Sharp at the Movies: Office Space on Blu-ray

by Leo on March 31st, 2009

 You probably didn’t get the memo. Otherwise, you’d be loafing on your lazy boy right now, guffawing at the cock-ups of those memorable office drones - Peter, Michael Bolton, Samir and the bug-eyed, almost inhuman Milton. And in high definition, no less.Written and directed by Mike Judge (creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill), Office Space was released in theaters in 1999 to a generally lukewarm reception; this was a time before the likes of David Brent and Michael Scott, before the idea that comedies t. No one knew what to make of a movie about the stuffy, albeit hilariously awkward goings on in an average American office -  the last place one might have thought would inspire humour.A few years later, a funny thing happened to Mike Judge: the royalty checks started pouring down on. Office Space had quietly become a cult hit. DVD’s flew off shelves. College students started quoting lines like, “If I had a million bucks, I’d do two chicks at the same time.”It turned out Judge’s office movie was genius, chiefly because it captured the so-awkward-it-hurts moments of everyday life - like those suicidal morning commutes and that quacky receptionist down the hall with too much makeup on - and made them painfully funny.Among the special feature goodies is a hilarious 27-minute featurette called “Out of the Office: An ‘Office Space’ Retrospective with Mike Judge,” in which the director and some other cast members like Ron Livingston and (a pre-plastic surgery) Jennifer Aniston recollect old memories of making the movie, from auditions to development, to production. You’ll find the film’s original trailer too, as well as eight short deleted scenes that could have easily made the cut. Twentieth Century Fox Blu-ray 

Sharp’s Week in Review

by Mark on March 30th, 2009

As with everything he does, Andre Benjamin came up for the name of his clothing line, Benjamin Bixby, in an unconventional way. At a recent appearance in Toronto to promote his newly unveiled Spring/Summer collection, Benjamin explained the genesis of the name. Read more…

When we arrived in San Francisco to drive the new Prius, Toyota decided that it would make more sense for us to drive the outgoing model from the airport to our hotel in Napa Valley. Fair enough. We were to pick up the cars just outside the arrival area, but every time a Prius pulled up it was someone being dropped off, not our test car. The disorganized pick-up procedure had us waiting 15-20 minutes for a car to drive, but it gave us time to realize that there were more Prius buzzing around San Francisco than just about anywhere we’d ever been. Read more…

Before the movie (and the merchandising, and Malin Akerman in a Teflon bondage leotard), there was the graphic novel. It’s as dark, gritty and philosophically potent as anything Dostoyevsky ever wrote. It’s also the best comic book you’ll ever read. Read more…

Sharp Style: Nike Free 5.0

by Mark on March 27th, 2009

There are lots of nice sneakers out there, like these. And these. But it’s our experience that the better an athletic shoe looks, the worse-suited it is for actual athletic activity. We suspect that it’s possible to exercise and look good simultaneously, but as far as footwear is concerned we’ve heretofore been at a loss.

Enter the Nike Free 5.0, a sleekly designed, retro-reminiscent trainer. Aside from being a looker, it’s also an existentialist dilemma: it’s a shoe that refuses to believe that it exists. A lightweight trainer made from soft, synthetic microfibers, the shoe is designed to feel like you’re training barefoot. As such, it allows your feet to move naturally and in an unrestrained manner, while providing support and traction. The best of both worlds? It might just be.

Nike Free 5.0, $110.00. Visit nike.com/nikefree for more information.

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