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 Posté le: Sam Sep 28, 2013 2:29 am Sujet du message: Movie review: The Art of the Steal |
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{Movie review: The Art of the Steal}
The Art of the StealRating: 2½ stars out of 5Starring: Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Jay Baruchel, Terence StampDirected by: Jonathan SobolRunning time: 90 minutesParental guidance: Coarse languageThe lighthearted — not to say light-headed — Canadian caper film The Art of the Steal takes as one of its objects de MacGuffin a painting by the French artist Georges Seurat. He was a master of the pointillist school: he worked with tiny dots that, if you squint a bit or stand far enough back, coalesce into something beautiful.The Art of the Steal is never beautiful, but it’s a pleasant enough diversion if you squint a bit or stand far enough back. You’ll want to come in close, because it has a terrific cast of old pros, including Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon and Terence Stamp — but don’t do it. Just pretend you’re in an art gallery and keep moving. You might want to check your brains in the cloakroom first.The film tells the story of a mismatched group of thieves who don’t quite trust one another and are out to steal a Seurat or,[url=http://www.ugg-boots-sale.org]cheap ugg[/url], in one of the film’s subplots, the valuable second book by Gutenberg, The Gospel According to James, known to the gang as Jimmy.There are double-crosses and triple-crosses and exciting chases. But the film’s real pleasures come in its smaller moments; for instance, watching Jay Baruchel trying to talk his way across the U.S. border at Niagara Falls while wearing a patently fake beard. It’s a small, whiny masterpiece of ineptitude, especially if you squint a bit.Russell plays Crunch Calhoun, an unfortunately named small-time crook just being released from prison in Poland after an art theft gone wrong. He’s been set up by his half-brother Nicky (Matt Dillon, giving his fallback performance of sleazy doublecross). And as Crunch says, “The real currency in the world ain’t money. It’s trust.”Crunch goes straight, or as straight as he can, working as a motorcycle stunt rider in a small-time fair. But when his bike is seized, he has to take on one more job despite the film’s warning that there’s no such thing as one more job.Crunch reunites with Nicky — against his better judgment — and a gang that includes Baruchel and Kenneth Welsh.The Art of the Steal was written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Jonathan Sobol (A Beginners Guide to Endings), and its across-the-globe vista includes not just Warsaw but also Quebec City and Niagara Falls.The scheme takes place in the world of art, which allows the introduction of such outrages as a large plastic sculpture of a vagina, one of the more utilitarian hiding places of recent caper movies, and a rather clever fable about the theft of the Mona Lisa that explains how just a rumour of larceny can shake the art establishment.How this all holds together is a question of how much you’re squinting: The suspicions between Crunch and Nicky, meant to fuel the film, don’t quite pull us in, and the scheme itself is more baffling than ingenious. But Russell is a solid leading man, the tone is pleasant and every once in a while there’s a sort of guest appearance by Stamp.He plays an art thief who has been captured and forced to help a frenetic Interpol agent (Jason Jones), who’s on the trail of the thieves.Stamp brings some old-world elegance to the film,[url=http://www.ugg-boots-sale.org]ugg outlet[/url], and his dry explanation of why he’s working with such a dopey cop — “you know how they pair professional athletes with slow kids?” — is almost a review of The Art of the Steal.
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