Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Videogame Coverage"

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"

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"

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"

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"

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"

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"

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.