Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2009
“What is sacrifice? What does it mean to make a real difference?”
What do Al Gore and horror films have in common? To begin with both have been making money trying to scare the crap out of you. The second is that the plot of The Thaw sounds like it could have been penned by Captain Al himself. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2009
What do a messy divorce and a clan of flesh eating cannibals have in common? Well, in both cases someone gets their heart eaten out. They also share plot points in Offspring. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion in the last couple of years. I assume it is intended to denote a horror film that skirts the art house scene. So, how does Offspring fit into that mold?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2009
“On the full moon of the seventh lunar month, the gates of Hell open and the spirits of the dead are freed to roam among the living” – Chinese Myth.
I wonder if there’s a roaming charge on that plan. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion in the last couple of years. I assume it is intended to denote a horror film that skirts the art house scene and Seventh Moon certainly fits that description.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2009
Of the many films based on books by prolific writer Stephen King, Misery ranks near the top. Falling somewhere between the horror and thriller genres, this film about a twisted obsession is frightening because the premise seems very real.
Directed by Rob Reiner (A Few Good Men), who first visited King territory with his 1986 film Stand By Me, Misery tells the story of romance writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan, Elf) and the fan who rescues him after a car accident.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2009
“For more than 150 million years dinosaurs roamed every corner of the planet. Only a very few left evidence of their existence, their fossilized bones. And, those bones have never ceased to fascinate us.”
The box art to the new IMAX Blu-ray release of Dinosaurs Alive is more than a little bit misleading. The package elicits an image of thundering prehistoric beasts engaged in all sorts of primeval activities. And why not? It’s the stuff of our youth’s imaginations. Has there ever been a more fascinating true story than dinosaurs? But, if you’re expecting, or worse hoping, to get a high definition experience somewhat akin to the Walking With Dinosaurs specials, you’re apt to be more than a little bit disappointed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2009
“I’m the best there is at what I do and what I do isn’t very nice.”
So what do you do after three successful, if not critically acclaimed, X-Men feature films that brought in over a billion dollars total when you factor in domestic and foreign box office and home video sales? It was getting a bit expensive to bring back such a large and growing in popularity cast. Even if you wanted to spend the money for such an ensemble, it gets awfully difficult to write effectively for so many characters at once. Someone’s going to get the dark end of the spotlight. Hurt feelings aside, you can’t continue to please such a wide diverse group of fans.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2009
This was the final of Miramax 4 martial arts classics released as a collection or separately on Blu-ray. The collection featured some extraordinary action and top line star power for the most part. Zatoichi, for the most part, is the weakest of the four films. It is almost a solo effort by renowned Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano. He participated in writing the script. He is also the director, editor, and star of this rather off the wall martial arts film. The character of Zatoichi has appeared in many films and is as much a part of martial arts culture as Jackie Chan.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2009
It’s nice to see some of these staple films starting to reach the Blu-ray high definition releases. Unfortunately there really isn’t anything new here at all. The picture is an upgrade but not as outstanding as you might expect. The audio doesn’t really get much better at all. Finally, all of the extras are merely ported over standard definition pieces from the most recent DVD release. It’s the best way to go if you don’t already own the film, but not remarkable enough to warrant an upgrade from any but the most die hard fans. And they didn’t need this review to talk them into it. For the rest of you, here’s what you can expect.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
Only two social classes existed in the tiny town of Chekian, China, circa 1858: the peasant citizenry, and those who lived in the Governor’s palace. Lawlessness was the order of the day; the streets of Chekian crawled with scum and villainy of every degree, from pickpockets to kidnappers to roving gangs of thugs and extortionists. The worst of all was none other than Governor Cheng himself, the greedy and corrupt ruler of the town (James Wong). The governor’s latest profitable but nefarious practice: to hoard the town food supply and gouge the poor and starving for every sliver of their meager livings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
He’s one of the most compelling villains of modern fiction. Disturbing, disgusting and absolutely captivating at the same time, Hannibal Lecter can really get inside your head.You may not have read the novels by Thomas Harris, or even seen all of the films, but I’m willing to bet you’re familiar with The Silence of the Lambs. One of the greatest thrillers in film history, the film in which Sir Anthony Hopkins became Dr. Lecter is the cornerstone of this three-movie set.
![The Thaw [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-thaw-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Offspring [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/offspring-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Seventh Moon [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/seventh-moon-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Misery [Blu-ray/DVD] [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/misery-blu-raydvd-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![IMAX: Dinosaurs Alive! [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/imax-dinosaurs-alive-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Two-Disc Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/x-men-origins-wolverine-two-disc-large.jpg)
![The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-blind-swordsman-zatoichi-blu--large.jpg)
![Child's Play [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/childs-play-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Iron Monkey [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/iron-monkey-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Hannibal Lecter Anthology [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-hannibal-lecter-anthology-blu--large.jpg)
