the office

people speak highly of this show, which apparently comes close to toppling “suddenly susan” as best portrayal of life in an office. i have never seen it. however, i see that bbc america is running a marathon of the first season on march 26th and the second season on april 2. is there anything on the dvd’s that makes them worth renting or am i safe just taping and watching it on vhs?

Seductive Presences

Since Jeff asked–

Seductive presences on film–people who, when they show up onscreen, you can’t turn your eyes away: Sergi Lopez, Denzel Washington, Isabelle Huppert, Cate Blanchett, River Phoenix, Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet. Ruth Gordon. The entire cast of “Deadwood,” especially McShane and Olyphant. Ben Kingsley in “Sexy Beast” but not in “Gandhi.” Jeff Turner (I’ll send you the footage). Holly Hunter, Sigourney Weaver, Susan Sarandon. Burt fucking Lancaster. Don Cheadle. Mifune. Takeshi Kitano. Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Dennis Haysbert. Graham Greene, even in “Dances with Wolves.” Samuel L. Jackson. Travolta, one out of five times he’s onscreen. Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Hope Davis, Campbell Scott, Oliver Platt (and, despite this, “The Impostors” isn’t so great. But still). James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. Edward James Olmos. Once upon a time, Jeff Goldblum and Peter Weller. Jeffrey Wright. Jonathan Rhys-Meyer. Christian Bale, if well-fed. Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Reilly. Harry Dean Stanton. Vince Vaughn. Scarlett Johanneson. Rosario Dawson. Kimberly Elise.