Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 6th, 2015
I can't think of a more fitting way to kick off the first Tuesday Round Up of October than with the monster mayhem of Paramount's Penny Dreadful: Season 2. And speaking of mayhem, the Showtime series is part of a whopping 26(!) titles making their debut today that we'll be reviewing on this site very soon. Ok, fine...Disney's Avengers: Age of Ultron technically premiered last Friday, but I felt it was a good idea to mention one of the biggest movies of the year. Warner Bros. shows us where Batkid Begins, offers the royal treatment with Reign: Season 2, and serves up The Leftovers: Season 1. In addition to Penny Dreadful, Paramount is feeling Happyish: Season 1, goes down to South Park: Season 18, digs into the life of Tut, and studies the Greatest Heroes of the Bible. Meanwhile, Cinedigm serves up laughs with Bossip Comedy Series: Part 2, visits Paranormal Island, goes head over heels for The Falling, and keeps 4Got10 in mind. (Be on the look out for an interview or two with the cast and crew of 4Got10.)
We'll also be chatting with Noel Clarke of The Anomaly courtesy of Anchor Bay, which also drops Earthfall. And since you can already win a copy of June from Image Entertainment (which will also release The Invoking 2), why not keep your eyes peeled for our review? Lionsgate takes aim at The Target, gets heated with Ardor, and dines out with Eaters. A&E Home Video quacks up with Duck Dynasty: Season 8 and is out for Blood & Glory: The Civil War in Color. Hallmark gets into the holiday spirit early with Christmas at the Cartwrights and the Best Christmas Party Ever. Finally, MPI Home Video keys in on Manglehorn and Nasser closes things out with Final Girl.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 5th, 2015
“My name is Clay Marshall, and I am one of the many survivors of the zombie apocalypse.”
Yes, you read that right. The word “many” in the above quote is not a misprint. A Plague So Pleasant seeks to explore the crushingly mundane aftermath of a worldwide plague. Unfortunately, the movie appears to be of two minds in terms of presenting its skewed view of the zombie apocalypse. The result is an intriguing, uneven film that doesn't fully come together.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on October 2nd, 2015
In 1979, Ridley Scott taught us that in space no one can hear you scream. More than 35 years after Alien established him as a top directorial talent, Scott has slightly amended that statement to read “in space no one can hear you…blast disco music and binge watch Happy Days.” These lighthearted coping mechanisms — used here to deal with a truly horrifying and hopeless situation — are strong indicators of what you’re in for with The Martian, which is both brainier and much funnier than your average space epic.
“Mark Watney is dead.”
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 1st, 2015
“Jane’s life was now the stuff of telenovelas.”
As someone who grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, I have a love-hate relationship with telenovelas. Most of the time, I can appreciate — and heartily laugh at — their inspired, over-the-top campiness. But sometimes I honestly feel a little embarrassed that this broad, ridiculous junk easily represents the most visible outlet for stories featuring Hispanic actors/characters. I’m also insulted by the implication that Hispanic audiences don’t want more nuanced TV options. The great thing about The CW’s Jane the Virgin is that it works both as an outrageous nighttime soap and a sharp, good-hearted satire.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on September 30th, 2015
I don’t know about you, but whenever the Twin Towers pop up in any movie made or set before 2001 — usually it's a quick cameo during an establishing shot of NYC’s iconic skyline — I feel a pleasing flash of recognition…immediately followed by a queasy bit of dismay. The best thing about The Walk — arguably even better than the extended high-wire spectacle that gives the movie its title — is that the World Trade Center is lovingly granted a starring role alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Unfortunately, director Robert Zemeckis’ film visibly wobbles on the way there and makes a truly extraordinary real-life story feel like a little too familiar.
“If it works, it will be the artistic coup of the century.”
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 29th, 2015
This week brings with it a lighter load than we’ve become accustomed to here at the UpcomingDiscs ranch. I’m thinking Liv, the undead heroine of iZombie, must’ve gobbled up some of our offerings. (Or at least the UPS guy who was supposed to deliver them.) Nevertheless, iZombie: Season 1 from Warner Bros. — which also introduces us to Jane the Virgin: Season 1 — highlights this week’s slate of releases. Also on deck: Shout! Factory wrestles with The Bear, IndiePix casts a White Shadow, and Wild Eye Releasing crowns Queen Crab and unleashes A Plague So Pleasant.
And now for our weekly appeal to give you free stuff. Remember that once a month we’re going to give away a free DVD title from among the comments in our weekly Round-Up posts. All you have to do is comment on a Round-Up post — like this one! — and tell us which of these titles you’re most excited to watch or read about. The winners and their prizes will be announced the first week of every month right here in our Tuesday Round-Up post. You can’t win if you don’t comment.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 28th, 2015
“I just realized that having other people around is what makes life worth living.”
This lesson doesn’t come easily — or quickly — for Phil Miller, the Last Man on Earth. On the other hand, having other people around doesn’t do a heck of a lot for The Last Man on Earth, the dementedly inventive Fox comedy that becomes considerably less interesting the more people start to show up. That being said there’s plenty to like and admire here, starting with the show’s comedic, refreshingly non-bleak look at post-apocalyptic life.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 25th, 2015
Season 2 of The Red Road, SundanceTV’s tense drama about warring communities, opens with a foreboding shot of blood being spilled on the ground. It’s a conspicuously symbolic image when you consider that the show follows the lives of the (seemingly all-white) residents of fictional Walpole, N.J. and their strained relationship with the Lenape tribe that resides in the neighboring Ramapo Mountains. (You don’t even have to squint to see several centuries’ worth of wounded feelings in this scenario.) It’s also no major spoiler to say that opening shot isn’t the last instance of bloodshed in this batch of episodes.
In case you never hopped on The Red Road, here’s a quick catchup. Lenape ex-con Phillip Kopus (Jason Momoa) and Walpole police officer Harold Jensen (Martin Henderson) find their fates (and their families) inextricably linked. An accident involving Harold’s wife/Phillip’s high school sweetheart Jean (Julianne Nicholson) and a young Lenape boy left Harold indebted to Phillip. And the fact that the Jensens’ oldest daughter Rachel (Allie Gonino) and Phillip’s younger half-brother Junior (Kiowa Gordon) were in love only added to the tension. The end of season 1 once again left Phillip and Harold in each other’s debt after helping one another survive a violent shootout with a nasty group of gangsters.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 23rd, 2015
“Did you consider yourself to be a New York City cop or a drug trafficker?”
For the handful of police officers profiled in The Seven Five — a lively and incendiary documentary about a spectacularly corrupt Brooklyn precinct — the distinction between cop and crook was virtually nonexistent. (At best, it was negligible.) Their stories are told here in a breakneck pace that eventually becomes draining. But it’s only because director Tiller Russell was able to gain amazing access to the colorful characters who were actually there.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 22nd, 2015
Time flies when you’re having as much fun as we are cranking out our patented TV and movie reviews for you. But it still doesn’t move quite as fast as a certain superhero making his home video debut this week. We’ll be catching you up on The Flash: Season 1 courtesy of Warner Bros., which is also right on target with Arrow: Season 3. Fox introduces us to The Last Man on Earth: Season 1, Anchor Bay travels The Red Road: Season 2, Image Entertainment embarks on The Journey Home, and Shout! Factory leaves us in charge of The Nanny: Season 4. Meanwhile, Cinedigm lives the Pop Life, Lionsgate follows the Chain of Command, and Docurama reminds us that Kindness is Contagious.
A couple of quick notes before signing off for the week. Remember that once a month we’re going to give away a free DVD title from among the comments in our weekly Round-Up posts. All you have to do is comment on a Round-Up post — like this one! — and tell us which of these titles you’re most excited to watch or read about. The winners and their prizes will be announced the first week of every month right here in our Tuesday Round-Up post. You can’t win if you don’t comment.
