What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th October 2020.

The 56th Chicago International Film Festival was held from 14th through to 25th October, and began in 1964 by filmmaker and graphic artist Michael Kutza to provide an alternative to the commercial Hollywood movies that dominated the city’s theatres. Seeking out the best in international cinema, the Festival has opened windows to a world of film previously or otherwise unavailable in Chicago. In addition, at more than half of the screenings each year, filmgoers have the rare and exciting chance to meet Directors, Producers, Writers and cast members who introduce their films and hold discussion sessions following the screenings. Cinema/Chicago, the presenting organisation of the Chicago International Film Festival, is a year-round non-profit cultural and educational organisation dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art of film and the moving image.

The Opening Night feature presentation was the American Documentary 'Belushi', Directed by R.J. Cutler, about the famed comedian and Actor John Belushi who by the age of thirty had conquered Hollywood as one of the founding cast members of 'Saturday Night Live' and the star of 'The Blues Brothers'. But as his fame grew, so did his struggles with substance abuse, leading to an untimely demise that shocked fans around the world. The Closing Night film was Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' and this American drama leads on from the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, when Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad.

The other highlights from the festival were contained in the following sections:

Special Presentation

* 'Ammonite' - from Director Francis Lee this British historical romantic drama film features Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.

* 'Belushi' - as described above.

* 'City So Real' - Directed by Steve James this American political Documentary capturing Chicago at a crossroads when it is still reeling from the shooting of Laquan McDonald and in the midst of the 2019 mayoral elections and reporting on the divisions that separate and the issues than unify the city.

* 'David Byrne's American Utopia' - Directed by Spike Lee this American concert Documentary bringing the Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne's, critically lauded Broadway show to life. 

* 'Fireball : Visitors from Darker Worlds' - Directed by Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer this environmental Documentary takes the viewer of a globe hopping journey to uncover the effects that meteorites bombarding the Earth for millennia have had on our planet. 

* 'Nomadland' - as described above.

* 'One Night In Miami' - Directed by Regina King this is a historical biographical drama depicting a fictional account of the incredible night in 1964 when underdog Cassius Clay, soon to be called Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), defeats heavyweight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall. Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge).

New Directors Competition

* 'Any Crybabies Around?' - Directed by Sato Takuma this is a Japanese coming of age drama. 

* 'Becoming Noma' - Directed by Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden this Dutch and Belgian Co-Production is a coming of age drama spoken in Dutch.

* 'Gaza Mon Amour' - Directed by Tarzan and Arab Nasser this Palestine, French, German, Portuguese and Qatar Co-Produced film is a comedy romance spoken in Arabic.

* 'Memory House' - Directed by Joao Paulo Miranda Maria this Brazilian and French Co-Produced offering is a mystery drama in the German and Portuguese languages.

* 'Of Fish and Men' - Directed by Stefanie Klemm this Swiss crime thriller is in the Swiss-German language.

* 'Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time' - Directed by Lili Horvat this romantic drama film is offered in the English and Hungarian languages.

* 'Schoolgirls' - Directed by Pilar Palomero this Spanish coming of age drama offering is in Spanish.

* 'Sleep' - Directed by Michael Venus, this German horror thriller film is in the German language.

* 'The Special' - Directed by Ignacio Marquez, this Venezuelan and American Co-Production is a coming of age drama in the Spanish language.

* 'Spring Blossom' - Directed by Suzanne Lindon, this French coming of age romantic drama film is presented in French.

* 'Striding into the Wind' - Directed by Wei Shujun, this Chinese coming of age drama film is presented in Mandarin.

International Competition 

* 'And Tomorrow the Entire World' - Directed by Julia von Heinz, this German political drama is spoken in German.

* 'Apples' - Directed by Christos Nikou this Greek, Polish and Slovenia Co-Produced Sci-Fi drama romance is in the Greek language.

* 'Careless Crime' - Directed by Shahram Mokri this Iranian political crime drama offering is presented in the Persian language.

* 'Dear Comrades!' - Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky this is a Russian historian political drama spoken in Russian.

* 'I'm Your Woman' - Directed by Julia Hart this American action crime drama is presented in English. 

* 'New Order' - Directed by Michel Franco this Mexican and French Co-Production is in the Spanish language.

* 'Night of the Kings' - Directed by Philippe Lacote this Ivory Coast, French, Canadian and Senegal political mystery thriller is presented in French, Dioula and Nouchi languages. 

* 'Padrenostro' - Directed by Claudio Noce this Italian coming of age crime drama film is spoken in Italian. 

* 'Sweat' - Directed by Magnus von Horn this Polish and Swedish Co-Production is presented in Polish.

* 'True Mothers' - Directed by Kawasi Naomi this Japanese drama film is presented in the language of Japan.

* 'Under the Open Sky' - Directed by Nishikawa Miwa this Japanese crime drama offering is presented in the language of Japan. 

Festival Award Winners

International Feature Film Competition

* Gold Hugo awarded to Magnus van Horn for 'Sweat'. This film was also awarded the Silver Hugo for Best Art Direction to Jagna Dobesz.

* Silver Hugo : Jury Prize awarded to Shahram Mokri for 'Careless Crime'.

* Silver Hugo : Best Director awarded to Andrei Konchalovsky for 'Dear Comrades!'.

* Silver Hugo : Best Cinematography awarded to Tobie Marier Robitaille for 'Night of the Kings'. This film was also awarded the Silver Hugo for Best Sound to Emmanuel Croset and Pierre-Jules Audet.

* Silver Hugo : Best Screenplay awarded to Stavros Raptis and Christois Nikou for 'Apples'. 

* Silver Hugo : Best Performance awarded to Yakusho Koji for 'Under the Open Sky'.

* Silver Hugo : Best Ensemble Performance awarded to 'And Tomorrow the Entire World'.

New Directors Competition

* Gold Hugo presented to Lili Horvat for 'Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time'.

* Silver Hugo presented to Ignacio Marquez for 'The Special'.

* Roger Ebert Award presented to Joao Paulo Miranda Maria for 'Memory House'.

For all the news of this years recently closed 56th Chicago International Film Festival you can visit the official website at : https://chicagofilmfestival.com/

This week there are four latest release new movies coming to your local Odeon. We kick off with a reimagining of a famed Icelandic film from 2015 that gets the Aussie treatment as two estranged brothers very reluctantly join forces to save their herd of prized sheep. Next up are a pair of American supernatural horror offerings, the first of which centres around a mythical urban legend that is being summonsed from the dead to wreak havoc and death upon the living; and the second is a sequel to a cult classic from 1996 about a group of four new teenage inductees who get more than they bargained for as they seek to form their own coven of witches. And we wrap up the week with a French film about a famed literary clinic who seeks to expose the truth behind the authorship of a bestselling novel, believed to be an illiterate pizza chef.  

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome 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 outing during the coming week.

'RAMS' (Rated PG) - is an Australian comedy drama film Directed by Jeremy Sims whose previous film making credits include 2006's 'Last Train to Freo', 2010's 'Beneath Hill 60' and 2015's 'Last Cab to Darwin'. This film is said to be a 're-imagining' of the 2015 Icelandic film of the same name Written and Directed by Grimur Hakonarson, although judging by the trailer of this 2020 version it looks like a direct copy. That said, the film saw its Premier screening as the opening showpiece at Western Australia's CineFestOZ Film Festival in late August, and now gets its wide release from this week. 

In remote Western Australia, two estranged brothers, Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton), are at war. Raising separate flocks of sheep descended from their family’s prized bloodline, the two men live and work side by side but are worlds apart. When Les’ prize ram is diagnosed with a rare and lethal illness, authorities order a purge of every sheep in the valley. While Colin attempts to stealthily outwit the powers that be, Les opts for angry defiance. But can the warring brothers set aside their differences and have a chance to reunite their family, save their herd, and bring their community back together? Also starring Miranda Richardson, Asher Keddie and Wayne Blair. 

'THE EMPTY MAN' (Rated MA15+) - this American supernatural horror thriller film is Written, Directed and Edited by David Prior in his feature film debut although he has numerous Director credits for helming documentary videos mostly concerned with 'the making of' various Hollywood movies. This film is based on the 2014's graphic novel of the same name written by Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey. Here, following the mysterious disappearance of a number of local teenagers from a small Midwestern town, the community begin to suspect that it is the work of an urban legend known as The Empty Man. As a retired cop, James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) investigates and struggles to make sense of the stories, he discovers a secretive group and their attempts to summon a horrific, mystical entity, and soon his life, together with the lives of those closest to him, are in grave danger. The film was released in the US last week, and also stars Marin Ireland, Stephen Root, Robert Aramayo and Joel Courtney.

'THE CRAFT : LEGACY' (Rated M) - this American supernatural horror film is Written and Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones in her second feature film making outing following 2017's 'Band Aid'. This film is a standalone sequel to 1996's 'The Craft' which was a Box Office success and over the years has gone to cult status. And so here we have an eclectic mix of four aspiring teenage witches - Lily (Cailee Spaeny), Frankie (Gideon Adlon), Tabby (Lovie Simone) and Lourdes (Zoey Luna) who get in over the heads as they learn to to come to terms with their new found powers. Also starring David Duchovny and Michelle Monaghan. The film gets a limited release in Australian this week and is released through VoD in the US this week too. 

'THE MYSTERY OF HENRI PICK' (Rated M) - is a French comedy film with English subtitles that is Directed and Written by Remi Bezancon. And so, who is Henri Pick, and how is it that two years following his death, did this supposedly illiterate pizza cook come to write the acclaimed bestseller 'The Last Hours of a Love Story'? However, not everyone is convinced of the author’s authenticity of this overnight sensation. Amongst the cynics is influential literary critic Jean-Michel Rouche (Fabrice Luchini) who sets out to discover the truth behind Pick and the book that bears his name. Josephine Pick (Camille Cottin), daughter of the mysterious author, reluctantly assists Rouche in navigating the secretive Breton landscape to get to the bottom of this mystery. 

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 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-