What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st May 2025

The IndieLisboa International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 1st May and runs through until Sunday 11th May, in Lisbon, Portugal. The Festival focuses on the exhibition of works that fill the void of film circulation shaped by the mainstream production and exhibition dominating the market. Every year, showing more than 270 films, IndieLisboa attracts audiences and film professionals from all over the globe by giving them the opportunity to discover recent films from emerging talents and to rediscover reputed authors. The festival's sections also comprise themed programmes, shining a light on relevant affairs, aiming for a conceptually and geographically diverse selection. It is also a festival that focuses on a programme designed specifically for the industry (audience of film professionals, filmmakers, producers, sales agents, programmers, critics, etc.). This industry core, parallel to the screenings programme, is composed of workshops, masterclasses, debates, a script-writing lab, a film fund, a pitching forum, screenings of works in progress and also several networking events, among other activities, so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Film presentation is 'Universal Language' from Canada and is Co-Written, Directed and starring Matthew Rankin. A comedy that imagines a Canada (minus Quebec) that is culturally intertwined with Iran. The film follows disparate stories with seemingly no points of contact: two girls trying to withdraw money that has frozen in the ground to help a schoolmate; a group of tourists on a unique guided tour and a man who quit his job and travels to reunite with his mother. The Closing Night Film is 'Caught by the Tides' from China and Co-Written and Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke. This film tells the story of a failed romance that unfolds over twenty years, with an evolving China in the background. But the focus is on Qiao, a singer and dancer who gets involved with a dubious music producer, Bin, who leaves her to try his luck in another city, promising to send for her when he has money. Qiao, waiting, writes to him and, receiving no reply, decides to go searching for Bin.

This years International Competition, highlights new voices and looks into the future. Features and shorts that cross the boundaries of genre, form, geography, and also the human body and gaze, in a search of a dialogue – about the world and with the world. In the feature length category, the following titles are presented, all competing for The Feature Film Grand Prize of €15K :-

* 'Bluish' - from Austria and Directed by Lilith Kraxner and Milena Czernovsky and Co-Written by Lileth Kraxner. National Premiere.

* 'Brought with the Storm' - from Argentina and Co-Written and Directed by Miguel de Zuviria. World Premiere.

* 'Downriver a Tiger' - from Spain and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Victor Diago. World Premiere.

* 'No Sleep Till' - from the USA and Switzerland and Written, Directed and Edited by Alexandra Simpson. National Premiere.

* 'Olivia & the Clouds' - from the Dominican Republic and Written and Directed by Tomas Pichardo-Espaillat. National Premiere.

* 'On Becoming a Guinea Fowl' - from Zambia, the UK and Ireland and Written and Directed by Rungano Nyoni. National Premiere.

* 'She Boars' - from France and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Elsa Bres. International Premiere.

* 'The Sparrow in the Chimney' - from Switzerland and Co-Written, Directed and Edited by Ramon Zurcher. National Premiere.

* 'Vitrival - The Most Beautiful Village in the World' - from Belgium and Written, Directed and Edited by Baptiste Bogaert and Noelle Bastin and Co-Photographed by Baptiste Bogaert. National Premiere.

* 'Wind, Talk to Me' - from Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia and Co-Written, Directed and Co-Starring Stefan Djordjevic. National Premiere.

For the summaries of the above named feature films, plus the other competitive strands being showcased and a whole lot more good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://indielisboa.com/en/

This week we have no fewer than eight new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon picture house close to home, kicking off with the 36th instalment in the MCU that sees a rag tag bunch of unconventional antiheroes become ensnared in a death trap, as they embark on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Then we have a tale set in 19th-century Ireland, where an orphaned teenage heiress finds herself forced to embrace the dark legacy of her family when she becomes the ward of an uncle who's determined to marry her off. Next up is a New Zealand horror story of redemption in a world gone dark. Following on we have an Aussie comedy crime film in which two cousins embark on a high-energy race against the clock to find AU$50K when the mob discover one of them has been skimming from their Gold Coast workshop. This is followed by a New Zealand drama offering about a dissatisfied substitute teacher, who recently bereaved after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake killed her daughter, begins to work at an elite private school and starts a student choir. Next is a French drama film about a man who joins a secret group tracking Syrian regime leaders on the run, with his mission taking him to France, in the pursuit of his former torturer for a fateful confrontation. Then we turn to a docufiction about a film crew who return to Wuhan in early 2020 to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years previously, only to share the unexpected challenges as cities are placed under lockdown; and closing out the week we have a Thai drama about how two teenage Police daughters' bond is tested in a heartfelt coming-of-age tale of love, friendship, and life's complexities.

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

'THUNDERBOLTS*' (Rated PG) - is an American Superhero film and is the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and serves as the final instalment in Phase Five of the MCU. This film is Directed by Jake Schreier who made his Directorial debut with 'Robot & Frank' in 2012 and would follow this up with 'Paper Towns' in 2015. Since then he has helmed numerous TV series including multiple episodes of  'Lodge 49', 'Kidding', 'Brand New Cherry Flavour' and 'Beef' as well as music videos for the likes of Benny Blanco, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Kendrick Lamar. This film saw its World Premiere screening in London on 22nd April and is released in all major markets from this week. 

A group of antiheroes comprising Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), Robert Reynolds (Lewis Pullman) and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), are caught in a deadly trap by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the Director of the CIA, and are forced into a dangerous mission that could bring them redemption if they unite as a team.

'LIES WE TELL' (Rated MA15+) - this Irish mystery crime drama film is Directed by Lisa Mulcahy whose prior feature film making credits take in 'Situations Vacant' in 2008, 'The Legend of Longwood' in 2014 and 'Wasteland' in 2018. Here she adapts Sheridan Le Fanu's gothic 1864 novel 'Uncle Silas' into a modern reimagining set in Ireland in 1864, as recently orphaned heiress Maud Ruthyn (Agnes O'Casey) becomes ward of her notorious uncle, Silas Ruthyn (David Wilmot). Maud, grief-struck and proud, rejects support from her two trustees, Dr. Bryerly and Captain Ilbury, and welcomes Silas, his children Emily (Holly Sturton) and Edward (Chris Walley), and governess Madame (Grainne Keenan) to her isolated manor. But the arrival of Maud's estranged family is in fact a malign home invasion. Silas plans to secure her inheritance for himself, and compel Maud to forfeit her position by marrying her cousin Edward, or dying. Threatened, betrayed, and outnumbered by Silas and his allies, teenaged Maud now has to fight for her birthright. Instead of breaking her, the escalating danger sparks gambit after gambit against her charming, dangerous uncle, and a final, murderous showdown. The film was released in mid-July 2023 at the Galway Film Festival, and only now is it released here in Australia, having garnered generally positive critical reviews.

'FORGIVE US ALL' (Rated MA15+) - this New Zealand and Australian Co-Produced neo-Western horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Jordana Stott in her feature film making debut. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where a biotech virus has transformed humans into violently deranged cannibals, the film follows Rory (Lily Sullivan), a bereaved mother who has lost everything and takes refuge in an isolated mountain cabin, until a desperate wounded stranger arrives with a story of hope. Also starring Richard Roxburgh and Callan Mulvey. 

'DOUBLE OR NOTHING' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian comedy crime film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Dru Brown whose previous feature film offerings take in 'Sleeper' in 2012 and 'The Suicide Theory' in 2014. Nick (Rowan Howard) and Turbo (Andrew Ian Pope) are a couple of ex-con cousins who work in a Mob-run Gold Coast workshop. While they’re trying to keep their noses clean, their boss Col (Jon Jarratt) isn’t - going head to head with a violent rival. When the dangerous people take control of the workshop, Nick and Turbo find themselves with no job and no way to keep supporting Nick's sick sister Mel (Nicole Payten-Betts). It gets worse when the Mob discovers that the AU$50k in the safe that Turbo has been skimming from is disturbingly short. They give the hapless cousins 72 hours to find it and deliver it. Also starring Vince Colosimo.

'TINA' (Rated M) - this New Zealand drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Miki Magasiva in his feature film making debut. Here, set in 2014 three years after the devastating earthquake hit Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, in which 185 people lost their lives, a woman, Mareta Percival (Anapela Polataivao) originally from Samoa, grieving her daughter's death in the quakes, becomes a substitute teacher at an exclusive elite private school. Unexpectedly, she discovers students lacking guidance and care, prompting her to provide inspiration and support.

'GHOST TRAIL' (Rated M) - is a French drama film Co-Written and Directed by Jonathan Millet in his feature Directorial debut. Two years after being released from Sednaya Prison in Syria, Hamid (Adam Bessa) is making ends meet as a construction worker in the French city of Strasbourg, where, haunted by the memory of his imprisonment, the young man searches tirelessly for the man who tortured him, determined to get his revenge, but what's the real price of vengeance for the person seeking it? The film saw its World Premiere in mid-May last year in the Critics' Week section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Camera d'Or. It has so far grossed US$1.2M and has generated critical acclaim picking up six award wins and another fifteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

'AN UNFINISHED FILM' (Rated M) - this Chinese hybrid part documentary part fictional feature film is Co-Written and Directed by Lou Ye. The film had its World Premiere showcasing in mid-May 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival, in the Special Screenings section, and it won both Best Narrative Feature and Best Director at China's Golden Horse Awards in late November last year. Here then, in January 2020, a film crew reunites near Wuhan, the alleged epi-centre of the COVID-19 pandemic to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years earlier, only to share the unexpected challenges as cities are placed under strict lockdown. Confronted with the challenges of the pandemic, Director Xiaorui (Xiaorui Mao) and his crew are forced to determine how to move forward in a rapidly changing world. 

'FLAT GIRLS' (Rated PG) - is a Thai coming of age teen drama film Written and Directed by Claire Jirassaya Wongsutin in her feature film making debut. As Jane (Kirana Pipityakorn) prepares to leave a Police flat where she was born and raised, she starts to reflect on old memories including a painful story of love and intimacy lost between a handsome young Policeman and Ann (Fatima Dechawaleekul), the ambitious older girl Jane once secretly loved. These memories bring to light past secrets Jane has never told anyone. 

With eight 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-

SINNERS : Tuesday 22nd April 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'SINNERS' earlier this week, and this American period supernatural horror film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ryan Coogler, whose former feature film output includes his big screen debut with 'Fruitvale Station' in 2013, which he would follow up with 'Creed' in 2015, 'Black Panther' in 2018 and 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever' in 2022. This film was released last week too in the US, had a production budget of US$90M, has so far recovered US$87M, and has generated universal critical acclaim.

Here then, set in the early 1930's in the Southern United States during the height of the Jim Crow era, the film follows identical twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who return to their home town in the Mississippi Delta after years in Chicago working for the mob. Using money stolen from gangsters, they purchase a sawmill from racist landowner Hogwood (David Maldonado) to start a juke joint for the local black community (an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern USA). Their cousin Sammie 'Preacher Boy' Moore (Miles Caton), an aspiring guitarist, joins them despite opposition from his pastor father Jedidiah (Saul Williams), who warns his son that blues music is the music of the Devil. 

The twin brothers quickly set about recruiting other staff - pianist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) and singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson) as performers, Smoke's estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) as cook, local Chinese shopkeepers Grace (Li Jun Li) and Bo Chow (Yao) as suppliers, and cotton field worker Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) as bouncer. Meanwhile, Stack reconnects with his ex-girlfriend Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), who passes for white, and who tells Stack that she is still angry at him for abandoning her when he left for Chicago. Smoke and Annie argue over her belief in things otherworldly, as Annie insists her practices kept the twins safe, but Smoke bitterly reminds her that their infant daughter still died. Elsewhere, Irish-immigrant vampire Remmick (Jack O'Connell) flees from Choctaw vampire hunters and violently turns a pair of local farmers into vampires.

At the joint's opening night, Sammie's guitar playing accompanied by Delta Slim's skills at the keyboard is remarkable, and unknowingly summons spirits of both past and present to join the already captivated crowd. The performance draws Remmick's attention, and he arrives with his two farmer vampires, offering money and music for entry. Suspicious, the twins hesitate and the vampires leave. Reminding the twins that the bar needs the income, Mary meets Remmick outside but becomes wary of his group. 

As she starts to return to the bar, Remmick glides into the air and bites her, turning her into one of his own. She returns inside, where she seduces Stack and bites him. Smoke intervenes and shoots her unloading several rounds into her at point blank range, but she is unharmed by regular bullets, gets up smiling and escapes. Cornbread is also attacked by other vampires and turned as well.

The juke joint quickly empties, and so the vampires attack and turn the fleeing patrons, including Bo. Stack comes round as a vampire, but Annie repels him with pickled garlic juice. She advises the survivors that only silver or wooden stakes can kill vampires, and that they cannot enter a building unless invited. Now leading a horde of vampires but still unable to enter the bar, Remmick tries his luck at negotiating. He praises Sammie's supernatural talent with the guitar and states that vampirism offers immortality, freedom, and escape from racism, and that he also wants to use Sammie's skills to summon the spirits of his lost community. He also warns that Hogwood, who secretly heads the local KKK, plans to attack the joint at dawn. When the survivors refuse his offer, Remmick and Bo confront Grace, threatening to attack her young daughter Lisa (Helena Hu). A desperate Grace dares the horde to attack the juke joint, inviting them in. In the ensuing battle, Grace and Annie are killed and Delta Slim sacrifices himself by slashing his own wrist with a broken bottle of Irish beer, distracting the horde with the smell of his own fresh blood from the remaining survivors. 

Smoke, Sammie, and Pearline attempt to escape, but Remmick and Stack ambush them. Smoke and Stack clash in an intense head to head and toe to toe fight, while Sammie and Pearline face off with Remmick. Pearline is bitten and begs Sammie to flee before turning. In a final confrontation, Sammie smashes his guitar over Remmick's head, before Smoke arrives just in time to kill him with a stake. As the sun rises, the vampire horde are all incinerated. 

Urging Sammie to flee, Smoke ambushes and kills Hogwood and his fellow Klan members in a hail of bullets, but is himself mortally shot. Before dying, he has a vision of Annie and their baby daughter. Sammie, battered, bruised and grief-stricken, returns to his father's church. His father pleads with him to renounce the Devil's music and seek salvation. Sammie refuses, leaving with the broken off neck of his guitar in hand.

In a mid-credits sequence we fast forward to October 1992, some sixty years later, to a bar in Chicago where Sammie (Buddy Guy) has just come off stage as a celebrated blues musician. Stack and Mary pay a visit to the now elderly Sammie, where Stack reveals that Smoke spared him that night at the juke joint, allowing him to go free under the condition that Sammie would live in peace. The couple offers Sammie the chance at immortality, but he declines. Stack asks Sammie to play a song, and Sammie obliges. Afterwards, as Stack and Mary are leaving, Sammie tells them that though that fateful night still haunts him, until the sun went down, it was the greatest day of his life. Stack agrees, and turning back to face Sammie says it was the last time he saw Smoke, the last time he saw the sun, and the only time he ever truly felt free.

With 'Sinners' Director Ryan Coogler has delivered us a genre bending film that is all at once part vampire horror film, part historical drama, part social thriller, and part all singing all dancing musical offering all wrapped up in a neat entertaining package that is exciting and will keep you engaged from start to finish. The performances of the principle cast are all top notch, and while the first half drags a little, Ryan Coogler uses this time wisely to establish the characters and their respective back stories so that we are invested in their joy and commitment to Smoke, Stack and the juke joint and then their pain and anguish as the proverbial brown stuff hits the fan. This film needs to be experienced in a movie theatre, and you won't be disappointed. It is worthy of the financial, critical and awards success that surely will follow for this original story.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 24th April 2025

The 17th annual Milwaukee Film Festival this year runs from Thursday 24th April through until Thursday 8th May, in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Milwaukee Film is a nonprofit arts organisation dedicated to entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences. In 2009, the Milwaukee Film Festival had its inaugural run. Since then the Festival has expanded to a fifteen day celebration of new cinema and the organisation has taken over operation of two historic cinemas to show more great movies to all of Milwaukee every single day. Those working behind the scenes to bring the MFF to life every year are a team of film lovers, scholars, and professionals who believe film and the filmgoing experience are powerful vehicles for social change and personal introspection. They seek to make their city, its communities, and the world better places by sharing cinematic experiences, instigating meaningful dialogues, and cultivating the local filmmaking economy. The Milwaukee Film Festival is the fifth largest film festival in the United States in terms of attendance, the number of films screened and festival length.

This years Opening Night film presentation is 'Sally' Co-Written and Directed by Cristina Costantini. Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure were secrets. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance, deepens our understanding of what motivated this heroine, and gives heft to the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together.

In the Worldviews section of the MFF, there are sixteen feature films being showcased. Briefly, these are :-

* 'Ka Whawwhai Tonu - Struggle Without You' - from New Zealand and Directed by Michael Jonathan. 

* 'Holy Cow' - from France and Co-Written and Directed by Louise Courvoisier.

* 'Cloud' - from Japan and Written and Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

* 'Loveable' - from Norway and Written and Directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir.

* 'DJ Ahmet' - from North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia and Written and Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski.

* 'Harvest' - from the UK and Co-Written and Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, and starring Caleb Landry Jones and Harry Melling.

* 'Souleymane's Story' - from France and Co-Written and Directed by Boris Lojkine.

* 'Memories of a Burning Body' - from Costa Rica and Spain and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss.

* 'The Marching Band' - from France and Directed by Emmanuel Courcol.

* 'Peacock' - from Austria and Germany and Written and Directed by Bernhard Wenger.

* 'Samia' - from Italy, Germany, Belgium and Sweden and Co-Written by Yasemin Samdereli and Directed by Yasemin Samdereli and Deka Mohamed.

* 'Waves' - from the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Written and Directed by Jiri Madi.

* 'Memory Lane' - from Belgium and the Netherlands and Co-Written and Directed by Jelle de Jonge.

* 'Black Dog' - from China and Co-Written and Directed by Guan Hu.

* 'Nikah' - from France and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Bastien Ehouzan and Mukaddas Mijit.

* 'How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies' - from Thailand and Co-Written and Directed by Pat Boonnitipat.

For the summaries of the above films, plus all the details of the other film strands being showcased and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://mkefilm.org/mff25

With just three new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to your home this week, we kick off with a sequel to an earlier 2016 film in which an unorthodox Accountant applies his brilliant mind and illegal methods to reconstruct the unsolved puzzle of a Treasury Chief's murder. Then we have a survival horror film in which a group of friends become trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes are chasing and killing them in gruesome ways, and to survive they must live until dawn to escape it. And closing out the week we have a drama offering about a retired teacher who has promised to find her long-lost niece, with her search taking her to Istanbul where she meets a lawyer fighting for trans rights who agrees to help her find her niece.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'THE ACCOUNTANT 2' (Rated MA15+) - this American action thriller film is Directed by Gavin O'Connor who made his feature film making debut with 'Comfortably Numb' in 1995 and went on to Direct the likes of 'Miracle' in 2004, 'Pride and Glory' in 2008, 'Warrior' in 2011, 'Jane Got a Gun' in 2015, 'The Accountant' in 2016 and 'The Way Back' in 2020. This film is a sequel to O'Connor's 2016 film 'The Accountant' and saw its Premiere screening at SXSW in early-March this year and is released Stateside and her in Australia this week, having garnered generally favourable critical reviews. A third film is apparently in development.

When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. Also starring J.K. Simmons and Daniella Pineda.

'UNTIL DAWN' (Rated MA15+) - is an American survival horror film derived from the 2015 video game of the same name, and is set in the same universe and features an original standalone story. The film is Directed by David F. Sandberg whose prior feature film making credits take in his debut in 2017 with 'Annabelle : Creation', then 'Shazam!' in 2019 and 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' in 2023. Here then, one year on after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover (Ella Rubin) and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. They find themselves horrifically murdered, only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning. Trapped in an endless time loop, they’re forced to relive the nightmare again - only each time, the killer is different, each more terrifying than the last, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn. The film also stars Peter Stormare who appeared in the original game as Dr. Alan J. Hill. The film is released Stateside too this week.

'CROSSING' (Rated M) - this Swedish, French, Danish, Turkish and Georgian Co-Produced drama film is Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Levan Akin whose previous two feature film making credits are 'The Circle' in 2015 and 'And Then We Danced' in 2019. Lia (Mzia Arabuli), a retired school teacher living in Georgia, hears from a young neighbour Achi (Lucas Kankava) that her long lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Turkey. Hoping to bring Tekla home after a period of estrangement, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Exploring the hidden depths of the city, they cross paths with a transgender lawyer called Evrim (Deniz Dumanlı), who helps them in their search. The film had its World Premiere in mid-February 2024, as part of the Berlin International Film Festival, opening Panorama, and was released in Sweden at the end of March 2024, and only now does it get a release date here in Australia, It has garnered universal critical acclaim, has so far grossed US$554K at the Box Office and has collected twelve award wins and another thirteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

With three new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE AMATEUR : Tuesday 15th April 2025

I saw the M Rated 'THE AMATEUR' earlier this week at my local independent movie theatre, and this American vigilante action spy thriller film is Directed by James Hawes and is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell, which was previously adapted into a Canadian film that same year with John Savage, Christopher Plummer and Marthe Keller. James Hawes previous feature film making effort was 'One Life' in 2023, although he has Directed numerous TV series since the early 2000's, including multiple episodes of 'Doctor Who', 'Merlin', 'Penny Dreadful', 'Black Mirror', 'Snowpiercer' and 'Slow Horses'. The film was released in the US last week too, has so far grossed US$35M from a production budget of US$60M and has garnered mixed or average reviews. 

Here then, Charles 'Charlie' Heller (Rami Malek, who also Co-Produces here), is a brilliant yet deeply introverted CIA cryptographer, who as the film opens up is seen carefully unwrapping parts to restore an old Cessna single prop plane that was gifted to him by his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan). Later that same day Sarah departs for London where she is attending a four day conference. She asks him to join her, but as usual he declines saying that he has too much important work to do at Langley. At the CIA's Decryption and Analysis division, Charlie has befriended a field agent nicknamed 'the Bear' (Jon Bernthal), and an anonymous source codenamed 'Inquiline'. 

Inquiline sends Charlie highly classified and heavily encrypted files that reveal Special Activities Centre Director and Charlie's boss Alex Moore (Holt McCallany) altered politically-motivated drone strikes as suicide bombings. Later that evening Charlie tries calling Sarah but he only goes through to her voicemail. The next morning Charlie subsequently is brought to CIA Director Samantha O'Brien (Julianne Nicholson), who informs him that Sarah has been killed in a terrorist attack in London. Charlie is disbelieving until he sees raw footage displayed on a TV screen in her office downloaded from a security camera in close proximity to the hotel where Sarah was shot execution style.

A grieving Charlie soon afterwards presents his own findings to Moore and his CIA Deputy Caleb Horowitz (Danny Sapani). After an arms deal gone wrong, four assailants took Sarah and others hostage, killing her before escaping. Charlie identifies the suspects, Belarusian criminal Mishka Blazhic (Marc Rissmann), South African ex-special forces operative Ellish (Joseph Millson), former Armenian intelligence officer Gretchen Frank (Barbara Probst), and elusive mastermind Horst Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg), Sarah's killer. However, Moore and Horowitz insist they are working to take down Schiller's entire network, and as such tell Charlie to keep out. Determined to avenge Sarah, Charlie confronts Moore and Horowitz with his incriminating orders, which caused hundreds of civilian and allied casualties. Initially Moore brushes off the evidence laid before him, but Charlie then threatens to leak the information to the CIA Director and then the news channels. Charlie demands the available CIA resources to personally hunt down the four terrorists.

And so Charlie is sent off to train with Col. Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) at Camp Peary. The gun-shy Charlie excels at bomb-making, but Henderson lays it out clearly on the line that he is simply not capable of killing anyone. Meanwhile, Moore and Horowitz mobilise a team of CIA operatives to search Charlie's home, office and anywhere he may have visited recently. They discover a CD he hid in a bar's jukebox, but realise he was bluffing when the CD is examined. Henderson is ordered to eliminate Charlie, who bugged the files he left in Moore's office, but he had already vacated his room and was on his way out of the country on a flight bound for London and then a train to Paris, using the fake ID documents he had been given by the CIA.

Charlie tracks down Gretchen Frank in Paris, following an on-line lock-picking tutorial to break into her apartment. He discovers Gretchen's appointment at an asthma and allergy clinic and takes a gun, but cannot bring himself to shoot her when she returns to her home. The next day he buys up all the lilies at a street florist shop, and he traps Gretchen at the clinic in a hypobaric chamber that he fills with the pollen extracted from the lilies. Charlie demands to know Schiller's location, but is unwilling to let Gretchen die and releases her. The pair fight, but she escapes to the street, followed in hot pursuit by Charlie, and is fatally struck by a passing van. Taking Gretchen's phone, Charlie catches a bus to Marseille where Henderson corners him in a bar, but he sets off an explosion in the mens rest room and escapes. 

He requests Inquiline's help and is smuggled to Istanbul, where Inquiline (Caitriona Balfe) reveals herself as the Russian widow of a murdered ex-KGB officer, having taken his place as Charlie's source some six years prior. They trace Blazhic to a luxury hotel in Madrid, while O'Brien learns Moore has sent Henderson after Charlie, and sends her own operative.

In Madrid, Charlie confronts Blazhic as he swims alone in the hotel's rooftop infinity pool perched sixteen storey's up between two towers. He has rigged scuba equipment to decompress the air between the pool's sheets of glass. When Blazhic refuses to answer any questions, Charlie at the press of a button shatters the glass and sends him plummeting to his death. He is nearly apprehended once again by Henderson, who is attacked by O'Brien's operative. In the ensuing struggle, Henderson is shot but kills the operative, allowing Charlie to escape once more. Horowitz realises that Charlie is communicating with someone by spotting an earpiece he is wearing in CCTV footage from the hotel. He tracks down Inquiline and sends a strike team from the CIA Field Office in Istanbul, and Inquiline is killed in a hail of rapid gun fire as she flees with Charlie in a car.

Charlie tracks down Ellish in Romania under the pretence of selling him missiles and traps him with an improvised explosive device that has a remotely activated motion sensor, forcing him to reveal that Schiller operates from a ship on the Baltic Sea. He takes Ellish's phone and leaves him to die in the explosion. Charlie arrives in Primorsk to spy on Schiller's operation. Bear confronts him in a dock side cafe, but Charlie refuses to end his personal vendetta, and so he leaves Charlie pondering his fate.

Charlie is captured and is taken aboard Schiller's ship, coming face-to-face with Sarah's killer. Schiller offers him a loaded gun and the chance to take his revenge. Standing over Schiller with the pistol pointed squarely at Schiller's head and within point blank range, he drops the gun and takes a seat. Charlie reveals that he just had to keep talking long enough as he hacked the ships control systems, steering it to the Gulf of Finland where Schiller and his crew are taken into custody by Finnish Police and Interpol. O'Brien goes public with her revelations about Moore and Horowitz who are later arrested for their unsanctioned operations. After being visited by a recovered Henderson, Charlie is seen taking his restored Cessna plane for its first flight.

With 'The Amateur' Director James Hawes has here delivered a fairly predictable by the numbers spy action thriller that is straight out of the Bourne, or Bond or M:I playbook, with locations spread far and wide, well choreographed action set pieces, but a plot that leaves a lot to be desired. That said it is still entertaining enough and Malek does his best at his portrayal of the CIA computer nerd thrust into a world that he is ill equipped to handle but nonetheless his very particular set of skills at the keyboard enable him to win the day over those bad terrorist types. It has a strong supporting cast with Holt McCallany and Laurence Fishburne as dependable as ever, but Jon Bernthal is wasted with about as much as three minutes in total of screen time out of a total run time of just a nudge over two hours. You can either choose to watch it at your local big screen Odeon or wait to catch it via streaming - either way you could do worse!

'The Amateur' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th April 2025.

The 68th annual San Francisco International Film Festival this year takes place from Thursday 17th through until Sunday 27th April. Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. The annual event features a range of marquee premieres, international competitions, compelling documentaries, short and mid-length films, live music performances, and dazzling red carpet events. The SFFILM Festival is deeply rooted in the culture and process of film appreciation - film as an art form and as a meaningful agent for social change - and is an important showcase for the most searching and innovative films from around the globe, so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Film is 'Rebuilding' from the USA and Written and Directed by Max Walker-Silverman, and tells the story of communal love and resilience, as uncertain and mild-mannered man Dusty (Josh O’Connor) determined to rebuild his family ranch and recapture his purpose as a cowboy. Also starring Meghann Fahy, Amy Madigan, Lilly LaTour and Kali Reis. The Closing Night Film is 'Outerlands' from the USA and is Written and Directed by Elena Oxman and is about a gig worker in San Francisco who balances multiple jobs, including dealing party drugs. When their crush asks them to watch her daughter, what starts as temporary childcare evolves into an unexpected journey of self-discovery and healing.

Presented at the Festival since its inaugural year in 1957, the Golden Gate Awards are among the most significant honours for emerging global film artists in the USA. Prizes are traditionally awarded in twelve narrative, documentary, and short film categories and include cash awards. Those films in the Narrative Feature Competition are as follows :-

* 'The Quiet Son' - from France and Written and Directed by the sister duo of Delphine and Muriel Coulin. 

* 'Xoftex' - from Germany and France and Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed, photographed and Co-Edited by Noaz Deshe.

* '3670' - from South Korea and is Written, Executive Produced, Directed and Edited by Joonho Park.

* 'Cactus Pears' - from India, the UK and Canada and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade.

* 'Sukkwan Island' - from France, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the UK and Written and Directed by Vladimir de Fontenay.

* 'All That's Left of You' - from Germany, Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Cherein Dabis.

* 'Ricky' - from the USA and Co-Written and Directed by Rashad Frett.

* 'Surviving Earth' - from the UK and is Written and Directed by Thea Gajic.

* 'That Summer in Paris' - from France and Co-Written and Directed by Valentine Cadic.

For the synopsis of the above highlighted films, plus all the details of the other films in competition, the film sections being showcased, and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://sffilm.org/

Turning back to this weeks five hottest new release movies gracing a big screen Odeon close to your home, we launch with a supernatural horror film about twin brothers who return to their hometown but are faced with a greater evil. Next up is a modern telling of war as a surveillance mission goes south for a platoon of American Navy SEAL's in insurgent territory in Iraq. Then we turn to a mystery thriller in  which a widowed mother's first date takes a terrifying turn when she's bombarded with anonymous threatening messages on her phone, leaving her questioning if her charming date is behind the harassment. This is followed by a biographical drama offering telling the story of the arrest, trial and imprisonment of an Australian journalist, who while reporting on the Arab Spring uprising becomes entangled in a deadly game of rivalries. And closing out the week we have a comedy drama about an Englishman who experiences personal and political changes after adopting a penguin during a turbulent time in Argentina's history.

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.

'SINNERS' (Rated MA15+) - is an American period supernatural horror film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ryan Coogler, whose former feature film output includes his big screen debut with 'Fruitvale Station' in 2013, which he would follow up with 'Creed' in 2015, 'Black Panther' in 2018 and 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever' in 2022. The film is released this week too in the US and had a production budget of US$90M. 

Here then, set in the 1930's in the Southern United States during the height of the Jim Crow era, the film follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who are attempting to leave their troubled lives behind, as they return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. Also starring Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Jayme Lawson and Delroy Lindo. 

'WARFARE' (Rated MA15+) - this war action film is Written and Directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland and is based on Mendoza's experiences during the Iraq War as a former US Navy SEAL. Alex Garland's prior feature film making credits take in his debut with 'Ex Machina' in 2014, then 'Annihilation' in 2018, 'Men' in 2022 and 'Civil War' most recently last year. Here then, a platoon of Navy SEAL's embark on a dangerous surveillance mission in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006, with the chaos and brotherhood of war retold through their memories of the event. Starring D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Ray Mendoza with Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Michael Gandolfini, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, Henry Zaga and Alex Brockdorff. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing in mid-March, was released in the USA last week, here and in the UK this week, has garnered generally favourable critical press and has so far grossed US$8.5M from a production budget of US$20M.

'DROP' (Rated MA15+) - is an American mystery thriller film Directed by Christopher Landon who made his feature film Directing debut with 'Burning Palms' in 2010 and would follow this up with 'Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones' in 2014, then 'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse' in 2015, 'Happy Death Day' in 2017, 'Happy Death Day 2U' in 2019, 'Freaky' in 2020 and 'We Have a Ghost' in 2023. Here then, Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed mother, is on a date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar) when she is terrorised by a series of anonymous messages to her mobile phone. The caller instructs her to tell nobody, and follow increasingly malicious instructions, or her younger sister, Jen (Violett Beane), and her son, Toby (Jacob Robinson) will be killed, culminating with her being told to kill Henry. The film had its premiere at the SXSW in early March, was released in the US last week, has received positive reviews from critics and has so far grossed US$11M from a production budget of US$11M.

'THE CORRESPONDENT' (Rated M) - this biographical legal thriller film is Directed by Kriv Stenders whose prior feature film output includes 'The Illustrated Family Doctor' in 2005, 'Boxing Day' in 2007, 'Lucky Country' in 2009, 'Red Dog' in 2011, 'Kill Me Three Times' in 2014, 'Red Dog : True Blue' in 2016, 'Australia Day' in 2017 and 'Danger Close : The Battle of Long Tan' in 2019. This film is based on the 2017 memoir 'The First Casualty' by Peter Greste. The film is based on the real-life story of Australian foreign correspondent and journalist Peter Greste (Richard Roxburgh), who was arrested in Cairo, Egypt after being accused of spreading false news and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood. Imprisoned for seven years despite his innocence, he survives on wits alone before being released in 2015. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Adelaide Film Festival back in September last year and is released this week here in Australia. 

'THE PENGUIN LESSONS' (Rated M) - is a comedy drama film Directed by Peter Cattaneo who made his feature film Directorial debut with 1997's 'The Full Monty' and which he would follow up with 'Lucky Break' in 2001, 'Opal Dream' in 2006, 'The Rocker' in 2008 and 'Military Wives' in 2019. This film is based on the 2015 memoir of the same name by Tom Michell. Inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman, Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, Tom discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach at a Uraguayan resort, his life is turned upside-down, as the penguin then kept following him and so he took it back to the school, where it became a popular pet. Also starring Jonathan Pryce as the school Headmaster. It premiered as a gala presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year, was released in the US in late March and is released in the UK, Ireland and here in Australia this week. It has so far grossed almost US$3M and has generated mixed or average reviews.

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-