Invictus is without a doubt a movie that has been overlooked not only by the movie going public, but as well by the Academy in my humble opinion. I have to admit that I just recently watched "The Hurt Locker" and am still trying to wrap my head around why a movie like Invictus did not outshine "The Hurt Locker" when it came to the nominations for this year.
Invictus was one of those rare movies where you went in to the movie feeling good and you came out feeling even better, and there did not need to be any moments of turmoil, sadness, or pain for the people involved in it. The movie just presented a truly inspirational piece of work. Invictus is based on Nelson Mandela during his first term as Preseident of Sotuh Africa and his ability to unite a nation and doing so through the work of inspiring the national Rugy team.
Mandela is portrayed by Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption
, The Dark Knight
) who gives us a performance that is absolutely unmatched when it comes to acting. Morgan Freeman in this role out performs any of the performances I have seen so far that are going for the awards, but I truly believe Freeman gives a performance which outshines almost all of the roles he has done himself. Freeman is an actor that has given nothing but strong performances throughout his career and continues to deliver work that is always worth while watching.
The Captain of the Sotuh African Rugby Team Francois Pienaar that befriends Nelson Mandela is portrayed by Matt Damon (The Bourne Trilogy
, The Informant!
). Damon gives another outstanding performance that is nothing short of brilliant. While I feel that Freeman is the man to watch in this movie I can honestly take nothing away from the performance that Matt Damon also delivers here. The two have a true ability to give us a memorable on screen performance that makes Invictus a masterpiece for all the right reasons.
The direction on this movie which is done by the magnificent Clint Eastwood ( Mystic River
, Changeling
, & Unforgiven
) and once again Eastwood proves to be one of the finest directors that Hollywood could possibly have. Eastwood never ceases to amaze me with each and every new movie that he puts out.
Invictus might not quite be the best movie of this award season, but it is by far the most overlooked. If you still have a chance to go to your local theater and see this movie then I suggest you make plans to do so. If you do not manage to catch this one in theaters then I highly recommend you go out of your way to rent it once it hits Blu-Ray and DVD.
My Rating: 98%
, 
, & 
). Critically this movie has managed to receive a bit of a poor run of the mill, however it is not entirely deserving of the critical bashing that it has received at this point.
, 
) as Susie Salmon who is the victim of a murder at the hands of George Harvey who is brilliantly portrayed by actor Stanley Tucci (
). The performance provided by the two speaks wonders for the film itself.
, 
) who always seems to do just enough with his acting to make his roles enjoyable, but never enough to come across as brilliant, and frankly the same can be said for his portrayal of Jack Salmon the father of young Susie in the movie.
, 
) and stars George Clooney (
, 
), Vera Farmiga (
, 
), Anna Kendrick ( 
, 
), & Jason Bateman (
, 
).
, 
) must have been drinking heavily when he wrote and then agreed to direct Did You Hear About The Morgans?.
, 
) and High Grant (
, 
) who on their own can be fairly entertaining performers, however put the two on screen together and it is that cold day in hell everyone always speak about.
) and Mathew Goode (
) in what looked as though it could have been one of the more interesting romantic comedies of 2010. The only problem is that through bad direction and a lackluster cast the movie falls short of achieving what it was capable of.