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?
December 19, 2003
Book of the Week:
by James Curtis. You know, it's weird: I had grown up hearing Fields quoted around the house (not the bits
about cooking children, mind you) long before I actually saw any of his performances. But even having seen many of his
best routines, I knew nothing about the man himself. Enter Curtis--and this release from Knopf. I had no idea of the pain
that had driven his comedy (although based on other comedians and their lives, it's not terribly surprising), nor was I
certain that his act of being the misanthropic bastard who hated kids was just that--an act. A definitive portrait of an
acting legend.
Art Book of the Week:
by Arlen Schumer. Carmine Infantino, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, Gene Colan, Jim Steranko,
Neal Adams--art gods of the Silver Age of comics. Being a historian, this is more than just a coffee table book of artwork, though. Schumer populates this Collectors Press book with features on each of
them, with quotes from the artists and about the artists fighting for space on the page, so packed to the gills are the
pages with sweet art. If you're a fan of this era of comics, this is a must-read.
Audiobook of the Week:Telling Tales by
Neil Gaiman. We're tremendous fans of authors reading their own work. Any author will do. But one of our favorite authors
to listen to is The Neil. If you haven't gotten a chance to see him do it live (you poor bastard), then treat yourself to
this Dreamhaven release: two short stories and three much shorter pieces. From a modern version of the Pantomime ("Harlequin
Valentine") to a story that just breaks my damn heart every time I read or hear it ("The Wedding Present"), Neil does more
in a few sentences than most writers know how to do with entire stories.
Comic Book of the Week:Red #3 by Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner. The best three-parter Ellis has done since
City of Silence comes to a very violent close. Paul Moses, ex-killing machine, is unstoppable--there are
people who want him dead and he really has other ideas. So he's reactivated himself and is working his way up the food
chain with cold, calculated precision. Hamner's artwork only adds to the mayhem. Don't wait for the trade, get the issues
and enjoy.
Docu of the Week:
. Uncle Billy is your friend and mine. And there's been a large hole in the world since he left us and moved
on to the next thing. However, for posterity's sake--and to remind yourself of his majesty--you should check out this
film from Screen Edge and Eclectic DVD. Combining photos, paintings, bits from films he's been in, music and
footage from his last European reading, and extensive interviews, it's a great portait of an incredible writer and thinker.
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. Doing the intense, brutal crime show before such things were commonplace and trying to crowd each other off
the air, Michael Mann brought this thing to the telly--and Anchor Bay brings you the first season (all twenty episodes and
the pilot) in this worthy boxed set. Dennis Farina plays a Chicago cop who follows his nemesis, rising in organized crime,
to Las Vegas. And it's going to get ugly. Definitely worth a watch if you missed it the first go-round.
DVD of the Week:
. Don't even try to pretend you didn't like this flick when it first hit. Come on, fess up. And hey, if you
do need to revisit it, Artisan has made it easy to justify. Not only do you get two commentary tracks (sadly without
either Swayze or Grey--or Orbach, even), but you get a trivia track, interviews, Grey's screen test, and more. Yes, there's
a sneak peek of the sequel, but that doesn't mean you have to watch that part of the disc. No worries.
Anime DVDs of the Week:Original Dirty Pair
&
. For your dancing and dining pleasure, the latest two volumes of this series from ADV. Kei and Yuri are
the Dirty Pair, trouble consultants, normally heavily armed and clad in very little. In these latest discs, the Pair go
after a missing girl and a space liner catastrophe. If you haven't checked out these titles before, these are decent discs
to get on board with.
Holiday DVD of the Week:
. While it may not have reached the level of a holiday classic, it's fun enough to warrant a viewing. And Tim
Allen exudes the Nice Guy so well, it's hard not to like him. Helping things along on this Disney release is a director's
commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, a tour of the set, and more.
Adverse Video of the Week:
. Yeah, well, this should come as no surprise. I'm sure it smelled like a no-brainer at the time the studio
greenlit this sucker--Affleck, Lopez and Martin Brest, helmer of stuff like Scent of a Woman and the original
Beverly Hills Cop. However, it was positively crucified and disappeared from cinemas so quickly it made Timeline's
performance look smashing. And now Columbia-Tristar makes it possible for you to see for yourself the bad dialogue, the terrible pacing, the need for an editor--and more!
CDs of the Week: Ryan Adams: Love is Hell
&
. The album so good they had to release it in stages, Adams' latest from Lost Highway has actually been
put out in two EPs a month apart. The best way I can think of to describe what we've got here is an interesting cross
between The Smiths and Radiohead, although a bit further up the melodic rheostat from whatever you're hearing in your
head of that gestalt. Tracks to sample and decide for yourself: "This House is Not for Sale," "I See Monsters," and the
slightly bizarre but effective cover of Oasis' "Wonderwall."
Book of the Week:
by James Curtis. You know, it's weird: I had grown up hearing Fields quoted around the house (not the bits
about cooking children, mind you) long before I actually saw any of his performances. But even having seen many of his
best routines, I knew nothing about the man himself. Enter Curtis--and this release from Knopf. I had no idea of the pain
that had driven his comedy (although based on other comedians and their lives, it's not terribly surprising), nor was I
certain that his act of being the misanthropic bastard who hated kids was just that--an act. A definitive portrait of an
acting legend.
Comic Book of the Week: Red #3 by Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner. The best three-parter Ellis has done since
City of Silence comes to a very violent close. Paul Moses, ex-killing machine, is unstoppable--there are
people who want him dead and he really has other ideas. So he's reactivated himself and is working his way up the food
chain with cold, calculated precision. Hamner's artwork only adds to the mayhem. Don't wait for the trade, get the issues
and enjoy.
