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, in the US, the UK and Canada.
Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?
February 4, 2005
Book of the Week:
by Bob Hartman, illustrated by David Clark. Ah, there's a special place in my heart for this book, and not just
because so many people confuse me with the titular character. It's the heartwarming tale of three very optimistic bunnies
and a fourth, their cousin, Grumblebunny. While his cousins are busy enjoying how warm the wolf's pot is, our hero is using
his rather gloomy, realistic view of the world to try and save all their asses. Yeah, no idea why people think this
bunny's me.
(UK)
(CAN)
Audiobook of the Week:
by Spider Robinson. Russell Walker isn't having the best of times. He just wants to be a hermit and live by
his lonesome in British Columbia. Of course, his old college roommate turns out to be a very sensitive telepath...and one
who has stumbled upon a vicious killer's plans. So it's up to Russell to bring a cop into the shenanigans and track down
the evil guy before, you know, he does some evil. This Blackstone release is ten CDs, a nice weekend length, and read for
you by the author. Sweet.
(UK)
(CAN)
Comic Collection of the Week:Kirby
Unleashed. When they say tabloid size, the folks at TwoMorrows aren't screwing around. This book is huge.
To celebrate their tenth year of turning out kickass books, they're reprinting and "remastering" this portfolio of King Kirby's
from 1971. You've got sixty pages of incredible art, some of which was done specifically for the portfolio when it first
hit shelves. TwoMorrows has recolored the colored portions, plus there's new color pages, posters, an updated Kirby bio
and even more. The fan must own a copy and be careful to mind his own drool.
TV DVD of the Week:
. For those five of you who are lamenting the death of Enterprise, we suggest you go out and get some
therapy with this boxed set from Paramount. Finishing out the original series, this eight-disc set gives you the last
twenty-four episodes, plus Gene Roddenberry's intro for "The Cage," a third season overview, two text commentaries,
focus bits on Koening, Takei and Doohan, a prop featurette, a gallery, plus more.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD of the Week:
. This silly, cheesy send-up of Hitchcock would have been relegated to the dark alleyways of cinema history were
it not for the first time we see Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder together on the screen. It's Wilder's show, sure, but the
two of them are hilarious. And we miss Gene Wilder. No, we will never stop saying that. No features to speak of on this
Fox release, but rent it over the weekend just for old times' sake.
(UK)
(CAN)
Family DVD of the Week:
. Ned Beatty, Dabney Coleman and even Dave Matthews (in his big screen debut) conspire to make this a
film that your kids will enjoy, because all kids like movies with animals in them. It's like a law somewhere. Anyway,
this Disney release comes with an animal featurette, and another on the transition from book to screen, including words
from the author's widow, who provides backstory.
(UK)
(CAN)
Anime DVD of the Week:
. More solid anime with folks beating each other to a pulp, fresh from Geneon! These five episodes take our
hero, Ippo, through his debut match and into the Rookie King Tournament, where he's headed for a showdown with Miyata.
Most of his foes get some solid backstory action going before the asskicking starts, so that's something. It's like playing
Street Fighter but with more movies between fights. No real features to speak of.
(UK)
(CAN)
Docu DVD of the Week:
. Sister Helen is nothing like the scary nun from Blues Brothers, but she's had a rough life and has
come out the other side trading a bad habit (drinking) for a good habit (she's wearing it, amigo). She's in charge of a
halfway house in the Bronx, trying to help other kick the bottle. This Docurama release comes with a filmmaker commentary,
deleted scenes, bonus interviews, footage from the Sundance Awards, and more.
(CAN)
Music CD of the Week:
. Remember when Sting made real music? Yeah, it's been a while...we can barely remember it either. But back
when he was still one-third of The Police, it was all good. This remastered reissue of their greatest hits is enough to
remind anybody what the good stuff was like. There's "Roxanne" (before Moulin
Rouge kicked its ass in a good way) and "Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic" (before Shawn Colvin kind of
walked around its ass in a bad way), and sadly, yes, the remix of "Message in a Bottle" is still there. But beyond that,
there's much to be thankful for.
(UK)
(CAN)
Book of the Week:
by Bob Hartman, illustrated by David Clark. Ah, there's a special place in my heart for this book, and not just
because so many people confuse me with the titular character. It's the heartwarming tale of three very optimistic bunnies
and a fourth, their cousin, Grumblebunny. While his cousins are busy enjoying how warm the wolf's pot is, our hero is using
his rather gloomy, realistic view of the world to try and save all their asses. Yeah, no idea why people think this
bunny's me.
(UK)
(CAN)
