Considering we are right at the doorstep of the summer movie season, now is a good time to reflect on last year. I went through a list of what we had to see last year, and I had completely forgotten what a depressing summer it was.

While we did have such gems as “The Simpsons” and “The Bourne Ultimatum,” we also had “Hostel 2” and my least favorite movie of the past few years, “Transformers.” The funny thing is, I could not put my finger on what I disliked so much about “Transformers,” besides Michael Bay’s direction, of course.

It wasn’t the autobots or decepticons during the limited time they were on the screen, and it most certainly wasn’t Megan Fox. As long as Megan sticks to roles where she fixes cars in skirts, she will never ruin a movie. So what made it so bad?

The other day, I found my answer. I was rummaging around on collegehumor.com and found a montage focusing on Shia LaBeouf’s limited acting abilities in the movie. He says “no” too many times, and he runs around like a no-talent slapstick actor. Why could Starscream’s targeting system not have a setting for bad actors? Why!?!?

Hopefully “Dark Knight” will be so awesome we can forget about LaBeouf, even though the guy will be back in the new “Indiana Jones” movie. While I do hope he turns things around, just be ready for another column mentioning how ineffective the traps were in Indy 4.

www.collegehumor.com/video:1793039

I found another great video on collegehumor.com, this one of a man singing the worst version of “Amazing Grace” I’ve ever heard. Although it might seem only mildly bad at first, just hang around until the two-minute mark, when he really gets into the song and tries to hit highs he was never meant to hit.

I just hope this was not sung at a funeral. Hearing this live while you’re already depressed would probably be too much for a grief-stricken person to take. And I’ve heard Natalie Merchant sing; I know what I’m talking about.

www.collegehumor.com/video:1758887

Speaking of terrible music, I found a Web site for a band called the Black Out Band. The band is made up of three 11-year-olds who perform at live events.

While the guitarist truly rocks in an “I’m-11-and-can’t-really-play-guitar” kind of way, the singer really makes me cringe. He sounds like he’s asleep, and on the band’s first single, “Video Games,” he croons about how he “just wants to play video games” while his parents try to make him do chores.

Trust me, kid, you’re doing your chores right now, because mom is collecting the paycheck. I can’t wait for Black Out Band’s next single, “Divorcing My Parents.”

www.blackoutband.com/

Considering we just went through some bad music, I think I owe you one. Here’s a link to Nine Inch Nail’s Web site, where you can download the band’s new album absolutely free. It’s pretty good, and front man Trent Reznor says it’s just payback to his fans for all they’ve done for him.

www.nin.com