What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 10th November 2016.

A few weeks ago an article in the tabloid press over here caught my eye, about a subject I hold close to my heart. Written by James Wigney the article was titled 'Games up for online pirates : Movie boss' warning to downloaders' and surrounds the illegal downloading of movies and television content with Australia being 'one of the worst offending countries for online piracy, with 1.24 billion visits to illegal pirate sites last year'. With a population of approaching just twenty-five million, that's a statistic not to be taken lightly methinks! The boss in question here, Graham Burke, heads up Village Roadshow and he was addressing the Australian International Movie Convention on the Gold Coast earlier in October. The plan is to shut down with immediate effect up to one hundred illegal download sites the moment the courts hand down the decision on the movie industry's war on piracy, which will see an immediate and dramatic drop in piracy as a result. He went on to say that 'many people think this is a victimless crime' 'It's not, and if this were to continue, there will be no 'Red Dog', there will be no 'Mad Max', there will be no 'Star Wars', there will be no creativity'. The worrying trend seems to have emerged among younger people, with 31% of 12-17 year olds pirating movies . . . and thinking it is OK to do so. Well said on all of the above! I am a firm advocate of paying your $20 and seeing a film at the full retail price on the big screen as the Producers, Directors, Actors, Screenwriters, and film crew intended, and all who have to be paid out of the proceeds from that small investment in two hours of entertainment. Do the right think Australian and movie lovers of the world, and pay the price of a ticket and go see a movie at the Odeon instead of illegally downloading a film from a pirate site and committing a crime! You know it makes sense!

And so to this week where we have just two new release movies coming to your local picture house and both are very different and both have already been highly acclaimed widely by critics and movie goers. First up is a second Directorial outing for this fashion guru turned movie maker featuring an all star cast in this psychological romance and revenge story within a story thriller; and this is followed up by a Sci-Fi drama from a Director of repute of first contact and learning to communicate with otherworldly visitors whilst our world leaders squabble amongst themselves and take us to the brink of war. Both films feature the highly acclaimed and awarded Actress Amy Adams in the lead roles.

Remember, that when you have sat through your film or films of choice in the week ahead as either Previewed below, or as Reviewed and Previewed previously amidst these humble Blog pages, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions of your movie going experience with our other readers by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and enjoy your movie in the meantime.

'NOCTURNAL ANIMALS' (Rated MA15+) - written for the Screen, Co-Produced and Directed by fashion designer Tom Ford whose previous fashion credits include time as the creative brains behind Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and then his own label Tom Ford, this is only the second Directorial outing for the man who is already making a name for himself in the world of cinema. Ford set up his own Production Company, Fade to Black, in 2005 and his debut as Director came in 2009 with 'A Single Man' with Colin Firth in the lead role. That film picked up 34 award wins and another 52 nominations including an Oscar nod for Firth in the Best Lead Actor category and it made US$25M from its US$7M budget outlay. Now Ford is back with his second film that has already been widely acclaimed having won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival in early September this year. The film opened in the UK last week, in Australia this week and in the US next week, and was made for US$22M.

Based on the 1993 novel 'Tony and Susan' by Austin Wright, 'Nocturnal Animals' tells the story of successful Los Angeles art gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) who is now married to Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer) but all is not well in that camp. One day unexpectedly Susan receives a manuscript from her long estranged ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) - a man whom she left twenty or so years earlier. Edward asks Susan for her opinion of his story. Reading through the manuscript there are elements that resonate with her past life and that of her present too, as memories and emotions of her first marriage coming flooding back. The as yet unpublished novel is called 'Nocturnal Animals' and is based on a story of a family holiday that turns violent and deadly. With the line between fact and fiction, reality and make believe becoming more obscured Susan must face her past life, some hidden truths and the meaning behind her ex-husbands novel in which she imagines the lead character Tony Hastings (Jake Gyllenhaal) playing out the husband and father figure on that ill fated family holiday. Also starring Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Sheen, Laura Linney, Isla Fisher and Andrea Riseborough, this psychological romantic revenge thriller story within a story is a must see.

'ARRIVAL' (Rated M) - based on the 1998 short Sci-Fi story 'Story of Your Life' by Ted Chiang, this already highly rated adaptation is Directed by Denis Villeneuve, was made for US$50M and Premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in early September where it won the Future Film Festival Digital Award and was nominated for a Golden Lion. The film is released Stateside also this week. When twelve vast and mysterious alien spaceships touch down in various strategically placed locations around the world, an elite team of experts is mobilised to establish contact and determine what the extra terrestrial visitors want from our little blue planet. Linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) join forces to find the answers and communicate with the alien beings while the rest of the world and its quarrelling leaders reside on the brink of war. But, amidst this will Banks be prepared to risk her own life and that of humanity to uncover the answers sought? Highly praised also for its stunning visuals, gripping story and great performances, especially from Amy Adams.

With two highly acclaimed films newly released this week, and both starring Amy Adams in very different roles and genres, my recommendation is to catch them both! I don't think you'll be disappointed by either outing, and when you have sat through these two films you can share your views with your like minded cinephiles here at this Blog. In the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon, in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-