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 Michael Durr on December 21st, 2011
Most people if they were to look at my music collection would notice one genre more than others. That is glam rock. From the mid 80’s to early 90’s, glam rock was completely in vogue with bands like Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and Motley Crue. However, if you were to read up on your glam history, it actually started in the seventies with groups like the New York Dolls and stars such as David Bowie. Enter the movie, Velvet Goldmine, a fictional look at Brian Slade, better known as Maxwell Demon.
In 1854, at the city of Dublin it is said that aliens came down and delivered Oscar Wilde, a famous writer and poet, to a local monastery. He was quote once that he wanted to be a pop idol. On his neck, we can see a green broach that somehow found its way one hundred years later to the hands of a young Jack Fairy. Jack knew that he had been singled out for his great gift and that the whole stinking world would be theirs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2011
"Man, we'll die with you. Just don't ask us to do it twice."
Well... that's exactly what Sylvester Stallone is asking you to do. Many will look at this release as a simple case of a double-dip, and to a certain extent it is. But Sly isn't kidding when he tells us that it's a better film this way. At least I thought so. No question the studio wants to build buzz going into the second film, and this edition works as a sort of placeholder. It's still a tough decision, but let's look at the film again, just for argument's sake, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 7th, 2011
By proxy, I get to see a lot of Tyler Perry movies. Whether it would be a review for this site or perhaps my wife wanting to see something with Madea, I have seen just about every movie the director has put out there. Most of the time I found myself laughing quite a bit but sometimes his movies find themselves a bit preachier than I can tolerate. But what would I think of a Tyler Perry play? Well, I found out the answer when I watched: A Madea Christmas.
We open to a rendition of Oh Come All Ye Faithful. I guess I should expect lots of singing in this one. The stage re-opens as we see Lilian Mansell (played by Chandra Currelley Young) lecturing Margaret (played by Cheryl Pepsii Riley) her maid. It seems that Margaret wants to go home to see her family on Christmas but Lilian needs her to help around the house. It appears that Lilian’s daughter, China is bringing home a man this holiday season.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2011
There have been a lot of films out that deal with the Iraq war and the various political situations that region of the world has had to deal with since that time. Most of these efforts are trying so hard to make some radical political point that they tend to serve their audiences poorly as entertaining films. Happily, that's not the case with Lee Tamahori's The Devil's Double. The film cuts through the polarizing political elements and provides a brutal view of the Hussein regime through the actions of one of Saddam's sons, Uday. Tamahori has created a modern Scarface by using those regime elements to paint the picture of a man overwhelmed with power and driven to excess. Unlike Scarface, Uday is not an outlaw; rather in this environment he is the law, and suddenly we have a film that delivers a unique take on the theme of the corruption of power.
Latif (Cooper) is a simple soldier in the Iraq army in the days before the Kuwait invasion. He has been called to the Royal Palace, summoned by Prince Uday (Cooper) whom he had known in his school days. The two share a remarkable resemblance that Uday intends to exploit. He wants a body double to help protect him from the various threats that his position elicits. Latif attempts to decline, but Uday threatens his entire family if he doesn't accept. Acceptance means that Latif is now dead, and he is to live in the palace with all of the luxury of a prince. Uday refers to him as his brother. But instead of having Latif take his place in public, he merely drags him around with him. It's a poor plan for a body double, because it soon becomes pretty much general knowledge that this look-alike exists. Latif finds himself more and more disgusted as he is drawn closer in toward this world. All he wants now is to escape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 5th, 2011
A couple in their 30s decide to adopt an injured cat and have 30 days before receiving it. In that time, the burden of responsibility becomes too much and they start making drastic changes to their lives. I have reviewed enough films to realise that, unless it is a science documentary, a film title such as “The Future” can only imply a pessimistic view of it's namesake when coming out of the “indie” film scene. This film validates such fears to a tee.
SPOILERS AHEAD. BE WARNED.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 4th, 2011
“Someone's in my fruit cellar! Someone with a fresh soooul!”
Sam Raimi wasn’t really interested in making a horror movie. Weaned on The Three Stooges, comedy was really more his style, but he could only find interested investors if he made a horror movie. So he and his filmmaking partner, Bruce Campbell, made the short film Within the Woods and with it secured funding for their first feature length movie, The Book of the Dead. When it was pointed out kids might not see a movie with book in the title, the name was changed to Evil Dead. With help from Stephen King proclaiming the movie as “the most ferociously original film of the year,” it became a moderate box office success (in short it made money even if the cast and crew didn’t). The uncut version which then circulated the video market elevated it quickly into cult status.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 2nd, 2011
“I might be wrong, but I'm guessing you know something that I don't.”
First off, this is not the 2011 Sucker Punch directed by Zack Snyder. This was shot in 2008, but released in 2011 under the name Sucker Punch just months after Snyder’s action fantasy. I can only imagine this was done to capitalize on confused DVD renters and buyers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 29th, 2011
Season 2 of the Tyler Perry-created series continues misadventures of Leroy Brown (David Mann), who, last season, opened up a seniors’ residence. This season has all the characters firmly in place, and the stage is set for no end of misguided schemes and misunderstandings, all of which conclude with lessons learned and heartstrings tugged.
If the above sounds a little generic, that’s because so is the series, and furthermore, I’m referring to an archaic quality to this series’ generic nature. Put another way, this is an unapologetic (though it should be deeply ashamed) throwback to situation comedy’s dismal era of the 1980s. The performances broad, unfunny caricatures, all squealing yelps and bugging eyes. The laugh track comes in on every other line, underscoring just how desperately unfunny the dialogue is. As for the plots, I cry mercy. Brown hopes to get rich marketing his family’s barbecue sauce, Brown becomes an over-demanding patient after being grazed by a bullet, Brown wins twenty bucks in a lottery and becomes a gambling fiend, and so on and so on and so forth. Storylines that would creak even if the main character were named Ralph Kramden, overlaid with thudding sanctimony and Real Social Issues.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on October 26th, 2011
“People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.”
OK, let me get this out of the way. The Crow was a vehicle for Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend and movie star Bruce Lee. The elder Lee trained Brandon in martial arts from the day he could take his first steps. When Brandon was only eight years old, his father tragically died just before finishing production on Enter the Dragon, a movie which would go on to become an international blockbuster making Bruce Lee the greatest icon of martial arts cinema. Brandon followed in his father’s footsteps studying martial arts and drama.
![Margin Call [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/margin-call-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Velvet Goldmine [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/velvet-goldmine-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Expendables (Extended Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-expendables-extended-director-large.jpg)
![The Devil's Double [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-devils-double-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Evil Dead 2 (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/evil-dead-2-25th-anniversary-editi-large.jpg)
![The Crow [Blu-ray + Digital Copy] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-crow-blu-ray-digital-copy-large.jpg)
