Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2019
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. But now it's too late to go out and get something. Here's a gift you can send in seconds and any movie fan on your list will be grateful. Usually we stick to movies and home theater equipment when we do talk about gifts here at Upcomingdiscs. However, I do keep my eye out for things that might be of special appeal to the film collectors in our audience. If you're at all like me, you've been trying new ways to keep track of your video collection for years. I have stuff on so many formats that it gets pretty tough to find a way to keep it all together and easy to access. Most of the time I used to just work with Works database options and let that be my database. But a few years ago I've finally found a commercial database that does everything I want it to do, and a ton more. I'm talking about Collectorz, and they've been helping to organize my film collection for a few years now. We talked about them last Christmas, and I'm here to talk about them again. This thing rocks and is about as easy to use as anything else I've ever tried. It keeps track of everything you need.
The database works in conjunction with the internet resources like the IMDB. When you enter a film title it automatically searches these various resources for the film you entered. Once it finds the movie it populates all kinds of fields for you. It grabs the cast, year, genre, director, trailers and cover art and so much more all automatically. The information is incorporated into your database and permanently recorded. There's no need to have access to the internet to open up and browse these features once the database is entered. You can even scan the barcode if you have a barcode reader for your computer.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2019
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.
We now turn our attention to Mill Creek and a couple of iconic releases coming your way just in time for Christmas:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2019
Downton Abbey spent six years on television and has amassed 52 episodes. In that relatively short run the series has also managed to collect over 200 award nominations and several Golden Globes along with other prestigious awards. Let's not forget a rather loyal fan-base that has watched each episode with anticipation of the next sharp barb or character revelation. The fans have been vocal and strong enough that a new film franchise has been anticipated to fill the void left by the series. In one of its years it was the number-one binged series in the world. That's a lot of power, and it's little wonder that all of these ingredients are expected to create a little box office gold. But film franchises from television shows rarely go on to such golden heights. There are some notable exceptions, to be sure. But even here, expectations and changing caretakers often lead to both high points and flops. The Star Trek franchise is a perfect example of those kinds of ups and downs. Mission Impossible is an example of shows that have to be completely retooled to hit the high numbers. Where will Downton Abbey fit in this equation? I rather suspect the jury is still out. One thing I can tell you with complete confidence: the film will absolutely entertain fans of the series. There's no retooling to be found here, and you can expect the same kind of drama that you've been mainlining for 52 episodes.
The original series left the Crawley family at the Christmas of 1925. A little over two years have passed, and we rejoin the family in the summer of 1927. The family appears to have come to a point where they have to face the possibility that the aristocracy in Great Britain might be finally coming to an end. There is much conversation about having the family finally give up Downton Abbey and place themselves into somewhat normal British society. The manor doesn't bring in the kind of wealth it once did, and keeping it going will require making some serious cuts and sacrifices. Amid this crises of conundrum, Robert Crawley (Bonneville) is informed that the King and Queen of England have decided to visit the Abbey and spend an evening there. The occasion brings about a flurry of preparations. One of these preparations involves the newly promoted butler. Thomas Barrow might not have the right experience or demeanor to handle such a huge job. Lady Mary (Dockery) decides to reach out to their seasoned but retired former butler, Mr. Carson (Carter). It's actually a quite clever way of giving the show some kind of major story and a great excuse to bring back the familiar character so that fans can get at least one more visit with things very much as they were at Downton Abbey.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2019
Lionsgate is going to offer you a nice Florida vacation this Christmas. It's a short one, to be sure. You're going to love spending some time with Bernie The Dolphin 2. Hang out with your old friends from the first film. I got to hang out with an old friend of ours at Upcomingdiscs. I had the chance to talk to Kevin Sorbo about the new film. It sounds like it was a blast. You can check out our chat by banging it here: Kevin Sorbo
You can also check out Kevin Sorbo's website for some nice signed items just in time for Christmas. Check it out here: Kevin Sorbo Website
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2019
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.
CBS still has the highest rated dramas on television. There have been quite a few good DVD sets from the network in 2019. Here's a look at my recommendations. Part One will deal with some classic shows that CBS continues to put out.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2019
"There's a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes."
Clint Eastwood is about to hit 90, and there are no signs that it's slowing him down. Last year he even returned to the front of the camera for The Mule. Now he's back as just the director, and it appears that Eastwood has found two of his favorite subjects in one film. He's always been attracted to the isolated man. If you look back at the men he himself has portrayed over the years, they were misunderstood loners. In recent years he has taken a bit of a shine to telling true stories that usually deal with unlikely heroes who are thrust into a dangerous situation and must act. Heroes like Chris Kyle in American Sniper, airline captain Chesley Sullenberger, the WWII heroes who raised the iconic flag at Iwo Jima in Flags Of Our Fathers, and the brave ordinary tourist who stopped a terrorist attack on a passenger train in The 15:17 To Paris. These heroes always pay a price for their actions, and often they are even persecuted for what they've done, as in the case of Sully. Eastwood has combined that true story and unlikely hero for his latest work, Richard Jewell. It's a cautionary tale that is worth watching, particularly in an age where we are constantly told that if we see something, we must say something. After watching Richard Jewell, you might just experience a potentially catastrophic hesitation. And who could blame you?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2019
"Get ready for six hours of cartoons."
Try around six days if you can binge them all. We're talking about 300 hours of Simpsons cartoons in the can. The longest running show in prime time doesn’t feature cops, doctors, or lawyers. It’s hard to believe that The Simpsons have existed as long as the Fox network. While the series didn’t really begin until Fox’s second year, the characters were part of The Tracey Ullman Show, which did start the first year of Fox. Who could have guessed that an animated short from an otherwise horrible and doomed variety show would explode into such a phenomenon? The Simpsons have not only dominated the pop culture; they have placed everything else into context with their show. Like Doonesbury, it could be said that the only thing worse than being made fun of on The Simpsons is not being made fun of on The Simpsons. With that said, you’ll understand my warm feelings and appreciation for this show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 17th, 2019
When it comes to Quentin Tarantino’s ninth feature film, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, while it may be the most personal film that QT has put out, for some fans this may be his hardest to embrace. For many fans, when they think of a Tarantino film the go-to titles are Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you’re going into this film with expectations for it to resemble those films, well, you’re going to be disappointed. Instead what Tarantino delivers this time around is something more ambitious; while it may not be heavy on plot, what it thrives on is character and its ability to take us back in time to Hollywood in 1969 as it was closing in on the end of an era. Other fans may be coming into this film expecting this to be a story that delves into Charles Manson and his followers because of the film having Sharon Tate in it; well, again, this is something where you need to put expectations aside and allow Tarantino to let his story unfold for you, because as expected, he takes this film into an unexpected direction.
The film is about Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a fading TV western star, and his stuntman and best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Rick is being offered an opportunity to make some films in Italy as a last-ditch effort to salvage his career, while Cliff is doing what he can on a day-to-day basis to stay afloat in Hollywood as a stuntman, though mostly he is Rick’s gopher and driver. The relationship between these two men is the strength of the film despite them having little screen time together, but when the two do share the screen, it’s something special that’d I’d compare to seeing Newman and Redford together. Tarantino knows what he has with these two together, but these characters are both on very different journeys in the film. Rick is doing a guest spot on the hit western TV show Lancer, while Booth is doing work at Rick’s house and meeting a charismatic hitchhiker.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 17th, 2019
Well, I’m not fully sure how to put my experience with Killerman into words, but I will give it my best shot. The feeling that comes to mind is confused. It just seem to be a lot of different things thrown at me at once. Liam Hemsworth is introduced as Moe Diamond, a small-time money launderer partnering with the nephew of a powerful crime boss; the nephew chaffs under the thumb of his uncle, and it is very clear that he is the less intelligent one of the partnership. Moe is level-headed and appears to have an elegant system in place for laundering money through his jewelry business. The nephew, who goes by the name Skunk, played by Emery Cohen, is clearing only involved because of his connection to his uncle. Needless to say, I imagine you can see where this is going, I mean, we have only seen it dozens of times in other movies, but I’ll go ahead and repeat it for posterity: the uncle gives the boys the opportunity at a big-time score; the pair get wind of a too-good-to-be-true drug dealing opportunity, and decide to use the uncle’s cash to front the deal. As expected the deal really does turn out to be too good to be true, leading Moe and Skunk to be on the run from a dirty cop when they escape the deal with both the cash and the money. To the film’s credit, this is the extent of the movie’s predictability, as matters take an unexpected turn.
While escaping their pursuers, the pair has a very bad accident, resulting in Moe developing amnesia. I know I said predictive stuff was over, but this aspect does have an interesting twist. Normally, when presenting this kind of plot, the rest of the film is spent delving into the protagonist attempting to solve the mystery of who he really is. Killerman deviates from that trend, because we have a buddy to explain to Moe exactly who he is. That aside, he still goes through the expected emotions of confusion attached to a self-identity crisis. Though his circumstance is quite tragic, I was never able to form any kind of investment into this character. He was just too unhinged for me. He was initially interesting; he was clever and clearly had some loyal friends, but there was always something about his personality that was shrouded in mystery.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on December 17th, 2019
“Welcome back to Jumanji!”
It would seem that welcoming the audience back to the jungle is in order. Now here is a sequel that when I heard it was being made, all I could do was shake my head. I just couldn’t fathom a reason for a sequel to be made. The film was already a continuation of the previous installment. I also couldn’t fathom a worthwhile story being told. And if it wasn’t for the hard work of Jack Black, who basically made the movie, I believe that my opinion would not have been changed otherwise. After barely escaping the game the first time, the group finds themselves drawn back into the world of Jumanji in order to save one of their own. However, the stakes are higher, as not only is the gang venturing into brand new territory; they are hampered due to being saddled with two new players in the form of franchise newcomers Danny DeVito and Danny Glover. The previews did not do the film justice, as it truly turned out to be far better than I was initially anticipating. It does get a bit long-winded, but for the most part it is a good, fun, and funny return to the established universe.
On The Web
Sponsors
