Liars and Saints

 This is a love letter to Amy Ryan, who really steals the show in "Only Murders in the Building." The Times focused on Martin Short; I can understand this. Martin Short is amazing. His speech about "Splash: The Musical" will always stay with me. "The floor was meant to roll back to reveal a swimming pool....but the gears were clogged....So one chorus boy jumped, and smashed his face on the stage. Then the next boy. And the next. And the next...." If you followed "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark," or the tales of various "Lion King" castmates, permanently crippled by puppetry tasks, then you'll enjoy the Martin Short character. I also liked Short's bizarre speech about a colleague. "There once was a lonely child, and that child grew up to be STEPHEN JOSHUA SONDHEIM. The thing about Sondheim? When he is good, HE IS GOOD. When he is off, well, I'M PATIENT." This captures something crucial about the ritual of an Upper We...

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.....   This is a story where people don't speak very clearly to one another. Andy wants to escape his life, and he might succeed with a bit more money. He convinces his rather dim-witted brother Hank (also financially troubled) to rob the family business. "It's like we're robbing a Mom and Pop store, but we're literally robbing Mom....and Pop...." Andy doesn't tell Hank to keep other people out of this, and I believe he doesn't remember to say NO GUNS. Hank--scared--hires a colleague, who does use a gun. Meanwhile, there's a certain workers' schedule at the family shop--a dull anonymous lady is meant to be on duty--but the schedule has evaporated. Mom is taking the reins. One shot is fired; a second shot is fired. Two corpses--within seconds. What follows is chaos. We know that Hank and Andy don't like their father very much; this resentment might be the real reason for the robbery. The father--Albert ...