Category: The Couch Potato Report

The Couch Potato Report – October 26th, 2013

Love is in the air this week as I have movies about love, movies to love, and movies to share with the people you love.

We’ll star with FIRST LOVE, which is both the title and subject of a heartbreaking little made-in-Quebec film about 13-year-old Antoine.

Antoine and his parents are spending the summer in a rented cottage on an island in the middle of the Saint-Lawrence River. His neighbour for the summer is a beautiful 17-year-old girl named Anna that he just can’t get enough of.

As Anna is his first love, Antoine has no idea what to do, so he starts to follow her because he just wants to be around her as much as possible.

After initially encouraging his behaviour and attention, she soon starts to become distant, and Antoine discovers why.

Anna has a first love of her own.

FIRST LOVE is the sort of film that doesn’t give any more than it has to, even with dialogue. Sometimes just a glance between two characters, or body language, says more than words can say. I really liked that about the film.

It also doesn’t give us all the answers…but in a good way…and that leads to a lot of red herrings.

I really enjoyed FIRST LOVE. This one is worth searching out.

THE WAY WAY BACK is another coming of age story, and the love here is between a 14-year-old boy named Duncan and the one man who takes him seriously, when everyone else dismisses him, especially his Mother’s new boyfriend.

Steve Carell from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE plays the boyfriend, and Sam Rockwell of SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS is the man who convinces the boy that he isn’t just a three.

Rockwell’s character also provides many of the film’s biggest laughs.

THE WAY WAY BACK is fun and funny and heartfelt. It’s not perfect, this type of story has been told dozens of times before and so we know what to expect by now, but this one is above –average and I really enjoyed it.

To the third in a trilogy now, a trilogy about love that I love.

We first met Jesse and Celine in 1995’s BEFORE SUNRISE. They got off a train in Vienna and spent the evening walking and talking.

2004’s BEFORE SUNSET takes place nine years after they first met and we get some details about what happened after that night as Jesse is in Paris promoting the book he wrote about their time together. We also find out that he is now married and has a son, but by the end of the film, it appears Jesse and Celine are destined to be together.

And now, after another nine years, we have BEFORE MIDNIGHT, the continuing story of Jesse and Celine, brought to us by actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy and director, co-writer Richard Linklater.

Jesse and Celine are now together and deeply in love in BEFORE MIDNIGHT and they have twin daughters. But like all couples, they also have plenty of disagreements.

I love this series and these characters and I was not disappointed by BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

Admittedly, their conversations were a little too raw and honest at times, but after almost twenty years together – in real life or in movies – people do speak to each other that way.

That honesty and the ongoing fantasy of meeting a stranger on a train and spending the rest of your with them is still one that keeps me coming back to this series, and recommending BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET and now BEFORE MIDNIGHT to anyone who hasn’t seen them yet.

I can’t wait to meet up with Jesse and Celine again in nine years!!

Time for some GLEE now, specifically THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of the Emmy Award winning show.

I have no problems admitting that I enjoyed watching GLEE when it first debuted. The musical numbers were always well done, and the writing and characters were very strong.

But into Season Three I stopped caring. I only watched the show sporadically as there was too much melodrama and not enough fun musical segments.

And now we have Season Four of GLEE and some of the characters are in New York City and others still in Ohio, so the show has to keep finding reasons to bring them together.

That stuff didn’t work for me at all. Either have them together or take them off the show.

And that is another thing that didn’t work, the new characters they’ve brought in to replace the cast members who’ve left the show aren’t as interesting as the old cast, or are just carbon copies of them.

But since I watch GLEE mostly for the musical numbers, and there are still plenty of those, I still enjoy it…just not as much as I used to.

So call that a mild recommendation, and here’s hoping it gets better, and not worse.

Danny Trejo is an actor who has made his name in the films of director Robert Rodriguez. He is an instantly recognizable man and usually plays the same one note character. Why he’s been successful in films like MACHETE and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is due to the fact that is has a lot of charisma on screen.

Even in something like DEAD IN TOMBSTONE, and more action than dialogue revenge flick. Even in a low budget release like this, you want him to always come out on top.

DEAD IN TOMBSTONE is about a man who was betrayed by his gang, including his half-brother, and must kill them all – in the name of Satan – or face eternal damnation himself.

DEAD IN TOMBSTONE is never great, but Danny Trejo is at times, and so I can mildly – very mildly – recommend the film to those who love movies that feature lots of fights and explosions.

Otherwise, just skip it.

Our final love story is another one I – and many others – truly love. NOTTING HILL may just be the perfect romantic comedy.

This 1999 film stars Hugh Grant as the owner of a small book store in London whose life changes forever when he meets the most famous film star in the world.

She is played by Julia Roberts.

NOTTING HILL is a fantastic film with a great cast and a fantastic supporting cast.

The new blu-ray doesn’t get as high praise as it doesn’t offer any new retrospective features, but it does have the movie itself. The beautiful, lovely, involving movie itself.

Pick it up and fall in love all over again.

The fantastic NOTTING HILL; the mildly entertaining action packed flick DEAD IN TOMBSTONE; THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of the less and less interesting GLEE; the great, very mature third part of the BEFORE series – BEFORE MIDNIGHT; the fun, funny and heartfely coming of age film THE WAY WAY BACK; and the very good made-in-Quebec film FIRST LOVE are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – October 19th, 2013

I always love finding out that big Hollywood action films are made in Canada, even when they don’t do that well at the box office, and PACIFIC RIM did not do that well at the box office. It barely made one hundred million dollars and the made-in-Toronto mindless Summer action film should have done much better.

PACIFIC RIM takes place in a world where giant monsters have come on land from deep below the sea and the only hope that humankind has to defeat them is with giant robots – known as Jaegers.

Yes, this is a movie about giant robots fighting giant sea monsters…sounds a lot like the Godzilla movies, doesn’t it? Well it is a lot like that movie, and ALIENS, and CLOVERFIELD, and INDEPENDENCE DAY.

PACIFIC RIM doesn’t have an original moment in its 131 minute running time, but I still enjoyed it. This is a mindless Summer action movie, so press play on your remote, shut off your brain, and just enjoy watching giant creatures fight, and things blow up real good.

Here’s another mindless Summer action film that is devoid of an original moment. But even though I did shut off my brain before I watched it, I can only mildly recommend THE HEAT because the story is cliché and predicatble, I didn’t laugh once, and the lead characters are completely unlikeable for the majority of the film…right up until the part where the buddy cop comedy playbook fully kicks in and they have to start getting along for the sake of the story.

THE HEAT stars Sandra Bullock from MISS CONGENIALITY and Melissa McCarthy of BRIDESMAIDS. Sandra is a by the book cop who is told she needs to loosen up a bit if she wants a promotion, and Melissa is a rough and ragged officer who needs to get her act together. And wouldn’t you know it?! They become friends by the end!!

THE HEAT is never awful, but it was too predictable and unfunny – even with my brain shut off – to enable me to do anything other than mildly recommend it, and it only gets that mild recommendation because I am a fan of the lead actresses.

If you expect absolutely nothing going in you might mildly enjoy it – and them – too. Good luck!!

I will use the word “love” to describe this third release, but only because the word is in the title.

I actually didn’t love LOVE, MARILYN, even though I do love Marilyn.

In addition to people who knew her sharing their stories, LOVE, MARILYN features modern day celebrities reading and occasionally acting out – quite intensely at times – excerpts from books and memoirs written by others who knew Marilyn Monroe and some of Marilyn’s own recently discovered personal journals and letters.

Even fifty-one years after her death, Marilyn Monroe is still fascinating and so most of LOVE, MARILYN works for that reason. But when some of the people in this movie are trying too hard to get the point of the short note across to us viewers, it doesn’t always work.

But since most of it does work, I can – and do – easily recommend it.

No, I actually didn’t love LOVE, MARILYN, but most of it was quite fascinating, just like Marilyn herself.

It’s TV time now!!

Time for me to talk about three new TV Show sets that are available for us all to own, starting with THE COMPLETE SEASON EIGHT of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER!

Here is the ongoing story of a guy named Ted who continues to search for the woman of his dreams in New York City…with the help of his four best friends.

This latest season isn’t its strongest…just as the one before this season wasn’t its strongest. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER continues to get weaker as it goes on. At times it seems as if the writers are running out of ways to keep the show going…instead of just letting us meet the woman Ted falls for.

But even a weak season of this show is better than the best of some of the other shows on the air…even if they continue to make fun of Canada!!

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is good TV!! I like hanging out with these people…and I also like that – since the show is running out of ideas – they are currently airing what will be their ninth and final season.

So before Ted meets the Mother of his children this Spring, don’t miss THE COMPLETE SEASON EIGHT of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

That show was fun, but I must admit that the most fun I had watching a TV show on DVD this week came courtesy of the four disc set that features SEASONS 1 and 2 of the MTV show AWKWARD

AWKWARD is about an unpopular 15 year old girl who slips in the bathroom and becomes popular overnight at high school when everyone mistakes the accident has for a suicide attempt.

Regardless of her new found popularity there are still some other girls who try and keep her down, and a boyfriend who loves her when they are all alone, but doesn’t want anyone to actually know they are together.

And then there are her parents, who are still together, usually quite close together.

Compound all of that with our heroine falling for another boy, and the fact that throughout these seasons she is dealing with a “carefrontation” letter, a note sent to her by a friend meant to help her navigate her way through school.

It’s all AWKWARD.

There’s that other show on television right now that is about girls – called GIRLS – that is getting all the attention and winning awards, but it is nowhere near as good as AWKWARD.

I really enjoyed watching SEASONS 1 & 2, and I need to catch up on SEASON 3, which is running on MTV right now.

This is great stuff. Real kids, with real problems that are actually really funny in this TV show.

The final TV show this week…you say you want a REVOLUTION, well I have one for you!!

Here is a show about what happens when the power goes out, all of the power…goes out, goes away, never to return.

What would happen if that happened? Well, in REVOLUTION, one man starts an army that takes control of and a group of revolutionaries fight to take back control. So the show has fighting.

There is also science in REVOLUTION as another group works to turn the power back on.

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of REVOLUTION has a lot going on, actually, in addition to the fighting and science, and most of it works. There are a few times when it all slows down and my interest started to wane, but for the most part the show kept me interested from start to finish.

Not enough to start watching season two when it aits every week, but I really enjoyed watching the whole first season all at once, and I will do that again when the next set comes out.

Let’s go to the rink, shall we? The rink, circa 1977 when there weren’t ads on the boards, the Hanson Brothers had just been traded to a new team, and the Charlestown Chiefs ruled the Federal League.

All of that – and so much more – all takes place in SLAP SHOT, a movie universally renowned as the best hockey movie ever. SLAP SHOT has just debuted on blu-ray, my friends, and it looks and sounds amazing!

Paul Newman stars in the film as the aging player-coach who convinces his team to play dirty, only to change his mind when he sees what violence has done to the game, and his teammates.

There are no new extras on this blu-ray of SLAP SHOT, not a single one, and that is disappointing, but I’m in no way disappointed by the film, never have, never will be. It still makes me laugh, it still shows the game of hockey better than any movie has – before or since – and it still features some unforgettable characters and moments.

Pick it up in HD and enjoy it once again

The 1977 classic SLAP SHOT; THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the very good – but never great – show REVOLUTION; SEASONS 1 and 2 of the very entertaining show AWKWARD; THE COMPLETE SEASON EIGHT of the thankfully it’s coming to an end, once great show HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER; the very interesting documentary LOVE, MARILYN; the not great, completely predictable action comedy THE HEAT; and the mindless fun of the made-in-Toronto action flick PACIFIC RIM are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – October 12th, 2013

The new release that I’ll recommend the strongest this week is actually the last title I’ll talk about, but trust me it’s worth the wait…and it is whaffer thin.

First up is a made-in-Winnipeg reboot of a twenty-five year old horror series. Chucky is a notorious serial killer whose spirit was first transferred into a toy, the Good Guy doll, in the 1988 film CHILD’S PLAY.

Since then we’ve been given five other films, of varying quality, and the latest is CURSE OF CHUCKY.

The primary thing this latest Chucky flick does is return the horror of the earlier films. The last two have been more funny that horrific.

This one begins with a Chucky doll being delivered to a woman who lives in the middle of nowhere in a big old creepy house with her parapalegic mid-twenties daughter Nica. It seems the woman knew the serial killer many years ago.

Soon after the mother’s mysterious death, the house begins to fill with grieving family, including a little girl, who is given the doll as a gift.

Eventually – as in all the Chucky films – bloodshed and chaos ensues, and fans of the series will not be disappointed.

CURSE OF CHUCKY is not a great horror film by any stretch of the imagination, and the back story doesn’t totally work, but fans of the series will really enjoy it!

And when you guys watch it, make sure you watch all the way until after the end credits!!

Fans of THE HANGOVER series will probably enjoy this next release too, and I say probably because the first HANGOVER movie was so awesome and the second was so awful, that many fans may have already abandoned the series.

I invite you to come back though, as THE HANGOVER – PART III does offer some laughs…even some HUGE ones, and most of them come from the great Zach Galifianakis.

THE HANGOVER – PART III brings the series to an end as the Wolf Pack have to go back to Vegas to rescue Doug, again.

Bottom line here, will THE HANGOVER – PART III make you laugh? The answer is yes, so if you’ve enjoyed Phil, Stu and Alan’s mis-adventures in the past, don’t miss it.

Now, on the other hand, even if you’ve loved Will Smith’s mis-adventures and adventures in the past – in films like INDEPENDENCE DAY and MEN IN BLACK – even if you are his biggest fan, you still need to skip his 2013 misfire AFTER EARTH.

AFTER EARTH features Will and his son Jaden Smith playing a father and son who crash land on earth, after humankind have been forced off of it. It is now inhabited by all types of creatures who feed on humans.

With Will laid up after breaking both his legs the son has to travel across the planet to find a beacon to save them both and you…won’t care.

AFTER EARTH is slow, and boring, and uninteresting on just about every level. It isn’t the worst film of the year, but it will definitely be in my Bottom Five.

Skip it!!

I was so bored by this next release that I’m not even sure what to say about it other than skip it.

The animated film THE CROODS was colourful and fast, so little kids may enjoy it, but it wasn’t any fun at all, and I like my animated films to be at least some fun.

The Croods are a family in prehistoric times, a caveman family, who are convinced to go on a trek by a caveboy they meet. He has a theory that the world is coming to an end, and since he’s shown them fire, they follow him and are intrigued by his “inventions”.

THE CROODS has a great voice cast, that includes Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Canadian Ryan Reynolds and the great Cloris Leachman, and at times it is inventive and the animation is great, but most of the time I was just bored.

So you should skip it…I would maybe mildly recommend it to kids, but only very mildly.

And I will also only mildly recommend director Joss Whedon’s version of Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING as well, specifically to fans of the cast and the Whedonverse they’ve all created.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING features actors who have previously appeared in television shows and movies created by or directed by Joss Whedon, including THE AVENGERS, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, FIREFLY and DOLLHOUSE and I found the story behind its creation much more interesting that the film itself.

Whedon and his friends get together – at his house – for Shakespeare readings, and they enjoyed doing MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING so much, they filmed it…at his house.

That story I liked. I never really got into the movie, but I liked hearingthe story behind it on the director’s commentary.

I didn’t dislike this modern retelling of Shakespeare’s comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words, I just didn’t care for it. I know others will love it…especially fans of Joss Whedon and the people he’s worked with in the past.

You will likely love it, so it is to you I recommend MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING…but even to you only mildly as it really isn’t anything special.

The television show set I have for you this week on The Report is the very inventive and engaging PERSON OF INTEREST.

Created by some of the people who have made LOST and the DARK KNIGHT films this show is about an ex-CIA hitman and an eccentric tech genius who team up to prevent crimes in New York City, before they happen.

THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of PERSON OF INTEREST is set in the present day, but uses future technology and smarts to allow it to stand above most of the action and procedural shows on TV these days.

And as the season goes on, in addition to smart individual episodes, it builds a very interesting overall plot as well as we get to know the people behind this amazing technology.

PERSON OF INTEREST is just a good show and I really enjoyed watch it. I highly recommend THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON, and the first one too for that matter.

Finally this week is the 1983 comedy THE MEANING OF LIFE, the release of the week, the most entertaining thing out there to watch right now, which I have dubbed so because of the film itself, AND because the surviving members of Monty Python get together in a bonus feature to discuss it.

It is so much fun to watch Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese and Michael Palin talking, just talking about the film and working together again. Too bad the late, great Python Graham Chapman couldn’t have been there as well!!

THE MEANING OF LIFE itself, a series of sketches and skits that allow the comedy team to give us their take on life, in all its stages, looks great on blu-ray, and is still as funny as ever.

The reunion, the film, the release of the week!! And now for something completely hilarious, it’s MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE!!

The still great MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE; the inventive and engaging SECOND SEASON of the TV show PERSON OF INTEREST; director Joss Whedon’s okay but not great version of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; the not interesting and not fun animated film THE CROODS; the boring Summer flop AFTER EARTH; the not great but occasionally funny sequel THE HANGOVER – PART III; and the made-in-Winnipeg horror film CURSE OF CHUCKY, for fans of the series only, are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Coming up next week, the made-in-Toronto Summer action flick PACIFIC RIM.

For now, that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – October 5th, 2013

The films I have for you this week don’t have a connecting thread. I do like to connect things, but one of them came out this Summer, another in 1989, and the third in 1953. I could find a way to connect them, after all two of them did win Academy Awards, but instead I’ll just tell you about them individually and start with the end…of the world.

THIS IS THE END was co-written, co-directed and co-stars Vancouver’s Seth Rogen from PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and KNOCKED UP. He plays himself in this film, well…he plays an exaggeration of himself, or at least who we perceive him to be.

In fact, the whole film is full of famous people playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they get together for a party at James Franco’s house just as the end of the world begins.

In addition to James Franco and Seth Rogen, some of the other people who play a variation of themselves in THIS IS THE END are Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Mindy Kaling and Emma Watson…from the Harry Potter films.

It’s the end of the world in this film, and some friends are locked in a house together, and making the best of it while they are trying to survive the worst. The difference in THIS IS THE END is that we know all of these friends because they are movie stars.

That is what also what makes it one of the funniest films of the year. When these guys make fun of each other, they rip apart each other’s filmography and public personas and it is hilarious.

Due to the amount of profanity in the film and the fact that a good portion of the humour is exceptionally sophomoric and childish, THIS IS THE END isn’t for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I can easily recommend it to anyone who likes their humour profane and their mocking merciless.

This is a flick I’ll watch again. Even the bonus materials are entertaining and insightful!!

The 1989 Walt Disney animated film THE LITTLE MERMAID is a film I’ve watched again, many times. I enjoyed it when it was originally released, and I enjoyed it again this week when it was released on blu-ray for the first time!

This still beautiful film is about a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel who makes a deal with a sea-witch to enable her to spend time with a human prince…on land.

But as Ariel gets close to making her dreams come true, the sea-witch changes the rules, and THE LITTLE MERMAID could lose everything.

The new DIAMOND EDITION of THE LITTLE MERMAID features the film looking and sounding better than ever, and it also comes with a wealth of old and Brand New Special Features.

But mostly it features the film, the very beautiful and entertaining film, and its Academy Award winning music.

I love THE LITTLE MERMAID, and I highly recommend it, to boys and girls of all ages.

Here’s a trio of new releases now about families.

Starting with a MODERN FAMILY.

MODERN FAMILY is a show about Jay Pritchett, his second wife, their infant son and his stepson, and Jay’s two grown up children and their families.

The show is told mockumentary style with the camera sometimes acting as a confessional, but mostly it is an observer.

THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of MODERN FAMILY was the fourth – of four – to win the Emmy Award for Best Comedy. Yes it has won every year it’s been eligible, and it will probably keep winning for years.

It is just heads above any other comedy on television right now, and if you have yet to see an episode…see an episode. See them all!!

It is fun and funny and even very beautiful at times. Watching THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of MODERN FAMILY could be some of the most fun you have this year.

Some folks will also have a lot of fun watching VOLUME 11 of the series FAMILY GUY, but not as many folks because there aren’t as many laughs.

There are some laughs, okay a lot of them, and many of them are laugh out loud, but FAMILY GUY continues to be lazy, going for an easy laugh when a well-crafted one could have worked better, and continuing to be borderline racist at times…another sign of lazy humour.

That said, the show does still provide some huge laughs!!

There are twenty-three uncensored FAMILY GUY episodes in VOLUME 11. Peter has another painful encounter with the angry Giant Chicken, Quagmire tries to get giggity with Meg, and Brian and Stewie are beside themselves when they travel back in time to the show’s pilot episode.

Admittedly, that trip back to the Pilot is one of the series’ best!

FAMILY GUY is still on the air because people watch it and love it and it is to those people – and the show’s casual fans – that I recommend this release. Highly.

Everyone else should just skip it.

This final family oriented release is an Israeli film that won seven statues at that country’s Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture, and it is easy to see why as FILL THE VOID is a deeply moving and beautiful film that asks the question: “Why do you love me?”

This is a movie about a devout 18-year-old Israeli woman is being pressured to marry the husband of her late sister.

She can’t understand why he wants to marry her and feels that the marriage is not right. But declaring her independence is not an option in Tel Aviv’s ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, where religious law, tradition and the rabbi’s word are absolute.

FILL THE VOID is an interesting film that takes place in a world that many of us will never see. That, and some great questions and performances, add up to a movie that I can easily recommend.

Finally this week, let’s head back to 1953 to a film that won eight Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.

Set in 1941 Hawaii Montgomery Clift is a young soldier who refuses to box for his squadron, no matter how much punishment his Captain threatens him with.

That same Captain is unfaithful to his wife, and she to him as she falls for a Sergeant played by Burt Lancaster.

Frank Sinatra is another member of the company and Ol Blue Eyes was awarded a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY features all of those characters and stories – and several others – all heading toward the date December 7th, 1941.

They may all survive each other, but will they survive Pearl Harbour?

The new blu-ray for FROM HERE TO ETERNITY allows the film to look better than it ever has, and it comes with some great Special Features, old and new.

This movie is a true classic, and I easily recommend it.

The eight time Academy Award winning classic FROM HERE TO ETERNITY; the very good seven time Israeli Film Academy Award winning drama FILL THE VOID; VOLUME 11 of the still occasionally laugh out loud funny series FAMILY GUY; THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON of the still funny and touching show MODERN FAMILY; the still amazing Disney animated classic THE LITTLE MERMAID; and the incredibly stupid, but also incredibly funny THIS IS THE END, co-written, co-directed and co-starring Vancouver’s Seth Rogen are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Hey, coming up next week in The Couch Potato Report a onetime great comedy trilogy comes to a close in THE HANGOVER – PART III

For now, that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – September 28th, 2013

Here we are in the final weekend in September, well on our way to the end of 2013. There are still dozens of films to be released in theatres between now and the end of the year, but it’s unlikely that any of them will make enough money at the box office to challenge the highest money makers so far this year.

So it looks like the Top Five films of the year will be 5) FAST & FURIOUS 6 ($238,679,850); 4) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY ($265,840,988); 3) MAN OF STEEL ($291,045,518); 2) DESPICABLE ME 2 ($360,796,080) and the Number One film of the year will be IRON MAN 3, which has made almost $410 million ($409,013,994 4,253).

The rest of the Top Five will be available for home viewing soon, and I’ll cover them all in detail when they’re released, but IRON MAN 3 is available now so…here we go!!

IRON MAN 3 picks up not long after the events that took place in last year’s number one film, THE AVENGERS. Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark is not sleeping as he continues to flashback to almost dying while trying to save the planet and so he works to modify his metallic outerwear.

When a terrorist named the Mandarin successfully unleashes a plot for world domination, Iron Man is soundly defeated and Tony Stark has to pick up the pieces, personally and professionally..

Truth be told, IRON MAN 3 is nowhere near as good as THE AVENGERS or the first IRON MAN movie, but it is better than IRON MAN 2. I have so many problems with this third installment…so, so, so many…unless I shut off my brain and focus on the fact that it is a Summer Movie about a superhero named Iron Man.

As a Summer Movie, full of shiny things that bow up real good, IRON MAN 3 is a success. As a part of the continuing cinematic story being told around characters who first appeared in Marvel comics, it is a huge success!

As a fan of movies like this, I don’t consider it that much of a success, but I do still recommend it as I will watch it again and I’m still looking forward to IRON MAN 4 and THE AVENGERS 2.

Up next is not a Summer Movie, but a television biography that features movie stars – and Academy Award winners – Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, along with Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh. They have teamed up for a picture called BEHIND THE CANDELABRA and it is amazing!!

This Emmy Award winning film focusses on the last decade of the legendary pianist Liberace’s life and the secret affair he had with a much younger man named Scott Thorson.

It is based on Thorson’s 1988 memoir, “Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace” and the young man is played by Matt Damon, and Michael Douglas is Liberace.

There isn’t anything about BEHIND THE CANDELABRA that I didn’t enjoy. The writing is great, the sets fantastic, and the performances by the lead and supporting actors are all tremendous.

This movie is entertaining and fun and funny and I highly recommend it.

The new television season officially began this week, and so there is a wide array of box sets available now featuring last year’s episodes. I had a blast not doing much else this week but watching these five sets!

I started with THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON of the still great comedy THE BIG BANG THEORY.

This is the show about two geeky and socially awkward professors and their circle of friends and lovers. There’s Leonard and Sheldon; Penny – who lives across the hall and is dating Leonard; Amy – who is spending time with Sheldon; new married couple Howard and Bernadette; and Raj. Poor, lonely Raj who spends most of Season Six looking for love.

The geekiness and intellect of the guys continues to be mined for comic effect with Penny’s social skills and common sense and the fantastic timing of the entire cast.

THE BIG BANG THEORY continues to be one of the most entertaining shows on television and I highly recommend THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON and all of the seasons!!! Check them out and enjoy!!

Oh, and a bonus in this season is the appearance of the legendary Bob Newhart, who won an Emmy Award for his appearance!!

Last year at this time I spoke about the release of the Box Set for SEASON ONE of 2 BROKE GIRLS. I said that the premise and the lead actress – Kat Dennings from THOR – all appealed to me, but I concluded by saying that I didn’t really like the show.

Well, THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of 2 BROKE GIRLS is now out and the show is starting to lose me because it doesn’t seem based in any sort of reality at all.

2 BROKE GIRLS is about two women in their twenties who find themselves working together at a small diner. They forge an unlikely friendship based on their dream of quitting and raising enough money to have their own business.

The show has a television sitcom premise, but as its gone on they succeed and fail merely at the whim of the writing. Why they succeed and fail doesn’t seem real life real, it feels television sitcom real and I am losing interest in it.

Plus, Kat Dennings character continues to be the most abrasive and sarcastic character on TV. She is rude and insulting to just about everyone, who absolutely no consequences whatsoever. She still has a job, dreams, and customers in the diner…and her boss puts up with it all, why? Because this is a TV sitcom.

Yes, okay, much like SEASON ONE, THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of 2 BROKE GIRLS has a few laughs, and some nice moments between the two leads, but not enough. Ultimately I started watching it as a guilty pleasure, but as it goes on I am enjoying it less and less.

Unless you already watch it, you should skip 2 BROKE GIRLS. It isn’t real and they aren’t likeable.

Unless you already watch it, you should also skip SOUTH PARK. It isn’t real and the characters in it aren’t likeable either.

And that is what I continue to love about it!!

THE COMPLETE SIXTEENTH SEASON of SOUTH PARK is out now…and it puts a smile on my face that this show about four young profane characters and the people who live in their Colorado town has even lasted sixteen seasons!!

Yet it has, and it continues to make me laugh out loud, especially when each season comes out on DVD and blu-ray and creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone do short commentaries on every episode. They would always rather be doing anything else!!

SOUTH PARK – THE COMPLETE SIXTEENTH SEASON is full of laughs and I love it!! Here’s to the next sixteen seasons!!!

Some shows work, not only because of their content, but because they are content to be exactly what they are. The action adventure series SPARTACUS works because it knows what it is, a graphic, bloody, sword and sandals show with plenty of violence and nudity. It is what it is and what it is works.

In THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of SPARTACUS – called WAR OF THE DAMNED – he continues to amass victories over Rome, more determined than ever to bring down the entire Roman Republic.

But Rome continues to fight back!

SPARTACUS – WAR OF THE DAMNED – THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON is also the series final season and it will never win any awards, but it is jam packed full of action and it – and me as a viewer – is content enough with that. I am totally content with the content of this show and can easily recommend it to all action fans, and fans of action.

The biggest surprise I had this week while watching TV Show Box Sets came from how much I enjoyed the made-in-Vancouver action adventure show ARROW. And I did, I really enjoyed it!!

Based on the fictional superhero Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, ARROW is a surprisingly good show about a hooded vigilante armed with smarts, fighting expertise and a bow and arrows.

Arrows that do all sorts of things…including putting fear in the hearts and minds of villains.

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of ARROW is very entertaining and has some great characters and villains. Even the drama here – and there is plenty of drama – but even it is entertaining. The season also ends with a tremendous cliffhanger

If you are looking for something new, and you enjoy shows based on comic books, do not miss ARROW.

I am so looking forward to SEASON TWO!!

Finally this week is a film that is much smaller in scope and audience awareness than either BEHIND THE CANDELABRA or IRON MAN 3, but for those who stumble upon it, it may just be the film of the year for you.

It is a coming of age film called THE KINGS OF SUMMER.

Here is a film about three teenage friends who just can’t get along with their parents and so they decide to run away from home and build their own house, with their own rules, in the woods. They are going to live there and live off the land, and enjoy life with no parental interference.

For a while their plan succeeds and they truly are THE KINGS OF SUMMER, but eventually they need things that can’t be found in the woods, like food and other friends.

That is when things fall apart.

The cast of THE KINGS OF SUMMER features some actors you’ll know – like Nick Offerman from PARKS AND RECREATION, Megan Mullally of WILL & GRACE and Alison Brie of COMMUNITY – but for the most part you won’t know who they are, but they all give very good performances.

I never loved the movie, but I did really, really like it.

Search this one out.

The nice little film THE KINGS OF SUMMER; THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the very entertaining made-in-Vancouver series ARROW; the very good sword and sandals series SPARTACUS – WAR OF THE DAMNED; THE COMPLETE SIXTEENTH SEASON of the still incredibly funny animated series SOUTH PARK; THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of the once guilty pleasure that is losing me 2 BROKE GIRLS; THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON of the continually entertaining THE BIG BANG THEORY; the Emmy Award winning spectacular Liberace bio-pic BEHIND THE CANDELABRA; and the Number One film of the year, which isn’t great but can be entertaining if you turn off your brain, IRON MAN 3 are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – September 21st, 2013

Located about an hour South-East of Vancouver, in Aldergrove, British Columbia, is the world renowned Bates Motel.

Run by Norma Bates and her son Norman, the Bates Motel is a small, twelve room respite for weary travellers that is in danger as a new highway is about to be built on the other side of town, basically killing off the majority of the traffic that now pass by on the existing highway.

Travellers will benefit from the new highway for many reasons, especially since it ensures they never have to stay at the Bates Motel…the same one from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film PSYCHO.

BATES MOTEL is a contemporary prequel to what happens in that film as we meet a young Norman Bates and his mother, who is still alive. Both still go a little mad sometimes.

After the curious death of Norman’s father the two relocate and buy that old house and hotel overlooking the highway. But the buildings come with some problems of their own, and soon Norman and Norma are lying to the police, and – even though they are very close – they’re even lying to and keeping secrets from each other.

SEASON ONE of BATES MOTEL also introduces us to Norman’s half-brother as we begin to see where some of his madness comes from, and discover the madness he already possesses.

BATES MOTEL is a very, very violent show, so it isn’t for everyone…and the majority of the teen melodrama that arises from the fact that Norman is a modern day teenager isn’t interesting at all…but most of it is interesting as the show attempts to show us who Norma Bates is, and how who she is makes Norman who he becomes.

I really enjoyed it, and am really looking forward to SEASON TWO, and maybe a lot less teen melodrama and a lot more back story.

The Summer Movie WORLD WAR Z had so much bad buzz written about it – long before it opened – between re-writes, re-shoots and budget over-runs, it was very easy to go into it expecting it to be a complete mess.

The fact that it wasn’t a complete mess was such a nice surprise for filmgoers that it actually did okay at the box office. Now that it is available to watch at home, you can judge it for yourself…but trust me, keep those expectations low.

Based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks WORLD WAR Z stars Brad Pitt as the only man who can save the planet after a zombie pandemic, and these zombies are unlike any you’ve ever seen before!

They move fast, incredibly fast, work together in packs and are almost completely unstoppable.

WORLD WAR Z is very good, but it is never awesome. The writing never comes close to the quality of THE WALKING DEAD, but I still really liked it as the zombies do things we’ve never seen them do before on screen.

So keep the expectations low, and you might enjoy it too.

My expectations were high heading into THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of the Emmy Award winning series HOMELAND, after all this is the show that beat BOARDWALK EMPIRE, BREAKING BAD, DOWNTON ABBEY, GAME OF THRONES and MAD MEN last year and was named Outstanding Drama Series.

When I reviewed SEASON ONE, I said that I though the show was exceptional, but it wasn’t better than MAD MEN, and that is definitely true for SEASON TWO.

If this season wins the show an Emmy again, I’ll be shocked!! SHOCKED!!

Not because the show is no longer exceptional, but because it just isn’t as good as those other ones.

In this COMPLETE SECOND SEASON one-time terrorist Brody is now a U.S. congressman, and former CIA agent Carrie Mathison has returned to civilian life.

But when a new terrorist threat emerges their worlds are brought together again as she works to save the day, as he might still be helping others blow things up.

The problem here is that SEASON TWO of HOMELAND simply suffers from comparison, to itself. SEASON ONE was so good that SEASON TWO couldn’t possibly be that strong…and it isn’t. It does still have some great moments, and you’ll be guessing what’s actually going on almost the whole time, but as a whole I didn’t love it.

It has a very strong ending, and I never once disliked it, but THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of HOMELAND doesn’t deserve another Emmy. It is worthy of your time, but not another Emmy.

THE BLING RING isn’t eligible for an Emmy Award, and it’s unlikely it will win any Oscars either.

This movie is as empty as the shallow, useless characters who populate it.

Inspired by actual events and people THE BLING RING is Academy Award nominated director Sofia Coppola’s latest, and it is a true let down. The woman who gave us LOST IN TRANSLATION, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES and MARIE ANTOINETTE has now delivered a film that I not only disliked, but I borderline hated it.

This is a movie about a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who love social media and the internet. Something isn’t real, unless they can post about it.

Their hobby of stealing from their friends and schoolmates becomes a habit when they start to break into celebrities homes in order to find things to wear and sell.

Yes, they watch entertainment and gossip shows and go on websites to track celebrities’ whereabouts, and when they are out of town, then rob them…and you won’t care.

THE BLING RING may appeal to teenagers who wish they could live the lives of the people in the movie, and think what they’re doing is cool, but no one else.

I didn’t care about the characters in it, I didn’t care what they were doing, I didn’t care who they were doing it to, and I hope you never have to watch this movie.

It is not only a complete disappointment from a great filmmaker, it is a complete waste of time!!

Now to a non-time-waster!!

Also based on true events, the Norwegian film KON-TIKI is – on the other hand – an impressive piece of filmmaking.

KON-TIKI is the story of explorer Thor Heyerdal’s epic 1947 crossing of the Pacific on a balsawood raft in an effort prove that it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.

At the time the prevailing theories all stated that Polynesia had been settled by peoples migrating from the west and so Heyerdal set out on the 7000 kilometre journey to discover the truth.

KON-TIKI was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards and its a wonder to watch as it is full of amazing scenes and moments. Plus, as the men sail on their raft you feel how dangerous and claustrophobic it would have been to be there.

Due to the fact that this is a movie about people drifting on a raft, there are a lot of times when nothing is going on, so KON-TIKI does slow down at times, but the majority of it moves at a great pace, and as a whole it is a very impressive piece of work that I can easily recommend.

I can also recommend the documentary WE STEAL SECRETS – THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS, but only mildly.

This is a film about the creation of Julian Assange’s controversial website Wikileaks and how it facilitated the largest security breach in U.S. history.

WE STEAL SECRETS – THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS is a very interesting documentary, that I do mildly recommend you see, even though it is never compelling. It really is just information, a lot of information, and most of it is presented on screen as the film has no narrator.

Even though what’s being presented is interesting, there is so much of that and after a while it becomes too much…which is why I can only mildly recommend it.

Fun, pure fun, that is the only thing I wanted when I pressed play on THE SMURFS – THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW, and fun is what I got!!

Based on Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW is a twenty-two minute animated retelling of the classic tale…Smurf style!!

You get exactly what you think you get with this realease, and so if your kids, grandkids…or even you, love the Smurfs, then don’t miss THE SMURFS – THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW!

Finally this week is the blu-ray release of a horror classic, 1958’s THE FLY.

Having successfully discovered a means of teleportation by sending plates and champagne from one end of his lab to another a scientist decides to try and send a human through…he decides to send himself through.

But all does not go well as a fly is sent along with him, and their DNA gets mixed up and one partially becomes the other, and vice versa.

I never actually noticed until I watched this great looking and sounding new blu-ray – and it’s wealth of special features, old and new – that THE FLY is actually set in Montreal. That is just another thing to enjoy about this great film, which lead to RETURN OF THE FLY and CURSE OF THE FLY, and the 1986 remake from Canadian David Cronenberg.

Don’t swat this fly, pick it up and enjoy!!

The classic fifties horror film THE FLY; the fun short story THE SMURFS – THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW; the interesting but never compelling documentary WE STEAL SECRETS – THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS; the impressive Academy Award nominated historical drama KON-TIKI; the uninteresting style over substance drama THE BLING RING; THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of the exceptional show HOMELAND; the entertaining – if you lower your expectations – zombie drama WORLD WAR Z; and SEASON ONE of the made-in-British Columbia PSYCHO prequel BATES MOTEL are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Coming up next week, my review of the number one film of the year, IRON MAN 3.

For now, that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – September 14th, 2013

Of the many movies and television shows shot in Canada, only a few of them are actually set in our home and native land. Most times our cities and towns fill in – beautifully – for cities and towns from around the world. I’ll never have a problem seeing a Canadian city on screen, but I always enjoy it just a little bit more when the city they are filming in is playing itself.

That wasn’t always the case with the made-in-Toronto television series FLASHPOINT. Initially, Toronto didn’t play itself. Initially the setting for the show was not identified it was merely a really big city. But as they moved through the first couple of seasons the setting became more significantly identifiable and in THE FIFTH AND FINAL SEASON it is unmistakable and that is just one of the reasons I enjoyed the show.

The Strategic Response Unit in FLASHPOINT is a handpicked team of elite cops who rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs and take care of all of the high risk situations that arise.

When they arrive on scene they’re in charge, and they usually always solve the crime and catch the criminals responsible.

THE FINAL SEASON of FLASHPOINT brings the series to a very satisfying conclusion with some strong episodes featuring great writing and acting. The two-part series finale is especially great.

FLASHPOINT was never one of my favourite shows, there were always better police procedural dramas on the air, but it was a Canadian one, set in Canada, and I always enjoyed it because of that. So let me recommend THE FINAL SEASON. It is so good it might even make you want to go back and see the other four, which I only mildly recommend.

I will highly recommend this next release, the spectacular space sequel STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.

Some Trekkies and Trekkors had issues with J.J. Abrams second cinematic effort as they felt it had too much action and not enough dilemmas for the series. They also had a major problem with the fact that it borrows so much from the franchise’s legacy.

As a huge fan of the series myself, I can appreciate the complaints and gripes and understand the issues people had with STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, but I loved this movie! I loved the action and adventure, I loved how derivative it was, I loved that it had nods to the past, present and future.

In the film, Captain Kirk leads the crew of the Enterprise into a war-zone to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. He is played by the amazing Benedict Cumberbatch from the BBC’s SHERLOCK.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS isn’t perfect, this isn’t the greatest Trek movie ever made – but it borrows from the best – and I really enjoyed it.

I also really, really, really enjoyed SHARKNADO…one of the cheesiest, poorly made, stupidest films ever made.

I did, I really enjoyed it!!

Yes, this is a movie about sharks, in a tornado…a sharknado, and it is awful…but so much fun!!

A freak hurricane hits Los Angeles and thousands of sharks terrorize the city and surrounding areas as they are throw into the waterlogged area from the sky and attack everything they see on land, in water and even through the air.

SHARKNADO isn’t for everyone as it really isn’t a well-made or acted movie, the acting here is less that great, but at the same time what happens is unexpected, unpredictable, and completely cheesy. And the ending…wow! You will not see that coming, and the movie gets points for that!

This one is already a cult classic, and I – after shutting off my brain totally – really enjoyed watching it.

Here now are three more television shows released to own and add to our collections now, and two of them are great!!

The best of the bunch is THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of THE WALKING DEAD.

THE WALKING DEAD is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard and it tells the story of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse as a small group of survivors, travel across a ravaged land in search of a new home – one far away from the walking dead.

After a SECOND Season that featured more episodes than story, some storylines were stretched out for several episodes when they could have been resolved in one or less, the producers of the show fixed their mistake in season THREE and the result is some great television.

In this season the survivors move into a prison, fighting off others who have laid claim to the place, and have to deal with the Governor, a great villain who is the head of a small town of people trying to build a community right in the middle of the zombie infestation.

THE COMPLETE THIRD SECOND SEASON of THE WALKING DEAD has great twists, turns, zombies, and so much to offer those of us who love this stuff and I do love this stuff!!

If you’ve never seen the show, or read the comics, I highly recommend them…yes, even the mediocre SECOND SEASON, but especially this great SEASON THREE!!

You’re also about to hear me recommend the latest season of PARKS AND RECREATION.

PARKS AND RECREATION features a top notch ensemble cast lead by Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler playing an ambitious and hopeful small town government worker.

She is pushy and doesn’t always listen, and could have come across as unlikeable, but Amy is just such a great comedian, that instead of not liking her, you actually root for her.

Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Rob Lowe, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott and Nick Offerman round out the cast of PARKS & RECREATION and in SEASON FIVE they continue to be the best ensemble cast on television!

I love PARKS AND RECREATION and highly recommend it to everyone!!

This next television program – PARADE’S END – is a five-part miniseries, adapted from the tetralogy of novels of the same name by Ford Madox Ford.

Set during and around World War I the cast is led by the great Benedict Cumberbatch of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and Rebecca Hall from THE TOWN as a conservative English aristocrat and his less-than-affectionate-and-caring socialite wife.

They live within a love triangle as he seeks affection, and then falls in love with a young suffragette.

PARADE’S END is exceptionally well made, and is very, very dramatic…but it is also very, very slow. To the credit of the filmmakers it plays like the books it’s based on.

That works to the detriment of the audience as we wait for things to happen at times…and wait…and wait…

I’m glad I’ve seen PARADE’S END as it is exceptionally well written and features a great lead and supporting cast, but I’ll never watch it again – and I do enjoy watching things I liked again – it is just too slow moving, so I can only mildly recommend it.

Finally this week is a film that I really enjoyed, even though it is a very predictable romantic drama.

From Academy Award winning director Susanne Bier LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED is a Danish film primarily about a hairdresser who has an escalating series of bad things happen to her, including losing her hair to cancer treatments.

She travels to Italy for her daughter’s wedding, and along the way she meets a man who blames the world for the loss of his wife, and is also about to become her in-law as it is his son her daughter is getting married to.

Former James Bond Pierce Brosnan plays the man and the two don’t like each other at first, but in a film called LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED it isn’t long before they do, and that what is predictable about the film.

Luckily there are several secondary stories that aren’t as easy to figure out, and the whole thing adds up to a film with an interesting cast and some beautiful scenery. As I said, I really it, and can easily recommend it.

The very entertaining adult drama LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED; the good but very, very dramatic five part series PARADE’S END; SEASON FIVE of the amazing ensemble comedy PARKS AND RECREATION; the spectacular THIRD SEASON of the action thriller zombie show THE WALKING DEAD; the horrible, but very entertaining, completely implausible, but fun – and stupid – SHARKNADO; the great, but derivative sequel STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS; and THE FIFTH AND FINAL SEASON of the made-in-Toronto, starring Toronto as Toronto, series FLASHPOINT are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – September 7th, 2013

Buried deep within the ground outside of North Bay, Ontario is a decommissioned NORAD base.

NORAD – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – no longer needed the facility located sixty stories underground when they built a newer one above ground.

The original was put there to protect us from those who would do us harm during the Cold War and the people responsible for the first movie ever shot there – the would be thriller THE COLONY – use it very effectively.

Set in a post 2045 ice world where humans are forced underground after the weather machines we created to control the warming climate malfunction. Unable to turn them off, the planet freezes and people are forced underground searching for warmth.

THE COLONY stars Laurence Fishburne from THE MATRIX TRILOGY, Bill Paxton of ALIENS and TITANIC, and Canadian actor Kevin Zegers.

They are all members of Colony 7 who travel to nearby Colony 5 to look for survivors after receiving a distress signal.

What they find when they arrive is a place covered in blood, but upon further inspection, they also discover that the secret to making the weather machines stop can be found in this colony.

If only they can survive long enough to find it, and get back home.

Someday, some filmmaker is going to use this old NORAD base to make an incredible film, as it is amazing to look at, but THE COLONY is not that film as it is far too predictable, you can tell right from the get go who will survive and who won’t.

But, it is above average for movies like this, of which there have been many, so I will mildy – very mildly – recommend it by saying that while it doesn’t deserve to be buried sixty stories underground in an old NORAD bunker, THE COLONY is ultimately nothing special.

To a real thrilling thriller now that I can highly recommend. This one is both thrilling, entertaining and fun…well, most of it is anyway, it doesn’t have the strongest ending, but I will still highly recommend NOW YOU SEE ME.

NOW YOU SEE ME was released during the Summer Movie Season and so you do have to remember to turn off your brain and not think too much as you watch a group of illusionists who pull off bank heists from across the world during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

In a Summer Movie, that is totally possible!!

😉

The illusionists are pursued by an FBI agent and an Interpol detective, who just can’t manage to figure any of the tricks out.

The cast here is top notch, NOW YOU SEE ME stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman and they are completely committed to their roles, which will make you buy into what they are doing as well…even as it all starts to unravel towards the end, but stop thinking about that!! This is a Summer Movie and there is no thinking allowed.

Just focus on this: NOW YOU SEE ME has a great cast and is a very entertaining action thriller.

I have four quick reviews for you now:

PAIN & GAIN is the latest from director Michael Bay, who also gave us the TRANSFORMERS films. This action comedy stars pumped up stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mark “Marky Mark” Walhberg.

They play bodybuilders in Florida who decide to kidnap and steal from a rich businessman, but everything goes wrong because…well, basically they are idiots.

Because it is a Michael Bay film, PAIN & GAIN features some great action scenes…and the press release says it is also a comedy, but I didn’t laugh once, I laughed at how stupid some of the characters were, but I didn’t laugh/laugh…and I certainly didn’t laugh out loud.

I didn’t dislike PAIN & GAIN, but it didn’t really hold my attention. The action was really great though, so let me give it a mild recommendation.

Not a lot happens in this next film, but SHADOW DANCER did hold my attention right until the end, I love the cast, it features great writing, and even though not a lot happens it is still an above average film.

SHADOW DANCER stars Clive Owen Andrea Riseborough and Gillian Anderson and its set in Belfast in the 1990s.

Riseborough – from the recent sci-fi flick OBLIVION – stars as an active member of the IRA who becomes an informant for MI5 in order to protect her son.

But in order to save her son, she is putting the lives of the rest of her family in jeopardy.

Like I said, not a lot happens in SHADOW DANCER, but when it does it is powerful. I really enjoyed this movie!

I thought that I might enjoy a film called THE STRANGER WITHIN, primarily because it stars the lovely and talented Canadian actress Estella Warren as a woman who survives a kidnapping and goes away on a vacation to rest with her husband, but soon after arriving is forced to welcome a stranger into her home…a woman who may just come between her and her husband.

I thought I might enjoy it, but I didn’t.

THE STRANGER WITHIN is a low budget film, with a less than stellar cast, and while you root for the woman, you won’t really care what happens to her. PLUS, the ending is horrible!! The whole thing adds up to an uninteresting psychological thriller, and you don’t need to waste your time with it.

The final quick review is for SEASON FIVE of the television series SONS OF ANARCHY, the show starring Charlie Hunnam – who made headlines this week when he was cast as Christian in the film version of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY – this is his day job though, playing a man in his thirties who continues to search for a balance in his life as the father of two babies who is also the head of a violent motorcycle gang

SONS OF ANARCHY continues to be an exceptionally violent, but incredibly well made television show, even five seasons in.

Due to the violence – the extreme violence – that takes place, this is not a show for everyone…but if violence doesn’t bother you, and you aren’t watching SONS OF ANARCHY, pick up SEASONS FIVE through ONE and enjoy!!

The final title I have for you this week doesn’t feature the best season of THE OFFICE, or even one of the top seven seasons, but it does feature the final one.

This is the first time in a decade that a new television season will begin without this show on the air, and even though it stayed on the air two years too long, I will miss the show.

THE OFFICE is the workplace comedy about a group of people at the fictional Dunder Mifflin paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steve Carell left two years ago to focus on movies, and the show only recovered toward the end of this NINTH and final season. Once it gained it’s footage it all wrapped up with some great episodes and a beautiful finale featuring some fantastic cameos…some of which you’ll hear about from me.

NO SPOILERS HERE!!

SEASON NINE of THE OFFICE gave the show a perfect ending, one worthy of the best seasons of this show that lasted a lot longer than anyone ever thought it would, and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it…and every season except the EIGHTH one. That one was not good at all.

THE NINTH AND FINAL SEASON of THE OFFICE; SEASON FIVE of the still great series SONS OF ANARCHY; the useless would be thriller THE STRANGER WITHIN; the above average thriller SHADOW DANCER; the non-attention holding action-comedy PAIN & GAIN starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson; the very good heist flick NOW YOU SEE ME; and not awful, but not great made-in-Ontario sci-fi thriller THE COLONY are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – August 31st, 2013

In 2007, in a small town near Saint John, New Brunswick, an 88-year-old man decided to build a single-storey house on his own property where he could look after his wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s.

The man was planning on doing all of the work himself, as he had done the previous four times he had built houses for his family, using lumber he produced at his own small sawmill.

It wasn’t long after he broke ground that he got into trouble with the law for the first time in his life, because he didn’t have permits, or blueprints, or any plans on paper. And he wasn’t using wood, windows or roof trusses that had been approved by the government.

Against a Stop Work Order, he continued working on the house, into his 92nd year. He fixed the inspectors’ long lists of defects, but they still fought him every step of the way, taking him to court on several occasions. But he was steadfast in his decision: he would not vacate the house. If the court found him in contempt, he would go to jail.

The true life story of Mr. Craig Morrison and his wife Irene is exceptionally well told in the made in New Brunswick and Ontario drama STILL MINE, and the performances of the two actors in the lead rolls are beautiful.

Legendary Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold stars as Mrs. Morrison, and James Cromwell – from L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and BABE – is her husband. Every scene that they are in is amazing!

STILL MINE received seven nominations for the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture, and James Cromwell won the award for Best Actor.

He is great, she is great, the whole thing is great!! STILL MINE is a tremendous Canadian film, and I highly recommend it.

Whether you are talking about ROMEO + JULIET, AUSTRALIA or MOULIN ROUGE!, one thing can be said about director Baz Luhrmann’s films: They all come from his vision. In a day and age when too many films look like they could be directed by anyone, his movies continue to look, feel and sound like only he could have made them.

That is also true about his latest, his version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY, starring Leonardo Di Caprio in the title role.

Jay Gatsby is a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, and Tobey Maguire – from the recent SPIDER-MAN TRILOGY – plays his working class neighbor and fast friend. Tobey is also the cousin of a woman named Daisy, THE woman who Gatsby wasn’t rich enough to marry five years earlier.

Having now amassed his wealth, he has returned to claim his love, even though she is married. But her husband is cheating on her, and so she falls in love with the attention Gatsby pays to her. She is played by Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan from AN EDUCATION and DRIVE.

This is at least the sixth filmed version of the story since the book’s publication in 1925 and no one has yet gotten it right. THE GREAT GATSBY remains better on the page.

But Baz Luhrmann’s version does offer the story without compromise. He tells the story his way, and the movie is never apologetic. At times that does amount to far too much style over too little substance, especially regarding his female lead. She doesn’t ever come across as a woman anyone would work that hard to be with.

Her inability to mesmerize me notwithstanding, I did get caught up in this version of THE GREAT GATSBY though, and the 2 hour and 22 minutes running time went by quickly enough, so I will mildly recommend it.

Sometimes a movie doesn’t have to be perfect, it can just be darn entertaining.

I have a trio of releases now that I have grouped together as I didn’t really like or dislike any of them. I watched them, they ended, and I moved on to the next release that I had to cover.

To that end, if any of them sound appealing to you, check them out…and I hope you like them more than I did.

I’ll start with the farm drama AT ANY PRICE.

Dennis Quaid stars as a farmer who is expecting his son – played by and Zac Efrom – to take over the land one day, but Zac wants to drive race cars, he wants to do anything but stay on that land in that small town for the rest of his life.

In addition to running his farm, Dad is also a salesman, selling seeds to people in the region, and competing to stay number one…at any price.

This is a fantastic looking movie, the land here is incredible to look at. The problem with AT ANY PRICE is that there are too many stories going on at once and not all of them are as compelling as the others.

I never disliked it…in fact, I could see myself recommending it to some friends of mine who are farmers, but it isn’t a movie that everyone needs to see.

I’m not sure who needs to see the animated film EPIC.

This is the story of a human teenager who becomes very, very small – bug size – and finds herself in the middle of a fight in the deep forest trying to save their world – and maybe even ours.

EPIC is too long and slow for kids, plus it’s derivative. It doesn’t seem to have an original moment in it as it creatively ”borrows” from THE LITTLES, AVATAR, LILO & STITCH, FERGULLY and several others.

But – in order to say something positive about it – it does have a great voice cast…EPIC features Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé, Aziz Ansari and Colin Farrell. That voice cast is pretty good.

Sadly, they are wasted in a film that is in no way epic, it’s just a film you don’t need to see.

At the end of my review of SEASON ONE of the television show REVENGE I stated how excited I was for the second season of the show.

Now that I’ve seen it, I am so disappointed that I don’t even care of there is a third season.

The very beautiful Canadian born actress Emily VanCamp stars in REVENGE and she plays a young woman who becomes a part of a close-knit community populated by people who have no idea that she is only there to exact revenge on those who destroyed her family.

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of REVENGE was such a great guilty pleasure.

THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON is not. The plotting and scheming against people and each other went away for most of the second year, and instead people seemed to actually get along, or their problems weren’t interesting at all.

And too many of the show’s forgettable characters were given larger roles and more storylines, which completely erased all the fun I had when I originally watched the show.

I still want to see if Emily will get her revenge, but I’ll probably just read about it online instead of watching any more seasons of REVENGE!

Finally this week is THE FIRST SEASON of the television series ELEMENTARY, which takes the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes out of Victorian England and transplants him to modern day New York City.

There is nothing really wrong with ELEMENTARY, it is a very smart, well-written police procedural show with some great twists and turns. Jonny Lee Miller is very good as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu is equally well cast as Dr. Watson…but, what works against it is that it pales in comparison to the other modern day reimagining of Sherlock Holmes, the BBC one starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes.

Elementary also isn’t as great as the recent movies starring Robert Downey. Jr. as the title character either.

When held up alongside those two other recent, more iconic versions of Sherlock Holmes, this one just doesn’t compare, it just is not as good.

Comparisons aside…THE FIRST SEASON of ELEMENTARY isn’t bad, and if you’ve never seen those others, and you like police procedural shows, you will probably really enjoy it. So call that a mild recommendation.

THE FIRST SEASON of ELEMENTARY; the not-as-good COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of REVENGE; the not entertaining animated film EPIC; the okay farm film AT ANY PRICE; Baz Luhrmann’s impressive, but not great new version of THE GREAT GATSBY; and the very entertaining made-in-New Brunswick and Ontario drama STILL MINE are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

The Couch Potato Report – August 24th, 2013

An amazing story of love is inside this week’s Couch Potato Report, sadly so are two films you won’t love.

I don’t usually begin a review by telling what I thought of it, I usually save that until the end to build suspense and keep you listening, but I enjoyed this first film so much that I want to shout it out loud and share the news with everyone.

I loved it!! I loved the French film AMOUR.

AMOUR won the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival AND the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film earlier this year, where it was also nominated in four other categories: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. It absolutely deserved all of those accolades, and now is worthy of your time.

This great film stars legendary French actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva as an elderly couple in their eighties. Upon returning home after suffering a paralyzing stroke, she makes him promise that he’ll never put her in a hospital again, which he reluctantly agrees to. So as she continues to get worse, he takes care of her at home.

Her frustration and impatience with her own condition and limitations, and his having to do almost everything for her at all hours of the day severely tests their love…but he won’t break his promise to her, to his AMOUR.

AMOUR is a story about dedication and love, and it is both beautiful and heartbreaking. From the performances to the script and sets, everything in this movie contributes to how great it is. I loved it and highly recommend it.

Oui, je t’aime AMOUR!!

Here is another story about love now, but this one isn’t as beautiful, however it too is heartbreaking.

Set in New York City, WHAT MAISIE KNEW stars Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan as a separating couple who are both exceptionally selfish as they fight for custody of their only daughter, Maisie.

Neither one is a good parent, and neither one really deserves to have this bright little girl in their life, and they don’t really want her – yet they don’t want to lose to the other either – so they’re both fighting for her.

WHAT MAISIE KNEW also introduces us to the wife’s new husband – a bartender who she expects to do nothing but babysit her kid while she is working – and the husband’s new wife, his daughter’s former nanny who he never treats as his equal and her only role seems to be taking care of the little girl, a little girl who is paying attention to her surroundings.

WHAT MAISIE KNEW isn’t great in any way, but its a nice little movie that I enjoyed. I especially enjoyed how it ended. Without giving anything away, it ended exactly the way I hoped that it would.

Nothing but love…that is what I have for these two new releases, nothing but love. They are both exceptionally well-acted and written and take me to places I wouldn’t normally get to go.

So get ready for a love fest, one that starts in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era, circa 1919 to 1933.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE has been the best show on television about underworld characters since THE SOPRANOS went off the air in 2007.

This show stars Steve Buscemi from FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI as Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who is part politician but mostly gangster.

Not unlike that other gangster filled show set in New Jersey, BOARDWALK EMPIRE also features a personable cast of supporting characters that you will want to see get away with their crimes, even murder.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE is a great show, that is exceptionally well made, written and full of engaging characters and performances, but what works against it is the fact that it is the type of show you never need to see it again…once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it.

Plus, during THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON there are several characters that are no longer necessary, they could be written out or killed off and they wouldn’t be missed.

But, what works in THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of BOARDWALK EMPIRE is that the show added character actor Bobby Cannavale as Gyp Rosetti as a ruthless gangster from New York City who challenges Nucky at every turn.

Even though I’ll never watch any episode of the show a second time, I always enjoy the first viewing. I like this show, I respect this show, and I can easily recommend this show.

THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of BOARDWALK EMPIRE gets nothing but love from me!!

More love now for SEASON TWO of a show that some Trekkies have been dying for, yet others – even those who have to own absolutely everything connected to the franchise – can live without.

I’m talking about THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE!!

ENTERPRISE – as it was actually known for the first two seasons – takes place 100 years before the adventures of James T. Kirk and Spock in the original television series.

Scott Bakula from QUANTUM LEAP plays Captain Jonathan Archer of Earth’s first Warp 5 starship, the Enterprise….picking up, actually beginning STAR TREK’s adventures.

Of all the STAR TREK shows, ENTERPRISE has always been my least favourite, but I admit that I did really enjoy watching the series again this week on blu-ray.

It looks great in HD and features a wealth of brand new retrospective features.

Huge fans…don’t miss STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE – THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON on blu-ray. Casual fans, I’d maybe wait until the price goes down in a few months.

And now a warning. There are two new releases out there that would like you to waste your time and money on them but you must avoid them at all costs.

Both think they are comedies, but neither are funny, and both have great casts, full of actors we love, but none of those people can save either film.

Stay away from SCARY MOVIE V and RAPTURE PALOOZA…as far away as you can!!

SCARY MOVIE V is the sad – hopeful end – to a once funny franchise. I didn’t laugh once during this 86 minute mess, and I have laughed with and at these films in the past. This one is just not funny.

Skip SCARY MOVIE V, it’s not scary, it’s not funny, it is garbage. Ignore it…you’ve been warned!

Let me also warn you now against watching an end of the world mess called RAPTURE PALOOZA.

This 85 minute waste of your time stars John Francis Daley from BONES and Academy Award nominee Anna Kendrick from UP IN THE AIR as two teenagers who are trying to survive the apocalypse on earth and devise a plan to defeat the Antichrist.

He is played by Craig Robinson from HOT TUB TIME MACHINE and television’s THE OFFICE.

RAPTURE PALOOZA has a great cast, but is not funny at all. This is total garbage and it must be avoided.

Ignore it, skip it, don’t waste your time on it!!

The absolutely awful – in every way – wannabe end of the world comedy RAPTURE PALOOZA; the non-entertaining, horrible – in every way – sequel SCARY MOVIE V; SEASON TWO of the entertaining STAR TREK series ENTERPRISE; THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of the great mob show BOARDWALK EMPIRE; the nice little film WHAT MAISIE KNEW and the Academy Award winning Best Foreign Language, beautiful film AMOUR are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Coming up inside the next Couch Potato Report

The made-in-Ontario and New Brunswick 2013 Canadian Screen Award winning drama STILL MINE; THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of the television series THE WALKING DEAD; and Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan star in the latest cinematic adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel THE GREAT GATSBY.

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 again next time on The Couch!