User Reviews

This was a fantastic movie I love the storyline definitely keep a box of Kleenex tissues next to you. I cried through the whole movie it was wonderful I'd love to buy this movie for my grandkids

Cheap, no subtitles, really poor audio and enunciation thus presumably dialogue (what people say) is not important. Very formula, lots of stereotypes & clichés to pull at the emotional heart strings. Really bad people running a small foster care/orphanage for money, and a few whippings to keep the innocent sweet little darlings in line thus our baddies to root against. One cute orphan escapes finds lonely rancher w/horses resolves his issues and, of course, a horse or two needs help. Horses play a minor role if you like horse movies. Not good acting, but good editing to make girl & horse connect.

The two main characters, Jon Voight and Alexa Nisensen,play very well off each other and make you really like them. Voight's character is slightly reminiscent of Walter Matthau's in the movie Kotch. A superficially grouchy old guy who really cares a lot. One reviewer below seemed to dislike it because it was too cliched and full of tricks to tug at your emotions. He also complained that it had no subtitles. Subtitles?? It's in English, dude.

Yes, it may be "formulaic" in the tearjerker style, but after all, when you get down to it, don't most movies, or stories, follow some sort of type? And this one is very well done.

My friend and I watched this thinking it would be funny because of its cheesiness but we were wrong. Every scene made me cringe and the dialogue made me want to vomit. It was an absolutely atrocious movie that is a crime against cinema. If you're going to watch it, spare yourselves the trouble and go watch paint dry, it's that bad. Please for the love of all things holy spare your kids from this movie. If you find yourself watching it I will pray for you. The cinematography was like a train wreck except the train was full of small children and puppies, it was so bad. If satan were to watch this movie he'd cry.

Shelly (Alexa Nisenson) runs away from home and ends up at Ben Crowley's (John Voight) farm and she bonds with a horse she later names Orphan.

Just like every now and then we need a great big juicy cheeseburger, we also need to see a very nice story about a 12-year old girl and a horse. Yes, at times, this will get a little sappy, but we know that will happen and we are okay with it. We have our Kleenex boxes at the ready.

The real winner in here is the banter between Ben and Shelly as it is real, innocent and honest. This is a movie we never want to end mostly because we really like Ben and Shelly. I have never seen John Voight is a more comfortable role and I don't think he wanted this to end either. As for Miss Nisenson, she is 12 going on 30 and her character has had tragedy in her young Iife and her uttterances are full of honesty and truth. Ben has met his match and you may be able to see regrets in some of his reflections when Shelly causes some of his memories to surface.

Notables: Vail Bloom as Caroline, Ben's estranged daughter; Phillip Boyd as Sheriff Jake, who wants to marry Caroline; Eva LaRue as Marta Jenkins, Shelly's foster mother; Scott Summitt as Gerald Jenkins, Shelly's foster father.

This is a very good family movie and the dialogues are so good we don't want them to end. Now, do we want fries with that cheeseburger? Hmmm............... (9/10)

Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Humor: Yes. Language: No. Rating: A

Terrible movie with only one good point - a beautiful horse. It must have been embarrassed to have to appear with such horrible acting by everyone and such a weak storyline. Can't imagine money being spent to make this. From the first 20 minutes you could tell every move that would happen.

A well written story with the two main stars. Putting in a really great performance

This movie was in the Dollar Tree grab bin, for one dollar, if that tells you anything. I only give it three stars because it really was only one dollar. The only fun that came out of this movie was the fact that is was hilariously bad. Between the mediocre acting, stupid naming conventions, and predictability, I could hardly contain myself because it was so laughably bad.

Very good direction and acting!!! We loved the cinematography and editing. Wonderful story!!!

Child beating, lying, and shooting horses - all in the first 20 minutes! Not to mention letting your child watch such terrible acting and "special" effects. No reality whatsoever regarding wolf or horse behavior. I cannot speak to the rest of the movie, because I shut it off and erased from my DVR. Everyone involved in this turkey should be ashamed.

Picked up a copy of the DVD for cheap at the store because it sounded like an interesting and wholesome movie. We were pleasantly surprised. Yes, some of it was predictable, but it was still pretty clever how the story played out and things were tied together. It was not "draggy" at all, and held our interest throughout. There were a couple of times where we actually cheered. But you should also have a tissue handy. The only real criticisms we had was that there were no subtitles (Mom is hard of hearing, and wears aids) and even when the volume was turned way up on her TV some of the dialogue was missed, even by me. But overall, it was a nice escape -- especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lately we've been doing takeout lunch and a new movie, and this one fit the bill nicely.

It's plainly bad, boring, and nothing innovative. It's not a story that you would want to invest yourself into, because there are better movies out there. The only use I would find for this monster is displaying it in a bar and turning off audio.

Why is it boring??????? It's boring because it is really foreseeable. Every situation in the movie is pushed artificially to where the movie wants to go. That is, it does not create plot points to smooth the narrative thread out, and develop the story so that it is naturally gathering in. Instead of that, it lazily pushes every scene of the movie so that it makes it unwatchable and cringey. In summary it is really unnatural and irritating.

Why is it bad??????????????? This movie is bad because of unrealism. This movie is bad because of bad acting. This movie is bad because of lack of social consciousness. Take for example this: A character in the movie is talked down to by another character that is obliged by the situation to talk respectfully, and because of social standards. Don't understand me wrong, I ain't sensitive, but you got to be autistic in order to not know those kind of social norms. In summary, it is really unrealistic and really irritating so much so to to the point I shut it off because I had enough. It tries something cute but copied so many times it's depressing. Well, maybe an 8 year old kid wouldn't be bothered by how the movie "develops" but hey, I ain't a kid no more, I am sorry. Maybe not.

Why is it badly bad???????????????? Well, it is really an out of the box element for the majority, but the way the movie has been shot is really annoying.

With those things said, maybe you want to watch: War Horse Have a nice one!

Yes, this indie plays on your "heart-strings" and is predictable, but I thought it was a beautiful film. The two leads here Jon Voight and Alexa Nisenson are superb in their roles, and the supporting cast is excellent as well.

Voight portrays Ben a curmudgeonly and aging man who has endured much tragedy in his life, but has maintained an affinity for his two horses which he keeps on his deteriorating ranch. Nisenson plays Shelly, an orphan who has just run away from an abusive foster family, and shares with Ben a love for horses.

The chemistry between the two works well, and soon Shelly will also bond with the horse she named Orphan on Ben's ranch. Meanwhile, a search by the police and social services continues to try and find the missing girl.

If you look past the cliches and just go with the flow of this movie you may find it as I did, most enjoyable and heart-rending. I'd say keep a box of tissues handy for the final 20 minutes or so.

To note: there were no subtitles on my DVD copy.

Don't listen to bad reviews! This is a pleasant, easy to watch, good family movie! Especially if you like horses and family!

It's about an orphan horse (duh) and other orphans. Maybe that sounds depressing, but it is a delightful movie. And it has a happy ending of course.

I guess there are a few parts that are difficult. IMO nothing that's going to drastically upset children, well, idk for sure. Depends on the child oc.

Not sure if this qualifies as spoilers: Wolves, horse put down, horrible foster parents -- all rough stuff. OTOH no cursing at all, you don't actually /see/ anyone or any animal actually shot or hurt. But anyone mature enough will know what happened.

There's also some intrigue - but I won't spoil it.

Acting was good, the little girl, very good. And don't believe whoever wrote about audio being bad. It's wasn't I've /heard/ movies with bad audio and this wasn't bad at all. Production was good, filming, srsly no complaints.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually teared up a little at the end. I'd recommend it to my kids and younger grandkids. Our youngest g-kid is 4 -- and he would enjoy it and would most prolly miss what happened to the horse badly hurt by the wolves...

More than a movie about a young orphan girl's healing relationship with a horse who is also an orphan, it is a story of how this relationship also ends up repairing the lives of those around her. Exceptional acting and everything else makes this movie a great one for families with older children to watch. Keep a box of tissues handy.

Of you want tears, and joy, this movie fits the bill. The relationship between John Voigt and Alexa Nisenson is probably the most heartwarming movie. I would recommend this movie for anyone.