asilocreo I think this movie is great, it has been a long time since I have seen such beautiful brotherly love. I love their treatment to each other, even so at times I thought it was sad. The landscape is breathtaking. I lived in cities all my life and never been inland but this scenery made me want to plan to road trip the country. I love cowboys movies and this one is a different kind of western with a development of characters and a story line that grabbed me from the first line and didn't let me go until the last. And the horse was so beautiful I wanted to hug and kiss too. And so it is that I like this movie so much I am writing about it. And this is the first time I do so, not so much to recommend it but to process it for I wish there was a discussion going on to ask about the things I did not understand. Thanks.- Asilocreo

moviehawg59 *Some spoilers*Why all the low ratings? Was I one of the very few who thought this movie great? To start off, I DID get hacked off when Thomas Jane died so quickly! But, it was the emphasis for the show. A really good movie about the bond between a semi- mentally-challenged older brother, and his normal, very gifted younger brother. I DID, also, think that, even tho the older brother (Marquette) was "slow", he jumped right into the work with D'Onofrio a little too easily ... especially with his dead dad having been a cop/sheriff. Meanwhile, Yelchin's character has focused solely on learning the violin, and the story really gets going when, after 8 years, Yelchin's "Jakey" comes back home for a visit and finds out that big bubba "Budds" has become a prolific hit-man for D'Onofrio's gang of n'er-do-wells. Jakey borrows Budds car to go see an old friend, and on the way back, D'Onofrio has put a hit on li'l Jakey (which fails), and so Jake decides to become part of the gang, to try and tear it down from the inside, and, also, save his big bubba. Needless to say, there are several twists and almost "gotcha's", before the ending, which, I thought, brought everything pretty much together for the right conclusion. Don't expect "blockbuster", just good, old-fashioned entertainment ... and you won't be disappointed!

Abhijangir31 Working with a general summation of art, no artist really revisits their creation. Yes they might hark back to a few individual themes, but no one really gets down to recreating a piece of art, as it was. Especially not when its a classic. Da Vinci never sat down to paint another Sistine Chapel. Rabindranath Tagore did not recompile the Gitanjali. Even the great Yash Chopra never really got down to refilming one of his classics. It boils down to impulse and lack of design playing an important serendipitous role in creating great art.But when you do attempt to be over ambitious and recreate a Hindi film in Hollywood, chances are you'll end up with a novice creation. That's how you could describe the journey of Parinda to Broken Horses.   Lost in translation would be an understatement. The original story of Parinda, two brothers in the edgy midst of the underworld, trying to break free from a mercurial Mafia king pin, is intact in its Western retelling. Mumbai's underbelly has been replaced with the barren border terrain of the US-Mexico border. The characters are all white. The emotions are all scattered. The story is in shambles. Sixteen years ago, in a film industry obsessed with curry westerns and Oxford Street fashion, Parinda was a game changer. Broken Horses is just a shoddy revisit of that memorable film. Worst part is, it's left out all the good parts of the original.   The manic intensity of Nana Patekar's Anna is replaced by some textbook hamming by Vincent D'Onofrio. The sacrificing big brother character of Jackie Shroff is replaced by the theatrical and clichéd simple boy played by Chris Marquette. The ahead-of-its- time love making scene has been conspicuously left out.The vengeful drama in the climax has been convoluted into an uninspired piece of writing. Even the supporting character of Iqbal, the younger brother's confidant is reduced to a razzie material stereotype. Something's amiss in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's execution. This is the same filmmaker who made Parinda and Khamoshi. Yet, his vision on Broken Horses exhibits an uncharacteristic novice nature.    Surprisingly the amateur efforts, aren't just limited to the story telling. Barring some excellent cinematography, the production as well as costume work is very lacklustre. The visuals look good, but everything else in the making of this motion picture doesn't seem to well thought out. The ranch, where all the drama unfolds looks like an amusement park for God's sake. The performances are all sub standard barring the efforts of Anton Yelchin. He lends some credibility to this movie.   Films are just another form of art. They benefit from the inspirations and enthusiasm of their creator. Like any other form of art, they can suffer if the vision is skewered or contrived. In his ambitious Hollywood foray, Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted to prove that Indian filmmakers are better than just song and dance junkies. That we can match Hollywood's game in their playing field. And therein lies the biggest flaw. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery. But end of the day, flattery is also described as pleasing self- deception.

David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. The old adage "blood is thicker than water" has always been fruitful movie fodder. Writer/director Vidhu Vinod Chopra takes the theme to a small, dusty town on the Mexico border. He introduces us to the sons of the local sheriff … Buddy is the slow-witted eldest and Jakey the bespectacled musical prodigy.Buddy is flashing his dead-eye aim at the shooting range when his father (Thomas Jane) is murdered right in front of him. Local mobster Mr. Hench (Vincent D'Onofrio) seizes the opportunity to utilize young Buddy's need for revenge. Jump ahead 15 years, and Jakey (Anton Yelchen, Star Trek) is engaged to Vittoria (Maria Valverde) and living in New York City as a classical violinist. Things get interesting when Buddy (Chris Marquette) entices Jakey to come visit after being away for eight years.Jake isn't in town very long before he fully understands that Hench has a grip on Buddy, who is now a full-fledged hit-man engulfed in the various border gang wars. Here is where the brotherly bond kicks in. Watching it play out against the manipulative power of Hench provides the meatiest conflict within the film. The brothers admit to living on "different planets", but it's clear that their traumatic childhood has connected them in a manner that time and distance can't break … even though one of them more readily identifies "bad men".Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints) has an odd, but hyper-energetic small role, but most of the screen time is taken by D'Onofrio, Yelchin and Marquette. A better written role for Ms. Valverde would have been advantageous, but mostly this is a solid little crime drama with an emphasis on brotherly bond.