What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th August 2021.

This year running from Thursday 5th through until Wednesday 25th August, the Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its 25th edition. Located in the heart of Montreal, the second most populated city in Canada in the province of Quebec, Fantasia has become a cultural and professional destination point, and since its first edition in 1996, the festival’s ever-growing popularity has attracted the attention of the international film industry alongside a vast array of attendees from around the world. Every aspect of the filmmaking community is increasingly represented with in-person delegates at the festival, including Directors, Actors, Producers, Writers, studio representatives, distributors and more who experience the legendarily enthusiastic audience of Fantasia. James Gunn’s 'The Suicide Squad' will be presented as a special event screening on 4th August.

This year the Cheval Noir Competition features fourteen feature films from across the globe, taking in :-

* 'All the Moons' from France and Spain with English subtitles, this fantasy film is Directed and Co-Written by Igor Legarreta. International Premier screening.

* 'The Devil's Deal' from South Korea with English subtitles, this drama offering is Directed by Lee Won-tae. World Premier screening.

* 'Ghosting Gloria' from Uruguay with English subtitles is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by the pairing of Marcela Matta and Mauro Sarser with the latter also Writing and starring. World Premier screening.

* 'The Great Yokai War - Guardians' is from Japan with English subtitles and is Directed by Takashi Miike and also serves as the Closing Night Film. International Premier screening.

* 'Hellbender' from the USA this horror film is Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser. World Premier screening.

* 'Hotel Poseidon' from Belgium with English subtitles this drama horror comedy film is the first feature from Director and Writer Stef Lernous. International Premier screening.

* 'Indemnity' from South Africa with English subtitles this action offering is Directed and Written by Travis Taute. World Premier screening.

* 'Love, Life and Goldfish' from Japan with English subtitles this musical romance is Directed by Yukinori Makabe. International Premier screening.

* 'Martyrs Lane' from the UK this horror drama film is Directed and Written by Ruth Platt. World Premier screening.

* 'Remain in Twilight' from Japan with English subtitles this fantasy drama feature film is Directed and Written by Daigo Matsui. North American Premier screening.

* 'The Righteous' from Canada with English subtitles this drama horror thriller is Directed and Written by Mark O'Brien. World Premier screening.

* 'Tokyo Revengers' from Japan with English subtitles, this Sci-Fi actioner is Directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa. International Premier screening.

* 'Voice of Silence' from South Korea with English subtitles this thriller is Directed and Written by Hong Eui-jeong. North American Premier screening.

* 'Wonderful Paradise' from Japan with English subtitles this horror fantasy is Directed and Co-Written by Masashi Yamamoto. North American Premier screening. 

For all the other films competing in various categories, plus all the latest news, views and reviews from the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival, you can go the official website at : https://www.fantasiafestival.com/en

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for a further four weeks now ending (at this stage) on Friday 27th August, which means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless.

And as such, turning the attention to this weeks latest release new movies coming to your local Odeon, of which there are five, we kick off with the tenth film in the DCEU that sees a rag tag bunch of Supervillains and a collection of unhinged cons at the Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. This is followed by a French comedy about a large and accomplished rose grower whose business is on the verge of bankruptcy, with moves to be bought out by a powerful competitor, when her faithful assistant, takes on three new employees without any gardening skills. Next up is a RomCom about a woman who reluctantly agrees to move in to a retirement village who encounters a clique of mean-spirited women and an amorous widower. Then we have the story of a Korean-American man raised in the Louisiana bayou who works hard to eek out a life for his family, who has to confront his past life when he learns that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home. And we close out the week with a music doco celebrating the fifth anniversary of a hugely popular and successful all girl band from Korea.

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 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. 

'THE SUICIDE SQUAD' (Rated R18+) - finally the much hyped, eagerly awaited and hotly anticipated American superhero film is here based on the DC Comics ensemble Suicide Squad. This is a standalone sequel to David Ayer's 2016 'Suicide Squad' and the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It was Written and Directed by James Gunn whose previous film making outings include her debut feature 'Slither' in 2006, then 'Super' in 2010, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (the tenth film in the MCU) in 2014, 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' in 2017 (the fifteenth film in the MCU) with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' currently in pre-production for an expected 2023 release date. The film was released in the UK last week and is released in the US and here in Australia from this week, having generated largely positive Reviews with Critics praising Gunn's direction, the visuals and the irreverent humour.

Imprisoned convicts of Belle Reve penitentiary are sent as members of Task Force X by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to the South American island of Corto Maltese to destroy Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison and laboratory which held political prisoners and conducted experiments. During the mission, they come into conflict with Starro, a giant, telepathic alien starfish. The assembled members of The Suicide Squad are Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) - a crazed criminal and former psychiatrist; Bloodsport (Idris Elba) - a mercenary with a technologically-advanced suit and weapons that only he can use; Peacemaker (John Cena) - a ruthless killer who believes in achieving peace at any cost; Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) - the field leader of the Suicide Squad; King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) - a man eating fish human hybrid; Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) - an unhinged Australian thief who wields boomerangs; The Thinker (Peter Capaldi) - a highly intelligent supervillain. Also starring David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Michael Rooker as Savant, Pete Davidson as Blackguard with Storm Reid appearing as Bloodsports daughter Tyla and Taika Waititi as Starro. 

'THE ROSE MAKER' (Rated M) - is a French comedy film Directed and Co-Written by Pierre Pinaud in only his second feature film making offering after 2012's 'On Air' and following a number of short films between 1999 and 2008. The film premiered in late August 2020 at the Angouleme Film Festival in southwest France. Since she was a child, Eve Vernet (Catherine Frot) has immersed herself in roses, learning from her father everything about growing, grafting, and creating new varieties. Now an award-winning producer in her own right, Eve is nevertheless in difficulty. Her business is on the verge of financial ruin, with the situation becoming more dire with each passing day as a powerful competitor seeks to buy her out. Vera (Olivia Cote), Eve’s steadfast and loyal assistant, seeks to save the business by bringing in three farmhands to share the enormous workload of this family business. Unfortunately, those three know nothing about roses or the business of horticulturalism. But one of them, Fred (Manel Foulgoc), has an interesting past, giving Eve an idea for saving her rose farm and her father’s legacy.

'QUEEN BEES' (Rated PG) - this American romantic comedy offering is Directed by Michael Lembeck who has sixty-eight TV and movie Directing credits to his name and sixty as an Actor. While her house undergoes repairs for a kitchen fire that will take a month to fix, fiercely independent senior Helen Wilson (Ellen Burstyn) temporarily moves into a nearby retirement community, where she encounters lusty widows, cutthroat bridge tournaments and a hotbed of bullying 'mean girls', but a budding relationship with a new resident Dan Simpson (James Caan) makes life more tolerable, until she learns of Dan's secret. Also starring Ann-Margaret, Christopher Lloyd and Elizabeth Mitchell. The film was released Stateside in mid-June, has so far grossed US$1.8M and has generated mostly mixed or average Reviews.  

'BLUE BAYOU' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Written, Directed, Co-Produced and starring Justin Chon who has fifty-five screen acting credits to his name, six as Director, and five as Writer and five as Producer. The film saw its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-July this year and is set for release in the US in mid-September. Antonio LeBlanc (Justin Chon) is a Korean adoptee raised in a small town in the Louisiana bayou from the age of three. He's married to the love of his life, Kathy (Alicia Vikander), and raising his beloved stepdaughter, Jessie (Sydney Kowalske). Struggling to make a better life for his family, he must soon confront the ghosts of his past after learning that he could be deported from the only country he's ever called home. It has so far garnered generally mixed or average Reviews.

'BLACKPINK : THE MOVIE' (Rated PG) - this music documentary is Directed by Su Yee Jung and Oh Yoon-Dong and charts the fifth anniversary of the popular Korean all girl band 'Blackpink' featuring never before seen footage, interviews, clips of their sell out tours and more than a dozen of their hit songs. 'Blackpink' are Jennie, Lisa, Rose and Jisoo. 

With five 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-