It usually takes about a week after the kids get out of school for summer to kick in, and if there was ever an official starting line, it's Fourth of July weekend. Maybe you're hitting up a barbecue with some friends this weekend, relaxing by the pool or shooting off some fireworks -- and that's cool. Enjoy yourself. Me? I'll be doing a little of the BBQ, but I'll also enjoy a screening of at least one of the following seven films. See, what's summer without a memorable summertime flick ... or several?

This year's best summertime film (according to me), The Wackness, hits theaters in limited release tomorrow before rolling out to other cities. That film caters a bit more toward a specific time period (1994) and a specific location (NYC), but those summer-in-the-city flicks are rare, especially a good one. Instead of following all those kids who left town, went to camp, traveled abroad, what have you, The Wackness remains with the one dude who didn't leave town. The kid who was stuck spending his summer on hot pavement, dealing pot to his therapist while chasing the girl of his dreams.

But perhaps that's how you remember summer growing up. Or maybe you spent most of your summers in camp, or on the baseball field, or with a few of your best pals on another bizarre adventure. Those summer months hold a lot of memories for you, I'm sure, as they do for me. And what's up with summertime movies and awesome soundtracks? Ever notice that? Anyway, here are some of my favorites ... feel free to tell me yours.

In Drillbit Taylor (which opens tomorrow), three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard (Owen Wilson) to help protect them from the school's bully. This got us thinking: What are some of the great on-screen bullies? Those kids you just love to root against because they're written extremely well, offer up top-notch performances and/or remind you of someone from your past. A bully is different from your average movie villain -- they don't tend to carry lethal weapons, or run with a group of deadly terrorists. These are just regular kids with a little too much power thrown their way. Your run-of-the-mill Hollywood bully usually hangs with a group of about two of three of the same sex; guys or girls who don't have many lines, and serve only to make the main bully appear tougher.

Ideally, a great movie bully should have one or more of the following: 1) At least three classic lines. 2) A memorable downfall. 3) Hottie girlfriend or boyfriend. 4.) A name that just says it all.

We put our heads together and came up with seven of the greatest bullies on film. Check them out after the jump ...

Hearts, chocolates, and romantic nights symbolize Valentine's Day. Easter has bunnies and eggs. Halloween is for pumpkins, scares, and treats. Thanksgiving brings gluttonous dinners of turkey and stuffing. Christmas is awash of presents. And New Years Eve, well, that's all about champagne, count-downs, and parties.

There are all sorts of parties on film -- from those that ring in the New Year to those that regale random celebrations. There are hootenannys of happiness, shindigs of debauchery, and gatherings of dysfunction. With all of the myriad parties that have graced the big screen, it's a bit ridiculous to pick a top seven, so here are some of the films that come to mind when I think of cinematic celebrations:

200 Cigarettes

As we head out of the holidays and into the New Year, 200 Cigarettes has its place as a guilty pleasure of party-riffic ensemble cinema for the young eyes of the '90s. Set in New York City's Lower East Village of the '80s, the film follows a number of late teen and early 20-something people trying to make their way to a New Year's Eve loft party. From Long Island teens to artists and punk rockers, Cigarettes has one heck of a cast of '90s faces and some of today's big-bucks names -- Ben and Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Paul Rudd, Dave Chappelle, Courtney Love, Gaby Hoffmann, Guillermo Diaz, Janeane Garofalo, Martha Plimpton, Jay Mohr, Nicole Ari Parker, Christina Ricci, and even Elvis Costello. And if a whole bunch of recognizable names is not enough, what about Rudd's ridiculous sideburns?

Happy Prohibition Repeal Day! One year from now will be the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment, which lifted the ban on manufacturing, distributing and selling alcohol in the United States. Always a fan of pre-gaming, I've decided to start celebrating early with a look at some favorite movies that celebrate wine, beer and liquor.

Certainly I am no fan of alcoholism, and I encourage all Americans to drink responsibly. That is why most of these movies (not all, though) are about the appreciation of the taste of alcoholic beverages rather than about getting drunk. Also, I'm sorry to disappoint fans of Strange Brew, but that hilarious brewery-set comedy was shot in Canada and so it doesn't seem to fit the focus of this list.


Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)

Imagine what California's wine country would be like if Prohibition were still around. Whatever would be there in place of vineyards would sure be a waste. Just ask Miles (Paul Giamatti), everyone's favorite wine expert snob character. The movie didn't exactly allow me to have a great appreciation of fine wines -- I can't afford to -- and it didn't make me tolerate people like Miles any better, but it was interesting to see a story set in that world, which could only exist thanks to the 21st Amendment.

You just saw him running from vampires in the cold, dark Alaska of 30 Days of Night. Now get ready to see Josh Hartnett evading more human adversaries on a hot, Texan football field in End Zone. According to Variety, the actor has been cast as the lead in an adaptation of the farcical Don DeLillo novel, which will be directed by George Ratliff (Joshua). The movie, scripted by Ratliff and his Joshua writing partner David Gilbert, will see Hartnett as a college football running back who is ruining his chances for stardom by thinking too much about another kind of end zone, that related to nuclear war. Also cast are Kat Dennings (Big Momma's House 2), who plays the love interest, and Joshua star Sam Rockwell, who plays the school's publicist. Another significant role, not yet filled, is a professor of international terrorism and mass destruction who sees Hartnett's character as a perfect soldier.

I can't really picture Josh Hartnett as a perfect soldier, let alone a football player. But I guess I never could have imagined him as a cop or a pilot or any other responsible position had I not seen it realized on screen. Mostly my image of him is focused on three relatively slacker roles: Trip Fontaine in The Virgin Suicides; the sex-crazed abstainer of 40 Days and 40 Nights and the "wrong man" protagonist of Lucky Number Slevin. Now that I think of it, though, I could see him as one of the pot-head jocks in Dazed and Confused, and since DeLillo's novel was released in 1972, it places Hartnett's End Zone character in almost the same environment. Of course, I don't recall Randall "Pink" Floyd ever contemplating nuclear war.

Despite having a familiar cast and an easily digestible concept, Gregg Araki's stoner comedy Smiley Face has been dumped to the same status as a modern Steven Seagal vehicle. That's right, according to MTV, it's going straight to DVD, following a barely-even-limited run in Los Angeles, that is. The movie, which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, stars Anna Faris (Scary Movie), John Krasinski (The Office), Jane Lynch (The 40 Year-Old Virgin), Danny Masterson (That '70s Show) and Danny Trejo (Grindhouse), none of whom are apparently good enough for a theatrical release. Maybe it's the fact that it can't be sold to Araki's typical fans, or maybe it's the fact that nobody likes to admit that Up in Smoke, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Dazed and Confused, Knocked Up, Half Baked and Dude, Where's My Car? were all fairly popular and successful movies -- because then maybe it will seem like an admission that marijuana is cool.

Smiley Face stars Faris as a woman who starts her day by smoking up and then mistakenly taking care of her munchies with a batch of pot cupcakes. Then ... hilarity ensues. During its Sundance premiere, crowds were reportedly laughing non-stop (though Karina claimed that it received some awful buzz) and it seemed to be well-enough-received at later festivals, too. Jette reviewed the movie at SXSW, pointing out that it's "the kind of movie that will be more fun to watch with a big audience than alone on your DVD player." So much for that idea. Earlier this month, Monika saw the film in Toronto, where she confirmed its worth. "Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving," she said in her review. "From discussions of Marxism to love of lasagna, Smiley Face serves it all -- with some weed and a very, very stoned smile." Well, at least we can be sure it will develop a cult following on video; aside from that we can only hope our local art-house cinema will give it a midnight screening somewhere down the line.

Now that National Lampoon has set up their own in-house shop, the first thing on the agenda is to begin setting up a few projects that a) are actually funny, b) are worth the price of admission and c) will help revive their reputation. They just recently partnered with the Farrelly brothers on a comedy called Bag Boy and, as Variety reports, have announced the first of four projects based solely on National Lampoon properties that the company will co-develop with Half Shell Entertainment.

See, the main problem with National Lampoon lately is that, instead of developing projects themselves, they've been simply lending out their name in order to bring a little familiarity to a film and help boost its box office numbers. However, they now want to control the show and have begun digging through the archives of their now defunct magazine to find something -- anything, really. Seeing as I've been tough on National Lampoon lately (c'mon, Pledge This -- are they serious?), I'll be the first to say that I absolutely love the idea behind their newest project, The Last Night in October. Yes, it's Halloween-related. And yes, it sounds hysterical.

Described as a "Dazed and Confused-style ensemble piece" (I like it already), pic revolves around a town which declares war on Halloween after a thumbtack is found in a piece of candy. Oh, and it takes place in 1986. We're not sure if they intended it to take place in 1986 or if that was simply the year this particular story showed up in their magazine. Either way, it could be hilarious -- I'd love to see National Lampoon bring back a little dark humor. The original Vacation was packed with risky jokes (Clark ties dead grandma down to the roof of his wagon??), and so if they can unearth some more of that -- without Paris Hilton's involvement -- then I will officially be the first one in line for a ticket. You?

It's inevitable, over the Thanksgiving weekend: At some point, you're going to be full. And I mean full -- loaded up with happy memories and a whole bunch of pie. What better time to throw on a long, long movie? I always wind up watching something huge during Thanksgiving weekend -- I particularly recall a carb-coma afternoon with Spartacus washing over me like a river of gravy, rich and flavorful -- and this year is no exception. I don't think I'm going to have enough time to watch The Best of Youth again -- I don't think I have that much time -- but I have been circling my copy of Nashville with a certain avaricious eye towards re-enjoying it. (Oh, and to the commenter yesterday who noted that A Prairie Home Companion is a film more worthy of Best Picture consideration than Crash, well, I have film on my teeth more worthy of Best Picture consideration than Crash. And maybe it's just my hatred of Garrison Keillor, but Prarie Home Companion drove me mad. ...) Then again, I might throw on Boogie Nights for the umpteenth time -- or even the Criterion disc of Dazed and Confused. Much like Nashville, they're both American stories, too. ...

What are you planning to watch over the Thanksgiving weekend? And what's your secret for pumpkin pie?

J.

When a movie is deemed fit for the "Criterion Treatment," you just know you're in for something special. It doesn't matter if your cinematic tastes run from Kurosawa and Lean to Gilliam and Soderbergh (or even *cough* Michael Bay) -- if a film you really adore is earmarked for inclusion in The Criterion Collection, you better start saving your pennies. Because while Criterion releases generally cost a little bit more than your average "new release loss-leader," the simple fact is that you're paying for true quality. (My personal Criterion collection includes Armageddon, Brazil, The Life Aquatic, Robocop, The Royal Tenenbaums, and a supremely excellent anthology of Beastie Boys videos.)

So what is it that's inspired this sudden outpouring of affection for an outfit that just about every DVD geek already adores? Well, on June 6th you'll be able to get Criterion's mega-packed special edition of Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused, which, for my money, is the single finest comedy ever made about the teenage experience. (Yes, seriously. It's right up there with American Graffiti, The Breakfast Club, and Heathers.) And according to this appropriately jubilant review of the new D&C DVD, it looks like the fans will soon have something awesome to jam in their pipes and collectively smoke.