JBO: Joystiq Box Office, February 1 - February 5
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:
(Blu-ray: $39.95, much lower at retailers)
What goes perfectly with Zombieland on Blu-ray? Twinkies. Or Sno Balls, depending which side of the Hostess line you fall on. Although I have to agree with Woody Harrelson on this one: Sno Balls are disgusting. When I first heard about Zombieland, I didn't think I'd care for it much, but it ended up being fairly irresistible. The combination of Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin fighting zombies is a post-apocalyptic, abandoned United States just works extremely well, and it makes you wish you had the same playground to explore. (Zombie-free, of course.) Between Eisenberg's essential rules for zombie survival and an extremely hilarious cameo appearance (don't spoil it for people who haven't seen it yet!) this movie rides the comedy-horror line perfectly. There's also a sweet Zombieland PS3 theme on the disc, just move to the game tab and you'll see it there to download. It's not advertised on the package, but it's a nice extra.
Read on after the break for the rest of our recommendations, and let us know what you're watching!
Xbox Live Video Marketplace (Xbox 360)
(240
($3) HD, 160
($2) SD, to own)
It's not quite The Office, and it's not quite 30 Rock, but NBC's Parks and Recreation is so close that it makes this a nice triple-feature. Amy Poehler finally has a star vehicle and isn't sitting behind someone else or sharing a desk on Weekend Update, although she is joined here by the hilarious Aziz Ansari and the lovely Rashida Jones. It's not a spin-off of The Office, but it uses the same documentary-style camera work, with characters often speaking directly to the camera. It was also recently picked up for a third season, making this the perfect chance for you to get caught up if you haven't been watching. Highlights include the episode "The Set-Up" from this season, where Poehler's real-life husband Will Arnett gets set up on a date with her character. And things don't go so well. Xbox Live has the extended cut of this episode, which has extra Arnett footage, with some extra funny improvs. Good stuff.
Netflix Watch Instantly (Mac/PC, Xbox Live, PS3, subscription required: starts at $8.99 per month)
The Tick: The Complete Series
Remember The Tick? While the animated series based on the comic book of the same name was a bit better, this was one of the best things Patrick Warburton ever starred in. It was short-lived, bizarre, and hilarious. There's a lot more sexual innuendo than on the animated series, and they couldn't be quite as bizarre as that show or the comic book, but it was extremely funny. Warburton nailed down the Tick's swagger, musculature and his sheer idiocy so well that you wish he would have starred in a feature film version. Something that could potentially happen, as Barry Sonnenfield called The Tick pilot the best thing he's ever directed and Warburton still owns one of the suits. Rounding out the cast was his sidekick Arthur, Captain Liberty and Batmanuel, who were all pitch-perfect. As usual, this was a FOX series and it was killed off before its time.
PlayStation Store (PlayStation 3 or PSP)
Lost: Season Six Premiere - Parts 1 & 2
(2.99 HD, $1.99 SD, to own)
How to write this up without spoilers? It shouldn't surprise anyone to know that they're still on the island. Well, sort of. And that there are a lot of bizarre things going on. That's like every normal episode of Lost, right? Supposedly many things will be answered this season, which is also the final one for the show. It seemed unlikely that they would be able to tie everything up in a nice little package, but after watching both halves of this episode opener, I was impressed. There's a whole Gwyneth Paltrow Sliding Doors thing going on here, which probably won't make much sense if you haven't seen that movie. Suffice it to say that after you watch this, you'll want to go back and watch the pilot episode all over again. If they manage to keep this up, they might erase all traces of the godawful parts of season three from my mind forever.
Blu-ray Disc (PlayStation 3)
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials
($59.98, lower at many retailers)
Will it ever be possible to say goodbye to David Tennant's Doctor Who? He had as much impact on the entire series as Tom Baker ever did, and now that he's leaving, the new kid Matt Smith sure has some big shoes to fill. This set collects all of the Doctor Who specials that ran up to the end, including The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars and The End of Time, Part One & Two. So you get a farewell to the old guy and a welcome to the new guy. It's also a farewell to head writer and executive producer Russell T. Davies from the Doctor Who universe (he also wrote the first episode of Torchwood, and the special Torchwood: Children of Earth. Will Doctor Who survive the loss of both Tennant and Davies? Only time will tell. If it doesn't, at least you have these fun specials to watch over and over again -- which you will because they come with a ton of extras, including the Doctor Who Confidential BBC specials.
