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Movies / On DVD / How to Rob a Bank
How to Rob a Bank

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How to Rob a Bank (2008)

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17 %
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Reviews Counted:12

Fresh:2

Rotten:10

Average Rating:3.5/10

Runtime: 81 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: As he tries to access an ATM to retrieve his last twenty bucks, Jason“JINX” Taylor runs into a snag – the transaction fee will overdraw him, and he cannot get his money out of the bank. Jinx fumes... As he tries to access an ATM to retrieve his last twenty bucks, Jason“JINX” Taylor runs into a snag – the transaction fee will overdraw him, and he cannot get his money out of the bank. Jinx fumes about this and other hidden charges which complicate his life…as we realize that he is locked in a bank vault…with the beautiful but tied-up Jessica, her apparently a hostage. But, as Jinx rails against corporations and how they stack the deck, we realize that the situation is very different from what it appears: in fact, it is Jessica, not Jinx, who is robbing the bank. She is aligned with SIMON, who leads an armed team inside the branch. However, Jinx’s entry into the scenario upsets the heist, leading he and Jessica to be inadvertently locked inside the vault. In addition, Jinx has called the cops, who, led by Officer De Gepse, have surrounded the bank. Jinx makes contact with Simon by cell phone, and the situation becomes clearer, as he realizes Jessica has access to a special inside-the-vault computer and its codes…she and only she can open the vault door. Simon becomes increasingly upset when he is unable to strong-talk Jinx into getting the vault open (so the robbers can clear out the safe deposit boxes). And De Gepse is equally frustrated by the standoff, particularly when it is Jinx, not he, who seems to gain control over the situation.

As things progress, Jinx realizes that he and Jessica actually think very much alike – they both feel used – and this new kinship leads them to plot an escape. Another call comes in from Nick, the true mastermind of the robbery, and Jinx and Jessica realize that Nick needs them to issue a PIN number for him to access funds which have been skimmed (from fees, of course) over the course of years. With Simon increasingly unstable, Jinx is able to manipulate both him and De Gepse while also making a deal with Nick to provide a PIN number (controlled by Jinx/Jessica) to go with Nick’s account information. Jinx manages to talk both cops and robbers into letting Jessica and him out, as freed hostages, and in the ensuing chaos, they slip away, to meet Nick and escape with their cut of the cash… --© Official Site
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Starring: Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, Gavin Rossdale, David Carradine

Starring: Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, Gavin Rossdale, David Carradine, Terry Crews, Leo Fitzpatrick

Director: Andrew Jenkins

Director: Andrew Jenkins
Screenwriter: Andrew Jenkins
Producer: Rick Lashbrook, Darby Parker, Arthur M. Sarkissian, Tim O'Hair
Composer: Didier Lean Rachou
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for How to Rob a Bank

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1 - 12 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Builds enough on solid ideas and interesting characters to make up for its clumsier attempts at suspense.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
09/11/08
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
DVDTalk.com

In spite of the caveats, it makes for a good time with Christensen providing lovely eye candy, but as for Jenkins and his hipper than thou dialogue, and gritty direction? I'm not impressed...

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
03/23/08
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Film Threat

For a hip commercial and music-video director, Andrews Jenkins is oddly behind the curve and out of step in his feature directorial debut.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
02/11/08
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

Bereft of anything resembling subtlety or common sense, this cretinous caper flick does offer a lesson on how to rob folks of $10.50. The bank aspect is merely incidental.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment 1 Comment
02/07/08
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

How to Rob a Bank operates under the delusion it's a scabrous genre autopsy, when really it's one Nina Simone song short of being a Victoria's Secret commercial.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
01/27/08
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Jenkins' overly clever and stylish but ultimately shoddy and boring debut is mostly an awful waste of time.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
02/05/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

An excellent actor too often stuck in unworthy roles, Nick Stahl deserves much better than Andrew Jenkins' derivative, self-conscious heist flick.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/08/08
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

How to Rob a Bank? How Not to Make a Movie.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/08/08
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

So objectively awful it ceases even to be a reflection of writer-director Andrews Jenkins's non-talent, How to Rob a Bank calls into question the distribution filtration process that should protect delicate consumer eyes from things like this.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
02/05/08
Nick Pinkerton
Nick Pinkerton
Village Voice

Andrew Jenkins' amateurish, half-hearted romantic comedy-cum-heist film twists itself into unconvincing knots to pull off a guilt-free bank robbery.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/12/08
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It seems especially depressing when so-called independent filmmakers have nothing on their minds except aping the style of Hollywood's hip caper movies.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
02/05/08
Stephen Farber
Stephen Farber
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An 81-minute movie that runs out of ideas well before the halfway point.

comment Comment
02/08/08
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 12 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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