With The Fall Guy in cinemas now, here are some recommendations if you're in the mood for vaulting over the couch at home.
1) The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Arguably in the top five on Bruce Willis' CV - definitely top six! - this berserker of a buddy movie teams him with Damon Wayans. Bluntly put, they should have made more. Willis is the washed-up private eye and Wayans is the disgraced NFL star thrown together by a case and now trying to get one step ahead of corruption and carnage. The wisecracks pile up faster than the bodies in The Last Boy Scout, an always-quotable caper that transcended box office disappointment to become a word-of-mouth gem. Directed by Top Gun's Tony Scott, written by Lethal Weapon's Shane Black, and featuring an early performance from Halle Berry, this is Willis in his laconic prime, with Wayans the perfect foil as the motormouth who would annoy a saint. The original title for Black's script? Die Hard!
2) Overlord (2018)
If your idea of the perfect weekend is a suitcase full of Commando comics and a seemingly endless supply of Maltesers, WWII action-horror Overlord should deliver the same pulpy, pile-on-the-pounds high in under two hours. And just like the Commandoes and Maltesers, it's very moreish. Hitting that B-movie trifecta of savagery, set pieces, and snarkiness, Overlord overcomes a bit of hokey CGI at the start and a flatpack French village to deliver a life-affirming, lock-and-load treat. You know exactly what you're getting in terms of characters - the sniper can't shut up, the photographer has a 'tache, the local commandant ships oiliness by the barrel - but director Julius Avery and his cast go for it like fans let loose on a film set and the mayhem and mirth just keep coming. "That's weird," says one soldier. "Add it to the list," is his comrade's reply. It's that kind of movie. There's no post-credits sequence, either - proper old school.
3) Zatoichi (2003)
The mountains of 19th-century Japan are littered with those who took Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano) for granted. He's a wandering blind masseur by trade but a samurai by calling, his cane doubling as the scabbard for his long sword... Resurrecting the hero of over 25 films and a TV series, director and star Kitano delivers an ultraviolent-but-uplifting tale of courage and revenge here. And as with Kitano's other work, it blends slapstick, savagery, and a hero that keeps you wondering. With his trademark bow-legged walk and lop-sided grin, Kitano the actor is magnetic, while behind the lens he paces the story perfectly, balancing character and action and creating a film that's beautiful to look at - even when the hills run red. And just wait until you see the finale!
4) 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
"I've been standing on one leg for three damn years, waiting for God to do me a favour. And He ain't listening." You've always got to have a Western, and this is a 2007 treat. Fifty years after the Glenn Ford and Van Heflin-starring favourite, director James Mangold paired Christian Bale and Russell Crowe for a remake and made the better movie. This one-man-stands-tall story sees Bale's war veteran rancher stick to his guns as he tries to get Crowe's infamous outlaw on the titular train. The chemistry between them is superb, there are plenty of twists to go with the bang-bang, and the ending does justice to everything that precedes it. Mangold had already shown his cowboy clout with 1997's Sylvester Stallone-starring crime drama Copland, and when he got the chance to travel back in time to 1884, he made a film that honoured all the heroes and villains of yesteryear. Here's hoping he makes another Western down the line.
5) Rolling Thunder (1977)
Belonging to that golden age of video rental when vans pulled up outside front doors throughout Ireland, Rolling Thunder is considered a cult treasure - owning a mint copy on VHS led to Gollum-like tendencies among the faithful. Co-written by Taxi Driver and Hardcore scribe Paul Schrader (the original story was his), it is, like those two movies, a modern Western. POW Major Charles Rane (William Devane) comes back from Vietnam a lost man and has what's left of his happiness destroyed by a gang of redneck criminals led by James Best aka Rosco from The Dukes of Hazard. (Yes, that's as disturbing as it sounds.) Devane, an actor with a real handle on 'a walking time bomb' and a fine set of choppers, constantly has you wondering just how savage his revenge will be. When his brother-in-arms Tommy Lee Jones says, "I'll just get my gear", the temptation to roar 'YEAH!' at the screen is huge. The Juárez-set showdown is excellent - lovers of Peckinpah and The Way of the Gun may develop RSI from the rewind button.
6) The Woman King (2022)
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Viola Davis gives the fiercest performance of her career in this rager, a film that deftly mixes heroics, heart-rending drama, and history. Set in the real-life West African kingdom of Dahomey in 1823, it tells the story of Nanisca (Davis), the battle-ravaged leader of elite female fighters the Agojie as she prepares for war with slaver-funded sworn enemies the Oyo. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood showed her genre skills with the swords and shooting in Highlander-meets-Bourne bruiser The Old Guard, but The Woman King goes for epic. Right from the start, it grabs viewers by the scruff of the neck. What follows is a breathless, thought-provoking, and often brilliant movie that is determined to embolden and educate those watching it. Although the villains needed more work and it's arguably a set piece (or two) short of the pantheon, make sure that The Woman King is a must-see. And stick around for the post-credits scene...
7) 13 Assassins (2010)
Best known for pushing people's buttons with the likes of Audition and Ichi the Killer, director Takashi Miike travels back to 19th-century feudal Japan for this remake of an acclaimed 1963 movie. Art house aficionados and lovers of straight-ahead action will find plenty to admire in 13 Assassins, yet another film that makes you wonder how much great stuff from Japan we never get the to see. The first hour is slow, the number of characters is a little confusing, and the suspicion that the translation hasn't helped the subtleties is strong. Don't give up on the plot or the protagonists: the second hour is a tour de force from Miike. Once the 13 start work on their "town of death", the director moves the story along with a mix of speed and ferocity that is breathtaking. This is a showdown that lasts over 40 minutes and where the production design is just as brilliant as the sword work.
8) The Big Red One (1980)
Here's a classic that is still to receive the wider audience it deserves and that was a huge influence on Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. The Big Red One sees Lee Marvin and director Samuel Fuller channelling their wartime experiences for this story of a World War I veteran leading four young recruits - among them Star Wars' Mark Hamill in a role he originally turned down! - in North Africa in 1942 and then on through Europe. In what he considered his most personal film, Marvin looks like a man walking with ghosts throughout, but along with the terror and horror of battle, there are also moments of humour and real tenderness in The Big Red One. This above all if you put it on your watchlist: make sure you get the 2004 restored version with the additional 47 minutes of footage. It clocks in at around 160 minutes - you still won't want the film to end.
9) Triple Frontier (2019)
If you're looking for one of those straight-to-video highs that you remember from back in the day, this Netflix offering from director JC Chandor (Margin Call, All Is Lost, A Most Violent Year) should deliver. Owing much in dynamics to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the 'one last job' genre, Triple Frontier sees a group of former Special Forces comrades reuniting to fleece a South American drug lord of his fortune. It's no spoiler to say that their plan for "one murder, one armed robbery" has to be reworked on the fly... Although there's that TV movie feel in parts, the quality of the performances (Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, Pedro Pascal), the time-is-tight tension, and the breathtaking scenery compensate for the skimping. Your allegiances shift, you wonder if they'll turn the guns on each other or if the locals will get to them first, and you're guessing all the way to the end.
10) Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)
From the moment you see Ong-Bak star Tony Jaa throwing shapes at the start, it's obvious that he has a bit more to him than your average celluloid beefcake, but nothing can prepare you for quite how special he is. With no wirework, CGI, or stunt doubles, Jaa, his Thai screen legend trainer Panna Rittikrai, and director Prachya Pinkaew set a new benchmark for martial arts movies here. Every setpiece surpasses the previous one with Jaa's athleticism and fighting skills resulting in some of the best onscreen mayhem of all time. Be prepared to shake your head in awe the whole way through - if you're not missing heartbeats during the chase through every stall in Bangkok, then the one involving every three-wheeled taxi in the city should do the trick. A film guaranteed to leave you giddy.
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