Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2013
Futurama was the brainchild of Simpson veterans Matt Groening and David X Cohen. With the growing popularity of their iconic cartoon, it was no surprise that Fox would tap the team to bring another show to the network. When Futurama premiered in 1999, it was a combination of The Jetsons and The Simpsons. That would be ironic for those of us who think the Simpsons theme is a direct knockoff of The Jetsons. It was 1000 years in the future, and the joke was that no matter how much things changed, they hadn’t really changed at all. The space-age series would use many of the writing and art team from The Simpsons. That meant the character designs, at least the humans, would look exactly like the people in the other show. The writing would include that same subtle wit that implanted tons of references for the adults who were watching. The show never seemed to click with the kids, but it was not really meant to. The subject matter was considerably more adult in nature, and there really weren’t any cuddly characters. All of this likely led to Fox’s decision to cancel the show after four years. It wasn’t a quick and painless demise, either. The show suffered through months of purgatory. It was on, then off again. The final episodes were moved around and often rescheduled. In the end it was an uphill battle, and Futurama lost.
But the cancellation was not to be permanent. The show found new legs on cable and finally with a handful of home video movies. Interest was once again high, and Futurama was back from the grave. Unfortunately, the show really has reached the end now. This collection contains the show's last episodes.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 24th, 2013
"This is a story about stick figures who live in a world full of monsters and explosions and raccoons and a lot of other cool stuff, too. And it all takes place on a little planet we like to call Earth."
Last minute gifts are often the hardest of all. If you have someone on your list who likes irreverent humor and is also a home theater enthusiast, I think we might have an obscure title they likely missed. It will be a pretty cool surprise on their part, and you're sure to have delivered a few laughs along the way. In the spirit of shows like South Park and based on a series of cult web episodes comes Dick Figures: The Movie.The film is one of those intentionally crudely animated features. The main characters are literally colorful stick figures in an almost entirely black and white background world. The backgrounds mostly look like film storyboards with the occasional flare of color or explosive special effect. Of course, there are also a few raccoons which are cutouts that are animated much like things are on South Park. Like South Park, the film contains the kind of language and humor that sticks it in the face of political correctness. The film was written, produced, directed and voice-acted by Zack Keller and Ed Skudder. They are Jackie Chan fans who wanted to do a huge action-adventure film, but that stuff costs money. Instead they put it all into this project.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2013
One of the best things about the last decade's arrival of high definition and Blu-ray is the chance to revisit classics. Often these movies have only been seen on late shows where they're cut to pieces. The DVD releases have often been less than spectacular because of the presumed limited audience. Fox has done a pretty solid job over the years of bringing these classics to Blu-ray. This year is no exception, and if you have a classic film buff on that list of yours, and you know what list I'm talking about, why not deliver such greats as Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Rock Hudson or Tyrone Powers to them. They make excellent Christmas guests, and they won't hog up all of the eggnog.
Fonda plays the famous Frank James, brother to Jesse and leader of the infamous James Gang. There were two films. Jesse James was the first and was really an attempt to get the story right. Of course, this is Hollywood, and the characters are brought to us larger than life. This was also not terribly long after the actual events of the story, and Jesse's granddaughter signed on as a consultant for the film. Jesse is played by Tyrone Power and is played more like the cult hero Hollywood has traditionally made the character. Even the granddaughter thought Power had not portrayed the cold-blooded killer Jesse really was. The film was also noted for its early use of Technicolor and the rather beautiful vistas the cinematography displayed. John Carradine plays the infamous Robert Ford, who shot Jesse in the back. Another notable horror actor, Henry Hull, also rounds out a wonderful cast. Unfortunately, the film has been remembered less for these performances than the death of one of the stunt horses that went over a cliff during filming. This was actually the incident that brought about those disclaimers that end many films since that no animals were harmed during the shooting.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2013
Is it me or is Beacon Hills turning into more like a beacon for the totally bizarre and supernatural?"
Fox has begun releasing the series in half season sets. I can't say I'm a fan of the choice, but I almost understand the logic here. The series has expanded to more episodes, closer to a normal network run number. There is also now a several-month break between the season halves, much like USA network has treated such shows as Monk and Psych. One the one hand it's annoying to have incomplete season sets on my shelf. On the other it saves fans from having to wait that much longer to get their hands on these episodes. Whatever your own take on this development, it is the reality nonetheless.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2013
I had a remarkable time talking to Bren Foster the other day. His latest film is Anchor Bay's Force Of Execution. The film also stars Steven Seagal and Ving Rhames. Bren's a championship Martial Arts fighter. Many of his fans know him from his long run on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives. We had a lively talk about his career and even scorpions and other venomous creatures. We'll be reviewing the film soon. Until then you can bang it here to listen to my chat with Bren Foster
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 13th, 2013
"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: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2013
While we usually have a ton of stuff each year from A&E to share in our holiday spotlight, we just haven't seen near as much from the studio in 2013. The distribution has changed, and we just don't see the kind of titles we used to. It's sad both for us and you. Take heart. We have been given two potential gift guide titles to share with you this season.
“Meet the Robertsons clan. They turned duck calls into a multi-million-dollar empire. But running a family business is tough when the family just wants to run wild.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2013
"Homer Simpson, it's time you got what's coming to you."
What's been a long time coming is bringing television’s longest ongoing scripted series to high definition and Blu-ray. There's so many seasons that it's going to take some time to get there. While the recent years are now coming out on Blu-ray, Fox has been working hard to get some of the older seasons up to speed. It's time for season 16.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2013
"Wanted: a nanny for two adorable children. If you want this choice position, have a cheery disposition, Rosy cheeks, no warts. Play games, all sorts. You must be kind, you must be witty, very sweet, and fairly pretty. Take us on outings, give us treats, sing songs, bring sweets. Never be cross or cruel. Never give us castor oil or gruel. Love us as a son and daughter, and never smell of barley water. If you won't scold and dominate us, we will never give you cause to hate us. We won't hide your spectacles so you can't see, put toads in your bed, or pepper in your tea. Hurry, nanny! Many thanks!"
And so the call goes out for Mary Poppins. It was 1964 and Walt Disney had a terrible time convincing writer P.L. Travers that Walt Disney Studios should be the ones to bring her flying nanny to life in a feature film. Those trials and tribulations are the subject of a new film out by Disney called Saving Mr. Banks. And so the Blu-ray release of Mary Poppins has been timed to the box office release of Mr. Banks.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2013
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. This time we turn our attention to Paramount/CBS.
"You think you’re safe. You are not. Is there anything you would not do for your family?”
