Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2011
"There are many among us who in the past closed their eyes to the events of war, because they believed that what was taking place in Europe was none of our business. That we could maintain our physical safety by retiring within our continental boundaries. Obviously, a defense policy based on that is merely to invite future attacks. For those who would not admit the possibility of the approaching storm, the past weeks have meant a shattering of past illusions."
No, that quote wasn't George W. Bush. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 26th, 1941. And yes, it was over 6 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's unceremonious personal invitation to World War II.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2011
"Remember back in the day when things were made by hand and people took pride in their work? My name is Rick Dale, and I bring these things back to life."
If you watch Pawn Stars on History, than Rick Dale really needs no introduction. From time to time the Pawn Stars guys get in something that they want to have restored to increase its value. For most of those projects they go to Rick and his team. Now Rick's gotten his own spin-off series, and it's set up very much like the other show from the grunge guitar soundtrack to some of the same wheel-and-deal aspects. This is pretty much the same production setup, and it will appeal to the fans of Pawn Stars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 16th, 2011
Over-the-top movies can be enjoyable vehicles to invest ninety minutes into. Movies like Planet Terror where somewhere behind the blood splatter and the lovely Rose McGowan who had a machine gun leg was an actual enjoyable story. But these movies do not just exist in America. Abroad, over in Japan, this type of film has been taken up to the Nth degree by the company Sushi Typhoon. This review covers their newest flic, Helldriver. Let’s see what we got.
A guy (played by Yukihide Benny) drives up in a bicycle wearing some black latex and goggles. No, this movie is not starting off strangely at all. He scales the wall in front of him using a grappling hook. He gets to the top and sits down to overlook the earth below. Out of his satchel, he produces a grizzled human head and throws it to the ground below him. Slowly but surely, a few zombies come out of the woodwork to enjoy a meal.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 15th, 2011
Six different Nickelodeon children's programs aimed at preschoolers each have their own Christmas (or Holiday) special episodes and are compiled together on this DVD release.
Dora the Explorer: Using tons of repetition and visual cues, Dora and her friends teach kids while alternating between English and Spanish. This time they need to go to the North Pole.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 13th, 2011
“What thousands must die, so that Caesar may become great.”
When Hong Kong released Infernal Affairs in 2002, it pretty much revived the Asian gangster genre and proved the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s Best Director Academy Award winner, The Departed. I saw The Departed before I watched Infernal Affairs and, now seeing it, must say I prefer Scorsese’s Boston noir re-envisioning of the film more than the original. I realize this goes against the hardcore fans and critics of the film, but it doesn’t take anything away from the hardboiled crime sensation directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak created.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 11th, 2011
In the 1980’s, I feasted on a bevy of animation growing up. I watched typical cartoon shows like Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Voltron. Honestly, my habits were to watch every piece of animation that came across in those days at least once. Yes, even the Care Bears. But sadly despite all of that, I completely missed some great ones. One of those truly great ones was the Robotech series. Now, with an 85 episode behemoth of a complete series set, I get a chance to rectify that grave injustice.
Robotech originally ran March of 1985 in the United States. It had started out as a Japanese series and then Harmony Gold USA came in, reworked the dialog and content so that they could sell it to stations in the US as first-run syndication. However, Harmony tried hard to include most of the complexity and drama of the source material. Producer Carl Macek supervised the proceedings and the sweeping epic was born. The show did very well and had attracted a more mature audience that was not expected.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 11th, 2011
"The 1920's in America: jazz music, girls who smoke, and the wing walkers. Like a giant party, only without the booze. Change was in the air. Skyscrapers displaced family farms, and revolutionary ideas challenged time-honored traditions."
Of course, one of those "revolutionary ideas" was the theories of Charles Darwin with the publication of his book On The Origin Of Species. The book had been out since 1859 and Darwin was long dead, but some of the ideas presented in his theories were about to cause a maelstrom across the United States when John Scopes was arrested for violating a new Tennessee law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools. The resultant Scopes, or Monkey Trial, would be the first court procedure carried live by radio and would put the ideas of religion and science on a collision course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
Here is a forgotten 80s, romantic dromedy that may have been forgotten for a reason. Various love triangles arise around the setting of a Demolition Derby. Jamie Lee Curtis and Patrick Swayze star in a tale packed with the usual 80s comedy tent poles such as weird dreams, screwball scenarios, and youths having to stand up for the little guy.
Cody (Curtis) might lose her Derby site until a recent high school graduate stumble into her life to help, and perhaps steal her heart. Meanwhile a derby rider (Swayze) is pulling his life together after his long time girlfriend starts having an affair. The story runs through the sort of formula we've all seen before, with those aforementioned signifiers of its place in the American 1980s along with familiar 80s actors appearing. Heck, they even have cameos by John and Joan Cusack and Michael Winslow (yes, the guy who does the sound effects from Police Academy) sneak in. The performances are acceptable, the gags are not the freshest, and the romance is jammed with heartache and conflict.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
The king of the parodies has been consistent in the studio, in videos and on stage for nearly 3 decades. This DVD allows him to prove the latter. Though various costume changes and instrument shifts, Al and his longtime band mates delight a packed Massey Hall in Toronto.
The lion's share of the set list is dedicated to Al's latest release Alpocalypse. Of course, a few of his staples, such as “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise” and “Fat” have to be present. There is also a lot of fan service made during a medley of 11 songs, new and old, played at the halfway point of the concert. During this set of songs, when it seems appropriate, Al will assume the lead character of the song . This sometimes means he's adopting the persona of the performer he is parodying, such as donning a blonde wig and thrashing about the stage ala Kurt Cobain, becoming the cartoonish version of an artust that has appeared in one of his music videos, such as Al's infamous fat suit for the “Fat” parody of Michael Jackson, or something completely original, such as his unnerving but amusingly lecherous lounge singer character for “Wanna B Ur Lovr,” who prowls through the audience seeking female targets to leer at while he croons sexual innuendos at them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
The Cartwright boys continue to do right on the Ponderosa Ranch in the state of Nevada. Having lasted 14 seasons, the series was relatively young in Season 2 but had already established Ben Cartwright and his three boys (from three different mothers) as household names on American television.
Plot wise, a good chunk of the stories revolve around the importance of having land. The Cartwrights hold the most lucrative plot in the area, and many a villain tries to find devious methods of taking it from them. Unlike fellow Old West programs like Gunsmoke, Bonanza took a sometimes comical approach to the resolving these conflicts, and guns were hardly ever drawn.
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![Helldriver [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/helldriver-blu-ray-large.jpg)
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