9. Killing Them Softly - Andrew Dominik
Killing Them Softly, on the surface, was a simplistic art house crime film; a standard mob movie with an identifiable anti-hero at the heart of it out to complete his hitman assignments. On these foundations it all made for a predictable time but underneath the surface was a strong and relevant message about contemporary American politics, the disastrous economy and how capitalism did not favour everyone in the system - where morally lost and detached souls lived within trapped existences, revolved around crime. Andrew Dominik's film, adapted from 1974 novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins, did not really offer anything fresh in the dynamics of what make a mob movie but its arthhouse visuals, simplistic action thrills and Brad Pitt's charismatic performance made this a noir picture with a critical social commentary too relevant to discard.
8. Looper - Rian Johnson
Looper was one of those rare and tricky sci-fi gems due to the fact it offered an original idea adapted into a direct screenplay. There is no third-party interference or foundation. Like Christoper Nolan's Inception, Johnson's film used an intelligent and original concept as its main attribute and then built its characters and plots around it. It was a tricky film where the concept of time travel presented a narrative that switched circularly between present-past and present with such subtlety; on first viewing, it had the potential to become somewhat confusing, but luckily it was not. With Hollywood seemingly running thin on original ideas, films like Looper will always be appreciated and then will rise to eventual cult status within the next ten to fifteen years.