Best Mob
Widely considered the show that ushered in the 'golden age' of television, 'The Sopranos' revolutionized the medium with its complex characters, morally ambiguous storylines, and groundbreaking narrative structure. The series follows Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mob boss struggling with panic attacks...
Why this score?
The Sopranos earns a remarkable 9.8/10 due to its unparalleled influence on television, its consistently high-quality writing and acting, and its willingness to tackle complex themes. While some viewers find the pacing deliberate, the shows masterful character development and innovative narrative structure solidify its place as a cornerstone of modern television.
Scoring methodology
Trunk Music is a 1997 crime novel by Michael Connelly and the fifth book centered on Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch. Bosch investigates the execution-style killing of a film producer whose body is discovered in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce. Evidence leads from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and toward or...
Why this score?
Popular Bosch novel with Vegas mob elements and strong pacing; often considered a solid series high point.
Scoring methodology
Street Mobster is a 1972 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It follows a volatile former prisoner whose return to society disrupts the established criminal order and brings him into conflict with local underworld figures. The film belongs to Fukasaku's cycle of hard-edged postwar crime...
Why this score?
Acclaimed early Fukasaku yakuza film, valued for raw energy, social anger and Bunta Sugawara's ferocious central performance.
Scoring methodology
The Italian Connection is a 1972 Italian poliziotteschi crime film directed by Fernando Di Leo. Its plot follows a pimp who is framed by rival mobsters and then pursued by two ruthless American hitmen, placing an individual betrayal inside a transnational gangster story. The film is suited to viewer...
Why this score?
Highly regarded poliziotteschi, praised for Di Leo's muscular direction, kinetic violence and Mario Adorf's committed performance.
Scoring methodology
Brother Orchid is a 1940 American crime comedy directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Edward G. Robinson. Robinson plays a gangster who, after being displaced by a younger rival, hides in a monastery and adopts the name Brother Orchid. The film places a familiar gangster plot beside the routines of re...
Why this score?
Well liked Edward G. Robinson comedy, buoyed by charming performances and an unusual redemption story, though comparatively lightweight.
Scoring methodology
The Hit is a 1984 British crime film directed by Stephen Frears, starring John Hurt, Tim Roth, and Terence Stamp. The plot follows a former gangster (Stamp) who testified against his criminal associates a decade earlier and is now being transported across Spain while pursued by hitmen (Hurt and Roth...
Nameless Gangster is a 2012 South Korean crime film directed by Yoon Jong-bin. Its Korean title, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, refers to a story set in Busan in which a corrupt customs official becomes involved with organized crime and rises within a criminal network. Choi Min-sik plays the...
Inside Men is a 2015 South Korean political crime film written and directed by Woo Min-ho. Based on Yoon Tae-ho's webtoon The Insiders, it examines corruption and collusion among political, business, media, and criminal figures through the actions of a political fixer and other competing players. Th...
Suicide Kings is a 1997 American crime film directed by Peter O'Fallon. It stars Christopher Walken as Charlie Barret, a former mob boss kidnapped and held by a group of wealthy, desperate young men. The plot develops through their attempts to use the kidnapping to obtain ransom money, while the bal...
Why this score?
Christopher Walken's performance and darkly comic premise attract a cult audience, while contrivances and tonal instability divide reviewers.
Scoring methodology
The Brotherhood is a 1968 American crime drama directed by Martin Ritt and written by Lewis John Carlino. Kirk Douglas plays Frank Ginetta, an older Mafia figure whose younger brother Vince, played by Alex Cord, returns from military service and becomes caught between personal independence, family l...
The Don Is Dead is a 1973 American gangster film directed by Richard Fleischer. Its story follows the violent struggle for control of a criminal organization after the assassination of a powerful mob boss. The film belongs to the crime and neo-noir traditions and focuses on shifting alliances, organ...
Vault is a 2019 American crime thriller directed by Tom DeNucci and written by DeNucci and B. Dolan. It dramatizes the 1975 Bonded Vault robbery in Providence, Rhode Island, following small-time criminals who join a plan to steal more than $30 million from a vault used by the Providence Mafia. The c...
Carlito's Way: Rise to Power is a 2005 American crime film written and directed by Michael Scott Bregman. It is a prequel to Brian De Palma's 1993 film Carlito's Way and stars Jay Hernandez as Carlito Brigante, whose release from prison leads to a struggle over the heroin trade in 1960s Harlem. The...
Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobara is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language crime film directed by Milan Luthria and written by Rajat Arora. It is a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and shifts the fictionalized underworld story to 1980s Bombay, where gangster Shoaib Khan and his protégé Aslam Siddiqui b...
Why this score?
Generally negative reviews cite excessive length, weak writing, romantic melodrama and disappointing performances despite polished production values.
Scoring methodology
