What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 9th September 2021.

The 78th Venice International Film Festival is currently being held from 1st through until 11th September with South Korean Director, Producer and Writer Bong Joon-ho appointed as Jury President for the twenty-one films in the main international competition. The Opening Night film was the World Premier showcasing of the Spanish feature 'Parallel Mothers' by Director, Writer and Co-Producer Pedro Almodovar and starring Penelope Cruz. The film received a nine minute standing ovation from the gathered audience. The Closing Night film will be 'Il Bambino Nascosto' ('The Hidden Child') from Italy and France and is Directed and Written by the Italian film maker Roberto Ando.

Supporting Bong Joon-ho on the Jury for those films in international competition are Belgian Actress Virginie Efira, British Actress Cynthia Erivo and Chinese Director and Screenwriter Chloe Zhao amongst a few others. Included in this years competition for the Golden Lion Award are :- 

* 'The Card Counter' - American crime drama Written and Directed by Paul Schrader and starring Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, Tiffany Haddish and Tye Sheridan. World Premier screening. 

* 'Freaks Out' - Italian historical fantasy drama film Co-Written, Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Scored by Gabriele Mainetti and starring Claudio Santamaria and Pietro Castellitto. World Premier screening.

* 'The Hand of God' - Italian drama film Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Paolo Sorrentino and starring Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo and Teresa Saponangelo. World Premier screening.

* 'Happening' - French drama film Co-Written and Directed by Andrey Diwan and starring Anamaria Vartolomei and Luana Bajrami. World Premier screening.

* 'Leave No Traces' - the Polish, French and Czech Republic film is Directed by Jan P. Matuszynski and stars Agnieszka Grochowska. Selected as the Polish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards to be held in late March 2022.

* 'The Lost Daughter' - American drama film Written and Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal in her film making debut and starring Olivia Coleman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Mescal, Jack Farthing and Ed Harris. World Premier screening.

* 'Lost Illusions' - French drama film Co-Written and Directed by Xavier Giannoli and starring Benjamin Voisin, Xavier Dolan, Cecile de France and Gerard Depardieu. World Premier screening.

* 'Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon' - American fantasy film Written and Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour and starring Kate Hudson, Craig Robinson and Ed Skrein. World Premier screening.

* 'Official Competition' - Spanish comedy film Co-Written and Co-Directed by Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn and starring Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Oscar Martinez. World Premier screening.

* 'Parallel Mothers' - Spanish drama film Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Pedro Almodovar and starring Penelope Cruz. World Premier screening. Opening night film.

* 'The Power of the Dog' - internationally co-produced drama film Written and Directed by Jane Campion and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemmons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Keith Carradine and Frances Conroy. World Premier screening.

* 'Spencer' - US, UK, German and Chilean co-produced biographical psychological drama film Directed and Co-Produced by Pablo Larrain and starring Kristen Stewart, Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Timothy Spall and Sean Harris. World Premier screening.

* 'Sundown' - Mexican, French and Swedish drama film Written and Directed by Michel Franco and starring Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg. World Premier screening. 

Out of Competition, the following fiction feature films are included in those being showcased :-

* 'Dune' - this American Sci-Fi film is Directed by Denis Villeneuve and based on the best selling 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. Intended as the first in a two-parter, this film features an ensemble cast taking in Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem. World Premier screening.

* 'Halloween Kills' - is an American slasher horror film Directed and Co-Written by David Gordon Green and is a sequel to 2018's 'Halloween' and the twelfth instalment in the 'Halloween' franchise that first launched in 1978 with John Carpenter's cult classic 'Halloween' starring Jamie Lee Curtis - a role she once again reprises here. World Premier screening.

* 'The Last Duel' - is a US and UK co-production Directed and Co-Produced by Ridley Scott and Co-Written for the screen by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. Starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer. World Premier screening.

* 'Last Night in Soho' - from the UK, this psychological horror film is Directed, Co-Written, Co-Produced and based on a story by Edgar Wright. Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg (in her final screen role before her death in September last year), Rita Tushingham and Terence Stamp. World Premier screening.

* 'Old Henry' - from the US and Written and Directed by Potsy Ponciroli this American Western film stars Tim Blake Nelson, Scott Haze, Gavin Lewis, Stephen Dorff and Trace Adkins. World Premier screening.

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to the American Actress, Writer and multi-award winning Jamie Lee Curtis and the Italian Actor, Director, Writer and multi-award winning Roberto Benigni.

For all the latest news, views and reviews, you can visit the official website of the 78th Venice International Film Festival at : https://www.labiennale.org 

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. 

This week then we have three latest release new cinematic offerings coming to an Odeon near you, launching with a New Zealand horror thriller about a school teacher who is forced to confront a brutal act from his past, when a pair of ruthless drifters takes him and his family on a nightmare road-trip. This is followed up with a French drama biopic about one of the world most recognised landmarks in Paris, France, the history surrounding its construction, and how one woman influenced the outcome with the civil engineer. And we close up the week with a special Director's Cut of a world renowned Canadian rock band celebrating forty years of music making since their 1981 album 'Moving Pictures'. 

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 week ahead.

'COMING HOME IN THE DARK' (Rated MA15+) - is a New Zealand horror thriller film Directed, Co-Written and Executive Produced by James Ashcroft in his feature film making debut having Directed, Written and Produced a string of short films since 2015 and accumulating thirty-seven screen acting credits between 1995 and 2014, after which he turned his attention to working behind the camera. The film saw its World Premier screening at this years Sundance Film Festival in January and has garnered widespread Critical acclaim.

A family’s idyllic outing descends into terror when high school teacher Alan ‘Hoaggie’ Hoaganraad (Erik Thomson), his wife Jill (Miriama McDowell) and stepsons Maika (Billy Paratene) and Jordon (Frankie Paratene) set off to explore an isolated coastline. But an unexpected meeting with a pair of murderous drifters thrusts the family into a nightmare road trip where they find themselves captured by the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake (Daniel Gillies) and his hulking man-child accomplice Tubs (Matthias Luafutu). Initially the family’s nightmare seems to be born of a random encounter with two sociopaths who seem intent on who knows what, but as the night wears on Hoaggie and Jill realise that this nightmare was set in motion twenty years previously; and as they approach their mysterious final destination Mandrake reveals the horrible secret driving his actions leaving Hoaggie to face a questionable past before the sun rises.

'EIFFEL' (Rated M) - is a French German biographical drama film with English subtitles and is Directed and Written by Martin Bourboulon in his third feature film outing after 'Daddy or Mommy' in 2015 and 'Divorce French Style' in 2016. Here then having just finished work collaborating on New York's Statue of Liberty, the French Government asks Gustav Eiffel (Romain Duris) to design and build something spectacular for the 1889 Paris World Fair, but Eiffel only has desires on building a new subway. But his world is turned upside down and everything changes when he meets a mysterious woman, Adrienne Bourges (Emma Mackey) from his past. Also starring Pierre Deladonchamps and Armande Boulanger.

'RUSH : CINEMA STRANGIATO - DIRECTOR'S CUT' (Rated M) - with more than forty-five million records sold worldwide and countless sold-out tours, Rush - Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart - is not only one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, but remains one of the most popular. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has certified Rush for the third most consecutive gold/platinum studio albums by a rock band, topped only by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Rush's vast catalogue includes such classics as 1974's self-titled debut, 1976's '2112', 1981's 'Moving Pictures', 1996's 'Test For Echo', and 2002's 'Vapor Trails'. Rush released their 20th studio album, 'Clockwork Angels', in 2012. The critically-acclaimed collection marked their first studio recording since 2007's 'Snakes & Arrows'. This film brings Rush fans together in cinema's once again – this time to celebrate forty years of 'Moving Pictures'. This global fan event, screening for one night only on 9th September, takes an alternate 'Director's Cut' of the 2019 feature, giving audiences a special look into R40 LIVE, with a revamped setlist including new additions of bonus tracks 'One Little Victory' and 'Red Barchetta', as well as 'Cygnus X-1' / 'The Story So Far' featuring the late Neil Peart's final recorded drum solo masterpiece. This Director's Cut also includes soundcheck performances, exclusive interviews and more surprises. Directed by Dale Heslip.

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 coming week, at your local Odeon, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-