21. Rust and Bone (B)
For a change of pace, a subtitled French movie about an amazingly strong quasi-felon and the humanizing bonds he forms with a young child and a deeply dispirited woman...hey, wait a minute.
Jacques Audiard's followup to
A Prophet (which I haven't seen, but got a lot of acclaim) is a romantic drama of sorts (I had fun in the theatre imagining the same premise repurposed as a more standard romantic comedy) got a lot of awards buzz for Marion Cotillard, who probably came in sixth with the Academy this time. It's a good performance, though, without having seen Naomi Watts, I can understand why it didn't demand a nomination in the way other performances may have.
She's still quite good, mind you, and it's a rare movie about dealing with disability that ends with the character finding satisfaction in watching her new hookup beat the crap out of other guys in bloodsport. Said hookup is Matthias Schoenaerts, who's also very good. The story is a mix of two different short stories, and the somewhat episodic structure seems to evince that, though a couple of seemingly random plot elements do turn out to have a point after all.
Cinema: 7 (+1)
Home Video: 13
Computer: 1