Eleanor Reviews

** Leaving work one evening, Locke goes on a long drive to London. On the way, his life crumbles about him as he makes a series of telephone calls. I should perhaps make it clear from the outset that one of the stars I have given this film is down to pure creativity – I have never before seen a film such as this, wherein one character spends the duration sitting in a car making phone calls to various acquaintances. We only see Locke (Tom Hardy) outside of the car at the beginning of the film – for the rest he is behind the wheel of his car, speaking into his phone as he drives along various motorways. Even though I don’t think the film ‘works’, I think it is an interesting idea and could have potentially worked if there had been any kind of human interaction, perhaps through flashbacks. As it is, all we have are the various voices that come across the loudspeaker, and this is quite alienating – Tom Hardy is the only face we see. So, seeing as this is technically only a on

  **** Following the events of Avengers Assemble ( The Avengers for you overseas types!), Steve Rogers is now a fully-fledged member of S.H.I.E.LD., taking part in various missions. However, it soon becomes clear that all is not well within the Intelligence Service and with the appearance of the Winter Soldier, it soon becomes apparent that Steve’s past is bleeding into the present. This latest film in the Avengers franchise is different from the others – it is deeply political and looks at very controversial issues such as security, crime and how best to neutralise threats, both within America and outside of it. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) still remembers a time when it was fair simpler, but he is about to receive a wake-up call as the truth about the agency he works for is relieved to him. Whilst the other films focus on the fantastical, this is deeply founded in the world in which we find ourselves today – in essence, this is a spy thriller and no one knows who they can

  *** DVD Release This deeply disturbing story of an Alaskan serial killer who systematically kidnapped, raped and then murdered vulnerable young women is based on real life events. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Robert Hansen killed multiple young women, whilst remaining a respected member of the community. In 1983, one of his would-be victims, Cindy Paulson, managed to escape – this film is the story of how she helped Alaskan State Trooper Jack Halcombe get justice for the young women killed. First of all, you should not dismiss this film on the basis of Nicholas Cage being in the lead role. Cage plays Jack Halcombe, a man who is reluctantly assigned the case of Cindy Paulson, and he plays it very well – there are no wide-eyed, over-the-top rampages as seen in that most infamous of YouTube videos; he is delightfully understated. Even in the interrogation scenes, he does not lose his cool and, best of all, he has a very touching relationship with Cindy Paulson, the you

**** During a confession, Father James is threatened by a member of his parish. The man was brutally raped for many years as a child and is now seeking revenge upon the Catholic Church - his revenge will be the murder of Father James, a good and innocent priest. The would-be murderer gives Father James one week to prepare himself before the pair meet at the designated spot, on the shoreline. This is an incredibly dark film - there is suicide, adultery, a tragic road accident, drug abuse and violence, but yet somehow the film isn't depressing and is frequently humorous. Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is at the heart of a small Irish community that is apparently tearing itself apart - each character is apparently a sinner in one respect or another - and he has taken it upon himself to try and help each of these unhappy misfits. Gleeson is outstanding in his role - he is in every single scene, and he remains perfectly in character throughout. He never raises his voice, apart fr

*** After mankind industrialises and begins to desecrate the Earth, The Creator sends Noah, a descendant of Seth, a series of visions instructing him to build an Ark. Within this Ark will be a breeding pair of every animal on Earth, who will then be saved following the flood that will cleanse the Earth of humanity. Noah and his family, with the help of The Watchers, begin their task of building the vessel, but their work is marred by various trials. Well, this film is utterly all over the place – there are some good bits, some very strange bits, and some extremely poor moments which made me roll my eyes. This feels more like a sci-fi film, more like a film about a future dystopia, than a Biblical epic – there is even a moment when Noah and his family stumble across an abandoned mine, which looks like something straight out of the Riddick films. Similarly, there is a battle in which the sons of Cain, led by Ray Winstone’s predictably gruff Tubal-cain, try to take the Ark an

DVD Release Try as I might, I have been unable to decide upon a star-rating for this film. Instead, I shall try and order my thoughts in this review, but I imagine I will still be largely undecided upon how I feel come the end. Following the discovery of a mysterious advertisement in a newspaper, three journalists set out to a remote seaside town to track down the author. Whilst there, they come across Kenneth, a strange, reclusive individual, who posted the advert in the hope of finding a suitable companion to travel back in time with him. Well, where to begin? We shall start with the two central characters, Kenneth (Mark Duplass) and Darius (Aubrey Plaza), an intern at the newspaper. Darius is the character who comes to spend the most time with Kenneth and, predictably, her relationship with this strange and eccentric man becomes something more than purely investigatory. It isn't, however, a burden upon the film that it sinks into this romantic trope as we want both cha