Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 27th, 2010
The Plot: The Order, disappointingly, turned out to be not much more than a Heath Ledger vehicle, apparently targeted at Goth teenage girls with vaguely Euro pretensions. Without letting out any spoilers, trust me when I say that you’ll be disappointed if you expect anything like what the trailer portrays. The trailer says implies that the Vatican is “using a killer with supernatural powers to absolute control of an empire” and paints the movie as a fast-paced action/thriller church conspiracy film – which it isn’t. What is it? Part drama, part horror, very “moody,” totally boring.
The movie’s story line is atrocious and disconnected, with little to suggest that one scene even belongs in the same film as another. OK – here’s an example, spoiler warning given: those two little kids. What purpose do they serve, other than to look briefly CGI-scary and then disappear? None. They are hell-spawn, but we’ve got no idea why they’re around, where they came from, why they look like kids, what they want, or anything. Completely pointless and unrelated to everything. Bah.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2010
Ever wonder what the kids of South Park might be like if they ever made it to adulthood? While I’ve not seen that many episodes of the FX series It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, that was the first observation that came to mind. These are the South Park kids all grown up. They’re crude, raunchy, mean, and most importantly, they are as politically incorrect as ever. If you need an example, I can offer one right from this episode. The guys have a Christmas tradition that dates back to their childhood of throwing rocks at moving trains. An episode I caught a while back had two of the guys going to an abortion rally because they suspected that pro-choice chicks gotta be easy. Sound like anyone we know? If you love irreverent humor that’s not afraid to cross over the line, this F/X series has everything you’re looking for, and without those silly construction paper animation limitations. These are real dudes.
The best way to introduce you to the world here is through the characters. The Philadelphia setting and all of the other trappings really don’t matter. You could put these characters any place, doing almost any jobs, and the series would pretty much be the same. The actors and some cleverly written dialog really make the show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on September 17th, 2010
Zeus' mighty bolt has been stolen, and whomever holds it may have the power to topple the king of the Gods. Zeus suspects Poseidon's estranged, half-human son is the Lighting Thief and threatens his wrath upon the entire realm if it is not returned. Percy Jackson is Poseidon's son, making him a Demi-God, but as far as he knows, he is a just a high school student living with Dyslexia, ADHD and struggling to live with his abusive step-father. As mythic monsters and Gods all start to threaten Percy's life, his best friend and his mother both reveal themselves to be protectors of his life, both with connections to Greek Mythology. Percy;s mother is taken to the underworld and so he sets out on a quest to discover the truth about his Demi-God heritage while fighting to get his mother back from the clutches of Hades, as well as discover who the true Lighting Thief is.
The story moves by at a fast pace, which helps keep the attention of younger, easy to bore audiences, but the conflict set-ups and exposition are a bit too been-there, see-that for my liking. We are meant to assume that Percy is an outsider, thus easier to relate to and sympathize with, because he has issues, but his Earthly problems (step-father, dyslexia) seem hastily tacked on and it doesn't take long before his super-human capabilities are revealed. This is especially aggravating during a wickedly illogical training scene where all of the demi-God children of Camp Half-Blood play capture the flag (fighting with real swords for no good reason!) and Percy earns the respect of the entire camp simply by being able to heal from any wound by touching water and inheriting a wondrous fighting ability from his father's side, without having picked up a sword before. The friends who join him on his quest also have amazing agility and skill, so we have a pack of kids with Superman syndrome, but none of them have enough have that 'Clark Kent' side to give them a mien of humility (do enough people reading this understand where I'm going with that analogy?).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 17th, 2010
Written by Diane Tillis
Only once in a blue moon will a filmmaker come along to change the way films are created…for an entire country! Kazakhstan – born director Timur Bekmambetov is best known in America as the director for Wanted (2008) and for producing 9 (2009) alongside Tim Burton, but in Russia he is known as the man who changed the film industry after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His plan was to shake up the whole Russian film world with a feature film that was unlike anything done in the country before. Night Watch was his answer: a visionary fantasy horror film with an astonishing collaboration of mind-altering visual effects, suspenseful terror, and adrenaline-fueled action.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2010
“Greed is Good.”
No other cinematic phrase described the 1980’s better. And no other movie captures the financial corruption of the 80’s better than Oliver Stone’s Wall Street.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2010
“Ride into this world all alone. God takes your soul. You're on your own.
The crow flies straight, a perfect line on the devil's back until you die.
Gotta look this life in the eye”.
When these guys send a message, they don’t use Western Union. Not only will they blow up your warehouse, but they’ll catch one of your guys and plant a stick of dynamite in his butt cheeks to set off the explosion. That’s the world of the motorcycle club, the Sons Of Anarchy. In the wake of The Shield, FX stays true to form with the latest from that show’s alumni Kurt Sutter. Sons Of Anarchy has a familiar tone and quality to it for fans of that now gone cop drama. There’s a lot of handheld camera stuff, and you have very similar themes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by BABY on September 7th, 2010
Gino likes to listen to some guy named Warren Zevon who says that all of the werewolves are in someplace called London. He also sings a song that says "Don't knock on my door, if you don't know my Rottweiler's name". Well ... I ain't no stinkin' Rottweiler, and you know my name; it's Baby. But I wouldn't knock anyway, 'specially if you are trying to deliver more of these movies. I don't know what the Rottweiler's planning to do, but I promise I'm not going to lick you, and that spells B I T E. Don't you guys know we got too many movies in here already? How am I going to get any playtime in if you keep bringing more movies over here? Gino says that if you stop bringing the movies, he might not make any money. He says if they don't make any money, he can't buy any more treats. He calls that a catch 22. But the problem is while he's in there watching movies, my ball stays where it is, and I'm not catchin' anything. Since beggin' is beneath me, I guess I'm just gonna have to let somebody have it one of these days, and that spells O U C H.
Hey everybody. Baby, back again to bring you yet another dog movie from a dog's perspective. Ever since I was a little puppy I liked readin' those funnies in the paper. For some reason there was a lot of those things layin' around the place for a while. Since a dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta do, I would take a look at the comics while I took care of some business. Now what that business was, is none of your business, and that spells W E T. One of my favorite strips was this one called Marmaduke. Now, that dog is one funny cat, and that spells B I G. He was always gettin' into some kind of trouble or other. I always figured we'd get along great, because I get yelled at all the time, too. Anyway, the strip's been around since 1954. That's a whole lot of dog years ago. It was written by a guy named Brad Anderson. That means a lot of those comics were written, and a lot of fans must be out there. So now they've decided to create a whole movie based on Marmaduke. And, guess who got to watch it. That's right. Me, Baby.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2010
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 Gino Sassani on August 18th, 2010
"I remember once going on a school trip to the top of the Empire State Building. When I looked down at the crowds of people on the street, they looked like ants. I pulled out a penny and some of us started talking about what would happen if I dropped it from up there and it landed on somebody's head. Of course, I never crossed that line and actually dropped the penny. I don't think Early Grayce even knew there was a line to cross."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 18th, 2010
Some of you are aware of this but my favorite movie of all time is Escape from New York. To me, John Carpenter and Kurt Russell represent the perfect director/actor combination. The director knows how to play the actor’s strengths (and minimize weaknesses) and the actor knows how to bring out the best in the direction. It is my sincere pleasure to cover this film on its first trip to the Blu-ray format.
In the year 1988, it was reported that crime had increased by four hundred percent. Things got so bad that they decided to turn Manhattan Island into one giant maximum security prison. Only prisoners live on the island and there are no police. Furthermore, if you are sent to the island, you are there for life. Exit from the island is impossible due to mines on all major bridges and a large 50 foot wall.
![Order (2003) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/order-2003-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 5 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-large.jpg)
![Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/percy-jackson-the-olympians-the-large.jpg)
![Sons of Anarchy: Season Two [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/sons-of-anarchy-season-two-blu-r-large.jpg)
![Marmaduke [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/marmaduke-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-simpsons-the-thirteenth-season-large.jpg)
![Kalifornia (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/kalifornia-two-disc-blu-raydvd-co-large.jpg)
