TIFF '08: "Burn After Reading" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"

Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I would have… but the only thing that was on my mind is how I’m NOT at the Toronto International. I’m that jealous of everyone there. I would love to watch films like “Che,” “The Wrestler,” “The Brothers Bloom,” “Appaloosa,” and “Zach and Miri Make A Porno” now. But anyway, I’ll be seeing them all sometime or later.

Here are a few films that have also caught my eye that have been shown at the fest. I know I didn’t update it yesterday, but I have a reason – everyone was at some party for “Blindness.” So they slacked with the reviews. So here are a few reviews for a few films.


The first one is for the new Coen Brothers movie “Burn After Reading.” I found reviews from a few internet bloggers that I really liked (and I stayed far away from big websites for this one).

Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes, “Essentially this film is a chaotic ensemble drama about six intersecting characters - but remarkably it's hilarious. I don't know how the Coen Brothers did it, but all of the eclectic characters they gathered together in “Burn After Reading” all really shined through in the finished product. The only problem was the felt it a bit skimpy, like there could have been so much more.”

Kim Voynar at Cinematical writes, “I would rank it up there with my two favorite Coen films, Fargo and O, Brother Where Art Thou?. Burn After Reading is a sharply written film that revolves around intrigues and deceptions, where most of the darkly comedic moments happen when a character's flaws collide with reality; most of all, its a fun ride down the roller coaster of the dark side of human nature as only the Coens can explore it.”

Emaneul Levy writes, “True to their roots, the Coens are first and foremost stylists, and the new picture shows how visually brilliant they are. You can fault the picture for having montages of courtship and dating (though some are priceless), but I can assure you that some bravura camera movements and sharp positions (high and low-angle) will command your attention.”

The verdict? “Burn After Reading” is funny, even though it has some problems, but it won’t be able to compare to the Coens’ last film. It comes out September 12.


The second one is for the new Michael Cera flick “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” I’m really interested in this one surprisingly. It looks really funny and a lot of fun.

Peter Sciretta at /Film writes, “What the film does get right is the wonderful little moments of a blossoming relationship, for example, one sweet moment when Nick offers to washes off Norah’s hands with a wet nap that he got at a resturant the week before. But the fantastical story gets in the way too often. Kat Dennings is the perfect go-to non-perfect girl you can’t help but love, and Michael Cera elevates the film with the wonderfully awkward comic timing we have come to enjoy.”

Devin Farici at CHUD writes, “Thinking back on the film I wonder if the problem isn't that I'm too old for this movie but that the filmmakers were. There's nothing, outside of the soundtrack, that screams right now to me in this film. Obviously a teen movie should be hitting universal aspects of being a teen - anyone who has ever been young should identify with the gist of it - but a movie that is almost crying out about how it's about 'today,' about 'now' should have something more modern than just a casual acceptance of homosexuality and an iPod. I'd like to thank you all for listening to me as I worked out my early midlife crisis - it's not me that's out of touch with the modern world, it's the music that's boring and the movies that are empty.”

James Rocchi at Cinematical writes, “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist has the chiming, catchy and ultimately transient charm of the rock tunes that are scattered though its soundtrack with a backbeat of broad jokes and bigger moments giving enough forward motion to get to the happy ending while keeping it from outstaying its welcome.”

The verdict? “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” has a few problems, but it’s good for what it is worth. It comes out October 3.