Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on August 17th, 2010
Last week I had the pleasure of talking to two new filmmakers. They're the folks behind The Hanged Man, which we recently reviewed here on Upcomingdiscs. Join me for a chat with director Neil Weiss and writer/producer Glenn Hopper.
To hear the interview just bang it here: The Hanged Man Podcast
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 16th, 2010
Reviewing schlock in my tenure here at Upcomingdiscs has reached a level of passion. When I was a much younger pup here, I abhorred the concept. Eventually, as I was fed some of the worst movies on record (and most of them weren’t even romantic comedies), I started to actually enjoy some of these and look forward to writing reviews. Then I got a most gracious gift in my review pile, my first Roger Corman flic. Like a new father, I gave out cigars, asked the doctor for the extra stitch, unwrapped Galaxy of Terror and went straight to work.
In a planet far far away called Morganthus, somebody runs through an unspecified desolate location. He sees dead people and is then attacked by some unknown creature. The space traveler is brutally murdered and we fade the black. The very next scene we move to another planet where two ancient people are playing some obscure game. One of these figures is simply known as the Master. They discuss the matter and the Master decides to send a ship to Morganthus.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on August 16th, 2010
We have a copy of Numb3ers The Final Season on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this ending drama, just follow these two steps...
Contest is now closed Winner is Steven Lurker
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2010
Lionsgate is holding eBay charitable auctions for FIVE posters from THE EXPENDABLES signed at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con by actors Terry Crews, Steve Austin and Randy Couture, benefiting The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The winning bidders will receive studio certified posters signed by the cast along with a signed letter verifying their authenticity.Continue reading for the auction links.
Please click on the following links to view the auctions:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2010
"This documentary is about a website that engaged in the commercialization of bondage and sado-masochistic imagery and performances. It in no way represents bondage and sado-masochism as practiced by many adults in their private lives."
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 11th, 2010
NHL 11 Microtransactions, Pinball Wizards, and Kinect Does Sign Language? - Welcome to the column that is the best in the world at what it does (which is?) known as Dare to Play the Game.
I think I have Lips fever. (It is like cowbell fever but with less clanging) I’ve been playing the Lips games quite a bit. For some reason, I have flashbacks of college when all I did was visit smoky bars and sing songs. But alas, I have over 800 achievement points and now own three Lips microphones, three of the titles and a bunch of the downloadable content.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2010
"Okay, first of all, let me get something straight. This is a journal, not a diary. Yeah, I know what it says on the cover. But, when my mom went out to buy this thing, I specifically told her not to buy one that said 'diary' on it. This just proves that Mom doesn't understand anything about kids my age."
I guess I missed out on the phenomenon. Apparently in 2007 a guy named Jeff Kinney created a sort of crude comic book. The figures are little better than stick men, and the wit is something from the sixth grade. I guess that pretty much matches the book's purpose, which is to cover the life of a smart-aleck from middle school. Of course, when I was young they didn't call it that. They called it junior high. Unless you went to Catholic school where it didn't even exist. Anyway, the comic built what you'd call a cult following. It was inevitable from there that the short little features would find themselves the subject of a motion picture.
![Diary of a Wimpy Kid [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2010
Do you believe that a numbers wizard can predict the most random of human actions with mathematical equations so accurately as to know where and when such a person will be? If so, then I suggest you put down that letter you are writing to Santa, finish eating that egg a bunny left for you, go to your pillow and pull together all of the loot you got from the tooth fairy, and plunk it down on season three of Numb3rs. No, that’s not a typo; apparently they believe that letters aren’t good enough to stand on their own, so they inserted a 3 where the e should be. Aren’t they so clever? Not. In the fairy-tale world of Numb3rs, all you need is an almost obsessive knowledge of math and the crooks don’t stand a chance. It’s almost unfair, isn’t it? Those poor criminals go about their carefully plotted crimes, unaware that everything they do is controlled by math. They live their lives oblivious to the fact they are at the mercy of a diabolical equation which forces their every move. In fact, I suspect some clever attorney somewhere is already preparing the “math made me do it” defense at this very moment. Soon our justice system will be forced to account for this undeniable force on our very destinies. I would go on, but I can’t… must… fight… numbers…
Don Eppes (Morrow) is a decorated FBI officer in charge of a unit of the local field office of the FBI. His brother, Charlie (Krumholtz) is a math professor at CalSci. His brilliant mathematical mind is called upon to help the Feds track killers and rapists. No matter how complicated the trail gets, when the going gets rough these guys call on Charlie. Agent David Sinclair (Ballard), the smart tough guy, and Agent Colby Granger (Bruno) the young upcoming agent. Charlie has professor Larry Fleinhardt (MacNicol) to guide him through his struggles. Both of the geeks are socially inept, and we are “treated” to their constant struggles to relate to others, particularly women. Why can’t they write an equation to fix that? Navi Rawat is Amita, a student of Charlie’s who remains to take a job at CalSci, possibly to remain near Charlie. Judd Hirsch is the father to the Eppes brothers. A new agent is added to the mix in the 5th year in Nikki Betancourt, played by Sophina Brown. The show is produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott, who have had far better luck on the big screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 10th, 2010
Jody Balaban (Leelee Sobieski) is a newly minted film school grad who, heady with the success her student film has brought her (an award presented by Garry Marshall!), heads off to Hollywood to find fame and fortune. Instead, she finds doors shut to the newcomer, the closest she can get to a major studio job being a stint directing traffic. But then she is offered a job as an editor. The only problem is, the studio in question is a porn outfit. Her dismay is all the greater since she has been put off sex due to the enormous childhood traumas of having been spanked for asking what a blow job was, and not being able to kiss the boy she had a crush on while playing Spin the Bottle. She takes the job, though, her plan being to shoot her own dream film, a romantic comedy called “On the Virge” (ouch!) on the sly, using the company's resources at night. Romance, meanwhile, might bloom in her real life, as she finds herself working with porn-director-who-once-aspired-to-something-more-and-is-devastatingly-handsome Jeff Drake (Matt Davis).
Writer/director Julie Davis's film is, apparently, rather autobiographical, drawing on her own early experiences in the industry. One hopes that she has maintained a healthy artistic distance from her protagonist, because Jody is hard to like. Her naiveté approaches a diagnosable condition, and it is coupled with a prodigious sense of entitlement, artistic self-regard, and snobbery. Though we see her learn to see the porn stars she works with as people and friends, she is so off-putting that it is hard to care enough to be interested in her emotional education. As well, the film itself presents the porn stars as lovable idiots, and so its own point of view doesn't seem far removed from Jody's. Furthermore, the look of Finding Bliss is simply not that interesting, making it hard to believe that Jody and Jeff are themselves unsung cinematic geniuses. On the other hand, Kristen Johnston as the porn studio's upbeat executive is good fun, and brings some snap to every scene she's in. Overall, though, the piece is simply too smug for its own good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 10th, 2010
After watching plenty of terrible horror movies in my life, I start to wonder if this is easiest thing in Hollywood to produce. Work with a small budget, come up with a scare and hire some shapely actors to play the ones in peril. Oh, and make sure you have plenty of fake blood. Our example today is Open House, a recent horror movie directed by Andrew Paquin.
We open to a couple being shown a house by Carl (played by Gabriel Olds). During the showing, a stranger comes into the house and then hides in the basement. When Carl leaves, he has a strange feeling that somebody is there. However after looking in the basement and garage, he doesn’t find anything. EXCEPT DEATH. Okay, not really just we know what’s coming. We are soon introduced to Alice (played by Rachel Blanchard) who owns the house.
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