Posted in: The Reel World by J C on July 6th, 2018
Earlier this summer, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was turned upside down in a snap. Avengers: Infinity War was the culmination of 10 years worth of origin stories and world-building. That blockbuster featured (almost) every MCU hero in the galaxy, universe-spanning stakes, and an unforgettable cliffhanger. So you can excuse Marvel for scaling things back (waaaaay back) with its next entry. Of course, any superhero flick that came immediately after Infinity War was going to feel small by comparison, so who better to take on that task than the tiniest hero of them all?
“So...how long have you been Ant-Man again?”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 5th, 2018
“Every time a black woman gets mad, she's a stereotype.”
Taraji P. Henson has been a very good and versatile actress for a long time, but she didn’t become a star until she started getting very angry on screen. Her breakout role came in 2015 courtesy of Fox’s Empire, in which Henson’s Cookie Lyon has been known to get into some scraps. So it made sense for Henson to bring her talent for tantrums to the big screen with the help of a filmmaker who once directed a movie called Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Writer/director/producer Tyler Perry seems to be going for “trashy fun”…unfortunately, he only gets halfway there.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on July 4th, 2018
“This is the greatest s--- show on Earth!”
The First Purge arrives in theaters a little more than five years after the (lowercase) first Purge rampaged into moviegoers’ consciousness as a nasty bit of R-rated, summer blockbuster counterprogramming. The movies are obviously quite popular, but I’ve never felt that any of them fully lived up to the killer concept at the center of this franchise. Unfortunately, that still holds true for The First Purge, which had a chance to deviate from the established formula in a variety of interesting ways, but ends up playing a lot like The First Three Purges.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 29th, 2018
“Please don't do the whole absent-minded professor thing.”
Even though he’s not anywhere close to the biggest name in Hollywood, Guy Pearce is low-key my favorite actor. The Aussie is probably best known for his starring role in Christopher Nolan’s Memento, the memory loss masterpiece in which Pearce played a man who tattooed helpful(?) clues and reminders all over his body. So when I realized he’d be playing another forgetful lead character in Spinning Man, I was hopeful. But despite some solid performances and interesting philosophical ideas, the film is too downbeat and dull to be an effective thriller.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 27th, 2018
“Run, Forrest, run!”
Forrest Gump is one of the most beloved films to be released in the past 25 years. The movie received critical love (to the tune of 6 Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Picture) and commercial love (this was the highest-grossing film of 1994) upon its release. For better and worse, Gump can be seen as a reflection of its good-natured, dim-witted hero: it's a classic example of heart triumphing over head. Time — and, specifically, the internet — hasn't been nearly as kind to Gump as it has to several other films released the same year, but the movie endures thanks to some unforgettable sights, sounds, and a miraculous lead performance.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 26th, 2018
Your mission this week, should you choose to accept it, is to go out and grab a boatload of Tom Cruise action titles in UHD! With Cruise’s latest spy adventure as Ethan Hunt set to hit the big screen in just a few weeks, Paramount is releasing 4K versions of Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible 3, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, and Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation. And just for good measure, Paramount will also release the Cruise action/drama Jack Reacher in 4K. Elsewhere, Lionsgate pals around with the Frat Pack, settles scores with Acrimony, and gets its (extramarital) affairs in order with The Spinning Man. Finally, RLJE Films goes for the kill with Terminal, while Warner Bros. gets heroic with Black Lightning: Season 1.
Before signing off for the week (and for June), here’s the usual 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: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 22nd, 2018
“I just need you to not freak anybody out tonight.”
Flower ends up being a pretty strong reflection of its promiscuous protagonist: both the movie and the anti-heroine at its center are sharp, profane, a little all-over-the place, and contain a surprising undercurrent of emotion. The movie is a polarizing experience, to be sure, but I enjoyed going on this particular wild, unpredictable ride.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 20th, 2018
Cinematically speaking, the name Eli Roth has been synonymous with murder and mayhem. The director is best known for his work in the horror genre, bursting on the scene with 2002’s Cabin Fever and upping the ante with Hostel and Hostel: Part II a few years later. So it was a bit surprising to hear he’d be taking on a remake of Death Wish — the iconic 1974 Charles Bronson revenge flick — until I started thinking about the bloody possibilities. If the Hostel films gained notoriety as prime examples of “torture porn,” then it seems like Roth has graduated to “revenge porn” with this slick and (intentionally) silly re-imagining.
“People rely on the police to keep them safe. That’s the problem.”
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 19th, 2018
Welcome to this week’s monster-iffic Tuesday Round Up! We kick things off with Universal going back for a second round of robots vs. kaiju butt-kicking with Pacific Rim: Uprising (4K) and trying not to go too crazy with Unsane (4K). And while calling Scrooge McDuck a monster is probably a bit strong, the penny-pinching quackster and his nephews get into some hot water in Duck Tales: Destination Adventure. In less monstrous news, Lionsgate puts the petal to the medal with Flower and Warner Bros. kicks things into high gear with soccer-centric family film Alex & Me.
The end of the week brings the biggest (and certainly oldest) monsters of them all. We’ll have a dino-tastic review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. 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: The Reel World by J C on June 16th, 2018
“You’re not good...you’re super.”
For a while, it honestly felt like Disney/Pixar was messing with us. When The Incredibles swooped into theaters in 2004, it was simultaneously one of the best animated/action/superhero movies I’d ever seen. Plenty of people shared that opinion, so a sequel seemed like a no-brainer. That’s why it seemed like a cruel joke when we got not one but two forgettable Cars sequels before The Incredibles got a chance to suit up again. Guess what…the wait is officially over!
