Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, 2007

Blog readers will soon come to learn that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is this reviewer's favourite actor - an honour I'm sure he lists on his bulging CV.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead isn't the best film he's in but it's a good place to start my Seymour Hoffman review fest.

Hoffman and his brother (Ethan Hawke, Reality Bites) decide robbing mom and dad's jewellery store is a great way to get them out of a financial jam. Surprise surprise, it's not as fool proof as they first thought.

Along for the ride are Marisa Tomei (PSH clearly punching above his weight in this one) and Albert Finney - both very good in supporting roles.

Full of moral dilemmas, giving into vices and general panic - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is very dark but undeniably gripping.

Directed by Sidney Lumet (who teamed up with Al Pacino in the seventies for Serpico), BTDKYD deserves 7/10.

Nutbuckle

The Mist

The Mist, 2007

In stark contrast to the previously reviewed 'The Happening' - The Mist hits the mark in a similar genre.

Director Frank Darabont turns a Stevn King story (with King's help) into an edge of your seat jitter fest.

The population of a small town ends up inside the local supermarket as an eerie looking mist envelops the area. What starts out as a harmless bit of fog turns seriously sinister as all sorts of things spring from the dark.

As you'd expect, chaos starts to rule and the result makes for pretty tense stuff.

The largely unknown Thomas Jane (small bits in Face Off and Magnolia) does a sound job leading the way but this is about the mist, not the acting.

Pretty memorable ending too. Underrated movie.

8/10

Nutbuckle