Rust and Bone [Blu-ray]

Gritty relationship drama will shock and/or move you
"De Rouille et D'os" (English title: "Rust and Bone"; 115 min.) is a 2012 French-Belgian co-production that was first released at the 2012 Cannes film festival. The movie is directed by Jacques Audiar, the guy who brought us the excellent "The Prophet" movie a few years ago. The movie stars Belgian actor Matthias Schoenarts as Ali, who along with his 5 yr. old son, and down on his luck, is moving in with his sister and her husband in Antibes (Southern France). Ali is the muscular type, and he finds a job as a bouncer in a local night club, where he eventually meets Stephanie (played by Marion Cotillard). Stephanie works as a killer whale trainer at the local waterpark. Stephanie is, like Ali, a strong-willed person and their relationship is not an easy one. Then one day Stephanie gets involved in a horrible accident at work, losing both her legs. To say that this throws her world upside down would be the understatement of the year. It also has immediate consequences on her...

In defense of 'Rust and Bone'
I'm writing this review in defense of 'Rust and Bone' after seeing EW's Owen Gleiberman pick it as one of his "Worst Movies of 2012." Granted, this latest offering from French director Jacques Audiard doesn't measure up to A Prophet (Un proph?te), but that's like taking Francis Ford Coppola to task for not matching the greatness of 'The Godfather' (no, that's not sacrilege: 'A Prophet' is that good).

Gleiberman gripes that star Marion Cotillard is "forced to flail and mood-swing from scene to scene [and] (i)n an insult to the disabled, there is never much to her but her hellacious injury."

I'm wondering what movie he saw. What we saw was what we thought was a very realistic depiction of the trauma and long period of despair that someone involved in a catastrophic injury of this nature would endure. Far from there being "never much to her but her hellacious injury," Cotillard's character...

Superb Story of Triumph through adversity
Alain is taking his son from Belgium to Antibes to live with his sister. Once there he gets a job as a door guard at a night club, and one evening he comes to the aid of a lady in distress. That lady is Stephanie played brilliantly by Marion Cottillard (`Contagion' and `La vie en rose'). Stephanie is an Orca trainer or killer whale trainer as we used to call these beautiful creatures. She suffers an irreversible accident whilst at work and understandably falls off the radar and becomes a virtual recluse.

Then she calls up Alain and asks him to visit her as it was clear from the start that there was a spark. He duly obliges and a new relationship blossoms, however he needs some ready cash and turns to bare knuckle fist fights to make up the short fall. What develops is a deeply engrossing and engaging tale of a journey towards each other for the two main players.

This is a film by Jacques' Audiard (`A Prophet' and `The Beat My Heart Skipped') and he took his...

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Dark Feed

Great
For a low budget film it still can give you a scare. Good story and not a predictable ending which made it that much better.

Not good!!
Terrible acting. Terrible screenplay. Bad plot. No character development. Cliched!!! It seemed like everyone in the movie had a real bad attitude and/or acted like teenagers! Highly disappointing!!!

not very exciting
it was one of those movies that after i skimmed thru most it, wondered why i just didnt stop watching sooner.

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Badlands (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

30 YearsLater...Still Chilling....
This review refers to the Warner Bros DVD edition of "Badlands"...

Thirty years ago, young filmakers Terrance Malick(director) and Tak Fujimoto(cinematographer)gave us an advanced preview of their extraordinary talents. And not only that, but the young stars of this film, Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek prove their acting expertise as well.

Holly(Spacek), is a naive young girl who becomes enamored by the charismatic but brooding Kit(Sheen). After she is stunned by the brutal murder of her father by the man she loves, she goes on the run with him, and gets caught up in his dark world as he continues on his murder spree.

This chilling story was inspired by actual events that occurred in 1958 and Spacek(who also captivatingly narrates), and Sheen capture these troubled youths with perfection and will draw you into every word. Warren Oates turns in a terrific performance as usual, as Holly's father, and of course is not in it nearly long enough. Malick and Fujimoto subtly and artfully...

Before the Fall
Kit and Holly are presented in this story by Terrence Malick as total innocents, living in a prelapsarian state, completely unaware of right and wrong, good and evil, and ignorant of guilt or sin. They have minimal conception of the consequences of their actions; in effect, they appear almost totally to lack imagination or foresight, and can barely empathise with each other, let alone other people. Things just happen, as Holly sees it. Kit doesn't feel hostility to the people he kills: they are merely in his way. There is no remorse. He is only marginally conscious that the structured world outside his own will eventually catch up with him. These kids are like Adam and Eve, with a limited knowledge of what is forbidden, but no real knowledge of the meaning of life and death. Holly throws out her sick catfish, showing no feeling. Her dog is shot as a punishment by her father, indicating he, too, is careless of death or pain. Kit stands on a dead cow, as though puzzled by its absence...

A COMPLEX TALE OF EVIL...
This is an amazing directorial debut, as the film works on so many fronts. It is both a love story and a crime drama, with sneak peaks at what makes the two main protagonists tick. It remains for the audience to decide who is the more chilling and disturbed of the two characters, twenty five year old Kit (Martin Sheen) or fifteen year old Holly (Sissy Spacek).

This is a film in which two unlikely characters become lovers. Kit, a James Dean-like loser espies the fresh-faced Holly twirling her baton one day and is smitten. He approaches her and, despite her initial reluctance, she begins to see him against her protective father's wishes. Kit is ten years older than Holly, a high school drop out from the wrong side of the tracks, who is unable to maintain a job and appears to have a limited future. He falls in love with Holly and wants her to be his exclusively. Eventually, they become lovers.

Holly, a loner who has been raised by her father since her mother died many years ago,...

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Doctor Faustus (Shakespeare's Globe Theatre)

Already seen it. . .because I was there
I was incredibly fortunate enough to visit the Globe and see this fantastic production of Doctor Faustus. Not only that. . .I was actually there while they were taping the show. I was a "groundling" for this production, and it was one of the greatest theatrical experiences of my life. It was an excellent summer evening beneath the stars, and this production made me forget that I was standing for 2.5 hours. Using incredible puppetry, costuming, magic, and humor, this production soars. At one moment it is hysterically funny, at another incredibly magical, at another incredibly moving, at another incredibly dark and ominious. It would be an excellent counterpoint for any Shakespeare teacher to show their students who his contemporaries were. What I loved about being a groundling was the amount of audience interaction. We got all kinds of things thrown upon us or asked of us. I have been waiting for a year and a half for this DVD to come out, and I was thrilled when I saw this on Amazon.

Wonderful representation of sprawling play at the Globe
The first thing you need to know is that this production was performed using the "B" script, published in 1616, which is over 600 lines longer than the "A" script, published in 1604. That means this is a very large cast, with scenes spread throughout history. The magical aspect of the production is that all of this is done within the confines of the stage of the reconstructed Globe theater, the theater of Shakespeare.

Since the cast is so big, many actors play two or three roles, which is no problem, because so many roles are just on stage for a minute or so, like the seven vices. At the time of Christopher Marlowe's untimely death, he was probably more popular than Shakespeare, who had only a half dozen plays on the boards by that time. And Shakespeare was a great admirer of Marlowe. "Doctor Faustus" was probably the "Ben-Hur" or "Cleopatra" of the day. It's delightful to see how such a sprawling story can be told, with only pure stagecraft. Among Marlowe's plays, there...

Great product!
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I ordered this DVD, but it had a great quality. I just wished there was a subtitles option.

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The Smartest Team

Great Film!
"The Smartest Team" is a must see video for all football players and their parents. Brooke de Lench has been an advocate of youth sports safety, especially concussion issues, for years. "The Smartest Team" proves you can still play tough and maintain safety standards. This is just the beginning of a safety revolution in football. The NFL,NCAA, UIL, and youth leagues are using the techniques in the film. It is informative for parents and will keep youth football players engaged as well. A must have for every football family and team. Thank you Brooke for letting us all be part of "The Smartest Team". - Gretchen Rose

Interesting and informative.. a five star documentary!
I love good documentaries, and this is a must see for not only coaches/trainers/parents of children involved in sports but for everyone interested in sports!



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