Bad Times at The El Royale
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 13th, 2018
These days when the studios are cutting together trailers to promote their upcoming films, I feel one of the number one complaints people have is that the trailer gives too much away, so why bother shelling out the cash to see it on the big screen? When it comes to the trailer for Bad times at the El Royale, it gives you a glimpse at what is to come, but the result is something clever and ambitious, but unfortunately feels a bit too familiar. This is the second feature film from writer and director Drew Goddard, who first made a splash onto the screen with his hit film Cabin in the Woods. While I enjoyed his first romp that played with many of horror’s stereotypes, I still felt the film fell a bit flat. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed this fun little noir film he’s put together, I feel it too falls a bit flat, but mostly this is due to its 140 minute runtime.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 12th, 2018
When I was in elementary school, R..L. Stine was the author all the kids were reading. For me Goosebumps was sort of a gateway that opened me up to horror, and I’ve been a bit obsessed with the genre ever since. If you were a kid of the 80’s, I don’t think it’s possible for you to not know who R..L. Stine is. Even if you somehow never managed to read one of his books, there was also the successful TV series that came out in the early 90’s. For years I would have said Stine would always be the most successful writer for kids. Well, that all changed once a certain wizard hit the scene and changed pop culture.
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Skyscraper (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2018
Dwayne Johnson appears to be a pretty busy guy. In addition to the HBO series Ballers about to enter its fourth season, Johnson puts out a couple or more films a year. We’re not talking about small independent films, but rather huge, high-budget and big f/x films. Next year will see Jungle Cruise and Jumanji 2, following with San Andreas 2, Suicide Squad 2, Black Adam, and a remake of Big Trouble In Little China, all arriving in the next couple of years. This year saw Rampage, which comes to home video next week. It’s a busy life for Dwayne Johnson, who appears to have dropped “The Rock” from his name. I sure hope it didn’t hit anyone on the head. Now he’s starring in Skyscraper, which shamelessly combines elements of Die Hard and The Towering Inferno. In Skyscraper, Johnson shows us that he’s intent on hanging around for a while… this time from 220 stories high.
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The Catcher Was a Spy
Posted in No Huddle by J C on October 12th, 2018
“The Nazis gave the task of building an atomic bomb to Nobel Prize-winning physicist Werner Heisenberg. In response, the U.S. government sent a Jewish baseball player to assassinate him. His name was Morris “Moe” Berg.”
Growing up in Puerto Rico, baseball was my first (sports) language…but I’d never heard the name Moe Berg until I sat down to watch The Catcher Was a Spy. Berg played 15 years in the major leagues, but this stylish, uneven movie suggests that baseball was the least of his talents.
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Power Rangers: Chojin Sentai Jetman – The Complete Series
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 11th, 2018
When you have done movie reviews for a very long time such as I have, you acquire knowledge about certain films and movies that in a normal life span one would probably never come across. One of those for me has been the Power Rangers series. I have reviewed several of the American adaptations for the site, and while they are not my cup of tea, I am familiar with how they work and operate. Last week, I received one of the Japanese original Super Sentai series, Chojin Sentai Jetman, and I was eager to check it out. Let’s see how this all unfolds.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Contest – Win Nightkill From Kino Classics
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2018
31 Nights Of Terror is a time for giving. That means contests and goodies for you guys. This time Kino has given us a copy of an old classic staring Jaclyn Smith, Robert Mitchum, and James Franciscus. It’s called Nightkill, and it’s been remastered for HD. And now you can check it out for yourself.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! What is your favorite comedy/horror film?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed. Winner announced this week!
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
“31 Nights of Terror” Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (UHD-Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 10th, 2018
“Why would anybody create a Nazi puppet?!”
There are two types of people in this world: A) the sort of person who reads the question above and says, “That’s offensive! I have absolutely no idea” and B) the joyful weirdo who replies, “Why would anybody stop at creating just *one* Nazi puppet?” If you’re in Group B, you’re in luck…the people behind Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich didn’t stop at one Nazi puppet. (Not even close!) More importantly, this bloody reboot of the 1989 cult horror classic features some of the craziest and most disgusting kills I’ve seen in a while. (I promise that’s a compliment.)
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Barry: Season 1
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2018
“Acting is a very face-forward type of job. It’s in direct conflict to being someone who anonymously kills people. You want to have a hobby or something, you could take up painting. Hitler painted. John Wayne Gacy painted. It’s a good solid hobby. Never got in the way of what they were doing. You wanna have to go out there and burn a guy and have him say ‘Hey, there’s the guy from the chicken commercial?’ “
Not since Dexter have serial killers been so much fun. Barry Berkman isn’t exactly a serial killer.
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The 100: Season 5
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2018
“We gather here today to remind ourselves what happens to the enemies of Wonkru. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you choose sides against us, if you divide us, if you defy us then you are not us. Before we give these traitors a second chance to be called brother, sister or seda, we pay tribute to those who have died, so that we may live.”
And there have been a lot of those folks. The series title once referred to the 100 teens who were sent to the surface of Earth a hundred years after a nuclear war to find out if it was habitable once again. By the time we reach the end of Season 5, there will only be four members of the 100 remaining alive.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Contest – Win American Horror Story: Cult On DVD From FOX
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2018
31 Nights Of Terror continues to roll with another giveaway. This time it’s our old buddies at FOX that have given us a treat for our readers. They’ve given us a copy of American Horror Story: Cult on DVD for a lucky reader. It’s the entire season on 3 DVD’s and it’s all up for grabs.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead tell us – What’s your favorite horror television show of all time?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed. Winner announced this week!
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
Tuesday Round Up: October 9, 2018
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 9th, 2018
We are reaching unprecedented heights with this week’s Round Up! Thanks to Universal, we’ll be scaling the tallest building in the world alongside Dwayne Johnson in Skyscraper (4K). Elsewhere, Warner Bros. counts to The 100: Season 5, and heads west with occult investigator John Constantine in Constantine: City of Demons — The Movie (4K). HBO hits its mark with hitman comedy Barry: Season 1, while Fox prepares for battle with Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1. Fries Entertainment Group gets animated with Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, Monarch stays for a 3rd Night, and Shout! Factory goes back to school for Saved by the Bell: The Complete Series. (We’ll have full coverage of the fan-favorite teen comedy next month, following the conclusion of “31 Nights of Terror.”)
Speaking of the spooky season, we’ll also be reviewing Columbia’s Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween on the big screen a little later this week. Finally, we are taking one small step to offer our take on Universal’s First Man. Before you run off until next week, here’s your customary reminder: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
“31 Nights Of Terror” Contest: Win The 30 Film Universal Monster Collection on Blu-ray From Universal
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2018
Universal practically invented Halloween, at least for me. I owe my love of movies to watching the Universal Monsters on chiller and shock theaters with my Dad. Boris Karlof, Lon Caney, Jr and Bela Lugosi would become icons for me. Now Universal has brought a mega-collection of those classic monsters to one huge Blu-ray collection of 30 films that feature the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man and The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Our pals over at Universal have given us one of these film collections to give away as part of our 31 Nights Of Horror. It’s been a while since our last contest. Now we’re going to make it up to you BIG TIME! Enter to win a copy of this massive Blu-ray collection of monster movie history.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead tell us – Who is your favorite all-time movie monster?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed. Winner announced this week!
Upcomingdiscs NEVER sells or shares your information with anyone.
Now this is how you celebrate Halloween
“31 Nights Of Terror” Venom
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2018
“Eyes. Lungs. Pancreas. So many snacks. So little time.”
The Marvel Venom character started simply enough with a desire to change the look of Spider-Man’s costume in the 1980’s. Spider-Man along with a collection of Marvel’s heroes were abducted by a character called The Beyonder to fight on a battle planet. It’s much like the iconic Planet Hulk story, which was used for the recent Thor film. When Spider-Man returns to Earth, he has a new black and white suit that he found in space. For quite a while the new look for the Web Crawler caused a debate in Marveldom about the hero’s new look.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Sleep No More
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on October 6th, 2018
It seems the 80’s is the go-to gimmick nowadays. With the success of Stranger Things and It, I can’t really blame the studios for cranking out the films set in this time period. Personally my favorite film to do this would be Summer of 84. For me it’s been the film that has best captured what it was like to grow up during that time period, but Sleep No More is definitely a film that I’m glad has climbed aboard the 80’s bandwagon. Personally what grabbed me was how the DVD boasts that it is from the creator of Final Destination. While the sequels fell more into the guilty pleasure category for me, the first film holds up and is great, so of course I’m curious to see what he has cooked up for Sleep No More.
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Big Fish and Begonia (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 5th, 2018
As some of you might know, I have a son, a three-year-old toddler. Since we live in the suburbs, we unfortunately don’t get out as often as we like to places like the beach or any other places where we might be able to explore the animals and creatures that inhabit the wondrous ocean. As a result, we have a tendency to watch plenty of underwater nature documentaries or whichever Pixar animated Nemo or Dory show we can find. Today, we have for review an animated tale about creatures who can turn into beautiful red dolphins so they can be a part of the human world. Is the movie as beautiful as it seems, or much like the dolphins, is it something else in disguise?
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“31 Nights Of Terror” The Originals: The 5th And Final Season
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2018
“All I know for certain is if the four Mickaelsons come together, it will signal darkness like we’ve never known. So many possible tipping points, but without the benefit of hindsight, how can we know if we’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?”
We do have hindsight as Warner Brothers releases the final season of The Originals on DVD. This is the beginning of the end. It’s a bit of a shame. This show always had better stories and a more compelling cast than The Vampire Diaries had on their best season.
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A Star Is Born (2018)
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 4th, 2018
When I first heard that Bradley Cooper would be making his directing debut with A Star is Born, honestly, I kind of groaned. It’s not because I didn’t believe he’d have the chops; after all, he’s worked with many successful directors over the span of his career. I groaned because I believed the world didn’t need yet another remake of the film. This will be the fourth incarnation of the film, and while many can debate on which version is their favorite, the film was pretty much a relic I felt should have stayed in the past. I mention this and want to also put out there even after some of the trailers I had caught for the film; my excitement level was pretty low going into this.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” The First Purge (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 4th, 2018
“This is the greatest s— show on Earth!”
The First Purge arrives in theaters a little more than five years after the (lowercase) first Purge rampaged into moviegoers’ consciousness as a nasty bit of R-rated, summer blockbuster counterprogramming. The movies are obviously quite popular, but I’ve never felt that any of them fully lived up to the killer concept at the center of this franchise. Unfortunately, that still holds true for The First Purge, which had a chance to deviate from the established formula in a variety of interesting ways, but ends up playing a lot like The First Three Purges.
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9-1-1: Season 1
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 4th, 2018
“911. What is your emergency?”
In the 1970’s my family watched a lot of television together. One of the shows that we rarely missed was Emergency starring Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe, a Jack Webb show that lived in his Dragnet world. The series followed the adventures of fire station 51 and would bring us an hour of fighting fires and daring rescues. The show ran for seven seasons from 1972-1979 and was followed by a few television movies in the 1980’s. While there have been many shows in that mold, there really hasn’t been anything that came close to that series.
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“31 Nights of Terror” Exorcist II: The Heretic (Collector’s Edition) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 3rd, 2018
“The world doesn’t want any more saints.”
Maybe the world didn’t want any more Exorcist movies…at least not any that looked like Exorcist II: The Heretic. This follow-up to William Friedkin’s 1973 genre-defining horror classic is not only regarded as one of the weakest sequels of all-time, but some consider it to be one of the worst films ever made. I hate to throw out a ***SPOILER ALERT*** so early in my review, but…I don’t think this is the worst film ever made. ***END OF SPOILER ALERT*** Instead, I find Exorcist II to be a nonsensical, somewhat intriguing disaster whose fatal flaw is that it took everything that everyone loved about The Exorcist…and decided to do almost the exact opposite.
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X-Men: 3 Film Collection (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2018
“Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.”
Fox is taking full advantage of their version of the X-Men Universe these days. By this time next year, the group of mutants will once again be back with Marvel at Disney, and I suspect they will quickly join that studio’s MCU. I can’t blame Fox for getting as much out of it now as they can. With the pending release of Dark Phoenix and two television shows running, this was the perfect time to release the original film trilogy on UHD in ultra-high-definition.
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The Gifted: Season 1
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2018
There’s a lot going on with Fox’s X-Men property these days. Legion became the first live-action television series based on that universe. It’s an odd show that takes the franchise in more of a mental direction. There is a new film that features the First Class cast that deals with Jean Grey and her Dark Phoenix nature. While that film is being delayed…again, you can get your mutant fix with the release of the first season of The Gifted on DVD as well as the upcoming second season soon to air. This show is more in line with the kind of action and mutant powers display that fans of the franchise are likely looking for. It appears to exist in the X-Men universe created by Fox, as there are multiple mentions of the X-Men in the show. The first three films are now out in 4K, and there’s a lot of X-Men stuff coming to your home theatre. Add to that list The Gifted: Season 1 on DVD.
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C.B. Strike: The Series
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2018
Mention the name J.K. Rowling, and the first thing that pops into your head is Harry Potter. She was a struggling writer just getting out of a bad marriage when her first Potter book took the world by storm. Now she’s the wealthiest woman on the planet. The problem has been her life has since been Harry Potter all the time. I can well understand why she might want to find a way to distance future novels from all of that hype and expectation. So she invented Robert Galbraith and wrote a series of detective novels based on a character named C. B. Strike. The novels didn’t come close to the sales of a Potter novel, but they did fairly well, particularly in England. So BBC One and HBO got together for a joint production of the show for both England and the United States. The result is a kind of mini-series that tackles three of the novels in seven hour-long episodes starring Tom Burke as the title character.
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Tuesday Round Up: October 2, 2018
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 2nd, 2018
It’s here! The calendar has officially turned to October, which means it’s time to dim the lights, dial up the frights, and celebrate 31 Nights of Terror. We’ll be highlighting a different horror-themed offering every day this month, including The Originals: The Fifth and Final Season from Warner Bros. RLJE Films is wide awake for Sleep No More and lives in wedded bliss with The Housewife. (Be sure to check out our interview with Housewife star David Sakurai.) Random Media returns to The Landing to unearth a past trauma, while Paramount steps behind the plate for WWII drama The Catcher Was a Spy. Finally, Fox dials up 911: Season 1.
There’s also a pair of big-time, big screen releases we’ll be reviewing a little later this week: Bradley Cooper directs (and sings along with) Lady Gaga in A Star is Born, while Tom Hardy suits up for Sony’s Venom. And now it’s time for your customary reminder: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
“31 Nights Of Terror” Upcomingdiscs Interview With Actor David Sakurai From Housewife
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2018
31 Nights Of Terror is off to a quick start this year. RLJE Films is getting into the fray with their release of Housewife staring David Sakurai as Bruce O’Hara. It’s out today on DVD. David plays a mystical cult leader who makes a rather extraordinary connection to the film’s lead actress. I also had a chance to connect with David. We talked about the film and his motivation for the character. Now you get to make a connection and listen in on our conversation. Just bang it here to listen to my interview with David Sakurai.