hyped garbage

Absolutely the worst movie.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

When I read the synopsis for this I immediately thought of 'Mad Money' one of my all time favourite Sunday afternoon films. When I noticed the cast I expected myself to be in for a treat.Must admit I was a little disappointed. The plot is quite simple and fairly tame (perfect), the cast are fantastic (as expected) it was the pace of the film I had a problem with.You see a lot of the film through Walken's character, who is basically killing time waiting to die. That's how this film felt in places.Where Mad Money has a degree of energy and a chirpy sound track this film sucks energy. It is hard also to connect with people whose one goal is to stand and stare at something all day.Of course all these points are themes that run through the film and work themselves out, watching them was quite tiring.Excellent acting production, story - just a bit slow and limp.

I was fairly delighted with The Maiden Heist. I picked it up hoping to see some amusing performances from a crew of appealing, veteran performers and that's what I got. There was a lot more of William H. Macy's bare butt than I expected, and I never quite figured out why the film didn't at least put some gray in Marcia Gay Harden's hair to try and compensate for the noticeable difference in ages between she and Christopher Walken as they played husband and wife. Harden seems to be playing the same age but looks at least 20 years younger than Walken, whose eyes are still bright but whose everything else has dimmed. But it takes more than middle-aged man ass to put me off a good comedy and the Harden/Walken contrast was more quizzical than annoying.Roger Barlow (Christopher Walken) is a museum security guard with a passion for French art and a particular obsession with one painting, The Lonely Maiden. When he finds out all the exhibits, including his beloved, are being shipped to Denmark to make way for some gaudy modern art, Roger recruits kindred spirits (Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy) who are similarly consumed by two other works of art in a scheme to steal their objects of desire and substitute copies for the trip to a Copenhagen museum. But Roger's very New Jersey-ish wife (Marcia Gay Harden) and a big slip up during the heist may land them all in very hot water.Now, The Maiden Heist is one of these comedies that's doesn't have a lot of actual jokes. There are some, including an inspired visual gag involving Walken repelling down the side of a building and others revolving around Macy's nudity, but this is a story that gets by on personality and tries to be more endearing than hilarious. So, if you're down in the dumps and need something energetic and aggressively funny to pull you out of it, this may not be the film for you. But if you're already in a relatively good mood and looking for a relaxing and somewhat enchanting way to spend 90 minutes, give this movie a go.Walken, Freeman and Macy are all wonderful and though Harden is playing more of a caricature, she does it quite well. The script does a great job of illustrating each man's preoccupation with their particular work of art in a different way and the plan to steal them is rather beautifully put together. There's also just enough clever visual imagery to keep your interest piqued without overwhelming the plot and the characters.It's a shame that many people don't and never will know about this little gem, but that's the paradox of entertainment we live with. Technology has given us access to more films than ever before. Unfortunately, that avalanche of choice combines with technology that allows the production of more god awful crap than ever before to bury movies like The Maiden Heist before the audience has a chance to know them. Changing economics and business models has made it even more difficult for films to get into theaters and stay there long enough to be discovered. Then they come out on DVD or get streamed online and have one week at best before another batch of new releases supplants them. Far too soon, they're shunted to a back shelf in the video store or relegated to one more name on a web page's ever lengthening list of films you can "order now!"Oh, well. I guess it has to be enough that The Maiden Heist and other movies like it are available for whomever is lucky to stumble across them. I'm glad I was one of them.

There I was walking through and airplane (yes an airplane) and caught a glimpse of Morgan Freeman on screen. Taking a moment I gazed into the screen for a moment guessing it was a trailer of RED. It wasn't, instead it is The Maiden Heist. This is how I became familiar with the title and that's how events led me to end up right here right now.What is the most appropriate word to convey my feelings on the title? Let me think…….. Intrigued? Yes that's the right word. I was intrigued when I realized there was a Morgan Freeman movie on the likes of RED (If you have not watched red, its high time you did).It's always a pleasure and privilege to see some well experienced greats in action, it's like being a kid and really enjoying playing a game of cricket or catch with the old folk. The Maiden Heist starring Christopher Walken, William Macy and Morgan Freeman, is a simple light hearted movie with gentle humor and a plain plot. Three museum security guards; Rogers (Walken), George (Macy) and Charles (Freeman) are passionate lovers of the arts. Over the years the men worse; the museum curator decides to ship the displayed artifacts to a museum in Denmark. The veteran security guards are unable to fathom the idea of losing the precious artifacts and conjure up a devious plan to steal them prior to it being flown to Denmark and out of sight forever. Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and William Macy are highly talented actors with very powerful and strong personas. There is a lot of controlled underplaying done by them all to keep the plot simple. In fact I am taken quite by surprise to see Morgan Freeman to be playing a quite effeminate security guard instead of being his commanding self. Christopher Walken who toys mostly with eccentric portrayals in fact is obviously trying hard to keep his character afloat as a man who is dominated by his wife. William Macy is not outdone by them, Macy is unbelievably hilarious, especially when he ends up stark naked and is captured on CCTV footage and his love for naked statue. Director Peter Hewitt struck gold with his cast. Although this movie has been the last of his directorial efforts so far, I am sure this cast he worked with is most certainly an all-star cast that he will not forget for a long time. Simply a wonderful movie, very gentle in every aspect and it's a welcome change to see such great names do a lighter version of a heist and not altogether be called a disaster. However research on this title shows that it has not fared well at the box office. I am starting to believe it was entirely an advertising flaw, for starters, I had never heard of it until 5 days ago. I am glad I did. Better late than never!Title: The Maiden Heist Directed by: Peter Hewitt Starring: Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William Macy & Marcia Gay Harden Rated: PG13 for strong language, nudity and some brief fantasy violence. Rated: 07/10 90 Minutes

During this movie it slowly occurred to me that its, very much based on a series of danish movies named "Olsen Banden" which translates = "The Olsen Gang" Christoffer Walkens wife's character is completely based on the wife of one of the characters in "Olsen Banden" as well, even their dilemma about cancelling their vacation, because of the heist, is taken from the same series of movies.In this clip they are talking about having to cancel their vacation as well, notice she speaks, and dresses the same :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAAAQaHaDlg ...even the danish security guard in the end of the movie, is like a tribute to the danish movies, because the jacket that he wears would certainlu not be worn in todays Denmark, but was featured many times in these danish 70's movies. Also, even the mention of Denmark is a tribute. So the makers of "The Maiden Heist" certainly haven't tried to hide the fact that they were influenced by "Olsen Banden".