It Should’ve Been An Easy Job

Justin: GET IN THE VAN!!

Zoe: I’m coming as fast as I can! (slams van door shut) Step on it!

The two speed away as the cops round the corner.

Justin: I thought you said this was an easy job. It was supposed to be in, grab the gold and then out again. What the heck happened?!

Zoe: I don’t know! Matt said it was a quick easy job.

Justin: We were set up, this was all a set up.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a huge ice storm hits, blanketing the city in a new ice age.

Zoe: Say what? Hold on, I thought this was going to be a heist scene; it is starting to sound like The Day After Tomorrow.

Justin: Well, we can still label it as a heist for the first few lines and then change directions completely.

Zoe: Ah you’re taking a subtle hit at the movie we watched this week, aren’t you?

Justin: I hope it wasn’t that subtle. Dear Netflix, if you are going to label a film as a “heist film,” be sure there is actually a heist in more than ten minutes of the movie.

Zoe: Agreed–and it was at the beginning too. So if you haven’t figured out by now, Justin and I watched (or in the case of our first movie tried to watch) heist films this week.

Justin: That’s right. I think both of us saw a couple of really good heist films and one really crappy labeled heist movie.

Zoe: Come on now, give it a little more credit than that. It wasn’t a horrible movie.  It was just not what we expected.

Justin: There were some interesting shots, I will give it that, and it also had Vinnie Jones in it who is always a badass. Also it has a rather thin Val Kilmer in it as well for like ten minutes telling the guy not to Taco. Whatever the hell that means. Anyway, besides that it was kind of a letdown. Heck I was even semi-drunk for the viewing and it didn’t help it at all.

Zoe: Yeah that was kind of funny, since you don’t drink that often.

Justin: Anyway, for this week’s movie, we watched Played. It was about a guy who, after a heist goes wrong, sets out to get revenge against those who screwed him over. At least I think that is what the movie was about. At times it felt lacking. There were no real twists that I remember and everything was pretty straightforward. What are your feelings on Played?

Zoe: I liked that it was shot simply and cheaply, and I didn’t really mind the amateurish acting.  My real issue was not really understanding what was going on.  The set up was what Justin said, only from there, it was like there were several people who were the “bad guys”–I don’t object to that at all–but there was absolutely no explication.  No one introduced him/herself either so there was no way to figure out who anyone was talking about ever!  But we were entertained while mocking it, so that it wasn’t a total loss.

Justin: Yeah we kind of went Mystery Science Theater 3000 on it a bit, but every once in awhile you need a movie to just mock. You can’t have perfection all the time. Okay, let’s get the the good movies. For my first movie I went old school and I will admit it was more of a con movie than a heist movie but it was well worth it. I know it is probably a sin, but I had never seen The Sting, with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I have to say, I am sorry that I took me so long to see it. It was an absolutely fabulous movie and the ending was surprising. I don’t know why, but I had a hard time figuring out who knew what and when and how. It was great. The acting was superb and the shots were wonderful. It was an amazing movie and I am sad that I hadn’t seen it sooner. Pick the movie up or watch it on Netflix instant, it is well worth your time. It is a longish movie but doesn’t feel like it drags. I definitely recommend The Sting.

Zoe: My first solo movie was The Town, written and directed by and starring Ben Affleck. Also starring Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively and Jon Hamm.  The premise is simple: Affleck is the brain behind a group of bank robbers in Boston and Hall was a victim at one of the robberies, so Affleck “meets” her to see if she’s going to talk to the FBI (Hamm).  He of course falls for her / decides to reform.  There is a lot of stuff about poverty, drugs and the bonds of brotherhood.  Say what you want about Affleck as a leading man (often overrated, but not here), he writes a mean script.  The themes were incredibly subtle and the acting was never over the top or too pouty.  I especially enjoyed Blake Lively’s small role, and Jon Hamm was unexpectedly badass.  The ending went slighty… Reindeer Games (that’s for you, Matt), but it wasn’t completely out of step with the rest.  The ending might’ve been better, but I’m not sure exactly how.

Justin: The Town is one that got decent reviews and is in my netflix queue. Sounds like a good movie and Affleck can deliver a decent role now and again. Anyway, my second movie was kind of in-between the other two movies. It wasn’t fantastic and it was horrible. I decided that since I was going old school with one, I would stick with that theme and watch another older movie. So, I decided upon The Italian Job. The original one with Michael Caine and because it had Michael Caine in it I thought I would enjoy it. However, it takes more than one good actor to make a good movie. The film itself wasn’t bad. There were some funny parts and for a movie it moved along with the story real well. It was hey let’s do this heist, ok get some guys together, now we are performing the heist. I think my major problem was, I had seen the newer version with Mark Walberg, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron, just to name a few of the great actors in the film. I don’t remember much but I remember there was enough comedy and action to keep me interested. The older version just seemed lacking and I have to say may be one of those that the remake was actually better. Then came the ending, I won’t spoil it for you but let’s just say it was rather disappointing in a way. Compared to The Sting, it was just alright. If you are looking for a movie to watch on a Friday night, there are worse routes to go than the original Italian Job, but there are better as well.

Zoe: My second solo thing wasn’t a film so much as the television series “Breaking In.”  It’s about a bunch of young people lead by an AWESOME Christian Slater, who runs Contra Security: they basically try to impregnate various security systems to find its weak points and then fix it.  The main character, Cam, has a crush on the con artist, Mel, who has a grade-A lame/douchey boyfriend, Dutch (played super-greatly by the former Lex Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum).  The show unfortunately lasted this one season, and I kind of understand why.  The basic set-up is pretty simplistic and it has a limited arc before it has to get really dramatic or really silly.  But I enjoyed its movement and the dorky characters, and the excellent over-the-top boss.  It was fun and amusing, and I’m sorry it’s done now.  Good thing “Leverage” and “Covert Affairs” will start up again soon for the summertime!

Justin: I need to catch up with “Leverage.” I watched the first season on Netflix Instant and remember the cast being amazing and the story line well done. Good to know that there are some decent shows around for the summer time.

Zoe: So what is the genre for next week?

Justin: Well I was thinking we would change it up a bit for next week’s post. Instead of watching a bunch of movies I though that you, your husband Matt and myself could partake in a round-robin story writing exercise.

Zoe: Sounds like an awesome idea.

Justin: Yeah, I figured since we are all interested in writing and you and Matt being semi-professionals it would give us a chance to just have some fun. The basic concept is that the three of us will all write part of a story one after another.

Zoe: I don’t think we should tell the readers who wrote what and have them guess the author of each section.

Justin: I like the way you think!

Zoe: Why thank you!

Justin: Anyway, that is it for us this week. We are sorry that this is coming to you a little bit late. Although I am sure you all aren’t really that surprised. What can we say it has been a busy first half of the week.

Zoe: Umm I think you actually just slept Monday night and were to lazy to do anything.

Justin: Shhhh, they didn’t need to know that. Have a great night everyone.

Zoe: Bye and see you next week.