Die Hard

Die Hard, 1988

There are moments in a man's life that he’ll remember forever. His first kiss, the first time he had a beer or the moment he realises he’ll never be captain of the Australian cricket team. Then there’s the moment he first sees ‘Die Hard’ – the quintessential mid 80’s action flick and greatest Christmas movie of all time.

Bruce Willis is John McClaine the role he was born to play, a divorced cop who has a knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. McClaine ends up stuck in a building during a robbery – a simple premise but in the hands of director John McLaughlin it becomes a textbook example of what a good action movie should look like. Sparse plot, plenty of glass smashing and violence and plenty of one liners.

Famous for its catchphrase “Yippee kay ay motherfucker” Die Hard transcends its 80’s origins to be a movie that is still as enjoyable today as it was when it was first released.

There are other actors in the movie, most notably Carl Winslow from that ridiculous Steve Urkel sitcom but lets be honest the entire movie is about Bruce and action, in that order. Spawning a number of sequels including the underrated third movie in the series Die Hard these days is a trip down memory lane to a simpler time when heros were police, villains were German and terrorism was strictly for money rather than religion.

9 out of 10

Umes

Star Wars - Episode IV - A New Hope

Star Wars, 1977

We all know about Star Wars - the global marketing phenomenon that started out with this low budget space opera from 1977. Responsible for launching George Lucas as a successful film-maker (his previous works THX1138 and American Graffiti while critically acclaimed were not commercially successful) as well as introducing Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca to a legion of unsuspecting children who had never seen anything quite like it.

The plot when it comes right down to it isn't the most cutting edge. Indeed it rarely rises above B-movie level and relies heavily on plotlines from other movies. However Lucas somehow created a movie that became greater than the sum of its parts. While aficionados of the genre will swear that the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, is the superior movie (and they'd be right), there's a certain charm in the original movie.

Harrison Ford is a standout in his breakthrough role as Han Solo, privateer with a heart of gold. Mark Hamill is constantly annoying as only a 17 year old teenager can - and Alec Guiness was an amalgam of every single mentor in every single coming of age movie of all time. The combination is magic on screen, complemented nicely by the villainous Darth Vader and the pretty Princess Leia.

The other movies in the series are much more complex and deal with more complicated themes, but the original is still fun for a wild two hour ride and imagining you're 7 years old and the fate of the Rebellion hinges on you 'Using the Force'. A modern classic.

8/10

- Umes