Crazy is cool. At least that’s what the guys at theshiznit.co.uk think. For them, action heroes are boring, but the one’s who are totally unhinged that make movie magic:

Cinema’s craziest SOBs: “…given the choice between a clean-cut, rational character and an unshaven, mumbling, drugged-up lunatic, we’ll take the schizo every time. Nothing lights up the silver screen like a bona fide wacko… Take a large step back and enjoy: may the mentals do battle!”

1. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in THE SHINING (1980)
2. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in PSYCHO (1960)
3. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000)
4. Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) in BLUE VELVET (1986)
5. Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) in SEXY BEAST (2000)
6. Gary Oldman, period
7. Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci) in GOODFELLAS (1990)
8. Ichi (Tadanobu Asano) in ICHI THE KILLER (2001) [incorrect, the villian was actually Kakihara]
9. Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
10. Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton/Val Kilmer/George Clooney/Christian Bale) in the BATMAN movies
11. Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
12. Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle) in TRAINSPOTTING (1996)
13. Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
14. Sergeant Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) in LETHAL WEAPON (1987)
15. Vic Vega AKA Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) in RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
16. Michael Myers (Tony Moran) in HALLOWEEN (1978)
17. Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) in THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)
18. Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) & Stuart Macher (Matthew Lillard) in SCREAM (1996)
19. Garland ‘The Marietta Mangler’ Greene (Steve Buscemi) in CON AIR (1997)
20. Francis ‘Frank’ Costello (Jack Nicholson) in THE DEPARTED (2006)

Additional deranged people we would like to see on the crazy train:

• Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) in Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
• The Narrator (Edward Norton) in FIGHT CLUB (1995)
• John Doe (Kevin Spacey) in SE7EN (1995)
• Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt) in 12 MONKEYS (1995)
• Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in TAXI DRIVER (1976)
• Brick Top Polford (Alan Ford) in SNATCH (2000)
• Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) in AUDITION (1999)
• Yellow Bastard (Nick Stahl) in SIN CITY (2005)

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For many horror fans, the beginning of the horror/ monster genre began with the classic Universal monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. However, the relatively recent discovery of the Thomas Edison Company’s silent photoplay of Frankenstein (1910), demonstrates that horror subjects were present early on in motion pictures.

Indeed, two all-time horror classics were produced in the silent movie era: Nosferatu (1922) and The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1919). The first was an unofficial version of Bram Stoker’s vampire epic Dracula. Caligari is the ultimate in dark German expressionism on celluloid. For both those who haven’t experienced these silent, but still scary horror gems and for those who have, the LikeTelevision Blog is listing (and streaming) the top 5 silent horror movies as part of its LikeTelevision Streaming Screamfest.

1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, 1921) A man named Francis relates a story about his best friend Alan and his fiancée Jane. Alan takes him to a fair where they meet Dr. Caligari, who exhibits a somnambulist, Cesare, that can predict the future. When Alan asks how long he has to live, Cesare says he has until dawn. The prophecy comes to pass, as Alan is murdered, and Cesare is a prime suspect. Cesare creeps into Jane’s bedroom and abducts her, running from the townspeople and finally dying of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the police discover a dummy in Cesare’s cabinet, while Caligari flees. Francis tracks Caligari to a mental asylum. He is the director! Or is he?
2. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives.
3. Nosferatu (1922) – This 1922 F.W. Murnau film is really creepy. Based on Bram Stoker’s epic novel Dracula, Max Schrek is amazingly frightening as the Vampire Nosferatu. (more…)

Popularity: 1%

Movie Cynics (dead link) has listed their favorite tough guys from movies. They explain the criteria for inclusion:

• The list is about characters, not actors.
• No older movie, because the fights didn’t look as realistic back then.
• Pulling a trigger just isn’t enough, which is why there is no entry for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Here’s the list:

1. Walker played by Lee Marvin, Point Blank (1967) – Based on the theme of the individual pitted against the large, impersonal organization. Here the central character is an old-fashioned loner of a gunman embroiled with a large-scale, corporate criminal operation behind a respectable-looking ‘front’. Without delving into psychology or motivation, the film places emphasis on action and surface appearances, superbly capturing the glossy, depersonalized feel of a 1967 Los Angeles–a nightmare landscape of concrete, glass and coiling freeways.
2. Luke Jackson played by Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke (1967) – Luke Jackson is a cool, gutsy prisoner in a Southern chain gang, who, while refusing to buckle under to authority, keeps escaping and being recaptured. The prisoners admire Luke because, as Dragline explains it, “You’re an original, that’s what you are!” Nevertheless, the camp staff actively works to crush Luke until he finally breaks.
3. Marv played by Mickey Rourke, Sin City (2005) – Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller’s popular comics, focusing around a muscular brute who’s looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, a man fed up with Sin City’s corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake, a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little cash.
4. John McClane played by Bruce Willis, Die Hard (1988) – New York City Detective John McClane has just arrived in Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his wife. Unfortunatly, it is not going to be a Merry Christmas for everyone. A group of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber is holding everyone in the Nakatomi Plaza building hostage. With no way of anyone getting in or out, it’s up to McClane to stop them all.
5. Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt, Fight Club (1999) – lonely, isolated thirty-something young professional seeks an escape from his mundane existence with the help of a devious soap salesman. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world now denies them. Their boxing matches and harmless pranks soon lead to an out-of-control spiral towards oblivion.
6. ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky played by Mel Gibson, Mad Max (1979)  – A vision of an apocalyptic future set in the wastelands of Australia. Total social decay is just around the corner in this spectacular cheap budget gang orientated road movie. Where the cops do their best to lay down the law and the outlaw gangs try their hardest to defy the system. Leather clad Max Rockatansky husband, father and cop turns judge, juror and executioner after his best friend, wife and baby are killed. Here we see the final days of normality of a man who had everything to live for, and his slip into the abyss of madness. Mad Max is the antihero on the road to vengeance and oblivion. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) – A former police officer is now a lone wanderer, travelling through a devasted Australia after a nuclear war looking for the now-priceless fuel of petrol. He lives to survive and is none too pleased when he finds himself the only hope of a small group of honest people running a remote oil refinery. He must protect them from the bike gang that is terrorising them whilst transporting their entire fuel supply to safety.
7. John J. Rambo played by Sylvester Stallone, First Blood (1982)
8. Rocky Balboa played by Sylvester Stallone, Rocky (1976)
9. Paul Kersey played by Charles Bronson, Death Wish (1974)
10. George Taylor played by Charlton Heston, Planet of the Apes (1968)
11. William Wallace played by Mel Gibson, Braveheart (1995)
12. Big Chris played by Vinnie Jones; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
13. Snake Plissken played by Kurt Russell, Escape from New York (1981)
14. Ajax played by James Remar, The Warriors (1979)
15. Perry played by Tony Ganios, The Wanderers (1979)
16. Michael Vronsky played by Robert De Niro, The Deer Hunter (1978)
17. Dae-su Oh played by Min-sik Choi, Oldboy (2003)
18. Taylor Reese played by Vin Diesel, Knockaround Guys (2001)
19. Sergeant Mike Horvath played by Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan (1998)
20. Doc Holliday played by Val Kilmer, Tombstone (1993)

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In time for October viewing, Boston.com has compiled a list of the top 50 scariest movies of all time. The whole list of 50 is presented here so you don’t have to click through 50 pages — Yep, that’s right one movie per page. The plot outlines are from IMDb, the comments are ours.

1. The Thing (1982) – Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.
2. Ju-on (2000) – Jealous of his wifes love for another man, a teacher from her high school, a man brutally kills his wife and young son.
3. The Ring (2002) – A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it. The Japanese original, Ringu, is much better in our opinion.
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – In San Francisco, a group of people discover the human race is being replaced one by one, with clones devoid of emotion.
5. Alien (1979) – A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates. While Aliens was good, it was Aliens that combine top-notch space marine action and edge of your seat scares. Only downside to Aliens was that child screaming, “RIPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” the whole time.
   
6. Dawn of the Dead (1978) – Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
7. Evil Dead II (1987) – The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holds up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack. One of our favorite horror films – gory, campy, and chock-full of Bruce Campbell.
8. Halloween (1978) – A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets.
9. The Shining (1980) – A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
10. Quartermass and the Pit (1967) – An ancient Martian spaceship is unearthed in London, and proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around. (more…)

Popularity: 3%