Movie review - "Inside Man" (2006) ***1/2

One of those movies I really enjoyed with a few late minute twists that make you go "ooh"... then around two hours later something clicks and you go "hang on". One or two obvious plot contrivances - why keep it in the vault? - and some less obvious - how does he get out? - but this is mostly a lot of fun. Denzel Washington is a slightly bent cop outwitted by Clive Owen; it's great to see Jodie Foster playing a bitch. The hostages behave very selfishly and whiningly - it's Spike Lee's city so I guess he knows what he's talking about. Visual flourishes and social commentary work well. I know the Sikh is hard done by - but how about being a little less selfish. The female characters aren't the best - they're either bitches (Jodie Foster, the Albanian ex-wife), or sex figures (the big boobed robber, Denzel's girlfriend). Tremendous music score from Terence Blanchard.