Needcoffee.com - Ten Years of Insomnia: 1998-2008!
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.

(more...)

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.

(more...)

Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
Comments: None



DVDs That Live a (Shelf) Life of Action
Posted on 12.10.07 by Widge @ 9:00 pm

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones DVD cover art
Bourne Ultimatum DVD cover art
Transformers DVD cover art

First up, let's talk the massive twelve-disc set that is The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Vol. 1, out from Paramount. Now I never watched this series when it first hit television (I don't really watch television, as long-time readers will know), so it was a surprise to me when I learned that this hadn't been originally a series of made for TV movies--because that's certainly what it is now. Apparently, bits with an actor by the name of George Hall playing an older Indy are completely excised, and what were single episodes have been spliced to create the seven TV-movies we now have. I fear I can't comment on whether or not this is detrimental to the content we have here because I'm not familiar with its original version. That being said, I think it's a shame that we don't have both versions available to us so I can make up my own mind on the subject. And with that being said, George Lucas altering his shit and pretending it never existed in any other form? Well, I never!

(more...)

Categorized as: DVD
Comments: None



Drunken Angel: Criterion Collection (1948) - DVD Review
Posted on 12.10.07 by Widge @ 6:08 am
Drunken Angel Criterion Collection DVD cover art

Film:
DVD:

Japanese Title: Yoidore tenshi

Written by: Akira Kurosawa & Keinosuke Uegusa
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, ToshirĂ´ Mifune, Reisaburo Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita

Features:

  • Running audio commentary with Japanese film scholar Donald Richie
  • Making-of docu
  • "Kurosawa and the Censors" featurette
  • Essay by cultural historian Ian Buruma
  • Two chapters from Kurosawa's 1983 book Something Like an Autobiography

Released by: Criterion Collection
Region: 1
Rating: The IMDB lists this as PG-13, which makes no sense as the film was released in 1959 in the U.S. and PG-13 wasn't established as a rating by the MPAA until 1984. I'm thinking this is actually not rated at all, but regardless, be aware of some violence and language.
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

My Advice: Buy it for Kurosawa and for Criterion.

(more...)

Categorized as: DVD and Reviews
Comments: None



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