Category: film & tv

TV Review: Stan Lee’s Lucky Man

I don’t usually review tv shows based on one episode. I think it’s a little unfair to jump straight in without giving them time to ‘bed in’. I went straight ahead with Lucky Man though; after episode 1, I think Sky TV might be on to a winner. It’s from the same genius who brought you comic characters such as the Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (though that doesn’t mean we should blame him for the FF’s last outing, which was a train wreck), so it has a good solid ideas man behind it. Surprisingly, it’s not your run-of-the-mill superhero thing… well, I don’t think it is anyway.

lucky_man

 

Our hero (and I use the term loosely) is a Harry Clayton, a sub-par London police detective with a failed marriage behind him and a gambling habit still way out in front. While investigating the murder of the man to whom he owes most of his gambling debt, Harry chances upon an ancient bracelet that endows its wearer with the luck of the gods. For a roulette addict things can’t get much better, except for the fact that one of the bracelet’s previous owners threw himself off a high roof… Doesn’t sound all that lucky to me.

Episode 1 was a blinder. The script was fresh, the acting superb (stellar performances from James Nesbitt and Eve Best (who I last saw in the final episode of Nurse Jackie), and most importantly, it didn’t take itself too seriously. I think the problem with a lot of the super hero stuff running on Sky (Green Arrow, The Flash) is that they’re really not much fun. I don’t this is going to be the case with Lucky Man.

For the first episode, a very creditable eight out of ten.

 

Film review: The Danish Girl

the danish girlThe talented Eddie Redmayne is cast as Einer Wegener, the successful Danish landscape artist who was one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Set in 1926, the film charts his pioneering (is that the right word?) journey to becoming Lili Elbe.

What makes this film extraordinary is its depiction of the changing relationship between Einer/Lili and his wife, Gerda. In fact, the film is not so much about Einer’s self-discovery as much as Gerda’s sacrifice. She loved Einer so much that she would have done anything to see him fulfilled, even if that meant helping him become someone who would not love her back… well, not in the same way at least.

The Danish Girl is a great movie: understated and beautifully shot. It treats the subject of transgenderism with a delicate sensitivity and without attempting to make judgments on Einer, and more importantly, Gerda who chose to stay with Lili. It lays out the story and leaves you without a sense of who is right, who is wrong, or even if there is a right and wrong. Should she have stayed with him; should he have stayed with her. I left with the sense that perhaps Lili should have set her free, just as Gerda had done for Einer.

Anyway, the acting is superb, from both Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander. The script washed over me without leaving much of an impression, but I think this is a good thing: this is a movie that is very much the sum of its parts, and I think having any one particular element stand out would have made it unbalanced. It was clearly a labour of love for everyone involved and it showed.

Excellent. Nine out of ten.