The Couch Potato Report - January 26th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report includes a flightplan, the aristocrats and three films from the 1980s.
I am now and I have always been a fan of Jodie Foster and her work.
Ever since 1976, when I first saw her onscreen as Tallulah in BUGSY MALONE, and as Annabel Andrews in FREAKY FRIDAY, I have been hooked.
Since then I have thoroughly enjoyed Jodie's work in FIVE CORNERS, STEALING HOME, LITTLE MAN TATE, CONTACT, THE ACCUSED, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and PANIC ROOM, just to name a few of her films.
Much to my chagrin, Jodie only appears these days in a new film about once every 18 months.
Last September I was very excited to watch Jodie's 2005 effort, the thriller FLIGHTPLAN.
But make no mistake, I don't usually love a movie just because an artist I admire is in it. And yes, I admire Jodie Foster, and I find some enjoyment in all of her movies due to that fact, but in order for me to recommend it to you in this forum, FLIGHTPLAN has to stand on its own as a film.
Sadly, it doesn't.
In the film Jodie plays a woman who is flying on a jumbo jet with her daughter from Berlin to America.
Along the way, at 30,000 feet above the ground, the child disappears without a trace and no one is able to confirm that the child was ever actually there.
I love that premise, and my opinions on Jodie Foster are well stated, but FLIGHTPLAN just has too many holes in the plot to allow me to recommend it.
Yes, you will remain curious throughout the movie as there is a great deal of suspense, and it is well paced with a running time of 98 minutes, but FLIGHTPLAN doesn't answer all the questions that it asks, and the end result is only a mediocre thriller.
One that I can't recommend to you, no matter how much I love the star.
Unfortunately, I also can't recommend this week's other major new release to you.
That film is THE ARISTOCRATS.
In this film one-hundred comedians, including George Carlin, Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Dave Thomas, John Stewart, Eric Idle, Chris Rock, Tim Conway, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Silverman, and many, many more, each tell "the dirtiest joke of all time" in their own unique way.
The joke starts off with a person telling a Manager that they have the greatest show business act of all time, and it ends with the words "The Aristocrats."
Everything in between is what the comedians fill in.
And comedians have been filling in the middle part for years as it originated during the vaudeville years.
Unfortunately, not much of what they use in the middle is repeatable here as they use outrageously obscene scenarios to try and make other comedians laugh.
And if you watch the film you will laugh at least once. I laughed many, many times.
Yet, I can't recommend the film.
That is because the scenarios that these comedians conjure up are so dirty, so foul and so disgusting that I don't want anyone checking this film out because they heard it would make them laugh.
Yes, THE ARISTOCRATS will make you laugh, but it might also offend you.
Thus, I don't recommend it, but it is a very, very funny film that I enjoyed immensely!
I have also enjoyed DEAD POET'S SOCIETY and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.
Both of them star Robin Williams - who you can also see in THE ARISTOCRATS - and both of them are now available as SPECIAL EDITION DVDs!
In DEAD POET'S SOCIETY Williams stars as English professor John Keating. He works hard to entertain and inspire his students to form a love of poetry, and more importantly to "seize the day."
The SPECIAL EDITION DVD features a commentary by Director Peter Weir, a collection of uncut, deleted scenes, a look back at the making of the film and more.
DEAD POET'S SOCIETY remains a superb film seventeen years after it's release, but if we are talking about superb Robin Williams films, and we are, that list will always feature GOOD MORNING VIETNAM at the top of it!
In that film Williams plays real life person Adrian Cronauer, an unorthodox and irreverent radio announcer who breathes life into the stale and stiff US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.
He does the type of things on his show I would love to do!
The GOOD MORNING VIETNAM SPECIAL EDITION DVD includes a thirty-four minute production diary, six behind-the-scenes features, and the real Adrian Cronauer explains how he created the "Good Morning Vietnam" sign on.
There is also about thirteen minutes of raw Williams performance footage, from which many of the movie's best comedic moments were taken.
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM remains one of my favourite movies of all time, and this SPECIAL EDITION is a great addition to my movie library.
Finally this week is the new COLLECTOR'S EDITION of the 1984 film REPO MAN. Emilio Estevaz plays a young punk named Otto in the movie who becomes a repo man after helping to steal a car. Once he begins his new job he soon finds himself in the middle of a world that contains aliens, government agents and a huge repossession bounty on a 1964 Chevy Malibu.
REPO MAN will never be considered a classic by anyone who didn't see the film when it first came out. It is for those people that this new COLLECTOR'S EDITION is for, especially since this is the fourth time that the film has been released on DVD.
I am not one of the people who love REPO MAN, but it remains a unique, cult film from my youth. Plus, it is the sort of obscure science fiction film that they don't make anymore, and that makes it worth seeing, at least once.
The REPO MAN - COLLECTOR'S EDITION is now available at your favourite local video store along with GOOD MORNING VIETNAM, DEAD POET'S SOCIETY, THE ARISTOCRATS and FLIGHTPLAN.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
I'll talk about Tim Burton's completely enjoyable stop-motion animation film CORPSE BRIDE; the third season of the TV show KNIGHT RIDER and I tell you what the name Alan Smithee means in the movie world as it relates to the EXTENDED EDITION of the 1984 movie DUNE.
I'm Dan Reynish. 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 time on The Couch!
'C.R.A.Z.Y.' nabs a 12 Genie noms
TORONTO (CP) - C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean-Marc Vallee's funny but poignant story of an extraordinary young man growing up in Quebec, leads the nominations for the 26th annual Genie Awards, which celebrate the best in Canadian cinema.
It has 12 nods, including best picture. The comedy is also Canada's official submission for the best foreign-film Oscar this year. The four other best-picture contenders include Deepa Mehta's Water, the third in her elements trilogy which previously included Earth and Fire.
Familia, another Quebec film and Louise Archambault's first feature, about what constitutes real family bonds, also made the cut, as did Michael Dowse's It's All Gone Pete Tong, a frenetic tale about a coke-addicted superstar DJ who learns he is going deaf.
The other best-picture entry is Michael McGowan's Saint Ralph, about a Catholic teenager in the 1950s who decides to enter the Boston Marathon foot race, hoping for a miracle to cure his ailing mother.
Surprisingly, 2005 features from two of Canada's most internationally famous directors, Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg, are not in the best-picture race.
Cronenberg's A History of Violence was foreign financed and so did not qualify under the Genies' complex Canadian content rules. Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies was eligible and did get five nominations, including best adapted screenplay for the director.
The 2006 Genies will be handed out March 13.
Paul Gratton, chairman of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, which oversees the awards, says the nomination of C.R.A.Z.Y., which is also Canada's top-grossing film of 2005, was no surprise.
"A gay coming-of-age story that's been given a different and totally delightful original spin based on style and the use of pop music," is how Gratton described it.
He also had praise for Mehta's Water, recalling how the production had to shut down in India because of threats of violence from fundamentalists who objected to its story of the treatment of widows under ancient religious laws.
"I think it's Deepa's most accomplished and most beautiful film to date. It has a lyrical quality. . .and it builds subtly to a very moving climax."
Water was a nominations runner-up with nine, including best director. It's All Gone Pete Tong enjoyed eight, while Luc Picard's L'Audition and Familia had seven each.
Best-actor nominees include Picard, Paul Kaye for Pete Tong and Adam Butcher for Saint Ralph. Campbell Scott and Gordon Pinsent are best supporting actor contenders for Saint Ralph.
Best actress nominees include Arsinee Khanjian for Sabah - A Love Story and Macha Grenon and Sylvie Moreau for Familia.
Academy president and CEO Maria Topalovitch called the nominees an "eclectic, wonderful group of films" and declined to comment on the absence of Egoyan and Cronenberg, whose films appeared together at both the Cannes and Toronto International Film Festivals last year.
Topalovitch conceded that while things are improving, Canadian films still have a struggle getting exposed to Canadian theatre-going audiences.
"We're in a unique situation, situated right next to the largest entertainment machine in the world," she said. "But the Genie Awards are part of a national passion to raise awareness."
She said the nominated titles are actually doing quite well, especially C.R.A.Z.Y. and Familia which are doing huge box office in Quebec, and she will be watching to see if C.R.A.Z.Y. makes the foreign-film category when Academy Award nominations are announced next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Genies will be telecast for the third year in a row on CHUM stations across Canada (Citytv, Bravo, Star and MusiMax). CHUM continues to tinker with the format, last year setting it in a nightclub atmosphere. This year the one-hour telecast will actually begin in an after-the-awards party setting. The handing out of the hardware will take place first, with excerpts played back during the live backstage show.
Marcie Martin, executive producer at CHUM, believed that would make for a better show, especially after last year when the awards were top-heavy with Quebec winners who chose to make their acceptance speeches in French, which, Martin says, didn't make for the best English-language TV and didn't do as much to help promote the titles for anglophone audiences.
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Here are the nominees in key categories for the 2006 Genie Awards, honouring the best in Canadian-made cinema:
Best Motion Picture: C.R.A.Z.Y. (Pierre Even, Jean-Marc Vallee); Familia (Luc Dery); It's All Gone Pete Tong (Elizabeth Yake, Allan Niblo, James Richardson); Saint Ralph (Michael Souther, Teza Lawrence, Andrea Mann, Seaton McLean); Water (David Hamilton)
Direction: Luc Picard (L'Audition); Jean-Marc Vallee (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Louise Archambault (Familia); Michael Dowse (It's All Gone Pete Tong); Deepa Mehta (Water)
Actor in a leading role: Luc Picard (L'Audition); Michael Cote (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Marc-Andre Grondin (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Paul Kaye (It's All Gone Pete Tong); Adam Butcher (Saint Ralph)
Actor in a supporting role: Denis Bernard (L'Audition); Remy Girard (Aurore); Bernard Starlight (Hank Williams First Nation); Campbell Scott (Saint Ralph); Gordon Pinsent (Saint Ralph)
Actress in a leading role: Macha Grenon (Familia); Sylvie Moreau (Familia); Arsinee Khanjian (Sabah - A Love Story); Gina Chiarelli (See Grace Fly); Seema Biswas (Water)
Actress in a supporting role: Suzanne Clement (L'Audition); Marianne Fortier (Aurore); Danielle Proulx (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Micheline Lanctot (Familia); Babz Chula (Seven Times Lucky)
Original Screenplay: Luc Picard (L'Audition); Jean-Marc Vallee, Francois Boulay (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Louise Archambault (Familia); Michael Dowse (It's All Gone Pete Tong); Deepa Mehta (Water)
Vintage Springsteen Show Headed To CD
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Nov. 18, 1975, show at London's Hammersmith Odeon will be released as a two-disc set Feb. 28 via Columbia. The show first appeared on DVD last fall as part of the label's 30th anniversary edition of Springsteen's "Born To Run" album.
Touted as the first complete E Street Band concert to be released on CD, "Hammersmith Odeon, London '75" is highlighted by exuberant runs through tracks like "She's the One," "Rosalita" and "It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City." The show was Springsteen and company's first on English soil and came just ahead of the release of "Born To Run."
"This was a young band that just finished a new album. 'Born To Run' is not an anthem yet -- it's in the middle of the set," director Thom Zimny said of the show in November. And while the 24-track audiotapes of the show had long been known to exist, Zimny spent months synching them up with unlabeled cans of silent film to complete the DVD.
Having completed his solo touring in support of his 2005 studio album, "Devils & Dust," Springsteen will next be seen on stage at an event honoring 2006 MusiCares Person of the Year James Taylor, which will be held Feb. 6 in Los Angeles.
Here is the track list for "Hammersmith Odeon, London '75":
Disc One:
"Thunder Road"
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"
"Spirit in the Night"
"Lost in the Flood"
"She's the One"
"Born To Run"
"The E Street Shuffle"
"It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City"
"Backstreets"
Disc Two:
"Kitty's Back"
"Jungleland"
"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
"4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)"
"Detroit Medley"
"For You"
"Quarter to Three"
No Reunion for 'Friends'
Producers of the hit show Friends have hit out at claims the six stars are set for a money-spinning reunion. According to reports, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox met in secret before Christmas and each agreed a $5 million deal with NBC bosses in Los Angeles, to reprise their roles in four special one-hour episodes. But a Warner Bros spokesperson insists, "There is absolutely no truth to it. There is nothing planned of any kind."
'Family Guy's' Stewie hosting Web talk show
LAS VEGAS (Hollywood Reporter) - Heeeeere's Stewie!
The tyrannical tyke in the Fox animated series "Family Guy" will be the virtual host of a talk show being developed strictly for the Internet later this year.
Stewie's show will be based on familyguy.com (http://www.familyguy.com) and other News Corp.-owned Web properties catering to the young demographics that have embraced the Fox series.
"We think that the property is perfectly suited for that audience," Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn said Tuesday.
He added that the idea for the show has been embraced on Madison Avenue by potential advertisers. He does not expect the program to cannibalize viewing for the Fox series or other "Family" brand extensions like DVD. Stewie wouldn't be the first animated character to get his own talk show; that distinction belongs to "Space Ghost Coast to Coast," which aired on Cartoon Network.
Cause of Actor Chris Penn's Death Unknown
LOS ANGELES - The cause of actor Chris Penn's death remained undetermined despite an autopsy performed Wednesday just hours before the premiere of his latest film at the Sundance Film Festival.
Toxicology tests were ordered on the actor, who was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium Tuesday.
"It's just normal procedure for someone who's 40 and has not seen their doctor," said Los Angeles County coroner's spokeswoman Brenda Shafer.
In a coincidence, Penn's latest film, "The Darwin Awards," premiered later in the day at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
"He gave an incredible performance in the film," writer-director Finn Taylor said before the screening. "I think he is going to be remembered for years to come and we will miss him."
The cast of the movie — a twisted comedy about accidental death — also includes Winona Ryder, Joseph Fiennes, David Arquette and Juliette Lewis.
Ryder talked about Penn during a question-and-answer session with the Sundance audience after the film's premiere.
"I really hope people go back and watch his movies, because he was such a fantastic actor, and he is going to be so missed," Ryder said. "Not just Sean Penn's little brother, you know? He was Chris Penn."
Penn was the younger brother of Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. He appeared in numerous films, including "Reservoir Dogs," "Starsky & Hutch," "Rush Hour" and "Corky Romano."
"Corky" star Chris Kattan described Penn's death as "a huge shock."
"He was an amazing actor and a great comedian," Kattan said. "He was such a sweet soul and so funny. He had a really great innocence in his eyes. Of course he'll be terribly missed."
New film "Bubble" to test anxious industry
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - If director Steven Soderbergh and others have their way, movies may soon start appearing in homes and stores at the same time they hit theaters, paving the way for a revolution in the industry.
On Friday, Soderbergh and businessman Todd Wagner are releasing "Bubble" as the first movie in a six-part series of low-budget films, all debuting in theaters and on a cable TV network owned by Wagner's company, as well as on DVD, at the same time and for the same prices consumers would generally pay.
They are not the only ones undertaking such "day-and-date" distribution strategy. Earlier this week at the Sundance Film Festival, IFC Entertainment, a unit of Rainbow Media, unveiled its plan to release 24 low-budget movies in theaters and on pay-per-view TV channels on the same day.
The simultaneous distribution in all three venues presents a direct challenge to the industry standard of releasing films first in theaters, months later on video or DVD, then on TV. Studios have benefited from the traditional practice as they sell the same film again and again at different times of its product life.
Soderbergh, Wagner and IFC want to use new methods of digital distribution to give audiences the movies they want to see, when they want to see them and where they want to see them.
"The technology is there," Soderbergh told Reuters. "Consumers now want choice, and they should have it. At the very least, let's find out -- instead of speculating -- what it's going to mean in the long run and in the larger picture."
But theater owners argue such distribution plans could signal the end of a more than 100-year-old industry by cannibalizing box office ticket sales that now reach around $24 billion annually around the world.
"We believe simultaneous release is a death threat for the movie industry," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners.
ALL EYES ON 'BUBBLE'
Hollywood studios are closely watching the "Bubble" release, which they see as something of a test, albeit a small one because the film is a low-budget production made for a reported $1.6 million.
The studios know change is coming because new digital technology is allowing consumers to download movies and TV shows directly to home PCs, laptop computers and handheld gadgets such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod.
They are concerned that illegal copying and downloading of films will become widely popular and hurt ticket sales in the same way piracy damaged the music industry's CD sales.
Moreover, this past summer, the studios suffered through a box office slump that many attributed in part to audiences simply skipping the films and waiting for the DVD. To compensate, the studios now are narrowing the time between a film's theatrical and DVD releases.
But just like theater owners, studio executives are loath to see the "day-and-date" distribution strategy take hold because it might cannibalize ticket sales. Video retailers are subject to the release patterns set by movie studios and, as a result, have less say in the matter.
This past summer, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger told analysts and reporters that digital technology was moving the industry toward simultaneous releases.
The company pressed the issue last fall, when its ABC television network began offering TV shows for download on the iPod. Other networks followed, but NATO's Fithian said Hollywood's major film studios remain hesitant.
LIMITED IMPACT?
Many industry watchers see a somewhat limited impact from the "Bubble" release because the film is low-budget and will play mainly in Wagner's Landmark art-house theaters and only on his HDNet cable TV network, rather than on a broadcast network.
The film weaves a tale of small-town boredom and jealousy. Soderbergh used people from local Ohio towns to act the four major roles, and he shot it with digital cameras.
"It added realism," Soderbergh said. "Every once in a while, it's nice to see somebody on screen who you felt was from that place and spoke like somebody from that place."
Still, "Bubble" has kicked up a fuss in Hollywood because Soderbergh is the director of such big-budget films as "Ocean's Eleven," and the idea of day-and-date releases of $200 million blockbusters like "King Kong" or "Harry Potter" is what really worries Hollywood and theater owners.
In fact, at this early stage, many industry watchers believe the real impact of day-and-date distribution will be for low-budget independent films and filmmakers like those gathered in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival.
Such movies generally only play in large cities and in fewer than 100 screens. A big-budget Hollywood flick like "Kong" reaches more than 3,000 theaters.
Day-and-date distribution takes advantage of the national advertising campaigns for a low-budget movie by putting the film not only in big cities, but also in rural areas on TV or PC.
Rainbow Chief Executive Joshua Sapan likens the idea to an art house in the home. "It will have the effect of enlarging the audience for independent films when they debut," he said.
But Wagner sees a broader future when theater owners around the world embrace the idea. To offset the possibility of cannibalizing ticket sales, he said he would share DVD revenue with them.
"Not all theater owners are saying no," Wagner said. "In fact, a lot of them are saying yes."
But Fithian warns of a time when movies are no longer special events for audiences, and become more like TV shows that can be seen anytime, anywhere.