The Hulu Top Twenty

Here are the 20 most popular movies on Hulu this week.

1. Liar, Liar (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 16
Notes: Jim Carrey goofs it up in a decent comedy that puts all of his face-stretching talents on display. If you can get through his current offering, "Yes Man," without puking, then this will give you paroxysms of delight. With over 3 months in the top 20, this is showing some serious legs.

2. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)

Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 9
Notes: A goofy spoof of kung fu films in which director Steve Oedekerk digitally inserts himself into an already-laughable action flick. Critics largely hated the comedic effort, with the main criticism being that it's a 2-minute joke stretched out to an excruciating 80 minutes. It's holding strong on our list.

3. Picture Perfect (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 9
Notes: This romantic comedy is a predictable trifle, but critics were pacified by the sweet match up of Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr. The plot involves Aniston inventing a fictional fiancee in an effort to get ahead at work. Six weeks in, it's holding strong.

4. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 4 (9)
Notes: A Mormon sniper and an atheist medic clash as their platoon struggles to survive behind Nazi lines in this 2005 actioner. Stars Corbin Allred and Peter Holden. This one keeps jumping on and off the list. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

5. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 2 (5)
Notes: Hulu initially showed some savvy by timing their premiere of this 1984 Harvey Milk documentary with the Hollywood release, which stars Sean Penn as the gay rights activist turned mayor. Now it comes back to the list after the fictional counterpart makes a strong showing at the Academy Awards. That's not to suggest that this doc isn't a good movie, as it boasts an Academy Award for Best Documentary and a 100% approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes.

6. Grease 2 (1982)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Grease was an unexpected campy hit, and this follow-up tried hard to recapture the quirky magic with mixed results. They traded off Travolta and Newton-John for Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfieffer. It's about to expire from Hulu, so get it while it's hot!

7. Robocop (1987)
Last Week's Ranking: 1
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Sci-fi fave Robocop continues to burn up the charts. A satire, a gorefest, and a revenge flick all in one, this is one of those movies that sticks in your mind, even if you last saw it in theaters 22 years ago (like me).

8. American Virgin (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 7 (10)
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy. Why is it doing so well? I'm guessing it's PSMSBs (People Seeking Mena Suvari's Boobs). You can see them in American Beauty, folks. They weren't anything special then. What, you think she retrofitted them with subsonic woofers or something?

9. Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (9)
Notes: Over the months, I've come to just accept that this Imax doc about military fighter pilots is a mysterious powerhouse for Hulu. It's already in the Hall of Fame, but it just keeps piling up the weeks on our Top Twenty.

10. The Family Man (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 9
Notes: Studio workhorse Brett Ratner directs this Nicolas Cage vehicle to predictable results. It's a Christmas story in which the financially successful but morally bankrupt Cage gets an opportunity to live an alternate version of his own life, one in which he is an average schmo happily married to Tea Leoni. The movie is well done, but brings nothing new to the table, and we know the outcome of the movie before our asses hit the theater seats (or, in this case, our computer chairs). Don Cheadle has a role as the mystic author of Cage's personal journey.


11. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 16
Weeks on List: 4 (8)
Notes: Can you really call a 53 minute comedy a movie? Hulu has longer clips. The boobs of the hour belong to Nikki Ziering. Be sure to consider this one for the "Worst Movie" in the Hulu Awards, where it has been recognized as a finalist.

12. Johnny Appleweed (2008)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: John Cotugno took on more credits with this flicks than Robert Rodriguez-- he's a writer/director/animator/star/producer in this stoner comedy about a guy who's instructed to spread cannabis seeds by Johnny Appleseed. It's actually not violating Appleseed's spirit, given that the best use for apples in his day was for making alcoholic beverages. But that doesn't change the fact that this is going to be tough to sit through, even for stoners.

13. Someone Like You (2001)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (5)
Notes: Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman star in this 2001 romantic comedy, which features the requisite setting of a high-powered magazine company, and lots of schmaltz. It's nothing special, but the leads, along with Greg Kinnear and Marisa Tomei, are always fun to watch.

14. Robot Holocaust (1986)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Basically got to the storyline of Terminator: Salvation 20 years before the franchise caught up. It's the robot-dominated future, and a ragtag group of humans is trying to throw off the shackles of machine-based slavery. This one does not look good.

15. Dragonheart (1996)

Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 4 (6)
Notes: Dennis Quaid is a dragonslayer. But Sean Connery is Draco, his secret dragon pal. How can the two of them pull off a revolt against the evil king? After a 3-month-long hiatus, it makes a surprising return to the top 20 list.

16. Bad Girls From Mars (1990)

Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Oh, you naughty, naughty Mars girls! Why must you constantly fail in ways that cry out for corporal punishment? Actually, this movie takes place in Hollywood, with a movie-within-the-movie having the ridiculous titular premise.

17. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 5 (7)
Notes: Do we give points to movies for excelling at depressing us? I'm not sure. But Ellen Burstyn in a downward spiral is too horrific to turn away from. Also: how about that arm? Features Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, and one of those Wayanses.

18. American Psycho 2 (2002)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: William Shatner and Mila Kunis are the unlikely stars of this sequel to the movie-based-on-abook-starring-Christian-Bale. The storyline is mildly intriguing-- Kunis survived the bloodletting of the first movie, and is now traveling the path from killer-obsessed victim to a murderer herself. Critics didn't like it, so I suppose the execution must have left a lot to be desired.

19. Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This critically acclaimed homage to Don Rickles has lots of great moments. He may not be the oldest comedian, or the most notorious comedian, but surely he's the oldest notorious comedian out there. Hulu viewers agree that a behidn the scenes doc of Rickles is worth tuning in to.

20. Robocop 2 (1990)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Robocop 2 is even Robocopier than the first one, with more blood, more gore, and a darker dystopian future than ever. Unfortunately, it seems to have overshot the sweet spot, and it received none of the acclaim of the original. It's on the cusp of expiration, so watch it while the watching's good.


Notably Absent:
These movies have dropped off the list this week.


Rocky IV (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: "I must break you." There's no question that this flick has all of the schlocky disappointments that caused the Rocky franchise to become the butt of comedian jokes, but looking at it through the prism of 25 years gives it a warm, fuzzy glow. By echoing the dying Cold War, the movie now embodies both film and political trends of the day, all while rehashing the story of an over-the-hill boxer with a big heart.

Toy Soldiers (1991)
Last Week's Ranking: 3
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: A group of desperate mercenaries storm a prep school and take the children and their teachers hostage. One thing they weren't counting on was bad boy Sean Astin, who has upgraded his Goonies-inspired rebellious hijinks and takes the fight to the gunmen. Astin is aided by his sidekick Wil Wheaton, and his principal, Mr. Louis Gossett, Jr.

Broken Flowers (2005)

Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Noted indie director Jim Jarmusch adds to Bill Murray's surprising string of well-done, serious roles in this critically acclaimed drama. Murray plays a man who learns that he might have fathered a child nineteen years ago. He sets out on a cross-country trip to visit the mother, but the rub is that the mother could be any of four previous girlfriends.

Swimfan (2002)

Last Week's Ranking: 6
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen in bathing suits? That seems to be the pitch that sold this humdrum Fatal Attraction redux, in which Christensen stalks Bradford after becoming romantically obsessed with him. My then-girlfriend had a policy of seeing all Jesse Bradford releases, so I actually plunked down box office cash for this one.

Black Knight

Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 9
Notes: Martin Lawrence stars in this godawful stinker of a movie about a man who travels back through time to the days of King Arthur. Lame jokes, shameless mugging, and a general shredding of the comedic movie genre are the hallmarks of this effort, although calling it an effort may be too kind. Now it's going to make the Hall of Fame. Boo.

The Muse (1999)
Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Albert Brooks plays a Hollywood screenwriter who hires a professional muse after falling prey to a writing block. The muse in question, played by Sharon Stone, helps him write, but has unexpected impacts on the rest of his life. Many Hollywood bigwigs make cameos as themselves, including Martin Scorsese.

Higher Learning (1994)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Director John Singleton attempts to shine a spotlight on a broad range of racial, political, and gender issues behind the scenes of an urban university. The star-studded cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Connelly, Ice Cube, Tyra Banks, Kristy Swanson, and Michael Rapaport. This is before Michael Rapaport became such a joke. Critics gave it a luke-warm reception.

Wrong Turn (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Eliza Dushku is about to become a hot commodity (if you believe that Joss Whedon can make a Friday night time slot work for Dushku's "Dollhouse," that is). But this by-the-numbers slasher flick is always going to be a black mark on her resume. It plays like an unofficial sequel to any number of unispired movies, from "The Hills Have Eyes" to the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake.

Jumanji (1995)
Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This family-friendly Robin Williams vehicle has earned a place in the heart of many a child of the 90s, as is evidenced by the sequel, animated series, and assorted spawn. Did you remember that the girl in the movie is Kirsten Dunst?


Hall of Fame:
These are the movies that have had the longest run on the list in the past. Right now, the threshold for inclusion is 6 weeks, but I anticipate that it will go up over time. No new inductees this week.

The Fifth Element
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 13
Notes: Bruce Willis is a cab driver...in the future! Kind of. He and Milla Jovovich tear it up in this pure action adventure that keeps drawing in the Hulu viewers. With "The Girl Next Door" gone for good, this is the most popular movie of all time on Hulu. Strange, innit? I chalk it up to the promo picture on Hulu, which features Jovovich in a skimpy white costume. I think it's utterly unflattering, but I recognize that it will appeal to a certain group of people. Even with an expiration date stealing this movie from Hulu viewers before they were done watching it in droves, it will live on in the Hall of Fame.

Basic Instinct (1992)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 11
Notes: Sixteen years on, Sharon Stone's hoohoo is still drawing eyeballs in massive numbers. I hope she has that thing insured! At any rate, this is showing some serious staying power on the list. I guess vagina never really goes out of style.


Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 8
Notes: There must be something I'm not getting about this I-Max documentary featuring fighter pilots. The message board for the movie has a lot of military folks chatting it up, so that may have something to do with it. After weeks near the top of this chart, it finally lost its lift.

Underworld: Evolution

Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Kate Beckinsale as a goth-boy's wet dream can't save this dark and dreary action flick from the weight of its futuristic vampire world.

Dude, Where's My Car?

Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner teamed up in this stoner flick just before they became breakout stars.

Crawford (2008)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Crawford is Hulu's first movie premiere, so it's appropriate that this Bush-hometown documentary has squeaked into the Hall of Fame.

The Professional (1994)
Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Natalie Portman debuts her acting chops alongside a career-best performance by Jean Reno. One of the few quality Hulu offerings that is ranking consistently among the most popular. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend that you invest the time to watch this one. It surged in popularity on Hulu on the eve of its expiration.

Hulu hosts a little Christian Bale parody

By now, everyone's heard the Christian Bale rant from the set of the upcoming Terminator movie. Kudos to Family Guy for jumping on the Bale parody trend with lightning speed:

Best Clip (non-comedy): Official Nominees

We are down to seven official nominees for "Best Clip (non-comedy)!"

Hulu Review readers and the general public can still cast their votes. The total audience vote is equal to the vote of one panel member. In addition, the show that gets the most audience votes will be recognized during the Awards Ceremony.

Let's see which clips riveted the attention of our panelists:

CLICK ON YOUR FAVORITE TO CAST YOUR VOTE!

Field of Dreams: Ray and His Dad Play Catch




Scarface: Say Hello to My Little Friend



My Cousin Vinny: Expert Witness




The Usual Suspects: Interrogation




The Presidential Inauguration: Obama's Inauguration



NBC News Time Capsule: Martin Luther King, Jr.: Look Here

Best Comedic Clip: Official Nominees

We are down to ten official nominees for "Best Comedic Clip!"

Hulu Review readers and the general public can still cast their votes. The total audience vote is equal to the vote of one panel member. In addition, the show that gets the most audience votes will be recognized during the Awards Ceremony.

Let's see which clips help our panelists get their giggle on:

CLICK ON YOUR FAVORITE TO CAST YOUR VOTE!

Dick in a Box




30 Rock: Jenna on Hardball



Arrested Development: Making Fun of Michael




The Office: Goodbye, Toby




It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Spin Class




Shaun of the Dead: Girl in Garden





Office Space: Peter's Interview




The Big Lebowski: Don't F With Jesus




Animal House: Toga Guitar Smash







Robin Hood: Men In Tights: Men In Tights

New Simpsons Opening

The new Simpsons title sequence has debuted on Hulu in HD! It seems like the writers have done a good job of splitting the difference between tradition and modernity.

They have kept the flavor of the original, but still added new elements that are more in keeping with the show's current incarnation. The biggest change is the incorporation of lots of the supporting characters. This first run of the title sequence is nearly two minutes long, but I imagine that it won't take up as much time on a regular basis:

Jimmy Fallon has nice eyes

This is the most bizarre little bit I've seen on late-night talk lately.

Jimmy Fallon shares a clip of himself receiving Lasik eye surgery, set to some weirdly dramatic music. When I heard the music, I thought I'd be treated to a slow-motion shot of Fallon's eye popping out of the socket and slipping down the drain, irrevocably lost.

I love how Conan and the audience are at a loss as to how they should react. The audience gives it a hearty cheer, as if it were a blockbuster movie clip, and then Conan moves on as quickly as humanly possible.

JJJ hearts BSG

Awards panelist John J. Joex weighs in on the best scripted and unscripted television shows on Hulu:

Best Television Show (Scripted):
Babylon 5. Oh wait, that didn’t make it to the finals. Then Picket Fences. Oh wait, neither did that one. In fact, is this the right list for the finals? Chuck? Chuck? How did that get here? Not that it is a bad show, but best on Hulu? Well BSG, Alfred Hitchcock, and Buffy are all acceptable choices. I know that Sam will go with Buffy, so I will go with this one:

Battlestar Galactica

Best Unscripted Television Show:
Blah! I had hoped that at least one of the more palatable choices would have slipped into the finals. Well this one isn’t too bad and its actually somewhat addictive:

Kitchen Nightmares

Read John's full post here!

Cast your audience vote for Best Television Show here!

The Hulu Top Twenty

Here are the 20 most popular movies on Hulu this week. With only 1 new notable movie hitting the charts, lots of old favorites stormed back onto the list.





1. Robocop (1987)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: As one door closes, another one opens. That's how it is in life, and that's how it is on Hulu, the current case in point being the introduction of sci-fi fave Robocop the week after sci-fi fave The Fifth Element expired. A satire, a gorefest, and a revenge flick all in one, this is one of those movies that sticks in your mind, even if you last saw it in theaters 22 years ago (like me).

2. Rocky IV (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: "I must break you." There's no question that this flick has all of the schlocky disappointments that caused the Rocky franchise to become the butt of comedian jokes, but looking at it through the prism of 25 years gives it a warm, fuzzy glow. By echoing the dying Cold War, the movie now embodies both film and political trends of the day, all while rehashing the story of an over-the-hill boxer with a big heart.

3. Toy Soldiers (1991)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: A group of desperate mercenaries storm a prep school and take the children and their teachers hostage. One thing they weren't counting on was bad boy Sean Astin, who has upgraded his Goonies-inspired rebellious hijinks and takes the fight to the gunmen. Astin is aided by his sidekick Wil Wheaton, and his principal, Mr. Louis Gossett, Jr.

4. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist

Last Week's Ranking: 6
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: A goofy spoof of kung fu films in which director Steve Oedekerk digitally inserts himself into an already-laughable action flick. Critics largely hated the comedic effort, with the main criticism being that it's a 2-minute joke stretched out to an excruciating 80 minutes. It's holding strong on our list.

5. Broken Flowers (2005)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Noted indie director Jim Jarmusch adds to Bill Murray's surprising string of well-done, serious roles in this critically acclaimed drama. Murray plays a man who learns that he might have fathered a child nineteen years ago. He sets out on a cross-country trip to visit the mother, but the rub is that the mother could be any of four previous girlfriends.

6. Swimfan (2002)

Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 2 (3)
Notes: Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen in bathing suits? That seems to be the pitch that sold this humdrum Fatal Attraction redux, in which Christensen stalks Bradford after becoming romantically obsessed with him. My then-girlfriend had a policy of seeing all Jesse Bradford releases, so I actually plunked down box office cash for this one.

7. Black Knight

Last Week's Ranking: 1
Weeks on List: 7
Notes: Martin Lawrence stars in this godawful stinker of a movie about a man who travels back through time to the days of King Arthur. Lame jokes, shameless mugging, and a general shredding of the comedic movie genre are the hallmarks of this effort, although calling it an effort may be too kind. Now it's going to make the Hall of Fame. Boo.

8. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (6)
Notes: A Mormon sniper and an atheist medic clash as their platoon struggles to survive behind Nazi lines in this 2005 actioner. Stars Corbin Allred and Peter Holden. This one keeps jumping on and off the list. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

9. Liar, Liar

Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 13
Notes: Jim Carrey goofs it up in a decent comedy that puts all of his face-stretching talents on display. If you can get through his current offering, "Yes Man," without puking, then this will give you paroxysms of delight. With over 3 months in the top 20, this is showing some serious legs.

10. The Muse (1999)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Albert Brooks plays a Hollywood screenwriter who hires a professional muse after falling prey to a writing block. The muse in question, played by Sharon Stone, helps him write, but has unexpected impacts on the rest of his life. Many Hollywood bigwigs make cameos as themselves, including Martin Scorsese.

11. Picture Perfect (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 3
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: This romantic comedy is a predictable trifle, but critics were pacified by the sweet match up of Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr. The plot involves Aniston inventing a fictional fiancee in an effort to get ahead at work. Six weeks in, it's holding strong.

12. Higher Learning (1994)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Director John Singleton attempts to shine a spotlight on a broad range of racial, political, and gender issues behind the scenes of an urban university. The star-studded cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Connelly, Ice Cube, Tyra Banks, Kristy Swanson, and Michael Rapaport. This is before Michael Rapaport became such a joke. Critics gave it a luke-warm reception.

13. Wrong Turn (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Eliza Dushku is about to become a hot commodity (if you believe that Joss Whedon can make a Friday night time slot work for Dushku's "Dollhouse," that is). But this by-the-numbers slasher flick is always going to be a black mark on her resume. It plays like an unofficial sequel to any number of unispired movies, from "The Hills Have Eyes" to the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake.

14. Jumanji (1995)
Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This family-friendly Robin Williams vehicle has earned a place in the heart of many a child of the 90s, as is evidenced by the sequel, animated series, and assorted spawn. Did you remember that the girl in the movie is Kirsten Dunst?

15. American Virgin (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 4 (7)
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy.

16. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (5)
Notes: Can you really call a 53 minute comedy a movie? Hulu has longer clips. The boobs of the hour belong to Nikki Ziering. Be sure to consider this one for the "Worst Movie" in the Hulu Awards, where it has been recognized as a finalist.

17. The Family Man
Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Studio workhorse Brett Ratner directs this Nicolas Cage vehicle to predictable results. It's a Christmas story in which the financially successful but morally bankrupt Cage gets an opportunity to live an alternate version of his own life, one in which he is an average schmo happily married to Tea Leoni. The movie is well done, but brings nothing new to the table, and we know the outcome of the movie before our asses hit the theater seats (or, in this case, our computer chairs). Don Cheadle has a role as the mystic author of Cage's personal journey.

18. Bad Girls From Mars (1990)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Oh, you naughty, naughty Mars girls! Why must you constantly fail in ways that cry out for corporal punishment? Actually, this movie takes place in Hollywood, with a movie-within-the-movie having the ridiculous titular premise.

19. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 2 (4)
Notes: Do we give points to movies for excelling at depressing us? I'm not sure. But Ellen Burstyn in a downward spiral is too horrific to turn away from. Also: how about that arm? Features Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, and one of those Wayanses.

20. Dragonheart (1996)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (3)
Notes: Dennis Quaid is a dragonslayer. But Sean Connery is Draco, his secret dragon pal. How can the two of them pull off a revolt against the evil king? After a 3-month-long hiatus, it makes a surprising return to the top 20 list.


Notably Absent:
These movies have dropped off the list this week.

The Fifth Element
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 13
Notes: Bruce Willis is a cab driver...in the future! Kind of. He and Milla Jovovich tear it up in this pure action adventure that keeps drawing in the Hulu viewers. With "The Girl Next Door" gone for good, this is the most popular movie of all time on Hulu. Strange, innit? I chalk it up to the promo picture on Hulu, which features Jovovich in a skimpy white costume. I think it's utterly unflattering, but I recognize that it will appeal to a certain group of people. This movie may have expired, but it will live on in the Hall of Fame, starting next week.

Less Than Zero (1987)
Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This 80s drama headlined Andrew McCarthy, but modern movie-goers will be more interested in Robery Downey Jr.'s role as an out of control drug addict. Loosely based on the soul-deadening novel by Brett Easton Ellis, it also features Jami Gertz and James Spader. The storyline revolves around dating college students who discover their friend's addiction and try to help him. This is the only new offering on Hulu that made the top 20.

Waking Ned Devine (1998)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: What if "Weekend at Bernies" was a decent movie? It would be "Waking Ned Devine", that's what. An Irish indie film about the requisite ragtag group of local oddballs who must pretend that the recently deceased Ned Devine is alive and well, so that they can collect his multi-million lottery winnings.

The Manhattan Project

Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: This 1986 effort by Director Marshall Brickman (best known for writing Annie Hall) is about a high school student who builds an A Bomb for his school's science fair, after which he is branded a terrorist by the government. John Lithgow stars, alongside a pre-Sex And The City Cynthia Nixon. Critics gave it a tepid reaction.

Basic Instinct (1992)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 11
Notes: Sixteen years on, Sharon Stone's hoohoo is still drawing eyeballs in massive numbers. I hope she has that thing insured! At any rate, this is showing some serious staying power on the list. I guess vagina never really goes out of style.

Men In Black (1997)
Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: Pairing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as government agents who round up aliens must have sounded like crappy gimmickry, but this feature had enough wits and charm to transport us. The sequel? Now that was crappy gimmickry.

Someone Like You

Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman star in this 2001 romantic comedy, which features the requisite setting of a high-powered magazine company, and lots of schmaltz. It's nothing special, but the leads, along with Greg Kinnear and Marisa Tomei, are always fun to watch.

Gattaca (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 16
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This 1997 Jude Law/Ethan Hawke vehicle is a true sci-fi film. It gives us a complete and compelling portrait of a dystopian future in which an intrusive government controls the very genes of its citizens. The romance between Hawke and Uma Thurman is just prevalent enough to give it an appealing, soft edge. It comes back into the top 20 on the eve of it's Hulu expiration date, probably because people are taking advantage of their last chance to download a clean, complete copy.

Look Who's Talking (1989)

Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Meet John Travolta 2.0. In between being cool as Vinnie Babarino, and cool as a Pulp Fiction gangster, he was known as a lovable blue collar schmoe who had a certain way with the ladies. Pair him with a still-somewhat-sexy Kirstie Alley, throw a baby into the mix, and you have a bona fide franchise. The fact that the franchise could only devolve into a limp mishmash of talking animals doesn't detract from the fact that it made serious money.

The Professional (1994)
Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Natalie Portman debuts her acting chops alongside a career-best performance by Jean Reno. One of the few quality Hulu offerings that is ranking consistently among the most popular. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend that you invest the time to watch this one. It surged in popularity on Hulu on the eve of its expiration.


Hall of Fame:
These are the movies that have had the longest run on the list in the past. Right now, the threshold for inclusion is 6 weeks, but I anticipate that it will go up over time. No new inductees this week.

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 8
Notes: There must be something I'm not getting about this I-Max documentary featuring fighter pilots. The message board for the movie has a lot of military folks chatting it up, so that may have something to do with it. After weeks near the top of this chart, it finally lost its lift.

Underworld: Evolution

Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Kate Beckinsale as a goth-boy's wet dream can't save this dark and dreary action flick from the weight of its futuristic vampire world.

Dude, Where's My Car?

Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner teamed up in this stoner flick just before they became breakout stars.

Crawford (2008)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Crawford is Hulu's first movie premiere, so it's appropriate that this Bush-hometown documentary has squeaked into the Hall of Fame.

In Emily's Opinion: Best Scifi/Fantasy

Awards panelist Emily of Eclaire Fare perfectly sums up the race for "Best Scifi/Fantasy Series," a race that is playing out against the backdrop of a storm of browncoats:

A vampire with a soul turns private investigator to make amends for his past evil deeds… A fleet of humans search for a home and form shaky alliances with the Cylons who were once their sworn enemy… A cheerleader turned vampire slayer saves the world time and again with help from her enthusiastic gang of Scoobies… A ragtag band of space cowboys stays one step ahead of the Alliance while also welcoming others who are on the run into their family… An FBI agent, a genius, and a mad scientist work together to investigate strange occurrences with the ultimate goal of unraveling the mystery of The Pattern.

Angel, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Fringe. These are the nominees for Best Scifi/Fantasy TV Series on Hulu. For me, choosing one of these shows as the proposed winner is a nearly impossible task. I’ve seen every episode of these shows at least once (and have seen many episodes of Buffy and Angel multiple times), and consider myself a loyal fan of Angel, Battlestar Galactica, and Buffy. While I enjoyed Firefly, I never became attached to it in the same way as Joss Whedon’s previous shows, yet there’s no denying that it was a unique and well-executed concept. And Fringe is my favorite new show this year. It is consistently fascinating and entertaining. All five of these nominees are worthy of winning in this category. Deciding on one will require me to break it down a bit:

Read Emily's full post here!


Cast your vote for Best Scifi/Fantasy TV Series here!

In Sam's Opinion: Clips

Awards panelist Sam Christopher has a rather dour take on the best clips on Hulu:

Best Clip (Non-Comedy):

I wasn’t really thrilled with most of what was offered here. It seemed to me to be mostly filled with our current President lying to us (as opposed to our last President lying to us, or the one before him, or the one before him…) and laying all those empty phrases which ultimately mean nothing on us. I know, I know, it’s all very historic and important— President Obama’s election says to children everywhere that they too, no matter their race or creed, can grow up to further the encroachment of government on the private lives of the citizenry. In other words, “Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss”. So I just went with the old stand-by:

1. SpaceRip: Black Holes: Death Rays - Really I could have picked any of these. As previously stated—repeatedly—I love this show, and I thank Hulu for putting it on, and I thank The Hulu Man for these awards, otherwise I might never have seen it.

Best Comedic Clip:

This didn’t look too promising at first. I haven’t been able to look at SNL since that God-awful Lucy Lawless show—every skit with LL was funny, everything else should have landed the writers in a gulag—and I know they’ve changed the cast and all but I still… And more than that here, it seems that every skit they show had something to do with our last National Beauty Contest—er, Presidential Campaign—and I already read the end of that book. So I switched over to the movie clips and it didn’t look much better at first. But then I went a few pages and found some gems:

1. Shaun of the Dead: Throwing Records - Shaun and Ed throwing albums at zombies. Just hysterical.
2. Shaun of the Dead: Girl in the Garden - “There’s a girl in the garden.” “What?” “In the garden. There is a girl.” So begins the scene where the boys find Mary, their first zombie, and discover that a dead girl is not all that different from a drunk one.
3. Dazed and Confused: Gilligan’s Island Male Fantasy - As with the above SotD, I could have picked any number of clips from this marvelous film. I chose this one because I actually remember having this exact argument with a girl back around 1980. Or at least I was listening to her tell me how awful and sexist it all was while I was trying to look down her shirt.
4. Stricteternum - This was somehow left out of the Comedy Shorts finals (I blame both ACORN’s fraudulent registration practices and the Diebold voting machines) so I put it in here. Truly twisted and understated comedy with a neat sting at the end.
5. Young Frankenstein: What Knockers! - Yes, Teri Garr certainly has a nice ra—oh, you thought this was about the doors! Um, yeah, you keep thinking that.
6. Dr. Goldfoot and The Bikini Machine: Programming the Women - Price didn’t venture into comedy enough, in my estimation. A consummate actor, he had a great sense of timing in all things.

Read Sam's full post here!

Cast your votes for the best clip categories here:

Best Comedic Clip 1 (SNL)
Best Comedic Clip 2 (Movie Clips)
Best Comedic Clip 3 (TV Clips)

Best Clip (non-comedy) 1
Best Clip (non-comedy) 2
Best Clip (non-comedy) 3

In John's Opinion: Best Television Show

Awards panelist John J. Joex has some unusual choices for Best Television Show on Hulu:

Best Television Show (Scripted):
Unfortunately, I cannot pick from all of the television shows available on Hulu in this category as it has been condensed down to the finalists from the television categories we previously voted upon. This means that I cannot nominate Babylon 5 and Picket Fences because for reasons well beyond my understanding they did not advance to the finals in their categories. So consider them my ghost picks number one and two. For the actual nominations, I could just focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy because that’s really my thing, but I have to acknowledge some of the non-genre options in this category because of their importance to the medium of television. Here are my picks:

1. Firefly – I’ve said it before and I will say it again, FOX committed one of the greatest injustices in the history of television when it cancelled this show (and yet somehow some ABC executive have seen fit to give both Cupid and V a second chance).
2. Alfred Hitchcock Presents – This kicks of a Hitchcock trend that will continue into one of the categories below. A masterful series of horror and suspense stories.
3. Barney Miller – One of the all time great television comedies (I feel I would debase it if I referred to it as a sitcom).
4. The Bob Newhart Show – Second only to Barney Miller on my list of the comedy series included on Hulu.
5. Battlestar Galactica – A hard-hitting series that brings drama to Science Fiction. It’s on its way toward its grand finale and Hulu will follow it to the end.

Read John's full post here!

Cast your audience vote for Best Television Show here!

Best Clip (non-comedy) 3

After a week of suggestions from panelists and audience members, we have narrowed down the field of thousands of eligible clips to just 37.

Since that's still a large field (and because mass numbers of embedded clips can really slow down the ol' browser) I'm breaking them down into smaller groups for your consideration.

Hulu Review readers and the general public can still cast their votes. The total audience vote is equal to the vote of one panel member. In addition, the clip that gets the most audience votes will advance to the next round.

Here are some more of your favorite movie clips:

CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION, BELOW!

Moulin Rouge: Joining the Theater




My Cousin Vinny: Expert Witness




Juno: I'm Pregnant




The Breakfast Club: Fat Girl




The Devil Wears Prada: Cerulean Sweater




Jurassic Park: Closer Than They Appear




Waitress: It's Not a Party




Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I'm You!




Carlito's Way: Get Me Naked




Bring It On: Having Cheer Sex




Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Hitchhiker




Working Girl: One of Many