Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 15th, 2018
“Americans are loud, aren't they?”
Oh Lucy! earns the exclamation point in its title within the first two minutes. The movie opens with a shocking leap that is meant to jolt the audience, but barely causes our disaffected heroine to raise an eyebrow. It's played off as a throwaway moment, but it establishes the fact that this quirky Japanese/American dramedy with oodles of personality probably isn't going to go where you expect.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 14th, 2018
“Why are they doing this to us?”
Back in 2008, The Strangers stalked its way into theaters. The movie was an especially nasty bit of home invasion horror; its stunningly simple premise (three masked psychos terrorize doomed couple) and the random nature of its killings was both what the movie's fans admired about it and what left its detractors wanting more. Ten years later, The Strangers: Prey at Night hits a lot of the same notes while incorporating a self-aware tone about horror movies and some '80s-inspired flair. Call it The Strangers Things.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 13th, 2018
“I am someone who wakes up in a different body every day.”
Every Day manages to be both clumsily straightforward and frustratingly vague about its fantastical premise. The movie centers on a mysterious traveling spirit known as “A,” which — as you can read above — inhabits a different body every day. Unfortunately, there's little-to-no exploration as to why or how A (conveniently) only inhabits the bodies of camera-friendly teens. The best thing about this premise is that it injects the otherwise tired and homogeneous teen romance genre with a new look. (Actually, it ends up being closer to 15 new looks.)
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 12th, 2018
Summer continues to heat up, and so does our weekly Tuesday Round Up! This week’s crop of releases features action, comedy…and titles that contain plenty of both! Warner Bros. goes digging for adventure with Tomb Raider (4K), the big-screen reboot of the mega-popular videogame franchise. If you’re looking for laughs AND action, Paramount has you covered by releasing the Eddie Murphy one-two punch of Trading Places and Coming to America on Blu-ray and the Jerry Lewis 10-Film Collection before changing gears and giving everyone’s favorite time-travelling killer cyborg a UHD makeover with Terminator: Genisys (4K). And if you want to watch a really nice guy run for a long time, Paramount is also releasing a little movie called Forrest Gump (4K). Universal keeps the laughs coming with Will & Grace — The Revival: Season 1, but also gets scary with The Strangers: Prey at Night. Last but not least, Fox injects some romance into the week with teen dramedy Love, Simon.
Of course, I couldn't go on and on about all this great action and great comedy without mentioning the sequel to a movie that did both at the highest level: later this week, we’ll have a review for Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles 2. On top of that, Warner Bros. tries to avoid being “it” with Tag, while Focus Features throws on a cardigan and revisits beloved icon Mister Rogers with Won’t You Be My Neighbor. Before you run off until next week, here's 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 9th, 2018
“Plenty of people out there to patch up the good guys…”
We’ve definitely gotten more than our fair share of movies and TV shows focusing on the lives of heroic doctors who heal common folk. Heck, even superheroes have someone like Night Nurse to tend to their more serious nicks and bruises. But what about less savory fictional characters…aren’t big screen bad guys entitled to quality health care too?! Hotel Artemis, the star-studded directorial debut of screenwriter Drew Pearce, answers that question with flair and the appropriate playfulness.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 6th, 2018
“We can’t take any credit for our talents. It’s how we use them that counts.”
Much has been made about the fact that Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time is the most expensive movie ever directed by a woman of color, carrying a reported $103-million price tag. The good news is the filmmaker has absolutely infused her own personality and perspective into this live-action Disney spectacle (no small feat, by the way). The bad news is that DuVernay has taken those considerable resources and made a wildly uneven movie that, at various points, somehow manages to look both way more expensive and way cheaper than its budget would suggest.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 6th, 2018
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
Freak Show centers on a flamboyant, fish-out-of-water teen who doesn’t fit in among his fellow high schoolers. The movie — a promising directorial debut from Trudie Styler, aka the wife of legendary musician Sting — works best when it finally lands on the notion that practically every teenager feels like a “freak” at one point or another. It’s a good, worthwhile message; the problem is other aspects of this film are about as subtle as Billy’s wardrobe and makeup choices.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 5th, 2018
For this week's busy Round Up, we're going down to a certain fictional Colorado town and having ourselves a time. Paramount/Comedy Central releases South Park: Season 21 this week, and it's sure to both offend and crack you up. Elsewhere, Warner Bros. finds romance each and Every Day, while Cult Epics becomes acquainted with Frank & Lola. Cinedigm follows the yellow brick road with Steam Engines of Oz, while SKO looks at things from a new angle with Altered Perception. Meanwhile, Film Movement travels to Japan for unconventional romance Oh Lucy! and quiets down with The Great Silence. Rooster Teeth gets animated with RWBY: Volume 5, while Shout! Factory stands out in a fabulous way with Freak Show. Finally, Disney goes on an interdimensional adventure with A Wrinkle in Time and learns how to fly with Peter Pan: Multi-Screen Edition. (Read our review of the latter now.) You can also currently check out our reviews of Shout! Factory's Satellite Girl & Milk Cow, CBS' Jericho: The Complete Series and The Invaders: The Complete Series.
But wait...there's more! In addition to the home video titles we just mentioned, UpcomingDiscs is going to the movies a lot this week: we'll be checking into Hotel Artemis, dealing with family demons in Hereditary, getting in touch with our spiritual side with First Reformed, and pulling off the heist of a lifetime with Ocean's 8. 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: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 4th, 2018
“Look, all funny guys are damaged.”
It's no secret that some of the greatest and most memorable stand-up comics of all time — Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, to name a few — were as troubled as they were talented. Of course, turning their inner turmoil into comedy was a big part of what made them legends. Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here is a dramedy about a group of struggling Los Angeles comics in the 1970s. But the show is at its worst when it takes the art of stand-up comedy way too seriously.
Posted in: Site News by J C on May 29th, 2018
If you've visited this website at any point this century, you know the name Gino Sassani. Gino is the senior editor/fearless leader of Upcomingdiscs.com and an award-winning recording artist for Omega Records currently working on his 8th album. Please join us in congratulating him on his latest accolade: Gino was recently voted into the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA).
SEFCA members publish their work or live in Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Gino began reviewing films in the early 1990s as a segment of his local television show, “Focus.” Working out of his home theater, which is affectionately known as “The Reel World,” Gino has written over 3,000(!) reviews since he joined the site in 2000. Gino has had the honor of chatting with a diverse group of industry giants — ranging from Joe Dante to Ice Cube — and has posted the interviews, along with dozens of others, as podcasts on the site.
