The Viewing Files: 365 Movies in 365 Days - Week Fifty One

I did it again.  Thankfully I fixed it in about two seconds.  So this post should be all good now.

Thrillers and detectives this time round and only one more post to go...

Vertigo
Starring: James Stewart and Kim Novak
Original release: 1958
Synopsis: A former detective becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman.

OMG I wanted so much to like this movie.  It sounds amazing and it's always on the best movie lists and yet that's a pass by me.

I didn't even bother finishing it, it was so boring.  Cold and clinical, which was often Hitch's style, and yet that was half of it's problem.

In the end I didn't care about any of the characters at all.

A Time to Kill

Starring: Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L Jackson
Original release: 1996
Synopsis: A black man stands on trial for killing his daughter's rapists.

Not only a great courtroom thriller but a powerful drama about racism.  Matt's closing argument near the end of the film will not only make you cry but also make you think.  Great acting from pretty much everyone involved.

 

Drive
Starring: Ryan Gosling
Original release: 2011
Synopsis: A getaway driver gets in trouble.

I just don't get the fuss.  Electronic music and moody lighting and drawn out conversations made it an arty movie pretending to be a thriller.

I ended up skipping to the end.

The Lincoln Lawyer
Starring: Matthew McConaughey
Original release: 2011
Synopsis:  A lawyer defending a wealthy man begins to believe his client is guilty of more than just one crime. 

I'm a sucker for lawyer slash detective thrillers so you just knew that I was going to like this.  Matt once again shows how good he can be with the right material.

Absolute Power
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris
Original release: 1997
Synopsis: A thief witnesses a murder.

An on-the-edge of your seat thriller.  It's twisty and turning and so good.

I love Ed Harris in this role.

No Way Out
Starring: Kevin Costner
Original release: 1987
Synopsis: A woman is murdered.

Even more complicated twists and turns.  The ending will make you go "Oh My God I so did not see that coming".

Psycho
Starring: Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins
Original release: 1960
Synopsis: A woman on the run checks into a rundown hotel.

Lesson learned:  Have a shower door, not a shower curtain and never ever stay in creepy looking hotels in the middle of nowhere.

Famously creepy and deservedly so.