Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3.5/4
"Before The Devil Knows You're Dead" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/25/2012
Domineering Philip Seymour Hoffman talks his weak willed younger brother into helping him rob their parents jewelry store to solve both their financial difficulties, but when the heist goes wrong, their lives start to unravel. Sidney Lumet has been making quality thrillers for 50 years, but in his latest effort, he takes a few cues from his younger pretenders. The plot themes have a lot in common with Fargo and A Simple Plan and the execution is reminiscent of Jackie Brown and its familiar disjointed timeline. In fact there is little here that hasn't been done before so don't expect much in the way of originality or surprises. But the quality cast all put in solid performances and Lumet certainly still knows how to pace a story and crank up the suspense. No gimmickry, no pointless …
Rating of
3/4
A Modern Greek Tragedy
Franz Patrick - wrote on 07/03/2008
I thought the first part of the film was fascinating and its plot was as focused as it could be. But as the picture went on, I kind of grew tired of it. I guess it's because the whole jumping forward in time and back technique didn't work for me. Each scene, it made me want to think if certain events had happened already. I think it would've been more effective if the story was told in a linear manner. The acting is first-class--Philip Seymour Hoffman completely blew me away. As the movie went on, he grew increasingly crazy. Though his transformation made me laugh and feel uncomfortable at times, I stayed with him all the way. He made each scene he was in that much more special. Ethan Hawke was great as well. I felt bad for him because he played the moral conscience of the story even …
