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Gary Giddins recommended The Third Man (1949) in Movies (curated)

The Third Man (1949)

1949 | Thriller

8.0

(9 Ratings)

Movie Favorite

"“In what ca-TEG-ory would you put Mr. James Joyce?” Or, for that matter, this film? Among other things, I’d call it the best gangster picture ever made. Orson Welles got the most mileage from it (including a radio spin-off that recast the swinish Harry Lime as a good-natured rogue), a renown I find difficult to fathom, given the superb ensemble work by Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, Bernard Lee, Wilfred Hyde-White, and a doctor who pronounces his name VINK-el. Carol Reed’s direction makes the most of every incident, and the whole package is tied up with one of the best musical scores ever."

Source

Kudos

Michael Imperioli recommended Rififi (1955) in Movies (curated)

Rififi (1955)

1955 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

(0 Ratings)

Movie Favorite

"Jules Dassin was an American filmmaker who moved to Paris to escape Joseph McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and the rest of the HUAC thugs. In the City of Lights he managed to make the most French gangster film and best heist movie ever. The actual break-in and robbery scene (based on a real burglary in Marseille at the turn of the century) happens over an astoundingly tense twenty-six minutes of silence. It is unforgettable. Dassin himself plays the role of the Italian safecracker Cesar under the pseudonym Perlo Vita and showed himself to be as adept in front of the camera as he was behind it."

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Kudos

Europa Blues

Arne Dahl

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A Greek gangster arrives in Stockholm, only to be murdered in a macabre fashion at Skansen zoo, his...

Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Gentlemen (2020) in Movies

Jan 6, 2020 (Updated Jan 6, 2020)

The Gentlemen (2020)

2020 | Action, Crime

8.1

(34 Ratings)

Movie Rating

A funny angle

Gentleman is Guy Richie's attempt to bring the british gangster movies from the past back into the modern time and while it may just be an updated version of Snatch its a bloody enjoyable update. It seems like years ago now since I grew out of the 'British Gangster' film phase of my life and while I actaully find Snatch to be over rated myself instead much preferring Guy Richie's other work I can still understand why it has such a big following. Gentleman follows the same formula either deliberately or coincidentally and while this does feel repetative/outdated I couldnt help but be pulled in and deliciously entertained by it. Playing out a bit like reading a comic book Gentleman is satisfyingly violent, full of cusing/crudness and full of mostly satisfying twists and turns. At first I hated it but after the first 20 minutes I just let go and finally started getting back in to this sort of style. Full to the brim with exposition dialog but its handled in a refreshing new way which made hearing it less eye rolling and instead kept it constantly entertaining. Essentially one big power struggle between an assortment of characters non of which are actually very nice people but the ones Hugh Grant and Charlie hunnam play are extremely likeable. Watching these two interact on screen is the absolute bread and butter and they both play interesting characters both with very unique individual traits and characteristics. Colin Farrell is also superb and memorable too and the film has a wicked sense of humor that kept me laughing the whole way through. If you are easily offended its safe to say this is not the film for you as its not only full of extreame cursing but constant racism and violence too. By no means a perfect film or a gangster masterpiece Gentleman is still and absolute blast to watch and has enough twists/turns, quirky characters, witty dialog, fresh ideas, tension, violence/mucking about to entertain and offend pretty much anyone. Highly enjoyable.

Kudos

Grand gangs in Sun Andreas

Games

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

Welcome to Sun Andreas, crime capital of America! Roll up on a dangerous new trip through the crime...

Paul McGuigan recommended Requiem for a Dream (2000) in Movies (curated)

"Requiem for a Dream is a really interesting film. It changed my idea of what people really wanted to see. Because I came from the UK, as a European film director, it was interesting to see how American studios or financiers were really into European cinema. They would always quote certain movies that I made that nobody else had seen — like Gangster No. 1. I was amazed, like, ‘Wow, you’ve actually seen that movie?’ And it dawned on me that people in America aren’t that dumb after all, you know? They’re kind of smart — much smarter than I was about movies. And when I saw Requiem for a Dream, I understood it. This guy got cash, he got money, to make this movie. It’s quite a hard movie to actually sell — can you imagine trying to sell that movie? And for that alone I think Aronofsky is a genius. I like what he does. I even liked The Fountain. The Wrestler is a great movie; I think Pi is a genius piece of work. I think he deserves a lot of praise. For people like me, who come from Europe and go to America and think nobody’s going to know what I’ve done, I’m a struggling filmmaker, and then suddenly you go into a studio and the head exec is like, ‘Gangster No. 1, I loved that film, it had this and that person in it…’ They see everything. I was quite cheered by that."

Source

Kudos

Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Elmet in Books

Sep 30, 2017

Elmet

Fiona Mozley | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Grim, intense and brutal

This is a rather disturbing and intense book, written in the point of a view of a young teenage boy, who describes his life and how he has ended up homeless and in search of his sister. It is a rather grim look at some aspects of British gangster culture, a feudal system, with a landowner exploiting the vulnerable through violent means.

It is gory, and grim for the majority of the book, which describes the boy living with a father, a hired thug who has escaped that lifestyle, and a scrappy sister, living off the grid. It is well written, even though I don't think it is Man Booker Prize worthy.