The Couch Potato Report – March 10th, 2007
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on an utterly fascinating documentary and three comedies.
A few week ago there were two movie awards ceremonies.
There was the Oscars, presented by The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences.
And the Genies, awarded by The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.
Most people, including me, gave a wealth of coverage to The Oscars
And very little coverage to The Genies.
The reason “I” did that is because even though there were several films this year – like THE ROCKET, EVE AND THE FIRE HORSE and BON COP BAD COP – that you may have heard of, and can find on DVD, there are more titles that we may never be able to find on DVD.
THE LITTLE BOOK OF REVENGE, THE SECRET LIFE OF HAPPY PEOPLE, CHEECH, EIGHTEEN, THE BEAUTIFUL BEAST, were just some of the films nominated for Genies. How many of those have you heard of?
How about MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES?
Well, that film won Genie Award for Best Documentary and I urge you to search it out because it is now available on DVD.
And it is utterly fascinating.
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is a feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky.
He takes pictures of quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams and other things around the world that he refers to as ‘manufactured landscapes’.
One of the many incredible places he visits is China to visit one place where they build items, and other where they take them apart.
We also get to visit the Three Gorges Dam, which will soon become the largest hydroelectric river dam in the world, and meet some of the more than a million people who were relocated to make way for it.
And MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES also takes us to a factory floor.
The opening eight minutes of the film is a single tracking shot that shows us a factory floor that is over a kilometre long.
Some movies entertain you, others overwhelm you, MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the latter.
It is utterly fascinating, it is now it is available on DVD, and it is a must see!
Search it out!
The other three releases I have for you this week are comedies.
The always brilliant Rowan Atkinson stars in the black comedy KEEPING MUM.
Atkinson plays a pastor who is preoccupied with writing the perfect sermon.
So, he fails to realize that his wife is having an affair with her golf instructor, that his children are up to no good, and that his sweet, elderly, very helpfull new housekeeper might be killing people.
KEEPING MUM isn’t as funny as some of Atkinson’s other work, like any of his MISTER BEAN episodes or his brief appearance in FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, but it is a quaint little British film that I enjoyed.
There is nothing little, quanit, or British about our next comedy.
The self-proclaimed “Greatest Band on Earth” debut on DVD with their film TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY;
Jack Black is an actor. He has been in the films KING KONG, THE HOLIDAY, HIGH FIDELITY and NACHO LIBRE. But he is also a very talented musician.
In real life, he is in a band called TENACIOUS D with his friend, and fellow actor, the lesser known Kyle Gass.
As a duo they write and perform heavy metal music, with a comedic twist to it.
THE PICK OF DESTINY is a fictional look at how K.G. and J.B. got together and it is the type of comedy made for people who are fans of NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, DAZED AND CONFUSED or HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE.
Namely, me.
Finally this week is the film BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN.
Comedian Sascha Baron Cohen created the character of Borat for his TV series “Da Ali G Show” and yes…everything you’ve heard about this wonderfully bizarre satire is true.
It’s disgusting and offensive, and you’ll laugh so hard, in spite of yourself
Simply put, it is one of the funniest movies ever made.
The comedies BORAT, TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY and KEEPING MUM and the utterly fascinating Genie Award winning Best Documentary feature MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES are all available now on DVD.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
The unique CBC series TWITCH CITY from the late nineties is now on DVD.
And so is the incredible still airing on CBC show DOCTOR WHO – THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES.
Plus, next week I will talk about the useless film SHORTBUS starring CBC radio’s own Sook-Yin Lee and the film that finally allowed a man named Daniel to become JAMES BOND – CASINO ROYALE.
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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