Neo Noir
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Movie Review: Cold in July (2014)
Today, we will look at “Cold in July,” a modest neo-noir independent movie directed by Jim Mickle, based on a book by the same name authored by Joe R. Lansdale. Michael C. Hall of “Dexter” fame, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson play the film’s lead characters. The plot of “Cold in July” is set in Read more
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Movie Review: The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
‘The Spanish Prisoner’ is a deliciously wicked film noir directed by David Mamet, who also wrote the film’s screenplay. Like the first movie he directed, ‘House of Games’, this movie also tells the story of con men playing games. Mamet received the Edgar Allan Poe award for this movie’s screenplay. Do you remember getting an Read more
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Movie Review: Cutter’s Way (1981)
‘Cutter’s Way’ is an overlooked neo-noir gem, directed by Ivan Passer, based on the book ‘Cutter and Bone’ by Newton Thornburg. When first released as ‘Cutter and Bone’, the movie did not fare well and hence was renamed ‘Cutter’s Way’. (It probably would have done well as ‘Bone Cutter’, but then again, this may have Read more
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Movie Review: The Two Jakes (1990)
Sixteen years after the neo-noir classic Chinatown came this sequel, with Jack Nicholson reprising his role as the gritty sleuth, Jake Gittes. This project was delayed in production for years, until Nicholson himself took over as its director. While it failed at the box office and some critics panned it as clunky, others like me Read more
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Movie Review: Nightcrawler (2014)
Nightcrawler is a standout neo-noir movie from director Dan Gilroy, who also wrote its screenplay. It is a cynical look at our insatiable need for sensational news to temporarily distract ourselves with news inundated with violence and mayhem, news that does not necessarily enrich us. The movie is set in the 2010s, a time when Read more
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Movie Review: Drive (2011)
“Drive,” directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and based on a book of the same name by James Sallis, is another movie that makes the list of the best Neo-Noir movies of all time. With Ryan Gosling as its protagonist, supported by a stellar supporting cast, a superb screenplay by Hossein Amini, alluring cinematography by Newton Read more
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