There’s a reason prestige directors like Antoine Fuqua, Steve McQueen, David Fincher, Jane Campion, and Martin Scorsese have all been drawn to the genre, which absorbs the fingerprints of creators and is almost cartoonishly easy to screw up. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s film feels like a good novel, with art, crime, love, and squalor all intersecting in a cohesive story that manages to astonish. The cast was largely without acting experience, but it’s hard to parse that as a viewer since there’s a real naturalism to their performances, which creates a sense of freedom and discovery. Photography plays a large part in the story, with photos serving as both a means of expression and a running narrative device, and the way it connects to Seu Jorge’s “Knockout Ned,” the film’s heart and soul, is beautiful in every instance.
In the tradition of classic crime movies, Frank’s ambitions are complicated by love and parenthood, and when his life away from work is threatened by criminal boss Leo (an in-the-pocket Robert Prosky), he moves everyone to safety and blows up his own house. The image remains a stark and evocative metaphor for characters caught at a crossroads between one dark road and a dimly-lit path out of trouble. The film that gave us everything from True Romance to Queen & Slim, this Arthur Penn caper follows Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) as criminal lovers destined for tragedy. Made toward the tail end of a romance boom we wouldn’t see again until the ’90s, Bonnie and Clyde perfected the intoxicating motif of two young people in love with each other and destruction. There’s incredible chemistry between Beatty and Dunaway, who elevate a relatively straightforward movie into something that seems alive, as if the actors and the real historical characters are one and the same.
The director sits down with his friend and high school classmate for an intimate documentary tracing Brooks’ career from alternative comic to filmmaking legend. Jamie Lee Curtis’ first big role came 45 years ago in “Halloween.” The behind the scenes secrets from set include working with a limited budget and a surprise cameo from Captain Kirk. Brian De Palma’s works between 1976 and 2000 are some of the oddest, most ambitious pieces of filmmaking out there, with The Untouchables serving as a great bellwether for his singular touch. More grounded than Scarface and tenfold beyond The Bonfire of the Vanities, the film focuses on Eliot Ness’ attempt to bring down Al Capone during the 1930s prohibition. Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro dazzle as the two historical figures, but Sean Connery is the heart of the movie, playing courageous and upright agent James Malone, whose death gives Ness all the more reason to topple Capone’s liquor empire. A tale every bit as interesting, nuanced, and complex as The Godfather, the Hughes Brothers’ central players are caught in a socio-economic system that’s governed by an unforgiving set of implicit rules.
From one night security haunt to another, Ben Stiller stars as security guard Larry Daley who finds out that thanks to an Egyptian curse, the museum literally comes to life at night. The late Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton serve as steady characters for Cynda Williams, Earl Billings, and the underrated Michael Beach to bounce off of in Carl Franklin’s stunner of a film. One False Move rests somewhere comfortably between his Devil in A Blue Dress (1995) and the bonkers Out of Time (2003) in terms of voice. The story follows three Black men as they confront, confide, and cut deals in racist Arkansas, with one carrying an intimate connection with Paxton’s sheriff. The film isn’t particularly strange or different for the genre, but the confidence Franklin directs with — and memorable performances from Williams and Beach — make this something to seek out.
It’s ambitious, dogmatic, and insanely neglectful of everything but the pursuit of justice, a perfect metaphor for the film itself. October 19, 2023 • Growing up, Lee recognized herself in the “really big, muscular performances” of Kilmer and Nicolas Cage. (And, a pretty good premise for a movie.) Emily Blunt stars opposite Chris Evans as a high-school dropout who gets herself involved in the deadly drug happenings.
And in the center of it all is Cho, who turns in a performance so unforgettable that it reminds you he’s deserved better this entire time. Denzel Washington teams up with consummate collaborator Spike Lee for a film that uses cool energy to brilliant effect. With Clive Owen in the antagonist role of Dalton free movies online Russell, the film locks into a clever heist that mixes elements of Heat, Ocean’s 11, and more into something that’s distinctly a Lee joint. The director’s love for capturing real people moving, unguarded, can be seen as Denzel’s hostage negotiator talks things through with his team outside the bank.
Another film that gave the genre a new language, Double Indemnity is a confession by shotty insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) told mostly in flashbacks, detailing his involvement with a killing and cover-up that saw him pose as the dead man on a train. While retrospective scenes were not new to cinema (having been used in the 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights to great effect before), this was one of the first instances in a crime story. Impeccably acted and paced, the film launched Wilder to success, paving the way for his future classics like The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959). The adaptation of Robin Moore’s non-fiction book sees two detectives try to bring down a drug kingpin with complications arising at every turn. Countless films have tried to emulate its greatness since, but The French Connection is the modern blueprint of the genre for a reason. To make a crime movie is to flex both dramatic chops and stylistic muscle — and that confidence can be rewarded if, and only if, everyone and everything is working together.
Most of the films on this list paint dogged detectives as do-gooders in pursuit of their criminals, but here, we see a sleuth lovesick for the murderer he’s supposed to be taking down. Park Hae-il’s insomniac investigator Jang Hae-jun is brimming with longing despite having a loving wife, and Tang Wei’s Song Seo-rae is sympathetic and flirtatious enough that you’re willing to look the other way about their romance (and her killings). Decision to Leave may leave you in tears, be it from the love story or the way Chan-wook captures the beauty of everything from the crashing waves to falling snow. Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell charm as two lovers trying to find a way out of a life of crime while confronting danger at every turn.
Browse the latest movies out now, advanced ticket bookings and movies coming soon to Cinépolis USA. From mobsters and con artists to serial killers and thieves, here are EW’s favorite capers. October 17, 2023 • Special Prosecutors say they will present a case to the New Mexico Grand Jury to determine if Alec Baldwin should be criminally charged in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. October 25, 2023 • A University of California Los Angeles survey study shows that Generation Z is much more interested in seeing stories about platonic relationships than those featuring sex and romance.
While the cast won’t include AHS regulars like Emma Roberts, Sarah Paulson, or Billie Lourd, Petra Collins will be directing an episode of internet dating gone wrong with Raúl Castillo and Emily Browning as the leads. The three additional episodes include “Bestie,” “Tapeworm,” and “Daphne” in a very Black Mirror–esque season. We all like a horror movie that’s more fun and silly than it is scary, but if Five Nights at Freddy’s left you hungering for some genuine horror, it’ll be hard to beat When Evil Lurks, now streaming on Shudder. The latest from Argentinian director Demián Rugna, When Evil Lurks might be the scariest movie of 2023, and it follows the residents of a small town once they discover that a demon is about to be born. Their attempts to flee or to prevent the demon from entering the world don’t, ah, go well. A brawl at the end of an early screening of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie in a London theater is caught on camera.
The ultimate reveal — and Russell’s decision to target Nazi money — give the film a uniquely Lee quality, as it meditates on cosmic justice in an intricate way only he could manage. Owen is also undeniable here, turning in maybe the most memorable performance of a bank robber ever committed to film. Neither overly sentimental nor unsympathetic, Albert and Allen Hughes craft realistic characters with more nuance and complexity than traditional gangster films. In Menace II Society, their motivations extend beyond simple obligation or loyalty to family, and the weight of it all is constantly resting on the shoulders of everyone around them, despite how much they want it to change.
This bombastic tale of a corrupt cop and a rookie trainee having one bad day together feels in line with the stark and serious cinematography of the time, yet it’s so distinctly an Antoine Fuqua work. With Ethan Hawke’s newbie simmering against the go-for-broke finesse of Denzel Washington’s very bad, no-good officer, Training Day revels in tension, with washes of blue and green augmenting scenes where Hawke is bullied into getting high. But when things become too true to life, Fuqua knows to cut the style and let the actors carry the scene. We’ve seen Washington excel countless times, but the wild-eyed machismo he drenches his crooked character in here is yet to be topped.