"May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead."

It comes from an Irish toast, that quote, and it's also the first thing we see as director Sidney Lumet begins his latest film, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. It's open for interpretation, in the way that it's used here, however Lumet chose to follow up the quote with a graphic opening shot of a barenaked Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) on his knees, and a naked Gina (Marisa Tomei) bent over on all fours in front of him. They're having sex. Some of the best sex they've had in years. If only life was always like this for Andy and Gina; unfortunately, it's not. This is vacation sex for a married couple -- away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, where the most important decision of the day revolves around which swanky restaurant to eat dinner at. They're in Brazil; Rio to be exact. And this is heaven. Both enjoy their brief, passionate encounter -- and discuss how great it would be to move to Rio and live out their days on a beach -- but then, eventually, return home to New York City ... where all hell breaks loose.

See, Andy is having money problems. He's got a great job, sure -- as head of payroll for a real estate firm -- and lots of cash to boot, but he's a sneaky crook with an expensive drug habit. Money-wise, his younger brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is in a similar situation. He's a few months behind on child support payments to his ex-wife, and as much as he loves his daughter -- and would do anything to provide for her -- his drinking problem, a lack of motivation and the fact that he's sleeping with his brother's wife isn't helping put money in the bank. As more and more funds disappear, and as both brothers are forced into a corner they're not sure how to escape from, Andy comes up with a full-proof plan to fill their pockets: rob a Mom & Pop jewelry store. Except, there's one problem -- that Mom & Pop jewelry store is owned and operated by -- you guessed it -- Andy and Hank's own mom and pop.

Part of me loves attending the New York Film Festival every year, and part of me doesn't. Since it's a pain in the ass to get from Queens to Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the part of me that hates to use up five hours of my time to see one film is always nagging in my ear: "Skip it this year, man. It takes up too much time. And you're lazy." Then again, when on your first day of screenings you get to watch an exceptional new film from Sidney Lumet, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and then get to stick around for a Q&A with the legendary director, the part of me that loves attending NYFF ultimately wins out.

Since I've only seen one film so far (mainly because, this year, time just doesn't allow me to snort up every little piece of filmmaking), instead of writing a dispatch I thought I'd place my initial thoughts here. NYFF is a strange festival, because the press screenings begin a good week before the fest officially opens, and they're fairly spread out across four weeks. Since the fest also takes place within the confines of, say, a block or so, that summer camp, community aspect is not really there. You see a press screening, stick around to chat with another NYC-based writer about Marisa Tomei naked (more on that in a bit), and then you go home to write about it. That pretty much sums it up. All the NYC regulars are there, there's always some old smelly guy sitting either next to me, in front of me or behind me, and no matter when I go to the bathroom, I always wind up standing next to someone I know at the urinal. Last year it was actor Patrick Wilson, and this year it was Andrew Grant (aka Filmbrain). Thus, I'm thinking about starting a urinal interview series for folks I run into -- if, ya know, they don't think that's awkward.

I miss many things about living in New York -- the people, the restaurants and bars, Central Park, the smell of baked ass that overtakes the city this time of year (OK, not that last one). But what I miss the most has got to be the film "scene." Getting a coffee and taking the subway to a movie on a Sunday morning always filled me with happiness. NYC also puts on one of the best film festivals in the country -- the cleverly named New York Film Festival. Showcasing 28 films, the fest will be held this year at Frederick P. Rose Hall in the Time Warner Center. Screenings are set for September 28 through October 14th, and this year's lineup is a real doozy. It includes new films from Sidney Lumet (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, with Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman), Catherine Breillat (The Last Mistress, just grabbed by IFC), Todd Haynes (I'm Not There, his Bob Dylan movie), Abel Ferrara (the promisingly titled Go-Go Tales, starring Willem Dafoe), Noah Baumbach (following up the excellent Squid and the Whale with Margot at the Wedding), the ascotted Peter Bogdanovich (profiling one of my favorite bands with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream), and Brian DePalma (an Iraq war drama called Redacted).

Wes Anderson's new film (can't wait!) The Darjeeling Limited will open the NYFF. The Coen Brothers' new one No Country for Old Men (really really can't wait!) will be the "centerpiece" of the festival. And Cannes '07 jury prize-winner Persepolis, an "animated coming-of-age" story directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, will close the fest. Also showcased will be Cannes favorites like Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, Julian Schnabel's French-language The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. In addition, there will be five classic films screened, including John Ford's first major film -- The Iron Horse. Probably the most anticipated of that bunch is Ridley Scott's "definitive cut" of Blade Runner, in honor of that film's 25th anniversary. An evening called "The Technicolor Show" should be a major attraction, as it's introduced by Martin Scorsese. Head over to Yahoo Movies for the full roster.

Even though it's only been a couple of weeks, folks have been itching to know what, if anything, happened to Eat My Shorts. Did the column disappear? Did Cinematical stop caring about short films? Did Erik get hungry and somehow manage to literally eat all of the shorts? (While the last one seems ridiculous, trust me -- with my appetite, anything is possible.) No. No. And, um, no.

However, I have been hella busy covering the 44th Annual New York Film Festival for Cinematical. In doing so, there wasn't a lot of spare time for me to utilize to scour the internet in search of some fantastic material. I know, my time management skills kind of suck. (I still can't figure out why it takes me two hours to put on a pair of socks, but let's come back to that when the subject is appropriate.) While attending the fest, I was able to catch some really cool short films. As I sat in the darkened theater surrounded by my fellow critics, I couldn't help but hope and pray that some of those shorts were available online. And, to my surprise, they are!

New York magazine was cool enough to stream five of the short films featured at this year's New York Film Festival online for all to see. Thankfully, my favorite one is included. Before we check those out, I want you to keep your eyes open for any Halloween-related shorts online; next week, we're going to delve into that arena and before I start doing my own research, I'd like to hear from you, the audience. As always, feel free to send all links, tips and suggestions regarding Eat My Shorts to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Okay, let's go check out some NYFF shorts ...

In her latest documentary, director Tahani Rached takes us deep into the lives of adolescent girls living on the streets of Cairo, a place where violence, sex and drugs are a way of life. Be that as it may, the streets also provide these girls with the two things they cherish most -- freedom and love. From the opening shot of a young teen named Tata galloping down a busy street atop a horse, darting between cars and playfully teasing the plethora of honking horns and distraught motorists around her, we catch a whiff of power, not fatigue. It's this scene that defines the overall tone of These Girls, a film that focuses more on the present, and less on whatever traumatic event forced these children out of their homes and onto the streets.

In the case of Tata, she's been calling the streets home since age six, and has since become somewhat of a leader to this pack of rebellious teens. She has an edge that none of the other girls carry, yet they all share the same weakness -- men. Throughout the film, the girls share their concerns and fears of being kidnapped by random men to be held in a shack as some sort of sexual hostage. However, it's not the rape that bothers them -- they're more afraid of these men scarring their face, an act that's considered a major insult and perhaps the worst possible thing that could happen to a girl on the streets of Cairo.

After opening up at the Cannes Film Festival this past May (where James felt Kirsten Dunst's wigs were "far better-developed than her character") to a slew of boos from the French crowd, Marie Antoinette (writer-director Sofia Coppola's follow-up to the critically acclaimed Lost in Translation) finally hit the streets of the Big Apple on Friday as part of the New York Film Festival. Would Coppola, Dunst and the gang find more success here in the States? Well, Netscape's Karina Longworth loved the film so much after two viewings, she's even thinking about checking it out for a third time. And she's not alone. According to The IFC Blog, "There's no way around it -- [the film] just looks so good," while Aaron from Out of Focus felt Antoinette "will be unfortunately and unfairly criticized as being not much more than anachronistic eye candy."

Karina attended the screening this past Friday and managed to record the press conference that followed where Coppola, Dunst and Schwartzman had a chance to defend their film. Marie Antoinette hits theaters October 20. Enjoy!

Back in 1964, as part of a special for the UK's World in Action television series, director Michael Apted (along with WIA founder Tim Hewat) documented the lives of several seven-year-olds. The program, inspired by the Jesuit saying "Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the man", attempted to uncover whether or not the children's lives were already pre-determined by their backgrounds and the rigid class system of 1960s Britain. Little did they know this one special (and subsequent follow-up films) would become wildly popular, winning several awards and changing the face of "the documentary" as we knew it. In fact, some might refer to the Up Series as our very first taste of reality television, a phenomenon that would reach its peak in-between 42 Up and Apted's latest visit with old friends, 49 Up.

For the past five decades, Apted has re-visited the same group of people (minus one or two who have dropped out along the way) in order to show us what became of their lives, their dreams, their marriages and their families. In this latest edition of the series, Apted updates us on 13 of the original cast (all 49-years-old) to see how their lives have changed in the past seven years.

The day after Gardens in Autumn screened for the New York Film Festival press, I overheard one critic call it the most disappointing film of the fest thus far. The first thought that popped into my mind was, "Thank God, I wasn't the only one who felt that way." Even more upsetting was the fact that it certainly had potential, but instead of spending more time on character and story, it appeared director Otar Iosseliani (Monday Morning) figured his wonderful cast would make us forget about all those other (dare I say, important) ingredients.

Séverin Blanchet plays Vincent, a Minister of something (I think Agriculture, though we're never told) who's forced to resign from office amid widespread protests on the streets of Paris. For a very brief amount of time (maybe the first 15 minutes or so) we're introduced to his very comfortable world, complete with beautiful mistress, gigantic mansion and luxuries that only folks in a position of political power can enjoy. However, in a flash all of that is snatched away from Vincent (once again, we're not told why), and he's forced to settle into life as a common man.

Before opening up the New York Film Festival this past Friday, there was a press screening (and subsequent press conference) for The Queen. Pic gives a fictionalized account of what might have happened behind close doors the week following Princess Diana's death, focusing on the struggle between the Royal Family and newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair. Netscape's Karina Longworth managed to record the press conference for those of you interested in learning a bit more about this wonderful little film. In attendance were James Cromwell, Stephen Frears, Helen Mirren, Peter Morgan and Andy Harries. Enjoy.

For more on The Queen, feel free to check out my NYFF review of the film.

On August 31, 1997, the world suddenly came to a screeching halt upon hearing the news that Princess Diana had died in a car crash on the streets of Paris. In an instant, the story ran on TV news and landed on the front page of every major newspaper across the globe. People everywhere were shocked, upset and swept up in a tremendous amount of grief. In England -- a country trained to approach even the most extreme situations with a sort of quiet reserve -- the event rocked society's foundations, sending millions of people onto the streets to pay their respects to a woman everyone adored and obsessed over.

Only four months into his new role as Prime Minister, Tony Blair immediately jumped into action, preparing a National address in which he called Diana "The People's Princess" (a term coined by a writer brainstorming ideas, and not Blair himself). However, Blair's words were not enough, as England wanted more -- they wanted their Royal Family. They wanted their Queen. Thus, Blair -- presented to us as a young, hot shot PR wizard hell-bent on creating a new, hip England -- found himself up against a family steeped in tradition dating back hundreds of years, who wanted to treat the death as a private matter by hunkering down at their summer home in Balmoral, Scotland. And so we have the premise for The Queen, a new film directed by Stephen Frears.