Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 5th, 2017
Armies have been using dogs in battle for thousands of years. The Romans would turn the dogs on their enemy as a signal of the approaching legions, hence the expression “let loose the dogs of war”. But in recent decades dogs have found a new, perhaps more noble calling during wartime. Dogs have been used to search for lost soldiers. They have been trained to assist wounded soldiers. They have also learned to sniff out explosives, helping to clear mines and saving the lives of their handlers and hundreds of soldiers and civilians. That's the kind of dog Rex is. And you'll fall in love with him just as the titular character Megan Leavey did. The movie Megan Leavey is a bit of a character study, and one of those characters is a German Shepherd.
Kate Mara stars as Megan Leavey. Her life has been pretty much a screwup, and she's facing pressure to get it together. She decides to join the Marines. At first it appears she's going to fail at this choice, too. But slowly she begins to get her training on track and starts to make the grade. Her inspiration? She is attracted to the canine unit, where she is first sent for punishment, but discovers Rex. Rex is a dog the vets don't think is trainable. He's aggressive, and very much like Megan, has a mind of his own. So Megan puts in the extra effort in the hope she can join the unit and work with Rex. Of course, she ends up getting her wish, and the two are sent to Iraq, where they are able to save lives by finding mines so they can be disarmed. It's a dangerous job, and their number ultimately comes up. It seems the enemy targets these dogs to protect the minefields. Wounded, the pair return home where the true battle is fought. The vet has labeled Rex unadoptable, and Megan fights to allow him to retire with her.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 5th, 2017
Like normal folks, when I’m hard up for money I may attempt to come up with a quick scheme or two or generate a significant income: may play the lottery (attempt to claim that 700 million dollar jackpot), perhaps sell miscellaneous items, or cash in some bonds. However, this is the first time I heard of attempting to kill a celebrity to collect the payout of a death pool. Killing Hasselhoff tells the story of Chris, a club owner who finds himself in a desperate spot and in need of money. His only recourse appears to be attempting to facilitate the death of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Strange, right? I mean, most people would try to get a loan before contemplating murder.
Chris Kim is a prime example of how anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. His nightclub is failing, he owes $400,000 to a loan shark, he was inadvertently involved in a drug and groping scandal with a child star in his nightclub thereby making his business radioactive, and he has lost his fiancé as a result of the scandal. After having so many things go wrong, I would be taking extra-long looks at the bleach bottle. Chris, however, is determined to turn his life around. Within 72 hours, to get the money he needs to save his club, he conspires with his mentally disturbed friend to kill David Hasselhoff in order to collect on his bet in a celebrity death pool. I guess all the banks were closed.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 5th, 2017
Despite the fact that quality TV offerings can be found year-round on practically every channel (and streaming service) these days, there's still something to be said for tradition. With that in mind, the start of the network Fall TV season will be here in a flash. Warner Bros. revs us up for The Flash: Season 3 and battles inner (and outer) demons with Supernatural: Season 12. CBS hangs ten with Hawaii Five-O: Season 7 and profiles some Criminal Minds: Season 12. Elsewhere, Shout! Factory brings Just Shoot Me: The Complete Series back in style, while HBO relives The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
But it's not all TV all the time. Universal tells the true-life story of Megan Leavey, while Lionsgate is offering a trio of past hits on UHD: Cabin in the Woods (4K), Red (4K), and Red 2 (4K). This is the start of a new month, but I'm going to give you the same ol' reminder: 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!
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 2nd, 2017
Every once in a while a film comes along that not only takes you by surprise but exceeds all expectations and just sticks to you. Last year it was La La Land, and this year for me it is Good Time. Checking out the trailer after the film began to pick up some buzz on the internet, I thought that it looked good, but nothing about the trailer stood out to me to lead me to believe this was anything special. But the thing that the trailer just doesn’t seem to capture is the experience. As you often see the tagline “a thrill ride”, this may be the first time in a long time where I feel this generic tagline actually fits, because that is precisely what this film is. From the moment the film takes off, it doesn’t let up till the closing credits begin.
First off, for all those who see Robert Pattinson in the cast and roll your eyes, let me just say this is the role that will change your opinion of the man. Since doing the Twilight films Pattinson has done just about all that he can do to leave that role in his past and become something more than a pretty-boy actor. He’s had great roles; one of my favorites was a supporting role in the Aussie thriller The Rover, and early this year he took on the role as a grizzled adventurer in The Lost City of Z. Now we get him as the relentless scumbag bank robber Connie in Good Time. He hasn’t been better, and if this role doesn’t have him as an award contender for best actor, then there is something seriously flawed with the system.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 1st, 2017
Everybody has their own group of favorite comics. I got plenty of classics that I always love to watch like Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and so forth. But we all have that one comic that we do not readily talk about in open groups or even with family. However late at night, maybe a drink in, and when nobody is looking (at least your wife anyway) we turn on and laugh our posterior off with. For me, that’s Bobcat Goldthwait. The movie is of course, Shakes the Clown.
We open to a dog enjoying some leftover pizza from the night before. A record is skipping and a young child walks over to it and removes the needle. His next stop is the bathroom as anybody in the male gender will tell you. Unfortunately, he stumbles over our hero, Shakes the Clown (played by Bobcat Goldthwait) who is apparently hanged over from the night before. Shakes soon wakes by the gentle flow of urine on his reeking head.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2017
"Enjoy the trip. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
It has been six months since the second season ended. A herd of creatures and experiments rained down on Gotham City. They were the product of experimentation by Dr. Strange, played by B.D. Wong. This, of course, is Dr. Hugo Strange, mad scientist, and not Marvel's Stephen Sorcerer Supreme. Jim Gordon (McKenzie) is no longer a member of the police force but has found a niche as a bounty hunter rounding up the creatures and bringing them in for cash. Gotham City is in chaos and has fallen into the kind of frontier justice. But this is Gotham City. Where is Batman? This is a question you ask only if you haven't been following along for the first two seasons of Gotham. You can find out more about the show and its setup by checking out our earlier reviews Here. For the rest of us, let's look at what the third season of Gotham has to offer now that it's available on Blu-ray from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 1st, 2017
“The sheer beauty of China manifests itself in so many different ways, in so many remote corners. It sometimes feels like another world.”
To help celebrate Earth Day each year, Disneynature — the independent film unit at the Mouse House dedicated to making nature documentaries — has gotten in the habit of immersing us in a different corner of the animal kingdom. While it's a bit surprising that it took nine movies to finally arrive in China, the wait was absolutely worth it for fans of cuddly critters and breathtaking landscapes. The country's otherworldly beauty makes up for some off-kilter narration and less-than-thrilling (invented) storylines.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2017
"Sometimes it takes a good man to stop bad people."
And sometimes you can have good actors and a rich genre to draw upon with classic characters and still not get the job done. Sadly, that's the big story for Hickok. This one arrived with some rather high expectations. It was being released in 4K, which appeared to signal some confidence from Cinedigm, who are just entering the UHD fray. The cast is also a good sign. Luke Hemsworth plays the titular character with a supporting cast that includes legend Bruce Dern, Trace Adkins, and Kris Kristofferson. You have the built-in interest of a real western frontier icon in Wild Bill Hickok. Everyone knows who he is. His legend is recalled to ever poker player who's holding aces and eights in their hand. But none of that legend is really explored or exploited here. It's merely the name that carries the weight, and poorly at that.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2017
"My name is Sherlock, and I'm an addict."
Elementary is one of those shows that rather quietly continues to do what it does without drawing a ton of attention, but yet enough fans that the series has been able to reach the 100-episode milestone here in its fifth season. That used to be a little more important than it is today. Years ago a show's only chance at making money after the original run was through syndication. Today there are less independent stations, and they tend toward the situation comedies more than drama. There are cable networks that once used these shows as their primary material. Remember when TNT might as well have been called The Law & Order Network. But even those times are drying up. Cable networks are churning out more and more of their own scripted shows so that there is less and less space for syndication. Today shows live on in the form of streaming services like Netflix or home video like the latest CBS release of Elementary The Complete 5th Season. 100 episodes continues to be impressive, and it appears there are legs left for more to come.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2017
"When I was a child, my planet Krypton was dying. I was sent to Earth to protect my cousin. But my pod got knocked off course, and by the time I got here, my cousin had already grown up and become... Superman. I hid who I really was until one day when an accident forced me to reveal myself to the world. To most people, I'm a reporter at CatCo Worldwide Media. But in secret, I work with my adoptive sister for the D.E.O. to protect my city from alien life and anyone else that means to cause it harm. I am Supergirl."
A lot of things have changed with the second season of Supergirl. The series spent its first season on CBS but was always considered somewhat a part of the DC Television Universe. That was more than confirmed when the show had an unusual cross-episode/network story that involved The Flash. There must have been complications, and the decision to bring the series over to the CW appears to be a rather natural one. Gotham continues to thrive over at Fox, but it's quite obvious that Gotham lives in a very different place than the four DC shows now living at the CW.
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