First published Good Life Movie Reviews www.goodlifemoviereviews.com
“Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” – God as quoted in the book of Job, Chapter 39 verses 19-24
Secretariat PG (this movie has a PG rating…Seemed pretty mild to me, not sure that it really deserved a PG rating)
Website – http://www.disney.go.com/disneypictures/secretariat
“Great movie for fans of horse racing and for fans of horses.” Steven Shomler, Good Life Movie Reviews www.goodlifemoviereviews.com
Summary – This movie covers the journey of Penny Chenery as she rebounds from the loss of her mom, takes over the family horse farm that she grew up on, and builds a team that together pursues the Holy Grail of horse racing – The Triple Crown.
Rating – I give Secretariat 3 out of 5 Gas Cans. Enjoyable. Worth seeing in the theater, especially if you are a fan of horse racing.
My Favorite Quote – “I was hungry and so were you”
Runner up Quotes – “Oh glory”
“I will not live the rest of my life with regret.”
” I am that right.”
“She scares me.”
My Favorite Sequence – Penny listening to her daughter’s performance in a play, long distance, via a pay phone.
You will never live your dream if you do not pay the price. This movie does a good job showing the price that Penny paid for her dream.
Who you should see the movie with – People who are fans of horse racing and horses.
Other reviews you might find helpful – Claudia Puig USA Today www.usatoday.com/movies/reviews/secretariat
What I liked about this movie and other thoughts –
“Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” – God as quoted in the book of Job, Chapter 39 verses 19-24
This quote opens this movie and establishes the sense that the story you are about to see is majestic. At least it seems that those involved in the making of this movie felt they they were telling a sacred story and did so so with tender care and diligent reverence.
Secretariat raced while I was very young, and I have never really been a horse racing fan, so I was not taken with a sense of touching nostalgia. However, I am sure that if I were 20 years older, or if I had grown up hearing the story of Secretariat, I would have been.
I enjoyed the movie. It was good. I cannot imagine my seeing it again. One time around the track is enough.
I do wish that I had seen this movie with a horse fan. I am convinced that those of a generation older than me, who are horse fans, will be very moved by this movie. My Father-in-law from my first marriage loves horses and horse racing. It is because of Denny that I know terms like “Mudders” (horses that like to run in the rain and mud) and “trifecta” (picking who will come in first, second and third in a horse race in the correct order).
If I lived closer to Denny, I would take him to see this movie. He would be very blessed by it. As soon as Secretariat was over and the lights came up, I texted family who are geographically closer to Denny and asked them to please take him to see this movie.
Something from my generation did delight me. Right at the beginning of the movie, there is a character name Eddie Sweat who is caring for Secretariat. Right away I thought to myself, “I know that voice…who is that?” and then it hit me – That is Lafayette with hair!
Nelsan Ellis plays Eddie Sweat in Secretariat, and he also plays Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood. I got a kick out of seeing Nelsan playing a very different character from the one he is currently most known for. I would very much enjoy seeing him in other movies in the future.
Both Diane Lane (Penny Chenery) and John Malkovich (Lucien Laurin) did a nice job in this movie. Their characters are people you would love to have lunch or pie and coffee with.
I am looking forward to seeing John Malkovich in RED next week.
That’s it!
Steven Shomler
Good Life Movie Reviews
Secretariat movie quotes
Steven,
I saw the movie Friday evening on opening day and loved it. I lived in Louisville for over 20 years and have been to Churchill Downs and Wagner’s Pharmacy where Ms. Chenery turned down the offer of $8 million dollars. I also remember as a kid watching the race. I think the movie as you said needs to be seen in a theater. One thing to note on my Friday night viewing, the whole audience in the theater clapped when it was over for a long period. Many comments were “Good to see Hollywood is making good movies again”. The best part was they did not need violence, bad language or sex to generate real interest in the movie. I think it also portrays women in a very favorable light. That they can be strong, focused and forthright. I would recommend it to anyone.
Ken, Thanks so much for sharing! I look forward to someday being abe to go to Churchill Downs myself. You are very right – this movie did show women in a favorable light. I recently had a brief facebook conversation with Rebekah, one of my Facebook friends, about how Hollywood tends to show women in a very unfavorable light. I am going to pass your comments about Secretariat on to Rebekah, she may very well enjoy this movie!