A Geeky Guy's Guide to Caught Stealing
I hated this movie. My wife and I went to see it in the theater this afternoon. If I had been watching at home, half way through I would have left to go play video games, exercise, twiddle my thumbs, stare out the window or basically do anything to not waste any more time on this movie.
The ads make it look like this is going to be a quirky and fun movie like Baby Driver, Bullet Train or even True Romance. But that is not at all what I got. To be fair, my wife said she did like the movie, didn't love it, but at least liked it, but not me. I thought it was completely ruined by one detail that made the rest of the movie simply unwatchable. Because I have always promised to never spoil a movie... even if I think it is terrible, I won't spoil this one. But I can say that something so serious and unpleasant happens in the middle of the movie that it completely ruined it.
The movie starts as a fun romp with quirky characters and some funny dialogue. Austin Butler is just flat our charming so its hard to find a fault with him. I also think this was the best role Zoe Kravitz has played (outside of herself in the TV show 'The Studio"). She is also incredibly charismatic. Matt Smith as the Punk (literally) neighbor is also very entertaining. If they had stuck to the light-hearted, quirky and fun motif, this would have been a great movie. But they didn't. And it ruined the movie completely.
The first act is quirky and fun. The third act could have been quirky and fun. But the second act is so devastatingly serious that it made me feel bad about laughing at anything after that point.
To be honest, this is my own fault. Darren Aronofsky has literally never made a fun movie. Seriously look up all 20 of them. You might says some are good (most are not) but not a single one is fun. I have no idea why I let the ad campaign fool me into thinking he learned how to have fun. I mean the only movies of his that I actually think was extremely high quality were Pi and Requiem for a Dream. Neither of which come anywhere close to even 1 fun scene. Requiem for a dream may be a masterpiece, but it is one that you watch when you want to be reminded that"drugs are bad M'kay".
Actual footage of me trying to escape this movie.
I could really tell that Aronofsky was trying to be fun. He actually pulled it off for two thirds of the movie but that middle third... he just couldn't help himself. He simply had to make the audience miserable for no reason. By not picking a lane of either being super sad and serious, or being fun with some dark humor, he ended up doing neither. This movie felt like two completely different movies mashed together in a way that made nothing work.
Sadly, all it would have taken was one different detail and he could have actually pulled off a fun romp. I have no idea how this made it by a test audience without them saying "What the fuck? You seriously did that?"
I have always said, I actually appreciate bad movies. Following the Taoist principal of the Yin and The Yang, seeing terrible movies makes me really appreciate all of the good ones. It also allows me to show my readers that I don't just automatically love everything I watch. Sometimes a writer and director make a horrendous mistake. Both clearly did in Caught Stealing.
Perhaps there was no test audience or it was a test audience of one like what sibling dearest and I have?
Given that "actual footage" I'm surprised you didn't successfully escape from the movie, what happened XD
I didn't want to ditch my wife. She is a bit more forgiving of movies. It was worth it to hang out with her.
I can't remember if I have seen the preview for this one or not. That is the guy from Masters of the Air right? I can't remember his name. I have never seen Pi, but I know the director you are talking about and I know that he definitely makes some very heavy and somewhat disturbing movies. I'll probably give this one a skip. Maybe just read the plot summary on Wikipedia. Since now you have piqued my curiosity.
He is from Masters of the Air. I didn't see that. is it good?
It was fantastic. My wife even enjoyed it.
The cover of the movie, it looks interesting to watch. maybe your wife appreciates something in their acting.
She is a little more forgiving of movies. She looks for the good.
Is this a nice movie?? I just wanna know so I can watch it when I'm not busy
I did not like it.
Aayyyy why??
The comparisons with Baby Driver and Bullet Train are very clear. It seems like the middle part ruins the mood. Such open opinions really help, it makes it easier to decide whether to watch or skip.
It is a very worrying phenomenon these days where a trailer often creates a wrong impression and the experience in the theatre is completely different. You have raised an important point, that if a film does not find its own tone and suddenly changes tone midway, the whole story is no longer balanced. I think it should be considered a cinematic mistake to upset the emotions of the audience in this way.
I may have liked this movie more if I was in the mindset for something more serious. The previews really did not match.
Since you said the previews were not really consistent, I think the audience will not enjoy this movie much because your analysis is very accurate.
I can feel the letdown through your words, it’s rough when a film promises one vibe and completely flips halfway through. Marketing can be so misleading. Your breakdown makes total sense, so thanks for being honest about it!
If there is one thing I am, it is honest... sometimes too honest lol.
I feel you!
Good point, my friend, about watching bad movies to better appreciate good movies. Sometimes directors and screenwriters want to give their characters a characteristic touch, but what they really do is damage them with so many exaggerations.
I wasn't going to keep reading after the first sentence made your opinion of the movie so clear. Glad I kept going because I almost laughed out loud at the "actual footage" of you trying to escape the movie 😂
I'm glad you got the joke!
So from what you say, this film was divided into three acts, two of which were, let's say, good and fun (1 and 3), while (2) was more serious and right in the middle of the film. Perhaps the director wanted to add a bit of drama but didn't find the right point and well, that's how it turned out; although you have also commented that practically the majority of his films are like that, let's say they make the viewer lose the script because of the very different acts.
Movies are watched so that the story is such that we can just watch the movie for three hours and then spend some time thinking about the story
Sounds like a frustrating watch, thanks for the honest review, now I know to skip this one. Was even panning on watching this but ahm I'll think about it again 😭
I get what you mean. Some movies start with a good vibe but lose their way in the middle, and it makes them hard to enjoy. Sounds like this one had potential but just didn’t come together in the end.