15. Captain America: The First Avenger ( Joe Johnston, 2011)
Another day another Marvel origins movie. This time its Captain America who receives the Hollywood treatment in anticipation of the Avengers movie, which hit cinemas earlier this year. Unfortunately thats just how this movie feels like a quickly thrown together origin story to educate the masses prior to the highly anticipated (future DVD cover tag line material ahoy) mega budget team-up event of the decade. Now, dont forget that Captain America is an outstanding film, its just that large portions of it appear to have been overlooked like the fact that Chris Evans looks far too animated before he takes the super soldier serum. The First Avenger succeeds where other origin movies have failed (Wolverine Origins anyone?) and is a must see for genre fans as well as anyone who has any intentions of watching the Avengers. It is flawed yes and lacks the charm, humour and excitement of other Marvel efforts like Thor, Iron Man or Avengers, but its fun, fast paced and sticks closely enough to the source material to keep fans happy. Captain America may be the first Avenger, but he certainly isnt the coolest.
14. Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004)
When a mean old witch curses a young, beautiful woman with the body of an old hag she must track down the only man who is able to help her - an enigmatic and elusive wizard who just so happens to live inside a walking castle. Adapted from an original idea by Diana Wynne Jones, Howls Moving Castle is your typically brilliant Studio Ghibli offering with beautiful animation, a childlike sense of wonder and fantastical story line. If you only ever see one Studio Ghibli movie in your lifetime then make sure its The Cat Came Back. If you watch two then Howls Moving Castle is a must see.
13. Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn, 2010)
I think I probably struggled to place Kick-Ass more than any other film in this entire list, and Im sure there are many of you out there that will argue with me until youre as blue in the face as Henry Maccoy, but Im not convinced enough by Matthew Vaughns interpretation of Mark Millars hilarious comic book, published by Marvel Comics Icon imprint to give it a higher place than 13th. Kick-Ass is an everyman story about a young boy who one day asks the question weve all found ourselves asking at some time or another - Why has no one ever tried to be an actual superhero. Seeing no reason not to, and wanting to impress the girl of his dreams, the boy - Dave - dons a costume and mask and heads out to battle crime as the unstoppable force known as Kick-Ass. Unfortunately for Dave, he is hideously unprepared and is stabbed and run over on his very first mission. After some major surgery that sees most of his body held together with metal plates Kick-Ass becomes a man/boy who knows no pain and so sets out again to fight the forces of evil. Its kind of like Super but without the Messiah complex. The villain of the piece is Christoper Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin, who goes by the name of Red Mist. Every bit as useless as his adversary, Red Mist is the geeky, bespectacled son of a notorious mob boss who uses his fathers wealth and connections to further himself in the criminal underworld. Also on the scene is a foul mouthed little lady by the name of Hit-Girl and her ex-cop father, codename Daddy. A brilliant premise and an outstanding performance by the 11 year old Chloe Moretz, sadly Kick-Ass is missing that certain something that made the comic book such a massive hit. A sequel is in production and will undoubtedly be a must see. 12. Sin City (Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, 2005)
Adapting three of his own original graphic novels, Frank Miller - with help from Rob Rodriguezand Quentin Tarantino - has produced one of the greatest comic book to film translations of all time with his neo-noir yarn set in Sin City. But how do you explain something with such a sprawling narrative as Sin City? Its no easy task. If youve seen it youll understand why. The film covers various characters of various intertwining stories including Mickey Rourke as thug with a heart Marv, Nick Stahl as the child molesting Yellow Bastard, Jessica Alba as an erotic dancer, Rosario Dawson as a violent prostitute and Benicio del Toro as the corrupt Detective Lieutenant, violent and abusive ex boyfriend of the late Brittany Murphys Shellie. Sin City is a classic pulp noir tale with a psychopathic twist. It is a long, visceral and ugly look into the heart of city thats lost its soul. It is a comic book come to life. It is as beautiful as it is ugly and as brilliant as everyone tells you it is. Sin City pushes the comic book movie genre to its very limits.
11. Road To Perdition (2002)
Sam Mendes captivating and poetic 2002 gangster film Road to Perdition is pure cinema. Whether it's Conrad L. Halls breathtaking cinematography, Mendes quiet and beautifully dark direction, the laudatory and career best performance from Jude Law who has never been so compelling, Tom Hanks damned soul Michael Sullivan trying to redeem the terrible live hes lead by leaving something beyond for his son even if thats just him breathing, Thomas Newmans evocative score, and just how alive such a movie about death and despicable men is. That haunting moment when Paul Newmans blue eyes are introduced on that colder than the Arctic day and talks about honour or the unforgettable way he bows out from cinema in the rain with so much dignity. Road To Perdition is such a great masterpiece of the gangster genre it is not so obvious that it has comic book origins. It is based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins but this is a rare occassion where the film adaptation is better than the source material.