In The Line Of Fire (1993)

There was a lot of love given to The Fugitive last year, tied to the fact that it was 30 years since it was released and it received the 4K disc treatment, and I am one of many people happy to see it. I have always loved that film, but seeing all the praise it was receiving last year kept making me wonder why In The Line Of Fire wasn’t getting the same treatment. Although a very different movie in many ways, it also feels like the other great all-star thriller from 1993.

John Malkovich plays a man who intends to assassinate the President Of The United States. He is smart, he has a background that helped him form a particular set of skills, and he is very determined to see his plan through to the very end. Things get more interesting for him when he realises that he can engage in a battle of wits with a Secret Service agent named Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood). Frank has spent his time in the service of numerous Presidents, and he was there on the day that JFK was assassinated. Did he hesitate at the moment he was supposed to act selflessly? He may just get a chance to live through that moment again, a chance to figure out if he can take a bullet for someone under his protection.

Written by Jeff Maguire (that’s it, just Jeff, no need for a team of writers interfering with the work), In The Line Of Fire is just top-tier entertainment from start to finish, plotted well enough to keep viewers from overthinking the implausibilities, making use of a great cast of characters, and maintaining a brilliant game of cat and mouse that has you wondering if you will get a happy or downbeat ending.

Director Wolfgang Petersen proves to be a great choice to steer the ship. In fact, you could easily argue that Petersen had an amazing little run between the early 1980s right up to the year 2000 where he basically did no wrong, although I say this without having rewatched Outbreak since I owned it on VHS. He mixes the old-fashioned star casting and interplay with set-pieces that benefit from his ability to step up the tension, and there are one or two scenes that wander very close to outright horror territory.

Eastwood is frankly superb in a lead role that allows him to both be the tough guy and remember that he is no longer a spring chicken. It’s a performance full of wry humour, worldly wisdom, and inherent courage. Malkovich, always an intense screen presence, gives us one of the villains for the ages, someone who is smart and determined and also not entirely in the wrong to have such a major axe to grind. Every scene that has Malkovich talking on the phone with Eastwood is much more electrifying than any moment simply depicting people on the phone should be. Rene Russo is a welcome addition, playing another agent who catches the eye of Oor Clint, and Dylan McDermott is the typical trope of the younger partner who ends up in a lot more danger than he can handle. Others who get some screentime include John Mahoney, Gary Cole, Fred Thompson, John Heard, and both Tobin Bell and Steve Railsback appear for a few minutes.

After my latest rewatch of this, I facetiously stated that In The Line Of Fire jogged alongside a Presidential motorcade so that Se7en could run. I still think there’s a grain of truth in that, considering how Clint’s character becomes such an important part of Malkovich’s endgame, but the best thing about this film is that it makes use of so many familiar elements while very much being its own thing. When it comes to smart and entertaining mainstream thrillers, this one really hits the mark.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022)

I have heard people say that you can enjoy The Bob’s Burgers Movie without having seen any of the series it stems from and, while that is true, I would have to disagree slightly. I have only seen the first few episodes, so far, but that allowed me to know the essence of the various main characters from the very start of this feature, which in turn helped me to enjoy the movie even more than I am sure I otherwise would have.

Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) is once again in a bit of a pickle, no pun intended. The burger restaurant isn’t doing great, the bank won’t allow a time extension on a loan due to be repaid, and then, to top it all off, a large sinkhole appears right in front of their main entrance. That sinkhole even reveals a body, a murder victim. This spurs the kids - Louise (Kristen Schaal), Tina (Dan Mintz), and Gene (Eugene Mirman) - to investigate, primarily because they want to clear the name of their landlord and avoid losing their home and business. Meanwhile, Linda (John Roberts) just wants to help her husband feel like a burger king once again.

Directed by Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman, with a script written by Bouchard and Nora Smith (every one of them having worked on the show, Bouchard’s creation, for many years), this is a transition from TV to film that perfectly opens up the world we are shown, ever so slightly, without losing anything that made the show so popular with its fanbase.

The voice acting is as good as you would expect, the main cast members have been doing this for just over a decade now and they ARE those characters, to the ears of many people anyway. But there are a number of other treats throughout, particularly the roles for Kevin Kline (this reminded me of how much I love his movie work) and Zach Galifianakis, playing brothers entangled in the murder investigation, and Gary Cole as Sergeant Bosch. I won’t list everyone else who makes a cameo appearance, but you can check through the cast list to find a real smorgasbord of comedic treats. 

The visual style is in line with the show, albeit given a slight excuse now and then to go a bit “bigger and better”, and every character gets a main role in the story without it feeling forced or dishonest. This is an object lesson in how to do this kind of thing, with the one minor criticism being the fact that it can’t ever feel truly cinematic. 

You get some songs, you get numerous puns, you get someone attempting to craft a sexy burger outfit, and you get a dysfunctional family all . . . working their buns off to save their business, even if they have to solve a decades-old murder to do it.

Not unmissable, but absolutely recommended to fans of the show and fans of comedy served up with relish.

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Anderson Falls (2020)

There's a point in Anderson Falls that somehow marks the divide between the good and the bad. It comes along just after the opening scenes, a thrilling sequence that shows the M. O. of two killers played by Gary Cole and Richard Harmon. Shawn Ashmore is the cop who finds his wife dead, an apparent suicide that he knows is really murder. And it is the way the film shows his mindset after her death that, to me anyway, marks the start of a swift plummet in quality. Ashmore has a beard. Yes, this is a film in which a good cop is shown to be upset by the fact that he has given up on shaving. Because we all know that if you give up on shaving then you give up on life.

At the risk of spoiling anything for viewers tempted to see the film, that first paragraph sums up the film. That's it. Ashmore is the only cop convinced that a number of suicides are actually homicides. He knows this because his wife would never kill herself, she had everything to live for. While obsessing over the case, he upsets his ex-partner-now-Captain (Daniella Alonso), he upsets his mother (Lin Shaye) and he keeps delaying a planned trip to Disneyland with his son (Judah Mackey).

First of all, if you are director Julien Seri, or if you're a friend of his in any way, then please look away now. Seri was supposed to be presenting this film as the first film on the final day of Glasgow Frightfest 2020, but technical issues meant that it ended up being the last film of the festival. And Seri kindly stuck around for the whole day, introducing his movie in a small Q & A session. He seemed very nice, and earnest in what he seems to view as a decent little thriller with some nice twists and turns. Which is why he, or anyone who knows him, should look away now.

Anderson Falls is absolutely awful, in a way that made many viewers laugh out loud during moments that weren't really designed to be comedic. A lot of the problems lie with the script, by Giles Daoust. I'm not familiar with the filmography of Daoust, and this doesn't make me want to check out anything else he has done. Interestingly, he wrote and directed a movie called The Room back in 2006. Maybe he's always wanted to tap into the same rich vein of comedy gold that Tommy Wiseau lucked into with his movie, and maybe Anderson Falls is his best attempt at that. If so, well done. He almost manages it.

This is a film you must see if you want to watch Shawn Ashmore stringing together various photos and news items a la Charlie Day in that popular conspiracy theory image, or if you want to see him shouting "I hate you, I hate you" at those same photos, or even chuckle at him just moments later telling his captain that he has managed to think like the killers and has a list of women he would kill next. Because the killers kill women. Every time. And make it look like the same kind of suicide. Every time. And there's no actual reason for it. No, nothing. Seriously. Which doesn't stop the killers having their own board of connected items and photos in their house basement, despite none of the victims being connected in any way.

Perhaps you'd like to watch a black and white image of Shawn Ashmore making faces alongside other black and white images of Shawn Ashmore making faces in a fleeting scene that looks like the rough cut of a 1980s Godley & Creme music video. Well, good times, this is the film for you. Or maybe you like Gary Cole, who is a great actor, but want to see how he deals with some of the worst dialogue that he's ever been given. Again, have your fill.

I doubt that a better cast could have helped this, considering how much both Cole and Shaye even struggle to do their usual good work, but Ashmore is far from a strong lead. I LIKE Ashmore, I really do, but he is not the right fit for this role. At all. Alonso gets to utter every typical Police Captain line to the troubled cop she cares about, of course, and Mackey is a child, so he can either greatly improve in the next few years or eventually quit if he continues to be as bad as he is here. It's Harmon who comes out of this best, and it's no coincidence that he also has the least lines of dialogue.

Julien Seri got himself a fair few fans with his previous movie, Night Fare (which I have yet to see). I can't see this one making him popular with anyone, aside from bad movie connoisseurs. Avoid at all costs.

2/10

The Joneses (2009)

David Duchovny and Demi Moore head up this sharp comedy drama about a seemingly perfect family who move into a new neighbourhood and start convincing all around them of just what needs purchased to be living the American dream. The truth is that the family doesn't somehow keep buying everything that becomes the next big thing, they are paid to advertise everything that makes up their lifestyle to ensure that it IS the next big thing. Including their fake teenage son (Ben Hollingsworth) and fake daughter (Amber Heard), this family is out to prove just how great they are in this particular field of stealth marketing.

Written and directed by Derrick Borte (developing the whole thing from a story by Randy T. Dinzler), The Joneses may not be quite as sharp or clever as it could be, but it certainly tries to stand out from the pack with the mixture of sly wit, intelligence and thought-provoking ideas on display.

I'm a big fan of Duchovny, so the fact that his character was really the heart of the movie (he's an ex-salesman new to this particular way of shifting products) was a big plus for me. Moore can be good in the right roles, and this is a good role for her to play with. Heard and Hollingsworth are both just fine as the teenagers who start to upset the status quo with standard teenage turbulence. In supporting roles, there are fantastic performances from Gary Cole and Glenne Headly, as the neighbours most dazzled by the Joneses, and a solid turn from Lauren Hutton, playing the area manager keeping an eye on all of those sales figures.

While there are times when The Joneses seems unsure of exactly what it wants to be, as the plot develops and things move to an impressive third act, it becomes apparent that the film has been as honest and direct as the main characters have been secretive and slippery. It does dance around tonally, but it does so with great success, moving from lighter scenes to the darker material that makes up more of the second half. It's selling a seemingly ridiculous, but undoubtedly interesting, premise, and I happily bought it.

And, yes, I fully appreciate the irony of that last sentence.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Joneses-DVD-David-Duchovny/dp/B003IVZRVA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389629172&sr=8-1&keywords=the+joneses

Vamp U (2013)

Written and directed by Matt Jespersen and Maclain Nelson (who also stars in the movie), Vamp U is an enjoyable comedy that highlights the perils of love and potential immortality in the long lifespan of a vampire.

Adam Johnson plays a vampire named Wayne Gretzky. He hasn't been able to bare his fangs since he accidentally killed his loved one (Julie Gonzalo) many years ago. Thankfully, he's been able to lead a relatively normal life, teaching history at university. But everything starts to get complicated when he spots a young woman (Julie Gonzalo) who looks just like his deceased love. It's not long until one or two people are bitten and the students look in danger of suffering some major blood loss.

There have been a number of vampire comedies over the years, some of them pretty good and some of them called Vampires Suck. Thankfully, Vamp U is a good one.

The central performances all help a lot, with Johnson and Gonzalo both having a lot of fun in their roles. Nelson also does just fine onscreen, never seeming to fall into that trap that some writer-directors fall into - creating a movie to give themselves all of the best moments. And there are fun supporting turns from Matt Mattson, Bart Johnson, Alexis Knapp and, in particular, the great Gary Cole, who has a lot of fun as a man who knows the truth about his vampiric friend.

The direction is fine, with everything nicely polished and professional despite not having a huge budget to work with (I assume). The script isn't full of one-liners to make you double over while laughing, but it creates a fun story for the central characters, develops everything well, and includes some nice running gags. This is about the characters more than the dialogue, but the balance works out nicely in terms of entertainment value.

Vamp U may not be the most enticing movie title you'll have seen recently, and it doesn't have a cast full of A-listers, but give it an hour and a half of your time and you might just end up as amused and entertained as I was. 

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Vamp-U-Gary-Cole/dp/B00BQ1936Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389639307&sr=8-2&keywords=vamp+u

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

This review is going here because, well, I wanted to start off the new year with a smile on my face.

As simple as it is gut-bustingly funny, Dodgeball is a near-perfect mix of great one-liners and physical comedy, populated by a cast all playing to their strengths and directed with sharp focus on moving from one comedy beat to the next.

Vince Vaughn plays Peter La Fleur, owner of Average Joe's gym. La Fleur is a nice guy, but a terrible businessman. When he's given a very short time in which to come up with a very large sum of money it looks like Average Joe's is about to close. Which is good news for White Goodman (Ben Stiller), the narcissistic, dense, mean owner of Globo-Gym (slogan: "We're better than you, and we know it").
There may, however, be a way to raise the money and save Average Joe's. Yep, you guessed it. Dodgeball. There's a big tournament about to happen, and the prize money is just the exact amount that La Fleur needs to save the gym.

Written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who would score another big comedy hit almost ten years later with We're The Millers, this is very much a love or hate movie, and I love it. In fact, it's one of those movies that I love so much that I just hope many of my friends also love it, otherwise I start to question their taste, and then question the basis of our friendship, and then question by questioning manner, and then just collapse into a heap of paranoia and low self-esteem.

Vaughn is a fast-talking average Joe (almost literally, in this case), Stiller is the angry idiot, Justin Long is a good-hearted klutz, Stephen Root is someone who builds and builds up his anger until he explodes, Joel David Moore is a socially awkward bundle of nerves and, well, I guess you get the picture. What I'm emphasising here with my description of each character is that this is not a film to watch if you do not like any of these actors doing their usual stuff. Christine Taylor is very good as the attractive young woman who La Fleur takes a shine to, Rip Torn is hilarious as a violent dodgeball coach, and there are great cameos from the likes of David Hasslehoff, William Shatner, Hank Azaria, Lance Armstrong (although his cameo isn't as funny now as it once was) and even Chuck Norris. Gary Cole and Jason Bateman are to commentators with distinctly different styles, and Missi Pyle is the most dangerous woman in the world with a dodgeball.

Is it a modern comedy classic? Most people would probably say that it isn't, but Dodgeball has a better laugh-per-minute ratio than almost any other comedy I can think of since the turn of the 21st century. It's the perfect blend of clever and dumb, with an extra sprinkling of . . . . . . . . even more dumb, and I certainly rank it up there with many other comedy greats. It might not be perfect, but it comes close.

And the sequence that pops up during the end credits may not be big or clever, but it's yet another moment that makes me burst out laughing, ensuring that the smile stays on my face for some time after the movie has finished.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

A Simple Plan (1998)

Directed by Sam Raimi, and adapted for the screen by Scott B. Smith (working from his own novel), A Simple Plan is a low-key film from a director better known for wild adventures and some frenetic camerawork. He may not have been the obvious choice to work with this material, but the end result speaks for itself.

Bill Paxton plays Hank, a young man working hard to maintain a decent life for himself and his pregnant partner, Sarah (Bridget Fonda). But everything looks as if it could change for the better when Hank, his brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton), and Jacob's drinking buddy, Lou (Brent Briscoe), discover a crashed plane in the woods that happens to have over $4M dollars on board. The men decide to keep the money, but to wait until they find out whether or not it is safe to spend. If any heat starts to come down on them, at all, then Hank will turn their find over to the police. It's not long until the money starts to cause problems, and paranoia begins to set in.

Set in a Minnesota covered in snow - I don't know if it's often so white there or just seasonally - this is a stark film. A film that juxtaposes death and blood right beside all of that pure, white snow. It also juxtaposes a situation getting out of control with performances that are brilliantly calm and natural. Paxton has rarely been better in an everyday Joe role, Thornton is as great as he so often can be, and it's only Briscoe who gets to act up a bit, although his character still feels very believable as he just happens to be that kind of drunken ass. Fonda's character is not onscreen all that often, but makes quite an impact on the proceedings with the ideas that she gives to Hank. And then there's Chelcie Ross and Gary Cole, both doing great work in small, but vital, roles.

One of a few Sam Raimi movies that doesn't feel obviously like a Sam Raimi movie, this shows that he can leave his reliable bag of tricks aside, when the material is strong enough, and focus on crafting a story full of memorable characters without any quirks, overdone horror or ridiculous diversions pandering to his own sense of humour. That's not to say that I don't love many of his other movies (I do, I REALLY do, especially the three films featuring a certain young man named Ash battling a load of demons in a cabin in the woods), but it's always good to see him stretching himself slightly instead of relying on the stuff that he knows will please his fans.

A film executed in a way that almost mirrors the plotting, this seems simple enough, but there's plenty going on to make it appear so enjoyable and effortless. It's well worth your time.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Plan-DVD-Bill-Paxton/dp/B007ECE378/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385152923&sr=8-1&keywords=a+simple+plan

I Spy (2002)

An action comedy that puts laid back Owen Wilson alongside fast-talking Eddie Murphy should be fairly enjoyable, right? Well, I Spy IS fairly enjoyable. It's just, sadly, not much more than that. And be warned, fans of the old TV series will find very little connection to it beyond the title.

Wilson is a U.S. government agent named Alex, and his latest mission is to find a top secret jet that can be rendered practically invisible. It has been stolen and will be sold to the higthest bidder, which will probably be someone who wants to use it as a highly effective bomb delivery system. To get close to the man (Malcolm McDowell) most likely to have the jet, Alex has to work alongside a civilian, a cocky boxer named Kelly Robinson, who doesn't like to be told what to do. Can the pair manage to get along long enough to complete the mission?

Director Betty Thomas, who has at least three much better movies in her past filmography (Doctor Dolittle, Private Parts and The Brady Bunch Movie), does competent enough work, but the movie is really undermined by the writing. Four people worked together on this screenplay, so I guess it's a limited success that they at least managed to contribute one laugh each.

Murphy may not be on top form, but he doesn't do a bad job. Owen Wilson also doesn't do a bad job, necessarily. It's just a shame that Wilson has somehow overplayed his schtick more than Murphy, as hard to believe as that is. McDowell does fine in the standard bad guy role, Famke Janssen is always a welcome addition to any cast, in my view, and Gary Cole occasionally swoops in to steal the movie as Carlos, the agent who actually looks and acts like someone who could be entrusted with top secret missions full of danger.

There are better buddy action comedies (I could name a dozen off the top of my head), there are better spy comedies (Get Smart is one of the best) and there are better movies you could pick starring any of the leads or supporting players. That doesn't necessarily mean that I Spy is a BAD film. It creeps just above average, but it should never be your top priority.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Spy-DVD-Eddie-Murphy/dp/B00009B0QA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1370935276&sr=1-1&keywords=I+spy

I'll Be Home For Christmas (1998)

Getting home for the holidays, it's been a plot device for many, many years and can prove very successful with the right script, cast and director. Planes, Trains & Automobiles remains one of my favourite movies and is, arguably, one of the best of this particular type of movie. I'll Be Home For Christmas is one of the worst. Well, one of the worst that I've seen.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays a fast-talking college student named Jake who plans to spend Christmas with his girlfriend, Allie (Jessica Biel), somewhere nice and warm and away from family. Allie has other plans, however, and wants to go home for Christmas. When Jake is given an incentive by his dad (Gary Cole) - get home by the time the family sit down to dinner and he can have the Porsche - he decides that spending time with his family might not be so bad after all. Unfortunately, his journey gets off to a bad start when a few disgruntled fellow students throw a Santa suit on him, complete with glued-on hat and beard, and leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere. Jake wants to catch up with Allie, who accepts a ride from the irritating Eddie (Adam LaVorgna) after thinking that Jake has just let her down, and wants to get home in time to accept that fine car and he's prepared to do whatever it takes.

Director Arlene Sanford hits every expected beat in this "by-the-numbers" Disney movie. The script by Tom Nursall and Harris Goldberg is so bland that I imagine it being printed on beige paper. Of course, I wasn't expecting anything stellar but there are many live action Disney movies better than this one, especially when it comes to holidays (go for the wonderful The Santa Clause at Christmas and keep a copy of Hocus Pocus on standy for Halloween).

The soundtrack features a number of the usual seasonal hits and is one of the few plus points. The rest of the movie is just far too predictable and bland, from the way that Jake tries to get himself out of trouble with a police officer to the life lesson being learned en route from A to B.

This would all be more bearable, enjoyable even, if there was a decent star in the lead role but, good grief, Jonathan Taylor Thomas is just annoying for every moment that he's onscreen. I mean proper "just punch him in the face to make him go away" annoying. He's supposed to be charming and cool but that just never comes across, in my opinion. The character is just a douche, plain and simple. Adam LaVorgna's character is also a douche but he's SUPPOSED to be a douche so that's okay. Jessica Biel is as appealing as ever though it's hard to understand why she's attracted to the main character. Gary Cole isn't onscreen for long but I always like to see him in any movie so that was another bonus. The other person worth mentioning is Andrew Lauer, who provides a lot of fun with his small role as an easily distracted driver who helps Jake out and then pretends to be a helper elf in order to avoid the long arm of the law.

So the movie gets a point each for Biel, Cole, Lauer and the Christmas songs. A total of four. Yeah, that sounds about right to me.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ill-Home-For-Christmas-DVD/dp/B0001KZNNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354262847&sr=8-1

Office Space (1999)

Written and directed by Mike Judge, Office Space resonates with a hell of a lot of people just as much now as it did when it was first released. The fact that the film wasn't given much, if any, support and advertising when it was released perhaps explains why those who love the film are so loyal to it. It's a cult hit but it's a cult hit with a lot of appeal to anyone who has been stuck in an office job at some point in their lives. It's a movie that you can watch nowadays and share with others, an experience full of familiarity and wish-fulfilment that makes for perfect viewing when you need cheering up after a bad day at work.

Ron Livingston plays the central character, Peter Gibbons, one of the hundreds of thousands of people who seem to spend their working days trying to hold on to whatever is left of their sanity from the moment they wake up to the moment they leave the office. He stares at the cubicle walls around him and spends a lot of his day just zoning out. That all changes, however, when he takes part in a unique hypnotherapy session that leaves him completely calm and not caring one bit about his job. This could get him fired, of course, but actually ends up making him look better to the two consultants who are checking out the company and "streamlining" some departments.

It's a bit rough around the edges, and not quite as sharp as it could be, but Office Space well and truly deserves the reputation that it has amongst people who have been praising it for years. The central characters are all superb but the biggest laughs come from the supporting cast of downtrodden workers (especially Milton, played by Stephen Root - a pretty perfect physical interpretation of the animated character*).

Ron Livingston is ably supported by David Herman and Ajay Naidu, both portraying fellow sufferers, and there's yet another wonderful turn from the always wonderful Richard Riehle. Gary Cole is hilarious as the office boss while John C. McGinley and Paul Wilson prompt more laughs as the two consultants impressed by Peter's attitude. Then there's Jennifer Aniston, giving a bright and breezy performance as Joanna, a woman stuck in a different kind of workday hell at an eatery named Chotchkie's.

It's a shame that a subplot about the workers trying to make themselves a small, dishonest profit feels shoehorned in and not that well thought out but there are enough brilliant scenes (many of them involving a frustrating printer) to raise the movie well above average and make the whole thing worth repeated viewings.

*For those who don't know, Mike Judge made the film based on his own animated works, "Milton", that proved to be very popular on Saturday Night Live.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Office-Space-DVD-Ron-Livingston/dp/B0000BZNIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342348922&sr=8-1