Produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Matt Ruskin, Boston Strangler stars Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon.
Knightley plays Loretta McLaughlin, a reporter who becomes the first person to connect the series of murders. She breaks the story of the Boston Strangler with Jean Cole. They challenge the sexism of the early 1960s by tirelessly reporting the city’s most notorious serial killer.
Also starring are Chris Cooper and Alessandro Nivola.
Directed by James Kent and based on the book of the same title by Rhidian Brook, The Aftermath follows the lives of three people in a love triangle: Rachel Morgan, played by Kiera Knightly; Lewis Morgan, played by Jason Clarke, and Stephan Lubert, played by Alexander Skarsgard.
Kent’s credits include several episodic TV shows such as The White Queen and Inside Men. He’s directed a documentary and feature movies as well. Currently, he is in production with Jessica Chastain for the film Seducing Ingrid Bergman.
If you haven’t seen it yet or want to see it again, the movie is available on Blu-ray/DVD or streaming.
The story takes place during post-World War II. A British colonel and his wife were assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction, but tensions with the Germans who had previously owned the house took a toll on the British couple.
Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse pen the screenplay for The Aftermath. This isn’t the first time these two wrote together. Other movies include Frankie & Alice and Race.
Watching the trailer, I kept thinking this story had a twist. Otherwise, the mundane attitude of “poor me” turns the movie into a wet toast. Yet, I am intrigued and want to read the novel before I see the film because there appear to be many deep-seated thoughts.
Very few movie clips are available to see if the movie does follow the book or what the film is about. I posted some studio interviews that offer insight into the story based on the movie’s three actors.
The first interview is with Keira Knightley, and she reveals that the movie does not follow the book. I think the married couple in the story are without children. Their son is killed during a German air raid in England, and there is no second son like in the book.
Jason Clarke has played so many different roles in movies. He is so much fun to watch. In Serenity, he played an evil and disgusting man. In The Aftermath, he plays Lewis Morgan, who is trying to rebuild Germany and his life.
Alexander Skarsgard explains how the book and the movie are similar and relates the book to his role in the film. Skarsgard stars in another movie posted on Movie Roar called The Hummingbird Project, which is quirky with dark humor and quite different from The Aftermath.
The featurette tells the movie’s story, so there are spoilers, and beware—you watch at your own risk. The film doesn’t follow the book, which is a bit disappointing. I wonder if it will end the same way. I liked the book’s ending.
After the featurette is a movie clip, hopefully, the studios will not block it. They sometimes do block them. I don’t know why. Showing the clips promotes the movie and helps the box office draw. As you can see, eventually, the studio blocked the clip.
The Characters and Story featurette covers everything about the movie. It’s a nice piece because you become familiar with where the story physically takes place and when it takes place.
The next feature encompasses Clarke’s character. He plays a kind and troubled man, and it’s good to see him in this type of role.
It is Knightley’s turn to explain her role. She’s done an excellent job in this movie, making quite an impression.
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms centers on Klara, played by Mackenzie Foy. All she desires is a golden key,not just any old key. A unique key like no other key to unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother.
Her godfather Drosselmeyer, played by Morgan Freeman, presents a golden thread to her at the annual holiday party. The thread leads her to the key she yearns. The thread quickly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world.
In the mysterious world, which seems a bit like Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Klara happens upon some quirky characters such as a soldier named Phillip, played by Jayden Fowora-Knight, a gang of mice, and the regents. The regents preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers, and Land of Sweets.
Klara and Phillip journey together and brave the threatening Fourth Realm, which is home to the tyrant Mother Ginger, played by Helen Mirren.
For Klara to her key and with a bit of luck, return harmony to the unstable world, she must confront Mother Ginger.
The following three featurettes show how much creative work went into production. One of the featurettes is about the famous ballerina Misty Copeland.
These two movie clips show how the story unfolds.
Hallstrom’s credits include directing What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? and he is also a writer.
The featurette explains the four realms.
The magical movie also stars Keira Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Featuring an individual ballet performance by Misty Copeland, all ballerinas will want to see this movie. But keep in mind, E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic tale inspires the cinema. It is not the same story.
The second trailer shows more of the story, and the music sounds familiar.
The Blu-ray/DVD and streaming is now available if you’re interested in watching it with your kids. It is a kids’ movie, but mom and, possibly, dad will like it, too.
Co-written and directed by Wash Westmoreland, Colette follows Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, played by Keira Knightley, after marrying a successful Parisian writer Willy, played by Dominic West, is transplanted from her where she grew up in rural France to the scholarly and artistic richness of Paris.
Shorty, Willy persuades Colette to ghostwrite for him. She writes a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and gutsy country girl named Claudine. The book becomes a trending bestseller and a cultural inspiring story.
After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. Colette’s fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion, and sexual expression.
Richard Glatzer and Rebecca Lenkiewicz also contributed to the screenplay. Westmoreland is known for directing Still Alice, which won Julianne Moore several international awards.
The movie is about real people and their relationship with the story. The second trailer shows more of the movie and the sexual innuendoes of one of the most famous books in the world at the time.