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The List

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 17th, 2009

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The List is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Robert Whitlow. After returning home from his father’s funeral, Renny Jacobsen (Chuck Carrington) discovers he is the inheritor of his family’s seat in a secret society founded during the civil war. However, Renny suspects the society’s activities are more troubling than they lead on and decides to examine them more closely. When his inquiries are uncovered by the group’s leader (Malcolm McDowell) Renny becomes targeted by a mysterious force that has the power to destroy him and the people he holds close.
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12 Rounds (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2009

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I tend to wince a bit when I see these films that star wrestling names and are produced in conjunction with one of the WW A-Z’s. I’ve come to believe that WW means “Won’t Wow”. Along comes John Cena and this latest cooperative film, 12 Rounds. I have to say I was somewhat surprised to find that it was a pretty good action thriller, if a bit implausible. I’m willing to overlook certain aspects of inplauability, if you take me on a thrilling enough ride and try not to totally insult my intelligence. For the most part I found that to be the case here.
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Burn Notice: Season Two (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2009

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“My name is Michael Weston. I used to be a spy until, ‘you’ve got a burn notice’. When you’re burned, you’ve got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. You’re stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in. You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone who’s still talking to you, a trigger happy ex-girlfriend, an old friend who used to inform on you to the FBI, family too, if you’re desperate. Bottom line: Until you figure out who burned you, you’re not going anywhere.”

Burn Notice has all the earmarks of a really great television series. It has Bruce Campbell, and that alone should make it worth watching.
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The Siege (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009

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The Siege was made and released in 1998, a little less than three years before the 9/11 attacks. There are some things about this film you should know before you decide to see it, if you haven’t already. The film depicts a series of Islamic fundamentalist groups carrying out a series of terrorist attacks in New York City. While none of the plots mirror the actual events of 9/11, there is enough imagery here that you might wish to avoid if you are one of those persons who are still quite sensitive to those horrifically real images.
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Predator 2 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009

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Neither of the Predator vs. Alien films were as successful at the box office as was hoped. And this film has had its share of detractors since its release in 1990. I, for one, find it to be as good as, if not better than, the original film. Watching the two governors Arnold and Jesse take on the Predator in the Columbian jungles was certainly a hoot. Let’s be honest, however. Who didn’t cheer, if only inside, when the big bad ugly started to take on LA’s drug lords in Predator 2? This sequel is more than just a romp with a monster. The story is far more compelling.
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Man Hunt

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 3rd, 2009

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It seems that every studio with a Nazi war film is scrambling to get it released about now. The Tom Cruise film Valkyrie has caused about as much Nazi fever as I’ve seen in recent years. Unfortunately, that means we’re going to see a lot of films that wouldn’t otherwise see the light of day, most for good reason. Fortunately, it also means that some truly classic titles that got hidden away for decades because there is a perceived lack of interest suddenly surface like a German U-Boat about to pounce on an unsuspecting battleship. Man Hunt is absolutely one of the latter.
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Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 3rd, 2009

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For most of us, we thought it was a crime when Eddie Murphy hijacked the Dr. Dolittle brand back in 1998. He turned a classic into yet another assembly line crude humor product. The original material was carelessly sacrificed for the sake of another Eddie Murphy romp. Well, it was harmless enough, I suppose. But then the sequel and direct to video follow ups began. Eddie was out, and so were the fart jokes and other bodily function staples. Now after a couple of direct to video attempts we get Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, and suddenly we actually miss Eddie Murphy.
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S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2009

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“Donnie Darko was killed when a jet engine fell from the sky and crushed him while he was sleeping. The government never located the plane from which the engine fell, nor did they even admit the incident ever occurred. But that was just the beginning of the tragedy… and the mystery”

No truer words were ever spoken. First of all, this prologue is about as close to the original Donnie Darko film that this movie ever gets. S. Darko is indeed the beginning of a tragedy.
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Taken (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 20th, 2009

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“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

That pretty much sums things up quite nicely for you. The filmmakers must agree, because the scene figured prominently in their marketing campaign for the film.
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The Wrestler (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 23rd, 2009

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I’m not a wrestling fan. There is very little about that world that holds any charm for me. I find the grandiose posturing to be rather dull. The characters aren’t all that interesting to me, and I don’t find myself compelled to spend 100 bucks on a “free for all” pay per view event. With that said, this film did bring back a flood of memories for me. When I was a kid, perhaps 11 or 12, I looked at wrestling a little differently. I had an uncle who would watch it from time to time, but the television version never held much for me even then. I grew up in a relatively middle sized town in eastern Pennsylvania. If you play Monopoly, you’ve heard of the Reading Railroad.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (3-Disc Special Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2009

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In 1951 Robert Wise made the Earth stand still. The United States, in fact the entire planet, was in the middle of a frightening cold war. If you believed the media at the time, we were standing just moments from nuclear annihilation. We were given images of a crazy man’s itching trigger-finger poised over a button. School kids were led in air raid drills that promised protection from this powerful menace by the wooden tops of your desks. The government and private sectors were engaged in witch hunts to smoke out “commie” sympathizers. The fear touched every aspect of our lives. Hollywood was no exception.
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Marley And Me (Bad Dog Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2009

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“A dog has no use for fancy cars, or big houses, or designer clothes. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give ‘em your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

In the name of full disclosure, I should probably give you a little background in the circumstances in which I find myself watching and reviewing Marley & Me. If you’re a regular reader of this site and my reviews, you have come to learn that I have a Siberian Husky named Athena.
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Slumdog Millionaire (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2009

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Slumdog Millionaire has become the latest “must see” Best Picture award winner. While I actually liked the film better than I imagined I would, it’s precisely because the movie is not what it appears, or at times claims to be. If I just took the buzz and advertisement campaign to heart, I would expect a Bollywood picture to the extreme. If you’re not really sure what that term means, I can tell you that this movie will not really clarify anything for you. The traditional Bollywood, Indian made films, feature intense tragedy and love stories. They are usually swimming in song and dance numbers.
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Slumdog Millionaire

Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on April 6th, 2009

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Written by Ken Spivey

“Slumdog Millionaire” grabs you by the lapel and forces you to watch the triumphant resilience of three orphans who thrive amid unbelievable poverty and cruelty which still exists among the lower classes in rapidly industrializing India. “Slumdog Millionaire’s” opening sequences employs both English and Hindustani, with English subtitles. The use of subtitles helps to draw the viewer into his this alien world.
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Marley and Me

Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on March 28th, 2009

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Posted by Ken Spivey

What follows is a brief, yet accurate, recounting of the canine endowed cinematic masterpiece, “Marley & Me.” Jennifer and John Grogan (Jennifer Aniston & Owen Wilson) are a newly wedded couple who are enjoying their new life together. John is an up-and-coming journalist whose income allows the Grogans an increasingly comfortable lifestyle. John still hangs out with his old guy pals at the bar and holds on to some of the lighter points of bachelorhood while his married life remains rather carefree. This all changes when his wife’s biological clock starts ticking. Grogan’s best friend suggests that John get his wife a dog.
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The French Connection (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2009

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“Did you pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?… Have you ever been to Poughkeepsie?… When you were in Poughkeepsie, you sat on the edge of the bed, didn’t you? You put your fingers between your toes and you picked your feet…. If I can’t bust you on this other thing I’m going to bust you for picking your feet in Poughkeepsie.”

There can be no argument on this point. The 1970’s was a golden age for the cinema. When you think about the iconic characters and films the decade produced, it’s hard to contradict the point.
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French Connection 2 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2009

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The French Connection had one of the best film endings a show of this kind could ask for. There was absolutely no need for a sequel. Obviously the success of the first film laid the groundwork for another adventure. In reality the case was rather left open, so there was certainly room to follow up the action. The problem is that none of the elements from the first film remain in the second beyond Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Popeye Doyle and the return of Fernando Rey as the villain Charnier. Friedkin would not return to direct, and even though he was replaced by an even greater director in John Frankenheimer, not much of the original crew remained.
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Dead Like Me: Life After Death

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2009

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“We need to go back to a time where it all started. When God was getting busy with the creation of the universe, where there was only cosmic goo, God’s play-doh, if you will. While God was messing with this play-doh, creating all living things, he put death into a ceramic jar for safe keeping, until he could figure out what to do with it. One day God gave the jar to a frog and a toad to guard it from harm, while he went off to create something more fantastic. Why he gave it to a frog and a toad I’ll never know, but one thing led to another and the jar shattered, letting death out; and ever since, everything has to die. So, there you have it, the mystery of death finally revealed.”

What a fitting way to open up an unexpected new chapter in the story of Dead Like Me, the direct to video film that attempts to resurrect from it’s own death the cult favorite Showtime original series.
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Choke

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 25th, 2009

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“Sex addicts. These people are the reason that emergency rooms have special tools to remove the champagne bottle, the fluorescent bulb, and the hamster. For the freaks in here, sex is a compulsion like gambling, drugs, or shoplifting…”

That describes Victor Mancini (Rockwell), the focus of the rather absurd little black comedy based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk and adapted for the screen by Clark Gregg, who also directs and acts in the movie.
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Mirrors (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2009

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“When one starts to perceive one’s own reflection as a completely separate being, one is suddenly confronted with two entirely separate egos, two entirely separate worlds that can surface at any given moment. A feeling of self hatred usually triggered by a psychological shock can split the personality in two, hence creating two or more personalities with distinct memories and distinct behavior patterns within the same individual. The patient has the false perception of the existence of two distinct worlds, the real world and the world inside the mirror.”

Or maybe not so false, at least according to the 20th Century Fox thriller, Mirrors.
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City of Ember

Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2009

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Posted by Ken Spivey

In a box, the men of importance placed a secret. They then created an underground city capable of complete autonomy, isolated from the outside world in hopes of shielding them from the trials of time. The box was given to the first mayor of “Ember City” and passed on to each successive mayor. After two hundred years the box was to open, revealing to the mayor’s descendant the way out of Ember City. Yet, somewhere along the way the box was lost. Meanwhile, the city has fallen into a major state of disrepair.
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Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2008

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When I was young I used to love to eat oranges, but it wasn’t only the taste or the benefits of some good old fashioned vitamin C I was necessarily after. I would cut the fruit in half and then carefully peel the rind, attempting to keep the halves in one piece. I’d cut one of those pieces in half again. I would then place them around my mouth and there you’d have it… instant Apes makeup. Then I would twitch my face muscles to imitate Roddy McDowall’s clever facial movements intended to make the foam prosthetic pieces come alive.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2008

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Up to now we have not cared how you solved your petty squabbles. But if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned out cinder. Your choice is simple. Join us and live in peace. Or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We will await your decision.

With that ominous message Earth is put on notice, and moviegoers were given something to think about as they left their theater seats in 1951.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2008

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“Klaatu Berada Nikto…”

As a fan of Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness, I just had to do that. But Raimi’s masterpiece is not the subject of this article; rather a concerned alien visitor in the classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, now available on 2-disc special edition DVD from Twentieth Century Fox. No doubt the spawn of a marketing machine looking to cash in on the remake starring Keanu Reeves, this release should still be a welcome addition to the shelf of any classic cinema fan.
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Horton Hears a Who

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2008

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Welcome to an all-new way of presenting even more review titles to you.

From time to time we’re given a kind of disc called a “screener”. It’s sometimes the industry’s way of getting review copies without spending a lot of money. Instead of final product, we get a paper slipcase with just a disc. Even the disc is far from final product, the one you would buy in a store. There are often no extras, and the A/V isn’t necessarily the way it will look on the ultimate release. For years we here at Upcomingdiscs have often avoided reviewing those titles because we can’t really comment on the many factors we like to include in our reviews.
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