A rare Pre-Code film that still echoes through the lineage of movies to this day, influencing the gangster genre is the Howard Hughes produced, Howard Hawks directed, Ben Hecht written Scarface (1932) – with its elements playing an integral part in setting up the archetypal template for generations to come (just think of the works of Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and Francis Ford Coppola four, five, and six decades later). Ripped from the headlines at the time, this fast paced and snappy gem doesn’t feel like it’s made in 1932, the limitations of the early ‘talkie’ era hardly noticeable. The camera gracefully moves around, be it reenacting the movement of a Tommy gun or introducing us to the players in a room.

It is unusual to find a film that is able to effectively change direction, speaking in the genre sense, without losing steam, confusing viewers, or ruining the flow of the movie. Yet, when properly done, these twists and turns can take you on a wild and entertaining ride to somewhere completely unexpected. This is what the 1986 motion picture Something Wild does effortlessly.

The 1980's and 1990's were two superb decades for amazing action films that contained easy on the eyes stunts, clever storylines, touches of comedy and great villains. Movies like the Die Hard trilogy, Lethal Weapon 1-4 , Mission Impossible, and James Bond entries like License to Kill and Goldeneye entertained in all of these categories. One of the best action movies to come out of the 90's though, is known as Léon or The Professional.