Eleanor Reviews

**** Now that the ‘Twilight Saga’ has drawn to a close, distributers are keen to find the next teen-fantasy that will keep the fan-girls coming to the cinema. ‘Beautiful Creatures’ is one such offering to be release this year, but I would ask you not to dismiss this foray into teenage romance so quickly. Part of the joy of this film come from the two delightful leads, relative newcomers Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich, as two teens both trapped in their own existence and marred by past traumas. Ethan (Ehrenreich) has lived in a small Southern town his whole life and longs to escape, when the mysterious Lena (Englert) arrives. Lena comes from a cursed family of Casters, witches to you and me, and only has until her sixteenth birthday before her powers are gained by either Good or Evil. As if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough! Shunned by the Bible-bashing town, Lena lives a protected existence with her uncle, Macon (Jeremy Irons, grappling with the accent and failing). Et...

**** ‘Cloud Atlas’ tells the story of people who meet again and again throughout eternity. The situations in which they meet are always different, but the feelings felt for one another are always the same. I have never read the book, but I had heard what it was about and when I heard that it was to be directed, I wasn’t sure how it would translate from page to screen. In the case of the film, the same actors (an impressive cast with the likes of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving and Ben Whishaw to name but a few) are used in each story thread, changing sex and appearance with the use of heavy prosthetics. In each story, a different actor takes on the role of the protagonist, but they come into contact with characters that they have met before or are connected to in the future.   With so many different story-threads, some will undoubtedly be better than others. The story in which Jim Broadbent plays a publicist thrust into a care-home by his brother is tr...

**** Fresh off the back of Academy Award success for ‘The Hurt Locker’, Kathryn Bigelow returns to take on the contemporary story for the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Everyone, therefore, knows how this film will end, but yet that doesn’t matter. Using key dates from the last ten years, Bigelow builds the tension well, focusing on the emotional journey of C.I.A agent Maya (Jessica Chastain) throughout the film. The opening sequence is harrowing. The black screen reads ‘September 11, 2001’ and following the fade of the text is the sound of the phone calls made to family members and emergency services from those trapped in the towers. After this opening, everyone in the cinema auditorium was silent. This sets the tone for the rest of the film, and also reminds us of the shock the world was left in after these events. The use of soundtrack is minimal - instead we are buffeted by the sounds of single explosions and gunshots, making the set pieces visceral and almost disturbing. T...

*** It was never my intention to see ‘Les Misérables’ at the cinema as I saw it as a stage production and wasn’t that enthused by it. However, after hearing the rave reviews from professional critics as well as friends, I decided I would take the plunge and make my mind up for myself. The plot follows Jean Valjean (the excellent Hugh Jackman) as he leaves prison and attempts to rebuild his life, always pursued by his previous captor and tormentor, Javert (Russell Crowe). The film spans three different time zones, from the time when Valjean is released, to his position as a Mayor, and then to the Revolution. In that time, Valjean becomes the adopted father of Cosette, the daughter of Fantine. One of the draws of the film is undoubtedly to see Anne Hathaway sing ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. Even as someone who disliked the stage production, the power of this ballad is undeniable. Being filmed, of course, allows for a softer rendition of this song, with some words cried and others almos...

**** Peter Jackson knows his Tolkien. In interviews, his enthusiasm for the texts is unerring and this passion was translated brilliantly onto screen in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. Now, after years of monetary issues and decisions as to who would helm the movie, we return to Middle Earth in the first instalment of ‘The Hobbit’. I’ll admit, I am a fan of Tolkien’s work and therefore probably have more patience with this overly-long first chapter of the narrative than others may do. However, I think that even if you are critical of the film, there are definitely still things of merit to be found there. For a start, the casting of Martin Freeman as the eponymous hobbit is a stroke of genius – he encapsulates the very British desire to stay at home and to not partake in any adventures. He is the perfect vantage point in which to observe Middle Earth – his terror is our terror, but his desire to explore more of his world is that of the cinema-goer as well. The infamous ‘Riddles...

***** When I read Yann Martel’s award-winning novel Life of Pi , I felt sure I held in my hands a book that would never be translated onto the screen such was the existential nature of the narrative. Indeed, when I first heard that Ang Lee was to helm a cinematic version of the text, I was filled with a deep cynicism and decided there and then that I would not see the film. It was not the award-hype surrounding the film that eventually caused me to watch the film, but rather a family outing. Upon leaving the cinema with a tear in my eye, I realised how wrong I had been to doubt the translation from text to film – ‘Life of Pi’ is truly a masterpiece. The narrative is set across two time periods, with the always charismatic Irrfan Khan playing the older Pi, whilst disarmingly engaging newcomer Suraj Sharma takes on Pi as the teenager set adrift in the ocean with no company except a giant Bengal tiger called Richard Parker. The majority of the film is with this younger Pi who, alon...

** When I left the cinema screening, the only emotion I felt after seeing ‘Gangster Squad’ was that of disappointment. The film boasts an all-star cast and a gangster-based premise that films such as ‘The Untouchables’ and ‘L.A. Confidential’ manage so well. Unfortunately, ‘Gangster Squad’ will not go down as a classic of the gangster genre. The scene is set in Los Angeles, 1949 – an apparently drunken and immoral city in the grips of Micky Cohen’s regime. In the opening scene, we see Cohen (Sean Penn) disposing of a man who has angered him in a method taken directly from ‘The Hitcher’, and that is essentially the problem with the film – there is nothing original about it. Josh Brolin plays Police Sergeant John O’Mara, a war hero who has returned home to find his city lost to ‘an Eastern crook’. His character is so one-dimensional it is impossible to find him realistic – he willing puts his pregnant wife in danger throughout the film, only sending her away in the final act. His l...