Month: June 2011

Categories
Awards

Congrats to them all!!!

Levy to receive Order of Canada
Governor General David Johnston announced 50 new appointments to the Order of Canada on Thursday.
Among the recipients are actor Eugene Levy, hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, and authors Malcolm Gladwell and Nino Ricci.
The Order recognizes “a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation,” says a news release from the GG.
Wickenheiser, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and two-time tournament MVP, will become an officer of the order. Gladwell and Ricci will become members of the order, as will Levy, who is being recognized for “his contributions as a comic actor and writer, and for his dedication to charitable causes.
Other notable recipients include businessman and philanthropist W. Brett Wilson and former federal cabinet minister Pat Carney.
A ceremony for the recipients will be held at a later date.
Categories
Uncategorized

I still have to see them all, flop or not!!

Top movie flops of 2011 (so far)
LOS ANGELES – It’s been a rough six months for Hollywood, which turned out a string of disappointments at the domestic box office.
Some hurt more than others, depending upon their production budgets and marketing spends. The following list doesn’t account for how much was spent on marketing, since studios hold those figures closed to their chests, but we’re talking many, many millions.
MARS NEEDS MOMS
Robert Zemeckis’ motion-capture pic was one of the most expensive bombs in Hollywood history, costing at least $150 million to produce and grossing $21.4 million at the domestic box office. Overseas, it didn’t do much better, grossing $17.6 million for a total $39 million.
YOUR HIGHNESS
The raunchy comedy, set in medieval times, didn’t go over well with audiences, even if it starred newly anointed Oscar winner Natalie Portman (along with James Franco and Danny McBride). Costing $50 million to produce, the film earned $21.6 million domestically and a paltry $3 million overseas.
ARTHUR
The remake of the classic Dudley Moore comedy failed to rustle up many laughs, topping out at $33 million domestically. Starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner, “Arthur” did even less overseas, earning $12.7 million for a global total of $45.7 million. The production budget was reportedly $40 million.
PROM
“Prom,” earning a mere $10.1 million at the domestic box office, was the first movie greenlit by newly installed Disney chairman Rich Ross to hit theaters. It’s the lowest grossing studio film of the year so far, but luckily for Ross, “Prom” cost only $8 million to produce.
JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER
The producers of “Precious” were hoping to launch a new film franchise based on the popular kids book series. But the $20 million film, distributed by Relativity Media in the U.S., has grossed just $13.4 million to date.
GREEN LANTERN
Costing at least $200 million to produce, “Green Lantern” needed to do a big number worldwide to be financially solid (think $500 million plus). Now, it seems the Ryan Reynolds superhero pic will top out at roughly $250 million or $260 million worldwide. It didn’t help that the movie was bashed by critics.
PRIEST
The supernatural action film, based on the Korean graphic novel, was the most expensive movie ever made by Screen Gems, costing $60 million to produce. It earned $29.1 million domestically, but made up some ground overseas, where it earned $46 million.
SUCKER PUNCH
Zack Snyder’s female action-fantasy couldn’t find its groove, grossing $36.4 million domestically and $53.4 million overseas for a worldwide total of $89.8 million. The movie, which cost roughly $82 million to produce, came in No. 2 on its opening weekend behind “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.”
HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL
The first “Hoodwinked!” was a sleeper hit at the worldwide box office, grossing $51.4 million domestically and $58.6 million internationally. The sequel, however, came and went quickly, earning only $10 million in North America and $3.6 million overseas. Its production budget was a reported $30 million.
THE BEAVER
There was heat around actor/director Jodie Foster’s high-profile movie for months, but it quickly disappeared at the domestic box office, grossing less than $1 million. Many saw it as a referendum on Mel Gibson, who stars in the $20 million film.
Categories
Uncategorized

You can say what you want, Charlize, but I am going to keep asking!!!

Theron: ‘I won’t get married’
Charlize Theron is convinced she will never walk down the aisle, despite campaigning for same-sex couples to have the right to marry.
The South African star, who lives in the U.S., has long claimed she will not wed until marriages between gay partners is made legal in all American states.
But when quizzed during a candid chat with CNN’s Piers Morgan over whether she wants to get married, the Oscar-winning beauty insisted she has no urge to become a bride.
And the star – whose mother shot and killed her father in self-defence when he attacked her – is adamant her parents’ bad marriage is not the reason she is so against the tradition.
She says, “It’s (marriage) a divine right and when (the) government starts to tell us who can love and what is good love, whether government or a government built on a certain religion, I do have a problem with that… I do have a problem with the fact that our government hasn’t stepped up enough to make this federal, to make this legal.
“I’ll be the first to say, here on your show, marriage – before I felt this way about this issue – was never something that was important to me. I don’t know the exact reason for that, some would say it’s because I came from a very troubled marriage, my parents didn’t have a good marriage. But I don’t think it’s that, I know a lot of friends who come from divorced parents or bad marriages who don’t feel that way. I really want for myself a long-term relationship and I have been in long-term relationships… That’s the kind of union that I want. The actual ceremony is not something that is important to me – but I see the importance for other people.
“I don’t (see myself getting married). When you’re in a partnership with someone, you have to respect the way that person feels… I treat my relationships as marriage, I really do.”
The actress split from Stuart Townsend last year after almost a decade together.
Categories
Magazines

Well said, Harrison!!

Ford: LaBeouf a ‘f**king idiot’
Harrison Ford has branded his Indiana Jones co-star Shia LaBeouf an “idiot” for publicly slamming the latest film in the franchise.
The pair worked together on 2008’s Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, the follow-up to the adventurer’s third outing in 1989.
The blockbuster was a box office hit, grossing nearly $800 million worldwide, but it received mixed reviews from critics and fans.
And following its release, LaBeouf admitted he was disappointed with the revival, insisting he had “dropped the ball” and let devotees down.
Last year, he said, “I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished… You can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on (director) Steven (Spielberg). But the actor’s job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn’t do it…”
And LaBeouf even claimed Ford agreed with him, adding, “We (Ford and LaBeouf) had major discussions. He wasn’t happy with it either.”
But now Ford has spoken out about the remarks, calling his co-star a “f**king idiot” for turning against the movie.
He tells Details magazine, “I think he was a f**king idiot. As an actor, I think it’s my obligation to support the film without making a complete a** of myself. Shia is ambitious, attentive, and talented – and he’s learning how to deal with a situation which is very unique and difficult.”
Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

This is beautiful!!!

Bruce Springsteen’s Eulogy for Clarence Clemons’Clarence doesn’t leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die’
Bruce Springsteen has released the text of the eulogy that he delivered at the funeral of Clarence Clemons on June 21st at Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach, Florida. He also performed an acoustic version of “10th Avenue Freeze-Out” and ended the ceremony by performing “You’re A Friend Of Mine” with Jackson Browne and members of The E Street Band. “This is a slightly revised version of the eulogy I delivered for Clarence at his memorial,” says Springsteen. “I’d like to thank all our fans and friends who have comforted us over the past difficult weeks.”
I’ve been sitting here listening to everyone talk about Clarence and staring at that photo of the two of us right there.  It’s a picture of Scooter and The Big Man, people who we were sometimes.  As you can see in this particular photo, Clarence is admiring his muscles and I’m pretending to be nonchalant while leaning upon him.  I leaned on Clarence a lot; I made a career out of it in some ways.
Those of us who shared Clarence’s life, shared with him his love and his confusion.   Though “C” mellowed with age, he was always a wild and unpredictable ride.  Today I see his sons Nicky, Chuck, Christopher and Jarod sitting here and I see in them the reflection of a lot of C’s qualities. I see his light, his darkness, his sweetness, his roughness, his gentleness, his anger, his brilliance, his handsomeness, and his goodness.  But, as you boys know your pop was a not a day at the beach.  “C” lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may. Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess.  This was just the nature of your daddy and my beautiful friend.  Clarence’s unconditional love, which was very real, came with a lot of conditions.  Your pop was a major project and always a work in progress.   “C” never approached anything linearly, life never proceeded in a straight line. He never went  A… B…. C…. D.  It was always A… J…. C…. Z… Q… I….!  That was the way Clarence lived and made his way through the world.  I know that can lead to a lot of confusion and hurt, but your father also carried a lot of love with him, and I know he loved each of you very very dearly.  
It took a village to take care of Clarence Clemons.  Tina, I’m so glad you’re here.  Thank you for taking care of my friend, for loving him.  Victoria, you’ve been a loving, kind and caring wife to Clarence and you made a huge difference in his life at a time when the going was not always easy. To all of “C’s” vast support network, names too numerous to mention, you know who you are and we thank you. Your rewards await you at the pearly gates.  My pal was a tough act but he brought things into your life that were unique and when he turned on that love light, it illuminated your world.  I was lucky enough to stand in that light for almost 40 years, near Clarence’s heart, in the Temple of Soul.
So a little bit of history: from the early days when Clarence and I traveled together, we’d pull up to the evenings lodgings and within minutes “C” would transform his room into a world of his own.  Out came the colored scarves to be draped over the lamps, the scented candles, the incense, the patchouli oil, the herbs, the music, the day would be banished, entertainment would come and go, and Clarence the Shaman would reign and work his magic night, after night.  Clarence’s ability to enjoy Clarence was incredible.  By 69, he’d had a good run, because he’d already lived about 10 lives, 690 years in the life of an average man.  Every night, in every place, the magic came flying out of C’s suitcase.  As soon as success allowed, his dressing room would take on the same trappings as his hotel room until a visit there was like a trip to a sovereign nation that had just struck huge oil reserves.  “C” always knew how to live.  Long before Prince was out of his diapers, an air of raunchy mysticism ruled in the Big Man’s world.  I’d wander in from my dressing room, which contained several fine couches and some athletic lockers, and wonder what I was doing wrong! Somewhere along the way all of this was christened the Temple of Soul; and “C” presided smilingly over its secrets, and its pleasures.  Being allowed admittance to the Temple’s wonders was a lovely thing.  
As a young child my son Sam became enchanted with the Big Man… no surprise.  To a child Clarence was a towering fairy tale figure, out of some very exotic storybook.  He was a dreadlocked giant, with great hands and a deep mellifluous voice sugared with kindness and regard.  And… to Sammy, who was just a little white boy, he was deeply and mysteriously black.  In Sammy’s eyes, “C” must have appeared as all of the African continent, shot through with American cool, rolled into one welcoming and loving figure.  So… Sammy decided to pass on my work shirts and became fascinated by Clarence’s suits and his royal robes.  He declined a seat in dad’s van and opted for “C’s” stretch limousine, sitting by his side on the slow cruise to the show.  He decided dinner in front of the hometown locker just wouldn’t do, and he’d saunter up the hall and disappear into the Temple of Soul. 
 Of course, also enchanted was Sam’s dad, from the first time I saw my pal striding out of the shadows of a half empty bar in Asbury Park, a path opening up before him; here comes my brother, here comes my sax man, my inspiration, my partner, my lifelong friend.  Standing next to Clarence was like standing next to the baddest ass on the planet.  You were proud, you were strong, you were excited and laughing with what might happen, with what together, you might be able to do.  You felt like no matter what the day or the night brought, nothing was going to touch you.   Clarence could be fragile but he also emanated power and safety,  and in some funny way we became each other’s protectors; I think perhaps I protected “C” from a world where it still wasn’t so easy to be big and black.  Racism was ever present and over the years together, we saw it.  Clarence’s celebrity and size did not make him immune.  I think perhaps “C” protected me from a world where it wasn’t always so easy to be an insecure, weird and skinny white boy either.  But, standing together we were badass, on any given night, on our turf, some of the baddest asses on the planet.  We were united, we were strong, we were righteous, we were unmovable, we were funny, we were corny as hell and as serious as death itself.  And we were coming to your town to shake you and to wake you up. Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I’d written in my songs and in my music.  Clarence carried it in his heart.  It was a story where the Scooter and the Big Man not only busted the city in half, but we kicked ass and remade the city, shaping it into the kind of place where our friendship would not be such an anomaly. And that… that’s what I’m gonna miss.  The chance to renew that vow and double down on that story on a nightly basis, because that is something, that is the thing that we did together… the two of us.  Clarence was big, and he made me feel, and think, and love, and dream big. How big was the Big Man?  Too fucking big to die.  And that’s just the facts.  You can put it on his grave stone, you can tattoo it over your heart. Accept it… it’s the New World. 
Clarence doesn’t leave the E Street Band when he dies.  He leaves when
we die.  
So, I’ll miss my friend, his sax, the force of nature his sound was, his glory, his foolishness, his accomplishments, his face, his hands, his humor, his skin, his noise, his confusion, his power, his peace.  But his love and his story, the story that he gave me, that he whispered in my ear, that he allowed me to tell… and that he gave to you… is gonna carry on.  I’m no mystic, but the undertow, the mystery and power of Clarence and my friendship leads me to believe we must have stood together in other, older times, along other rivers, in other cities, in other fields, doing our modest version of god’s work… work that’s still unfinished.  So I won’t say goodbye to my brother, I’ll simply say, see you in the next life, further on up the road, where we will once again pick up that work, and get it done.  
Big Man, thank you for your kindness, your strength, your dedication, your work, your story.  Thanks for the miracle… and for letting a little white boy slip through the side door of the Temple of Soul.  
SO LADIES AND GENTLEMAN… ALWAYS LAST, BUT NEVER LEAST.  LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE MASTER OF DISASTER, the BIG KAHUNA, the MAN WITH A PHD IN SAXUAL HEALING, the DUKE OF PADUCAH, the KING OF THE WORLD, LOOK OUT OBAMA! THE NEXT BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES EVEN THOUGH HE’S DEAD… YOU WISH YOU COULD BE LIKE HIM BUT YOU CAN’T!   LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BIGGEST MAN YOU’VE EVER SEEN!… GIVE ME A C-L-A-R-E-N-C-E.  WHAT’S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT’S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT’S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! … amen.
I’m gonna leave you today with a quote from the Big Man himself, which he shared on the plane ride home from Buffalo, the last show of the last tour.  As we celebrated in the front cabin congratulating one another and telling tales of the many epic shows, rocking nights and good times we’d shared, “C” sat quietly, taking it all in, then he raised his glass, smiled and said to all gathered, “This could be the start of something big.”
Love you, “C”.
Categories
Business

Lets see what happens!!

Myspace Gets In Sync With Justin Timberlake as Co-Owner
Specific Media, the advertising network that today signed a deal to acquire Myspace, revealed this afternoon that Justin Timberlake is taking an ownership stake in the company as well, and will be playing a major role in developing the future strategy for Myspace.
He and Specific Media plan to unveil their vision for the Myspace at an “exclusive press conference” later this summer. No details were provided in the announcement made today, other than that they plan to make Myspace a “premiere digital destination for original shows, video content and music.”
 
“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect,” said Timberlake in a statement announcing the move. “Myspace has the potential to be that place. Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there’s a natural social component to entertainment. I’m excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community.”
 
So that answers the question as to whether music will remain a significant feature of Myspace under new ownership. While we’re still trying to determine the exact status of the Myspace Music joint venture and the licenses that allow Myspace Music to stream music for free, early indications are that nothing has changed. According to label sources with knowledge of the situation, the Myspace Music joint venture remains intact, with Specific Media simply taking on Myspace’s ownership stake in the division, and all music licensing will remain the same.
 
“It’s pretty much business as usual,” said one source.
 
Ironically, Timberlake portrayed early Facebook investor, advisor and president Sean Parker in the movie “The Social Network.” Now, it seems, he’s channeling that role into a real-life effort to reinvigorate the struggling Myspace service, which owes no small amount of its downfall to the rise of Facebook.
 
Seems like there’s a lot more story left out of Myspace after all.
Categories
Rumours

Really?!?! Booooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Hanks reveals Toy Story 4 plans
Toy Story will not stay as a trilogy – Tom Hanks has revealed a fourth installment is in the works.
The third outing of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and their toy room pals was a huge hit for bosses at Disney, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2010 with profits of more than $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office.
The two previous movies were also crowd-pleasers – 1995’s Toy Story took more than $300 million, while its sequel in 1999 took $485 million.
And Hanks, who voices cowboy Woody, has let slip that producers are currently putting plans in place for a Toy Story 4.
He tells the BBC, “I think there will be, yeah. Yeah, yeah, think they’re working on it now. There you go.”
Categories
Jodie Foster

And I will go and see them all!!

Jodie Foster Courted To Join Ryan Reynolds & Jeff Bridges In ‘R.I.P.D.’?
After many years of worthy, middlebrow would-be-Oscar pictures and my-daughter-is-in-peril films, it finally seems like Jodie Foster is ready to have fun again. Playing a character described as “a magnificent c**t” in Spike Lee’s “Inside Man” seems to have loosened the Oscar-winning actress up a bit, with subsequent roles including kids’ flick “Nim’s Island,” voicing Maggie Simpson, and trading barbs in Roman Polanski’s upcoming “Carnage.”
She’s also heading back into tentpole territory for the first time in over a decade: she’s got a part lined up alongside Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley in the sci-fi picture “Elysium,” director Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to the oustanding “District 9,” and now it seems like she might make an appearance in another big-budget 2013 release, as Bloody Disgusting reports that Sony, who is backing Blomkamp’s film, also want Foster to team up again with her director on the ludicrous “Flightplan,” Robert Schwentke, on the comic book adaptation “R.I.P.D.”
The film involves a murdered cop who joins the titular department of deceased detectives, teaming with an old-timer to battle strange creatures and solve his own death. Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges are already set for the leads, and according to the site, Foster is being pursued for the role of “Procter,” who they hint may be the boss of Reynolds’ and Bridges’ characters.
It seems like early days yet, and there’s no indication of whether the interest is mutual. Some have suggested that Foster might have scheduling conflicts with “Elysium” preventing her from doing it, but as the actress has already said her part in that film would only involve three weeks work, so we think that’s unlikely. If she does sign, however, it can only be a good thing for a film that we’re a little cautious of. “R.I.P.D” will hit theaters, with or without Foster, on June 28, 2013.
Categories
The Couch Potato Report

Need something to watch?

The Couch Potato Report – June 25th, 2011
 
Inside this week’s Couch Potato Report is a visit to the bureau that regulates fate and the outlaw Josey Wales.
 
The months of January, February and March have become a cinematic dumping ground. The movie studios use them to release films that they know won’t do business during the profitable Summer Movie Season, or receive any statues during the Awards Season.
 
This year the underwhelming films THE GREEN HORNET, THE MECHANIC, THE RITE, THE ROOMMATE, BIG MAMMAS: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON, I AM NUMBER FOUR, DRIVE ANGRY, THE LINCOLN LAWYER and so…many…others…all came out within the first three months of the year, and none of them are very worthy of your time.
 
However, once in a while…occasionally…a couple of films will come out during the Dumping period that is good, that does offer some entertainment value, that is worthy of your time…and this year was once such year, in fact we had a couple of them!!
 
A film from February is coming up, and on March 4th a movie called THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU came out that remains – well into the big budget Summer Movie Season – my favourite of the year.
 
It is called THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU and it is a romantic science fiction thriller starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
 
Based on a short story by science-fiction icon Philip K. Dick – whose writings were also the inspiration behind BLADE RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL and MINORITY REPORT, among others – THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU has Matt Damon playing an aspiring politician who meets a woman in the men’s bathroom on the night of his loss in the election.
 
They hit it off…but they aren’t meant to be together, as we learn from the group of men who are working overtime to keep them apart.
 
Matt Damon gives another great performance here and the very beautiful Emily Blunt – from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA – is his equal in every way. They have great chemistry, and work really well off of each other. Plus, they are both very likeable…you want them to end up together…and in addition to Damon and Blunt, the film also stars Terence Stamp, John Slattery – from MAD MEN – and THE HURT LOCKER’s Anthony Mackie as men who work for “the bureau”.
 
I really enjoyed THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU! The cast is great, the story intriguing and I can easily recommend it. No, it isn’t perfect…if it was, it wouldn’t have come out during the cinematic dumping ground…but it is a very entertaining movie that is quite worthy of your time.
 
Now to that film from February, February 18th to be exact, that was the release date of the action thriller UNKNOWN…starring Liam Neeson and January Jones – Betty Draper from MAD MEN – as a couple who travel to Berlin for a biotechnology summit.
 
A car accident  in Germany’s capital city puts him in a coma…and when he wakes up he finds out that someone else has taken on his identity and that no one – not even his wife – knows him.
 
Liam Neeson asks Diane Kruger from INGLORIOUS BASTERDS to help him prove that he is who he says he is…even though all signs seem to point to the fact that he is not.
 
UNKNOWN is basically a Jason Bourne type story, mixed with elements of the 1988 Harrison Ford thriller FRANTIC – which was set in Parid, not Berlin – but no matter how familiar it is, I enjoyed it. It isn’t always compelling, but it kept me interested, and I can recommend it as a good rental.
 
Up next…let there be rock!
 
Back in 1980 a movie came out called LET THERE BE ROCK. It featured concert footage from the band AC/DC’s 1979 concert in Paris along with interludes and interviews…including conversations with lead singer Bon Scott, who died only two months after the concert was filmed.
 
For years the only way to watch the movie was on video as it had never come out on DVD…until now, and it is also available on Blu-ray as well…and both come with not only the original movie, but a wealth of Special Features and interviews.
 
LET THERE BE ROCK is a fascinating time-capsule look back at AC/DC and rock and roll itself in the late 1970s, and it is also a great last look at Bon Scott, who died way too young. It is a must own for fans, and music lovers…PLUS, for AC/DC fans there is a Limited Edition Collector’s Tin available that comes with a 32-page tribute book, a souvenir guitar pick and a concert photos.
 
This is another release that I easily recommend!
 
Now…let me ask you…have you ever imagined seeing chameleons fighting, rock climbing lemurs, fish – with no eyes – that swim upside down, or a spider lifting an empty snail shell into a bush to use for living quarters? Well, if any of those things ever entered your thoughts – or you just like having your thoughts and imagination and world expanded due to nature documentaries, then do no miss the latest BBC Nature documentary – the three part series MADAGASCAR!!
Featuring the familiar voice-over of David Attenborough, this three hour series reveals the many wonders of the world’s biggest island, a place of startling variety in terms of both geography and wildlife.
MADAGASCAR is interesting, insightful, engaging…it is fantastic!!!! I highly, very highly recommend it…and if you have little ones who love the animated MADAGASCAR movies, pick this up for them as I think they will enjoy it too!!
 
From the southeastern coast of Africa, we move now to the northernmost region of the continent for it is there where a platoon of soldiers from France find themselves on a rescue mission in the movie STRANDED.
 
It is also in North Africa where they are forced to confront invisible evil creatures called Djinns.
 
STRANDED is a well made and well acted movie, and it is interesting at times…but never compelling. I was curious to see what happened to the soldiers, and whether they were able to complete their mission, but I didn’t really care. It is an okay movie…I will give it a mild recommendation.
 
IT IS GUILTY PLEASURE TIME!!
 
I enjoyed the series ROME much in the same fashion that I enjoyed THE TUDORS…it is a pseudo-soap-opera, using real people from history, and real stories and events…also including the more salacious sides of their personalities.
 
Here’s the plot synopsis for the series as it begun: Set in 52 B.C., Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus, leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar,  whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms.
 
And for the second season: The year is 44 B.C. Julius Caesar has been assassinated and civil war threatens to destroy the Republic. In the void left by Caesar’s demise, egos clash and numerous players jockey for position.
There are also dozens of smaller human stories, salacious and otherwise, and I enjoyed almost all of them.
 
Are the stories true? Is it what actually happened? I don’t know, I didn’t watch them because I thought they were documentaries, I watched ROME to be entertained…and entertained I was!!
 
THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND seasons of ROME are available now individually on Blu-ray – with enhanced content – or you can pick up the ten disc box set ROME: THE COMPLETE SERIES.
 
Enjoy!!
 
What you won’t enjoy, what is unenjoyable is the made-in-Vancouver big screen version of RED RIDING HOOD, fr
om the director of the first TWILIGHT film, starring Amanda Seyfried from MAMMA MIA! as a version of Little Red Riding Hood.
 
Nope, you won’t enjoy this at all!!
 
Set in a medieval village RED RIDING HOOD is about a beautiful young girl torn between two men whose life is changed forever when her sister is killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village.
 
In order to try and prevent further killings, the townsfolk call on a famed werewolf hunter to help them kill the wolf…and…you…won’t…care!
 
RED RIDING HOOD is utterly pointless! It isn’t the worst movie ever made, but don’t waste your time on it!
 
And you should also avoid a movie called HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE, which is almost the same movie as the 2004 film GARDEN STATE.
 
That was a movie about people in their twenties and their angst that was written and directed by the star of a very funny television show…and so is this! In that case it was Zach Braff of the show SCRUBS and in this one it is Josh Radnor of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.
 
This is the film that HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE thinks it is – as written by the studio – Captures a generational moment – young people on the cusp of truly growing up, tiring of their reflexive cynicism, each in their own ways struggling to connect and define what it means to love and be loved.
 
What it is actually about is a guy in his mid-twenties who is floating by in life who finds a lost foster care child on the subway, and instead of contacting the authorities…he keeps him. Thinking he is doing the right thing, he keeps him…even though everyone around him keeps telling him it is wrong.
 
Oh it is also about his friends too…none of which come across as real people, these are all movie people and while it isn’t awful you…also…won’t…care.
 
I hope with HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE Josh Radnor has gotten this angst and need to be an auteur out of his system and now he can go back to the TV show and never make another movie again!!
 
Skip it!!
 
One television star who has had some success in films is Ed Helms from THE OFFICE who also co-stars in THE HANGOVER films.
 
In addition to those movies, he also appears from time to time in smaller character driven films…including one called CEDAR RAPIDS where he plays a naïve, small town insurance salesman from Wisconsin who is sent to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at an annual insurance convention.
 
He soon finds himself under the “guidance” of three convention veterans…one of them played by John C. Reilly from TALLADEGA NIGHTS.
 
CEDAR RAPIDS is a nice little R-rated comedy that is never great, but never predictable either. It is an interesting little movie that left me with a smile on my face when it was over.
 
Again…that is a mild recommendation.
 
Also good, but never great is the mob movie KILL THE IRISHMAN.
This is the based-on-a-true-story of Danny Greene, a tough Irish thug working in Cleveland during the 1970’s.
 
There isn’t anything special about KILL THE IRISHMAN, the special effects are explosions are done on the cheap, and much like the series ROME, I don’t know how much of it is historically accurate, and there isn’t anything here that you haven’t seen in other gangster movies – like STATE OF GRACE or THE DEPARTED…but it was good.
 
KILL THE IRISHMAN is good.
 
Finally this week, The Blu-Ray Beacon shines on the 35th Anniversary Edition of the classic Clint Eastwood western THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES.
 
Originally released in 1976, Eastwood stars as a man with a name – he’s Josey Wales – and after avenging his family’s brutal murder, he is on the run from a pack of killers and bounty hunters looking to collect the reward for his capture.
 
Originally he travels alone, but he eventually settles in with a group of outcasts – including Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George – and decides that he can’t leave them unprotected in the wild west.
 
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is a terrific western, but it is also very funny. It has always been one of my favourite westerns, and it is now available in HD with a 32-page Blu-ray book with photos and production notes, a new documentary, a commentary and an introduction from Clint Eastwood.
 
I highly, very highly recommend this one!!
 
 
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, KILL THE IRISHMAN, CEDAR RAPIDS, HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE, RED RIDING HOOD, THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS of ROME, STRANDED, the superb BBC documentary series MADAGASCAR, AC/DC’s fantastic concert film LET THERE BE ROCK, the thriller UNKNOWN, and my favourite film of the year – so far – THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU are all available now in stores and online.
 
Coming up inside the next Couch Potato Report
 
THE EXTENDED VERSIONS of the films in THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY finally debut on Blu-ray, the made-in-Vancouver film SUCKER PUNCH, and the superb BARNEY’S VERSION, based on the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.
 
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 again next time on The Couch!
Categories
Uncategorized

It remains my favourite of the LAW & ORDER shows!!

‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’: Is series finale the end for Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe?
Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, as detectives Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames, solve their last crime together Sunday (June 26) — or the last one we’ll see as viewers — when the the “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” series finale airs.
D’Onofrio and Erbe returned for the show’s 10th and final season, after sitting out season nine. Juli Ormond also signed on for season 10, playing the police psychiatrist of which D’Onofrio’s character, Goren, was in dire need.
In the finale, the story is ripped from the headlines. We won’t get into specifics, but let’s just say if you saw “The Social Network,” you won’t have any trouble following the action. The story is helped along by James Van Der Beek, who guest stars as a cocky businessman who mainly holds court in night clubs surrounded by what appear to be paid escorts. 
And, who knows, the show may have some life left in it yet. 
“I know that I would be there in a heartbeat,” Erbe tells TVGuide.com when asked if she’d re-up for an 11th season. “I’m fairly positive that Vincent feels the same way. Everyone was really hoping that, in the 11th hour, we’d get some word. Whether the fans are able to muscle us back or not, who knows. They have amazing power.”
“Law and Order: Criminal Intent” airs Sunday (June 26) at 9 p.m. ET.