Wrath of Man - 3/5

This movie is a solid revenge movie, with some caveats. Almost all of it is standard heist, crime, revenge movie fare, but one scene shows the aftermath of the raid of a child rape dungeon. Nothing sensitive is shown, but the implications of the furnishings combined with some extremely disturbing offscreen audio makes this movie a no-go for many who otherwise would enjoy the film. The rest of the movie is great, the kind of movie that would have cast Mel Gibson if it had been made in the ‘90s.

Content warning: child rape

Closest comparison: It’s like Heat by way of Ransom.

Setting: Heist
Plot: Revenge
Tone: Crime

The Town - 4/5

This movie is a modern heist classic, focusing more on the camaraderie of the lowlife thieves than on the sleuthing of the detectives tracking them down or even the thrill and mechanics of the heists themselves. It’s fun to watch the four main leads fully immersed in their characters and bouncing dialogue off each other. In that there’s a playfulness to the drama that doesn’t sacrifice the impact of the story to engage the audience.

Content warning: brief female nudity

Closest comparison: It’s like Four Brothers by way of American Heist.

Setting: Crime
Plot: Heist
Tone: Lowlifes

King of Thieves (2018) - 2/5

This movie was slow and boring, an especially egregious fault in a heist movie. It combines a drama about aging and recapturing spent youth with a jewel heist but doesn’t bother to blend the two genres, leaving the final product disjointed and stodgy. The impressive list of acting talent is undercut by flaccid dialogue and weak stakes. There’s no reason to waste time on this film when there are so many better alternatives for whatever you were hoping to get out of it.

Closest comparison: It’s like Going In Style (2017) by way of The Irishman.

Setting: Heist
Plot: Heist
Tone: Drama

Inception - 5/5

This movie is an instant classic, and rightly so. It is the epitome of a complex plot made simple, its cinematography is jaw-dropping, its special effects seamless. It somehow manages to deliver a strong sci-fi story and a tender romantic tragedy without losing any of the running pace or pure excitement of the adventure it’s all wrapped up in. The high-concept fabric of the film is enough to keep your mind soaring but its immaculate stakes keep the story grounded and powerful. It’s an unparalleled masterpiece and a must-watch.

Closest comparison: It’s like Existenz, but well-made.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Cerebral Sci-Fi
Tone: Action Adventure

Inside Man (2006) - 4/5

This is a smart, well-executed heist movie. It’s constantly letting the audience know that it’s going to pull a fast one at the end, but keeps them guessing who and when and how. The top tier actor list does not disappoint, bringing the rich characters to life with a smooth aggressiveness that makes full use of their considerable talents. The pacing would normally be considered slow-burn, but there’s enough to think about at all times that the pauses instead become room to think and let the plot breathe a little. Ultimately it thinks it’s a bit more clever than it actually is and it takes too long to wrap up in the third act, but those are small criticisms for such a unique and well thought out story.

Closest comparison: It’s like Heist (2001) mixed with Silence of the Lambs, but with drama and intrigue in place of psychological horror.

Setting: Detective
Plot: Heist
Tone: Drama

Topkapi - 3/5

This movie is a fairly straightforward heist plot that mistakes quirk for substance. It’s bright and colorful, with ‘70s European fashion sensibilities that I found amateurishly garish but may appeal more to others. The narrative is the standard plan-snag-resolution heist fare that here lacks the audience-character buy-in that is a prerequisite of the genre. Peter Ustinov is very good, but the rest of the cast is more mundane than the fanfare of the setting and cinematography can sustain. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t offer anything above average.

Closest comparison: It’s like Rififi by way of Roman Holiday.

Setting: Vacation
Plot: Heist
Tone: Euro Comedy

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - 1/5

This is a meandering, low-brow adventure comedy that may appeal more to fraternity pledges than the average citizen. The heist isn’t particularly interesting and doesn’t go according to plan, to the surprise of no one. If the humor is up your alley it’s probably a fun watch, but there’s too little depth and too much juvenile nonsense to be worth it for me.

Content warnings: female nudity

Closest comparison: It’s like Pineapple Express with the aimlessness of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but with much less action.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Heist
Tone: Drug Movie

The Killing (1956) - 3/5

This is a solid entry into the 50’s heist genre, but nothing more. It’s clever enough, well-acted enough, intriguing enough, and it all amounts to a perfectly fine movie. Unfortunately, by-the-numbers isn’t the same as ‘great’, so it settles in at ‘good’.

Closest comparison: It’s like Asphalt Jungle six years later.

Setting: Crime
Plot: Heist
Tone: Heist

The Spanish Prisoner (1997) - 4/5

This is one of the overlooked classics of the Heist/Con genre, and deservedly so. The acting and writing is stylized and feels almost more like a play than a film, but this is intentional and precise. Ricky Jay and David Mamet craft ingenious misdirections as what the audience knows about the story twists and turns, and for my money it’s Steve Martin’s best serious role. The flaws amount to one or two minor points that seem more unlikely than they needed to be by the end, and the saying of acting that will turn some people off. But it’s the details of plot and the poetry of the dialog that makes this movie so good and if you like heist movies but haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Logan Lucky - 4/5

This movie is fantastic. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (dir. Ocean's 11) it's like what would happen if hillbillies pulled a heist. I was a bit worried it was going to be sardonic toward West Virginians but it's very much not, which I loved. It's actually really close to a 5/5 for me, but there is a small issue about who gets the money at the end and how it's divided that it would have definitely been a better movie if they had cleared up that point. But it's great, and if you like Ocean's 11 and West Virginia you should definitely go see it.

Baby Driver - 5/5

First of all, this is not a comedy -- it's a thriller. There are laughs, sure (because it's Edgar Wright) but there are more white-knuckle sequences than there are comedy sequences. Secondly, I've been waiting for a movie like this ever since I saw the trailer for the movie 9. It's got great music as an integral part of each scene, choreographed beautifully in time with the on-screen motion. In parts the acting is a bit wooden, but it really doesn't detract from the film as a whole and I can't think of any other reason to drop this below a 5.

Rogue One - 4/5

Ok, it's good. It's really good. Don't let the trailers fool you; several shots in the trailer aren't in the film at all. Definitely go see it.
There were 5-6 lines that were modern colloquialisms and I thought the female lead was the weakest part of the film. She was much better than I thought she'd be, though, and it just feels so much like Star Wars that I'm still giving it a very good ranking. It's almost a 5, but not quite