Crime
The Raven
(2012)
Hannah Shakespeare, Ben Livingston
4 nominations.
When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.
The Recruit
(2003)
Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer, Mitch Glazer
2 nominations.
A brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.
The Shawshank Redemption
(1994)
Stephen King (short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"), Frank Darabont (screenplay)
Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 20 nominations.
Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
The Silence of the Lambs
(1991)
Thomas Harris (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)
Won 5 Oscars. Another 48 wins & 33 nominations.
Young FBI agent Clarice Starling is assigned to help find a missing woman to save her from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims. Clarice attempts to gain a better insight into the twisted mind of the killer by talking to another psychopath Hannibal Lecter, who used to be a respected psychiatrist. FBI agent Jack Crawford believes that Lecter, who is also a very powerful and clever mind manipulator, has the answers to their questions and can help locate the killer. However, Clarice must first gain Lecter's confidence before the inmate will give away any information.
The Snowman
(2017)
Peter Straughan (screenplay by), Hossein Amini (screenplay by), Søren Sveistrup (screenplay by), Jo Nesbø (based on the novel by)
1 nomination.
Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.
The Snowtown Murders
(2011)
Shaun Grant, Shaun Grant (story), Justin Kurzel (story), Debi Marshall (book), Andrew McGarry (book)
22 wins & 22 nominations.
Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.
The Sweeney
(2012)
Nick Love, John Hodge, Ian Kennedy Martin (source material)
3 nominations.
Jack Regan is a slobbish, old style cop whose unsubtle methods usually get results, to the annoyance of internal affairs officer Lewis, who would be even more annoyed if he knew that Regan was having an affair with his young wife, policewoman Nancy. After Regan disobeys orders and a shoot-out in central London following a bank hold-up ends in carnage, he is stripped of office and briefly imprisoned. However, thanks to the loyalty of his young protege George Carter and a little string pulling from his superior Frank Haskins, Regan is released to bring down the villains in a gun battle at Gravesend marina, ensuring the continued existence of his department - the Sweeney.
The Take
(2016)
Andrew Baldwin, James Watkins
N/A
Michael Mason, a pick-pocket living in Paris steals a bag with a teddy bear in it. Not realizing the toy contains a timed bomb, he tosses it aside on a busy street. A few seconds later it explodes, killing four people. CCTV footage reveals Masons face and the French police tag him as a terrorist threat. The explosion, although botched, was set up by a select group of the French Interior Ministry as a decoy so they can make a half billion dollar digital transfer from a bank, (closed on French National Day) -hence the title Bastille Day. In a separate CIA investigation the unruly agent Sean Briar, discovers the real story behind Masons "terrorist attack". The two men, on different sides of the law, collaborate to bring the corrupt members of the Ministry down.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
(1974)
John Godey (novel), Peter Stone (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations.
Four seemingly-unrelated men board subway train Pelham 1:23 at successive stations. Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey and Mr. Brown are heavily armed and overpower the motorman and novice conductor to take control of the train. Between stations they separate the front car from the remainder of the train, setting passengers in the back cars and the motorman free. The four demand $1 million ransom within exactly one hour for the remaining eighteen hostages, including the conductor. If their demands are not met in time or their directions are not followed precisely, they will begin to shoot hostages dead, one every minute the money is late. Wisecracking Lt. Zach Garber of the transit police ends up being the primary communicator between the hijackers and the authorities, which includes transit operations, his own police force, the NYPD, and the unpopular and currently flu ridden mayor who will make the ultimate decision of whether to pay the ransom. Unknown to Garber, what may be working on their side is the disparate nature of the four hijackers, including methodical and unbending Blue, trigger happy Grey, and also under the weather Green, who may pass out before the caper has concluded. What Garber does know is that there is a plain clothes NYPD officer among the eighteen hostages. What Garber has to try and figure out is how the four hijackers can possibly get away, as they are in a tunnel and have to remain with the train since it has a dead-man mechanism which requires a motorman at the controls at all times.
The Tesseract
(2003)
Oxide Chun Pang (screenplay), Patrick Neate (screenplay), Alex Garland (novel)
1 win & 1 nomination.
A psychologist, an Englishman, a bellboy and a wounded female assasin have their fates crossed at a sleazy Bangkok hotel.
The Thomas Crown Affair
(1968)
Alan Trustman
Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.
Four men pull off a daring daytime robbery at a bank, dump the money in a trash can and go their separate ways. Thomas Crown, a successful, wealthy businessman pulls up in his Rolls and collects it. Vickie Anderson, an independent insurance investigator is called in to recover the huge haul. She begins to examine the people who knew enough about the bank to have pulled the robbery and discovers Crown. She begins a tight watch on his every move and begins seeing him socially. How does the planner of the perfect crime react to pressure?
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
(2005)
Guillermo Arriaga
4 wins & 8 nominations.
Ranch hand Pete Perkins looks to fulfill the promise to his recently deceased best friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico.
The Town
(2010)
Peter Craig (screenplay), Ben Affleck (screenplay), Aaron Stockard (screenplay), Chuck Hogan (novel)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 45 nominations.
The Charlestown neighborhood of Boston is renowned for churning out a high number of armed robbers, generation after generation. These robbers never leave their Charlestown life on their own volition, the neighborhood where there is an unwritten code to protect that lifestyle. Such robbers include friends Doug MacRay, James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan and Desmond Elden. Doug and James in particular treat each other like family, as the Coughlins have realistically been as such to Doug since Doug's mother ran off and Doug's father, Stephen MacRay, was sent to prison. James' single mother sister, the drugged out Krista Coughlin, and Doug have a casual sexual relationship. The foursome carry out a mostly successful bank robbery, but due to circumstances take the bank manager, Claire Keesey, hostage for a short period before releasing her physically unharmed. They find out that Claire lives in Charlestown, so they want to ensure that she did not see anything that could incriminate them if they were to ever run into her. As such, Doug begins a personal relationship with her to find out what she knows and what she's told the police and the FBI, who have taken charge of the investigation. He learns that she has kept some information from the authorities for her own protection but information that could identify James in particular. But Doug slowly falls for her, as she does for him. Ultimately, Doug dreams about leaving his Charlestown life to be with Claire anywhere but there. But Doug has to try and keep his true identity from her, and keep the fact that he is seeing her from his colleagues. But leaving is not as easy as he would like as he and the gang are tasked with a big job by a local gangster named Fergie whether Doug likes it or not. And Adam Frawley, the FBI's lead investigator, comes into evidence that links the foursome to the bank robbery and a subsequent armored car heist, so is on their tail for evidence that will send them away dead or alive.
The Untouchables
(1987)
Oscar Fraley (suggested by book), Eliot Ness (suggested by book), David Mamet
Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 15 nominations.
Federal agent Elliot Ness assembles a personal team of mob fighters to bring Chicago crime boss Al Capone to justice using unconventional means during the mob wars of the 1920s. This fictionalized account of the arrest of Al Capone is heavy on style and gunfire. The end shootout combines a baby carriage and stairs with a nod to Eisenstein's _The Battleship Potemkin_.
The Usual Suspects
(1995)
Christopher McQuarrie
Won 2 Oscars. Another 31 wins & 15 nominations.
Following a truck hijack in New York, five conmen are arrested and brought together for questioning. As none of them are guilty, they plan a revenge operation against the police. The operation goes well, but then the influence of a legendary mastermind criminal called Keyser Söze is felt. It becomes clear that each one of them has wronged Söze at some point and must pay back now. The payback job leaves 27 men dead in a boat explosion, but the real question arises now: Who actually is Keyser Söze?
The Wolf of Wall Street
(2013)
Terence Winter (screenplay), Jordan Belfort (book)
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 35 wins & 151 nominations.
Jordan Belfort is a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 22 months in prison for defrauding investors in a massive 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden.
The Zodiac
(2005)
Alexander Bulkley, Kelly Bulkley
N/A
An elusive serial killer known as the Zodiac terrorizes the San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s, while detectives aim to stop him before he claims more victims. Based on a true story.
Tokyo Drifter
(1966)
Kôhan Kawauchi
N/A
Tetsu has joined his yakuza boss in going straight, but when a rival gang threatens to bring them back into the gang wars, Tetsu must become a drifter to keep the pressure off his old boss.
Traffic
(2000)
Simon Moore (miniseries Traffik), Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)
Won 4 Oscars. Another 69 wins & 83 nominations.
A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America's escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron's wife attempts to carry on the family business.
Training Day
(2001)
David Ayer
Won 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 21 nominations.
On his first day on the job as a Los Angeles narcotics officer, a rookie cop goes on a 24-hour training course with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.