Office Space

Stop double-taking. You read it right. Office Space is the Netflix Instant movie of the week. This beloved cult movie directed by Mike Judge is a must-see. Don't judge the film based on Judge's history with Beavis and Butt-head... Office Space delivers.

Office Space (1999) was filmed in Austin, TX

The film tells the story of three misfit employees, led by Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), who rebel against their boss,  (Gary Cole) during a company downsizing. Peter instigates an embezzlement scheme to take fractions of pennies off of company transactions. Sounds like a solid plan, right?

Wrong. But I won't spoil the hilarity. 

This film comes from a Nine to Five-esque idea but evolves into a hypnotic (pun intended, for those of you who have seen this movie), quirky story about hating your job and giving up. Don't mark this off as another Jennifer Aniston rom-com (she stars as Peter's love interest in the film). She rocks and so does this movie. Rounded out with some of the most INSANE characters I have ever seen, Office Space will not disappoint.

So how do I rate this film? 

LOVED IT. 

Go watch it, everyone. Seriously. Go.

If you're still not convinced, check out the Office Space trailer. But seriously, go watch it.

The Good Guy

"The Good Guy", write and directed by Julio DePietro, tells the story of a young Wall Street mogul dating a beautiful bookworm and mentoring a naïve veteran trying to make it in New York. The movie is narrated by the main character Tommy, played by Scott Porter ("Friday Night Lights", "Heart of Dixie"). Beth, his girlfriend, is played by Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls") and Daniel the trainee is played by Bryan Greenberg ("Friends With Benefits"). 

The Good Guy (2009)

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 The beauty of indie films is that they are not strong-armed by studios to tell a certain type of story...the typical romantic comedy is in play here but there is a refreshing twist. Audiences are used to the narrator serving as their channel into the story, but what happens when the narrator is not worthy of their trust? As soon as the movie opens, Tommy begins feeding the audience a sob-story, telling the tale of himself and Beth as he wants it to be known. It is soon revealed that Tommy is full of it.

Tommy claims to want a relationship and to be a good friend to Daniel and to keep Daniel on his team at work. This initially is believable, as Tommy takes Daniel shopping and fights his boss (played by Andrew McCarthy!) to keep Daniel at his job. Soon after, Daniel and Beth meet and Daniel joins her book club. As soon as any suspicion of Beth and Daniel canoodling arises, Tommy loses it. As soon as Tommy realizes someone else can get her, he wants her even more.

While I was drawn in by Scott Porter, the wheelchair-bound Jason Street from Friday Night Lights, who I loved for all five seasons, I was very quick to forget this history as soon as questionable behaviors were displayed. Even without the spin he puts on EVERY shady action, he is a Wall Street man of course, the suspicion that he is a scumbag is proven within the first 20 minutes.

The hook this movie has is genius - what do you do when you can't trust the narrator? How do we cope when our deepest and most accessible insight into the story is completely delusional? These are questions that I have never been faced with until I saw this movie. 

DePietro's story could have been that much better if viewers were not completely sure of Tommy's playboy habits from the beginning. Suspicion can drive a movie and in my opinion, this is a missed opportunity. Imagine someone watching a movie and trusting a narrator...and then realizing that nothing that person said was valid. You were duped. Now that is enticing.

 "The Good Guy" Trailer

Last Night

One of the major challenges of Netflix Instant is navigating their suggestions...it is ridiculous. Sometimes they suggest hidden treasures that I watch 40 times but other times they suggest the most random, uninteresting films. This blog will be devoted to helping you sort through the never-ending instant suggestions. I will guide you to the best of them, starting with Last Night.

Last Night, written and directed by Massy Tradjedin, is available on Netflix Instant right now. YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS. I have seen many an indie flick in my day and this one is one of the best. Tradjedin is an Iranian director and this film is her directorial debut.

Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington play a young married couple (Joanna and Michael Reed) who are both given the opportunity to be unfaithful while spending a night apart. Joanna is reacquainted with Alex, her ex, played by Guillame Canet while Michael is out of town on a business trip with Laura, played by Eva Mendes.

Seriously, who would even consider cheating on either of these beautiful people? But then again, their tempters are equally attractive.

The narrative of this film is beautiful. It is told in a mostly linear way, but throughout the movie, it cuts to Joanna and Michael, respectively, looking out of a cab. This adds a level of depth to the story that we don't get in a lot of mainstream films.

THE ACTING Y'ALL. Keira Knightley is very underrated, in my humble opinion. She does not get enough credit for the work she does. The scene where she accuses Michael of cheating on her with Laura...amazing.

I give this film 5 stars: I loved it.