Thursday Movie Picks: Bank Robberies

First, let's start things off by saying Happy New Year, once more. I hope 2015 turns out better for you than 2014, even if '14 was great.

My first post this year is part of what has become a recurring event around here, that is the Thursday Movie Picks meme hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. If you're not familiar with this series, it tasks us bloggers to come up with three suggestions (or warnings, in some cases) for movies pertaining to a given subject. We can either recommend the three we think are the best, three we think are hidden gems, or throw up a huge caution sign and beg that you not watch three we think are the worst. We can also do a combination of the three. Personally, I tend to try and unearth some hidden gems for you. This week is no different. I've had great fun participating. Feel free to join us.

A few weeks ago, she gave us a list of the topics for 2015 and movies about bank robberies is first on the list. Now, THIS is what I'm talkin' 'bout! Lots of favorite movies are about criminals. Seriously, GoodFellas, The Untouchables, Scarface, Once Upon a Time in America, and the first two parts of The Godfather are among my favorite movies of all time. Naturally, I'm also fond of the subset of the genre depicting people who run into banks waving guns around and yelling "Stick 'em up!," or some often expletive laced variation of that. No, I don't advocate criminal behavior in real life, but make a movie about it and I'm all over it.

As mentioned earlier, I try to find some hidden gems. These may not be totally obscure films, but ones that are certainly less seen than I think they deserve to be. That means, I'm not giving you the obvious titles that are going to leap to the forefront of the minds of most of us movie bloggers. So no, I won't be talking about THAT one, THAT one, THAT one, nor THAT one, either. With any luck, it won't be any of the ones you're thinking of. Let's give it a go, shall we? Chronologically, of course.

Dillinger

(1973)

John Dillinger is a prominent name in the history of American crime. As such, there have been three movies made about his bank robbing exploits. There was a solid, but not great, 1945 film also titled Dillinger with Lawrence Tierney in the titular role. In 2009, Michael Mann directed a solid, but I think, underappreciated version called Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp. Near the center of the timeline between those two movies was this 1973 version with Warren Oates in the lead. For my money, it's easily the cream of the Dillinger crop. It's fun, moves fast, the shootouts are still brutal, and Oates is magnificent in the role. Adding extra flavor, Ben Johnson is fantastic as Agent Melvin Purvis, the man who made it his mission in life to catch Dillinger and his gang which included other prominently known real life bad guys such as Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Machine Gun Kelly (not the rapper).

Dead Presidents

(1995)

I'm bending the rules a bit on this one. The robbery in question is actually of an armored car. What's an armored car, but a bank on wheels, right? Directed by the Hughes brothers, this is the follow-up to their hood movie masterpiece, 1993's Menace II Society. That one is far more known and critically acclaimed, but this is the more mature effort following a young man's path from would be hero to criminal. That man is played by the underrated Larenz Tate in a fun turn. We meet him just before he goes off to combat in Vietnam and continue with him until after he comes home to a country not so appreciative of his efforts.While Tate is very good, the highlights might be the supporting turns by Keith David and N'Bushe Wright. Also in the cast are Chris Tucker, thankfully not in screaming Rush Hour mode and Bokeem Woodbine. Critically, it's easily the least acclaimed of my choices as reviews weren't necessarily kind to it. However, the overall feeling is not that it was poorly made, but that it was too ambitious for its own good. I applaud it for that ambition.

Inside Man

(2006)

It sounds a bit off to say that the highest grossing film by a high profile director and with the most widely acclaimed cast he's ever worked with is a hidden gem, but that's what Inside Man has become. The director is Spike Lee, one of my all time favorites. However, even as it comes down hard on Anti-Semitism and classism, it lacks the fire and brimstone of many other Spike joints. Therefore, it enjoyed a healthy run at the box office back in '06, but doesn't get brought up in conversation. Even Lee fans don't often bring it up in discussion of the director's best work. However, it most certainly is among his most accomplished and polished films to date. It stars Denzel Washington as a cop who comes in to work on a hostage situation that develops from a bank robbery. The group doing the robbing is led by an excellent Clive Owens. Through a plethora of labyrinthine twists and turns we meet a number of other interesting folks played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, Even if you dislike the director, have a look. This is the Spike Lee movie for people who hate Spike Lee movies.

Bonus Pick:

Set it Off

(1996)

This one is a bonus pick because it was already one of my Thursday Movie Picks. In one of the earliest entries into the series, I suggested it for Movies with Ensemble Casts. If you haven't yet taken me up on that suggestion, here's your reminder. This one features Vivica A. Fox, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kimberly Elise, and a never better Queen Latifah as a quartet of friends who fall on hard times and decide to take up bank robbing. As you might imagine, the authorities don't take too kindly to such decisions.


There's my three four picks this week. Whatcha got?