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?
June 4, 2004
Book of the Week:
by Alan Moore, with photos by Jose Villarrubia. Originally published as a reaction to Britain's Clause 28, this
is Moore's epic poem that relates the history of same-sex love. Originally paired with artwork by Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch,
this new edition from Top Shelf is in high-quality hardback, featuring more than forty photographs from Villarrubia to
complement the verses. As if that wasn't enough, there are appendices featuring everything from a reference section for the
various figures and poems mentioned in the work to more info on Clause 28. Nicely done.
Audiobook of the Week:
by David Sedaris. The name "Sedaris" brings with it a certain expectation: what you're about to hear or read
will be very funny and it will be markedly twisted. Here in this Time Warner Audio edition, you've got the author
reading from his book, and bonus: some of the performances recorded live. Highpoints are all over the place, but if you
must sample something before you grab the whole thing, check out "Let it Snow" and "Full House."
TV DVD of the Week:
. The fan of the show should rejoice and thank Anchor Bay kindly for releasing this second season set, which
is pretty well stacked. You've got twenty-five episodes plus the pilot episode which is pre-DeWitt and Somers, commentary
by the author of Come and Knock on Our Door, a docu on the late, great John Ritter, a Ritter tribute, a blooper reel,
galleries, bios and more. Played out across four discs, it's fairly choice.
DVD of the Week:
. Cecil B. DeMille's double Oscar-winning take on the circus is on this Paramount release. Big plastic melodrama
served up steaming hot by the likes of Charlton Heston, Jimmy Stewart and Betty Hutton, this Hollywood take on life in the
Barnum & Bailey circus is definitely worth seeing at least once. While the story behind the film would have made for a great
featurette, we're just glad it's out. So give it a shot.
Anime DVD of the Week:
. It's more episodes of the good Captain versus the cosmic threat of the Noo, as the villains use Tadeshi and
Maji to lure Herlock into a trap. More of the Noo and what no-good they're up to get explored in this Geneon release,
featuring three more episodes in which character development keeps kicking in, and the struggle keeps escalating.
Features are a bit scarce, but you do get clean closing animation, which is something.
Docu DVD of the Week:
. Errol Morris is an amazing filmmaker. Fast,
Cheap and Out of Control is probably my favorite docu of all time. He finally won his Oscar, though--about damn
time--with this series of interviews with Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense for both Kennedy and Johnson. A fascinating
release from Columbia-Tristar, it comes complete with over a half-hour of additional interview footage, McNamara's ten
lessons he learned from politics, and trailers and TV spots.
Adverse Video of the Week:
. Back in the day when I was writing the original "Adverse Video" columns for a local BBS (Christ, I'm old), one
of my favorite types of flicks to take on where of the "When Animals Attack" variety. About the only person who enjoys them
more than I is Dindrane. When it's time to clear out some pesky natives in order to construct a road through the Amazon
rainforest, genetically engineered bees are released into the wild to wipe them out--yeah, that would have been my Plan A,
certainly. Anyway, the situation goes from bad to worse, as you might expect. Rutger Hauer alert, by the way.
Comedy DVD of the Week:
. Bud and Lou are back in another compilation of eight flicks from Hit the Ice in 1943 to The Wistful
Widow of Wagon Gap in 1947. This two-disc set from Universal also comes with the complete "Who's On First?" skit,
performed as part of The Naughty Nineties. Extras are sparse, but there's at least production notes for seven of
the eight films and trailers for three.
Music CD of the Week:
by State of Bengal vs. Paban Das Bail. A collaboration of techno beats meets soaring vocals and traditional
Baul instrumentation, this Real World release is an impressive feat. Reason is it's very easy in a project like this for
one side to overpower the other. However, Paban and Zaman (aka State of Bengal) complement each other perfectly. If you'd
like to check it out for yourself, go for the opening track, "Moner Manush," or "Radha Krishna." Great music to work by.
Book of the Week:
by Alan Moore, with photos by Jose Villarrubia. Originally published as a reaction to Britain's Clause 28, this
is Moore's epic poem that relates the history of same-sex love. Originally paired with artwork by Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch,
this new edition from Top Shelf is in high-quality hardback, featuring more than forty photographs from Villarrubia to
complement the verses. As if that wasn't enough, there are appendices featuring everything from a reference section for the
various figures and poems mentioned in the work to more info on Clause 28. Nicely done.
