The Writer's Life 7/22 -

I caught up to Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011) last night, courtesy of Netflix. Based on a 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, it is solid film-making, but the story rarely soars. It is unusually understated for a Spielberg film. It is basically a reworking of Homer's The Odyssey, set during WWI, with a beautiful stallion at the center. One big plus is the avoidance of gore, which probably would not have worked in such a feel-good movie. The deaths of likeable characters occurs off-screen. One minus: German characters address each other in English. This is unacceptable in such a big time production. People at IMDb rated it 7.2 out of ten. I can't decide whether to rated it three or three-and-a-half out of five. The cinematography is beautiful, the characters are easy to root for, and there was a moment when I experienced chills but, overall, I thought it was standard stuff. It was nominated for six Oscars but took home none.

Visit Vic’s sites:

Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb

Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6

Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h

Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f