The consensus I've gotten from people after they've seen the red-band trailer for the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading is that nobody understands what it's about, and nobody cares, because everybody thinks it looks awesome. Well, if you thought that trailer was confusing, or at least lacking in plot synopsis, just imagine how moviegoers outside the U.S. feel after seeing this new international trailer.

As you can see, marketing to international audiences is more about selling the stars. Hence the CLOONEY, the McDORMAND, the MALKOVICH, the SWINTON and the PITT titles. As for story, there's even less revealed here than in the red-band trailer. In fact, it's almost a joke how little is said about the movie. Each actor/character maybe gets to slip in one or two words, which actually just serve as response to more intertitles telling us about the other major stars of the film: the Coens.

Cinematical is absolutely stoked to be premiering this exclusive poster for Burn After Reading (click to enlarge), written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen -- whose last film, No Country for Old Men, caused quite the stir last year online, in theaters and at the Academy Awards. Not sure if you heard of it ... something about a cowboy and a weird haircut? Yes? Maybe? Anyway, one thing the Coen boys are known for are their casts, and Burn After Reading is no exception; this flick boasts appearances from, well, read the poster. You've got Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton. Need I say more? Or less? (Will this post self-destruct in sixty seconds?)

What's being touted as a "dark, spy-comedy," Burn After Reading looks to return the brothers to the kind of humor that was found in films like Raising Arizona or The Big Lebowski (two of my personal favs). The synopsis goes a little something like this: An ousted CIA official's (Academy Award nominee John Malkovich) memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise gym employees intent on exploiting their find.

Burn After Reading will premiere at the 2008 Venice International Film Festival before arriving in theaters on September 12th.

After a brief detour through the more substantial, it looks like the Coen brothers are back in full-on madcap comedy mode with this fall's Burn After Reading. The first trailer has made an appearance here, though since it's red-band, the site requires you to go through a cumbersome process involving iTunes. Among other things, it affords the rare treat of seeing John Malkovich punch Brad Pitt in the nose.

It's always hard to predict how Coen movies are going to come together, but although Pitt might deserve an Oscar for the little dance he does at 1:36, I don't think Burn After Reading will be making an awards run -- it looks very, very strange, sort of in the vein of Raising Arizona. (On the other hand, the fact that the utterly insane O Brother, Where Art Thou? managed a screenplay nomination might mean all bets are off.) I cherish the Coens' comic sensibilities -- Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers were trifles, but they made me laugh, really hard. This looks similarly anarchic and over-the-top.

Burn After Reading premieres at the Venice Film Festival in August and hits theaters September 12th.

After the gut-wrenching terror of No Country for Old Men (I haven't been that tense in a movie theater since, well, ever), I can safely say that I am incredibly relieved that the Coens' next film, Burn After Reading, looks like it is going to be a lot more fun. First Showing now has some stills from the Coens' black comedy, and it would appear that the brothers are returning to what I like to call their 'Raising Arizona roots.'

Burn is the story of a CIA agent (played by George Clooney) who is assigned to investigate the case of a former agent named Ozzie Cox (John Malkovich) who has taken his revenge on the agency by writing a tell-all memoir. When Cox's ex-wife (played by Tilda Swinton) steals the only copy and leaves it behind at her gym, the gym's owner (Frances McDormand) and star personal trainer (Brad Pitt) see an opportunity to engage in a little blackmail.

The Coen flick just got the nod to open the Venice Film Festival this year, but Burn will not be making an appearance at Cannes this year (which is a little strange considering the luck they had at the French festival last year). This makes it zero for two for Pitt now that his other high-profile film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, also failed to make the list for Cannes. Burn After Reading is scheduled for wide release on September 12th, 2008.

As Jack Handey put it, "It takes a big man to laugh at himself, but it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man." Crimewave is about that big kind of man, and his partner: two electrocutioners on a rampage. They prowl the streets in a truck with a hog-sized stuffed rat on top, with red light bulb eyes. The driver is Faron Crush, who looks like Paul Sorvino playing the Incredible Hulk. HIs sniggering partner Arthur (Brion "I'll tell you about my mother" James) wears a jumpsuit, fingerless leather gloves, and a flat leather cap the shape and color of a cow-chip. If you ever had a nightmare about Gallagher, that's what Arthur looks like. The two maniacs carry with them "a shocker," a killing-machine that has three settings: "Rat," "Man" and "Hero". And they have no motivation beside malice and sheer professionalism.

The films of the Coen Brothers tend to split their admirers into different camps. Some love everything they do, many favor their loonier comedic endeavors (Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?), and still others pledge allegiance to their more straightforward and violent dramatic offerings (Miller's Crossing, Fargo, No Country for Old Men).

I fall into the latter camp, having first encountered the unique sensibilities of Joel and Ethan Coen on a tiny television in my tiny Brooklyn living quarters in the late 1980s. Even in a bowdlerized version for television, interrupted for commercials every 10 minutes, Blood Simple held me mesmerized from its opening shot -- an extreme low-angle view of a two-lane highway, shredded rubber tire in the foreground -- to its last.

Watching the film again last night, I was struck by how accomplished the film looks. You could play it on a double bill with No Country for Old Men and be reminded that the Coens already knew the power of silence way back in 1984. They also knew a great image when they saw one, appreciated the value of underplaying a performance, recognized the allure of shadows and silhouettes, and treasured subtle nuances. They've grown and matured, expanding their thematic range, but their debut demonstrates that they've always been uncommonly assured filmmakers.

The Coen Bros. took top honors last night at the DGA awards ceremony for their film No Country for Old Men, beating out Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), Sean Penn (Into the Wild), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) and Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). Statistically, this usually means there's a pretty good chance Joel and Ethan Coen will win the Oscar as well, however that's not guaranteed. Last time these guys were up for a best directing Oscar, it was 1996 and the film was Fargo. That year, they won for original screenplay but didn't take home the best director statue. You can listen to the Coen Bros. acceptance speech, as well as the press conference backstage over at The Envelope.

photo courtesy of The Envelope

Best Screenplay

Nominees:

Diablo Cody -- Juno

Joel & Ethan Coen -- No Country for Old Men

Christopher Hampton -- Atonement

Ronald Harwood -- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Aaron Sorkin -- Charlie Wilson's War

Predicted Winner: Diablo Cody -- Juno

Often, it's not the finest writing that wins the screenplay award, it's the flashiest. Cinematical doesn't think Globe voters will be able to pass up Diablo Cody's hyper-verbose, show-offy script, chock full of memorable one-liners and quotable dialogue. Plus, Hollywood just can't get enough of her stripper-turned-screenwriter tale. Juno what I'm saying?

Now it's your turn to vote ...

The Director's Guild has announced their five nominees for best director of 2007, and they are: Ethan and Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men; Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton; Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood; Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; and Sean Penn for Into the Wild. For those of you paying attention to the major kudos, that's two different directors than the Hollywood Foreign Press nominated for the Golden Globes. Rather than recognizing Atonement director Joe Wright or American Gangster director Ridley Scott, the Guild has gone with Anderson and Penn.

So, which grouping will be closest to the Oscars? Who cares? I hate that with every announcement about non-Academy-related awards we get a statement like "since ____, only _____ winners have failed to claim the Oscar ... " Well, the fact that there is some divergence means there is no predicting who will get the Oscar nominations, let along the award. So, let's just appreciate the Director's Guild Awards for what they are. That said, I haven't seen all the films (I'm actually about to head out the door to finally catch There Will Be Blood), so I can't fairly pick my favorite. In fact, two of the nominated films that I have seen are so different in style that it's quite difficult for me to decide which I think is more deserving of this honor. Ultimately, despite the fact that I greatly admired Schabel's ability to make a first-person POV-shot engaging throughout the majority of his film, I'd have to go with the Coen Brothers. Except for that one controversial shot, I think they gave us the best visual storytelling of the year and I also think that they managed to get some of the most amazing performances of the year from their actors. However, my mind could easily change in about an hour when I sit down in front of the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. The winner will be announced on January 26.

An eclectic group of online film notables, including former Times critic Elvis Mitchell, AICN's Harry Knowles, my colleague Glenn Kenny of Premiere.com, Roger Ebert's sidekick Jim Emerson and Jen Yamato of Rotten Tomatoes have gotten together to have a long, in-depth discussion about one of the year's top awards contenders, No Country for Old Men. A lot of topics are discussed during the free-floating talk, ranging from macro subjects like the film's much talked-about ending and the theme of old vs. young to minutiae like what happened to the coin that the gas station attendant won his life with and the significance of Javier Bardem's Prince Valiant haircut. There's also a lot of talk about the significance of feet in the film -- one character gets wounded in the foot and Bardem's character has a peculiar obsession with keeping his feet clean and there are lots of shots of walking feet in the film. What does it all mean?

It's the controversial ending that prompts the most debate, and Harry Knowles talks at one point about a screening of the film that took place in Austin with Josh Brolin in attendance: "A member of the audience stood up and [said] 'Why did they end it like that?!' and Brolin just looked at the guy and he looked angry." Kenny offers a unique interpretation of the last act, specifically referring to two events that happen in quick succession involving Bardem and another character. He believes Bergman's The Seventh Seal was an influence for the Coen Bros. on that. To hear the whole thing, just download the MP3 off the film's official website and enjoy.