Sibling rivalry replaces the romantic triangle as the pop-culture mainstay in the week's most-hyped openings - a botched Yuletide comedy and a deliberately excruciating thriller.

In each, a roly-poly brother who appears to have his life and career under control ropes his scrawnier, seedier sibling into an insane enterprise that threatens to go kaput long before the final curtain.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (THINKfilm) Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney. Rated R. Time 123 minutes.

Watch a preview of Fred Claus and see more photos from the film at baltimoresun.com/claus; watch a preview of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead at baltimoresun.com/devil