7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers...permanently.
Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin FarrellComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Most of us have had them. Some of us have been them. A few of us have even enjoyed it. Yes, horrible bosses; those self-absorbed beasties of corporate and commercial nightmares who'd just as soon disembowel you in front of your colleagues than be bothered to help add toner to the copier. They're the stuff of YouTube legend. They've been the go-to sitcom villains for decades. And there's usually one snapping and growling his way through most every big-screen comedy. One... or, in the case of director Seth Gordon's Horrible Bosses, three. More than a lewd, crude working-stiff spin on Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, Horrible Bosses isn't just a wicked casting carnival of leering A-listers and smartly assembled up-n-comers, it's a laugh-out-loud bit of vicarious dark-wish fulfillment and, as comedies go, one of the bigger box office successes of 2011. It isn't one I'll revisit again and again, and it isn't the funniest comedy I've seen recently. But it's infinitely better than Gordon's Four Christmases and it trounces a number of higher profile comedies this year.
Killin' time killin' bosses...
While Horrible Bosses takes its dark comedy designation rather literally, complete with domineering shadows and occasionally overripe skintones, the resulting toasty-back-alley palette rarely hinders Warner's striking 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. Colors, richly saturated as they sometimes are, are still quite lovely, contrast is consistent (within reason), delineation is surprisingly revealing, and black levels are nice and deep without disrupting or mangling the film's faint but filmic grain. (Minus the scene in which Sudeikis recounts his run-in with Aniston. It gets ever so noisy.) Detail inherently fluctuates when night falls, but impresses on the whole with crisply resolved, at-times impeccable fine textures, reliable clarity, and clean, carefully honed edges that don't suffer from any notable ringing or aliasing. Artifacting, banding and smearing don't push their way into the party either, and the only nagging issue worth mentioning is some limited crush, which doesn't really result in any major mishaps. All in all, Horrible Bosses' high definition presentation pulls ahead of the comedy pack and stays true to Gordon and DP David Hennings' intentions.
Horrible Bosses loses some ground with its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, but only because it sounds like every other front-heavy comedy mix on the market. While there's some solid directional effects to be had, and while the film's music fills the soundfield neatly and naturally, there isn't a lot going on in the rear speakers, even when Nick and his friends flee the police, wreck their car and get held up at gunpoint. The LFE channel does a decent job with what it's given, though, and dialogue is clear, sufficiently grounded and perfectly intelligible throughout. There just aren't many standout moments to speak of. Chalk it up to the film's original sound design or the conversational nature of the planning sessions, stakeouts and bickering that dominates the soundscape. Either way, Horrible Bosses doesn't sound horrible; not even remotely.
Ah, R-rated comedies. One man's Animal House is another man's... well, Animal House. Horrible Bosses doesn't crack the comic code or reinvent the Throw Momma From the Train wheel, but its casting coups, hard-working leading men and side-splitting performances help it outclass the Wolfpack's sequel, among other higher profile comedies of 2011. Sadly, the Blu-ray edition is more uneven than the film. While its video transfer deserves high marks, its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is solid but somewhat underwhelming, and its supplemental package amounts to 35-minutes of coulda shoulda been. Still, with two version of the film (spread across two BD-50 discs) and plenty of laughs to go around, the Blu-ray edition of Horrible Bosses warrants consideration.
Movie Only Edition
2011
Totally Inappropriate Edition
2011
Totally Inappropriate Edition
2011
Totally Inappropriate Edition
2011
Totally Inappropriate Edition
2011
Extended Cut
2014
Enlarged Edition w/ Extended Cut
2011
2015
2011
Totally Irresponsible Edition
2011
2019
2011
1989
2010
2011
2011
Theatrical Version
2005
Extended Cut | Extra Dope Edition
2011
2015
2014
2012
1981
1986
2009
2007