Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

99. Hail Caesar! (2016), Coen Brothers, Universal 100. Amuck! (1972), Silvio Amadio 101. Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2014), Scott Crawford, MVD 102. Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements (2011), Gorman Bechard, What Were We Thinking Films 103. D.O.A. (1950), Rudolph Maté, United Artists 104. The Money Pit (1986), Richard Benjamin, Amblin 105. Frank Zappa: From Straight to Bizarre (2012), Tom O'Dell, Sexy Intellectual Promotion 106. The Ringling Brothers: Kings of the Circus (2000) 107. Castle Freak (1995), Stuart Gordon, Full Moon 108. Near Dark (1987), Kathryn Bigelow, F/M

Michael Mann's Thief is a rare neo noir that captures the style of early noir without sacrificing any of the substance and power of the genre. Based on the 1975 novel, The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar , written by a real-life jewel thief, it captures the drama of hard-lived characters making the wrong decisions based on personal codes of honor. The characters are realistic and well cast and the acting is top notch. The relationship between Frank (James Caan) and Jessie (Tuesday Weld) works because Frank emotionally bares his soul to her. He needs an anchor to leave his criminal life behind and pins his hopes on her. His one last heist leaves him alone again after he is double crossed. The final long take of Frank walking down the sidewalk after dispatching his enemies is poignant and memorable. 

  My relationship with the Coen Brothers' films is somewhat tumultuous. It seems like for every excellent movie they make, there are two that leave me with reservations.This applies to their entire filmography because I find myself loving certain movies like Barton Fink and Miller's Crossing , yet am completely disappointed with others like Raising Arizona and The Lady Killers. I admit that I probably should delve more deeply into their later films; I've barely given them the chance. In my teenage years, I was something of a indie film snob; I stayed up late at night to watch Bravo and any independent film on Showtime or HBO. I was there for the everything from Floundering and Spanking the Monkey to Clerks and Pulp Fiction. The first time I saw Fargo was on Showtime when they were counting down the best independent films of 1996. My taste at the time wasn't so refined; I remember thinking that Swingers should win -- I had an early, cloying fascination with th...