Invictus is based the true story of South American President Nelson Mandela (Freeman) who uses Rugby player Francois Pienaar (Damon) to help win the 19995 world cup to end racial tensin in the country.  Movie out December 11th

Official Trailer

Calentando motores para los Oscars.

IMDB: 9.2 / #1 on the Top 250 list
Rotten Tomatoes: 88 / 90 / 97
Production Budget: $25 million / Domestic Gross: $28 million

Every once in a while, you come across a film which just blows you over on so many different levels.
This is one of them.

So many subtleties are captured so wonderfully by the director and the cast in this film — that it could serve as a textbook for acting and direction. No other film in my opinion can enunciate the saying – “A picture is worth a thousand words” – like this film can.

It is so unfortunate that this film was pitted against Forrest Gump for best picture, actor and also director. That would have been a really difficult call. (Forrest Gump won on all 3 counts)

The Shawshank Redemption

Frank Darabont captures the nuances of human emotion brilliantly and Morgan Freeman and Tim Robins portray this to perfection. You empathize and feel one with the inmates immediately.

That sinking feeling of being convicted and sent to prison directly from court for life — without ever getting a chance to go back to your house; Knowing that your parole is going to be turned down and you’re going to be spending another ten years of your life in prison; The feeling of knowing that your best friend is going to kill himself and there is nothing you can do about it; This and a million other things are expressed with utmost sincerity throughout this film – without mostly saying a word.

This is easily one of Morgan Freeman’s best works till date.

Did I also mention that the background score and cinematography were terrific?
Well, they certainly were!

A definite DVD for your collection. Highly recommended.

Watch it with: Alone

My rating: 5 stars definitely

The movie “Invictus” is about to come out in the U.S. (December 11th) and I’m really excited to watch this movie (although I’m not sure if I will be able to watch it in El Salvador). The movie is based on the true story of how Nelson Mandela used the universal language of sport (rugby) to unite a racially and economically divided country (South Africa) in the 1990s.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, my favorite two actors, Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as the captain of the Springboks, play in this movie.

After spending 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela was finally released in 1991 and was elected as President of South Africa in 1994. With this election, infamous apartheid officially came to an end. Nevertheless, the country remained separated racially and economically. Mandela decided to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup event to unite the country together.

Check out the trailer below. It looks pretty awesome. I really hope it will be played in El Salvador…

The movie is actually based on the book titled “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.” The book looks very interesting too.

“His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.”

Most Hollywood movies suck. They’re saccharine, pre-packaged and market-tested so as to be almost completely devoid of even the slightest thought. But some Hollywood movies are flat out offensive. The latest example is a movie called The Blindside. It’s based on a non-fiction book by the talented author Michael Lewis. Lewis has written winningly about baseball, the stock market, the internet boom. The Blindside is about football. Specifically it refers to the blind side of the quarterback or the area beyond his vision while he waits in the pocket to throw a pass. Because of the quarterback’s importance (and the sizable contract he’s issued) to the team, the responsibility of protecting him has become only slightly less paramount than the job of the quarterback himself. This duty of protection falls on the sizable shoulders of very large but nimble men, who are paid handsomely, though not quite as well as the men they protect. Lewis goes into ably details the relationships, development dangers and politics of The Blindside.

He also trains his eye on one Michael Oher. At the time of the book, Oher was still a teenager. He was born in Memphis to a crack-addicted mother. His absentee father was murdered. He attended at least nine different schools and repeated the first and second grade. No one had Michael’s blind side. Except Michael was well over six feet tall and tipped the scales in the neighborhood of three hundred pounds. A family friend, at the request of Oher’s dying grandmother, tried to get him enrolled at Briarcrest Christian School. He was denied at first, but after completing a home-study program of apparently dubious merits, he was eventually enrolled. While there he caught the attention of the children of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, which given his girth was probably not hard to do. The Tuohys took Oher in. They fed him—no small task. They gave him a tutor. They paid his tuition. They basically were the parents that the young man desperately needed. He nudged his grade point average from 0.9 to 2.5. He eventually graduated from Briarcrest, accepted a scholarship to the University of Mississippi and last year was the first round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. He signed a contract for $13.8 million.

But Oher’s is not a simple feel-good story. There were accusations that the Tuohys only took an interest in Oher because they saw dollar signs in their future. Not that they needed it because Sean Tuohy is the announcer for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. He’s also a graduate of Mississippi, which is where Oher ended up going after being recruited by dozens of schools. Then there’s the matter of Oher’s coach, who was given a job of little responsibility at Mississippi.

Oher’s story is hardly unique. High-level college athletics is filled with young black men who have been coddled, spoiled and sheltered by adults who do so, in the name of altruism and, often, God. Yet I can’t help but wonder if any of these adults would give so much as a fleeting glance to these kids if they weren’t such gifted athletes and, therefore, pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. Actually I don’t wonder that at all, I know they wouldn’t. I was a high school basketball coach for nine years and saw several instances of minority athletes given a chance only because of their physical exploits while other needier students were ignored.

I have not seen the movie and won’t because it focuses only on the kindness and “tough love” of the Tuohys, played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. What was so special about Michael Oher? How many other kids did they take an interest in? Were those kids athletes?

The story of Michael Oher is the perfect vehicle to raise the issue of how people involved in big-time college sports exploits young people for financial gain while nominally invoking academics and fairness. I don’t think for a minute think that Tinseltown would address such a complex, controversial issue. Yet, not only is this given the kid gloves treatment, The Blindside perpetuates another sub-genre; the black man who can only be saved through the benevolence and decency of white people. A short list:

Finding Forrester, The Soloist, Forrest Gump, Radio, Blue Chips, The Hurricane.

This is an example of what is commonly referred to as institutional racism. Only slightly less insulting are the movies where white people hold black people in awe for the simple reason that they seem to be people of color who are (gasp!) smart, competent or determined. Examples: Remember the Titans, The Legend of Bagger Vance and any recent movie starring Morgan Freeman.

For an honest tale of the complexities of race, athletics and corruption rent the sweeping Hoop Dreams. It’s a documentary. It might be the best documentary, on any subject, that I’ve seen (And I’ve seen hundreds.) In the meantime, boycott The Blindside.

The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Anthony Peckham
Producer: Lori McCreary, Robert Lorenz, Mace Neufeld
Studio: Warner Bros.

MOVIE TRAILER :

Wanted, released in 2008, what a film! Directed by Timer Berkmambetov, I was amazed by the acting, special effects and visual style of this film, it was incredible. Basically the plot of the film is rather simple but complex in the techniques it is portrayed to the audience. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) has an average lifestyle, boring job, cheating girlfriend who is betraying him with his best friend, which he is aware of however, too afraid to say anything. To top this all, his boss at work humiliates him every chance she has. His life seems to be on hold, until mentor Fox (Angelina Jolie) comes and takes him from his average styled life, introduces him to the Fraternity which is a secret society of assassins and trains him up in order to kill a strayed assassin called Cross. However, not everything is what it seems, lying and cheating in his life is becoming a habit he is having to become used to and it is down to him to get a grasp on his life and take control of individuals who are taking him for a ride.

Also starring Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption) this film is a must see. The car chases, explosions, gadgets and cars are incredible, I would buy the film just watch them again. So can you bend a bullet? Ha, I think I probably could, who am i kidding?

Thanks,

Claire

I can’t wait for “Invictus” to hit the theatres in Singapore! When when? So, what’s this awesome movie about? Let me capture the synopsis for you:

The true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

As I watched the trailer for this movie, Nelson Mandela’s words echoed in my head over and over again. “I am the master of my fate… I am the captain of my soul.” “How do we inspire ourselves to greatness where nothing less will do… How do we inspire those around us?”

Sometimes, I question if I’m a freak because while many of my friends around me are either getting married or dating, somehow, I don’t have that interest at all. I don’t yearn for it even.

All I want is to be great… Not in the sense of being a CEO or a figure of authority – not at all. Somehow, power and authority never tantalized me. For that very same reason, I’m not afraid of people in power and positions of authority.

But, I want to be great in the sense that I want to inspire and to make a difference.

Once, at a Planetshakers conference, we were all asked, “What would you want written on your tombstone when you die?” Because that is precisely what you should be fighting for. I remember scribbling down on my paper… “She inspired and she loved”.

That’s probably why this movie, “Invictus” strikes a chord.

I admire the way Nelson Mandela never backed down when told that what he was doing was either insane or not in line. If all we want to do with our lives is to follow convention or to do what’s safe, how will we ever “inspire ourselves to greatness where nothing less will do” and “how will we inspire those around us”.

By the way, “Invictus” is Latin for “unconquered”. Don’t believe me? Go Google it!

Also, I love the scene where Nelson’s wife was telling him that he was making a political calculation but Nelson replied, “No… it’s a human calculation”. At the end of the day, we’re all human. CEO, manager or janiter… we’re all human, with feelings, thoughts, opinions, and the capacity to love and be loved.

“I am the master of my fate… I am the captain of my soul.” So what would you want written on your tombstone? Because that’s precisely what you should be fighting for. Everything else is a distraction.

Prom Night In Mississippi -> New doc by Morgan Freeman.

In 1997, Morgan Freeman offered to pay for the senior prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi under one condition: the prom had to be racially integrated. His offer was ignored. In 2008, Freeman offered again. This time the school board accepted, and history was made. Until then, blacks and whites had had separate proms even though their classrooms have been integrated for decades. PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI captures a big moment in a small town, where hope finally blossoms in black, white and a whole lot of taffeta.

[via BMD]

By Chris Richburg

While Morgan Freeman is making his movie rounds as Nelson Mandela, he’ll be happy to know that he’ll have Jennifer Hudson as his former better half. But not in the same film.

Variety reports the singer/actress will play Winnie Mandela in the new drama, Winnie. For Hudson, the chance to play a woman who has seen her share of ups and downs in the political spotlight was too good to pass up.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson revealed to Variety. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”

Best known for her support of Nelson Mandela as well as her efforts to free her husband, who was jailed as he led the fight against apartheid in South Africa, Winnie Mandela has been at the center of controversy over the years. Among the lowlights was a reported association with a bodyguard who murdered a 14-year old alleged informer for the government, addition to a 2003 conviction for fraud and theft.

Despite being in good standing in the eyes of some, the good and bad of Winnie Mandela’s story will be told in Winnie. In addition to starring in the film, Hudson is expected to sing the film’s theme song. Winnie is set to begin production May 30 in various locations in South Africa, including Johannesburg, Capt Town, Transkei and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.

Those wondering about Freeman’s portrayal of the former South African president can catch that next month in the Clint Eastwood-directed feature Invictus. The film, which also stars Matt Damon as South African rugby team captain Francois Pienaar, centers on Mandela’s release from prison as well as his attempt to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to help bring his country together after the fall of apartheid.

Invictus his theaters Dec. 11.

Drizzy Drake and Wale hit up the GQ “Men of The Year” party at Chateau Marmont in LA.  Drake was GQ’d down while Wale was reppin’ for the block.  Kobe Bryant, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood, Lindsay Lohan, Zoe Saldana and the oh-so-fly Gabrielle Union were all in the building for the festivities.  Those images when you

Imagine the Bourne Identity meets Taken, with Bruce Willis as the Matt Damon – Liam Neeson kick ass and take names character. That is Red.

Based on the Warren Ellis (GI Joe Resolute) written 3 issue comic, grittingly illustrated by Cully Hammer (Mallrats-artwork), Red is a collision of realist violence and good ol’ fashion whoop ass.  Willis will play Paul Moses, a CIA hitman in retirement trying to handle the horrors he’s done in the service of his country. Newly appointed CIA Director, uncast but most likely John C. Rielly (Step Brother), wants to clean house and Moses is at the top of the list. But when the first team of assassins fails, Moses goes Jason Bourne on the CIA, tracking them down and showing them the monster that was asleep for so long.

The story is a little thin, and short, but with alot of room to build on. When you read the comic you get hit with the whole story in under 76 heavily illustrated pages. It’s basic, but effective. Most of the characters are created in the illustrations and through the violence, rather than the see-spot-run dialogue. oh and there is violence, enough to make you think that this should be a  Quentin Tarantino movie.

But this is why you should be excited about Red’s prospects – Morgan Freeman, John C. Reilly, Helen Miren (The Queen), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremecy and X-Men 2), Ernst Borgnine (everything for the last 50 years), Julian McMahon (Fantastic Four and Nip/Tuck) and Mary Louise Parker (Weeds) , headed by Bruce Willis under the Direction of Robert Schwentke (The Time Travelers Wife). By my count that’s 4 Oscar winners supporting Die Hard with help from a few Golden Globe/Emmy/Oscar nominees. Not to bad for a comic book adaptation movie, that’s whole premise is violence with more violence wrapped in violence.

The movie is currently pre-production, and is slated to start filming on January 11th, 2010; release date a year from now. I’m not saying that this movie is going to blow the doors off the oscars at all, but it’s probably going to be pretty awesome…but also good. Which is pretty rare these days. You either get Michael Bay’s awesome with a side of Megan Fox; or Daniel Day-Lewis on a four hour journey into depression.  Maybe this time we can just get a good ol’ fashion serving of whoop ass in between slices of quality film making.

Find Red at a comic store near you, if you live in Boston or Massachusetts go to the Comic Stop in Watertown, they are good people there.

Ik heb afgelopen maandag de film Batman Begins (2005) op tv gezien. In deze film worden de hoofdrollen gespeeld door Christian Bale als Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine als Alfred, Morgan Freeman als Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman als Jim Gordon, Rutger Hauer als Earle, Cillian Murphy als Dr. Jonathan Crane, Liam Neeson als Henri Ducard, Ken Watanabe als Ra’s Al Ghul, Colin McFarlane als Loeb en Katie Holmes als Rachel Dawes.

De kleine jongen Bruce Wayne zag zijn ouders voor zijn ogen wreed vermoord worden: een trauma dat hem voor de rest van zijn leven vervult met wraakgevoelens. Het lot laat hem zijn wraak echter niet uitvoeren. Hij vlucht naar het Oosten, waar hij opgevangen wordt door de ninja-leider Ra’s Al-Ghul, en als hij terugkeert naar zijn thuisstad Gotham City vindt hij die in de handen van maffiabendes en andere gangsters. Hij besluit een nieuw persoon te worden, één die de harten van misdadigers met vrees vervult: Batman! Met de hulp van politieman Jim Gordon zet Batman zijn eerste stappen in zijn strijd tegen het onrecht. Zijn strijd begint tegen de maffiabaas Don Falcone, de gekke dokter Jonathan ’Scarecrow’ Crane en een mysterieuze derde persoon …
[FilmTotaal.nl]

Ik vind dit een hele goede Batman-film. Juist het fet dat de beslissing die Bruce Wayne neemt om als Batman de misdaad te bestrijden halverwege de film genomen wordt vind ik moedig en is verder heel goed uitgewerkt.

Wat ik ook heel goed vind is dat je ziet dat Bruce Wayne altijd last heeft gehad van het feit dat zijn ouders voor zijn ogen vermoord zijn. Ook wel leuk om te zien dat Bruce Wayne bij een groep Ninja’s terecht gekomen is om zichzelf te stalen en veel te leren.

Verder blijft Gotham City gewoon erg gaaf om in beeld te brengen en dat is ook in deze film heel goed gelukt. De nieuwe batmobiel is natuurlijk supergaaf!!

Al met al een film die gewoon zeer goed en onderhoudend is.

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Have you ever rented movies from one of those Red Box things outside of McDonalds and in Wal-marts? If yes, that’s pretty ghetto. I hear the discs are always all scratched up. Plus the movie selection is pretty lame. Personally, Benny and I use Netflix which has a great selection and is pretty fast. We just got the disc that lets us watch some of their films on demand using our PS3, which will be really cool once they get a better selection of films online.

How we rent films is changing. Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos all over are closing down. Anyway, actually going to pick up a copy of a film at a store is so old school. But if you are an occasional renter and don’t want the commitment of Netflix and you hate Red Box, there are new options coming. 

Morgan Freeman’s company Revelations Entertainment is coming out with a rental kiosk called Digiboo where you can plug a USB 3.0 drive into the machine and download films onto it, solving the scratched disc issue. (A download takes 8-15 seconds.) They are just in the pilot stage, so most of us won’t see these for a while. It looks like they will be in some Hollywood Video stores, but hopefully when they expand the program they will put them in better locations. Who knows where an open Hollywood Video is these days? A rental will cost between $3.50 and $5.50 and they will have over a 1,000 films available for rental. It’s more expensive then Red Box, but I would pay it for the selection and higher quality video images.

Several other companies are developing technology that will allow people to purchase and download films from their computers, like itunes, but the files will be mulit-platform: cellphones, computers, televisions, ipods, etc. When I can find the article talking about it in more detail, I’ll share it with you. Disney is one of the companies, and the other one is made up of several studios.

Además de ser un actor reconocido por su talento, parece que Morgan Freeman es un empresario con bastante visión. El artista acaba de concretar un acuerdo con la empresa Digiboo, para la instalación de terminales USB en diversos puntos de la vía pública, en donde se podrían rentar películas y descargarlas a una memoria flash, para después verla en la computadora. El proyecto está listo para ser implementado, aunque inicialmente se probará en una sola ciudad – Los Angeles – antes de hacerlo a gran escala. Los detalles técnicos específicos aún no se dan a conocer, pero todo está pensado para evitar cualquier intento de piratería.

Hollywood trade publication Variety today revealed that Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will be playing ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela in a new movie set to begin filming in South Africa next year.

According to Variety, ‘Hudson will play Winnie Mandela in a film that begins production May 30 in the South African locations of Johannesburg, Capt Town, Transkei and Robben Island, where the future president spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.

“Winnie” will be directed by Darrell J. Roodt, the veteran South African filmmaker whose 2006 film “Yesterday” was Africa’s Best Foreign Film nominee, and who also directed “Cry, The Beloved Country,” and “Sarafina!”

Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson wrote a script based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography “Winnie Mandela:A Life.” Picture is being made with South African and Canadian money, with Pieterse producing with Michael Mosca of Canada’s Equinoxe Films.

While Nelson Mandela — who’ll be played by Morgan Freeman in the Clint Eastwood-directed “Invictus” — is a universally sympathetic figure for his struggle against apartheid, his former wife is a far more complicated figure. She has been depicted as the mother and wife who was a steadfast supporter of her activist husband and who was jailed herself for campaigning for his release and fighting against apartheid. Her image was subsequently tarnished by association with a bodyguard who murdered a 14-year old alleged informer, and she was later convicted of fraud.

The filmmakers will tell the whole story, good and bad.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”

Hudson, who is expected to sing the film’s theme song, won the Oscar for her screen debut in “Dreamgirls’ and followed with “The Secret Life of Bees” and “Sex in the City.”

Actually looking forward to this movie because Winnie Mandela’s story is a very compelling one.

Oscar-winning actress and Grammy Award winning songbird Jennifer Hudson has been announced to portray former South Africa first lady Winnie Mandela in the upcoming Darrell J. Roodt-directed project, Winnie Mandela: A Life.

FYI: Winnie Mandela was also wife of former South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela. Production (starting May 30, 2010) will be done in key South African locations – Johannesburg, Capt Town, Transkei and Robben Island. Jennifer has since spoke about her coveted role.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.” VARIETY

Congrats to Mis Hudson for snagging such a prestigious role! I’m curious to see how JHud would pull off portraying Winnie who tirelessly support her husband’s fight against apartheid and his subsequent release from jail at Robben Island for over 27 years.

Fellow Oscar winner Morgan Freeman has been announced to portray Nelson Mandela in the Clint Eastwood-directed film, Invictus. The Daily Mail has release photos of Freeman as Mandela (and judging from the photos he definitely looks the part!) Freeman already proved he has the acting chops thanks to his vast film career choices. That’s Matt Damon as South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar.

South Africa has become a hot commodity in Hollywood as Oprah Winfrey opened her all female school – Leadership Academy Foundation, HBO release The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and now it has become the location of 2 Winnie Mandela biopics. South Africa’s getting its due shine!

As previously reported Oscar-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo can be seen next as Winnie Mandela in the BBC drama, Mrs. Mandela.

WOULD YOU GO SEE THESE TWO MANDELA FILMS???

photos: getty//dailymail//google archives