Tuesday Round Up: September 15, 2015
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 15th, 2015
That sound you hear blaring out of UpcomingDiscs headquarters this week is probably The Who. We’ll be saying B-Y-E to CSI, as The Final Season of the long-running procedural crime drama arrives courtesy of CBS/Paramount, which also delivers CSI: Cyber — Season 1. If you listen closely, you might also catch a little Electric Light Orchestra as Universal Music Group offers up ELO: Live in Hyde Park. HBO dives into the disturbed psyches of Nightingale and The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Shout! Factory passes down The Legacy and The Bold Ones: The Protectors — The Complete Series.
Disney swings by with Monkey Kingdom, MPI Home Video rockets Closer to the Moon and cops to The Seven Five, while A&E Home Video revisits The Returned: Season 1. Warner Bros. geeks out with The Big Bang Theory: Season 8, and you can already check out our take on Peanuts: The EMMY Honored Collection.
And I reckon you guys don’t like free stuff as much as I figured you did. Remember that once a month we’re going to give away a free DVD title from among the comments in our weekly Round-Up posts. All you have to do is comment on a Round-Up post — like this one! — and tell us which of these titles you’re most excited to watch or read about. The winners and their prizes will be announced the first week of every month right here in our Tuesday Round-Up post. You can’t win if you don’t comment.
And one last reminder before signing off for the week: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Scorpion: Season 1 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2015
“My name is Walter O’Brien. I have the fourth highest IQ ever recorded: 197. Einstein’s was 160. When I was 11 the FBI arrested me for hacking into NASA to get their blueprints for my bedroom wall. Now I run a team of geniuses, tackling worldwide threats only we can solve…”
By now you are used to the geeky technical expert that is a requisite part of many television crime-solving teams. It’s become such a stereotype that it’s more formula than character by this point. So what if you had an entire team of these super-intellects, and there was only one normal person in the line-up.
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Nightingale (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 14th, 2015
“He is a confused and tortured young man…”
The “he” in this case is Peter Snowden, a chatty, charismatic, and deeply troubled war veteran. “He” also happens to be the only character who appears on screen in Nightingale, a potentially-fascinating HBO Films experiment that doesn’t quite reach its potential. At least, “he” is played by Selma star David Oyelowo in what is a thoroughly mesmerizing performance.
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Castle: Season 7
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2015
“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of Castle and Beckett. Their ongoing mission to explore strange new motives. To seek out new witnesses and new suspects for murder. To boldly go where…right over here.”
I know there are fans out there who take the show pretty seriously. The DVD’s aren’t the only way you can get into the show these days. Castle has become a world all on its own. You can now buy actual mystery books in the Heat series written by “Richard Castle”.
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The Age Of Adaline (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 14th, 2015
“All these years you’ve lived, but you’ve never had a life.”
Every woman’s fantasy: to remain young and beautiful forever. That is the fantasy, if I am not mistaken, correct? Well, women will be treated to the cost of said fantasy in The Age of Adaline, which shows the other side of the coin of the coveted fantasy. In my experience there are two fantasies that are popular among young ladies. The one mentioned above, and the opportunity to love, marry, and grow old with someone who loves them unconditionally. The Age of Adaline shows the latter is not possible with the former.
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Peanuts: The EMMY Honored Collection
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2015
by Dustin P. Anderson
In this collection we view the Peanuts television specials that have nothing to do with any major holidays. Instead this collection focuses on lesser known episodes that center around other values that should be important in a person’s life. These episodes cover the Olympics, a trip to France, a first crush, and much more. Charlie Brown and the gang are presented here to make the audience laugh and learn, with valuable lessons for kids and classic moments for adults.
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The Surface
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on September 14th, 2015
Two strangers lost at sea. What to do? What to do? Well, in the case of The Surface, the thing to do is be suspicious of one another and stay on opposite ends of the boat. Or at least that is how we begin. As expected when there is nothing to do at sea and you are trapped, the only recourse is communication and to question the choices that brought you to this particular situation. Trust me, there is plenty of reflection in this tale of two strangers thrown together by circumstance and forced to work together to overcome physical obstacles as well as a few emotional ones.
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The Visit
Posted in The Reel World by J C on September 11th, 2015
At this point, the most shocking M. Night Shyamalan-related twist would be for the director to make a movie that people actually enjoyed. (The “M.” stands for “maligned,” right?) Hopes weren’t exactly high when it was announced Shyamalan — who was once fated to become either “the next Hitchcock” or “the next Spielberg” — would be dabbling in the fading found footage genre. So imagine my surprise to find that The Visit — a broad, nutty mix of comedy and horror — is the director’s loosest, most playful effort since Signs. It’s also his first (subjectively) non-terrible flick in about a decade.
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American Heist (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 10th, 2015
American Heist is an independent action flick that eventually nods to Michael Mann’s Heat and Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon. (Along with Ben Affleck’s The Town, if you’re interested in a 21st century doppelganger.) However, the movie’s action-packed finale can’t completely disguise the fact that this is actually a dour family tragedy masquerading as a heist film. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, at least the makers of American Heist know who to rip off flatter.
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When Calls The Heart: Heart And Home
Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on September 10th, 2015
When Calls the Heart is a typical romantic drama series from the Hallmark channel, with forty-five minute episodes. This particular disc, When Calls the Heart: Heart and Home is a combination of episodes six and seven from season two. While combining the two episodes places this particular disc at feature length, it does not give context to what has happened to the characters in previous episodes. In other words: being introduced to this disc as a standalone movie, without prior knowledge of the television series, may not be the best way to watch it.
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I Am Dale Earnhardt
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on September 10th, 2015
Ralph Dale Earnhardt (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) died at age 49 on February 18, 2001. The accident took place in the final lap of a thrilling race in which Dale Sr. was helping his teammates Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip (the brother of one of his biggest rivals and the announcer of the race, Darrell Waltrip). What was remarkable about the accident is that it was unspectacular. Dale Sr. had been in many horrible crashes in which the car flew and flipped many times and he walked away.
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The Vampire Diaries: Season 6 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2015
For most of our characters, the season begins pretty much in real time from the season 5 finale. There is a spell keeping magic out of the city limits of Mystic Falls, and that means no vampires or supernatural beings can cross into town. Elena is taking pre-med courses at college, mostly because it gives her access to the hospital’s blood bank. Stefan is supposed to be out looking for a witch powerful enough to bring back Bonnie and Damon after they were trapped destroying “the other side”.
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NCIS: New Orleans: Season 1
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2015
“It’s New Orleans; there’s always something bad coming.”
When you have the highest-rated drama on television, there is a temptation to milk it for all that you can. We’ve seen it happen with both the Law & Order and CSI franchises. The results tend to be mixed, with some capturing and even exceeding the popularity of the original. Others never quite seem to connect and are gone while their mother ship is still on the air. It’s too early to tell if NCIS: New Orleans will fall in the former or latter category.
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Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles
Posted in No Huddle by J C on September 9th, 2015
The Star Wars universe is famously vast, and that’s before the Force even Awakens this Christmas and kicks off a new series of feature films. (And let’s not even go down the Expanded Universe rabbit hole.) My point is that it’s been almost 40 years since Star Wars premiered, and the army of artists who have taken on George Lucas’ iconic creations haven’t even come close to running out of material to explore. It was actually 10 years ago that the first Lego Star Wars short premiered and applied the toy company’s irreverent, spoofy brand of humor to deconstructing Lucas’ “Empire” brick by brick.
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Tuesday Round Up: September 8, 2015
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 8th, 2015
Despite our heroic efforts to bring you the best, most detailed reviews we possibly can, nobody here at UpcomingDiscs wears a cape. Neither do the heroes in Gotham: Season 1, which leads the pack of new titles arriving this week. We’ve already reminisced with Image Entertainment’s Crystal Lake Memories and copped to Shout! Factory’s Hill Street Blues: Season 6, while Warner Bros. will also offer Supernatural: Season 10 to go along with Gotham. Shout! Factory also answers When Calls the Heart: Heart and Home, and CBS/Paramount will spill Blue Bloods: Season 5. Lionsgate lives in The Age of Adaline and pulls off an American Heist, while Entertainment One offers us Haven: Season 5, Vol. 1.
Remember that once a month we’re going to give away a free DVD title from among the comments in our weekly Round-Up posts. All you have to do is comment on a Round-Up post — like this one! — and tell us which of these titles you’re most excited to watch or read about. The winners and their prizes will be announced the first week of every month right here in our Tuesday Round-Up post.
And one last reminder before signing off for the week: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Crystal Lake Memories: Complete History of Friday the 13th (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2015
What a great time it was to be a teen in the late 1970’s. No, I’m not referring to disco music. It was a great time to go to the movies. It was the culmination of the perfect date, and Hollywood was riding the beginning of a trend that remains alive and healthy today. I’m talking, of course, about the slasher film. You could argue that Hitchcock started the ball rolling in 1961 with Psycho, but it would be decades before that film would find its true audience and plethora of imitators. Although The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween came before Friday The 13th, can it be argued that any horror film franchise is as widely known?
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Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season One (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 8th, 2015
The Star Wars universe is famously vast, and that’s before the Force even Awakens this Christmas and kicks off a new series of feature films. (And let’s not even go down the Expanded Universe rabbit hole.) My point is that it’s been almost 40 years since Star Wars premiered, and the army of artists who have taken on George Lucas’ iconic creations haven’t even come close to running out of material to explore. Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels is an engaging, thoroughly zippy entry that is likely to entertain its intended young target audience along with those who have been obsessed with the Force since a long time ago.
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Good Kill
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on September 8th, 2015
Good Kill is a term used by drone operators to signify whether ordinance have successfully hit the intended target however the term takes on some much more meaning. Ethan Hawke portrays a former jet pilot now transitioning into a position as a drone operator. Day in and day out, he surveillances areas from thousands of miles away periodically eliminating targets that would look to destroy American lives. However when his section is loaned out to the Central Intelligence Agency, the clear cut targets become less clear cut and both his personal and professional life begin to suffer as he struggles with the morality of what he does.
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Hill Street Blues: Season 6
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2015
“Let’s Be Careful Out There!”
Hill Street Blues turned television on its head. It featured an incredible-sized ensemble cast. The use of so many characters was a considerable risk. Would the writers be able to provide us with enough meat for each to care what happens to them? The answer was a resounding yes. We cared. We cared so much that Hill Street Blues broke the standing record for Emmy nominations and wins before its seven-year journey ended. Bochco used stories that carefully intertwined each character in a tapestry that never quite ended.
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Texas Rising (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 5th, 2015
“1836, Republic of Texas. The Mexican territory is home to thousands of US settlers. Tensions rise as Comanche and Kawakawa fight to keep their lands. Outlaws roam free, and slaves are caught in the crossfire. Mexican General Santa Anna battles to reclaim the land. US President Andrew Jackson is hesitant to intervene, and Texas has no choice but to declare itself an independent nation… The Alamo in ashes, pioneers, Tejanos, Indians and soldiers have no choice: fight or die.”
Houston, we have a problem.
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Animals
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on September 5th, 2015
Not really sure the title matches the film, but then perhaps there is a hidden significance that I’m not getting. Well, here is a real gritty tale about addiction told within the context of a love story. Animals follows a young couple that appears to be so deeply in love that they are willing to do anything for one another. In fact the only thing that seems to have the capacity to tear them apart is their shared drug addiction. This film really emphasizes the ideal that couples must have a shared interest. Sorry, that was my attempt at humor.
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The Curse of Downers Grove (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 4th, 2015
If nothing else, The Curse of Downers Grove lives up (or rather down) to its morose title. It’s too bad because this (non-)thriller actually has a promising premise: every year, a supposed curse in the titular suburban Illinois town kills a senior at the local high school. The movie could’ve gone for darkly comic thrills or tried to construct a mystery around who the latest victim might be, to name just a couple of examples. Instead, this shoddy, inert flick squanders a variety of opportunities on the way to its preposterous conclusion.
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The D Train (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 4th, 2015
The D Train was not what I expected…and thank goodness for that. The film boasts that it’s from the “comedic geniuses who brought you Nacho Libre and Wayne’s World,” although the only thing those two movies have in common is that they’re both comedies with, um, people in them. Meanwhile, the glossy poster makes it look like an inspirational drama, which doesn’t exactly mesh with the phallic-sounding title. In other words, there’s nothing about The D Train that hints at the intriguing dramedy lurking underneath.
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Five Star
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2015
by Dustin P. Anderson
Our story follows Primo as he leads the son of a fallen comrade, John, through the life of a Blood. John is trying to follow in the footsteps of his recently departed father by running “packages” for the gang. His mother tries to keep him on the law-abiding path, but John’s ties to the gang are deep. John soon figures out the burdens of this lifestyle and must make a choice on whether he will stay the course of his father, or adhere to the wishes of his mother. Primo’s words serve as both advice and caution as John makes this decision. Primo warns that there are no favorites in this life, only business.
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Contest: Win Five Star On DVD From XLrator Media
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on September 3rd, 2015
Our buds over at XLrator Media have given us 2 copies of their latest film Five Star to give away. It’s a rather unique mix of fiction and documentary style that delves into the culture of New York’s street gang world. Written and directed by Keith Miller the film stars James “Primo” Grant and John Diaz.
To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead tell us – What was the best street gang film ever made?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winners are Wanda Bergman & Roy H.
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.