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Regular visitors to C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> know that we are absolute suckers for a good story involving some of the historic high points from our community\u2019s cinema past earning a reprieve in the present<\/span><\/a>. It is also clear that we can be hopeless romantics when friends once belonging to our seminal Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> scene in the Nineties and Aughts make their welcome return to the fold, however brief it may be<\/a><\/span>. For today, we have yet another<\/em> angle on the retrospect front in that a former resident has resurrected his cartoon nom de plume<\/em> used in a long-gone publication to playfully brand his on-line movie critiques. Who could have predicted it? We don\u2019t know and we\u2019re not complaining.<\/p>\n Paul Young<\/strong>\u2019s alternative weekly newspaper, The Octopus<\/span><\/strong>, grew fast and built a sizeable roster to cover the culture, politics, and art in our immediate region. When the movies received their own section once The Octopus<\/span> began publishing weekly in August 1996, knowledgeable writers like Chuck Koplinski<\/span><\/strong><\/a> and Stephanie Spiro<\/span><\/strong><\/a> chimed in on the new releases from blockbusters to boutique titles hitting town \u201cfor one week only.\u201d There just had<\/em> to be one contributor in the new configuration who did not submit reviews quite like the others, of course, offering up breezy capsule comments on films just entering the home video market. Sometimes he hunkered down on a single title, more often he snacked briefly on two, three, or four movie morsels, and occasionally he doled out the droll listicle. What seemed like a stunt when it first appeared in the August 30<\/strong> issue and praised SCREAMERS<\/strong> with Peter Weller<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cThe Couch Potato Video Critic<\/strong>\u201d? Four-potato rating system? \u2013 turned into a dependable entertainment fully loaded with snarky humor, a big heart, and an honest appreciation of the storytelling form when he felt a flick got it right.<\/p>\n This encapsulates just about everything that comes out of the paintbrush, pen, or word processor of \u201cindustrial artist\u201d Gerry Kissell<\/strong>, who doubled down as the \u201cCouch Potato\u201d alongside other Octopus<\/span> staff such as your eventual humble editor<\/span><\/a>. Working as a CNA and at other odd jobs while living in Champaign, Urbana, or Savoy<\/strong> for much of the decade, Kissell used the newspaper as a creative outlet while pushing to build a portfolio of science-fiction and pop culture samples. The former U.S. Army EMT has settled in Missouri<\/strong> and stuck to his guns since leaving Champaign County<\/strong> roughly 20 years ago; an extensive list of accomplishments<\/a><\/span> include cover designs, comic book pencils, inks, and coloring (Iron Sky<\/strong><\/span>, Code Word: Geronimo<\/strong><\/span>), screenplay writing, movie poster illustration, research and development of soldier-centered media with other veterans such as Hollywood<\/strong>\u2019s go-to consultant Dale A. Dye<\/strong> (PLATOON, JFK<\/strong>), and an ongoing rapport with Sam Raimi<\/strong> associate Josh Becker<\/span><\/strong><\/a> (XENA, LUNATICS: A LOVE STORY<\/strong>) that includes promotional pieces for the latter\u2019s period drama that is currently filming in Michigan<\/strong>, WARPATH<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Much to our surprise, Kissell has added back \u201cThe Couch Potato Critic\u201d to his arsenal of current projects after fielding an overture from the Web site Film Dumpster<\/strong><\/span>. You can follow their \u201cReview\u201d page<\/span><\/a> to see Kissell\u2019s takes on the latest films including THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS<\/strong>, and WON\u2019T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?<\/strong> The same plus various Internet flotsam and jetsam in the cinema vein can be found on his Facebook<\/strong> account<\/span><\/a>. We believe this is basically word recess for its author when he\u2019s not tackling the heavy-duty, bread-and-butter work on his plate, yet it\u2019s an agreeable way to learn what our ol\u2019 potato pal considers \u201cgood taste\u201d in the here and now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Below we have provided a handful of fully-loaded samples from the original \u201cCouch Potato\u201d run in The Octopus<\/span> between 1996 and 1998. Since a fair percentage of those choices are of the genre and direct-to-video variety, it was always a guessing game as to when Kissell might lay on the sarcasm thick like butter when the duds barely rated a spud. Maybe the OGCPC will archive his entire output in the future.<\/p>\n ~ Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n p.s.<\/em> Following the excerpts is a brand-new trailer for Becker\u2019s independent production from last<\/em> year, MORNING, NOON & NIGHT<\/strong>, which will receive a one-week run at the Laemmle Music Hall<\/strong> in Beverly Hills, CA<\/strong>, beginning this Friday, October 5<\/strong>. Can you name what previous Panoramic Pictures<\/strong> release<\/a><\/span> the music bed comes from?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n