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?
April 2, 2004
Book of the Week:
by David Foster Wallace. The author of Infinite Jest's second collection of short stories--in other
words, be afraid. So you get the same literary barrage, the same football field length footnotes, and the same scalding
insight into the human condition that you've come to expect. Just keep aspirin handy.
Audiobook of the Week:
, edited by Howard Zinn, performed by various. The only thing as good as hearing an author read from his or her
own stuff is to hear somebody with a great voice and presence doing it. Thus, we hereby proclaim that James Earl Jones should
read every freaking thing in the English language. Ready, go. While we're waiting for that project to get finished, we can
take comfort in this Harper Audio release, in which Jones reads Douglass and Malcom X, Vonnegut reads Twain, and other readers
include Danny Glover, Alice Walker and Alfre Woodard. Very nice.
Graphic Collection of the Week:
by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Top 10 was the
Hill Street Blues of spandex comics, this book is the NYPD Blue, except without the gratuitous ass-shots.
This volume concerns fanboys running around dressed as superheroes...and getting killed for it. Dream of many a comic book
creator? We won't discuss that here, but regardless, now that the first series has wrapped up and they're relaunching it,
catch up on what came before.
Comic Book of the Week: Avengers/JLA #4 by
Kurt Busiek & George Perez. I will say this for Kurt Busiek: his geek fu is strong. And I will say this for this series:
Jesus, they said they were going to include every character who'd ever been in either team, and by Forbin, they did it. And
in such a geek fest will there be story weaknesses and zaniness? Of course. But the geekgasm that comes from seeing the
"Captain Marvel joke," Captain America vs. Prometheus and Superman wielding both Cap's shield and Thor's hammer (yes, it
actually happens and makes sense)? Points are huge.
TV DVD of the Week:
. In high school, at some point or another you probably thought that your friends were from another planet.
Granted, people normally thought that about me specifically, but regardless, with Fox releasing this first season on DVD,
you can get an idea of what that might really be like. Fans of the show will want to snag this for their weekend enjoyment,
since you've got six commentaries, a deleted scene and a couple of featurettes to deal with--not to mention the episodes
themselves.
DVD of the Week:
. April (Katie Holmes) has invited the entire family over to her place for dinner, and as she struggles to get
the damn turkey ready, her family struggles to figure out why in the hell they're coming over in the first place. Features
the marvelous Patricia Clarkson, so you can see why she got her nom. Also has a commentary from the writer/director and
a featurette to round out this MGM release.
Anime DVD of the Week:
. Final exams are rapidly approaching as Yume becomes more uncertain of her abilities. When the certification
test finally does arrive, what it entails will be a helluva surprise. This Geneon release continues this surprisingly good
series, and brings along some bonus material: more concept art and some location photos that were used to recreate the places
verbatim in the show. Quite cool.
Adverse Video of the Week:
. That's right--it's an acronym. It stands for Serial Insane Clown Killer. No, I'm not joking with you. And
sadly, the dude doesn't go around wasting serial insane clowns (as opposed to parallel insane clowns, I guess) like the
title suggests. No, it's just a very large guy in a clown mask that shows up more than an hour into the flick. A plot
twist that makes no sense and comes complete with very large holes makes for some hilarious weekend slasher viewing.
Recommended. Add alcohol.
Music DVD of the Week:
. Nobody but nobody can match The Great JB. Sure, he's a freak, but he's a musical genius: how many other men
do you know could vamp for eight minutes yelling nothing but "Ow!" and "Hit me!" while his band destroys everything in his
wake--and it be the coolest shit you've ever heard? Exactly. This Universal Music release contains enough bonus bits,
interviews, and rehearsal footage to please just about any fan.
Animation DVD of the Week:
. For those craving more Bean, crave no longer--A&E has released two more volumes of the animated series, featuring
Atkinson providing all the "vocal sounds" as well as acting out the scripts so the animators would be able to bring as
much of him to the screen as possible. This set comes with nine shows (two segments each), a "live action guide," trailers
and a photo gallery. Brit humor fans will want to spend the weekend with this.
Docu DVD of the Week:
. For those who have read the book, seen the play, seen the movie, and still want more, look no further than
this docu. It features an interview with Anne's father from 1980, the only known footage of Anne herself, and is chocked
full of information. This Columbia-Tristar release features narration by Kenneth Branagh, while Anne's words are read by
Glenn Close. Powerful stuff, folks.
Family DVD of the Week:
. Oh sure, critically it was dumped on, but overall box office was good and...well, let's face it, little kids
dig talking animals. So regardless, there can be something for everybody with this Disney release. It comes with commentary by the
moose brothers in character (audio or visual), outtakes, deleted scenes, a making-of docu, featurettes and games. We'll
just play like there's no Phil Collins, though, okay? Okay.
Music CD of the Week:
by Sergent Garcia. There's nothing that makes us happier than good music that's all over the map, literally as well
as figuratively. And you've got to give credit to a guy who mixes up salsa, rap, hip-hop, reggae and calls the gumbo
"salsamuffin." About halfway through the album it starts to really kick it into high gear with stuff like "Regreso" and
"Nada Tiene Final." If you're looking for some music that's both solid and different, grab this Shakti release and run with
it.