Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 4th, 2011
By Natasha Samreny
Scent of a Woman is a rich example of classic storytelling maintaining its power through the years. In this American remake of an Italian tale, Al Pacino, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Chris O'Donnell continue to captivate. If you love the film already and want to make it part of your collection, consider its HD-DVD or Blu-ray versions, released later. It seems neither color nor sound were improved for this film until then. To fans' dismay, Universal has yet to update any discs with special features beyond the outdated text-centered cast/crew list and bios.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2011
An ancient facility beneath Antarctica becomes the launching platform to the lost city of Atlantis. Atlantis is buried beneath an ocean in another galaxy and can only be reached with an additional symbol on the Stargate. Because of power limitations this trip, at least for the time being, is a one-way adventure. A crew of scientists and military officers from many countries assemble to explore the Pegasus Galaxy from the Atlantis gate. Led by scientist Dr. Weir (Higginson) and Maj. John Sheppard (Flanigan) they take over the Atlantian command center and begin to explore. In their initial investigations they accidentally awaken the area’s top bad guys, the Wraith. These vampire-like beings suck the life-force out of humans.
When Stargate SG-1 was about to enter its ninth year, there was speculation that after season 8 the series would bow out gracefully with the anticipated exit of Richard Dean Anderson. With that plan in mind, the folks at Stargate Command decided it was time to spin off the franchise, and so was born Atlantis. Stargate Atlantis boasts pretty much the same production team as SG-1. The quality of the production and tight storytelling have translated well to this sister series. Stargate Atlantis took a little getting used to. I wasn’t sure the characters had enough chemistry or were even dynamic enough to carry the high expectations for a Stargate series. Those concerns eventually evaporated by the time Atlantis began to live without the SG-1 companion series. These characters really took off, and they’ve developed into nearly as strong a group as SG-1 ever was. Now with Atlantis available on high-definition Blu-ray, you’ll have the chance to explore where the show from beginning to ending.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2011
"The die was cast. If I just said City Hall the story would end here. But I didn't, and Betsy and I took our fateful trip to Vegas."
Everyone remembers the 1993 provocative film Indecent Proposal with Robert Redford as the rich playboy who offers Woody Harrelson a million bucks to spend a night with his wife, played by Demi Moore. The movie created quite a stir, and more than a little water cooler conversation about what you might do in that situation. What most people overlook, however, is that same kind of situation appeared a year earlier with a more romantic-comedy take in Andrew Bergman's Honeymoon in Vegas. It wasn't one of Bergman's best and certainly not one of his most remembered films. Who can’t argue that The Freshman, The In-Laws (writer), and even Fletch (writer) were better movies? But you can't escape the fact that Bergman was the first to offer up the conundrum that faced Moore and Harrelson a year later. But you probably don't remember Honeymoon In Vegas. Not many folks do if the box office numbers are any indication. Now you have a second chance with this latest wave of catalog titles from MGM now out on Blu-ray.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2011
"As people flocked together for safety, the plague marched through their locked gates and they became death traps. When Washington fell it was over for America as we knew her. As government blew away, our great leaders ran for it, and hope was abandoned."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 3rd, 2011
Dave “The Animal” Bautista has had a fairly interesting life. Most people know him for his wrestling accolades even though his career only lasted about ten years. It is hard to believe that at one time, he was passed on by WCW and said he would never make it in the wrestling business. He would go on to be the six-time World Champion and a four-time Tag Team champion as a part of WWE. However, he departed with the company in 2010 to pursue other avenues including an acting career which made its way to my review door. Let’s explore: House of the Rising Sun.
Ray (played by Dave Bautista) takes a long drag on his cigarette. Sometimes he is not sure how his life got to be like this. He used to be a Vice cop who ended up getting jailed for being on the take. Now, trying to live a normal decent life he takes on a job as head of security for a strip joint called “House of the Rising Sun”. Unfortunately, Ray looks the other way a lot here too since this joint also runs prostitution and illegal gambling.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2011
"What is source code?"
That's a good question. Unfortunately, there really isn't a good answer, not without spoiling some of the finer elements of this science fiction thriller from Moon director Duncan Jones. At the heart of this code you'll a bit of the familiar. From Groundhog Day to Déjà Vu you'll leave this movie with a sense that you've seen much of this before, and that's not entirely a bad thing. These elements aren't necessarily merely retread material. Let's just say they share a large amount of DNA in this film's basic source code.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2011
"Obviously, I miscalculated a few things. Why is it that the moment your life exceeds your wildest dreams the knife appears at your back?"
You've heard the myth that we only use about 10% of our brains so often that most people actually believe it's true. It's one of those old wives' tails that has been around long enough to become an axiom. We actually do use considerably more than 10% of our brains, or should I say, most of us do. But it is true that we don't utilize anywhere near all of it. So what might happen if we could? How might that improve our lives? After spending almost a couple of hours watching Limitless, I might have to become a tad more content with whatever percentage I'm using right now. In fact, maybe it might be a good idea to lower it a little.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on August 2nd, 2011
“Zippedy Doo-Dah. Zippedy Yay. My, oh my, I got a wonderful slave.”
I’ve never really been a big fan of director Gary Marshall’s films. I prefer his work as a producer of classic sitcoms, like The Odd Couple and Happy Days. Marshall’s most popular film, Pretty Woman, plays off the Cinderella cliché a little too much for my taste, with a man ultimately finding and saving a woman by redefining her. Three years before Pretty Woman, Marshall explored these same themes in Overboard, but instead of slick fantasy salvation at the hands of a wealthy Richard Gere, the redemption comes from a misogynistic and cruel Kurt Russell.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 1st, 2011
Two of my favorite films of all time are Bloodsport and Mortal Kombat. Before you start groaning, let me explain why. They both act as the total testosterone injection for all of the macho men out there. These movies have tournament style martial arts and MMA mayhem where the only code is to beat your opponent until he/she is defeated. Then they move on to the next fight. Usually, there are theatrics thrown in there too, like to save the world or restore honor. Enter my next review movie: Tekken.
Sometime in the future, the world is plunged into chaos. Eight different corporations take over the world and divide the countries between them. They establish a yearly tournament called Iron Fst which is supposed to determine the greatest fighter of the world. The US territory is controlled by Tekken and headed by one, Heihachi Mishima (played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) with his son, Kazuya (played by Ian Anthony Dale) in charge of security.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 1st, 2011
Warner's Japan unit had decided that it wanted to turn one of its shows into an anime production for the Japanese audience. I guess it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Supernatural would be the perfect fit. Let's face it. While the production values on the live-action series have always been high, there are certain limitations that exist. With animation you have the ability to go far beyond what you can do with characters played ultimately by human actors. The highly stylized format of anime blends well with the horror aspects of the original show. You don't have to be particularly fond of anime to enjoy this. Honestly, I'm not into the style at all. But as a fan of Supernatural, I found this to be quite fun to watch.
If you are a fan of the original Kolchak: The Night Stalker, you were more than likely disappointed in the remake a couple of years ago on ABC. Your hope is now once again restored. Supernatural is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to The Night Stalker. Like Kolchak, the Winchester brothers are faced with weekly incarnations of evil. They’re forced to research these legends and figure out a way to stop them. As Kolchak discovered, it’s a thankless job. Sure, Supernatural is populated with all sorts of beasties and nasties, but it also manages to hold on to a sense of humor that rounds out these adventures to make this one of the most entertaining shows around.
![Stargate Atlantis: Complete Series Gift Set [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/stargate-atlantis-complete-series-large.jpg)
![Honeymoon in Vegas [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/honeymoon-in-vegas-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![House of the Rising Sun [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/house-of-the-rising-sun-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Source Code [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/source-code-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Limitless (Unrated Extended Cut) [Blu-ray + Digital Copy] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/limitless-unrated-extended-cut-b-large.jpg)
![Overboard [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/overboard-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Supernatural: The Anime Series [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/supernatural-the-anime-series-blu-large.jpg)
