Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

texeakin PASS THE POPCORN: REVIEW The Bracelet of Bordeaux Yes, I Laughed Greg Wright | 14.07.09 Posted in Reviews, New on DVD, DVD Feature, DVDInterested in a little goofy Saturday morning fun with your kids? The Bracelet of Bordeaux is goofy enough and fun enough, and it's even fairly family friendly. But it might just overstay its welcome.Helen has just moved to Chem City, Texas with her dad Lubbock and mom Honey. Upon being greeted at the airport by mile-wide grins, civic-pride singing twins, and a longhorn- festooned Humvee, the three arrive at their new Armadillo Estates home… only to find that riverboat-mafia-backed blackmailing punks have dognapped French neighbor Marie's poodle. And stolen Honey's favorite sofa. Papa Lubbock's not into crime-fighting, so after 9-1-1 tells him to take a number, he's off to the oil wells. That leaves Honey to shop, and nerdly Wood Sprout scout Helen and new chum Marie to solve the caper.With the help, that is, of a magic bracelet once worn by Marie's granny to help the French Resistance burn down a Nazi concentration camp.Whew!The comedy is broad and often funny as first-time writer Frank Eakin and first-time director Casey Kelly kind of lovingly exploit the small Texas town where the film was shot and set. Even though everything's big in Texas, Eakin and Kelly have smartly opted for the small-is- better approach to comedy, gently targeting do-gooder scouting groups, do-less-gooder petroleum manufacturers, jingle-singing twins, surly shopkeepers, and toothless stoop denizens as the subjects of their barbs. Sure, this is kid-level satire that kind of feels like Spongebob Squarepants; but it also feels like many speaking roles may have been filled by Kelly's neighbors… playing themselves. So the humor never gets mean, though it often gets kind of stupid—as with a sequence in which a doltish dog-mafia stooge feeds Tobasco to the dogs just to hear them pass gas.Like many low-budget films, the shoot-quick-and-ask-editing-questions-later approach yields some awkward sequences and far too many close-ups without establishing shots to help audiences get oriented with the action. But I frequently found myself chuckling in spite of myself at much of the script's clever wordplay. Kelly also gets appropriately slapsticky performances every member of the cast. As decent as young Ally Claire Carson is as Helen, in fact, I oddly looked forward to what kooky surprise the next bit role had in store. Like the surprising National Anthem moment near the film's end. It's not often in low-budget films that the background action is as interesting as the foreground.But to be honest, I ended up watching the film's second half at double speed—and don't think I missed a thing. At 99 minutes, the premise is probably stretched about 39 minutes too long for adult taste, though I imagine kids will stick with it as they munch on Cheerios and build things with Legos, or whatever it is that kids build things with these days.The story's primary lessons, though, are a little strange. First, Marie's grandma lectures her about the dangers of being led astray by organizations that pander to children—the primary reference here being Hitler Youth, not Wood Sprout Scouts per se. But when grandma describes Hitler as the man who "turned the world upside down," I'm not sure if Eakin has confused Hitler with the Apostle Paul, or whether the film is warning children to be wary of groups like Awana, Whirly Birds, and Jet Cadets for Jesus.Second, when Marie and Helen go behind grandma's back to employ the Magic Bracelet to break the crime ring and rescue the 'napped dogs, Marie is clearly given the message that it's okay to break rules once in a while in order to serve the greater good. It's a comforting bromide, I suppose, in a post-9-11 world; but isn't such moral relevancy a lot more suitable for adults than for children? They'll learn to compromise their ideals soon enough without encouragement like this.Bottom line: a pretty darned decent job for a micro-budget DIY production. You probably won't regret renting this for some light weekend entertainment, at least not too much. But I doubt you'll be too eager for a repeat viewing, either.

pasdeux2 The Bracelet of Bordeaux is a must see! It is a great family movie for all! Lively adventure mystery the whole family can enjoy. The punks were hilarious. The sprouts enthusiastic. The dogs rip roaring. The two young sleuths and their pups were adorable. It was a heart warming story as the two sleuths set out to solve a mystery (or two) and along the way they also discover something about themselves. Superbly done! It is sure to put a smile on your face and laughter in your heart! It's great to see a film that young kids can enjoy. We need more family entertainment that all can enjoy! This one definitely hits the spot! Way to Go!!

sskuhn My family and I saw this movie in Houston over Thanksgiving, while visiting my brother, the producer Frank Eakin. Frank has worked on this film full time for the last three years, and we were all impressed with the high quality of the final product. The model of a community based, yet high-quality,production may seem a stretch, especially when movies routinely cost in the millions, but the props, the filming, the editing, all are very high quality. And the children-- not only the main characters, but all of the children-- are so engaging and believable in the characterizations that The Woodlands should be proud of their concentation of talented youth! Of course, the adult actors and volunteers should get applause as well.But what will determine the quality of any film will be the story line and the characters. As a mother and grandmother, I have watched many children's movies, and I can say that this movie draws in the audience as well as any, and better than most. The action is fast-paced, the characterizations are multi-dimensional, and the result is wholesome fun with a subtle message about friendship and courage and using power for good, all in a professional quality film.

karahkwa Hilarious is the operative term for THE BRACELET OF BORDEAUX.It is a fast-paced, fanciful film that offers a nudge-wink mix of slapstick, irony, and withering social satire about "Chem City," Texas. Adults and children alike laughed long and hard at the showing I attended, with nary a mean-spirited gag in sight.The quality I liked best about BRACELET was its overarching emphasis on the importance of choosing -- and keeping -- the right kinds of friends. Although clearly aimed at kids, the film has both a sense of humor and message adults would benefit by heeding.Thank goodness the filmmakers chose to emphasize fantasy over realism. Is anyone besides me tired of films that fail to take advantage of the nearly boundless theatricality and visual creativity the medium allows? Without giving away the plot, I can say that a form of magic, with roots in an important period of contemporary world history, plays a pivotal role in the development of the story.Equally refreshing was the use of believable, average-looking child actors, playing characters resembling real kids. Again, is anyone besides me tired of movies that present children as tiny, physically idealized, wise-cracking adults? Speaking of wisecracks, I liked the way the film's abundant humor sprang not from one-liners or clichés, but from the wild images on the screen or the irony of the situations orchestrated by the script.Since I knew this was an independent film shot on a shoestring, I was surprised by the quality of the production. The photography was professional, as were the sets, costumes and props. Effects were high-quality, and acting was top-rate. I give extra points to the adult actors who portrayed the marionettes behind the juvenile-delinquent puppets. Sal's role added necessary weight to the plot, while the scenes featuring him and his hapless toady added levity to the proceedings with their straight-faced absurdity.In reading background on the film, I learned that BRACELET is the first by Frank Eakin and that it was so low-budget it was practically no-budget. The information begs the question: Has digital technology made film a truly democratic art form? The success of THE BRACELET OF BORDEAUX is enough to make believers out of the most stalwart doubters in the power of digital video technology.