The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

Another two films I think are quite good - neither made my ballot :

96. The Talented Mr. Ripley - What I like most about The Talented Mr. Ripley is the fact that although Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) was born to be a con-man, megalomaniac and liar, he's just starting out in this film and is often moved to panic. His frantic attempts at covering up crimes and finding the right lie when put on the spot makes the film so tense and exciting. He kills on the spur of the moment, and is often called out for not being the high society person he so desperately wants to be. Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Cate Blanchett shine - all four performers in their prime and young. The last time I watched it I noted that I "Loved Jude Law, who I'm enjoying more and more these days, and I miss Philip Seymour Hoffman very much. I have some sympathy for Tom Ripley - it's easy to forget he's a murderer, for his crimes come at the expense of a wealthy elite who hardly deserve the advantages they have." Good inclusion - I can't tell if it's neo-noir or not, but I'm sure that will be tossed about here.

95. Shallow Grave - Saw this back when it came out, and probably one other time before catching up with it on the neo-noir Hall of Fame a little while ago. It's one of those films that starts with a really light tone which gets progressively darker and darker until it's three characters are basically in hell and trying to kill each other. A word of mouth movie that kind of helped to usher in the period of British crime/gangster films the likes of Guy Ritchie would make - one of those "what would you do if you found a suitcase full of cash" movies like A Simple Plan (we could perhaps see that film here later.) I like it's energetic score, fast pace and eccentric characters who are pretty much horrible people from the moment we meet them belittling potential flat-mates. Just so you know - they had it coming. Very good British crime film.

Seen : 4/6
Heard of : 5/6

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Talented Mr. Ripley is a slow burn, almost overly meticulous tale, but like other films with these qualities that ultimately win me over, in the end it has something that resonates with me and keeps me thinking about it. Not easy to sit through but worth the ride.

Need to see Shallow Grave as like Boyle's work well enough.

no votes. mostly think these are good, but didn't care for talented mr. ripley.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

While I can see that happening for me as well, I also have a feeling that there's going to be a few films on the Countdown that I would have voted for had I thought about them when making my shortlist. Films I wouldn't immediately say are neo-noir myself, but once I see them come up and think about them a little harder, the justification is there. And I'm looking forward to discovering what those films are going to be.

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It's such a vaguely defined style that it was unavoidable, I guess. And I suppose that has been the biggest challenge for everyone. For the hosts, in terms of setting up boundaries and eligibility requirements, and for everybody, in terms of selecting from such a vaguely defined pool of films.

I mentioned it before, but for what it's worth, part of what I'm trying to include in the mini-reviews I'm linking, are articles and reviews of people that saw each film as neo-noir and their reasonings for it. So I suppose it's a way to try to put ourselves in their perspective and see what they saw.

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I've seen both of the two latest entries. Never considered Ripley for my ballot, but Shallow Grave was on and off my ballot a couple of times as I finalized it, but ultimately didn't make the cut. If I had re-watched it recently, it probably would have made it.

4/6 seen so far.

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