Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 28th, 2011
The longest running show in prime time doesn’t feature cops, doctors, or lawyers. It’s hard to believe that The Simpsons have existed as long as the Fox network. While the series didn’t really begin until Fox’s second year, the characters were part of The Tracey Ullman Show, which did start the first year of Fox. Who could have guessed that an animated short from an otherwise horrible and doomed variety show would explode into such a phenomenon? The Simpsons have not only dominated the pop culture; they have placed everything else into context with their show. Like Doonesbury, it could be said that the only thing worse than being made fun of on The Simpsons is not being made fun of on The Simpsons. With that said, you’ll understand my warm feelings and appreciation for this show.
This thing has been on forever. Still, it never gets old. The show has a charm yet edginess to it that can’t be beat. Let’s not forget that while kids might love the show, this stuff is intended for adults. We’re not talking South Park trash talk here; every episode is a veritable treasure hunt of subtle and not-so-subtle cultural references. Even after seeing an episode several times, it’s not uncommon for me to find something that I missed before.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 24th, 2011
With smaller cable networks stepping up in the last few years and producing high-quality, original programming, we are living in a veritable Golden Age of television.
And yet.......
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2011
It all started with a very short novel by French author Pierre Boulle. It wasn't even that much of a hit at first. But a small group of Hollywood moguls led by Arthur P. Jacobs believed in the property and worked hard to get a film made. It wasn't easy. They had to interest a big star and make a test reel in order to get anyone to bite. Fortunately for us all, Fox did bite. After five films, a television series, and a cartoon run, the franchise ran out of steam by the middle of the 1970's. Tim Burton almost killed the chance at rebirth with his terrible remake. But in science fiction, nothing really dies forever. The Apes have returned in one of the best remakes, if it could be called that, in the last 20 years.
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes is not really a remake of the original 1968 film. It's more closely related to the fourth film in the franchise, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes. In that film the infant son of Cornelius and Zira grows into an adult and eventually leads a revolt of the ape population. By that time apes had replaced cats and dogs as pets, which had been killed in a plague. The apes were forced into slavery and Caesar, played by Roddy McDowall, would lead them toward that ape civilization Charlton Heston's Taylor finds in the original movie. It all came rather nicely full circle, and that was eventually the end of it. This film, while honoring much of the traditions of the franchise, tells a much different origin story, but it's a good one.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 23rd, 2011
“Check it out, someone is selling a ghost online at Ubid!”
You know those ghost story movies where the victims not only do incredibly stupid things which further endanger them, but they are so thick they refuse to believe in ghosts even after they have been physically thrown across the room by something invisible and people around them are dying in mysterious unexplained ways? Kill Katie Malone is one of those movies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2011
"This film documents the Vietnam War in the words of Americans who served there. It features home movies and rare archival footage collected during a worldwide search and now presented in HD. Many scenes are graphic in nature. Viewer discretion is advised."
A while back History brought us one of the best war documentaries I've seen for television. That was called WWII In HD and put you as close to the real battlefield as any American has come since the brave soldiers who fought there so many years ago. The images were stunning and the descriptions came from the words of several people who were actually there. We reviewed the release. Bang it here to read up on that title: WWII In HD Review. Not content with that wonderful accomplishment, the network has turned those same talents on the far more controversial war in Vietnam. Enter Vietnam In HD.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 23rd, 2011
Most people know me to be a pretty big fight fan (with the exception of boxing which has gone tremendously downhill since the eighties). I love wrestling (even though it is scripted) and watch a great deal of Mixed martial arts, better known as MMA. The thrill of combat, the fascination of pure athleticism and talent is what straps me to my seat and never lets me go. I had the immense pleasure to catch the movie Warrior before it hit theaters and now I get to visit it a second time on DVD.
(*Author’s Note: Most of this is borrowed from my review when I watched it in theaters. However, I have added a few notes along with video/audio/extras. Enjoy.*)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2011
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the pre-eminent holiday fare success story. Not only was it gigantically successful for Dickens himself, to the point that not only did he then follow it up with other Christmas books (The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Haunted Man), but he also took charge of one of its early adaptations, trimming it down for oral performances. It has also, of course, been the subject of numerous film versions, with everyone from the Muppets to Bill Murray having a go. This one, from 1970, turns the story into a musical.
Albert Finney, grimacing and hunchbacked, and wearing a pretty obvious bald wig, takes on the role of the miser in need of redemption. On hand to provide said redemption are the likes of Alec Guinness, swanning about as a bizarrely fabulous Jacob Marley, Edith Evans as a Ghost of Christmas Present who has apparently come straight from playing Lady Bracknell in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest. The story hews fairly close to Dickens for a good chunk of its running time, though alters scenes inn order to accommodate a variety if rather dire songs. The cast, meanwhile, barely bothers to act, preferring to mug instead, and given the script, one can hardly blame them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 22nd, 2011
In college, after years and years of being bullied, picked on and everything else, I just wanted to vanish. The bbs/internet scene was in vogue at that time and I developed the moniker of Kedrix, the Forgotten One. I still use it from time to time. The truth is, I as well as many other people do want to be remembered and not forgotten. Our movie today, Snowmen deals with that very same subject. Hopefully, this movie is not forgettable.
Ahhh, the simplicity of snowmen on a cold winter’s day. Billy Kirkfield (played by Bobby Coleman) puts together some small snowmen as he watches another kid (covered in snow clothes) move in to a local house. Billy tries to say hi to the new kid but the bundled kid reaches down for a piece of ice. Billy protests the oncoming ice shot but to no avail. So, Billy does as any other kid would do and returns fire. But the unnamed kid has catlike reflexes and is able to dodge each and every snow ball thrown.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2011
By John Delia
At first look you may think that Margin Call is an extension of the film Wall Street, but as the film progresses I found a very good movie that really shows the effect of greed, contempt, lack of compassion, and survival of the fittest, no matter who gets squashed in the process. It’s like our economical climate these days; you never know when or where the next shoe will drop.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 22nd, 2011
“I'm just crazy about this store.”
Anyone who has worked the night crew in a grocery store, restocking shelves after the place is closed, knows how creepy it can be walking the aisles in the belly of a half-lit behemoth. Now imagine if you were being stalked while you stocked by a mutilating psychopath. This was obviously the motivation for writer/director Scott Spiegel when he created his Super-8 short film Night Crew with childhood friends Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell. After co-writing Evil Dead 2 with Sam Raimi, Spiegel chanced on an investor’s meager budget to elevate the short into a full-length feature slasher flick. The distributors didn’t care for the original title, and the film was released as Intruder.
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![Margin Call [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/margin-call-blu-ray-large.jpg)
