Best movies like Once in the Life
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Once in the life (of drug dealing and organized crime), can anyone get out? During a brief jail stay, two half-brothers, who have rarely seen each other while growing up, connect. One of them, called 20/20 Mike because he can sense people nearby, concocts a scheme in which the two of them will steal some dope from young couriers. The heist goes awry when Billy, the junkie brother, shoots the victims of the theft. The brothers hole up in an abandoned building, and 20/20 Mike seeks help from an old cell mate, Tony, whom he thinks is out of the life. It turns out that they have stolen Tony's dope, and Tony's boss wants the two thieves dead. Is there any way out? Written by.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 796
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, serious, tense, captivating, neo noir, crime drama, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like Once in the Life (2000):
Similar in 78%
Tortured (2007)
Plot Summary:
A mobster orders an undercover FBI agent to torture an accountant.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, twist ending, hood
Similar in 90%
If... Dog... Rabbit (1999)
Plot Summary:
Johnnie Cooper served time for an armed robbery that also his father and brother participated in. When he's released from jail he's determined to live a normal life and gets work at a gas station. But soon his brother pays a visit.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 602
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Cisco Pike (1971)
Plot Summary:
Cisco is an ex-rock star who has become a drug dealer. A corrupt cop blackmails Cisco to sell marijuana for him. Cisco has one weekend to sell it to his friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspenseful, serious, neo noir, surprise ending
Similar in 89%
Blueprint for Robbery (1961)
Plot Summary:
A gang of career criminals plots the robbery of an armored car company's headquarters. Although the robbery itself goes off as planned, it's not long before the gang members are fighting among themselves over everybody's share of the loot and trying to avoid capture by the police, who are pouring all their resources into capturing the robbers. Based on a real-life 1950 Brinks Armored Car Co. robbery in Boston.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 173
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
The Last Tunnel (2004)
Plot Summary:
A recently released prisoner reunites his criminal colleagues to pull off one last heist.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 752
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, humorous, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir
Similar in 83%
Flipping (1996)
Plot Summary:
no overview found.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 179
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: crime drama, independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Saints and Sinners (1994)
Plot Summary:
After many years Pooch returns to his neighbourhood. To Big Boy, his best friend, Pooch is valuable asset in his plans of becoming local crime lord. To Pooch, this reunion is painful because he is, actually, undercover cop sent to bring Big Boy down.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 86%
Two Coyotes (2001)
Plot Summary:
A drug runner takes over a lucrative drug business only to find his new found empire crumble when a deal goes bad.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 64
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 79%
The Bull (2019)
Plot Summary:
The 1990s. Empty shelves in the shops, an economic abyss and criminal dramas that unfold literally at every corner. The young leader of a criminal gang Anton Bykov, with the nickname “Bull”, must make money in whatever way to provide for his family. After a local shootout, Anton ends up in the police station, from where he is released at the intervention of Moscow’s crime lords. In exchange, the latter asks Anton for a small, but dangerous service.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 896
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, bleak, serious, harsh, suspenseful, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Shooters (2002)
Plot Summary:
Gilly comes out of prison after serving a six year stretch and decides that he will now turn his life around and go straight. But when he returns to his South London home and visits his old colleague J, in hope of obtaining his share of the proceeds from the job that landed him inside, J soon talks him into getting involved in one last scam.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Netherlands, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 89%
Prison Song (2001)
Plot Summary:
Elijah has been bounced from group home to group home throughout his turbulent young life. What has sustained him is his art. After a promised scholarship is taken away, Elijah ends up in a fight that result in the death of another boy. Now, sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years, the young man must find a way to keep his soul alive behind bars or turn into a hardened bitter criminal.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 683
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, captivating, hood, crime drama, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 80%
Bullet (1996)
Plot Summary:
A tough, Jewish ex-con just released from prison crosses a powerful drug dealer and former prison rival in his return to a life of crime.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, hood, disturbing, harsh, stylized, serious, cult classic, independent film, bleak
Similar in 87%
Sucker Punch (2003)
Plot Summary:
Mike Sullivan spends his nights kidnapping runaways so his boss, Lamar, can turn them into prostitutes. He is a crack addict and a thief and he is in love with a resentful prostitute, Rhonda, who doesn't love him back. Although he has aspirations of escaping this world, it isn't until he is nearly killed by corrupt cops for stealing money from his boss that he decides to redeem himself. In an attempt to save his own soul, he tries to get Rhonda out of the business, and is forced to battle Lamar and his henchmen, as well as Rhonda's unwillingness to change. As punishment for betraying Lamar, Mike is forced into a series of misdeeds, and in a shocking ending, must commit unredeemable acts as he tries to save Rhonda and himself.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 171
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, tense, semi serious, crime drama, rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 77%
Playing God (1997)
Plot Summary:
Stripped of his medical license after performing an operation while high on amphetamines, famed LA surgeon Dr Eugene Sands abandons his former life only to find himself crossing paths with Raymond Blossom, an infamous counterfeiter. Employed as a "gun-shot doctor" when Raymond's associates cannot risk visiting a hospital, Eugene is lured deep into the criminal world and becomes entangled with his boss's girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, intense, tense, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, erotic, neo noir, scary
Similar in 85%
Cement (2000)
Plot Summary:
What's the bond between partners, between brothers, and between spouses? In L.A., Bill Holt handcuffs Sean Rickhart inside a rebar frame for a freeway pillar at a construction site; Bill's going to bury Sean in quick-drying cement. Guided by the narration of Nin, Bill's coke-snorting partner, we go back and forth over the past 48 hours to find out what brings Bill and Sean to this deadly scene. Missing money, cops on the take, Sean's two brothers (one the leader of the mob, the other a camera-carrying simpleton), Bill's wife, dead young police officers, infidelity, and Bill and Nin's partnership make a mix as volatile and unstable as the cement is solid and immobile.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, dark, independent film, tense
Similar in 80%
Straight Time (1978)
Plot Summary:
After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, realistic, psychological, thought provoking, cynical, crime drama, contemplative, independent film, tension
Similar in 86%
Blood In, Blood Out (1993)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: intense, bad ending, entertaining, rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, cult classic, inspirational, retro
Similar in 81%
Empire (2002)
Plot Summary:
A big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top Victor soon finds out that he has been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: intense, suspense, melancholic, stylized, rough, serious, suspenseful, hood, tense, realistic
Similar in 81%
El padrino (2004)
Plot Summary:
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 762
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 86%
One False Move (1991)
Plot Summary:
Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, suspenseful, independent film, atmospheric, disturbing, intense, rough, serious
Similar in 79%
Caught Up (1998)
Plot Summary:
Daryl gets out of jail after 5 years. His mother has died, his girlfriend is married, and he can't find a job. His new girlfriend Vanessa, whom he meets when a gunman opens fire on them, gets him a job as a car driver. Hitmen are still after them, and Vanessa tells Daryl that this is her former lover Ahmad who wants revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, realistic, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film, fast, cult film
Similar in 85%
Hell's Kitchen (1998)
Plot Summary:
When a robbery goes awry, the bandits all end up in a puddle of blood and only one lives and goes to jail for five years. Upon his release, the girlfriend wants her new boyfriend to kill him. Only trouble is the boyfriend knows that the fault was not the ex-con's and can't bring himself to do the task. Meanwhile, the ex-con tries to turn his life around by becoming a boxer and training under a former heavyweight contender.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, disturbing, independent film, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
Winner Takes All (1998)
Plot Summary:
Two rapper childhood friends turn to the quick and easy life of crime to support their needy parents. But after a foiled robbery, one of them is jailed while the other flees, changes his name, joins the military, and grows up to become a narcotics agent.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 90
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Federal Hill (1994)
Plot Summary:
In Providence's Italian neighborhood, Federal Hill, five young are immersed in drugs, crime and violence. Everything changes when one of the guys in the band know love.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 491
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: black and white, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, romantic, rough, sexy, clever, enigmatic
Similar in 89%
Sugar Hill (1993)
Plot Summary:
In the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the Mafia steps in when a drug dealer quits his partner brother to lead a straight life with his girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: hood, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, crime drama, independent film, black cinema
Similar in 79%
Blue Hill Avenue (2001)
Plot Summary:
A child of a middle class home with solid moral values is lured into a world of crime and corruption.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, bleak, realistic, serious, crime drama, beautiful
Similar in 79%
Squeeze (1997)
Plot Summary:
Ty, Hector, and Bao are close friends in a tough section of Boston, where they're called "the PG-13 crew." They're 14, decent kids with few skills who've bailed out of school. A small gang of older tough guys, led by Marcus and Tommy, menace them, and when the PG-13s fight back and rob one of the gang, Marcus and Tommy vow to kill them. They seek protection from Derick, a drug dealer, who agrees to help if they'll sell drugs. Meanwhile, Ty is recruited to work at a community center by J.J., its quiet leader. Ty and his friends are in a squeeze: surrounded by violence, drugs, and no opportunities, is there any way out?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 344
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: crime drama, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Gang Tapes (2001)
Plot Summary:
When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, hood, tense, suspense, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 83%
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Plot Summary:
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, thought provoking, hood, cult classic, brutal, bleak, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
Hoodlum (1997)
Plot Summary:
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running "the numbers". When, Madam Queen, the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem, is arrested. Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson takes over the business and must resist against the invasion from merciless mobster Dutch Shultz.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: hood, stylized, neo noir, black and white, crime drama, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, clever