Posted in: Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2013
Here at Upcomingdiscs we're getting in the spirit of Memorial Day by watching China Beach on DVD.
We'll have a review coming soon. It's a pretty solid way to remember the men and woman who served this country in Vietnam. The series is very much a tribute particularly to the women who volunteered not to take lives, but to try to save them. The series featured quite a few young actors who have gone on to pretty big things. They include Dana Delany from Desperate Housewives, Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager, Marg Helgenberger from CSI, Michael Boatman from Arli$$/Spin City and Jeff Kober.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2013
Forget about all of the sequels, remakes and copycats. At least that's what original Texas Chainsaw Massacre writer/director Tobe Hooper wants you to do. As far as he's concerned, Texas Chainsaw 3D is the official follow-up to the groundbreaking, flesh-tearing 1974 cult classic film. To bring the point home, Hooper has signed on as a producer and brought along the original Leatherface Gunnar Hansen and Marilyn Burns who played Sally, the girl who got away in the original film. Both have cameos here.
They say you can't go back home again. In the magic world of movies you can always go back. In fact some argue that Hollywood has spent far too much time looking back than moving forward. Texas Chainsaw 3D takes you back to the highlight moments of the first film and then picks up the action just moments after the end credits began. That means creating the farmhouse and property of the Sawyer clan just as it looked in the 1974 film and matching it quite nicely in 2013. The result is an impressive journey back in time that would find even the most rabid fans at a loss to determine any significant differences between the two locations and houses. This time the film is shot in Louisiana instead of the titular Texas, but you'd swear nothing's changed in 40 years. Of course everything about making a movie has changed, and that is the heart of this trip down memory lane. The place may look the same, but this isn't the same Texas Chainsaw, not by a Texas mile.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2013
"I found this website... "How to Cure a Serial Killer in Ten Easy Steps" and this is the 1st step."
Dexter left us with quite a shock at the end of the 6th season. Shows have left us with cliffhangers before, but this was one of the most exciting season finales I've seen in a long time. Sister Deb walks in just as Dexter does his plastic playtime act, and there's no way to wiggle out of this one. As fans of the show, we knew that things just weren't going to be the same...and we were right.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 16th, 2013
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
Every Star Trek fan has had that phrase beaten into their brain about as many times as Uncle Ben's mantra about great power and great responsibility. Who knew that the tagline was appropriate to filmmaking? When J.J. Abrams signed on to direct the reboot/remake/reimagining/rehash (insert your own word here) of Star Trek he quickly made it known that he was not really that into the franchise. He considered himself a Star Wars man, and a chill went through the spine of every Trek fan on the planet. I approached the 2009 effort with dread.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 16th, 2013
"Who is Jack Reacher? Born Jack, not John. No middle name. He's a ghost. Served in the military police. A brilliant investigator, troublemaker, too. And two years ago he disappears. You don't find this guy unless he wants to be found."
We've found him. The character of Jack Reacher comes from a series of thriller novels written by Lee Child. From the very start you know that this is going to be a different kind of Jack Reacher than fans have come to know and love from the books. He described as being 6' 5’’ and about 250 pounds. Tom Cruise doesn't really fit any of those description elements. He does, however, fit two very important descriptive elements when it comes to Hollywood. He's still a big name and a pretty reliable box office draw. He also put up some of his own cash to produce the movie. Now that's how you get cast for a part very physically different from yourself.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2013
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2013
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2013
All good things must come to an end, and for the fans of Private Practice the end has come. I'd like to think that the series deserved a little better than the final season provides. Of course, you get pretty much the kind of stories and production you've come to expect in six years, but it's a short season with only 13 episodes and a finale that, I think, might have let the fans down. The finality appears rushed and a bit too plastic and meaningless, something the series itself never was.
Shonda Rhimes had a big hit on her hands with Grey’s Anatomy, so after five years she did what comes naturally in her situation. You spin the success off in the hope that the fans can’t get enough in just one night. At first it appeared to me she had chosen the wrong character to put out on her own. I mean, I never considered Kate Walsh as Addison to be one of the show’s more compelling characters. The show was presented as what the business calls an embedded episode on Grey’s. What that means is that the situation is set up during one of the original show’s episodes. In this case a two-parter called The Other Side Of Life. The idea is that you want to be sure that your existing show’s fans at least watch the pilot in the hope that they will consider it a part of their beloved series. I got to watch that episode when I was called upon to review the fifth season of Grey’s.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2013
"So no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D O A. It's like you're always stuck in second gear. When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month or even your year. But I'll be there for you..."
And for ten years and 236 episodes, they were there for you. It was part of NBC's famous Must See TV Thursday Night. The show has been a perennial Top 10 placeholder in the Nielsen ratings. Who would have ever imagined that a show about six twenty-something (now thirty-something) friends would cause such a commotion? The show has thrived on a very simplistic premise – a group of six friends hanging out together in New York City and more or less enjoying themselves. The setup immediately connected with Gen X’ers and spread like wildfire. The rest, as they say, is history.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2013
"You call this plain clothes?"
Few shows in television history have the kind of storied history that you'll find with Cagney & Lacey. The show's own story would make for compelling television drama in its own right. It didn't end with simply trying to get on the air. The trials continued through three cancellations and an unprecedented recasting of a lead...twice. It's no small miracle that the show made it at all, let alone lasting for six years and a total of over 130 episodes and television movies.
