Crime Movie Catch Up

The crime genre has been an evergreen favorite since the film noire days of Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar) and Humphrey Bogart (High Sierra). Modern classics like the Godfather trilogy, Scarface, Goodfellas, and the Soprano series depict people who might live next door, but who have chosen to be immersed “in the life”. So, if you like hard-hitting crime thrillers with lots of grit blended with occasional humor, it’s time to catch up on twenty great ones released since 2000 you may have missed. You can find these movies circulating with ads on the free channels or can view uninterrupted on premium channels and pay-per-view.

1. Snatch (2000)

Guy Ritchie’s wild romp through the British underworld follows up his acclaimed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), expanded to include more zany characters and outrageous action. The MacGuffin is a diamond big as a doorknob that gets seized, lost, fumbled, stolen, then finally swallowed by a dog. Brad Pitt plays a magnificent intelligible gypsy bare-knuckle boxing champion who fails to take a dive and incurs the wrath of Bricktop (Allen Ford), the head gangster with a loyal crew, expert in feeding bodies of those who disobey to pigs. Ritchie’s sense of humor pervades the plot and names of the characters who are delighted to be part of this madcap ensemble: the well-intentioned protagonist Turkish (Jason Stratham), gambling addict Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro), Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones), American gangster Avi (Dennis Farina) and Russian Boris the Blade (Rade Šerbedžija) who carries a meat cleaver inside his overcoat. The seriousness of the story is diffused with so many screw-ups and absurdities, you give-up trying to make sense of it and just go along for the ride. Great original fun you may have to watch twice to get all the gags.

2. Sexy Beast (2000)

This film jolts you from the start when a huge boulder tumbles down a hillside into the swimming pool of retired gangster Gal Dove (Ray Winstead) as he suns himself with his mates outside a Costa del Sol villa overlooking the Mediterranean. Not to worry, they can patch the pool and their idyllic life will go on. Not so fast. His old gang needs him back in London for a final job and Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) is sent to retrieve him. Kingsley is bald like Ghandi, but his demeanor is the opposite; a more violent, demeaning or psychopathic character is hard to imagine. Gal resists, but we next find him checking into the Grosvenor Hotel where the boss, Teddy Bass (Ian McShane), enquires as to Don’s whereabouts as he has gone missing. Gal insists he left on a plane and reunites with his old crew to pull the job. It’s a bank heist where the vault is accessed by jackhammering in from an underwater swimming pool next door. Director Jonathan Glazer maintains the tension of his unusual script until the end with the high moments accentuated by Roque Banos score. One of the best cockney villain movies ever made.

3. Training Day (2001)

Rookie cop Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) gets partnered with maverick LAPD narcotics detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) and spends a long intense day confronting the realities of the streets. Jake is duped and manipulated by the seasoned lawman – from the first minor pot bust, to the murder of a former colleague (Scott Glenn) who stays alive just long enough to see Harris’ squad chain saw through the kitchen floor to his hidden stash of retirement money. When offered his cut, Hoyt refuses, his naïve idealism the kiss of death to the corrupt tribe. Hoyt gets set up for removal by a Mexican gang but he saved the killer’s niece in an alley attack and found her wallet. This turns the plot and Hoyt grows a pair, knowing the only way to set things right is to attack. Denzel is a brilliant villain and won the best actor Oscar for his riveting performance. A lady friend (Eva Mendes) is at Alonzo’s disposal as is his snitch (Snoop Dog) and anyone who gets in his way. A solid movie from start to finish in the Antoine Fuqua heavy hitting style.

4. Man on Fire (2004)

Set in Mexico City instead of Italy like the previous novel adaptation staring Scott Glenn (1987), Tony Scott’s superb remake stars Denzel Washington as burned-out CIA agent John Creasy who takes a job as a bodyguard for the wealthy Ramos family’s child Lupita, played by Dakota Fanning. He drives her to school, teaches her to competitively swim and becomes her best friend as her parents are otherwise occupied. Just as Creasy gets used to the quiet life, Pita gets kidnapped and Creasy almost dies in a wild shoot out. Italian star Giancarlo Giannini as AFI Agent Miguel Manzano, has Creasy moved from the hospital to a vet clinic to protect him as the kidnappers were crooked cops charged to shut Creasy up. His friend and compatriot Paul Rayburn played by Christopher Walken, helps him get information and a bag full of weapons as Creasy is determined to find and rescue Pita. The police are called in to handle the ransom phone calls from “The Voice” who runs the child abduction ring, the event causing arguments and separation between Samuel (Marc Anthony) and Lisa Ramos (Radha Mitchell). The ransom money is arranged by their lawyer Jordan Kalfus played by Mickey Rourke, but things go awry. Creasy, patched up and on the hunt, runs down leads, conducts interviews of the perpetrators and dispenses justice unmercifully. The Voice becomes enraged over the death of his nephew and bargains to trade Creasy’s life for Pita. Things move rapidly toward a resolution, as hidden motives are revealed and Creasy pays the ultimate price to set things right. This film is director Tony Scott at his best, cinematographer Paul Cameron capturing the action in a style that enhances the gritty tale and leaves you emotionally depleted. Fasten your chin strap.

5. Collateral (2004)

Jamie Foxx plays Max a Los Angeles cab driver. He takes the night shift, lives frugally, and dreams of starting a limousine business. Federal prosecutor Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith) shares life stories during the ride to her office and gives Max her card. The next faire is Vincent (Tom Cruise) a well-dressed man who hires Max for the night as he needs to make five stops to close real estate deals. Waiting in an alley on Vincent’s first stop, a fresh corpse falls out a window and lands on the cab. Vincent appears, reveals he is a hitman, coerces Max to stash the body in the trunk and drive him to his next four appointments. Vincent’s credentials are reinforced when Max watches him shoot dead two guys who try to steal his brief case. Max drives him to a jazz club where Vincent cozies up to the owner who becomes his next target. Max gets a call from dispatch and Vincent insists they visit Max’s mother in the hospital. Max riles up, tosses the briefcase onto a freeway which destroys Vincent’s hit list. Vincent threatens harm to his mother if Max doesn’t obtain the next names from his drug lord boss played by Javier Bardem, who threatens death if Vincent doesn’t complete the assignment. The murders have brought the LAPD and FBI into the story, the chase begins and the plot twists and turns toward a final shoot-out and a sweet ending. A tense smart Michael Mann picture with Tom Cruise at his mature best.

6. Lord of War (2005)

Nicolas Cage stars as Yuri Orlov, son of Ukrainian refugees living in Brighton Beach in the 1980s. After he watches a Russian hit man dispatch a pair of assassins with an AK-47, he gets inspired to become an arms dealer and convinces his younger brother Vitaly (Jared Leto) to go into business with him. They fumble around at first but find their feet and make rapid progress in the illegal arms trade. This draws the attention of idealistic Interpol Agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) who chases Yuri from Columbia to Africa and Russia as he makes deals and always seems to have the right credentials to let him walk. Vitaly lacks discipline, gets hooked on coke and goes to rehab while Yuri arranges to meet his dream girl Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moyanhan) by hiring her to do a fake modeling gig where he rents out the hotel. They get married, live in a big Manhattan penthouse and have a child. Ava starts painting to fill the void as Yuri is gone making money. He uses his heritage to make a deal with a Russian general to sell the huge stockpile of weapons left over from the Cold War and advances beyond his rivals, supplying weapons to both sides of conflicts in Africa. His main client is dictator Andre Baptiste (Eamonn Walker) who kills underlings on a whim and pays for weapons in conflict diamonds. Out of rehab, Vitaly protests against the brutality of a trade, blows up a truck of arms and gets gunned down by Yuri’s clients. Agent Valentine visits Ava, exposes the truth about Yuri’s source of income and she leaves with their child. His brother dead, his wife gone and disowned by his parents, Yuri finally gets arrested and surprises Valentine about how things work in the real world. This is a powerful fictionalized exposé based on the lives of real international arms dealers, employing a huge cast and crew with incredible footage. A real eye-opener.

7. Inside Man (2006)

A crew dressed in painter’s clothes takes control of a Manhattan bank in broad daylight. Going by the name of Dalton Russell (Clive Owen), the masked crew leader seals the bank, takes employees and customers hostage, seizes their cellphones and tells them to strip down. More painter’s overalls and masks are produced and everyone is dressed the same as they shuffle from room to room. The vault is open and full of cash, but the interest is in a safe deposit box owned by the bank president Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer). Detective Keith Frazer (Denzel Washington) manages the platoon of police set up outside ready to attack. Dialogue ensues and Russell demands two buses and a fueled jet and pilot. Frazer suspicion of ulterior motives are confirmed when Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) appears. She is a high dollar fixer hired by Case to protect the contents of his box that contains the secret to his past deeds working for the Nazis. Just as the cops get ready to charge in for the rescue, the doors open and they all burst from the bank in their jumpsuits. Everyone gets interviewed, but the cops can’t ferret out the crooks and they walk away with the hostages. Willem Dafoe adds welcome support as police Captain John Darius. Director Spike Lee keeps things interesting and delivers a great twist ending never before seen on the screen.

8. The Departed (2006)

The Departed, penned by William Monahan, was basically a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs that reflected activities of Boston’s real life Winter Hill Gang. Southie crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) mentors Colin (Matt Damon) to become his eyes and ears in the Massachusetts State Police while its undercover agent William Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) works his way into Costello’s crew. When things start to go awry, each side tries to discover its respective mole who protect their identities with lies and trickery, resulting in narrow escapes and inordinate stress to the operatives. Costello sells fake computer chips to the Chinese and carries out all kinds of monkey business with his crew of deviants led by Mr. French (Ray Winstead). The Special Investigations Unit has two competing factions that get in each other’s way, one run by Capt. Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Mark Walberg), the other by Captain Ellerby (Alec Baldwin). Vera Farmiga plays the police psychiatrist who gets Costigan as a patient while living with Trooper Colin. Yes, it’s a jumbled up complicated plot, but director Martin Scorsese masterfully holds it all together and keeps his all-star cast from tripping over one another. The film deservedly won four Oscars including best director and best picture and is one of the greatest and most enjoyable crime thrillers ever made. You might skip some of the other movies mentioned in this list, but don’t miss this one. Several viewings may be needed to appreciate all the intricacies and nuances of the plot and dialogue.

9. American Gangster (2007)

Looking for a way to rise up in the world, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) moves to take over the Harlem drug scene by providing a superior product at a lower cost. A true entrepreneur, Lucas travels to Thailand to obtain heroin at its source and devises a novel method of importation using U. S. military aircraft. The competition takes notice and Lucas defends his territory with noticeable violence. Bodies appear along with the Blue Magic heroin packets. The authorities form a special task force to handle the threat, led by honest New Jersey cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), who once turned in every penny of a million-dollar drug bust. His crack team begins to collect evidence that leads them to New York City where Richie gets his flash money seized by crooked police detective Trupo (Josh Brolin), who chastises his jurisdictional violation. Lucas moves his brothers up from the deep south to help in the distribution effort and buys his mother a mansion. It becomes tough to maintain order and mistakes eventually lead to Lucas’ arrest and imprisonment. Loosely based on a true story, director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator) shot 360 scenes in over 180 locations, including using villagers in Thailand who had been actual participants in the Frank Lucas smuggling operation. A massive production with a 175-minute extended version. You may need two buckets of popcorn.

10. Eastern Promises (2007)

The Russian mafia operates under the radar in dreary London. Godfather Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is the proprietor of an ethnic restaurant and meeting place. When Semyon’s business card is found inside the diary of a Russian girl who dies giving childbirth, the midwife Anna (Naomi Watts) calls on him to investigate. The diary is written in Russian and Semyon offers to translate. But Anna’s Russian stepfather finds the diary on her dresser, reads it, and warns her to stay away. These are bad people and the dead girl was a sex slave. Semyon’s son and protégé Kirill (Vincent Cassel), a libertine drunk, is watched over by their driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) Kirill is jealous of Nikolai’s strength and discipline and tries to keep him down. The diary reveals that Semyon is the baby’s father and Nikolai is offered captain status if he removes the threat. The stepfather disappears. Nikolai swears allegiance in a mafia ceremony and gets stars tattooed on his shoulders. But it’s a ruse and two hitmen attack him in a bath house, resulting in one of the most graphic fights ever filmed. The next target is the baby as the police have taken a blood sample from Semyon to confirm the DNA. In the hospital, Nikolai is revealed to be something other than a mafioso and bands with Anna to save the baby. David Cronenberg delivers a powerful unsettling portrait of the Russian mafia ethos in a film that begs for a sequel. You won’t forget it.

11. No Country for Old Men (2007)

Hunting deer on the bleak plains of west Texas, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the scene of a drug deal gone bad. Bullet riddled pick-ups, dead dealers and dogs, lead him to a satchel filled with $2 million cash. Moss and his wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) abandon their single-wide and go on the run, but prove no match for hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) who tracks the money with psychic-like powers. Sheriff Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) joins the pursuit, initially baffled by Chigurh’s novel method of assassination – a metal rod using compressed air to kill cattle. Llewelyn sends Carla Jean ahead while he tries to eliminate Chigurh and spends time gut shot in a Mexico border town hospital. Ex-military cowboy fixer Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) shows up to help Moss, but meets a grisly death from Chigurh’s silenced shotgun. On his own and running scared, Moss plans to meet his bride in El Paso where his misadventure ends. The Cohen brothers master another genre in bringing Cormac McCarthy’s terse novel to the big screen, winning many awards including four Oscars, two for best picture and best director. A highly original modern crime classic not to be missed.

12. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

The American remake of the Swedish film based on the best-selling Stieg Larsson novel, the first in his trilogy, features genius computer hacker / investigator Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). She is heavily pierced and rides a fast motorcycle like she wants to squeeze every drop of life from her last day on earth. Though her past is not revealed, you sense she has been abused to the point she takes delight in torturing those who try to extort her, such as the executor over her inheritance. Lisbeth’s counter part is Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a discredited journalist who gets an assignment to research and pen the memoir of Swedish business mogul Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). But that assignment is just a cover for the real task of finding the truth about his missing granddaughter. Money is no object and Blomkvist moves into a little cabin on the vast island estate where he encounters the suave Martin Vanger (Stellan Skarsgård), the keeper of the secrets. Blomkvist needs help with his research and enlists Salander as she can crack into any computer. A movie about computers and research may sound dull, but the perverse action, unusual characters, guiltless sex set inside a frigid Swedish winter with lots of plot twists, results in an intelligent and highly satisfying experience. If you like this one, check out the sequels The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, all with Salander.

13. Public Enemies (2009)

Johnny Depp plays tough guy John Dillinger, a Depression-era gangster who runs a crew of high-living bank robbers operating in the Midwest. They are organized, efficient and brutal and draw the attention of J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) who lobbies Congress to secure expansion funding for his new crime fighting agency, the FBI. The Special Agent tasked with collaring Dillinger is Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), who shoots Pretty Boy Floyd in the back, and enters a high-octane cat-and-mouse chase to capture the elusive Dillinger who flaunts authority and lives large out in the open. He gets captured twice and escapes twice from jail, incensing Purvis who brings in a seasoned lawman (Steven Lang) as his FBI agents hadn’t yet developed the chops to take down the most wanted. The lovely Marion Cotillard plays Billie Frechette, the hat check girl who becomes Dillinger’s love interest, complicates his life, and eventually leads to his demise as his bravado trumps caution. Director Michael Mann’s superb pacing between the taut action and connubial bliss enhances the charisma Depp brings to the life of this criminal anti-hero.

14. The Town (2010)

South Boston has a reputation as a breeding ground for hard-nosed criminals, as brilliantly depicted in the movie adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves. The Town was scripted and directed by Ben Affleck who plays Doug MacRay, leader of a crew so tight it squeaks. They shower and scrub themselves before every heist to avoid leaving DNA at the crime scene. They tape their wrists over gloves, wear nun outfits and brandish automatic weapons, their pockets stuffed with extra loaded clips. Jeremy Renner is Jem Coughlim, MacRay’s boyhood chum just back from an eight-year stretch and hell bent on catching up robbing banks and knocking over armored cars. Blake Lively is MacRay’s long time squeeze who turns snitch when he falls for Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), manager for a bank he robs. Jon Hamm (Mad Men), the tenacious FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley, joins forces with Boston PD Detective Dino Ciampa played by Titus Welliver (Bosch) to bring down the elusive crew. MacRay feels the heat, visits his dad in prison (Chris Cooper) before leaving town with his new girlfriend. But to break clean he must pull a final job ordered by the grizzled ex-boxer florist (Pete Postlethwaite). Tension escalates as the crew robs the “Cathedral of Boston” after a weekend double-header leading to a final shootout reminiscent of Michael Mann’s Heat. Action packed with a great storyline and perfect casting. Southie crime at its best.

15. Kill the Irishman (2011)

Jonathan Hensleigh (The Punisher, Die Hard with a Vengeance) directs Ray Stevenson as Danny Greene, a tough Irish-American street kid who grows up to take over the longshoreman’s union at the Cleveland docks. He gets set-up on a corruption charge and avoids jail time by becoming an FBI informant, but uses that protection to expand his criminal activities. A fearless in-your-face kind of guy, he rises as gangster to combat the Italian mafia for control of Cleveland’s underworld while establishing a reputation as a kind of Robin Hood among the local citizens. Things escalate between the gangs, resulting in 36 bombings during the summer of 1976. Unable to handle the violence and stress, his wife leaves him and takes their daughters. He borrows money from kingpin Salerno to get away and start a business out west, but his courier is robbed leaving Greene on the hook. He can’t pay and has to dodge assassination attempts. Supporting roles by Christopher Walken, Vincent D’Onofrio and Val Kilmer add depth to this true-life tale of a guy who knows his time is limited and chooses to live on his own terms. Uneven at times, you sympathize with the characters and come away knowing something about an exceptional real man.

16. Lawless (2012)

During Prohibition in the 1930s, bootlegging whiskey was a prime source of income for outlaws in the hills of Tennessee, and the Bondurant brothers were the most notorious. Tom Hardy is Forrest, the oldest brother, a stocky no-nonsense character who survives despite having his head almost cut off by goons of the brutal and oleaginous Special Deputy Charles Rakes (Guy Pearce). Youngest brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf) wants to live up to the family legend, and after taking a beating from Rakes, ventures out to sell their moonshine direct to powerful gangster Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman). He comes back with a pile of cash, buys new clothes and a car to impress Bertha (Mia Wasikowska), daughter of the local Amish leader. Big city girl with a hidden past Maggie Beaufort (Jessica Chastain) shows up needing work and begins to tend the Bondurant bar. When Forrest refuses to be extorted into paying off the law, Rakes destroys their hidden stills and kills the crippled helper (Dane DeHaan) just for spite. That’s the final straw and the bootleggers race to battle the crooked lawmen at a covered bridge. Powerful performances with realistic sets and wardrobe bring the true story of The Wettest County in the World (by grandson Matt Bondurant) into vivid life.

17. The Equalizer (2014)

Denzel Washington is Robert McCall, a quiet man who lives alone in a spartan apartment, works at the local home builders warehouse and spends his nights reading the classics in the corner diner. He is a man with a rugged past who wants only peace and quiet. But when trouble comes calling, his sense of right and wrong won’t allow him to sit idle. Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz) wants to be a singer but works as a call girl for the Russian mob. When she gets beat up, McCall visits the boss and offers to buy her freedom. Slavi (David Meunier) laughs at him, calls him an old man and tells him to leave. McCall sets the timer on his watch to gauge his performance, and he takes out the room with surprising quickness. His enterprise in chaos, top dog Pushkin sends in his fixer Teddy (Marton Csokas). His torso covered in jail house tatts beneath his business suit, Teddy is as dark and cold-blooded as they come. He announces his arrival by trouncing an underling half to death and uses cops on the payroll to drive him around. McCall visits his old CIA handlers (Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo) to get permission to unleash his full repertoire of skills on Teddy and his crew, and then Pushkin in Russia. A satisfying ‘good triumphs over evil’ tale from start to finish.

18. Black Mass (2015)

To provide another bravo criminal performance, Johnny Depp lost weight and thinned his hair to play the notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger under the direction of Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace). While Depp’s Dillinger was full of life and bravado, his Bulger is a cheerless psychopath who will kill a snitch to make a point to a new recruit. Brother of a Massachusetts state senator, Bulger becomes the godfather of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang at war with the Italian mafia. After one of his soldiers is murdered, Bulger becomes an FBI informant, brought into the fold by his old neighborhood pal and agent, John Connolly (Joey Edgerton), who must walk a tightrope between the crooks and the cops to get things done. This arrangement allows Bulger to continue his criminal enterprise while he feeds the Feds information about his Italian mafia rivals, arousing suspicion of Connolly’s boss played by Kevin Bacon. Just when things get tight, Bulger gets tipped off about a RICO indictment and disappears. He remained undetected as a Ten Most Wanted for 16 years until he is discovered living with his girlfriend in an apartment in Santa Monica where a pile of cash was secreted behind the drywall. He was 81 years old. Strange but true.

19. Legend (2015)

The Kray brothers are London’s archetypal criminals who fought their way into underworld prominence in the 1960s. Tom Hardy plays both Reggie and Ron Kray, often appearing simultaneously on screen thanks to clever planning by veteran writer / director Brian Helgeland. Reggie is the urban front man while Ron lives out of town in a trailer with various male lovers. The story is told through the eyes of Frances (Emily Browning), sister of Reggie’s driver who becomes his wife. The brothers operate out of a swank nightclub they use as their meeting place and playground. Their gang of simpletons continually screws up and suffers the wrath of Reggie who smiles and forgives before beating you senseless. Both brothers are fond of using brass knuckles and hammers on their rivals. Caution is not their strong suit and when Reggie gets sent to prison, Ron’s overindulgence decimates the club business, ending in a sibling brawl when the twins reunite. Angelo Bruno (Chazz Palminteri) of the American mafia flies across the pond to broker a gambling deal with the Krays that proves lucrative for a while until the brothers begin to self-destruct. Gentle Frances succumbs to prescription meds and when Reggie beats her up, she recants the rest of the story from a distance. Ron’s psychopathy remerges in murder, drawing the attention of Scotland Yard and precipitating the Krays slide to the ignominy of dying in prison. Legend is a stark unvarnished portrait of two of the most infamous criminals England has produced in modern times. Hardy won a slew of best actor awards for his stunning performances.

20. Hell or High Water (2016)

In this modern day neo-Western, the escapades of two Texas brothers are chronicled as they try to save the family farm from foreclosure. Ex-con Tanner Howard (Ben Foster) convinces unemployed divorced father Toby Howard (Chris Pine) the only chance they have of paying off the loan is with the bank’s own money. They concoct and execute a plan to knock off branches of Texas Midland. The first bank is a thrill and they bury the getaway car on the farm. The second bank robbery draws the attention of Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) who drive to west Texas to investigate. Their good-natured banter is a highlight of the dialogue as retiring Hamilton keeps putting Parker down and kidding about his Native America-Mexican heritage. A wonderful sequence in a casino where the brothers wash their loot, Tanner plays poker, confronts an Apache, and beds the hotel concierge. As their cash haul nears the amount needed to settle the loan, Tanner starts to get careless as the Rangers close in. Not to spoil the ending, everyone gets what they deserve as the morality tale wraps up neatly. Great characters and many awards for this original crime thriller.

If the above films don’t assuage your crime movie appetite, here are twenty more from the 1990s featuring many of your favorite genre actors: King of New York (1990), Silence of the Lambs (1991), Bugsy (1991), One False Move (1992), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Deep Cover (1992), The Fugitive (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Heat (1995), Get Shorty (1995), Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995), Casino (1995), The Usual Suspects (1995), Fargo (1996), Mulholland Falls (1996), Blood and Wine (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997), L. A. Confidential (1997), The Jackal (1997), and The Professional (1998).