Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2017
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. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
Fox has put out a few good releases this year, and you really should think about putting some of this under the tree:
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2017
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. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
The folks at Acorn keep churning out the best of British television productions. Take a look at some of these complete sets that will be sure to please any fan of quality television.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2017
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. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
Warner Brothers continues to lead the industry with television on Blu-ray. Other studios have experimented with some of their shows but no one puts more TV out in HD than Warner Brothers. Here are some of my favorite titles from 2017. Any of them would look great under the tree this season. Warner also has a nice collection of DC films out on Blu-ray.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2017
"You may think, "That thing looks human." Stands on two legs, right? But - we're created in the Lord's image. You don't think that's what the Lord looks like, do you?"
A couple of years ago I talked to Joe Dante about a variety of subjects. One of them was The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Dante along with several other directors like John Carpenter had once been attached to a remake of the Universal classic. I asked him why it never worked out. He told me it was the suit. We agreed that no one could ever improve upon the original design and that the temptation would be to go computer-generated and that would be a bit of a shame no matter what it looked like. Andy Serkis has changed my mind a bit over the years but along came Guillermo del Toro to restore my faith in the idea of a man in a costume, once again. del Torro is a self-avowed fan of the Universal horror films and has thrown his hat into the Creature ring in the past. Universal didn't quite see it then. They had their own Dark Universe plans. Now I've had the chance to see The Mummy as part of the Dark Universe and was instantly underwhelmed. But after seeing del Torro's The Shape Of Water I think it's time Universal took another look at their Creature From The Black Lagoon plans. Bang it here to listen to that Joe Dante chat: Joe Dante Interview.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2017
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. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
Back for it's updated 7th edition Barron's brings you the book for the movie collector who has everything. It's 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. This book is a lot of fun as well as being informative. It's a hefty book that will put some weight under that tree, to be sure.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2017
When you see a period piece there are so many elements that can either bring you into the world on the screen or take you completely out of the experience. Such is the case with Universal's Victoria & Abdul. No one understands that responsibility than the film's costume designer Consolata Boyle. The film appears on Blu-ray on Dec 19th but you won't have to wait that long to find out more about the film and its period costumes. I had the opportunity to chat with Consolata Boyle about her work on Victoria & Abdul. Now you can listen in on our conversation all the way from London. Bang it here to hear my chat with Consolata Boyle.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 13th, 2017
"A long time ago in a galaxy far far away..."
It was exactly 40 years ago that we first saw those words flash across the screen. Star Wars was born, and it has become one of the most enduring franchises in film history. The franchise survived a long drought when it didn't seem likely we would ever see those words again. The franchise survived the throes of George Lucas, who created it all and then went a little rogue when he finally did follow up his iconic trilogy. If The Last Jedi and the two previous films are any measurement at all, the best thing George Lucas ever did for the universe he created was to give it up. Of course, I wouldn't necessarily call $4 billion quite giving it up. Since then he's been a bit critical of the path Disney has taken and feeling somewhat left out of the decision process and has openly shown concern for his child under the Disney flag. And after the soap opera that has become the Han Solo film, the fans were getting a little worried as well. It's still too early to know what will become of that particular journey, but that's next year's concern. For now just sit back and revel in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 13th, 2017
"Welcome to one of the most fabled and mysterious places on Earth..."
Mysteries Of China appeared in many IMAX theaters across the country and was often titled Mysteries Of Ancient China. That would be a more appropriate term for this exploration into a mystery that is over 2000 years old. These IMAX features make perfect additions to any 4K library. Their short 40-minute running time allows for plenty of space on these 100 GB discs. The source material is also often 70 mm (65mm here) which is natively 8K instead of the usual 2K of most films shot digitally today. That kind of combination offers the opportunity to demonstrate the real promise of the new format. Shout Factory has been in the forefront of releasing these 4K IMAX titles. It's been several months since the last wave, and I can only hope that Mysteries Of China is the beginning of a new collection of these titles for the 4K home video market.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 11th, 2017
When I was a young boy I loved playing with my toys. We didn't have Transformers in those days, but we did have Major Matt Mason, plastic dinosaurs, Hot Wheels and Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker sets. Yeah, in those days a toy could cause third-degree burns and no one really worried about getting sued. Kind of takes the fun out of being a kid today. You know who else, I bet, loved to play with his toys? Michael Bay. I bet he had the coolest toys in his neighborhood. He probably wasn't the best guy to be friends with, however. He didn't invite the kids over to play with his toys. He likely charged you a nickel to watch him play with them. It's many decades later, and Michael still has the coolest toys on the block. Only now you have to cough up twenty bucks if you want to watch him playing with them. Sadly, that is what the Transformers film franchise has been reduced to. We're all watching the rich kid playing with really cool toys.
That's not to say that Transformers isn't at all entertaining and maybe, just maybe worth the twenty bucks to check out. It's an amusement park ride from beginning to end, and when you see how much Disney or Universal are charging for those these days, it might just be a bargain at that. Just as long as you enter the gates with the understanding that Transformers: Age Of Extinction is going to take you on a thrill ride. Nothing less, and certainly nothing more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2017
"Art is a lie. Art gives the chaos of the world an order that doesn't exist."
The X-Files will soon return for a second revival season with 10 episodes that will likely finish the franchise. But if you're a Gillian Anderson fan, you won't have to wait until next year to get your Anderson fix. Acorn has a release that you really have to discover. Gillian Anderson has served three seasons (or series, as the Brits call them) in Belfast for the BBC series The Fall. With the broadcast of that third and final season, Acorn is releasing a nice complete set of all three seasons on both DVD and Blu-ray. If you want to win a copy of the DVD set, you have to stay tuned here and be sure to check out our 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways. In the meantime, I'm going to tell you about the Blu-ray set that I've just had the pleasure to consume for review.
