The Game: The Complete Series
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2019
Stemming from a backdoor pilot episode within the series Girlfriends, The Game is a comedy series about a woman (played by Tia Mowry Hardict) who gave up her career as a doctor in light of the success of her boyfriend’s being a star athlete (this is the first pang of misogyny, with more to come). The CW cancelled the series after the third season, and it was picked up by BET for it’s remaining years. The show was an absolute hit for a while and managed to score well with fans of Girlfriends. It was like getting an extra nine seasons of that show.
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The Cloverfield Paradox (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 6th, 2019
This was the big surprise during the 2018 Super Bowl halftime show; that this film that would be immediately available on Netflix after the game. As you can imagine, this was pretty significant for me, as I only had a vague knowledge of the film due to its limited promotion until this event. How apropos it is that this film be released around the same time of as the 2019 Super Bowl. Part of the Cloverfield Universe and armed with basically a who’s who of international talent, I can say that The Cloverfield Paradox is among my favorite of the movie franchise, based predominantly on the performances of the cast. The plot of the film tends to be a bit heavy on the science, which may make it difficult to follow for those who aren’t that well-versed with that subject.
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Gunsmoke: The Fourteenth Season
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on February 5th, 2019
The setting for Gunsmoke was the by-now-famous Dodge City, circa 1870’s. Phrases like “get out of Dodge” would enter the popular lexicon as a result of this resilient series. Marshall Dillon (Arness) was charged with keeping the peace in Dodge City. The only other character to see the entire 20-year run was kindly Doc Adams (Stone). Star Trek’s own Doc, Leonard McCoy, took many of his traits from Doc Adams. He was the humanitarian of the city, always looking to help someone. Like McCoy, he had a taste for bourbon and a soft heart underneath a rather gruff exterior and was always ready with free advice.
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Tuesday Release Round-Up For Feb. 5th, 2019
Posted in Super Round Up by Gino Sassani on February 5th, 2019
Howdy there, partners. Upcomingdiscs has a new look and a change in our cowhands as well. It’s all intended to make the Upcomingdiscs ranch better than ever. I’ll be handing out the round-up chow from this point forward. It’s time to head back to Dodge, and I’m not talking about no Ram Truck. It’s the 14th season of Gunsmoke, and it’s coming your way on DVD from CBS in a 2-vol. collection. Shout Factory animates our lives with Lu Over The Wall on Blu-ray. Shout Factory is also landing their Aircraft Carrier: Guardians Of The Sea from their IMAX collection in UHD Blu-ray. That’s a full 4K for you city slickers. Paramount is going to try and confuse things just a might with The Cloverfield Paradox out on Blu-ray. Universal still has the Christmas spirit with Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch also out in UHD Blu-ray in 4K.
And, Partners, don’t forget. If you’ll be making that video withdrawal from Amazon, lasso yourself one of our many links to get there. It helps keep us going here on the Upcomingdiscs ranch. Until next week, share some light with someone this week… television light, that is. Now let’s get those titles rollin’!
Contest: Win Playtime With Puppy Dog Pals On DVD From Disney Junior
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2019
Our friends over at Walt Disney Studios wanted to help us celebrate our brand new design here at Upcomingdiscs. They’ve sent over 2 copies of their DVD Playtime With Puppy Dog Pals. We’re going to pass them along to 2 lucky fans at Upcomingdiscs. This is a Disney Junior favorite. Join puppy brothers Bingo & Rolly as they get into the coolest adventures. There are 2 bonus episodes introducing new puppy dog pal Keia.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
- 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! What is your favorite Disney character?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Daniel M.
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone!
The Shield – The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 1st, 2019
When did it become mainstream to root for the bad guys? Certainly our pop culture has been propagated with colorful villains since Shakespeare, goons we love to hate or even just love. Still, the rule always seemed to be that the white hats always win and the black hats get what’s coming. Television once demanded that shows follow that simple code. When Alfred Hitchcock did his television show, the stories often ended with the bad guys appearing to win. To comply with the code, he developed a habit of offering us a usually humorous sidebar about the unfortunate fate of the stories’ bad guys. It became a trademark that was created to keep to a moral code. But when did all of that change? Was it with The Sopranos? We all became enamored by this lovable teddy bear of a guy in Tony. We don’t have to spoil it by pointing out he’s a killer, adulterer, and all-star criminal sociopath
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The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 1st, 2019
I have had many story ideas in my head for quite sometime. Putting them on paper is indeed another thing. One such story is a road trip between some friends that starts out normally, but little by little it becomes unraveled until it represents a tremendous and crazy affair. Unfortunately, I only got through nine chapters, and it hasn’t seen a word since. Today’s review is focused on an anime that is named The Night is Short, Walk On Girl. It involves the story of a girl who starts a normal night drinking through town. However, little by little the people and events around her become more extraordinary and bizarre as the night carries on. Hopefully this one makes it well past the ninth chapter.
Secret Stories of Hitler
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2019
“If the human features of Hitler are lacking in the image of him that is passed on to posterity, if he is dehumanized and shown only as the devil, any future Hitler may not be recognized simply because he is a human being.”
We have become so removed in time and experience from the evils of Nazi Germany that the entire experience has been cheapened. When politicians call another politician a Nazi or compare them with Hitler, it’s absolute proof that they have no idea of what they’re talking about.
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Dogs on the Job
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2019
“They are working. They have been working for us for over 10,000 years. They have been called man’s best friend. Soft fur and wet nose. Smart and loyal. Aiding us in transportation, hunting, companionship, protection, and many more ways. They share a bond with us like no other animal. They are career dogs, and this is a look into the history, training, and duties: jobs that can only be filled by our four-legged friends.”
Dogs on the Job is a seven-part series that takes a closer look at the various breeds of dog and the kinds of jobs they were bred to perform. The first episode gives us a pretty good lesson on how dogs became to be associated with humans and why those early wolves would become so cooperative with humans.
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Family Guy’s 20 Greatest Hits
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on January 31st, 2019
Family Guy has reached a level of impact upon the American pop culture where I believe the characters need little to no introduction. Is there anyone really that doesn’t recognize Stewie? After all, he’s reached the status of icon and has even become a fixture of the Thanksgiving parade as one of the many floats. Where The Flintstones, then later The Simpsons were at one time the dominating animated family on the television tackling day to day struggles of the modern American (each in their own and unique way), Family Guy (love it or hate it) now seems to be the go-to animated family.
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Trail of Tears Collection
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2019
“I have no motive, my friends, to deceive you. I am sincerely desirous to promote your welfare. Listen to me, therefore, when I tell you that you cannot remain where you now are. Circumstances that cannot be controlled which are beyond the reach of human law and render it impossible that you can flourish in the midst of a civilized community. You have but one remedy in your reach, and that is to remove to the West. The choice now is before you. May the great spirit teach you how to change. Your friend, Andrew Jackson”
With friends like that, who needs enemies, or so the saying goes.
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The Oath
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2019
I was quite reluctant to attend the screening for The Oath. My reluctance wasn’t based on my willingness to see the film. People like us will go to any kind of a movie. I love films. My issue was the impression I received from the trailer. The film appears to be ripped from today’s political climate and quite possibly to be a close parody of the actual present political situation. No matter on what side of that issue I might personally happen to fall, we here at Upcomingdiscs try our best to keep our politics out of our work. It’s not fair to fellow writers for them to be brushed with any other writer’s ideals, and it’s simply unnecessary to create a hostile environment here for any of our readers or staff. So I approached the screening with the caveat that I might not actually review the film. When the studio agreed to those terms, I set out to experience The Oath. I’ll give you a little “inside baseball” into the movie review business.
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Once Upon a Deadpool (Blu-ray)
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2019
“So dark. You sure you’re not from the DC universe?”
What if you took out the darkness and made the film a little more family-friendly? Could that work? My initial reaction was that it was a mistake to try. But this film actually has some charm going for it, and I was a bit surprised at how seamless it was. This is essentially Deadpool 2 with the hard-core stuff removed. Gone are the sword fights that used to start the film. And Fred Savage is the key to making the entire idea work.
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The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2019
The fabled story of the Nutcracker has many experiences, from plays, to musicals, to theater, and to operas; it has entertained us all for a century. What if these stories are real, and these Christmas toys really do have a world of their own? That would be a tale we all would love to hear. Enter Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. After the death of their mother, Clara (Mackenzie Foy), Fritz (Tom Sweet), Louise (Ellie Bamber), and their father, Mr. Stahbaum (Matthew Macfadyen), must endure the Christmas holidays without her. Struggling to move on with the events of the season, Mr. Stahbaum pushes them all to attend the annual event at Drosselmeyer’s house.
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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 30th, 2019
“Extremely rich, very married, eminently corruptible, and a willing infidel.”
That description is used to describe the unwitting marks targeted by the titular con men in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. But except for the “very married” part, it’s also a pretty accurate depiction of the Scoundrels themselves, played here by Steve Martin and Michael Caine in a pair of very different but equally winning performances. The movie was released a little more than 30 years ago — Christmastime 1988 — which makes this a fine time to revisit the breezy, sleazy con men comedy thanks to this Collector’s Edition from Shout Select.
Lawrence Jamieson (Caine) is a suave and sophisticated English con man who operates in the town of Beaumont sur Mer on the French Riviera. With the help of corrupt police official Andre (Anton Rodgers), Lawrence seduces and scams rich married women by posing as a prince in peril. It’s a very lucrative set-up until Lawrence bumps into Freddy Benson (Martin), an upstart American hustler making his way to Beaumont sur Mer. Lawrence has received word of a con artist known as “the Jackal” operating in the area, so he is on high alert when Freddy enters the picture.
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Welcome To The New Look Of Upcomingdiscs!
Posted in News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2019
On Dec 1st, 2008 after eight years working at Upcomingdiscs as a writer, I became the owner. It’s been 10 years, and in that time I’ve found a few ways to make my mark upon the site. In that time I was able to gather a wonderful local Tampa staff that has allowed the site to grow while freeing me to discover new ways to serve our faithful followers. We added an October Halloween celebration called 31 Nights Of Terror. We started to bring you interviews with the folks that work to make the films and television shows you guys love so much. We’ve tried to keep up with tributes to lost industry giants and provide you with a weekly roundup of what you can expect each week here at the ranch. We expanded our contests and giveaways by working hard to maintain good relationships with the studios that provide all of our review and contest material. Of course, those relationships never got in the way of honest reporting with every review we write. We were the first home entertainment site to bring you a UHD 4K review. I was invited to join the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA). I managed to score a player before the guys at Best Buy had even seen one before. Every year I would ask you what we could do better. What changes you would like to see here at Upcomingdiscs. I have read each and every one of your answers. Most of you have been happy with our appearance, but it’s gotten a little old, and you deserve better. So I welcome you to the new look for Upcomingdiscs. I hope you’ll take a look around and let us know what you think
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The Hate U Give (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 24th, 2019
“You ready to stir some s— up?”
In The Hate U Give, the fatal shooting of a young, unarmed black man by a police officer serves as the catalyst for a story about racial identity, police brutality, and much more. The film features some undeniably powerful performances and moments that, quite frankly, spoke to me on a personal level. The problem is that as the story’s level of outrage rises, the movie itself becomes more outrageous and harder to take seriously.
Although the fatal shooting is the movie’s inciting event, The Hate U Give is actually the story of Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), a teenager torn between her home life in the poor, predominantly black Garden Heights neighborhood and her tony, predominantly white prep school. Her father Maverick (Russell Hornsby) is a former gang member who encourages Starr and her brothers to wear their blackness as a badge of honor while imploring them to be exceedingly careful during any interaction with police officers. So when Starr and her childhood friend Khalil (Algee Smith) get pulled over for a minor offense, she knows exactly what to do. Unfortunately, she can’t convince the brasher Khalil to follow suit, which leads to his tragic death.
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First Man (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2019
“That’s one small step for (a) man. One giant leap for mankind.”
July 20th, 1969. If you were alive and even somewhat old enough to be aware of your surroundings, you likely still remember that date. There are many such dates in history; unfortunately so many of them revolve around tragic events like 9-ll or the attack on Pearl Harbor. But on that night I was eight years old, and I know exactly where I was. I was watching Walter Cronkite on television as he brought us the first landing on the surface of the moon. Today that’s a bittersweet memory. For an 8-year-old boy it was a promise that has remained unfulfilled. If you had told that 8-year-old who just saw humans walking on the moon that 50 years later we would have gone no further, he would have been dumbfounded. If you told him that not only would we go no further but that we would stop going to the moon in just a few short years, he would have been devastated. I can only imagine what that first man on the moon thought about it all so many years later.
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The Karate Kid Part III & The Next Karate Kid Double Feature (Blu-ray)
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2019
In the 1970’s Pat Morita was pretty much a staple of the American television landscape. It’s fair to say he often got work in a less politically correct era as a token Asian on situation comedies. He landed iconic recurring roles as Arnold, who owned the burger hangout in Happy Days, and Ah Chew, the target of Redd Foxx’s bigoted antics on Sanford And Son. His is a long career in the annals of 70’s television. While he did appear in a few feature films, none of these appearances had the lasting fame or adoration that he experienced as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid franchise. The role would define him for the remainder of his days. When Karate Kid appeared in 1984, it delivered a modest return at the box office but found some enduring returns in the young home video market. It was enough to score a sequel in 1986 that would become the best moneymaker of the franchise’s original collection of four films. It pulled in enough scratch to warrant a third film, and that’s pretty much where it all went downhill faster than a speeding bullet which might have mercifully ended the movies on a high note.
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Tuesday Round Up: January 22, 2019
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on January 22nd, 2019
While this week might represent one small step for man, it’s also one giant leap for this here website. Not only will we soon be reviewing Universal’s Neil Armstrong drama First Man (4K), but we are days away from unveiling an exciting new redesign for this very site! (Be sure to check back in and tell us what you think.) Elsewhere, Fox shows us some love with The Hate U Give (4K), Lionsgate navigates politics and family with The Oath, and Shout! Factory swindles some laughs out of us with con man comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
FYI: we are wrapping up our 12 Days of Christmas giveaways at the end of this week, so be sure to head to our contest page and enter for a chance to win. One last reminder before signing off for the week: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
After Darkness
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on January 21st, 2019
Any time you make a low-budget film that for a majority of the film takes place in a single location, it can be a bit of a risk. Factor in shooting a film on a small budget, small cast, then you have to hope that the idea can hook an audience, and it’s a script that will keep an audience hooked for the duration of the film. The problem After Darkness has from the get-go is it doesn’t have the budget to match its ambition, nor does it have the script to help the actors carry the burden of this film. Even with Kyra Sedgwick and Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things), this film was a struggle to get through. For those brave souls who want to know more, it’s time to hunker down, ‘cause this one was a doozy.
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Glass
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on January 20th, 2019
We are only a couple weeks into the new year, and this weekend one of 2019’s most anticipated releases is M. Night Shyamalan’s conclusion to his superhero trilogy with Glass. This has been a trilogy 19 years in the making, following the release of Unbreakable and then 2016’s Split. When I first saw Unbreakable, I was a projectionist, and I had to screen it the night before it was released to make sure everything was spliced together and the film played properly, and I just remember not really liking the movie at first. I ended up giving the film another try, and I found I liked it a little more. Now over the years I’ve seen it several times, and the film has grown on me. I’ve grown to appreciate the film to the point that when that final scene in Split plays and we got the reveal of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), I was extremely excited at the prospect of seeing this character revisited. Before I get much further, if you haven’t seen Unbreakable or Split, if you plan on seeing Glass, do yourself a favor and watch the previous films first, and even if you have seen them, it wouldn’t hurt re-watching them just so the films are fresh in your mind while experiencing the conclusion of this trilogy. With all that out of the way, how was the film? It’s time to suit up and find out.
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OddSockEaters
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on January 19th, 2019
Ever have trouble finding two matching socks when trying to get ready in the morning? Ever had to go to school or work with mismatched socks? It is an uncanny phenomenon; all over the world people are losing socks, for them never to return. Well, according to this animated film, we now know who is the cause for the predicament. Apparently living among the human race are little creatures that feed off our socks for sustenance, but they adhere to a strict motto of never eating the full set. OK, obviously that is ridiculous, but it made for an intriguing story for The OddSockEaters, an animated movie based off a popular foreign book series. Looks like another great movie to get the Nalyce stamp of approval on.
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A Beautiful Planet (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 17th, 2019
“Our Milky Way Galaxy is just one among billions of galaxies in the universe. In every way an ordinary galaxy. It’s 100,000 light years across. There are hundreds of billions of stars here. Lost inside this huge swarm is one average-sized star. As stars go, it’s quite unremarkable. Nevertheless, it’s the most special place in all the cosmos. Orbiting this star is the only place we know in all the universe to harbor life.”
Of course, that place is Earth, and while we can’t say for certain, it is truly unlikely to be the only place in this vast universe or even this galaxy to contain life. We might one day have to rethink exactly what that term means one day. But for now, Earth is the only place we know that supports life.
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Halloween (2018) (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 17th, 2019
“I always knew he’d come back. In this town, Michael Myers is a myth. He’s the Boogeyman. A ghost story to scare kids. But this Boogeyman is real. An evil like his never stops; it just grows older. Darker. More determined. Forty years ago, he came to my home to kill. He killed my friends, and now he’s back to finish what he started, with me. The one person who’s ready to stop him.”
I was 17 years old when John Carpenter released The Shape, aka Michael Myers, on the world in 1978. It was a milestone film. Of course we didn’t know we were watching something that would become so culturally huge. We were the target audience. Teens who were looking for some extra thrill in our films. These so-called slasher films became great escapes of fantasy to bring a date along. For a late-teen, there’s no better way to spend an evening with a date than a film that might have her jump right into your lap. Great times. But the reason Halloween stands out from the crowded genre is because John Carpenter knew something about anticipation. He knew how to build towards a scare. And he understood how to use music, shadow, and pacing to truly immerse his audience into a film. I didn’t watch Halloween in 1978. I experienced Halloween in 1978.
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