When a film like The Survivalist comes along, you somewhat have an idea what to expect when it’s being marketed as a “dystopian thriller”. I like these kinds of films, but for the most part many of them are just not very good and are just a carbon copy of previous dystopian films that came out prior to it.  For years I’ d say the Mad Max series was the gold standard on what you should want to be. Waterworld at least attempted to be Mad Max, but rather than a desert wasteland it went the direction of the high seas. The Survivalist goes another direction; rather than a barren wasteland, or the ocean, it instead plunges deep into the wilderness after society has apparently collapsed and food has become scarce.

When Calls the Heart returns with a six-movie collection that plays out more like a television season. I must confirm my initial concerns that given this was a movie collection, I feared that I would have trouble following the story from movie to movie; however, that is not the case, as each movie picks up exactly where the other left off. With that sigh of relief, I was able to enjoy the wholesome values that are displayed in this frontier drama. Things to appear to looking up for the town of Hope Valley, with the railroad coming to town, looking to build a main route through the town, which would mean more jobs and opportunities for the townsfolk.

In 2003 Open Water hit the screen; it was a success since at the time the found-footage genre hadn’t yet saturated the market.  I thought it was a fun little movie that was creative, and what impressed me most of all was the use of the sharks in the film.  The danger always felt real, and to a point it was a convincing film.  It was inevitable that a sequel would follow, though it came and went so fast, it’s not big surprise that many seem to have forgotten the film existed.  Now it’s nearly a decade since the sequel came out that we now have a third installment, Open Water 3: Cage Dive.

"C'mon, you apes, you wanna live forever? I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. The bugs have breached Mars, and the Federation's fleet is too far to help. It's up to us to save the planet. On the bounce, Troopers! The only good bug is a dead bug! Oorah!"

Robert Heinlein wrote the Starship Troopers novel in 1959. Since that time it has taken on many forms from pulp fiction to comic books.

Things are about to change in big ways for the Disney series Once Upon A Time. The sixth season is now out on Blu-ray, and the seventh season has just begun its run on ABC. If you try to go back and forth between these seasons, you might be puzzled more than usual. The show goes into a serious reboot this year. The economics of the show have been pulling it towards either cancellation or pulling in the purse strings. While the ratings aren't exactly blockbuster, it's been a clever way for the Mouse House to keep their properties buzzing as they continue to remake many of their fairy tales in live action these days.

“You know, there comes a time when even the greatest leader has gone as far as he can go.”

Winston Churchill was once voted the Greatest Briton Ever, beating out the likes of Princess Diana and William Shakespeare. Although Churchill had a staggering number of accomplishments throughout his long life, he is most closely associated with being Great Britain’s prime minister during World War II. That’s why the notion that Churchill vehemently opposed the D-Day invasion at Normandy in the days leading up to the pivotal battle is a provocative premise for this well-crafted, well-acted movie. The only problem is that it remains unclear whether that was actually true.

It’s hard to believe it has already been twenty years since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on television. I was still in high school at the time, and when I first heard about the show, I couldn’t have been any less excited. All I could think about was the cheesy movie that had Luke Perry.  At the time horror was having a weird revamping so to speak.  Horror seemed to stop being scary and instead went the direction of trying to be cool and have slick visuals, rather than deliver genuine scary tales.

I was first introduced to The Who through the original Tommy album. It was one of my mother's favorites when I was young, and she had actually written out by hand her interpretation of the story the rock opera appeared to tell. I can't remember those scribblings, and I'm not even sure if they're still tucked away in that Decca album I have around here somewhere. But the music always stayed with me. Now, I didn't ever become a huge fan of the band. I always liked them and collected a couple of their albums over the years. I did play a lot of pinball, however. I fell more in with the likes of Elton John. So you can imagine how excited I was in the summer of 1975 when my favorite musician was cast to play the Pinball Wizard

We are smack dab in the middle of spooky season and our annual “31 Nights of Terror.” That means we'll be bringing you at least one horror-themed post every day for the rest of this month, and that includes one of this week's Tuesday Round Up titles. Lionsgate isn't afraid to go in the water with Open Water 3: Cage Dive. Elsewhere, Eagle Rock comes up with some pinball wizardry thanks to The Who: Tommy Live at The Royal Albert Theater. Finally, Warner Bros. bets on The House, explores royal intrigue with Reign: The Fourth and Final Season, and feels festive with Peanuts Holiday Special Collection (4K).

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!

"Welcome to The Vault, the most amazing library ever. An archive of the incredible. A repository of the impossible. A storehouse of secrets great and small. This is the untold history of America."

Things have not been going so well for Ichabod Crane and his fight against the supernatural. The show has had trouble finding an audience as well as a footing. Season Four marks the second time the show has been re-tooled in order to tweak whatever keeps it from completely catching on.