Month: August 2014

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

Don’t know if I need it, but I’ll probably still buy it.

On the Books: Bruce Springsteen’s publishing a book about a bank-robbing baby

The Boss is jumping on the bandwagon of musicians writing children’s books with the November 4 release of Outlaw Pete, a picture book based on his 2009 song of the same name. The book will be composed of Springsteen’s lengthy lyrics about a bank-robbing baby paired with illustrations by cartoonist/author Frank Caruso, according to New York Times.

While it’s being marketed as a picture book for adults, Simon & Schuster president Jonathan Karp said it’s “for readers of all ages.”

“It’s a book for anybody who loves a good Western,” he told The Times. “Obviously, the song it’s based on is for adults. It has an adult sensibility, and so does the book. Outlaw Pete is a quintessentially Springsteen character, brought to life here, and like the song, it’s a meditation on fate. Pete is robbing banks at a very young age, and he does a lot of things he regrets, but as the lyric says, you can’t undo the things you’ve done.”

Fellow musician Keith Richards announced back in March would be writing a children’s book, following in the footsteps of Madonna, Jimmy Buffett, and three of the four Beatles.

Categories
Music

Evolve or die. The record industry had a choice. They dug in their heels. Thus, they died.

Album Sales Are at an All-Time Low, Again

In what come as a surprise to probably no one, album sales have hit a new all-time low. The 3.97 million albums that sold across the past seven days is the smallest weekly sum since 1991 (but likely much farther back), when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking that data. As Billboard reports, this is the first time that number has fallen below the 4 million mark.

This historic dip comes on the tail of a relatively slow release week, which included Wiz Khalifa’s Blacc Hollywood as the top earner with sales of 90,000 units. But trends over the past quarters show considerable decline beyond this week’s low, dropping from averages of 4.75 million units sold in the first quarter to 4.55 million units in the second quarter to 4.2 million in the first eight weeks of the present third quarter.

As streaming services become more popular, album sales are increasingly falling out of fashion. And plenty of companies have been picking up on this trend, moving into monetized services. While Spotify reported 10 million paid users earlier this year, recently SoundCloud debuted its ad-based revenue program that — more or less — follows in the footsteps of Amazon and Google’s YouTube, entering the marketplace.

Categories
People

Hopefully she gets well soon.

Daughter: Joan Rivers is in ‘serious condition

NEW YORK (AP) — Joan Rivers remained in serious condition in a New York City hospital Friday, one day after going into cardiac arrest at a doctor’s office.

Melissa Rivers said in a statement Friday that her mother was “receiving the best treatment and care possible.” She also thanked Rivers’ fans and friends for their support.

“My mother would be so touched by the tributes and prayers that we have received from around the world,” Melissa Rivers said. “Her condition remains serious … We ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts as we pray for her recovery.”

The Mount Sinai Hospital said it had no updates Friday. On Thursday, hospital spokesman Sid Dinsay confirmed that Rivers had been taken there that morning.

New York City police officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly name Rivers, said she was taken to the hospital just after 9:30 a.m. Thursday. It was unclear why she was visiting the doctor’s office.

The comedian with a half-century of show business under her belt has spawned a reputation for often-snarky red carpet fashion commentary. A show she had scheduled Friday at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey, has been postponed.

An early and outspoken proponent of cosmetic surgery, Rivers’ drastically altered her appearance over the years — and found plenty of material for jokes. (“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.”)

The host of “Fashion Police” on E! network, Rivers also presides over an online talk show, “In Bed With Joan” and co-stars with her daughter on the WEtv reality show, “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?”

Her latest book, “Diary of a Mad Diva,” was released this summer.

In 2009, Rivers emerged as the winner of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” A documentary, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” premiered in theaters in 2010.

The New York native originally entered show business with the dream of a theatrical career, but comedy became a way to pay the bills while she auditioned for acting roles.

“Somebody said, ‘You can make six dollars standing up in a club,'” she told The Associated Press in 2013, “and I said, ‘Here I go!’ It was better than typing all day.”

After proving herself in comedy clubs as a rarity — a woman comedian — Rivers was a smash on her first booking on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1965. “God, you’re funny,” Carson told her.

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

Overall, it’s a pretty mediocre week.

The Couch Potato Report – August 30th, 2014

There are some huge stars in this Labour Day Long Weekend edition of The Report. Its just too bad the films that they’re in aren’t more worthy of your time. The stars’ fans will enjoy them, but most of these new releases are not for everyone.

First up is the drama THE NORMAL HEART starring Mark Ruffalo from THE AVENGERS, Jim Parsons of THE BIG BANG THEORY, and Julia Roberts.

Based on a true story, THE NORMAL HEART is the story of the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984. Mark Ruffalo plays writer/activist Ned Weeks, the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group.

Ned is trying to raise awareness of the epidemic, and get help. To do that he’s often fighting with politicians, who don’t want to help or even hear about what’s going on, and even members of his own organization.

THE NORMAL HEART is exceptionally well written, and the acting is fantastic, but overall the film is not that compelling or engaging. I never felt connected to it…I never felt that I was watching real people seeing their loved ones die from a disease they knew little about…instead it seemed more like big name actors sharing their star power for a film and cause they believed in.

The story in THE NORMAL HEART is worth knowing, so history doesn’t ever repeat itself with another unknown disease, and that is why I will mildly recommend it. Just know going in that while it does have some great scenes, the movie isn’t as good as it should be.

Knowing that they’ve done one great romantic comedy together – THE WEDDING SINGER in 1998 – and one pretty good one together – FIFTY FIRST DATES in 2004 – could lead you to think that the re-teaming of Adam Sandler with Drew Barrymore would lead to something that isn’t a complete waste of time.

Please don’t think that. BLENDED is a complete waste of your time!

Drew and Adam star here as single parents who met during a bad blind date and don’t like each other, yet – as happens in movies like this – they end up sharing a resort in Africa. And wouldn’t you know it, they fall in love.

While I’ll admit that BLENDED isn’t the worst film of the year – I actually laughed a few times, and I was smiling at the end – but it is mostly boring and predictable.

Adam and Drew have done better before, and I hope they do better again, but BLENDED isn’t worthy of your time.

Okay, how is this for a cast of stars…John Turturro from THE BIG LEBOWSKI, Sharon Stone of BASIC INSTINCT, Sofia Vergara from TV’s MODERN FAMILY and Woody Allen?!

Now that is a cast, and they all star in the comedy FADING GIGOLO.

John Turturro – who also wrote and directed the film – stars as a man who agrees to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend.

His friend acts as his “manager”, finding the women for him to seduce, but soon love and money get on the way, occasionally with hilarious results.

It must be said that even though Turturro wrote and directed FADING GIGOLO, it is basically a Woody Allen film, so if you don’t like Woody’s films, skip it at all costs.

Now for those of us who do enjoy his films, admittedly this is Woody Allen light…this is not ANNIE HALL, or even close…but it is still pretty good. It isn’t great, but I liked it, and can recommend it…but to fans only.

Okay, how about a positive review now? I’m about to be totally positive as I recommend the latest season of PARKS AND RECREATION.

PARKS AND RECREATION features a top notch ensemble cast lead by Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler playing an ambitious and hopeful small town government worker.

She is pushy and doesn’t always listen, and could have come across as unlikeable, but Amy is just such a great comedian, that instead of not liking her, you actually root for her.

Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Rob Lowe, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott and Nick Offerman round out the cast of PARKS & RECREATION and in SEASON SIX they continue to be the best ensemble cast on television!

I love PARKS AND RECREATION and highly recommend SEASON SIX…and the previous seasons as well…to everyone!!

There was a lot of hype last year at this time surrounding a television show starring James Spader called THE BLACKLIST.

That hype was totally worth it, as this show is well above average!!

Spader has previously starred on the television shows THE PRACTICE and BOSTON LEGAL. In those shows he played a lawyer.

In THE BLACKLIST he plays a former government agent who has eluded capture for decades, only to walk in to the FBI headquarters in Washington one day to surrender.

He then offers to help catch criminals on a “blacklist”, people who he believes are dangerous to society, most of whom are unknown to the FBI.

But, he’ll only speak to Elizabeth Keen, a young FBI profiler who’s just barely out of Quantico.

Spader is so great here, so smart and creepy and confident and relaxed. With a different actor THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of THE BLACKLIST might have been another run of the mill police procedural drama. With him, it is great, it crackles and is well above average.

I really enjoyed the show, and am looking forward to SEASON TWO!!

Finally this week is BELLE, a film full of character actors who are all stars in their own right. You might not know their names, but you definitely know their voices and faces from all of the Academy Award winning films they’ve been in.

Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson and Tom Felton all appear in BELLE, which tells the story of a mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral who is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England.

Had BELLE focussed more on what an aristocratic woman of mixed race could and couldn’t do at the time, it would have kept my attention longer. Unfortunately it spent too much time on the love triangle she is involved in, and so I can really only mildly recommend BELLE to fans of historical dramas.
The interesting but not that engaging drama BELLE; SEASON ONE of the above average series THE BLACKLIST; SEASON SIX of the still great show PARKS AND RECREATION; the likeable but not all that funny comedy FADING GIGOLO; the mostly boring and predictable, almost totally unfunny Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore reunion flick BLENDED; and the also very good, but not engaging AIDS drama THE NORMAL HEART are all full of stars not doing their best work, and 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!

Categories
Television

That’s right, stop asking!!

‘The Sopranos’ finale: Tony Soprano might be dead after all, but stop asking

The internet was abuzz Wednesday (Aug. 27) when Vox published an interview with “Sopranos” creator David Chase in which he seemingly said that Tony Soprano did, in fact, survive the fade-to-black finale that left millions of viewers wondering about the mobster’s fate.

However, Chase would like you all to know that it’s not that simple.

Chase’s representative Leslee Dart has released a statement, saying, “A journalist for Vox miscontrued what David Chase said in their interview. To simply quote David as saying, ‘Tony Soprano is not dead,’ is inaccurate. There is a much larger context for that statement and as such, it is not true.

“As David Chase has said numerous times on the record, ‘Whether Tony Soprano is alive or dead is not the point.’ To continue to search for this answer is fruitless. The final scene of ‘The Sopranos’ raises a spiritual question that has no right or wrong answer.”

Apparently, Schrodinger’s Capo is a conundrum that will haunt TV viewers for years to come.

Categories
Awards

Overall, it was a very mediocre show with only a few memorable moments.

‘Breaking Bad’ Cleans Up, ‘Modern Family’ Takes Top Honors at 2014 Emmys

Television’s biggest night is often its most unpredictable – even if the 66th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by a saccharine Seth Meyers, let several perennial favorites take home awards. Indeed, if the 2014 Emmys will go down in history for anything, it will be for putting the brakes on Matthew McConaughey’s winning streak, as Bryan Cranston walked away with the top acting honor.

Indeed, it was a big night for Cranston and the final season of Breaking Bad, which cleaned up at the awards show in the drama categories – including Outstanding Series and Lead Actor for its star. Things were a little more spread out on the comedy side, with Modern Family taking top honors for a series and The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons and Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus winning yet again in the lead acting categories.

For the first time in almost 30 years, the telecast aired on a Monday (and also a month earlier) instead of the usual Sunday night slot in order to avoid competition from the MTV Video Music Awards and football season. “That’s right, MTV still has an awards show for music videos, even though they no longer show videos. That’s like network TV holding an awards show and giving all the trophies to cable and Netflix,” Meyers quipped in his opening monologue. To some extent, his words rang true.

As Outstanding Drama Series (for only the second time), AMC’s Breaking Bad bested Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Mad Men and True Detective. And, as if righting the perceived wrongs of last year’s ceremony, Cranston won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama (after surprisingly losing to The Newsroom’s Jeff Daniels in 2013) and Bad’s Aaron Paul nabbed Outstanding Supporting Actor (which last went to Boardwalk Empire’s Bobby Cannavale in an upset).

In the lead actor category, Cranston beat Daniels, McConaughey (True Detective), Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men). This is the seventh straight year Hamm has lost for his role as Don Draper, giving him the unenviable distinction of being the most-nominated actor in the category without a win. Before handing out the award, presenter Julia Roberts called it “a horrible category” to compete in. “Even I thought about voting for Matthew,” Cranston joked about presumed frontrunner McConaughey before calling tortured character Walter White “the role of a lifetime.”

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama went to The Good Wife’s Julianna Margulies, her third overall win (two for playing Alicia Florrick on the show). Her triumph blocked Scandal’s Kerry Washington from becoming the first African-American to win the category. Despite that, Margulies called it “a wonderful time for women on television.”

Over in comedy, Modern Family won Outstanding Series, tying it with Emmy darling Frasier as the only shows with five top prizes. (Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd also produced the long-running Cheers spinoff.) It beat out such high-profile series as The Big Bang Theory, Louie, Orange Is the New Black and Veep.

Big Bang’s Parsons won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy for the fourth time, putting him in a four-way tie for most wins ever in the category (against TV greats Michael J. Fox, Kelsey Grammer and Carroll O’Connor). “Oh, wow. I really don’t believe this,” Parsons said before thanking his late father and fellow nominees, which included Ricky Gervais, Louis C.K. and William H. Macy.

Meanwhile, five-time Parks and Recreation nominee Amy Poehler walked away empty-handed yet again in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy category, as Louis-Dreyfus nabbed her third consecutive win for her role on Veep (also toppling Melissa McCarthy and Edie Falco, among others). On her way up to the podium, Louis-Dreyfus mock made out with Cranston, in a nod to a presenter bit the two did earlier in the evening about how she didn’t remember him playing love interest Tim Whatley on Seinfeld. Louis-Dreyfus is now one trophy away from tying for the most wins ever in the category.

In the supporting categories, Breaking Bad’s Paul won his third Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama statuette. “I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Paul admitted before adding of the now-defunct show, “My God, Breaking Bad has changed my life.” On the women’s side, the award went to Bad’s Anna Gunn, her second consecutive win.

For comedy, Modern Family’s Ty Burrell won Outstanding Supporting Actor for a second time, once again beating his long-suffering Emmy also-ran co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who has never won despite five nods. Meanwhile, Allison Janney took home the supporting actress trophy for her role in Mom, over the likes of Big Bang’s Mayim Bialik and Modern Family’s Julie Bowen.

Fargo scored Outstanding Miniseries, despite all of its nominated cast losing (including lead actor Billy Bob Thornton, who lost to Sherlock: His Last Vow’s Benedict Cumberbatch, who wasn’t on hand to pick up the award).

Outstanding Television Movie went to the autobiographical HIV-AIDS drama The Normal Heart, which also failed in the acting categories – including losses for stars Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer and Parsons. Ruffalo lost to Cumberbatch, while Roberts succumbed to Kathy Bates for her role in American Horror Story: Coven. Beating out four stars of The Normal Heart, including Parsons and Bomer along with his Fargo co-star Colin Hanks, also-absent Martin Freeman won Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for playing Dr. Watson in Sherlock: His Last Vow. Meanwhile, Jessica Lange bested Cicely Tyson, Helena Bonham Carter and Kristen Wiig for Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for American Horror Story: Coven. Lange admitted she was “profoundly surprised by but very grateful” for the win.

The Colbert Report won Outstanding Variety Series for the second time, trumping 10-time winner The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
 and first-timer The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. As an indication of what kind of relationship the soon-to-be competing late-night talk show hosts will have once Colbert takes over The Late Show, Fallon jumped onstage to intercept the trophy, launching into a bit where Colbert whispered in his ear what to say, including the only bleep of the night.

In addition to the annual In Memoriam montage, there was a touching tribute to actor/comedian Robin Williams, who committed suicide on Aug. 11. Sara Bareilles sang “Smile” before Williams’ longtime friend Billy Crystal gave a heartwarming speech filled with heart-tugging, inspirational and funny anecdotes. “It’s very hard to talk about him in the past because he was so present in all our lives,” Crystal said of Williams, before encouraging people to look up at the stars and think, “Robin Williams, what a concept.” It was more of an uplifting remembrance than a sad one, probably just how Williams would have wanted it.

Categories
Music

Can’t wait to crank these up!!

Prince Amps Up Funk and Soul on Two New Albums This Fall

It’s been five years since Prince put out a new record in the United States, since he limited the release of his 20Ten LP, but that will change this fall. On September 30th, the artist will release two new records: Plectrumelectrum, his long-teased album with the group 3rdEyeGirl, and his recently announced solo LP, Art Official Age. He will reportedly hold a series of special events and live dates around the world, details for which are forthcoming, to celebrate the albums’ release. Both records are available separately as pre-orders, via the website ArtOfficialAge.com, and include “instant gratification” download.

Art Official Age is being billed as “classic Prince,” since it was produced, arranged, composed and performed by the musician (alongside singer-songwriter Joshua Welton). The record reportedly contains a mix of soul, R&B and funk. The pre-order includes the songs “Breakdown” and “Clouds,” as well as three digital singles. The funky, jazzy latter track is now streaming at Complex.

Prince has already released the video for album track “Breakfast Can Wait” and he played “Funknroll” during his appearance on Arsenio earlier this year, though the version on Art Official Age is “funkier and nastier,” according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune writer who got an early listen. The reporter also claimed that “This Could Be Us” was a ballad inspired by Prince’s Purple Rain costar Apollonia Kotero and that “The Gold Standard” had lyrics “wild and rude.” The writer also said the album contained an “aggressive and menacing” rap song featuring Rita Ora.

Plectrumelectrum, a “classic band album” that is said to be an “electrifying funk-rock statement,” features the singer leading the all-female group ThirdEyeGirl. The ensemble test-drove a number of the record’s songs on their recent Hit and Run tours. “No one can play like this band,” Prince told Rolling Stone about the record. “People are going to try, but they won’t be able to.”

He also previewed the record at a late-night listening session in New York City, which revealed the hard-rock guitar number (and pre-order instant-gratification track) “Pretzelbodylogic,” as well as the original version of “Funknroll.” Notably absent from the record is Prince’s duet with Zooey Deschanel, “Fallinlove2night,” which got its debut on The New Girl in March.

The records mark Prince’s return to Warner Bros., the label he split from acrimoniously in the Nineties after wearing the word “slave” on his face as a protest to his record contract. “When you stop a man from dreaming, he becomes a slave,” he told Rolling Stone in 1996. “That’s where I was. I don’t own Prince’s music. If you don’t own your masters, your master owns you.” Earlier this year, Prince worked out a deal with the label where he now owns the masters to his recordings. The label previously announced a plan to put out a deluxe, digitally remastered, 30th anniversary release of the Purple Rain soundtrack, though it has yet to announce a release date.

“Prince is one of just a handful of visionary artists who have truly reshaped and redefined modern music and culture,” Warner Bros. Chairman & CEO Cameron Strang said in a statement about the two new records. “For the past 35 years, he has never stopped evolving, challenging himself, reinventing his sound and pushing boundaries. In true Prince fashion, he has just given us not one, but two extraordinary albums that express the incredible range and depth of his talent. All of us at WBR are immensely proud to be working with Prince to bring this brilliant new music to his legions of fans around the world, and needless to say we are thrilled to be working in partnership with him again.”

Art Official Age track list:

1. “Art Official Cage”
2. “Clouds”
3. “Breakdown”
4. “The Gold Standard”
5. “U Know”
6. “Breakfast Can Wait”
7. “This Could Be Us”
8. “What It Feels Like”
9. “Affirmation I & II”
10. “Way Back Home”
11. “Funknroll”
12. “Time”
13. “Affirmation III”

Plectrumelectrum track list:

1. “Wow”
2. “Pretzelbodylogic”
3. “Aintturninround”
4. “Plectrumelectrum”
5. “Whitecaps”
6. “Fixurlifeup”
7. “Boytrouble”
8. “Stopthistrain”
9. “Anotherlove”
10. “Tictactoe”
11. “Marz”
12. “Funknroll”

Categories
CBC

Promoting the Mother Corp!!

CBC-TV reveals fall 2014 primetime lineup

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s hit spy thriller The Honourable Woman, gritty western drama Strange Empire and sci-fi event series Ascension help kick off CBC Television’s fall 2014 primetime lineup.

The public broadcaster unveiled its seasonal schedule Monday outlining when Canadians can expect to see five new shows and eleven returning CBC fan favourites.

The season starts off with new episodes of CBC’s flagship daytime lifestyle series Steven and Chris weekdays at 2 p.m. (2:30 NT) starting Sept. 22.

The mood gets dark when the sun goes down on Mondays. Armchair sleuths can get their Murdoch Mystery fix when the show returns to its 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) time slot. The edgy frontier drama Strange Empire follows, but in this western all the men have disappeared and the women are in charge.

Comedy fans can count on one hour of laughs on Tuesdays with CBC favourites The Rick Mercer Report and This Hour Has 22 Minutes returning with new episodes starting Oct. 7.

Maggie Gyllenhaall will bring her critically-acclaimed project The Honourable Woman at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT). The series makes its premiere on Monday Sept. 29 before settling into its Tuesday time slot.

The 1960s sci-fi drama Ascension, starring Battlestar Galactica actress Canadian Tricia Helfer ​and Cougar Town’s Brian Van Holt joins CBC primetime Tuesdays starting Nov. 25.

Allan Hawco launches the final season of Republic of Doyle on Wednesdays starting Oct. 15. Then, it’s deal time in the Dragon’s Den featuring two new dragons: Vikram Vij and Michael Wekerle who are replacing Kevin O’Leary and Bruce Croxon.

Other shows returning this fall to CBC primetime: Doc Zone, the fifth estate, Heartland, Marketplace, and The Nature of Things.

The search for the nation’s brightest kicks off on Sept. 28 with Canada’s Smartest Person. Hosts Jessi Cruickshank and Jeff Douglas return each Sunday at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) for one-hour of high-impact competition that promises to raise the bar for TV quiz shows.

CBC Selects follows with the premiere of Australian legal drama Janet King beginning Oct. 5.

Visit FALLforCBC.ca for exclusive behind-the-scenes videos of CBC’s fall prime-time series.​

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

Spider-Man is soooo awful!!

The Couch Potato Report – August 23rd, 2014

Alice Munro is an Ontario born author who – in 2013 – became the first Canadian to win the Nobel Prize for literature.

Various adaptations of her stories have been filmed over the years, including Sarah Polley’s Academy Award nominated/Genie Award winning AWAY FROM HER in 2006, which was based on Munro’s “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” from her 2001 collection “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage”.

Novelist Mark Poirier recently mined Alice Munro’s “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage” as well to write the screenplay for a movie simply called HATESHIP LOVESHIP, co-starring Kristen Wiig of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and BRIDESMAIDS in a dramatic role.

Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld, of the Coen Brothers’ remake of TRUE GRIT, co-stars as a teenage girl who – with a friend – writes a love letter to Wiig’s lonely housekeeper. The letter is from the girl’s father, and isn’t the only one the teenagers send. There are so many, in fact, that the housekeeper quits her job and moves to Chicago to be with him, only to find out she was misled and is now stuck with nowhere to go.

Guy Pierce from MEMENTO and THE KING’S SPEECH is a recovering addict who is living in a hotel he’s hoping to fix up and run. And he is great in the role. Kristin Wiig is very good in HATESHIP LOVESHIP as well.

This is a mature, smart, well-written film that takes it’s time getting where it’s going, and I had no problem waiting, even when it got predictable. I enjoyed HATESHIP LOVESHIP and can easily recommend it.

I don’t, on the other hand, I do not recommend the Summer Blockbuster THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. This thing is as far away from amazing as a superhero movie can be.

The worst Spidey movie ever made is still Sam Raimi’s 2007 mess SPIDER-MAN 3, back when Tobey Maguire was still playing the web-slinger, and if I have anything positive to say about THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 it is that this film isn’t as bad as that one.

But it comes close at times.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 has too many storylines and villains, is slow and very boring in the middle, tries to be too cute too often, and Andrew Garfield has never been good as Spider-man…and he is especially not good here.

I love superhero movies but THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 just isn’t amazing in any way, so unless you are a hardcore fan too, because I know you have to see it, but everyone else should just skip it.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE has been the best show on television about underworld characters since THE SOPRANOS went off the air in 2007, but after watching THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON this week, I glad that it’s going off the air after one more season. I’d rather have a show end while it is still good, instead of losing interest in a once great show.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE stars Steve Buscemi from FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI as Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who started off as part politician, part gangster…but he is mostly gangster now.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE is a great show, that is exceptionally well made, written and full of engaging characters and performances, but what works against it is the fact that it is the type of show you never need to see it again…once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it.

Plus, during THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON there are several characters that are no longer necessary, they could be written out or killed off and they wouldn’t be missed.

But, even though I’ll never watch any episode of the show a second time, I always enjoy the first viewing. I like this show, I respect this show, and I can easily recommend THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of BOARDWALK EMPIRE.

I haven’t highly recommended anything yet this week. Well, that changes now with TOY STORY OF TERROR!

This is the 22 minute TOY STORY program that airs at Halloween on television, featuring all of our favourite toys, trapped in their very own scary movie. In classic horror movie form, they disappear one by one and it’s up to Jesse to overcome her fears and save the day.

The Halloween show would be great as is, but this superb Blu-ray release also features the Toy Story Toons – Small Fry, Partysaurus Rex and Hawaiian Vacation.

TOY STORY OF TERROR is a great release that is jam packed with quite a few extras. It is fun for the whole family and I highly recommend it!

Unfortunately, I can only mildly recommend the nature documentary BEARS…and I love nature documentaries!!

Filmed in Alaska, the footage of the bears is spectacular as the film showcases a year in the life of a bear family, mother Sky and cubs Amber and Scout.

What does not work in BEARS is the narration. Done by the great comedic actor John C. Reilly of TALLADEGA NIGHTS and WRECK-IT-RALPH it is meant to be playful and fun, but it didn’t work for me. I don’t want playful and fun with my nature documentaries…I want facts and great footage.

So they got it half right, and as such I’ll mildly recommend it.

For me, the best part about the 1999 animated Walt Disney film TARZAN is the Academy Award winning songs and music of Phil Collins, which all sounds great on the new blu-ray.

Based on the story “Tarzan of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this version is the only one that’s been animated, thus opening up the story to allow the title character – a man raised by gorillas – to do some amazing things.

Sadly, the filmmakers don’t create enough sights to capitalize on those amazing possibilities.

This TARZAN features the voices of Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Rosie O’Donnell, and Wayne Knight and the age old story of the difficult decision of where he really belongs once Tarzan discovers he is a human.

TARZAN is a very good, but never great animated film the whole family can enjoy together. But the kids may get bored before the full story has played out.

Finally this week is a movie where nothing really happens for two hours, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE.

Jim Jarmusch is the independant, mostly non-commercial filmmaker who has given us many unique films that only cinephiles will have heard of…like DOWN BY LAW, DEAD MAN, GHOST DOG, BROKEN FLOWERS and THE LIMITS OF CONTROL.

Here we have the story about a depressed musician who reunites with his lover. Their love has already endured several centuries, because they’re vampires. He lives in Detroit, and he convinces her to come visit.

Tom Hiddleston, Loki from THE AVENGERS and THOR and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton from MICHAEL CLAYTON star as the two leads in ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE and they are great, just talking and thinking aloud…as I said, nothing really happens here, but I still really enjoyed it.

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE is artsy and slow and hypnotic. Cinephiles shouldn’t miss it, and I also recommend regular film viewers search it out as well, should you be looking for something a little different

Jim Jarmusch’s slow but entertaining drama ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE; Disney’s very good 1999 animated version of TARZAN; the just okay documentary BEARS; the great TOY STORY OF TERROR – which also features the short films made featuring the gang; the very good, but slipping, COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of BOARDWALK EMPIRE; the never amazing, quite awful sequel THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2; and mature, smart, well-written drama HATESHIP LOVESHIP, co-starring Kristn Wiig and based on a short story by the Nobel Prize winning Canadian author Alice Munro 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!

Categories
People

Sad news. May he rest in peace.

Richard Attenborough dead at 90

Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90.

The actor’s son, Michael Attenborough told the British Broadcasting System that his father died Sunday.

Among his most famous works were the 1982 Indian epic Gandhi, which went on to win eight Oscars including best director and best film, and the science fiction adventure Jurassic Park. But those achievements were just two of many highlights in his distinguished career.

Attenborough was one of the most familiar faces on the British arts scene, appearing in a many major Hollywood films and also directing a series of movies. He was also known for his extensive work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations children’s fund, and other humanitarian causes

British Prime Minister David Cameron issued a statement calling Attenborough “one of the greats of cinema.”

“His acting in Brighton Rock was brilliant, his directing of Gandhi was stunning,” Cameron said.

Attenborough won an Academy Award for best director with Gandhi in 1982, only one of many highlights of a distinguished career as actor and director.

With his abundant snow-white hair and beard, Attenborough was one of the most familiar faces on the British arts scene — universally known as “Dickie.”

As a director, Attenborough made several successful movies, from Oh What a Lovely War in 1969 to Chaplin and Shadowlands in the 1990s. But his greatest success was Gandhi, a film that was 20 years in the planning and won eight Oscars, including best picture.

The generation that was introduced to Attenborough as an avuncular veteran actor in the 1990s — when he played the failed theme park developer in Jurassic Park and Kriss Kringle in a remake of Miracle on 34th Street — may not have appreciated his dramatic range.

A small, energetic man with a round face that remained boyish even in old age, he was perfectly cast at the start of his career as the young sailor or airman of British movies during and after the Second World War.

In his 1942 film debut as a terrified warship’s crewman in In Which We Serve, a 19-year-old Attenborough made a small part into one of the most memorable roles in the movie, which won the Best Picture Oscar.

In 1947, Attenborough gave one of the best performances of his career as the menacing teenage thug Pinkie in Brighton Rock, the film version of Graham Greene’s novel.

In his 1942 film debut as a terrified warship’s crewman in “In Which We Serve,” a 19-year-old Attenborough made a small part into one of the most memorable roles in the movie, which won the Best Picture Oscar.

In 1947, Attenborough gave one of the best performances of his career as the teenage thug Pinkie in “Brighton Rock,” the film version of Graham Greene’s novel. Attenborough’s baby face and air of menace combined to make it one of his most memorable roles.

His youthful appearance nearly cost him the lead role in the original cast of The Mousetrap, because its author, Agatha Christie, didn’t think he looked like a police detective. But he starred with his wife, actress Sheila Sim, when the hit play opened in November 1952 and stayed for 700 performances.

In 1959, Attenborough joined fellow actor Bryan Forbes in film production. The Angry Silence in 1960 was their successful debut, with Attenborough playing a strike-breaking factory worker. It was one of the first of the gritty, working-class films that heralded Britain’s “new realism” of the 1960s.

Together, Forbes and Attenborough produced Whistle Down the Wind in 1961 and The L-Shaped Room in 1962. Their last film, 1964’s Seance on a Wet Afternoon, won Attenborough Best Actor awards from the London Film Critics and British Film Academy.

In the meantime, he had appeared as a prisoner of war in 1963’s The Great Escape — known for its classic ensemble cast, including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Charles Bronson — and starred in Guns at Batasi, for which he won another British Film Academy award. In 1967, he won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in The Sand Pebbles.

In 1969, Attenborough turned to directing with Oh What a Lovely War, a lampoon of the First World War, which won a Golden Globe award as best English-language foreign film. Three years later, he made Young Winston, the story of Winston Churchill’s early life.

By the mid-1970s, Attenborough had become a director who only occasionally acted. It was said that he took acting jobs to help finance the movies he wanted to direct.

But his return to directing in the 1977 war movie A Bridge Too Far was an expensive disaster, despite its cast of international stars. The following year, the heavy-handed 1978 thriller Magic was a failure despite the talents of Anthony Hopkins.

A Chorus Line, Attenborough’s 1985 film of the long-running stage musical, also took a critical beating. And, more recently, 1996’s In Love and War, failed to win much critical support.

Attenborough was often thought to be at his best when trying to coax the finest work from actors. Gandhi made a star of its little-known leading man Ben Kingsley, and Denzel Washington won an Oscar nomination for 1987’s Cry Freedom.

Debra Winger was nominated for an Oscar and Anthony Hopkins gave one of his best performances in Shadowlands, a small, subtle film that won Attenborough perhaps his greatest critical praise.

Attenborough, son of a university principal, was born Aug. 29, 1923, into a family with strong liberal views and a tradition of volunteer work for humanitarian concerns.

One of his younger brothers is naturalist David Attenborough, whose nature documentaries have reached audiences around the world.

Richard Attenborough was a tireless defender of the British film industry. His artistic and humanitarian efforts were rewarded with several international prizes, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize in 1983.

He was knighted in 1976, and 17 years later received a life peerage, becoming Baron Attenborough of Richmond upon Thames.

His later years were marked by a horrendous personal tragedy when he lost his daughter Jane and granddaughter in the tsunami that hit Thailand the day after Christmas in 2004. The heart-broken Attenborough said he was never able to celebrate the Christmas holidays after that.

He had been in frail health since a fall at his house in 2008, and spent his last years in a nursing home with his wife.

He is survived by his wife, Sheila Sim, their son and a daughter.