Eleanor Reviews

Director:  Aaron Schneider Cast:  Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham Where can I watch?:   Greyhound  is streaming on  Apple TV+ Rating:  3/5 Review:  Based on a fictitious novel that used real events from the Battle of the Atlantic as inspiration, Greyhound , Apple's foray into World War Two big screen entertainment, is a nuts and bolts naval drama that both hits and misses in equal measure. Returning to the 1940s conflict for the third time, Tom Hanks takes on the role of inexperienced Captain Krause. Tasked with escorting cargo and troop ships across the perilous waves of the Atlantic, his job is to keep an eye out for the Nazis U-boats determined to eliminate any aid from the US. As such, there's lots of panicked sonar readings, numerous 'right rudder' or 'left rudder' commands and plenty of stressed, meaningful glances exchanged as the crew turn their binoculars to the rolling grey waves. It's pretty formulaic stuff, but Hanks' undeniable ch...

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast:  Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bruce Greenwood  Where can I watch?:  You can watch The Post on Netflix . Rating:  4/5 Review:  Spielberg. Hanks. Streep. They may be part of cinema's 'old guard' now, but there's still something reassuring about seeing these 'titans of the movies' getting together to make a film - you immediately know you're in safe hands. Taking on the momentous occasion when the female-owned Washington Post took on the US government over the publication of a damning Vietnam report, this meaty topic certainly gives our auteurs something to sink their teeth into: there are secret phone calls; tense standoffs; scenes of the printing press whirring and clanking; and Tom Hanks posturing like only Tom Hanks can. Despite the outcome being well-known, such is Spielberg's deft direction, it's still nail-biting in some sections, as characters grapple with the enormity of t...