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UNIVERSAL

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Alan Rickman
Cast:
Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci
Writing Credits:
Alison Deegan, Alan Rickman and Jeremy Brock

Synopsis:
Two talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.

Box Office:
Opening Weekend
$181,791 on 83 Screens.
Domestic Gross
$551,609.

MPAA:
Rated R

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 113 min.
Price: $26.98
Release Date: 8/4/2015

Bonus:
• None


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
Panasonic TC-P60VT60 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV; Sony STR-DG1200 7.1 Channel Receiver; Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player using HDMI outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Kenwood 1050SW 150-watt Subwoofer.

RELATED REVIEWS


A Little Chaos [Blu-Ray] (2015)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (August 5, 2015)

For a romance based very loosely on history, we dig into 2015’s A Little Chaos. Set in the late 17th century, French King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) wants gardens designed for his palace at Versailles.

Louis puts landscape designer André Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) in charge of the project, and recruits additional professionals for this massive task. After a talent search, André hires Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet), an Englishwoman who’s lived in France for two years.

This decision doesn’t come easily, as André takes offense at some of Sabine’s choices. However, her skills seem superior to those of the other candidates, so André feels compelled to pick the strongest designer. This launches them into a working relationship that eventually spills into the romantic realm.

With Chaos, Rickman attempts “triple-threat” status. Not only does he play a prominent character, but he also directs and co-writes the film. This marks his second turn behind the camera, as Rickman also wrote and directed 1997’s The Winter Guest. Beyond a cameo, though, Rickman didn’t act in the earlier film.

I always liked Rickman as an actor, so I felt curious to see what he’d bring to the table as writer/director. I never saw Guest, so Chaos marked my first glimpse of Rickman as filmmaker.

Given the personality Rickman tends to deliver onscreen, I expected something sassier than the fairly sappy Chaos. An opening credit that winks at the movie’s historical glibness hints that the film will follow a cheeky path, but beyond that little blurb, Chaos tends to take itself pretty seriously.

In and of itself, that’s not a bad thing, of course, as Chaos doesn’t need to be witty or impish. However, it could offer something peppier than the experience on display. Chaos seems more somber than it needs to be most of the time; outside of a flamboyant supporting turn from Stanley Tucci, we don’t get much to lighten the proceedings.

I wouldn’t mind the downbeat tone if Chaos dug out of its doldrums and gave us something at least moderately interesting. The story simply never feels like it goes anywhere. It moves at a ponderous pace but fails to use all that time to allow us entry into the characters. We might spend lots of time with Sabine and Andre, but those minutes don’t really get us closer to them. They remain bland, uninteresting personalities.

Rickman also doesn’t bring much life to the tale. Chaos feels flat and workmanlike. It doesn’t come across as a poorly made film, but it lacks imagination and verve. We see events shot and edited in such a conservative manner that the movie becomes even more sluggish.

The actors do fine in their roles, but they stay hamstrung due to the one-dimensional nature of the project. A Little Chaos fails to become an interesting historical drama or a compelling romance. It’s just a slow-moving bore.


The Blu-ray Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B-/ Bonus F

A Little Chaos appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The transfer seemed pretty strong.

No real issues with sharpness arose. At times, wide shots looked a smidgen soft, but the majority of the movie appeared accurate and concise. I noticed no signs of jaggies or edge enhancement, and shimmering was absent. The film lacked print flaws and seemed clean.

Many period pieces opt for subdued palettes, and that was true here. The colors tended toward amber tones or a teal impression and never seemed especially dynamic. Nonetheless, these elements appeared fine within the film’s stylistic choices. Blacks seemed dark and tight, and shadows demonstrated good clarity. I felt the image deserved a solid “B+”.

A romantic drama wouldn’t seem to be a candidate for a whiz-bang soundtrack, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of Chaos fell into expected realms. The track remained oriented toward ambience, so don’t expect lots of sizzle from the mix. Construction scenes used the speakers in a decent manner and a few other scenes – like brief explosions or a flood - added a little pep, but this was a chatty movie without much sonic ambition.

Audio quality satisfied. Music was full and rich, while effects showed nice clarity and accuracy. Speech – obviously an important factor here – appeared concise and crisp. Nothing here soared, but it all seemed positive.

To my surprise, Chaos lacks any extras at all. It doesn’t even include previews! This is as bare-bones as a disc can be.

With A Little Chaos, we get a persistently dull period romance. Dull and overly conservative, the movie lacks verve and creates a flat, uninteresting experience. The Blu-ray provides very good picture and acceptable audio but eschews all supplements. While not a terrible film, Chaos lacks qualities to make it compelling.

Viewer Film Ratings: 2 Stars Number of Votes: 1
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