May 11, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • Page 23 ‘Blue Valentine’ puts relationship under microscope by Dennis Seuling “Blue Valentine” (Anchor Bay Entertainment) is the story of a romantic relationship that is turning from unbridled joy to utter bitterness. It is not an easy movie to watch, and doesn’t provide the typical Hollywood ending. For that reason alone, the movie is a noteworthy commentary on relationships based on infatuation and little substance. Dean (Ryan Gosling) works for a Brooklyn moving company. He first meets Cindy (Michelle Williams) when his company assigns him to move an elderly man to a Scranton nursing home on the same day Cindy goes there to visit her sick grandmother. Dean is immediately smitten and later returns to Scranton to look for Cindy. He finds her and she falls for his lovesick charms, even though she has a boyfriend (Mitch Vogel). Cindy has ambitions. She attends college, is a good student, and aspires to a career in medicine. Dean is a high school dropout who thinks little about the future and is content with a life that offers him little chance of improvement. Director Derek Cianfrance provides a raw, non-glossy look at a relationship deteriorating before our eyes. He gives the film a documentary feel as the dialogue reveals the pain of the two young people as they see their union is not working. The scene shifts back and forth from the past, shown in washed-out hues, and the present, shown in full color. This kind of character study used to be referred to as a “slice of life” -- an unglamorous, uncompromising, unadorned glimpse into the lives of real people. “Blue Valentine” works primarily because of the two leads. Both Gosling and Williams are excellent and involve the viewers as their darker sides come to the surface. They infuse their characters with humanity and passion, veering far afield from the kind of starry-eyed, often airheaded couples the movies often present as typical. Blu-ray extras include director’s audio commentary, a making-of featurette, and deleted scenes. “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” (Paramount Home Entertainment, available May 13) combines a rise-to-fame saga with exciting concert footage of the teen idol. The film includes clips of the YouTube performances that received millions of hits and led to his signing by Scooter Braun, who turned Bieber into a hugely popular teen idol and performer. The film is standard “bio-lite,” and raises a few questions that are never answered. What kind of schooling does he get? How does he maintain a rigorous concert and personal appearance schedule? His mom is shown a lot, but his father is only shown once. What kind of relationship does he have with his dad? The one person who seems to offer Bieber some grounding is his vocal coach, Jan Smith, who appears genuinely concerned for Bieber the kid, not just his vocal cords. There are appearances by Usher, Miley Cyrus, and Jaden Smith, who perform with Bieber, but it’s Bieber who takes center stage for most of the film. A countdown to a concert at Madison Square Garden is employed to build excitement, though it merely serves to interrupt and distract. A highlight is a sequence of Bieber playing a drum solo that is very impressive. He is very good with the drumsticks. There are loads of extras that fans will love. Several show the strong bond the singer feels for his loyal fans. One featurette, “R.I.P. Hair Flip,” shows Bieber saying goodbye to his signature ‘do. “Gaumont Treasures: Volume 2” (Kino International) is a three-disc collection of over 75 restored films produced by the French Gaumont Film Company between 1908 and 1916, its second decade of exisOther filmmakers represented include Jean Durand, whose specialty was slapstick comedy and American-style Westerns, and Jacques Feyder, whose sophisticated comedies made him the French counterpart to Ernst Lubitsch and Cecil B. DeMille. Watching these early shorts, it’s amazing to see such inventiveness and creativity. Though made at the dawn of the cinema age, these little movies display the potential of a new art form that would soon dominate popular culture worldwide. “UFC: Ultimate Royce Cracie” (Anchor Bay Entertainment) focuses on the man who pioneered the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gracie is the son of legendary Hello Gracie, a giant in the world of Brazilian jiu jitsu. By age 17, Royce had a blue belt in Gracie jiu jitsu. He later moved to the United States and received his black belt in the sport. In 1993, Royce’s brother Rorion devised the UFC, which would put fighters of various martial arts together to see who came out on top. This two-disc Blu-ray collection showcases the jiu jitsu master at his best with close to six hours of content, including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and -- best of all -- his classic fights against Ken Shamrock, Kimo Leopoldo, and Kazushi Sakuraba. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star as ill-fated lovers in ‘Blue Valentine.’ tence. Gaumont originally dealt in photographic apparatus, but began producing short films in 1897 to promote its make of camera/projector. The movies in this set feature some of the company’s most influential filmmakers, including Emil Cohl, cinema’s first notable animator. 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