Posted in: Site News by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2019
From all of us here at Upcomingdiscs, I want to wish all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
Enjoy plenty of family, friends, football and don’t forget to share a movie or two with someone you love.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 27th, 2019
The most amazing thing about The Handmaid’s Tale — other than a powerhouse lead performance from the best actress working in television right now — is that this harrowing, suddenly timely cautionary tale about what happens when society falls asleep at the wheel is based on a story that was published more than 30 years ago. Of course, the show has a lot more going for it than impeccable timing. The Handmaid’s Tale is based on Canadian writer Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name. Sometime in the not-so-distant future, the world is in chaos after environmental pollution and sexually transmitted diseases result in a catastrophic decline in human fertility rates. In the U.S., the result was Second Civil War, which led to the establishment of a totalitarian, Christian fundamentalist government known as Gilead. And while life isn’t exactly a picnic for anyone outside of Gilead’s elite ruling class, life is especially dire for women: they are not allowed to own property, work, handle money, or read. Much of this information is revealed in dribs and drabs over what is now three seasons.
The Handmaid’s Tale is created by Bruce Miller, a writer producer who worked on SyFy’s Eureka and The CW’s The 100. The former series offered a cracked-mirror, off-center version of reality, while the latter is a post-apocalyptic drama: both sensibilities proved extremely beneficial for Handmaid’s. A large share of the credit also goes to Reed Morano, who won a directing Emmy for her work on the pilot and established the show’s spellbinding visual tone by helming the first three episodes.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2019
"There is a doorway in the universe. Beyond it is the promise of truth. It demands we question everything we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us. We are not alone. We have never been alone."
Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory, the idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even spacemen. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2019
"It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?"
Anyone who was a kid from the 1960's to the 1990's and beyond recognizes Mr. Rogers and his neighbor song. The man defined children’s programming for television, and he did so from a small studio tucked away in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania for almost 40 years. There aren't many people living in this country who don't at least know who Fred Rogers was. It would be a complete waste of my space and your time to tell you very much about the man in these lines. Truthfully, you'll make the kinds of discoveries into the nature of who he was by spending a short 90 minutes watching the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor that appeared last year. It will be time well spent no matter how little or much you think you know about him. But now hot on the heels of that incredible documentary comes a film staring Tom Hanks as the lovable neighbor we all used to wish we had. Recently Ancestry.com confirmed that Tom Hanks and Fred Rogers are related. Of course you have to go back the pre-revolutionary days of 1734 to find this elusive relative. But you won't have to time travel to spend a magical time with Mr. Rogers and Tom Hanks. In 2019 they happen to be the same man.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on November 23rd, 2019
“We got twenty-one bridges in and out of Manhattan. Shut them down. Three rivers. Close them. Four tunnels. Block them. Stop every train and loop the subways. Then, we flood the island with blue.”
Chadwick Boseman looks to be trying to bring back the days of Dirty Harry in this film as a cop known to kill cop killers. 21 Bridges is an action-packed film where nothing is really what it seems. Also featuring Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, J.K. Simmons, and Keith David, I have to admit that some of these cast members’ appearances were more like cameos, as the action primarily focused on Boseman as he attempted to hunt down his target by any means necessary. Sorry, I just always wanted to say that, but for the context of this movie it rings true, as from the quote above you can see the extent he was willing to go to.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2019
It's been six years since Frozen became somewhat of a surprise hit out of Walt Disney Studios in 2013. No one was surprised it made a good haul at the box office, but I suspect that even the masterminds at Disney never saw this billion dollar baby when it was first being born. It's become the biggest original hit out of Disney since the original Lion King set animated feature records in the 90's. I'll give the studio credit. They didn't rush out and try to cash in on the momentum as quickly as other studios would have. They took their time and assembled the same team of directors and songwriters and allowed the process to follow a six-year process with the intent of doing it right rather than doing it fast. For the most part I think that strategy paid off, and while this film will never be the classic the original has become, it will fit rather snugly into the franchise and will delight children while possibly cursing the adults who are fated to watch the film over and over again. This is absolutely one of those kinds of movies.
It all starts in the past where we spy young Elsa and Anna playfully getting ready for bed. The King puts them to bed with a story out of the kingdom's past. He regales them with how their grandfather met the people of an enchanted forest who had magical powers over the four elements of land, fire, air and water. They are told of the great gift of peace their grandfather gave these people in the form of a huge dam. It all turns nasty when the story continues to tell of a peaceful gathering where the people of the enchanted forest suddenly attack the people of Arendelle. The elements were so angered by the act of betrayal that they separated the kingdoms and enshrouded the enchanted forest with an impenetrable fog that has isolated the forest ever since.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2019
"He picked me out of a pile of pups, a tangled mass of paws and tails. He'd stopped at the farm on his way home from the speedway at Yakima. Even back then, I knew I was different than other dogs. My soul just felt more human."
There was a time when this kind of film would have been reviewed by Baby, the German Shepherd/Chow who used to run security here at Upcomingdiscs as well as fill in for the occasional dog film review. Baby's gone, and we haven't yet trained Aurora the Siberian Husky who resides at Upcomingdiscs to pitch in on reviews. The problem is getting her to put her ball down long enough to pay enough attention, let alone write a review. But we're working on it. Until then these duties have fallen back to me, the occasional dog lover, which usually depends on what Aurora is up to at any particular moment. As Baby would have said: "Let's not talk about that right now." The task at hand is another talking dog film which followed quickly on the heels of A Dog's Purpose and its sequel A Dog's Journey along with the most recent A Dog's Way Home. It's a trend that has produced some emotional moments at the cinema for those of us who have spent a large part of their lives with our canine companions. This time out we have The Art Of Racing In The Rain, which is based on the novel by Garth Stein. If you're hoping to have that same kind of emotional ride that these other films brought, I think you'll be in for a little disappointment.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 22nd, 2019
Whistleblowing is a difficult decision. You are part of an organization, and you believe in that organization. Speaking out against that organization (yes, I know I’m overusing the word) at times can seem like ratting out family. Not to mention the downside. We all say that there will not be reprisal for whistleblowing, but more often than not, there is. However, that doesn’t mean that if you see wrongdoing that you should sit idly by and do nothing. Most believe that inaction is as bad as committing the act yourself. But when the organization you are speaking out against is the United States government, that is another animal entirely. Official Secrets portrays the real-life actions of Katherine Gun, a translator who back in 2003 leaked classified information exposing a conspiracy to facilitate the war against Iraq. Keira Knightly portrays our whistleblower with an all-star cast that includes Matthew Smith, Matthew Goode, Rhys Ifans, and Ralph Fiennes.
A key factor with this biographical adaptation is historical accuracy. There are always some aspect that are sensationalized to make the story more interesting and engaging. I did some research, and as near as I can tell this portrayal is pretty accurate of the events that transpired; even the names are accurate. Katherine Gun worked worked for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a British intelligence agency. During her employment, she received an email from a high-ranking U.S. intelligence official requesting aid in a secret and illegal operation to bug the United Nations offices of six nations: Angola, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, and Pakistan. The purpose of the clandestine operation was to gain leverage over these countries to force their support to prompt the United Nations Security Council to approve the invasion of Iraq.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 22nd, 2019
I have to be honest; when I got this title and saw that Jim Gaffigan was starring, I didn’t know what to expect, but I went into this film with some low expectations. I’m a fan of Gaffigan, and I own a few of his stand-up albums, but seeing him headlining a thriller, well, it was a tough leap for me. Now that I’ve seen the film, I got to say I’m impressed by what he pulled off with this film. That being said, as I was watching this film, I couldn’t help but see a similarity between Gaffigan and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. I doubt this was intentional, and perhaps it’s just my subconscious attempting to make these connections, but Gaffigan’s performance in this film is on par with many of the performances we saw from Hoffman in his later years. As for the film, American Dreamer follows Cam (Gaffigan), a down-on-his-luck schlub who at one point was living the American dream: a good job, a nice home, and a wife and child. Then he lost his job, and everything else seemed to disappear around him. Now he’s a driver for a ride share company, where he struggles with paying child support and has had a bit of a mental breakdown. Early in the film we get to see him in a parking lot near an airport, watching as planes are coming and going, and its obvious Cam is dreaming of an escape from his life. He ends up getting a fare that has him driving a small-time drug dealer, Mazz (Robbie Jones) around town. The setup here seems simple, as it establishes who both of these men are, but over the course of one night we’ll see these men make some difficult decisions, and by the time the film ends, you will definitely feel differently about these characters.
After reading the blurb on the back of the Blu-ray and starting this film, I was a little worried that this would be something akin to Collateral meets Falling Down. When we see Cam come to his breaking point and he decides to kidnap Mazz’s son, sure, it’s a drastic leap for someone to make, but the way the writers and director handle this situation, it still remains in the realm of possibility. That pretty much is how the rest of the film plays out; there are a lot of worst-case scenarios that happen to both Cam and Mazz, and it’s what keeps the viewer on the hook. What I was most impressed by is how co-writer and director Derrick Borte wasn’t afraid to go dark with this film, because there are a few decisions made in this film that are pretty risky, and most filmmakers would avoid entering this territory, but personally I think it’s the risk that makes this film work. (It would be a huge spoiler if I were to say what this risk was.) But by taking that risk, the viewer knows anything can happen in this film. and it’s what literally kept me guessing at how this would all end for Cam and Mazz.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2019
"Make a little noise. Ruffle a few feathers."
I should confess from the beginning that I am a very dedicated Star Trek fan. I'm not a Trekkie or a Trekker, I'm a fan. I have often allowed my fan status to cause me to embrace the franchise even when it wasn't necessarily so good. As a young 15-year-old kid I attended the first 10:00 AM showing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture with a handful of friends on the opening day. We stayed through six showings and left sometime after midnight the following day, occupying the front row center and subsisting off the day's more limited concession offerings. Basically candy, popcorn and soda. Little has changed except for the lack of responsibilities that would allow me to spend 14 hours watching a single film over and over again. I'm still reluctant to dismiss anything Star Trek, but that's nearly what happened as I watched the first season of Star Trek: Discovery last year.
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