Michael Ledo In the 60's there were two types of families: Those that had avocado kitchens and those pretentious families that had sunflower yellow kitchens. These were sunflower yellow families whose kids wanted to run away and join Allende's Chile and stole their school project idea from Simon and Garfunkel and pretended to pass it off on their own. The avocado kids were up to their knees in rice patties getting their limbs shot off by Charlie.Since we already know the horse wins the triple crown, the movie attempts to create drama where none exists. John Malkovich plays a trainer whose clothes sometimes appear to be made from discarded table cloths. The husband is stereo-typically non-supportive, until the end. When dad dies the poor family has a 6 million dollar estate tax and only 11 million dollars worth of horses. My heart just bled for poor little rich Penny who wanted to keep her prize horse. Around this point she becomes a Republican, who attends all white parties while the black horse groomer sleeps on hay.While the acting was good, I found the script to be a bit pretentious.

Python Hyena Secretariat (2010): Dir: Randall Wallace / Cast: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh, Margo Martindale, Amanda McChalka: Secretariat was the famous winning race horse that beat incredible odds but many will likely compare it unfavorably to Seabiscuit. The comparison is warranted but that isn't to say that this film by director Randall Wallace is without its charm. Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery whose family goes through a rough patch, which leads to her taking over her father's business, which evidently involves race horses. She knows nothing of the sport but is but in contact with Lucien Laurin who, after initially refusing the offer, decides to train a foul named Secretariat whom she champions to be the next big winner. One of the big issues with this film is that these are primarily the only characters in the film that contain any personality. Lane dominates the film as a woman determined to beat a system dominated by male chauvinism this becomes corny and forced within a screenplay that travels too close to formula. John Malkovich is strong as Lucien who learns that his skill is still rewarding and that assisting the underdog has its perks. Other roles are unfortunately cardboard or boarder on stereotypes that fail to ignite much flare into the familiar screenplay that uses its true story nitch over what we have seen before. The horse race action is spectacular and energizing despite the fact that we know where this all concludes. The theme seems to regard the underdog, not just in the horse that few outsiders believed in, but also the woman who conquered the gender differences to win. Score: 6 / 10

Spikeopath Secretariat is directed by Randall Wallace and written by Mike Rich and Sheldon Turner. It stars Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale, Amanda Michalka, Dylan Walsh, Scott Glenn, Kevin Connolly, Dylan Baker, James Cromwell and Drew Roy. Music is by Nick Glennie-Smith and cinematography by Dean Semler.With the success and quality of production that came with 2003's Seabiscuit, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would turn their hand to making a film about a horse that many agree is the greatest American horse of all time. With Disney funding the cash flow and an A list cast assembled, Secretariat the movie is every inch the professional production you would expect. However, thematically it's surprising that the horse is very much secondary to the story of his owner, Penny Chenery (Lane).Chenery's story as written on the film version page, is a worthy one to tell, for sure. After suffering family bereavements, she stood firm after winning the horse on a coin toss to guide the horse to the greatest of American horse racing triumphs. This in a male dominated sport dominated by chauvinists. Further more, Chenery had to hold her own family together whilst running the Chenery ranch. Inspirational woman for sure, and Lane is naturally steely in the role, but there just isn't great human interest drama crafted by director Wallace to warrant the film being primarily about the good lady.Naturally, when the horse racing takes centre stage it's gripping and exciting, the race segments very well filmed, but we already knew that Secretariat was an awesome horse, how he got to be that way isn't known to us. Malkovich plays trainer Lucien Laurin with moody flamboyance, but we see next to nothing of his training of the horse! It's one of the many oversights that stop the film competing with Seabiscuit. It may seem unfair to compare the two, but the makers of Seabiscuit got the blend right whilst cleaving close to the facts to tell their story. There's also the controversy factor, the fudging of the facts to suit the makers ends, where some characterisations have been pointedly argued to be incorrect and a deviation from truths to the point we don't have the real story of what made Secretariat so great. Whilst it spins a rags to riches story when in reality it wasn't, Riva Ridge anyone? Where's the Preakness clocking controversy? These facts would have boosted the film no end, but I guess this is the price we pay for having Disney funding the film supposedly about the magnificent beast in the title. Come the home straight the music does swirl and the cheers go loud, and undeniably the uplift factor takes a hand, but there's too much wrong all told to make this a great picture. I have to say it, go watch Seabiscuit instead. 6.5/10

sol1218 True story of who's considered to be the greatest racehorse of all time the big Red chestnut himself Secretariat. It was when owner of the near bankrupt Medaow Stables in Virginia housewife Penny Chenery, Diane Lane, decided to get trainer Lucien Laurin, Jon Makovich, and jockey Ron Turcotte, Otto Thornarth, both French Canadians to take control of her two year old Secretariat things started happening.Lauren & Turcotte had guided Penny's other horse Riva Ridge to both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes the year before only losing to Bee-Bee-Bee in the Preakness on an off track at Pimlico. That prevented Riva Ridge from winning the coveted racing Triple Crown. Now with Secretariat, the two year old champ and 1972 horse of the year, ready to start his three year old racing season it's Penny's hope that he'll do what the great Riva Ridge didn't! Become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years since Citation did it back in 1948!Easily winning the seven furlong Bayshore Stakes and Gotham Mile at the Aqueduct Race Track the Big Red machine, as Secretariat has become known among racing fans, faltered in the one mile and a furlong Wood Memorial coming in third behind his stablemate Angle Light and California invader Sham. With the Kentucky Derby just two weeks away it was now rumored that Big Red doesn't have the stamina to win the 1 1/4 mile long race as well as the even longer 1 1/2 mile "Race or Test of Champions" the Belmont Stakes. With Sham his main rival in both the Derby and Preakness the Big Red Machine made short work of the Californian not only beating him but setting track, 1.59 2/5 at Churchill Downs and 1.53 3/5 at Pimlico, records in doing it! With Secretariat oddly the odd on choice to do the impossible in winning the Belmont Stakes Sham's trainer Pocho Martin, Nestor Serrano, instructs Sham's jockey Laffit Pincay, Keith Austin, to go head to head with the big chestnut instead of trying to close on him like he did in both the Derby and Preakness where he ran out of gas before he got to the finish line. This set up one of the greatest moments, or two minutes and 24 seconds, in all of horse racing history. In what looked like a match race Sham pushed Secretariat for six furlongs in the hope that the big red horse would burn himself out in doing so. The exact opposite happened with Sham out of breath and stopping badly and finishing up the track dead last! As a tireless Secretariat, with wings on his hoofs, ends up not only winning the race and Triple Crown but winning it by an astounding 31 lengths! That's a distance of some 82 yards almost the length of an entire football field! And him doing it, with the Gospel song "O' Happy Day" in the background, without as much as breaking a sweat!Great heart thumping and colorful racing scenes even though they weren't filmed, Aqucduct Churchill Downs and Belmont Park, where the actual races took place. As for the Preakness Stakes it was shown on a TV screen with the actual 1973 video of the race that Secretariat won. Which only goes to show that the movie like the great horse that it depicted Secretariat, who won 16 out of 21 races in his career, wasn't as perfect as we would have liked it to be!