Eric Bana is quite the boy of summer 2009, with a Romulan villain, a cuckolded and cheating husband, and a time-traveler under his belt. If you're a newcomer to his charm and talents, look for these movies:
1. "Chopper" -- Bana is the repulsive yet fascinating focus of this fictionalized account of a real Aussie criminal named Mark "Chopper" Read, who claims to have committed 19 murders. Brad Pitt recommended this while promoting another of director Andrew Dominik's movies, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." Pitt said, "You should see it. It is 'Mean Streets' good, in my book." (It is, although very violent and for adults only.)
2. "Black Hawk Down" -- Bana is part of the excellent ensemble in Ridley Scott's depiction of a failed 1993 U.S. mission in Somalia. It's based on journalist Mark Bowden's book of the same name about a military mission that left 18 American soldiers dead.
3. "Hulk" -- Director Ang Lee put a new spin on the story of a scientist who, when angry, morphs into a hulking green monster. Bana is the scientist, Jennifer Connelly his one-time girlfriend and Nick Nolte his father. Unlike the old Bill Bixby TV show, which featured bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, this angry alter ego is an obvious computer-generated creature, which robs the story of much of its power.
4. "Troy" -- Hollywood tackles the Trojan War, the legendary conflict between ancient Greece and Troy that began after the Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) abducted Helen (Diane Kruger), beautiful wife of a Greek king. Pitt is golden as Achilles while Bana turns up as Hector, lecturing his brother Paris, "You don't know anything about love or war."
5. "Munich" -- Eric Bana plays a young Israeli intelligence officer asked to lead the hunt for the men accused of masterminding the murders of 11 Israelis during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He tells his pregnant wife, "I can't live with refusing this." He will wonder if he can live with having accepted it, and he grows more haunted and tormented with each name crossed off his list in this powerful, suspenseful, intelligent thriller. One of his best.
6. "Lucky You" -- Bana is a Vegas poker player who lives in the shadow of his legendary father, played by Robert Duvall. Bana's character loses money as quickly as he wins it, particularly when his dad is in the game. Further complicating his life: a sweet newcomer (Drew Barrymore) and his attempt to win a seat or buy his way into the 2003 World Series of Poker.
7. "Romulus, My Father" -- Bana is Yugoslavian Romulus Gaita, who moves to Victoria, Australia, with his German wife (Franka Potente) and their young son in search of a better life. Instead, he finds himself on a lonely, rural homestead, caring for his wife and son and working as a blacksmith and farm laborer. Also notable for the appearance of young Kodi Smit-McPhee, Viggo Mortensen's son in "The Road."
8. "The Other Boleyn Girl" -- Bana is the king of England in this adaptation of the Philippa Gregory novel about the Boleyn sisters, portrayed by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Bana wears his period garb, demands and appetites well in this costume drama.
9. "Star Trek" -- Don't blame yourself if you didn't recognize Bana as the fuming Romulan Captain Nero. He spent four hours a day in makeup, prosthetics and costume. Unlike so many in the cast, he had the liberating luxury of playing a new character and fighting in an almost Greco-Roman wrestling style.
10. "Funny People" -- It's funny to hear Bana use his native Aussie accent as Clarke, husband of Laura (Leslie Mann), who used to date a now-superstar comedian (Adam Sandler). The father of two daughters who spends much of his time in China, Clarke goes after Sandler's character, but neither is a born brawler.
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette movie editor Barbara Vancheri can be reached at bvancheri(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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