Horrible Bosses (2011)

4/5

Horrible Bosses follows three friends who decide to kill their bosses. Nick (Bateman) has been working late nights and weekends for 8 years to earn a promotion to VP of Sales, only to have the CEO (Spacey) take on the position himself. After an unfortunate event, Kurt (Sudeikis) finds himself under the rule of his old boss's son (Farrell), a cokehead and all-around dick. Newly-engaged Dale (Day) is being sexually harassed by his sociopathic boss (Aniston). When things become too unbearable, they decide their bosses would be better off dead and bumble around in search of a hitman. They end up with Jamie Foxx, who has a hilarious moniker that I will let you discover for yourself when you watch the movie.

As far as comedies go, there is nothing particularly new or unique about this one. However, it is a solid film, filled with raunchy humor and efficient pacing. The jokes come fast and furious, delivered with precise comic timing from lovable characters. Charlie Day pretty much plays himself, which I can't get enough of, and the other two are in their usual good form. The movie breaks no new ground, and (save for one shocking death) is fairly predictable throughout, but does what it sets out to do admirably well. I laughed my way through this movie and enjoyed every moment of it; what more can I say?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1499658/

The King of Kong (2007)

4/5

The King of Kong is an utterly engrossing, utterly captivating documentary on the world of competitive classic gaming. It follows newcomer Steve Wiebe in his attempt to beat the classic Donkey Kong champion Billy Mitchell. The players are absolutely fascinating; they are humanly complex with richness and depth that resonate with honesty. They don't fully reveal themselves to the camera and so you get the sense that they have lives outside of the movie, which is the ultimate goal of any film. Character studies are always vastly more interesting in documentaries than any traditional narrative could be, and The King of Kong is a prime example.

The structure of the film is brilliant. It sets up the story perfectly, from the greatness of the champion to the genius of the challenger. The editing is effective and efficient. It builds up the tension and excitement far better than most action blockbusters or mystery thrillers have been capable of. Watching it on Netflix Play Now, the film occasionally stopped due to poor buffering, and I just yelled at the screen, giddy to know what happened next. I can't imagine doing that for any other documentary. This movie is a true piece of entertainment, and despite the low-quality camerawork and simple special effects, I highly highly recommend it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0923752/