Jarhead (Dir. Sam Mendes 2005): Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this critically acclaimed brilliantly unconventional war story from Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff (Gyllenhaal) from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty where he sports a sniper rifle through Middle East deserts that provide no cover from the heat or Iraqi soldiers. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully grasp. Born On The Fourth Of July (Dir. Oliver Stone 1989): Tom Cruise delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's Academy Award winning masterpiece. Based on a true story the acclaimed film follows the young Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteers for the Vietnam War to an embittered veteran paralysed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he left and struggled before emerging as a brave new voice for the disenchanted. Oscar nominated for eight awards the film picked up two gongs: Best Director (Oliver Stone) and Best Editing (David Brenner and Joe Hutshing).