Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 23rd, 2011
Boxing has never been a particularly popular sport for me to watch. The boxing world has always seemed to be one of lies and politics. But on the other hand, I will watch with interest any movie that has boxing as a major subject. Rocky, Raging Bull, heck The Great White Hype are all fine examples of exciting boxing movies. That is why when I received Knockout with Steve Austin, my interest was peaked a little to say the least. Let us see how it goes.
Matthew Miller (played by Daniel Magder) chews his nails and doesn’t like the fact that he is in the middle of nowhere (Tacoma, Washington). His mother, Christine (played by Janet Kidder) gets after him for his nail biting and tells him that he had to drop out of private school and go to public school because times are tight. She does it in a rather melodramatic manner and it is no wonder that Matthew didn’t just punch out her lights right there. That would have been a boxing movie to be proud of.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 23rd, 2011
There are usually two schools of thought when it comes to judging sequels. One tends to be very harsh on the proceedings expecting it to surpass the original (which it hardly ever does) in all aspects of film-making. The other still expects a good film but realizes that this sort of thing is usually financially driven and just hopes for something that can favorable stand against the original. I happen to be in the later crowd. But, I certainly found myself inching towards the former when I received the blu-ray package to review Ip Man 2, Legend of the Grandmaster. Let's go inside, shall we?
Ip Man (played Donnie Yen)has escaped from Foshan and has made way with his family to the Hong Kong of the 1950's. His wife, Cheung Wing-Sing (played by Lynn Hung) is pregnant with her second child. However, the family is barely making ends meet. Cheung can't work much and Ip Man's martial arts school isn't going as well as planned. They can hardly cover rent and school fees for their son, Ip Chun (played by Li Chak).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on April 22nd, 2011
The Green River Killer was responsible for the deaths and disappearance of dozens of young girls during the 1980s. This two part miniseries, originally airing on the Lifetime network, chronicles the two decade long investigation made by Sheriff David Reichart.
Spread out over two episodes. The mystery plot can wear a bit thin at points and start to resemble a watered down TV police drama, but credit must be given for how the director recreated both the era it took place in, as well as the sense of sickening frustration the police felt for having spent so many years chasing one person. The grim realization these investigators have is that the only way they can gather more useful evidence is by having more bodies emerge in their search. The higher the body count, the greater their chances are that the killer will leave behind a piece of evidence they can use, taking into consideration that this was a time before our modern understanding and use of DNA evidence (a point that become the linchpin to the eventual apprehension the title of the film promises).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2011
I've long held the belief that the folks at Pixar are really just children who have refused to grow up. That doesn't mean that they don't have to deal with the realities that adulthood thrust upon each of us. I'm sure they have families and are responsible citizens and parents. They consistently make movies, that while there is certainly appeal for children, are obviously intended for adults, adults like them, who have decided to never grow up. If you ever required proof of that concept, The Incredibles should prove the point quite nicely. Brad Bird and his team weren't writing about superheroes. They decided to do a movie about themselves. Finally out in high-definition Blu-ray the team now calls all of us like-minded souls to join the fold. This Blu-ray serves as our membership card and absolutely grants all of the privileges of membership right from your most comfortable home theatre seat. Count me in.
Bob Parr (Nelson) has a secret identity. He's in reality Mr. Incredible. He is a superhero who has dedicated his life to fighting crime. He has super strength and other abilities. He's not the only one. There is his best friend Lucius (Jackson) better known as the cool hero Frozone. There's also Helen (Hunter) who protects the city as Elastigirl. She has the same powers that The Fantastic Four's Mr. Fantastic has to stretch her body. Bob and Helen get married and join their superpowers with two super kids. Dash (Fox) has super speed and Violet (Vowell) has the abilities of The Fantastic Four's Susan Storm. She can become invisible and create powerful force fields. Unfortunately, the world has had enough of masked heroes. Lawsuits cause the heroes to turn in their capes, and they are put into a sort of witness protection program where they must swear off crime fighting. That's been hard for Bob and Lucius who do a little rescue work on the side while their wives think they're out bowling. It's a good thing, too. A new super-villain has emerged, and now it will be up to the Parr family to save the world from Syndrome (Lee), a one-time stalker fan who has decided to get revenge on the hero who once spurned his advances to join him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2011
"So far every person I've met in this strange place suffers from the most florid delusions, chasing green mists and looking for lost lords. I can only assume that this is the result of poor diet, or they're all just barking mad."
C.S. Lewis created an incredibly imaginative world when he wrote his Chronicles Of Narnia. The stories were an escape, of sorts, from a war-torn Europe. They integrated elements of Christianity in an effort to provide a semblance of hope in the form of a children’s fairy tale. And like all such tales, the world of Narnia was first and foremost a place of magic and bewilderment. It was a place where fantastic creatures of both good and evil thrived, living out epic lives of adventure. It was also a world where only children could enter. The stories became hugely popular, first in England, and eventually around the globe. Since that time we live in a different planet than the one Lewis was attempting to offer a respite from. Still, the images and ideals are remarkably relevant today. With such sweeping grand adventures and marvelous creatures, it’s no surprise that the franchise has found its way into films. The only real mystery is why it took so long. Perhaps it was necessary for the technology to finally catch up, providing a far more realistic and captivating experience. Some credit must also go to the enormous success of the Harry Potter and even the Lord Of The Rings films. With the investment of time and money required to bring such a world into existence on celluloid, there must be some reasonable assurance that, if done correctly, there was a large enough profit to be found. These earlier, and continuing, franchises have overwhelmingly proven that point. It was only a matter of time before the studio that practically invented movie magic would find such a place as Narnia and claim it for their own. When you combine these extraordinary histories together, can there be any question as to the results?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2011
"I guess every town has their own boogeyman stories... There's always a moral, mainly don't pick on the nerdy kids, don't have pre-marital sex, don't do drugs."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2011
"A trip down memory lane and right into harm's way."
From the first frame to the final credit sequence, you will at once feel like you're watching some lost 1980's slasher film that was somehow misplaced among the entire generation of low-budget formula horror films. The music sounds almost like a direct rip-off of John Carpenter's Halloween theme, and that's not intended as an insult. The cheap synth track was the soundtrack for an entire generation of late-night-date movie-goers from the mid 1970's until the 80's ended. Director Drew Rosas is obviously a true fan of the era and genre. I've seen too many attempts to capture that look and feel before. But there's something a little different about this one. Rosas has more than just a sound-alike score going for him. The film stock looks like it was lifted right out of a time warp stuck in 1978. There are even well-placed scratches and dirt artifacts to give the film an aged look. Beyond that, there is a texture to it all that defies coherent description. You know it when you see it, and Drew Rosas apparently knows it, because I saw it on Blood Junkies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on April 14th, 2011
Urine jokes. Fart jokes. Breast and penis jokes. What could be more tasteless? How about telling them all in a place where people are trying to eat? That’s the unappetizing summary of Still Waiting …, one of those unnecessary, straight-to-video sequels designed to make a quick payoff before the first film’s fans catch on.
The 2005 original Waiting . . . was, well, fairly original. Writer-director Rob McKittrick based it very loosely on his own experiences working in typical franchise restaurants – think Bennigan’s, Chili’s or TGIFridays. That ensemble comedy, set in a place named Shenaniganz, starred Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris, who wisely avoided this tacky follow-up. Returning cast members include Rob Benedict as a horny manager and Alana Ubach as an exceptionally testy hostess. Others, including Justin Long, Chi McBride and Luis Guzman, show up in extended cameos, as do Max Kasch and Andy Milonakis as the white boys who pose as gangsta rappers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on April 14th, 2011
(checks calender) “my goodness its been a few days...time to review another Michael Madsen film”
Michael Madsen goes WAY outside of his normal acting niche and plays a badass killer. Really different from his previous roles (please refer to my two month old review of Madsen's Brazen Bull to reveal just how sarcastic this opening paragraph is https://upcomingdiscs.com/2011/02/23/the-brazen-bull/#more-15588).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2011
When the WB merged with the UPN to form the hybrid CW, a lot of good things happened. The new network stepped away from the twenty-something shows that began to all look the same after a while. The network began to take on cutting edge genre shows like Supernatural and Smallville. But deep down inside there was still that family drama mentality that drove at least one of the parent networks. Life Unexpected is, unfortunately, a totally expected result of that dark place.
The premise is actually pretty interesting. Lux (Robertson) is a 16-year-old girl who has spent her entire life in foster care. She has been bounced from home to shelter to home again 7 times in those 16 years. She's lived with drug addicts and abusive situations. She's had it, and so she decides to seek legal emancipation. Because her parents are still alive and somehow never gave up their rights, she needs their signatures on the court documentation. She finds her father first. Nate Bazile or Baze (Polaha) is a guy who's refused to grow up. He lives in a loft above a bar he runs primarily so he can drink for free. His father (Thomas) owns the building, and the bar is just one of many unresolved issues between them. He lives with two roommates who are only slightly more mature than he is, including English teacher Math (Basis). He's shocked when Lux shows up, because he didn't even know she existed. Together they contact her mom, Cate (Appleby), who is a popular radio talk show host with her partner and soon to be fiancée Ryan (Smith). Cate gave Lux up for adoption unaware that she had a heart condition that required her to remain in the hospital until she was three. That made her a tough adoption candidate. So, when Lux shows up she is just as surprised, believing she was happy and in a family. The emancipation doesn't happen, and Baze and Cate are given joint custody of Lux.
![Ip Man 2 (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/ip-man-2-collectors-edition-blu-large.jpg)
![The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyag-large.jpg)
![Still Waiting... (Unrated) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/still-waiting-unrated-blu-ray-large.jpg)
