Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead :: Review

I just watched Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke. To start, I just want to say I loved this movie. The music that begins in the first few scenes gave me goosebumps. The premise is outright amazing, making the movie purely insane. The directing in this movie takes the plot to the next level. It changes what could’ve been a flop into a masterpiece. The way the characters respond to the extreme conditions they are in is superb. While some of the scenes may be deemed as a little cliche, the plot is so original that it is hard to retain the cliche frame of mind. It really changed the way you think about human perseverance and the resistance to just saying you’re sorry. The characters act in such a way that may be inconceivable to us “normal” people, but change the instant you imagine yourself in that certain situation. I absolutely recommend watching this movie. It is a work of art, and a must-see.

IMDB 

Rain Man – Reviewed

After sitting in my kitchen for more than a week, the 1988 film, Rain Man, finally made it into my DVD player. Starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, this movie received several academy awards including Best Picture. I was somewhat misled by the synopsis that some people and websites gave to me. My expectations were a bit high and I expected to see more of Las Vegas life, for which I primarily watched the movie. I had heard that an autistic man (Hoffman) had been able to count cards in Black Jack, thus winning a gorgeous amount of money in casinos. Thinking that was an intriguing plot and the film received several academy awards, I figured it was going to be quite a show. Without giving much of the movie away for those who have not seen it, I would say that I was disappointed. The plot was mainly geared towards the relationship between the Raymond Babbitt, the autistic man, and his brother Charlie Babbitt (Cruise). Babbitt discovers he has an older brother of whom his parents had never informed him. Unfortunately, I don’t think the plot was made known clearly enough to the viewer until is much too late to care, and never is resolved. Since this is my first review, I think I am going to take it easy and not go into too much depth in terms of character development and screenplay. So, my first rating is going to consist of three different parts, each containing their own, specific rating. My overall rating will be based on the average of these parts. My ratings will be out of 1-10, 1 being the lowest, worst rating, 10 being the highest, best rating.

 

1. Technical (6.5) (editing, VFX shots, sound mixing) – Being a 1988 film, not much advancement in VFX shots or editing, just straight footage and acting. Some of the chromakeys (blue/green screen cutouts) were exceptional when it came to the driving scenes.

2. Screenplay (8.0) (acting, cinematography, directing) – Acting was superb, especially Dustin Hoffman, but you could definitely tell in some parts that there were things he made up on the spot. For example, he says, “I am not going to have any books, I’m going to bookless”. Where does an autistic man learn that vocabulary? Tom Cruise, not his usual style, but still did a fairly good job.

3. Likeness (5.0) (the end all feel of my perspective and whether I liked it or not, conclusion) – In conclusion, I really did not enjoy this movie as much as I expected to. I think I went into watching it with the wrong impression. Interesting story line, and notable acting, but if I was on the Academy team, I don’t think I would have given this Best Picture.

 

Overall rating: 6.5 of 10 (decent, not great)