Top 10 Action Movies [in the last 3 decades]

I absolutely love a great action flick and all but 3 of these are part of my DVD collection. I recently happened upon an interesting top 10 action movie list drummed-up by Entertainment Weekly and it listed Die Hard as the best action movie ever made, and Raiders of the Lost Ark came in third. *Insert twisted face; do a ‘lil head shake*

After reading through the rest of the toppers which even included Spider-Man2 and Desperado (puh-lease), I was suddenly motivated to come up with my own list.

First, the qualifiers:

1) obviously had to be a great action movie with shoot ‘em up, blow shit up, cut ‘em down kind of action.

2) plot moves quickly, the action keeps on coming

3) good storyline told from a unique perspective meaning, no action movies draped in bad clichés made it onto this list. The best action flicks are the result of great action embedded in a great movie.

4) stands the test of time and replays meaning, it’s just as good the tenth time you watch it as it was the first time you watched it three years ago, i.e..

Now,

THE LIST

1. Aliens [What can I say…Ellen Ripley is your definitive badass. This movie has it all: It’s action packed with brilliant explosions, armored marines, non-stop machine-gun fire and cool grenade launchers, exploding aliens that bleed acid, an android that gets ripped in half…. could an action movie get any better? Getta outta here! No contest. It’s hard to believe this movie came out in 1986.]
2. Terminator [This was one of my favorite movies growing up and that still rings true. The gargantuan Schwarzenegger against the thin but muscular Biehn, whose whole head probably equals the width of Arnolds left bicep - great stuff and never a dull moment.]
3. Gladiator [“A general who became a slave; a slave who became a gladiator; a gladiator who defied an Emperor.” Come on, the movie itself knows its own greatness and this line sums up the expectations of the action perfectly. Great movie, great acting, great action.]
4. 300 [My brother recommended this film to me and its pretty much all battle, all the way, through and through. Spears, swords, and rolling heads, this movie is action – turbocharged; makes you want to go out, get your swordplay on and kick some serious ass. And Gerard Butler – so masculine and commanding as the fierce King Leonidis…brilliant, bushy beard and all]
5. Die Hard [It’s MacGuyver meets Rambo’s smaller self. A damn fine action movie that propelled a slew of films into a whole new action film genre. While it doesn’t take the top spot in my opinion, it’s definitely worthy of top-5 placement.]
6. Lethal Weapon
7. Predator
8. The Matrix
9. Kill Bill Vol 2 [Ok, Vol 1 is filled with more bload-soaked action certainly but I chose Vol 2 because I prefer the more natural flow of plot in tandem with some kickass kung-fu acrobatics and ninja swordplay.]
10. LOTR: Fellowship of The Ring [Ugly, foul beasties..dueling wizards..hairy, long-footed midgets and more… Great characters, great story, and great clanking of metal on metal; this is the ultimate action-adventure “fantasy” movie.]

Top 5 very, very close Runners-up [in order]:

Bourne Identity

Braveheart

Bourne Supremacy

LOTR: The Two Towers

Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith [Some might argue here but c’mon, the whole fight scene between Anakin and Obewon? Master Yoda and Darth Sidius? Everyone was waiting for these matched duels and they did not disappoint. A perfect ‘ending’ to an entire series]

Top 10 Most Romantic Movies

Ok, this would be going off my usual marketing/politics/random brainiac blog posts but recently some friends and I got into a most lively discussion trying to agree on the top 10 most romantic movies in “our” lifetime. We each came up with 10 and slowly and painfully voted out movies by rational discussion followed by heated argument followed by majority vote. I’ll have you know that half of my movies made it on the final list (pat pat on the back).

So, after several bottles of wine, a gaggle of oohs and aahhhs, and reminiscing over some very great love scenes, here goes the list with the number one spot of the most romantic movie in the last 30 years going to a tie between the top two movies we split on. OK, so technically it's the top 11 movies....

THE LIST

1. BBCs North and South [The tall, dark, and yummy Mr. Thornton and the sweet, seemingly impervious Margaret Hale – great chemistry – and when they finally kiss at the train depot, trust me - you’ll get familiar with the rewind button. This was one of my top 3; long but well worth the watch. The intensity in the way Mr. Thornton always looks at Margaret Hale – we all agreed - melting.]

1. Titanic
2. Atonement
3. Moulin Rouge [So what if it’s a circus of onscreen ‘bizarre’, the romance between the penniless bohemian writer Christian and his sparkling courtesan Satine brings focus and intensity to the movie. The mushy love duets don’t hurt either.]
   
4. Somewhere in Time [Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, two gorgeous people in a sweet time-travel romance. I absolutely loved this movie the first time I saw it 10-12 years ago on some obscure movie channel.]
5. The English Patient
6. The Notebook
7. Pride and Prejudice (with Keira Knightley) [So it doesn’t exactly stay true to plot but who cares. The chemistry between Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy is still delish. The only real downside to this movie is the absence of a passionate kiss the moment Darcy professes his love for the second time. A hand kiss does this romance a disservice, but it still made my list.]
8. Persuasion (BBC remake)
   
9. Bridges of Madison County
   
10. Pretty Woman [I prefer more drama-based romantic movies but I was over-ruled]
    

Top 5 Runner ups that almost made the list:

1. Dirty Dancing

2. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

3. BBC Pride and Prejudice (with Collin Firth)

4. When Harry Met Sally

5. Ghost
   

Thoughts? Share ‘em if you got ‘em.