Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Princess and Invictus

Invictus
This movie is really as good as everyone says it is. In the movie, Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon is the captain of the Springboks, aka South Africa's rugby team. This takes place recently after Nelson Mandela came to power and tells the story of how he uses the rugby's World Cup win to unite the country.

Its funny, because I thought I was fairly well educated on South Africa's power struggle. But this movie made me realize how little I actually did now. In that sense it was really educational, without being too over the top.

Then there's the fact that its a rugby movie. And while I thought I knew about Apartheid, I knew nothing about rugby. They do try to explain the game a little, but even so during most of the big sports action scenes I had no idea what was going on. But even without knowing exactly what was happening, I was still able to feel all the excitement.

Of course the main thing people are saying about this movie is that the action is amazing. Which it truly is. Matt Damon was really good. But Morgan Freeman even more impressive. It wouldn't surprise me is Morgan Freeman wound up with an Oscar after this.

I would definitely tell you to go see this movie. After all, when was the last time you saw an underdog sports movie, that was also a political movie?

The Princess and the Frog
I love pretty much all Disney movies, so before I even saw this I knew I had to love it. Luckily it lived up to my expectations. Also I will say I was a bit distracted throughout the movie watching the boy niece so I can't say I was paying attention to the actual movie the entire time. (You can read the whole day we spent with his niece here)

I did love that it was in New Orleans and all of the Louisiana references. Let's just say there were a few jokes that a lot of people might not get, but because I saw the movie in Baton Rouge they had the audience cracking up. Also since it took place in New Orleans, most of the music as Jazz or Zydeco influence. It was really catchy overall, but there didn't really seem to be one stand out ballad that is standard in a lot of Disney Princess films.

I did really enjoy this movie, and can't wait to see it again especially in a situation where I can pay more attention to the actual movie. And of course, I'm awfully excited to be able to see Princess Tiana at New Orleans Square in Disneyland!

It definitely was a could weekend for movies, and I have a feeling its going to stay that way the rest of the year since there's so many movies I want to see opening. How exciting!

Anyone else see either of these movies? Do you like them as well? And what else are you looking forward to seeing this year?

~Shoshanah

2 comments:

  1. I want to see both of these! And more than a dozen other movies. But that translates into well over $100 in tickets, which just seems ridiculous :) I love the holidays, because the movie selection is SO much better, in the hope of getting things in before the Oscar deadline.

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  2. I went and saw the Princess and the Frog yesterday with my younger sisters, and I LOVED it! Being Louisiana born and, basically, bred, I got all of the "inside" jokes. New Orleans/Louisiana is dear to my heart and you know I ADORE Disney - this movie is going to be a favorite for a long time!

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