Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on February 13th, 2018
This week's Tuesday Round Up is turning back the clock and venturing into one of the most extravagantly seedy neighborhoods of the last century. HBO releases The Deuce: Season 1, which transports viewers to Times Square in the 1970s. The series is the latest effort from David Simon and crime novelist George Pelecanos, who previously collaborated on a little show called The Wire. In the spirit of keeping things in the (crime) family, Warner Bros. gets savage with Animal Kingdom: Season 2. Meanwhile, Cinedigm checks in with hospital thriller Inoperable.
You'll also want to visit us later this week when we offer our take on Marvel's latest superhero extravaganza Black Panther. And now it's time for your customary reminder: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 9th, 2018
“There was a guy on TV the other night. Had a theory that nearly a quarter of all so-called fatal accidents were actually murders. That's ridiculous...it's only about 10 percent.”
It's one of the more familiar action/thriller tropes: an apparent suicide or accidental death that actually turns out to be an elaborate murder. Usually that story is told from the perspective of the murder victim's loved one, who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. What's cool about Accident Man — a stylish and rollicking action romp — is that it gives us an irreverent look at the cold-blooded killers who craftily carry out these cinematic crimes.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on February 6th, 2018
This week's Round Up features one of the world's most popular superheroes like you've never seen him before. Warner Bros. put out the bat signal and we've decided to respond by reviewing Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (4K), which inserts the Caped Crusader into a Victorian-era adventure. Meanwhile, CBS goes into extraterrestrial battle with War of the Worlds: The Complete Series. (And you can already check out our takes on The Guardian: The Complete Series and Duckman: The Complete Series, also courtesy of CBS.) Acorn finds some direction with East West 101: Season 1, Shout! Factory taps into its wild side with Walking Out, and Sony plays a deadly game with the Accident Man. Finally, RLJ Entertainment issues a Kill Order...and be sure to keep an eye on the site for our interview with leading man Chris Mark.
While this is the start of a new month, you're going to get the same ol' reminder: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon — maybe a Valentine's Day gift for your sweetheart — and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 29th, 2018
“Everyone was warned, but no one listened.”
These words — which are about as subtle as a tsunami — are heard in voiceover at the start of Geostorm, the latest effort from master of disaster (films) Dean Devlin. Yes, I realize no one should venture into a big budget flick produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, 1998's Godzilla) looking for subtlety. But no matter what side of the climate change issue you fall on, Geostorm is equally offensive to all parties. And it's not because of its politics or its shoddy writing, which gives that opening monologue to a character who ends up being completely inconsequential. It's because this would-be blockbuster is shockingly short on both fun and spectacle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 25th, 2018
During the second half of My King/Mon Roi — which examines the up-and-down nature of love by chronicling a 10-year relationship between two French lovebirds — a wife states that her husband's constant emotional abuse has caused her more pain than any single punch ever could. Psychological abuse isn't nearly as cinematic as its physical counterpart, so it's a jarring, too-real-for-TV moment to witness on screen. My King has a handful of those gut-punch scenes. And since the movie intentionally mimics the rollercoaster relationship at its center, My King is also occasionally romantic, funny, frustrating and flat-out sexy.
“The knee signifies the capacity to let go, give way, or even retreat...”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 24th, 2018
“Have you ever heard the legend behind the legend of Ninjago?”
Even though I loved the first two Lego movies, I was completely unfamiliar with the toy company’s Ninjago line before I sat down to watch this latest entry in the madcap cartoon franchise. (I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce “Ninjago”…and the answer isn’t as simple as it seems.) But my unfamiliarity with the source material isn’t the reason why I feel The Lego Ninjago movie is the weakest entry in the series so far.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on January 23rd, 2018
I want to play a game. Can you guess which left-for-dead horror franchise recently experienced a resurrection? If you guessed Saw, which features puppetmaster Jigsaw forcing victims to make impossibly deadly choices, then you're right. And if you want to see what he's up to these days, you're in luck: Lionsgate releases Jigsaw this week...so player beware. Elsewhere, Lionsgate goes a few rounds with boxing drama Jawbone. Meanwhile, Shout! Factory stays afloat with My Entire High School is Sinking into the Sea and crosses the Mason County Line. Finally, Warner Bros. weathers a series of catastrophes with Geostorm.
The Tuesday Round Up has been on a bit of a hiatus, but it's back and here to stay! Don't forget: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon — maybe a last minute Christmas gift — and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week and have a very Merry Christmas!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 11th, 2018
“I'm not saying women are better...I'm saying we deserve some respect.”
Battle of the Sexes chronicles a watershed moment for the women's liberation movement. And given the very bad behavior by very powerful men in Hollywood and other high-profile industries that has come to light in recent months, the movie suddenly feels particularly timely despite being set 45 years ago. But even if that weren't the case, this film — which dramatizes the 1973 exhibition match between top-ranked female player Billie Jean King and former male champion Bobby Riggs — would still be a funny, heartfelt winner.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on January 5th, 2018
“You can't get rid of me that easy.”
Elise Rainier was the only casualty in 2010's Insidious, but the character has proven to be impossible to kill. In fact, Lin Shaye's sympathetic psychic quickly evolved into the main character of this low-budget, high-box office horror franchise. Chapter 2 brought her back in spectral form, while Chapter 3 went back in time to show us an earlier run-in with a restless demon. The Last Key goes even further back in time while simultaneously inching closer to the first film. While the series has pretty much run out of interesting ways to scare audiences, this film does explore the connection between real-life monsters and malevolent spirits.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 3rd, 2018
The classic American Westerns of the 1940s and '50s directed by the likes of John Ford and Howard Hawks famously inspired filmmakers like Sergio Leone to put their own stylish and revisionist spin on the genre. But while Spaghetti Westerns — genre films produced and written by Italians — are the most famous foreign example, plenty of other countries started making their own horse operas in the 1960s. That includes Mexico and filmmaker Arturo Ripstein, who made an outstanding feature film debut with 1966's Time to Die/Tiempo de Morir.
“It's no good getting out of jail only to enter a cemetery.”
