The Outsiders (1983)

 

The rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, only heats up when one gang member kills a member of the other.

From memory: Odd, not quite satisfying melodrama about troubled teenagers (with a remarkable cast of some young up-and-coming stars) does a good job conveying juvenile life and behaviour, but the artificiality of the settings are quite off-putting.

Halliwell (no star): "Oddball youth melodrama, a curious choice for a director with big successes behind him."

Maltin**1/2: "Florid, highly stylized...Ambitious film evokes GWTW and '50s melodramas..., but never quite connects, despite powerful moments." 

The House That Jack Built (2018)

The story follows Jack, a highly intelligent serial killer, over the course of twelve years, and depicts the murders that really develop his inner madman.

Beyond the serial killer portrait and some truly disturbing scenes this is an excellently complex exploration of human existence and the frailty and ambiguity of art - and a self-critical reflection of von Trier's previous œuvre.

A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

A determined student murders his pregnant secret girlfriend and moves onto her twin sister who gradually becomes suspicious of her new lover.

Moderately entertaining, but quite unoriginal Hitchcock-like thriller.

Halliwell*: "Moderately effective thriller, though it offers a considerable simplification of the novel on which it is based."

Maltin*1/2: "Almost completely ineffectual thriller..."

To Die For (1995)

A beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.

Slyly made satire with an excellent performance by Nicole Kidman  has lost some of its bite over time, probably because much of it has come true.

Halliwell*: "A deft satire on the worship of celebrity for its own sake and the way television can elevate the ordinary to heroic status, though it takes aim at an exceptionally easy target - a small-town girl - without managing to hit the bull's-eye."

Maltin**1/2: "Kidman is perfect...this black comedy seems to make all the right moves, but plays out its story with a surprising lack of irony; by the climax it has nothing more to offer."

Armored (2009)

A newbie guard for an armored truck company is coerced by his veteran coworkers to steal a truck containing $42 million, but a wrinkle in their supposedly foolproof plan divides the group, leading to a potentially deadly resolution.

High-tension heist drama with an impressible cast, well done, but all for the usual 'crime doesn't pay' result.

Maltin**: "A throwback to low-budget B movies of yore, this OK actioner will neither overly impress nor greatly disappoint genre fans."