Skip to content

zwolanerd

I guess I just like liking things

Make a list, we'll have a few laughs...

Make a list, we’ll have a few laughs…

This is a hard list!  Bruce Willis has made a lot of movies I like. This list is inspired by the fact that I got the latest Die Hard movie on Blu-Ray for only $12, and even though it’s the least-good Die Hard, I still liked it.  They should rename the series “The Increasingly Outlandish Tales of John McClane” and then nobody would have any more problems with them.  “Oh!” they’d say, “It’s supposed to be crazy!  I get it!”

10. Hudson Hawk (1991) – I know I’m supposed to hate this movie, but it’s just so much goofy fun.

9. Looper (2012) – Sure, time travel movies don’t hold up to scrutiny well, but this movie did such a great job of using Bruce’s age in the story while still making him kick 14 kinds of butt.  (You might notice that I gravitate towards movies where older guys still are awesome – I suspect that’s a function of my being 41.)

8. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – I honestly don’t remember many details about Bruce’s character in this one, but I liked the movie as a whole.  This is more of a Wes Anderson Movie than a Bruce Willis Movie, but I’m keeping it.

7. Twelve Monkeys (1995) – More time travel! I can’t remember the last time I saw this one, so it’s due for a rewatch.

6. The Sixth Sense (1999) – This movie would be higher on the list several years ago. Remember your first time seeing it?  That was pretty cool.

5. Lucky Number Slevin (2006) – This is probably the one movie on this list most of you haven’t seen. I’m guessing the weird title threw people off, but it shouldn’t. Great little film.

4. Red (2010) – More old people kicking butt!  This movie was all kinds of fun, and the cast is most of the reason why: Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren,  Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Ernest Borgnine… man. I don’t know how they pull casts like that together, but that’s just some great stuff there.

3. Unbreakable (2000) – My favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie by a long shot. I just loved this take on the superhero tale, and Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson should be in ten more movies together.

2. Pulp Fiction (1994) – This is more of a Tarantino Movie than a Bruce Willis Movie, but it, too, is staying. By most measures, this doesn’t look like a movie I’d like, but I somehow not only do, but do a lot. The characters and the storytelling are the biggest reasons why.

1. Die Hard (1988)/Die Hard 2 (1990)/Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)/Live Free or Die Hard (2007)/A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) – There is nothing I can say about these movies that hasn’t already been said. The first one was a revelation and it changed action movies forever, and the third one had Jeremy Irons in a mesh shirt. I’m not sure what else you want, folks.

Honorable Mentions

  • G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) – We’ve already talked about this one. Bruce and The Rock should make a bunch of movies together, too. Heck, let’s get Bruce, The Rock, and Samuel L. together in a movie, how about?
  • The Expendables (2010)/The Expendables 2 (2012) – Again, they’re not really Bruce’s movies, but it’s old dudes kicking butt!
  • Sin City (2005) – I felt like I needed a good scrub after this movie, but Bruce as an honest old cop trying to protect the girl is a classic.
  • The Fifth Element (1997) – I disliked this movie the first time I saw it, but as time has worn on, it has grown on me.
  • North (1994) – Roger Ebert famously hated this movie, but I remember liking it well enough. Not the only thing Roger Ebert and I ever disagreed on.
  • Striking Distance (1993) – Even just typing the name of this movie out puts the song Little Red Riding Hood in my head. *shudder* And did you remember that Sarah Jessica Parker was in this?
  • Death Becomes Her (1992) – Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn at their goofy best.

Tags: ,

Written by: