Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 20th, 2016
“Billionaires are people too.”
HBO’s Silicon Valley, which takes merciless aim at the tech capital of the U.S., was impressive right out of the gate. The series struck comedy gold in its debut season by making fun of both self-important, aggressively eccentric billionaires and the bumbling “guys in a garage” who are trying to get to their level. Season 2 is both nerdier and more confident in its skewering of corporate soullessness and the scrappy underdogs who often can't get out of their own way. (I'm not sure there's another show on TV that would use a SWOT analysis to decide whether a douche-y stuntman lives or dies.) The result is a very funny sitcom that has gotten even better.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on April 19th, 2016
We've got a bear of a Round Up for you this week, my friends! Leonard DiCaprio tussled with a vicious grizzly and took home his first Oscar for The Revenant. And now, thanks to Fox, we'll bring you a Blu-ray review of the hit survival drama. Lionsgate also engages in some gross Misconduct, while Entertainment One seeks safe Haven: The Final Season. HBO plays second fiddle with Veep: Season 4 and innovates in Silicon Valley: Season 2. Comedy Central brings back Daniel Tosh: People Pleaser, while Magnolia Home Entertainment lampoons an iconic magazine/comedy brand with Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead. Finally, Warner Bros. schemes with Pretty Little Liars: Season 6.
One last 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: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on April 19th, 2016
For the Gasparilla International Film Festival, to nab the latest film from writer/director Richard Linklater is kind of a big deal. GIFF was the second festival to show Everybody Wants Some after its debut at the acclaimed South by Southwest festival. With the film being lauded as a spiritual sequel to Linklater’s cult hit Dazed and Confused, I had to admit I was a bit skeptical about this film and its ability to even match up to its predecessor; after all, it was the indie darling that helped launched the careers of Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, and many others. This ensemble of talented up-and-comers managed to capture this cinematic lightning in a bottle about high school, and for me it’s a film I manage to watch at least once a year when I come across someone who hasn’t yet seen the film. So how does the film hold up in the face of such expectations? For me this isn’t just a fun film, but I’m taking a stand and calling this the best party film to date (and yes, I’m daring to say it’s better than Animal House.)
It’s time to take a trip back to 1980, a time before social media was ever a thing, and when cars came with tape decks filled with cassettes and people who had record collections were not hit with being called hipsters. The star of this film for me is the music that is beautifully strung through the film, whether we’re listening to Van Halen, Sugar Hill Gang, or The Knack, what we have is a great assortment of music to set the tone of the film, and we get a musical bag of ear candy to indulge.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on April 18th, 2016
Our friends at Magnolia Home Entertainment are not done with you yet. They've given us 2 copies of Tangerine on Blu-ray to help sweeten the day for 2 lucky Upcomingdiscs readers. Sean Baker directs this wild and crazy journey through the L.A. subculture world. The film was an official 2015 Sundance selection and includes some nice special features.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 18th, 2016
In the late 1960's three musicians came together with an idea. It was a somewhat unconventional idea. Roy Wood and Bev Bevan were part of the band The Move when they met up with Jeff Lynne from The Idle Race. The three hit it off almost instantly. So much so that before long Lynne would also become a member of The Move so that he could work with Wood and Bevan. But that wasn't going to be the ultimate goal. The unconventional idea that the three had involved combining rock and roll with classical music. Of course, other bands had done orchestral arrangements, most notably the Beatles. But their idea was to fuse the concepts more integrally together. The idea was to have live violins and cellos as part of the actual band itself. Lynne would once describe the concept as picking up where the Beatles had left off. Together they invented a new way to rock "n" roll. That invention was the Electric Light Orchestra, or ELO to the fans.
The band started with a bang. The first album, while not a huge commercial success, received more than its share of attention. But band squabbles would almost doom this ambitious project before it got off the ground. Roy Wood left the band to form his own and took some members with him. It looked bleak for the struggling concept. But that might have been the best thing that could have happened. Jeff Lynne would become the controlling force, and the band would go on to enjoy commercial success to go along with those critical appreciations. The band's second album was called No Answer, but it wasn't really intended to carry the title. A secretary with the record company was assigned to contact Jeff Lynne to get the correct album title. He wasn't home. Naturally, the secretary made the notation "no answer". The notation was misinterpreted as the album title, and the mistake would be a permanent entry in the band's discology.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2016
"This is the law of the jungle..."
Disney appears to have a law that all of its classic cartoon features must now be made into live-action films. As I've mentioned in my review of the original classic The Jungle Book, the animated feature was the end of an important era at Walt Disney Studios. It was released about a year after Walt's death and was the last film he supervised from beginning to end. In the wake of Walt's death the studio experienced a sharp turnover and complete retooling of the animation department. With only the nine old men to carry the traditions of Walt into the future, The Jungle Book would forever mark a distinct milestone in the history of animated feature films.
Posted in: Random Fun by Brent Lorentson on April 15th, 2016
It has been “Ten years of film,” the Gasparilla International Film Festival touts proudly upon its program magazine. It’s certainly a feat to be proud of for a festival that has had its share of troubles over the years and at one point was seriously close to never happening again. But in 2016 the festival is ready to kick things off on a beautiful spring day in the heart of downtown Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Theatre for its opening night film Eye in the Sky. The red carpet is rolled out for this big-time affair that has drawn a fair amount of media attention and plenty of festival-goers to fill the historic theatre to experience this moment when Hollywood comes into our city to put on a cinematic show. And over the next few days film fans will be flooding down the aisles to look upon the screen, to take in a few films and have a chance to experience a film with the potential to be the next great classic, or perhaps its only public viewing.
Opening night goes just about as you would expect as the beautiful people of the Tampa Bay area gather together for photos while an excited buzz works through the crowd. Flashbulbs ignite as director Gavin Hood (Enders Game, Eye in the Sky) takes photos and fields questions from various reporters. For some fans, over the course of the night this will be their chance to rub shoulders with various filmmakers and go away with stories to tell their friends about who they got to meet. After all, it’s at these festivals where the filmmakers get a chance to step out in front of an audience and discuss their latest film and engage various fans while enjoying some cocktails.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2016
Our friends at Magnolia Home Entertainment have even more goodies in store for you. After making you a wreck they want to scare the heck out of you with Last Shift on Blu-ray. They've given us 2 copies of the supernatural fright-fest to give away. This one has plenty of gore and chills so it's not for the weak of heart. Don't say we didn't warn you. Enter to win a copy... if you're not too afraid, that is.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 15th, 2016
David Crane struck television gold after creating not just one of the biggest comedies of the 90’s but one of the biggest shows of all time when he created Friends. Love it or hate it, Friends was a series you just couldn’t escape while it dominated the ratings through its 10-season run. Well over a decade since the show has gone off the air; it’s a show that continues to thrive in syndication. And that is where Episodes picks up, the show from Friends creator David Crane and starring Matt LeBlanc, who plays himself in a show that parodies the life of a fading celebrity who is struggling to find his next big hit.
The new season picks up with Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) attempting to get a new show of theirs green-lit as their previous show “Pucks” teeters on finally being cancelled. Sean and Beverly are the charming anchors for the show and are the real stars of the show as we follow along with their struggles with the Hollywood system; every time they seem to get ahead and have control of their new series, it comes with a cost. The struggles seem to be so absurd but could easily have been situations that television writers encounter on a daily basis.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on April 15th, 2016
“Am I irrelevant? I refuse to be irrelevant.”
Outside of The Golden Girls, there haven't been too many TV shows where the entire main cast is eligible for social security. Then again, chasing the 18-49 demo that advertisers covet isn't much of a concern for a subscription-based service like Netflix, which debuted Grace and Frankie last year. Naturally, the series — whose four main actors are each 75 and older — has its share of geriatric humor. (Although the broken hip doesn't occur till Ep. 5/“The Fall”.) More importantly, it also has some genuinely funny things to say about companionship and reinvention.
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