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 Captain

**** 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 a part of the story - there is another, much darker tale being told in parallel to Scamander's escapades, which

  ***/**** (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. The fi