What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th October 2017.

The Adelaide Film Festival launched on Thursday 5th October and runs for eleven days through until 15th October. Founded in 2002 the Adelaide Film Festival has a strong focus on showcasing local South Australian and Australian film product, and is featured in Variety Magazine's Top 50 unmissable film festivals around them world, stating that 'Of the planet’s 1,000-plus film fests, only a select few pack industry impact. A few dozen more, by virtue of vision, originality, striking setting, audience zest and/or their ability to mine a unique niche, also rank as must-attends'. This year, over the eleven days of the Festival, there will be 142 screenings, among them 24 World Premiers, 40 Australian Premiers and many of these high profile films that have only recently aired internationally. Included in this group, are : -
* 'Cargo' - Post apocalyptic zombie thriller. Directed by Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling and starring Morgan Freeman and David Gulpilil. (World Premier)
* 'Sweet Country' - Australian Western. Directed by Warwick Thornton and starring Sam Neill and Bryan Brown. (Australian Premier)
* 'Bad Blood' - Thriller. Directed by David Pulbrook and starring Xavier Samuel and Morgan Griffin, and Previewed below. (World Premier)
* 'How To Talk To Girls At Parties' - Science Fiction romantic comedy. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell and starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning. (Australian Premier)
* 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' - Psychological horror thriller. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman.
* 'Goodbye Christoper Robin' - Drama. Directed by Simon Curtis and starring Brendan Gleeson and Margot Robbie. (Australian Premier)
* 'Call Me By Your Name' - Coming of age drama. Directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet. (South Australian Premier)
* 'Wonderstruck' - Drama. Directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams. (South Australian Premier)
* 'In The Fade' - German Drama. Directed by Faith Akin and starring Diane Kruger (South Australian Premier)
* 'Mayhem' - Action horror comedy. Directed by Joe Lynch and starring Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving. (South Australian Premier)
* 'Rabbit' - Thriller. Directed by Luke Shanahan and starring Adelaide Clemens and Alex Russell. (South Australian Premier)
* 'Of Body and Soul' - Hungarian Drama. Directed by Ildiko Enyedi and starring Alexandra Borbely and Geza Morcsanyi. (South Australian Premier)
* 'The Square' - Swedish drama satire. Directed by Ruben Ostlund and starring Dominic West and Elisabeth Moss. (South Australian Premier)
* 'The Party' - Comedy. Directed by Sally Potter and starring Timothy Spall and Kristin Scott Thomas. (South Australian Premier)
* 'The Lovers' - Comedy romance. Directed by Azazel Jacobs and starring Debra Winger and Tracy Letts. (South Australian Premier)
* 'The Meyerowitz Stories' - Comedy drama. Directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler. (Australian Premier)
* 'The Florida Project' - Drama. Directed by Sean Baker and starring Willem Dafoe and Caleb Landry Jones. (Australian Premier)
* 'One Thousand Ropes' - New Zealand Drama. Directed by Tusi Tamales and starring Frankie Adams and Nathaniel Lees. (South Australian Premier)
* 'Thelma' - Norwegian supernatural horror thriller. Directed by Joachim Trier and starring Eile Harboe. (Australian Premier)
You'll get all the news, Previews and Reviews, programme details and the highlights and a whole to more at the website : adelaidefilmfestival.org

Turning attention to this weeks nine, yes nine, latest release offerings, we start with an adventure survival story set atop a high snow covered mountain wilderness; then we move to a Noo Yawk based drama involving a father and son gettin' all jiggy with the same woman with far reaching consequences; a just in time for Halloween slasher horror picture that is all slice, dice, repeat; then a cat and mouse one man against the world of terrorists action thriller; before a race against time get outta jail crime drama, and a romantic drama with a green thumb. There are also three Australian new releases this week too that take in a romantic drama comedy that might just work against all the odds; a thriller featuring a remote cabin in the woods, a recently engaged couple and some strange goings on; before closing out with a thought provoking documentary about the ever declining health of our world's oceans.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the nine new release films 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 in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon experience during the coming week.

'THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US' (Rated M) - here Dutch/Palestinian two time Academy Award nominee Director Hany Abu-Assad delivers a romantic adventure survival story based on the 2011 book of the same name by Charles Martin. The film was released in the US last week having Premiered at TIFF in early September, has so far recouped US$14M from its US$35M production budget, and has received generally mixed Reviews from Critics and audiences alike. The project has been in development for over five years with various scriptwriters coming and going and various Directors assigned to Direct, with Abu-Assad scoring the gig in late 2014. Meanwhile a who's who of acting talent were assigned to the principle leads including Michael Fassbender, Charlie Hunnam, Margot Robbie and Rosamund Pike over the intervening years.

The film tells the story of two complete strangers, surgeon Dr. Ben Bass (Idris Elba) and photojournalist Alex Martin (Kate Winslet), who after their flight is cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, charter a light aircraft to get them to their shared destination, piloted by Walter (Beau Bridges). The charter plane crashes in the High Uintas Wilderness in northeastern Utah in the midst of Winter. The pair survive but not without injury, and are stranded on the mountain terrain with harsh weather conditions closing in. Working together to battle the extreme elements of the remote snow covered landscape with its ever present dangers, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness pushing each other to survive, whilst mustering the inner strengths when they come to realise that help is not going to be forthcoming. Also starring Dermot Mulroney as Alex's fiancee.

'THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK' (Rated M) - Directed by Marc Webb, whose previous Directing credits include '(500) Days of Summer', 'The Amazing Spider-Man' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' and the also recently released 'Gifted' here tells a story of recent college graduate Thomas Webb (Callum Turner) who has recently moved into his own apartment. Here he gets to know his alcoholic neighbour W.F. Gerald (Jeff Bridges) who dispenses worldly advice with a nip of whiskey. Webb's world soon comes crashing down around him when he learns that his father Ethan Webb (Pierce Brosnan) is having an affair with a beautiful and seductive woman, Johanna (Kate Beckinsale) behind the back of his wife Judith (Cynthia Nixon). Determined to bring an end to their relationship, Thomas ends up sleeping with her, setting in motion a course of events that will change everything he thinks he knows about his family, and himself. The film was released in limited theatres in the US in early August, has so far taken just over US$1M and has garnered generally less than favourable Reviews.

'WHAT IF IT WORKS' (Rated M) - Written, Produced and Directed by Australian Romi Tower in her feature length film Directorial debut, this Romantic Dramedy stars Luke Ford as Adrian, a happy go lucky tech geek who suffers from OCD, and Anna Samson as Grace, an attractive young street artist who suffers from multiple personality disorder. Filmed on the colourful street art filled laneways of Melbourne, Victoria, the film tells the story of this couples unfolding relationship that in theory can't work, it simply shouldn't work . . . . but what if it did? Also starring Brooke Satchwell.

'HAPPY DEATH DAY' (Rated M) -  this horror slasher slice 'em & dice 'em version of 'Groundhog Day' arrives at our cinemas just in time for Halloween. Directed and Written by Christopher B. Landon whose previous feature film credits include 'Burning Palms', 'Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones' and 'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse', this film sees college student Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) waking up on her birthday morning in the bed of fellow student Carter Davis (Israel Broussard). As the day wears on, Tree gets an uneasy feeling that she has experienced that days events before. When a masked killer takes her life in a brutal attack, she wakes up again in that same bed on her Birthday morning unharmed. Now, in a continuos time loop, Tree must relive that terrifying experience time after time, until she can figure out who her killer is. Also starring Ruby Modine (daughter of Matthew), and is released in the US on Friday 13th!

'THE FOREIGNER' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Martin Campbell whose previous Directorial credits include two Bond outings with 'Goldeneye' and 'Casino Royale', 'The Mask of Zorro' and 'The Legend of Zorro', 'Edge of Darkness' and 'Green Lantern' this action thriller is based on the 1992 novel 'The Chinaman' by Stephen Leather. Here Quan Ngoc Minh (Jackie Chan) is a humble London businessman whose long since buried past spills over in a revenge-fuelled vendetta when his teenage daughter dies in a senseless act of politically motivated terrorism. His relentless search to locate the terrorists leads to a cat-and-mouse conflict with a high ranking official within the British government, Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan), whose own past may hold the clues to the identities of the elusive killers. The film cost US$35M to make and has so far taken US$67M since its initial release in China at the end of September.

'GOOD TIME' (Rated MA15+) - this crime drama film is Directed by brothers Ben and Josh Safdie and Premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it was in competition for the Palme d'Or. It was released in limited theatres across the US back in early August, and now gets its limited release in Australia. The film has generated generally positive press and has so far taken just US$2M at the Box Office. The story here unfolds following a bank robbery gone wrong that lands his younger brother in prison. So Constantine 'Connie' Nikas (Robert Pattinson) embarks on a twisted journey through the city's nefarious underbelly in an increasingly desperate, and often dangerous attempt to get his brother Nick (Ben Safdie) out of jail on Rikers Island. Over the course of one adrenaline fuelled night, Connie lurches into a mad descent into violence and mayhem as he races against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing their lives hang in the balance. Also starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Barkhad Abdi.

'BAD BLOOD' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian thriller offering is Written for the screen and Directed by David Pulbrook and gets its Australian release this week after its Premier screening at the Adelaide Film Festival. Carrie (Morgan Griffin) is a veterinarian who goes on a weekend holiday with her fiancee Vincent (Xavier Samuel), a best-selling author. He however, hides a dark secret from his past, added to which he begins to experience weird occurrences each day. It is almost as though someone is following him, and if so what do they want? They spend the weekend at an isolated house in the middle of a nowhere forest to celebrate their recent engagement where Carrie finds that Vincent may not be what he seems, and as cracks begin to emerge in their relationship, can they really trust each other, or will their bond strengthen as though their lives depend upon it.

'THIS BEAUTIFUL FANTASTIC' (Rated PG) - Written and Directed by Simon Aboud, this Romantic Drama film was released way back in October 2016 and only now gets its Australian release in selected cinemas. Starring Jessica Brown Findlay as Bella Brown, a reclusive yet quirky aspiring children's author who works in a library while trying to write a children's book. It is a condition of the landlord from whom she rents her house that she also maintains the garden, but she hates plants and therefore gardening. As the garden becomes increasingly overgrown and neglected, her landlord gives her one month to fix up the garden otherwise she's out on her ear! In so doing, reluctantly, she develops friendships with her cantankerous neighbour, his cook/housekeeper, and an inventor who is a frequent visitor to the library. Also starring Tom Wilkinson, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Irvine and Sheila Hancock.

'BLUE' (Rated PG) - Directed by Karina Hudson this is a challenging feature documentary that delves into the ongoing perils of our oceans’ ecological systems. Two years in the making, this films aim is to boost global awareness of plastic’s effect on the environment to save our oceans. With half the marine life from our oceans lost in the last forty years, and by 2050 there is likely to be more plastic floating in our oceans than fish, 'Blue' examines themes of habitat destruction, species loss and pollution on a global scale. Hudson’s solid cinematic vision captures six thought provoking action-adventure segments set across the Pacific Ocean around Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia and the USA. These are the stories of everyday people striving to protect the oceans and raise awareness of pollutant dangers in order to protect the oceans and the fragile ecosystems living with it for generations to come. A highly relevant and thought provoking film.

With nine new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, taking in a three Australian releases, a romantic adventure survival film, a romantic drama, a drama, a crime drama, an action thriller and a horror slasher offering. Remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-