The Art of the Steal

I decided to review this one because some of the other reviews are slightly miss leading. I do not pretend in any way to be a film critic... Just your every day regular movie goer/watcher, and as such I must admit I really really enjoyed this one. It has enough twists and turns to keep you hooked till the end and delivers a nice sense of humor throughout the whole movie. Yes, maybe the movie did try a bit too much to be a type of Guy Ritchie meets Ocean's Eleven, but I wouldn't necessarily say that's bad, and I wouldn't say it failed at it either. Bottom line, if you are considering watching it don't think it over too much, go for it and enjoy it, I guarantee it'll have you hooked into the first 10 minutes.

"If you got no trust that what do you got?" Crunch (Russell) and Nicky (Dillon) are brothers and partners in crime. When a job goes bad and they are both caught only Crunch ends up doing time. When he gets out he tries to go straight and becomes a motorcycle daredevil. When he tires of crashing for a few hundred bucks he agrees to pull off one last heist with his old team. They only thing standing in their way of pulling off the perfect heist is trust. This movie was a great surprise for me. I knew nothing about this going in and I think that helped my enjoyment of it. The movie was super fun to watch, really funny with a smart plot. This is the closest heist movie to the Ocean's series that has been made. Just like the Ocean's series the heist itself is fun to watch and the pay off brings it over the top. This is the kind of movie you can't say too much about without giving anything away but what I can say is watch this. One of the biggest surprises and funnest movies I have seen in a while. Overall, heist movie fans will love this...I did. I give this an A-.

Seldom writing reviews, but this one deserved it... just because it got such a low rating.... the movie fulfills the promise of the genre - it's a heist movie, with a bit of comedy in it, and actually funny comedy... and it has interesting plot, with good twist... the acting could be better, the camera could be better, the story could have been better...everything could have been better, but then it would be another movie. This movie deserves higher rating, if for no other reason, then just because it delivers the promised. it s not a masterpiece, it s just a good movie to watch when you want to be entertained... not many movies these days do so, so i must say: bravo,finally!

What a great ride!

I'm Canadian, and nothing kills me more (being a Canadian) than saying that there is an undeniably 'crappy' feel to most, if not all, Canadian productions. That being said, this movie was actually really good. Great performances from most of the cast, really great to see Kenneth Welsh and Terence Stamp adding some credibility to whole thing.

As far as heist movies go, this one is fairly typical but the production/editing really pull it together. Kurt Russell does a great job along with Baruchel and Winnick and my usual aversion to Matt Dillon was even kept in check to some degree. Nice little twist-up at the end even if it was somewhat predictable. Also Some pretty funny scenes and exchanges, especially if you watch the outtakes in the credits.

All in all a great film with a surprisingly good feel.

Motorcycle rider Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell) is in a crew with his half-brother Nicky Calhoun (Matt Dillon), Paddy MacCarthy (Kenneth Welsh), and forger Guy (Chris Diamantopoulos). Their mark is Stash Bartkowiak who had a stolen Gauguin from an Oslo gallery. They are discovered and Nicky rats out Crunch. Seven years in a Polish prison (5 1/2 with good behavior) later, Crunch is out and out of crime for good. He's daredevil motorcycle riding working with his girlfriend Lola (Katheryn Winnick) and apprentice Francie Tobin (Jay Baruchel). Interpol Agent Bick (Jason Jones) is after a stolen Seurat with the help of informant Samuel Winter (Terence Stamp). Nicky outsmarts them and double cross Sunny who then threatens Crunch for his money. Crunch is pulled back in with Nicky.

There are too many capers and too many complicated expositions. Writer/director Jonathan Sobol has pack this in with so many characters. It's a lower grade Guy Ritchie in Canada. He is starting to solidify his style along with 'A Beginner's Guide to Endings'. However this is a little bit too ambitious for him. Dillon-Russell anchors it with a complicated cute relationship. There are some funny bits, some fun dialog, and a whole lot of fun-like wacky. There is a particularly funny art piece. In the end, it just needs more comedy and a more simplified story.