THE TECHNICIANS/aka THE CON ARTISTS (2014)

For a heist film featuring some standard trappings of the genre, there's just something charming about this film thanks to its star, model-turned-actor Kim Woo-bin.  This was my first time seeing Kim as an actor; was never a particular fan before, but this movie changed that.  Here he plays Ji-hyeok, a master thief/con artist with a penchant for cracking safes, who along with his buddy (Ko Chang-seok) pulls off one daring heist after another ... until, with the help of a young, untrustworthy hacker (Lee Hyun-woo), they steal thirty million in diamonds from President Jo, who has his own plans for an outlandish robbery and has now found the perfect guys to threaten into pulling it off.  As Ji-hyeok plots their final job and the cops close in, the film - in the last half hour - develops enough twists, double-twists, and surprises to have this viewer freaking out until the end.  Yes, Kim may be his own biggest fan, even here and in character ... but dang it, it works; I loved this film. (not rated)  A-