The Couch Potato Report – April 20th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on ten releases that have been released over the past few weeks while I was on vacation.
Twenty-one days have passed since we got together on The Couch.
In that time there have been approximately 260 new DVD releases and re-releases.
Now, even if I had been here, I wouldnít have been able to cover them all.
But there are ten that I feel I should mention, albeit in an abbreviated form, either because I liked them, because I feel you should stay away from them, or just because if I donít tell you about them, you might now know they are available.
So let me get right to the first two releases that I want to cover: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA – THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding these two films so I will spare you a recap of their plots.
Each movie was a box office sensation for itís own reason, I only wish there was something sensational about them so I could highly recommend them to you.
Both movies have a lot to offer, and I do mildly recommend both of them as I think they are worth seeing, but both NARNIA and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN are ultimately not as good as they should and could have been.
Luckily, neither NARNIA nor BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN are bad. Bad films arenít worth your time.
They are worth seeing, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE is not. That is because FUN WITH DICK AND JANE is a bad movie.
Jim Carrey and TÈa Leoni star as a married couple that turns to crime to pay the bills.
Usually a Jim Carrey film is good for a laugh or two, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE is not.
The original 1977 version of FUN WITH DICK AND JANE was funny, interesting and entertaining, this new version is not.
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE is not funny, not interesting, not entertaining, and not worth your time.
Unless you have lots of time to kill. Then maybe it is worth your time.
However, if you have lots of time to kill, please allow me to suggest fun time killers like 80s TV shows MAGNUM PI, KNIGHT RIDER and THE A-TEAM!
The fourth season of all of these films are each now available in 3-disc box sets.
And with the KNIGHT RIDER set, it all comes to an end, as this is the FOURTH AND FINAL SEASON Box set.
But KNIGHT RIDER, and MAGNUM PI, and THE A-TEAM can live forever in your DVD library, if you want them to.
And if you have have lots of time to kill.
Yes, those 80s TV shows will live as long as you want them to.
CAROLE LOMBARD, MAE WEST and MARLENE DIETRICH will live forever, whether you or I have even seen all of their films. They are legends, and legends never die.
And now several of each of those legendsí films are available in new multiple disc sets as a part of THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION.
Carole Lombardís box contains her films HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE, LOVE BEFORE BREAKFAST, MAN OF THE WORLD, THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS, TRUE CONFESSION and WEíRE NOT DRESSING.
In the Marlene Dietrich set you get MOROCCO, BLONDE VENUS, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS and GOLDEN EARRINGS.
Last, but not least, the Mae West package features GO WEST YOUNG MAN, GOINí TO TOWN, IíM NO ANGEL, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE and NIGHT AFTER NIGHT.
The CAROLE LOMBARD, MAE WEST and MARLENE DIETRICH sets THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION all come highly recommended, and if you have never seen any of these stars’ films, these inexpensive sets are a great place to start.
The final title I want to tell you about this week is the 2-disc Director’s Cut edition of the Academy Award winning film CRASH.
Back in February CRASH won the Oscar for BEST PICTURE over BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN at the Academy Awards.
A few moments ago, I said that I wished that there was something sensational about BROKEBACK so I could highly recommend it to you.
That said, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN should have won Best Picture over CRASH. I enjoyed CRASH more, but BROKEBACK will be the film that we will still talk about years from now.
That said, let me put the future on hold and talk more about CRASH right now.
The DIRECTORíS CUT EDITION of CRASH features four additional minutes of footage and it extends several scenes.
The extra minutes donít change the fact that CRASH is a superb film. The kind of film that you will discuss and think about from the minute it ends.
It just makes it different. Not better, not worse, just different.
That DIRECTORíS CUT EDITION of CRASH is now available at a store near you, and so are THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION featuring CAROLE LOMBARD, MAE WEST and MARLENE DIETRICH; SEASON FOUR OF MAGNUM PI, KNIGHT RIDER and THE A-TEAM; FUN WITH DICK AND JANE – a movie that is no fun; THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA – THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
And that is the last three weeks…recapped!
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Woody Allenís MATCH POINT will have you thinking neither about Woody Allen or Tennis.
18 FINGERS OF DEATH is a ìsockumentary” of the world of martial arts films and it will take you on the lowest possible journey of the making of these films.
DARWINíS NIGHTMARE is an actual documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.
Oscar winner Charlize Theron stars in the box office failure AEON FLUX, but the film is actually pretty good.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – SEASON 2.0 gives us the first ten episodes of Season 2 of the best science fiction show that is currently on television.
And LAW & ORDER – TRIAL BY JURY – THE COMPLETE SERIES is a three-disc set that contains all 13 original episodes of the one LAW & ORDER series that failed.
I’m Dan Reynish. 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 time on The Couch!
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