The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

Registered User

04-02-24

I remember really liking Blast of Silence, but it felt inauthentic to include a movie on my list that my memory is very sketchy on. I think I only remember the end.

Nice pick with Lost Highway. Didn't even think of it, but I think it's probably better that his Mulholland Drive which I suspect will be right at the top of this list.

I must have included Naked Kiss. Just the opening two minutes should be enough for it to be considered one of the greatest movies ever made.

crumbsroom

Registered User

04-02-24

True Romance is fun, but disposable

The Grifters is decent but disposable.

Simple Plan is the kind of movie that should be decent and fun but disposable, but the three central performances give it staying power. Especially the guy whose name I don't know. He has a beard I think. Or maybe not.

Oh no, maybe my brain ended up disposing of this one by mistake.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

04-02-24

Originally Posted by Thief

While we revel in the glory that is Mac and Me, why don't you try your hand on this game?

Neo-Noir Movies Picture Click I

Let us know how you do!

I did horrible. I only got 4 out of 15. Why only 15? I had to pass on 5 as there were 5 titles I hadn't heard of.

Hey Fredrick

Registered User

04-02-24

When I saw the reveal for A Simple Plan and The Grifters I thought "Ooh, two from my ballot.' Wrong! Somehow I forgot about A Simple Plan. I know it was on early versions of my ballot but it's nowhere to be found today. Would have been in the teens.

The Grifters I didn't forget about and is in my top 25 at 24. I've seen it a couple times and should have watched it again before submitting my ballot because I think I have it too low.

stillmellow

Msg

Basic Non-B

04-02-24

Originally Posted by Thief

While we revel in the glory that is Mac and Me, why don't you try your hand on this game?

Neo-Noir Movies Picture Click I

Let us know how you do!

12 out of 15. That was very fun! Thank you!

04-02-24

8lists92points

Blade Runner 2049

Director

Denis Villeneuve, 2017

Starring

Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Sylvia Hoeks, Ana de Armas

04-02-24

9lists92points

To Live and Die in L.A.

Director

William Friedkin, 1985

Starring

William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer

Thief

Master of None

04-02-24

TRAILERS

Blade Runner 2049 - A new blade runner from Los Angeles uncovers a secret that can plunge society into chaos, forcing him to track down Rick Deckard, a former blade runner that has been missing for 30 years.

To Live and Die in L.A. - A reckless Secret Service agent sets out to seek revenge at all costs from a dangerous counterfeiter responsible for the murder of his partner. will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.

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Thief

Master of None

04-02-24

Watched To Live and Die in L.A. for the first time early last year for a MoFo HoF and liked it quite a bit. I think it has a lot of effective mood and atmosphere that fits this list perfectly. You can check out my full review here, but here's an excerpt:

"Despite some of the issues stated above, I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the dark and gritty approach to things, and Friedkin did a solid job directing. It's worth mentioning that there's a particularly intense car chase that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The script has some issues, but a lot of the dialogue is sharp and cool, and there is a twist towards the end that's bound to make you go 'what?!' "

I had it at #24.

I saw Blade Runner 2049 a while ago and remember liking it a lot. However, I should've probably revisit it cause it's not a film that has stuck with me; at least as much as others.

SEEN: 35/58
MY BALLOT: 10/25

My ballot

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

04-02-24

Originally Posted by cricket

I got 15/15 but most here will

I guess I'm not most

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

I did horrible. I only got 4/15. I had to pass on 5 as there were 5 titles I hadn't heard of.

Allaby

I love musicals!

04-02-24

I really liked Blade Runner 2049 and thought it was a meticulously well crafted and sharply executed epic film, masterfully directed. It just missed out on my ballot, but I'm glad it made the countdown. I didn't enjoy To Live and Die in L.A. The story didn't really interest me. I wasn't engaged and couldn't really care about the characters. The film dragged on for me and felt longer than it was.

Seen: 45/58

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

04-02-24

I didn't care for Blade Runner 2049 too much.

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)

...I had heard a lot of great things about BR2049 and about Villeneuve's vision for the film...

But I have to say: I was underwhelmed by it. I'm not hating on it, and thank goodness it wasn't stupid, and let's face it, it could have easily been a cheesy sequel that dumped all over the original...But it didn't do that, in fact it paid homage to the original Blade Runner and to the original novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I got a kick out of seeing Gaff (Edward James Olmos)...and I knew when I seen his hands working under the table that he was making one of those infamous origami characters. But boy was I surprised when I seen it was a sheep, ha! Loved that nod to the novel. And I loved that Atari sign, a nod to the original film...as was the Pris like character, Mariette (get it? mariette)...

I had expected an introspective-existential deep film, but I didn't see anything deep. The story line itself wasn't that interesting, and the characters for the most part had no soul. I mean Ryan Gosling as K was decent and I liked him, but there wasn't much there. No inner conflict, no self awareness awakening (even though that was the theme of the movie) I never felt, that K felt anything too deep.

Jarred Leto as Wallace was rather predictable. I swear he was doing an imitation of Weyoun from Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Only not nearly as good as Jefferey Combs did it. Oh, and not impressed with the recreation of Rachael. Was I suppose to believe that looked like Rachael? Not even close. Hell the shoes were even wrong.

Blade Runner 2049 paid due respect to the source material, but it lacked the feeling of 'world building' that Ridley Scott did so well.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

04-02-24

I liked this one better as a neo noir:

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

At the start of the film I was like, 'OK, this is all right I guess, in an 1980s type way'. The movie felt pretty much pot boiler to me, like a 2 hour movie version of Starsky and Hutch. Run of the mill type stuff. But then the movie gains speed with the abduction and accidental killing of a diamond smuggler who was actually an undercover FBI agent. That put a whole new spin on the pair of gung ho secret service crime fighters, and took the story to a higher level.

Kudos for a fresh and brave resolve to the lead secret service agent and his final resolution which felt very real. Something about the scene just felt right and satisfying.

I enjoyed the cinematography that showed us a good deal of the L.A. city scape and showed us portions of L.A. that usually aren't filmed in movies. It was awesome for me to see the San Pedro waterfront and portions of the port as I just spent the last six months binge watching The Love Boat and each episode starts with the 'Love Boat' sailing out of San Pedro with the Vincent Thomas bridge and the huge oil refineries in the background. So it was very cool to see more of those scenes here.

The chase scene. I'm not a big car chase scene type of guy but I have to say I was impressed with the huge scope of the chase down the actual streets and freeway of L.A area. I had to stop and remind myself that this was done for real and not CG. It's so easy to take these dangerous stunts in older movies in stride. But these stunts took some serious planning and were dangerous, like that semi with it's trailer skidding out of control...Now that's an OMG moment!

For all those good points, I have to say the acting was really flat. Except for DeFoe who was rock solid. I don't know who cast this movie but those actors had no business playing leads (except DeFoe). The story premise as I mentioned was good but the actual script and dialogue was uninspired which leads me think Friedkin made a good director but not such a great writer. I haven't seen many of his films but I did see Sorcerer (1977) which Cricket nominated in an HoF and that movie had characters who came alive and atmosphere and world building that one could literally feel. I didn't get that from To Live in Die in L.A.

Thief

Master of None

04-02-24

Some list facts!

The 6 point gap between yesterday's The Grifters and today's Blade Runner 2049 is the largest of the countdown so far. The second largest was 4 points between Pale Flower (#54) and Lost Highway (#55).
With To Live and Die in L.A., William Friedkin joins the group of directors with THREE (3) entries. He had Killer Joe at #66 and The French Connection at #58.
This is the 17th tie of the countdown so far. There are only four more ties left in the countdown since the second half is more spread out.

Harry Lime

BANNED FROM VIENNA

04-02-24

I was a pleasantly surprised fan of Blade Runner 2049 but it's got nothing on the original and I only had room for one Blade Runner on my list. I could go for a rewatch of 2049 though since I think I've watched the original twice since I saw 2049.

I like To Live and Die in L.A. as well but it's been a while. It's all eighties though. Gritty action eighties.

__________________
"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Torgo

Mu-Tant

04-02-24

I do love To Live and Die in L.A., which is #13 on my list. Here's something I wrote about it:

Alejandro Jodorowsky once said he makes films with his cojones. The same could be said of Friedkin for this movie, which is as gritty, sweaty, raw and, well, ballsy as they come. It's about a cat and mouse game between secret service agents Chance and Vuckovich and Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe), an artist and expert counterfeiter who has eluded capture for years. Chance (CSI's William Petersen), like The French Connection's Popeye Doyle, is a loose cannon, adrenaline junkie and a classic Friedkin protagonist for how he's compelled to abandon everything he stands for to get the job done. The movie also resembles the 1971 classic in Chance's relationship to his more thoughtful, upstanding partner and for its car chase - arguably the best ever - but luckily, it's not a carbon copy of that movie (no pun intended). This one has other things on its mind, particularly how the empty pursuit of wealth characteristic of the 1980's can forgo the genuine for the artificial in all meaningful aspects of life. Aside from Masters' counterfeit bills and his predilection for burning his paintings, you see it in his tenuous relationship with his lawyer and in Chance's relationships, namely his friends-with-benefits one with informant Ruth and with Vuckovich, which is a far cry from his genuine friendship with former partner Jim. Is it also in Wang Chung's synth-heavy score? Whether it is or not, it's fantastic, not to mention a key player in maintaining the movie's stylish vibe and driving pace.

Besides its similarities to The French Connection, there are other cop movie clich�s that likely inspired National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon. Chance's former partner Jim actually says "I'm getting too old for this s***," for example. It still stands tall as one of the best crime thrillers of the '80s or any other decade. If you were to watch this movie, John Carpenter's They Live and Jack Sholder's The Hidden in an afternoon, you would learn everything there is to know about Reaganomics. However, you would also risk a testosterone overdose.

Holden Pike