The Couch Potato Report - September 20th
This week The Couch Potato Report is still only doing a summary.
BUT, this is the last week for that! Starting next week the full Couch Potato Report will return!!!
For now though, here are the summaries:
For the MALLRATS 10th ANNIVERSARY EXTENED EDITION Kevin Smith and his staff are striving to give us fans a lot of material with this upgrade, as they did with CLERKS X. Ten years down the road MALLRATS is still a very funny little film. So press play and enjoy it!
THE LONGEST YARD is the 2005 remake of the 1974 film about prison inmates who form a football team to take on the prison;s guards. Adam Sandler stars in this version and so does Burt Reynolds, who was the star of the original. Chris Rock and rapper Nelly also appear.
I must admit that I didn't see THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL, the latest kids film from director Robert Rodriguez, but I respect his work enough to let you know that it is out.
In the film, according to the synopsis, a young boy helps his superhero friends save world. If you have fans of the SPY KIDS films in your home, this is probably a safe bet.
And if you bet that MIND HUNTERS sucks, you are probably going to win that bet too!
This film about a killer who targets FBI agents that are training on a secluded island is so bad it sat on the shelves in the studio's vault for three years before they finally released it.
But, as we've learned from indigestion problems, sometimes you just have to get it out there so you can feel better.
Well, it is out there, ignore it and feel better!
Oh, by the way, Val Kilmer, Christian Slater and LL Cool J are the stars.
MALLRATS 10th ANNIVERSARY EXTENED EDITION, THE LONGEST YARD - both the 1974 and the remake, and MIND HUNTERS are all available now at a store near you.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report is the return of full reviews, including my comments on:
The hilarious, direct to DVD release of FAMILY GUY PRESENTS STEWIE GRIFFIN: THE UNTOLD STORY and the fun animated film ROBOTS, and more!
I'm Dan Reynish, enjoy whatever you choose to watch and I'll meet you back here next week on The Couch!
Bon Jovi rocks; Streisand rolls
From USA Today online.
This week sees the return of both Bon Jovi and Babs. Jon Bon Jovi and company slap a crooked grin on the grim state of mainstream rock, while Streisand partners up with Barry Gibb for a creamy pop confection.
Pop/rock:
Barbra Streisand, Guilty Pleasures (* * * ˝ out of four) Adult-contemporary pop doesn't come smoother or creamier than this collection reuniting the genre's most durable diva with writer/producer/sometime-vocal partner Barry Gibb, her collaborator on 1980's Guilty. Early highlights of the new CD include the lilting duets Come Tomorrow and Above the Law. But stay tuned for Streisand's graceful take on the Bee Gees-composed Andy Gibb hit (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away and the wistful ballad Letting Go, both ideal showcases for her shimmering, shivery warmth. —Elysa Gardner (Related chat: Talk fall music with Ken Barnes, 1 p.m. ET)
Bon Jovi, Have a Nice Day (* * *) Critics who consider Bruce Springsteen the only favorite son of New Jersey tend to discount the rock 'n' roll heart and heft of Bon Jovi, a band with an undeniable gift for hot-wired hooks and choruses. On its ninth studio album, Bon Jovi's anthemic signature emerges in the bile-stabbed title track, the charging Story of My Life and Last Man Standing, a nod to Bob Dylan. Jon Bon Jovi holds his own on the country-flavored duet with Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles, Who Says You Can't Go Home. Though the pulse drags in Welcome to Wherever You Are and elsewhere, Have a Nice Day has a nice way of slapping a crooked grin on the grim state of mainstream rock. —Edna Gundersen
Rap:
David Banner, Certified (* * *) The Mississippi rapper/producer can get crunk with the best of them. But it is his politically charged anthems about poverty in his home state and elsewhere that are his most potent work. Lost Souls deftly describes living on society's bottom rung, while X-ed speaks for those left behind altogether. My Life gives historical perspective to racial and economic equality. At the same time, Banner unleashes a few club bangers, such as the salacious Play and the delirious On Everything. It's a mix that is certified to both educate and entertain. —Steve Jones
R&B:
Charlie Wilson, Charlie, Last Name Wilson (* * *) Most artists sing the praises of their influences. R. Kelly helps them sing for themselves. Former Gap Band lead singer Wilson, like Ronald Isley before him, takes full advantage of Kelly's writing and studio prowess to do some of his best work in years. His soulful handling of everything from romantic ballads to playa anthems reminds you why Uncle Charlie is one of the hip-hop generation's favorite musical relatives. In addition to Kelly, Wilson gets assists from the likes of Twista, Snoop Dogg, the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am and Justin Timberlake. In a nice turnabout, Wilson covers Let's Chill, a '90s Guy classic led by star pupil Aaron Hall. It shows how long Wilson has been giving lessons and how much more he has to teach. —Jones
Country:
Patty Loveless, Dreamin' My Dreams (* * ˝) Loveless comes down from the mountain on her latest, and Albert Lee heralds her return to rootsy country-rock with the slippery guitar lines that open her rendition of Richard Thompson's Keep Your Distance. Few artists have Loveless' ear for material, and Dreamin' is a treasure-trove of great songs. The familiar ones (Steve Earle's oft-covered My Old Friend the Blues; Delaney & Bonnie's Never Ending Song of Love, sung with Dwight Yoakam) grab your attention first, allowing lesser-known songs such as Jim Lauderdale and Leslie Satcher's painfully clear-eyed When Being Who You Are Is Not Enough to sneak up and tear your heart out. —Brian Mansfield
Mellencamp, Miles Among Rock Hall Nominees
Rock veteran John Mellencamp is among the nominees for a new class of inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined by jazz legend Miles Davis, rap pioneers Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and Blondie.
Cat Stevens, who had folk hits in the 1970s before converting to Islam and largely retiring from music, is also nominated, along with pioneering punk rock acts the Patti Smith Group, the Sex Pistols and the Stooges.
Southern rock stalwart Lynyrd Skynyrd, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, 1960s beat group Dave Clark Five, Boston-area blues-rockers J. Geils Band, dance masters Chic and Texans Joe Tex, and the Sir Douglas Quintet are also on the ballot.
Musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote, and results of the 21st annual election will likely be announced in December.
Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock Hall after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.
Apple CEO Nixes iTunes Price Hike
PARIS - Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs said Tuesday he would resist music companies' "greedy" demands for price increases on the iTunes music download site and warned that such a move would encourage piracy.
Jobs, speaking to reporters before the opening of the Apple Expo in Paris, acknowledged that some record companies were pushing him to raise the price of each song download, currently 99 cents on the U.S. iTunes site.
Record companies already make more profit by selling a song through iTunes than on a CD, with all the associated manufacturing and marketing costs, Jobs said.
"So if they want to raise the prices it just means they're getting a little greedy."
The Apple co-founder and CEO indicated he plans to stand firm. "We're trying to compete with piracy, we're trying to pull people away from piracy and say, 'You can buy these songs legally for a fair price,'" he said.
"But if the price goes up a lot, they'll go back to piracy. Then everybody loses."
Apple has sold about 22 million of its iPod digital music players and more than 500 million songs through the iTunes Music Store. The service accounts for 82 percent of all legally downloaded music in the United States.
Oasis dominate Q award nominations
LONDON (Reuters) - British rock band Oasis have returned to the musical spotlight with five nominations for the 2005 Q awards, the organizers said on Tuesday.
The Manchester band won their first Q award in 1994, taking the Best New Act title before being named the Best Act In The World Today just two years later.
Oasis were nominated for five awards including Best Track and Best Album for their latest release "Don't Believe The Truth," which Q magazine described as "their most focused, reflective and relaxed album to date."
Another British band, Coldplay, were nominated for four awards while singer James Blunt, American group Green Day and Irish rockers U2 received three nominations each.
Coldplay will be looking to take the Best Album category having won the title for "Parachutes" and "A Rush of Blood to the Head" in 2000 and 2002 respectively.
The awards, which will be hosted at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday October 10, are one of the few music industry prizes voted for by the record-buying public.
'Wedding Crashers' DVD skipping holiday rush
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Wedding Crashers," the fourth-biggest movie of the year with domestic ticket sales of $204 million, will skip the holiday-selling season and instead arrive January 3 on home video.
The news comes at a time when most suppliers are pushing out their summer movies and other high-profile titles before the holidays, in the hopes of maximizing the traditionally busy fourth quarter, when the video industry generates about 40% of its yearly revenue.
"Wedding Crashers" is coming to DVD in R-rated and unrated, "Uncorked" editions. Special features include commentaries from stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn and director David Dobkin; deleted scenes; a "Wedding Crashers" game; and several featurettes. The "Uncorked" edition also will include nine additional minutes of footage cut from the theatrical release.
The film will also be available on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) video format that plays on the new PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system.
Fox is getting a head start on the holiday-selling season by releasing "Robots," one of the year's biggest movies, on September 27. Of the 33 films that grossed at least $25 million in theaters between Memorial Day-Labor Day, 28 are coming to DVD before year's end, while a 29th film, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," likely will arrive in stores before the holidays as well, sources said.