Welcome to the movies at PS News.Each week, PS News's film critic Victor Rebikoff will highlight the latest offerings from the silver screen and share his expert commentary for our information and guidance. Invictus Director: Clint Eastwood, Weinstein Company, Rated M, 118 mins Academy Award winning director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) has delivered another magnificent movie. Invictus is the inspiring true story of how former South African President Nelson Mandela undertakes a unique initiative to unite his apartheid-torn country. Mandela enlists the help of the captain of South Africa's rugby team and rallies him and his team in their campaign to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup (being held in South Africa at that time).  A further highlight is the chemistry between Mandela and the South African team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon, The Informant). Despite rugby being a focus (though not a predominant factor), Eastwood has imbued a great deal of realism into his movie by providing some initial insight into Mandela’s imprisonment and focusing mainly on the early days of his presidency in 1990. In particular, Eastwood shows Mandela’s courage and his sense of compassion and forgiveness-exemplified in Mandela’s strong support of the South African rugby team, the Springboks. This support displeased black South Africans as it was seen as supporting a symbol of white oppression. It is while playing the role of mentor and motivational coach to Pienaar that Mandela reveals the words of a heart-rendering poem, Invictus (Latin for unconquered) which kept him going during all those solitary years in prison, concluding with the touching refrain that Mandela utters during the World Cup final, “I am master of my fate, I am captain of my soul”. Invictus is a thoroughly enjoyable and moving experience, with wonderful performances throughout especially from Freeman and Damon. It is no surprise that both actors have received nominations at next month’s Academy Awards. Most importantly the film shows a country’s journey from darkness into light, encapsulating the courage and compassion of a world icon. This ‘unconquering’ movie is one that should not to be missed. VIC'S VERDICT:
  4 ½ Rubber StampsDVD Release The Thaw Release Date: 10 February 2010 Director: Mark A Lewis, Sony Pictures, Rated M, 90 mins The Thaw is an engaging sci-fi horror from writer/director Mark Lewis (Ill Fated) and has some similarities to John Carpenter’s classic The Thing.  The team also discovers an ancient parasite that has been incubating inside the beast. It is not too long before Kruipen’s daughter Evelyn (Martha MacIsaac) is on her way to join him only to find no one can get hold of him. The Thaw offers more suspense than horror with the CGI bugs being convincing and the other effects being quite good. While the plot revolves largely around Kilmer's character, the focus is really on his daughter and her fellow students in containing the deadly infestation. Despite some scenes not appealing to the faint hearted Sony’s DVD is still entertaining and includes some interesting extras such as the Behind the Scenes featurette with comments from the cast and crew intermixed with shots of the film and its making as well as messages on global warming. VIC'S VERDICT:
 3 Rubber StampsDVD Release Outlander Release Date: February 2010 Director: Howard McCain, Weinstein Company, Rated MA 115 Minutes Warner Bros’ soon to be released DVD is a blend of sci-fi and Viking mythology that is thoroughly entertaining with solid acting and impressive action sequences. ‘Outlander’ finds Kainan (Jim Caviezel) a soldier from another world crash landing on Earth around the first century in addition to a monstrous alien creature called a Moorwen.  With an absorbing storyline and some great special effects (as well as the depiction of advanced alien technology combined with Viking Iron Age weaponry) makes this Warner Bros’ DVD definitely worth owning not to mention a fascinating array of special features in both the Blu-ray and DVD versions including deleted and extended scenes and commentaries from the director and producer. VIC'S VERDICT:
4 Rubber StampsTo find out more about Victor Rebikoff click here. 
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