God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 1st, 2011
My parents were always an oddball lot when it came to music. My mom liked the crooners and if she ever did touch rock and roll, it was something very light and airy. My dad however was a totally different animal. He listened (and still does) to Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues and Queen. But perhaps one of his favorite albums of all time is Paranoid by Black Sabbath. The front man for Sabbath is the one and only Ozzy Osbourne. I find myself in a fortunate position where I get to review his documentary, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.
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Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2011
The Disney magic faded for a little while during the 1980s. There were still animated features, but they weren’t the groundbreaking triumphs of the studio’s golden age. All of that changed as we entered the 1990s. The Little Mermaid is considered the first of the new wave of Disney classics. It certainly signaled a change in the direction of animation at Disney. While the change may have begun there, I believe it was Beauty And The Beast that started a wave
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Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World Special Edition
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2011
“The party is most definitely on.”
This direct to video sequel of Disney’s Beauty And The Beast is a much more low-budget affair than The Enchanted Christmas was to become. While the film did use the voices of many of the original cast including Jerry Orbach, Robbie Benson, Paige O’Hara, and David Ogden Stiers, the production values show the economy of the project.
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Submarino
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on November 30th, 2011
A baby’s soft and contented voice is heard over a white screen as the credits begin. Two young teenage boys dote over the happy child. These are the opening moments of Submarino, which quickly devolves into a story of total despair. It turns out the mother is a worthless and degenerate alcoholic. These two well-meaning boys are forced to be the parents. They wake up in the morning and the baby is blue and lifeless.
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How the States Got Their Shapes: Season One
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 28th, 2011
For those who might not already be aware, I am currently living in the state of Texas. I would say great state of Texas but my lack of a straight face would give that away. “Go back to where you came from”. Well, I would love to go back to North Carolina and perhaps the Minnesota transplant that is using four letter words against me can do the same. However, I am very interested in how some of these states got their shapes. Perhaps the first season of “How the States Got Their Shapes” can help.
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Super 8 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 28th, 2011
It is 1979. While filming a Super 8 horror movie, a group of young friends on the cusp of adolescence witness a spectacular train wreck. They later discover that they accidentally captured evidence that there was an alien creature on the train, and it is now loose in their small town. But if the mysterious disappearance of dogs, engines and (increasingly) people wasn’t trouble enough, the military descends upon the community with an agenda far more merciless and inhuman than that of the alien itself.
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Upcomingdiscs Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Doctor Who Season 6 on Blu-ray
Posted in Super Round-Up by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2011
Now that we’re getting into the Christmas Shopping season, Upcomingdiscs will be offering you a sample of some of our suggestions for that home theater geek on your shopping list. These are not paid advertisements.
The BBC is Calling America with one of the best releases of the holiday season. We’ve reviewed several seasons of the Doctor Who revival in these pages over the years. These episodes have been coming out in Blu-ray in full high definition over the last few seasons. The latest release is the full season 6 set.
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Giveaway: A&E Kicks Off The Holiday Cheer, Win The Romance Collection: Special Edition DVD 13pk SET From
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2011
The good folks over at A&E Home Entertainment have appointed themselves Upcomingdiscs’ official Santa Claus for this holiday season. You’re going to see some great gifts from A&E over the season. We’re kicking it all off with a way to put a little romance into your Black Friday. A&E is giving a copy of their famous Romance Collection Special Edition to one lucky reader at Upcomingdiscs. This is an incredible release. 29 hours of romantic films on a 13 disc DVD collection. Catch this collection of films: Pride And Prejudice, Victoria & Albert, Emma, Jane Eyre, Catherine The Great, The Mayor Of Casterbridge, The Magnificent Ambersons, Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Vanity Fair and that immortal classic The Great Gatsby. It all goes to one winner this Christmas. To win a copy of this prize, 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 what was your most romantic holiday gift ever?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner was Sarah Davis
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 Muppets
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2011
“It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight…”
What do the following huge stars all have in common: Elton John, George Burns, Peter Sellers, Don Knotts, Bob Hope, John Cleese, Madeline Kahn, and Milton Berle? They all were guests on The Muppet Show. It would be pretty hard to argue that the seriesdidn’t became the in place for A-list entertainers to have a little fun. Like a neighborhood clubhouse, the top stars would come to the show and allow themselves to be often upstaged by Henson’s cute little creatures.
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Happy Thanksgiving From Your Friends At Upcomingdiscs
Posted in Random Fun by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2011
With Thanksgiving Day upon us we’ve decided that what we’re thankful for this year is all of our faithful readers and supporters.
Happy Thanksgiving Day!
Peter Gabriel: New Blood – Live in London (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 23rd, 2011
“You can blow out a candle, but you can’t blow out a fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind will blow it higher”
Peter Gabriel, the flamboyant original front man for Genesis from 1967 to 1977, left that band to pursue recording his own solo albums. Although none of his early albums scored a top 40 hit, they were deeply loved by the art house music crowd. Gabriel’s penchant for exotic world musical instruments, dark moving lyrics, and complicated arrangements built on his fiercely loyal following.
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Placebo: We Come In Pieces (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 23rd, 2011
Let me get this out of the way first off: I am not a big fan of emo-pop, so maybe I’m not the best person to review Placebo. The whiny nasal vocals and amazingly repetitive hooks tend to drag, and I find myself just wanting to slap the band and tell them to man up. That said, I should think if you are a fan of the band, you will love this nearly three hour concert disc filmed at London’s Brixton Academy in September 2010 during the band’s tour for their album Battle for the Sun.
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Act Of Vengeance
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on November 23rd, 2011
By Natasha Samreny
Funny how movies sometimes offer a more real perspective of life than experience itself. Sexual politics change and sometimes improve over time, culture and geography. But watching Rape Squad made me sick in disbelief at how disgusting, clueless and misogynistically men could treat women in mainstream America at the country’s social climax of the women’s lib age of the 1970s, and get away with it.
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River Why (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 23rd, 2011
Fishing is fairly foreign to me I admit it. The idea that you have to get up at the crack of dawn just to sit in a rusted over boat without saying a word to only catch not a darn thing seems like a waste of time if nothing else. The television fishing shows on TBS do not make it sound any better either. The only thing appealing to me about it is if you can find some beautiful scenery to fish in. Perhaps a place like Oregon, which is the setting for our new review: The River Why.
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Trigger
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 23rd, 2011
To say I am a sucker for hard rocking music films is an understatement. One of my favorite films in this genre is Rockstar of which I am still waiting for a good blu-ray release. Other films like This is Spinal Tap or even The Runaways also hold my interest for a good time. So, I was a little interested when I saw Trigger come to my doorstep, a tale about two reunited female musicians who are brought back together for one great night.
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Bellflower (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on November 23rd, 2011
If you try to look at the state of independent films in the modern age, it would be a huge undertaking.
Let’s look at a film called Bellflower. It just came out and is a good example of what the state of independent films is like in the year 2011. It is very low-budget project in which everyone sweats blood, especially the writer/director/star, to get the movie done. It has some novel ideas, some youthful energy, and way too many rough edges.
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Farscape: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2011
“My name is John Crichton…an astronaut. Four years ago, I got…shot through a wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy. I ending up on this ship…this living ship, populated by escaping prisoners…who became my friends. I made enemies…”
Take a magical journey with me now. I don’t mean into outer space. It’s a journey back in time to a day when the SyFy Channel was called the Sci-Fi Channel. A day when it was an exciting and promising place on the cable dial.
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West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 22nd, 2011
“When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way! From your first cigarette to your last dyin’ days.”
West Side Story is a masterpiece in film making. Its DNA comes from the greatest entertainers in the business. The great Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, The Day the Earth Stood Still) shares directing credit with one of the world’s greatest choreographers, Jerome Robbins. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Daniel Fapp’s cinematography is epic and evocative. The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, a record at the time, including Best Picture and Best Director.
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Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2011
By Natasha Samreny
Santa Claus is neither jolly elf with rosy cheeks nor heart of gold. He doesn’t reward the good kids and he tortures the bad ones.
When Young Pietari Kontio (Omni Tommila) and Juuso (Ilmari Järvenpää) stumble upon a mysterious excavation site inside reindeer country of their native Finland, Pietari catapults into his own dark uncovering of the original Kris Kringle.
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Sarah’s Key
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 21st, 2011
“10,000 people crammed… no bed, no toilets and little water.”
Julia Jarmond (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an American journalist living in Paris covering the anniversary of the 1942 Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup, a horrific atrocity when occupied France bowed to the will of the Nazis and rounded up over 13,000 Jews to ship them off to concentration camps. As she investigates the story she discovers a dark secret in her French husband’s family directly connecting them to the event.
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Blue Velvet (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 20th, 2011
Deep inside most people’s hearts lies a layer of curiosity. Many of us could go that one step farther and say it boils down to perversion. Whether it involves a spectacular car crash or two lovers in the throws of passion, there are uninhibited moments that we want to see. But what happens when those moments go beyond curiosity and straight into voyeurism? Worse yet, perhaps straight into a very dangerous situation? Well then one might be feeling much like Jeffery Beaumont in Blue Velvet, one of David Lynch’s best movies.
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Gabriel Iglesias Presents: Stand-Up Revolution
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2011
“It finally happened – Comedy Central messed up and gave me a show.”
I have to admit that I had not heard about Gabriel Iglesias before I saw a recent Blu-ray concert film. Gabriel is a rather rotund comic. For him, it’s not a liability at all. Honestly, he’s turned it into a cash cow, of sorts. It’s a huge, pun intended, part of his routine. In fact, to understand his nickname “Fluffy” you have to be clued into one of his signature routines. He identifies six levels of obesity.
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Perry Mason: Season Six, Vol. 2
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2011
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character that has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial. While we may not remember the novels, we all remember the man in the persona of Raymond Burr.
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WWII in HD (Collector’s Edition) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2011
“There are many among us who in the past closed their eyes to the events of war, because they believed that what was taking place in Europe was none of our business. That we could maintain our physical safety by retiring within our continental boundaries. Obviously, a defense policy based on that is merely to invite future attacks. For those who would not admit the possibility of the approaching storm, the past weeks have meant a shattering of past illusions.”
No, that quote wasn’t George W. Bush. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 26th, 1941.
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American Restoration: Volume 1
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2011
“Remember back in the day when things were made by hand and people took pride in their work? My name is Rick Dale, and I bring these things back to life.”
If you watch Pawn Stars on History, than Rick Dale really needs no introduction. From time to time the Pawn Stars guys get in something that they want to have restored to increase its value. For most of those projects they go to Rick and his team. Now Rick’s gotten his own spin-off series, and it’s set up very much like the other show from the grunge guitar soundtrack to some of the same wheel-and-deal aspects.
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