Manny The Movie Guy /

Academy Award-winner Kevin MacDonald ("Touching the Void, " "The Last King of Scotland ") made a swords-and-sandals epic with "The Eagle " starring Channing Tatum (Marcus Aguila) and Jamie Bell (Esca). Based on the novel by Rosemary Sutcliff, "The Eagle" tells the story of the Ninth Legion and one man's quest to restore his father's reputation, the Commander of the Ninth.

In this interview, we talked about:

• Making a historical film
• Why his movies are mostly etymological study of clashing cultures between two men from two different backgrounds (think "The Last King of Scotland, " or to some lesser degree,
  "State of Play ")
• The "bromantic" angle of "The Eagle "
• Why he chose to hire American actors to play Roman soldiers

Click here for my movie review of "The Eagle "

In 2nd-Century Britain, two men - master and slave - venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism.

• Genres: Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign, Drama and Adaptation
• Running Time: 1 hr. 54 min.
• Release Date: February 11th, 2011 (wide)
• MPAA Rating: PG-13 for battle sequences and some disturbing images.
• Distributors: Focus Features

• Distributors: Focus Features
• Starring: Jamie Bell, Channing Tatum, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Donald Sutherland
• Directed by: Kevin MacDonald
• Produced by: Tessa Ross, Miles Ketley, Charles Moore