Weekly Recommendations...from Needcoffee.com

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. And now we've added Amazon UK links where applicable as well. For you folks who would prefer to order there, click on the "(UK)" link at the end of each entry.

Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?

July 16, 2004

Book of the Week:

by Tom DeFalco. What is the importance of Spider-Man? Well, I mean, apart from making Sony Pictures' day, that is. Well, whatever it is, it's the subject of this book from Titan Press, collecting interviews with many of the creators that have made the wallcrawler what he is today. From creator Stan Lee to the man who's breathing new life into the character, Brian Michael Bendis, to artists like Mark Bagley and John Romita--it's not only good reading, but chock full of bonus stuff too: pages from Spidey scripts as well as a healthy amount of artwork. (UK)

Audiobook of the Week:

by Jack Kerouac, read by Matt Dillon. Kerouac's most famous work hits audio thanks to Matt Dillon's reading and the folks at Harper Audio. When Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty (fictional versions of Kerouac and Neal Cassady) set out on a quest across America to see not only the sights around them, but the sights within them as well. Considered required reading by many, if you haven't had time to crack it open, doing so via this unabridged, ten-disc set would be advisable.

Comic Book of the Week: Fables #27 by Bill Willingham & Mark Buckingham. In the aftermath of the wooden soldiers' attack on Fabletown, much coolness is revealed: the relationship between Snow and Bigby, just who in the hell is leading the witches for the side of the Fables, and just who in the hell was leading the soldiers into battle in the name of the Adversary. It's a great ending to the present story arc that sets up God knows what for the future. Rock.

TV DVD of the Week:

. Paramount brings the massive mini-series from the 80s to DVD with this six-disc set. It concerns the Henry family, the members of which are in place to view the various bits of insanity that were inherent to 1939 Europe before World War II completely kicked in. Led by Robert Mitchum, the cast includes Ralph Bellamy, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ali McGraw and John Houseman. The set isn't completely bare bones; it comes with three featurettes and info on the cast and characters. Those wishing to reacquaint themselves and those who have never checked it out before are advised to do so. (UK)

DVD of the Week:

. You like Sergio Leone? Then you need this. MGM has released the restored edition (three hours now, including some stuff that wasn't even dubbed into English before) with a boatload of features. Film historian Richard Schickel is around to provide a commentary, you've got a making-of docu, a historical docu, a docu on Leone, a docu on putting the restored version back together, a featurette on Ennio Morricone, deleted scenes and more. It's the special edition that fans have been waiting for. (UK)

Anime DVD of the Week:

. Nenene is a successful author who's gotten a publishing deal and sold some film rights, but now a disgruntled, less successful writer has targeted Nenene for termination. Who's going to help? The three sisters of the title, who can manipulate paper in a kind of superpowered origami bit. Anime that's focusing on writing and books gets points just for existing, and this Geneon release has the first four episodes, a promo trailer, artwork gallery, and a commentary on the first episode from some members of the U.S. production team. So rock. (UK)

Docu DVD of the Week:

. If you have any love of the Italian cinema, then Martin Scorsese has just the thing for you: a four-hour look at its history. Name the director, Scorsese wants to school you: Fellini, Visconti, Antonioni, they're all represented here as one director shows you his love for his predecessors and explains their influence on him. Running over two discs, this release from Miramax is packed full of info for film buffs. (UK)

Adverse Video of the Week:

. After C. Thomas Howell's career continued to nose dive (1986 was his best year), there was only one thing left to do: partner with Peter Horton (another actor who hasn't stopped working and yet you can't remember having seen them for years) in a pro beach volleyball flick. We mean professional, not the opposite of an anti-beach volleyball flick, mind you. Well, it's an excuse to show rippling man muscles and bikini-clad ladies, and that's about all. By the ending, the story has forgotten what it's there for and you will probably too. But hey, nothing like a forgotten sports flick from 1990 to bring the funny, what? (UK)

Music DVD of the Week:

. This is basically a crash course in the history of the musical genre that goes all the way back to the dawn of rock and comes all the way forward to 1995, when the series originally aired. Warner Brothers releases all ten of the one-hour programs on this five-disc set. It's cramming into all of that a veritable slew of interviews with musical artists, live performances, archival footage, and more. If you're looking for a nice overview (an in-depth version would need some more complete clips on the musical side), then you should definitely give this a shot. (UK)

Comedy DVD of the Week:

. More fun with one of the comedy masters is what we recommend to mine your weekend for chuckling. You get twenty-three sketches (three have audio commentary from Sid himself), interviews with Caesar along with Carl Reiner and Fabray. Three original scripts for sketches are provided as well as photo galleries. Surprisingly, there are folks who have never partaken of this patented type of funny, so they should spend the weekend getting up to speed. This New Video release can assist. (UK)

Music CD of the Week:

by Various Artists. Say what you will about the movie, but the soundtrack has some solid stuff on here. Apart from having lots of Maynard (a remix of David Bowie's "Bring Me the Disco King" that he sings on is just amazing) with two Perfect Circle remixes, you also get a new song by Johnette Napolitano ("Suicide Note"), the opening collaborative track ("Awakening") and more. Decent music to break things by. (UK)

Magazine of the Week: Alter Ego #37. Well, by now you know that Roy Thomas' fanzine is kicking absolute ass when it comes to covering the bygone days of the sadly fading comic book industry. If you're too depressed by reading shit like Identity Crisis or any of the fifty-seven X-Titles, we recommend going back in time. Here, you get an article about Gladiator, a novel from 1930 (which I had never even heard of) whose lead character shares a lot in common with Superman, focus on all the patriotic heroes like Supes, Captain Marvel and Uncle Sam, a look at the origins of kryptonite, and more artwork from the greats than you can shake a stuffed Krypto at. Huzzah.