Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2010
"In 1539 The Knight Templars of Malta paid tribute to Charles V of Spain by sending him a Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels --- but pirates seized the galley carrying this priceless token, and the fate of the Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day."
What is not a mystery today is the significant role that The Maltese Falcon has played in cinema history. The film itself was a remake. In fact, it was actually Warner's third attempt to film the Dashiell Hammett novel in a single decade.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2010
By 1948 John Huston had proven his ability as a director with just his first film, The Maltese Falcon. Since then he had returned to Humphrey Bogart in Across The Pacific and again in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre. Each of these films presented the star in very different surroundings and situations. His Dobbs character here couldn't have been any farther from his Sam Spade character. But in each case Huston relied on his leading man to dominate the screen with his trademark mannerisms and his ability to liven up even the most cliché of dialog.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2010
Once again Upcomingdiscs found themselves the guests of Busch Gardens and their annual Halloween event, Howl-O-Scream. Each year the friendly amusement park employees turn in their mandatory smiles and courtesy for chainsaws and scarred flesh. The park's normally pristine nature areas are converted into terrifying scare zones where you'll encounter creatures unfit for the normal Florida sunshine. So once again I put on my Frankenstein shirt, a gift from Sara Karloff (with whom we'll be talking soon for a podcast), and braved the horrible hallways and petrifying pathways of Busch Gardens.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
Our friends at A&E have graciously given us a copy of America: The Story Of Us on High Definition Blu-ray to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this unique look at American History, just follow these two steps…
Contest is now closed Winner is Jimmy Hughes
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
"58 full-length episodes. 585 classic sketches. On 18 discs."
In England he's been known as the funniest man on television. I probably wouldn't go that far. He's certainly an enigma. Over his 20-year television career, he dominated the British comedy scene. His work was often controversial. Benny loved the ladies, and his characters all had a weakness for the female co-stars. His work was sometimes a bit hard to understand. He was decidedly British with all of the quirks and oddities that go along with that moniker.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
There hasn't been a show quite like Human Target on television. There are certainly action shows, and there have been many shows that have taken on the "private" bodyguard or dedicated do-gooder. But I haven't seen a series yet that managed to capture the kind of action that you only find in big-budget feature films on the smaller scale and more limited budget of television. That is, until I saw the 12 episodes of the first season of Human Target. I remember seeing a huge advertisement blitz around the time of the Super Bowl, but I've seen a ton of these dramatic previews that only seemed to lose the sizzle over the course of a season, or even a single episode.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
Charlie Sheen is an unlikely actor to star in a television sit-com. Even after watching the show, I’m not sure how anyone came up with the idea in the first place. He has little to no comedic timing, and he’s about as funny as a funeral. The thing that works here, however, is that he really doesn’t need to be all that funny to make this show work. Sheen pretty much deadpans his entire performance, which generously enough works rather well teamed with the more manic comedy of Jon Cryer. Throw into the mix a rather extraordinary young child actor in Angus T. Jones
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
There were a lot of changes in store for the Bunkers in the seventh season. The Jeffersons, long a source of irritation for Archie and a ton of laughs for us, moved to their own show, on up to the East Side and that big de-luxe apartment in the sky. Mike and Gloria finally move out of the house, but only as far as next door in the vacated Jefferson home. Most importantly, little baby Joey joins the family. New characters would join the show in the seventh season.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
Today I had the pleasure of talking to America Olivo. You might remember her from the Friday The 13th remake or the independent film Neighbor, which we reviewed here at Upcomingdiscs. She's had a cameo in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen and got to go full action mode in Bitch Slap. You can also find her in Circle. Currently she's getting ready to appear in the Spider-Man Broadway musical. Listen in on our conversation. Bang it here to catch our exclusive interview with America Olivo
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2010
Just in time for the release of the new Predator film on home video, win the original 2-disc version. Watch the 2 Governors: Schwarzenegger and Ventura battle a hunter from space. To enter to win this science fiction / horror original follow these instructions:
Contest is now closed Winner is Jim Morton
![The Maltese Falcon [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-maltese-falcon-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Treasure of the Sierra Madre [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre-b-large.jpg)
![America: The Story of Us [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/america-the-story-of-us-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Human Target: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/human-target-the-complete-first-se-large.jpg)
