Pop Culture Power Rankings: Halloween Costumes!

For this week’s theme, I ranked the most popular character costumes I saw during the 2013 Halloween parade in Greenwich Village.

I created a scientific formula to score each costume (dubbed the "Halloween Happy Time" score) by factoring the timeliness of the costume, how good the costume looks, how many people I saw wearing the costume, and how surprised I am that this costume was popular.

Unfortunately, the result was a seemingly random order, so I just re-ranked them based on how much I like the source material (which is, in itself, a ridiculous task…how do you compare a movie to television show to a video game to a pop star?)

#1: Marvel's Avengers

At this point, I’m pretty sure you could put the word “Marvel’s” in front of Manos: The Hands of Fate, and it would make $100 million. This same idea applies to Halloween, as the big M’s costumes were everywhere. The most popular were Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man (no, he’s not in the movie, but Spider-Man has occasionally been a member of the Avengers in the comic books, so I’m counting it. If you disagree with this decision, please direct all hate-mail to NedSnarkComplaintLine@gmail.com).

But the real reason the Avengers are ranked #1 is because there was no better Halloween costume than that of the lady shown above (who may or may not be my sister), who dressed up as all six of the (movie’s) Avengers, as well as Nick Fury, at once.

(Halloween Happy Time score: 89.4/100)

Pop Culture Power Rankings: Horror Comedy Films!

Halloween is just two days away, which means it's time to stock up on candy and settle down with some of your favorite scary movies.

"But Rich, what if I want to be scared but I'm also in the mood to laugh? Also, I don't want to watch anything that came out before Galaxy Quest."

Lucky for you, this week's theme is horror comedies of the 21st century.

#1: The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Not only is Joss Whedon’s soon-to-be cult-classic the best horror comedy of the century, it is also my favorite horror movie, period, and one of the best comedies in recent memory. The Cabin in the Woods is a deconstruction of the horror genre (specifically Evil Dead), playing with classic tropes and clichés in the most hilarious and Whedon-esque of ways. Thanks to its witty dialogue and absurd twists, Cabin makes most other attempts to satirize the horror genre look amateurish by comparison.

Pop Culture Power Rankings: Halloween Candy!

With Halloween right around the corner, people who live near doors are stocking up on candy to ensure that the riotous hordes of children and teenagers stay satisfied and keep their eggs and toilet paper holstered. But just handing out any old treat is not enough; like a Pez dispenser, it is your duty to bestow the candy that best satiates (and rots) our youths' collective sweet tooth.

There are just too many Halloween candies, so we’re going to have to double up on most of these categories. In an effort to keep this post under the traditional two hour run-time (an effort which is undermined by all of these explanations), I have decided to arbitrarily eliminate lollipops and sucking candies, so you will not see Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Pops, Blow Pops or Dum Dums.

And remember: if your gums start bleeding, it means you're eating too much candy. Or not enough.

#1: Milky Way / Snickers / Three Musketeers

Often sold together in a variety bag, these three titans of the chocolate bar are all manufactured by Mars, inc, and they all share a similar milk chocolate exterior, as well as a nougat filling.

(Not at all) fun fact: outside of the U.S. and U.K., Milky Way bars do not have caramel, and are basically just Three Musketeers bars.  Uncool, rest of world.

#2: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup / Butterfingers

Two vastly different but extremely delicious takes on the idea that peanut butter is best served when smothered in chocolate. Peanut Butter Cups get the slight edge because they come in pumpkin shapes and they always have Halloween-specific commercials. 

Butterfingers are genetically engineered to get stuck in your teeth. Good thing 4 out of 5 dentists agree you can’t get cavities on Halloween!