What's new in Odeon's this week : Monday 1st and Thursday 4th January 2018.

As 2017 draws to a close with the curtain falling on another great year of cinematic wonder; movie highs and lows; and films that stirred the emotions, made us think, made us laugh, made us cry, made us wince with great performances, epic spectacle, technological wizardry, and top notch storytelling, all that remains for me to say is Best Wishes to you all for a very Happy New Year in 2018. Stay safe, be happy, remain healthy and get out and see a movie or two at your local Odeon. Thanks for your readership and support in 2017, and we'll do it all over again at the movies and in this Blog in the coming year.

And kick starting the new year this week, we have three new releases - two released on New Year's Day in Australian cinemas, and one on Thursday 4th January. The first of those is a highly acclaimed black comedy crime drama set in small town USA and what happens to the local community when a mother of a murder victim goes very public with her thoughts on how the local law enforcement are dragging the chain in hunting down the killer. This is followed up by the third and final instalment of a comedic a cappella singing troupe scoring one last gig, one last hurrah as they go out in fine voice with some (mis)adventures and mischief along the way. And then we close out with a '70's set true crime thriller that sees the world's richest man decline the ransom demands to set his kidnapped grandson free.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest 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 week ahead.

'THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI' (Rated MA15+) - is a black comedy crime drama film Written, Directed and Co-Produced by British/Irish playwright, screen writer and film maker Martin McDonagh whose previous feature film credits are 'In Bruges' and 'Seven Psychopaths'. The film Premiered at the Venice International Film Festival back in early September and then TIFF later that month taking out the top prize in competition - The People's Choice Award. Since then the film has been shown at numerous film festivals and has received widespread critical acclaim, so far picking up 36 award wins and a further 116 nominations including six Golden Globe nominations and four SAG nominations with the winners & grinners yet to be announced. The film opened in the US in early November, goes on general release in Australia on New Year's Day and in the UK on 12th January. Having cost US$12M to make, the film has so far grossed US$23M. Apparently, McDonagh gained inspiration for the premise of the film after seeing billboards about an unsolved crime while travelling 'somewhere down in the Georgia, Florida, Alabama corner'. Of the event that inspired the film, McDonagh stated 'the rage that put a bunch of billboards like that up was palpable and stayed with me'. Eventually he was inspired to create the fictional scenario around such a situation, into the film we have today.

The film follows a mothers plight, who after seven months have passed by without a culprit in her daughter's violent rape and murder case, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), a small town shop assistant, makes a bold move and rents three abandoned roadside billboards close by to her home. She then sets about painting these signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), the town's revered Chief of Police. Each of the signs reads, in sequence, 'Raped while dying', 'And still no arrests?', and 'How come, Chief Willoughby?'. When Willoughby's  second-in-command, Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) an immature Mummy's Boy with a leaning towards violence gets involved, the battle is only heightened, with the signs having already polarised the local community. The film also stars Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges, Samara Weaving and Abbie Cornish.

'PITCH PERFECT 3' (Rated M) - this is allegedly the third and final film in the musical comedy 'Pitch Perfect' franchise that launched on an unsuspecting world back in 2012 and off the back of its US$17M production budget grossed US$116M prompting a follow up instalment in 2015 aptly titled 'Pitch Perfect 2' which off the back of a bigger budget of US$29M grossed US$288M. And so now on New Year's Day 2018 on general release in Australia we have the third offering which was made for US$45M and so far grossed US$63M since its World Premier screening in Sydney, Australia in late November, and its US release the week before Christmas. Directed by Trish Sie, the film here tells the story following on from The Bellas winning the world championships and riding the crest of a wave to finding themselves having graduated from College, torn apart and learning the hard way that job prospects for making music a cappella are few and far between. But, all is not lost and when they get the opportunity for one final gig and to reunite for an overseas USO (United Service Organisations) tour, this group of awesome nerdettes will unite to make music, some questionable decisions, get up to some mischief and have a few laughs one last time. Starring Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick, Hailee Steinfeld, Anna Camp, Elizabeth Banks, Ruby Rose, John Lithgow and a host of other songsters reprising their roles from the prior two films.

'ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD' (Rated MA15+) - released in Australia on 4th January, this true crime thriller is Directed by Ridley Scott and is based on the John Pearson 1995 book 'Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty'. The film tells the story set in 1973, of J. Paul Getty (then multi-billionaire oil tycoon and the richest man in the world as played here by Christopher Plummer) and his refusal to cooperate with the extortion demands of a group of kidnappers from the organised crime Mafia group 'Ndrangheta, who abducted his sixteen year old grandson John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer). When his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) makes desperate attempts to convince her wealthy father to pay the US$17M ransom and he refuses her son's captors become increasingly agitated, unpredictable and violent. With her son’s life hanging in the balance and the clock ticking, Gail and Getty’s advisor and former CIA operative Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money. Kevin Spacey originally portrayed J. Paul Getty, appearing in the film's earlier promotional campaign. However, following numerous sexual assault allegations being made against Spacey in October 2017, the role was recast with Christopher Plummer, who was Ridley Scott's original choice for the role. Scenes were reshot just a month prior to the film's release, adding millions of dollars to the production costs which reportedly ended at US$50M, and delaying the films Premier by a month and its US release date by just three days. The film has received positive Reviews and is up for three Golden Globe Awards - to be announced in early January.

With three new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, 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-