the italian job

the year: 2003

the genre: action


the cast: Mark Wahlberg (Charlie Croker); Charlize Theron (Stella Bridger); Donald Sutherland (John Bridger); Jason Statham (Handsome Rob); Seth Green (Lyle); Mos Def (Left Ear); Edward Norton (Steve)


the plot: After pulling off a gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice, Italy, Charlie and his gang -- inside man Steve, computer genius Lyle, wheelman Handsome Rob, explosives expert Left Ear and veteran safecracker John Bridger - are double-crossed by one of the group. Enter Stella, a beautiful nerves-of-steel safecracker, who joins Charlie and his former gang when they follow the backstabber to California, where they plan to re-steal the gold by tapping into Los Angeles' traffic control system, manipulating signals and creating one of the biggest traffic jams in LA history. Now the job isn't about the payoff, it's about the payback.


don't miss: Lyle's mad motorcycle skills.


watch for: Spiderman when the explosives go off around the armored truck in L.A.


listen for: "And then he's just the media darling... He's on the cover of all the magazines, I should of been on the cover of wired magazine. You know what he said? He said he named it Napster because it was his nickname because of the nappy hair under the hat. But he-It's because I was NAPPING when he STOLE it from me. He didn't even graduate."


did you know: The principal actors in the movie did most of the stunt driving themselves. While all of the principals needed stunt driving lessons - Mos Def needed a little more work because he didn't have a driver's license at the beginning of the production. All the cast members acknowledged that Charlize Theron was easily the best driver among them.


extra bonus points: if you ALSO have the urge to shave that ugly little beard off of Steve's face.


also listen for: "James Hymen? Come on man, just once give me a cool name!"



disclaimer: there is some brief violence and language.