LAST NIGHT IN SOHO : Tuesday 23rd November 2021.

'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO', which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week, is an MA15+ Rated British psychological horror film Directed, Co-Produced, Written and based on a story by Edgar Wright, whose previous film making credits are 'A Fistful of Fingers' - his Directorial debut in 1995, then 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Hot Fuzz', 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World', 'The World's End', 'Baby Driver', and the doco 'The Sparks Brothers' released earlier this year. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Venice International Film Festival on 4th September 2021, before its release in the UK and US on 29th October. The film was originally slated for release at the end of September 2020, but was delayed to 23rd April 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being delayed again to 22nd October, then again to the following weekend, before being released in Australia last week. So far the film has grossed US$20M off the back of a US$43M production budget and has garnered generally favourable Reviews. 

Here, an aspiring fashion designer Eloise 'Ellie' Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) who has a love for everything from the Swinging Sixties relocates from her home town of Redruth in Cornwall to London to attend the London College of Fashion. Her mother was also a fashion designer, committed suicide, and whose ghost she sees from time to time in mirrors, although the apparition never speaks to her. She lives with her grandmother Margaret Turner (Rita Tushingham) in Cornwall. 

Once in London and located in the halls of residence, she is paired up with snobbish roommate Jocasta (Synnove Karlsen). It is only John (Michael Ajao) another student who shows Ellie any empathy. Ultimately, after one too many rowdy parties and put downs Ellie moves out and into a bedsit owned by the elderly Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg, in her last screen acting role before her death in September 2020).

That night, Ellie has a dream whereby she is transported back to 1965 London, and in particular Soho. At the famed and popular Cafe de Paris, she observes a confident young blonde woman, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), making enquiries about becoming a singer at the club, saying that she will be the next Cilla Black. Sandie embarks on a relationship with the charming manager, Jack (Matt Smith). The next morning while in class at college, Ellie begins to design a dress inspired by Sandie and discovers an unexplained love bite on her neck.

The next evening in another dream, Sandie successfully auditions at a Soho nightclub, arranged by Jack, before returning to the same bedsit that Ellie has rented. Inspired by her visions of Sandie, Ellie dyes her hair blonde, changes her fashion style, uses her as an inspiration for her dress designs and gets a job at a pub in order to make ends meet and pay for her rent and the original '60's clothing she has purchased. She is observed by a silver-haired man, who recognises her similarities to Sandie. In other dreams, Ellie discovers Sandie is not living the life she had wished for, and Jack begins to pimp Sandie out to his mostly middle-aged male clientele.

Back in the present day Ellie is disturbed by more and more menacing apparitions that resemble Jack and the men who abused Sandie. John persuades her to go to a Halloween Party, from which she later flees after the spirits attempt to accost her. John returns with her to her bedsit, where she has a vision of Jack murdering Sandie. Ellie decides to track down the silver-haired man, who she believes is Jack. She goes to the Police, and recounts her story in full detail, but she is taken for an unhinged crank.

Ellie visits the university library to find newspaper reports about Sandie's murder but is unsuccessful, instead finding plenty of stories of local men who mysteriously vanished seemingly without a trace. The spirits again manifest themselves, and attempting to flee the scene again, she nearly stabs Jocasta in a blind panic believing she was stabbing a spirit, but was prevented from doing so by John who intervened. Believing she must avenge Sandie's death, Ellie confronts the silver-haired man, who regularly drinks at the pub where she works. He angrily denies killing Sandie but is hit by a London cab and killed while leaving the pub. The pub landlady (Margaret Nolan in her last screen acting role before her death in October 2020) reveals the man's name to be Lindsay (Terence Stamp), and Ellie recalls coming across him in her dreams (as portrayed by Sam Claiflin) when he was an undercover vice officer who tried to help Sandie escape her life of prostitution. 

Distraught, Ellie decides to leave London and return to her Grandmother in Cornwall. John offers to drive her there, but first he drives her back to Ms. Collins' house so she can tell her that she's leaving and collect her belongings. Ms. Collins tells her that a female detective came by earlier in the day asking about Sandie's murder before revealing that she is actually Sandie. She explains that Ellie's vision of Sandie's death was in fact a vision of Sandie killing Jack when he threatened her with a knife. She then lured the men she was pimped to back to her room and killed them, hiding the bodies under the floorboards and in the walls of the house. Ms. Collins also reveals that she drugged Ellie's tea with the intention of killing her to prevent the truth from getting out.

In the ensuing scuffle, a cigarette from Ms. Collins' ashtray falls into a box of '60's LP records and begins to smoulder and burn. John comes to Ellie's assistance but Ms. Collins stabs him in the stomach as she lets him in through the front door. Ellie, in a semi-conscious drugged up state by now, makes it up the stairs to her room, where the spirits of Sandie's victims beg Ellie to kill Ms. Collins, but she refuses. With flames now taking hold over the house Ms. Collins enters Ellie's room, where she too witnesses the spirits and is slapped by the ghost of Jack. With the Police outside, she attempts to slit her own throat saying she will not go to prison, but is stopped by Ellie, who tells her she understands why she killed those men. Ms. Collins, as Sandie, tells Ellie to save herself and John from the increasing fire. Sandie remains sat at the end of Ellie's bed as the fire rages out of control all around her. 

Later, Ellie enjoys success as her '60's inspired dresses are showcased at a fashion show. She is congratulated backstage by her grandmother, other college students and John, now her boyfriend. Ellie sees her mother's spirit in a mirror smiling at her, followed by a vision of Sandie, who waves at her and blows her a kiss.

Edgar Wright certainly knows how to create a genre bending film that is a nod to all things that London had to offer the Swinging Sixties; to the Hammer House of Horror movies that dominated cinema from the mid-'50's til the mid '70's; to time travel; the mix of Italian and British horror thrillers of the era; to the soundtrack straight out of the '60's songbook; the great performances from an ensemble cast of young players and senior practitioners; and the surprising plot twists and turns that in the final analysis I never saw coming. Whilst this is touted as a horror film, horror it might be in the 1960's sense of the term, but it never left me feeling on the edge of my seat, or biting my nails in eager anticipation of what comes next, or offers up anything that can be truly defined as scary. Additionally, the timing of the final fashion show sequence is a bit off, with Ellie's hand still bandaged up from being slashed by Ms. Collins/Sandie indicating it is just a week or two since, while John seems to have made a complete recovery from the stab wound to his gut. That said, the stunning visuals, the stylish thrills, and the mash up of genres make for a highly entertaining couple of hours spent in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers all gawping up at a giant screen. 

'Last Night in Soho' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th November 2021.

The 32nd edition of the Stockholm International Film Festival wrapped up on 21st November after twelve days of showcasing a host of one hundred or so feature films, short films and documentaries from around the world, as well as in person and digital conversations with Directors including Kenneth Branagh, Joachim Trier, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Jane Campion and Robin Wright. This years Opening Night film was Pedro Almodovar's 'Parallel Mothers' with the Closing Nights film being Kenneth Branagh's 'Belfast'.  

In competition for the Bronze Horse, which is open to Directors who have made a maximum of three films only, were a selection of sixteen feature films. These were :-

* 'Rhino' - from Ukraine, Germany and Poland and Written and Directed by Oleh Sentsov. During the chaotic 90's in post Soviet Ukraine a rebellious small-time criminal is caught in a spiral of violence and more and more serious crime. He quickly ascends in the criminal hierarchy and is finding it exceedingly more difficult to stop. Winner of the Bronze Horse for Best Film, and the star of the film Serhii Filimonov was awarded the prize for Best Male Actor for his portrayal of the criminal Rhino.

* 'The Hill Where Lionesses Roar' - from Kosovo and France and Written, Directed, Co-Produced and starring Luana Bajrami. Three young women in a remote Kosovan village challenge the status quo as they go out on a tour filled with rebellious behaviour, petty crime and lust for life. The festival's youngest Director, the Kosovan 20-year-old Luana Bajrami, was awarded two Aluminum Horses in the categories Best Debut and Best Screenplay for this film.

* 'Our Men' - from Belgium and France and Written and Directed by Rachel Lang. Maxime and Vlad, two very different men united by the infamous Foreign Legion – a place where men from all over the world seek out a new family and future.

* 'Hive' - from Kosovo, Switzerland and Albania and Written and Directed by Blerta Basholli. This true story centres on Fahrije, who lost her husband and had to start her own business to survive. Due to the conservative views of her hometown, she is met with disapproval from the citizens.

* 'Feathers' - from Egypt, Netherlands, Greece and France and Co-Written and Directed by Omar El Zohairy. Somewhere between an absurd comedy and social realism we take part in a passive mother’s journey to take on a whole new role in the family after her husband accidentally is transformed into a chicken during a kids magic show.

* 'Miracle' - from Romania, Czech Republic and Latvia and Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Bogdan George Apetri. Two individuals - the first is Cristina, a nun who sneaks out from her monastery on urgent business but is instead faced with an unexpected turn of events. The second is Marius, a detective who is trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Cristina by following in her footsteps. 

* 'Luzzu' - from Malta and Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Alex Camilleri. Jesmark, a hard-working fisherman must turn his back on generations of tradition and risk everything by joining the black market to make ends meet and support his wife and newborn.

* 'Prayers for the Stolen' - from Mexico, Germany, Brazil and Qatar and Written and Directed by Tatiana Huezo. Nine-year-olds Ana, Maria and Paula live in a Mexican mountain village where corn fields coexist with violence and drug trafficking. The rule of the cartels affects everyone, and to make the girls unattractive to kidnappers, Ana's mother cuts their hair in short hairstyles. As the violence draws closer, the three friends create a refuge in an abandoned house. Tatiana Huezo was awarded an Aluminum Horse for Best Director.

* 'Jockey' - from the USA and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Clint Bentley. A jockey, at the end of his career, has to come to terms with his ageing and problematic lifestyle he’s been keeping during many years of strenuous competitive riding. As he is preparing for his last competition he is contacted by a young jockey claiming to be his son.

* 'A Chiara' - from Italy, France and the USA and Written and Directed by Jonas Carpignano. The Guerrasio family is in the middle of an extravagant birthday party as uninvited guests show up in the neighbourhood. The father of the family flees the scene without explanation. While looking for answers to explain the father’s disappearance, family secrets are revealed. Film Photographer Tim Curtin was awarded the Best Photo.

* 'Ballad of a White Cow' - from Iran and France and Written and Directed by Maryam Moghadam & Behtash Sanaeeha. Mina, grieving without a husband in conservative Iran because he was innocently executed, is isolated both socially and professionally. She is busy with the responsibility of maintaining the everyday life of her daughter and, at the same time, dealing with the unfair sentence her husband was subjected to.

* 'Ted K' - from the USA and Directed and Co-Produced by Tony Stone and starring Sharlto Copley. Professor Ted Kaczynski lives in a cabin in the woods of Montana without electricity and running water, totally isolated. As his beard grows, so does his hatred for how society relies on and worships technology. Seeds of radicalisation are slowly planted in the mind of the man who’s about to become the most hunted man in America.

* 'True Things' - from the UK and Directed and Co-Written by Harry Wootliff and starring Ruth Wilson, Tom Burke and Hayley Squires. Kate lives a monotonous life in a sleepy British coastal town when she meets charismatic Blonde, a meeting that quickly leads to a relationship. Kate, drunk on infatuation, is soon obsessed with his sporadic acts of attention, and the relationship quickly becomes destructive. Ruth Wilson was awarded Best Actress.

* 'Azor' - from Switzerland, France and Argentina and Directed and Co-Written by Andreas Fontana. A Swiss banker brings his wife to Argentina, in the middle of the military juntas strict rule, to cover up for his business partner who suddenly disappeared. Is he there to ensure the wealthy clients that their money and privileges are in safe hands or is he looking for the truth?

* 'Small Body' - from Italy, France and Slovenia and Co-Written and Directed by Laura Samani. During the early 1900's a young woman seeks out a mysterious church that claims to be able to resurrect her stillborn child.

* 'Clara Sola' - from Sweden, Costa Rica, Belgium and Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen. The 40-year-old, withdrawn Clara lives with her family in a small abandoned Costa Rican mountain town, under the wings of an overprotective matriarch. Clara is said to have contact with God, and with her inherent healing powers, she helps the religious locals.

For the full details of the other category award winners - the Stockholm Documentary Competition, the Stockholm Short Film Competition, the FIPRESCI Prize, the Rising Star Award and the the World's Shortest Short Film Award, plus a whole lot more besides, you can visit the official website at : https://www.stockholmfilmfestival.se/en

This week we have seven latest release new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, and kick starting the weeks cinematic offerings is the sequel to a Marvel Comics character that sees Eddie Brock as he attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of a new chaotic symbiote and escapes prison after a failed execution. This is followed up by a one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who takes a job to bring a man's young son home, and away from his alcoholic mother. Next up, a cranky, retired author reluctantly embarks on a final book tour to help out a young publisher. Then we have an acclaimed French offering that following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for ten years. Following on from this is a story of a woman who is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past; before closing out the week with two family oriented films, the first is an origin story of Father Christmas, as an ordinary boy sets out on an extraordinary adventure to find his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of Elfhelm; and we close out the week with a computer animated offering that is a sequel to a 2017 film that when a vicious professor attempts to destroy childhoods, the Boss Baby sets out on a mission to put a stop to his plans.

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

'VENOM : LET THERE BE CARNAGE' (Rated M) - Directed by Andy Serkis, this American superhero film is based on the Marvel Comics character Venom and is a sequel to 2018's 'Venom' which grossed US$856M off the back of a production budget of US$110M. Andy Serkis will need little introduction as an acclaimed Actor in his own right, but as a Director he has helmed 'Breathe' in 2017, then 'Mowgli : Legend of the Jungle' in 2018 as well as being the Second Unit Director on all three of Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit' trilogy in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Originally slated for an early October 2020 release, this film was subsequently pushed back several times throughout 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with an advanced screening in London in mid-September before its wide release in the US from 1st October. The film has so far grossed US$455M off the back of a budget of US$110M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews from critics. A third film is apparently in the works and Andy Serkis has expressed his desire to return to Direct. 

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting alien symbiote Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) also becomes host to an alien symbiote that is the chaotic spawn of Venom, and escapes from prison, Brock and Venom must put aside their differences to stop his reign of terror. Also starring Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott and Stephen Graham.

'CRY MACHO' (Rated M) - this American neo-Western drama film is Directed, Co-Produced and stars Clint Eastwood and is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by N. Richard Nash. The film was made on a budget of US$33M and has so far grossed US$13M following its release Stateside in mid-September to mixed or average Reviews so far. Here then, Mike Milo (Clint Eastwood), a one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who, in 1979, takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man's young son Rafo (Eduardo Minett) home from Mexico. Forced to take the backroads on their way to Texas, the unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world-weary horseman finds unexpected connections and his own sense of redemption. Also starring Dwight Yoakam and Natalia Traven.

'BEST SELLERS' (Rated M) - is a comedy drama film Directed by Lina Roessler in her feature film making debut having Directed three short films since 2014, although as an Actress she has thirty-five screen acting roles to her credit. Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza) has inherited her father's publishing house, but the ambitious would-be editor has nearly sunk it with failing titles. She discovers she is owed a book by Harris Shaw (Michael Caine), a reclusive, cantankerous, booze-addled author who originally put the company on the map decades earlier. In a last-ditch effort to save it, Lucy and Harris release his new book and embark on a tour from hell that changes them both in ways they didn't expect. Also starring Scott Speedman, Cary Elwes and Veronica Ferres, the film was released in the US and Canada in mid-September having been in the official selection at this years Berlin International Film Festival in early March, although it didn't have its planned World Premier screening at this festival because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions at the time. 

'TITANE' (Rated R18+) - is a 2021 body horror film Written and Directed by Julia Ducournau in only her second feature film making outing following the highly acclaimed 'Raw' in 2016. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-July this year where Ducournau became only the second female Director to win the Palme d'Or, the festival's top award, as well as the first female filmmaker to win solo. It has also been selected as the French entry for the Best International Feature Film at next years Academy Awards. As a child, Alexia (Adele Guigue) is involved in a car accident that leaves her with a head injury. When she emerges from surgery with a titanium plate, she seems to have a strange emotional and visceral connection to cars. Years later, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle in her feature film debut) works as an exotic dancer at motor shows where she writhes provocatively on automobiles, to a leering male audience. When one man harasses her, he is swiftly dispatched, kicking off a series of murders. But just as the violence ratchets up, Alexia takes on the role of a long-missing son Adrien, of firefighter Vincent (Vincent Lindon). Released in its native France and Belgium in July this year, the film has so far taken US$4.5M at the Box Office and has generated mostly positive Reviews. 

'THE UNFORGIVABLE' (Rated M) - this American and German Co-Produced film is Directed by Nora Fingscheidt following 2019's 'System Crasher' which picked up thirty-three wins and another twenty-five nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film is based on the 2009 British three-part mini-series 'Unforgiven' by Sally Wainwright, and is Co-Produced by the films star Sandra Bullock and Veronica Ferres. Released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime, Ruth Slater (Sandra Bullock) re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past. Facing severe judgment from the place she once called home, her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind. Also starring Jon Bernthal, Vincent D'Onofrio, Viola Davis, Richard Thomas, Aisling Franciosi and Rob Morgan, this film goes on a limited release from this week before streaming on Netflix from 10th December. 

'A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS' (Rated PG) - is a British Christmas fantasy film Directed and Co-Written for the screen by Gil Kenan whose prior film making credits take in 'Monster House' in 2006, 'City of Ember' in 2008 and 'Poltergeist' in 2015. This film is based on the 2015 book of the same name by Matt Haig. Here then, an ordinary young lad, Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) sets out on an adventure into the snowy north in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking with him a headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and a loyal pet mouse Miika (voiced by Stephen Merchant), Nikolas soon meets his destiny. Also starring Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Toby Jones, Maggie Smith, Kristen Wiig, Michiel Huisman and Joel Fry. 

'THE BOSS BABY : FAMILY BUSINESS' (Rated PG) - this is the second instalment in this seemingly popular American computer animated franchise that is the sequel to 2017's 'The Boss Baby' which grossed US$528M off the back of a US$125M production budget. Like the first film ,here Tom McGrath returns to the Director's chair, and his previous film making credits include his debut 'Madagascar' in 2005, then 'Madagascar : Escape 2 Africa' in 2008, and 'Madagascar 3 : Europe's Most Wanted' in 2012 with 'Magamind' in between in 2010, and now this new franchise of two films and counting, with a third in the early stages of development apparently. Now adults, Tim Templeton (voiced by James Marsden) is a stay-at-home Dad for two adorable daughters Tina (voiced by Amy Sedaris) and Tabitha (voiced by Ariana Greenblatt), while his estranged brother, Ted (voiced by Alec Baldwin), is a big-shot CEO. They come together in an unexpected way when they take a magical formula that transforms them into babies for 48 hours. Joining forces with Tim's secret-agent daughter, they must go under cover to prevent an evil genius Dr. Erwin Armstrong (voiced by Jeff Goldblum) from turning fellow toddlers into monstrous brats. The film was released in the US in early July, has so far grossed US$128M from a budget of US$82M and has generated mostly unfavourable critical Reviews, whereas audiences have said the opposite. 

With seven 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 at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

NO TIME TO DIE : Tuesday 16th November 2021.

I saw the M Rated 'NO TIME TO DIE' at my local multiplex this week and finally, the 25th Bond film is released in Australia, as Directed and Co-Written by Cary Joji Fukunaga whose prior film making credits include 'Jane Eyre' in 2011 and 'Beasts of No Nation' in 2015. Phoebe Waller-Bridge also Co-Wrote this film with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The film was originally scheduled for release in November 2019, but was postponed to February 2020 and then to April 2020 after Danny Boyle's departure as Director due to creative differences. It was then postponed until a November 2020 release date due to the ongoing severity of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, and was pushed back again to an early April 2021 date. It was then postponed to an October 2021 release date, with the World Premier screening scheduled for London's Royal Albert Hall on 28th September. The film was released in the UK on 8th October, in the US on 15th October and in China on 29th October, with the release postponed until last week in Australia because of national lockdowns which have since been lifted. The film has so far grossed US$710M off the back of a production budget somewhere in the vicinity of US$280M, and has garnered generally positive Reviews for this, Daniel Craig's final outing as the titular British MI6 Agent James Bond.  

The film opens up with a lone gunman traipsing through the snow to an isolated house by a lake surrounded by a forest. Inside the house, a young Madeleine Swann (Coline Defaud) looks after her near comatose mother (Mathilde Bourbin) on the verge of passing out on the sofa under the influence of alcohol, cigarettes and who knows what else. As the gunman approaches and enters the house the mother has passed out, leaving the young girl terrified as the masked gunman approaches. Madeleine runs upstairs and cowers under the bed having retrieved a revolver from under the kitchen sink. The gunman says to the mother that her husband was responsible for the death of his whole family and promptly shoots the mother dead where she lays, and then walks upstairs to Madeleine's bedroom. Seeing the room seemingly empty he turns around to leave, just as the young girl pops her head over the side of the bed and fires off several shots into the gunman, sending him crashing through the wooden balustrade down into the room below, apparently dead. As the girl drags the lifeless body outside through the snow, the gunman comes around and rises up. Madeleine makes a hasty exit across the iced up lake, but once in the middle the ice begins to crack under her weight, and she falls through. The gunman rescues Madeleine. 

We then fast forward to five years ago and a now adult Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) is in the southern Italian city of Matera with James Bond (Daniel Craig) - the pair in love. Bond is there with the intention of paying his final respects to Vesper Lynd as she is entombed there. Upon visiting the tomb he notices in a bunch of flowers a Spectre calling card, at which point the tomb explodes. 

Spectre assassins are soon hot on Bond's heels led by Primo (Dali Benssalah) but he successfully manages to evade being killed off and escapes with Madeleine in the bullet riddled yet gadget heavy Aston Martin DB5. Bond believes that Swann has betrayed him, and despite her pleas to the contrary, he packs her on a train and says that she will never see him again. 

Fast forward to the present day, and MI6 scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) is kidnapped from an MI6 off-grid laboratory, with the lab destroyed and all working operatives therein shot dead. With M's approval Obruchev had developed the top-secret Project Heracles, an exclusive bioweapon containing nanobots designed to infect like a virus upon touch that are coded to an individual's DNA, rendering it lethal to the target and their relatives, but completely harmless to anyone else. 

Bond meanwhile has retired to Jamaica, where he is enjoying the laid back relaxed lifestyle. He is contacted by his old friend from the CIA, Agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and his colleague Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen), who ask for Bond's help, for old time's sake, in finding Obruchev. Bond declines, but after Nomi (Lashana Lynch), an MI6 agent and his replacement as 007, tells him about Project Heracles, Bond agrees to help Leiter, over Nomi's warnings not to get involved.

Bond sails into Cuba and meets Paloma (Ana de Armis), a CIA agent, with three weeks training allegedly, working with Leiter. They infiltrate a Spectre meeting to celebrate Blofeld's birthday to extract Obruchev. Still locked up inside Belmarsh Prison, Blofeld uses a disembodied 'bionic eye' to lead the meeting and order his members to kill Bond with a 'nanobot mist', but it kills all the Spectre members, as Obruchev had reprogrammed the nanobots to infect them all instead. It turns out that the masked gunman in the opening scene is Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) who had given the orders to Obruchev to wipe out all of Spectre. Bond captures Obruchev and  flies out on Nomi's seaplane to meet with Leiter and Ash on a fishing trawler out at sea. Ash, however, reveals himself to be a double agent who is working for Safin. In a fight between Bond and Ash, Leiter is shot in the stomach. Ash escapes with Obruchev on the seaplane leaving Bond and Leiter locked in the engine room, as the trawler explodes in a ball of flame and gradually begins to sink. As the water rises Leiter bids his final farewell to his old friend and sinks below the water succumbing to his wound. Bond swims through the hole caused by the explosion to the surface, finds a life raft, and is picked up later the next day by a passing container ship. 

Back now in London and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) arrange a meeting between Bond and Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) in Belmarsh Prison to try to locate the whereabouts of Obruchev. Meanwhile, Safin visits and coerces the now psychotherapist Dr. Madeleine Swann to infect herself with a nanobot dose to kill Blofeld, as she has been in contact with him for treatment since his imprisonment. 

When Bond encounters Madeleine for the first time in five years at Belmarsh their reception is frosty to say the least. Once inside the confines of Blofeld's high security prison cell, he touches her and unknowingly infects himself before she leaves, unable to go through with Safin's plan. Blofeld confesses to Bond that he staged the explosion at Vesper Lynd's tomb to make it seem as though Madeleine had betrayed him. Bond reacts by grabbing Blofeld by the throat in a strangle hold, but M's Chief of Staff Bill Tanner (Rory Kinnear) intervenes. Moments later when the dust has settled, they both look around to see Blofeld slumped back in his chair dead, as Bond had unintentionally caused the nanobots to infect and kill him.

Bond traces Madeleine back to her childhood home in Norway and learns that she has a five-year-old daughter, Mathilde ((Lisa-Dorah Sonnet), who she claims is not his. After kissing and making-up for lost time in which Bond says his biggest regret is putting Madeleine on that train five years ago, she tells him that when Safin was a boy, his parents were murdered by her father on Blofeld's orders. Having avenged them by killing Blofeld and destroying Spectre, Safin continues his rampage with Ash and their henchmen in pursuit of Bond, Madeleine and Mathilde in a high speed chase through the mountainous Norwegian countryside and forest. Ultimately Bond kills Ash by crushing him under his upturned Range Rover from which he had just crawled out of, and the other thugs, but Safin captures Madeleine and Mathilde and makes off with them in a helicopter, leaving Bond on the ground looking on.

Q enables Bond and Nomi to infiltrate Safin's headquarters in a former WWII missile base, converted to a nanobot factory, on an island located somewhere between Japan and Russia. There Obruchev is mass-producing the Heracles technology so Safin can use it to systematically wipe out millions of people. Bond kills many of Safin's men while Nomi kills Obruchev by shoving him backwards into a huge nanobot vat. 

Madeleine escapes captivity at the hands of Primo, while Safin lets Mathilde go after she bites him on the hand, for which he has no patience. Nomi takes Madeleine and Mathilde away from the island while Bond stays behind to open the island's 1950's Russian era blast-resistant silo doors, and calls in a missile strike from HMS Dragon, as the only Royal Navy vessel in the area, to destroy the installation with M's (Ralph Fiennes) approval despite protestations from the Russian and Japanese governments and the UK's Prime Minister. Bond, while making a sharp exit encounters more of Safin's men whom he kills, including Primo.

Safin ambushes Bond as he is making his way outta there, shooting him twice and infecting him with a vial containing nanobots programmed to kill Madeleine and Mathilde. Despite his injuries, Bond kills Safin after a fight and re-opens the silos which Safin had previously closed. Speaking by radio with Madeleine, Bond tells her he loves her and encourages her to move on without him. Madeleine confirms that Mathilde is his daughter as Bond says his final farewell.

Much has been written about 'No Time To Die' and most of it positive, and as Australia is just about the last country on Earth to see 007 doing what he does best, it will come as no surprise to anyone to learn that James Bond carks it at the end of this film. This of course begs the question of the Producers and the Writers of how do they bring back James Bond for the 26th instalment in this ever popular franchise. Perhaps this episode is all just a dream and Bond will wake up next to Swann and Blofeld, Leiter and Spectre will all still be very much alive and kicking and Safin never existed! Maybe! That said, this film has all the usual touchstones that make Bond such an enjoyable watch - the big action set pieces, the exotic locations, the gadgets, the intrigue, the quips, the megalomaniacal villain and in this one the emotion too that Bond portrays in his love and regret for Swann and for ever doubting her, that ultimately costs him his life. The film has heart and soul as well as a more mature Bond who is still able to handle himself, albeit not quite as bullet proof as he once was, and deliver the one liners with aplomb whilst showing us that he is capable of real care, love and emotion. Craig gives his all in this his final performance as the titular Secret Agent and his demise is a fitting end to his legacy over the last five films. At a run time of 163 minutes it is however, just a tad on the lengthy side, albeit the film never leaves you wanting and it moves along at a swift pace, despite the mid-section dragging its heels a little. 

'No Time To Die' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th November 2021.

The 27th Geneva International Film Festival ran from the 5th through until 14th November. The official website reads, 'founded in 1995, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) is Geneva’s oldest film festival and one of the first in the world to include television in its programmes. A crossroads of genres and disciplines, a place of experimentation, encounters and celebration, it offers every year for ten days, films, series, interactive installations and virtual reality works to some 40,000 festival-goers. The largest space in Switzerland dedicated to immersive arts, the GIFF has become one of the major events in Europe in this field'. 

The International Features Competition showcases a selection of ten films that turn stylistic conventions upside down and pave the way for the cinema of tomorrow. The titles, all Swiss Premieres, compete for the Reflet d’Or with a cash prize worth CHF10K awarded by a Jury composed of a renowned filmmaker accompanied by film students. Those films in competition are :-

* 'Costa Brava, Lebanon' - this internationally co-produced drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Mounia Akl. Through the repeated crises that affect Lebanon, the Badri family takes refuge in a small corner of paradise. One day, trucks arrive to unload piles of rubbish in front of their windows. Surrounded, they will have to rethink the world of their tomorrows. This film took out the 2021 Reflet D'Or Award for the Best Feature Film.

* 'El Planeta' - from the USA this is Directed, Written, Co-Produced and stars Amalia Ulman. Fragile, funny, inseparable, a mother and daughter flee reality after a tragic event. In a ghostly Gijon, surviving as best they can the torments of the post-2008 crisis, they escape through jokes and magical thoughts. The multidisciplinary artist, who is also the lead actress, has cast her own mother in this memorable duo.

* 'Ghost Song' - from France, this music drama documentary is Directed and Co-Written by Nicolas Peduzzi. Houston City, Sodom and Gomorrah style. In a twilight atmosphere, OMB, rapper and ex-gang leader, hides herself away, while William, shattered and broken, drags his sadness through the streets. In a world on the verge of disintegration, hurricane Harvey approaches the city in 2017.

* 'I'm Fine (Thanks for Asking)' - from the US this dramatic thriller is Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Angelique Molina and Kelley Kali. Since the pandemic hit, the streets of Los Angeles have filled with many precarious workers and their children. In order to find her home, a young sunny woman will rollerblade through the streets of the San Fernando Valley to raise a handful of dollars that could change everything.

* 'Medusa' - from Brazil this fantasy drama is Directed and Written by Anita Rocha da Silveira. During devastating nightly sprees, masked evangelists stalk sinners. By day, they are 'Michelle and the precious ones' and produce goofy hits and dumb tutorials. Somewhere between giallo and political satire, behold a resolutely feminist fable.

* 'Mighty Flash' - from Spain and is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Ainhoa Rodriguez. In a small, deserted village in Extremadura, trapped by patriarchal traditions and the weight of religion, women await a resounding event that promises to challenge their lives, even save them.

* 'Petrov's Flu' - from Russia, Germany, France and Switzerland, this drama film is Directed and Co-Wriiten by Kirill Serebrennikov. In this virtuoso trip, the Director unfolds long sequence shots, live light changes, without recourse to any computer-generated images, to totally immerse the viewer in a reconstruction of his Soviet childhood. A punk opera from a filmmaker under house arrest.

* 'Poulet Frites' - from France and Belgium this documentary thriller is Directed and Written by Jean Libon and Yves Hinant. In this unusual, dramatic and staggering chess game, each character’s survival is at stake. The Police pose questions, the suspects are dodgy. Whatever the cost, the intrepid Judge Anne Gruwez leads the investigation. Direct, intuitive, terribly human. In her hands lies the fate of a man accused of a crime…

* 'The Great Movement' - is an international co-produced drama film Directed, Written, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by Kiro Russo. A seven-day hike takes miners to La Paz, Bolivia, the highest capital in the world at 3,600 metres above sea level. Dazed, they come across a shaman, a white wolf, and the legend of the black panther. This mesmerising, hybrid collage is a mystical ode to 'Nuestra Amada Senora de la Paz' and the city’s invisible workers.

* 'Theo and the Metamorphosis' - from France and Switzerland, this drama is Directed and Written by Damien Odoul. Reinventing one’s life, running the ultimate risk of changing, the risk of complete imbalance. Theo is on a path to become a samurai in a secret training camp for peaceful warriors in the heart of a forest populated by animals. Theo is free as a bird! A shattering poetic odyssey.

For the full details of the other competitions which ran at the 27th Geneva International Film Festival, plus a whole lot more besides, you can got to the official website at : https://2021.giff.ch/en/

To tempt you out to your local Odeon in the coming week we have four new cinematic releases to whet the movie going appetite. We kick off with a British drama mystery horror offering about an aspiring fashion designer who can mysteriously enter 1960's London where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, but the glitz and glamour is not everything it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something darker. Next up is an American offering about a Detroit waitress and part time stripper who, with a new friend in tow, embark on a wild road trip to sunny Florida for a weekend of stripping to earn some quick cash. This is followed up by a NatGeo doco about the daring rescue attempt of twelve boys and their coach from a flooded underwater cave in Northern Thailand just three years ago. And closing out the week is a life story of the famed Canadian songstress Aline Dieu based loosely on the life of Celine Dion. 

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.

'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO' (Rated MA15+) - this British psychological horror film is Directed, Co-Produced, Written and based on a story by Edgar Wright, whose previous film making credits are 'A Fistful of Fingers' - his Directorial debut in 1995, then 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Hot Fuzz', 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World', 'The World's End', 'Baby Driver', and the doco 'The Sparks Brothers' released earlier this year. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Venice International Film Festival on 4th September 2021, before its release in the UK and US on 29th October, having been originally slated for release at the end of September 2020, but was delayed to 23rd April 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being delayed again to 22nd October, then again to the following weekend. So far the film has grossed US$13M off the back of a US$43M production budget and has garnered generally favourable Reviews. 

Here, an aspiring fashion designer Eloise 'Ellie' Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) relocates from her home town of Redruth in Cornwall to London to attend the London College of Fashion. Moving into a bedsit owed by a Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg in her final role before her death in 2020) Ellie has a vivid dream and is mysteriously taken back to the 1960's, where she encounters a dazzling aspiring singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). However, the glamour is not all it appears to be, and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker. Also starring Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Sam Claiflin, Rita Tushingham, James and Oliver Phelps and Margaret Nolan (also in her final film role before her death in 2020). 

'ZOLA' (Rated MA15+) - this American black comedy crime film is Directed and Co-Written by Janicza Bravo and is based on a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by Aziah 'Zola' King and the resulting Rolling Stone article 'Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted' by David Kushner. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Sundance Film Festival way back in late January 2020, was released in the US in late June this year following a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zola received positive reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$5M from a production budget of US$5M. Here then, Zola (Taylor Paige), a Detroit waitress and part-time stripper, is seduced by her new friend Stefani (Riley Keough) into a weekend of stripping in Tampa, Florida for some quick cash, but the trip becomes a sleepless 48-hour odyssey involving a nefarious friend, her pimp and her idiot boyfriend. Also starring Nicholas Braun and Colman Domingo. 

'THE RESCUE' (Rated M) - this National Geographic documentary film is Co-Directed and Co-Produced by Academy Award winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. This film chronicles the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018 through the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand. Featuring never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews the film makers piece together the high stakes mission, highlighting the efforts of the Royal Thai Navy SEALs and U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and details the expert cave divers' audacious venture to dive the boys to safety. The film has garnered critical acclaim. 

'ALINE' (Rated M) - this unofficial music biopic is Directed, Co-Written and stars Valerie Lemercier in this quasi life story of the Canadian super songstress Celine Dion. Here the 57 year old singer, Actress and Film maker Valerie Lemercier plays Aline Dieu at all ages in her life span from twelve years of age onwards from which point she is taken under the wing of Producer Guy-Claude Kamar (Sylvain Marcel) who in the fullness of time becomes her husband. The film centres on the singers residency in Las Vegas, her marriage to Guy-Claude and her mother Sylvette (Danielle Fichaud) furiousness at their whole affair, her wild eating habits, her Academy Awards performance and the time when she was not permitted to speak due to her damaged vocal chords, and much more besides. The film saw its World Premier screening at this years Cannes Film Festival and has not surprisingly divided audiences. 

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 at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-