Burn After Reading.

I can't make up my mind about this one. The Coens are back in zany mode, and the plot is as convoluted as that of Lebowski but lacks that film's winning laidback charm. It's also got the cartoonish exaggeration of Raising Arizona, combined with the violence from the brothers' more serious films. This might be one of those Coen films that grows on one over time (I initially wasn't a huge fan of Lebowski but now I love it) although the absence of truly sympathetic characters may ultimately tell against it. Norville Barnes in Hudsucker may have been a self-deluding idiot but he was lovable with it, which isn't something that can be said about Burn's cast of morons. There are certainly hilarious performances such as Linda's eager plastic surgeon with his alarmingly perfect teeth and, funniest by far, J.K. Simmons' bemused CIA chief. Clooney adds an extra layer of slime to his patented Coen idiot, and the spy film cliches work nicely to complement his growing sense of paranoia. Pitt is like a hyperactive puppy as the empty-headed Chad, with only the music from his iPod filling the space between his ears. The women are even less sympathetic. Tilda Swinton is yet another ice queen, while Mrs Joel is the plastic surgery-obsessed Linda (and don't even think about the implications of her husband writing that role especially for her!) At least the women end up with what they want (sort of) which I suppose puts them well ahead of the poor schmucks surrounding them.