It's only director Matt Asleton's third feature and he does a decent enough job keeping it all moving; it's a good looking film - but all in all, there is just not enough action and way too much chatter. Solid 6 stars from yours truly. Jesus ******* Christ dialogue is highly offensive and outrageously unnecessary. We see Ivan pull off a number of thefts, each one more perilous than the last. The heists are quite simple, nothing sofisticated at all, most of the time they just walk out with the art, but it's entertaining and that was enough for me. The story was unpredictable, for the most part, while the characters were quite interesting. James (of the “Divergent” film trilogy) plays Ivan, a skilled, if conflicted art thief trying to work off his late father’s huge gambling debt to the ruthless Dimitri (Fred Melamed); a few more heists and Ivan’s out of the game. Read full review I wish the movie had moved along at a bit faster clip, but overall it maintained our interest until the very satisfying end. Lying and Stealing is a film full of unfulfilled potential. Let The Right One In: A Masterpiece of Poetic Horror, The Batman set photos feature Superman and Wonder Woman… sort of, The Film Feud of the 90’s: Steven Seagal vs Jean-Claude Van Damme, Legendary looking to reboot Buck Rogers for the 21st Century, PM Entertainment and the Art of Rip-offs With Razzmatazz, The Witches to receive PVOD release in the UK this month for £15.99, Ranking The Ten Most Impactful Slasher Movie Franchises, Three Films and Six Van Dammes: The JCVD Dual Role Routine. Not the best heist movie but it wasn't bad either. Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Screenwriters Aselton and Adam Nagata (who also co-wrote the director’s prior feature a decade ago, labored indie quirkfest “Gigantic”) deftly balance low-key character seriocomedy and thriller elements, honing both to a modest but satisfying degree. Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games. Lying And Stealing might not be the best heist movie ever but it doesn't pretend to be the best heist movie so it's okay. Unfortunately, the film, slickly directed by Matt Aselton, from a script he penned with Adam Nagata (they also cowrote Aselton’s helming debut, 2008’s enjoyably quirky “Gigantic”), features too many surface conflicts and characters; what does making Ivan’s brother (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) bipolar buy us? Ivan does indeed know his art, but doesn’t steal for the love of it; he steals because his ne’er-do-well father died owing major gambling debts to sleazy Dimitri (Fred Melamed), and Ivan is paying that off. Even the background story of everything about art in this movie can't safe it. Then it ended. Dissatisfied. The Bonnie and Clyde duo embark on a series of high-profile art heists in a final bid to pay off their debts and get out of the game. The art thieving all came a little too easily. Moss-Bachrach gives a strong performance but Lying and Stealing can’t find a place for it. The ending was good and unexpected. Lying and Stealing might have been more effective if its two leads had more charisma, but James is mostly bland and Ratajkowski never quite convinces as a woman of mystery. User Ratings As the lead, Ivan (Theo James) should have something about him to draw us in. | I watched it all to see what happened How to vote. Movie titles, images, etc. Melamed underplays his way to a rather scary villainy; there are also good if more fleeting support turns. Alas, Dimitri appears to be the kind of creditor who will never settle an account. Not giving me any shock moments. Ivan is a gifted and discerning art thief who wants out. Emily Ratajkowski is an interesting casting choice in the role of Elyse. Lying and Stealing‘s final scene offers a glimpse at what the film could’ve been and perfectly encapsulates the potential each character holds. Okay the crime part was good but not special. | It's a smart script. Nothing else. Direction was okay, definitely liked the camerawork and color grading. Great looking cast and a fun thrill ride from start to finish. "Lying and Stealing," directed by Matt Aselton (who co-wrote the script with Adam Nagata) is a mostly satisfying entry in the art heist genre. As pointed out by others, pacing could use a bit of tightening but more of a nitpicking point on our viewer-behalf. I didn't expect anything from this and I found it watchable. James plays a knowledgable art thief ("Ivan") who decides it is time to hang up his gloves once he has settled his late father's debts to "the Greek". In a continuous shot, we as the audience are led around an exclusive Los Angeles party placing us right in the heart of the action after being warned, “When a thief kisses you, count your teeth.” It all sets this heist-thriller up to be a fun ride but this is about as fun as it gets. CIFF 2020: Black Perspectives Program Highlights Diverse Voices, CIFF 2020: The Roger Ebert Award Returns to Champion New Voices, Immerse Yourself in Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project #3. Yet even given its budgetary limits and second-tier cast, “Lying and Stealing” manages to be a retro escapist pleasure — one whose cleverness might actually have been muffled by flashier surface assets. By Dennis Harvey Let Miranda July decode the ‘love language’ of ‘Kajillionaire’ for you. 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Review: The fight for the rights of imprisoned women in the documentary ‘Belly of the Beast’. What a dull, boring, mess of a film. This lets us into how Ivan sees these spaces, and the challenges he faces. Of course there's more to Marguerite than meets the eye.