African Couch Potato

The season of goodwill is upon us, yet sadly, we start this episode with the horrific shooting of DJ Warras. Gino takes some time to reflect on this tragic event.Moving on, this week sees Gino relating his adventures from his hilarious recent roadtrip to Mozambique, where just about everything that could go wrong, did!Surviving the trip, Gino takes a look at the new Netflix release: Love and Wine, the story of a rich guy working for his dad's company, who falls for a med student and pretends to be poor like her. His lie spirals into a mess of comedy and touching moments.There's more comedy with How to Ruin Love - Suspecting infidelity, Zoleka plans to catch her boyfriend in the act, only to ruin her own surprise proposal. Now she must win him back.And comedic royalty Rowan Atkinson is back with Man vs Baby which picks up after Man vs Bee. This time Trevor (Atkinson) is now looking after a luxurious London penthouse, with another unlikely, un-asked-for companion.The third installment of Knives Out, titled Wake Up Deadman revives Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc, who is called to investigate the death of a prominent clergyman during a church service, with the entire congregation present and all of them potential suspects.This neatly takes us to the Genesis - In The Garden Concert on Boxing Day, featuring not only members of the Genesis cast but also some of the top gospel singers around. And on that note, African Couch Potato wishes you a joyous and peaceful festive season.For those that need to know - Florestinha do Índico means Little Forest of the Indian OceanYes? No? Send us a textLet us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:instagram.com/africancouchpotatotwitter.com/[email protected] WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato Gino Shelile’s profile • LetterboxdMember of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting [email protected] Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay© SANTE MEDIA 2025

Luto Mpunga is a South African social media personality and content creator known for her activity on TikTok, sharing videos featuring personal moments, humour, and music-related content. She is also part of the Director's Guild of South Africa. In this episode we grabbed a few minutes with her, via Zoom, to chat about the DGSA Creatives Awards.The Creatives Awards is a groundbreaking event that sets a new gold standard for recognizing and celebrating the brilliance, innovation, and artistic excellence within South Africa’s film and television industry. The main awards ceremony will be happening next year in MarchLuto also talks about her earlier years in the modelling industry which led to her becoming a coach, training toddlers and teenagers in modeling and life skills for fashion shows, and her ultimate goal, which is to be an actress. Yes? No? Send us a textLet us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:instagram.com/africancouchpotatotwitter.com/[email protected] WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato Gino Shelile’s profile • LetterboxdMember of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting [email protected] Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay© SANTE MEDIA 2025

Sibusiso Mthiya is a South African media personality, producer, and presenter known for hosting inspirational shows and it was a pleasure to welcome him to the studio for a chat with Gino about his career and his plans for the future, as well as talking openly about his faith and growing up without a present father figure .Sibusiso might be known to older listeners from his days on Kideo and YoTv Land where he started at the age of 6 years old. He talks to Gino about those early days and how celebrity status is no longer what it was.From his days as a child star, he stayed in the entertainment industry where he has popped up as an actor, a radio DJ and more recently as a producer. Sibusiso is involved with SID Media, hosting programs that combine music, inspirational conversations, and community engagement. He is also heavily involved with Hope Channel Africa as Head of Content and Programming.His newest venture is Khula Ndoda, a new podcast born out of a passion to mentor and guide young boys through the challenges of adolescence. Developed with a dedicated team in South Africa, the podcast aims to offer support and guidance to young men navigating the complexities of growing up. Yes? No? Send us a textLet us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:instagram.com/africancouchpotatotwitter.com/[email protected] WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato Gino Shelile’s profile • LetterboxdMember of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting [email protected] Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay© SANTE MEDIA 2025

December is here, Christmas is round the corner and so are the holidays. And how are we going to kick off the celebrations? With a resounding win by the Springboks. For the first time, Gino got to watch the Boks with his Dad on his birthday. And how? Because DStv has unlocked the Premium package to all Compact subscribers until the end of December, but only on the decoder, not DStv Stream.ACP has a look at the Open Chats Podcast which scored a win with the South African Social Media Awards (SASMA) which took place recently.In case you were wondering, Gino gives a rundown of the top 10 (music) videos that racked up a billion views the fastest on YT.And before you hit the pool or the beach, here's some watchlists to keep you occupied.   On NetflixStranger Things - Season 5 - One Last AdventureKevin Hart - Acting My Age - In his latest stand-up special, Kevin Hart hilariously tackles middle-age challengesTroll 2 - Nora, Andreas and Captain Kris leap back into action when a dangerous new troll awakes - and this time they'll need more help to take it down.All The Empty Rooms - A seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings.One Piece, Season 32, Egghead Arc -Rubber-bodied dreamer Monkey D. Luffy gathers an eclectic pirate crew and braves the perilous Grand Line, battling tyrants and monsters to become King of the Pirates.Coming SoonLove and Wine - Childhood friends trade lives to see who can find true love. Sean Combs - The Reckoning - A revealing look at Sean Combs' journey from music mogul to controversial figure.Man vs Baby - Rowan Atkinson is now looking after a luxurious London penthouse, with another unlikely, un-asked-for companion.Simon Cowel:The Next Act -Simon Cowell's journey to create a hit boy bandWake Up Dead Man - Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.and on ShowmaxNovocaine - When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, a man incapable of feeling physical pain turns his rare condition into an unexpected advantage in the fight to rescue her.The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip - Africa - You know there's gonna be fighting!The Chair Company - Follows a man who investigates a conspiracy after an embarrassing incident at work.Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning - With governments and a figure from his past in pursuit, Hunt races to stop it from forever changing the world.Drop -A widowed mother's first date in years takes a terrifying turn when she's bombarded with anonymous threatening messages on her phone.EnYes? No? Send us a textLet us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:instagram.com/africancouchpotatotwitter.com/[email protected] WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato Gino Shelile’s profile • LetterboxdMember of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting [email protected] Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay© SANTE MEDIA 2025

The war is over, but the silence remains. The South African Border War left broken nations and haunted lives. Unspoken War reveals the hidden cost of a conflict few speak about and even fewer truly understand. This week Gino gets the chance to talk, via Zoom, in depth with the docuseries director Nikki Comninos.Born in Zimbabwe with a father in political exile and a mother busy covering war as a foreign correspondent, it is no real surprise that Nikki would end up working on documentaries. And what a list that is.  Gino and Nikki discuss from 2004's Algemeen Befokte Afrikaans through to last year's Tracking Thabo Bester, and of course, her latest work Unspoken War, a 6-part documentary now streaming on Showmax and also on Mnet.  While the war essentially took place from 1966 to 1989, very few people are aware of the details of it, as it's almost never spoken about, hence the title.As Niiki says, "Almost everybody has a connection to the war, and anybody we spoke to almost felt like they needed to get something off their chest.Yes? No? Send us a textLet us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:instagram.com/africancouchpotatotwitter.com/[email protected] WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato Gino Shelile’s profile • LetterboxdMember of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting [email protected] Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay© SANTE MEDIA 2025