The Couch Potato Report - February 21st, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report includes two releases that I don't really have an opinion on.
Each week I sit here and give you my thoughts, musings and opinions on new video and DVD releases.
Whether it is a release I loved - like DOCTOR WHO - or one I hated - such as WAITING - I usually have an opinion.
This week I don't.
Over the past seven days I watched the film NORTH COUNTRY and the first season of the TV show GREY'S ANATOMY, but neither release moved me enough to have an opinion about it.
I didn't like them, I didn't hate them. I didn't enjoy them, I didn't not enjoy them.
Wait, was that a double negative? Well, if there is a double negative in my thoughts, at least there isn't a double negative regarding this week's two releases.
No negatives, no positives, just some thoughts. So let me get to them.
I'll start with NORTH COUNTRY.
This film is "based on real life events" that took place in the late seventies and eighties at a mine in Minnesota state.
Academy Award winner Charlize Theron from MONSTER stars as a woman who goes to work in the mine, to the dismay of her male co-workers.
Theron only wants the job because she has two children to feed after leaving her husband and the mine will pay six times what she was making elsewhere.
From her first day on the job she learns that she isn't wanted. Even the human resources manager tells her and her female counterparts that he doesn't want them there and if it wasn't for the Supreme Court, he wouldn't have hired them.
But NORTH COUNTRY is only partially about the hardships that Theron and her co-working women face in the mine. It is also about the first class action sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed against the mine in the early 1990's.
A case of which the outcome is clearly revealed on the film's packaging, an outcome I am not going to give you.
The women in NORTH COUNTRY's story are threatened, attacked, degraded and made to feel like second-class citizens.
While watching the movie I felt sorry for them, and I felt saddened that they had to put up with this abuse just because they wanted to earn a living.
But once you know the outcome of the lawsuit, there is no drama in the film. The middle of the film, the "how do they get from the mine to the conclusion" has little to offer as a movie, and by the end of the two hour plus running time I was indifferent.
It is a very positive thing that these real life women fought back against their oppressors. Everyone should do that! The fictionalized movie named NORTH COUNTRY that tries to tell their story is neither positive nor negative.
It isn't good enough to recommend it and it isn't bad enough for me to tell you to ignore it.
Charlize Theron may have received an Oscar nomination for her work, but the movie she is in just didn't move me enough to have any feelings about it whatsoever.
And neither did the first season of the medical ensemble drama GREY'S ANATOMY.
The second season of this show airs on TV Sunday nights and last week the show was the fourth highest watched program in North America.
Now, GREY'S ANATOMY - SEASON ONE is available on DVD.
GREY'S ANATOMY is a one-hour drama that is primarily about five young and very competitive surgical interns at a fictional hospital in Seattle.
The doctors all juggle romance - in and out of work - and try to remain friends while they simultaneously try to grab the best cases and perform surgeries.
I never got in to the show when it first debuted, and I don't watch GREY'S ANATOMY now, but I did sit down and watch all nine of the episodes on this new 2-DVD set.
As I was watching them I started to think of the medical dramas that I have enjoyed over the years from ST. ELSEWHERE to SCRUBS, and while I didn't feel that GREY'S ANATOMY was in the same league as those shows, I had no problems watching all 9 of the episodes, and the DVD's extra features.
I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, and I didn't try and figure out how the show is doing so well in the ratings.
I watched it, it ended, yet I don't have an opinion about it.
Of course, I suppose the fact that I don't have an opinion on GREY'S ANATOMY or NORTH COUNTRY can be taken as a negative review since if I liked them I would just say I liked them.
However, I didn't like them, and I didn't dislike them.
I watched them, and they are over.
And now both NORTH COUNTRY and GREY'S ANATOMY - SEASON ONE are available at a store near you for you to watch and see if you can form an opinion about them.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
The superb WALK THE LINE is a cinematic look at the early years in the life of Johnny Cash.
Jane Austen's book PRIDE & PREJUDICE is given a youthful update with Oscar nominee Keira Knightley leading the cast.
And it is time to celebrate the 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of Walt Disney's masterpiece LADY & THE TRAMP.
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!
New CD Releases For February 21, 2006
Android Lust Devour, Rise and Take Flight (Projekt)
Anna Oxygen This Is an Exercise (Kill Rock Stars)
Annette Growing Into Myself (Inspired)
Apollo Nove Res Inexplicata Volans (Crammed)
Arab Strap The Last Romance (Transdreamer)
Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Domino)
AZITA Detail from the Mountain Side EP (Drag City)
Bad Wizard Sky High (produced by ex-Royal Trux's Jennifer Herrema) (Howler)
Eef Barzelay (of Clem Snide) Bitter Honey (spinART)
Gary Bennett (ex-BR549) Human Condition (guest Marty Stuart) (Landslide)
Biosphere Dropsonde (Touch)
Bleu Da Vinci BMF Presents (Koch)
Bloc Party Helicopter EP (single w/remixes) (Dim Mak)
Evans Blue The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume (Hollywood)
Wade Bowen Lost Hotel (Sustain)
Meredith Bragg and the Terminals The Departures EP (The Kora)
Bril Airless Alarm (Kirtland)
Cecil Brooks III Double Exposure (Savant)
Birdie Busch The Ways We Try (Bar/None)
C-Murder The Tru Story Continued... (CD/DVD combo) (Koch)
José Carreras Energia (Koch)
Joe Chambers The Outlaw (Savant)
Chicago Underground Duo In Praise of Shadows (Thrill Jockey)
David Childers & the modern don juans Jailhouse Religion (Little King)
B.J. Cole Trouble in Paradise (DualDisc; guest Groove Armada, Luke Vibert and more) (Silverline/Immergent)
Nick Colionne Keepin' It Cool (Narada)
Phil Coulter Country Serenity (Shanachie)
Cowboy Mouth Voodoo Shoppe (Eleven Thirty)
Cranebuilders Sometimes You Hear Through Someone Else (Azra)
Das Oath Mini LP (Dim Mak)
Ray Davies Other People's Lives (V2)
Deadstring Brothers Starving Winter Report (Bloodshot)
Destroyer (New Pornographers' Dan Bejar) Destroyer's Rubies (Merge)
Dilated Peoples 20/20 (Capitol)
Dirty North Conflict Resolution (CD/DVD combo) (Slam Jamz)
DJ Ferret Underground Club Mix #1 (Dancing Ferret)
Downtown Singapore Don't Let Your Guard Down (DCide)
Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack - V.2 (Clean Cuts)
Dub Tractor Hiedout (City Centre Offices)
Jimmy Edgar Colorstrip (Warp)
Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall (DVD same day) (Vagrant)
Elbow Leaders of the Free World (V2)
Ex-Boyfriends Dear John (Absolutely Kosher)
Five Deez Kommunicator (Rapster)
B. Fleischmann The Humbucking Coil (Morr Music)
Stephen Fretwell Magpie (Interscope)
Erik Friedlander Prowl (Cryptogramophone)
Gamble Brothers Band Continuator (Archer)
Tony Gilkyson Goodbye Guitar (Rolling Sea)
Girls in Hawaii From Here to There (China Shop)
Ben Goldberg the door, the hat, the chair, the fact (Cryptogramophone)
Goldspot Tally of the Yes Men (Union/Nettwerk)
Grand National Kicking the National Habit (w/bonus tracks, remixes and music video) (Recall)
Jesse Harris Mineral (Secret Sun)
Head Like a Kite Random Portraits of the Home Movie (Pattern 25)
Hell Is for Heroes Transmit Disrupt (Epitaph)
Heros Severum Plague Dogs (Two Sheds)
Fred Hersch In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis (Palmetto)
The Hidden Cameras The Arms of His Ill (Absolutely Kosher)
Higgins Dear Higgins (Maggadee)
Andrew Hill Time Lines (Blue Note)
The Holy Fire In the Name of the World EP (produced by the Flaming Lips' Michael Ivins) (The Militia Group)
Hot Buttered Rum String Band Well-Oiled Machine (guests Mike Marshall, Peter Rowan and Darol Anger) (Harmonized)
The Howling Hex 1-2-3 (Drag City)
Janis Ian Folk Is the New Black (Cooking Vinyl)
ism Monkey Underneath (STM)
Gordon Jackson Thinking Back (Sunbeam)
Bob James Urban Flamingo (Koch)
Stone Jack Jones bluefolk (guest Patty Griffin) (Fictitious)
Cledus T. Judd Presents Boogity, Boogity - A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens (Koch Nashville)
Kataklysm In the Arms of Devastation (Nuclear Blast)
Arden Kaywin Quarter Life Crisis (Pega)
Kiki Boogy Bytes Vol. 01 (BPitch Control)
The Lashes Get It (Columbia)
Last Laugh No Regrets (Suburban Noize)
Juliet Lawson Boo (Sunbeam)
Lazy Farmer Lazy Farmer (Sunbeam)
Le Volume Courbe I Killed My Best Friend (Honest Jons/Astralwerks)
Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra Strings and Things (Ubiquity)
Lilys Everything Wrong Is Imaginary (Manifesto)
Eliot Lipp Tacoma Mockingbird (Hefty)
The Loved Ones Keep Your Heart (Fat Wreck Chords)
Low Skies All the Love I Could Find (Flameshovel)
Lúnasa Sé (Compass)
Lying in States Wildfire on the Lake (Flameshovel)
The M's Future Women (Polyvinyl)
The Mammals Departure (Signature Sounds)
Marley's Ghost Spooked (produced by and featuring Van Dyke Parks; cover art by R. Crumb) (Sage Arts)
Karen Matheson Downriver (Compass)
Jonah Matranga (ex-Far/Gratitude singer) There's a Lot in Here (CD/DVD combo; live performances and music videos) (Equal Vision)
Maximo Park Missing Songs (b-sides and rarities compilation) (Warp)
Maysa Sweet Classic Soul (Shanachie)
Megaherz 5 (Eclipse)
Metal Hearts Socialize (Suicide Squeeze)
Midstates Boxing Twilight (Reincarnate)
Mind Controls Mind Controls (Dirtnap)
Moonkyte Count Me Out (Sunbeam)
Nelly Nelly & the Tiks (Fastlife/Koch)
Next Life Electric Violence (Cock Rock Disco)
Willie Nile Streets of New York (w/Jakob Dylan) (00:02:59 Records)
William Orbit hello waveforms (Sanctuary)
Orion String Quartet and Chick Corea The Adventures of Hippocrates (Koch)
Oxbow Love That's Last (CD/DVD combo) (Hydra Head)
Niamh Parsons The Old Simplicity (Green Linnet)
Gianluca Petrella Indigo 4 (Blue Note)
Polysics Now Is the Time! (Tofu)
Porest Tourrorists! (Abduction)
Razor X Productions Killing Sound (two CDs) (Rephlex)
Remembering Never God Save Us (Ferret)
Althea Rene In the Moment (Chocolate Caramel)
Revolver Modéle Discothéque Crypt (enhanced w/bonus video) (Estate Sale)
Steve Roach immersion: one (Projekt)
RobinElla Solace for the Lonely (DualTone)
Robocop Kraus They Think They Are the (Epitaph)
Scarface Presents the Product One Hunnid (Kela/Koch)
Secret Oyster Sea Son (Laser's Edge)
Shaggy 2 Dope (of Insane Clown Posse) F.T.F.O. (Psychopathic)
Shakeyface Bicycle Day Boogaloo (It's Bananas)
Simaku Echoes from... (Reincarnate)
The Slackers Peculiar (Epitaph)
Slave to the System Slave to the System (Spitfire/Eagle Rock)
Sleeper Set Sail Eyes Just Like Forest Fires (Sonic Unyon)
Bob Sneider/Joe Locke Fallen Angel (Sons of Sound)
Bob Sneider/Paul Hofmann Escapade (Sons of Sound)
The Society of Rockets Where the Grass Grows Black (Underpop/Parasol)
Solarstone Destinations (two CDs) (Water Music)
Souls She Said As Templar Nites (Dim Mak)
(The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope (Hackshop)
John Stewart The Day the River Sang (Appleseed)
Sun City Girls Static from the Outside Set (Abduction)
Supersilent 7 Rune (Grammofon)
Synanthesia Synanthesia (Sunbeam)
Howard Tate Live (Shout! Factory)
Tempest The Double-Cross (Magna Carta)
They Shoot Horses Don't They Boo Hoo Hoo Boo (Kill Rock Stars)
Teddy Thompson Separate Ways (guests Richard and Linda Thompson and Rufus and Martha Wainwright) (Verve Forecast)
Tic Code FBCCADE (Sickroom)
Torture Storm Alert (Escapi)
Torture Killer Swarm! (Metal Blade)
Alif Tree French Cuisine (mix CD) (Compost)
A Triggering Myth The Remedy of Abstraction (Laser's Edge)
Robin Trower Living Out of Time: Live (Ruf)
Two Gallants what the toll tells (Saddle Creek)
Uncle Jim Superstars of Greenwich Meantime (Abduction)
Victory at Sea All Your Things Are Gone (Gern Blandsten)
Amelia White Black Doves (Funzalo)
Johnny Whitehorse Johnny Whitehorse (Silverwave)
Wicked Wisdom (w/actress-singer Jada Pinkett-Smith and ex-Fishbone drummer Fish) Wicked Wisdom (100% Womon/Suburban Noize)
Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice Gipsy Freedom (Kill Rock Stars)
Stephen Yerkey metaneonatureboy (The Echo Label/World's Fair)
Bird York Wicked Little High (Narada/EMI)
VA Brazilian Lounge (w/songs by Marcos Valle, Bossacucanova, Bebel Gilberto and more) (Putumayo)
VA Compounds and Elements (label sampler w/Brian Eno, John Cale, Harold Budd and more) (Hannibal/All Saints)
VA Congotronics 2: Buzz 'N' Rumble from the Urb 'N' Jungle (Crammed)
VA Dalí: The Endless Enigma (songs inspired by Salvador Dalí paintings; w/Steve Roach, Djam Karet and more) (Projekt)
VA Futurism Ain't Shit to Me 2 (w/Slum Village, Daedelus, 8-Bit, Quasimoto and more; includes previously unreleased tracks) (Kitty Yo)
VA Send Me to the Moon (Paper Bag)
VA Smooth Jazz Does the Divas (Shanachie)
VA Take Action! Vol. 5 (two CDs; w/Hawthorne Heights, Sugarcult, Panic! At the Disco and more) (Hopeless/Sub City)
VA Tales from the Tavern (Real Eyes)
VA Texas Unplugged, Volume 2 (w/the Derailers, Two Tons of Steel, Cindy Cashdollar and more) (Palo Duro)
VA Welcome to Gearhead Country (Gearhead)
OST Madea's Family Reunion (Tyler Perry comedy w/Maya Angelou; w/songs by LL Cool J, Brian McKnight, Chaka Khan and more) (Universal Motown)
OST Underworld: Evolution (original score) (Lakeshore)
OST Nick Cave and Warren Ellis The Proposition (Mute)
DVD Live from Da Crib (live performances and music videos from Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Diddy, Trick Daddy and more) (Music Video Distributors)
DVD Afterlife DVD, Album, Single, Remixes, Journey (Music Video Distributors)
DVD Noam Chomsky Imperial Grand Strategy (Music Video Distributors)
DVD Iron Maiden Death on the Road (three DVDs; 2003 performance) (Metal-Is/Sanctuary)
DVD Kid Dynamite Four Years in One Gulp (Jade Tree)
DVD Satellite Evening Dreams (September, 2005 Poland performance w/band interviews) (Music Video Distributors)
DVD SBB Live in Theatre 2005 (Music Video Distributors)
DVD Tegan & Sara It's Not Fun. Don't Do It! (2004 live performance in Toronto plus documentary, music videos and band commentary) (Sanctuary)
DVD Robin Trower Living Out of Time: Live (March 2005 concert in Germany celebrating 60th birthday; w/bonus interview) (Music Video Distributors)
DVD Howard Zinn Voices of a People's History of the USA (Music Video Distributors)
DVD VA Metal's Dark Side: Hard and the Furious Volume 1 (music videos and interviews w/Cannibal Corpse, Death Angel, Damageplan and more; includes tribute to Damageplan/Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell) (Music Video Distributors)
DVD VA Silverback Music Festival (w/bonus CD; live performances from 2005 reggae concert; w/Fishbone, Barrington Levy, DubCat and more) (Immergent)
DVD VA VH1 Metal Mania: Stripped Across America Tour (live acoustic versions of hits by Don Dokken, Kip Winger, L.A. Guns and more) (Sidewinder)
PBS brings back 'Monty Python'
More than 30 years after introducing American audiences to the Monty Python gang, PBS is preparing to relive its adventures with dead parrots and silly walks.
Beginning Wednesday, the public broadcaster will air six new Monty Python specials, produced exclusively for PBS. The series will air Feb. 22, March 1 and March 8 in two-hour blocks.
Each of the one-hour programs will focus on one member of the original Monty Python troupe, which famously spoofed upper class twits, lumberjacks, old ladies and pet shop owners.
Five of the original Python gang are still living. They've gone on to produce, direct and star in other series and major movies.
An adaptation of their 1975 movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, became a hit last year when it opened on Broadway as the musical Spamalot. Former Python member Eric Idle co-adapted Spamalot, which now is touring the U.S. and reminding Python fans what they've been missing.
John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Idle each produced and wrote an episode for the new PBS series, beginning with Eric Idle's Personal Best, which airs on Wednesday. Together they created a sixth special to honour the late Graham Chapman, who hallowed the taste of Spam.
Each chose his "personal best" original Python skits for the specials. Jones, who warned the world that "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" chose the bicycle repair man and the bishop, while Palin brings back the Piranha brothers sketch.
Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted in Britain on the BBC in 1969 and the series ran until 1974. The series began airing on CBC in Canada in 1971. PBS was the first U.S. network to pick up the show, which developed a cult following in both the U.S. and Canada.
PBS plans to introduce a whole new generation to the series by airing all 47 of the old episodes beginning this spring.
The Python gang also produced the movies The Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and And Now for Something Completely Different.
Rick Rubin Producing New Metallica Album
Metallica has drafted Rick Rubin to produce its next studio album, work on which is underway at the band's California headquarters. In a post on its official Web site, the band confirms Rubin "has been coming by the studio every now and again to listen to some of our new stuff and throw his two/three cents in."
"We have been jamming, writing, just plain messing around and having fun in the studio for the last few weeks," the post continues. Photos show band members with instruments in hand, as well as drummer Lars Ulrich with a lyric sheet held just far enough back from the camera so as to not reveal key details.
There's no timetable yet for the release of the as-yet-untitled album, which will be the follow-up to 2003's "St. Anger." As previously reported, Metallica has also committed to a run of shows in South Africa next month as well as a handful of summer festival appearances in Europe.
As for Rubin, the news comes on the heels of confirmation that he will produce the next Warner Bros. album from multi-platinum rock act Linkin Park, which is expected before the end of the year.
Saturn Awards sweet on "Revenge"
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror films has announced the nominations for the 32nd annual Saturn Awards.
George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" leads the pack with 10 nominations. "Batman Begins" follows closely with nine, while "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" and " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" have eight nominations apiece.
In the television categories, ABC's "Lost" and WB Network's "Smallville" received six nominations each. Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" garnered four nominations, while "Stargate SG-1" and "The Triangle" received three nominations apiece.
Contenders for science fiction film are 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" and "Revenge of the Sith," DreamWorks' "The Island," Warner Independent Pictures' "The Jacket," Universal Studios' "Serenity" and Paramount's "War of the Worlds."
The fantasy film nominees are Warner Bros. Pictures' "Batman Begins," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Buena Vista Pictures' "The Chronicles of Narnia," Sony Pictures' "Zathura" and Universal's "King Kong."
In the horror film race are Warners' "Constantine," Screen Gems' "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," Universal's "Land of the Dead" and "The Skeleton Key," Lionsgate's "Saw II" and the Weinstein Co.'s "Wolf Creek."
The action-adventure or thriller nominees are Buena Vista's "Flightplan," New Line Cinema's "The History of Violence," Warners' "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," Fox's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Tartan's "Old Boy," DreamWorks' "Red Eye" and Dimension/Miramax's "Sin City."
This year's awards event will be hosted by comedian Jeffrey Ross on May 2 in Universal City.
Sportscaster Curt Gowdy Dies
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Curt Gowdy, one of the signature voices of sports for a generation and the longtime broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox, died Monday at 86.
He died in Palm Beach after a long battle with leukemia, Red Sox spokeswoman Pam Ganley said.
Gowdy made his broadcasting debut in 1944 and went on to call 13 World Series and 16 All-Star games.
In 1951 Gowdy became main play-by-play voice on the Red Sox broadcast team. He left the Red Sox in 1966 for a 10-year stint as "Game of the Week" announcer for NBC. He was also the longtime host of the "American Sportsman" series.
"He's certainly the greatest play-by-play person up to this point that NBC sports has ever had," NBC Universal Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said Monday. "He literally carried the sports division at NBC for so many year on his back. ... He was a remarkable talent and he was an even more remarkable human being."
Lightfoot announces fall tour
TORONTO (CP) - A few years ago, fans of Gordon Lightfoot were wondering whether the music legend would ever be able to perform again.
But after a long stay in hospital due to a burst blood vessel in his abdomen, Lightfoot eventually returned to the stage. Last year, he played more than 40 concerts, including the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ont., and a stint at a Las Vegas casino.
On Monday, Lightfoot announced an 11-city fall tour that will take him to six provinces.
It's the first cross-country tour the 67-year-old troubadour has undertaken in seven years.
"The pure pleasure of playing live never wears off, even after 40 years in the business," Lightfoot said in a statement.
"I am overjoyed to once again tour this great country."
The concerts will kick off October 3 in Vancouver, followed by shows in Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Ont., and Ottawa. He'll complete his travels with a three-night stop at Toronto's Massey Hall.
Tickets for select cities are already on sale.
Lightfoot's repertoire includes Early Mornin' Rain, If You Could Read My Mind, Sundown and Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Gordon Lightfoot's list of dates:
October 3 Vancouver, BC The Centre For The Performing Arts
October 5 Edmonton, AB Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
October 6 Calgary, AB Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
October 7 Regina, SK Casino Regina
October 8 Saskatoon, SK Sid Buckwold Theatre
October 10 Winnipeg, MB Pantages Theatre
October 11 Winnipeg, MB Pantages Theatre
October 12 Thunder Bay, ON Community Auditorium
October 15 Kitchener, ON Centre In The Square
November 9 Montreal, PQ Place Des Arts
November 10 Ottawa, ON National Arts Center
November 16 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
November 17 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
November 18 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
'Eight Below' Mushes to No. 1 Debut
LOS ANGELES - "Eight Below," a tale of survival among abandoned sled dogs, was the leader of the box-office pack with a $25 million opening over the four-day holiday weekend.
The romance spoof "Date Movie," from 20th Century Fox, debuted in second place with $22.3 million, according to studio estimates Monday.
"If you will, we won the dog race," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which released "Eight Below."
The new movies bumped off Sony's "The Pink Panther," the previous weekend's No. 1 film, which slipped to third place with $21 million, raising its 11-day total to $46.7 million.
The weekend's other new wide release, Sony's urban drama "Freedomland" starring Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore, opened a weak No. 7 with $7 million.
In limited release, the Russian fantasy thriller "Night Watch," a huge hit in its native country, opened strongly with $110,171 in three theaters, averaging a whopping $36,724 a cinema. By comparison, "Eight Below" played in 3,066 theaters and averaged $8,164, while "Date Movie" averaged $7,709 in 2,896 cinemas.
Distributor Fox Searchlight plans to expand "Night Watch" to about 150 theaters by March 3.
Overall, Hollywood had a healthy weekend, with the top 12 movies taking in $135.9 million, down only a fraction from a strong President's Day weekend last year.
Like the previous weekend, when "The Pink Panther" drew a strong family crowd while New Line's fright flick "Final Destination 3" grabbed horror fans, the two top movies scored well with different target audiences.
Parents and their children accounted for about two-thirds of movie-goers catching "Eight Below," while four-fifths of the audience for "Date Movie" was under 25.
"By programming two films that aren't chasing the same audience, you can really build a pretty good weekend for two movies at the same time," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
"Eight Below" stars Paul Walker as a guide in Antarctica forced by a killer storm to leave his sled-dog team behind in the frozen wasteland, where the animals must band together to survive the winter.
"Date Movie" features Alyson Hannigan and Adam Campbell in a "Scary Movie"-type parody of such romantic comedies as "Hitch," "Meet the Fockers" and "The Wedding Planner."
While "Eight Below" drew solid reviews, "Date Movie" was not screened for critics beforehand, a sign the studio knows a film will get bad reviews.
"Young teens and early twenty-somethings, and that is who this is geared for, critics aren't necessarily quite in tune with that crowd," said Chris Aronson, general sales manager for "Date Movie" distributor 20th Century Fox.
Focus Features' "Brokeback Mountain," the favorite to win the best-picture Academy Award, continued to benefit from its Oscar buzz, taking in $3.8 million to lift its total to $72 million.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Eight Below," $25 million.
2. "Date Movie," $22.3 million.
3. "The Pink Panther," $21 million.
4. "Curious George," $15.3 million.
5. "Final Destination 3," $12.5 million.
6. "Firewall," $10.3 million.
7. "Freedomland," $7 million.
8. "Big Momma's House 2," $5.85 million.
9. "When a Stranger Calls," $5.8 million.
10. "Nanny McPhee," $5.1 million.
'TODAY' READY TO LOSE KATIE
It is exactly 100 days until Katie Couric's contract on the "Today" show expires — and NBC seems to be preparing for bad news.
Two news leaks over the weekend indicate that Katie is ready to leave the show to take over the anchor desk at "CBS Evening News."
First, TV Guide reports that Nat alie Morales has moved to the top of the replace ment list if Katie bolts to CBS.
Morales is close to signing a long-term deal with the network, which would move her out of MSNBC, where she's been a daytime anchor since 2002, to become a "full-time correspondent" for "Today."
Meanwhile, the authoritative trade magazine Broadcasting & Cable is reporting that "NBC lawyers have told Couric's agent, CAA's Alan Berger, 'not to put us through hoops' . . . if Couric doesn't really plan to stay."
According to the magazine, Katie has already begun talking to several close and trusted colleagues — "hypothetical, what-if" conversations, it called the talks — about coming with her if she jumps.
Morales has already begun appearing regularly on the third hour of "Today."
Being on the air during the more heavily watched 7-9 a.m. hours would mean more exposure and a chance for viewers to get to know her better.
While there's no guarantee Morales would definitely replace Couric, it's as close to an on-the-job tryout as anyone is going to get.
"It solidifies her role in the 'Today' family," an NBC insider says.