The Art of the Steal

2014 "It takes a great artist to pull off the perfect con"
6.3| 1h30m| R| en| More Info
Released: 14 March 2014 Released
Producted By: The Weinstein Company
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Crunch Calhoun, a third-rate motorcycle daredevil and part-time art thief, teams up with his snaky brother to steal one of the most valuable books in the world. But it's not just about the book for Crunch — he's keen to rewrite some chapters of his own past as well.

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NateWatchesCoolMovies Heist flicks are sneaky affairs, but that doesn't mean that awesome ones like The Art Of The Steal should just tiptoe past everyone's radar with no hubbub. When subpar stuff like Now You See Me is breaking waves and this one collects dust before a year since it's release, you know somethin ain't right. It's actually probably just budgeting and marketing, to chalk it up simply. Despite the cast (what a lineup) this one barely made a blip on the sonar when it came out a couple years ago. It's great fun, with a crusty lead performance from Kurt Russell as Crunch Calhoun, an ageing motorcycle daredevil who used to moonlight as an art thief. He is lured out of 'retirement' by his sleazy brother Nicky (Matt Dillon crosses off another notch on the old scumbag belt with this role) with the proposition of one last score, involving his old crew and the theft of a historical artifact owned by a hilarious Terence Stamp. Other members of their crew include a crafty Jay Baruchel and Kenneth Welsh as salty ladies man Uncle Paddy. Twists and turns lace the plot, as they should in these types of films, but it's the bawdy sense of humour that won me over. More than anything else this is a comedy, situational in nature and willing to give each weirdo of the bunch their own demented moment to shine. It's Russel's show though, a burnt out Evel Knievel type of dude who gets a face full of nonsense from his brother, edging him to the end of his rope. Russell owns it, egged on by the raucous chorus of characters accompanying him, and the nasty arc from Dillon that is the only piece which subverts the mostly lighthearted tone. Fun, little seen stuff that deserves a wider audience.
blanche-2 "The Art of the Steal" from 2013 stars Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Terence Stamp and some Canadian actors.Russell plays Crunch Calhoun, a motorcyclist who throws exhibitions for money. He is also an art thief but he's trying to stay away from that. With his brother Nicky (Dillon) being released from prison, however, an opportunity presents itself for one more heist.The theft is to be of a religious book worth a fortune. They bring back the old team, and then Dillon comes up with what he thinks is a better idea. The end has a neat twist.Terence Stamp as a paroled art thief who has to work with Interpol is great, as is that of a Canadian actor, Jay Baruchel as Francie Tobin. Another Canadian, Jason Jones, who plays the Interpol agent, is way over the top. Russell does a good job as does Dillon. Russell is excellent at this type of character, he mines the humor that's there and his presence pulls things together.I found the film too derivative for me and despite some good moments, including the beginning which took place in Poland, and the first scam that's reminisced about, which was fabulous, I admit my interest waned. There have been too many of this type of film done better.
Uriah43 After committing an art heist and subsequently being betrayed in Poland "Crunch Calhoun" (Kurt Russell) is sentenced to seven years in prison. Once he gets out he is left with very few options so in order to pay his bills he eventually becomes a motorcycle daredevil. Then one day he decides to return to his life of crime and enlists the help of an old colleague named "Paddy MacCarthy" (Kenneth Welsh). Not long afterward his disreputable brother "Nicky Calhoun" (Matt Dillon) also joins the group which now consists of Crunch's wife, "Lola Calhoun" (Katheryn Winnick), Crunch's apprentice "Francie Tobin" (Jay Baruchel) and another old acquaintance by the name of "Guy de Cornet" (Chris Diamantopoulos). Together they plan to steal a painting by Georges Seurat known as "Model from the Back" which is inadvertently being stored at a heavily secured customs storage facility on the Canadian-American border. Now rather than reveal any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film has a both a little comedy and a few surprise twists to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, there wasn't much chemistry between the actors and the plot wasn't nearly as coherent as it should have been which hurt the film overall. That said, although it was adequate enough to fill the time, it clearly wasn't as good as it could have been and because of that I rate it as about average.
leonblackwood Review: The director really tried to make a clever Ocean's Eleven type movie about a group of friends who still paintings, but I didn't know what the hell was going on half of the time. When the story comes together at the end, it is pretty cleverly put together, but for some unknown reason, it just didn't gel together that well. The characters were lacking chemistry and the movie seemed to jump right in at the deep end so you don't get any depth about the individual criminals. On the plus side, it was good to see Kurt Russell back on the big screen with Matt Dillion and Terence Stamp but the storyline needed some work. Personally I think that the whole heist aspect was achieved way to easy, even with the police on there behind from beginning to end, but its way too confusing and it could have been more witty. Average!Round-Up: Were has Kurt Russell been? The last time that I saw him on the big screen was back in 2007 in the weird Death Proof by Quentin Tarintino, we're he was driving around, killing people in his car, until he meets his match with a be bunch of girls who don't take any crap. Anyway, I've always liked his quirky acting style from the Big Trouble In Little China days but he seems to have slowed down in the latter part of his career. Terence Stamp was a weird choice by the director for the ex criminal who helps the law take down the criminals, but he brings a sense of professionalism to the film. His annoying sidekick just won't shut up throughout the movie but I enjoyed the banter with Stamp. Matt Dillion plays the money hungry brother-in-law who gets his comeuppance in the end and Jay Baruchel plays his usual whining sidekick role which I have seen him play many times before. With all these personalities in the mix, the director really didn't use this actors that well because the script is sketchy and not pieced together that well.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $78,000 (Terrible!)I recommend this movie to people who are into there heist comedies about a group of criminals stealing paintings. 3/10