Getting fit with a Wii U
Nintendo's popular fitness program launches Friday on its Wii U console.
"Wii Fit U" gives players more than 70 activities to try. With the use of the Wii Fit balance board peripheral, you can dance along to hip-hop and Flamenco routines, do a little virtual luging or scuba diving, and, gulp, weigh yourself to keep track of your progress. The new Fit Meter pedometer accessory can sync your non-Wii U activities to your game profile, so you can see how many calories you're burning even when you're not playing "Wii Fit U's" exercise games.
Maybe the best thing about "Wii Fit U": You can use it even if someone is watching TV, thanks to the Wii U's gamepad with a built-in display.
The "Wii Fit U" software and balance board package retails for $99.99. If you already have a balance board from your last-generation Wii console, you can get the software and the Fit Meter for $49.99. And finally, the Fit Meter itself runs $19.99.
<b>Now streaming on Netflix</b>
Many great titles disappeared from Netflix subscribers' streaming queues on Jan. 1 - "Braveheart," "Titanic" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" among them - but the latest crop of releases includes titles that should please everyone.
Do you love the classics? Then enjoy "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The Grapes of Wrath" or "Raging Bull." Fans of sci-fi and fantasy can now stream "Big Trouble in Little China" and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Need a laugh? "Bull Durham," "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and "Scrooged" can oblige.
My favorite new Netflix title: "Drinking Buddies," one of the best films of 2013. Directed by Chicagoan Joe Swanberg and set in the city, "Drinking Buddies" is a winning, realistic dramedy about unrequited love in the workplace - Revolution Brewing, to be exact. Olivia Wilde ("House, M.D.") and Jake Johnson ("New Girl") lead the lovable cast.
<b>Speaking of Swanberg ...</b>
The local filmmaker shows off his acting chops in the horror flick "You're Next," which hits Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday and is available now on vudu and other video on-demand services. A wealthy family's reunion turns into a giddy gorefest when animal-masked attackers start firing arrows into a remote mansion's windows. Swanberg is funny as the family's snotty, eldest son, but Australian actress Sharni Vinson steals the show with a performance that would make Sarah Connor and Ash "Evil Dead" Williams proud.
Horror fans can also check out the remake of "Carrie," starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, Tuesday on Blu-ray, DVD and on-demand services.
Ÿ <I>Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor and tireless consumer of pop culture. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.</I>