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Review: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
The first time you see Andy (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) walk outside his parents house to have what passes for a heart to heart with his old man, it's through the eyes of his wife Gina (Marisa Tomei). It won't be the first time you see this scene, the next time will be outside, and by the time you get to it you won't be frustrated that you didn't see it earlier but relieved that your watching a movie that takes so much time to invest you into the characters, to the point where you don't mind seeing the scenes slowly and surely unraveled throughout the course of the film.

The second time this scene is shown Gina is in the background looking through the window, she hangs over this scene and the rest of the movie as an onlooker. She understands, we think, what is happening around her during the course of the film, but like her were not sure...we just know something is very, very wrong.

Gina and Andy are just two of the great characters in Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead". The latter and his brother, Hank (Ethawn Hawk) are both in need of money for their own reasons. Hank, among other things, needs money to send his young daughter on a class field trip to The Lion King. Hank lives an obviously miserable life, he is a failure to his daughter and his former wife only talks to him when shes asking for the late child support. He seems to mean well, but these things happen. Andy has a lucrative job and a loft high up in a New York sky rise. He has little problem with heroin that only seems to be getting worse. Andy comes up with a plan: but he forces Hank to agree that he'll do it before he tells him what it is. He agrees, and Andy tells him of a little jewelery store that is uncrowded and insured. It's foolproof, but things happens. And that's as far as a credible reviewer can take you, for telling anything more would waste away at least five or seven minutes of suspense; in a movie where every scene is a winner that is too much.

Just know that this is a great film, and Albert Finney plays one of the best roles I've seen in a very long time. The acting throughout is nearly flawless, with Hoffman and Hawk absolutely on fire and Tomei irresistible with and without clothes on, giving a truly great performance. Watch a scene towards the end, her reaction. You'll know it when you see it. And pay attention to Lumet's direction, which is patient enough to let us watch these scenes, helped in no small part by a screenplay that reveals everything exactly at the moment not when you want to, but when you need to.

I can't wait to see "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" again. Yes, I'll know what happens, but I'm eager to revisit the dialog; which if it isn't what people would say in these situations then I don't know what is. And I want to see again how the story unfolds itself, because I have a feeling that after many viewings I still won't know what to expect next.

The film begins with it's only moment of respite. Andy and Gina are making love in Brazil, they lay in bed and wonder aloud why it's never "like this" back home. Then we get a black screen and the old Irish proverb "May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows your dead." You'll consider after you finish if some people get that long.

Hillary Clinton on Bill O'Reilly

I kinda hate Bill O'Reilly and I don't really like Hillary Clinton, I'm more of an Obama man myself, but both of them seem to be on a semi coherent level while talking to each other on Fox news. The thing about Bill is that I really can't fault him too much because it seems like he sincerely believes in his bullshit, and at the begginning of this video he really comes off as a rich pompous bastard, complaining about a 6 1/2 tax increase for people making more than $250,000 a year, directly after notifying Hillary that he is a "rich person, like you". Hillary is pretty levelheaded during the whole thing, making Bill look like kinda of a jackass for the first half until they both settle down towards the end, where you can check out Hillary's wicked cackle.

More Carter III News

According to mTV's Mixtape Monday, which seems to just verify almost verified rumors every week, the above cover is definitely the cover to beyond ridiculously anticipated Tha Carter III. This is shocking for one reason: it doesn't fit the theme of Tha Carter I or II whatsoever. It isn't shocking because: It's Lil Wayne, and Universal seems to be letting him do whatever the fuck he wants for this new record, which is awesome. Supposedly second single, Milli, will be the multiply used beat on this one, like C1 and C2 had those little gothic piano interludes. But this time Wayne will be "calling" in to Tha Carter from on the road, and up and coming artist like Corey Gunz (who completely destroys this beat), Lil Mama and Tyga will rap over the beat. This holds steady with my theory that the official version of "Milli" would be the intro to the CD, kind of like Tha Mobb was to Tha Carter II. According to Wayne there will be no leaked material on the CD, which is the reason it was pushed back one final time to June 10th. Wayne also confirmed a guest appearance by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Swizz Beatz and Jim Jonsin production, with in house producers such as Deezle and a couple of "suprise" appearances. From past rumors, one can only hope and assume he's talking about Dr. Dre, Timbaland and Polow Da Don.

Everyone is waiting on a classic Weezy, don't let us down now, not after years of brilliant verses and inventive beats.

NEW T.I.- No Matter What

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When T.I. announced late last week that we could be looking out for his new single this week I really had no idea what it might sound like, the end result is better than I could of hoped for. Now don't get me wrong, every time T.I. launches the flagship single off of an album it's a big event, I was one of the people who love "Big Shit Poppin (Do It)", and he comes back hard on this track with a laid back and more measured flow. He sounds defiant, we all knew he wouldn't go to jail for that long, and by the sound of this Paper Trail should be more than enough to hold us off till he gets out. The beat sounds tailor made for T.I., with smooth synths to lead the track in, with synths piling on the beat throughout, a cool little noise that sounds like a squeaky bed during rough sex, and a subtle guitar riff for good measure during the chorus. He seems to be in a contemplative mood, and hes continuing his streak of great verses with his (i'm assuming...it should be) first official single. "I lost my partna and my daughter int he same year, some how i rise above my problems and remain here....wonder how I face problems and still chillin? Easy, let go and let God deal wit it." I have a really good feeling about this one.

Tha Game- 911 Is A Joke (Cop Killa)

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Coming on the heels of the disappointingly Sean Bell verdict The Game bravely copies the title of the classic Public Enemy track to spit some venom over a pretty laid back beat. Game is in top form on this one, it doesn't sound official enough to be on L.A.X., but it's got me even more excited than I already am.

The New Dark Knight Trailer Leaked!!!

Right on the heels of myself finally catching up a little bit from last year and seeing Todd Haynes "I'm Not There" (really, really interesting and...it's awesome) and Sydney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (fucking incredible) I come back to my dorm and find that the new Dark Knight trailer, which is "officially" premiering this Sunday has leaked. Won't be up for long I bet...no Two Face, but god damn this shit looks insane.

Jay-Z "Blow the Whistle"

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Well this is weird, after Stevenson called Lebron overrated and Lebron in turn compared himself to Stevenson in Jay-Z vs. Souljah Boy terms and then Stevenson went and bought Souljah Boy first row tickets or some bullshit like that....I half expected Jay to show up to the same game rooting for his boy Lebron, hell he let him get on the XXL cover with him a couple years back. What I didn't expect though, was a diss song coming from Jay. Granted you can tell he came up with this song in the same time it takes most people to read the morning news, he still actually did this. Although after a second listen its stupid kinda charm is growing on me, Jay isn't really taking this seriously, and when he says "It's too easy for me"....hes not kidding. "We let money do the talking, and we talk often."

Blueprint 3 by the end of the year, I'd put money on it.

CNN feat. The Clipse- My Hood

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Never really heard anything from CNN, but he does his thing, this isn't exactly foreign material for the Clipse but they're on fire too, gotta find who did that beat though....

Kidz In The Hall "Drivin Down the Block" (Remix)

Well this is really, really cool.

Kidz In The Hall feat. The Cool Kids, Pusha T & Bun B "Drivin Down the Block" (Remix)

Fat Ray & Black Milk- The Set Up

Black Milk, the Producer/MC who dropped the wonderful "Popular Demand" full length last March is teaming up with MC Fat Ray (scratch that, he might be a producer also, either way keep reading) and they have definitely delivered with "The Set Up". If it's, pardon the horrible pun, a set up for future collaborations I couldn't be happier. Black Milk is planning on releasing the follow up to Popular Demand, titled "Tronic Summer" this...well summer. Until than this should be more than enough to satiate the fans, at only 11 songs and 32 minutes it is brief but definitely not frail. There really isn't a weak track on here, add that with guest appearances by Guilty Simpson among a few others, and this turns out to be a very nice surprise that kind of came out of nowhere. The rhymes by Fat Ray and Black Milk are anything but nimble, especially Ray's harsh delivery, but they both sound great over the rugged beats that sound way more polished than they have any right to. Check out "Nothing to Hide", with a beat that could proudly sit among Popular Demands best. As for "Take Control", well the beat and their relentless flow seem to imply exactly that, both of these guys have a bright future. I was starting to forget about that Black Milk guy....but if anything this proves hes got more in him than his excellent debut, hopefully his follow up will be able to keep the momentum going.

I had no idea this was coming out until it was released, but I couldn't be happier. I gotta give it a couple more days to digest, but a review of The Roots "Rising Down" is coming asap...

New T.I. single debuting next week

T.I.'s first single off of his upcoming (the word is September...who knows?) is supposedly debuting next week on StreetCred.com. The album is being called Paper Trail, in reference to Tip writing down his lyrics again, something he hasn't done for a few albums; this is news to me but whatever, hes one of hip-hops most consistent voices. Either way, he sounds invigorated, as shown by his great verse on Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar" Remix.

In other news, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III has been pushed back once again, this time to June 10. This thing better be worth it....

New Rakim- I'm Back

Here's a new song from Rakim from (i'm assuming) the eagerly anticipated but oft delayed "The Seventh Seal". This song is showing the R in great shape, produced by Fuzzy Womack, with a slightly condescending flow and steady rhyme scheme that is sure to make every wannabe rapper nowadays remember who started all of this shit. When the album is released their are supposedly some Dr. Dre tracks that Rakim was allowed to keep after his split with Aftermath, this should be interesting....anyone who heard "The Watcher 2" off of Jay-Z's Blueprint 2 knows that Rakim sounds great on a Dre beat.

Lil Wayne- Millie

The supposed second single off Tha Carter III leaked today, in two different forms. One was a bad sounding version with DJ drops included on AllHipHop.com, and the second one is floating around the net with an absolutely destructive verse from Corey Gunz. As usual, Wayne is wildin' out on this track, but its nice to hear him clearly over a spare beat for a change, lately is all we've been getting is auto tuners and crazy sing-songish stuff.....don't get me wrong I'm loving Weezy's new Rock Star Entertainer Swagger, and all the music that entails, but its nice to hear him sounding semi sober again. The beat sounds like something the Cool Kids would rap over, which is awesome, with skeletal bass and "millie" repeated over and over again throughout the track. After "Lollipop" and now this, I am really pissed no one is absolutely positive when Tha Carter III is supposed to come out. But I have a feeling this summer is going to be very Lil Wayne friendly.

Lil Wayne- Lollipop

Lil Wayne's first single leaked early yesterday, and its been harder and harder to find it online...not that the "official premiere" is tomorrow on BET or anything. R.I.P. to Static Major, a good way to go out i suppose...on the first single off of the most anticipated album in god knows how long; and the good thing is it doesn't dissapoint. The beat is "cold" like Wayne said it would be, but it's quickly infectious and he has finally perfected his T-Pain like vocoder experiment. The video is great, reminds me of the great 90's mainstream hip-hop videos, and whoever edited it did a great job at syncing up with Wayne and Statics singing/rapping and the beats epic synths. This is gonna be huge. I can't wait for the first street single though, but like Wayne said "girls are gonna love this song. guys are gonna hate it. ugly guys".

The End Complete....almost

I remember the first time I heard "Second Stage Turbine Blade", Coheed and Cambria's debut CD. That voice, the raging riffs etc. I had never heard anything like it, and i fell in love instantly. When they released "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3" They expanded their sound to keep up with their proposed multi album story "The Armory Wars". When the follow up was released, "Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness" their sound (and album title...and concept) was beefed up to a level beyond ridiculousness, but the music was always on point and they put on one hell of a live show. I saw them after the release of each of these three albums, and each time they were absolutely amazing. I've heard of notoriously bad shows by them, but I'll believe it when I see it. They released the second volume of the fourth and final chapter of their story last fall, and for some reason I just got around to getting it. I called my friend to ask him what it sounded like, and I quote "yeah i like it a lot, it kind of sounds like all of their albums mixed together". I couldn't of said it better myself. Since this is Volume 2, the beautiful prelude that plays in one form or another before each of their first three albums isn't their, they start pretty much where they left off on the end of Volume 1. For some reason they decided to start this story by releasing the second part first, so the final album of the Armory Wars will be the first part, and if this final release is any indication it will go back to the more simplified sound of their first album, which is still probably my favorite. They really are taking this whole concept thing seriously, but as long as it makes for great songs and albums I'm not complaining; but I am curious to see what they do once the "complete saga" is released. As for "Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow", on first couple listens it easily stands up to the rest of their stuff, and as far as I can tell so far is a pretty perfect end to their multi album cycle. Volume One took brief interludes to go into the mind of the "writer" of the story, which makes all of this stuff even more insane, and entertaining. But it's the seriousness with which they deliver this concept that sells it all, and on this final part it seems that Claudio and the rest of the guys are going ahead full speed with telling the "story" and nothing else. Whether intentional or not, this makes this album the most cohesive and fast flowing since their debut, yet they still manage to go all over the place. Like Volume One, this one ends with an epic five song suite, called "The End Complete", and it is appropriately completely over the top. The final song, the Pink Floydish sounding (and titled) "On The Brink" ends the album with a guitar interpretation of that gorgeous aforementioned prelude. They managed to top off their story in a glorious fashion, now I'm waiting to see how they start it.

Lil Wayne...still great, but C3 couldnt come sooner...

At this point I can't even remember when Tha Carter III was actually supposed to come out, but for a very long while it didn't matter. First there was Dedication 2, than Da Drought 3, than all of the leaked Carter III songs that landed on various mixtapes, the vast majority of which were album ready and wouldn't of disappointed. Not to mention countless guest appearances. But here we are, early 2008, and Weezy has got felony charges against him, the Hot Boyz reunion was canceled due to a shooting outside the venue, and the record is definately coming out sometime in February (scratch that), March or April. This shits starting to get to Detox levels of ridiculousness. Fans were getting worried when Da Drought is Ova Pt. 4 was released late last year, and for good reason. Wayne was delving a little bit too far into his T-Pain voice adjustment, with a lame cover of 2Pac's classic "Ambittionz as a Riddah" and several other failed attempts with the vocoder. But throughout that tape were songs that genuinely excited. "I Took Her" has a beat that is so ready made for Wayne's voice and/or expensive speakers that it didn't surprise me at all when I heard it the day it was released blaring out of someones car speakers in front of my dorm. "Need Some Quiet" is one of the best songs Lil Wayne has released in literally months, it sounds like the perfect mix of his classic Mannie Fresh beats and post Carter II mixtape swagger. On "Trouble" he displays some truly touching rhymes, something I fear most people forget he's even capable of. Example "And just the other day my nigga Chris killed himself, I pray to god i never feel the way he felt. Where do we go when theres no help? He figured heaven so he went left, ya'll know that ain't right. Plus he was high as a plane on that same night, shit i probably been on that same flight". Over Christmas weekend he leaked "The Leak", a short EP of his favorite songs, i suppose to prime us for Tha Carter III. There all pretty great songs, but I have a feeling that whenever his magnum opus does arrive it will sound exactly like nothing we're expecting. He knows what he's doing, and if songs off of DJ WhiteOwls New Orleans Nightmare parts 8 and 9 are any indication, he's taken the internet consensus to help him perfect his forays into experimentalism. Where "Rider" was basically a complete failure, Vocoder and all, he has managed to use that same instrument to give himself a slight inflection on recently leaked songs such as "Showtime" that only aids his slippery flow into even more categories. Even more interesting (and successful) are his increasing amount of attempts at some sort of weird Weezy/Reggae combination. On "Pom Pom" he gets assistance from Junior Reid, you may remember him from Game's "One Blood" and absolutely kills it. It rivals "Operate on Me", a song that leaked a couple of months ago with Wyclef Jean. And on "We Don't Play" he just goes it alone, trying out a reggae flow over an infectious beat and doesn't embarrass himself in the least. For a while I was scared, and rightfully so. But right now I am fairly confident that when Tha Carter III is eventually released we will see Wayne with all guns blazing, which at this point means....who the fuck knows? But I sure am excited, again. Thank God.

FLASHING...LIGHTS...LIGHTs...LIGHts...LIGhts...LIghts...Lights...lights....

Heres the link to the new KanYe video, i haven't really been checking on the oh so important internet consensus, but I love it. The second i listened to this song when the CD came out I knew it would be a single eventually, and i was expecting some super expensive glitz and glam video, like "stronger" for the project runway crowd or something like that. But its just a simple Spike Lee and Kanye "co-directed" video with some busty as hell chick walking out of a car in the middle of the desert, taking her fur coat off to reveal just black lingerie, starts a fire, walks up to the trunk and kills 'Ye with a shovel. Awesome. The best part about it is it just cuts off the last minute plus of the song and places a rudimentary red FLASHING LIGHTS title. Going from space age shades and an Akira aping video to post-cool experimentalism. He really is ahead of things, if his ridiculous blog didn't tell you that already. As an added touch, his blog is absent of any explanation, while every other single entry has at least some words to accompany his favorite new light fixtures or whatever.

Best of Last Year and maybe this year a little bit too

Jay-Z & Marvin Gaye: Brooklyn Soul

This is a remix of Jay's American Gangster done by Mick Boogie, don't listen to what anyone else tells you, this is THE DEFINITIVE AG remix, and i personally like it more than the original. Cop it here , also make sure to check out his page a little bit, hes got a ton of badass mixtapes.

Lil' Wayne: Da Drought 3

Wayne's defining statement from one hell of a year, i hope the long delayed "Tha Carter III" is as good as it should be, but if not we've got more than enough music from him in '07 to ask for too much more for a while. This is the best of the bunch, a two disc behemoth with Weezy displaying just about every kind of flow imaginable, this is really, really good shit. He gave it out online for free, and in his own words "if you don't get it for free your stupid." If your a hater, this probably wont change your mind, but this is probably his best stuff besides Dedication 2 and Mixtape Legends. Oh yeah, and Tha Carter 3 Sessions.

Blu & Exile: Below the Heavens

I couldn't find a good d/l for this so, after sampling a few tracks from iTunes, I actually bought an album! I can't remember the last time I did that, but it was worth it. This is the debut full length from Blu, one of the most talented MC's to come around in a LONG time, do not sleep on this dude, you'll be kicking yourself for it down the road. Exile's production is just as good, i haven't heard an MC and DJ gel this well in a minute, a possible future classic; seriously.

Pharoahe Monch: Desire

I just starting listening to Pharoahe but I'm glad I did. This is a great album, if you've heard the hype, its all warranted trust me. This doesn't really sound like anything else, if theirs two albums from '07 that you must listen to, this and Below the Heavens are two very good choices.

UGK: Underground Kingz

A double disc worth it's weight, and its got the single of the year too boot! R.I.P. Pimp C, you probably already have this, but if you don't....change that.

Kanye West: Graduation

You know, I know. Thats 3 for 3 for Mr. West.

The Cool Kids: Totally Flossed Out EP

Find this immediately online, it shouldn't be hard. Their bringing back that "88 Shit", these dudes are the truth. Simple rhymes, but that doesn't mean "Mickey Rocks" isn't talented. Mickey and his DJ Chuck Inglish hail from Chicago and Detroit (holla) respectively, it doesn't get much cooler than that. It's only eight songs, but its eight of the best songs I've heard in a long time.

Common: Finding Forever

The Wal-Mart bargain T-Shirt album cover kinda turned me off at first, but it stands up to it's predecessor "Be", it might be even better. Theirs a track with D'angelo over one of my favorite beats off the late J-Dilla's "Donuts", which kicks a ridiculous amount of ass; but every song is ill as fuck. Just like Be, its almost entirely produced by KanYe, but theirs a Will.I.Am track on there and the aforementioned J-Dilla track. And some guy named Devo Springsteen who i've never heard of but a Wiki search informs me he's pretty hot shit and he works with Ye on the regular, so...yeah.

Ghostface Killah: The Big Dough Rehab

I actually haven't gotten a chance to listen to this too much, but it's Pretty Toney so you know its good. What I have listened to bangs pretty hard, reminds me of Supreme Clientele mixed with More Fish, if that makes any sense.

LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

Awesome, awesome, awesome, really fucking good punk/dance album. I never really listened to Mr. Murphys previous album, I always kind thought "Daft Punk is Playing at my House" was kind of ridiculous, but i guess if your into that stuff (lord knows i love me some Daft Punk, don't get that twisted) It was pretty fun. Check out this new one though, every track is....like the sound of silver. Oooooh.

M.I.A.: Kala

Probably even better than Arular, her debut, M.I.A. is one of my favorite new artists. I also plan on marrying her some day, but thats a different story entirely. This is the kind of album (like just about every other one on this list) that deserves a lot more space, but since i kind of spaced out on my blog for some reason for a couple months I'm making up for lost time. I can't remember where I read this, but it said that the Timbaland produced track is the least creative on the album. True, if that tells you anything. Get this album.

Panda Bear: Person Pitch

This is the perfect album to listen to if your sitting around stoned with a couple friends....and you don't want to listen to rap.

Radiohead: In Rainbows

Duh.

Wu-Tang Clan: 8 Diagrams

This CD is a fucking masterpiece, don't believe what anyone else tells you. It sounds unlike any other rap album I've ever heard, RZA was out of his mind on this one.