A Glean movie guide
Masterminds & Misdirection
Trust no one.
Heist movies where the biggest score is the one you never saw coming.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Usual Suspects
A legendary interrogation-room mystery that culminates in one of cinema’s most famous identity reveals.
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
- 02
The Sting
A masterclass in the long con where the audience is just as much a mark as the mob boss.
A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.
- 03
Inside Man
A tense hostage standoff that hides a brilliant, unconventional strategy for the perfect bank robbery.
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
- 04
Ocean's Eleven
A stylish Las Vegas caper that uses cinematic sleight of hand to hide the true method of the vault breach.
Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess.
- 05
The Handmaiden
A lush, three-part narrative where every perspective shift reveals a deeper layer of deception and desire.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
- 06
Logan Lucky
A clever 'blue-collar' heist that hides its most brilliant moves until the very last minute.
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- 07
Nine Queens
An intricate Argentinian thriller that keeps you guessing who is actually running the con until the final frame.
Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps, the "nine queens".
- 08
Widows
A grounded, high-stakes robbery that features a mid-movie revelation that changes everything for the protagonists.
A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.
- 09
Matchstick Men
A character-driven swindle that uses the protagonist's own neuroses to mask a massive, heartbreaking twist.
A phobic con artist and his protege are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the con artist's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.
- 10
Inception
A mind-bending 'dream heist' that layers reality upon reality, ending on a famously ambiguous final note.
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.