There are comedies that make you laugh. There are thrillers that keep you guessing. And then there are movies that somehow do both — while also quietly roasting everyone involved. Few filmmakers have mastered that tonal tightrope quite like the Coen Brothers. Across decades, they’ve built a filmography filled with morally questionable characters, absurd misunderstandings, and endings that hit you sideways. And the one with the funniest ending of all is about to vanish from streaming.

Burn After Reading, written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, is set to leave Prime Video at the end of February. Released in 2008, the film follows a group of deeply unserious people who believe they’ve stumbled upon explosive CIA secrets — when in reality, they have absolutely no idea what they’re holding. The all-star cast includes Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, and Tilda Swinton — each delivering performances that range from unhinged to hilariously pathetic, as well as featuring the most demented “pleasure device” ever conceived for film.

While Burn After Reading wasn’t as universally praised as some of the Coens’ heavier hitters like No Country for Old Men or Fargo, it’s grown into a cult favorite thanks to its satire and endlessly quotable absurdity.

How Good Is ‘Burn After Reading’?

Collider’s review stated that Burn After Reading proves the Coen Brothers can bend any genre to their will — even if this particular outing doesn’t visually sparkle the way some of their previous films have. The review praised the razor-sharp screenplay and the cast’s commitment. Pitt’s gleefully dim personal trainer is a highlight, delivering broad comedy with precision, but the technical side doesn’t quite match the script’s bite.

“Finally, I think the editing of the film is a bit lacking. It’s not that the film feels too fat or too lean, but like the cinematography, it rarely pops. ‘Reading’ doesn’t need to be a loud film, but there doesn’t seem to be a total embrace of the film’s wonderful tone. ‘Burn After Reading’ is as smart and sharply acted as any other of the Coen Brothers’ great films. It’s a shame that the other aspects of the film aren’t as good, but they certainly don’t hurt the film and shouldn’t dissuade you from seeing how once again, the Brothers Coen are the masters of any genre they set their sights on.”

Burn After Reading leaves Prime Video at the end of February.

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Release Date

September 12, 2008

Runtime

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96 minutes

Director

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

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Writers

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

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Producers

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

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Dolly Parton must work longer than 9 to 5 to balance her music and impressive charitable efforts.

In 2022, Parton was honored with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her decades of good deeds and gushed over how “proud” she was to receive the recognition. Her acts of kindness include the creation of The Dollywood Foundation and donating funds to vaccine research after the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in 2020.

“What an honor it is just to be here. I really am just honored and proud to be amongst these great people and doing all these great things to help the world, as they say,” Parton said in October 2022 while accepting the medal. “I just give from my heart. I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m going to do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it then I will.”

Related: Dolly Parton’s Glitziest Red Carpet Fashion Moments: Pics

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Glitter! Fringe! Mini dresses! Dolly Parton is as much a fashion icon as she is a music legend. The “Just Because I’m a Woman” singer has never been one to shy away making a style statement on the red carpet and beyond. From sizzling getups to figure hugging ensembles — she’s slayed it all. Though […]

The Grammy winner continued: “If I can just do my small part in this world then that’s all that I ask in this world. I am very proud of the Imagination Library, so that is very dear to me. I just hope that I can continue to do good things.”

Scroll down to see some of Parton’s most charitable moments:

1988

Dolly Parton launched her non-profit organization The Dollywood Foundation in April 1988 in Sevierville, Tennessee. The goal was to increase the number of local high school graduates and decrease the dropout rate.

The “Jolene” singer also created the Buddy Program, which gave $500 to every seventh and eighth grader in the area who finished high school. The initiation was successful with the dropout rate going from 35 percent to only 6 percent, according to the foundation’s website.

1991

As part of her successful theme park, Dollywood, Dolly Parton opened the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary. The space spans 30,000 square feet and is managed by the American Eagle Foundations shelters to help ensure the safety of the bald eagles.

1995

Dolly Parton expanded The Dollywood Foundation with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program gifts children under five a book monthly to help with literacy and further learning in all areas of the country — and internationally. In 2018, Parton reached a milestone as the Imagination Library sent out its 100 millionth book.

2000

The foundation began five scholarships of $15,000, dubbed the Dolly Parton Scholarship, to Sevier County’s high school seniors to help students continue their studies at an accredited university. “The scholarships are for students who have a dream they wish to pursue and who can successfully communicate their plan and commitment to realize their dreams,” the website reads.

Related: Dolly Parton and Husband Carl Thomas Dean’s Sweetest Moments

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Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean, were married for nearly 60 years before his death in March 2025. The country icon first met her future spouse when she moved to Nashville in 1964 to start her music career. Parton and Dean tied the knot within two years of meeting each other, but as Parton’s […]

2007

Dolly Parton once again gave back to her community by helping raise $500,000 for the Sevier County Hospital by putting on a benefit concert. Dollywood and Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner theater each pledged $250,000, totalling $1 million for the fundraiser. The funds were used to open the LeConte Medical Center, which is a hospital and cancer center, in 2010.

2016 

Following devastating wildfires in Tennessee that tore through the Great Smoky Mountains, Dolly Parton created the My People Fund under her Dollywood Foundation umbrella. The fund distributed $1,000 per month for six months to families who lost their main residence. The foundation revealed in 2017 that more than $12 million was raised and distributed to those in need during that past year.

2017

After releasing her children’s album, I Believe in You, Dolly Patron donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. The donation was made in honor of Parton’s niece who was treated for leukemia at the hospital.

2020

In spring of 2020, Dolly Parton was one of many celebrities who designed a spatula for Williams-Sonoma’s collection of charitable kitchenware. Parton’s design helped earn money for the company’s annual Cook for a Cause campaign.

That same year, the actress made headlines for donating money to coronavirus vaccine research following the worldwide pandemic spike. Parton gave $1 million to assist Moderna’s vaccine research, which was reported to be 94.5 percent effective against the virus.

“I’m just happy that anything I do can help somebody else,” Parton told Today at the time. “When I donated the money to the COVID fund, I just wanted it to do good. Evidently, it is. Let’s just hope we find a cure real soon.”

2021

When Tennessee’s Humphreys County experienced unprecedented flooding and damage, Dolly Parton stepped up and raised $700,000 to get people back on their feet. Parton’s Dollywood and Pigeon Forge dinner show properties gifted a portion of the ticket sales during two October 2021 dates to benefit the United Way of Humphreys County.

Parton’s late friend Loretta Lynn was responsible for the choice in charity. “After the Sevier County wildfires in 2016, Loretta was one of the first who reached out to offer anything she could,” Parton said in a statement. “It meant so much to me that Loretta — and so many folks — were ready to give in any way they could. This was just one small way I could help Loretta’s people for all they did to help my people.”

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Putting their money where their mouths are! In addition to walking the red carpet and living the glamorous life, these celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Lauren Conrad, and Matt Damon, are working hard to make the world a better place. Read up on their charities!

Earlier that year, Dolly Parton revealed that she used some of the royalties from Whitney Houston’s cover of her song “I Will Always Love You” to give back to a Black neighborhood in Nashville. “It was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there,” Parton said during an August 2021 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, sharing that she invested in an office complex in the area. “It was a whole strip mall. And I thought, ‘This is the perfect place for me to be, considering it was Whitney.’”

She continued: “I just thought, ‘This was great. I’m going to be down here with her people, who are my people as well.’ And so I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex. And I think, ‘This is the house that Whitney built.’”

2022

Dolly Parton announced in February 2022 that Dollywood — through its operating partner Herschend Enterprises — would start covering 100 percent of tuition, fees and book costs for any employee who is going to college to further their education.

Four months later, the “Here You Come Again” singer donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help the hospital’s pediatric infectious disease research.

2024

Dolly Parton personally pledged a million dollars to the Mountain Ways Foundation, which helped East Tennessee communities that were impacted by Hurricane Helene. Her donation would be matched by her companies, which included the Dollywood Foundation and Dollywood Parks and Resorts. The East Tennessee native shared that she would be making the donations in partnership with Walmart.

2026

The not-for-profit East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was renamed in Dolly Parton’s honor.

“I learned these lessons early and they’ve stayed with me, and ever since I’ve been in a position to do my part and to help others, I have tried to do just that, especially when children and families need it most,” Parton told Today of the honor. “[Every child] deserves a fair chance to grow up healthy, hopeful and surrounded with love.”

She continued, “That belief is what brought me together with the incredible people at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. For nearly 90 years, their teams have provided compassionate and talented care. They see children not just as patients but as precious little lives, each with a story and a future. In addition to expert care, children need hope and they need comfort and they need to know that they are seen and valued

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More than a decade after a headline-making cheating scandal, Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have put the past behind them to coparent their two kids.

Woods and Nordegren met in 2001 through golfer Jesper Parnevik, whom she was nannying for at the time. Three years later, the twosome tied the knot and went on to welcome a daughter, Sam, in 2007 and a son, Charlie, in 2009.

The same year Charlie was born, news broke that Woods had several affairs, including a full-fledged relationship with Rachel Uchitel. Nordegren confronted Woods about his indiscretions on Thanksgiving in November 2009. The twosome finalized their divorce the following August.

Five years later, Woods shed light on their marital woes during an interview with Time.

“In hindsight, it’s not how I would change 2009 and how it all came about. It would be having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife,” he said. “When it comes down to it, right down to it, it’s just having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife when we were married. Our frustrations would have come out if we had talked about it and been open and honest with each other. Which we are now, and it’s absolutely fantastic.”

Scroll through for a timeline of the former spouses’ ups and downs over the years:

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By Jonathan Klotz
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Fresh off the success of the Stranger Things series finale debuting in theaters, Netflix is again dipping a toe into cinema with the upcoming One Piece Season 2 premiere. The first two episodes of the new season are coming to 200 theaters across the United States. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but considering Netflix has been trying to replace the theatrical experience, it’s a testament to the power of the large-screen, community-viewing experience. Well, that, and following the breakout success of Season 1, the sheer popularity of the live-action Straw Hat Pirates can’t be ignored. 

One Piece Is Coming To The Big Screen

The Stranger Things two-hour series finale was a cultural event. After 10 years, the streamer’s most successful original series was finally coming to an end. By comparison, the second season debut of One Piece doesn’t quite measure up. Except, fans of the anime know that the five arcs being adapted this time around, from “Loguetown” through “Drum Island,” include fan-favorite moments that have resonated for decades. Season 1 was a hit, but Season 2 has the potential to turn the live-action anime adaptation into the most popular show on the planet. 

One Piece Season 2 brings Luffy (Inaki Godoy), Nami (Emily Rudd), Zoro (Mackenyu), Usopp (Jacob Gibson), and Sanji (Taz Skylar) to the Grand Line, the vast ocean route that circumnavigates the world. It’s home to countless islands and warring factions, giant whales, dinosaurs, a pair of warring giants, and the adorable Chopper. If done right, this will be Netflix’s most visually impressive series ever. 

Watching the One Piece anime is a daunting task, considering it’s at over 1100 episodes and counting. The One Piece live-action adaptation streamlines the adventure, though this sometimes means beloved characters are left out, including the majority of Buggy the Clown’s evil circus pirates and Jango, the moonwalking hypnotist. It’s still the best way to get caught up on the adventures of the Straw Hat pirates without watching thousands of hours of anime. 

Netflix Doubles Down On Anime

Netflix is doubling down on One Piece by also bringing The One Piece, an anime remake, to the streaming service in the near future. Eiichiro Oda, creator of the original manga, is actively involved in the franchise’s Netflix offerings, which is likely why the live-action adaptation has succeeded when normally live-action anime falls flat on its face. The Attack on Titan live-action was a disaster, and no one wants to acknowledge the existence of Dragonball Evolution. 

Fans don’t have long to wait before catching the first two episodes of One Piece Season 2 on the big screen. If you’re lucky enough to live near any of the 200 theaters hosting the event, you’ll be able to catch it live on March 10 at 6:00 PM, synced with the global streaming release the same way Stranger Things was. There’s no telling if this is a sign that Netflix will keep pushing new releases into theaters, or if it’s only for the largest, most successful streaming shows in its catalogue. If the first season is any indication, then fans have nothing to worry about when Luffy’s gummy devil fruit powers hit the big screen. The only question is, how awesome is the new season going to be and how can One Piece become even more popular than it already is? 

There has never been a film critic quite like Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times. Perhaps the most famous man who’s ever exercised the profession, Ebert was someone whose opinions were founded on the sharpest, most profound knowledge of cinema history. As such, when talking about the films that Ebert considered the greatest of all time, all cinephiles should give themselves the time to check them out at least once in their lives.

Extrapolating the films that Ebert considered the greatest of all time isn’t an endeavor entirely stripped from subjectivity, since there were multiple movies that the director talked about in his Great Movies list and his many submissions to the decennial Sight and Sound Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. But when looking at the tremendous praise he had for masterpieces both modern (like The Tree of Life) and much older (like The General), one can conclude on a list of ten films that Ebert would very likely have no complaints about calling the best ever made.

10

‘The Tree of Life’ (2011)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

Due to his artsy, slow-burning cinema, Terrence Malick can sometimes be a bit of an acquired taste, and boy was that taste acquired by Roger Ebert. The director typically loved Malick’s work, but no film more than what most would agree is the director’s magnum opus: The Tree of Life. It’s certainly a challenging film, but one so beautiful and philosophically profound that it’s no wonder Ebert loved it as much as he did.

In his write-up talking about his submission for the 2012 Sight and Sound poll (the last one he ever participated in, one year before his passing), the critic said that he had to include one 21st-century film. Though he was split between this and Charlie Kaufman‘s Synecdoche, New York, he opted for Malick’s masterpiece due to its being “more affirmative and hopeful.” In his review, he called it “a film of vast ambition and deep humility,” comparing its “boldness of vision” to Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ebert loved the film for its scale, its intimacy, and the fact that it’s one of the most visually stunning movies of the last 25 years.

9

‘Raging Bull’ (1980)

Image via United Artists

Ebert frequently cited Martin Scorsese as his favorite filmmaker of all time, and as such, no conversation about which movies the critic considered the best ever made could possibly be complete without at least a mention of Scorsese. As it happened, it was Raging Bull, Scorsese’s visceral biopic about American boxer Jake LaMotta, that Ebert favored over all other Scorsese gems.

It’s no wonder, since Raging Bull is one of the definitive masterpieces of the 1980s. Ebert once called it Scorsese’s Othello, “the greatest cinematic expression of the torture of jealousy.” In his review of the film, the critic praised Robert De Niro‘s career-defining performance, Paul Schrader‘s stunning script, and Scorsese’s deeply personal direction. Scorsese has gone into detail several times about how the film saved his life, and that undoubtedly contributed to Ebert’s profound admiration for it.

8

‘The General’ (1926)

Image via United Artists

In his 2012 write-up for the Sight and Sound poll, Ebert mentioned that he felt like he needed to include a silent film, and there’s very little doubt one can notice in his tone when he points to Buster Keaton‘s The General. Indeed, it is generally regarded as one of the best silent movies of all time, the masterful work of one of the greatest minds that has ever graced cinematic comedy.

In his review of the movie, Ebert first addressed the elephant in the room and said that Keaton’s “best movies have aged better than those of his rival, Charlie Chaplin.” Following that bold statement, he praised the movie’s “graceful perfection,” exploring what makes Keaton so timeless and The General so iconic. It’s a hilarious film with its star at his very best, and a must-see for all those who love movies that make them laugh.

7

‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)

Image via United Artists

His oeuvre has its fair share of stumbles, but it would be silly to deny that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest, most important, and most groundbreaking directors in Hollywood history. He made not just one, but arguably several of the most ambitious movies of the 20th century. Still, very few films in general—let alone Coppola films—have ever been more ambitious than the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now.

It’s a hellishly gut-wrenching film, and Ebert held it in absurdly high esteem. In his review, he called it “one of the key films of the century,” expressing admiration for the abundance of unforgettable sequences, the killer soundtrack, the stunning visuals, and the award-worthy performances. Some war films are criticized for glamorizing or romanticizing war, but Apocalypse Now is one of those masterworks that take the “war is Hell” themes to unprecedented heights.

6

‘Vertigo’ (1958)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, was another director for whom Ebert always held a deep admiration. No conversation with the critic about the best films of all time would have ever been complete without talking about Hitchcock. As such, it’s no wonder that Ebert’s known Sight and Sound submissions always included a Hitchcock outing.

For a while, it was Notorious that was on Ebert’s list, but for his 2002 submission, the critic switched to Vertigo, saying it was “the better of two nearly perfect films.” It is, indeed, one of the most perfect classics with complex storytelling and a true gem of cinema. In his review, Ebert called Vertigo Hitchcock’s “most confessional” movie, “dealing directly with the themes that controlled his art.” He expressed admiration over the film’s performances and visuals, but also the way it—either consciously or subconsciously—functions as a deep-dive into Hitchcock’s view and control of women.

5

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

Image via MGM

Many would call Stanley Kubrick the greatest filmmaker who ever lived. Ebert might not have gone for that particular superlative, but in the obituary he wrote for Kubrick, he did call him “one of the greatest of film directors, and perhaps the most independent and self-contained,” so it’s really not that far off. Of Kubrick’s many vastly acclaimed masterpieces, most critics—Ebert included—would point to 2001: A Space Odyssey as the director’s magnum opus.

It’s far and away one of the most ambitious sci-fi masterpieces of all time, a millennia-spanning epic that deals with human nature in a way that no other sci-fi film has before or has since. Ebert said it was “a great visionary leap, unsurpassed in its vision of man and the universe,” and in his review, he called it “the work of an artist so sublimely confident that he doesn’t include a single shot simply to keep our attention.” Ebert was a big fan of the music, the infinitely analyzable ending, and Kubrick’s unrestrained vision.

4

‘Floating Weeds’ (1959)

Like any great film critic, Ebert was well-versed in overseas cinema almost just as much as he was in American cinema, and there were few international film industries that he was fonder of than Japan’s. The great master Yasujirō Ozu was an auteur that Ebert particularly admired, and Floating Weeds was the critic’s favorite Ozu gem.

A remake of Ozu’s own 1934 black-and-white silent film A Story of Floating Weeds, Floating Weeds is a true masterpiece, with Ebert considering it a film of “hypnotic visual beauty” in his list of the greatest motion pictures ever made. In his review, the critic praised Ozu as “the quietest and gentlest of directors,” and he said that Floating Weeds was beautifully familiar, atmospheric, and naturalistic.

3

‘La Dolce Vita’ (1960)

Image via Cineriz

There have been many excellent Italian filmmakers throughout history, but none have ever quite lived up to how legendary Federico Fellini was, and how exceptional the legacy he left behind has remained over the years. La Dolce Vita is generally regarded as his best movie, one of the most perfectly-written epics ever made, and Ebert certainly wouldn’t have disagreed.

In his 2012 Sight and Sound write-up, the critic said that La Dolce Vita had become a touchstone in his life, which makes it unsurprising that he thought it was one of the greatest motion pictures in history. In his review, Ebert expressed admiration for the way the movie “leaps from one visual extravaganza to another,” as well as for the excellent performances and Fellini’s energetic direction.

2

‘Casablanca’ (1942)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Perhaps the most romantic Hollywood picture ever made, Casablanca was a smash hit upon release whose success surprised even those involved in its production. Today, it’s such a mainstream classic that its perfection hardly surprises anyone. Ebert certainly considered it one of the most perfect World War II movies ever, and for good reason.

When he wrote about the ten greatest films ever made, Ebert said that even though the romance, the humor, and the intrigue at the heart of Casablanca were masterful, it was its enthralling characters that really made it so special and timeless. In his review, the critic said that even “seeing the film over and over again, year after year, [he found] it never grows over-familiar,” and that’s probably why this has never ceased to be the huge classic it’s always been.

1

‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)

Image via RKO Radio Pictures

When he wrote about the ten greatest films ever, and he inevitably got to the topic of Orson Welles‘ Citizen Kane, Ebert reminisced about a recent university screening he had attended, where the film was analyzed shot-by-shot. He said, “We took 10 hours and really looked at this film, which is routinely named the best film of all time, almost by default, in list after list. Maybe it is. It’s some movie.” That maybe it is, from a critic of Ebert’s caliber, may just be the biggest snippet of praise any film could ever aspire to.

It’s well-deserved praise, too. Citizen Kane is undoubtedly, at the very least, one of the best movies of the 20th century. It’s almost unbelievable that it was Welles’ cinematic debut both as a director and as an actor (not counting two previous credits as a narrator), and Ebert made sure to take note of that in his review of the movie. He praised the film’s structure, writing, and “bravura visual moments,” making it clear why he probably thought this was the greatest film ever made.

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