Category: The Couch Potato Report

The Couch Potato Report – January 12th, 2007
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some extras, THE illusionist and a night listener.
Back in 2001 Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant created the BBC series THE OFFICE about a group of paper merchants in a bleak British industrial town.
Gervais also played David Brent, a man who isn’t, but thinks he’s the coolest, funniest, and most popular boss ever.
Meanwhile, Tim longs for Dawn – the engaged receptionist – and he keeps himself sane by playing childish practical jokes on his super serious co-worker Gareth.
THE OFFICE is one of the most enjoyable television series ever created and now Gervais and Merchant have followed up their success with another tremendously enjoyable piece of comedy – a show called EXTRAS
EXTRAS is about Andy Millman, Actor. The man never forgets his lines, because he is just an extra, one of the people you see milling about behind your favourite stars in movies and TV shows.
Andy has considered himself an actor for five years but thanks to his useless agent he hasn’t actually done any real acting.
Ricky Gervais plays Andy and if you enjoyed the uncomfortable silence in THE OFFICE, you will love EXTRAS.
Steven Merchant appears as the agent, and every scene between the two is absolutely priceless!!
EXTRAS also features self-mocking guest appearances by some of Hollywood’s biggest names including Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Samuel L. Jackson and STAR TREK’S Patrick Stewart
EXTRAS is a superb show to watch and the Special Features on the DVD make it moreso.
There are behind-the-scenes featurettes and over 20 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes.
I especially enjoyed watching the outtakes because you get to see how much fun Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant had while they were making the show.
That fun translates on screen and EXTRAS is all the better for it. You don’t have to like THE OFFICE to enjoy EXTRAS…in fact, in many ways EXTRAS is a more accessible show.
But if you like to laugh, the show’s name once again is EXTRAS. I recommend that you check it out!!
Up next this week is THE ILLUSIONIST.
THE ILLUSIONIST stars Edward Norton from THE ITALIAN JOB and FIGHT CLUB as a magician who returns to his home in Vienna after making a name for himself while performing around the world.
Once he gets back, he is re-ntroduced to his childhood sweatheart.
However, his sweatheart is now a duchess who is set to be engaged to Crown Prince Leopold, future ruler of the Austria-Hungarian Empire and Leopold is not as taken with the magician as his potential bride, so he sends his police inspector to check things out.
THE ILLUSIONIST has some interesting twists and turns, and comes complete with romance, suspense, and enough action and magic to keep almost everyone happy.
I completely enjoyed it!
The very enjoyable THE ILLUSIONIST is now available on DVD, alongside the superbly entertaining EXTRAS, from the creators of THE OFFICE.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Robin Williams stars in THE NIGHT LISTENER as a radio announcer who begins communicating with his biggest fan, but when questions about the fans identity come up, the host’s life is thrown into chaos.
Also next week, the action film CRANK, the absolutely awful THE LADY IN THE WATER and the Hollywood murder mystery THE BLACK DAHLIA.
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!

The Couch Potato Report – January 9th, 2007
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on five films, including one about some snakes on a plane.
Our first film this week is THE WAR TAPES – a superb but hard to watch documentary that was filmed by actual servicemen in Iraq.
Before heading to the war several members of the National Guard were given digital video cameras.
THE WAR TAPES is the film that was edited together from their footage and it provides a perspective on a complex and troubled conflict.
At times THE WAR TAPES is fascinating, frustrating, disgusting, and at other times it is insightful and dispicable.
But at all times it gives us an insiders look at the war in Iraq, and what it is doing to the people who are fighting there.
When this year’s Academy Award nominations are announced on January 23rd THE WAR TAPES is likely to get nominated in the DOCUMENTARY FEATURE category. If that happens, everyone will be lining up at your local store to check out this movie. Don’t wait, see it before the rush.
You might not be glad you did, but you will have experienced a one of a kind look at war.
Next up this week is THINGS TO DO. This is a small Canadian film that probably won’t get an Oscar nod, but it is still fun to watch.
The plot in THINGS TO DO is as follows: A twenty-five year old office worker leaves the big city behind and go back to his childhood hometown to take stock of his life and try to resolve some past regrets.
And while that plot does have some unique twists and turns, the reason that THINGS TO DO is worth seeing, is because the two lead characters are so interesting and…well, boring.
These aren’t movie people, they are people people, living lives that we can all relate to.
Not all conversations in real life sparkle or are peppered with pop culture references, sometimes – in real life – people just ask each other questions.
That is what happens in this movie too!
THINGS TO DO isn’t for everyone, but if you are interested in a small film about small people with big problems, then search it out.
But you don’t like films like that because matial arts films are more your forte, then track down Jet Li’s FEARLESS.
It has hand fighting…Pole fighting…And even sword fighting.
FEARLESS is inspired by a real-life Chinese martial arts master.
Jet Li from ROMEO MUST DIE and HERO plays this legendary figure, whose martial arts style and fearless fight helped the people in China regain their pride in the early 20th century when China was intimidated and humiliated by the growing Western and Japanese powers.
Li is superb, and if you like films full of fighting, then FEARLESS is the movie you need to find this week.
The fourth of five films I have for you in this Couch Potato Report is a horror movie set in a cave.
It is called THE DESCENT.
In the film a group of female friends get trapped in a mountain cave due to a rockfall.
As they try and find a way out of the caves they start to realize that time, and lack of oxygen aren’t their only enemies.
They are also being pursued by a strange breed of predators.
In a day and age when almost every film released stars and is for people between the ages of 18 and 25, the most positive thing I can say about THE DESCENT is the fact that it stars adults, making adult decisions…and trying to come to grips with the adult consequences.
Other than that, THE DESCENT is only, and I hate to say this, but the creativity of my statement is on par with the film itself – THE DESCENT is only a decent horror film.
It doesn’t deserve to be buried under rocks, but I’m not sure everyone needs to see it on the shelves at your local store either.
Okay, the final release this week is a little known film about some SNAKES ON A PLANE.
Since this film was released in theatres back in August “professional critics” have been falling over each other to tell you how bad it is, why it doesn’t work, how fake the computer generated snakes look, and anything else negative that they can say about it.
Truth is, this isn’t a film for “professional critics.”
It is a film for people who would be interested in seeing a movie called SNAKES ON A PLANE.
I saw this film sitting in a jam packed theatre the night it came out, and I watched it again this week at home on DVD.
I enjoyed it both times.
It is everything a film called SNAKES ON A PLANE should be!
If you think you’d be interested in seeing an action film with Samuel L. Jackson about snakes on a plane, then go ahead and enjoy!
Otherwise, there are plenty of other selections now available on DVD on the shelves at your favourite local home entertainment store, including the only decent THE DESCENT, JET LI’S superb martial arts film FEARLESS, the fun to watch Canadian film THINGS TO DO and the potential Academy Award nominee THE WAR TAPES.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
Ricky Gervais followed up his superb BBC series THE OFFICE with the spectacular series EXTRAS and SEASON ONE is now available on DVD with guest stars Patrick Stewart, Kate Winslet and Ben Stiller.
Also next week, in THE ILLUSIONIST a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing and in THE NIGHT LISTENER a radio announcer begins communicating with his biggest fan, but when questions about the boy’s identity come up, the host’s life is thrown into chaos.
I always hate it when radio announcer’s lives are thrown into chaos!!
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!

The Couch Potato Report – January 5th, 2007
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on a lost series, an invincible man, and some treasures.
Every Canadian hockey fan of a certain vintage remembers where they were in September of 1972.
And those of us who aren’t old enough to remember where we were, still know all about Paul Henderson’s immortal goal.
But few of us have the same recollection for September of 1974, even though Team Canada was playing the Russians again.
That is primarily due to the fact that the National Hockey League and it’s players told Hockey Canada that they weren’t interested in playing the Russians again, so a team of WHA all-stars accepted the challenge.
Today, we can hear the roster of the 1974 team and acknowledge that it is equal in many ways the squad who were skating behind Paul Henderson when he scored the greatest goal in Canadian hockey history in 1972.
But in 1974 the WHA was an ugly stepsister to the NHL, and many people didn’t consider the leagues equal, so the series didn’t get the same hype of the previous incarnation.
Until now as TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES has come out as a four-disc box set.
TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES is a superb 4-DVD set that presents seven of the eight games from the series. Games that have been unseen since their original broadcast, plus a documentary about the series and a commentary track over one of the games from Frank Mahovlich and Gordie Howe.
Howe is featured prominantly in this Box Set and I enjoyed every second of footage on Mr. Hockey.
I also really liked watching and listening to Bobby Hull.
TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES is a great piece of Canada’s international hockey history and even though some of the audio and images are less than pristine since the original broadcast tapes were destroyed years ago, the set is still full of great hockey highlights.
Now, if you are a fan of Canadian hockey and would like to pick up this set, be warned that TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES is limited to 10,000 sets
Yes, the superb TEAM CANADA 1974 Box Set is limited to 10,000 copies, but you don’t have to worry about stores running out of copies of the film INVINCIBLE, there will be lots out there to buy, and to rent.
Over the past few years the genre of of sports movies featuring a person who rises above the odds has started to become so cliche that I was starting to think that I would never actually enjoy one of these films again.
GLORY ROAD, REMEMBER THE TITANS, MIRACLE, PREFONTAINE, and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS are just a few examples of some of the films that I haven’t enjoyed from the genre I call “Predictable Sports Films.”
And when I first heard about the film INVINCIBLE about a part time bartender and teacher in Philadelphia who gets an opportunity to try out for the National Football League’s Phildelphia Eagles I thought it had “Predictable Sports Film” written all over it.
But INVINCIBLE rises above the cliches and is a very entertaining movie.
Don’t mistake me, the film does have it’s moments where it treads upon the same ground predictible ground as the many other sports movies that have come before it, but while heading toward that path, this based on a true story about Vince Papale, who was 30 years old, almost out of work, abandoned by his wife, and biding time as a bartender when he answered an open call for tryouts for the Eagles in 1976, is still a very entertaining movie.
I really enjoyed INVINCIBLE!
Our final four titles this week are the latest releases in the WALT DISNEY TREASURES collection.
The WALT DISNEY TREASURES are two disc sets of classic Disney works, covering productions from the studio’s earliest days to more recent work.
The latest releases are THE COMPLETE PLUTO – VOLUME TWO with Mickey’s faithful friend in twenty-plus cartoons.
MORE SILLY SYMPHONIES completes the series of music-themed cartoons that Walt Disney created to train his artists and to experiment with new techniques and visual styles.
If you saw them originally, or when they were aired again in the 1970s, THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB FEATURING THE HARDY BOYS might bring back some memories for you, the same way it did for me.
If you have young kids who didn’t see them originally, feel free to get them involved in “The Mystery of The Applegate Treasure.”
And the final new WALT DISNEY TREASURES release is YOUR HOST WALT DISNEY where we get to see several programs hosted by the man himself.
Including one with a Moose Jaw born entertainer named Art Linkletter.
I always enjoy the WALT DISNEY TREASURES releases as they are a great way to look back on animation, television and the entertainment industry itself in some cases as it was getting started.
And I enjoyed these releases too!
YOUR HOST WALT DISNEY, THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB FEATURING THE HARDY BOYS, MORE SILLY SYMPHONIES and THE COMPLETE PLUTO VOLUME TWO are all very entertaining and they are available now on DVD as part of the WALT DISNEY TREASURES collection along with the also entertaining INVINCIBLE
and the superb TEAM CANADA – THE LOST SERIES.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
THE WAR TAPES is a documentary filmed by actual servicemen in Iraq and in a few weeks it will probably get an Academy Award nomination; THINGS TO DO is a small Canadian film that will probably not get an Oscar nod, but it is still fun to watch.
Also next week, I will talk about the martial arts based FEARLESS, the set in a cave horror movie called THE DESCENT and a little known film about some SNAKES ON A PLANE.
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!

This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on the two most successful Canadian films of all-time!
Ladies and gentleman, it is my pleasure to inform you that our long lasting national nightmare is over!
For the past twenty-five years we Canucks had to live with the knowledge that PORKY’S – a teen sex comedy – was the most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office.
But, as of November 23rd, we have a new champion! Now, our new national Champ is the half-English, half-French action film BON COP BAD COP.
BON COP BAD COP has now grossed $12.2 million, surpassing the long-standing record of PORKY’S $11.2 million.
In BON COP BAD COP English and French police officers are forced to work together when a body is found on the border of Quebec and Ontario.
As is the norm in buddy cop movies, the two men couldn’t be more different.
In fact, the only thing they appear to have in common is that they are both cops, because each one has his own way of doing things.
But eventually – again as is the norm in buddy cop movies – they learn to put their differences aside to try and solve the case.
BON COP BAD COP is funny, has some great action and dialogue, is very entertaining, and I really liked it!…but truth be told, it is just a LETHAL WEAPON Hollywood-esque buddy cop action movie wannabe.
But what allows the film to rise above that formula is the fact that all of it is Canadian.
The two police officers are tracking down a person who is killing people who where involved in moving the Quebec Fleur De Lys hockey team from Quebec City to Colorado, and the representatives of the star player who was drafted by Quebec, but wouldn’t play there, and instead he was traded to Philadelphia.
If that story sounds familiar, well it should. In addition to adapting the Eric Lindross saga into an action film, BON COP BAD COP also has some fun at the expense of our national pastime.
The league is called the CHL, the commisioner’s name is Buttman, and the loud, opinioned television personality is Tom Berry.
BON COP BAD COP probably won’t do as well outside of Canada as it has done inside our home and native land, as it is too Canadian for an international audience.
But since the majority of Canadian films usually gross less than one million dollars at our box offices, and many of them don’t even get to play in more than a handful of theatres, I hope filmmakers look at the success of this film and try to capitalize on it.
Otherwise it could be another twenty-five years before PORKY’S is removed from it’s position as the second most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office.
For now, BON COP BAD COP is the Canadian champion and if you didn’t see it in a theatre, you can now watch it at home.
As for PORKY’S it is also new on DVD.
Unfortunately, the new 2-disc COLLECTOR’S EDITION of PORKY’S – a set that includes all three films made in the series – looks awful!
When most films of a certain age are put on DVD the people resonsible take the time to remaster them, clean them up, and present the films in the best possible manner.
I am not sure if they didn’t have the time, access to better prints of the film or what, but all three movies are presented in pan and scan instead of widescreen, and the picture looks like it was dubbed to DVD from an old video source.
They might not be the most pristine versions of the films that you will ever see, but if you want to have them in your library, they are still funny, even after all these years, especially the original – PORKY’S.
That film and it’s not too bad sequel PORKY’S II – THE NEXT DAY and PORKY’S REVENGE are all included in the PORKY’S COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2-DVD set.
Plus, the original film is still the second most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office.
Finally this week is a show called KENNY VS. SPENNY a show that I couldn’t stop watching…even though I really, really wanted to.
KENNY VS. SPENNY is a Canadian comedy reality TV series that originally aired on CBC and the first two seasons of the show are available now on DVD.
In each episode the two best friends and roommates face each in different competitions, like drinking beer, kissing women and selling bibles, just to names three.
Some episodes and the competitions on the show are funny, others are interesting, and there are also several that are so childish or stupid that you want to just ignore.
But there is something about those shows that makes you keep watching, long after you want to, and if you are like me you will be constantly asking yourself, “Why am I watching this?!?!”
But I couldn’t stop watching, and laughing, and being entertained!
Due to it’s content, KENNY VS. SPENNY isn’t a show for everyone, but if you are looking for something unique and fun, check it out!
SEASONs ONE & TWO of KENNY VS. SPENNY, the COLLECTOR’S EDITION of PORKY’s and the most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office of all time BON COP BAD COP are all available now on DVD.
Coming up in the next edition of The Couch Potato Report, I will have more information on some films that are new on DVD.
I’m Dan Reynish and that’s this edition of THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – December 24th 2006
This edition of The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some box sets that are available for your holiday giving, or receiving.
More and more people are ignoring shows when they first play on television and instead they are picking them up once they are released on DVD instead.
This way – for episodic shows – they don’t have to wait week after week to see what happens.
For the shows that people still watch on TV, since they are fans, they want to own what they enjoy.
There is now also the option to purchase a big huge box set that contains every episode of a series, once it has finished it’s run.
If you have someone that you still need to get something for who falls into one of those categories, I have at least one show from each one to suggest.
And I will start with LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.
There are now three seasons of CRIMINAL INTENT available on DVD.
The show centers on the New York Police Department’s Major Case Squad and the very brilliant, offbeat Detective Robert Goren, as portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio.
Of all the LAW & ORDER shows that have been on the air over the years, CRIMINAL INTENT is my favourite as it shows you the crimes as they are planned and committed, and then we also get to see the detectives solving them and putting a case together for the District Attorney.
Of the three Box Sets for LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT that are available, my favourite is the 2002-2003 set for THE SECOND YEAR. The writing is at it’s best that season, and the cast is working really well together.
And even Detective Goren’s partner – played by Kathryn Erbe – starts to have more to say and do.
LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT is still on the air, but the next box set I will mention is from a show that isn’t.
ALIAS – THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON was the final season of that show.
In the show Jennifer Garner is Sydney Bristow, an international spy recruited out of college and trained for espionage and self-defense.
The fifth season of the show obviously started off where Season Four ended, and the cliffhanger from that year was one of the best ones ever on television.
I was a huge fan of ALIAS during it’s run, but I began to not have time to watch it every week, so this was one show I stopped watching when it aired, and just waited for the DVDs.
And I am glad I did as in real life Jennifer Garner got pregnant and the series went off air for a few months so she could have her baby, before coming back and wrapping up the show’s many loose ends.
They also made Sydney Bristow pregnant on the show and brought in some new people to fill the needs of the still-in-business spy agency.
The new cast wasn’t and isn’t bad, but it is the return of Sydney and Sark, and Irina, and Anna Espinosa, and maybe even the murdered Michael Vaughan, or whatever his name is, that will allow you to ride the fifth season of ALIAS to a very satisfying series conclusion.
Of course, now that the series is over, I want to go back again and watch it from the beginning.
Luckily I have the box sets for the five seasons, so I can do that.
If you don’t have them, you can get them individually or pick up the 29 DVD set ALIAS – THE COMPLETE COLLECTION – which has Seasons one to five and is packaged in a Rambaldi artifact box.
Fans of the show SIX FEET UNDER who don’t have the individual sets for the five seasons that that show was on, can also pick up one all-inclusive box set – the 25 disc set that is shaped like a grave for SIX FEET UNDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET.
SIX FEET UNDER is the superbly written and acted drama series that takes a very comical look at The Fisher Family and their associates.
All of the people we meet are quite dysfunctional, and most of them either work in or live at a funeral home.
In addition to every episode THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET for SIX FEET UNDER also has a wide array of bonus features, two-bonus soundtrack CDs, and an exclusive illustrated booklet with character obituaries and memories from the show’s creators.
I watched SIX FEET UNDER when it was on, but I never saw the first ten episodes, so this box set gave me the chance to go back, catch up on what I missed, and then keep watching.
And I will keep watching, as it is a superb show!
I will also keep watching THAT GIRL.
Before there was Mary Richards, Murphy Brown, or Ally McBeal there
was THAT GIRL.
The always-engaging Marlo Thomas starred in THAT GIRL as Ann Marie, a struggling actress living in New York City. In between trying to find jobs acting and modeling she spends time with her boyfriend, Don, and her parents.
THAT GIRL ran from 1966 to 1971 and history shows us that the title character was groundbreaking as an independent female forging her own way and forever changed the manner in which women were portrayed on TV.
Now you can relive history because the first two seasons of THAT GIRL are available on DVD.
And the thing I enjoyed about the show was the fact that it harkens back to a simpler time.
Seriously, when was the last time you saw gum used as a plot point on a TV show that wasn’t called McGyver?
If you have someone on your list who loves old TV shows, or is a fan of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, MURPHY BROWN or ALLY McBEAL, THAT GIRL would make a great gift for them!
SEASONS ONE AND TWO of the show are now available on DVD, and so is SIX FEET UNDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET, SEASONS 1 through 5 of ALIAS and the first THREE SEASONS of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.
They would also make great gifts!
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Almost every Canadian is aware of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and Russia, but did you know we also played an eight game series against them in 1974?
Well, we did, and TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES is now available on DVD.
Also next week there are four new releases in the WALT DISNEY TREASURES collection, and a part time bartender gets a chance to play in the NFL in INVINCIBLE.
I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.
For now, that’s THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – December 16th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on a joyeux noel, the end of silence, a beerfest, Robin Hood, Miami vice and more!
There are many films and programs that people watch every year at Christmas. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS and SCROOGED are just five examples, but I could easily make the list a dozen titles long.
Now, there is a new film for you to watch every December, its called JOYEUX NOEL.
On December 24, 1914 a spontaneous, unscheduled, and unapproved truce took place between German, French and Scottish soldiers along the front lines during the first World War.
The soldiers exchanged cigarettes, food and alcohol, played soccer, and allowed the removal and burial of dead soldiers from no mans land.
JOYEUX NOEL is a French-made film with subtitles that is a fictionalized account of this truce.
I think that JOYEUX NOEL is a wonderful film and it will be a film I watch every year with the other Holiday themed movies I enjoy, but before you think the whole film is warm and fuzzy, it does take place during war, and the film does begin with the brutal realities of same.
But as night falls on Christmas Eve, the fighting stops and the best part of the movie begins, and that good stuff includes music.
JOYEUX NOEL is a beautiful film and i fyou are looking for a new classic to enjoy this holiday season, search it out.
And if you are looking for a quite, odd, yet somehow interesting Canadian film try and find THE END OF SILENCE.
THE END OF SILENCE is an interesting, slow moving story about a Russian ballerina and her new relationship with an antiques salesman…and his ex-wife.
Canadian singer Sarah Harmer plays the ex-wife, and she does a decent acting job.
Decent is also the word I would use to describe the whole film – it isn’t great, it isn’t horrible, it isn’t good, it isn’t bad…it is decent.
It is a movie about what isn’t said and what happens in the silent space between words.
THE END OF SILENCE isn’t anywhere near one of the best films of the year, but I still enjoyed it.
THE END OF SILENCE uses good acting and writing to tell it’s story, our next film eschews both of those things. Instead, it uses beer
As we move now into a brief recap of some other films that came out over the past few weeks, I start with BEERFEST, the latest film from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe and the people who gave us SUPER TROOPERS.
In BEERFEST two brothers travel to Germany for Oktoberfest, only to stumble upon a secret, centuries-old competition described as a “Fight Club” with beer games.
If you like movies that are very funny at times, and not funny at all at other times, than this sophmoric movie is for you. Otherwise, ignore it.
As a fan of the eighties TV series MIAMI VICE I couldn’t ignore the fact that there was a movie version of the series released to theatres this year.
And now that movie is a DVD with a different version of the film that played in theatres.
MIAMI VICE, the show and the movie, are about Sonny Crocket and Ricardo Tubbs, two undercover cops in Miami.
I loved and love the TV series and when I saw the film version of MIAMI VICE in theatres I have to admit I didn’t care for it.
But the version of the movie that appears on DVD is much better, and very reminicent of the series that spawned it.
If you have enjoyed the movies HEAT and COLLATERAL, two other movies directed by Michael Mann, then I think you’ll enjoy the DVD version of MIAMI VICE, starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as Crocket and Tubbs.
Another movie that came out while I was away is Walt Disney’s classic animated version of ROBIN HOOD
Walt Disney’s version of ROBIN HOOD came out when I was 5, and everytime I watch it I feel that old again, and I like that feeling.
Plus, this new MOST WANTED EDITION has a newly restored picture, so it it looks and sounds better than ever.
Now, the final movie I have for you is PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST.
I had planned to offer my thoughts and opinions on this second film in the theatrical series about Captain Jack Sparrow, William Turner and Elizabeth Swann, but on the first day it was released it sold almost 5 million DVDs.
Then, in it’s first week of release, it sold over 10 and a half million copies, making it the biggest home video debut of any new release this year.
DEAD MAN’S CHEST is now poised to become the number one live-action DVD of all time, an honour that currently belongs to the original PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN that went on to sell more than 18 million units.
So, with all of the attention and sales that it is garnering, why do I bother telling you about the film? I mean, does it really need any attention at all from me?
Well, normally I wouldn’t bother, but I just enjoyed the darn film so much, I felt like sharing.
Plus, it gives me another opportunity to tell my favourite pirate joke of all time:
What is a pirates favourite letter of the alphabet? Arrrrrrrrrrr!!
Ah, I love that Joke!
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAN MAN’S CHEST, ROBIN HOOD – THE MOST WANTED EDITION, MIAMI VICE and BEERFEST are all available on now on DVD, along with the enjoyable Canadian movie THE END OF SILENCE and the new Holiday classic JOYEUX NOEL.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
I will discuss the two highest grossing Canadian films of all time BON COP BAD COP and PORKY’S because they are both new on DVD and I’ll also tell you about a television show called KENNY VS SPENNY that I just couldn’t stop watching, even when I really wanted to!!
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!

The Couch Potato Report – November 13th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on hockey and a squad of inept police.
On Sunday evenings this past September and October many Canadians gathered around their television sets to watch HOCKEY: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY.
The ten-part HOCKEY series traced the history of the game in Canada with re-enactments, rarely seen footage, and the voices and words of some of the pioneers of the game.
It was a superb series that is now available on DVD in a superb six-disc box set.
HOCKEY: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY tells the story of the game’s inventors, innovators and the people who built the teams, and the rinks.
I enjoyed watching the series when it first began, and now that I have seen it a second time on DVD, I still enjoyed it, but I have to admit that I do have a few reservations.
Those reservations come from the fact that I wanted more!
Yes, I completely enjoyed what I got, but I wanted a fully comprehensive documentary about hockey, in the same manner as Ken Burn’s BASEBALL.
That series looks at the game of baseball as a whole, from inception onward, as does the HOCKEY series, but even though BASEBALL was an American series, it still featured the Canadian team who won the championship.
(Way to go Blue Jays!!!!!)
Meanwhile HOCKEY: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY is only a comprehensive look at Canadian hockey, and while that is the hockey we know and the hockey we love, there are also some American based teams who have been quite successful over the years that are part of hockey history as well, and they are ignored in the series.
For instance, the New York Islanders, a team that won four Stanley Cups in a row from 1980 – 1984, yet they are not mentioned at all in the series.
There also should have been more done on and with Bobby Orr, Steve Yzerman, Guy Laflleur, Peter Statsny, just to name a few players, and the winningest coach in hockey history – Scotty Bowman, who isn’t featured at all in the series. Instead he only shows up in an interview on the Bonus disc in the set.
But I happily digress, because while I do have a few reservations about the series, I still think that HOCKEY: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY is superb and it accomplishes what the producers set out to do – to make a series that is a comprehensive look at hockey in Canada, and the parallels between the birth of our nation and the game.
The game that is played by men, and women.
No, HOCKEY: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY isn’t perfect, but it is a well written, well produced and superbly entertaining series.
I am pleased to own it and I will keep it on my shelf alongside my box set for Ken Burn’s BASEBALL.
HOCKEY: A PEOPLEíS HISTORY did leave me wanting more, but I am still quite pleased that it is now available on DVD.
I am also quite pleased that POLICE SQUAD is also now available on DVD!!
After the success of the movie AIRPLANE! Leslie William Nielsen, a member of the Order Of Canada who was born on February 11th, 1926 in Regina, was cast by the same filmmakers as Sgt. Frank Drebin, a police officer who always gets his man, but doesn’t always get why.
POLICE SQUAD is possibly the funniest, short-lived TV show in history. It only lasted 6 episodes, but everyone of them was full of wit, sight gags, and incredible writing.
POLICE SQUAD was a TV show that was a parody of all of the ultra serious police shows that came before it.
Only a few people actually watched it, including me. I loved it and when they made THE NAKED GUN films after the cancellation of the series, I was more than pleased.
And now that POLICE SQUAD is finally available on DVD, I am over the moon!!
Ah yes, I am quite pleased as the hilarious POLICE SQUAD is now available on DVD, and is HOCKEY: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY, a great box set, even if it did leave me wanting more.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
SCTV – THE EARLY YEARS looks back at the origins of the classic series, LEONARD COHEN – I’M YOUR MAN is a documentary on the legendary Canadian, with performances by those musicians he has influenced; SOPHIE SCHOLL is the film about one courageous young woman who stood up to the Nazis in 1943 Germany; and WORDPLAY takes an in-depth look at crossword puzzles and the people who do them.
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!

The Couch Potato Report – October 17th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on Niagara Falls, a break-up, a little mermaid and a hedge.
One of the greatest things about movies is the fact that they take us places that we might not get to in our everyday lives.
Another great things about the celluloid art form is the fact that it can also just make you think that you are being taken to a different place.
For instance, the film NIAGARA MOTEL mainly focuses on a group of struggling individuals who cross paths at a low-rent motel in Niagara Falls.
But the film was shot in and around Winnipeg, a place with no natural waterfalls, let alone the worldís best known one.
So if you like to be cinematically taken away to a different place that is far away, even if it was filmed less than 6 hours from Saskatchewan, check in to NIAGARA MOTEL.
The guests of this low-rent motel on the Canadian side of the tourist haven are not your typical tourists.
There is a young couple who both have a criminal past that are attempting to get their child back, a middle class husband with no job and a rapidly disintegrating marriage, and a waitress who is being recruited to star in some low budget adult films.
Plus, there is the perpetually drunk motel manager who has some sorrow of his own, a small time hustler who is always looking for a quick buck, and an underachieving staple salesman.
NIAGARA MOTEL has comedy, drama, tragedy and lots of interesting characters. It even has a few scenes that take place in Niagara Falls.
The large and very talented cast includes Craig Ferguson from TVís ìThe Late, Late Showî and ìThe Drew Carrey Showî, Kevin Pollak from A FEW GOOD MEN and the lovely and talented Caroline Dhavernas, from the short-lived series ìWonderfalls.î
Due to itís dark sense of humour NIAGARA FALLS isnít a film that I would recommend to everyone, but if you like to see places – and people – in films that you wonít see ñ or meet ñ every day, then it is a movie I think you will enjoy.
And even though I did enjoy it, Iím not sure that everyone will enjoy THE BREAK-UP, the Vince Vaughan/Jennifer Aniston movie about a couple whoÖbreak up.
You know Vaughn from WEDDING CRASHERS and SWINGERS and while Aniston has been in good movies like BRUCE ALMIGHTY and THE GOOD GIRL, she will always be known as Rachel from TVís ìFriends.î
The combined star power of these two gave the film a higher profile than it should have had because if it wasnít promoted as such a huge film, and as Vaughn’s follow-up to the uber-successful WEDDING CRASHERS, then I think it could have existed as a unique character study, with a few funny moments thrown in.
But instead, with the star power it has, THE BREAK-UP is a failed romantic comedy.
And that is because all our two main characters do is fight and fight and fight and fight and fight.
Whereís the love I ask? Whereís the love?
Vaughn is Gary and Aniston is Brooke and once theyÖbreak up, neither one is willing to give up the condo they co-own.
As they continue to fight, and that fighting grows increasingly bitter, they start to wonder if they are trying to save the relationship, or just end it.
Due to all of the aforementioned fighting, I didnít care for the romantic part of THE BREAK-UP, but I did enjoy the comedy.
That comes courtesy of Jon Favreau, Vaughnís buddy from SWINGERS, John Michael Higgins from A MIGHTY WIND, Justin Long from DODGEBALL, Jason Bateman of TVís ìArrested Developmentî and the incredibly funny Judy Davis.
Each one of these actors bring an extra energy to the scenes they are in.
As a whole THE BREAK-UP is not an enjoyable movie, but a few of its parts do rank as some of the best of the year.
Now, as for the best of the year, well the best film I have seen so far this year, the film that entertained me that most and the one that I could recommend to anyone ñ young or old – who asked me ìWhatís out there that is worth seeing?î the best film for me thus far this year was OVER THE HEDGE.
And yes, I know it is a cartoon, but when something is this good, this funny, and this interesting to watch, I have no problems with recommending a cartoon.
Bruce Willis provides the voice for a fast-talking hustler raccoon named RJ, who has to replace the entire food supply for a bear he stole from.
RJ meets a group of animals and soon takes over from the hesitant turtle Verne as the leader of the group.
“The Larry Sanders Show”‘s Gary Shandling is the turtle, Steve Carell from THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN is Hammy the squirrel and some of the other voices come from William Shatner, Allison Janney from ìThe West Wingî, the great Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara from SCTV and even Canadian pop princess Avril Lavigne, who does a very good job in her first film role.
OVER THE HEDGE is funny, well written, and is full of jabs at modern day society and consumerism.
If anyone ñ young or old – asked me ìWhatís out there that is worth seeing?î, the best film for me thus far this year was OVER THE HEDGE.
One of my favourite films in the year 1989 was THE LITTLE MERMAID.
The classic Disney cartoon was loosely based upon the story by Hans Christian Andersen as Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton, is dissatisfied with life in the sea and longs to be with the humans above the surface.
It was fun touching and enjoyable in 1989, and it still is today!
Now, there is a tow-disc special edition of the film available with an incredible line-up of bonus features that show you how the film was made, and how it could have turned out, had they included some of the deleted scenes that are on the disc.
This animation is gorgeous, the story is timeless, and the classic songs including ìKiss the Girlî and the Academy Award winning ìUnder the Seaî will still have you singing along, despite yourself.
So, I guess, if anyone ñ young or old – asked me ìWhatís out there that is worth seeing?î, I would also say THE LITTLE MERMAID ñ TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION, along with OVER THE HEDGE.
They are both available now on DVD along with THE BREAK-UP and the mostly-made-in-Manitoba movie NIAGARA FALLS.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
LUCID is the story of a psychotherapist, who has been having trouble sleeping ever since his wife left.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANTARCTICA is the latest release from the filmmakers who made the Oscar winning documentary MARCH OF THE PENGUINS.
And the new Platinum Edition of the 1983 classic SCARFACE takes a look back on the making of the film, and allows you to count how many bullets are fired during the movie.
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!

The Couch Potato Report – October 4th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on Eve and the fire horse and a place on the corner where you can get gas.
Canada is a vast and diverse country with a wide array of people.
The Canadian film industry is also vast and diverse and at it’s best it tells stories about Canadians who we might not meet everyday.
Like a nine-year-old girl named Eve from Vancouver, for instance.
The film that is about her is called EVE & THE FIRE HORSE and it is a wonderful little film about the relationship between two young and their family.
Eve was born in 1966 and, according to the Chinese calendar, she is a Firehorse.
By definition that means she is meant to be stubborn or troublesome.
From Eve’s overly-imaginitive perspective it seems to mean that she is at the centre of a world full of turmoil, and all of it could be her fault.
Eve’s sister has embraced Christianity, which complicates matters in their traditional household. Her Grandmother is old and sick. Mother has cut down a tree and is pregnant. Her Uncle has high blood pressure.
There is fear. Heartbreak. Mourning. And many, many superstitions.
And all of it is engaging and wonderful!
EVE & THE FIRE HORSE is loosely based on filmmaker Julia Kwan’s memories of growing up in Vancouver in the 1970s.
In addition to introducing us to some unique Canadians the movie does a wonderful job of showing how some kids play together and others don’t get along.
It also correctly presents the relationships that children have to their parents and relatives.
I can’t state that EVE AND THE FIREHORSE is perfect film because at times it did move a little slow for me, but it is as close to perfect as a film can be.
The people in the movie are people you will know, because in the end most Canadians have shared experiences about their childhood.
And we all have many shared experiences as adults as well.
That is one of the main reasons why the TV show CORNER GAS is so popular.
Because whether you are from Saskatchewan or you live on Prince Edward Island, we have all met people who remind us of the residents of Dog River, Saskatchewan.
Now, CORNER GAS: SEASON THREE is available on DVD. The three disc set includes all 19 episodes of the made-in-Saskatchewan series and a documentary on Rouleau, the Saskatchewan town where the series is filmed, and many people visit.
CORNER GAS: SEASON THREE and EVE & THE FIRE HORSE are both available now on DVD.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
In NIAGARA MOTEL, a group of struggling individuals cross paths at a low-rent motel in Niagara Falls.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION is a look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of a popular radio show
And the Disney classic THE FOX AND THE HOUND celebrates it’s 25th Anniversary.
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!

The Couch Potato Report – September 26th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on Canada, our home and native land.
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian fiction writer, playwright and visual artist.
His first book, the 1991 novel ìGeneration X: Tales for an Accelerated Cultureî, became an international bestseller and popularized the term ëGeneration Xí.
Most of Coupland’s work explores the unexpected cultural shifts created by the impact of new technologies on middle class North American culture.
ìSouvenir of Canadaî was a book Coupland wrote in 2002.
In the book’s introduction, Coupland states his intention was to author a book about Canada ìÖthat only Canadians would get.î
The book profiles bilingualism, beer bottles, cigarette warning labels, the Trans-Canada Highway, Terry Foxís prosthetic leg, the Canadarm, stubby beer bottles, bilingual cereal boxes, Ookpik, and many other things that are uniquely Canadian.
In addition to being a book, SOUVENIR OF CANADA is now a documentary film as well.
In the film Coupland shows us some of the things that ìonly Canadians would getî as he puts together an interactive art exhibit called Canada House with Canadian content front and center.
As the author buildís his Canada House there are stories and features on some of the things that make Canadians, Canadians, and some of the things that were designed years ago to try and make us more Canadian.
For instance, he brings back the greeting ìchimoî, an Inuit word that was supposed to become Canada’s version of ìAlohaî.
SOUVENIR OF CANADA is just that, a souvenir of a Canada full of memories that we all collectively share, and I really, really enjoyed the film.
The one negative thing that I have to say about SOUVENIR OF CANADA is the fact that at times there is too much of a focus put on Douglas Coupland and his family and thus the things that ìonly Canadians would getî take a back seat
However, as someone who has had his entire family on his show at one point or another, I guess I shouldnít talk.
SOUVENIR OF CANADA is a wonderfully enjoyable trip down memory lane and if you are a Canadian who grew up in the sixties and seventies it is a must see.
And SOUVENIR OF CANADA is available now on DVD at a store near you.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
CORNER GAS: SEASON THREE features all 19 episodes of the made-in-Saskatchewan series, including one of my favourites: ìThe Littlest Yarboî where Hank is outwitted by a German Shepherd while trying to prove itís the dog from the legendary TV show ñ The Littlest Hobo.
Also next week THANK YOU FOR SMOKING is a satirical comedy about a tobacco spokesman, who is trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son; and the Disney classic THE LITTLE MERMAID is being released in a two-disc special edition with a wide array of special features!
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!