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 19, 2004
Book of the Week:
, edited by George Khoury. This slick little book takes a look at the array of British comic book artists who
have graced us with their work over the years...everyone from Dave McKean to David Lloyd, from Brian Bolland to Alan Davis,
and from Bryan Hitch to Barry Windsor-Smith. And because it's from TwoMorrows, you can be guaranteed that it tackles the
subject matter in earnest, with artwork, photos and kickass interviews.
(UK)
(CAN)
Audiobook of the Week:
by Roald Dahl, read by Alan Cumming. Ah, Dahl. Not only did he write great twisted stories for children, but
he created some creepy stuff in collections like Kiss Kiss. Here, in this Harper Audio release, he turns his
tendency for the bizarre towards not only fairy tales, but also a menagerie of whacked out animals to great effect.
Alan Cumming is a great choice to read these, making the whole thing highly recommended.
(CAN)
Comic Book of the Week: The Walking Dead #13 by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard. I know what you're saying.
"Wait just a damn minute, Widge, didn't you just recommend the previous issue last week?" Well, yeah, apparently they
released them back to back. And while I don't like to do back to back recommendations for anything...seriously, no other
book released this week comes close to touching this. I had no choice. Our somewhat intrepid heroes, having been booted
on their way, come across a prison and figure...hey, we're home! Kirkman delivers "holy crap" endings like nobody's
business.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Stefan Petrucha & Barry Crain. Meet Lance Barnes. He's not only a dick because he's a gumshoe, he's also
a dick because he caused the end of the world. No, we're not kidding. In the post-apocalypse that follows, he continues to
do his job, aided by Peg, his one-legged assistant. This Moonstone release collects the original 1993 Epic four-issue
series--plus a brand new story--and the whole glowing thing is nicely twisted.
(UK)
(CAN)
TV DVD of the Week:
. The first show to actually come along and seriously challenge the lumbering beast that is Saturday Night
Live for sketch comedy dominance now hits DVD thanks to folks at Warner Brothers. This three disc set contains all
nineteen first season episodes, along with some bonus, unaired sketches, bloopers, a series of the best parodies the show's
had to offer, and the 200th episode which brought many of the original players back for a homecoming.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD of the Week:
. Wow, we held a contest for this one and now
we're recommending it to you. What a surprise. Well, look at the title, folks. Jim Jarmusch's latest was shot over a
long period of time with multiple folks, all sitting around and...well, partaking of the title. It's Cate Blanchett talking
to Cate Blanchett, Roberto Benigni having a discussion Steven Wright, and Bill Murray with some of the Wu-Tang Clan. This MGM release comes with
a Bill Murray outtake, a music video, and an interview with Taylor Meade.
(UK)
(CAN)
Docu DVD of the Week:
. Ken Burns makes some tasty docus, it cannot be denied. And PBS keeps rolling them out on DVD, for which we
are grateful. This two-disc set contains all four hours of this special, covering the expedition that went west across
the American continent all the way to the Pacific. This was, you understand, before the interstate system. Special features
include two featurettes involving Burns behind the scenes, a making-of featurette, and Charlie Rose interviews with Burns,
producer Dayton Duncan and author Stephen Ambrose.
(UK)
(CAN)
Adverse Video of the Week:
. No matter how many times we warn the general populace that by watching these things you're becoming part of
the problem, well, no one listens. And you get sequels. Paris and Nicole don't leave behind the best part of
the first series, i.e. flaunting their bodies, but they do so while headed on a cross country trip, working odd jobs as they
go. This Fox release comes with all the second season episodes, a half hour of outtakes and a bonus "lost" episode
from the first season.
(UK)
(CAN)
Anime DVD of the Week:
. The final three episodes of this series are on this release from Geneon. Aoi and Kaoru head out on a date,
Tina looks to be headed back to the states, and the friendships that developed at Sakuraba mansion...are they headed for
a close? The bonus bits included are: video of Yoko Ishida singing two songs at Anime Expo 2004, and clean closing
animation for one of the episodes.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. You have to hand it to the folks at Columbia-Tristar...what a nice way to promote a film and reading at the
same time. Brave, too, since I fear for the effective literacy rate, at least in this country, is plummeting. But that's
a rant for somewhere else. Here, you get the full Jane Austen novel, as well as the DVD, which sports bonus trailers,
production notes, and solid performances by both Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.
(UK)
(CAN)
Comedy DVD of the Week: . Richard Pryor, we hardly knew ye. Though as he points out colorfully in his own tribute, he's not dead yet. Featuring an entire parade of comedians who stroll by to pay homage, including Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams. This was originally a Comedy Central hour-long special (hitting DVD here thanks to Paramount) so it's not very long, but you do get some bonus bits in the way of additional footage. (UK) (CAN)
Music DVD of the Week:
. I dug the hell out of the Buena Vista Social Club. In the film, though, the standout for me was Compay.
At the time he was over ninety, smoking cigars, laughing, and talking about wanting to have more kids. Out of an entire
company of Cuban musicians who were more alive than most of the cookie cutter pop whackjobs we get in America, he was by
far the most vibrant of the bunch. This look at his life comes from Music Video Distributors and Efor Films, and features
a slew of live performances.
(CAN)
Music CD of the Week:
. This massive reissue of the soundtrack for the film's 40th Anniversary has been expanded out to two discs
and will please anybody who treasures good live action Disney, before it devolved into that grey goo stuff that Art Bell
talks about all the time. Not only do you get thirteen bonus tracks of instrumental and vocal action, but the second disc
contains excerpts from the film's story meetings, then interviews Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and the composers, the Brothers
Sherman.
(UK)
(CAN)