Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Levant on August 18, 2013, 09:53:49 PM

Title: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 18, 2013, 09:53:49 PM
I watched the Bourne Legacy movies along with Taken and Taken II on DVD recently.  Since my wife and I aren't big on going to theaters I think I've missed a lot of good shoot-em-up movies.  I tend to think that many of us here might like the same genre, along with whatever else we might like so I think it would be fun to compile a list of the best movies along the same lines or similar to these two.  And then I can buy them from Amazon and have something to watch since 500 channels of satellite TV doesn't generally yield anything better than Raymond or Chopped.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: T.O.M. on August 18, 2013, 10:20:57 PM
Man On Fire is a good one. The new Bond films with Daniel Craig are pretty good, less gadget and more action.  A lot more oike Ian Fleming wrote.  The "Justified" series from FX is a good shoot-em-up series, and available on disc.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: RoadKingLarry on August 18, 2013, 10:26:49 PM
In like Flint and Our man Flint. True classics of the genre.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Jocassee on August 18, 2013, 10:54:57 PM
I enjoyed Jack Reacher and most of the gun details were good.

Blood Diamond is my all time favorite.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Brad Johnson on August 18, 2013, 11:11:53 PM
No one seems to like it but me, but I enjoyed the heck out of Battleship.  All the Avenger precursor movies are good, too.

Brad
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 18, 2013, 11:35:42 PM
Ronin

Payback - theatrical release

The Man With No Name trilogy, if you consider those action films.

Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Monkeyleg on August 19, 2013, 02:03:42 AM
Take a look at "Parker" with Jason Strathman. It's a little like "Payback", but serious.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: mtnbkr on August 19, 2013, 06:51:04 AM
Killer Elite.

Chris
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: charby on August 19, 2013, 07:59:20 AM
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Viking on August 19, 2013, 08:44:15 AM
Not exactly a "spy" movie, nor is it an action film, but The Day Of The Jackal is one of my favorite movies of all time.  
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: HankB on August 19, 2013, 08:48:57 AM
In like Flint and Our man Flint. True classics of the genre.
Funny movies - in fact, I use the movie's ringtone for the President's phone on my cell.  ;)

Also in a similarly light vein, there was the series of Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin in the title role - The Ambushers, The Silencers, The Wrecking Crew, and Murderer's Row.

In a more "serious" vein I can recommend the 1975 film Three Days of the Condor. If you stretch the undercover aspect a bit, Where Eagles Dare is pretty good.

Then there's always the old TV shows The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Danger Man, the latter a British show renamed Secret Agent for the US market, but they're much more low-key than a typical shoot-em-up.

For pure shoot-em-ups, without the spy angle, try Blackhawk Down, The Wild Bunch, We Were Soldiers, and of course, Zulu.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 19, 2013, 10:29:43 AM
Tears of the Sun


I haven't seen the two Statham movies that were mentioned, but I have some advice on his films. Movies with Statham can be quite alright. Movies in which he is the central character tend to be just awful.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: roo_ster on August 19, 2013, 10:54:21 AM
Tears of the Sun


I haven't seen the two Statham movies that were mentioned, but I have some advice on his films. Movies with Statham can be quite alright. Movies in which he is the central character tend to be just awful.

I could not watch Tears to completion, I thought it was that awful.

Ronin is likely the best of those already mentioned.

Justified teevee series is terrific.

Blood Diamond convinced me DiCaprio doesn't deserve to be stuffed in a sack and drowned like a litter of unwanted kittens.

Grimm teevee series is good, if you don't mind supernatural elements.

Man on Fire is a good movie.

The two Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes movies I thought particularly well done and got the character's action orientation closer to the books than the drawing-room-agatha-christie-in-drag way he has been played since the dawn of film. His mania is a little over the top, however.  And Watson is played like the veteran he was, not a doddering fool for comic relief.

I only saw a few minutes of Get the Gringo at a buddy's place, but I plan on watching the rest.

True Grit and Warhorse for action set in the past.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: mtnbkr on August 19, 2013, 11:12:42 AM
Get the Gringo is good.  I hadn't heard of it before seeing it on Netflix.  I'm a big fan of Grimm as well.

Chris
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 19, 2013, 11:30:30 AM
How about The Eagle Has Landed ?   =|
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: SADShooter on August 19, 2013, 12:00:20 PM
How about The Eagle Has Landed ?   =|

Absolutely. An all-time favorite.

I haven't seen Heat mentioned, an excellent action flick starring De Niro and Pacino, with particularly good weapons-handling detail.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 19, 2013, 12:26:50 PM
Quote
roo_ster's long post

Between Willis and Bellucci, I don't think I could have not liked Tears. Maybe I should watch it with more objective-ness.

I wanted to like the first Sherlock film, but it just fell flat. Not sure why, but it just wasn't very satisfying. The Watson character was pretty good, though.

Also, I like Way of the Gun. You can mute Sarah Silverman, in the first scene, if you can't tolerate her.

For a c-grade shoot-em-up with a fun soundtrack, Mean Guns.  =D
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: TommyGunn on August 19, 2013, 12:54:52 PM
Olympus Has Fallen is a good thriller/adventure that has just recently come out on DVD.  A retired Secret Service PPD agent finds himself trying to thwart an attack on the White House.
He wins of course but the White House really needs a good clean-up afterward! [popcorn] :facepalm:
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 19, 2013, 12:58:58 PM
Quote
A retired Secret Service PPD agent finds himself trying to thwart an attack on the White House.

Why would you want to   ???   :facepalm:
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: TommyGunn on August 19, 2013, 01:24:36 PM
Was that a snidly covert wham on the Obamster? [popcorn]

Obama isn't the prez in Olympus Has Fallen.
And in the movie you'd WANT to because the consequences for America don't end with a White House with burn marks on the portico. 
Watch the movie.  Find out.  I ain't sayin' more.  :angel:
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: HankB on August 19, 2013, 01:37:16 PM
I could not watch Tears to completion, I thought it was that awful.
That's exactly my reaction to the second Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie, which didn't live up to the mediocrity of the first.

Get the Gringo was better than I expected.

For a c-grade shoot-em-up with a fun soundtrack, Mean Guns.  =D
In the category of fun grade-C movie shoot-em-ups, Dogs of War and Equilibrium, if only for the fictional martial art GunKata in the latter.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: freakazoid on August 19, 2013, 01:47:31 PM
I thought the second Sherlock Holmes was even better than the first, and I really liked the first one.

+1 for Mean Guns.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Pharmacology on August 19, 2013, 02:08:20 PM
While not what you asked for, and another thread entirely, probably, I have to recommend the British gangster movies ( layer cake, snatch, lock stock and two smoking barrels)

They are incredibly entertaining
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 19, 2013, 02:40:08 PM
While not what you asked for, and another thread entirely, probably, I have to recommend the British gangster movies ( layer cake, snatch, lock stock and two smoking barrels)

They are incredibly entertaining

"Shotguns? You mean, like guns that fire shots?"
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Viking on August 19, 2013, 03:49:20 PM
While not what you asked for, and another thread entirely, probably, I have to recommend the British gangster movies ( layer cake, snatch, lock stock and two smoking barrels)

They are incredibly entertaining

"The f*ck is that? What the f*ck is that?"
"It's me Bren gun!"
"Don't you think you could've brought something more practical?"
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Matthew Carberry on August 19, 2013, 10:36:34 PM
Shoot 'Em Up with Clive Owens has an "anti-gun" plotline it gleefully ignores, a good villain, and a lot of fun "shooting of ups." Also Monica Belluci as a wet-nurse hooker.

Not spy movies but History of Violence and Eastern Promises and Appaloosa have some well-shot violence.

Last Man Standing is over the top and fun. Collateral has good sequences.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: æg151337 on August 19, 2013, 10:47:29 PM
"The f*ck is that? What the f*ck is that?"
"It's me Bren gun!"
"Don't you think you could've brought something more practical?"

Isn't there a thread for this?

Crushes metal cup with metal hand "Groovy..."
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 19, 2013, 11:12:56 PM
Awesome selections.  I'll keep the DVR player and Amazon busy for a while but keep them coming.

There are some new ones coming out, too.  I'll try to add them as I see the commercials again.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 19, 2013, 11:15:40 PM
Shoot 'Em Up with Clive Owens has an "anti-gun" plotline it gleefully ignores, a good villain, and a lot of fun "shooting of ups." Also Monica Belluci as a wet-nurse hooker.

Not spy movies but History of Violence and Eastern Promises and Appaloosa have some well-shot violence.

Last Man Standing is over the top and fun. Collateral has good sequences.

Which Last Man Standing?  There are several.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 19, 2013, 11:48:29 PM
Man On Fire is a good one. The new Bond films with Daniel Craig are pretty good, less gadget and more action.  A lot more oike Ian Fleming wrote.  The "Justified" series from FX is a good shoot-em-up series, and available on disc.

I think I'll like this one:

Quote from: Amazon product description
Product Description
Justified is the story of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), a true-blue hero and something of a throwback, given to wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots, carrying his sidearm in a hip holster – a weapon he only draws when he has to, and when he does, he shoots to kill, because, as he sees it, that’s the purpose of a gun.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 20, 2013, 12:21:24 AM
Which Last Man Standing?  There are several.


I'm pretty sure he means this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Man_Standing_%28film%29

Similar to Yojimbo, or Fistful of Dollars.

And if you haven't seen either of those, just forget everything else until you have.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 20, 2013, 09:31:06 AM
Which Last Man Standing?  There are several.

The last one, of course  ;)  :lol:
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: MechAg94 on August 20, 2013, 03:15:43 PM
How about The Man Who Knew Too Little?  One of Bill Murry's better movies IMO.

Or just about any of the Sean Connery James Bond movies.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 20, 2013, 03:20:36 PM
How about The Man Who Knew Too Little?  

Joanne Whalley - Yes!   =)
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: MechAg94 on August 20, 2013, 03:28:27 PM
Joanne Whalley - Yes!   =)
Yes, I didn't know if I should start a discusson on spy movie women. 
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 20, 2013, 03:33:15 PM
Yes, I didn't know if I should start a discusson on spy movie women. 

Jenny Agutter was in The Eagle Has Landed  =)
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 20, 2013, 03:53:04 PM
I am not normally an Angelina Jolie fan, at least off screen, but I did like Wanted.  Just googled and found there was a Wanted 2.  Haven't seen that one.

I also liked Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

I particularly like those where the spy is fighting against the rotten elements of their own agency. 
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: MechAg94 on August 20, 2013, 04:35:54 PM
Mr and Mrs Smith is a good one. 

I didn't care for Wanted.  The imagery of the curving bullets and long range shooting was cool, but the concepts were just nuts.  I want some of those bullets that go through multiple targets with no deformation at all and no deflection.  Suspension of disbelief goes only so far for me with movies that are not SciFi/Magic. 
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Bob F. on August 20, 2013, 10:10:37 PM
" days of the condor" was originally, I think, "6 days of the condor."  How about "Enemy of the State"?
What was the one with the rather homely hit man and the little girl??
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: freakazoid on August 20, 2013, 10:24:10 PM
" days of the condor" was originally, I think, "6 days of the condor."  How about "Enemy of the State"?
What was the one with the rather homely hit man and the little girl??

The Professional with one of my favorite actors Jean Reno?
Another good action type movie with Jean Reno is Wasabi.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: charby on August 23, 2013, 11:18:20 AM
Was that a snidly covert wham on the Obamster? [popcorn]

Obama isn't the prez in Olympus Has Fallen.
And in the movie you'd WANT to because the consequences for America don't end with a White House with burn marks on the portico. 
Watch the movie.  Find out.  I ain't sayin' more.  :angel:

I watched it last night, I would say that it snarks the current POTUS.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 23, 2013, 02:52:01 PM
That's one of the movies that made me think I should start buying some DVDs and watch them.  There are a lot of good movies, I just never get to see them.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: charby on August 23, 2013, 03:04:57 PM
That's one of the movies that made me think I should start buying some DVDs and watch them.  There are a lot of good movies, I just never get to see them.


Why buy when you can do Netflicks or something similar.

Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 23, 2013, 04:59:04 PM
We buy most everything at the pawn shop for a couple bucks, or in the Walmart $5 bin.

Keep the DVD as long as you want, and then take them back to the pawn shop if you don't want to keep them.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 23, 2013, 07:10:04 PM
Pawn shops here are asking more than Walmart is.  The $5 bin is a good idea.  But I don't mind paying Amazon prices for most either.  I figure I could run a 30 to 50 dollar a month tab and be cheaper than getting movie channels from Dish Network - though this only works out if I turn off the movie channels I have.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Levant on August 23, 2013, 07:14:12 PM
What I really wish, to go along with building a DVD library, is that you could get a la carte channels at decent prices.  I would only need Mayberry, TVLand, Food, Cooking, Blaze, Fox News, and Investigation Discovery for the wife.  Since that is 7 channels out of the 250 channels I pay 75 a month for (before premium movie channels) then I should be able to get that for about 20 bucks a month.  I could buy a lot of movies to watch during Raymond and Chopped. :)
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Tallpine on August 23, 2013, 07:34:27 PM
Pawn shops here are asking more than Walmart is. 

I think they are $2 or $4 and they pay you half of that for any that you bring in.  So you can effectively rent them indefinitely for a dollar or two.  Ladypine usually goes to town instead of me.
Title: Re: Best spy movies or other action films?
Post by: Hutch on August 24, 2013, 09:41:09 AM
Animal House.  Wait... What?

Long ago I had a coworker that compared all movies, no matter the genre, to Animal House.

Me: "How did you like Predator?"
Frank:  "Parts of it were almost as good as Animal House"