MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)

In which I finally find a movie too weird for me, or perhaps more accurately, a movie that left me wondering what all of its weirdness was actually in service of.

THE THIRD MAN (1949)

A movie of black and white paranoia that to me is one of the all-time classics, perfectly capturing a very specific time and place.

BLUE VELVET (1986)

An, um, unique take on the dark underbelly of a small town from David Lynch, sort of the proto-Twin Peaks.

DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995)

A very well-done neo-noir that deals with issues the original film noirs mostly ignored. Denzel Washington plays the detective in over his head.

CHINATOWN (1974)

The definitive neo-noir, a movie I love, now inextricably linked with the crimes of its director.

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

Sidney Poitier has to solve a murder in a small southern town that hates him. A great social movie but kind of a blah procedural.

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

A movie that launched legendary careers and an entire classic genre of film, and is also pretty fun in its own right.