Eleanor Reviews

Director:  Andrew Patterson Cast:  Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz Where can I watch?:   The Vast of Night  is streaming on  Prime Video Rating:  3.5/5 Review:  As debuts go, Andrew Patterson's The Vast of Night is a pretty solid outing. Stripping away the graphics, explosions and outer-space drama that usually accompanies sci-fi films, Patterson brings it all back to basics with an eerie nighttime drama that cleverly utilises the static of retro televisions and blank screens to create a suspenseful, low budget watch. The cast is small, with just two central protagonists: arrogant radio host Everett (Jake Horowitz) and switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick). Both have dreams of getting out of their old frontier town in New Mexico and, through very natural conversation (there's no forced exposition here!), their relationship develops as they begin to unpick the mysterious noise that's passing through the radio signals. Patterson focuses more on speech th

Director:  Gina Prince-Bythewood Cast:   Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts Where can I watch?:   The Old Guard  is streaming on Netflix Rating:  2/5 Review: It gives me no pleasure to say this, but The Old Guard is rubbish. This is honestly a real shame, as there's actually a lot to celebrate here: a female lead, a black female director, a gay male couple who subvert the usual queer relationship tropes usually assigned to screen, and a flourishing bond between two female protagonists that doesn't descend into backstabbing. Despite these ingredients, however, The Old Guard stumbles along rather blandly, raising more questions than it answers and failing to meet the sum of its parts. So the plot: Andy (Charlize Theron) heads up a group of immortal mercenaries who inadvertently make contact with a new 'recruit' (KiKi Layne) whilst being tracked by a big pharma company desperate to make a profit from their regenerative skills (cue Chiwetel Ej

Director:  Aaron Schneider Cast:  Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham Where can I watch?:   Greyhound  is streaming on  Apple TV+ Rating:  3/5 Review:  Based on a fictitious novel that used real events from the Battle of the Atlantic as inspiration, Greyhound , Apple's foray into World War Two big screen entertainment, is a nuts and bolts naval drama that both hits and misses in equal measure. Returning to the 1940s conflict for the third time, Tom Hanks takes on the role of inexperienced Captain Krause. Tasked with escorting cargo and troop ships across the perilous waves of the Atlantic, his job is to keep an eye out for the Nazis U-boats determined to eliminate any aid from the US. As such, there's lots of panicked sonar readings, numerous 'right rudder' or 'left rudder' commands and plenty of stressed, meaningful glances exchanged as the crew turn their binoculars to the rolling grey waves. It's pretty formulaic stuff, but Hanks' undeniable char

Director:  Jon Stewart Cast:  Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper Where can I watch?:   Irresistible  is streaming on  Apple TV+ Rating:  2/5 Review: Everyone knows that the US political system is broken. Once fit for purpose, the manner in which elections of all sizes now take place is borderline corrupt, with money being the biggest winner. This is the premise of Jon Stewart's directorial debut... Only it's not just the 'premise', it's the stick with which you're repeatedly beaten with throughout this mercifully short and yet too long political parable. Steven Carell is Gary Zimmer, a Democratic spin doctor reeling from Hilary's 2016 election loss; upon seeing a heartfelt speech from a disgruntled war veteran (Chris Cooper), he decides to up sticks to help him win a mayoral title in a conservative Midwest town. Unfortunately, Republican spin doctor Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne) arrives to upset the apple cart and full blown electoral campai

Director:  George Nolfi Cast:  Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult Where can I watch?:   The Banker  is streaming on  Apple TV+ Rating:  4/5 Review:  Based on the real-life story of two black businessmen taking on America's systemic racism through real estate ownership, Apple Original's  The Banker sees Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson (at his most Samuel L. Jackson, minus the 'motherf*cking snakes on this motherf*cking plane') form a delightfully entertaining chalk-and-cheese relationship, with Nicholas Hoult as their white third wheel. Directed by George Nolfi and boasting a handful of screenwriters, the film wastes no time in establishing Bernard Garrett (Mackie) and Joe Norris (Jackson) as a force to be reckoned with, their Los Angeles property repertoire booming with the help of Matt Steiner (Hoult) as their customer-facing ally. The rags-to-riches scenes in which the hapless Steiner is made into a golf-loving, number-crunching, fou