The Couch Potato Report – September 6th, 2014
Canadian producer and director Ivan Reitman is responsible for some of the most successful and quoted films ever made. He has literally provided the world millions of laughs through his involvement with ANIMAL HOUSE, MEATBALLS, STRIPES, GHOSTBUSTERS, TWINS, KINDERGARTEN COP and TRAILER PARK BOYS: THE MOVIE.
Reitman has also entertained us since the 1970s with some great dramatic films as well. His filmography includes LEGAL EAGLES, DAVE, UP IN THE AIR, NO STRINGS ATTACHED and now DRAFT DAY, starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner.
Costner stars here as the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns who trades for the Number One pick at the NFL Draft on Draft Day.
That pick could help his team win now, and win for the foreseeable future, and everyone around him has a different idea about what he should do with it.
His head coach isn’t happy either.
Add to all the drama on the football field, Costner’s character is also trying to deal with family issues, which include that fact that his semi-secret girlfriend – played by Garner, who also works for the team – is pregnant.
Now, if you’re looking for a documentary about the NFL Draft and the machinations that go on behind the scenes, and a look at how decisions are made by General Managers and agents and players, DRAFT DAY is absolutely not it. But it is a very good drama about events that take place on Draft Day with some likeable movie characters, played by some pretty good actors.
I really liked it and can easily recommend it. It is another entertaining release from the great Canadian filmmaker Ivan Reitman.
I have a challenging romantic comedy to tell you about now, thats also a bit dramatic. THE ONE I LOVE starts with a late-twenties couple in a marriage that’s falling apart and the movie ends…well, interpreting how the movie ends is part of the fun.
Character actor Mark Duplass of YOUR SISTER’S SISTER and ZERO DARK THIRTY and Elisabeth Moss of MAD MEN are the couple and Ted Danson from CHEERS is the marriage counsellor who sends them away on a weekend together that he promises will change everything.
There is a twist that happens near the start of THE ONE I LOVE that changes the story, but will also make you constantly wonder what is going on.
The twist kept me hooked, these great characters actors and the story kept me watching. I was so curious to see how it ended.
THE ONE I LOVE isn’t perfect, the film does play for another hour after the twist is revealed and that is a long time, plus there is also a lot of anger in the movie as the couple fights, but I still really enjoyed it. This is a great movie to watch with someone else so you can talk about what you think happens at the end.
I gotta be honest with you…I didn’t really care for this next movie, but I love the cast and the premise, so I watched it all the way through, but I won’t recommend the cliched, boring and predictable drama LUCKY THEM to you.
Toni Collette from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE is a rock music journalist in Seattle who works for a magazine in need of a great story to save it.
That story involves her ex-boyfriend, a local rock legend, who left one night before a show and then is reported to have killed himself…although many people don’t think he is actually dead.
And that’s the story. She is tasked with either proving he’s dead, and finding him alive.
Thomas Haden Church from SIDEWAYS and WINGS is the friend that she brings with her for the ride. He is another ex-boyfriend who can bankroll her story, after she loses the money the magazine gave her.
I like the entire cast of LUCKY THEM, and thought the story was strong enough to carry the movie, but the minute the writer walked into her messy apartment, full of records, and put a record on…showing us that she is a super hip person who lives in the past and never updated to MP3s…as soon as I saw that it was obvious the film would be cliched and predictable. The fact that it is also boring works against it too.
Bottom line, to the people who have never seen this movie I say lucky them.
I also say that they – and everyone – should skip the movie LUCKY THEM
It is Guilty Pleasure Time!!
But first, let’s re-cap: At the end of my review of SEASON ONE of the television show REVENGE I stated how excited I was for the second season of the show. At the end of my review for SEASON TWO I admitted that I was so disappointed that I didn’t even care if there was a third season.
And now, after watching THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of REVENGE, I say bring on Season Four!
The very beautiful Canadian born actress Emily VanCamp stars in REVENGE and she plays a young woman who becomes a part of a close-knit community populated by people who have no idea that she is only there to exact revenge on those who destroyed her family.
The problem with SEASON TWO was the fact that the plotting and scheming went away for most of it, and instead people seemed to actually get along and their problems weren’t interesting at all.
Happily, the show returned to guilty pleasure form in SEASON THREE as Emily Thorne returns to the Hamptons with a vengeance. She once again will stop at nothing to uncover the secrets of her father’s murder, and I love it!!
More than ever I now want to see if Emily will get her revenge, and I am so pleased that THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of REVENGE went back to it’s roots.
This is the textbook definition of Guilty Pleasure, and I love it!!
Finally this week is the SECOND SEASON one of the smartest, funniest, and most entertaining shows on television, THE MINDY PROJECT, created by and starring Mindy Kaling from THE OFFICE.
Mindy is young-ish, and hip-ish, and fresh-ish, and her self confidence – and lack thereof – as she bumbles and stumbles her way through life as a doctor in New York City is the basis of the show.
We share Mindy’s life and loves and the life and loves of the quirky co-workers she has in her practice.
SEASON TWO of THE MINDY PROJECT gave us a will-they-or-won’t-they storyline regarding a co-worker in her office and that didn’t work for me, but everything else about the show does.
If you aren’t watching THE MINDY PROJECT, I recommend that you should, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do…and I really, really do!
SEASON TWO of the fun, funny and laugh out loud series THE MINDY PROJECT; THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of the great guilty pleasure drama REVENGE, starring Canadian actress Emily VanCamp; the well meaning and well cast, but cliched and boring drama LUCKY THEM; and the very good drama DRAFT DAY, from the great Canadian filmmaker Ivan Reitman are available now, either on disc or on demand.
The very interesting romantic comedy drama THE ONE I LOVE, co-starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss from MAD MEN is available now 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!