan swears he wont forgive Tony. He explains why he is upset to Sam without giving who the guy is away (obviously she’d be on her father’s side). Sam suggests that he takes a rock and go all Sam and Goliath on him. We see Tony go out to talk to Jonathan, and (with no edit) he finds Jonathan holding a sling shot at him. Tony tells him not to do that, when Jonathan fires it! Right between the eyes, and Tony falls. Jonathan laughs until he realizes he killed Tony. Scared he is tries to get Tony to wake up…..when he is finally woken up from his bad dream by Tony. They made up, but seriously…what the hell was that about???