Posts by Gino Sassani

"I just missed your heart."

From the very first frame of Hanna you get the sense that you are watching a fairy tale. That is apparently what director Joe Wright intended for this somewhat new take on some rather old ideas. The film opens in a wintry wood covered with snow and littered with barren trees. It's the kind of forest I always envisioned when I would read, or be read, one of those old fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel And Gretel.

At the turn of the millennium a decade ago, lists were pretty popular. It didn't matter if you were into the world of sports or movies, everybody was looking for the all-time best of everything. The American Film Institute got into the trend by releasing top-100 lists. Heroes, villains and memorable quotes all got the treatment. We all argued about the "classics" we felt were unfairly slighted and the "idiotic" choices that did make the lists. If only the lists were so much larger.

"Within the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit are rapid response teams known as RED CELLS. These nontraditional teams operate outside the bureaucracy of and report solely to the Director of the FBI. "

It started as a back-door pilot last year on an April episode of Criminal Minds called The Flight. We are introduced to the Red Cell Team. The team is headed by one Sam Cooper, played by Forest Whitaker. Sam's talent is that he can really get inside of a killer's head.

The folks at Warner have doubled down for the readers here at Upcomingdiscs. In honor of their release A Cinderella Story on DVD they have offered a copy of the film to a lucky Upcomingdisc reader. They've also provided a wonderful playground online to celebrate the release. To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.

Contest is now closed Winner was Judy W

Please join me in welcoming our latest member of the Upcomingdiscs family.

John Delia has been writing reviews for decades. He's been a popular contributor to local Tampa radio and many newspapers and publications.

“Ride into this world all alone. God takes your soul. You're on your own.
The crow flies straight, a perfect line on the devil's back until you die.
Gotta look this life in the eye”.

When these guys send a message, they don’t use Western Union.

Imagine a time when Joel and Ethan Coen weren't household names. The two have become something of Hollywood legends with films like No Country For Old Men and the superior remake of True Grit. But every legend has to have a beginning, and the story of the Coen Brothers goes back to 1984 and a quirky little film called Blood Simple. The film had only a limited release and pulled in a mere couple of million bucks in its initial release. Even the cast with the notable exception of M Emmett Walsh was pretty much unknown at the time.

"A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another, the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one other, it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden."

To the point, Criminal Minds is very compelling television. Ever since The Silence Of The Lambs and perhaps long before, we have been fascinated by serial killers and the profilers who try to get inside their heads.

"Every story has a beginning, but ours doesn't start the way you might think. Sure, it begins on a street that looks like most and with a family that was, for the most part, normal...ordinary."

Superheroes are big business these days. I'm not just talking the blockbuster tentpole films, either. Television has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence thanks to shows like Heroes. All we've been waiting for was someone to come up with a fresh take on the whole thing.

Timing is everything, and it is no coincidence that this nearly forgotten film version of Captain America is just now seeing the light of day on DVD, even if only as a manufactured on demand release. It would be so very easy to compare this film with the big-budget affair that was released this past summer. Easy, but certainly unfair. The 1990 production looks very much like a made-for-television film, but it wasn't at all. It did sit on the shelf for over two years before it was finally released to a limited American audience.