Needcoffee.com - Ten Years of Insomnia: 1998-2008!
Sawdust and Tinsel: Criterion Collection (1953) - DVD Review
Posted on 01.10.08 by Widge @ 6:30 am
Sawdust and Tinsel: Criterion Collection DVD cover art

Film:
DVD:

Swedish Title: Gycklarnas afton

Written & Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek, Gudrun Brost

Features:

  • Running audio commentary by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie
  • Video introduction from Bergman, recorded in 2003
  • Booklet: An essay by critic John Simon and an appreciation by filmmaker Catherine Breillat

Released by: Criterion Collection
Region: 1
Rating: NR (some sexy stuff, but nothing that would excite Scott)
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 ratio.

My Advice: Buy it. It's Criterion.

[[ Review continues ]]

Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
Comments: None



Ding Dong, HD-DVD is Dead. Oh What a World, What a World.
Posted on 01.08.08 by Widge @ 12:32 pm

The Financial Times reports that HD-DVD may be on life support if Paramount does indeed drop the format in favor of Blu-Ray, this after Warner Brothers went Blu-Ray exclusive.

Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Bros backing Blu-ray, according to people familiar with the situation.

If I'm reading this article correctly, that leaves Dreamworks Animation and Universal still on the other side of the fence. But basically this means it's good night Gracie for the format war.

I'd like to point out that we have no dog in this fight. I think the vast majority of the Needcoffee staff wears corrective lenses and I'm personally so damn blind that if my contact lenses were to get any thicker, I would no longer be able to blink. It's because of this you have to get to something like Sony's SXRD technology to make a picture that I can tell is better than a normal television. If I ever buy one of those SXRD big mama flatscreens, I will never ever leave my house again. Just warning you in advance. Whether that provokes you to start a fund so that I stay in here or not is up to you.

Direct link for the feedreaders.

Found via Slashdot.

(more...)

Categorized as: DVD
Comments: None




After the Silence (1995) - DVD Review
Posted on 12.28.07 by ScottC @ 6:41 pm

Film:
DVD:

Written by: Vivienne Radkoff
Directed by: Fred Gerber
Starring: JoBeth Williams, Kellie Martin, S. Epatha Merkenson

Released by: MPI Video
Region: 1
Rating: NR
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1.

My Advice: Run from it like someone is chasing you with a hot iron.

Laura (Martin) has a truly horrible life. Not only does she have an abusive father, she is deaf. Even worse, she has no knowledge of sign language or reading and writing. Even her escape from her father is wretched since she went through a third story window and onto the street instead of the door as most of us would do. While in the hospital, she meets Pam Willis (Williams), a social worker with a heart of gold and loads of gumption. She bonds with the sad little deaf girl and valiantly fights through her communications ignorance, a heartless bureaucracy, and the aforementioned asshole father.

[[ Review continues ]]

Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
Comments: None



This Just In: Tiny Balls
Posted on 12.18.07 by Widge @ 11:12 pm
Balls of Fury DVD cover art

Our pick this week for sickest release is the inevitable Balls of Fury, because when Mortal Kombat meets ping-pong, then everyone wins. While it didn't exactly set the box office charts on fire (or the hearts of many critics, but what do they know--and yes, I'm speaking as one of them), it didn't, you know, really scream "See me on the big screen!" Although come to think of it, a 300 parody trailer for this film might have rocked. Anyway. Dan Fogler plays a once prodigy table tennis champeen who gets recruited by the FBI to help them take down the evil Feng, played with relish (and mustard) by Christopher Walken. Feng hosts an extreme underground ping pong tournament where if you lose, you lose more than your pride. You get terminated with extreme prejudice.

DVD is the perfect place to catch this flick--and audiences will probably agree. It's out from Universal with deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a making-of bit, and more. It ain't classic comedy, but it's definitely worth a rental.

Click here to buy it from Amazon.

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Categorized as: DVD
Comments: None



Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: First Contact
Posted on 12.12.07 by Dindrane @ 7:26 pm

Star Trek: Insurrection DVD cover art
Star Trek: First Contact DVD cover art

Star Trek movies have always been hit-or-miss, and opinions about which ones are a "hit" and which ones are a "miss" have been known to break up friendships. Indeed, an entire branch of numerological studies has sprung up in regards to the theories regarding the quality of even and odd numbered Trek films.

First Contact (Movie #8) brings us up close and very personal with the Borg, the Next Gen crew's most feared and dangerous foe. This time, the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) is with them, and she has a diabolical plan to assimilate humanity by mucking about in Earth's past. The Queen gets her hands on Data (Brent Spiner), who she hopes to turn into some kind of submissive consort with at least the emotions of sadism and lust; meanwhile, Picard (Patrick Stewart) is having PTSD about his last contact with the world's ickiest hive-mind and shows a rather meaner side to himself. Will Data escape the waxy clutches of the "sexy" Queen? Will Picard finally lose his control and unleash his Gallic fury on all and sundry? Watch this one to find out. Action, science fiction, explosions, Mortal Peril, emotion chips, and people with lasers in their heads: only Wil Wheaton fans will be disappointed.

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Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
Comments: None



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