Highest-Rated Movies about 'Set-up', Sort by Popularity

Go (1999), The Teacher (2016), North by Northwest (1959), Chinatown (1974), 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), The Front Page (1974), I Became a Criminal (1947) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Set-up movies.

#3. North by Northwest (1959)

Storyline: Madison Avenue advertising man Roger Thornhill finds himself thrust into the world of spies when he is mistaken for a man by the name of George Kaplan. Foreign spy Philip Vandamm and his henchman Leonard try to eliminate him but when Thornhill tries to make sense of the case, he is framed for murder. Now on the run from the police, he manages to board the 20th Century Limited bound for Chicago where he meets a beautiful blond, Eve Kendall, who helps him to evade the authorities. His world is turned upside down yet again when he learns that Eve isn't the innocent bystander he thought she was. Not all is as it seems however, leading to a dramatic rescue and escape at the top of Mt. Rushmore.

Plot Keywords: ad executive, spy, secret agent, mother, henchman, police officer, amusing ...

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#4. Chinatown (1974)

Storyline: In 1937 Los Angeles, private investigator Jake 'J.J.' Gittes specializes in cheating-spouse cases. His current target is Hollis Mulwray, high-profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, whose wife suspects him of infidelity. In following Mulwray, Gittes witnesses some usual business dealings, such as a public meeting for construction of a new dam to create additional water supply for Los Angeles, as fresh water is vital to the growing community during the chronic drought; Mulwray opposes the dam. Eventually Gittes sees Mulwray meeting with an unknown young woman who isn't his wife. Once news of the supposed tryst between Mulwray and this woman hits the media, additional information comes to light that makes Gittes believe that Mulwray is being framed for something and that he himself is being set up. In his investigation of the issue behind Mulwray's framing and his own setup, Gittes is assisted by Mulwray's wife Evelyn, but he thinks she isn't being ...

Plot Keywords: detective, widow, father, sister, private investigator, wife, disturbing ...

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#5. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Storyline: Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty personified by a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

Plot Keywords: slave, slave trader, abolitionist, master, african-american, love interest, dark ...

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#6. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

Storyline: Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in Los Angeles. He's laconic, vet, and a gambler. When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt, after which, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker. The guys he owes this time aren't so friendly, pressuring him for immediate payment. When he's not able to do so, they suggest he kill a Chinese bookie to wipe away his debt. Vitelli and the film move back and forth between the double-crossing, murderous insincerity of the gamblers and the friendships, sweetness, and even love among Vitelli, the dancers, a dancer's mother, and the club's singer, Mr. Sophistication.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: club owner, mobster, stripper, singer, bookie, thug, dark ...

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#7. The Front Page (1974)

Storyline: When Hildy Johnson, the top reporter of a Chicago newspaper, announces that he is quitting to get married, his editor, Walter Burns, desperately tries to change his mind. When denial, cursing, and luring don't work, Walter resorts to tricks. It's the day before a supposed communist is to be hanged, and all Chicago waits with bated breath. Meanwhile, each of the city's papers has a man on the story trying to get a scoop or angle for themselves. With a train to catch at midnight to join his fiancé, Hildy is at first not interested, but events and his own habits work against him as the day unfolds, and he can't help but get roped in, especially when the man to be executed escapes and then almost literally falls into his lap.—RCBP_Collection

Plot Keywords: editor, journalist, fugitive, girlfriend, prostitute, bumbler, amusing ...

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#8. I Became a Criminal (1947)

Storyline: In this gritty film noir, cynical ex-RAF flyer Morgan, bored with civilian life, joins a break-in gang led by Narcy. On his first job, the getaway car crashes after killing a policeman. Morgan is framed as the driver and sent to jail. Seeking revenge, he escapes and heads for London. Along the way he's helped by a woman (Mrs. Fenshaw), who wants him to murder her husband. In London, Morgan is sheltered by Sally, who falls in love with him. He confronts Narcy and the gang in an abandoned warehouse. Brazilian Director Cavalcanti's crime drama should not be confused with the totally unrelated "They Made Me a Criminal" (1939).—Mike Rogers <MICHAELPEM@aol.com>

Plot Keywords: innocent man, boss, fugitive, girlfriend, henchman, thrilling, gritty ...

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#9. Lights in the Dusk (2006)

Storyline: Koistinen is a sad sack, a man without affect or friends. He's a night-watchman in Helsinki with ideas of starting his own business, but nothing to go with those intentions. He sometimes talks a bit with a woman who runs a snack trailer near his work. Out of the blue, a young sophisticated blonde woman attaches herself to Koistinen. He thinks of her as his girlfriend, he takes her on her rounds. She's in league with a crook who's planning a jewel robbery, and Koistinen is their patsy. Will he ever wise up?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: security guard, manager, co-worker, criminal, love interest, thief, fascinating ...

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#10. Trouble Man (1972)

Storyline: It seems that masked men are knocking over the floating crap games of Chalky and Pete. Chalky and Pete hire the cool, loose, elegant Mr. T to fix things. Then, the masked manipulators set up the death of a collector for a rival gang lord. It looks like it's up to T to keep a gang war from breaking out, keep the police off his back, and earn his fee from Chalky and Pete. Then things get complicated. A pool hall, a boxing gym, women's well-furnished apartments, and the mean streets of L.A. give T room to sort out what seems from what is.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: detective, hustler, mobster, police officer, criminal, thrilling, rousing ...

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#11. Safe House (2012)

Storyline: Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a CIA rookie who is manning a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa, when Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) the CIA's most wanted rogue agent is captured and taken to the safe house. During Frost's interrogation, the safe house is overtaken by mercenaries who want Frost. Weston and Frost escape and must stay out of the gunmen's sight until they can get to another safe house.

Plot Keywords: cia agent, rogue agent, boss, mercenary, british intelligence agent, girlfriend, thrilling ...

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#12. The Expendables 2 (2012)

Storyline: Barney Ross is approached by CIA man Church, who wants him and his guns for hire to go to the former Soviet Union to retrieve something that was on a plane that crashed. Church doesn't tell him what he is getting. And Church sends a woman, Maggie with him to make sure he gets it. They find the plane and get the thing but some men take one of Barney's people hostage and the leader tells him to give him what they got or he'll kill his hostage. They give it to him but he kills his hostage anyway. Barney asks Maggie what was so important about that thing. She says that it showed the location of a Russian plutonium storage mine. Barney decides to track the man down and deal with him. They track them down and discover that the man they seek is Vilain who leads a group known as The Sangs and that they have taken all the men from the surrounding villages to work the mine.

Plot Keywords: mercenary, boss, colleague, rival, sniper, girlfriend, rousing ...

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#13. Man on a Ledge (2012)

Storyline: An ex-cop-turned-con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel. The nearest New York Police Officer immediately responds to a screaming woman and calls dispatch. More officers arrive with SWAT and tactical command along with firefighters. The police then dispatch a police psychologist personally requested to talk him down from the ledge. However, things aren't as they seem.

Plot Keywords: ex-cop, psychologist, police officer, news reporter, wealthy man, suspenseful, intricate ...

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#14. Duchess of Idaho (1950)

Storyline: Ellen Hallet is in love with her playboy boss, Douglas Morrison, but is too timid to do anything about it. To help her, her roommate Chris decides to step in and devises a plan. Chris follows Morrison on his trip to Sun Valley, Idaho and plays the over-attentive female in hopes that he will send for Ellen who often plays his "fiancée" when he has a female he can't discourage otherwise. Complications arise when Chris catches the eye of band leader Dick Layn and finds herself caught in a triangle between the two men.

Plot Keywords: secretary, dancer, playboy, band leader, boss, charming, emotional ...

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#15. The Recruit (2003)

Storyline: In an era when the country's first line of defense, intelligence, is more important than ever, this story opens the CIA's infamous closed doors and gives an insider's view into the Agency: how trainees are recruited, how they are prepared for the spy game, and what they learn to survive. James Clayton might not have the attitude of a typical recruit, but he is one of the smartest graduating seniors in the country - and he's just the person that Walter Burke wants in the Agency. James regards the CIA's mission as an intriguing alternative to an ordinary life, but before he becomes an Ops Officer, James has to survive the Agency's secret training ground, where green recruits are molded into seasoned veterans. As Burke teaches him the ropes and the rules of the game, James quickly rises through the ranks and falls for Layla, one of his fellow recruits. But just when James starts to question his role and his cat-and-mouse relationship with his mentor, Burke taps him for a special ...

Plot Keywords: computer programmer, cia agent, colleague, instructor, gripping, suspenseful, gritty ...

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