Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 10th, 2010
A suave Tom Cruise and a flustered Cameron Diaz (wow, what a stretch for both actors) bump into each other at Wichita airport, and a few minutes later do so again. Diaz thinks she might be on to something with the charming hunk, but she is more accurately into something, and in far out of her depth, as the plain flight turns into a gun battle and forced landing. Before she knows it, she doesn't know where to turn and whom to trust: the various menacing government officials (headed up by a sinister Peter Sarsgaard), or the cheery but possibly psychotic rogue Cruise. There will be many a narrow escape and an international location visited before she knows the answer.
Tom Cruise's return to action-adventure films was almost more notable for the off-screen backstory than the on-screen action. This, of course, was the film he chose to do when he backed out of the darker-edged Salt, where he was replaced by the rather more convincing Angelina Jolie, and which proceeded to beat Knight and Day at the domestic box office. (In fairness, neither film was a giant hit, and the overall worldwide business of both was pretty close.)
Posted in: News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2010
Friday and the end of the week brings us to the last of our Gift Guide editions for this week. Today's studio is Lionsgate. Over the last year there have been plenty of solid titles from the roaring studio. I'll bet you have at least one someone on your Christmas list who is into either action or horror. Lionsgate is going to have just the ticket to get that adrenaline going. You better prepare an extra hearty man helping of holiday dinner when you put these titles under the tree, because someone's going to get one heck of a workout. Of course, the only real workout is going to be that home theater system. Too bad you can't lose some of those pounds watching someone else flexing their muscles.
"I don't think you understand. I didn't come to rescue Rambo from you. I came here to rescue you from him."
![Rambo: The Complete Collector's Set [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/rambo-the-complete-collectors-set-large.jpg)
Posted in: News and Opinions, Random Fun by Michael Durr on December 10th, 2010
When I was asked to do a Holiday Gift Guide this year, I quickly realized I wasn’t exactly the best person in the world to tell the public what games they should be buying this year. I’m a cheapskate by nature and my idea of a good game to get this Christmas is the one that is at the bargain bin for twenty bucks or less. But I also realized that by knowing games like I do, I can provide a great traditional and a not-so traditional Holiday Gaming guide. Enjoy.
Before I dive into the guide, let me explain the format. I have selected games from the three major consoles (no handhelds): Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii. I have also selected one game for the PC in an attempt to be fair to that fading community (I expect a CRT monitor to be thrown at me at any time now). I will go over that game with the traditional information, etc, etc. Then to put a little pizzazz on that, I have added a low-cost alternative (from $15-$40) for those who can’t afford a $50 or $60 game. This game will traditionally be older (except in a few cases) but still provide quality gaming. Good for cheap bastards like me who can’t always get a game on the day it releases. (Or even six months later). Without further adieu, we present the 2010 Holiday Gaming Guide.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2010
Our fourth edition of the Upcomingdiscs Holiday Gift Guide takes us to Warner Brothers. For this edition I'm going to help you tackle those people on your Christmas list that have Blu-ray players and love genre television shows. Warner has the best selection of Blu-ray supercharged television shows and seasons to pick from. From the small screen to that big screen hanging in that certain someone's home theater, Warner Brothers is the place to shop. Look at it this way. If you buy them any of these full seasons, that's longer you get to hang out and enjoy their sweet equipment.
With these high-definition favorites there's always something good on television, and it's in high definition.
![The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-vampire-diaries-the-complete-f-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2010
"The war between sorcerers was fought in the shadows of history, and the fate of mankind rested with the just and powerful Merlin. He taught his secrets to three trusted apprentices, Balthazar, Veronica and Horvath. He should have trusted only two."
It was one of the most memorable Walt Disney moments in the long history of animation. The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment in Fantasia would become the most recognizable piece of the film. It would be released many times over the years since 1940, so that even people who had never even heard of Fantasia recognized Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice who abused the power he had learned to bring a broom to life and do his chores while he slept. The magic got out of his control and mayhem ensued. The images linger still. Now the combination of Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Turteltaub, and The Walt Disney Studios has teamed up for a new adventure film very loosely based on that original material. This is the same team that brought us the National Treasure films and part of the team that continues to bring us the Pirates Of The Caribbean films. If you liked those franchise films, you can expect more of the same in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
![The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-sorcerers-apprentice-two-disc-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2010
"Nobody thinks of it from the whale's point of you."
I think this is the very first film I've ever seen that was made in Iceland. Of course, Iceland isn't one of those movie-making meccas known throughout the world for their movie magic. The truth is, there haven't been too many films set in Iceland and even fewer shot on location there. Now that Harpoon has come along, I don't expect that is going to change any time soon.
![Harpoon: Whale Watching Massacre (Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/harpoon-whale-watching-massacre-u-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2010
In December of 1980, John Lennon was gunned down by a crazy man who was trying to get the attention of yet another celebrity. In 2010, the BBC assassinated the man's character in this dreadful television film called Lennon Naked. I had such high hopes for the film. I rather like star Christopher Eccleston. I enjoyed his take on The Doctor from Doctor Who. He was also quite good in the zombie thriller 28 Days Later with a run as a man who can become invisible on Heroes. What made such a fine actor stoop so low as to take a gig like this is beyond my understanding. If it was the temptation to maybe play an idol from his childhood, I would have hoped he would have stopped short once he'd read the script. As the aforementioned warning tells us, this film is actually a hodgepodge of speculation that doesn't fail to kick the singer at every point.
I'm not a huge John Lennon fan. In fact, I only have mild feelings about The Beatles in general. I respect what they have done but have leaned more toward Paul and George in their years after the super-band. I have no illusions that Lennon was anything but a spoiled brat, particularly at the height of his career. His famous, "We're bigger than Jesus Christ" statement said a lot about his immaturity at the time. It should be expected. The "lads" were mere teens when their music caught fire. Before they had a chance to start shaving, women were throwing themselves practically faint at the band, and money was coming in as if it were the most common thing in the world. It's really no wonder that the band members had a feeling of entitlement and were a bit rough around the edges. There is certainly a bit of fairness to some of this portrayal.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2010
For the third straight day Upcomingdiscs is here to help you with that home theater fanatic on your Christmas list. There's a ton of stuff out there to pick from. Leave it to us to help you pick out just the right gift. If the gift is a hit, we don't mind if you take all of the credit. Of course, if the gift isn't a hit, we'll take the heat for you. But the only heat there's going to be this holiday season is the warm glow of a high-definition monitor and a few classic television shows via Image Entertainment.
These guys might not release as much stuff as the other studios, but they sure do have some of the best classics that I've seen in 2010. Here are three of my favorites. They'll be your friends' favorites, too.
![The Twilight Zone: Season 1 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-twilight-zone-season-1-blu-ra-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2010
And the George Lucas Award for the filmmaker who has mined the most out of his movie this year....the envelope please. It's James Cameron for releasing not one, not two, not three, but four different versions of Avatar in less than a year. But I'll have to give him a pass, just this once. This 3-disc collection offers enough goodies that it will tempt you to trade in your still-new version for this complete collection. Better yet ... put it at the top of your Christmas list. The film comes in three versions. One with 8 minutes added. Another with 16. What's the point of having the new version if not to see the most extensive edit?
![Avatar (Three-Disc Extended Collector's Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/avatar-three-disc-extended-collect-large.jpg){kind=avatar}
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2010
I grew up on the Peanuts creations of Charles M. Schulz. Most of us have, in some way or another. His newspaper comic strip is one of the longest running and most successful strips of all time. The work has been translated into every language currently spoken on the planet. The images of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have appeared on just about any kind of product imaginable. Our pop culture contains too many references to the strip to mention briefly. For me, it was the television specials starting in the mid 1960’s that brought the gang into my life. The classics are running annually, still after nearly 50 years. A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown are the most mentioned and certainly beloved by generations of children and adults. I thought I never missed an airing.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
![Peanuts Holiday Collection (A Charlie Brown Christmas / It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/peanuts-holiday-collection-a-charl-large.jpg)
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