It’s hard to talk about a movie like March of the Penguins. It’s harder still to talk about it without narrating it in your head in a voice that sounds just like Morgan Freeman’s.
And if you can read these paragraphs without hearing Morgan Freeman, well, then you’re a stronger one than I am.
March of the Penguins, and its attendant documentary, On The Wings of Penguins (both of which are in the box set) are great looks at penguins. One deals with penguins in the arctic, while the other deals with African penguins. Needless to say, there are a whole lot of differences between the two, and you’ll learn all about them right here.
If you’re considering Christmas gifts for younger children, then this package might be pretty good for them. Sure, you’ll have to fend off some unpleasant questions after a couple penguins and chicks die, but the sheer amount of information they’ll get out of it is fantastic. Plus, there’s some penguin postcards and a little plushie penguin in the package, making this a pretty decent value for the price.
If your penguin knowledge consists primarily of anything you learned from Bloom County, then chances are you’ll learn a whole lot here, and Morgan Freeman’s expert narration keeps it fairly light and fun.
The Screenhead Ten Scale hands this sharply rich and pleasant documentary series a nine out of ten. Neither movie by itself really earns that high a mark, but considering the incredible value of the two-movie box set, it’s worth a little bump.
Originally called The Human Factor, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus movie poster was just released today. The movie stars Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman.
The movie is about the true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.
The movie has a limited release date set for December 11, 2009.
Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon must have enjoyed themselves when they worked together on Invictus, the true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain (Damon) of South Africa’s underdog rugby team to help unite their country. The reason I mention this is because Damon and Eastwood are set to work on Hereafter for Warner Bros. Eastwood is directing Damon, again. This time it’s not a true story, a supernatural thriller, leaning toward a plot like The Sixth Sense. Warner Bros. is keeping the storyline under lock and key.
I can tell you that some very talented people are working on this movie behind the scenes such as Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall are on the list of executive producers.
Invictus opens December 2009 and no word yet on the production start date for Hereafter.
I don’t think I have ever seen Morgan Freeman and Bruce Willis in a film together. So, this is really awesome that Freeman is nearing a deal to star along with Bruce Willis in espionage thriller Red, based on the WildStorm/DC Comic.
Brothers Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber are writing the script.
“Red” was originally written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Cully Hamner, last year. The three-book series, published in 2003 and 2004, tells the story of a former black-ops CIA agent now living a quiet life in retirement until the day a high-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him. Guess who would play the former CIA agent?
(Source)
Even independent, direct to video filmmaking often stays away from certain types of movie. For instance, you don’t see a whole lot of indie action fare. Indie sci-fi is also slim in the market. And indie heist movies? Now THESE are rare. How rare, you ask? Well, to borrow from Scott Adams, imagine Rush Limbaugh milking Elizabeth Hasselbeck to get milk for his pet sea monster. Indie heist movies are even more rare than good analogies.
And this particular indie heist movie, dubbed The Code, brings together Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman as a couple of thieves out for the score of a lifetime–Faberge eggs. The downside, of course, is that these priceless treasures are currently hidden in the spectacularly well-secured vault of a New York diamond wholesaler. And now, the dynamic duo of Gabriel and Ripley is about to tackle that massive score together, through a series of ingenious methods, spectacular double-crosses, and just a little pinch of romance and humor.
Let me be clear up front–this movie is awesome.
That having been made perfectly clear, I’ll elaborate. It’s a wonder no one’s ever thought to try and pair actors Banderas and Freeman together in one movie, at least not one that I can recall. They work spectacularly well together. They’re handling their roles with the same kind of aplomb and talent that George Clooney and Matt Damon brought to similar heist roles. And just because I said that the humor’s been ratcheted down a bit, that doesn’t mean it’s non-existent. There will be funny here, just not quite in the concentration that, say, Ocean’s Eleven brought it in. I’m comparing this to Ocean’s Eleven for a lot of good reasons, and frankly, I say this says nothing but good for The Code.
Plus, the script is excellent. They’ve set this up beautifully, and will steadily work through the various conflicts and issues that pop up with smooth regularity. The stunning inventiveness that The Code offers is spectacular. By the time you get to the end, you will find a number of twists easily on par with Ocean’s Eleven, or even, dare I say it, on par with The Usual Suspects.
And I said there’d be romance involved? Yes, that’s here too—if you wanted to use this as a date movie, I don’t think anyone’s going to walk away disappointed. No matter which side of the date you’re on, go ahead and suggest this one, because no one will be dissatisfied. I’m actually rather surprised at the sheer number of fronts this movie covers—comedy, action, romance…it’s all here and it’s all well-represented.
It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on; there are plenty of reasons—GOOD reasons—to like The Code. The performances are all universally excellent, the storyline is coherent and rich with twists, and the sheer versatility of the movie makes it well worth laying your hands on. It’s safe to say that, if you like movies in general, you’re going to get SOMETHING out of The Code. It’s a really rare kind of movie that can say that, and The Code is one of those movies.
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman star in Clint Eastwood’s The Human Factor, about the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Damon plays rugby star Francois Pienaar, as captain of the all-white South African rugby team led them to a victory at the world cup and gave the country’s whites and blacks a common cause to rally around as they healed from years of apartheid. Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela in the film. Damon looks pretty good as a blond.
First Showing posted this picture of Damon and Eastwood on location.
Post your name and Screenhead will pick the winner December 9, 2008. 
James McAvoy and Academy Award Winners Angelina Jolie And Morgan Freeman star in the visually inventive action thriller
WANTED – Own the 2-Disc DVD & Blu-Ray Hi-Def With Digital Copy On December 2, 2008
From Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Wesley’s (James McAvoy) life is over – his pathetic, old one, anyway… Fortunately, it is all because of a girl. Enter sizzling-hot Fox (Angelina Jolie), who crashes into his life and introduces him to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins, lead by the mysterious Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Seems Wes’s long-lost father was killed while working for the Fraternity and Wes has been selected to target the rogue member who murdered him. But before he can complete his assignment, Wes must first uncover the dark secrets behind the Fraternity in order to determine his own destiny.
The 2-Dis DVD and Blu-Ray-Hi-Def each have specific special features. Check out Wanted website to see the different features for each release.
Arthur C. Clarke’s works are pretty hard to translate to the big screen. In keeping with that tradition, David Fincher let out word that his Rendezvous With Rama, an adaptation of the noted author’s epic sci-fi novel, looks to be dead.
Speaking to First Showing, Fincher plainly stated that “it looks like it’s not going to happen.”
“There’s no script and as you know, [Morgan Freeman's] not in the best of health right now,” he explained. “We’ve been trying to do it but it’s probably not going to happen.”
The story follows a group of astronauts investigating an alien spaceship that is passing through our solar system. Inside they find a very alien world and something that may still be alive.
Morgan Freeman is in the hospital due to a car accident in Mississippi. The hospital reports that his condition is serious although emergency technicians said the 71 year old Oscar winning actor was lucid during the rescue. The rescue included jaws to extract him from the vehicle.
My prayers and wishes are for you to recover quickly and completely Morgan. God bless.
