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 25, 2004
Book of the Week:
by Ogdred Weary, a.k.a. Edward Gorey. Is it truly pornographic? Or is it just plain weird? You be the judge,
in yet another of Gorey's delightful little romps into surrealism, lust, furniture and off-screen sex. Such a satire of
kinky sex could only be created in a titillating by Gorey. And thank God for that. Read it and then give it to a friend
with kinks and watch their head spin around. Fun for all.
Audiobook of the Week:
by George R. R. Martin, read by Roy Dotrice. Mwahahahaha! You will not escape this series! I'm waiting for
the fourth book, so you will read them too and join my pain! Ahem. Sorry. This Random House Audio release, the third in
Martin's series, is a monster: forty-eight hours of listening across twenty-seven cassettes. Gazanga! It's the best fantasy
series I've read since Tolkien, and Dotrice's marathon reading of this thing is to be commended. It's on a scale with Jim
Dale or Frank Muller.
Comic Book of the Week: Dead@17: Blood of Saints #3
by Josh Howard. Shit just keeps getting crazier, and we keep coming back for more and more. Nara runs into someone who
knows what she is and helps her tap into a little bit more power, so that she can go back and save Hazy from the clutches
of Evil Undead Schoolgirl. Yup, Bolabogg is up to some serious Non-Good, and we can't wait for the next issue so we can
find out what the hell is going on. Howard's work continues to please and Viper Comics continues to have a hit on their
hands.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
, art by Various. From Moonstone comes this collection of eleven short stories that are boiled as hard as the
title proclaims. But more than that, I'm just pleased by the fact you never know what you're getting with each one: simple
gunplay to desert mind games to tales of Satan and Chinese demons. A nice little cornucopia of devilish delights, between
the fine text and the impressive array of different art styles, it's definitely
worth picking up.
TV DVD of the Week:
. All twenty of the first season episodes have hit your DVD player thanks to A&E Home Video. And if that
weren't enough to convince you to snag this, you get some commentary from the Kids, a whole slew of interviews with the Kids
and Lorne Michaels, two best-of compilations including stuff from the pilot, and a half hour of unseen footage from when
the Kids were still performing at the Rivoli Theater, before the show. Nice.
DVD of the Week:
. The first movie to be made by Afghani filmmakers following the ousting of the Taliban, this MGM release is
noteworthy just for that alone. Not to mention the fact it's based on a true story. Under the Taliban, a twelve-year-old
girl is the only hope her family has, seeing as how all the males are deceased and females are persona non grata. The girl
must pass for a guy and go to work, and everything just sort of slides downhill. Sports a featurette and the trailer.
Anime DVD of the Week:
. From ADV comes the first volume of this selection, based on a comic strip. Here we meet Yukari, a teacher
who's been blessed (?) with an eclectic mix of students. When two new students transfer in, a ten-year-old genius who's
skipped a bunch of grades and a space cadet, you've got the basis for some pretty funny stuff. Five episodes are included,
along with production sketches, clean opening and closings, a reversible cover and a twelve-page booklet.
Docu DVD of the Week:
. If you watched Monster and wanted to check out some primary source material on the subject, Columbia
Tristar is glad to oblige. Nick Broomfield is the filmmaker who interviews the Aileen of the title, giving you the recipe
on how to build a serial killer from the ground up once her entire life is laid out for you to witness. Interviews with
Aileen go as right up to her final moments as possible. It's scary stuff, but absolutely fascinating.
Animation DVD of the Week:
. Well, considering that the Chronicles of Riddick live action flick has only made back about half of its
production budget, you can pretty much kiss the Pitch Black
franchise bye-bye. At least you have this Peter Chung-animated tidbit to take solace in. Granted, it's only a bit over a
half-hour long, but this Universal release does come with a behind the scenes featurette, the film in storyboard
mode, an interview with Chung, and more.
Kung Fu DVD of the Week:
. From Dimension comes this, the one film to ever be helmed by Jet Li. When a Chinese soldier at the end of
World War II goes to stay with a friend, he seems to run into some aggressive American Navy types. As you can imagine, much
ass kicking then ensues. Decent fight scenes means any curious keeper of the Fu will want to at least give it a rental,
because just about anything is better than Arse
of the Dragon.
Music DVD of the Week:
. Well, if you want to go a little retro, you can grab this Universal Music release, which features five classic
80s music videos. Only five? Well, the thing has a suggested retail price of eight bucks, so that seems fair enough.
You get the Buggles' landmark "Video Killed the Radio Star," along with Soft Cell, Tears for Fears, The Fixx and ABC. If
you need a taste, this will do you.
Music CD of the Week:
by Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations. "I'm Going to Make You Love Me" is one of my personal faves,
so I was pleased as hell to see this release, which contains not only that song, but both albums that the two groups recorded
together. It's a total of twenty-two released tracks (some of which are actually unreleased extended versions), plus fifteen
bonus tracks and alternate mixes. This Motown release is a must for any fan.
Soundtrack CD of the Week:
. Record companies think that they just keep re-issuing albums with digitally remastered tracks and a few
unreleased bits and we'll keep on buying them! Well, they're right. Sony Classical/Legacy proves this with this revamped
soundtrack of the movie, which includes the previously unreleased overture, intermission and finale music. Any fan of the
flick is going to want to snag this, because this Bernstein and Sondheim collaboration has never sounded better.
Magazine of the Week: Backissue!
#4. Ah, how we dig this magazine from Twomorrows. Here, they're celebrating Wolverine, who's turning thirty.
You get Peter Sanderson putting Claremont and Byrne through their paces, Len Wein explaining the Wolverine that never was,
pencil artwork of Wolvie from numerous folks, Joe Casey interviewing Walt Simonson and...Jesus Christ, is Secret Wars
twenty years old? Man, that's depressing.