The Danish Girl was one of 2015’s most acclaimed films, but some critics and online commentators called out lead Eddie Redmayne for playing transgender artist Lili Elbe. Even though the role proved to be controversial, Redmayne scored multiple accolades, including a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Years after receiving backlash for taking on the role, the Fantastic Beasts star revealed his regrets related to The Danish Girl.

Taking on the life of Lili Elbe proved to be a double-edged sword for the Oscar winner. Eddie Redmayne found himself being praised and criticized for playing the transgender artist. Looking back at the role now, Redmayne is reflective about the controversy surrounding it. The Trial of the Chicago 7 star shared with The Times what he regrets about playing the artist, saying:

Years after the controversy, Eddie Redmayne has evolved his thought process about The Danish Girl. As the Oscar winner pointed out, not enough transgender actors and actresses get the opportunity to get great roles in blockbusters and smaller films. Many stars like Mj Rodriguez and Laverne Cox have been vocal about their difficulties in Hollywood.

But it’s not just Eddie Redmayne’s fault for the casting. Some of the responsibility must fall on movie studios for not taking a chance on someone who's lived the experience. So becoming Lili Elbe might’ve kept a transgender actor or actress from receiving a much-needed career boost. It seemed now The Good Nurse star looks back with some hindsight and takes some responsibility.

Eddie Redmayne’s Danish Girl regrets showcased the growth he has experienced since accepting the role. Redmayne has become an ally for transgender rights and representation. When Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling made some offensive comments about transgender women, the Hollywood star was one of the most vocal defenders. He had joined a chorus of past and current Wizarding World stars in speaking out against Rowling.

Having become an ally, Eddie Redmayne showed anyone can evolve even after a major faux pas. Hopefully Redmayne will continue to speak up and out for transgender representation in Hollywood. As an A-lister, maybe Redmayne’s words will help push for better representation in film. As Hollywood strives for more inclusion, audiences are looking forward to seeing Redmayne as Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which arrives in theaters on April 15, 2022. If you want to still witness his impressive performance, you can stream The Danish Girl on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

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Every now and again, an actor or actress comes around and catches the world by storm and quickly shoots to top of the movie industry. We’ve seen these quick ascents in the past, but one of the most impressive examples of this in recent years is the case of Alicia Vikander who went from a relatively unknown Swedish rising star to one of the most talked about names in Hollywood in the span of a couple of years. Thanks to movies like Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, and even Tomb Raider, Vikander has become one of the most prolific stars of our time and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon, especially with her presence on The Green Knight cast.

Below is a quick list of the best Alicia Vikander movies and how you can watch them whether they’re on streaming services or available for digital rental or purchases (and even old fashion physical media).

The Danish Girl (2015)

One of the best movies on Netflix, Tom Hooper’s 2015 biographical drama The Danish Girl tells the story of early 20th Century artist Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) as he transitions to a woman who identifies herself as Lili Elbe. And while the outside world does not understand or support the artist’s decision to undergo surgery to let go of her male past and begin her life as a woman, Wegener’s wife, Gerda (Alicia Vikander) remains her biggest supporter despite the circumstances. Vikander won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the supportive wife and talented artist who never gave up on Lili through the thick and thin of the whole situation.

Stream The Danish Girl on Netflix.

Rent/Buy The Danish Girl on Amazon.

Buy The Danish Girl on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Ex Machina (2015)

Alicia Vikander had already started to build a respectable resumé by the time she showed up in Alex Garland’s 2015 mind-bending sci-fi drama Ex Machina with all its questions about love, reality, and morality, but her portrayal of an android named Ava put her on the map. We’re introduced to Ava after a young programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is invited to to the home and research facility of his boss, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), and her presence is immediately felt. What starts out as a Turing test to show off Nathan’s work in artificial intelligence quickly turns into something much more.

Stream Ex Machina on Showtime.

Rent/Buy Ex Machina on Amazon.

Buy Ex Machina on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Tomb Raider (2018)

The Tomb Raider video game franchise went through a major tonal and gameplay shift with the 2013 reboot, and so it only made sense for the film franchise of the same name to do something similar when it returned in 2018 after being dormant for 15 years. This more grounded and gritty version of Tomb Raider saw Alicia Vikander take on the role of Lara Croft as she set out to solve the mystery of her father’s (Dominic West) disappearance in a fabled tomb on the Japanese coast. What she finds on the island, however, defies logic and reality as she knows it.

Rent/Buy Tomb Raider on Amazon.

Buy Tomb Raider on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Anna Karenina (2012)

In 2012, director Joe Wright had the task of adapting Leo Tolstoy’s 19th Century epic about love and war in the Russian Empire with Anna Karenina. While the heart of the movie focuses on Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) and her love affair with Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a movie couldn’t be considered an epic without branching storylines that tell the tale of other characters connected to the central drama. That’s where we find Princess Ekaterina “Kitty” Alexandrovna (Alicia Vikander), who had the eye of Vronsky before Karenina came into the picture. Her story is just as important to overall narrative of Anna Karenina as anyone else's and helped make her into a rising star.

Rent/Buy Anna Karenina on Amazon.

Buy Anna Karenina on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

When CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) are forced to put their differences aside during the middle of the Cold War to prevent a mysterious organization from starting nuclear war, we get The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Directed by Guy Ritchie, this 2015 action comedy sees the pair of adversaries find and rescue Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), the daughter of a German scientist whose story is actually more remarkable than they knew. Together, the trio set off to prevent the world from falling into chaos before it’s too late.

Rent/Buy The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Amazon.

Burnt (2015)

John Wells’ 2015 drama, Burnt, tells the story of skilled yet emotionally unstable chef, Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper), as he attempts to earn his third Michelin star while also pulling himself out of series of bad mistakes and setbacks. Together with his trusty kitchen crew, which includes Helene Sweeney (Sienna Miller) and Michel (Omar Sy), Adam reaches new heights professionally, though his personal life remains a mess that is constantly boiling over. Things change, however, when Adam has a run-in with his ex-girlfriend, Anne Marie (Alicia VIkander), who inspires him to finally make the change that could save his career and life.

Stream Burnt on Tubi.

Rent/Buy Burnt on Amazon.

Buy Burnt on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Light Between Oceans (2016)

Derek Cianfrance’s 2016 period drama The Light Between Oceans, which is one of the best movies on Amazon Prime you can rent, centers on World War I veteran Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) and his wife Isabel (Alicia Vikander), who despite their best efforts, cannot have a child of their own to brighten the dreary life they lead at a remote lighthouse on the Australian coast. Their fortune changes when an infant mysteriously washes ashore, but the arrival brings with it another obstacle for the couple: Should they alert the authorities and find the child’s family or raise the baby as their own.

Rent/Buy The Light Between Oceans on Amazon.

Buy The Light Between Oceans on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

A Royal Affair (2012)

The 2012 Danish drama A Royal Affair sees Alicia Vikander take on the role of Caroline Matilda, who marries Christian VII (Mikkel Følsgaard), the king of Denmark, but quickly finds herself in a forbidden romance with her husband’s doctor, Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen). This affair between the new queen and the royal doctor becomes something much more consequential, as the physician begins to take advantage of his situation and create a larger, and more powerful, role for himself.

Stream A Royal Affair on Hoopla.

Rent/Buy A Royal Affair on Amazon.

Buy A Royal Affair on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Testament Of Youth (2014)

The 2014 military drama Testament of Youth tells the remarkable story of Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander), who abandoned her studies at Oxford to become a war nurse during World War I. Though initially supportive of the war and her country’s role in the matter, the loss of several of the men closest to her causes the young woman to become a pacifist, a philosophy the real Vera Brittain dedicated her life to following the war.

Stream Testament of Youth on Showtime.

Rent/Buy Testament of Youth on Amazon.

Buy Testament of Youth on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Earthquake Bird (2019)

Set in 1989 Tokyo, the 2019 Netflix psychological thriller Earthquake Bird sees Alicia Vikander take on the role of Lucy Fly, a translator who finds herself accused of murder when her best friend, Lily Bridges (Riley Keough), goes missing after the two were involved in a love triangle.

Stream Earthquake Bird on Netflix.

With Alicia Vikander’s busy schedule and upcoming 2021 new movie releases, it won’t be long before this list is updated with even more stellar performances, including the still-in-the-works Tomb Raider 2.

This winter has seen a solid number of movies hit the box office that have resonated with moviegoers. Everything from franchise flicks like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 to wild comedies like Sisters and thoughtful Oscar contenders like The Danish Girl have found audiences and soon even more individuals will be able to catch these flicks. That’s because March looks to be a great month for Digital, Blu-ray and DVD releases. There are some really big movies out this month. Be sure to check out what else is coming out this month, below.

Rumors have been running around for a while now that we might be getting the Digital copy of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in March, but Disney confirmed today that both the Digital and the Blu-ray and DVD copies will not be coming out until April 1 (Digital) and April 5 (Blu-ray and DVD), respectively.

In addition, if you are trying to figure out what came out in February, do check out that list:

February 2016 DVD, Blu-ray And Digital Releases

March 1

Creed Blu-ray

We’re living in a time when reboots and remakes are at an all-time high. Creed serves as a lot of things for the Rocky franchise. It’s a sequel, a spinoff and a reboot of sorts, focusing on Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis (Michael B Jordan), who is hiding his true identity while trying to enlist Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train. It’s also a love letter to Rocky in many ways, as director and writer Ryan Coogler (with some help from fellow writer Aaron Covington) has penned a tale about a young man who is fighting to rise in the ranks of a profession and suffering setbacks along the way, nodding at key moments from the original film throughout. Above all, it’s a damn fine sports movie and a crowd pleaser, to boot, and if you haven’t given the film a chance yet, the Blu-ray and Digital releases are both good options. We all know that Michael B. Jordan really bulked up for his role in the flick, and there’s a whole featurette devoted to what it took to get into Creed shape. There’s another about building on the Rocky legacy that’s worth a watch, as well. Order the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment title, here.

The Danish Girl Blu-ray

Tom Hooper is known for tackling period dramas with sparks of hope and moments of comedy and this year’s The Danish Girl is no exception. Featuring masterful performances from Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl is a story about identity but also about relationships changing. In The Danish Girl Eddie Redmayne plays artist Einar Wegener (Redmayne), who decides to pursue sex reassignment surgery after his wife Gerda needs him to fill in as a female model during a painting session. As Einer transforms into Lili, this obviously puts a strain on her marriage, and also makes her a target in the conservative 1920s. While not historically accurate, the film hits a lot of intriguing notes and tells a story that took years to make it to the big screen. Universal Studios Home Entertainment comes with a Blu-ray and Digital copy of the flick, and while the barebones set only comes with one "Making of" featurette, it’s available for pretty cheap over at Amazon

The Night Before Blu-ray

Anthony Mackie, Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are all pretty funny dudes. Sign them up for a holiday movie from the guy who made 50/50 and Warm Bodies and Sony had the recipe for success. While I don’t know if I’ll re-watch The Night Before quite as many times as I’ve seen A Christmas Story or Bad Santa, this refreshing take on a night out on the town has a lot going for it, including Miley Cyrus. The premise is pretty simple. Isaac (Seth Rogen) is about to become a dad, Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is still trying to get his life together while in his thirties, and Chris (Anthony Mackie) is dealing with the pressures of NFL fame. They all go out for one final crazy Christmas Eve bar hopping extravaganza, with the elusive Nutcracker Ball as the prime target. Shenanigans ensue. There are a surprising number of bonus features with the set, including most of the staples that come with comedies, like deleted scenes, a gag reel, and yes a line-o-rama. There’s also a fun "Making of" featurette. It doesn’t state it on the outside of the box, but Sony Pictures Home Entertainment does include a Digital copy with purchase. Order it here.

Other March 1 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Room

Childhood’s End

Strike Back: Final Season (Season 4)

The Americans: The Complete Third Season

All Roads Lead To Rome

Miss You Already

Legend

Don Verdean

Kill or Be Killed DVD

The Fall: Series 2

Z Nation: Season 2

Ratter

Week of March 1 Digital Releases

Sisters

Carol (March 4)

March 8

In the Heart of the Sea Blu-ray

There’s a lot of scope to Ron Howard’s In The Heart of the Sea, an adventure narrative inspired by the real-life tale that inspired Moby Dick in its own right. The story picks up in 1850, and flashes back to a narrative set in 1820, when a young cabin boy named Nickerson (Tom Holland) signed on for a whaling expedition that would be one for the ages on a boat called the Essex run by Captain Pollard (Benjamin Walker), First Mate Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and Second Mate Joy (Cillian Murphy). As a story about a whale wreaking havoc, the visuals are striking and the story is sound, but it’s less spirited than the average seafaring adventure. If you aren’t in the mood for an old-timey, overly long and often tragic story, this probably shouldn’t be your first pick. Be sure to watch it when you’re in the mood for two hours of a whale just kicking humanity’s butt. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s set is chock full of extras looking at the way the film was made. If you’re a Ron Howard fan, there’s a look at his process in a "Captain’s Journal" featurette (which is actually really cool but is basically product placement for Twitter). Deleted scenes and a "Lightning Strikes Twice" documentary about a lost sunken whaling ship are both gems on the disc. A DVD and Digital copy are also included with the Blu-ray release. Order your own copy of In The Heart Of The Sea, here.

The Peanuts Movie Limited Edition Gift Set Blu-ray

Blue Sky Studios’ The Peanuts Movie was highly anticipated before its release, and the crowd pleaser does not disappoint, especially now that it has been cutely packaged in a limited edition gift set that includes a Snoopy toy. Do you need a Snoopy toy? Probably not. Is it adorable? Yes, yes it is. The Peanuts Movie was directed by Steve Martino and has an a. subplot featuring Charlie Brown (Noah Shnapp) trying to entice the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Angelucci Capaldi) to like him and failing at every turn. (Yes, there’s a good lesson to be learned). The B-plot obviously features Snoopy (Bill Melendez) and Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller), to an extent. Even with the sidestory, the narrative works, making for a charming and familiar movie. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment put together the gift set, which also comes standard with an Ultraviolet copy and a DVD. Extras are not super exciting, but there is one memorable feature that some kids will love. "Learn To Draw Snoop, Woodstock and Charlie Brown," is a pretty cute extra and it proves that even positively dreadful drawers can bring the beloved characters to life. Order the Limited Edition Gift set while supplies last, here.

Other March 8 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

The Peanuts Movie

Macbeth

Grease Live!

Community: The Complete Sixth SeasonDVD

Manhattan: The Complete Second Season

Victor Frankenstein

Coming Home

The Spoils of Babylon DVD

NFL Super Bowl 50 Champions: Denver Broncos

Week of March 8 Early Digital Releases

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Daddy’s Home

Point Break

March 15

The Big Short Blu-ray

The housing crisis and subsequent bank bailouts only happened a few short years ago. It happened so recently that nearly everyone should remember the events unfolding and many were personally affected by the housing crisis. Adam McKay’s new movie recreates that emotion in the The Big Short, an Oscar winner featuring an all-star cast playing characters who were prescient enough to see the housing crash before it happened, and ballsy enough to bet against the banks. And when I say all-stars, I mean all-stars. Brad Pitt plays a retired banker who helps two young investors (Finn Wittrock, John Magaro) get their start. Ryan Gosling plays cocky trader Jared Vennett. Steve Carell plays the principled hedge fund manager Mark Baum and Christian Bale plays another hedge fund manager who probably has Asperger’s. His name is Michael Burry, and he has the same identity as the real-life hedge fund manager he is portraying.

The movie is quick and modern, despite being set about decade ago, and features plenty of comedy among its more downer moments, of which there are plenty. It takes finesse to break the fourth wall as much as McKay does, but having Margot Robbie telling people to fuck off in a bathtub helps. The movie is coming into homes thanks to Paramount Home Media Distribution and doesn’t disappoint. The set does come with a DVD and Digital copy and a slew of extras that are also shot in 1080p, including the cleverly named "In the Tranches." (My favorites were the deleted scenes, though.) Order your own copy here.

Sisters Blu-ray

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler rarely disappoint, and even when they produce a movie that doesn’t overall satisfy, it always has some a+ moments. Luckily, Sisters is a film that generally works, following Kate (Fey), a trainwreck who still has temper tantrums on her parents’ lawn and Maura (Amy Poehler), a prim, responsible young woman who could stand to let her freak flag fly. When their parents (Dianne Weist, James Brolin) sell their home, the girls decide to throw one last party, and things get wild. This one’s a raunch comedy and r-rated to boot, and watching two forty-somethings relive their high school years is mostly hilarious. If your not in your forties yourself, the only minor complaint you may have is that some of the references are very decade specific and thus may go over your head. Other than that, Jason Moore’s film is a riot and as a bonus features Eastbound and Down’s Ike Barinholtz, who can never get enough work. There are a fuckton of extras with this set, include stuff you see a lot in comedy releases like extended scenes a gag reel and audio commentary. Then there’s a lot of weirdo extras on the Blu-ray, including one that looked at the visual effects of the pool scene—superfluous right?—and a few more, including outtakes from Bobby Moynihan’s wacky character. Writer Paula Pell even pops up in one of the extras, if you’re into that. Really, you’re not really buying this movie for the extras, so just appreciate that Sisters comes in an unrated edition with a DVD and Digital copy and grab a copy of Twentieth Century Fox’s set, here.

Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray

Between regular HBO, its sister product HBO Go and HBO Now, there are plenty of options for retaining episodes of Game of Thrones. HBO Home Entertainment seems to know the competition is stiff, and has given fans other reasons to buy hard copies, including putting out recent editions of earlier Game of Thrones seasons with sturdy, gorgeous steelbook packaging. The Complete Fifth Season isn’t quite so sturdy, but it is gold-toned and regal, it comes with an additional Digital copy so you can watch it where you want to and is filled with hidden gems (like a little pocket featuring an episode guide).

Obviously, we can’t get into the specifics about the season without getting into Jon Snow spoilers, talk of a slew of deaths and an interesting path for Arya, and I wouldn’t even try to sum up the details and complexities of the show’s main characters in just one paragraph. Luckily, if you are reading this, you are likely already a fan, and Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season will give you some insider information via 12 audio commentaries and one detailed extra about how "The War of The Roses" inspired Game of Thrones. The special "Dance of Dragons" featurette also pops up on Disc 4 and there are even deleted scenes and more to plow through. Order your own copy before the Season 6 premiere.

Brooklyn Blu-ray

John Crowley’s Brooklyn is about a lot of things. It’s about the immigration of a young woman named Eilis (Saiorse Ronan) first and foremost, but also about the complexities of being alone in a new place and finding exactly where you fit in. It’s about returning home to find you have changed while the place you came from hasn’t all that much. It’s a good story and an emotional one, anchored by Ronan’s remarkable performance as Eilis, but also populated by colorful figures, such as boarding house matron Mrs. Keogh (Finola Dwyer), curt department store supervisor Miss Fortini (Jessica Pare) and earnest beau Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen). This is one that’s even better on the second watch, so be sure to nab a copy of Fox Home Entertainment’s set, which also comes with audio commentary and a few promos. Order your own copy here.

March 15 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

Carol

Week of March 15 Early Digital Releases

The Hateful Eight

Concussion

The Program (March 18)

March 22

Daddy’s Home Blu-ray

One of this winter’s most surprising hits, Daddy’s Home starts out as a small competition between stepdad Brad (Will Ferrell) and a mostly absent dad Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), as they play for the affections of two kids (Scarlett Estevez and Owen Wilder). Linda Cardellini is underutilized in Sean Anders’ movie, but otherwise I have few complaints. The movie is amusing, and occasionally unexpected. See: what happens the first time Brad tries to ride a motorcycle. While it’s not reinventing the comedy genre, it’s the perfect movie to watch from the comfort of home. The daddy dance-off near the end of the movie is explored in more detail in the extras on the set, as are some of the stunts. (Pro skaters were used for the halfpipe bit, etc.) Paramount Home Media Distribution’s Blu-ray set also comes with a DVD and Digital copy. Order your own copy here.

Other March 22 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Daddy’s Home

Turn Washington’s Spies: The Complete Second Season

Week of March 22 Early Digital Releases

The Revenant

March 29

The Hateful Eight Blu-ray

There’s always something exciting about visiting a Quentin Tarantino movie, no matter how lengthy or how tight the script is. In The Hateful Eight, the script meanders somewhat, but if you’re willing to roll with it, you’ll find a movie stuffed with wild characters like Major Marquis Warren (Samuel, a bounty hunter who was formerly a black officer during the Civil War, or Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), who may or may not be the new sheriff of Red Rock. When a blizzard forces Warren, Mannix, bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and prisoner Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to stop at an establishment called Minnie’s Haberdashery, things seem a little off. Nonetheless, they’re stuck for the night and maybe longer in this quirky, tension-filled western.

While Anchor Bay Home Entertainment’s set comes with the standard DVD and Digital copy alongside the Blu-ray, extras aren’t plentiful. However, the extras that are there do feature a ton of intriguing stuff. Assuming you’re a Tarantino fan already— if you are buying this Blu-ray, you should be—the set features two lengthy extras. One is a really in-depth look at the 70 mm cameras that were built and used on the set, which includes a lot of shoutouts to Panavision but is otherwise cool. There’s also a behind-the-scenes featurette. See for yourself when you get your own copy, here.

Point Break Blu-ray

If there’s one phrase that can describe the remake of Point Break, it’s high-octane, for better or for worse. Ericson Core’s new movie basically takes the original premise of the original, following a dude named Johnny Utah (Lake Bracey) who gets involved with some criminals (Edgar Ramirez, Matias Varela, etc) while working undercover for the FBI. Of course, there’s a girl involved with the group of criminals named Samsara (Teresa Palmer). They all circle the globe to do cool stunts commit crimes in locales as various as the Alps and Paris. I’m sure shooting this movie was a blast; watching it is less so. Warner Bros Home Entertainment’s set does focus on some of the more fun parts of the film: the wild stuntwork. There are four featurettes that are described as "heart-pounding" on the back of the box. Other extras include deleted scenes and trailers, which aren’t really extras, but whatever. Own Point Break by heading here.

Concussion Blu-ray

Concussion is a well-paced, well-constructed and well-acted film about the rise of awareness related to head trauma in the NFL and how it can affect players years down the line. It’s certainly a timely film and a good one, marked by a solid performance from Will Smith, who plays real-life coroner Bennet Omalu in the film. Alec Baldwin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw also have strong turns as as an interested doctor and Omalu’s wife, respectively. The Blu-ray copy from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is certainly worth a watch and the nine deleted scenes and audio commentary that come with the film are also notable. Concussion is also the first brand new Blu-ray Sony opted to release in 4K, so if you have the compatability in your home viewing space, that may be the option preferred. If you are like the rest of us plebians, you can order the Blu-ray, here.

Other March 29 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Forsaken DVD

Archer: The Complete Season 6

When Will Star Wars Release? Here's What We Know

Those of you watching the 88th Academy Awards just saw Alicia Vikander pick up the first acting Oscar of the night for her performance in The Danish Girl. Having appeared in four films throughout the course of 2015, each of which increasingly elevated the Swedish actress’ reputation in Hollywood, it’s rather fitting that her year has been capped with this accolade.

However some moviegoers have been insistent that Alicia Vikander deserved her nomination and now award for her performance in Ex Machina and not The Danish Girl. In my humble opinion, they’re wrong. In fact, with her performance in The Danish Girl, Alicia Vikander gave a performance of such depth, complexity, and magnetism that it even evoked memories of Meryl Streep.

While Eddie Redmayne drew most of the plaudits for his second towering performance in as many years , following his own Oscar-winning stint in The Theory Of Everything, it was Alicia Vikander who truly carried the emotional heft of The Danish Girl.

In The Danish Girl, Alicia Vikander could have just repeatedly broken down in waves of tears and made it uncomfortable, maybe even unbearable, to watch. But instead she portrayed the weight of the film in such a patient, subtle, and increasingly engrossing fashion that it not only made you immediately resonate to what her character of Gerda Wegener was going through, but it also made viewers understand and relate even further with Eddie Redmayne’s Lili Elbe too.

Alicia Vikander even eclipses her more renowned co-star in The Danish Girl. That’s not to dismiss Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal in the biopic, though, which I believe actually excels his own turn as Stephen Hawking last year that led to him receiving so many awards. But Alicia Vikander is just so utterly heart breaking and intimate in the film that you simply can’t take your eyes off her.

Credit: ABC/Image Group LA

Alicia Vikander has continually impressed over the course of the last 12 months whenever she has popped up on screen. Even in Burnt and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., both of which were mostly dismissed by critics and audiences alike. But it was her turn as Ava in Ex Machina at the start of 2015, where she coyly coiled the audience around her finger before toying with them and making them feel perennially unsettled that teased she would soon be a formidable Hollywood presence. As great as her performance was in that bit of sci-fi awesomeness, however, it was really her turn in The Danish Girl that we walk away from 2015 talking about.

With a co-leading turn in Jason Bourne on the horizon, Alicia Vikander ‘s status is now only likely to increase tenfold. But, even as her career reaches new peaks, it will take something special to top her portrayal in The Danish Girl. The exciting thing is though, at 27-years-old she’s probably only just beginning.

It’s time to put up, or shut up. After months of tracking the ongoing Academy Awards race in our regular Awards Blend column, I finally have to put my official Oscar picks in the books And I’ll be 100% honest with you… I don’t feel comfortable with a few of them. This year, more than any other in recent memory, major categories still feel like they are a coin flip – and we are days away from Sunday’s ceremony. Best Picture looks like a three-picture race (four, if you wanted to make the argument). Best Supporting Actor could make a hard left turn. There’s mystery, which leads to excitement.

Other categories, on the other hand, appear to be locks. (Get your speech ready, Mr. DiCaprio). And then there’s the bit of good fortune accrued by the Academy of having Chris Rock as the host before the #OscarsSoWhite controversy hit. Who better to comment on the situation – and hold the Academy’s own feet over the fire they have created – than Rock? So, as we head into the actual final stretch of the lengthy Oscar marathon, here are my best-guess picks for Sunday’s competition, as well as explanations as to why I’m leaning in each direction. What do you think?

Best Supporting Actress

I’m going with the beautiful and talented Alicia Vikander, who really should be competing in the Best Actress race (as she shares just as much screen time in The Danish Girl as he co-star – the equally nominated Eddie Redmayne), and also should be rewarded for what ended up being an outstanding year. Vikander also deserved a nomination for her clinical work as an experimental A.I. in the brilliant Ex Machina. And while all five actresses in this category gave outstanding performances, the weight of the circumstances befalling Vikander’s Danish Girl character should propel her to a win on Sunday.

Best Supporting Actor

Will the sentimental favorite emerge victorious at the Oscars this year? I’m willing to bet on Stallone, who dusted his Rocky Balboa persona out of the mothballs at the request of director Ryan Coogler for Creed, and was rewarded for an Oscar nomination for his nostalgic, dramatic turn. The thing about Stallone winning, though, is that his presence along represents the diversity issue that is plaguing the Academy. How is the Caucasian actor nominated, while his African-America director and co-star are overlooked? It looks bad, Oscar, but not bad enough to keep Stallone off the stage on Sunday night.

Best Actress

One of the things that routinely happens during the season is that the same actor picks up numerous gongs during the lengthy season, making their status as Oscar winner all but inevitable. We will see that here, with Brie Larson in the Best Actress category, as well as in the Best Actor category (but that will be next). As both kidnapping victim and doting mother in Room, Larson held audiences captivated in a near-impossible dramatic situation – a single-room location for half of her movie’s run time. In the run up to Oscar, she picked up a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Critics’ Choice award, and a Screen Actors Guild award. Oscar will be next.

Best Actor

It’s Leo’s year. We all can agree on that, right? There have been other years where it looked like Leo "might" win, and he didn’t. At the same time, I’m not sure we all agree that Leonardo DiCaprio deserves the Oscar for his performance in The Revenant. Heck, THR ran a blind item from an Oscar voter who hated DiCaprio’s performance, and the movie in general. But much like Brie Larson, DiCaprio has picked up most of the major awards leading up to the Oscars, and I’d be stunned if he went home empty-handed.

Best Director

Here’s where I start making educated guesses, because you could make strong cases for different nominees in our last two categories. Because of the recent heat generated by The Revenant, there are many who think Alejandro G. Inarritu will win his second consecutive Best Director Oscar (after taking one home last year for Birdman). But winning back-to-back Oscars places Inarritu on an EXTREMELY short list of filmmakers who have accomplished that – rarified air, to say the least. Even though Inarritu won the Directors Guild, I think the Academy members will recognize George Miller in this category for the work he accomplished on Mad Max: Fury Road. Miller pulled off the impossible on that shoot. Then again… so did Inarritu. Coin flip, really.

Best Picture

For the longest time, I thought Spotlight was the film to beat. Then, The Revenant started generating some serious, late-game momentum. Finally, The Big Short started turning heads, winning a Producers Guild award (a significant indicator of the Best Picture winner), as well as BAFTA and Critics’ Choice awards. Watch the Adapted Screenplay category. A win in that column earlier in the night could point to a Big Short upset… which wouldn’t really be much of an upset, at all. If Big Short falls short, I still think The Revenant and Spotlight have outside chances, as they have picked up important hardware during the race. But with a gun to my head, metaphorically, the Producers Guild win prompts me to pick The Big Short at the end of a ceremony that seems ready to spread the love.

So much has been made, over the course of the lengthy Oscar season, of the struggles – both internally and externally – that Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) had to endure as she wrestled with her gender identity in Tom Hooper’s biographical drama, The Danish Girl. While this much is true, it was the effect that Lili's decisions had on her marriage to Gerda (Alicia Vikander) that made Hooper’s film transcendent. As the two actors prepare for Sunday’s Academy Awards, where they are both nominated in their respective categories for Hooper’s fine film, we have an exclusive clip from Universal Home Video featuring the cast and their director explaining why this classic story is relevant and important today. Give it a listen:

Based on the 2000 fictional novel of the same name, Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl introduces fey Copenhagen artist Einar Wegener (Redmayne, Oscar nominated for the role), who experiences emotional conflict because he realizes he identifies more clearly as a woman than as a man. As you can imagine, this creates enormous issues for Einar’s wife, Gerda (Vikander, also nominated), even though Gerda initially – and somewhat playfully – helps Einar come up with the identity of Lili Elbe. The Danish Girl examines the hardships that Lili endures, even if that means undergoing extremely experimental gender reassignment surgery… something that was unheard of at the time.

While the film didn’t make the overall cut for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, The Danish Girl is competing in four categories overall, including Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor. And I don’t think you will find very many who would argue with the selections of Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne as Oscar nominees in their categories. As is mentioned in the above, exclusive clip, the love story between Gerda and Lili is central to the drama on display in The Danish Girl, and it’s part of the reason why the protagonist's decision to live life as Lili is devastating to her loving and devoted wife.

Alicia Vikander had an incredible year in 2015. In addition to The Danish Girl, the actress played an A.I. in the brilliant Ex Machina, and dabbled in summer-tentpole action as a beautiful mechanic in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. If that was her coming out year, then an Oscar for The Danish Girl would be the icing on a delicious cake. Seeing as how she is viewed as the frontrunner in her category, I’m feeling good about her chances on Sunday night.

Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl is currently available for digital download. The DVD and Blu-ray will reach stores on March 1, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

After years of being snubbed at the Oscar alter, Leonardo DiCaprio looks to be at the cusp of yet another possible Oscar win. With the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama already in his hands, The Revenant’s star is ready for his acceptance speech; and the world is right behind him. However, looking at the field that’s in competition for the Best Actor honors at this year’s Oscars, it’s not going to be an easy victory for everyone’s favorite upset. Envelopes in hand, here are the rankings for the Best Actor field and their possible ability to continue Leo’s losing streak.

4. Eddie Redmayne

For the second year in a row, Eddie Redmayne has picked up a nomination for a transformative performance, this time for Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl. With Redmayne’s chameleon powers on full blast, his performance was tipped for a nod long before it even hit the screen. But the fact that he won last year for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything weighs heavily against his odds with The Academy. Not to mention tempers toward The Danish Girl are either cool, if not negative, towards the film. Despite his previous win, it doesn’t look like it’s Eddie Redmayne’s year for victory.

3. Bryan Cranston

Working his way through the EGOT paradigm at a fair clip, Trumbo’s Bryan Cranston has already bagged himself some Emmy awards for Breaking Bad, as well as a Tony for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in All The Way. With a Best Actor nomination at this year’s Academy Awards, Cranston is continuing to ride the train of goodwill he’s earned from his critics. The unfortunate downside to Bryan Cranston’s wave of good feelings is the fact that Trumbo went from awards front runner to also-ran in the blink of an eye. Still, Cranston is an actor for our time, so we’ll expect him to rack up some more nominations in the future.

2. Michael Fassbender

How’s this for coincidence: Michael Fassbender is nominated for the titular role in Steve Jobs. That very same role was offered to, and rejected by, Leonardo DiCaprio himself; yet here it is… back to haunt him from his past. Fassbender has gotten some great notices on his performance in the Danny Boyle helmed biopic, and his candidacy is where the tide starts to swing away from DiCaprio’s favor. Thanks to Kate Winslet’s win for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, the talk around Michael Fassbender’s performance could spark up again, as his nomination is proof that Steve Jobs hasn’t been completely forgotten.

1. Matt Damon

Out of the entire Best Actor field that’s been nominated for this year’s trophy, it’s fellow Golden Globe winner Matt Damon that’s the force to be reckoned with this year. With The Martian being the most commercial hit of the pack, a Damon win could be in the cards, so as to please the public who turned out in droves to see the film. Of course, it also helps that Matt Damon’s performance as Mark Watney is truly an organic masterpiece of solo work that deserves awards recognition. If Leo’s going to lose again this year, it’s a good chance that Damon will be the one snagging the gold this year.

This poll is no longer available.

If you’ve been anywhere near any website that is even remotely connected to movies or entertainment, you know that the big story of the day is that the annual Oscar nominations came out this morning. There’s a near endless supply of analysis to be found, lists of surprises and snubs and WTF choices (I’m just glad I now live in a world where a Mad Max movie could potentially win the Best Picture Oscar), and much more.

But there’s a curious subset, too, those who are up for an Academy Award, and those who are simultaneously nominated for a Razzie, a kind of anti-Oscar. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this year there are three who fall into this category: Rooney Mara, Eddie Redmayne, and Simon Kinberg.

Rooney Mara

Oscar Nominated For: Carol, Best Supporting Actress

Despite there being some controversy that she should be nominated in the Lead Actress category, Rooney Mara delivers a truly stunning performance in Todd Haynes 1950s set tale of forbidden love, Carol, playing a shop girl who falls for an older socialite woman, played by Cate Blanchett.

Razzie Nominated For: Pan, Worst Supporting Actress

Critics everywhere panned Joe Wright’s Peter Pan origin tale Pan for a variety of reasons. For her part, Mara, who plays Tiger Lily, came under fire for having a white actress play the friend of Peter Pan, who also happens to be the daughter of a Native chief.

Eddie Redmayne

Oscar Nominated For: The Danish Girl, Best Actor

Playing the part of Lili Elbe, the early 20th Century painter who was one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery, Eddie Redmayne, who won an Oscar last year for The Theory of Everything, delivers a truly transformative performance in The Danish Girl.

Razzie Nominated For: Jupiter Ascending, Worst Supporting Actor

Playing a petulant, intergalactic business mogul and heir to a wealthy, powerful space family in the Wachowski’s Jupiter Ascending, Redmayne alternates between hushed, almost bored sounding whispers as bat-shit crazy, spittle-flying, forehead-vein-pulsating shrieks of rage, with almost nothing in between the two extremes.

Simon Kinberg

Oscar Nominated For: The Martian, Best Picture

Serving as a producer on Ridley Scott’s space survival epic, The Martian, Simon Kinberg helped usher in one of the most entertaining, thrilling, well received movies of 2015, as illustrated by seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Razzie Nominated For: - Fantastic Four, Worst Screenplay

As the writer of Fox’s ill-conceived Fantastic Four, which was a disaster on almost every level, and likely to go down as one of the worst, or at least most hated superhero movies of all time, Kinberg did none of those things. Though not entirely his fault, he may have had a hand in killing any chance Marvel’s First Family has of being a big screen player for the foreseeable future.

It’s Oscar season, baby! This year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had an unenviable task of distilling all of the amazing cinema from 2015 down into a select few choices in a select few categories. Some of their selections are spot on, but others having us scratching our heads. One such selection is that of Alicia Vikander, who has just received a nomination for her role as Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl. While she most certainly deserves an Oscar nomination, the one she deserves is for a different film entirely(in my humble opinion) .

Anyone who has seen Alex Garland’s phenomenal 2015 sci-fi film Ex Machina can start to see where I am going with this. As Ava – a machine struggling to learn how to convincingly act like a human – Vikander proved herself absolutely transcendent. Simultaneously beautiful and haunting, her performance extended not only to the words she uttered and the inflection in her voice, but also the entire physicality of her being. Every single second she spends on screen entirely convinces us that she’s not human, but also draws us in and attracts us to her – in every sense of the word. Check out a clip from Ex Machina below to get a better understanding of what I mean:

Note the way she moves as well as the way she talks. It all seems so natural, graceful, and innate while simultaneously being mathematical and artificial. Ava seduces the audience – by virtue of seducing Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) – with her effortless allure, but at the same time maintains an odd, unnerving, and quite frankly calculated sense of menace that’s just as hard to ignore.

What makes this all the more perplexing is the fact that Alicia Vikander has already received high praise and recognition for her role as Ava. Only this past week, she found herself in the running at the Golden Globes for her roles in Ex Machina and The Danish Girl. For her to make it to the Oscars based on only one of those performances seems downright criminal.

Before anyone begins to complain about my particular point of view on the matter, I want to clear one thing up. By saying that Vikander should have been nominated for Ex Machina, am I saying that she didn’t do a phenomenal job in The Danish Girl? Of course not. We – like just about everybody else – found her absolutely radiant in her portrayal of Gerda, feeling that she even outshined Eddie Redmayne at times. The role she plays in her husband's gender transition throughout that film is not only essential, but beautiful. All I am trying to say is that if the Academy wants to recognize her for one piece of work from 2015, then it has to be Ex Machina.

What do you all think? Should Alicia Vikander have been recognized by the Academy for her portrayal of Ava, or did they make the right call by nominating her for The Danish Girl? Regardless of any of these awards ceremonies, she has proven herself time and time again to be one of the most reliable new actresses on the scene, and we quite frankly cannot wait to see what else her career has in store.

The new film The Danish Girl deals with a very sensitive topic. It tells the true story of one of the first people to ever undergo gender reassignment surgery. While the film was certainly prepared for controversy, that has now reached a new level as a movie theater in Qatar has banned the movie outright.

The film was released in Qatar on Friday and played through the weekend, but on Monday the nation’s Ministry of Culture began to receive numerous complaints online. The film was accused of "moral depravity" by some. The Ministry of Culture confirmed via Twitter on Monday that screenings of "the Danish film" had been officially banned from theaters. We hope there are no repercussions against Denmark since it doesn’t appear the ministry is aware where the film was made. Citizens were thanked for their "unwavering vigilance."

To be clear, the vigilance isn’t entirely unwavering. Many in the region have been critical of the decision to ban the film. They point out that the film is based on a true story, so by banning it, the Ministry of Culture isn’t simply preventing people from seeing a movie but actually gaining factual information about an event that took place.

The fact that the movie was even in theaters for the weekend in Qatar is actually something of an accomplishment. The film never made it past censors in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain or Jordan. The film has been released without any apparent incident in Lebanon, which in general seems to be more willing to show films that are otherwise incredibly controversial in the region. The film is set to be released in Egypt and Israel soon.

This is hardly the first time that a western film has been banned in the Middle East. According to Deadline, both Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kingse have been banned in the past on religious grounds.

Another high profile film with non-traditional characters, Carol, is on the verge of being released in the region so it will be interesting to see what happens with that one. It will very likely see much of the same response, especially following on the heels of The Danish Girl censors are likely to be hypersensitive.

While unsurprising, it’s unfortunate to see this kind of action taken. There are people in the region who want to see this movie and so having them lose that opportunity is frustrating. Exposing people to things that they wouldn’t otherwise experience is part of the reason that art exists in the first place. Transgender men and women have a hard enough time finding acceptance in reality. We hope that most of the people who wanted to see The Danish Girl took their opportunity in the that first weekend.

In order to prepare for his role as Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl, Eddie Redmayne was rather rigorous with his research. Not only did he read every book on her that he could get his hands on, but he also visited individuals who had gone through sexual reassignment surgery themselves. But while filming Jupiter Ascending he was able to talk with director Lana Wachowski, who had not only undergone the operation herself but who also knew a great deal about Lili Elbe.

When I sat down with Eddie Redmayne at the end of October to talk about his research and performance in The Danish Girl, he admitted that he talked extensively with Lana Wachowski, who was born and formerly known as Laurence Wachowski until she completed her transition from a man to a woman in 2008, during the production of the sci-fi blockbuster.

And the direction that Lana Wachowski pointed Eddie Redmayne in clearly helped the actor to work wonders, because his performance in The Danish Girl miraculously eclipses his Oscar-winning work in The Theory Of Everything.

Rather than reluctantly being restrained by a debilitating illness and then having to try and communicate and act with tiny moments and glances, Redmayne has to portray a smorgasbord of emotions as Einer Wegender comes to terms with the fact that he wants to transition into a woman. Somehow, he doesn’t miss a beat in showcasing each and every one of these feelings, even when he has to emote several of them at once.

You can check out part of my discussion with the wonderfully cordial and engaging Eddie Redmayne below. He really is one charming bugger.

Some cruel individuals might make the comment that Lana Wachowski’s advice to Eddie Redmayne regarding his performance in The Danish Girl was the only positive thing to come out of Jupiter Ascending. The film proved to be a rather big flop for Warner Bros. OK, its failure might have been eclipsed by the woeful performances of Pan and Fantastic Four, but the sci-fi space opera only grossed $183.9 million from a $176 million budget. Plus, it was also rather savaged by critics too. Personally I found Jupiter Ascending to be flippant, camp fun, which didn’t take itself too seriously and had plenty of enthralling action set-pieces to pass as a worthwhile entertaining ride. But that's just me.

Eddie Redmayne will be hoping that The Danish Girl is received much more favorably by audiences when it is finally released on November 27.

You’d have probably thought that starring opposite Eddie Redmayne in the wake of his Oscar-winning antics in The Theory Of Everything would have been Alicia Vikander’s main reason for nerves while shooting The Danish Girl. However, there was actually one particular, rather prominent trait of her character in the much-anticipated biopic that the 27-year-old found was even more daunting: her ability to paint. In fact, what really terrorized Alicia Vikander about having to portray Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl was the fact that she might have to paint Eddie Redmayne. Listen to her tell the story:

Back in the day, Gerda Wegener was one of the most distinguished and celebrated illustrators and painters of her era. Alicia Vikander was vey much aware that any work that she did really had to be quite top notch. Towards the end of October, I sat down with Alicia Vikander to discuss her role as Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl, and asked her if she had the chance to actually paint Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe.

In the end, Alicia Vikander didn’t really have too much to worry about when it came to her painting skills. Mostly because her performance in The Danish Girl is so supremely layered with nuanced emotion, heart-breaking angst, and raw magnetism that you can’t take your eyes off her as you’re too scared you’ll miss another moment of beauty.

Seriously, Alicia Vikander is that good in The Danish Girl. And while Eddie Redmayne’s equally magnificent performance as Lili Elbe is likely to draw the most attention because of the actor’s physical transformation, Vikander is just as important in relating the complex dramas and conflicts of the film to the audience, while she also stops The Danish Girl from toppling into the overly melodramatic.

The Danish Girl is as much Gerda Wegener’s film as it is Lili Elbe’s. Set in the 1920’s, The Danish Girl starts off with Lili as Einar Wegener, a talented painter married to Gerda. But after Gerda asks Einar to stand in as a female model for one of her pieces, Einar suddenly finds himself more and more attracted to possessing the female form. Consequently he begins to live life as Lili Elbe and looks to undergo sex reassignment surgery, despite the fact that he knows he will probably die undergoing such an operation.

The Danish Girl is luscious, operatic, and enchanting, and you can expect director Tom Hooper, Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander to be in the running for awards over the next few months. You can find out why when The Danish Girl is released on November 27.

Eddie Redmayne’s transformation in The Danish Girl is truly spectacular. Not only does he manage to portray the complex, emotional strain that Lili Elbe went through in her pursuit to have sex reassignment surgery, but he also drastically alters his physical appearance too. In order to feel confident about portraying a man living as a woman, Eddie Redmayne recently admitted to me that he would secretly go out and about during filming while dressed as Lili.

Last month I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Eddie Redmayne about his work on The Danish Girl. During our discussion I asked the fantastically affable Redmayne if, in order to truly inhabit the character, he decided to secretly go out in public dressed as Lili, to which he responded:

No doubt this was just one of many ways that Eddie Redmayne prepared for his role as Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl. In fact, later this week I’ll also reveal how one particular Hollywood director really helped the English thespian in his research and preparation for his performance.

All of his work inspired Redmayne to give one of the best performances of the year. In fact, I’d even goes as far as to say that, in The Danish Girl, he outdoes his Oscar-winning work in The Theory Of Everything. He is just that majestic. You can take a gander at a clip from my interview with Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl below.

The Danish Girl is the real-life story of the marriage between Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) and her husband Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne). This comes under immense strain after Gerda asks Einar to pose as a female model for her painting only for Einar to suddenly develop an attraction for the female appearance. Soon, Einar starts living as a woman named Lili Elbe, and this causes great strife in her personal and professional life, as well as impacting her marriage, and she soon seeks to have sex reassignment surgery.

All of which is handled with aplomb by the Oscar-winning director of The Danish Girl, Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). Which is why when The Danish Girl is released on November 27, you should do yourself a favor and instantly get it seen.

Playing a transgender character must certainly be one of the greater challenges for an actor. After all, it's an experience to which few of us can entirely relate, while also something that should be portrayed authentically in a performance. Eddie Redmayne faced these very issues after signing on to star in Tom Hooper's new drama The Danish Girl, but fortunately the Academy Award-winning actor had a great resource in his corner in the form of Lana Wachowski - who helped steer Redmayne into some key research areas.

In promotion of the upcoming Oscar-hopeful film, Eddie Redmayne recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter for an extensive interview, and it was during the course of their conversation that they began to talk about Lana Wachowki's influence. The line of questioning began because the trade noticed that the Matrix co-director was given a "Thank You" credit at the end of The Danish Girl, and Redmayne explained that she pointed him in the direction of some key books that would help him better understand his character. Said the British star,

Of course, Eddie Redmayne didn't just bump into Lana Wachowski on the street and ask her for advice. The actor and director first had the chance to collaborate on the sci-fi action-adventure Jupiter Ascending - which had Redmayne featured as the central villain. It's not hard to imagine that the two stayed in touch after production on the movie, and clearly that meant good things for The Danish Girl. Based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, and adapted by Lucinda Coxon, The Danish Girl is inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wedener (Alicia Vikander), and the story follows their relationship as Lili becomes a pioneer for transgender people everywhere. The film has played to critical acclaim at both the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, and will make its way to theaters here in the United States on November 27th.

Even though it was only a few months ago that Eddie Redmayne took home an Academy Award for his performance in The Theory of Everything, it's predicted that he will very much be in contention once again in this year's Best Actor race. We'll surely be hearing a lot more about it in the coming months - as we get deeper and deeper into Oscar season - so stay tuned not only for updates about the competition as well as our review of The Danish Girl.

To which girl is the title of Tom Hooper's delicate The Danish Girl actually referring?

Most coming to Hooper's biopic of pioneering transgender Einar Wegener likely are enticed by the transformation of Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) from fey male painter into semi-confident female model, Lili Elbe -- who Einar realizes has been resting inside him all along. And Redmayne's transformation, and on-screen portrayal of Lil in particular, is every bit as astounding as his morph into genius Stephen Hawking was in Theory. For those who track that sort of thing (and yes, I'm one of them), Oscar attention should follow Redmayne as more begin to see The Danish Girl.

But it shouldn't be limited to Redmayne, alone. For just as many, if not more, will leave The Danish Girl raving about the soul-bearing emotional performance by Alicia Vikander, who gently wrestles Hooper's movie away from her male co-star and -- with Hooper's assistance, actually -- makes The Danish Girl as much a movie about her character, Gerda Wegener's journey, as much as it is about Einar's transformation into Lili.

It isn't easy on either of them. Beginning in Copenhagen circa 1926, Einar and Gerda are successful painters, though his landscapes receive more acclaim than her portraits. It is suggested that Einar has encountered feelings of confusion over his sexuality prior to when we meet him, but Hooper uses a specific event as a gateway into his identity crisis. One afternoon, needing to finish a half-done portrait of a gracefully beautiful dancer, Gerda asks Einar to slip into stockings and women's shoes. She places a lace dress over her already fey husband, and the light that shines behind the man's eyes grows brighter. They are artists. There is a legitimate excuse for this pantomime. And there is a delicate and beautiful way that Hooper conveys this awakening in Einar through the touch and feel of dainty fabrics. Gerda and an artist friend, Oola Paulson (Amber Heard), go so far as to dub Einar's female face Lili. They don't yet understand what they have given birth to.

The Danish Girl, from here, follows Einar's complicated efforts to shed his identity as Einar and fully embrace Lili. At first, Gerda goes along with the ruse. She helps her husband masquerade as his dual identity, who they introduce as Einar's cousin, so that he can attend parties and understand how a female is observed. Gerda also begins to sketch Lili -- and her revelation does wonders for Gerda's stalled professional career. Suddenly, Parisian galleries are eager to sponsor her, and everyone wants to know more about the stunningly beautiful but delicate and shy model. There's a lot to be said in The Danish Girl about how the body can be viewed as a canvas for expressing one's inner truths. Lili unlocks waves of emotions in both Einar and Gerda, and there are beautiful scenes of Redmayne posing in front of a mirror, exploring the body he has been given, and wondering if it's possible to achieve the body he would prefer.

There is a way, actually, and the second half of The Danish Girl follows Einar's path to experimental gender-reassignment surgery, and the complications it brings to his marriage, his health, and his life. Lucinda Coxon's screenplay raises several interesting threads about what happens to identity when an individual chooses to leave part of his or her life behind -- and also what happens to the people who were caught up in the wake of the conflicted party. Lili tells Gerda that Einar is dead. It's not really that simple, though, is it?

Tom Hooper, as expected, conjures stately compositions and makes beautiful use of both Copenhagen and Paris. He continues to show an incredible eye for period detail, and even learns how to pull his lens away from the deadly close ups that made his Les Miserables feel claustrophobic. But his voice is... detached? The Danish Girl plays more like an historical account of a groundbreaking life, rather than an intimate, emotionally charged and passionate exercise, which Lili deserved. It's staid, and it's safe, and it views the complicated proceedings through a pane of glass that we can't see, but we definitely can feel.

Whenever Danish Girl punctures through, it's because of the first-rate performances by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, with the latter wringing incredible tension, frustration, anger, love and loss out of Gerda's predicament. Einar's conflict absolutely pulls at your heartstrings, but he makes the difficult choice to leave one life behind and embrace another. Gerda can't choose. She has to play with the hand that she has been dealt, and in that painful truth, Vikander unearths a beautiful and memorable turn.

This review was filed at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

It may still be a ways off in the distance, but now that the summer blockbuster movie season is over—and 2015 was one of the biggest of all time—our focus naturally turns to the end of the year awards that are rapidly approaching. With the big fall film festivals either in full swing or on the way—the Venice Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival are in progress, while the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off later this week, followed by New York and AFI—a number of awards contenders are making their public debuts and the discussion about who will walk away with the biggies, specifically Oscar, is beginning in earnest.

With this in mind, no matter how far in advance it may seem, we put together a handy dandy list of some titles that may very well be in the Oscar race come the end of the year, and when you’ll have the chance to see them. A number of them are rolling out at the fall festivals, and because most of us aren’t fortunate enough to attend those shindigs, we’ll let you know when they’re slated to get a limited and wide release, at least if such things are scheduled—as these aren’t blockbusters, wide releases haven’t been set in stone for many of them. So take a look and let us know what you think will be competing for Oscar glory in the comments below, or if we missed some obvious choices (I already feel like I’m going to get yelled at for not including The Hateful Eight).

The Danish Girl

When It Premieres : September 5, 2015, Venice Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: November 27, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

Though it just premiered, last year’s Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne is already winning praise for his role in Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) The Danish Girl. He plays Lili Elbe, a Danish artist who was the first known recipient of gender reassignment surgery. With an important, timely topic, and supporting cast that includes Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, and Mathias Schoenaerts, this is certainly one you’ll be hearing more about.

Bridge Of Spies

When It Premieres: New York Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: October 16, 2016

With Steven Spielberg at the helm, Tom Hanks in the starring role, and a script from Joel and Ethan Coen, Bridge of Spies has Oscar-bait written all over it. Based on a true story, the action follows an American lawyer during the height of the Cold War, as he is recruited by the CIA to arrange a trade for a captured pilot and gets into far more trouble than he ever could have imagined.

Steve Jobs

When It Premieres: September 5, 2015, Telluride Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: October 9, 2015

Oscar loves a good biopic, and from the early word, Michael Fassbender is absolutely transformative as Apple founder and cultural touchstone Steve Jobs in Danny Boyle’s latest offering, simply titled Steve Jobs. Working on a whip-cracking script from Aaron Sorkin (The Social NetworK), the film follows Jobs at three key career points, using them to launch deeper into his life and personality.

Black Mass

When It Premieres: September 5, 2015 Venice Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: September 18, 2015

Though his recent output hasn’t always been stellar, Black Mass looks to be a return to form for Johnny Depp as he dives deep to become the notorious Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger. Barely recognizable under vampiric makeup, Depp is joined by an all star cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Juno Temple, and too many to name.

The Walk

When It Premieres: September 26, 2015 New York Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: September 30, 2015 (IMAX)

When It Goes Wide: October 9, 2015

Director Robert Zemeckis knows a thing or two about mixing it up with Oscar, and his Joseph Gordon-Levitt-starring The Walk could put him back in contention again this year. The film follows French high-wire artist Philippe Petit as he prepares to cross a tightrope between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. If nothing, this promises to be breathtaking and dizzying to watch in IMAX.

Carol

When It Premieres: May 17, 2015, Cannes Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: November 20, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

Based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, Carol takes place in the 1950s and tells the story of a young store clerk (Rooney Mara) with big dreams who fall in love with an older, married, high-society woman (Cate Blanchett). After debuting at Cannes, Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine) latest film has gained notice for its deep love story and high marks for his searing performances from both leads.

The Revenant

When It Premieres: N/A

When It Starts Playing In Limited: December 25, 2015

When It Goes Wide: January 8, 2016

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman was an awards season juggernaut last year, and this year his The Revenant will likely follow suit. Gorgeously filmed, the story of a frontiersman on a quest for revenge stars Leonardo Di Caprio, Tom Hardy, and Domhnall Gleeson, and though most of us won’t see it until the tail end of the year, it’s hard not to think of this in terms of Oscar gold just because of who is involved.

Snowden

When It Premieres: N/A

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: December 25, 2015

A legendary director making a film based on one of the most important political stories in recent memory, Oliver Stone’s Snowden had big hopes and a high ceiling from word one. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who looks to have a big few months coming up, the story follows CIA employee Edward Snowden, who leaked classified documents about NSA surveillance programs to the mainstream press and the fallout that created.

Beasts Of No Nation

When It Premieres: September 3, 2015, Venice Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: October 16, 2015 (Theatrical)

When It Goes Wide: October 16, 2015 (Netflix)

If you’ve watched the trailer for Cary Joji Fukunaga’s upcoming Beasts of No Nation, you know to expect a brutal gut-punch of a movie. The narrative follows a young boy who, after his entire family is slaughtered in front of him, becomes a child soldier in a vicious civil war in an unnamed African country. Led by Idris Elba, this will get a limited theatrical release the same time as it becomes available on Netflix.

Joy

When It Premieres: N/A

When It Starts Playing In Limited: December 25, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

At this point, it would be more notable if a David O. Russell collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t in the Oscar discussion, and they’re back at it this year with Joy. The generations-spanning story revolves around a young single mother of three (Lawrence) as she raises her children and starts a business empire based on a "Miracle Mop." As we’ve seen, when Lawrence, Russell, and Bradley Cooper get together, remarkable things happen.

Trumbo

When It Premieres: September 12, 2015, Toronto International Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: November 6, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

Oscar loves movies about movies, as well as movies with beloved actors playing radical historical figures. With Trumbo, they have both as Bryan Cranston plays blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. A successful writer who was kicked out of Hollywood for being a Communist, the film looks to have a fast pace and razor wit as it tells the tale of his battle with the studio heads and the United States government.

Miles Ahead

When It Premieres: October 10, 2015, New York Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: N/A

True-life stories about troubled geniuses are the kind of thing that make Academy voters drool. Directed by and starring Don Cheadle, Miles Ahead explores the life and music of legendary jazz musician Miles Davis. There aren’t a ton of details available for this at the moment, but given Davis’ status as an innovator of the genre and his enduring legacy, there is plenty to mine here.

I Saw the Light

When It Premieres: September 11, 2015, Toronto International Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: November 27, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

Yet another biopic of a famous musician, this time Thor’s Loki, Tom Hiddleston, plays Hank Williams in Marc Abraham’s I Saw the Light. Hiddleston has actually performed live as the legendary country troubadour, and between that and the first few looks we’ve had at him in character, he nails the characterization, and this could be one to watch when the end of the year rolls around.

Concussion

When It Premieres: N/A

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: December 25, 2015

With a hot-button topic and a big star giving what looks like a potentially career best performance, Concussion will take the multi-billion dollar-earning National Football League to task for its treatment, or lack there of, of the repetitive head trauma inherent in the game. Will Smith stars as the first doctor to recognize football related brain injuries in a former NFL player, and the league’s subsequent attempts to cover up this discovery.

Everest

When It Premieres: September 2, 2015, Venice Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: September 25, 2015

On the level of sheer, unadulterated spectacle, films don’t get much bigger or more breathtaking than Everest. Baltasar Kormákur’s latest tells the story of a group of climbers trying to summit the world’s tallest peak, and trying survive the journey. A fantastic cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightly, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Debicki, Jason Clarke, Sam Worthington, and more try to bring the ill-fated real life journey to IMAX screens everywhere.

Spotlight

When It Premieres: September 3, 2015, Venice Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: November 6, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

Director Tom McCarthy’s follow up to the Adam Sandler fantasy The Cobbler, Spotlight, takes on the real life story of how a team of reporters at the Boston Globe uncovered an epidemic of child molestation in the Catholic Church, the ensuing cover up, and the scandal that followed. Starring Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Liev Schreiber, this promises to be a weighty biographical drama.

By The Sea

When It Premieres: November 5, 2015, AFI Fest

When It Starts Playing In Limited: N/A

When It Goes Wide: November 13, 2015

Directed by Angelina Jolie, and starring the Academy Award-winning actress and hubby Brad Pitt, By the Sea looks like a stone cold bummer. A gorgeous film to be sure, but a bummer nonetheless. Set in France in the 1970s, the film tells the story of the gradual crumbling and dissolution of a marriage. Jolie also wrote the script, and if this one lives up to the potential, perhaps this is the one that wins the actor-turned-director awards acclaim behind the camera as well.

Truth

When It Premieres: September 12, 2015, Toronto International Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: October 16, 2015

When It Goes Wide: October 30, 2015

When anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes ran a report on CBS News calling George W. Bush’s military service during the Vietnam War into question, the ensuing backlash cost them both their careers. Director James Vanderbilt’s Truth dramatizes this controversy, with Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett in the leads. With a supporting cast that includes Elisabeth Moss, Dennis Quaid, and more, this is the kind of weighty political drama that end of the year awards voters love.

Technically, the Oscar "season" is supposed to last all year long, with movies released at any time during the year considered in contention for the industry’s top prize. Realistically, though, the awards season kicks into full gear when the annual trio of international film festivals held in Venice, Telluride and Toronto come around. It’s during these fertile festival runs that studios bring the movies we often will be talking about for the next few months, hopefully leading up to successful Oscar campaigns that produce Academy Awards wins early next year.

The race already has begun, with multiple movies collecting the ever-important buzz in Venice and Telluride. The latter, in particular, serves as a terrific barometer for a movie’s chances at entering the awards race and sustaining momentum. And now, it’s on to Toronto, where the heat either will be introduced (for World Premiere films) or turned up another few degrees. Considering what we have heard out of Venice and Telluride – and applying what we know about the films in question – here are the 10 Academy Awards campaigns we expect to come out of this week’s Toronto International Film Festival with a firm grip on a clear path to Oscar glory.

Johnny Depp, Best Actor

Don’t call it a comeback. Johnny Depp has been losing himself in roles like this for the duration of his career. Only, his choices recently have drifted closer to family-friendly fare like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, or his Mad Hatter shtick with Tim Burton. Black Mass sees Depp slipping into the menacing shoes of Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, and by all accounts, he devours the screen with a terrifying performance. The best news? You don’t have to wait forever to see it, as it opens on Sept. 18.

The Martian, Best Picture

Sir Ridley Scott’s name isn’t necessarily synonymous with Oscar’s Best Picture race. While Gladiator won Best Picture and Actor back in 2001, Scott really hasn’t had a movie in the running since 2002’s Black Hawk Down. This year, The Martian could power him right back up the Oscar charts, particularly if the Academy is still feeling the love they sprinkled on Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity. Like that film, The Martian largely focuses on one person (Matt Damon) conducting an impossible rescue mission on themselves. The source material is great, and the trailers look incredible. Will this be a popcorn flick, or an awards contender? We’re about to find out.

Bryan Cranston, Best Actor

Could Bryan Cranston place an Oscar next to all of those Emmys on his personal awards shelf? It’s certainly possible. Breaking Bad fans already argue that Cranston is the best actor working today, and Trumbo gives him an opportunity to carry his talents to a leading role in a feature film (where he usually appears as part of a star-studded ensemble). Dalton Trumbo was a polished screenwriter in the 1940s who gets blacklisted by the industry for being a Communist. How he responds could be the story that leads Cranston down the path to Oscar glory.

Eddie Redmayne, Best Actor

Do you know the last time an actor or an actress followed up one Oscar win with a subsequent win the following year? You have to go back to Tom Hanks’ wins for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Oddly enough, two of last year’s winners are coming back with Oscar-potential roles, the first being Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl. Hot off his win for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, Redmayne once again loses himself in a role, this time playing pioneering transgender artist Lili Elbe – a man who realized he was more comfortable as a woman. Early reviews say Redmayne’s performance is one for the ages. Time will tell.

Spotlight, Best Picture

Will the real Tom McCarthy please stand up? After delivering exquisite character studies like The Station Agent, The Visitor and Win Win, McCarthy directed an Adam Sandler stinker named The Cobbler. Was he fooling us all along? It seems like the director returns to glorious form with Spotlight, a thrilling journalism drama about the Boston newspaper team that went after the Catholic Church for its alleged child molestation charges. The incredible cast includes Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci, while buzz out of Toronto was deafening. Expect the movie to gain serious momentum during Toronto this year.

Julianne Moore, Best Actress

Eddie Redmayne is one of last year’s Oscar winners making a return to the annual awards marathon. Julianne Moore (Still Alice) is the other. In Freeheld, Moore plays a distinguished New Jersey detective who must fight the system in order to secure rights for her domestic partner, played by Ellen Page. The movie is based on a documentary short, which actually won an Oscar in that category back in 2008. Can the narrative-feature version of the same powerful story strike gold twice? With Moore and Page in the mix, we wouldn’t be surprised.

Ben Foster, Best Actor

The Lance Armstrong doping scandal is ripe for an awards-friendly tell-all, so we are keeping a close eye on The Program, Stephen Frears’ account of the famed cyclist’s domination of the Tour de France… and the work of an Irish journalist who risked everything to take him down. The seriously underrated Ben Foster will slip into Armstrong’s form-fitting bike tights, while Bridesmaids co-star Chris O’Dowd plays the fiery sports reporter David Walsh. Frears’ past credits include High Fidelity, The Queen and Philomena, so the Academy’s well aware of this talents. We hope The Program is up to snuff.

Brooklyn, Best Picture

Toronto isn’t the only festival that can launch an Oscar campaign. Sundance often delivers a handful of films that resurface toward the end of the year and start to claim awards momentum. (See last year’s Oscar-winning drama Whiplash, for one example.) This year, we’re keeping tabs on John Crowley’s Brooklyn, a period romance working off Nick Hornby’s adaptation of Colm Toibin’s best-selling book. We have heard incredible things about the film, as well as the performance of Saoirse Ronan. If this independent is going to make a push into the Oscar hunt, a strong showing at TIFF is a must.

Tom Hiddleston, Best Actor

When he isn’t playing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the immensely talented Tom Hiddleston is… playing country music legend Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light? OK, fine, we’ll admit that the British-born bloke wouldn’t be our first choice to bring Williams’ story to the screen. But writer/director Marc Abraham had to have seen something in Hiddleston to think he’s the right man for the job, and maybe that magic gets the gifted, charismatic performer on the Oscar trail. This is one we’re eager to see in Toronto, if only to see if the pairing of Hiddleston and Hank actually works.

Ellen Page, Best Supporting Actress

I’m banking on Peter Sollett’s Freeheld being an emotional powerhouse that catapults its two leading women into a still developing Oscar race. With Julianne Moore holding down the Best Actress category (again), I’m imagining Ellen Page angling for a Best Supporting Actress nod… sight unseen. For all I know, the roles may reverse, with Page grabbing more screen time. Doubtful, though. If Freeheld connects with the intensity I’m anticipating from it, I think audiences are going to walk out of Toronto movie theaters singing the praises of both Moore and Page – and we will continue to talk about them as the Oscar season rolls along.

The Theory of Everything star Eddie Redmayne is wasting no time in chasing another Oscar. The Danish Girl trailer has arrived online, and its brief but lush look at the story of trans pioneer Lili Elbe will melt your heart. This is one to watch come awards season. Watch the trailer below.

Following his Oscar-winning performance as Stephen Hawking, Redmayne re-teams with his Les Miserables director Tom Hooper for The Danish Girl. It’s the story of Lili Elbe, who was born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener. She is the first documented trans person to undergo sexual reassignment surgery, and she did it with the support of her wife Gerda Gottlieb, played by Alicia Vikander in the film. The Danish Girl is as much about Gerda as it is about Lili.

Based on the book by author David Ebershoff, The Danish Girl tells of their early marriage, both spouses making a living as prominent artists of the time. The trailer depicts how one day Gerda asks her husband to pose for her wearing women’s clothes, which visibly unlocks a revelation in Einar. Soon, they decide to dress him up as the woman in Gerda’s paintings, named Lili, and they set out on the town. Initially unbeknownst to Gerda, Einar feels at home in this new form and a stranger in his birth body. Though there’s some initial hesitance from Gerda, she ultimately loves Einar and helps him become Lili.

"The fact is, I believe that I’m a woman," Redmayne says as Einar. If you don’t gasp at the emotions running high when Vikander’s Gerda responds with, "And I believe it, too," you might want to get your tear ducts checked ‘cause, darling, you’re cold as ice.

On style note, this trailer flaunts the beauty and elegance of cinematographer Danny Cohen. He worked with Tom Hooper on Les Miz as director of photography, and there’s a similar tone and color palette to this footage. Though, it appears there’s more of a wide range of shots, as opposed to the close-ups in the musical adaptation.

Now that the LGBT community in America has achieved a major win from the Supreme Court with nation-wide marriage equality, more and more focus has been given to the "T." Thanks to icons like Laverne Cox from Orange Is the New Black and Bruce Jenner’s transition into Caitlyn Jenner, the trans community have been given celebrity voices and faces, and film and TV are beginning to reflect this. Eddie Redymayne, in turn, is progressing this dialogue with The Danish Girl. In a recent interview with Out magazine, he said,

The Danish Girl will hit theaters on November 27.

This time last month, we saw Birdman, Or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance take home top honors at this year's Academy Awards; and it surprised us more than a little bit. While we here at Cinema Blend enjoy surprises, we also don't mind hedging our bets as to what will be the next big thing at Hollywood's golden honors.

We've had some time to assess the playing 2015 field a little further than our previous handicapping session, and we're glad to say we have a mix of repeats and new kids in our pool. With that in mind, let's run down the 15 movies we really think have a shot at winning Best Picture next year.

The Revenant

Obviously we're going to start the list off with a picture from recent Best Director winner, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, especially considering this is his follow up to the technically impressive Birdman. Inarritu's artsy side is coming out again, as this tale of revenge in the woods has been shooting for a highly unusual look. However, the cherry on top of the Oscar sundae is the fact that multiple nominee/still not a winner Leonardo DiCaprio is starring front and center. We wouldn't be surprised if this pic takes the top honors, while scoring Leo some well-deserved gold in them thar' hills.

Release Date: 12/25/2015

Bridge Of Spies

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are one of those Peanut Butter and Jelly pairings that go well together every time. Even better is when the two decide to tell a story based on true life, and Bridge Of Spies is one of those stories that proves to be in their collective wheelhouse. The story of a lawyer defending an American pilot downed behind Russian enemy lines, the Cold War historical factor does wonders for this film's Oscar chances, as history proves that it's one of the Academy's favorite subjects. Also, Hanks and Spielberg history lessons tend to fare well with voters.

Release Date: 10/16/15

Spotlight

To be nominated for an Oscar, it's not enough to just base your film on a true story. Usually, the more interesting stories make the most intriguing movies, and Thomas McCarthy's Spotlight is an interesting story to say the least. Recounting the investigative efforts of the Boston Globe into a child abuse cover-up in the Catholic Church, Spotlight has "ripped from the headlines" written all over it. It also boasts an all star cast that contains the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and previous Best Actor nominee Michael Keaton. With Keaton's loss making some waves in the community, you can bet the Academy will be looking at this film very closely.

Release Date: Fall TBD

Steve Jobs

Before Trance landed with a thud, Danny Boyle danced with the Oscars twice as both 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire garnered the director some vaulable buzz. Better still, the latter picture won him a Best Picture/Best Director double play, much like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu did this past year. While Boyle's talents alone should put Steve Jobs on the map, the Aaron Sorkin-written screenplay and Michael Fassbender in the lead role are two very good sweeteners to the pot. Could The Academy make up for passing over The Social Network a couple of years ago? If they're willing to, this is the best chance they've got.

Release Date: 10/9/15

The Danish Girl

What happens when you team an Oscar winning director with an Oscar winning actor, and a timely story based off of both a true story and a novel? You get Tom Hooper and Eddie Redmayne reteaming to signal The Academy to keep a close watch on The Danish Girl before it's even done filming. The film tells the story of the first identifiable case of a person having gender reassignment surgery, and not only plays to Hooper's period film sensibilities, but Redmayne's transformative capabilities. Voters have proven that they love both, so The Danish Girl is one of this year's ringers.

Release Date: 11/27/15

The Walk

In 2008, The Academy awarded the Best Documentary Feature trophy to Man On A Wire, the chronicle of Philippe Petit's crossing of the Twin Towers on nothing more than a high wire. Flash forward to today, and you've got that same story being adapted by Robert Zemeckis -- still riding high from the resurgence Flight gave his career -- and starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. While Zemeckis can be a mixed-bag auteur at times, his collaboration with Gordon-Levitt on The Walk could mean big time notice this year, especially since the actor himself is poised to break out as a prestige-film wonder.

Release Date: 10/2/15

Southpaw

Normally, the Best Picture frontrunners secure prestige-friendly openings towards the end of the year, thus reminding everyone that they existed and they're practically Awards Bait for the taking. Antoine Fuqua's long-delayed boxing epic Southpaw has called its shot in the heat of the summer, though, in true underdog fashion. This move could secure enough of an audience to keep the film in people's minds for months to come, while at the same time giving it the long-game advantage it could use. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal looks like a beast, so the transformation angle helps the film's chances.

Release Date: 7/31/15

Trumbo

Bryan F'ing Cranston. Full stop, send the message, Oscar's about to get itself a wake up call as the Emmy powerhouse is starting to make more of a play for cinematic glory. And what better way to open the awards floodgates than to take a film about one of Hollywood's most historic personas, in an era that wasn't the town's proudest, but still deserves some dissection in the long run. Cranston alone will be shining the brights on this puppy, but with prevous honoree Helen Mirren, evergreen professional John Goodman, and even funnyman Louis C.K. coming along for the ride, Jay Roach shouldn't have a hard time printing those "For Your Consideration" ads.

Release Date: 11/6/15

Snowden

While Hollywood loves to see stories of the past brought to life, it also loves to see filmmakers that can take the big stories of today and put them onto the screen with due deference. While Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate tried and failed to bring the era of Wikileaks and NSA surveillance to the voters, OG political firebrand Oliver Stone is teaming with Joseph Gordon Levitt to take another crack at the timely subject of Edward Snowden's defiance against the government. The age of JGL is upon us, and between this and The Walk, there's some good nomination potential for both films, as well as a possible double nom for Gordon Levitt's acting abilities.

Release Date: 12/25/15

Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

Getting a standing ovation is hard, much less a standing ovation from the crowd at the Sundance Film Festival. Yet here we are, sticking behind our pick of Me, Earl, And The Dying Girl for Best Picture because of it. Not only that, but from the look of this film, it's the type of character driven piece about the human condition that Oscar voters love to reward time and time again. It's practically a requirement that at least one indie breakout make its way to the big show, and this is our pick for such a breakout. That, and we're really hoping we'll get to at least say "Academy Award Nominee Nick Offerman" after 2016.

Release Date: 6/12/15

The Hateful Eight

Despite the stereotypical image of Academy voters depending on a strict diet of stuffy, self-important films and nothing else, they seem to have no problem cutting loose with Quentin Tarantino flicks. The Hateful Eight will certainly be no exception, as it just screams of QT's manic energy fusing together B-movie antics with an A-list sensibility. Ask any dietitian and they'll tell you that for every plate of broccoli you wolf down for your health, a piece of chocolate is all the sweeter. Hateful Eight is that cinematic chocolate, and it looks pretty sweet from where we're sitting.

Release Date: 11/13/15

The Martian

For one brief, shining moment, we thought Gravity was going to take top honors at the 2014 Academy Awards – only to see 12 Years A Slave dash all hope with its Best Picture win. Fairs fair, and the historical picture won; no sense tearing into that subject, because at least a film of historical significance won out. However, Matt Damon and Ridley Scott's hard sci-fi epic of survival, realistic space travel, and human scientific ingenuity has not only marketability but also that quality of being a film that Oscar voters will hold up as a sign of humanity's greatness. Also, if you've read the book, you can tell just how awesome of a movie this could make when done right.

Release Date: 11/25/15

Concussion

Concussion is based on a 2009 article on GQ that focused on studies that brought to light the long-term effects of injuries sustained by players during their NFL careers. With a particular focus on the medical affliction in the title, Will Smith is making his way back into serious drama after shedding Seven Pounds off of his resume. It might sound ridiculous to think that a big star could make a film based off of a magazine article into a Best Picture winner, but if you talk to Ben Affleck, he’d probably tell you to, "Argo fuck yourself," albeit in a much nicer tone than it reads.

Release Date: 12/25/15

In The Heart Of The Sea

After a blockbuster break from his award-winning fare, Ron Howard looked poised to come back to the fold with Rush a couple of years ago. While the Golden Globes took notices, the Academy Awards were less enthused about the racing picture. Still, In The Heart Of The Sea seems to be the payoff to Rush’s warm up, with Chris Hemsworth at the center of another Howard picture. Between the epic sea action, reminiscent of previous nominee Master And Commander: Far Side Of The World, and the star power of Hemsworth in another dramatic turn, the release bump may have been a great idea for this ship to sail proudly into the golden port.

Release Date: 12/11/15

Everest

With Into The Wild making waves on the awards circuit a couple of years ago, author Jon Krakauer became an author that Hollywood took notice of. With his memoir of Mount Everest, Into Thin Air, serving as the basis for this picture’s genesis, there stands a good chance that Everest could reach the summit and plant its flag on the Academy. With a mixed cast of past nominees, fresh faces, and seasoned veterans; Everest is sure to pull a lot of award committee focus.

Release Date: 9/18/15

If there’s one thing Eddie Redmayne knows how to do, it’s completely lose himself in roles. He first broke through by playing Marius in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, he became an intergalactic royal in the Wachowski’s Jupiter Ascending, and his latest transformation into the ALS-afflicted Stephen Hawking won him his first Oscar. But his role in The Danish Girl will surely earn him even more attention from the Academy next year. 

The first look at The Danish Girl has hit the web (via Yahoo Movies), which features Redmayne in a reunion with Hooper as Lili Elbe. This Danish artist was a pioneer of the transgender community, as she was one of the first known people to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Elbe was born Einar Wegener, and was publicly announced as Einar’s sister. She stopped painting after making the transition, which was the result of a series of experimental surgeries that she first began in 1930. The film is based on the fictionalized novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, and follows Einar’s transition into Lili. Her former wife, Greta, played by Alicia Vikander, became famous for the paintings she created of Einar in women’s clothes, and she stood by him through the transition process. 

Redmayne briefly discussed the role with The Wrap on the Oscars red carpet this past Sunday. He said,

The Danish Girl has been trying to get off the ground for years. Tomas Alfredson of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Lasse Hallström of The Hundred-Foot Journey were both attached to the project at one point. In addition, numerous actresses were reportedly courted for the role of Lili over the years, including Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Charlize Theron. Focus Features is expected to release the film later this year, with Amber Heard (Magic Mike 2) and Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop) also on board the cast. 

Though it’s been a long trudge through the mud of Hollywood to get this made, The Danish Girl will likely prove to be an important film. It may have been considered too risque a few years ago when it was first trying to pick up financiers, but now the transgender conversation has never been more prevalent.

In entertainment, however, it’s been mostly happening on TV. Orange Is the New Black has tackled the subject with actress Laverne Cox, a member and spokesperson for the transgender community. Recently, Jeffrey Tambor won a Golden Globe for his performance in Transparent as a father of three transitioning into womanhood, while the series as a whole won the Globe for Best Television Series in the Comedy or Musical category. It’s thanks to the pioneering shows and pop culture figures like these that The Danish Girl has a world in which to flourish. It’s commendable that Redmayne, who recently married his longtime girlfriend Hannah Bagshawe, is embracing a role of this magnitude. Come Oscar season next year, this decision could pay off nicely with another Best Actor Oscar nomination. 

Well would you look at what project just won't die: The Danish Girl has come roaring back to life after laying dormant for years, and now it has a pretty starry combo involved in a couple of vets of Les Miserables. Can you hear the people sing for sex changes?

Deadline reports that Working Title has gotten The Danish Girl up and running, and the new combination of choice is director Tom Hooper and star Eddie Redmayne. Set in the 1930's, the true story recounts the struggle of Einar Wegner, who sought to become the world's first male-to-female transgender patient to honor the wishes of his wife, Gerda. The script was written by Lucinda Coxon, who has also written Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming Crimson Peak.

Just about everyone's been attached to this film. Some of the actresses who have considered the project include Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Gwenyth Paltrow, Charlize Theron and Rachel Weisz. This was also meant to be the English-language debut for director Tomas Alfredson, who went on to helm Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His replacement, Lasse Hallstrom (Dear John) had also eventually departed the project.

You'll notice the names mentioned in the potential casts for The Danish Girl: Eddie Redmayne is the first male associated with the role. Originally, the production seemed set on casting a female actress and having her transition into a woman, playing a feminine male for the early portion of the film. Casting Redmayne poses its own challenges: now, the audience will be asked to believe that Redmayne could be feminine, that he could successfully transition from male to female. Redmayne certainly has very soft, feminine features, but that presents new and unusual commercial challenges, for reasons that should be obvious to the general public.

It's a bold choice for Tom Hooper, who is coming off a strong run of success. Obviously The King's Speech was a monster, winning him Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars, grossing a spectacular $414 million worldwide. Oscar gold didn't follow Les Miserables, but the musical adaptation pulled in a whopping $441 million globally. When your last two films gross $855 million on a combined budget of $76 million, you get to do whatever you want. In this case, make a drama about the first ever sex change, something that isn't exactly going to play in the same Malls of America that greeted Wolverine and Russell Crowe singing their hearts out.

It's also a massive gamble on Eddie Redmayne's appeal in a lead role. The actor certainly made an impression in Les Miserables, but audiences aren't exactly banging down the door to see him take center stage. He's got a busy lineup of films coming up, including a role in this summer's Jupiter Ascending and a potential Oscar nomination in The Theory of Everything, a biopic of Stephen Hawking. He may have had the voice of an angel in Hooper's film, but will that translate to leading man stardom for The Danish Girl?

Even though she's one great part of the insanely entertaining Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow hasn't been notable for her acting in years. Since marrying Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and raising their two kids, she's become more notable for stuff like traveling around Europe with Mario Batali, and founding the laughably snooty lifestyle site Goop.com, which encourages readers to "nourish the inner aspect."

But after a promisingly low-key turn in James Gray's Two Lovers earlier this year, Paltrow is taking on a role that's a genuine challenge: she'll play the wife to a character played by Nicole Kidman in The Danish Girl, a movie that sounds as weird and twisty as Iron Man is enjoyable and mainstream. The film, directed by Let the Right One In's Tomas Alfredson, tells the true story of Einar Wegener (Kidman), the world's first person to get a sex-change operation. According to Variety, Paltrow has signed on as Greta, the painter wife who stood by her husband as he transitioned into becoming a woman.

Charlize Theron had originally signed on to play Greta, and there's no mention of why the switch has been made. I'm more excited, though, to see what Paltrow can do with this kind of role, and especially how in the world Nicole Kidman will play a convincing man. It sounds too bizarre to work, but then so did a movie about a little boy falling in love with a castrated vampire. Alfredson has the ability to make this kind of weird magic happen.