FIGHT OR FLIGHT : Tuesday 23rd September 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'FIGHT OR FLIGHT' this week at my local multiplex cinema, and this action comedy film is Directed by James Madigan in his feature film Directorial debut, although he has been the Second Unit Director on the likes of 'G.I. Joe : Retaliation', 'RED 2', 'Insurgent', 'Allegiant', 'The Meg', 'Bill and Ted Face the Music', 'Snake Eyes' and 'Transformers : Rise of the Beasts' more recently. This film premiered in the UK at the end of February this year, was released in the US in early May, and here in Australia on 4th September, has received positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$4.5M at the Box Office. 

Following a raid on a hideout somewhere in downtown Bangkok, an elusive expert hacker simply called The Ghost manages to thwart the local authorities and escape. A government sect, operating undercover as part of a social media app, manages to quickly piece together enough information to locate the Ghost's escape route, via a flight to San Francisco. Agent Aaron Hunter (Julian Kostov) informs head Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff) that due to lack of field agents in the area (the nearest being in Singapore), they have no way of catching the Ghost in time. 

With no other option, Brunt decides to call upon disgraced former Secret Service agent Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett), her former partner and boyfriend who was forced to go into hiding two years ago in Bangkok following a savage beating he gave to a high ranking government official he was guarding at the time. That government official had a penchant for beating up prostitutes he was fucking at the time and something snapped in Lucas, resulting in his dismissal by the head of the FBI who just happened to be the brother of that government official. Lucas had his passport seized and was handed down a no fly penalty so grounding him in Bangkok. He is needless to say seriously angered that Brunt would call him out of the blue, but with the promise of clearing his name, Lucas reluctantly takes the mission. 

The Ghost is particularly adept at keeping his identity a very closely guarded secret. Lucas's only way of identifying the hacker is an apparent bullet wound sustained in that earlier raid on a hideout, and a trail of blood left on the street. As he gets on the plane, and is ushered to his seat he has a brief run-in with dancing obsessed killer Cayenne (Marko Zaror) who laced his drink and who tells him that the Ghost has a bounty on his head. 

Lucas manages to kill Cayenne and then convinces airline stewards Isha (Charithra Chandran) and Royce (Danny Ashok) to help him with locating the Ghost and the other killers. Brunt learns that due to the Ghost's actions, multiple high-end companies have also managed to locate Ghost's whereabouts onto the plane and have all hired assassins of their own. Down in the cargo hold, where Isha shoots and kills another assassin in waiting, Lucas quickly figures out that Isha is in fact the Ghost after he observes her cold sweating, and gets her to begrudgingly trust him as he is the only person that is trying to prevent her from being taken out.

Lucas and Isha are forced to fend off the assassins with whatever is at their disposal, during which both their identities are sent to the mobile phones of everyone on the plane. Lucas slowly bonds with Isha, revealing that her motives are based on the fact that as a young child she was trafficked into slave labour and uses her skills to now help free other child labourers around the world. Brunt figures out that Hunter had kept information to himself about the Ghost, and that she possesses a supercomputer that is capable of hacking into any encrypted coding within mere seconds. Knowing that possessing it will make their app company more powerful, and turn them both into multi-billionaires overnight Brunt agrees to Hunter's plan of securing it, should the plane arrive in San Francisco on time.

Isha is quickly aided by Master Lian (JuJu Chan Szeto), another passenger and ally on the plane along with her students Monk Heather (Heather Choo) and Monk Claudia (Claudia Heinz), and together with a drug-induced Lucas recovering from a slash and stab to the stomach from an earlier fight for which he thought he had taken a dose of adrenalin, but in reality swallowed a much more potent animal extracted serum, fight through the rest of the assassins. 

Using a mountaineering pick and then a chainsaw which Isha found in the hold, Lucas sets about literally carving up the remaining assassins, while two of the goons fire off several rounds of their automatic weapons causing the plane's hull to rupture, and several assassins being sucked out of the plane at 35,000 feet.

Despite descending and levelling the plane, both pilots (Sanjeev Kohli and Declan Baxter) are killed along with Lian and her students. A gravely-injured Lucas and Isha make it to the cockpit, but the plane misses its SFO landing, resulting in Brunt killing Hunter with a bullet to the head, for his incompetence. Despite Brunt's attempts to get Lucas to turn Isha over, he refuses and resigns himself. Isha reveals that her computer device had been piloting the plane the entire time, her real escape plan. Lucas passes out from his wounds and exhaustion.

Lucas comes round several days later, bandaged up and on a drip, in a war-torn hospital where the sound of rapid gun fire and explosions are heard in the distance. As he wakes and stumbles to his feet, an explosion rips through the wall of the make-shift hospital, as Isha bursts into the room and tells him that they are not finished yet, much to his dismay.

First time feature film Director James Madigan, has here proven his film making chops by delivering us a very entertaining albeit no holds barred violent bloody and at times laugh out loud funny movie in which leading man Josh Hartnett performed all his own stunts, and that sense of letting loose comes shining through in his role. This film is very reminiscent of 2022's 'Bullet Train' but set on a plane, and by comparison that film grossed US$240M - a far cry from what this film is expected to take at the worldwide Box Office based on its poor US$4.5M haul so far. The action sequences are well choreographed and the close quarter fight scenes are so over the top I thought I was watching a Looney Tunes cartoon. That said, if watching creative kills and Josh Hartnett wielding a chainsaw at 35,000 feet floats your boat, then you're in for a thrilling ride. And if not, you can always watch it from the comfort of your sofa when it arrives on a streaming platform in the next few weeks. 

'Fight or Flight' merits 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 25th September 2025.

This years 63rd edition of the New York Film Festival (NYFF) kicks off on Friday 26th September and runs through until Monday 13th October. This film festival is held every autumn in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. It is one of the longest-running and most prestigious film festivals in the US and is a non-competitive festival centred on a 'Main Slate' of typically 20–30 feature films, with additional sections for experimental cinema and new restorations.

The Opening Film presentation is 'After the Hunt' from Italy and the US and this psychological thriller film is Co-Produced and Directed by Luca Guadagnino, and stars Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloe Sevigny and sees a respected and well liked college professor who is forced to grapple with her own secretive past after one of her colleagues is faced with a serious accusation. The Closing Film is 'Is This Thing On?' from the USA and this comedy drama film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Bradley Cooper, with Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Sean Hayes and Ciaran Hinds. As their marriage unravels, Alex faces middle age and divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while wife Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family, forcing them to navigate co-parenting and identity.

Among the feature film titles selected in the Main Slate category, are the following :-

* 'Father Mother Sister Brother' - from the USA, Ireland, France, Italy and Japan and is Written, Directed and Co-Scored by Jim Jarmusch. This comedy drama anthology film stars Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver, Charlotte Rampling, Tom Waits and Indya Moore. The film serves as the Centrepiece to this years Main Slate.

* 'The Fence' - from France and Written and Directed by Claire Denis, and this drama film stars Mia McKenna-Bruce, Tom Blyth, Isaach de Bankole and Matt Dillon. 

* 'A House of Dynamite' - from the USA and Co-Produced and Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. This political thriller stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Great Lee, Jason Clarke, Kaitlyn Dever and Moses Ingram. 

* 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Mary Bronstein. This psychological comedy drama film stars Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater and ASAP Rocky. 

* 'It Was Just an Accident' - from Iran, France and Luxembourg and this thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jafar Panahi. The film had its World Premiere at the main competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May where it won the Palme d'Or.

* 'Jay Kelly' - from the UK, the USA and Italy and is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Noah Baumbach, and this coming of age comedy drama film stars George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Greta Gerwig, Alba Rohrwacher, Emily Mortimer, Lenny Henry and Isla Fisher.

* 'Late Fame' - from the USA and this drama film is Directed by Kent Jones, and stars Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee and Edmund Donovan. 

* 'The Mastermind' - from the USA and the UK and this heist film is Written, Directed and Edited by Kelly Reichardt, and stars Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim, Bill Camp, Hope Davis, John Magaro and Gabby Hoffman.

* 'Miroirs No. 3' - from Germany and Written and Directed by Christian Petzold, and this drama film stars Paula Beer, Barbara Auer and Matthias Brandt. 

* 'No Other Choice' - from South Korea and this satirical black comedy thriller film is Co-Written for the screen, Produced and Directed by Park Chan-wook, and stars Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran and Cha Seung-won.

* 'Rose of Nevada' - from the UK and this Sci-Fi drama film is Written, Directed, photographed, Edited and Scored by Mark Jenkin and stars George MacKay and Callum Turner.

* 'The Secret Agent' - from Brazil, France, Germany and the Netherlands and this historical political thriller film is Written and Directed by Kleber Mandonca Filho and stars Wagner Moura, Gabriel Leone and Udo Kier. The film had its World Premiere at the main competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May, where it received widespread acclaim, winning the Best Actor award for Moura, Best Director for Mendonça Filho, the Art House Cinema Award and the FIPRESCI Prize.

* 'Sentimental Value' - from Norway, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the UK and this comedy drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Joachim Trier, and stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning. The film had its World Premiere at the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival in late May this year, where it received widespread acclaim and won the Grand Prix.

* 'Sound of Falling' - from Germany and this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Mascha Schilinski. The film had its World Premiere in the main competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it won the Jury Prize.

* 'What Does That Nature Say to You' - from South Korea and this drama film is Written, Produced, Directed, photographed, Edited and Scored by Hong Sang-soo. 

For the remaining films in the Main Slate section, plus the other strands being showcased including Spotlight Gala, Currents and Revivals, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff/

Turning the attention then back to this weeks slew of five new release American movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with an action thriller offering that tells the story of when their evil enemy resurfaces after sixteen years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunites to rescue one of their own's daughter. Then we turn to a horror film that is the second in a planned trilogy that sees a couple's vehicle breaking down, forcing them to take refuge in a remote Airbnb, and as night falls, three masked strangers terrorise them until dawn. This is followed by a drama that tells the true story of the courageous pioneer and robotics coach and the first-ever all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan. Next up we have forty-one years after the release of the groundbreaking mockumentary, the now estranged bandmates are forced to reunite for one final concert; and closing out the week we have Gabby and her Grandma taking a road trip which takes an unexpected turn when her prized dollhouse ends up with an eccentric cat lady.

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.

'ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER' (Rated M) - this American action thriller film is Written, Co-Produced, and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and is loosely based on the 1990 novel 'Vineland' by Thomas Pynchon. Anderson made his feature film debut with 'Hard Eight' in 1996, which he would follow up with the likes of 'Boogie Nights' in 1997, 'Magnolia' in 1999, 'There Will Be Blood' in 2007, 'Inherent Vice' in 2014, 'Phantom Thread' in 2017 and 'Licorice Pizza' in 2021. His accolades include a BAFTA Award, and nominations for eleven Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, and a Grammy. He is also the only person to have won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and the Silver and Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Bob Fergusson (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his evil nemesis resurfaces after sixteen years, and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts. Also starring Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall and Teyana Taylor. The film is released Stateside this week also, and cost somewhere between US$130 and US$175M to produce.

'THE STRANGERS : CHAPTER 2' (Rated MA15+) - is an American horror film Directed by Renny Harlin who has been making films since 1986 and whose most memorable offerings include 'Die Hard 2' in 1990, 'Cliffhanger' in 1993, 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' in 1996, 'Deep Blue Sea' in 1999, 'Driven' in 2001, 'The Misfits' in 2021, 'The Bricklayer' in 2023, and 'The Strangers : Chapter 1' in 2024. This film serves as the fourth film in the series, after 'The Strangers' in 2008, and then 'The Strangers : Prey at Night' in 2018, although this is the second instalment in a new trilogy of films that launched last year with the third outing slated for a release sometime next year, with Renny Harlin also helming that film. Here then, after learning that one of their victims, Maya Lucas (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive (following the events of the first film), three masked maniacs return to finish the job. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya soon finds herself in a brutal fight for survival against psychopaths who are more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. Also starring Ganriel Basso and Emma Horvath. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'RULE BREAKERS' (Rated PG) - this American drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Bill Guttentag, the multi-award winning drama and documentary filmmaker who helmed his Oscar winning 'You Don't Have to Die' in 1988, and another Oscar winner 'Twin Towers' in 2002, amongst many others. In a nation where educating girls is seen as rebellion, a visionary woman Roya Mahboob (Nikohl Boosheri) dares to teach young minds to dream. When their innovation draws global attention, their success sparks hope, as well as opposition. As threats loom and sacrifices are made, their courage and unity ignite a movement that could forever transform the world. Also starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The film was released in the US in early March this year, has so far grossed US$3M from a circa US$12M production budget and has garnered mixed or average reviews. 

'SPINAL TAP : THE END CONTINUES' (Rated M) - is an American mockumentary film that is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and starring Rob Reiner and is a sequel to the original 1984 cult classic film 'This is Spinal Tap' which was also Directed by Rob Reiner. His other more noteworthy film making credits take in the likes of 'Stand by Me' in 1986, 'The Princess Bride' in 1987, 'When Harry Met Sally . . .' in 1989, 'Misery' in 1990, 'A Few Good Men' in 1992, 'The American President' in 1995 and 'The Bucket List' in 2007. Set around forty years after the first film, film Director Martin Di Bergi (Rob Reiner) creates another video documentary of the reunion and final show of the legendary rock band Spinal Tap, reuniting for the first time in fifteen years for a one night only gig in New Orleans,  consisting of Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). Fran Drescher also stars with cameo appearances playing themselves are Paul McCartney, Elton John, Garth Brooks and Questlove amongst others. The film was released in the US earlier this month and cost US$23M to produce. 

'GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE : THE MOVIE' (Rated G) - this American musical fantasy comedy film is based on the Netflix series 'Gabby's Dollhouse', is Produced by DreamWorks Animation, and is Co-Written and Directed by Ryan Crego in his feature film making debut. Combining live-action and animation, it stars Laila Lockhart Kraner as Gabby, who reprises her role from the series, as she embarks on a road trip with her grandma GiGi (Gloria Estefan) to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco. But when Gabby's dollhouse, her most prized possession, ends up in the hands of an eccentric cat lady named Vera (Kristen Wiig), Gabby sets off on an adventure through the real world, and work together to get the Gabby Cats back together and save the dollhouse before it’s too late. The film is released in the US this week too.

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 LONG WALK : Wednesday 17th September 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE LONG WALK' at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this American dystopian survival thriller film is Co-Produced and Directed by Francis Lawrence who after years of Directing music videos turned his hand to feature films with his debut in 2005 with 'Constantine', which he would follow up with 'I Am Legend' in 2007, 'Water for Elephants' in 2011, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' in 2013, 'The Hunger Games : Mockingjay - Parts 1 & 2' in 2014 and 2015, 'Red Sparrow' in 2018, 'Slumberland' in 2022 and 'The Hunger Games : The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' in 2023. This film is based on the 1979 novel by Stephen King (writing under his pseudonym Richard Bachman), and has been in development Hell since 1988 when George A. Romero was first linked to Direct the film adaptation, and since then it has been on again off again as numerous film makers have come and gone, until Lawrence took the helm. On a production budget of US$20M the film has so far grossed US$18M since its release Stateside and here in Australia last week and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.

Here then, set in a dystopian United States ruled by a dictatorial regime, as a result of a war that broke out some time in the past, every year, thousands of teenage boys apply to participate in the Long Walk. This event in which fifty randomly chosen young men are given water and rations, must walk without stopping along a pre-determined route while soldiers escort them. Any walker who falls below three miles per hour is given a verbal warning, but can invalidate it by maintaining speed for an hour. If a walker receives three warnings and falls below speed again, he is shot on the spot and killed by the soldiers. The Walk ends when there is but one survivor left, who receives a substantial cash prize and can have one wish, any wish, fulfilled. 

Raymond 'Ray' Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) arrives at the starting point, and bids an emotional farewell to his mother Ginnie Garraty (Judy Greer) and meets the other participants, including Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Billy Stebbins (Garrett Wareing), Arthur Baker (Tut Nyuot), Collie Parker (Joshua Odjick), Gary Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer), Hank Olson (Ben Wang), and Richard Harkness (Jordan Gonzalez), along with the Major (Mark Hamill), who oversees the whole event. After each walker is given a dog tag bearing a number from one to fifty, and a quick set of rules and obligations is read out by the Major, the walk begins.

During the first day, Ray gets to know the other walkers and forms a close bond with Peter. A boy named Thomas Curley (Roman Griffin Davis) is the first to be killed, after he develops a painful cramp in his leg and is unable to keep up the minimum speed. Barkovitch is given a wide berth by the group for provoking another walker named Rank (Daymon Wrightly) into attacking him, resulting in Rank's execution. 

As the walk progresses, Ray reveals why he signed up to Peter, but makes him promise not to divulge this to anyone else. If successful in being the last man standing, his wish is for a guard's Carbine rifle and to use it to kill the Major, as revenge for executing his father for his staunch opposition to the political regime, a fact that he was prepared to die for. Peter tries to talk Ray out of it and confesses that when he is too tired to keep walking, he intends to stop and wait to die.

Harkness and many of the other walkers perish over the next few days, particularly when walking up a long steep incline late at night. Hank becomes delirious and attempts to attack the soldiers, who shoot him down and let him slowly bleed to death as punishment, and a deterrent to the other walkers. The next morning, the boys learn that Hank was married to Clementine, and the only man amongst the other forty-nine who was married. They all agree that the winner should give some of the prize money to his widow. Riddled with guilt over Rank's death, Barkovitch begs Ray to accept him into the group. Ray agrees, but Barkovitch suffers a mental breakdown soon afterward and fatally stabs himself several times in the throat with a spoon.

Eventually, only Ray, Peter, Stebbins, Arthur, and Collie remain. Stebbins, who has fallen ill, tries to persuade the others not to help each other anymore, so as not to prolong their suffering. Meanwhile the sole of Ray's shoe has come off, and he quickly discards both shoes and continues the walk in his bloodied socks. While walking through a town, Ray spots his mother watching and is given his third warning while trying to get to her, until Peter pulls him away just in time. 

Collie manages to steal a guard's rifle, shoots the guard, and then turns the gun on himself after the other soldiers wound him with several bullets to the gut. Arthur develops internal hemorrhaging and decides to stop walking, and is executed. As Stebbins' sickness worsens and he realises he no longer has a chance to win, he reveals to Ray and Peter why he chose to join the walk - he is one of the Major's many illegitimate children, and he intended to use his wish to force the man to accept him over tea at his house. He then tells the pair it was an honour to walk with them before stopping and allowing himself to be killed, leaving Ray and Peter as the final two walkers. 

Ray and Peter arrive at another town in the pouring rain late at night, where a crowd all sheltering under umbrellas has gathered to see who wins. Peter intentionally sits down, only for Ray to pick him up and encourage him to keep going. He does so, failing to notice that Ray himself has now stopped walking. The Major executes Ray and congratulates Peter for winning, while Peter cries out for his friend. When asked to state his wish, Peter carries out Ray's plan by asking for a Carbine rifle. The major responds saying that his wish will be granted and that he'll receive it in due course. Peter turns to a nearby guard and says that he wants his, to which the Major asks the guard to hand over his weapon. At which, Peter points the loaded rifle at the Major and says 'this is for Ray', pulls the trigger and kills him. He then continues walking down the road.

With 'The Long Walk' Director Francis Lawrence has delivered us one of the better Stephen King big screen adaptations in some years. However, this film is repetitive with forty-nine of the 'contestants' all buying the farm in some shape or form for stepping out of line, and not keeping up the pace, but, having said that it what these young men signed up for! Also you can figure out easily enough from the get go, who the last two men left standing are going to be, and in that respect the outcome is fairly predictable. On the positive front, the performances by Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are top notch, and the bond the pair forge during their 330 or so mile long walk feels real and unforced. There are also some relevant present day messages at play in this film like the Major espousing pre-MAGA movement rhetoric, political unrest, economic and social downturn, the price of sacrifice and the true value of friendship, loyalty and the priorities we place on our lives and those of others. 'The Long Walk' is a solid enough film without being great, but it will leave you thinking long after the end credits have rolled, and hoping that this is a world we never get to see.

'The Long Walk' merits 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 18th September 2025.

The 73rd edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF) this year takes place from Friday 19th through until Saturday 27th September in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque Country. The festival was founded on 21st September 1953. It became a FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) accredited competitive international film festival specialising in colour films in 1955. In 1957, the FIAPF granted the festival the non-specialised competitive festival status ('A' category) for the first time, which it then held that status intermittently until 1985, and since then it has since held that status on a sustained basis.

This years Opening Night Film presentation is '27 Nights' from Argentina and Directed by and starring Daniel Hendler. The film tells the story of Martha Hoffman, an eccentric and wealthy patron who is committed to a psychiatric clinic by her daughters. The expert witness Casares investigates whether this is a scheme to control their mother’s fortune or if Martha truly suffers from a form of dementia that endangers her well-being and that of her family. The Closing Night Film is 'Winter of the Crow' from Poland, the UK and Luxembourg and is Co-Written and Directed by Kasia Adamik. Warsaw, Poland - December 13th 1981 - martial law is imposed and overnight shuts down the country just as British psychiatry professor Dr Joan Andrews (Leslie Manville) arrives as a guest lecturer at the University. As chaos engulfs the city, armed with her camera, she witnesses a brutal murder by the Secret Police. In mortal danger and trapped as Poland is closed down, Joan becomes a hunted fugitive running for her life.

Those feature films in competition within the Official Selection slate, include the following titles :-

* '27 Nights' - refer above.

* 'Ballad of a Small Player' - from the UK and this drama film is Co-Produced and Directed by Edward Berger, and is based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Starring Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton and Fala Chen.

* 'Couture' - from France and the USA and this drama film is Written and Directed by Alice Winocour. In the frenzy of Fashion Week, three women cross paths in Paris, grappling with the world’s tragedies and the questions of their lives: Maxine (Angelina Jolie), an American film Director in her forties, discovers she has cancer; Ada (Anyier Anei), a young South Sudanese model, escapes a predetermined destiny to be thrust into a deceptive universe and French makeup artist Angele (Ella Rumpf), a small hand working in the shadows of the catwalks, dreams of escaping her life.

* 'The Fence' - from France and this drama film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Claire Denis. Over the course of one night near a vast public works construction site in Senegal, West Africa a group of workers are confronted by a man seeking justice for his brother’s death at the site earlier that day. Starring Matt Dillon, Tom Blyth, Mia McKenna-Bruce and Isaach de Bankole.

* 'Franz' - from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, France and Turkey this Biographical film is Co-Produced and Directed by Agnieszka Holland, and stars Idan Weiss as Franz Kafka, following the author's life from his early teens in his hometown of Prague to his premature death in 1924 at the age of forty in Austria.

* 'Nuremberg' - from the USA and this historical drama film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by James Vanderbilt. During the Nuremberg trials (between 20th November 1945 and 1st October 1946, chief psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) interviews Nazi prisoners to determine whether they are fit to stand trial. There, he enters a 'battle of wits' against Adolf Hitler's right-hand man, Hermann Goring (Russell Crowe). Also starring Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Colin Hanks, Michael Shannon and Richard E. Grant. 

* 'Two Pianos' - from France and this romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Arnaud Desplechin. Starring Francois Civil as a virtuoso French pianist who returns from living in Asia for many years to experience an impossible love story in his hometown of Lyon. The cast includes Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Charlotte Rampling and Hippolyte Girardot.

The Donostia Award (an honorary award created in 1986 which is given every year to a number of Actors and filmmakers at the festival, and derives its name from Donostia, the Basque name of San Sebastian). this year goes to the Spanish Producer Esther Garcia for her career achievement, and to American Actress and Producer Jennifer Lawrence, together with a screening of her latest film 'Die, My Love' with Robert Pattinson, Lakeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte. 

For the other film strands being showcased, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in

Looking ahead to this weeks four new movies coming to your local Odeon, we launch with a romantic fantasy film that tells the story of a pair of strangers and the unimaginable journey that ties them together. Then we turn to an Aussie family comedy offering in which a pro surfer teams up with an eleven-year-old Indigenous girl to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned kangaroos in a remote community. Next up is a French biographical film about the life of musical composer Maurice Ravel during his preparation of his most famous ballet as commissioned by Ida Rubinstein. And closing out the week we have an animated film that is a sequel to an earlier film from 2022, that finds this rag tag bunch of bad guys struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as good guys, when they are pulled out of retirement.

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.

'A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY' (Rated M) - this American romantic fantasy film is Directed by Koganada in his third feature film outing following his debut in 2017 with 'Columbus' and then 'After Yang' in 2021, as well as Directing four episodes of TV series 'Pachinko' and two of 'The Acolyte'. 

Some doors bring you to your past. Some doors lead you to your future. And some doors change everything. Sarah (Margot Robbie) a free spirited artist running from the past, and David (Colin Farrell) a reserved historian searching for meaning in his life are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend's wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on A Big Bold Beautiful Journey - a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present . . . and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures. The film also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kevin Kline, Jodie Turner-Smith, Brandon Perea, Chloe East, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater and Billy Magnussen. The film is released this week too in the US.

'KANGAROO' (Rated PG) - is an Australian family comedy film Directed by Kate Woods in only her second feature film outing following 'Looking for Alibrandi' in 2000, although in the intervening years she has Directed numerous episodes of largely American TV shows including 'Janus', 'Changi', 'Without a Trace', 'All Saints', 'Suits', 'House', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'Bones', 'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Castle', 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.', 'The Umbrella Academy' and 'The Lincoln Lawyer'. Here, when Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr) becomes stranded on his way to Broome, in northern Western Australia, he teams up with a young girl named Charlie (Lily Whitely), forming an unlikely friendship. The two come together to help rehabilitate young injured kangaroos. Also starring Rachel House, Brooke Satchwell, Deborah Mailman and Ernie Dingo. The film is released this week here in Australia and New Zealand, and was released early in Germany and Austria toward the end of last month.

'BOLERO' (Rated PG) - this French biographical film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Anne Fontaine who has a long list of feature film Directorial credits and awards dating back to 1993, but more recently has helmed 'Adoration' in 2013, 'Gemma Bovery' in 2014, 'The Innocents' in 2016, 'Night Shift' in 2020, and 'Presidents' in 2021. Boundary-pushing Russian dancer and actress Ida Rubinstein (Jeanne Balibar) selects renowned French composer Maurice Ravel (Raphael Personnaz) to compose the music for her next ballet. Ravel ends up creating his greatest success ever - Bolero, in 1928. Also starring Doria Tillier and Emmanuelle Devos, the film saw its World Premiere screening at the Rotterdam International Film Festival back in late January 2024, was released in its native France in early March 2024, and only now does it get a limited release here in Australia. It has so far grossed US$3.4M.

'THE BAD GUYS 2' (Rated PG) - is an American animated heist comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Directed by Pierre Perifel, and is the sequel to 2022's 'The Bad Guys' also Directed by Perifel. Both films are loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Australian author Aaron Blabey. Reformed criminals Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) are trying very hard to be good. However, they soon find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes heist that's masterminded by a new team of delinquents they never saw coming - the Bad Girls, aka Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), Doom (Natasha Lyonne) and Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova). The film also stars Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, Richard Ayoade and Colin Jost; has garnered generally favourable critical acclaim, and has so far grossed US$201M from a production budget of US$80M since its release Stateside on 1st August. In June of this year, Director Perifel commented in an interview that a third film was in the early planning stages.

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-

THE ROSES : Tuesday 9th September 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE ROSES' this week at my local multiplex, and this satirical black comedy film is Directed by Jay Roach whose previous Directorial credits take in the three 'Austin Powers' films in 1997, 1999 and 2002, as well as 'Mystery, Alaska' in 1999, 'Meet the Parents' in 2000, 'Meet the Fockers' in 2004, 'Dinner for Schmucks' in 2010, 'Trumbo' in 2015 and 'Bombshell' in 2019. This film is based on the 1981 novel 'The War of the Roses' by Warren Adler, and a remake of the 1989 film, also titled 'The War of the Roses' which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. The film was released in the US, and the UK at the end of August and here in Australia last week, having garnered mixed or average reviews, and so far grossing US$33M off the back of a production budget of just under US$31M.

The film opens up in London, where architect Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch) is dining with colleagues in an upscale restaurant, and wanting to distance himself from the conversation of differing opinions to his own, he ventures into the kitchen and comes face to face with Ivy (Olivia Colman). The pair are instantly drawn to each other, and she tells him that she has a dream of relocating herself to America to start up her own business, to which he responds that he should go with her. Within five minutes of their meeting, they 'bond' in the coolroom.

Fast forward ten years, and Theo and Ivy have relocated to Mendocino, California, and are married and have twin children, Hattie (Delaney Quinn) and Roy (Ollie Robinson). They have differing parenting styles as Ivy spoils the kids with her homemade cakes, ice cream and fun activities, and Theo prioritises their health. 

With Ivy having sacrificed her business plans to raise their children, Theo buys her a piece of run down and long since vacated real estate, albeit overlooking the ocean, with his own money where she can finally open the restaurant she always dreamed of, which she calls 'We've Got Crabs'.

One night, during a severe storm, Theo's newly designed and constructed naval history museum is completely destroyed, just as Ivy's new restaurant is overrun with customers seeking shelter. Due to a glowing review from a renowned food critic, Ivy's business goes from strength to strength, making her the new breadwinner of the family, while Theo loses his job as a result of the naval history museum collapse, and agrees to be a stay-at-home parent. Taking full advantage of it, and jumping in with both feet he puts the kids on a strict regime of diet and regular physical exercise, and even has them sign a commitment to abide by the new regime, which it seems they are happy to abide by, much to Ivy's chagrin. As a result, Ivy begins to feel disconnected from her children's lives, while Theo becomes jealous of Ivy's success, and all the attention she is reaping.

Sensing a rift in their relationship, the pair make several attempts to reconcile, including a romantic weekend trip to New York City and marriage counselling, but all fail miserably. They begin to feel resentment for each other and blame the other for their problems. As a last ditch attempt to save their marriage, Ivy uses the profits from franchising out her restaurant business to give Theo an opportunity to build their dream home, located on a cliff top and overlooking the ocean.

Three years later, their dream house is complete, and the now thirteen year-old Hattie (Hala Finley) and Roy (Wells Rappaport) are prodigies accepted into a prestigious school in Miami on sports scholarships. Without the kids to distract them, Ivy and Theo's frustrations turn into a feud. Ivy mocks and humiliates Theo in front of their friends Barry and Amy (Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon respectively) and Sally and Rory (Zoe Chao and Jamie Demetriou respectively) during a housewarming party, discrediting his hard work. The next morning Ivy seeks to make amends by cooking him breakfast of blueberry pancakes, but he is not interested and instead goes out for a run. Theo, after saving a beached whale and experiencing an epiphany, realises that you only have one life to live, and that he is not in love with Ivy anymore and therefore wants a divorce. He asks only for the house which he designed and built, but Ivy says that she paid for it and wants to leave him with nothing.

They have a meeting with their divorce lawyers with Theo's friend Barry representing him and a renowned and super tough lawyer Eleanor (Allison Janney) representing Ivy. Barry is inexperienced in divorce law but has experience in property law, which he says is almost the same thing. The pair reach an impasse with neither prepared to budge on the house issue. 

As a result they decide to make each other's lives as uncomfortable as possible using cruel tactics, which results in Theo being blacklisted from architecture throughout the State as a result of Ivy posting an AI generated Deep Fake video of Theo online, and Ivy's restaurants being closed down for health contraventions as a result of Theo grating the hard skin from his toes into her parmesan cheese. Ivy has an allergic reaction after Theo tricks her into eating a mini Black Forest gateau laced with fresh raspberries, and will only cure her with an EpiPen if Ivy signs the papers. She signs as Zendaya rendering the papers useless, but he saves her anyway. 

Ivy then tries to shoot him with their home defence gun in response, with Theo ducking for cover behind the kitchen benches. They chase each other around the house as Ivy shoots randomly, with Theo smashing Ivy's beloved oven that once belonged to Julia Child in the process. Overwhelmed, and talking through a locked door, Theo admits he still loves Ivy despite everything that has happened between them. Ivy says she feels the same way, puts down the gun, Theo opens the door and the two embrace. 

As the pair collapse on the bed and become intimate, a gas leak is seen spreading through the house due to the damage that Theo inflicted on Ivy's oven. Unaware of the situation, Theo commands their smart home system to turn on the fire, at which the screen cuts to white. 

For me 'The Roses' would be up there as one of the best comedies of the year so far, and that's saying something! Watching Olivia Colman hand out her acerbic barbs and dropping the c-word on several occasions is a delight, and seeing Benedict Cumberbatch like he's just swallowed the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary delivering his quick witted well spoken retorts is a lesson in the command of the English language, and all credit to the scriptwriter Tony McNamara. Director Jay Roach has delivered a film that while perhaps not up there with its more bleak 1989 predecessor, he has crafted a nonetheless entertaining and modern 21st century take on a marriage in crisis, and the fallout thereof. The film has several moments of genuine humour, a number of farcical set pieces peppered throughout by a few occasions of emotional heft that help lift this remake above the also rans.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-