I Have a Cunning Plan

Although I can't exactly say why, I have a weakness for a couple film genres. One is the submarine picture. Any movie that takes place in a sub will draw me in, even if I know it's not a terribly good film, and even though they are all pretty much the same film (firing torpedoes, evading depth charges, taking on water, a tough skipper, a green XO who the skipper suspects isn't ready for command, taking the ship deeper than she's rated to dive, debates about orders and military procedure, the psychological ordeal of being cooped up in a tin can underneath millions of gallons of water...you know the drill).

The other genre that I can't resist is the heist picture. The NY Times has a great article here that partly explains what makes these movies so much fun: part of the allure is watching the characters develop and execute elaborate and daring plans, and the other part is watching them deal with the inevitable snags to said plans. What the NYT didn't point out, though, is that yet another part of the appeal of these movies is that they typically include some kind of swindle. Sometimes, like in Ocean's 11, the thieves swindle the mark. But it's even more fun when there's a swindle going on within the team.

I've added some titles to my Netflix queue based on this article, including a number of foreign films, so do check it out of you're a fan of the genre. In the meantime, here are a few mini-reviews...

I already mentioned Ocean's 11, and I think it was underrated when it was first released. Soderbergh and Co. know how preposterous it is, and that's part of the fun. The sequels got progressively more preposterous and less fun (although subbing Catherine Zeta-Jones for a pasty and shrewish Julia Roberts was a big step up), but they're good for wasting a couple hours.

Speaking of Zetamax, as I've heard her called, a remarkably mediocre example of the genre is Entrapment, in which she co-stars with Sean Connery. This was the film that made me realize how much of a cliche this line is: "You're gettin' too old for this stuff [obviously, the last word can be substituted with a stronger term]." Now I'll be the first to admit that Connery has aged well, but the romance that develops between him and CZJ is just creepy, not to mention feebly developed. The ending scene in the train station is laughably lame. However, there is a memorable scene in which CZJ is "training" for the heist by slithering over, under, and around a mock-up laserbeam detection system. I remember the theater getting very quiet during that scene.

If you want to be completely terrified of the man who once played Gandhi, check out Sexy Beast. The heist is less central to the film than the efforts of the main character to resist Ben Kingsley's attempts to recruit him, and Kingsley is absolutely frightening.

I refused to see the remake of The Pink Panther for multiple reasons, but one reason was because much of the appeal of the original is the way it embodies the grooviness of the early 60s. As a kid, I laughed at Clouseau's bumbling, and I recognize Peter Seller's talent, but that part hasn't held up as much for me. Watching David Niven exude smoothness has.

Although I can't recall a single detail, and although it's far from Woody Allen's finest work, I remember enjoying Small Time Crooks. Same deal with Bandits.

There's nothing too remarkable about Frank Oz's The Score; it hews pretty close to the standard heist film. But it's well-executed, and Robert De Niro and Ed Norton give good performances. There are lovely scenes of Montreal, too. I preferred this film over its competitor that year: Heist, starring Gene Hackman. The latter was penned and directed by David Mamet, but it left me cold.

As always, I'm open to additions to this list.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention Heat and The Usual Suspects.