Eleanor Reviews

*** F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a classic, written with a precise poetry arguably unrivalled in the genre. The novel has survived the years and become a routine text in the school curriculum, imbedded into the consciousness of the contemporary. The 1974 interpretation starred Robert Redford in the iconic role of Jay Gatsby, the love-sick and mysterious American famed for his large parties and massive wealth. Now, in 2013, Baz Luhrman reunites with his Romeo, and places Leonardo DiCaprio in the leading role. The scene is set in New York, 1922, and Nick Carraway has come to the city to make his money in Wall Street. He moves in next door to the mysterious Gatsby and is soon lured into his alcohol-fuelled parties and the summertime madness. The first problem is that when the characters are put on screen, they instantly become unfavourable – all are morally reprehensible. This comes across in the novel, too, but somehow the screen exacerbates their faults, and cer

***** For the record, I am not a ‘Trekkie’ – I have seen a few episodes on TV and watched two of the films, as well as J.J Abrams’ excellent first chapter in the reboot of the classic franchise. Despite not being a follower of the Enterprise and all its various missions across time and space, it is still possible to enjoy this film, although apparently there are numerous references that simply passed me by. It’s hard to discuss the film without giving too much away, but there is an excellent blend of action, schmaltz, threat, lens-flare and heroism throughout. Chris Pine (Kirk) and co. are back as the crew of the Star Ship Enterprise, this time battling the one-man-army that is Benedict Cumberbatch, on pitch-perfect form as a super-human who has discovered an alarming truth. Credit goes to the script writers for giving each character adequate time on screen for the audience to reconnect with them – there are essentially eight main characters to contend with, and only the ra