A masterful adaptation of David Peace's Ellroy-esque noir trilogy. In '1974', the first chapter, a rookie journalist looks to solve the increasingly vexing case of a serial killer on the loose. A bleak vision of corruption in an emphatically isolated 'North', which raises the game for levels of darkness in TV drama. Andrew Garfield gives a captivating performance as the idealistic journalist in way over his head. Highly recommended. find out more...

The trilogy continues and life in West Riding becomes grimmer. Police corruption interferes with the search for a killer in Yorkshire, England. This time, Paddy Considine's Mancunian copper-with-a-heart-of-gold is brought in to head the inquiry into the unsolved murders. Like the journo before him, he finds resistance wherever he turns. Gripping stuff, based on David Peace's novel "Nineteen Eighty" find out more...

The grisly trilogy concludes in dramatic fashion. Mark Addy gives a sterling performance as a burned-out solicitor whose conscience won't let him give up. The seemingly untouchable, corrupt West Yorkshire police, and the true evil mastermind behind the child abductions and murders of the last 14 years are dragged into the light. Excellent British television. find out more...

State of Play is a classic conspiracy thriller that promotes the belief that New Labour has betrayed the longing for a new ethical politics, replacing the sleaze scandals of the Major years with more of the same. The script, the dialogue and the acting are all top drawer in this gripping, pacey, multi-layered tale of ambitious and talented young men tragically failing. find out more...

The story continues in this gripping conspiracy thriller. find out more...

A cracking Coen brothers caper with an absolutely magnificent Jeff Bridges as ageing hippy, Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, happily bumbling through life, which in his case means getting stoned and hanging out at the bowling alley, until his peaceful existence is rudely interrupted by a couple of bungling crooks who visit his apartment late one night and pee on his rug. Realising he's been mistaken for his crippled, millionaire namesake, Jeff visits the real intended victim seeking compensation for th find out more...

The original and best version of the detective thriller classic. Philip Marlowe is hired to investigate the gambling debts of a rich man's daughter, but is plunged into a twilight world of intrigue, blackmail and violence. Stylish and gripping. find out more...

Tense mystery thriller with Gene Hackman as an ace surveillance expert who begins to question the morality of his own work. Listening in on a young couple during an apparently routine job, he realises he's involved in something far more sinister than he thought. Gripping and thought provoking. find out more...

This is, along with Hawks' The Big Sleep, easily the most intelligent of all screen adaptations of Chandler's work. Altman in fact stays pretty close to the novel's basic narrative (though there are a couple of crucial changes), but where he comes up with something totally original is in his ironic updating of the story and characters: Gould's Marlowe is a laid-back, shambling slob who, despite his incessant claim that everything is 'OK with me,' actually harbours the same honourable ideals as C find out more...

Treachery and deception in this classic film noir as various groups of low life characters try to lay their mits on the ancient treasure. Sam Spade is the honest fall guy. One of the best Hollywood films ever and certainly one of the best of its type. Initiated the move away from gangster movies. find out more...