The Couch Potato Report – October 12th, 2013
The new release that I’ll recommend the strongest this week is actually the last title I’ll talk about, but trust me it’s worth the wait…and it is whaffer thin.
First up is a made-in-Winnipeg reboot of a twenty-five year old horror series. Chucky is a notorious serial killer whose spirit was first transferred into a toy, the Good Guy doll, in the 1988 film CHILD’S PLAY.
Since then we’ve been given five other films, of varying quality, and the latest is CURSE OF CHUCKY.
The primary thing this latest Chucky flick does is return the horror of the earlier films. The last two have been more funny that horrific.
This one begins with a Chucky doll being delivered to a woman who lives in the middle of nowhere in a big old creepy house with her parapalegic mid-twenties daughter Nica. It seems the woman knew the serial killer many years ago.
Soon after the mother’s mysterious death, the house begins to fill with grieving family, including a little girl, who is given the doll as a gift.
Eventually – as in all the Chucky films – bloodshed and chaos ensues, and fans of the series will not be disappointed.
CURSE OF CHUCKY is not a great horror film by any stretch of the imagination, and the back story doesn’t totally work, but fans of the series will really enjoy it!
And when you guys watch it, make sure you watch all the way until after the end credits!!
Fans of THE HANGOVER series will probably enjoy this next release too, and I say probably because the first HANGOVER movie was so awesome and the second was so awful, that many fans may have already abandoned the series.
I invite you to come back though, as THE HANGOVER – PART III does offer some laughs…even some HUGE ones, and most of them come from the great Zach Galifianakis.
THE HANGOVER – PART III brings the series to an end as the Wolf Pack have to go back to Vegas to rescue Doug, again.
Bottom line here, will THE HANGOVER – PART III make you laugh? The answer is yes, so if you’ve enjoyed Phil, Stu and Alan’s mis-adventures in the past, don’t miss it.
Now, on the other hand, even if you’ve loved Will Smith’s mis-adventures and adventures in the past – in films like INDEPENDENCE DAY and MEN IN BLACK – even if you are his biggest fan, you still need to skip his 2013 misfire AFTER EARTH.
AFTER EARTH features Will and his son Jaden Smith playing a father and son who crash land on earth, after humankind have been forced off of it. It is now inhabited by all types of creatures who feed on humans.
With Will laid up after breaking both his legs the son has to travel across the planet to find a beacon to save them both and you…won’t care.
AFTER EARTH is slow, and boring, and uninteresting on just about every level. It isn’t the worst film of the year, but it will definitely be in my Bottom Five.
Skip it!!
I was so bored by this next release that I’m not even sure what to say about it other than skip it.
The animated film THE CROODS was colourful and fast, so little kids may enjoy it, but it wasn’t any fun at all, and I like my animated films to be at least some fun.
The Croods are a family in prehistoric times, a caveman family, who are convinced to go on a trek by a caveboy they meet. He has a theory that the world is coming to an end, and since he’s shown them fire, they follow him and are intrigued by his “inventions”.
THE CROODS has a great voice cast, that includes Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Canadian Ryan Reynolds and the great Cloris Leachman, and at times it is inventive and the animation is great, but most of the time I was just bored.
So you should skip it…I would maybe mildly recommend it to kids, but only very mildly.
And I will also only mildly recommend director Joss Whedon’s version of Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING as well, specifically to fans of the cast and the Whedonverse they’ve all created.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING features actors who have previously appeared in television shows and movies created by or directed by Joss Whedon, including THE AVENGERS, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, FIREFLY and DOLLHOUSE and I found the story behind its creation much more interesting that the film itself.
Whedon and his friends get together – at his house – for Shakespeare readings, and they enjoyed doing MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING so much, they filmed it…at his house.
That story I liked. I never really got into the movie, but I liked hearingthe story behind it on the director’s commentary.
I didn’t dislike this modern retelling of Shakespeare’s comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words, I just didn’t care for it. I know others will love it…especially fans of Joss Whedon and the people he’s worked with in the past.
You will likely love it, so it is to you I recommend MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING…but even to you only mildly as it really isn’t anything special.
The television show set I have for you this week on The Report is the very inventive and engaging PERSON OF INTEREST.
Created by some of the people who have made LOST and the DARK KNIGHT films this show is about an ex-CIA hitman and an eccentric tech genius who team up to prevent crimes in New York City, before they happen.
THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of PERSON OF INTEREST is set in the present day, but uses future technology and smarts to allow it to stand above most of the action and procedural shows on TV these days.
And as the season goes on, in addition to smart individual episodes, it builds a very interesting overall plot as well as we get to know the people behind this amazing technology.
PERSON OF INTEREST is just a good show and I really enjoyed watch it. I highly recommend THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON, and the first one too for that matter.
Finally this week is the 1983 comedy THE MEANING OF LIFE, the release of the week, the most entertaining thing out there to watch right now, which I have dubbed so because of the film itself, AND because the surviving members of Monty Python get together in a bonus feature to discuss it.
It is so much fun to watch Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese and Michael Palin talking, just talking about the film and working together again. Too bad the late, great Python Graham Chapman couldn’t have been there as well!!
THE MEANING OF LIFE itself, a series of sketches and skits that allow the comedy team to give us their take on life, in all its stages, looks great on blu-ray, and is still as funny as ever.
The reunion, the film, the release of the week!! And now for something completely hilarious, it’s MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE!!
The still great MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE; the inventive and engaging SECOND SEASON of the TV show PERSON OF INTEREST; director Joss Whedon’s okay but not great version of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; the not interesting and not fun animated film THE CROODS; the boring Summer flop AFTER EARTH; the not great but occasionally funny sequel THE HANGOVER – PART III; and the made-in-Winnipeg horror film CURSE OF CHUCKY, for fans of the series only, are all available now, either on disc or on demand.
Coming up next week, the made-in-Toronto Summer action flick PACIFIC RIM.
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!