What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st March 2018.

Before the film industry awards season comes to its momentous climax with the 90th Academy Awards on 4th March, a series of three lesser known but nonetheless long standing awards ceremonies have recently taken place by various 'Guilds of America' honouring the best in film and television. These are of course The Producers Guild of America, The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America, who over three separately held events in late January and early February hand out limited awards to the best that the film industry had to offer in the previous year. Here is a quick summary of those winners and grinners in case you missed these headlines :-

The 29th Producers Guild of America Awards, hosted on 20th January 2018 honouring the best film and television Producers of 2017, were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California.
* The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of a Theatrical Motion Picture, awarded to Guillermo del Toro for 'The Shape of Water'.
* Outstanding Producer of an Animated Theatrical Motion Picture, awarded to Daria K. Anderson for 'Coco'.
* Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture, awarded to Brett Morgen, Bryan Burk, Tony Gerber, and James Smith for 'Jane'.

The 70th Directors Guild of America Awards, hosted on 3rd February 2018 honouring the outstanding Directorial achievement in feature films, documentary, television and commercials of 2017, were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and hosted by Judd Apatow.
* Feature Film Award to Guillermo del Toro for 'The Shape of Water'.
* Documentary Film Award to Matthew Heineman for 'City of Ghosts'.
* First Time Feature Film Award to Jordan Peele for 'Get Out'.



The 70th Writers Guild of America Awards, hosted on 11th February 2018 honouring the best in film, television, radio and video-game writing of 2017, were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and the Edison Ballroom, New York City, New York and hosted by Patton Oswalt and Amber Ruffin respectively.
* Best Original Screenplay Award to Jordan Peele for 'Get Out'.
* Best Adapted Screenplay Award to James Ivory for 'Call Me By Your Name'.
* Best Documentary Screenplay Award to Brett Morgan for 'Jane'.

This week then with four new release films coming to your local Odeon, we kick off with a spy thriller about a specially trained operative with a particular set of deadly skills caught between the east and the west and one man who tries to win her trust, but at what cost? We then move to a satirical foreign language offering about a respected curator of an art museum who as a result of some questionable decisions sees his personal and professional life imploding; before moving onto a biographical film about a fading Hollywood Actress and her relationship with a young English Actor in the 1970's. We then close out with a biblical story of a man with superhuman strength betrayed by his love that ultimately has tragic consequences for more than just the two of them.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new 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 cordially invited to share your cinematic 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.

'RED SPARROW' (Rated MA15+) - here Francis Lawrence Directs this American spy thriller based on the 2013 book of the same name by former CIA operative Jason Matthews. Francis Lawrence is no stranger to big screen spectacle having Directed, amongst others, 'Constantine' with Keanu Reeves, 'I Am Legend' with Will Smith, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' with Jennifer Lawrence and 'The Hunger Games : Mokingjay Parts 1 and 2' also with Jennifer Lawrence. Here he teams up with his namesake Jennifer Lawrence once again with the film going on general release around the world this week, and having garnered mixed and average Reviews at best so far.

The film centres around Russian and American espionage, the central figure of which is Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) a former prima ballerina forced into an uncertain future as a result of an injury that brings her chosen career to an abrupt halt. Coerced by her uncle, Ivan Egorova (Matthias Schoenaerts) to undergo training at the Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service where she and other gifted men and women were trained in how to seduce the enemy using their minds and bodies as weapons. Egorova emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after successfully completing a rigorous and demanding training programme which earns her the codename 'Red Sparrow'. Coming to terms with her newly learned skills and abilities, Red Sparrow must navigate the world of high stakes international espionage while negotiating with various others including 'Marble' (Jeremy Irons) a Russian double agent who provides intelligence to the CIA, and Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) a CIA internal-operations officer who recruits and handles intelligence assets for the agency, and who tries to win her confidence as the only person she can truly trust. Also starring Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Joely Richardson, Ciaran Hinds and Bill Camp.

'THE SQUARE' (Rated MA15+) - this Swedish, French, German and Danish Co-Produced satirical drama film is Directed by Ruben Ostlund and was shown in competition for the Palme d'Or at The Cannes Film Festival in May last year where it took out that prestigious award. It subsequently screened at The Sydney Film Festival last June, TIFF in September, and went out on a limited release in the UK last August, and the US in September. Only now does it get its release in Australia having done the festival circuit and picking up 21 award wins and a further 35 nominations in the meantime. It is also in the running for the Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, just a few weeks away now. Here Christian (Claes Bang) is the respected curator of a prestigious contemporary art museum in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next exhibit is 'The Square', an installation which supposedly reminds the viewer of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, art does not imitate life as Christian's foolish response to the theft of his smartphone and his wallet drags him into a shameful and regrettable situation. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency tasked with stirring up enthusiasm for the exhibit has created an unexpected campaign for 'The Square' which it releases on YouTube and social media attracting much publicity of the wrong kind by the media, church groups and the general public sending Christian, as well as the museum, into a crisis of confidence and controversy. Also starring Elisabeth Moss, Terry Notary and Dominic West.

'FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL' (Rated M) - is based on the memoir of the same name by Liverpool born Actor, Writer and Director Peter Turner. Directed by Paul McGuigan this biographical film tells the story of Turner's relationship with fading Hollywood Actress Gloria Grahame in the 1970's, upto the time of her death from breast cancer and peritonitis in 1981 aged 57. Premiering at the Telluride Film Festival last September, and opening in the UK last November and then the US at the end of December, the film only now goes on release in Australia. Costing US$10M to make it has so far grossed US$2M, has received generally positive press and has so far garnered two award wins and fifteen other nominations including three BAFTA nods. Here Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) who was born in Liverpool in 1952, during the 1970's falls for American film stage and television Actress and Singer Gloria Grahame (Annette Benning). Grahame's first big screen debut came in 1944 and she subsequently amassed 64 acting credits including 'It's a Wonderful Life', 'Crossfire' for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, 'The Greatest Show on Earth', 'The Bad and the Beautiful' for which she won an Academy Award, 'The Big Heat', 'Oklahoma' and 'Melvin and Howard'. When her career took a downturn she returned to the stage, in England and the US, picking up support roles in films and television series in the ensuing years. It was in England that she met the young Peter Turner and found romance and happiness before being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974, which went into remission less than a year later and Grahame returned to work. In 1980, the cancer returned but Grahame refused to accept the diagnosis or seek treatment. Choosing instead to continue working, she travelled to Britain to appear in a play. Her health, however, declined rapidly and she developed peritonitis after undergoing a procedure to remove fluid from her abdomen in September 1981. She returned to New York City where she died in October 1981. This is their story. Also starring Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Walters, Frances Barber, Stephen Graham and, Peter Turner.

'SAMSON' (Rated M) - in 1949 Cecil B. DeMille Directed and Produced the romantic biblical drama film 'Samson and Delilah' starring Victor Mature as Samson and Hedy Lamarr as his love, Delilah. Now, almost seventy years later Bruce Macdonald, here Directs this retelling of Samson the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible and one of the last of the leaders who 'judged' Israel before the institution of the monarchy. The biblical rendition states that Samson was a Nazirite, and that he was awarded great strength to help him against his enemies and permit him to perform superhuman feats, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and massacring an entire army of Philistines using only the jawbone of an ass. However, if Samson's long hair was cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated, and he would lose his strength. This is the story of Samson's (Taylor James) youthful ambition which leads to a tragic marriage that ends in the death of his love at the hands of a cruel Philistine prince. The all-powerful Samson mounts a quest for vengeance that sees him in direct conflict with the might of the Philistine army. As his brother mounts a tribal rebellion, Samson's relationship with a Philistine temptress Delilah (Caitlin Leahy) who betrays him sapping him of his strength, and his final surrender to God will help turn enslavement into a final victory . . . but at what cost? Also starring Billy Zane, Rutger Hauer, Jackson Rathbone and Lindsay Wagner the film has taken less that US$3M at the Box Office and received generally negative press.

With four 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-