When it comes to sports biopics, the subgenre breaks down into two camps. First is the warts-and-all, blood-and-guts variety best exemplified by
Raging Bull. Then just about everything else, from
The Pride of the Yankees to
Hoosiers to
The Blind Side, easily fall into the second type: the “inspirational” kind. Filled with “rags to riches” stories, training montages and slow motion moments of triumph, these films are no doubt crowd-pleasers. Yet, after you’ve seen a few, they also become rather predictable, even interchangeable.
With its Disney brand and tame PG rating, it’s not hard to figure out what category
Secretariat fits into; and while the film (now available on
Disney DVD
and
Blu-ray
) is definitely a family friendly one, you’re likely to feel that you’ve seen this race before… even if you haven’t seen
Seabiscuit.
As the “super horse” that, in 1973, became the first racehorse to win the US Triple Crown in twenty-five years, Secretariat certainly could run fast, but he doesn’t say much. Therefore, the movie leans heavily on his owner, Peggy Chenery (played by the always welcome
Diane Lane) to carry the story. Unfortunately, as a main character, Peggy is a bit of a cipher. Her motivation to race Secretariat, tied to fulfilling some unspoken dying wish of her father (Scott Glenn), is barely tangible, while attempts to show her as a “woman in a man’s world” fall flat. Subplots about the strain on her marriage and family (including, quite awkwardly, a wannabe hippie daughter) and her reluctance to speak in public go nowhere.
To compensate, director Randall Wallace (the Academy Award nominated screenwriter of
Braveheart) and writer Mike Rich (who based his script on William Nack's book
Secretariat: The Making of a Champion) try to throw some more obstacles in her way, mainly conflicts with her quirky horse trainer, Lucian Laurin. A French-Canadian former jockey who fancied loud outfits and unconventional training methods, Laurin is played by
John Malkovich, the go-to guy in Hollywood for quirky characters (that is, when Christopher Walken is unavailable). Alas, Malkovich pretty much sleep walks through the role, relying on a string of goofy hats and sporadic outbursts in French for character development...
Click here to continue reading my
Toon Talk review of
Secretariat at LaughingPlace.com.
The Academy Award-winning King, along with another Disney “jewel-in-the-crown” Beauty and the Beast, also makes its 3D Blu-ray
and DVD
.
and Blu-ray
from Amazon.com.
and Blu-ray Combo Pack).
, the Academy Award-winning adventure still ranks as one of the best of its genre, even with such newer entrants as The Dark Knight and Iron Man in the mix...
and Blu-ray
debuts this week.
) to his Academy Award winning masterpiece Spirited Away to his most recent delight Ponyo, are quite simply sublime in their storytelling brilliance and ability to transport you to a myriad of different fantasy lands.
). As would be expected, the younger Miyazaki has big shoes to fill, and while it is not entirely fair to hold his work up to the standards of his obviously more accomplished father, Tales from Earthsea is so steeped in the studio style that it is unavoidable...
of Bambi marks the high definition debut of the beloved Disney classic. A true masterpiece in the art of animation, the film ranks high on many a cinephile’s list of the best of the medium, and has often been cited as an influence on other filmmakers to this day. Its simple story of a boy growing up in the harsh realities of the world is as timeless now as it ever has been, and it remains a “must see” for every generation.
and Blu-ray
from Amazon.com.
and Blu-ray
from Amazon.com.
