Hidalgo

** out of 8
DVD released in 2005
Length of movie - approx 2hours 19 minutes
How long did the movie seem to take? - 3.5 hours
Extra features on DVD - Don't know...just watched the movie.

What a sappy Disney movie. Produced by Touchstone, I thought I was back in the 60's watching some bad Dean Jones feature. Based on the "true" story of Frank Hopkins, this had some potential to be an interesting period piece. Instead, it turned into a happy horse story only a junior high girl could love (or my wife Amie.)

Viggo Mortenson isn't much of an actor. He survived The Lord of the Rings trilogy because Aragorn isn't really supposed to talk much. In this movie, he was the leading role, but still had no real personality! And could he get the marbles out of his mouth. Boomhauer has better diction. From this point on, I will not view Mortenson as a positive indicator for a movie.

The photography was nice, but I'd rather see Lawrence of Arabia. It had a much stronger story line, was far better directed, and deserved every minute of its 3.5 hours plus. Hidalgo should have been condensed to 90 minutes. The effects were hokey and the indian mirages were silly.

I won't ruin the climax of the movie, but think Disney!

Don't waste your time on this one.

Next up...The Sopranos, Season 1 Disc 3.