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?
March 25, 2005
Book of the Week:
, edited by Tony Nourmand & Graham Marsh. Eighty years of horror art goodness is the focus of this Aurum Press
release. From Nosferatu all the way up to the present day--with side trips into the world of Hammer, not to mention
Japanese freaky horror--this sweet coffee table book is chock full of great poster art. Taking you on this journey is an
art director and a consultant to Christie's for posters. Nice.
(UK)
(CAN)
Audiobook of the Week:
by Stewart O'Nan & Stephen King, performed by Adam Grupper & Ron McLarty. For baseball fans, last year was a
hella year. The Red Sox won the World Series--finally--(it's not a spoiler if it's history, folks) but in this book
from Simon & Schuster Audio, you get the entire season run down for you by two established authors who also happen
to be fans of the team. From the miniscule details to the macro-view, they cover just about everything and it truly is a
fan's journal.
(CAN)
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Charles M. Schulz. We didn't realize at the beginning that, despite there being a reprint book of various
strips from this published every few months--or so it seems, anyway--there's a crapload of strips that have never seen
reprinting. That boggles our minds. Thus, show your gratitude to Fantagraphics by buying this sweet, sweet second edition
of Schulz' masterpiece. Comes with an intro by Walter Cronkite.
(UK)
(CAN)
TV DVD of the Week: . The series is basically the A-Team as a single person, so it's fairly high concept. He doesn't believe in guns but he can save the world with a stick of chewing gum. What a guy. All twenty-two first season episodes are here across six discs, thanks to the folks at Paramount. No bonus bits, but hey, if you enjoyed the series--or want to see what Richard Dean Anderson was doing before Stargate--check it out. No bonus bits. (UK) (CAN)
DVD of the Week:
. The Japanese remake craze has hit America and nothing is safe, not even movies about ballroom dancing. Even
though something was lost in the translation for the Richard Gere/Jennifer Lopez remake, you can still go and check out the
original tale, of an uptight man reinventing his life through dance, on this Miramax release. There's no feature except
an entreaty to check out the remake, but the film is strong enough to at least be rental material on its own.
(UK)
(CAN)
Foreign Film of the Week:
. Before director Fukasaku's massive epic, The
Yakuza Papers, there was this crime drama that also dealt with yakuza fun. After ten years in prison, Gunji is
a yakuza who's finally released. He goes back to his former gang on Okinawa and all is well, until it becomes clear that
the gang from the mainland, those who sent him up the river, must be dealt with. This Home Vision release comes with an
essay by Patrick Macias, Asian movie expert, as well as interview with Yamane Sadao, Fukasaku's biographer.
(UK)
(CAN)
Anime DVD of the Week:
. The first wave of radiation from the supernova kicked mankind's collective ass. Now as the second wave is heading
our direction, the time for training is over--it's time to execute the Great Mission. The latest three episodes hit
DVD thanks to Geneon, where we see the Great Wall and the foundations come into play to try and keep Earth from getting wiped
out...again. No bonus features.
(UK)
(CAN)
Animation DVD of the Week:
. We haven't been fond of Mr. Lucas' most recent work. Mostly because, you know, it sucks and he can't direct
his way out of a wet paper bag. But in anticipation of those of you who are going to go see Episode 3 and get heartbroken,
we offer up these twenty animated episodes, which bridge the gap between the last two prequel films. There's also featurettes,
two commentaries, galleries, and more. This hits the store shelf thanks to Fox.
(UK)
(CAN)
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. The watchword for this second Batman serial is "cheeseball," but it was a movie serial from 1949, so what do
you want? Columbia-Tristar is kicking out this two-disc set which will appeal to Batman completists and those who love the
watch serials, but if all you know is the high-tech modern Batman, you might want to stay the hell away. Even so, anything's
got to be better than Schumacher, right? All fifteen episodes are here.
(UK)
(CAN)
Docu DVD of the Week:
. History Channel throws this look at the founding father onto DVD, trying to get past all of the hackneyed
half-truths and stories and look at what the real guy was like. And for that, it's definitely worth watching. Comes with a
featurette, a bonus program on the Declaration of Independence, a timeline, a series of anecdotes,
quotes and a handy list of Franklin's innovations and inventions.
(CAN)
Music DVD of the Week:
. One of the greatest punk bands that ever existed, The Ramones kicked ass. Fans will be pleased to note that
Rhino has released this docu on DVD, giving them a complete history of these brilliant maniacs. There's concert footage,
yes, but mostly it's interviews with band members, other musicians, the whole nine. As far as bonus bits go, there's a
deleted scene, a whole slew of interview excerpts, a "Who Wrote What" segment with Tommy, and the trailer.
(UK)
(CAN)
TV Event of the Week: Conquest of America
on the History Channel. Had enough of them? No? Good. This four-episode docu is going to hit this coming Monday and Tuesday (two episodes
each night), so be prepared. It covers the exploration of the North American continent, paying particular attention to the
words of the men involved, if not the explorers themselves (such as Coronado, Hudson, Ribault and Bering), then
eyewitness accounts.
Music CD of the Week:
by Altan. If you are a huge fan of Gaelic music, then...well, you don't me to tell you to check out this latest
album from the band that's been around for forever and a weekend. But if you've never sampled this type of world music
(or perhaps you only know the Chieftains), then this Narada release is certainly a great place to get started. Check out the
tracks "Is the Big Man Within?/Tilly Finn's Reel" and the closer "Dún Do Shúil" to see for yourself.
(UK)
(CAN)