Directed by David Fincher, The Social Network will hit theaters on October 1^st.  The movie will tell the story of the Facebook co-founders.  The film will focus on the journey of co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University who originally came up with the Facebook concept.  This year 26-year-old Zuckerberg became the world’s youngest billionaire with an estimated net wealth of $4 billion.  During the early days of Facebook, Zuckerberg faced a number of obstacles, both legal and personal.  Zuckerberg will be played by Jesse Eisenberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin will be played by Joseph Mazello and Andrew Garfield.  Justin Timberlake will also star in the movie, playing the role of Sean Parker, the president of Facebook.  With the tagline “you don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” we certainly see the makings of a dramatic recounting of the early days of this social revolution.

1. Flags of Our Fathers (2006): Directed by Clint Eastwood, this WWII film tells the story of the 6 service men who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi, an act which was photographed and became one of the most famous pictures in America.  Only three of the six survived the rest of the battle and went on to become American heroes.
2. 300 (2006): Reaching a little farther back in the history books, this is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC when a small, but courageous army of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians are met by a Persian fleet of over 100,000 soldiers with the orders to take Greece. Though their defeat is inevitable, the Spartans wage one of the most heroic and determined fights in history, which happens to make for an incredible movie plot.
3. We Were Soldiers (2002): Starring Mel Gibson as Lt. Col. Hal Moore, this film tells the painful yet inspiring story of the soldiers sent into the first battle of Vietnam.  With a promise to be the first on and off the battlefield, Moore is a dedicated and noble leader to these brave men.
4. Enemy At the Gates (2001): This historical thriller about the battle of Stalingrad during WWII, tells the story through the eyes of a soldier from each side.  A sniper from Germany and a sniper from Russia each battle to defend their country as well as their own personal honor.
5. Black Hawk Down (2001): Directed by Ridley Scott and based on a bestseller, this is the story of a less-known, more undercover operation.  Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor star in this film about a group of U.S. Special Forces tasked with capturing Somalian war lords. When the mission starts to unravel, the success of this mission rests in the hands of these brave determined rangers.
6. Hotel Rwanda (2004): An inspiring, true story about one man’s attempt to save lives during the brutal massacre of Rwanda.  Neglected by the rest of the world, this country was left to face the unspeakable atrocities brought on by domestic terrorism.  Don Cheadle plays the role of Paul Rusesabagina who uses his hotel to house thousands of Tutsi refugees who are struggling to escape the Hutu militia.
7. The Patriot (2000): Another Mel Gibson hit, this is the story of Revolutionary War Hero, Benjamin Martin, who fights alongside his son Gabriel (Heath Ledger).  With his home burned and his family threatened, Martin leads a militia to fight the tyrannical British.
8. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006): Another Clint Eastwood film about the battle of Iwo Jima, in this film we see this historic battle through the eyes of the Japanese.  This Oscar-winning film makes you rethink all your preconceived notions about this unforgettable battle of WWII.
9. Jar Head (2005): Based on Anthony Swofford’s auto-biographical account of his time spent as a marine in Saudi Arabia prior to Desert Storm.  The strain of intense boredom followed immediately by an unbelievable rush of adrenaline and the struggle of these boys face as they fight in a land they don’t understand, gives us a glimpse into the tolls modern warfare take on our soldiers.
10. Gladiator (2000): Though unconventionally placed into this category, Gladiator is the story of a true soldier who fights to avenge the deaths of his family members who were killed as a result of his being chosen as heir to the Roman Empire.  This movie will make the top ten lists of many other genres including action and historical and we think it belongs in this one too.

The main character, Dominique Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is both someone you do not envy, yet can truly relate to.  Through his work exploring the human mind during the dream state and learning to extract information from a person’s dream, Cobb has lost everything he loved.  Though he goes about it in a more unconventional way, most of us can relate to the feeling of helplessness as you try desperately to cling to someone you have lost, in whatever way you can.  His skill in extracting dreams has made him a highly sought after mind criminal and Cobb is tasked with the ultimate challenge in exchange for getting back to his family.  This time it is not extraction, but inception.  He must implant an idea into someone’s mind, a task perceived by many to be impossible.  Stellar performances by DiCaprio and costars Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt along with impressive graphics and action create a movie that captures your attention for the full 2 and a half hours.  This is one of those movies that you don’t simply see the credit screen roll, leave and never think of it again.  At the end of watching this movie in a theater full of people, you could hear the chatter of every couple or group of friends discussing and taking guesses as to what really happened.  I’ll probably go see it again just to try and better understand everything, because by the end everything you thought you knew is called into question and you are left wondering what is real and what is only a dream.

This film is based on the best-selling novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.  It was named the best novel of 2005 by Time magazine and received an ALA Alex Award.  Never Let Me Go is set to release October 1st of this year in select cities.  In addition to the well-known Keira Knightley, who plays Ruth, two upcoming talented actors will be starring in this film.  Main character and narrator Kathy H., will be played by Carey Mulligan.  This 25-year-old British actress jumped onto the scene with her performance in the 2009 hit An Education.  She also stars in the upcoming Oliver Stone film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to the 1987 film, Wall Street.  Another budding star, Andrew Garfield, takes to the screen as the leading male role of Tommy.  Garfield also stars in the highly-anticipated, upcoming film, The Social Network, where he plays the role of Eduardo Saverin, one of the co-founders of Facebook.

Addressing one of the biggest social controversies of our time, this film is sure to be a heart-wrenching tale of love, death, and humanity.

When it comes to the leading men, we’re holding our breath for the return of one of our favorites; Orlando Bloom.  After a string of huge hits with the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Bloom seemed to fall off our radar for a while.  Luckily for fans of his, Bloom is set to star in a number of films to be released over the next year including Main Street, The Good Doctor and the Three Musketeers.  If you’re a fan of independent films, you may have seen a bit more of Bloom than mainstream America as he seems to have recently shifted some focus towards this genre.

Perhaps one of the most enchanting actresses of our time, Penelope Cruz has been sorely missed at the box office lately.  This Spanish star has spent a great deal of time in the last few years on international projects and independent films.  A small role in the recent Sex and the City 2 movie was only enough to whet the appetite.  Though we’ll have to wait almost a year until its May 2011 release, it looks like we’ll finally be seeing Cruz back in action in Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides.  Unfortunately, Bloom won’t be returning.