You know it’s slow when the biggest trailer drop of the week (aside from that James L. Brooks movie and another Colleen Hoover adaptation) is for an almost straight-to-video crime thriller starring Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry. However, we’re absolutely prime marks for Crime 101, an ensemble neo-noir based on Don Winslow’s novella (in addition to all of his other fantastic books, the prior adaptation of one of his stories, Oliver Stone’s Savages, remains an underrated camp masterpiece) and directed by Bart Layton, the documentarian-turned-narrative-filmmaker who made American Animals and The Imposter. This looks like it’ll have a much better release strategy, given that MGM, not MoviePass films, will be releasing it, and the Roarin’ Amazon Acquisition dropped a pretty dope trailer for it earlier on Thursday.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis for Crime 101:
“Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, ‘Crime 101’ weaves the tale of an elusive thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose high-stakes heists unfolding along the iconic 101 freeway have mystified police. When he eyes the score of a lifetime with hopes of this being his final job, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is facing her own crossroads, forcing the two to collaborate. Determined to crack the case, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) closes in on the operation, raising the stakes even higher. As the multimillion-dollar heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are forced to confront the cost of their choices–and the realization that there’s no turning back.”
Crime 101 hits theaters on February 13. See, the great thing about this title is that, should it do well enough, the sequel titles basically write themselves. Crime 201: Intro to Mail Fraud. Crime 302: Jaywalking. Crime 407: Illegal Poker Operations, which could even get Chauncy Billups in for a cameo.