Burn After Reading is the Coen brother's latest comedic re-imagining of genre conventions, sliding in next to The Hudsucker Proxy (Horatio Alger Stories), and The Big Lebowski (film noir). But despite Reading's frequent attempts to channel Lebowski's spirit, the movie is largely devoid of the madcap energy that makes Lebowski so irresistible, and often devoid of any energy whatsoever. For all its humor (and there will be humor), the movie is a mostly glum affair with serious actors doing serious things quite seriously....

Oh, you know the Oscar drill already: Marion Cotillard surprised everyone by winning Best Actress for La Vie en Rose, further proving the rule that if you go ugly for a movie role, you will win. Poor Julie Christie just looked too beautiful. Otherwise, Tilda Swinton delivered the best speech for winning Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton. The men's races were yawners. Of course, Javier Bardem won Best Supporting Actor for No Country for......