What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st November 2024

The 28th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is currently taking place, having started on Friday 8th November and running through until  Sunday 24th November, in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Oode filmifestival, POFF) first took place in 1997. Since 2014, POFF is one of the fifteen A-list film festivals accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and whose accreditation is renewed every year. The aim of the festival is to present a comprehensive selection of world cinema from the last two years to a local and international audience, offering fresh film production with high artistic value. Today, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has grown into one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe and the busiest regional industry platforms. The festival is an important meeting point for a rapidly growing number of industry professionals from around the globe.

The Opening Night film was the World Premiere German offering 'Long Story Short' from Director David Dietl and tells the story of a group of close friends who celebrate parties over an extended period of time. They experience a lot of fun together, but also tragic moments that prove that love and friendship are the most important gifts of all our lives.

This year, those eighteen films in Official Competition, all vying for any one of numerous awards on offer including the Grand Prix for the Best Film which carries a cash prize of €20,000 shared by the Director and Producer, plus awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Script, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Score and Best Production Design, are as follows :-

* '100 Liters of Gold' - from Finland and Italy and Written and Directed by Teemu Nikki. 

* 'Buzzheart' - from Greece and the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Dennis Iliadis.

* 'Can I Get a Witness?' - from Canada and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ann Marie Fleming.

* 'Deaf Lovers' - from Estonia and Serbia and Written and Directed by Boris Guts. World Premiere.

* 'Empire of the Rabbits' - from Turkey, Mexico and Croatia and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Seyfettin Tokmak. World Premiere.

* 'Girl America' - from Czechia, Slovakia and Switzerland and Co-Produced and Directed by Viktor Taus.

* 'Pink Lady' - from Israel and Directed by Nir Bergman. World Premiere.

* 'Out of Control' - from France and Co-Written and Directed by Anne Le Ny. World Premiere.

* 'Pyre' - from India and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Vinod Kapri. World Premiere.

* 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' - from Italy and Israel and Co-Produced and Directed by Eran Riklis.

* 'Seed of the Desert' - from Colombia and Written and Directed by Sebastian Parra R. World Premiere.

* 'Silent City Driver' - from Mongolia and Co-Written and Directed by Sengedorj Janchivdorj. World Premiere.

* 'Some Nights I Feel Like Walking' - from the Philippines, Italy and Singapore and Written and Directed by Petersen Vargas. World Premiere.

* 'The Boy With Pink Pants' - from Italy and Directed by Margherita Ferri.

* 'The Exalted' - from Latvia, Estonia and Greece and Co-Written and Directed by Juris Kusietis. World Premiere.

* 'The Loop' - from the Republic of Korea and Written and Directed by Sang Beom Koo. World Premiere.

* 'The Mousetrap' - from Ukraine. World Premiere. 

* 'The Shadow' - from Estonia and Directed by Jaak Kilme.

For the full synopsis of these films mentioned above, plus the other competitive strands, and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://poff.ee/en/about/tallinn-black-nights-film-festival/

This week we have five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, kicking off with the first instalment in a two parter that sees Elphaba, an ostracised but defiant girl born with green skin, and Glinda, a privileged aristocrat born popular, become extremely unlikely friends in the magical Land of Oz, and as the two girls struggle with their opposing personalities, their friendship is tested as both begin to fulfil their destinies as Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West. Then we have a comedy about a father who seeks the help of his adult daughter to raise his young twins after his second wife leaves him. Next up is an Aussie drama about two estranged brothers who are forced back into each others lives when they're tasked with scattering the ashes of their recently deceased mother in the country town where she grew up. This is followed by a Vietnamese offering centring around a family's attempts to fraudulently pass off their daughter as a trophy bride for an elite family, aiming to secure their fortune; before closing out the week with a documentary film showing the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the unlikely alliance which develops between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist.

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.

'WICKED' (Rated PG) - is an American epic musical fantasy film Directed by Jon M. Chu, whose prior feature film credits take in his debut with 'Step Up 2 : The Streets' in 2008 and then 'G.I. Joe : Retaliation' in 2013, 'Now You See Me 2' in 2016, 'Crazy Rich Asians' in 2018 and 'In the Heights' in 2021. This film is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which in turn was loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. Costing US$145M to produce, the film saw its World Premiere showcasing in Sydney on 3rd November and is released in the US this week too, with early critical reviews being very positive.

Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the plot covers the events of the musical's first act, following green-skinned Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) who studies at Shiz University and the beginning of her path to ultimately becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, alongside an unlikely friendship with a classmate Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande) who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Also starring Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Peter Dinklage. 'Wicked : Part 2' is slated for a November release next year. 

'GOODRICH' (Rated M) - this American comedy film is Written and Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer in only her second feature film Directorial outing following 'Home Again' in 2017. Art dealer Andy Goodrich's (Michael Keaton) life gets upended when his younger wife Naomi (Laura Benanti) leaves him and enters a 90-day rehab programme while also threatening divorce. Andy takes charge of their nine-year-old twins Billie and Mose (Vivien Lyra Blair and Jacob Kopera respectively), thrusting him into the world of modern parenthood for which he is deeply unprepared. With his career falling by the wayside, he soon leans on his 36 year old pregnant daughter from his first marriage Grace (Mila Kunis) for support, ultimately becoming the father she never had. Also starring Carmen Ejogo. Kevin Pollack and Andie MacDowell. The film was released in the US in mid-October, has so far grossed US$1.6M and has garnered largely favourable reviews.

'STRANGE CREATURES' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian drama film Written and Directed by Henry Boffin in his feature film making debut. Nate Taylor (Riley Nottingham) hasn’t spoken a word to his brother, Ged (Johnny Carr), in over four years after a mysterious falling out. But when their mother passes away from a sudden aneurysm, the brothers must set aside their differences in order to fulfil their mother’s final wish, to have her ashes scattered at the old family home in the country town of Narrabri, NSW some 520 kms northwest of Sydney. Setting out across Australia in the only vehicle available to them – a black hearse – the boys soon realise that the trip will be anything but plain sailing. Spurred on by Ged’s destructive behaviour and their intense dislike for each other, a set of unfortunate events threaten to derail them from ever reaching their goal. 

'THE TROPHY BRIDE' (Rated M) - this Vietnamese comedy drama thriller film is Directed by Ngoc Dang Vu whose previous film making efforts take in the likes of 'Lost in Paradise' in 2011 and 'Lost in Paradise 2' in 2017, 'Never Trust a Stranger' in 2015 and 'Dad, I'm Sorry' in 2021. Here then, in a desperate bid for fortune, a downtrodden and dysfunctional family of four risks it all as high-society fraudsters in a daring scheme to make their sole daughter the trophy bride of an elite family. The film was released in the US and the UK last week.

'NO OTHER LAND' (Rated M) - is a documentary film Written, Directed and Edited by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor in their Directorial debuts. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four activists as an act of resistance on the path to justice during the ongoing conflict in the region. A young Palestinian activist named Basel Adra has been resisting the forced displacement of his people by Israel's military in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank, since he was a child. He records the gradual destruction of his homeland, where Israeli soldiers are tearing down homes and evicting their inhabitants. He befriends Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist who helps him in his struggle. They form an unexpected bond, but their friendship is challenged by the huge gap between their living conditions, in that Basel faces constant oppression and violence, while Yuval enjoys freedom and security. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February this year and has so far collected twenty-nine award wins and another seven nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit.

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-