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.
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.
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 7th, 2017
"Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war. A war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home. Searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called... Earth."
In this version of Transformers, Earth is caught up in an age-old conflict between two factions of an Autobot society.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 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.
CBS still has the highest rated dramas on television. There have been quite a few good DVD sets from the network in 2017. Here's a look at my recommendations
Posted in: News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2017
If you live in the Tampa Bay Area you absolutely must check out the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. They have some amazing films from some up and coming artists in the field. Check out the schedule of films at the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. Do a little Holiday shopping, enjoy a meal and then see some great independent films.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on November 26th, 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.
No studio has embraced the 4K format as much as Warner Brothers in 2017. They have become the first to release a television series in UHD and the first to release vintage material in 4K. They have consistently provided us with 4K versions of their new releases, and the results have been impressive. If you have a 4K/UHD Blu-ray adopter on your list,
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 26th, 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.
Usually we stick to movies and home theater equipment when we do talk about gifts here at Upcomingdiscs. However, I do keep my eye out for things that might be of special appeal to the film collectors in our audience. If you're at all like me, you've been trying new ways to keep track of your video collection for years. I have stuff on so many formats that it gets pretty tough to find a way to keep it all together and easy to access. Most of the time I used to just work with Works database options and let that be my database. But a few years ago I've finally found a commercial database that does everything I want it to do, and a ton more. I'm talking about Collectorz.com, and they've been helping to organize my film collection for a few years now. We talked about them last Christmas, and I'm here to talk about them again. This thing rocks and is about as easy to use as anything else I've ever tried. It keeps track of everything you need.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 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.
We turn our first spotlight on the folks at Time-Life. They put the wow into gift sets and have assembled some mighty big collection sets particularly for that person on your list who loves all things vintage. Here's what they have this Christmas
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2017
It is very likely that no story has been retold in films and television more than A Christmas Carol. It has been made as animated specials and computer-generated features. There have been comedy versions. Most television shows, if they're around long enough, get around to spoofing at least the themes. If by now you’re wondering what the dickens I'm going on about, well... you're correct. It's all about classic author Charles Dickens, who literally invented many of the modern trappings of our Christmas celebrations with that one little holiday ghost story. You know the story. But do you know how it came to be? Dickens' writing process is legend to those of us who know his work intimately. Now everyone can get the inside scoop with the charming The Man Who Invented Christmas.
