NO HARD FEELINGS : Tuesday 27th June 2023.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'NO HARD FEELINGS' earlier this week, and this American coming of age sex comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Gene Stupnitsky in only his second feature film Directorial offering following 2019's 'Good Boys'. This film was released here in Australia and in the US last week, has generated mixed or average reviews and has so far grossed US$30M off the back of a US$45M production budget.

The film is set in Montauk on the eastern end of the South Shore, Long Island, New York, where Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence, who also Co-Produces here), is a 32 year old woman working as an Uber driver and bartender. She is facing bankruptcy after her car is repossessed and towed away by a former boyfriend Gary (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), for not paying her taxes to the IRS on the home she has lived in all her life, and which she inherited from her recently deceased mother. Standing out on the street in her dressing gown with her Italian lover stood by, she watches helpless as her car is towed away.

Without a car with which to work her job as an Uber driver she is left stranded and having to rollerblade everywhere during the usual very busy summer holiday season in Montauk. One day her friend Sarah (Natalie Morales) comes across a somewhat unusual posting on a classified advertising website. The ad calls for a mid-20 year old woman to date the son of a wealthy couple in exchange for which the payment in kind comes in the form of a Buick Regal car which is sat in the driveway of their lavish home as clean and tidy as the day it rolled off the production line. And so Maddie responds to the ad and rollerblades over to the home of wealthy couple Laird Becker (Matthew Broderick) and his wife Allison (Laura Bananti) and the brief is for Maddie to become their introverted 19-year-old son's 'girlfriend'. 

Even though they are seeking a woman in her mid-20's Maddie explains that she has the maturity and experience that younger 'girls' just can't offer, which seems to satisfy Laird and Allison. Their son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) has had no experiences with girls, drinking, parties or sex, and he can't drive either, and his parents hope to boost his confidence before he attends Princeton University in the autumn. Maddie agrees to become their son's 'girlfriend', to 'date his brains out', and help him to join adult life, on the condition that this remains a firm secret between the three of them and under no circumstances must Percy become aware of their ruse. 

The next day Maddie makes her move on Percy by attempting to seduce him at the animal shelter he volunteers at. She offers him a ride home, but upon arriving at her house he mistakenly thinks that she is attempting to kidnap him and sprays a can of mace in her face. Despite this, they agree to go on a date the following day. 

Maddie and Percy meet at a bar the next night and then Maddie suggests they go skinny dipping at the beach. While they are in the water, their clothes, keys and phones are stolen by a group of two young men and a young woman. Maddie fights them in the nude retrieving their possessions, but a frightened Percy demands to be taken home. Maddie tries to leave without him and he jumps on her car bonnet, naked, as they are chased by a Police patrol car which they outrun at a train crossing. Back at Maddie's house the pair attempt to have sex, but Percy develops a rash all over his back and shoulders from his anxiety, so Maddie gently nurses him with an easing ointment.

Over the following days Maddie and Percy continue to date, learning more about each other and forging a friendship. Both reveal that they never went to prom, so they imitate a prom night and go to a fancy restaurant for dinner, driven there in a stretched limo. There, Percy meets an old school acquaintance who invites him to a party later that night, while Maddie gives the girl very much the cold shoulder. After Percy and Maddie have a disagreement about their long-term plans, he goes to the party and winds up in bed with that acquaintance, while Maddie frantically searches for him. She eventually finds him after he took an ibuprofen washed down with alcohol, and so Maddie drags him out of bed and shoves his head down the toilet and her fingers down his throat inducing him to vomit. In the car back to her house Percy confesses his love for Maddie.

Percy stumbles across the truth about Maddie's deal with his parents when he intercepts a phone conversation between her and them. After inviting her to dinner with his parents, he crashes her Buick into a tree trashing it royally, they attempt to have sex but this fails miserably, and then he ends their relationship. Maddie takes the damaged car, has it repaired to its former almost as new condition and uses it to pay off her debts, and then decides to sell the house to her friends, Jim (Scott MacArthur) and the heavily pregnant Sarah, because they were going to relocate themselves to Florida where house prices are markedly cheaper than in Montauk. And so selling the house to her friends for a bargain price that they can afford, Maddie decides to relocate herself to California. She reunites with Percy at a Princeton mixer where she gets more than an unwelcome reception from him. He attempts to exit the scene and so Maddie climbs on the bonnet of his car and drives at speed culminating in him driving onto a beach, through a barbecue at which Maddie's clothes catch fire, and into the ocean. Percy pulls Maddie out of the water, and afterwards they promise to remain friends.

Later, Percy is at home packing up his belongings into suitcases to go to Princeton. Bidding his farewells to his parents, Maddie is parked outside who drives Percy to Princeton, while she herself is on the way to California. She reveals that she has a new boyfriend, the rescue dog named Milo, a former Police dog addicted to cocaine who lived at the shelter Percy volunteered at, and whom Maddie met the first time she and Percy met. 

Jennifer Lawrence plays it fearless as Maddie in 'No Hard Feelings' even going the full frontal nudity for her art, and she also proves her comedic acting talents here in this for adults only coming of age romp for a seemingly mismatched couple at opposite ends of the spectrum. Andrew Barth Feldman as the all too innocent, sweet as cherry pie late teenage dweeb Percy is also on point, but Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti both have the kind of expression on their faces that make you think they signed up for something more challenging and interesting than their one dimensional characters portray here. As for the laughs, they are thin on the ground and certainly won't have you rolling around the aisles, but that said this film does have an emotional undercurrent at its core. 

'No Hard Feelings' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th June 2023.

The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs this year from Friday 30th June through until Saturday 8th July, and is held annually in the spa city of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. The festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe's leading film event. Each year, the festival presents some two hundred films from all over the world. Many of the films are exclusively shown at the festival, while others make it into Czech or foreign distribution, onto television, or into other festivals thanks in part to their screening in Karlovy Vary. Except for films shown as part of retrospectives, all the presented works were made during the preceding year and are shown for the first time ever in the Czech Republic – many of them as World, International, or European Premieres.

There are two competitive sections as the KVIFF, these being The Crystal Globe Competition which is a non-specialised international competition of feature-length fiction and documentary films presented as World or International Premieres. The Proxima Competition offers space to the world’s new voices from across the vast cinematic spectrum. Showcasing works by upcoming filmmakers and adventurous works by renowned auteurs, it aims to complement the Crystal Globe Competition by celebrating contemporary cinema with a collection of forward-thinking and exciting discoveries. Feature-length fiction and documentary films presented as World or International Premieres are eligible.

Those films competing for the Crystal Globe are as given below :-

* 'Blaga's Lessons' - from Bulgaria and Germany and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Stephan Komandarev. This drama film has its World Premiere.

* 'Citizen Saint' - from Georgia, France and Bulgaria and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili. This drama film sees its World Premiere screening.

* 'Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano' - from Germany and Lebanon and Co-Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Cyril Aris. This documentary film sees its World Premiere.

* 'Empty Nets' - from Germany and Iran and Written and Directed by Behrooz Karamizade. This drama films has its International Premiere.

* 'Fremont' - from the USA and Co-Written, Directed and Edited by Babak Jalali. This comedy film sees its International Premiere.

* 'The Girls Are Alright' - from Spain and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and starring Itsaso Arana. This comedy drama film has its World Premiere showcasing.

* 'The Hypnosis' - from Sweden, Norway and France and Co-Written and Directed by Ernst De Geer. This drama comedy film sees its World Premiere screening.

* 'Red Rooms' - from Canada and Written and Directed by Pascal Plante. This thriller film has its World Premiere.

* 'A Sensitive Person' - from the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic and Co-Written and Directed by Tomas Klein. This film sees its World Premiere showing.

* 'We Have Never Been Modern' - from the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic and Co-Produced and Directed by Matej Chlupacek. This drama film has its World Premiere.

* 'Where the Wind Blows' - from Italy and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Marco Righi. This drama films sees its World Premiere.

Actor and Director Russell Crowe will be presented with the Crystal Globe for his outstanding artistic contribution to world cinematography at the opening of this year’s Karlovy Vary Festival, and thereafter he and his new Indoor Garden Party project will then appear at the opening concert.

For all the other details of the Proxima Competition and the other film strands playing at this years Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.kviff.com/en/homepage

This week then there are four new movies doing the rounds at a big screen Odeon near you, kicking off with the fifth and final instalment in a much loved action adventure franchise that sees our archaeologist hero racing against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history. This is followed by a drama offering based on a true story of a former American intelligence specialist being handed down the longest prison sentence for the unauthorised release of government information to the media about Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential elections via an email operation. Next up is the story of Sleeping Beauty where upon Princess Aurora sleeps for one hundred years and wakes up in the modern world; and we wrap up the week with a French film about a ten year old city lad who spends his summer in the mountains and there befriends a giant dog with a big heart who has been mistreated by his owner, and the unbreakable friendship that develops between the two. 

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.

'INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY' (Rated M) - this long awaited and highly anticipated American action adventure film is Co-Written and Directed by James Mangold, whose previous film making credits take in his 1995 debut with 'Heavy' followed by the likes of 'Cop Land' in 1997, 'Girl, Interrupted' in 1997, 'Walk the Line' in 2005, '3:10 to Yuma' in 2007, 'The Wolverine' in 2013, 'Logan' in 2017 and 'Ford v Ferrari' in 2019. This film is the sequel to 2008's 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' and the fifth and final instalment in this five feature film franchise that began in 1981 with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', then 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' in 1984 and 1989's 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. Those first four films grossed worldwide US$1.99B off the back of combined production budgets of US$279M with each of those films being Directed by Steven Spielberg, who this time around takes an Executive Producer credit. With an estimated production budget of nearly US$300M it is the most expensive film in the Indiana Jones franchise, as well as one of the most expensive films ever made. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it received a five minute standing ovation, and is released worldwide this week. 

In 1944, American archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford in his fifth and final outing as Indy) helps colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) against Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a Nazi, from obtaining a mysterious dial known as the Antikythera. Twenty-five years later in 1969, Jones is uneasy over the fact that the United States government has recruited former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union in the competition to make it to space. He is about to be forced into retirement from his teaching position because of his opposition to the practice. Surprisingly, his goddaughter, Basil's daughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), accompanies him on his journey for the Dial. Meanwhile, Voller, now a NASA member and ex-Nazi involved with the Apollo Moon-landing programme, wishes to make the world into a better place as he sees fit. Also starring Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Kretschmann and Karen Allen. 

'REALITY' (Rated M) - this American drama film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Tina Satter is her Directorial debut, and is based on the stage play 'Is This a Room' also by Tina Satter. On 9th May 2017, Reality Winner (Sydney Sweeney) watches Fox News coverage on the firing of James Comey by President Donald Trump on the TV at her office. 25 days later, on 3rd June Winner returns to her Georgia home from grocery shopping where she is confronted by FBI agents Taylor (Marchant Davis) and Garrick (Josh Hamilton), who explain they have a warrant to search her house and her belongings. As a team of agents arrive and begin searching the house, Winner engages in casual conversation with the agents, all of which is picked up by a recording device, and as the cryptic conversation begins Reality's life quickly begins to unravel. The film saw its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February this year, was released in the US at the end of May, has so far grossed just US$173K but has garnered universal critical acclaim. 

'MATTHEW BOURNE'S SLEEPING BEAUTY' (Rated PG) - Directed by Ross MacGibbon and Matthew Bourne, the British choreographer whose work includes ballet, contemporary dance, dance theatre and musical theatre, here marks the tenth anniversary of his gothic romance, with a brand-new filmed recording of 'Sleeping Beauty'. The production was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, in January 2023. Here, Bourne sets the first part of the story in 1890, the year in which Tchaikovsky completed his version of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale, with Beauty pricking herself on the poisoned rose in 1911 and awakening one hundred years later very much in the modern world.

'BELLE & SEBASTIAN : THE NEXT GENERATION' (Rated PG) - this French family action adventure drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Pierre Core whose previous feature film making credits are his 2017 debut with 'Sahara', and 2020's 'The Fantastic Journey of Margot & Marguerite'. Ten year old Sebastien (Robinson Mensah Rouanet) reluctantly spends his summer holiday in the Pyrenees mountains with his grandmother and aunt. Helping them with the sheep is hardly an exciting prospect for a city boy like him - but that is without considering his encounter with Belle, a huge dog mistreated by her owner. Ready to do anything to fight injustice and to protect his new-found friend, Sebastien will spend the craziest summer of his life. Also starring Alice David, Caroline Anglade and Michele Laroque the film was released in its native France in mid-October last year, and has so far grossed US$5.7M. This film is an up to date follow on from the original trilogy of films that saw 'Belle & Sebastian' released in 2013, 'Belle & Sebastian : The Adventure Continues' in 2015 and 2017's 'Belle & Sebastian : Friends for Life' that each saw Felix Bossuet in the title role of Sebastian.

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-

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS : Tuesday 20th June 2023.

I saw the MA15+ Rated American comedy drama film 'YOU HURT MY FEELINGS' this week at my local independent movie theatre. This film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Nicole Holofcener whose prior feature film making credits include her debut in 1996 with 'Walking and Talking', then 'Lovely & Amazing' in 2001, 'Friends with Money' in 2006, 'Enough Said' in 2013 and 'The Land of Steady Habits' in 2018. The film has garnered universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$4.7M since its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of January and its US release in late May. 

Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus who also Co-Produces here) is a writer having penned a reasonably successful memoir five years ago about the verbal abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her father, often calling her 'stupid' and 'shit for brains'. As a result, now an adult, she suffers with a lack of confidence, although she is happily married to rather unsuccessful therapist Don (Tobias Menzies) and they have a 23 year old son Elliott (Owen Teague) who is an aspiring writer himself and has embarked on his first stage play script although he is a long way off completing it, and in the meantime works as a manager in a marijuana store. Beth also teaches a writing class part time and we see her interacting and encouraging her small handful of would be writers. 

At a restaurant to mark their wedding anniversary Don hands Beth a small gift wrapped box which contains a pair of gold earrings in the shape of a leaf as a present, and Beth reciprocates with a box for Don, containing a blue V-neck cashmere sweater. They both gush over their presents. We then meet Sarah (Michaela Watkins) Beth's younger sister who is an interior designer and her husband Mark (Arian Moayed) a struggling Actor. Once a week Beth and Sarah hold a clothing charity store at their local church for the needy and homeless allowing all comers to take one item per day for free. In the meantime Beth has just finished the final draft of her first work of fiction writing, and she is in discussion with her publicist about getting her first novel onto the shelves, but her publicist (who served her well for the publication of her memoir) says it needs more work. Don encourages Beth to seek out another publicist who will see her work for the masterstroke it is!

One day Don and Mark are out for a walk in the park which leads them to a department store where they are seen talking in front of a sock stand. At the same time Sarah and Beth are out in the city and they decide to go into the same store and sneak up behind their husbands and surprise them. 

However, the wives are stopped dead in their tracks when Beth overhears Don saying to Mark that he hates her latest book, but he doesn't have the courage to tell her how lousy it is, so he just keeps on encouraging her. Beth is mortified by this overheard admission from her husband and Sarah doesn't know what to say or which way to turn, so they both leave the shop leaving their unsuspecting husbands to continue chatting. 

Beth immediately feels betrayed and cheated by her husband who has blatantly lied to her about this and who knows what else. So after going to a bar and drowning her sorrows she comes home and spends the next few nights sleeping on the couch much to Don's dismay. Mark's birthday is coming up in a couple of days and Beth and Don have been invited over for dinner. Mark in the meantime is over the moon because he has been offered a film role, but the day before his birthday he calls Sarah in floods of tears and tells her to come home immediately. When she gets there, Mark is distraught saying that the Director fired him on the first day, and in front of the whole cast and crew and how is now done with acting. 

During the birthday dinner, tensions still remain high between Beth and Don, which then overspills into the conversation with Beth coming clean over what she heard that day in the store. Don is surprised by the accusation refuting the claims made by his wife and saying that she took it out of context and that is just his opinion and how much he loves her anyway. Beth storms out of the house and Don follows, pleading with her on the street but she will have none of it. 

Later on Elliott comes around to the house and says that his girlfriend ditched him. He's devastated and Beth and Don try to console him. The conversation then turns to Elliott's childhood and how Beth very actively pushed her son into an advanced swimming class as school even though Elliott was not a strong swimmer, resulting in his swim coach banning him from his class saying he needs to join the beginners class. Then on another occasion Elliott handed in an essay which he had worked so hard on but for which he scored a 'C' grade. Beth lobbied his teacher and had his score improved to a 'B' grade even though Elliott knew his essay was 'C' grade material anyway. Don meanwhile sits beside Beth on the couch listening intently to all these little white lies and when Elliott leaves the room, he berates Beth for doing exactly the same things to Elliott as she is now accusing him off. Beth responds saying that her actions then were different, because Elliott was just a child!

Afterwards the conversation turns to their anniversary presents. Beth says she never really liked the leaf earrings he gave her, and goes to their bedroom and returns with a jewellery rack with a dozen or so pairs of leaf earrings neatly arranged all dangling off it. She says she liked the very first pair he bought her, but after that not so much. Don then responds about the V-neck sweaters that she bought him for the past three years saying that men don't wear V-neck sweaters because unlike women they have no cleavage to show off, so he'll never wear them. Following this, they appear to make up and reconcile their differences.

We then fast forward a year and Beth and Don are in a restaurant celebrating their wedding anniversary with Elliott. Don hands over a small gift wrapped box to Beth which she duly opens to reveal a pair of gold leaf earrings. Beth hands over a box to Don in which is contained a V-neck sweater. Both share a laugh about their gifts which Elliott clearly doesn't get, to which his parents respond with 'it's an in-joke'. Upon leaving the restaurant, Elliott hands his parents each a copy of his completed first draft of his stage play, which Beth says I know it's gonna be great. Later that night, the pair both sit up in bed, turn on their lights and begin reading Elliott's script. 

The moral of 'You Hurt My Feelings' is that if you tell lies, no matter how small, or how insignificant or how white they may first seem, you're gonna get found out eventually and ultimately suffer the consequences as a result. I found this film more like an elongated episode of 'Seinfeld' but played less for the laughs and more for the dramatic effect. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the angst ridden emotional cornerstone of the film with her trademark magnetism that she puts into all her roles, and the supporting cast all play their roles convincingly. The film is certainly relatable on many levels, but the comedy is very light on. That said, this is a small film made for a more mature audience whose taste in filmed entertainment rises above the Superhero fare, the shoot 'em up features and the Cops & Robbers offerings that we have become so accustomed to seeing on our big screens with ever increasing regularity - and there's nothing wrong in that! See it if you will on the big screen but you can easily catch it when it arrives on your TV screens, and save yourself the price of cinema entry. 

'You Hurt My Feelings' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd June 2023.

The 40th edition of the Munich Film Festival kicks off on Friday 23rd June and runs through until Saturday 1st July. It is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and presents feature films and feature-length documentaries. The festival is also proud of the role it plays in discovering talented and innovative young filmmakers. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German Premieres and many are European and World Premieres.

With around two hundred feature films and feature-length documentaries on more than eighteen screens, the Munich Film Festival attracts approximately 80,000 movie lovers each year. It accredits more than six hundred members of the international press and media as well as over 2,500 film industry professionals. It has always been a popular meeting place for industry insiders throughout Germany and Europe.

There are a number of competitive sections at the Munich Film Festival, which consist of the Cinemasters Competition highlighting the new works of master Directors from all over the world; the Cinevision Competition focusing on international Directorial talents who break new ground with their film language; and the Cinerebels Competition featuring ten productions which can be described as radical or experimental, surprising and against the grain. 

Competing for the ARRI Award in the Cinemasters Competition which carries a prize of €50K, are the following titles :-

* 'Brother' - from Canada and Written and Directed by Clement Virgo. A story of the bond between siblings, the resilience of a community, and the indomitable power of music.

* 'Club Zero' - from Denmark, Germany, France, Qatar, Austria and the UK and Co-Written and Directed by Jessica Hausner and starring Mia Wasikowska and Sidse Babett Knudsen in this satire which uses formal austerity and subtle humour to tell of the seductive power of ideology.

* 'Eureka' - from Argentina, Germany, France, Mexico, Portugal and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Lisandro Alonso with this fantastical and meditative odyssey that's part western, part postcolonialist fable.

* 'Fallen Leaves' - from Finland and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Aki Kaurismaki, in which a brief note, a fondness for movies, and a whole lot of bottles form the backdrop to a romantic encounter in a Helsinki lost in time.

* 'God's Creatures' - from Ireland and the UK and Directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer and starring Emily Watson, Paul Mescal and Aisling Franciosi. The rugged Irish coastline forms the backdrop to a complex drama about guilt, repressed conflicts, and family ties.

* 'Kidnapped' - from Italy and Co-Written and Directed by Marco Bellocchio. Religion and power is once again revealed in the unsettling historical practices of the Catholic Church in this true story.

* 'Four Daughters' - from Germany, France and Tunisia and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Kaouther Ben Hania. This mix of documentary and fiction sees Olfa who has four daughters. Two of them, Rahma and Ghofrane, have become radicalised and one day, they abruptly leave Tunisia to join the Islamic State in Libya. 

* 'The Kings of the World' - from France, Colombia, Luxembourg, Mexico and Norway, and Co-Written and Directed by Laura Mora. This coming-of-age drama featuring real street kids from the city of Medellin, Colombia is part reality and part delirium.

* 'Love Life' - from France and Japan and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Koji Fukada. This haunting family drama is about the abrupt and tragic turns that life can take.

* 'Monster' - from Japan and is Directed and Edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. A story about a search for the truth on several levels, in which many things are not what they appear to be.

* 'Lost in the Night' - from Mexico and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Amat Escalante. A thriller that exposes the dark side of Mexican society.

* 'A Respectable Woman' - from Canada and Written and Directed by Bernard Emond. A woman who had been separated from her husband for eleven years takes him back after his mistress dies, bringing with him three daughters from that relationship expecting his ex-wife to take care of them.

For the other films in competition plus the full line up of the various film sections being showcased at this years Munich Film Festival, you can visit the official website at : https://www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/

Turning the attention then back to this weeks five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you this week, we launch with the seventh outing of a hugely popular Sci-Fi action franchise that this time sees the globetrotting adventure as the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons join the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth. This is followed by a far more sedate French offering that sees a seemingly simple taxi ride across Paris evolve into a profound meditation on the realities of the driver, whose personal life is in shambles, and his fare, an elderly woman whose warmth belies her shocking past. Then we turn to an American comedy that has a desperate woman, on the brink of losing her childhood home, agreeing to date a wealthy couple's introverted and awkward 19-year-old son before he leaves for college. Next up is a New Zealand comedy based on a true story in which to score free tickets to watch Tonga play France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, a group of Tongans form a brass marching band. And closing out the week we have a Russian animated feature about the famous four-legged inhabitants of the St. Petersburg Winter Palace - museum cats that protect the territory of the State Hermitage Museum from rats and mice . . . and potentially other miscreants. 

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 week ahead.

'TRANSFORMERS : RISE OF THE BEASTS' (Rated M) - this American Sci-Fi actioner is Directed by Steven Caple Jnr. whose two previous feature film credits are his 2016 debut with 'The Land' and then 'Creed II' in 2018. This film is based on the popular Hasbro 'Transformers' toy line and is the seventh instalment in the 'Transformers' live-action film series. It serves as both a standalone sequel to 2018's 'Bumblebee' and a prequel to 2007's 'Transformers'. Those first six films in the franchise grossed worldwide a combined Box Office haul of US$4.85B against a total budget outlay of US$1.2B, making this next offering inevitable plus the announcement that 'Rise of the Beasts' will be the first of a new trilogy of films. Michael Bay who Directed the first five films in the series returns here as Co-Producer, with the film costing US$200M to produce. It has so far grossed US$279M at the Box Office. 

Here, set in the early 1990's, Optimus Prime (voiced once again by Peter Cullen) and the Autobots, including Mirage (Pete Davidson) and Stratosphere (John DiMaggio) take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges in the form of Unicron (Colman Domingo), and Terrorcon Scourge (Peter Dinklage), they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals including Maximus Primal (Ron Perlman) and Airazor (Michelle Yeoh) to save Earth. The film saw its World Premier in Singapore on 27th May, was released in the US on the 9th June and is released here in Australia this week.

'DRIVING MADELEINE' (Rated MA15+) - is a French Belgian drama film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Christian Carion whose prior feature film making credits include his debut in 2001 with 'The Girl from Paris', then 'Joyeux Noel' in 2005, 'Come What May' in 2015 and 'My Son' in 2017 and its English language remake in 2021 also titled 'My Son' with James McAvoy and Claire Foy. Here then, Madeleine, a 92 year old woman (Line Renaud, with Alice Isaaz playing a young Madeleine), in Paris is moving into a nursing home. She calls a taxi and en route, she asks the disillusioned taxi driver with a warm and tender heart, Charles (Dany Boon) to detour to various locations around the city that have meant something to her in her life. They don't know it yet, but they will forge a friendship during this drive that will change their lives forever. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Angouleme Francophone Film Festival in late August last year, was also showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, went on release in its native France from late September and only now is it released in Australia. The film has garnered critical acclaim.

'NO HARD FEELINGS' (Rated MA15+) - this American coming of age sex comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Gene Stupnitsky in only his second feature film Directorial offering following 2019's 'Good Boys'. The film is set in Montauk on the eastern end of the South Shore, Long Island, New York, where Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence, who also Co-Produces here), a young woman working as an Uber driver who is facing bankruptcy after her car is repossessed, accepts an unusual posting on a classified advertising website. Her new employers are parents who have noticed that their introverted 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) shows no interest in dating or having sex. In exchange for a Buick Regal, she agrees to become their son's 'girlfriend', to 'date his brains out', and help him to join adult life. Also starring Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti as Percy's father and mother respectively. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'RED, WHITE & BRASS' (Rated PG) - is a New Zealand comedy film Co-Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Damon Fepulea'i in his feature film making debut. When Maka (John-Paul Foliaki) and Veni (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) fail to score tickets for the most important game of their lives, namely the 2011 Rugby World Cup's Tonga versus France game in Wellington, New Zealand on 1st October 2011, they decide to form a traditional Tongan marching brass band to perform during the pre-match entertainment, just so they can go to the game. No one in their band of misfits knows anything about marching and they practice using plastic bottles and tin cans for instruments. It is a complete shambles and if they can't get their act together, they will embarrass their entire Tongan community in front of the world. However, what starts out as just a cynical scam to see a rugby game becomes a journey of self-discovery in which Maka and Veni will learn the importance of their Tongan culture. The film saw its World Premiere in Wellington towards the end of March this year, was shown at the Hawaii International Film Festival on 1st April, and at the Sydney Film Festival earlier this month. It has generated mostly positive reviews. 

'CATS IN THE MUSEUM' (Rated G) - this Russian animated adventure comedy offering is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Vasiliy Rovenskiy whose previous feature film making credits take in 'The Big Trip' in 2019, 'Pinocchio : A True Story' in 2021 and 'Big Trip 2 : Special Delivery' in 2022. This story centres around a young cat called Vincent (voiced by Roman Kurtsyn), who teams up with Maurice the Mouse (Diomid Vinogradov), in an attempt to try and escape a flood in an old harpsichord piano. A group of sailors pick up the instrument and send it to the St. Petersburg Winter Palace. Here, Vincent meets an elite squad of cats, that has been guarding masterpieces from rodents and other vermin for centuries. Vincent dreams of finding a true cat family and yearns for a sense of belonging, but he doesn't want to lose his friend Maurice who saved his life, so he is forced to hide him. But his friend has a weakness - to chew down on the most famous masterpieces. It all gets complicated when one of the greatest paintings in the world, the Mona Lisa is brought to the museum - it's every rat's and mouse' dream to chew on it. However, neither Vincent, Maurice, nor the Hermitage Museum cats are aware of the fact that someone means to steal it, and now Vincent has to pluck up his courage and wits to save Da Vinci's masterpiece, protect the museum's reputation, and win over the heart of Cleopatra, a beautiful cat from the Egyptian chamber. 

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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE FLASH : Tuesday 13th June 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'THE FLASH' at an early screening this week two days ahead of its official worldwide release. This much hyped and eagerly awaited American Superhero film is based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is intended to be the thirteenth instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and is Directed by Andy Muschietti whose previous feature film making credits take in his debut with 2013's 'Mama', then the Stephen King novel adaptation of 'It' in 2017 and 'It Chapter Two' in 2019. This film is released in the US this week also, following multiple delays caused by Director changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and post-production setbacks. It had a production budget of about US$220M, and has garnered mixed or average reviews.

The film opens up with a Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) late for work and hurriedly walking into his local cafe to collect his usually pre-prepared breakfast from the obliging female assistant working the counter, but on this day she is off sick and so his breakfast has not been prepared. He painstakingly looks at his watch and gives the young male assistant his order who would rather pass the time of day chatting than prep up his morning sustenance. Barry's phone rings and it is Batman's trusted butler and assistant Alfred (Jeremy Irons) demanding that he is urgently needed in Gotham City to attend a robbery at a hospital where the thieves have made off with a suitcase containing vials of a deadly virus. While waiting for his order Barry reluctantly asks whether Batman can attend to the scene or Wonder Woman even, but both are it seems indisposed. Barry makes his exit to the bathroom and appears out in the street as The Flash. What follows is The Flash's superspeed run to Gotham City to attend to the hospital that has seen a huge sinkhole appear immediately outside and the entire wing of the hospital about to come crashing down into it. Of course high up in the hospital tower is a suite containing several new born babies, a nurse and a therapy dog who all go crashing out the plate glass window as the side of the building begins to topple. But, with The Flash on the scene he is able to save all the babies, the nurse and the dog and bring them to safety on the ground. 

In the meantime the Batman (Ben Affleck) has arrived on his Batbike and is chasing down the villains through the streets of Gotham, amongst much vehicular carnage, the exchange of rapid gunfire, mortars and burning rubber. Eventually, Batman brings the last villain to heel while dangling off a bridge with the villain holding onto Batman by his fingertips and Alfred blurting down the phone to not allow the case of virus vials to fall into the river. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) appears and using her lasso of truth hauls Batman and the villain to safety. Job done, the city saved and the three part ways with The Flash returning to the cafe just a few minutes later for the assistant to hand over his custom made breakfast. 

Barry then goes to work and is chastised by his boss for being late - a perpetual habit it seems. Later, as The Flash, Barry revisits his childhood home where he fondly remembers his parents Nora (Maribel Verdu) and Henry (Ron Livingstone). Nora sends Henry out to the local supermarket to buy an extra can of tomatoes for a special pasta sauce she is making. With the young Barry upstairs in his bedroom, he sees his father return and hears his mother scream out. Rushing down to the kitchen, Barry sees his mother slumped against the kitchen cabinet with a knife sticking out of her stomach and his father holding the knife yelling out for Barry to call 911. However, Henry is accused of her murder and imprisoned, with the trial set for tomorrow. Barry speaks with Henry over the phone, with Henry telling his son that the court case is a foregone conclusion and that all the odds are firmly stacked against him, just before the phone call is cut off automatically.

Racked with emotional turmoil, Barry inadvertently runs at such a speed that he travels back in time, and upon returning to the present day has a conversation with Bruce Wayne about it, saying that he can change the past and save his mother and father, and that he could do likewise for Bruce and save his parents too. But Bruce explains that if you mess with the past you can cause untold damage to the future, and to drop the idea. At that Bruce jumps back into his Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 and drives off. Despite Bruce's warnings The Flash goes back to the time of Nora's death, and changes the outcome so that she lives.

When The Flash attempts to get back to the present-day, he winds up in an alternate 2013 where Nora is alive. Barry greets his parents warmly and settles down for dinner over a bowl of pasta, but through the kitchen window he sees his past self approaching the house. He quickly dashes outside and intercepts his younger self. After explaining the realities of time travel to a bewildered younger Barry, he realises he is in the day of the lab accident that bestowed upon Barry his powers - 29th September. And so the older Barry takes the younger Barry to the Central City Police Department where he helps give his younger self his powers during a freak storm in which a lightning bolt strikes the side of the building through a window and smashing a mix of chemical bottles spilling all over him, but in the process, the older Barry looses his powers. Older Barry attempts to train younger Barry in the use of his powers but has trouble doing so, as his younger self is a lot more impetuous. Later with the pair out in the city, they learn via TV news broadcasts, of General Zod’s (Michael Shannon) invasion on Earth. And so the two Barry’s go to Wayne Manor in the hopes of locating Batman, as the pair need all the help they can get if they are to save our little green planet from destruction.

Entering the somewhat run down and neglected Wayne Manor, they find an alternate version of Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) who has long since given up on crime fighting since Gotham has become one of the safest cities in the country. However, explaining the predicament the two Barry's now find themselves in, they convince him to help them find Superman who is being held captive in a Russian base high up in the Arctic Circle. 

Upon gaining entry to the base they eventually find the massive steel sphere that Superman is encased in. Instead though of finding Superman, they find his cousin Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle) who is physically weakened and mentally drained, but they rescue her anyway. After doing so and escaping through the roof of the base, Kara quickly recovers her powers when exposed to the sun's solar energy, and she almost single handedly dispenses with the small army of Russian soldiers guarding the base. The older Barry asks Bruce to help him get his powers back by recreating the accident that bestowed him those powers in the first place. The first attempt fails and nearly kills Barry prompting Kara aka Supergirl, to fly Barry into the storm and get struck by lightning which has the desired effect.

Supergirl and Batman join the two Barry's in attempting to defeat Zod, who by now has begun the process of destroying Earth. During the battle with Zod, Supergirl learns that Zod killed the infant Kal-El when his pod got knocked off course. She is naturally enraged. Just as Supergirl overpowers Zod and seemingly gains the upper hand, Zod manages to kill her and take a sample of her blood which he will use to revitalise the dying planet Krypton. Batman meanwhile sacrifices himself to save the Barry's.

The younger Barry insists he travel back in time to save them both and does so multiple times but keeps failing, each time becoming a slightly darker unhinged version of himself, and as the time continuum becomes increasingly fragmented. The older Barry tries to reason with the dark Flash but his attempts prove futile in the Speed Force as the multiverse begins to implode, but not before older Barry has visions of alternate Supermen (Christopher Reeve, Adam West, George Reeves and Nicolas Cage). A future version of Dark Flash then arrives to kill his younger self, so saving the multiverse and restoring the equilibrium. 

In the aftermath, Barry fixes the timeline and reconciles himself with his mother's death. Back in the present day new evidence is provided in Henry's court case so earning him his freedom. Outside the court house Barry is met by his former girlfriend, Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) who asks him out on date at which he quickly responds with a resounding yes, after which Bruce Wayne pulls up in his Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 who is not the Ben Affleck version of the character, but the George Clooney version. If you sit in your seat right until the end credits have rolled, you'll see a scene in which Barry is assisting a very drunken Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) while telling him of his recent experiences. 

'The Flash' is arguably one of the best DCEU big screen adaptations to date and Director Andy Muschietti has proved himself more than capable in helming a cinematic extravaganza such as this. The action sequences are exactly what we have all come to expect from a Superhero movie, and the CGI rendering whilst not perfect is passable. Ezra Miller is well cast in the role of dual Barry Allen's/The Flash and seeing Michael Keaton reprise his role as Batman for the first time in thirty years is a real trip down memory lane, whilst nods to former Batmen and Supermen also adds to the nostalgia, but is probably there more for the fan service than to add any weight to the plot lines. There are moments of real humour and emotion interspersed between the action set pieces that help elevate this final instalment in the DCEU, before new joint CEO's James Gunn and Peter Safran's new franchise - the DCU rolls out, above many of the also-rans that have gone before. The final act is long and drawn out however, and overly repetitive, and just how many more films do we need to have in this genre that feature a multiverse for Chrissakes - after all we've had two in the last two weeks, plus a whole bunch more in recent years. Nonetheless, 'The Flash' is certainly worth the price of your movie ticket. 

'The Flash' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-