The Last King of Scotland (2006) is a fantastic and intense depiction of real-life brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s. Without question, Forest Whitaker is one of my favorite all-time actors, and this film serves as his seminal work.

One of the late-Tony Scott’s best directing jobs was in Spy Game (2001), starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Although there is a fair amount of action, the film is far more of a psychological thriller than anything else. It is gripping and well-done, overall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfqJ4wd118

Brotherhood was a television series that ran on Showtime for three seasons from 2006 through 2008. In my view, no other film or show captures the flavor and personality of the southern New England states. The two leads in the show, Jason Isaacs and Jason Clarke, are simply brilliant. Behind Breaking Bad, Deadwood, Justified and The Sopranos, I have Brotherhood in my top five shows on television over the past decade. (The Wire failed on several levels in its final season, falling lower on my list).

via YouTube

Brotherhood set in an Irish neighbourhood in Providence, the series reflects around two brothers on opposite sides of the law: one a gangster and the other a politician. The blue-collar neighbourhood has roots in old-world ways of street justice and shady dealings. Tommy Caffee is a family man and local politician who is out to protect the community and its best interests. His world is turned around when his gangster brother Mike returns to “The Hill” to regain control of the seedy underworld.

I have yet to see the Steven Spielberg/Daniel Day-Lewis Lincoln film, just released.

However, I suspect it will be tough to beat my favorite film about the sixteenth president, Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), and perhaps favorite film about any president in general. It is an oldie but a goodie, starring Raymond Massey. The story flows naturally and is gripping and historically thorough. Not many have seen it, but it is well worth a watch.

With this year’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team flirting with a magical, undefeated season, check out a classic film about the storied program, Knute Rockne All American (1940).

From YouTube:

Pat O’Brien (“Angels with Dirty Faces”) delivers a powerful performance as the famed Notre Dame football coach in this moving biography. Featuring a stellar performance by Golden Globe-winner and former president Ronald Reagan as “the Gipper.” With Oscar-winner Donald Crisp (“How Green Was My Valley”).

With a big storm headed towards the northeast, consider checking out The Hurricane (1999). The gripping and entertaining Norman Jewison-directed film stars Denzel Washington in the real-life story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder.