Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 13th, 2014
It's hard to review a series starting from the fourth season, which is exactly what I had to do when Rookie Blue arrived for review recently. In the early days of television, it wouldn't have been a problem. Most shows, cop shows in particular, had a full story with each episode and a continuity that didn't require you to see any episodes in any particular order. This was a must if a show were to find an afterlife in syndication where show orders were largely disregarded.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on May 13th, 2014
Our very good buddies over at Star Vista and Time Life Entertainment have a real classic treat for one lucky winner here at Upcomingdiscs. You're invited to spend 17 wonderful evenings with Dean and his pals as they roast some of the biggest names of the 70's and 80's. The Dean Martin Collector's Edition features uncut roasts of the likes of Redd Foxx, Betty White, George Burns, Ronald Reagan, Bette Davis and even George Washington. It's a timeless treasure, to be sure.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2014
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 7th, 2014
"In our findings on Gamera, we've ascertained that: Firstly, it is attracted to and consumes fire. Secondly, it also seems to possess an internal power plant, of sorts. This emits a signal frequency that can jam radio communications. In order to store up energy reserves, Gamera consumes inorganic resources. Not only does it consume petroleum as well as other mineral and fossil fuels, but Gamera may also seek out atomic bombs."
Ask anyone about Japanese monster movies and Gamera usually won't be the first name that comes into their minds.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2014
"Let's Be Careful Out There!"
It started as a mid-season replacement on NBC and ended up anchoring NBC's famous Thursday night lineup for seven years. In that time Hill Street Blues racked up enough awards to fill a lot of trophy cases. The face of television would be changed forever. There was nothing like it before, and there hasn't been anything like it since. It was a breeding ground for brilliant television show-runners like Scott Brazil (The Shield), David S. Milch (Deadwood), Walon Green (ER), Dick Wolf (Law & Order), Ken Olin (Alias) and David Black (CSI:Miami).
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on May 5th, 2014
Karl Mueller is a new director on the horror scene. His Mr. Jones is out today from Anchor Bay. It's a sort of hybrid "found footage" and nightmare thriller. The film features Jon Foster (Accidentally On Purpose) and Sarah Jones (Vegas). I had the opportunity to chat with Karl about his unique film. Bang it here to hear what he had to say about the elusive Mr. Jones: Karl Meuller Interview
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2014
"There are dark days ahead."
When Marc Webb took over the reigns of Spider-Man over at Sony, I had very mixed feelings. I was a pretty big fan of the comic as a kid, and the Raimi films were a pretty exciting time for me. OK, maybe not the third one. Webb came along and he put a fresh spin on the web-spinner by returning much of the story to its roots. I liked his first film, although it hasn't aged as well for me as the Raimi films did. But you can't get much better than Spider-Man, and I watched with diminishing anticipation as word leaked out bit by bit what Webb and Sony had in store for Peter Parker beyond The Amazing Spider-Man.
Posted in: Random Fun, Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2014
"This is class here, and you don't ever want to spit on class."
All this week we've been talking about Hill Street Blues. Why? Because Shout Factory has finally given fans what we've literally waited decades to have. The entire seven seasons of Hill Street Blues are finally available in one fine collection. I've been hard at work on the review, but we're talking 144 episodes, and I'm eating them as fast as I can. We hoped to have the review up today, but there is still a little more to watch. In the meantime we have another character profile to keep you going until next week.
Posted in: Random Fun, Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on April 30th, 2014
Hill Street Blues is finally out on DVD, and we're celebrating all week long. Yesterday we shared the various awards that the show has earned in its seven years on television. We've also shared a couple of character profiles starting with the Captain and Detective Belker. This time out we're going to talk about two characters who were patrol officer partners for the entire run of the series. What makes them special is that they were killed off in the pilot. What the heck is that about? Read on, my friend.
Posted in: News and Opinions, Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on April 29th, 2014
Today Shout Factory releases the entire 7-season run of Hill Street Blues. We will be celebrating all week with more character profiles and our full review on Friday.
Until that time, let's look at some of the awards the series won in its 7 years.
