Gladiator (2000)
#97 on my Top 100 List
I forget how much I like this movie until I'm actually watching it. To me, the performances are what make it so good. Russell Crowe won Best Actor that year for his role as the general turned slave turned gladiator, but Joaquin Phoenix was robbed when he didn't win Best Supporting Actor for his role as the jealous and vengeful Emperor Commodus (who, in real life, did fight in the gladiator arena, but wasn't quite the villain that the movie portrays him to be). Richard Harris (who is sorely missed) and Djimon Hounsou also stand out as the dying Emperor and a fellow gladiator. There's a heavy ick factor in the amount of gore in the film, as well as with Commodus's lust for his sister Lucilla (Octavia/Octavian anyone?) but if you can stomach those, it's definitely a film worth watching. A lot of people claimed that it shouldn't have won Best Picture that year, but none of them could tell me what they thought should have won in its place. I definitely think it was deserving of the prize.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
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