FilmsPublic EnemiesLike this

Films like Public Enemies.

Public Enemies (2009) reads as Sombre, kinetic, measured crime / drama, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Blackhat (2015) poster
1. Blackhat2015

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Shanghai (2012) poster
2. Shanghai2012

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Miami Vice (2006) (2006) poster
3. Miami Vice2006

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012) poster
4. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry2012

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Trivisa (2016) poster
5. Trivisa2016

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Lust, Caution (2007) poster
6. Lust, Caution2007

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

The Age of Shadows (2016) poster
7. The Age of Shadows2016

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Election (2005) poster
8. Election2005

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Talvar (2015) poster
9. Talvar2015

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Margaret (2011) (2011) poster
10. Margaret2011

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Election (2005, HK) (2005) poster
11. Election (2005, HK)2005

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Black Book (2006) (2006) poster
12. Black Book2006

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the heightened unreality; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

These are Public Enemies’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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