La La Land
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on December 28th, 2016
When the closing credits rolled the first time I saw this, I was stuck in my seat paying some attention to members of the cast and crew, but mostly I was sitting there in awe. I’m honestly struggling to think of a film that has affected me on the screen so deeply, and the closest I can get is The Shawshank Redemption. While I’ve certainly seen many good films over the years, and I’ve seen some I would even call great, La La Land is something more, something special that came along that achieved what few would even dare to believe. It is an achievement that writer and director Damien Chazelle deserves the many accolades that he will soon be showered with as we enter into the award season as 2016 comes to a close. Just what is it that he managed to capture? In my most humble opinion, he captured all that was and is great from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
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Dog Eat Dog (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 28th, 2016
Writer/director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver and Auto Focus) has been a guy I can’t help but root for. His films are filled with the kind of raw grit that I like to see in films. His knack for shining a light onto the outlaws of society is something I don’t feel anyone does as well. Usually we see these characters celebrated, or simply put, they get the Hollywood treatment. Schrader seems to always go the other direction and depict them with an unflinching eye that captures the character with honesty and dignity, even as their lives tailspin into darkness. Dog Eat Dog may not be an original work by Schrader, but the film certainly carries many of the staples that embrace his celebration of the anti-hero while filming the manic insanity of the reality they live in.
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12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 4: Storks In 3D From Warner Brothers
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 28th, 2016
On The Fourth Day Of Christmas Warner Brothers Gives To You:
Storks in 3D on Blu-ray. You have to have a 3D player and television in order to play this 3D disc. Storks don’t deliver babies anymore, but someone forgot to tell Tulip. The zany computer-animated feature film stars the voices of Andy Samburg, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, and Katie Crown as Tulip.
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 is your favorite animated Christmas special of all time?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Elizabeth Brooks
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 2: Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Collector’s Edition From Shout Factory
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 26th, 2016
On The Second Day Of Christmas Shout Factory Gives To You:
2016 World Series Champions: The Chicago Cubs on Blu-ray. Cubs fans have been waiting 100 years for a World Series championship. Now the fans won’t have to wait near that long to have the entire series on Blu-ray. This collection includes all 7 games plus plenty of bonus material. The Cubs overcame being down 3 games to 1 and gave baseball it’s most exciting finish in decades. You also get game 6 of the NLCS. All games are complete. You won’t miss a single pitch. You don’t have to be from Chicago to win this wonderful prize.
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 is your favorite sports team of any sport? There’s a super bonus World Series disc in it for someone who can guess Gino’s favorite football team.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winners are Bob Trimple and Leslie Crosbie guessed my team as the Vikings and gets the single disc version.
You could have found that info in several reviews. Way to go Leslie!
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways – Day 1: Sully On Blu-ray From Warner Brothers
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on December 25th, 2016
It’s back. Upcomingdiscs proudly presents our annual 12 Days Of Christmas Giveaways. We’re running a new contest for each of the 12 Days Of Christmas.
On The First Day Of Christmas Warner Brothers Gives To You:
Sully on Blu-ray. It’s the latest from Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks. Sully tells the true story of airline pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who made an emergency water landing on the Hudson River. Everyone survived. You can bring home the real story thanks to Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.
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 – Will you/did you go anywhere for the holidays this year? If so, where?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Carrie Rae Brown
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Congratulations To Jeremy Butler And His New Family
Posted in Site News by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2016
You haven’t heard much from Jeremy Butler for a while. That’s because he spent a few weeks in Japan and didn’t even bring me a pet Godzilla when he returned. What did he do upon his return? He got married… to two women. Actually he married Jessica, who has a young daughter Nalyce, and the three of them made it official today. I have it on good authority that Jessica has excellent taste in music as well as men. Please join me in welcoming Jessica and Nalyce to the Upcomingdiscs family. We wish them many years of memories and movies together. Congrats guys!
Passengers
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on December 23rd, 2016
With talks going on about setting up colonies on Mars, long distance space travel is quickly moving away from the pages of science fiction to the next step in space exploration. Passengers is a film that taps into the possibilities of what this could mean for us as a species but also takes a look at the great risk that we would be facing. At a glance it would seem like a surefire Hollywood blockbuster to end the year, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that is a sure thing. Despite the great effects and set designs, two bankable stars, and a more than capable director, Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game and Headhunters), what you still need is a story that will not only fill those seats but keep people wanting to come back for more.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: 2016’s Best Holiday Gift: The Oppo UDP-203
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them.
Hands down the best gift you can give that home theater expert is the new Oppo UDP-203. It’s exactly what I would have asked for if I didn’t already have one fresh off the manufacturing presses.
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Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 23rd, 2016
“There’s a man comin’, and he aims to bury you.”
That sort of threat — especially when it’s made within the trigger-happy Western genre — usually refers to a wronged hero looking to rain vengeance upon some dastardly villain who wronged him in an extremely personal way. The only most interesting thing about Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story is that our presumed hero is the one being hunted…and the “bad guy” has a legitimate gripe.
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Exclusive Interview With Robert Matzen: Author Of Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe
Posted in Podcasts, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2016
We already told you about Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe. I couldn’t put it down. It was an extra treat for me because I knew I was going to be talking to author Robert Matzen. I finally reached the end and had my conversation with the writer. I found him just as engaging in person as he was in the book. We could have talked for hours. Unfortunately we didn’t have that kind of time. Now you can hear what all the excitement was about. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Robert Matzen.
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Sully (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2016
Clint Eastwood is 86 years old. He is also one of the best film directors working today. His latest film shows no signs of a man winding down his life, let alone his career. I obviously hinted that most other actors (or directors) his age have long ago died or checked into a nursing home. Eastwood looks lean and mean and still directs that way. Eastwood is interesting, as well, because he tends to pick projects that are outside the Hollywood studio corporate thinking. In other words, Eastwood is his own man and does pretty much anything he wants. His films as an actor and director have courted controversy way back to the days of Dirty Harry and A Fistful of Dollars. His films as a director and his personal political views are always full of contradictions that suggest a vibrant, searching mind. Sully is Eastwood’s latest film, starring Tom Hanks, and it is deceptively complex as well. On one level, Sully is a textbook depiction of a famous true life event.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Paramount TV On DVD
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. This time we look at some season sets available for Christmas this year from Paramount Television and Showtime
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In Order of Disappearance (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 21st, 2016
Coming out of Norway we have In Order of Disappearance, a film I knew nothing about aside from the cover art. To be , it pretty much reminded me of any of the numerous revenge films we’ve seen Liam Neeson in. Stellan Skarsgard instead stars in this revenge romp that I feel got lost in translation with me. It’s not that I couldn’t understand the base of the film being a revenge tale; this is very much clear as day, but it is the film’s sense of humor that borders on being dry and black, to other points I feel it’s just a Norwegian thing. Usually one of the first things I do with a foreign film is I make sure everything is set to the original language track and use the subtitles to follow along (never been a fan of dubbing).
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Cohen Media Group
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by J C on December 21st, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. How about a 4K restoration of the classic Howards End?
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Duck Dynasty – Season 10
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on December 21st, 2016
It’s hard to believe it, but Duck Dynasty has made it to ten seasons, and it seems to be still going strong. When seeing the trailers for the first season, I found it hard to believe this was even going to be a show, much less garner the attention that it has over the years. I’ll admit it I surprised myself by how much I actually enjoyed the show, even if it was being a bit liberal by crediting itself as reality television. Even if most of the show seems pre-scripted, it’s continued to be entertaining, which is rather impressive for me, considering I feel I don’t even fit the show’s demographic. For those who have been viewers from day one, you’ve gotten to watch the Robertson family not only grow older but expand as well.
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Tuesday Round Up: December 20, 2016
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on December 20th, 2016
We are less than a week away from Santa making his annual jaunt around the globe. But as we inch closer to the magic of Christmas Eve, I want to talk about a different gray-haired pilot at the center of a wintry miracle. Thanks to Warner Bros., we’ll have a review of Sully in 4K, which examines the real-life “Miracle on the Hudson.” Speaking of taking flight, Warner was also kind enough to deliver Storks in 4K and 3D under our tree. Meanwhile, Lionsgate counts to 31, and Candy Factory hikes with the Children of the Mountain.
One last reminder before signing off for the week: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon (time’s running out to get those Christmas presents delivered on time!) and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Fox Cinema Archive
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2016
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. Fox has opened their vaults for the fans of classic movies. It’s part of their Cinema Archives Collection on DVD, and we have five of them to recommend to you here
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Morgan (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by John Delia on December 19th, 2016
The sci-fi horror thriller Morgan turns brutal when a scientific experiment goes awry, turning a lab into a blood-fest. Now on Blu-ray and DVD in a combo pack that includes an HD download, the film has all the trappings for a nighttime couples’ shocker. You will not want to see this one alone, especially if you want to get the best out of your video choice. So turn the lights down, get the popcorn ready, maybe your favorite beverage, and expect the unexpected. Lee Weathers (Kate Mara), the Risk Manager of SynSect, a genetics research company, arrives at a secluded lab surrounded by a forest following a reported incident of violence.
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 16th, 2016
“You have to start somewhere.”
I could sense a great disturbance in the Force. I could not quite put my finger on the reason, but there appeared to be much to worry about with the debut of the first ever Star Wars film that was not one of the driving episodes in the epic story of the Skywalker family and friends. There was worry that Disney might have been pushing their luck with these sidetrack stories. The Force Awakens was very good, but should the Mouse House really be tempting fate with such “filler” material? Then there were the disturbing reports that the film required so many rewrites that as much as $5 million had been spent on the services of Tony Gilroy to provide those touch-ups
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Nocturnal Animals
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on December 15th, 2016
In 2009 Tom Ford, the famed fashion designer, came into the Hollywood scene with his stunning first-time writing/directing effort, A Single Man. It was a somber film that garnered numerous accolades and left many of us wondering what he would be doing next. It’s been seven years, but we finally get the follow-up film we’ve been waiting for. Nocturnal Animals is clearly a film that cries out for award attention with its December release and a cast that for better or worse could make a dramatic reading of a telephone book an engaging experience. When the trailer dropped for the film, I was sold on its stunning visuals and its ambiguity that had me hooked and curious about what Ford would have in store for us.
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Suicide Squad (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 15th, 2016
In the days leading up to the release of Suicide Squad, over the internet there has been one of the most vicious attacks on a film before its release that I can remember. Sure, we had all the negative talk about Ghostbusters, but that was before anyone had ever seen the film, and as screenings came along, opinions seemed to sway. Now I was lucky enough to attend a screening Monday for Suicide Squad, and there were up to 150 people turned away at the door because the auditorium was filled to capacity. I mean, the buzz for this was high, and we DC fans were giddy, because this film was our hope that WB would be turning things around. I mention all this because now this has managed to become one of the worst-reviewed films of the year, and I’m just sitting here like WTF happened, did they see some other cut of the film?
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Ben-Hur (2016) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 15th, 2016
In 1959 when Ben-Hur came out, it was a massive undertaking that nearly closed the gates for MGM after nearly bankrupting the studio. It was a huge risk in producing such a large-scale epic that fortunately paid off and became one of the studio’s cornerstone successes. The story of Judah Ben-Hur and his fall from being a prince, to becoming a slave, to eventually becoming a hero to the people in the arena is such a familiar story that it’s hard to not feel you’ve seen this before without even entering the theater. In some parts I look at Gladiator and see somewhat the same film, only being set in a separate time and place. But really, the story of betrayal at the highest levels, and seeing great figures fall only to pull themselves up again is a theme Hollywood seems to relish, and it seems to attract many viewers in the process
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Howards End: 25th Anniversary (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 15th, 2016
“Word of advice: don’t take up a sentimental attitude over the poor.”
That bit of wisdom is offered by Henry Wilcox, the scheming, obliviously shameless wealthy capitalist in Howards End. The 1992 Merchant-Ivory film — which gets a spiffy, 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release courtesy of Cohen Media Group — is based on an E.M. Forster novel that was published in 1910. However, Henry’s philosophy towards the less fortunate members of society strikes a chord more than 100 years since the character made his debut. And that’s just one reason Howards End is worth another look as we prepare to turn the calendar to 2017.
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Little Men
Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on December 15th, 2016
All too often do indie films fall under the category of “character study”. It’s almost as if that the entire “independent” genre has divided itself into these dramas focusing on painfully slow character development or budgetless, empty husks of action films riddled with terrible CGI. I have seen independent films that held my attention with captivating writing, but they seem to be few and far between. Little Men is no exception to the trend: it did have some interesting character development, but the story had great opportunities for intense conflict that just never followed through.
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Greenleaf Season 1 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 14th, 2016
relatively out of the spotlight as she has worked on making her cable network channel, OWN, a success. While I wouldn’t ever say I was a fan of Oprah’s work on the screen, I could appreciate what she did in The Color Purple and Beloved. This being said, I have to admit I was a bit reluctant to take a title that at first glance seemed to be a show that would be heavy-handed with its subject matter centered around the church. Despite my concerns, I’m glad I picked up this title, because despite how it handles some very familiar topics, it’s presented in a manner that not only feels fresh but is truly an engrossing show that manages to suck the viewer in and kept me wanting to see what would happen next.
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