Year: 2011

Categories
Awards

I wanted it so bad!!!

Welles’ Oscar for ‘Citizen Kane’ sells for $861K

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Academy Award statuettethat Orson Welles won for the original screenplay of “Citizen Kane” was auctioned for more than $861,000 Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Nate D. Sanders Auctions spokesman Sam Heller said bidders from around the world, including David Copperfield, vied for the Oscar.

The 1942 Oscar was thought to be lost for decades. It surfaced in 1994 when cinematographer Gary Graver tried to sell it. The sale was stopped by Beatrice Welles, Orson’s youngest daughter and sole heir.

Copperfield, who was outbid in the auction, said he admires Welles not only for his cinematic successes, but because he, too, was a magician. Welles hosted Copperfield’s first television special.

The auction house declined to release the highest bidder’s name. It said only a handful of Academy Awards have sold for nearly a million dollars.

Michael Jackson paid $1.54 million in 1999 for the best picture Oscar awarded to David O. Selznick for “Gone With The Wind.”

Categories
Sports

Dreams that come true are amazing!!!

Buble hits ice with Canucks

Michael Bublé’s NHL experience lasted a grand total of about 15 minutes Tuesday.

Even so, the Burnaby, B.C. native and diehard Vancouver Canucks fan called it the greatest day of his life.

Having signed a one-day contract with the Canucks, Bublé briefly took part in the practice at Rogers Arena, highlighted by a breakaway attempt on Roberto Luongo.

With players tapping their sticks, the world-renowned crooner skated through the gauntlet, took a blocker-side shot, hit the post, and then fell over.

“About a couple inches lower, I would have had it,” Bublé said with a laugh afterward. “I got a smile on my face that won’t be going away anytime soon. Perhaps (I could) be the next Alex Burrows, but it turns out I’m crappy.”

Asked what he would change if he got another opportunity, he said, “I would have faked the shot and gone backhand, try to go upstairs.”

Either way, the 36-year-old left soon after, with a full set of equipment courtesy of the team and a lasting memory.

Bublé, who performed on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, has always been a vocal Canucks fan. The Vancouver Giants co-owner was a guest colour commentator on Team 1040 during a February 2009 game and has previously altered his schedule around for the Canucks, even cancelling a Connecticut show in June to watch Vancouver play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

In his recently released Christmas album, he altered the lyrics to the song “Santa Baby”, changing it to, “Santa buddy/Fill my stocking with Canucks tix, for kicks/Throw me on the first line/Santa baby.”

As for Tuesday’s arrangement, it was set up in just a few short days by the team. And it had the three-time Grammy Award winner still beaming afterward, even as he took a shot at Canucks naysayers.

“Getting to do that is every fan’s wish,” Bublé said. “I was just talking to my manager Bruce Allen there and just saying, you meet these guys and if you’re a fan of the team and you’re a fan of who these guys are, if the truth is out there than there’s no way that these guys are the most hated team in the NHL because they’re class acts. It’s just those ugly stories that the media keeps telling back East.”

While all the Canucks players got to meet Bublé, it was Cody Hodgson who may have had the most face time with the singer/songwriter as the two were chatting on the ice prior to the practice.

“We just talked about how he saw my grandma on TV at the Leafs game,” said the rookie, who claims he has a lot of Bublé’s albums. “It was cool to meet him and it’s not everyday you get that.”

Same goes for Luongo who didn’t know what to expect with Bublé bearing down on him during practice.

“I was more focused on my play,” the goaltender said. “I didn’t know if I had to charge out at him or what. Fortunately he fell on his own. We obviously respect him for what he does and he’s the same for us.

“I think he was more excited than we were.”

Categories
Movies

Hopefully the Hollywood version matches the original Swedish film!!

Larsson’s partner chides ‘Dragon Tattoo’ marketing

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The longtime partner of late Swedish crime writer Stieg Larsson says he wouldn’t have approved of merchandise being linked to this week’s release of a Hollywood adaptation of his bestselling novel, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.”

Eva Gabrielsson said Monday that Larsson would have instead used the buzz around his work to call attention to violence and discrimination against women.

“We would never have sold any rights for merchandising,” Gabrielsson said. “It has nothing to do with books.”

H&M has released a Dragon Tattoo Collection, created by costume designer Trish Summerville, that it says is inspired by Lisbeth Salander — the tattooed anti-heroine of Larsson’s books and the film which opens Wednesday in the United States.

Gabrielsson and Larsson were a couple for more than 30 years, but never married. Larsson didn’t leave a will, so his brother and father inherited the rights to his works when he died of a heart attack at age 50 in 2004.

The two have rejected Gabrielsson’s suggestions that they are using Larsson’s legacy for profit, and say they will donate their earnings to causes he supported, including an anti-racism magazine that he worked for as a journalist.

Still, Gabrielsson expressed concern that the political dimension of Larsson’s books, including the feminist undertones, would be overlooked by the film’s hype. She claims Larsson wanted to show that gender imbalances exist even in Sweden, one of the world’s most egalitarian societies.

“The oppression of women exists everywhere, this incomprehensible discrimination,” she said.
In Larsson’s trilogy, Salander and journalist Mikael Blomqvist team up to solve serial killings and sex trafficking scandals. Rooney Mara plays Salander and Daniel Craig plays Blomqvist in the David Fincher directed film.

Mara suggested at a news conference last month that Salander isn’t a feminist, and doesn’t see herself as part of any group or subculture.

“Does she know what film she has been in?” Gabrielsson said, disbelievingly. “Has she read the books? Has she not had any coaching?”

Salander doesn’t fit neatly into any category, “but she is still part of a movement,” Gabrielsson said. “Her entire being represents a resistance, an active resistance to the mechanisms that mean women don’t advance in this world and in worst case scenarios are abused like she was.”

Gabrielsson said the feminist theme had been partly lost with the creation of the English title, which she thinks sounds like “a children’s book.”

She said the original Swedish title is “Man som hatar kvinnor,” — men who hate women. “In his (Larsson’s) world that was also the basic theme for these books,” she said.

Gabrielsson published her own book last year about her life with Larsson.

Categories
Movies

That could be a good use of 3D!!!

Steven Spielberg plots ‘Jurassic Park’ 3D conversion

Steven Spielberg is planning to convert Jurassic Park to 3D, he has revealed.

The blockbuster director revealed that his original dinosaur romp from 1993 is the only one of his films that he is interested in going back to.

He told MTV News: “I’ve always said Jurassic Park, the first one, would be really good post-converted in 3D.

“I think James Cameron has done the greatest 3D in history with Avatar. I don’t think anything has surpassed James Cameron’s Avatar in terms of the 3D experience, beyond the fact that I love the movie so much, and so I figure that James is going to teach all of us a lesson how to post-convert.”

Spielberg continued: “If we follow his precepts, more films will be post-converted, but the only movie I’m interested in post-converting is the first Jurassic.”

The director said last week that Jurassic Park 4 is currently on schedule, and is likely to follow his work on Lincoln.

Categories
Television

I am sure that he will be game for anything, but will the writers push him – and themselves – to be great?!?

SNL Books Daniel Radcliffe for Hosting Debut

Saturday Night Live is wild about filmdom’s erstwhile Harry, having booked Daniel Radcliffe to make his hosting debut this winter.

Radcliffe will lord over Studio 8H on Jan. 14, three weeks before his next film, the supernarural thriller The Woman in Black, hits theaters. Lana Del Rey (“Video Games)” will serve as his musical guest.

Radcliffe’s SNL gig immediately follows that of Charles Barkley, who kicks off the new year on Jan. 7 with his third turn as host. That night, Kelly Clarkson will similarly threepeat as musical guest.

Categories
Music

Don’t know if I care, but I will give it at least one listen.

Paul McCartney releasing an album of standards

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul McCartney is releasing an album of standards — plus two new songs of his own.

The former Beatle announced Monday that his new disc will be out February 7th. It doesn’t have a title yet. He’s already streaming one song, “My Valentine,” on his website.

McCartney says he and John Lennon were inspired in their own writing by some of the standards. Some of them he first heard when his father performed them at home on piano.

Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder make appearances on the disc, which was recorded with Diana Krall and her band.

McCartney says he’s been thinking about the project for 20 years and at age 69 decided “if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it.”

Categories
James Bond

He might be cool too at an older age!!

Daniel Craig to become longest serving James Bond?

Daniel Craig is set to be offered a multi-million pound deal to become the longest serving James Bond of all time.

According to The People, Bond producer Michael G Wilson wants Craig, who has played the spy since 2006’s Casino Royale, to sign up for five more 007 flicks.

With Craig currently working with director Sam Mendes on Skyfall, his third outing in the role, the deal would see him make eight Bond movies in total – one more than Roger Moore, who played the character seven times over 12 years.

Wilson said: It’s certainly something we’ll be discussing with him once we finish shooting Skyfall. Filming has gone very well and I’d love Daniel to surpass Roger’s record and do eight pictures.

He went on to add: “There’s really no one more passionate about making these films work than him – he’s a film maker’s dream. A lot of people have said Daniel’s been their favourite Bond since Sean Connery and I can’t argue with them. He’s doing a great job.”

The People also claims that although Wilson declined to reveal any financial details, it is believed that any deal Craig signs will see him pocket more than the £8 million he is expected to receive for Skyfall.

Earlier this month, Craig revealed that he had been forced to help finish the script for the Bond film Quantum Of Solace when the Writer’s Guild Of America strike of 2007/8 crippled Hollywood.

Categories
Movies

Tried to go and see movies on at least two occasions this weekend…no luck!! Monday night, I am darn well going to see something!!

Downey dips, ‘Sherlock’ slips with $40M debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sherlock Holmes is facing his worst enemy: declining crowds at theaters as this year’s domestic movie attendance dips to the lowest in 16 years.

Robert Downey Jr.’s sequel “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” debuted on top with a $40 million weekend, off 36 percent from the first installment’s $62.3 million opening two years ago, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The first movie opened over Christmas weekend, one of the busiest times for movie theaters. Distributor Warner Bros. predicts the “Holmes” sequel, which pits Downey’s detective against archrival Professor Moriarty, will make up the lost ground over the holidays.

“The pattern is different,” said Dan Fellman, the studio’s head of distribution. “What you can put in the bank those nine days before the official Christmas play time, that’s the difference between our opening with a bigger number on Christmas day and opening early this time. At the end of the holiday period, we should be in the same place.”

The “Holmes” sequel opened in six overseas markets, including the detective’s native Britain, and took in $14.7 million to bring its worldwide total to $54.7 million.

After two previous weekends that were Hollywood’s worst of the year, overall business was down again, about 12 percent lower than the same weekend in 2010 as Hollywood struggles to interest audiences in its big year-end releases.

Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com, estimated that the number of tickets sold domestically in 2011 will come in below 1.3 billion.

That would be the lowest attendance since 1995, when admissions totaled 1.26 billion. Domestic attendance in modern times peaked at 1.6 billion in 2002 and has been on a generally decline since.

“These low-attendance numbers are taking the gas out of the tank,” Dergarabedian said. “All the momentum we had kind of came to a dead stop.”

The 20th Century Fox family sequel “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” did even worse than “Holmes.” ”Chipwrecked” opened at No. 2 with $23.5 million, about half the business the first two “Chipmunks” movies did on their debut weekends.

The studio had expected a bigger debut, but with schools shutting down for the holidays, Fox executives hope business will pick up.

“We are battling a marketplace issue right now,” said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox. “We cannot make light of that. However, we have a very satisfying, playable movie and the only G-rated movie for Christmas. So as kids get out this week, this is going to help position it for a successful run.”

“Chipwrecked” added $14.5 million in 38 overseas markets, bringing its worldwide total to $38 million.

Tom Cruise and Paramount had a spot of good news. Their action sequel “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” got off to a healthy start at No. 3 with a $13 million weekend playing exclusively at huge-screen IMAX theaters and some other large-format cinemas.

“Ghost Protocol” goes into general release Wednesday.

The movie already has opened in 36 overseas markets, where it pulled in $68.2 million, putting its global haul at more than $80 million.

With critics praising the movie’s spectacular action sequences, “Ghost Protocol” may restore the hitmaker status of Cruise, whose audience became disenchanted with odd antics in the star’s personal life five or six years ago.

“I would think any of that is way in the past,” said Don Harris, head of distribution at Paramount, which took the unusual step of going early in huge-screen cinemas to build buzz for the general release.

“The plan was always to put the movie out into the best presentation theaters in North America,” Harris said. “We hoped that people would recognize how good the movie was and how special it was being treated.”

Paramount’s comic drama “Young Adult,” starring Charlize Theron, had a weak expansion into wider release, finishing at No. 7 with $3.7 million. The film had opened with big numbers a week earlier in a handful of theaters.

At the beginning of 2011, Hollywood’s summer and fall lineup looked so strong that studio executives were predicting the industry would break the domestic box-office record of $10.6 billion set in 2009, a mark that was nearly reached again in 2010.

But with less than two weeks left and revenues lagging 4 percent behind last year’s, that record is out of reach. The picture is even bleaker factoring in this year’s higher ticket prices, which mean attendance is running 5 percent below last year’s.

Hollywood still can go out with a bang. Along with the new “Mission: Impossible,” the holidays bring two more big thrillers — Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” and David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” — along with Spielberg’s historical epic “War Horse” and Cameron Crowe and Matt Damon’s family-friendly comic drama “We Bought a Zoo.”

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” $40 million ($14.7 million international).
2. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,” $23.5 million ($14.5 million international).
3. “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” $13 million ($68.2 million international).
4. “New Year’s Eve,” $7.4 million.
5. “The Sitter,” $4.4 million.
6. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” $4.3 million.
7. “Young Adult,” $3.7 million.
8. “Hugo,” $3.63 million.
9. “Arthur Christmas,” $3.6 million ($9.7 million international).
10. “The Muppets,” $3.5 million ($600,000 international).

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

Some good stuff in here this week…which might make great gifts (Ho Ho Ho!!!)!!!

The Couch Potato Report – December 17th, 2011

Inside this week’s Couch Potato Report is a redneck horror comedy, apes will rise, and the girl with the dragon tattoo is extended.

It is the last weekend before Christmas, when family, trees, candy canes, gifts, and visions of sugar-plums are dancing in our heads….so what better time than now for the release of a made-in-Alberta film about two best friends who are on vacation at their new home in the woods.

Two friends…named Tucker and Dale…who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids.

Yes, with just a week left until Christmas, here is a film about love, friendship, life, and occasionally death, called TUCKER AND DALE VERSUS EVIL.

Shot on a private ranch west of Calgary, just outside the town of Cochrane, Alberta, TUCKER AND DALE VERSUS EVIL stars Canadian actor Tyler Labine of the television show REAPER and Alan Tudyk from FIREFLY, SERENITY and DOLLHOUSE.

By no stretch of the imagination is TUCKER AND DALE VERSUS EVIL a good film. The horror stuff isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, the acting isn’t always that good, the comedy is rarely funny, and you can predict most of what is going to happen long before it does.

That said, it is entertaining, odd and horrific enough that it could become a cult classic…one of those movies that finds a devoted and obsessive fan base. So if you usually love comedy horror films like this, search it out.

Otherwise…skip it.

In addition to co-starring in TUCKER AND DALE VERSUS EVIL, Canadian actor Tyler Labine also appeared in another film this year…one that completely works and is really entertaining and enjoyable…one that I will recommend to everyone.

Labine stars as a lab technician in the latest film in the long running PLANET OF THE APES series…this is RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, a prequel to all of the films, television episodes, and stories that we have seen from this franchise over the years…where man is brute and ape intelligent…and it shows how the apes’ dominance over humankind began.

James Franco from the Academy Award winning film MILK as a scientist who – while looking for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease – ends up giving the chimpanzee he has been testing his work on greater intelligence.

I didn’t expect to like RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, or even mildly enjoy it, but it is much better than I expected.

There is great dialogue and action scenes, the computer generated apes and special effects are mostly seamless and it and will easily end up on my list of the year’s best!!

I can’t wait to see another one!!

The apes, and monkeys, and gorillas and chimpanzees in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES were almost all created by computer.

The chimpanzee featured in the documentary PROJECT NIM is all real…too real at times.

PROJECT NIM is about Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child in the 1970s as a New York City professor wanted to conduct an experiment to see if a baby chimp could be raised like a human baby and learn to communicate with people.

For a time, it did work!! Nim learned sign language, the experiment was going well, and the family who took him in seemed to have been the right choice.

For a time.

But as Nim gets older, he gets bigger and stronger, and his natural wild instincts take over. He becomes difficult to control and is bounced from home to home and person to person at great cost sometimes to the people, and especially Nim.

PROJECT NIM is a fascinating film – from the makers of the Academy Award winning documentary MAN ON WIRE – that looks at the experiment from all sides and costs. It is interesting, engaging, fun, and even shocking at times.

I highly recommend it.

There is monkey in this next release as well, but it is not the star or focus of the film…the monkey plays a supporting role here.

The star of this one is a Panda…a Kung Fu Panda!!

KUNG FU PANDA 2 is the sequel to the 2008 fun, fantastic, family film KUNG FU PANDA and while this one isn’t as good as the original, it is still fun and entertaining, for us adults, and kids will love it!!

In this one Po joins forces with Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane to take on an old enemy with a deadly new weapon.

Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan and Canada’s own Seth Rogen are back providing the voices in KUNG FU PANDA 2 and Gary Oldman joins the cast as the villain, allowing the film to offer up the back story of where the Kung Fu Panda came from.

I did, I liked it…and I easily recommend it…especially to kids.

It is time now for Season 14 of The Simpsons…one which features guest appearances from Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, Tony Hawk, Blink 182, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger!

This is the season when the show started to use digital animation and coloring, abandoning cels, ink and paint, so the overall look of the show is different, it is much better and crisper.

As for the stories, truth be told THE FOURTEENTH SEASON was not THE SIMPSONS strongest season, but it still made me laugh out loud more than a few times, and I enjoyed watching all of the episodes again.

If you need a laugh – or two – this holiday season…or anytime…pick up THE FOURTEENTH SEASON of THE SIMPSONS!!

I still laugh at THE SIMPSONS…and from time to time, I also laugh at FAMILY GUY, although rarely as hard, and not as much.

But…I did laugh, more than a few times…and occasionally even out laugh at VOLUME 9 of FAMILY GUY when I watched the 3-Disc set this week.

This FAMILY GUY set contains 14 episodes…the last 11 episodes of season 8 – not including the Star Wars parody “Something, Something, Something Dark Side” – and the first 3 episodes of season 9.

This set also includes the show’s 150th episode, and even though FAMILY GUY is a show that has been well past its prime for years…with decent episodes few and far between…I do still laugh at it, occasionally.

So, allow me to recommend FAMILY GUY – VOLUME 9 to those who love the show, always have, and always will!!

To the rink we go now for the NHL’s TOP TEN RIVALRIES!

NHL Top 10 Rivalries is an hour long program that takes a look at the league’s fiercest competitors.

Current and former players, coaches, and historians relive memories and go behind the scenes of some of the game’s most unforgettable match-ups.

The rivalries include – without giving you number one – the Rangers and the Islanders, the battle of Alberta, the Canadians and Bruins, the battle of Quebec, the battle of Pennsylvania, and more.

NHL TOP TEN RIVALRIES is a great release, that features some fantastic old time hockey, and the best of the modern game.

I really enjoyed it, and GO LEAFS GO!!!

There is some fighting in NHL TOP TEN RIVALRIES, but it is not about fighting.

The remake…I mean reboot of CONAN THE BARBARIAN is about fighting…nothing but fighting…and I didn’t care at all.

The 1982 version of CONAN THE BARBARIAN is not a true Hollywood classic, but it is – in the very least – an enjoyable action film, one that I have seen many times, and will eventually watch again.

The attempt to reboot the series is one I hope to never watch again. It is just fight after fight after fight after fight after fight after fight, and I just didn’t care.

And when there was a story, and acting…I didn’t care either.

Action film junkies who need to see everything that comes out, and fight film fans…this version of CONAN THE BARBARIAN is for you!!

Everyone else should skip it!!

And everyone…and I mean everyone, kids, teenagers, adults, everyone should skip SPY KIDS – ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!

This fourth film in the once entertaining SKY KIDS franchise is awful!!

The Spy Kids series is a series of family action adventure films written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez.

The first one – which is still – by far – the most entertaining one – came out in 2001.

The most recent one was released back in August and it isn’t entertaining at all!!

In SPY KIDS – ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD Jessica Alba plays a retired spy who is called back to action when a maniacal villain attempts to take over the world. Her two step kids are also put to work.

The biggest problem with this series is that it has played itself out. There is nothing new, fresh, or even fun about the series anymore…and this new one commits the ultimate sin of movies focussing around kids…it features kids who aren’t likeable.

Plus, there is a villain who is laughable, and he – and all of his sidekicks – are all played – poorly – by Jeremy Piven of ENTOURAGE.

And the great British Comedian Ricky Gervais doesn’t faire much better as the voice of a robotic dog.

Bottom line…blech!!! SPY KIDS – ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD is a waste of time…I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Let’s never speak of it again!!

Out of all of this week’s films, the one that you avoid at all costs is a two year old movie that is only being released because the star is about to hit the big screen in a HUGE Winter blockbuster.

Rooney Mara will soon appear on screens in the Hollywood remake of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and that is the only reason – the only one – why a boring, predictable, useless film called TANNER HALL is coming out.

This thing is awful!!

TANNER HALL is a film about four teenage girls who go to an all-girls boarding school.

It would like to be a complex, coming of age film…but it isn’t.

It is just a waste of your time!! The only reason I mention it is because no matter how good Rooney Mara is in her big Hollywood film, you must skip TANNER HALL.

It is an awful, boring movie!!

Finally this week is something special!!

Back in May, I gave a glowing review to a collection of three films – STIEG LARSSON’S DRAGON TATTOO TRILOGY – with THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE and THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST, all based on the best-selling books of the same name.

Right now I want to give higher praise to set that has been released featuring the EXTENDED EDITIONs of all three films!!

This is one of the greatest sets I have ever seen!!

For the uninitiated, the primary characters in this series are Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. Lisbeth is an intelligent, eccentric woman with a photographic memory and bad social skills. Blomkvist is a well-known investigative journalist.

They work together to solve mysteries, murders and to try and keep each other out of jail.

The film series – like the books – starts off very strong and slows down considerably by the time we get to the end, but there are so many story lines in the books that the last two films couldn’t get as many as they could have in…and thus the films weren’t as compelling.

But the EXTENDED EDITIONS of the films have 55 and 39 minutes of extra footage, respectively and that makes quite a difference!!

The films now have as many great twists and turns as the books, don’t pull any punches, and they are utterly fascinating!!

Due to some very graphic scenes, these movies aren’t for everyone…but if you can stomach some cinematic violence THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO TRILOGY – EXTENDED EDITION is one box set that you should not miss…in fact see all of the films, AND read the books!

This is entertainment at its finest, and this release is superb AND spectacular!!

The spectacular EXTENDED EDITION of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO TRILOGY, the useless TANNER HALL, the awful SPY KIDS – ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, the action packed remake of CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the hockey film NHL TOP TEN RIVALRIES, VOLUME 9 of the occasionally still funny FAMILY GUY, THE FOURTEENTH SEASON of the continually funny show THE SIMPSONS, the entertaining family film KUNG FU PANDA 2, the great documentary PROJECT NIM, the very also great Summer reboot RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, and the made-in-Alberta redneck horror comedy TUCKER AND DALE VERSUS EVIL are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Coming up inside the next Couch Potato Report

The made-in-Toronto film CONDUCT UNBECOMING, the family film DOLPHIN TALE, Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger and Jason Statham star in the EXTENDED VERSION of the all-star action film THE EXPENDABLES, and Ontario’s Rachel McAdams co-stars with Owen Wilson in Woody Allen’s very entertaining film MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.

I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

In the meantime, if you would like to tell me about something you watched, that you’d recommend…or suggest people skip…email me at dan@anythingbut.com.

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
Concerts

The could be a fun tour to see!!

Beach Boys gear up for reunion

The Beach Boys are gearing up to do it again.

Following months of rumours and speculation, the legendary California surf-rockers have officially announced details of their 50th anniversary reunion. Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks will hit the road for a 50-date tour in 2012 and release a new CD, according to reports.

“This anniversary is special to me because I miss the boys,” Wilson said in a statement. “It will be a thrill for me to make a new record and be on stage with them again. The tour is slated to kick off at the New Orleans Jazz Fest in late April, but fans will reportedly get their first glimpse of the reunited band at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 12.

“There will be a surprise at the Grammys,” Jardine told Rolling Stone.

“We’ll do something really exciting. There’s a lot of interest in it, which is nice. It’s going to be a very big operation.”

Supposedly, The Beach Boys, not Van Halen, were the classic band slated to announce their reunion at the Grammy nominations TV special on Nov. 30, but they backed out of the affair at the last minute.

Earlier in the year, the quintet went into the studio for the first time in ages to re-record their 1968 number Do It Again for a planned new album. It will be their first disc together since 1996’s Stars and Stripes Forever. Since then, Wilson has toured with his own band while Love, Johnston and Jardine have kept The Beach Boys’ name alive in various incarnations. The original lineup of the band was formed in 1961 and included Wilson’s brothers Dennis and Carl, now both deceased.