Over Fragmenten.blog

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Welkom op Fragmenten uit het Schemerland, mijn persoonlijke website en content-verzameling. Je vindt hier veel artikelen over films en series in de FilmDungeon. Ook vind je op deze site mijn achtergrondverhaal, een selectie van mijn professionele werk, en een groeiende collectie blogs – fragmenten genaamd – over uiteenlopende onderwerpen. Veel leesplezier en bedankt voor het bezoeken van mijn blog!

— Jeppe Kleijngeld

PS: Bezoek ook eens mijn andere website over bewustzijn en mijn visie op de ware aard van het universum:

27. In Bruges (2008)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Martin McDonagh
Writers: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

Two hitmen, a senior (Brendan Gleeson) and his young apprentice (Colin Farrell), are sent to Bruges by their psychopathic boss Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes) to lay low after a job went wrong.

The older killer Ken enjoys the medieval town with its many sightseeing attractions, while for his younger counterpart Ray, it is nothing short of a nightmare. We slowly learn what went wrong during their last job (Ray’s first) and why Ray feels such overwhelming guilt. Could his stay in Bruges be a metaphor for purgatory? This certainly seems to be the case.

In Bruges is an incredibly funny take on hitmen-genre with undeniably great chemistry between the two leads. Add to that, the fantastic dialogues ánd the hilarious performance by Ralph Fiennes in the final act, and you have a true classic on your hands.

Farrell and Gleeson were successfully reunited by writer-director Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin in 2022.

28. The Departed (2006)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak (screenplay Infernal Affairs), Felix Chong (screenplay Infernal Affairs)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

The Departed is a complex and intense crime thriller about the opposing forces of cops and crooks who turn out to be not so different. The cops are possibly even more macho, use as much profanity, and break almost as many rules as the gangsters.

For a Scorsese movie, it is very plot driven; the screenplay is borrowed from Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), which is also excellent.

DiCaprio stars as Billy Costigan, a trainee at the Massachusetts State Police Academy who, due to his family’s criminal background, is recruited as the perfect candidate to infiltrate the organization of Boston hood Frank Costello (Nicholson). In return, Costello has groomed a boy called Colin Sullivan (Damon) to become his mole inside the Boston police’s Special Investigations Unit.

This set-up ensures a hyperintense thrillride that will surely end in bloodshed. The cast is truly spectacular with Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga and Alec Baldwin (amongst others) in memorable supporting roles. The real show stealers though are Nicholson as Costello (based on reallife Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger) and Ray Winstone as his henchman Mr. French. If ever there were a couple of depraved, sociopathic and scary mob figures in a movie, it is these two.

Although it won Scorsese his first Oscar, I don’t think The Departed is as great as GoodFellas or Casino. But the movie’s realistic portrayal of the Boston underworld and its superb camerawork, editing and soundtrack, demands its inclusion in this ultimate gangster film overview.

29. King of New York (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Abel Ferrara
Writer: Nicholas St. John
Stars: Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

In discussions about the greatest gangster films, this dark pearl is never mentioned. It should. Christopher Walken delivers a chilling central performance as the psychotic Frank White and Laurence Fishburne is mesmerizing as his loose cannon sidekick Jimmy Jump.

After being released from jail, White quickly takes out his competitors and becomes the main drug kingpin of New York City. He uses the proceeds to build a hospital for the poor. Meanwhile, a frustrated police team desperately wants to nail him even if it means illegally killing themselves.

Director Abel Ferrara and screenwriter Nicholas St. John obviously enjoy upsetting their audience with this moral ambiguity. The offputting violence and trashy depiction of New York’s underworld add to the discomfort. As does the vampire-film inspired cinematography.

The cast of King of New York is truly impressive and features many names of actors who would become big stars in the nineties, including David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi and Theresa Randle.

For all its darkness, it is no surprise this exploitation movie was not well received back in 1990. Time for a re-evaluation I would say. Whenever great gangster films are discussed, King of New York must be IN.

30. The Killing (1956)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Jim Thompson, Lionel White
Stars: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

One of Kubrick’s first efforts is a heist movie. It’s very fast and very smooth.

At a lively pace, we follow a group of gangsters and their accomplices as they prepare for a high-stakes racetrack robbery. An unseen narrator guides us through a plan that feels doomed from the start. A cashier involved in the scheme confides in his femme fatale wife about the heist, and together with her lover, the two-timing dame decides to go after the loot themselves. From there, everything begins to unravel.

This is Kubrick showing off his considerable talent and pushing the boundaries of cinema. The thriller was ahead of its time in terms of storytelling. The screenplay – written by Kubrick himself – is innovative, presenting events from multiple angles through the perspectives of different characters. This structure builds suspense and creates a constant urge to discover what happens next.

Early screenings were poor, with many citing the non-linear structure as the main issue. Kubrick was briefly forced to re-edit the film into a linear format, which only made it more confusing. Fortunately, it was ultimately released in its original form and is now often cited as a major influence on later non-linear crime films such as Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994).

With an excellent cast, stylish cinematography, and a narrative daring well ahead of its era, Kubrick delivered a heist film that not only holds up today but helped redefine how crime stories could be told. Its precision, tension, and structural ambition mark the arrival of a filmmaker already in command of his craft and hint at the legendary career that would follow.