JBO: Joystiq Box Office, June 15 - 19
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly, and Blu-ray each week.
Recommendation of the Week:
Donkey Punch
(PSN: $5.99 HD and $3.99 SD to rent, $19.99 HD and $14.99 SD to own): Despite the title, Donkey Punch isn't a zany college comedy. It's a taut thriller that takes place in the confines of a luxury yacht at sea, and the titular term plays a big part in making everything unravel. It was shot for less than a million dollars in three weeks, yet still manages to look like a slick Hollywood film. Great soundtrack, terrific performances from a cast of unknowns, and you've got the perfect summer accompaniment. This will make you think twice (or even a third time!) before getting on a boat with a stranger.
Read for the full list on a system by system basis just after the break. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift.
Xbox Live Video Marketplace
The Land of the Lost: The Entire Series
(160 MS Points, or roughly $2.00 per episode)
Even though the new Will Ferrell movie version is getting hammered by The Hangover at the box office (it cost $100 million and has barely taken in $35 million so far), the Sid and Marty Krofft version should still be appreciated. Sure, it has cheesy effects. Yes, the acting is melodramatic. Sure, the premise of Season Three is goofy when Uncle Jack replaces Rick Marshall via the same exact waterfall. But, it's a classic and the Sleestaks are creepy no matter what decade you're in.
Netflix Watch Instantly (Xbox Live)
Chaplin: The Movie (Watch instantly through Xbox Live via Netflix, subscription required: starts at $4.99 per month)
If you're a fan of Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man and are looking forward to the upcoming Sherlock Holmes, then you might want to take a look at his performance in Chaplin, which netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Of course, this is pre-multiple run-ins with the law Downey, but he learned how to play the violin and saw a physical therapist to imitate Chaplin's posture for this role. Pretty impressive.
PlayStation Store
Gran Torino
($5.99 high definition, $3.99 standard definition to rent, $14.99 SD to own - no HD currently available to own)
Clint Eastwood is has been the human equivalent of Pixar lately: he just can't seem to make a flop. Since 2003 alone he's directed four films that have been nominated for multiple Oscars, and that roll was cut abruptly short when the Academy snubbed Gran Torino altogether. But who needs cares about an Oscar when it turns out being your highest-grossing film to date? Eastwood's Kowalski character in this movie makes "Dirty" Harry Callahan look like someone with mild indigestion, and is well worth seeing.
Blu-ray Disc
Lost: Seasons One and Two
($69.99 each)
ABC has finally brought the entire series up to HD Blu-ray by releasing the first two seasons of Lost on Blu-ray. You know, just in case you'd forgotten how they got stuck on that island in the first place. Even stranger is the fact that despite them finding just about everything they need to live on in the wreckage of that plane ... no one had a PSP or a DS aboard? Sadly, the special features don't explain that one. They've ported over all the special features from the original DVD releases, upped the picture to 1080p, and added PCM 5.1 soundtracks. Also exclusive to the Blu-ray set is "Season Pass," which allows you to pick up wherever you stopped watching, even if you take the disc out, play 27 different games, ship your console to Hawaii, and set it up beachside on a deserted island.
