Lila & Eve (2015)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

I saw this movie on Netflix and decided to give it a try. I didn't think I'd get into as much as I did. Viola Davis did a very beautiful job in portraying her emotions, and I really never saw the "twist" coming. Sure it's a bit far fetched, one women taking down some very dangerous criminals, but all in all I'm happy I watched it.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Lila (Viola Davis) loses her son in a drive by shooting, and her life is turned upside down. Her life is then juggled between taking care of her other two sons, attending group therapy meetings and being fobbed off by the police. But then she meets Eve (Jennifer Lopez), a woman who lost a daughter in similar circumstances. Together, they set out to administer some street justice of their own until they track down those responsible for their kids killings. But as events roll on, Lila comes to suspect Eve may not be who she says she is.Despite still being what you could call a household name, and even a brand in her own right with the JLo label, it does feel a little like Jennifer Lopez's name on a film won't make it quite the draw that it used to, with this struggling even to find its way onto DVD over here. She's attempting a more mature role here, now a little older, and so glamming down with no make up and very plain, grey clothing. Despite all this, she's still not a great actress though, and it shows here as much as anywhere, and so it's a comfort that the slightly more dramatically gifted Davis takes centre stage.This really is a disposable, by the numbers effort, going through the motions in a really typical, clichéd 'ordinary people standing up to injustice' plot line, with nothing to make it really stand out or shine. This isn't helped by a slumberous, uneven pace, which struggles to establish an effective narrative flow, making it feel a bit incoherent. Feeling even more misplaced are some awkward attempts at humour, that feel completely out of place given the tone of the film, before building to a pretty nonsensical ending that seems to be trying to give the film some gravitas it doesn't have.Even with the star power involved, it's really not too hard to see why this one sank without a trace. **

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change... The courage to change the things that I can... And the wisdom to know the difference."Lila (Viola Davis) and Eve (Jennifer Lopez) are two grief-drawn women after their children have been killed. Unlike others, they won't throw in the towel and want to take revenge. It's time they take matters into their own hands. You guessed it. It's just another revenge movie that's being released on mankind. This time it's about two grieving mothers who are about to face a brutal drug gang and their errand boys who are dealing on every street corner. That's an element that doesn't occur often in a revenge movie. Unfortunately it came across as quite implausible. The police hit a dead end, so the investigation isn't really progressing (but according to the two avenging angels, this is due to their laxness because the victims are colored individuals). However, the two innocent housewives, whose lives only consist of doing household chores, redesigning the interior and attending a support group for parents of murdered children, can get to the kingpin of this drug gang, just by using simple interrogation techniques and some data from a mobile phone.The acting part was far from bad. At certain moments Davis and even Lopez perform excellent. Davis was a complete stranger for me (that's because I hate television series and haven't seen "How to Get Away with Murder") but she's excellent at the beginning as the mother who collapses and survives on pills. A brilliant piece of acting. During the confrontations with the young rascals, her appearance as the clumsy fury wasn't that successful. I was more surprised about Lopez who, unlike her part in "Parker", showed she really can act decently. She was quite convincing as the self-righteous, rebellious vigilante who thinks that the concept of the support group is a bit too soft. She's the driving force behind Lisa's revenge.Maybe I wasn't paying attention enough or I was tired while watching "Lila & Eve", because I really didn't see that plot twist coming at the end. The film on its own wasn't so impressive however. It was rather a "ah, that's the direction they are going" feeling I had afterwards. The closure was a bit too sentimental and unreal. Ultimately, it's only an average, ordinary film so to speak. Nothing exciting or captivating. Even the acting couldn't save this film. In short, it's just one to add to your list of movies you should watch when you're retired, because you have plenty of time then. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

I found this on Netflix streaming, my wife viewed the trailer and decided it was "too dark" for what she wanted to watch so I watched it alone.I can't say too much before the SPOILERS section below, but it is in Atlanta mostly in an area where lots of drug dealing goes on at night on the street corners. One night a teenage boy is walking home and was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. Was he the target, or was he just in the wrong place?The police have a number of these to investigate and seem to be bogged down. Meanwhile the grieving mother, Lila, goes to support group meetings where she and other mothers offer each other support. But Eve catches her eye after one meeting, and together they devise a different plan, one to track down and eliminate the drug boss who is responsible for the killings.There are some shootings but never are they sensationalized. Yes the story is dark but we can identify with the characters. Jennifer Lopez gets a lot of criticism from some quarters but she in fact is a fine actress and is good as Eve. Viola Davis is Lila and as always gives a great performance.SPOILERS follow: In a theme borrowed from 'Fight Club', Eve is in fact not real, only the alter ego of Lila. A common shot is to have Eve right behind a hesitant Lila, egging her on to do what needs to be done. While Lila is non-violent and cringes when she finds a handgun in her son's backpack, Eve is ready to hunt down and kill the bad guys. In the end she succeeds and Eve disappears as Lila gains more confidence in her mission. The cops strongly suspect Lila in several murders but each woman in the support group start to come forward to say Lila was with them when the several killings occurred. It appears that she would never be charged and at least THAT drug boss is dead.