TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

My 3rd set of Oscar predictions won't come until after the Golden Globe wins are announced, but I thought I would predict the Best Picture categories for the Globes to see how accurate I am when the actual nominations come out December 14. "*" = what I believe will win. DRAMA: -Inception -The Social Network* -127 Hours -The King's Speech (this indie-drama has a nom in the bag) -Black Swan (the trailer creeps me out, but this has tons of buzz) COMEDY/MUSICAL -Burlesque -The Kids Are All Right -Toy Story 3* -The Other Guys -How Do You Know ANIMATED: -Toy Story 3* -Despicable Me -How to Train Your Dragon (it is unlikely " Shrek 4" or " Megamind " will get nods, but "Tangled" is another possibility)

Some could look at the one word and dismiss this as a cliche-ridden horse flick for kids: Disney. That's what I thought about it, the feel-good story, the PG rating, it all led to a "better than direct-to-DVD so we stuck in theaters" vibe. I was definitely stereotyping, something critics are known for, and I apologize sincerely. Most everybody knows the story, though the film's younger audience should be eager to soak up the engrossing story. The movie really isn't exactly for children, there's nothing explicit about it but the subject matter deals more with an adult subject: how Secretariat's owner struggles financially to support the horse, her somewhat crumbling relationships with her husband and her brother. She gets so involved in training this underdog horse that she loses track of her older daughter's (her other 3 children are merely props for as much attention she gives them) life as a hippie, which is pretty accurate. Diane Lane does ...