JOHN WICK : CHAPTER 4 - Tuesday 28th March 2023.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'JOHN WICK : CHAPTER 4' this week, and here we have the continuing saga in the 'John Wick' franchise that is once again Directed and Co-Produced by Chad Stahelski following his earlier successes with the 2014 debut in the series 'John Wick', then 2017's 'John Wick : Chapter 2' and 2019's 'John Wick : Chapter 3 - Parabellum'. Those first three films grossed globally a total US$587M off the back of combined production budgets of US$145M. Originally set for worldwide cinematic release on 21st May 2021, 'John Wick 4' was delayed first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then Keanu Reeves's commitments with 2021's 'The Matrix Resurrections'. This film saw its World Premier in London on 6th March and was released worldwide from last week, having garnered positive critical reviews and grossed so far US$153M off the back of a US$100M production budget. 

The film opens up with the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) returning to his underground hideaway where John Wick (Keanu Reeves who also Executive Produces here) has been recovering after being shot by Winston (Ian McShane) at the end of the last film, and is in training to get back into shape so that he is best prepared to exact his revenge on the High Table. We next see John riding horseback across the desert sands of Morocco chasing after three horsemen, whom he eventually guns down, before meeting with the Elder, who sits above the High Table, and whom he also shoots dead. 

Responding to this development, the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), a senior member of the High Table, summons the New York Continental Hotel Manager Winston and his concierge, Charon (Lance Reddick) to his very plush offices overlooking the city skyline and down across to the Continental. De Gramont explains to Winston that the High Table has given him unlimited resources to find and kill John Wick. He berates Winston for his failure to assassinate John when he had the chance to do so. As a consequence, De Gramont strips Winston of his duties as Manager, declares him as 'excommunicado', destroys the Continental, and shoots Charon in the chest, killing him. We next see De Gramont in Paris where he enlists Caine (Donnie Yen), a blind, retired High Table assassin, to kill his old friend John, threatening to murder his daughter if he declines, or fails to do so.

John takes refuge at the Osaka Continental Hotel, run by his long term friend Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada). De Gramont's right-hand man Chidi (Marko Zaror), supported by many High Table assassins and Caine, arrive to investigate the hotel, looking for John. Koji's daughter Akira (Rina Sawayama), the hotel's concierge, evacuates the hotel just before Chidi announces that the High Table have 'deconsecrated' it, resulting in a battle royale between Chidi's men, Koji's men, John and Akira. 

John fights through waves of armoured assassins, and a showdown with Caine is interrupted by a bounty hunter who calls himself 'Mr. Nobody' (Shamier Anderson). He helps John's escape after determining the contract money for killing him falls short of his expectations. Caine allows a wounded Akira to flee after killing her father, but upon leaving she swears to exact her revenge on Caine, to which he responds with 'I'll be waiting'. 

John returns to a snow covered New York and meets with Winston at Charon's gravesite. Winston advises John to invoke an old High Table tradition and challenge De Gramont to a duel. Winning will free him of all obligations to the High Table. The over rider is that John can only request a duel on behalf of a crime family. And so John travels to the Berlin headquarters of Ruska Roma, with whom he had severed all ties, to request readmission. His adoptive sister Katia (Natalia Tena) allows John to rejoin in exchange for dispensing with Killa (Scott Adkins), a High Table senior who murdered her father. Although Killa sets up an ambush at his nightclub with both Caine and Nobody there too, John still manages to kill him, but not before taking a beating himself, and wins back his status within Ruska Roma.

Winston takes John's formal challenge to De Gramont, who is initially dismissive of the notion but then reluctantly accepts when he realises he has no choice. As part of the deal he asks that the New York Continental be rebuilt funded in totality by the High Table, with him being reinstated as Manager, should John win, to which De Gramont reluctantly agrees.

In Paris, John and De Gramont decide the parameters of their duel in a meeting moderated by the Harbinger (Clancy Brown), the Table's emissary. De Gramont nominates Caine to fight in his place. The duel is to take place with duelling pistols on the following sunrise just after 6:00am at Sacre-Coeur, with John and Winston being executed should either fail to appear on time. 

The Bowery King arrives in Paris and meets with Winston and John to give John a weapon and a new ballistic three piece suit.

De Gramont hatches a plan to prevent John from arriving at the duel in time by placing a US$26M bounty on his head, which leads to a frenetic sequence around the Arc de Triomphe with John fighting off hordes of assassins on his way to Sacre-Coeur, including Nobody, who negotiates a bounty increase to US$40M with De Gramont when it looks as though his plan is failing. During their confrontation, John prevents Chidi from killing Nobody's dog, and so a stunned Nobody decides to abandon his pursuit of John, and subsequently kills Chidi on the steps leading up to the Sacre-Coeur. 

After Caine and Nobody assist John in the 220 steps that leads to Sacre-Coeur by taking out another horde of assassins and De Gramont's henchmen, they reach the summit just in time for the duel. Caine takes his place opposite John for the duel, while Nobody watches on from the sidelines with his trusted dog by his side. Each inflicts serious wounds on the other through two rounds of duelling, first at a distance of thirty paces then twenty paces. The third round at a distance of just ten paces, comes to a halt when Caine mortally wounds John with a shot to the gut. Demanding the right to administer the coup de grace, De Gramont immediately steps up and swaps places with Caine. However, as Gramont stands over John pointing the loaded pistol at him, Winston perks up with 'you idiot, he didn't fire his third bullet', with which John shoots and kills an unsuspecting De Gramont with his single pistol bullet cleanly in his forehead. 

The Harbinger grants Caine and John their freedoms from all obligations to the High Table, Winston is reinstated as the Continental Hotel Manager and the hotel will be rebuilt at the High Table's expense. John stands, and turns to Winston and asks that he takes him home. After collapsing on the staircase, John has a vision of his life and marriage before peacefully succumbing to his wounds. Later, back in New York, Winston and the Bowery King say their farewells to John at a gravesite where he is buried next to his late wife, Helen, with the tombstone reading John Wick, Loving Husband, next to his wife's which reads Helen Wick, Loving Wife. 

'John Wick : Chapter 4' certainly ups the ante on the action set pieces, the majestically choreographed fight sequences, the bullet ballet and the trademark gun fu that our titular action hero is renowned for. The body count, which must stretch well into the couple of hundred here all at the hands of one single man, is relentless and I have to say repetitive, with my mind wandering towards the end and thinking when will all this wrap up? And despite John getting thrown off high balconies, crashing through a second storey window and landing on a car roof below, getting hit by various cars and hurled against others and being thrown down 220 steps to land in a crumpled heap at the bottom, he seems to get up, dust himself down, and carry on with killing the bad guys with nary a scratch to show for it - like he's Superman - and maybe he is, until he's not! Including the credits (which you have to sit through if you want to catch the end credits scene) this film borders on three hours, which is easily thirty minutes longer than it needed to be, but that said it never leaves you wanting as it lurches from one action sequence to the next, to the next and so on right up to the satisfactory conclusion that for now at least, seems to put a lid on this franchise that has redefined the action genre and set the standard by which all other films of the ilk will be judged. 

'John Wick : Chapter 4' 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 30th March 2023.

The 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 30th March and runs through until Monday 10th April. As one of the oldest film festivals in Asia, the global reputation of the HKIFF was built on the pioneering work of programming Asian films and its retrospectives when Asian and Hong Kong cinema were not well known to the international community. Built on a solid reputation for programming, the HKIFF became the model for many subsequent film festivals around the region. Today, the HKIFF has grown to be Hong Kong’s largest cultural event and is one of Asia’s most reputable platforms for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch new work and experience outstanding films. Screening over 280 titles from fifty countries the HKIFF reaches an audience of over 600,000, with 4,500 business executives attending the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market.

This years Opening Night films are the Asian Premier of 'Mad Fate' from Hong Kong and Directed by Soi Cheang and the World Premier of 'Elegies' also from Hong Kong and Directed by Ann Hui. The Closing Night film is the World Premier of 'Vital Sign' from Director Cheuk Wan-chi.

Ten films make up the Gala Presentation, these being :

* 'Aftersun' from the UK and USA and Directed by Charlotte Wells.

* 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' from the US and Directed by Laura Poitras.

* 'The Beasts' from Spain and France and Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen.

* 'Corsage' from Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and France and Directed by Marie Kreutzer.

* 'The Eight Mountains' from Italy, Belgium and France and Directed by Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch.

* 'Plan 75' from Japan, France, the Philippines and Qatar and Directed by Hayakawa Chie.

* 'Saint Omer' from France and Directed by Alice Diop.

* 'Stars at Noon' from France and Directed by Claire Denis.

* 'Subtraction' from Iran and France and Directed by Mani Haghighi.

* 'World War III' from Iran and Directed by Houman Seyedi.

For the details of the Firebird Awards for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese language); Young Cinema Competition (World); Documentary Competition; and the Short Film Competition, plus all the other film strands being showcased at this years HKIFF, you can go to the official website at : https://www.hkiff.org.hk/

Turning attention back to this weeks four new cinematic offerings coming your way, we kick off with a South Korean comedy crime drama about a young woman who decides to give up her newborn child to a church for adoption but discovers that there is an active group which steals these children for sale. Next up is a Sci-Fi comedy drama that tells the story of the host of a failing children's science show who tries to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut by building a rocket ship in his garage, and a series of bizarre events that occur that cause him to question his own reality. Next up we have a Biblical drama retelling of the story of after being called on by the Lord, Abraham's faith is tested on his three day journey to sacrifice his son; before closing out the week with a French animated feature set in an ancient Greek port city where the wrath of Poseidon threatens its populace, but a young, adventurous mouse and the cat who adopted her help the aged Jason and his Argonauts in their quest to save the city.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new films 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.

'BROKER' (Rated M) - this South Korean drama film is Written, Directed and Edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda whose previous Directorial credits take in the likes of 'Nobody Knows' in 2004, 'Still Walking' in 2008, 'After the Storm' in 2016, 'Shoplifters' in 2018 and 'The Truth' in 2019. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it screened in late May last year and won the Ecumenical Jury Award and the Best Actor Award for Song Kang-ho. It went on release in its native South Korea in early June, has so far grossed US$18M and has generated largely positive Critical reviews. The film has collected ten award wins and another twenty-seven nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit.

Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) is the owner of a hand laundry and volunteers at the nearby church, where his friend Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) works. The two run an illegal business together, Sang-hyeon occasionally steals babies from the church's baby box (a place where people (typically mothers) can bring babies, usually newborn, and abandon them anonymously in a safe place to be found and cared for) with Dong-soo, who deletes the church's surveillance footage that shows a baby was left there. They sell the babies on the adoption black market. But when a young mother So-young (Lee Ji-eun) comes back after having abandoned her baby, she discovers them and decides to go with them on a road trip to interview the baby's potential parents. Meanwhile, two detectives, Soo-jin (Bae Doona) and Lee (Lee Joo-young), are on their case and on their trail. 

'LINOLEUM' (Rated M) - is an American Sci-Fi comedy drama film Written and Directed by Colin West in only his third feature film outing following his debut in 2012 with 'So It Was with Us' and 'Double Walker' in 2012 with seven short films in between. Here, Cameron Edwin (Jim Gaffigan), the host of a failing TV science show for children, has always had aspirations of being an astronaut. When a mysterious satellite coincidentally falls from space and lands in his backyard, his midlife crisis manifests into a plan to rebuild the machine into a rocket. As surreal events start to unfold around him, he slowly comes to the realisation that there's more to his life story than he once thought. Also starring Rhea Seehorn, Katelyn Nacon and Tony Shalhoub. The film was released in the US towards the end of February and has so far grossed just US$65K, but has generated mostly positive critical reviews.

'HIS ONLY SON' (Rated PG) - Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by David Helling in his feature film debut, this US Biblical drama offering chronicles one of the most controversial moments in all of scripture - when the Lord God (Daniel da Silva) gave Abraham (Nicolas Mouawad) the ultimate test by commanding him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac (Edaan Moskowitz), on the mountain of Moriah. Answering age-old questions as to why the Lord would require such a sacrifice, His Only Son profoundly explores mankind's relationship to God. This film is released Stateside too this week.

'ARGONUTS' (Rated G) - is a French animated adventure comedy film Written and Directed by David Alaux, Eric Tosti and Jean-Francois Tosti. In Yolcos, a beautiful and prosperous port city of ancient Greece, the population is threatened by the wrath of Poseidon (voiced by Paul Borne). A young mouse named Pattie (Kaycie Chase) and the orange cat who adopted her, Chickos (Emmanuel Curtil) will help old Jason (Michel Tureau) and his Argonauts to save the city by facing numerous mythical creatures and colourful adventures along the way. The film was released in its native France at the end of January, in the UK in mid-February and various other European nations up to now having so far grossed US$9.2M.

With four new release movie offerings 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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd March 2023.

South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organised jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, USA. It began in 1987 and has continued to grow in both scope and size every year. The SXSW Film Festival runs for nine days, which this year ran from Friday 10th March until Sunday 19th March, simultaneously with the SXSW Film Conference, and celebrates raw innovation and emerging talent both behind and in front of the camera.

This years Opening Night film was 'Dungeon's & Dragons : Honour Among Thieves' Written and Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, with the World Premier showcasing of 'Air' Directed by Ben Affleck chosen as the Closing Night film.

Of the two feature film award categories held - Narrative Feature Competition, which showcases eight World Premieres, eight unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling; and Documentary Feature Competition screening eight World Premieres with eight real world stories that demonstrate innovation, energy and bold voices, the winners and also rans, are as follows :-

* Narrative Feature Competition, winner : 'Raging Grace' Written and Directed by Paris Zarcilla in this UK produced horror film. This film beat out seven other international features, all of which had their World Premiers at SXSW, these being : 'I Used To Be Funny', from Canada and Written and Directed by Ally Pankiw; 'Late Bloomers' from the US and Directed by Lisa Steen; 'Mustache' from the US and Pakistan and Written and Directed by Imran J. Khan; 'Parachute' from the US and Co-Written and Directed by Brittany Snow; 'Pure O' from the US and Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Dillon Tucker; 'Scrambled' from the US and Written and Directed by Leah McKendrick; and 'Story Ave' Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Aristotle Torres.

* Special Jury Award for Performance, presented to Courtney Eaton for her role as Riley in the US drama romance feature film 'Parachute' Co-Written and Directed by Brittany Snow. 

* Special Jury Award for Cinematography, awarded to Eric Branco for 'Story Ave', this US drama film Co-Written and Directed by Aristotle Torres.

* Documentary Feature Competition, winner : 'Angel Applicant' from the US and Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Ken August Meyer. This film beat out seven other documentaries, all again having seen their World Premier screenings at this years SXSW. Those other films were : 'Another Body' from the US and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sophie Compton; 'Geoff McFetridge : Drawing a Life' from the US and Co-Written, Produced and Directed by Dan Covert; 'Join or Die' from the US and Written, Produced and Directed by Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis; 'Pay or Die' from the US and Directed and Produced by Rachael Dyer and Scott Ruderman; 'Queendom' from France and the US and Co-Produced and Directed by Agniia Galdanova; 'Riders of the Storm' from Austria and Produced and Directed by Jason Motlagh and Mark Oltmans; and 'You Were My First Boyfriend' from the US and Written and Directed by Cecilia Aldarondo and Sarah Enid Hagey.

* Special Jury Award for Innovation in Storytelling, presented to 'Another Body' from the US and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sophie Compton. 

For the other feature and short film sections, including details of 'Headliners', 'Narrative Spotlight', 'Documentary Spotlight', 'Midnighters' and 'Visions' plus the other award recipients and a whole heap of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://www.sxsw.com/festivals/film/

This week we have just three new cinematic offerings coming to a big screen Odeon near you, kicking off with the fourth instalment in this fast paced action thriller franchise that sees this legendary and almost indestructible hit man taking his fight against the High Table to earn his freedom as he seeks out the most powerful players across the global underworld. This is followed by a fantasy offering in which a young intern starts work at a mysterious London firm with unconventional employers, including a CEO who wants to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices. And closing out the week we have an Aussie romantic drama set during the summer of 1999, when an 18-year-old amateur ballroom dancer has an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend's older brother.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new films 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 coming week.

'JOHN WICK : CHAPTER 4' (Rated MA15+) - here we have the continuing saga in the 'John Wick' franchise that is once again Directed and Co-Produced by Chad Stahelski following his earlier successes with the 2014 debut in the series 'John Wick', then 2017's 'John Wick : Chapter 2' and 2019's 'John Wick : Chapter 3 - Parabellum'. Those first three films grossed globally a total US$587M off the back of combined production budgets of US$145M. Originally set for worldwide cinematic release on 21st May 2021, 'John Wick 4' was delayed first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then Keanu Reeves's commitments with 2021's 'The Matrix Resurrections'. This film saw its World Premier in London on 6th March and is scheduled for a worldwide release from this week. 'John Wick Chapter 5' is already in development with a release date yet to be confirmed.

In this instalment, John Wick (Keanu Reeves who also Executive Produces here) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, and with the price on his head ever rising, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and in the underworld that turn old friends into new foes, from New York to Paris to Japan and Berlin. Also starring Ian McShane, Lance Riddick, Laurence Fishburne, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown and Natalia Tena.

'THE PORTABLE DOOR' (Rated PG) - is an Australian family friendly fantasy film Directed by Jeffrey Walker in only his third feature film outing following 'Dance Academy : The Movie' in 2017, and 'Ali's Wedding' also in 2017, although he has Directed numerous TV series to date including multiple episodes of 'Neighbours', 'Rake', 'Difficult People', 'Modern Family' and 'Young Rock' most recently. This film is adapted from 'The Portable Door', the first book in Tom Holt’s J.W. Wells & Co. series. Here then, Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) and Sophie Pettingel (Sophie Wilde), are lowly, put-upon interns who begin working at the mysterious London firm J.W. Wells & Co., and become increasingly aware that their employers are anything but conventional. Charismatic villains Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz), the CEO of the company, and middle manager Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill) are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices, and Paul and Sophie discover the true agenda of the vast corporation. The film is released in Australia from this week on Stan and in the UK on Sky Cinema and the US on MGM+ from 7th April. Also starring Miranda Otto, Rachel House, Jessica De Gouw and Damon Herriman.

'OF AN AGE' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Goran Stolevski in only his second feature film after 'You Won't Be Alone' in 2022. Set during the Summer of 1999, seventeen year old Nikola 'Kol' Denic (Elias Anton), a Serbian born Australian amateur ballroom dancer enters a brief 24 hour intense romance with Adam Donegal (Thom Green), the brother of his ballroom dance partner Ebony Donegal (Hattie Hook). This film saw its World Premier screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival in early August last year, was released in the US in early February and is now released this week in Australia having garnered generally favourable reviews and collected US$557K at the Box Office. 

With three new release movie offerings 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-

65 : Tuesday 14th March 2023.

I saw the M Rated '65' earlier this week, and this American Sci-Fi action thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods in their third feature film pairing that has previously brought us 'Nightlight' in 2015 and 'Haunt' in 2019. The pair also penned the script for 2018's multi-award winning and nominated 'A Quiet Place'. With a budget of US$91M this film was released Stateside too last week, and has so far grossed US$24.5M, having garnered mixed or average Reviews along the way. The film was originally slated for release at the end of April last year, before being moved several times to its current release window. 

The film opens up on the planet Somaris, and there we find pilot Mills (Adam Driver), his wife Alya (Nika King) and their young daughter Nevine (Chloe Coleman) discussing a two year deep space expedition that Mills has been offered. While he is reluctant to be away from his family for such an extended period of time, he feels compelled to take the job in order to pay for Nevine's treatment for her much needed life threatening illness. We then fast forward to sometime in to that two year journey, and while Mills is sleeping his spacecraft hits an uncharted asteroid belt and ultimately crashes on an uncharted planet, with his ship split in two. He comes round, ventures outside and finds that the atmosphere is breathable, but also finds signs of 'alien' life.

However, his thirty-five passengers on board who were all in cryo-sleep have perished in the crash landing. After surveying his surrounds and deducing that all is lost, he contemplates suicide, until a beacon reveals that there is in fact one solitary survivor - a young nine year old girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt). Mills instantly decides to care for Koa and get her back home, but the pair have trouble communicating because they speak different languages. 

Mills soon discovers that the other half of the ship contains a functioning escape shuttle and sends several distress messages for rescue. Mills tells Koa that they're going to the mountain where the shuttle is located, which is about 12kms away. He lies though about her parents being alive to encourage her to go with him. As they steadily make their way across the terrain, they bond, while Mills protects Koa from attacking dinosaurs, having deduced that they are on Earth some 65 million years ago. 

The pair hunker down near a cave opening to rest up for the night protected by motion sensors dotted around them. Koa watches a number of video replays of Nevine, who died mid-way through Mills journey, before the pair fall asleep. Mills is woken by the motion sensors to find a giant T-Rex sniffing around the cave's entrance in the pouring rain. Mills shoots at the T-Rex injuring it, and then they retreat further inside the cave. A rockfall separates the pair, leading the two to fend for themselves before reuniting outside, with Koa going forward and Mills having to retrace his steps. Mills also discovers that an asteroid, whose debris caused his ship to crash, will strike Earth in about twelve hours, resulting in a catastrophic extinction event.

The two reach the ship, but Koa is angry and upset when she discovers that Mills lied to her about her parents still being alive. Mills opens up to Koa about losing Nevine and promises to protect her. In the escape pod they learn that rescue is on the way, and they are given the coordinates to aim for. The two board the escape shuttle, but the asteroid's debris which is now raining down all around them causes it to fall down the mountain, and land the wrong side up. Mills and Koa manage to fend off two large T-Rex, but the predator that they injured prior starts attacking them in the ship eventually righting it for take-off. Mills runs across the terrain to distract the T-Rex which follows him into a steaming geyser field, where the pair manage to kill it in a hot geyser blast. The two quickly return to the ship and blast off towards rescue as the asteroid collides with Earth, causing a catastrophic shockwave across the planet.

'65' can hardly be described as redefining the creature feature or the dinosaur movie in the way that 'Jurassic Park' and then 'Jurassic World' did. It's not great, but it's also not bad either despite a number of plot holes and lack of dialogue between the two protagonists, which leave Directors Woods and Beck with little option but to throw action set pieces at Mills and Koa - some of which land while others feel like they serve as fillers to move the story along. Adam Driver is convincing enough, but Ariana Greenblatt plays second fiddle here with next to no dialogue and to run around scared for her life, only to pull something out of the bag when you least expect it. And of course when the ending comes it is predictable and you always knew that they were gonna get the hell outta Dodge by the skin of their teeth. At a brisk running time of ninety-three minutes the film at least doesn't outstay its welcome.

'65' warrants two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 16th March 2023.

The 95th Academy Awards were presented on Sunday 12th March in a ceremony held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The awards honour films released in 2022, and the ceremony was Hosted by Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel for the third time, after the 89th and 90th editions of the ceremony in 2017 and 2018. 

So, in case you missed out on all the winners, grinners and also rans attended by the glitterati and glamourati at this years Oscar ceremony, below is a summary of the main categories :-

* Best Picture : awarded to 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out 'All Quiet on the Western Front', 'Avatar : The Way of Water', 'The Banshees of Inisherin', 'Elvis', 'The Fabelmans', 'Tar', 'Top Gun : Maverick', 'Triangle of Sadness' and 'Women Talking'.

* Best Director : presented to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out Martin McDonagh for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Steven Spielberg for 'The Fabelmans', Todd Field for 'Tar' and Ruben Ostlund for 'Triangle of Sadness'.

* Best Actor : presented to Brendan Fraser for 'The Whale', beating out Austin Butler for 'Elvis', Colin Farrell for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Paul Mescal for 'Aftersun' and Bill Nighy for 'Living'.

* Best Actress : awarded to Michelle Yeoh for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out Ana de Armas for 'Blonde', Cate Blanchett for 'Tar', Andrea Riseborough for 'To Leslie' and Michelle Williams for 'The Fabelmans'. 

* Best Supporting Actor : presented to Ke Huy Quan for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out Breadan Gleeson for the 'Banshees of Inisherin', Brian Tyree Henry for 'Causeway', Judd Hirsch for 'The Fabelmans' and Barry Keoghan for 'The Banshees of Inisherin'.

* Best Supporting Actress : awarded to Jamie Lee Curtis for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out Angela Bassett for 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever', Hong Chau for 'The Whale', Kerry Condon for 'The Banshees of Inisherin' and Stephanie Hsu for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'.

* Best Original Screenplay : awarded to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out 'The Banshees of Inisherin', 'The Fabelmans', 'Tar' and 'Triangle of Sadness'.

* Best Adapted Screenplay : presented to Sarah Polley for 'Women Talking', beating out 'All Quiet on the Western Front', 'Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery', 'Living', and 'Top Gun : Maverick'.

* Best Animated Feature Film : awarded to 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio', beating out 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On', 'Puss in Boots : The Last Wish', 'The Sea Beast' and 'Turning Red'.

* Best International Feature Film : presented to 'All Quiet on the Western Front' Directed by Edward Berger, beating out 'Argentina, 1985', 'Close', 'EO' and 'The Quiet Girl'.

* Best Documentary Feature : awarded to 'Navalny', beating out 'All That Breathes', 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed', 'Fire of Love' and 'A House Made of Splinters'.

* Best Original Score : presented to Volker Bertelmann for 'All Quiet on the Western Front', beating out 'Babylon', 'The Banshees of Inisherin', 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'The Fabelmans'.

* Best Sound : presented to Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor for 'Top Gun : Maverick', beating out 'All Quiet on the Western Front', 'Avatar : The Way of Water', 'The Batman' and 'Elvis'. 

* Best Production Design : awarded to Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper for 'All Quiet on the Western Front', beating out 'Avatar : The Way of Water', 'Babylon', 'Elvis' and 'The Fabelmans'.

* Best Cinematography : awarded to James Friend for 'All Quiet on the Western Front', beating out 'Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths', 'Elvis', 'Empire of Light' and 'Tar'.

* Best Make-Up and Hair Styling : presented to Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Anne Marie Bradley for 'The Whale', beating out 'All Quiet on the Western Front', 'The Batman', 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever' and 'Elvis'. 

* Best Costume Design : awarded to Ruth E. Carter for 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever', beating out 'Babylon', 'Elvis', 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris'. 

* Best Film Editing : presented to Paul Rogers for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out 'The Banshees of Inisherin', 'Elvis', 'Tar' and 'Top Gun : Maverick'.

* Best Visual Effects : awarded to Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett for 'Avatar : The Way of Water', beating out 'All Quiet on the Western Front', 'The Batman', 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever' and 'Top Gun : Maverick'.

For the full run down of this years Oscar Ceremony, you can visit the official website at : https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2023

Turning back to this weeks latest cinematic offerings, we kick off with a British drama set in 1950's London, where a humourless civil servant decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis. This is followed by a psychological horror film that is a prequel to a hugely successful and popular 2022 horror film that this time is set in 1918, where a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm. Next up is the twelfth offering in the DCEU that continues the story of teenage Billy Batson and his foster siblings who, upon reciting the magic word 'SHAZAM!' is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam, who this time must face off against the Daughters of Atlas to ultimately save the world. Then we turn to a doco that takes us on a transformative and immersive journey through the New York music scene of the early 2000's that reverberated around the world; before closing out the week with an intimate look at the photographs and photographers that defined the image of Queen Elizabeth II during her reign. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films 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 coming week.

'LIVING' (Rated PG) - is a British drama film Directed by the South African filmmaker and writer Oliver Hermanus from a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted from the 1952 Japanese film 'Ikiru' Directed by Akira Kurosawa, which in turn was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' by Leo Tolstoy. Oliver Hermanus previous feature film offerings take in his 2009 'Shirley Adams', 'Beauty' in 2011, 'The Endless River' in 2015 and 'Moffie' in 2019. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival in late January 2022 before its release in the UK in early November and only now is it released here in Australia, having so far grossed US$10.5M at the Box Office and garnered universal acclaim. 

Overwhelmed at work and lonely at home, Rodney Williams (Bill Nighy) is a senior London County Council bureaucrat in 1953 London. His life, however, takes a heartbreaking turn when a medical diagnosis tells him his time is short. Influenced by a local decadent and a vibrant woman, Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), he continues to search for meaning until a simple revelation gives him a purpose to create a legacy for the next generation. The film has so far collected nine award wins and a further forty-six nominations including a Best Actor nod for Bill Nighy at this years Academy Awards. 

'PEARL' (Rated MA15+) - with its subtitle 'An X-traordinary Origin Story' is a psychological horror film Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Ti West and serves as the prequel to 2022's 'X' also Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Ti West and which returned US$15M from its US$1M budget outlay, and is the second offering in the 'X' film series, which continues with 'MaXXXine' which is currently in post-production awaiting a future release date. This film saw its World Premier showcasing at the Venice International Film Festival back in September last year and was released Stateside in mid-September, having so far grossed US$9.5M from its US$1M production budget and has garnered generally positive Critical reviews. Here then, trapped on her family's isolated farm in Texas with her German immigrant parents, Pearl (Mia Goth, who also Co-Writes here with Ti West) must tend to her ailing father (Matthew Sunderland) under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother Ruth (Tandi Wright). Lusting for a glamorous life like she's seen in the movies, Pearl finds her ambitions, temptations, and repressions all colliding.

'SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS' (Rated M) - is an American Superhero film Directed by David F. Sandberg and is based on the DC Comics character 'Shazam' which had his first DCEU outing in 2019 also Directed by Sandberg, grossing US$366M off the back of a production budget of about US$90M. This film serves as the twelfth instalment in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) and was originally slated for release in April 2022 but was subsequently delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, giving rise to its release here in Australia and the US from this week. Billy Batson aka Shazam (Zachary Levi) and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying the word 'Shazam!', are forced to get back into action and fight the Daughters of Atlas - Anthea (Rachel Zegler), Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Hellen Mirren), who arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago. Shazam and his allies get thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and they must stop them from using a weapon that could destroy the world. Also starring Asher Angel, Adam Brody, Meagan Good, Ross Butler and Djimon Hounsou. This instalment cost US$125M to produce. 

'MEET ME IN THE BATHROOM' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern whose previous feature documentary films are 'No Distance Left to Run' in 2010 and 'Shut Up and Play the Hits' in 2012, this film takes us on an immersive journey through the New York music scene of the early 2000's, as a new generation kick-started a musical rebirth for New York City that reverberated around the world. Featuring era defining bands including The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol and Vampire Weekend, it is based on the 2017 book 'Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001–2011' by music journalist Lizzy Goodman. The book and this film is named after the Strokes song of the same name from their 2003 album 'Room on Fire'. The film saw a limited cinema release in early November last year in the US before streaming from the end of that same month.

'PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN' (Rated CTC) - Directed by award-winning photographer Fabrizio Ferri based on the best-selling book 'Elisabetta II: Ritratto di Regina' by Paola Calvetti, this documentary centres around the image of one of the most iconic women of our time and her extraordinary relationship with photography - Queen Elizabeth II. Narrated by the British Actor Charles Dance with contributions from Emma Blau, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Isabella Rossellini and Susan Sarandon amongst others, the film offers an original portrayal of the story of The Queen from a totally new perspective - through the most intense, amazing, revealing photographic portraits of her, as shared by the extraordinary photographers who accompanied and often created the image of the British monarchy itself. Special focus is given to each of The Queen's most intense, intimate, faithful portraits, symbols of 20th century history, appraised by the photographers who portrayed Her Majesty - Brian Aris, Jason Bell, Julian Calder, Chris Levine, David Montgomery, and John Swannell.

With five new release movie offerings 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-