80 - Kill Bill Vol. 1
Quentin Tarantino was one of the pioneers of post-modern film making. His early movies, most notably Pulp Fiction took an analytical view on the way we ingest media and film. He is known for taking his huge passion for film and translating it into his scripts. However, he can also be painfully self indulgent.The Kill Bill films (I will forever see them as separate entities) are possibly Tarantino at his most self indulgent but in the case of Volume 1, also at his best. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is a martial arts fever dream pulling mostly from 70s Kung Fu movies and samurai films. Every second of the film is a reference to something or someone and Bruce Lee's presence is like a watermark throughout. What makes it work is that though the actors are non-martial artists, the choreography is by Yuen Wo Ping (first time on the list, not the last) and as thus, is superb. The actors have done well in the fights, much like The Matrix, and while a real fighter would have done better, the acting would have suffered.
Best bit: The Bride vs The Crazy 88. So bloody they made it black and white to avoid censorship.
79 - Braveheart
Mel Gibson has a serious issue with the English. Any opportunity to kill Englishmen and he will take it. Even if it means the crazy Oz has to learn a Scottish accent. Well, for better or worse, Braveheart certainly did well. As a piece of history, it is loose. As a piece of film making it is impressive. As a star vehicle, it was a stroke of genius. Braveheart was one of the first period war films and it certainly didn't pull the blood bags and severed limbs.
Best bit: The Scottish baring their arses to a volley of arrows.
78 - The Mechanic
The Stath, Britain's premier export in testosterone. It has to be said that while him being typecast as a grade 1 with attitude has resulted in some utter cow pats, The Mechanic is pretty cool. There is something about assassins that we just like. No idea why, their job is about as wrong as it can get. Still, what can we say, we like professionalism. Over The transporter franchise and over the Crank films is The Mechanic, a slick slice of murder pie served up with a healthy portion of mentoring to boot. We love mentors, they teach us how to be cool. I especially like a mentor who isn't afraid to kill his student. That's just good teaching.
Best bit: Nothing beats abseiling down a building really.