300

While it won’t win any awards for historical accuracy, this film is quite a thing to look at. Directed by Zack Snyder, who piloted the successful Dawn of the Dead remake, this adaptation of Frank Miller’s excellent graphic novel has plenty in common with that other Miller adaptation, Sin City. Shot in the same style, with live actors in front of computer-generated backgrounds, it’s a work of art. Gerard Butler catapults to instant action-hero status as King Leonidas, who leads a Spartan army of 300 against the advance of the Persian Empire. Gory as all heck, this one is not for the squeamish. It also has the most rock-hard abs ever assembled in movie history. It’s ridiculous, actually. HGH and steroids must’ve flowed like a river on the set of this one.