Thick as Thieves (1999)
Two master thieves go at odds with one another as one sets the other up for a crime. The first, a suave pro who does his job and then hides in his own privacy, listening to old jazz records and caring for his ailing dog, Wally. The other is a local gangster with a taste for the finer life, who decides to eliminate the competition. This ignites a war between the two men and their aides. An angry mob boss and a female police officer try to sort the mess before things get too out of hand.
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Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
A Masterpiece!
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
I discovered this flick at my local video store one day and thought, "What the heck, why not?". Only problem is that I fell deeply in love with this quirky masterpiece and every time I convinced my friends to watch it the video store had its only copy rented out.Anybody who appreciates complex characters in the mob world will enjoy its fusion of scatty pop piano and healthy dialog. Terrific ensemble cast that mesh well together. Pointy is the HNIC but Dink is the real brains behind the operation. Be sure to catch the sly knock against Sugar Bear's name on the way to meet Hot Sauce.Nice whack job on Pointy by the way. The Italians knew that Dink was smart enough not to clip somebody over "nickel and dime" stuff. It just goes to show that there is still some sense of right and wrong in the mob world. That goes double for Dink letting Fire Escape guy live.Bein' "beefless" is priceless! Not much more I can say about this film because all of you have already expressed just how awesome this movie is.Just for the record, I thought the "Can't take the bitch outta the ghetto" line was frickin' cheesy. I much prefer the line, "Thou shalt not be a blaspheming bitch.".
Like Supercords, I regret that Scott Sanders 's Thick as thieves is the sole movie he wrote/directed up to this day. Not having read the novel, I cannot speak of the respective merits of the book and the screenplay; but the screenplay /direction combination results in a very entertaining, swift-paced, well-knit, and clear movie ( in spite of the intricacy of simultaneous action at three different levels: the mob's, Baldwin's, and the cops'), with many welcome humorous touches ; good editing, then, and good musical score, too. Another asset is the cast, apparently selected with great care, up to the smallest parts: if Michael Jay White and Andre Braugher got rightly-deserved praise, all the players rate from very good to excellent: Alec Baldwin and his sidekicks, Bruce Greenwood ( almost unrecognizable ) and Ricky Harris, mobsters Richard Edson and Reginald Ballard,amusing Janeane Garofalo, quietly effective and attractive Rebecca de Mornay, and little-known but accomplished actor Robert Miano as the deceptively mild-mannered second-in command of the local mafia.
This ranks up there with "Freeway" and "Truth or Consequences, NM" as far as pleasant surprises go. Those movies with semi-interesting covers at the video store that you chck out on a whim. The ones you really know nothing about, and sit there slack-jawed half way through the movie wondering if it can really continue to be this good until the end, and then nearly shiz yourself when it actually is.This was one of those.Only I'd first heard about it from the Sundance film guide, and I rented it through Netflix. I knew Alec Baldwin was the main star, but that can be good or bad... that was about it.Now don't go in expecting some kind of The English Patient granduer - just renting the friggin' movie, eat your salty snack, sip your icey beverage, and enjoy a good crime movie.I'd never heard of the director, so I looked him up...Nothing. he's done nothing else, and has nothing in the can. Somebody find this guy, cause he put together a very smooth, nearly perfect movie. Alec was in excellent form. The supporting actors did a hell of a job. The plot AND sub plots were timely and substantial. Just the right amount of humor too. Now I got to wait another year or so for my next pleasant surprise. Rating: A
This is a very warm, comic and enjoyable film. It's set against a gangster, "pay-back" theme, and it must be classified as a drama, but it has a lot of funny and warm scenes. Baldwin's love for his dog is both comic and tender. The way the black hoods talk to each other is also funny. There is the usual violence, but in this film it is not excessive. Baldwin is an underrated actor. The actors who play the black hoods and the actor who plays "Riles," the second-in-command, Italian gangster from Chicago are also very good. I recommend this highly.