7. Snake Eyes
At a boxing match in Atlantic City during a hurricane, the United States Defence Secretary Charles Kirkland (Joel Fabiani) is assassinated, leaving a stadium full of eye witnesses. Two of those eye witnesses are best friends Rick Santoro (Nicolas Cage), a corrupt Atlantic City detective, and US Navy Commander Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), who was escorting Kirkland that night, and who was distracted by a woman, leading him to leave his post, which resulted in Kirklands assassination- though Dunne was able to kill the assassin. Santoro begins investigating what happened, which involved boxer Lincoln Tyler (Stan Shaw) throwing a fight, which was part of an even larger conspiracy regarding covering up a malfunctioning missile guiding system named the AirGuard, and a woman named Julia Costello (Carla Gugino). Santoro also learns a devastating truth about his friend. When it came out in 1998, Snake Eyes received largely negative reviews. 15 years later, Brian De Palmas conspiracy thriller actually holds up pretty well. While it suffers from a weak climax, for most of its running time its a taut, visually inventive thriller with an unique set-up and a great noir atmosphere. The opening shot alone, which, while having numerous invisible cuts, is one of the best examples of the tracking shot in film history. Cage is also really good here. His theatrical style of acting puts many people off but here it perfectly suits Santoros personality. Sinise also does a fine job here, making us understand and emphasize with Dunnes motivations when we find out his role in the conspiracy. The relationship between Santoro and Dunne is also an interesting twist on the whole James Cagney/Pat OBrien relationship from Michael Curtiz's Angels With Dirty Faces, a film about two boyhood friends, one who became a gangster and the other a priest. In Snake Eyes, the one we think is the nobler of the two is actually the more corrupt. And the consequences that await Santoro if he exposes the truth provide an interesting moral and ethical dilemma to compliment De Palmas technical bravura. What I also like about a Snake Eyes is, apart from being a very cinematic film, is also a film about how we watch and listen to movies. In the early parts of the film, we, and Santoro, witness and hear crucial events. While at first we dont understand what they mean, they become clear later on. If it came out today, I think critics possibly like the film more- hailing it as a nice throwback to De Palmas classic thrillers and 1970s conspiracy thrillers. Even so, looking back at the film, theres something oddly quaint, and almost nostalgic about a star driven conspiracy thriller released by a major studio, which makes it easier to appreciate. Its not that old of a film, but I genuinely feel, to borrow a phrase, we dont make them like this anymore.