"Brothers" Blu-ray Review + captures

Tobey Maguire & Jake Gyllenhaal, captures from "Brothers" (2009), directed by Jim Sheridan.

"Natalie Portman is given one of her more restrained adult roles here and can simply show us she can act again without being surrounded by toys, masked vigilantes and expensive CGI.Gyllenhaal has the less flashy role but excels with a character that needs to transition from an aimless troublemaker to a dependable brother-in-law and uncle with scenes between Tommy and Grace not always playing out as you expect - which makes Sam’s breakdown all the more effectively tense.
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as Peter Parker & Mary Jane in "Spiderman" saga.

That ‘Spider-man 4’ fell apart may not be a bad thing as I would rather see both Raimi and Maguire do other things…
Also notable is a strong performance by Shepard and particularly touching turns by the two young actresses playing the daughters. Like ‘The Hurt Locker’, ‘In the Valley of Elah’ and even this past weekend’s failure of “Green Zone’, audiences seem to inexplicably cold-shoulder great films that deal with the war assuming I guess that only one note is being played with these films.
Special Features start off with an audio commentary from director Jim Sheridan that’s a great listen and extremely informative with tidbits learned about everything from directing actors and the U2 song used to the differences between his film and the original Danish version.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Jim Sheridan: Film and Family (DVD Extra)

‘Jim Sheridan: Film and Family’ is a fifteen-minute featurette about his mostly family-driven pics and a look at how he works with actors and children. ‘Remade in the USA: How Brødre Became Brothers’ takes a look at the original film versus the remake. A high-def trailer rounds things out.

‘Brothers’ may have been overlooked this past fall, but you owe it to yourself to catch up with it. Great performances by all involved with Portman and Maguire showcasing some chops that I haven’t seen from them in years with Sheridan getting back on track after his odd 50-cent biopic misstep. Highly recommended". Source: www.monstersandcritics.com