V for Vendetta (2006)

Rotten Tomatoes: 73%

Box Office: 134.7 million USD

My Rating: 9/10

Description: The High Chancellor of England's (John Hurt) attempt at creating his dream Fascist state keeps getting violently interrupted by so-called terrorist V (Hugo Weaving), who certainly has a flair for the dramatics. After he kidnaps the daughter of two dead political prisoners, Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), things become even more insane. 

My Thoughts: This is a positively spectacular film with both top-shelf acting and writing. What really impresses me is that the Star Wars prequel trilogy made Natalie Portman look like a bad actor, and despite that, she went on to win an Oscar years later for Black Swan. The storytelling in this movie is impeccable, and the ending never fails to give me chills no matter how many times I watch it. Even though both gay characters in the movie get killed, the queer representation is actually quite impressive for the early 2000s. Despite the fact that the title would lead you to believe that V is the main character, if we go by the standards for story protagonists (i.e. they must go through an internal change by the end), it's clear to see that it is actually Evey. She is the one who goes from being afraid of everything all the time to having no fear anymore. Also, the screenplay was written by the Wachowski siblings, and you can never go wrong with them.

Best Line: "Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us, but within that inch we are free."