4. Titanic
The story of the Titanic, or any tragedy for that matter, is best told by those who experienced it first hand. Holocaust survivors tell their stories that seem as dim as a dawn when juxtaposed to the events themselves. And the story loses its dimness as it passes on from generation to generation and becomes more anonymous. Details get lost and unknowingly substituted with phony ones. It's like REO Speedwagon said. "Heard it form a friend who heard it from a friend." James Cameron's "Titanic" tells the story of a Titanic survivor telling her story to researchers rather than having the movie be about the voyage itself exclusively, albeit fictional. At the same time, James Cameron is kind of telling the story about himself. About how he dove into the abyss to research the wreckage himself, thus becoming more of an explorer than a filmmaker for the next decade. "L.A. Confidential" is told to the audience first hand, skipping the messenger part. It modernizes the film noir genre as well as anyone else could, something that "Gangster Squad" failed miserably at. Inspired by and mildly based on the crime wave Mickey Cohen brought upon the Pacific coast, it's chronicled with wit more akin to screwball than parody. There are three antagonists, each with something big to lose. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) has the TV show "Badge of Honor," Bud White (Russell Crowe) has his relationship with Lynn Bracken, and Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) is trying to shake a persona seen as soft by others but virtuous by himself. A police force predominantly corrupt, and it's the integrity of Exley, White, and Vincennes that keeps the investigation of the Nite Owl case and the movie itself firing on all cylinders.