Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 3rd, 2025
"They're not above nipping at you. Wildfires are pushing coyotes deeper into Los Angeles neighborhoods. They're desperate. They're going to do what they have to to survive."
I think it started with Jaws in 1975. People were afraid to go into the water; some still are. It started with sharks, but by the end of the 1970's it was killer bees, ants, bears ... and by the turn of the century there were giant killer snakes and bears high on cocaine. The wave continues this year with Coyotes, directed by Colin Minihan. The film is at times clever, but it moves into the territory of a comic book movie by using crazy comic frames to introduce characters, and while we're talking about sharks, this movie is jumping them in the first 10 minutes as we watch a young spoiled rich girl walking her yip-yip dog.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2025
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theater, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. This time we turn our attention to A24 and their new release of the Ti West Trilogy on Blu-ray.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2025
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. This time we turn our attention to Warner Brothers and a couple of their great 4K releases from this year
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2025
“Do you know why people break up? Guilt. But if you make the bad thing okay, there is no guilt.”
Boy, was this messy. This was possibly the messiest love affair I ever witnessed, which somehow managed to make me laugh, yet also had me rolling my eyes at times. When good-natured Carey’s wife, Ashley, tells him she wants a divorce, his world is shattered. Seeking support from his friends, Julie and Paul, Carey discovers the secret to their happiness: an open marriage. Well, you can guess what transpires next. Essentially, the two couples’ friendship erupts into conflict when the husband of a divorcing couple sleeps with the wife of an open marriage couple. Frequent collaborators Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin star in the film, which they cowrote together, joining forces with Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona as their respective significant others. So, to put it simply, in this comedy, both guys are punching above their weight.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2025
“You should be so proud of her.”
Shelby Oaks is something special when you look at it objectively; it’s a film that was crowd funded by the YouTuber Chris Stuckmann, who wanted to take a shot at making a movie of his very own. The original goal was to raise $600,000, but by the time his Kickstarter was closed, he was able to raise over 1.4 million to make his film. Before he’d even begun filming, this is already an impressive achievement considering how many established filmmakers struggle to get funds together to make their own films. For Shelby Oaks, over 14,000 people contributed to funding the dream for this directorial debut, so again, in my book Chris Stuckmann already won for being able to pull this off. Now the film has a producing credit from Mike Flanagam attached as an executive producer and Neon in charge of the films distribution … so needless to say, there is a great deal of hype around this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2025
SAMPLE POST
“Well, gentlemen, in my opinion, if we send him back to Pendleton or we send him up to Disturbed, it’s just one more way of passing on our problem to somebody else. You know, we don’t like to do that. So I’d like to keep him on the ward. I think we can help him.”
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2025
“Because they need someone to be wicked -- so you can be good.”
I’d say this is one of those times when dividing the project into two parts did more harm than good. No one can discount the impact of the first film, where Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande gave us phenomenal and complimentary duets, as well as excellent acting performances. Also, no one can discount the impact of the musical that has dominated the theater for more than twenty years. However, I’d say the good thing about the theater version is that you get all of that at once. In the case of this film and its predecessor, the films are divided into acts, and in my humble opinion, Act 1 is the stronger of the acts, which is also the case with the two films. Wicked set a very high bar by empowering Ervio’s character to stand up for injustice and against Jeff Goldblum as the fraudulent Wizard of Oz. Also, there is certainly a difference in songs. Specifically, in Wicked For Good, there isn’t a song to match the dominance of Defying Gravity.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 20th, 2025
"Plato wrote that the ancient Greeks believed we were created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. but Zeus feared our power so he split us into two separate parts, dooming us to spend our lives in search of the other half."
What's in a name? Let me tell you, Billy. When I was first offered the opportunity to watch and review Together out on Blu-ray from NEON, I nearly passed. I saw that it was directed by a Michael Shanks, and I had met Shanks a few years ago. I honestly found him to be one of the biggest idiots I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in the business. Fortunately, I took a closer look at the thing, and I'm glad that I did. You see, this Michael Shanks is not the idiot I met years ago. Of course, that guy was the Stargate SG-1 actor, and this guy is much younger and now a first-time director, and not a complete idiot after all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2025
"Sometimes I feel the past is a more comfortable place than the future."
I think for anything to have a grand finale, it has to have been grand to begin with. And I don't think one could argue that Downton Abbey hasn't been grand, at least at some points in its life. Downton Abbey spent six years on television and has amassed 52 episodes. In that relatively short run, the series has also managed to collect over 200 award nominations and several Golden Globes along with other prestigious awards. Let's not forget a rather loyal fan-base that has watched each episode with anticipation of the next sharp barb or character revelation and will insist on franchise authenticity.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2025
“Stop filming me!”
Interestingly enough, this 2025 remake/adaptation is a more faithful reproduction of its source material than the 1987 version. The 1987 adaptation, while popular, took liberties when it came to the main character’s backstory and motivations, such as him being a wrongfully accused and convicted policeman getting his shot at freedom by participating in a TV game show where convicts called Runners must battle killers for their freedom. In the 2025 remake, Ben Richards, now played by Glen Powell, is a blacklisted blue-collar worker living in dystopian anarchistic police state with his wife and infant Cathy. Unable to afford medicine for Cathy's influenza, Ben attends tryouts for the network's game shows, where his anger, misanthropy, and physical fitness see him selected for "The Running Man", their most popular and dangerous show. That backstory is much more in line with the 1982 Stephen King novel. Rounding out the cast are Josh Brolin, William H Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, and Colman Domingo. Arnold Schwarzeneggar even makes a surprise appearance. It’s quick, though. Blink and you could miss it.
