Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2019
The Donovan family has been a prominent part of the Showtime lineup for six years now. What started as a series about a fixer didn't quite remain that way for long. The stories very quickly focused on this rather dysfunctional family, and we appear to love our dysfunctional families in movies and television. Most are awkwardly dysfunctional without a lot of heart, and Ray Donovan was certainly heading in that direction before the fifth season took us on one of the best emotional rollercoaster rides in the business. For me that season and the death of the family matriarch changed the stakes and the center for each of the characters. Abby was the thing that held this family together no matter how twisted things got. So we ended up with what I consider the best season of the show to date. So where did we go from there, you might ask. You don't have to. Showtime has released the complete 6th season of Ray Donovan on DVD, and now you can find out for yourself. Here's my take.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 16th, 2019
When it comes to Robert Zemeckis films, you never know what you’re going to get. Like most, I’m a fan of his Back to the Future trilogy, and then there is Who Framed Roger Rabbit that to this day I feel is his best work. While he’s churned out many good films, there are films of his that I’m simply not a fan of. Forrest Gump happens to be one of those films. For the most part he makes audience-friendly films, but what I’ve always admired about the guy is how he’s always attempting to integrate new technology into his films. Zemeckis has become one of the pioneers of motion-capture technology. Ever since The Polar Express (2004), he’s been making improvements with the technology, and now with Welcome to Marwen, it is stunning to see just how far he has come.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2019
Ever since I was a kid I used to love to hear and read stories about the iconic filmmakers from the days before I was born. I soaked up material on John Ford and Hitchcock. Fritz Lang and James Whale were superhuman, it seemed. Meeting Robert Wise was a dream come true, and getting an invitation by Ray Harryhausen himself to attend his Hollywood star ceremony was an honor. But all of these folks were either already gone or at the end of their careers by the time I got to this planet. Since that time there have been plenty of great talents, but the only one in my lifetime who ever seemed to live up in that rarified air was Clint Eastwood. As both an actor and director, I'm not sure anyone has made more of a mark during my generation. Clint's approaching 90, and reality dictates that his days of directing movies are coming to a close.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on April 4th, 2019
by John Delia, Jr.
The world of the Transformers is back with more action, adventure, and science fiction fun for everyone. The most-loved Autobot from this world has a history that explains where these troubled characters all began. As the battle of Cybertron comes to a conclusion, the Autobots make their move to flee from the Decepticons to an unknown location to later meet up and regroup. Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) tells B-127/Bumble Bee (Dylan O’Brien) that he must flee and head to Earth and hide until it is safe to meet up again. Once on Earth, Bumble Bee must find a place to be unnoticed. He must find a secure safe location for his fellow Autobots and defend Earth until Optimus Prime returns. During his landing on Earth, he encounters a team of soldiers training for battle called Sector 7. This team, led by Agent Jack Burns (John Cena), fear for their lives when the capsule transporting B-127 crashes in the forest nearly on top of his team.
Posted in: Blu Ray, No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2019
"One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways"
There's a Chinese proverb that says a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. In rock "n" roll history that proverb is a little different, and it goes something like, “A Journey into the Rock "n" Roll Hall Of Fame starts with a dozen hit songs.” And that's exactly where Journey landed in 2017 after kicking the year off with a return to one of the first arenas to hear those hits 35 years earlier. In 2017 Journey was inducted into that Hall Of Fame and played two sold-out nights at the Budokan in Japan where the band first debuted the hit songs from their 8th and first hit album, Escape. Eagle Rock Entertainment was there for the band's triumphant return where the band played both the albums Escape and Frontiers in their entirety for the first and only time in the band's history. If you're a Journey fan, you're going to want to get your hands on this one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 2nd, 2019
As one might guess from my film reviewing resume, I watch a lot of Asian movies. Unfortunately, judging by the same resume, it would appear that most of that is anime and drama. But in my spare time, I do watch a lot of popular Asian cinema, especially with the likes of Donnie Yen or Jing Wu. In addition to contemporary favorites, I certainly have not forgotten the roots of martial art cinema in the likes of Bruce Lee and others. Well, today I received a box set featuring one of the legends of Asian cinema: Shin'ichi Chiba, better known to most American audiences as the one and only Sonny Chiba. That set of films would be of course, The Street Fighter Collection. Let us take a look.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 29th, 2019
"My father was a lighthouse keeper. My mother was a queen. They were never meant to meet. But their love saved the world. They made me what I am: a son of the land, a king of the seas. I am the protector of the deep. I am ... Aquaman."
It’s been a rough year for the DC Universe, losing both Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman respectively. In a time when Marvel is heading towards a big finale of sorts, this should be when DC goes full steam towards capitalizing on any residual momentum.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 27th, 2019
This review is going to be a little different from what you may be used to seeing here at Upcomingdiscs. We’re about to venture off the path of mainstream films and delve into the dark and seedy areas of cinema where the naughty, the gory and the cult lurk. This comes with a warning: these films are not for everyone. Seriously, this is your chance to click away, because these films can leave an impression on the viewer and are difficult to unsee. Also these films do come with a not-rated label, so no one under 17 permitted, for those youngun’s still sticking around to read, go ahead and click onto the Mary Poppins Returns review. I read some nice things there; this here is no review for you. I don’t want to be held responsible for the nightmares these films may cause you down the road.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2019
“Everything is possible…even the impossible.”
To be clear, the fact that Disney has delivered a big-budget, star-studded follow-up to one of the most beloved family films in its staggering catalog is *exceedingly* possible. This is, after all, the age of reboots and live-action remakes of movies we already love. What seems impossible is that Mary Poppins Returns and its sensational leading lady both live up to and (re)capture the spirit of the Walt Disney-produced Julie Andrews classic from more than 50 years ago!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 22nd, 2019
"60 minutes is all it took for the ancients to bring humanity to the brink of destruction."
It only took Peter Jackson's crew along with director Christian Rivers 128 minutes to bring their audience to the bring of falling asleep with their Star Wars rip-off of Mortal Engines based on a series of books by Philip Reeve. Universal was likely looking for a franchise hit here. Hugo Weaving couldn't save it. Impressive visual f/x couldn't save it. When I discovered the film had been in some kind of production phase since 2008, it all started to make a little sense. Sometimes the harder you work on something, the more you lose sight of the simple aspects of the film. Most importantly, you lose the connection to emotional characters, and you stop telling their story, but force them into telling yours.
