Thief

Frank (James Caan) is a successful jewel thief working independently and building up resources. He's a man in a hurry: prison robbed him of over a decade of his life. He has a plan to get himself back on track to the life he always wanted but he's going to have to strongarm other people to get it.

When things with a fence go bad after his latest job it brings him into contact with the Chicago Mob and after a tense confrontation they offer him work.

Having always worked for himself he's reluctant but they dangle such a big job he thinks this could be his ticket out of the game and accepts.

No good will come of this.

CW: all manner of slurs, child trafficking

Emilia Pérez

Mexico City: Lawyer Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña) is part of the team that wins a high profile but morally questionable case. Feeling underappreciated and trapped she agrees to meet with a mysterious caller. She should have listened to her misgivings: she is kidnapped and spirited away.

Eventually finding herself sat opposite Juan "Manitas" Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón) the kingpin of a drug cartel, the "bastard above all bastards" he offers her a job. Manitas wishes to disappear and be completely reinvented. It's left unsaid what will happen if she says no. On the bright side the work will make her very rich.

Rita works diligently at this and is rewarded handsomely for it, but then years later the pair cross paths again.

No good will come of this.

Love Lies Bleeding

1989: Lou (Kristen Stewart) runs a gym in a large desert town in New Mexico for her father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris) despite the two being estranged and barely talking. Lou is abrasive and hates the customers but she has good reason: it's a shit job. She has an occasional hookup with the irritatingly clingy Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) but seemingly no friends apart from her sister.

Into town breezes Jackie (Katy O'Brian), skint and hitchhiking her way to Las Vegas for a bodybuilding competition. They immediately spark. By way of flirting Lou offers Jackie steroids from the gym stash.

No good will come of this.

CW: violence, injury detail and lots of sweaty flesh

American Gangster

Late 60s New York, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) works as driver and gopher for the crime boss of Harlem "Bumpy" Johnson. When "Bumpy" dies suddenly this empire falls apart and Lucas unsuccessfully tries to take the reins.

In a moment of sudden inspiration he hits on the idea to use US involvement in the Vietnam war to forge a direct route into the country for heroin. At enormous personal risk he travels there and deals directly with a producer.

This pays off.

Meanwhile, Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is put in charge of a task force to tackle the scourge of drugs on the streets.

CW: graphic images of drug abuse

The Instigators

 It is the eve of the Boston Mayoral election where incumbent Mayor Miccelli (Ron Perlman) is expected to romp home. Miccelli is notoriously corrupt and reputedly many favours and contracts will be bought with cash bribes at his private victory party.

Nobody crosses the Mayor but local crime boss Mr Besegai decides to raid the party and steal the cash. When the rumour gets out he's going to try roll the Mayor nobody will take the job except the desperate: ex-con Cobby (Casey Affleck) and down on his luck ex-Marine Rory (Matt Damon).

No good will come of this.

The Godfather: Part III

Having got mostly out of anything criminal, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is thinking about his legacy and gets involved in a complicated international business deal with the Vatican Bank.

His son Anthony, much like he did as a younger man, wants nothing to do with the business.

His daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola) is however beginning to get enmeshed in their business affairs.

When his dead brother's son Vincent (Andy Garcia) comes to him over an argument he takes him under his wing.

No good will come of this.

The Godfather: Part II

After consolidating power in the wake of his father's death, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has created a gambling empire in Las Vegas but faces threats from other players and the government itself.

Interleaved with this we get flashbacks to his father Vito's (Robert DeNiro) early life and adoption of a life of crime.

CW: domestic violence

The Godfather

Shortly after WWII, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) the patriarch of a great New York criminal dynasty holds court while supplicants come to him at his daughter's wedding. It is a tradition that on this day he can refuse no request so there are many.

Over the coming years much will change and not all his plans for his family will go how he wishes.

CW: some domestic violence