Robert Hobbs Movies
A rookie CIA operative goes on the run with a rogue former intelligence officer after a South African safe house comes under attack by heavily armed mercenaries. Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a CIA agent just waiting for the perfect opportunity to prove himself. But that's no easy task when you've been cooped up in an empty Cape Town safe house for a whole year. Weston realizes that a prime opportunity is headed his way, however, when he learns that former agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) has been captured after nearly a decade on the run. Frost is about to become Weston's one and only guest at the safe house, and the fledgling agent is determined to handle the situation like a true professional. But by selling U.S. secrets to countries like North Korea, Frost has made more than his fair share of enemies in high places, and shortly after he arrives at the safe house, all hell breaks loose. A small army of gunmen are determined to see Frost dead. Meanwhile, Weston will do everything in his power to protect Frost, regardless of his crimes. Now Weston's only hope for getting out of this alive is to find out who's gunning for them, and seek out someone he can trust before it's too late. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, (more)
Actor Morgan Freeman portrays anti-apartheid activist and former South African president Nelson Mandela in this Clint Eastwood-helmed political drama adapted from author John Carlin's book The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World. Set just after the fall of apartheid and during Mandela's first term in office, The Human Factor explores how the political prisoner-turned-president used the 1995 Rugby World Cup -- which was hosted by South Africa -- as a means of bringing blacks and whites together after decades of violence and mistrust. Matt Damon co-stars in the Warner Bros. production as rugby player Francois Pienaar. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, (more)
Director Neill Blomkamp teams with producer Peter Jackson for this tale of extraterrestrial refugees stuck in contemporary South Africa. It's been 28 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation. As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research. Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is exposed to biotechnology that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies. Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, (more)
- 2008
- R
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An uneducated gas station attendant with a taste for the finer things in life turns to crime as a means of making ends meet, only to find himself on a dangerous collision course with the biggest drug dealer in town. All Lucky Kunene wanted out of life was a house by the water, a beautiful wife, and a 7-series BMW. Unfortunately, Lucky hails from a poor Soweto family, and his application for a university grant has just been refused. Dejected at the thought of spending the rest of his life pumping gas, Lucky teams up with his best friend, Zakes, to start stealing cars. At first the endeavor proves remarkably lucrative -- providing Lucky with enough cash to purchase a refrigerator, a nice suit, a classy wardrobe, and a hi-fi stereo system -- but before long the two thieves realize that their profile is becoming dangerously high, and that in order to avoid arrest they will have to relocate. Five years after moving to Hillbrow, Lucky and Zakes are the operators of a deadbeat taxi service. Their criminal lifestyle has gotten them nowhere, and rival taxi gang members are literally gunning for them night and day. Lucky shares a cramped apartment with 20 other people, mostly junkies, prostitutes, and immigrants with nowhere else to go. Though their existence seems bleak, the group manages to pool their resources and form the Hillbrow People's Housing Trust. But just as Lucky enters into the world of real estate, local detective Blackie Swart makes it his mission to capture the so-called "Hoodlum of Hillbrow" and Nigerian drug kingpin Tony Ngu lays claim to the city. With two of the city's most notorious criminals both preparing for the ultimate showdown, Detective Swart will have to work overtime in order to prevent the streets from becoming a virtual war zone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rapulana Seiphemo, Ronnie Nyakale, (more)
An apolitical South African oil-refinery worker and soccer coach is forced into terrorism as a means of fighting back against the brutality of the apartheid regime in director Phillip Noyce's dramatic look at the life of one-time political prisoner and freedom fighter Patrick Chamusso. In the 1980s, Patrick (Derek Luke) and his wife Precious (Bonnie Henna) lived a peaceful life until one fateful day, when on an overnight trip with his team, Patrick is singled out as the prime suspect in a bombing at the refinery. Placed in solitary confinement, with his wife and family brutalized by government agent Nic Vos (Tim Robbins), the young family man is eventually cleared of charges, but his life is in shambles. Devastated and distraught, Patrick soon begins working as a rebel fighter and political operative for Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. As the oppressed country's powerful apartheid regime continues to torture and torment its citizens, the now-radicalized Patrick must disappear from his family without a trace and go undercover if he is to aid in toppling the system that destroyed his family, and forever changed his outlook on the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, (more)
The many emotional scars left by South Africa's history of institutionalized racism come under the microscope in this drama. As South Africa comes to terms with the legacy of apartheid, their government has created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which the perpetrators of racial violence and injustice must come face to face with their victims if they are to be forgiven for their crimes. Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is an African-American journalist who is assigned to cover these hearings by The Washington Post; Whitfield doubts the efficacy of this process, and sets out to interview Col. De Jager (Brendan Gleeson), a notorious former officer of the South African police who was famous for his violence against blacks in order to put this method to the test. While in South Africa, Whitfield meets Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche), an Afrikaner poet who is covering the hearing for a radio station and is both appalled and disturbed by the details of the violence inflicted against her countrymen. After striking up a friendship, Whitfield and Malan become romantically involved as they try to come to terms with their feelings about what they've learned. Also screened under the title Country of My Skull, In My Country was adapted from a book by South African author Antjie Krog. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, (more)
The BBC1 military miniseries Bravo Two Zero was based on the actual experiences of Sergeant Andy McNab, who adapted the teleplay from his own novel. Set during the 1991 Gulf War, the series' two 60-minute episodes follow an SAS Patrol as they burrow deep into Iraqui-held territory. Their mission: to destroy the scud missiles in the arsenal of Saddam Hussein. Getting into enemy territory was the "easy" part; getting out was another matter entirely. Without giving away the ending, it should be noted that the SAS team in question was the most highly decorated British patrol since the days of the Boer War -- and that only five of the eight operatives lived to receive their decorations. Sean Bean starred as protagonist Andy McNab. Bravo Zero Two made its first television appearance in 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Bean, Steve Nicolson, (more)
- 1997
A coproduction of Canada's CBC and the South African Broadcasting network, the weekly 60-minute drama series Ekhaya: A Family Chronicle was set in 1989. Eric Miyeni starred as Darryl, an expatriate South African writer living in Toronto with his Canadian wife Rosa (Julie Stewart). Obsessing over the possibility that he is still being stalked by the South African secret police, Darryl recalled the tragedies and deprivations experienced by himself and his family under the oppressive Apartheid system. Ultimately, Darryl became a firebrand political activist, determined to return to South Africa to right old wrongs, even though it may cost him his life. The first of the series' 13 episodes was shown by the CBC on January 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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