The Professionals

over the years there have been quite a few films about sympathetic assassins, some better, some worse, but no two characters stick out of the bunch like two painfully raised sore thumbs like "Léon" and "Duke Togo" aka "Golgo 13".
both are unrivalled in their field and both seem to attract enmity from the most powerful of people.
though it is not stated anywhere, i find it hard to believe that luc besson didnt take a great deal (at least visually) from "Golgo 13":



moreover, their origins are both shrouded in mystery. we know Léon is an immigrant, but thats about it. we know practically nothing about where Duke Togo is from (i havent read the manga series, so if anyone has any more details on this, do enlighten us please).

they do differ from each other in one key aspect of their personality, though.
empathy.
Léon exhibits an almost child-like sweetness about him, while Golgo 13 virtually shows no emotion whatsoever. i doubt Duke would take on a ward of any kind, no matter the circumstances. he works alone, strictly alone.

Léon shows Mathilda the basics of taking a mark out at a distance:


Duke Togo displays his awesome sniping abilities:



while Léon is the man-child, virginal type, Duke Togo is the hardened (no pun intended), stone-cold womanising type (paying for your new spoofed-up car and modified m16 by bedding the sexy girl who made them for you is straight pimp!).
i guess its up to you to decide what kind of assassin you prefer...

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IMDB:
Golgo 13 (1983)
Léon (1994)
more clips (*SPOILERS*):
Duke Togo vs. The Snake
Duke Togo vs. Gold & Silver
Léon and Mathilda knock on some doors
Léon vs. NYPD

Top 10 Documentaries

here are the top ten "must see" documentaries i have taken out of some underground mag...
for descriptions check imdb or wikipedia!

1. Paradise Lost
2. Capturing The Friedmans
3. Hoop Dreams
4. Winter Soldier
5. Gimme Shelter
6. The Thin Blue Line
7. The Devil & Daniel Johnston
8. Dogtown & Z-Boys
9. Grizzly Man
10. Das Himmler Projekt

i have only seen grizzly man of the above mentioned and thats definitely worth checkin out...
ill post some more comments on the rest as soon as the downloads have finished! hehe!

Watch it here!

Top 5 Final Fights

after watching a few kung-fu flicks last night, i felt the sudden urge to post my all-time top 5 final battles.
so, without any further ado... lets get it on!

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Jackie Chan vs. Benny Urquidez (from "Wheels on Meals" - 1984)

quite possibly the most intense fight ever put on celluloid. both benny urquidez and keith vitali were stunned at the fact that jackie chan and sammo hung would tell them to keep fighting (and keep the camera rolling) despite the blows actually landing!

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Tony Jaa (Panom Yeerum) vs. Lewis Phantana (Chatthapong Phantana-Angkul) (from "Ong-Bak" - 2003)

i guess i could have picked any number of fights from this movie, its just that good, but the final sequence takes the cake. first tony jaa runs through the henchmen like theyre made of paper, then takes on a roided-up lewis phantana in what can only be described as the post-millennium bar to be equalled by martial arts fights.

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Jet Li vs. Billy Chow (from "Fist of Legend" - 1994)

again, i guess there are a lot of fight sequences i could have picked (maybe not from this particular movie, but jet li has had some shining moments over the years), however this fight is so laden with energy its hard not to choose it.

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Donny Yen & Rongguang Yu vs. Shi-Kwan Yen (from "Iron Monkey" - 1993)

the incredibly menacing shi-kwan yen was so overwhelming in his roll as the dark monk, that it took both donny yen and rongguang yu to take him down. while on the subject, shi-kwan yen's fight scene with jet li from "once upon a time in china" (1991) would also have been worth a mention, but alas, only 5 spots to give...

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Bruce Lee vs. Riki Hashimoto (from "Fist of Fury" - 1972)

what would a 'best fights' post be without bruce lee? nothing, thats what! again, some of you might have gone with his final battle in "enter the dragon" (1973) or his much-praised fight with chuck norris in "way of the dragon" (1972), but bruce displays such raw anger in this scene (given the subject matter, its that much more believable), that it stands out in bruce's career.

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so there you have it. my all time top 5 final fights. feel free to comment/chastise/praise me at will...