They Take BONES AND ALL on 4K Ultra HD

 

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD and Bluray from director Luca Guadagnnino, MGM and Shout Studios is the love story with BONES AND ALL.

It is the Regan years and Maren (Taylor Russell) is a young woman living a secluded life. Dad Frank (Andre Holland) is doing all he can to protect the girl from the world. Coaxed to go against her father’s wishes, Maren starts to stretch her teen-legs. Sneaking out one night to hang out with girlfriends turns disastrous and the duo can only run out of town.

In the morning, Maren discovers Frank is gone leaving her with a birth certificate, a few dollars and some tapes. She decides it is time to go find the mother she never knew. At the bus stop, Maren meets Sully (Mark Rylance), and discovers that she is not the only person with her, shall we say, condition.

Sully shares things with Maren that surprises her. The behavior that drives her are considered normal to Sully and nothing to be ashamed of. After a night of feasting, Maren realizes she needs to go – and quickly.

At her next stop she meets Lee (Timothee Chalamet) and is even more shocked at his openness and finding someone else like her in such a short amount of time. The make a connection as they feed when they can and drive down the country’s back roads toward Maren’s mother. When Maren discovers that Sully is not far behind, things begin to come unraveled and that is never where Frank intended for his daughter to end up and a mother’s love has boundaries.

Russell as the young Maren is absolutely riveting to watch. Not quite understanding the world, it is the secrets that are what make it difficult for this character to survive it all. She is trusting and yet pensive, angry yet confused to just wanting to live some semblance of a free life without fear. Even with a father, this character basically raised herself in many ways. As Maren learns about her condition, she becomes more aware of the dangers. Russell captures and exudes every spectrum of emotion and yet it is all so subtle that it quietly screams out to be noticed.

Chalamet as Lee is laid back casual with his own past he is dealing with. Not accepted by his own family, he keeps moving on down the road. Finding Maren, he now has something and someone else to focus on, even if they tiff a tad. Chalamet makes no excuses for who he is and tries to share that with Maren who is still learning to accept it all. Chalamet’s gives his character charisma (which I’m assuming is necessary for their condition) and non-apologetic for anything he does. Yet, something comes out in Lee the longer he is with Maren.

Rylance as Sully – oh my gosh, I’m ready to hand him awards, I don’t care which ones. I’ll make one if I have to! The character of Sully is slow, deliberate, eerie, needy, and informative. Speaking about his performance I was telling a friend that it is ingenious that as Sully, Rylance has once again shown why he one of the best actors of our time even though he freaked me out. At the same time, my granddaughter sees him as the 2016 loveable BFG (Big Friendly Giant)! That is the diversity of Rylance. As Sully, he states his case to Maren and then skulks into the background and I mentally beg him to get back on the screen.

Shout out to Michael Stuhlbarg as Jake for making me hold my breath. Your beer talking back woods screeching behavior will have me forever shook!

Other cast include Madeleine Hall as Him, Sean Bridgers as Barry, Anna Cobb as Kayla, Kendle Coffey as Sherry, Ellie Parker as Jackie, David Green as Brad, Jessica Harper as Barbara Kerns, Burgess Byrd as Gail and Chloe Sevigny as Janelle.

SHOUT! Studios has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty and The Beast. Also, their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.

MGM is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television across all platforms. Owning one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content and is home to two of the longest-running and most successful film franchise in cinematic history with JAMES BOND and ROCKY. For more please visit www.mgm.com.

Bonus Features include New 4K Presentation of the Original Elements, Presented in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and the Bluray includes New 4K Presentation of the Original Elements, A Look Inside, Luca Guadagnnino: The Vision of BONES AND ALL, Meet Lee, Meet Maren and Outsiders in Love.

The Venice Film Festival as awarded Taylor Russell with Best Actress with the Marcello Mastroianni Award, Best Director Silver Lion to Luca Guadagnino and nominated for the Best Film Golden Lion for director Guadagnino. The Gotham Awards nominated Mark Rylance for Outstanding Supporting Performance and nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for Taylor Russell and UA/MGM.

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards gave a nominee nod to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Best Original Song – Feature Film with ‘(You Made It Feel Like) Home’. Reznor is a member of the band Nine Inch Nails and took his music into films such as NATURAL BORN KILLERS, LOST HIGHWAY, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.

Director Guadagnino says, “There is something about the disenfranchised, about people living on the margins of society that I am drawn towards and touched by. I love these characters. The heart of the movie is tender and affectionate towards them. I am interested in their emotional journeys. I want to see where the possibilities lie for them, enmeshed within the impossibility they face. The movie is for me a meditation on who I am and how I can overcome what I feel, especially if it is something I cannot control in myself. And lastly, and most importantly, when will I be able to find myself in the gaze of the other?”

BONES AND ALL is an intense story but with so many different layers. It is a story of a young girls search for who she is and where she belongs, it is a story of being different, it is a story of stranger-danger, it is a story of abandonment and so much more. Even if you took out one of the elements, the story would still hold together.

That being said, it is, well, a feast for the eyes also on several levels. The issue of cannibalism is a huge distraction from the other issues that each of the characters have but it is part of who they are. After a few jaw drops, I winced a bit but my jaw stayed in place as the film went on. I began to understand that as with most unusual things human beings do to each other, Maren and Lee do not shy away but instead keep pushing forward. 

I loved this film on so many levels as well and the acting is so damn stellar. Watching BONES AND ALL again is something that I have to do because I want to understand even more about the direction Guadagnino takes these characters without the shock factor intruding. The cast has brought a story that is complex, complicated and worth every moment of big screen time.

In the end – it is a masticating love story!

MOTHER, COUCH

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Niclas Larsson and Film Movement is a look at family dysfunction with MOTHER, COUCH.

David (Ewan McGregor) is in a bit of a predicament; it seems his Mother (Ellen Burstyn) has decided that to sit on a couch in a furniture store and not move. David’s brother Gruffudd (Rhys Ifans) isn’t much help as he seems more interested in flirting with Bella (Taylor Russell), the young woman who runs the store.

Trying to get their mother to leave, the brothers call sister Linda (Lara Flynn Boyle) who turns out to be not help either. David tries to explain to Anne (Lake Bell) what is happening but she is busy running a household. When Mom won’t leave and night falls, David decides to stay with her until they could figure out a way to help her.

In the middle of the night, Bella returns and stays with David as they make an evening of it. The next morning David meets Marcus (F. Murray Abraham) who doesn’t seem surprised by their presence. Checking on Mom, David hears things that surprise him as she seems to be pouring her emotions out about life and her own disappointments.

He is now juggling a Mother with issues in a furniture store, a brother who seems to be on a whole other level, a sister who doesn’t care, a family that needs him, two other store brothers and living in a store – it is mayhem!

McGregor as David is a man walking on a razor’s edge with the family. His mother seems to have a plan that no one else is aware of, he can’t control the siblings and his own family is suffering from the ridiculousness. McGregor has the amazing ability to pull off any role he is given and in this very different story, although frazzled, is the crazy (literally) glue holding it all together.

Russell as Bella is the young woman who doesn’t seem at all concerned with the situation that is occurring in the furniture store. She sees the world for what it is and experiences a family that is a little twisted. Ifans as Gruffudd is just going with the flow hoping that David will figure it all out and doesn’t mind throwing in his own bits of wisdom. I just love Ifans characters and this is another good one.

Boyle as Linda is a chain-smoking daughter who doesn’t see all the fuss about Mother. She is also waiting for David to make a decision on what to do but if she had her way, she’d grab her and throw her out the door. Bell as Anne knows what the family is going through and wants to be supportive but at arm’s length.

Burstyn as Mother has found her sofa and that’s all there is too that. Sitting on that lovely green sofa, she confesses, spills truths and makes it clear that the children are after affects of relationships. She is amazing in this role and her talent shows no signs of stopping and that is everything to someone like me who has followed her career for years.

Abraham as Marco/Marcus gets a chance to take on duality as Marco and Marcus, two brothers who have just as many issues as David and his siblings. He portrays a unique character that David needs to keep madness at bay.

Film Movement, founded in 2002, is an award-winning independent and foreign film company that has released more than 250 feature films and shorts. Theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign arthouse titles catalog such directors as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner and Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. Bluray and DVD films bring such directors as Eric Rohmer, Bolle August, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci and Luchino Visconti and many more. To discover what Film Movement is all about and find out more about what they have to offer please visit www.filmmovementplus.com.

The film is based on the 2020 book Mamma I Soffa BY Jerker Virdborg. Larsson takes the look and feel of an Ikea and gives it an American flare of its own. The film is full of symbolism and sadness, quirk and beauty all at the same time. The emotions it provokes are powerful and attempts to teach us how difficult it can be to just, well, let go.

MOTHER, COUCH is a film about family dysfunction, lies, secrets and a mysterious key. The cast gives everything to this film and with their own unique natures but it becomes clearer and clearer as the story unfolds how they all came to this place. It seems as if only David is scrambling by all the events happening and it eventually takes its toll. It is the last ten minutes of the film that the family storm finds its calm.

In the end – he discovers that life is too short!

They Take the BONES AND ALL

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from director Luca Guadagnino and MGM is the love story with BONES AND ALL.

It is the Regan years and Maren (Taylor Russell) is a young woman living a secluded life. Dad Frank (Andre Holland) is doing all he can to protect the girl from the world. Coaxed to go against her father’s wishes, Maren starts to stretch her teen-legs. Sneaking out one night to hang out with girlfriends turns disastrous and the duo can only run out of town.

In the morning, Maren discovers Frank is gone leaving her with a birth certificate, a few dollars and some tapes. She decides it is time to go find the mother she never knew. At the bus stop, Maren meets Sully (Mark Rylance), and discovers that she is not the only person with her, shall we say, condition.

Sully shares things with Maren that surprises her. The behavior that drives her are considered normal to Sully and nothing to be ashamed of. After a night of feasting, Maren realizes she needs to go – and quickly.

At her next stop she meets Lee (Timothee Chalamet) and is even more shocked at his openness and finding someone else like her in such a short amount of time. The make a connection as they feed when they can and drive down the country’s back roads toward Maren’s mother. When Maren discovers that Sully is not far behind, things begin to come unraveled and that is never where Frank intended for his daughter to end up and a mother’s love has boundaries.

Russell as the young Maren is absolutely riveting to watch. Not quite understanding the world, it is the secrets that are what make it difficult for this character to survive it all. She is trusting and yet pensive, angry yet confused to just wanting to live some semblance of a free life without fear. Even with a father, this character basically raised herself in many ways. As Maren learns about her condition, she becomes more aware of the dangers. Russell captures and exudes every spectrum of emotion and yet it is all so subtle that it quietly screams out to be noticed.

Chalamet as Lee is laid back casual with his own past he is dealing with. Not accepted by his own family, he keeps moving on down the road. Finding Maren, he now has something and someone else to focus on, even if they tiff a tad. Chalamet makes not excuses for who he is and tries to share that with Maren who is still learning to accept it all. Chalamet’s gives his character charisma (which I’m assuming is necessary for their condition) and non-apologetic for anything he does. Yet, something comes out in Lee the longer he is with Maren.

Rylance as Sully – oh my gosh, I’m ready to hand him awards, I don’t care which ones. I’ll make one if I have to! The character of Sully is slow, deliberate, eerie, needy, and informative. Speaking about his performance I was telling a friend that it is ingenious that as Sully, Rylance has once again shown why he one of the best actors of our time even though he freaked me out. At the same time, my granddaughter sees him as the 2016 loveable BFG (Big Friendly Giant)! That is the diversity of Rylance. As Sully, he states his case to Maren and then skulks into the background and I mentally beg him to get back on the screen.

Shout out to Michael Stuhlbarg as Jake for making me hold my breath. Your beer talking back woods screeching behavior will have me forever shook!

Other cast include Madeleine Hall as Him, Sean Bridgers as Barry, Anna Cobb as Kayla, Kendle Coffey as Sherry, Ellie Parker as Jackie, David Green as Brad, Jessica Harper as Barbara Kerns, Burgess Byrd as Gail and Chloe Sevigny as Janelle.

MGM is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television across all platforms. Owning one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content and is home to two of the longest-running and most successful film franchise in cinematic history with JAMES BOND and ROCKY. For more please visit www.mgm.com.

As of this writing, the Venice Film Festival as awarded Taylor Russell with Best Actress with the Marcello Mastroianni Award, Best Director Silver Lion to Luca Guadagnino and nominated for the Best Film Golden Lion for director Guadagnino. The Gotham Awards has nominated Mark Rylance for Outstanding Supporting Performance and nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for Taylor Russell and UA/MGM.

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards gives a nominee nod to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Best Original Song – Feature Film with ‘(You Made It Feel Like) Home’. Reznor is a member of the band Nine Inch Nails and took his music into films such as NATURAL BORN KILLERS, LOST HIGHWAY, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.

Director Guadagnino says, “There is something about the disenfranchised, about people living on the margins of society that I am drawn towards and touched by. I love these characters. The heart of the movie is tender and affectionate towards them. I am interested in their emotional journeys. I want to see where the possibilities lie for them, enmeshed within the impossibility they face. The movie is for me a meditation on who I am and how I can overcome what I feel, especially if it is something I cannot control in myself. And lastly, and most importantly, when will I be able to find myself in the gaze of the other?”

BONES AND ALL is an intense story but with so many different layers. It is a story of a young girls search for who she is and where she belongs, it is a story of being different, it is a story of stranger-danger, it is a story of abandonment and so much more. Even if you took out one of the elements, the story would still hold together.

That being said, it is, well, a feast for the eyes also on several levels. The issue of cannibalism is a huge distraction from the other issues that each of the characters have but it is part of who they are. After a few jaw drops, I winced a bit but my jaw stayed in place as the film went on. I began to understand that as with most unusual things human beings do to each other, Maren and Lee do not shy away but instead keep pushing forward.

I loved this film on so many levels as well and the acting is so damn stellar. Watching BONES AND ALL again is something that I have to do because I want to understand even more about the direction Guadagnino takes these characters without the shock factor intruding. The cast has brought a story that is complex, complicated and worth every moment of big screen time.

In the end – it is a masticating love story!

 

LOST IN SPACE: The Complete First Season Spins in on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

This week on Bluray from 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment comes the iconic Robinson family who are LOST IN SPACE.

The Robinson Family are about to go on a journey that they would never have thought possible. On board the Resolute ship to colonize space is Commander Maureen Robinson (Molly Parker), former Navy Seal John Robinson (Toby Stephens), doctor Judy (Taylor Russell), mechanic Penny (Mina Sundwall) and 11 year old Will Robinson (Maxwell Jenkins). Also aboard is the Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) and Dr. Smith (Parker Posey).

When their ship is attacked and the Robinson family race to board Jupiter 2 and are hurled through space landing on ice but begins to feel it sinking. Judy tries to get the power back up on the ship as Penny races to try and save their mother who is injured. Will wanders outside only to fall down a deep hole that turns up a space ship and a robot that is out of whack. Being the tinkerer he is there is a new member to the gang.

Don West and Smith also survived the Resolute attack and after landing begin looking for survivors. Back with the Robinsons, the Robot is helping the family not only with the ice surrounding their ship but creates a mental connection with young Will. In that connection they all discover what happened to the Resolute. Outside a storm is brewing and a flare brings Dr. Smith to the ship.

The story of how Dr. Smith came to be on the ship in the first place and the question is whether the Robinson family are in danger because of it. Still working to get the ship working, it is Robot who takes it upon himself to fix the issues and get it off the ice. That is when a communication comes through of other survivors as they all try to connect for rescue.

Moving the ship from the ice to a more stable place, Will and Smith have a conversation about Robot. What the young man doesn’t know is that Smith has plans for trying to get the robot away from Will. Another problem is that creatures are consuming the ships fuel which is making a getaway impossible. Vijay Dhar (Ajay Friese) comes from another survivors group and Penny is taken with him.

Maureen discovers a black hole that is close to the sun making life for them more difficult once again. Vijay’s father and Don get to their ship in the desert and discover there are no creatures taking fuel but Don finds out who Dr. Smith really is and shares that with Judy but not before chaos is created and John is injured.

When confronted about John’s injury, Dr. Smith believes that Vijay’s father Victor is to blame. John and Maureen take out the rover but a tar pit sends them to the bottom and they have time to talk about family issues. In the meantime Don and Victor are trying to salvage the fuel after an accident with the tanker. With all that is going on, Dr. Smith has a plan in motion.

Victor wants to get off the planet because of its instability but Maureen and John know the launch needs more done for it to be successful. They receive a message from the Resolute that time is crucial and Don realizes he must pilot the ship if they are all to survive. Of course Dr. Smith has other plans!

When things go wrong Will is not going to believe it is impossible to make things right, especially when he discovers that the rocks he’s found are an answer. Maureen is in the middle of realizing that Dr. Smith can’t be trusted and when she can’t be found, Judy sets out to find both of them. There is also a reason for the attack on the Resolute and the Robot’s role become clearer and far more dangerous than the Robinson’s realize.

The Resolute has been sent a message that the survivors are about to launch off the planet. What they know now about Robot and the story of it all comes to a head when Will is saved from the grips of Dr. Smith and in a flash the engine aboard Jupiter 2 pushes them away from the Resolute to somewhere only Will recognizes.

Danger Will Robinson!

Parker as Maureen Robinson wants to be part of the colony and have her family part of the journey. She has her hands full once everything goes crazy because now there are others that have also survived and in the same predicament. Stephens as John Robinson goes along with Maureen to leave their home. There are issues with them and they aren’t about to get any better under these circumstances.

Russell as Judy is smart and very aware of what is happening and how it affects them all. Trying to keep everyone medically safe is almost as much a challenge as just keeping them plainly safe.  Sundwall as Penny is definitely a Robinson and knows what she is doing. Serricchio as Don doesn’t start out with the Robinsons but all too soon

Jenkins as 11-year-old Will Robinson is amazing and brings the human emotion to the series that sometimes gets lost in the action and adventure of it all. His relationship with Robot scares everyone but Will. Posey as Dr. Smith is about as manipulative and destructive as any character can be without getting her hands dirty. Clearly this gal has issues and she’s going to make sure everyone else pays for those issues.

Other cast include Amelia Burstyn as Diane, Raza Jaffrey as Victor Dhar, Sibongile Mlambo as Angela, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Hiroki, Kiki Sukezane as Aiko, Yukari Komatsu as Naoko, Adam Reid as Peter Beckert, Shaun Parkes as Captain Radic, Douglas Hodge as Hastings and Brian Steele as The Robot.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The Bluray Special Features include “No Place to Hide” – Colorized Unaired Pilot from the Original Series, Deleted Scenes, Bill and Max: Lost and Found in Space, Bill Mumy Visits the Jupiter 2, Designing the Robot and Lost in Space Sizzle.

Episodes include: Impact, Diamonds in the Sky, Infestation, The Robinsons Were Here, Transmission, Eulogy, Pressurized, Trajectory, Resurrection, Danger Will Robinson.

LOST IN SPACE takes on the baton from the 1965 original television series. The special effects give this new re-telling a chance to bring the adventures in space a wider berth. The family story is complex and strained in moments but still the story of a family. The relationship between Will and the Robot are, as I am sure it is for many, truly something to see.

I grew up watching the original LOST IN SPACE and it was Will and the Robot that captured my attention in the beginning. Then it became like a science fiction soap opera that was a weekly addiction in our home. Although the characters have had some revision from the original, the idea and the family complexity is still there.

It is a wide universe and LOST IN SPACE: The Complete First Season makes sure we are all aware of it.

In the end – danger will find them!