Sea of Love (1989)
[7] Al Pacino stars as a New York detective working with John Goodman to solve a series of murders -- all men shot in the back of the head, face down on their beds, presumably by a woman out for…
Goodfellas (1990)
[8] Director Martin Scorsese (Mean Streets, Raging Bull) returns to the gangster subgenre that made him a household name. Goodfellas is based on the true story of Henry Hill, a Brooklyn youth who quit his primary education to start working…
The Basketball Diaries (1995)
[5] Leonardo DiCaprio gives a strong early-career performance in this film based on the life of Jim Carroll, a promising young basketball player and writer whose life was derailed by drug addition in the late '60s and early '70s. The…
Raw Deal (1986)
[6] The star power of Arnold Schwarzenegger elevates this standard, direct-to-video-style 80s action flick from the low end of mediocrity. Arnold plays a small town sheriff enticed by an FBI agent (Darren McGavin) to infiltrate a powerful Chicago mafia. Once…
The Sting (1973)
[7] Robert Redford and Paul Newman play Chicago con artists who team up to bankrupt a crime boss (Robert Shaw) who authorized the killing of Redford's grifting partner. Several other con artists join in on the elaborate betting scheme, which…
Frisco Kid (1935)
[4] James Cagney (The Public Enemy, The Mayor of Hell) stars as an aimless sailor who makes a name for himself in 1850s San Francisco, running bars and casinos on the notoriously violent Barbary Coast. He falls in love with…
Striptease (1996)
[4] Demi Moore received a whopping $12.5 million to appear topless in this film about a woman who starts strip-dancing to make ends meet after a judge grants full custody of her young daughter (played well by Moore's real life…
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
[7] Michael Rooker (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) gives a chilling performance in this gritty, 16mm film based loosely on the confessions of convicted murderer Henry Lee Lucas. As Henry, Rooker lives in a dingy apartment with a…
10 to Midnight (1983)
[7] Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven) headlines this above-average low-budget thriller about a veteran L.A. cop in pursuit of a serial killer who stalks women in the nude. Early in the film, Bronson tells his boss (Wilford Brimley) that the…
Invisible Stripes (1939)
[7] George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden star in this better-than-average gangster flick. Raft and Bogart play convicts just released from prison. Raft reunites with his mother (Flora Robson) and younger brother (Holden) and tries to start a clean,…