Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 10th, 2014
“Put it this way-- Mikey was the best officer I ever knew; An iron-souled warrior of colossal and almost unbelievable courage in the face of the enemy.”
That is a direct quote from the novel Lone Survivor and redelivered from the lips of the former president of the United States of America, George Bush. Lt. Michael P. Murphy: that is a name that has been heard more and more with the passing weeks. Surely by now we all have a moderate idea (though I hope it is more than moderate) of the man behind the name. If not, allow me the privilege of enlightening you a bit. Lt. Murphy was the leader of the four man Seal team that took part in Operation Red Wings; he is most notable for sacrificing himself to protect his men of which there was only one survivor, Marcus Luttrell, author of the book Lone Survivor; a book which has recently become a blockbuster movie.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on January 8th, 2014
With the holidays behind us and a new year already in full swing, most of us are recovering from all the holiday spirit and quality family time that this time of year seems to demand of all of us. At some point I’m sure most families have suffered through heated exchanges and emotional turmoil that only our kin can pry out of us. August: Osage County is about that family turmoil, and skeletons in the closet but ramped up to the point where some viewers may need some counselling of their own by the time the credits roll.
With the exception of a few moments throughout, the film is isolated within the confines of the Weston home in Oklahoma. The setup is simple; a family comes together after the disappearance of their father, and as the family comes together dreading the impending fate of their father, resentment and secrets come spiraling out as the family disintegrates before our very eyes, and we see the harm that words and the truth can inflict.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 7th, 2014
In case you’ve managed to miss the tabloids lately, it would seem that Phil Robertson, the founder of Duck Commander, has found himself in some hot water over some comments he made in GQ magazine. These comments managed to get him suspended from the show, but not long after, he was brought back. I’m not here to point fingers or even add fuel to the fire. Instead I simply want to say these kinds of scandals are inevitable when a hit series is involved; this especially becomes the case when the show is reality-based. The result that usually follows is the fans end up with the short end of the stick. If Phil were to be removed from the show it simply wouldn’t be the same show, and the thought of replacing him with another family member just wouldn’t work for me. This is the danger of having a successful reality show; scandal and drama are bound to occur, and people are bound to get upset by decisions made. I hope this is a situation that can sort itself out, because this show is one of the few guilty pleasures I have, and it would be a shame to lose it.
OK, stepping off my soapbox and on to the review. Season 4 starts off with Phil and Kay renewing their vows after 48 years of marriage. Normally I don’t really go for these sap-trap (cheesy romantic stuff) episodes, but what saved it was Uncle Si’s trip down memory lane that he takes Phil and Kay on. Uncle Si, no matter how much of a ham for the camera he is, I can’t help but enjoy the moments he graces the show with his screwball antics. This episode works as a prime example for my one gripe I have: for a show that is supposed to be reality-based, every aspect felt scripted. It’s not that I have a problem with the shows being mapped out, but it’s starting to feel more as though the Robertsons have become caricatures of themselves, and it just doesn’t feel as genuine any more.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 7th, 2014
We all know looks can be deceiving, but Voodoo Possession takes that notion to the extreme. Almost nothing about the film’s DVD cover art correlates to what you’ll actually see on screen. Cult favorite Danny Trejo gets top billing despite playing a largely inconsequential role in the story. (You know a movie’s in trouble when it’s banking on Trejo’s star power; even the Machete movies relied mostly on stunt casting.) The cover is dominated by someone who looks like Samara from The Ring standing in front of Shutter Island. (Naturally, the girl has nothing to do with this movie.) At least there is, in fact, voodoo in this occasionally intriguing, ultimately lousy low-budget horror flick.
The film follows Aiden (Ryan Caltagirone), a troubled young man who travels to Haiti with his on-again/off-again tabloid reporter girlfriend Bree (Kerry Knuppe) to search for his missing brother Cody (David Thomas Jenkins). Cody is a doctor who had set up shop in an abandoned hospital, where he was exploring the medical effects of voodoo before he went missing. How does Danny Trejo play into all of this? Well, he really doesn’t. Trejo “stars” as Kross, the dubious hospital administrator/exposition machine we see working alongside Dr. Cody in video files discovered by Aiden and Co.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 6th, 2014
I’m curious if there will ever come a time that people will simply give up making WW2 films. After all these years you would have figured that every possible story about this time period would have managed to find its way up onto the silver screen. I have nothing against these war pictures, but the bar has been set so high by films like Tora Tora Tora, Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day, and many others, that if someone were to tackle the genre, that filmmaker would have to step up their game to be noticed amongst these titans of cinema.
Angel of the Skies is a feature out of the UK that boldly attempts to tackle the story of a pilot and his crew who crash inside enemy lines and have to struggle together to make their escape to return home. For a low-budget feature, this is a lot to tackle, but what helps is that writer/director Christopher-Lee Dos Santos spends more of his time focusing on his characters instead of grandiose effects and action set pieces.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2014
Back in October we began our 31 Nights Of Terror with a review of Anchor Bay's 35th Anniversary Edition of John Carpenter's Halloween on Blu-ray. We thought it fitting that we end our giveaways with the same classic title. It's the movie that launched an entire genre of film. Thanks to the great guys over at Anchor Bay, we're able to do just that. Our last Christmas contest is a copy of Halloween on Blu-ray. It's the same Anniversary Edition we reviewed in October.
To enter just follow these instructions:
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on January 4th, 2014
With most of the country getting the worst stuff that Winter can deliver, let us deliver some springtime. We've got a baseball package for 1 lucky Upcomingdiscs winner. You'll get three baseball releases: New York Mets 50 Greatest Players, Fenway Park: 100 Years As The Heart Of Red Sox Nation and Knuckleball! It's a definitive documentary on baseball's infamous pitch. It's a sure homerun for any baseball fan.
To enter just follow these instructions:
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 3rd, 2014
We’ve been conditioned to expect certain things when it comes to movies about love. The genre has become synonymous with chance encounters, kisses in the rain, and last-second declarations of love. (A tragic/downer ending is purely optional.) The most interesting thing about Last Love is how it explores the sort of deep connection between a man and a woman that isn’t necessarily tied to physicality or even romance. It’s such a refreshing change from the love story norm that it made the parts of the film that don’t quite work more palatable.
Last Love — shortened from its original title, Mr. Morgan’s Last Love, and based on a French novel — opens with an arresting image of a grief-stricken man sitting at his dead wife’s bedside. Even before he opens his mouth to speak, Michael Caine uses every line on his hangdog face to convey immense personal loss. The action flashes forward three years with retired philosophy professor Matthew Morgan (Caine) living alone in his impossibly handsome French apartment and casually/unsuccessfully trying to kill himself by downing a handful of pills.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2014
We have compiled a pretty hefty Holiday movie collection here over the last year or so. We're going to include the entire collection to one lucky winner. You get Home By Christmas with Linda Hamilton, Holiday Switch with Nicole Eggbert, His & Her Christmas with Dina Myers, Will You Merry Me with Wendie Malick, The Road To Christmas with Jennifer Grey, Recipe For A Perfect Christmas with Bobby Cannavale, Holiday Wishes with Amber Benson and 12 Christmas Wishes For My Dog with Fred Willard. The last one is Baby's favorite. She's the German Shepherd/Chow in charge of security here. She also writes our dog movie reviews.
To enter just follow these instructions:
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on January 2nd, 2014
If you're like many folks out there, Christmas is over and you've got some gift certificates or holiday cash to spend. If you're a reader here at Upcomingdiscs, you're looking for something to add to your home theater with that booty. May I suggest that you look at the impressive box set for Diagnosis Murder. This is one heck of a collection. You get 51 DVD's in all. All eight seasons are included, along with the earlier television movies and reunion films. You get every episode, and you also get the Jake And The Fat Man episode where Dr. Mark Sloan first appeared.
Dr. Mark Sloan first appeared in The It Never Entered My Mind episode of Jake And The Fat Man. In that episode Sloan was accused of a murder, and it was up to Jake and Jason to prove his innocence. The character had a certain charm that appeared to carry with audiences, and two years later Sloan had his own show, Diagnosis Murder. Dick Van Dyke did for doctors what his good friend Andy Griffith did for lawyers as Matlock. Both traded on their earlier careers in trademark comedies to reimagine dramatic roles in their twilight years.
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