12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 10: Win Murdoch Mysteries: The Christmas Cases From Acorn
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2020
On The Tenth Day Of Christmas Acorn TV Gives To You:
Murdoch Mysteries: The Christmas Cases. You get a triple-dose of Detective Murdoch with three Christmas cases on DVD. The specially festive package includes A Merry Murdoch Christmas, Once Upon A Murdoch Christmas and Home For The Holidays. If you thought those Christmas shopping crowds were murder wait until you get your hands on this little package. It’s a decidedly British Christmas full of mystery and thrills. All from our pals at Acorn.
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: What was your favorite non-contest post here at Upcomingdiscs in 2019 and why?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 9: Win Widows On Blu-ray From Fox Home Entertainment
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on January 2nd, 2020
On The Ninth Day Of Christmas Fox Home Entertainment Gives To You:
Widows on Blu-ray. What happens when a group of criminals get killed in a daring heist? The women take over. That’s what happens in Widows featuring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and Liam Neeson. It all comes to one lucky winner thanks to our pals over at Fox.
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: We have made some changes to the site in 2019. Do you like the new look and what would you still like to see changed/added?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 8: Win The Omen Collection:Deluxe Edition From Shout Factory
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 31st, 2019
On The Eighth Day Of Christmas Shout Factory Gives To You:
The Omen Collection: Deluxe Edition on Blu-ray. This is a big one, folks. Those friendly elves over at Shout Factory want to make you scream for the holidays. You get the original film The Omen and all three sequels: Damien: Omen II, The Final Conflict and The Omen IV: The Awakening. Then you get the remake film The Omen. There are a ton of features in this 5-disc Blu-ray collection.
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: What was your least favorite television series in 2019?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 7: Win Veronica Mars (2019): The Complete First Season On DVD From Warner Brothers
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 31st, 2019
On The Seventh Day Of Christmas Warner Brothers Gives To You:
Veronica Mars (2019) The Complete First Season on DVD. Veronica is back with a revival series with all of the things you loved about the original run. You get the whole first season and a few extras sprinkled in just to make it more fun. You can thank our pals over at Warner Brothers.
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: What was your favorite television series in 2019?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 6: Win Stuber On Blu-ray From Fox Home Entertainment
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 30th, 2019
On The Sixth Day Of Christmas Fox Home Entertainment Gives To You:
Stuber on Blu-ray. 20th Century Fox has joined the Disney family and that means a few buddies who are looking out for our family. Stuber stars Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista in one of the most outrageous Uber ride ever. Now you can check out the fun.
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: What was your least favorite film in 2019?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 5: The Nutcracker And The Four Realms From Disney Home Entertainment
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 29th, 2019
On The Fifth Day Of Christmas Walt Disney Studios Gives To You:
The Nutcracker And The Four Realms on Blu-ray. Our good friends down at Disney make it a hat-trick for our Christmas giveaways. This time it’s the musical Holiday spirit of The Nutcracker And The Four Realms. It’s filled with music and magic and could be heading your way in the new year.
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: What is your favorite musical film?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
Family Guy: Season Seventeen
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on December 29th, 2019
Family Guy has reached a level of impact upon the American pop culture where I believe the characters need little to no introduction. Is there anyone, really, who doesn’t recognize Stewie? After all, he’s reached the status of icon and has even become a fixture of the Thanksgiving parade as one of the many floats. Where The Flintstones, then later The Simpsons, were at one time the dominating animated family on television tackling day to day struggles of the modern American (each in their own and unique way), Family Guy (love it or hate it) now seems to be the go-to animated family. In this collection of 20 episodes, the creative force, Seth Macfarlane, and his team continue to deliver the laughs along with their twisted moral messages. In today’s culture, it seems like it is harder and harder to be a comedian and manage to not offend anyone, and for the first time I feel the show is restraining itself too much, and it’s hurting the product. Family Guy has always been a show that was self-aware and would break the fourth wall, so it was not a big surprise when a character mentions how they’ve eased up on their jokes against the gay community. Is this a move brought on because Disney now is writing the checks for those involved, or is this decision made by the writing team?
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Adopt a Highway (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 29th, 2019
It’s been a while since a film has come along that has frustrated me as much as Adopt a Highway has. The film opens up with numerous sound bites that are discussing the “three strike law” from the Clinton era. This is pretty much used to set up a bit of a back story for Russ Millings (Ethan Hawke), a “victim” of this third-strike law that resulted in him serving 21 years for possession of an ounce of weed. With this kind of opening, I’d be expecting this to be a film that would delve into the unfairness of this law and how it affected many individuals, but instead, this film had other plans. The film takes on the journey Russ takes from his last day in prison to being thrust out into the free world again, but over the course of two decades, the world is nothing like it was before. Russ is in a unique situation where he went into prison in the late 90’s, and upon his release he’s now in the digital age. Basically he’s never had an email, nor has he had the chance to discover internet porn or YouTube. There is so much potential with this character, but at the same time, while watching this, I couldn’t get past his numerous bad decisions.
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12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 4: Toy Story 4 From Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 28th, 2019
On The Fourth Day Of Christmas Walt Disney Studios Gives To You:
Toy Story 4 on Blu-ray. It’s the franchise that put Pixar on the map. Is it Buzz and Woody’s last round-up? It’s a touching story with characters we’ve all grown to love. Now you can add it to your collection thanks to our good friends at Disney.
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: What is your favorite Pixar movie?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 3: The Lion King (2019) From Walt Disney Studios
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 27th, 2019
On The Third Day Of Christmas Walt Disney Studios Gives To You:
The Lion King (2019) on Blu-ray. It was one of the most beloved animated features of all time, holding the box office record for decades. Now it’s a computer-generated/live-action film. Our friends over at Disney have given us a copy of the new film on Blu-ray so you can enjoy it in high definition.
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: What is your favorite Disney movie?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways: Day Two – The 2019 World Series On Blu-ray From Shout Factory
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 26th, 2019
On The Second Day Of Christmas Shout Factory Gives To You:
The 2019 World Series on Blu-ray. The Washington Nationals beat The Astros in a thrilling Game 7. Hey, at least someone in Washington was winning in 2019. This historic 2-disc set includes the official MLB 2019 World Series film along with regular season highlights, clinching moments and even covers the World Series Parade. It’s all thanks to our wonderful friends at Shout Factory. So what are you waiting for? Shout!
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: Who is your favorite baseball player of all time? You get a bonus prize if you can guess Gino’s favorite baseball player of all time. Hint: He played in the 70’s and 80’s and he played 3rd base.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from all of us at Upcomingdiscs.
Posted in Contests, Random Fun by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2019
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from all of us at Upcomingdiscs.
We wish all of you the best of the season and a wonderful new year full of promise and success.
To help you celebrate we’re sending out to you this Christmas song written by G. E. Sassani called Passage.
Bang it here to give it a listen: Passage.
If you like what you hear be sure to follow G.E. Sassani & The Sonic Brotherhood on Facebook
Or check out their website: G.E.Sassani Home Page
Or check out the Youtube Channel: G.E. Sassani on Youtube
We’re giving away a secret special prize at the end of January. All you have to do is tell us what you thought of the song in the comments below.
Be specific and it’s okay if you didn’t like it. The prize will be drawn randomly from all comments on Sun Jan 26th 2020.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways: Day 1 Alita: Battle Angel From Fox
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2019
On The First Day Of Christmas Fox Home Entertainment Gives To You:
Alita: Battle Angel on Blu from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It’s back. Upcomingdiscs delivers 12 days of contests. Each day a new prize is going to be offered. We kick it all off with Alita: Battle Angel on Blu-ray in HD. It’s a bleak future for Alita and her friends but a chance to score an extra gift for you.
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: What was your favorite movie in 2019?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is closed. Winner’s announced after Feb 3rd.
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2019
It was 1978 when it all began. That’s when George Lucas and a fairly unknown band of filmmakers and actors introduced us to that galaxy far, far away. We met characters like Han Solo and Princess Leia. We fell in love with droids named R2D2 and C3PO. We booed and hissed at the classic villainy of Darth Vader. And the hero of it all was a young farmer boy who pined for adventure on a backwater planet where nothing exciting ever happened. That’s where we met Luke Skywalker, and for three films ending in 1983, we were treated to an epic adventure. This unknown band would become cultural icons, but it was all over after five years of space swashbuckling and good old good versus evil. At some point Lucas made it known that the first Star Wars film was actually the fourth film in a trilogy of trilogies. Star Wars would gain the tag A New Hope, followed by The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Of course, while Lucas teased there was a prequel trilogy and a sequel trilogy, we were told not to get our hopes too high. But in the 1990’s Lucas felt ambitious, and he delivered on that prequel trilogy with underwhelming result. Surely the rest of the story would remain untold.
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Cats
Posted in The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on December 21st, 2019
This film proves that not all things need to be adapted for the silver screen. This re-imagining of this Broadway musical was best left on the stage. Now I am saying this having never seen the musical, but given the execution of this film, I am forced to make that the assumption that the musical has to be better than what I witnessed at the theater. Despite having a top-shelf cast that included Idris Elba, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson, and Taylor Swift, the film fails to entertain. This isn’t just a biased opinion, either; my wife, who was very excited for the film, fell asleep at multiple points and was highly annoyed by the story. I have no idea what was initially hoped for this adaptation, but I am hard pressed to believe that it was this. As much as I want to put the film behind me, there is one song regarding a magician cat that is just staying with me, furthering my frustration. The film was already going to have a difficult time making its mark based on the fact that is going against a film that is basically guaranteed to win not only this week but also subsequent weekends at well. Given the cult status of the musical, I assume that the die-hards will make the trip to the theater, and I would be curious to speak with any of them and find out if they were as disappointed as I was.
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Ad Astra (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 21st, 2019
“The near future. A time of both hope and conflict. Humanity looks to the stars for intelligent life and the promise of progress. To the stars…”
You know a movie’s bad when Brad Pitt isn’t enough to save it. However, where Ad Astra falls down is in execution of story rather than a failure on the part of Mr. Pitt. The premise was interesting: a son follows in the footsteps of his hero astronaut father to learn that his father, who was previously believed to be dead, may be responsible for catastrophic events plaguing the Earth. There is depth to the story, and the idea of human beings colonizing other planets was shown in a truly interesting and realistic manner, but instead of this being the forefront of the film, the story focuses primarily on a emotional journey that never pans out. The film also features a cast of superstars whose performances were little more than cameos. A waste of talent, if you ask me. I mean, why put together a cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler, and Ruth Negga, just to have their contributions be the length of a commercial. Yes, I know that was an exaggeration, but it just seems wasteful.
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City on a Hill: Season One
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on December 21st, 2019
They don’t trust one another, but they need one another. One is idealistic and believes in the letter of the law, as well as the principle of there being no shortcuts to justice. The other is disillusioned, immoral, and corrupt, albeit effective and well-connected. Aldis Hodge, who has been having a good run since the end of Leverage back in 2012, and the well-established Kevin Bacon have great chemistry in City on a Hill. Their chemistry is the best thing to come out of the series that can at times become convoluted with all the subplots occurring in every episode. Loosely based on the events of the “Boston Miracle,” (also known as Operation Ceasefire), a police initiative implemented back in 1996 aimed at youth gun violence as a large scale problem, these two join forces to catch a group of armored truck robbers who are not afraid to kill to get what they want. Rounding out the cast are Jonathan Tucker, Mark O’Brien, Jill Hennessy, Sarah Shani, and many more. The show tends to meander and get bogged down with the additional storylines involving the supporting cast, but each episode provides a great interaction between Hodge and Bacon that makes the meandering worth enduring.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: CBS Television
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2019
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
CBS still has the highest rated dramas on television. There have been quite a few good DVD sets from the network in 2019. Here’s a look at my recommendations. Part Two will deal with the current hits you can get on DVD this year
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Holiday Gift Guide: Warner Television On Blu-ray
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2019
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
Warner Brothers continues to lead the industry with television on Blu-ray. Other studios have experimented with some of their shows but no one puts more TV out in HD than Warner Brothers. Here are some of my favorite titles from 2019. Any of them would look great under the tree this season. We start off with a very special release for DC and Batman fans
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Holiday Gift Gide Spotlight: Collectorz Movie Database
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2019
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree. But now it’s too late to go out and get something. Here’s a gift you can send in seconds and any movie fan on your list will be grateful. Usually we stick to movies and home theater equipment when we do talk about gifts here at Upcomingdiscs. However, I do keep my eye out for things that might be of special appeal to the film collectors in our audience. If you’re at all like me, you’ve been trying new ways to keep track of your video collection for years. I have stuff on so many formats that it gets pretty tough to find a way to keep it all together and easy to access. Most of the time I used to just work with Works database options and let that be my database. But a few years ago I’ve finally found a commercial database that does everything I want it to do, and a ton more. I’m talking about Collectorz, and they’ve been helping to organize my film collection for a few years now. We talked about them last Christmas, and I’m here to talk about them again. This thing rocks and is about as easy to use as anything else I’ve ever tried. It keeps track of everything you need.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Mill Creek
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2019
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
We now turn our attention to Mill Creek and a couple of iconic releases coming your way just in time for Christmas
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Downton Abbey (2019) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2019
Downton Abbey spent six years on television and has amassed 52 episodes. In that relatively short run the series has also managed to collect over 200 award nominations and several Golden Globes along with other prestigious awards. Let’s not forget a rather loyal fan-base that has watched each episode with anticipation of the next sharp barb or character revelation. The fans have been vocal and strong enough that a new film franchise has been anticipated to fill the void left by the series. In one of its years it was the number-one binged series in the world. That’s a lot of power, and it’s little wonder that all of these ingredients are expected to create a little box office gold. But film franchises from television shows rarely go on to such golden heights. There are some notable exceptions, to be sure. But even here, expectations and changing caretakers often lead to both high points and flops. The Star Trek franchise is a perfect example of those kinds of ups and downs. Mission Impossible is an example of shows that have to be completely retooled to hit the high numbers. Where will Downton Abbey fit in this equation? I rather suspect the jury is still out. One thing I can tell you with complete confidence: the film will absolutely entertain fans of the series. There’s no retooling to be found here, and you can expect the same kind of drama that you’ve been mainlining for 52 episodes.
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Exclusive Interview With Kevin Sorbo For Lionsgate’s Bernie The Dolphin 2
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2019
Lionsgate is going to offer you a nice Florida vacation this Christmas. It’s a short one, to be sure. You’re going to love spending some time with Bernie The Dolphin 2. Hang out with your old friends from the first film. I got to hang out with an old friend of ours at Upcomingdiscs. I had the chance to talk to Kevin Sorbo about the new film. It sounds like it was a blast. You can check out our chat by banging it here: Kevin Sorbo
You can also check out Kevin Sorbo’s website for some nice signed items just in time for Christmas. Check it out here: Kevin Sorbo Website
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: CBS Classic Television
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2019
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. The kinds of things we recommend here are things I would be delighted to find under the tree.
CBS still has the highest rated dramas on television. There have been quite a few good DVD sets from the network in 2019. Here’s a look at my recommendations. Part One will deal with some classic shows that CBS continues to put out
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Richard Jewell
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2019
“There’s a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.”
Clint Eastwood is about to hit 90, and there are no signs that it’s slowing him down. Last year he even returned to the front of the camera for The Mule. Now he’s back as just the director, and it appears that Eastwood has found two of his favorite subjects in one film. He’s always been attracted to the isolated man. If you look back at the men he himself has portrayed over the years, they were misunderstood loners. In recent years he has taken a bit of a shine to telling true stories that usually deal with unlikely heroes who are thrust into a dangerous situation and must act. Heroes like Chris Kyle in American Sniper, airline captain Chesley Sullenberger, the WWII heroes who raised the iconic flag at Iwo Jima in Flags Of Our Fathers, and the brave ordinary tourist who stopped a terrorist attack on a passenger train in The 15:17 To Paris. These heroes always pay a price for their actions, and often they are even persecuted for what they’ve done, as in the case of Sully. Eastwood has combined that true story and unlikely hero for his latest work, Richard Jewell. It’s a cautionary tale that is worth watching, particularly in an age where we are constantly told that if we see something, we must say something. After watching Richard Jewell, you might just experience a potentially catastrophic hesitation. And who could blame you?
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