Great review. I'm a fan, but it's one of those films where I have to steel myself before watching. I've seen it twice, a
-
XhcnoirX — 9 years ago(January 19, 2017 02:27 AM)
Thank you for your excellent review, which I ticked. I didn't realize it had been made into a mini-series, I'll try to check it out!
Have you seen the 1957 movie with Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich? It's excellent (altho I have no idea how close it is to Agatha Christie's play). -
Jessica_Rabbit69 — 9 years ago(January 19, 2017 06:43 AM)
Could be interesting. I'll check it out. It's hard to beat the 1957 version which differs from Christie's story a good bit, it has just been elaborated a lot. There was also a 1982 TV movie with Diana Rigg, Ralph Richardson and Deborah Kerr. It followed the 57 version very closely.
Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way." -
morrison-dylan-fan — 9 years ago(January 26, 2017 10:17 AM)
8
"It's like when they slurp coffee thinking it's going to change the temperature but it doesn't."
** This review may contain spoilers ***
After first seeing him in Zodiac on the big screen,it has been wonderful to see Mark Ruffalo become a part of major franchises and Oscar winning Dramas,whilst also noticing Ethan Hawke get back on track with a mix of Horror (the first Purge and Sinister) and major Art House projects such as Boyhood. Talking to a family friend about films he recently recorded off TV,I was shocked to find out about a rarely mentioned title that teams Ruffalo up with Hawke(ye),that led to me finding out what doesn't kill you.
The plot:
Growing up poor in Boston,teenage friends Brian Reilly and Paulie McDougan become petty criminals for gangster Pat Kelly. Growing up with Kelly, Reilly and McDougan become a part of his inner circle over the years,with the only thing that the guys turn down being armoured vehicle robberies. Trying to keep a family together with his wife Stacy,Brian finds the temptations too much to resist,and becomes a druggie. Whilst picking up some TVs that "fell" off the back of a truck,the guys are caught by an undercover cop who has had his eyes on them for years. Sent down for 5 years in the big house,Brian and Paulie start to find out that what doesn't kill you, will make them stronger.
View on the film:
Running out of hospital in the freezing cold for another "hit" Mark Ruffalo gives an incredible raw performance as Reilly.Spending his whole life working for Kelly with McDougan,Ruffalo subtly captures Reilly's awareness of being in a Noir tar pit,but also a burnt-out mind-set of getting free from the next mob/drug hit. Joined by a wonderfully expressive Amanda Peet as Reilly's wife Stacy, (plus a side order of two Wahlberg's for some Boston spirit) Ethan Hawke gives a great fragile performance as Paulie,who Hawke makes stand out to Reilly by holding Paulie with an optimism that is always on the horizon,but never reached.
Bringing his life story to the screen,co-writer/(with Donnie Wahlberg and Paul T. Murray) co-star (playing his former boss!) director Brian Goodman & cinematographer Chris Norr (who reunited with Hawke for Sinister) roll into Boston on a wave of blue collar Neo-Noir hovering above a frosty atmosphere of streets covered in snow that give Reilly and McDougan's "tasks" an ice cool shine. Cracking the door open to Reilly's fractured married life, Goodman gives the title a rustic tone,picking up corners of fading walls and keeping a distance to show the full misdeeds of the Noir duo.
Falling into cinemas as the studio went bust,the screenplay by Donnie Wahlberg/Paul T. Murray and Goodman fittingly presents a Noir Drama whose edges bleed with an impending sense of doom. Spanning 8 years,the writers brilliantly bring the world pushing Reilly and McDougan's out into the Noir darkness into focus with clever underhanded ways,from the cost of living in their old neighbourhood becoming un-affordable,to Reilly completely missing major family events behind bars. Tightening the grip drugs and crime have on the friends,the writers strip any darkness to expose the hopeless Noir pit that they are trapped in,as Reilly and McDougan discover what does kill you. -
morrison-dylan-fan — 9 years ago(January 29, 2017 10:39 AM)
Hi Spike,after staying away from the film due to it getting a massive kicking from reviews,I got the chance to see it this weekend,and found it to be a fantastic surprise. One of the main things that I think the movie suffered from was being pushed as a "Thriller",when to quote a headline a fellow IMDber gave it,the title is actually a "Suburban Noir." For the review,I stuck to the opening 15 minutes.
8
UK DVD:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Train-DVD-Emily-Blunt/dp/B01LO7PJOE- This review may contain spoilers ***
Note:I've not read the book.
View on the film:
Getting on-board during early stage of her pregnancy, (kept secret from cast/crew!) Emily Blunt gives a blistering anti-Femme Fatale Film Noir loner performance as Rachael. Dimly looking at the "perfect" couples across the tracks with eyes caked in black,Blunt superbly unseats the staggered nature of the Noir loner, pouring Watson out in bitter blends of over-confidence in protecting her "perfect" images,and a Noir pit that lands Watson with harsh reality. Joining in this prime cut "Women's Picture" Neo-Noir and also taking a liking to twitchy Justin Theroux's Tom, Rebecca Ferguson and Haley Bennett give excellent performance as Anna and Megan,with Bennett making Megan a bundle of sexy Neo-Noir temptation, whilst Ferguson fractures Anna's suburban, picket-line fence image created by Rachel,to release the bubbling Noir Fury.
Changing tracks from the London setting of Paula Hawkins's book to New York,the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson corkscrews the thrills for a simmering Neo-Noir atmosphere. Dovetailing fragmented flashbacks to Rachael going off the rails,Wilson presents with a sharp clarity the slurring state of Rachel,lit in sudden turns of aggression and a tense piecing together of her "forgotten" train ride. Opening the bottle to Tom's various relationships,Wilson cuts into an evil under the sun Noir mood, shining from a subtle, gradual changes in perspective,seeping a crisp Noir awareness under the nails of Anna and Rachael.
Buying a Noir Thriller ticket for the first time in his credits,director Tate Taylor & cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen stylishly tap at the burnt Noir loner state of Rachael with grubby low-lighting opening the blackened,decayed wounds of Rachael. Backed by a shimmering score from Danny Elfman,Taylor layers the darkness with chilling stylisation of slow-motion rain hitting the frosty tracks,and screams from a horror-like nightmare linking Rachel's torn ticket memories.
- This review may contain spoilers ***
-
mgtbltp — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 02:13 PM)
Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) has a dead body and a half million dollars sitting at the edge of the Rio Grande Gorge in the New Mexico desert.
So begins White Sands a Film Soleil Noir directed by Roger Donaldson (The Getaway (1994)) and written by Daniel Pyne (Miami Vice (TV Series)1984 - 1986)). Cinematography was by Peter Menzies Jr. (The Getaway (1994)), and music by Patrick O'Hearn.
The film stars Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Wild at Heart (1990)) as Ray Dolezal, Mickey Rourke (Body Heat (1981), Angel Heart (1987), Barfly (1987), Sin City (2005), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)), as Gorman Lennox, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Scarface (1983), Slam Dance (1987)) as Lane Bodine, Samuel L. Jackson (Ragtime (1981), Sea of Love (1989), Goodfellas (1990), True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Hard Eight (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), ) as Greg Meeker, M. Emmet Walsh (Midnight Cowboy (1969), Serpico (1973), Blade Runner (1982), Blood Simple (1984)) as Bert Gibson, with James Rebhorn as Agent Flynn, Maura Tierney as Noreen, Beth Grant as Roz Kincaid, and Mimi Rogers as Molly Dolezal.
The film is initially captivating, the body, discovered by an Apache helicopter pilot hauling two amateur archaeologists, is lying in an adobe ruin, with his brains blown out. Coroner Bert Gibson declares "It's a suicide," made even more probable with the discovery of a half million dollars in an attache case. The banter between Gibson and Dolezal about Dolezal's new cowboy hat is amusing. This reprises later at the autopsy where a phone number is discovered on a piece of wax paper as part of the undigested stomach contents. The dead man is named Spencer.
Normally in Classic Noir the protagonist starts to make stupid decisions that propel the film down the road to Noirsville. In White Sands though there are way too many of these implausibilities to believe. Combined that with interesting but un important characters that appear then just vanish and unnecessary plot complications and you have a film that goes a bit off the rails.
Dolezal, posing as Spenser, calls variations of surrounding area codes plus the number and when he finally gets a connection he is instructed to go to a meeting set up at a motel. So what does he do?
He leaves his wife and son and drives off in his highly conspicuous blue 1966 Chevrolet Corvette, with a half million bucks without any backup to the meeting, implausibility number 1.
At the motel he is robbed by two women and instructed to meet a man named Gorman Lennox at a restaurant. FBI agent Greg Meeker intercepts Dolezal and informs him that Spenser was an undercover agent, an FBI mule carrying money for a payment. Since Dolezal has carelessly lost the money, Meeker tells Dolezal to posing as Spenser to recover the money or help arrest Lennox.
Dolezal meets Lennox (Rourke in a "That's one fine coat you're wearing" long coat) and his deal broker Lane Bodine. Since Lane knew Spencer she knows that Dolezal is an imposter, but since she gets a percentage of the deal she lets him slide implausibility number 2.
The money is for illegal arms. Needing more money when the arms merchants renege on the original deal, Dolezal has to romance Lane so she will attract rich humanitarian donors to fund the increase asking price on the deal implausibility number 3.
Willem Dafoe puts in a good performance but there is a lot of hesitation evident in which way the director wanted to go. M. Emmet Walsh's character is built up nicely then disappears entirely from the rest of the film, Dolezal's wife and son are treated likewise. Later two apparent lesbian goons assault Dolezal in a motel room then also are never really part of the film except as background. There are a lot of dead ends. Expectations are dangled in front of us but never followed through. White Sands, New Mexico, BTW, makes a very brief appearance in the last 5 minutes, what's up with that?
It probably would have worked better if it would stayed a bit simpler. The sum is not as good as it's parts, there was a good film in there someplace. 6.5/10 Full review with more screen caps here
http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2017/01/white-sands-1992-andy-of-mayberry-meets.html -
jgcole — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 02:34 PM)
This film was a big hit at Cannes winning two awards, but that wasnt enough for von Trier who thought it should have got the
Palme dOr
and let everybody know how he felt, giving the jury the finger when they announced that
Barton Fink
was that years winner.
Europa
is a beautiful film to look at using classical film techniques including Dutch angles, rear projections, front projections, double exposures and bits of color in its black and white photography for effect in some scenes think blood red. Then there is the hypnotic voice over by the great Max von Sydow: as the lens speeds down a spotlighted railroad track the voice says, On the count of ten you will be in.Europa! Ten!. Its all more than a bit strange but it adds up to a mesmerizing cinematic expression of a shattered and disoriented Germany at the end of WWII.
Leopold Kessler is a young, idealistic American of German descent who comes to the old country to be part of the reconstruction because, he says, maybe we should be nice to Germany. Leo is not ready for the people he's about to meet and never fully understands what's going on around him. His uncle gets him a job as the sleeping car conductor aboard Zentropa Railways a company that, of course, had only recently been transporting doomed passengers. Zentropa is headed by the Hartmann family whose patriarch is of questionable loyalties in occupied Germany. His niece, the also questionable Katarina, seduces naive Leo and draws him into a multi layered web of espionage and counter-espionage that involves a pro-Nazi terrorist organization known as Werwolf; and a US Army colonel who wants the young American to spy for the army.
The story is a mess (which is not a problem for me) and the acting a bit skewed giving the film a Lynchian feel. The film only makes illusions to the US/German business interests during the war, the camps, the Allied occupation, etc., without dragging us down into some allegory on the moral tragedy of the whole thing. So it gets an extra .5 pt. for that. 8.0/10 -
XhcnoirX — 9 years ago(February 08, 2017 02:58 AM)
This will probably be my last review on this board
Live By Night
(2016/2017): Prohibition era Boston. Small-time Irish crook Ben Affleck doesn't want to get caught up in the territorial war between Irish gangster Robert Glenister and Italian gangster Remo Girone. But when he falls for Sienna Miller, an inside woman for one of his jobs, it's too late as she's also Glenister's mistress. When a robbery goes wrong and some cops end up dead, and Glenister gets the word about Miller and Affleck, it's only because of Affleck's dad, a police captain who knows everything about everyone in Boston, that Affleck ends up doing some hard time in prison rather than go to the chair or get killed by Glenister. But Miller's dead and when Affleck gets out again, he wants revenge and turns to Girone. Girone sets Affleck up in Florida where Glenister's been moving in on his liquor business. Affleck does well there and manages to take over most of Glenister's business. But Florida isn't just run by gangsters, it's also run by the KKK
Bloody awesome! If you enjoy the 30s and 40s gangster movies starring James Cagney and Lawrence Tierney (Affleck looks so much like him at times, I am convinced he based his physical demeanor in this movie on him), this movie will bring a smile to your face. While Affleck's character is never quite as ruthless or cold as Cagney's and Tierney's trademark roles, he definitely embodies that same kinda spirit. The movie also touches upon the more political/racial/religious aspects of the era, such as where police captain Chris Cooper tells Affleck he will turn a blind eye as long as he keeps his business to the bad (read: non-white) part of town (and of course there's the KKK as already mentioned above).
While Affleck is far from the greatest actor ever, he seems very aware of his limitations and makes them work to his advantage here. It also helps that he's supported by an excellent cast. And the movie looks absolutely stunning with some great sets and set pieces, and tons of beautiful 20s/30s cars (including a great car chase in and around Boston). Affleck, who also directed this movie, and DoP Richard Richardson, as well as the set & art directors, give this movie a great and authentic look, which by itself is worth the price of admission.
If there's a negative to this movie, it's that Affleck (also the screenplay writer!) wants to bring too much of Dennis Lehane's source novel to the table. Because of the sheer amount of plotlines some get a bit lost in the shuffle and not given too much attention (I also left out some rather important ones in this review, hah). I assume that similar to his 2010 movie 'The Town' his original cut is way longer than the current 2h9m runtime tho, so hopefully at some point a 'director's cut' of 'Live By Night' sees the light of day. For me however, the 2 hours flew by, and I was on the edge of my seat from the first second to the last. I can't recommend this movie enough, and I am even considering seeing it again in the cinema. Let me say it again: Blood awesome! 9/10 -
morrison-dylan-fan — 9 years ago(February 12, 2017 09:49 AM)
Hi Spike,with this being from 1960,I'm not sure if it is a Neo-Noir or one of the last Film Noir's.
8
** This review may contain spoilers ***
Discussing French Film Noir with the very generous IMDber dbdumonteil,I asked about adaptations of novelists Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac,due to the three that I've seen (Eyes Without A Face,Vertigo and Diabolique) being absolute classics. Catching me by surprise, dbdumonteil told me about a British Film Noir adaptation. Gathering up titles for my birthday viewing,I was thrilled to find it on Ebay £2.50!,which led to me unmasking the faces in the dark.
The plot:
Completely absorbed in his work, businessmen Richard Hammond puts his eyes on inventing a new light-bulb in his factory. Trying out a prototype, Hammond gets caught in an explosion which permanently blinds him. Fearing that he might go mad,Hammond is told by the Dr that he must trust his long suffering wife Christiane and "loyal" friend/co-worker David Merton to take care of him. Returning to his country home, Hammond is horrified to find himself constantly needing to be "corrected" by Christiane that things have not been moved around in the house. Standing outside,light begins to enter Hammond's blind vision when he smells pine trees,despite no pine trees having ever been near his house.
View on the film:
Unmasking this near-forgotten title, Renown present a sparkling transfer,with the dialogue and Mikis Theodorakis's off-beat wah-wah score being clear,and there only being a few specs of dirt on the images of the dark.
Ridding Hammond of his sight in the first 5 minutes (!) of this Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac adaptation,the screenplay by Ephraim Kogan & John Tully cuts a lean and mean British Film Noir. Changing sight of the original novel limiting the pov to the darkness of Hammond's mind,the writers brilliantly retain the isolation Noir spirit,with sharp-tooth inner monologues bringing to light the mad darkness Hammond is trapped in,and the echoes of doubt he now has of those out of sight. Playfully nodding to the French to English transfer,the writers hit a fantastic ambiguous note for Hammond's friends and family, shining in the clipped exchanges Christine has with her husband,which carry (some) element of care with a decayed frustration over Hammond's blindness to other points of view.
Spraying the dark mist of the original novel across the screen,director David Eady and cinematographer Ken Hodges turn Hammond's upper-crust country house into a Noir maze,via ever winding ultra-stylish shadows guarding Hammond from seeing the darkest events taking place. Largely staying away from any Gothic "monster" lighting for Hammond, Eady looks into his burnt eyes with coiled close-ups stabbing the pompous outlook he had on life,with a new Noir loner grasp from Hammond to catch an eyeful of the true feelings of those around him. Joined by an elegant, thoughtful Mai Zetterling as Christiane, John Gregson gives a fantastic performance as Hammond,thanks to Gregson punching Hammond's narrow bitterness with a gradual Film Noir fear of lies coming from the faces in the dark. -
Jessica_Rabbit69 — 9 years ago(November 21, 2016 06:57 AM)
Great review. I'm a fan, but it's one of those films where I have to steel myself before watching. I've seen it twice, and read the book, and it's nothing you can just sit down, watch and forget. I also wouldn't watch it by myself when I'm home alone. Too horrific and chilling.
I see you got a little lecture on the CFB when you posted this.
It's so unfortunate that the CFB has become such an annoying board.
Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way." -
mgtbltp — 9 years ago(November 21, 2016 07:29 AM)
I don't ever look for hidden agendas in films, but there are folks out there who see everything in black and white, good and bad, who think they are the watchdogs of the culture. I just ignore it.
The main point of my reviews is the Visual thread that runs through these films that's sort of why they are heavy on screenshots. The exceptional ones are are works of art. -
XhcnoirX — 9 years ago(November 25, 2016 03:42 AM)
One Shoe Makes It Murder
(1982): Robert Mitchum is a private eye who has given up on life. He's hired by casino owner Mell Ferrer, someone has been cooking his books and he thinks his wife might be in danger because of it. Mitchum finds her quickly enough, but minutes after he leaves her apartment he witnesses her fall from her balcony to a sudden death. Inspector Jose Perez thinks it's murder due to one of her slippers being nowhere near the balcony while she was wearing the other one, and isn't crazy about Mitchum acting like a clam. Ferrer re-hires Mitchum however, this time to find out what happened to his wife. He eventually discovers that ex-hooker and barfly Angie Dickinson, who's been throwing herself at him ever since he stepped into the casino, might be the key to unlock the mystery.
This is a decent but unremarkable made-for-TV movie, which stands out due to the presence of Mitchum ('Out Of The Past') and Dickinson ('The Killers'). Mitchum plays the type of role he was made for, as a broken man who's so jaded by his past (which includes a failed suicide attempt) that he cannot even get it up for the sexy and affectionate Dickinson. Dickinson is good and gives her character a genuinely warm side, but because of it, the impact of her character on the dead wife's past is never really felt. The 'kindred spirit' chemistry between Mitchum and Dickinson works really well however, it is there, but neither character really knows how to act on it, and fall back in their old ways. Their scenes together, as well as Mitchum's world-weary lines and voice-over narration which is used extensively throughout this movie, are what make this movie stand out.
The movie itself plays out at a very leisurely pace, and doesn't really 'thrill', even tho it's competently made. It's just not an edge-of-your-seat mystery/thriller. Pretty routine work from director William Hale and DoP Terry K. Meade, with only an occasional creative shot such as when Mitchum witness the fall. The plot, based on a novel, is also pretty straight-forward and not too surprising. Watch this one for Mitchum and Dickinson's scenes. 6/10
This TV movie can be found on youtube in decent quality in its original 4:3 aspect ratio (the version I watched), but it has also been released as a widescreen DVD. -
mgtbltp — 9 years ago(November 30, 2016 05:21 AM)
"The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the Pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here you're on your own."
All I can say is Wow! What a debut film of the Coen Brother's. This film has got STYLE. Directed by Joel Coen, (& Ethan Coen (uncredited)) (
Miller's Crossing
(1990),
Barton Fink
(1991),
Fargo
(1996),
The Big Lebowski
(1998),
The Man Who Wasn't There
(2001),
No Country for Old Men
(2007)), and written by both Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. The films cinematography was by Barry Sonnenfeld (
Raising Arizona
(1987),
Miller's Crossing
(1990)) and the music was by Carter Burwell (
Fargo
(1996),
The Big Lebowski
(1998),
No Country for Old Men
(2007),
Mildred Pierce
(TV Mini-Series)).
The film stars John Getz (
The Fly
(1986)) as Ray, Frances McDormand (
Fargo
(1996), Lone Star (1996),
The Man Who Wasn't There
(2001)) as femme fatale Abby Marty, Dan Hedaya (
True Confessions
(1981),
Tightrope
(1984),
Mulholland Dr.
(1999)) as Julian Marty, M. Emmet Walsh (
Midnight Cowboy
(1969),
Serpico
(1973),
Straight Time
(1978),
Blade Runner
(1982),
Narrow Margin
(1990)) as private investigator Loren Visser, Samm-Art Williams (
Dressed to Kill
(1980),
A Rage in Harlem
(1991)) as Meurice, and Deborah Neumann as Debra.
P.I.'s are arguably, along with the femme fatale, probably the two top icons of Noir, but in the totality of the Noir/Neo Noir canon there are surprisingly, contrary to popular perception, not very many films that actually do feature your classic hardboiled private detective. Oh don't get me wrong there is sleuthing going on in quite a bit of Film Noir, but it's done by a plethora of characters, newspaper reporters, the falsely accused, the amnesiacs, the framed, cabbies, tabloid photographers, secretaries, taxi dancers, average joe's, even kids. Out of those films that do actually have P.I.'s, I can only think of four with private detectives that have gone bad, Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) in,
Out Of the Past
, J.B. MacDonald (Raymond Burr) in
Pitfall
, Kerric (Raymond Burr) in
Abandoned
, and hayseed sheetkicker Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) in this film
Blood Simple
, which takes "The Bad Detective" to a whole new level.
Blood Simple starts off with sleazy bedroom dick Visser's voice over about there being no guarantees in life. Visser was hired by Julian Marty who owns Neon Boots a honkey-tonk/strip bar. Marty wants Visser, to keep tabs on his "funny: acting wife, Abby. Julian suspects some hanky panky is going on between Abby and one of his barkeepers, either "Motown" Meurice or "Cowboy" Ray.
On a rainy night Ray offers to drive Abby to Houston on his day off. Abby spills the beans to Ray about her screwed up marriage. Ray replies that he's always liked her.
Abby:
He gave me a little pearl-handled .38 for our first anniversary.
Ray:
Uh-huh.
Abby:
Figured I'd better leave before I used it on him. I don't know how you can stand him.
Ray:
Well, I'm only an employee, I ain't married to him.
One thing leads to another and Abby ends up repeatedly batter-dipping Ray's corn dog in a variety of positions in a cheap roadside hot sheet motel. Visser who has been tailing them all along in his VW bug is able to indulge in one of his perverted kinks, peeping and photographing their dirty deeds. Visser takes particular pleasure rubbing Julian]s nose in his armature porn shots of Ray and Abby.
Private Detective Visser:
[about a photo of Ray and Abby] I know a place you can get that framed.
Marty:
What did you take these for?
Private Detective Visser:
What do you mean? Just doin' my job.
Marty:
You called me, I knew they were there, so what do I need these for?
Private Detective Visser:
Well, I don't know Call it a fringe benefit.
Marty:
How long did you watch her?
Private Detective Visser:
Most of the night They'd just rest a few minutes and then get started again. Quite something.
Julian stews over the revelations, confronts Ray and Abby to little effect, then decides to make Visser an offer.
Marty:
I got a job for you.
Private Detective Visser:
Uh, well, if the pay's right, and it's legal, I'll do it.
Marty:
It's not strictly legal.
Private Detective Visser:
[Thinks for a second] Well, if the pay's right, I'll do it.
Julian offers Visser 10 Gs to kill Ray and Abby and get rid of the bodies.
Of course this being a Neo Noir nothing goes down quite as expected, and when it does go down, it's with great style. The film is full of twists, double crosses and a healthy helping of bizarre black humor.
Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh are both in top form as the films unforgettable two sleazeballs around which this picaresque universe revolves. The soundtrack and