Dino De Laurentiis Dies at 91

In no particular order: Serpico, War and Peace, Three Days of the Condor, Dune, La Strada, Conan the Barbarian, Army of Darkness, Barbarella, Blue Velvet, and my personal favorite, Nights of Cabiria. Those are just a few of the cinematic landmarks that Dino left behind.

It hits close to home as he built the studio in North Carolina that facilitated my initiation into film production. Ciao, Dino.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Lumet is relentless, both in his career and his direction. This is two hours of, "Why did I do this?!?!? Not the characters, ME." There's poetry buried deep in the dialogue by first timer Kelly Masterson. That guy who cheated on Uma does a great job, and looks like a first class hapless dope through most of the film. Philip Seymour (did-you-know-I'm-in-every-movie?)Hoffman's pink carcass in the beginning acts as an allegory for his overall persona - florid and heaving, not sanguine, yet remaining in the act, yet remaining as relentlessly as Lumet;'s presence until the end..