Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 1st, 2016
Don’t let the artwork scare you off. Yes, the cover design for this disc may be the worst I’ve seen this year, but the movie actually isn’t half bad. John Travolta has hit a bump in his career, and it seems the big blockbuster projects just don’t seem to want to reach out to him. Sure, he has a habit of going over the top in roles, but for the most part he’s still one of the few personalities I still enjoy seeing on the screen who’s been around since before I was a kid. Then you’ve got Chuck Russell (Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Warriors and The Blob remake) dusting off his director’s chair to helm a film again, and, well, I Am Wrath quickly starts to become a film I can be excited about.
I Am Wrath makes a very conscious decision to open the film with images of violent acts caught on security cameras. Lately you can’t even watch the news without hearing about a shooting or some sort of violent attack that has been caught on film. Though it’s an effective way to start the film, the problem is it doesn’t really tie into the rest of the film except to point out from the beginning that there is a lot of violence occurring in the world. So if you were worried or hoping for some sort of social commentary, well, that isn’t here. Instead what we’ve got here is a by the numbers revenge film. It’s nothing to complain about, but if you were hoping for a story with a little more meat, sorry, but this comes up short in that department.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on August 1st, 2016
We've got to have the cleanest cars in the country here at Upcomingdiscs. That's because we keep going back to the All American Bikini Car Wash. I think we're starting to lose a little of the paint. This time we stopped by to talk to Jason Lockhart who plays Vex in the film. Vex is kind of the free spirit who likely wants to be spending more time with those bikini girls and cars. Actually, Jason is also a writer and director with some impressive credits of his own. It appears he had a great time working on All American Bikini Car Wash and I had the chance to talk to him about that. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Jason Lockhart.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on July 29th, 2016
Moviegoers tend to have better memories than amnesiac assassins, but I think it’s fair to say we’ve mostly put The Bourne Legacy out of our minds. Universal’s underwhelming, half-hearted attempt to spin off one of its more lucrative franchises all but guaranteed the eventual return of original star Matt Damon and two-time director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum). The duo has re-teamed for the entertaining yet inessential Jason Bourne, which — for better and worse — will feel extremely familiar for fans of the trilogy.
“I remember…I remember everything.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 29th, 2016
It seems there have been a lot of horror films involving dinner parties that have gone wrong. You’re Next may be the best example to take on this idea, and I have to admit to being a fan of the film. It was a fun hipster horror film that kept the story moving forward and delivered more than a fair share of violence and gore. Then there was last year’s creepy gem The Gift, a film that captured the horror of the past coming back to haunt you. When it comes to The Invitation, it’s a film that seems like a hodgepodge of both You’re Next and The Gift, but also a handful of other films. It’s a film that feels so familiar, but as you watch it manages to avoid many of the stereotypical film tropes viewers have grown used to over the years. The trouble is, although it may lift material from several horror films, I have a hard time considering this a horror film or even a thriller; instead at times I feel this is an execution of tedium that teases horror but never quite delivers.
The film starts off ominous enough with Will (Logan Marshall-Green) accidently hitting a coyote while on his way to a dinner party. It’s a sad and semi-violent scene; you may be thinking that perhaps this is a red herring for what is to come, or as the filmmakers would have you believe that it’s a simple glimpse into Will’s life. Instead I found the scene bothersome, simply because I don’t believe this character would continue on, to go to a party he doesn’t want to be at, when there is already so much emotional baggage awaiting him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 28th, 2016
"We were born in space. They told us the ground was uninhabited, but they were wrong, and we've been fighting for our lives since the moment we landed. Some of us have been broken by it, but most of us are still here, trying to build something real and lasting out of the wilderness... a home."
You should know the setup by now. If not, you can check out our previous reviews: Season 1 & Season 2. The show is based on a new series of books from writer Kass Morgan. The crew here has a little bit more room to operate than do most shows based on book series. The first book had not yet been released when they started filming the series. Series creator Jason Rothenberg had the fortune to preview the book's outline and first few chapters. It dovetailed in with an idea of his own which was quite similar but dealt with the survivors exploring an alien planet for sustainability. I think this is the better idea and certainly has great potential. Now it's all about the planet. Space is no longer a part of the landscape. We've gone away from Lord of the Flies and its do-whatever-you-want slogan. There is organization and unwritten rules now, but there's a certain savagery that is the necessary outcome for the things they’ve seen and done.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 28th, 2016
"It's time for the biggest gladiator match of all time. Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham."
In a summer chock full of blockbusters that are expected to defy box office records, dare I say this may be the most anticipated one of them all? When news about this film was first released, opposition rang out on both sides of the spectrum. Some argued that films that feature two characters facing off rarely work, especially when it comes to two heroes. I have to admit that I found myself agreeing with this argument. In my defense, this appeared to me as a clear strategic ploy to fast-track the introduction of the much-anticipated Justice League franchise. Now, albeit true, my resistance did waver upon watching the trailer. So as I sat in my seat, anxiously awaiting the lights to dim and the screen to illuminate, one question dawned (pun intended) on me: can the film live up to the hype?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on July 28th, 2016
They really don’t make horror films like they used to. I understand that each decade graces us with new, unique genre mechanics, but there is just something to be said about the horror elements found in 1980’s cinema. While Hellhole does not have any supernatural or modern science fiction qualities, it does carry the classic “mad scientist” narrative quite well. The film also boasts one of the silliest, yet terrifying, villains I have seen to date. Hellhole is a film that gracefully slips below the radar, but for the cult cinema connoisseur, the strong writing is really what makes this film a great find.
The film opens with Susan (Judy Landers) escaping from a home invasion: Her mother has stolen implicating bank statements from the doctor she works for, and a goon is attempting to get them back. The goon is none other than “Silk” (Ray Sharkey), a rather flamboyant hitman, clad in a studded leather suit, a long red scarf, and a silly hairdo. Susan knocks herself out and finds herself in an all-woman insane asylum, suffering from amnesia. Silk attains an orderly position at the hospital to wait for her memory to return. To my pleasant surprise, the plot did not end here. In fact, the film includes a parallel storyline to Silk: the board of medicine has hired a private investigator (Richard Cox) to take a position as an orderly in an effort to find incriminating evidence against the mad psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Mary Woronov).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 27th, 2016
If there was a show I could recommend to someone who is looking for a smart thriller that doesn’t talk down to its audience, I couldn’t point to Person of Interest fast enough. It’s a show that may be labeled sci-fi for some, yet its science and technology may not be so far off. The idea of our government or private agencies using security cameras or our phones to monitor us is no longer just a rumor muttered around in circles of conspiracy theorists, but is quickly becoming a reality of day-to-day life. I kind of saw the show as a riff on the Batman story, subtract the cape and cowl and exchange it for a suit, then throw in a dash of George Orwell’s 1984, and you can see where the show got its start. For those who have never seen the show, you are doing yourself a great disservice by not watching the show, and to step in during its fifth and final season, I believe it’s safe to say you’d be more than a little lost. So what does creator Jonathan Nolan have to offer us in these final 13 episodes? To get straight to the point, this might be one of the best final seasons for a show (at least since Justified) that I can recall seeing.
When we last saw John Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), they were struggling to compress and protect The Machine that they were able to code into a briefcase and onto several drives. All this is while Samaritan has become fully functional as an artificially intelligent program that seems to be able to track anyone, anywhere with the aid of a secret government task force. Not only does our team have to go underground, but now they are constantly in danger with targets on their back; their only protection is their manufactured identities The Machine created for them. (Still with me?)
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on July 26th, 2016
It's been well over a year since we started this Tuesday Round Up, so I like to think we're beyond certain formalities. For example, I hope you all know that you're welcome to stop by our fair site anytime you want. No RSVP necessary. That being said, Drafthouse Films was still kind enough to drop off The Invitation this week. Shout! Factory tumbles down a Hellhole while offering a howling good time with The Boy Who Cried Werewolf. Finally, Lionsgate unleashes the John Travolta actioner I Am Wrath.
One last reminder before signing off for the week (and for July): 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: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on July 25th, 2016
The first rule of Fight Club is you never talk about Fight Club. So it's a good thing we're talking about Fight Valley instead. I got to hang out on the phone with Rob Hawk who both wrote and directed Fight Valley and the upcoming Fight Valley 2: Lockdown and we had a lot to talk about. The New Jersey native gives us an idea of what it was like to grow up on the tough streets of Jersey. Fight Valley tells the story of one woman who enters the underground female fight game to find out how her sister died. It's lady's night at the fights. You talkin' to me? Rob Hawk did and it's all here. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Rob Hawk.
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