Heist

Star Wars Rebels – The Wynkahthu Job

  • Title: Star Wars Rebels – The Wynkahthu Job
  • wiki: link

Star Wars Rebels - The Wynkahthu Job

Like the past three episodes, “The Wynkahthu Job” feels a bit like filler as we continue to wait for the season’s big events to get underway. At least this episode does offer the return of the amusing Hondo (Jim Cummings) who it seems Ezra (Taylor Gray) still hasn’t given up hope for. Partnering with Azmorigan (James Hong), the disreputable characters bring a proposal too good to be passed up by the Rebellion (even if is suicidal). An Imperial Class 4 Container Transport is in decaying atmospheric orbit of the planet Wynkahthu. While the greedy Hondo and Azmorigan want to split the treasures aboard the abandoned craft, the Ghost‘s crew is far more interested in its cargo of proton bombs which are in scarce supply for the Rebellion.

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Everafter #3

Everafter #3The third issue of Everafter continues the Fables spin-off’s opening arc with a twist. Remember the death of Connor Wolf which punctuated the end of the previous issue? Well, turns out the newbie spy isn’t dead. Having switched places by morphing into one of the heist crew, Connor is able to report back to The Shadow Players about the team of thieves stealing powerful Native American artifacts from museums all over the world. The trouble for Connor, however, is despite his ability to transform into any person or creature, he doesn’t gain that person’s knowledge or intelligence and, of course, is eventually found out.

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Hell or High Water

  • Title: Hell or High Water
  • IMDb: link

Hell or High WaterHell or High Water is more than it appears to be at first glance. The simple story of two brothers robbing banks while literally being pursued by a cowboy (Jeff Bridges) and an Indian (Gil Birmingham) through small Texas towns is grounded in complex motivations playing as much on character-driven drama as themes from westerns and heist films which screenwriter Taylor Sheridan and director David Mackenzie use to frame the tale. Shot against the bleak canvas of West Texas (or, to be more accurate, New Mexico standing in for West Texas), Hell or High Water is an engrossing, entertaining, and often amusing, film.

Ben Foster and Chris Pine star as Tanner and Toby Howard. The estranged brothers have been reunited after years by a recent tragedy and a driving need which will push them to robbery. As the film opens, the two perform a pair of well-planned, if shakily executed, robberies of two West Texas banks. Taking only small denominations from the cashiers’ drawers, the two limit their exposure and the police’s chances of tracing the money. Needing a large amount of cash by the end of the week for purposes which will eventually become clear, the pair are just getting started.

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Now You See Me 2

  • Title: Now You See Me 2
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Now You See Me 2

The sequel to Now You See Me attempts to pull an Oceans Twelve as the heroes from the first film are constantly thwarted and outmaneuvered. Sadly this movie doesn’t have the wit or style to pull off such a move. Taking place three years after the first film, the script makes several odd choices. While the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco) have gone into hiding, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) has remained with the FBI for the questionable purpose of keeping the Feds off the inactive magicians’ trail. His lovely Interpol girlfriend (Mélanie Laurent) is nowhere to be seen, and the adventure he and the Horsemen get trapped in will rewrite several key pieces of the first film.

When the Horsemen do return, except for Isla Fisher who is replaced by Lizzy Caplan, to take down another greedy billionaire, the media darlings are thwarted by an adversary (Daniel Radcliffe) who separates them from their leader and puts them to work in Macau to steal a revolutionary microchip. After an awkward set-up that includes Harrelson in a dual role, the movie begins to pick up a little steam in Macau as the Horseman get back to business stealing the chip and attempt to turn the tables on their tormentor.

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Heartbreakers

  • Title: Heartbreakers
  • IMDb: link

Heartbreakers2001’s Heartbreakers, a film about a mother/daughter (Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt) team of con artists working to scam to separate a wealthy man (Gene Hackman) from his money, is more notable for its cast than its plot. Yearning to get out from under her mother’s thumb Page (Hewitt) decides to target her own mark in a goodhearted bar owner (Jason Lee) she inevitable falls for. The women also must deal with their last previous mark (Ray Liotta) who shows up looking for his money.

More dumb romcom than smart heist/con film, Heartbreakers is a mixed bag, although it does provide some humorous moments. The cast (including appearances by Anne Bancroft, Ricky Jay, and Sarah Silverman) is fine but they’re mostly slumming it here in movie that belongs on home video. Re-released on Blu-ray, the movie includes the previous behind-the-scenes feturettes and deleted scenes but lacks the audio commentary from the DVD release.

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