In with Thieves

I thought In with Thieves was a stand out indie movie. You won't find A List Hollywood names in this one but you will find some new actors that could be breakout stars in the near future. I've gotta disagree with the reviewer from Sweden. This movie offers a lot in my opinion. The movie had me hooked early because it told a cool story about the Albanian Mob working with American gangsters to go after a Cuban kingpin that practices voodoo. The lines were sharp and smart. There is a great story told by a gangster about an Albanian warlord. The action was raw. In one scene a drug junkie gets his nuts cut off. That was brutal to see. Plenty of action in this one to keep you watching. The femme fatale played by Arnita Champion is unforgettable. To break it down In with Thieves is a killer gangster movie to me because it gave me a lot more than I expected from an indie movie. The picture and sound were professional. The love scenes were extremely sexy and well done. I highly recommend you watch this one for yourself. Director Sid Kali has made a fan out of me.

I was feeling this story of an Irish burglar getting out from behind bars to find out his hot wife burned thru all his loot. His good for nothing brother in law left him holding the bag on a huge debt to LA's Albanian mafia. Stuck with nothing he has to try to get back to stealing with his crew to pay off the Albanian mafia boss who is crazy in the head. The soup gets thick with all these thieves and gangsters involved. Not only does this poor sucker have to deal with the Albanian mafia he gets involved with a Cuban drug lords wife and crosses a African crime group. Ending of this blew my mind. There are some really good unknown actors that bring it hard. This is a scrappy movie.

There is a underbelly that threw me off. In with thieves ran to long for my taste. Story can get your brain twisted if you don't pay attention. To much nudity got to me to. I could be crazy but I damn near think every woman in this movie gets naked, I shoulda known watching Sid Kali's last movie skin would be in. No wonder Mr. Skin reviews this high. I gave it a 7 because it had so much in it.

This movie was hot! A flat out killer crime story that pays off big time. Gotta love a gangster movie that pushes things. Let me tick off my list of what brought the heat on this one.

1. Totally original story with the voodoo cartel, albanian mafia, and mixed race thief crew that was both irish and puerto rican. Nice touch on that! 2. Action was cool. I never knew who the next murder victim was going to be.

3. Nudity a HUGE bonus. Can't lie. Female cast was sexy as it gets. Loved seeing it.

4. Acting was great. What a cast.

5. Picture looked beautiful.

I was surprised to get so much from a indy crime movie. No complaints from me. I rented it. Now I just ordered it from Amazon for keeps. In With Thieves was on fire.

In with Thieves was one of the most original low budget films I've seen. The story itself was bold by including the Albanian Mafia, a voodoo driven Cuban cartel, African blood diamond smugglers, and American burglars. There is a lot going on in this film to keep viewers guessing which way things will turn out. The plot does get slightly muddled at points, but not enough to get distracting.

There were a few excellent unknown actors in this one. Including Edward Gusts who plays a junkie and Jennifer Day as a spoiled wife. I will admit the sexiness factor of Jennifer Day is hard to over look. The curious angle on this film is the unabashed nudity. I'm not sure how much was planned originally, but there is a lot of skin in this one. So much so a review is featured on Mr. Skin. Personally I am not against gratuitous nudity. I don't fancy myself as a prude.

There were many highly dramatic scenes in this one. A good old fashioned hardboiled gangster film. I felt that the lines were sharp and smart. I would have liked to see more venues for action to happen in this low budget offering. Oceans this is not. I was entertained through out. The opening and ending are memorable. I purchased this on Amazon without any regret. This is the type of film I could watch more than once.

The only negative I really can mention is a long speech by an Albanian gangster. There seemed to be an audio problem that was distracting to me. Otherwise this one is a winner in my book.

I gave it a 2 because this film is painfully amateur. Some of the actors where complete garbage, and the plot lines were totally predictable. The only reason i gave this film a 2 (and im being generous here) is because at heart this film tries to be an entertaining gangster flick, and even if it was so VERY badly made, at times it was entertaining. I do feel as if i've seen all of these plot lines before however, so that coupled with low quality production, bad background music in the film, bad acting (by some) and sub par special effects/visuals all round ensured this movie gets no more than a 2. (and i am being generous here even). Word to the wise here people, avoid this film like it is the beubonic plague.

P.S - the director should get another job, try plumbing maybe i hear there's money in that!!!!