Category: Crime

The Top Ten Detective Films of All Time

Jandy Hardesty and Flickchart recently posted their choices for The Top Ten Detective Films of All Time.   Using just their list, here are my top three…

  1. The Maltese Falcon
  2. The Big Sleep
  3. Kiss Me Deadly

I’m sure some folks are wondering how I could have picked Kiss Me Deadly [or maybe even The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep] over Chinatown, but that’s how I’m feeling today.  Your mileage may differ.

John Ridley and “American Crime”

I discovered John Ridley through his novels.  He’s an amazing writer.

Ridley is probably best known as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave

Ridley is also the creative genius behind the series American Crime.  The series is unlike anything on television.  The emotions are so raw, so real, that it was hard to watch some episodes.  But I’m glad I did.  What a ride!

If you tuned in to the series or want to know more about it, why not check out Anna Lisa Raya’s interview with John Ridley?

Source: Deadline.

10 Times Art Imitates Life in Coppola’s “The Godfather”

David Hunter and Flickchart The Blog present The Annotated Godfather: 10 Times Art Imitates Life in Coppola’s ClassicsGodfather fans and history buffs alike will enjoy this piece.

Here are three are my favorites [click over to the article for full details of each]…

1. “Make Him An Offer He Can’t Refuse”: Johnny Fontane and Frank Sinatra

2. “Jack Dempsey’s joint”: Crooks and Crooked Fighters

4. “I’ve loved baseball ever since…”: The 1919 World Series

 

7 Things We Learned About “Breaking Bad” from Vince Gilligan

Jennifer M. Wood and Mental_Floss present 7 Things We Learned About Breaking Bad from Vince Gilligan’s AMA. Here are three of my favorites.

1. ON THE SET OF BREAKING BAD, BRYAN CRANSTON WOULD REGULARLY TELL AARON PAUL THAT JESSE PINKMAN WAS BEING KILLED OFF.

“He loved to tease Aaron Paul mercilessly,” explained Gilligan. “This came about after I told Aaron Paul early in the series that I had planned to kill off his character. From then on, every time a new script came out, Bryan would hurry to read it first so he could put on a sorrowful face and say to Aaron, ‘Gee buddy, I’m so sorry. You’re going out with a bang, at least.’ And Aaron, God bless him, seemed to fall for it every time.”

3. WALTER WHITE WAS THE HARDEST CHARACTER TO KILL OFF.

“I have to say the death of Walter White affected me the most,” admitted Gilligan, “because what it represented was the end of the story and the completion of this seven-year journey we had taken together—the cast, crew, writers and directors of Breaking Bad. That was the most affecting death to write. I actually teared up when I wrote it. I think a close second was the death of Mike Ehrmantraut.”

4. YOU MAY VERY WELL BE ABLE TO EAT AT LOS POLLOS HERMANOS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

Gus Fring’s fictional chicken joint may become a nonfictional chicken joint. “Believe it or not, there is talk of a Pollos Hermanos becoming a real restaurant,” confirmed Gilligan. “This is not an idea that I generated personally. But it’s one that’s been presented to me, through the good folks at Sony, and the idea came to them from a businessman who has an interest in doing just that. Speaking for myself, I’d love to see that happen!”

The 8 Most Intriguing Theories About Skyjacker D.B. Cooper

One of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the last century is who was D.B. Cooper?

Who is D.B. Cooper? The question has persisted since November 24, 1971, when a mysterious man hijacked a flight from Portland to Seattle, demanded parachutes and $200,000, and skydived into folk-hero history. Cooper’s identity and fate remain unknown — and many theories about both abound.

Cheryl Eddy and i09 look at The 8 Most Intriguing Theories About Skyjacker D.B. Cooper.

Abraham Lincoln Autopsy’s Handwritten Notes

Although the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln took place more than 150 years ago it still captures the imagination of most Americans.

The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY just opened a new installation, “Autopsy for a Nation: The Death of Abraham Lincoln,” marking the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination. The exhibit’s key items include handwritten notes by the physicians who conducted the President’s autopsy.

If you’d like to see the handwritten notes and transcriptions, you can at i09: True Crime.