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, both in the US, the UK and Canada.
Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?
September 10, 2004
Book of the Week:
by Maurice Cotterell. As I type his up, I'm listening to Art Bell, so I'm just in that frame of mind. If you
are too, then check out this release from Bear & Company, in which the Viracocha legends of the Inca and the tombs of both
men are dealt with. What do ancient miracle workers in South America have to do with the study of solar science? Mwa-ha,
read and find out.
(UK)
(CAN)
Audiobook of the Week:
by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, read by Rene Auberjonois. When a notorious critic is found with his corpse
looking like it's been microwaved and a hoofprint burned into the floor, the obvious question is: hmmmmmm, Satan? Preston
and Child bring back some characters to deal with the situation in this Time Warner release. Sure, it's fluffy and a beach
read, but in the hands (or voice, rather) of Auberjonois, it's at least worth a listen.
(UK)
(CAN)
Comic Book of the Week: The Pulse #5
by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley. Some good books came out this week, but ah, this book does my heart good. Jessica
is on the trail of the Green Goblin, but Osborne gets the drop on her, threatening her life and the life of her child.
So here's where we learn a valuable lesson: never screw with Luke Cage and his family. Cage vs. the Green Goblin is a sweet,
sweet little scene.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III. Alan Moore is never one to do anything simply: even in his ABC line of
books through Wildstorm where he tried to go pulp on us, he threw out this wild story that smashes super heroes together
with shamanism, creativity, and mythology. Definitely stacked among "hard sayings," it's worth reading if for nothing
else to check out the tarot issue later on. Published by the America's Best Comics imprint,
it's handled out of the UK by Titan.
(UK)
(CAN)
TV DVD of the Week:
. Acorn Media offers up this BBC TV flick on DVD, which won three BAFTAs. It's about three
strangers on a train--an English businessman, an American woman and an "old money" dowager--and how they interact.
The features are more than admirable all things considered, you get not only a featurette but also commentary with the
producer and director.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD of the Week:
. This Miramax release brings you the winner for Best Foreign Language Film, hailing out of Canada. It's the
tale of Remy, a professor dying of cancer, whose estranged son comes back home to care for him. More family and friends
show up and it's time to celebrate life in the presence of death. Comes only with a featurette, but it's still worthy of
a weekend viewing.
(UK)
(CAN)
Anime DVD of the Week:
. This second OVA release in the series from ADV is something to check out as our hero, Shogo Yahagi, winds up
charged with a homicide he wasn't responsible for and is on the lamb again. This kicks off a half-year after the first
volume and Yahagi has to deal with the AI EVE as he tries to stay in one piece. Comes with an art gallery as a bonus.
(UK)
(CAN)
Docu DVD of the Week:
. John Landis, the man who brought you The Blues Brothers, gives you a look into the weekend of a life of
Michael Bennett, the "slasher" of the title. He's the man used car dealerships call when they have absolutely, positively
got to move some cars--and a lot of em--in a hurry. He and his crew hit Memphis to perform one of their blitzkriegs and
the cameras are there to capture everything. This Docurama release comes with a full-length commentary by Landis, the producers
and the editor and a bit of deleted scenes.
(UK)
(CAN)
Music DVD of the Week:
. The title pretty much says it all with this Music Video Distributors release. It's classic Ellington from
films, and there's an hour's worth of content. It's all Ellington and his orchestra, and features not only a bit with
Billie Holiday from 1935 but also three segments starring Mae West from 1934. Glad to see it all on DVD for posterity.
(UK)
(CAN)
Adverse Video of the Week:
. When you've got one direct-to-video snake on the loose, what is there to do? Why, bring in another
direct-to-video snake and have them face off against each other! Isn't this a first in cinematic history? Dunno.
Regardless, it's bad. Whooee, this is a good one. A giant python gets loose and a team tries to take it out with a
specially bred giant boa that they can interface with. No, I'm serious.
(UK)
Comedy DVD of the Week:
. HBO brings Rock's fourth special for them to DVD, with ninety full-on minutes of the funny. Rock covers
everything from Michael Jackson to marriage as well as keeping one's daughter off of the strip club stage. Even for the
die hard fans who caught it aired the first time around, there is some bonus stuff to please: fifteen minutes of
additional material from the show, and his first half-hour comedy special, Chris Rock: Big Ass Jokes.
(UK)
(CAN)
Family DVD of the Week:
. When your kid wants to play James Bond, he can have some help from Frankie Muniz and this MGM release. This
time around he's headed across the pond to protect the world's leaders from a diabolical mind control device. This
sequel comes with scene-specific commentary with actors Muniz, Anthony Anderson, and Hannah Spearritt, as well as a featurette,
quiz and deleted scenes.
(UK)
(CAN)
Kung Fu DVD of the Week:
. Fox keeps bringing out the fu and we keep grinning about it. This film marks the first time that Sammo
Hung helmed a flick and he's also the star. He plays a trainee at the Shaolin Temple who's there in order to learn how
to deliver beatdowns and exact revenge upon the Manchus for killing his father. When a girl in the local village is raped,
all bets are off. No features, but hey, the action's tasty.
(UK)
(CAN)
Music CD of the Week:
by Ray Charles & Various Artists. Man, do we miss Uncle Ray. We can take some small solace in some of his last
work, this album of duets from Concord Records. In it, he's working with everyone from Van Morrison (covering "Crazy Love")
to Elton John to Johnny Mathis. Twelve tracks here, and while some work better than others, it's all Ray...so the album
as a whole is quite worthy and worth a listen.
(UK)
(CAN)