EASTWOOD MASTER DIRECTOR 2

This is the second of three installments dealing with the best films directed by Cllint Eastwood. This week features his middle period, in the early 2000's.
We begin with Eastwood’s film adaptation of Michael Connelly’s Blood Work (2002). Okay, it’s not as good as the book- no surprise. But it’s still pretty good. Eastwood plays Terry McCaleb, an FBI agent whose pursuit of a killer is halted by a heart attack. A heart transplant gives him a new life and new hope. Against his doctor’s advice he continues his pursuit. There are interesting plot twists you won’t find here. 
Perhaps being a great actor himself helps Clint Eastwood get the best out of actors he directs. Both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins deservedly won Oscars for Mystic River (2003). And yet, it is Kevin Bacon’s quietly competent performance as the third friend, who happens to be a cop, that really holds this movie together. Something terrible happened when all three were kids, and something terrible keeps happening now. Not for the squeamish, this film features strong performances and a tough, unrelenting screenplay.
Clint Eastwood’s second directing Oscar came in 2004 for his helming Million Dollar Baby. Hillary Swank plays Maggie Fitzgerald, who seeks to raise the level of her mundane life via the boxing ring. Mr. Eastwood plays trainer Frankie Dunn. At first he discourages Maggie’s determination but relents when she just won’t give up. Morgan Freeman plays Eddie, an experienced trainer and “cut man”. This film also garnered Oscars for Freeman and Swank, and for Best Picture. The ending is hard to take but perhaps unavoidable. 
Mr. Eastwood turned out two movies about Iwo Jima in 2006. Flags Of Our Fathers is told from the American side. The actors are uniformly good, but virtually unknown. Ryan Phillips, Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach are featured.  Three survivors of the bloody battle for the island are on a tour to raise money for war bonds. They reflect back on their time on Iwo Jima and particularly about the famous raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi. The battle scenes are gritty but very well done.
The second feature about this famous island, also directed by Mr. Eastwood, is Letters From Iwo Jima. This time the focus is from the Japanese point of view, which makes a very interesting contrast. The actors in this one are even more unknown, being of Japanese extraction. The differences in the approach of the two forces is a revelation to us. We rarely think of the enemy as just as human as we, but this film goes to great lengths to prove that is true. 
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adult audiences.