PetMoviestars » Drama Movies

Gorillas in the Mist

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:18:12 +0000

Based on anthropologist Dian Fossey’s autobiography, and an article by Harold T. P. Hayes, GORILLAS IN THE MIST is a portrait of the determined woman who will do anything to save the mountain gorillas that she studies, and for whose well-being she has a passionate commitment. In the process, she draws international attention to their declining population, yet her obsessive work to save them also eclipses her personal life and brings her into ruinous confrontation with relentless, impoverished poachers. At times recalling Joseph Conrad’s HEART OF DARKNESS, the film touches on both Fossey’s nobility–and inhumanity. To capture her passion, and the sublime African landscape, director Michael Apted (known for his documentary series 7 UP in Britain) shot on location in Rwanda, where the anthropologist lived and worked. Sigourney Weaver, playing Fossey, gives an intense portrayal (garnering an Academy Award nomination) of the woman who almost singlehandedly reversed the extinction of the mountain gorillas in Africa.

Fluke

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:03:00 +0000

When business partners Thomas Johnson and Jeff Newman decide to drag race, their foolish competition comes to a tragic end when Thomas dies in a car accident. However, Thomas curiously awakens not in heaven, but as a mixed-breed puppy on Earth. After being renamed Fluke, the reincarnated Thomas paws the city looking for affection — especially from his former wife and child who see him as nothing more than a dirty pooch.

Air Bud: World Pup

admin — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:48:33 +0000

Not simply content with his basketball prowess, the hoop-shooting pooch sets his sights on soccer in this third installment. Soon enough, he’s howling along with the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, playing with such notables as Brandi Chastain, Brianna Scurri, and Trisha Venturini. And this time out, Buddy also finds love, fathering a littler of lovable pups. And as if he didn’t have enough to worry about with the championship game, he’s got to save his little one from a gang of nefarious pup-nappers. Video and DVD include music video and featurette.

Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch

admin — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:52:48 +0000

Having mastered basketball, football, and soccer in his last three films, this time Air Bud heads out to the baseball diamond. Once again following in the footsteps of his teenage owner, Bud becomes a Little League star. However, crisis strikes when it is discovered that Bud’s puppies, now fully grown and living with other families, are being stolen. Now, Air Bud must put down his bat and glove and try to solve the case of the missing pups.

Shergar

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:05:24 +0000

SHERGAR is loosely based on a true incident, when members of the Irish IRA stole a legendary Derby-winning racehorse, valued by Lloyds of London at ten million pounds and regarded as one of the greatest racehorses ever. Mickey Rourke (DINER and YEAR OF THE DRAGON) and Ian Holm (JOE GOULD’S SECRET) enliven the film, shot on location in Ireland amidst striking scenery.

The Horse Whisperer

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:00:11 +0000

A terrible horseback riding accident has left 14-year-old Grace MacLean (Scarlett Johansson) emotionally and physically scarred for life, and has left her prized horse, Pilgrim, permanently spooked. Grace’s mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas)–a high-powered New York magazine editor–is unwilling to believe that Pilgrim is beyond help and is desperate to help her daughter recover from the trauma. Annie drives across the country to Montana, with daughter and horse in tow, in search of Tom Booker (Robert Redford) a horse whisperer with a special gift for communicating with troubled horses. With Tom’s help, both Grace and Pilgrim begin to deal with the aftermath of the accident. Annie, meanwhile, begins to reevaluate the choices she has made in life as she becomes enamored with both Booker and life on a Montana ranch. Sam Neill plays Robert MacLean, the husband and father left behind in New York when mother and daughter make their trek. Directed by Redford (ORDINARY PEOPLE, QUIZ SHOW) and based on Nicholas Evans’s popular novel of the same name, the film features sweeping Montana vistas, earnest performances, and impressive horseback riding and training sequences.

Sylvester

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:46:06 +0000

Melissa Gilbert made her film debut in this cowgirl fairy tale, as Charlie, a sixteen-year-old orphan whose love of horses and stubborn determination transforms her from a down-on-her-luck cowgirl into a skillful and prize-winning equestrian. While working at a Texas stockyard breaking horses, Charlie falls in love with an ornery bronco and names him Sylvester. When she loses her job, she must struggle to find a home for her two younger brothers and keep her dreams of becoming an Olympic rider alive. With the help of her old stockyard boss, Foster (Richard Farnsworth), she learns the riding skills she needs to fufill her dreams of competing in the National Equestrian Finals. The support and mentoring of ex-cavalrymen Foster helps Charlie to realizes her potential as she rides her beloved Sylvester in the competition. Directed by Tim Hunter, SYLVESTER is the sweet story of a young girl growing up and rising above her circumstances.

National Velvet

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:24:45 +0000

NATIONAL VELVET is the poignant family story that made a young Elizabeth Taylor a star. Taylor excels as Velvet Brown, a 1920s working-class girl whose dreams of owning her own horse become a reality when she wins Pie, a wild and unruly horse, in a raffle. With the help of Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney), a skittish, gun-shy ex-jockey, Velvet trains Pie to be a race champion despite the wishes of her loving but cautious parents (Donald Crisp and Ann Revere). Velvet’s determination pays off, and the Brown family (including Angela Lansbury as Edwina, Velvet’s sophisticated older sister) pools its money and enters the family pride and joy in the prestigious Grand National race, only to have its hopes dashed when the rider renegs–leading Velvet to do something extraordinary. This uplifting adaptation of Enid Bagnold’s novel features stunning photography of coastal England and acclaimed crosscut editing that heightens the tension in the famous race scene. Young costars Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney are fabulous together, full of youthful charm and exuberance, ably supported by a first-rate ensemble cast.

Seabiscuit

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:12:08 +0000

You don’t throw a whole life away just ‘cause it’s banged up a little. It is a story that inspired a nation…and one that almost didn’t happen. It is the story of a country whose dreams had been shattered…and the people who found a hero in an average horse that could achieve the unthinkable. It is the story of three lost men—Johnny “Red” Pollard (TOBEY MAGUIRE), a young man whose spirit had been broken; Charles Howard (JEFF BRIDGES), a millionaire who lost everything; and Tom Smith (CHRIS COOPER), a cowboy whose world was vanishing—who found each other and discovered hope in an unlikely place. The odds were incredible. The dream was impossible… And somehow, it actually happened...

Hidalgo

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:54:03 +0000

A breathtakingly photographed, epic western like none produced for decades, HIDALGO recounts the life of legend Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen). Set in the 1800s, this family film chronicles the triumphant victory won by Frank and his mustang Hidalgo in the Ocean of Fire, an often-fatal competition in which the best riders and thoroughbreds race across Middle Eastern deserts. For Frank, who is known in the west for his prowess as a Pony Express rider and the winner of long-distance horse races, the lure of the Ocean of Fire is not only the $100,000 purse but also the clear challenge–both of which prove irresistible, and inspire him to travel across the world for this life-altering experience. With sweeping landscapes that evoke John Ford westerns like STAGECOACH and THE SEARCHERS, HIDALGO features enough racing, rivalry, and romance to befit any action film. But the race also provides a vehicle for the story of Frank forgiving himself for his participation in the Wounded Knee slaughter and accepting his part-Indian ancestry. The film’s message, highlighted in a particularly moving scene where Frank invokes the spirits of his Native American ancestors, is that the key to happiness is accepting yourself as you are.