War Horse

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Plot: A old farmer buys an expensive horse, and gives it to his son to train to plough, but then the horse is sold to the British Army as World War I starts. The horse has a series of four owners during the war, and each one has a little adventure.

Review: War Horse is a kid's movie that is completely earnest, and it is a bit of a fairy tale oriented around the heroism of the horse. Some people, like myself, might find this story too obvious and "cheesy," however I am sure that children and horse-lovers will find it wonderful. 

I found certain sequences painfully slow -- so much that I closed my eyes and wished I was somewhere else. Closing the eyes is not recommended generally because the photography was wonderful. All the sets were beautiful, and the shots of the horses were almost poetic. I also liked the music. 

 The acting was straight-forward, which is about all that can be expected from such a story. I did not feel any special emotion coming from the horse -- as in Sea Biscuit, for example. Sea Biscuit was a much better movie.

The best scene was when Joey, the horse, raced in the the "No-Man's-Land" between the trenches pulling up the barbed wire and becoming entangled in them. A highlight was the interesting battle scenes in WWI. There was a section that reminded me of Saving Private Ryan. 

I was pretty disappointed. I wished I would have seen something else. 

Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Based on the book by: Michael Morpurgo

Rating:   2.0 stars, which I think is generous. It probably deserves less based on the fact that it is NOT fun-to-watch. However it is really pretty, and might be good for a family with grade school kids except that the battle scenes were violent (though not bloody.)  

More:  I wonder how this movie would have worked without the dialog. I bet I could have followed the story just fine, and it would not have seemed as cheesy.  

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Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

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Plot: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) gets framed for blowing a up a Russian building, and then gets abandoned by the US government. He and three others work to prevent a crazy man from starting a nuclear war.

Review: Ghost Protocol's strength is that  the super-smart and well-equipped good guys are abandoned and become are the underdogs. Worse, things keep going wrong -- one thing after the next, and Ethan Hunt seems to absorb a lot of physical punishment too. This creates good will, and keeps the movie fresh.

We have seen a million spy movies, and three previous Mission Impossible movies. With such a simple story, and the writers appear to be trying to find new material, and for the most part succeeding. This film is well crafted, and a little bit humorous.

The best scene is the one from the preview where the Secretary of State is explaining how the IMF has been "disavowed." This is a plot thread that Mission Impossible has been setting up since the first TV episode, and it is about time that they played out what happens when you get "disavowed."

Another good scene is the opening scene with an IMF spy falling backwards down a building, and shooting badguys with a pistols in each hand as he falls -- it is a copy of Trinity's fall in Matrix Revolutions, and just as cool here.

The plot is simple and most of the story is told visually, as the film keeps going in the same direction from beginning to end. The characters have small backstories, but seems to be acting out of self-less dedication instead of personal motivation.  The music is good. The special effects are good quality without being too superhero.

Ghost Protocol is a fun movie; the morale is about self-less devotion to country despite the fact that the government betrays you --  not a serious message.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist

Directed by: Brad Bird

Rating:   A strong 2.5 stars, almost made three based on its fun-ness. 

 
More: Paramount is making a new, fifth Mission Impossible.



Even more: Does anyone use the word "disavowed," besides Mission Impossible?

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