The Couch Potato Report – March 1st, 2008
This week The Couch Potato Report peels some battles, a death AT a funeral, some animation and The Cid.
After a few very busy weeks, things have slowed down a bit, but I still have 6 releases to tell you about, beginning with this week’s Hot Potato…Season Three of the Canadian comedy faux-reality television series KENNY VS. SPENNY.
KENNY VS. SPENNY is a series that originally aired on CBC and in each episode the two best friends and roommates – Kenny and Spenny – face each in different competitions.
There are 13 episodes in SEASON THREE and some of the competitions are funny, others are interesting, and there are also several that are so childish or stupid that you will just want to ignore.
Plus, Kenny is a bully who wins almost all of the competitions, and at times you will actually wonder why Spenny puts up with the things he does, including the weekly humiliations as he loses.
But there is something about those shows that makes you keep watching, long after you want to, but…if you are like me…you will be constantly asking yourself “Why am I watching this?!?!”
But I couldn’t stop watching, and laughing, and I must admit, I was entertained!
Due to it’s language, anything goes attitude, and content, KENNY VS. SPENNY isn’t a show for everyone, but if you are looking for something uniquly stupid, immature, childish and addictively fun…, check out SEASON THREE and have some fun.
Or, if you prefer well written black comedies with a wry wit and a well placed sense of humour over gross out gags and immature friends, then you can skip Kenny and Spenny and check out DEATH AT A FUNERAL.
On the morning of their father’s funeral, the family and friends of the deceased each arrive with his or her own set of problems issues and anxieties.
Plus…they are at a funeral!
Then comes the real shocker: a mysterious guest who threatens to unveil an earth-shattering family secret.
Black comedy is defined at that where topics and events that are usually treated seriously – like death – are treated in a humorous or satirical manner and DEATH AT A FUNERAL is a prime example of that.
If you like classic British Farce, then this is a film for you.
I found it hilarious with one great moment following another.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL is a great film!!
Both DEATH AT A FUNERAL and KENNY VS. SPENNY feature people who get quite animated at times.
Our next three releases this week feature characters who are animated all the time.
Like The Smurfs!
Created on October 23rd, 1958, in Belgium The Smurfs are a group of small blue creatures who live in mushroom houses somewhere in the woods.
Their popularity as toys continues around the glode to this day, but it was the 1981 debut of their Saturday-morning cartoon that first made them famous in North America.
This two disc boxset THE SMURFS – SEASON ONE, VOLUME ONE includes the first 19 episodes from Season 1, along with The Smurfs Springtime Special and some other bonus features.
This show was fun then, and it is fun now!
If you loved The Smurfs when you are a kid…this is a perfect way to feel young again.
If you don’t like animated Smurfs, how about cartoon cats? Or dynamically drawn dogs?
Well then, I have good news! The Walt Disney classics THE ARISTOCATS and 101 DALMATIONS are now available in new Special Edition DVDs!
As a kid, I could never understand why the voice of Baloo the Bear from THE JUNGLE BOOK was coming out of Thomas O’Malley the Orange Cat in THE ARITOCATS, or how THE RESUCERS’ Miss Bianca was Duchess the white Cat…but as an adult, I now understand…and I have started to appreciate THE ARISTOCATS even more.
While not Disney’s best animated film of all time….the jazzy fun of THE ARISTOCATS is great for us kids…of all ages….and it has never looked or sounded better than it does in this new SPECIAL EDITION DVD.
The TWO DISC PLATINUM EDITION of 101 DALMATIONS allows that film to look and sound incredible as well!
In addition to the still superb 1961 film, this PLATINUM EDITION features a wide array of features, including Virtual Dalmatians, 101 Pop-Up Trivia Facts, The Making Of 101 Dalmatians, Deleted Songs originally written for the film, and much more!
Beware, it also features even more Cruella De Vil too!!
Finally this week is another classic…and unlike THE ARISTOCATS and 101 DALMATIONS, this one is making it’s debut on DVD.
This classic is the 1961 Charleton Heston/Sophia Loren film EL CID.
Heston plays The Cid, an 11th-century hero who drove the Moors from Spain.
While not as sweeping an epic as LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, EL CID does still have compelling and real characters, spectacular sets and costumes, sword fights and plenty of romance.
This is the type of film people are talking about when they say “They don’t make ’em like that anymore!”
The new Three-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition of EL CID looks fantastic, and it is NOW available on DVD along with the SPECIAL EDITION of THE ARISTOCATS, SEASON ONE, VOLUME ONE of the always fun SMURFS, the black comedy DEATH AT A FUNERAL and KENNY VS. SPENNY – SEASON THREE.
The 2 DISC PLATINUM EDITION of 101 DALMATIONS will be in stores on Tuesday.
Coming up in TWO WEEKS on the next Couch Potato Report
LOVE AND OTHER DILEMMAS is a Canadian comedy starring Gabrielle Miller, Lacey from CORNER GAS as a woman who insists her wedding day will be perfect, even though she’s eight-months pregnant, been robbed, kidnapped and thinks her fiancĂ Henry is dead.
I will also talk about the Academy Award winning Best Picture of 2007 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN; Steve Carrel is DAN IN REAL LIFE; Robin Williams headlines AUGUST RUSH; and JUSTICE LEAGUE – THE NEW FRONTIER is a great new animated movie featuring Superman, Batman AND Wonder Woman. in an origin story of how the Justice League first got together.
I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in fourteen 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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