Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When a disc filled with some of the CIA's most irrelevant secrets gets in the hands of two determined, but dim-witted, gym employees, the duo are intent on exploiting their find. But since blackmail is a trade better left for the experts, events soon spiral out of everyone's and anyone's control, resulting in a non-stop series of hilarious encounters!

The Coens go a lighter route with their follow up to the Academy Award winning masterpiece No Country For Old Men. This one pokes fun at our government system, specifically the “intelligence” department. The film is full of some great laughs but the pacing could be a bit better. At times I found it slightly slow and hard to follow but the comic relief more than makes up for it. Keep in mind this is the Coens though, so the humor can be quite dark.

The HD presentation is excellent and makes a really strong showing in the detail and dimension department. The photography style varies a bit from scene to scene so film grain is a bit inconsistent but the image always has a great sense of fine detail and depth. Colors are stylized a bit but saturation is excellent and I loved the contrasty look of the imagery. I don’t remember being quite as impressed with the photography when I saw this in D-Cinema but I was extremely impressed this time around. A gorgeous transfer.

The Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack isn’t quite as flooring as the video presentation but it’s effective for what it is. This isn’t an aggressive soundtrack but it makes the most of the spatial atmosphere and does a great job of putting you in the environment acoustically. Dynamics are impressive when they need to be and there are some nice low end bits here and there. The score has a playful quality that really lends to the dark humor of the film and the main soundstage delivers it beautifully.

Extras include a production feature that gives you an inside peek at the making of the film complete with interviews. There is also a funny feature on trying to find love online in the big city with the cast. An inside look at George Clooney and the Coens wraps things up. This disc is also BD-Live enabled allowing you to visit Universal’s online site and look at other available titles.

While not quite as memorable as some of their other films, Burn After Reading is still another solid outing for the Coen Brothers. Universal has delivered an outstanding video transfer for this one, definitely recommended.