Film

Savages

Name: Savages
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Released: 2012
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Travolta, Salma Hayek Pinault

Oliver Stone's slick thriller about two marijuana entrepreneurs and their girlfriend caught between rival drug cartels. It's stylish, violent, and propulsive—a nasty little ride fueled by excess and bad decisions. Glossy crime pulp that moves fast and demands you care about characters you shouldn't.

TMDb rating

3.2

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Depp as cocaine kingpin George Jung: charismatic, doomed, impossible to look away from. It's a rise-and-fall story told with genuine style and sympathy for its protagonist's delusion.

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Sicario2015

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The wildcard

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In the Cut2003

Jane Campion's underrated thriller about a woman entangled with a detective investigating murders in her neighborhood. Sensual, paranoid, with excellent supporting work. Meg Ryan against type, doing real work.

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American Gangster2007

Ridley Scott's portrait of Denzel Washington's heroin empire in 1970s Harlem. Lavish, violent, and fascinated by the mechanics of power and corruption. Outstanding supporting cast, particularly Russell Crowe.

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The Long Good Friday1980

Bob Hoskins as a London crime boss whose empire collapses in a single day. Taut, witty, genuinely menacing—a masterpiece of economy. Hoskins has never been better, and it moves like water.

But Shot on a tight budget and it shows in places. The IRA plot can feel dated depending on your knowledge of Irish politics.

A Prophet2009

A young man builds power inside a French prison. Lean, intelligent, and genuinely gripping. Beautifully composed and acted—a character study that doubles as a thriller about ambition and compromise.

But French-language with subtitles. Slower in the first act while establishing the prison's social structure. Not action-driven despite its intensity.

Heat1995

Mann's three-hour epic about a cop and a criminal whose relationship is the film's real subject. The downtown LA shootout alone justifies the runtime. Pacino and De Niro in a dance of mutual respect and opposition.

But Three hours is a serious commitment, and the first act is deliberately slow in building atmosphere. Some find it overwrought.

The Counselor2013

Ridley Scott and Cormac McCarthy's only screenplay: a lawyer descends into a drug deal and pays catastrophically. Baroque, dialogue-heavy, visually stunning. Fassbender, Bardem, and Diaz in a fever dream of consequence.

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Under the Skin2014

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A Dark Song2016

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But Shot almost entirely indoors, virtually no plot momentum. It's a character study disguised as a thriller, and the payoff is emotional rather than narrative. Deeply depressing.