Frances McDormand

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Burn After Reading’ Hilarious Movie, Horrible Blu-Ray

BrianTT — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:23:27 -0700

CHICAGO – It’s impossible for a critic to thoroughly defend something he finds funny but fully realizes that a large majority of the audience may not. Sometimes a film just hits your funny bone in right way. “Burn After Reading” does so for me, but may not for audiences without a little bit of a mean streak.

Fitting snugly into the Coen Brothers’ resume of slightly-demented comedies, “Burn After Reading” disappointed audiences expecting “No Country For Old Men 2”, but like “Raising Arizona”, “The Hudsucker Proxy”, and “The Big Lebowski”, should have an extensive life on the home market.

Every time the Coens have made a “serious” movie, they’ve followed it with a lark of a comedy. “Arizona” came after “Blood Simple”, “Hudsucker” followed “Barton Fink”, and “Lebowski” was an odd choice after “Fargo”. They’ve all thrown audiences for a loop. It happened again with “Burn After Reading”, a dark, vicious comedy about people who think they understand espionage because they’ve seen a lot of spy movies. The Coens have often been accused of making fun of their characters and I’ve usually defended them as laughing with their lead. Not this time. They’re laughing at these morons.

The morons in question include an all-star cast headed by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, J.K. Simmons, and John Malkovich. The entire ensemble is clearly having a blast and it’s infectious. Some critics were upset at not being able to find the deeper meaning in a story about a disc of government secrets that makes its way into the hands of some stupid fitness experts. Guess what? There is no deeper meaning. That’s the point. Just have fun with “Burn After Reading”.

Perhaps Universal knows they have an eventual cult hit and held back the special features for an inevitable special edition but that kind of double-dipping is getting really old. Universal has been consistently releasing the most comprehensive and well organized Blu-Rays of the season, so we’ll forgive “Burn After Reading” as the exception. Special features? Three lonely featurettes - “Finding the Burn”, “DC Insiders Run Amuck”, and “Welcome Back, George” - don’t really qualify as “special”, especially considering they run less than twenty minutes COMBINED.

“Burn After Reading” does include Universal’s BD-Live functionality that allows viewers to cut their favorite scenes and send them but this common addition doesn’t really qualify as a special feature. It’s really just bookmarking with an internet connection.

Technically, “Burn After Reading” looks and sounds great with a 1080p HD Widescreen transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and an audio track an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Both the video and audio won’t be used to show off new home theaters, but are also never distracting.

Universal clearly intended the Blu-Ray release of “Burn After Reading” to be a rental. If they wanted more purchases, they would have put more effort into the special features. Luckily, the movie itself is funny enough to make the dearth of bonuses easier to overlook.

‘Burn After Reading’ is released by Universal Home Video and stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, J.K. Simmons, David Rasche, and Richard Jenkins. It was released on December 21st, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day’ as Rare as Boobs Without Silicone in Hollywood

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:47:28 -0700

CHICAGO – Character comedies that actually have some depth and fun are as rare as boobs without silicone in Hollywood. “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day” reaches these heights with a sensibility of an old studio picture with stylized glamour, lovable rogues and at the center the great Frances McDormand as the title character taking a chance in 24 sparkling and event-filled hours.

McDormand is Miss Pettigrew: a proper governess in late 1930s London who can’t keep a job because of her stubborn propriety. When the agency that sponsors her refuses to give another reference, Pettigrew takes matters into her own hands by stealing a job posting.

She shows up to begin her situation as a “social secretary” to up-and-coming American actress Delysia Lafosse (the luminous Amy Adams).

Click here to read Patrick McDonald’s full review
of “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day” in our reviews section!

Click here for our full “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day” image gallery!

Amy Adams and Lee Pace in “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Frances McDormand in “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day”.
Photo credit: IMDb

New York City Filming Report Surfaces For ‘Burn After Reading’ With Pitt, Clooney

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:01:18 -0600

Following my Aug. 30, 2007 report on the Joel and Ethan Coen film “Burn After Reading,” a reader on Sunday wrote in with new filming details.

They are shooting today (Sunday, Sept. 23) literally across the street from my apartment.

They have slightly doctored the area around Grant’s Tomb (the General Grant National Memorial site).

One of the crew told us they would be filming up and down Riverside Drive including near Riverside Church and the International House. Riverside Drive runs along the west side of upper Manhattan.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney are on hand. My two children were fascinated by the many cars with Virginia license plates and the D.C. cabs, which are distinctive from their New York City cousins.

The film also features John Malkovich and Frances McDormand. IMDb describes the plot with these words:

A disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to sell it.

3:26 p.m. update: After this post appeared, writer Shane Hazen of HollywoodChicago.com pointed out news from Friday, Sept. 21 announcing that Clooney suffered a broken rib in a New Jersey motorcycle accident.

Various reports questioned whether or not this would delay “Burn After Reading” filming.

8:39 p.m. update: Following this report, several additional people wrote me about Clooney’s current involvement in the project following his recent accident.

I followed up with my initial source for this report for more information. Daniel Tamulonis has given me permission to cite this information to his real name. In his follow-up e-mail to my question, he said:

As for Clooney, the technician who spoke to my children and me assured us that “it was nothing” and that Clooney would be taking part in the shoot.

As the day progressed (we were walking a neighbor’s dog and had several chances to witness what was going on), we saw rehearsals and then a car stunt involving Pitt.

There will be more shooting [on Monday] in front of the International House. We saw Pitt several times but not Clooney.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Production Begins on ‘Burn After Reading’ From Joel, Ethan Coen

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:06:21 -0600

On Aug. 30, 2007, I heard word that production has begun in New York City for Focus Features and Working Title Films on the film “Burn After Reading” from Joel and Ethan Coen.

They are writing, producing and directing. “Burn After Reading,” which is a dark spy comedy that will also shoot in Washington, D.C., stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

Focus Features, Rogue Pictures and Working Title Films are part of NBC Universal, which was formed in May 2004 by combining NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com