What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th May 2023.

The Seattle International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 11th May and runs through until Sunday 21st May, is held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, and is among the top film festivals in North America. SIFF believes in film’s unique power to share original stories, diverse perspectives, and rich emotional journeys. Beginning in 1976 with the annual Seattle International Film Festival, then expanding into year-round programming, the festival has offered experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world for nearly five decades. Our audiences allow us to take risks, host complex conversations, and truly appreciate film, according to the official website. SIFF traditionally attracts in the region of 150,000 attendees to celebrate films from more than eighty countries and regions around the world. Many of the features, short films, and documentaries screened will not have a return to US cinemas, making it an amazing event to discover new and underrepresented voices and stories.

This years Opening Night film is 'Past Lives' and this American romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Korean Canadian Celine Song in her feature film making debut. The Closing Night film is the Canadian comedy drama film 'I Like Movies' Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Chandler Levack in her feature film debut. 

In Official Competition this year there are eight films with work spanning the world, and that illustrate some of the finest filmmaking this year. Many of the films discuss themes that resonate worldwide—themes of friendship, coming of age in times of political turmoil, and the complications of family and love. Those eight films are :-

* '20,000 Species of Bees' from Spain and Written and Directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. A gender-questioning eight-year-old and their mother spend a summer in the country with their family’s widowed matriarch, where tending to the beehives leads to illuminating and deeply personal revelations.

* 'Ingeborg Bachmann - Journey into the Desert' from Switzerland and is Written and Directed by Margarethe von Trotta. A stately biopic about the rocky romance between Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann and Swiss playwright Max Frisch. Starring Vicky Krieps. 

* 'Let the River Flow' from Norway and Written and Directed by Ole Giaever. A teacher accidentally becomes part of the Sami revolution that rose up amid the Alta Conflict of 1970's-’80's Norway.

* 'Opponent' from Sweden and Written and Directed by Milad Alami. When an Iranian refugee decides to rejoin the wrestling world, rumours spread that threaten to ruin his family’s safety.

* 'Plan 75' from Japan and Written and Directed by Chie Hayakawa. Three interlocking stories set in an alternate modern Japan, where the elderly are given the option to euthanise themselves to stave off the country’s economic woes in return for a final sum of money they can spend however they wish.

* 'Pretty Red Dress' from the UK and Written and Directed by Dionne Edwards in her feature film making debut. A family of Black Londoners have their world shaken by the purchase of a lovely rhinestoned red dress.

* 'The Quiet Migration' from Denmark and Co-Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Malene Choi. A thoughtful and semi-autobiographical film about a South Korean adoptee raised on a dairy farm in the Danish countryside.

* 'To Kill a Tiger' from Canada and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Nisha Pahuja. An Indian rice farmer stands up to his village and demands justice for his young daughter, the victim of a terrible sexual assault.

The other competitive strands playing out at this years Seattle International Film Festival are the Documentary Competition, the Ibero-American Competition, the New American Cinema Competition, the New Directors Competition and the Short Films Competition. For the full details of these competitions, plus a whole lot more good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.siff.net/

Turning to this weeks slate of new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a Sci-Fi crime horror mystery that sees a married couple enjoying an all-inclusive luxury beach vacation at a five star resort when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors. Next up we have a Sci-Fi action thriller that has a detective investigating a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government programme. This is followed by a French crime drama thriller offering portraying the first five days into the heart of the French anti-terrorism services during the hunt for suspects after the 13/11/2015 attacks in Paris. And we close out the week with two American RomCom's - the first being a sequel to a 2018 film that follows the new journey of four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had, and last but by no means least is a story of a young woman who tries to ease the pain of her fiance's death by sending romantic texts to his old cell phone number, and forms a connection with the man the number has been reassigned to.

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.

'INFINITY POOL' (Rated R18+) - this Sci-Fi crime horror mystery film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Brandon Cronenberg (son of David), whose previous feature film offerings are his debut in 2012 with 'Antiviral' and 'Possessor' in 2020. This film saw its World Premier at the Sundance Film Festival in late January this year and was released in cinema's in its native Canada at the end of January to generally positive reviews, having so far grossed US$5.2M.

While staying at the isolated island resort of Li Tolqa, James (Alexander Skarsgard) a struggling writer and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime - either you'll be executed, or, if you're rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead. Also starring Jalil Lespert and Thomas Kretschmann. 

'HYPNOTIC' (Rated M) - is an American Sci-Fi action thriller that is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Edited and scored by Robert Rodriguez, whose previous film making credits include his 1992 debut with 'El Mariachi', then 'Desperado' in 1995, 'From Dusk till Dawn' in 1996, the 'Spy Kids' franchise which has so far spawned four films with a fifth reportedly in development for Netflix, 'Sin City' in 2005 and 'Sin City : A Dame to Kill For' in 2014, 'Planet Terror' in 2007, 'Machete' in 2010 and 'Alita : Battle Angel' in 2019. Here then, when detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) learns that his missing daughter Dominique (Hala Finley) and a string of high profile bank robberies might be connected, he must go on a mind-bending journey to find his daughter and stop the secret government agency behind the madness. Also starring Alice Braga, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner. The film saw its 'work-in-progress' World Premier at SXSW in late March this year, is released Stateside this week too and cost in the region of US$70M to produce. 

'NOVEMBER' (Rated M) - is a French crime drama thriller film that is Co-Written and Directed by Cedric Jimenez whose previous feature film credits are his debut with 'Paris Under Watch' in 2012, then 'The Connection' in 2014, 'The Man with the Iron Heart' in 2017 and 'The Stronghold' in 2020. This film depicts the investigations and the interventions of the Police (in particular of the anti-terrorist sub-directorate) during the five days which followed the attacks of Friday 13th November 2015 where a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb of Saint-Denis. The attackers killed 130 people, including ninety at the Bataclan theatre, where a group of 1,500 were watching an Eagles of Death Metal concert. Another 416 people were injured, almost one hundred critically. Seven of the attackers were also killed. The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War. The film stars Jean Dujardin, Sandrine Kiberlane and Jeremie Renier, has garnered generally positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$19.4M off the back of a production budget of US$16.5M.

'BOOK CLUB 2 : THE NEXT CHAPTER' - (Rated M) - this American RomCom is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Bill Holderman and is the follow-up film to 2018's 'Book Club' also Directed by Holderman and which grossed US$105M off the back of a production budget of US$14M making this sequel inevitable. Four elderly best friends - Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) take their book club to Italy for the fun girls' trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure. Also starring Andy Garcia, Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson. The film is released in the US this week too.

'LOVE AGAIN' (Rated M) - is also an American RomCom Written and Directed by James C. Strouse whose prior film making credits take in his debut with 'Grace Is Gone' in 2007, then 'The Winning Season' in 2009, 'People Places Things' in 2015 and 'The Incredible Jessica James' in 2017. This film is an English-language remake of the 2016 German film 'SMS fur Dich', which is itself based on a novel by Sofie Cramer. Here, Mira Ray (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) who is struggling to cope with the death of her fiance, unintentionally sends a sequence of romantic messages to his old cell phone number, which has been reassigned to Rob Burns (Sam Heughan) as his new work phone. As a journalist, Rob is captivated by the honesty in Mira's beautifully written texts. When he is tasked with writing a profile on the famous singer Celine Dion (Celine Dion in her screen acting debut) he seeks her assistance in finding a way to meet Mira in real life, and ultimately win her affection. Also starring Celia Imrie and Russell Tovey. The film was released in the US last week. 

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-