Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2011
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character that has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial. While we may not remember the novels, we all remember the man in the persona of Raymond Burr.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 15th, 2011
Six different Nickelodeon children's programs aimed at preschoolers each have their own Christmas (or Holiday) special episodes and are compiled together on this DVD release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
Here is a forgotten 80s, romantic dromedy that may have been forgotten for a reason. Various love triangles arise around the setting of a Demolition Derby. Jamie Lee Curtis and Patrick Swayze star in a tale packed with the usual 80s comedy tent poles such as weird dreams, screwball scenarios, and youths having to stand up for the little guy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
The king of the parodies has been consistent in the studio, in videos and on stage for nearly 3 decades. This DVD allows him to prove the latter. Though various costume changes and instrument shifts, Al and his longtime band mates delight a packed Massey Hall in Toronto.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
The Cartwright boys continue to do right on the Ponderosa Ranch in the state of Nevada. Having lasted 14 seasons, the series was relatively young in Season 2 but had already established Ben Cartwright and his three boys (from three different mothers) as household names on American television.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2011
In the world of Marvel comics Captain America was indeed the first Avenger, and as the full title implies we're going quite a way into the past to create this hero. But the first shall be last, and it's certainly true on this long road to the May 2012 release of The Avengers on film. You see, this is the final piece to the puzzle for that great assembly of heroes. We've had two chances to witness both The Hulk and Iron Man and a recent film introduction to Thor. Other characters like Black Widow and Hawk Eye came as guests on the other films. But the introductions are now complete.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 11th, 2011
For nine seasons and several TV-movies afterwards, Raymond Burr was Los Angeles based defense attorney Perry Mason. His adventures have been well-reviewed by my compadre Gino on this very site (https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=perry+mason) so I shall do my best to avoid redundancies while I speak of Season 6.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 11th, 2011
An aging soap opera starred, played by Sally Field, is the target of a jealous supporting cast and a conniving producer (Robert Downey Jr.). The head writer of her show (Whoopi Goldberg) seems to be the only ally she has as a former love's character (Kevin Kline) is recast to throw her off her game, along with a mysterious family member barging into her world and work life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 7th, 2011
A few years back, Paramount released all eight of the studio’s Friday the 13th films in a so-called “Ultimate Edition.” With cut versions of the films and no 3D, it wasn’t really that ultimate. So here we are again, with another Ultimate Edition (also Limited!) and this time, the package is much more worthy of the name, bringing together all the deluxe versions of the series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 5th, 2011
Previously on this site I had reviewed Season 4 of this legendary program (https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/10/15/gunsmoke-season-4-volume-1/) and Season 5 still predates the major changes that occurred over this show's 20 year run, primarily consisting of supporting cast changes so that review can just about double as fair coverage of this season as well; which I hope conveys a testament to this show's consistency of quality and not to my personal laziness as a writer. Indeed, this season continues to provide entertaining evidence as to why this show lasted so long and remains beloved to this day.
