Kajillionaire 🧼 / Point Break 🌊 / Hell or High Water 💰
Happy Thursday! There’s a heatwave here in New York, which always puts me in the mood for a good heist movie. Today’s recommendations are three very different but very fun heist movies to keep cool in the summer heat. Also, check out my guest recommendation in Flow State today.
In movie news: Rob Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects, 2007’s Halloween) will direct a film adaptation of the 60s sitcom The Munsters, which follows a family of friendly monsters. It’s interesting considering Zombie is known as a pretty…. ahem, hardcore director. Still, I have a soft spot for that era of horror-comedy so I’m looking forward to it.
Have a terrific weekend! You can find me on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go.
Kajillionaire 💰
A family of grifters (Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger) will do anything for a quick buck — lie, steal, grift. However, when they ask a stranger to join their haphazardly crafted heist their world is turned upside down. Here’s the trailer.
Why you should watch it: Kajillionaire is wonderfully weird and quirky in the same way that Quentin Tarantino or Yorgos Lanthimos’ (The Lobster) films are — just one (or two) degrees removed from our own world. But don’t let the madcap gags and dark humor fool you. There is an inherent sadness to that story that hits you like a punch to the gut as the world unravels for the family — and you.
Each scene is better than the last as director Miranda July unpacks trauma, chosen family, and what it means to be loved. And all the while it’s a fun subversive dramedy that redefines the heist movie. Bonus points for my crush Emile Mosseri’s incredible score. The man does not miss! More about him in Flow State. 105 mins.
Point Break 🌊
A group of surfers known as The Ex-Presidents rob banks infamously wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon, and Johnson. Bright-eyed FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is tasked with infiltrating a group of surfers to try and uncover the gang’s identities. Here’s the trailer.
Why you should watch it: Although Kathryn Bigelow won her Oscar for The Hurt Locker, Point Break may be her most enduring film. The cheesy 90s dialogue and the Keanu-ness of it all may be what bring people back to it, but the kinetically-directed action, best-of-the-genre surfing scenes, and surprisingly engrossing characters are what convert new believers.
You could come to Point Break as a dumb summer action movie and that would be valid — it is exactly that. But you could also dig a little deeper and find something profound in the character relationships, an exploration of the male psyche, and, like many 90s movies, homoerotic undertones. 122 mins.
Hell or High Water 💵
Two brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) carry out a series of bank robberies in an effort to save their farm from those very banks. Meanwhile, Two Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) are on their tails. Here’s the trailer.
Why you should watch it: Hell or High Water is the ultimate dad movie — I should know, my dad loves it. It combines all the elements they love: heists, car chases, shootouts. And it captures them to great effect. Each scene ratchets up the tension as the stakes get higher and a confrontation between our two sets of heroes become more imminent. Hell or High Water is truly a modern western. 102 mins.
📽 P.S. You can see every movie I’ve ever recommended right here.
🍅 I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes! You can find new movie reviews here and here.