Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2011
"This is a picture of Walter Black, a hopelessly depressed individual who becomes The Beaver, who becomes a phenomenon."
When I first heard about this film, it was hard to keep the Mel Gibson story out of my mind. It almost seemed as if his casting was related to his off-screen situation. After all, this is a story of redemption, and there isn't anyone in Hollywood searching for that more than Mel Gibson.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2011
"He is the unique high-seas hero. A man of unshakable courage, unwavering principles, and extraordinary skill. Joining the Royal Navy at the outset of the bloody Napoleonic Wars, Horatio Hornblower rises quickly from new recruit to seasoned sailor, and his exploits become the stuff of legends."
When Gene Roddenberry was preparing his "Wagon Train to the Stars" that would become Star Trek, he turned to the historic hero from the books of C.S. Forester.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2011
Our very good friends over at A&E came to bat for us and we scored big. That means you've scored big. A&E and Major League Baseball have combined to release some of the greatest games in baseball history on DVD. We have all 11 of these fantastic games on DVD to giveaway. Here are the historic games you can win:
Pirates & Yankees (1960 World Series, Game 7) Dirk Smit
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 26th, 2011
"You cannot run from a vampire."
We've all seen the young girls out there swooning over the Twilight films and books as if the whole vampire idea had just been invented. It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the television networks and cable channels would be taking notice. No, it's not the swooning teenagers, it's the green being transferred from their pockets to their coffers. But vampires on television are not new either. Dracula itself was a series. In the 1960's and 70's there was Dark Shadows and the vampire Barnabas Collins.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 26th, 2011
The American Film Company is a new venture that intends to tell historical dramas. There are several stories on the way. They are particularly interested in the lesser known elements of historical events that are, in themselves, rather huge and universally known. One is left with the kind of film that we saw last year in The King's Speech. While we all know about the global events of that time, few knew the story of the struggle over public speaking that the King had during that fateful moment in world history. I think you can say the same for the material in The Conspirator.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 26th, 2011
Dexter Morgan (Hall) is a forensic lab rat for the Miami-Dade Police. He really knows blood splatter. He should, because he moonlights as a killer. It seems that poor old Dex just can’t help himself. His parents were criminals, and he witnessed his mother’s brutal slashing by a chainsaw gang when he was just a young boy. He was adopted by Harry Morgan (Remar), a police officer. Harry saw the killer instinct in Dexter and taught him how to channel the urges for the sake of good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 25th, 2011
The series was previewed in a two-part episode of NCIS entitled Legend. A dead Marine in Washington led to a terrorist cell in LA, where Gibbs and McGee join the LA branch to bring down the bad guys. Here we meet the new characters and get a chance to get comfortable with them. However, by the time the show aired its first episode, there were some pretty major changes for the show already. It's not uncommon, and the Legend episode was really a back-door pilot.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 25th, 2011
“Unlike the rest of us, sex, lies, and scandal never take a vacation. Instead they take the Long Island Expressway and head East to the Hamptons. Some would say summer is their busiest season. Think Park Avenue, but with tennis whites and Bain de Soleil. The players change, but the game remains the same.”
With internet blogging becoming such a common trend, we just knew that someone somehow would work it into a clever little plot. It started as a series of adolescent books that appealed mostly to the teen girls.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2011
It's not very often that we make pleas like this to our readers. Matt Birskovich is the brother of one of our studio reps here at Upcomingdiscs. We rely on folks like his sister Dre to provide us with the discs we review every day here for you. They provide those wonderful contest prizes time and time again. She's an important part of the Upcomingdiscs family, as I hope are all of you.
Matt is literally in the fight of his life. He's battling stage IV cancer and could use all of the support he can get. I encourage you to check out Matt's story here MattB vs. Cancer. Help out, if you can. Spread the word, if you can.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2011
NCIS is a spin-off, of sorts, from the popular military lawyer show JAG. You could say that NCIS is the Order to JAG’s Law. The NCIS is a real government agency that deals with criminal activity inside or involving the US Navy or Marine Corps. The series has an incredibly global feel and honestly looks damn good for television. Production values are high, and the location stuff is out of this world, or at least all over it.
![The Beaver [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-beaver-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-vampire-diaries-the-complete-s-large.jpg)
![The Conspirator (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-conspirator-deluxe-edition-b-large.jpg)
![Dexter: The Fifth Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dexter-the-fifth-season-blu-ray-large.jpg)
