Posted in: Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2014
Let's all synchronize our calendars. There's an important date, and it's coming upon us quickly. Shout Factory is about to release one of the most influential series in television history. We're talking Hill Street Blues, and the complete 7-season series is coming to home video on Tuesday April, 29th. It's an event worth celebrating, and we here at Upcomingdiscs are going to help you get through these final days with character profiles from the show. I'm hard at work binge-watching episodes as fast as I can to have a full detailed review waiting for you on the 29th. I know. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Let's start at the top, shall we? Captain Francis Xavier Furillo, played by Daniel J. Travanti.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2014
"There are dark spirits, old and full of hate...The world is in great danger."
A trilogy is a hard animal to pull off. Even when you have a popular franchise, it is extremely difficult. All of the pieces have to work just right, or you could have a disaster on your hands. It is even harder when you've already beaten the odds once and delivered a trilogy that is both loved and a huge box office success. You run into an almost insurmountable mountain of expectations. Your pieces must somehow fit together so that they can be viewed as one whole product. They also need to match the world and production style of the previous trilogy even though technology has changed quite a bit in the decade that separates the two. Lightning doesn't often strike the same place twice, unless you happen to live in Florida, or, apparently, New Zealand, where Peter Jackson has managed to do the impossible...so far.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2014
You know exactly what's going on here. It's Rocky Balboa vs. Jake La Motta, and they're not exactly in their prime. For reasons of property rights, of course, this really isn't Rocky or La Motta, but you and I know it is. The film takes great pains to remind us of each of these iconic characters. Sly's character tries to take a shot at some hanging meat after drinking a glass of raw eggs. De Niro's character is found telling boxing jokes in his own club, just as the real-life La Motta did after his fighting days were over. Both of these actors played iconic fighters in their day. It's safe to say that both the characters and the actors themselves are beyond their physical prime. Sly is just three years shy of 70, while De Niro reached that milestone back in August. And that's what makes Grudge Match a better film as a comedy.
It's been 30 years since Pittsburg's greatest fighters Henry "Razor" Sharp (Stallone) and Billy "The Kid" McDonnen (De Niro) left the fight game. They faced each other twice in their careers, splitting the victories. For each, the other was their only loss. A rubber match was going to happen, but Rocky Razor decided to retire before the fight. Since then, La Motta The Kid has not been able to let it go. He wanted to show the world he was best. It doesn't help that they had an issue out of the ring.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2014
"It's called compartmentalization. No one spills the secrets because no one knows them all."
I was lucky enough to grow up during Marvel's wonderful rebirth of the 1960's and 1970's. Of all of the comics they produced during that time, I was always least impressed with Captain America. I don't think I ever read an issue of any of his mags with the notable exception of The Avengers. So how can it be possible that after dozens of Marvel films, and I'm including the Fox and other-studio-produced stuff, that Captain America: The Winter Soldier can end up being my favorite? Could it be that I've warmed up to the Cap under the compelling performances of Chris Evans. Nah! Could it be I've grown and matured a lot since I was a teenager? Anyone who knows me is certain that can't be the answer. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, this just happens to be their best film yet. No maybe’s or could be's about it. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is even better than The Avengers. It's too early to tell if it'll be my favorite tent pole film of the summer, but it's starting in the pole position, to be sure.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2014
There have been many horror and sci-fi classic anthology series on television over the years. Monsters isn't really one of them. That might sound rather harsh and unkind. The truth is Monsters was the oft-forgotten stepchild of the more popular Tales From The Darkside. That series even scored an anthology feature film with pop star Blondie. Unfortunately, both shows have been lost into obscurity over the years. They have both disappeared from even the local television stations and haven't had much in the way of home video release. All of that is about to change with the release of Monsters The Complete Series from Entertainment One.
While Monsters might not be considered a classic, it does have a significant cult following, and there was more than a little charm to the series. It was like a weekly dose of low-budget schlock, usually staring the biggest names from the B and C celebrity lists. While Tales was more of a horror theme, Monsters featured creatures, of course. Most of these were bad rubber masks or papier mache things that were more monstrous than monsters. There were even a few early computer-generated creatures like a rather well-done giant spider. Many of the creatures of the week were normal people with some slight quirk. Seinfeld and King Of Queens star Jerry Stiller plays an amusing werewolf. Law & Order's Chris Noth plays a hip devil who wants a down-on-her-luck housewife/frustrated writer to pen his memoirs. Creepshow's Fritz Weaver plays an innkeeper with a rather deadly jar of pickles. Curt Lowens plays Death at a retirement home. No makeup or effects required. This episode, like many, revealed the "normal" humans to be the real evil creatures; as Hill Street Blues Veteran George Wallace plays an old fart who is willing to give up other residents' lives to extend his own miserable existence.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2014
The cool folks down at Arc Entertainment have a treat for some lucky Upcomingdiscs readers. They've given us 3 copies of the touching film Angels In The Stardust. William Robert Carey directs Alicia Silverstone and AJ Michalka in a tale of a girl with big dreams who finds them at an enchanted drive-in. This heart-warming family drama is now available on DVD.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 25th, 2014
Sometimes a horror movie comes along that is rich in originality and ideas. Dark House certainly fits into that category. There are some truly scary moments and seriously frightening images to be found here. For a low-budget affair, the movie sports pretty solid acting and an atmospheric production design. Writer/director Victor Salva knows how to get the most out of the resources at his command. That doesn't mean there isn't a serious flaw to be found here. This is a movie that is often a little too clever and more than a little enigmatic at times. It won't allow itself to be contained into any particular style or sub-genre, and that's a good thing. If only all of this didn't also get in the way of telling a tight story, this could have become the next cult classic. If wishes were horses....
Nick (Kleintank) is searching for answers about who he is. His mother has spent the last several years in an insane asylum, and he's visiting her for the first time in years. He's hoping she'll tell him who his father was. It's his 23rd birthday, and apparently that's a magical number in nature. As it turns out, Mom's promised to tell him this day. No, she hadn't promised Nick. She's talking to something inside the walls. Unfortunately, a breakdown nixes the big reveal, and a disastrous fire at the asylum later that night forever seals Mom's lips.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2014
Our good buddies over at Well Go USA have given us 2 copies of Commitment, the Korean action thrill staring Choi Seung-Hyun the Korean Rap and Pop star. For Asian action addicts this one's a keeper. It's all in high definition Blu-ray.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 21st, 2014
"The problem is you don't know my pain or emptiness. But now you're going to know how it feels to be me."
Mitch Brockden (Cooper) is an ambitious up and comer in the Chicago prosecutor's office. He has a reputation for being aggressive, and he doesn't lose cases. He's respected and liked by his colleagues. That's the man we first meet. But after a night of some power drinking with his buds, we are introduced to another Mitch Brockden. This Mitch is selfish and a coward. When he ends up hitting a man while driving drunk, his instincts tell him to call an ambulance from a pay phone so it can't be traced to his cell and drive away. You see, Mitch has a lot to lose. He's up for getting a DA job. He has a wife and a brand new baby. He's afraid the DUI accident will derail that life. Unfortunately for Mitch, it's his decision to run away that causes the most damage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2014
"Beautiful. Powerful. Dangerous. Cold. Ice has a magic that can't be controlled."
Like the very best that Disney has offered over the decades, Frozen has its roots in a very old classic fairy tale. Walt himself was interested in doing the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ice Queen immediately following Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. The film was given a production number along with some brief notes. Nothing else remains of the idea, and no one knows exactly what Walt intended or why the story was put on hold. The same thing had happened to another Andersen classic, The Little Mermaid, which took 40 years to finally go from Walt's original investigations to the Disney classic film it is today.
