I know John Coffey was innocent of the crime he was punished for but the as far as prison movies go most people incarcerated appear to be innocent and really nice chaps
Take the wonderful 'Shawshank Redemption' for instance. The inmates played by Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins and Gil Bellows are all great guys whilst the warden and certain guards are obviously nasty pieces of work
Cowboy movies are not a lot different either, the prime example being 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Our two outlaws are played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford so it is impossible not to like them. So they rob a train or two and kill a few South Americans.....they do it with charm.
Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name never seems too sure which side of the law he is on either, which is no real surprise given that when Clint actually plays a Police Detective in the 'Dirty Harry' movies he prefers to shoot suspects rather than go through the stress of questioning them. That 'Due Process' can be a real pain at times
Matt Damon's Jason Bourne used to assassinate people for the Government but once he realises he is really a good guy he only kills the people who are trying to kill him, and does a really good job of it
And then we have the gangsters.....who wouldn't want a Corleone for a friend or to hang about with Tony Soprano at the 'Bada Bing' Club or save Carlito from Benny from the Bronx
Excluding the aforementioned I give you my Top 10 Good/Bad Guys from the movies
1. Tony Montana in 'Scarface'.....not a great conversationalist but excellent with the one-liners..."Say hello to my little friend"....definitely not a guy to upset and dating his sister is not a good idea
2. Ben Wade in '3.10 to Yuma'...whether it's Russell Crowe in the 2007 remake or Glenn Ford in the 1957 original here's a ruthless outlaw with a heart of gold
3. Dr Evil from the Austin Powers movies...I think the world may have been a better place if his 'Alan Parson's Project' had succeeded
4. Leon.....Jean Reno as the likable assassin who takes Natalie Portman under his wing and dishes out his own brand of justice to bent cops led by Gary Oldman
5. Vincent Vega and Jules in 'Pulp Fiction'...brilliant dialogue from Travolta and Jackson, just don't sit in the back of a car they are in.
6. Robert de Niro and Val Kilmer as bank robbers in the excellent 'Heat'. This time Al Pacino plays a cop which really confuses the issue
7. Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'...Malcolm McDowell as the nasty delinquent with a taste for Ludwig Van.....very powerful book and movie
8. Tommy DeVito in 'Goodfellas'.....Joe Pesci steals the show from De Niro and Ray Liotta...just don't tell him he's a funny guy or ask him to shine your shoes
9. Hannibal Lecter.....I watched 'Manhunter' again recently with Brian Cox as Lecter and thought he was first class. Five years after 'Manhunter' Anthony Hopkins first played everyone's favourite psychopath Lecter in 'Silence of the Lambs' ..."I do wish we could chat longer but I'm having an old friend for dinner"
10. Jaws......I really think he gets a raw deal. He is just doing what comes natural and they should have closed the beaches anyway. They really make him pay for it though. In 'Jaws 4: The Revenge' he even has to act with Michael Caine and doesn't even get to eat him. Now that's just harsh!
That's it for this week. I am off to check out when my personal favourite good/bad guy Dexter is back. The last series ended with him in a tricky situation witnessed by his sister. Even for Dexter that one is going to take some explaining
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