Movie Added: Burn After Reading

In my quest to watch more movies in 2009, I finally got around to watching Burn After Reading tonight. It was a solo watch as the Missus fell asleep right away and missed most of it.

I really hate to review this right now because past experience shows me that Coen Bros films take repeated viewings before true appreciation is reached. I distinctly remember hating Fargo the first time I saw it in the theaters. I don't remember the first time I saw The Big Lebowski but I know I didn't think it was very good and now it's easily one of my favorite movies. And of course, we have the No Country For Old Men review disaster from January of last year. Suffice to say - it takes some time to grow to love a Coen Bros. movie.

So, with that in mind, I give this movie a very spineless - "it was okay."

I thought it had some very good moments and some very dull moments and a lot of in-between. Brad Pitt easily stole the show with a goofy, off-kilter character that made me laugh no matter what he was doing. If he'd stuck around for more of the movie, I might have liked it a whole lot more. After his exit, the movie felt a little flat to me. The majority of the humor had been sucked out of it and all that was left was a convoluted crime quasi-drama.

The Coens seem to be fans of the theory that even the most innocent moment in life can turn into a violent clusterfuck that ends in a rain of gunfire and burned bodies.

Can't blame 'em for that, can ya?

In the end, I felt I didn't waste my time in watching it but I could also see how it probably wasn't very accessible to the average movie watcher. If you're a Coen Bros fan, you'll probably enjoy it. If you're not, this probably won't change your mind.

BLUE'S REVIEW: MAYBE SEE!