Brian Van Holt

A lonely and unpopular boy announces that he`s going to eat himself to death and livestream it. His proclamation earns him immense popularity overnight and as his deadline approaches, he struggles to make the right choice.

A Los Angeles crime saga in the vein of "Heat", Den Of Thieves follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Department and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles.

At the beginning of the film, two Texas Rangers, Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) and Maggie Swanson (Liz Vassey), are going to a church in order to question Percy Stevens (Cedric the Entertainer) about the whereabouts of his former prison roommate Morgan Ball, who they want to testify against organized crime boss John Cortlin. Percy is indignant, telling them he is a "man of God" and hasn't spoken with Ball in years. However, Percy's cellphone rings, displaying Ball's name. Sharp and Swanson track down Ball to the warehouse, where Ball gives Sharp a key in an attempt to buy him off. Instead, Sharp takes the key and forces Ball outside, where FBI agent Eddie Zaine (Brian Van Holt) is waiting. As they talk, a sniper begins shooting, wounding Swanson and giving Ball a chance to escape. It is revealed the sniper is after Ball, and a group of cheerleaders from the University of Texas at Austin witness his murder. Agent Zaine is found shot in the arm next to Ball's body and claims he didn't see the sniper. Anne (Christina Milian), Teresa (Paula Garces), Evie (Monica Keena), Heather (Vanessa Ferlito) and Barb (Kelli Garner) are taken to the police station, where they all have conflicting descriptions of the shooter. Sharp is given the task of protecting the girls at all times, because their fathers are worried about them. The information is relayed to him by the Governor of Texas (Rick Perry makes a cameo as himself). It is revealed that Sharp is divorced and has a daughter, Emma (Shannon Marie Woodward) who is in high school and doesn't feel as though her father had ever been around. It is also revealed that John Cortlin has been exonerated from all charges pressed on him due to a lack of evidence. It is also revealed that FBI Agent Zaine is working with Cortlin, having killed Ball and shot himself in the arm. Cortlin scolds Zaine for letting some "loose ends" escape, and Zaine begins searching for Sharp and the cheerleaders. With Swanson in the hospital recovering from her near-fatal wound, Sharp and two additional rangers must now pick the girls up from school and secure their sorority house. Sharp moves in with the girls and the two young men with him move into the fraternity house across the street, where they end up busting a drug deal. Sharp sets some ground rules, including no cell phones. He also tells them to "cover up in his presence" (referring to the girls' revealing clothes). When they fail to comply, he orders a massive industrial air conditioner, forcing them to dress warmly. Sharp is posing as a cheer-leading coach specializing in conditioning, and at a Longhorns football game he tackles an opposing team's mascot when the mascot approaches the girls with a gun, later revealed to be a water gun. Other humorous mishaps occur, but Sharp's relationship with the girls begins to strengthen; indeed, Barb begins to develop a crush on him. However, Sharp finds himself attracted to Barb's English teacher Molly (Anne Archer) who calls him into her office to complain about Barb's plagiarism. Later he invites her over for dinner, which the girls coach him through using an earpiece and tiny video screen. After they fall asleep, he turns it off and woos Molly himself. He admits to the girls about his last failed marriage and the way he feels about his estranged daughter. This interests Evie, who has a 4.0 GPA and wants to write a paper on Emma. She uses the house's "emergency phone" to call her, revealing Sharp's location to Zaine, who had contacted Emma. Sharp takes the girls to a "spirit rally" where he is forced to give a speech about cheer-leading. He becomes more and more impassioned, proving to the girls he finally "gets it". The night is ruined, however, when Sharp realizes in the nick of time that somebody put a bomb on their van, and Teresa (who was convinced that nobody was after them) is almost killed when her seat-belt gets stuck. Sharp saves her, and she admits that maybe someone is trying to kill them. Evie tells Sharp she contacted Emma, and when Sharp calls his daughter he learns that Zaine has her. He tells Sharp to take the key Ball gave him in the beginning of the movie to open a lock-box, both of them unaware the cheerleaders are listening in. The next day Sharp gets the money out of the lock-box and drives to where Zaine instructs him. Zaine gives Sharp instructions over a cell phone, telling him he will shoot Emma if Sharp disobeys. After Sharp handcuffs himself to the steering wheel, Zaine thanks him and tells him he's a "good parent." Zaine takes off with the money, Sharp's keys and phone, and Emma. Zaine and Emma get on a bus, but as it pulls away Sharp sees Barb in the back. As he wonders what is going on, Heather gets in the car with him and picks his handcuffs. They take off after the bus in Barb's Volkswagen Beetle. On the bus, Teresa pretends to go into labor and Evie demands the bus be stopped. She attempts to steal the bag with the money, but Zaine pulls a gun and evacuates the bus. Emma is rescued by the cheerleaders, and Sharp shoots Zaine's gun out of his hand before Zaine can enter Mexico. He and Emma are reunited. At the end of the film, Sharp and Molly are married, and Emma and the cheerleaders are a part of the service.

A helicopter circles over the Panamanian jungle. On board is a team of Army Ranger trainees and their instructor, Master Sergeant Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson). Their objective is to move through the jungle in hurricane weather, use live ammo to hit pop-up metal targets, then rendezvous at a small bunker. Seventeen hours later, Colonel Bill Styles (Timothy Daly) is aboard a helicopter searching for the same team he had expected back on base a long time ago. He witnesses three of his rangers, later identified as Ray Dunbar, Second Lieutenant Levi Kendall and Mueller, emerge from the jungle. However, things seem to have gone horribly wrong as Dunbar and Mueller are shooting at each other and Kendall is unconscious on Dunbar's shoulders. Dunbar kills Mueller in self-defense. The rest of the team, including West, are not found and presumed dead. In an interrogation room back on base, Captain Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen) makes little headway with Dunbar, who refuses to talk. He is given a pad of paper on which he writes that he will only speak to a fellow Ranger, someone from outside the base, and draws an "8" inside a circle on the piece of paper. Noticeably spooked upon seeing the 8, base commander, Colonel Styles calls in a friend and experienced interrogator, Tom Hardy (John Travolta). Hardy, an ex-Ranger who quit the army, is now a DEA agent who is presently under investigation for suspicion of bribery. We also find out that Hardy served under West when he was a Ranger and hated him. Hardy and Osborne, initially wary of each other, are forced to work together during the 6 hours they are given before the CID transportation from Washington will arrive to take Dunbar and Kendall away to initiate an investigation. Styles wants to provide as many answers as possible before they take over so their investigation can be as quiet as possible. Osborne doesn't approve Hardy's involvement in her investigation because of his messy resume but does come around when Hardy strikes a conversation with Dunbar, who, until now, had not uttered a single word, proving he is more qualified than he looks. The audience learns through Dunbar that West is infamous for being a ruthless, tough-as-nails sergeant. One trainee in Dunbar's unit, a black soldier named Pike, earned West's wrath more than any other. Pike was selected for the Panama training mission along with Dunbar, Kendall, Mueller and two other soldiers, Nunez and Castro. Since he seemed to have plenty of reasons to hate West, it is suggested that Pike had enough motive to murder him. At this point, Dunbar refuses to say anything more but confirms that the other members of the team and West are all dead. Hardy and Osborne then visit the other surviving team member, Second Lieutenant Levi Kendall, who is recovering from gunshot wounds sustained during the mission. It is revealed that Kendall is the son of a Joint Chiefs of Staff general. At the hospital, Hardy runs into Dr. Peter Vilmer (Harry Connick Jr.), an old friend, and also Osborne's on-again, off-again lover. Kendall reveals that he's gay and once had a homosexual relationship with another soldier that became public. His father pulled some strings to have Kendall transferred to West's unit to cover up the scandal. He claims West hated him for that. He also claims that West silently threatened his life in the helicopter, shortly before the mission began. Kendall was partnered with Castro for the mission and feared that West may have bribed Castro to give him a "training accident". Kendall explains that during the exercise, they found West dead, apparently hit in the back with a white phosphorus grenade, and that Pike later confessed to the crime, thinking that his comrades would go along with it. However, the team decided to turn Pike in when they would be picked up the next morning. In the middle of the night, Pike tried to rouse Kendall's sympathies by playing to their mutual hatred of West. Pike proposed they kill Mueller and Nunez and persuade Dunbar and Castro to back them up. Kendall dismissed Pike's proposal and went back to his sleeping area. He later spotted Pike whispering to Dunbar. According to Kendall, Dunbar then went back to his bag, retrieved his pistol and aimed it at a sleeping Mueller. Kendall intervened and caused Mueller to shoot Castro. After Castro was hit, he fired frantically striking Nunez, Kendall and Pike. Nunez and Pike were killed, and Kendall was wounded. Dunbar then carried the wounded Kendall on his back through the jungle, exchanged fire with Mueller, and was picked up, as seen in the beginning of the movie. When asked why Dunbar would go through all the trouble of carrying him out of the jungle, Kendall suggests that perhaps Dunbar expected him to cover for him in gratitude for saving his life. Hardy and Osborne confronts Dunbar with Kendall's revelations. An angry Dunbar claims that Kendall is lying and that he didn't shoot West. He also claims that Mueller and Castro were selling prescription drug injection kits called "combat cocktails" which help dull physical pain and sharpen the mind, and that Kendall was in on it. Hardy refuses Dunbar's drug story because he thinks Dunbar only said drugs to get Hardy's attention as a DEA agent. The argument leads to a fist fight and Hardy almost leaves the base angry with Osbourne trying to convince him to stay. However, their argument stops when Hardy remembers Dunbar's words about not shooting West. He realizes that, according to Kendall's story, West was not shot but hit with a phosphorus grenade. Hardy starts to believe Dunbar doesn't know how West really was killed. They return to Dunbar to listen to the rest of his story. Dunbar explains that the grenade was used to lure West at a specific point where Mueller shot him because he was aware of their drug dealing. Mueller used Pike's grenade, which he had stolen from his pack earlier, to avoid suspicion. Back at the bunker, Mueller tried to pin the blame on Pike, but when Pike began pointing out evidence that threw suspicion on Mueller instead, a fierce argument began, Mueller lost his temper and shot Pike in the head. A firefight ensued and Castro and Nunez were killed. Dunbar rescued Kendall, hiked through the jungle, killed Mueller and was picked up by the helicopter. At Osborne's request, Dunbar provides proof of the alleged drug-dealing operation. He also says that it was Vilmer who supplied the drugs to Mueller and Castro. When Osborne and Hardy return to the hospital, they speak briefly with Dr. Vilmer. After a short interrogation, during which Osborne breaks his nose with a phone book, Vilmer admits that he distributed to Mueller and Kendall and that he falsified drug tests so that the soldiers would come up clean. Vilmer is then placed under arrest. Styles accepts Dunbars and Vilmers confessions as enough to close the investigation. When Osbourne suggests that Kendall should be questioned further since he lied the first time, Styles orders them to stay away from Kendall considering his father's status. Hardy and Osborne ignore the order and return to confront Kendall, who is acting odd and refuses to give them any useful information, even mocking them. He still claims that Dunbar is the guilty party. After a few minutes, Hardy notices that Kendall is bleeding out of his ears. Suddenly, Kendall starts vomiting blood and then abruptly dies. Right before Kendall dies he uses his blood soaked finger to draw the symbol for infinity in Osborne's hand. Styles is furious that Osborne and Hardy ignored his orders. He relieves Osborne of her duty and asks Hardy to leave. He informs them that Dunbar and Vilmer will be taken away shortly on the transport plane that has arrived from the U.S. and he considers the investigation closed. Osborne comments on Kendall's drawing in her hand when she realizes that he didn't draw the infinity symbol, but an 8. Remembering Dunbar's note which also had an 8, she shows this to Hardy, who first denies knowing what the 8 may symbolize. When she insists on pursuing her investigation even though they were just ordered to drop it, Hardy finally explains the conversation he had earlier with Styles about a rumored group of ex-Rangers in Panama, trained under West, who turned rogue and became drug-dealers. They call themselves Section 8. Osborne, mad at Hardy for not telling her sooner engages him in a fist fight that ends when Hardy tries to kiss her and she pulls her gun on him. After their scuffle, they return to the stockade where Vilmer, still in custody, remarks to Hardy and Osborne in an offhand manner that he will be on the same plane as Pike. Hardy corrects him, saying that he'll be on the same plane as Dunbar, but Vilmer says that's not right. He explains that Ray Dunbar is black. This means that the white "Dunbar" Hardy and Osborne have been questioning all night is in fact Pike, the man who West antagonized during training (according to his own story). Pike had switched his tags with Dunbar's in order to throw off the local authorities, then disappear after being transported for trial. The soldier files never specifies the soldier's ethnicity. Hardy and Osborne rush back to the base just as Pike is being taken onto a transport plane. Hardy grabs Pike and holds his face dangerously close to the plane's whirling propeller until Pike faints and drops to his knees. Afterwards, Hardy and Osborne lead Pike away to interrogate him again now that they know the truth. In Pike's new story, West was not shot. Pike claimed West knew about the real operation going on at the base, cocaine smuggling. He claims West confronted the Rangers in the bunker and told them that he would turn them in to authorities in the morning and tell Styles everything. A brief Mexican standoff ensued, and West escaped the bunker. Nuñez chased after him but got shot by West. Shortly after Castro and Mueller went looking for West. Later on, Pike and Kendall found Dunbar dead. West surprised them and shot Kendall, wounding him, and then tried to persuade Pike to surrender himself. Mueller then came out and managed to kill West. Pike shot at Mueller, and then, knowing that he would be blamed if West died, took Dunbar's dog tags. It is still thoroughly established that he managed to escape, carried Kendall through the jungle, killed Mueller and was picked up by the helicopter. To prove his story, he gives Hardy, Osborne and Styles, the number of a crate where Vilmer had stowed cocaine. Satisfied that they finally have their answers, Hardy and Styles retreat to Styles' office, unknowingly followed by Osborne who finds it odd that she was not invited to join them. Hardy tells Styles that he finds it odd that West didn't tell his colonel (Styles) about the drugs as soon as he suspected something. Hardy then accuses Styles of lying; he tells Styles that he believes West did in fact go to him, but that he was behind the drug trafficking operation the whole time. Rather than side with West, he ordered Mueller and Kendall to kill him and then poisoned Kendall afterward to keep him quiet. Styles laughs off the accusations, but as Hardy starts to leave, Styles offers him a percentage of the operation to keep his mouth shut, confirming he is indeed behind the whole drug operation. Hardy now understands why Styles called him to investigate. If he found anything, he could be easily discredited or bought. Hardy says he'll have to think about it and turns to leave. Styles draws his weapon to shoot Hardy but is shot and killed by Osborne who heard the whole exchange. After the Military Police wraps up the investigation into Styles' shooting, Hardy and Osborne have a coffee before they leave the base separately. Hardy tells Osborne not to worry about the charges and that she would be cleared. All she has to do is "Tell the story right". Osborne recalls hearing that same phrase during both Kendall and Pike's stories, particularly in describing how members of the conspiracy planned to cover up West's death. This makes Osborne suspect Hardy may be somehow involved, especially since he hated West and because Section 8 is rumored to contain many of West's former trainees. She tails him out of the base and watches as Pike suddenly runs out from some bushes and into Hardy's jeep. She follows them by car and then by foot through the streets of Panama City and watches as the two of them enter a doorway with a big eight ball hanging over it. Osborne sneaks up behind Hardy and Pike, with her weapon drawn, believing that they are Section 8 and are responsible for West's murder. She confronts Hardy with her own theories but becomes very confused when West, very much alive and well, walks up behind her and sits at the table with Pike and Hardy. Castro, Dunbar and Nuñez, also alive, come out of the kitchen and join them. They reveal to Osbourne that Section 8 is in fact a special black-ops anti-drug unit led by Tom Hardy himself. The mercenary stories are used as a cover to spook the cartels. Dunbar, Castro, Nunez and Pike (all fake names) infiltrated the base to investigate the cocaine trafficking that was going on, and discovered that Mueller, Kendall and Vilmer were responsible. West, not realizing that Styles was also involved, informed him of their findings, although keeping their involvement a secret. Styles responded by ordering Mueller and Kendall to kill West. The training mission was a set-up to get rid of Mueller and Kendall, and fake West's death. West joined Section 8, and Hardy went to the base to confirm Styles' and Vilmer's involvement. West and Hardy then offer Osborne a job within their group. The movie ends when it is revealed that Tom Hardy is not a DEA agent and never left the army. He's in fact, a Colonel.

The movie begins in Los Angeles during a shootout between police officers and several bank robbers armed with automatic weapons. Officers put out a request for assistance from the Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T) Unit. The group, Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) arrive on-scene and prepare to infiltrate the bank. The police captain, Thomas Fuller (Larry Poindexter) negotiates with the suspects, to get them to release several people being held hostage. One of the robbers has grabbed a woman and is holding her at gunpoint, using her as a shield. Gamble & Street infiltrate (disobeying orders) and Gamble shoots through the hostage's shoulder to end the standoff. Cap. Fuller is furious at Street & Gamble for their reckless actions, the wounded hostage is now suing the city. Fuller removes both officers from SWAT as punishment, regulating them to "cage duty" (distribution of weapons to other officers). Fuller offers Street a chance to remain on SWAT if Street rats out Gamble for recklessness. Street meets up with Gamble later on. Gamble believes Street has betrayed him and walks out-essentially leaving the police force behind. Six months later, Street is still in the gun cage. A new police officer, Sgt. Daniel Hondo Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) comes to the precinct and asks Street to fix his customized rifle. Street notes the custom job and is impressed. Hondo meets with his friend Lt. Velasquez (Reginald Cathey). Velasquez wants Hondo to form a new SWAT unit. Velasquez offers Hondo 2 of his own officers- T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles) and Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt). Hondo decides to pick out 3 more candidates from the personnel files. Captain Fuller will have the final say. Street shows off a new idea he had for the SWAT teams: a gigantic hook & chain designed to bring down barricades. Sgt. Hondo comes in to collect his weapon and is impressed by Streets' work. Out at the officers' targeting range, T.J. manages to out-shoot Hondo, but Hondo bets $200 that Street is a better shot. T.J., not feeling threatened by a "gun bunny" like Street, agrees to the challenge. They face off, and Street ends up victorious. Meanwhile, a young man named Alex (Oliver Martinez) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport and heads out into the city. He intends to visit his uncle's favorite restaurant as a birthday surprise. Hondo recruits Street into being his driver for a day in order to recruit more SWAT members. They investigate an officer named Deacon Kay (LL Cool J), who is found in the middle of a foot pursuit with a suspect. Hondo ends the pursuit early, angering Deke. Hondo invites Deke to study at "SWAT school." Hondo & Street go to speak to a police officer named Chris Sanchez, who has applied and been rejected to SWAT three times previously. Officer Sanchez is a woman (Michelle Rodriguez), and women are not usually permitted to join the SWAT teams. Despite this, Hondo offers her a spot on the team. Hondo asks Street if he wants to fill the last spot on the team. Street is hesitant, knowing that Captain Fuller is very unlikely to approve him for SWAT. Street also confirms that he did not say anything bad against his old partner, Gamble. Hondo meets with the Captain, Fuller rejects both Sanchez & Street, but Hondo refuses to back down. Alex comes to a local gourmet restaurant and meets his uncle, who is shocked at his nephew's arrival. It appears that Alex's uncle has been stealing money from the family for some time, and Alex has come to exact revenge. Alex stabs his uncle and leaves the restaurant. Since the car Alex is driving is his uncles' (and there is an arrest warrant out for that name), the officers detain him for questioning and verification of his identity. The next day is the first day of SWAT school. Hondo puts the group through several tests- including infiltration, armor, weapons, physical conditioning and long-range shooting. They are soon performing admirably. Team's final evaluation. Fuller has set up a unique scenario- the team will have to infiltrate an airplane taken over by "terrorists"; they will have to take back the aircraft and take out all six hijackers within the time limit. While looking over the plane's schematics, Street realizes that there is an alternative entry point for the plane: a tiny elevator shaft which only one member of the team could fit through. Sanchez. They move into the plane, and the group takes out all the hijackers and sets a new record for the course in the process. Alex is still in jail, frustrated because his fingerprints do not match his identification and thus he must remain locked up. Sanchez follows Street to his favorite bar and witnesses a confrontation between Street and his ex-partner, Gamble. Then next day the SWAT team in activated for their first mission. Lt. Velasquez outlines the situation- a crazy man has barricaded himself in a house and is taking shots at officers through the windows. Street volunteers his grapple weapon, and the team uses it to tear down the man wall of the house, ending the standoff in seconds. At the sheriff's department, a deputy finds some details pertaining to Alex's true identity. Velasquez is notified and asks Hondo's unit to intercept and escort the prison bus carrying Alex. Alex's accomplices ambush the prison bus, and almost letting Alex get away before the SWAT unit arrives. Captain Fuller gives a press conference confirming that the man they have in custody is Alex Montel, an international fugitive wanted in over a dozen countries on charges including murder, arms dealing & drug trafficking. As Montel is being led to a holding cell, he faces a TV camera and pledges $100 million as a reward for anyone who breaks him out of jail. Hondo's unit is preparing to evacuate Montel via helicopter when the chopper is shot down by an unseen assailant. They take Montel back inside and form a new plan- to lead the fugitive away via a motor parade. Several gangsters attack the vehicles, hoping to free Montel. But the vehicles turn out to be a decoy, and Alex is being led down a private access area into some unmarked SUV's. Halfway through the second checkpoint, T.J. stops the car. He has decided to take Alex's offer. As they attempt to reason with him, Boxer is shot by T.J.'s partner- Gamble. Street screams out for help via the radio, and the rest of the team shows up within seconds. Hondo & Street chase Gamble's group into the local subway station. They miss the train and hope to catch it at the next station. But Deke & Sanchez report that the train did not arrive at the station, so they give chase in the tunnels. After nearly falling into an explosive trap set by Gamble, the team arrives outside the tunnel. At this point, Captain Fuller is furious- he suspects the entire team might be in on T.J.'s betrayal. He orders Hondo and his crew to stand down. As they drive out, Sanchez notices a low-flying jet over the city. They decide that the jet must be Gamble's plan for evacuating Montel. Fuller has previously sent all possible reinforcements to the local airport in an attempt to cut off the potential escape. Hondo & his group follow the jet, which is actually landing on a bridge rather than at the airport. Hondo gets radio confirmation that Gamble has hostages on board the airplane, and they need to stop the craft immediately to save innocent lives. Hondo drives their car into the landing gear of the plane, crippling it. A gun battle erupts between SWAT and Gamble's team. Sanchez is hit in the shootout, receiving a minor shoulder wound. Alex makes a break for it, but Deke follows (echoing his earlier foot pursuit) and re-captures Montel. Hondo confronts T.J. inside the plane. T.J. asks about Boxer. Hondo is hesitant but confirms that Boxer has received treatment and will presumably survive from his injuries. T.J. pulls out his gun and shoots himself in the head, preferring death over facing his actions. Street chases Gamble into a train yard, where they have one last fight. Street prevails, and Gamble is decapitated by a passing train. Fuller arrives, commending the team for their work, but pointing out that the job is not yet finished. They take a SWAT bus out to the nearest Federal prison, finally releasing custody of Montel to the proper authorities. As they sit on the bus, heading home, a report of a robbery in progress comes onto the police band. Hondo points out that their shift has technically been over for 12 hours. Despite this, the team agrees to mount up and head out to their next mission.

A group of Grifters rip off their latest mark and celebrate, while the group leader, Jake Vig (Edward Burns), explains the art of the con. In their latest con, they get their mark Lionel Dolby (Leland Orser) to pay them a briefcase full of money, to get away from being an accomplice to an apparent homicide (Jake made it look like he shot Gordo in a drug deal gone wrong). The local cops Omar and Lloyd work with Jake for a 10% cut, to add to the dramatic effect. When one of the four, Big Al (Louis Lombardi), is found shot to death, the other three learn that the latest money they stole belonged to a local Los Angeles crime lord known as The King (Dustin Hoffman). Lionel was an accountant for The King, and the money he gave to Jake was collection money that Lionel was holding on The King's behalf. When questioned, Lionel revealed the the sequence of events with Jake and his group. The King tracked Big Al, when Al made a large cash payment to a bookie, and bragged about how he had carried out a big score, which netted him the cash. Jake goes to meet The King, and accepts that he didn't know that Lionel worked for him. But he refuses to pay back the money, since The King killed Al. The Kind orders that the Grifters work for him and steal money from Morgan Price (Robert Forster), a rival who owns a bank. Jake enlists the aid of his remaining partners, Gordo (Paul Giamatti) and Miles (Brian Van Holt), and also convinces an independent con artist named Lily (Rachel Weisz) to round out their foursome. The King, a ruthless killer with ADHD, demands that one of his men, Lupus (Franky G), also go along. The con involves bribing a bank vice president to wire $5 million money offshore disguised as a business loan. Jake will withdraw the money and bring it back into the US in a carry on bag. Jake owed The King only $150,000. Jake asks The King to lend him $200,000 to bribe the banker. The King is livid with Jake, but Jake is confident of himself, and The King does extend him the additional credit. The gang finds Leon Ashby (John Carroll Lynch), VP of Corporate loans at Price Bank and decide that he will be the mark. Leon has no friends, no family, no life. Lily is the shell, who is supposed to make the whole pitch believable to Leon. But Lily dresses in a red wig, and wears a pigeon themed scarf, both of which Jake says has put a huge jinx on the entire operation. Lily proceeds with the plan and makes initial contact with Leon, posing as a start-up executive, looking for a business loan. She invites Leon for dinner with the gang, who also play their roles as executives of the start up. At dinner, the group convinces Leon that they have a buyer lined up for the company at 5-6X valuation, and need the loan for working capital till the sale takes place. That night Jake and Lily have sex. Leon agrees to sanction the loan the next day, in exchange for his own cut. The plan hits a snag when Special Agent Gunther Butan (Andy García) shows up in Los Angeles looking to finally bust Jake, who he has followed for years. Butan forces corrupt LAPD detectives Omar Manzano (Luis Guzman) and Lloyd Whitworth (Donal Logue) to switch their allegiance from Jake to him. Butan had videotapes of Omar and Lloyd dealing in drugs, which could put them away for a long time. After hearing about Butan's arrival, a nervous Jake pulls the plug on the whole con. He screams at Lily when she presses Jake to continue with the scam with some changes, making her walk out. Lupus gets Jake to reconsider nixing the con, hinting that The King will torture and kill the Grifters if the plan falls short. The con is back on, although now without Lily's help. Leon wires the money to Gordo in Belize. Jake tips off Lupus that they can keep the money and cut out The King. Lupus informs The King, who decides to intercept the money at the airport. Gordo brings it to Ontario Airport, where he is met by both Butan and The King's men, both sides after the $5 million in a carry on bag. Butan arrests The King and confiscates the money. Omar and Lloyd are also arrested by Internal Affairs, based on video evidence shared by Butan. Gordo disappears. Lupus, thinking The King has the money, reveals he was the one who killed Big Al. Lupus holds Jake at gunpoint, but he is shot by Travis (Morris Chestnut), a henchman for Morgan Price. It turns out that when Lily walked out, she went straight to Price and revealed the entire con, which was taking place that minute. Price told Travis to locate Jake to find out exactly how the con was engineered, and to stop such a thing from ever happening again. Travis takes Jake to an abandoned lot, and forces him to explain the entire story. A furious Lily takes out a gun and shoots Jake. Travis demands that he and Lily both disappear immediately. Minutes later, Butan arrives in a car, and Jake sits up from a pool of blood, unharmed. The final parts of the con are revealed. Lily's "quitting" was faked; a set-up to confuse Lupus. Butan is actually an old confidant of Jake's. He managed to "confiscate" the money and arrest The King at the same time. Butan has the money, and it's split five ways. Jake was wearing squibs to fake his own death in the lot. In the end, everyone was in on everything except for The King and Lupus (the first marks), Price and Travis (the second, bigger marks), and the two corrupt LAPD detectives, who have been arrested. The four Grifters reunite and celebrate, driving off into the night.

World War II, Sgt. Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) rallies to return to active duty with the aid of his pharmacist Rita (Frances O'Connor) after previously surviving a gruesome battle against the Imperial Japanese Army that killed his entire squad and left him almost deaf from a Japanese grenade explosion. Enders has a perforated ear drum, and his vertical equilibrium was out of whack. He could barely even stand straight without falling down and was advised to stay at the naval base hospital for the rest of his life. While Enders gets his balance back, Rita helps him pass his hearing ability test to be restored back to active duty. Enders' new assignment is to protect Navajo code talker Pvt. Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach), which earns him the rank of sergeant. Sgt. Ox Anderson (Christian Slater) also receives a parallel assignment protecting Navajo code talker Pvt. Charlie Whitehorse (Roger Willie). Yahzee and Charlie are Native Americans who have been inducted into the army due to their ability to talk in code, which cannot be deciphered by the enemy, giving the US a crucial advantage in battle. The natives were given crash courses in the operation of radio equipment, the code itself and the ability to transmit and receive code under enemy fire. Yahzee and Whitehorse, both lifelong friends from the same Navajo tribe, are trained to send and receive coded messages that direct battleship bombardments of Japanese entrenched positions. Enders and Anderson are told by Major Mellitz (Jason Isaacs) that the code cannot fall into enemy hands, implying that they are to kill their code talkers if capture is imminent. Mellitz is clear that the mission is to protect the code first and foremost. Both Enders and Henderson resent their new assignments, and the Navajos also endure racial harassment by some of the white Marines, notably Private First Class Charles "Chick" Clusters (Noah Emmerich), a BAR gunner. Enders makes it a point not to get too friendly with Yahzee and Charlie. Yahzee tells Enders that it is his war too and he is fighting for his people. During their missions, however, Henderson and Whitehorse discover a mutual love of music. Enders and Yahzee also find that they have much in common, notably their Catholic upbringings. The orders are for the company to attack the Island of Saipan, which needs to be converted into a base for a further invasion of Japan. Saipan will be used as an advanced Naval base and an airstrip to land and refuel B-29's, and to get the bombers within range of Tokyo. Saipan is protected by 30,000 Japanese soldiers. The invasion of Saipan on June 16th, 1944 is Yahzee and Whitehorse's first combat experience. After the beachhead is secured post a bloody battle in which Yahzee is exposed to the horrors of war, the Marines come under friendly fire from American artillery. Yahzee's radio is destroyed, and the convoy is unable to call off the bombardment. Without the ability to communicate and American artillery shells raining down on them, Yahzee disguises himself as an Imperial Japanese soldier and slips behind enemy lines taking Enders as his prisoner of war in search of a radio. Enders eliminates several Japanese soldiers and Yahzee is forced to kill for the first time, slaying a Japanese radioman before he can redirect American artillery fire onto the Japanese position. For their bravery, Enders is awarded a Silver Star by the commanding officer, with Yahzee's role almost ignored until Enders points him out. That night, the Marines camp in the nearby village of Tanapag. Yahzee is sent back to headquarters and that night the Marines make camp in a village thought to be secured. Later the next morning, Japanese soldiers ambush the camp. During the fight Anderson is decapitated, and his code talker Pvt. Whitehorse is about to be captured by the Japanese. Enders sees Whitehorse being beaten and dragged away by the Japanese and tries to shoot the captors with his side arm, but it has run out of ammunition. Enders primes a grenade as Whitehorse nods to him, allowing Enders to throw the grenade at him in order to protect the code, and the ensuing explosion kills both Whitehorse and the Japanese captors. Yahzee returns to the front-line and soon learns that Enders killed Whitehorse. When Enders mutters that he killed Whitehorse, an outraged Yahzee aims his weapon at Enders but cannot bring himself to kill him. Enders later confesses that he hated having to kill Whitehorse and that, like Henderson, his mission was to protect the code above all else. Soon after, the Marines are mobilized on another mission. But they are yet again ambushed, this time near a deadly minefield. Barely able to fight their way out of the kill zone and take cover on an old battle torn ridge, the Marines see Japanese artillery fire coming on top of the same ridge which is decimating American troops below their position. Still enraged over the death of Whitehorse, Yahzee charges the Japanese line fearlessly, and in so doing, fumbles the radio needed to call in bombardments. Yahzee and Enders attempt to retrieve the radio. Yahzee and Enders are both shot as they call in an airstrike on the Japanese artillery. However, surrounded and knowing the Japanese will capture and torture him for the code as they almost did with Whitehorse, Yahzee begs Enders to kill him. Enders is determined that no one else will die that day. Enders manages to carry Yahzee to safety after taking a shot in the chest. Friendly planes arrive and the Japanese position is successfully destroyed. Yahzee rejoices in their success though Enders, mortally wounded, dies. Back in the U.S., Yahzee, his wife, and his son sit on atop of Point Mesa in Monument Valley, Arizona, and perform the Navajo ritual of paying respects to the man who saved his life. An epilogue states that the Navajo code was crucial to America's successes against Japan across the Pacific theater during the war and that like all other Native American codes, the Navajo code was never broken.