Jango Hype Train Rainkings - "Modern Conflict" Movies

It’s time for a new edition of the Jango Hype Train Rankings.  To honor my Hype Train movie of the year, Zero Dark Thirty, I'd like to focus on movies revolving around “Modern Conflict”.  My idea of a “Modern Conflict” is anything post Cold War era.  I know this is supposed to be a list but having to pick a #1 would just be too hard to do.  So instead I will list my 10 favorite “Modern Conflict” movies.

The Kingdom – Might not be the best movie but when the action heats up its damn fun to watch.  Hard to believe that this is same director that brought us the major flop of a movie, Battleship. The firefights in this film are just amazing.



Three Kings – Marky Mark, Ice Cube, and George Clooney search for treasure in the aftermath of the Gulf War?  Sign me up.  This has a nice blend of action, drama, and comedy.  Ultimately they need to make a choice, take the money and run or help those who really need it?



The Hurt Locker – While I’m not a big fan of the non-combat “drama” in this film the rest of it is full of suspense and quite frankly it stresses me out.  Special nod to the film’s director Kathryn Bigelow who is also directing Zero Dark Thirty.



The Devils Double – This disturbing movie takes a look at the time Latif Yahia spent as Uday Hussein’s body double.  It’s a fascinating but crazy look at the mind and life of a true madman. Dominic Cooper is fantastic in this movie as both Uday and Latif.



Buried – Ryan Reynolds plays Paul, a US Truck Driver working in Iraq.  His convoy gets attacked and he is taken hostage and buried alive in the Iraqi desert with just a cell phone and a lighter. No guns and ammo to be found here but there’s a ton of suspense.



Black Hawk Down – Such an epic and awesome story of bravery and heroics.  The directing, acting, and action is firing on all cylinders and this is must see and probably the only no-brainer on this list.



Blood Diamond – This is an action packed piece of fiction that takes place around the events of the civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Africa.  A mercenary and a man looking for his family form an unlikely bond as they set out to recover a stolen diamond.  Each man has a different agenda but in the end they need each other to accomplish their goals.  The story may be fiction based but the location and events surrounding them are anything but.



Body Of Lies – A fictionalized but fun and exciting look at CIA ops in the Middle East.  The creation of a fake terror cell, the use of drone technology, and some tense situations make this movie worthwhile.



Hotel Rwanda – The film is set in 1994 during the Rwandan Genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi, were killed by Hutu extremists. During that year, Rwanda’s population of seven million was composed of two major ethnic groups: Hutu (approximately 85%), and Tutsi (14%). In the early 1990s, Hutu extremists within Rwanda’s political elite blamed the entire Tutsi minority population for the country’s economic and political problems. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying President Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down. Following that incident, the genocide began. Tutsi and people suspected of being Tutsi were killed in their homes and as they tried to flee the country. This movie follows the story of Hotelier Paul Rusesabagina of the Belgian owned luxury Hôtel des Mille Collines, and shows how he used his power and influence to personally save both Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees. Rusesabagina regularly bribed Rwandan Hutu soldiers and kept militias outside the hotel's property during the hundred days of killing.



Team America: World Police – FUCK YEAAAAAHHHH! So crazy and over the top and wrong in so many ways but yet so god damn funny. As an added bonus try watching it with your In-Laws like I did. Nothing screams awkward like watching puppet sex involving a dump on the chest while your In-Laws are slack jawed.  I almost felt bad for laughing. Almost.



Zero Dark Thirty opens in NY and Los Angeles on Dec. 19th and nationwide on Jan 11th. If this interests you at all you should also check out the book No Easy Day.




If you have something that isn’t on the list feel free to post and lets have fun discussing it all.  Away we go.