What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd May 2018.

This years Tribeca Film Festival wrapped up just last weekend on Sunday 29th April, having commenced screenings on Wednesday 18th April. Since its inaugural year in 2002, it has become a recognised outlet for independent filmmakers across all genres to release their work to a broader audience. Founded in 2002 by Actor, Producer and Director Robert De Niro; film Producer Jane Rosenthal and Real Estate Investor and Philanthropist Craig Hatkoff, the festival has grown into a prominent film festival held in the Tribeca neighbourhood of Manhattan, showcasing a diverse selection of independent films including documentaries, narrative features and shorts, as well as a programme of family-friendly films.

The 2018 feature film programme included 96 films from 103 filmmakers. Of those 96 films, approaching 50% of them are directed by women. The lineup includes 74 World Premieres, six International Premieres, nine North American Premieres, three US Premieres, and four New York Premieres with thirty countries represented. Also included were 46 first time filmmakers, with eighteen Directors returning to the festival with their latest feature film projects. Tribeca’s 2018 slate was programmed from more than 8,750 total submissions.

The 2018 films in competition were :

* Centrepiece : 'Zoe' - Directed by Drake Doremus and starring Léa Seydoux, Ewan McGregor, Christina Aguilera, Rashida Jones, Theo James and Miranda Otto, the film is set in a future world where cutting-edge technologies can simulate the high of true love, two colleagues at a revolutionary research lab yearn for a connection that’s real.

* Closing Night : 'The Fourth Estate' - Directed by Liz Garbus this documentary feature follows the journalists at the New York Times, for whom the election of Donald Trump represented a once in a generation challenge in how the press would cover a President who declared the majority of the nation’s major news outlets 'the enemy of the people'. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus witnessed the inner workings of investigative journalism from the front lines during this administrations’ first history-making year.

* US Narrative Competition : recognising the extraordinary work emerging from thriving American independent film communities today, affirming Tribeca’s commitment to discovering and elevating truly fresh, independent voices. Films in this section were : 'All About Nina', 'Diane', 'Duck Butter', 'Ghostbox Cowboy', 'Little Woods', 'Maine', 'Mapplethorpe', 'O.G', 'Song of Back and Neck' and 'State Like Sleep'. The Founders Award for Best Feature went to 'Diane' Directed and Written by Kent Jones who also took out the best Screenplay Award and the film also picked up the Best Cinematography Award. Nia DaCosta took out the Nora Ephron Award, given to a female filmmaker, for her Directing and Writing of 'Little Woods'. 

* Documentary Competition : showcasing discovery Directors, future Oscar nominees, and legendary filmmakers. This year’s selection continues the tradition of spotlighting the best in nonfiction film with twelve stories all marking their World Premiere. Films in this section were : 'Blowin' Up', 'Call Her Ganda', 'Island of the Hungry Ghosts', 'The Man Who Stole Banksy', 'Momentum Generation', 'No Greater Law', 'Phantom Cowboys', 'The Rachel Divide', 'Tanzania Transit', 'United Skates', 'When Lambs Become Lions' and 'Yellow is Forbidden'. The Award for Best Feature went to 'The Island of Hungry Ghosts' Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Gabrielle Brady. 

* International Narrative Competition : a global showcase for new contemporary world cinema. Films in this section were : 'Amateurs', 'Dry Martina', 'Lemonade', 'The Night Eats The World', 'Obey', 'The Party's Just Beginning', 'The Saint Bernard Syndicate', 'Smuggling Hendrix', 'Sunday's Illness' and 'Virgins'. The Award for Best Feature went to 'Smuggling Hendrix' Written and Directed by Marios Piperides

* Spotlight Narrative : is a launching pad for exciting new independent premieres with a focus on marquee filmmakers and performers. Films shown in this section were : 'All These Small Moments', 'Back Roads', 'Blue Night', 'Daughter of Mine', 'Disobedience', 'Egg', 'In A Relationship', 'Jonathan', 'Mary Shelley', 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post', 'Nico, 1988', 'The Seagull', 'Stockholm' and 'Untogether'. 

Other sections are : Spotlight Documentary featuring high-profile Premieres representing major stories and acclaimed filmmakers making waves in 2018; Viewpoints encompassing documentaries and narratives from American and international filmmakers whose bold visions, underrepresented perspectives, and innovative styles push the boundaries of storytelling; Midnight offers up the chance to discover the breadth of horror cinema today, from zombie road-trips to horror-comedies and hallucinatory head trips and Special Screenings offering the audience the chance to continue the film experience through a conversation or performance post-screening. For more you can go to : tribecafilm.com 

This week there are five new release movies coming to your local Odeon. We kick off with the Directorial debut from this well known Australian Actor also starring in his own film. Set in the '70's in a small Western Australian coastal town, a former surf pro forges an unlikely friendship with two young teenage surfer dudes and mentors them into a world of adventure, risks and coming of age. Then we move across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand for another Directing debut about a former gangland lynchpin who is forced back into that arena when his daughter is murdered by a rival gang. Then we venture back across the Tasman Sea and back to Western Australia for a Sci-Fi film about a woman's journey to a parallel Earth to retrieve her dead husband and bring him back hoping to start life where they left off, but little does she know! Next up is a road trip featuring an ageing couple in their equally ageing RV with both suffering from ill health and a fear of what their future holds as they make their last journey in their twilight years. We then wrap up with a Christian drama film about a burnt out Church, and a Reverends fight to stave off eviction, save his flock, and restore his place of worship to its former glory.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies 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 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 big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'BREATH' (Rated M) - this Australian film is Directed, Co-Produced, Co-Written for the screen and stars Aussie Simon Baker, who is perhaps best known for his lead roles in TV's long running series 'The Guardian' and 'The Mentalist'. Based on multi-award winning author Tim Winton's international best selling book of the same name, the film saw its Premier at TIFF back in September last year, goes on release in Australia this week, and in the US in early June. Based and filmed in and around the Western Australian coastal town of Denmark in the Great Southern Region, and the Directorial debut for Simon Baker, Tim Winton who also collaborated on the Screenplay stated that 'The Great Southern region has had an enormous impact on my life and work so I'm very pleased this film is being shot on the beaches and streets and forests that inspired the book'.

Set in the early 1970's in a remote Western Australian town, the film charts the story of two young impressionable teenage lads Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and Loonie (Ben Spence) who are both mad keen surfers taken under the wing of a former professional surfer Sando (Simon Baker). Forming an unlikely friendship through their shared love of surfing, Sando decides to mentor the two lads taking them on a voyage of discovery as he pushes them into wild adventures, risk taking and adolescent awareness that will have a lasting and profound effect on their lives. Also starring Richard Roxburgh, Elizabeth Debicki and Rachael Blake.

'BROKEN' (Rated M) - Written, Directed and Edited in his feature film debut, here Tarry Mortlock (a youth pastor when he's not making movies!) has based this modern interpretation of a real life incident about a young Maori girl killed by a raiding party sometime during the mid-19th Century. Set in and around the New Zealand city of Gisborne located on the east coast of North Island, the film follows former gang leader of The Mad Bulls, Logan (Josh Calles, a real life Gisborne policeman when he's not making movies!) who has turned his back on his gangland life to raise his daughter Tori (Ruby Grubb). But, when Tori is killed by a rival gang, Logan is forced back into his former life and must decide between vengeance, all out gang warfare, or forgiveness. Meanwhile, Cruz (Wayne Hapi), Tori's murderer must also choose the path of forgiveness to bring an end to the cycle of violence, hatred and revenge which is rapidly escalating into a bloody gangland war. Which decision will the parties sat on both sides of the fence make? For a low budget, independent, first time Director using mostly local talent, this film has garnered much interest and has been generally well received.

'THE GATEWAY' (Rated M) - this Australian Sci-Fi thriller is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Western Australian John V. Soto, and the film has created a little buzz around the festival circuit for all the right reasons. At the September 2017 Austin Revolution Film Festival the film picked up five award wins including Best World Feature, Best Director and Best Feature plus two other nominations. Starring Myles Pollard and Jacqueline McKenzie as husband and wife team Matt and Jane Chandler respectively, the film sees Jane as a particle physicist mourning over the very recent death of her husband in a car accident. Using her developed scientific technology, which she must prove before all funding is cut off, with her sole partner in science Regg (Ben Mortley) she is able to travel to a parallel Earth to find him again, but little does she know of the dire consequences that await when she does locate him, and brings him back to her world. Also starring Shannon Berry and Ryan Panizza as daughter and son of the Chandlers, Samantha and Jake respectively and Hayley McElhinney.

'THE LEISURE SEEKER' (Rated CTC) - here Italian Director, Producer and Writer Paolo Virzi Directs his first English language film - a comedy drama based on the 2009 novel of the same name by American author Michael Zadoorian. The film tells the story of ageing couple John and Ella Spencer (Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren respectively) in the sunset of their lives, who decide to embark on one last great road trip together. They jump in their old retro Winnebago RV motorhome (which they affectionally call 'The Leisure Seeker') and begin their journey from their home town of Boston to Ernest Hemingway's home in the Florida Keys. But the journey is not without its mishaps, adventures and discoveries as John (a retired literary professor) battles with the early onset of dementia, and Ella pops pills for her aches, pains, the stresses of caring for her husband and her cancer treatment. But despite this, the pair have the guts to fulfil their journey whilst remaining generally buoyant and cheerful but secretly wary of what the future holds for them both and by learnings en route about their shared past together. Also starring Janel Moloney and Christian McKay as daughter and son Jane and Will Spencer. The film has received mixed and average Reviews at best, and was screened in competition at last years Venice International Film Festival, and Mirren received a Golden Globe nod for her performance.
 
'GOD'S NOT DEAD : A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS' (Rated PG) - this Christian drama film is Written and Directed by Michael Mason and tells the story of The Rev. Dave Hill (David A. R. White) who faces an unexpected challenge when his much loved church burns down which gels the officials at the neighbouring University to try and oust his congregation off campus. Battle lines are rapidly drawn up between the church and the local community as the Reverend now finds himself at odds with his longtime friend, the University President. Confronted by a pending legal battle, Hill soon seeks help from his estranged brother, Pearce Hill (John Corbett) a big-city lawyer and atheist in a fight to help rebuild the church, and their wavering faith. The film was released Stateside at the end of March and has made US$5.5M and has received generally unfavourable press. Also starring Tatum O'Neal, Jennifer Taylor and Ted McGinley, it is the third instalment in the 'God's Not Dead' film series which saw its first release in 2014 and its second in 2016 - which were more favourably received and performed far better at the Box Office too.

With five new release films out this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends 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-