BURN AFTER READING

Directed by: The Coen brothers

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, John Malkovitch

Release Date: March 26

“Burn After Reading” is one of few black-comedies that directly tackles the post-911 era - “Team America: World Police” (2004) is the only other one that comes to mind. And who better to make fun of the folly of our troubled times than the devious Coen brothers?

MILK

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin

Release Date: March 26

If you’re already an avid reader of this blog, you’ll know that I thoroughly disliked this biopic about the first openly gay man elected to office in the United States. Gus Van Sant returns to the generic filmmaking style he adopted in “Good Will Hunting (1997) and “Finding Forrester” (2000) after making a handful of artsier movies - “Gerry,” (2002) “Elephant,” (2003) “Last Days,” (2005) and “Paranoid Park” (2007).  Though the latter films weren’t necessarily good, they were at least significantly more interesting in terms of technique. “Milk” is just so bland, like a regular glass without a spoonful of cocoa or a cookie to go with it.

THE READER

Directed by: Stephen Daldry

Starring: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes

Release Date: March 26

I know what you’re thinking: “Ugh! Another movie about Nazis and the horrible things they did during World War II.” Someone really needs to declare a moratorium on these kinds of dramas, but for now let’s just look at what “The Reader” has to offer - two stellar actors in the male and female leads, and a capable filmmaker (I’m a sucker for Stephen Daldry’s previous film, “The Hours”). Still, by broaching this subject, movies like these have the added challenge of saying something new or different in an original way. And that’s never easy.