What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th August 2021.

Over the last couple of weeks I have shone a light on both the Locarno and Sarajevo Film Festivals. The 74th Locarno Film Festival was held from the 4th through until 14th August, and the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival was held from the 13th until 20th August. The Closing Night's film at Locarno was 'RESPECT' - the biographical musical drama film based on the life of Aretha Franklin as portrayed by Jennifer Hudson and Directed by Liesl Tommy in her feature film making debut. The Closing Night's film at Sarajevo saw the World Premier of 'TOMA' - the biographical musical drama film of the famed Yugoslavian folk singer Toma Zdravkovic as played by Milan Maric and Directed and Co-Written by the Serbian Dragan Bjelogrlic. 

The winners and grinners in the International Competition at both festivals are as given below :-

Locarno Film Festival

* Golden Leopard : awarded to 'Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' from Indonesia and Directed and Co-Written by Edwin. Set in the 1980's in a society ruled by machismo, a hibernating 'bird' becomes a serious matter. In a life of brutality, the sleeping bird is an allegory for a peaceful and serene life, even when the whole world tries desperately to awaken it.

* Special Jury Prize : awarded to 'A New Old Play' from Hong Kong and France and Directed and Written by Qiu Jiongjiong. The leading clown role in a renowned theatre troupe passes on, and is welcomed into the Underworld. As he relives his vivid memories one last time before entering the afterlife, fifty years of art, struggle and love play out against the background of 20th Century China’s tumultuous history.

* Best Direction : awarded to Abel Ferrara for 'Zeroes and Ones' from the USA and Italy and is Written and Directed by Abel Ferrara. An American soldier stationed in Rome while the Vatican is blown up, embarks on a hero's journey to uncover and defend against an unknown enemy threatening the entire world.

* Best Actor : awarded to both Mohamed Mellali and Valero Escolar for 'The Odd Job Men' from Spain and Co-Written and Directed by Neus Ballus. A peculiar team of three handymen has to face a series of eccentric clients. Their everyday job becomes a surrealist and exhilarating experience.

* Best Actress : awarded to Anastasiya Krasovskaya for 'Gerda' from Russia and Directed and Written by Natalya Kudryashova. Lera lives in the provinces. Her mother naively believes in miracles, and her father abandoned the family for another woman. Lera wants to improve her life, but she doesn't know how. At the same time, she constantly sees dreams in which she sees her soul. And the more difficult life becomes, the more often she sees such dreams.

Sarajevo Film Festival : Heart of Sarajevo Awards

* Best Feature Film presented to 'Great Freedom' from Austria and Directed and Co-Written by Sebastian Meise. In postwar Germany, a man is repeatedly imprisoned for being homosexual. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long time cell mate, a convicted murderer. What starts in revulsion ultimately becomes love.

* Best Director presented to Melica Tomovic, who also Co-Wrote, for 'Celts' from Serbia. The film centres around three generations who converge at a child’s birthday party against the backdrop of the former Yugoslavia’s painful breakup.

* Best Actress presented jointly to Flaka Latifi, Era Balaj and Urate Shabani for 'The Hill Where Lionesses Roar' from France, Kosovo and the US and Directed, Co-Written and also starring Luana Bajrami. Somewhere in Kosovo, in a small remote village, three young women see their dreams and ambitions stifled. In their quest for independence, nothing can stand in their way : time to let the lionesses roar!

* Best Actor presented to Georg Friedrich for 'Great Freedom' from Austria and Directed and Co-Written by Sebastian Meise.

For all the details of the other award categories and the winners and grinners therein, you can go to the official websites at : https://www.locarnofestival.ch and/or https://www.sff.ba

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another month ending (at this stage) at the end of September, this 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 so this week to tempt you to your local movie theatre in the last week of the Australian winter season, we have a story about a stand-up comedian and his opera singer wife who have a two year old daughter with a surprising gift. This is followed up by the sequel to a 1992 horror offering of the same name about a supernatural killer who can be easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. Next up is a horror thriller about a blind Navy Seam veteran who must resort to his military training to save a young orphan from a group of thugs who break into his home; and closing out the week we have a group of criminals who are brought together under mysterious circumstances and have to work together to uncover what's really going on when their simple job goes completely sideways.

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. 

'ANNETTE' (Rated MA15+) - this French musical romantic drama film is Directed by Leos Carax (in his English-language debut), and with a screenplay by Ron and Russell Mael of 'Sparks' fame, and Carax, from an original story, music and songs by the band. Leos Carax is a French film maker whose Directorial debut came in 1984 in 'Boy Meets Girl' then 'Bad Blood', 'The Lovers on the Bridge', 'Pola X',  and 'Holy Motors' in 2012. The film was chosen as the Opening Film at this years Cannes Film Festival on 6th July and opened in France the next day, with a limited release in the USA in early August before streaming on Amazon Prime from the 20th. It cost US$15.5M to produce, has so far grossed US$2.5M and has garnered positive Critical acclaim. Leos Carax won the Best Director Award at Cannes, and the film was selected to be in competition for the Palme d'Or.

Set in the present day Los Angeles, Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) is a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humour who falls in love with Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard), a world-renowned opera singer. Under the spotlight, they form a passionate and glamorous couple. With the birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious little girl with an exceptional destiny, their lives are turned upside down. Also starring Simon Helberg, Russell Mael, Ron Mael and Leos Carax.

'CANDYMAN' (Rated MA15+) - is anAmerican supernatural slasher film directed by Nia DaCosta and Co-Written by Jordan Peele and DaCosta. It is a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and the fourth film in the Candyman film series, based on the short story 'The Forbidden' from the 1984/85 anthology horror fiction novels series 'Books of Blood' by Clive Barker. This is DaCosta's second feature film outing following 2018's 'Little Woods' with 'The Marvels' (the follow up MCU film to 'Captain Marvel') currently filming and due for release in November 2022. In the present day, a decade after the last of Chicago's Cabrini Towers were torn down, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his girlfriend Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris) move into a loft in the now gentrified Cabrini district and occupied by upwardly mobile millennials. A chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer exposes Anthony to the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to use these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, he unknowingly opens a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence. The film was originally set for release in mid-June 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pushed to late September 2020 and then again to mid-October 2020 before being delayed until this week in the US, UK, Australia and other territories. Tony Todd reprises his role as Daniel Robitaille/Candyman and Vanessa Estelle Williams also reprises her role as Anne-Marie McCoy.

'DON'T BREATHE 2' (Rated MA15+) - this American horror thriller story is Directed and Co-Written by the Uruguayan Rodo Sayagues in his feature film debut, and is the direct sequel to the 2016 film 'Don't Breathe' Directed by Fede Alvarez. That first instalment took US$158M at the global Box Office off the back of a US$10M production budget making this sequel inevitable. Set eight years after the events of the first film, former Navy Seal and blind man Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang) lives in relative solitude with his eleven year-old daughter Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) and his Rottweiler, Shadow, in the suburbs of Detroit. Things however, quickly go south as Norman must once again use his military training and his heightened senses of hearing, smell and touch to save a young orphan from a group of thugs who break into his home. Also starring Brendan Sexton III, the film was released Stateside earlier this month, has so far grossed US$17M off the back of a US$15M production budget and has garnered mixed critical Reviews. 

'NO SUDDEN MOVE' (Rated MA15+) - is an American period crime thriller film Directed, lensed and Edited by Steven Soderbergh, whose previous acclaimed back catalogue of feature films include 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' his 1989 debut, plus 'Out of Sight', 'Erin Brokovich', 'Traffic', the 'Ocean's' trilogy, 'Contagion', 'Magic Mike', 'Side Effects', 'Logan Lucky', 'Unsane', and 'The Laundromat'. Set in 1954 Detroit, small-time criminals are hired to steal a document. When their heist goes horribly wrong, their search for who hired them, and for what purpose, sends them meandering through all echelons of the race-torn, rapidly changing city. Starring an ensemble cast taking in Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Ray Liotta and Matt Damon. The film cost just US$8.2M to produce, saw its World Premier screening at the Tribeca Film Festival in mid-June, was released on HBO Max on 1st July in the US and has generated mostly positive Reviews.

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, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-