Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 7th, 2013
For nine seasons and several TV-movies afterwards, Raymond Burr was Los Angeles based defense attorney Perry Mason. This character's verbal gymnasitcs and uncanny hounding for evidence makes his famous winning streaks seem not just plausible but rather entertaining to behold. His adventures have been well-reviewed by myself and my reviewing compadre Gino on this very site (https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=perry+mason).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 7th, 2013
With most of my teen years spent during the 90’s it’s no surprise that still many of the bands I grew up with manage to remain on my playlist. Garbage is a band of the 90’s you couldn’t help but take notice of because though the airwaves were saturated with alternative music, Garbage was doing it with a female vocalist. Shirley Manson wasn’t just a pretty face; she had the vocals and stage presence that was hard to resist at the time. “I’m only happy when it rains” as well as “Stupid Girl” have been tracks that any time I catch them on the radio I can’t help but crank the radio a little louder and get a little nostalgic to the way things were in my teens.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 5th, 2013
“Each director was given a letter of the alphabet and asked to choose a word. They then created a short tale of death that related to their chosen word. They had complete artistic freedom regarding the content of their segments.”
It’s easy to see why 26 talented filmmakers from across the world leapt at the chance to show audiences 26 different ways to die. Obviously, you can’t exactly be squeamish when you sit down to watch an anthology called The ABCs of Death. But I still wish fewer directors had interpreted “complete artistic freedom” as “make the most ridiculous and disgusting movie you possibly can.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 3rd, 2013
Bringing big-screen action and spectacle to the small screen is almost always a losing proposition. (A moment of silence for Terra Nova.) It’s just too hard to maintain on a week-to-week basis over the course of multiple seasons. Falling Skies — which, like Terra Nova, counts Steven Spielberg as one of its executive producers — may not be terribly original, but it’s one of the more successful attempts at consistently bringing large-scale thrills to television.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on May 29th, 2013
When someone tries to break in and take something from the building you’re in, what do you do? Well, according to “The Official Good Guy Handbook”, you must immediately lock down the building, retreat to a secure room, and try to get help from the outside. Of course, you must do all this while repelling the bad guys, ignoring their threats and bribes, and (of course) watching out for the double cross.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 24th, 2013
“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”
Just in case the film’s title wasn’t a big enough clue, this opening quote from famed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke makes it abundantly clear the domestic disturbance in Dark Skies won’t be caused by grumpy ghosts or a dastardly demon. This effective little sci-fi/horror movie follows the low-budget template established by recent hits like Insidious, Sinister and the Paranormal Activity franchise, but looks to the not-so-friendly skies for its source of terror.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2013
Forget about all of the sequels, remakes and copycats. At least that's what original Texas Chainsaw Massacre writer/director Tobe Hooper wants you to do. As far as he's concerned, Texas Chainsaw 3D is the official follow-up to the groundbreaking, flesh-tearing 1974 cult classic film. To bring the point home, Hooper has signed on as a producer and brought along the original Leatherface Gunnar Hansen and Marilyn Burns who played Sally, the girl who got away in the original film. Both have cameos here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2013
"I found this website... "How to Cure a Serial Killer in Ten Easy Steps" and this is the 1st step."
Dexter left us with quite a shock at the end of the 6th season. Shows have left us with cliffhangers before, but this was one of the most exciting season finales I've seen in a long time. Sister Deb walks in just as Dexter does his plastic playtime act, and there's no way to wiggle out of this one. As fans of the show, we knew that things just weren't going to be the same...and we were right.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 20th, 2013
Well, it is that time of the year when we must see what the blood suckers, shape shifters, wolves and the faeries are up to. No, I am not talking about the State of the Union address; I’m talking about the latest season of True Blood. Season Five to be exact. In these twelve episodes, we again travel to the land of Bon Temps, Louisiana and see exactly what delicious trouble and dastardly deeds our characters can get themselves tied up in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 20th, 2013
The conclusion of the wildly popular Twilight saga last fall left a nation of haters high-fiving each other, but it also created a giant, heart-shaped vacuum in Hollywood. Where is the industry’s next big young adult-oriented, human-on-supernatural romance franchise going to come from? This past Valentine’s Day was as good a time as any to find out if Beautiful Creatures — based on Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s “Caster Chronicles” series — was up to the task.
