Main Players: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson..and the Horse, (of course)
General Gist: This is a story that follows the life of a horse during World War I. The story captures its' many travels, and the people he encounters and touches through-out his journey.
Deb's Take:
Well...this movie was ok. It was long and very drawn out, to the point of losing my interest early on. I really like the idea of the movie and thought that maybe it would be like the "Black Beauty" of this time. In actuality, it wasn't. The story itself was touching, heartbreaking and pretty amazing when you consider all this horse had to go through in life. The hard part was, I just didn't feel a real connection to any particular character, and just couldn't find myself connected to the horse. I am a total animal lover. I had thought I would fall in love with this horse looking at the previews, but I really didn't. I did feel sorry for the horse a lot of the time, and was disgusted with the idea that horses were so brutally treated during the war, however, I just had a hard time not feeling like the story was drawn out and lengthy. I feel like the actors did a pretty good job, again though, nothing extraordinary. All in all I would recommend this movie as a renter, and although it appears to be made for all ages, I think the kiddos would be mighty bored..not to mention the parents. Tiff's Take:
Wow. I'm really surprised in the difference in opinion with Deb and I on this one. She wrote her review first so I had the luxury of reading what she had to say before I did mine. I actually went into this movie thinking I would feel almost the exact way Deb ended up feeling. But I didn't. This movie was long, I'll admit, but I didn't ever feel like I was looking at my watch wondering when it was going to wrap up. There was a lot to the story but I enjoyed the journey. I, like Deb, am an animal lover so I was concerned about the movie being too much. Because, let's face it, something not so pleasant almost always happens in a movie about an animal. This one was no different but for some reason the horse actually felt more like a person to me. So it wasn't so sad. (Not that I like seeing bad things happen to people but...) I would agree with Deb that the actors were good but nothing special. None of them really stood out to me. I'm not even sure I can say the horse did a fantastic job because well, how do you rate a horse's acting abilities? But I loved the history and connection between all the people that the horse's life touched. Another thing I found interesting about this movie was the different perspective it gave on a war. It was almost shocking how non-strategic everything seemed back then. How did anyone ever survive at all? It could have also been because most of the war movies I've seen are about WWII or later. No matter the reason, it was very interesting to me. So my rating would definitely be higher then just a rental. I've actually already recommended it to someone who was on the fence.
I thought it was kinda cheesey and I agree it was long and drawn out. I also found it hard to buy that everyone instantly fell in love with this horse and knew how special he was the moment they layed eyes on him. The best part of the movie was the Grandpa and the little girl partially because I thought they were the most believable actors in the movie. I did cry when the Grandpa gave back the flag and the horse. HATED the lighting in the end scence when they returned home. I see why it's nominated for best pic, but the other 7 I have seen are much better.
ReplyDeleteEven though it sounds like I liked it better than both you and Deb I totally agree with the part about everyone instantly falling in love with the horse. That seemed a bit odd to me too.
ReplyDeleteHi! I am stopping by from "People I Want to punch in the Throat" where I saw your blog! This is great - I love to see reviews on movies. WE don't get to go often, so it is nice to see what people say. Saves us a trip! :)
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Jennifer
www.pletcher5journey.blogspot.com
Cam by because of "PIWTPITT" and am glad I did. I like "real" reviews. I'll be back and decided to follow.
ReplyDeletewww.worldfamilytravellers.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by Jennifer and Family Travellers! We post a review every week so definitely stop back. We're actually getting ready to post our review for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. (And we're having a giveaway this week too.) Thanks again for checking us out!
ReplyDeleteOh, and we're on Facebook if you want to check us out there. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Two-Sisters-and-a-Movie/195453943884777
Want to thank you for stopping by as well Jennifer and Family Travellers! Looking forward to checking out your blogs and hope you enjoy reading our view of the movie life!
ReplyDeleteOh happy!!! I can read movie reviews without the bias of critics!!! Seeing I don't get out much I look forward to reading more so I know what I should see. Thanks to PIWTPITT for sending me over.
ReplyDeleteGlad you could join us Heather! We are not critics that's for sure!!
ReplyDelete