Heist

Rating:
Summary: Where is the heart?
Review: Mamet has the plotting skill needed for a first rate movie. But he doesn't have--or just forgot--the heart needed to make it worth watching. You can't really identify with, and therefore don't really care about the main characters. I don't understand how all the major people connected with this movie could have overlooked the basics needed for a good story.

Rating:
Summary: Heist one of the years best, hands down!
Review: David Mamet's (State and Main, The Spanish Prisoner) Heist is that rarest of films, a caper flick where the character's motivations and movements are devoted as much to fooling the audience as they are to misdirecting each other.
It is a film where the script explodes with intelligence, wit and timing. Characters sling verbal daggers at one another while the performers relish each perfectly crafted line. A Mamet screenplay is not just words, it is an all encompassing experience. The dialogue in Heist isn't just beautiful or original, it ranks among the coolest, slickest, hippest and best crafted dialogue of all time. It is some of Mamet's best work, which means a lot if you consider his repertoire. Every utterance is a treat delicately wrapped for the audience in a packaging of perfect plotting and sharp storytelling. The actors know this, and it shows, you'll never see a Mamet film where the cast doesn't look happy to be there. The performances in this film are a shared triumph; actors deliver their lines with a self-assured pride, like they're honored to be speaking such thoughtfully crafted language.
Gene Hackman is his usual consummate self, delivering a powerhouse performance that rivals Steve Bucemi's in Ghost World for the years best, both actors show an intrinsic understanding of who their characters are, both are transcendent in their delivery, and both give performances that are more than the sum of their dialogue (which is a REAL compliment for Hackman). Delroy Lindo does a fine job with his role, his delivery is crisp, clean, and strikes just the right notes. Danny DeVito is absolutely mesmerizing, a perfect example menace and villainy, he is strong, he is brilliant, and this is his best work. Ricky Jay puts himself in the running for a best supporting Oscar with a performance that showcases just why he is a Mamet regular. Other critics have called Rebecca Pidgeon distant before, but I tend to disagree, her work here is professional and strikes the right pitch, but she just doesn't stand out amongst such a superb cast. As good as these people are individually, they are all the more impressive collectively; these people have great chemistry, and their work here is a cooperative effort of unparalleled skill and grace.
After seven films, Mamet is finally coming into his own visually, his last few films all share the same stylistic calling cards, he is well on his way to creating his own definitive look. His direction is yet another thing to add to the list of perfection that is this movie. Camerawork enhances the story without overwhelming it. His attention to detail both in scripting and direction are vital to his being able to take so many story strands and weave a web of them without destroying his narrative.
Heist is an endlessly clever film; it takes smart people and puts them in smartly crafted situations. It is a film that has a brain and is unafraid to use it, that trusts us to use our own noggins to effectively figure it out.

Rating:
Summary: The Sheist
Review: I had big expectations for this one. Strong cast and film marketing made me think this would be a must see. It is not, but at the same time I didn't mind the $8 price of admission, since I had time to kill. The plot left you saying, "but wait" and "that doesn't make sense" in some places, and in others there were just too many twists and turns. In fact at the end as I would normally expect to see credits start to roll, I was thinking to myself, OK, what twist are they going to toss in next to drag this out. If your killing time, you may not mind seeing this one, otherwise wait for the new one with Pitt and Clooney and Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia. That one looks like it will be all that I thought the Heist would be, plus a much stronger cast.

Rating:
Summary: Superlative Modern Day Caper
Review: The always reliable Gene Hackman stars as Joe Moore, a high stakes thief who keeps company with borderline gangsters. 'The Heist' begins with a carefully planned robbery which is supposed to be his last, but things go wrong (his face is seen by a surveillance camera), and he is coerced into doing one last job - robbing a large amount of Swiss gold. The intricate plotting and planning that goes into the Swiss affair is what makes up the bulk of this movie, and it is never for a moment dull.

Hackman (as Moore) is helped in his crime endeavors by two men - Bobby (played superbly by Delroy Lindo) and "Pinky". Then there is his wife. Rebecca Pidgeon intrigued me as Moore's spouse. In fact, it wasn't until I watched the credits and saw that they had the same last name that I knew for sure that they were actually married. To say that the character of Fran Moore is suspect is an understatement. I found Pidgeon's performance feisty, seductive, sexy, and intelligent - but all on a very low-key scale. Danny DeVito co-stars as a not-so-likeable business partner of Moore's, and Sam Rockwell plays his slimy nephew, Jimmy.

Jimmy is sent on the Swiss gold robbery with Moore and his team, much to their chagrin, and his presence adds to the tense and suspicious mood which permeates the film. There are double, triple, and quadruple crosses which occur, and I was left at the end still wondering what exactly had transpired. That is not to say, however, that the movie isn't easy to follow - it is. It just requires an extra bit of attention. I was an engrossed viewer, mesmerized by the dialogue, the directing, and the acting.

David Mamet wrote and directed 'Heist', and be warned that his usual generous use of foul language is present. And though the first 3/4 of the film is relatively devoid of violence (apart from a couple scenes of "roughing someone up"), the action does get throttled-up during a climactic scene on a dock. But it all fits together very well in the highly engrossing and entertaining 'Heist'. A nice addition to the Hackman canon.

Rating:
Summary: One more top heavy movie...
Review: Hollywood sure has a knack for building up great possibilities and then knocking them down with weak delivery. David Mamet has skills, don't get me wrong. State and Main was very entertaining. And the acting in the Heist is quite convincing. So the blame rests squarely on Mamet's head. He tries so hard to twist and trick you, usually unsuccessfully, that you end up being annoyed every time the truth is revealed. Sadly, the devices that Mamet uses that could have elevated this film to true excellence fail miserably. The quirky lines are delivered like 'One Night at the Roxbury' pick up lines; the heist itself has holes you could fly a Swiss jet through; and the pacing of the scenes where someone is getting conned are painfully laborious. Finally, the big switcheroo ending made me actually say 'puh-leeez' outloud. Perhaps if the any of the seven (!) producers actually watched this film all the way through, they would have realized that it needed a lot of trimming. This is a somewhat entertaining film that could have been great. Kudos to Theodore Shapiro for an excellent film score. I am looking forward to all of the movie reviewers that will make some sort of 'heist' pun. Perhaps 'Steal this movie.....'

Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: Gene Hackman + Danny DeVito + Delroy Lindo - What more could you ask for?? I guess a bit more - Very limited action - too many plots and changes which were not needed - talked about the reason Hackman was doing one more score but never really used it as part of the plot - ending was not even close to being a surprise - should have ended with the boat cruise and never stopped at the dock. All attempts at using DeVito's comedy style just did not fit the movie.

Rating:
Summary: I Was Disappointed
Review: As the subject line states, I was disappointed in this film. Of course it had some good performances by some good actors. Gene Hackman played the part that he has become stereotyped in. He was probably good but I'm getting tired of the same character over and over. DeVito and the others were very good. The movie has lots of twists and, surprisingly, that is what is wrong with it. The writer and/or director seemed so anxious to get to the next twist that they never develop the plot twist that just happened. I won't give the plot away but once you have seen the first 2 twists, you can figure out all the twists to come because they are all basically the same. I thought it might have been my mood, but my wife felt the same and the audience seemed dulled by the repitition. Wait for the video.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: With the cast this movie had I was expecting much more. The acting isn't bad, it's the story that I didn't like. The movie seemed to drag on slowly forever and then never seemed to end. See ...it is much better in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Who's got the Gold?
Review: It was only with a small amount of surprise that I approached David Mamet's new film "The Heist" for by now it's become increasingly clear that Mamet has the guts and the writing chops to make movies about almost anything. Heist film? Why not? Wasn't "The Spanish Prisoner" basically a heist movie: complex and cerebral though relatively bloodless and perhaps too smart for it's own good? But Mamet has learned from that experience and in "The Heist" he turns in a genuine heist movie with all the requisite and appropriate world view operating at maximum force brimming with blood and guts. And Mamet was smart enough to hire an old pro like Gene Hackman who gives the film a world weariness so necessary in this type of film. Hackman does for this film what Danny Aiello does for "Dinner Rush": he gives it it's center and it's heart and creates a character in which an audience can believe,trust and root for. It makes all the difference in the world. Mamet's repertory of actors is also here most notably Rebecca Pidgeon and as usual she is a marvel: this woman can play anything. All you have to do is compare her roles in Mamet's "The Winslow Boy," "State and Main" and here to see what I mean. Amazing. As with any good heist movie there are double crosses, triple crosses and even quadruple crosses and they only strain the seams of the movie a bit especially at the end when Mamet's script goes slightly overboard. But this is a minor gripe in what is a major triumph. What's next Mamet?....a musical?

Rating:
Summary: See it...now!
Review: I had the pleasure of seeing Heist on October 8th at the 24th Mill Valley Film Festival, when I had first seen the trailer for it I thought it had far to many cute lines and holywood lok to it. I was wrong, the film did contain plenty of not cute lines but smart funny lines that only added to the audiences enjoyement, the film has some hollywood aspects to it but it is a very well made hollywood film it does not neccesarlily keep you on the edge of your seat but the characters and plot twists keep the film great and enjoyable all the way until the end. It is hard to describe it without giving away to much, but Gene Hackman plays an aging thief who is very precise, tricky and smart in his work, Delroy Lindo is his partner and helps him carry out all of the 'jobs' they do. Each of these characters ar wonderfully played by the actors. Ricky Jay plays another memeber of thier team and deffenitely adds to the humor of the film, Danny DeVito plays a greedy, sleezy crime lord who is mutual with Gene Hackman on the love of gold and wealth, Rebbeca Pidgeon who plays Gene Hackmans girlfriend as well as a partner in crime also does well in showing uncertainty as to weather Gene Hackman is using her or not, Sam Rockwell plays Danny DeVitos nephew and a younger aspiring criminal who is requested by DeVito to be a part of Gene Hackmans team of thieves, this adds to the tention, because SAmis also a crminal in training. Overall Heist is probably Gene Hackmans best film since the Frenc Connection as well as one of the best crime films Hollywood has produced.