The Couch Potato Report - June 29th, 2004
This week in The Couch Potato Report, a movie about a mountain that will leave you cold, another barbershop and 17 more episodes of a southern park.
A lot of fuss was made in back in January when the movie COLD MOUNTAIN didn’t receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It did receive 7 nominations, but it wasn’t nominated for Best Picture.
The fuss wasn’t due to the fact that people thought an incredible picture was snubbed, instead it was due to the fact that Miramax, the studio who released it, hadn’t been able to get COLD MOUNTAIN nominated.
Going into this year’s Oscar race Miramax had an 11-year streak of fielding at least one best-picture candidate.
In the 1990s Miramax pioneered the modern marketing blitz that has become the norm for studios seeking awards attention on their films.
Miramax's campaign machine has helped produce such best-picture winners as THE ENGLISH PATIENT, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and CHICAGO, along with other Oscar successes that include GOOD WILL HUNTING, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and THE CIDER HOUSE RULES.
This time, Miramax was unable to sway voters in favor of its Civil War film, a movie directed by Anthony Minghella, the filmmaker – and Oscar winner – behind THE ENGLISH PATIENT.
My feeling is that this time Academy voters decided to actually watch the movie in question and not just go with the hype provided by the Miramax machine.
And when they watched COLD MOUNTAIN, what they saw was a movie that is certainly not one of the Best Pictures of last year.
Not by any stretch of the imagination!
Seemingly, COLD MOUNTAIN does offer everything you'd want from a dramatic romantic movie with big name stars. Well, everything except a resonant emotional core.
Every single thing that happens in this wannabe epic depends on whether you believe the instant love that ignites during a very, very brief encounter between Nicole Kidman, a city-bred preacher's daughter and a Confederate soldier played by the Oscar nominated Jude Law.
Admittedly, Nicole looks amazing, but there is ZERO chemistry between her and Law.
That makes the fact that Law deserts the battlefield to return, weary and wounded, to Kidman on a farm in the rural town of Cold Mountain, North Carolina utterly uninteresting.
If you can’t see the two of them together, how can you care if they end up together!??!
I didn’t care. I wasn't entertained and, truth be told, I even started to lose interest in staring at Nicole Kidman. At one point I found myself wondering how her teeth stayed so white, even though she was in dirt all the time and that she wouldn't have had time for tooth paste. Did they even have tooth paste during the time when the film was taking place?
Like I said, my mind was wondering. Except when Rene Zellweger appeared on screen to help Kidman run her farm.
Zellweger won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work and she deserved it.
Without her support COLD MOUNTAIN might have been unwatchable.
With a running time of two hours and thirty-two minutes, I was glad for every single Zellweger moment!
COLD MOUNTAIN was obviously supposed to be an example of grand, old-fashioned filmmaking, boosted by star power of the highest order.
Instead, it is a boring movie that offers no chemistry between the two lead actors.
I hate to be harsh, but COLD MOUNTAIN left me bored, and well, cold.
On the other hand, BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS warmed me up and made me laugh.
And I like to laugh.
BARBERSHOP 2 is a great sequel that delivers fresh laughs.
Yes, the plot is just about the same as the first movie - a group of likable characters at a Chicago Barbershop rise above adversity to keep their way of life - but the movie still entertains and the cast is even better since we have a few new characters, including Queen Latifah from CHICAGO and BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE. She plays Gina, the owner of a beauty shop.
For the record, Queen Latifah is currently shooting the spin off film BEAUTY SHOP.
Ice Cube, Cedric The Entertainer and Eve all return from the original and I recommend BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS if you enjoy a good laugh.
I will also sit here and recommend SOUTH PARK – THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON, a new 3-disc box set with all 17 episodes from the fourth season of the still funny TV show South Park.
While the episodes might seem less hilarious when compared to the originality of the three previous seasons, or the incredible Oscar nominated feature film that came before them, the fourth season is still very funny.
Especially during the episodes that feature a new character. A character that most fans of the series came to love: the wheelchair bound Timmy who is only capable of saying his name.
Two of the best episodes from this season are the one that sees Eric, Stan, Kyle and Kenny form their own boy band; and the episode where the truth about Mr. Garrison is finally revealed once and for all.
Should you not be a fan of SOUTH PARK, this box set and my comments won’t change your mind.
But, if you do love the show, the fourth season is a box set you’ll need to own.
As a bonus, series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker offer up mini-commentaries on all of the episodes. Their opinions and recollections are worth the price of the set on its own.
COLD MOUNTAIN, BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS and SOUTH PARK – THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON are all available now at a video store near you.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
Since the past few months have been busy for us all, I suspect that you just don’t have as much time as you’d like to have to spend watching movies.
Well, I have time and I watch movies every week!
So next week, just in case you’ve finally found some time to catch up on some of the releases you might have missed, I’m going to look back on some of the more worthy releases of the past six months.
That includes: SPELLBOUND, SWIMMING POOL, LOST IN TRANSLATION, FREAKS & GEEKS, THE OFFICE – THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and SCTV.
It’s a look back at the six months that were (I’ll have more on those, and some
other releases), in seven days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
New Tunes
Not much coming out today, except for the releases from two of the best Canadian bands of all time!!!
Enjoy.
Here are the new music releases for Tuesday, June 29, 2004:
FROM FIRST TO LAST Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has A Body Count (Epitaph)
LATEEF & THE CHIEF ARE MAROONS Ambush EP (Quannum)
RUSH Feedback (Universal)
THE TRAGICALLY HIP In Between Evolution (Universal)
TIGER ARMY Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Return (Hellcat)
Jack Black Warns That Peter Jackson's King Kong Is A Scary Flesh-Eater
CULVER CITY, California — When it was announced that Jack Black would be starring in the new remake of "King Kong," a lot of people wondered: He's not going all serious-actor guy, is he?
"There are some funny things about my character but, yeah, it is a different thing for me," Black revealed backstage at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. "But I'm not approaching it differently. I'm approaching it with the same balls-to-the-wall attitude."
And there'll be a similar attitude throughout Peter Jackson's "Kong" remake, which Black promised will feature a much fiercer giant gorilla than some of the kinder, gentler versions.
"I just read the script for the first time. It's so rad. And it's top secret. I can't tell you much, but I can tell you this," he teased. "King Kong is going to be scary as hell, dude. He's not gonna be sweet and cuddly. It's not gonna be the cute kind [of movie]. He's a f---ing carnivore, as in, eats flesh!"
The movie will be shot in New Zealand with Jackson's team re-creating parts of 1930s New York. Black will be joined in the movie by Naomi Watts ("The Ring") and Andy Serkis, who will provide motion-capture work for the computer-generated Kong, a role similar to what he did for Jackson when he played Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings." Serkis will also play a smaller part in the movie, sans effects.
Serkis isn't the only "Rings" alum looking to re-team with Jackson, who achieved cult status with the horror flicks "Bad Taste" and "Dead Alive" before getting art-house credibility with Kate Winslet's "Heavenly Creatures" and his Hollywood break with 1996's "The Frighteners." Late last year, while promoting "The Return of the King," everyone from Elijah Wood to Ian McKellen publicly expressed interest in being involved (see " 'Rings' Cast Scrambling For Parts In Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' ").
"I don't blame them. You know, all my friends are telling me the same thing, too: 'Get me in "King Kong," man, you're tight with Jackson!,' " Black said, laughing. "And I'm not really that tight with Jackson. And I'm not going to be telling him, you know, 'Cast my neighbor, he really wants to be in your movie!' "
Black first encountered Jackson as something of a fanboy himself.
"It was weird because I kind of look like him now, with the beard and the 'baby,' " he said, patting his stomach. "We are kind of the same guy. But it was good to meet him. I was nervous. I'm a huge fan of his and I really wanted to be in 'King Kong.' I hadn't even read it yet, you know? I just met him and said, 'Uh, yeah, I heard you're doing 'King Kong.' So, uh, what do you think, man?' And he was like, 'I'm thinking about you for the role.' And I was like, 'Oh, all right!' "
Black is such a fan that he's likening one of his other projects — the long-discussed movie about his band Tenacious D, which is written and now has an April 1, 2005, start date — to the New Zealand filmmaker's famous trilogy. "It's like the 'Lord of the Rings' of rock. I swear to God it's going to be the best movie ever made. And there are lots of special effects, car chases and stuff — for real."
"I want — I need — Meat Loaf to play my dad," he added, without a hint of irony. "I want Rob Zombie to play the wizard. And I want Ronnie James Dio to play himself. I have my dream list. If I could get those people, I'd be squared."
He mentioned to Peter Jackson that he's aiming to surpass, or at least equal, "The Lord of the Rings" with the Tenacious D flick. "He's all right with it. He's closed that chapter in his life, you know? So there's room for more epic quests."
And perhaps there'll be room on Black's shelf for another MTV Movie Award.
"It's always good to win. I'm very competitive, so when I lose, it burns in my skull," he said about his taking home the golden popcorn for Best Comedic Performance in another guitar-driven movie, "The School of Rock." "I'd like to say to the other people that were in my category: I thank you all for being not quite as funny as me this time."
"King Kong" is scheduled to begin filming in August, with a December 2005 release date. Black's voice will be heard before that in the animated "Shark Tale," alongside Will Smith and Angelina Jolie ("I call her Angie," Black noted), which opens October 1.
Moore Backtracks on 'Fahrenheit 9/11' DVD Release
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) -- When it looked like his film wasn't going to get a distributor until he won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, Michael Moore said he would get "Fahrenheit 9/11" out on DVD and video by November in order to get his message out and influence the presidential election.
Even after signing a deal with Lions Gate and IFC Films to distribute the movie before Independence Day, Moore says he wanted to get "Fahrenheit 9/11" out to audiences at home who won't go see a documentary in the theater.
But now, Moore tells Zap2it.com, "There are no plans yet for a DVD before the election, it's pretty much out of my hands."
It's tough to imagine anything is out of Moore's hands after overwhelming box office numbers this past weekend, becoming the most successful money-making documentary in history, landing $21.8 million in one weekend. However, Moore's movie is mixed up in a complex web of a newly-formed company -- Fellowship Adventure Group -- by Miramax co-chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein who joined forces with Lions Gate Films and IFC Films.
Through a deal with Lions Gate, Showtime has the pay-TV rights and the DVD/video plans are still in the works, although there is some speculation that it could end up at Universal Home Video.
Lions Gate publicist Sarah Greenberg says, "We can't comment yet on the DVD."
Meanwhile, Moore is riding high on the theatrical release.
"If it's playing this well, I'd rather people see it on the movie screen with hundreds of their fellow Americans applauding a blank screen," he says.
Wanna Be In TLC?
TLC's surviving members (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas) are reportedly in talks with production company Fox Television Studios for a reality show/contest to find a vocalist to replace the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. Representatives for TLC and Fox had no comment.
Watkins and Thomas had previously insisted that TLC would not continue making music under that name in the wake of Lopes' 2002 death in a car accident.
Harry's "Goblet" Gets Going
The Hogwarts Express is heading out again.
Principal photography on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth feature based on J.K. Rowling's magical mystery series, is now underway, Warner Bros. announced Monday.
Goblet of Fire is being shot at England's Leavesden Studios and is being helmed by Mike Newell, whose credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and the recent Mona Lisa Smile. The film is being produced by David Heyman and features a script by Steve Kloves, who masterfully adapted all three previous installments.
Potter's troika of young stars, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) are once again on board. This time the action takes place during their fourth year at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, a term in which the lightning-scarred boy magician will encounter his greatest challenge yet--taking part in the life-threatening inter-school Triwizard Competition.
As usual, the movie will feature a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, this one named Mad-Eye Moody, who will be played by Brendan Gleeson (Troy, Cold Mountain).
Other new additions to the cast include Robert Pattinson as Harry's heroic rival, Cedric Diggory, Stanislav Ianevski as Quidditch star Viktor Krum, Clemence Poesy as Fleur Delacour, Katie Leung as Harry's new crush, Cho Chang, and Francese De La Tour as Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
Returning to their respective parts are Tom Felton, the young actor who plays Harry's nemesis, Draco Malfoy, along with Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore), Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), Alan Rickman (Professor Snape), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy).
One major role yet to be cast, however, is Voldemort--the wizarding world's ultimate practitioner of the dark arts and Harry's archenemy, who finally reveals himself in Goblet of Fire (not including the fleshy bloated face that pops out the back of Professor Quirrell's head in The Sorcerer's Stone).
According to London's Daily Mirror, producers are in talks with Ralph Fiennes to play You Know Who once the actor wraps The Constant Gardener opposite Rachel Weisz currently shooting in Kenya.
Fiennes is a fine choice to play the villainous Voldemort, having earned an Oscar nomination for his work as a Nazi thug in Schindler's List and playing the serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy in 2002's Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon.
There's a hitch, however. Reportedly Fiennes isn't sure he wants to commit to at least three additional Potter installments, which will likely feature Voldemort.
But if all goes accordingly, Fiennes could be on the Leavesden set by the end of the year
Meanwhile, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban--the Alfonso Cuarón-directed third film in the franchise, which received overwhelming praise from critics as the best of the three--has so far grossed more than $211 million domestically in four weeks of release. The film is projected to fall short of the $261 million and $303 million in ticket sales respectively generated by its predecessors, 2002's Chamber of Secrets and 2001's Sorcerer's Stone.
Goblet of Fire is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2005.
Box Office Tally Climbs for 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Box-office fever for Michael Moore's searing anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" climbed a bit higher on Monday as distributors touted record-breaking ticket sales about $2 million more than first reported.
According to a final tally of weekend receipts, Moore's critique of President Bush and his policies since the September 11, 2001 attacks on America grossed $23.9 million during its first three days of release across the United States and Canada.
That made it No. 1 at the box office and surpassed the $21.5 million generated by Moore's previous film, the Oscar-winning "Bowling for Columbine," as the highest-grossing documentary ever.
All told, the movie's total stood at just over $24 million counting the head-start it received on Wednesday in two Manhattan theaters, generating extra media buzz before expanding to a relatively modest 868 theaters two days later.
Previous tallies reported Sunday had Moore's film grossing $21.8 million since Friday.
By contrast, most of the other movies in the top five were showing in more than 2,500 theaters each, giving "Fahrenheit 9/11" a much higher per-theater average -- above $27,000 -- than any of its competition and demonstrating that it was playing to packed houses.
The comedy "White Chicks" opened at No. 2 with $19.6 million in Friday-through-Sunday ticket sales, the same as reported over the weekend.
Distributors Lions Gate Films and IFC Films have said release of the film, already unprecedented for a political documentary, would be expanded further in the weeks ahead.
Tom Ortenberg, Lions Gate distribution president, said the film played strongly in big cities and small towns, alike, and in Democratic as well as Republican states.
Next week, the film faces far stiffer competition from the highly anticipated opening of "Spider-Man 2."
Moore's film suggests that Bush's response to the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were clouded by his relatives' close ties to the Saudi Arabian elite, including Osama bin Laden's family. It further claims that the Bush administration stoked public fears about terrorism to support a needless and costly invasion of Iraq.
Moore and backers of the film have said they hope it can influence the outcome of the November presidential race. Republican supporters dismiss the movie as a blatant piece of political propaganda.