Crime

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Paul Schrader’s directorial debut examines the trials of Detroit autoworkers living at the mercy of a heartless corporation and a corrupt union. Surviving from paycheck to paycheck, Checker Cab assembly linemen Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) scrape by and take pleasure in a few rounds of beer or bowling (and occasional illicit amusements). But when their money troubles pile up, Jerry and Smokey join Zeke in a desperate plan to steal cash from their local union office. Along with a piddling $600, they unexpectedly swipe evidence of union corruption.Read More »

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In the forties and the fifties,Henry Decoin’s forte was the film noir:”non coupable” which remains ignored today might be his masterpiece,but there are other interesting works such as “la vérité sur Bébé Donge”or “les inconnus dans la maison” .The almost documentary approach of “Razzia sur la chnouff” (about drugs) seems modern even today.And some works which are difficult to see (“Maléfices” “Bonnes à tuer” and “tous peuvent me tuer” probably deserve to be watched).Read More »

New Beverly Cinema writes:
Charlie (Mickey Rourke) is a restaurant manager and small-time hustler aspiring for more. Paulie (Eric Roberts) is his desperate, hotheaded cousin who thinks he may have just found it: the easiest money they’ll ever make, and it’s just sitting there! But the heist goes sour and attracts the ire of local mobsters. These two goombahs are taking huge risks, and their Little Italy lives start to feel a whole lot bigger. An irreverent coming-of-age tale and urban jungle crime story, The Pope of Greenwich Village captures the sensory experience of New York City, from the cut of a nice suit to wailing police sirens to the feeling of fifty thousand dollars right in your hand.Read More »

G.I. Nick Blake, a never charged con man in his pre-military life, has just received an honorable discharge from the army on medical reasons. Rather than return to his old life, he plans to settle down in New York, his hometown, with his girlfriend Toni Blackburn and the small cache of money he amassed prior to the war: $50,000. When that plan does not pan out, he decides to head to Los Angeles with his con man friend Al Doyle and live it up until he decides on a more permanent course for his life. He is informed by Pop Gruber, an aging mentor doing solely penny-ante street cons now in L.A., of a potential big mark. Doc Ganson, a former con associate, found the mark, lonely widow Gladys Halvorsen worth $2 million, but does not have either the bankroll or the charms to carry out the con on Gladys himself.Read More »

Synopsis:
While serving in World War I, mild-mannered Jimmy (Franchot Tone) strikes up an unlikely friendship with outspoken Fred (Spencer Tracy), but an Army nurse named Rose (Gladys George) comes between them. While Fred ends up in a POW camp, Jimmy makes a courageous turn in battle, thus winning Rose’s love. Unfortunately, after the war ends, Jimmy still yearns for the thrill of combat. Without an outlet, it isn’t long before he willingly enters the seedy criminal underbelly of New York City.Read More »

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Ed Novak, a two-bit bookie, goes to prison rather than squeal on his Syndicate higher-ups. Novak’s silence exacts a toll on his wife Frances, who is expecting a child. The longer Novak remains in prison, the more he becomes aware that the mob has deserted him — and the more he’s willing to spill what he knows. Fellow prisoner Steve Marlin intends to see that Novak keeps his mouth shut permanently.Read More »

Synopsis:
In the late nineteenth century, Ellen Creed works as the live-in companion to Miss Leonora Fiske, a retired actress who lives in the English countryside and who still retains her theatrical mannerisms. Ellen receives notice that the landlady of her two sisters, Emily Creed and Louisa Creed, who currently live in London, is threatening to call the police to haul them away to an asylum because of their disruptive behavior due to their mentally deranged state. Ellen will not allow her sisters to be institutionalized, and convinces Miss Fiske to allow them to stay with them for a couple of days. Miss Fiske was unaware of their deranged mental state when she agreed and is also unaware that Ellen hopes to make their stay permanent.Read More »

Synopsis:
Holmes is hired by Roland Carstairs to prevent the theft of the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond owned by Carstairs’ mother, Lady Margaret. Believing the diamond will be stolen on a train trip from London to Edinburgh, Holmes deftly switches diamonds with Lady Margaret while in her compartment. Soon after, Roland is murdered and the fake diamond is stolen. Red herrings abound as Holmes, aided by Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade, discover the murderer’s hiding place and deduce that long-time foe Moriarty’s henchman Colonel Sebastian Moran is somehow involved in the crime.Read More »

Criterion wrote:

Revanche begins with a reflection of trees in a lake at twilight. They’re seen upside down—an image of nature reversed—yet the earth is eerily calm. This almost otherworldly illusion arouses a viewer’s awareness of perspective, which is then disturbed by the splash of an object tossed into the middle of the lake. Widening ripples shatter the impression of stillness, and a genuine sense of mystery sets in. Such an intimation of the supernatural typifies Austrian writer-director Götz Spielmann’s unique vision in this film.Read More »