Movies and Barbie

I tried to watch the new movie Dream Horse yesterday, based on the true story about Dream Alliance, the racehorse owned by a syndicate of working class people. It was pretty good and I was surprised to see Damian Lewis in it, along with a cameo role by Peter Davison of Doctor Who fame. All the advertising I had seen focused on Toni Colette, so I expected all the other roles would be Welsh character actors for the Wales-set story. Apparently Damian Lewis has Welsh grandparents, and I just wasn't aware because I think of him for his roles in British and/or PBS shows, while many Americans associate him with his role on Showtime's Homeland, in contrast. Lewis must have decided that he wanted to be in the story out of Welsh pride, and it's interesting to see him speak Welsh rather than posh British English or whatever it's called. Peter Davison's role is pretty small, as Lord Avery, a wealthy horse owner who is at first skeptical of Dream Alliance, then later tries to buy the horse once it proves its worth.

As I said, I tried to watch it, but unfortunately my theater had people talking loudly during parts of the film; that is so not what I miss about going out to the movies. Plus, I already had enough trouble with Welsh accents and no subtitles, so I could not understand a lot of dialogue, especially the songs. And my, there were so many songs. It's not exactly a musical, but the film makes room for many scenes of the group singing on the bus or singing in pubs to celebrate their wins. They also sing along to what I suppose is an anthem during the Welsh Grand National race, and the movie concludes with another song at the final credits. I'll see if I can find time to catch another showing, or maybe I'll wait until it's streaming so I can watch it with subtitles.

Meanwhile there has been a lot of casting news for Knives Out 2, but no plot details yet, so we can only guess that it's something taking place in Greece. I hope Johnson makes better use of his black actors this time, because I really did think that LaKeith Stanfield's role as the police detective was overshadowed too much by the more showy role of Benoit Blanc. I hope the whodunit plot will be good, and that he keeps the light comic tone. I hate the grim, bloodthirsty tone of so many true crime/serial killer shows; it's the reason why I stopped watching CSI and other police procedural shows. I hate so much that those crime movies/shows keep getting categorized as "mysteries" when they are not at all the same as detective whodunits!

In other news, I heard that Mattel started a toy recycling program for their Barbies and other toys. Maybe I should start clearing out some of my dolls? They also recently released a new Helen Keller doll. I kind of crave the Victorian clothes--at least the blouse--but I don't like that they use the thin figure on these dolls. And they keep making the faces too conventionally pretty instead of trying to resemble the historical figure. I don't mind wrinkles, you know? Inspiring women shouldn't need to be attractive to be role models.