What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th December 2024

The 16th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival this year takes place from Saturday 14th through until Saturday 21st December. The official website reads 'A major cultural event, the festival's aim is to promote the diversity of European cinema and showcase the many talents on our continent. Set in the heart of the Alps, in one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the world, the festival is an opportunity to enjoy the first snows and film screenings throughout the day in the presence of filmmakers and actors. All this in a festive atmosphere with unforgettable evenings, entertainment, concerts and DJs!'

There are eight films in competition for the Crystal Arrow Award which reveal the many facets of European Cinema today. These films are :-

* 'The New Year That Never Came' - from Romania and Directed by Bogdan Muresanu. Romania stands on the brink of revolution. It is 20th December 1989. Authorities are preparing for New Year’s festivities as if nothing is amiss, yet the official facade is beginning to crack. Amidst the fervour of protest, six lives intersect over the course of an extraordinary day. 

* 'Kneecap' - from Ireland and Directed by Rich Peppiatt. There are 80,000 native Irish speakers in Ireland. 6,000 live in the 'North of Ireland'. Three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. This is the real life story of how this anarchic Belfast trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue.

* 'Loveable' - from Norway and Directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir. Approaching her forties, Maria's world falls apart when her husband asks for a divorce. She will have to learn to reconcile with herself and seize the opportunity for self-discovery, growth, and confronting the unconscious and dysfunctional patterns within her.

* 'Moon' - from Austria and Directed by Kurdwin Ayub. Former martial artist Sarah leaves Austria to train three sisters from a wealthy family in the Middle East. What sounds initially like a dream job soon becomes unsettling - the young women are cut off from the outside world and under constant surveillance. Sport doesn’t seem to interest them. So why has Sarah been hired?

* 'Peacock' - from Austria and Germany and Directed by Bernhard Wenger. Matthias is a master of his profession. Do you need a 'cultured boyfriend' to impress your friends? A 'perfect son' to influence your business partners’ opinion of you? Or maybe just a sparring partner to rehearse an argument? Whatever it is, just rent Matthias! While he excels at pretending to be someone else every day, just being himself is the real challenge.

* 'Toxic' - from Lithuania and Directed by Saule Bliuvaite. Abandoned by her mother, 13-year-old Maria is forced to live with her grandmother in a bleak industrial town. During a violent clash on the street, Maria meets Kristina, a girl of the same age who is striving to become a fashion model. Trying to get closer to her, Maria enrols in a mysterious modelling school, where the girls are preparing for the biggest casting event in the region. Her ambiguous relationship with Kristina and the intense, cult-like environment of the modelling school force Maria on a quest to discover her own identity.

* 'Vittoria' - from Italy and Directed by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman. Jasmine is 40 and has everything she ever wanted. But after her father’s death, she experiences a recurring dream in which a young girl runs into her arms, offering Jasmine a new sense of fulfilment and completeness she can’t ignore. She decides to follow her dream of a daughter and dives headfirst into the challenging world of international adoption – risking her marriage, her sons’ well-being, and her own moral compass along the way. The entire family is in crisis, until they finally realise that the only way out is together.

* 'When the Light Breaks' - from Iceland, France, Netherlands and Croatia and Directed by Runar Runarsson. Day breaks on a long summer's day in Iceland. From one sunset to the next, Una, a young art student, encounters love, friendship, grief and beauty.

For the details of the other film strands being showcased, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/festival/les-arcs-film-festival

This weeks four new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, kick starts with a visceral stand-alone story about how and why one of Marvel's most iconic villains came to be, and what motivated him to become the greatest and most feared hunter. Next up we have a Chinese drama offering about a man who, following a period of incarceration, comes home and takes a job ridding a town of stray dogs in time for the Olympic Games. This is followed by an Irish set film centering around two estranged cousins who never knew each other, but try to make amends for many generations of family dispute, before closing out the week with an anime fantasy film about the untold story behind Helm's Deep, nearly two hundred years before the fateful war, telling the life and bloodsoaked times of its founder, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan.

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 coming week.

'KRAVEN THE HUNTER' (Rated MA15+) - this American Superhero film features the Marvel Comics characters of the same name and is the sixth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. It is Directed by J.C. Chandor who made his feature film making debut with 'Margin Call' in 2011 and would follow this up with 'All Is Lost' in 2013, 'A Most Violent Year' in 2014, and 'Triple Frontier' in 2019. 

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless gangster and crime-lord father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared. Also starring Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola and Christopher Abbott. The film is released in the US this week too, and cost a reported US$130M to produce. 

'BLACK DOG' (Rated M) - is a Chinese drama film Co-Written and Directed by Guan Hu and saw its World Premiere screening at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it won the Un Certain Regard award. Here former stunt motorcyclist and musician Lang (Eddie Peng) returns to his hometown on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert, where he was a local celebrity prior to his imprisonment on a manslaughter charge ten years previously. Now residing with his father, Lang must avoid the spiteful local gangster 'Butcher Hu', who aims to take revenge on Lang for his role in his nephew's death. Lang decides to seek the bounty placed on a wild dog as part of a larger programme to remove unwanted animals in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and eventually strikes up an unlikely friendship with the canine. The film was released in its native China in mid-June, in Singapore at the end of July and only now is released in Australia, having so far grossed US$4.6M at the Box Office, garnered generally favourable reviews and collected twelve award wins and another eight nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

'THE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE' (Rated M) - this Irish set buddy comedy film is Directed by Chris Cottam and is Co-Written, Co-Produced and also stars Paul Reiser. Here then, honouring his father’s dying wish to reconnect with the American side of the family, Irishman Ciaran (Colm Meaney) reaches out to his cousin Barry (Paul Reiser), inviting him to visit Ireland. Eager to escape the daily grind of his New York real estate job, Barry agrees to make the long trip. After an initially warm reunion, tensions quickly escalate when it's revealed that Barry has unexpectedly been left half of Ciaran’s father’s inheritance. The discovery sparks a bitter feud fuelled by greed and jealousy, leading to a series of petty squabbles and comedic misadventures. As the situation spirals out of control, the question remains—will these two stubborn cousins ever find a way to make peace? The film had its World Premiere at the Austin Film Festival in October 2023, was released Stateside in early October and in Ireland in early November.

'THE LORD OF THE RINGS : THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM' (Rated M) - is an anime fantasy Directed by Kenji Kamiyama and is based on the characters created by J.R.R. Tolkein. Set 183 years before the events of the Peter Jackson's 2001-2003 'The Lord of the Rings' film trilogy, 'The War of the Rohirrim' tells the story of Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), a legendary king of Rohan, and his family (most notably his daughter Hera voiced by Gaia Wise) as they defend their kingdom against an army of Dunlendings (led by Wulf voiced by Luke Pasqualino). Helm goes on to be the namesake for the stronghold Helm's Deep. Also starring the voice of Miranda Otto as Eowyn who narrates the film. Peter Jackson and his Co-Writer and wife Fran Walsh are credited as Executive Producers. 

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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HERETIC : Tuesday 3rd December 2024

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'HERETIC' this week, and this American psychological horror film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods who jointly created the story for and Co-Wrote the post-apocalyptic horror film 'A Quiet Place' in 2018, and Wrote and Directed the 2015 supernatural thriller 'Nightlight', the 2019 slasher film 'Haunt', and the 2023 science fiction action thriller '65'. This film saw its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, was released in the US earlier this month, has received positive reviews from critics and has grossed US$38M so far, from a production budget of less that US$10M.

Here then, two young missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) from the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, are on a mission to recruit new members into their church. Somewhere in small town America the two very properly dressed young women go about the business riding their bikes from house to house and knocking on doors. Eventually as the day draws to a close and the weather starts to close in with the heavens opening to thundering rain, they arrive at the home of a reclusive man, Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). 

He invites them in, assuring them that his wife is preparing a blueberry pie in the kitchen out the back. After breaking the ice and engaging in some small talk, they begin to discuss religion, with Reed making several uncomfortable comments about their Mormon faith and the nature of belief. When Reed steps out of the room, Barnes realises that the smell of blueberry pie is from a candle. The women decide it is time to leave, but Reed has taken their coats and in the pocket of one of the coats is the key to the bicycle lock that they chained their bikes to up at the front gate of the house. The front door is locked, and they also have no phone signal, because of the metal cladding in the roof and the walls of the house which Reed alluded to when they first arrived.

They reluctantly follow Reed to his study, and plead with him to allow them to leave. He gives them a threatening lecture arguing that all religions are adaptations of one another, variations on a theme and claims to have found the one true religion, having studied multiple religions over the last ten years and taught theology at university. He gives the girls a choice of two doors to go through to exit through the back of the house - one if they still believe in God, and one if they disbelief. Barnes rebels, dismissing several of his claims. They enter the 'Belief' door, but discover both doors lead down to the same dungeon.

After fruitlessly searching for a way out, a decrepit woman appears covered in sack cloth carrying a blueberry pie. She begins eating it and within minutes is dead. Reed states that the pie was poisoned and further claims that she is a prophet of God and the pair will witness her resurrection. Church elder Kennedy (Topher Grace) arrives looking for the girls but leaves without hearing their screams for help. The prophet resurrects and briefly describes the afterlife. Barnes rejects the prophet's description, noting its similarity to common hallucinations from near-death experiences. When Barnes gives Paxton a signal to attack Reed with a letter opener she has stashed away while in his study, he slashes the throat of Barnes and claims that she will also resurrect. 

After Barnes bleeds out, Reed removes a two inch long metal pin from inside her arm, claiming it is a microchip that proves that Barnes was not real and the world is a simulation. Paxton recognises the object as a contraceptive implant, and realises that everything was planned by Reed - while the girls were distracted by the elder's arrival, a second woman hid the prophet's corpse, took her place and delivered the afterlife description as scripted by Reed, adding an unplanned comment - 'It's not real'. Reed's killing of Barnes and attempt to convince Paxton of a simulated reality was a ruse to cover the plan going adrift. Paxton discovers an underground ladder in which the Prophet's corpse was hidden and climbs down, with Reed promising it will reveal to her the 'one true religion'.

After pulling aside the bolts of various doors, eventually Paxton enters a chamber full of emaciated women in cages, locked with the bike lock she used before entering Reed's house. She realises Reed's conclusion - that the desire to control others is the root of all religions. Paxton stabs Reed in the throat with the letter opener, but Reed stabs her with a box cutter in the stomach as she tries to escape. Paxton runs through the house searching for a way out, and eventually finds herself back down in the basement, followed by Reed. As they bleed in the basement, Paxton prays, telling Reed that it is done to show kindness to others rather than to produce material results, as numerous tests have revealed. Reed prepares to finish her off, but Barnes, who was still alive, kills him with a plank of wood with three protruding nails to the temple before finally succumbing to her wounds in Paxton's arms. Paxton climbs out of a window and a butterfly lands on her hand having previously expressed a desire to be reincarnated as a butterfly that appears on the hands of her loved ones. It vanishes, leaving Paxton alone in the snowy bushland.

With 'Heretic' it's refreshing to see Hugh Grant playing against type in his first true horror film outing, and he is more than ably supported by Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher who also add weight to the collective performances. Grant chews up the screen with his sharp, at times witty and always on point dialogue that will have you guessing up to the end and pondering on religious matters long after the credits have rolled. Joint Directors Beck and Woods have crafted a lean, effective, original and surprising horror film that relies more on psychological thrills than traditional jump scares, and on that level the film succeeds in being right up there as one of the best horror entries of 2024.

'Heretic' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th December 2024

This years Red Sea International Film Festival launches on Thursday 5th December and run through until Saturday 14th December. It is the fourth edition of the festival. Launched in 2019, the Red Sea International Film Festival represents the Red Sea Film Foundation’s main initiative, to offer an international Saudi platform that celebrates excellence in film, opening its doors to the world. The annual event embraces the vibrant creative energy of Jeddah, the Kingdom, and the Arab region as a whole, presenting programmes for film lovers, filmmakers, and the industry at large. Each year, the Festival adopts a dedicated theme, all geared towards the art of film and culture, making it a new destination for Arab and international cinema with lively, diverse programmes designed around the audiences. There is something for everyone - from local creatives, cinephiles, and families, to international industry professionals.

The Red Sea Competition features sixteen films, these are :-

* 'To Kill a Mongolian Horse' - from Malaysia, Hong Kong, USA, South Korea, Japan and Thailand and Written and Directed by Xiaoxuan Jiang.

* 'To a Land Unknown' - from the UK, Palestine, France, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Mahdi Fleifel.

* 'Superboys of Malegaon' - from India and Co-Produced and Directed by Reema Kagti.

* 'Songs of Adam' - from Iraq, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Oday Rasheed.

* 'Snow White' - from Egypt and Written and Directed by Taghrid Abouelhassan.

* 'Sima's Song' - from Netherlands, France, Spain, Taiwan and Afghanistan and Co-Written and Directed by Roya Sadat.

* 'Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo' - from Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Co-Written and Directed by Khaled Mansour.

* 'Saify' - from Saudi Arabia and Written and Directed by Wael Abu Mansour.

* 'Saba' - from Bangladesh and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Maksud Hossain.

* 'Red Path' - from Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Lotfi Achour.

* 'My Friend An Delie' - from China and Co-Written, Directed and starring Dong Zijian.

* 'Moon' - from Austria and Written and Directed by Kurdwin Ayub.

* 'Hanami' - from Switzerland, Portugal and Cape Verde and Co-Written and Directed by Denise Fernandes.

* 'Bin U Bin, Elsewhere the Border' - from Algeria and France and Co-Written and Directed by Mohamed Lakhdar Tati.

* 'Aicha' - from Tunisia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Written and Directed by Mehdi M. Barsaoui.

* '6 AM' - from Iran and Turkey and Written and Directed by Mehran Modiri.

For the full descriptors of the films mentioned above, plus the details of the other film strands being showcased, plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official website at : https://redseafilmfest.com/en/

Turning the attention then back to this weeks six new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a Western by an acclaimed Actor in only his second Directorial outing about two pioneers who must fight for their lives and their love on the American frontier during the Civil War. Next up we have a dark comedy horror that sees the leaders of seven wealthy democracies get lost in the woods while drafting a statement on a global crisis, facing danger as they attempt to find their way out. Following on is an action horror film about two scientists who try to stop a mutation that turns people into werewolves after being touched by a super-moon the year before. Then we turn to a French romantic drama offering that sees a famous screen Actor in a moment of career crisis retreating to a coastal spa town, where an encounter with an old flame stirs up unresolved feelings from the past. This is followed by the story of a seventy-year-old woman who has lived a solitary life since the death of her husband thirty years ago, until now, and chooses to revive her love life, when a chance encounter becomes an unforgettable evening. And closing out the week we have an animated biographical documentary comedy charting the life and career of American musician Pharrell Williams.

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

'THE DEAD DON'T HURT' (Rated M) - this Canadian, Danish and Mexican Co-Produced Western film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Scored and also stars Viggo Mortensen and is Mortensen's second feature film making outing following 'Falling' in 2020. This film saw its Premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September 2023, had its cinema release in the US at the end of May this year and was released in Denmark on 13th June, having received generally favourable reviews from critics, and so far taken US$1.9M at the Box Office.

Set in the US wild west frontier of the 1860's, Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel with him to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada, where they begin a life together. The outbreak of the Civil War separates them when Olsen decides to fight for the Union. This leaves Vivienne to fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston) and his unscrupulous business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt). Alfred's violent, wayward son Weston (Solly McLeod) aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances. When Olsen returns from the war some five years later, he and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become.

'RUMOURS' (Rated M) - is a black comedy film Written and Directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson with the trio having previously helmed 'The Green Fog' together in 2017. Here, world leaders meet at the G7 summit but get lost in the woods whilst trying to compose a joint statement on an unspecified global crisis. Beset by thick fog and menaced by undead bog bodies and a giant brain, they navigate the tortured passions between them. Starring Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, Denis Menochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira, Zlatko Buric, and Alicia Vikander. The film had its World Premiere at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May, and has received generally positive critical reviews. It was released Stateside in mid-October and has so far grossed US$572K.

'WEREWOLVES' (Rated MA15+) - is an American action horror thriller film Co-Produced and Directed by Steven C. Miller who made his feature film debut with 'Automaton Transfusion' in 2006 and he would go on to Direct the likes of 'Silent Night' in 2012, 'Marauders' in 2016, 'First Kill' in 2017, 'Escape Plan 2 : Hades' in 2018 and 'Line of Duty' in 2019. Here then, a supermoon event triggered a latent gene in every human on the planet, causing anyone exposed to the moonlight to transform into werewolves killing millions overnight. A year later, the world attempts to prepare for another supermoon. Starring Frank Grillo and Lou Diamond Phillips. The film is released in the US this week too.

'OUT OF SEASON' (Rated M) - this French romantic drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Stephane Brize whose prior film making credits include 'The Measure of a Man' in 2015, 'A Woman's Life' in 2016, 'At War' in 2018 and 'Another World' in 2021. Laurent (Guillaume Canet), is approaching fifty, and a well-known Actor who lives in Paris. Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) is a forty-something piano teacher who lives in a small seaside town. They fell in love about fifteen years earlier, but then broke up. Time has passed, each of them went their separate ways, wounds have healed and anger has subsided. When Laurent tries to drown his sorrows in a Jacuzzi at a spa, he finds Alice by chance. The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at last years Venice International Film Festival, where it Premiered in early September 2023. It was released in cinema's in France in late March this year, and has garnered generally positive reviews. 

'MY FAVOURITE CAKE' (Rated M) - is an international Co-Production between Iran, France, Sweden and Germany and is Written and Directed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, with the latter also Co-Producing and Co-Editing. Seventy year old Mahin (Lily Farhadpour) lives alone in Tehran since her husband’s death some thirty years ago, and her daughter’s departure for Europe, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life. But as Mahin opens herself up to new romance, what begins as an unexpected encounter with Faramarz (Esmail Mehrabi) quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening. The film saw its World Premiere screening in mid-February this year at the main competition for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and has generated positive critical acclaim.

'PIECE BY PIECE' (Rated CTC) - this American animated biographical documentary comedy film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, and Directed by filmmaker Morgan Neville in his animated Directorial debut. It follows the life and career of American musician Pharrell Williams, who stars in the film, through the lens of Lego animation, and marks the sixth theatrical Lego-based released film. As well as Williams and Neville, the film also stars the voices of Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg. The Lego Group created minifigure pieces that better represent the styles of African-American culture, as well as Williams's frequent collaborators, and designed new pieces for music equipment. Williams, who also Produces, wrote five original songs for the film. 'Piece by Piece' saw it premiere at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August this year and was released in the US and Canada in mid-October, having received generally positive reviews from critics, but became a box office bomb grossing US$10M from a US$16M production budget.

With six 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-