The Coen Brothers have always been indie darlings, but since their big Oscar wins for No Country for Old Men, they are so much more. Take, for example, Burn After Reading. First it opened the Venice Film Fest last month. And now it's opening on a hundred million screens (actually only 2,300, which isn't even the most screens for a movie opening this weekend, but it helps my point to exaggerate), and even offering midnight screenings on Thursday night. In other words: These guys have made it. Not that they hadn't made it before, but now they're, like, really really famous. Which usually means all street cred and respectability will soon dissipate (although, if they still have those things after Ladykillers, they're awfully resilient). Let's hope they keep doing good work. Burn After Reading looks worth your time. I mean, movies don't have to star Brad Pitt and George Clooney to pique my interest, but it definitely helps. And have you seen that red-band trailer? Brad Pitt is at his crazy, hilarious best, helped along by the most ridiculous slicked-back '80s 'do since, well, the '80s. It's a little confusing because there are so many characters, but those characters are all played by people worth going to a movie for all by themselves (Pitt, Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, Richard Jenkins, J.K. Simmons). And they're acting strange and saying oddball things. It looks like it could be another Big Lebowski situation, with a cult following of fans that are still quoting the movie (and having festivals in its honor) ten years from now and beyond.

Reviews By People Who've Actually Seen It:
Variety
Rotten Tomatoes