Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

[7] Two Boston detectives try to solve the mystery of a missing girl in this tight dramatic thriller from director Ben Affleck. Yeah, Ben Affleck. Who knew? Strong performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan. I like how…
Tightrope (1984)

Tightrope (1984)

[5] Clint Eastwood plays a detective (who isn't Dirty Harry) assigned to a case involving a serial rapist and murderer whose victims begin to include Eastwood's acquaintances. This is a paint-by-numbers serial killer movie, full of all the old cliches…
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

[7] Young Holmes meets young Watson in prep school and the two solve a mystery involving an ancient Egyptian cult that is killing members of a secret society and sacrificing virgins in ceremony! Unfortunately, the mystery isn't very engaging and…
Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

[6] A CIA researcher tries to avoid multiple assassins until he learns who he can trust in this well-made suspense thriller that prophesied the current oil crisis and the wars therein. Robert Redford carries the movie superbly as always, and…
Dragonwyck (1946)

Dragonwyck (1946)

[6] Writer/producer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) made his directorial debut with Dragonwyck, a gothic romance with a dash of horror/suspense. Gene Tierney plays a farm girl summoned by a distant relative to help…
M (1931)

M (1931)

[7] Peter Lorre gives a star-making performance as a child murderer running from both the law and the criminal underground in this stylish early 'talkie' from Fritz Lang (Metropolis). As much as I love both Lang and Lorre, M is…
A Night to Remember (1958)

A Night to Remember (1958)

[7] If you've only seen James Cameron's telling of the R.M.S. Titanic's tragic 1912 sinking, you might be surprised how much that film owes to this earlier British version directed by Hammer and Amicus alum Roy Ward Baker (Scars of…
To Catch a Thief (1955)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

[7] Cary Grant stars as an ex-jewel thief trying to clear his name after precious jewels start disappearing in the French Riviera. This outing for Alfred Hitchcock succeeds more in character than in suspense set pieces, though you'll get some…
Dark Country (2009)

Dark Country (2009)

[5] While traveling through the desert, newlyweds pick up a car-wreck survivor who plunges them into a night of suspicion and suspense. Thomas Jane (The Mist, Hung) makes his directorial debut with Dark Country. On one hand, I admire his…
Red Dragon (2002)

Red Dragon (2002)

[7] While it lacks the pervasive chill that runs through The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon is a well-made thriller that engages from beginning to end, thanks to a briskly-paced script adaptation by Ted Tally (who won an Oscar…