Some elements of this movie (the multiple freeze frames, the voice overs) seem a bit dated, but overall, it’s still a gripping and enjoyable descent. There are plenty of scenes that are magical in the configurations* and the acting is fabulous. And, holy crap, there’s Samuel L. Jackson playing the doomed Stacks Edwards.
Cost: $3.00
Where watched: at the Laurelhurst
*My favorites: the trip through the kitchen of the Copa followed by Karen’s wide-eyed question “What do you do?”; the perfection of blending “Layla” with a montage of dead and discarded gangsters; the claustrophobic build of the busy last day before the Hills got busted. It also has one of the best lines in movie history: As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.