Transsiberian

Truth be told, this was one of those films that my husband picked out at our local video store. He doesn't have a good track record. Left to his own devices, he has the ability to singlehandedly find the worst films ever made... some straight to DVD nightmares starring no one with skills above a novice porn star. It's uncanny, really, how he can avoid every studio film in the store and hone in like a laser on crap. With the occasional exception. This was one of the latter.

Transsiberian (of the unfortunate title) is an original bit of a thriller. Two Americans (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer,) typically green to the ways of the world at large, are traveling from Beijing to Moscow aboard the infamous TransSiberian railway. Their relationship is a little rocky, their bunk mates are a little sinister, they get separated, things go very, very wrong. Enter the local KGB style narcotics cop (played ominously by Sir Ben Kingsley,) who is sure that these Yanks are up to no good, and things get worse.

Although it's slow to get started, this little film had my nerves shot by midway in. Loaded with misdirection and some plot twists that I didn't see coming (and an obvious one that I did,) it's well written and well acted. Woody Harrelson can still pull off the 'wet behind the ears' simplicity he made his own all those seasons on Cheers, Emily Mortimer surprises and Sir Ben is, well, Sir Ben. Always impeccable. Soooo, I guess my husband did okay. This once. Check out the website here.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

It's been a long time since Sidney Lumet was considered a master of crime drama, since back when he was Pacino's ticket with Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico. Good to know that he hasn't lost his touch. Lumet drew us into the creepy hysteria of a robbery gone wrong in Dog Day and he manages to draw us in yet again in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (as in the Irish blessing, 'May you be in heaven half an hour....)

Picture this: Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman,) a seemingly successful accountant has been cooking the books to feed a drug habit. His schmuck of a baby brother Hank (Ethan Hawke,) hasn't paid his child support in a month of Sundays. Out of financial desperation they hatch a simple plan, to rob a Mom and Pop jewelry store - a victimless crime, they figure, as insurance will pick up the tab. The Mom and Pop just happen to be theirs. The crime doesn't end up victimless. And when Mom ends up dead, Pop (Albert Finney) is pissed.

Devil spins a tale of woe that Shakespeare would envy - every imaginable complication, people behaving very badly, abominable luck. It is further enriched by an amazing cast doing some fine acting; in particular, Hoffman who's a marvel at breathing life into really awful characters. It does a lot of time jumping a 'la Pulp Fiction, where you end up watching the same scene play out from different perspectives - effective but sometimes annoying. However, it will keep you biting your nails to the bitter, bitter end. Read another review here.