No longer is Land of the Lost merely a wonderful series from the seventies with atrocious acting and laugh-worthy, unforgettable special effects. June 5th marked the new incarnation, where unintended laughs make way for scripted chuckles and big-budget effects as Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, and Anna Friel take over the series.

In honor of the remake, I couldn't help but go back to the original. Perhaps this look back is unnecessary -- out of the six reviews I've skimmed about the film thus far, only one was remotely positive. Then again, Paul Blart wasn't a mecca of achievement and it did really well, so back we shall go.

There really is nothing like the original series, where even the opening sequence (seen below) doesn't get the slightest lick of a budget -- where the trio's boat looks like it's traveling in a fishtank before landing next to a dinosaur finger puppet. But that's the charm, and as cool as FX dinos are, I can't help but wish that they'd gone the spoof angle and made it all as ridiculous and hand-made as the original. Maybe next time.

Hit the jump to watch the video and an extra treat featuring Jake Gyllenhaal's rockin' ode to Land of the Lost in Bubble Boy.

I had completely forgotten about this trailer of brilliance until I caught Unwigged and Unplugged Thursday night -- the excellent acoustic tour that has Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer playing tunes from their days as Spinal Tap and The Folksmen. (Go see it if you have a chance!)

In the middle of the show, they aired the trailer below. Shot by Shearer, it's not like any other trailer, and not at all like This is Spinal Tap. But it does tap into the excellence that would make them wacky comedic icons. Rather than show clips of the film and how they take it up to 11, the trailer features Rob Reiner talking about the film, and how he's still editing. Since he isn't ready to show a clip, he has something else to share -- footage of a Scandanavian Cheese festival. Oh yes, Shearer, McKean, and Guest pop up in parts, and you're sure to recognize the King of Cheese. But do you also recognize the little tyke in the middle? They say it's a young Jake Gyllenhaal.

Not every movie could pull it off, in fact, most couldn't. But for these guys, and this film, it's absolutely perfect. I'm just glad I was too young to catch this trailer when it first aired. I can't imagine waiting twelve years until Waiting for Guffman.

Note: This is the super-long and complete version. There was also a shorter version.

I've had Morgan Freeman on the mind lately, between pride that he was able to inspire Prom Night in Mississippi, the fact that he once played Coriolanus (someone must re-release that!), and then memories of him in the past. As we once mentioned in an old Rewind from 2007, before he was God, or the narrator king, right-hand man of the Dark Knight, or Frederick Douglass, he was Count Dracula on the so-cool-it-should-never-have-ended The Electric Company (amongst other equally cool characters).

In the below clip, which makes me want to marry YouTube for its awesome usefulness, Freeman is taking a bath in a casket, bubbles and all. He's not only taking a bath -- he's singing while he does it, about his love for bathing in a casket, where a bath will never leave a ring. I suddenly want a full EC DVD set...

And since his time on The Electric Company was so cool, I'm also going to include a clip of him as a sexy reading guy after the jump. Happy Monday!

Movies and television might be two separate entities, but over and over they intersect, and bad news to one is most often bad news for both. Like news from E Online that Andy Hallett has passed away after a 5-year battle with heart disease at the way-too-young age of 33. Hallett was a big part of the Joss Whedon universe, playing a bit part on Buffy, and then the much more green and recognizable Lorne on Angel.

After leaving the world of vampires, Hallett spent most of his energy on his music, but he did pop up in two films. His voice was featured in 2005's Gepetto's Secret, and his lone live-action feature was Chance -- fellow Buffy alum Amber Benson's feature film.

There was an undeniable sweetness to the actor, and I'm sure that if heart disease hadn't ended his life so soon, we'd have seen a lot more of him on the big and small screen, whether as an actor or musician. In honor of his undying charm, you can watch a brief clip of Chance below, where he talks with (yet another Buffy alum...) James Marsters.

Andy, you're already missed.

Robin Williams has been busy with his solo show "Weapons of Self-Destruction," lately, but all that came to a halt with news that he must have heart surgery and get an aortic valve replacement.

Whenever we think of the turmoils of age, it usually leads to thoughts of youth, so hearing about Williams' heart troubles, I was immediately catapulted back to Mork & Mindy. What's so great about the show is that in all its '80s cheesiness, it's still darned funny, rather than a show that only retains nostalgia love. That is, of course, due to the wonder that is Williams.

And seeing that he's getting some work done on that ticker of his, I thought it would be nice to rewind back to Mork's call to Orson that dealt with the perks of a job well done, rather than the apathy of shoddy workmanship. Mork says that "nothing speaks as eloquently as a job well done," so let's hope that his heart is speaking eloquently soon.

Plus, the scene also has the rather excellent line: "Come in, your boobtubeness!"

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There are the great actors, men and women with an uncanny ability to transform themselves anew with each and every performance. There are popular actors, who are known for one thing and one thing only, but who have reached iconic status purely because audiences adore them. Then, there's Christopher Walken. Sure, there's The Deer Hunter and Annie Hall, but he also built Optimis Prime in his garage one lazy Sunday afternoon. He told us what the prescription for a fever was. And in 1988, he demanded a pair of boots from Jason Connery. I can say no more. Watch the clip, and experience new depths of horror and hilarity.

(When you're done pondering that, let's all ask Erik Davis why he immediately thought of me when he watched this. This is all thanks to him.)

If you've been following my obsessive train of thought, you may have noticed I have been watching a lot of Clint Eastwood lately. I discovered this little gem sometime around Christmas while searching for something completely unrelated to him -- and I'm finally breaking down and posting it.

This is a segment from 1966 Italian arthouse film The Witches (Le Streghe), which was essentially a comeback showcase for Silvana Margano. It was barely distributed, and pretty much shelved, but occasionally pops up on television or at late night screenings. This segment features a baby-faced Clint Eastwood as the thing he would never play again -- a mild-mannered nerd getting his ass kicked by Batman. Just that part of the YouTube description was enough to make me watch it. Eastwood is bizarrely cute in it (keep your eyes out for the blink and you miss it moment of "nudity"), which leads me to a "What if?" scenario...

It's amazing how much can change in a small handful of years. These days she's bringing back the fashions of the '80s (tight-rolled jeans, Dirty Dancing shorts) as she graces every tabloid and website, works on stage, and hangs with Tom and Suri. But she used to be pretty busy with the holiday that is Thanksgiving. Just five years ago -- Katie Holmes' hair was red, she was young and spunky, and she was starring in Pieces of April. (The trailer is above.)

Usually, holiday-centric films just get the basics -- turkey, family, matriarch in the kitchen. They don't focus on young, punky girls who are determined to bring together estranged family members and make a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Yes, April definitely has the obligatory family trauma to make the drama we have all come to expect, but it also shows just how far and wide tradition can reach, and that not all the cooks in the kitchen are smiling moms in aprons.

Go back a few more years, and you can find a second Thanksgiving-themed film. Change her name to Libbitz, make her the object of Tobey Maguire's affections, and you've got The Ice Storm. Personally, I prefer the latter, but it all boils down to what you're looking for -- the possibility of bringing a family together and lots of food, or retro dysfunction laced with black humor.

Will you Holmes your Thanksgiving?

Twilight day is almost upon us, which means we're getting inundated with every little morsel that can be cooked up. For example, did you know that Robert Pattinson is a bad kisser with bad dandruff? I guess he was telling the truth in that Unscripted about always telling everyone everything.

But this isn't about Pattinson's real-life woes. I wanted to discuss teen girls, love, and vampires. I must admit, it goes together. I read just about every vampire romance I found when I was a teen. But at the same time, girls were staking the vamps back then. Or at least Buffy was, long before she went soft for the hottie known as Angel.

Above is the classic Paul Reubens death scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now he's no Edward Cullen, so I imagine it's a lot easier to stake the vamp when he's not sexy. If only the ultimate force that created vamps knew -- the way to really make them invincible is to make them tall, dark, and handsome.

Will you run out to bask in the Twilight this week, or go for something more old-school, like Buffy or THE vamp, Dracula?