Here is a list of a few films for the Netflix/On Demand crowd. If you missed these the first time around, you might consider them. Any or all will provide a great eveningās entertainment.
Invictus, 2009, PG-13
Invictus is Latin for āunconquerableā or āunbeatable.ā Combine the talents of Oscar winners Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon, with an amazing true story, and the title speaks for itself. Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, who ascended to the Presidency of South Africa after spending thirty years in prison as a political prisoner. Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team. Here is a captivating, true story about sports and politics and how they can work together. An amazing film.
Invictus was nominated for two Oscars and three Golden Globe awards, as well as a number of awards from other film groups around the world.
The Debt, 2010, R
This is a story about three Israeli Mossad agents dispatched to East Berlin in 1965 to track down and bring back a particularly nasty Nazi war criminal for trial and punishment. Much of the story is told in the flash back mode, allowing us to see the agents thirty years after the mission as they re-tell their story, which has been memorialized in a newly published book. Helen Mirren plays Rachel Singer, one of the agents, her younger version played by Jessica Chastain. Both are outstanding in their respective roles. This is an intense thriller that never lets up. There are a number of twists and turns which will keep you on your toes, and when I saw it in the theater, you could hear my heart beating in the next row as the story thundered toward an unexpected and surprise ending.
Life of Pi, 2012, PG
This movie is adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name. The story line is succinctly summarized by a few words on the back cover of the book: āAfter the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded Zebra, an Orangutan, and a 450 pound Royal Bengal Tiger.ā
This is without a doubt one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is visually stunning and a remarkable story line. No matter which direction you think this can or will go (and the options are limitless), you will most likely be wrong. You have to see it to believe it. Then again, after seeing it, you still might not believe. After watching it, you will understand why it took four years to make it, kudos to Director Ang Lee.
Life of Pi was nominated for eleven Oscars and won four. It won over fifty additional awards out of 150 nominations from organizations around the world.
Secondhand Lions, 2003, PG
Over the past 10 years, I have talked about this movie with countless friends and acquaintances. Any time the subject of a favorite movie comes up, this is one of them. Iāve never talked to anyone who didnāt love this film, you will, too, I guarantee it.
Robert Duvall and Michael Caine star as two, old-codger brothers rocking their life away on the front porch of their Texas homestead. Suddenly and unexpectedly their twelve-year-old nephew is dumped on their laps for āsafekeepingā and life is never the same for any of them. Full of laughs and adventures, this is one you donāt want to miss.
