Gravitas

Who doesn't love a great crime saga? Netflix has certainly caught on. The streaming giant has a great crop of noirs and thrillers sure to keep you riveted this week. By now, you're hopefully familiar with Netflix's original crime documentaries like Making a Murderer and The Staircase, but you should check out these features, too. We also included another great crime documentary for good measure.

Small Town Crime (2017)

Starring: John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, Clifton Collins Jr., Michael Vartan, Caity Lotz, James Lafferty, Robert Forster, Octavia Spencer

Give me John Hawkes and I'll be happy. Hawkes leads this small town thriller about a drunken ex-cop looking for redemption via the search for a dead girl's killer. He finds little but trouble along the way as the hunt leads him into the worlds of pimps, hookers, and hitmen as the mystery unravels. It's a dark story told in sunlight that features a string of fantastic individual characters. Trust in the cast, and trust in Hawkes, one of the best.

Saban

Band of Robbers (2015)

Starring: Kyle Gallner, Adam Nee, Matthew Gray Gubler, Melissa Benoist, Hannibal Buress, Stephen Lang

A stylized little gem, Band of Robbers takes its cues from Wes Anderson movies and Coen brothers films, but still manages to claim its own voice. A tribute to Mark Twain, the movie stars Gallner and Nee as modern versions of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Huck's an ex-con and Tom is a bumbling cop, but their childhood friendship has endured and the two buddies concoct a plan to rob a pawn shop. It's a funny tale with twists and turns Twain would be proud of. You won't be bored for a second.

Gravitas

Too Late (2015)

Starring: John Hawkes, Crystal Reed, Jeff Fahey, Robert Forster, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Rider Strong, Natalie Zea

Hawkes again! American director Dennis Hauck's debut feature is probably best reserved for real film buffs. This is largely due to the movie's slow pace as it's methodically constructed of five unbroken 22-minute takes. If you can calm the ADD for 107 minutes, you'll find a distinctive film awash in the grime of neo-noir. Hawkes fans won't be disappointed as the veteran actor commands every scene he's in as a private investigator on the trail of a missing prostitute.

Foe Killer

The Salvation (2014)

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jonathan Pryce

The Salvation is one bad-ass western. It's also an old-fashioned crime film wrapped around a terrible murder. The great Mads Mikkelsen stars as Jon, an ex-soldier out to make a new life in America. But, when his wife and child finally arrive, they're taken from him in an act of brutality that starts a war. Jon knows the men are connected to a ruthless gang leaser (Morgan), and he endures much on the road to vengeance.

IFC

The Seven Five (2014)

Directed by Tiller Russell

The lone documentary on this list is an insider's look at the most corrupt New York City police precinct in the '80s: the 75th. The movie centers around Michael Dowd, a disgraced former cop who recounts in detail the crimes he and his buddies committed while "protecting" the city 30 years ago. Dowd's candor is something to behold and the stories he tells are hard to believe, but it's all true, and completely fascinating.

Courtesy NY Daily News

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