Reed Bunzel

BunzelGram March 19, 2025 Issue #206 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime Yesterday the White House began releasing thousands of previously classified records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. So far there are no major revelatio...

Congratulations to all the Lefty Award winners. Ten gangster films that are (almost) as good as “The Godfather.” British Crime Series “MobLand” Premieres next week. All these stories and more in this week’s BunzelGram. reedbunzel.com/so/dfPMfxa2r...

BunzelGram March 10, 2025 Issue #205 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime So this totally mind-blowing thing happened last week as I was in the middle of moving my mother-in-law. After unloading a pile of boxes from a hand truck I took a quick breather to check my emails, a...

Is Netflix’ popular “Midnight In The Switchgrass” worth your time? Director Walter Hill on filming “The Warriors” in New York City. These are arguably the top 20 movies Gene Hackman ever made. All this and more in this week’s BunzelGram. reedbunzel.com/so/76PL-oE2P...

BunzelGram February 10, 2025 Issue #203 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime I didn’t watch last night’s Super Bowl. Neither my 49ers nor my Patriots were playing, so I didn’t have a dog in the hunt. Thus, I didn’t watch the halftime show, I didn’t hear Jon Batiste sing the National Anthem, didn’t listen to the senseless boos and jeers aimed at Taylor Swift. I didn’t see any of the commercials, either, except earlier in the day I did happen to catch this one from Hellman’s mayonnaise, a reboot of the famous Katz Deli scene from When Harry Met Sally. IMHO it’s absolutely hysterical. Instead, I tucked into my chair with a glass of wine and immersed myself in a great international thriller…which I’ll review in BunzelGram next week. Until then...MLB spring training begins next week. —Reed Bunzel

Ten scenes in Guy Ritchie gangster films that are basically perfect. Why Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” remains a classic. Three perfect Agatha Christie movies. All this and more in this week’s BunzelGram. reedbunzel.com/so/3aPJlV5Fs...

BunzelGram January 27, 2025 Issue #202 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime Mystery Writers of America last week announced the nominees for the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2024. I wish ...

Underrated gangster thriller "The Outfit" shows a different side of the mafia. Jason Statham's 5 best action movies from the past decade. New Michael Connelly mystery "Nightshade," set on Catalina, is coming May 20. These stories and more in this week’s BunzelGram. reedbunzel.com/so/71PIaOoof...

BunzelGram January 20, 2025 Issue #201 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime Today, January 20, BunzelGram marks the quadrennial practice of inaugurating a president by highlighting six notable films—arguably thrillers—that deal one way or another with White House scandals, co...

Today, January 20, BunzelGram marks the quadrennial practice of a presidential inauguration by recognizing six notable films that deal—one way or another—with presidential scandals, corruption, conspiracies, and assassinations. reedbunzel.com/so/8ePI3LKET...

BunzelGram January 13, 2025 Issue #200 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime Over the weekend we watched two movies that classify as thrillers, but for highly different reasons. The first was Emilia Perez, a genre-bending musical profile of a violent cartel kingpin that’s also...

“Carlito’s Way” starred Al Pacino as a different kind of gangster. Five great espionage novels set in small towns. Ten classic thrillers you probably haven’t seen [but should]. These stories and more in this week’s BunzelGram. reedbunzel.com/so/01PHVKlPd...

BunzelGram January 7, 2025 Issue #199 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime Welcome to a new year, and a slightly revised issue of BunzelGram. You may have noticed that I’ve taken some time off to recharge my batteries, and I’ve spent the past few weeks [okay, months] balanci...

Ten highly anticipated new crime thrillers to look for in 2025. Fugitive killed in shootout was suspect in 1981 death of Ohio woman. How costume designer Theadora Van Runkle defined Hollywood gangster cool. These stories and more in this week’s issue of BunzelGram. reedbunzel.com/so/68PG_NL19...

BunzelGram November 18, 2024 Issue #197 This Week's Thoughts on Mysteries, Thrillers, and All Things Crime As I mentioned in the last regularly published issue of BunzelGram in late September, I decided to take some time off from writing. This included a full month of down time in my favorite place on eart...

reedbunzel.wixsite.com/so/53PC-qQHQ... Murders and other crimes in blackout London during World War II. Agatha Christie wrote romance novels as Mary Westmacott. The creepiest abandoned amusement parks in the U.S. These stories and more in this week’s BunzelGram.