Yeah, I admit it.
By now you know I tend to be drawn to movies most people have never heard of. It’s not that I don’t enjoy blockbusters, and anyone who’s been following this blog for any length of time can attest to that. At this point I couldn’t begin to guess how many times I’ve watched The Avengers – and as recently as a couple of nights ago. I never get tired of it.
But I get tired of following the crowd. I like something different, and that has led me to a number of excellent movies that never got the chance they deserved to shine.
Granted, the ones I seem to be drawn to are probably not big budget films. There are no car chases, no shootouts, nothing blowing up. Some might consider them boring, but I don’t. In fact, I think it’s great to not be distracted by a bunch of special effects because it gives me a chance to enjoy the story.
Take the 2009 movie, Secret At Arrow Lake, for instance…
~~~
The description piqued my interest, along with the fact that it starred C. Thomas Howell. Frankly, he was the only member of the cast I’d ever heard of. I’d enjoyed watching him in one version of The Poseidon Adventure, Killer Bees, and a late 90s series, Peter Benchley’s Amazon.
So I figured why not. It’s not like I’m a stranger to picking out some pretty awful movies, too. If this turned out to be another one on the list that’s now longer than the good movies list, whatever.
But it wasn’t.
As stated above, there were no special effects, nothing loud and exciting … and it was still a really nice story.
Early in the movie, Mia’s mother dies in a car accident. Shortly thereafter, a stranger shows up at the family B&B. Mia suspects he might be the father she never knew. The man who had been reported missing in action in Iraq. (I would have said MIA, but having so recently mentioned the girl’s name, Mia, I decided not to. Yes, I’m being facetious.)
There isn’t a whole lot I can say without spoiling things. About halfway through, I kind of suspected how it would end, and it did. Rather than being disappointed though, I found myself grinning because of the way the it played out.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a way to spend a quiet, relaxing hour and twenty-three minutes, you might check out Secret of Arrow Lake. It’s a feel good movie that just may make you glad you took the time to watch it.