Un Prophéte (2010)

French language crime film “Un Prophéte” (“A Prophet”) is shocking, brilliant, and focuses on a mixed-race youth named Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) as he enters prison a scarred youth barely literate and sacred as a kitten. It turns “Heart of Darkness” quickly, with no “Shawshank Redemption” rebirths in the rain here. This is hell. No bottom.

Malik quickly buckles under the influence of a Corsican gang that runs the prison with absolute control, even ordering the dismissal of guards and delivered whores. The old, cranktankerous gang boss (Niels Arestrup) gives Malik an offer he cannot refuse: Kill or be killed. Malik takes the order, slashing the throat of a suspected terrorist with a gay bent.

This first murder, Malik’s introduction to bloodletting, is shocking, savage, and so “real” it left the audience shaking along with the teenager on screen. Malik falls deeper into the Corsican hole, until he learns to read, and speak Corsican, and then slowly, ever so slowly, turns the tables. It’s a hard task against his Corsican bosses, and the fellow Arabs who share his blood but despise his gopher boy lifestyle.

The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, may or may not be true. Web accounts differ. But it’s absolutely, fully and wholly unforgettable. And I had no idea where “Prophet” was going one minute from the next. The ending is perfect, even at 2.5 hours. I could sit for another 2.5, too. Such gem stories are rare.

My “Godfather” reference back a few sentences is no fluke. "Prophet" aims for the 1972's classic and doesn't quite reach it, but the aim is just off center. Malik’s descent from semi-innocent (his initial crime seems fabricated) to criminal to crime master is as methodical, gut-punching, and gripping as Michael Corleone’s. Rahim’s performance is so natural matter-of-fact, one forgets this he’s an actor. Arestrup is every bit the Brando-like don, an old man on the outside, a monster killer within. But he’s not against doing his own dirty work.

The violence is sparse but savage, maybe more so than any film I’ve seen in years. There’s nothing glorious about the knife or gun play here. Nor the sexual violence. A slashed throat gushed blood in thick, huge spasms of crimson red. It’s sickening. As violence should be.

The title is its own glorious secret, tied to Malik’s first murder and a semi-“LOST” gift that results. That this toe dip into the supernatural feels so utterly real is a testament to Audiard’s handiwork. For now, count this as my film to beat for 2010. A

The Boys From Brazil (1978)

“The Boys From Brazil” is a mash-up paranoid mystery/Nazi thriller from the twisted mind of Ira Levine (the novels “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Stepford Wives”). With classic actors. Here, Gregory Peck drinks everyone’s milkshake as a fictionalized version of Josef Mengele, living in South America and working SS-style decades after World War II. Fellow movie god Laurence Olivier grabs a straw, too, and slurps right back as Nazi hunter and all-around eccentric Ezra Lieberman. The climax has the men meet for a gloriously violent, over-the-top battle in a seemingly quaint Lancaster County, Pa., home. Delicious. I spent summer there as a child. Several plot strands (a captive South American boy) are left aside, and Steve Guttenberg is unconvincing as a young Nazi hunter who sets the plot going, but the climax is sick, lovely mind-screw Levine. Bonus points: Scariest screen child ever, over “Omen” and some (bleeped) up dogs. Not high art, not meant to be, but damn fine 1970s entertainment. B+

Clash of the Titans (1981 and 2010)

I must have watched 1981’s “Clash of the Titans” a hundred times as a child when it debuted on HBO, back when HBO was a fascinating addition to the phenomenon known as cable. (Yeah, I’m that old.) I still watch and enjoy it, stupid robot owl, eyebrow-raising nudity and all. It has powerful gods and goddesses, a kick-ass hero in Perseus (Harry Hamlin) with a woman (Judi Bowker as Andromeda) to rescue, and other-worldly monsters made by the hands of Ray Harryhausen. I still shudder at Medusa’s glowing green eyes and that strange, ticky groove she has. Glorious bad-on-purpose fun in line with “Flash Gordon.” A-

The 2010 remake trashes all that good badness for ugh badness, providing a Perseus (Sam Worthington) who could care less about women. He wants to kill the gods. He’s as mad as hell, and not going take it anymore! Near-MIA Andromeda barely matters. Director Louis Leterrier prefers CGI that fades from your mind the moment the visual effects fade from screen, and a revenge plot best saved for “The Punisher” or any Steven Segal film. For a film about the heavens, this film is earth bound. Liam Neeson dishes authority as Zeus, but Ralph Fiennes plays Hades as Voldermort’s younger, pouty-lipped brother, the sibling you don’t want to sit next to at Christmas. To bring up another son of god. C+

The King of New York (1990)

From the first minute of “King of New York,” Christopher Walken owns the screen. And he doesn’t speak for another 10. Directed by Abel Ferrara, the “King” is Frank White, a recently paroled mob boss who makes clear that he will never again bow or be caged. Bodies stack high as White alternately wrecks havoc on his competitors and the police alike. Meanwhile, White plays Robin Hood, giving away millions to the needy. This is wildly violent stuff that makes “Goodfellas” seem quaint, especially after a band of rogue cops (headed by a young David Caruso) declare war on White. The plot is thin, and not interested in the criminal mindset. This is all about mood, and the mood is bloody, messy, dark as a lightless cave, and unsafe for everyone on screen. Walken is delirious, funny, dangerous and wicked cool, all in a single scene. “King”rules. A-

The Great Raid (2005)

How can an American man not love “The Great Raid”? It’s the dramatic retelling of U.S. troops leading a spectacular assault on a cruel POW camp run by the Japanese during World War II. The mission: Save 500+ Americans inside. It has sacrifice, valor, tragic death and American flags waving high and proud. It’s even filmed in that honey-gold hue that makes everyone think, “Them sure was the days,” even if they weren’t around for them days, and the reality that those days sucked. But the film’s a loss. Directed by John Dahl, “Raid” is as riveting as a high school textbook. The plot splits into three stories that connect with each other, but never the audience: The troops (led by Benjamin Bratt and James Franco), the suffering POWs (led by Joseph Fiennes) and the nearby resistance fighters (led by Connie Nielsen) all play like an NBC Miniseries from 1985. Edited to ribbons. Only the end credits provide spark as footage from the real battle’s aftermath plays. The rest is like a forced march. Franco’s narration is mind-numbing. C

X-Men (2000)

I love the in-your-face politics of “X-Men,” from the 1963-born comic book to the 2000 film. The set-up: A group of super heroes, born with powers through genetic hiccups at birth, fight for the common good, even protecting those who discriminate against them. In 1963, it was all racial equality. This film, directed by Bryan Singer, tilts toward immigrants and gays. And 10 years on, this take remains fresh with Arizona’s new immigration law and the Pentagon still insisting that only straights are worthy of serving their country. But I digress. Here, the righteous X-Men battle the menacing Brotherhood of Mutants for New York City, after the latter attacks with a sort-of genetics bomb. (Hey, it’s still a comic book movie.) Surprisingly thoughtful, the movie suffers greatly from Halle Berry’s stilted performance as weather-manipulator Storm, some clunky action scenes, and dialogue that often floats like a rock in water. Leading the respective sides are Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Ian McKellen as Magneto, who were born for these roles. Or maybe the characters were written for them 50 years ago? B

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)

Relax. This isn’t “Inglourious Basterds.” Tricky Dick survives “The Assassination of Richard Nixon.” But back in 1974, Samuel Byck – failed salesman, rejected husband and nut-job loser -- did try to off Nixon. The method: Hijack a commercial jet with the intent of crashing it into the White House. Some 26 years before 9/11. This spooky drama is a fictional take on the unraveling of Byck, played by Sean Penn, and re-named Sam Bicke for full “Taxi Driver” homage. (Wait, was Travis Bickle named in honor of Byck?) When Bicke’s ticking time-bomb bell rings, the violence is shocking. To us, post 9/11. And to Bicke. Penn is brilliant in the role, of course. But even at 95 minutes, the film seems long. This dirt clod could have remained under the rug, forgotten. B+