Eleanor Reviews

      ***/**** (3.5 stars)   Once the star of Mindhorn (an eponymous TV series about a detective who could see truth), Richard Thorncroft's career has hit an all-time low. Then a mysterious killer emerges, asking to speak to Mindhorn, and Mindhorn alone. Returning to the character who defined him, Richard returns to the Isle of Man to solve the murder...   It occurred to me whilst I was watching Mindhorn how truly strange and unexplainable British comedy is. Gently taking the mickey out of everything and everyone, Julian Barratt's welcome return to our screens is possibly the epitome of 'British humour', with gags about everything from old age to the fickleness of TV. At the heart of the film is Barratt himself, playing Richard Thorncroft as a self-centred fool still trying to cling on to his sex symbol status, despite the balding and slimming underwear. Barratt pitches the performance well, making Thorncroft an instantly likeable character, ...

**** Sold into a loveless marriage with a middle-aged man, young bride Katherine soon finds herself alone in her new home. Upon meeting one of her husband's new groomsmen, she embarks upon a dangerous affair that has truly murderous consequences.   'Are you cold?' This is the first question our young bride, Katherine (Florence Pugh) is asked, and it can be interpreted in two ways, much like the rest of the film. It sounds as though the maid, Anna (unawares of the trauma she is about to experience) is asking whether her mistress is chilly, but, after seeing the rest of the film, could it be foreshadowing of Katherine's cold emotional behaviour? It is certainly a tricky one to decipher, and yet so is the film itself. With a completely stripped-down soundtrack - there are very few instances where music is used at all - the focus of the film remains wholly upon the actors. Without the guidance of music to tell us what to t...

*** A former secretary joins the government's team of propaganda film makers in creating a morale-boosting movie about a heroic Dunkirk rescue mission.   Being a self-confessed sucker for war films, it was inevitable that I would find myself taking in a screening of Their Finest - a tale of a female screenwriter taking on a heroic story in the midst of bombed out London. It is with regret, therefore, that this addition to the World War archive that I found this film a little disappointing. With a promising central trio at the helm (Bill Nighy steals the show as the cantankerous ageing actor Hilliard), the film begins with promise. Peppering scenes of the Blitz with moments of humour, the film acts as a showcase of Great British talent, with walk-on, walk-off roles for Richard E. Grant, Eddie Marsan and Jeremy Irons providing intrigue for the first act. However, the script soon flounders...   It seems strange that a film about screenwriting should suffer from...

**** When an arms deal goes wrong in an abandoned warehouse, gang allegiances and friendships are tested in a shoot out for survival.   How often does the gunfight in the finale of a film end up being the best bit? Well, pretty often actually. So director Ben Wheatley (and long-time writing partner Amy Jump) decided to create a film where the gun fight was the story - a stripped back 'shoot 'em up' with a host of untrustworthy characters at the centre. And it works! For the best part of ninety minutes, a strange set of individuals take aim at one another in what is a gory, funny, engaging movie about an arms deal that goes terribly wrong.   The premise and tensions are quickly established (from Sharlto Copley's Vernon bringing the wrong guns to Sam Riley's Stevo and Jack Reynor's Harry violent hatred of one another), and then the first bullet is fired. All hell quickly breaks loose as it becomes apparent that each...

      ****   Old, tired and battle weary, Logan is in hiding as a taxi driver in Mexico, desperately trying to save enough money for a boat he's seen in a magazine. However, his plans go awry with the appearance of Laura, a strange child with a dangerous secret...   The BBFC cites 'strong bloody violence' and 'strong language' as it's reasoning behind Logan 's 15 certificate, and after only five minutes, the film certainly lives up to these pointers. And, gosh, isn't it all the more refreshing for it! Logan, or Wolverine, has always been a man of violence with a potty mouth, but, stemmed by the 12A rating we've never really got to see such a savage side of him. That is, until now. Mentally broken and physically ruined, the Logan of this film is a far cry from the fresh-faced hunk of the original X-Men . It therefore works in the character's favour that director James Mangold has chosen to take this story down such a dark and bloody...

***** Divided into three sections, Moonlight follows the life of Chiron, from boy to teenager and then to grown man. It seems somewhat cliché now, after all the rave reviews and the Best Picture Oscar win, for me to award Moonlight a 5-star rating. And yet, to give it anything other would be a travesty, because Barry Jenkin's film is nothing short of a masterpiece. Showcasing three different sections in the life of Chiron, a young black man living in rough neighbourhood, the film weaves a profoundly moving narrative about life, love and masculinity. Featuring three pitch-perfect performances by the lead actors, we are guided from Chiron's lonely childhood, to his ostracised teenage years and then into his uneasy adulthood. As a character, Chiron actually says very little, meaning that his thoughts and feelings must be portrayed through his face, eyes and actions - something that each actor, especially teenage Ashton Sanders, does exceptionally well. There are brillian...

**** DVD release/Available to stream When a rebellious teen and his foster uncle disappear into the New Zealand wilderness, a countrywide search begins to track down this mismatched pair.   A film that had been on my list ever since I missed it in the cinemas, I finally got round to watching Hunt for the Wilderpeople whilst bedridden and intoxicated on a plethora of cold-curing medication. And it certainly appealed to my frazzled state. An undeniably quirky film, Taika Waititi's latest is a heartfelt and often funny coming of age tale, based around a recently adopted obese child and his gruff foster 'uncle'. Essentially a buddy movie about two individuals shunned by society, this charming tale (fronted by Sam Neill and Julian Dennison) is awash with moments of humour as well as sadness. Disappearing into the Bush after an early tragedy, the film segments their adventures into chapters, some which work, others which fall a little flat. Showcasing the beauty of ...