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, in the US, the UK and Canada.
Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?
November 5, 2004
Book of the Week:
by Berkeley Breathed. While we're waiting for Opus to, sadly, like Garfield, get the big screen treatment,
you can celebrate a quarter century of penguin goodness in this Little, Brown release. Featuring an intro by Breathed,
it doesn't limit itself to Bloom County but also contains some choice Opus stuff from Outland as well. And--bonus:
artwork that Breathed created for the movie Secondhand Lions.
We love it!
(UK)
(CAN)
Audiobook of the Week:
by Christopher Moore, read by Tony Roberts. Moore's been on our radar since he invoked H.P. Lovecraft to great
hilarity in Practical Demonkeeping and told us the true story of Jesus in Lamb. Now, when he's going to talk
about the supposed murder of Santa Claus, the return of a familiar archangel, and a horde of zombies--all during the holiday
season--man, sold. This Harper Audio release, performed by Roberts, is enough to bring out the yuletide cheer in anyone.
(CAN)
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by George R.R. Martin & Ben Avery. You thought you were safe from us pushing Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire"
series on you! Mwahahahaha! Suffer! This Devil's Due release is a story from that same universe that goes back a ways
before the series even begins. Having originally appeared in the Legends series of tomes, it's now brought to life
in a quite decent adaptation. You will buy and enjoy all of these Martin books. Submit.
(UK)
(CAN)
TV DVD of the Week:
. Does the name "Daniel Cohen" mean anything to you? He was (still is, as far as I know) the master at writing
books about, what I'd simply call, "Art Bell for kids." Books with titles like "Werewolves" and "Civil War Ghosts" and
such. For those that like their oddities on the softcore side, this Robert Stack-hosted set from First Look is the ticket.
This comes with a DVD intro, commentary for select episodes, along with some behind the scenes stuff as well.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD of the Week:
. If watching Training Day didn't teach you
not to piss off Denzel, then this movie will certainly set you straight. On the trail of the kidnapped Dakota Fanning,
who was in his charge, he's like a freaking powermower. This Fox release comes with a commentary from scribe Brian
Helgeland, Fanning and producer Lucas Foster, alongside some trailers and a featurette.
(UK)
(CAN)
Docu DVD of the Week:
. Nobody did nature photography like Adams did, nor has anyone managed to capture just how amazing the American
continent is in its natural state. But he was more than just that guy who created the photos
that comprise cool wall calendars. He was an artist, a pioneer when it came to photography as an art form, and a
crusader. This PBS release features the docu by Ric Burns, and while it has no bonus bits, it is in widescreen. Because
nature isn't in pan and scan, baby.
(UK)
(CAN)
Adverse Video of the Week:
. Two bizarre whacked out 80s horror flicks in one! What a deal! First up, you get to see what happens when
you listen to what your teddy bear tells you...namely, you feed people to creatures who live underground in the forest. Yes,
that's right. And then, the second movie is named after the town. When your town is named Hellgate, you already
have problems. Then a dread thing comes and threatens all of existence, and it's...Horshack as a horror movie protagonist!
Brilliantly bad, both of them.
(UK)
(CAN)
Anime DVD of the Week:
. Six more episodes hit on this disc from Geneon. Miaka has returned to the real world after leaving the book,
but at a price: Yui has swapped places with her. She heads back into the book to find Yui, but a few hours on the outside
is a few months inside the book. Back inside, she finds two kingdoms almost at war, assassins, and lethal jealousy. The
disc comes with no special features but the anime carries itself just fine, thanks.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. For those people among you who are actually literate, you might enjoy Columbia-Tristar's offering of a DVD
paired with a book. What a concept! This time around it's Louisa May Alcott's tome that's included with the special edition DVD: you get a commentary
with the director, timeline, design gallery with commentary by Colleen Atwood, and deleted scenes with commentary by the
director.
(UK)
(CAN)
Animation DVD of the Week:
. Home Vision's special edition of this film is worthy of the film, and like we've said elsewhere, this book
scared the crap out of us on first reading it. To enhance your viewing pleasure, the film itself is restored and looks better
than ever. But you also get a commentary by film historian Brian Sibley, a featurette, original storyboards for
particular scenes, and liner notes from professor Karl Cohen.
(UK)
(CAN)
Family DVD of the Week:
. Kenneth Grahame's tale of Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger comes to life--stop motion life--in this 1983 adaptation.
If you've only seen the more frenetic cel animated version, then you'll have an appreciation for this film, which takes great
pains to take its time. This A&E Home Video release comes with an interview with producer Brian Cosgrove, a trivia
game, photo gallery and more.
(UK)
(CAN)
Sports DVD of the Week:
. How big is the poker craze? Well, I'm playing poker over the net as I type this. How sad is that? But hey,
if you want to get sad too, then check out this release from ESPN. It's a two-disc set with the entire telecast of
the 2003 uberevent of the "sport." There are also a couple of bonus episodes of other ESPN shows that deal with poker as
well. So if you're hooked and want to see the whole enchilada, grab this for your weekend.
(UK)
(CAN)
Music CD of the Week:
. Live was a great band until they got a little bit too pretentious for even us to deal with. However, this is
a Greatest Hits compilation from Columbia, so you get all of the good stuff and none of the "What the heck was that about?" nonsense.
Not only do you get the CD with nineteen tracks (including one unreleased), but you also get a DVD with twenty-two tracks,
including some live concert bits and an interview with frontman Ed.
(UK)
(CAN)