18th Dec 08
Variety has a brief interview with long-time Coen collaborator, composor Carter Burwell in which he discusses the ideas behind the music score for Burn After Reading.
Thanks to Bunnie (again!) for the tip off.
Archive for December, 2008
15th Dec 08
Just a quick note to point you in the direction of two reviews of the Burn After Reading Blu-ray release. The first is from Blu-ray.com who laud the disc for its audio- “it is reference material all the way, with luscious, extended treble, gorgeous midrange and taut bass”, the second from a site which is new to me, Into The Blu which is also a very favourable review.
My copy arrived on Saturday morning and I am pleased to confirm that it is a region free release and so works on my UK PS3- yay! I am yet to watch the movie but have watched the three brief featurettes which are the usual Coen brothers love ins. I had a mess with the “My Scenes” option which basically lets you select sections of the movie and save them as your favourite bits by hitting a button to mark the start and end of the section. The BD-Live (online) stuff is not yet working as the disc isn’t officially out yet so the servers are not running so I don’t know what to expect from that.
12th Dec 08
Famous US film critic Richard Roeper has listed his 25 favourite movies of the year and Burn After Reading made it in at number 20. Here is his 25…
1. “Slumdog Millionaire”
2. “The Dark Knight”
3. “The Wrestler”
4. “In Bruges”
5. “I’ve Loved You So Long”
6. “Gran Torino”
7. “Milk”
8. “The Visitor”
9. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
10. “Frozen River”
11. “Doubt”
12. “Snow Angels”
13. “Frost/Nixon”
14. “The Reader”
15. “Seven Pounds”
16. “Iron Man”
17. “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
18. “W.”
19. “Henry Poole Is Here”
21. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
22. “WALL-E”
23. “The Bank Job”
24. “Tropic Thunder”
25. “Che”
12th Dec 08
My copy of the Burn After Reading Blu-ray is en route already and it’s not due out until 23rd. Anyhoo, I spied this review of the disc over at Hi-def Disc News. Of the video quality the review has this to say;
“Burn After Reading” on Blu-ray Disc gives you a 35mm film to HD transfer that yes, comes with some expected film grain but also comes with a great amount of visible detail making it well worthy of a “4 Star Rating” (or higher, at times) for overall video quality. It at times does almost carry a bit more visual “pop” to it and made me almost consider a higher rating but this just doesn’t seem to be consistent enough to justify a higher rating. Some of the close-ups on actors like Brad Pitt show very much detail — little things like the tiny skin pores in the actor’s face.”
This is the second Coen brothers film to be released on the format after No Country For Old Men and I’m really, REALLY hoping the studio get around to a release of Miller’s Crossing, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and The Man Who Wasn’t There all of which would look stunning in HD, sooner rather than later!
11th Dec 08
The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be held in Hollywood on January 11, 2009, and the nominations for the prizes have just been announced and Burn After Reading is in the running for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical). In addition the ever-wonderful Frances McDormand is on the shortlist for Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture (Comedy Or Musical).
Bunnie strikes again- thanks, Bunnie!
10th Dec 08
Burn After Reading has been nominated in the category of Best Comedy of the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s Critic’s Choice Awards. It is up against Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Tropic Thunder, Role Models and Vicky Christina Barcelona.
Also Brad Pitt is up for Best Actor. Alas, not for BAR but David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin is also nominated for his role in Gus Van Sant’s Milk.
Thanks to the ever dependable Bunnie for letting me know!
8th Dec 08
The National Board of Review has named the Coen brothers’ latest, Burn After Reading, as one of their top ten movies of 2008. The other nine (in alphabetical order) are; The Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Defiance, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Milk, Wall-E and The Wrestler.
Thanks to Andy for the heads up.
1st Dec 08
Just a quick note to say that one half of our favourite filmmaking duo celebrated his 54th birthday on 29th November. A lsightly belated happy birthday to Joel Coen.