Posted in Film & Television Reviews

Polar Rescue (Blu-Ray) Review

We are all unfortunately mortal, despite most of us wishing to be otherwise.  This is extremely true when it comes to action stars.  While we might enjoy them performing death defying stunts, drag-out fights, and hair raising escapes, eventually time catches up with those performances.  The great action stars have to develop, expand their craft and find a way to continue to produce entertaining films without alienating their original fan base.  One such person who has been able to do this is Donnie Yen.  Donnie is well known for his Ip Man films, and he was wonderful in John Wick 4 as well as other high intensity films.  However, as of late, he’s dived into some comedy as well as some thrillers.  By thrillers, I am referring to films where Donnie is not performing high flying martial arts, but rather ones where he is acting more as “the common man”.  Today’s film is Polar Rescue (also known as Come Back Home) where he plays a dad trying to find his lost son in the frozen wilderness.  Let’s see how it turns out.

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews Kurt Russell

Unlawful Entry (Blu-Ray) Review

Most of you that have read my reviews know that Kurt Russell is my favorite actor.  However, I would like to think that most people when speaking about their favorite movie with Kurt Russell would probably say Escape from New York or The Thing.  Maybe Tombstone or more recent films like The Hateful Eight.  There is probably even that one person that absolutely loves Kurt Russell as Santa Claus or Coach Herb Books from Miracle.  While my favorite film with Kurt Russell probably does bounce from Escape from New York to Breakdown to Big Trouble in Little China to The Thing again, I cannot deny that one of my favorite guilty pleasures is in the form of Unlawful Entry, a 1992 thriller with Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe that explores the themes of home invasion and misplaced trust.  I sat down with my wife recently to take a look at the new Shout blu-ray release (my 4th or 5th time with the film, my wife’s first) and see how it fared.

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

Mille Milliards de Dollars (Blu-Ray) Review

While times may have changed a bit, many countries especially in the 1970’s up until the turn of the century looked down in disgust at those from the United States.  From the way they looked to way they acted right down to the language they spoke.  However, one of the things they most feared was that the US was going to take over their companies and do things the “American” way.  Today, we take a look at a film called Mille Milliards de Dollars.  In this film, we are introduced to the GTI, the Garson Texas International company who are secretly taking over France Electronics, one of the biggest companies in Paris.  It’s quite the scandal and should be a very interesting film.  Let’s take a look.

The original version of this review can be found at:

https://upcomingdiscs.com/2024/01/31/mille-milliards-de-dollars-blu-ray/

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

I…For Icarus (Blu-Ray) Review

On November 22nd, 1963; President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Tx at approximately 12:30pm.  Quite possibly everything else about the event can be disputed in such a manner and I won’t even attempt to confirm one theory or disapprove another.  We have had movie after movie about this assassination taking it in about every angle imaginable.  Those movies are not regulated to the United States either as other countries have also dabbled in the storytelling of this infamous event.  Many times these foreign productions treat it as a fictionalized event set in their own country but the similarities are often so obvious that it cannot be disputed.  Today’s film is I…For Icarus, a French film that explores the controversy behind the assassination of President Marc Jarry who was killed by Karl Eric Daslow.  Attorney General Henri Volney disputes the lone gunman theory and this is the story of that investigation.  That sounds awfully familiar, let’s take a look.

The original version of this review can be found at:

https://upcomingdiscs.com/2024/01/24/i-for-icarus-blu-ray/

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (Blu-Ray) Review

Sequels are a funny thing.  Most of the time in modern Hollywood, they come within a breath of the first film usually after a large box office in order to capitalize on its earnings.  Sometimes, they can take years, even decades to make.  Blade Runner: 2049 came out in 2017, thirty five years after the original film.  In addition, many times when a sequel takes so long to materialize, the intended audience has flown the coup and it has dismal results.  See Basic Instinct 2 or The Two Jakes.  Other times, it inspires new waves of fans to flock to the theaters such as Tron: Legacy or The Incredibles 2.  Today, we are taking a look at Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, a sequel to the original Ernest & Celestine movie which was nominated for an Academy Award and took home many other film awards.  It’s been a decade since the original film, can the sequel keep the spirit of the original and produce a quality film?  I’m happy to say, yes it certainly did.  Let’s take a look.

The original version of this review can be found at:

https://upcomingdiscs.com/2024/01/18/ernest-celestine-a-trip-to-gibberitia-blu-ray/

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

Migration Film Review

I had meant to write this review when I saw the film on December 22nd, but the holidays are often not the kindest thing when it comes to looking for time. In addition, my feelings on the film weren’t strongly negative or positive as is the case when I often watch Illumination Films. By this point, we know exactly what we are getting. Truth be told, something kept eating at me about the film and that it did have a touch of charm that went beyond it’s Secret Life/Super Mario/Grinch and of course Despicable Me type writing. Push came to shove, and I found that little nugget of time to produce this review. Besides, the film is having a rather mild box office at the moment and if I can convince a few random people to go see it, then it’s worth a few words.  Let’s take a look.
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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

The Wailing (4k UHD) Review

As I have mentioned numerous times, I am not a fan of horror movies.  In particular, my number one pet peeve is jump scares.  Now, for certain scary movies, I’ll allow one good jump scare, it almost goes with the territory.  But if the director has to use one every fifteen minutes, my heart does not need that much of a workout and I am going to avoid it very quickly.  This is mostly reserved for American movies, quite often on their fifth sequel.  However, Korean horror flics know how not to use the jump scare and instead focus on making things as gruesome and disturbing as humanly possible.  Or inhumanly perhaps.  Today, we take on a modern horror classic in the 2016 film, The Wailing as it makes its way on 4k UHD disc.  Let’s take a look and see if the ole ticker can handle this one.

The original copy of this review can be found at: https://upcomingdiscs.com/2023/12/11/the-wailing-uhd-blu-ray-4k/

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

The Man From Nowhere (4k UHD) Review

Most people when asked to provide the best Korean film in modern times, would probably answer Oldboy or Parasite.  Others might respond Memories of Murder or Train to Busan.  Maybe A Tale of Two Sisters or The Wailing.  I on the other hand always respond with the same title, The Man from Nowhere which to this point in the US has only been released on blu-ray from Well Go.  That blu-ray was also the victim of a bunch of discs from Well Go that came away with a quick dose of rot infecting my copy as well as many others.  For the last couple of years, I’ve been working with a bootleg which I’m not exactly proud of but felt necessary because I loved this film so much.  However, that changed as Well Go has released a 4k copy of this sensational film (and also of The Wailing which I will get to later in the week).  I thankfully received it a little bit earlier than expected and took it for a spin.  Let’s see how it does.

The original copy of this review can be found at https://upcomingdiscs.com/2023/12/05/the-man-from-nowhere-uhd-blu-ray-4k/

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

Justice League X RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsman Part Two (4k UHD) Review

Hopefully, most of you reading this review enjoyed my breakdown of the 1st part in this series.  I honestly haven’t been this vested in a two part series since Batman’s Long Halloween.  That one had the added sting that we had to wait a full year until we got the complete 4k version.  At least in the case of Justice League and RWBY, we get the full 4k splendor from the get-go.  However, as I alluded to in the first review, there was certainly room for improvement.  We shall see if the creators can correct those issues now that the series shifts into the Justice League’s world.  Let’s take a look.

The original copy of this review can be found at https://upcomingdiscs.com/2023/11/07/justice-league-x-rwby-super-heroes-huntsman-part-two-uhd-blu-ray4k/

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Posted in Film & Television Reviews

Cracked (DVD) Review

Death is unfortunately something that comes to us all.  It’s not something we can prevent even if we do all that is necessary to prolong it.  In the same breath, we can control to some degree what we can pass on to our family and loved ones, whether it be our spouse, children, both or perhaps none at all.  Whether it be wealth, property, movie collection (son, you have no idea) or perhaps some sentimental trinkets, a simple will and responsible caretaker should be all you need in order to pass it on.  However, responsibility can sometimes be fleeting.  Today, we look at a movie called Cracked where pieces of art are passed down from a father to a daughter with frightening results.  Let’s take a look.

The original copy of this review can be found at:

https://upcomingdiscs.com/2023/10/30/cracked/

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