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?
February 6, 2004
Book of the Week:
by Nicholas Christopher. After a mutually traumatic separation, a twice-orphaned boy and his young aunt
go on with their lives in very different but mysteriously parallel ways. This book is full of mystical coincidences
and magical people that shape the lives of our protagonists, many of which are tied to astronomy. It is both a
coming-of-age and love story novel, and Christopher’s fantastical plot weavings are some serious quality.
Audiobook of the Week:
by Elmore Leonard, performed by Robert Forster. Welcome back to Detroit, Mr. Leonard. This time around, the
story revolves around a contract hit, skimpily-clad call girls, and a buttload of money from a rich lawyer's estate. Of
course, the snappy tight dialogue is here, along with plot mayhem and definitely three-dimensional character. Admirably
brought to life unabridged by Forster, this HarperAudio release is certain to please.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Steven Grant & Philip Xavier. Definition of a bad day: you're a police detective chasing down this maniac of
a female serial killer who not only does some crazy shit--but is rather shapely and not wearing a lot of clothes. Wait,
don't get excited. You also come across the ability to see that the general population has been infiltrated by undead whackos
who aren't completely dead. They make the dude from the Day of the Dead title sequence look like a CK model. So
yes, that's a bad day. Grant is a master of quality harsh grit, and it shows. Grab this Avatar release--but prepared to
ask (as we do)...Where the hell's the sequel?
Comic Book of the Week: Supreme Power #7 by J. Michael Straczynski & Gary Frank. We continue to enjoy this
revamp of Squadron Supreme, particularly because JMS feels no need to drag kicking and screaming onto the page the
correlations between this and the previous series. It's like DC's Tangent experiment--he's taken the names and pretty
much launched off from there. And our initial trepidation has lifted. Face your fears and give it a read--suck factor is
low.
Music DVD of the Week:
. As long as you take the title at face value, you'll realize there's actually some interesting stuff to be had
here. Consisting of 8mm movies shot by musician Mickey Jones during the 1966 Dylan tour (the one where he was going electric
and getting called "Judas!" for it), it's a little disappointing that you've got a Dylan tribute band contributing versions
of songs over the otherwise soundless footage (along with commentary by Jones), but hardcore Dylanites will find some cool
stuff for posterity's sake.
TV DVD of the Week:
. The show that taught you there's more than one way to let your fingers do the walking is back with its second
season of DVD goodness, brought to you by the folks at Fox. The show gets turned up to eleven as Michael Chiklis works his
ass off to be the best completely amoral cop on television. In typical Fox TV DVD fashion, it's a fairly stacked affair,
with multiple commentaries, a slew of deleted scenes with introductions, multiple featurettes and more. Definitely worth
catching if you missed it first-run.
DVD of the Week: . The Brothers Polish (the guys who brought you quirkfest Twin Falls Idaho) bring you this whacked out tale of the town of Northfork, which is about to be submerged thanks to a new dam. While some people refuse to leave and must be made to leave by strange agents, a young boy is terminally ill and being visited by people that could be angels. Wild and wooly, this Paramount release comes complete with a commentary by the brothers and a featurette. Not your usual weekend fare. Or hell, with this site maybe it is.
Anime DVD of the Week:
. The only thing standing between Japan and all of its landmarks being rogued by cute aliens is the United
Defense Force which is, as you might guess from the cover, comprised of cute young second-graders and their batons. No,
I'm being serious. With great animation by Production IG, catchy musical tracks and bright colors, if you have daughter(s)
you're trying to entertain with anime, this Geneon release will do the trick.
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. MGM brings you...well, a boxed set for your ass. Featuring five flicks that span the genre, from Coffy
to Foxy Brown to the more recent spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, it will certainly take care of your 70s
blaxploitation fix. Both Pam Grier movies come with director's commentaries, as well as Hell Up in Harlem, so it
will certainly take up a whole weekend if you'll let it. Solid.
Adverse Video of the Week:
. What probably looked good enough on paper is a very bland reworking of bits from Tarantino and Ritchie flicks,
with Seann William Scott in the lead trying to hold it all together--and trying admirably--but failing. It's an interesting
study in what happens when a caper flick, which needs to balance style, script and acting to succeed in the genre, falls
completely apart. If you need to inflict some penance upon yourself, go right ahead with this one.
Docu of the Week:
. When Thomas Allen Harris, a filmmaker out of New York, decides to get in touch with his ancestral roots, he
makes a journey to Brazil in order to unravel his heritage. What follows on this Wellspring release is an exploration of personal identity and
cultural foundations that is certain to move you. Helping things along is a musical score by Vernon Reid, Axe-God of
Living Colour.
Docu of the Week:
. Well, this is a unique title. From out of the Universal Music group comes this...which is a song cycle based
on the works of Rammstein. I'm...not sure what else I can say on the subject, except that life is never more surreal than
when you're listening to a serious bass belting out "Mutter" in full-on opera mode.