Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 19th, 2010
It seems like yesterday, but about a year ago; my cat of 14 years had died. Her name was Burns. She had survived through my college years and the worst period in my life during my 20’s. Sarah had come into my life at that point and I guess my cat finally realized she could let go. Burns was always a loyal companion and there to bring me up when I needed it. I never had a better pet than her, and I probably never will. Hachi, A Dog’s Tale is another story about a faithful animal, adapted from a Japanese true story.
It’s hero day at a local school. One student named Ronnie (played by Kevin DeCoste) starts to spin the tale about his hero: Hachi. Hachi is a dog that was actually owned by his grandfather, Parker (played by Richard Gere). We then start to flash back to a Japanese man shipping an Akita dog that travels cross county and ends up in Rhode Island.
![Hachi: A Dog's Tale [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/hachi-a-dogs-tale-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 18th, 2010
It's back to the 1950's with its telltale alien invasion science fiction matinees. There's Doo Wop coming out of the radio. The cars have tail fins and plenty of color and chrome. That's right. This is 1950's Americana. Well ... almost. You see, the alien invaders are humaniacs. They turn the helpless population into mind-controlled zombies, and they eat brains for breakfast. Those sure are the classic cars, all right. But they're rounded, and instead of wheels they ride on a cushion of air. And then there's the "people". They're green. They have tentacles for hair. And they have only 4 fingers and toes on each hand or foot. Can anyone say, "Give me a high four"?
Meet Lem (Long). He's your typical 1950's teen. His biggest worry is how will he impress Neera (Biel), the girl of his dreams? He holds down a job proudly at the local museum and planetarium, where he teaches that the universe is nearly 500 miles across, containing 1000 stars. Wow! He doesn't have time for the fantastic movies and comics that depict humaniac invasions. His friend Skiff (Scott), on the other hand, reads and watches them all. He's quite well versed in the topic of alien invasion. He's convinced that "they" are coming, if they're not already here, that is. For these innocent and peaceful folks, the nightmare scenario that they've feared their entire lives is about to come true. An alien has invaded!
![Planet 51 (Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/planet-51-disc-blu-raydvd-combo-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 18th, 2010
In the realm of family sitcoms, My Two Dads is sort of ahead of its time. While sitcoms today break stereotypes with ethnic and racial diversity, this show was the first to cover same-sex parenting. Premiering the same year as the film Three Men and a Little Baby, this Michael Jacobs (Boy Meets World) creation chronicles the struggles of two single, hetero fathers (Mad About You’s Paul Reiser and B.J and the Bear’s Greg Evigan) sharing custody of their teenage daughter, Step By Step’s Staci Keanan. Financial advisor Michael (Reiser) is the more conservative of the two; Joey (Evigan) is the artistic lothario. Their conflicting ideologies present them with a few comical communication breakdowns along the way.
The show debuted in September of 1987 and lasted for three seasons on NBC. The second season continues daughter Nicole’s emergence as a young woman entering the dating world while her fathers seek advice from friends—Judge Margaret Wilbur (Florence Stanley) and football legend Dick Butkus as café owner Ed Klawicki—to help raise her along the way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 17th, 2010
"There's two kinds of people in this world when you boil it all down. You've got your talkers and you've got your doers. Most people are just talkers. All they got is talk. But, when all is said and done, it's the doers who change the world. And, when they do that, they change us. And, that's why we never forget them."
And while The Boondock Saints never did bring in box office gold (heck, it didn't even bring in Box Office aluminum) like the characters in the film, they were not forgotten. There were conventions and local film festival showings that brought out untold thousands to share the movie experience. It became what we commonly call today a cult hit. But that's a term of endearment used by critics and fans to describe this kind of grass roots fan base. Unfortunately, it's a dirty word in Hollywood. No one in the studio highchairs wants to produce a cult film. Well, no one except maybe Troy Duffy.
![The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-boondock-saints-ii-all-saints-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 17th, 2010
In 1952 pioneering animator Osamu Tezuka’s manga series ignited a cultural phenomenon in Japan that has now reached worldwide acclaim: anime. Astro is a beloved pop culture figure that is finally getting wider recognition with younger audiences thanks to 2009’s feature film Astro Boy. Set in a future where Earth has endured years of abuse and pollution, one city decided to improve their quality of life. Metro City hovers far above Earth’s surface, but shares little similarities. Robots have been designed to take over the menial, mundane jobs they can’t be bothered to do themselves.
The father of those creations is scientist Dr. Tenma, voiced by Nicolas Cage. His brilliance in the field of robotics doesn’t make up for his shortcomings as a parent to his son Toby. Despite being a mature and remarkable student, Toby never quite receives the warm encouragement from his dad he craves. When a meeting with President Stone, a no-nonsense military man desperately seeking re-election, goes horribly awry, Toby is killed, leaving nothing but a red ball cap behind. Dr. Tenma attempts to resurrect the spirit of his departed son through a new life-like robot: Astro Boy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 17th, 2010
While Scarecrow And Mrs. King first aired in 1983, this show is really one of the last of the 1970's crime dramas. It was an early attempt to bring in more of the female audiences that seemed reluctant to join the popular detective shows of the era. While not really a "detective" show (they were spies), it employed a lot of the 1970's conventions. Even the film footage has that distinct style from those days and type of shows. The idea worked, and the series did bring in a sizeable female audience, but it never really caught on with the guy crowd who found it a bit too relationship-heavy. The two leads were chosen less for their character appeal than for their apparent "easy on the eyes" look. Again more fodder for the chick crowd. The show was always rather lighthearted, even if the material was somewhat serious cold war espionage. The two shared a banter that revealed a kind of love/hate relationship and the expected sexual tension that would eventually lead to the two getting hitched. And while the series only lasted four seasons, the formula would end up being tweaked to bring us the more successful Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, which took the idea more into the 80's with slicker production values but still a mainly female appeal.
Amanda King (Jackson) was a recent divorcée with two sons and a nosy mother (Garland) who lived with her. She has a boyfriend named Dean who works as a meteorologist at a local Washington DC television station, whom you never actually get to see. While at the train station, she suddenly finds herself embroiled in an espionage plot when a package is handed to her on the platform. Then she meets government agent Lee Stetson (Boxleitner) who works under the codename: Scarecrow. She's intrigued by Scarecrow and agrees to help him in his current case. Of course, she ends up in a more permanent role with "The Agency", taking a job at their cover corporation The International Federal Film Company. Every week we find Amanda trying to balance her new role as a spy with trying to raise her kids, have a normal dating relationship, and keep her cover safe from her particularly prying mother. The results are often quite funny. There is also Scarecrow's partner, Francine (Smith) who is somewhat jealous of Amanda and Lee.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 17th, 2010
“In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.” That simple opening rhyme has wooed children around the world for more than 70 years. Author Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeline books have been reincarnated as Academy Award-nominated animated shorts, syndicated cartoons, soundtracks and a live-action film. Madeline: Lost in Paris celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009 and continues the party with a Shout! Factory DVD release.
Our story begins when a letter for Madeline from a stranger named Henri Horst (Jason Alexander) arrives at the boarding school. The man claims to be her only surviving relative and announces his intention on visiting his orphaned niece. Horst is, of course, a fraud only interested in kidnapping Madeline so he and the decrepit Madame Lacroque (Lauren Bacall) can collect her inheritance. Before Madeline can figure out the truth, it’s too late—she’s whisked away onto the Metro to a sketchy neighborhood harboring a child-labor camp masquerading as a lace shop. When Miss Clavel (Louise Vallance) catches wind that something’s up, she enlists the help of the police—and all of Madeline’s friends—to find her.
Posted in: Blog Posts, Random Fun by Michael Durr on March 17th, 2010
We @ Upcomingdiscs.com have made a group (for fun) for anybody who wants to participate in this week's College Basketball March Madness over @ ESPN.com. The group name is Teh Noms Pics of Up discs. Catchy, I know. If we get enough people (like 10 or more), maybe we'll find a dvd to send to the winner. Only catch, we'll need someway to contact you and you'll need to get in by Thursday when the first game starts. Have fun.
![Hoosiers [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/hoosiers-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 17th, 2010
Patenting DLC Upsell, Changing Clothes in Fable 3, & In-Game Ads Going Away (Haha, Just kidding)? - Welcome to the column that tried to patent redundancy but realized Madden from EA beat us to the punch known as Dare to Play the Game.
Well, last week I was trying to find a game to tide me over until this weekend when I would open Deadly Phenomenon for the Xbox 360. To be honest, I didn’t really try to find one. I ended up playing some World of Warcraft (there is a duh moment in there I know it), got my shadow priest to 74 and my combat rogue to 73 (I did start playing him again in spurts). I still feel I’m on track to make 80 with at least one of them by the end of the year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2010
If any studio out there knows princesses, it has to be Disney. Uncle Walt has brought us so many memorably magical moments in the realms of fairy godmothers and the rags to riches tradition. A list of such Disney characters would serve as a rather complete roll call of such familiar animated ladies: Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and now you can add yet another name to the growing list. The studio that invented the animated fairy tale returns to its hand-drawn animation roots with The Princess And The Frog.
When Pixar finally landed permanently at Disney, no one was more excited than I was. It seemed somehow quite fitting that the studio that invented the animation feature should now take the lead with the company that invented the computer animated feature. It was a match made in heaven, or at least Neverland. But, I was as shocked and dismayed as many fans of the medium when Disney made a rather abrupt decision to close down its hand-drawn animation studios. There was plenty of rancor from the move and more than a few talented artists suddenly without jobs. It appeared that the Mouse House had traded one legacy in to acquire another. And so it looked as if we would never again see the wonderful marvels of a hand-drawn Walt Disney creation. Ah, but we all forgot. Disney is in the fairy tale business, after all. And like every good story, just as it looks like the villain has triumphed and all hope is gone, a white horse bearing a hero can never be far behind.
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