Tilda Swinton – WilfridWong.com

Starstruck by Burn After Reading – How Much You Can Tolerate Idiocy?

If there is a center theme to “Burn After Reading”, to me, that would be idiocy. There is no hero, only idiots. And that is exactly what the award winning director-writer duo Joel and Ethan Coen wanted it to be, I reckon.

Knowing that I will be heading for an overseas business trip in Malaysia, I spent the last few days trying to do as much as I can in Singapore. I can’t live without Singapore, I really can’t. Not entirely the country as per se, but all these dependencies I have built over the years. Gosh, I will even miss my über computer where I spend much time blogging with. And so, before I head north, I caught up with my Movie Review Squad.

There are so many big stars in “Burn After Reading”. I am such a big fan of John Malkovich. I especially enjoy his acting in “Being John Malkovich (1999)”. But he looks quite old in this film. OK, he is old. 54, he is. I really wish to see him taking home an Oscar one day.

Then there is the old partners George Clooney and Tilda Swinton. They didn’t get along in “Michael Clayton (2007)”, they didn’t get along in “Burn After Reading” either. Both are such talented actors. While George Clooney is not exactly the guy I used to love watching in this film – a bit too jittering to my liking – I bet you have not seen this side of a Brad Pitt at all. Who is this Brad Pitt?! Borderline childish, borderline uncool, and totally an idiot.

I can relate 100% on how the filmmakers depict a typical working environment, and that is not even funny. Gosh, when was the last time I witness something outrageously intelligent at work? Hmmm. If I may pick a few favorite scenes from “Burn After Reading”, I simply love to watch the conversations between an official played by David Rasche and his director (J. K. Simmons) inside the the CIA’s headquarters. The director’s comments are so random in situations of life and death. J. K. Simmons’s acting makes me laugh out loud, and I want more. He gives me ideas to reply to a common asked question in the corporate world: what is our lesson learnt?

Not necessarily the most entertaining film of the year. But if you do like to watch dark comedy and in love with watching some of the stars on big screen, “Burn After Reading” is a good option.

Michael Clayton – Do You Have The Patience?

Michael Clayton

Cynthia and I have a few secret codes and signs. For instance, when we say that a film is quote unquote Oscar Material, that usually means: ya sure, it is artistic but it can quite boring (Cynthia surely did feel that way). Okay, I personally don’t feel that bored because the acting is solid. Real solid. And that’s why you come to my site to hear different views.

Cynthia’s colleague enjoyed watching “Michael Clayton”. She actually forgot what the movie was as it was the 2nd movie straight after that, in her own words, mouth-watering Eastern Promise (remember that naked dude?). Being a walking encyclopedia of what’s showing, I guessed it right. She said she can relate to the corporate life depicted within. I can certainly relate to how she relates to the movie. I was once a “fixer”, a support consultant who was flown into Paris to fix a series of problems so that my so-called beloved firm would not get sued. And the firm was saved. I got nothing in the end. The firm never remembers, just quarter to quarter results.

Sure, I can relate to “Michael Clayton”. When I told my new colleague ST that I was going to watch “Michael Clayton”, her immediate response was: you’ve got class! I’ve got class? We’ve got class? Now I know. You really need to prepare yourself in order to appreciate “Michael Clayton”. Viewers are the hardest bunch to satisfy. If the movie is overwhelmingly entertaining, we complain that it does not have enough character development. “Michael Clayton” has plenty of character development and yet, some of us find it boring.

The acting of George Clooney (the “fixer” of a law firm) is solid. So are Tom Wilkinson (the lawyer who goes mad) and Tilda Swinton (chief counsel). The storyline is straightforward, nothing groundbreaking. Our little complain is that we don’t really get to see George Clooney fixing anything. There are quite a number of moral decisions involved, that’s for sure.

Surprisingly TK enjoyed the movie. Cynthia and I joked that because he got two phone calls from his boss and needed to leave the theatre. Hence, the movie is (a) a lot faster pace and (b) a lot more mysterious. Critics all over the world love this movie. I think you can too … if you have the patience.