The Couch Potato Report – May 12th, 2012
Inside this week’s Couch Potato Report is a date movie, a hockey comedy and Gremlins too!!
Imagine this…you meet someone, and fall madly, head over heels in love…and then, years after getting together, but just weeks after your marriage the two of you are in a car accident…and the love of your life ends up in a coma…and upon waking up…doesn’t have any idea who you are.
This person – whom you can’t imagine your life without – suffered brain trauma, that has erased every memory they ever had of you…every single one…and now they only remember their life before you, a life with another fiancé.
Faced with that nightmare…would you fight for your love…or would you walk away? That is the premise behind THE VOW.
Based on a true story THE VOW was primarily filmed in Toronto and stars Canadian actress Rachel McAdams from THE NOTEBOOK and CHANNING TATUM from DEAR JOHN and 21 JUMP STREET.
I never loved it, but I did like it. THE VOW is a very good movie for date night.
Back in 1997 we were introduced to a ragtag group of hockey loving misfits from Montreal in LES BOYS. Since then, that very entertaining film has produced three sequels and has become the most successful Canadian-made film series of all time.
The first sequel was released in 1998, and in LES BOYS II – which is now available in High Definition on blu-ray – the boys travel to France to play in a tournament.
LES BOYS II is a bit too long, and there are times when it is borderline boring, but there is some hilarious slapstick, the hockey scenes are very well done, and I really like these guys…so – as a hockey loving misfit myself – I will watch as many films starring the boys as they decide to make.
I thought I would want to see as many UNDERWORLD films as they decided to make at one time too…especially after the first one, starring the super sultry Kate Beckinsale as a Vampire who is acting as a Death Dealer, hunting down and trying to defeat Lycans, an ancient species of werewolf.
However, the longer this series goes on, the less interested I am in it.
Kate Beckinsale sat out the last entry in this series – 2009’s UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS, as it was a prequel set before her character was born, but now she has returned in the made-in-Vancouver UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING.
This hasn’t turned out to be a classic film series, but all of the films – with the exception of the third one – are worth the time of people who like vampire action films. Yes, the special effects and computer animation look cheap and very fake at times, but Beckinsale still looks amazing and UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING has some cool action and fight scenes.
I didn’t love it…but I was good enough to keep me watching the series…as long as they keep making them.
It was back in September of 2007 when the world was first introduced to Chuck Bartowski, an “average computer-whiz-next-door” who ended up becoming a spy for the government in the first season of the series CHUCK.
Over the course of the following five seasons this action, drama, comedy, and romance series grew from an entertaining show, that had some mildly annoying secondary characters, to one with a fully realized world populated by people you could not only root for, but also like.
Now, in THE COMPLETE FIFTH AND FINAL SEASON, the show comes to and end…and does it very well.
CHUCK is one of those shows that I always liked, but grew to love. It is smart, features a great cast, has some great spies, spy gear and stories. Plus, it is fun and funny and even features a nice love story.
If you have never seen CHUCK, I easily recommend it…all five seasons of it!!
Chuck I know, but prior to this week, I had never seen or heard of the “comedic” duo Tim and Eric. These guys are the co-creators and stars of the sketch comedy series TIM AND ERIC AWESOME SHOW, GOOD JOB!, which I had never heard of either. Somehow I missed it…and I am so glad, because if their show is anything like their worse than awful film – TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE – I would have hated it!!
In the film, Tim and Eric are given a billion dollars to make a movie, which they do make, and it fails miserably.
Then, in order to try and make the money back, they take a job running a failing shopping mall.
I know…sounds stupid, right?! Because it is!!
Even with cameo appearances from such well knows comedic stars as Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Zach Galifianakis, TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE is not funny and in no way entertaining. It is complete and utter garbage.
I really, really didn’t care for it at all…and you should skip TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE, at all costs!!
Let’s wrap things up this week with some fun and mayhem, shall we?
The kind of fun and mayhem you can only get with Gremlins!!
Yes, if like Phoebe Cates, you remember the fallout from the first Gremlins movie, released in 1984, then you would not be looking forward to their return in the 1990 sequel, GREMLINS 2…which is now available in HD on blu-ray.
Yes, the Gremlins are back, and this time, they’ve taken total control over the New York City building of a media mogul.
The original film is still the best in the series, but the second one has its moments as well…and even though there never really is much of a story…the mayhem is a blast, and the new blu-ray comes with lots of extras!!
I’ve always liked GREMLINS 2, and so I easily recommend it to you!
The mayhem filled sequel GREMLINS 2, the completely awful non-comedy TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE, THE COMPLETE FIFTH AND FINAL SEASON of the great action comedy series CHUCK; the okay action flick UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, the entertaining hockey sequel LES BOYS II, and the very good date movie THE VOW are all available now, either on disc or on demand.
Coming up inside the next Couch Potato Report
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the made in Alberta western series HELL ON WHEELS, the Academy Award nominated drama ALBERT NOBBS, the absolutely awful movie version of ONE FOR THE MONEY with Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum, and KEN BURNS’ outstanding documentary series THE WAR.
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!