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Bigger is not always better, and more is not always better. If the holiday season release of Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch is a testament to anything, it is that those two ideas are absolutely true. The Grinch has everything that the 1966 How The Grinch Stole Christmas could never hoped to have had. The film delivers on some of the best computer-generated animation that Hollywood studio money can buy. It had a $75 million budget. It will get a wide release with millions of more dollars put into a global marketing campaign. And it will make a ton of money. After all, the Grinch is the modern age Scrooge from Dickens’ classic story. These are the kind of stories that are timeless and popular. Still, the one thing this film doesn’t have over the 1966 television short is that it’s heart is two sizes too small.
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Haunted houses and Halloween seem to go together like turkey and Thanksgiving, but over the years the haunted house experience has evolved to keep up with those who have grown numb to your typical jump scares.  Sure, there are still the standard haunted houses that you’ll come across when visiting the carnival, or mazes put together by school groups for fundraisers.  But for those who are really looking to be scared, you either have to fork over the big bucks to get into Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, or you have to scour the internet to find a haunt nearby. 2017’s  Haunters: The Art of the Scare is a documentary that takes us behind the curtain to what goes on at these attractions and explores how a sub-culture that has evolved of haunted houses that have been created to push the boundaries mentally and physically.
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I’m going to say from the start that Slice isn’t for everyone, but those who come across this film and give it a chance will come away having a good time with this film.  It’s a new release from A 24, which quickly got my attention considering the numerous films the company has been releasing that I’ve enjoyed.  While it’s a horror-comedy, there is more going on in this little film, as it injects a sociopolitical message in it.  I like a film that can function on several levels, but I never expected to find it in a film about pizza delivery guys being killed by monsters.
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“There are two kinds of pain in this world. Pain that hurts and pain that alters. Today you get to choose.”

Denzel is back as Robert McCall, offering the bad guys a chance to do the right thing. Well, he offers that opportunity to a select few of them, I should say. When a group of highly trained operatives kill his friend, he’s out for blood. Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer 2 keeps all of the themes that made the first one great in this sequel. Though it is a sequel, I would say that it follows a very different path than the original.
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Offbeat, heavy-handed characters, bleak outcast situations, and moody, it’s a marvelous adventure for those who like Wes Anderson movies.  This one, however, shows his range with an animated film that’s worthy of most Japanese greats. From the opening drum introduction of Isle of Dogs to the heartfelt finale, Anderson captures a cold, disturbing environment from which his characters can rise up.  If you like offbeat stories produced in stop-motion animation in the vein of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, then this film should not be missed.
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Sports movies have been something of a cliché for years now. And it’s not really a recent phenomenon. Everybody remembers Ronald Reagan appearing in the Knute Rockne All American as the famous George Gipp. That was 1940, and Hollywood is still selling films that ask teams to “win one for The Gipper”. That’s exactly what you get in director Sean McNamara’s The Miracle Season. Substitute high school volleyball for college football, and you likely already know the story before you even order your popcorn and soda. Of course, even with established Hollywood formula and a well-trodden story, things are never quite that simple.
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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.

Fox has put out a few good releases this year, and you really should think about putting some of this under the tree
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To all of our faithful readers and followers:

Upcomingdiscs HQ in Florida was visited by a rather nasty lady who called herself Irma.

She left the place with no power and the staff scattered to the 75 MPH winds to be safe.

That’s why you have not heard from us for nearly a week.

We will be up and running soon. Please keep checking back.

There are reviews and some of the best contests we’ve ever run coming very soon.

Our biggest concern now is the safety of our Upcomingdiscs family.

Trust me, we are all eager to get back to doing what we love (watching and reviewing stuff).

For now we need to tend to the people we love.

Thank you for your loyalty and patience.

From all of us here at Upcomingdiscs, We hope that all of you in Irma’s path remained safe and secure.

If you’ve visited our site at any point throughout the last five years, you know who Brent is. Besides being our resident gorehound and an invaluable contributor to this website, Brent is also the fifth member of the 500 club here at Upcomingdiscs! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out his past reviews…and keep an eye out for what he has to say about your favorite movie in the near future.

Please join us in wishing congrats to Brent.

Here’s to the next 500 reviews!

If you’re looking for a little nostalgia on DVD, you have a lot of options out there. Front and center you’ll find that Time-Life has been bringing out a lot of memories. We’ve already looked at such shows as The Wonder Years, Dean Martin Roasts, and Mama’s Family over the years. We’ve also got some insight on another classic television milestone in the coming weeks. For now we take a look at four recent releases that bring back the good old days. I’m talking about: Hee Haw: Pfft! You Was Gone, Bob Hope Salutes the Troops, The Best of Tim Conway and The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson: Johnny And Friends Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. It’s song, dance, and laughs on DVD. And away we go
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Another shining example of an opportunity to watch a classic film that was before my time.  Before had, the only thing I knew about Car Wash was that it was a Richard Pryor movie; however, now I grasp that Pryor is just a pawn in a large ensemble cast. He is far from the most important character, although he is an interesting one as Daddy Rich, but his role pales in comparison of Bill Duke as Duane, or should I said Abdullah, as he prefers to be known now.  Car Wash as it turns out is of greater significance than I originally realized and worthy of the title of cult classic, and I do believe a huge portion of that is attributed to the song that was lived on for generation to follow. You all know it, “Working at the Car Wash.” Sing it with me now.
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“Weird, messy, complicated, sad, wonderful, amazing, and above all, epic.”

It’s time to say goodbye to Mystic Falls. It’s time to say goodbye to Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline, and all of those fan-favorite “ships” that have passed in some rather bloody nights. After eight years The Vampire Diaries is getting the stake and fading off into the sunset. Eight years is pretty respectable when you consider that the series has been on the cancellation bubble since its fourth year. Somehow it managed to survive long enough to go out on its own terms and leave behind a strong enough legacy to assure its survival for years to come in syndication. While The Originals continues we are likely to see some of these characters, if only in guest spots along the way.
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This is an announcement. This is not a review. We will likely have one posted as the unit is made available to us soon.

MENLO PARK, California – April 24, 2017 – OPPO Digital announced that its UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc player is available for purchase. A step-up version of the recently released UDP-203, the UDP-205 brings top-of-the-line audio performance to a universal player that supports 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and many other digital audio and video formats.

The OPPO UDP-205 carries many of the same features as the UDP-203: playback of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, regular Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, Audio CD and many other formats; High Dynamic Range (HDR10) and firmware upgradable to Dolby Vision; dual HDMI outputs – HDMI 2.0 for UHD and HDMI 1.4 for audio; and an HDMI 2.0 input port for external streaming devices or set-top boxes.
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On Feb 17th, 2017 Warner Brothers will release the comedy Fist Fight starring Ice Cube and Charlie Day. The two teachers come into conflict when one gets the other fired. An old-fashion afterschool fist fight between the stars is the consequence. I’ll have a chance to tell you my thoughts on the film when it comes out.  I had the rare opportunity to sit down with Ice Cube to talk about the film. Fortunately, he didn’t challenge me to a fight after our talk. You can check out the film in Feb. Click here to watch the video with Ice Cube

The first rule of Fight Club is you never talk about Fight Club. So it’s a good thing we’re talking about Fight Valley instead. I got to hang out on the phone with Rob Hawk who both wrote and directed Fight Valley and the upcoming Fight Valley 2: Lockdown and we had a lot to talk about. The New Jersey native gives us an idea of what it was like to grow up on the tough streets of Jersey. Fight Valley  tells the story of one woman who enters the underground female fight game to find out how her sister died. It’s lady’s night at the fights. You talkin’ to me? Rob Hawk did and it’s all here. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Rob Hawk.
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That’s right. We’re heading back to The All American Bikini Car Wash once again. Seems my car keeps getting dirty these days. This time we’re talking to the guy who started it all (in the film). Tom McLaren plays Professor Dugan. He’s the one who offers the extra credit if Jack can turn a profit with his car wash. Obviously, the prof. wasn’t expecting this… I had the opportunity to spend some time talking with Tom. He was also involved in the marketing which has driven this little title into the top 15 in home video sales. He talks about that and his many other projects. He’s got a wonderful book out with classic continuity pictures from the Fox vaults. It’s co-written with Angela Cartwright. You’re going to want to hear this. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Tom McLaren

Want to learn more about Tom?
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“You have a convenient way of remembering things.”

Buried somewhere deep in The Adderall Diaries — a hybrid family drama and true crime thriller centered around a blocked writer — there’s an interesting exploration of how the past isn’t necessarily set in stone and how two people can recall the same exact event in divergent ways that serve their needs. Unfortunately, the film almost entirely muddles that message beyond recognition, and we’re left with a movie that is neither convenient nor particularly memorable.
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