The First Movie is.... Hidalgo!!!!!

Here comes my first movie review!

Hidalgo (2004)
-PG-13

I watched this movie last night after reading about Fr. Hidalgo in my history book. And though this movie has absolutely NOTHING to do with Fr. Hidalgo, I found it to be absolutely amazing!
Summary:
An American cowboy named Frank Hopkins (Mortensen) and his horse, Hidalgo, are famous for never losing a long-distance race. Because of his claim to owning the best long-distance horse ever, he is challenged to a 3000 mile survival race across the Arabian desert called the Ocean of Fire. Normally restricted to Arabs riding pure Thoroughbred horses, all from a long and proud family line- Frank and Hidalgo make history by entering as the first American- and the first mustang- to ever participate. Aside from the already difficult climate, Frank and Hidalgo must also fight all of the Arabs who aren't very happy about how well he seems to be faring- or the fact that he is participating at all. Perseverance and courage are going to be the only things that will keep him going- and that good ol' American will power.

What I liked:
I thought this movie really captured the American spirit. You see Frank amidst all of these seemingly heartless Arabs, determined not to give up or accept all of their strange rules. This movie is truly worth watching. And, best of all, it is based on a true story! :)

Possible concerns:
Any teenager, in my opinion, would be fine watching this movie. The PG-13 rating is predominately for adventure violence, though I did not find any of it to be excessively gory. There was an (very) occasional curse word. And, during one part of the movie, Frank is accused of doing something he didn't. The Arabs have a certain type of punishment in accordance with the crime he has supposedly committed which involves doing something to his male parts. This is not discussed in great detail, and nothing actually happens since a big distraction- and the fact he is actually innocent- prevent any farther pursuing of the torture.

I hope you look into this movie; it really was amazing! If you want a very detailed layout of the movie, go to kids-in-mind.com or decentfilms.com and put it in the search box. Enjoy! :)