12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 4: Escape From Planet Earth 3D Blu-ray From Anchor Bay
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on December 28th, 2013
On the Fourth Day Of Christmas Anchor Bay gives to you:
A little trip into the 3rd Dimension. Our wonderful buddies over at Anchor Bay have given us a copy of Escape From Planet Earth on Blu-ray 3D for one lucky Upcomingdiscs winner. It’s a nice animated feature that you can share with your entire family. It features the voices of Jessica Alba, George Lopez and Jane Lynch. This set includes the 3D Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray and a DVD copy. Remember that you need a 3D player and capable television in order to see the film in 3D.
To enter 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 was your favorite Upcomingdiscs review in 2013 and why?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Lynda Larsen-Baldry
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.
12 Days Of Christmas – Day Three: 2000 Yankees World Series Collectors Edition From A&E
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on December 27th, 2013
On the Third Day Of Christmas A&E gives to you:
Christmas has just come and gone but baseball Spring training is already just around the corner. If you’re a New York Yankee fan, you’re going to love this prize. A&E has given us their 5-disc collection The New York Yankees 2000 World Series Collector’s Edition. If you think that was a mouthful wait until you see what’s in this collection. You get every game from the 2000 World Series and a ton more. Radio calls are included for each game. You can listen to the television or radio announcers. Thanks to A&E and Major League Baseball Productions.
To enter 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- How long have you been coming to see us at Upcomingdiscs?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Connie Lewis
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.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 2: Naked City: 20 Star-Filled Episodes From Image Entertainment
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on December 26th, 2013
On the Second Day Of Christmas Image Entertainment gives to you:
Do you know what happens when too many hands start playing with stuff under our Christmas Tree? 12 Days of Christmas giveaways is what happens. Now our good friends at Image Entertainment have gotten into the act with a 5-disc DVD set The Naked City 20 Star-Filled Episodes. You’ve already heard us talk about this groundbreaking series. Image has put together a greatest hits set. We’re talking guest stars like you’ve never seen before: Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Peter Fonda, William Shatner, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Christopher Walken, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper and Jack Klugman. They’re all in one place and one lucky Upcomingdiscs winner gets the set.
To enter 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 was the best television series of 2013?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Jacob LaFountaine
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.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 1: Spartacus: War Of The Damned On Blu-ray From Anchor Bay
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2013
On the First Day Of Christmas Anchor Bay gives to you:
Only one of the best action televisions shows to come along in a very long time. Our wonderful elves down at Anchor Bay have been tampering with our Christmas Tree here at Upcomingdiscs. They’ve left a copy of Spartacus: War Of The Damned on Blu-ray for one lucky Upcomingdiscs winner. It’s the final season of the epic tale with Liam McIntyre and Manu Bennett. With plenty of bonus features and in glorious high definition this is a great prize to kick off our 12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways.
To enter 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 was the best film of 2013?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Bill Marks
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.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Posted in The Reel World by J C on December 25th, 2013
Besides the fact that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and that it’s essentially a white collar gloss on Goodfellas, you’d be forgiven for thinking somebody other than Martin Scorsese directed The Wolf of Wall Street. I don’t mean to suggest Scorsese has lost his masterful touch or his passion for filmmaking, both of which were on display as recently as two years ago in the wonderful Hugo. It’s more that after spending the better part of the 21st century making strong, serious dramas, I didn’t necessarily expect Scorsese to make his funniest, loosest and most audacious picture in decades.
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Grudge Match
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2013
You know exactly what’s going on here. It’s Rocky Balboa vs. Joe La Motta, and they’re not exactly in their prime. For reasons of property rights, of course, this really isn’t Rocky or La Motta, but you and I know it is. The film takes great pains to remind us of each of these iconic characters. Sly’s character tries to take a shot at some hanging meat after drinking a glass of raw eggs. De Niro’s character is found telling boxing jokes in his own club, just as the real-life La Motta did after his fighting days were over. Both of these actors played iconic fighters in their day.
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Futurama Vol. 8 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2013
Futurama was the brainchild of Simpson veterans Matt Groening and David X Cohen. With the growing popularity of their iconic cartoon, it was no surprise that Fox would tap the team to bring another show to the network. When Futurama premiered in 1999, it was a combination of The Jetsons and The Simpsons. That would be ironic for those of us who think the Simpsons theme is a direct knockoff of The Jetsons. It was 1000 years in the future, and the joke was that no matter how much things changed, they hadn’t really changed at all. The space-age series would use many of the writing and art team from The Simpsons.
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The Ultimate Life (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 24th, 2013
“You gotta be grateful for the little things in life, otherwise you’ll never be grateful for nothing.”
I’m not so sure the same fans who made 2007’s The Ultimate Gift a hit on the home video market — and spurred the creation of this sequel — will be very grateful for this tepid follow-up. The Ultimate Life stiffly and earnestly re-iterates the first film’s emphasis on appreciating non-material delights, and sprinkles in a worthwhile message about the importance of leaving a strong legacy behind. Unfortunately, this film’s own legacy places it with the long list of sequels that don’t live up to the original.
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Holiday Gift Guide: Last Minute Idea: Dick Figures the Movie
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 24th, 2013
Dick Figures: The Movie
“This is a story about stick figures who live in a world full of monsters and explosions and raccoons and a lot of other cool stuff, too. And it all takes place on a little planet we like to call Earth.”
Last minute gifts are often the hardest of all. If you have someone on your list who likes irreverent humor and is also a home theater enthusiast, I think we might have an obscure title they likely missed. It will be a pretty cool surprise on their part, and you’re sure to have delivered a few laughs along the way. In the spirit of shows like South Park and based on a series of cult web episodes comes Dick Figures: The Movie.
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Cliff Richard: Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’ (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 23rd, 2013
Cliff Richard’s music stardom predates that of the Beatles. So the fact that I wasn’t at all familiar with the British pop singer’s music before sitting down to review this Blu-ray probably says more about me than it does about him. Lucky for me, this career-spanning concert — which includes music from his time with the Shadows, some solo hits, and even his duet from the movie that partly inspired the creation of the Razzies — also doubles as a lively, CliffsNotes glimpse into Richard’s incredibly prolific and successful career.
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Ghost Team One (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 22nd, 2013
Unless it’s the Zucker brothers or Mel Brooks, I wouldn’t ever consider myself a fan of parodies. But every once in a while, one will come along that can squeeze a few chuckles out of me. The found footage and reality genre has saturated the market, and it was only a matter of time before a filmmaker decided to lampoon the genre. Ghost Team One takes on the genre, and instead of taking the easy route and simply spoofing what’s already been done, the film makers actually made the effort to mold a decent story and film it in the style the Paranormal Activity films have made popular, only Ghost Team One does so with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.
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American Hustle
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on December 20th, 2013
“Some of this actually happened.”
It’s the quote that opens a film that I don’t just consider the most enjoyable experience on the big screen this year, but one of the best films to be released in years. It’s a comedy, it’s a love story, it’s all a giant con wrapped in the world of the mid 70’s that David O. Russell captures with flare and detail and often at times feels as though it could be a sister film to Goodfellas. By no means is this a gangster film (although the mob is present), but this is a film about characters who are all trying to do the right thing only the method by which they go about accomplishing the task is morally questionable.
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Saving Mr. Banks
Posted in The Reel World by J C on December 20th, 2013
You already know Mary Poppins is one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time. But did you know it also holds the record for most Oscar nominations (13) and wins (5) for a movie released by Walt Disney Studios? Audiences…critics…everybody loves Mary Poppins, right? Well, unless you follow movie history pretty closely, you may not know the film had a famous, formidable critic in P.L. Travers, the author of the “Mary Poppins” book series.
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Touchy Feely (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 19th, 2013
“Think of it as a hall pass, a permission slip to just let go of your fear and embrace the world…”
These are the words of advice a reiki master, played by Allison Janney (The West Wing) says to her patient, Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) as she is handing her a bag filled with MDNA. Touchy Feely is definitely an offbeat comedy from writer/director Lynn Shelton who may be best known for her indie hit Humpday. At first glance the film may come across to some as some New Age, hippy, nonsense journey about self-discovery, and to a point you’d be right
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Gift Guide Spotlight: Fox Movie Classics On Blu-ray
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2013
One of the best things about the last decade’s arrival of high definition and Blu-ray is the chance to revisit classics. Often these movies have only been seen on late shows where they’re cut to pieces. The DVD releases have often been less than spectacular because of the presumed limited audience. Fox has done a pretty solid job over the years of bringing these classics to Blu-ray. This year is no exception, and if you have a classic film buff on that list of yours, and you know what list I’m talking about, why not deliver such greats as Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Rock Hudson or Tyrone Powers to them. They make excellent Christmas guests, and they won’t hog up all of the eggnog
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Teen Wolf: Season Three, Part 1
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2013
Is it me or is Beacon Hills turning into more like a beacon for the totally bizarre and supernatural?”
Fox has begun releasing the series in half season sets. I can’t say I’m a fan of the choice, but I almost understand the logic here. The series has expanded to more episodes, closer to a normal network run number. There is also now a several-month break between the season halves, much like USA network has treated such shows as Monk and Psych. One the one hand it’s annoying to have incomplete season sets on my shelf.
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Mischief Night
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on December 18th, 2013
Just when I thought the home invasion genre was on its last legs, another addition to the oversaturated canon of films has been released on DVD. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the genre, but like everything else in Hollywood once something works and is a success the first time the only reasonable thing to do is exploit it till there is nothing unique or fresh with the idea, and then try to exploit it some more. Entries into the genre like Funny Games, The Collector, The Strangers and even Panic Room all have a soft spot in my genre-obsessed heart, but seriously, enough already.
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Dancing: A Man’s Game
Posted in No Huddle by J C on December 17th, 2013
“Just as the dancer, the athlete does not exist who doesn’t move with a certain rhythm.”
My name is John. I am a man, and I love to dance. Dancing requires grace, power, athleticism, coordination and a handful of other attributes that we revere in the world’s biggest sports stars. Those same exact qualities thrill us when they’re on display on a football field or a basketball court. So why can’t one dude tell another dude that he enjoys dancing without drawing a sideways glance? Gene Kelly, one of the most famous and successful dancers of all time, explored that very question during this vintage TV special, now out on DVD.
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Exclusive Interview With Martial Arts Champion Bren Foster Of Force Of Execution
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2013
I had a remarkable time talking to Bren Foster the other day. His latest film is Anchor Bay’s Force Of Execution. The film also stars Steven Seagal and Ving Rhames. Bren’s a championship Martial Arts fighter. Many of his fans know him from his long run on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives. We had a lively talk about his career and even scorpions and other venomous creatures. We’ll be reviewing the film soon. Until then you can bang it here to listen to my chat with Bren Foster
The Hunt (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 16th, 2013
“People always work from the assumption that children are telling the truth.”
Kids really do say the darndest things! Popular kindergarten teacher Lucas finds this out the hard way after his life is shattered in The Hunt, an outstanding and indelible Danish drama that will almost surely pick up a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination when the nods are announced in about a month. The film tackles a touchy (no pun intended) subject with great care. It also raises a number of provocative points about perception versus reality.
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The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 13th, 2013
“There are dark spirits, old and full of hate…The world is in great danger.”
A trilogy is a hard animal to pull off. Even when you have a popular franchise, it is extremely difficult. All of the pieces have to work just right or you could have a disaster on your hands. It is even harder when you’ve already beaten the odds once and delivered a trilogy that is both loved and a huge box office success. You run into an almost insurmountable mountain of expectations. Your pieces must somehow fit together so that they can be viewed as one whole product.
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Gift Guide Spotlight: A&E
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2013
While we usually have a ton of stuff each year from A&E to share in our holiday spotlight, we just haven’t seen near as much from the studio in 2013. The distribution has changed, and we just don’t see the kind of titles we used to. It’s sad both for us and you. Take heart. We have been given two potential gift guide titles to share with you this season
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Jayne Mansfield’s Car (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 11th, 2013
Before Billy Bob Thornton became best known for icky PDA and wearing his wife’s blood around his neck, he burst onto the moviemaking scene as an Academy Award-winning triple-threat with Sling Blade, which he directed, wrote and starred in. (I feel like it’s finally safe to bring up Billy Bob’s acting career again.) Despite working steadily as an actor — and even directing a few other films — the Thornton who won an Oscar for writing Sling Blade has been largely absent from moviegoers’ lives. That’s why it was such a delight to see him return to southern-fried form as a filmmaker with the terrific ensemble drama Jayne Mansfield’s Car.
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Sweet Summer Sun – Hyde Park Live (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 11th, 2013
When you’ve been playing gigs for fifty years and filling venues with crowds in excess of the 100,000 mark, it’s safe to say that not only are you a success in the music industry but an icon. The Rolling Stones finished their 50th year together by ending their tour back where many would say their legendary status began, back in their hometown and performing at London’s Hyde Park. It was 44 years ago when The Stones first took the stage in the famous Hyde Park and performed for a crowd estimated between 250 thousand to half a million screaming fans who came to what was then a free show. This time around they return with an enormous stage and a set list filled with hits spanning over the decades
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The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2013
“Homer Simpson, it’s time you got what’s coming to you.”
What’s been a long time coming is bringing television’s longest ongoing scripted series to high definition and Blu-ray. There’s so many seasons that it’s going to take some time to get there. While the recent years are now coming out on Blu-ray, Fox has been working hard to get some of the older seasons up to speed. It’s time for season 16.
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