The Couch Potato Report - February 28th, 2009
This week The Couch Potato Report peels seven films that are not very good, and the greatest of alllll time!!
It is my first week back from vacation, and I thought I was going to be able to tell you about some great films this week, all with fantastic casts...but unfortunately, they were all disappointing, and as such I don't have anything great to say about any of them...but I will try to be as nice as I can...I'll try!
Let's start with the Clint Eastwood directed film CHANGELING starring Angelina Jolie.
CHANGELING begins in 1928 Los Angeles and it is based on the true story of a woman who is reunited with her kidnapped son, except there is one problem...the child is not her son and after confronting the city authorities about the fact that the new boy is not her son, Jolie is vilified as an unfit mother and branded delusional.
In addition to the story of a mother looking for her son, CHANGELING also focuses on the crimes of Saskatchewan-born murderer Gordon Northcott, who was convicted in 1928 of raping and killing three young boys in California.
CHANGELING is not an awful film, I just didn't think it was very good.
It is well directed and acted, but it actually seems much longer than it's two-hour and twenty-minute running time...and that in itself is long enough.
The movie is so slow moving that at times you will actually want something to happen, just to keep you interested in the film.
I was always interested in how it would all turn out, but at times I just had no interest in the movie, due to it's slow pace.
I'm glad I had the chance to see CHANGELING, and if you enjoy Angelina Jolie, Clint Eastwood, or films that are very slow and dramatic, then maybe you will enjoy it. Otherwise, skip it.
And unless you absolutely have to see every film that is very slow and dramatic, you should probably also skip BLINDNESS.
This films is such a waste of time and talent.
BLINDNESS takes place in a big, unnamed city.
After an unexplained outbreak of blindness affects some people, the victims are quarantined by the government in a hospital without any medical care, treatment or hygiene.
Among the first people affected is an ophthalmologist, and even though the blindness seems contagious, his wife can still see and she accepts the task of taking care of him, and the others in their hospital ward.
A ward that quickly loses control of the hospital as a battle for control begins.
The couple are played by Mark Ruffalo from ZODIAC and COLLATERAL and Julianne Moore from CHILDREN OF MEN and THE HOURS, and even they can't rise above the material. Now I have never read the book that this film is based on, so I can't compare them, but I hope it is better than the film.
I wanted answers to the questions and scenarios the film poses, and got none. I wanted to be entertained, and I was not, I wanted something...but BLINDNESS gave me nothing. It is just an awful movie! Even if you like the cast, skip this thing!!
Now, for the next release this week, it is the cast that actually saves FLASH OF GENIUS.
The story itself is a formulaic David Vs. Goliath tale, this time about the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, saw the major automobile manufacturers steal it from him, and then spent years trying to win back credit for his invention.
The cast is lead by Greg Kinnear from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and the great Lauren Graham from BAD SANTA and they are always likeable, even if their film is not.
FLASH OF GENIUS is not a bad little film, but it isn't great. Movie fans might not care too much for it, but I suspect that autombobile enthusiasts will as it features the creation of the intermittent windshield wipers - which operate in timed intervals rather than constantly. This keeps a windshield clean in conditions of misting or very light rain.
Now while I am confident that autombobile enthusiasts will get something out of FLASH OF GENIUS, I am just confident that people who love guitars will not get anything out of THE GUITAR...and neither will people who love all other instruments.
I wanted to like this small little movie about a woman who changes every single part of her life after she is diagnosed with a terminal disease, fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend all on the same day, I really did!!
When she is given two months to live and throws caution to the wind to pursue her dreams, I was rooting for her...but in the end, while I rooted for the woman, I couldn't root for the film that she is in.
THE GUITAR is just a self-indulgent film that stretches even it's own credibility and boundaries, and so you should just ignore it!
You should probably also ignore Guy Ritchie's latest, although it is still a step up from his last couple of films.
This is a guy who debuted with the one-two punch of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and then gave us the awful Swept Away and Revolver...so while ROCK N ROLLA isn't quite as good as Guy's first two flicks, it is much better than the last two!
ROCK N ROLLA features lots of double crossing, underworld backstabbing, Russians, old Brits, petty thieves, a beautiful accountant, a gay gangster, and a crackhead who all cross paths, steal millions of Euros, beat a man on a golf course, unearth an informant, or look for an expensive painting.
Confused with all those lines and stories crossing? Well, that is what Guy Ritchie does best!
Gerard Butler from 300 and Thandie Newton from CRASH are great in the film, but there is too much going on, and most of the time no reason to care.
ROCK N ROLLA is not great or even very good, but it is better than Swept Away and Revolver, and so for those of us who loved, and still love Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, there is reason to beleive in Guy Ritchie again.
So rock on, ROCK N ROLLA
If it wasn't for the cast, the next film I have for you this morning is one that I might probably not include at all on The Couch Potato Report...but since it features some recognizable names, and it actually not bad, I have decided to include THE LODGER.
The film stars Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Simon Baker, Shane West, Donal Logue, Philip Baker Hall, Rachael Leigh Cook and Rebecca Pidgeon and it is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 film The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog.
It features two parallel storylines, one about a troubled detective who is playing a cat-and-mouse game with an unknown killer, and the second about a less-than-stable landlady and her relationship with her handsome and new "lodger".
THE LODGER is not a great film, but if you like thrillers, and don't overthink it, then you might enjoy it. I liked this one!
I didn't like BODY OF LIES...even though I love the director - Ridley Scott, and the two stars - Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. This film features some interesting technology and a few good scenes, but it just isn't a very good movie...sadly.
The plot of BODY OF LIES is pretty simple to explain...Leo is a CIA agent on the ground in the middle East. He is an believes in creating and nurturing personal relationships based on trust and professionalism.
Russell Crowe is his U.S. based supervisor, a meddler who makes up the rules as he goes along and is more than willing to trade long-term benefits for a short-term situation he considers a victory.
With it's cast and director, I expected big things from BODY OF LIES, but unfortunately I didn't get them. I am glad I saw it, but I just can't recommend it.
I can however recommend THE ULTIMATE ALI COLLECTION, and not just because today is the last day of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, but because it features over two hours of the one, the only, Mr. Muhammad Ali!
Ali's career in and out of the boxing ring is revisited through classic fight footage, interviews and more in this 3-DVD Box Set.
To this day Muhammad Ali remains much more than "The Greatest Boxer" of all time, he is an international icon who captivated the world by articulating the feelings of the oppressed underclasses.
And he was an unusual sports figure in his day, being an outspoken conscientious object willing to offer an opinion on civil rights and the Vietnam War, and while he was stripped of his heavyweight crown, no one could ever shut him up or take away his dignity.
THE ULTIMATE ALI COLLECTION is a fantastic collection of his work, his words, and him...the one and only Muhammad Ali.
THE ULTIMATE ALI COLLECTION, THE LODGER, THE GUITAR, FLASH OF GENIUS and BLINDNESS are all available now on DVD.
BODY OF LIES, ROCK N ROLLA, CHANGELING are available on DVD and Blu-ray as well.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
GROWING OP is a Canadian film about a home-schooled kid who decides to head to high school, despite protests from his pot-growing parents, in the hopes of winning the affection of a new girl.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED stars Robert DeNiro as a Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION and FRENCH CONNECTION II debut on Blu-ray, and then there is a brand-new animated WONDER WOMAN film.
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!
Jimmy Fallon begins his 'Late Night' adventure
Jimmy Fallon is prepared for whatever criticism he may get as the new host of NBC's Late Night. This is, after all, the man who starred in Taxi.
And besides, the former Saturday Night Live regular figures nothing he'll hear in the coming weeks will be as bad as what his predecessor, Conan O'Brien, went through when he took over for David Letterman in 1993.
"I don't think anyone could put up with what Conan was given when he first started," Fallon said on a conference call with reporters last week. "I mean, that poor guy went through the ringer ... that was insane. There wasn't anyone who liked him at first, and he stayed in the ring and stayed up, and you've got to respect him for that. So, I mean, as bad as a ribbing as I could get for this, I don't see it being that bad."
It's not that Fallon expects his first show on Monday night -- with guests Robert De Niro and Justin Timberlake and a musical performance from Van Morrison -- to go entirely smoothly. In fact, he assures us it won't. But as he's been doing test shows in recent weeks, he's been drawing on a piece of advice O'Brien (who will take over The Tonight Show in June) gave him.
"I think the thing he's repeated most is that you've just got to do it," he says. "Just do it, just keep doing it, because then that's how you learn how to do it. Just get up there and just start swinging and then you'll figure it out, which is good advice. And after the first two test shows I can tell you he's right.
"It's like you can prepare, you can get the great writers, you can get the great set and the great director, but if you don't get these interviews down it can get weird. And, you know, it can -- even a writer can't save you in those things. So I think the more I do it the more comfortable I'll be with talking to people."
Some highlights of the conversation:
Putting his stamp on the show: "I think ours will be different in the fact that we're younger, we're into tech stuff, gadgets, phones, video games. We'll treat a video game premiere like a movie premiere. I'm just going to be honest with what I like and what I do, what I enjoy. And we're not going to hide the fact that people are on the Internet all day. ... We're going to try to be as interactive as possible with our fans.
"I'm currently on Twitter and Facebook and Flickr and Digg; I'm on all that stuff. And I want to be as interactive as possible. I know we tape at 5:30 [ET], we air at 12:30, but I think my fans are smart enough to realize that we do tape early. And so we'll figure out some way to keep it interactive, either through Tweets or, you know, I'll tell you -- I can say on the show between 5:30 and 6:30 Eastern Standard Time, you know, please send in [comments]. I still have to figure out how that’s going to work. [The show will also have three bloggers posting during the day with clips and other items from the set and around the Internet.]
"And the fun thing is, if it doesn't work it's still fun to experiment and try stuff; it's 12:30 at night, I mean, honestly I just want to kind of keep people awake. Or at least give you one joke to go to bed with."
On becoming a better interviewer: "Every morning I sit my wife to the right of me, and I ask her what she's going to do that day. And then ... we run a clip and then we go to commercial.
"I realized after the first two test shows that it is tricky, it's hard. And I think the hardest part for me is you have these pre-interviews, these segment producers that pre-interview your guest. And they give you these bullet points of what funny stories they have.
"And your job as the host is to -- you hit on these bullet points to strike up a conversation with them. So, you know, the first couple I've done I've been a little nervous and I've been like, 'Hey, where you from? Connecticut, oh good. Do you do impressions? Oh great. I heard you went on vacation, and you had a hang gliding incident? Oh good. We'll be right back.' And I was like, 'Wait -- that was the worst conversation I've ever had in my life.'
"So I think the more calm, the looser I get and the more I make people feel at home and at ease and just have them not worry that they have to score, that I'll make sure they look good -- that's my job as the host is to make them shine. ... I'm just going to try to make my guests shine on my show. And I think between that and my house band it's going to be a good show."
About that house band, The Roots: "I got a lot to play with. I really, really, really struck gold and I'm so happy that they -- and honored -- that they would be my band. ... It should be something you want to go do [if you're in New York] because not even counting me, the band alone, will freak your bean. They're going to give you a heart attack. It is like going to see a concert for one hour. And they are so good, just so impressive."
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The Jimmy Fallon era on Late Night begins at 12:35 a.m. ET Monday/Tuesday on NBC.
Ed McMahon in Intensive Care
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Ed McMahon is in intensive care at a Los Angeles hospital.
The 85-year-old former Johnny Carson sidekick has been hospitalized for several weeks with pneumonia, as well as other unspecified ailments, rep Howard Bragman tells E! News.
Bragman declined to comment on reports that McMahon has also been diagnosed with bone cancer, but did say the TV icon's condition is "serious" and his family is at his side.
"We're going to hope for the best right now," he said, adding that eveyone is "very optimistic" and McMahon is "gathering his strength."
McMahon has had his share of troubles in recent months, including bank debts, a home foreclosure, a process server-biting dog and a broken neck, which he blames for his financial woes.
Heart's Wilson sisters to be honored by music biz
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Ann and Nancy Wilson, the principal members of veteran rock group Heart, will receive a lifetime achievement award from a songwriters' group, organizers said on Thursday.
The sisters will be given the Founders Award during performing right group ASCAP's annual pop music awards in Hollywood on April 22. The honorees and various guests usually perform at the event, but details have not yet been finalized.
Ann Wilson, Heart's 58-year-old singer, and Nancy, its 54-year-old rhythm guitarist, rose to fame in the 1970s with such hits as "Crazy On You," "Magic Man" and "Barracuda."
"Their success and influence helped pave the way for other female artists, and they continue to build their musical legacy with an artistic energy that remains as strong today as when they first started out over 35 years ago," ASCAP president and chairman Marilyn Bergman said in a statement.
Past recipients include Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Annie Lennox, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young.
Rival performing rights group BMI said earlier this week it would Philadelphia soul songwriter/producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff with an Icon lifetime achievement award during its annual awards dinner in Beverly Hills on May 19.
Both ASCAP and BMI collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers by monitoring radio airplay and charging license fees to the owners of venues where live and recorded music is played.
Simpsons Surpasses Another Milestone
Here's some news that's sure to make yellow-hued fans tickled pink: Fox has renewed The Simpsons for two more historic and satiric seasons, bringing its overall total to a record-breaking 22.
Sorry, Gunsmoke.
The network has requested 44 more episodes, bringing the four-fingered family's total to a whopping 493.
However, while the renewal means The Simpsons has topped Gunsmoke's 20-year run as the longest-running prime-time entertainment series, Springfield's finest have a way to go before besting the western's episode count. Gunsmoke played for an astonishing 635 episodes.
To mark their longevity, Matt Groening & Co. last month launched "Best. 20 Years. Ever.," a yearlong celebration leading up to January 14, 2010, the two-decade anniversary of the 'toon's debut. Woo-hoo!