Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on June 19th, 2016
I've been spending a lot of time lately with our pals over at the All American Bikini Car Wash. It's not what you think. They've pitched in to send us a copy of the movie All American Bikini Car Wash to give away to one lucky Upcomingdiscs follower. It's coming out June 21st, just in time for summer, from Monarch Home Entertainment. That means one of you gets to hang out with our new pals, too. Look for some interviews and a review in the coming days. We've got this Car Wash covered.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on June 18th, 2016
If you recognize the name Jeremy Butler, it's because you've seen it hundreds of times...200 times, to be exact.
When he's not busy out there defending us from the bad guys... he's defending us from bad movies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2016
“He tasks me. He tasks me, and I shall have him! I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round Perdition's flames before I give him up!”
After its shortened three year run, it looked like Star Trek was dead and gone. A very short lived animation series was the first attempt to carry on. Before long it too was a thing of the past. Then something rather amazing happened. Star Trek found a home in syndication. The local television markets aired the shows in a somewhat edited form, and they were rewarded with record-breaking local ratings. It didn’t take long before Paramount saw the possibilities. By the mid 1970’s there were plans to bring the original crew back for a new television series. The development name for this show was Star Trek: Phase Two. Scripts were written, sets were designed and constructed, and all of the original cast except for Nimoy were on board. A new Vulcan science officer named Xon was added to the cast. The idea was that the new Star Trek would anchor a proposed Paramount Television Network. The network idea fell through, and Star Trek was in limbo. Then George Lucas came along with his space opera Star Wars. Fans were lining up for blocks to see the epic adventure. Science fiction had proven itself at the box office, and Star Trek was back on, this time as a major motion picture. Gene Roddenberry was back in the producer seat, and veteran director Robert Wise was at the helm. On December 7th 1979 I was in the Fox North theaters with seven friends from 10:00 AM until after 10:00 PM for an endless marathon of… But the film ultimately disappointed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2016
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
The rumors were rampant, and I won't address them at all here. Chances are you know the spoilers, if you want to know them, already. I won't chance ruining it for the few that have avoided any information on the film. I will tell you that Abrams has managed to weave a touching love letter to the Trek faithful into what again is a hugely mainstream film that should kick some serious butt at the box office once again. It's almost as if he wanted to thank the fans who did finally climb aboard his Enterprise. There's a tribble, and you'll find a model of the NX-01 Enterprise, among others. The writers pay tribute to some of Trek's best phrases. Of course McCoy's going to deliver one of his "I'm a doctor not a..." lines.
Scotty's going to be called a miracle worker. And the film ends with the beginning of the crew's five-year mission. This film is just as good at appealing to the masses, but it manages to bring the faithful in with enough nods and references to bring tearful smiles to our faces. There's a lot of love here. Maybe it didn't come from Abrams at all. Credit it to writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and to a lesser degree Damon Lindelof. They are confirmed Trek fans, and it shows.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 13th, 2016
Ed Asner's character Lou Grant started life on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. The sit-com lasted seven seasons, taking a large stash of Emmy awards during its run. It also competed with All In The Family as a heavy-hitter in spinoffs. Rhoda and Phyllis each had a respectable run also in the sit-com world. But the most amazing spinoff and the most successful wasn't another sit-com at all. It was an hour-long drama that took us inside the workings of a major L.A. newspaper, The Los Angeles Tribune. There Lou Grant, fired from his television station gig in Minneapolis, lands on the doorstep of his good friend Charlie Hume (Adams), who happens to be the paper's managing editor. The job's his, and the drama ran for five seasons.
Today it might be a little difficult to imagine how a show like this could work. Newspapers are struggling and delivering their news in ways that did not even exist in 1977. But there was no consumer internet and no cable news stations. Newspapers were actually the main source of daily news to most Americans. There were no bloggers, and everyone wasn't carrying around a telephone in their pockets to instantly report and video-record what was happening in the world. The nation was still recovering from the Nixon Watergate scandal that had been revealed by two newspaper reporters at The Washington Post. For a little while, newspaper reporters were kind of heroes of the age. Lou Grant manage to take advantage of all of this with the help of wonderful characters and some solid stories often ripped from the real headlines of the day.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2016
Our friends at Warner Brothers want to put a little laughter in your life. If you're feeling blue we have something to make you feel Blu...Blu-ray that is. Rick and Morty Season 2 is out in high definition and we have a free copy for one lucky Upcomingdiscs follower. Start the Summer with some fun.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2016
The premise here is dirt simple. They've taken the buddy cop idea and found a way to work in the forensics science fad and deliver a procedural with a few twists. The show is based on a series of mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen, who introduced us to Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles in 2001. Angie Harmon plays Detective Rizzoli. She's wanted to be a cop all of her life and is living the dream, working with a special unit out of Boston PD. Her best friend in life happens to be Dr. Maura Isles, who is the Chief Medical Examiner for the unit and is played by Sasha Alexander. These are the kind of friends who finish each other's sentences and share a lot of history together. That's not to say they are at all alike.
Jane Rizzoli comes from a family of cops. She's more of a playboy who likes to mix it up with the guys. She's got a temper and a love for the simple things. She's a good detective because she's like a bulldog when she's on a case. She doesn't worry about the niceties, and she's loyal to a fault.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2016
"And then there's Maude."
In football, there's always a lot of talk about coaching trees. You know the idea. Some great mastermind who saw his assistants go on to have success of their own and who passed that lucky charm down to others for, perhaps, generations. All In The Family would be the television equivalent to a coach with a long tree. There were an incredible number of spinoffs that led to other spinoffs. Archie's neighbors The Jeffersons moved on up to the East Side and had their own several years of success. That show saw maid Florence have her spinoff from that show called Checking In. Meanwhile, Archie's daughter had her Gloria series, and after Edith's death, Archie settled into Archie Bunker's Place. Even the Bunker home had a spinoff called 704 Houser Street when a new family moved in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"Roots: The Saga of an American Family literally blazed across this nation's screens."
In 1977 the entire country became Africans for eight consecutive nights. The name Kunta Kinte would become a household name. It was unprecedented on so many levels that even the ABC executives that made the decision to air it believed it was going to be a ratings disaster. The decision to run it on so many consecutive nights was made to avoid the ratings collapse from lasting more than a week. But by the time the final episode aired, Roots had become the most-watched television mini-series of all time. The final episode was the most-watched episode of television of all time. The mini-series record stands 40 years later. The episode record has been broken only twice since then. First it was the "Who shot JR" cliffhanger on Dallas, and eventually the final episode of M*A*S*H would take and continue to retain the record. If only those executives had known, it would have been a sweeps event instead of the usually dead January slot in which it aired. It was one of the first examples of event television. Businesses closed early. Vegas shows were cancelled because everyone was in their hotel room watching Roots. Before it was over 130 million people saw at least part of the mini-series. At the time there were just under 200 million people alive in the country. The only question I have is what were the other 70 million people doing?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
“Who you gonna call?”
By now everyone knows the answer. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson are the Ghostbusters. As their ad proclaims, they’re ready to believe you. Ghostbusters was originally conceived by Aykroyd as a vehicle for John Belushi and himself. When Belushi died, reportedly from a drug overdose, the project sat on the shelf a few years. Harold Ramis would eventually team up with Aykroyd and finish the script. It’s been said that “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Leave it to these …two knuckleheads to combine the two and create a phenomenon. Like pretty much anyone else, I’ve seen Ghostbusters many times in the last 20 years. And just like all of you, I’m still not tired of it. I am, however, done with the repetitive theme song.
