Last weekend, I went and saw the new Coen Bros. flick Burn After Reading. The film had a great idea, but the execution was a little clumsy overall.
Brad Pitt and John Malkovich delivered stand-out performances (although in two totally different manners) that elevated their performances over the confines of the script. JK Simmons’ CIA Director single-handedly saved the film with two short scenes that called out the absurdity of the plot and the relation of the events to the real world.
It probably deserves an 81. That is a B-Minus or so. Better than Intolerable Cruelty or the God-Awful Ladykillers.
