What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th April 2021.

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoured the best films of 2020 and early 2021. The awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles, at both the Dolby Theatre and Union Station, on 25th April, two months later than originally planned, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, thereby extending the eligibility period for feature films through to 28th February. The eligibility criteria had already been modified to account for films originally intended to have a cinematic release, but which were ultimately released directly on to streaming platforms. 

The winners, grinners and also rans at this years Oscars ceremony, are as given below :-

Best Picture

* Awarded to 'NOMADLAND' Directed by Chloe Zhao, beating out 'The Father', 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Mank', 'Minari', 'Promising Young Woman', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Director

* Awarded to 'CHLOE ZHAO' for 'Nomadland', beating out Thomas Vinterberg for 'Another Round', David Fincher for 'Mank', Lee Isaac Chung for 'Minari' and Emerald Fennell for 'Promising Young Woman'.

Best International Feature Film

* Awarded to 'ANOTHER ROUND' Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, beating out 'Better Days', 'Collective', 'The Man Who Sold His Skin' and 'Quo Vadis, Aida?'

Best Animated Feature Film

* Awarded to 'SOUL' Directed by Pete Docter and Dana Murray, beating out 'Onward', 'Over the Moon', 'A Shaun the Sheep Movie : Farmageddon' and 'Wolfwalkers'.

Best Documentary Feature

* Awarded to 'MY OCTOPUS TEACHER' Directed by Pippa Ehrlich, Craig Foster and James Reed, beating out 'Collective', 'Crip Camp', 'The Mole Agent' and 'Time'.

Best Actress 

* Awarded to FRANCES MCDORMAND for 'Nomadland', beating out Viola Davis for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Astra Day for 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday', Vanessa Kirby for 'Pieces of a Woman' and Carey Mulligan for 'Promising Young Woman'.

Best Actor

* Awarded to ANTHONY HOPKINS for 'The Father', beating out Riz Ahmed for 'Sound of Metal', Chadwick Boseman for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Gary Oldman for 'Mank' and Steven Yuen for 'Minari'.

Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to YOUN YUH-JUNG for 'Minari', beating out Maria Bakalova for 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', Glenn Close for 'Hillbilly Elegy', Olivia Colman for 'The Father' and Amanda Seyfried for 'Mank'.

Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to DANIEL KALUUYA for 'Judas and the Black Messiah' beating out Sacha Baron Cohen for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', Leslie Odom Jr. for 'One Night in Miami...', Paul Raci for 'Sound of Metal' and Lakeith Stanfield for 'Judas and the Black Messiah'.

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN' by EMERALD FENNELL, beating out 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Minari', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to 'THE FATHER' by FLORIAN ZELLER and CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON, beating out 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', 'Nomadland', 'One Night in Miami...' and 'The White Tiger'.

Best Production Design

* Awarded to 'MANK' for Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale, beating out 'The Father', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'News of the World' and 'Tenet'. 

Best Cinematography

* Awarded to 'MANK' for Erik Messerschmidt, beating out 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'News of the World', 'Nomadland' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Editing 

* Awarded to 'SOUND OF METAL' for Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, beating out 'The Father', 'Nomadland', 'Promising Young Woman' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Sound

* Awarded to 'SOUND OF METAL' for Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Philip Bladh, Carlos Cortes and Michelle Couttolenc, beating out 'Greyhound', 'Mank', 'News of the World' and 'Soul'.

Best Make-Up and Hair Styling

* Awarded to 'MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM' for Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, beating out 'Emma', 'Hillbilly Elegy', 'Mank' and 'Pinocchio'.

Best Costume Design

* Awarded to 'MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM' for Ann Roth, beating out 'Emma', 'Mank', 'Mulan' and 'Pinocchio'.

Best Visual Effects

* Awarded to 'TENET' for Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson, David Lee and Andrew Lockley, beating out 'Love and Monsters', 'The Midnight Sky', 'Mulan' and 'The One and Only Ivan'.

Best Original Score

* Awarded to 'SOUL' for Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste, beating out 'Da 5 Bloods', 'Mank', 'Minari' and 'News of the World'.

Best Original Song

* Awarded to 'FIGHT FOR YOU' from 'Judas and the Black Messiah' with Music by D'Mile and H.E.R. and lyrics by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, beating out 'Hear My Voice' from 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', 'Husavik' from 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga', 'Io sì (Seen)' from 'The Life Ahead' and 'Speak Now' from 'One Night in Miami...'.

For the full run down on this years 93rd Academy Awards, you can go to the official website at : https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021

Turning attention back to this weeks four latest release new films coming to an Odeon near you in the week ahead, we kick off with an action thriller centering around a cold and mysterious character working at a cash truck business responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around LA each week. This is followed by a story of a local hunter who brings a grieving lawyer back from the brink of death after she retreats to the harsh wilderness of the Rockies. Next up a psychotic oil matriarch leaves the whole industry exposed when she attempts to outfight a bullish farmer whose water has been poisoned, and we close out the week with a highly acclaimed film about a skilled cook travelling west who joins a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. 

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 week ahead.

'WRATH OF MAN' (Rated MA15+) - this American action thriller offering is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Guy Ritchie and is based on the 2004 French film 'Cash Truck' Directed by Nicolas Boukhrief. The lead star of this film is Jason Statham, with whom Ritchie has worked on three previous occasions - 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch' and 'Revolver' with a fifth collaboration currently in the works on spy thriller 'Five Eyes'. Originally slated for a mid-January release but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic, this is now released in Australia one week ahead of its US cinema release and not until 23rd July in the UK.

Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard Harry 'H' (Jason Statham) begins work for a cash truck operator responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week, and who surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to hunt down the people behind the murder of his son. Also starring Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Eddie Marsan, Scott Eastwood, Post Mallone, Andy Garcia and Rob Delaney. 

'LAND' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Directed by the Actress Robin Wright in her Directorial debut, and saw its World Premier screening at this years Sundance Film Festival at the end of January. It went on release in the US in mid-February, has so far made US$3M at the Box Office and has generated largely positive critical acclaim. After experiencing an unspeakable tragedy, middle aged woman Edee Mathis (Robin Wright), finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, Wyoming wilderness. Surviving hardship, a near-death experience in which local hunter Miguel (Demian Bichir) brings her back from the brink of death, and a surprise friendship, she must become comfortable living again. Also starring Kim Dickens.

'THE DEVIL HAS A NAME' (Rated M) - this American dark comedy film is a fictionalised drama of real life events surrounding California's Central Valley water contamination wars. Directed, Co-Produced and also starring Edward James Olmos who has 123 screen acting credits to his name, seven as Director, and sixteen as Producer as well as a raft of award wins and nominations throughout his career. The film Premiered at the August 2019 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, and was then released in the US in selected cinemas, through video on demand, and on digital platforms in mid-October 2020. An ambitious oil executive Gigi Cutler (Kate Bosworth) leaves the whole industry exposed when she tries to outwit a recently widowed farmer, Fred Stern (David Strathairn) whose land has been poisoned. Also starring Alfred Molina, Martin Sheen, Haley Joel Osment, Katie Aselton, Pablo Schreiber and Michael Hogan. 

'FIRST COW' (Rated PG) - is an American drama film Directed by Kelly Reichardt, from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's 2004 novel 'The Half Life'. Reichardt's previous film making credits take in her debut in 1994 with 'River of Grass' and then 'Wendy and Lucy' in 2008, 'Night Moves' in 2013 and 'Certain Women' in 2016. The film had its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in late August 2019, was theatrically released in the US in early March 2020, and subsequently released through VOD in July 2020 to acclaim from critics. Here, two travellers, Otis 'Cookie' Figowitz (John Magaro) a quiet chef, and King-Lu (Orion Lee) a Chinese immigrant, are on the run from a band of vengeful hunters in the 1820's Northwest. They dream of striking it rich, but their tenuous plan to make their fortune on the frontier comes to rely on the secret use of a landowner's, Chief Factor (Toby Jones) prized dairy cow. 'First Cow' has so far collected twenty-two award wins and another 139 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, and on a budget of just US$2M has so far recouped US$101K. Also starring Ewen Bremner, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer and Renee Auberjonois (in one of his final film roles).

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 coming week, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-