Reverend's Reviews: Romance Blossoms in New DVDs

It's Spring, time for rebirth and potential new love! As two new, gay-oriented home video releases make clear, nothing says "romance" quite like... bikini parties and blood-sucking vampires?

A bikini party is the memorable centerpiece of the German film Alex and Leo, out April 5 on DVD from Breaking Glass Pictures. Set in Berlin, it depicts the challenges the two title characters face in the process of falling in love. Shortly after the two have a brief encounter in a coffee shop, Alex (Andre Schneider) discovers that his longtime boyfriend has been cheating on him. Meanwhile, Leo (Marcel Schlutt, who is too cute, especially when playing drunk) tells his girlfriend of four years that he is gay. She not unpredictably breaks up with him.

Leo and Alex cross paths again in a local cabaret. Alex, still reeling from the end of his relationship, is hesitant to get involved with another man so soon. His friends also caution Alex against getting involved with a "closet case" like Leo. Leo, however, is very attracted to Alex and is anxious to start living an openly gay life.

Alex's hesitance toward Leo begins to falter during the previously mentioned bikini party, at which both male and female guests are required to wear two-piece women's bikinis. I don't know whether this is a traditional German concept or not, but it's fun and there is naturally plenty of flesh on display. Neither Leo nor Alex are model-quality in appearance, but their average looks make their relationship and the movie more believable.

Unfortunately, Alex and Leo (which was written and directed by Ives-Yuri Garate) isn't the most visually attractive film. Many scenes are at times grainy and/or over-lit. This fact and an awful end title song keep it from scoring higher in my critical book, but it is nonetheless a well-acted, sweet and funny take on contemporary gay relationships.

Another new release with romance on its mind is Vampire Boys, from Ariztical Entertainment. Obviously aiming to cash in on the current craze for all things having to do with pretty, ageless bloodsuckers (i.e. the Twilight saga, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries), this direct-to-DVD production features a posse of toned, frequently shirtless dudes who prowl around LA hunting for plasma.

Into their midst comes young, innocent Caleb (Christian Ferrer). The gay college student has just moved to California from Ohio, lured by an online friend named Paul (Ryan Adames). While Paul is hoping for more than just a roommate arrangement with Caleb, the leader of the local vampire squad, Jasin (the truly captivating Jason Lockhart), begins having visions in which Caleb appears as "The One." Jasin needs to mate with "The One" and turn them into a vampire in order for him and his boys to survive.

The vampires had anticipated a woman to be "The One," so they are all initially surprised when Jasin and Caleb become attracted to each other. This is a unique and appreciated twist in the plot of Vampire Boys over the tortured heterosexual love triangle at the center of Twilight, et al. Only one of the vampires (played by Dylan Vox, formerly known as gay porn star Brad Benton) voices objections, so he plots to steal leadership from Jasin.

The film is pretty silly and amateurishly directed by Charlie Vaughn but isn't without its romantic charms. Caleb and Jasin are worth swooning over as their relationship escalates, especially after Jasin "comes out" as a vampire to Caleb and Caleb must decide whether to become a vampire too. I don't like how the character of Paul is treated, however. He is dispatched so unsympathetically and Caleb's concern over Paul's disappearance is so fleeting that Paul ultimately becomes inconsequential. Why have the character in the script in the first place? The producers of this obviously low-budget affair could have spent even less money.

Still, if you like half-naked male vampires (while a couple of their male victims are shown in their full-frontal glory), Vampire Boys may be the movie for you.

Reverend's Ratings:
Alex and Leo: B
Vampire Boys: C

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Toon Talk: In the Name of the Father

Fans of the works of the legendary Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki know what to expect when they watch one of his films. The central protagonist, usually a boy or a girl (or both), find themselves in a life-threatening adventure filled with magic and mystery. They must rely on their youthful wits and innate talents to survive against an enigmatic, otherworldly being who will, most likely, at one point turn into a pile of goo. An adult father figure is usually on hand to provide sage advice, and it is highly probable that our hero will eventually learn that they are in fact some higher, magical being. The whole fantastic story is brought to vivid life with highly detailed and incredibly beautiful animation, with strong attention paid to recreating the wonders of nature. Oh, and there will be flying… lots and lots of flying.

Of course, anyone who has seen any of Miyazaki’s films knows that the whole is much more then sum of its parts. His films, from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (available this week for the first time on Blu-ray) to his Academy Award winning masterpiece Spirited Away to his most recent delight Ponyo, are quite simply sublime in their storytelling brilliance and ability to transport you to a myriad of different fantasy lands.

Following in the elder Miyazaki’s footsteps is his son, Goro Miyazaki, who makes his directorial debut with the latest Studio Ghibli feature to be released in the United States, Tales from Earthsea (now also available on DVD). As would be expected, the younger Miyazaki has big shoes to fill, and while it is not entirely fair to hold his work up to the standards of his obviously more accomplished father, Tales from Earthsea is so steeped in the studio style that it is unavoidable...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Tales from Earthsea at LaughingPlace.com.

Reverend's Reviews: Naked Love

As co-host Anne Hathaway mused during last week's Oscars telecast, "You know, it used to be that if you got naked, you got a nomination; Not anymore." She was amusingly referring to her frequently-topless performance in last year's Love & Other Drugs, just released on DVD and Blu-ray. While the Academy may have overlooked her, Hathaway and co-star Jake Gyllenhaal did receive deserved 2010 Golden Globe nominations.

In this sometimes touching, sometimes strained romantic-dramedy, Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, a callow pharmaceutical salesman during the late 1990's when such now ubiquitous drugs as Prozak and Viagra were first introduced. Jamie will use any means necessary — especially bedding pretty medical secretaries — to spotlight the meds he's peddling in his quest to become Pfizer's #1 field rep.

His ladder-climbing, commitment-phobic ways begin to falter, however, when he meets and begins a casual sexual relationship with Maggie Murdock (Hathaway). Jamie is immediately smitten by Maggie's sharp wit, zest for life and exposed breasts, which he spies during a medical exam. So smitten is Jamie that he doesn't bat an eye when he learns Maggie has been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease, a degenerative neurological condition that will eventually leave her totally incapacitated. Maggie, all too aware of her gradual physical deterioration, has avoided serious relationships... until she meets Jamie, that is.

Love & Other Drugs garnered much pre-release buzz over the extensive nudity reportedly displayed by its attractive co-stars. The buzz seemed to die down quickly though, perhaps because the sex and nudity are depicted casually/realistically and fairly non-provocatively. One can only see Hathaway's buxom bosom and Gyllenhaal's shapely derriere so many times before they become just another part of the scenery, which is to the filmmakers' credit.

The screenplay was co-written by the director, Edward Zwick (who has previously done more significant movies, including Glory and The Last Samurai), and is adapted from Jamie Reidy's autobiographical book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Trying to tread the line carefully, things get shaky whenever Zwick goes for drama rather than comedy. Also, the movie's moral — which basically criticizes drug companies for investing more in what could be deemed unnecessary medications like Viagra than they do in the treatment of truly debilitating conditions such as Parkinson's — is awfully heavy-handed.

Despite its flaws, the film does feature moments of insight into human nature thanks chiefly to Hathaway's and Gyllenhaal's performances. The two have great chemistry (they previously played a conflicted husband and wife in Brokeback Mountain), and I'd love to see them work together again in either a flat-out comedy or a serious drama. They and the film also benefit from a strong supporting cast that includes Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, George Segal and, in one of her final appearances, Jill Clayburgh.

One won't require an antibiotic after watching Love & Other Drugs, but most viewers will likely have the feeling it could have been better.

Reverend's Rating: C+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reel Thoughts: On Dublin Time

Ireland’s financial collapse destroyed a crazy economic bubble known as the Celtic Tiger. Writer/Director Brian Lally uses this as a backdrop to set his big screen soap opera 8.5 Hours (now available on DVD), about four office workers who are having the worst Monday ever.

Rachel (Lynette Callaghan) is desperate to buy an overpriced Dublin condo, despite breaking up with the boyfriend who was going to make it affordable. Eoin (Victor Burke) is neck-deep in expensive wedding plans, even though he’s hiding his bisexuality from his bride-to-be. Tony (Jonathan Byrne) is a coke-sniffing womanizer who is getting weird hate mail threatening that judgment is upon him. Finally, Frank (Art Kearns) is reeling from finding his neglected wife in bed with his best friend. Each character’s back story is shown as their lives shatter, just like the company they work for and the country in which they live.

8.5 Hours is an engaging melodrama that reveals the dark sides people try to hide from the world. Each person has sympathetic characteristics except for Tony, but it is hard to cheer on their choices. Rachel blackmails her smarmy boss over his on-the-down-low lifestyle, while Eoin cheats on his fiancée while continuing to let her play 'Bride Beautiful'. A creepy element enters the story when a mysterious old woman begins accosting Tony for a sin he committed years before. She makes Carrie’s mother look like Mary Poppins. The acting is well done and Callaghan, in particular, shines as the shifty Rachel.

This isn’t a film where you’ll find positive gay role models, but 8.5 Hours does reveal a segment of Irish culture that ferments the secretive behavior of its bisexual characters. Rachel is more than punished for her ruthless ambition and misdeeds, but women viewers may find the film offensive overall for its depiction of its female characters. Overall, 8.5 Hours doesn’t succeed as the cultural indictment it wants to be, due to an over-reliance on melodrama. As an entertaining soap opera about Dubliners behaving badly, though, it can’t be beat.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts: Die, Die, My Darling

Let Me Die Quietly (now available on DVD) has a lot in common with Seeing Heaven, the British movie about a street hustler who sees visions of murder when sexually engaged. Writer Charles Casillo (The Marilyn Diaries) stars as Mario, a haunted sex addict who sees visions of murder victims but can’t help them. While Seeing Heaven was wrapped in the porn world, Let Me Die Quietly is more of a thriller with a twist ending.

Mario meets another psychic, Gabrielle (Dana Perry), who tells him that she has the same kind of visions, and she hopes that they can make sense of them and help stop a serial killer. As Mario’s narration shows, he knows that to intervene in this murder may mean his own demise, but he is so roused from his fatalistic lifestyle, he can’t help himself. This is pure film noir shot on a shoestring budget, with a level of acting that sometimes lets the story down. The pacing is very slow and deliberate, but if you give it a chance, you’ll be rewarded with an unusual thriller with a lot of twists.

Casillo is handsome but a little bland and unfocused. Perry is much more engaging, and once the pair start trailing the man they think killed a Hell’s Kitchen hustler, their chemistry improves the film. Ian Tomaschik, as Mario’s psychiatrist, is the one glaring bad casting decision. Who would see a therapist who so clearly sounds and acts like a psycho? The character has been helping Mario with his “gift”, so we are misled if we don’t like him and root for him to help Mario.

One of my pet peeves in movies and television is people who have psychic powers that never help them, and instead just move the plot along. Let Me Die Quietly suffers from that affliction big-time, but it makes sense as the film wraps up. It is intriguing that Mario finds himself seduced by Gabrielle in every way, despite him being gay. This may be hard for audiences to buy, but in the film’s world, it works.

Let Me Die Quietly is more like “Let It Play Slowly”, but it has received a lot of love on the festival circuit, so you may find it an engrossing thriller.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Toon Talk: The Forest for the Trees

This week’s “Diamond Edition” Blu-ray of Bambi marks the high definition debut of the beloved Disney classic. A true masterpiece in the art of animation, the film ranks high on many a cinephile’s list of the best of the medium, and has often been cited as an influence on other filmmakers to this day. Its simple story of a boy growing up in the harsh realities of the world is as timeless now as it ever has been, and it remains a “must see” for every generation.

So it is a bit disturbing that everything new about this release is designed to distract you from actually watching the movie...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of the Bambi Blu-ray at LaughingPlace.com.

Reel Thoughts: German Exhibitionism

It’s hard to imagine what American audiences thought in 1981 when they got a look at Frank Ripploh’s explosively explicit film Taxi Zum Klo, which translates as “Taxi to the Toilets”. Thirty years later, in an uncensored director’s cut now on DVD, Ripploh’s semi-autobiographical tale of a closeted teacher by day who leads a sexually-uninhibited life at night is just as shocking and liberating as it was then. Of course, AIDS had yet to decimate the population, and the action takes place when there was still a West Berlin. Still, the candid way that Ripploh shows his character’s insatiable appetite for sex, even after he finds a ‘safe’ and loving partner resonates at a time when a greater number of men are engaging in high-risk behavior.

Taxi Zum Klo is more than just a fascinating time capsule and by far the most explicit gay film I have ever seen. It presents Frank without judgment while giving everyone who watches it the opportunity to draw their own conclusions. Frank’s visits to bathhouses and cruisy toilets are beginning to interfere with his school job; he even accidentally writes a prospective trick’s phone number in a student’s dictation book.

Then he meets Bernd (Bernd Broaderup), a movie theater clerk who starts off as a one-night stand but stays. Many people will recognize themselves in the sweetly naïve Bernd, who assumes that Frank wants the same life in the country he craves. Finding Frank with another man and watching the two have sex is a bit of a wake-up call for Bernd, but Frank is unapologetic. Frank, too, has to face whether he likes the life he’s living, or if he’s reached the critical point where health issues, coming out to his students and the thought of losing Bernd will cause a change of heart.

Taxi Zum Klo is extremely sexual, but not very erotic. The men are hairy and average looking, but the intensity is alluring nonetheless. This film caused a historic change in the way gay films and gay life were portrayed on screen, and you’ll find it just as powerful to watch in 2011 as it was in 1981.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts: Cherish

While you’ll have to wait until March 1 to see Cher in her most recent role in Burlesque on DVD, now is the perfect time to check out her first roles, followed by four of her notable performances since then. Cher: The Movie Collection gives you six chances to cherish Cher, even if the films are sometimes a hoot or a drag.

The first DVD is more of a Sonny movie than a Cher one. Good Times, starring Cher’s ex, the late Sonny Bono, is a bizarre film filled where the then-hot duo are being cajoled into making Hollywood trash by none other than George Sanders, channeling his Addison DeWitt character from All About Eve. It’s hard to care whether or not the “kids” sell out and make the hillbilly hit Sanders wants, since their alternatives are a bunch of skits (a western, a jungle saga and a private eye spoof) done better on their variety show. Still, both Sonny and Cher sing, and it’s fascinating to imagine that he was the bigger star back then.

Next is Chastity, where Cher plays a teen-aged runaway with a secret, who can’t let anyone get too close to her. People sure try, though, from the guy she scams at a gas station, to a nice guy she calls Andre to the lesbian madam of a Mexican whorehouse where Chastity hangs out after fleeing domestic bliss with Andre. It’s a 60’s road trip that is a hoot, but it’s most notable for its Phoenix locations. Look closely and you’ll see Wagon Wheel Kiddie Land (where the madam who looks like Shirley Partridge takes Chastity), the Phoenix Zoo, the long lost Japanese flower gardens on Baseline and Macayo’s on Central.

(It bears noting that Chaz Bono, Cher’s trangender son, was conceived during this film, and named for a character who is basically a hustler and wannabe hooker. It’s like Sir Anthony Hopkins naming his kid Hannibal.)

The next films are more familiar Cher fare, and probably don’t need introductions. As Dolly Pelliker in 1983’s Silkwood, Cher plays the lesbian roommate of Meryl Streep’s ill-fated whistle-blower. Cher captures her character’s conflicting loyalties perfectly. Her Oscar-nominated performance put her on the map as a dramatic actress.

Then comes her Oscar-winning performance in 1987’s Moonstruck, where Cher plays Loretta, a dowdy New York bookkeeper who blossoms when forced to choose between a nice-guy suitor (Danny Aiello) and his handsome estranged younger brother (Nicolas Cage). This is Cher at her best, and she’s luminous in the role.

1990’s Mermaids comes next, starring Cher as the scandalous single mother of Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci, who is adorable in her very first film. The collection ends with 1999’s Tea With Mussolini, Cher’s only trip to period drama à la Merchant Ivory. Franco Zeffirelli directed this semi-autobiographical story of a boy raised by an Englishwoman in Mussolini’s Italy. Cher is gorgeous as Elsa, a Jewish-American heiress who falls victim to internment while trying to help a group of British women (Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Judi Dench).

Certainly, there are titles missing from this collection, since it contains only MGM releases, but Cher: The Movie Collection is a great way to enjoy Cher’s second best talent after singing.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reverend's Reviews: Lesbians in Love

An acclaimed documentary about a trailblazing lesbian couple and a hit women’s romance from last year’s festival circuit have both made their home video debuts recently: No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon is available now from Frameline, while Elena Undone premiered last week courtesy of Wolfe Video.

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are regarded as the founders of the modern lesbian rights movement, which the documentary reveals as both distinct from and unavoidably intertwined with the gay rights movement. The women were partners for nearly 60 years until Martin’s death in 2008.

They established the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis, in San Francisco in 1955. The couple was also well known as co-authors of several books about lesbian life, as life-long political activists and as prominent speakers on LGBT topics.

No Secret Anymore (which was produced in 2003) serves as an intimate, inspirational look into Lyon’s and Martin’s relationship and historic achievements. The film was directed by Joan E. Biren (a.k.a. JEB) and is narrated by lesbian comic Kate Clinton. Archival and contemporary interviews with original members of the Daughters of Bilitis are incorporated and provide important insights.

Though Lyon is revealed as the funnier of the two, she and Martin are shown to have had a witty rapport that helped balance their deadly serious efforts on behalf of equality. They rarely held back in their criticism of oppressive institutions such as churches, and were also outspoken in their disapproval of what they considered to be gay men’s more frivolous attitudes toward society’s acceptance of gay and lesbian people. No Secret Anymore pointedly shows that it took the AIDS epidemic to shake many gay men out of their political complacency.

This certainly isn’t a movie just for lesbians. Gay men and students, both LGBT and straight, should also consider No Secret Anymore required viewing. An interesting companion piece is Elena Undone which, though fictional, has much to say about the current state of romantic relationships between women — and between women and men — from diverse backgrounds.

Written and directed by Nicole Conn, who previously made the lesbian favorite Claire of the Moon (also available on DVD), Elena Undone relates the burgeoning love story of a seemingly straight wife and mother, Elena, married to a fundamentalist Christian pastor and the single lesbian writer, Peyton, who unexpectedly rocks her world. The women mystically cross paths several times, culminating at a “Soulemetry” seminar (taught by an over-the-top Sam Harris) dedicated to helping people find their “ultimate love connection” or “your twin flame.”

The film employs the now familiar set-up of GLBT folks from opposite sides of the religious/conservative track who overcome their differences (Latter Days, Lianna, Desert Hearts, etc.) but largely plays it out in unpredictable ways, thankfully. The very attractive lead actresses, Necar Zadegan and Traci Dinwiddie, give better-than-average performances for the low-budget, indie genre, and Conn features them in several provocatively lengthy sex scenes that will no doubt set lesbian hearts (or other body parts) aflutter.

Reverend Ratings:
No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon: A-
Elena Undone: B

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Reviews: A Burt, Liza & Gene Sandwich

Three of the biggest movie stars of the 1970's — Burt Reynolds and Oscar winners Liza Minnelli and Gene Hackman — teamed up with Stanley Donen — director of some of the silver screen's greatest musical-comedies, including Singin' in the Rain — to make 1975's would-be classic, Lucky Lady. Long out of circulation, the film is being released on DVD today for the first time courtesy of Shout! Factory. While hardly a classic, it is noteworthy for presenting the lead actors as Prohibition-era bootleggers in "a fully functioning ménage à trois," among other attributes.

Reynolds (sporting crisp white trousers with visible panty lines throughout) plays Walker, a down-on-his-luck booze runner in a Mexican border town who teams up with a cabaret singer (Minnelli) and fellow vagabond Kibby (Hackman). The three commandeer a boat christened the "Lucky Lady" and begin sneaking Johnny Walker whiskey across the maritime border to California. Along the way, they cross paths with a villainous rival (John Hillerman, who would later portray Tom Selleck's manservant on TV's Magnum P.I.), a law-enforcing Naval commander played by Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot), and Robby Benson as a vindictive if innocent-looking young ship hand.

The trio also forms a unique romantic entanglement. Since both Walker and Kibby are attracted to Minnelli's Claire, they all decide to share each other. Lucky Lady includes racy sequences (at least for the time) of the three co-habiting a room, a bed and a bathtub. As Hackman's Kibby sarcastically remarks of the arrangement as he cozies up to Minnelli and Reynolds, "It's pretty unnatural, if you ask me."

Hackman would a few years later make a bigger splash as the villainous Lex Luthor in Superman and Superman II. Two other architects of this handsome production, director of photography Geoffrey Unsworth and production designer John Barry, would also work on Superman. However, whereas Lucky Lady screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz would write the 1976 blockbuster American Graffiti (directed by George Lucas), they ultimately created the disastrous Howard the Duck. The pair's work here, apart from the threesome element and a few scattered, funny lines, is generally negligible.

On the plus side, Minnelli sings two songs penned exclusively for the movie by gay composers John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago). While Lucky Lady doesn't represent the duo's most memorable work, their ditties serve the film and time period depicted well. Likewise, this is far from Donen's greatest achievement but many a big-name director has done a lot worse with even bigger stars and budgets (Spielberg's 1941 springs immediately to mind).

As Claire says at one point in the movie, "There are two ways of looking at things: your way and everybody else's." Lucky Lady may not be a classic in my estimation, but viewers are welcome to watch it and disagree.

Reverend's Rating: C+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Toon Talk: Horseography

When it comes to sports biopics, the subgenre breaks down into two camps. First is the warts-and-all, blood-and-guts variety best exemplified by Raging Bull. Then just about everything else, from The Pride of the Yankees to Hoosiers to The Blind Side, easily fall into the second type: the “inspirational” kind. Filled with “rags to riches” stories, training montages and slow motion moments of triumph, these films are no doubt crowd-pleasers. Yet, after you’ve seen a few, they also become rather predictable, even interchangeable.

With its Disney brand and tame PG rating, it’s not hard to figure out what category Secretariat fits into; and while the film (now available on Disney DVD and Blu-ray) is definitely a family friendly one, you’re likely to feel that you’ve seen this race before… even if you haven’t seen Seabiscuit.

As the “super horse” that, in 1973, became the first racehorse to win the US Triple Crown in twenty-five years, Secretariat certainly could run fast, but he doesn’t say much. Therefore, the movie leans heavily on his owner, Peggy Chenery (played by the always welcome Diane Lane) to carry the story. Unfortunately, as a main character, Peggy is a bit of a cipher. Her motivation to race Secretariat, tied to fulfilling some unspoken dying wish of her father (Scott Glenn), is barely tangible, while attempts to show her as a “woman in a man’s world” fall flat. Subplots about the strain on her marriage and family (including, quite awkwardly, a wannabe hippie daughter) and her reluctance to speak in public go nowhere.

To compensate, director Randall Wallace (the Academy Award nominated screenwriter of Braveheart) and writer Mike Rich (who based his script on William Nack's book Secretariat: The Making of a Champion) try to throw some more obstacles in her way, mainly conflicts with her quirky horse trainer, Lucian Laurin. A French-Canadian former jockey who fancied loud outfits and unconventional training methods, Laurin is played by John Malkovich, the go-to guy in Hollywood for quirky characters (that is, when Christopher Walken is unavailable). Alas, Malkovich pretty much sleep walks through the role, relying on a string of goofy hats and sporadic outbursts in French for character development...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Secretariat at LaughingPlace.com.