Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has been embezzling and he comes up with a plan for some quick cash before he gets found out: rob a jewelry store. He'll get his perpetually-down-on-his-luck brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) to actually commit the crime and it'll be easy because their parents own the store! The idea for a victimless crime - his parents won't even be working that day - goes sour, of course. It's the type of thing I've seen dozens of times by now, cut in a fractured time line that does nothing to add to the story telling.

I was particularly let down by the ending: I was holding out hope that the script would be brave enough to go in the less obvious direction, giving reason for the movie's existence. When the players, instead, walked dutifully down the path that had been telegraphed for the last couple of hours, I have to say "eh." All performers did terrific jobs, but did so in service to a shiny script with nothing new to say.

C+