XVIII - The Rise of Dad Cinema

With the new century,  a certain strand of pulp films get taken along a similar development path as elements of super hero movies, another genre that got its start as cheap disposal nonsense. Just like with Nolan's Batman and Snyder's... Snyderverse, some noir started to lean in to the grim, the dark, and the gritty as a way to prove that they were serious movies and not just kids' stuff. We'll be looking at two such examples - Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, and the Liam Neeson actioner Walk Among the Tombstones. Throw some commercials in and you'd have a pretty good Sunday afternoon double bill on TNT.

People are afraid of all the wrong things.