Ed's Review Dot Com

Working Title Films, Artémis Productions, Kvinde Films,

Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts

Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) is a Danish painter. She paints her husband, Einar (Eddie Redmayne) in woman’s clothing, and is beginning to gain attention as a popular artist. But Einar is finding himself more and more comfortable as Lili, his female character that he developed, and he finds he is losing himself and becoming more and more Lili. Since childhood, Einar has felt different and as if he was really a woman trapped in a man’s body. Seeking help, all the professionals declare him insane and try to cure him by driving the desire to be female out of his head. But through the love of his wife, Gerda, he is able to find a German doctor who is anxious to try doing a two surgery process to change Einar into Lili permanently. At this point in time, it’s heresy and is unacceptable to society, and especially the religious community.

This is a startling love story that is really sweet and well done. Based on the diary that Lili kept, and published after her death, this story really shows the great amount of love between these two. It’s sad as Gerta is losing her husband, but she’s willing to do anything to make him/her happy. Eddie Redmayne was nominated as Best Actor for his role in this film, but it was his co-star who rightfully won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Gerda. She really was able to pull off this role and was spectacular and certainly deserved it. But I think she was probably the best part of this movie. She really nailed it, and her range of emotional scenes from love, to despair, to worry, to desperation, she covered them all. This was a really well written script, and filmed in a way to leave the touching moments alone while still showing the terrifying parts. This is an unusual tale, and like one of the filmmakers stated in the extra features, it’s amazing that it has remained hidden this long as it is a really powerful story. Despite the R rating, this is a good film, and I can recommend it for mature audiences.

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Universal Pictures, Dark Castle Entertainment, Woestijnvis,

Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Isabel Lucas, Rachael Taylor

Five married professional men in the city have keys to a loft in a large apartment building. Here they can bring their conquests for a private tryst while hiding from public places and their wives and families. But when one of the guys arrives at the loft and finds a beautiful girl murdered in the bed, he calls the others. This could be the end of the line for these guys and all their deeds may become known if word gets out. But the door was locked and the alarm was set, and all the keys are accounted for, so who is responsible. This who-done-it story is full of twists and turns and lots of lies and deceit in this crime thriller.

This film is definitely a crime thriller with the usual secrecy and deceptions, and the cast is really solid. With some top notch actors here, the talent is very good. The movie, however, has it’s flaws. The story is fresh enough, but the screenplay resorts to the usual plot devices and in that sense it feels very familiar. There could have been a little more effort put into the story to make it less predictable. The final big twist you can see coming a mile away. The actors are working hard, and they really give their best. This has the film of one of the old film noir detective films of old, but the difference is that the guys pretty much need to find out what happened themselves, knowing that the killer is probably one of their friends. This makes trust pretty difficult when you don’t know who is responsible for the terrible thing that happened here. The film is rated R, but there is very little actual sex and violence in the film itself. Instead it is a very adult story, and the subject matter itself is what gets the R rating. It’s not what you see, but what you experience that is for grown-ups only. If you like mysteries, this one is interesting and is good enough, but it’s not a great film that you need to run out and chase down on it’s merit alone.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Les Productions du Trésor, Worldview Entertainment, Caneo Films,

Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Caan

In 1974 Chris (Clive Owen) has just been released from prison and standing outside the gate waiting for him is his brother Frank (Billy Crudup). Chris has a long history of getting into trouble, and Frank on the other hand is a cop, on his way to making a name for himself in the force. Their Dad Leon (James Caan) seems to like Chris better, despite his history of getting into trouble. These are not young kids. Chris is 50 years old and still looking for trouble. But when it comes down to it, will blood be thicker than water, as Frank has to decide whether despite his promise to show Chris no favors, will he turn him in or protect him in this crime drama.

This movie is really the story of the Prodigal Son from the Bible. Frank’s issues with being the good son and not being appreciated for it, and the Dad’s doting over his troubled son makes Frank feel neglected. He cares for his brother, but he has a strong desire to do the right thing. This is a little known movie. I hadn’t hear of it until it came out on DVD this week, but I was pleased with it. Truthfully, these crime dramas, cop stories about a family being torn apart by problems doesn’t usually appeal to me. There have been so many stories like this, but I found this one to be refreshing. It’s a somewhat new slant on the subject, and the family dynamic is much more important in this story than the rest of the facts. There are some really good stars in this one, and it is interesting to see the effects of crime, especially organized crime, and the effects on 1970’s Brooklyn. This is a story of the streets, and it’s gritty and dirty as it should be. But there’s a look at this family and how choices of on person or another can have a major impact on the whole family. I thought that was a pretty decent crime story, and I can recommend it, mildly, for those who like these kinds of stories. It wasn’t a fantastic film, or a must see, by any means, but it’s decently done, well acted, and fresh enough to enjoy.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog