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Sporting triumph for Invictus
Mandela story told through rugger tale.
THE ball may be oval instead of round, but if you fancy a break from the 64-game marathon of the football World Cup in South Africa, try an exhilarating film set in that very country.
It's not only the egg-chasers who will be moved by INVICTUS (12: Warner), which is based around the unfancied Springbok team in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
William Earnest Henley's poem Invictus contains the lines: "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul." These are words that gave hope to Nelson Mandela during the darkest days of his 27-year imprisonment on Robben Island and also provided the inspiration for Springbok captain Francois Pienaar.
Director Clint Eastwood's heart-warming drama shows how newly elected President Mandela used the tournament as a catalyst to bring his divided nation together following the end of apartheid.
Morgan Freeman is suitably statesman-like as Mandela and copes well with a difficult accent, but Matt Damon is less convincing in his portrayal of Pienaar, which is hampered by the fact that he's less imposing than the real-life player.
We can forgive such flaws due to Eastwood's skill in blending human drama and history, as well as the introduction of some well-timed humour.
Although the violence that marred the run-up to South Africa's first multiracial election is covered in documentary footage, the main focus is on how the vision, steely determination and forgiveness of a great man gave a nation hope.
> If ever a Hollywood star deserved to win a Best Actor Oscar, it had to be Jeff Bridges for his remarkable performance as faded country singer Bad Blake in CRAZY HEART (15: Twentieth Century Fox).
Just like the approach of first-time writer/director Scott Cooper in this intimate drama, Bridges' turn is modest though jokingly brash in places – and the more compelling because of those contradictions.
Craggy, laid-back Bad quietly works his way into the affections of a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and becomes caught between his need for her and a long-held booze addiction.
His relationship with her young son is just as endearing, although the script does pull punches when the child is exposed to his drunkenness.
Colin Farrell is badly miscast as Bad's big-name protege, Tommy Sweet, but Bridges is totally at ease with his singing requirements, so much so that it's not hard to forget the film's minus points. He delivers an iconic performance that's guaranteed to pluck the heartstrings.
> Despite a less than enthusiastic response from most critics when the movie opened in cinemas, Mel Gibson is on good form in EDGE OF DARKNESS (15: Icon), the remake of BBC TV's mid '80s mini-series.
He plays Thomas Craven, a detective whose adult daughter is shockingly, and inexplicably, gunned down on his doorstep. Craven's investigation sees him drawn into a terrifying political and corporate conspiracy.
The series, which starred Bob Peck and was directed by Martin Campbell, was one of the high points of British small-screen drama and fans may be mildly disappointed by this movie version.
Campbell, who directed Casino Royale and GoldenEye, is once again at the helm, and stages some effective set-pieces, but condensing the action from six hours to just two inevitably means that some of the plot's complexity and atmosphere is lost.
And as much as I like him, Ray Winstone's government fixer is no substitute for Joe Don Baker's memorable performance in the original.
> The trouble with lame psychological thriller THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY (15: Icon) is that not a lot of haunting goes on. The girl is plagued by voices that say "Molly!" and "I know what you are!", but is that really chilling enough?
Molly (Haley Bennett) has just moved with her father to a new house after her mother tried to kill her. Mom is in the loony-bin, but Molly has hallucinations and fears she might be suffering from the same craziness that made her mother start stabbing with scissors.
TOP TEN:1.The Book Of Eli; 2.Did You Hear About The Morgans? 3.Armored;
4.Daybreakers; 5.It's Complicated; 6.Edge Of Darkness; 7.Up In The Air; 8.Avatar; 9.The Road; 10.Brothers.Chart supplied by Blockbuster
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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