What's new in Odeon's this week - Friday 1st January 2021.

2020 was the year that was, with the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting our personal lives, our social lives, our work and the very fabric of everything we hold dear in life . . . including the movie industry! There is almost no country on Earth that has not been impacted by the coronavirus - some considerably more so than others, and as I write this case numbers and resultant deaths continue to escalate in the US, the UK and parts of Europe as new strains are discovered, some of those countries entering second and third stage lockdowns with governments now scrambling to roll out recently made available vaccines in an attempt to halt the spread. But despite all this gloom and doom, I have managed to Review fifty-nine newly released movies over the past twelve months, and Preview a further 176 latest release new films worthy of your cinema going consideration, and I've paid tribute to 210 screen celebrities who have passed away in 2020 but all of whom leave a lasting legacy of the great work accumulated over their sometimes short but more often long careers in the film and television industry either in front of, or behind the camera. And so on that note, all that remains for me to say is a big thanks for your readership, your support and your interest in my humble little Blog throughout 2020, and sincerest Best Wishes to you all for a very happy, successful, prosperous and safe New Year and may 2021 be kinder to us all than the past year has been.   

This week, launching on New Years Day we have just three new cinematic releases to tease you out to your local Odeon. We kick off with the Australian big screen adaptation of a highly acclaimed 2016 novel by an Australian author about a Federal Agent who returns to his drought stricken community to attend the funeral of a childhood friend but soon gets embroiled in prejudice, pent up anger and a terrified township as he seeks to uncover the truth behind his friends death. Next up we have a video game adaptation about a group of US Army Rangers who fall through a portal into another world only to be chased down by giant marauding monsters intent on killing the humans, before they can find a way home. And the week closes out with a German animated feature about a young lad who claims he can ride dragons and who teams up with a young silver dragon and a forest brownie to thwart an evil dragon eating monster intent of wiping out all of Earth's dragons once and for all. 

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

'THE DRY' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian film is Directed by Robert Connelly whose previous film making credits take in 'The Bank', 'Three Dollars', 'Balibo', 'The Turning' and 'Paper Planes', and is based on the multi-award winning 2016 best selling debut novel by Australian author Jane Harper. Originally set for a late August release this year, the film was pushed back to a New Year's Day release 2021 due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns to his struggling farming community of Kiewarra in regional Victoria after an absence of over twenty years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke Hadler (Martin Dingle Wall), who allegedly killed his wife and child before taking his own life - a victim of the madness that has ravaged this community after more than a decade of drought. When Falk reluctantly agrees to stay and investigate the crime, he opens up an old wound - the death of seventeen year-old Ellie Deacon (BeBe Bettencourt). Falk begins to suspect these two crimes, separated by decades, are connected. As he struggles to prove not only Luke's innocence but also his own, Falk finds himself pitted against the prejudice towards him and and pent-up rage of a terrified community. Also starring Genevieve O'Reilly, Matt Nable, John Polson, Bruce Spence and Keir O'Donnell. 

'MONSTER HUNTER' (Rated M) - Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Paul W. S. Anderson and based on the video game series of the same name. Costing US$60M to make, the film was released in the US in mid-December and not in the UK until the end of January, has so far grossed US$11.5M and has generated mostly mixed Reviews form Critics. And so, sitting somewhere behind our world, there is another - a world where deadly and powerful monsters rule their domain with a dangerous ferocity. When US Army Ranger Capatin Natalie Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her trusted soldiers fall through a portal from our world to the new one, the unflappable Captain receives the shock of her life. In a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers and unstoppable, terrifying attacks, Artemis teams up with a mysterious hunter (Tony Jaa) who has found a way to fight back against the monsters as they seek a way home. Also starring Ron Perlman, Diego Boneta, and Meagan Good.

'DRAGON RIDER' (Rated PG) - is a German animated fantasy offering based on the 1997 children's novel of the same name by Cornelia Funke. The film was to be released in theatres in early August 2020, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film release was postponed to 1st October 2020 in its native Germany, before going on release in Australia this week, has so far taken just over US$3M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews so far. Directed by Tomer Eshed in his feature film making debut, the premise here surrounds Firedrake (voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster) a young silver dragon, who has had enough of constantly having to hide in a woodland valley. He wants to show the older generations of dragons that he is a real dragon. When humans are about to destroy his family's very last refuge, Firedrake secretly sets off on an adventurous journey to locate the 'Rim of Heaven' - the mysterious safe haven of dragons, with forest brownie, Sorrel (voiced by Felicity Jones). On their quest Firedrake and Sorrel encounter Ben (voiced by Freddie Highmore), an orphan and stray, who says he's a dragon rider. While Ben and Firedrake make friends quickly, Sorrel becomes increasingly uneasy and tries her best to get rid of the orphan at every chance. But the unlikely trio have to learn to cooperate with each other, because they are being hunted by Nettlebrand (voiced by Patrick Stewart), an evil, dragon-eating monster created by an alchemist with the aim of tracking down and destroying every last dragon on Earth.

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 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-