Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 21st, 2017
“We should not be fighting for segregation, we should be fighting for equality.”
That’s the sort of rousing statement any random politician on the campaign trail might use to rile up a crowd of supporters at a pep rally. And even though those words are spoken here by a man in the midst of heavy political turmoil, the beauty of A United Kingdom — a straightforward but nevertheless impactful fact-based drama about forbidden love — is that they are actually born out of an intensely personal conflict.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 20th, 2017
The Boogeyman — or at least the man you send to kill the Boogeyman — has arrived at UpcomingDiscs HQ! (Honestly, how bad could he be? The man loves dogs almost as much as we do around these parts.) Lionsgate brings us John Wick: Chapter 2 in 4K, which finds the assassin-of-very-few-words in Rome and New York City as he dodges a worldwide network of killers. Elsewhere, Candy Factory visits Wichita, while Shout! Factory cleans up at the Car Wash. Meanwhile, Comedy Central clocks in with Workaholics: The Final Season. On top of those home video releases, we’ll have a review of the latest entry in everyone’s favorite robots-in-disguise franchise, Transformers: The Last Knight, later this week.
Now it's time for the customary reminder before signing off for the week: 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 June 15th, 2017
“Have you ever seen two priests wearing tracksuits?”
The highest praise I can offer for The Young Pope — the staggeringly extravagant and deeply strange co-production between Sky Atlantic, Canal+, and HBO — is that I can guarantee you will see something you have never seen before. (A pair of priests in tracksuits is the least of it.) The show is bold in both its style and storytelling, although it only unequivocally succeeds in one of those two areas. Given all the Vatican-centric politics and power plays, it’s easy to see why this show was dubbed “House of Cardinals.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 14th, 2017
“Black…all important movies start with a black screen…”
I completely understand if you’re Batman-ed out by now. The Caped Crusader barely had a chance to catch his breath since the end of Christopher Nolan’s landmark superhero trilogy in 2012 and being pressed back into duty to help kickstart Warner Bros.’ budding superhero universe last year. But between those two iterations, we got a glimpse at a fresh, knowingly funny version of a hero that takes himself entirely too seriously. Batman was a scene-stealing supporting player in 2014’s blockbuster The Lego Movie, and now he once again takes center stage in a sharp, hilarious, irreverent adventure that celebrates practically every version of the beloved character.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 13th, 2017
We are right in the thick of Summer Movie Season, which means there is the usual overabundance of superheroes at the cineplex. Fortunately, there’s more than enough action to be found on the small screen as well. Warner Bros. puts the pieces together this week with its release of The Lego Batman Movie in 4K. Warner also takes a bite out of The Vampire Diaries: The Final Season. Meanwhile, Candy Factory RSPVs to The Wedding Party, while Shout! Factory gets high and mighty (but mostly just “high”) with its Blu-ray release of Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie.
One last reminder before signing off for the week: 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 June 8th, 2017
“Who could ever learn to love a beast?”
Although it’s not quite a tale as old as time, people around the world have been enchanted by the story of “Beauty and the Beast” for centuries. The French fairytale was first published in 1740 and has subsequently spawned everything from a classic 1946 big-screen romance to Ron Perlman. Still, the most popular iteration of this story is Disney’s beloved 1991 animated musical, which helped solidify the Mouse House’s cartoon revival and serves as the most direct inspiration for this dazzling live-action adaptation. Then again, the fact that this new version is essentially a pretty close copy of a copy takes some of the bloom off this particular rose.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 6th, 2017
For our first Round Up of June, we are inviting a certain beloved romance to be our guest here at UpcomingDiscs HQ. Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast is the highest-grossing movie of the year (so far), and the blockbuster arrives on Blu-ray this week! On top of that, CBS/Paramount has released Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series, along with complete series DVD sets for CBS hits of yesteryear Numb3rs and Becker. Elsewhere, HBO anoints The Young Pope, RLJ Entertainment locks us in a room with Prisoner X, and Shout! Factory shows us Where The Buffalo Roam. Finally, Disney revisits another animated classic that is near and dear deer to fans' hearts with a 75th anniversary edition of Bambi.
The end of the week also brings a trio of theatrical releases: Bleeker Street introduces us to Megan Leavey, Fox Searchlight gets familial with My Cousin Rachel, and Universal unleashes monster mayhem with The Mummy. Even though it's a brand new month, the customary reminder still applies here: 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: The Reel World by J C on June 2nd, 2017
“You have been my greatest love. Be careful, Diana...they do not deserve you.”
Ever since Richard Donner made us believe that a man can fly with 1978's Superman — considered by many to be the first modern superhero film — we've gotten three different Men of Steel, along with five different versions of Batman (if you don't count Will Arnett's voiceover work). Heck, in the last 15 years alone we've had three Spider-Men and (incredibly) gone through three Hulks! Yet in all that time, a movie starring Wonder Woman — a superhero just as iconic as all the ones I just mentioned — could never get off the ground...until now. I'm happy to report it was worth the wait.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on May 30th, 2017
I'm not sure what we did, but it must have been serious. We UpcomingDiscers are generally a law-abiding bunch, so I’m a little surprised that we’ve apparently landed in such hot water. How else to explain this week’s arrival of the Major Crimes division at our door? Naturally, I’m yanking your chain…no one here would hurt a fly. The good news is Warner Bros. was still nice enough to send us Major Crimes: Season 5, and we'll have a review of the hit TNT cop drama soon. Elsewhere, Film Chest Media goes undercover with Decoy: The Complete Series. Finally, DC's Wonder Woman hopes to lasso moviegoers into theaters very soon, so be sure to check back for our review later this week.
Here's your weekly reminder before signing off for the week (and for May): 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: The Reel World by J C on May 26th, 2017
“This may seem a peculiar request...but could someone explain why I'm here?”
That question is posed slurred by Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp's perpetually sloshed swashbuckler, during his very first appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Given that this is the fifth film in a faded franchise — and that Depp probably needs the money — the answer for why any of this is happening appears to be painfully obvious. Which is why I was delighted (and frankly a little shocked) by how much fun I had watching this latest entry, which manages to entertain while openly plundering the original movie's winning formula.
