Couch Time with Sheldon

Black Sheep Reviews is going through some major site changes and this feature will soon be no more. In the meantime though, with all the behind the scenes work to be done, I have to get a few capsule reviews out there so as not to fall too far behind. Here are a few of the titles you might come across on video store shelves, or more likely you will come across them online to stream or download, and whether or not they are worth it your dollar or your bandwidth.

JACK GOES BOATING

JACK GOES BOATING is the directorial debut from Academy Award winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman. It is based on a 2007 play that Hoffman was in, making this a passion project which unfortunately falls prey to all of the trappings that can so easily accompany these scenarios. Jack (Hoffman) is a broken, single person - the kind you just know is never really going to find anyone. He is introduced to Connie (Amy Ryan), another lost cause, and they start preparing themselves mentally to potentially date each other. People who don't know how to be around other people are not the kind of people I want to watch on screen really. They make me uncomfortable and Hoffman does everything possible to make sure that discomfort hits home. By the time the dinner scene climax roles around and explodes into a drug-addled catastrophe, I didn't care whether Jack ever made it boating. Even if he did, he would just sink. (Alliance)

BIG LOVE SEASON 4

I had heard plenty of bad press about the fourth season of the HBO series, BIG LOVE. I have been a fan of the show since the beginning but even Chloe Sevigny was bad mouthing the writing in this particular season. I have to say I found the reports to be greatly exaggerated. Sure, it got a little outlandish by the ninth and final episode but by then, I was already deeply involved in the insane hijinks of the Henrickson clan. This season, Bill (Bill Paxton) decides he has a testament to run for public office and then come out as a polygamist to his constituents so that he and his three wives (Jeanne Trippehorn, Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) can change the face of polygamy in America. The testament could be an extension of Bill's ever expanding ego though and everyone but Bill knows it. The fifth and final season is currently airing on HBO. (Warner Bros.)

NOWHERE BOY

Like the title character in NOWHERE BOY, this film might get lost amidst the shuffle, as it might not jump out at anyone at first glance. This would be tragic as this gem is often almost as brilliant as the man it is about. The man is John Lennon and he is played here with surprising depth by Aaron Johnson. World renowned artist, Sam Taylor- Wood has chosen to tell the story of Lennon's adolescence as her first feature film. It is a story that most will not be familiar with so Beatles fans who think they've seen it all will be delighted. That said, the family drama has universal appeal thanks to its great depth and incredibly talented cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff. Click here for the original Black Sheep review. (Maple Pictures)

Couch Time with Sheldon

I don't want to brag but I had a lot of time off during the holidays. Clearly, I was still posting here but I was not tending to my day job. As I did not flee the country for somewhere warmer, and as the universe decided I should get sick just after the new year started, I spent a fair amount of time on my couch during my break. Fortunately, a slew of movies had arrived at my door at the time so I was never without something to watch. Here are a couple of the films I caught ...

ANIMAL KINGDOM

I love my family. Having spent an extended period of time with them during the holidays was a bit taxing at times but they are all saints compared to the Cody family in David Michod's Australian export, ANIMAL KINGDOM. Josh, played by newcomer James Frecheville, goes to stay with his grandmother (Jacki Weaver) after his mother overdoses and, before long, he falls in with his uncles and their sordid ways. Ben Mendelsohn plays the ring leader of this pack with such an intensely creepy presence that I almost had to leave the room at times when he was on screen. And it is easy to see why Weaver would be getting awards recognition for her role as the family matriarch. She has nothing but love for her family and will do anything .. and I do mean anything .. to protect them. (eOne)

JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK

Joan Rivers works very hard and she wants you all to know it in the new documentary based on the later years of her career, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, directed by Ricki Stern. Back when Rivers was on "The Tonight Show" as Jonny Carson's permanent stand-in, America loved her. She had a whip-smart tongue and she was a pioneer for female comediennes. The years were not kind though and public opinion of Rivers has been reduced to a joke, most often of the plastic surgery variety. Despite her mask, Rivers cannot hide from Stern's cameras and this touching documentary, while still somewhat self serving, is also a testament to how hard it is to be a living legend. (eOne)

Both films are available to rent or own now on both Blu-ray and DVD from eOne films.