When you read that Eli Roth is part of the production team, the first thing you probably think about is the potential gore that will be associated with the project, and Aftershock is no exception, but there was also an interesting twist with this disaster flick: the involvement of a director who’s most known for his work in the romantic comedy genre, Nicolas Lopez, who’s most notable for his Que Pena Tu (translation: F*** my  (blank)) trilogy. He tries his hand at something new with this dark tale based in reality that highlights that the most frightening part of a natural disaster is not necessarily the disaster itself.

Ever since I’ve had a little girl in my life, the amount of kids’ programming I’ve gotten to review has mushroomed.  This is by no means a complaint; if anything it has helped me bond with her.  Granted, at times all the kids’ shows can quickly grow to be as grating as nails to a chalkboard, but when shows like Dragons and The Amazing World of Gumball come along I’m not sure who gets more excited, her or myself. When I reviewed The Mystery DVD I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but quickly I found myself pleasantly obsessed with Gumball Watterson and the trouble he would get himself into.

The moment I see the words “inspired by true events”, I simply accept the fact that most likely everything that follows should be taken with a grain of salt.  I understand films are not meant to be reference materials to be seen as fact, but simply as a tool to entertain and hopefully motivate you to learn more about the subject matter.  When it comes to Emperor, I know going in this isn’t going to be a history lesson, so I could allow myself to simply enjoy the show.

The first season of Revenge was soapy perfection. I’m not saying it belonged alongside the great, ambitious television series of our time. But in terms of sheer entertainment value and ridiculously delicious (or is it deliciously ridiculous?) gotta-see-what-happens-next-week drama, the debut season of Revenge was as good as it gets. Unfortunately, season 2 is, by comparison, a disappointing slog. By the time the smoke from the explosive two-part finale cleared, Revenge had lost its creator/showrunner and become the latest poster child for the sophomore slump on TV. (NBC’s Heroes was more than happy to pass that baton.)

All Best Picture winners are not created equal. Some of them achieve cinematic immortality, while others are viewed as outright travesties. Then there’s the group of Oscar winners who have arguably suffered a fate worse than the derision and mockery of movie fanatics: the forgotten Best Picture winners. Cavalcade — described in this Blu-ray’s commentary as “not a particularly well-remembered Academy Award winner” — certainly falls in that category.

My best work is often done behind a computer or somewhere where my face is not on display. I am not the most handsome guy despite the fact I have been described by those of the female persuasion as otherwise. But I have talent, loads of it and I am always waiting for the next moment to show it off. Perhaps I can take a cue from our movie today, The Idolmaker and use my talent to make others around me stars. Maybe I should just go shave instead.

For nine seasons and several TV-movies afterwards, Raymond Burr was Los Angeles based defense attorney Perry Mason. This character’s verbal gymnastics, and uncanny hounding for evidence makes his famous winning streaks seem not just plausible but rather entertaining to behold. His adventures have been well-reviewed by myself and my reviewing compadre Gino on this very site (https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=perry+mason).

It is very common for Nickelodeon to release these sorts of compilation sets. Previously I had covered their themes of Learning the ABCs as well as their Christmas release (as found here: https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=nickelodeon). This time we get 6 different Nick Jr. programs focusing on the "Wild West" (aka, country music, cowboys hats and horses). 

Best known as the launch point for Michael J Fox's career (along with a major booster from the Back to the Future films), Family Ties was a decently delightful series that may now be mostly remembered via the many references placed into Family Guy (creator Seth MacFarlane has noted it as one of his all time favourites). It has been previously covered very well on this site, which can be found at this link: https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=family+ties 

"There's no room for punks in suits. Just real heroes who can really kick ass."

You've heard me say many times in these pages that expectations kill. It's a rule I've found to be pretty solid when it comes to sequels. Like all good rules, there are exceptions. When it comes to Kick-Ass 2 it's the lack of expectations that will kill your enjoyment of the film. If you don't understand going in what to expect, you will more than likely hate this movie. If you already have a good idea what is going on here, be prepared to have a rip-roarin' time of your life.