Rust and Bone
Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard plays Stephanie, an Orca trainer at a French marine attraction, who loses her legs in a freak accident. She calls Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), a street boxer and bouncer whom she barely knows. Ali has only recently started to get his life together, after being homeless and acquiring his five-year-old son by default. This is the story of two broken people Stephanie is broken physically and Ali is damaged emotionally who start with a relationship of convenience that develops into something more. Several extras on the standard disc, including commentary with director Jacques Audiard, the red-carpet at TIFF, a making-of featurette and a fascinating look at the visual effects.
Zero Dark Thirty
The film purports to be based on first-hand accounts of actual events in the years searching for Osama bin Laden. Jessica Chastain plays Maya, an agent from Washington who takes a post in Pakistan, and who is crucial in putting pieces of intel together in the hunt for bin Laden. The film exposes the unreliability of information gathered during torture sessions, which didnt sit well with both Democrats and Republicans, and may have affected the films chances at Oscar time. Performances are formidable under Kathryn Bigelows sure-handed directing. Extras on the Blu-ray include cast training with Navy SEALs, locations in Jordan and California, a feature on Chastain, and a making-of extra showing how the film shifted focus after the actual capture of bin Laden.
This Is 40
This is the semi-true slice of life pic from writer/director/producer Judd Apatow, starring his wife Leslie Mann and their two daughters. Its a continuation of sorts of the relationship between Pete and Debbie (Paul Rudd and Mann) from Knocked Up, a tragic-comic look at how a marriage limps along once you hit 40. Runs a little long and starts too feel a little indulgent, but there are some memorable, too-true moments along the way. Great extras on the Blu-ray including a two-part gag reel (Jason Segel loses it all over the place), three extras on Graham Parker and the Rumour, one on Albert Brooks (it took months for Apatow to work up the courage to call him) and more.
Les Miserables
Anne Hathaways Oscar-winning turn as Fantine is one of the highlights of the film, a love story set in 19th-century France. Fans of the Broadway show may balk at Hugh Jackman speaking He is only a boy! rather than belting it out, but theres no doubt that director Tom Hoopers choice to have the actors sing live gives the musical an intimacy previously unseen. Russell Crowe as Javert, Samantha Barks as Eponine, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette. Lots of special features on the Blu-ray chronicle the process: making-of extra, one on locations, another on casting, and one on the multi-talented author Victor Hugo.
