Best of Harboiled Crime - 2024

For Noirvember this year I decided to do something a little different. Rather than burrow into classic and obscure noir films from the past, I wanted to watch, re-watch, and review some of 2024s crime film output. Film noir and neo-noir are slippery enough genres to get one's hands around and "hardboiled" crime might be trickier yet, but I think the following films contain sufficient explicit crime content to distinguish them from broader categories.

10. American Star - American Star is a character driven, atmospheric approach to the contemplative aging assassin canon. Gonzalo López-Gallego's reserved filmmaking places significant weight on Ian McShane's force of personality as well as beautifully desolate footage of Fuerteventrua, but I found myself willing to take the ride. McShane's Wilson is forced to wait for an anticipated target and spends his time exploring the island and interacting with both fellow travelers and the locals. Events take a turn when a fellow assassin from his past lands on the island to ensure the job is done correctly. The titular American Star refers to an actual ocean liner that wrecked off of Fuerteventura's coast and presents an object of fascination for Wilson. American Star is not a genre thrill ride but is enjoyable on its own terms if you understand what you're getting into. I found it thoughtful and lyrical and there are some wonderfully delicate scenes. The film ultimately cannot escape violence anymore than Wilson can so blood is definitely shed before the credits roll.

9. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In - Arguably more martial arts throwdown than capital "C" crime film, Soi Cheang's Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is still enough of a triad brotherhood drama to land it a spot on this list. Raymond Lam plays a mainland refugee with formidable fighting prowess who manages to find sanctuary and a surrogate family in the Kowloon Walled City. Living legend, Sammo Hung, plays an avaricious crime boss who wants to carve out his own territory in the City so he can profit on its eventual redevelopment. I sometimes struggle with 21st Century HK cinema - it's too glossy for my preferences and often leans into CGI in unfortunately ways. The Kowloon Walled City setting adds some much needed lived in texture in Twilight to contrast the larger than life action sequences. The city (naturally) needed to be recreated for the film and its labyrinthine, multistory immensity provides a interesting backdrop for the innovative, hard hitting fight sequences. Twilight does escape the gravity of reality for more of a comic/manga sensibility at times, but it's having so much fun doing so it's impossible not to get swept up in it.

8. Borderless Fog - Modern Indonesian action and horror seem to be having a moment, but Edwin's Borderless Fog largely dispenses with genre excesses to deliver a straightlaced, steely police procedural. Putri Marino plays a Jakarta detective who is travels to investigate a series of macabre killings along the Indonesian-Malaysian border. There is a unique socio-political context operating in Borderless Fog and I don't pretend to understand all of the nuances. Significant tension surrounds the Dayak people in the film and their autonomy in the face of Indonesian authority as well as the oversight of jurisdiction between Indonesia and Malaysia. Even if I don't have the context to interpret all of this - I do love a border noir and I found these details added some interesting wrinkles to the proceedings. While there is nothing overtly supernatural in Borderless Fog - it is still very dark, mysterious, and even strange at times. I found myself hooked into it immediately and it also features multiple severed heads for anyone questioning its hardboiled bona fides.

7. LaRoy, Texas - Shane Atkinson makes his feature debut with a Texas noir trip down to Coen Bros. territory. LaRoy is a ranging detective story starring John Magaro as a depressed hardware store manager (Ray) who is mistaken for a traveling hitman (Dylan Baker) and slips into a knotty conspiracy of infidelity, blackmail, murder, and betrayal. Steve Zahn plays a wannabe detective sporting a bolo tie and an oversized cowboy hat who bullies Ray into investigating the mystery only to sink further into trouble. None of this is strikingly original territory but it's rendered exceedingly well. Buoyed by a terrific ensemble - Zahn is as good here as I've ever seen him - and amidst the absurdity there's a lonesome darkness at the heart of this tale. LaRoy offers a distinctly evocative noir look - bleak earth tone days give way to expressive red and blue nights - and I believe this is cinematogrpaher Ming Jue Hu's feature debut as well.

6. The Shadow Strays - The all-violence MVP of this list. Timo Tjahjanto's epic assassin vengeance tale blends some Besson-ian plot threads into a exhaustingly brutal series of fight scenes and action set-pieces. Aurora Ribero stars as 13, a young member of an elite squad of trained killers (they're basically ninjas) known as the Shadows. After fumbling during a mission to Japan, 13 is sent back home to lay low where she becomes nearly instantaneously embroiled in a criminal conspiracy involving the kid living next door. The Shadow Strays employs only the barest skeleton of a plot or character motivations but makes up for that with a non-stop supply of gory, pulpy gangster insanity. Ribero's 13 is convincingly capable and resolute but the real fun is in the rogues' gallery of antagonists: A giggling psychopathic cop, a shotgun wielding madam, an inhuman hulk of an assassin, and spoiled rich kid sporting a gimp mask and a white Tony Montana suit. There are plenty of vfx "enhanced" sequences in Strays but the bedrock of the film is made of bone crunching fighting and stunt work. Some people definitely got set on fire to make this movie happen. At nearly two and a half hours, burnout is an understandable reaction to the marathon of onscreen mayhem and there's a postscript that I'm not sure how I feel about. Still, the action goes to such extremes that I was shaking my head in disbelief until the very end.

5. The Last Stop in Yuma County - Francis Galluppi's remarkably assured feature debut certainly shows influence from filmmakers in a similar milieu but also features a wonderfully charismatic ensemble, dark humor that actually lands, and a genuine facility for building suspense until it boils over in a thrillingly brutal climax. The early phase of the film consists of travelers stranded in a nowheresville service station/diner with a pair of fugitive bank robbers due to the lack of gas. Not everyone is aware of the criminals' true identity and this uncertainty propels much of the drama until things inevitably detonate in a satisfyingly gnarly standoff. From there ill-considered plans turn apocalyptically awful resulting in a soberingly grim conclusion. Yuma County's cast is solid all the way through featuring Jim Cummings as a anxiety ridden salesman wondering how he found himself in such a mess and Richard Brake positively exuding menace as one of the bank robbers. Yuma County is the kind of smaller, smart, stylish genre exercise I find easy to root for and I hope Galluppi turns his talents towards more crime features down the line.

4. The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon - Wong Ching-Po's The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon starts as a plausible, if high octane, action/crime thriller - gangsters, cops, foot chases through narrow corridors, bone shattering close range fisticuffs - and then takes a breath before becoming a much weirder movie. The plot is very loosely based on Zhou Chu and the Three Scourges: Ethan Juan is a notorious gangster (Chen Kui-lin) with a terminal diagnosis hanging over his head who decides to take on the other two most wanted men in Taiwan before he turns himself in or dies in the effort. The first leg of his journey is a nighttime vigilante mission where he meets a young woman essentially enslaved by his first target. The second part eschews neon lights and city streets for blinding daylight and pastoral scenes involving a spiritual organization/cult. Further mysteries are revealed before Pigeon erupts in one of the bloodiest, most nihilistic climaxes I've seen all year. It's a moment that truly harkens back to the East Asian cinematic insanity of the late 20th Century. Great, magnetic performances - not only from Juan but from the gangsters as well. Pigeon is unrelentingly violent, some of it coursing with adrenaline and other moments are startlingly abrupt. The plot certainly isn't predictable and even if the denouement goes on a little long - it hits like a ton of bricks by the end.

3. Love Lies Bleeding - Rose Glass' neon and synth drenched neo-noir revenge saga set around a New Mexico bodybuilding gym looks and sounds tremendous. It's swimming in blood, drugs, food, sweat, muscles, and guns. Irrepressibly carnal at times but also pervasively gross - including touches of body horror. Katy O'Brien's athletic stature clearly fits the needs of the story and she delivers an excellent performance as well - especially during some of the quieter moments before things get increasingly heightened. Kristen Stewart continues to be a supremely compelling screen presence and her instincts and line deliveries are impeccable here. I'd also say Ed Harris is brilliantly weird and sinister every time he's on screen. I'm 98-99% totally infatuated with Love Lies Bleeding. I think the first hour of scenario and character building is unimpeachable and I'm still on board as Bleeding follows Jackie (O'Brien) down a steroid and violence fueled trajectory of instability becoming increasingly surreal. However, I struggle with the level of magical realism employed in the finale. The stakes are ratcheted up ferociously and I crave something less fanciful in the resolution. Still, everything leading up to that is masterful and I rate Love Lies Bleeding highly for the year.

2. Outlaw - Electric, visually chaotic, and bursting with streetwise authenticity, João Wainer's Outlaw may, in fact, be the most hardboiled film I've seen this year. Based on Raquel de Oliveira's 2015 memoir, Outlaw features Maria Bomani as Rebeca, a street kid in the Rocinha favela who grows up to be one of the most feared drug lords in Rio de Janeiro. The subject matter unyieldingly brutal - Rebeca is sold to a drug dealer and pedophile by her gambling addict grandmother after being abandoned by her mother. She narrowly avoids the sex trade but is no less indoctrinated into the world of gangs, drug trafficking, and violence. Wainer renders the ensuing tale of crime, money, love, power, and betrayal with an anarchic, maximalist approach to filmmaking. Outlaw careens through aspect ratios, color, black & white, high def, low res video, archival footage, and even back and forth through time like a hail of bullets through the favela. It's an explosive, disorienting approach but it suits the onscreen bedlam perfectly. Maria Bomani is an absolute revelation in the role of Rebeca - tough as nails, smart, sexy, and capable in the midst of a firefight as well as the thoughtful narrator of the film. Outlaw is reminiscent of 90s L.A. street gang stories as far as its driving narrative arc, but it's a much grimier style and the focus on a female protagonist still feels singular today.

1. The Order - Based on the real events involving the titular group of radical white supremacists, Justin Kruzel's The Order is a magnificently taut heist thriller/police procedural in the vein of Michael Mann or Peter Yates. Jude Law plays FBI agent Terry Husk who instead of finding a quiet post away from high profile cases starts pulling threads connected to an increasingly dangerous group of domestic terrorists. Nicholas Hoult plays the young leader of the burgeoning militia and manages to be chillingly threatening without becoming a caricature. The crime content of the film is outrageously good. Bombings, heists, and shootouts are executed with white knuckle tension set to the metronomic score from Jed Kurzel. This is a period piece and it does feel like a bit of a nod to crime films of the 70s and early 80s - The Order is played perfectly straight and shows a professional fascination with how both criminals and law enforcement operate. My initial reaction was that the white separatists were shown as too competent - but reading into the backstory, they were actually frighteningly organized and effective. Jude Law is admirably grizzled as Husk and the supporting cast (especially Tye Sheridan and Jurnee Smollett) lend sturdy performances as well. Overall just the kind of intelligent, impactful genre filmmaking I love to see.

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The French Had a Name For It – Top 5 Underseen French Crime Flicks

 Minneapolis' own Cult Film Collective recently released a zine of "top 5" lists contributed by its membership. The zine is only being distributed to members but I decided to reproduce my list here on the blog. The whole zine was a great read and hopefully we'll be able to do another one next year. If you're in the Twin Cities area, you should definitely be checking out the CFC and consider joining!

You can also check out some of the upcoming screenings being promoted by the CFC over at :   https://www.trylon.org/films/category/cult-film-collective/

Crime films and especially French crime films have always been part of my regular viewing but shortly after becoming a Cult Film Collective member, I started delving more deeply into the genre. This kind of noir cinema has a dedicated and passionate following and my pursuit led me to discover some fantastic programming work in theaters from San Francisco to Melbourne. Whether the following are truly "cult" films is probably a matter of debate, but they are some of my favorite underseen gems I've logged since the joining the CFC.

Witness in the City (1959)

A suspenseful, well composed cat-and-mouse game through Parisian nightlife. Henri Decaë shows off his total mastery of street footage and driving sequences, Barney Wilen's jazz score adds an additional layer of cool to everything, and Lino Ventura is as watchable as ever as the film's protagonist who also happens to be the bad guy.

Symphony for a Massacre (1963)

Genre banger from Jacques Deray that's heavy on cool 60s vibes and location work. There's not a deep mystery at the heart of Symphony but the suspense is exquisite through multiple dialogue free sequences that allow space for actions and motivations of the various players to unfurl.

Last Known Address (1970)

Lino Ventura and Marlène Jobert team up as an unlikely pair of crime solvers who scour Paris to find the missing witness in an organized crime trial. There's a degree of 70s cynicism at play here but the focus on the city as a character, shoe leather detective work, and the chemistry between Ventura and Jobert distinguish Address from the rouge-cop films that were gaining ascendency at the time.

The Cop (1970)

In contrast to Address, The Cop is entirely in the tradition of morally ambiguous, pessimistic, anti-authoritarian crime fiction and does it as well or better than many films that would follow. Unrelentingly hardboiled, gritty French crime from Yves Boisset with a cast so stacked that somehow Bernard Fresson doesn't even make the poster.

Police Python 357 (1976)

Police Python 357 takes the plot outline from The Big Clock, mashes it together with Magnum Force, and infuses the result with a powerful dose of Melvilleian honor code sensibility. The beginning simmers but the finale is an eruption of insanity. Yves Montand fully commits to the action hero role, but not without some internal torment and it's a joy to watch.

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Crimes de Noël - Four French Crime Films for Christmas

 Alternative Christmas movie watchlists have been going strong for years now and there's no shortage of resources to turn towards if you're looking for action, horror, thriller, or noir films with at least a tinge of holiday spirit. While I'm not the world's largest holiday movie enthusiast, I did think it would be fun to offer a list that I think you're only likely to find on this blog: French Christmas Crime Films! The degree of holiday trappings varies amongst these four films but they all take place firmly within the season so it's more than just a nod towards Christmas during a narrative that covers years of a character's life. However you celebrate (or don't) during the winter months, why not plunk down and enjoy some murder, existential angst, and the dark heart of the holidays.

Un Flic (1972) - If you are somehow unfamiliar with the work of Jean-Pierre Melville, I don't know that I'd recommend starting with his final film. However, if you have seen his other Delon films and either haven't seen Flic or haven't seen it in many years - this could be a great chance to catch up to it. Opening with a dreary seaside robbery and proceeding through a grim, wintry Paris - Flic presents a blue/grey modernist pallor that stands in stark contrast to the normally vibrant holiday colors. It's an incredibly stylish and stylized effort from Melville and one that's attracted admiration and dismissal in equal measure. Though Melville's use of rear projection, painted backdrops, and anachronistic details doesn't bother most viewers, his very obvious use of scale models during an otherwise tense railway heist sequence appears to be a step too far for many. For my own part, I can't fully subscribe to Melville's apologists for this artifice and yet it also doesn't prevent me from enjoying the film immensely. Flic is still a marvelous immersion into Melville's themes and symbols and I think it's a fascinating piece of hardboiled fiction even if it doesn't rise to the level of his greatest work. Delon is at his icy best before he started to become a caricature of his own cinematic persona and Richard Crenna (most recognizable to modern audiences as Col. Trautman from the Rambo films) performs admirably as his foil. Flic also stars Catherine Deneuve in a supporting role, but one that's uncharacteristically developed for female roles in Melville's filmography. There isn't an abundance of Christmas references in the film, but it is present particularly in Delon's many long drives through the city.

Who Killed Santa Claus? (1941) - Who Killed Santa Claus spends its first 45 minutes detailing the characters and intrigue inhabiting the French mountain town in which it is set: the local schoolmaster (an avowed atheist) is in love with the daughter of the local globe maker who also plays the role of Father Christmas for the town children every year. The globe maker's daughter lives in a world of her own fantasies and faerie stories, largely indifferent towards the schoolmaster's advances. There's a widow who wanders the town searching for her long lost cat. The local nobleman has returned from a years-long global journey during which he might have contracted leprosy? Most ominously, there's an shadowy figure roaming the streets at night who may be looking to steal the priceless jewel that hangs on the church nativity scene. Finally, there are the town children including one depressed little boy who has a bad leg and needs some Christmas cheer. It's a scenario heaving underneath the weight of its plot  and things only get stickier when theft and murder enter the picture. Honestly, the film doesn't resolve in a particularly satisfying way but it still has tremendous atmosphere - all the Christmas decorations, the Father Christmas scenes, the wintry mountain town. It's ethereal and has moments both fantastic and haunting. The movie is stolen (for me) by Marie-Hélène Dasté as La mère Michel wandering the streets in a veil, looking for her lost cat Mistou, and offering dire proclamations: "Everyone, everyday, loses a small piece of life." 

Farewell, Friend (1968) - Another Alain Delon film pitting him against an American actor, in this case none other than Charles Bronson. It's the story of two French Legionnaires, Delon and Bronson, returning to Marseilles after a deployment in Algeria. As part of an awkward scheme to return some bearer bonds to a financial institution before they're discovered to be missing, Delon plots to break in and crack their safe over Christmas weekend. Bronson insinuates himself into the job after overhearing millions could be held there and the two manage to get themselves locked into the vault room with no food or water. While they are initially at complete odds with each other, they ultimately join forces to escape and realize there's more to the heist than they imagined. Farewell, Friend has a somewhat bizarre structure that subverts many expectations one might have for a heist film but it's still such a visually rich thriller that focuses more on bonds of friendship and an honor code instantly recognizable to fans of Melville, Woo, or Mann. The film truly leans into the physicality of both actors and Bronson's rough playfulness counters Delon's reserve rather well. Of contextual interest to Bronson fans, Farewell, Friend was his first big European hit which set the then journeyman actor on the path to international stardom. Bronson would only ever play leading and co-leading roles for years to follow. 

Paris Pick-Up (1962) -  Pick-Up is a Parisian noir set during Christmas Eve and the events play out mostly over the same night running into Christmas Day. Robert Hossein plays a man returning home who encounters and pursues a beautiful married woman played by Lea Massari. They're both looking for someone to help alleviate their loneliness on Christmas but they both have dark secrets they'd rather not reveal to each other. They walk the empty streets, visit each other's respective empty apartments and navigate the pronounced sexual tension between them. The intrigue only increases following an unexpected death and the methodical reveal of those secrets. It's impossible to talk too much about the plot without spoiling it so it will have to suffice to say that Pick-Up is an elegant and melancholy dive into the darkness and isolation the holiday season means for so many people. It takes elements from American noir narrative conventions but also has strong elements of the "doomed lovers" of French poetic realism (Port of Shadows comes to mind). The film is bursting with holiday aesthetic from Parisian shopping sequences, Massari's decorated apartment, and even a midnight mass. I'm often taken by these 60s cool gallic interpretations of the genre and this was my favorite "discovery" of the list. I'd love to see Pick-Up in a collection of international or French noir films like we've seen from Kino Lorber and Radiance and it's certainly deserving of a wider audience.

Joyeux Noël!

Lowering the Stakes: Hangout Heists

 Over the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, there's often some conversation among film nerds about what to watch. There are a few holiday staples like Planes, Trains and Automobiles or Blood Rage but the turkey day cinematic offerings just aren't nearly as rich as Halloween or Christmas or even Independence Day. This has led to lists of "feast" themed movies or cannibal films and some brave souls even delve into the cavernous depths of Hallmark movies to fill the hours over a long weekend. I would like to propose an alternative that has little or nothing to do with the holiday itself (which has dubious origins at best) but offers an enjoyably comfortable milieu to slip into during the break: The Hangout Heist. I love a good heist movie and I believe the best of genre feature impressively skilled professionals applying their trade at the highest level in immaculately detailed set pieces - the mechanics are fascinating, the tension is white knuckle, the twists are breathtaking. These are not those movies. This is a list of movies that retain some elements of true heist movies but rely far more on relationship dynamics, the innate charisma of the performers, and the overall atmosphere. After a day of cooking or consuming your bodyweight in gravy, with sodium and alcohol coursing through your veins, these movies take the suspense down a few notches while still offering appealing characters and interesting situations to invest in. Even if you don't watch any of these over the holiday, they're worth keeping in your back pocket for any occasion that requires low-key yet compelling fare - hangovers, Sunday afternoons, sick days - the Hangout Heist might be just the trick.

Breaking In (1989) - In many ways this is the film that inspired my list in the first place. Burt Reynolds plays an older professional thief who takes on a young apprentice played by Casey Siemaszko. Taking place in Portland, the two rob grocery stores and bowling alleys but more importantly develop a kind of father/son relationship that resolves in unexpected ways. It's got a shagginess that I appreciate and the performers are endearing - unsurprisingly it's directed by Bill Forsyth (and penned by John Sayles!) who is exactly the right person to handle this material. It's bittersweet, it's funny, and it's become one of my favorite Reynolds performances. 

Going in Style (1979) - Not the 2017 remake, but the original Martin Brest helmed film featuring George Burns, Lee Strasberg, and blog favorite Art Carney. The tale of three septuagenarians drifting through their golden years with little to do and not much to show for it until they decide to rob a bank. I truly believed this would be a much sillier film when I first saw it years ago and I was shocked by how earnest and melancholy it turned out to be. There are certainly laughs but the robbery piece wraps up relatively early in the film and it becomes this heartfelt exploration of aging and mortality. The leads are all excellent and the film is filled with some beautifully quiet moments that counterbalance the gags. Art Carney singing "New York Ain't New York Anymore" while washing dishes has always stuck with me.

A Man, a Woman and a Bank (1979) - I have long thought that I've been overrating this rom-com/heist mash up but having recently revisited it, I still find it totally worthwhile. Donald Sutherland and Paul Mazursky play two overlooked and underappreciated computer experts who hatch a plan to use their hacking skills to rob a bank that's currently under construction. Things become complicated when a photographer played by Brooke Adams takes Sutherland's photo as part of a marketing campaign for the new bank. Sutherland pursues Adams and the two begin a romance though Sutherland is keeping his criminal plans a secret from her. It's a funny movie without being hilarious, the drama never feels urgent, and the suspense doesn't reach too high of a pitch - and yet it totally comes together for me. I love the location work - mostly in Vancouver but also in Macao - Adams and Sutherland are slightly aloof but in a believable way as two somewhat guarded people who are genuinely falling for each other. It's definitely a movie I think should be in front of more eyeballs.

How to Steal a Million (1966) - If the above suggestions are too sad-sack for you, then Million should address anyone's desire for effervescent 60s charm. Featuring the absolute powerhouse charismatic duo of Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole set against a backdrop of a mod fantasia Paris, there is a significant heist sequence but this is largely about the two of them being delightful as they attempt to rob an art museum. Hepburn is very much the "good" girl but William Wyler isn't afraid to let her be sexy too. O'Toole is absurdly disarming and it is notable that he was several years Hepburn's junior which is a nice counterpoint to her being romanced by the likes of Fred Astaire or Humphrey Bogart. Hugh Griffith (who I generally love in everything) has a great supporting role as Hepburn's art forger father and Eli Wallach is solid as a pushy American millionaire. At just over two hours, the length might be pushing it but Million offers such a feast for the eyes it's hard to complain.

Thieves Like Us (1974) - Robert Altman's naturalistic evocation of 30s America subverts expectations to such a degree that it might be considered an anti-heist movie. The criminal activity happens almost entirely offscreen in favor of automobile trips, dinner table conversations, and predominantly a tender and heartbreaking romance between two of Altman's favorite actors - Keith Carradine and Shelly Duval. I actually rankled seeing this one for the first time as I was so looking forward to an Altman helmed bank robbing film and instead got extended, quiet sequences of Duval and Carradine sitting on the porch or lying in bed. Having re-appraised it, I find these moments beautifully rendered and Carradine's and Duval's performances are profoundly touching. There's a lot of technical craft on display that isn't overt, but Altman's use of real Mississippi locations, period radio recordings, and non-actor extras builds this believable world of the Depression era Southern US. In many ways, this is the most challenging film on the list but I think if you know what you're getting into, you'll find a lot to appreciate here.

Larceny in Technicolor - 5 Ultra Cool Euro-Heist Flicks

I am a fan of all manner of crime flicks throughout the 20th Century from the gritty pre-code classics to the operatic Hong Kong gangster stories but I have always held a deep affinity for a swinging 60s Euro-heist. Immaculately styled capers featuring impossibly cool casts set against locales from the golden age of travel. I imagine my enthusiasm for this genre is somewhat akin to what James Bond fans feel — I just have an easier time rooting for thieves than I do for government agents. Maybe it's the Summer vibes and thoughts of taking a holiday but I've had heist flicks on the brain again. The following are some of my absolute favorites in this vein and the films I often find myself recommending to the curious or people stuck talking to me at cocktail parties.

Topkapi (1964) — Jules Dassin may not have invented the heist film with his unimpeachable 1955 classic Rififi but he very well may have perfected it. After Rififi’s breakout international success Dassin made a succession of European films outside of the crime milieu before returning to the genre with Topkapi. A much lighter affair than its predecessor, Topkapi makes explosive use of color and employs humor in the place of noir stylings. Peter Ustinov co-stars as the unwitting accomplice (schmo) to an international crew of master thieves looking to steal a jewel encrusted dagger in Istanbul. Despite the riot of sound and color on display for most of Topkapi’s runtime, the films highlight is a near silent burglary sequence crammed with white-knuckle tension. It's corny in parts and the plot doesn't make all the sense in the world, but I get swept away by Topkapi every time I watch it. 

Any Number Can Win (1963) — An absolutely gorgeous heist picture from Henri Verneuil featuring the first collaboration between cinema titans Jean Gabin and Alain Delon. Gabin plays the veteran crook who recruits Delon’s hotheaded rookie to help rob a casino on the French Riviera. The dynamic between the two is a lot of fun to watch and the actual heist sequence is excellent. I’ve always thought Verneuil had a real gift for framing a sequence and Any Number is no exception. The extended sequence of Delon trying to nonchalantly pass bags of stolen loot by the pool as police descend on the resort is perfection. More Gallic cool than crazy caper, Any Number oozes style from Michel Magne’s jazz score to the Cannes locale. As of this writing there is no in-print physical copy of Any Number Can Win available in the US and that’s a more serious crime than any robbery.

Grand Slam (1967) — Giuliano Montaldo’s international caper flick is a breezy, idiosyncratic affair that features a ridiculously fun score from Ennio Morricone and a wild cast including Janet Leigh, Edward G. Robinson, George Rigaud, Klaus Kinski, Adolfo Celi, and more. The set up is an assembled multinational crew of experts who plan to rob a bank in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival season. This is another fantastic heist sequence that is nearly wordless and involves close to 30 minutes of rappelling, suction cups, electric eyes, telescoping ladders, and the titular Grand Slam 70 alarm system. Some of the narrative twists and turns are a little hard to swallow but Grand Slam more than delivers on sweaty palmed tension. The actual footage of Carnival in the 60s is a genuine treat as well.

Gambit (1966) — Ronald Neame’s heist comedy employs a gambit of its own but manages to be clever enough to get away with it. The film was advertised with the line “Go Ahead: Tell the End (It's Too Hilarious to Keep Secret) But Please Don't Tell the Beginning!" Which hopefully is enough to dissuade you from reading too much about the plot. It also contains some elements which we’d call out as problematic in a modern context — Shirley MacLaine plays a woman of European and Asian descent while Harold Lom plays a Middle Eastern man from a fictional country. If you’re still able to appreciate Gambit as a product of its time; there’s abundant charm, wit, and tension to enjoy. Michael Caine plays a burglar, Harry Dean,  who recruits MacLaine’s Nicole Chang in a Hong Kong nightclub to help him rob a priceless statuette from the incredibly private and wealthy Ahmad Shahbandar (Lom). Dean believes they can use Chang’s resemblance to Shahbandar’s late wife to gain access to his penthouse and consequently his art gallery so that the statue can be stolen. I don’t want to say much more other than this is probably worth your time just to see 1960s Caine and MacLaine play off of each other. They are both delightful and look amazing. Definitely more of a comedy with a less technical heist than the other films on this list but still delivers some legitimate suspense. 

The Sicilian Clan (1969) — Another Verneuil film and another one featuring Delon and Gabin with the addition of this blog’s favorite actor — Lino Ventura. The Sicilian Clan was a large-budget affair that was shot both in French and in English (reportedly a source of consternation for Gabin who felt he should be paid twice) and had a wide international release. Beyond its marquee power Sicilian Clan features a phenomenal Morricone score and was shot by the master French cinematographer Henri Decaë. Delon plays a thief who manages to escape police custody in a thrilling sequence with the help of the Italian crime family led by Gabin. The new allies reach an uneasy agreement to rob a jewelry exhibition and Ventura plays a gruff police inspector determined to re-apprehend Delon and uncover the criminal plot. Between the firecracker opener and an epic finale, Sicilian Clan brings the temperature down to a simmer. The focus is frequently on the interpersonal relationships — the crime family dynamic, the outsider vs. the in-group, an affair, and the professional rivalry between Gabin and Ventura. It’s all done with consummate professionalism and intricate detail, though. It’s an absolute must-see for French crime cinema enthusiasts.

 

Ex-Fest 2022!

During the darkest of COVID times when movie theaters were closed and their future was uncertain, I made a promise to myself that if the world came to life again I would endeavor to make it to a film festival and particularly to a movie marathon. In the slightly less uncertain but still dark times of a Minnesota winter I purchased tickets to Ex-Fest in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania hoping I wouldn’t be sick and planes would be flying. Admittedly it wasn't the highest bar to set in the world but I was stoked when Erin and I were finally able to board that plane to Philly.

In fairness there have been movie marathons closer to home that I could have attended but they tend to sell out quickly, be entirely horror focused, and run a full 24 hours. Ex-Fest being a 7 movie, 12 hour affair was enticing and since the theme is classic exploitation and grindhouse films — you have the promise of a variety of movie genres as you go from film to film. The organizers — Exhumed Films — hold fantastic repertory screenings all over the Philadelphia area and are committed to exhibiting everything on film so I knew the selections would be solid. The festival was also being held at the historic Colonial Theater which is the theater featured in The Blob and is where they host Blobfest every year. As a fan of classic movie houses — I was certainly interested in visiting. What really put Ex-Fest on my radar and sold me on the idea was the Twitch of the Death Nerve podcast crew singing its praises during one of their episodes. Those folks know their shit and if they say an event is one of their favorites — I’m bound to listen.

Those of you that know me personally are probably aware of my general abhorrence towards cars and driving and that was the only logistic hurdle that we had to overcome in getting to Phoenixville. Despite being a mere 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia and being in possession of some lovely old railroad infrastructure — it’s a real pain to get there without a car. When I crunched the numbers it looked like hiring a cab was going to be cheaper and easier than renting a car. I’m not going to say it was cheap but it was easy. Phoenixville itself offers a historic small town downtown strip and we stayed at the one hotel in town. It’s not 100 percent my scene but they do close the main drag to car traffic on summer weekends which strikes a chord in my pedestrian heart. Once you’re there you can walk to everything — the hotel, the theater, restaurants, coffee, bars, etc. It’s in sharp contrast to the kinds of conventions held at isolated suburban hotels bound by freeways.

We landed the night before the fest and mostly wandered around eating and drinking. We had a chance to say "hi" to some folks and I got to meet/chat with Jon from TotDN and Erica from Unsung Horrors. I’m not the best at introducing myself normally and have gotten rustier in the last couple of years but I found a lot of the attendees easy to converse with randomly throughout the weekend. The festival opened at 10am the next day and there was already a line to get in an hour before that! We were a little slower to get going — we stopped for massive breakfast burritos to properly fuel beforehand — but had no problem getting some decent seats adjacent to the people we sort-of knew. The theater was great with reasonably comfortable seats and a balcony — my years served at the historic Uptown Theater in Minneapolis have made me a main floor guy but I admit that balconies are cool. There were a couple of merch tables so I naturally grabbed a t-shirt and picked up a copy of Vigilante from Jesse/DiabolikDVD which I’ve been meaning to buy for a long time.

There was a rough schedule/line up with some clues about what the movies were going to be and I overheard some wild conjecture regarding those. We buckled in an prepared for a day of cheap thrills.

Film #1 - High Risk (1981) - Not the Jet Li spin on Die Hard but a star-studded action/comedy from Stewart Raffill — the man behind such classics as Ice Pirates and Tammy and the T-Rex. It’s the story of a group of laid off auto workers who — under the leadership of James Brolin — travel to Colombia to rip off a drug lord played by James Coburn. It has some hangout vibes, some Deliverance elements, and some positively bonkers moments. Ernest Borgnine and Anthony Quinn turn up as total scene-stealers as an arms dealer and revolutionary turned bandit. High Risk got a huge reaction from the audience and was a great way to kick things off.

Film #2 - The Ladies Club (1986) - I knew this was going to be a rape/revenge flick going in so wasn’t sure how much of a downer it would be. I was genuinely surprised by how little this dwells on the former — while treating it honestly and with gravity — and how well it delivers on the latter. It’s the story of a group of women who have had their lives affected by rape in one way or another and formulate a scheme to abduct serial rapists and castrate them. It does have a bit of a Lifetime movie feel to it, but I found the cast terrific and the overall film well executed. 

Film #3 - Deadlier than the Male (1967) - Swinging 60s spy story that keeps things fun without moving into parody. I am not the biggest James Bond fan in the universe but I do love jet-set crime flicks from the same era. I found Deadlier than the Male had enough of that energy to hold my attention. The fact that it featured Elke Sommer, Sylvia Koscina, and an epic dummy drop from a London high-rise didn’t hurt. It loses some steam towards the end of the film but thankfully it's a breezy affair under the two hour mark.

Film #4 - Kill or be Killed (1976) - Somewhat surreal South African karate cult classic. This had been on my watchlist for a long time so this was probably the ideal way to check it out. Diamonds, Nazis, a dwarf named Chico, and lots of serviceable karate action. I didn’t quite know what the hell was happening in parts but I’m an easy sell when it comes to the “eccentric villain holds a martial arts tournament for reasons” genre of film. I especially loved all the exterior shots of what was definitely a toy model of a castle. There are so many of them.

Film #5 - Crimson Bat, the Blind Swordswoman (1969) - Sadly, this is where we had to tap out for a minute. After a full shift of movies we were ready for a break and some food that wasn’t popcorn. Luckily that was easily obtained across the street and after a bowl of pasta and a negroni we were back in time to catch the final showdown. I can’t really speak to Crimson Bat other than it’s a riff on a Zatoichi style narrative with a female protagonist. It’s definitely on my watchlist now.

Film #6 - High Crime (1973) - The only film in the lineup I had seen previously but I was thrilled to see again in a theater on 35mm. A high octane, desperately pessimistic poliziotteschi from the legendary Enzo G. Castellari starring the peerless Franco Nero. Castellari is such a fantastic action director and there are some terrific sequences throughout High Crime. The violence is cranked pretty high in this one and it was a real joy to hear the audience reactions throughout. Fernando Rey and James Whitmore are both in excellent supporting roles and the music is by the De Angelis brothers. I need more non-horror Italian genre theatrical screenings in my life!

Film #7 - Killer’s Romance (1990) - To wrap up the festival, we were treated to a loose, Hong Kong adaptation of the Crying Freeman manga featuring Simon Lam looking both lovely and sad in a variety of autumn fashions. The titular romance between Lam and Joey Wong was not setting my world on fire but there definitely moments of inspired violence that would startle me back to consciousness. I was reaching my limit at this point and Killer’s Romance wasn’t quite the thrill ride I needed but we stuck it out to the end and immediately marched back to our hotel to crash.

This was such a fun experience and I’m so glad we made the trip. The film selection was terrific and delivered on the variety we hoped for. The facilities were excellent and being able to reach everything we need on foot was something that not every fest/marathon can offer. The crowd was great! Everyone had a lot of respect for what was happening — lots of audience engagement that was totally appropriate and nobody was trying out their MST3K material. My favorite movie of the bunch is still High Crime but if I had to pick a favorite viewing of the day it has to be High Risk. There is a moment towards the end that had the entire audience roaring in laughter and applause. I imagine there are some music rights issues with releasing it, but absolutely catch it at a rep screening if you have the chance. I don’t know if schedules and finances will allow for us to make the trip out to Ex-Fest every year — but having made the journey we’re definitely going to have to consider it. 

Best New-to-Me - November 2021

It's that time again to recount my favorite new-to-me films I watched over the last month. After going relatively hard on horror movies in October - I really wanted to just follow my own whims in November. I still ended up watching quite a few horror flicks but it was nice to branch out a bit. All respect goes to those who go straight from Shocktober to Noirvember but I yearned for cinematic freedom. I did manage to watch some noir-adjacent stuff that shows up below. 

Singapore Sling (1990) - Incredibly lush, beautifully stylized, intensely mannered, utterly repellent. 

This was a title I had some familiarity with though it took a recent mention from a friend and the Live at the Death Factory podcast to nudge me towards it. I found it absolutely magnetic but it is not an easy watch by any stretch of the imagination. It is surprisingly pretty for the amount of bodily fluids on display. 

Rome, Armed to the Teeth aka The Tough Ones (1976) - Ferocious "city on fire" style poliziotteschi featuring the incomparable Tomas Milian as an evil hunchback and Maurizio Merli playing his usual maverick cop who just can't take it anymore! Wall to wall action, terrific music, and the Grindhouse Releasing blu-ray is a fantastic set. I should really pick up their The Beyond disc.

Siege (1983) - Incredibly taut Canadian grindhouse thriller. While the cops are on strike - a crew of right-wing vigilantes takes to the streets resulting in a string of murders at a gay bar. The lone survivor hides out in an apartment building and this literally becomes a siege film not unlike Assault on Precinct 13. The new restoration looks amazing - would love to see this in a theater.

Symptoms (1974) - Another moody British masterpiece from José Ramón Larraz. Wonderful autumnal vibes and a fascinating performance from Angela Pleasance (Donald's daughter). It's a slow burn portrait of increasing neurosis but I found it genuinely disturbing in parts.

Images (1972) - I realize that I should have seen this a long time ago - but it's never too late to see a great movie. More neurosis, more autumn/winter countryside (this time Irish), more tweed!

The Black Tavern (1972) - A wintertime kung-fu movie that pits a series of totally wild villains at each others' throats in an attempt to rob a wealthy official. Hidden identities, emergent alliances, inevitable betrayals, cannibalism, hopping corpses, whips within whips, a guy who looks like Elmer Fudd in What's Opera Doc, and seriously gory fight sequences. 

The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970) - This frequently gets called a giallo and maybe it is but it's less of a murder mystery and more of a thriller in the vein of Les Diaboliques in my opinion. Either way, it's not terribly explicit but it is a visually and sonically opulent Italian feast to curb your eurothriller cravings. I definitely need to watch Ercoli's other stuff.

Tenement (1985) - Another building under siege movie - this time in the Bronx. I watched a few of Roberta Findlay's 80s movies this past month and Tenement is probably the best of the bunch - though I really did enjoy The Oracle. I'm really hoping to pick up the blu-ray for this one so I can listen to Findlay's commentary filled with her open derision for the cast, her own work, and for those of us who still pursue it. 

The Cool Lakes of Death (1982) - I sought out this film - and compelled my film club to watch it - largely based on the title and the cover image. I'm not proud of that but this is a beautifully rendered Dutch period piece with some genuinely surprising moments. Well worth your time.

The French Dispatch (2021) - So far my favorite part about The French Dispatch is that upon hearing about it a couple of years ago I read a bunch of mid 20th Century New Yorker articles and loved them. The film itself didn't connect with me entirely but it's visually impeccable with an outrageous cast and one that I will possibly appreciate more with subsequent watches. Anderson essentially sticks a bibliography in the credits and that's the kind of nerdery that will always speak to me.

New York Ninja (2021) - The maniacs at Vinegar Syndrome found an unfinished ninja movie from the 80s, stitched it together, and recorded all new dialogue and music. It's ridiculous, it's confounding, it's a lot of fun to watch with some pals. I HEART NINJA

Serie Noire (1979) - French Jim Thompson adaptation with an incredible lead performance and expert use of cinematic language. This is darkly comic in parts but not a laugh riot. It is one of many 70s films I've watched and thought that the Coens must have certainly been somewhat influenced by it.

Clan of the White Lotus (1980) - Relentlessly entertaining Gordon Liu/Lo Lieh joint that looks absolutely gorgeous. The fight scenes are so much fun and Lo Lieh hangs out in giant golden dragon bathtub. I'd like to see every movie theatrically but this one would be very, very cool on the big screen.

Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970) - Mario Bava directs a bunch of gorgeous jerks on a Mediterranean island being terrible to each other and dying Agatha Christie style. This isn't necessarily "must-see" Bava, but it's Bava so probably see it.

It's Nothing Mama, Just a Game (1974) - David Hemmings sleazing it up on a Venezuelan hacienda as a rich kid sociopath who subjects local women to a variety of demented ordeals. It's a terrific setting, Hemmings is unnervingly convincing, the rest of the cast is excellent, and the ending kicks ass.

The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979) - All (Ghost Face) killer, no filler. Mystery of Chess Boxing opens with a terrific credit sequence of kung fu action on a xiangqi board and never takes its foot off the gas for more than a few moments. Who are these people? Why are they fighting? When did that guy get killed? There's no time to answer your impertinent questions - there is only chess and fighting and some comedy fighting and training and more fighting. It can get a little exhausting but I can't complain when I'm having this much fun.

Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1992) - Karen Black, Ava Fabian, Pat Morita, and Michael Berryman star in a ridiculously fun trashfest that's part Motel Hell and part Dr. Caligari. That's really all I need to say, go watch it already.

Best New-to-Me - October 2021

 It's with a touch of melancholy that we bid farewell to spooky season proper. The end of October hardly means the end of my horror movie watching for the year but it does mean the end to being able to see your interests reflected just by walking into the grocery store for a while. This year was notable in that I participated in my first ever HoopTober challenge instead of just doing my own thing, that I was able to return to the theater for some watches, and that I participated in #Horrorgivesback via the Unsung Horrors podcast (which you can still donate to as of this posting). I think I got in a nice mix of older and newer movies and managed to knock off some watch list items that have taken me years to get to while re-visiting some old favorites. Per usual, I will only be discussing what I liked best out of the new-to-me watches - and limiting those to the ones I watched in October - but feel free to check out the entire list: https://letterboxd.com/mplsmatt/list/slashing-through-hooptober-2021/

Inugami no tatari/Curse/Curse of the Dog God (1977) - Japanese folk horror from psychotronic visionary Shunya Ito. While this doesn't achieve the same heights as the Female Prisoner Scorpion films it's filled with striking imagery and genuinely creepy sequences. The film does meander a bit but it manages to take on both modern industrialization and old superstitions without really endorsing either. This absolutely needs a restoration and is ripe for rediscovery by a broader audience.

Vampyros Lesbos (1971) - No kidding, right? I'm still playing catch up to all kinds of things and that includes Jess Franco. I was never that interested in his films when I was younger after watching Oasis of the Zombies so it's only in the last couple of years that I've been watching one here and there. Vampyros has so far been my favorite Franco film to date. Sunbathing vampires, erotic floorshows, kites, scorpions, Istanbul, the color red, robotic transmissions, and an absolutely smoking score. Looking forward to more.

Night of the Demon (1957) - I've been meaning to watch Jacques Tourneur's horror classic for years now and I just never seem to find the time for it. Aesthetically and atmospherically impeccable - Night of the Demon is deeply evocative and effective even without the arresting supernatural sequences. I do wish we got more of those sequences though as they're absolute magic. If I had a quibble with this one it's that Dana Andrews' skeptical Dr. Holden already comes off as arrogant and overbearing but is made more so by the fact that the audience witnesses supernatural craziness before he's even introduced. I do prefer the more ambiguous take of a film like Night of the Eagle - which would make a stellar double feature.

The Black Cat aka Demons 6 (1989) - One day I will do a write up on my favorite non-sequitur Italian sequels and this movie will surely rank among them. This Black Cat - not to be confused with Fulci's Black Cat or the dozen other movies sharing the title - is somehow a spiritual follow up to Suspiria and Inferno, an entry into the legendarily convoluted Demons series, and according to some title cards an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe. I'm not sure about the last bit, but it is a mainline injection of late 80s Italian chaos magic. Bold colors, exploding torsos, lasers, heavy metal, lots of cat footage, and buckets of goop. Pure, lovely craziness.

Titane (2021) - I haven't listed a ton of new movies since I started doing these but Titane was one of the most exciting theatrical experiences I've had in a while. Beautiful, great music, gleefully transgressive. Probably best of the year material.

Lamb (2021) - Who's blog even is this? Haunting, atmospheric, certainly melancholy - Lamb stretches the horror designation until it's largely unrecognizable but delivers on a dark tale very much centered on real fears and anxieties. I would also make terrible sacrifices to protect that lamb girl.

The Burning Moon (1992) - Another long suffering watchlist denizen. I caught this as part of a group watch and it truly lives up to its reputation. Besides the off-putting post synch sound, this is an impressive SOV production that shows real attention to detail and craft even in the non-gory elements. However, it's the gore that's the real highlight here. The finale "hell scene" is absurdly gruesome and filled with the kind of horrors you wish haunted houses actually delivered on. The fire effects are ambitious and include a living person in motion, one bathtub corpse, a decapitated head, and no less than two crucifixes bursting into flame - and a burning moon of course.

The Living Dead Girl (1982) - Speaking of gore, this has to be one of Rollin's gorier efforts. However, he manages to imbue it with an emotional substance and gothic longing that you rarely get from on screen gut munching. There are some attempts at light comedy that I could really do without but it's an absolutely gorgeous film.

Primal Rage (1988) - You're going to want to bump this to your next Halloween viewing list. Experiments reviving primate brain cells result in a baboon infected with some kind of rage virus - sound familiar? - that when unleashed on a Florida campus results in gory chaos. This has some trappings of an 80s sex comedy and probably one of the best 80s Halloween dances on film. Umberto Lenzi has a writing credit for this and Claudio Simonetti did the music so it's the best kind of bonkers.

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968) - This was my Halloween matinee choice and I ended up really
loving it. Despite the title, there are probably not enough scenes with monsters but the ones you get are fantastic. There are a couple towards the end shot in beautifully evocative slow motion featuring dozens of monster/apparition designs. If you like weird Japanese supernatural stuff - this seems like a home run.

The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch (1968) - This is a weird film that definitely has a children's entertainment vibe - particularly with the focus on the main girl and her narration of events - but it's also surprisingly grisly. The effects are cheap looking but there is a ton of visual creativity at play - the various nightmare sequences are genuinely eerie and the use of obvious puppets caused me some cognitive dissonance enhancing the overall effect. I'm not sure that everything in this movie makes much sense but it took some cool narrative turns and the climactic scene is TENSE.

Abby (1974) - The fact that this film got buried under litigation is truly criminal. Yes, this is a Blaxploitation Exorcist rip-off but there were dozens of possession movies in the 70s and this is a particularly fun one. The cast is great with Carol Speed, William Marshall, Austin Stoker, and Bob Holt as the voice of the demon. Shot in and around Louisville, Kentucky it has a terrific regional independent quality and though the budget was modest, the most is made of what they had. It would be great if this got a restoration and could be screened in front of audiences again.

The Psychic (1977) - I've been re-visiting or finally viewing a chunk of the Fulci filmography and managed to fit this one in. I've always heard mixed reviews of The Psychic and I think that's largely due to comparisons to his other gialli. It doesn't possess the acid-test insanity of Lizard in a Woman's Skin or the ferocious cultural criticism of Don't Torture a Duckling (though it does borrow that wild dummy drop). Still this is an incredibly lush giallo that takes a lot of the genre stylings and turns them all the way up to eleven. The music is cranked, the cameras sweep and zoom, there isn't a huge body count but there are some satisfyingly gruesome moments. Recommended if you're a fan.

The Funhouse (1981) - Another filmography hole finally filled! Tobe Hooper really had a unique lens into American familial dysfunction. Aside from strained family dynamics this is an absolute carnival ride of a film - a half wrecked calliope lurching around the fairgrounds spewing cotton candy and small engine exhaust. I had a blast.

Ghosthouse (1988) - Somehow sold as a sequel to Evil Dead 2 this is closer to an Italian stab at Poltergeist. Ghosthouse offers a wild mix of amateur radio enthusiasm, spectral kids, creepy clowns, exploding jars and lightbulbs, casio beats, inexplicable hitch-hikers, psycho caretakers, maggot-y grim reapers, and a slew of competent and sometimes surprising gore effects. Also at one point the floor gives way to corrosive ghost milk filled with skulls. You know you want to watch it.

Patrick Still Lives! (1980) - Completely unauthorized Italian remake/sequel to Ozploitation slow-burn Patrick. For some reason I thought this would be zanier but it is kind of a scumbag watch with a seriously sleazy take on the tale of a comatose psychic. I loved it but don't yell at me if you manage to catch it. 

The Mansion of Madness (1973) - Absolute stunner from the director of Alucarda. This does get a bit chatty in parts but I found it consistently engaging and surprising. Would make for a terrific theatrical experience.