“It’s not who you know. It’s who you kill.”
Gangster No. 1 is the other side of the pond’s equivalent to Scarface and American Gangster. This film chronicles the rise and fall of a ruthless criminal with unforgettable performances by Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange).
You know the movie The Departed? Bad ass, huh? Would you believe it was a remake of a Hong Kong film titled, Infernal Affairs? After watching this Asian crime thriller, you’ll clearly understand why Marty decided to recreate it in his classic Scorcesean way.
If you and a couple of friends stumble upon a downed plane discovering a bag filled with millions and two dead bodies – would you contact the authorities or take the money and run? Before answering, watch A Simple Plan directed by Sam Raimi (Spiderman) and starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thorton. It might make you rethink your decision.
While the 60’s gave rise to Hollywood films like My Fair Lady – Japan entertained on a whole different level. The Sword Of Doom boasts some of the most impressive swordplay in the history of samurai epics. This film perfectly illustrates the adage “an evil soul wields an evil sword.”
Buffalo ‘66 is strange. The kind of strange you won’t want to miss. After being released from five years in the clink, Billy (Vincent Gallo) kidnaps and forces a teenager (Christina Ricci) into playing his wife. But why? To impress mommy (Angelica Houston) and atone for forcing her into labor during Buffalo’s 1966 Super Bowl win.
Legendary director, John Woo and Japanese actor, Chow Yun Fat collaborated on one of the finest action films ever produced. The Killer follows a hitman taking one last job to pay for a dame’s eye surgery after inadvertently blinding her during a shootout.
What goes through the mind of a criminal the day before imprisonment? Ed Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Rosario Dawson navigate us through a convict’s last day before a seven-year prison sentence. His 25th hour is cataclysmic.
Warning: Old Boy is not for the faint of heart. This Korean film teems with violence. Though necessary, considering the plot is of a man’s determination to avenge 15 years spent in solitary confinement for a crime he did not commit. The discovery at the climax will blow your mind.
If you had to answer to Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in Sexy Beast or Satan, you’d be better off choosing the latter. There has never been a more frightening character in film. Period. This British film’s plot centers on Logan’s efforts to prevent a hitman from retiring. This movie will make you uneasy, but in the most desirable way.
Long before Lord Of The Rings and King Kong, Peter Jackson wrote and directed one of the goriest movies ever produced – Dead Alive. A tale of a Sumatran rat-monkey infecting flesh-hungry zombies with a mutant virus will repulse even the most seasoned horror flick enthusiast. You’ll never look at a lawnmower the same way again.
Flicks
Things are never simple when blood is involved. The Coen-brothers 1983 debut film, Blood Simple, is a complex crime-thriller. You just can’t go wrong with anything from the guys who brought us Fargo and The Big Lebowski.