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Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 4th, 2009
At first glance, it is quite easy to see why this show has been compared to Sex and the City by many critics, and is about to again by yours truly. Mainly this comparison occurs because of the shows’ similarly humorous approach to sex, never wavering from any sort of topic therein. The first similarly I noticed though was the meta-cinematic use of our heroine Hannah (who escorts under the moniker “Belle”) when she talks to the audience directly. This device was only utilized in Sex and the City’s first season but we still see a similar mix of voice-over narration (which would take over Sex and the City) and the viewer being acknowledged (used more often than not with Secret Diary…).
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 4th, 2009
Everwood was a fairly long running show that started in 2002 and continued until 2006 for a total of eighty-nine episodes. It ran on the WB and was a casualty of the WB/UPN merger into the CW Television Network. Years later it has shown up on ABC Family and around the globe gaining fans here and there. It’s a serious drama that involves the medical practice of Dr. Andy Brown (played by Treat Williams). Set in the fictional town of Everwood, Colorado (in reality it was a few towns located in Utah), we find ourselves figuring out how a death can alter the lives of everybody in the town and how they struggle to cope.
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Brain Blasters by David Annandale on July 3rd, 2009
Ishiro Honda is, of course, best known and (deservedly) beloved for his classic kaiju eiga: he not only directed the first appearances of Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra, he also delivered many of their subsequent adventures, wrapping things up with 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla, which would be the last such entry until the mid-80s revival. The high profile of the giant monster movies has a tendency to overshadow some of this other contributions to fantastic cinema. One such effort which shouldn’t be overlooked is the inventive and grim Matango (1963).
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Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 2nd, 2009
Behind the on-screen title of 1968 Tunnel Rats lurks a vision of Hell. We first get to know a unit of American soldiers tasked with clearing out the networks of underground tunnels constructed by the Viet Cong. Even before the action shifts to the tunnels, the terrible toll of war is on display, with the Lieutenant (Michael Paré) ordering brutal executions and morale very low. Then the operation begins, and everything goes to horribly wrong very quickly.
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Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2009
Hey Gang,
It’s another month and another group of contest winners here at Upcomingdiscs.
I want to thank everyone who entered. Here are the lucky winners:
Direct Contact: Vicki Wurgler, Paula Myers, and Terry Perron
The Code: Stacey Dempsey, Cherie Michalec, and Daniel M.
The Code T-Shirt: Nikki, and Kathy Pease
Congratulations to all of this month’s winners.
Good luck in July and have a wonderful Fourth Of July Weekend.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2009
How do you like your eggs? Scrambled or easy over? Hitchcock despised eggs and thought they were absolutely disgusting, to the point of intentionally mutilating a plate in many of his films. What about Easter Eggs? No, I’m not talking about hidden features in your latest DVD or Blu-ray release. I’m talking those colored hardboiled variety left by a furry bunny during the Easter season. When I was a kid they came in all sizes and varieties, and even though I really don’t like hardboiled eggs all that much I was a whiz at finding the things, and I’d hoard them as if I suspected an approaching Armageddon
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2009
“Let me bring you up to speed. We know nothing. You are now up to speed.”
The Pink Panther is one of those properties that has given several generations some wonderful memories. If you were a kid, of any age, in the 1970’s you remember watching the cartoon series on Saturday mornings. It was one of the more innovative cartoons in that it had almost no dialog. The titular cat was always trying to outwit the witless Inspector Clouseau, and in true comedic fashion would always manage to escape. If you were a little bit older, you remember the truly inspired comedy films by Blake Edwards.
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Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on July 1st, 2009
Warner gets Midway, Patcher on the Used Game Market & Console Price Drops coming? - Welcome to the column that is better than the rest because we gave the rest a very strong laxative in their morning cereal known as Dare to Play the Game.
Cellfactor was again the game of the week for me. I only gained one achievement this week, but it was perhaps the most important one left. The ArenaMaster achievement finally clicked this weekend.
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Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 1st, 2009
Released just in time for the global financial meltdown, this hymn to designer products features Isla Fisher, who demonstrated her comedic talent by stealing Wedding Crashers from both Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson – no small achievement. Here she plays Rebecca Bloomwood, a compulsive shopper who, while hoping to land a job working at a fashion magazine, accidentally finds herself hired on a columnist at the sister publication, a rather less glamorous financial mag. Her columns, couching financial advice in shopping metaphors, become a surprising hit, and sparks begin to fly with her editor (Hugh Dancy). Meanwhile, a relentless debt collector is dogging her heels.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2009
“Do you believe in miracles?”
Al Michaels’ famous coda to the 1980 Olympic Hockey Championship Game provides the title of this Walt Disney film based on the incredible feat. I have to admit that I’ve never been a big fan of the Olympic games. I’ve more times than not been annoyed at how much television time is preempted, and it dominates the headlines for over 2 weeks each time the games are played. Still, it was hard not to feel a little excited about this particular game. As Americans, we love those underdog stories.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2009
“A long time ago in a land far, far away, way East of Chicago, in a place called Brooklyn, actually, a great man named Mel Brooks was born. And, that man begat this and that, and then some, and then he did this…”
This, was Spaceballs. Brooks had tackled pretty much every genre of film before Spaceballs. He took on horror films with Young Frankenstein. He tore up the old West and the Western with Blazing Saddles. He was bold enough to offer us a take up on the Silent Movie. On television he took on James Bond
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 29th, 2009
Teenagers go through a lot. They hit puberty and a multitude of decisions at the same time. Some of them take on adult decisions way too soon such as sex, pregnancy, drugs and just figuring how to fit in. ABC Family is the home of a teenage drama called The Secret Life of the American Teenager which is made by the same people as 7th Heaven which lasted 11 seasons. The show has gained more viewers episode by episode and a copy of the 2nd season showed up in my mailbox to review. We’ll see if the show is complete cheese or hopefully it has a good dose of story telling and family values.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 29th, 2009
Transformers are something near and dear to my heart. I grew up with them, watched all of the episodes, read many of the comics and watched the animated movie more times than I care to think about. When the original Rhino DVD set came out a few years back, I bought all of the volumes despite the hardship that roughly $50 a volume would cost me. Now, with the 25th anniversary of Transformers upon us, Shout Factory has gained the rights to the series and has re-released the first season to coincide with the release of the second live-action film. Is this simply an attempt to cash in on the mega movie hit of the summer? We shall see.
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Contests, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2009
Paramount has graciously given us four copies of Transformers on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this F/X feast, just follow these two steps…
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below - your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead- just tell us why you would like to win this release.
Contest is open to residents of the U.S. & Canada only, and will conclude on Sunday, July 26th.
Please - only one contest entry per person!
Now is your chance to catch up on the first film before going to see Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen at your local theater.
The film is also avail in a delux 2-disc high definition Blu-ray!
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2009
When the second season of Lost hit the airwaves, expectations were very high. The show enjoyed a very successful first year in the ratings, and many of us were looking to see if the show would suffer the all too common sophomore slump. Lost exceeded our expectations. The show changed dramatically, yet managed to keep us hooked with the same blend of mystery and solid storytelling that made the show such a huge hit to begin with.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2009
“My name is Michael Weston. I used to be a spy until, ‘you’ve got a burn notice’. When you’re burned, you’ve got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. You’re stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in. You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone who’s still talking to you, a trigger happy ex-girlfriend, an old friend who used to inform on you to the FBI, family too, if you’re desperate. Bottom line: Until you figure out who burned you, you’re not going anywhere.”
Burn Notice has all the earmarks of a really great television series. It has Bruce Campbell, and that alone should make it worth watching.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2009
It’s time to go back to the beginning and see how it all began. If you’re a fan, you’ve already seen these episodes, likely several times. You also probably have the DVD sets that have come over the last couple of years. You might be trying to decide if a television show is really worth your while to upgrade to high definition. The answer is a resounding yes. Lost is one of the most innovative series to arrive on network television in quite some time. In an age where the true quality appears to be dominated by cable stations anymore, it’s refreshing to know that there’s a show once in a while that can entertain, thrill, and make you think all at the same time.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2009
“Just because our parents keep telling us that Jason was only a legend, doesn’t mean it wasn’t true. What if he did come back here looking for the camp counselor that caused him to drown as a boy, searching for the one that decapitated his vengeful mother? And you do know what today’s date is, don’t you?…Happy Friday the 13th.”
Legend or not, Jason’s back in the 6th Friday the 13th film, and he’s out for more blood than ever before. Filmed under the fake name of Aladdin’s Sane, in an overt tribute to director Tom McLoughlin’s favorite musician, David Bowie, the new film was a return to the franchise’s more established roots.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2009
The whole trick to watching the new educational series from the Smithsonian Channel is to keep your head. Someone once said that was the key to battle, to keep your head while those around you are losing theirs. Well, it appears a ton of folks have been losing their heads for centuries. On the surface Tomb Detectives is a real life Bones. The half hour episodes explore ancient bodies, usually merely skeletal remains, and attempt to answer some basic questions: How did they die?
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Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on June 24th, 2009
360 Dashboard Speed, Moore vs Obama & Digital Downloads or Bust? - Welcome to the column that dares to cross the line but quietly goes back behind it afterwards known as Dare to Play the Game.
Cellfactor off Xbox Live was my main addiction this weekend. I have gained 115 achievement points and only three achievements stand in my way.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 23rd, 2009
Racism seems to be one of those words that people like to throw around without a care to meaning or the concept of right and wrong. Many groups of people like to throw around this word for a variety of reasons but mostly to benefit themselves and not help the greater good. Spinning into Butter takes on the task of a white Dean of Students named Sarah Daniels who must examine her own beliefs when a black student named Simon finds racist notes that read “Little Black Sambo” and the aftermath that soon follows. It sounds like the premise for a rather simplistic race relations movie. However, what really comes next is something far different and has a couple of twists to boot.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009
The Siege was made and released in 1998, a little less than three years before the 9/11 attacks. There are some things about this film you should know before you decide to see it, if you haven’t already. The film depicts a series of Islamic fundamentalist groups carrying out a series of terrorist attacks in New York City. While none of the plots mirror the actual events of 9/11, there is enough imagery here that you might wish to avoid if you are one of those persons who are still quite sensitive to those horrifically real images.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009
Neither of the Predator vs. Alien films were as successful at the box office as was hoped. And this film has had its share of detractors since its release in 1990. I, for one, find it to be as good as, if not better than, the original film. Watching the two governors Arnold and Jesse take on the Predator in the Columbian jungles was certainly a hoot. Let’s be honest, however. Who didn’t cheer, if only inside, when the big bad ugly started to take on LA’s drug lords in Predator 2? This sequel is more than just a romp with a monster. The story is far more compelling.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009
We were all told that the fourth film in the Friday The 13th series was going to be the last. From the cast and crew to the studio execs it was official: Jason was dead and gone. Time to move on. But it took less than a year for a new chapter to be tacked on to that final one. The fifth entry into the franchise would contain one of the more limited budgets. But it wasn’t the budget cuts that has made this one of the most highly criticized films of the series. It’s the total disregard for the tradition of the films and the poor choices that were made in making this film.
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Podcasts by Gino Sassani on June 19th, 2009
What a day we had here at Upcomingdiscs!
I had a chance to chat with Hercules himself, Kevin Sorbo this afternoon. He took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about his television career and his new direct to DVD film, Tommy And The Cool Mule. Look for our review next week. Learn what Captain Dylan Hunt has been up to since his days recreating The Commonwealth.
Bang it here to listen to our exclusive interview with Kevin Sorbo
Check out Kevin’s children charity at: World Fit For Kids.
