Tower Heist [Blu-ray] [Import]

Just got back from a sneak preview of this film, and it was a blast!

The story revolves around the employees and residents of an exclusive, high-rise New York tower. When one of the residents, a wealthy Wall Street tycoon (played brilliantly by Alan Alda), is arrested for embezzling, the employees learn that they have lost their pensions and savings, all of which were given over as "investments." Several of them hatch a scheme to recoup their losses, and then everything goes haywire.

The cast is terrific. Ben Stiller plays the understated, very likeable building manager. Eddie Murphy is the funniest he's been in years as Slide, a small time criminal the employees turn to for help. The rest of the cast is very strong, including Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe, and more.

Everyone is in fine form, and director Brett Ratner finds the balance of fun and thrills he's been missing since at least Rush Hour 2.

There are twists you don't see coming, lots of laugh out loud moments, and the story is very timely, in light of the Bernie Madoff scandal and public dissatisfaction with Wall Street in general.

Go see this! Seriously!

How can you go wrong with a movie that has a central premise in which Derek Zoolander, Ferris Bueller, Axel Foley and Precious rob Hawkeye from M*A*S*H*? Honestly, you can't. "Tower Heist" is what a movie with an ensemble cast is supposed to be. It is constantly interesting, always moving with twists and turns, a great script and laughs throughout that don't insult your intelligence.

"Tower Heist" is about a group of employees that maintain, run and devote their lives to a collection of upper-crust socialites in a downtown Manhattan high-rise residence. At the top of this high-rise is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) who lives a life of spoil and wealth. Shaw can quite simply be compared to the likes of Bernie Madoff, which is another reason why this movie may hit home with some, and is most definitely a lot of the inspiration for the movie's plot. So when Shaw is exposed for milking people of their life savings and retirement funds, the employees of the Tower's lives come crashing down.

"Tower Heist" has more entertainment value, fun and creativity than any of the newer "Oceans" movies and much of that comes from the band of unlikely misfits that choose to embark on a life of crime; the newly fired tower manager feels responsible, the wimpy divorcee who is being kicked from the tower with his new home, a box, in hand, the former BK (Burger King) employee and the expected father who has no money to support his coming family.

"Heist" benefits from its ability to stay home and realistic. Even when things get crazy, the movie stays feasible and that is the most enjoyable thing about it. The creators could have gotten silly, like some of Stiller's movies, but they didn't. They kept things real and that made you feel like you could be in their shoes at anytime. Someday when your bottom falls out, you may have to resort to the same things.

Also, remember when Eddie Murphy was funny? Like, really funny? I'm going to go all the way back to the late 80s with "Harlem Nights" and "Coming to America". Well, "Tower Heist" has `that' Eddie Murphy; the attitude Eddie Murphy and the change on a dime Eddie Murphy, the "banana in my tailpipe" Eddie Murphy.

"Tower Heist" is a movie that will challenge your mind, make you laugh and give you a little bit taste of how it feels to stand up for yourself, even if we don't always get to do that in our own lives. At least we can watch a bunch of great comedians in a really good movie do it.

A Bernie Madoff- like character at a swanky New York high-rise is accused of losing or swindling the life savings of the staff. A few of them hatch a scheme to steal $20m that he is suspected of hiding. Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller bring their considerable talents to this action-comedy, making it both funny and exciting. The film combines clever comedy with some intense action sequences to bring the audience to the edge of their seats while laughing at the same time. This one was well-done.