Best movie of this year hands down!

Simply A Masterpiece

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I've got to say, this is one of my favorite horse movies out there. It shows the tale of a different and quirky girl meeting a different and quirky horse who just want to fit in a little more. It also shows that sometimes being different is the best way to fit in- something almost no other horse movie shows. The only things that I don't really like is that at first, Moondance clearly doesn't know much about horses but yet still knows how to ride and knows some of the terms (example: "forelock"). I also thought it was a bit of a cliché to make the very girls who bully her at school also her rivals in the horse world. But it's a beautiful movie, so it doesn't really matter. This cute little movie is unfortunately underrated and I can't figure out why. It shows that being different is okay and you can do your own thing and I love the way it shows the magical connection that there should be between a horse and rider. The fact that this movie is based on a true story is even more magical. It tugged at my heartstrings. All the actors also suited their characters very well and were great at playing them. I couldn't imagine this movie any other way. If you're looking for a horse movie that's something a bit different with a moral, look no further!

This movie is ridiculous. 1 I have seen Pinto COLORED horses in the Hunter Ring. Not all hunters are Thoroughbreds. You need better trainers too! Heels were not down and they consistently hit the horses in their mouth with the bit by not releasing their hands over the fences. They didn't go into two point, were not moving with the horses' head at the canter and even locked up their arms when coming into the fence. The main character wasn't on the correct diagonal when trotting either. By the way there's no way someone is going to learn and show a 3ft hunter course in 1 mth without having any jumping experience. That's utter nonsense. Get better trainers the next time you wish to produce a horse movie like this so you can get the actors better equitation. Also rubber boots would not be allowed in a hunter ring either since they are not acceptable show boots. They're muck/field boots. She would not have won with those on since they get judged on appearance as well as equitation.

If you've already seen "Black Beauty," "National Velvet" or "My Friend Flicka," you might want to take a pass on "Moondance Alexander," a wan girl-and-her-horse saga that doesn't even have the energy or conviction to rise above its own clichés.Moondance is a ninth-grade social outcast who finds meaning and purpose in life when she spends the summer taking care of and learning to ride a horse owned by a cantankerous but lovable Pygmalion played by Don Johnson (think of it as an equine version of "My Fair Lady," minus the songs and quality). The first credibility obstacle we have to overcome is accepting the spunky and attractive Moondance as a girl who can't find herself a single friend (well, the two-legged type anyway).The paint-by-numbers screenplay comes replete with a miraculous horse healing, a bevy of Valley Girl elitists straight out of Central Casting, and a horse-jumping competition that has all the drama and suspense of a Tiddlywinks tournament in Oshkosh.Ah well, at least the movie boasts, in the person of Kay Panabaker, a young actress with a great deal of charm and potential. And, besides, where else are you going to hear a line like, "Moondance, I want you to take Checkers over to the stables," if not in this film? Surely, that ought to count for something, don't you think?

"Saddle Club" meets "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "Bratz", as the prettiest friendless teenage girl in cinema history goes up against her "Queen Bee" nemesis in a local equestrian competition. Throw in a little "Pollyanna" here for good measure as the friendless girl manages to inspire the adults in her town to lead better lives. Kay Panabaker plays the friendless girl (Moondance Alexander), and Kay is so pretty she makes figure skater turned aspiring actress Sasha Cohen look rather plain by comparison. And Kay is a polished enough actress with enough effortless charm to almost make this film work. Unfortunately she is saddled (pun intended) with one of the worst written scripts you are likely to ever encounter. The best scenes are those where Panabaker is alone on the screen and the worst are those involving her teenage rivals-the dialog given to these inexperienced cast members is almost surreal in its staggering lameness. The film is at least one back-story too many as there just isn't time to adequately cover Moondance coping with her father's death, reconciling her mother's new romantic interest, getting flirty with the son of her mother's boyfriend, saving stable owner Donte (Don Johnson) from a wasted life of alcohol abuse, turning her horse Checkers into a competitive jumper, and giving Roscoe P. Coltraine (James Best) a few moments of mild comic relief. "Moondance Alexander's" target audience of preteen girls and Sasha Cohen fans wasn't enough for it to get a widespread theatrical release but it is available as a direct-to-DVD product. There is nothing original or exciting here but it is a pleasant enough family film. And the dare to be different theme is handled quite nicely. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.