War Horse
...unless that horse is Joey, the 'miraculous' war horse. I had some reservations about seeing this movie and it definitely fell under the category of 'something I'll probably rent someday'. Of course, with it's Oscar nomination, it got moved to the 'need to see now' list. I could never quite put my finger on where this movie was losing it's appeal to me, but the best I can say is that the story of a boy and horse looked emotionally manipulative and perhaps a little cheesy. The beginning felt a little longer than it should have been and could have been from any 'a boy and his [insert animal here]' story. There was a goose that I'm pretty sure must have gotten lost from the set of a Disney movie. Once the story got going, it definitely improved. I think telling a story of World War I from a horse's eyes provides an interesting perspective. There were a few moments that made the animal lover in me cringe. I probably would have been happier to have kept my ignorance of the ways horses were treated in WWI. If nothing else, Spielberg knows how to film war scenes. This time he managed to depict the horror of war, but kept the blood and gore to a minimum. The scenes in No Man's Land really stood out. The story itself was pretty predictable. I will admit that I did get a little misty eyed towards the end. The cinematography was beautiful. I do think my initial reservations were pretty accurate, but overall, I would say that I did enjoy the movie. It wasn't great, but entertaining enough.
...unless that horse is Joey, the 'miraculous' war horse. I had some reservations about seeing this movie and it definitely fell under the category of 'something I'll probably rent someday'. Of course, with it's Oscar nomination, it got moved to the 'need to see now' list. I could never quite put my finger on where this movie was losing it's appeal to me, but the best I can say is that the story of a boy and horse looked emotionally manipulative and perhaps a little cheesy. The beginning felt a little longer than it should have been and could have been from any 'a boy and his [insert animal here]' story. There was a goose that I'm pretty sure must have gotten lost from the set of a Disney movie. Once the story got going, it definitely improved. I think telling a story of World War I from a horse's eyes provides an interesting perspective. There were a few moments that made the animal lover in me cringe. I probably would have been happier to have kept my ignorance of the ways horses were treated in WWI. If nothing else, Spielberg knows how to film war scenes. This time he managed to depict the horror of war, but kept the blood and gore to a minimum. The scenes in No Man's Land really stood out. The story itself was pretty predictable. I will admit that I did get a little misty eyed towards the end. The cinematography was beautiful. I do think my initial reservations were pretty accurate, but overall, I would say that I did enjoy the movie. It wasn't great, but entertaining enough.
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