Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 22nd, 2016
Growing up I was obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series; it was the Saturday morning cartoon I just couldn’t get enough of. When I couldn’t watch the cartoon, I’d be playing with the toys and eventually the video game back in the original Nintendo console days. So when the movies came out, my parents had no choice but to take me to see them. Back in those days we had the turtles in rubber suits; as a kid the experience was fun but still just not as good as the cartoon. As I got older, well, those original films seem to hold up less and less, and when the news came that an updated version of the film would be coming out I got a little excited, that is till I saw the trailer for the 2014 film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 22nd, 2016
“Does doing things the legal way really make it better?”
Since movies are at their core a form of escapism, they have a way of glamorizing anyone who violently slashes through the red tape of the criminal justice system. It helps explain the enduring appeal of vigilante/revenge movies and it's probably why we're meant to root for the charitable bank robbers in Marauders. While the movie contains some cool flashes of style and occasionally bumps up against some interesting ideas about justice, it ultimately gets way too bogged down in red herrings and pointless subplots.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2016
The setting for Gunsmoke was the by-now-famous Dodge City, circa 1870’s. Phrases like “get out of Dodge” would enter the popular lexicon as a result of this resilient series. Marshall Dillon (Arness) was charged with keeping the peace in Dodge City. The only other character to see the entire 20-year run was kindly Doc Adams (Stone). Star Trek’s own Doc, Leonard McCoy, took many of his traits from Doc Adams. He was the humanitarian of the city, always looking to help someone. Like McCoy, he had a taste for bourbon and a soft heart underneath a rather gruff exterior and was always ready with free advice. Dillon’s love interest throughout most of the series was Miss Kitty Russell (Blake).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2016
Victor Garber appears to me a man of extremes, at least in his climate preferences. Of course, the actor was aboard James Cameron's ill-fated Titanic when it struck an iceberg before Leonardo DiCaprio dies because he was too stupid to climb aboard a huge floating door. On television recently, Garber jumps to nuclear fire as one half of the superhero Firestorm in the DC television universe. For this release, actually filmed a few years ago he heads back to the ice, and not just any ice. This time Victor Garber narrates an IMAX documentary called Wonders Of The Arctic. Shout Factory has released the documentary as part of their impressive IMAX titles in 4K on UHD Blu-ray.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2016
"The state of this country is the most precarious it has ever been. Not only are there more threats than ever before, but the majority of those threats don't come from known organizations or extremist groups, but our own backyard. A neighbor you grew up next to, a one-night stand you had, perhaps even a family member. You applied here to protect your country from those threats. And while your ideals and your test scores might have gotten you here, they will not be enough to keep you here. The FBI academy is the toughest boot camp, hardest grad school rolled into one. It is not college. It is life and death."
And that's the setting of ABC's new drama Quantico. But not quite so fast
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2016
For over 15 years the CSI franchise has been a solid stable of programming for the Eye Network. The original show blasted through all initial expectations and lasted for 15 years. CSI: Miami went on for a decade, and CSI: New York for a little over five years. Now the original has bowed out of the game, and after 30 years of seasons, the franchise's future hangs with newcomer CSI: Cyber. All dynasties eventually come to an end. Some pass quietly in the night. Others do so quite horribly. After watching the short 13 episode run of CSI: Cyber, I'm afraid it's the latter path for a once-brilliant franchise. Catch it while you can, if you're interested. While it will be back this fall, I do not anticipate a long life for a show that is CSI in name only. Now is your chance to decide for yourself.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 20th, 2016
Is anybody up for some pizza? I know four sewer-dwelling superheroes who would happily jump at that offer any day of the week. So for this Tuesday (Round Up), we're excited about the emergence of Paramount's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows in 4K. Elsewhere, CBS lays down the law with Blue Bloods: Season 6 and marshals in Gunsmoke: Season 12. Finally, Eagle Rock does it ol' blue eyes' way with The Frank Sinatra Collection: Part 2.
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: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on September 19th, 2016
Oliver Stone warned me when I went to see Snowden. He told me it could happen. But I never thought it could happen to me. We've been out there interviewing the participants for All American Bikini Car Wash. I recently spoke with Heath Centazzo who plays Big Tony and Brendan Nagle who plays Bobby Bullets in the film. Turns out the Feds were listening in our conversation. Investigators for Upcomingdiscs discovered a copy of that wire tap and are going to risk everything providing it to the public here on our forum. Who knows. I might be reviewing movies from Moscow next week. Be warned that this is a result of Fed surveillance so the quality and language is going to be rough. If you dare: Bang it here to listen in on my conversation with The Mob Guys
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 16th, 2016
It’s been just about four years since Savages (2012) hit the big screen. For me Savages was Oliver Stone simply having a blast, shooting an over-the-top action film fueled by sex, drugs, and violence. Now it seems Stone has stepped back into the paranoid, government conspiracy form that he seems to be best known for with Snowden. Whether you view him as a traitor to the United States or a self-sacrificing lamb to expose the government and its illegal wiretapping, it’s a choice that is up to you going into this film. Personally, while I feel his intentions were good, still he did betray his government and committed treason. What I had hoped with this film is that Oliver Stone would capture both sides of the coin, but as the title would suggest, Edward Snowden (Joesph Gordon-Levitt) is front and center on this ride, and that’s not my only problem here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 16th, 2016
Scuba diving is the closest thing I've ever experienced to being on an alien world. Everything around you looks and feels totally different from what we see on land. Even our relationship to gravity changes. There's nothing like it on this Earth. The ocean is a diverse place and quite resilient. The Last Reef makes this point rather dramatically in the opening minutes of the documentary. It begins with a newsreel that takes us to the nuclear explosion experiments that were conducted off the Bikini Islands in 1946. Yes, that's where the swimsuit got its name. The Islands were making the newsreels because of the tests.
On The Web
Sponsors
