JBO: Joystiq Box Office, October 12 - October 16
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:
(In actual theaters -- get out of the house and treat yourself!)
Remember Michael Jai White? The dude played Spawn in the forgettable movie, and was seen without makeup or a mask as Gambol in The Dark Knight. However, you've never seen him as a jive-talkin', nunchuck-swingin', butt kickin', fro-wearin' guy who gets results. From the website: "When 'The Man' murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages, and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to fight all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House." You owe it to yourself to see an amazing return to blaxploitation.
As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st -- well, actually, we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift. Plus, be sure to tell us what you'll be watching, or what you've seen recently that bowled you over.
Xbox Live Video Marketplace (Xbox 360)
(480
($6) HD, 320
($4) SD to rent)
What is it with horror films and the fascination of the 1980s? Probably the fact that some of our best and most terrifying movies in that genre came out of that era. Where The House of the Devil attempted to emulate an '80s horror movie, The Hills Run Red features one as its subject. There's a supposedly "lost" '80s horror flick, and the castmembers go looking for it. Of course, it is never a good idea to go looking for anything in any horror movie ... pretty much ever. As expected, there's gore, a demented killer, and bad things happening. Where torture porn looks like it's dying off, slasher movies are back. I just wish the killer wasn't named "Babyface."
Netflix Watch Instantly (Mac/PC or Xbox Live, subscription required: starts at $8.99 per month)
Jarhead is a great movie about the war in Iraq, and while it stands on its own, just consider what it could have been. Tobey Maguire, Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio and even Josh Jackson wanted to play the leading role that went to Jake Gyllenhaal, and Gary Oldman, Micheal Keaton and Kurt Russell were considered for Lt. Col. Kasinzki (Chris Cooper ended up in the role). Personally I would have loved to have seen the Batman version, with Bale in the lead and Michael Keaton as the Lt. Col ... but all that aside, Jarhead is a great movie. This was director Sam Mendes' followup to Road to Perdition, and it's been woefully unappreciated. Give it another shot.
PlayStation Store (PlayStation 3 or PSP)
Blade
($4.50 HD, $2.99 SD to rent, $9.99 SD to own)
It's a very lean week in the good movies department this week on the PlayStation Store. When they added The Hitcher, I was extremely excited ... until I found out it's the Sean Bean remake. Where's the high-definition version of the 1985 classic with C. Thomas Howell and Rutger Hauer? That is a near perfect movie. However, they did add an HD version of Blade, so not all is lost. Blade is one of those movies I'll flip by on a channel and end up watching all over again even though I own the DVD. Forget the sequels: this one is all you need. Blade himself actually makes hunting vampires seem like fun, and in a day and age of sparkly Twilight vampires, this film is a stake in the heart.
Blu-ray Disc (PlayStation 3)
($39.98 MSRP, lower at many retailers)
When this movie came out in theaters earlier this year, I was not a fan. Mostly because it wasn't the original television series. They changed it into a tribute to buffoonery and slapstick. Despite that, I watched it again recently and I can't deny that it's funny. Will Ferrell and Danny McBride holding on to a vibrating pylon singing Cher's "Do You Believe In Life After Love" is pure genius. Plus Ferrell's run in with a giant mosquito is both nauseating and hilarious. While it's definitely not the original television series by a longshot, this is destined to become one of those 3AM classics that people watch when they can't sleep. It's just a little boggling that Universal decided to set the MSRP at $39.98.
