Helldriver (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 16th, 2011
Over-the-top movies can be enjoyable vehicles to invest ninety minutes into. Movies like Planet Terror where somewhere behind the blood splatter and the lovely Rose McGowan who had a machine gun leg was an actual enjoyable story. But these movies do not just exist in America. Abroad, over in Japan, this type of film has been taken up to the Nth degree by the company Sushi Typhoon. This review covers their newest flic, Helldriver. Let’s see what we got.
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Play Hide And Tweet With Super 8 and Win A Collector’s Item
Posted in Random Fun by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2011
HOLLYWOOD, CA (November 15, 2011) – Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) invites fans across the country to enter into the world of mystery and adventure created by director J.J. Abrams in his sensational coming-of-age story SUPER 8with a unique Twitter promotion. In celebration of the film’s home entertainment debut on November 22, PHE will hide Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs signed by J.J. Abrams in 20 cities across the U.S. and Canada and begin offering clues to the locations today via the film’s @Super8Movie Twitter account and Super8Tweet.com. Each day, the clues will get more specific until all of the prizes are found.
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Nickelodeon Favorites: Merry Christmas
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 15th, 2011
Six different Nickelodeon children’s programs aimed at preschoolers each have their own Christmas (or Holiday) special episodes and are compiled together on this DVD release.
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Exclusive Interview With Declan O’Brien, director/writer Wrong Turn 4
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2011
I had the opportunity to chat with Declan O’Brien about his latest film Wrong Turn 4. He’s a product of the “Roger Corman school of filmmaking” and has brought the Wrong Turn series back to life. You can follow him on Twitter, just bang it here: Declan O’Brien On Twitter
To listen to my chat with Declan bang it here Interview
Infernal Affairs (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 13th, 2011
“What thousands must die, so that Caesar may become great.”
When Hong Kong released Infernal Affairs in 2002, it pretty much revived the Asian gangster genre and proved the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s Best Director Academy Award winner, The Departed. I saw The Departed before I watched Infernal Affairs and, now seeing it, must say I prefer Scorsese’s Boston noir re-envisioning of the film more than the original. I realize this goes against the hardcore fans and critics of the film, but it doesn’t take anything away from the hardboiled crime sensation directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak created.
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Immortals
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2011
“Fight for honor. Fight for your children. Fight for your future. Fight for immortality!”
I know there are a lot of you out there who can’t wait for the huge 300 sequel: 300 The Battle Of Artemisia. You might even have your calendar circled for the Clash Of The Titans remake sequel Wrath Of The Titans, also on the horizon. In case you find that you just can’t wait, director Tarsem Singh has created a weigh-station, of sorts, with his action-packed Immortals.
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Robotech: The Complete Original Series
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 11th, 2011
In the 1980’s, I feasted on a bevy of animation growing up. I watched typical cartoon shows like Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Voltron. Honestly, my habits were to watch every piece of animation that came across in those days at least once. Yes, even the Care Bears. But sadly despite all of that, I completely missed some great ones. One of those truly great ones was the Robotech series. Now, with an 85 episode behemoth of a complete series set, I get a chance to rectify that grave injustice.
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Giveaway: WWII in HD to Honor Our Vets on Veteran’s Day!
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on November 11th, 2011
It’s Veteran’s Day and we here at Upcomingdiscs along with our wonderful friends at A&E want to send out our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to the men and women who have served, and now serve this nation. To help mark the day we have combined with A&E to give away one of the best documentary sets on World War II to be released. WWII in HD (Collector’s Edition) is a startling look at our greatest generation in action. It’s on Blu-ray and in high definition. We are offering it to vets, current military members, and their families. 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 where you have served, or currently serve. It does not have to be overseas. Any base or station. If it’s a family member who served or serves, provide the same info. . (Just tell us how they are related along with the information).
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner was Julie
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.
Alleged (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 11th, 2011
“The 1920’s in America: jazz music, girls who smoke, and the wing walkers. Like a giant party, only without the booze. Change was in the air. Skyscrapers displaced family farms, and revolutionary ideas challenged time-honored traditions.”
Of course, one of those “revolutionary ideas” was the theories of Charles Darwin with the publication of his book On The Origin Of Species.
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Grandview, U.S.A.
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
Here is a forgotten 80s, romantic dromedy that may have been forgotten for a reason. Various love triangles arise around the setting of a Demolition Derby. Jamie Lee Curtis and Patrick Swayze star in a tale packed with the usual 80s comedy tent poles such as weird dreams, screwball scenarios, and youths having to stand up for the little guy.
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“Weird Al” Yankovic Live! The Alpocalypse Tour
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
The king of the parodies has been consistent in the studio, in videos and on stage for nearly 3 decades. This DVD allows him to prove the latter. Though various costume changes and instrument shifts, Al and his longtime band mates delight a packed Massey Hall in Toronto.
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Bonanza – The Official Second Season Volume 2
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2011
The Cartwright boys continue to do right on the Ponderosa Ranch in the state of Nevada. Having lasted 14 seasons, the series was relatively young in Season 2 but had already established Ben Cartwright and his three boys (from three different mothers) as household names on American television.
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Bunraku (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 9th, 2011
“Things never go well before first going wrong and then getting worse; which is one of the many lessons our silent drifter has been hearing for as long as he can remember.”
Bunaku is the name of a 400-year-old form of Japanese puppet theater. These elaborately staged productions star intricately-detailed puppets operated by puppeteers dressed head to toe in black, who almost blend into the background, but never really do, making their puppeteering as hypnotic as the puppets and sets themselves.
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Father of Invention (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 9th, 2011
“All things are intrinsically connected, no matter how different they may appear. Hi. You know me — Robert Axle. As a fabricator, I bring existing, often different, items together, maximizing their atomic and molecular potential. Making ordinary inventions infinitely more prolific.”
Kevin Spacey has been quite prolific himself in the last couple of years. It seems no matter where I go these days, I see him in another movie I’m reviewing. In just the last 6 months I’ve seen him in Horrible Bosses, Margin Call, Casino Jack and now Father Of Invention.
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Band of Brothers / The Pacific (Special Edition Gift Set) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2011
“Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.”
World War II was a turning point in American history unlike any other in the 20th century.
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Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2011
“We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels ‘cross the floor. I was feeling kinda seasick but the crowd called out for more. The room was humming harder as the ceiling flew away. When we called out for another drink the waiter brought a tray.”
The lyrics are about as familiar as any that have been written in the last 60 years of rock music. Whiter Shade Of Pale is one of the most covered songs in history. From The Box Tops to Joe Cocker. The list includes such bands as ASA, The Dells, Willie Nelson and reggae artist Marlene Webber. But the lyrics belong to Keith Reid, and the original version belongs to the band Procol Harum.
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Cinema Salvation
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2011
Greg (Ryan Scott Self) lost his fiancée when he couldn’t match her religious faith. Now he’s written a script based on the relationship, and is going to direct the movie. But the path of indie filmmaking is paved with thorns, as he is plagued by demands from the backers for inappropriate casting, more sex, edgier language, and so on. His ex isn’t too happy about the movie being made in the first place, too.
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Planet 51
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2011
This is the DVD release of the film whose Blu-ray incarnation was reviewed by Gino, so I’m going to let him take it away for the review of the film itself. I’ll check back in for the specs.
“It’s back to the 1950?s with its telltale alien invasion science fiction matinees. There’s Doo Wop coming out of the radio. The cars have tail fins and plenty of color and chrome. That’s right. This is 1950?s Americana. Well … almost. You see, the alien invaders are humaniacs. They turn the helpless population into mind-controlled zombies, and they eat brains for breakfast.
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Kennyville
Posted in No Huddle by David Annandale on November 8th, 2011
Two private investigators (Dany Gehshan and Vanessa Broze) are hired to look into the disappearance of a young woman. There search leads them to the small town of Kennyville. They have barely arrived before Gehshan is beaten bloody and Broze is kidnapped. Gehshan’s only ally in his search is a local (Michael Scratch) who wants nothing more to do with the town-wide conspiracy of silence. It seems Kennyville is home to a brainwashing outfit that transforms attractive young women into lethal, programmed assassins, and that is exactly the process that Broze is undergoing.
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Atrocious
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 7th, 2011
“The mind is like a labyrinth in which anyone can get lost.”
The debut film from Mexican director Fernando Barredo Luna, Atrocious is yet another entry into the “found footage” genre. This is a niche where you either enjoy the handheld bouncy ride or you don’t (or if you have motion sickness, you can’t). I, for one, quite like this style of horror. With video cameras in our phones, tablets, computers, cars, and appliances as well as security cameras recording our every move 24 hours a day; the media sources for these stories are endless.
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The Quatermass Xperiment (aka Creeping Unknown)
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on November 7th, 2011
“For the first time in the history of the world, man has sent a rocket 1500 miles into space. You can’t expect such an experiment to be perfect.”
There’s this home video of my sister as a strawberry blonde toddler at a family picnic. Sticky watermelon caresses her cherubic face as she sings the phrase she captured that day, “And again? And again and again, and again?” Yes, chipmunk-voiced Bela: again and again. That’s how often I’d watch Quatermass Xperiment. It’s so rich in storytelling and layered delivery that I’ll watch it more than once to fully appreciate it
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NBA 2k12 (Xbox 360)
Posted in Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 6th, 2011
Despite some of the highest television ratings in recent history for the sport of basketball, the NBA announced a lockout on July 1st of this year. Even more disturbing was that just a few weeks ago on October 10th, they announced that the first two weeks of the season would be cancelled. For the time being, we are devoid of great shooting from Dirk Nowitzki or the spirited play of Derrick Rose. Heck, we can not even boo LeBron James. But 2k and Visual Concepts could have the cure, NBA 2k12 for the Xbox 360.
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Queensryche Mindcrime on the Moor
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 6th, 2011
Somewhere between Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd lies Queensryche’s concept albums Operation Mindcrime parts one and two. Part One was released in 1988 and has since been heralded by many as one of the finest heavy metal albums (concept or otherwise) of all time. The sequel arrived in 2006. This concert film is from the subsequent tour that featured the band playing both albums in their entirety, back to back, with actors, animations, and an elaborate stage setup to perform this rock opera.
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Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (Unrated) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2011
“We have 182 patients. Most are horribly deformed, due to inbreeding and birth defects.”
If you’re a horror fan at all, then you have more than a passing familiarity with three of those patients. Back in 2003 we were introduced to Three-Finger, Saw-Tooth and One-Eye in the sleeper horror film Wrong Turn starring Buffy and Angel favorite actress Eliza Dushku in her first staring role, capitalizing on her television fame. She was good in the movie, but our three deformed cannibals were something that we just haven’t been able to forget.
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Cars 2 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2011
“Hey everybody, McQueen’s back.”
Cars is only the second film in Pixar history to have at least one sequel added to the franchise. Of course, all of that is about to change. Monster University will explore the world of Monsters, Inc as a prequel. Brad Bird has recently spoken about plans for a follow-up to The Incredibles. And Toy Story appears ready to continue at least a little longer into the future. Personally, I’ve been looking forward to the Monsters film. But after watching Cars 2 I’m a little bit worried,
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