Those of you who are Netflix streaming customers are probably well aware that Starz will be pulling its content from Netflix when their contract expires in February. I’m assuming all Starz content will disappear from the streaming service. So for
Those of you who are Netflix streaming customers are probably well aware that Starz will be pulling its content from Netflix when their contract expires in February. I’m assuming all Starz content will disappear from the streaming service. So for the next several weeks I’ll be concentrating on the Starz selections in an effort to get them watched before they are gone for good.
I was only three when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. But I’d heard the name many times, usually around the time of the Kentucky Derby, when the pundits discuss the possibility of a new Triple Crown winner. Forty-one horses have tried, many have made it interesting, but only a handful have been crowned.
I used to attend the horse races with my father as a kid. I’d always pick the horse with the red number one and dad would pick the gray horse. Our strategies were not complicated; we just didn’t know how to decode the racing forms.
Disney’s “Secretariat” tells the true story of a housewife-turned-horse breeder who discovers she has a winner in her stables. Most of our time is spent learning about the people involved and their stories.
Evidently a loving gaze from Secretariat’s owner was enough to power the horse to the Triple Crown, which is nice and all, but I wanted to watch horse-racing. I wanted “Seabiscuit.” But it’s Disney, and someone’s loved one dies, then the horse wins. Touching … really.
“Arctic Blast” is a B-movie from start to finish. But it was kind of enjoyable in its simplicity.
The already thin ozone is “torn” during a solar eclipse. This allows the frozen outer space “air,” the mesosphere, to come flooding in, which in turn creates a killer icy fog.
The answer? Simple: launch missles into the tear, exploding it shut. About all I took away from this film was that we can use missiles to solve problems. Simple.
A while back I had given “Chicago” two stars on principle. (musical, Richard Gere, can you blame me?) Last week my lovely wife (hey there honey) told me she wanted to watch “Chicago.” Upon seeing the two stars, she asked, “Have you even seen it?” I scoffed and said “no.” So I knew what the next 113 minutes would hold. That’s right, a musical with Richard Gere.
Well, it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared; I didn’t fall asleep. The songs were catchy. The visuals were extremely creative as we are transitioned from dream worlds to real worlds. John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones steal the show. You could probably talk me into the Broadway show — if I lived in New York City and promised me Richard Gere wasn’t in it.
“Secretariat”
Cast: Diane Lane, John Malkovich,
This show is: Emotional, Inspiring, Heartfelt
Rated: PG
Common Sense rating: Loved ones die, the horse wins. OK for kids 8+.
Housewife to horse breeder, Penny Chenery becomes the ‘first lady of racing’ as she bonds with ‘Big Red’ on the way to the Triple Crown. Based on a true story. 4 of 5 Netflix stars.
“Arctic Blast”
Cast: Michael Shanks, Alexandra Davies, Bruce Davison
This show is: Exciting
Rated: NR
Common Sense rating: Apocalyptic, end of the world, like tension, problem solving missles.
Total eclipse rips a hole in the atmosphere letting in sub-arctic air triggering a killer ice fog. 2 of 5 Netflix stars.
“Chicago”
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere
This show is: Cerebral, Dark, Mind-bending, Suspenseful
Rated: PG-13
Common Sense rating: Sexual content and dialogue, violence and thematic elements. OK for kids 14+.
Stardom hungry Roxie Hart finds herself in the slammer along with superstar Velma Kelly. When Kelly’s, notorious lawyer, Billy Flynn takes Roxie as a client, a singing, dancing catfight begins. 4 of 5 Netflix stars.
Five movies from the queue
1. Red Cliff
2. Paranormal Activity
3. Exterminating Angels
4. Stargate Continuum
5. Ichi
• Richard Stein, IT/Website Manager, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 254) or rstein@thegardenisland.com.
