Invictus

Considering that Clint Eastwood hasn't made a bad movie in well maybe ever, I'm not sure why I was surprised that Invictus was a fantastic movie.  Though it is at its heart a movie about Rugby, much like Friday Night Lights it uses the sport as a vehicle for a remarkable character study of Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African Rugby team, both of whom are portrayed with great performances by Freeman and Damon respectively.  Though it does suffer a bit from feel good sport movie build up towards the end, the lead up to the end makes it well worth the cliche.