What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th August 2017.

Back in 1989, the then 26 year old American movie Producer, Director, Writer, Cinematographer and Editor Steven Soderbergh became the youngest filmmaker to take out the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival with his feature film debut 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' - and thereupon almost single handedly changed the face of independent cinema forever. Since then he has amassed a portfolio of feature films, short films and television series credits that amount to 43 Producer credits, 41 as Director, 26 as Cinematographer, nineteen as Editor and ten as Writer. He has also garnered 29 award wins and another 79 nominations, including a Best Director Academy Award for 2000's 'Traffic'. In 2013 Soderbergh announced in several interviews his intention to transition out of feature film making around about the time of his fiftieth birthday, because of the obstacles that filmmakers face in the current corporate Hollywood environment that he no longer could subscribe to. In early 2016 Soderbergh stated that he was coming out of self imposed retirement to Direct his NASCAR heist film 'Logan Lucky' (Previewed below) and that the film would be produced entirely by his own doing with no studio involved in anything other than theatrical distribution.

Below is a quick snapshot of some of Soderbergh's credits amassed so far throughout his prolific and illustrious career :-
 * 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' - released in 1989 - Director, Writer, Editor - starring James Spader and Andie McDowell.
* 'Schizopolis' - released in 1996 - Director, Writer, Editor, Cinematographer, Actor - starring Steven Soderbergh and Betsy Brantley.
* 'Out of Sight' - released in 1998 - Director - starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.
* 'The Limey' - released in 1999 - Director - starring Terence Stamp and Lesley Anne Warren.
* 'Erin Brockovich' - released in 2000 - Director - starring Julia Roberts and Albert Finney.
* 'Traffic' - released in 2000 - Director and Cinematographer - starring Michael Douglas and Benicio del Toro.
* 'Ocean's Eleven' - released in 2001 - Director - starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (and an ensemble supporting cast).
* 'Solaris' - released in 2002 - Director, Writer, Editor and Cinematographer - starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone.
* 'Ocean's Twelve' - released in 2004 - Director and Cinematographer - starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (and an ensemble supporting cast).
* 'Bubble' - released in 2005 - Director, Cinematographer, Editor - starring a cast of non-professional actors.
* 'The Good German' - released in 2006 - Director, Cinematographer and Editor - starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.
* 'Ocean's Thirteen' - released in 2007 - Director and Cinematographer - starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (and an ensemble supporting cast).
* 'Che' - released in 2008 - Director and Cinematographer - starring Benicio del Toro and Demian Bichir.
* 'The Girlfriend Experience' - released in 2009 - Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Sasha Grey.
* 'The Informant' - released in 2009 - Director and Cinematographer - starring Matt Damon and Scott Bakula.
* 'Contagion' - released in 2011 - Director and Cinematographer - starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard.
* 'Haywire' - released in 2011- Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, and Ewan McGregor.
* 'Magic Mike' - released in 2012 - Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Matthew McConaughey.
* 'Side Effects' - released in 2013 - Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
* 'Behind the Candelabra' - released in 2013 - Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas.
* 'Magic Mike XXL' - released in 2015 - Editor and Cinematographer - starring Channing Tatum, Andie McDowell and Jada Pinkett Smith.
* 'Logan Lucky' - released in 2017 - Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Daniel Craig.
* 'Mosaic' - to be released later in 2017 - Director - starring Garrett Hedlund and Sharon Stone.
* 'Unsane' - to be released in 2018 - Director, Editor and Cinematographer - starring Claire Foy and Juno Temple.
* and finally, Producer credits only on 'Pleasantville' (1998); 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind', 'Insomnia', 'Welcome to Collinwood' and 'Naqoyqatsi' (all 2002); 'Keane' (2004); 'Syriana', 'Good Night, and Good Luck', 'The Jacket' and 'Rumour Has It ...' (all 2005); 'Pu-239' and 'A Scanner Darkly' (all 2006); 'I'm Not There', 'Michael Collins' and 'Wind Chill' (all 2007); 'Playground' and 'A Solitary Man' (all 2009); 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' (2011); 'Citizenfour' and 'Da Sweet Blood of Jesus' (all 2014), and upcoming 'Ocean's Eight' (2018).

This week we have four new cinematic releases coming to an Odeon near you. We kick off with the big screen adaptation of an epic series of science fantasy novels by a prolific American author combing a modern day city with a parallel old West universe and a monolithic structure that guides them all. We then move to a heist movie of everyday down on their luck folk, looking for a reversal of fortune when an opportunity presents itself. Next up is a French dinner comedy drama that sees a well meaning host and an interloping guest both get more than they bargained for out of this dining experience, before rounding out with an English RomCom based loosely on a true story of a long established squatter, property developers and an American widow who comes to the aid of the squatter in more ways than one.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four new releases as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and meanwhile, enjoy your cinematic experience during the coming week.

'THE DARK TOWER' (Rated M) - this film started life way back in 1982 when prolific American author Stephen King first penned the initial book in a series of eight books titled 'The Dark Tower : The Gunslinger'. The series incorporates themes from a multitude of genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western. It describes a titular 'gunslinger' and his journey to protect the Dark Tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical and which supports all realities. King's series was written over the ensuing years with the last instalment appearing in 2012. The series, and its use of the Dark Tower, expands upon Stephen King's multiverse and in so doing, brings together many of his other works. In addition to the eight novels of the series, many of King's other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into being as the series continues. There have been various formats developed over the years to the series including comic books, audio books, an online game, talk of a television series and now a major film adaptation that has been on again off again since 2007 when J.J. Abrams was connected to the film for a number of years before handing over the baton to Ron Howard. In 2015 Danish Director Nikolaj Arcel was hired to helm the film that we have today. Costing US$60M to make, the film was released Stateside in early August to generally poor press having so far recouped US$55M.

Here then we  have Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the last Gunslinger, who is locked in an age old battle with Walter O'Dim (aka The Man in Black) (Matthew McConaughey). The Gunslinger must prevent the Man in Black from destroying the Dark Tower, the key that holds the universe together, and does so with the aid of eleven year old lad named Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) who has had vision of a gunslinger and a man dressed in black. Jake discovers an abandoned house as seen in one of his visions in which he comes across a portal to another dimension - the post-apocalyptic Mid-World, and stepping through it encounters the last gunslinger who is pursuing the Man in Black who has been abducting children with psychic powers to harness their collective power to destroy the Dark Tower. Taking place in modern day New York City and the old West styled parallel universe, the fate of two worlds is at stake, leading the two men to go head to head and toe to toe in the ultimate battle of good versus evil. Also starring Jackie Earle Haley and Denis Haysbert.

'LOGAN LUCKY' (Rated M) - 'Behind the Candelabra' (the dramatisation of the last ten years in the life of Liberace starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas as released in 2013) was intended to be Steven Soderbergh's last film as a Director, but here he has been coaxed out of self imposed 'retirement' by a script that he noted was an 'anti-glam version of an Ocean's movie where nobody dresses nice. Nobody has nice stuff. They have no money. They have no technology. It's all rubber band technology'! And so having amassed an ensemble cast, here Soderbergh has crafted a film (on which he is Director, Cinematographer and Editor) that has met with widespread critical acclaim. Here, West Virginian siblings Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), sister Mellie (Riley Keough), and one armed brother Clyde (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina during Memorial Day weekend, and at the same time dispel an apparent curse on the family that saw Jimmy lose out a career as a major league football star thanks to a leg injury, and Clyde lose an arm during the Iraq War. Jimmy also enlists demolition and safe cracking expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) who they need to break out of prison to help them break into the track's underground cash retrieval system. Complications arise, however, when a mix-up forces the crew to pull off the heist during a popular NASCAR race while also trying to dodge a relentless FBI agent. Also starring Seth MacFarlane, Dwight Yoakham, Sebastian Stan, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank and Katherine Waterston. The film is released in the US this week too.

'MADAME' (Rated M) - this French Produced comedy drama is Written and Directed by French novelist, playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker Amanda Sthers. Here well networked and wealthy American couple Bob (Harvey Keitel) and Anne (Toni Collette) who live in a Paris mansion, decide to spice up their marriage a little by hosting a lavish dinner party for a small select gathering of their sophisticated international friends. Inviting ten guests to the party, Bob and Anne's son arrives home unexpectedly meaning now there will be thirteen people sat around the dinner table. Anne is superstitious, and so she asks her maid Maria (Rossy de Palma) to masquerade as a wealthy Spanish socialite and join the table for dinner so bringing the numbers up to a much more acceptable fourteen. Over the course of the evening, and with a few wines consumed Maria endears herself to a British art broker, David (Michael Smiley). This emerging romance will see Anne chasing Maria all over Paris while secretly devising a plot to undo this budding love affair.

'HAMPSTEAD' (Rated PG) - this RomCom is Directed by Joel Hopkins and is based on the real life story of one Harry Hallowes who in 2007 assumed squatters rights to a patch of English ground in the trendy and wealthy London suburb of Hampstead, on the Heath, where during his squat he even managed to legally dispense with a bunch of property developers from his makeshift camp and home. Here Harry is portrayed as Donald Horner (Brendan Gleeson) as a man living a frugal, yet contented life in the grounds of a long redundant hospital, quietly going about his own business unencumbered by all the trappings of modern society for the past seventeen years. Enter windowed American girl Emily Walters (Diane Keaton) a financially and socially struggling ex-pat who lends support in the most unexpected of ways when Donald is faced with eviction at the hands of developers who need his land. Also starring Lesley Manville, Simon Callow and James Norton, this film has so far garnered lacklustre Reviews.

With four new releases this week to tempt you out on a cool Winter evening, ranging from science fantasy Western, to down on their luck small time heist offering to a French dinner comedy drama to a RomCom set in a squat in a well to do London suburb, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-