The Hulu Review

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Television Show"

2009-09-09T10:13:00.000-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Toni Rankin, whose many accomplishments include three blogs: Fanatic Space, Watching Sitcoms, and Watching CW )

And the Hulie goes to....

Arrested Development!

It is interesting to me that although Arrested Development was up against many other really great shows, some that are more current or that were on the air much longer, the little underdog beat out all the competition for Best Comedy TV Show. I'd have to say it was because of the great ensemble cast, who worked so well together and pulled off three great seasons of television that I want to watch again and again. I'm not even sure I could pick out a favorite episode, if I had to.

Trying to find one clip for this show was really hard. Not because there were no good clips, but because there were far too many. In the end I went for one that definitely shows off the zany and somewhat uncomfortable humor of the show, as well as the acting chops of Jason Bateman and co-star David Cross.

Hopefully, talks of a movie in the works will come to fruition soon.

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is also "Arrested Development."

The other worthy nominees were "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Chuck," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Battlestar Galactica," and "Friday Night Lights."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Scifi/Fantasy TV Series"

2009-08-26T13:06:00.001-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Toni Rankin, whose many accomplishments include three blogs: Fanatic Space, Watching Sitcoms, and Watching CW )

And the Hulie goes to....

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!

To accept this award for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, we had the Drs. Horrible, of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, who had this to say about both wins:

Dear Hulu Awards,

Thank you very much for awarding us (Dr. Horrible) the Best Web Original Award. We are a web original so it was absolutely the correct category to put us in. To be serious for a brief moment, we are flattered. It is a joy to work in this vibrant, new medium and we couldn't have done it without the support of the fans.

I would also like to take the moment to thank you for choosing Buffy as the Best SciFi/Fantasy Show Award. Buffy deserves many awards in our book and it's nice to see it still getting people's attention all these years later.

Thank you very, very much,
The Doctors Horrible

(It may have already been mentioned, but, at least on twitter, the Doctors Horrible are Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon and we're honored that they chose to send us an acknowledgment of our awards.)

Now there was never doubt in my mind that BtVS is, was and always will be the best ever SciFi/Fantasy ever. Ad infinitem. Forever and ever and ever. Amen. That comes as no surprise to any one who has ever read any of my blogs, however, since I generally try to work some mention of BtVS and/or Joss Whedon into pretty much anything I write.

Because BtVS is my fave show ever, it did make it very difficult to choose a clip. Honestly, when I started to think about what episode, what moment really defined the seven seasons of Buffy, I just had no idea where to start. After wandering aimlessly around Hulu for some time, watching and choosing clip after clip, I realized I had to just pick something, one thing. So the clip I chose may not be what anyone else would choose, especially since the first season was so very long ago and the clip is from the second ep ("The Harvest," the second half of "Welcome to the Hellmouth"). If you watch the clip, you'll see a short bit of interaction between the the four main characters, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles, which occurs right after the first time they come together to defeat evil. There were similar scenes throughout the series and I just feel like it really sums up what the show was all about. Friends using good to overcome evil and save the world . . . a lot.

The other nominees in this category were: Angel, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly and Fringe. When three out of five nominees are from the same guy, you have to know his stuff is good. Based solely on the audience votes, their favorite was Firefly, which is, as noted another awesome Whedon series. So it was all win-win.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Web Original"

2009-08-12T10:58:00.001-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Toni Rankin, whose many accomplishments include three blogs: Fanatic Space, Watching Sitcoms, and Watching CW )

And the Hulie goes to....

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog!

Here's what the show had to say about their boffo win:

Dear Hulu Awards,

Thank you very much for awarding us (Dr. Horrible) the Best Web Original Award. We are a web original so it was absolutely the correct category to put us in. To be serious for a brief moment, we are flattered. It is a joy to work in this vibrant, new medium and we couldn't have done it without the support of the fans.

[some portions deleted as they would spoil the announcement of another award(s). Please keep your eye out for the message in its entirety.]

Thank you very, very much,
The Doctors Horrible

I'm not trying to drop any names, but, at least on twitter, the Doctors Horrible are Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon (writers, actors, singers, and all around fun guys) and we're honored that they chose to send us an acknowledgement of the award. Thank you, Team Whedon, keep up the good work and send us more Dr. Horrible.

The other nominees for the final vote were:

National Geographic Animals

National Geographic Environment

National Geographic Travel

Spacerip

OK, let's be honest. When you look at the rest of the nominees, it's no wonder that Dr. Horrible swept the category (it was also the audience vote favorite, netting a Awards-Season-best 99% of the vote). I could not remember what other shows were in this category originally, so I looked it up. Here's a link to the entire category on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/channels/Web

I would have thought that at least some of those had to be more interesting than National Geographic specials. But if not, it just proves that one thing we need way more of in this world (and on the web, of course) is Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Although I love the entire thing, I think probably my favorite part is watching Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) singing "Brand New Day" (clip above). Just the way that slow smile builds on his face and we get to watch his mouth move along rapidly. Then he does that thing with his fingers . . . .you have to see it to get what I'm saying, but as Felicia Day sings in Commentary! The Musical (by the way, if you don't have the DVD for Dr. Horrible yet, Commentary! alone is worth the price), "that intro's unreal."

I'm ready for the next chapter anytime, guys.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Movie"

2009-08-10T12:57:00.004-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Ghostbusters!

Here's a word of thanks from the Ghostbusters peeps themselves (aka the producers):

Upon hearing of its recent Hulu "award," the group denounced the hoax, seeing through the ruse to lure the group into an alternate paranormal universe. After learning that Hulu is not one of Zuul's demon henchmen, but in fact a well-respected, totally non-evil video site, the Ghostbusters would like to retract its initial rejection of the award and express their gratitude for such an honor. To celebrate, the group will release Ghostbusters on Blu-ray High Definition, June 16, 2009.

People just can't resist the glory of Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston. Infinitley quotable, funny, smartly written, well-acted, and awesomely directed, years and dozens of viewings later it's still one of my favorite movies of all time. And clearly I'm not the only one who feels this way.

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is also "Ghostbusters"

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Unscripted Television Show"

2009-07-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Kitchen Nightmares!

Kitchen Nightmares becomes the second piece of content to garner multiple Hulu Awards, coming off of a big win in the "Best Competitive Reality Show" category. In order to win this highest aggregate award, KN had to steamroll the biggest and best names in the reality show business.

Here's what we had to say when Gordon Ramsay cursed his way to the top of the competition:

The celebrity in question is bad boy chef Gordon Ramsay, a man whose constant stream of furious expletives has turned him into the unlikely face of British fine cuisine. American viewers may not be aware that Ramsay's hit "Kitchen Nightmares" is a British export that has been given a slight makeover for US viewers.

The formula is as predictable as a sunset, yet compelling in its details. A local restaurant is on the brink of financial ruin. Desperate to keep the doors open, they ask Ramsay for help. He comes in, tastes the food, and pronounces it inedible. He spends the next couple of days exposing any dirt he can, with the focus on filthy kitchens and unhelpful personalities. Typically, he identifies a scapegoat, whether that's the owner or a manager. He berates the owner on everything he can until the owner breaks and agrees that major changes are needed. Then Ramsay retools the menu, gussies up the dining room, and hosts an event that fills the restaurant to the brim with paying customers. Afterward, Ramsay pronounces the restaurant cured of its ills, and rides off into the sunset.

The success of the show is based on Ramsay's proven entertainment factor, as well as the innate interest we have in seeing behind the scenes of the local restaurants that serve us our food.

Fans will be excited to hear that Fox has announced a third season for this fall.

There's also a lot of buzz on the web regarding the actual fortunes of the restaurants featured on the program. How many failing restaurants are actually given a new lease on life by Ramsay's one-week visit? According to Wikipedia, 10 of the 21 featured restaurants have been closed down, with two others changing ownership since they were made over by Ramsay.

By one measure, this is a pretty dismal score. About half of the restaurants are gone, despite Ramsay's much-ballyhooed best effort. On the other hand, half of the businesses have actually been saved by a simple makeover. It's a glass half empty/glass half full kind of thing. I think the show would be better served by being a little more honest about the rickety ground that some restaurants have been left on at the end of the week.

Still, there's another measure of success for the show. In a Hulu-landscape chock-full of crappy reality shows fueled by crappy reality stars, one man stands head and shoulders above the rest. Congratulations to Gordon Ramsay and the other minds behind Kitchen Nightmares!

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is "Top Chef"

The other worthy nominees were "Biggest Loser", "Project Runway", and "30 Days."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Comedy TV Show"

2009-07-22T14:25:00.002-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Toni Rankin, whose many accomplishments include three blogs: Fanatic Space, Watching Sitcoms, and Watching CW )

And the Hulie goes to....

Arrested Development!

It is interesting to me that although Arrested Development was up against many other really great shows, some that are more current or that were on the air much longer, the little underdog beat out all the competition for Best Comedy TV Show. I'd have to say it was because of the great ensemble cast, who worked so well together and pulled off three great seasons of television that I want to watch again and again. I'm not even sure I could pick out a favorite episode, if I had to.

Trying to find one clip for this show was really hard. Not because there were no good clips, but because there were far too many. In the end I went for one that definitely shows off the zany and somewhat uncomfortable humor of the show, as well as the acting chops of Jason Bateman and co-star David Cross.

Hopefully, talks of a movie in the works will come to fruition soon.

Nearly 20,000 audience votes were registered, and even though the fan favorite was Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which got my vote, too), the judging panel's votes outweighed the audience, pushing Arrested Development to victory.

The other nominees in this category, that moved their way up through the voting process to be the best of the best were "30 Rock," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Office," "Saturday Night Live," and "The Simpsons"

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Horror Movie"

2009-07-20T14:18:00.001-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Sam Christopher, who, along with his cronies, runs the awesome SciFi site Axiom's Edge)

And the Hulie goes to....

28 Days Later!

Seems the fans and panelists were on the same wavelength here, as both chose this seminal work as the Best Horror Film on Hulu, over such worthies as John Carpenter's The Thing.

And it is a seminal work; what Romero and Russo did in inventing the modern zombie picture in the original Night of the Living Dead (see Best Classic Movie) writer Alex Garland and Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle did with this film, which reinvented that sub-genre for the postmodern era. Gone were the slow-moving reanimated dead whose sole purpose was to feed on the living, replaced by relentless sprinters with a biological imperative to do nothing more than spread the disease which made them the blood-thirsty automatons they've become.

The story is simple: Animal rights activists in England break into a laboratory and free a monkey infected with a new disease called Rage, which sweeps the nation and wipes out virtually the entire population in weeks. Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes from a bicycle accident after 28 days to find a nearly empty London. He then hooks up with other survivors Selena, Frank and Hannah (Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Megan Burns, respectively). They then end up in a military facility run by Major West (Christopher Eccleston), where Jim makes a wonderful, and somewhat devastating discovery.

The isolation-- the desolation-- that Jim must feel upon waking to find that everything he's ever known is gone is captured very well by this film. We as an audience are drawn into his personal hell as every step, every corner he turns leads him further into this Twilight Zone-esque scenario. We feel his fear as he wonders, "Where is everyone?" And then we feel his abject horror as he wonders, "Where are my parents?", especially as more and more of the reality of the situation is revealed. Then, whereas Jim is our Everyman, we are given a tour of how others would deal with this situation: Selena is the survivor who will do anything to protect herself, Frank and Hannah are the people who hide away hoping the situation will work itself out, and Major West is the military man who holds his team of young men together by any means necessary. While none of these people are completely us, we see pieces of ourselves in each of them.

This is a marvelous film that, in the tradition of the best in sf (speculative fiction), uses an extreme situation to tell us something about ourselves and about the world around us.

After 20,000 audience votes, the Audience Choice was also "28 Days Later," with a hefty 51% of the vote.

The other nominees were "John Carpenter's The Thing," "Naked Lunch," "When a Stranger Calls," and "Christine."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best TV Drama"

2009-07-10T09:27:00.003-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Scooter McGavin, who runs the excellent site Scooter McGavin's 9th Green)

And the Hulie goes to....

Friday Night Lights!

Friday Night Lights is an unassuming show. On the surface it would be easy to dismiss it as One Tree Hill with football or a serialized version of Varsity Blues, but for anyone who has actually seen an episode, you know there is much more from much better acting and writing. There is a grandeur about Friday Night Lights that you just don’t see in high school dramas. There are no bored rich kids in Dillon, just football, it can be your ticket out of town or keep you around where all you have are your memories of a state championship long ago. Like real life, the characters are much more than their label, there is laughter and tear, and you want to root from each of them. With the conclusion of the third season it may be time to stop debating if it is the best show currently on television and start to debate if it is the best show this decade.

After tabulating nearly 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was House, with a shopping 34% of the votes!

The other nominees in this category were "Bones," "Burn Notice," and "ER."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Cartoon Series (non-anime)"

2009-07-05T14:20:00.003-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

The Simpsons!

Way back in 1987, an animated family skit appeared on "The Tracey Ullman Show" on FOX. These squiggly, somewhat unconventional characters earned their own show in the 1989-1990 season and twenty years later, "The Simpsons" is still going strong. Not only is it the longest running US sitcom in current history, it's also the longest running animated series and just surpassed "Gunsmoke" as the longest running primetime entertainment show.

The genius of the show is the way its heartfelt moments are surrounded by sightgags, pop culture references, sarcasm, mischief, and double entendre. And really, how many cartoons have created words that have ended up in Webster's Dictionary? With five rotating full episodes and well over 1,000 glorious clips from it's illustrious run, you could spend hours checking out your favorite moments in Simpsons history.

The other nominees were "King of the Hill", "Family Guy", "Wallace and Gromit", and "Futurama".

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is...Futurama!

Creator Matt Groening is a double winner in this category. Taking some of the same sensibilities of "The Simpsons" and time-warping them to the 31st century, the adventures of cryogenically frozen 21st century Philip J. Fry and an assortment of oddballs had a rough run.

Originally airing on FOX, it was yanked around the schedule for four seasons before being canceled in 2003. But you can't keep a good show down. Thanks to syndication by Cartoon Network and Comedy Central, the show found new life and has gone on to make new direct-to-dvd movies - four and counting.

Much like "The Simpsons", "Futurama" can be enjoyed in bite sized pieces. There are a little over 300 clips available from five seasons.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Classic TV Show"

2009-07-03T08:20:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

The Dick Van Dyke Show!

That's the opening from the very first episode, which you can watch in its entirety on Hulu (interestingly, in this pilot, the main character is played by Carl Reiner, not Dick Van Dyke). Hulu also hosts the entire 64 episode run that makes up the show's first two seasons.

We did get a brief note from "Friend of the Hulu Review" Doug Denoff, whose father, Sam Denoff, was involved with the original show as a writer, producer, and occasional bit player. Doug is also Andy Kaufman's cousin, for those of you keeping score. He writes:

"Thanks for the honor. Cool site!"

He also tried to coordinate a statement from Carl Reiner or Dick Van Dyke himself (which was an exciting possibility for me, let me tell you), but we were unable to get the statement before press time. You can get all of your current "Dick Van Dyke Show"news at the official site of the show, here.

After 20,000 votes the Audience Favorite was also "The Dick Van Dyke Show," with 36% of the vote.

The other final nominees were "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Bewitched."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Movie Comedy"

2009-07-02T09:55:00.004-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Ghostbusters!

Here's what the good folks over at Ghostbusters Central had to say about their award:

Upon hearing of its recent Hulu "award," the group denounced the hoax, seeing through the ruse to lure the group into an alternate paranormal universe. After learning that Hulu is not one of Zuul's demon henchmen, but in fact a well-respected, totally non-evil video site, the Ghostbusters would like to retract its initial rejection of the award and express their gratitude for such an honor. To celebrate, the group released Ghostbusters on Blu-ray High Definition.

And, after 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is also Ghostbusters!

People just can't resist the glory of Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston. Infinitley quotable, funny, smartly written, well-acted, and awesomely directed, years and dozens of viewings later it's still one of my favorite movies of all time. And clearly I'm not the only one who feels this way.

The other contenders in this category were "Eddie Murphy: Raw", "Men In Black", "Raising Arizona", and "Three Amigos" - all fine, hilarious nominees.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Classic Movie"

2009-07-01T09:12:00.003-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Sam Christopher, who, along with his cronies, runs the awesome SciFi site Axiom's Edge)

And the Hulie goes to....

Night of the Living Dead!

And here, accepting the Hulie for Best Classic Movie is Kyra Schon:

I am deeply honored to have been asked to accept the Hulu Award for Best Classic Movie on behalf of Night of the Living Dead, and I am thrilled that this movie was chosen, among the greatest classic films in history, to claim this award.

Full credit for the film must go to the extraordinarily talented group of adults who were involved in its creation, and not to the nine year old kid who, through sheer luck, happened to land a small part in it.

The "adults" and creative geniuses behind the production were co-producers and actors Russ Streiner and Karl Hardman, co-writer and actor John Russo, and the brilliant and dedicated ensemble cast members, Judith O'Dea, Bill Hinzman, Duane Jones, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, Marilyn Eastman, Charles Craig and George Kosana. Many more people generously contributed their time and talents on-screen and behind the scenes to help create what would become a classic in the horror genre.

The "Night" crew was fortunate to count then-fledgling director and co-writer George A. Romero among its friends and colleagues. Night of the Living Dead was George's first feature film, but his style was already clearly in place. George consistently brings sanity, soul and a sardonic sense of humor to his film projects, encouraging us to recognize persecution and injustice. His socio-political views have most often found their voice in the guise of horror films, but there's much more to them than just zombies. They reveal the stupidity of racism, sexism, abusive and overreaching government, social inequity, mindless consumerism, class warfare and, yes, the threat of zombies. His voice has resonated through generations of horror film fans who recognize the subtext as more than meets the eye. Without George's direction and editing, Night of the Living Dead may have been a far different film.

On behalf of the "Night" family, I extend heartfelt gratitude to the awards panel for bestowing this special honor on Night of the Living Dead.

Many thanks to Kyra, a Friend of the Hulu Review, for taking the time to personally accept this award. You can check out here latest pursuits at her website, The Ghoul Next Door.

After 20,000 audience votes, the Audience Choice is "Some Like it Hot."

One of the great comedies of all time, this film boasts a stellar cast including Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, and a bunch of other people you've heard of. The story is that a couple guys are hiding from gangsters dressed as female musicians. And, of course, one of them falls in love with Marilyn Monroe (I know, I know, if you only had a nickel, right?), and the other... well, you just really need to watch the movie.

The other nominees were "Wuthering Heights" and "Pride of the Yankees."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Short Format Comedy Series"

2009-06-30T12:24:00.004-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Dorm Life!

Dorm Life is the little web series that could, beating out other competitors with far bigger budgets, and far more famous comic talents. For those who don't know, the show takes the mockumentary model made famous by Christopher Guest and "The Office," and transposes it to a college setting. The creators of the show have shown remarkable savvy-- how many college students will sit down and make an insightful and appropriate comedy centered on their actual surroundings, rather than choosing an obscure intellectual topic they just learned about in class?

It comes as no surprise that Dorm Life is Hulu's most-watched web show.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was also "Dorm Life," with an emphatic 44% of the vote.

The other nominees were "The All For Nots," "Carpet Brothers," "The Writer's Room," and "That Guy."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Comedic Clip"

2009-06-30T12:05:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Peter's Interview from "Office Space"!

There were literally thousands of comedic clips on Hulu to choose from, and the list of ten finalists was long, distinguished, and hilarious.

But only one clip made the final cut, and it's fitting that it comes from an independent cult classic such as "Office Space." Even more fittingly, fans of director/writer Mike Judge can look forward to this year's "Extract," where Judge works with Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, and Jason Bateman to bring us all some thoughtful comedy.

After 20,000 audience votes, the Audience Favorite was "Dick In A Box," the much ballyhooed Timberlake/Samberg digital short, which aired on Saturday Night Live.

The other nominees were

Arrested Development: "Making Fun of Michael" Animal House: "Toga Guitar Smash" The Office: "Goodbye, Toby" Robin Hood: Men In Tights: "Men In Tights" Shaun of the Dead: "Throwing Records" The Big Lebowski: "Don't Fuck With Jesus" 30 Rock: "Jenna on Hardball" It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: "Spin Class"

You can see all of the nominated clips in their entirety HERE

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Non-Competitive Reality Show"

2009-06-29T13:38:00.006-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

30 Days!

Many thanks to Morgan Spurlock, friend of the Hulu Review, for sending us this picture. It truly captures the pride and surprise with which he received his award.

Similarly, 30 Days has captured the hearts and minds of our voting panel. Many intellectuals turn their back on the landscape of reality television, dismissing the genre as beyond redemption. But Spurlock has taken the more admirable approach-- he has harnessed the love that the mouth-breathing public feels for reality television, and turned it into an effective means of education on a wide range of issues.

Over the course of its three season run, the program touched on every controversial topic imaginable. Immigration, religious intolerance, abortion, animal rights, gun rights, and more all got the full treatment. In this case, for those who don't know, the full treatment usually involves immersing a person from one way of life in the community of their ideological opposite. So, the homophobe lives among homosexuals for the titular 30 days, and thereby learns a little something about the other side of the fence. Not all of the shows revolved around opposites. For example, Morgan Spurlock himself spent a sweaty month working in a coal mine, alongside hard laborers for whom he already had a large amount of respect.

Spurlock fans can look forward to his next film project, an adaptation of the hit (and thought-provoking) book, "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Looks at the Hidden Side of Everything." It should come out sometime this year.

Now, with the show gone from the airwaves, it lives on in digital format at Hulu.com. One nice thing about the 30 Days presence on Hulu is that the roster is complete-- no teasing here. Watch all 18 episodes at your leisure, here.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Pressure Cook," with 31% of the vote.

The other nominees were "Destination Truth," "Queer Eye," "Ghost Hunters," and "America's Most Wanted."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Worst Reality Show"

2009-06-23T13:10:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Living Lohan!

When you're searching for the worst reality show on Hulu, there's no shortage of candidates. How does one show sink far enough below the bar to beat out the most damnable shows in tv history? Answer: Be ruined fame whore Dina Lohan, from whose womb the endlessly vacant Lindsay Lohan sprang.

In a sense, the show serves as an apology and a raison d 'etre for Lindsay Lohan's apparent lack of humanity. Who among us could be raised by such a woman and emerge with an ounce of moral fiber?

The show has taken two detestable and fame-hungry people (Dina and Lindsay sibling Ali-- we'll exclude the pubescent Cody for the time being), and created heaps of horrifically artificial conflict and drama in an effort to wring out a palatable storyline.

With literally nothing going for it, it's a miracle that the show was ever greenlighted by the good folks at E! television. Good job E! You're number one at sucking!

After 20,000 votes, the audience pick is also "Living Lohan," with a 29% share.

Other nominees were "Denise Richards: It's Complicated," "Temptation Island," "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," and "Hey Paula."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Celebrity-Driven Reality Show"

2009-06-23T10:45:00.002-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Kitchen Nightmares!

The celebrity in question is bad boy chef Gordon Ramsay, a man whose constant stream of furious expletives has turned him into the unlikely face of British fine cuisine. American viewers may not be aware that Ramsay's hit "Kitchen Nightmares" is a British export that has been given a slight makeover for US viewers.

The formula is as predictable as a sunset, yet compelling in its details. A local restaurant is on the brink of financial ruin. Desperate to keep the doors open, they ask Ramsay for help. He comes in, tastes the food, and pronounces it inedible. He spends the next couple of days exposing any dirt he can, with the focus on filthy kitchens and unhelpful personalities. Typically, he identifies a scapegoat, whether that's the owner or a manager. He berates the owner on everything he can until the owner breaks and agrees that major changes are needed. Then Ramsay retools the menu, gussies up the dining room, and hosts an event that fills the restaurant to the brim with paying customers. Afterward, Ramsay pronounces the restaurant cured of its ills, and rides off into the sunset.

The success of the show is based on Ramsay's proven entertainment factor, as well as the innate interest we have in seeing behind the scenes of the local restaurants that serve us our food.

Fans will be excited to hear that Fox has announced a third season for this fall.

There's also a lot of buzz on the web regarding the actual fortunes of the restaurants featured on the program. How many failing restaurants are actually given a new lease on life by Ramsay's one-week visit? According to Wikipedia, 10 of the 21 featured restaurants have been closed down, with two others changing ownership since they were made over by Ramsay.

By one measure, this is a pretty dismal score. About half of the restaurants are gone, despite Ramsay's much-ballyhooed best effort. On the other hand, half of the businesses have actually been saved by a simple makeover. It's a glass half empty/glass half full kind of thing. I think the show would be better served by being a little more honest about the rickety ground that some restaurants have been left on at the end of the week.

Still, there's another measure of success for the show. In a Hulu-landscape chock-full of crappy reality shows fueld by crappy reality stars, one man stands head and shoulders above the rest. Congratulations to Gordon Ramsay and the other minds behind Kitchen Nightmares!

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List," which scored a convincing 31% of the audience vote.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Clip (non-comedy)"

2009-06-22T13:02:00.005-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Psycho's Shower Scene!

When you consider the thousands upon thousands of clips populating Hulu, it seems fitting that an iconic classic is what cuts through all the background noise to grip us. Here it is in all its black and white glory:

It's rare that a horror film asks us to dwell for so long on the aftermath of a murder. Usually, when we see a victim who has been mortally stabbed, it's because that victim is about to do something amazingly heroic. Here, Janet Leigh simply dies. We're invited to think about the way that the heart stops beating, the eyes glaze over, and whatever makes up one's life essence dissipates into the great beyond. Janet Leigh was the main character in the film; now she's gone.

Before you take a gander at the same scene in the 1998 Psycho remake, here are a few interesting tidbits about the original 1960 shower scene:
1. Even though the scene reeks of blood, gore, and violence, there are actually only three brief frames showing any type of penetration, and these show only minor cuts to Janet's stomach.
2. The blood is chocolate syrup, while the sound of the knife was created by stabbing a melon
3. Depending on which reference you believe, there are 50 cuts, and 71 or 78 angles in the three minute scene. This creates a very modern-feeling MTV effect.

After 20,000 audience votes, the Audience Favorite was

Obama's Inauguration

Obama's level of success in office will certainly determine whether this is a seminal moment in world history, or just another entry in the long list of presidential disappointments, but for now, at least, Hulu viewers have faith.

The other nominees were

My Cousin Vinny: "Expert Witness" NBC News Time Capsule: "Martin Luther King Speech" Scarface: "Say Hello to My Little Friend" Field of Dreams: "Ray and His Dad Play Catch" The Usual Suspects: "Interrogation"

You can see all of the nominated clips in their entirety HERE

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Action TV Series"

2009-06-16T04:56:00.001-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

24!

Jack Bauer has had a few bad days. Seven to be exact and our panelists have loved every one of them. "24" combines intense action, espionage, drama, innovative real-time storytelling and a great cast lead by Kiefer Sutherland. Bombings? Check. Bio-weapons? Yup. Moles, sleeper agents, and betrayals? Yes, yes and yes. Assasination plots? Those too. Thanks to this category, Jack's also bested an undercover agent ("Burn Notice"), an involuntary time-traveler ("Journeyman"), a pair of jail-jumping brothers ("Prison Break"), and a Nerd Herder ("Chuck").

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is Chuck (39%)!

While the panelists favored a more hard-edged show, the voting public have given the nod to the adventures of accidental spy Chuck Bartowski, CIA handler/love interest Sarah Walker, and NSA handler/newly minted Colonel John Casey. "Chuck" combines action, intrigue, and suspense with comedy, pop culture shout-outs, and a cast of diverse (and odd) characters. It's like the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of TV.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Worst Movie"

2009-06-14T21:58:00.000-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Jackass 2.0!

In 2000, MTV debuted a series in which the stars performed occasionally funny, often dangerous, and almost always painful stunts from tasering to skateboard shenanigans to mangling body parts. Of course, do to its questionable nature, it became an instant hit. Johnny Knoxville and company eventually made the leap to the big screen not once but twice and it's that second offense that's landed them on the list.

The movie, which is just a collection of shorts, starts with the whole cast in a "Running of the Bulls" scenario and ends with a big musical number with the guys singing and dancing amidst bruising and potentially lethal stunts. Now, certain things are universally funny in spite of our better judgment, like people tripping and/or falling, but I've never been able to understand the appeal of watching a grown man staple his privates or getting battered by a bull. I'm totally not their demo.

When the voting period was taking place, "Jackass 2.0" was available for viewing. As of now the movie has been removed from the queue, to the relief of many I'm sure. But the Jackass crew's exploits can still be seen thanks to full episodes and clips from the whole series as well as the dangerous-in-a-slightly-different-way spin-off "Wildboyz".

This is a time when both the panel and the audience agrees as, after 20,000 votes, they also picked "Jackass 2.0".

The other less than stellar nominees in this category were "National Lampoon's Spring Break", "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps", "Planet of the Apes" (the remake), "Starship Troopers", and "Xanadu". Though I have to disagree with that last one - "Xanadu" is so bad it's fantastic. I'm not ashamed to admit I own the soundtrack.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Minor Television Network"

2009-06-12T09:14:00.001-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

20th Century Fox Television!

This win actually deserves to have an asterisk or two next to it. We've created a separate category for "Major Networks," because Fox and NBC are so clearly ahead of their smaller rivals in terms of high-profile content on Hulu. But taking out "Fox" left "20th Century Fox Television" still in the running, and that "non major network" took our panel's breath away with such shows as "Angel," Buffy," and "Arrested Development."

So, I'll primarily take this as a lesson on category-structuring for next year. But let's not completely ignore the achievement, which spotlights some of our panelist's favorite content on the web, bar none.

After 20,000 votes, the audience favorite is "USA" which eked out the win with 26% of the vote.

The other nominees were "Comedy Central," "Sci Fi," and "FX".

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Worst Scripted Show"

2009-06-11T14:48:00.002-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie "winner" is....

Knight Rider!

Oh...shed a single tear for this reboot attempt. NBC tried to give "Knight Rider" a second life but ended up dooming it to an ignoble death according to our panel.

The cheese-tastic original 80's series starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight. The new version starred Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur, Knight's estranged son. Bruening, a former soap actor, was charismatic enough and which is important since...well, let's be honest, they aren't replicating Shakespeare. Despite having a simple blueprint to start from, I knew there might be some bumpy roads ahead based on the fact they killed off Mike's mom for no real reason in the movie pilot. But the real problems arose from the overly elaborate updates.

Instead of Knight Industries, Mike's adventures were handed out by the government; Bonnie's job as tech guru/mechanic was distributed to a large team of scientists including Mike's old flame and her genius father; and K.I.T.T., well, he was appropriately crazy advanced even if his morphing abilities were a glorified Ford commercial. They tried to right the ship by removing the government element and returning to the "infiltrate X to save Y from Z" format of the original, but it was too little to late. Did they start out taking themselves too seriously? Was it a mistake to try to legitmize pure buttered popcorn TV entertainment? Yes and yes. At least the Turbo Boost looked sweet.

Somehow "Knight Rider" beat out "The Munsters Today", "One Tree Hill", "Heroes", "Team Knight Rider", and "Testees". Clearly some of our panel members a) don't really remember "The Munsters Today" or "Team Knight Rider" or b) don't hate "One Tree Hill" on general principle like I do.

After 20,000 votes, the audience's least favorite is...Heroes!

Never have I seen a show so beloved fall so fast from grace. When "Heroes" first premiered, it was like you could hear everyone's minds get blown at the same time. After all that awesome, Season 2 didn't quite live up to most people's expectations. Where were the team-ups? Where were all the villains? Why was the pace so slow? Why is fill-in-the-blank acting like such a douche? And why is this Maya chick so freaking annoying? By the time the writers and producers had the opportunity to try and fix their admitted mistakes, the Writer's Strike cut any acts of penance short.

Then came Season 3. Oh Season 3. For me, while the pace was faster and they delivered some solid moments, there was still the little problem of the characters. Claire had become nearly intolerable, Peter was all over the place, Hiro was acting completely unlike himself, every moment that Speedster chick was on camera I actively wanted her to die, and Suresh...don't get me started on Suresh. But there's hope. Bryan "Pushing Daisies" Fuller has returned to the series and, like everyone else involved, is looking to tighten up the storytelling and deliver a season on par with the first. It's quite possible "Heroes" might become a favorite again.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Informational Show"

2009-06-10T11:51:00.000-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Nova!

PBS owes much of its sterling reputation to its most watched documentary, Nova. This is a show that has produced thirty five years of cutting edge science programming, all without resorting to condescension to the lowest common denominator. Their sterling brand name has attracted some terrific and well-known hosts, including David Attenborough, Oliver Platt, John Lithgow, and Stockard Channing.

Nova's presence on Hulu is solid, but it does have some huge gaps that leave us wanting more. Right now, 23 episodes are posted in their entirety, all of which have been produced in the last several years. Hopefully, they'll post some vintage episodes from the seventies one of these days.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "National Geographic Channel," with a dominating 59% of the vote.

The other nominees were "Wired Science," "Historic Campaign Ads," and "Scientific American Frontiers."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Worst Movie"

2009-06-09T10:13:00.001-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Jackass 2.0!

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Cooking/Food Show"

2009-06-09T10:09:00.003-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Ace of Cakes!

Having very few clips and no episodes currently available on Hulu could not overcome the skill and charisma of Duff Goldman and the "Ace of Cakes" crew. Our panelists just couldn't resist those crazy-awesome confections and Duff's unmistakable laugh.

The first time I saw Duff was on "Food Network Challenge" where all the chefs had to prepare Extreme Cakes. He won and shortly therafter got his own show in 2006, making appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and other talk shows. Duff's so cool he even has his own mini-mate action figure. http://secure1.missionmedia.net/charmcitycakes/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=15&CFID=2114760&CFTOKEN=cdb7011610dfd711-34365F22-9B70-D1F6-E482C18EF0AC81FD&jsessionid=f23086e9c16009598bd0d18a733141d85f43

The folks at Charm City Cakes beat out "30 Minute Meals", "Good Eats", "Hell's Kitchen", "Kitchen Nightmares", and "Top Chef".

After 20,000 votes the Audience Favorite is "Good Eats!"

Alton Brown is a TV chef rarity - not only can you learn to cook from him, you can learn in general. Alton skillfully and playfully guides the viewer through the ingredients, steps and techniques of recipies while mixing in history, trivia and science. He also makes a heck of a host on "Iron Chef America". Though there's only a handful of clips currently available, when they show you how to make tasty bits like a variety of waffles and scallop scampi it's all good.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Worst Web Original"

2009-06-09T09:51:00.005-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show!

This parody talk show bases all of its comedy around fictional Japanese host Kiko and her wonky attempts at interviewing confused guests while guiding them through odd activities. Purposely a little off-putting and full of weirdness, it just wasn't working for the majority of the voting panel.

GTCMS got its start as a viral video on YouTube in 2007 and quickly became a sensation. Two episodes were produced independently by creators Greg Benson and Kim Evey (who plays "Kiko") until Sony optioned the quirky creation to anchor the company's own YouTube channel and website Crackle. But not everyone is repulsed by the Chicken Machine - they've had guests including Wil Wheaton and Adam Arkin appear in the mostly improvised shorts.

After 20,000 votes, the audience's least favorite is..."Dating Brad Garret," with 59% of the vote.

Brad Garrett is one of those comedians that either you love or don't. Well, most of the audience falls on the less fuzzy end of that spectrum when it comes to these webisodes. Fairly fresh off a divorce, 6-foot-8 Garrett teamed with Sony's Crackle (dubious owner of both "winners" in this category) to go on a series of ten blind dates and boil them down to five-or-so minute adventures. His goal was to present a slice of real dating, what he calls the "Anti-Bachelor", free of the pretense of one glossy dude handing out roses to 35 hot women. I guess the audience prefers glossy un-reality.

The Tiny Chicken folks were less tolerable than "Barely Political", "Comedy Gumbo", and "Destination X".

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best News Show"

2009-06-04T13:11:00.005-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Comic Con 2008!

NBC's coverage of Comic Con 2008, the legendary comic book convention-turned- pop culture hurricane, has pulled off an upset win over the more staid competition.

The credit for the win goes to two factors. First, you have the fanboy-fantasy nature of Comic Con itself. What if you and some other fans threw a party, and all of your favorite stars and artists were suddenly clamoring to come? Second, you have the way that Comic Con was presented on Hulu. Namely, an in-depth viewing experience that made all of the millions of at-home fans feel like they were actually mingling with comic writers, tv personalities, and Kitt, the car-star of Knight Rider. NBC's coverage was hosted by an affable "Comic Con virgin," whose presence allowed Hulu watchers to feel smug about knowing more than her.

The very first Comic Con took place in 1970, and drew 300 fans. By 2007, the number had grown to 125,000, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. 2008 was the first year that the event's tickets sold out before the convention began. Congratulations, Comic Con!

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was also "Comic Con 2008," with 34% of the vote.

The other nominees were NBC Meet the Press," "NBC Nightly News," "NBC Today Show," and "Access Hollywood."

Annoucing the Hulu Award for "Best Talk or Interview Show"

2009-06-04T11:31:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Late Night With Conan O'Brien!

When you're handing out awards during the end of an era, sometimes the result seems like a forgone conclusion. People forget that Conan O'Brien, who recently wrapped up a 16 year stint as host of NBC's Late Night, was anything but a foregone conclusion when he first came on the scene.

A complete unknown, O'Brien went from being a SNL comedy writer to becoming a pop culture icon. While other talk show hosts bend over backwards to prove how cool they are, Conan's coin has always been how cool he's not. A towering irish beanpole of blinding whiteness, Conan has left a legacy from which Jimmy Fallon is already struggling to escape.

Where do hardcore O'Brien fans go to meet and greet each other on the web? Horny Manatee, of course! This is the website that NBC launched after Conan ad-libbed a line involving the phrase "hornymanatee.com." NBC snapped up the site to make sure that no one else would use it to link objectionable content to their studio, and finally decided to put up some horny manatee-related content. The site has registered over 10 million hits, and you can check it out here.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "The Daily Show With John Stewart," with a decisive 47% of the vote.

The other nominees were "The Colbert Report," "Inside the Actor's Studio," and "Attack of the Show."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Videogame Coverage"

2009-05-26T09:53:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Gamespot!

Any videogamer worth his salt is going to know that Gamespot is a mark of quality in an overcrowded cyberworld of games, platforms, and brands. What may surprise you instead is the laser-beam focus that Gamespot has brought to Hulu. Ever since it's inception on Hulu, Gamespot has focused on a three-pronged content scheme that brings gamers exactly what they're most interested in: Gameplay Footage, Video Reviews, and Game Trailers.

I would argue that Hulu is actually a better way to experience Gamespot than their own website, which can be a little overwhelming.

So, what does the best gaming review site say are the best video games on the planet? Here's a list of their coveted "Game of the Year" title holders from the inception of the system (as per Wikipedia):

1996: Diablo (PC) ^[28]
1997: Total Annihilation (PC) ^[29]
1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) ^[30] and Grim Fandango (PC) ^[31]
1999: Soulcalibur (Dreamcast)^[32] and EverQuest (PC) ^[33]
2000: Chrono Cross (PlayStation) ^[34] and The Sims (PC) ^[35]
2001: Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) ^[36] and Serious Sam: The First Encounter (PC) ^[37]
2002: Metroid Prime (GameCube) ^[38]
2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube) ^[39]
2004: World of Warcraft (PC) ^[40]
2005: Resident Evil 4 (GameCube) ^[41]
2006: Gears of War (Xbox 360) ^[42]
2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) ^[43]
2008: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3) ^[44]

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was also "Gamespot," with a whopping 52% of the vote.

The other nominees were "X Play," and "Game Reviews."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Travel or Leisure Show"

2009-05-26T09:04:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Destination Truth!

Ever since the awards were first conceived, I felt that, as long as Destination Truth won this category, the awards were going to turn out okay. That's right. This goofy little travel reality show has validated the entire year-long effort that is the Hulu Awards. Here's what I had to say about this show last year:

What is it about a reality show that makes it superb?

You need a format that is actually interesting throughout, and that doesn't rely on 90% filler leading up to that 10% of actual drama.

You need your lead personalities to be charismatic in a warm, genuine way, rather than just being the latest smiley fame whore.

Finally, you need a decent production crew that can take advantage of the situation they're dealing with for maximum impact.

Destination Truth has all three of these qualities in spades. The premise is simple: the amazingly fun and funny lead, Josh Gates, travels to exotic locales with a small team in search of real-life legendary monsters.

Each 43 minute episode is packed with travels to not one, but two exotic locales, usually some sparsely-populated village on the edge of a jungle.

In Act 1, the setup includes a computer animation of the supposed monster, which might be a giant bat with a monkey face one week, and an enormous lake serpent the next. Then Josh joshes around with the locals, where he shows that a winning personality can overcome significant cultural barriers.

In the course of talking to them, he usually ferrets out a local or two who swears, on camera, to have had a close encounter with the creature in question. This is the part of the show where I look at the native and think "Man, could it possibly be true? Could there be a giant unknown primate in this backwater land?" That's when I'm hooked for Act 2, which usually involves a remote campsite, some infrared cameras, and Josh getting freaked out by a large creature in the nighttime jungle.

For Act 3, Josh takes whatever footage he has and asks some biology expert to review it and try to deny that the shadowy footage might be the Loch Ness Monster.

Then it's wash, rinse, repeat for the second half of the program.

This is absolutely one of my favorite shows on Hulu. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Good job, Josh & Co.!

What has this offbeat show really contributed to the field of Cryptozoology? Most notably, some Bigfoot prints in the Himalayas. You can read about it at the most respected blog in the field, here.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was also "Destination Truth," with 31% of the vote.

The other nominees were "After Hours With Daniel," "Any Given Latitude" "Bikini Destinations," "The Rachel Zoe Project," and "Uncorked."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Family Movie"

2009-05-22T10:46:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

The Karate Kid!

Even though that clip is from the cartoon, don't be confused-- the winning movie was the actual original movie starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, and Elisabeth Shue.

Now, who would have thought that "The Karate Kid" would have been the first piece of content on Hulu to earn two Hulies?

Truth be told, the Family Movie category was a little weak during this first year. Next year, as Hulu broadens its content base, the competition should be much stiffer. That's not to take anything away from The Karate Kid, by the way. Just some of the other movies in the running.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Jumanji," with a rocking 48% of the vote.

The only other nominee was "Dragonheart."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Documentary Feature"

2009-05-22T09:45:00.004-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Hoop Dreams!

Here's a word from the film company that brought this powerful documentary to the world at large:

Kartemquin Films is thrilled to receive this recognition from Hulu viewers. It’s fantastic to have our classic film reach new audiences through this emerging platform. Thank you for your support and for this award.

Congratulations to everyone involved with this film for this achievement. It's impossible to watch Hoop Dreams without wondering about the current status of the main characters. After all, fifteen years have passed since the movie was released.

Sadly, their lives have been a mixed bag at best. Both men have lost brothers, and Arthur lost his father as well. All three deaths were a result of violence, which reinforces the reality of the dangers of life in the hood.

You can read a synopsis of their current lives on Wikipedia, here. Or, you can check out Arthur's charity website, here. For a more pessimistic and in-depth look, read this Sports Illustrated article on the family.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Split: A Divided America," with 39% of the vote.

The other nominees were "Burger Town," "Africa: The Serengeti," and "Cosmic Voyage."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Dramatic Movie"

2009-05-21T10:12:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

The Karate Kid!

The movie has expired from Hulu's active roster, but the spirit of Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san lives on. The fact that it's become an exhaustive movie franchise (watch next year for the latest incarnation, which will star Will Smith's son) can make us forget the fact that the seminal movie was genuinely fun, very touching, and one of the most eminently quotable movies of the eighties.

25 years later, the relationships in the movie still have some resonance. The exasperation between Ralph Macchio's Daniel and his mother, the sweet romance between Daniel and a young Elisabeth Shue, and, of course, the student/instructor relationship between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi are all masterfully handled. It's rare for a movie to explore warrior training as social healing, and even rarer for a movie to do so successfully. The friendship that forms between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi demonstrates that karate truly is a code of conduct rather than a means of destruction. School bully Johnny's relationship with his own harsh "sensei" provide a stark contrast between good and evil. Sure, it's all schmaltz, but who can resist the impulse to cheer when Pat Morita jumps over that fence to do a little ass-kicking?

Here are six things you might not know about this movie (with thanks to imdb.com):

1) DC comics gave special permission for use of the name "Karate Kid," because they had copyrighted the name for a member of their "Legion of Superheroes."
2) The yellow classic automobile that Daniel polishes in the famous "wax-on/wax-off" training scene, then later offered by Mr. Miyagi as Daniel's birthday gift, was actually given to Ralph Macchio by the producer, and he still owns it.
3) According to Joe Esposito, "You're the Best" was originally written for Rocky III (1982) which explains the lyric "History repeats itself". The song had been rejected in favor of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger".
4) During filming in late 1983, Ralph Macchio was actually a hoary old 22 years old. Some of the cast did not believe him when he was asked about his age.
5) The studio wanted to drop the "drunk Miyagi" scene, feeling it slowed the pace down. Director Avildsen argued for it and has felt it was the scene that got Morita nominated for an Oscar.
6) The scenes in this film where Mr. Miyagi is using chopsticks to catch flies in midair is an obscure reference to the film Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettô Ganryûjima (1956) where a very similar scene is used.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Lost in Translation," which squeaked out the recognition with 28% of the vote.

The other nominees were "Of Mice and Men," Sense and Sensibility," and "Sleepless in Seattle."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Show of the Eighties"

2009-05-20T12:38:00.005-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

The A Team!

The above is the opening clip from the season one, episode 3, which die hard fans might recognize as the first appearance of Dirk Benedict as the hyper-cool scamster "Face Man."

Speaking of whom, we received a quick word of thanks from Mr. Benedict, who is a friend of the Hulu Review. He writes:

Can you imagine that? The A Team wins an actual "Award". And they said it could never happen.

You can see Dirk's impressively large collection of current projects (did you know he was an accomplished author, for example?) over at his site, http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com/

We also got a statement from one of the bigwigs over at the main fansite for Dwight Schultz, who you will best remember as "Howling Mad" Murdock. The site is run out of Europe, so please forgive any slight grammatical awkwardness, and instead marvel at the boundless enthusiasm and excitement this series still generates, TWENTY SIX YEARS after making its debut.

It’s like Hannibal's famous one liner:"I love it when a plan comes together." That's how I felt when I heard the A-team was nominated for a Hulu award.

Who can forget those four guys, each with their own specialty?

Hannibal's crazy plans always seemed to work; there is no better way of starting an attack than going through the front door, remember, and afterward you smoke a cigar (never forget that cigar!)

B.A., being the muscleman of the team and the mechanic, was always fixing everything and creating vehicles that you would never believe would drive and do the trick (but they always did).

Face, the womanizer and conman of the team, was always getting Hannibal what he needed, and always kissing a girl (although his love for pretty women got Faceman in trouble sometimes).

And last but not least, the crazy pilot of the team, Murdock, who could fly anything with wings. He spends his time in the VA hospital pretending to be crazy and fooling the entire military with his act, while driving B.A. crazy.

Of course, the A-team had a little help from Amy and later on from Tawnia, and in season 5 Frankie showed up. But in the end everybody knows it was those four guys that were the A-team.

It was not only the characters, but the actors who brought the characters to life, that made the series the A-team such a success. There was a unique chemistry between the four actors, and that’s one important reason why a new A-team movie will never work. You never can replace those four actors with other actors. Remember: never change a winning team!

They gave us a mix of cartoon humor and fights. Usually nobody died, even though bullets flew all over the place, and explosions threw cars into the air like toys. Only a few times did someone (like in the episode "The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas").

Every episode gave children the message: in the end the good always wins over the bad. That combination of humor, action and cartoon violence still appeals to kids and most adults today. Kids get it. It’s like watching a cartoon (while some adults unfortunately don’t get that sometimes).

The A-team is timeless fun; it never bores you. As a kid you always know that in the end, thanks to a crazy plan, the good guys will win, so let’s be happy that the A-team won that Hulu Award. The guys earned it because they have been entertaining children and adults for more than 25 years!

Claudia "Choppercrazy," of http://www.dwightschultzfansite.nl/enghome.php

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Married With Children," which beat out the second-place A-Team with 34% of the total vote.

The other nominees were "Benson," Alf," and "The Facts of Life."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Animated Short"

2009-05-20T10:26:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Nun Fight Club!

Nun Fight Club, the clever animated short by Director Declan de Barra, gets past the artsy-fartsiness of the competition and goes right to our hearts. The name says it all: a silly concept taken to its ultimate, hilarious end.

Sadly, Hulu has taken the short down from their site, but you can still view it here.

Declan is an offbeat Irish musician whose creative spirit has rocked many platforms. You can check out his other projects, past and present, here.

After 20,000 audience votes, "Nun Fight Club" also took the audience pick, with about 47% of the vote.

The other, very worthy nominees were "Born to Be Alive," Far West," and "Metro," and "Carnivore Reflux." I invite you to view them all on Hulu. You won't be sorry.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Dramatic Short"

2009-05-19T13:10:00.002-04:00

And the Hulie goes to....

Save The Children!

Terje Rangnes' thought-provoking creation is a masterpiece of drama. Amazingly, this is his short film debut. Our views of the children in question shifts a couple of times throughout the course of the six minute film, and every time we're about to let our chuckles ratchet up to an outright laugh, something else happens to throw us off of our guard.

Unfortunately, we were unable to get an acceptance speech from Mr. Rangnes, due to some cross-continental communications problems, but we are sure that he's cleared a space on his mantelpiece for his Hulie.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "The Rip-off," with a definitive 79% of the vote. The director of this excellent short is Mr. Kun Chang, a friend of the Hulu Review. Kun wrote us that he was "excited" about the distinction, and you can read more about his past and current projects on his site, here.

The other nominees were "One Down," Evol," and "Happy."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Major Network"

2009-05-18T13:16:00.001-04:00

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

NBC!

While the Peacock Network may not always pull the big ratings of the other networks, its online programming ranks first amongst our panel. Though the other networks have caught up since the voting period, NBC set the precedent. From new favorites like "Chuck," "30 Rock," and "Friday Night Lights" to classics like "ER," "Quantum Leap," and "The A-Team" (thanks to its partnership with Universal), NBC delivers over 570 full episodes and counting. NBC also offers clips from its late night talk shows and an extensive collection from "Saturday Night Live." From 1975 to today, you can check out skits by cast members like Dan Akroyd, Lily Tomlin, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Mike Meyers, Gilda Radner, Adam Sandler, Jim Belushi, Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, and Chris Rock as well as current bits and original online content like backstage pieces and promos.

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite was (somewhat ironically) FOX with 53% of the votes.

As a network, the FOX Broadcasting Company is young. But since its debut in the Fall of 1986, it has consistently been a programming force to reckon with. It's also become notorious for airing promising TV shows and canceling them seemingly hastily, especially sci-fi programs, and earning the ire of viewers. If you include shows that have been produced by FOX but aired on other channels, you can watch full episodes of "Remington Steele," "St. Elsewhere," "Doogie Howser, M.D.," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," "Bones," "Roswell," and "Dollhouse" to name a few, plus over 4,500 clips.

NBC and FOX were the only two nominees in this category.

Taking a break

2009-05-08T09:47:00.002-04:00

The Hulu Review will be on hiatus for one week beginning Saturday, May 9, 2009. Tune back in next week for more Hulie winners!

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Science Fiction Movie"

2009-05-08T09:34:00.003-04:00

Please welcome guest presenter John J. Joex, who helps run the excellent SciFi website Axiom's Edge

And the Hulie goes to...

Men In Black!

Bringing us a menacing alien cockroach, caffeine addicted worms, and the classic (and brilliant) team up of Will Smith and Tommie Lee Jones, Men in Black takes the top honor as the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie on Hulu.com. Based on a comic book series by the same name, the movie exploded on big screens in 1997, becoming an instant classic in the genre and spawning a hit sequel in 2002.

The film benefited from a great concept, good script, high-dollar special effects, and expert direction from Barry Sonnenfeld. But what really made this movie soar was the chemistry between its two lead actors. Aping the age-old "buddy cop" formula, Tommy Lee Jones played the grizzled, streetwise veteran with Will Smith doing his best as the brash, upstart rookie. But this was no "buddy cop" movie as they dealt with a myriad of aliens disguised as everyday people (and dogs) while they casually went about their way saving the universe. Men in Black skewers Science Fiction movies and comic books and delivers plenty of laughs in the process.

Interestingly enough, the original ending for the movie had Agent K and the bug engaging in a humorous, existential debate. However this was scrapped as unexciting, in favor of a more action-oriented conclusion. Allegedly, this change perturbed make-up artist Rick Baker because his animatronic bug was replaced with CGI effects because they required more movement from the creature.

Along with its sequel, Men in Black also spun off an animated series that ran for four season (53 episodes) that became a regular part of the Saturday Morning Kid's WB lineup. Unfortunately, it has not made its way to DVD or to Hulu.com yet.

Men in Black grossed over $250 million domestically and is number 47 on the list of top grossing in the United States. On the Rotten Tomatoes movie site, it has a 91% "fresh" rating.

Unfortunately, its time on Hulu has expired so you can't catch it there anymore. But if you've never seen the movie, or just haven't seen it in a while, do yourself a favor and rent a copy from you local video store or buy one from your local megamart.

After 20,000 votes, the audience favorite was... The Fifth Element.

The other Nominees were:

Planet of the Apes

Starship Troopers

The Thing

John's Final Thoughts: I cast my vote for John Carpenter's The Thing in this category, but Men in Black is just as deserving of the award. In fact, if I have not already given MIB the nod for Best Comedy Movie, it would have been a real struggle to pick between the two. Still, I'm guessing that The Thing will take the award in Best Horror Movie, so everybody will be a winner.

The Fifth Element was a decent, if mildly overrated, movie and I can see where it would get the audience vote. Starship Troopers deserved its slot in the finals as it gives us a seminal action-adventure movie with a healthy dose of self deprecation. However, I don't know how Planet of the Apes made it all the way to the finals (this was not the original but the 2001 debacle of a remake) as I cannot find a single person who even thinks that movie even moderately good. Perhaps a large population dialed into the internet from the Bizarro World and cast votes for it . . .

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Sports Programming"

2009-05-06T20:35:00.003-04:00

And the Hulie goes to...

NHL!

Here are a few nice moments that NHL has brought to Hulu:

No major sport has been as involved with Hulu as the National Hockey League. Hulu viewers are treated to scads of full games, a handful of player profiles, and a consistently released weekly highlight reel. Even a NHL superfan can watch until his eyes are bleeding and his girlfriend has gotten the puck out of there. It's no wonder our panelists recognized this offering as prime sporting content.

The broader question is why the NHL has such a fervent fan base. Men on skates hitting pucks with sticks? Kind of weird if you think of it. Maybe the answer lies in the mind of Steve Ratinetz, who accumulated 120 hours of footage of fights between hockey players. "I only save decent fights," he said once to the New York Times . "I can't be bothered with every two minute penalty."

If the vital fluids of hockey players are indeed spilled to satisfy a deep, subconscious bloodlust in the viewing public, then you should take a gander at this list of extreme hockey injuries. Impalings, slap shots to the throat, severed carotid arteries, and other things your parents may not have been thinking of when they bought you that first hockey stick:

Read the gruesome list here!

After 20,000 audience votes cast in the Hulu Awards, the Audience Favorite was Ninja Warrior, which eked out the honor with just 26% of the vote.

Accepting this honor on behalf of Ninja Warrior is G4's own Daniel Whitehill, who writes:

On behalf of G4, we would like to thank the Hulu Review for recognizing "Ninja Warrior" in the "Best Sports Programming" category of the 2009 Hulu Awards.

Ninja Warrior has found tremendous popularity among our male audience and we look forward to seeing continued viewer support on the network and via online tune-in.

G4 staff and viewers regard Hulu as a premiere source of programming online and it is an honor to receive the “Best Sport Programming” nomination for Ninja Warrior.

Fans of the show who are interested in an opportunity to be part of “Ninja Fest 4” are invited to submit their videos on www.G4tv.com/ninjachallenge.

The other nominees were:

American Gladiators
A Shot at Glory
Firsthand

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Comedic Short"

2009-05-05T11:11:00.002-04:00

And the Hulie goes to...

Dentally Disturbed!

And here, to accept the Hulie, is a word from the amazingly talented Craig Melville.

"The producers of Dentally Disturbed are very excited to have won "Best Comedic Short." The other films in the category were really great so it's awesome to be chosen from a selection of very funny films. We really appreciate the award and we wish the Hulu Awards all the best for the future. "

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was also Dentally Disturbed. It garnered a shockingly strong 63% of the audience vote.

The other nominees were:
How to Cope With Rejection
Laid Off
Music For One Apartment and Six Drummers
Shaolin Delivery Boy

With some of the categories in our awards, we all have preconceived notions about what will win, because the major networks have crammed their shows down our throats over a period of years. But in this category, our panelists and audience members went into the selections cold, and viewed about fifty different comedic short films before making their selections. The fact that Dentally Disturbed triumphed with both the panelists and the voting audience speaks to the quality of the piece.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Show of the Seventies"

2009-05-04T11:30:00.008-04:00

(please welcome guest presenter Stella Louise, who runs the excellent blog "Well Above Average")

And the Hulie goes to...

The Mary Tyler Moore Show!






Not only did Mary Richards and company win over the Hulu Awards
judges, but "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" garnered 24% of 20,000
audience votes as well, beating out fellow nominees "Barney Miller,"
"The Bob Newhart Show," "Charlie's Angels," and "I Dream of
Jeannie" for "Best Show of the Seventies."

Yes, Mary Tyler Moore was turning us all on with her smile; for
seven seasons, we all tuned in to watch the original single working
girl. The show was groundbreaking in its depiction of never-
married, independent career woman as the main character.  Carrie
Bradshaw, of Sex and the City, owes much to Mary Richards paving
the way.

The ensemble cast included the gruff Mr. Grant, acerbic Murray
Slaughter, insufferably pompous anchorman Ted Baxter, street
smart Rhoda Morgenstern and sex-crazed Sue Ann Nivens.  So
popular were the various characters that the Mary Tyler Moore
Show inspired three spin-offs:  Rhoda, Phyllis and The Lou Grant
Show. But in the midst of it all was the unflappable and unstoppable
Mary Richards.  Through bad dates, job crises and an array of changing
hairstyles, Mary Richards and company kept us entertained.

There have been dozens of stand out moments in the award-winning
show during its run:  the iconic "You got spunk!" moment, the classic
"Chuckles Bites the Dust" episode and the teary-eyed series finale,
but ultimately The Mary Tyler Moore show was all about family, as
Mary Richards herself put it to Lou Grant:

"… sometimes I get concerned about being a career woman.
I get to thinking that my job is too important to me. And I
tell myself that the people I work with are just the people I
work with. But last night I thought 'what is family anyway?'
It's the people who make you feel less alone and really loved."


For millions of viewers, the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show felt
like family.  And every moment spent with them was like taking a
nothing day, and suddenly making it all seem worthwhile.

The Hulu Top Twenty

2009-05-01T11:55:00.003-04:00

Lots of new movies to enjoy this week.

1. Three O'Clock High (1987)

Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: This is a funny, slick movie that relies on stylish camera tricks to form a cohesive tone. The movie spins out a simple story-- a high school student facing an imminent beating from a school bully-- to a feature-length movie. The slowness with which the scheduled fight approaches adds suspense to the climax, even if the climax can't deliver on the built up expectations. It moves up to the top of the list during it's first full week on Hulu.

2. The Future of Food (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 1
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Hey! I just paid money to rent this one from Blockbuster.com. Bad timing, Hulu! The documentary does some good scare-mongering about the presence of genetically modified foods. I'm not so convinced that GM foods will be bad for my health, but I was shocked at the legal power that GM foods give to massive research corporations, to the detriment of consumers and family farmers everywhere. If you have only a vague idea as to why GM foods are bad, this is a must-see.

3. Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: The tepid sequel to the surprising hit featuring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves as heroes who find themselves romantically interested in each other even as a mastermind criminal puts them through their paces by threatening to kill civilians.

4. Waking the Dead (2000)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly headline this eerie, supernatural drama in which the intense Crudup tries to find his dead, lost love, who may or may not still walk the earth in one form or another

5. Sex and Consequences (2007)
Last Week's Ranking: NA

Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Joan Severance and Corbin Benson start off what seems like an innocent affair between a younger man and an older woman, but the young man has to question his lover's motives when she seems to be tryin to incite a confrontation between himself and hher cop husband.

6. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 6
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This one is definitely on the downswing of Cheech and Chong 's storied stonerific career. While their earlier movies reveled in the goofy abuses of freedom that ran rampant in the seventies, this one can't escape the encroaching onset of Reagan's war on drugs. Still, stoner movies have their niche in moviedom, and that niche is bigger at Hulu than in the world at large.

7. The Manhattan Project (1986)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (5)
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.

8. Anastasia (1997)
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This animated Disney flick will be remembered as a good representative of the last vanguard of 2D animation. The voice talent is strictly all-star, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kirsten Dunst, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury. A historic setting provides an educational component, the romance is light and believable, and the disintegrating Rasputin is the best villain since the Lion King's Scar.

9. Inside Special Forces (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 7
Notes: Military geeks will enjoy pretending they're alongside the US Special Military forces spotlighted in this movie. It's a lot closer to gun porn than you might expect from a classy outfit like National Geographic, but they do bring their signature awesome videography skills to the table.

10. Your Friends and Neighbors (1998)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Ben Stiller is one of the ensemble cast that finds themselves in illicit dalliances of all sizes and shapes. It's billed as a dark comedy, but director Neil Labute is so good at characterizing the sadness of these people's lives that you might find it is more of a downer/drama.

11. Super Size Me (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 7
Notes: Just weeks after documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock was nominated for a Hulu Award for his reality series "30 Days," his hit documentary film takes the number one spot on the Top Twenty for the week. Could this be a sign that Hulu viewers are brainier and more health conscious than the country at large? Maybe. At any rate, if you haven't seen this fantastic movie, you should. Spurlock uses himself as a guinea pig to answer the question: What will happen when an otherwise-healthy man eats nothing but McDonalds for a month? The answer to that question is probably somewhat obvious, but the film gets us to think about the factors that go into the decision to pull into that drive-thru.

12. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 8
Notes: This movie has become notorious for two things: naked young people in the titular lagoon, and being very, very bad. Christopher Atkin's curly blond locks make him the iconic surfer boy, while Brooke Shields shows us why, after a quarter century, she still fails to engage the audience in any way that is not sexual (and even that's iffy).

13. National Geographic Specials: The FBI (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is not a movie. Not sure why it appears on the list, but here it is.

14. Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Last Week's Ranking: 3
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Billy Murray and Robert Deniro both play against type in this offbeat comedy. Deniro is a meek cop who falls in love with Uma Thurman, a beauty who is in the clutches of gangster tough Murray. Murray and Deniro have some really fun scenes together, as do Deniro and Thurman. The film's major fault is the lack of a climax.

15. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 12 (18)
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. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

16. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List:1
Notes: Acting heavyweights Willem DaFoe and Harvey Keitel knock our socks off under Martin Scorcese's able directorial hand. Scorcese takes the root story of the crucifixion, and presents it as a drama, which allows for a multi-layered reading that may or may notpiss off Christians and atheists alike.

17. Bad Reputation (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Featuring A no-name cast led by Angelique Hennessy, this horror flick centers around the lurid premise of a good girl who is raped and then uses the resulting stigma of wanton sexuality to entrap her tormentors. It didn't earn a single review on Rotten Tomatoes, but at least Hulu is putting up slight films that are relatively recent.

18. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 13 (14)
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.

19. Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: Younger moviegoers may wonder how in hell Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner ever got famous in the first place. The Jewel of the Nile has all the answers you need-- a well-paced action comedy that shows off both actors to their best entertaining potential. It may not have aged particularly well, but it is a nice little representative of the era in which it was made.

20. Slaughterhouse Five (1972)
Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: A somewhat-surreal modern classic novel adapted into a bizarre film, Vonnegut's masterful handling of anti-war themes touch on the effects of war on a broad spectrum of society, not just the soldier who bleeds on the battlefield. Twenty odd years on, this movie may be difficult to access for a modern audience, but a little investment will get you a great return on your thoughts.

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

Cliffhanger (1993)
Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Sly Stallone proves that he still has some guns (the muscley bicep kind, not the commie death-dealing kind) in this well-paced actioner about a group of high-altitude hikers facing down some gunmen on the unforgiving Alps. A decent movie for what it is, although there is a silly conceit we're supposed to swallow: Dex is the most important thing you can have to stave off hypothermia and certain death, yet no one carries it in adequate supplies. John Lithgow is the villainous foil. Hulu has it mismarked as coming from 2003-- nice attempt to modernize your listings, Hulu!

Totally Baked (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: I can't keep track of the stoner comedies that continue to float down the pike. This one tries to jump on the mockumentary bandwagon about five years too late, and earned exactly zero reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Shakedown (1984)
Last Week's Ranking: 16

Weeks on List: 1
Notes: A forgettable actioner in which an attorney and a cop have to join forces to stop an evil, corrupt cop. At least it has the eminently watchable Sam Elliott to keep things moving along.

Safe Men (1998)
Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Two high-energy leads like Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn bring a lot of promise to the screen, and they just barely save the hackneyed plot, which centers on two lounge singers who get mistaken for safe crackers.

Dig! (2004)

Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: With so many musical documentaries out there, a director has to go above and beyond to stand out. That's exactly what Ondi Timoney has done, culling through 2000 hours of footage to come up with the story of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, two rival bands that are a tangled mess of humanity and music industry politics.

The Beguiled (1971)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Critics rave about this old Clint Eastwood film that shows his raw sexuality against a gothic western background. Eastwood is a Civil War soldier who is injured and must recuperate under the care of a group of female boarding school students. Their loneliness combine with his lust to create a tempest of emotions.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 2 (11)
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.

American Virgin (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 1 (14)
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy. Why has it done 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?

HALL OF FAME:
The Hall of Fame has moved! If you're interested in seeing which movies have had the most long term success on this list, check it out here.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Anime Show"

2009-05-01T11:34:00.005-04:00

And the Hulie goes to...

Death Note!

What a series! What art! What a story! Death Note impressed our panelists, many of whom were not anime fans, with its overall quality and depth. Death Note has been scrawled across a variety of platforms-- it has been produced as a manga, a paperback, a novel, a video game, a live-action movie, and this anime series, directed by Tetsuro Araki. It continues to pick up fans in all of its many incarnations.

The story revolves around a student who finds a notebook from the realm of the gods. Writing a person's name in the book will cause that person's death.

The theme has led to some real wishful thinking on the parts of students in China, Japan, and the US. There have been several instances of students making their own replica "death note" notebooks and writing the names of teachers and peers within them. Wikipedia notes that eight children in four different US states have been suspended or expelled for owning such notebooks, while the school district of the Shenyang province in China has explicitly banned Death Note in order to protect the minds of its students from material that "misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit."

If you're thinking of contacting the gods of death and requesting your own Death Note notebook, keep this complete set of rules in mind.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Mushi-Shi." You can read my tribute to this fantastic series here.

The other nominees were:
Astro Boy
Naruto
Speed Racer

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Short Format Series (non-comedy)"

2009-04-30T12:17:00.001-04:00

And the Hulie goes to...

"30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust"

For the uninitiated, "Dust to Dust" is a six part horror series posted on Hulu by FEARnet. It serves as a sequel to the Josh Hartnett movie "30 Days of Night," which is itself based on a series of comic books. The central premise is that vampirism can be spread like a virus, with a single scratch or bite being the start of a precipitous descent into the ranks of the undead.

In just 35 total minutes, the six installments establish a cast of sympathetic characters who must wrestle with the moral questions that come up when a loved one becomes, irrevocably, a killer. The quick-cuts, expansive buckets of gore, and panicky characters define the show as something that has the power to touch us on a visceral level.

Is it weird to present these animalistic vampires, who seem so out of control, and who transmit their condition with little more than a touch? If you look at other examples of vampires in modern media, you might think that it is. After all, the most anyone has done to stretch the stereotype in the last twenty years is Twilight, which took the (brave?) position that vampires avoid the sunlight because it makes them sparkle.

But if you look at the history of the vampire myth, you'll find that there's way more leeway than you may have otherwise believed. As per Wikipedia:

It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin and its left eye was often open.^[21] It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature.^[22]

Other attributes varied greatly from culture to culture; some vampires, such as those found in Transylvanian tales, were gaunt, pale, and had long fingernails, while those from Bulgaria only had one nostril,^[23] and Bavarian vampires slept with thumbs crossed and one eye open.^[24] Moravian vampires only attacked while naked, and those of Albanian folklore wore high-heeled shoes.^[24] As stories of vampires spread throughout the globe to the Americas and elsewhere, so did the varied and sometimes bizarre descriptions of them: Mexican vampires had a bare skull instead of a head,^[24] Brazilian vampires had furry feet and vampires from the Rocky Mountains only sucked blood with their noses and from the victim's ears.^[24] Common attributes were sometimes described, such as red hair.^[24] Some were reported to be able to transform into bats, rats, dogs, wolves, spiders and even moths.^[25] From these various legends, works of literature such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, and the influences of historical bloodthirsty figures such as Gilles de Rais, Elizabeth Báthory, and Vlad Ţepeş, the vampire developed into the modern stereotype.^[20]^[24]

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Gemini Division," which stars Rosario Dawson.

The third and final nominee was "Pink: The Series."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Movie Studio"

2009-04-29T08:38:00.005-04:00

And the Hulie goes to...

Universal Studios!

Panelists and voting audience members agree: Universal Studio has brought the best movie content to Hulu.com. They have something for every taste, from the hopelessly liberal (Cheech and Chong's Next Movie) to the hopelessly conservative (Jesus Christ, Superstar). Family friendly schlock like Beethoven's 2nd (even Beethovenier than the original!) doesn't completely eclipse the more meaty fare like Slaughterhouse Five, Broken Flowers, and The Beguiled. Perhaps most importantly, all of these titles feature full length films, as opposed to sets of clips that merely whet your appetite.

Hats off to Universal for their rich history of moviemaking-- even when they make bad movies, they make them well.

Universal is the second-oldest movie studio on the face of the planet (younger than rival Paramount by one month). It was founded by a clothing store manager named Carl Laemmle, who noticed the popularity of a nickelodeon in Chicago and decided to invest in one of his own. His business savvy led him to start his own fledgling company rather than pay fees to famed inventor Thomas Edison. This bold move led to the corporate behemoth we all know and consume today.

Here, you can see a complete list of every movie they've ever released at Wikipedia

The other nominees for this Hulie were:

MGM
Pix 20th
Century Fox

What's Universal done for you lately? Here's a trailer for one of their 2009 releases. It's pure craptastic horror, and yet the inclusion of Alison Lohman (she's as good as Lindsay Lohan is bad) and Justin Long (the PC guy or the porn star from Zach and Miri Make a Porno, depending on your interests) give it a strange appeal for me.

The Hulies are Here!

2009-04-27T13:01:00.002-04:00

After months of preparation, I am very pleased to announce that this week, I will begin releasing the results of the Hulu Awards (aka, the Hulies).

For those of you who may not know, the Hulies are awards given to Hulu.com content in a variety of categories. For each category, a panel of 25 journalists and bloggers gave careful consideration to the eligible content before narrowing the field down to five nominees. There was also an audience voting component that allowed the voting public at large to ensure that their favorite pick was included in the list of final nominees.

Since we received an overwhelming audience response of 20,000 votes cast, we'll also be recognizing the top audience pick in each category. Sometimes this is the same as the actual Hulie winner, and sometimes it's not.

Eligible content for each category was posted on Hulu during it's first full year of existence, October 2007-October 2008.

Please note that, for each award, the audience voting is still open until the day that the results are actually posted. So, if you haven't voted yet for your favorites, please consider clicking on the category in the list on the right, and making your voice heard. Some of the races are very tight, and one vote actually can make a difference.

Thank you to all the panelists and audience members who participated!

The Hulu Top Twenty

2009-04-24T21:01:00.004-04:00

Hulu threw everything but the kitchen sink at us this week-- no fewer than eight new movies hit the charts, including everything from a genetically-modified-food frightfest documentary to a little-known but critically lauded Clint Eastwood vehicle from the early seventies. Overall viewership still seems to be down (I guess it's a seasonal thing), but if you have the time, you could do worse than to check out their new offerings.

1. The Future of Foods (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Hey! I just paid money to rent this one from Blockbuster.com. Bad timing, Hulu! The documentary does some good scare-mongering about the presence of genetically modified foods. I'm not so convinced that GM foods will be bad for my health, but I was shocked at the legal power that GM foods give to massive research corporations, to the detriment of consumers and family farmers everywhere. If you have only a vague idea as to why GM foods are bad, this is a must-see.

2. Slaughterhouse Five (1972)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: A somewhat-surreal modern classic novel adapted into a bizarre film, Vonnegut's masterful handling of anti-war themes touch on the effects of war on a broad spectrum of society, not just the soldier who bleeds on the battlefield. Twenty odd years on, this movie may be difficult to access for a modern audience, but a little investment will get you a great return on your thoughts.

3. Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Billy Murray and Robert Deniro both play against type in this offbeat comedy. Deniro is a meek cop who falls in love with Uma Thurman, a beauty who is in the clutches of gangster tough Murray. Murray and Deniro have some really fun scenes together, as do Deniro and Thurman. The film's major fault is the lack of a climax.

4. Bad Reputation (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Featuring A no-name cast led by Angelique Hennessy, this horror flick centers around the lurid premise of a good girl who is raped and then uses the resulting stigma of wanton sexuality to entrap her tormentors. It didn't earn a single review on Rotten Tomatoes, but at least Hulu is putting up slight films that are relatively recent.

5. Anastasia (1997)
Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: This animated Disney flick will be remembered as a good representative of the last vanguard of 2D animation. The voice talent is strictly all-star, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kirsten Dunst, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury. A historic setting provides an educational component, the romance is light and believable, and the disintegrating Rasputin is the best villain since the Lion King's Scar.

6. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: This one is definitely on the downswing of Cheech and Chong 's storied stonerific career. While their earlier movies reveled in the goofy abuses of freedom that ran rampant in the seventies, this one can't escape the encroaching onset of Reagan's war on drugs. Still, stoner movies have their niche in moviedom, and that niche is bigger at Hulu than in the world at large.

7. Inside Special Forces (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Military geeks will enjoy pretending they're alongside the US Special Military forces spotlighted in this movie. It's a lot closer to gun porn than you might expect from a classy outfit like National Geographic, but they do bring their signature awesome videography skills to the table.

8. Super Size Me (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: Just weeks after documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock was nominated for a Hulu Award for his reality series "30 Days," his hit documentary film takes the number one spot on the Top Twenty for the week. Could this be a sign that Hulu viewers are brainier and more health conscious than the country at large? Maybe. At any rate, if you haven't seen this fantastic movie, you should. Spurlock uses himself as a guinea pig to answer the question: What will happen when an otherwise-healthy man eats nothing but McDonalds for a month? The answer to that question is probably somewhat obvious, but the film gets us to think about the factors that go into the decision to pull into that drive-thru.

9. Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Younger moviegoers may wonder how in hell Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner ever got famous in the first place. The Jewel of the Nile has all the answers you need-- a well-paced action comedy that shows off both actors to their best entertaining potential. It may not have aged particularly well, but it is a nice little representative of the era in which it was made.

10. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 11 (17)
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. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

11. Cliffhanger (1993)
Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Sly Stallone proves that he still has some guns (the muscley bicep kind, not the commie death-dealing kind) in this well-paced actioner about a group of high-altitude hikers facing down some gunmen on the unforgiving Alps. A decent movie for what it is, although there is a silly conceit we're supposed to swallow: Dex is the most important thing you can have to stave off hypothermia and certain death, yet no one carries it in adequate supplies. John Lithgow is the villainous foil. Hulu has it mismarked as coming from 2003-- nice attempt to modernize your listings, Hulu!

12. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 7
Notes: This movie has become notorious for two things: naked young people in the titular lagoon, and being very, very bad. Christopher Atkin's curly blond locks make him the iconic surfer boy, while Brooke Shields shows us why, after a quarter century, she still fails to engage the audience in any way that is not sexual.

13. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 16
Weeks on List: 12 (13)
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.

14. Three O'Clock High (1987)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is a funny, slick movie that relies on stylish camera tricks to form a cohesive tone. The movie spins out a simple story-- a high school student facing an imminent beating from a school bully-- to a feature-length movie. The slowness with which the scheduled fight approaches adds suspense to the climax, even if the climax can't deliver on the built up expectations.

15. Totally Baked (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: I can't keep track of the stoner comedies that continue to float down the pike. This one tries to jump on the mockumentary bandwagon about five years too late, and earned exactly zero reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

16. Shakedown (1984)
Last Week's Ranking: 14

17. Safe Men (1998)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Two high-energy leads like Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn bring a lot of promise to the screen, and they just barely save the hackneyed plot, which centers on two lounge singers who get mistaken for safe crackers.

18. Dig! (2004)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: With so many musical documentaries out there, a director has to go above and beyond to stand out. That's exactly what Ondi Timoney has done, culling through 2000 hours of footage to come up with the story of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, two rival bands that are a tangled mess of humanity and music industry politics.

19. The Beguiled (1971)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Critics rave about this old Clint Eastwood film that shows his raw sexuality against a gothic western background. Eastwood is a Civil War soldier who is injured and must recuperate under the care of a group of female boarding school students. Their loneliness combine with his lust to create a tempest of emotions.

20. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 2 (11)
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.

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

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This is the seminal entry in a bottom of the barrel comedy series that inspired a whole horrific genre. There are some funny moments, both intentional and unintentional, but the movie generally just alternates between three stereotypes: nerds, fraternity jocks, and naked bimbos. I believe this has the original "impossibly long urination sound" joke that has since made the rounds in such notable flicks as Austin Powers.

Shira: The Vampire Samurai (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Well, the title says it all. It's a movie about a samurai who is also a vampire who is also a beautiful woman (funny how that happens). Features Chona Jason in the titular role. She's a stuntwoman-turned-playboy model-turned terrible actress. It's also funny how THAT happens.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Last Week's Ranking: 6
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is the Christian equivalent of the Rocky Horror Picture Show: it's full of energy and schlocky fun that you're either going to love or hate. Most people will dismiss it as unbearable, but it continues to excite a cult audience-- literally.

Kicking It (2008)

Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This like-new documentary shines a spotlight on the Homeless World Cup, a global soccer tournament that features the best players from a pool of 20,000 homeless men. The movie tells the story of seven competitors.

Crackers (1984)
Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: An instantly-forgettable comedy with a threadbare, done-to-death plot about a group of ragtag zanies who try to pull off a safe-cracking heist. Only the cast of Sean Penn and Donald Sutherland might give you the urge to check this one out.

Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)
Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This massive 2.5 hour anime feature didn't receive much attention outside of the target genre audience. It's nice to see that Hulu is adding this to the rolls, but if you're new to anime, you probably won't want to cut your teeth on this behemoth.

Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This is one of the comedies that defines Michael Keaton's early career, and I was shocked to see that it received a ho-hum 47% approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. It features a rapid-fire sequence of spoof comedy jokes in the vein of the Airplane movies, with a Depression-era gangster setting. Little jokes like Keaton using a price gun to put labels on puppies for sale in a pet shop keep it light and amusing, even when some of the more overstated jokes fall flat.

American Virgin (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 1 (14)
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy. Why has it done 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?

HALL OF FAME:
The Hall of Fame has moved! If you're interested in seeing which movies have had the most long term success on this list, check it out here.

The Hulu Top Twenty

2009-04-17T13:05:00.005-04:00

Five new movies grace our list this week, and we also have the bottom two spots being reclaimed by some old favorites. When a perennial like "Requiem For A Dream" makes it back onto the rolls, it can only mean one thing: overall viewership is down. I assume that's because of the great weather many of us have seen this week. I would dwell on it further, but I have to get outside and enjoy this sunshine!

1. Bad Reputation (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Featuring A no-name cast led by Angelique Hennessy, this horror flick centers around the lurid premise of a good girl who is raped and then uses the resulting stigma of wanton sexuality to entrap her tormentors. It didn't earn a single review on Rotten Tomatoes, but at least Hulu is putting up slight films that are relatively recent.

2. Anastasia (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 1
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This animated FOX ANIMATION flick (thanks to the Kipling-inspired catwhowalksbyhimself for the correction) will be remembered as a good representative of the last vanguard of 2D animation. The voice talent is strictly all-star, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kirsten Dunst, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury. A historic setting provides an educational component, the romance is light and believable, and the disintegrating Rasputin is the best villain since the Lion King's Scar.

3. Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Billy Murray and Robert Deniro both play against type in this offbeat comedy. Deniro is a meek cop who falls in love with Uma Thurman, a beauty who is in the clutches of gangster tough Murray. Murray and Deniro have some really fun scenes together, as do Deniro and Thurman. The film's major fault is the lack of a climax.

4. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 3
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This is the seminal entry in a bottom of the barrel comedy series that inspired a whole horrific genre. There are some funny moments, both intentional and unintentional, but the movie generally just alternates between three stereotypes: nerds, fraternity jocks, and naked bimbos. I believe this has the original "impossibly long urination sound" joke that has since made the rounds in such notable flicks as Austin Powers.

5. Shira: The Vampire Samurai (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Well, the title says it all. It's a movie about a samurai who is also a vampire who is also a beautiful woman (funny how that happens). Features Chona Jason in the titular role. She's a stuntwoman-turned-playboy model-turned terrible actress. It's also funny how THAT happens.

6. Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is the Christian equivalent of the Rocky Horror Picture Show: it's full of energy and schlocky fun that you're either going to love or hate. Most people will dismiss it as unbearable, but it continues to excite a cult audience-- literally.

7. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This one is definitely on the downswing of Cheech and Chong 's storied stonerific career. While their earlier movies reveled in the goofy abuses of freedom that ran rampant in the seventies, this one can't escape the encroaching onset of Reagan's war on drugs. Still, stoner movies have their niche in moviedom, and that niche is bigger at Hulu than in the world at large.

8. Kicking It (2008)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This like-new documentary shines a spotlight on the Homeless World Cup, a global soccer tournament that features the best players from a pool of 20,000 homeless men. The movie tells the story of seven competitors.

9. Super Size Me (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: Just weeks after documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock was nominated for a Hulu Award for his reality series "30 Days," his hit documentary film takes the number one spot on the Top Twenty for the week. Could this be a sign that Hulu viewers are brainier and more health conscious than the country at large? Maybe. At any rate, if you haven't seen this fantastic movie, you should. Spurlock uses himself as a guinea pig to answer the question: What will happen when an otherwise-healthy man eats nothing but McDonalds for a month? The answer to that question is probably somewhat obvious, but the film gets us to think about the factors that go into the decision to pull into that drive-thru.

10. Inside Special Forces (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: Military geeks will enjoy pretending they're alongside the US Special Military forces spotlighted in this movie. It's a lot closer to gun porn than you might expect from a classy outfit like National Geographic, but they do bring their signature awesome videography skills to the table.

11. Cliffhanger (1993)
Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Sly Stallone proves that he still has some guns (the muscley bicep kind, not the commie death-dealing kind) in this well-paced actioner about a group of high-altitude hikers facing down some gunmen on the unforgiving Alps. A decent movie for what it is, although there is a silly conceit we're supposed to swallow: Dex is the most important thing you can have to stave off hypothermia and certain death, yet no one carries it in adequate supplies. John Lithgow is the villainous foil. Hulu has it mismarked as coming from 2003-- nice attempt to modernize your listings, Hulu!

12. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 10 (16)
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. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

13. Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: 16
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Younger moviegoers may wonder how in hell Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner ever got famous in the first place. The Jewel of the Nile has all the answers you need-- a well-paced action comedy that shows off both actors to their best entertaining potential. It may not have aged particularly well, but it is a nice little representative of the era in which it was made.

14. Crackers (1984)
Last Week's Ranking: NA

Weeks on List: 1
Notes: An instantly-forgettable comedy with a threadbare, done-to-death plot about a group of ragtag zanies who try to pull off a safe-cracking heist. Only the cast of Sean Penn and Donald Sutherland might give you the urge to check this one out.

15. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 6
Notes: This movie has become notorious for two things: naked young people in the titular lagoon, and being very, very bad. Christopher Atkin's curly blond locks make him the iconic surfer boy, while Brooke Shields shows us why, after a quarter century, she still fails to engage the audience in any way that is not sexual.

16. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 11 (12)
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. Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)
Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This massive 2.5 hour anime feature didn't receive much attention outside of the target genre audience. It's nice to see that Hulu is adding this to the rolls, but if you're new to anime, you probably won't want to cut your teeth on this behemoth.

18. Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This is one of the comedies that defines Michael Keaton's early career, and I was shocked to see that it received a ho-hum 47% approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. It features a rapid-fire sequence of spoof comedy jokes in the vein of the Airplane movies, with a Depression-era gangster setting. Little jokes like Keaton using a price gun to put labels on puppies for sale in a pet shop keep it light and amusing, even when some of the more overstated jokes fall flat.

19. American Virgin (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (14)
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy. Why has it done 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?

20. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1 (10)
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.

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

Confessions of a Superhero (2007)
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This is a great little human interest documentary, with a spotlight on four different people who make their living by dressing up as superheroes and posing for pictures with tourists. When we see a man dressed like Superman trying to help other street performers, we're tempted to give him props as a real-life version of the comic hero. But the film keeps adding layers of humanity, evoking both pity and contempt for him by the time the credits roll. Also features Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Incredible Hulk.

The Bad Girls From Valley High (2000)

Last Week's Ranking: 6
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: The teen horror-comedy just can't seem to get any respect, and this terrible entry may be one of the reasons why. Teenage girls, murder, and lots of valley girl speak are the main selling points, if you can call them that.

Breezy (1973)

Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Before Clint Eastwood directed Oscar-winners, he directed Breezy, a movie about a hippie who finds herself living in the home of a gruff conservative (William Holden). The best reason to see this is to appreciate how far Eastwood has come.

Body Count (1992)

Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: We've got an interesting, talented cast here, including Ving Rhames, Linda Fiorentino, Forest Whittaker, Donnie Wahlberg, David Caruso, and John Leguizamo. The plot sounds perfect for the talent, involving a heist at a museum gone wrong. Ving Rhames and criminal capers go together like peas and carrots. In this case, however, a weak script and weaker direction cause a major misfire.

Sexy Beast (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 18

Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is a bizarre little independent movie that was noticed when Ben Kingsley received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The gist of the movie is that Ray Winstone is a retired safecracker who is roped back in by his old gangster boss (Kingsley) to do another job. Kingsley's brutality works because Winstone does such a fantastic job of being afraid of him.

Air Force One (2001)

Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Hulu has really been blurring the line between movies and television program episodes lately. This "movie" debuted on National Geographic television not too long ago, and I don't see what differentiates it from any other hour long episode of one of their flagship documentary series. At any rate, this spotlights the titular presidential plane from the days of FDR to the days of GWB.

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996)
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: A limp, uninspired effort to wring a few extra dollars out of a moderately successful animated movie. Ernest Borgnine, Charlie Sheen, and Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from Cheers) provide some voice talent.

HALL OF FAME:
The Hall of Fame has moved! If you're interested in seeing which movies have had the most long term success on this list, check it out here.

The Hulu Top Twenty

2009-04-10T12:17:00.002-04:00

There were only 3 new entries to our list this week, which either means that the list is getting tougher to break into, or that there are just not that many new offerings over at Hulu. Judging by what DID make it in, I'm going with the latter.

1. Anastasia (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 1
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: This animated Disney flick will be remembered as a good representative of the last vanguard of 2D animation. The voice talent is strictly all-star, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kirsten Dunst, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury. A historic setting provides an educational component, the romance is light and believable, and the disintegrating Rasputin is the best villain since the Lion King's Scar.

2. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: This one is definitely on the downswing of Cheech and Chong 's storied stonerific career. While their earlier movies reveled in the goofy abuses of freedom that ran rampant in the seventies, this one can't escape the encroaching onset of Reagan's war on drugs. Still, stoner movies have their niche in moviedom, and that niche is bigger at Hulu than in the world at large.

3. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 3
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: This is the seminal entry in a bottom of the barrel comedy series that inspired a whole horrific genre. There are some funny moments, both intentional and unintentional, but the movie generally just alternates between three stereotypes: nerds, fraternity jocks, and naked bimbos. I believe this has the original "impossibly long urination sound" joke that has since made the rounds in such notable flicks as Austin Powers.

4. Cliffhanger (1993)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Sly Stallone proves that he still has some guns (the muscley bicep kind, not the commie death-dealing kind) in this well-paced actioner about a group of high-altitude hikers facing down some gunmen on the unforgiving Alps. A decent movie for what it is, although there is a silly conceit we're supposed to swallow: Dex is the most important thing you can have to stave off hypothermia and certain death, yet no one carries it in adequate supplies. John Lithgow is the villainous foil. Hulu has it mismarked as coming from 2003-- nice attempt to modernize your listings, Hulu!

5. Confessions of a Superhero (2007)
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This is a great little human interest documentary, with a spotlight on four different people who make their living by dressing up as superheroes and posing for pictures with tourists. When we see a man dressed like Superman trying to help other street performers, we're tempted to give him props as a real-life version of the comic hero. But the film keeps adding layers of humanity, evoking both pity and contempt for him by the time the credits roll. Also features Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Incredible Hulk.

6. The Bad Girls From Valley High (2000)

Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Before Clint Eastwood directed Oscar-winners, he directed Breezy, a movie about a hippie who finds herself living in the home of a gruff conservative (William Holden). The best reason to see this is to appreciate how far Eastwood has come.

8. Shira: The Vampire Samurai (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Well, the title says it all. It's a movie about a samurai who is also a vampire who is also a beautiful woman (funny how that happens). Features Chona Jason in the titular role. She's a stuntwoman-turned-playboy model-turned terrible actress. It's also funny how THAT happens.

9. Super Size Me (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Just weeks after documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock was nominated for a Hulu Award for his reality series "30 Days," his hit documentary film takes the number one spot on the Top Twenty for the week. Could this be a sign that Hulu viewers are brainier and more health conscious than the country at large? Maybe. At any rate, if you haven't seen this fantastic movie, you should. Spurlock uses himself as a guinea pig to answer the question: What will happen when an otherwise-healthy man eats nothing but McDonalds for a month? The answer to that question is probably somewhat obvious, but the film gets us to think about the factors that go into the decision to pull into that drive-thru.

10. Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: This is one of the comedies that defines Michael Keaton's early career, and I was shocked to see that it received a ho-hum 47% approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. It features a rapid-fire sequence of spoof comedy jokes in the vein of the Airplane movies, with a Depression-era gangster setting. Little jokes like Keaton using a price gun to put labels on puppies for sale in a pet shop keep it light and amusing, even when some of the more overstated jokes fall flat.

11. Inside Special Forces (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: Military geeks will enjoy pretending they're alongside the US Special Military forces spotlighted in this movie. It's a lot closer to gun porn than you might expect from a classy outfit like National Geographic, but they do bring their signature awesome videography skills to the table.

12. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 16
Weeks on List: 9 (15)
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. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

13. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 5
Notes: This movie has become notorious for two things: naked young people in the titular lagoon, and being very, very bad. Christopher Atkin's curly blond locks make him the iconic surfer boy, while Brooke Shields shows us why, after a quarter century,she still fails to engage the audience in any way that is not sexual.

14. Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)
Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: This massive 2.5 hour anime feature didn't receive much attention outside of the target genre audience. It's nice to see that Hulu is adding this to the rolls, but if you're new to anime, you probably won't want to cut your teeth on this behemoth.

15. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 10 (11)
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.

16. Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Younger moviegoers may wonder how in hell Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner ever got famous in the first place. The Jewel of the Nile has all the answers you need-- a well-paced action comedy that shows off both actors to their best entertaining potential. It may not have aged particularly well, but it is a nice little representative of the era in which it was made.

17. Body Count (1992)

Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: We've got an interesting, talented cast here, including Ving Rhames, Linda Fiorentino, Forest Whittaker, Donnie Wahlberg, David Caruso, and John Leguizamo. The plot sounds perfect for the talent, involving a heist at a museum gone wrong. Ving Rhames and criminal capers go together like peas and carrots. In this case, however, a weak script and weaker direction cause a major misfire.

18. Sexy Beast (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: NA

19. Air Force One (2001)

Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Hulu has really been blurring the line between movies and television program episodes lately. This "movie" debuted on National Geographic television not too long ago, and I don't see what differentiates it from any other hour long episode of one of their flagship documentary series. At any rate, this spotlights the titular presidential plane from the days of FDR to the days of GWB.

20. All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996)
Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: A limp, uninspired effort to wring a few extra dollars out of a moderately successful animated movie. Ernest Borgnine, Charlie Sheen, and Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from Cheers) provide some voice talent.

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

In the Line of Fire (1993)
Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Sixteen years ago, people were already saying that Clint Eastwood was getting too old to be an action star. But "In the Line of Fire" was the presidential assassination thriller that shut all of those critics up. Eastwood plays a secret service agent who was on hand when JFK was shot. Now, decades later, he faces another threat to another president, this time from ace crackpot John Malkovich. Rene Russo and Dylan McDermott give supporting roles in this extremely well-done genre exercise.

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 2 (10)
Notes: There must be something I'm not getting about this I-Max documentary featuring fighter pilots. It keeps coming back to our Top Twenty list, like a bad case of herpes. The message board for the movie has a lot of military folks chatting it up, so that may have something to do with it.

The Pleasure Seekers (1964)
Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This remake came only 10 years after the original "Three Coins in the Fountain," and features the same storyline of three american beauties visiting Italy for a shot at romance. Each one winds up with what seems like the wrong guy. Weirdly, both this remake and the original were directed by the same person, Jean Negulesco.

HALL OF FAME:
The Hall of Fame has moved! If you're interested in seeing which movies have had the most long term success on this list, check it out here.

The Hulu Hall of Fame

2009-04-10T11:27:00.005-04:00

This is the new permanent home for the Hall of Fame. Feel free to bookmark it, and check in every once in a while. New inclusions are generally posted on Fridays.

The movies on this list are the most successful movies that have been hosted by Hulu. They have had the longest run on the Hulu Top Twenty list. Right now, the threshold for inclusion is 9 weeks, but I anticipate that it will go up over time.

Liar, Liar (1997)

Weeks on List: 20
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. It spent nearly 5 months in the top 20, which is the best confirmed record in out Hall of Fame.

The Fifth Element
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.

Picture Perfect (1997)

Weeks on List: 13
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. This one has expired, so look for it in the Hall of Fame next week.

American Virgin (2000)
Weeks on List: 13
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy. Why has it done 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?

The Family Man (2000)
Weeks on List: 13
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.

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)

Weeks on List: 12
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. Twelve weeks on the top twenty list will earn it a spot in the Hall of Fame next week.

Basic Instinct (1992)
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.

Black Knight (2001)

Weeks on List: 10
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.

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
Weeks on List: 10
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.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Weeks on List: 11
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.

Dragonheart (1996)

Weeks on List: 9
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? The consistent presence of this one on the Top Twenty may mean that Hulu is connecting with a family niche on a regular basis.

The Hulu Top Twenty

2009-04-03T11:51:00.005-04:00

This seems to be a retro week of sorts over at Hulu-- we've got some hits (and bombs) from the 80s and 90s debuting near the top of the list.

1. Anastasia (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This animated Disney flick will be remembered as a good representative of the last vanguard of 2D animation. The voice talent is strictly all-star, with Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kirsten Dunst, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury. A historic setting provides an educational component, the romance is light and believable, and the disintegrating Rasputin is the best villain since the Lion King's Scar.

2. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This one is definitely on the downswing of Cheech and Chong 's storied stonerific career. While their earlier movies reveled in the goofy abuses of freedom that ran rampant in the seventies, this one can't escape the encroaching onset of Reagan's war on drugs.

3. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is the seminal entry in a bottom of the barrel comedy series that inspired a whole horrific genre. There are some funny moments, both intentional and unintentional, but the movie generally just alternates between three stereotypes: nerds, fraternity jocks, and naked bimbos. I believe this has the original "impossibly long urination sound" joke that has since made the rounds in such notable flicks as Austin Powers.

4. Breezy (1973)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Before Clint Eastwood directed Oscar-winners, he directed Breezy, a movie about a hippie who finds herself living in the home of a gruff conservative (William Holden). The best reason to see this is to appreciate how far Eastwood has come.

5. Confessions of a Superhero (2007)
Last Week's Ranking: 4
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: This is a great little human interest documentary, with a spotlight on four different people who make their living by dressing up as superheroes and posing for pictures with tourists. When we see a man dressed like Superman trying to help other street performers, we're tempted to give him props as a real-life version of the comic hero. But the film keeps adding layers of humanity, evoking both pity and contempt for him by the time the credits roll. Also features Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Incredible Hulk.

6. The Bad Girls From Valley High (2000)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: The teen horror-comedy just can't seem to get any respect, and this terrible entry may be one of the reasons why. Teenage girls, murder, and lots of valley girl speak are the main selling points, if you can call them that.

7. Inside Special Forces (2003)

Last Week's Ranking: 2
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Military geeks will enjoy pretending they're alongside the US Special Military forces spotlighted in this movie. It's a lot closer to gun porn than you might expect from a classy outfit like National Geographic, but they do bring their signature awesome videography skills to the table.

8. Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This is one of the comedies that defines Michael Keaton's early career, and I was shocked to see that it received a ho-hum 47% approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. It features a rapid-fire sequence of spoof comedy jokes in the vein of the Airplane movies, with a Depression-era gangster setting. Little jokes like Keaton using a price gun to put labels on puppies for sale in a pet shop keep it light and amusing, even when some of the more overstated jokes fall flat.

9. Super Size Me (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 1
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Just weeks after documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock was nominated for a Hulu Award for his reality series "30 Days," his hit documentary film takes the number one spot on the Top Twenty for the week. Could this be a sign that Hulu viewers are brainier and more health conscious than the country at large? Maybe. At any rate, if you haven't seen this fantastic movie, you should. Spurlock uses himself as a guinea pig to answer the question: What will happen when an otherwise-healthy man eats nothing but McDonalds for a month? The answer to that question is probably somewhat obvious, but the film gets us to think about the factors that go into the decision to pull into that drive-thru.

10. Air Force One (2001)

Last Week's Ranking: 8
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Hulu has really been blurring the line between movies and television program episodes lately. This "movie" debuted on National Geographic television not too long ago, and I don't see what differentiates it from any other hour long episode of one of their flagship documentary series. At any rate, this spotlights the titular presidential plane from the days of FDR to the days of GWB.

11. Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)
Last Week's Ranking: 5
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: This massive 2.5 hour anime feature didn't receive much attention outside of the target genre audience. It's nice to see that Hulu is adding this to the rolls, but if you're new to anime, you probably won't want to cut your teeth on this behemoth.

12. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Last Week's Ranking: 3
Weeks on List: 4
Notes: This movie has become notorious for two things: naked young people in the titular lagoon, and being very, very bad. Christopher Atkin's curly blond locks make him the iconic surfer boy, while Brooke Shields shows us why, after a quarter century,she still fails to engage the audience in any way that is not sexual.

13. Body Count (1992)

Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: We've got an interesting, talented cast here, including Ving Rhames, Linda Fiorentino, Forest Whittaker, Donnie Wahlberg, David Caruso, and John Leguizamo. The plot sounds perfect for the talent, involving a heist at a museum gone wrong. Ving Rhames and criminal capers go together like peas and carrots. In this case, however, a weak script and weaker direction cause a major misfire.

14. In the Line of Fire (1993)
Last Week's Ranking: 9
Weeks on List: 3
Notes: Sixteen years ago, people were already saying that Clint Eastwood was getting too old to be an action star. But "In the Line of Fire" was the presidential assassination thriller that shut all of those critics up. Eastwood plays a secret service agent who was on hand when JFK was shot. Now, decades later, he faces another threat to another president, this time from ace crackpot John Malkovich. Rene Russo and Dylan McDermott give supporting roles in this extremely well-done genre exercise.

15. National Lampoon's Spring Break (2007)

Last Week's Ranking: 15
Weeks on List: 9 (10)
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.

16. Saints and Soldiers (2005)
Last Week's Ranking: 13
Weeks on List: 8 (14)
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. It looks decent, but I'm not sure what the lasting appeal is.

17. All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: A limp, uninspired effort to wring a few extra dollars out of a moderately successful animated movie. Ernest Borgnine, Charlie Sheen, and Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from Cheers) provide some voice talent.

18. Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Last Week's Ranking: NA
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Younger moviegoers may wonder how in hell Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner ever got famous in the first place. The Jewel of the Nile has all the answers you need-- a well-paced action comedy that shows off both actors to their best entertaining potential. It may not have aged particularly well, but it is a nice little representative of the era in which it was made.

19. Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (2004)
Last Week's Ranking: 6
Weeks on List: 2 (10)
Notes: There must be something I'm not getting about this I-Max documentary featuring fighter pilots. It keeps coming back to our Top Twenty list, like a bad case of herpes. The message board for the movie has a lot of military folks chatting it up, so that may have something to do with it.

20. The Pleasure Seekers (1964)
Last Week's Ranking: NA

Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This remake came only 10 years after the original "Three Coins in the Fountain," and features the same storyline of three american beauties visiting Italy for a shot at romance. Each one winds up with what seems like the wrong guy. Weirdly, both this remake and the original were directed by the same person, Jean Negulesco.

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

Liar, Liar (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 7
Weeks on List: 20
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. It spent nearly 5 months in the top 20, and will make the Hall of Fame next week (unless it jumps back on the list, which wouldn't surprise me).

His Girl Friday (1940)
Last Week's Ranking: 10
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy are the iconic actors of a bygone era doing what they do best: it's a wacky, broad comedy with a senseless (yet romantic) love story in the middle. A newspaper editor is worried about his best reporter when the reporter's ex-wife seems to be on the cusp of remarrying. The editor does his best to prevent the newspaper-threatening union.

Before the Music Dies (2006)

Last Week's Ranking: 11
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: This sometimes comes off like an old man's lament about the next era of pop culture. Instead of featuring Bill Cosby talking about the way that rap has lost its role-modeling soul, we have a laundry list of big music stars (Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and Elvis Costello, for example) ripping on the modern pop-music factory industry. The musicians have a point about the assembly line production of the best-selling music stars and their crappy tunes, but the line between the old stars and the new stars is so blurry that the argument sometimes falls flat.

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)

Last Week's Ranking: 12
Weeks on List: 12
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. Twelve weeks on the top twenty list will earn it a spot in the Hall of Fame next week.

Great White Shark: The Truth Behind the Legend (2000)

Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 1
Notes: Another supposed feature, this 54 minute National Geographic documentary is exactly what you would expect to see on television during Shark Week. It's good enough, and professional enough, but nothing you haven't seen before.

Picture Perfect (1997)

Last Week's Ranking: 16
Weeks on List: 13
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. This one has expired, so look for it in the Hall of Fame next week.

Single White Female (1992)

Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 2
Notes: Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda both got a big career boost from this oft-imitated tale of obsessive adulation. Leigh is the shy, seemingly nice roommate who eventually gets so fixated on Fonda's life that she decides she must have it for her own.

American Virgin (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 18
Weeks on List: 1 (13)
Notes: Bob Hoskins and Mena Suvari star in the lowly-regarded 2000 comedy. Why has it done 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?

The Family Man (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 19
Weeks on List: 13
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.

Reefer Madness (1937)
Last Week's Ranking: 20

Weeks on List: 1
Notes: No doubt the name alone has caused stoners to put this campy cult-classic into Hulu's top charts this week. Notorious for the way in which it wildly overstates the dangers of marijuana, it gives us all a hearty laugh when the featured teens descend into lunacy. Madness, I tell you!

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 7 weeks, but I anticipate that it will go up over time. Two new inductees this week.

The Fifth Element
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)
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.

Black Knight (2001)

Last Week's Ranking: 20
Weeks on List: 10
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.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Last Week's Ranking: 14
Weeks on List: 9
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.

Dragonheart (1996)

Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 7 (9)
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? The consistent presence of this one on the Top Twenty may mean that Hulu is connecting with a family niche on a regular basis.

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
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.

Someone Like You (2001)

Last Week's Ranking: 17
Weeks on List: 7
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.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Short Format Series (non-comedy)"

2009-03-30T10:53:00.005-04:00

And the Hulie goes to...

"30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust"

It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin and its left eye was often open.^[21] It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature.^[22]

Other attributes varied greatly from culture to culture; some vampires, such as those found in Transylvanian tales, were gaunt, pale, and had long fingernails, while those from Bulgaria only had one nostril,^[23] and Bavarian vampires slept with thumbs crossed and one eye open.^[24] Moravian vampires only attacked while naked, and those of Albanian folklore wore high-heeled shoes.^[24] As stories of vampires spread throughout the globe to the Americas and elsewhere, so did the varied and sometimes bizarre descriptions of them: Mexican vampires had a bare skull instead of a head,^[24] Brazilian vampires had furry feet and vampires from the Rocky Mountains only sucked blood with their noses and from the victim's ears.^[24] Common attributes were sometimes described, such as red hair.^[24] Some were reported to be able to transform into bats, rats, dogs, wolves, spiders and even moths.^[25] From these various legends, works of literature such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, and the influences of historical bloodthirsty figures such as Gilles de Rais, Elizabeth Báthory, and Vlad Ţepeş, the vampire developed into the modern stereotype.^[20]^[24]

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was "Gemini Division," which stars Rosario Dawson.

The third and final nominee was "Pink: The Series."