How to Make It in America: The Complete Second Season (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on September 4th, 2012
“Money, right yeah it matters, but it’s one piece of the puzzle. Let me tell you something. Sometimes who you are doing business with is a lot more important than the business that you are doing.”
When How to Make It in America season two begins, Ben (Bryan Greenberg) and his best friend, Cam (Victor Rasuk) return from their business trip to Japan after spending their new-found cash on a load of “Japanese soft cotton” hoodies they intend to silk screen with their new Crisp fashion label and find a way to mass distribute. Ben’s ex-girlfriend Rachel (Lake Bell), now unemployed, hits the job market and scores a gig with an uptight home improvement magazine.
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Bored to Death: Season Three (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 4th, 2012
Remember when I mentioned the difficulty of reviewing a season in the middle of the show’s run? This week, I shall attempt to review two different HBO shows at the end of their respective run. Yes, I will be piecing together a show that is in its last season with very little (or no knowledge) of the seasons before. This should be a fun ride and our first entry is the third season of the HBO Comedy: Bored to Death.
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White Vengeance (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 3rd, 2012
“A military mystery that lasted 2,000 years.”
White Vengeance assumes a certain level of knowledge about ancient Chinese history that, except for all you ancient Chinese history scholars reading this review, most of us don’t have. As a result, the film’s disorienting opening act had me constantly backtracking to figure out who was who, and why they were betraying or trying to assassinate each other. In other words, I started to feel like getting to the end of this ambitious movie might take a little under 2,000 years.
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NCIS: The Complete Ninth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on September 2nd, 2012
This Naval Criminal Investigation Service lead by Agent Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon) continue to sift through suspense filled tales of deviance in the military that takes them from all the way from political offices to the streets to battle villains.
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Interview With Jennifer Morrison Of Once Upon A Time
Posted in Random Fun by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2012
Master storytellers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (executive producers of Lost and writers of TRON: Legacy) invite audiences to experience an intriguing twist to the classic fairytales of Snow White, Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood and many more in their thrilling new fantasy series Once Upon A Time. Packed with enchanting icons from the world’s most beloved stories, the show stars a host of talented actors including Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle.
We chat to actress Jennifer Morrison – who plays Emma Swan in the show – to find out more…
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Interview With Ginnifer Goodwin From Once Upon A Time
Posted in Random Fun by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2012
With the first season of Once Upon A Time about to be released on Blu-ray and DVD, we catch up with acclaimed actress Ginnifer Goodwin to discover more about the fantasy show. What does Ginnifer think of the two characters she plays? Why does she think the series has become so popular? And what secrets can she uncover about the first season? Read on for the answers…
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Titanic: 100 Years In 3D (Blu-ray 3D)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on August 31st, 2012
I never really meant to have 3D TV in my home theater. But our Sony Blu-ray player was 3D-ready, and the receiver and monitor both needed warranty replacement about the same time. Bingo: All I needed were a couple pairs of glasses ($40 each at Amazon) and some 3D programming. Having seen almost every 3D big-screen release already, I was pretty sure the TV version would be an inferior format. I was wrong. The electronic-shutter glasses beat the heck out of those old red-and-green gimmicky glasses. They work as well as the polarized lenses at the multiplex.
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Jersey Shore Shark Attack (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2012
Anyone who has watched enough of the SyFy original movies has a pretty good idea of what they’re getting. The network has made a bit of a name for itself with low-budget to no-budget monster movies. Most of the creatures are mutant and large and appear like they escaped from a bad 1950’s drive-in theater. The computer generated stuff usually looks like a kid drew it up on their pocket computer, and the cast is going to be made up of unknowns with a few known names to give the whole thing some street cred.
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Touchback (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on August 30th, 2012
It’s impossible for me to discuss what I feel didn’t work in Touchback without talking about the movie’s big plot twist. I’m not even sure it’s accurate to refer to it as a “twist” since it comes in the first half hour and is an essential component of the film. On the other hand, the movie’s official plot description is intentionally vague — for the record, the film’s trailer is considerably more forthcoming — and seems designed to conceal a major part of the story. Having considered all that, I’m only issuing a Mild Spoiler Alert.
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The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2012
George Romero created the modern zombie movie in 1968 with his low-budget masterpiece The Night Of The Living Dead. While we can debate the direction the genre has gone in the last 40 years, it’s hard to argue that Romero defined the rules of the game with that first film and the series that followed. And while zombies have been populating the comic scene since the early days of Creepy and Eerie, it took the likes of Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore to give us a compelling interpretation of the Romero zombie in the form of a comic book series.
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Streets of San Francisco: The Complete Fourth Season
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2012
Inspectors 81 are back on the tough streets of San Francisco for a fourth season of gritty police work. Remember, these are the same streets Dirty Harry worked during the same decade. There are some memorable moments in this next half season release of “Streets”. In case you don’t know the show, here’s a rundown. Detective “Iron” Mike Stone (Karl Malden) is a seasoned veteran of the San Francisco Police Department. He’s an old-fashioned, no-nonsense detective whose life has taken some bitter turns of late.
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August Contest Winner’s Circle
Posted in News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on August 29th, 2012
We closed out another month of contests and here’s to the winners:
The Jodi Picoult Collection – Ron Crouch
Butterfly Swords – Lynda Larsen Baldry, Gary Smith & Johnny X
Cherry Bomb on Blu-ray – Edward Hadelkowski & Bernard Smith
Congrats to all of our winners and a special thanks to A&E and Well Go USA for providing the prizes.
There are already some great contests going for September. Be sure to enter.
The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (Special Edition) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on August 29th, 2012
“We decided to tour round Serbia. We’ll go to villages. It will be interesting to see farmers’ reactions to our sexual provocations. Sexual education for Serbs. Widening the horizons. This is our guerilla mission.”
I like to think I am not a prude. My taste in film runs to the controversial, and I don’t shy away from extreme cinema. I think Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom and Caligula are masterpieces; A Serbian Film impressed and affected me, although I have no intention of watching it again
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Hell
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on August 29th, 2012
After solar storms ravage the earth causing the soil to overheat and scorch our forests, the few who survive are left in a barren wasteland that stretches across the globe. The concept is an impressive one to explain the desert world we are first introduced to in the opening moments of Hell, though what’s more impressive is how this low-budget, post-apocalyptic film managed this look with simple camera tricks. With Roland Emmerich involved as executive producer, you may be expecting big-budget recreations of famous landmarks exploding and wiped away in a giant tidal wave.
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Lake Effects
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on August 29th, 2012
It’s not often, if ever that you’ll find me looking forward to a Hallmark Channel movie. I have nothing against a good romance or sappy family dramas; it’s just that guys for the most part are not the target demographic. To get to the point, this film is the chick flick guys fear being made to watch after losing the battle at the Red Box when all the other appealing titles are out and the wife or girlfriend is in no mood for action. But thankfully the film isn’t all bad, and in fact it’s actually decent with the exception of a few clichés along the way.
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Lawless
Posted in The Reel World by J C on August 29th, 2012
I know what you’re thinking, and I was also incredibly disappointed to learn this film was not a biopic of Xena: Warrior Princess actress Lucy Lawless. (This hypothetical film would obviously star the ageless Kiwi because the actress still looks incredible.) Fortunately, Lawless makes up for its startling lack of Lawless by being one of the better films I’ve seen this year.
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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 28th, 2012
“This is where society dumps its worst nightmares.”
In 1978 John Carpenter created a landmark horror film in Halloween. While it certainly can’t be called the first slasher film, it was absolutely the first commercially successful slasher movie and set up the pattern that we’re still following today. Carpenter created a new kind of Hollywood monster: the mindless human-shaped killing machine. Michael Myers with his William Shatner rubber mask would eventually give birth to the likes of Jason and Freddy.
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Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 28th, 2012
“They should ban Halloween in this town.”
By the time we got to the 5th installment of the Halloween film franchise, there might have been fans thinking it might be time to ban its sequels. Even the return of young Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasence couldn’t save this train wreck of a movie. It ranks as the worst of all 10 Halloween films at the box office and has been conveniently forgotten by the fans of the franchise.
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Revenge: Interview With Emily VanCamp
Posted in Random Fun by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2012
ABC’s popular thriller Revenge follows the story of Emily Thorne [played by Emily VanCamp], a new arrival in the Hamptons. By all appearances, Emily is a friendly and sophisticated ‘girl next door’, whose disarming charm and generosity allow her seamless access to the restricted circles of Hamptons’ high society. But the affluent, exclusive world she’s immersed herself in is tied to a dark family history, and Emily Thorne is anything but what she seems.
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Freelancers (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2012
When you see a cast that includes names like Robert DeNiro and Forest Whitaker, you have justifiable high expectations for a solid experience. Add 50 Cent to the mix and past experience will tell you that not even a teaming of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino can save the picture. The rapper-turned-actor has certainly found himself cast with enough Academy Award power that the transition should have been more successful than it has been. The fact is that 50 Cent hasn’t appeared to have learned anything from rubbing elbows with so many Oscar statues.
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Jersey Shore – Season Five Uncensored
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 26th, 2012
The “cast” of Jersey Shore have returned from their adventures in Italy as Season 5 is back to the American location that is the show’s namesake. This means a return to their familiar zones for more partying and more…talking about how they partied.
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The Viral Factor (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on August 26th, 2012
The Blu-ray case for The Viral Factor — an impressive, preposterous Hong Kong action offering available Aug. 28 — proudly boasts that the film comes “From the star of The Green Hornet“, possibly marking the first and last time anyone has bragged about their involvement with The Green Hornet. (Don’t look at me: I’m one of the few people who really enjoyed it.) Nevertheless, you shouldn’t shy away from this one just because it may somewhat be selling itself short.
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Slipknot: (sic)nesses (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 24th, 2012
My wife listens to a lot of different music. We share some bands, but we do vary quite a bit. So normally, even if I have not heard the band before, I ask my wife whenever we here at Upcomingdiscs receive a new music disc. In this case, I had already known the band but it was a curiosity for me at best. My wife I come to find out though is a huge fan of Slipknot which leads us to our music Blu-Ray review: Slipknot: (sic)nesses. Let us see what really “heavy” metal is all about.
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Premium Rush
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on August 24th, 2012
For the most part writer/director David Koepp has seen only moderate success when in the director’s chair with the films Stir of Echoes and Secret Window. I mention this simply because he is one of the most prolific writers of our time, and most movie goers have no idea who he is or even what a screenwriter actually does. A quick glance at his writing resume some titles that jump out are Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, Panic Room and Spider-man. Koepp is pretty much your go to guy when a blockbuster film is in need of a writer.
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Assassin’s Bullet
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on August 23rd, 2012
As the credits rolled for this film I struggled to remember the last time I’ve been so relieved that a movie had finally come to an end. Christian Slater and Donald Sutherland are so much better than this. Can things really be so bad that they are slumming to do this “D” grade action nonsense? I understand a gig is a gig, but these guys used to be at least marketable names to the box office. They still have the talent and swagger to steal a scene, so why subject them to this? Before I digress any further, allow me to take a breath…
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