Ladder 49

An everyday hero recalls his life as he's forced to look death in the eye in this adventure drama. Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) is a young firefighter who is a member of Ladder Company 49, led by Capt. Kennedy (John Travolta), a tough but compassionate man who looks upon his fellow firefighters ...more

From the blue-collar heroism of its title onward, Ladder 49 honors the quintessential experience of the American firefighter. Never mind that it focuses on a blazing Baltimore factory, rather than the World Trade Center -- the film is a pretty transparent eulogy for the public servants who left behind loving families on September 11, 2001. To make Joaquin Phoenix's Jack Morrison even more of an archetype, Irish flute music provides the soundtrack for some of the defining moments of his life, ...more