Consolidated Master List, Neo-Noir (no foreign or hybrid genre) 2000-09
Posted by Don Malcolm on 7/24/2019, 4:26 pm
Edited by Don Malcolm on 8/2/2019, 10:20 am
This list is ordered "year ascending, IMDB score descending." Accompanying post strips this down to the 115 films ranked 7.0 or higher...you can add the candidate titles from your rankings for any of those where the IMDB rating is 6.9 or lower.
The "x" means nothing, it's from the earlier, shorter list where we had ID'd top notch films.
IMDB Year Title
8.5 2000 Memento x
7.6 2000 Traffic (I was disappointed in this)
7.6 2000 American Psycho x
7.3 2000 Thirteen Days (10/10, I do not know if this is neo-noir) < - - -
7.0 2000 Boiler Room
7.0 2000 The Contender (7/10, politics, spin, smears)
6.7 2000 Panic (has its fans, hitman, his father, his love)
6.7 2000 The Way of the Gun (6/10)
6.7 2000 The Whole Nine Yards
6.5 2000 Gone in 60 Seconds (5/10, car theft)
6.5 2000 Under Suspicion (7/10, Hackman/Freeman remake of Garde a vue with Serrault/Ventura)
6.4 2000 Deterrence (7/10, isolated diner, prez nukes Baghdad)
6.4 2000 The Yards (6/10, good story but movie grinds to a slow pace)
6.2 2000 The Guilty
6.2 2000 Nurse Betty
6.1 2000 Romeo Must Die (martial arts thriller)
6.1 2000 Tick Tock (5/10, not bad unknown noir)
6.0 2000 Shiner (6/10, parts better than whole)
5.9 2000 Shaft (6/10, average)
5.9 2000 The Weight of Water
5.7 2000 Reindeer Games (7/10, good underrated Frankenheimer)
5.6 2000 Ed Gein (Ozu: C+)
5.6 2000 The Skulls (5/10)
5.5 2000 Bad Seed (4/10, near bomb)
5.4 2000 Mercy
5.4 2000 Pilgrim (Liotta not bad in decent amnesia story)
5.4 2000 The Right Temptation (noir conventions lacking impact here)
5.3 2000 After Alice
5.3 2000 The Watcher
5.1 2000 Get Carter (6/10, Stallone handles it)
5.1 2000 The Monkey’s Mask
5.1 2000 Second Skin (grade b neo)
5.1 2000 Spanish Judges
4.4 2000 The Stray (4/10)
8.0 2001 Mulholland Drive x
7.8 2001 Ocean’s Eleven (caper, mixed bag)
7.7 2001 Training Day (8/10) < - - -
7.6 2001 Blow
7.6 2001 The Man Who Wasn’t There x
7.4 2001 In the Bedroom
7.4 2001 Treed Murray
7.3 2001 Frailty
7.1 2001 Brigham City (8/10, religious themes in serial killer movie)
7.1 2001 Monster’s Ball (6/10, some plusses but has its problems)
6.8 2001 Buffalo Soldiers
6.8 2001 From Hell
6.8 2001 The Pledge (star power, re-watch)
6.8 2001 The Score (mediocre)
6.6 2001 The Deep End (6/10, remake of The Reckless Moment)
6.5 2001 Heist
6.5 2001 Swordfish (good entertainment apparently while no masterpiece)
6.4 2001 The Business of Strangers (7/10, two women, two worlds, noirish only)
6.4 2001 Enigma (7/10, UK, not really noir)
6.3 2001 Along Came a Spider (6/10, fine 70s noir story)
6.3 2001 Don’t Say a Word
6.2 2001 The Tailor of Panama (6/10, Our Man in Havana, Le Carre story entertains)
6.1 2001 15 minutes (8/10, seriousness/acid satire compound, cf. Network, The Hospital)
6.1 2001 Antitrust (5/10)
6.1 2001 Original Sin (drags)
5.8 2001 The Glass House
5.8 2001 Novocaine (not highly regarded)
5.8 2001 R Xmas (6/10, slack tale)
5.6 2001 Domestic Disturbance (6/10, modest b-thriller)
5.6 2001 Picture Claire (below par)
5.4 2001 The Body (6/10, bones of Christ?)
5.4 2001 Double Take
5.3 2001 Skeletons in the Closet (7/10, modest but good video)
4.8 2001 Hidden Agenda (5/10)
3.6 2001 Ticker
7.9 2002 The Bourne Identity (6/10, film-length chase)
7.7 2002 25th Hour (6/10, lack of focus, puerile)
7.7 2002 Road to Perdition x
7.6 2002 Minority Report x
7.5 2002 Equilibrium x
7.2 2002 Narc (nothing special)
7.2 2002 Red Dragon (6/10, workmanlike blandish remake of Manhunter)
7.2 2002 Insomnia x
7.1 2002 Phone Booth (well-done “small scope” thriller, Colin Farrell always good)
6.8 2002 One Hour Photo (depth questioned; good Robin Williams)
6.8 2002 Panic Room (empty terrorizing)
6.8 2002 The Transporter (7/10, best in the franchise, stylish, neat, Statham has carved his kick-ass niche in a bunch of films)
6.7 2002 Signs (6/10, sci-fi/horror)
6.6 2002 Dark Blue (6/10, has a number of merits, declines in last part)
6.6 2002 The Good Thief
6.6 2002 Interview with the Assassin (6/10, grassy knoll shooter, merger of time perspectives)
6.5 2002 Changing Lanes
6.4 2002 American Gun
6.4 2002 Blood Work (7/10, well-paced, plotted, fresh, themes)
6.4 2002 High Crimes (5/10)
6.4 2002 Ocean Park (minor unknown indie film with a few decent reviews)
6.3 2002 Femme Fatale (5/10, falls flat)
6.2 2002 The Badge (7/10, meaty script, atmospheric)
6.2 2002 Murder by Numbers (7/10, strong police proceural.)
6.2 2002 Trapped (7/10, strong Kevin Bacon performance)
6.1 2002 Desert Saints
6.0 2002 City of Ghosts (8/10, Matt Dillon tour de force set in Cambodia)
5.9 2002 The Burial Society (5/10, Coen knock-off)
5.9 2002 Coastlines
5.9 2002 WiseGirls
5.8 2002 Liberty Stands Still (4/10, Snipes can’t save weak story)
5.7 2002 Enough
5.6 2002 Dahmer (6/10, uneven tone, too low-key)
5.5 2002 $windle
5.5 2002 Back Flash
5.5 2002 Killing Me Softly (6/10, thriller begging for more)
5.5 2002 No Good Deed (solid neo-noir 7/10)
5.5 2002 People I Know (6/10, publicity agent Pacino, strained)
4.9 2002 Abandon (6/10, somewhat lackluster, slow noir)
4.8 2002 The Truth About Charlie (4/10)
4.3 2002 Spider’s Web (4/10, noir but flat)
4.0 2002 Wrong Number
8.1 2003 Kill Bill Vol. 1
8.0 2003 Mystic River x
7.7 2003 21 Grams (6/10, uneven drama)
7.6 2003 The Life of David Gale (5/10, many defects)
7.3 2003 11:14 (6/10, comedy, not especially noir)
7.3 2003 Identity (5/10, doesn’t play fair with viewer)
7.3 2003 Matchstick Men (8/10, Cage as neurotic con man)
7.3 2003 Monster (8/10, thorough character study, Theron terrific)
7.2 2003 Elephant (6/10, van Sant takes on school shooting in his idiosyncratic way...)
7.2 2003 Stander (Canada, set in SA, quite good as I recollect) < - - -
7.1 2003 Owning Mahowny (7/10, very strong film, gambling addiction) < - - -
7.1 2003 Runaway Jury (6/10, nice try but no blue ribbon)
7.0 2003 The Cooler
6.7 2003 Confidence (7/10, con games a la Sting, House of Games, Homicide)
6.6 2003 The Recruit (Cliched disappointment)
6.6 2003 Wonderland
6.5 2003 Basic (6/10, Rashomon-type, some stereotyping)
6.5 2003 Out of Time
6.4 2003 Shade (6/10, b-movie)
6.4 2003 Tough Luck (7/10, noir twistiness)
6.2 2003 Code 46
6.1 2003 A Man Apart
5.8 2003 I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (7/10, Clive Owens seeks revenge, Hodges directs as in Get Carter)
5.6 2003 Blind Horizon (7/10, Kilmer’s amnesia tied to assassination)
5.6 2003 Jericho Mansions (7/10, complex mental states mix)
5.6 2003 Purgatory Flats (6/10, in the “Quicksand” (1950) vein, not bad noir)
5.3 2003 In the Cut
5.1 2003 Written in Blood
4.4 2003 The Job (4/10)
4.4 2003 Plain Dirty aka Briar Patch (7/10, small town, swampy noir in rural Virginia is underrated)
8.1 2004 Million Dollar Baby (9/10, amazing combination of dark tones as seeds of upbeat tones)
8.0 2004 Kill Bill Vol. 2 (8/10, honest to its style)
7.7 2004 The Bourne Supremacy (5/10, too fast, too shaky)
7.7 2004 The Machinist (Bale too difficult for me to watch)
7.7 2004 Man on Fire x
7.5 2004 Collateral x
7.4 2004 District B13
7.2 2004 Mean Creek (7/10, teen revenge plan illuminates human nature)
7.0 2004 The Assassination of Richard Nixon (8/10, impressive)
7.0 2004 Wicker Park
6.6 2004 Secret Window (worth a look, Turtorro after Depp in Stephen King story) < - - -
6.6 2004 The Manchurian Candidate
6.5 2004 Bullet Boy
6.5 2004 Cellular (6/10, superficial, tense thriller, serial-like)
6.5 2004 Joy Road
6.5 2004 The Punisher (violent action film)
6.4 2004 Convicted
6.4 2004 Mindhunters (6/10, Ten Little Indians type story)
6.4 2004 Return to Sender (5/10, sincere, sometimes effective, but loose ends and dramatic lapses)
6.2 2004 The Final Cut
6.2 2004 Zen Noir
6.1 2004 The I Inside (6/10)
5.8 2004 Paparazzi (7/10, modest but solid)
5.7 2004 Never Die Alone (average 6/10)
5.3 2004 Twisted
4.9 2004 The Big Bounce
4.8 2004 Three Way
8.0 2005 Sin City (7/10, visual excellence overpowers emotional, fantasy)
7.6 2005 Lord of War (7/10, slow and somber, veteran, cf. Taxi Driver)
7.6 2005 Match Point
7.6 2005 Munich (6/10, not really neo-noir. What could have been a sharp account and riveting account turns into a flabby story, that only sporadically rises in quality.)
7.6 2005 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang x
7.5 2005 A History of Violence x
7.4 2005 Brick
7.4 2005 Capote
7.4 2005 The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (8/10, good parts even if it does not gel) < - - -
7.1 2005 Hard Candy
6.9 2005 Four Brothers (6/10, solid action-crime)
6.9 2005 Harsh Times
6.9 2005 Syriana (6/10, Middle Eatern “Traffic” mish-mash)
6.8 2005 The Matador
6.6 2005 Derailed (7/10, Owen must deal with Cassel)
6.6 2005 Hostage (7/10, above-par thrller)
6.6 2005 The Notorious Betty Page (biography)
6.5 2005 Mr. and Mrs. Smith (6/10, assassins married, premise falls prey to action)
6.5 2005 Red Eye (5/10, implausible thriller)
6.5 2005 Where the Truth Lies
6.4 2005 The Big White
6.4 2005 The Interpreter (7/10)
6.3 2005 Edmond (6/10, strange Mamet, i.e., stranger than usual for him)
6.3 2005 Flightplan (7/10, thriller on an airplane)
6.3 2005 The Ice Harvest (7/10, skilfully handled comic noir based on heist aftermath)
6.2 2005 American Gun
6.2 2005 Hate Crime (6/10, targets anti-gay religiosity)
6.0 2005 A Little Trip to Heaven (4/10, coexisting plusses and minuses)
6.0 2005 Domino (6/10, overdone Tony Scott)
6.0 2005 Ripley Under Ground (6/10)
6.0 2005 Transporter 2
5.9 2005 Cry Wolf (6/10, unengaging)
5.9 2005 Hide and Seek (7/10, psychological suspense)
5.9 2005 The Night Listener (decent little film 6/10)
5.8 2005 Slow Burn (4/10)
5.6 2005 Dark Water
5.6 2005 Firecracker
5.6 2005 Shadowboxer (“mildly diverting thriller”)
5.3 2005 Deepwater
5.0 2005 The Deal (4/10, weak)
4.2 2005 Underclassman
8.5 2006 The Prestige (7/10, Victorian, overdone, bombastic drama/sci-fi, complex, dark)
8.5 2006 The Departed x
7.8 2006 Lucky Number Slevin x
7.7 2006 The Last King of Scotland (7/10, towering Forest Whitaker)
7.6 2006 Payback Straight Up (Point Blank, I liked it)
7.6 2006 Inside Man
7.4 2006 Running Scared (action-packed excess, well-liked by some critics) watch < - - -
7.2 2006 Out of the Blue (NZ movie, massacre)
7.2 2006 Street Thief (watch, way under-reviewed, supposedly films real thief, verite) < - - -
7.1 2006 A Scanner Darkly (animated)
7.1 2006 Find Me Guilty (6/10, Lumet goes after justice incompetence, but stops short)
7.1 2006 Déjà vu
7.0 2006 A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
7.0 2006 Crank
7.0 2006 Inland Empire
6.8 2006 Big Nothing (7/10, pitch black comedy nihilism)
6.7 2006 The Dead Girl (6/10, 5 connected stories, labored, deliberate)
6.7 2006 The Good Shepherd
6.7 2006 Smokin’ Aces (4/10, not my cup of tea)
6.6 2006 16 Blocks (6/10, action, comic vein, serious but not too serious)
6.6 2006 The Da Vinci Code (7/10, well-directed and paced, Tautou shines)
6.5 2006 Hollywoodland
6.5 2006 Lonely Hearts
6.5 2006 Unknown (5/10, silly exploration of good premise)
6.4 2006 Brooklyn Rules
6.3 2006 Hard Scrambled (5/10, static, odd)
6.2 2006 Arc (7/10, darn good)
6.2 2006 Fatal Desire
6.1 2006 Alone With Her (8/10, imaginative, subjective often, stalker-voyeur)
6.1 2006 The Good German (5/10, a mess)
6.1 2006 Right at Your Door (4/10)
6.0 2006 Miami Vice (6/10, no real distinction)
5.8 2006 Firewall (6/10, gets boring, story clunks along)
5.8 2006 The Kovak Box (6/10, suicide device)
5.6 2006 The Black Dahlia
5.5 2006 Fade to Black
5.5 2006 Snakes on a Plane (thriller)
5.3 2006 The Covenant
4.4 2006 Played (UK movie in Get Carter vein, 6/10, underrated)
8.2 2007 There Will Be Blood x
8.1 2007 No Country for Old Men x
8.0 2007 The Bourne Ultimatum (6/10, meatiest of the 3 but many problems, loses realism)
7.8 2007 American Gangster x
7.7 2007 Gone Baby Gone
7.7 2007 Zodiac x
7.6 2007 Eastern Promises (8/10, UK, Canada, US) omit?
7.4 2007 Trade (9/10, strongly emotional noir) < - - -
7.3 2007 An American Crime
7.3 2007 Michael Clayton (7/10, modern disguised melodrama, a good film)
7.3 2007 Mr. Brooks (8/10, excellent, responsible appearance over reprehensible conduct)
7.3 2007 Shotgun Stories (well-done, Michael Shannon good as usual)
7.3 2007 Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead x
7.2 2007 In the Valley of Elah
7.2 2007 Fracture (7/10, Gosling vs Hopkins)
7.2 2007 Shooter (8/10, strong entry) < - - -
7.0 2007 Breach
7.0 2007 The Lookout (6/10, seduced into a bank hesit, slow first half)
7.0 2007 Mister Foe
6.9 2007 The Air I Breathe (6/10, modest, mild, anthology-like)
6.9 2007 We Own the Night (6/10, gets bogged down)
6.8 2007 The Brave One (7/10, Jodie becomes a vigilante)
6.8 2007 Death Sentence (5/10, Kevin Bacon, a fine actor, in a very dumb revenge story)
6.8 2007 Rendition (6/10, story wanders in second half)
6.7 2007 Cassandra’s Dream
6.7 2007 Coyote (5/10, uneasily combines standard with improvisatory acting)
6.7 2007 Paranoid Park (idiosyncratic van Sant)
6.7 2007 Shoot ‘Em Up (5/10, more action than noir)
6.5 2007 Awake (6/10, modest neat thriller)
6.5 2007 Stuck (6/10, hit and run)
6.5 2007 You Kill Me (7/10, comic hitman)
6.4 2007 Film Noir (6/10, animation, omit)
6.4 2007 The Number 23 (a movie with problems)
6.3 2007 Married Life
6.2 2007 Vacancy (7/10, disguised horror movie)
6.1 2007 Cleaner (5/10, throwback to noir)
5.9 2007 88 Minutes (7/10, Pacino show acted subtly, complex)
5.9 2007 Dog Days of Summer
5.9 2007 The Walker (8/10,very good noir, underrated)< - - -
5.7 2007 The Flock
5.7 2007 Perfect Stranger (4/10, below par)
5.6 2007 Cherry Crush
5.6 2007 Cover (5/10, execution lacking)
5.6 2007 Illegal Tender (5/10)
5.5 2007 Anamorph (4/10, overly obscure story)
5.5 2007 Southland Tales
3.6 2007 I Know Who Killed Me
8.9 2008 Lost Causes (only 7 votes)
8.1 2008 Gran Torino
7.9 2008 In Bruges (UK/USA, exc. Movie 8/10) A top 25 contender
7.9 2008 The Wrestler < - - -
7.8 2008 Taken (popular action flic, hardly neo)
7.7 2008 Changeling (6/10, period film, doesn’t catch fire, uneven)
7.4 2008 Law Abiding Citizen (7/10, justice system pilloried)
7.2 2008 Nothing But the Truth (well-written and directed 8/10)
7.2 2008 Frozen River x
7.1 2008 Body of Lies (6/10, cynical spy thriller, not a decided neo-noir)
7.1 2008 Bronson
7.1 2008 Julia (8/10, top-notch Tilda Swinton)
7.0 2008 Traitor (6/10, worthwhile, some very good points but some not so good weaknesses)
6.9 2008 Clubbed
6.8 2008 21 (4/10, tepid, boring, doesn’t even explain blackjack well)
6.8 2008 Redbelt (uneven, for Mamet fans)
6.8 2008 Street Kings (watch) < - - -
6.7 2008 Transsiberian (8/10, drug mule difficulties on Russian turf) < - - -
6.6 2008 Vantage Point (7/10, imaginative action story-telling, a film not to be ignored)
6.6 2008 What Doesn’t Kill You (6/10)
6.5 2008 Yonkers Joe
6.4 2008 Ice Blues
6.4 2008 The Last Lullaby (8/10, hitman movie scores)
6.4 2008 Surveillance (6/10, but I was enthusiastic about this one) < - - -
6.3 2008 Assassination of a High School President
6.3 2008 Quid Pro Quo (6/10, more drama than noir, oddball, lacks spark)
6.2 2008 The Lazarus Project (6/10, love and memory conquer psychic manipulation)
6.2 2008 The Strangers (6/10, slow horror)
6.2 2008 Untraceable (5/10, unendurable)
6.1 2008 Deception (7/10, corrupt upscale world)
6.1 2008 Lakeview Terrace (6/10, formula harassment story)
6.1 2008 Splinter (horror)
6.0 2008 The Crew
6.0 2008 Killshot (6/10, Elmore Leonard material + Mickey Rourke = enough for me)
6.0 2008 Pathology (6/10, chilling, dark, unenjoyable, unsympathetic characters, neo-noir)
6.0 2008 Righteous Kill (6/10, average script lets Pacino/De Niro down)
5.9 2008 Passengers (7/10, Outward Bound, One Way Passage, Between Two Worlds)
5.7 2008 The Local
5.7 2008 Rigged (4/10)
5.4 2008 Bangkok Dangerous
5.4 2008 Max Payne (5/10, has its plusses but defects)
5.3 2008 The Last Hit Man (8/10, charming but tense film)
5.2 2008 The Alphabet Killer (5/10, schizoid policewoman)
5.2 2008 The Human Contract
5.1 2008 Blackout
5.0 2008 The Informers (7/10, morality tale depicting a sea of immorality)
5.0 2008 Vice
4.8 2008 The Spirit
4.7 2008 Reflections (5/10, too many defects)
7.6 2009 Sherlock Holmes (7/10, very good flic but not really neo-noir)
7.1 2009 State of Play (8/10, excellent Hollywood version) < - - -
7.0 2009 Public Enemies (5/10, mediocre despite Depp)
6.7 2009 Brooklyn’s Finest (6/10, above-par directing, script goes back to Wambaugh)
6.7 2009 The Disappearance of Alice Creed
6.6 2009 Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call
6.6 2009 Five Minutes of Heaven
6.6 2009 Middle Men (7/10, deft tensio overlaid with comic gloss)
6.5 2009 A Perfect Getaway (7/10, mystery-thriller set in Kaui)
6.5 2009 The International
6.5 2009 The Informant
6.4 2009 The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
6.3 2009 Chloe
6.3 2009 Duplicity (6/10, caper, not fully noir)
6.3 2009 The Limits of Control (7/10, Jarmusch mixes themes)
6.2 2009 A Good Alibi
6.2 2009 Crank High Voltage
6.1 2009 Chicago Overcoat (7/10, well-done hitman story)
6.1 2009 In the Electric Mist
6.1 2009 Push (6/10, sci-fi superhuman detective story, imaginative)
6.1 2009 Transporter 3
6.1 2009 Wrong Turn at Tahoe (7/10, good story)
6.0 2009 Across the Hall
6.0 2009 Give ‘Em hell, Malone (6/10, comic book action)
5.9 2009 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
5.9 2009 The Canyon
5.9 2009 Don McKay (7/10, definite suspense)
5.7 2009 Armored (7/10, good heist noir)
5.7 2009 Dolan’s Cadillac (5/10, definite negatives)
5.7 2009 Night Train (splendid little horror movie 7/10)
5.7 2009 The Skeptic (6/10,
5.6 2009 Horsemen (2/10)
5.6 2009 The Stepfather
5.5 2009 Whiteout (5/10)
5.4 2009 Thick as Thieves (6/10
5.3 2009 Coffin Rock (5/10, about a psycho)
5.1 2009 A Dangerous Man (4/10, Seagal, starts well, goes downhill)
4.9 2009 Obsessed
4.8 2009 No Right Turn (not bad indie low-budget)
4.6 2009 Double Identity (6/10, complex and atmospheric)
3.5 2009 Stripped Naked (6/10, beneath the radar, little nudity)
Responses