The Couch Potato Report – December 7th, 2004
In The Couch Potato Report this week, there are two movies and one TV show and all of them are actually worth watching.
When I tell you what this week’s first new release is about, your first reaction will probably be to think that it sounds like a dumb idea for a movie.
And I agree, it does. A movie about the game of dodgeball that we all used to play in school and on playgrounds does sound like a dumb idea for a movie.
But the idea isn’t what is available now on video and DVD, the movie they made is and DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY is one of the funniest and most entertaining films of the year.
Vince Vaughn from OLD SCHOOL and SWINGERS is the underdog owner of a gym that is home to a group of average Joe misfits called, appropriately enough, Average Joe’s Gym. In what isn’t an original movie premise, he faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in 30 days.
But what is original is the fact that his solution comes courtesy of a dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas that offers $50,000 to the winners.
So Vaughn and his group of Joe’s form a team to save their beloved gym.
Their nemesis, in life and in the tournament, is the vain, egotistical owner of Globo Gym, the company that is threatening to buy Average Joe’s. Ben Stiller from ZOOLANDER and MEET THE PARENTS is the gym owner, and he is hilarious in every scene he is in!
That’s it for the story in DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY.
The credit for what makes the movie great primarily goes to the cast. Vaughn and Stiller excel in their roles and the film is either funny or very funny for almost the entire 96 minutes running time.
Yes, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY does sound like a dumb idea, but the movie will amuse you immensely.
Well, that is unless you have too many bad memories of being hit in the head during gym class with one of those round red balls. Then maybe you should stay away from DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY.
And if we are talking about reasons to stay away from a movie, you should probably stay away from this week’s other major new movie release if you have a problem with constant motion.
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is a superb film, but there are times during the picture where the action in the movie, and the way it is edited, may cause you some problems. That is due to the fact that the camera is right in the middle of the action and that action is non-stop.
But the motion of the camera and the amount of edits isn’t a valid reason for me to not recommend THE BOURNE SUPREMACY.
In the literary world THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is the second of two books. In the movie world, here’s hoping that this is merely the second in a long line of films!
This film picks up almost exactly where THE BOURNE IDENTITY left off. The action begins when former CIA assassin and partial amnesiac Jason Bourne is framed for a murder in Berlin, setting off a chain reaction of pursuits in motion from India to Berlin, Moscow, and Italy.
The action in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is non-stop and director Paul Greengrass puts the camera right in the middle of it. As I mentioned, that causes things to be a bit disorienting at times, but the end result doesn’t suffer too much for it.
Matt Damon from OCEANS ELEVEN returns as the title character and once again he is an interestingly unconventional action hero.
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY is a great thriller that has well-crafted suspense. I enjoyed every minute of it!
I also enjoy every minute, of every hour of the television show 24.
If you’ve never seen the show, it is a unique action series set in real-time. Each hour of the show represents an actual hour over the course of a day, and each episode usually ends with a cliffhanger ending.
That is why watching the show on DVD is the perfect situation because you don’t have to wait a week to see what happens.
24: SEASON THREE is a new seven disc box set that features the complete third season of the series 24. Kiefer Sutherland, Elisha Cuthbert, Dennis Haysbert all star.
In the third season, our hero Jack – played by Tommy Douglas’ Grandson Kiefer Sutherland – starts his day by attempting to find and then broker a deal for a deadly virus.
That sets the 24-hour clock ticking in a tight, taut, action-packed day.
Of course, what Jack is doing is just one story. The intricate subplots that take place during the day are 24’s greatest strength.
If you have never seen an episode of the series 24, I would recommend you start with seasons ONE and TWO before moving on to SEASON THREE. You should be finished just in time for the show’s fourth season premiere on Sunday, January 9th
DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY and 24: SEASON THREE are all available at your favourite local video store.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
Isaac Asimov’s classic book was the inspiration for Will Smith’s new film I ROBOT. Smith plays a detective in the year 2035 who believes that a robot killed a scientist. Bridget Moynahan from THE SUM OF ALL FEARS and SERENDIPITY also stars.
In the incredible film COLLATERAL a cab driver is forced to spend a night driving a killer around Los Angeles. Tom Cruise is the killer and Jamie Foxx is the cabbie. This is neither your typical buddy movie, or your typical thriller. It is simply a great movie!
The always radiant and always lovely Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews team up once again for THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT. Although not as charming as the original PRINCESS DIARIES, it is an entertaining family film.
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES – THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON features the final 24 episodes on eight discs, plus two versions of the never aired episode “The Cage.”
And the latest offerings in WAVE FOUR of THE DISNEY TREASURES COLLECTION are THE COMPLETE PLUTO – VOLUME ONE, THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB and MICKEY MOUSE IN BLACK AND WHITE – VOLUME 2.
I’m Dan Reynish and I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.
For now, that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next week on The Couch!
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