Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) has reached the breaking point with his mind-numbing white-collar job at Initech Corporation. His girlfriend Anne (Alexandra Wentworth) convinces him to get a new outlook on life by visiting a hypnotherapist, and it changes his life forever. Armed with a new attitude, he is quickly promoted to upper management—but is that what he really wants?

Office Space has a cult following, and after finally seeing it, I can see why. From the creative mind behind Beavis and Butt-Head, writer/director Mike Judge captures the spirit of corporate America, from the stress and frustration of the daily commute to the constantly jammed fax machine. Anyone know a good hypnotherapist?

The AVC encode looks surprisingly good for a low-budget affair from the late '90s. The print is free of any nicks or scratches, and the color palette is natural, although it's a tad understated to depict the mood of the characters. Resolution is amazingly sharp—both in the foreground and background—and the slightly elevated contrast is the only negative in this otherwise excellent presentation.

The DTS-HD MA soundtrack won't be the first disc you reach for to demo your system, but that's not to say it sounds bad. The dialog-intensive track never tests a system's dynamics, and with the exception of the musical score, the LFE channel is nonexistent. What's important is that the dialog is crystal clear and always intelligible as it remains firmly rooted in the center speaker.

The special features include three PIP "Executive Games," which don't offer much in the way of entertainment. Additional supplements include a trivia track (with annoying Post-It notes obscuring the action), a retrospective with writer/director Mike Judge, eight deleted scenes, and the original theatrical trailer.

Roger Ebert called Office Space a "smart and savage comedy," and I couldn't agree with him more. As a drone in the corporate world, I can certainly relate to Peter's frustrations, although thankfully, my life is more enriched than his. The presentation is solid—especially the fine video encode— but the bonus features don't add much to the story.

Release Date: February 3, 2009
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Panasonic DMP-BD55

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 Amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics