Stormy Monday

This is one of those sleeper films, a good one that is not very well- known.....but should be. I really liked this modern-day film noir when I first saw it over a decade ago and the three additional times since.

The movie has all the features of a good noir, most of all a feeling of impending doom throughout, which a good noir exhibits. You know some bad things are going to happen, but you just don't know what and when. That uneasy mood runs throughout the film.

Add some tough characters, great cinematography (nice colors, too, in this case) and even a good blues music score and you have an interesting film. The story here revolves around a ruthless American businessman trying to buy up an entire block of the businesses in one area in Britain.

There's humor in here too with a goofy Polish jazz band, which looked and sounded just awful, and just enough action throughout to keep from getting too talky. Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith, Sting and Sean Bean star and all are fascinating to watch.