Gangin with some friends tonight and we’re all thinking of thriller and heist movies. It’s my turn to pick the film of the night, problem is I don’t watch movies all that often and I don’t want to accidentally pick something shitty.
Suggestions please!
Heat, but probably everyone’s seen it
Seconded on Heat. A great example how older movies had such masterful pacing compared to what we get today.
Then: takes its time, long diner / loading dock scenes to establish tension + characters, explosive payoff
Now: thou shalt have no fewer than seven action sequences, each shall be no more than eight minutes apart least the audience literally die
Ronin
not the most action packed but Michael Mann’s Thief is so slick and stylish. It’s like the epitome of cool, and stars the GOAT James Cann. Also has some good working class vs boss themes
Le Cercle Rouge is a French heist movie by the great crime movie director Jean-Pierre Melville. It’s very tense and engaging, and stars the absolute coldest mother fucker to ever grace the screen, Alain Delon.
Thrillers:
Watched Blue Ruin recently and really enjoyed it. Very simple revenge cycle plot.
Burning has a similar vibe to Blue Ruin. One of those movies that sticks with you. Absolutely haunting
Calibre is a thriller about trying to cover up a hunting accident in an isolated town
Brian De Palma’s Blowout is a paranoid thriller. My fav of his films and feature Travolta at his absolute best
Pig with nic cage is a deconstruction of revenge thrillers, and a very beautiful movie
As for heists:
The original Italian Job is an obnoxiously/charmingly British heist movie with Michael Cane
Baby driver is quality Edgar Wright stuff (cw: Kevin spacey)
The Hot Rock is a fun 70s heist movie with Robert Redford
Is Dog Day Afternoon a heist movie? Idk. Watched that again a few weeks ago and remembered how good it is. My pic for best movie of the 70s
Logan Lucky and Hell or High Water are both really good heist movies. The latter is about planning a bank heist to pay back the mortgage that same bank is foreclosing on, lol
