Among Freeman’s top inspiring roles, one seems to stand out so fully above all the rest. Not that the other roles are somehow flawed or bad (except for maybe his ill-fated role in Dolphin Tale), but instead that this famed one is so good that it has managed to transcend all the rest. As I’m sure you have guessed by now, the role I speak of is that of Red in Frank Darabont’s 7-Oscar nominated film, The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Yes, while Red is a self-admitted (and not to mention, convicted) murderer sentenced to a 40-year stint in prison, Freeman somehow managed to make what otherwise could have been an unlikable, incredibly disturbing character into one that is more worldly than his 40-years behind bars could possibly allow.

On top of this worldliness, Red comes equipped with irreplaceable advice and a compelling character to boot. I’d even venture to say it is Red, not his actually innocent counterpart, Andy Dufresne that really makes the movie. This is not least because despite Red’s questionable moral character, he manages to prove to the viewer as well as to himself that he is the most awe-inspiring individual in this film world.

This becomes especially clear in the scene in which Red comes across the parole board for the second time in the film. Instead of denying his involvement in the crime, he decides to tell the truth and, on top of that, manages to put the parole board members in their place. This scene is inspiring, for sure, but also achieves the perfect chill and heartfelt-tear-inducing ratio.

Watch the clip below. And afterwards, feel free to ask yourself if there is any role Morgan Freeman can take on and not make somewhat inspiring and chill-producing, Dolphin Tale aside of course.

Click here to view the embedded video.

December 25, 2009 will now be known on my life calendar as the day I first completed the triple show. I’ve pulled off the double show before, as I’m sure many have you as well.  My recent absence from the movies forced my hand as my list of want-to-see movies piled up.  I had no choice but to attempt a triple, and survived to tell the story.  Before getting to the theater I had to figure out a schedule that actually worked aka pick movies that would be ending as the next would be starting. The best schedule I could come up with was Invictus at 1, Sherlock at 3:50 and Avatar at 6:30. So off we went.

Part I – The first show began at 1pm, and was Invictus. If you saw the trailer, you know the movie.   I’ve got to say I really enjoyed this movie. It was the rugby version of “Miracle.” The one thing I’d say needed to be added to make this movie better was some explanation of rugby. Sure, I got the picture that kicking it through the uprights got your team 3 points, but the WWF grappling made little sense to me.  All in all the movie was great and Morgan Freeman could have something to say come Oscar time.  By the way, my snack consisted of pick-n-mix candy; sour-patch watermelons are incredible.  Part I complete at about 3:25.

Part II – The end of Invictus gave me a movie high, so I had a burst of energy and plenty of patience left to take me into the second part – Sherlock Holmes which started at 3:50. I brought a six-inch sub with me, so no popcorn or pick-n-mix here. The first hour of this movie depleted my patience tank and destroyed my energy. I fell asleep at the 40 minute mark and twitched and turned more than Gary Sheffield at home plate. RDJ and Jude Law bored my attention away and Rachel McAdams was lame.  She pretty much sucked. Though, I guess it wasn’t her fault the script was subpar. At the end of Sherlock, the clock showed 6:15.  Let’s just say round II of the triple left my running on fumes.

Part III – The finale of the triple was Avatar and started at 6:50.  This time I brought in popcorn with me; the only way to appropriately complete the triple.  By the way, I had to sprint to the box office during the intermission to grab my 3d glasses.  Man did the sound nerdy. At first I doubted my energy to make it through another 3 hours of movie.  However, Avatar fixed that real quick.  Nick already talked about the movie in his snap review, but let me just say I was blown away with Avatar. This also marked the first time I did not get dizzy in a 3d movie.  The movie was a masterpiece. Sure, the acting only needed to be average, but even the acting was pretty good. The only bad thing about this movie was the a**hole sitting to me who had his ringtone turned on with maximum volume. This was a grown man with some Britney Spears ringtone that he would let ring until the phone went to voicemail. Then when we finally thought our misery had come to a close, his piece of crap phone would release a high pitched sound to let him know someone had left him voicemail.  PUT IT ON VIBRATE – schmuck. He also came with his annoying kid who didn’t stop asking questions.  Hey kid, I thought you were only asking your father, not the ENTIRE theater.  Thanks guys. Anyways, I was really impressed with how well this movie was made, and especially that it didn’t lose any touch of feeling like a movie despite looking like a video game.   At 9:25 the triple show came to a close.

I walked out the movies at 9:30pm. Avatar was so good that I was ready for a fourth.  I did not do it obviously. My lower back would’ve left me hate mail had I done so. I actually felt a lot better than thought I would have, and would definitely do it again.

So that’s it, the triple show, one of the cooler movie experiences I had in some time.

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Source: CBS News

Invictus starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman directed by Clint Eastwood, is a tailing story about a country trying to unite as one.  Nelson Mandela (Freeman) is released from prison after 27 years locked behind bars, and soon after finds himself elected as President of South Africa.  The movie deals with the racial tension behind the poor black majority and the wealthy white minority as the country is looking for a unified presence.  The way a lot of problems are solved, sports once again is the unifying reason for hope and change.

Francois Pienaar is the captain of the South African Rugby team and Mandela consoles in the captain and builds a relationship with him, looking to him and the sport to hopefully help reunite the country.  The World Cup of Rugby hosted in South Africa in 1995 is the way to do that, and through inspriation, Pienaar pushes his team to excellence to help lead the team to victory.

The movie is a solid Eastwood production and is very well acted by both Freeman and Damon.  The movie although quality, lacks greatness.  It seems Eastwood got lazy at times and left out information that would have led to the story.  There are multiple points in the movie where the scenes just seem off for a bit, something a casual viewer may not notice or care about, but mistakes that prevent the movie from being a real Oscar contender.  And the fact that it’s Rugby, makes it difficult to relate on for a sport that is very unknown in the country.

This is my snap video review of Invictus.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yeah, sure, The Princess and the Frog debuts at #1 this weekend after its nationwide expansion; however it barely opens with a croak, snatching up only $25 million. Could this be what Disney imagined it would take in this first three days? I would think so, considering their last 2D cartoon Home on the Range opened at #4 with $13.9 million. However their last animated fable with Pixar was Up, which made $68.1 million in its first weekend alone. I don’t think that 2D animation is quite dead yet, considering the fact that Disney took the risk of making another princess tale, but it appears that audiences still sided with me this weekend in hating on Princess and the Frog. If you want to look on the bright side, it’s up 3,243.5% from last weekend when it was in only two theaters.

At #2 this weekend is The Blind Side, still holding strong. The sports drama raked in another $15.5 million, bringing its total up to $150.2 million in four weeks. Another debut, Invictus opens behind Sandra Bullock’s latest with $9.1 million. A decent enough opening, considering the Nelson Mandela biopic is playing on a few hundred less screens than Clint Eastwood’s last film Gran Torino, which had opened in first with $29.5 million after it had expanded nationwide.

It seems that audiences continue to grow tired of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in fourth place this weekend with $8 million. The film’s total is now an unfathomable $267.4 million in just about a month. A Christmas Carol drops a spot to fifth, taking in $6.9 million. It drops 11.5% from last weekend. The movie’s grand total is now $124.5 million.

Out of the top five-

• Tom Ford’s heavily-buzzed A Single Man debuts with $216,000 on nine screens.
• Peter Jackson’s poorly-reviewed The Lovely Bones opens with $116,000 on three screens, although when it expands nationwide in January that number will most likely increase.

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday:

1. 1. The Princess and the Frog…$25 million
2. 2. The Blind Side…$15.5 million
3. 3. Invictus…$9.1
4. 4. The Twilight Saga: New Moon…$8 million
5. 5. A Christmas Carol (2009)…$6.9 million
6. 6. Brothers…$5 million
7. 7. 2012…$4.4 million
8. 8. Old Dogs…$4.4 million
9. 9. Armored…$3.5 million
10. 10. Ninja Assassin…$2.7 million