Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2016
"...And then all light will end, and the world will live in darkness. The very air will be pestilence to mankind. And our brethren, the night creatures, will emerge and feed."
We could be talking about the end of the world. We could also be talking about the untimely demise of Penny Dreadful with just its third season at Showtime. It came with a suddenness, and not without controversy. John Logan originally planned for the series to go 6-7 years. Something abruptly changed, and he has stated rather forcefully that it is impossible to continue the show beyond this third season. The finale is marked with a solid The End to punctuate his feelings. Showtime did not want to part with the show so quickly. Neither did the fans, and quite frankly neither did I. I haven't been this disappointed in a creator since Calvin & Hobbes went away because Bill Watterson got tired. Hell, I get tired, too. John Logan might have been finished with Penny Dreadful, but I wasn't.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2016
Who wants to party in Hawaii? Fox Home Entertainment and Upcomingdiscs are going to send one lucky winner on a vacation to Hawaii. Okay, we're not actually going to fly you out to the islands. We're going to send you a copy of Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates on UHD (4K) Blu-ray. Zac Efron and Adam Devine will be your hosts. Don't have a UHD 4K player yet? No problem. There's a Blu-ray copy included in the package. In ultra high definition it will just be like sending you on vacation... without the airfare/hotel/rental car hassles. This is our first 4K giveaway; let's make it a big one.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on October 12th, 2016
If you are looking for action and adventure, then you will not want to miss X-Men: First Class, a top-notch production that thrills. The storyline under the able direction of Matthew Vaughn contains all the explosiveness you would expect from a prequel to Marvel Comics’ famous X-Men. It’s the beginning of the saga, and we find Magneto (Michael Fassbender) being haunted by the death of someone close him. Escaping the clutches of the evil Nazi war criminal Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), Magneto meets Charles Xavier (James McAvoy). The two make a pact of finding other mutants and helping them work for justice. When Shaw rears his ugly head with superpowers of his own, the world puts everything on hold in hopes for a miracle to protect them; enter the X-Men.
I love the screenwriting style of Ashley Miller (Thor) who brings so many dynamic characters to life with amazing superpowers, and in X-Men: First Class she presents some very realistic baddies along with her heroes. Directed by Matthew Vaughn who gave us the action-laden Layer Cake and Kick Ass, nothing’s held back on his radical style of introducing characters with pugilistic powers. Here he puts Lee’s characters to the test and comes up with a winner.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 11th, 2016
Look who's swinging into UpcomingDiscs HQ this week! (And he's doing it in an extra dimension.) Warner Bros. reacquaints us with The Legend of Tarzan 3D, which headlines our latest Tuesday Round Up. Elsewhere, Lionsgate gets paternal and protective with Blood Father, and Allied brings the heat with She Who Must Burn.
And now here's your weekly 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: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2016
Our pals over at Broadgreen Productions wanted to get in on the act for our 31 Nights Of Terror. They've sent us over an extra copy of The Neon Demon to give away. This one has some wickedly crazy images for you. Keanu Reeves stars in this modern-day metaphor. Explore the killer model industry through the lens of Nicolas Winding Refn.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 10th, 2016
This continues to be a crowded 31 Nights Of Terror contest year. Once again it’s thanks to the great folks at Arc Entertainment. This one is for the kids. Maybe not so scary, but a lot of fun. Arc Entertainment has given us a copy of their zany adventure Under Wraps. The animated feature is loaded with mummies, pharaohs, and other things that go bump in the night. It features the voice talents of Brooke Shields, Drake Bell, and Matthew Lillard. Who’s your Mummy? Upcomingdiscs and Arc Entertainment, that’s who.
To win just follow these instructions
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 10th, 2016
“There can only be one queen.”
After navigating treachery at every turn in French court and having to cope with a deadly plague throughout the first two seasons of Reign — the CW's campy, compulsively watchable adaptation of the Mary, Queen of Scots saga — season 3 was meant to introduce Mary's most formidable foe yet. Queen Elizabeth I of England becomes a regular character on the show and Mary's chief rival from afar. But in telling the story of two warring queens (while trying to service the series' many established characters) the show stretches itself too thin and loses some of the fizz that made it a guilty pleasure.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 9th, 2016
This movie is more likely to make you laugh than it is to scare you, so its place among the 31 Nights of Terror is borderline. However, with a title like OMG.....We're in a Horror Movie, it goes without saying where it belongs. Six friends while indulging in their weekly board game ritual (I didn't even know that was a real thing) find themselves inexplicably transported in the plot of a horror movie. Realizing that they have been relegated to the stereotypical roles of such horror movie characters as the token black guy who dies (though there are at least three black characters, so figuring out which one is the character is a source of entertainment), or the hot girl who dies in the shower. Most importantly, one of them is the killer.
Desperate to survive, the friends must figure out how to shed their stereotypical roles before the killer discovers his homicidal nature.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 8th, 2016
After the release of The Editor on Blu-ray last year and with the remake of Susperia in the works, it would seem that there is a slow revival of the Giallo film. For those unaware of the term or style, it’s basically a horror/ mystery film that tended to have slasher elements that emerged out of Italy. These were beautiful and stylish films that directors like Dario Argento, Mario Bava, and Lucio Fulci were the ambassadors of. While The Editor was more of a spoof of the genre, though well done, it is Masks that has really gotten my attention. Though it comes out of Germany, the love and attention to detail in adding so many of the familiar hallmarks of the Giallo film makes Masks more than just a simple homage, but it’s so well executed I could have believed this was a lost Dario Argento film. So many people have gotten wrapped up in trying to emulate the grindhouse and found-footage genre that to see someone attempt to pull off a Giallo is simply refreshing. For those of you out there looking for a horror film that is a step above the standard slasher, Masks is the film I hope to see people rally around.
The story follows Stella (Susen Ermich), a drama student who seems to have talent but just isn’t good enough to be accepted by any of the major schools. At one of her auditions one of the judges sees her and recommends a school for her that can help her take her talents to the next level. Upon her arrival to the school there are talks about some mysterious things occurring to some of the students. I’ll go ahead and say it; the plot sounds a heck of a lot like Susperia, only the teachers are not witches, but for fans of the Italian classic I’m sure the similarities will simply jump out at you.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on October 7th, 2016
“My husband used to tell me I have an overactive imagination...”
The idea at the core of The Girl on the Train is equal parts provocative and relatable: a lonely commuter observes an attractive couple from a distance and imagines what their seemingly perfect lives must be like. Anyone who's ever done any people-watching will recognize the appeal of inventing a backstory for a stranger, and the story is a healthy reminder that things are never quite what they seem from the outside. But despite a powerhouse lead performance, this Train is ultimately derailed by an unsatisfying mystery and a lack of flair that causes this potentially juicy story to lose steam as it chugs along.
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