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All in Crime
This week, we watch Tarantino’s first film. Cool music, cool suits, over the top violence, and non-linear story telling - this movie created a genre with a tiny budget, defined a decade of film and inspired independent artists across the world to this day. Reservoir Dogs (1992), directed by Quentin Tarantino.
This week, we watch the murder mystery that took the writer/director/cinematographer team from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, added in a fantastic cast, and became for the most fun film of 2019. If you live and breath, you will enjoy this one. Knives Out (2019), directed by Rian Johnson.
This week, we continue discussing the controversial masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick. This film has been banned in many places since its release, and wasn’t able to be purchased in England until the year of Kubrick’s death. To this day, it hasn’t lost an ounce of its impact. Lock the living room door so the kids don’t accidentally wander in. A Clockwork Orange (1971), directed by Stanley Kubrick.
This week, watch the controversial masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick. This film has been banned in many places since its release, and wasn’t able to be purchased in England until the year of Kubrick’s death. To this day, it hasn’t lost an ounce of its impact. Lock the living room door so the kids don’t accidentally wander in. A Clockwork Orange (1971), directed by Stanley Kubrick.
This week, we watch Travis Bickle spiral into insanity. Containing one of Robert De Niro’s most casually quoted characters, this film is actually an extremely grim portrait of New York and its inhabitants. And if you’re a fan of Martin Scorsese’s work, this is the film that put him on the map. Taxi Driver (1976), directed by Martin Scorsese.
This week, we watch an under-appreciated film from last year that is, as of today, streaming on Netflix. This movie isn’t on the top 250…but hey, we’re all stuck inside (the responsible ones, anyways - looking at you idiots packing in public pools), and is perfect if you’re looking for fictional stress to overtake your real life stress. Adam Sandler arguably gives his best performance to date, and Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd are written in as themselves in very cool cameos, if you can call it that. Uncut Gems (2019), directed by the Safdie Brothers (Benny and Josh).
This week, we start a new format - every other week, we’ll be watching a more recent addition to the top 250 movies of all time list, and we’ll try to make them as easily stream-able for everyone as possible (stuck inside, together!). This week’s movie is currently 185 on the top 250 list, and is streaming on Netflix. If you’re looking for something fun to watch in this new world we live in, strongly consider this comedy/mystery film from India. Andhadhun (2018), directed Sriram Raghavan.
This week, we watch the classic noir that has a “bad guy” as the protagonist for the first time in Hollywood film history. A man finds himself in the positions of both the investigator and the person being investigated in an insurance fraud scheme. Even though the film tells you who is the murderer is within the first five minutes, it manages to keep you guessing until the end. Double Indemnity (1944), directed by Billy Wilder.
This week, we watch the best picture winning film about two Con-Artists going in together to pull off a huge grift. Those two men happen to be Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The Duo’s on-screen charisma shines yet again, and while it might not be setting out to do anything but entertain, it does so in spades, and amounts to a ride worth taking. The Sting (1973), directed by George Roy Hill.
This week, we watch the Lock, Stock……and Two Smoking Barrels: Part 2. This time with Brad Pitt. It’s probably a good time to make sure your subtitles button works. Snatch (2000), directed by Guy Richie.
This week, we watch Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce in their first Hollywood roles. Both actors drop their Australian accents for this modern take on the Noir genre. Gone are the hard shadows and silly voices of the genre’s classics, but the numerous locations and plot twists remain. LA Confidential (1997), directed by Curtis Hanson.
This week, we watch the second installment in the Man-With-No-Name Trilogy (sandwiched between A Fist Full of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly). This film helped Clint Eastwood further catapult himself into stardom, launch a fully fledged international film industry in Italy, and push the boundary of allowable violence in film a few years ahead all across the world, as evidence by it being X rated even with multiple scenes cut and edited down. For a Few Dollars More (1965), directed by Sergio Leone.
This week, we watch the controversial Netflix best picture hopeful that reunites De Niro and Scorsese, De Niro and Pacino, De Niro and Pesci, De Niro and Keitel… you might want to call it a 3.5 hour reunion tour from Scorsese, but the emotional retrospective weight of the characters makes this one of the most impactful of all his films. The Irishman (2019), directed by Martin Scorsese.
This week, we watch the film that broke Japanese cinema onto the worlds stage. Revolutionary for its time, its non-linear story telling has influenced not only film, but criminal psychology as well, as lawyers and academics alike have referenced the theories presented here for the past 70 years. Rashomon (1950), directed by Akira Kurosawa.
This week, we watch the story of Tony Montana, a cuban refugee who builds an empire from blood and cocaine. Al Pacino’s performance is memorable, lastingly quotable, and somewhat off the rails. He also sacrificed his nostrils health by snorting large amounts of powdered milk. Scarface (1983), directed by Brian De Palma.
This week, we watch the film that launched Jack Nicholson into stardom while creating perhaps the best film noir of all time, decades after the genre left the mainstream. With a chaotic shoot, and uncertainty about the quality of the film until its 11 Academy Award nominations, it remains fascinating to watch the mystery of the films story unravel with Mr. Gittes. Chinatown (1974), directed by Roman Polanski.
This week, we watch the film that is remember for its amazing and ground breaking bank-heist-turned-shootout in the streets of Los Angeles. Starring an angry Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer’s ponytail, and Nicholas Cage impersonating Al Pacino. Heat (1995), directed by Michael Mann.
This week, we watch the classic Alfred Hitchcock adaptation of the stage play about organizing and attempting the murder of a cheating wife. Great acting and fun plot twists keep this film entertaining throughout, which is a feat, given that the film takes place almost entirely in just one room. And we hope you like dialogue. Dial M For Murder, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
