With lines of escape in my mouth » before the devil knows you’re dead http://www.nigeldowler.com A Crumbs Effusion Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:56:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Films of the Year, 2007 http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2008/01/18/films-of-the-year-2007/ http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2008/01/18/films-of-the-year-2007/#comments Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:27:26 +0000 admin http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2008/01/10/films-of-the-year-2007/ One of the many preferable things about living in Canada over Europe is being able to see films upon their first release and not having to wait a few months. That way you can actually make a list of your favourite films of 2007 as soon as the year is over rather than having confusing conversations in May over whether a certain film belongs to this year or last year.

Anyway, here in no particular order other than alphabetical are my 10 favourites from the last year.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – gritty Romanian film which won the Palme d’Or about a young woman struggling to help her friend organise an illegal abortion.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – sedate but intriguing Western about the last few months in the life of infamous outlaw Jesse James and the man who killed him. Casey Affleck gives one of the best performances of the year.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead – an interesting thriller about a robbery gone wrong and its repercussions.

Bridge to Terabithia – a beautiful, inspiring and emotional tale about two preteens who become friends and create their own fantasy world.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – amazing French film based on the true story of a man who becomes totally paralysed in all but his left eye.

Eastern Promises – intense and violent thriller about a Russian mob family in London.

Into the Wild – fantastic film about a young man who gives up his life to pursue his dream of living among nature in the Alaskan wilderness.

No Country for Old Men – the Coen brothers back to their best with a film noir about a man on the run and his determined pursuer.

There Will Be Blood – brilliant and courageous character study of a charasmatic, success-driven oil prospector.

Zodiac – excellent procedural thriller about the obsessive hunt for a serial killer.

]]> http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2008/01/18/films-of-the-year-2007/feed/ 0 Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2007/11/27/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead/ http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2007/11/27/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:08:22 +0000 admin http://www.nigeldowler.com/blog/2007/11/27/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead/ There’s nothing strikingly original about this film but it still manages to engage you for its duration. It’s a tightly crafted thriller about a jewellery store robbery gone wrong which results in the already fucked-up lives of the characters taking an almighty turn for the worse.

The cast is excellent here, including two of my favourites – Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke. Director Sidney Lumet is most known for some of his excellent films of the 1970s like Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network but he hasn’t done much of note in recent years.  ‘Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead’ is a welcome change to that. The narrative technique involves showing the robbery from different points of view and it works well.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Marisa Tomei plays the wife of Hoffman’s character and they share the best opening scene to a film ever. You’ll know when you see it! 6 crumbs out of 10.

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