Crime

  • Solveig Nordlund – Dina e Django (1981)

    1981-1990CrimeDramaPortugalSolveig Nordlund
    Dina e Django (1981)
    Dina e Django (1981)

    Synopsis
    Dina (Maria Santiago) is a teenager brought up by her grandmother, employed as a housekeeper for a fairly well-off family. Since Dina only has her grandmother, she spends her time fantasizing about her life and reading comic-book love stories – activities that do nothing to improve her dim perspective of reality. Due to these handicaps and her own inexperience, she gets involved with Django (Luis Lucas), a shady character who decides to use her as bait to attract men and then rob them. One day when both are in a taxi with robbery in mind, the driver gets suspicious so Django shoots him, and so does Dina. She escapes and runs away – though it seems like she has learned too little too late. This story unfolds against a time of upheaval in Portugal (mid-1970s) when the military government is formulating a constitution and social changes are happening everywhere.Read More »

  • Steven Shainberg – Hit Me (1996)

    1991-2000CrimeSteven ShainbergUSA
    Hit Me (1996)
    Hit Me (1996)

    Sonny lives with his intellectually disabled older brother and works as a bellhop at a second-rate hotel. This changes when Monique, a beautiful and suicidal nutcase, checks in. Sonny is offered a part in a heist that goes wrong.

    This film is based on the book A Swell-Looking Babe by Jim Thompson.Read More »

  • John Woo – Laat sau sen taan aka Hard-Boiled (1992)

    John Woo1991-2000ActionCrimeHong Kong

    Quote:
    It is almost impossible to review Hard Boiled and at the same time avoid the bottomless anus-bowl of cliches that surround it. I’m sure it’s been described as “a high octane thrill ride”, and even on the box it says Hard Boiled is “an action fan’s dream”. This is all true, but plain and simple it is just a damn awesome movie. I am at a loss for bad things to say about it. Not many movies get me as pumped up as Hard Boiled does. It uses an arsenal of well executed techniques to draw the viewer into each and every action sequence. Woo also manages to craft these explosive scenes so that he actually makes you feel stupid if you miss something cool. There are many small and beautiful things going on during all of the crimson waterworks that you may not notice the first time through. One image that really stuck out to me was during the first action scene in the teahouse. There is a shot of someone getting blasted in the leg. The bullet goes through a table first, so you get this foreground picture of the table’s leg busting in two as the man’s leg snaps right behind it. It is really fantastic in that it was totally unnecessary.Read More »

  • Jean Becker – Un nommé La Rocca AKA A Man Called Rocca (1961) (HD)

    Jean Becker1961-1970CrimeDramaFrance
    Un nommé La Rocca (1961) (HD)
    Un nommé La Rocca (1961) (HD)

    Roberto La Rocca (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is an ex-gangster whose friend Xavier (Pierre Vaneck) has been unjustly thrown in prison. Indeed, local gang leader Villanova is the one who framed Xavier. La Rocca confronts the mobster and kills him. Later, while helping his mistress (Beatrice Altariba) to fight off an American gang of racketeers, Roberto is caught by the police and is put in the same prison with Xavier. Then the two volunteer to clear land mines left from the last war, hoping to receive a pardon and to buy a quiet farm.Read More »

  • Tat-Chi Yau & Johnnie To – Fai seung dat yin AKA Expect the Unexpected (1998)

    Tat-Chi Yau1991-2000ActionCrimeJohnnie To
    Fai seung dat yin (1998)
    Fai seung dat yin (1998)

    In this “cops and robbers” film, a raid on a jewelry store staged by a band of amateur hold-up artists goes horribly wrong, leading to a shoot-out. The elite Organized Crime Bureau team, headed by Captain Ching King Gen, is poised to go into action at a moment’s notice. Working as a unit, they bring law and order to Hong Kong streets, where they must rely on their courage and skills to survive.Read More »

  • Jim O’Connolly – Smokescreen (1964)

    1961-1970CrimeDramaJim O'ConnollyUnited Kingdom
    The Hi Jackers (1963)
    The Hi Jackers (1963)

    A fastidious insurance assessor investigates a potential case of insurance fraud in Brighton and uncovers a murder.Read More »

  • Jim O’Connolly – The Hi-Jackers (1963)

    Jim O'Connolly1961-1970CrimeDramaUnited Kingdom
    The Hi Jackers (1963)
    The Hi Jackers (1963)

    Quote:
    Terry is a self-employed lorry driver. He meets Shirley at a roadside cafe and later offers her a lift. On the way his truck with a valuable shipment of whiskey is hijacked on a quiet stretch of road. How did the hijackers know he was going on that route? Who tipped off the hijackers?Read More »

  • Christoph Hochhäusler – Bis ans Ende der Nacht AKA Till the End of the Night (2023)

    Christoph Hochhäusler2021-2030CrimeGermany
    Bis ans Ende der Nacht (2023)
    Bis ans Ende der Nacht (2023)

    Follows an undercover investigator infiltrating the world of a trans woman who has links to a major drug dealer and with whom he was in love under her former identity.Read More »

  • Claude Sautet – L’arme à gauche AKA The Dictator’s Guns (1965)

    1961-1970Claude SautetCrimeDramaFrance
    L'arme à gauche  (1965)
    L’arme à gauche  (1965)

    Quote:
    Jacques Cournot, a freelance skipper, is hired by Mr Hendrix in Santo Domingo, first of all to advise him regarding the acquisition of a sailing boat. After a thorough inspection of a prospective vessel, the “Dragoon”, Cournot reports his positive appraisal to Mr Hendrix and initiates the negotiations with Mrs Osborne, the owner of the craft. Barely a couple of days later, Cournot finds himself in a bind as the police questions him about the exact kind of cruise he was supposed to organize for his principal. For the “Dragoon” is gone; Mr Hendrix has disappeared; Mrs Osborne is not aware of any deal; and the corpses of mysterious individuals, victims of a violent death, are found on the beaches of Santo Domingo.Read More »

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