Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them.
Hands down the best gift you can give that home theater expert is the new Oppo UDP-203. It’s exactly what I would have asked for if I didn’t already have one fresh off the manufacturing presses.
Posted in: Podcasts, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2016
We already told you about Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe. I couldn't put it down. It was an extra treat for me because I knew I was going to be talking to author Robert Matzen. I finally reached the end and had my conversation with the writer. I found him just as engaging in person as he was in the book. We could have talked for hours. Unfortunately we didn't have that kind of time. Now you can hear what all the excitement was about. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Robert Matzen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2016
Clint Eastwood is 86 years old. He is also one of the best film directors working today. His latest film shows no signs of a man winding down his life, let alone his career. I obviously hinted that most other actors (or directors) his age have long ago died or checked into a nursing home. Eastwood looks lean and mean and still directs that way. Eastwood is interesting, as well, because he tends to pick projects that are outside the Hollywood studio corporate thinking. In other words, Eastwood is his own man and does pretty much anything he wants. His films as an actor and director have courted controversy way back to the days of Dirty Harry and A Fistful of Dollars. His films as a director and his personal political views are always full of contradictions that suggest a vibrant, searching mind. Sully is Eastwood’s latest film, starring Tom Hanks, and it is deceptively complex as well. On one level, Sully is a textbook depiction of a famous true life event.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. This time we look at some season sets available for Christmas this year from Paramount Television and Showtime
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. Fox has opened their vaults for the fans of classic movies. It's part of their Cinema Archives Collection on DVD, and we have five of them to recommend to you here
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 16th, 2016
"You have to start somewhere."
I could sense a great disturbance in the Force. I could not quite put my finger on the reason, but there appeared to be much to worry about with the debut of the first ever Star Wars film that was not one of the driving episodes in the epic story of the Skywalker family and friends. There was worry that Disney might have been pushing their luck with these sidetrack stories. The Force Awakens was very good, but should the Mouse House really be tempting fate with such "filler" material? Then there were the disturbing reports that the film required so many rewrites that as much as $5 million had been spent on the services of Tony Gilroy to provide those touch-ups
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 14th, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. Let's take a look at what Paramount has to offer in the television on Blu-ray department
Posted in: Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2016
We were one of the first sites to start reviewing UHD Blu-ray releases. I managed to get my hands on the Samsung player a bit early and started reporting on those first discs. What you don't know is how much of a pain that Samsung player really is. From the remote down to the function it is a bit of a nightmare to operate. Of course, I've been spoiled by the Oppo players I usually use for my reviews here. Oppo took their time launching their unit. I suspect they wanted to make sure they got it right. You have been emailing me for months about an Oppo UHD player. I was sworn to secrecy...until now. Meet the Oppo UDP-203. I'll be reviewing a unit as soon as I can get my hands on one. I'm told it will be soon. For now here's the official press release from Oppo
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. You should not just be considering home video for that special person on your shopping list. This time of the year Jimmy Stewart often comes to mind. Of course, there's the annual classic showings of It's A Wonderful Life. But Jimmy Stewart was more than an Academy Award-winning actor. He was a bomber pilot during World War II. Stewart didn't like to talk about his service and so most of us know very little about those days.
Now Robert Matzen has written Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe. It's a wonderful (pardon the pun) look at those days of heroic service. Matzen takes us inside of Stewart's own thoughts and feelings thanks to interviews with surviving brothers in arms. He's scoured Stewart's own words and the histories that exist out there. This is a Jimmy Stewart so much like the man we remember from the movies, yet so much more complicated and courageous. This is a fascinating read. I'm going to be talking with the author next week and I can't wait to share that chat with all of you here. In the meantime, you might want to check this book out to round out your Christmas shopping lists. I'm reading it now and it's been hard to put down. Now you know why I'm falling behind on my work here. I'm going to be telling you more soon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2016
"In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games."
Now that all four films are out on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K, we have the opportunity to view them all again from the very beginning. It's easier to catch the subtle nuances that were planted in the earlier films that would pay off over the four-film run. It took us four years to do that originally. Now you can do it in a day. Gino Sassani takes us on the next part of that journey with The Hunger Games The Mockingjay Part 1 (2014).
