Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
It’s official. I’ve just totally given up on Adam Sandler. Honestly, I haven’t laughed at anything he’s done since the music video for The Lonesome Kicker. How many times can the same absurdity and Romper Room antics work on a film audience? Even in a Walt Disney film that required Sandler to clean up his act a bit, the same sophomoric humor was showing through the threadbare shtick. You just knew there were times he wanted to let loose with some off color remark or obscene gesture. While I was pleased that he gave it the effort, it’s like asking a mute man to talk after you just tied up his hands.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
“The Black Freighter, the Hell bound ship’s black sails against the yellow Indies sky. I know again the stench of powder and men’s brains and war…more blood”
Zack Snyder had a big problem. He was trying to make a film out of a graphic novel that many acclaim as the best graphic novel ever written. Many directors before him have declared the project unfilmable. Alan Moore, the writing part of the book’s creation team, was dead set against a film version of the book and refused to have his name associated with the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2009
“A dog has no use for fancy cars, or big houses, or designer clothes. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give ‘em your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”
In the name of full disclosure, I should probably give you a little background in the circumstances in which I find myself watching and reviewing Marley & Me. If you’re a regular reader of this site and my reviews, you have come to learn that I have a Siberian Husky named Athena.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire has become the latest “must see” Best Picture award winner. While I actually liked the film better than I imagined I would, it’s precisely because the movie is not what it appears, or at times claims to be. If I just took the buzz and advertisement campaign to heart, I would expect a Bollywood picture to the extreme. If you’re not really sure what that term means, I can tell you that this movie will not really clarify anything for you. The traditional Bollywood, Indian made films, feature intense tragedy and love stories. They are usually swimming in song and dance numbers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 1st, 2009
For first time screen writer Allen Loeb, Things We Lost In The Fire is quite an ambitious script. It relies almost completely on the writing and the performances that can be gotten from the acting leads. There’s really no place to hide in this story for anybody. And while I certainly found several elements of the story forced or contrived, there was an underlining emotion to the whole thing that carried through strong enough for the actors to find some very solid grounding. With that grounding Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro delivered what should have been award winning performances.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 26th, 2009
His name is Craig, Daniel Craig. Love him or hate him, we have to accept the fact that this blue-eyed rather rugged sculpture of a man is the face of James Bond, now and for the foreseeable future. I’ll admit to being more of a nostalgic Bond fan, and have the image of Sean Connery forever etched into my brain as the quintessential 007. But, it’s not only the drastic change in appearance and demeanor that makes this a hard film for me to embrace. For the first time in the franchise’s 22 film and 35 year history we have a Bond movie that is a direct sequel of the previous one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 26th, 2009
On January 23, 2002 Daniel Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and eventually killed by terrorists while working in Pakistan. A Mighty Heart is based on this true story. The narrative comes from the book by his wife Marianne Pearl. While this is certainly the tragic tale of a murdered reporter, this film is more the story of Marianne and her struggle to locate Pearl in the 10 days from his capture until a video tape surfaced depicting his beheading.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 26th, 2009
I was very eager to revisit this film now that it has come our way on Blu-ray and high definition. There are issues that I struggled with in my own viewing that I will discuss later in this review. In high definition this film becomes a case study in contradiction. It’s amazing how pretty a thing can be when it really isn’t very pretty at all. We are witness to bad things, but the director chooses to present these things amid a flurry of beauty. It’s a rather striking contrast, made more so on Blu-ray. It actually made for a much more effective experience, even if most of my initial feelings about the film remain unchanged.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Athena on March 23rd, 2009
Hi, Athena here. Well, this is going to be my last post for the doggie movies at Upcomingdiscs. Gino says it’s time to retire. He says my investments need to be cashed in so I can take it easy, before they’re all gone. I guess that means someone’s trying to eat up my treats. They better watch out or I’m going to go Siberian Husky all over them. I may be 14 years old and a little slow, but my teeth work just fine. Just ask Baby. She’s the newest member of the family here, and I had to let her know who the boss is right away, if you know what I mean.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2009
“When you wish upon a star. Makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.
When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do… Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.”
The song has become a standard. Every kid knows it. Walt Disney Studios has made it their theme song. You hear it each time you load up a Disney disc. If you have been fortunate enough to have visited Walt Disney World, you’ve heard it the entire day long.
![Bedtime Stories (Plus Standard DVD + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/bedtime-stories-plus-standard-dvd-large.jpg)
![Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/watchmen-tales-of-the-black-freigh-large.jpg)
![Marley And Me (3-disc Bad Dog Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/marley-and-me-3-disc-bad-dog-editi-large.jpg)
![Slumdog Millionaire [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/slumdog-millionaire-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Things We Lost in the Fire [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/things-we-lost-in-the-fire-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/quantum-of-solace-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![A Mighty Heart [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/a-mighty-heart-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Kite Runner [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-kite-runner-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Bolt (Three-Disc Edition w/ Standard DVD + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/bolt-three-disc-edition-w-standar-large.jpg)
![Pinocchio (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition + Standard DVD) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/pinocchio-two-disc-70th-anniversar-large.jpg)
