10. Burn After Reading
A screwball comedy with the energy of a pinball machine powered by redbull, Burn After Reading begins with a rich tapestry of quirky characters, before flying off the handle into an all-action runaround picture. Directed by the ever-idiosyncratic Coen brothers, Burn After Reading dances between genres before bombastically crashing into gonzo territory that involves gunfights and greed. Burn After Reading mischievously manipulates several recognised star images, casting Brad Pitt as an imbecile, George Clooney as a panic-stricken adulterer, and Frances McDormand as Pitt's partner in crime. The film becomes more twisted as it goes on: exposing the insane snowball effect that can occur out of misunderstandings and jumping to conclusions. Each of the stars (which also include Tilda Swinton and Richard Jenkins) race around all corners of the screen; each for their own reasons and every one of them making mistakes. The film's nuttiness comes to a head with an ornery John Malkovich lamenting the "league of morons" that he's been forced to associate with his entire life. Malkovich has been in his fair share of mad films, with Being John Malkovich the obvious contender. Indeed, that film has a crazy spine running all the way through it and belongs on an entirely separate list; whilst Burn After Reading merits its place here (as a film that takes a crazy turn) given the way it mumbles, rumbles, and eventually pops open to let a surprising deliriousness spill out across the screen.