The Couch Potato Report – October 19th, 2013
I always love finding out that big Hollywood action films are made in Canada, even when they don’t do that well at the box office, and PACIFIC RIM did not do that well at the box office. It barely made one hundred million dollars and the made-in-Toronto mindless Summer action film should have done much better.
PACIFIC RIM takes place in a world where giant monsters have come on land from deep below the sea and the only hope that humankind has to defeat them is with giant robots – known as Jaegers.
Yes, this is a movie about giant robots fighting giant sea monsters…sounds a lot like the Godzilla movies, doesn’t it? Well it is a lot like that movie, and ALIENS, and CLOVERFIELD, and INDEPENDENCE DAY.
PACIFIC RIM doesn’t have an original moment in its 131 minute running time, but I still enjoyed it. This is a mindless Summer action movie, so press play on your remote, shut off your brain, and just enjoy watching giant creatures fight, and things blow up real good.
Here’s another mindless Summer action film that is devoid of an original moment. But even though I did shut off my brain before I watched it, I can only mildly recommend THE HEAT because the story is cliché and predicatble, I didn’t laugh once, and the lead characters are completely unlikeable for the majority of the film…right up until the part where the buddy cop comedy playbook fully kicks in and they have to start getting along for the sake of the story.
THE HEAT stars Sandra Bullock from MISS CONGENIALITY and Melissa McCarthy of BRIDESMAIDS. Sandra is a by the book cop who is told she needs to loosen up a bit if she wants a promotion, and Melissa is a rough and ragged officer who needs to get her act together. And wouldn’t you know it?! They become friends by the end!!
THE HEAT is never awful, but it was too predictable and unfunny – even with my brain shut off – to enable me to do anything other than mildly recommend it, and it only gets that mild recommendation because I am a fan of the lead actresses.
If you expect absolutely nothing going in you might mildly enjoy it – and them – too. Good luck!!
I will use the word “love” to describe this third release, but only because the word is in the title.
I actually didn’t love LOVE, MARILYN, even though I do love Marilyn.
In addition to people who knew her sharing their stories, LOVE, MARILYN features modern day celebrities reading and occasionally acting out – quite intensely at times – excerpts from books and memoirs written by others who knew Marilyn Monroe and some of Marilyn’s own recently discovered personal journals and letters.
Even fifty-one years after her death, Marilyn Monroe is still fascinating and so most of LOVE, MARILYN works for that reason. But when some of the people in this movie are trying too hard to get the point of the short note across to us viewers, it doesn’t always work.
But since most of it does work, I can – and do – easily recommend it.
No, I actually didn’t love LOVE, MARILYN, but most of it was quite fascinating, just like Marilyn herself.
It’s TV time now!!
Time for me to talk about three new TV Show sets that are available for us all to own, starting with THE COMPLETE SEASON EIGHT of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER!
Here is the ongoing story of a guy named Ted who continues to search for the woman of his dreams in New York City…with the help of his four best friends.
This latest season isn’t its strongest…just as the one before this season wasn’t its strongest. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER continues to get weaker as it goes on. At times it seems as if the writers are running out of ways to keep the show going…instead of just letting us meet the woman Ted falls for.
But even a weak season of this show is better than the best of some of the other shows on the air…even if they continue to make fun of Canada!!
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is good TV!! I like hanging out with these people…and I also like that – since the show is running out of ideas – they are currently airing what will be their ninth and final season.
So before Ted meets the Mother of his children this Spring, don’t miss THE COMPLETE SEASON EIGHT of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.
That show was fun, but I must admit that the most fun I had watching a TV show on DVD this week came courtesy of the four disc set that features SEASONS 1 and 2 of the MTV show AWKWARD
AWKWARD is about an unpopular 15 year old girl who slips in the bathroom and becomes popular overnight at high school when everyone mistakes the accident has for a suicide attempt.
Regardless of her new found popularity there are still some other girls who try and keep her down, and a boyfriend who loves her when they are all alone, but doesn’t want anyone to actually know they are together.
And then there are her parents, who are still together, usually quite close together.
Compound all of that with our heroine falling for another boy, and the fact that throughout these seasons she is dealing with a “carefrontation” letter, a note sent to her by a friend meant to help her navigate her way through school.
It’s all AWKWARD.
There’s that other show on television right now that is about girls – called GIRLS – that is getting all the attention and winning awards, but it is nowhere near as good as AWKWARD.
I really enjoyed watching SEASONS 1 & 2, and I need to catch up on SEASON 3, which is running on MTV right now.
This is great stuff. Real kids, with real problems that are actually really funny in this TV show.
The final TV show this week…you say you want a REVOLUTION, well I have one for you!!
Here is a show about what happens when the power goes out, all of the power…goes out, goes away, never to return.
What would happen if that happened? Well, in REVOLUTION, one man starts an army that takes control of and a group of revolutionaries fight to take back control. So the show has fighting.
There is also science in REVOLUTION as another group works to turn the power back on.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of REVOLUTION has a lot going on, actually, in addition to the fighting and science, and most of it works. There are a few times when it all slows down and my interest started to wane, but for the most part the show kept me interested from start to finish.
Not enough to start watching season two when it aits every week, but I really enjoyed watching the whole first season all at once, and I will do that again when the next set comes out.
Let’s go to the rink, shall we? The rink, circa 1977 when there weren’t ads on the boards, the Hanson Brothers had just been traded to a new team, and the Charlestown Chiefs ruled the Federal League.
All of that – and so much more – all takes place in SLAP SHOT, a movie universally renowned as the best hockey movie ever. SLAP SHOT has just debuted on blu-ray, my friends, and it looks and sounds amazing!
Paul Newman stars in the film as the aging player-coach who convinces his team to play dirty, only to change his mind when he sees what violence has done to the game, and his teammates.
There are no new extras on this blu-ray of SLAP SHOT, not a single one, and that is disappointing, but I’m in no way disappointed by the film, never have, never will be. It still makes me laugh, it still shows the game of hockey better than any movie has – before or since – and it still features some unforgettable characters and moments.
Pick it up in HD and enjoy it once again
The 1977 classic SLAP SHOT; THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the very good – but never great – show REVOLUTION; SEASONS 1 and 2 of the very entertaining show AWKWARD; THE COMPLETE SEASON EIGHT of the thankfully it’s coming to an end, once great show HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER; the very interesting documentary LOVE, MARILYN; the not great, completely predictable action comedy THE HEAT; and the mindless fun of the made-in-Toronto action flick PACIFIC RIM are all available now, either on disc or on demand.
And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!