Posts by Gino Sassani

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

"I never thought we'd get back to this table. I can't tell you how good it felt to have dinner together again. We hadn't done that since the accident. To be honest, sometimes it felt like we'd never get over it. But somehow we did."

But will we ever get over the Walker family? This was to be the final season of the series, and the network wasn't exactly kind in its last days. The budget was slashed so that most of the characters appear in limited episodes. You won't find near so many of the Walker family gatherings as you did in previous years.

Entertainment One wants to make sure you get the picture. You see, they're giving us 2 copies of The Bang Bang Club on high definition Blu-ray for our readers. Based on the acclaimed memoir by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva, THE BANG BANG CLUB is the real life story of a group of four young combat photographers -- Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe), Joao Silva, Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch) and Ken Oosterbroek -- bonded by friendship and their sense of purpose to tell the truth. To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.

Contest is now closed Winners are Steve Wilson & Peter

"Hello, Pretty Bird..."

Director/writer Carlos Saldanha is perhaps best known for his work on the Ice Age films. He's been a part of the director duties on all three of the films so far. It's natural that he might wish to step away from the popular franchise and find a computer animation project that is more of a work of passion for the young talent. He decided to write and direct his own feature and set it in his native Brazil.

Our very good friends over at A&E are at it again. They have given us another great documentary to give away. The Greening Of Southie.  Take a trip to Boston and check out their first "Green" building.To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.

Contest is now closed Winner is Sammi