Edge of Darkness is a 2010 film starring Mel Gibson. It’s been a while since he’s been a lead in a movie; even though, he did an outstanding job with his character.

The film is about a Boston Police Officer, who watches the murder of his visiting daughter, then tries to figure out who killed her and why.

The film has several twists and turns and everyone Gibson comes into contact with, appears to be involved. What makes watching Gibson so fun is, he really does turn into the loose cannon cop, he’s known for from other films, while trying to solve the murder in this one. The end – we’ll you’ll have to rent it to see, but everyone gets what they have coming to them – Gibson style.

Overall a great rental.

Budget: $60 million
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring:
Mel Gibson
Danny Huston
Ray Winstone
Bojana Novakovic
Shawn Roberts
Caterina Scorsone

Platoon is an awesome 1986 Oliver Stone film that won four Oscars. The film, for those still out there that haven’t seen it — follows a small infantry platoon during the Vietnam War. It shows the daily life and routine, while also showing each individual mans struggle to keep their own sanity, deal with the hardships, and survive long enough to get back home.

The film has an all star cast. Most of the young faces in the film were just beginning their careers in Hollywood when they were cast for this film.

For those you that haven’t seen it — if you don’t like war movies, then this is not for you, but if you do like war movies and haven’t seen it, you can still rent it and watch it. It’s a really great film!

Budget: $6 million
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring:
Johnny Depp
Keith David
Forest Whitaker
Kevin Dillon
Willem Dafoe
Tom Berenger
Francesco Quinn
John C. McGinley

Courage Under Fire is a 1996 film, starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. The story is about a LTC investigating the validity of a pending Medal of Honor award for a female pilot, during her tour in Iraq. The medal is highly politicized, since Ryan’s character would be the first woman in history to receive the medal.

During the course of his investigation, Washington’s character is also under investigation – for the accidental fratricide that killed one of his closest friends in Iraq.

This is a really great film with an all star cast. Great film to own.

Budget: $46 million
Director:Edward Zwick
Starring:
Denzel Washington
Meg Ryan
Matt Damon
Lou Diamond Philip
Michael Moriarty
Sean Astin
Scott Glenn
Tim Guinee

There’s probably not too many people that haven’t seen this film. Or if you’ve seen it, you know how great of a movie it is. This 1998 film, starring Tom Hanks, is probably one of the best films Steven Spielberg has ever made. Granted, he’s made a lot of great films, but this one stands out for its realness and authenticity on the battle field. So much so, that when it was originally released, Soldiers and former Soldiers, from wars past started calling their local VA, having reoccurring memories of the trauma and combat they saw during the real wars.

Without it needing to be said, this is a fine film, great action, acting, and character development. The plot, though fictional, is terrific.

Budget: $70 million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring:
Tom Hanks
Tom Sizemore
Edward Burns
Barry Pepper
Adam Goldberg
Vin Diesel
Giovanni Ribisi
Jeremy Davies
Matt Damon
Ted Danson
Paul Giamatti
Dennis Farina

A great 2001 film, Blackhawk Down tells the story of the US Army Rangers and their attached Delta Teams as they try to capture Mohammed Farah Aidid in Mogadishu, Somalia. During a mission that should have lasted less than an hour, things go terribly wring when one of the blackhawks supporting the Soldiers is shot down. Now the Soldiers much finish their mission and secure the new objective (crashed blackhawk). With supplies, personnel, and ammo, all running low, the Rangers show why they were the ones selected for the job. Vastly outnumbered, the Rangers held their perimeters, fought off the enemy, and helped each other as they fought throughout the night with no food and water.

This is a really good film and a true story.

Budget: $90 million
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring:
Josh Harnett
Ewan McGregor
Tom Sizemore
Eric Bana
William Fichtner
Ewen Bremner
Sam Shepard
Kim Coates
Hugh Dancy
Ron Eldard

Jodie Foster really takes a beating in this film. Her character, Erica Bain and her fiancee are attacked one night by three hoodlums. They kill her fiancee and beat her within an inch of her life. After she recovers, she’s left with the mental scars the attack inflicted on her. Not getting help from the police, Foster decides to take matters into her own hands. In the end, she saves several people and kills the hoodlums that attacked them in the beginning.

This is a very good, emotional, and deep movie. A must watch.

Budget: $70 million
Director: Neil Jordan
Starring:
Jodie Foster
Terrence Howard
Naveen Andrews
Zoë Kravitz
Mary Steenburgen

This 2008 film star Liam Neeson as an ex-spy who finds out that his daughter has been kidnapped by a smuggling ring, that targets young girls. The girls are taken, drugged, prostituted, or sold to the highest bidder on the black market. Neeson character, kills just about everyone he comes into contact with as he inches closer to finding and saving her.

A word of caution, if you are a mother, or a family that has young children, this film is very vivid and detailed in how the smuggling process works and hypothetically how things could happen. You might find that this film will touch a sensitive spot when it comes to children or young relatives.

As for the action and plot, high quality and delivered well by Neeson.

Budget: $25 million
Director: Pierre Morel
Starring:
Liam Neeson
Maggie Grace
Katie Cassidy
Famke Janssen
Leland Orser

Mark Wahlberg indeed has delivered another fine performance in Shooter. From being an 80’s white rapper, he has metamorphosed into an action star in the late 90s and the trend continues even up to this date. His success is credited largely enough due to the fact that he’s been paired with the best action stars Hollywood can offer – from Chow Yun Fat in The Corruptor to George Clooney in Three Kings and The Perfect Storm. He has also been the starrer in enviable projects like Planet of the Apes, Rock Star, The Italian Job, Four Brothers and The Departed. No wonder Shooter has raked in $44.5 million during its spring break release earlier this year.