Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 24th, 2012
The setting for Gunsmoke was the by-now-famous Dodge City, circa 1870’s. Phrases like “get out of Dodge” would enter the popular lexicon as a result of this resilient series. Marshall Dillon (Arness) was charged with keeping the peace in Dodge City. The only other character to see the entire 20-year run was kindly Doc Adams (Stone). Star Trek’s own Doc, Leonard McCoy, took many of his traits from Doc Adams. He was the humanitarian of the city, always looking to help someone. Like McCoy, he had a taste for bourbon and a soft heart underneath a rather gruff exterior and was always ready with free advice.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 24th, 2012
It's hard to beat the last release for classic episodes of Perry Mason. I can assure you that Mason fans still have a lot of great episodes to look forward to with this release of the second part of the 7th season. You can bet that Perry will be up to his old tricks for a while to come thanks to these DVD releases from Paramount. Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character who has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 23rd, 2012
The best thing about Gone in 60 Seconds is that the film knows exactly what it is. Just take a look at the breathless blurbs on the Blu-ray case for the latest release. “Over 500 crashes!” “93 cars wrecked in the 40-minute car chase!” No one involved with this movie thought they were making an intimate character piece. I mean the top-billed star is “Eleanor.” Did I mention that Eleanor is a 1973 Ford Mustang?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 23rd, 2012
When you’re the son of an iconic director, it can’t be helped that viewers will tend to expect a little more out of you. Case in point with Sean Stone (son of Oliver Stone); expectations were in place, especially since dad actually plays a role in the film. With Greystone Park , it would be safe to assume Stone was looking to remove himself far from his father’s shadow and show he has a vision all his own. The problem is we get a film that is a bit hit-or-miss throughout.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 23rd, 2012
“A dragon. A dragon. You bet we saw a dragon. So big and brave he came to save a village in distress. He kept the ship from crashing when he heard the SOS. He faced a group of villains and he fought them with success…”
When Walt Disney Studios released Mary Poppins, the entertainment world was turned on its ears. The integration of live action footage with animation had never been done with such success before. The studio that nearly singlehandedly perfected modern methods of animation was also the studio that learned how to combine it almost seamlessly with real breathing actors
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 23rd, 2012
Dr. Temperance Brennan, or Bones (Deschanel) is the world's leading bone specialist. She works in Washington, D.C. for the famous Jeffersonian (I assume it's intended to be the Smithsonian). Her talents have proven themselves very helpful in solving crimes where skeletal remains are all that there is to go on from the victim. Her FBI agent/liaison is Seeley Booth (Boreanaz). Together they have an uneasy relationship that grows into a kind of friendship. The problem is that Bones doesn't have a ton of social skills. She relies on Booth to guide their social interactions. More on that later.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 23rd, 2012
The collection of episodes found here are supposed to be the rare and unedited recordings from the public access show Dr. Steve Brule once filmed. Of course the show is actually a fake one, but for those who have channel-surfed late at night I’m sure at some point the channel has stopped on a public access program. It was supposed to be a forum where anyone could go in and after some training on equipment be able to film their own program. Some would have the standard one show where the host would take random phone calls while discussing a variety of topics. In the case of Dr. Steve Brule (John C. Reilly) he tried to produce his own ‘on the town’ news program.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2012
Faithful readers might remember the name David Annandale. He's been a member of the Upcomingdisc family since it started. You may have also noticed he hasn't been reviewing much of late. That's because he's busy getting his novels published. That's right our man David is hitting the big time. We want you to check him out. So, here's an excerpt from his exceptional horror book: Gethsemane Hall.
In the dream, he was back at St. Rose’s Church, going through the funeral again. He knew he was dreaming because he felt the pain of repetition, sensed the sadism of a force that would make him experience ritualized loss once again. Knowing that he was dreaming didn’t diminish the pain. The anguish pressed him down, a granite weight, as he tried to stand for the hymn. The injustice of the re-enactment was colossal and could only be for the benefit of a cruel deity’s amusement. Something was laughing at him. He looked up. Standing above the altar was a large wooden crucifix, its Christ bigger than life. The Christ was laughing at him. Now he was looking at the face in close-up, was staring into its wide mouth, could see where the red paint of its throat had chipped, saw lips peeled back from tree-ringed teeth. He couldn’t see Christ’s eyes. He couldn’t see anything but the laugh, the maw of red disappearing to black. The laugh itself was looking at him, the mouth so contorted with mirth that the very expression had become sentient. He tried to yell back at it, to give back his hatred, but the laugh was too huge, too strong, visible even when he closed his eyes. The laugh grew from howl to tsunami roar. Its register climbed hysteria’s ladder, from exultation to frenzy, and finally it was the scream of the heart of the universe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 21st, 2012
“Patterns are hidden in plain sight. You just have to know where to look.”
You don’t have to be into numbers to enjoy Touch, but it certainly helps. Numerology deals with the mystical or divine meaning behind certain numbers. Detractors believe that people who place too much faith in such things will foolishly find significance in just about anything. Similarly, cynical TV viewers will scoff at some of the coincidences and connections in this Fox drama. Either way, it looks like your high school math teacher was right: you WILL be using some of this stuff as an adult.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2012
Here's the thing. Fans of the franchise should be pleased with the latest entry. The series has been a solid October tradition for some time now. When you consider the low cost of creating one of these films with the proven box office numbers, this was all really a no-brainer, to say the least. You're going to get more of what you are expecting, and the film throws in enough new angles and tricks to keep the idea as fresh as possible. However, there is a flip-side to all of this. I don't think it's very likely that you can enjoy this film quite so fully if you have not seen any of the previous films.
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