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Clint Eastwood's Invictus: A Colossal Bore
pajamasmedia.com ^ | December 11, 2009 | John Boot

Posted on 12/13/2009 1:06:45 PM PST by Publius804

Clint Eastwood’s Invictus: A Colossal Bore

South Africa is plagued with astonishing levels of crime and poverty, its peoples segregated and suspicious of one another. But the new Clint Eastwood-directed movie Invictus says that’s all okay, because the country’s rugby team won a few games in 1995.

Coming off last winter’s excellent and far more challenging Gran Torino, Invictus is shockingly pedestrian and cliché-ridden. Its level of racial naivety makes it a sort of Driving Mr. Damon, with Morgan Freeman accepting a demotion from his usual roles as God or the president of the United States. This time he merely plays a saint — Nelson Mandela.

Although in one scene we are told that Mandela is a flesh-and-blood human being with family troubles, the rest of the movie shows the man working himself to exhaustion, protesting that he is overpaid, putting himself in physical peril for the sake of his country, forgiving sinners, and generally glowing from the halo over his head. As played by Morgan Freeman with maximum beatitude, he’s one of many reasons why this movie is a colossal bore.

Another is Matt Damon who, as the blond captain of the South African national rugby team the Springboks, is a total blank except that he really wants to win. His team plays so badly in the early stages of the movie that he orders everyone to drink the worst beer he can find — to symbolize the bitter taste of defeat. If putting together a championship-caliber team were that easy, wouldn’t the Detroit Lions simply order in a few cases of Pabst?

Despite Eastwood’s eagerness to portray Mandela as a sort of Jesus with a funny accent....

(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: damon; eastwood; hollywood; invictus; mandela; moviereview; southafrica
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To: Publius804

Mandela’s wife Winnie had a gang that were referred to as her “rugby team.” If someone fell out of favor with Mandela’s opinions she would have her rugby team track down the person and then they would have a rubber tire placed around their waist, splashed with gasoline and lit on fire. The practice was referred to as necklacing. Is this film about the rugby team necklacing?


21 posted on 12/13/2009 1:33:53 PM PST by purplelobster
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To: AndrewB

“Clint , like all of us have issues . Quilt is not one of them .

That’s a bit of a blanket statement, don’t you think?”

You really shouldn’t needle other people on the thread for mere spelling errors. There. That should cover it.


22 posted on 12/13/2009 1:34:12 PM PST by left that other site (Your Mi'KMaq Paddy Whacky Bass Playing Biker Buddy)
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To: Publius804

I liked “Changeling,” directed by Clint Eastwood a lot. Angelina Jolie is a wonderful actress. I normally don’t hold political views against actors. If they are talented, I will respect their art.

Matt Damon is the exception, at least for me. His youtube video (which now has almost 7 million hits) is the most watched youtube video on Sarah Palin and quite possibly the most watched video dealing with the 2008 election. He basically rips her apart to shreds and degrades her in the most condescending way possible.

I don’t think his acting is anything to write home about anyway and I will boycott any movie he is in.


23 posted on 12/13/2009 1:34:52 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege ("When I survey the wondrous cross...")
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To: Deb

**Clint chose to tell the absurd story of the rugby team**

How brilliant is that! The *savior* in this subliminal was a BLONDE white guy.

I get it!!!


24 posted on 12/13/2009 1:36:28 PM PST by sodpoodle (Stop wasting our wealth and start telling the truth.)
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To: svcw

Friends of ours have an eight foot concrete wall around their house with razor wire on top of that, with guard dogs and they are in a better neighborhood.

I have friends in SA who live like that too. They also have armed security guards who walk the dogs around. They are professional people, with means, but not overly “WEALTHY”.

Please correct me if i am wrong, but I heard that Bishop desmond Tutu lives in Atlanta GA. Evidently the new SA is not the paradise he expected it to be.


25 posted on 12/13/2009 1:37:38 PM PST by left that other site (Your Mi'KMaq Paddy Whacky Bass Playing Biker Buddy)
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To: Vaquero
“It’s a hell of a thing, killin’ a man, you take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have"

"It ain't like he didn't have it coming."

"We've all got it coming, kid"

26 posted on 12/13/2009 1:39:13 PM PST by circlecity
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To: svcw; shibumi

...here’s the downward progression of urban areas...it goes from Atlanta to Birmingham to Baltimore to New Orleans/Gary(tie) to Detroit to Cape Town....hmm, wonder if the fact that those cities are governed by ‘progressive’ black politicians has anything to do with it?


27 posted on 12/13/2009 1:40:05 PM PST by STONEWALLS
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To: fantom
Clint , like all of us have issues. Quilt is not one of them.

Well, that just about covers it.

28 posted on 12/13/2009 1:42:05 PM PST by behzinlea
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To: left that other site
How clever you are . A spelling error and a blanket statement on the same post . Good work Sherlock. You must have a busy life. You want to go with me you petty idiot ten lets rock . Unlike some on this site i will not be bullied or insulted by anyone . And i stand by my statement..
29 posted on 12/13/2009 1:42:11 PM PST by fantom (,)
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To: circlecity

“I don’t deserve this... to die like this. I was building a house....”


30 posted on 12/13/2009 1:44:28 PM PST by Vaquero (BHO....'The Pretenda from Kenya')
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To: left that other site

Good point.


31 posted on 12/13/2009 1:47:05 PM PST by svcw (The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves. GW)
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To: STONEWALLS

aahhhhh YES!!!!


32 posted on 12/13/2009 1:47:54 PM PST by svcw (The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves. GW)
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To: fantom

Of course you stand by your statement. I happen to enjoy a good pun, that’s all. Didn’t mean any offense.

The personal attack is uneccesary. Really.


33 posted on 12/13/2009 1:48:16 PM PST by left that other site (Your Mi'KMaq Paddy Whacky Bass Playing Biker Buddy)
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To: behzinlea; fantom

C’mon guys — Bee series....


34 posted on 12/13/2009 1:49:21 PM PST by mikrofon (Quilters never win)
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To: fantom

I find that to be a comfort(er).


35 posted on 12/13/2009 1:50:04 PM PST by isom35
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To: x

Hitchcock supposedly almost exclusively shot what he had already storyboarded. I think Clint works in a similar if slightly more conceptual way.

Sometimes like Bloodwork and maybe Invictus he is working with weak material, and even tinkering won’t help that.

When he works from strong material, why bother shooting other stuff? He also brings in great actors and that allows you to work quick when everyone knows what they are doing.


36 posted on 12/13/2009 1:55:42 PM PST by Mr. Blonde (You ever thought about being weird for a living?)
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To: left that other site; behzinlea; mikrofon; fantom; AndrewB; TLI
Quilt is not one of them.

You guys should stop batting one another like this. The movie isn't about the South African cricket team!

37 posted on 12/13/2009 1:57:28 PM PST by Tax-chick (Here I come, with a sharp knife and a clear conscience!)
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To: fantom
as you were answering my post when you posted the Quilt/Guilt Typo...I suppose I should answer it.

I make typos all the time...so there should be no issue with it..happens to us all.

as far a guilt though...I would be interesting in knowing how you know that Eastwood is not acting on white guilt....(I believe I see it in his work...with “Bird”, “Letters from IwoJima”, “White Hunter, Black Heart” and to a lesser extent in other works... )

Just curious.

38 posted on 12/13/2009 1:58:01 PM PST by Vaquero (BHO....'The Pretenda from Kenya')
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To: Publius804
The understanding of Africa and South Africa as portrayed by the people like Eastwood and the MSM borders on the criminal.
Mandela was and is a Communist and a Murderer and his political party the ANC is a terrorist organization.
People do not understand that basically Africa is still very tribal in thinking and action.
Mandella does not nor has he ever spoken for all South Africans. In fact he and the ANC did everything in their power to freeze out the other tribes like the Zulu's, etc. from any political power.
Mandella is basically a Thug and nothing else.
39 posted on 12/13/2009 1:58:52 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood
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To: Publius804
The understanding of Africa and South Africa as portrayed by the people like Eastwood and the MSM borders on the criminal.
Mandela was and is a Communist and a Murderer and his political party the ANC is a terrorist organization.
People do not understand that basically Africa is still very tribal in thinking and action.
Mandella does not nor has he ever spoken for all South Africans. In fact he and the ANC did everything in their power to freeze out the other tribes like the Zulu's, etc. from any political power.
Mandella is basically a Thug and nothing else.
40 posted on 12/13/2009 1:58:56 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood
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