Crime
Cell 211
(2009)
Jorge Guerricaechevarría (adaptation), Daniel Monzón (adaptation), Francisco Pérez Gandul (novel)
42 wins & 24 nominations.
Juan Oliver wants to make a good impression at his new job as a prison officer and reports to work a day early, leaving his pregnant wife, Elena, at home. His destiny is forever changed by this fateful decision, as during his tour of the prison, an accident occurs that knocks him unconscious. He is rushed to the empty but visibly haunted walls of cell 211. As this diversion unfolds, inmates of the high security cell block strategically break free and hijack the penitentiary. Aware of the violence that is to come, the prison officers flee, leaving Juan stranded and unconscious in the heart of the riot. When Juan awakens, he immediately takes stock of the situation; in order to survive, he must pretend to be a prisoner. Juan develops a dialogue with the violent leader of the riot, Badass, and the two begin a partnership, Badass fully believing that Juan is a new inmate. Negotiations go smoothly until the rioters take three ETA (the militant Basque separatist organization) prisoners hostage. When this hits the news, it triggers a stream of prison riots throughout the country as well as demonstrations in the Basque Country. Juan quickly realizes that he is on his own as the situation becomes more politicized and the government gets involved, afraid of potential ramifications in the Basque community. As the drama heightens, unexpected shifts in character both within and without the prison occur.
Changeling
(2008)
J. Michael Straczynski
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 44 nominations.
Los Angeles, 1928. A single mother returns from work to find her nine-year-old son gone. She calls the LAPD to initiate a search. Five months later, a boy is found in Illinois who fits the description; he says he's her son. To fanfare and photos, the LAPD reunite mother and son, but she insists he's not her boy. The cops dismiss her as either a liar or hysterical. When she joins a minister in his public criticism of the police, they in turn use government power to silence and intimidate her. Meanwhile, a cop goes to a dilapidated ranch to find a Canadian lad who's without legal status; the youth tells a grisly tale. There's redress for murder; is there redress for abuse of power?
City of God
(2002)
Paulo Lins (novel), Bráulio Mantovani (screenplay)
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 65 wins & 35 nominations.
Brazil, 1960's, City of God. The Tender Trio robs motels and gas trucks. Younger kids watch and learn well...too well. 1970's: Li'l Zé has prospered very well and owns the city. He causes violence and fear as he wipes out rival gangs without mercy. His best friend Bené is the only one to keep him on the good side of sanity. Rocket has watched these two gain power for years, and he wants no part of it. Yet he keeps getting swept up in the madness. All he wants to do is take pictures. 1980's: Things are out of control between the last two remaining gangs...will it ever end? Welcome to the City of God.
Cleanskin
(2012)
Hadi Hajaig
N/A
Cleanskin: Ewan (Sean Bean) is a British Secret Service Agent faced with the task of pursuing and eliminating a British born Asian suicide bomber Ash (Abhin Galeya) and his terrorist cell, whilst Ash wrestles with his conscience and reflects on his journey to terrorism.
Collateral
(2004)
Stuart Beattie
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 53 nominations.
LA cabbie Max Durocher is the type of person who can wax poetic about other people's lives, which impresses U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Annie Farrell, one of his fares, so much that she gives him her telephone number at the end of her ride. Although a dedicated man as seen through the efficiency in which he does his work, he can't or won't translate that eloquence into a better life for himself. He deludes himself into believing that his now twelve year cabbie job is temporary and that someday he will own his own limousine service. He even lies to his hospitalized mother that he already owns one, with a further lie that he tells her as such primarily to make her happy, rather than the truth which is that he won't do anything to achieve that dream. One night, Max picks up a well dressed man named Vincent, who asks Max to be his only fare for the evening. For a flat fee of $600, plus an extra $100 if he gets to the airport on time - Vincent wants Max to drive him to five stops that evening. Max somewhat reluctantly agrees. Max learns the hard way at their first stop when a body falls from a third story apartment window and lands dead on top of his cab that Vincent is a contract hit man. Vincent's main goal, as per his current contract, is to kill five people, one at each of the stops, but he will not let others get in the way of that goal, even if it means killing them, including Max. As Vincent forces Max to continue driving him for the evening, Max tries slyly at every turn to take back control of his life from Vincent, especially when Max learns of one of the names on Vincent's hit list. Meanwhile, LAPD narcotics detective, Ray Fanning, and ultimately the FBI get involved when Vincent's first victim is associated with a case in which Ray is working undercover. Ray is able to piece together information which makes him hot on Max and Vincent's tail.
Copycat
(1995)
Ann Biderman, David Madsen
2 wins & 1 nomination.
In San Francisco, the criminal psychologist Helen Hudson is specialized in serial-killers. During a trial, the accused Daryll Lee Cullum kills a police officer and tries to kill her and she becomes agoraphobic. Now Helen lives a reclusive life with her gay friend Andy that helps her. Sometime later, there is a wave of crimes and Detectives M.J. Monahan and Reuben Goetz are investigating the murder cases. Helen identifies that the murderer is copycatting notorious serial-killers and she anonymously contacts the Police Department. After fourteen phone calls, she is identified by the police. Detectives M.J. and Reuben visit her and Helen teams up with them and prepares the profile of the killer that wants to be famous. But soon the copycat killer Peter Foley contacts and stalks Helen and M.J. and Reuben give protection to her. Will they be capable to stop Foley before the next murder?
Dark Places
(2015)
Gilles Paquet-Brenner, Gillian Flynn
N/A
Libby Day is a lifeless woman who survived the massacre of her family in their farmhouse in the countryside of Kansas when she was eight. She's been living on donations and lectures ever since. Thirty years ago, the police believed that a satanic cult was responsible for the murder of her mother and two sisters, and her brother Ben was convicted with her testimony in court. Today, however, an acquaintance, Lyle Wirth, invites Libby to visit "The Kill Club", where amateurs investigate famous crimes, and she finds that they believe Ben is innocent. Libby needs money and, in return, accepts to revisit the slaughter of her family and comes up to the painful revelations and the ultimate truth.
Dead Man's Shoes
(2004)
Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows, Paul Fraser (additional material)
4 wins & 13 nominations.
Richard returns home from military service to a small town in the Midlands. He has one thing on his mind: revenge. Payback for the local bullies who did some very bad things to his brother. At first his campaign employs guerrilla tactics, designed to frighten the men and put them ill at ease. But then he steps up his operation, and one by one these local tough guys are picked off by the terrifying angel of vengeance that Richard has become.
Death Wish
(2018)
Joe Carnahan (screenplay by), Brian Garfield (from the novel by), Wendell Mayes (based on the 1974 motion picture by)
4 nominations.
Dr. Paul Kersey is an experienced trauma surgeon, a man who has spent his life saving lives. After an attack on his family, Paul embarks on his own mission for justice.
Defendor
(2009)
Peter Stebbings
1 win & 7 nominations.
Arthur Poppington, a regular man who adopts a superhero persona, known as 'Defendor', combs the city streets at night, in search of his arch-enemy, Captain Industry.
Detour
(1945)
Martin Goldsmith (screenplay), Martin Goldsmith (original story)
1 win.
Chance events trap hitch-hiker Al Roberts in a tightening net of film noir trouble.
Dirty Harry
(1971)
Harry Julian Fink (screenplay), Rita M. Fink (screenplay), Dean Riesner (screenplay), Harry Julian Fink (story), Rita M. Fink (story)
1 win & 1 nomination.
When a mad man calling himself 'the Scorpio Killer' menaces the city, tough as nails San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan is assigned to track down and ferret out the crazed psychopath.
Dog Day Afternoon
(1975)
Frank Pierson (screenplay), P.F. Kluge (based upon a magazine article by), Thomas Moore (based upon a magazine article by)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 19 nominations.
A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.
Donkey Punch
(2008)
Oliver Blackburn (screenplay), David Bloom (screenplay)
N/A
Things go drastically wrong for a group of British holidaymakers in Spain.
Drive
(2011)
Hossein Amini (screenplay), James Sallis (book)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 70 wins & 155 nominations.
A mysterious man who has multiple jobs as a garage mechanic, a Hollywood stuntman and a getaway driver seems to be trying to escape his shady past as he falls for his neighbor - whose husband is in prison and who's looking after her child alone. Meanwhile, his garage mechanic boss is trying to set up a race team using gangland money, which implicates our driver as he is to be used as the race team's main driver. Our hero gets more than he bargained for when he meets the man who is married to the woman he loves.
Ed Gein
(2000)
Stephen Johnston
4 wins & 1 nomination.
The true story of Edward Gein, the farmer whose horrific crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. This is the first film to Gein's tormented upbringing, his adored but domineering mother, and the 1957 arrest uncovered the most bizarre series of murders America has ever seen.
Edge of Darkness
(2010)
William Monahan (screenplay), Andrew Bovell (screenplay), Troy Kennedy-Martin (television series)
1 nomination.
Thomas Craven is a detective who has spent years working the streets of Boston. When his own daughter is killed outside his own home, Craven soon realizes that her death is only one piece of an intriguing puzzle filled with corruption and conspiracy, and it falls to him to discover who is behind the crime.
Elle
(2016)
Philippe Djian (novel), David Birke (screenplay), Harold Manning (french adaptation)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 64 wins & 79 nominations.
Michèle seems indestructible. Head of a successful video game company, she brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. Being attacked in her home by an unknown assailant changes Michèle's life forever. When she resolutely tracks the man down, they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game-a game that may, at any moment, spiral out of control.
Escape from Alcatraz
(1979)
J. Campbell Bruce (book), Richard Tuggle (screenplay)
N/A
The true story of three inmates who attempt a daring escape from the infamous prison, Alcatraz Island. Although no-one had managed to escape before, bank robber Frank Morris masterminded this elaborately detailed and, as far as anyone knows, ultimately successful, escape. In 29 years, this seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once by three inmates never heard of again.
Exit Through the Gift Shop
(2010)
N/A
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 24 wins & 31 nominations total
The story of how an eccentric French shop-keeper and amateur film-maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work.