Author: Michael Durr
Upcoming Review for March 2024 and Explanation of Absence
Hi folks, I’m sure some of you wondered if the site had died or perhaps something happened to me. I am glad to say that neither of those things happened. Well, I say that with baited breath since the month of February and up until today I pretty much was going through some major depression issues that led to some tough times. Tough times where I did not care one way or another what happened to me and distanced myself from my family that I such deeply love. As you can see, I did not write for a solid month, nothing about movies, nothing about music, nothing about my celebration of both Miley Cyrus and Kylie Minogue winning Grammys. Was that freaking great or what? I called the Miley Cyrus one, you can go back and look if you don’t believe me.
Continue reading “Upcoming Review for March 2024 and Explanation of Absence”
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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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:
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/
Continue reading “Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (Blu-Ray) Review”
The Wailing 4k and The Man From Nowhere 4k Dolby ATMOS Update
Hopefully, most of you have read my reviews on the The Wailing 4k as well as The Man From Nowhere 4k. If not, I’ll wait. Read it? Okay, good. Now, in both of these reviews there was one thing that was critically missing. The Dolby ATMOS track despite being advertised on both of the cases was very much missing from the new track. Instead, what we received was the original 5.1 track from the respective blu-rays. Much to my surprise, Well Go is sending out replacement discs. I filled out my online form recently, was asked for a proof of purchase and a mailing address which I naturally provided.
What I didn’t expect was later that day, I received a notice from USPS Informed Delivery saying that the shipping label from Plano, Tx (where Well Go calls its home) was already produced. If this holds true, I could be seeing the new discs in a week or two, maybe sooner. Very excellent news, and of course I would take the time to update everyone on how they sound. Hopefully, it’s not replacing the 5.1 track and rather sitting alongside it. But the news had me excited and I thought I would share it with you.
By the way, if you have your own discs of these two movies in 4k and want to replace your own copies, just go over to https://wellgousa.com/contact-us. Fill out the form, and then they should send you an email within a few hours where you can attach your proof of purchase along with a mailing address. Anyway, that’s it, I wanted to share that tidbit of wonderful news. Enjoy.
Upcoming Reviews for January 2024
I really hope everyone had a nice holiday, full of presents and moments that make this season always a little special. It’s time to get back to work and I will have for you three reviews at the very least in the month of January. These discs are provided to me because of the fine people at Upcomingdiscs.com. Once again, it seems like I’ve drawn the foreign language straw and every single one of them is in French. Two French films from the late 70’s/early 80’s and a sequel to a wonderful French animated film from GKids and Shout Factory. Let’s take a brief look at these films. Continue reading “Upcoming Reviews for January 2024”
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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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Shout Factory Anime Collector Editions – Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films & Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K
It certainly feels like the Holiday Season. Deadlines you have to meet at work before the end of the year, getting down those eight crates of random festival garb from your attic, ordering gift cards for people you’ll never see until this time next year, and an expensive gift for your father who will probably only provide you with expired wits of wisdom. I think it’s high time you the reader get something for yourself. I don’t mean a new pair of socks or some non-alcoholic egg-nog. Something worthwhile, like a wonderful Shout Factory Anime Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray or 4k set. Today we are looking at the Masaaki Yuasa Five Films Boxset as well as the 4k Edition of Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time. These gorgeous boxsets can be yours today and provide you with more hours of enjoyment than any Christmas Party with second, third and fourth (twice-removed) cousins ever could. Let’s take a look.
A slightly revised copy of this gift guide can be found at:
https://upcomingdiscs.com/2023/12/21/holiday-gift-guide-spotlight-shout-factory-anime-collector-editions-masaaki-yuasa-five-films-evangelion-3-01-11-thrice-upon-a-time-4k
Continue reading “Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Shout Factory Anime Collector Editions – Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films & Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K”
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/
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/
