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 11, 2005
Book of the Week:
by Danny Gregory. Ah, there's no nostalgia like terrifying nostalgia. These vintage film strips have
haunted many a child's progress for decades, collected here for your perusal in this release from Artisan Books.
With chapters like "Foreigners Can't Help It," "Chemicals Make Bread Yummy" and "Don't Put Pencils Up Your Nose," there's nothing quite like this
hilarity to resurrect childhood trauma.
(UK)
(CAN)
Audiobook of the Week:
by Elmore Leonard, performed by Campbell Scott. While you're getting ready for the film to hit, you can check
out this unabridged audiobook from Harper Audio read by Needcoffee fave Scott. Our hero, Chili Palmer, has decided to
forego the movie industry and instead have a go at the world of music. This on top of a murder investigation in which
Chili is the prime suspect. Lots of fun and mayhem are in store.
(CAN)
Comic Book of the Week: The Ultimates 2 #3 by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch. What happens when Bruce Banner goes
on trial for a rampage he committed as The Hulk? Well, it's not going to be pretty, that's for sure. And Thor is looking
like he's going to be a pain in the ass as well. So things just keep getting better! Ah, if only the rest of the Marvel
line were half this sharp. And looked this good. Oh well.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Neil Gaiman & Michael Zulli. Let's face it. Michael Zulli illustrations would make just about anything
look good. But when you couple his stuff with Gaiman's stories...well, you have nothing to worry about, do you? Here
you get adaptations of "The Price" and "The Daughter of Owls" from Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors (which we've recommended
on this page before). Just about every page looks good enough to frame. Highly recommended. Handled in the UK by Titan.
(UK)
(CAN)
TV DVD of the Week:
. Looking forward to the return of Family Guy even more now that American Dad turns out to be
about as funny as an ingrown hair? Well, take some solace in this, which isn't just double-dipping, it's actually got
some great bonus stuff: MacFarlane's five favorite episodes, four of which come with commentary. "Road to
Rhode Island" comes with a commentary by Brian and Stewie, which is freaking hilarious.
There's also a look at the upcoming season to help you through the grief.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD of the Week:
. This 40th Anniversary edition of the film is done justice by Disney. On this two-disc set, there's one of
their nicely edited-together commentaries, featuring contemporary comments from Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Karen
Dotrice, along with archival comments from a lot of folks including Walt Disney. You also get a new animated short,
a fifty-minute making-of docu, a deleted song, a featurette on the composer, a musical reunion, an effects featurette,
and more.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. Four films from a great director, more than enough to carry through a weekend--especialy when you count the
massive amount of extras that come on this MGM set. The Last Waltz comes with 5.1 sound, commentary, a featurette,
photo gallery and outtakes. New York, New York comes with commentary, a director's intro, alternate and deleted
scenes, a photo gallery and trailer. And Raging Bull comes with three commentaries, behind the scenes docus and
featurettes, newsreel footage of the boxer on who it's based and its trailer. See? Huge. Told you.
(UK)
(CAN)
Anime DVD of the Week:
. Our heroes are the folks you call when you've lost something and need to get it back. Hence the name. This
time they're after something called by its intials: IL--and things might just get dangerous. This ADV release gives you
five episodes, behind-the-scenes interviews, clean opening and closing, and a
commentary on one episode from Samantha Inoue-Harte and Hector Martinez, Jr.
(CAN)
Music CD of the Week:
. Five siblings get accepted to Julliard and take their five-piano act on the road as a musical group? Is it
a really scary sitcom from the early 80s? No, it's The 5 Browns. And these guys can really work the keys. Personally,
I think five pianos on stage together should make a lot more noise, so I'm a bit more fond of their individual tracks,
but it's interesting to watch on the DVD side of this disc (it's Dual Disc, natch). That same DVD side also comes with
music videos and interviews. This is from RCA Red Seal.
(UK)
(CAN)