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Gino Sassani

About Gino Sassani

Gino Sassani is a member of the Southeastern Film Critic's Association (SEFCA) and The Critics Association of Central Florida (CACF) where he is a member of the governing board. He is a film and television critic based in Tampa, Florida. He's also the Senior Editor here at Upcomingdiscs. Gino started reviewing films in the early 1990's as a segment of his local television show Focus. He's an award-winning recording artist for Omega Records. Gino is currently working on his 8th album Merchants & Mercenaries. Gino took over Upcomingdiscs Dec 1, 2008. He works out of a home theater he calls The Reel World. Favorite films: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Body Snatcher (Val Lewton film with Karloff and Lugosi, not the pod people film), Unforgiven, Gladiator, The Lion King, Jaws, Son Of Frankenstein, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, and Monsters, Inc.

Posts by Gino Sassani:

CSI: NY – The Complete Series

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2021

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It’s been a while since a CSI episode has crossed our paths. For nearly 20 years the franchise would be one of the top-rated dramas on television. It all started with the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. This Las Vegas show became an instant hit, and three years later we found ourselves in Miami for a spin-off. Two years after basking in the Florida sunshine, Jerry Bruckheimer caught lightning a third time; this time out New York would serve as the setting. While there are ties that bind the three shows to the CSI franchise, each show has a unique style. The cases also serve to distinguish the shows from one another. The leads for the three shows likely give the most character to the series. Gary Sinise as Detective Mac Taylor brings a strength that establishes this show’s credibility from episode one.
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Mission: Impossible 25th Anniversary Limited Edition (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 20th, 2021

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“Well, you think about it, Ethan, it was inevitable. No more cold war. No more secrets you keep from yourself. Answer to no one but yourself. Then, you wake up one morning and find out the President is running the country without your permission. The son of a bitch, how dare he. Then you realize, it’s over. You are an obsolete piece of hardware, not worth upgrading, you got a lousy marriage, and 62 grand a year.”

The more things change, the more they tend to remain the same. In 1996 Paramount was nearing the end of a run of feature films that started with a 1960’s Desilu Studios television series called Star Trek. That same year the studio was beginning a run of feature films based on a 1960’s Desilu Studios television series that at one time shared an actor with Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy. That series was Mission Impossible. The show starred Peter Graves as the leader of a cold war covert government group called the IMF or Impossible Mission Force.
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The Alienist: Angel of Darkness

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 20th, 2021

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“In the 19th century, persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be alienated from their own true natures. Experts who studied them were therefore known as alienists.”

The Alienist was drama airing on TNT for two seasons and is the latest in the recent trend of period-piece dramas to populate the television series market. Like many of these kinds of shows, The Alienist relies as much on atmosphere as it does on the actual story being told. The series is intended to attack the senses and obviously elicit some kind of a reaction. Filmed in Budapest, the show takes us back to New York City in the 1890’s and truly builds a rather deep and dark environment that you will likely remember far longer than any other element of the show. The series also utilizes a tremendous amount of computer-generated images for set extensions and sometimes complete environments. It’s an ambitious undertaking and might well have been the crowning achievement of the series.
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Justice Society: World War II (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2021

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It started in 2013 with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. DC decided to follow the Marvel MCU model and release a series of DC property films in a 16-film phase that ended last year with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. After 16 films with a couple of branch-offs, that phase/story has come to a close, and a new phase begins with Justice Society: World War II. The stories were pretty much based on the New 52 reboot of the DC comics universe. There have been some exceptional films in the series and a couple of duds. The animation styles varied and conformed to the type of story being told. With the release of Justice Society: World War II we enter a new phase, and so far the theme or source of the new films hasn’t been revealed. We know the next two films will be based on the Batman: The Long Halloween comic. After that it appears the DC folks’ lips are sealed. While that two-part adventure looks quite enticing, the new series of films opens with a very average entry.
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The Marksman (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 13th, 2021

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After filming Cold Pursuit in 2019, Liam Neeson announced he was done with his flirtation with action films. They had opened a new genre to the actor starting with Taken and created a nice boost to his career as an unlikely action star. He said he had some reservations about the genre. It didn’t help that he revealed at the same time that he once roamed the streets looking for a black man to kill over the rape of a friend. It looked like it wasn’t just action films that were over for the actor. I honestly expected there to be more trouble than there was, given the current climate. Somehow he kind of got a pass after apologizing for the remark. But he wasn’t being offered the kind of high drama roles he was expected. So in less than a year he was back as an action figure, and that appears to be something he won’t really be quitting in a long time. I get it. I was about to attend my fourth Elton John farewell concert since the first one back in the early 70’s. There’s something about getting the bug deep in your bones that makes it hard to let go.
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Hercules And The Captive Women (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on April 23rd, 2021

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The Italian film industry has been setting trends since Edison first released his wonderful moving picture cameras. Names like Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Lamberto Bava delivered what would be known as Spaghetti Nightmares. These are the films that gave birth to the American splatter craze that began in the 1970’s. Then there was Sergio Leone and his Spaghetti Westerns that propelled Clint Eastwood to instant stardom with his Man With No Name films. Most film fans know these filmmakers and the history that spawned. What is less known is that decades before these trends Italian filmmakers were created, a genre often called sword and sandal films that featured a lot of ancient buff guys with swords saving cities, and of course beautiful damsels in distress. While many were low-budget affairs, they soon evolved into epic spectacles while still on somewhat limited funds. Among these films the Greek semi-god Hercules would become one of the more famous and successful. Hey, Greek mythology is in public domain, so you can develop a franchise that has high name recognition without having to pay royalties. Writers were a dime a dozen and could be paid with a six-pack and a TV dinner. In Europe at the time there were no unions to make sure everyone shared in the wealth.
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Ancient Aliens: Season 13

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2021

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“There is a doorway in the universe. Beyond it is the promise of truth. It demands we question everything we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us. We are not alone. We have never been alone.”

Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory, the idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA.
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Paramount Presents: The Greatest Show on Earth (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2021

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“We bring you the circus, pied piper whose magic tunes greet children of all ages, from six to 60, into a tinsel and spun-candy world of reckless beauty and mounting laughter and whirling thrills; of rhythm, excitement and grace; of blaring and daring and dance; of high-stepping horses and high-flying stars. But behind all this, the circus is a massive machine whose very life depends on discipline and motion and speed. A mechanized army on wheels that rolls over any obstacle in its path, that meets calamity again and again, but always comes up smiling. A place where disaster and tragedy stalk the big top, haunt the back yard, and ride the circus train. Where death is constantly watching for one frayed rope, one weak link, or one trace of fear. A fierce, primitive fighting force that smashes relentlessly forward against impossible odds. That is the circus. And this is the story of the biggest of the big tops, and of the men and women who fight to make it The Greatest Show on Earth.”

It was 1952 and four years before Cecil B. DeMille would deliver his Biblical epic release of The Ten Commandments.
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Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live At Knebworth 1976 (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2021

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“This bird you’ll never change.”

That seems to be the case with the Southern Rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Few bands have experienced the level of tragedy this one has. It’s somewhat of a miracle that any version of the band would still be standing. But they are thriving and doing their best to keep their particular sound alive. And what better place to demonstrate that nearly 50 years after they were formed than back home in Jacksonville, Florida where the band’s original members were formed. (No, they didn’t come from Alabama.) I was never a huge fan of the band, but like most music lovers, I was drawn to hits like Free Bird. In my high school band we played Free Bird, Gimme Three Steps, and … of course, Sweet Home Alabama.
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Wonder Woman 1984 (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2021

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“Welcome to the future. Life is good! But it can be better. And why shouldn’t it be? All you need is to want it. Think about finally having everything you always wanted.”

In 1917 Patty Jenkins teamed up with Israeli actress Gal Gadot to create one of the best comic book movies of all time. Wonder Woman had everything. It sported a really good lead actress surrounded by a really good supporting cast. It had a grand scope but still gave us characters at the core with wonderful chemistry and heart. We got plenty of action and huge set pieces without giving up anything in the trenches. It was easily the best superhero film of the decade and the best DC/Warner hero film since the 1978 Donner Superman movie. But the trouble here is that Jenkins already had an incredible formula going here but couldn’t resist the temptation to want everything.
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The Ten Commandments (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 2nd, 2021

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“The theme of this picture is whether man ought to be ruled by God’s law, or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator, like Rameses. Are men the property of the state, or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today. Our intention was not to create a story, but to be worthy of a divinely inspired story, created 3,000 years ago, the five books of Moses. The story takes three hours and 39 minutes to unfold. There will be an intermission. Thank you for your attention.”

A sure sign that Easter is just around the corner is yet another home video release of perennial seasonal favorite The Ten Commandments. In years past, we got the multi-disc edition, complete with original silent version of the film. This particular version is rather more stripped down, as far as features go, but it does mark the film’s debut release on UHD Blu-ray and in 4K. Unlike previous editions, this one takes full advantage of the superior source material. The film was shot on 70 mm film, and that gives us an equivalent of 8K in today’s resolution terms.
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News of the World (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 31st, 2021

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“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, and I’m here tonight to bring y’all the news from across this great world of ours. Now, I know how life is in these parts, working a trade sunup to sundown. No time for reading newspapers. Am I correct?”

How about reading a review for Universal’s News Of The World? If you spare a few minutes, I’ll tell you a little something about the film, and you might just end up with a copy of the film on UHD Blu-ray in 4K on your home video shelves. I’m certainly glad there’s a copy on mine. The film is based on the novel by Paulette Jiles with a screenplay by Luke Davies and director Paul Greengrass.
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The Croods: A New Age ( UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 9th, 2021

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They say that timing is everything. When Dreamworks released The Croods back in 2013, it performed rather nicely both at the box office and on home video. The combined take brought the studio over a billion dollars and a bit of a comeback for their animated studio branch. It appeared to be the anchor for a new franchise that could hold its own against such juggernauts as Ice Age, Shrek, and pretty much anything Pixar puts out. I expected there to be a follow-up, but I didn’t expect it to take over seven years. Kids have relatively short attention spans, and sequels really need to strike while the box-office iron is hot. That wasn’t the case here. I’m not sure what the holdup might have been. The project was quickly greenlit by Dreamworks, and we should have seen something in a couple of years at the longest. Instead it took the better part of a decade, and the film faced a double whammy when it finally was ready for release.
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Batman: Soul of the Dragon ( UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2021

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“The door to destiny is always open, for those who are brave enough. Now shut the door before you let the heat out!”

Cartoons are now called animated features, and just like the comic books that provide the source material for these DC Universe animated features, they haven’t been for children since the 1970’s. The latest and 40th entry into this animated series is Batman: Soul Of The Dragon. It’s rated R, which means some pretty rough language and a few surprisingly chilling scenes. So while the film itself will bring you back to the 1970’s in so many ways, this is strictly a modern-day animated film inspired by more modern-day comics. Most of these features are based on established comic story arcs, but this one is completely original, even if it borrows heavily from many sources including more recent Batman adventures. If you are old enough to remember many of the iconic elements of the 70’s, this film is for you. And that means you ain’t no stinkin’ child.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Cicada Song on Blu-ray

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. One of the neatest little items I’ve come across this year is a small-budget film called Cicada Song. I reviewed it earlier in the year and have since gotten to talk with the film’s director, Michael Starr. He’s one of the good guys, and you should slide the film under a tree or two. You’ll surprise that film fan who might never have even known about this one.
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Yellowstone: Season Three (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2020

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“Chances are if you are watching Season 3 you like it.”

Kevin Costner plays John Dutton. The name itself recalls those years as a kid watching the myriad western shows that crossed our television screens throughout the 50’s and 60’s. He’s the owner of Yellowstone Ranch, which takes up hundreds of square miles and borders on the national park of the same name, which we never do get to see. What we do see are the other borders of the Yellowstone. It borders a large and mostly impoverished Native American reservation. The ranch has apparently existed with an uneasy peace with the residents of the reservation. But there is a new chief in town. He’s Thomas Rainwater, played by Gil Birmingham. Rainwater has some kind of a grudge that we never got to completely understand in the first season. He’s a political beast who has turned Dutton and his ranch into a common enemy to fuel his own popularity and ambition.
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Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 11th, 2020

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“Our true enemy has yet to reveal himself.”

If anything, the third part of the Godfather series of films is symbolic of when too many sequels are greenlighted, and consequently, the film is doomed to fail. More often than not, the reason why these films crash and burn is because of major studios acting like Adelphia executives and wanting more money, and in using the previous films’ successes as leverage, they lose sight of things like quality. It’s happened to other trilogies. And if you put together previous films with the reputation that the first two Godfather films have, the only question left to answer is whether or not the third film would be a minor or major letdown. Most of the essential players returned, with the exception of Robert Duvall. (Duvall said Francis Ford Coppola never really negotiated with him, while Coppola says that Duvall asked for more money, so who knows?) Mario Puzo helped out with another part of the story, so why did this film not live up to the hype?
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: CBS Presents Hawaii Five-O (2010): The Complete Series

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 7th, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Hawaii Five-O has left the airwaves after a ten-year revival series. It’s a huge box of DVD’s that will look sweet under someone’s tree
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Sony Pictures Presents – Resident Evil Complete Film Series On UHD Blu-ray In 4K

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 3rd, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Sony has put together an impressive collection for both the video game and film fans on your list. All six Resident Evil films are now in one special collection on UHD Blu-ray and in beautiful 4K
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: CBS – Mission: Impossible: The Original TV Series On Blu-ray

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. CBS has remastered the entire seven seasons of Mission Impossible and released them on this impossibly affordable collection.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Shout Factory – The Captains Collection

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 29th, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Shout Factory delivers a little bit of William Shatner’s world in The Captains Collection. It’s a collection of four documentaries from the Enterprise Captain himself. Here’s a look inside
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. First up on Black Friday is one of the best gift sets we’ve ever run into here at Upcomingdiscs. Universal has started to release their extensive Hitchcock collection on 4K. Hitch was also a master of lighting and cinematography, and it comes through quite nicely with these new 4K transfers of four of his classic films. You’re going to get a lot of thanks for giving this one
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Dreamworks, Focus Features & Illumination 10 Movie Collections

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2020

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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. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it.

Universal has made it easy to share an entire library of films in specialized 10-film Blu-ray collections. The collections are based on the output of the various subdivisions of the studio and feature some blockbusters as well as holiday favorites
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Coming to America (UHD Blu-ray) (4K) (Steelbook)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2020

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Remember when Eddie Murphy was funny? You know, before the fat suits and fart jokes. I guess many of you hadn’t even been born yet. Ronald Reagan was still president of these United States. CD’s were the latest thing. VHS was just catching on. The Rams were still in L.A., and it was the Cardinals who were playing in St. Louis. No one had ever heard about DVD, Blu-ray, 4K, MP3, or Wi-fi. It was 1988, and Eddie Murphy was staring in Coming To America. This is the second of two classic 80’s Eddie Murphy films that Paramount is delivering on UHD Blu-ray this week. They happen to be two of his best films in 40 years. I’ve long considered this the last funny Eddie Murphy film. It just seems like he’d turned to gimmicks and quick physical humor. He got lazy, and you know what? So did I. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to get my seat into those theater seats to see him clown around anymore. So journey with me back to a magical time when Murphy was still hungry and he let his talent shine.
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Beverly Hills Cop (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2020

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“The heat is on…”

From the bouncing opening music by Glenn Fry to the final frame of Eddie Murphy’s smile, Beverly Hills Cop has established itself as a classic. Now finally out on Blu-ray, the film shows us all over again why we fell in love with it almost 20 years ago. Murphy hasn’t been as funny since, but we’ll always have Beverly Hills and Axel Foley.
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