Heist

Pros: Nice try but
Cons: No Cigar

Heist (2001) "Simplify, simplify." Henry David Thoreau This is a caper movie with some individual good moments but little overall drive or rhythm. From the imagination of David Mamet, who wrote and directed, Heist sports an ...

Pros: Smart writing and acting
Cons: Subject won't appeal to everyone

The past several months have brought a variety of heist capers to the screen. The summer brought “Sexy Beast,” a stylish caper with no substance. Next we got “The Score,” which was bolstered by top-notch acting, but weakened by a story that tipped its...

Pros: All the acting is superb
Cons: *yawn*

I will never completely dislike any film with Gene Hackman, but David Mamet's Heist is such a dull and dreary caper flick -- it nearly had me sleeping. The film lacks the excitement of your typical Mamet film. The film has great dialog...

Pros: Cleverly written, superbly acted scenario that keeps you intrigued - with little violence
Cons: Rebecca Pidgeon's unconvincing portrayal of the pivotal woman

How many double-crosses does it take to make a clever crime caper? David Mamet knows - and he dishes them out aplenty in this tantalizing, intricately constructed thriller.

Gene Hackman (Oscar winner for "The French Connection,"...

Pros: Hackman, Mamet's dialogue of course, DeVito, brisk pace.
Cons: Lots of conveniences to go along with. Not one you're likely to remember.

Hackman.

Gene Hackman is usually a good reason to see a movie. He's an interesting actor to watch. Even when the movie that he is in, disappoints, Hackman always has at least a couple of moments that make whatever drek he appears in worth...

Pros: Superb cast, script, and direction.
Cons: Nothing new, but well played.

After the blandly disappointing (and generally over-praised by critics) all-star outing The Score this past summer, it sure is a treat to see someone do this caper thing right. But then with David Mamet at the writing/directing helm—his House...

Pros: Good actors working from a good script.
Cons: Goes a twist too far...

Similar to De Niro’s latest film The Score, Heist features Gene Hackman as a master criminal in unenviable but not entirely unfamiliar position of reluctantly having to carry out just one more job. Nothing new so far, then.

However, it is...

Pros: Uses the simplistic elements of the caper genre as fodder for self satire. Genius.
Cons: To many twists.

I'll admit, for a moment I thought that the old master, David Mamet, had succumbed to the dark side of simplistic film making. I'm talking about the moment where the Pinky character (Ricky Jay) has been captured by the kingpin that he and his ...

Pros: Hackman and DeVito are great, Mamet's dialogue is above par.
Cons: Pidgeon and Rockwell are not on a par with the rest of the cast.

Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) and his crew, Bobby Blane (Delroy Lindo), Pinky Pincus (Ricky Jay) and his wife, Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon) pull a typically elaborate heist for them. They are going to knock over a jewelry store. During the heist, Joe’s picture is...

Pros: That Mamet ear for dialogue. Moves Fast. Performances are solid. Lots of fun. Great climax.
Cons: We've seen most of this all before. Not one of Mamet's Best.

When people ask me what kind of music I listen to these days, I would rather tell them David Mamet then any of the artificial and horrendous tunes being played eight times a minute on radio stations. Naturally, Mamet isn’t a musician in the popular sense...

Pros: As in most of the stories in Mametwood, it involves many twists.
Cons: very banal and -- ulp, predictable, ending.

Welcome everyone, welcome to a sightseeing tour of Mametwood, that will concentrate of course a bit later on on the new arrival, "The Heist". I am your emcee, Michael Pacholski. Yes, sir. Yes ma'am. How may I take your wallet? Hah hah. Just a joke,...

Pros: Great performances, some of the cheesiest witty lines I've heard in a long time
Cons: Rebecca Pidgeon, too many unnecessary plot twists

Heist

If you’ve ever watched an episode of “Court TV” or observed a criminal trial you know that the maxim “There is no honour among thieves” is not a cliché – criminals practically get whiplash in the rush to cut a deal, and won't hesitiate...

Pros: Intricately constructed as well as being superbly acted, written, directed, edited, lensed, and scored.
Cons: Plenty of cons, all right. But if it's flaws you're talking about, there aren't many.

Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) is burnt. The aging thief is more than
ready to retire and sail off into the sunset with his young wife,
Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon). But his feisty employer, an oily
sleazeball named Mickey Bergman (Danny DeVito,...

Pros: Great cast, nice production values
Cons: Mamet gets cutesy, a little sloppy with his plot holes

Heist begins as Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) leads a small gang of thieves in a bank robbery. In and out, no shooting, a well-crafted plan. The job goes like clockwork until Joe’s face is captured on a surveillance videotape. They make the getaway, but Joe...

Pros: David Mamet still has the touch
Cons: The female role wasn't as strong as it should have been; ditto director

The fun in watching a heist movie is watching the process and the design of the theft. How they get in the bank, get the loot, and escape without being caught. There have been mucho heist movies lately from “Heat” to “Thieves” to this year’s “Score”...