Each Thursday (or Friday, since some weeks we seem to be running behind on everything), Needcoffee.com's staff of whackos will wrack our brains to give you interesting and new things to do over the weekend. Books, movies, whatever. We'll throw them out, you do with them what you will. And hey...if you have something you want to recommend--whatever it is--drop us a line.
Incidentally, we've provided links where we can for you to buy the stuff or find out more if you're interested, courtesy of those Amazon types. Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?
January 30, 2004
Book of the Week:
by David Sinclair. Vacation in sunny Poyais! Just kidding. There's no such place. However, thanks to
Sir Gregor, two shiploads of potential settlers for this new paradise did not know this. At least until they landed
in South America to discover that there was nothing where Poyais was supposed to be except a hellhole of a swamp. Sinclair
was not kidding when he called this the biggest con job in history, and this DaCapo Press release gives the full scoop.
Audiobook of the Week:
by George R. R. Martin, performed by Roy Dotrice. First up, if you're taking a long trip this weekend (or for
several weekends) and fantasy is your bag, then Random House has the audiobook for you: unabridged and spanning thirty-four hours, baby. Je-sus. A sprawling
fantasy novel in a world where the seasons have gone batshit, it's an epic dealing with family, politics, and a winter
that can last an entire lifetime. Dotrice provides a fairly impressive tackling of the work, providing different character's
voices and basically keeping your interest, even past hour twenty. And you know that's a feat in itself.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Mark Millar & Dave Johnson. After untold decades of Elseworlds titles that were not worth a pile of steaming
shit, Millar shows up and completely slams one out of the park. What if Kal-El's little sky-crib had touched down in the
Soviet Union instead of in the middle of America? A totally different world, that's what: Lois Luthor, a dissident
Batman and probably the most psychologically devastating sentence ever written in a comic book. Just brilliant.
Comic Book of the Week: The Losers #8 by Andy Diggle & Shawn Martinbrough. Andy Diggle and Jock are the only
hope we have that The Authority will gain testicles again. No, I won't stop bringing that up until they've been
granted a twelve-issue run on that title--because they've proven they're the team to do it based on their work monthly in
this book. Here guest artist Martinbrough joins the fun as we learn a bit more of the
backstory of the team and precisely why it's dangerous to hack while wearing nothing but undies. Well, and a hat.
Music DVD of the Week:
. They Might Be Giants are a cult music sensation, and it's easy to see why: they're profoundly disturbed
individuals and they are both named John. This movie gives you the true story of their life and times, and the DVD has
truly some serious icing for a very amusing cake. You get a commentary with both Johns, the director and Sarah Vowell,
a slew of music videos and live performances, and some other deleted scenes and raw footage. For the fan of the band, you're
only hurting yourself by not watching this.
TV DVD of the Week:
. Don't be confused--well, anymore confused than you normally are--this is the season of half-hour Danger
Man episodes that never aired in the U.S. and preceeded the hour-long ones we're (on this side of the pond, anyway)
more familiar with. A&E brings you the goodness that every Brit completist is going to want, with all thirty-nine episodes
spread across five discs.
DVD of the Week:
. Snake Plissken rocks balls, okay? There is no debate here (at least not with this flick), so all we've been
lacking is a kickass edition with much features. Now you can relax: it's here. MGM brings you a new special edition with
two commentaries (one with Carpenter and Russell), a deleted opening sequence with optional commentary, a featurette, and
info on the new Snake comic book published by Hurricane Entertainment. Sweet.
Anime DVD of the Week:
. For those among you who are Robotech freaks (like myself), you're going to want to snag this. Certainly,
it's lacking the rampant bonus features that the Legacy boxed sets had, but ADV has something in store for you that will
make up for it: that's right, I'm talking 5.1 sound. You get a little bit of bonus footage as well, but to my unschooled
eyes at least, it looks and sounds terrific. The first twelve episodes are here, so if you want to check out the improvements,
sign up now.
Animation DVD of the Week:
. It's hard not to love Disney's version of Carroll--because it's so utterly out of control. The crazed tea
party, the cute but dangerous Chesire Cat, and the force of nature that is the Queen of Hearts. Disney provides a two-disc
set that makes up for its lack of commentary by concentrating on the kiddies. You get TV introductions to the film by
Walt, the Mickey Mouse Carroll-inspired short "Thru the Mirror" and a new song from the vault from the aforementioned lunatic
kitty. If you have Disney-loving kids at home, this should be first on your list.
Adverse Video of the Week:
. Well, this was a waste. Held up here as the perfect example of how not to adapt anything, your best bet is
to read Alan Moore's original graphic novel and then watch this. It's probably the most educational thing about Hollywood
since the "Love Conquers All" version of Brazil.
Betraying long-honored literary characters, Americanizing bits that shouldn't be, bad dialogue, logical holes you could
pilot the Nautilus through...it's all here. And sadly, it's all pretty funny.