The Couch Potato Report - May 30th, 2009
This week The Couch Potato Report peels reality, an Atlantic Canadian outlander, and the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD returns with a film from Norway!
I have said it before and I will say it again...I am a fan of documentaries! I watch them proudly and I watch them often...good and bad, I watch them!
So when I heard that there was a film coming out that was a documentary about making documentaries...well...you can imagine how excited I was as I sat down to watch CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY!
This National Film Board Of Canada production features 33 filmakers from 14 different countries who all share the same passion for documentary films.
Albert Maysles (rhymes with "hazels"), Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield and Werner Herzog are just some of the people who offer their insight into their craft while they reflect on the films that they have made, and the people who have appeared in them.
CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY features more than 100 clips from dcumentaries such as Grey Gardens, The Thin Blue Line, The Day I Will Never Forget and Darwin's Nightmare and I found it insightful and very interesting.
However, if you have never heard of Grey Gardens, The Thin Blue Line, The Day I Will Never Forget or Darwin's Nightmare or Albert Maysles (rhymes with "hazels"), Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield or Werner Herzog then you might not get as much out of this film as I did.
But, if you do decide to pick this film out, I still think you will enjoy it, and you might even discover some new documentaries that you'd like to see.
It is called CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY.
Yes, reality is bizarre and weird and compelling, and yes, most fiction films, even the good ones, can't compete with that when it comes to real life, but it is sure fun to watch them when they try...isn't it?
Take for instance the film OUTLANDER.
By definition, an outlander is a person from a foreign country; a foreigner, a stranger.
Now, what if I told you there was a fiction film that featured an outlander, as well as aliens and vikings?
Would you want to see that?
Well, you are in luck! Let me tell you about the made-in-Newfoundland and Nova Scotia film OUTLANDER.
Oh, did I mention...it has dragons too!!
Hee hee hee...now I know, you must be thinking...Dan, a film with aliens and vikings and dragons filmed in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia?!? Why are you even mentioning this?!?! Did people you know work on this film?!?
Well, yes, my cousin Mark O'Neill was the second assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit and my friend Victoria Rockwell was the costume supervisor: second unit, but I didn't know that until after I started watching it...and I started to think, "This is not half bad."
And it isn't...OUTLANDER is not half-bad!
Jim Caviezel from THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, Sophia Myles from the Doctor Who Episode The Girl in the Fireplace, the legendary John Hurt and HELLBOY's Ron Perlman all star in OUTLANDER, a movie I got so caught up in, that I forgot I had to put my clothes in the dryer!
Now, all that said, OUTLANDER is not a classic film, by any stretch of the imagination, but if you like science-fiction films, aliens, dragons, or even Norse mythology, then I think you might, possibly, enjoy it.
Unless comedies that try too hard to be funny and fail more than they succeed are more to your liking...then maybe you should ignore OUTLANDER and just search out PAUL BLART - MALL COP.
Kevin James, of the TV series THE KING OF QUEENS is the aforementioned PAUL BLART - MALL COP.
When his mall is taken over by a gang of organized crooks, it's up to the a mild-mannered security guard to save the day.
PAUL BLART - MALL COP only worked for me because Kevin James is such a likeble actor. Most of the jokes aren't funny, the story is utterly predictable, but James is good at playing this role, the role of a guy you root for, that I was mildly entertained by it.
I'll never sit through PAUL BLART - MALL COP again, mind you, but I didn't think it was awful...so call it a good rental.
I'm not sure what to call this next film. I know that the filmmakers would like me to call it, "A crime film in the vein of THE DEPARTED and MYSTIC RIVER..." but it doesn't deserve mention alongside those Boston based movies.
WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU may be a true story about a pair of childhood friends from Beantown whose life of crime puts a strain on their friendship and lives, but the film is too slow to offer any entertainment value, and as such, it doesn't have much to offer.
It has a great cast including Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke and Amanda Peet, but the story - even if this one is true - is one that we have seen before on film, and seen done better.
WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU is for crime film fans only...I mean if you absolutely have to see everything crime related that shows up on film!!!
If that isn't you, skip it.
This next film is a small, mature, smart romantic film for adults.
Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star in LAST CHANCE HARVEY.
Hoffman is a man who travels to London for his semi-estranged daughter's wedding. Nothing is going right for him, personally or professionally, but then he meets Thompson at the airport and the meeting could change both of their lives...but they both may be too set in their ways to let it!
LAST CHANCE HARVEY is a film - for grown-ups - that I really enjoyed!!
A BUG'S LIFE is a film for kids, that I also really enjoyed!!
A BUG'S LIFE was Pixar's second film, it followed TOY STORY in 1998, and so I won't spend much time reviewing it as I am sure your kids, and maybe even you have seen it.
If not, it features the voices of Kids In The Hall member Dave Foley and Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and it is now available on Blu-ray, looking and sounding better than ever!
And there is also a weath of special features and information too!! Here's director John Lassiter.
I love A BUGS LIFE, and I also still love another film from 1998 - THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, which is also now availbale in high definition on Blu-ray!
This Ben Stiller/Cameron Diaz film remains a comedy classic!
Finally this week, it is the return of the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD!!
While loud films explode at theatres across the province during the Summer Movie Season, I will tell you about a film from a foreign land each week now through labour day.
This year's Festival begins in Norway with the comedy KILL BULJO.
Easily explained KILL BULJO is a Norwegian parody of Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL.
Some of the humour is stupid, and some of it is very funny, and some of it just isn't funny at all, but...maybe that is just because I don't get Norwegian humour.
KILL BULJO is not a classic but it is interesting to watch and it is the very first entry in this year's FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD! It and CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY are both available now on DVD.
A BUG'S LIFE, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, LAST CHANCE HARVEY, WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU, PAUL BLART - MALL COP and the made-in-Newfoundland and Nova Scotia film OUTLANDER are available now on DVD and in High Definition on Blu-ray.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Keifer Sutherland stars in SEASON SEVEN of the TV series 24, a wealth of people whose names you know star in HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, and then there will be FAN BOYS, FARGO, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, and the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD features FAUBOUG 36, from France.
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!
Spector gets 19 years in jail
LOS ANGELES - Phil Spector was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot through the mouth in the music producer's home six years ago.
Spector, 69, looked straight forward and showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ordered a term of 15 years to life for second-degree murder plus four years for personal use of a gun.
Clarkson's mother, Donna, made a brief statement before sentencing, speaking of her daughter's fine qualities, sense of humour, intelligence and dedication to her craft of acting.
"I'm very proud of Lana, proud to be her mother," Donna Clarkson said. She added, "No one should suffer the loss of a child."
The judge also ordered Spector to pay $16,811 in funeral expenses, $9,740 to a state victims' restitution fund and other fees.
Spector, dressed in his customary dark pinstripe suit with a red silk tie, was led away immediately. His attorney asked that he be transferred immediately from county jail to a state prison. It was not immediately known to which prison Spector would be assigned.
Spector gained fame decades ago for what became known as the "Wall of Sound" recording technique that changed rock music.
Clarkson was most famous as the star of Roger Corman's 1985 cult film classic "Barbarian Queen." She was 40 when she died.
Spector's young wife, who is in her late 20s, attended the sentencing.
"This is a sad day for everybody involved," Rachelle Spector said. "The Clarkson family has lost a daughter and a sister. I've lost my husband, my best friend. I feel that a grave injustice has been done and from this day forward I'm going to dedicate myself to proving my husband's innocence."
Spector's son Louis, accompanied by his wife, also came to the sentencing. He had attended much of the trial.
"I'm torn about this," he said. "I'm losing my father who is going to spend his life in jail. At the same time, justice is served."
Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said afterward that the outcome sent a message: "If you commit crimes against our citizens we will follow you and prosecute you. And no matter whether you are famous or wealthy, you will stand trial."
Asked how he felt about Spector personally, Jackson said, "I find nothing tragic about him. Everything he did was intentional."
Jackson said the case was "rock solid" legally and will not be subject to a successful appeal.
Defence attorney Doron Weinberg told reporters that the appeal will be extremely strong.
"Mr. Spector did not kill Lana Clarkson," he said, "and we hope by the time we are through we will be able to prove that."
Spector had two trials with essentially the same evidence. His first in 2007 was televised gavel to gavel and spectators flocked to the courtroom. But when the jury deadlocked after a five-month trial, his legal "dream team," which at times numbered half a dozen lawyers, bailed out.
By the time the second trial started in 2008, interest had waned. The judge ordered cameras turned off and only a handful of spectators and reporters stopped in sporadically to watch testimony.
During jury selection, only a few panellists remembered Spector's heyday as producer of teen anthems including "To Know Him is to Love Him" by The Teddy Bears, The Ronette's "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and The Righteous Brothers' classic, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'." Spector also worked on a Beatles album with John Lennon.
Ironically, Clarkson didn't know Spector's music legacy either when she met him only hours before she died at his Alhambra "castle" in February 2003. She was working as a hostess at the House of Blues nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where she had to be told by a manager that Spector was an important man.
His time had passed. Clarkson's career also was ebbing. Their fateful meeting, recounted in both trials, led to her death and the end of his life as he knew it. For the next six years he spent millions of dollars on lawyers as he sought to prove that Clarkson killed herself.
But what had happened inside his house was never clear. Clarkson's body was found slumped in a chair in a foyer. A gun had been fired in her mouth. Spector's chauffeur, the key witness, said he heard a gunshot, then saw Spector emerge holding a gun and heard him say: "I think I killed somebody."
Weinberg said forensic evidence proved that Clarkson shot herself and cited her desperation at not being able to get acting work. Jackson said the shooting fit the pattern of other confrontations between Spector and women.
Much of the case hinged on the testimony of five women from Spector's past who said he threatened them with guns when they tried to leave his presence. The parallels with the night Clarkson died were chilling even if the stories were very old - 31 years in one instance.
Weinberg said Spector's appeal will assert that the judge erred in allowing the women to testify.
Karen Gillan announced as new companion
The BBC has announced that Scottish actress Karen Gillan is to play the new companion, alongside Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, in the next series of Doctor Who, due to be broadcast in the spring of next year.
Twenty-one year-old Gillan previously appeared in last year's episode "The Fires of Pompeii", as the Soothsayer. BBC News reports that she studied acting at Telford College in Edinburgh, and has also appeared in The Kevin Bishop Show and the forthcoming film Outcast, starring James Nesbitt.
In the press release, executive producer and chief writer Steven Moffat is quoted as saying: "We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too."
Gillan herself says: "I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started!"
The news is also being reported by, among many others: Children's BBC, InTheNews.co.uk, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, Broadcast Now, The Stage, The Sun and The Guardian.
Leno bids farewell to 'Tonight,' hello to O'Brien
BURBANK, Calif. – Jay Leno's final "Tonight" monologue saluted his favorite comedy targets during his 17 years as host that ended Friday.
"Welcome to the exciting season finale of `The Tonight Show,'" a smiling Leno said as the studio audience gave him a standing ovation. "I want to thank all the people who it possible: Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton."
After noting that former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush were taking part in a joint speaking engagement in Canada, Leno remarked wistfully: "I wish I had one more day."
He didn't refrain from mocking his network although he's moving to NBC's prime-time schedule this fall.
He was offered the chance to buy his dressing-room robe for $40, he quipped, and then gave NBC a sharp dig over its slumping prime-time ratings.
His new show represents a gamble, Leno said: "I'm betting NBC will be around in three months. That's not a given."
Leno also fit in a last shot at O.J. Simpson, another monologue favorite. In cleaning out his office today, the comedian said, "I found O.J.'s knife. I had it the whole time."
He did his now-customary one-liners about the economy, and then paid tribute to Rodney Dangerfield, the routine's inspiration, with old "Tonight" clips. Dangerfield died in 2004.
Leno was ushered on stage with a Jimi Hendrix-flavored version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" played by bandleader Kevin Eubanks, who tried to tell a joke and, to Leno's delight, flubbed it.
A new segment was introduced called "White Trash Theater," which consisted of a clip of a woman trying to drive a man away from her porch by hitting him with a beer bottle and a trash-can lid.
Leno leaves "Tonight" atop the late-night ratings, his run abbreviated by NBC's decision five years ago to create a succession plan that gives "Tonight" to Conan O'Brien.
O'Brien, who takes over Monday, was Leno's final guest, with James Taylor the last musical performer.