Anna's List of Fav Butt-Kicking Movies--Buyer Beware

I was asked in the comments of the last post for a list of kick-ass movies as a potential source of self-help therapy for those days you want to see a bad guy get hammered. I'll put a caveat emptor here. Everybody, do your own research on a movie. Imdb.com is a good place to do that. It's your own damn fault if you watch a movie and don't like it. Not mine. So don't complain to me if you end up watching something I recommend and you hate it. I'll try to warn ya on movies I think some may not appreciate as much as I do. I have a few twisted tastes in movies...so I'll try to keep that in mind. I'm making this a post since it is easier to put in links...and I can edit to correct errors if necessary.

It seems that the list of movies I've come up with fall into at least three different categories. (1) is the serious butt-kicking flick where the 'bad guy' gets it good usually after a lot of bullets, bombs and stuff blowing up. (2) the 'bad guy gets his comeuppance' movies which usually features less action but the bad guy definitely doesn't win in the end. The bad guy may not die, but definitely he loses what he was after. (3) a combination of one of the two themes above with a goodly dose of humor. I'm going to put a "1", "2", and/or "3" depending on what category I think a particular movie falls into. Here we go:

True Lies (1 & 3)
The Incredibles (1 & 3)
Princess Bride (2 & 3)
The Mummy (1 & 3)
The Mummy Returns (1 & 3)
Stardust (2 & 3)
Jesse Stone movies (2)
Ever After (2)
Spiderman 1 and 2 (1 & 3)
Batman Begins(1)
Alien (1)
Aliens (1)
Alien 4 (1 & 3)
Man in the Iron Mask (2)
Count of Monte Cristo (2)
Mask of Zorro (1 & 2)
Speed (1 & 2)
Underworld (1)
Moll Flanders (2)
300 (1)
Bourne Identity and Supremacy (1)
24 TV series (1)

If you don't like violence then you probably shouldn't watch anything with a (1). If you don't like sci-fi with scary monsters then stay away from Alien series of movies. I like all the Alien movies of which there are four. But I think the best ones are the second and the fourth. There was quite a bit of humor in the fourth one, but that doesn't mean there wasn't lots of gross alien stuff and some gore. Joss Whedon helped write the script for the fourth movie and his humor was definitely there. Speaking of Joss Whedon reminds me of the tragedy known as the series "Firefly". That series was canceled after only one season and this is a crime. If you haven't seen the series, if you can conceptualize a sci-fi series with a western type feel to it (gotta see it to appreciate it), if you like very witty and humorous and smart writing and a uniquely told story...then watch the series. Lots and lots of bad guys getting their butts kicked. If you watch the series and LOVE it...which you will...then watch the movie Serenity. The movie wraps up the TV series. It pulls together some of the dangling strings left after the end of the TV series and you'll like it just as much as the series...if you liked the series. Husband just reminded me to tell you that the cast includes a high-class call girl. If this offends you, stay away. My husband is also freaking me out about recommending any of the Alien movies. Especially the fourth one. He agrees with me that, by far, the best of the series is the second one. The fourth one is a really iffy recommendation. The final half hour of the fourth one could be very disturbing for some. I became a fan of the movies after watching the second one back when it came out in 1986. So, in my more 'formative' years I formed a deep attachment to "Ellen Ripley". She kicks alien butt. So, naturally, I enjoy all the movies in the series. Including the fourth with its kinda gross and disturbing final scenes. Please, don't watch it if you are at all delicate in your movie tastes.

Underworld features vampires and werewolves. If you don't like creepy, scary creature effects and can't tolerate some gore then stay away. Not for everybody. The Mummy and The Mummy Returns also has some gross effects and/or scary effects. They are kind of campy movies, but high quality and lots of humor. 300 has a lot of violence, and there are three sensual scenes. You've been warned. There is featured a bigger-than-life narcissist who definitely loses in the end. The King of Persia. "Moll Flanders" is about a prostitute. So, yeah, there are some sensual scenes. There is another version of "Moll Flanders" that follows the book more closely, but it is a downer in the end (like the book). So I like the more Hollywood version where the main character ends well which is the one linked to above. I like happy endings. Who cares about the book. When someone rewrites fiction and makes it better I never complain.

The "24" TV series is not for you if you can't handle an occasional terrorist getting tortured. Jack Bauer is on a very tight schedule and if a terrorist ends up in his hands and Bauer is trying to save the world, well, the terrorist may get a bit roughed up. That totally works for me. Bad guys are very dispensable in my world view. Tough shit evil terrorist.

I only recently discovered the made-for-TV movies with Tom Selleck as the main character "Jesse Stone" based on the novels by Robert B. Parker. The first one is "Stone Cold". Selleck's character is a flawed but good man who has a knack for getting the sneaky bad guys. The movies are beautifully set in Maine. Made for TV but theater quality. There is some sensuality in some of these...but only a little.

There, now that I've told you more about myself than I really like to by my movie recommendations, hope you can find something you like on the list. Remember, butt-kicking movies means there is going to be violence throughout. If you can't handle violence then you aren't really into "butt-kicking" movies. Take responsibility for preserving your own sensibilities. There is no accounting for "taste", as they say, so just cuz you like my blog doesn't mean you'll like all the movies I do.

Speaking of movie tastes...I watched a movie based on a radio talk show host's recommendation last year. This host had recommended movies and TV series before that I have really liked. I watched this particular movie with growing horror. (It is so bad I don't even want to admit I've seen it and therefore am not naming it.) I absolutely, totally and completely hated and reviled the movie! I was shocked and annoyed because I couldn't come up with one redeeming feature of the movie. There was a definite disconnect between this host's tastes and mine on that one. Good grief. It took me about two weeks to not feel annoyed at this host for such a crappy recommendation. This person didn't even warn that some might not like the movie or name any of its objectionable themes. Which is why I'm trying to give you some idea of what the movies are about so you can avoid the ones that might offend you. I feel I'm taking a real risk offending people by recommending movies that I think have some interesting, redeeming or satisfying aspects...cuz you may see it very differently. By the way, it was my own damn fault in the end. I should have done more research instead of going solely by this person's recommendation. I truly was mostly annoyed at myself.

The over-arching and unifying theme of most of these movies is justice. Like many of you, I've seen precious little real justice dished out to the 'bad guys' in my life. That is usually the way of life. So, I like seeing the baddies going down...and going down hard...in movies. It satisfies a part of my mind that dearly desires justice. If not pure justice, then at least the decent folks getting some kind of justice. If not that, then at least escaping the predations of the bad guys. It is very American to want justice...so I'm sure it is a cultural thing too.

Sheesh. I'm getting carried away trying to protect ya'll from my movie opinions. I'll stop now. You're all grown-ups. You'll probably survive my movie picks. Holding my breath and crossing my fingers I'll hit the publish button. eeeeekkkkk!

P.S. If you've seen any of the movies I've listed and loved or hated them, feel free to write your reviews for the benefit of others. Just, please, be kind to your friendly blogger in the process. I feel like I'm putting myself out there and ain't anxious to get my necked chopped at. T'wouldn't be nice since I'm only trying to give the peeps what they've asked fer!!

[Icon is Mal from "Firefly"]