The Couch Potato Report - December 1st, 2007
This week on The Couch Potato Report, pack your bags, we are taking a few trips!!
I am a traveller! I love to travel!
Around Saskatchewan, across Canada and throughout the world!!
This week, I went from coast to coast in our home and native land, and I journeyed across the ocean to Paris, and the south of France.
And I did it all, on DVD!
I hope your bags are packed, because this morning we are traveling, and we'll start our trip in Canada as some filmmakers take us from coast to coast through their documentary: LET'S ALL HATE TORONTO.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada.
With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth-most populous municipality in North America, and the 46th most populous in the world, and it is the place that many Canadians love to hate, and love to make fun of.
Heck, even last week, when bad Toronto weather forced the city to cancel some Grey Cup festivities, people were making fun of Toronto....but why do people seem to hate Toronto?
That is the question this film wants to ask.
LET'S ALL HATE TORONTO is co-directed by Canadian documentarians Albert Nerenberg and Robert Spence.
Spence nicknames himself "Mister Toronto" and takes off on a cross-Canada journey to find out why there seems to be so much resentment for Canada's biggest city, all the while promoting the made-up "Toronto Appreciation Day".
Unfortunately "Mister Toronto" is not a likeable guy, and when he is in it that hurts the film.
He doesn't go from Coast To Coast asking people why they don't like Toronto, instead, he arrives at a destination and he acts acts arrogant and rude.
That forces the people he talks with to only react to him, and their dislike for Toronto is only based on his representation of it.
During those scenes, the film is just not very good.
But there are many others where the film is good.
Now, in the spirit of full-enclosure, I love Toronto. I lived there for ten years and I still visit it often and consider it to be one of the greatest places in the world.
And I got a few chuckles over this film, because I know that many people don't like the city, even if they have never been there.
LET'S ALL HATE TORONTO is not a great documentary, but it does have a few great moments.
Plus, it allows us to travel to St. John's, Halifax, P.E.I., Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto, and meet some other Canadians.
For that reason, I think it is worthy of your time...especially if you think you hate Toronto.
Okay, let's head across the Atlantic now, to Paris, the city of lights, the city of love - PARIS, JE T'AIME
Tranmslated, the title means "Paris, I love you" and the film consists of eighteen short films written and directed by a wide varirty of filmmakers such as Tom Tykwer - who gave us RUN LOLA RUN, Gus Van Sant of GOOD WILL HUNTING fame, Wes Craven - the creator of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET FILMS, Alexander Payne - the writer and director fo SIDEWAYS, and Joel and Ethan Coen, the brothers who made FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI.
The ensemble cast of American, British and French movie actors includes Marianne Faithfull, Steve Buscemi, Miranda Richardson, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Fanny Ardant, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Emily Mortimer, Rufus Sewell, Gérard Depardieu, Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands and Natalie Portman.
PARIS, JE T'AIME features beautiful shots of Paris in the day and night times, shots and locations that you might only get to see if you actually visit the city.
Some of the short films are very engaging and entertaining, some are outright funny, and some are more than a little weird.
And since there are so many, you can decide which is which, just by watching the film...something I recommend that you do.
I wish I could recommend our next traveling film this week...one that takes us to the very warm, hot, sunny and beautiful south of France...but I just can't.
I love Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean character, but I just can't advise you to watch most of MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY.
In this second film based on the beloved character, Mr. Bean wins a holiday to Cannes, a video camera and some cash.
Along the way, I suspect that the hilarity was supposed to ensue, but the story elements here are just too predictable.
You know he is going to leave his luggage on the train when he gets off, you know he will forget his money and passport when he gets back on, and even though he has seemingly kidnapped a young boy, you know that everything is going to work out fine.
What I can advise you to watch, what is always a pleasure to watch when it comes to Mr. Bean are the silent moments when he doesn't get what he wants, is eating, or dancing.
That, that my friends is the Mr. Bean we know, the Mr. Bean we love!!
Rowan Atkinson has said that MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY will be the last Mr. Bean story he appears in, and I for one hope he reneges on that statement, so he can do one more film, and do it better, and make a film that is less predictable and more enjoyable.
Here's hoping they do that, so Mr. Bean can go out on top where he belongs!!
Love than Mr. Bean...I also love that Mr. McCartney!!
The main thing I want to say about this next release is WOW!!
THE MCCARTNEY YEARS is a three DVD set full of Paul McCartney's music since he left The Beatles.
We get concert footage, old and new, interviews, old and new, and almost all of the music videos he has ever made.
Plus, he offers commentaries on those videos too!!
THE MCCARTNEY YEARS is a spectacular release, and offers some great insights into the man's work!
I completely enjoyed it, and if you are a fan of the man, it is a must own!!
Finally this week, and finally every week for the next month, I have a DVD Box Set for you. The studios are releasing an abundance of these sets - just in times for the Holidays - and I will let you know if they are worth your dough...and worthy of your time!
This week's Box Set should have been worthy of both time and money...but it isn't, and I am very disappointed in it!
That Box set is THE NHL GAME SEVEN COLLECTION - THE GREATEST GAMES IN STANLEY CUP HISTORY.
You and I may never get to play in a Game Seven in a Stanley Cup final, so over the years we have lived vicariously through our hockey heroes who have had that opportunity.
Many of those great moments and unforgettable memories are all now available in this Seven-DVD Box Set.
I suspect that the goal of THE NHL GAME SEVEN COLLECTION was to enable us to own these moments in pristine condition on DVD.
Unfortunately, the games haven't been remastered or cleaned up, and they are the American broadcasts of the game.
I hate to sound like a homer, but I can't fathom why they didn't use the Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts of these games. The NHL itself put this set together, so they have access to them, yet they didn't use them.
Luckily the crowd noises are still there, but where is the excitement from the announcers?! And where are the on-ice interviews after the games?!? There are only a few of those, and they are a staple of championship games!!
I wanted more from this set, and I remain very disappointed that I didn't get it!
THE NHL GAME SEVEN COLLECTION does feature the full game sevens from 1987, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
It also features recaps of the games from 1942 to 1971.
If you - or someone you love - are a fan of the Edmonton Oilers, The New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalance, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and you can look past the less then stellar versions of the games that are included here, than this Box Set is a keeper.
The NHL GAME SEVEN COLLECTION - THE GREATEST GAMES IN STANLEY CUP HISTORY, the very entertaining 3-DVD set THE MCCARTNEY YEARS, the mildly entertaining MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY, the enjoyable film PARIS, JE T'AIME and the almost okay documentary LET'S ALL HATE TORONTO are all available now on DVD.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
NITRO is a Canadian film about a former drag racer who is forced to return to his criminal past when his girlfriend requires a heart transplant;
THE NANNY DIARIES stars Scarlett Johansson as a upper class Nanny in New York City;
Fans of the television series BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA - myself included - get some answers about past storylines in the movie RAZOR;
Our BOX SET next week is 40-disc set that looks at each team that has won the Superbowl;
And also next week, Johnny Depp and cast return in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - AT WORLD'S END.
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!
Kanye, Akon Help Jackson Revisit 'Thriller'
As expected, Michael Jackson will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his iconic "Thriller" album with a new edition of the set, due Feb. 12 via Epic/Legacy Recordings. It will include remixes by Kanye West, Akon and will.i.am, plus rare and unreleased material from the time period.
West remixes "Billie Jean," while will.i.am has revamped "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T." The album also features a new version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with both Akon and will.i.am.
Among the unreleased tracks is "For All Time," which was recording during "Thriller" but left on the cutting room floor. Jackson has personally mixed and mastered the song. Also featured is Jackson's original "Billie Jean" demo and the rarities "Someone in the Dark" and "Carousel."
"Thriller" will include a bonus DVD with the "Thriller," "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" videos, plus Jackson's performance of the latter cut during the 1983 NBC special "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever."
Jackson has been working on and off on his first studio album since 2001, but the status of the project is unknown. There have also been whispers of a tour with his brothers in 2008.
Here is the track list for "Thriller -- 25th Anniversary Edition":
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
"Baby Be Mine"
"The Girl Is Mine"
"Thriller"
"Beat It"
"Billie Jean"
"Human Nature"
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
"The Lady in My Life"
"Carousel"
"Someone in the Dark"
"Billie Jean" (demo)
"The Girl Is Mine 2008" with will.i.am
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" with Michael Jackson and will.i.am
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" with Michael Jackson, Akon and will.i.am
"Billie Jean 2008" with Kanye West
"For All Time"
Iconic daredevil Evel Knievel dies at 69
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over crazy obstacles including Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.
Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.
Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.
Longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundel said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Clearwater condominium and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital.
"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" Rundel said.
Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.
"I think he lived 20 years longer than most people would have" after so many injuries, said his son Kelly Knievel, 47. "I think he willed himself into an extra five or six years."
Though Knievel dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, the image of the high-flying motorcyclist clad in patriotic, star-studded colors was never erased from public consciousness. He always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.
His death came just two days after it was announced that he and rapper Kanye West had settled a federal lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in a popular West music video.
Knievel made a good living selling his autographs and endorsing products. Thousands came to Butte, Mont., every year as his legend was celebrated during the "Evel Knievel Days" festival, which Rundel organizes.
"They started out watching me bust my ass, and I became part of their lives," Knievel said. "People wanted to associate with a winner, not a loser. They wanted to associate with someone who kept trying to be a winner."
For the tall, thin daredevil, the limelight was always comfortable, the gab glib. To Knievel, there always were mountains to climb, feats to conquer.
"No king or prince has lived a better life," he said in a May 2006 interview with The Associated Press. "You're looking at a guy who's really done it all. And there are things I wish I had done better, not only for me but for the ones I loved."
He had a knack for outrageous yarns: "Made $60 million, spent 61. ...Lost $250,000 at blackjack once. ... Had $3 million in the bank, though."
He began his daredevil career in 1965 when he formed a troupe called Evel Knievel's Motorcycle Daredevils, a touring show in which he performed stunts such as riding through fire walls, jumping over live rattlesnakes and mountain lions and being towed at 200 mph behind dragster race cars.
In 1966 he began touring alone, barnstorming the West and doing everything from driving the trucks, erecting the ramps and promoting the shows. In the beginning he charged $500 for a jump over two cars parked between ramps.
He steadily increased the length of the jumps until, on New Year's Day 1968, he was nearly killed when he jumped 151 feet across the fountains in front of Caesar's Palace. He cleared the fountains but the crash landing put him in the hospital in a coma for a month.
His son, Robbie, successfully completed the same jump in April 1989.
In the years after the Caesar's crash, the fee for Evel's performances increased to $1 million for his jump over 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in London — the crash landing broke his pelvis — to more than $6 million for the Sept. 8, 1974, attempt to clear the Snake River Canyon in Idaho in a rocket-powered "Skycycle." The money came from ticket sales, paid sponsors and ABC's "Wide World of Sports."
The parachute malfunctioned and deployed after takeoff. Strong winds blew the cycle into the canyon, landing him close to the swirling river below.
On Oct. 25, 1975, he jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island in Ohio.
Knievel decided to retire after a jump in the winter of 1976 in which he was again seriously injured. He suffered a concussion and broke both arms in an attempt to jump a tank full of live sharks in the Chicago Amphitheater. He continued to do smaller exhibitions around the country with his son, Robbie.
Many of his records have been broken by daredevil motorcyclist Bubba Blackwell.
Knievel also dabbled in movies and TV, starring as himself in "Viva Knievel" and with Lindsay Wagner in an episode of the 1980s TV series "Bionic Woman." George Hamilton and Sam Elliott each played Knievel in movies about his life.
Evel Knievel toys accounted for more than $300 million in sales for Ideal and other companies in the 1970s and '80s.
Born Robert Craig Knievel in the copper mining town of Butte on Oct. 17, 1938, Knievel was raised by his grandparents. He traced his career choice back to the time he saw Joey Chitwood's Auto Daredevil Show at age 8.
"The phrase one-of-a-kind is often used, but it probably applies best to Bobby Knievel," said U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., who grew up with Knievel. "He was an amazing athlete... He was sharp as a tack, one of the smartest people I've ever known and finally, as the world knows, no one had more guts than Bobby. He was simply unafraid of anything."
Outstanding in track and field, ski jumping and ice hockey at Butte High School, Knievel went on to win the Northern Rocky Mountain Ski Association Class A Men's ski jumping championship in 1957 and played with the Charlotte Clippers of the Eastern Hockey League in 1959.
He also formed the Butte Bombers semiprofessional hockey team, acting as owner, manager, coach and player.
Knievel also worked in the Montana copper mines, served in the Army, ran his own hunting guide service, sold insurance and ran Honda motorcycle dealerships. As a motorcycle dealer, he drummed up business by offering $100 off the price of a motorcycle to customers who could beat him at arm wrestling.
At various times and in different interviews, Knievel claimed to have been a swindler, a card thief, a safe cracker, a holdup man.
Evel Knievel married hometown girlfriend, Linda Joan Bork, in 1959. They separated in the early 1990s. They had four children, Kelly, Robbie, Tracey and Alicia.
Robbie Knievel followed in his father's footsteps as a daredevil, jumping a moving locomotive in a 200-foot, ramp-to-ramp motorcycle stunt on live television in 2000. He also jumped a 200-foot-wide chasm of the Grand Canyon.
Knievel lived with his longtime partner, Krystal Kennedy-Knievel, splitting his time between their Clearwater condo and Butte. They married in 1999 and divorced a few years later but remained together. Knievel had 10 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.