Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on June 23rd, 2012
As promised, here's more in our weekend coverage of Pixar's Brave. On Sunday we'll be posting a review. In the meantime check out this Witch's Brew.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 23rd, 2012
"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
That famous proverb comes from a couplet in the Robert Burns poem "To a Mouse." ("The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft agley") Simply put, it means that even the most carefully prepared plans can go wrong at any time. The line also provided the title for John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", the classic 1937 novella that has since become required reading in many high schools, along with "To Kill a Mockingbird", "The Great Gatsby" and others. Steinbeck tells the tragic story of slow-witted Lenny and his friend/protector George, two migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression. I imagine Steinbeck's best laid plans probably didn't involve his story becoming the basis for a British cage fighting movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 22nd, 2012
As mentioned previously in my reviews, Iron Man in animated form does not have the greatest track record. I remember watching the Iron Man animated film not too long ago (check here for a small review: https://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/04/29/marvel-animated-features-3-movie-collection-blu-ray/) and just thinking that it never even got close to the awesomeness that is the live action films with Robert Downey Jr. Today, we get to review some episodes of Iron Man Armored Adventures. Hopefully the series improves from last season.
(For those who need to catch up on the first season, please take a look at my review of the first season:
https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/05/13/iron-man-armored-adventures-the-complete-first-season/)
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
"History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, and forgets the blood. However history remembers me if it remembers anything at all, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth for whatever else I am: a husband, a lawyer, a president; I shall always think of myself first and foremost as a hunter."
It's been almost four score and seven years ago, it seems, since there's been a really good vampire movie. I'm not talking about the brooding angst-filled pretty boys that populate the television screens and the cinemas these days. I'm talking about a good vampire movie filled with equal parts terror and compelling drama. Certainly, there have been more than a few entertaining vampire films to come along. But who'd have thought that it would take old Honest Abe Lincoln to scare up the best vampire movie of the new century? Apparently Russian director Timur Bekmambetov did.
Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
It's been a busy weekend for movies. We also caught Pixar's new film Brave. A review is coming. It's another fun adventure. While you're waiting go behind the scenes for some Pixar magic
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
Expectations can mean everything when you go into a film. That's usually a problem for that certain class of movie which defies definition at almost every turn. It's the kind of movie that often flows from a first-time director and writer. It's also the kind of film that plays best in the festival circuit where the audience isn't really looking to so much pigeonhole a movie as much as a mainstream audience does. When Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World decided to join a crowded summer of blockbuster anchor films, it invited such expectations. I won't deny that I had them. And this is a case where I walked away from a film very much unlike what I expected...for the better.
The world is about to end. An asteroid named Matilda (huh?) is careening toward the Earth, and the last effort to pull an Armageddon-style rescue plan has failed. Mankind has about three weeks until the next extinction event on planet Earth. People react differently to the news. There are the expected riots and chaos, of course. Some use the news as an excuse to party, as if they really needed one. Some reexamine their lives, while others turn to spirituality. Some just want someone to spend the end with.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 21st, 2012
With technology constantly evolving and becoming more affordable, it has allowed more and more film makers to get their projects made. With so many films now filling the market it’s become harder to sort through the crowd and find the ones that actually stand out from the pack, and because of this some really good films just get lost among the masses. A Bag of Hammers seems to be one of those films. This isn’t groundbreaking cinema, but it’s a story that has us look at the idea of what family is from a unique perspective without beating the message into our head.
Allen (Jason Sandvig) and Ben (Jason Ritter) have been best friends for years who are also a pair of bumbling grafters that want nothing more than to go through their lives having to do as little as possible. At first this slacker comedy seems like something we’ve already seen before, but the lead characters are charming enough to keep you watching. It’s when Lynette (True Blood’s Carrie Preston) and her 12-year-old son Kelsey (Chandler Canterbury) come into the story that things start to shift directions. Lynette and her son have recently moved to Burbank to try to make a new start with their lives, but with a weak resume and lacking any office skills, getting a job is becoming a bleak and impossible task. She’s trying to be a good mothe,r but nothing seems to pan out, as the bills pile up and it becomes more difficult to keep their refrigerator stocked with food. But still Kelsey does what he can and doesn’t complain, because for him all that matters is having his mother around.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2012
Our friends at A&E & Lifetime have given us two movies to give away to a couple of lucky readers. We have Girl Fight with Anne Heche and James Tupper along with The Bell Ring Yn Chang and Austin Butler.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2012
"I'm a consulting detective of some repute. Perhaps you've heard of me? My name is Sherlock Holmes."
In 1887, readers of the popular periodical Beeton’s Christmas Annual were to receive quite a special treat. There wasn’t much fanfare or hype to the event. Inside the pages of the magazine was a story called A Study In Scarlet. It was a detective story, perhaps like many published before, except for the detective himself, a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Together with his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson, Holmes would win the hearts of those holiday readers. It might have been an ordinary day, but the world was about to change. Sherlock Holmes would become the most famous detective in the world. His stories would remain in print nearly 130 years later. Over 100 films would be made featuring the character. There would be television shows and cartoon spoofs. No other character has appeared in more productions. When his creator dared to kill the beloved detective in order to move on to newer stories, his very life was threatened. It would seem that Doyle was on the verge of becoming a victim much like those in his stories. There was only one man who could save him from such a grim fate, and he did just that. It was Sherlock Holmes himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 20th, 2012
When I saw that Nicolas Cage and January Jones were headlining a little-seen/straight-to-DVD-caliber title, part of me was perversely excited. This had the potential to be a historic summit of bad acting! To be fair, I generally enjoy the — shall we say — avant garde stylings of Cage's performances, but I'm much less impressed by the relentless joylessness Jones bring to her work (even on the excellent Mad Men). In short, I was prepared to laugh and I was prepared to wince. However, I was not prepared to enjoy this entertaining, preposterous thriller as much as I did.
Cage and Jones star as Will and Laura Gerard, a happily married New Orleans couple. You know they're the perfect little cultured pair because she's an orchestra cellist, and he's a high school English teacher who plays hyper-competitive chess games with a co-worker (Harold Perrineau). Their world is shattered one night when Laura is brutally attacked after leaving work. While an emotionally distraught Will is in the hospital, he is approached by a stranger named Simon (Guy Pearce). Simon claims to represent an organization that is fed up with the shortcomings of the criminal justice system. He offers to exact vengeance on Laura's attacker in exchange for a favor from Will somewhere down the line.
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