Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2011
Written by John Delia
I don’t know if you recently had the opportunity to see The Lion King in 3D at your local theater or the original version in 1994 when it came out, but I had the opportunity to see the film in the 3D Blu-ray disc version and it’s amazing. The film will probably never be replaced as the all time animated entertainment event for me because it has all the action, drama, comedy and values that make it the best for family viewing, and now in 3D Blu-ray.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2011
"I guess if this is the first you're hearing about it, I know how this must all sound."
Unless you've been in a coma like the lead character of The Walking Dead, you've been hearing a lot about this AMC television series of late. It's no wonder. I'm amazed that it's taken so long to see a zombie television series. The show has incredible visuals. There's a courtyard scene at the beginning of the pilot that is as impressive as anything you've seen in a movie. And when a character has to shoot a 6-year-old girl in the head, you understand instantly that this is going to be something unique.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2011
We all remember Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy from Married With Children. It's an iconic role that he'll never be able to shake no matter what he does for the rest of his life. After that series ended its 11-year run, he even attempted to get out of comedy and take more dramatic roles. I'm sure there was a deliberate intent to try to distance himself from Al. It's not that he likely didn't love playing the role. He just wanted to avoid getting forever typecast in the mold.Those efforts weren't all that successful. But now he's back where he belongs again in a pretty solid sit-com. He's not playing Al Bundy any more, although you won't have to look very hard to find some of Bundy in Jay from Modern Family.
I have become somewhat frustrated over the television comedy genre for a lot of years. It seems that they all take the same path no matter what the show's actual concept might be. It's usually the same jokes, just in a different environment. I don't have children, but I expect that it must be near impossible to sit down and watch a comedy with your family any more. If I were a stranger visiting this planet for the first time, I would quickly come to the conclusion that sex is about the only thing that's funny here. Thank God that once in a while something fresh comes along and swims against the current tide of innuendo and toilet humor. Modern Family is the kind of show you can enjoy with the entire family. And guess what? It's pretty darn funny on top of it all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2011
Yes formed in 1968 and instantly became a pioneer in the area of progressive rock. The band utilized classical trends and ideas to create epic musical pieces that were often over 10 minutes in length. While that made AM radio success more fleeting, the band was huge at its peak, joining the ranks of Emerson, Lake and Palmer in the genre as one of the most endearing and enduring bands of the era. While there have been many musicians to come and go over the years, the most popular lineup includes Jon Anderson on vocals, Steve Howe on lead guitar, Chris Squire on bass, Alan White on drums and Geoff Downs on keyboards. Certainly, they haven't enjoyed the same amount of success in recent years, yet the band manages to survive in one form or another to this very day.
Eagle Rock Entertainment has given us a chance to drop in on our old friends and see how the last 43 years have treated the band in their Blu-ray release of Yes Symphonic Live. The concert takes place in Amsterdam in 2001 and is part of the band's triumphant tour with a full orchestra. It's something they hadn't really done quite like this before. The tour was intended to promote their latest release Magnification which features the return to the long-form songs and classical roots. It's likely the biggest concert tour the band has given in respect to arrangements and stage presence. They still appear to have a spark even if you won't find Howe or Squire moving about as frantically as they once did. Of all of the band members Anderson appears the least worse for wear and has incredible energy and a voice as strong as you remember from the glory days.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 5th, 2011
Previously on this site I had reviewed Season 4 of this legendary program (https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/10/15/gunsmoke-season-4-volume-1/) and Season 5 still predates the major changes that occurred over this show's 20 year run, primarily consisting of supporting cast changes so that review can just about double as fair coverage of this season as well; which I hope conveys a testament to this show's consistency of quality and not to my personal laziness as a writer. Indeed, this season continues to provide entertaining evidence as to why this show lasted so long and remains beloved to this day.
James Arness' Marshall Matt Dillon keeps a stern, watchful eye on the city of Dodge. The stakes were always high in each episode's adventure, and any slip up, be you a hero or villain, could cost you your life. Being a production from the late 1950s we do deal with more than a few character stereotypes. The gypsies are devious, the natives are primitive, and the white yokels are frighteningly ignorant and violent. Dillon, as the final word of the law in all situations, makes a decent mediator and remains without prejudice so long as you keep on the happy side of his law...or you end up on the business end of his gun in many cases
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on October 5th, 2011
“It's worse than I thought, but it's even worse upstairs… It’s dangerous. Do not go there.”
Uruguayan director Gustavo Hernández claims to have shot the first 78 minutes of The Silent House in one continuous unbroken take. Personally, I don’t believe that to be true, as there are plenty of times the camera goes to black passing furniture or into shadows which could hide a cut, but he does pull off the illusion with some incredibly long uninterrupted shots, and that is very impressive indeed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 4th, 2011
It is concert time folks and I got another good from the folks at Eagle Rock Entertainment. Hope my audience today likes the Eighties rock and roll because we got a doozie of a band tonight. They are The Pretenders famous for such songs as Message of Love and Back on the Chain Gang. Like many bands of their time, they are formed from the heart of England but they have fully embraced the American way. But without further adieu, let's go to the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Maybe they can “Bring out the Biker” in all of us (once I figure out what that means).
The Pretenders were formed in 1978 out of Hereford, England. The original lineup consisted of Chrissie Hynde as lead singer and on rhythm guitar, James Honeyman-Scott on lead guitar, Pete Farndon on bass and Martin Chambers on drums. They were named after the Platter's song The Great Pretender and would go on to release their first album (self-titled) in the beginning of 1980. It would eventually reach platinum but take over two years to do so.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 4th, 2011
Written by John Delia
The action thriller Fast Five with its hot rod theme leaves the past four episodes of Fast & Furious in the dust. Now on Blu-ray the high-on-energy, exhilarating plot and amazing chase scenes make this a must-see adrenaline pumper. Within the opening 20 minutes it gets so wild it took my breath away.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on October 4th, 2011
“I am in the oldest profession in the world.”
Ray (Thomas Jane) is a middle-aged divorcee knocked to his knees by the recession. His home is fire-damaged, he lives in a tent in his backyard, the school he works for as a coach keeps slashing his department’s funding and threatening layoffs, he’s still in love with his neurotic ex-wife, Jessica (Anne Heche) and is struggling as a single father to raise social-misfit teen twins, Damon (Charlie Saxton) and Darby (Sianoa Smit-McPhee). In Season One, he met Tanya (Jane Adams) and she convinced him to use his natural gifts (read well-endowed penis) as a male prostitute with her and her sociopathic frenemy, Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff) as his pimps. Together they would be “Happiness Consultants”, bringing joy to lonely, middle-aged women around Detroit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2011
"New York City 1958: In these concrete canyons, everybody's got an angle. The beauty with the sob story who killed her old man. The harmless geezer who's in bed with the mob. The kidnapped broad who's really a fraud. When a case gets too twisted for the cops, only one man can straighten it out: two-fisted gumshoe Mike Hammer."
My earliest memories of Darren McGavin are the tough reporter that stumbled upon supernatural creatures in Kolchak: The Night Stalker. That short-lived series had a huge impact on the likes of Chris Carter and would inspire shows like The X-Files and Supernatural. But Darren McGavin was already a steady veteran of television screens long before his Chicago reporter staked his first vampire. He first came into American living rooms in the 1950's as Mickey Spillane's fast-talking film noir detective Mike Hammer. As Mike Hammer he would influence another entirely different genre of television shows. There would be no James Rockford or Magnum PI without him. The character would reappear decades later with Stacey Keach in the title role, but if you want to know what makes the classic television detective tick, you have to go back to the source. A&E just made that possible, and you won't need a Delorean equipped with the optional flux capacitor to do it.
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