In Bruges (2008)

In Bruges (2008)

[8] Writer/director Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri) explores the human side of hit-men in his darkly comic, occasionally horrific feature film debut. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as hired guns waiting in idyllic Bruges, Belgium, for their…
Strange Days (1995)

Strange Days (1995)

[8] Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett star in this tech-noir thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, The Hurt Locker) and writer James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar). It's late in the year 1999 (four years into the future for when the…
The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

[6] Barbara Stanwyck stars in this murder mystery romp about a socialite who enlists her girlfriends to help her find a dead body she discovered, but which went missing before the police arrived at her calling. The police think she's…
Best Laid Plans (1999)

Best Laid Plans (1999)

[7] Alessandro Nivola (Junebug, Jurassic Park III) stars with Reese Witherspoon and Josh Brolin in this ever-unfolding mystery/drama about a plan to steal money that goes horribly awry. Nivola plays a minimum wage worker desperate to escape his life, but…
Safe in Hell (1931)

Safe in Hell (1931)

[6] Director William Wellman (Wings, Battleground) opens Safe in Hell with the title in flames, and I interpret that to mean, "Buckle up for melodrama." Dorothy Mackaill stars as a woman who hits hard times in New Orleans while her…
The Watcher (2000)

The Watcher (2000)

[2] James Spader and Keanu Reeves star in this tired, busily boring, and wretchedly made thriller about a serial killer who likes to play games with the FBI agent on his trail. I can't fault Spader for doing his best…
Matchstick Men (2003)

Matchstick Men (2003)

[8] Nicolas Cage stars as a neurotic con artist whose life is turned upside down when his teenaged daughter (Alison Lohman) enters his life and distracts him while he's pulling off a big heist with his protégé (Sam Rockwell). While…
Bronson (2008)

Bronson (2008)

[7] Tom Hardy stars as Michael Peterson, one of Britain's most notorious prisoners, in this film from director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives). The film starts in 1974 with Peterson's attempt to rob a post office with a…
Nightmare Honeymoon (1974)

Nightmare Honeymoon (1974)

[6] Dack Rambo and Rebecca Dianna Smith star as a young couple who playfully escape their wedding party and retreat to a hotel in the Louisiana bayou where they accidentally witness a murder and become the killers' next targets. After…
McQ (1974)

McQ (1974)

[5] John Wayne gave up the lead in 1971's Dirty Harry and came to regret it. McQ is his attempt to get in on the vigilante cop craze, playing a cop who starts out investigating the murder of a friend…