1.78:1 Widescreen

Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 3rd, 2010

Truth is I don’t do very well with Christmas movies. Most of them reek of bad acting and a whole mess of clichés. One of my least favorite movies of all time is A Christmas Story, a masterpiece of absolutely awful movie making. So, needless to say when I received Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage, I wasn’t exactly abundant with anticipation. Let’s just hope that we don’t want to shoot our eye out over it or anything.
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Lie to Me: Season Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2010

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“Cal Lightman sees the truth. It’s written all over your face. It’s also in your voice, your posture, the words you choose. Give him five minutes and 20 questions and he’ll know whether you went off to Argentina to cheat on your wife, lied about a well-timed stock sale, or murdered a one-night stand.”

I spent quite a few years as a detective. My specialty turned out to be in the interview room. When some of my fellow detectives had a suspect they couldn’t break, they often called me in.
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Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2010

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“Well when you gettin’ “got” and somebody done “got” you and you go “get” them, when you get ’em everybody’s gon’ get got.”

When Tyler Perry started writing his small plays, he probably never had a clue just how far it might all go from there. The plays had a solid audience, but there was always concern that the appeal would be too narrow. That didn’t stop Perry from putting together a few relatively low-budget films located in his adopted film hometown of Atlanta. For the most part the studio got pretty much what it expected.
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Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2010

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Most of the huge names of Broadway are gone. Certainly there are young talents that have created some memorable shows. Perhaps one day they will build up the mountain of classics that we received from the likes of Rodgers, Hammerstein, Bernstein, and others. There are even a couple of writers out there that have amassed that kind of a career. Andrew Lloyd Weber absolutely comes to mind as a fine example. But Stephen Sondheim is the last of a dying breed.
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Bee Gees: In Our Own Time (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2010

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Most people remember the Bee Gees from their disco days and Saturday Night Fever. They sold a lot of records and achieved more fame than at any time in their careers. But the Brothers Gibb had been performing since the 1950’s as children. They would headline automobile races and appear on local radio and television shows. They would quickly gain attention for their harmonies and eventually for their own songs. By 1967 they had begun to gain international attention, appearing on the national rock-and-roll shows. The brothers would become known then for their power ballads and love songs.
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Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 30th, 2010

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Tyler Perry burst on the scene in 2005 with Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was one of the worst-reviewed movies of the year, but when it raked in over $50 million dollars at the box office, Tyler Perry silenced critics and became a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. Before his movie-making career, Perry was already a huge success in the African-American community, having written several Christian and family-oriented plays upon which many of his movies are based.
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Madea’s Family Reunion (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 30th, 2010

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Tyler Perry once again dons multiple costumes to incarnate several characters, most prominently Madea, the no-nonsense but mischievous matriarch of a very fractious family. She is ordered by the court to take in a runaway as a foster child, and that project of reclamation joins that of helping out her nieces. They have a mother from hell. One sister is struggling to learn how to love again, while the other is being forced into marriage with the hideously abusive Blair Underwood.
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Family that Preys, The (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 29th, 2010

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My wife is known as a very big Madea fan. She’s watched most of the Madea films and often quotes lines at random. So, naturally when I saw I was receiving a Tyler Perry film, I thought I might be able to slide the movie into my wife’s direction. However, Tyler is trying to expand his repertoire into something more than a one-trick pony and I kinda got left holding the bag (or the disc in this case). This should be quite the adventure staring Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard, let us begin.
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The Gathering (2010)

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 25th, 2010

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A surgeon named Michael Foster, played by Peter Gallagher, has his world turned upside down when his wife disappears one morning without a trace. Initially he suspected she was having an affair and ran away with another man, but as strange evidence gathers he soon realizes that she has been a part of a strange coven of witches and her disappearance might not have been her choice.
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Suck

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 24th, 2010

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The Winners are anything but, being an undistinguished rock band playing to tiny, apathetic audiences in nowhere bars. Their time has not only passed, it never arrived. But just as they seem headed for the scrapheap, their bass player (Jessica Paré) is bitten by a vampire. Though her newly acquired taste for blood is a bit of an inconvenience, leading to some extremely messy murders to clean up, she now mesmerizes audiences, and the band catches fire. Leader Rob Stefaniuk is so desperate to catch a break that he is willing to turn a blind eye to just about anything.
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How I Met Your Mother: The Complete Season 5

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 24th, 2010

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I don’t like referring to myself as a “fan” of anything. The word leaves a bad taste in my mouth; it suggests a kind of mindless devotion that doesn’t leave room for noticing any shortcomings in the subject of one’s devotion – The legions of Twilight fans immediately spring to mind. However, if being a fan means to regularly watch, re-watch, and enjoy a show for a period of years, then I can call myself a fan of How I Met Your Mother. The show has had its high and low points,
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Phil Collins: Going Back – Live at the Roseland Ballroom NYC (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2010

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When Peter Gabriel left the band Genesis to pursue his own solo career, it was the break of a lifetime for the band’s drummer, Phil Collins. He took over the front-man duties with style, and before long Genesis was enjoying the most commercial success of their lives. Collins provided the smooth, easy-to-listen-to voice that Gabriel really never had. The tunes were instantly more recognizable and stuck with you for a long time. Of course, that meant that Collins would go out and work on that solo career as well
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The Search For Santa Paws (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by BABY on November 23rd, 2010

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“Sometimes you just gotta let a dog do his thing.”

Hey everybody. Baby back again to bring you yet another dog movie from a dog’s point of view, which is the floor, in case anybody out there really wants to know. You see, Gino won’t let me on the furniture in the theater. He says that just because the seats look like chew toys, and smell like chew toys, doesn’t mean they actually are chew toys. I mean, really, people. You wanna talk about your special effects,
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Ancient Aliens: Season One (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 23rd, 2010

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“Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, what if there were clues left behind, something hiding in plain sight? What if we could find that evidence?”

Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory.
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Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2010

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Imagine a world where Winston Churchill battles deadly machines from space intent on dominating the universe, a place where Santa is a deadly menace, and a rather eccentric fellow travels about in a police call box with a rather deceptively spacious interior. To Dr. Who fans of all ages, this is all very familiar territory. I fell in love with Dr. Who as played by Tom Baker from 1974 – 1981. He was the fourth actor to portray the Doctor and arguably the most popular. With a pocket full of jelly babies and a trusty sonic screwdriver, the Doctor rather muddled his way about with a massive wool scarf around his neck,
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Sherlock: Season One (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2010

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In 1887, readers of the popular periodical Beeton’s Christmas Annual were to receive quite a special treat. There wasn’t much fanfare or hype to the event. Inside the pages of the magazine was a story called A Study In Scarlet. It was a detective story, perhaps like many published before, except for the detective himself, a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Together with his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson, Holmes would win the hearts of those holiday readers.
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Bones: The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2010

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I can’t help it. Whenever I see David Boreanaz I can’t stop seeing the brooding vampire Angel. It’s not really his fault. This character couldn’t be farther from the Angel character, but that’s what I see. It’s also true that Bones, now entering its sixth season has been around longer than Angel. It’s also very likely that he now has fans that aren’t even aware of that previous character. It has been quite a few years. I’m usually better at letting go of a character once the show has ended and the actor has moved on.
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Human Weapon: The Complete Season One (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 22nd, 2010

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Some of you might know that even though I couldn’t fight my way through a sturdy paper bag, I am an avid fan of all types of martial arts and combat sports. There is something about the grittiness of two men pounding each other into submission that keeps me riveted to my seat. My curiosity was peaked when I saw a copy of Human Weapon, Season One appear on my doorstep. Hopefully this History Channel show would help me appreciate martial art combat that much more.
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16 Wishes (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 21st, 2010

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As a kid and teenager, I watched a steady diet of cartoons (I still do). I never really adventured much into the high school television programs and movies except maybe ones like Saved by the Bell or Head of the Class. Most of them were too sweet and perfect and last time I checked I’m not perfect so I couldn’t relate (the sweet jury is still out). Hopefully 16 Wishes which did quite well on the Disney Channel would be a little different. I wouldn’t count on it.
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Superhero Squad Show: Volume Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 19th, 2010

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Here is a second volume of episodes from the Marvel cartoon’s first season, which is geared towards young children. The review for the first volume, written by the highly skilled and suspiciously well-dressed Michael Durr, can be found here: http://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/07/12/marvel-squad-vone/ . Dr. Doom is still using his many evil minions to obtain fractals of the shattered Infinity Sword before the Superhero Squad, a team of Marvel heroes assembled for their unique skills depending on the mission as led by Iron Man, can stop him.
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The World at War (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2010

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They’ve been called The Greatest Generation, and who are we to argue the point? Sitting here writing reviews from my comfortable seat in a state-of-the-art home theater, I’m in no position to lay claim to the title. They fought in the bloodiest conflict in modern human history. Over 20 million were killed. That’s a staggering number. If you’re like me, it’s not even real. I can honestly say that those facts have never really reached home as much as they did while watching this footage.
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Car Bomb

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2010

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“My name is Bob Baer. I used to be a CIA agent stationed in Lebanon during the Civil War. It was chaos. Bu, the real threat was always the car bomb.”

For most of us who are old enough to remember the 1980’s, there are a few moments and events that likely still stick in your mind. Lebanon was the scene for two of the biggest events of that era. Both involved car bombs that shook the world. A marine barracks was bombed on October 23rd, 1983, killing 241 American servicemen. Before that, on April 18th of that same year, another truck bomb destroyed the American Embassy in Lebanon
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Love Ranch

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2010

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Written by Diane Tillis

On the outskirts of Reno in 1976, a pink building complex is illuminated by neon lights that read ‘The Love Ranch’.

The Love Ranch is a popular brothel owned by scarred hustler Charlie (Joe Pesci) and his elderly wife Grace (Helen Mirren). Charlie is the typical gangster pimp who swears too much and smokes cigars wrapped in $100 bills. The ranch hosts several career prostitutes who bring in a lot of money. With the large cash flow, Charlie is able to seize control of the local law enforcement and keep a few politicians in his pocket.
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Life On Mars (UK): The Complete Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2010

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“My name is Sam Tyler. I had an accident and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever happened, it’s like I’ve landed on a different planet. Now, maybe, if I can work out the reason, I can get back home.”

I kind of did things a little backwards. I saw the single-season American version of Life On Mars quite some time before I managed to get my hands on the two seasons of the original British version of the show.
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Circle

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 17th, 2010

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Written by Diane Tillis

Sociopathic serial killer James Bennett (played by Silas Weir Mitchell of Prison Break) has escaped a maximum security mental hospital after being incarcerated for nine years. Two FBI agents team up with a Federal Marshall to figure out where Bennett is heading next by investigating clues left behind in Bennett’s cell. They also turn to the mental hospital’s director Dr. Green (played by Gail O’Grady of Boston Legal) for insight into Bennett’s mind.
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