Blogfromthebarn

Movie review – "Burn after reading"


I’m not an absolute fan of the work of the Coen brothers, I find them a little “curates egg” but I do, always, make the effort to see their movies as the upside invariably makes it worthwhile.

The best surprise in this film, (and it is full of surprises) was the way in which they’ve got actors who (to me at least) have always seemed watchable but limited, to convincinly play characters many miles removed from their typical role. Francis McDormand, Clooney and Pitt are not at all what one would expect and are fun, Malkovich, as he so often does, plays a blinder and the chaps running the CIA (JK Simmons and Davis Rasche) deliver a deadpan performance that had me chuckling out loud, very rare.

Mrs Stuffy, who found it ho-hum asked me (as we wended homeward our weary way) why I enjoyed it and after a moments reflection I was forced to conclude that it neatly captured my world view, people are mostly shallow, inept and driven by all the wrong things but that does make them very funny to watch.


and


The latest Bond outing - Quango of Solipsis (or something similar)

first things first, up against a very tough field, the worst, (by a long way), Bond theme ever. Really really bad, no seriously, I mean it, I think the Spice Girls could do better.

The movie...
Opinion is divided at the Barn over this latest offering from Aston Martin’s biggest customer. Mrs Stuffy is an unthinking, drooling, swooning fan of Mr Craig but I must confess that I prefer my Bond like my martinis, a little lighter, with a dash of humour and a twist of self-mockery.
I like, and miss, the gadgets. I think that Matt Damon is the better angst-ridden killing machine trying to reconcile his own personal demons. I understand the market forces but I'm unhappy seeing Bond try and compete with Jason Bourne.

I found this movie less convincing and far more confusing than Casino Royale. I’m also of the opinion that a Bond villain needs to be a little 'over the top'. Msieu Amalric failed to impress me and my view of his number one henchman was that he could have been effectively taken out by a disgruntled Christopher Biggins. It's also not right that Judi Dench had the best one-liners. Still taken in context (as an extended advertisement for Sony) this was a pleasant outing and it will be interesting to see what they do next to keep the 007 energy (and revenue) flowing.

posted by Stuffy @ 12:00 pm