I highly recommend Invictus, Clint Eastwood's new movie about Nelson Mandela using the vehicle of the national (mostly white) rugby team as a metaphor for healing the country of its vast racial wounds. I am not much of a sports fan, but I was thrilled by the scenes of all the ass-kicking, sweat drenched scenes of ruby players engaged in what looked like struggles to the death. What a pity the US cannot seem to model this kind of political courage in our absurdly partisan take on every issue, including race. This movie hasn't gotten much promotion, but it is well worth your time.
Avatar is visually spectacular, and I appreciated the obvious parallels with the destruction of pristine environments and cultures (read Native Americans; the aliens on the planet Pandora are known as Navi.) by the, US military machine,determined as always to exploit the resources of others. I found it much too long. Spoiler alert: the underdogs prevail in this special effects fantasy extraqvaganza by James Cameron.
If foreign films are your thing, you could check out Cloud 9 (about an old married woman having an affair with an even older man and the tragic consequences which result for her family. Another possibility is Pedro Almavador's Broken Embraces, yet another movie involving the tragic consequences of cheating on one's significant other, which in my opinion didn't come close to living up to its hype. It's convoluted without being particularly compelling or emotionally affecting. Penelope Cruz was way better in Cristina Barcelona when she was directed by Woody Allen. I have to admit to being partial to American movies and directors.
Jane Campion's Bright Star about the untimely death of the Romance poet John Keats is a heartbreaker. Don't avoid it just because you might think it is impossible to make a watchable movie about poetry; this one won't disappoint you.
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