Category: The Couch Potato Report

The Couch Potato Report – September 23rd, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on the rocket and some hard candy.
Last week on The Couch Potato Report I stated ìOne of the hardest types of films to make are biographies.î
I went on to say that ìMovies are movies and since they are made to entertain and make money, sometimes facts and situations have to be changed for “cinematic” reasons.î And I explained that filmmakers call this “creative license.”
When you are oblivious to what is fact and what is fiction, the story of a personís life mixed with ìcreative licenseî can make for a very entertaining movie.
For instance, the Johnny Cash Biography WALK THE LINE features several very engaging scenes with Cash on tour with Elvis.
But, while the two did know each other in real life, they were never on tour together.
Since I didnít know that, and it seemed plausible, I was entertained by it.
I was also entertained by the Canadian film THE ROCKET about Maurice ìThe Rocketî Richard.
This is a perfect example of how when you are oblivious to what is fact and what is fiction, the story of a personís life mixed with ìcreative licenseî can make for a very entertaining movie.
And THE ROCKET is a very entertaining movie.
The first time I saw this film about the great Montreal Canadiens right-winger was at the theatre in Montreal that stands on the land where The Forum used to be. In that same space hockey fans watched Richard from his debut in 1942 until he retired in 1960. It was a unique feeling.
A feeling that I was sure had added to the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the film, even though I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, and as such I can never acknowledge the greatness of the Montreal Canadiens or their players.
Then this week I sat down in my living room, far away from Montreal, and I watched THE ROCKET again.
And I was thoroughly entertainedÖagain.
And even if you donít like the Montreal Canadiens either, or you arenít a fan of sports at all, I still think you will enjoy THE ROCKET.
It isnít just the story of an athlete; it is the story of a person.
In the film THE ROCKET Maurice Richard is a man with a sole passion ñ playing hockey. After spending his days working at the factory, he throws himself body and soul into the game to pursue his dream.
He isnít the biggest player on the ice, and he isnít the most talented, but through his passion he becomes the best.
His coach, former Regina Capitals player Dick Irvin, Sr., pushes Richard just enough to get that best, and he also fuels The Rocketís obsession to win.
As I mentioned, THE ROCKET isnít just a sports movie. Personally, I found the film most effective when it was showing how Richard was treated by the other players in the league, not because he was on the Canadiens, but because he was French.
Yes, Maurice Richard was the first to score 50 goals in one season, doing so in 50 games, and the first to score 500 goals in a career.
And yes, he also played on eight Stanley Cup teams, was captain of 5 straight, and played in every National Hockey League All-Star Game from 1947 to 1959, and today he is an honoured member of The Hockey Hall Of Fame, but he was also so much more.
He was a husband, a father, and a proud French-Canadian.
His life and his accomplishments are inspirational and the film about him starring Roy Dupuis as Maurice Richard – is superb!
I canít wait to watch it again, even if he is a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
Go Leafs, go!!!
Our next film this week isnít as good as THE ROCKET, and Iím not sure I would even use the word good to describe it.
As a film, it kept me intrigued the whole time, and at one time I even wanted to fast-forward to the end just to see what was going to happen, but the characters in the movie are so disturbing that I could never say it is a good film.
The movie in question is called HARD CANDY.
It is about a 14-year-old girl who meets a 32 year-old man on the internetÖand it turns out that she is the predator.
After spending time chatting online the girl agrees to meet the man at a local coffee shop, and that results in a trip to his home.
However, Jeff soon learns that Hayley isn’t as innocent as she appears and I canít say very much else without giving away some of the filmís many plot twists…, or disgusting you.
Now that is a word I would use to describe HARD CANDY: disgusting. Parts of the film actually disgusted me, but not for the reasons you might think.
At times during the movie both the girl and the man are at fault, and deserve punishment.
HARD CANDY is a film that challenges you to watch, and for that reason it succeeds as a film, regardless of the subject matter.
However, eventually that subject matter must come up, and it is for that reason that I am reluctant to recommend the film.
Now, if you enjoy seeing a film that you will want to discuss afterward, then you should definitely see HARD CANDY. Otherwise, look for something else.
I hear THE ROCKET is really good.
And THE ROCKET is now available on DVD along with HARD CANDY.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
In Douglas Copelandís SOUVENIR OF CANADA he tries to find out what makes Canadians, Canadians.
The legendary childrenís character CURIOUS GEORGE finally gets his own movie!
And BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA ñ SEASON 2.5 will finally debut on DVD!!
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 12th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on one of the Greatest Canadians, and some TV Shows on DVD Box Sets.
With all due respect to Tommy Douglas, it is my opinion that Terry Fox is the Greatest Canadian
In 1977, when he was only 18, Terry was diagnosed with a form of cancer called osteosarcoma. At the time the only way to treat his condition was to remove his right leg several inches above the knee.
Three years after losing his leg he decided to run across Canada in order to raise money for the fight against cancer.
He created the Marathon of Hope and once his initial target of one million dollars was in reach, he then hoped to raise one dollar for every Canadian.
On April 12th, 1980, Terry dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John’s, Newfoundland.
His goal was to dip it again in the Pacific Ocean at Victoria, British Columbia, but cancer had spread to his lungs.
Terry was forced to abandon his Marathon on September 1st, 1980, just northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
After 143 days Terry had run 5,373 km – 3,339 miles – through Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario, all on one leg.
After stopping his Marathon Terry pledged to finish the Run, if he was able to. Sadly, he wasnít and Terry Fox died less than a year later, on June 28th, 1981, just one month shy of his twenty-third birthday.
Even if it wasnít true, and truly inspirational, Terry Foxís life would make a great movie.
But one of the hardest types of films to make are biographies.
Movies are movies and since they are made to entertain and make money, sometimes facts and situations have to be changed for ìcinematicî reasons.
Filmmakers call this ìcreative license.î
Sometimes those changes arenít that noticeable – for instance the Johnny Cash Biography WALK THE LINE features several scenes with Cash on tour with Elvis.
In real life the two did know each other, but they did not go on tour together.
However, those scenes work for the film and there was little debate about that fact when the film came out.
Other times the changes are very noticeable – as the ongoing debate over PRAIRIE GIANT: THE TOMMY DOUGLAS STORY proves.
For that movie the filmmakers portrayed former Saskatchewan premier James Gardiner as arrogant, self-centered and vindictive.
Mr. Gardinerís family has spent the better part of the past year saying he was anything but the way he was portrayed and defending his honour. As a result CBC has agreed to pull PRAIRIE GIANT from all scheduled broadcasts in response to criticisms it was historically inaccurate.
Yes, one of the hardest types of films to make are biographies.
So far, there have no been two films made about Terry Fox. The first was 1983ís THE TERRY FOX STORY and while it is a pretty good movie, it is quite flawed – to the point where it ignores the fact that Terry has two brothers and not just one.
The second film was TERRY. This was a tele-film that aired on CTV on September 11th, 2005.
Now, if you donít know me personally, and havenít figured this out yet, I admire and respect Terry Fox. He is one of my personal idols and, while I donít know him, I know almost everything there is to know about him and the Marathon of Hope.
That said, I was still able to put the creative license of the filmmakers aside and I enjoyed TERRY.
Shawn Ashmore, a Canadian actor from British Columbia who is best know as Iceman in the X-MEN films does a good job as Terry and the rest of the cast are very believable as well.
Plus, the movie was shot on many of the actual locations where the Marathon Of Hope took place, and it gets extra points from me for that as well.
TERRY is not a perfect film, but I am not sure anyone could make a perfect film about the man I consider to be our Greatest Canadian.
That is because there will always be too much about Terry Fox to fit in a movie. He is bigger then life, and he is much bigger than any movie.
By the way, the 26th Annual Terry Fox Run will take place on Sunday – September 17th – and you can find out more about it at www.terryfoxrun.org.
And if you would like to sponsor my Terry Fox Run, just click RIGHT HERE.
In addition to the date of the annual The Terry Fox Run, the third week in September usually means the start of the new television season and many of our favourite shows will soon be making their season debuts.
In order to get us ready for the new seasons, the studios have released a wide array of comprehensive multi-disc DVD box sets.
And I have spent the last few weeks watching almost all of them – specifically I have watched the box sets for THE OFFICE – SEASON TWO, GREY’S ANATOMY – SEASON TWO, LAS VEGAS – SEASON THREE and THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of LOST, so let me recap.
While some feel it is blasphemy to praise the American remake of the classic BBC series THE OFFICE, I do not. While the British version is superior, Steve Carell and the cast and writers of the American one continuously come up with unique and interesting situations and jokes that make me laugh. That is the primary thing I expect from a comedy and there are many, many laughs in SEASON TWO of THE OFFICE.
THE OFFICE takes place in an office of a paper supply company and I highly recommend it, both in itís original incarnation and the remake.
I also recommended season one of GREYíS ANATOMY when it came out on DVD, but while I was watching the SECOND SEASON of this drama centered on the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns and their supervisors, I couldnít remember why.
GREYíS ANATOMY is one of the top ten shows on TV, and I know that it found many new fans during this SECOND SEASON, but I just didnít enjoy this season as much as I did the first one.
I think that is because I am fascinated by medical shows and people who work in hospitals. SEASON TWO of GREYíS ANATOMY didnít fascinate me, and I grew tired of the soap opera side of the show.
That said, the show is still as addictive as always, and I will watch SEASON THREE when that box set comes out next year.
Just as I watched SEASON THREE of LAS VEGAS.
In my reviews of past seasons of LAS VEGAS I have used the words ìguilty pleasureî to describe it and I still feel that way because of that fact that Nikki Cox is one of the showís stars.
But SEASON THREE of this show about a Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, where you can do anything you want, as long as you stay out of the way of the security and surveillance team that will be watching, wasnít as entertaining as the first two.
Yet, it does try to be different and I give it points for that. I especially enjoyed the episode called ìEverything old is you againî where the whole show took place in Vegas in the glory days of the 1960s.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but if the producers of the TV show about the city want to keep me interested, they should film more of the types of stories we should never see and leave the dramatic stuff to DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES.
Alright, now, finally this week is THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of LOST.
A year ago LOST was a show I loved, craved, and couldnít wait to watch every week. Today, LOST is a show I watch because I want to see what happens, but it has definitely lost most of itís magic for me.
However, it did get some of itís luster back when I watched this seven disc set because it allowed me to watch the Hanso Foundation instructional films a few times, I was able to look closer at the map on the back of the door in the hatch, and I saw more than a few things I missed the first time around when I was watching it on TV.
Now if you donít know what any of that means, I still recommend that you go back and watch LOST from the beginning, even if SEASON TWO isnít as good as season one.
But I do still have high hopes for SEASON THREE and I will be watching when the new season premieres on Wednesday, October 4th.
The second seasons of LOST, GREYíS ANATOMY and THE OFFICE and LAS VEGAS – SEASON THREE are all now available on DVD.
So is the very good TERRY, the latest film biography about Terry Fox.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
HARD CANDY is a Canadian film that is hard to explain, but I will do my best next week.
And after months of waiting, BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA – SEASON 2.5 will finally debut on DVD!!
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 will return to this space again next week!
In the interim, you can hear the Reports from the past few weeks, yes you can hear them, by going to Dan’s work website.
Enjoy!!

The Couch Potato Report – July 29th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some amazing stories, an incredible hulk, the Beastie Boys and a Frenzy.
To paraphrase Gershwin’s immortal lyrics; ìitís summertime, and the livin’ is easy.î
When it comes to The Couch Potato Report summertime means that the movie studios arenít releasing their biggest titles of the year because they know most people – including me – arenít sitting at home watching movies. We are enjoying ourselves outside because it is summertime and the livin’ is easy.
But even though studio releases are down, and my time spent outdoors is up, I do still have some reviews for you this week.
The most notable is the 4-DVD box set for the first season of the classic 1980s television series AMAZING STORIES.
This superb anthology show ran from 1985 to 87 and it was produced by Steven Spielberg, who by 1985 had been responsible for the box offices hits JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and E.T. – THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. Spielberg also came up with many of the showís story ideas, especially in this first season.
Each week on the show there was a new, separate, very interesting and usually “amazing” story. These stories ran the gamut from hilariously weird to fantastic fantasy to awe inspiring.
And because each week had a separate story – not unlike THE TWILIGHT ZONE – some of the best filmmakers in the business worked on the show. In todayís world filmmakers work on TV all the time, but in the 1980s that was almost unheard of.
Danny DeVito, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Robert Zemeckis, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Hutton, Steven Spielberg himself, Harvey Keitel, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Tim Robbins, Kevin Costner and John Lithgow are just some of the people who helped make AMAZING STORIES a show to look forward every week.
Now, AMAZING STORIES – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is available on DVD! It includes all 24 episodes from the seriesí 1985-86 season and over twenty minutes of deleted scenes.
Admittedly, not every single episode is actually amazing, and when the show is bad it is truly bad, but for the most part they are AMAZING STORIES.
From the 1985 to 1987 TV series AMAZING STORIES, lets rewind back a bit farther to the 1978 to 82 show that was made out of THE INCREDIBLE HULK comic books.
If you are unfamiliar with Stan Leeís classic comic book character, well, I am not.
After being accidentally exposed in his laboratory to a massive dosage of gamma radiation, David Banner – as he is called in the TV show – finds out that once angered, he turns into the Incredible Hulk, a huge, powerful seven foot greenish, manlike monster of immense strength and primitive passions.
Donít get him angry. You wouldnít like him when he is angry!
The mild mannered Banner can’t remember what happens once he becomes The Hulk so he begins traveling around the country in search of a cure for his affliction as well as an escape from a prying reporter.
In THE INCREDIBLE HULK – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON you get all ten first season episodes, plus the two original feature-length films.
In my mind THE INCREDIBLE HULK was one of the best adaptations of a comic book, but before I sat down to watch this new 4-DVD Box Set it had been years since I had seen the show.
In reality, now that I have watched them again, it remains one of the best. I really enjoyed this set!
If you are familiar with THE INCREDIBLE HULK but you were never a fan of the show, well just donít tell David Banner. That might get him angry. And wouldnít like him when he is angry!
No one is angry in the new concert film AWESOME…I SHOT THAT from the Beastie Boys. In fact, everyone on screen seems to be having the time of their lives!
The place is New Yorkís Madison Square Garden. The date is October 9, 2004.
Prior to the show 50 fans who have seats in various parts of the Gardens are given Hi-8 cameras to shoot the band in concert and they are told that once the show starts they should not turn the camera off.
And they donít. At one point we even get to witness one fan’s bathroom break.
Iíll be the first to admit that the Beastie Boysí music isnít for everyone, and neither is this concert film, especially if you donít like to see footage shot with shaky hands by excited fans.
But if you know who Mike D, Adrock, MCA and Mix Master Mike are then it is for you because the Boys always put on a great show, and the concept is so unique that there are so many things to see, in addition to the group of guys on stage.
The BEASTIE BOYS – AWESOME…I SHOT THAT is one of the most unique concert films of all time, and I highly recommend it, even though I am fully aware that it isnít for the majority of people who are reading this right now.
But then again, the films of Alfred Hitchcock arenít for everyone either, and they have done extremely well over the years.
In the early 1970s, after the box office failure of MARNIE, TOPAZ and TORN CURTAIN, Hitchcock decided to go back to London to make his next film.
FRENZY was the director’s first film shot in the UK since he left during the 40’s and it was a huge success.
In the film a serial killer is raping women and strangling them with ties.
After his ex-wife turns up murdered, the police start to suspect Richard Blaney. Blaney is innocent and he turns to his friend Rusk for help.
As more of Blaney’s acquaintances turn up strangled, the pressure turns up on him to find the real killer.
FRENZY is a very interesting murder mystery, even if – at times – it doesn’t feel like a Hitchcock movie.
Still, I am happy that this summerís tribute to ALFRED HITCHCOCKíS FILMS ends on a high note with the very entertaining FRENZY.
In fact, FRENZY also ends this weekís Couch Potato Report!
FRENZY, the BEASTIE BOYS – AWESOME…I SHOT THAT, THE INCREDIBLE HULK – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON and the superb AMAZING STORIES – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON are all now available on DVD.
Coming up on August 19th in the next Couch Potato Report
The also superb INSIDE MAN is director Spike Leeís film about a cop who is trying to talk a bank robber into surrendering, but in the end he might not be a bank robber after all. Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster star in one of 2006ís best films.
SCARY MOVIE 4 isnít one of the yearís best films, but if you need a laugh, the latest film in the series will give you at least one or two.
Or you can just watch THE SIMPSONS – THE COMPLETE EIGHTH SEASON and laugh a lot!
I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in twenty-one 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 – July 22nd, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some basic instincts, weeds, and a short lived TV show starring the one and only Bruce Campbell.
The original BASIC INSTINCT came out in 1992. In that movie Michael Douglas played a police detective who was in charge of a case involving the brutal murder of a rock star, who has been killed using an ice pick.
All the evidence pointed to a beautiful female novelist as the main suspect. Sharon Stone played that beautiful novelist and the role made her career.
Eventually Douglas’ character fell for Stone and once they became lovers it threatened to hinder the investigation and even his life is put in danger.
One of the reasons the original BASIC INSTINCT was worth watching was because just as soon as you think you’ve figured the whole film out, you actually havenít, but then again maybe you have.
The original BASIC INSTINCT is a pop culture staple and it will – sadly for some – stand the test of time.
It is a great example of what can be referred to as a good ìBad Movie.î
Now, fourteen years later, Sharon Stone is back in BASIC INSTINCT 2.
This sequel is a great example of what can be referred to as just a ìBad Movie.î
Michael Douglas wisely stayed away from this mess, as did Paul Verhoeven the originalís director, and Joe Eszterhas, the originalís writer,
With the absence of those three, instead of the edge and excitement of the original, we get a boring, slow moving film.
Sharon Stoneís novelist Catherine Tramell now lives in London and she is once again in trouble with the law after another suspicious death.
Scotland Yard appoints a psychiatrist – one Dr. Michael Glass – to evaluate her, and like Douglasí Detective Nick Curran before him, Dr. Glass is entranced by Tramell and lured into a seductive game.
Sadly, David Morrissey – who plays Dr. Glass – doesnít have the charm of Michael Douglas and there is never one second when you think that the character he has created could outwit Trammell.
But then again, since this is a BASIC INSTINCT film, maybe when you think you’ve figured it out, you actually havenít, but then again maybe you have.
Either way, you wonít care. Morrissey is boring and new director Michael Caton-Jones canít do edgy and excitement like Verhoeven did, so the result is a boring, slow moving movie.
The original BASIC INSTINCT is a good ìBad Movie!î Itís useless sequel is just a ìBad Movie.î
Now, if you choose to watch it, because you think you like ìBad Moviesî, donít say I didnít warn you. This is a bad movie!!
So, enough about it then! Letís get to this weekís good stuff, starting with the quirky and interesting TV series WEEDS.
WEEDS stars Mary-Louise Parker from THE WEST WING and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES as a suburban Mom of two kids.
After her husband’s unexpected death, and her familyís subsequent financial woes, she embraces a new profession and becomes a pot dealer in the Los Angeles suburb of Agrestic.
During the course of the 10 episodes on the 2-DVD set WEEDS – SEASON ONE she is faced with keeping her family life in check and her business a secret from her best friend.
Now when I sat down and watched this show, I didnít think about the moral issues of what would happen to her kids if she got caught, or any of the other legal issues the showís premise might bring up.
Instead, I just watched the show. And I liked it!
Mary-Louise Parker is such a great actress that you can see the moral dilemmas that she is fighting with almost overwhelm her at times, but yet she fights on because she has too.
And former Saturday Night Live cast member Kevin Nealon is superb in the show as a city councilman who is one of Parkerís best customers.
WEEDS isnít a perfect show, I personally hate the character of the brother-in-law, but it is exceptionally entertaining. If the premise doesnít bother you, give it a shot.
No WEEDS is perfect, and neither is the TV show JACK OF ALL TRADES, but the star of that latter show is perfect, so that makes it worth watching.
Bruce Campbell from the EVIL DEAD films and BUBBA HO-TEP is that perfect star and I would watch him in anything, in fact, I have watched him in everything he’s done.
Including the short-lived TV show JACK OF ALL TRADES from 2000. In this show Campbell is Jack Stiles, an American spy stationed on a Caribbean island in the early 19th century.
Stiles is sent to work with British spy Emilia Rothschild to stop the advances of the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, in his bid for world domination.
Now, JACK OF ALL TRADES is available to own as all 22 episodes are included in a new 3-DVD set.
JACK OF ALL TRADES blends Zorro, James Bond and Captain Blood all played for comic effect, and while it isnít perfect, as I mentioned, it is entertaining to watch, especially if you are a fan of Bruce Campbell, which as I also mentioned, I am.
The show has lots of innuendo and double entendre humor, and it is fun and well written. I even like the opening theme song!
No, JACK OF ALL TRADES isnít perfect, but it is fun!
Our ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILM this week is far from fun. I would also say that it is far from good.
Over the past few weeks as I have been talking about Hitchcock’s film I have enjoyed them all. ROPE, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY and SABOTEUR all had something I liked about them.
TOPAZ has nothing I liked. I found it completely boring and totally uninteresting. But I guess the man who gave us as many superb films as Hitchcock did is allowed to have at least one failure.
In TOPAZ a French intelligence agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.
There are several classic Hitchcockian touches scattered throughout the film, and those I liked.
However, at 2 hours and 23 minutes, and with little action to watch, this spy thriller was just too long and too full of dialogue for my taste.
There is no reason for me to think that I would ever watch TOPAZ again, and if you haven’t ever seen it either, you might think about staying away from it too.
Even if it does co-star Zehner, Saskatchewan’s own John Vernon, TOPAZ is about 30 minutes too long.
Alfred Hitchcock’s TOPAZ is now available on DVD, and so is JACK OF ALL TRADES – THE COMPLETE SERIES, WEEDS – SEASON ONE and the awful BASIC INSTINCT 2.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
In the BEASTIE BOYS – AWESOME…I SHOT THAT concert film 50 fans are given cameras to shoot the band in concert; AMAZING STORIES – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON will see Steven Spielbergís classic 1980s TV series debut on DVD and in the 4-DVD set for THE INCREDIBLE HULK – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON you get all ten first season episodes, plus the two original feature-length films.
And Iíll also conclude our tribute to ALFRED HITCHCOCKíS FILMS with the directorís FRENZY.
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 – July 11th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on a matador, a rolling stone and a saboteur.
In 1995 Pierce Brosnan made his debut as superspy James Bond in GOLDENEYE.
But last year, like Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton before him, Brosnanís time in Her Majestyís Secret Service came to an end.
In the superb film THE MATADOR Pierce Brosnan leaves James Bond behind playing a globetrotting hitman, or ìfatality facilitatorî as he calls himself, who meets a businessman in a hotel bar in Mexico City.
Greg Kinnear from AS GOOD AS IT GETS plays Danny, the businessman, and the chemistry he and Brosnan have is fun to watch as the two men become friends, for reasons neither expected.
When the ìfatality facilitatorî loses his ability to successfully facilitate, he goes to his new friend for help.
Unlike his work as Bond, or in the TV series REMINGTON STEELE, Brosnan is having a great time in this film and I really enjoyed his enthusiasm.
The way he says and does some of the things he is asked to do, like paint his toenails and walk through a hotel lobby in less than flattering attire on his way to the pool, are a pure joy to watch.
THE MATADOR is a black comedy and if the lead actor wasnít enjoying himself it could easily have come across as boring. But Brosnan gives the role everything he has, and the result is both enjoyable as a film on itís own, and as a bit of a comedic farewell by the man towards his former profession as James Bond.
I completely enjoyed THE MATADOR. It is one of my favourite films so far this year.
The last film that Pierce Brosnan made as James Bond was 2002ís DIE ANOTHER DAY. That film was written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
They are also the screenwriters for the film STONED.
STONED is a chronicle of the sordid life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, who was found in the bottom of his swimming pool just weeks after being kicked out of the band.
If you donít know who Brian Jones was, you are not alone. Other than what I just mentioned – that he was a co-founder of the Stones, was kicked out of the band, and died in his swimming pool – I donít know much about Brian Jones either.
And I still donít know much, even after watching STONED.
Yes, Leo Gregory, the actor who played Jones was believable in the role and he sure looked the part.
But other than the Stones themselves, and a woman named Anita – who I only know because she is the mother of some of Keith Richardsí kids – I had no idea who the other people are in the film.
Since STONED doesnít bother to take enough time to introduce them to me, I wasn’t emotionally invested to any of them.
And unless you know everything about the early days of The Rolling Stones, you probably won’t know who they are either.
I was hoping STONED would allow me to get to know a forgotten musical legend who lived hard, died young, and left a good looking corpse.
While STONED does offer a few answers, it doesnít offer enough of them and in the end I was very unsatisfied.
Now the search is on for a book that offers the ultimate Brian Jones biography because I sure didnít get that from the film STONED.
Finally this week, Universal Home Video has re-released some of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic films on DVD, calling each “An Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece.”
Normally when a studio does that I just tell you that they have done it and then briefly recap the titles.
But I thought I would do something differently with these re-releases and I have been speaking about them one at a time.
This week the Hitchcock film I have for you is SABOTEUR from 1942.
When sabotage destroys part of an aircraft plant, plant worker Barry Kane is falsely blamed for the crime.
Determined to clear his name, he sets out to track down the man he believes to be the actual saboteur, the mysterious Mr. Fry.
He chases Fry from Los Angeles, across the western deserts, to New York, where the two men confront each other on top of the Statue of Liberty.
SABOTEUR isnít a classic or great film, and the characters donít seem to have much depth to them – they are either good or evil – but it does possess enough Hitchcock suspense to recommend at least one viewing.
And that isnít true about every film you see.
Especially STONED, which is now available on DVD along with Alfred Hitchcockís SABOTEUR and the superb THE MATADOR starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
Sharon Stone is back in BASIC INSTINCT 2, but director Paul Verhoeven, writer Joe Esterhaus and co-star Michael Douglas stayed away from this box-office flop.
Bruce Campbell stars in the short-lived TV show JACK OF ALL TRADES
And Iíll also continue our tribute to ALFRED HITCHCOCKíS FILMS with the “Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece” TOPAZ.
And I will finally tell you about SEASON ONE of the TV show WEEDS.
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 – July 4th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on the trouble with ANNAPOLIS and the trouble with Harry.
Over the years there have been some great movies made about the military and the armed forces.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, APOCALYPSE NOW, TOP GUN, STRIPES, PLATOON and FULL METAL JACKET are just six, and I could easily go on.
Sadly, over the years there have also been some really bad movies made about the military and the armed forces.
Since I offered six good ones, let me know give you six bad ones: PEARL HARBOUR, DOWN PERISCOPE, NAVY SEALS, U-571, WINDTALKERS, and JARHEAD.
With that list, sadly, I could also easily go on.
And I will, let me add one more title to the list of really bad movies made about the military and the armed forces: ANNAPOLIS.
In real life Annapolis is The United States Naval Academy, an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It is located in Annapolis, Maryland, and thus The Academy is often referred to simply as ìAnnapolis.î
The movie ANNAPOLIS stars James Franco from the SPIDER-MAN movies as a young man from the wrong side of the tracks whose dream of attending becomes a reality.
Or at least thatís what the film starts off as, but then it becomes a boxing movie.
Boxing is part of the training at the real Annapolis so I don’t have a problem with the film’s facts, but once it goes down the pugilist road full-time it becomes almost unwatchable.
Before that ANNAPOLIS is a “coming of age” movie and also a “small town boy makes good” movie, but it is isn’t actually very good.
It aspires to be TOP GUN, FULL METAL JACKET or AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, but it never quite gets there.
Once it is over, all ANNAPOLIS actually achieves is a place on the list of really bad movies made about the military and the armed forces.
Granted, it is better that DOWN PERISCOPE, NAVY SEALS, U-571 and JARHEAD, but that isnít saying much.
So I will stop saying things about ANNAPOLIS at all.
Instead, let me turn our focus to another one of ALFRED HITCHCOCKíS FILMS.
This week I have some things to say about Hitch’s 1955 film THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY.
The trouble with Harry is that he’s dead, and everyone seems to have a different idea of what needs to be done with his body.
Everyone also thinks that they had something to do with his death.
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is a black comedy and it was a radical departure for the director. Thus, audiences didnít warm up to it when it was first released, even though by todayís standards it features an all-star cast.
Before Shirley Maclaine hit the big time; before Jerry Mathers was the Beaver; before John Forsythe was BACHELOR FATHER, or had even heard of DYNASTY; and before Alfred Hitchcock was a household name, they all were a part of THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY.
The film might not be a masterpiece, but it has enough of Hitchcockís trademark techniques and plot twists to keep you guessing.
So in reality, I didn’t have any trouble with THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. And it is available now on DVD, and so is ANNAPOLIS.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
In the superb THE MATADOR Pierce Brosnan leaves James Bond behind playing a globetrotting hitman who meets a businessman in a hotel bar in Mexico City and they become friends, for reasons neither expected.
STONED is a chronicle of the sordid life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, who was found in the bottom of his swimming pool weeks after being let go from the band.
Iíll also continue our tribute to ALFRED HITCHCOCKíS FILMS with the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece SABOTEUR; and I will tell you about SEASON ONE of the TV show WEEDS.
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 – June 20th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on Neil Young, some dogs and Alfred Hitchcock’s “rope.”
Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young was born in Toronto, and he lives in Northern California now, but he grew up in Winnipeg.
He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: first in 1995 for his solo work and again in 1997 as a member of Buffalo Springfield.
His credits – both in the music and humanitarian worlds – are unrivaled and unequaled, so I wonít list them. All I will say is this: Neil Young is a Canadian Icon.
On March 31, 2005, Young was admitted to a hospital in New York for treatment for a brain aneurysm. I am very happy to say that he was treated successfully by a minimally invasive procedure.
Sadly, Neil was forced to cancel a scheduled appearance at the Juno Awards in his hometown of Winnipeg.
Prior to undergoing the procedure, and then again after, he worked on a new album that he released in September of 2005 called ìPrairie Wind.î
In addition to the songs that were inspired by Young’s aneurysm, and the death of his father in June of 2005, ìPrairie Windî is also a beautiful ode to the Canadian prairies.
In the summer of 2005 Neil Young took that music inspired by Canada to Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, the home of the original Grand Ole Opry.
Oscar winning director Jonathan Demme filmed the shows and the result is a superb new DVD called NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD.
Young and his band and friends perform ìPrairie Windî in its entirety in the 103 minute film, and they also give us some classics, including the filmís title song and ìHarvest Moon.î
If you are already a fan of Neil Young, I suspect that you already have HEART OF GOLD in your collection, and if you donít you should.
If you arenít a fan of Neil Young, and that is okay too, I still recommend this film as it offers a chance to listen to some beautiful music from a man who – by Godís grace – is still with us.
HEART OF GOLD stars the acoustic Neil Young, not the man who is known as The Godfather Of Grunge Music, and the music is full of beautiful backing vocals and simple, elegant melodies.
And at the end, it’s just Neil on the stage with no crowd and no bandmates for one last, beautiful song.
NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD is an incredible showcase of a great Canadian icon.
Neil, my friend, long may you run!
NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD is no dog, it is superb! Our next two movies arenít dogs either, but they do have dogs in them.
EIGHT BELOW is an Antarctic explorer who is reluctantly forced by brutal cold to leave his team of eight sled dogs behind as he fends for his own survival, and the survival of the other people at their base.
The humans in the film are good, but it is the dogs who are the stars of the film as they attempt to find food and stay alive in the harsh below freezing temperatures.
EIGHT BELOW is based on a true story and while it isn’t a superb film, due to the amount of time it takes for the humans to find a way to return to rescue the dogs, but it is an above average movie that the whole family can enjoy.
This week’s other dog movie is LADY AND THE TRAMP II: SCAMPíS ADVENTURE.
Scamp is the son of Disneyís legendary Lady & The Tramp.
Seeking the freedom to be a wild dog, the son of Lady and the Tramp runs away to join a gang of junkyard dogs.
The original film was released in 1955 and it remains a classic to this day.
The sequel came out in 2001 and while it isn’t anywhere near a classic it is pretty good.
If you could only see either LADY & THE TRAMP or LADY & THE TRAMP: SCAMPíS ADVENTURE I would suggest you stick with the original, but if you loved the original and want to see more, then check out the sequel as well.
Finally this week, Universal Home Video has re-released some of Alfred Hitchcockís classic films on DVD, calling each ìAn Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece.î
Normally when a studio does that I just tell you that they have done it and then briefly recap the titles.
But I thought I would do something differently with these re-releases and them one at a time for the next few weeks.
I’ll start this week with ROPE, Hitchcockís 1948 film about two men who commit a murder just to see what it’s like.
After the murder the men hide the body in their large apartment, and then throw a dinner party.
The filmís thrills come not in the murder of the execution of it, but in the suspense of whether or not the body will be discovered.
ROPE is based on a play, and the film does play out like something you would see on stage. Credit for that is shared with Canadian born actor and writer Hume Cronyn who adapted it for the silver screen.
While ROPE it might not be one of Hitchcockís films that you can watch over and over again, it is still full of suspense.
Plus, this is the film where James Stewart made his first starring role for Hitchcock. That collaboration would eventually yield the masterpieces REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO.
ROPE, LADY AND THE TRAMP II: SCAMPíS ADVENTURE, EIGHT BELOW and NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD are all available now on DVD.
Coming up in two weeks in the next Couch Potato Report
ANNAPOLIS is set at the well-known Naval Academy and it centers on a young man from the wrong side of the tracks whose dream of attending becomes a reality.
Iíll continue our tribute to ALFRED HITCHCOCKíS FILMS with the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY and take a look at the TV shows THE ROCKFORD FILES – SEASON TWO and COACH – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in fourteen 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 – June 17th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on three films that didnít get major theatrical distribution, and three re-issues of films that did.
This week, instead of focusing on THE PINK PANTHER, 16 BLOCKS, KISS KISS BANG BANG, DAVE CHAPPELLEíS BLOCK PARTY, or any of the other titles that are guaranteed to be available to rent and buy at your favourite movie store, I am going to focus on three smaller films.
Iím not doing that because these films are better than those high profile releases, Iím doing it because from time to time I like to bypass the mainstream and go the path less traveled.
And the films I have for you are definitely less traveled.
Which is a a bit of a surprise for the first release I have for you as it has a pretty good pedigree.
A GOOD WOMAN stars Oscar winner Helen Hunt of AS GOOD AS IT GETS and the very talented Scarlett Johannson from LOST IN TRANSLATION, plus, it is based on Oscar Wilde’s popular play ìLady Windermere’s Fan.î
Hunt plays a Manhattan socialite in the 30’s with both a questionable lifestyle and a great deal of debts.
To escape both she flees New York to Italy where she meets a young couple.
Specifically she meets the husband.
But is he helping her get back into respectable society, or assisting her with her questionable lifestyle?
And what will the young wife do when she finds out, no matter what he is actually doing?
Well, you’ll have all of your answers by the end of the film.
To itís credit, A GOOD WOMAN looks good and is always interesting.
Unfortunately, even though it retains the basic storyline of Wilde’s original, it doesnít have the majority of Wildeís impeccable original dialogue, thus if you didnít know this was Wildeís play, you might think the words could just have been re-written by an anonymous scriptwriter.
Also unfortunately, Helen Hunt is miscast as the socialite. I never once thought that she had the style, grace, and beauty that would make men give her money and ìtake care of her.î
However, those negative things aside, Tom Wilkinson from ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is wildly fun as a rich man who hopes Hunt will warm his older years, and Scarlett Johannson continues to be an engaging and talented actress who brings something new to every role she plays.
A GOOD WOMAN might not be the best costume drama you see this year, and it certainly could have been a better film, but it is still unique enough to enjoy.
Oh and ONE LAST THING… , no not one last thing about A GOOD WOMAN, ONE LAST THING… is the name of our next film.
That film – ONE LAST THING… – features a premise that sounds worse than any teenage sex comedy that you have ever heard of or seen, even though it isnít a teenage sex comedy.
That premise is this: A teenage boy dying of cancer makes a last wish to spend a weekend alone with a supermodel.
Like I said, ONE LAST THING… isnít a teen sex comedy. Yes, it has an absurd premise, but somehow the film is not bad.
It isnít great, but it isnít bad.
Had ONE LAST THING… just been a teenage sex comedy, we could dismiss it as stupid and move on. But since it seems to aspire to be something better, I enjoyed it.
Cynthia Nixon from TVís ìSex And The Cityî plays the boyís mother. She is always supportive and understanding towards her sonís wish, yet underneath you can feel the pain of a mother knowing her son is going to die.
It is nowhere near a good or great film, but I enjoyed it, and it wasnít bad.
Now, on the other hand is TAMARA.
TAMARA is a made-in-Winnipeg film about a mousy and intellectual girl who is murdered and then returns from the dead to exact revenge.
In 1976 there was an American made film about a mousy and abused girl with telekinetic powers who gets pushed too far on one special night and so she seeks revenge.
That movie was called CARRIE.
TAMARA is a sister film to CARRIE, not a good sister, or a sister you should choose over the original, but a sister nonetheless.
As a fan of horror films, I sat down to watch this movie hoping it had some unique stuff in it.
It doesnít.
In the film evil doesnít win, but it does have a body count.
Actually, that would be a good tag line for a horror film! ì Evil doesnít win, but it does have a body count.î
Even though it is a bit cheesy, that just made up tag line is still more creative than anything in TAMARA.
Unless you have to see every horror film ever made, ignore the sister film and just watch CARRIE.
Those are three releases from the roads less traveled at your local video store.
Now, let me quickly tell you about three well traveled roads, or re-releases if you will.
The 1991 film FRIED GREEN TOMATOES is celebrating itís 15th year with an EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
Oscar winner Kathy Bates from MISERY plays a housewife who is unhappy with her life. She befriends an old lady in a nursing home and is enthralled by the tales she tells of people she used to know.
Oscar winner Jessica Tandy from DRIVING MISS DAISY, is the elder woman and her stories are about Idgie and Ruth and they are all interesting, heartwarming and fun.
Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker play Idgie and Ruth – respectively – and they are just as well cast as Bates and Tandy.
This new EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION is about 7 minutes longer than the original and it also features a retrospective making of documentary and a wealth of other special features.
I wouldnít call myself the worldís biggest fan of the film, but I always enjoy watching FRIED GREEN TOMATOES as I like the memories it stirs up from my own life.
I also wouldn’t call myself the worldís biggest fan of the FAST AND THE FURIOUS FILMS, and that is because I am not what you would call a ìcar guy.î
Movies about fast cars and the people who drive them have never appealed to me, but I somehow always end up watching them and feeling a bit testosteroney when they are on.
Now, in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS – THE FRANCHISE COLLECTION you get to see the original he original 2001 FAST AND THE FURIOUS film, plus itís 2003 sequel 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, plus a bonus look inside the soon to be released THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT.
Perhaps they arenít the greatest movies ever made, but this is good mindless summer fun, all in one DVD Box Set!
Whether you get testosteroney or not!
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS – THE FRANCHISE COLLECTION, the EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, TAMARA, ONE LAST THING* and A GOOD WOMAN are all available now on DVD. They might not all be available at a store near you, but they are all available.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
In the summer of 2005 Neil Young, having just survived a close call with a brain aneurysm, performed two concerts at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium. In NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD it’s just Neil on the stage with no crowd and no bandmates.
EIGHT BELOW is about two Antarctic explorers who are reluctantly forced by brutal cold to leave their team of sled dogs behind as they fend for their own survival; and LADY AND THE TRAMP II: SCAMPíS ADVENTURE is only about one dog, the son of Disneyís legendary Lady & The Tramp.
George Clooney won an Oscar for his work in SYRIANA. Clooney plays a career CIA agent in this politically-charged movie about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it.
I will also start to review the latest releases of ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILMS on DVD, starting with ROPE, and take a look at the TV shows ROCKFORD FILES – SEASON TWO and COACH – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
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 – June 6th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on yet another sports movie, Dumbo Jumbo, The Duke and the former Gordon Shumway.
Regardless if the story is true or not, sports movies in this day and age have become quite predictable and full of clichÈs.
They all usually start off with a team – or individual athlete – who no one ever expects to win, or in a situation that is preventing them from excelling.
Then, you add a coach who works them too hard because he believes in them, and he knows that they can win if they just apply themselves.
The coach also has a loving, understanding and supportive wife who is usually a very minor character in the film…well, until the coach starts to doubt himself, and then she is there to stand him back up again!
Now, once all of that has happened in these films, the odds must be stacked against the team – or individual athlete – and there absolutely has to be a scene in a locker room where they are prepared to quit, before they are inspired to play on either by the coach or one of the players who has “…no where else to go.”
Do they win? Do they lose? Well, it isnít always about winning. It is sometimes just about the journey.
REMEMBER THE TITANS, MIRACLE, PREFONTAINE, and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS are just four recent examples of this new genre, a genre I will name ìPredictable Sports Films.î
And you can now add GLORY ROAD to that list.
GLORY ROAD is ìbased on the true storyî of Don Haskins. He was the 1966 Texas Western coach who led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
Every single one of those aforementioned predictable clichÈs are used in this film. Every single one of them, and even a few more!
Yes, the cast does great work, the film is expertly made, and the story is incredibly inspiring, but if you have seen any recent sports movie, you will know exactly what happens at every moment of the film.
Since I have seen almost every recent sports film, I found GLORY ROAD way too predictable to recommend.
Now, if you only watch films about basketball, or if the last sports movie you did see was SLAP SHOT, well then maybe GLORY ROAD has something for you.
Otherwise, take another road, or just watch another movie.
How about Walt Disneyís 1941 classic DUMBO, for instance.
The 64-minute DUMBO is the simple story of a long-eared, baby elephant, who is cherished by his mother, and mistreated by nearly everyone. Eventually he rises – literally – above every one else, and you will just about have seen everything, when you see an elephant fly.
Even though DUMBO has already been issued twice on DVD before, I am happy to tell you about this new BIG TOP SPECIAL EDITION DVD of the film because it gives me another opportunity to praise this marvelous movie.
No, this new version doesnít have all of the Making Of” documentaries and bonus music videos that were on the “60th Anniversary Edition” DVD release just a few years ago, but it does have the main thing: The film itself.
And as I watched it again this week, for the twentieth or thirtieth time, I even realized something I had never noticed before.
The stork calls out for Mrs. Jumbo when he is attempting to deliver the baby elephant to itís mother. Her last name is Jumbo, her fellow elephants name the baby Dumbo, so that makes his name Dumbo Jumbo.
I never noticed that before, and I found it funny, both that I never noticed it before, and that his name is Dumbo Jumbo.
Okay, moving on. Lets go from the highly recommended 1941 film DUMBO to a two disc set that has the 1940 film SEVEN SINNERS, 1941ís THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS, PITTSBURGH from 1942, THE CONQUERER from 1956 and JET PILOT from 1957.
Yes, all of those films can be found in the JOHN WAYNE – AN AMERICAN ICON COLLECTION.
Sadly, there are no extras or bonus materials included, once again we just get the films.
However, they are all interesting in their own right and they all feature great sound and picture quality.
John Wayne completists unite, and enjoy the set!
Finally this week is the 4 disc set for ALF – SEASON THREE.
In season three the former Gordon Shumway, refugee of the long-gone planet Melmac, continues to wreak hilarious havoc upon his adoptive Earth family the Tanners.
He annoys the father, upsets the mother, angers the teenage daughter and plays with the young son.
Oh, and he also hosts The Tonight Show.
I watched ALF every Monday night when it was on in the 80s, and I have no problems recommending it now…to those who also watched it when it was on in the 80s.
But, if you never saw the show before 2006, and youíre interested in finding something to make you laugh, I think you will definitely have a few laughs with Mr. Shumway and the Tanner family.
ALF – SEASON THREE, the JOHN WAYNE – AN AMERICAN ICON COLLECTION, the BIG TOP EDITION of Walt Disneyís classic DUMBO and GLORY ROAD are all available now on DVD.
Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report
In FIREWALL the once great Harrison Ford play a security specialist who is forced into robbing the bank that he’s protecting, as a bid to pay off his family’s ransom.
The 1991 film FRIED GREEN TOMATOES is celebrating itís 15th year with an EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
TAMARA is a Canadian made film about a girl who is murdered and then returns from the dead to exact revenge.
And in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS – THE FRANCHISE COLLECTION you get the original FAST AND THE FURIOUS film, plus itís sequel 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, plus a bonus look inside the soon to be released THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT.
Ah yes, good mindless summer fun, all in one DVD Box Set!
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!