Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
1/4
CJP - wrote on 09/23/2008
Action: 2/3 + Comedy: 1/2 + Good vs Evil: 0/1 + Love/Sex: 1/1 + Special Effects: 0.5/1 + Plot: 1/1 + Music: 0/1 = 5.5/10 or 55%. The Coens follow up their Oscar with a big miss. It is not as big a miss as the Ladykillers, but the poor script and plot essentially wreak of forced acting. Admittedly, Malkovich and Swinton have the most success as ice-veined "f#$k!" slingers, but this success can't keep the boring mess above water for long.
Rating of
2.5/4
DB - wrote on 09/22/2008
I still don't know what to think about this one days after seeing it. I mean, it was enjoyable, and there were laughs, but it was, I don't know, odd. I probably would have rated it a bit higher if it hadn't been so slow at times.
Rating of
3/4
Allison - wrote on 09/22/2008
Burn After Reading is so much better than say Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, yet the preview made it look like just another bad effort from the Coen Bros. However, the humor was smart even when it was dumb and the performances were great even though Brad Pitt's was somewhat annoying. Another great role with Richard Jenkins. Lots of surprises and pretty funny too. I pretty much can recommend this one.
Rating of
3/4
goodfellamike - wrote on 09/20/2008
Another quirky, unpredictable work from the Coen Brothers about random events befalling a number of slightly mad characters; there isn't a weak performance in the bunch (Pitt stands out best), but it's an arbitrary experience and not quite up to par with most of their work. Final Grade: B-
Rating of
3/4
Supercrum - wrote on 09/15/2008
This hilarious cast is strong with Pitt and Clooney as fitness jerk imbeciles, Malkovich being a victimized time-bomb of aggression and McDormand, an interesting mixture of quirky and vain; Burn After Reading is a dark comedic blend much to the likes of the Coen’s earlier works. Although unnecessarily violent at times, the comedic capers of missing CIA memoirs fail to disappoint throughout its 96 minute runtime. In the end, Burn After Reading is about absolutely nothing which cleverly seems to say loads about everything.
Rating of
3/4
Alex - wrote on 09/14/2008
A little bit of a let down but definitely a solid movie. This is the Coen's thinest piece of work that I've seen. Stil,l it is better than most. The second time may be even better. If you enjoy their comedy, give it a shot. Very good.
