Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 24th, 2014
“I used to be thin when I was 6.”
Jim Gaffigan has long been fixated on food. Need proof? The comedian’s 2013 memoir is called “Dad Is Fat”, and his most famous routine is about Hot Pockets. So it wasn’t exactly a shocker to find that Gaffigan spends most of Obsessed — his fourth Comedy Central stand-up special — talking about his dietary likes and dislikes. (Hint: kale is not on his list of favorites.) This is astoundingly straightforward and inoffensive material that nonetheless had me consistently laughing out loud.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 16th, 2014
“You show up late reeking of booze, handcuffed to a stripper, and you expect me to trust your judgment?”
Even though we’re more than three years removed from his tiger blood heyday, it’s still impossible to separate Charlie Sheen’s bad off-screen behavior from the sitcom work he (somehow) cranks out every week. The latest example comes courtesy of Anger Management: Volume Three, which includes the departure of co-star Selma Blair after she reportedly complained that Sheen was a “menace” to work with. Not surprisingly, this batch of episodes also sees the “fictional” version of Charlie embrace his dark side.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 10th, 2014
Today, Miami is considered one of the most glamorous cities in the world. But long before it became the place where some of the biggest stars in sports and entertainment took their talents, Miami was dubbed the drug, murder, and cash capital of the United States. (Resulting in a drastically different “Big 3” than what locals are accustomed to these days.) Cocaine Cowboys already chronicled this shockingly violent stretch of the city’s history and featured recollections from some of the people who helped Miami achieve its dubious status. Now an extended version of Billy Corben’s 2006 documentary arrives on Blu-ray.
The core of the film remains the same. Both versions of Cocaine Cowboys recount the period in the 1970s and ‘80s when cocaine flooded Miami’s geographically-convenient shores, leading to a major economic boost and (eventually) an outrageous breakout of violence. The film gets its title after one interviewee likens that version of Miami to the Wild West, since killers felt free to commit shootings and murders out in the open. The biggest offenders, according to the film, were associated with the Medellin Cartel from Colombia. It all culminated with a 1981 Time Magazine cover story that proclaimed South Florida as “Paradise Lost.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 4th, 2014
The H.G. Wells invasion story has been told numerous times from a radio show when it allegedly caused a panic when Orson Wells made his infamous broadcast to the more recent imaging brought to the screen by Steven Spielberg. It’s the alien invasion story that has captured our imagination and will continue doing so for decades to come. In the new 3D animated release of War of the Worlds: Goliath, the tale of science fiction is simply the jumping-off point to a new and bigger story about the war that was waged between man and those from outer space.
It begins in Leeds during the original invasion in 1889. Eric Wells is only a child at this point and witnesses the murder of his parents by the giant alien machines that have invaded our planet. The guilt of their death continues to weigh heavily on him as he arrives in New York; now he is an adult and a Captain in the military (Peter Wingfield handles the voicing for Eric). Though there is fear of the impending world war, there has been a recent discovery that the aliens could possibly be planning another attack. Thankfully, though, Tesla and other scientists have been able to use the alien technology from the previous attack to develop battle-tripods they call Goliaths.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 2nd, 2014
“Sometimes a day can be an eternity.”
It’s hard to tell a convincing love story, period. It’s even harder to tell a convincing love story when we’re supposed to believe the two characters fall for each other within the space of a single day. The good news is At Middleton somewhat manages to pull this off in a little over an hour. The bad news is the film is actually 1 hour and 40 minutes long.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 30th, 2014
It’s been quite some time since The Chappelle Show went off the air, and it would appear Comedy Central has finally found its replacement. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the two shows are on the same par, but what Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele bring to the small screen is something that has piqued my interest and shows some potential. Both Key and Peele got their big break from working on the sketch comedy show MADtv, and it would seem they are taking their talents and what they learned to bring us something that is a little familiar but still fresh and keeps its audience laughing.
Comedy Central now releases Key & Peele as a Season 1 & 2 pack, and here you get more laughs for your buck.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 28th, 2014
When you get a film from Troma to watch, you have to view it differently than you would view just about any other film. After all, Troma is the VHS and DVD equivalent to the days of Roger Corman and the B-movie fanfare he could travel from one Cineplex to the next. Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman has been writing and directing B-cinema schlock for 40 years and has managed to make money off it, so for those naysayers out there, keep in mind he still is responsible for The Toxic Avenger as well as Tromeo & Juliet.
With Return to Nuke’em High, Kaufman seems to be taking on his most ambitious project yet. The film is broken up into two separate volumes, and volume one sets up the epic gross-out satire wonderfully. The opening sequence narrated by none other than Peter Parker himself (Stan Lee) about the previous events that took place in the 1986 cult classic Class of Nuke’em High. With the viewer now caught up, we meet Chrissy (Asta Paredes); she hangs with her crew of misfit friends, though she secretly blogs about the health and safety issues going on at the school all while keeping her boyfriend Eugene (Clay von Carlowitz) at bay from his sexual advances. But the boat gets rocked when rich new girl, Lauren (Catherine Corcoran) arrives and Chrissy sets her vengeful/lustful sights upon her.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 27th, 2014
“…I’m the f---ing Vice President of the United States, and I have something to say.”
If you’ve seen Veep, you know it’s almost impossible to quote the show without including an f-bomb or any of the show’s crassly creative put-downs. The sitcom’s central joke remains that the vice presidency might be the most high-profile unimportant job in the world. As a result, the second season of HBO’s caustic comedy sees VP Selina Meyer making moves to improve her political standing. Of course, she and her harried staff can’t avoid the humiliations and indignities that come with the job.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 16th, 2014
Jeff Dunham has always had a talent for making people laugh. His style of ventriloquism has found its way into millions of homes and probably a billion YouTube views. Of course these standup specials have translated into tons of merchandising potential such as lunchboxes, t-shirts, and even the puppets turned into cute and sometimes furry stuffed dolls. Well, with one of the most beloved characters, Achmed, they decided to do an animated special. Let us see how well it turned out.
Jeff Dunham and Achmed the Dead Terrorist (also voiced by Jeff) join us for a little introduction. Jeff asks Achmed who his favorite animated character is. Achmed sheepishly replies Tigger and also Eeyore. But certainly not Piglet, don't be ridiculous. Then Jeff tells Achmed that he can be an animated character too and to make a wish. Out pops Tinker Bubba (yes, that's Jeff too) who can make Achmed intoxicated, I mean animated. Achmed turns animated and that is how the show starts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 16th, 2014
It is true what they say, every time you think you are done, you get pulled back in. I had been working on cleaning up my house and trying by any means necessary to get it on the market (42 gallon trash bags are your friend). But the big boss of Upcomingdiscs.com asked if I would like to review the final season of Flashpoint. I looked at my movie spinner and saw nestled between the Flash (the short lived TV series) and Freakazoid Season 1(okay, I'm odd, I get it), the first 5 volumes of Flashpoint. At that point, it was pretty much a done deal.
At the end of the fifth season (or fifth volume if we are being technical), we had arrived at the episode Slow Burn. In this episode, the main story was that an arsonist was at large. The arsonist proceeds to take a fire chief hostage and eventually the criminal gets caught. However, that was certainly not the end of the story as the arsonist actually had a partner working at the fire station. This doesn't go very well as the fire chief takes the partner hostage and the SRU Unit has to negotiate a peaceful settlement.
