Burn After Reading - Movie Review

Burn After Reading (2008)
directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen

movie review/analysis
written by Gavin Miller

Burn After Reading is a movie that I admire for many reasons. It's a black comedy that doesn't follow the rules, features some one-of-a-kind performances, and while it's not perfect, what it does is hilarious, entertaining and fun.
I love the Coen brothers. Their films are always of great quality, with trademark characteristics, fantastic soundtracks, great cinematography... etc. Burn After Reading is no exception. It may be a slightly minor entry into the Coens' body of work, but you can tell they had a lot of fun with this one, never taking itself too seriously and constantly fast paced, genre jumping and quirky -- like a Coen movie should. It's really funny too, maybe not Big Lebowski funny, but it kept me laughing. Again, this is a dark comedy and the film is certainly dark at times, but always with a strong comedic undercurrent. The plot is nothing extremely special; the "highly classified shit" (as Brad Pitt's character gleefully announces) of a recently fired CIA member Osbourn Cox (Malkovich) falls into the hands of two oblivious employees of a gym (McDormant and Pitt), and the mayhem ensues. Anyway, for me it's the characters who make this movie work. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Francis McDormant, John Malkovich and the rest of the cast are all extremely likable and funny and their roles are very well-written. I liked Brad Pitt the best in the movie. I think that Pitt is an underrated actor that never gets enough credit for his acting talents, and in this he just really stole the movie. This isn't a movie for everyone though; some will be confused about what exactly the movie is trying to do, and could end up being unsatisfied. It's true the film doesn't really have an conclusion. It just kind of ends abruptly, but I don't think it takes away from the movie really. In the end, we have a slightly messy, but never sloppy movie that could have been annoying in another director's hands, but handled expertly by the Coen brothers, its awesome. 

My score: B+

The Wrestler (2008) - Movie Review

The Wrestler 
Directed by Darren Aronofsky 

movie review/analysis
written by Gavin Miller

I absolutely adore Darren Aronofsky. If I were to make a top five favorite directors list, Aronofsky would easily be on it, probably even making the top three. I love every movie he's made, Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), his latest, Black Swan (2010), and 2008's The Wrestler. I know I'm getting extremely repetitive, but I love all these films, I find it next to impossible ordering them preference wise; that being said, if I absolutely had to choose my favorite, The Wrestler would most likely come out on top. It's not quite as intense as some of Aronofsky's previous films (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan in particular), instead, it takes the form of a more honest and touching drama. Not that the end result is "touching" - this is by no means an "uplifting" movie, but some scenes are very emotional and just facial expressions and dialog convey so much, and really make this movie. This is of course due to the absolutely amazing, perfect performances from the whole cast. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei are so good in this film it's almost unbelievable. Rourke's performance as the aging, beaten and disconnected wrestler, Randy "The Ram" Robinson has to be one of my favorite performances by and actor of all time. Not only is it amazing physical acting, but also just so emotional, at certain points in the movie, the little quiet character moments you just really bring a tear to your eye. The way the film is shot is also one of the best things about it. It takes on a documentary-est feel, slowly following the characters around, I think it's one of the things that works best about this film. 
The Wrestler is as brutal as it is emotional. It gives an honest and uncompromising look into the world of wrestling, I will never watch a "simple" wrestling match again without thinking of this movie. This is not a movie for the faint of heart, all kind of wince inducing violence occurs during the matches, it is not always a pleasant film to watch, but this is not "Rocky". This is a Darren Aronofsky drama that takes risks, it is not afraid. This is an extremely well acted movie, it's honest and sometimes disturbing, but it does not lack in heart. If you liked Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, I think that you would like this film too. The Wrestler is one of my favorite movies of all time. I could praise it more, everything is just about perfect, and it's actually very entertaining. One of the best. 

A+

The Usual Suspects (1995) - Movie Review

The Usual Suspects (1995)

directed by Bryan Singer 

movie review/analysis
written by Gavin Miller

Before I begin going into this film, I'd like to say a few words about director Bryan Singer. I think that he is an underrated filmmaker. His films are some what hit and miss, and unfortunately people seem to forget that he's made some pretty good movies over the years. I haven't seen all of his work, but I think that one of his biggest feats was bringing the comic book/superhero film genre back into mainstream film making with 2000's X-Men, which he directed. It wasn't perfect, but it's a decent film; and one that he followed up with the superior sequel X2 (2002). Among his other directorial credits where Superman Returns (which I did not see), Valkyrie (which is a somewhat better film than it gets credit for) among a few others. But, the film that truly established Singer, and the film that he will remembered for is The Usual Suspects. It wasn't exactly his debut film (that was Public Access), but let's be honest, no one remembers, or even knows about that movie. Usual Suspects was a brilliant movie on the other hand. It's one of those movies that I could talk about for hours. I love it. Singer really puts personality in his movie. It's quickly paced, entertaining, tightly edited and has an awesome score that really gets you into the movie. The performances are all around good and the all star cast is obviously having fun. Kevin Spacey in particular is amazing and is the film's crowning jewel. He deserved his Oscar. 
In conclusion, The Usual Suspects is fast paced, inventive, and just awesome. The famous twist ending truly is brilliant. With so much goes going on in the first hour and forty minutes (or so), I think it's great how the movie just kinda laughs at itself and at the viewers by completely pulling the rug from beneath your feet, leaves=ing you with a huge grin on your face. This is a now iconic film that has archived classic status. It's an important movie, but never a pretentious one. I love it. Check it out.