The Couch Potato Report - August 8th, 2009
This week The Couch Potato Report peels a dollhouse, we’ll kill Bill - twice - and enjoy some high quality H2O.
Usually the films I review are done in the following order: 1) Canadian films, 2) High Profile Releases, 3) Everything else, and then 4) The Blu-Ray Beacon, featuring some new High Definition releases.
This week, I’m going to switch things up a bit and not tell you about the nine releases I have for you in that order.
Instead, I’ll talk about them in descending order based on how much I liked them.
And number one on the list, the release I enjoyed the most this week was SEASON ONE of the great television show DOLLHOUSE!!
DOLLHOUSE is the latest show from Joss Whedon, the man who gave us Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly.
The very beautiful and talented Eliza Dushku from Buffy and the film BRING IT ON plays a woman maned Echo. She is a woman who volunteers to be an operative in an underground organization.
These operatives, or "Actives" are given brain implants and new personas and personalities to fit the requirements of the millionaires who require one service, or another.
The services can be anything from crimes to fantasies to the occasional good deed.
The early episodes of DOLLHOUSE are self-contained, but after the first four everything that happens becomes part of the ongoing story about the house, the operatives, and the mystery corporation behind it all.
Not every episode is great, but there is always enough going on to make each episode interesting, and so I recommend DOLLHOUSE - SEASON ONE wholeheartedly!!
But, I must qualify that by admitting that this isn't a show for everyone. If you don't like science fiction/action shows than, you should stay away from it.
However, if you enjoy science-fiction action shows, that also add a little bit of police procedural dramas thrown in, then book your appointment with the DOLLHOUSE.
And get ready, SEASON TWO debuts on Friday, September 18th!!
My second favourite release this week is actually a re-release. We are now less than two weeks away from a brand new film from director Quentin Tarantino, and so some of his other films are being issued in new formats, including his spectacular 2003/2004 releases KILL BILL, VOLUMES 1 & 2.
The DVD KILL BILL - DOUBLE FEATURE has both films on one disc, for one low price, and I enjoyed watching them again this week as I remain a huge fan of Tarantino's work...BUT...the disc has only the films themselves, with no special features at all...not even a trailer for Tarantino's new film!!
THAT fact is disappointing...the films, never will be!
Films that star Uma Thurman as a Bride who wakes up after a long coma and the only thing on her mind is to get revenge on the team of assassins who betrayed her, including her once lover and mentor...Bill.
I truly love the Kill Bill films, and I also truly love Adam Sandler's comedy THE WATERBOY.
Yes, even though it is lowest common denominator, sophmoric, juvenile humour, the darn film still makes me laugh out loud!!
Sandler is a waterboy who uses his pent up anger to become a star football player and this comedy is new on Blu-ray this week, and even though being in High Definition doesn't benefit a comedy liek this, I enjoyed it...and I will watch it again!
No, High Definition doesn't always benefit the older films that are now being released in the format, but it does give me an excuse to talk about them as new releases.
I'll offer up the Academy Award winning film MY COUSIN VINNY as another example of that.
This fish-out-of-water story about a big city lawyer who has to travel to small town Alabama to defend a case remains a very entertaining comedy, but it doesn't necessarily benefit from being on Blu-ray as the clever writing and funny jokes can be made clearer through technology.
You either get them and find them funny, or you don't.
But, technology aside, I dare say that I do get them and I always enjoy this film!!
I too always enjoy director John Carpenter's 1986 otherworldly action adventure comedy BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, and it is Number Five on my list this week, due to it's debut on Blu-ray.
If you have never seen it, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA stars Kurt Russell as an atypical hero who finds himself deep beneath San Francisco's Chinatown, in a murky, creature-filled world populated by an empire of spirits.
Canadian actress Kim Cattrall, from SEX AND THE CITY, co-stars.
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA is fun. Sure, it has all of those other great qualities I mentioned, but I have always liked it because it was fun.
I wouldn't use the word "fun" in conjunction with this next film, instead I will use "violent", "action packed" and "award winning."
It won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and Five European Film Awards in 2008, including Best Picture.
This is the Italian gangster movie GOMORRAH.
GOMORRAH is based on the book by Roberto Saviano and it offers an inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families.
Due to it's slow moving pace, it isn't a mob movie that will grab and never let you go - like THE GODFATHER or GOODFELLAS - but there are some very interesting things that take place...and, it is all true!!
GOMORRAH is a very good movie.
A few weeks ago, on July 18th, I told you about Academy Award winning director Steven Soderbergh's CHE - a four hour, subtitled bio-pic about Marxist revolutionary leader, and counter-culture t-shirt icon Che Guevara - starring Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro from TRAFFIC and THE USUAL SUSPECTS.
CHE is being released on DVD in two parts and PART 2: GUERRILLA is available now.
If you have ever wanted to know more about the man whose face adorns thousands of t-shirts, these films are a great place to start.
I personally enjoyed PART ONE more than PART TWO, but ultimately I enjoyed them both.
But, make sure you have enough time set aside to fully enjoy them as, I said, combined they are over four hours long.
We have arrived at the botoom two films this week, my least two favourite of the week, and coming in second last is the remake/re-imagining of the WITCH MOUNTAIN films from the 1970s.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN.
Now, let me be clear, RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN isn't necesarrily second last on my list this week because of it's quality, or because it takes a film from my childhood that remains one of my all-time favourites and remakes/reimagines it...it is second last because of the quality of releases this week.
That said, this new version of the 1975 film ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN features The Rock as a Las Vegas cabbie who decides to help two alien kids - Seth and Sara in this version, Tia and Tony in the original movie.
The kids on on earth by accident, and they are trying to get back home...however, some government agents would like to prevent that from happening.
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN is a very good movie, for the whole family, and it contains some great nods to the original for those of us who love the original.
It stands on it's own, and I think some of today's generation will love it!
Finally this week...yes, last and least...is OBSESSED.
It is awful!!!
OBSESSED is about a businessman who is being stalked by the new office temp.
Eventually the stalking leaves the office and his wife and family become targets too.
Variations on thi spremise have worked before in films like FATAL ATTRACTION and THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, but it doesn't work here.
OBSESSED is cliche, predictable, and it commits the cardinal sin of these types of films...it features people who aren't good actors!!
FATAL ATTRACTION stars Michael Douglas and Glenn Close and HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE's cast includes Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay and Julianne Moore...all people who can act!
OBSESSED features Ali Later from TV's HEROES and pop singer Beyonce Knowles...who does not know how to act!
Look, if you watch this movie, and you like, then I say put a ring on it...because if you like it then you should put a ring on it.
But I didn't like it...and that is why it is last on my list, and my least favourite release this week.
Skip it!!
The awful OBSESSED, the pretty good RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN, the mob movie GOMORRAH, the still fun BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, the still funny MY COUSIN VINNY and THE WATERBOY and SEASON ONE of the great television series DOLLHOUSE are all available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
CHE - PART 2, CHE - PART 1 and the new KILL BILL - DOUBLE FEATURE are only available on DVD...although the KILL BILL films are available separately on Blu-ray too.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
It will be my pleasure to tell you about the superb, Academy Award nominated film WALTZ WITH BASHIR.
We will also go back to school with the films 17 AGAIN, THE CLASS, ST. TRINIAN’S and ST. ELMO’S FIRE.
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 Shania album 'nowhere in sight'
TORONTO - For the seventh year in a row, Shania Twain fans are gathering at a conference in the country superstar's hometown of Timmins, Ont.
But it's also been seven years since they've had a new Twain album to listen to, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime in the near future.
A spokesman for Twain's label says a new record from the singer is still "nowhere in sight," despite Internet rumours to the contrary.
The 43-year-old hasn't released an album of new material since 2002's "Up!" And yet in an oft-fickle music industry where artists are forgotten in the time it takes to download a new ringtone, Twain's fans and peers are proving extraordinarily patient in waiting for new material from the singer.
"One of the things that's very unique about Shania, is that she writes her lyrics and she writes her music - and subsequently, she doesn't turn out an album every six weeks or every other year, it takes her a while," said Richard Sessions, a 51-year-old from Goshen, Ind., who has made the trip for all of Twain's fan conferences.
"We understand that she's also had some other things in her life that have distracted her from her music, so we're patient."
And Twain, apparently, appreciates it.
In a June 12 blog posting, Twain apologized to her fans for her delay in creating new music, writing: "I realize I'm not holding up very well on my end of the relationship!"
But Twain, who has always shunned the spotlight when it comes to her personal life, has kept an even lower profile since splitting from her husband and producer Mutt Lange.
In June, she wrote about the difficult time she's endured, and discussed trying to keep her emotions in check for the benefit of her young son.
And she also described a creatively fruitful period that followed the "personal crisis."
"Since then, I've been inspired by my pain to write and use writing as a therapy through the suffering," Twain wrote. "I truly wouldn't wish this on anybody as a means to get inspired, but it's been a productive period with so much emotion trying to find its way out. "
"However, there is no telling how long it will take me to actually finish these songs and record them so they can get out to you."
Rumours swirled on the Internet earlier this year that Twain would, in fact, have a new album out in the spring, and then the fall. But her label rep says there definitely won't be a new studio album from Twain out this year.
Meantime, many people anxiously waiting that new material, including the staff at the Shania Twain Centre in Timmins, a $6-million facility that opened its doors in 2001.
Tracy Hautanen, the centre's manager, says that roughly 30 people registered for this year's Twain conference, which started Thursday and runs through Sunday. That's down from 100 a few years ago.
"We were hoping for more people, but of course, the numbers are low for a few reasons - the economy is not helping, and then this is a quieter time in (Twain's) career as well," she said in a telephone interview. "So we know when things pick up with her, our numbers will pick up again."
Hautanen said just 500 fans have toured the centre this year. That's quite a comedown from 55,000 annual visitors projected when the centre opened to much fanfare eight years ago.
Twain's peers are also eagerly awaiting the singer's return. A surprise appearance at last year's CMA Awards in Nashville earned Twain a standing ovation, and a chorus of country stars - including Taylor Swift - have been vocal about wanting to see Twain come back.
"I was so proud of our country music family in Nashville when (Twain) came out on stage at the last CMAs," country legend Reba McEntire told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview.
"They were so glad to see her again. They showed their love and support by giving her a standing ovation."
As far as Twain's staying power, it's no mystery to McEntire.
"She's beautiful, she's very talented, great material, lord - what's not to love?"
Aerosmith Canadian tour in turmoil
The Canadian leg of a concert tour by legendary rockers Aerosmith has been thrown into turmoil, with promoters on Friday scrambling to determine how an injury to lead singer Steven Tyler would affect the schedule.
A Friday night concert in Winnipeg and a Sunday night gig in Regina have been officially cut, with promises for makeup dates in the future.
An Aug. 11 concert in Edmonton is still a go for now, promoters said. The Canadian tour has other dates, including Calgary on Aug. 13 and Vancouver Aug. 15.
"It is unfortunate that we do have to announce that the Regina concert that was scheduled for this Sunday is postponed," Brad Walker, a spokesman for Keystone Entertainment, told CBC News on Friday. "We are working really closely with the venue right now to come up with a re-scheduled date, which we are hoping to have announced early to mid next week."
Information about the Aerosmith tour has been changing almost hourly as fans try to keep up with the status of Tyler's health. The charismatic singer fell from the band's stage during a performance Wednesday in South Dakota.
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry told an Illinois radio station on Friday that the future of the tour was up in the air.
"We still don't know if we're going to keep the tour up or what. It's breaking my heart," Perry said.
Tyler, 61, fell several feet while entertaining the crowd by dancing around as the sound crew replaced a fuse that blew during the song Love in an Elevator.
An amateur video showed him spinning around before falling off the stage.
A concertgoer said Tyler's head was bleeding and he was holding his shoulder after the fall, but it wasn't immediately clear how seriously he was hurt.
The music entertainment magazine Billboard reported Friday that a band insider told them Tyler had broken his shoulder.
Perry said the band had to cancel only a couple of concerts during its first 25 years, but has had a run of bad luck the last three years.
On June 28, Tyler hurt his leg at a concert in Uncasville, Conn., and the band had to postpone seven shows in July. Tyler also battled pneumonia before the tour began in June, while Perry fought a knee infection.
After Tyler's fall, Perry said he decided to ride the tour bus home and stop at radio stations along the way to play some of his solo work.
"As soon as I knew that the tour was going to get postponed, or cancelled or whatever, it was, 'All right, where's the first radio station I can hit?"' he said.
According to the band's website, the 2009 tour schedule was to make stops in five western Canadian cities and then, after Vancouver, continue with more U.S. performances.
The band makes another swing through Canada in September, with dates in Toronto (Sept. 3) and the Ottawa suburb of Kanata (Sep. 5).
Forty years on, Beatles fans flock to Abbey Road crosswalk
LONDON (AFP) – Fans of the Fab Four are flocking to the most famous pedestrian crossing in Britain for the 40th anniversary on Saturday of the taking of one of the greatest images in rock 'n' roll history.
It was outside the Abbey Road recording studios at 11.35 am on August 8, 1969 that the Beatles strutted purposefully from one side of the street to another, for the cover of what would be their final album as a group.
Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, standing on a stepladder in the middle of the road, had just 10 minutes to knock off six frames of John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison traversing the zebra crossing.
McCartney alone walked in bare feet, out of step with his bandmates, a cigarette in his right hand -- unusual for a leftie, perhaps, but enough to feed a generation's worth of "Paul is dead" rumours.
Re-enacting the walk across Abbey Road is what hundreds of tourists -- walking single file, eyes firmly looking straight ahead -- come to the well-heeled Saint John's Wood neighbourhood do every day.
"It's one of the rare unchanged places in Beatles history, somewhere that we can get an idea of what it was like at the time," a Beatles fan from California said the other day.
"The challenge is to exactly re-create the picture," said Christopher, who was visiting from France with his friend Thierry and spent an hour on Abbey Road with their four teenaged children.
"Except that you need a step ladder and to set yourself up in the middle of the street," Thierry explained.
It might be hard to match the fashions of the day.
Lennon, who would be shot and killed in New York in December 1980, was in head-to-toe white. Behind him was Ringo in black, then barefoot Paul. George brought up the rear in blue denim shirt and bell-bottoms.
"It's crazy to say that we've walked at the exact same place as they did," said Lucille, 15.
"And so near to the anniversary," added her brother Paul. "But we told ourselves it would be better to come a few days early, because there are going to be too many people on Saturday."
Because it is a zebra crossing, with orange beacons atop striped poles flashing at either end, motorists must stop for all pedestrians -- Beatles pilgrims or otherwise.
But there are drivers who "honk their horns and shout not very nice things in English" when tourists dawdle too long in the middle of the two-lane street that is, in fact, part of a busy intersection, said Paul.
The nearby Abbey Road studios -- the world's first purpose-built recording facility when it was opened in the early 1930s -- merits a visit as well.
The Beatles made nearly all their records there, and in its history it has hosted a raft of other artists -- names as diverse as Fred Astaire and Fats Waller to U2, Oasis and Manic Street Preachers.
Propped atop its roof is a webcam (www.abbeyroad.co.uk/visit) that peers down on the crosswalk -- making virtual visits to Abbey Road possible from anywhere on Earth.