The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight, which is part of Christopher Nolan's Batman film series is a follow-up to the action-hit Batman Begins (2005). Christian Bale reprises the role of the caped crusader - Batman.

Summary:
The film focuses on Batman's fight against a new villain, a psychopathic criminal named Joker (Heath Ledger), who is the mastermind of numerous organized crimes in Gotham City.

With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to eliminate and dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. Their partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

Year Released: 2008

Cast:
Christian Bale
Michael Caine
Heath Ledger
Aaron Eckhart
Gary Oldman
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Morgan Freeman

Director:
Christopher Nolan

Reviews & Ratings:
"Nolan has shown a new way to tell a superhero story, and it may turn out to be the only way to tell a story about heroes in this troublingly amoral time. We may want our white knights, but it's the dark knight that we need."
~ Katey Rich of CinemaBlend
 9/10 - Ratings from IMDB

8.5/10 (94%) Tomatometer - Ratings from Rotten Tomatoes

Movie Trivia:

• The Dark Knight is the first Batman movie without "Batman" in the title.
• Matt Damon was the first choice of Christopher Nolan to play the role of Harvey Dent but he turned it down.
• Other actors that were considered to have a part in the film are Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, John Lucas and Ryan Phillippe.

Source: IMDB - The Dark Knight 

Iron Man

Iron Man is an action-adventure movie based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Robert Downey Jr. played the lead role as Tony Stark - a billionaire industrialist who designs and manufactures weapons and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron Man.

Summary:
Tony Stark lived a good life having the everything man has dreamt of - money, fortune and gorgeous women. But during a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries' new weapon, his convoy was attacked and captured by a terrorist group. As he awakened, Stark discovers an electromagnet attached to his chest, powered by a car battery and designed to keep the shrapnel from piercing his heart and killing him. He was tortured by the group and forced to build a Jericho missile for them - which is his most powerful weapon. With the help of a captor named Yinsen (Shaun Toub), they created a special iron suit instead that can withstand almost anything shot at it and it is loaded with an arsenal of weapons to destroy the terrorist camp and its inhabitants. With this amazing weapon he had built, suddenly his destiny shifts into something he didn't expected it to be.

Year Released: 2008

Cast:
Robert Downey Jr.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Jeff Bridges
Terrence Howard

Director:
Jon Favreau

Reviews & Ratings:
"It’s also refreshing to see a superhero flick in which the hero isn’t some angsty teenager or a borderline underwear model. Tony Stark is a mature man, with deep rooted flaws."
~ Josh Tyler of CinemaBlend
7.9/10 - Ratings from IMDB

7.6/10 (93%) Tomatometer - Ratings from Rotten Tomatoes

Movie Trivia:

• Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise were interested in playing Iron Man.
• Quentin Tarantino, Joss Whedon, and Nick Cassavetes were approached to direct the film.
• Robert Downey Jr. spent five days a week in weight and martial arts training to get into shape as a preparation for his role as Iron Man.
• It's the first film released in 2008 to pass the $300 million mark at the domestic box office.

Source: IMDB - Iron Man

Rambo

Rambo is the fourth installment of the popular franchise of the same title starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo.

Summary:
After twenty years since the last film of the famous action movie series, Vietnam war veteran John Rambo has retreated to northern Thailand, and become a boatman at Salween River in Myanmar. He accompanied a group of mercenaries for a resue mission to help the people of a damaged village. The mission goes well until the Burmese army attacks the village, killing innocent villagers and some members of missionaries. When the missionaries fail to come back after ten days, their pastor comes to Rambo, tells him what has transpired, and asks for his assistance in guiding hired mercenaries to the village to rescue other survivors who had been kidnapped by the Burmese. Despite the fact that he already sworn off all forms of violence, he had no choice but to help the kidnapped mercenaries from the enemies...he knows what he must do and this is his most dangerous mission to date.

Year Released: 2008

Cast:
Sylvester Stallone
Julie Benz
Matthew Marsden

Director:
Sylvester Stallone

Reviews & Ratings:
"Rambo is the king of mindless action movies and its viciousness has set a new high point for action movies. All the action films that have come before it are an embarrassment in comparison to Rambo’s excess."

~ MovieCynics on Rambo

7.1/10 - Ratings from IMDB

Movie Trivia:

• This is the first Rambo film directed by Sylvester Stallone.
• In some countries like France & Germany, the film is called "John Rambo". While in Russia, it is called "Rambo 4"
• Julie Benz was cast to play Sarah because Sylvester Stallone was a big fan of her TV show Dexter.

Source: IMDB - Rambo

Gladiator

"A Hero Will Rise"
The Gladiator tells the story of a Roman general who comes to Rome as a gladiator to revenge for his family.

Gladiator is a historical epic masterpiece of Ridley Scott that received much praise and honors because of its scope, creative and intense battle scenes and convincing performances of the lead cast.

Year Released: 2000

Summary: 

Maximus Meridias (Russel Crowe), a Roman general that has been named as the keeper of Rome and its empire by Emperor Marcus Aurelius thus, giving him the privilege to be his successor. However, the emperor was killed by his power-hungry jealous son Commodus and later orders the death of Maximus. Fortunately, Maximus managed to escape but was captured by slave traders and was sent to North Africa. He ends up being a slave and was forced to be a gladiator. With the twist of fate happened to Maximus, he remained strong and hopeful that he might someday fulfill the wish of the late emperor. As a victorious gladiator, he was sent back to Rome to participate in the Gladiatorial Games (a battle to death of the most famous gladiators) in which he had plans of taking revenge and gain his freedom against the man who took away his family and the good things he once have.

Cast:
Russell Crowe
Joaquin Phoenix
Connie Nielsen
Oliver Reed
Richard Harris
Derek Jacobi
Djimon Hounsou

Director:
Ridley Scott

Reviews & Ratings:
"Ridley Scott and an excellent cast successfully convey the intensity of Roman gladitorial combat as well as the political intrigue brewing beneath."
~ Rottentomatoes on Gladiator

8.5/10 - Ratings from IMDB

7.1/10 (76%) Tomatometer - Ratings from Rotten Tomatoes

Movie Trivia:

• Gladiator is Russell Crowe's favorite film, and Maximus is his favorite character portrayal.
• The film is dedicated to Oliver Reed who suffered a fatal heart attack during principal photography.
• Mel Gibson was offered the lead role, but turned it down because at 43 he felt he was too old to play Maximus.
• Antonio Banderas was also considered for the role of Maximus.

Source: IMDB - Gladiator

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Star Wars is an action sci-fi film created by George Lucas during the 1970's and was eventually expanded and became one of the most popular film franchises thru time. It features some elements that are related to the archetypes of the fantasy genre such as Jedi knights, princesses, robots, spaceships and other creatures, as well as the futuristic settings of the universe.

It was inspired and influenced by several known sci-fi films like Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, John Ford's The Searchers, and the original Flash Gordon series.

Year Released: 1977 (Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope)

Cast:
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Director:
George Lucas

Reviews & Ratings:
"A legendarily expansive and ambitious start to the sci-fi saga, George Lucas opened our eyes to the possiblites of blockbuster filmmaking and things have never been the same."
~ RottenTomatoes on Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

8.8/10 - Ratings from IMDB

8.3/10 (93%) Tomatometer - Ratings from Rotten Tomatoes

Movie Trivia:

• Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope is the only movie of the Star Wars franchise to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award
• According to George Lucas, originally Luke was a girl, Han Solo was an Alien, the wookiees were called Jawas, and R2-D2 and C-3PO were called A-2 and C-3
• Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill performed the swing stunt themselves, shooting it in just one take.

Source: IMDB - Star Wars

Casino Royale (2006)

Casino Royale
Movie Information

Genre:
Action | Adventure

Main Cast:
Daniel Craig as James Bond
Director:
Martin Campbell
About the movie:

Casino Royale is the 21st movie of the Bond franchise which stars Daniel Craig as the popular secret agent James Bond. The film was based on a 1953 novel written by Ian Fleming with the same title and it's the third adaptation of the novel (first as a 1954 TV episode and a 1967 satirical film).
Casino Royale bring in James Bond before he holds his license to kill. As he is raised to '00' status, 'M'(Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, send him to Madagascar for his first mission as a newly-promoted secret agent where he is to spy on a terrorist. He decided to do the investigation independently out of the MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6) agency to trace the rest of the terrorist cell. He landed to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clients who attempts to restore his funds by playing a high-stake poker game at Casino Royale. Then 'M' assigned Vesper Lynd to watch out for Bond, his stake for the game and for the government's money. As they face and survive danger together, Bond's interest towards her deepens while Le Chiffre's cruelty has heightens in a way Bond could never imagine and thru this, he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one.
Though there are some negative comments about Daniel Craig's potential as an actor to portray the famous secret agent 007, his worthiness showed up and washes out all the controversies as the film was released- leaving the critics in awed by his acting which is explosive with emotions.


Movie Trivia:

• Casino Royale (released in 2006) is the highest grossing James Bond film to date