In his time, Charlie Chaplin was the world’s most recognized face and highest-paid actor. His work in silent films was so prolific that he managed to make successful silent movies years after talking ones took over Hollywood, but his life was also full of controversy. Showtime’s The Real Charlie Chaplin expertly recounts the highs, lows, and secrets of his life with great editing and narration.

Since “300” ended with the death of all major protagonists, a sequel makes about as much sense as a follow-up to “Titanic.” Nevertheless, Warner Brothers found a way to turn writer-director Zack Snyder’s enjoyable 2006 adventure film into an ongoing political saga punctuated by brutal, stylized killings and slow-motion geysers of bright, red blood. The movie was obviously designed as a cash grab, and the biggest surprise of the 103-minute feature is that it actually entertains. 

While strong female protagonists have been all but invisible in conventional war genre films (Jarhead, Hurt Locker, Black Hawk Down, Restrepo), a new sub-genre has cropped up that puts women at the center of military defense politics. From Alias and Salt to Homeland and the Oscar-nominated Zero Dark Thirty, we have witnessed the emergence of a contemporary screen obsession with watching ass-kicking female CIA agents hunting the world’s most elusive political terrorists.