rajivramaratnam
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Movie Review: Stormy Monday (1988)
‘Stormy Monday’, directed by Mike Figgis and starring Sean Bean, Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sting, set in Newcastle, England, is a great little British neo-noir movie. The film’s title is taken from T-Bone Walker’s famous number, “Call it Stormy Monday”. The storyline where a small bar owner stands his ground against a powerful Read more
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Movie Review: Harper (1966)
Delightful is not a word typically associated with neo-noir movies, but Harper, starring Paul Newman and directed by Jack Smight, is a delightful, funny, and intriguing watch. The movie is based on the 1949 book, ‘The Moving Target’, by Ross Macdonald. The film’s superb screenplay comes from legendary screenwriter William Goldman. The plot of the Read more
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Movie Review: Compliance (2012)
Compliance, written, produced, and directed by Craig Zobel, is an interesting, hard-hitting, and disturbing crime thriller. Its message serves as a warning about the impact of fearing authority to the point of indiscriminately submitting to it without any forethought. If you, like me, think that this could not happen, especially in the United States, you Read more
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Movie Review: Memento (2000)
“Memento” is a neo-noir work of art from director Christopher Nolan. The plot of the movie is non-linear and moves across two parallel lines. One line of the plot is in color, where each part is presented in reverse chronological order. The other line is in black and white and told chronologically. In the climax, Read more
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Movie Review: Angel Heart (1987)
Directed by Alan Parker and based on the book Fallen Angel by William Hjortsberg, Angel Heart is a psychological thriller neo-noir that packs horror and supernatural elements. The cast of the film includes Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, and Charlotte Rampling. It begins in the vein of classic noir, where a private eye Read more
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Movie review: Fargo (1996)
“Fargo” is a superb neo-noir black comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen that packs a riveting plot and a stellar ensemble cast. Set in Fargo, North Dakota, in the late 1980s, the movie claims to be based on real events. The plot is the tale of an unscrupulous car dealer who hires two goons to Read more
Bay Area Bloke 