The pith of conversation does not consist in exhibiting your own superior knowledge on matters of small consequence, but in enlarging, improving, and correcting the
“The Bank Job” is a 2008 British heist film that allegedly reveals the true circumstances behind an actual British bank robbery that happened in 1971 in London. Whether it is mostly accurate about MI5’s involvement in the motive for the robbery is up for speculation.
It stars Jason Statham as Terry Leather the ringleader of the heist and he is likely to be the only actor whom an American viewer is at all likely to recognize. Although I read somewhere that Mick Jagger had a tiny uncredited part. But I never saw him on screen.
The plot has MI5 trying to figure out how to steal naked photos of royal family member Princess Margaret from the bank safety deposit box of a black nationalist revolutionary named Michael X who is using them as leverage to keep the British government from arresting and prosecuting him on various illegal activities.
The spies arrest a girl named Martine Love on drug charges and get her to agree to persuade her friend Terry Leather to use his contacts to rob the safe deposit boxes while the alarm system is conveniently down for repairs. Terry agrees to run the job because his auto sales business is failing miserably and because the set-up seems simple and fool-proof. He gathers his crew which include friends with various skills (most notably a fellow adept at using a “thermal lance” to cut through reinforced concrete. The plan is to rent a store forty feet from the bank and over the weekend tunnel under the vault and cut their way through the floor.
But in many respects, the amateurish skills of the team cause the robbery to go off track. A ham radio operator overhears their lookout man on the roof talking to the team on a walkie-talkie about the robbery in very explicit terms and he calls the police in. A search across London is initiated to find which bank is being robbed and the gang has to bail before they can finish emptying all the boxes. And worse, underworld figures who also used the safety deposit boxes to store records that can incriminate them, their powerful clients and crooked cops, begin the task of tracking down the robbers. And they succeed. One of the robbers is caught, tortured, forced to turn in his partners and then murdered. Three others are found and two murdered. One is held to blackmail Terry into handing over the records.
But when Terry finds out about the photos of Princess Margaret, he comes up with a plan to exchange the photos for immunity and new identities to allow them to escape the police and the underworld killers and keep the heist money. Royal family member Lord Mountbatten acts as the intermediary between Terry and MI5 and trades the photos for the immunity. And using the records that the underworld figures want back, Terry is able to use the police to rescue his associate and arrest the men who are hunting his crew.
Okay, so we really don’t know how much of all this is true. But the important question is whether it makes a good movie. I’ll say yes. Jason Statham is a reliably entertaining actor and he provides the likeable character needed to give the audience someone to root for. He’s got the working class persona with the wife and kids at home providing the pathos that the other characters don’t possess and he does get to beat up some bad guys which is his forte. Regardless of whether the story is completely accurate the movie is entertaining and if you like heist movies I think you’ll enjoy it.
“The Gentlemen” is an English crime drama/comedy directed by Guy Ritchie with a cast of thousands that includes three actors that Americans would recognize; Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Pearson a drug kingpin, Colin Farrell as “The Coach” and Hugh Grant as Fletcher.
This movie has a plot that is as convoluted as one of those mazes they put on the back of kid’s menus at a fast-food restaurant. I won’t even attempt to provide a complete summary of the story line. Suffice it to say that the action revolves around Fletcher attempting to blackmail Mickey over a series of catastrophic setbacks in an upcoming sale of Mickey’s enormous drug operation to one of his rivals. The deal sets in motion a Rube Goldbergian chain reaction of thefts, murders, accidental deaths and just plain criminal idiocy that easily fills out the movie’s 113-minute run time.
If I wanted to compare it to a more well-known American film in the same genre I’d point to Pulp Fiction. I think the most entertaining aspect of the movie is Colin Farrell’s performance as “The Coach.” He’s a working-class Brit who trains street kids to be boxers. His dialect is close to impenetrable to American ears but he is genuinely a hoot during the relatively short amount of screen time he gets.
Alright, so is this movie any good? Yeah, it’s pretty good. It’s not great but it’s entertaining. It has a little bit of trouble trying to decide if it’s a crime film or a comedy so it ends up somewhere in the middle. And like Pulp Fiction, the whole thing is way over the top. It’s probably a little overly complicated and the ending is somewhat bizarre but I would give it a solid B rating. But I will say that British movies are a little bit of an acquired taste for some Americans. So, your milage may vary.
Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.
Journal, 29 March 1912; final words, quoted in Scott’s Last Expedition (1913) (South Pole)
I worked at a Deli/Sandwich shop for two summers in college. We sold a variety of Sandwiches. Our mainstay was Pastrami on Rye (with Mustard). We also had Corned beef . Both were kept in a steam table so they were cut and served hot. I don’t imagine modern health laws would allow it, thogh I’m pretty certain the meats were above the safe serve temperature. We also would make ruebens (side note: DO NOT try to get a reuben at an actual kosher delicatessen, The presence of beef and cheese makes it instantly unkosher) using the corned beef, swiss and some sauerkraut on the grill. We stopped making them as almost no one ordered them even in the early ’80s and keeping decent sauerkraut on hand was a pain (once opened it has a tendency to get REALLY nasty after sitting a week in a fridge even in glass). We also made subs of various sorts (Grinders in CT talk, perhaps in deference to actual subs in Groton CT?) with fresh cut deli meats ( Mostly Italians made with Genoa, Capicolla and Bolgna the actual Mortadella being rather pricey). I could of course produce grilled cheese or grilled ham and cheese.
If you like pastrami, there is a little trick I learned from a local Bagel Shop. Take a good-quality pastrami (E.g. Boar’s Head Point Cut, Do you have Stop & Shop in Dunwich, they usually carry it, though the price will make your wallet scream) sliced medium to thin. Place about 1/4 lb per sandwich in a microwave safe bowl sort of scattered so there is some space inbetween slices (just pile it, don’t leave it flat like it comes from the deli). Sprinkle with water (just a bit) and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 60-90 seconds (more for more sandwiches). Remove bowl from microwave and remove plastic wrap (CAUTION!! the steam coming up from the pastrami WILL burn you, and you’ll want tongs to handle the meat). Place the meat on your bread of choice with condiments (Preferred is Pumpernickel Rye with a little splash of Dijon style mustard), Cheese placed on the meat will likely melt, I’m not a fan of cheese (and cheese is not a fan of me in most cases). Corned beef will work too, making a Reuben is straightforward with the heated corned beef and is left as an exercise to the reader.
Very good approximation to a decent deli sandwich with meat taken from a steam table (trust me I know 🙂 ). Tends to be a bit drier but still better than pastrami cold, which is, well, kind of bleagh,
If it is unlikely that a born and bred New Yorker be attracted to Country music then what are the chances that this particular Deep Southerner would be addicted to Spanish Guitar?
