Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this 2011 biographical drama about J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI for nearly five decades. Hoover first gained control of the organization in 1919, and the film follows his rise to power and his troubled personal life. The real-life Hoover was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for 48 years and was regarded as the architect of the FBI. The organization was initially a rather weak wing of the federal government, but through his work, it became one of the strongest investigative agency.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film also includes Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, Judi Dench, and Armie Hammer. DiCaprio earned a Golden Globe nomination, and both he and Hammer received nods at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The film also made the Top Ten list at the National Board of Review.
Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
Dennis Quaid plays the late Jerry Lee Lewis in this 1989 film about the music star’s rise to rock-and-roll fame – and his incestuous and highly controversial marriage to his cousin, played by Winona Ryder, – who was just 13 years old at the time of the nuptials (which took place in Mississippi.) Aside from his highly publicized and controversial marriage, Lewis was once dubbed the face of rock'n'roll and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century.
Lewis actually rerecorded several of his songs from the 1950s for the film soundtrack including the title track, Great Balls of Fire. Ryder won an award for a best young artist starring a motion picture at the Young Artist Awards in 1990. It flopped at the box office, grossing just over $13 million worldwide.
Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
Tom Hanks plays 1980s party boy Congressman Charlie Wilson in this 2007 biographical dramedy, also starring Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film was adapted from a novel titled: Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, written by George Criley III in 2003. Charlie Wilson worked together with the CIA operative Gust Avrakotos in order to formulate Operation Cyclone, a program that was created to organize and support the Afghan jihadists during the Soviet-Afghan War
Although the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and five Golden Globe awards, including Best Motion Picture, it didn’t win for any of the categories. It was nominated for a number of other awards as well and holds an eighty-two percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes..
Invincible (2006)
Mark Wahlberg stars in this athletic drama about a 30-year-old bartender/high school teacher named Vince Papale, who realizes his lifelong dreams of becoming a professional football player when he gets the chance to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. While Papale never actually scored an NFL touchdown as the movie portrays, he was obviously good enough that he impressed the Eagles coach.
Unfortainely, pro football aside, Papale leads a fairly average life, but sees himself as a failure, as does his wife, who decides to leave him. Afterward, he scores a spot as kicker on the Eagles, who proceed to lose the first six games of the preseason with their new kicker. The film holds a 72% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fearless (2006)
This 2006 film was made with a budget of just $4.3 million, $1.3 million of which went to star, Jet Li’s, salary. The film is directed by Ronnie Yu, and features Li as a master martial artist, and co-founder of the Chin Woo Athletic Association in Shanghai, Huo Yuanjia. The martial arts expert became a hero in China for defeating foreign fighters in highly publicized competitions during a time when Chinese independence was under threat by foreign imperialism.
Critics and audiences for the most part regard the film as a success, and it holds a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The descendants of Huo Yuanjia weren’t happy with the way it made their ancestors seem violent, however. In fact, they were so unhappy that they decided to sue filmmakers.