Animal House (1978)

AKA: National Lampoon's Animal House

Before Porky's and Revenge of the Nerds, there was the outrageous fraternity comedy known as Animal House, the first film produced by National Lampoon. Taking place in 1962, it follows the exploits of a troublemaking fraternity who challenges the authority of the dean and the competing frat house. The result is pure unadulterated anarchy and cements it the best college comedy of its time. Of particular note is John Belushi as Bluto, who steals every scene that he's in. It's crass and tasteless in a way that movies don't have the guts to be anymore. A product of its time for sure, but one that is immensely revisitable.

5 food fights! out of 5

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

"It’s a strange town, that way. Especially with new arrivals.

...

Well, I think a lot of people that come to small towns are trying to get away from something...or they’re hiding something."

That nugget refers to the set-up given away by the title of the film, so please don't get your undies in a twist over it being a spoiler. It also basically explains why this movie was chosen over all others with elementary schools in them to be a significant visual reference for Midwich Elementary in the first Silent Hill game. How does it fare outside of that? It's pretty rote and predictable, but it is fun to see Arnold get away with things that any of the rest of us would get fired for instantaneously. It doesn't have a modicum of the charm and heart of Jingle All the Way, but it was hand-picked by the ultimate benefactor, for good and ill.

1½ "Non-existent" Bathroom Trips out of 5

Nutted by NEG.

GHOSTHEADS [2016]

Mega-Ghostbusters fan Brendan Mertens shows his love for the film franchise with the documentary fan-flick Ghostheads.
It mostly centers around a number of dedicated fans from all over the map who share their adoration for the films through cosplay, internet forums, conventions and various other forms of geek-love.  As an added bonus it interviews cast & crew from the movies and animated television show for whatever reason.  It could have heavily benefited by exclusively focusing on stories of it's fans and instead wastes a lot of time on the celebrities sharing their foggy memories of the films they made over 20 years ago.
As a whole, it's an aimless mess by never really knowing exactly where it's headed or what it wants to say besides the obvious but it's heart is in the right place and that's enough for this Ghosthead.

2½ ghostbusting ringtones out of 5

Ghostbusters II (1989)

After saving the world the first time around, the Ghostbusters have fallen on hard times. Now, 5 years later, they’re called upon once again to rid New York of paranormal phenomena. I never understood why this movie gets such a bad rap. Yeah, it’s not as good as the original, but few sequels ever are. I still think it holds its own as a great movie, and the living Vigo painting and river of pink slime are classic. More or less follows the pre-established formula of the original, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Aside from that, it’s more fun with Peter, Ray, Egon, Winston and company.

3.5 hopping toasters out of 5

Ghostbusters (1984)

Bustin’ makes me feel goooooood!

Another defining movie of my youth. No matter how many times I watch it, it never seems to get old. And the special effects still look as good as it did back then. SCTV and SNL veterans Aykroyd, Ramis and Murray had no idea what a cultural phenomenon they had on their hands when they made this picture. Since then, it’s literally exploded. There’s not much else I can say about it that hasn’t been said before. It’s quite simply a modern comedy classic.

5 particle accelerator proton packs out of 5

No Strings Attached (2011)

Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman get together in the end. Oh, you say? Did I just give away the whole movie? The beautiful male and female leads get together in the end? What a novel fucking concept. Despite its attempts to be "charming" and "hip" and "raunchy," I just found the whole thing annoying and repugnant. Kevin Kline's performance is probably the stand-out of it all, and that's not saying much. The only thing that makes it watchable at all is Natalie Portman's ass, but I hate her for even being in this type of movie.

1 FML out of 5