Tag: crime

Night of the Juggler (1980)

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Streaming on Kanopy (and available on all the main rental platforms) | imdb | trailer

NOTE: This is an update of a recommendation from January, 2024.

An ex-cop’s daughter is kidnapped by a psycho in dirty old New York City. This is loosely adapted from a novel of the same name. I was lucky enough to see a 35mm screening of Quentin Tarantino’s print of this obscure action movie a few years ago. Up until the recent 4k restoration this was only ever officially released on VHS. James Brolin is great, and his nemesis, Cliff Gorman, is a recognizable bad guy in many ‘70s movies and TV series. When I saw this at Portland’s Hollywood Theatre, the programmer extraordinaire, Dan Halsted, wisely said that the real star of the film is New York City at its gritty peak. Times Square porno shops, dive bars, and grindhouse theaters feature prominently. Do not miss Night of the Juggler. It is a blast from start to finish.

Available on 4k UHD / Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.

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Out of the Past (1947)

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Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | no original trailer available

Jeff runs a small town gas station and has led a quiet existence for three years. Then his old life as a private detective catches up to him and one of my favorite film noir stories begins to unfold. This is a real gem of ‘40s cinema. You have the always excellent Robert Mitchum in the lead role, and Jacques Tourneur in the director’s chair. Tourneur also made one of my top ‘50s horror films Curse of the Demon, as well as the recommended Nightfall, The Leopard Man and a 1964 episode of The Twilight Zone, Night Call, among many other highly regarded movies. In my book this might just be the single film noir that stands above them all. If you were going to watch one movie in this style, Out of the Past would be an excellent choice.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives.

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State of Silence (2024)

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Streaming on Netflix | imdb | trailer

Here is a seriously heavy documentary on Mexican journalists working against drug cartels and government corruption. The brave people featured here I found to be incredibly inspiring. This whole film is informative and extremely well constructed. The director opted to use artistic live action shots instead of the usual bullshit documentary animation. I wish more movies in this category would do the same. State of Silence would have been a rock solid film if it had a standard ominous synthesizer score, but no… they got BEAK> to do the music. If you are not familiar with the band, check out their latest studio album here, and a digital version of the excellent score here. I saw them live earlier this year and they cemented the fact that they are one of my favorite current music groups. I was impressed that the score was mixed tastefully low, the director must have been tempted to have it be more prominent. I give this film a 10/10, and strongly encourage you to watch in spite of the difficult subject matter.

Not available on Blu-ray.

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The Ghost Writer (2010)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

I completely missed this Roman Polanski thriller when it came out. I caught it just recently and was very pleasantly surprised. Ewan McGregor is tasked with helping the former British PM (Pierce Brosnan) write his memoir. Funny thing… the guy with the ghost writing job before him died under mysterious circumstances. Yeah, you see where this is going. The good news is that the various crime thriller curveballs are unexpected and satisfying. Keep an eye out for a young Jon Bernthal.

Available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate.

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Rolling Thunder (1977)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

Just in case you missed this among the slew of ‘70s and ‘80s action flicks, let me tell you about Rolling Thunder. A prisoner of war finally gets home from Vietnam and what happens? Some assholes attack his family, steal his money, and leave him disfigured. Does he decide to take this as a lesson in life and become a minister? Fuck no he doesn’t. He gets some sweet, sweet revenge. This movie is a damned good example of a “revenge-o-matic” as Quentin Tarantino calls them (in fact he named his film distribution company after it). It’s fast paced, features very good performances from William DeVane and a young Tommy Lee Jones, and has a kick ass ending. The screenplay was by none other than Paul Schrader, but unfortunately his work was lightened up a bit for the final version. Mr. Tarantino says the original script is fantastic, but I have yet to read it myself (it is on my list though). Even a tamed down Rolling Thunder is a great action film, and I rank it among the very best of the ‘70s.

Available on 4k UHD from Shout Factory.

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The Pledge (2001)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

I avoided this movie for years because of the cheesy TV ads, and yeah the above linked trailer is pretty bad too. Director Sean Penn is a bit of a wild card, which probably didn’t help either. However I gave it a watch just recently and was pleasantly surprised at how satisfying the film is. It does suffer from some of that big budget movie falseness, but none of it was too distracting. Thankfully there are more positives than negatives on display. In my book, this one and The Departed are tied for Jack Nicholson’s best late career performances. The other actors are pretty much all familiar faces, and they do a fine job as well. The reason this one stands out is that it is a remarkably dark movie and the ending is something I’ve never quite seen before. It is also worth noting that The Pledge is based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1958 novella, and was made into several other films before this one. The first adaptation was called It Happened in Broad Daylight, and is still considered an excellent movie (I just added it to my watch list). The interesting thing is that Sean Penn’s version, written by Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski, is the most faithful to the novella. Yes, this definitely isn’t Chinatown, but it’s a solid crime thriller that I feel is worth your time.

Available on Blu-ray from Morgan Creek

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Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

A police precinct is in the process of closing when it is brutally attacked by a street gang. This seems like a really obvious recommendation choice, but it falls into the category of movies that younger people may have overlooked. Assault… is John Carpenter’s first proper film after the very short, and very silly, Dark Star. It is also one of only two works in his filmography I give a 10/10. The other is The Thing. I was lucky enough to see a 35mm double feature of both films about 20 years ago. Anyhow, here’s some fun facts for you: The first time I saw this I was on LSD. For a minute I was convinced that the street gang were actually aliens or possessed by a supernatural force. Well, that’s partially because one of the major influences on this film was The Night of the Living Dead. Carpenter directed the gang members to speak very little and act inhuman. Also, fans of Eraserhead may recognize lead actor Darwin Joston, who played a whacky pencil-factory clerk. One final “fact” is that the 2005 remake of this movie is shockingly good. See, I don’t hate on all “reimaginings”, just ones that suck.

Available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory (this would be the best way to see it for image quality).

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The Order (2024)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

This is a very good crime thriller based on the real life murder of radio talk show host Alan Berg, as well as other crimes by a white power group in the ‘80s. I grew up in the Denver area and remember Berg’s killing vividly. The Order is an intelligent film that is also fast paced throughout. The whole movie looks great, with moody lighting, and unusual color choices, as well as scenic locations. It also benefits from excellent music by Jed Kurzel, who happns to be the brother of the director. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, and hopefully you will be too.

Available on Blu-ray from Vertical.

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Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

A fake psychic medium gets her husband to kidnap a child in order to help out business. This movie is a true oddball of the early ‘60s. It is tense, weird, and dark, but all done in a way I’ve never quite seen before. Kim Stanley was nominated for an Oscar for her part, and Richard Attenborough (brother of David) is really fantastic here as well. John Barry’s score is also very good and appropriately creepy. Check out Seance on a Wet Afternoon to experience a crime drama of a very unusual kind.

Not available on domestic Blu-ray.

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Truck Turner (1974)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

Honestly this whole recommendation should simply be “Isaac Hayes is the star of a Black Action film.” I’m not that lazy, so our hero Truck and his partner are hunting for a pimp, and Turner finds out he’s got a contract out on his life. This is a solid ‘70s cult shoot ‘em up. It’s not quite up to the level of Coffy or Shaft, but it is entertaining for sure. You also get to see Nichelle Nichols play the polar opposite of her character Uhura from Star Trek TOS. There’s also Yaphet Kotto, Scatman Crothers, and Dick Miller along with several other familiar faces. This is a cheesy fun ride. When someone asks what you watched last night, you can quote the man himself: “…tell ’em you been hit by a truck: Mac ‘Truck’ Turner!” 

P.S. – Make sure to check out the previously recommended I’m Gonna Git You Sucka too, if you haven’t already had the pleasure.

The domestic Blu-ray is currently out of print.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight / Cash App $vergeoflight / or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.