Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2014
To the point, Criminal Minds is very compelling television. Ever since The Silence of the Lambs and perhaps long before, we have been fascinated by serial killers and the profilers who try to get inside their heads. To see evidence of the continuing trend, one needs only look toward the success of films like Zodiac […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2014
Special Agent Gibbs (Harmon) heads up this group of criminal investigators. Harmon has always been good, but I dare you to find a character he’s played better. He just eats up the part. You won’t have any trouble believing that Gibbs is the seasoned veteran investigator leading this team. Special Agent DiNozzo (Weatherly) is a […]
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on July 4th, 2014
Hit The Beach… China Beach! Here at Upcomingdiscs we’re getting in the spirit of Independence Day by watching China Beach on DVD. It’s a pretty solid way to remember the men and women who served this country in Vietnam. The series is very much a tribute, particularly to the women who volunteered not to take […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 25th, 2014
Detective Carrie Wells (played by Poppy Montgomery) and her former boyfriend/current crime fighting partner Al Burns (played by Dylan Walsh) have been noticed because of their uncanny crime solving percentage in the upper 90% (a fairly common thing in TV crime shows, but nearly unheard of in the real world) and get promoted to the […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2014
“Let’s Be Careful Out There!” It started as a mid-season replacement on NBC and ended up anchoring NBC’s famous Thursday night lineup for seven years. In that time Hill Street Blues racked up enough awards to fill a lot of trophy cases. The face of television would be changed forever. There was nothing like it […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 22nd, 2014
Location, location, location! The notion that a desirable geographic spot can make a huge difference isn’t exclusive to the world of real estate. Take, for instance, Crossing Lines. At first glance, the show fits comfortably alongside any number of American police procedurals that feature curiously attractive cops and a fresh set of dead bodies each […]
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on January 1st, 2014
On the Eighth Day Of Christmas Timeless Media/Star Vista gives to you: we’ve got a special treat for you. Summer may be a long way ahead but we decided it was time to hit the beach once again, China Beach, that is. They’ve given us a copy of China Beach Season 1 & 2 on […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 29th, 2013
Star Vista and Time Life get our vote for some of the coolest gift sets for the holiday season. It’s no surprise that they’ve delivered some quality television. What is a such a great surprise this year is that they’ve dug deep into the television archives and brought three particular shows that are long over-due […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 19th, 2013
So, it is the Upcomingdiscs.com 31 Nights of Terror and your favorite columnist, Mr. Michael “Hey, were you expecting John Ceballos?” Durr has stepped in for a review about some of his favorite subjects. Cheesy Horror flics and Alyssa Milano. Today’s title is an absolute cult classic and that is the original 1995 Vampire thriller, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 12th, 2013
“When people are desperate, they’ll do horrible things to survive.” Sci-fi and horror have been exploring the dark side of human nature for as long as those genres have been around. Throw a group of people together in a high-stress situation — whether they’re running from The Walking Dead or hiding from whatever is in The Mist […]
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2013
With the help of the kind folks at Webster & Associates we’ve got a special treat for you. Summer may be over but we decided it was time to hit the beach, China Beach, that is. They’ve given us 5 copies of China Beach Season 1 on DVD and we’re giving them away to you. […]
Posted in No Huddle by J C on July 3rd, 2013
“Only a few people in the world have the ability to remember everything. I’m one of them. If I miss something the first time, it’s okay; I can go back and look again. My life…is unforgettable.” You’ve got to admire the courage of the person who decided to call this show Unforgettable. He or she had […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2013
“What is reality?” Television has been around for about 75 years now. In that time we’ve seen just about every kind of show you might like. Fads and trends come and go along with stars and characters. Crime dramas have been among the most popular throughout those 75 years, and there have been so many […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2013
“‘I’ve been given me the toughest job I’ve ever had in my life, but also the most rewarding. What can be more important to the war effort than preserving the fighting strength of our troops? We must maximize the odds of every soldier that passes through our portal… His country is counting on him. His […]
Posted in Release Announcements by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2013
Here at Upcomingdiscs we’re getting in the spirit of Memorial Day by watching China Beach on DVD. We’ll have a review coming soon. It’s a pretty solid way to remember the men and woman who served this country in Vietnam. The series is very much a tribute particularly to the women who volunteered not to […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 21st, 2012
The show differs in several ways from NCIS or JAG. While LA is still a military show, that angle is downplayed here. The atmosphere for the team is more civilian-looking all the way around. There are seldom folks walking around in uniforms. The operations utilize more of the standard surveillance and undercover work. In the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 16th, 2012
Dan Tanna is a private investigator whose home-base is on and off the mains strip of Sin City itself, Las Vegas. Every week saw Tanna in some sort of deadly adventure chasing bad guys down with his ’57 Thunderbird, or firing at them with his signature Magnum pistol.
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 5th, 2012
Even though by many standards, I am probably considered old, I would like to think I can still experience new music, especially when it comes to me for review. Of course, you are also reading the guy who loves to annoy others driving down the street with Whitesnake and Motley Crue. Anyway, I was definitely […]
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
Expectations can mean everything when you go into a film. That’s usually a problem for that certain class of movie which defies definition at almost every turn. It’s the kind of movie that often flows from a first-time director and writer. It’s also the kind of film that plays best in the festival circuit where […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2012
For most of the last decade or more CBS has dominated the primetime drama market on network television. One of the reasons, of course, has been the prevalence of top-flight crime dramas like the NCIS and CSI franchises. From 2003 until 2009 the Thursday line-up on the eye network included the blockbuster pairing of the […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2012
“LAPD Lt. Carter Shaw and his special undercover task force understand that to collar criminals, one must first get on their level. They also know that going undercover may require cutting ties with those who mean the most. Adrift, isolated, and frequently faced with situations that strain the line between right or wrong, these officers […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on March 2nd, 2012
“As a boy, I came to understand that two things marked my family: distinctive names and extreme stubbornness.” In fact, it was Thurgood Marshall’s “extreme stubbornness” in the face of racial inequality that led to his name becoming synonymous with the civil rights movement and to his 1967 appointment as the United States Supreme Court’s […]
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on February 27th, 2012
One of the great things about the movies is that it shows you things you would never see. You get to see a facsimile of people living their lives and get to experience a pertinent slice of their personal problems. We can be entertained by it and we can learn from it. It takes us […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 25th, 2011
The series was previewed in a two-part episode of NCIS entitled Legend. A dead Marine in Washington led to a terrorist cell in LA, where Gibbs and McGee join the LA branch to bring down the bad guys. Here we meet the new characters and get a chance to get comfortable with them. However, by […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2011
NCIS is a spin-off, of sorts, from the popular military lawyer show JAG. You could say that NCIS is the Order to JAG’s Law. The NCIS is a real government agency that deals with criminal activity inside or involving the US Navy or Marine Corps. The series has an incredibly global feel and honestly looks […]
