Eleanor Reviews

***/**** (3.5 stars) Having escaped the maze, Thomas and the other remaining Gladers find temporary respite and sanctuary with Janson, who provides them with dreams of a promised land. Upon finding that all is not as it first appeared to be, the team escape into the Scorch, where many obstacles await them. It seemed ironic that the trailer for the latest Hunger Games should air directly before this film began, as it only seemed to highlight the similarities between the two, and how much Maze Runner wishes it were as good as its predecessor. That’s not to say that The Scorch Trials isn’t an enjoyable, if slightly overly long, it’s just the same old, same old regurgitated with different characters. This time, we are introduced to the Cranks (zombies to you or I), humans who have been changed by the sun’s radiation, and now live in the Scorch. If you’ve seen I Am Legend or 28 Days Later , these super-athletic creatures will come as no surprise, although could well be scary fo...

***/**** (3.5 stars) Sacked from his job and estranged from his son, submariner Robinson is suddenly offered the chance of a lifetime: to uncover the legendary Russian gold lost on the floor of the Black Sea during the Second World War. This is undoubtedly your typical submarine thriller, which ticks off all the boxes as it goes and adds nothing new to the genre. You can even work out which characters are going to make it to the end, because, (spoiler alert!) not all of them do. Still, for all of its unoriginality and plot points that you can see coming from a mile away, this isn’t a bad film. In fact, it’s pretty enjoyable. Yes, it is silly – Jude Law’s accent wanders all over the place, and ludicrous decisions are made throughout, but in places it is rather tense and there is a definite sense of claustrophobia throughout. As the rickety submarine (I would’ve taken one look at the outside and run away) descends and tragedy ensues, the duplicitous crew members begin to ...

**** An amateur film-maker and perpetual outsider, Greg reluctantly agrees to visit the home of his neighbour, Rachel, after she is diagnosed with leukaemia. Over the course of their meetings, Greg, Rachel and Greg’s co-worker Earl form a friendship that will leave none of them unchanged.   With a title such as that, it is likely that many potential viewers will dismiss this as an over-sentimental, teenage-angst piece: I can assure you that it is not. Grounded firmly in reality by an instantly likeable central character, Greg (Thomas Mann), this film is excellently well-observed in terms of teenage interaction, leading to moments of hilarity alongside heart-wrenching scenes which cannot fail to bring tear to your eye. Quirk and amusing in places, this is nevertheless an intensely heartfelt study of teenage friendship in the midst of sickness and college applications. It is to director’s Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and screenwriter Jesse Andrew’s (who also wrote the novel) cred...

*** Finding himself abandoned in a glade with his memory erased, Thomas becomes one of the many other teenager boys locked within an enormous, ever-changing maze. Whilst the other boys seem content with staying put, Thomas is determined to escape the maze and learn the truth.   The Maze Runner isn't a bad film, it's just a painfully average film that lacks any sort of originality, even though the initial set up of young men being trapped within a maze seems promising. The simple fact is, we've seen it all before, and done better, with The Hunger Games . The similarities are simply endless, essentially boiling down to young people being placed at odds against tyrannical grown ups. There's everything you would expect from a group being thrown together, from the good-hearted, fat kid to the over-bearing antagonist, and a philosophical leader figure - you can pick out who will live to the end credits from the moment you set foot within the Glade.   The cast d...

**** Best friends Dale and Tucker escape to the woods to renovate an old wood cabin and relax with a few beers. At the same time, a group of college kids descend upon the wood for a camping trip, but when Dale and Tucker rescue one of the party from drowning, the peaceful holiday descends into blood shed.   This hilarious horror-comedy plays upon all the clichés and tropes we know from countless horror films: a cabin in the woods; a group of gormless, good-looking college kids; a tale of a previous grisly murder; and hillbillies, and cleverly subverts them. Hillbillies Dale and Tucker (Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk) are not the murderous, deranged individuals of Deliverance and others of the same ilk, rather ordinary working men wanting to escape on holiday and decorate their newly acquired holiday home. In a twist of fate, it's the college kids who have the murderous side, aiming to rescue their friend, Allison (Katrina Bowden), by whatever means necessary. Cue impal...

***** For the first eleven years of Riley’s life, she has been happy, all thanks to Joy. However, when her family decide to move to San Francisco, Riley must learn to cope with the increased activity of the other voices in her head: Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. It is rare to come across a film as innovative and compelling as Inside Out ; the pure creativity and originality on display here further cements Pixar’s reputation as a studio at the top of its game. The premise of the story appears a daunting one, and a topic that did not, for me, translate well in the trailer, but I urge you not to be perturbed and to seek this out. Inside Riley’s head, inside all our heads, is a Headquarters, wherein five emotions live: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear, all characterised by various vibrant colours and forms. Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) has been used to being in charge in Headquarters, overseeing Riley’s Core Memories and Personality Islands, but in moving house, Ril...

***/**** (3.5 stars) DVD Release Socially awkward and abused by his alcoholic father, Andrew feels as though he’s finally been accepted when he and two other boys develop strange powers after finding an unidentified object. With so many super-power films to choose from, and a never-ending line of heroes to cheer on, it’s refreshing to come across a film that looks at the negative sides of these powers, and the effect it can have on individuals, in this case a group of three young men. At the heart of the story is Andrew (an excellent Dane DeHaan), a social outsider with a troubled home life. As his powers develop, he grows in confidence and starts to enjoy himself – he is the ultimate sympathetic character, given a chance at redemption but thwarted by his age and emotions. Given that the main characters are high-schoolers, their aims are based far more on their sexual desires and immediate pressures as opposed to notions of saving the world, which is indeed refreshing, ...