Surviving Christmas

Couch reviewer

4 Stars

****

Surviving Christmas, one of those feel good Christmas movies that is not like all the others.  Another film that the critics have placed in the bargain bin at 7% on Rotten Tomatoes.   The film is about a guy who is a multi-millionaire who has a girlfriend that expects him to spend Christmas with his family.  So being rich and without a family, he rents the family that is currently residing in his childhood home.  For $350,000 I'd rent my family.  You always kind of wonder what rich guys do on Christmas especially if they are bachelors, I mean, if it were me, I would fly to Tahiti.  As far as Christmas movies go, this is one of the better ones, regardless of what the critics say.

The Master of Disguise

Couch reviewer

4 Stars

****

The Master of Disguise, ah, frabrizi..... sucha greata movie, like a lasagna.  This is one of those movies that the normal people have trouble watching because they can only handle "smart" movies.  It is one of those movies that you do not have to think too hard about and is good for a laugh all the way through.  It is so stupid, its funny.  Dana Carvey, truly is the master of disguise, potatoes especially love the Turtle Guy.....turtle, turtle.... This movie does not focus too much on the love interest as most movies do, its part of the movie of course because that is what all movies that come from Hollywood seem to have, but it does not drown out the movie.  We wholeheartedly disagree with the reviewers of Rotten Tomatoes who give this movie 2%, ouch.  That is how we determine what is good enough to watch and review, if the critics do not like it, well then it has to be good, and this is one of those movies.  There are a few downsides to the movie one may be the over abundance of Italian used in the beginning which does begin to wear on you some, but the majority of the movie has Carvey in different roles, people, which keeps him away from the Italiano through the rest. The other let down is that this movie had so much potential but did not live up to it. However, an upside is Brent Spiner aka Data, is a great super villain, and for some of us potatoes, we prefer the potty humor, his laughter which causes farting every time.  You have to not expect too much to truly appreciate this film.  

The Thing (2011)

Couch Reviewer: 3 Stars 

***

This is one of those movies that gets points just for what it is, science-fiction, horror, with an impeccable pedigree to one of the best horror films of all time.  We have a tough time of trying to determine if this movie is a continuation of the original, The Thing (1982) or a remake.  The original FAR outdoes this one simply because of the few things it has going for it; isolation in the Antarctic tundra, an entirely male cast, and a strong lead male actor: Kurt Russell.  The problem with the new movie is they removed this primary element, we now have a female lead actress with a mixed crew of Norwegians.  By now, the idea of the female lead to be "different" is old and used up, now that its being used by everyone.  The isolation is not as believable in this film because most of the time the cast walks around without their parka hoods off and we are supposed to believe this is Antarctica.  The special effects used in the 2011 version are cheap and cheesy.  The 1982 version used prosthetics, hand-made puppets and latex, this lends itself to a very scary environment.  The two movies are like comparing the new Star Wars with the old ones made in the original trilogy and get the same idea.   CGI runs rampant in this film to make the aliens that were easily made from other items in 82.  It is sheer laziness in creating this film.  The tie in from 1982 to 2011 was the last 5 minutes in the credits where it shows the Norwegians chasing the husky across the tundra to the American post.  So for anyone who has not seen the 82 version will not understand how this movie applies to the last.  It is an okay film for what is was, The Thing, but it generates a lot of what they did wrong rather than what they did right in creating this film.