BURN AFTER READING

BURN AFTER READING IS FIRE PROOF

What a bunch of dorks, and that is meant in the best way possible. The Coen brothers whose NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN shocked and amazed us, pulled off another coup de grace in this film.

It revolves around a newly 'fired' CIA analyst (Maniacal John Malkovich), a fitness gym and a handful of their vacant employees (Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt) a few affairs and a lot of middle aged people in crisis doing dumb stuff. The movie was written with the majority of the actors in mind so to see them so well cast is not surprising.

George Clooney as Harry Pfarrer (having an affair with Cox's wife, the amazing Tilda Swinton) looks like he is having fun. He has been known for his pranks on fellow actors but here the joke is on him and he embraces it fully. Harry Pfarrer's obsession with staying in shape is probably an in-joke about Clooney's infamous weight gain for his role as a CIA agent in Syriana. Really delightful to see him not so somber. McDormand is a silly witless fool who keeps her eye on the prize; cosmetic surgery. Brad Pitt is her partner in crime, Chad Feldheimer who is perhaps the most dorky of them all. Upon meeting Cox, he uses the name 'Mr. Black' from the movie Meet Joe Black. He would have owned the movie had his fellow actors not been so high caliber.

It is difficult to keep track of who's what and with who when, but the movie wraps it up by the end. There are several shocking and very serious moments and it shatters the lighthearted dorky film into something more. Although it doesn't wallow in the serious, it is enough to give a startle and appreciate the craft of how well written this is.

The Coen's managed to make me gasp at No Country and I was close to doing the same here. We are disjointed and interconnected all at the same time; however, this film tends to focus on the more dull minded. Delightful romp of murderous fun. Be prepared for "strong language". "The word "fuck" is uttered 60 times, including 6 times in the first 2 minutes." From INDB.

PICK: Excellent work from conception to completion. Another Coen hit worth watching.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is back as the wayward CIA agent with a bit of a memory problem, in this last installment of the Bourne trilogy. If you have been an avid watcher, you will not be let down. It takes off ten minutes past where the second movie left Bourne, injured in Moscow. If you haven't been watching the first two, you will lack the story which brings closure. However, it is still an action movie, and a good one even if you may miss some of the revelations. This is the ultimate cat and mouse game where the hunter turns into the hunted. On a worldwide chase, Berlin, Paris, London, Madrid and Tangier, the CIA wants to track Bourne while Bourne wants to track himself. His memory has been coming back and he needs help in translating what he sees. All along he basically just kicks a lot of ass on pretty cobblestone streets (except fro New York). The work done in this film is exciting. Damon portrays Bourne as a guy who is neither bad nor good, although he yearns to be good. The action was a bit hard to take because it makes Bourne seem indestructible rather than human. The ensemble includes; David Strathairn (ultimate bad guy), Julia Stiles (waste of an actress) and Joan Allen (in an un-wasted role) make the scaffolding that Damon clings to. There are a bit too many chase scenes (although the whole movie is one big chase scene) and it is flawless in its execution. If you haven't been following the series, you do yourself a favor and watch the first two; it's not mandatory, but it does help make sense of it all.

Rating: Damon does a strong performance in a tight thrill ride of a movie.