Ombre dal passato

I don't get it. This movie has some high levels supporters (such as James Cameron) praising the movie, yet I can't see in any way how they are able to back it up. We have here a film centring round two brothers, who are caught in the middle of a corruption ring. One brother is slow witted and is being used whilst the other is trapped in his efforts to help his brother.

It's about brotherhood, loyalty, blood etc etc. The problem is that it just isn't gripping. The storyline is mostly poor and nothing complex, but the underlying themes need something challenging. It's absent here.

The main leads are fair enough and not big names, working hard with the material in front of them, but they can little save this.

The cinematography is beautiful and so is the natural scenery, but that's as good as it gets.

Not by any means the poorest film of late, but one that I can't seem to like. If it wasn't for the major sponsors of this film it likely would never have got any of the attention it ever did.

As "Broken Horses" was drawing to a close, I formulated my review. I had just one sentence: "You could do worse than spend a totally free evening --when there's no cricket, even--watching this movie."

It is just a yarn, spun without imagination, and that yarn isn't substantial enough to be woven into a unique design.

There were a couple of twists and turns, some modicum of suspense, many efforts to get the tear ducts opening, but all through I kept thinking, "This is kind of embarrassing." If the movie theater had been full, I dare say there would have been guffaws at the flat story-telling and the clunky dialogs. That would have amused me.

With movies on familiar themes you want slick treatment, snappy dialog, and a sound-track that tells some of the story without the aid of words. And in this movie where music is a major theme, I really missed the magic an original score and sound-effects can play.

That's it. You aren't likely to go bananas about any aspect of this film, except may be the photography. Having seen this, I am not dying to see "Parinda" either.

Broken Horses by Vidhu Vinod Chopra disappointed me in many ways. I was waiting for this from almost last 4 months and end up with dull face. This remake of Parinda is lacking in almost all the fields except cinematography. I understand its difficult to make a film for wide range of International audience, even for directors like VVC. This movie have given me a taste of Indian Biryani with English mas-ala. And hence not good for both. Better luck next Time Vidhu. ....and one more thing. Please don't ask James Cameron and other BIG names in Hollywood to say one liner for the movie before they also watch the movie. This may work in India not Internationally.

What actual makes me laugh when I read the reviews on IMDb is that most of the time movies with mediocre reviews are to me the best ones and movies with outstanding reviews I find them almost unwatchable. I don't know if it's me or if it is just the posh people that like movies from Lars Von Trier and David Lynch that review the most movies but I question myself if I have bad taste or what? I thought Broken Horses was a really good movie, with enough suspense to keep you interested during the whole movie. Unlike boring movies from Von Trier and Lynch where the story sucks big time and you kind of wish the movie ends as soon as possible. With this one I didn't get bored a second. Chris Marquette plays the mildly retarded brother brilliantly. I couldn't fail any of the actors actually. They were all good. The filming is also good and the story is also good. Everything about this movie is just good. Why it only gets such a low score on here is a mystery to me.

Greetings again from the darkness. The old adage "blood is thicker than water" has always been fruitful movie fodder. Writer/director Vidhu Vinod Chopra takes the theme to a small, dusty town on the Mexico border. He introduces us to the sons of the local sheriff … Buddy is the slow-witted eldest and Jakey the bespectacled musical prodigy.

Buddy is flashing his dead-eye aim at the shooting range when his father (Thomas Jane) is murdered right in front of him. Local mobster Mr. Hench (Vincent D'Onofrio) seizes the opportunity to utilize young Buddy's need for revenge. Jump ahead 15 years, and Jakey (Anton Yelchen, Star Trek) is engaged to Vittoria (Maria Valverde) and living in New York City as a classical violinist. Things get interesting when Buddy (Chris Marquette) entices Jakey to come visit after being away for eight years.

Jake isn't in town very long before he fully understands that Hench has a grip on Buddy, who is now a full-fledged hit-man engulfed in the various border gang wars. Here is where the brotherly bond kicks in. Watching it play out against the manipulative power of Hench provides the meatiest conflict within the film. The brothers admit to living on "different planets", but it's clear that their traumatic childhood has connected them in a manner that time and distance can't break … even though one of them more readily identifies "bad men".

Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints) has an odd, but hyper-energetic small role, but most of the screen time is taken by D'Onofrio, Yelchin and Marquette. A better written role for Ms. Valverde would have been advantageous, but mostly this is a solid little crime drama with an emphasis on brotherly bond.