Broad City: Season 1
Posted in No Huddle by J C on December 11th, 2014
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: single gal(s) looking for love — among other things — in the big city. On television, the trope dates back to the days of Laverne & Shirley and continues with more contemporary entries like Sex and the City and Girls. It’s an effective, well-worn story hook that has now gotten a funny, tremendously weird spin thanks to Comedy Central’s Broad City.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Halloween: The Complete Collection Limited Deluxe Edition
Posted in Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2014
So you have a horror fan on your shopping list this year. You’re not sure if they like classic or slasher. Do they appreciate the wonderful films of the past, or do they like to go for the jugular? You know there’s a ton of horror titles out there, but which ones are any good? You also want this gift to be something special. The guy at the store doesn’t know Frankenstein from Jason. You ask for his help, and he looks at you like something out of The Walking Dead. Shopping for a horror title scares you more than a walk at Camp Crystal Lake with a bullseye tattooed on your face. Don’t lose your head over this one. Anchor Bay and Shout Factory’s Scream Factory have that perfect special gift. It’s The Halloween Collection. You get the classic John Carpenter film and all of the slash-fest sequels as well. It’s 10 films in one high-definition splatter festival. And it won’t cost you an arm and a leg… well maybe a foot.
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Nymphomaniac: Extended Director’s Cut Volume 1 & 2
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2014
The story is simple. It chronicles a conversation between two people. Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is found bloody and beaten in an alley by an older man, Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard). He takes her to his sparse flat to care for her and help her. What takes place is a long conversation full of intellectual digressions about Joe. It slowly reveals what led to her downfall. Seligman is a sheltered bookworm who has a detached curiosity about her story.
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Into the Woods: Original Broadway Production (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 9th, 2014
“I wish…”
There’s no shortage of wishing (not to mention pining, longing, yearning, etc.) in some of our most beloved fairy tales. Into the Woods — the Tony-winning Broadway musical created by Stephen Sondheim and frequent collaborator James Lapine — illustrates what happens when certain characters get their storybook ending. Since there’s a big, shiny Disney adaptation on the way, it made sense for Image Entertainment to offer a performance of the stage show on Blu-ray. However, I wish…some more effort had been put into this release.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: The Wonder Years: The Complete Series Set
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2014
“1968, I was twelve years old. A lot happened that year. Dennis McLain won 31 games, The Mod Squad hit the air, and I graduated from Hillcrest Elementary and entered junior high school…but we’ll get to that. There’s no pretty way to put this: I grew up in the suburbs. I guess most people think of the suburb as a place with all the disadvantages of the city, and none of the advantages of the country, and vice versa. But, in a way, those really were the wonder years for us there in the suburbs. It was kind of a golden age for kids.”
The show takes place in Anywhere, USA. The pilot begins in 1968 and is told from the point of view of a contemporary adult looking back on those early years of his life. Anyone who is a fan of A Christmas Story will appreciate the narrative style of The Wonder Years.
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Signed Sealed Delivered Christmas
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on December 8th, 2014
I don’t say this often, but I’m always happy when I get an opportunity to say it: this movie took me by surprise. I not usually one for the holiday film; don’t get me wrong, I’m no Grinch; however, I have found that magic of Christmas tends to wear off when the illusion of Santa is destroyed. (To all those who are still believers I recommend you stop reading now.) That being said, I have no shame in admitting that in case of Signed, Sealed, and Delivered, I felt the magic once again. Don’t call me a believer again; however, let’s just say it made me want to believe again.
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Holiday Gift Guide: Spotlight: The Merv Griffin Show (1962-1986)
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 5th, 2014
Johnny Carson might have been king of the late-night airwaves, but it was Merv Griffin who held court during the day. From 1962 until 1986 Merv Griffin brought you the most important, entertaining and fascinating personalities to your living rooms. He was also quite the producer. Here’s the question: He created two of the longest-lasting game shows in television history. Who was Merv Griffin? That’s correct. He created both Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy. But it will be The Merv Griffin Show that he’ll he’s most remembered for.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Little House on the Prairie
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 4th, 2014
It’s funny how some actors mean different things to different people. It often depends on your age and interests. Michael Landon is one such actor. I was a horror movie fan who watched late-night creature features with my dad. To me Landon was the titular character from I Was A Teenage Werewolf. To my Dad and his generation, Landon was Little Joe from Bonanza. To continue the comparison, Little Joe’s pop was always Commander Adama, with no offense intended toward Edward James Olmos. But there is another generation that doesn’t know werewolves from cowboys, and to them Michael Landon will always be the warm father Charles Ingalls from Little House On The Prairie.
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A Royal Christmas
Posted in No Huddle by J C on December 3rd, 2014
Tis the season to be…overwhelmed with a crushing number of Christmas-themed movies on our television screens. In addition to holiday staples like A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Die Hard (yeah, I said it), many networks roll out original, made-for-TV yuletide tales. The Hallmark Channel is certainly doing its part this year with its “Countdown to Christmas”, which includes 12 new movies. One of those films transports us to the fictional land of Cordinia for the painfully cliched romantic-comedy stylings of A Royal Christmas.
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Contest: Win Field Of Lost Shoes From ARC Entertainment
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2014
Our friends at Arc Entertainment have another great giveaway for you faithful Upcomingdiscs readers. On Dec 2nd Field Of Lost Shoes hits the stores and we have 2 copies to give out. This one is based on a true American Civil War story. A group of teen cadets shows their courage under fire when they are sent into the heart of battle. The film stars David Arquette and Tom Skerritt.
To win just follow these 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 – If you could go back in time, where/when would you go?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winners are Jim Gardner & Johannah Brookwell
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.
Jeff Dunham: All Over the Map (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 28th, 2014
“How the hell did this happen? I mean, I’m on the other side of the planet, and people know who I am and they’re laughing at my jokes.”
Despite his status as one of the biggest draws in stand-up comedy, Jeff Dunham really does seem taken aback by his success. On one hand, you wouldn’t necessarily expect a ventriloquist to be one of the hottest names in comedy in 2014. Then again, the hard work and precision he has put into his act is evident every time he takes the stage. For his latest comedy special, Dunham packed up his puppets and took his show on the road like never before.
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Holiday Gift Guide: Spartacus: Complete Series Limited Edition
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2014
“The gods finally bless us with a complete collection.”
AnchorBay is going all out in delivering a couple of complete series collections. There is a limited edition with some cool stuff that we hope to talk to you about on Black Friday for your shopping edification. This set contains all of the show’s 39 episodes on 12 discs. There is a 13th disc with limited extra features that were not found on the original individual season releases.
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Frozen in Time
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on November 27th, 2014
Holiday movies, to be more specific holiday kids’ movies: talk about being out of my depth. It’s been quite some time since the days where I used to sit down to enjoy a kids’ movie; dare I say that I don’t have the slightest clue what the kiddies are into these days? Seems to be a lot of movies about planes, trains, and automobiles (pun intended) dominating the box office; however, not the case with Frozen in Time, which is centered around the most popular holiday of all time: Christmas. To give this film the proper justice that it deserves, I turned to someone who would be able to watch this with the objective view needed: I sat down and watched the film with my godson Amare.
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Legends of the Knight
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on November 26th, 2014
It’s great to see the love that comic books and their characters are getting from the public; only a couple decades ago people didn’t look so kindly on the medium. Growing up it wasn’t the wisest decision to broadcast to your classmates about your enthusiasm over the new Punisher or Batman comic. I got lucky and never really had to deal with bullies, but I had friends who had their fair share of torment over liking the kind of music, movies or comics that they did. The comic book store was a safe haven away from it all, and it was between the pages that all of us comic book geeks would escape and live vicariously through the animated panels before reality came barreling in.
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Nocturna (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 24th, 2014
As adults we somewhat have a better understanding of how our dreams work and understand that those fears of the dark when we were children were somewhat silly in retrospect. But when we were kids, the nighttime was a mysterious time that held so many possibilities, where the magic in the world around us was something that was very real for us all. In the new Spanish language animated feature Nocturna, the first-time filmmakers (Adria Garcia & Victor Madonado) seem to have tapped into that childlike wonder and have crafted a film that I simply adore.
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The Expendables 3 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 24th, 2014
“Welcome to the 21st century!”
Sylvester Stallone has dedicated the better part of the last decade to giving moviegoers what they wanted 20 years ago. It started with 2006’s Rocky Balboa, which closed out Stallone’s signature franchise in the satisfying manner fans have been craving since 1990’s Rocky V debacle. We’ve also gotten another Rambo sequel, as well as long-awaited team ups with icons both real (Schwarzenegger in Escape Plan) and cinematic (Grudge Match was “Rocky vs. Raging Bull”). But Stallone’s biggest recent success is the veritable fantasy team of action stars he’s assembled for the Expendables films.
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 21st, 2014
“All we need now is the perfect message”.
It has almost become expected. When a successful franchise based on a series of books reaches the end of the published material, studios start to think about the approaching end with some dread. One way to put off the inevitable is to split the final book into two films. It worked for Harry Potter and Twilight. Peter Jackson managed to squeeze three long films out of one Tolkien book. For most of these cases it was a severe case of milking those final chapters for all that they’re worth and then going beyond that. That’s simply not the case with Mockingjay Part I.
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Into the Storm (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 21st, 2014
Breaking news: anyone who goes to see movie called Into the Storm is probably more interested in “the Storm” than they are in any of the people running away from it. The good news is the film understands this, to an extent, and clocks in at a slender 89 minutes. Of course, the titular Storm doesn’t appear for every one of those 89 minutes. This is very bad news because Into the Storm is populated with characters and storylines that are both forgettable and irritating. It’s basically Twister with somewhat better effects, but much less interesting people.
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Mike Nichols (1931-2014)
Posted in Tribute by J C on November 20th, 2014
“One word: plastics.”
It’s a classic line from The Graduate, yet it seems impossible to sum up the career of Mike Nichols, who died Wednesday, in a single word. Maybe that word is EGOT. Nichols was the rare entertainer to hit an awards show grand slam, winning Emmys (for directing and producing Angels in America and Wit on HBO), a Grammy (for the comedy album “An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May”), an Oscar (for directing The Graduate) and Tonys (for directing and producing both plays and musicals). But that only scratches the surface of the impact Nichols made. Click through and join us for a look at his eclectic work in the UpcomingDiscs archives.
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Contest: Win Northpole On DVD From Arc Entertainment
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on November 20th, 2014
Those Santa’s elves at Arc Entertainment want to get you in a Holiday mood so they’ve given us three copies of Northpole on DVD. Robert Wagner and Jill St. John lead the cast. The Northpole is having an energy crises. The place is powered by Holiday cheer but too many folks are getting too busy to keep up their Christmas Spirit. Can one boy help by showing his Mom the magic of the season? Find out.
To win just follow these 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’s top on your holiday wish list?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winners are Julie F, Renee G & Karen Drake
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.
Housebound (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 19th, 2014
Laughing out loud and getting startled out of your wits are two of the most visceral reactions you can have as a moviegoer. For a director to elicit either reaction is challenging enough, which is why I was so delighted to be feeling both during the thrilling, funny finale of Housebound. It’s an even more impressive feat when you consider it was accomplished by a first-time filmmaker working on a shoestring budget.
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The Dog (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2014
“If anybody gets up, they’re dead. Anybody moves, they’re dead. Anybody makes a sound before I leave this movie, …”
You get the idea. These are the words of one John Wojtowicz, better known as The Dog. On August 22, 1972 he attempted to rob a Chase Manhattan bank in order to finance his male lover’s sex change operation so that he could become a woman. The heist was about as amateur as the come and went horribly wrong from the start. In a matter of minutes the bank was surrounded by a swarm of police units and a growing mob of bystanders.
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Holiday Gift Guide: True Blood: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2014
“I don’t know why death still surprises me.”
As we get closer to holiday shopping time, Upcomingdiscs will be here to help you find something for that home theater fanatic on your shopping list. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them.
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Patema Inverted (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 17th, 2014
I’m not the biggest fan of Japanese animation. I don’t think it’s awful or anything, but animation is one of those things where I’m just picky about what I like. Though I can say I am a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke) and most of his work. I think this is worth mentioning, because though I may not be as well-versed in this genre, I’d like to feel I still go into it with an open mind, and I’m always excited to find a title that excites me that I never saw coming. And that it precisely what Patema Inverted did.
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Betrayal
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on November 17th, 2014
“If I step on your toe, I was aiming for your heart. But if you step on my toe, I’ll cut your f&@#ing heart out.”
Isn’t it always the case that the people closest to us usually bring us the biggest trouble, or perhaps that is a pessimistic view. However, I must admit it’s likely a view that the lead character of Betrayal could agree with as he finds himself drawn into a web of deception that threatens to destroy the lives of not only his family but his own as well.
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