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, both in the US, the UK and Canada.

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

October 1, 2004

Book of the Week:

by Gary Larson. Sweet crispy crap! Nothing quite like a nearly twenty-pound two-volume hardcover slipcase set to make you wonder if I've lost my mind. And no, I'm not one to spend this much money lightly...but when it's every single freaking Far Side ever composed by that delightful madman Larson...you simply have to have it. Not only are there over 4300 hilarious bits in here, you also get letters, essays, and nineteen cartoons that Larson created after retiring. A-mazing. (UK) (CAN)

Audiobook of the Week:

by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs. This book is for kids, sure, but it's Pratchett, so it's for kids of all ages. It's the sequel to The Wee Free Men and our heroine, eleven-year-old Tiffany Aching, is an apprentice witch. She's trying to get her magical powers under control before a demon takes control of her completely and destroys her. Stephen Briggs does an admirable job of bringing the delightful mayhem to life in this Harper Audio release. (CAN)

Comic Book of the Week: Adam Strange #1 by Andy Diggle & Pascal Ferry. After the kickass job he's been doing with Jock over on The Losers, we'll follow Diggle just about anywhere...even to Rann, which is someplace we thought we could never get interested in. But now Rann has gone the way of all flesh, apparently burnt to a crisp when its sun when supernova. Or did it? Trapped as a refugee on Earth, wanted by the authorities and some weird alien, is he going to be able to find his family alive? Nice opening salvo.

Comic-Related Book of the Week:

. Fans of Jack Kirby can rejoice, since TwoMorrows has been publishing trades collecting, well, exactly what the title of the book says it's collecting. 240 freaking pages, covering issues 16-19 of the mag. In between the covers, you get thirty pieces of previously unpublished Kirby artwork, a slew of uninked artwork, a buttload of interviews with Kirby and others and more. Impressive. (UK) (CAN)

TV DVD of the Week:

. Acorn Media brings you Alec Guinness as George Smiley, in this sequel to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy from John Le Carré. This three-disc set has a nice cast of faces besides Sir Alec, including Eileen Atkins, Patrick Stewart, Michael Gough, and even Alan Rickman popping his head in. It's a three-disc set--nice length to get you through the weekend--with production notes, an interview with Le Carré, a bio and booklist for the author, and a glossary. (UK) (CAN)

DVD of the Week:

. The film is much better when watched in one piece, but until Miramax releases the Ubergonzo Edition, you can at least watch this and the previous release back to back and feel a bit better about yourself. Switching from a straight-up fu homage to some definite Sergio Leone influence, it has more character development but still plenty of time for amazing fight scenes. You get a deleted scene, featurette and film premiere footage with this release. (UK) (CAN)

Docu DVD of the Week:

. An amazing documentary from Anchor Bay, this thing involves twenty-seven filmmakers, from professional to folks who just grabbed their home video cameras, and the multiple perspectives they all bring to 9/11 and the week that followed it. An incredibly poignant meta-capsule of New York and its reactions to what happened--everything from terror to triumph--it's definitely worth checking out. (UK) (CAN)

Music DVD of the Week:

. This time around we recommend a DVD from Hip-O Records that has blues history written all over it. These performances from 1965-68 haven't been seen in close to forty years. Artists like Big Mama Thornton, Buddy Guy, Big Joe Turner, Son House, and Muddy Waters are all here, plus a 24-page booklet with newly discovered photos. Posterity factor is high.

Adverse Video of the Week:

. Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this flick, which is Friday the 13th meets Silver Streak! Um, no. Kidding. Anyway, basically a bunch of college kids decide to have a New Year's Eve costume party, so they charter a train...um, I guess so no one has to worry about driving home drunk. And of course, a mad killer has to show up and crash the party. Guest starring David Copperfield (?!). (UK) (CAN)

Family DVD of the Week:

. The good news is that the new series of Scooby has no Scrappy in it. Looks like Avenger did his job well. Anyway, for those of you with kids who dig Scooby and you want to keep them away from the live action, grab this third volume of new episodes (four are included). There's also some features on this Warner Brothers release, including a backlot tour of WB with Scooby and Shaggy, as well as featurettes on the villains that appear in the episodes. Check out the official site here. (UK) (CAN)

Anime DVD of the Week:

. The city of Lukuss is now the epicenter for a gang war between three major organizations. This while Yoshii the surface-dweller is not helping matters either. Our cast members now find themselves caught between several rocks and a couple of hard places, fighting to survive. Four episodes continue the saga on this sci-fi/organized crime genre Geneon release, and for bonus bits you get an art gallery along with dubbing outtakes. (UK) (CAN)

Animation DVD of the Week:

. Fans of Rowan Atkinson's mumbling creation will thank A&E Home Video this weekend for this two-volume boxed set with sixteen new bits of animated chaos. In addition to the stories, you get a decent array of extras to supplement your viewing pleasure: live action guides to two episodes (where Atkinson acts out Bean for the animators), a vocal recording session with Atkinson, trailers, photo gallery, and an Atkinson biography and filmography. Sweet. (CAN)

DVD Boxed Set of the Week:

. Long before Dr. Cube and the other denizens of Studio Kaiju, there were many rubber suited monsters--among them, a giant flying turtle. If you've never seen the Gamera flicks, they're a hoot and a half--and we're pleased that ADV has made them available in this boxed set with it's collectible "hard shell" case. You get trailers, docus, featurettes, an interview with effects head enchilada Shinji Higuchi, "outtakes," an audio commentary on the third film by Gamera and Soldier #6 (!), and more. (UK) (CAN)

Comedy DVD of the Week:

. Holy crap, this is one of the funniest stand-up concert films ever. Forget the fact that it's un-P.C. and forget Eddie's attire--this was the late 80s--it's just ridiculously funny. From his story about getting confronted by Bill Cosby with the profane nature of his stand-up to the nightmarish cry of "Half!" that comes from reading about Carson's divorces--it's great stuff. No features, but the fact Paramount has seen fit to send it to DVD is worthwhile on its own. (UK) (CAN)

Music CD of the Week:

by Little Axe. This Real World release might confuse...but hey, don't panic. Little Axe is one of those non-group groups, comprised of Skip MacDonald of the Sugarhill Gang and producer Adrian Sherwood, and this, their fourth album, shows that they continue to evolve a nice little crockpot of blues, gospel, dub, reggae, funk and soul. Everything from the trip hoppy and plodding "Say My Name" to the sample-based funk of "Go Away Devil" is here, and it's a wild ride. (UK) (CAN)