So here I sit, still not in a particularly good mood (actually even more dismal), but what I think I need is to focus on something enjoyable. Like movies.
Rating
So I watched War Horse a few nights ago. I really dragged my feet on this one. If you know me personally, then you know that horses and me...are not friends. I was always intimidated by them as a kid. Then I saw a scary horror movie. I don't think the actual movie scared me. Just the horse. Which I don't think was the point of the movie. Lol :) But the horse had wicked creepy eyes. I can't even remember the movie. But since then their eyes have creeped me out. Then when I was in high school my best friend begged me to go horseback riding with her. I reluctantly agreed. She may have promised me a dinner afterwards. I can't remember. Well on that trip we found out a VERY important lesson. I am SUPER allergic to horses. Both eyes began to glue shut, and I had an asthma attack. Awesome. Years later an allergist confirmed my severe allergy and told me that I should just generally stay away from horses. As I have never approached one since that fateful day, I had no problem with this suggestion, and have often stated that I need to stay away from farms (which was particularly more meaningful when I lived down South). I have never really been into ANY animal in general. I never kinda...got them. I have a cat that I named puppy, that I received in high school. I love him, but he definitely stays with my parents all the time. Allergic to him too. Really allergic. Even with my five allergy meds I still have to wash my hands every time I pet him.
I think my relaxation towards animals came when my parents received Sam. Sam is my brother's dog, but because their apartment does now allow dogs, he stays with my parents too. He's a border-collie/rat terrier mix. Yeah I know's a weird mix. But the dog is CUTE. At first he drove me up the wall, but then something happened. I started to like him. And my allergic reaction to him wasn't as strong (then again I'm on a zillion allergy meds now). I think animals started to grow on me a bit since then. My cat became even cuter, and horses became not so unappealing.
So... a LONG lead into this movie, but I felt it necessary to give my background on movies that feature animals. I probably won't see most of them.
However, War Horse is also about WWI, which I think was a fascinating war. Being a history teacher, I had to teach my students about this war many times. It really is an interesting war, that is usually overshadowed by WWII. We forget about the tremendous waste of life that happens in the first World War. Plus Steven Spielberg directed this movie...so it had to be good.
And it was...I guess. I am not strongly persuaded that it was great. It didn't receive rave reviews to begin with. But there were some really good parts.
It starts with the horse being born before the war starts. A young farm boy witnesses the birth across the field. He is taken with the young horse right away. Later his father buys him at auction for way more than he can afford, just so he can beat his landlord. The boy is overjoyed with them buying this horse, and he agrees to train him. His father is a drunk, and a veteran from the Second Boer War. He gets mad when he realizes the horse will only send them into further debt....so he decides to shoot the horse. It's really sad. But the boy defends the horse and stands in front of him. He tries even harder and gets the horse to actually start plowing the field. Pretty cool. However the war starts. And there's a bad flood in their region. The whole field is destroyed, and they aren't going to make their rent in time. His father, behind his back sells his horse to an officer in the war.
Captain Niccolls...played by none other than Tom Hiddleston (okay...he may be the real reason I decided to watch this movie. I concede). The Captain is an upright gentlemen, who is definitely struck by the boys attachment to the horse (because he finds out at market what's happening). He lets him say goodbye, and he ties his dad's Boer Wars ribbons...medals...idk what they are, to the horse. Then they leave. The Captain is quite taken with the horse, and knows that even though everyone doubts Joey (the horse), he's a good one.
So the General in charge is played by Benedict Cumberbatch (another great English star). Benedict gives a great performance in this movie. He leads the charge against the German camp. Now the English are heavily outnumbered, but the General for some reason thinks that the element of surprise will win them the victory. Well that's when they discover that the Germans have machine guns (a new invention in WWI). The German's hide behind bushes and open fire on the English who are still trying to fight with swords, like gentlemen. The devastation was great. And we get to see a horrible depressing look on Tom Hiddleston's face when he realizes what's happening, as he charges to his death. Next thing we see is Joey hopping over the bushes without Tom. The General is surrounded by German's. They lost.
Okay so Tom's dead, and Benedict's done for, so you might as well stop watching......just saying. That IS the best part of the movie.
But if you want to continue on, you will see that Joey ends up on the German side, with boys who try to run away from the service (and are eventually executed). He falls into the hands of a little girl who lives with her grandfather. Their house is raided numerous times in the search of supplies the soldiers can use. They then take the horse, and the little girl dies...somehow. The horse manages to run away and gets caught in no-man's land in some barbed wire, which is horrifying. He is saved in the combined efforts of a German and an English soldier (which I kinda like. It kinda paints a realistic picture that the German's weren't necessarily the 'bad guy'...because they weren't really. They were defending the country that's leader got assassinated...I mean I'm not saying that the leader was that good but...okay nevermind).
Joey runs into a trench, and gets stopped. The doctor doesn't want to treat him because he's an animal. He is going to have him shot, when the boy from the beginning realizes that it's probably his horse. He's in the war, but he's been wounded. He currently has no sight. When he describes the horse perfectly to them, they agree to just try to help him. However after the war ends, the horse has to go up for auction, as is policy. The girl's grandfather outbids him by a large sum (despite help from all of his military friends and superiors). But when he says goodbye to Joey, the grandfather realizes that the horse belongs to him. He produces the Boer War ribbon/medal and the boy is astounded he still has it. He goes home with the horse.
So yeah. It's okay. Maybe worth seeing once. That's it though. Okay, maybe worth seeing the Tom and Benedict part like five times, but that's it. :) The horse didn't creep me out though. That's good. Maybe with all my medicine I should attempt to ride a horse again. Maybe I won't be as creeped out.
<3
LJ
Photos taken and edited (really just some color enhancing on these) from:
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/06/entertainment/la-ca-sneaks-war-horse-20111106
&
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/war-horse?before=1336889151
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