Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on July 28th, 2010
I had the chance to chat with Cyrus Nowrasteh on Tuesday Night. His recent film, The Stoning Of Soraya M. is one of the most unforgettable films you will ever see. I recently had the opportunity to review the film on Blu-ray and can personally attest to its power. What a pleasure it was to have this opportunity to talk to the man behind those startling images.
To hear my chat with Cyrus Nowrasteh simply bang it here: Cyrus Nowrasteh Interview
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on July 28th, 2010
So, how is your weekend going? Mine started out with a conversation with horror writer/director William Malone. Malone created quite a few scares in his career with the likes of FeardotCom and the Masters Of Horror highlight Fair-Haired Child. Malone's latest film is the impressive Parasomnia. I recently reviewed the film here at Upcomingdiscs on DVD. Malone was kind enough to arrange for me to get a Blu-ray, which I'll talk about later.
Until then, enjoy a conversation with William Malone. Bang it here to listen in: William Malone Podcast
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2010
I get this terrible knot in the pit of my stomach whenever I discover that I have to review a Kevin Smith film. I know there are a core of solid fans out there who appear to get the inside joke. It's long been my belief that he must have the best blackmail file in the industry to keep getting studio deals to release films. It's not like any of his films have broken any box office records. Still, he keeps getting work. So, it was with that admitted prejudice and knot with which I approached my viewing of Cop Out. My shoulder had developed this nasty twitch as the disc menu took forever to load.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2010
I'm reminded of my innocent childhood days when Mr. Rogers would come on my black & white television to change his shoes and put on a sweater. I have to say that I always found the guy a little creepy. He would sing to us in a soft hypnotic voice: "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, a wonderful day in the neighborhood. Could you be mine. Would you be my neighbor." Mr. Rogers had quite a fanciful neighborhood indeed. The place was mostly populated with puppets and strange creatures of all sizes. And while today he'd look and sound like a pedophile, Mr. Rogers welcomed everyone to his neighborhood. So, I can't help thinking how he'd feel about "The Girl".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2010
"This is Hell, and I'm going to give you the guided tour."
There have been a lot of great prison and prison break films over the years. Who can forget Dustin Hoffman in Papillon or Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz? Of course, more recently we had The Shawshank Redemption. Lock Up won't ever taste the rare air of those classic films. In fact, it's not really a prison break film at all. There is an attempted break, but it's not quite the focus of the film. I almost felt like I was watching the sequel to a break film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2010
USA Network has certainly found a little niche for themselves, milking their "characters wanted" run of television shows. It all started with Monk and has progressed through several successful reincarnations of the quirky character-driven shows. In some cases the quirky nature of the characters gets pretty out of control, and while I liked Monk a ton, his OCD was significantly over the top at times. This tends to draw too much attention and minimize whatever might be happening in the episode itself. That's not the case with White Collar. This series has a ton of potential to be the next big breakaway hit for the cable network.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2010
There was a time when racial stereotypes on television and in the movies could be very funny. Shows like All In The Family and Sanford And Son brought an entire generation to their knees with laughter. Today audiences are a little more timid when it comes to that kind of humor. This is the kind of movie you end up looking both ways before you think about letting out even the slightest giggle to make sure no one is watching, or worse, training their cell phone camera on you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2010
"Would you give up 20 years to prove a stranger's innocence?"
That's the question that is asked and answered, at least for one person, in the docudrama The Wronged Man. The film is a made-for-television movie that appeared originally, and still does from time to time, on Lifetime.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on July 23rd, 2010
Our friends over at A&E Home Entertainment have given us 6 different DVD's to give away to our readers. Check out the list and you should find something that interests you. They are all from the History Instant Expert Series. They are both informative and educational.
Click Continue to see the choices and learn how to win.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 23rd, 2010
Let's see if you can follow any of this. Jesse Warren is a wannabe actor/director/gofer. He's taking acting classes like a million other Hollywood hopefuls. During his classes he begins to write the "way cool" story about a character named Neil Bannen. As luck would have it, he runs into another aspiring star in Mark Gantt. Gantt appears to be exactly like the character in Warren's fledgling script. So, he approaches his classmate and both agree that the story is "way cool".
![The Stoning of Soraya M. [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-stoning-of-soraya-m-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Parasomnia [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/parasomnia-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Lock Up [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/lock-up-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![White Collar: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/white-collar-the-complete-first-se-large.jpg)
![Our Family Wedding [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/our-family-wedding-blu-ray-large.jpg)
