6. Heist (2001)
Director: David Mamet
Cast: Gene Hackman, Danny Devito, Sam Rockwell & Delroy Lindo
Plot: Gene Hackman plays the brilliant leader of a gang of thieves (Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay & Rebecca Pigeon), who pull off complex heists for a vile fence (Danny DeVito). After stiffing the gang on a jewelry robbery, DeVito forces the gang to go after a Swiss gold shipment and to use his nephew (Sam Rockwell) in the crime. No one trusts anyone and every step is shaded with the unexpected
Reason(s) To Watch Before You Die: Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Mamet has written some of the best screenplays in Hollywood history including The Verdict and Glengarry Glen Ross and his cynical, edgy dialogue is perfectly crafted for this tale of cons, hustles and double crosses. Having dialogue so sharp it could cut glass means nothing without the perfect engine of delivery and Mamet finds that in Gene Hackman and an incredible supporting cast who help make this a caper film so slick and smart it makes Oceans Eleven look like a student film made by toddlers.