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?
September 5, 2003
Book of the Week:
by Thomas D. Clagett. It's always nice when people do their homework. Case in point: this updated edition of
a comprehensive look at the films of director Friedkin. From The French Connection and The Exorcist to
To Live and Die in L.A. and The Birthday Party, Clagett interviewed the hell out of Friedkin himself, not to
mention his compatriots--and it shows. For any fan of the director, this new edition from Silman-James Press is a fascinating
read.
Audiobook of the Week:
by Stephen King, read by various. Four short stories are presented here from King's
Everything's Eventual. The good news is
that they're all decent, but the great news is that it includes one of the gems of that particular collection, "All That You
Love Will Be Carried Away," very capably renditioned by Peter Gerety. Also of note is Arliss Howard reading "The Death of
Jack Hamilton." Regardless, it's good King from Simon & Schuster Audio, and worth listening to on whatever weekend car
jaunt you've got planned.
Graphic Novel of the Week: Scion, Vol. 2: Blood for Blood
by Ron Marz & Jim Cheung. The continuation of Ethan's quest to set right what getting his Sigil completely screwed up:
namely, the peace between the Heron and Raven dynasties. Trouble is, there's a woman in his path (isn't there always?)
and she's got a third path that he could choose to follow. Typical of CrossGen, this title decides to take the road less
taken and will eventually swerve in a direction that is nice and fresh. Marz' setup of all of this is coupled nicely with
Cheung's artwork--if you're not already reading, you should. We need more books like this, to be truthful.
Comic Book of The Week:
JLA/Avengers #1
by Kurt Busiek & George Perez. Okay, so fine: twenty years in the making. Blah blah blah. After all that time, waiting,
is the damn thing any good? Answer: it's a veritable comic geek's paradise. The JLA taking on Terminus? The Avengers
vs. Starro? Lobo kicking the Shi'ar Imperial Guard's collective ass? Batman taking apart The Punisher? Hell yes! And
Perez' artwork is just too solid. Nice little touches give us hope that this thing will continue to hold up well.
Comic Book of Last Week:
Red #2
by Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner. Busy with DragonCon, we
couldn't do much of anything last week, much less Recommendations. But still, I must commend this title again. Sure,
Planetary came out--but I'm much more jazzed about the nicely violent ways of Paul Moses, as he basically plans to
break into Langley and feed some people their own intestines. Ellis does it again, and this is probably my favorite art
by Hamner I've seen him do to date. Worth checking out.
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. Not sure exactly where the show as it stands today jumped the shark--I myself don't watch a lot of television--but
I do remember the early days of the show, when it was nice and taut. All you have to do is check out the ninety-minute
pilot to refresh your memory of how spot on it used to be. Thanks to Warner Brothers, you can relive it any time you want
now, with all twenty-five episodes of the first season in one set across four discs. You also get documentaries, commentaries,
outtakes, and featurettes. Nicely stacked, it's the perfect thing to spend a weekend with.
DVD of the Week:
. Billy Bob Thornton--you have to respect this man. I mean, let's face it: anyone who wants to vie for Sean
Connery's title as "King of the Hair Weave" has to have some balls. Regardless, here's a decent character piece with a
nice four person cast, in which Thornton plays a murderer out of jail after nineteen years--who seeks forgiveness and
redemption for his acts. DVD also comes with a featurette and a commentary, so it's stacked well enough for a release of
this stature. Worth a watch.
CD of the Week:
. It's Barry White, for God's sake. Do I really need to explain any further than that? Do you really have no
clue what Barry White has done for men all over the world? All you need is to listen to a bit of "Never, Never Gonna Give
You Up" or "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" to know the sheer power that the man had in his voice. A nice collection,
it's a good way to remember the man himself.