LoC: Top 51 Action Movies Countdown! Part 83!

[Johnny Unusual]

#45  – Police Story

23 Points, 2 Lists, #12 Stethacantus

You may know the name, but the game has changed.

   

After police officer Chan Ka Kui puts a druglord behind bars, the druglord vows revenge.  Soon, Chan is framed for the murder of a corrupt cop and now finds himself trying to clear his name while dodging both police and criminals.  And if that wasn’t enough, Chan also needs to convince his girlfriend not to leave him.
   
Shit Just Got Real! – Not only is Chan’s arch-nemesis out on bail, but now Chan is a fugitive after being framed for the murder of a fellow police officer.

Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 80-90% I haven’t seen this one, so I can only make a guess based on my knowledge of Jackie Chan.  What I do know is that the Police Story films, while still having humour, is a bit less overtly comedic than his other films but still high in action.  So I hope I’m right on this. 

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Xk4dUq4zE_o" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Xk4dUq4zE_o</a>

[ScottotD]

YAY! love that movie

[Johnny Unusual]

#44-43 – Children of Men

24 Points, 1 List, #2 Cole Stratton

Poor fugees. After escaping the worst atrocities and making it to England, our government hunts them down like cockroaches.

   

A former activist turned bureaucrat in a world where children stopped being born, Theo Faron is pulled in by his ex-wife (a member of a militant immigrants’ rights group) must help a young girl acquire transit papers and travel with her.  However, things get complicated when Theo discovers the girl is pregnant, perhaps the only pregnant woman on Earth and must protect her from people who would want to take the child who may be the first of a new generation or the last new human.
   
Shit Just Got Real! – The big finale where the characters step into a war zone.

Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 20% It is really more of a dark adventure movie, in my opinion, but it does blow the doors off the place with an epic war torn finale which you can see below.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/YlTDUITiDcg" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/YlTDUITiDcg</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

Rest in Peace, P.D. James.  My mother loved your mystery books.

[Charles Castle]

I regret making my list with only about an hour's worth of consideration. In the last thirty minutes of speaking about the subject with my wife we've come up with about ten that definitely would have made the cut had i just remembered they existed while working on my list.

That was a very important cathartic moment for me. I feel better.

[Johnny Unusual]

#44-43 – Once Upon a Time in the West

24 Points, 1 List, #2 Charles Hussein Castle

People scare better when they're dying.

   

After the brutal killer Frank murders Brett McBain and his children, a piece of land called Sweetwater, and frames it one a bandit named Cheyanne, it seems that Frank’s employer, the railroad tycoon Morton, will be able to get the land to build the railroad through.  However, a woman soon comes to town revealing herself to be Jill McBain, who had married Brett and had come to live with him.  Now Jill finds herself in Morton’s crosshairs and ends up embroiled in a war for land and revenge involving Morton, Frank, Cheyanne and a mysterious man with a harmonica…
   
Shit Just Got Real! – Once Morton and Frank turn on each other, things get crazy and suddenly Frank and Harmonica are… well, I wouldn’t even call it a truce, but it does make Harmonica an even more enigmatic figure until the climax.

Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 40% The action is pretty fantastic, but often a good western doesn’t need wall to wall action when it can make up for it with tension, strong characters and a mood of true cool.  And when it does happen it’s pretty damn exciting.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/lyuwBW9lNa8" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/lyuwBW9lNa8</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

#42 – Branded to Kill

25 Points, 1 List, #1 Charles Hussein Castle

Can’t you sleep with your eyes open? You’ve been badly trained.

   

Goro Hanada is the yakuza’s third-ranked hitman with a fetish for the smell of boiling rice.  When he is hired by a woman named Misako, he falls in love with her, despite her own bizarre interests: dead birds and butterflies.  Goro botches his mission, which soon gets him targeted by the man known as the Number One Killer, who not only threatens Goro’s life but his sanity as well.
   
Shit Just Got Real! – In all honesty, I almost don’t want to read any more since it sounds neat, but I think if you are being hunted by a man calling himself the Number One Killer (in capital letters), shit is very, very real.

Pure Adrenaline Percentage – ??%  I don’t know.  If I had to theorize that it is on the lower end (if you are an influence on Jim Jarmusch, I can’t imagine it’s filled with balls to the walls action) with a couple crazy set pieces and a whole lot of style.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
http://www.criterion.com/films/576-branded-to-kill

[Johnny Unusual]

#41 – Kick-Ass

25 Points, 2 Lists, #11 George Harrison

Like every serial killer already knew: eventually fantasizing just doesn't do it for you anymore.

   
   
Dave Lizewski has a love for superheroes so strong, he eventually decides to become one with nothing more than a wetsuit, a few month of exercise and a desire to help people.  After an accident following a disastrous first attempt at crime fighting, Dave is taken to the hospital and finds that he has metal plates and braces surgically implanted in his body and that he can now endure pain better than before.  After getting out of the hospital, he goes it again and after he becomes an internet sensation after fighting off three thugs, he soon inspires more people to become heroes, though finds some might not be entirely stable.
   
Shit Just Got Real! – Kick-Ass ends up betrayed and he and a friend end up getting tortured by criminals live on the internet.   Not everyone is going to make it out of this one alive.

Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 75%  This one has quite a lot of over-the-top action and fun, bloody martial arts battles.  Not much to say beyond that.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/fUdx2siotUo" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/fUdx2siotUo</a>

[ScottotD]

Will have to check out Branded to Kill.

[Johnny Unusual]

#40 – Spider-Man 2

26 Points, 2 Lists, #13 Johnny Unusual & Pak Man

Sometimes, to do what's right, we have to be steady, and give up the things we want the most. Even our dreams.

   
   
When the brilliant scientist Otto Octavius is caught in a laboratory accident, it both costs him the life of his wife and fuses the high-tech mechanical arms he uses in his research to his arms.  Driven insane, Octavius is now committed to finish his work, regardless of who gets in his way.  Now, Spider-Man is the only person who can stop him, but with his powers on the fritz, does he even have a chance.  And even worse, Harry Osborn, the best friend to Spider-Man’s alter ego has vowed revenge on Spider-Man, and is willing to team up with Octavius to do it.

Shit Just Got Real! – Due to the soap opera nature of the story (true to the comics’ nature), it keeps happening with twists and turns: Peter Parker losing his powers, Harry teaming with Doctor Octopus, Doctor Octopus creating a device that will destroy the city.  Great stuff.

Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 75%  It’s not wall-to-wall action, as a lot of time is spent with the Peter Parker stuff, which is what makes Spider-Man a fun hero, since his alter ego is as interesting as his superhero life (though from what I understand they screw it up on both ends in the third movie.  Never bothered to watch it).  Anyway, some great action in this one, particularly the second to last fight that climaxes with Spider-Man having to save a train full of people.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/z00fTwhmYX0" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/z00fTwhmYX0</a>

[Relaxing Dragon]

How I've made it this far in life without seeing Police Story, I'll never know. But then, I am generally very behind on early Jackie Chan, a problem I really need to rectify soon.

[Johnny Unusual]

Actually, early Jackie Chan would be from the 70's, including a great film that didn't make the list.

[Johnny Unusual]

#39 - North By Northwest

26 Points, 2 Lists, #11 Charles Hussein Castle

That wasn't very sporting, using real bullets.

   
   
When Roger O. Thornhill is mistaken for a “George Kaplan”, he finds himself on the run from dangerous thugs.  Things get worse when he is framed for the murder at the U.N. and Roger is forced travel to find the real George Kaplan in Chicago, using his wits to stay one step ahead of the police and the mysterious villains chasing him.  Will Roger find the real George Kaplan and prove his innocence, or are things even more complicated than they already scene.

Shit Just Got Real! – Oh, no!  That guy was killed in front of you, Cary Grant.  Get help.  NO, DON’T PULL OUT THE KNIFE!  WHY DID YOU DO THAT?  People, think you’re a killer now, Cary Grant.  I hope you’re happy.
   
Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 35%  It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, there are some great chases and fights, but the meat of the movie is the tension of trying to avoid getting caught.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/mEpT9QC3CNU" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/mEpT9QC3CNU</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

#38 - Heat

26 Points, 2 Lists, #2 Relaxing Dragon

If it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you're gonna turn into a widow... brother, you are going down.

   
   
When a group of thieves steal $1.6 Million dollars in bearer bonds in an armored truck robbery, the newest member, Waingro, ends up killing a guard, forcing ringleader Neil McCauley to have the remaining guards killed.  McCauley then tries to kill Waingro, who escapes.  McCauley tries to sell the bonds back to their original owner, Van Zant, who tries to ambush him.  McCauley is one step ahead, though, and swears revenge on Van Zant.  Meanwhile, Lieutenant Vincent Hanna is investigating the bonds heist and gets a lead on the gang, who intend to steal from a mineral depository.  When a sting is thwarted, McCauley is forced to retreat and plan one last armed robbery, one with great risk but if successful is sure to make them rich.  And so begins a game of cat and mouse between McCauley, Vincent and Van Zant.

Shit Just Got Real! – Just when Van Zant is looking for a way to get back at McCauley, guess who winds up on his doorstep.  Waingro, looking for REVENGE!  Also if David Wain creates a new fertilizer, he should call it Wain-Gro and have Kevin Gage be the mascot.
   
Pure Adrenaline Percentage – ??%  I need to admit, I haven’t seen this one.  Can’t say.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/409IGgu-Utw" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/409IGgu-Utw</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

#37  - District 9

27 Points, 2 Lists, #10 Cole Stratton

You wanna fucking play with me, Koobus?! You fucker!

   
   
In South Africa, aliens (called Prawns) have landed as refugees and have become second class citizens.  When government worker Wikus Van Der Merwe is sent to evict some aliens in District 9, the closed of community where the aliens live in squalor, he is exposed to alien technology that begins changing his DNA.  Now, he is on the run from his own government, who are hoping to use him to activate the power alien technology, and he must overcome his prejudices to save the other Prawns and fight for his life.
   
Shit Just Got Real! – When Wikus finally gains access to some alien tech, the story goes from sci-fi thriller to action extravaganza with lots of explosions and crazy weapons (clearly inspired by the fact that the director was supposed to do the Halo movie)
   
Pure Adrenaline Percentage – 50%  The film begins as a sci-fi thriller more focused on a chase between the lead and the government forces, but in the latter half of the film Wikus gets access to exo suits and electro-guns and a whole lot of action avalanches on the audiences.

AAAAAAAAND ACTION!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/5KDXZWUb3R0" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/5KDXZWUb3R0</a>