Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2012
"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.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2012
"This is your wake-up call."
History is replete with disasters. Some are natural or acts of God. We see them almost every year. It might be a hurricane in the Gulf or an earthquake in South America. Lives are often lost, and damages toll into the millions. We can't completely predict them. All we can do is try to be prepared when the next one strikes.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2012
"Early to rise, early to bed. And in and between I cooked and cleaned and went out of my head."
There was a new girl in town for the 1976 television season. Well, she wasn't exactly new. The whole thing started out as a feature film called Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore starring Ellen Burstyn as the title character Alice Hyatt. The film was one of the first feature films directed by Martin Scorsese. Burstyn won the Oscar for her performance as Alice, and the film achieved a ton of critical acclaim and two years later a sit-com on CBS that lasted nine seasons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2012
"The ancients spoke of it. It is the heart of this fierce land. It is carried in the wind. Born of our legends, and when we are put to the test, it is the one thing that we must always be."
Readers of this site already know that I have a particular fondness for most of the films that have come from Pixar. The studio pretty much invented the computer-animated feature film, and they've been setting the bar higher with each new release. I've always thought it was rather fitting that the studio ended up as part of Disney. After all, it was the Mouse House that invented the animated feature to begin with
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2012
"Remember back in the day when things were made by hand and people took pride in their work? My name is Rick Dale, and I bring these things back to life."
If you watch Pawn Stars on History, than Rick Dale really needs no introduction. From time to time the Pawn Stars guys get in something that they want to have restored to increase its value. For most of those projects they go to Rick and his team. Now Rick's gotten his own spinoff series, and it's set up very much like the other show, from the grunge guitar soundtrack to some of the same wheel-and-deal aspects.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 9th, 2012
"Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don't really go in for that sort of thing anymore."
It was 1962 and Ursula Andress emerged from the tropical island surf sporting a provocative swimsuit, and a tradition was born. The seductive scene would become the first iconic image in a line that has lasted a half a century and counting. Fifty years; 23 movies makes it the longest running film franchise in motion picture history. He had many faces over those 50 years: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby and even David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen in a 1967 spoof. For the last three films he's been played by Daniel Craig. They all had somewhat different styles. They all had a line of beautiful women. They all faced different challenges and foes. But they all shared the same name: Bond...James Bond.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 2nd, 2012
"I'm bad and that's good. I will never be good and that's not bad."
One of the easiest ways to let your age show is to talk about your favorite video games. If you're old enough, you even remember a time when there weren't any video games at all. Most people refer to this era as The Dark Ages. But I'm willing to admit that I put a deposit down on an Atari 2600 system these many years ago. If you have a love of all things video games and a great appreciation for the history of the field, Wreck-It Ralph was built just for you.
Posted in: Super Round Up by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2012
Anyone who is a fan of horror or science fiction knows who Forry Ackerman was. He gave more to the industry than anyone else. He coined the term sci-fi and inspired the likes of Stephen King, John Landis, Steven Spielberg, and many others. He was the editor of Famous Monsters Of Filmland and held the largest collection of movie memorabilia anywhere in his famed Ackermuseum.
I’ve been lucky enough to have counted Uncle Forry as a friend since 1991, when I first visited the Ackermuseum. I’ve spent many hours and meals with him and miss him greatly.
I was invited to write and perform an original song tribute to Forry in January of 2000. It was my honor to perform the piece in front of a room of invited guests with Forry by my side. I was told that the plaque, containing the lyrics, remained one of his prized processions until the day he died, long after most of his collection had been sold.
In honor of Forry, Upcomingdiscs will present our award for the best that horror home video had to offer from one Halloween to the next. I call them 4E based on a keychain Forry once gave me that said "4E 4E remember me with every key". Upcomingdiscs will remember Forry each and every Halloween with the annual 4E Awards.
This year the selections were made from among the staff here at Upcomingdiscs.
To be eligible a film must have been released on home video since last Halloween.
And now ... the third Annual 4E Awards. (click continue to see our selections).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2012
"Fairlake, West Virginia, established in 1814. The entire population disappeared in 1817. To this day nobody knows what happened to them."
I know what you're thinking. When I look at a direct-to-video horror series and see a number 5 next to the name, it's usually time to roll my eyes and reluctantly place the disc in my Blu-ray player so that I can warn you guys just how bad it really is. But we're not talking about just any horror title. We're talking about the Wrong Turn franchise, which has actually gotten better since it went into sequel-hell.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2012
"Somewhere in the valley, there is a woman living in a basement. She's actually amassing followers. These people believe that she will actually lead them to salvation, or whatever. And yes, she's dangerous - but we have to see this thing through. All the way."
When The Sound Of My Voice opens you really don't know what to expect. We watch a group of people acting almost as though they have been taken hostage. They are given drab clothes to wear and ordered to clean themselves very thoroughly
