Month: February 2014

Categories
Television

Good luck to them…and us in the audience!!

New anchor team to make its debut on Weekend Update

A new team takes over NBC’s storied Weekend Update franchise on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live (11:35 p.m. ET/PT).

After Seth Meyers’ departure Feb. 1 for Late Night, Cecily Strong’s new partner is Colin Jost a head writer who’s worked for the show since 2005 but has never appeared on it.

“I’m definitely a little nervous,” Jost says, but “I’m excited to just start already. I’m more anxious when I’m thinking about it.”

Subjects for their inaugural segment remained undecided Thursday, though Strong suggested the Arizona governor’s veto of an anti-gay bill is a possible target, along with plans to “reveal the Oscars a little early.”

Executive producer Lorne Michaels, who also is presiding over new starts for Jimmy Fallon and Meyers this month, predicts Jost’s move to Update will be “the hardest transition. Colin is brilliant and he’s truly funny and he’ll get there, but in midseason to come in and do that, (it’s) difficult to master … the physical technique of it.”

Still, Meyers says Jost has nothing to fear. The Harvard grad and stand-up comedian is “one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with, and he’s also one of the goofiest people I’ve ever worked with, and that’s a good combination for that desk,” he says. Jim Parsons is a first-time host, but Update is “the thing I’m most excited to watch on Saturday.”

Strong, 30, who joined Meyers at the fake-news desk last fall in only her second year on the show, has found her tenure there — from playing “the girl you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party” to anchoring — “great and insane and exhausting. It’s such a big part of the show (that) it’s a great way, if you’re new on the show, to see what (you) can do.”

Jost, 31, has been preparing for his new role for half his life. “When I was a young kid,” in his Staten Island, N.Y., Catholic school, “I would pretend to be David Letterman and pretend to be Norm (Macdonald),” reading jokey news headlines, he says. “It seems crazy in retrospect that the teachers would allow it.” So Update is “something I’ve wanted to try and take on as a challenge.”

While Jost calls Macdonald his “most formational” Update anchor, both he and Strong say the pairing of Fey and Amy Poehler were keys to the signature segment’s latter-day success. “They just kind of blew everything up,” Strong says.

And Michaels says Jost was the only obvious candidate for the job, following in the footsteps of other head writers including Fey (who also hadn’t appeared in sketches) and Meyers. “There’s something innately credible about someone who writes and is up to date about politics and pop culture moving into Update,” he says. “I’m just carrying on a tradition.”

Weekend Update’s anchors

1975-76 Chevy Chase

1976-80 Jane Curtin

1985-91 Dennis Miller

1991-94 Kevin Nealon

1994-97 Norm MacDonald

1998-2000 Colin Quinn

2000-04 Jimmy Fallon/Tina Fey

2004-06 Tina Fey/Amy Poehler

2006-08 Amy Poehler/Seth Meyers

2009-13 Seth Meyers

2013-14 Seth Meyers/Cecily Strong

Categories
Television

I’ll keep my expectations low and hope I’m surprised…but honestly I don’t expect much from her on the show.

Lena Dunham to Host Saturday Night Live for the First Time

She’s a New York native – and she’s about to make her “live from New York” debut.

Lena Dunham will host Saturday Night Live for the first time on March 8, Variety reports.

“Thank you for the SNL love,” Dunham Tweeted Tuesday. “Can’t wait to debut my character ‘girl who googled serial killers all night & has lots to say!’ ”

No word yet on whether Dunham, 27, will lampoon Girls on the long-running sketch-comedy program. But if she does, it wouldn’t be the first time SNL has poked fun at Dunham’s hit HBO show, which follows the lives of four young New York women trying to find their place in the world.

In SNL’s 39th season opener in September, it ran a parody of the show that featured then-host Tina Fey as Blerta, the girl from Albania with a rubber hand and OCD – Old Cow Disease – who joins the decidedly trendier core four.

At the time, Dunham called the sketch “a true honor.” She also Tweeted praise for the show’s female cast members.

“Very excited about the current lineup of SNL ladies. They are funny like whoa,” Dunham wrote.

Categories
People

Horrible, horrible news!! May he rest in peace!!

Harold Ramis dead at 69, starred in Ghostbusters, SCTV

Actor, writer and filmmaker Harold Ramis, the Ghostbusters star whose comedy credits include Groundhog Day and the National Lampoon films, has died at 69.

Ramis died early Monday morning at his Chicago-area home, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement from his Los Angeles representatives, United Talent Agency.

Ramis died of complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a condition that affects blood vessels he had battled for the past four years.

Chicago-born Ramis started his comedy career in his hometown’s influential Second City improv comedy theatre in 1969, where he would encounter his friends and regular collaborators such as John Belushi, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

When the troupe launched its landmark television series SCTV in the late 1970s, Ramis was its first head writer, as well as one of the cast members.

Nearly a decade later, he broke through into Hollywood with the blockbuster comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House, starring Belushi, and became known for some of the most popular comedy films of the 1980s.

Through his career, he would mix screenwriting, directing, producing and acting roles. His best-loved titles include his role in the Ghostbusters films — in which he portrayed the straight-laced Dr. Egon Spengler — and directing the comedy classic Groundhog Day, starring Murray.

He often teamed with his former Second City colleagues for wild and silly films, including Stripes, Caddyshack, Meatballs and National Lampoon’s Vacation.

In recent years, Ramis work included directing episodes of The Office, the film Year One and cameo roles in movies by filmmakers he’d influenced (including Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up). He was also touted as a caring mentor in the industry and a key inspiration to a younger generation of comedy filmmakers, including Adam Sandler, Jay Roach, Jake Kasdan and Peter and Bobby Farrelly.

Second City founder Bernie Sahlins once said that, from the start, he knew Ramis “would be an important factor in American comedy.

“He has all the skills and abilities to be funny and to write funny, but he also is a leader, a very nice guy. He was always looked up to, in Second City to being head writer at SCTV. He was never separate from anybody. He was always one of the boys, but he was the best boy,” Sahlins told the Chicago Tribune in a 1999 interview. Sahlins, who had worked with Ramis since 1969, died in 2013.

Ramis is survived by his wife, Erica Mann Ramis, his children Julian, Daniel and Violet and two grandchildren.

Selected Harold Ramis credits:

National Lampoon’s Animal House.
Meatballs.
Stripes.
Ghostbusters (I and II).
National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Caddyshack (I and II).
Groundhog Day.
As Good as It Gets.
Stuart Saves His Family.
Multiplicity.
Knocked Up.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Analyze This (and its sequel Analyze That).
Bedazzled.
Year One.

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

I will take one of each, please!!

Bruce Springsteen Releasing 4 New Songs On Record Store Day EP

Bruce Springsteen will release four unreleased songs on a 12″ vinyl EP entitled American Beauty for Record Store Day on April 26th. Three of the tracks – “American Beauty,” “Mary Mary” and “Hey Blue Eyes” – were recorded during the High Hopes sessions with producer Ron Aniello, but ultimately discarded. The origin of the other song, “Hurry Up Sundown,” is unknown.

It’s unclear if the material on American Beauty will ultimately be offered to fans in any non-vinyl format. None of the songs on the EP have been heard before, but Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello — who is featured prominently on High Hopes and is on tour with Springsteen — plans on covering “Hey Blue Eyes” for an upcoming project.

A DVD, Blu-ray and digital download of the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year concert, a multi-artist charity tribute concert to Bruce Springsteen set for release both physically and digitally on March 25th, is also in the works. The show, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8th, 2013, featured Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Sting, John Legend, Mumford & Sons, Patti Smith and others playing Springsteen classics. It wrapped up with a brief set by Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are in the middle of a month-long Australian tour. They kick off an American tour April 8th at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, just two days before the E Street Band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A MusiCares Tribute To Bruce Springsteen and American Beauty track list

A MusiCares Tribute To Bruce Springsteen

1. “Adam Raised a Cain” Performed by Alabama Shakes
2. “Because the Night” Performed by Patti Smith
3. “Atlantic City” Performed by Natalie Maines, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
4. “American Land” Performed by Ken Casey
5. “My City of Ruins” Performed by Mavis Staples and Zac Brown
6. “I’m On Fire” Performed by Mumford and Sons
7. “American Skin (41 Shots)” Performed by Jackson Browne and Tom Morello
8. “My Hometown” Performed by Emmylou Harris
9. “One Step Up” Performed by Kenny Chesney
10. “Streets of Philadelphia” Performed by Elton John
11. “Hungry Heart” Performed by Juanes
12. “Tougher Than the Rest” Performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
13. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” Performed by Jim James and Tom Morello
14. “Dancing in the Dark” Performed by John Legend
15. “Lonesome Day” Performed by Sting
16. “Born in the U.S.A.” Performed by Neil Young with Crazy Horse
17. “We Take Care of Our Own” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
18. “Death to My Hometown” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
19. “Thunder Road” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
20. “Born to Run” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
21. “Glory Days” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band & cast ensemble

American Beauty

1. “American Beauty”
2. “Mary Mary”
3. “Hurry Up Sundown”
4. “Hey Blue Eyes”

Categories
Movies

I saw THE LEGO MOVIE and it was AWESOME!!!

Box office report: ‘Lego’ three-peats at No. 1 with $31.5 million, ‘3 Days to Kill’ takes second, ‘Pompeii’ fizzles

Ancient volcanoes and box-office vets proved no match for The Lego Movie, even after three weekends in theaters. Warner Bros.’ 3-D extravaganza earned an estimated $31.45 million and beat its new competition by more than double. Lego’s domestic total is now $183.2 million — surpassing The Lorax’s 17-day total by about $25 million. Despite adding 115 screens, Lego dropped about 37% from last weekend.

The Kevin Costner-led action pic 3 Days to Kill came in a distant second with an estimated $12.3 million from 2,872 theaters. That gives the PG-13, McG-directed Relativity thriller a respectable $4,238 per screen average. Exit polls show an eerily perfect audience gender division (50/50), but as far as age goes, 80% were over the age of 25, which suggests that Costner was the main draw for theater-goers. The $28 million film, which also stars Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, and Connie Nielsen, follows an international spy trying to complete one last, dangerous mission while also caring for his teenage daughter (Steinfeld). Relativity says: ”We are pleased with 3 Days to Kill’s solid opening, which was right in line with our expectations for this lower budget action-thriller.”

Paul W.S. Anderson’s Mount Vesuvius epic/love story Pompeii took third place with a disappointing $10 million opening. The expensive and poorly reviewed pic stars Games of Thrones’ Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, and Kiefer Sutherland. Sony Pictures distributed the film domestically, but the Constantin Film and Impact Pictures production was financed by Constantin. FilmDistrict provided the P&A funds. Internationally, Pompeii opened in 37 territories and earned about $22.8 million this weekend. BoxOfficeMojo reports that Pompeii’s budget is in the $100 million range, so a $10 million debut is dismal.

RoboCop took the fourth place spot with $9.4 million from 3,372 locations in week two. That’s a 57% drop from last weekend’s opening. RoboCop’s domestic total now stands at $43.6 million — still a far cry from its estimated $100 million budget, but reports suggest that it’s performing quite well internationally. Overseas numbers weren’t available as of press time, but we’ll update the report when they’re shared. [UPDATE] Internationally, RoboCop earned an estimated $17.7 million from 75 markets, raising its overseas total to $100 million.

After three weekends in theaters, George Clooney’s The Monuments Men came in fifth with $8.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $58.04 million. The historical film fell about 48% from last weekend. Still in 3,064 locations, Clooney may have a career high on his hands (in the director’s chair), but it is worth noting that the star-studded pic cost an estimated $70 million to make.

1. The Lego Movie — $31.45 million
2. 3 Days to Kill — $12.3 million
3. Pompeii — $10 million
4. RoboCop — $9.4 million
5. The Monuments Men — $8.1 million

Surprisingly, About Last Night dropped out of the top five in its second weekend in theaters with a $7.4 million weekend. After a stellar Valentine’s Day weekend debut, the Kevin Hart-led remake fell an astonishing 71% in week two. The modestly budgeted ($12.5 million) rom-com now boasts a $38.15 million domestic total.

In the speciality box office market, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-nominated The Wind Rises earned an estimated $306,000 from 21 theaters. It’s already made over $112 million worldwide. Featuring the voices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Martin Short, Emily Blunt, and John Krasinski, the PG-13 animated epic expands to 450 theaters next weekend.

Finally, in landmarks, Disney is surely getting ready to celebrate. Frozen’s global total is currently resting at an estimated $980.3 million, and it still has yet to open in Japan. It’s now the 19th highest grossing film of all time, and the highest grossing original animated property. Also, The Wolf of Wall Street crossed $100 million in nine international territories this weekend. Lastly, at $423.6 million, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire became the 10th highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office. It’s the first franchise where both of the first two installments grossed over $400 million domestically.

Next weekend, Liam Neeson takes on God at the box office. The Bible producer Mark Burnett’s Son of God opens wide against Neeson’s in-flight thriller Non-Stop.

Categories
Television

So…is NBC totally out of ideas then?!?

NBC’s ‘Heroes’ to Return as Miniseries in 2015

NBC is re-engaging the “Heroes” team, ordering 13 episodes of an event miniseries to air next year with series creator Tim Kring at the helm.

NBC teased the plan to revive the franchise with a promo spot that aired during Saturday’s telecast of Olympics coverage.

The brief spot featured a fade-in on the “Heroes” logo with the word “Reborn” added along with “Coming 2015.”

There had been rumors last year that the Peacock was looking to revive the mystery-fantasy drama that aired from 2006-2010. Kring is set to exec produce 13 new episodes.

Details of the storyline are being kept under wraps. It’s described as a stand-alone arc. A digital series will bow prior to the TV return to introduce (or perhaps re-introduce) fans to the characters that will be the focus of “Reborn.”

“The enormous impact ‘Heroes’ had on the television landscape when it first launched in 2006 was eye-opening,” said NBC Entertainment prexy Jennifer Salke. “Shows with that kind of resonance don’t come around often and we thought it was time for another installment. We’re thrilled that visionary creator Tim Kring was as excited about jumping back into this show as we were and we look forward to all the new textures and layers Tim plans to add to his original concept. Until we get closer to air in 2015, the show will be appropriately shrouded in secrecy, but we won’t rule out the possibility of some of the show’s original cast members popping back in.”

The original series starred Zachary Quinto, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Colman, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventigmiglia and Greg Grunberg as a motley group of people who slowly realize they have extraordinary powers.

Categories
Awards

They finally get their due and now this?!? What a bunch of idiots!!

Kiss Nix Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Performance After Lineup Dispute

Kiss announced today that the band won’t be performing at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in April because disputes over the lineup churned up ill will among the members.

“This is understandably an emotional situation where there is no way to please everyone,” Kiss said today in a statement on the band’s website. “To bring this to a quick end, we have decided not to play in any line-up and we will focus our attention on celebrating our induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.”

Frehley revealed to a New York radio station on Friday night that the original lineup would not be performing at the ceremony, and said that he was not willing to perform alongside the newer members. “I’m not gonna get on the stage with Tommy wearing my makeup. That’s absurd,” he told Q104.3 FM, according to Blabbermouth.net. In a statement on his own website, Criss said that he and Frehley “have been denied a performance with Gene and Paul for our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction,” and called the situation “disgraceful.”

According to the band’s statement, however, there was no plan to exclude Frehley and Criss from the performance. “Our intention was to celebrate the entire history of Kiss and give credit to all members including long time present members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, and additionally Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr all who have made this band what it is, regardless of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s point of view,” the statement said. “It is over 13 years since the original lineup has played together in make-up and we believe the memory of those times would not be enhanced. Contrary to claims made through the media we have never refused to play with Ace and Peter.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone this past December, Gene Simmons said that he was open to playing at the induction with Frehley and Criss, but stressed the importance of Kiss’ current lineup. “It’s like, if you introduced me to your wife and I go, ‘Wait, where are all the other wives?’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, I was married to them and now I’m here,'” he said, while denying that there was bad blood among the original members. “They were equally important in the formation of the band. When you have kids with your first wife, you give kudos. The fact you got remarried doesn’t delete or minimize the importance. Hey, ‘You gave birth to this thing, Kiss, with Ace, Peter, Paul and Gene.'”

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

Not a sports fan, but don’t want to leave your TV lonely this weekend? Here are reviews of the latest releases for you!!

The Couch Potato Report – February 22nd, 2014

Streaming sites such as Netflix and the ability to rent movies without leaving your house have changed everything over the past few years. Well, almost everything. There are still occasions where you have to actually go to a store – or order something from an online store.

Oh sure, if you only want to see GAME OF THRONES once, you watch it on HBO and be done with it. But if you want the show, in high quality on Blu-ray, in a box set with plenty of extras…to a store you must go!

GAME OF THRONES is a tremendous television series about what happens surrounding a civil war in a sprawling fantasy kingdom, but it’s also about family, honour, loyalty and friends.

It has adventure…drama…fantasy…beautiful women and men…plenty of action…and dragons!! All of that and much, much more, can be found in THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of the series GAME OF THRONES.

Based on “A Song of Ice and Fire”, George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, this show has a great cast, fantastic sets and costumes, and offers up plenty of surprises…if you’ve been able to avoid the spoilers from SEASON THREE of GAME OF THRONES…good for you!! You are very lucky!!

SEASON ONE of this show was great…SEASON TWO was even better…and this latest SEASON THREE is also great!

I can – and do – easily recommend GAME OF THRONES!! Not just THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON, but the first and second seasons as well!!

I also recommend THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of THE AMERICANS, just not as highly. Oh it’s good, it’s just not that good.

THE AMERICANS was created by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg and is set during the Cold War in the early 1980s. Keri Russell from FELICITY and Matthew Rhys of BROTHERS AND SISTERS play two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington, DC.

They have two children who don’t know they’re spies, and their neighbour is an FBI Counter-Intelligence agent, who may or may not know, which leads to all sorts of tense moments.

THE AMERICANS does have some great spy storylines, as they incorporate real-life events such as the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan into the narrative, but it is also a show about the couple and their efforts to save their marriage and family.

And that latter fact is why the show isn’t that good. I loved the spy stuff, but then, along comes another scene where they talk about their feelings and how they believe in their marriage and want to save it and I wanted more spy stuff!!

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of THE AMERICANS is very good, it is above average, and it is very smart. I just wish it had more cold war storylines than cold marriage ones…so, call that a mild recommendation.

Up we climb now, to THE SUMMIT.

On August 1st, 2008, a tragic event happened that has become known as “The K2 Disaster”. Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died that day on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth. Three others were seriously injured. It was the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.

THE SUMMIT is a documentary about “The 2008 K2 Disaster” and it combines documentary footage with recreations of events.

This is a very good, very informative and very interesting movie, and I do recommend it, but the problem that I had with THE SUMMIT was that I could never tell what was real and what was a recreation. Was this a survivor on the screen in front of me, or an actor playing a person who died?

That wasn’t always clear, and that took away some of the movie’s power and emotion, which is why ultimately it only gets a mild recommendation from me.

It has been said that if you haven’t got anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. As a reviewer, it can be difficult to adhere to that…but sometimes I do. When it comes to the animated movie JUSTICE LEAGUE – WAR, I will.

JUSTICE LEAGUE – WAR is an animated superhero film that is an adaptation of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s 2011 Justice League: Origin storyline, where the world’s finest heroes create the Justice League in order to stop an alien invasion of Earth.

Yes, this movie features the Justice League, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and others and you won’t care.

I doubt even huge fans of comics and comic movies will care – I am one, and I sure didn’t. This is the 18th direct-to-home-viewing movie that they’ve made from DC Comics, and instead of getting better, they are getting worse.

There is just too much fighting in them, especially in this one, and not enough story or character development. The animation and voice talent are all great, but you won’t care.

Skip JUSTICE LEAGUE – WAR, it just isn’t worth your time. Read the comics, they are great, but skip the movie.

And since I haven’t got anything nice to say, that is all I’ll say, instead of saying nothing at all.

It’s been forty years since one of the greatest revenge flicks ever was released.

Charles Bronson stars in DEATH WISH as Paul Benjamin, a New Yorker whose life is overturned when his wife and daughter are attacked by muggers. His wife does not survive the attack, and his traumatized daughter is left catatonic so he decides to fight back, taking to the streets to punish all muggers.

DEATH WISH came out in 1974 and has just been released on blu-ray in a 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, but there is nothing on the disc but the film. No bonus features, no retrospectives on how the film brought the revenge flick genre into the mainstream…nothing but the film that does look a bit dated.

I still recommend it, flaws and all, because I don’t want anyone connected to the movie to come looking for me.

From a 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, we move ahead thirty years to the 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of an Academy Award winning classic…Clint Eastwood’s MILLION DOLLAR BABY.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Hilary Swank.

She played a determined woman in her early thirties who convinces an aging trainer to take her on to help her reach her dream of becoming a professional boxer.

Eastwood plays the trainer, and he also directed, winning the Oscar for his efforts.

This blu-ray of MILLION DOLLAR BABY does have some bonus materials, plenty of them, including some all new ones for the 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION.

Here’s co-star Morgan Freeman, who also won an Academy Award for his performance.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY is a spectacular movie that I highly recommend.

Back in November of 2009 it was my absolute pleasure to tell you about a seven-disc box set that had been released called ROCKY – THE UNDISPUTED COLLECTION. The set included all six of the ROCKY films – including the original, Academy Award winning Best Picture from 1976 – along with a bonus disc loaded with extras.

Here in February of 2014, there is now another ROCKY set to talk about, and as much as I enjoyed the HEAVYWEIGHT COLLECTION, I’ll be keeping the one released in 2009.

The main calling card for this set about Rocky Balboa, two-time heavyweight champion of the world, husband to Adrian, and all-around good guy, is the fact that it includes a remastered edition of the original – which looks and sounds amazing!!

The HEAVYWEIGHT COLLECTION doesn’t give fans of this series – like me – any real reason to pick it up…since we already have THE UNDISPUTED COLLECTION.

The other five films are as they were last time – with no special features at all on ROCKY II through V – and no upgrade to the quality of the films…and they could really use that.

I still love the films – yes, even ROCKY V – and I still recommend the series, but the only reason to pick up the ROCKY – HEAVYWEIGHT COLLECTION is if you don’t already have them in HD on blu-ray.

And even if that is the case, something tells me that there will be a 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION coming out in 2016…and hopefully that one will be the actual undisputed best set yet!

The ROCKY – HEAVYWEIGHT COLLECTION; the 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of the classic Academy Award winning MILLION DOLLAR BABY; the 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of the dated but still great revenge flick DEATH WISH; the horrible DC Comics animated movie JUSTICE LEAGE – WAR; the interesting adventure documentary THE SUMMIT; the very good COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of THE AMERICANS; and the great COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of GAME OF THRONES, which you may have to actually go to a store to own, are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Coming up inside the next Couch Potato Report will be the Academy Award nominated films GRAVITY and NEBRASKA, and the Box Office hit THOR – THE DARK WORLD.

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
Music

Spectacular!!

AC/DC heading back to the studio for new album

The rumors are true.

AC/DC are set to return to the studio to record a new album. It’s their first new music since 2008’s Black Ice. The Aussie rockers are planning to work their magic in Vancouver, and there also are plans for a tour surrounding their 40th anniversary.

Lead singer Brian Johnson confirmed the news in a radio interview on Monday. “Really, because we’ve been denying anything, ’cause we weren’t sure … But I think we’ll be going into the studio in May in Vancouver. Which means, we should be getting ready.”

Johnson also revealed a few details about the tour. “It’s been 40 years of the band’s existence,” he said. “So I think we’re gonna try to do 40 gigs, 40 shows, to thank the fans for their undying loyalty. I mean, honestly, our fans are just the best in the world, and we appreciate every one of them. So, like I said, we’ll have to go out, even though we’re getting a bit long in the tooth. You know what?! It’s been four years, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Categories
Television

I’m just so happy that Leno is gone!!!

Jimmy Fallon set for first Tonight Show

Little more than a week after exiting Late Night, Jimmy Fallon makes his much-anticipated debut Monday as host of NBC’s Tonight Show, as the venerable TV institution returns to New York after four decades based on the West Coast.

Scheduled guests are U2 and Will Smith, with the show reclaiming Rockefeller Center’s Studio 6B, where Tonight aired during its early Johnny Carson years.

Fallon, who had hosted Late Night since 2009, moves up to the job Jay Leno held for much of the past 22 years until his recent departure from the Tonight host chair.

The 39-year-old Fallon first found stardom as a cast member and Weekend Update co-anchor on Saturday Night Live. He left SNL in 2004 to pursue a movie career, but he was met with less success in that arena.

Despite the excitement surrounding his new Tonight stint (much of it expressed by Fallon himself), he has also emphasized that Tonight under his regime won’t be notably different from the show his Late Night had evolved into.

Although airing an hour earlier than Late Night (but this week seen at a special time, midnight Eastern), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will feature many of the same comic bits, the same house band, the Roots, and announcer-sidekick Steve Higgins.

Filling the vacancy left by Fallon at Late Night will be fellow SNL alum Seth Meyers, who signs on as host next Monday, with Fred Armisen, yet another former SNL-er, as band leader.