“Twin Peaks” and “Heavy Rain” are both neo-noir things that willfully play around with all of the classical tropes of noir - hard-boiled detectives, shady ladies, a dreamlike atmosphere, a strong sense of atmosphere and place. I love these things in any medium, whether it be TV, movies, video games, or novels. I’d also include movies like “Dark City,” “Brick,” and Haruki Murakami’s earlier Chandler-inspired detective books, though those are almost too Japanese for this category, which tends to be uniquely occidental.
I’d like more of this sort of thing, but am having trouble finding it - especially novels. Help!
I get the feeling that the forthcoming Stephen King-inspired Haven will be much like that. From what I saw on a new commercial the other night, that chick getting out of the car turns out to be some kind of agent.
Not so much from the noir angle, but more from the “wetness” angle, you might read Ebert’s review of Three Days of Rain which I thought was at least a *** movie. If the wetness thing is among your criteria, I could suggest some others.
Of course! And the only other movie I can bring back to mind with a “wetness” factor (whether or not the noir thing is there, too) is the Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger sexfest 9 1/2 Weeks which basically drips off the screen.
But do be sure to avoid Waterworld which in spite of a wetness factor has almost nothing else to recommend it except it will put you into a coma.
Hopefully it’s not too much of a hijack, but what other neo-noir films would you recommend to someone who really dug Brick and the “Brown Bettie” episode of Fringe?
An absolute must-see are the following two related movies set in a Chandlerish 1940s LA where magic is real and accepted and HP Lovecraft is a hardbitten cop (played in the first by Fred Ward and in the sequel by Dennis Hopper).