Eleanor Reviews

**** Caleb, a young computer programmer, wins a competition to visit the home of his company’s illusive boss. Once there, he discovers that he is to be part of a test, determining the true nature of an A.I, in the form of a beautiful young woman. In Kubrick’s The Shining , we follow Danny as he peddles his way round the empty halls of the ominous hotel, waiting for something obscene and disturbing to leap out of a doorway. In Ex Machina , I experienced very much the same feeling, of waiting for something terrible to happen. Isolated and locked inside a high-tech house, essentially a prison, and featuring only four characters, Ex Machina is a tense, psychological thriller featuring a lot of philosophical questions. At the heart of the story is Caleb, played by the ever-engaging and consistently good Domhnall Gleeson, a naïve programmer who relishes the chance to be a part his boss’ Turing Test, and comes entangled in a web of deceit and confusion. Gleeson is excellent in th

***** A talented young jazz drummer longs to be accepted into his school’s orchestra, managed by a prolific and respected teacher. When the opportunity arises, however, he comes to realise that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. I’ll admit, the premise is a little strange: ‘a film about jazz drumming’ seems hardly an action-packed thriller, emotional drama or bleak character study… and yet ‘Whiplash’ is all off these things. From the opening few shots of Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller) thrashing a drum kit for all it’s worth whilst the tyrannical Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) stands in the doorway, the tension grips you and fails to let up until the credits roll. Essentially a battle between a driven and obsessive protégé and his overbearing, despotic master, ‘Whiplash’ is filled with intense, scrutinising close-ups and long sequences in which Andrew pounds the drums whilst Fletcher abuses him, unsympathetic towards his bleeding palms and laboured breathing. One of t

**** In an attempt to reinvent himself and escape of a past superhero role, Riggan Thomas chooses to adapt, direct and star in Raymond Carver’s ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’. Birdman, however, will not let him go and, alongside last-minute casting changes and difficult personal relationships, Riggan struggles to maintain his sanity. For the first twenty minutes or so, I really struggled with this film: I found the constant tracking-shots alienating, the strange drumbeat annoying, and the characters vapid and infuriating. It was all over the place, and I seriously considered getting up and leaving. However, something happened – I couldn’t specify exactly what it was that made me remain in my seat, but I allowed myself to be swept along in the oddity of it all. And odd it most certainly is – the film appears to have been shot in one long sequence, with the camera following the characters along the passages of the theatre, into their dressing rooms and out into

**** When two students, physicist Stephen Hawking and language student Jane, meet at a party in Cambridge in 1963, it appears to be love at first sight. Over the next twenty or so years, the film follows the pair through Stephen’s diagnosis with MND, the start of their family, and the difficulties they face as the years pass by. I haven’t seen many of the other actors rumoured to be in the running for Best Actor at the Oscars this year, but if Eddie Redmayne doesn’t win, then they all must have been truly exceptional. We watch as Redmayne twitches, drags his feet, fumbles with pens and trips over flagstones in a truly amazing physical performance, his speech subtly beginning to slur until his words at almost unfathomable. At the end, seeing him slumped in his wheelchair, the resemblance to the real-life Hawking is almost uncanny. But this film isn’t really about Stephen Hawking – it’s actually about Jane, and what an exceptional woman she is, and Felicity Jones plays her e

***/**** (3.5 stars) DVD Release Sent to live with a foster family after her mother is transported to the camps, Liesel Meminger finds comfort in reading. With the war closing in, and with a Jew hiding in the basement, Liesel seeks guidance and strength from her story books, captivating those around her. I had actively avoided this film for a long time, as the book is one of my all-time favourites; a real classic that tackles a well-known war and all its grim details in a new and imaginative way, with Death acting as narrator. I was somewhat reluctant, then, when my sister opened it on Christmas morning and announced that we would be watching it at some point. I went in with gritted teeth… but came out satisfied. Of course, it in no way matches the impact and creativity of the novel, but as a simple film about an orphan in war-torn Germany, it is rather touching. Sophie Nélisse is Liesel, a big-eyed, fresh-faced young actress who perfectly encapsulates the strength and

**** DVD Release After catching the criminals and wreaking havoc whilst undercover at a high school, Schmidt and Jenko are assigned to a new case in a college. Their task is the same: go undercover; seek out the drug dealers; and prevent other students from using the substance, all whilst being as inconspicuous as possible… I hold my hands up, dear readers: I do not seek out, or particularly enjoy, comedy. I would rather watch hours of suffering, death, despair and general gloom than sit through the latest rom-com, the latest frat-boy film, or a gross-out comedy… And yet, I found myself laughing out loud multiple times during 22 Jump Street . With exactly the same premise as the first, our heroes have switched headquarters (moving across the street to 22, Jump Street after being evicted from 21, Jump Street), and must now infiltrate the dangerous world of college to find the drug dealers. The scriptwriters and director know they are repeating themselves, and are knowing