Burn After Reading - Smart, funny and a must watch

Its short, its simple, its hilarious. The Coen brothers have pulled off an absolute gem (another one) after scaling cinematic heights with the oscar winning "No Country For Old Men". This time, they indulge in the funnies.

Its a marvellous satire, the kind you'd want to watch on a nice holiday afternoon, or even evening after a good meal. The Coen brothers take a dig at the CIA and how they are beleagured by a case they can not get their heads around. Its just about a cuckoo ex-CIA agent, given life by an unforgettable performance by John Malkovich, who has a short fuse. Then there is the philadering treasurer of state, essayed by George clooney. A daft gym instructor, Brad Pitt and his colleague Linda, played by Frances McDormand who is suffering from a mid life crisis and wants a plethora of surgeries done on her body.

The plot thickens when John Malcovich's character's rather worthless account of memoirs is found by Brad pitt and Frances and they understand that to be an invaluable piece of material for the Intelligence bureau. They plan to blackmail John Malcovich's character and extort money for Frances's character's surgeries. Madness ensues as the CIA tries to track the characters trying to figure out what exactly is going on. The film ends with the CIA closing the case without knowing what the hell was the material involved and why everyone did what they did.

Some good performances, along with good pace of the narrative makes the film extremely likable. But one can see why the film wasn't taken seriously. It seems too short to be a film. At a running time of just a little over ninety minutes, it breezes past you. But then there in lies the charm. It was nominated for two gloden globes and hopefully should get some nominations at the Oscars as well.

I would highly recommended it. Catch it if it's still running in theatres around you.

The office - A wonderful generic theme.

Quite some years ago, when "Frasier" ruled the roost on television, I thought that there could not be a comedy show more brilliant than that. Whether "The Office" is better is something I still can't get an answer for. But I'll tell you this - while "Frasier" is wonderfully charming and witty, "The Office" is quirky and elegant. You take your pic.

Or perhaps we don't even have to compare. In an ideal world I would have them running all day long. Perhaps throw in "The Simpsons" as well. :)

But what I would rather tell you about is just how outstanding a show "The office" is, and if you are not watching it, to tell you just what you are missing.

The show was originally on British television.It was adapted for the American audience and stars the quite brilliant Steve Carrell, along with an ensemble of some lesser known , but evidently highly skilled, actors.

Be it the blatantly stupid (I read somewhere that this was a case of peter principle) Michael Scott played by Carrell, with his idiosyncratic behavior and his obsessive will to play the joker around the office, quite often ensuing in embarrassing and offensive situations or the lovably quirky Dwight Shrute, played by Riamm Nelson, with his over competitive streak that almost always designates him as the butt of practical jokes, the office promises to have you in splits. Add to that fantastically written sketches with each character so astonishingly different from each other that it doesn't take you more than a moment to start identifying with them. It is a warm welcoming space and you want to be in it.

Yes, in truth, every Office is in many ways like "The Office".

What amazed me most is how well these characters had been developed and how well they had been acted out. I have not seen these actors (other than Carrell) in other roles, so its hard to comment on whether this is an outstanding performance and if they are doing anything different. But this certainly is good and worth your time.

You will fall in love with the show, purely on the quality of the script and actors. Also consider the unorthodox method of filming - shot like a documentary. "The Office" is a laugh riot, and you don't want to miss the fun.