I’m Canadian, thank god. Our legal system may be going downhill, but it hasn’t reached the depths of that in the states yet. A teenage girl in Virginia filmed 20 seconds of Transformers on a digital camera for her little brother – leading to her arrest, and prosecution in court. Regal Cinemas pushed the prosecution.
Regal Cinemas, part of the Regal Entertainment Group, says it’s the world’s largest motion picture exhibitor. The group comprises of Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres. The group says it operates 6,386 screens in 539 locations in 40 states and the District of Columbia. [from Wired]
Well it has all come down to this… Day 12 of our 12 Days Of Contests promotion. Today, to wrap it all up, we are giving 2 copies of the 6-disc (2×6= 12) set Atlas of the Natural World – Africa/Europe released by BBC.
So – enter away below by commenting! We have extended the draw dates for all 12 of our “12 Days of Contests” contests to Tuesday, February 5th… so check back at that time so see who won!
Thanks to everyone who has participated in this series of contests. You have only a few days left to get your entries in for each of the contests listed above. Check back next week to see who won each of the prizes!
We are back once again, trying to conclude our 12 Days Of Contests promotion. Today, for our Day 11 Edition, we go way back to 1959! That’s right, we are giving away a copy of Ben Hur – 4-disc collector’s edition (winner of 11 academy awards).
So – enter away below by commenting! We have extended the draw dates for all 12 of our “12 Days of Contests” contests to Tuesday, February 5th… so check back at that time so see who won!
For those interested in gaming, please check out our weekly gaming column Dare to Play the Game. This blog covers weekly releases, reviews and even an ode to Morgan Webb.
The contest is now close – congrats to “cpeters” who won this prize.
After a short delay over the holidays, we are back to conclude the last three days of our 12 Days Of Contests promotion. Today, for our Day 10 Edition, we explore our planet with two copies of the 5-disc BBC Planet Earth series. Yes… that equals 10 discs of Planet Earth being given away!
So – enter away below by commenting! We have extended the draw dates for all 12 of our “12 Days of Contests” contests to Tuesday, February 5th… so check back at that time so see who won!
For those interested in HD DVD and Blu-ray reviews, please check out our sister-site HDDB.net, which is a High Definition Database for all HD DVD and Blu-ray reviews found around the world wide web.
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 9 Edition! Today we throw our first HD DVD into the mix… The Deer Hunter, nominated for nine academy awards (winner of five, including best picture in 1978).
So – enter away below by commenting! Contest draw date is Tuesday, Jan. 1st – the same for all of the 12 Days contests.
Ho! Have you seen the “Baddest Mofo in a Cardigan Sweater” video? Bob Saget is definitely not on Santa’s good list. No, I’m not linking to it, so as to protect people’s illusions about Bob Saget’s family values. But if you search on YouTube, you will find. But – before Saget went bad, there was Full House! Yes, welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 8. The TV-on-DVD theme continues, with the eighth season of Full House up for grabs. If you want an idea of what’s in store, check out the reviews for Season Four and Season Five. The verdict? Great releases for fans of Saget-humour or masochists. (don’t get me started on the twins – shudder)
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 7 Edition! Today we are switching back to the world of TV-on-DVD… giving away a copy of Gilmore Girls – The Complete Seventh Season on DVD! Go figure, the seventh season on the seventh day of contests – how fitting.
So – enter away below by commenting! Contest draw date is Tuesday, Jan. 1st – the same for all of the 12 Days contests.
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 6 Edition! Today we are celebrating Tony Bennett’s SIX decades as a recording artist by giving away 2 copies of Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends on DVD! This 2-disc set contains archival footage, live performances, and interviews conducted by none other than Clint Eastwood depict the life and career of Tony Bennett.
So – enter away below by commenting! Contest draw date is Tuesday, Jan. 1st – the same for all of the 12 Days contests.
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 5 Edition! Today we are mixing things up with an alternative flavor… the here! networks gay & lesbian television series Dante’s Cove. In keeping with the day 5 theme, we are giving away the FIVE-disc Dante’s Cove – The Guilty Pleasure Collection! Not only do you get the complete first and second seasons of this show, you also get the lost pilot episode.
So – enter away below by commenting! Contest draw date is Tuesday, Jan. 1st – the same for all of the 12 Days contests.
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 4 Edition! Time to bring some classic comedy to your holiday season with a copy of the FOUR-disc Bob Hope Ultimate Collection!
So – enter away below by commenting! Contest draw date is Tuesday, Jan. 1st – the same for all of the 12 Days contests.
If you would like to make comments/suggestions about UpcomingDiscs, or just feel like having some online discussions about DVD/Film/Etc, feel free to register for our Feature Forum and let your thoughts be known.
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 2 Edition! Yesterday (well, this morning) we opened up for entries on one copy of ALIEN SEIGE. Now you’re probably wondering how we could top the raw festiveness of a blood devouring alien rampage – well, how about 2 copies of the Ben Affleck fueled interpretation of Pearl Harbor in Glorious Blu-ray Vision!
In all seriousness: say what you will about this movie and Mr. Affleck, the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor was a truly infamous day: it saw the death of thousands, the end of America’s perceived aloofness, and the true beginning of World War II. You can read all about the attack on the National Geographic special site.
Again, say what you will about the movie, it does include a spectacularly harrowing recreation of the attack which I imagine would shine in a high-def format. We reviewed the Blu-ray Pearl Harbor release here.
So – enter away below by commenting! Contest draw date is Tuesday, Jan. 1st – the same for all of the 12 Days contests.
Day 1: ALIEN SEIGE
Day 2: PEARL HARBOR – Enter below!
Day 3: Stay tuned!
Merry Christmas, readers all! In celebration of the season, UpcomingDiscs is going to merrily subject you too… 12 DAYS OF CONTESTS! Its a little holiday-themed fun, a way to put something in your stocking in early to mid-January (mail is slow, sorry), and our festive “thank-you” to the readers that make up our community and keep things lively.
As an added (stupendous) twist, were actually tying the prizes to the days: the first day gets a single disc release; the second day’s contest – two discs. By the 12 day (wait for it…) 12 DISCS ARE BEING GIVEN AWAY. Now – by the end, we might be talking about one box set with 12 discs, or a tasteful collection of 12 individual titles – but rest assured, that’s a no-foolin’ massive quantity of material coming your way.
So without further preamble…
December 12 (ok, this one is a day late, so were going to cram in two today, of which this is the first…)
What could be more festive, than the Sci-Fi Essentials release of ALIEN SEIGE, which comes to you with the merry tagline of “They’ve come for our blood!” Why aliens could possibly need liquified humans to save their planet is beyond me, but then again, I believed in Santa Clause until I was 16, so I’m willing to suspend my disbelief for this one too and embrace what appears to be a decent sci-fi romp.
As always, please enter by commenting below, don’t post your address, etc. And stay tuned for contest number 2, coming later today!
Contest is open to residents of the U.S. & Canada only, and will conclude on Tuesday, January 1st. Winners to be announced shortly thereafter.
Direct to DVD comes #1 of 4 direct-to-DVD Futurama feature length movies – “Bender’s Big Score.” Of note: lots of PR flackery over the fact that this production is “carbon neutral” with Fox apparently ponying up for offset credits against CO2 releases from energy and materials used in production. The extras (after the jump) also include a “Terrifying Message from Al Gore” – Huzzah!
Uncancel your plans for the future — Futurama is back! In this all-new, feature-length epic, evil nudist aliens send Bender on a rampage through time, forcing him — slightly against his will — to steal all of Earth’s priceless historic treasures. Will the heroic Planet Express crew save the planet? Will Leela find true love? Will the ancient and terrible secret of Fry’s buttocks be exposed? All will be revealed in Futurama: Bender’s Big Score, the greatest adventure of our time, and also the greatest adventure of several other times! In the words of a certain beer-fueled robot . . . “We’re back, baby!”
January 15th is the just announced release date for the Family Guy “Blue Farce” – apparently an extended version of the season six premier that is a protracted sendup of Star Wars.
I’d link to a trailer or some clips, but hey! Fox has taken everything related to this down off of YouTube. And of course, the Fox media site is lagging their press releases with no coverart, trailers, stills, or anything related to this release available. So enjoy some mildly descriptive text instead!
Featuring hysterical cameos from Rush Limbaugh, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo and Helen Reddy, Family Guy Presents: “Blue Harvest” is “a dead-on homage that hilariously picks apart Star Wars, along with much of real life” (Associated Press). The DVD features more than four minutes of never-before-seen material; an uncensored track; animatics; commentaries; interviews with Seth MacFarlane and George Lucas…
Man, these guys are bundling hard on the SE release. T-shirts, 3-D glasses, trading cards (meh), and, of course 3D footage to go with the glasses…
FOX is on a roll today with announcements. “Death Sentence” comes out Jan. 8th…
CENTURY CITY, Calif. – The hardcore story of one man’s quest for vengeance and justice featuring thrill-a-second action and pulse-pounding stunts, Death Sentence arrives in an all-new Unrated Edition DVD January 8th from Fox Home Entertainment. Kevin Bacon (Mystic River, Hollow Man) stars as Nick Hume, an everyday family man living a stable, comfortable life – a good job, a loving wife and two teenage boys. But when a gang initiation takes the life of his eldest son in the blink of an eye, Hume’s perfect life comes to a screeching halt. What follows is a series of violent confrontations, forcing Hume to transform into someone he never thought possible. Directed by innovative filmmaker James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence) from the powerful novel by James Garfield…
The Death Sentence DVD features two versions of the film – both the theatrical rated and an “unrated” cut of the film that includes over 10 minutes of never-before-seen footage that was too intense for theaters, additional bonus features include two Fox Movie Channel specials and several behind-the-scenes webisodes. Death Sentence will be available to own for the suggested retail price of $29.98 U.S. / $43.48 Canada.
Sorry for regurgitating press release stuff today — in a bit of a rush.
FOX is announcing with customary PR fanfare that Adam Goldberg comedy “2 Days in Paris” will hit the streets on Feb. 5th of the next year – just in time to cash in on Valentine sales.
Adam Goldberg delivers “an uproarious study in transatlantic culture panic” (MTV) as Jack, an anxious, hypochondriac-prone New Yorker vacationing throughout Europe with his breezy, free-spirited Parisian girlfriend, Marion (Delpy). But when they make a two-day stop in Marion’s hometown, the couple’s romantic trip takes a turn as Jack is exposed to Marion’s sexually perverse and emotionally unstable family, her coarse temperament with cab drivers and her ex-lovers…her many ex-lovers. Culture-shocked and ego-bruised, Jack finds himself hoping that their relationship can survive as their love is revealed in surprising ways.
Extras include extended scenes and an interview with Director/Writer/Editor/SoundPerson Julie Delpy.
I’m happy to report that after a bunch of work the “Reviews” tab at the top has been significantly revamped. Its now, hopefully, a quicker, easier way to find a particular movie, or just browse our archives.
Click the “Reviews” tab to get started, and you’ll a big page full of different categories – so that you can see a list of our Blu-ray reviews, for instance, or Horror reviews (just in time for Hallowe’en), or Adult Swim reviews for when you’re feeling maturely humorous, or all reviews of films from Tartan Studios, when you’re feeling Asian.
The list pages are organized with 50 results per page (alphabetically), and include thumbnails of the covers where available. Click the cover or the title to go to the review, and you’re done!
Anyway, please comment any feedback, and happy browsing!
UPDATE: Some of the pages will be slow to load the first time – that’s the covers loading from Amazon. Fortunately, I tacked on a caching system to speed these requests, so as covers are cached, performance site-wide should perk up slightly (over the next few days).
Vincent Price’s “The Last Man on Earth” precedes the Will Smith vehicle “I Am Legend” by 10 days, due for DVD release on December 4th. Both movies are based on the same, highly influential horror-screed “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson.
From the press release:
Scientist Robert Morgan is the only human immune to the air-borne plague that has transformed the entire population of the Earth into vampire-zombie like creatures. Alive among the lifeless, alone among the undead, Morgan must find a way to survive in a world that is no longer his.
4 stills of Price nattily hammering stakes into zombie/vampires while dressed in tweed follow after the jump….
Vudu is launching a $400 set top box that will let you purchase ($20) or rent ($1-4) high-def movies, which are downloaded to the Vudu box over a high-speed internet connection. It promises a big selection, easily accessible – the long-sought “blockbuster in your living room.”
Posted in
Release News by Rod on September 25th, 2007
The Simpsons announcement has dropped: December 18th is the day! Coming out on Blu-ray and DVD, both single disc releases:
DVD: $29.98 U.S. / $43.48 Canada
Blu-ray: $39.98 U.S. / $49.98 Canada
The DVD Release
“The Simpsons Movie DVD is presented in North America in widescreen format, featuring English Dolby Surround 5.1 sound, Spanish and French Dolby Surround and English and Spanish subtitles.”
Extras Galore:
Commentary by, James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, David Silverman, Dan Castellaneta, and joined by Yeardley Smith
Directors Commentary by David Silverman, Mike B. Anderson, Steven Dean Moore and Rich Moore
Special Stuff: Homer’s Monologue On The Tonight Show, The Simpsons Judge American Idol, Homer Introduces American Idol, Let’s All Go To The Lobby, Alternate Character Designs by the Directors and Matt Groening
The Blu-ray Release
“The Simpsons Movie BD release will be authored in BD-Java with AVC (MPEG 4 compression) on a dual-layer 50 GB disc with English 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Master Audio plus English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The disc will feature all of the above special features in high-def.”
I’m not seeing any cover art on the press site yet, but stay tuned. In the meantime, looks like a strong (though expensive!) release.
“A study done in 2005 showed that G-rated movies are 11 times more profitable than R-rated movies, yet the industry cranks out 12-times more R-rated movies.” [from Scott Adams]
What’s up with that? Scott suggests its the pursuit of Oscars motivating producers and directors. Anyone know the ratio of G to R rated Academy winners or nominees?
In other news…
“For the past 18 months, my syndication company, United Media, and I had been negotiating with a major movie studio to do a Dilbert movie. They wanted to do it. We wanted to do it. A top director wanted to do it. We even agreed on price. But that wasn’t enough to get it done, for reasons that have already appeared in a Dilbert comic. (I can’t tell you which one.) So the movie rights for Dilbert are available.” [from Scott Adams]
Huh. Read the plot line idea that Adam’s puts forward and you may have an idea why this isn’t being filmed yet. IMHO, The Simpsons is one of the few series (in any medium) without a coherent, cross-series plot arc to make the jump to the big screen successfully.
“Although us narrow-minded Westerners may have issues about our kids watching racoons bludgeon construction workers with their massive genitals, this kind of thing is pretty much par for the course in Japan. “Tankui” as the anatomically-improbable monsters are known, are traditional Japanese folklore creatures. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the Japanese version of Davy Crockett wears a coonskin cap made entirely of scrotum.
This type of film would never be distributed by a major film company in the United States. Oh, wait. It was distributed in the United States by the Walt Disney Pictures. [from Cracked]
Posted in
Release News by Rod on September 21st, 2007
An interesting bit of news I stumbled across: a new Braveheart release on DVD. Uninspiring audio, but a new features list – I don’t think, from a cursory scan of Amazon, that all of these have been seen previously…
Audio: 2.0 Surround, 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital
Commentary: Commentary by Director Mel Gibson TBD
Other: Tales of William Wallace
Other: A Writer’s Journey
Other: Archival Interviews with the Cast of Braveheart
As with many big media announcements, the superficial awesomeness of NBC’s move – offering downloadable versions of popular TV shows (Heroes, The Office, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, etc. [see Last100]) – is dimmed by the conditions that come with them.
Minus: They will be ad-supported, with embedded, unskippable ads interupting playback, presumably like commercials [from: theStreet].
Minus: Its US only. I won’t be able to use this.
Minus: For Windows only. Sorry Apple and Linux types. [from Paid Content]
Minus: It (may) require a propiertary player that needs to be downloaded and installed [from TG Daily]
Minus: Downloads will only play for SEVEN DAYS from the episode air date. [from Jeff McManus]
So – on the upside, previously you had to pay $2 to download these shows from Apple’s iTunes – now they are free. On the downside – they come with ads and a bunch of limitations and restrictions.
As others have noted, NBC’s offering is more comparable to the “catch up” services offered overseas that let people catch missed shows. At a high level, this service is more competitive with DVR’s than it is with iTunes or piracy.
NBC has noted plans to offer “download to own,” subscription, and rental services over time. I’m looking forward to seeing what ludicrous prices and conditions are attached to those.
Well it has all come down to this… Day 12 of our 12 Days Of Contests promotion. Today, to wrap it all up, we are giving 2 copies of the 6-disc (2×6= 12) set Atlas of the Natural World – Africa/Europe released by BBC. 
We are back once again, trying to conclude our 12 Days Of Contests promotion. Today, for our Day 11 Edition, we go way back to 1959! That’s right, we are giving away a copy of Ben Hur – 4-disc collector’s edition (winner of 11 academy awards). 
After a short delay over the holidays, we are back to conclude the last three days of our 12 Days Of Contests promotion. Today, for our Day 10 Edition, we explore our planet with two copies of the 5-disc BBC 
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 9 Edition! Today we throw our first HD DVD into the mix… 
Ho! Have you seen the “Baddest Mofo in a Cardigan Sweater” video? Bob Saget is definitely not on Santa’s good list. No, I’m not linking to it, so as to protect people’s illusions about Bob Saget’s family values. But if you search on YouTube, you will find. But – before Saget went bad, there was Full House! Yes, welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 8. The TV-on-DVD theme continues, with the eighth season of Full House up for grabs. If you want an idea of what’s in store, check out the reviews for 
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 7 Edition! Today we are switching back to the world of TV-on-DVD… giving away a copy of 
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 6 Edition! Today we are celebrating Tony Bennett’s SIX decades as a recording artist by giving away 2 copies of Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends on DVD! This 2-disc set contains archival footage, live performances, and interviews conducted by none other than Clint Eastwood depict the life and career of Tony Bennett.
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 5 Edition! Today we are mixing things up with an alternative flavor… the here! networks gay & lesbian television series Dante’s Cove. In keeping with the day 5 theme, we are giving away the FIVE-disc Dante’s Cove – The Guilty Pleasure Collection! Not only do you get the complete first and 
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 4 Edition! Time to bring some classic comedy to your holiday season with a copy of the FOUR-disc Bob Hope Ultimate Collection!
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 3 Edition! We have taken care of the 
Ho HO HO!! Welcome back to the 12 Days Of Contests, Day 2 Edition! Yesterday (well, this morning) we opened up for entries on 
Direct to DVD comes #1 of 4 direct-to-DVD Futurama feature length movies – “Bender’s Big Score.” Of note: lots of PR flackery over the fact that this production is “carbon neutral” with Fox apparently ponying up for offset credits against CO2 releases from energy and materials used in production. The extras (after the jump) also include a “Terrifying Message from Al Gore” – Huzzah!
