Bruiser (2000, R)

The movie is strangely sort of a cross between Falling Down and Office Space.  It's directed by George Romero (Day Of The Dead) and the title of this film comes from the name of the fashion magazine that the main characters work for.  The main character works for Bruiser magazine and makes a good deal of money but still gets stepped on a lot.  One morning (after his status quo is established), he wakes up with a blank white mask where his face should be.  It's a flexible mask (likely latex for the filming), so it moves with his mouth/etc, but it's still eerie and the eyes are pinprick holes in stead of larger eye-shaped openings.  That messes with his head enough that he snaps and gets back at some of the people that have been taking advantage of him.

The lead role is played by Jason Flemyng (The Red Violin, Kick Ass), who I had recently said (Red Violin) I like in smaller roles but don't think he could handle a leading role. He actually did a pretty good job in this film, but he didn't quite have that certain quality that I've enjoyed in his other films. Though in his defense, his face was covered for most of the time that his character was most interesting.  Also, this was over a decade ago, so he's had a lot of time to hone his craft since then.  Flemyng's boss is a histrionic d-bag played by Peter Stormare who also played a psychotic criminal in Fargo and Lucifer in Constantine, so I looked forward to his downfall a lot.  Flemyng is a pretty creepy looking masked-man, especially once he starts killing people, and he would have been the horror movie villain if this story was told from the point of view of any other character rather than the anti-hero.  Particularly at one point when he wears a black cloak and hat he's kind of channeling V (as in For Vendetta).  Possibly my favorite part of the film was that it showed his dark fantasies as if they were part of the film (think of Dumb And Dumber when Jim Carrey shoots his love interest's husband repeatedly with a gun before flashing back to real life where he's standing there dumbly).  I think it worked well.  I think my least favorite part of the film was just that it wasn't richer in ideas.  There is no one specific thing I wish happened that didn't but I feel it could have gone more surreal (I think I was somehow expecting something more like Mirrormask from the cover).

If you like the idea of a combination of Office Space and Falling Down, then this movie is for you.  It has some similarities with V For Vendetta as well, but nowhere near the complexity/depth of plot.  If seeing the main character roll over for jerks (at the start of the film) will boil your blood, save yourself the trouble and skip this one (or fast forward); and if you don't want to see the protagonist murder people, then just don't turn it on.  For me it's about 3.5 stars.  Enjoyable, but pretty much a popcorn movie.