By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

Back in 1999, Kevin Smith ended the millennium with Dogma, arguably the most ambitious film he ever made. His previous movies focused on more down-to-earth affairs, including the miseries of retail work and the joys of hanging out at the local mall. By comparison, Dogma followed the misadventures of two angels trying to get back into Heaven and the heroes who have to stop them from destroying the world. Along the way, Smith also brutally skewered the Christian faith through the character of Cardinal Glick, who tried to sell the public on Buddy Christ, a grinning caricature of Jesus who is perpetually giving a thumbs up.

As part of Glick’s speech, he described why he wanted the Buddy Christ to replace the crucifix: that it offered everyone who saw it “a positive reinforcement that whatever we do, God thinks is ‘A-okay.’” At the time, teenage me shook my head at Smith’s satire about a society that wanted the Almighty to rubber-stamp everything they say and do. Now, though, it seems Smith was a prophet: tech company Just Like Me is selling access to an AI-powered Jesus for the not-so-low, low price of $1.99 a minute.

He Is Ri$en

The concept of people talking to AI chatbots isn’t very new: in fact, people are chatting with, arguing with, and even falling in love with a plethora of bots each and every day. But what Just Like Me is doing is targeting Christians who long for a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For $1.99 a minute (or $49.99 a month for 45 minutes), users can speak to an AI bot that has been trained on the King James Bible and an array of unspecified sermons. Visually, the bot is modeled after actor Jonathan Roumie, who (thanks to long hair and a patina of heavenly light) really does look like Jesus.

Personally, I have a number of misgivings with this app. As someone who grew up going to church, this seems like a pretty clear violation of the Second Commandment, which tells humans not to create idols of God or Jesus. On a less religious note, this seems like a really gross way of taking people’s money. Like, who needs evangelistic grifters once you have Jesus himself asking you to upgrade to a premium subscription? Also, let’s be real: in the best case, this thing is going to lie to vulnerable people looking for someone to trust. In the worst case, this is going to create case after case of outright religious psychosis.

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As a big Kevin Smith fan, though, I have been grimly amused at how much this AI-powered Jesus mirrors the portrayal of the Buddy Christ in Dogma. In the film, Cardinal Glick describes how he wanted Jesus to give everyone a  thumbs-up to offer “positive reinforcement” for “whatever we do.” This is, of course, what AI is notorious for: simply telling users what they want to hear. 

Glick also described Buddy Christ as a “happy Jesus” that he wanted to replace the “wholly depressing” image of the crucifix. Rhetorically, he asked the crowd, “Can’t you just see it on chains around people’s necks, and as the new background in avant-garde MTV videos?” The Jesus chatbot from Just Like Me really parallels this idea because the app developers aren’t trying to develop a Jesus avatar that will challenge beliefs and make someone’s faith stronger. Like the fictional Cardinal Glick, they just want to commodify Christ, turning this spiritual leader into an empty vessel filled with equally empty AI platitudes. 

Your Karma Ran Over My Dogma

Make no mistake: apps like this are designed to prey on people, and those of faith are uniquely vulnerable because, by definition, they are looking for someone else to guide their lives. The Jesus app from Just Like Me is one of many that will soon be offering spiritual advice to your friends and family members, especially older ones. Before they completely empty their wallets for this graven image, be sure to watch Dogma with them. That way, they’ll learn the danger of Buddy Christ and, through Glick’s grisly fate, the danger of supporting it.

Alternatively, they might just learn how hot Salma Hayek looks as a stripper. Either way, I’m calling that a win!

Nearly a year after dropping the mic for the last time on “The Really Good Podcast,” Bobbi Althoff is bringing it back to life.

The internet sensation, who gets a mix of love and hate online, recently shared the news in a simple Instagram post. And while she hasn’t exactly been out of the public eye since ending the podcast last July, later joining another, “That’s BS Podcast with Bobbi and Suki,” fans were quick to share their opinions in the comments under her social media announcement.

Bobbi Althoff Bringing Popular Podcast Back To Life

Last July, Althoff shocked fans when she announced the end of “The Really Good Podcast.” She shared that while she was proud of all her many accomplishments with the podcast, she was shocked that she “fell off” as quickly as she did. And with mounting criticism hitting everything she posts, it may not have come as much of a shock to her day-one fans that she was dropping the mic for a final time.

On Friday, Althoff shared a carousel of photos on Instagram simply captioned, “the really good podcast is coming back from the dead. New episodes returning every Wednesday starting next week.”

The post received more than 100,000 likes in just a day, and tons of comments – some positive and some not so much.

So far, Althoff has only announced the podcast’s return on her IG page (where she has 3.7 million followers), with no sign of the news on her TikTok page, (where she has 8.3 million followers).

Many viewers hopped into the comment section to leave their thoughts on both her photo carousel and the podcast beginning again.

“You’ll never see this but lowkey this is one of the hottest photoshoots,” one viewer shared. Another said, “They hate to see a powerful women.” One other wrote, “I aspire to be thissss.”

A few people jumped in to defend Althoff from the hate in the comments.

“Y’all are more concerned about her kids than the dad is! Women are allowed to have jobs and lives outside the house now btw,” one person said. Another added, “You can do a photo shoot and be a mother, what’s everyone’s problem?” One other shared, “Man these comments are ridiculous. Bobbi keep doing you.”

‘The Really Good Podcast’ Launched In April 2023 And Ended In July 2025

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will not be subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy after photos of him and journalist Dianna Russini spending time together at an Arizona resort came to light.

According to a Friday, April 18, report from ESPN’s Ben Strauss, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league will not be reviewing Vrabel’s conduct under the policy, which states that players, coaches and executives are required to avoid “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League.”

Russini, 43, resigned from her post at The Athletic on Tuesday, April 14, one week after she and Vrabel, 50, were photographed together holding hands and hugging while seemingly on vacation.

“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” Russini said in a written statement shared via social media on Tuesday. “When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”

She continued, “Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”

When the photos were originally published on April 7, both Russini and Vrabel released statements claiming that the situation was simply platonic and professional.

“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel said at the time. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”

“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini said in a statement to Page Six. “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”

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The Athletic initially supported Russini, with executive editor Steven Ginsberg saying that the photos were “misleading” and lacking “essential context.”

However, just days later on Saturday April 11, The Athletic opened its own investigation into the photos.

“Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30,” Russini said in her resignation letter. “I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”

There’s a special kind of cinematic pleasure reserved for movies that fail so spectacularly they become strangely mesmerizing. These are the films that collapse so completely, so undeniably yet entertainingly, that they circle back around to being endlessly watchable, albeit in a morbid sort of way.

The titles on this list are all oddly compelling, whether it’s the incompetence of The Room, the unhinged ambition of Battlefield Earth, or the accidental surrealism of Troll 2. Not because they’re clever, or self-aware, or secretly brilliant, but because they believe in themselves with total, unwavering sincerity.

10

‘Samurai Cop’ (1991)

Image via Hollywood Royal Pictures

“I’m a cop, and you will cooperate.” In Samurai Cop, a detective (Matthew Karedas) trained in martial arts is assigned to take down a dangerous gang terrorizing Los Angeles, leading to a series of confrontations… filled with improbable action, awkward dialogue, and narrative detours that defy logic. Here, incompetence, sincerity, and sheer confusion collide to create something endlessly watchable.

Technically, the movie is a disaster. Continuity errors are everywhere, the most famous being a scene where the lead suddenly wears a blatantly fake wig because filming resumed months later, and his hair had changed. However, the whole thing is dead serious. The cast and crew clearly think they’re delivering hard-boiled action dialogue in the vein of classic cop movies. It just misses the mark so completely that it becomes surreal. For this reason, Samurai Cop eventually developed an ardent cult following.

9

‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’ (1997)

Image via New Line Cinema

“Too bad YOU… will die!” Some of the Mortal Kombat movies are just outright bad with no redeeming features, ironic or otherwise, but Mortal Kombat: Annihilation‘s ineptitude makes it oddly entertaining. The setup is classic video game stuff: Earth’s warriors must face invading forces from another realm in a battle to save humanity, confronting a succession of villains in elaborate fights. Yet the movie executes that run-of-the-mill premise with relentless energy and pure visual chaos.

Plot-wise, the movie tries to cram what feels like three or four films’ worth of story into 90 minutes. The characters speak in all caps (especially Brian Thompson as Shoa Kahn, who seems to declare a war on subtlety), and many of the actors perform in wildly divergent registers, giving the movie a strange, off-kilter feeling, as if everyone was given a different script and tone note. Throw in PlayStation 2-quality CGI, and you’ve got a so-bad-it’s-good classic.

8

‘Mac and Me’ (1988)

Image via MGM

“Pretty nice planet.” This one is among the worst sci-fi ever and blatantly rips off E.T., but with a ton of ham-fisted product placement shoehorned in. Mac and Me tells the story of a young boy (Jade Calegory) who befriends an alien stranded on Earth after escaping from government agents, embarking on adventures that blend family drama with science fiction whimsy. It’s an almost beat-for-beat imitation of Spielberg‘s masterpiece, but stripped of its emotional intelligence.

From editing to visual effects, the film is full of strange, almost dreamlike decisions. The alien design itself is both goofy and slightly unsettling, scenes cut abruptly, and touching moments are undercut by awkward pacing. A case in point is the now-legendary cliff scene, where the protagonist in a wheelchair falls off a cliff, which comes off unintentionally hilarious. Finally, there’s the aggressive advertising, most strikingly in the McDonald’s dance scene. It’s a full musical number, completely detached from the plot, existing purely as branded spectacle.

7

‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror’ (2010)

Image via Moviehead Pictures

“Why are they attacking us?” The Birds, this is not. In Birdemic: Shock and Terror, a couple’s (Alan Bagh and Whitney Moore) budding romance is interrupted when flocks of birds begin launching inexplicable attacks on humanity, forcing survivors to band together against the strange threat. From here, unconventional pacing and low-budget effects are the order of the day. Indeed, the birds are rendered with some of the most infamous CGI ever put to screen.

They flap like clip-art, glide in ways that violate the laws of physics, and sometimes just… hover. This mismatch is pure comedy. The movie treats these attacks as terrifying, while the visuals look like they were dragged into the frame from a PowerPoint presentation. In terms of the performances, the stars seem less like they’re acting and more like they’re gently being instructed to “say the line now.” Bagh, in particular, spends much of the film reacting in ways that don’t match what’s happening.

6

‘Manos: The Hands of Fate’ (1966)

Image via Emerson Film Enterprises

“There is no way out of here.” In Manos: The Hands of Fate, a family becomes stranded near a mysterious lodge overseen by a strange caretaker (John Reynolds), leading them into a surreal world of ritual and eerie encounters. As they attempt to escape, they uncover unsettling secrets that defy explanation. While that premise may sound intriguing, large stretches of the film are just… people driving. Or walking. Or waiting. Shots linger far too long, often repeating similar actions with minimal variation.

The performances likewise exist in a strange emotional vacuum. Characters deliver lines slowly, with odd emphasis, often without reacting to each other in believable ways. The standout is Reynolds as the satyr-like Torgo, whose halting speech and exaggerated physicality make him feel like a character from another reality entirely. Not for nothing, Manos is frequently ranked among the very worst films ever made, yet its dreamlike monotony makes it oddly hypnotic in its own way.

5

‘Reefer Madness’ (1936)

Image via Motion Picture Ventures

“Tell your children.” Reefer Madness was designed as a cautionary tale about the dangers of cannabis, portraying it as a substance that leads almost immediately to insanity, violence, and death. Characters go from normal teenagers to deranged criminals within minutes of taking a puff, beset by hallucinations and destructive impulses. At the time, this approach aligned (loosely) with broader cultural fears, but today, it feels so exaggerated that it plays like satire.

The film operates on a kind of moral domino effect: once marijuana enters the story, everything else collapses. But the escalation is so abrupt and illogical that it becomes absurd. The production values are decidedly campy, too, explaining why this became a favorite on the midnight movie circuit. Ironic entertainment value aside, Reefer Madness remains a weirdly fascinating artifact of its era.

4

‘Battlefield Earth’ (2000)

“While you were still learning how to spell your name, I was being trained… to conquer galaxies!” This movie was a passion project for John Travolta, who clearly envisioned it as Scientology’s answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The result was a thermonuclear dumpster fire. Adapting an L. Ron Hubbard novel, Battlefield Earth sees humanity struggling under the domination of an alien race, with a small group of rebels rising to challenge their oppressors.

Here, grand ambitions run headfirst into a brick wall of eccentric creative choices. Let’s start with the imagery. Everything in this movie is tilted, packed with extreme Dutch angles that give nearly every scene a slanted, off-balance look. Combined with heavy color filters (greens, blues, yellows), it creates a visual experience that feels disorienting rather than immersive. Wooden performances and faux-profundity kill off whatever other serious appeal this movie might have had.

3

‘Troll 2’ (1990)

Image via Epic Productions

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“They’re eating her! And then they’re going to eat me!” Troll 2 revolves around a family that visits a small town inhabited by goblins who seek to transform humans into plants so they can devour them. The protagonist must uncover the town’s secret to save the day. While that sounds pulpy but fine, the resulting movie is truly bizarre in so many ways. First of all, it was originally titled Goblins, later changed to Troll 2 to capitalize on the success of the 1986 Troll. However, the films are totally unrelated; there aren’t even any trolls in Troll 2!

Then there’s the acting. Characters deliver lines with strange emphasis and pause at the wrong moments. The most famous example is one character exclaiming, “Oh my Goooood!” before being transformed into a tree. That scene has become a meme because it captures the film’s entire madcap energy in one moment.

2

‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ (1959)

Image via Distributors Corporation of America

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“Future events such as these will affect you in the future.” One of the progenitors of the whole ‘so bad it’s good’ genre, Plan 9 from Outer Space is the marvelously terrible magnum opus from filmmaker Ed Wood. In it, aliens attempt to prevent humanity from developing a destructive superweapon by resurrecting the dead, leading to a series of encounters that blend science fiction with horror. Through all this mayhem, the director’s boundless enthusiasm shines through (despite several technical limitations).

Wood clearly had a big, bold vision for the movie, but neither the budget nor the skill to pull it off. Instead, we get flying saucers clearly hanging on strings, cardboard gravestones, and sets that look like they might collapse if someone leans too hard. On top of that, there’s the strange presence of Bela Lugosi, whose footage was shot before his death and awkwardly stitched in.

1

‘The Room’ (2003)

Image via TPW Films

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“You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” When it comes to the top spot on this list, nothing can compete with The Room. It’s the anti-Citizen Kane, the most entertainingly bad movie of all time. Writer-director-producer Tommy Wiseau stars as Johnny, a successful banker whose life unravels as his fiancée (Juliette Danielle) begins an affair with his best friend (Greg Sestero), leading to escalating confrontations and emotional turmoil. The narrative is built like a normal romantic drama… and then quietly collapses.

Subplots appear (a cancer diagnosis, a drug dealer conflict) and then vanish. Wiseau is the eye of the story; his performance swings wildly between accents, emotions, and intensity levels, sometimes within the same scene. Lines like “I did not hit her, it’s not true!” have become iconic because they feel almost human, but not quite. Despite (or because of) all these qualities, The Room is a before-and-after in bad cinema, a deeply quotable trainwreck and great fun to watch in a group.

Miles Teller isn’t stepping away from Hollywood just yet. Fresh off a reported $325 million sale of his canned cocktail brand Long Drink, the actor is opening up about what comes next and making it clear he has no plans to walk away from acting.

In a candid update, Teller also addressed his continued absence from social media, admitting he has little interest in sharing his personal life publicly.

Away from the spotlight, he showed a more sentimental side. He revealed he surprised his wife, Keleigh Teller, with a recreated version of her wedding dress after the original was destroyed in the California wildfires.

Miles Teller Says $325M Payday Won’t End Acting

Teller is making it clear his recent massive payday won’t pull him out of Hollywood.

The “Top Gun” star has opened up about his future after cashing in on the reported $325 million sale of The Finnish Long Drink, a canned cocktail brand he backed as an early investor in 2019. The Mark Anthony Group (the company behind White Claw) recently acquired the ready-to-drink spritzer in a blockbuster deal.

While Teller is set to earn a share of the windfall, he says the money isn’t enough to make him step away from acting.

“I don’t really talk numbers,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter, declining to reveal his exact earnings. “I was always taught that’s not in good taste. All I’ll say is that I’m not retiring from acting anytime soon.”

Teller Compares Business To Acting

Teller took a hands-on approach to building the brand, traveling from bar to bar across the country to promote it and help grow its reach. He was also closely involved in its marketing strategy, playing a role in turning it into one of the largest ready-to-drink alcohol brands in the U.S.

The actor compared the experience of being involved in business with acting, saying the two are more alike than people might think.

“It’s very easy to support something that you believe in,” he said. “So, when I go to those places, and everybody is wearing Long Drink stuff, I take as much pride in that as I do when somebody tells me they really loved a movie that I was in.”

Teller says fans shouldn’t expect to see him on Instagram or TikTok anytime soon.

Despite ongoing pressure to join social platforms, the actor revealed he has no interest in putting his life online.

Teller admitted people often warn him he could lose opportunities by staying off Instagram, but said the trade-off isn’t worth it. He explained that he’s never felt the need to share constant updates about his life or invite that level of public access.

“I like to keep my personal life private and have people get to know me through the movies I align myself with and my association with Long Drink,” he said.

Teller admitted that staying off social media hasn’t come without its drawbacks, especially when it comes to business.

Despite helping grow Long Drink into a major player in the ready-to-drink space, the actor revealed that some brands are hesitant to work with him because he doesn’t have a personal platform to promote their products.

Still, he pointed to his work with the brand as proof that influence doesn’t always have to come from an app. Teller noted they found “great ways” to promote the drink that aligned with his style, allowing him to advocate for it on his own terms.

Miles Teller Gifted Wife Remade Version Of Her Burned Wedding Dress

Following the California wildfires of 2025, Teller showed a deeply personal side, surprising his wife with a remade version of her wedding dress after the original was destroyed.

Teller and his wife were forced to evacuate as the fires tore through their neighborhood, ultimately losing their home in the devastation. Among the items lost was Keleigh’s wedding dress.

Months later, Teller quietly recreated the wedding dress. In a clip shared on her TikTok, the model was seen opening a gift box before asking, “Is this my wedding dress?”

“Yeah,” Teller responds.

“Miles had my wedding dress that burned in the fire remade,” she captioned the video, adding that she was “so happy.”

The Los Angeles Angels honored the late Garret Anderson during their game on Friday, April 17, against the San Diego Padres.

The team wore a memorial patch during the game in Anderson’s honor, and will wear that patch for the remainder of the season. They also played a video tribute at Angels Stadium and held a moment of silence before the game.

“He was a baseball player, and he did everything right,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki told MLB.com of Anderson. “There was nothing flashy. … He never pimped home runs. That’s who I want my kids to model themselves after. Just play the game right, do the things right, and never bring attention to yourself.”

Suzuki played with Anderson during his MLB career.

The Angels went on to win 8-0 on Friday in dominant fashion on a night honoring one of the greats.

Anderson, a three-time All-Star and staple of the Angels franchise, died on Thursday, April 16 after suffering a “medical emergency” at his home in Newport Beach, California. He was 53.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Angels Hall of Famer Garret Anderson,” the team posted via social media on Friday. “Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond.”

The two-time Silver Slugger — who played almost his entire career with the Angels — holds the franchise records for games played, at bats, hits, runs, RBIs, total bases, extra base hits, singles, doubles and grand slams. He was the foundation of the team during its 2002 World Series championship run.

“The Angels organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons, Garret Anderson,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. “Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success, highlighted by the 2002 World Series championship.”

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Anderson is survived by his wife, Teresa, his daughters, Brianne and Bailey, and his son, Garret ‘Trey’ Anderson III.

He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in 2016.

“Being a good teammate goes a long way with a lot of people,” he said at the time. “If you go out and respect your teammates and pull for ‘em and give ‘em tough love when you have to, it goes a long way. … So that was the biggest compliment for me, people saying I was a good teammate.”