Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 5th, 2009
Sam Fuller lived quite a life before he ever even thought about working in the film industry. He was a crime beat reporter at 17 years old. He served in the infantry in World War II, turning down a cushy press corps assignment. Both of these experiences would shape the man, writer, and filmmaker he was to become. His newspaper experience gave him access to a lifetime of stories, an understanding of the newspaper business, and a honed writing skill. That ability would serve him most. Fuller was a writer more than a filmmaker, and it was with his typewriter that he most excelled.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 4th, 2009
It sure seems like Pixar has a lock on the computer animated film industry these days. Their films appear to always hit just the right amount of adult and children content to win with both audiences. We may not all be laughing at the same jokes, but we do laugh. When we’re not laughing, we appear to be captivated by endearing characters that immediately feel like we’ve known them our whole lives. We are instantly concerned about the things that happen to them. All of this happens without a single live entertainer on the screen to guide us into these emotions. That’s because Pixar also happens to be the most state of the art studio out there churning out these kinds of films.
![Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/up-4-disc-combo-pack-with-digital-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 4th, 2009
Simon Baker is riding high these days. Last year his new series, The Mentalist, was the highest ranked new drama of the year. That accomplishment got the show paired with CSI in that enviable Thursday night time slot. I’m amazed when I hear folks tell me how the actor appeared to come out of nowhere. A few film roles and he’s Mr. Television. Well, count me in with the small group that isn’t so surprised and saw him coming as far away as 2001 with a sleeper CBS series called The Guardian.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 4th, 2009
Liam O'Leary (Brendan Gleeson) has done very well in the booming Irish economy. A successful developer, he is in the process of trying to get a massive project approved, one that the future of his firm is riding on. So things are actually rather tough for him right now at work. At home, meanwhile, he and his wife (Kim Cattrall) have reached a rather chilly stage of their marriage, and his son (Briain Gleeson, and yes, Brendan's actual son) is feeling quite alienated, not to mention disgusted with the capitalist excesses that surround him. Stressful as all of this is, things are about to get much worse, as he starts seeing his double (Gleeson again). Is he hallucinating? Is it a supernatural visitation? The answer is both more earth-bound and wild, and before he knows it, his entire existence is turned upside down.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 4th, 2009
Some would say that what I do is a “wannabe” writer. I write reviews of dvds & games and also write a weekly column. However, I’m sure there are many novelists and newspaper writers who consider me nothing more than an Internet geek with a keyboard. But the truth is we are something more. Many of us are just as good as the novelists out there and better than the liberal media. Criminal Ways was originally called the “Wannabes” because it was about a group of men who wanted to be a children’s entertainment group. But like myself, there is so much more to the story than meets the eye.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on November 4th, 2009
Nintendo ponders the Kindle for DS, Japanese Gamers lack of Curiosity, & Industry Confessions? - Welcome to the column that contacted Montel Williams for an appearance but was pushed off because we were less exciting than an agoraphobic cat lady who isn’t sure who the Siamese’s baby daddy is (and doing the segment from her house) known as Dare to Play the Game.
So, it’s just another week in paradise eh? Except I live in Texas and most people seem to have the disposition of angry red fire ants. And they can’t drive.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2009
I’ve often spent a lot of time talking about how Pixar has dominated the computer animation, at least as far as full length features go. With few exceptions there isn’t anything out there that even comes close. Most films rely on toilet humor and crude innuendo to get a few laughs. A lot of the kids and adults might suck that stuff up, but they can’t hold a candle to Pixar. There are, as I’ve mentioned, some quite notable exceptions. The Fox Blue Sky Studios has had enormous success with their Ice Age films. And when you take a look at the third and latest entry in that franchise, you’ll understand why.
![Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (DVD + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/ice-age-dawn-of-the-dinosaurs-dvd-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2009
“A changing of the seasons brings wonder to the world. For ages has the magic of the fairies been unfurled. But nature’s greatest changes come beneath the Autumn sky and mysteries reveal themselves as harvest time draws nigh. This year a shimmering blue moon will rise before the frost. Perhaps its rays can light the way to find what has been lost.”
After giving us Tinker Bell’s origin story in the first film of this franchise, we get a chance to look even more deeply into this wonderland of fairies and magic. Ever wonder where that magical pixie dust comes from that allows fairies to fly?
![Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (Two Disc + BD Live) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/tinker-bell-and-the-lost-treasure--large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 3rd, 2009
Written by Adrienne Ambush
If you were to take the movie Kill Bill, mix it with the Karate Kid, and then put it into animation form, the end result would be Chop Socky Chooks.
Featuring 13 of the most wackiest adventures and martial arts mayhem that one has ever seen, volume one of Chop Socky Chooks shows three chickens Chick P, KO Joe and Chuckie Chan “battling virtual villains, karaoke crazies, rogue robots, prehistoric predators and even fast-food fiends” all in hopes to save Wasabi World from the powers that be.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 2nd, 2009
There have been a couple of releases of Stargate. Mostly it’s been reissues of the same transfer. This time it really is an improvement. The Blu-ray contains a director’s cut which is about 16 minutes longer than the original. If you like the original better, you get that one as well. This was Devlin and Emmerich’s first real blockbuster. I found Independence Day and The Patriot to be better films, but Stargate has its moments. It’s a little hard for me to accept Kurt Russell as Jack O’Neal after 7 years of Richard Dean Anderson. I did gain a new appreciation for how closely James Spader and Michael Shanks portray the pivotal character of Daniel Jackson.
![Stargate 15th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/stargate-15th-anniversary-edition--large.jpg)
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