Entertainment Classic

This is the way Hollywood used to make epics, with surehanded craftsmanship and richness of both characters and visuals. On the surface, "Gladiator" is nothing more than another Roman circus about men fighting and dying for the emperor's amusement in the Coliseum. But Scott gives it sweep and depth as he coaxes strong characterizations from his cast: Russell Crowe as the ex-general forced into slavery, Joaquin Phoenix as the cruel emperor, Connie Nielsen as his ingenious sister, Oliver Reed (in his last role) as a slave trader.


2. CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON
Watch Video
Lee's penchant for stories steeped in emotional restraint and repressed yearning flowers spectacularly in this visually poetic movie that transcends its martial-arts genre. A pair of famous warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) try to recapture a legendary sword from a vengeful nemesis and her protege, while a nobleman's daughter encounters a handsome desert bandit. The characters display almost superhuman skills in a series of amazing action scenes, but the real power lies in what they hold back.
3. X-MEN Watch Video

In the first of what will be many films starring the comic book characters, we are treated with some of the origins behind various characters. Mutants have taken sides with one set being the guardians of humans, and the other set being out to destroy human-kind. Mutants have become a part of society, but some humans have nothing but fear and anger towards them. This leads to a volatile situation in which some of the mutants want to alter the DNA of every human into that of a mutant. The X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and other characters, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, and Famke Janssen
must stop the forces of evil in order to prevent the ultimate erasure of all humans.


4. THE PATRIOT (Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger) Watch Video

Against his wishes, Benjamin Martin (Gibson) is drawn into the American revolutionary war. His reason for not entering are the eight children that he is now taking care of by himself. Memories still haunt him from his days as a soldier in the French and Indian War as well, and he knows exactly what happens in a war-like situation. Fear for his own life and that of his children takes an unexpected turn, when one of his children is killed in cold-blood. Already seeing that the personal loss of a war in the colonies will take effect whether he fights or not, he decides to step up and make a difference. Gibson plays the role of a fighting father very well, and the epic story serves as a back-drop to the struggle of a family trying to stay alive, and ultimately to stay together.

5. Cast Away Watch Video

In a cruel twist of fate, Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks) goes on a business tip right after proposing to his girlfriend (played by Helen Hunt). Hanks plays FedEx systems engineer whose personal and professional life are ruled by the clock. He is the type of person that will do anything to make sure that the job gets done right. He takes this late flight in order to go deal with a business situation, but half-way there, his fed-ex plane crashes in the middle of the ocean. Luckily for him, he washes up on an island, but unluckily, he ends up on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere without a chance at rescue. The film depicts the struggles that he endures trying to stay alive, and survive on an island without another human being within miles. It is a great film about the human struggle, and just how far we will go to survive what fate throws at us.

6. Unbreakable (starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson) Watch Video

Bruce Willis survives a train crash in the beginning of the film. He has become the only survivor among 300+ passengers and he does not have a scratch on him. Enter Samuel L. Jackson who prophesizes that this means great things are in store for Bruce Willis, and that he needs to realize his potential in order to become a better man. What follows is a dark story about what evil lurks in the minds of men. In a well done story, with a plot that leaves a lot to the imagination, Bruce Willis scores again in a thriller about the good and evil that exists in our world.


7. MEN OF HONOR Watch Video

This was the story of Carl Brashear (played by Cuba Gooding), who was striving to become the first African American Diver in the U.S. Navy. DeNiro plays Master Chief Leslie W. 'Billy' Sunday, who is his supervisor at the camp where he starts to train to become a diver. The film shows how hard it was to be an African-American who wanted to be more than a cook on the ships of the U.S. Navy. It also shows how much heart that he had when he has to endure a grave accident during one of his dives. Theron plays a drunk wife of DeNiro, that has been driven to near madness by the way that he has treated her. This is a film based on a true story, and it helps to show just how hard it was to become a deep see diver for the U.S. Navy.