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SECRETARIATMovie Reviews
Sports drama about the housewife and mother who steered the horse Secretariat to his Triple Crown win in 1973. Cast:Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh, Scott Glenn, Dylan BakerDirector:Randall WallaceRelease Date:October 8, 2010DVD Release:January 25, 2011From:Walt Disney PicturesRating:PGLength:1 hr 56 min
Secretariat played to good reviews. • Wesley Morris wrote in the Boston Globe, "...happy proof of what care, polish, and some modest humor can do for a tired-seeming entertainment." • And Chris Vognar wrote in the Dallas Morning News, "...gorgeous to look at, suspenseful when it's supposed to be and firmly in control of the sports movie archetypes and tropes that it wields like an experienced jockey..." More Reviews Below...
Alynda Wheat, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...has great performances and a fine story, even if it feels like it's been trotted a lot before.... more than worthy as a family-friendly outing."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 191 words, 10/07/10
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "...there is no point in being snotty about 'Secretariat.' The saga of the horse becoming a champion has you pumping your fist in simple pleasure..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 931 words, 10/07/10
David Germain, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a classy but standard Disney-fication... thrilling race scenes are offset by some of the blandest 'you can do it if you try' dialogue you're likely to encounter on film."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 10/07/10
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...racetrack scenes crackle... The many disjointed domestic sequences upset the pace, however -- and the film stumbles before reaching the finish line."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 73 words, 10/07/10
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "When Secretariat is running his races, the movie has a hokey, old-fashioned appeal.... The film is so insistently square it undercuts the very drama it's out to capture."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 517 words, 10/08/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The true story of the recordbreaking Secretariat is pretty stupendous as is. It didn't need schmaltzing up. But director Randall Wallace chose to aggrandize everything..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 10/08/10
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This isn't some cornball formula film.... It is a great film about greatness, the story of the horse and the no less brave woman who had faith in him."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,298 words, 10/07/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the bigger and truer stars of this enjoyable, sometimes accidentally entertaining movie are the five horses that take turns playing Secretariat..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 890 words, 10/08/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Sounds potentially yawn-inducing, and yet this slightly glazed drama is aiming for family audiences, and that ought to help it at the starting gate."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 259 words, 10/08/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "If you're in the mood for it, and in the mood for a strong and satisfying performance by Diane Lane, you're definitely in the right place."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 861 words, 10/08/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "There is no suspense... We know the outcome. Studios rarely back movies about horses that place, or show.... it isn't bad but it's precisely what you'd expect."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 586 words, 10/08/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This isn't some cornball formula film.... It is a great film about greatness, the story of the horse and the no less brave woman who had faith in him."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,298 words, 10/07/10
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...the formulaic race footage itself is vigorous; the schmaltzy mythmaking script, on the other hand, deserves a one-way trip to the glue factory."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 209 words, 10/06/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...how to pander to an audience you don't respect in the slightest.... Nothing wrong with that story, but director Randall Wallace tells it in the most banal manner possible..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 214 words, 10/07/10
KEY CITIES (15 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Randall Wallace (who wrote 'Braveheart') has achieved the next to impossible, injecting genuine tension and suspense into a narrative we all know the ending to."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 477 words, 10/08/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "A workmanlike sports inspirational boasting a potent performance from Diane Lane... harnesses womanpower to horsepower for galvanic effect."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 10/08/10
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The horse is gorgeous; Diane Lane is gorgeous; they spend a lot of time staring into each other's eyes, backlit by perpetual sunsets."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 10/08/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE(cg) "A well-acted tale of an underdog's triumph that sorely lacks an underdog, it teeters between pleasantly generic film biography and rank manipulation."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 417 words, 10/08/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a traditional, by-the-numbers feel-good movie that's likely to leave you cheering in the end anyway, even though you know what's coming."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 541 words, 10/08/10
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...gorgeous to look at, suspenseful when it's supposed to be and firmly in control of the sports movie archetypes and tropes that it wields like an experienced jockey..."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 185 words, 10/08/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...happy proof of what care, polish, and some modest humor can do for a tired-seeming entertainment.... it has been presented to us as an occasion for uplift."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,220 words, 10/08/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...you watch breathless and thrilled, despite knowing the outcome.... The dialogue in Mike Rich's screenplay is often clunky and expository..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 391 words, 10/08/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a strenuously familiar feel-good flick... Everything may be true, but that doesn't make it compelling. Even a talent like Lane can't shuffle this stacked deck."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 505 words, 10/07/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "...family friendly, efficient and just a bit too twinkly-clean for its own good. The corn here is higher than it needs to be."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,053 words, 10/08/10
Randy Myers, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a rousingly entertaining and robustly acted movie with electrifying horse-racing sequences filmed from the jockey's perspective."(See all of Randy Myers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 526 words, 10/08/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...the formulaic race footage itself is vigorous; the schmaltzy mythmaking script, on the other hand, deserves a one-way trip to the glue factory."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 209 words, 10/06/10
Josh Tyler, Cinema Blend: POOR(cg) "...all but ignores the horse it's named after in favor of telling the tedious, mostly irrelevant story of his owner. Let's call her Diane Lane."(See all of Josh Tyler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 850 words, 10/04/10
Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Mike Rich's screenplay goes straight to the cliché factory... What keeps the film out of the claiming ranks is a tough Diane Lane..."(See all of Jeffrey Gantz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 773 words, 10/07/10
Keith Phipps, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There's adversity, triumph, and lessons learned on the way to a happy ending. And upbeat scenes set to stirring, era-appropriate songs? Do you even have to ask?"(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 441 words, 10/07/10
Simon Abrams, Slant: POOR(cg) "...incompetent action scenes almost single-handedly capsize the film, which is a feat considering how stunted the rest of 'Secretariat's' central melodrama is."(See all of Simon Abrams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 750 words, 10/08/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...how to pander to an audience you don't respect in the slightest.... Nothing wrong with that story, but director Randall Wallace tells it in the most banal manner possible..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 214 words, 10/07/10
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: EXCELLENT(cg) "Secretariat doesn't just win, he stacks the deck against himself, and then he wins anyway... The quietly exultant feminism of the film is kinda like that, too..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 315 words, 10/21/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...stumbles along beneath the weight of leaden life lessons.... Diane Lane does better than anyone had a right to expect, since she is saddled with dialogue of exceptional dreadfulness."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 167 words, 10/08/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the bigger and truer stars of this enjoyable, sometimes accidentally entertaining movie are the five horses that take turns playing Secretariat..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 890 words, 10/08/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "If you're in the mood for it, and in the mood for a strong and satisfying performance by Diane Lane, you're definitely in the right place."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 861 words, 10/08/10
Dana Stevens, Slate: WEAK "...a by-the-numbers sports-hero picture with an inexpressive hero (horses look great in motion, but they can't carry a close-up) and a preordained outcome."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 655 words, 10/07/10
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "I enjoyed it immensely... Which doesn't stop me from believing that in its totality 'Secretariat' is a work of creepy, half-hilarious master-race propaganda almost worthy of Leni Riefenstahl..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,322 words, 10/06/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD "...conventional but rousingly effective... pulls through its occasional faltering stretches by focusing on the essentials of its incredible real-life saga..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 998 words, 10/03/10
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "Malkovich gives the film its comic relief as the French-Canadian trainer who after a long career has a winner to make up for all those painful big losses."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 817 words, 10/03/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "If you're in the mood for it, and in the mood for a strong and satisfying performance by Diane Lane, you're definitely in the right place."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 861 words, 10/08/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the bigger and truer stars of this enjoyable, sometimes accidentally entertaining movie are the five horses that take turns playing Secretariat..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 890 words, 10/08/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...stumbles along beneath the weight of leaden life lessons.... Diane Lane does better than anyone had a right to expect, since she is saddled with dialogue of exceptional dreadfulness."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 167 words, 10/08/10
20.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Secretariat's reviews are separated by an average 20.1 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Secretariat (47 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Secretariat's reviews cover 91.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 27,654 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 588 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Secretariat's reviews on average broke 5.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Secretariat's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Secretariat (47 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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