Burn After Reading (2008) Rank 5 Reviews

Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)

Never at a loss in the art of storytelling, the Coens have crafted a script that would have made Billy Wilder proud. And to speak these lines they have assembled possibly their greatest ensemble cast. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)

NewsBlaze (Kam Williams)

Alternatively mirthful and macabre, while poking fun at both modern mating habits and the paranoia of espionage culture, this sophisticated social satire is a refreshingly-intelligent diversion designed with the more cerebral cineaste in mind. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at NewsBlaze (Kam Williams)

Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)

Easily the funniest film by Joel and Ethan Coen since The Big Lebowski...feels more like their old stuff than anything else they've done in a decade. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)

Sydney Morning Herald (Sandra Hall)

The whole thing is a triumphant exercise in the art of silliness for its own sake. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sydney Morning Herald (Sandra Hall)

Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)

A traditional Hitchcockian tale of intrigue and innocence, turned on its ear. And then inside out. And then twisted in ways that might make even the dark master himself shake his head in wonder. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)

Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

The plot is grippingly complex and at the same time laughably ludicrous, and it has one of the best wrap-up lines ever filmed. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

Tri-City Herald (Gary Wolcott)

Ethan and Joel Coen are masters of exaggeration. Their films define the term and are done with cunning and cleverness not possessed by mere mortal filmmakers. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Tri-City Herald (Gary Wolcott)

Courier Mail (Australia) (Des Partridge)

The performances are altogether delightful. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Courier Mail (Australia) (Des Partridge)

efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

In the end. "Burn After Reading" is a film that is essentially about nothing much at all but it goes about achieving that nothing in such audaciously funny ways that it turns out to be something after all. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

Mountain Xpress (Ken Hanke)

On the surface, Burn After Reading consists of several highly rated Hollywood stars (George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt) along with a couple notable character actors (J.K. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Mountain Xpress (Ken Hanke)

eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)

A beautifully inhuman spy farce in which nobody amounts to anything more than their loopy desires. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Goofy fluff spy comedy that revolves around a missing CIA memoir. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Film Threat ()

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The Australian (David Stratton)

The great strength of the Coen brothers is their scripts, and Burn After Reading is not only one of their most skilfully plotted films, it's also one of their wittiest. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at The Australian (David Stratton)

At the Movies (Australia) (David Stratton)

Made with the absolute assurance of filmmakers who know exactly what they�re doing. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at At the Movies (Australia) (David Stratton)

Cinematical (Kim Voynar)

... a fun ride down the roller coaster of the dark side of human nature as only the Coens can explore it. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Cinematical (Kim Voynar)

Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)

Those crazy Coen Brothers veer a hard left with a humorous and cautionary tale of lust and revenge. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)

WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) (Kevin McCarthy)

Another Coen Brother's classic. The point of Burn After Reading is that there is no point and that is the entire point. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) (Kevin McCarthy)

Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)

Burn After Reading is neither an instant classic like No Country for Old Men nor a psychedelic playground like The Big Lebowski. But it is a Coen brothers kick in the pants. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)

Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)

A clever black comedy that pokes fun at some of the obsessions of our frantic times including surveillance, cosmetic surgery, and physical fitness. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)

Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)

The movie is joyfully alive to idiocy, from buffoons walking the solemn marble corridors of power to dopes on the treadmill at the franchise gym down the street. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)

Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)

Burn After Reading is about people... very very stupid people doing very very stupid things, as performed by very very smart people being very very clever about it. In fact, itâ��s probably the smartest movie ever about stupidity. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)

BrianOrndorf.com (Brian Orndorf)

A back-stabbing, double-crossing, exhaustively absurd caper with pitch-black comedic enhancements, "Burn" is a beauty; a charged symphony of impulsive idiots left to their own devices. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at BrianOrndorf.com (Brian Orndorf)

Denver Post (Lisa Kennedy)

The ensemble is at once loose and pitch perfect. Hardly a one of them plays a wholly likable person, yet each reveals the despearate or stupid humanity of their characters. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Denver Post (Lisa Kennedy)

Sin Magazine (Austin Kennedy)

If you are a Coens fan you should like it. It's not as funny as THE BIG LEBOWSKI, but there's enough memorable moments and lines in it that will make you want to see it again. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sin Magazine (Austin Kennedy)

Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)

The Coen brothers' funniest movie since The Big Lebowski. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)

Burn After Reading looks like it was as much fun to make as it is to watch, probably because allthe actors seem particularly committed to making their sketchy characters feel real. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)

Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)

A deliriously funny and delightful comedy, another exceptional movie from a creative team that seems boundlessly skilled and imaginative no matter the genre. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)

Supercala.com (John Venable)

Worth viewing if only to see Clooney, McDormand, and Pitt all play what Malkovich's character refers to as a 'league of morons'. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Supercala.com (John Venable)

CHUD (Devin Faraci)

Burn After Reading is the new Coen Bros classic that you'll be quoting ad nauseum for the next decade. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)

Lessons of Darkness (Nick Schager)

Superficially, Burn After Reading â�� a spy spoof about a bunch of nitwits knee-deep in baffling espionage â�� couldnâ��t have less in common with the Coen Brothersâ�� previous, Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Lessons of Darkness (Nick Schager)

San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)

... the Marx Brothers couldn't outrace the Coen boys when it comes to zany comic shenanigans. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)

Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)

It's laugh-out-loud funny. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)

Oregonian (Marc Mohan)

Burn After Reading is nothing more and nothing less than a savvy and talented cast having its way with a clever, hilarious script, with absolutely no weighty issues at stake. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Oregonian (Marc Mohan)

IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)

There's no Country in the Coens' latest, but plenty of great comedy. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)

Hollywood.com (Pete Hammond)

The Coens have done it again. Insanely funny. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Hollywood.com (Pete Hammond)

Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

Joel and Ethan Coen have such a distinctive creative palette that there ought to be a paint color named after them. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

ReelzChannel.com (Jeff Otto)

If you're into the Coens brand of sardonic humor showcased in the likes of Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou? and The Hudsucker Proxy then this should be right up you're ally. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ReelzChannel.com (Jeff Otto)

E! Online (Alex Markerson)

A twisted spy farce populated with characters that might as well be windup toys, Burn After Reading is nevertheless a hoot -- mostly thanks to the all-star cast. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at E! Online (Alex Markerson)

Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)

[The Coens'] tragedies are stark and moody; their comedies sting and mock. Burn After Reading fits into the second category, but it's as pitiless and brutal as any of their pictures and funnier than any except Raising Arizona. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)

Monsters and Critics (Ron Wilkinson)

A stellar cast and the usual percolating plot of the Coens combine in one of their most entertaining crime comedies to date. Funny stuff with Clooney, McDormand and Malkovich frame a breakthrough comedic performance by Brad Pitt. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Monsters and Critics (Ron Wilkinson)

ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)

Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen could direct a movie like Burn After Reading in their sleep, and I don't mean that as a slight. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)

Guardian [UK] (Andrew Pulver)

A tightly wound, slickly plotted spy comedy. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Guardian [UK] (Andrew Pulver)

BrandonFibbs.com (Brandon Fibbs)

Burn After Reading, played for laughs by two directors clearly in prankish moods and never above inflicting their sadism on audiences, is the flipside of the Coen's existential dread in No Country for Old Men. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at BrandonFibbs.com (Brandon Fibbs)

Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)

With a wealth of lip-smacking character turns and a plot that keeps us off our guard, Burn After Reading takes its entertaining place among the better lesser Coen brothers films, even if it doesn't burn itself into our memory. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)

ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)

The writing/directing team of Joel and Ethan Coen create a laugh-a-minute black comedy that pokes fun at America's surveillance-dominated existence, plastic surgery desires, and all out greed. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)

Empire Magazine (Ian Nathan)

If No Country For Old Men was vintage port, Burn After Reading is a shot of tequila: eye watering and hard to swallow, but the after-effect is terrific. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Empire Magazine (Ian Nathan)

ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)

An enjoyable Coen Brothers comedy with strong comic performances throughout, though it's more Intolerable Cruelty than The Big Lebowski. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)

Daily Mail [UK] (Christopher Tookey)

Cleverly plotted and brilliantly acted, this is up there with Fargo and Raising Arizona as the Coens' finest comedic work. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Daily Mail [UK] (Christopher Tookey)

Teletext (Victor Olliver)

Burn After Reading is a near-perfect example of what Joel and Ethan Coen excel at: taking genres of all kinds - noir thriller, action, whatever - and twisting them a la penis puppetry ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Teletext (Victor Olliver)

Times [UK] (James Christopher)

Indeed, the spies and thrills don�t add up at all. The plot is a total mistake. The characters are madly absurd. The film shouldn�t work, but it does. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Times [UK] (James Christopher)

LarsenOnFilm (Josh Larsen)

And you thought No Country for Old Men was nihilistic. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at LarsenOnFilm (Josh Larsen)

Austin Chronicle (Josh Rosenblatt)

The Coen brothers may be masters of black comedy, but there are times when there's no point in taking them seriously. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Austin Chronicle (Josh Rosenblatt)

Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

It would be no country for movie lovers without the Coens. They still manage to run unmuzzled while the rest of Hollywood runs scared. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

Dallas Morning News (Stephen Becker)

As a chance to watch a gaggle of Serious Actors ham it up in an intricately plotted (though easy to follow) yarn, it's a well-executed diversion. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Dallas Morning News (Stephen Becker)

Washington Times (Christian Toto)

Burn After Reading is typical Coen brothers, but Brad Pitt's appearance is anything but expected. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Washington Times (Christian Toto)

LivePDX (Kimberly Gadette)

What's worse? Victimization by Washington's intel? Or victimization by a total lack of one's own? This is some clever comedy, where casual murder and serial dating go, um, hand-in-gland. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at LivePDX (Kimberly Gadette)

Toronto Star (Peter Howell)

None of it makes strict sense, which is why it's called screwball, but in its own crazy way Burn After Reading nails the essential folly of humans pretending to be civilized. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Toronto Star (Peter Howell)

geocities.com (Mike McGranaghan)

John Malkovich plays Osborne Cox, a CIA official who, in the opening scene, opts to quit rather than be demoted. Left with no job, he begins writing his professional memoirs, much to the consternation of his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton). ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at geocities.com (Mike McGranaghan)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Burn After Reading likely won't be a major Oscar contender for 2009, but that doesn't mean it won't offer a hell of a good time in theaters toward the end of 2008. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (Gina Carbone)

When the Coen Brothers decide to go on a diet, the dudes abide. Burn is 96 lean minutes with characters who lie, cheat, kill and obsess over fitness. And yet they're the most likable folks east of Brainerd. (You betcha!) ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (Gina Carbone)

EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)

Star vehicle that's playful but anti-glamorous? Goofy comedy-thriller that defies genre expectations in blending satire, spoof, parody and violence? The Coens' new film, which world premiered in Venice, is all of the above, and done in breezy 94 minutes ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)

Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)

Burn After Reading aims for nothing but a few subversive giggles, which it delivers handily over the course of a quick 96 minutes. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)

FILMINK (Australia) (Peter Galvin)

Burn After Reading isn't 'cold' or distant -- it's a game, and a good one at that. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at FILMINK (Australia) (Peter Galvin)

Seattle Times (Mark Rahner)

A cruelly, insanely hilarious comedy populated with imbeciles whose appetites lead to giant helpings of Just Desserts. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Seattle Times (Mark Rahner)

NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)

The Coen Brothers go undercover creatively for this playful spy comedy, twisting colliding plot schemes and lines alike while juggling online stranger sex and an uncooperative ex-CIA extortion victim with violent tendencies. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)

Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) (John Wirt)

Maestros of time and place, the Coen brothers orchestra a convergence of incompetence, bad decisions and all-around silliness. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) (John Wirt)

Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)

Sour candy...redeemed by its humor and its clever construction, harkening back to the relatively optimistic crime comedy Fargo. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)

Beliefnet (Nell Minow)

Another Coens twisty, genre-tweaking movie filled with deadpan delivery by characters who are venal, dumb, or both, plus some shockingly grisly violence. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Beliefnet (Nell Minow)

Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)

A likable lark that doesn't even pretend to explore the darker regions of human behavior, Burn After Reading nonetheless offers some snarky Coensian commentary about the panic that sets in when people reach a certain point in their (mid-)life: reconfiguri ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)

Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)

J.K. Simmons makes his character's teflon tactics a witty criticism and his line readings are like hilarious subtitles to the action. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)

Newsday (Rafer Guzman)

Doesn't stand up to Fargo or Blood Simple, but it's a chance to watch some top-notch actors jump their rails and head into terra bizarro. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Newsday (Rafer Guzman)

Onion AV Club (Keith Phipps)

Burn's land of the perpetually deluded works as an amusing place to visit, but an even better place to flee. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Onion AV Club (Keith Phipps)

rec.arts.movies.reviews (David N. Butterworth)

A pleasant return to the silliness of the Coens' earlier pictures from the stiltedness of their latter-day offerings (No Country' excepted). ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at rec.arts.movies.reviews (David N. Butterworth)

Buzzine Magazine (Staci Layne Wilson)

Burn After Reading is a crime comedy-of-errors that's pretty much flawless. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Buzzine Magazine (Staci Layne Wilson)

Associated Press (Christy Lemire)

We are no longer in No Country, but we are assuredly in Coen Country. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Associated Press (Christy Lemire)

Reel.com ()

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One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Isn't much more than an extravagantly complicated joke, [but] it's a pretty funny one, with plenty of those mordantly humorous jolts the [Coens] are so good at. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Sean the Movie Guy (Sean McBride)

This is one of those films where itâ��s apparent that the cast had a grand old time making the movie, and their enthusiasm is infectious. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sean the Movie Guy (Sean McBride)

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)

"Burn After Reading" is one of the Coens' more playful projects, much lighter and significantly slighter than "No Country for Old Men" or "Fargo," but it's put together with such perfection that you can't help but be won over. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)

Watertown Daily Times (Adam Tobias)

Even if the story behind Burn After Reading wasn't all that impressive, I'm sure the film would still stick in your mind because of the performances from its star-studded cast. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Watertown Daily Times (Adam Tobias)

Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)

A low-key comedy with a high-powered cast ... it's a bit too mannered, but it's also thoroughly hilarious ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)

Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)

As expected, the plot-savvy Coens find devilishly clever ways to link these disparate stories. They're less successful in finding a tone to connect them. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)

About.com (Rebecca Murray)

Burn After Reading is a check your brain at the door sort of comedy and one that you won't devote a single brain cell to analyzing after you leave the theater. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at About.com (Rebecca Murray)

7M Pictures (Kevin Carr)

It's not the best film in the Coen Brothers' library, but like almost any one of their films, it's better than most movies out there. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at 7M Pictures (Kevin Carr)

ReviewExpress.com (Diana Saenger)

The movie canâ��t be labeled as ground breaking or a must-see movie, but anyone who likes the Coenâ��s unpredictability or these cast members will find Burn After Reading quite amusing. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ReviewExpress.com (Diana Saenger)

Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)

A mixed bag of tricks that sometimes works--and sometimes doesn't. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)

Tolucan Times (Tony Medley)

The Coens know how to write about dumb people, and everybody's dumb!. This...lets you come out of it no wiser, but probably in better spirits than when you started. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Tolucan Times (Tony Medley)

Filmcritic.com (Bill Gibron)

Burn After Reading is made up of minor delights at best. The approach is so unique and dramatically deadpan that, if you don't catch their weird wavelength right up front, the Coens intend to leave you far, far behind. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Filmcritic.com (Bill Gibron)

Entertainment Insiders (Janos Gereben)

Don't be misled by the a "action-trailer" on TV, saturating the airwaves; it says nothing of the film. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Janos Gereben)

New York Magazine (David Edelstein)

Burn After Reading is untranscendent, a little tired, the first Coen brothers picture on autopilot. In the words of the CIA superior, it's 'no biggie. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New York Magazine (David Edelstein)

Metromix.com (Matt Pais)

The Coens can certainly do better than â��Burn After Reading,â�� which compulsively devolves into violent behavior and fails to focus on any characters for long enough to really take sides or sympathize with anyone. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Metromix.com (Matt Pais)

The Scorecard Review (Jeff Bayer)

Malkovich plus Pitt is perfection. In fact, I wish the film could have focused on just the two of them. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at The Scorecard Review (Jeff Bayer)

Boxoffice Magazine (Amy Nicholson)

Out of boredom or a need to unbalance their audiences, the Coens' follow-up is a bumbler, its first half as aimless as a drunk spider making threads without plotting a trap. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Amy Nicholson)

Metromix.com (Geoff Berkshire)

Considering the impressive ensemble, it's too bad Burn ends up perfectly good but never truly great. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Metromix.com (Geoff Berkshire)

New York Press (Armond White)

Lesser artists would have followed a critical smash like No Country with another noir, courting audience favor through familiarity. But Burn After Reading, though shocking, is simply the flipside of the Coens' existential dread. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New York Press (Armond White)

Peterborough This Week (Mike Sage)

Burn After Reading is a welcome escape from September's usual crop of inane thrillers starring Nicolas Cage or Julianne Moore. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Peterborough This Week (Mike Sage)

New York Times (Manohla Dargis)

Burn After Reading, the clubby, predictably self-amused comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen, has a tricky plot, visual style, er, to burn, but little heart. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New York Times (Manohla Dargis)

Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (Boo Allen)

Subversive silliness in the finest Coens tradition. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (Boo Allen)

CinemaBlend.com (Joshua Tyler)

Even at their most inane, Joel and Ethan Coen have managed something that is at the least, more entertaining than most of the other comedic dreck lurking around in theaters. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at CinemaBlend.com (Joshua Tyler)

EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

A lesser Coen work, a negligible dark comedy that will be remembered alongside, say, The Ladykillers rather than with, say, The Big Lebowski. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

Channel 4 Film (David Jenkins)

It�s possibly the Coens� least romantic film, which makes the cynical tone a tough pill to swallow, but chances are that you�ll be too busy hooting and chuckling idiotically to notice. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Channel 4 Film (David Jenkins)

eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)

So in-between actually that based on mood and who Iâ��m talking to, I could easily switch opinion and go the other way with it. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)

ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Donald J. Levit)

Shown at the Toronto Festival after a world premiÃ¨re on Veniceâ��s opening night, it got lots of audience yuks at an all-media screening in New York, but that was from the gut without any of the distancing which provokes thought or humor for the head. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Donald J. Levit)

Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)

...ultimately fits quite comfortably within the Coen brothers' various comedic endeavors... ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)

Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)

The film grabs you immediately and never lets you go. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)

Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)

This is a comedy of errors. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ()

"A frequently funny and weirdly endearing taxonomy of stupid human behavior that only the Coens can pull off with such control and panache. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution ()

Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)

What Burn does deliver is a handful of superbly dry comic scenes, some memorable depictions of human perfidy and idiocy and a couple of shockingly violent plot twists that�ll have you wondering if you really saw what you think you saw. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)

Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)

It takes a while to adjust to the rhythms and subversive humor of Burn because this is really an anti-spy thriller in which nothing is at stake, no one acts with intelligence and everything ends badly. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)

Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)

Burn does a lot for a lark, but a lark it is nonetheless, and perfectly welcome as long as the Coens bring back their ambition next time around. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

Despite their best efforts, the film moves in fits and starts. Burn After Reading bounces; it just never gets rolling. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

Slate (Dana Stevens)

For those who like their black comedy without a trace of cream or sugar, Burn holds up as a minor Coen brothers comedy, a Hudsucker Proxy rather than a Big Lebowski. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Slate (Dana Stevens)

TheMovieBoy.com (Dustin Putman)

A minor work on the Coen brothers' résumé is still better than, or as good as, most other filmmakers' best. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at TheMovieBoy.com (Dustin Putman)

PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)

Ozzie (John Malkovich) embodies the problem of the CIA, of the "intelligence community," which is that it reacts to data, then fashions a story about it to comport with the reaction. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)

New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)

Joel and Ethan Coen's Burn After Reading, from their own screenplay, strikes me as one of the most willfully awful movies I've ever seen. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)

Village Voice (J. Hoberman)

A characteristically supercilious and crisply shot clown show filled with cartoon perfs and predicated on extravagant stupidity. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Village Voice (J. Hoberman)

Slant Magazine (Bill Weber)

An anti-conspiracy lampoon of conspiracy thrillers, the Coens' Burn After Reading paints its floundering Washington inhabitants as intractably or even fatally stupid. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Slant Magazine (Bill Weber)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

You have to hand it to the Coen brothers. Even their cinematic 'failures' are pretty interesting. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

New York Post (Kyle Smith)

Most audiences will find it a head-scratcher with a dismaying act of violence and a haphazard plot that fizzles out without any of the main characters on-screen. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New York Post (Kyle Smith)

Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)

Extremely well-cast. Extremely well-written, too (with one of those clockwork plots -- beloved of the Coens since Blood Simple -- in which people, fatally, act before getting all the facts). ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)

'Burn' may be inspired by eight years of Washington iniquity, but it hardly represents a departure from the typically curdled worldview of the Coens. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)

Arizona Republic (Bill Goodykoontz)

Mostly we're along for a curious ride. Individual scenes are enjoyable, some laugh-out-loud funny. But it's not a story being told, really, so much as an exercise in ongoing and increasing stupidity on the part of the characters. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Arizona Republic (Bill Goodykoontz)

Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

A cartoonish spoof of espionage thrillers, Burn After Reading comes on so goofily that you don't notice the pessimistic undertone right away. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)

The script is clever and would be brilliant if it worked. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)

Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)

Click to read the article ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)

Sacramento News & Review (Jonathan Kiefer)

Click to read the article ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sacramento News & Review (Jonathan Kiefer)

Sky Movies (Elliott Noble)

Burn After Reading is a clown-mobile; a comical death-trap constructed from lots of disposable parts. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sky Movies (Elliott Noble)

Decent Films Guide (Steven D. Greydanus)

Itâ��s morbidly absurdist, thoroughly pointless, and can certainly be funny at times, even acutely so, with a freakish bathos that can be hard to look away from. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Decent Films Guide (Steven D. Greydanus)

Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)

An entertaining but slight Coen brothers comedy that benefits immensely from Pitt's and Clooney's dumbbell acts. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)

Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)

One doesn't think twice about seeing a Coen Brothers comedy satire. Unfortunately, "Burn After Reading" is not one I'd run to see twice. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)

Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)

Once more in Burn After Reading [the Coens] goof around, in their arch, bemused way, with conventions of genre -- a little screwball here, some spy spoof there. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)

Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)

Pitt's the only person in Burn After Reading who consistently generates laughs - which, for a Coen brothers comedy, is an appalling batting average. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)

Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)

On screen, delusional schmoes are more fun than smart people, and in the latest film from Joel and Ethan Coen, the imperious former spook played by John Malkovich accuses his blackmailers...of heading a league of morons. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)

Detroit News (Tom Long)

A thoroughly disposable comic romp made by a bunch of people who probably should have been working on bigger and better things, Burn After Reading is sure to frustrate just about anyone who goes to see it. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)

jackiekcooper.com (Jackie K. Cooper)

A movie so full of senseless characters and actions that you 'forget after seeing' ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at jackiekcooper.com (Jackie K. Cooper)

Boston Globe (Ty Burr)

The difference between Burn After Reading and much better Coen comedies like Raising Arizona, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is that the brothers' smugness has finally gone over the top. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Boston Globe (Ty Burr)

Variety (Todd McCarthy)

Everything here has been dialed up to an almost grotesquely exaggerated extent, making for a film that feels misjudged from the opening scene and thereafter only occasionally hits the right note. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Variety (Todd McCarthy)

MSNBC (Alonso Duralde)

Youâ��ll find yourself waiting for the comedy to kick in, or for the serious stuff to get more serious, but the movie timidly avoids both ends of the pool, floating listlessly before it finally sinks below the surface. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at MSNBC (Alonso Duralde)

Guardian [UK] (Peter Bradshaw)

Burn After Reading is the Coens' most mediocre film in a long time: a desperately strained black comic farce. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Guardian [UK] (Peter Bradshaw)

Times [UK] (Matthew De Abaitua)

Halfway between a good Coen brothers movie and a terrible Coen brothers movie. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Times [UK] (Matthew De Abaitua)

Paste Magazine (Robert Davis)

The script chases its tail for an hour and a half and then conks out, tired and strangely satisfied with its catch. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Paste Magazine (Robert Davis)

TIME Magazine (Richard Corliss)

Burn After Reading is a movie about stupidity that left me feeling stupid. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at TIME Magazine (Richard Corliss)

San Francisco Examiner (Rossiter Drake)

Here, the brothers weave an elaborate, misanthropic web of desperation and betrayal around a group of characters so jaded they take no real pleasure from their artless deceptions and sordid affairs. Imagine how we feel. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at San Francisco Examiner (Rossiter Drake)

New York Daily News (Joe Neumaier)

Hopped up like a Bugs Bunny cartoon on mescaline and as chatty and uppity as a 5-year-old, "Burn After Reading" could be seen as the Coen brothers' need to let loose after the tightly wound "No Country for Old Men. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New York Daily News (Joe Neumaier)

Time Out New York (David Fear)

The transition from Oscar-winning masterpiece to this mess is especially depressing. Burn After Reading is a disposable lark, and it's treated by the filmmakers as such; Forget After Seeing would be a far more honest title. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Time Out New York (David Fear)

Time Out Sydney (David Fear)

Burn After Reading is a disposable lark, and it's treated by the filmmakers as such; Forget After Seeing would be a far more honest title. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Time Out Sydney (David Fear)

WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)

I want to say Burn After Reading has trouble getting going, but it NEVER gets going ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)

Washington Post (Neely Tucker)

"We learned not to do this again," one character observes at the movie's close. You can't help but wonder if the Coens meant that line, as well as the title of the script, as a tongue-in-cheek reference to themselves. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Washington Post (Neely Tucker)

New Yorker (David Denby)

Even black comedy requires that the filmmakers love someone, and the mock cruelties in Burn After Reading come off as a case of terminal misanthropy. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at New Yorker (David Denby)

About.com (Jurgen Fauth)

Chalk it up to the Coens' much-cited misanthropy or misplaced satirical intent, but there's nothing enjoyable or insightful about hanging out with this duplicitous crowd. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at About.com (Jurgen Fauth)

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