Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 22nd, 2026
"I'm not a bad guy. I just made bad choices. I have a plan."
Derek Cianfrance doesn't have a lot of movies in the director's chair, but his 2012 The Place Beyond The Pines was a pretty solid film. Since then he's been pretty quiet, and he's finally surfaced once again with the rather off-kilter "based on a true story" crime comic drama Roofman. He's brought Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, and Peter Dinklage along for the ride. It's been something of a sleeper, coming with little advanced buzz and flying under the radar. It was a pretty good hit at the box office, and now Paramount has released the film on UHD-Blu-ray in 4K.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2026
“You should be so proud of her.”
Shelby Oaks is something special when you look at it objectively; it’s a film that was crowd funded by the YouTuber Chris Stuckmann, who wanted to take a shot at making a movie of his very own. The original goal was to raise $600,000, but by the time his Kickstarter was closed, he was able to raise over 1.4 million to make his film. Before he’d even begun filming, this is already an impressive achievement considering how many established filmmakers struggle to get funds together to make their own films. For Shelby Oaks, over 14,000 people contributed to funding the dream for this directorial debut, so again, in my book Chris Stuckmann already won for being able to pull this off. Now the film has a producing credit from Mike Flanagam attached as an executive producer and Neon in charge of the films distribution … so needless to say, there is a great deal of hype around this film. Two films immediately come to mind when I think about this kind of hype before a film even reaches audiences, The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity … both films that innovated the found-footage genre but also had some clever marketing once acquired for distribution. Does Shelby Oaks live up to the hype? Well, from my experience, this is a pretty divisive film.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on January 18th, 2026
Something I was really looking forward to going into the new year was watching 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026). The movie series, 28 Days Later (2002), 28 Weeks Later (2007), and 28 Years Later (2025), holds cultural significance in the post-apocalyptic horror genre. Its revival last year after 18 years was a big deal for those who have been following the franchise since the first release of 28 Days Later (2002), starring Cillian Murphy. It is somewhat unique in that it is less about the infected being “undead” and more about the “rage virus.” Part of what makes these movies so great, really, is how plausible this virus is in terms of epidemiology, as well as the downfall of civilization as a result. The original 28 Days Later (2002) details the nature of the virus, while 28 Weeks Later (2007) showcases how it seemingly cannot be contained, even with strict quarantine efforts. 28 Years Later (2025) is more about how what’s left of humanity has learned to cope with the virus as the new norm, and the second installment, The Bone Temple (2026), features a revelation about the virus that changes everything we are made to believe about it.
As noted, this second installment is a direct continuation of the events that transpired in 28 Years Later (2025), which featured a young boy, Spike (Alfie Williams), who is trying to help his mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), after she becomes sick. He hears of a doctor in the area over yonder, but instead discovers the Bone Temple. We learn that this structure serves as a memento mori, a reminder of death, meant to represent what we have lost and choose to remember. In fact, it is a Latin phrase that translates to “Remember that you must die,” which is meant to acknowledge our own mortality. While the doctor, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), was unable to save Spike’s mother, he performed a ritual meant to honor her death and help process grief.
Posted in: Hardware Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2026
"Imagine, a world without, murder. 6 years ago, the homicidal rates had reached epidemic proportions. It seemed that only a miracle could stop the bloodshed, but instead of 1 miracle, we were given 3, the precognitive. Within 3 months of the precrime program, the homicidal rates in the District of Columbia had reduced 90 percent. 6 Years in the precrime program, and there hasn't been a single murder. Now, the system can work for you. We want to make sure that this great system is what will keep us safe will also keep us free. On April 24, vote yes on the national Precrime initiative."
From the mind of Philip K. Dick there was a rush of box office gold that lasted several years. His Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep came Bladerunner. From We Can Remember It For You Wholesale came Total Recall... twice. After the first Total Recall there was plans of using Dick's The Minority Report as a sequel. The stories are unrelated but there was a script prepared and somewhere along the way the film got tabled and sat unproduced for decades. It wasn't until both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise took an interest in the project that the script was dusted off and taken for a spin. But there had been too much time since Total Recall and so screenwriters Scott Frank and Jon Cohen decided to return to the source material and create the stand-alone movie that would become Minority Report. It was the first time one of Dick's stories would make it to the screen with at least a version of the story's actual title. These guys just added the requisite The and the story was now ready for prime time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2026
"Imagine a world without murder. Six years ago, the homicidal rates had reached epidemic proportions. It seemed that only a miracle could stop the bloodshed, but instead of one miracle, we were given three, the precognitive. Within three months of the precrime program, the homicidal rates in the District of Columbia had reduced 90 percent. Six years in the precrime program, and there hasn't been a single murder. Now, the system can work for you. We want to make sure that this great system that will keep us safe will also keep us free. On April 24, vote yes on the national precrime initiative."
From the mind of Philip K. Dick, there was a rush of box office gold that lasted several years. From his Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep came Bladerunner. From We Can Remember It For You Wholesale came Total Recall ... twice. After the first Total Recall, there were plans of using Dick's The Minority Report as a sequel. The stories are unrelated, but there was a script prepared, but somewhere along the way the film got tabled and sat unproduced for decades. It wasn't until both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise took an interest in the project that the script was dusted off and taken for a spin. But there had been too much time since Total Recall, so screenwriters Scott Frank and Jon Cohen decided to return to the source material and create the standalone movie that would become Minority Report. It was the first time one of Dick's stories would make it to the screen with at least a version of the story's actual title. These guys just added the requisite "The", and the story was now ready for prime time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 10th, 2026
It's Planet Of The Apes meets Cujo, and it sure isn't pretty. Part of me actually loves this kind of thing, but it has more to do with when the film is than how good or bad the film happens to be. For a lot of critics, we have just spent the better part of our holiday season being inundated by awards bait in one form or another. Everyone wants your attention right now. I have to vote in two guilds, and honestly by the time it's over and I've managed to cram 60-70 films or more into my Holiday activities, I'm honestly more than a little burned out. So after that little break as January begins, I always welcome that first film that asks nothing more of me than to sit there and soak it in. There aren't going to be any Best Picture nominations here. No one is going to be buzzing about Primate when we start talking Best Actors and Cinematography. Johannes Roberts isn't expecting me to remember a dang thing about his work when next year's Best Director choices come up. The screenplay is (thank God) completely forgettable, and all I will remember, if I remember anything at all about Primate when the 2026 awards season rolls around, is that it was mindless and that's exactly what I needed in that first week of press screenings in January. I hope you guys had a blast making the film, because you gave me exactly what I was looking for ... absolutely nothing. And you got me in and out in UNDER 90 minutes. I love you guys, but I'll forget I said that in a few months. Is that OK? This is going to be a really short love affair. It's the perfect one-night stand of movies. But that doesn't mean that I really didn't love you guys for 89 minutes. Thus ends the sermon. Can I get an Amen?
Hears what I remember from a memory already getting a little fuzzy. Fuzzy? Oh, right. There's a chimpanzee named Ben. Perfect name. When I was a kid there was this rat named Ben, and I think he hung out with a young Michael Jackson. That was likely the beginning of the whole Neverland thing. So Ben is the pet chimp of the film's title. Give the folks some credit here. They used a little bit of puppetry and CGI mixed in with some practical makeup f/x, and Ben actually looks pretty lifelike. But the film is always rather dark. Now that could have been a lens issue at our screening. That has been known to happen, or it might have been Roberts using the shadows to get away with more than he might have in the cold light of day. But for the most part, I'll say that watching this chimp go through a rabies infection was more interesting than watching a dog in Cujo. A chimp was actually a pretty brave choice here and added a few points to the film's interest and entertainment value here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 7th, 2026
"Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn't quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.”
Frank, Jr. is that second mouse ... and then some. Before his 19th birthday, Frank Abagnale Jr. posed as a pilot, doctor, lawyer, and secret service agent in an uncanny crime spree that saw him forging millions of dollars worth of fraudulent checks. This film chronicles the fantastic yet true adventure with large doses of fun injected into the two-and-a-half-hour-long chase."
Posted in: Site News by Gino Sassani on December 24th, 2025
Merry Christmas from all of us at Upcomingdiscs.
Here's a special Christmas treat from G.E. Sassani.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2025
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 theater, 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. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. This time we turn our attention to Warner Home Video's release of The Handmaid's Tale The Complete Series on DVD
"I used to think of my body like an instrument for the accomplishment of my will. I could use it to run, pick things up, make things happen. There were limits, of course, but my body was nonetheless one with me. It obeyed my commands, mostly without complaint. Not any more. Now there's tending to be done. I almost died when we first got here, they said sepsis. Pain makes your world very small. My world has been this room. Today I venture forth. My world can't be small. Not now. Because the others need me to protect them. Gilead is out there. Gilead isn't afraid. It does not hurt or sleep. It keeps coming forever and ever and ever ..."
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2025
"The water taught them peace. The fire will test their soul."
I don't really have to tell you what Avatar is. If you haven't heard of it by now, I have only one question to ask of you: how was that coma? Ever since he cleaned up at the box office with Titanic, James Cameron has been planning this movie series. The only trouble was that the technology to make it did not exist. Most filmmakers would have either tried anyway, or simply waited until the hardware caught up with their imaginations. Not James Cameron. He decided to invent the equipment himself. The result is a 3D filming process that allows for the most realistic images you likely have ever seen on a movie screen. He combined the new process and equipment with new state-of-the-art computer-generated technology. The result is a movie that was truly the first of its kind. It was a huge risk for Cameron. A lot of money went into not only making the film, but the technology development. In many ways Avatar was really an audition film. The technology continued to improve, and two years ago we got the second film, Avatar: The Way Of Water. The film explored more areas of Pandora, and now another two years later, we have Avatar: Fire And Ash.
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