HorizonForumsone horizon
Log inSign up

[ms] · Est. May 2002

Music madethis place,we just kept itgoing...

One durable person. One social graph. Many communities—and every way people speak, share, listen, write, gather and remember.

Forums / Movies / TV

Burn After Reading

31 durable postsStarted 2008-11-03Latest 2009-04-03
#61763Post 1 of 31

I thought someone would've posted this.

Saw this 2 weekends ago. Slow movie which doesn't really climax but shit happens and resolves into a 'nothing to see here, move on by.'

It's a bunch of random characters and their loser lives trying to escape out of their loser lives but screwing it up in the most inconsequential ways which leads to their deaths.

Love watching Malkovich in action, Pitt is great as a himbo and liked Simmons as the head of CIA. But I think Pitt stole the show on this one.

#1111100Post 2 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

agreed, its nothing special just an average movie :(

#1111173Post 3 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

was told to wait for it on dvd. total shame, given the amount of talented people attached to this one...

#1111330Post 4 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

The trailer looked funny though, it SHOULD've been a good movie. For some reason I was expecting something like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

#1111333Post 5 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

bang. bang!

[IMG]http://i34.tinypic.com/awyddt.jpg[/IMG]

#1111484Post 6 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

[quote=day_for_night;671403]was told to wait for it on dvd. total shame, given the amount of talented people attached to this one...[/quote]

Save yourself an hour and a half of your time and don't see it at all.

It had some interesting moments but when all is said and done the movie is about nothing.... I'd give it a 6/10.

#1111485Post 7 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

weird, I actually had low expectations going into this movie but the humor sucked me in. It's just one of those 'wtf' movies. Brad Pitt I think did an awesome job.

#1119043Post 8 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

i thought this was a big waste of money and time. . .the Coen brothers can do so much better and so can all the actors (apart from George Clooney who is just always shit.)

#1131290Post 9 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

I saw yesterday.A bit really slow (producers wrong) but not this the biggest problem with the movie.The stpry its very bad the producers thanked only pitt and clooney the good job

#1139413Post 10 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

boy, that sure is a lot of blood splatter!

#1141894Post 11 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

ya saw this at a friends house the other day...i maybe chuckled a couple of times. not a good movie.

#1142141Post 12 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

well, i'm glad i never saw it.

that animated gif is pretty cool though.

#1166834Post 13 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

....

#1173632Post 14 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

i must be the only one who liked this movie...i actually bought the dvd because i thought the role's these actors played were really funny and so different from what you usually see from them.

i give it a 7 / 10

#1173806Post 15 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

I like it it too, 8/10

#1173837Post 16 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

It's alright, nothing hugely special (apart from the headshot, which was one of the best since Pulp Fiction). Anything that the Cohen Brothers did after No Country For Old Men is going to be a bit of a letdown. Reminded me a lot of when they did The Ladykillers or Intolerable Cruelty - it was almost like they were coasting and just doing a movie to pay the bills.

#1174433Post 17 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

I like this one very much. Then again I've got a weird sense of humor I guess. I think that was the point of this movie not to really be about anything. Just random crazy events haha

The end was way too abrupt though...

#1174465Post 18 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

[quote=Highsteppa;716053]It's alright, nothing hugely special (apart from the headshot, which was one of the best since Pulp Fiction). Anything that the Cohen Brothers did after No Country For Old Men is going to be a bit of a letdown. Reminded me a lot of when they did The Ladykillers or Intolerable Cruelty - it was almost like they were coasting and just doing a movie to pay the bills.[/quote]

This was actually filmed before no country for old men.

#1174502Post 19 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

It's definitely quirky and probably not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

#1174577Post 20 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

[quote=Shpira;716775]This was actually filmed before no country for old men.[/quote]

I'm sorry sir, but you are mistaken. :)

Burn After Reading was shot between Aug 2007 and Oct 2007, while No Country For Old Men was shot between (I'm not 100% sure of the exact dates) Apr or May 2006 and Jul 2006. Also, No Country For Old Men was screened at Cannes on May 19 2007 and received wide release Nov 21st 2007.

Wikipedia has the dates under each film, under the heading of production.

#1180601Post 21 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

I saw this over the weekend and liked it. My favorite character was the CIA chief or top guy.

#1180603Post 22 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

[quote=Highsteppa;716897]I'm sorry sir, but you are mistaken. :)

Burn After Reading was shot between Aug 2007 and Oct 2007, while No Country For Old Men was shot between (I'm not 100% sure of the exact dates) Apr or May 2006 and Jul 2006. Also, No Country For Old Men was screened at Cannes on May 19 2007 and received wide release Nov 21st 2007.

Wikipedia has the dates under each film, under the heading of production.[/quote]

well I am not sure who to trust..according to Empire magazine Wikipedia is wrong. I guess it doesn't really matter...

#1180701Post 23 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

I was looking foward to this. Having read a few posts on this thread, i'm kinda put off it. Then again, you just have to watch these kind of shows to just decide for youself. Which i shall do.

#1180877Post 24 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

I don't like most movies, and I liked this one. It fit into my definition of a good movie, but everyone is different.

#1180880Post 25 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

This guy at IMDB nailed it for me

[QUOTE]I have heard it said that a good film has no bad scenes and four good ones. Well, 'Burn After Reading' has no bad scenes... and no really good ones either.

The film was consistently amusing, and kept me interested enough to want to see what happens next. The ending was not predictable, nor was it entirely unsatisfactory. Never once did the film insult my intelligence or presume upon me to care for a character without providing sufficient reason. These are all good things. But while we're talking about things this film never did, never once did this "comedy" amuse me enough to actually consider it "funny".

Now, that's not good at all.

As has been pointed out in the consistently funny comic 'Calvin and Hobbes', there is more to 'good' than the mere absence of evil. So while, unlike almost every other film I've ever seen, 'Burn After Reading' has no flaws or niggly little bits where I'm left thinking how I'd do things differently, it doesn't have any particularly good bits either, and has ultimately left me underwhelmed.

It's like we've had some sort of yin-yang trade-off, where by removing the bad we have unwittingly eliminated the good, stranding the film in limbo for eternity.

So, did 'Burn After Reading' amuse me? Yes, I was amused, though I never once laughed out loud.

Do I regret seeing it? Not really. It kept me interested for 90 minutes, which is more than I can say for a lot of other films out there.

Was it a good film? My feelings here are truly mixed, though ultimately I'd have to say "I don't think so".

I'm guessing that critics are going crazy over this film because it doesn't make any of the irritating mistakes that plague so many other films. The story is solid with no plot holes or overt clichés, the characters are well written and consistent, it never talks down to the audience, the acting is great and so is the directing.

Now, as a point of comparison I'd like you to consider 'Open Season'. This aimated film was flawed at many levels, from sluggish direction to uninspired writing and miscast actors. But in addition to this there were at least half a dozen really funny bits in it.

My point here is that while much of 'Open Season' was regrettable, at least I laughed six times. Which is six more times than I laughed during 'Burn After Reading'. As a result, I remember 'Open Season' much more fondly, despite it being the inferior film in almost every way.

In conclusion, 'Burn After Reading' just isn't exciting or funny enough to cut any sort of mustard, and so we have a film that a lot can be learned from, both in what to and not to do when making a film.

I mean, seriously. My prevailing feeling with regard to 'Burn After Reading' is one of apathy. That's never good. [/QUOTE]

#1180916Post 26 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

^I have been reading and agreeing that this film "plays better the second time." Why do you think that is? Discuss...

LOL

I'm bigger... I'm back... I'm better... I'm back... than ever... I'm back... fuckers... I'm back...

#1181361Post 27 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

[quote=floridaorange;720778]^I have been reading and agreeing that this film "plays better the second time." Why do you think that is? Discuss...

LOL

I'm bigger... I'm back... I'm better... I'm back... than ever... I'm back... fuckers... I'm back...[/quote]

Usually because you're better prepared for the story and the plot and it allows you to pay attention to the smaller details that are in the background, or the subtle behavior that the actors start to allude to. You can follow the story and plot a bit more passively, and focus on other details.

Some films are designed to be like that, and most Cohen brothers films are pretty densely layered. That's what makes films like The Big Lebowski, Fargo (which I didn't like much, but appreciate the work), Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing and their other work so easy to watch over and over again.

#1181451Post 28 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

To be honest I am not a big fan of the Cohen brothers I thought Millers Crossing was so, so...I mean def better than average but not on par with like the godfather or anything even near...I liked Fargo and thought it was a very good film, Big Lebowski was good but by all means not a master piece that everyone makes it out to be, it was just ahead o its time by 5-10 years. Me and you guys obviously have a very different taste in movies which is fine. p.s. The only two films I own made by the Cohen's are No Country for Old Man and Fargo...I had millers crossing but I sold it...Big Lebowski is also worth owning for sure hehe thats a funny film.

#1181555Post 29 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

^honesty is the best policy;)

#1181718Post 30 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

M'kay

#1192637Post 31 of 31

Re: Burn After Reading

keep watching this movie and I keep liking it more...it really does get funnier every time. Malkavich is hilarious...so is pitt...

divorce lawyer: [I]"this is a man practiced in deceit...forewarned is forearmed madam"[/I]

new scene -

malkovich holding recorder for memoir: [I]"we were young we were comitted, there was nothing we couldn't do"[/I]

f*cking brilliant!

Log in to reply