Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2012
When you see a cast that includes names like Robert DeNiro and Forest Whitaker, you have justifiable high expectations for a solid experience. Add 50 Cent to the mix and past experience will tell you that not even a teaming of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino can save the picture. The rapper-turned-actor has certainly found himself cast with enough Academy Award power that the transition should have been more successful than it has been. The fact is that 50 Cent hasn't appeared to have learned anything from rubbing elbows with so many Oscar statues. Freelancers is another example of a bad actor bringing down considerably better talent to a less than mediocre range.
Malo (50 Cent) is a street kid who has had a few scrapes with the law growing up. He's a child of the streets, but he and two of his street friends managed to clean up their lives enough to enter the police academy. Now he's graduated and following in his dead father's footsteps. He's immediately taken under the wing of his father's old partner Captain Joseph Sarcone (DeNiro). Suddenly he skips directly to plainclothes and introduced to his "birthright", a world of elite corrupt cops led by Sarcone.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 26th, 2012
The “cast” of Jersey Shore have returned from their adventures in Italy as Season 5 is back to the American location that is the show's namesake. This means a return to their familiar zones for more partying and more...talking about how they partied.
Offering up any sort of synopsis of this show would purely consist of something along the lines of: (Person) got drunk and hooked up with (Person) which angered (Person) at a party. (Person) then talked about it endlessly except to go to the gym, tan or drink. Repeat this formula for each episode for all Five Seasons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 26th, 2012
The Blu-ray case for The Viral Factor — an impressive, preposterous Hong Kong action offering available Aug. 28 — proudly boasts that the film comes "From the star of The Green Hornet", possibly marking the first and last time anyone has bragged about their involvement with The Green Hornet. (Don't look at me: I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed it.) Nevertheless, you shouldn't shy away from this one just because it may somewhat be selling itself short.
While escorting a criminal scientist from Jordan to Norway, International Security Affairs agent Jon (Jay Chou, Kato in The Green Hornet) and his team are ambushed. Unfortunately, a member of Jon's team is a traitor who puts a bullet in Jon's head, kidnaps the scientist, and threatens to unleash a deadly virus on the world. Doctors inform Jon that the bullet is lodged in his brain and he only has a few weeks until it causes complete paralysis. So far, I'm thinking we've got the ingredients for a pretty solid action flick. Jon has to race against time to get revenge against his traitorous colleague Sean (Andy Tien) and save the world before his body breaks down, right? Well, not exactly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 24th, 2012
My wife listens to a lot of different music. We share some bands, but we do vary quite a bit. So normally, even if I have not heard the band before, I ask my wife whenever we here at Upcomingdiscs receive a new music disc. In this case, I had already known the band but it was a curiosity for me at best. My wife I come to find out though is a huge fan of Slipknot which leads us to our music Blu-Ray review: Slipknot: (sic)nesses. Let us see what really “heavy” metal is all about.
Slipknot was formed in 1995 out of Des Moines, Iowa. The founding members were percussionist Shawn Crahan and late bassist Paul Gray. The original name of the band was actually the Pale Ones. It was only after Joey Jordison (main drummer) suggested a name change in 1995, that the real Slipknot was born. Later in the same year they began recording material at SR Audio, a hometown studio. The album was self-financed and with only forty thousand between them, things were not going to be easy.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on August 24th, 2012
For the most part writer/director David Koepp has seen only moderate success when in the director’s chair with the films Stir of Echoes and Secret Window. I mention this simply because he is one of the most prolific writers of our time, and most movie goers have no idea who he is or even what a screenwriter actually does. A quick glance at his writing resume some titles that jump out are Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, Panic Room and Spider-man. Koepp is pretty much your go to guy when a blockbuster film is in need of a writer. Because of my geeky love for the films Koepp has helped write, I can’t help but get excited when I know he’s working on another project. But somehow Premium Rush snuck up on me.
From the first frame of the film it wastes no time getting the action going as we watch Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) flying through the air in bullet time after his bike has collided with a car. Quickly things begin to rewind taking us to the start of his hellish day. Wilee is a rebellious former law student that showed a lot of promise but just never settled down to take the bar exam. Right now he’s simply enjoying life as a message courier in New York City while struggling to make things right with his girlfriend, Vanessa (Dania Ramirez).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 23rd, 2012
As the credits rolled for this film I struggled to remember the last time I’ve been so relieved that a movie had finally come to an end. Christian Slater and Donald Sutherland are so much better than this. Can things really be so bad that they are slumming to do this “D” grade action nonsense? I understand a gig is a gig, but these guys used to be at least marketable names to the box office. They still have the talent and swagger to steal a scene, so why subject them to this? Before I digress any further, allow me to take a breath…
Assassin’s Bullet is an action film about a female vigilante who is out to kill several members of a terrorist organization. The assassin is haunted by her past after she witnessed her parents being murdered by a suicide bomber. Sure, witnessing something as severe as this is enough to make anyone want blood, but the thing is, she doesn’t even remember what all happened that day because her memories are all repressed. With the vigilante responsible for so many bodies piling up Robert (Slater), a former FBI agent, is brought in to hunt down the vigilante and discover who they are working for. Slater just doesn’t seem into this role at all as he coasts with his charm but brings nothing more to the role. For a character that is still in love with his wife after she died a few years prior, it doesn’t take much to distract him.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2012
It did not surprise me at all to hear Dax Shepard admit in a recent interview that he loved Smokey And The Bandit. While there have been plenty of bad imitations, including a couple of misguided sequels, no one has really captured that special something that made Smokey And The Bandit comic gold. Now that's not to say that Hit And Run is a rip-off of Smokey And The Bandit. They are actually very different films. But there is an obvious homage element throughout that can't be ignored. The truth is, if you liked one, you're probably going to enjoy the other.
Charlie Bronson (Shepard) is living in a small rural town as part of the Witness Protection Program. He's been living with girlfriend Annie (Bell) who knows he's in the program but doesn't really know any of the details. He's "protected" by inept Marshall Randy (Arnold) who can't seem to contain those "accidental" discharges of his weapon or runaway incidents, not by a fugitive, but his own mini-van. They appear to have a good life together with a future until Annie is offered the job of a lifetime. She's offered a job to start the nation's first conflict resolution graduate program. But the job is in L.A., which is where Charlie's problems still live.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2012
Our friends at A& E want to bring you some exciting Philadelphia Phillies action. It's The Essential Games Of The Philadelphia Phillies 4-disc DVD collection. Relive 4 of the team's most historic moments and even listen to the legendary Harry Kalas and his memorable radio broadcasts. It's the sights and sounds of classic Summers.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2012
Sylvester Stallone has had his share of up and down films over the years. After suffering a bit of a career letdown in the 90's, he started the new millennium by tacking on wonderful codas for two of his most iconic characters. Both Rocky and Rambo benefited from superior sequels that brought some class and closure to the franchises. He's followed that feat with his love letter to action fans, The Expendables, and the second film in that franchise is hitting now. It's really no surprise that Lionsgate wants to get in on some of that comet ride and they've done it with a Blu-ray package of three Stallone films. The most obvious choice was First Blood, the film that launched the Rambo character. Not so obvious are Lock Up and Cop Land. Neither set fire to the box office but both really do deserve a second look. If you don't have any of these films in your collection, this is a pretty good deal.
First Blood (1982)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2012
Even the best have a bad day. Look at the cover art for the Perry Mason Season 7 Volume 1 release and you'll see the unexpected newspaper headline: Burger Defeats Mason. No, this isn't a Dewy Defeats Truman grand mistake. It happened, and you get that very episode in this rather historic Perry Mason release. This is one you are absolutely going to want to have in the collection. No Mason fan should be caught dead without it.
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. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial. While we may not remember the novels, we all remember the man in the persona of Raymond Burr. Burr had a commanding presence on our screens and enjoyed a well deserved 11-year run as the clever lawyer. What makes this run so amazing is that the show followed pretty much the same pattern the entire time. We always know what’s going to happen, but we wait eagerly for that gotcha moment when Perry faces the witness on the stand. We know when he’s got the guy squarely in his sights, and we can’t sit still waiting for him to pull the trigger. OK, so maybe that’s a little over the top, but so was Perry Mason. From the moment you heard that distinctive theme, the stage was set. To say that Perry Mason defined the lawyer show for decades would be an understatement. Folks like Matlock and shows like The Practice are strikingly similar to Perry Mason. If you haven’t checked this show out, this is your chance. See where it all began.
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