It’s basically a film in which Max explains DC Comics’ entire death and resurrection of Superman story arc while drinking heavily, and having a long list of celebrities provide cameos as key characters from the story (including Elijah Wood as Cyborg Superman). It’s sort of amazing — not as much for the story it tells and how it’s told (which is funny, don’t get wrong), but for the amount of people he had access to for the film.

I love that final cameo.

One of the best parts of the video for me was seeing a few scenes from some of my favorite Tom Baker adventures, including a few early arcs I didn’t actually know the title for, only the villains.

By the way, if you’re looking to catch up on some of the older “Doctor Who” adventures, Netflix has a lot of great arcs available to watch via streaming video. I’ve been watching a lot of the Jon Pertwee episodes recently and remembering why his time with the series was so unique and really established some of the great story points and characters that became regular elements of the series after him.

(Many thanks to Ryan for sending this my way.)

AMC just released the first three minutes of the midseason premiere, which is titled “Nebraska.” It airs February 12, and it quite literally begins where the last episode ended.

Check it out:

Despite my feelings about the pacing of the second season thus far, I remain a huge fan of the show and consider it one of the best series on television these days. Robert Kirkman and the rest of the show’s team are making every episode must-see material, and I love the way there are so many surprises for people who read the comics.

Basically, it’s taking the story in a very different direction, but somehow managing to retain all of the best elements of the comic.

Here’s to another bunch of great episodes, and a third season to follow!

Then I remind myself that I have some really good beer in the refrigerator and a pretty nice TV, and I’m okay with my life again.

I wrote about this video for IFC, so you can head over there to learn more about it.

Oh, and grab me a beer while you’re up, okay?

Every now and then I encounter a book that’s not only a great read, but also encourages me to spend a few hours looking into the story behind the book. That was the case for The Suicide Forest, a horror comic by El Torres and Gabriel Hernandez that draws from the real-world history of forest Aokigahara.

The forest is located at the base of Mt. Fuji, and lies just outside Tokyo. It gets its name from the fact that it’s a popular destination for people who want to end their own lives — so much so that Japanese officials feel the need to post signs throughout the forest urging people to rethink their decision to kill themselves. Anywhere from 50-100 people (and occasionally more) commit suicide in Aokigahara each year, prompting an annual “body hunt” by local volunteers who trek through the woods looking for that year’s victims.

The Suicide Forest comic takes all of these facts, along with local legends that say the spirits of people who die in Aokigahara are cursed, and offers a truly terrifying story about a vengeful ghost who terrorizes her former lover.

Here’s an excerpt from my column:

Given the success of horror franchises like “The Ring” and “The Grudge,” which were based on Japanese legends and were later imported and remade here in the U.S., it’s actually a bit surprising that the legend of Aokigahara Forest hasn’t been tapped yet. The national landmark’s history is steeped in both morbid facts and eerie phenomena, which is something Torres masterfully mines for The Suicide Forest.

While many of the Japanese horror franchises that were brought to the U.S. in recent years had their settings and other elements changed for American audiences, a movie based on The Suicide Forest would obviously need to stay in Japan. Fortunately, the source material already offers a great entrance point that softens the culture shock. The primary narrative follows an American living abroad who has a difficult time adjusting to Japanese society, and we see many of the terrifying events that occur throughout The Suicide Forest through his perspective.

You can read the rest of the column at IFC.com.

If you want to learn more about Aokigahara forest, there’s actually a lot of information out there — though some of it is significantly more morbid than the rest.

While I was looking up more information about Aokigahara, I came across this two-part video tour of the forest, which does a great job of showing why it’s such a fascinating — and frightening — place. Be warned, though: the tour guide encounters some of the grim realities of the forest late in the second video.

As I mentioned in my column for IFC, I’m pretty amazed that Hollywood hasn’t jumped on The Suicide Forest yet, as it seems like the sort of story that could scare a lot of tickets out of movie audiences. Heck, I’m creeped-out just reading about it online.

I’m happy to say that she took my suggestion and ran (or rather, drunkenly stumbled) with it.

Here she is, singing George Jones’ classic drinking ballad “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)” during the 2012 Central City Cabaret:

Among all the drinking songs ever written, this one ranks right up there among the best. It has drinking, it has regret, and it has a guy drinking to forget.

Here are the lyrics to the song, which I know by heart thanks to years of playing this on the jukebox at a certain dive bar in Albany, NY:

The bars are all closed.
It’s four in the morning.
Must have shut ‘em all down,
by the shape that I’m in.

I lay my head on the wheel,
and the horn begins honking.
The whole neighborhood knows,
that I’m home drunk again.

(Chorus:)

And if drinking don’t kill me,
her memory will.
I can’t hold out much longer,
the way that I feel.
With the blood from my body,
I could start my own still.
And if drinking don’t kill me,
her memory will.

These old bones they move slow,
but so sure of their footsteps.
As I trip on the floor,
and lightly touch down.
Lord, it’s been ten bottles,
since I tried to forget her.
But the memory still lingers,
lying here on the ground.

(Repeat Chorus)

And just for the heck of it, here’s George Jones singing it himself during the ’90s:

Ladies and gentlemen, screw all those “country” songs about wanting to dance with someone or — worse yet — the songs that have their own synchronized dance. If it doesn’t involve liquor, regret, broken relationships and/or a wasted life, it’s not country music.

And that’s exactly what I talked to “Red Tails” actors Elijah Kelly, Tristan Wilds, and Ne-Yo about when I attended the press junket for the new movie about the Tuskegee Airmen. Of course, we talked quite a bit about “Red Tails” during the junket (especially when I spoke to Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard), but this segment was so fun it had to be posted.

Here’s the video:

You can read the full article about the segment over at IFC.com…

Courtesy of Laugh Pong, this is “The Day The LOLcats Died”:

(via laughingsquid)

It’s a story of laughter and sweat (dog sweat) and tears (of laughter).

It’s a story of a puppy, a ball, and a big pile of leaves.