Invictus (2009)
Sport: Rugby
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge
Available: Rent on Amazon Prime , HBO (I have it on DVD, you can borrow)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge
Available: Rent on Amazon Prime , HBO (I have it on DVD, you can borrow)
Major League (1989)
Sport: Baseball
Director: David Ward
Starring: Tom Beregenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bersen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes
Director: David Ward
Starring: Tom Beregenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bersen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes
Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime
Summary
Two very different movies here. "Invictus" is the story of the South African 1995 rugby team and their pursuit of the World Cup and the support of President Mandela, in his first term. And "Major League" is a comedy that is "just a bit outside" the normal inspirational story.
Invictus has super strong directing and cast. And the story. Nelson Mandela has just been elected the President and South Africa has been selected to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The host country always qualifies. Despite much of the country viewing the Springboks team as a symbol of racism, President Mandela teaches forgiveness and unity. The "One Team, One Country" campaign begins. The history around this is too much for me to unpack, but worth understanding. Morgan Freeman's performance as Nelson Mandela is great. Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, the Spingbok team captain, and reinforces why I think he's a great actor. The DVD has a feature on Damon and the real Pienaar meeting as Damon tried to really get into the role.
Major League has an interesting cast, Bersen had just come off his LA Law fame. Wesley Snipes, who we'll see again, was a young Wesley Snipes. But we probably all most remember Bob Uecker as announcer Harry Doyle the best. I did appreciate James Gammon (RIP) as the Skipper. I've always wondered what actual Cleveland fans thought of the film. It did well enough to have a sequel, boost sales of The Troggs - Wild Thing, and to provide some quotes still repeated today.
Invictus has super strong directing and cast. And the story. Nelson Mandela has just been elected the President and South Africa has been selected to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The host country always qualifies. Despite much of the country viewing the Springboks team as a symbol of racism, President Mandela teaches forgiveness and unity. The "One Team, One Country" campaign begins. The history around this is too much for me to unpack, but worth understanding. Morgan Freeman's performance as Nelson Mandela is great. Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, the Spingbok team captain, and reinforces why I think he's a great actor. The DVD has a feature on Damon and the real Pienaar meeting as Damon tried to really get into the role.
Major League has an interesting cast, Bersen had just come off his LA Law fame. Wesley Snipes, who we'll see again, was a young Wesley Snipes. But we probably all most remember Bob Uecker as announcer Harry Doyle the best. I did appreciate James Gammon (RIP) as the Skipper. I've always wondered what actual Cleveland fans thought of the film. It did well enough to have a sequel, boost sales of The Troggs - Wild Thing, and to provide some quotes still repeated today.
Time to vote sports fans. Again, your vote, your criteria. Based on some comments for game 1, some of you are even voting based on the eye candy. Be well my friends.
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