Coco Before Chanel DVD Review

You can own this DVD today

Synopsis: Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amélie) shines in this intriguing portrait of the early life of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the orphan who would build a fashion empire and be known universally by her nickname, Coco. She journeys from a mundane seamstress job to boisterous cabarets to the opulent French countryside, possessing little more than her unwavering determination, unique style and visionary talent. Also starring Benoît Poelvoorde (In His Hands) and Alessandro Nivola (Junebug). Featuring lush settings and stunning costume design, Coco Before Chanel is the gripping and dramatic story of an icon who defied convention and defined the modern woman.

Review: CoCo Chanel has become a person of interest in recent years.  She was a visionary and a trail blazer in her time.  This new biopic is very unique, in that it actually stops where our general familiarity with her begins!  Portrayed by Audrey Tatou, Chanel is shown starting out life as an orphan and growing into the fasion designer that we came to know.

The pace of the film is slow at times, but the performanc by Tatou is absolutely delightful.  The movie is very inspiring and truly shows the difficult and sometimes impossible journey of a woman in the world.  This would be a great movie to watch if you are interested in Chanel, enjoy biopics or perhaps even in a women's studies class.  I definately recommend it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Julie and Julia DVD Review

You can purchase this DVD online today

Synopsis: A culinary legend provides a frustrated office worker with a new recipe for life in Julie & Julia, the true stories of how Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) life and cookbook inspired fledgling writer Julie Powell (Amy Adams) to whip up 524 recipes in 365 days and introduce a new generation to the magic of French cooking. Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) co-stars in director Nora Ephron’s delicious comedy about joy, obsession and butter. Bon appétit!

Review: I'll be the first to admit it, this is a "chick flick".  You'll notice my high rating below, and I'll tell you why...its a damn fine film.  It has two stellar actresses in Amy Adams and Meryl Streep.  Its based on the blog and book from Nora Ephron, which was made famous, of course, by the internet.   This is a film that men and women with any reasonable range will enjoy.  It is a little cliche?  Sure, but it provides some good entertainment as we see these two women from very different times with very similar needs.

The only downside to this film for the fans of the book is how they watered down the Amy Adams character.  She is portrayed in the books as messier and more vulgar ala Bridget Jones, while Adams plays a squeaky clean version.  This is likely due to Adams not wanting to hurt her image.

You can get this one on DVD.  This is no action film.  Nothing interesting with graphics, so a high-definition picture isn't really needed.  The only real downside of the DVD in this instance is the lack of special features.  The blu-ray release of this title includes a lot more features, so its to your benefit to pick it up if you enjoy extras.

The special features on this DVD include a commentary with writer/director Nora Ephron.  “Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia” – Go behind the scenes with Meryl Streep & Amy Adams to see how they became Julie & Julia.

Rating: 5 out of 5 star!