38. The Big Lebowski Quotable, rewatchable, is a certified cult classic. It truly should have been on my list, but it did not. Oh, well, the Dude abides.
37. Pulp Fiction This nearly took the position of the one Tarantino flick I voted for and the strongest candidate of his films for this Countdown. Very nice to see it in the thirties.
36. Dog Day Afternoon Sidney Lumet does an incredible job at a precarious acrobatic high-wire exhibition where, on a muggy Brooklyn day, an unruly mob is getting WAY out of control cheering on Al Pacino's Sonny's foiled Bank Robbery, now hostage situation as a New York Sargent (Charles Durning) frantically keeps sh#t from exploding full tilt.
35. Who Framed Roger Rabbit Bob Hoskins blends slapstick and the angry PI flawlessly. I always love watching this mix of live-action and anima-- f@ck that,
cartoons.
Coming in at #23
33. Collateral A hitman gets in a cab, fans out a sh#tload of cash, convincing the driver to take him to a few stops he needs to make-- to kill people. Tom Cruise does serious credit to the intellectual, efficient killer. A favorite popcorn-munching neo-noir of ours.
32. Heat Michael Mann basically knocks it out of the park with this taut, fast-moving heist film. The ensemble cast delivers, filling out the ranks and backstories on both sides of the law. Every box is checked off to keep me engaged throughout. It's one of the best intense bank shootouts for my money.
Coming in at #3
31. Angel Heart This film is what I would picture many of the pulp novel-adapted noir films may have been without the Hays Code trying to keep them "appropriate" cinematic viewings. I have continually enjoyed this film since I first watched it at the movie theater at its release. There is a finesse to the blending of detective and horror genres with a Faustian twist. A subtle offsetting with every interview that Harry delves into in his investigation, and with them, his every meeting with Cyphere drags him and us deeper into the underworld and away from reality.
30. Zodiac A detailed account of the journalist who continues investigating the serial killer when everyone has given up was an intriguing mystery experience for me.
Coming in at #18
26. Sin City is overtly stylized and pulp-inspired, adhering to Frank Miller's violent graphics and jam-packed with various vignettes of betrayal, revenge, and the sordid affairs of this metropolitan den of corruption and vice.
What's not to love?
25. Memories of Murder Based on a set of murders/rapes in the eighties, Director Bong Joon Ho gives us two lead detectives of two definitive ways of procedure. The first, a personal favorite actor of mine, Kang-ho Song, as Detective Park Doo-man, who, along with his partner, will fabricate evidence and literally "kick' a confession out of a suspect to close the case. And, from the Seoul department, Kim Sang-Kyung, as Detective Seo Tae-yoon, actually investigates both the dismal amount of evidence and where they truly lead. Their conflicting styles are at the core of the investigation, and from there, many of the memorable scenes stem from.
Coming in at 22
24. Dark City is one of my guaranteed placements on my list. It is a crazy mix of noir and science fiction with a hellacious amnesia premise that feels like a Twilight Zone episode and a camera style that follows the illustrations of many great graphic novels. I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy this heavily shadowed cosmos. Recently, I found a Director's Cut, which has only increased my enjoyment.
23. Le Cercle Rouge I have only seen this a couple of times, and I am very much a Melville fanboy; this is not the Melville film I went with.
Coming in at 10
20. The Usual Suspects This is another guaranteed placement. We've watched it countless times and will watch it countless more. It's serious credit to a film when having full knowledge of the Big Twist adds to the overall enjoyment. There isn't a scene in which I'm not fully invested, with a grin on my face, voicing along on my favorite lines.
19. High and Low The Winner of The Japanese Hall of Fame. From the first introduction of Gondo and his fellow Directors of the Board for the shoe company they worked for to the kidnapping, the drop-off, and the real chase: Finding the kidnapper and capturing him for a greater crime and, thereby, the harsher punishment. The final third of the film, in which they followed him as he purchased more heroin, was far more gripping than many films I've seen with similar circumstances.
Seen 48 out of 82 (58.53%)
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3. Angel Heart (1987) #31
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6. The Grifters (1990) #45
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8. Mystic River (2003) #68
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10. The Usual Suspects (1995) #20
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13. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) #42
14. Mother (2009) #67
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18. Sin City (2005) #26
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20. The Nice Guys (2016) #39
21. Inherent Vice (2014) #41
22. Dark City (1998) #24
23. Collateral (2004) #33
24.Basic Instinct (1992) #70
25. Things to do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) One-Pointer
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