Heist

Rating:
Summary: twist and turn crime caper
Review: This ones isnt to bad Hackmans character,a profestional thief reluctenly out to do one final job,with his partner(Delroy Lindo)and Devitos character making sure they do it.The films got some twist and turns but nothing we havnt alredy scene,i guess the best parts of the film is when Hackman gets into heated verbal exchages with the other main characters,but thats what we love hackman for always up for a fight.this films nothin new,go rent it first

Rating:
Summary: "Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money"
Review: There are several similarities between this film and another flick that came out this year called THE SCORE they both star some pretty solid actors (DeNiro, Hackman) they're both about a guy who wants to do "one last job" before retiring and they're both about the money and trust but [heist] Not as cool as The Score, but still decent, grown-up fun.

Rating:
Summary: A Grown Up Film for Grown Ups
Review: I can't wait to get this DVD as Heist was one of the most enjoyable films I saw in 2001. I'll get right to it: My wife and I can generally detect where a movie is going to end up 5 minutes into it, sometimes before the opening credits are done. You can sense everything you're going to know about the plot, characters, and the finale while the popcorn is still warm.

Heist was refreshingly atypical. Instead of telling you a story with props, explosions, stereotypes, and poorly executed manipulative jumps between humor and tragedy, this movie treated you like an adult. The plot did what a plot should do, draw you both into the world of the characters and the characters themselves. Enough "curves" were thrown that you couldn't sit there smuggly predicting the next twist but not so much that the suspension of belief went off the scale. As others have said, the dialog was crisp, unpredictable, and inventive like a good Jazz solo while the plot was "comping" in the background. Yes, there was cursing but these are criminal characters and profanity is a part of that "world".

I also liked the fact that all of the "good" bad guys were strong: In a lot of movies female characters start out strong but mysteriously become weak and inert (perhaps for "dramatic" reasons) later in the film. Not so here. Rebecca is a perfect foil as Gene's woman/wife/girlfriend who looks and gender are tools not a liability or weakness. DelRay Lindo's character is a man, a partner, not a black man whose skin color is played for "effect" in the movie in some way. The role of Pinky in other films would have become a Steve Buscimi (sic) type of character willing to give up his friends to save his own neck. I remembering thinking "wow, this guy is not behaving like a role in this situation would usually play out".

If you have a short attention span, like very clear cut plots, and don't like to pay attention to nuances in dialog, you probably won't like this movie. If you're like me and are tired of remakes or new movies which are predictable front to back and enjoy crime dramas I think you'll enjoy this film. One last thing, again as others have said, due to the language, some implied sexual situations, and yeah, some shooting and killing, this film is NOT suitable in my opinion for early teens. Maybe 16 and older...

Rating:
Summary: A waste of time and money
Review: Although many will not agree with my opinion, I think it will help others in making an informed purchase. If you've seen this film's trailer you've already seen all that it has to offer: the "money" line is the highlight of the movie. An absurd, convoluted plot and stone cold acting add up to make this a caper movie of the worst calibur. As we left the theatre I was embarrassed to have suggested this to my friends and their weak smiles told me I wouldn't be picking the movie again for some time. I admit it: I was duped by the trailer.

If you're looking for a heist movie with suspense and stellar performances (by DeNiro, Ed Norton, and Brando) check out The Score (2001), which, on DVD, also comes with tons of goodies, which the Heist does not.

Rating:
Summary: Not Good At All
Review: This movie was not good at all. It was completly boring.I went into the theater thinking i would love it because i really like Gene Hackman, and Danny Devito, but the cast did not help.It was so boring, that i fell asleep, and i have never fallen asleep during a movie ever in my life.I cant remember one second during that movie, that I was being entertained.If you want to be entertained, go rent Memento.Dont waste your time with this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Slick, sharp witted, complicated and big fun!
Review: Mamet at his best, Hackman, Devito and all the rest of the wonderful cast at theirs... Lovely pacing, delicious characters, twists, turns and smooth, smooth, smooth moviemaking.
It is great to watch pros do the voodoo that they do so well!

Rating:
Summary: What a waste!
Review: I was really looking forward to this movie - how could I resist a movie with Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman AND Delroy Lindo! Granted, I had been burned by Mamet before (I thought The Spanish Prisoner was obvious and unoriginal), but with his gift for dialouge, and some of the best actors in the business, how could it fail? Well, a battleship with all of the plot holes in this film would sink instantly! The characters are poorly developed, and do things that make no sense at all. The scene on the pier in Boston was so implausible it was laughable, and the ending made no sense whatsoever. If you want to see a good movie of this type, see Mamet's House of Games, but avoid Heist.

Rating:
Summary: The Con Is On!
Review: "My guy is so cool, when he goes to sleep, sheep count him." So says "Pinky" (Ricky Jay)as he describes his "boss", Joe Moore (Gene Hackman). The same thing can be said for "Heist". Here's a movie that has a razor-sharp script full if wit, style, and excitement. I think it's fair to say that David Mamet writes some of the best dialogue I've ever heard. It's a known fact that he uses a metronome in order to keep his dialogue to have a certain rhythm to it. There are so many great lines in this movie it's impossible to recite them all here. I would love it, if this movie got an Osacr nomination for it's screenplay. I honestly can't understand why so many people have been as harsh as they have been with this film. I think it's one of the best films of 2001! Everything seems so perfect in this movie. Who could ask for more from a heist movie. I mean, the directing is great. Mamet knows the genre very well. And has proven this with films like "House of Games", and "The Spanish Prisoner". His script as I said before is amazing. The acting by Gene Hackman is the tops. Here's a guy that is such an old pro he can take any role you give him and turn it into something great. This is not to say that the part of Joe Moore is uninteresting. It most certainly isn't! Danny De Vito is suprisingly good in this film. At first I thought, this guy is all wrong for this movie. The part he's playing is an old-fashion tough-guy villian. For the obvious reasons, this doesn't seem to fit De Vito, or so I thought. I have to admit, he is very entertaining to watch as well. Everyone it seems, has a problem with Rebecca Pidgeon. People tend to think that she's out of place in a Mamet film. Some think she delivers the lines wrong. Though I've never thought this of her, this is her best role! She reminds me of a modern, hip Veronica Lake, Barbara Stanywick type of femme fatale. She is just as good has Hackman in this movie. And would be a great film to prove to those who dislike her, that she is a very good actress, who does work well in Mamet's style of filmmaking. Delroy Lindo has some great lines as well, but, I can't reveal them here. He has some good moments on screen and works well with Hackman and the rest fo the cast. "Heist" has a very old-fashion feel to it. It reminds me of Kubrick's "The Killing" in several ways. This is what I like about the movie. I love that old-fashion feel. I love the acting and the directing and the script. I love all the plot-twist that happen, but, must admit, I took one star off because I felt near the end of the film, I'd say, the last 15-20 minutes of the film, it just tries too hard. It's one suprise after another only Mamet has too much of a good thing going here.
"Heist" is probably one of the best heist movies I've seen this year. And we had a lot of them come out, like "The Score" and "Sexy Beast". This is a movie I wish the American public would have paid more attention to when it was in wider release. If you still haven't seen it, please try to find a theatre that's playing it. I think the American public really missed the mark with this one. It's an enjoyable film by one of the best and hardest working playwright\screenwriters we have around today. David Mamet's "Heist" is a modern classic that all other heist films must now be measured against!

Rating:
Summary: So Very Boring!
Review: With a winning combination of David Mamet directing and Gene Hackman's acting,I was really looking forward to this movie.Instead I was totally bored as it's a very dull affair,very little action,barely any tension,slow and monotonous dialogue that drifts down dead-end alleys and by the end of the movie I really couldn't care less what happened to all the Swiss gold,which was the subject of the heist.
Basically this movie is a thriller-based around two robberies-both of which are quite interesting in the way they are executed.Hackman leads a band of veteran villains-who cover every cliché in the book-the ex-con,who just doesn't want to end up back 'inside';the eccentric guy,who's a genius at all the technical aspects;the vaguely attractive younger female villain;the young recruit who's far too impetuous for the older villains and finally Hackman the chief organiser,who just wants to do one more job so he can sail his boat to a warmer climate-and I thought it was a joke in Lethal Weapon!Then there's the Danny de Vito character-a character who I have to say is totally wafer-thin-and I ain't talking physically here-he's the financier,the guy who sells off the merchandise and basically from second one you realise he can't be trusted.So there's various conflicts of who can be trusted,who's trying to shaft who,will they do the job or won't they?It sounds complicated but it isn't-you always know,no matter how often these plots are twisted exactly what they're going to do.Then by the time of a very long finale-you'd swear this movie ends about a dozen times-we have the "gripping" moments of who ends up with the loot.At this stage each of the characters becomes super-psychic,as they all seem to know exactly what the other guy is going to do and when you think all has fails you see them grin and you think "oh he just knew that was going to happen,etc".It all becomes very long-winded and boring and I found I really didn't care enough about the characters to care about who got the gold.The scene on the pier in Boston being particularly ludicrous in my opinion.
The whole movie has a real 70's feel to it.The cars,the clothes,the soundtrack,etc-but you know it's not once they use their cellphones.The action when it happens is really slow paced-maybe to reflect on the age of the characters and the effects are useless.Maybe the director thought he was adding in realism but I just found it dull and boring.Hackman gives a really tired performance-even the scenes where he's supposedly angry seem half-hearted and the supporting cast aren't much better.The way he's able to second guess everyone becomes very irritating after a while.Don't bother going to see,rent or buy this movie-you'd be better off watching re-runs of Kojak or Starsky and Hutch!

Rating:
Summary: Superfluous Plot
Review: The movie starts off interesting. The story developes with satisfying complexity and mystery.

However, as it gets towards the end, there are too many "gatcha"s and "surprise!"s and "not so easy"s and "fooled you!"s that it gets too unrealistic, it wasn't even cool anymore. The characters didn't convey enough emotions to make it convincing either. We ended up walking out of theater saying, "Yeah, right."

Too bad because like I said, the first half of the movie was pretty good.