Guilty pleasures

In the world of film fandom, we call them "guilty pleasures," movies you know aren't great art — and which you may in fact recognize as utter trash — but with somehow bring a big goofy grin to your face if you happen across them while channel-surfing. The writers at MSNBC.com have weighed in with their favorites, so I'll contribute a few of mine. (This is by no means an exhaustive list — half the films I enjoy fall into the "guilty pleasures" category.)

Anaconda: Hey, it's J-Lo and a giant jungle snake — what's not to like? Quite a bit, apparently, as this film is almost universally scorned. Of all the movies I've reviewed for DVD Verdict, this was the one for which I've taken the most flak for giving a positive review.

Necessary Roughness: It's an impossibly lame Longest Yard swipe, with all the awfulness that phrase suggests. However, Sinbad and Larry Miller — two underrated comedians — each have some funny moments, and how could you not enjoy seeing Harley Jane Kozak (an undeservedly overlooked actress; she was originally cast in the TV series Once and Again, but when she got pregnant, her role went to Sela Ward) and Kathy Ireland (yes, the one-time supermodel, still in her pre-voice-lessons, early-Mariel Hemingway helium-speech phase) in the same movie? I'm doing my "I'm gonna get some poi" dance just thinking about it.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: I can cite you 100 reasons why LXG stinks like a Missouri compost heap in August, among them bizarre anachronisms (yes, this is steampunk, but poorly researched steampunk at that), hilariously bad technical errors (a submarine the size of the Chrysler Building navigates the canals of Venice — what?), and a sleepwalking Sean Connery in all-out "hand me my paycheck, junior, and get out of my face" mode). But that doesn't keep me from having an absolute blast watching it.

Passenger 57: As cliched as action films come, but still enormous fun. Wesley Snipes snaps off one of the great one-liners in action movie history: "Always bet on black." (You have to see the film and understand the context to get the joke. But trust me — it's funny.) The tagline for this film should have been, "Don't mess with Wes."

The Golden Child: Like Beverly Hills Cop, this is a movie that was envisioned very differently (originally, it was supposed to star Mel Gibson, with horror maven John Carpenter directing) and reimagined for Eddie Murphy, who's actually excellent in it despite a patchwork script and clunky ending. Charles Dance's Sardo Numspa is one of the great overlooked movie villains of the 80's. And, oh yeah...Charlotte Lewis. (Whatever happened to her career?)

Risky Business: Better than most of the teen comedies of the '80s because of its dark edges and stellar acting by stars Tom Cruise, Rebecca DeMornay, and the always dependably sleazy Joe "Joey Pants" Pantoliano. You haven't lived until you've heard Curtis "Booger" Armstrong intone, "I've got a trig midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp."

Frankie and Annette Beach Party flicks: I grew up watching these blamed fool things on Armed Forces television, and even now I'll stop and chuckle over them if I stumble across one on a Saturday afternoon. Harvey Lembeck's hapless biker Eric Von Zipper always makes me laugh. The first time I ever really noticed a "girl" — in real life or onscreen — was Annette singing "I'll Never Change Him" in Beach Blanket Bingo.