Image by Frenkieb
We’ve received a great deal of criticism for our 100 Great Movies Every Guy MUST See article due to the generic action flicks and repetitive Hollywood story lines. In the interests of promoting lesser known movies, we’ve rented, downloaded or borrowed hundreds of guy movies you may not have heard of before. We’ve watched them, reviewed them and now we’ll list our top ten. Here they are:
#10 - The Right Stuff
Not many movies are better than the book the story is taken from, but the Right Stuff is one movie that achieves this feat. The Right Stuff is the first act of a much bigger story in which the main goal was to reach the moon before the Russians. The Space Race. This story is downplayed and instead explores the seven original astronauts plus Chuck Yeager, the guy who wasn’t chosen for the mission. What makes it great is that even though these guys knew the dangers of space travel, the risk of death or being unable to re-enter the earths atmosphere, they took those risks because they were made of the right stuff.
“Is that a man?”
-“You’re damn right it is!”
Click here to buy The Right Stuff
#9 - Croupier
A story about an aspiring writer who gets a job as a croupier in a casino. When he gets involved with a patron of said casino (cue Alex Kingston in her birthday suit), she encourages him to join her gang to be the inside man (see what we did there?) for their planned heist of the casino. All the while, Jack uses his experiences for the plot of his book, “I, Croupier”. The movie is multi-layered, combining love, sex, deceit and betrayal along with robbery and murder and is definitely a sleeper. We’d never even heard of it until we saw it. Clive Owen, as usual, portrays the character fantastically.
“The world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break, it kills - it kills the very good, and the very gentle, and the very brave, impartially. If you are none of these, you can be sure it will kill you, too, but there will be no special hurry.” -Ernest Hemingway
#8 - District/Banlieue 13
Can you imagine what a ghetto would look like in Paris in 2010? That’s the setting for this movie. An undercover cop and a former bad guy try to infiltrate a gang to defuse a neutron bomb. What ensues is a high-octane fusion of freerunning and government conspiracy. If you’re looking for an adrenaline fuelled movie with some great stunts, you could do much worse than District 13.
“You really think the government would allow District 13 to be destroyed?”
-”Six million died for not having blonde hair and blue eyes.”
#7 - The Nest
If your movie of choice is a tightly-woven action thriller, you should pick up a copy of this stylish French movie which may go by its other name, Nid de guêpes. The film is a combination of Die Hard and Assault on Precinct 13 which, surprisingly, packs an emotional punch and may draw a sob or two from the more sensitive viewer. It’s an intelligent film with a steady pace that may not sit well with the traditional Hollywood standards but we found it absolutely thrilling and enjoyed every second of the crisp, sparkling visuals, particularly during the numerous blood-soaked shootouts. Oh and it stars this lovely lady too.
“This is where it gets complicated.”
#6 - The Sting
Robert Redford and Paul Newman star in this crime-comedy caper as Johnny Hooker and Henry Gondorff. After a big job turns bad, Johnny turns to Henry (possibly one of the greatest con-artists of all time) to set up a revenge sting against the vindictive head of the big-time gangsters Johnny had inadvertently ripped off in his initial job. The mannerisms and methods of speech portrayed by the characters will whisk you back to the middle of the Depression, yet the characters portray charisma in bounds and enough human spirit to come together in battle against devilish gangster Doyle Lonnegan. This is cinematic enjoyment at its purest.
“Luther said I could learn some things from you. I already know how to drink.”
#5 - Human Traffic
If you’re English, chances are you’ve seen this movie. If you’re not then you probably think it’s about trafficking humans. Actually, it’s about pubs, clubs, drugs and love. Some people will say that the movie glorifies drug use, but you need to accept this film for what it is. A group of friends who live for the weekend. When Friday night arrives they spend the entire weekend drinking, clubbing and socialising. Just watching this movie makes me want to go out and live it up till the wee hours of the morning. Does it make me want to take drugs? No it doesn’t. Don’t take it too seriously and you might actually enjoy this film.
“The weekend has landed. All that exists now is clubs, drugs, pubs and parties. I’ve got 48 hours off from the world, man. I’m gonna blow steam out my head like a screaming kettle, I’m gonna talk cod shit to strangers all night, I’m gonna lose the plot on the dancefloor. The free radicals inside me are freakin’, man! Tonight I’m Jip Travolta, I’m Peter Popper, I’m going to never-never land with my chosen family, man. We’re gonna get more spaced out than Neil Armstrong ever did, anything could happen tonight, you know? This could be the best night of my life.”
Click here to buy Human Traffic
#4 - 101 Reykjavík
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if you were a 30 year-old guy living in Iceland, then wonder no more. Following the life of unemployed Hlynur, this isn’t your typical guy movie. It’s almost a coming-of-age drama comedy with some really brilliant dialog. Hlynur still lives with his mother and spends his days drinking, smoking and watching porn on the net - there’s at least one thing in that list we can all relate to. He won’t get a job and he isn’t exactly successful with the ladies. There is plenty of nudity for you too, although on more than one occasion, the nudity won’t be to your liking (if you’re a guy). Fantastic film that won a great deal of awards.
“Why don’t they show any porn in the morning? It’s easy to get the rest up once your dicks up and about.”
Click here to buy 101 Reykjavík
#3 - Seven Samurai
How we missed off Kurosawa’s triumphant epic from the last list, we’ll never know. We have shamed ourselves. Anyway, this movie is a masterpiece and it follows the story of seven masterless samurai hired by a village of farmers to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal the crops. One of the greatest and most influential films of all time, Seven Samurai is one of a select handful of Japanese films that became widely known in the west. Of course, then Hollywood saw the potential and the story was adapted for the western film The Magnificent Seven starring Steve McQueen. Many of the scenes in The Magnificent Seven mirror those of Seven Samurai, albeit in a different setting and the last line of dialog in the movies are almost exactly the same.
“The old man was right. Only the farmers won. We lost. We always lose.”
Click here to buy Seven Samurai
#2 - The Rules Of The Game
After reading the plot for this movie, we really didn’t expect to like it but much to our surprise, this movie was fantastic. Set in France at the onset of World War II, The Rules Of The Game is actually a provocative study of class distinction and human folly. This movie is quite complex and with such great dialog, you’d probably need to watch it a few times to catch everything. The movie is like a murder mystery at a big French chateau. Was it one of the rich guests with the knife in the kitchen? Was it a servant with the lead pipe in the bedroom? Watch the movie to find out.
“I have no choice but to dismiss you. It breaks my heart, but I can’t expose my guests to your firearms. It may be wrong of them, but they value their lives.”
Click here to buy The Rules Of The Game
#1 - The Limey
This is not your typical revenge type movie. It’s a slow burner, focusing much more on the character Wilson, played by Terence Stamp. Wilson is an English criminal who, fresh out prison, heads to LA to avenge the death of his daughter. A simple but effective story line I’m sure you’ll agree. The look Stamp has on his face in this movie is enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone and his vocabulary is wonderfully English.
“Can’t be too careful nowadays, y’know? Lot of “tea leaves” about, know what I mean?”
-”Excuse me?”
“Tea leaves… thieves.”
If you’ve scoured the planet for obscure guy movies, or you’re just a major movie buff, feel free to drop a few movie titles in the comments to enlighten us all. Here at Just A Guy Thing we’re particularly interested in foreign movies at the moment so please, share with us.
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