3. The Black Dahlia (2006)
In terms of consistency, Brian De Palma is not your man: for every great movie he's directed, he's made a bloody awful one, despite the fact that he's considered to be a director of great talent. For every
Scarface, there's a
Mission to Mars. For every
Carrie, there's a
Snake Eyes. And then, somewhere in the midst of all that, there's
The Black Dahlia, which is... well, it's without a doubt one of the most boring movies ever made. That likely stems from the fact that it's so mind-blowingly confusing. Trying to make sense of the narrative is futile. Based around the real life murder of Elizabeth Short in the late '40s, De Palma creates an excellent tone and aesethic feel for his murder mystery (as always), but the movie ends up being totally and utterly impossible to understand. It's so impenetrable, in fact, that you genuinely can't follow the beats of the story. Which is a shame, given the subject matter here and De Palma's flair obvious for the period setting - there might be masterpiece hiding somewhere beneath the surface, but it's laced in a boredom that is impossible to shake.