Really liked this movie based on its simplicity of its characters and plot. Lots of people expected action and drama cause it had major Hollywood stars. The great thing about this movie is it felt so real to watch broken characters engaging other broken characters with real life problems like job washout, aging, adultery and best of all entitlement.All the characters felt very real and all were flawed to a point you weren't rooting for anyone. Very rare and refreshing just to sit back and watch.What I took away from this flick was the fact the Big Government really had no idea what the hell was going on and Hollywood loves to make Big Government the all knowing enemy. The last 2:50 of this movie rank up there with great Coen brothers endings.I feel people wanted more Hollywood which like usual they didn't do.

Mrs. Shullivan and I saw this movie when it was first released ten years ago. In fact we sat through the film twice because we were 10 minutes late and missed the beginning and boy were we glad we stayed and watched it a second time. This comedy/crime/suspense film is such a classic with the comedy style presented by both Brad Pitt and his buddy George Clooney. This is another Cohen brother film release so one does know what to expect (somewhat) with the Cohen brothers. The Cohen brothers usually move a picture along at a rapid pace with a gifted and creative storyline as well as with great music score and this film fits their method of operating to a tee. Brad Pitt plays a not too bright health club instructor named Chad Feldheimer who along with his somewhat brighter peer fitness instructor Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) recover a disc that holds some pretty important information that certain bad guys want back.So Chad and Linda figure they can maybe receive a kind of reward for the return of the disc to the (not so) rightful owner. When Chad and Linda get in touch with the foul mouthed alcoholic and retired CIA agent Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) I thought we were watching another sequel to the 1994 Dumb and Dumber films. Add to the mix Osborne Cox's wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) wanting a divorce from her husband so that she can move on to her current lover Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) and you have in this comedic mixing bowl enough nuts and bolts to blow the roof off of any comparable perfect comedy/crime caper.We have watched this film several times now and we will be watching it a few more times whenever we want a good laugh. I give the film a perfect 10 for 10 rating.

This movie seems to make fun of the secret world of spies, their agencies and secrets. The entire film revolves around an American spy who, after being removed from office, decides to write a memoir. But the CD-ROM where he put its sketch went to the hands of a gym employee who, with the help of an idiot coworker, tries to blackmail him. Then, the movie goes on to create a huge confusion about something so minor that, in the end, even the CIA are amazed at the situation.The biggest problem I've felt here is the fact that the film handles everything very lightly, as if none of it were really important. That fits the movie, but it creates a huge barrier between the audience and the film, as if we were watching a movie that doesn't want to catch our attention. This gets even worse if we consider that no character is capable of reaching the public. There are only people, much like any human being we meet outside but we do not have the interest to know, and for whom we do not look more than once. The result is to become invariably boring, sometimes very difficult to keep up with. In the end, except for the action scenes, we don't care about the movie anymore.The best of this film are the performances of the main actors, usually very good but unable to truly shine in a film that did not allow that (they are good actors but they don't perform miracles). Clooney was very good, Pitt was convincing in the idiot character they gave him, Frances McDormand was pleasantly futile (something that her character demanded) and John Malkovich was OK, in a character without major difficulties but Which also never allowed him to have much space to show talent.

Joel and Ethan Coen are two of the finest filmmakers around, and it seems like every time they make a movie it ends up being a masterpiece, and "Burn After Reading" is no exception. Despite not normally being considered one of their greatest films and simply being severely underrated in general, I believe that this is better and funnier than more popular Coen's films such as, say, "The Big Lebowski" (a film that I also LOVE). It's actually saddening how little this film is praised, because it deserves much more acclaim and attention, for it is one of the most original, inventive, hilarious, creative, and shocking movies I have ever seen.Practically every aspect of this bizarre black comedy is pitch perfect. The cinematography and overall placing/movement of the camera both work together to make the film quite visually stimulating, while the characters and relentlessly inventive plot work together to make the film a great entertainer for the mind and emotion. And don't even get me started on the performances! How perfect can a movie get? These are some of the finest performances I have ever seen in a comedy, every single performer does an amazing job and perfectly encapsulate their character's personality. I ESPECIALLY have to give credit to Brad Pitt, who plays a lovably idiotic gym instructor that accidentally kickstarts a farcical string of crime, chaos, and even murder. His performance had me losing it while laughing, this is, without a doubt, the best Brad Pitt performance, and I'm willing to say that it is not only one of the best comedic performances, but maybe even one of the best performances PERIOD.But, the rest of the cast does excellently as well! John Malkovich is simultaneously threatening and sympathetic, while Frances McDormand portrays a desperate sex addict in a way that is both funny and pathetic, while George Clooney plays a charismatic but slightly mentally ill man dealing with a difficult romantic situation. And there is also brilliant performances from Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and J.K Simmons (who only appears extremely briefly, but still manages to impress highly).This is among the most enthusiastic reviews for a film that I have ever written, and that is because of how amazing this film is! This should be required viewing for all human beings that breathe (and animals should watch it too).