Nick’s Picks 02/22/12

HOUSTON HAPPENINGS

THE COITUS PLAYS

top) Michael P. Shukis, Erin Elizabeth Reed, Mark Stanley. (bottom) Claire Anderson, Rick Evans and Lulu Mire

Relationships are enigmas. They are all different from the next in some way, shape or form. Yet we are always comparing “ours” to “theirs” and seeking something that can help us identify a problem that may or may not exist. What The Coitus Plays provides is a transparent glimpse into relationships, the problems that can occur and a humorous solution to what ails you. The Coitus Plays consist of two individual plays of one act apiece. The first, titled PRE, was written by Peter Wittenberg, Jr and the second, titled POST, was penned by Eric James. Houstonians, Wittenberg and James joined forces to create what they refer to as “great theatre for Houston.” PRE focuses on it’s star, Douglas (Rick Evans) who has a problem. He is a ladies man and, in the past, has gotten around quite a bit. Now, he is just completely overwhelmed by his inability to maintain interest during the act of sex. The entire story takes place with Douglas and some of his associates telling the story of what is wrong with him and his relationships. Douglas oftentimes talks to the audience directly as though the play has been put on hold. Evans is brilliant in his delivery and was a perfect choice for Douglas. Evans oozes the personality necessary to make PRE go. Of equal brilliance is Sara (Claire Anderson), who represents Douglas’ true love interest. Anderson is both compelling and sensitive in the wide array of emotions she must exude. Frankly, Anderson is quite striking in her delivery and is quite believable as the muse that helps Douglas put his problems to bed, so to speak.

Brad Goertz (l) and Zach Lewis.

Rounding out the cast are characters Marcus (Mark Stanley) who is Douglas’ best friend, Tanya (Lulu Mire) the waitress, Lorena (Erin Elizabeth Reed) the friend with benefits and Dick (Michael P. Shukis) who is the lead character in a play Douglas is writing. PRE is a true ensemble cast that works very well together. There are some defining comedic moments in the play and they are done well, particularly those by Shukis as he moves between real estate agent to porn star to psycho therapist. His performance is spot on and had the audience howling with laughter numerous times. However, it is the sensitive moments in the play between Evans and Anderson that really pushes for the empathy of the audience. The play is aptly directed by Christine Weems and kudos to her for keeping the pacing of the work moving quickly enough there was no lag in the deliver. PRE is very well written, keeps the interest of the audience and is both original and creative.

The second act of the show, POST, is the polar opposite of the first segment in terms of subject matter. The program looks at the post coital bliss and how NST (No Strings Attached) really has multiple interpretations, especially when one has never heard of it before. POST stars Dennis (Brad Goertz) and Chris (Zach Lewis) as two men with completely different beliefs and perspectives that end up meeting in the middle. Dennis is an older man who wants what he wants without the headaches of a relationship, whereas Chris is seeking true companionship. Goertz gives a performance the quality of which I have not seen in years. His authenticity and comedic timing are unquestionable and the emotion he puts off are truly palpable. Lewis is so believable, the audience can’t help but pull for him as the two characters banter back and forth over whether love at first sight really exists. Eva Laporte mans the helm as the director of POST and does a brilliant job of leading the actors and the audience through the performances and turmoil of the story. Eric James’ writing in this act is phenomenal in every sense of the word and leaves the audience completely satisfied as they headed for the exit. The Coitus Plays wrap up the end of this week (February 23, 24 & 25) at Obsidian Art Space, 3522 White Oak which is in the Heights. For information or tickets call (281) 788-2319 or you can obtain additional information at www.nightcaptheatre.com.

DVD REVIEWS

FREE DVD GIVEAWAY

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We are doing a Free DVD Giveaway! If you are interested in a chance at winning a free copy of Cookie Jar: Girls Animation Bundle, The Best of Lidia Pasta, Timmy Time: Timmy Needs a Bath, Naruto Shippuden: The Movie Bonds, RoughCut: Wall Cabinet, Elmo’s World: People in Your Neighborhood, Ice, Sabrina: The Animated Series, Barney: I Love My Friends, John Lennon: Rare and Unseen, Matlock: Season Seven, Billy the Kid, Lincoln’s Secret Weapon, George or J. Edgar, it is really easy! All you have to do is send me an email at HoustonMovieGuy@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should read DVD GIVEAWAY. In the body of the email, be sure to put your name, full mailing address and which DVD or Blu-ray you would like. Winners will be selected by random drawing. Best of luck!

ICE – MVD

The year is 2012. Due to an environmental contaminant, the human population has been decimated, including all males, leaving only women behind. Facing extinction, some have decided to accept their doom and live to seek pleasure; others are still trying to use science to fight off that fate. In central Tokyo, one of the last inhabited areas in the world, these two groups face off in a struggle over a hidden sample of “ICE,” a substance that could save humanity.

BARNEY: I Love My Friends – HIT Entertainment

Come join in the fun as Barney takes his friends on a super-dee-duper adventure that shows just what it means to be a friend. Princess Baby Bop has a royally good time when she sees that a key to being a friend is keeping promises. Riff goes to great lengths to make up for a big mistake and prove he’s a friend who sees things through. BJ feels left out when he’s not included in a drawing and learns the importance of being honest and expressing his feelings. With singing, dancing and lots of monkeying around, Barney brings kids on a friend-tastic adventure and shows that everything is more fun with friends.

ANGELINA BALLERINA: Sweet Valentine – HIT Entertainment

Love and friendship take center stage in these sweet stories! Angelina uncovers the mystery of her secret admirer with some help from her friends. Angelina and Alice help Marco realize the true importance of helping his friends. The students celebrate Ms. Mimi and although it may have been for the wrong reason, they do it with a lot of heart! And when Angelina and her girlfriends try to make a girls’ club, they realize a friendship club is much sweeter. Spread the love with dancing, skating, singing and best friends forever!

LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE: 1991 – BBC

The world’s longest-running sitcom returns with more antics from everyone’s favorite geriatrics! After seeing Seymour off, Compo and Clegg intend to take over his position as headmaster. Foggy returns from Bridlington, but Compo and Clegg keep missing him. Once Foggy finally reunites with Compo and Clegg, though, he loses them while out on a walk, leading him to come up with an idea to create portable radios. Later, Foggy’s flare for inventing continues when he starts a game of bicycle polo. The trio’s youthful antics lead them into training for a barrel rolling event, playing soccer for charity, and restoring an old boat…with the hopes of taking Nora on her maiden voyage! The lads even join Smiler in a search for a new place to live. Don’t miss the next installment of adventures with these lovable old men!

BORGIA: Faith and Fear Season One – Lionsgate

It was the age of Da Vinci and Michelangelo, of enlightened creativity and unparalleled intellectual achievement. But it was also the age of Machiavelli, or rampant lawlessness, incessant war and unspeakable depravity. At the heart of the world order was the Vatican, and at the center of the Vatican was Rodrigo Borgia, a man whose quest for power would propel him to seek the ultimate prize, the Chair of Saint Peter. His name would become synonymous with ruthlessness, and his reign as pope would be remembered as the most infamous chapter in the history of the Catholic Church.

TOWER HEIST – Universal

Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) manages a super-high-tech high-rise in the middle of Manhattan, catering to every need of the tower’s residents, including financier Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). When Shaw gets arrested by the FBI, Kovacs realizes that his staff’s pensions, which he asked Shaw to invest, are lost, and when it looks like Shaw is going to get away with it, Kovacs pulls together a mismatched team to steal the secret stash of cash that the FBI suspects Shaw must have. Tower Heist successfully tweaks all the character clichés just enough so that they are a smooth blend of the familiar and the unexpected.

NURSE JACKIE: Season Three – Lionsgate

Still high and mighty! The Showtime hit series “Nurse Jackie” ended season two with the ugly truth closing in on super-nurse Jackie Peyton. Jackie’s best friend and husband put the pieces together about her pill-popping ways and confronted her about her addiction. But if the people in her life think one little intervention is going to stop her, they don’t know Jackie. The great white liar returns for another hilarious season of 12 episodes on 3 discs.

WEEDS: Season Seven – Lionsgate

After serving 3 years in the joint, the onetime suburban soccer mom is making a fresh start in New York City and going back to doing what she does best — selling pot. But when some old friends return, they could send everything up in flames.

RETREAT – Sony

Taking an isolated break on an uninhabited island, Martin (Cillian Murphy) and Kate (Thandie Newton) are about to find that their island retreat is about to become a prison of unimaginable terror. When a blood soaked stranger (Jamie Bell) stumbles through their door claiming an apocalyptic virus is sweeping across Europe, their lives are turned upside down as they face what could be the end of everything they know. Using all means necessary, they must fight to escape the approaching threat. But escape is only the beginning of their terrifying fight for survival.

MATLOCK: Season Seven – Paramount

It takes a legend to play one! Andy Griffith brings his special brand of charm to the role of Ben Matlock, prominent defense attorney. In this 5-disc set, Matlock: The Seventh Season sees Ben reopening a 30-year-old murder case, representing a ghost, and learning to work with his daughter and new partner, Leanne (Brynn Thayer). This year, his trusted colleague Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard, Jr.) is joined by recent law school graduate Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck). Using his street-savvy tactics and down-home instincts, Matlock always knows how to captivate a jury… and generations of audiences.

WAR OF ARROWS – Well Go USA

Set in 1636, the second Manchurian invasion of Korea rages chaos, as villages are attacked by overpowering Manchurian soldiers. The Manchurians kidnap childhood sweethearts, Ja-in and Seo-Goon on their wedding day. In an effort to save his sister, Ja-in s brother Nam-Yi sets out to defeat the enemy and save his sister and other Korean victims with only 1 bow.

TRACK 29 – Image

George Harrison’s Handmade Films presents Track 29, starring Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, and Theresa Russell. Distraught and dreamy Linda Henry (Russell) is unhappy with her sexless, childless marriage to surgeon Henry Henry (Lloyd). Desperate for a diversion, she is captivated when Martin (Oldman) suddenly drops in on Linda claiming to be the child she gave up for adoption after a teenage pregnancy. They spend time together trying to find a bond, but strange behaviors and bizarre events indicate that things aren’t as they seem. Is Martin really the son she gave up for adoption at birth or just figment of her imagination?

BOB THE BUILDER: Here to Help – Lionsgate

Having fun is getting it done, especially when Bob the Builder and his best friends are here to help! Watch and learn as Bob rescues his pal Scruffy, repairs an old theater, builds a stage, and throws a surprise birthday party for his best friend Wendy. Get the help you need from Bob the Builder in these heartwarming tales of teamwork and adventure.

BOBBY COLLINS: Telling it Like it is – MVD

Sometimes as a performer, you can work a show where the audience, the venue and the performer combine together to create a show capturing the organic reason I do Comedy. You start out one way and end another.This was one of those shows. I I hope you enjoy it – if not, don’t tell anyone – remember what your mother always said, “”if you don’t have anything nice to say.

HONEY 2 – Universal

The legacy of legendary dancer and choreographer Honey Daniels lives on in spirited 17-year-old Maria Ramirez (Katerina Graham). When Maria returns to her gritty Bronx roots to pursue her dreams of dancing, her killer moves attract the attention of Brandon (Randy Wayne), who urges her to help lead a rowdy group of rising dancers to win a fierce national competition. Maria’s in for an unforgettable showdown in this inspiring story of courage, dedication and the will to never give up. Also starring Mario Lopez and Audrina Patridge, Honey 2 features moves from some of America’s top dance crews, including Quest Crew, Beat Freaks, Strikers All-Stars, Super Cr3w, Fanny Pak and more!

BILLY THE KID – PBS

A fascinating look at the myth and the man behind it, who, in just a few short years transformed himself from a skinny orphan boy to the most feared man in the West and an enduring western icon. Brilliantly presented and very accurate, this program is a must own for any family interested in the history of the Old West.

LINCOLN’S SECRET WEAPON – PBS

Nova journeys back to a decisive moment in the War Between the States — a four-hour, point-blank battle between two warships, the Union’s USS Monitor and the Confederates’ CSS Virginia. That 1862 battle, fought off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, ended in a draw, but the Monitor’s innovative new design — a revolving gun turret, submerged hull, and ironclad armor — helped change the course of history and of naval technology. Less than a year after its debut, the Monitor sank in the waters off Cape Hatteras, into what has been dubbed “the graveyard of the Atlantic.” Nova’s cameras follow a group of Navy divers down to the wreckage to recover valuable relics from the past, and the program discusses the notorious architect who designed the Monitor and then built it in just three months. In a rare dramatic turn, the film also stages a reenactment of the infamous Civil War battle.

J. EDGAR – Warner

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years. Hoover was feared, admired, reviled and revered, a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted prize. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. Oscar Winner Clint Eastwood directs an all-star cast including Naomi Watts (21 Grams), Armie Hammer and Oscar Winner Judi Dench as Hoover’s overprotective mother.

THE EPIC JOURNEY OF DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON – WWE

He electrified a generation of sports entertainment fans with his brash style, superb athleticism, and uproarious interviews. He held the WWE Championship a record seven times, and was known for legendary battles with ”Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, Mick Foley, Undertaker, and more. And at the peak of his popularity, he made a move to conquer a new industry, becoming an enormous movie star. Now, he s back in WWE, ready to main event the biggest WrestleMania in history, ”The People’s WrestleMania.” In the exciting buildup to WrestleMania XVIII, fans can, for the first time ever on DVD, relive the exciting life and times of the Rock. Packed with brand new interviews as well as a selection of the Rock’s biggest career-spanning bouts, moments, and promos, this DVD/Blu-Ray set will electrify every member of Team Bring It!

TLC 2011 – WWE

Carnage reigns supreme at WWE TLC! It’s a pay-per-view event that legalizes the use of Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. This night has already become a highlight of the WWE calendar, so the pressure will be on the Superstars of Raw and SmackDown to up the ante at this year’s production of WWE TLC.

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