Four Flicks

I spent a lot of time on airplanes this month, so I got caught up on my movie watching. As mentioned in a previous post, I saw the latest Harry Potter movie, "The King's Speech," "Social Network," and "Secretariat."

Harry Potter was a disappointment. Without McGonagall, Snape, or Dumbledore and sans Hogwarts School with Headless Harry, the sorting hat, and the four houses, this part of Rowling's story consists of one long chase scene. Everybody's after Harry, and he always escapes. Barely. Then the flick ends with a cliff-hanger. Not cool. I had trouble staying with this film to its disappointing end.

"Social Network," which tells the story of how Facebook was created, is a well done picture about where greed, selfishness and hedonism can lead. Avoid this movie if you watch flicks to feel good. Oh, and despite how I feel about Justin Timberlake, he did demonstrate that he can act.

"The King's Speech" provided a brilliant performance by Colin Firth, which the Academy has
justly rewarded. I doubt I can add anything to what people have already said in praise of this flick. Among other things, it demonstrates that even a powerful king needs a friend.

I liked seeing Helena Bonham Carter dressed in actual colors rather than black, and she did an admirable job playing a matronly role.

I might have liked this movie even more had I seen it on a normal-sized screen instead of one the size of a bolt on the back of a chair. I could see none of the writing that introduced and ended the movie, so I don't know what I missed.

The unexpected gem in this group of films was "Secretariat." From the first moments of narrative, this movie had me hooked. Most of us know Secretariat as the race horse who won the Triple Crown. Fortunately the movie makers didn't try to make viewers wonder (much) if he would win. The story's suspense relates more to the interpersonal relationships of the characters.

"Secretariat" chronicles the horse's spectacular career climaxing with the 1973 Triple Crown win. The back story is that a housewife and mother takes over her sick father's stables even though she knows little about horse racing. She enlists the help of a veteran trainer and navigates a male-dominated business--for which she takes a lot of flack--to foster the first horse in twenty-five years to sweep the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes.

She puts up with a lot of trash talk (like calling her horse "Secretary") and manages her final "in your face" win with grace. Brava!