Mystery
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the mystery genre.
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Naked Lunch
The most shocking thing about Naked Lunch is how such an insanely weird movie ends up so incredibly boring. The 100% deadpan humor cannot survive for two hours, and the bizarre focus on constant exposition otherwise eventually makes this a life-sucking watch. A real shame, as the aesthetics are fantastic, and for the first 40… (read more)
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The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
The best thing that can be said about The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is that it’s identifiably “Dario Argento” despite being his debut. The gory murders still affect, his eye for framing and following a shot is already ace, and of course, it’s a murder-thriller. Hitchcockian in the best of ways. However, I find… (read more)
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Deep Red
It’s a bizarre world when Suspiria‘s more popular than Deep Red. It may not have the intoxicating visual design of Dario Argento’s more successful thriller, but Deep Red overall comes out on top by giving more attention to the thing Suspiria neglected: its script. With an immediately psychologically interesting killer (and thus interesting mystery), great… (read more)
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The Conversation
The Conversation is possibly the best example of Francis Ford Coppola‘s directing talent as it goes for something more subtle that his usual hugely bombastic ambition can’t distract from. There’s such an intense focus and purity on the writing and portrayal of this story that it’s one of the most flawless movies I’ve seen, even… (read more)
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High and Low
I feel slightly guilty about rating High and Low this high, because while its deliberate pacing with separating the thriller (the high) from the investigation (the low) is a novel idea that lends it a lot of personality, it’s hard for me to not be taken a bit too low after the incredible first half.… (read more)
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The Ghost Writer
Great visual design and atmosphere thanks to the post-modern art and Polanski‘s heavy use of grey tones, but The Ghost Writer ultimately doesn’t pay off for all the suspense it builds. The writing lacks some self-awareness as well. Every character is a gigantic cunt for some unknown reason, and some parts are so silly that… (read more)
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The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon succeeds as well as any mystery could by making nearly every single character a suspect. Anything could happen at any time, and everyone is involved in one large plot roped around one titular bird. Second-guessing every character’s personality and trying to read inbetween their lines becomes a sport that demands constant attention,… (read more)
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Millennium Actress
Directed by Satoshi Kon, ‘Millennium Actress’ is a fictional drama about a legendary actress’s career and personal life, with the two narratives interweaving into one kaleidoscopic, romantic journey. (read more)
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Inland Empire
Inland Empire (IE) beats out Eraserhead for the scarier surrealist movie, mostly because it has much less of David Lynch‘s diffident, “unintentional” humor. Frustratingly enough, that humor still shows up in IE from time to time, but despite its incomprehensibility, IE is somewhat entertaining in how manic and disturbing it is, where Lynch’s earlier cryptographs… (read more)
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Rashomon
People lie, I guess. I can’t be surprised by any aspect of Rashomon. If you view Rashomon under the perspective that it’s about perception against reality it’s a lot more interesting, but the narrative seems to suggest it’s simple egocentric lying with its drama about the evil in man. Evil that’s deliberate, as is shown… (read more)