L.A. Confidential

Director Curtis Hanson captures the duality of 1950s Los Angeles in this striking film noir adaptation of James Ellroy's novel. The City of Angels might be sunny‚ inviting‚ and glamorous to the rest of the world‚ but it's also filled with corrupt cops‚ elegant hookers‚ murder cover-ups‚ and manipulative paparazzi‚ all of which are just the tip of the iceberg. It's impossible to know exactly who's trustworthy and who's not as three detectives (Kevin Spacey‚ Russell Crowe‚ and Guy Pearce) each use their own tactics to investigate a coffee-shop massacre.