Invictus Movie Review

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%

The Lovely Bones Movie Review

Welcome to my first review in quite some time now, and for this one I have chosen to review the movie The Lovely Bones. This is the new film which is directed by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, & Dead Alive). 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.

The movie stars Saoirse Ronan (City of Ember, Atonement) as Susie Salmon who is the victim of a murder at the hands of George Harvey who is brilliantly portrayed by actor Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia
, The Tale of Despereaux). The performance provided by the two speaks wonders for the film itself.

The visuals in this movie are nothing short of absolutely outstanding, which is what one would come to expect from a director of such brilliance. The bad reviews seem eager to focus themselves around some of the movies weaker points, one of which I believe comes from the acting of Mark Wahlberg (Planet of the Apes, Boogie Nights) 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.

I remember reading in the review that Roger Ebert provided for this movie in which he stated " "The Lovely Bones" is a deplorable film with this message: If you're a 14-year-old girl who has been brutally raped and murdered by a serial killer, you have a lot to look forward to. You can get together in heaven with the other teenage victims of the same killer, and gaze down in benevolence upon your family members as they mourn you and realize what a wonderful person you were. Sure, you miss your friends, but your fellow fatalities come dancing to greet you in a meadow of wildflowers, and how cool is that?"
This is a very deplorable depiction of this movie which was written by a man who I feel has lost his touch is recent years. Although Susie Salmon goes to a perfect world when she is murdered her soul is never truly at rest, and she knows the pain that her murder has left behind for those who loved her.

I agree that the movie is not perfect by any means, but to state it as being a deplorable movie is in my humble opinion a much further cry from the truth. "The Lovely Bones" will not turn any heads in the academy this year for nominations with the exception of the performance by Stanley Tucci, but this is also a movie that should not be overlooked either. With some well above average performances, some mind blowing visuals, and a storyline that is worth all the while I would say that "The Lovely Bones" is a movie that you should go and see.

My Rating: 75%