When the Wernham Hogg paper merchants needed someone to come in and shape up their office, they found the man who definitely thinks he is the most capable candidate in David Brent (Ricky Gervais). Brent rules a tight ship, but at the same time tries to be every employee's best friend. Brent is the centerpiece for this brilliant satire of 9-5 office life. Camera crews follow Brent and his employees around in this British series that uses no laugh track, and doesn't need it. The razor sharp comedy will have audiences in stitches. When released in England, this wickedly funny series broke all sales records for non-film DVD releases.

I had every intention of starting to watch the U.S. version of "The Office" until I noticed that the original BBC series was on Netflix. So being rather curious about the inspiration, I rented season 1.

Let's just say British humor is mostly lost on me. The slang and references usually go over my head. That's not to say this isn't a funny series, because I found several very amusing scenes in the 6 episodes, and Ricky Gervais is funny just standing there with a sheepish look on his face. It's so politically incorrect, and I love it. So much so that I'm getting season 2, which appears to be the last season. I definitely see why it inspired the U.S. version. And there's the office romance brewing...will it ever be resolved? Time will tell....


Jason Statham stars in this fast-paced and very loud thriller that was written specifically for him by French filmmaker Luc Besson. Statham (SNATCH) plays Frank Martin, a former Special Forces operative who is now a high-priced courier paid a lot of money to deliver packages he would rather know nothing about. His creed: Never change the deal, use no names, and never look in the package. But when he finds out that his latest delivery is a beautiful young woman (Shu Qi), everything changes, and he is off on a wild chase, in his specially made BMW, that includes plenty of explosions, bare-knuckle fighting, cool weaponry, and tongue-in-cheek humor. Hong Kong director Corey Yuen, who has previously worked with Jet Li, lets the action tell the story as Frank battles the bad guys in the streets of France. The score is by renowned jazz great Stanley Clarke.

Really, the only reason I rented this is to see a shirtless Jason Statham, and oh boy, was I NOT disappointed. He is one fine-looking man, and watching the "making of" bonus feature proves he's even more gorgeous when he smiles and laughs, which he really doesn't do in "The Transporter". I was a bit bored with the film about 1/2 way through, and the heroine was annoying (though lucky enough to get Jason nekkid), but it was a good action film, and I love the way Jason moves. I'll probably get the 2nd & 3rd Transporter movies now.

TWILIGHT's Robert Pattinson trades in the pale skin and vampire teeth of Edward Cullen for the guitar and life crisis of Art in this British dramedy. Much to his own disappointment--and that of his mother (Rebecca Pidgeon)--Art finds his London life as a musician is going nowhere. Enter Dr. Ellington (Powell Jones), a self-help guru and the author of "It's Not Your Fault." But his page-bound words aren't enough: Art has the graying writer live with him and his parents with comedic--and hopefully inspiring--results.

Labels: movies