Posted in: Random Fun by Archive Authors on October 25th, 2015
The Black Knight satellite is one of many tantalizing so-called true tales that are circulating on YouTube and various cable outlets like the History Channel. I say so-called true tales because many believe stories about aliens are total nonsense. But not everyone believes so. A National Geographic survey says 77 percent of all Americans believe there are signs that aliens have visited Earth. A Harris poll says 68 percent of all Americans believe that Jesus is the son of God. A HuffPost/YouGov poll shows that 45 percent believe in ghosts and 64 percent believe in life after death. A 2009 CBS poll said 78 percent believe in the afterlife. I could go on, but it is all in the same general range.
Thousand of movies of all kinds have played with our imagination on these subjects. Steven Spielberg is one of the most famous filmmakers to deal with these subjects both as a director and a producer. Here is a list of some of the movies and TV shows that Spielberg has been involved with: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, all of the Indiana Jones movies, Poltergeist, Young Sherlock Holmes, All the Transformer movies, Extant, Falling Skies, all the Men in Black movies, Terra Nova, Cowboys and Aliens, Super 8, Hereafter, The Lovely Bones, Monster House, Taken, Casper, Always, batteries not included, Amazing Stories, War of the Worlds and Night Gallery. That's just one person's output on ghosts and aliens. It is a topic that is endlessly dealt with. And with the current climate of internet blogging, there is an endless amount of material that was not easily available before, like the Black Knight satellite. That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So many movies are dealing with this information. Transformers is a perfect example, with depictions of robot bases on the moon and alien robots precipitating the mass extinction event of most species on Earth 68,000 years ago. The last Superman movie, Man of Steel, showed an ancient rocket ship buried in the North Pole. This stuff isn't new. H.P. Lovecraft wrote a story called In the Mountains of Madness nearly a hundred years ago that led to stories like The Thing, which has been made into a movie three times so far (although a recent faithful big-budget adaption stalled because of giant ego clashes).
Posted in: Contests, Tuesday Round Up by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2015
Howdy there, partners. Gino back in the Tuesday Round Up rotation. This time Johnny caught me asleep down at the bunkhouse, and now I'm pullin' double duty tonight. That's OK. I'm gettin' him back later. I have a pretty good reptile collection here on the Upcomingdiscs Ranch, and I'm pickin' out a special sleepin' buddy for good ol' Johnny.
Enough horseplay. We've got titles coming out this week. Look for reviews on the following. You hockey pucks are going to just love the Don Rickles Ultimate Television Collection out from Timeless Media. Learn about the birds and the bees (or is that the Tooties and the Blairs?). It's The Facts Of Life Season 7 from Shout. Warner Brothers will knock you out with The Mike Tyson Mysteries. Anchor Bay is opening up the books for Making The Mob. We're sending a lucky winner History's The Curse Of Oak Island Season 2. Look for that contest coming soon. MPI is invading the classic television landscape with My Favorite Martian: The Complete Series. Lionsgate ends it all with the thriller Z For Zachariah and finds religion in The Vatican Tapes.
Posted in: Contests, Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 13th, 2015
Ready to get Rocked? Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson headlines this week’s Tuesday Round Up, and he’s here to shake things up with Warner Bros.’ earthquake disaster hit San Andreas. Warner also hangs out at The Gallows, counts to The 100: Season 2, and develops quite The Following: Season 3. Shout! Factory answers our prayers with The Saint: Seasons 1&2, and Magnolia grieves The Little Death. Finally, we say farewell to Mad Men: The Final Season — Part 2 with a Coke and a smile.
Don't forget to tell us which of this week's Round Up offerings caught your eye? Once a month we’re going to give away a free DVD title to a lucky winner who comments in our weekly Round-Up posts. All you have to do is comment in 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: 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: 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: 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.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 15th, 2015
That sound you hear blaring out of UpcomingDiscs headquarters this week is probably The Who. We’ll be saying B-Y-E to CSI, as The Final Season of the long-running procedural crime drama arrives courtesy of CBS/Paramount, which also delivers CSI: Cyber — Season 1. If you listen closely, you might also catch a little Electric Light Orchestra as Universal Music Group offers up ELO: Live in Hyde Park. HBO dives into the disturbed psyches of Nightingale and The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Shout! Factory passes down The Legacy and The Bold Ones: The Protectors — The Complete Series.
Disney swings by with Monkey Kingdom, MPI Home Video rockets Closer to the Moon and cops to The Seven Five, while A&E Home Video revisits The Returned: Season 1. Warner Bros. geeks out with The Big Bang Theory: Season 8, and you can already check out our take on Peanuts: The EMMY Honored Collection.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 8th, 2015
Despite our heroic efforts to bring you the best, most detailed reviews we possibly can, nobody here at UpcomingDiscs wears a cape. Neither do the heroes in Gotham: Season 1, which leads the pack of new titles arriving this week. We've already reminisced with Image Entertainment's Crystal Lake Memories and copped to Shout! Factory's Hill Street Blues: Season 6, while Warner Bros. will also offer Supernatural: Season 10 to go along with Gotham. Shout! Factory also answers When Calls the Heart: Heart and Home, and CBS/Paramount will spill Blue Bloods: Season 5. Lionsgate lives in The Age of Adaline and pulls off an American Heist, while Entertainment One offers us Haven: Season 5, Vol. 1.
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.
Posted in: Tribute by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2015
"One … two… Freddy’s coming for you, three… four… better lock the door, five… six… grab your crucifix, seven… eight better stay up late, nine....ten … Never Sleep Again."
Our nightmares just got a little less vivid on Sunday. That's because we've lost the man who has so expertly painted them for almost 40 years. Of course I'm talking about Wes Craven. For most of my life he was the Master of Horror.
Posted in: Random Fun by Archive Authors on September 1st, 2015
Popular opinion and so-called critical opinion often seem to careen off cliffs like lemmings in increasingly unpredictable ways guided by whims and subtle shifts in the proverbial winds. I find myself shocked by things praised and things condemned. Sometimes I feel like a little boy who sees a naked emperor while everyone else is shrieking how much they love the new elegant ensemble. In this case, I'm seeing a lovely presentation while there are many who are whining. Part of the problem is that Season 2 of True Detective is considerably distinct from Season 1. The nature of the series is that each season is a complete reboot with a new cast and location. American Horror Story also changes locations and characters but tends to recycle actors. True Detective made a determined attempt to change everything. The one thing it retained is the brooding, noir roots.
Vince Vaughn was fantastic, and that's not something I've said in a long time. He was a trim and towering figure (also something that couldn't be said for a long time). Vaughn's complex, sharp, troubled, and intimidating Frank Semyon was the edgy focus of the series. He was not the detective. There were not two this time, but three.
