Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2017
It was 50 years ago this year that Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In first appeared on NBC. It quickly took the country by storm. The show added such pop culture staples as Sock It To Me, You Bet Your Bippy and Here Comes The Judge. The show managed to attract the biggest names in entertainment of the era. The cast have gone on to become household names. It's where stars like Goldie Hawn, Arti Johnson and Lily Tomlin got their starts. And it all started with the mind of George Schlatter. After all of those years George still has quite a bit of spunk left. I had the honor to spend nearly a half hour talking to him. Now you get to hear what he had to say. Bang it here to listen to my chat with George Schlatter.
You can also find out more about the complete series of Laugh-In by going Here.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2017
In one corner you have U.S Attorney Chuck "The Scholar" Rhodes, played by Paul Giamatti. He's the reigning world champion with a record of 80+ to 0. In the other corner is Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis; he could also be considered undefeated. He runs a sexy brokerage firm. Both of these guys walk and talk like champs. There's a lot of trash-talk between them, but both have very lurid and potentially devastating skeletons in their perspective closets. This season finds them each willing to risk anything just to get to the other.
The strength of two very strong performances immerses us in each of these worlds to a point that we discover something none of these players know, or at least would be willing to admit. They are very much the same, and the culture of their careers is more alike than not. Both are willing to bend a rule for "the common good", and both believe themselves to be the heroes of their own stories. And that's where the writing and acting come together for a nice perfect storm. Both characters are heroes to the people around them. They've developed almost cult followings. Both are admirable people. Of course, the opposite is just as true. These guys can both play the anti-hero with the best of them. There is both great good and great evil in both. If that sounds complicated here, just imagine how hard it would be to actually pull off. And in Season Two that obsession goes to limits that surprised even me. Both men are literally willing to give up their families, wealth, and careers to bring down the other. The term “nuclear option” means nothing to these guys. The final couple of episodes play out a round in this game that could very well take them both out. They cross some very big lines that you simply can't come back from.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2017
"Welcome back to New Orleans."
The most recent member of the NCIS family enters its third season. There are some changes, but not just in the show's cast. I have noticed a concerted effort to use the term NOLA by both the characters and various signs and symbols displayed throughout the new season. It's a bit odd, because at one point a character chastises an outsider that the locals prefer New Orleans. Minutes later that same character uses the term NOLA. The crew now even wear lanyards that say NCIS:NOLA on them. I have not been to New Orleans post-Katrina, so I'm not up on whatever local thing might be going on with the name. I suspect there are some politicians who are using the new designation in order to help re-brand the city. Whatever's going on, the series is apparently caught up in it. The term even shows up in episode titles.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on August 15th, 2017
Everyone's favorite rag-tag team of rollicking a-holes is back for another adventure. And no I'm not talking about myself and the rest of the UpcomingDiscs staff...Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 arrives in 4K! But that's not the only ultra-HD title we're bringing you this week: Warner Bros. reboots one of the world's most famous stories with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (4K). Meanwhile, Lionsgate hops in the backseat with The Lincoln Lawker (4K), while Cinedigm shoots straight with Hickok (4K). Paramount steps into the ring with Chuck, CBS visits the Big Easy with NCIS: New Orleans — Season 3, and Showtime goes for broke with Billions: Season 2. Meanwhile, Metropol Pictures turns up the heat with Union Furnace, while Fox pages through the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul and visits South America for the Amy Schumer/Goldie Hawn kidnapping caper Snatched.
But wait...there's more! Friday brings a pair of new theatrical releases for us to review: we'll let you know if it's safe to check out The Hitman's Bodyguard and spend a day at the races with Logan Lucky, Steven Soderbergh's new heist comedy. 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!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on August 15th, 2017
Suspenseful, intriguing, and exciting, The Lincoln Lawyer makes the legal system entertaining. With all the TV attorney shows pushing for top ratings, this film comes at the right time. A strong cast, excellent direction, and a riveting storyline make The Lincoln Lawyer a must-see. Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) keeps his legal business close to him, in his car. Defending the lowlifes or whoever desperately needs legal assistance, Mick turns down very few clients. While working on a questionable case, his confidant Val Valenzuela (John Leguizamo) gives him the name of Beverly Hills playboy Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe).
This client will pay big money to get him off for battery and rape. It’s the case of a lifetime, and Mick knows it. Suspicious of the client, however, he brings on his friend Frank Levin (William H. Macy), a private detective. When they start getting conflicting evidence, Mick starts to get distrustful of Roulet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2017
"It is, I think, going to be a very harsh and unpleasant kind of business and will, I think, require an extremely harsh and unpleasant kind of man to see to it."
That man, of course, is John Wayne. They called him The Duke, and he was indeed western cinema royalty for six decades. He represented the American ideal of the tough guy who stood up for the weak and didn't shy away from a fight. His characters usually worked hard, and they played just as hard. He had a unique way of turning a phrase and has been one of the most widely impersonated Hollywood voices. By the time the 1970's rolled around, Wayne was coming to the end of a long career. Some of these later roles showed a somewhat softer side to The Duke, and he was rarely doing any of his own stunts. Two of those later films were Rio Lobo and Big Jake. They aren't two of his most prominent roles and haven't had much of a wide release in the days since their release. They would show up on late show broadcasts, and Rio Lobo had yet to reach high definition and Blu-ray release. CBS changes that little oversight with a nice package they call a John Wayne Double Feature. For those of us who remember the days of the double feature, these two films fit the double-bill quite nicely. Here are two of the better John Wayne films that you likely have never seen, at least uncut and in high definition.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 14th, 2017
"For centuries man and mage lived side by side in peace until the rise of the mage sorcerer Mordred. Turning his dark ambition against man, he marches on the last remaining stronghold: Camelot."
So it finally happened: I found a Guy Ritchie film that I didn’t enjoy. I wasn’t expecting much from King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, but it is worth noting that I got even less than I expected. I know that sounds cruel, and I will admit that there were a few things that I did enjoy, but the number of things that went wrong versus what went right is not a close margin. Before we get into it fully, let me issue this disclaimer: the sword in the stone, which is known in the film as Excalibur, according to Arthurian legend is not really Excalibur, which is a different sword that Arthur was given to him after he became king.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on August 10th, 2017
Following the success of The Conjuring, it was no surprise that sequels would follow, but I have to admit seeing an Annabelle film was a bit unexpected. While The Conjuring was based on true events (as true as one may or may not wish to believe in the paranormal), Annabelle was mostly a work of fiction. I’ll admit I’m a bit of the fan of the Warrens and have read plenty about their investigations, and I certainly feel their life is ripe for the Hollywood treatment along with the hundreds of case files they developed over the years. While the first Annabelle did well at the box office, it took a beating by critics, but those involved at the studio see that there is still money to be made as they continue to expand the franchise. With spinoffs in the works, a film about the Nun entity as well as a film about The Crooked Man, and with a Conjuring 3 in the works, a lot is riding on the success of Annabelle: Creation.
The film appropriately opens with the creation of the Annabelle doll; we see that it is the first of its kind, handcrafted by Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia). Samuel is a good husband and a good father; we get to watch him playing a game with his daughter, one that will be familiar to those who saw the previous film. Sadly, a tragic accident occurs and she is killed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 10th, 2017
Big Little Lies — HBO’s star-studded and (deservedly) Emmy-nominated limited series — is structured like a typical murder mystery. We know someone has been killed, but we don’t know the perpetrator or even identity of the victim. On top of that, the limited series format promises that we’ll actually have an answer by time these episodes wrap up (**cough** The Killing). But the reason Big Little Lies shines— other than top-notch performances and stellar direction — is because beneath the murder-mystery veneer lies a darkly funny drama about all manner of adult relationships: husband/wife, ex-husband/ex-wife, mother/daughter, mother/fellow-mother, and so on.
“I love my grudges. I tend to them like little pets.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2017
When we begin the second season of Blindspot, three months have passed since the first season's explosive finale. We are placed back in the action with the same time having passed on the show. Jane (Alexander) has been kept at a covert CIA black ops location where she is being tortured for information. It is a fortuitous time to rejoin the action, because we arrive just in time to see her engineer a clever escape. Meanwhile Kurt Weller (Stapleton) and his team have been back to more mundane FBI cases, and it's obvious they miss the excitement of working the tattoos. They're about to get their wish, and things are about to get pretty intense as we join the sophomore season of Martin Gero's Blindspot.
When Jane rejoins the team, there are now a lot of trust issues between them. She's upset that they allowed her to be taken and tortured, and the team has learned more about the organization that sent Jane to the FBI. Enter new co-leader of the team, NSA Agent Nas Kamel, played by The Good Wife alum Archie Panjabi. She has named the organization Sandstorm because of the fearful ones she experienced as a child. She had trusted the wrong agent, and it cost lives on her team when he betrayed them. Now it's a little personal, and she's not going to be quick to trust Jane.
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