A classic romantic comedy that barely makes it into this chart being released in 1990, and although the costumes and general feel of the movie is, to me, like an 80s movie, it is still technically a 90s flick. This brilliant movie kicked off impressive careers for both Julia Roberts and Richard Gere during the 1990s.

19. Fargo (1996, Joel & Ethan Coen)

A thrilling and humorous film from the Coen brothers, this was an instant cult classic and a stroke of genius from two of the greatest filmmakers of recent years. Winning two Oscars and being nominated for a further five Academy Awards, this film belongs in your collection!

18. Aladdin (1992, Ron Clements & John Musker)

One of Disney’s greatest achievements as Disney went from being humorous to hilarious with the casting of Robin Williams for the voice of the Genie. This is one for the whole family that certainly takes me back to the 1990s.

17. Goodfellas (1990, Martin Scorsese)

This gangster classic again barely makes it into the list of movies from the 90s but is instantly recognised as a classic of its time. Ray Liotta is brilliant in this story about Henry Hill, a boy from New York who always dreamed of being a gangster! And the story is beautifully told too.

16. Fight Club (1999, David Fincher)

An action thriller that packs a punch. This film is highly absorbing with a few twists and turns that will keep your eyes fixed on the screen. I don’t want to give too much away if you haven’t seen it but this is a brilliant movie.

15. The Nightmare Before Christmas ( 1993, Henry Selick)

Most would call this a triumph of animated cinema where others would call it Tim Burton’s best! This definitely reminds me of when I was younger in the 90s and I hope it brings back nostalgic memories for you too!

14. Toy Story (1995, John Lasseter)

Pixar’s first feature length animation with each frame taking 4-13 hours to create, but isn’t it worth it? This is the story that every kid told themselves; that toys come to life when they leave the room. But here Pixar told it in a way that made us want to hear it again and again, even through to adulthood I still love this movie!

13. Life Is Beautiful (1997, Roberto Benigni)

This Italian masterpiece captured the hearts of people all over the world in the 1990s with this tale of World War II and its impact upon the people and their families. A must see for anyone but be warned, tissues are needed!

12. Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)

Yet another fine piece of work from Mr Tarantino. This man can do no wrong in my eyes! This slick masterpiece was released in 1992 and coined a generation of parodies, copycats and homages that continue to be made to this day.

11. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, James Cameron)

Although technically a 90s movie, its still reminiscent of the 1980s where the Terminator franchise first came about. A must see for all science fiction fans, although in the most part, not as good as the first.

10. Beauty and the Beast (1991, Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise)

Another appearance for Disney and this is a genius adaptation of the popular fairytale that inspired it. A magical adventure for the whole family and, again, takes me back to when I was a child and would watch this until I could watch no more!

9. Independence Day (1996, Roland Emmerich)

My absolute favourite alien invasion movie with a few possible exceptions, this is an incredibly entertaining movie that I could watch over and over, and I did in the 90s! Will Smith is of course brilliant and Jeff Goldblum is amazing in a humorous story of how aliens tried to conquer Earth. It’s also incredibly moving in some parts and could possibly have you reaching for the tissues.

8. The X Files: Fight the Future (1998, Rob Bowman)

Where would this countdown be without the ultimate 90s franchise of: “The X Files”? This movie was probably at the peek of X Files fame and recognition and came at a time when everybody thought it couldn’t get any better. And how wrong we all were! I could probably talk about this film for hours on end because The X Files is very dear to me, as I’m sure if you’re reading this and hence probably a child of the 90s, it is to you too.

7. Forrest Gump (1994, Robert Zemeckis)

Tom Hanks won his second Academy Award for his portrayal of Forrest Gump, a not-so-bright athlete from Alabama who stole the hearts of many in this story of his life. Beautifully filmed by the great Robert Zemeckis the film takes the audience through the history of America through the eyes of the innocent and childlike Forrest Gump. Incredibly moving and also holds one of cinema’s greatest quotes: “Run, Forrest! Run!”

6. The Sixth Sense (1999, M. Night Shyamalan)

This is a movie I remember seeing countless times in the 1990s, despite only being 9 years old upon its release. This is an incredible movie which manages to scare and move the audience in equal proportions. A favourite for many and amazing work by Mr. Shyamalan.

5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Frank Darabont)

An extremely moving tale of an innocent prisoner seeking freedom from Shawshank prison. Based on a story by Stephen King this is an affecting story, beautifully filmed and easily one of the greatest films of the 90s, if not all time.

4. Jurassic Park (1993, Steven Spielberg)

Steven Spielberg is the one who beat Star Wars Episode IV to the number one spot as the highest grossing movie worldwide with this movie, and rightfully so. This is a wonderful escapist movie that brings back memories of parents removing me from the room whenever anyone got eaten! Definitely deserves a spot in the ranking.

3. The Matrix (1999, Andy & Larry Wachowski)

This visual spectacular wowed critics upon its release, however some less enthused critics didn’t like its ‘too-different’ style. If you ask me, these people are idiots! This is a brilliant movie combining a terrifically intricate plot with amazing special effects and innovative cinematic techniques! A must have in any DVD collection!

2. Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino)

Probably Mr Tarantino’s greatest achievement, Pulp Fiction amongst Tarantino’s other work is a God among many kings. But this is the one that did it for me. This film canonised Tarantino’s status as a saint among filmmakers and it’s a title he holds proudly to this day.

1. Titanic (1997, James Cameron)

The second appearance from James Cameron with the highest grossing movie to date: Titanic. This is a beautifully done piece, subtly blending romance, disaster, action and, at times, comedy to create the ultimate entertainment experience. This is a film I watched repeatedly in the 90s, if not for the romance then for the adventure and the history and fact behind the story. It’s beautifully written by Mr Cameron himself and the on screen chemistry between all the actors is amazing. It truly is a film for everyone and it’s no wonder that it’s still number one today.

The Daleks

“Exterminate!”

From: Dr Who.

What's the story?

One man can be blamed for unleashing the Daleks on the universe- Davros. They originated on the planet Skaro, a world ravaged by a millennia long war between two peoples, the Kaled and the Thal. Over the course of the long conflict, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons where used by both sides. The Kaled where starting to suffer from mutations, and Davros, their chief scientist decided to capitalize on this. He began analyzing their mutations, identifying the strongest and encouraging them, assuring the Kaled commanders that it was to predict what they might one day become. What he was really doing was preparing to create a new master race to enslave the planet is his own image.

He isolated all the characteristics he needed in his new perfect race- Ruthlessness, lack of emotion and a burning hatred for anything that was different from them. Once this was achieved, he designed the “Mk III travel machine” (Part life support system and part armored tank) to house them in- and the Daleks where born. They then promptly began to kill everything in their path, a genocidal campaign that was not confined to their own planet. They soon spread to the stars, and even killed Davros in the process (though through various time tampering he was saved). The rest of Dalek history is the subject of many episodes of Dr Who, so I won't say too much more for fear of spoilers.

What makes them great villains?

The Daleks are ruthless, uncompromising, and genocidal. They don't believe they are the supreme beings, they know it. Killing anything that isn't either: A) Dalek, or B) Useful, is as natural to them as breathing is to humans. Daleks are devoid of almost all emotion and conscience, the one exception being fear- and even that is only brought out in situations where defeat is almost certain (It stops the Dalek's hubris from destroying them by ensuring they are wary of superior foes).

Aside from being tenacious to the point where the entire race has rebuilt itself from one survivor, they also have the technology and skill to carry out their campaign of genocide very successfully. Daleks are one of the few races capable of time travel (Leading them into a great war against the time lords), their ships are powerful, their knowledge of biotechnology is supreme (At one point they bred a clone army), and the individual Dalek is easily a mach for a squad of human soldiers. Even when their chassis are destroyed, if the Dalek survives it will go to ground and fight on, using its toxic bite and small size to slowly pick away at the enemy. And each Dalek itself is a certifiable genius.

Do they have a weakness?

Daleks have two main weaknesses. The eye piece on the top of the Dalek can be destroyed, blinding the creature inside. Later Daleks used energy shields to protect themselves, but if enough bullets are concentrated, at least one should get through.

The other is the Movellan virus. The first crushing defeat the Daleks had was against the Movellans. The story goes that the Daleks and Movellans where in a stalemate. Their battle computers where perfectly matched, and neither could outthink the other. So the Movellans went and devised a new strategy independently of the computer. They created a virus that specifically targeted and killed the Daleks. A large number of the race was infected, and the kill rate was 100%. The effects where so devastating it caused the Dalek Empire to fracture, but again, spoilers.

With the destruction and rebirth of their race with a new genetic code however, it seems the Daleks are now immune to it.

They can be killed using the standard approach though. Guns. Lots and lots of guns. Make them big guns. Lots and lots of very big guns.

“The Daleks are the supreme being! We do not require assistance!”

Rating: Nine out of 10 death rays.

Cherubael.

“Shut up so I can hear myself kill you.”

From: The Eisenhorn trilogy (Warhammer 40,000).

What's the story?

He's a Daemon prince from the 41st millennium, serving the powers of chaos. Cherubael has existed for a very, very long time. Known by many names, Cherubael has appeared throughout history, and throughout the imperium of man, subverting faith in the God emperor and turning the faithless to his will. He met his match on the world of Clanar II, where a radical imperial inquisitor found him and bound him into a body. Cherubael was

reduced from a Demi God, to become a daemon host, the weapon of a madman. But he had a plan, oh yes, he had a plan. For in the realm of the daemons (the warp) time has no concept. He knew in the future there would be a man who would defeat his master, and set him free from his prison of flesh. Slowly, piece of piece, Cherubael put a centauries long plan into motion. And it came so close to working too…

What makes him a great villain?

Cherubael is ludicrously powerful. Even when bound within a physical body, he's capable of feats of extraordinary destruction and chaos. In fact, even by daemon prince standards he's as hard as nails. At one point in the trilogy, he takes out a battle titian- a friggin' titan. Feel free to Google “Warhammer 40,000 battle titan”, and realize he basically killed a mile tall walking tank.

But in the entire trilogy, we rarely see him use this level of power. Like many great characters, Cherubael's true greatness lies in subtlety. Everyone's heard of the stories of deals with devils, and the sweet temptations of evil. Cherubael plays up to these stories magnificently, forming long complicated plans to get even the most devout and pious individuals to do exactly what he wants, and corrupting other, easier targets to his will. Although in the end it could be argued that he succumbs to his nemesis/chief pawn, Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, Cherubael can at least claim a moral victory on account of the fact that he turned Eisenhorn from a devout puritan “All chaos is evil!” type of inquisitor, into a radical “We shall use chaos and control it!” type.

But perhaps what makes Cherubael such a great villain is the fact he rarely takes centre stage. He's a controller and manipulator, a puppeteer running everything from behind the scenes. In all the Eisenhorn books, he only features prominently in a few key scenes. In each book the "true" enemy is always someone else, but Cherubael is always there, always watching, always pulling the strings…

Does he have a weakness?

Like all Daemons, Cherubael is repelled by symbols of faith in the hands of the truly faithful. But not for long, as he can quite happily summon enough power to destroy them once he's got over the initial shock.

If the body he is bound into is injured, it means little to Cherubael. He can regenerate it quite happily. Even if it is destroyed, Cherubael remains bound to his master, waiting to serve in a new body.

Delivering a large psychic shock, or the appropriate rituals can release a daemon host from its bonds, but then you just have it wondering around obeying no orders, and with no limits put on its power.

Theoretically, there's one way to "kill" a Daemon. Deliver a MASSIVE psychic charge into it. The kind of power required to enslaves the minds of an entire city. That might, theoretically, annihilate it, rather than send it back to the warp. Maybe.

The only way to really ensure Cherubael isn't a problem is to bind him yourself, and then lock him up somewhere, never to be seen again. But having all that power at your disposal… sometimes there's no other way out of a situation other than to make a deal with the devil.

And then he's got his chance.

“Cut me free from these pentagramic bindings and we'll call it even…I'll go, and we'll never bother each other again… I promise…”

Rating: Eight out of ten tormented souls.

The Jem'Hadar.

“I am First Ikat'ika, and I am dead.

As of this moment, we are all dead.

We go into battle to reclaim our lives.

This we do gladly, for we are Jem'Hadar.

Remember: Victory is Life!”

From: Star trek (Deep space nine)

What's the story?

The Jem'Hadar serve the founders, a race of shape shifters who spend all their time in what they call "the great link" (half hive mind, half opium trip), to fight all their wars on their behalf.

The Jem'Hadar are all genetically engineered monsters who rapidly reach to maturity, at which point they are sent into battle to build the dominion; Empire of the founders. Their ranking system is simple with the "first" at the top, the "second" below him and so forth. Controlling the Jem'Hadar are another species of genetically engineered aliens, the Vorta. The Vorta are the officers and diplomats, keeping the Jem'Hadar in check and distributing the means by which the dominion control and feed them, the Ketracel white, or "White" for short.

What makes them such great villains?

In many ways, the Jem'Hadar are similar to the Daleks. They are bred for battle and born for war. Every aspect of the Jem'Hadar physiology and psychology is geared to one simple thing. Serving the founders, and more often than not in the case of the Jem'Hadar, that means killing lots and lots of people.

Examples of Jem'Hadar physiological advantages include chameleon like colour shifting they can use as camouflage (Which they rarely do, they are shock troopers rather than commandoes), enhanced muscles, endurance, enhanced senses, tough scaly skin and a fearsome appearance to demoralize their enemies.

Jem'Hadar have a life expectancy of nil. Few live past fifteen years, twenty years is an amazing feat, and thirty years is unknown. You see, despite the fact they are so tough, the dominion use the Jem'Hadar as a steamroller. It only takes three days for one to grow to maturity, so for every one that falls, there are another dozen ready to take its place.

They don't eat. They don't sleep. They don't take time out. In this respect, they're a lot like professional chefs. They pretty much share the same temperament as well, grouchy, violent and aggressive, with a dash of psychosis.

The Jem'Hadar are very well equipped, their clothing meshes with their physiology so when they "shroud" (think active camouflage), their clothing shrouds with them. Their weapons have three settings; stun, kill, and vaporize. Oh and the kill setting causes any wounds it administers to bleed profusely, so if the beam doesn't kill you, the blood loss will.

Do they have a weakness?

Only one: the white. And even then, it's hard to use this weakness against them, except on a strategic scale. The Jem'Hadar are bred to lack the ability to produce certain enzymes essential to life. These are present in the white. The white itself is also the only nutrition the Jem'Hadar require. So, in theory, you can starve them to death by stopping the flow of white, right?

More or less correct. You see there's one little problem. They don't starve to death quietly. A Jem'Hadar deprived of white behaves a lot like a heroin addict going cold turkey at first. They twitch, they mutter, they loose hand eye coordination and the ability to do their chameleon trick. But then afterwards they fly into a berserk rage, killing anything they come across, friend or foe. Given the fact that the dominion can simply abandon the Jem'Hadar as easily as anyone else abandons a tool, the berserk monsters then become the problem of the enemy again, even if the dominion where forced to retreat from the theatre of war. Finally, after the berserk rage, the Jem'Hadar croak.

The only other thing you can do is keep shooting and praying, as while each individual is tough, they are far from invincible.

Rating: Eight out of 10 prisoners of war.

“Obedience brings victory. Victory is life.”

The Terminators.

From: The TwoTerminator Movies. No, there was no third movie. There was no third movie! Lalalala I can't hear you!

“I'll be back.”

What's the story?

This one really is a classic, everyone, even people who don't normally like science fiction have seen the terminator. The story goes like this. A computerized defensive system called Skynet is built in America, in the near future. The only problem is Skynet becomes self aware, and when it does the controllers try to "pull the plug". Needless to say, Skynet does not appreciate an attempt on its "life" and strikes back, nuking all the major cities of the world. The survivors call is judgment day, but the horror doesn't end there. Skynet unleashes its foot troops, the metallic skeleton like robots called the terminators.

The humans fight back and are on the verge of defeating Skynet when it decides it's had enough. It starts to send terminators back in time to try and kill the leader of the human resistance, John Connor, and/or his mother Sarah. The idea being if the humans don't have a figurehead to gather around, then history will be different. Paradoxes aside, the rebels send one of their men back in time to protect Sarah, and a reprogrammed Terminator back to protect John.

The Terminators in the films come in two flavors, the T-800 which is the bad guy in the first film and John's body guard in the others (Not that there was more than one other film!). These guys are your basic metal terminator, but then overlaid with living tissue. It's almost impossible to tell them apart from a real human unless you cut them open. They where originally designed for infiltration, but Skynet's time portal could only transfer living things, so suddenly they took on a new purpose. As the terminator was housed INSIDE living tissue, the machine COULD send it back. And send it back they did…

The Next is the T-1000, which was sent after John Connor. This badass was made of living metal. Think of mercury which could think and pull itself into any shape it wanted. It could mimic different humans right down to the voice, and turn parts of its body into knives and other instruments of destruction. Blowing holes in it doesn't do much good either as it's like trying to stab water.

What makes them such great villains?

They just don't stop. They are as inevitable as the tides and moon; they just don't stop once set on a task. Between them, T-800 and T-1000 have been shot, burned, beaten, frozen, melted, blown up, skinned, crushed and God knows what else. Only a couple of these things proved to be anything more than a mild irritation.

Terminators are very good at what they do, they have a knowledge of human anatomy so they know how to kill with maximum efficiency, they are proficient with any weapon they pick up, can drive any vehicle, they let no one stand in their way, and simply take whatever they need as they need it, all the while marching relentlessly towards their target.

You can run, you can hide, but in the end you are only human. Sooner or later you'll need to stop to catch your breath. Sooner or later you'll need to sleep. The terminator doesn't. The only way you will ever be safe if a terminator is set on you is to either re write history, or find a way to kill it. And with the latter, you'll probably get another one sent after you anyway.

Do they have a weakness?

Only Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting skills. No seriously, by conventional means, the T-800 is VERY tough to beat. In theory it's still only a robot, so you can put it down if you can get your hands on armor piercing weapons or explosives. You can however beat it if you get creative. For example, crushing it in a metal press.

The T-1000 is even more of a nightmare. Conventional weapons do little more than annoy him, blowing him up just causes him to recombine slowly and even hiding is next to impossible as it can look like anyone, and pour itself through tight gaps to get in anywhere. Extreme cold (Being frozen) seems to cause it to go a little haywire, only extreme heat (thousands of degrees c) seem to be able to actually kill it.

Rating: Nine out of 10 lever action shotguns.

“I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle”

The Xenomorphs.

From: The alien films.

“It's got a hell of a defense mechanism, you don't dare kill it.”

What's the story?

There's not much of a story to tell with these guys. They're aliens but unlike many aliens in science fiction, these guys are not super intelligent, they have an animalistic mind, but can learn surprisingly complex tasks if trained properly. While not as smart as a human, the average alien drone can think its way around problems with basic animal logic, which can be scarily effective. The two aliens escaping from the cell in alien 4 anyone?

The alien life cycle begins as an egg laid by the queen. From the egg comes the face hugger. This little thing scurries around looking for a large animal, say… a human. When it finds one, it jumps on the target's face and forces a large amount of flesh down your gullet (Like porn but scary) -and then dies.

Now that you've been implanted, your death is almost certain. In the space of only a few hours, the fetus (for lack of a better word) grows into the aptly named "chest buster", a large grub/snake like creature that eats its way out of you, then scurries off looking for a hiding place.

The chest buster then eats, and molts. And eats and molts, and so on until it grows into the most common alien, the drone. The drone will then hunt and feed, and then start a colony.

Where the drone goes from here varies depending on the amount of aliens present. Some will continue to mutate and become praetorians, the guardians of the queen, some may even become queens themselves. Many will stay as drones.

They're animals though, they don't hunt because they want to destroy the world or enslave you, they're just hungry- and need you to breed. It's this strange thing that makes the Aliens at the very least an interesting concept in science fiction, a predator above humans in the food chain, not due to technology or flinksome super powers, but simply being more evolved and better suited to do what they need to do.

Plus their look was designed by HR Geiger! What more could you ask for?

What makes them such great villains?

The alien drones are very fast, very agile, can climb walls, rip apart metal with their claws, have a highly corrosive acid for blood and swim like fish. In short, they are almost perfectly evolved as the top of the food chain.

It's hinted that they are slightly telepathic, and can sense each other's presence and state, creating a sort of hive mind within the colony, so if one sees you, they all know where you are. Ever poked a wasp's nest? Imagine what happens when the wasps are eight feet tall and have a second mouth on the end of their tongues.

Even one of these things is a problem. It's smart enough that it won't jump out in front of you when you're carrying the BFG, and stealthy enough to instead lurk on the ceiling and then drop down on you. Plus if there is a well established colony in the area, they will zerg rush you, swarming you with dozens of high speed, chitinous snarling horrors.

Do they have a weakness?

Yes, standard weapons do work on them. for all their speed, strength and agility, the individual alien drone is quite fragile. Being insectoid, they have a tough exoskeleton, but once this is breached their insides will leak out through the hole if it's large enough. The exoskeleton isn't exactly bullet proof either, and the standard weapons everyone seems to be toting round can quite happily put a hole in an alien.

The problem arises though because the aliens will rarely give you a chance to shoot, swing your wrench, or do anything in response to an attack. They ambush you when you are at your most vulnerable, or least expect it. Perhaps the best defense therefore, is a sharp set of eyes and ears.

The other weakness is the fact they need to use another species to procreate. If they don't have a being of large enough mass, they can't breed and the colony goes into a sort of hibernation. Problem with that is that any disturbance and you wake them up.

If you can kill the colony queen, then you deal the aliens a seriously blow as they can no longer get fresh eggs and it takes a lot of time and energy for a new queen to mutate.

Oh, and they REALLY don't like fire. A flamethrower will keep a wall between you and the alien, and is great for clearing out rooms willed with eggs. A word of warning though, an alien on fire goes berserk. Be somewhere else.

Rating: Nine out of 10 mangled corpses.

“If they're going to be anywhere it'll be… here. Where the meat is.”

So, don't forget to pack your ray gun next time you go out people! You have been warned!

Need some heroes to protect you? Look no further than here!

Copyright information: Pictures and quotes are used under fair usage policy, or with the permission of the copyright owners.

Moreover, some men continue to try and bring down female action heroes. One of these men is Don Feder, who wrote in his article “Wimps Whiners Weenies: Men in Movies Today,” that in female action heroes' movies women are “fearless and indomitable” which means men show no contrast to them. As a result, male characters end up playing the fool and being helpless. Feder believes that this is not what the public wants, even when these movies feature famous directors or actors, and therefore they do not do well in the box office. Notwithstanding, if we take a look at the box office earnings of “Tomb Raider, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Charlie's Angels,” for example, we can see that they passed the mark of 100 million dollars. These numbers prove patently that Feder was wrong in his assertion.

Then we have the statement from Elliot Lederman, Universal's Senior Director of Licensing, in 1999; he affirmed that despite the popularity that the television show “Xena the Warrior Princess” was obtaining back then, we should not expect “a rash of female Rambos anytime soon”. What is more, he added that “there hasn't been a successful female action hero since Wonder Woman. Other studios have tried to create them, but Xena is the first successful one and it's going to be tough to follow the trend.” As we have been able to experience or witness, this statement is highly inaccurate, because we could very well say that after Xena there has been a rash of female Rambos indeed, and it was not so tough to follow the trend. Nowadays there are numerous, and many successful, female action heroes and they just keep coming. However, not all of them are accepted by the public, but it is only the minority that goes through that process or problem.

Christina Larson has a theory as to why some female action heroes underwent this lack of acceptance. She states in her article “Seven Mistakes Superheroines Make: Why The Latest Action-Babe Flicks Flopped” that she believes that Hollywood overreached when dealing with this type of women since studios did not stop to think or analyze why exactly audiences loved female action heroes. What they did instead was to come up with a formula that they thought was the one that had brought about success to previous female action hero's movies: they placed beautiful women with well-shaped bodies wearing tight costumes and then they made them fight in them. Apparently, they thought that that was all it took to make a female action hero movie successful. They based movies on the protagonist's good looks and sex appeal, but, actually, that formula was virtually wrong, which was a fact proven by the low box office income that movies like these obtained. What Hollywood should have realized, adds Larson, is that the movies that feature female action heroes that did well in the box office, did not only show a pretty woman with a nice body and revealing clothes, but they also showed them as strong, witty and successful. She makes an excellent comparison between a female action hero who was accepted by the public and one who was not:

Lara Croft may have originated as pure male fantasy - but on the big screen, she became erudite, well-traveled, a working photojournalist, and went home at night to a house worthy of Architectural Digest. On the other hand, Elektra [...] might turn heads in her tight-laced scarlet bustier. But her personal magnetism doesn't measure up: she's a gloomy assassin who suffers from nightmares, insomnia, and OCD. Plus she hates her job but can't - or won't - figure out what to do with her life.

As we can see from this quote, Lara (“Tomb Raider”) is a successful, happy woman who has got her life under control, while Elektra is a woman who is not happy and has definitely no control over her life, she does not even knows what she wants. Lara emanates a positive feeling whereas Elektra does the opposite, and no one likes negative feelings especially coming from an action hero, so it is no wonder the audience rejected the latter.

A lot of speculation has gone into Arnold's life after his term(s) are over. Will he return to Hollywood?

It's a good question. Arnold enjoyed huge box office success before his decision to run for governorship of California and was one of the few bankable action stars around. Arnold had done sci-fi, action, comedy and fantasy with huge success -- can he do it again? More importantly, does he want to?

If Arnold wins another 4 year term, he won't be available for starring roles until 2010. Ouch. That would make him 63! Of course, he'll still be big and buff - but will he be wanting to do action? Will it be believable if he chooses to? Most importantly, will his audience shrivel up and die?

Arnold's career as governor has been loved by some and hated by others, but definitely well-heeded by the press. So, his popularity has not suffered, but will his politics affect further filmmaking should he choose to continue? A lot of his fans favored his tough talk on politics when he was asked while an action star. Arnold has proven to be a moderate, though. Will those fans melt away a la Dixie Chicks or will they let politics be politics? On the flipside, Arnold's moderation has won him new fans - would they be his new movie-going crowd?

Very few actors and actresses have entered politics professionally - although almost all are seen parading their pet politic somewhere. Clint Eastwood is the most notable figure that entered politics in the 80s and saw only further success on the big screen when he returned. Of course, Eastwood was voted in as Republican and stayed the course for his two-year term. Only later did Eastwood morph into the libertarian he is today. So even Eastwood's career will not be much of a standard to hang Arnold's on.

I guess the only standard we have is Arnold himself. He's always been capable of getting to the top. As Mr. Olympia AND Mr. Universe, Arnold broke records in the bodybuilding world. The popularity of bodybuilding has largely been attributed to him. His marriage to Maria Shriver confounded many and its continuity amazes most. His success in comedy baffled the critics. His savvy in the business world proved he's not all brawn and fortune - he's very smart. Truly, Arnold breaks barriers and achieves his challenges. So, my buck is Arnold's continued success should he choose to return to film.

But of course, this may be the one challenge in his varied career that even he can't overcome...