Eleanor Reviews

    ****   Unwittingly drawn into the Rebellion, Jyn Erso learns that her father has been building a weapon with the ability to destroy planets whole. Uniting with a rag-tag team, she sets out to find the plans for the Death Star.   There's usually a point during films when I, as a viewer, make up my mind whether I am going to enjoy the movie or not. With Rogue One , I was sold from that very first scene of the ships cruising in deep space. Reassured by how similar the aesthetics look to the original trilogy, I settled into a thoroughly enjoyable planet-hopping addition to the ubiquitous saga. Taking the reins from Daisy Ridley, Felicity Jones is our leading lady, playing wandering Jyn Erso. Initially unwilling to be a part of the Rebellion, Jyn's motivations take a turn when she receives a message from her long-lost father. A difficult role, both vulnerable and stubborn, Jones' Jyn soon develops into a decisive leader, partnered with battle-hardened C...

**** Stopping over in New York in 1926, in his attempt to find new magical beasts to study, Newt Scamander inadvertently causes calamity when his suitcase is switched with that of a No-Maj (American for Muggle). It's a race against time to get his creatures back into the suitcase before they come to any harm...   A new age, a new city, a new central wizard with a  penchant for bad luck - Fantastic Beasts  is the story of a harmless magician swept up in a world of trouble when he arrives in New York city. As the central character, Eddie Redmayne is perfect. Awkward, gangly and uncertain, all he wants to do is dedicate his life to his array of animals, kept safely within his magical suitcase. Accompanied by a fellow hapless individual, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) the two make their way across town to track down the creatures who have escaped. At least, this is ...

  ***/**** (3.5 stars)   When Prince Seretse Khama falls in love with a working class white woman, Ruth Williams, the pair have little idea of the international implications of their union.   A little known story of a love that defied the odds at a time of immense political strife, A United Kingdom tells the tale of Prince Khama (David Oyelowo), heir to the throne in modern-day Botswana, and his wife, Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), who leaves her home to travel to her husband's homeland. Perfectly capturing the racial discrimination and tyranny of British colonial rule, Amma Asante's latest is as much about love as it is about hatred, with the smug middle class white man (personified by Jack Davenport and Tom Felton) certainly coming off worse. Asante excels at portraying the unjust political system that is desperate to prevent Seretse and Ruth from being together, leaving the audience feeling enraged and disgusted at the injustices being depicted on screen. ...

**** When twelve mysterious objects appear on the surface of the Earth, distinguished linguist Louise Banks is recruited to help investigate why they are here. What results is an experience far beyond language...   Like Denis Villeneuve's previous films, Sicario and Prisoners , Arrival throws ordinary people into a situation they never thought they would face, this time taking university doctor Louise Banks from her teaching job into a spaceship to interact with aliens. This may be the least 'realistic' of his films, and yet Arrival somehow manages to feel the most 'human', thanks to its roots in communication and emotion. Amy Adams in undoubtedly the heart and soul of the film, her face and very human reactions constantly being sought out by the camera and framed in the middle of the screen. It is a stripped down, restrained and understated performance, and yet Adams always manages to immerse us in the emotion of a situation. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whita...

  ****   After his hands are all but destroyed in a car accident, talented neurosurgeon Doctor Strange travels to Nepal in search of healing. There he meets The Ancient One, who begins to teach him of  alternate universes and the terrible evil that threatens to destroy the world.   Another day, another superhero movie. Only Doctor Strange isn't your typical superhero film - it's more mind- and reality-bending than that. Focusing on the premise that there is more than just our universe, the film plays with different dimensions and layers of reality to create a multi-faceted story with some truly imaginative set pieces. Obviously, the visuals and premise can be called Inception- esque, and, of course, parallels can definitely be drawn between the two, but Doctor Strange inevitably feels more frothy than Christopher Nolan's philosophical study. That doesn't mean that Marvel's latest offering is anything less than spectacular, however. Supporting the realit...

    ***** In the near future, humanity is on the brink of extinction thanks to a strange fungal disease which has turned the majority of the population into 'hungries' - zombies devoid of the ability to think or feel. Held in an army base, Melanie is thought to be mankind's last hope at finding a cure for the disease. But when the base is attacked, she and a small gang of human protectors must set out into the hostile world.   There are so many zombie films (and TV series) in the world, that to create a new story for the genre seemed somewhat impossible, and yet Mike Carey, in both his original text and adapted screenplay, appears to have managed it. In fact, I would argue that this is not a zombie movie at all, more a love story between a young girl, Melanie (played by newcomer Sennia Nanua) and the only person who has ever showed her kindness, her teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton). Escaping the army base after it comes under attack, th...

    ****   Based on the top secret mission, Operation Anthropoid, Sean Ellis' eponymous film focuses on the assassination attempt of SS General Reinhard Heydrich, a man at the top of the Nazi hierarchy.   Well, readers, of course you would have expected me to go and see Anthropoid - I am a sucker for war films after all. However, what drew me to this film in particular was that I knew very little of the story surrounding the assassination attempt on Heydrich - indeed, I couldn't tell you the names or the circumstances of the people involved. Eager to boost my knowledge, I went along.   It is safe to say that this film is unerringly grim - there are so few moments of light relief, if any, that you leave the cinema feeling as though you have been bludgeoned for over two hours. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable in it's own way, if 'enjoyable' is remotely the right world. Focussing on two British-trained agents, Czech Jan Kubis (Jamie Dorna...