Heat (1995)
Heat is a 1995 American crime film written, produced and directed by Michael Mann, and starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer. De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a professional thief, while Pacino plays Lt. Vincent Hanna, a veteran LAPD robbery-homicide detective tracking down McCauley’s crew. The central conflict is based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit in the 1960s of a criminal named McCauley, after whom De Niro’s character is named.
Heat was a commercial success, grossing $67 million in the United States and $187 million worldwide (about $292 million in 2016) against a $60 million budget. It was well received by critics. The film-critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 86% positive reviews, calling the film “an engrossing crime drama that draws compelling performances from its stars – and confirms Michael Mann’s mastery of the genre.”
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir mystery crime thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey.
The film follows the interrogation of Roger “Verbal” Kint, a small-time con man who is one of the only two survivors of a massacre and fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. He tells an interrogator a convoluted story about events that led him and his partners in crime to the boat, and about a mysterious mob boss known as Keyser Söze who commissioned their work. Using flashback and narration, Kint’s story becomes increasingly complex.
