Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Pros: Well written, outstanding performances from Hoffman and Hawke
Cons: That first scene is a doozy, unoriginal premise

The lure of easy money. It’s one of those universal temptations that most of us manage to resist only because we know that there really is no such thing as a free lunch, and that somewhere down the line, that easy money is gonna come down hard. But ...

Pros: Writing, casting, acting, cinematography.
Cons: None.

I am a longtime fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman. My first recollection of his work was his portrayal of a Med School student in Patch Adams. Hoffman played an intense character under self-induced stress from his efforts to follow in his ...

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"May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead." A well-crafted, well-paced, well-acted film can be an absolutely beautiful thing. When it's done right, it all looks so easy. And 82 year old director Sidney Lumet has ...

Pros: story, pacing and cast
Cons: predictable ending makes excellent start feel wasted

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (BtDKyD) is among the heaps of crime/drama/thrillers that have flooded 2007 with great storytelling and acting that will go unnoticed thanks to the media-roaring clutches of Harry Potter, Cloverfield and other mass ...

Pros: Direction. Performances. Script.
Cons: Climax might kill the impact? I don't know.

When the 21st century rolled around, Sidney Lumet had long ago been written off as one of yesterday's great directors. 1990's Q & A was his last critical success, and the cinematic legend hadn't produced a true classic since 1976's ...

Pros: Pacing and narrative
Cons: Story as a whole and weak performances

Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead isn’t a whodunit. The film is a consequence movie told in different chapters from different points of view. The story is somewhat interesting at best; the narrative is the reason to watch it. ...

Pros: great movie, different from any other movie in the past few years
Cons: some people don't like the scene jumps, but they aren't confusing

This is the best movie of 2007 that you have never heard of. On my Top 10 of 2007 list, I would put this movie around somewhere between 2 and 4 (with Gone Baby Gone as the undisputed champ of the year). Nearly everything about this movie is ...

Pros: Novel story, a bad event that gets out of hand- Disturbing, Exciting, Inexorably Dreadful
Cons: Not for the weak of heart. Nor the timid. Nor children of any age.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead I cannot believe how much is already in SPOILERs that helpful reviewers have written about this movie - I'll only try to tantalize you and disclose nothing an "R Rated" movie might show us. Released to ...

Pros: Marisa Tomei's pretty nipples
Cons: Philip Seymour Hoffmann's naked butt

“Before the Devil Knows you are Dead” is yet another critically acclaimed Hollywood movie that turns out to be a dog. What else is new? Sidney Lumet, a respectable movie director with a decent career behind him, in his senile years has ...

Pros: very involved plot, not what you might expect
Cons: has limited audience appeal, talented actors but little chemistry

Sidney Lumet is an accomplished director who has had several box-office hits…and several films that just didn’t come together. After watching Lumet’s fairly recent Find Me Guilty, a ...

Pros: Gripping and cutting edge movie
Cons: Distractions can prove costly

Few have the longevity of quality direction like Sidney Lumet, for 60 years the director has been making quality movies that have been incredibly well received by audiences across the world; 12 Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Equus and ...

Pros: Decent acting, all things considered
Cons: A heavy-handed approach to ironic material

If Sidney Lumet -- the veteran director responsible for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead -- thinks his movie is unique and spellbinding, apparently he hasn’t seen Reservoir Dogs. Like Dogs, Devil concerns a seemingly ...

Pros: 4 Amazing performances and one very tight script.
Cons: An exceptionally bleak world-view that will not exactly leave you with a smile.

I had a pretty good idea of the basic plot when I walked into the theatre. Two brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) plan to hold up a jewelry store in a strip mall...and the store is owned by THEIR PARENTS. I also knew it bounced around in ...

Pros: Excellent cast who try very hard. Quick pace.
Cons: Unlikeable characters, depressing subject matter, poor plot.

From the opening scene showing a rather graphic sex scene between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei you realize you are watching one of those movies that is determined to be edgy. This translates to thoroughly unlikeable characters and a ...