What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 24th August 2017.

With this weeks latest Tom Cruise starring and Doug Liman Directed 'American Made' as Previewed below, I was thinking how many movies have been released over the years with the word 'America' or 'American' in the title? It seems one helluva lot as my research would indicate. Could it be that the good ol' USofA is so patriotic, so intent on self promotion, and so wrapped up in its own national pride that it needs to remind the rest of the world how out there front and centre Uncle Sam is, lest we should forget when we visit a movie theatre. Here is a cross section of some of those more memorable 'America(n)' feature films that have graced our big screens over the years that have borne the moniker of the country, just to remind us how truly great it really is.

* 'American Graffiti' - released 1973 - Directed by George Lucas, starring Harrison Ford, Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfus.
* 'American Gigolo' - released 1980 - Directed by Paul Schrader, starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton.
* 'American Buffalo' - released 1996 - Directed by Michael Corrente, starring Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz.
* 'American Pie' - released 1999 - Directed by Paul and Chris Weitz, starring Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy and Chris Klein.
* 'American Psycho' - released 2000 - Directed by Mary Harron, starring Christian Bale, Reece Witherspoon and Chloe Sevigne.
* 'American Splendor' - released 2003 - Directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, starring Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis.
* 'American Gangster' - released 2007 - Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
* 'American Hustle' - released 2013 - Directed by David O. Russell, starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
* 'American Sniper' - released 2014 - Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller.
* 'American Ultra' - released 2015 - Directed by Nima Nourizadeh, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Bill Pullman.
* 'American Made' - released 2017 - Directed by Doug Liman - starring Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson and Jesse Plemmons.
* 'American Assassin' - to be released 2017 - Directed by Michael Cuesta, starring Michael Keaton, Dylan O'Brien and Taylor Kitsch.
* 'An American Werewolf in London' - released in 1981 - Directed by John Landis, starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter.
* 'The American President' - released in 1995 - Directed by Rob Reiner, starring Michael Douglas, Annette Benning and Martin Sheen.
* 'How to Make an American Quilt' - released 1995 - Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, starring Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn.
* 'An American Werewolf in Paris' - released 1997 - Directed by Anthony Waller, starring Tom Everett Scott and Julie Delpy.
* 'The American' - released in 2010 - Directed by Anton Corbijn, starring George Clooney.
* 'Once Upon A Time In America' - released 1984 - Directed by Sergio Leone, starring Robert De Niro, James Woods and Elizabeth McGovern.
* 'Coming to America' - released 1988 - Directed by John Landis, starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and James Earl Jones.
* 'Air America' - released 1990 - Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, staring Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jnr. and Nancy Travis.
* 'Made in America' - released 1993 - Directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Whoppi Goldberg, Ted Danson and Will Smith.
* 'Team America : World Police' - released 2004 - Directed by Trey Parker, starring an ensemble cast of voice talent.
* 'Captain America : The First Avenger' - released 2011 - Directed by Joe Johnston, staring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Hugo Weaving.
* 'Captain America : The Winter Soldier' - released 2014 - Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Robert Redford.
* 'Capatin America : Civil War' - released 2016 - Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jnr. and an ensemble cast of Marvel characters.

This week then there are six new movies coming your way of which five are based on real life true story retellings of a biographical nature some of which are big budget big name offerings and others are more low budget independent type fare. That said, these bios feature the stories of a drug and arms smuggler pilot; an intrepid explorer in search of a lost civilisation; a prolific Canadian folk painter; the King of Norway during WWII facing an impossible ultimatum; an Australian cycling team's journey on the pro-tour circuit; and wrapping up with a Aussie suspense thriller that might make you think twice about pitching your tent in secluded bushland.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six 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 warmly 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.

'AMERICAN MADE' (Rated MA15+) - here we have a biographical drama film Directed by Doug Liman whose previous credits include 'Swingers', 'The Bourne Identity', 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith', 'Fair Game', 'Edge of Tomorrow' and the very recently released 'The Wall'. Here this story surrounds the life and times of Adler Berriman 'Barry' Seal - an American smuggler of drugs and arms, aircraft pilot, dealer, and money launderer who flew flights for the Medellín Cartel - an organised network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated throughout the '70's and '80's in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Central America, and the USA, Canada and Europe. At the height of its operations, the Medellín Cartel smuggled tons of cocaine each week into countries all over the world and brought in up to US$60M daily in drug profits. For a time, the Medellín Cartel supplied at least 84% of the United States and 80% of the global cocaine market. Barry Seal was employed by the Cartel as a pilot and drug smuggler transporting numerous shipments of cocaine from Colombia and Panama to the USA and earned as much as US$500K per flight. This is that outrageous albeit true story. Released in the UK and Australia this week, and not in the US until the end of September, the film has so far met with generally positive Reviews, and cost a budgeted US$80M to bring to the big screen.

So history lesson over, here Barry Seal is portrayed by Tom Cruise a former TWA commercial pilot who flew for the company from 1966 through until 1974. Seal is in turn recruited by the CIA to help in the war on drugs off the back of the emerging communist threat in Central America and soon finds himself in charge of one of the biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States. The operation spawns the birth of the Medellín Cartel and almost brings down the Reagan White House administration. Barry Seal was ultimately gunned down and killed in February 1986 by Colombian assassins sent by the Medellín Cartel with a price on his head of US$500K for the murder or US$1M to kidnap him and return him to Colombia. The film also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Jesse Plemmons and Sarah Wright.

'THE LOST CITY OF Z' (Rated M) - here we have another biographical drama adventure film Written and Directed by James Gray and based on the 2009 book of the same name by David Grann. Here this story surrounds the life and times of Percival Harrison Fawcett - a British geographer, artillery officer, cartographer, archaeologist and explorer of South America. Along with his eldest son Jack, Fawcett disappeared in 1925 during an expedition to find 'Z' – the name he gave to a lost ancient city, which he and others believed to exist and to be the remains of El Dorado, in the jungles of Brazil. And so turning to the story at hand in the early 20th Century, British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) journeys into the Amazon jungle, where he discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific brains of the time back in London, which views indigenous populations as savages, the determined Fawcett, supported by his loving wife Nina (Sienna Miller), son Jack (Tom Holland), and fellow explorer Henry Costing (Robert Pattinson), return to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case. Fawcett and his group disappeared sometime in mid-1925 somewhere in the jungles of Brazil and were never seen again. The film also stars Angus Macfadyen, Ian McDiarmid and Franco Nero, cost US$30M to make and has so far recovered US$17M since its US release in mid-April. The film has received generally positive press.

'MAUDIE' (Rated PG) - here is another biographical romantic drama film Directed by Aisling Walsh about the life and times of popular and prolific Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis who lived in Nova Scotia from 1903 until 1970. This is a simple tale recounting the meeting of local fish monger Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) and Maud Dowley (Sally Hawkins) who suffers from severe arthritis, when she answers an advertisement for a house keep, taking the job in exchange for room and board because her brother had sold the family home that he had inherited upon the death of their parents. Fairly soon love blossoms and the two marry. In an attempt to maintain a clean house, Maud begins to paint a shelf, and then a wall with flowers and so on, until one day one of Everett's customers is so taken by her artwork that she commissions a piece of Maud's work. From humble beginnings, Maud becomes a beloved figure in the local community and renowned as an artist. The film cost under US$6M to make, and has so far taken US$8M since its Canadian release in mid-April and its US release in mid-June. The film has preformed well on the film festival circuit picking up eight wins so far and another two nominations and has received largely positive Reviews.

'THE KINGS CHOICE' (Rated M) - and here we have yet another biographical drama film, this time of a historical WWII nature and a Norwegian offering that was nominated as a Best Foreign Language Film entry into this years Academy Awards. Directed by Erik Poppe, this film tells the story of a chain of events in early April 1940 when German Nazi troops arrive in Norway's capital city, Oslo, and demand of the King - surrender or die! With the might of the Nazi army hunting them down, the Royal Family flee the capital with King Haakon VII (Jesper Christensen) and his son Crown Prince Olav (Anders Baasmo Christiansen) heading off in one direction, and his wife Crown Princess Martha (Tuva Novotny) and other children seeking refuge in Sweden. After three days of trying to evade the German's, King Haakon refuses to bow down, even if his decision costs him his life, and that of his family and potentially countless Norwegians too. This little known story of these dramatic events in the history of Norway has received much critical acclaim as much for the Directing as the performances by the principal cast, the storytelling and the cinematography. The film cost US$8M to make and has so far grossed US$9M.

'KILLING GROUND' (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed in his feature debut by Tasmanian Damien Power this Australian suspense thriller wowed audiences when it Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Following a gestation period of about ten years from when Power first had a notion for the film to when it became a reality on the big screen, 'The Killing Ground' was filmed in bushland about an hour out of Sydney. The story centres around a young couple Ian (Ian Meadows) and Sam (Harriet Dyer) out on a camping trip during the height of an Aussie Summer but told from three different perspectives and in a non-linear style - the young and in love couple on a weekend getaway in the bush, a family in peril comprising Dad Rob (Julian Garner), Mum Margaret (Maya Strange) sixteen year old daughter Em (Tiarnie Coupland) and toddler son Ollie, and and a pair of rednecks psychos German (Aaron Pedersen) and Chook (Aaron Glenane) with an appetite for blood. Ian and Sam's weekend break however, takes a more sinister turn and a battle for survival when they discover young Ollie wandering aimlessly all alone about the bush caked in blood and dirt, and discover that a particularly disturbing crime has been committed on the occupants of a neighbouring, yet deserted tent.

'ALL FOR ONE' (Rated M) - we round out the week with yes, you guessed it, another biographical drama this time in the world of long distance sport cycling as told by Directors Marcus Cobbledick (who also writes here) and Dan Jones. Telling the story of GreenEdge, Australia's first unisex ProTour cycling Team who come together through their renegade spirit and a determination to win against all odds on the international circuit. The film offers candid insights into the first five years of their collective journey, bearing witness to the ethos of the team as embodied by all of them - from the strongest to the most embattled rider members of the Team. Out of a culture that seeks to harness a deeply human approach to sport, unlikely champions rise, and seemingly impossible team and personal goals are realised.

With six new releases this week to tempt you out on a cool Winter evening, of which five are of the biographical persuasion and one a work of fiction, 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-