Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2011
Congratulations to all of our March Contest winners.
Don’t forget we already have a ton of April Giveaways running right now.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on March 26th, 2011
On Tuesday, March 29th, 20th Century Fox will release The Black Swan on Blu-ray and DVD. In the meantime, immerse yourself into the world of dreams and reality. The experience morphs depending on the responses chosen, ultimately leading users to “transform” into the White Swan or Black Swan. The result is a tailored piece of visual poetry, an individual’s emoti-poem, that can be shared with others. All the emoti-poems are also housed in the video gallery to create a collective, evolving experience.
So, while you're waiting for the release and our upcoming review, bang it here to explore the world of The Black Swan
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2011
2k Sports has been a leader in sports games for years now. To help show off their new tennis game Top Spin 4 we've got a copy for the PS3 to give away. Take your tennis into high definition action. Please be sure that you have a PS3. Look for Michael Durr's review for the XBOX version soon. To enter to win this high court video game, follow these instructions:
Contest is now closed Winner was Susan Ainsworth
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2011
The home video release of Hereafter, like its Asian box office release, is the victim of bad timing. The movie has been pulled from theaters in Japan since the tragic events that have struck that country in recent weeks. It's unfortunate that the movie opens with one of the most realistic depictions of a tsunami that I've ever seen. The ultra-realism will be an emotional pang for anyone who shares the sadness of the current disaster. The film has suddenly been criticized for its graphic portrayal, but that kind of statement bears the mark of the worse kind of insincerity. Anyone who has seen the recent works of Clint Eastwood knows that he's never been about such things. Eastwood has learned to mine the vast treasures of the subtle in recent years, and the scene here is an integral part of the story he's trying to tell. The movie was filmed long before the Japanese incident, and you certainly couldn't have expected anyone to anticipate such a thing. Still, with all of that said, this is not a movie you should be watching if you find yourself sensitive to those images. With the real images we've seen on our television and computer screens, this will be hard for anyone with a heart. I'm sure that Eastwood himself has experienced strong emotions in the last week or so. Is it disrespectful to watch something like this now? That's a question you'll have to answer for yourself. I will say it's an emotional experience. Perhaps it's a film best saved until distance has dulled some of the pain. It was absolutely the right move to pull it in Japan.
The film tells three very separate and distinct character vignettes that don't converge until the final moments. Each of the three characters has been touched by death in some fashion or another.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2011
"Don't let the love of your life leave you for a damned Gringo. Come and see us, and I guarantee you that we'll save your life. United Parapsychologists Of America. Esoteric jobs, spiritual cleansing, taxes and immigration papers..."
If ever there was a movie that should have fired its marketing department, it's Zombie Farm. If you read any of the descriptions or look at the cover art, you are expecting this to be one of thousands of movies that offer up gritty images, plenty of gore, and a tried and true, but getting tired formula. Nothing can be further from the truth. Zombie Farm isn't any of those things. And I couldn't be happier that that's the case. Don't judge this one by its cover, or you're likely to miss out on a good time.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on March 23rd, 2011
Our new friends over at Acorn/Athena have given us a copy of Discovering Hamlet on DVD. The film stars Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh.To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Contest is now closed Winner was Tonya
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 23rd, 2011
The Virginian set itself apart from the others in two ways. The first was found in the source material. The series was based on a 1902 novel by Owen Winsler, a man who actually lived in the Wyoming badlands during the time the series was set. The source material helps to add a sense of authenticity that might well have been a slight step ahead of the rest. It wasn't as violent as the others, again reflecting a more realistic sense of direction.
Thus was the heart of the original novel. The stories were less about gunfights and more about the obstacles and challenges that these earlier settlers faced. Each, with different interests, tried to carve out a home in the vast wilderness of the open West. These challenges came from many places, and often from his fellow man, but not always. That's the type of tale captured in this long-running western series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2011
While Scarecrow And Mrs. King first aired in 1983, this show is really one of the last of the 1970's crime dramas. It was an early attempt to bring in more of the female audience that seemed reluctant to join the popular detective shows of the era. While not really a "detective" show (they were spies), it employed a lot of the 1970's conventions. Even the film footage has that distinct style from those days and type of shows. The idea worked, and the series did bring in a sizeable female audience, but it never really caught on with the guy crowd who found it a bit too relationship-heavy. The two leads were chosen less for their character appeal than for their apparent "easy on the eyes" look. Again more fodder for the chick crowd. The show was always rather lighthearted, even if the material was somewhat serious cold war espionage. The two shared a banter that revealed a kind of love/hate relationship and the expected sexual tension that would eventually lead to the two getting hitched. And while the series only lasted four seasons, the formula would end up being tweaked to bring us the more successful Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, which took the idea into the 80's with slicker production values but still a mainly female appeal.
Amanda King (Jackson) is a recent divorcée with two sons and a nosy mother (Garland) who lives with her. She has a boyfriend named Dean who works as a meteorologist at a local Washington DC television station, whom you never actually get to see. While at the train station, she suddenly finds herself embroiled in an espionage plot when a package is handed to her on the platform. Then she meets government agent Lee Stetson (Boxleitner) who works under the codename Scarecrow. She's intrigued by Scarecrow and agrees to help him in his current case. Of course, she ends up in a more permanent role with "The Agency", taking a job at their cover corporation The International Federal Film Company. Every week we find Amanda trying to balance her new role as a spy with trying to raise her kids, have a normal dating relationship, and keep her cover safe from her particularly prying mother. The results are often quite funny. There is also Scarecrow's partner, Francine (Smith), who is somewhat jealous of Amanda and Lee.
Posted in: News and Opinions, Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on March 21st, 2011
Today began the first official day of shooting on the back-to-back Hobbit films.
After years of lawsuits, director changes, studio buy-outs and New Zealand union troubles the films have finally gotten underway.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on March 21st, 2011
Our very good friends over at Warner Brothers have given us a wonderfully funny prize for all of you Yogi Bear fans out there. We have a copy of the new Yogi Bear on high definition Blu-ray/DVD. The film stars Dan Aykoyd and Justin Timberlake. To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Contest is now closed Winner was Cam Miller
![Unstoppable [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/unstoppable-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Black Swan [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/black-swan-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-motion-p-large.jpg)
