Regular Columns

This coming Veterans Day will also mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. I’m sure there will be plenty of events to mark the event. WWI is also the subject of the latest horror film out by RLJE Films called Trench 11. It appears those Germans have been developing a bio-weapon deep underground and all is not quiet on the Western front. An elite group of soldiers are sent to unlock the secret and what they find is… That would be telling. I got the story directly from the film’s director and co-writer Leo Scherman. Now you can eavesdrop on our chat. Just bang it here and listen to my conversation with Leo Scherman.

Upcomingdiscs was at the Tampa premier of Followers. I found the film to be quite good and a nice turn on the found footage format. Director Ryan Justice delivered and the home-field crowd stuck around to hear him and other cast and crew members. The house remained full even at 1:00 AM. The film still has the rest of the week to run in 10 cities across the nation. If you are in one of those towns I highly recommend you get yourself a seat. (Check below for a screen near you. Just click on the image to get a better view.) I’ll be covering the film in more detail in the weeks to come. I was lucky enough to be invited to hang out with Ryan and film star Nishant Gogna over beer and iced tea while they prepared for the big night. Now you can sit in on some of my conversation with Ryan Justice. Just bang it right Here.

RLJE Films releases Kill Order this week on DVD. The film combines martial arts with science fiction to create a unique world of the future. The film stars Chris Mark who has been a stunt performer on a few big Hollywood films. This time he joins his brother James Mark who both wrote and directed Kill Order. So what was that like? I had an opportunity to talk to Chris about the film and working with his brother. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Chris Mark

When you see a period piece there are so many elements that can either bring you into the world on the screen or take you completely out of the experience. Such is the case with Universal’s Victoria & Abdul. No one understands that responsibility than the film’s costume designer Consolata Boyle. The film appears on Blu-ray on Dec 19th but you won’t have to wait that long to find out more about the film and its period costumes. I had the opportunity to chat with Consolata Boyle about her work on Victoria & Abdul. Now you can listen in on our conversation all the way from London. Bang it here to hear my chat with Consolata Boyle.

There’s no escape from our annual 31 Nights Of Terror. But there is room for plenty of more thrills and chills. Lionsgate has Escape Room on DVD this month. A group of friends celebrate a birthday by visiting one of those trendy escape rooms. There are puzzles and solutions to be found. But is there a way out? I had a chance to talk with the film’s director Will Wernick and he gave up a few clues about the new release. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Will Wernick.

There is a dying breed of musicians in the deep south that are the last remnants of the roots of the Blues. Many of them are gone and those that do remain are in their 80’s and 90’s. Someone needed to get down there and capture this treasure before it’s gone forever. That somebody turns out to be Daniel Cross, who put together the visceral and emotional documentary I Am The Blues. He spent time with these musicians. He listened to their stories and their songs. I had the opportunity to talk with Daniel and he shared those experiences. You really have to hear what he discovered. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Daniel Cross

You can also find out more about the film and see extra footage by banging it here: I Am The Blues

It was 50 years ago this year that Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In first appeared on NBC. It quickly took the country by storm. The show added such pop culture staples as Sock It To Me, You Bet Your Bippy and Here Comes The Judge. The show managed to attract the biggest names in entertainment of the era. The cast have gone on to become household names. It’s where stars like Goldie Hawn, Arti Johnson and Lily Tomlin got their starts. And it all started with the mind of George Schlatter. After all of those years George still has quite a bit of spunk left. I had the honor to spend nearly a half hour talking to him. Now you get to hear what he had to say. Bang it here to listen to my chat with George Schlatter.

You can also find out more about the complete series of Laugh-In by going Here.

Look for our review of the complete series coming in the weeks ahead.

The Candy Factory has been churning out the sweets of late. You must have noticed the many reviews we’ve had for the studios recent output. One of those films is the horror movie Wichita by first-time filmmakers Matthew D. Ward and Justyn Ah Chong. It’s a claustrophobic thriller that combines a bit of cinema verite with serial killer character study. I had a chance to talk to the two filmmakers, and they were eager to share their experiences on the film. While the audio is a bit rough (cell phone conference call) it’s worth a listen, to be sure.

Bang it here to listen in on my chat with The Boys

He’s back. I’m talking about author Robert Matzen. I spoke to Robert at Christmas about his amazing book Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe. You can catch up on that interview Here. Now he has released a new edition of his book Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 which tells the story of the fiery plane crash that took the life of Carole Lombard, her mother, and Otto Winkler, who was Clark Gable’s assistant and best friend, on January 16, 1942. The plane was also carrying American servicemen who were an important part of the World War II effort. This new edition contains brand new material and has been released for the 75th anniversary of the tragic crash. I can tell you that it’s a page-turner that you’ll find hard to put down. (Of course, that could have to do with the sticky stuff they put all over the cover. Just kidding.) All the while as I was reading the book I was looking forward to another conversation with the author. We finally got to talk again. Now you can hear every word. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Robert Matzen.

The book is out now on GoodKnight Books.

Dead West comes out on DVD from RLJ Entertainment on Tuesday the 7th. The film follows a serial killer who makes his way across the country leaving dead blonde women in his wake. Jeffrey Arrington plays Tony. Tony’s sister is the first victim of the Lady Killer. He sets out to inflict some frontier justice of his own. I had the chance to talk with him about the movie last week. He has some interesting insights into the character and the film. Now you can check out what he had to say. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Jeffrey Arrington.

Violence in America has been a hot topic in the news these days. But it’s not as new of a topic as you might imagine. In the 1980’s Sheldon Renan directed The Killing Of America. He put together news footage, much of which never made it to air at the time. He interviewed serial killers and investigated the stories. The documentary was never released in The United States. Now Severin is finally releasing it on Blu-ray. Of course, I just had to talk to the director and get the scoop on this one. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Sheldon Renan.

Fans of The Johnny Carson Show know who Joan Embery is. If you love animals you know who she is. She has been working with and for animals all of her life. She’s been an ambassador to the world famous San Diego Zoo. Time Life is releasing its second collection The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson The Vault Series. Joan Embery appears in some of these 12 full episodes. I had the honor of talking with her for a short time. I invite you to eavesdrop on that conversation. Bang it here to listen in on my conversation with Joan Embery

You should also visit her website at JoanEmbery.com

Oliver Stone warned me when I went to see Snowden. He told me it could happen. But I never thought it could happen to me. We’ve been out there interviewing the participants for All American Bikini Car Wash. I recently spoke with Heath Centazzo who plays Big Tony and Brendan Nagle who plays Bobby Bullets in the film. Turns out the Feds were listening in our conversation. Investigators for Upcomingdiscs discovered a copy of that wire tap and are going to risk everything providing it to the public here on our forum. Who knows. I might be reviewing movies from Moscow next week. Be warned that this is a result of Fed surveillance so the quality and language is going to be rough. If you dare: Bang it here to listen in on my conversation with The Mob Guys 
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With all of our trips to The All American Bikini Car Wash you might have noticed that we have yet to speak to any of the actual Bikini Babes. We’ve finally fixed that particular problem. Meet Scarlet Red who plays Tori in the film. You might expect that Scarlet had a lot of fun in Vegas working the Car Wash. You would be correct. Don’t take my word for it. I had a delightful time talking with Scarlet and she gave us all the juicy details. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Scarlet Red.

In case you haven’t had enough, we’re going back to All American Bikini Car Wash to talk with yet another of the film’s actors. JR Ritcherson who plays Mavin in the film. Marvin’s the guy who crunches all of the numbers to make the car wash a reality. Lucky for us he decided to share that inside information with us. I had a chance to talk to JR about the film and his other projects. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with JR Ritcherson

HBO’s groundbreaking medical drama, The Knick is set at the turn of the 20th century. One of the highlights of the series has to be the graphic depiction of surgical techniques from 1901. From the splitting of the first co-joined twins to the second season finale where Dr. Thackery performs surgery on himself. Justin Raleigh leads the team that delivers on these extraordinary makeup effects. His methods have even led to the medical community calling on the team to create materials for actual doctors in training. He’s also the man behind the effects on Viral which John reviewed for us Here. I had a chance to talk with Justin for a few minutes. Now you have a chance to hear about these groundbreaking creations. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Justin Raleigh.

We’ve got to have the cleanest cars in the country here at Upcomingdiscs. That’s because we keep going back to the All American Bikini Car Wash. I think we’re starting to lose a little of the paint. This time we stopped by to talk to Jason Lockhart who plays Vex in the film. Vex is kind of the free spirit who likely wants to be spending more time with those bikini girls and cars. Actually, Jason is also a writer and director with some impressive credits of his own. It appears he had a great time working on All American Bikini Car Wash and I had the chance to talk to him about that. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Jason Lockhart.
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We’re heading back to the All American Bikini Car Wash. This time I got to talk with Ashley Park who plays Brittany. Ashley is also the reigning Miss Asia USA. She also has a pretty busy slate of new stuff coming out. We had a lot to talk about and she was a total blast to interview. Get the inside scoop from the set in Vegas. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Ashley Park and
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Summer is here and Upcomingdiscs has been cooling off at the All American Bikini Car Wash. We thought it would be a good idea to talk to the guy who came up with the whole thing. That would be writer Patrick Rodio. I had a chance to talk with Patrick about the film. It was a lot of fun and I got the story behind the story. Bang it here to sit in on my chat with Patrick Rodio.

Are you happy? What makes someone happy? That’s the subject of the documentary Pursuing Happiness. Director Adam Shell spent 2 years out on the road looking for the happiest people in the nation. Who they are and what makes them happy might surprise you. I had the opportunity to spend some time talking to Adam. What did he find out? How did it change his own life? Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Adam Shell.

You might also like to visit the film’s website. Find out how you can see a copy of Pursuing Happiness.
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She might very well be the hardest working actress I’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking to. One thing is for certain. Tanna Frederick has been a lucky charm for director/writer Henry Jaglom for several films now. I got a chance to see her in Ovation, which takes us back stage and inside show business. It’s a natural place for Tanna, because she’s got this love-affair thing going for the stage. It all game out in our friendly conversation. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Tanna Frederick.
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Quentin Tarantino might find himself in a controversy every now and then. But we’re all waiting for the release of The Hateful Eight on Blu-ray this week. In the meantime I had a chance to talk to Dana Gourrier who plays Minnie Mink in the film. Minnie, of course owns everyone’s favorite haberdashery. She was so kind and sweet I wish I had more time to chat with her, to be sure. Bang it here and you can listen in on my conversation with Dana Gourrier.
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RLJ Entertainment shows us that the spaghetti western is not dead. Kill Or Be Killed takes the tradition and adds in a little horror to the mix. The film was written and directed by Justin Meeks and Duane Graves. Justin even plays one of the outlaws by the name of Sweet Tooth. I had the chance to talk to the two filmmakers and they had a lot to say about the genre and the film. Now you get to hear it all here. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Justin Meeks and Duane Graves.

Painkillers is the new fantasy/thriller out from RLJ Entertainment. Colm Feore stars as Dr. Troutman who is running a top secret operation that involves special ops specialists in Afghanistan a new brain drug and a secret artifact. This one will play with your head and I got to get inside the head of star Colm Feore last week. We talked about the film and his take on the character. I remember him best from HBO’s Gary Sinese film Truman. We talked a little about that film, as well. It was a great conversation, to be sure. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Colm Feore.