What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 8th October 2015.

What's not to like about a Film Festival, and as mentioned previously in these Blog Pages, Adelaide screens its very own, beginning next Thursday 15th October. Over the past two weeks I've mentioned some of the content that will be screening over ten days, but this week I thought I'd highlight some of the smaller offerings and genres that will nonetheless find an audience and add to the diverse and exciting programme on offer. There is a 'Focus on Latin America' with 'Aurora' and 'Hopefuls' both having their Australian Premiers, and  'Cartel Land' that will be of particular interest if you have seen the recently released 'Sicario'. There are Documentaries too with 'Desert Migration', 'A Syrian Love Story' and 'We Are Many' all having their Australian Premier and 'Best of Enemies' and 'Requiem for an American Dream' both promising to be thought provoking and stirring. Of the musical genre 'Landfill Harmonic' and 'Songman' both Premier in Australia and '808'  invites us into the drum machine that was and is the cornerstone of modern music. On the sporting front 'Steve McQueen : The Man & Le Mans', 'Hitting the Apex', 'Our Last Tango' and 'Meru' all get their Australian Premier too, with Horror fans being kept satisfied with 'Tag' from Japan, 'Deathgasm' from New Zealand and 'Turbo Kid' from Canada. And of course there's a raft of short films too. For all the details go to : https://adelaidefilmfestival.org

This week there are three films to get you out and about to your your local independent theatre or mega screen multiplex, and kicking off those offerings there is an ensemble cast recounting the true life story and true life crimes of one of the FBI's Most Wanted Men back in Boston back in the day when the mob ruled, it was survival of the fittest, and justice was a matter of shoot first and ask questions later. Next up is a feel good comedy when two unsuspecting people are thrown together behind the wheel of a car that made me think 'Driving Miss Daisy' revisited in a different time, a different place and different circumstances; and finally a comedy drama about the life long friendship between two women whose life is turned up side down by life shattering news.

Tempted therefore with drama, comedy and comedy drama? If so, get out amongst it, catch one of this weeks new release offerings, or any one of a whole host of movies still doing the rounds or on the festival circuit, and then share your views, opinions, and observations with your like minded cinephile friends here at Odeon Online. We'd love to hear from you, so leave a Comment in the box directly below this or any other Post, and in the meantime, enjoy your film.

BLACK MASS (Rated MA15+) - this true crime true life American thriller is Directed by Scott Cooper and based on the life and times of the Boston based Irish American mobster James Joseph 'Whitey' Bulger as portrayed here by Johnny Depp. Born in 1929, this films kicks off in 1975 when Bulger allegedly began serving as an FBI informant against the other Boston mobster clan - the Italian American Patriarca family. In exchange for Bulger's inside information and his tip-offs the FBI largely turned a blind-eye to his activities which allowed the mobster to carry on his racketeering, trafficking, laundering, murdering and therefore profiteering ways unhindered. This carried on for almost 20 years until 1994 when his FBI handler, John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) tips him off about a pending indictment under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, and so for the next 16 years Bulger went on the run evading the authorities at every turn it seems, until his eventual arrest in 2011.

Starring with Depp and Edgerton there is Benedict Cumberbatch as William Michael 'Billy' Bulger, five years younger than his brother Whitey and an American Democratic Politician who was the President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1978 to 1996. There is also Kevin Bacon as FBI boss to Connolly Charles McGuire, and the likes of Juno Temple, Corey Stoll, Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard amongst others. Bulger was convicted for his part in 19 murders and a whole swathe of other significant criminal activities in 2013 and is currently serving two life sentences. The film was made for US$53M and has so far recouped all of that at the time of writing. A must see for lovers of distinctly adult true crime serious film making with three sizzling performances that you just know Depp, Cumberbatch and Edgerton will deliver.

LEARNING TO DRIVE (Rated M) - This American comedy brings together again Director Iasbel Coixet with Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley as Wendy Shields and Darwan Singh Tur respectively. Here Shields is a successful book editor and critic recently split form her husband and in her new found capacity needs to fend for herself, become more independent and get a life. So, she decides she needs to learn to drive. She hires a gentle Indian Sikh cab driver to teach her the skills of driving and in doing she she learns that he is being forced into an oncoming arranged marriage while hers has just gone down the tubes. What follows behind the wheel of Darwans car is a voyage of discovery for them both as they learn valuable lessons in friendships, relationships, life and starting over. This film Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014 and was released Stateside in August this year.

MISS YOU ALREADY (Rated M) - this US British comedy drama is Directed by Catherine Hardwicke  and is based on the BBC Radio 4 Play 'Goodbye' by Morweena Banks. It stars Drew Barrymore as Jess and her life long best mate Milly (Toni Collette) as they have grown up side by side and shared loves, life, experiences and just about everything in between. Jess lives on a houseboat in London with her boyfriend Jago (Paddy Considine) and she is desperate for a child, often secretly envious of Milly whose fast paced career life and perfect family seems more and more out of reach with each month that passes. As Jess' challenge presents a threat to the long term friendship that has endured over many years, two life changing events occur almost simultaneously - Jess falls pregnant, finally, and Milly learns she has breast cancer. How will this news effect them as individuals, as close friends and those around them as sadness turns to joy, and joy to sadness as their resolve is tested and everything they hold dear is bought into play. Be prepared to have your heart strings pulled by two equally strong performances! Dominic Cooper stars as Milly's husband Kit and Jacqueline Bisset stars at Milly's mother Miranda. Frances de la Tour also stars.

Three films all offering something different, and all decidedly of adult fare for the week ahead. After your film of choice revisit us all here and share your thoughts - good, bad and ugly!

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st October 2015.

Last week I mentioned that the Adelaide Film Festival kicks off in mid-October with a raft of local, national and international films in competition and being showcased for the first time, gaining their Australian Premier and in some cases a Worldwide Premier. Every genre is offered crafted by the likes of Scott Hicks, Jocelyn Moorhouse, Todd Haynes, Peter Greenaway and starring such acclaimed names as Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Kate Winslet, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Lily Tomlin, Colin Farrell, John C. Reilly, Michael Keaton, and Mark Ruffalo amongst others. What's not to like? Check out more at : http://adelaidefilmfestival.org

This week there are four new movie releases kicking off with a survival, search & rescue mission stretching across millions of miles from the most acclaimed Sci-Fi Director of our time; Shakespeare retold for the first time on film in decades in his bloodiest play; an ageing boss man teaching a young boss woman new tricks in the on-line business world; and an iconic album refreshed and given the insightful epic big screen treatment.

Get along to your local multiplex or local independent theatre in the week ahead, and catch a film, any film, and when you have done so share your thoughts with a few observations, views and opinions in the Comments box immediately below this or any other Post. In the meantime, enjoy your movie.

THE MARTIAN (Rated M) - Ridley Scott is back doing his Sci-Fi best with his latest offering about to hit our big screens with this adaptation of the 2011 novel by Andy Weir of the same name. Co-Produced by Scott this films features an all star cast and was made for US$108M, and filmed on a huge sound stage in Hungary and in Jordan where a desert wadi served as a back drop for the red planet. The film premiered at the recent Toronto International Film Festival on September 11th and is being released worldwide this week.

This film sees a manned mission to Mars go awry when a fierce storm on the Red Planet forces the crew to abandon their mission and head home, leaving co-astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) behind, believed dead. Of course he's not, and so Watney finds himself alone, stranded and millions of miles away from home, on a hostile planet, with very limited resources and no way of getting back to whence he came. Using all his wits, ingenuity, skills, experience and spirit to survive, and signal those back on Earth that he is indeed alive & kicking this is a story of incredible bravery and strength of character in the face of the most impossible odds, and how a whole planet back home gather together to bring their man home. Also staring Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Sean Bean and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

MACBETH (Rated MA15+) - Based on Shakespeare's great play, this British big screen adaptation is Directed by Australian, Justin Kurzel and stars Michael Fassbender as the tortured Scottish King, Macbeth. Whilst famed and revered for his fighting prowess on the battlefield and the leadership of his armies, this Duke receives a foretelling by three witches that one day he will become King. Consumed by ambition and growing increasingly impatient he is spurred on by his wife Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard) and so murders the King and seizes control of the throne, but subsequently becomes racked by paranoia, guilt, remorse and increasingly tyrannical. Also starring are David Thewlis, Sean Harris, Paddy Considine, and Elizabeth Debicki this is an updated retelling of a classic story told in all its bloody, violent, savage and emotional glory.

THE INTERN (Rated M) - I do wonder about Robert De Niro's filmic choices sometimes, and this would be one of those occasions. When I think of the legend De Niro I think of 'Taxi Driver', 'Casino', 'The Deer Hunter', 'Raging Bull', 'Goodfellas', 'Heat' and 'Cape Fear' and less about 'Analyse This/That' and 'The Fockers' trilogy, and so it is with his latest offering! This film is Directed by Nancy Meyers and cost US$40M to make and here De Niro is Ben Whitaker a retired 70 year old widower and former Business Executive. Realising that retirement ain't all it's cracked up to be, he enlists in a local community outreach programme where seniors will intern at the firm of Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) - the founder and CEO of 'About the Fit'  - an online fashion company. Pretty soon Whitaker becomes Mr. Popular around the office with his younger co-workers, including Ostin, and as the story unfolds the moral of this comedy is make time for family, respect you elders, recognise experience, and acknowledge the wisdom of others - lessons in life for us all methinks! Rene Russo and Adam DeVine also star.

ROGER WATERS THE WALL (Rated M) - I was at College when this groundbreaking album - 'The Wall' by Pink Floyd went to #1 as the 70's clicked over into the 80's. I still have that double album on vinyl, I have the CD, I watched the 1982 Bob Geldof starring movie of the album numerous times, and I've downloaded the album digitally, and after 35 years this record is still as fresh now as it was then. It has stood the test of time, and so with Rogers Waters the former front man for the concept band performing the album in its entirety coupled with his intimate immersive insights and unscripted Q&A with former band mate Nick Mason, this is a not to be missed music film event of a true classic iconic album that still has something to say, and still has a worldwide audience. This film has a limited release, so catch it when & where you can.

As is often the case, there is plenty of variety in this weeks latest release offerings - SciFi, Shakespeare, Comedy and Music, and there's also plenty more great content still out on general release as Reviewed and Previewed within the pages of this Blog. When you have checked out your film of choice, share your thoughts with your fellow readers here, and then we'll do it all again next week.

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 24th September 2015.

The Adelaide Film Festival kicks off in mid-October featuring over 180 films for a ten day period from October 15th until 25th with local South Australian content, Australian films, and international offerings with ten films in competition all receiving their Australian Premier screening. Those that are kick off with Cate Blanchett's latest offering 'Carol' after gaining critical acclaim at Cannes earlier this year, with others 'Freeheld', 'Office', 'Lamb', 'Father', 'Gold Coast', 'Tanna', '316', 'Neon Bull' and 'Looking for Grace'. Scott Hicks new film 'Highly Strung' gets its World Premier at the Festival Opening Night Gala, with 'Youth' starring Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz and Jane Fonda bringing the festival to a close on 25th. If you are in the Adelaide locale in the latter half of October head on to the Palace Nova and Mercury Cinemas for more films in a ten day period than you can shake a choc top at.

This week however, there are six new cinematic offerings with which to tease, tempt and tussle you to a movie theatre kicking off with those damn pesky drug barons down Mexico way looking to create a snow storm as one fanciful FBI Agent seeks to bring it all crashing down. Then there is a past master of the horror genre who went off the rails a bit, but seemingly is back on track with this tale of outback country shenanigans with things that go bump in the night with an old couple up to no good down in the woods today! Then there is murder, mystery, mayhem and music in a sleepy English town where this grizzly story unfolds before the townsfolk can move on with their lives; and after this, two stories with the back-drop of the 70's - one in SanFran and the other in deepest darkest Melbourne but both totally separate; and wrapping up, an origin story involving a much loved character setting out on his own voyage of discovery.

So many films, so little time, but when you have made time to watch any one of the below Previewed films remember to drop a Comment below this or any other Post and showcase your filmic views, opinions and observations to the wider Bloggersphere. Enjoy your film.

SICARIO (Rated MA15+) - there is a very strong pedigree behind this film that should assure it of a high degree of success. Director Denis Villeneuve, Cinematographer Roger Deakins, and starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro, Jon Bernthal and Victor Garber this film was made for US$30M and was in competition for the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year and is going out on general release now. 'Sicario' is cartel slang for 'hitman', and in the context of this film surrounds the drug war between the US and its border with Mexico. This, as you know, has been the subject of many a film over the years, but, already this film has garnered much interest and much acclaim for its gritty, raw, emotional and violent portrayal of the impact that the war on drugs has on those associated with it - directly and indirectly.

Our story here surrounds an idealistic FBI Agent Kate Mercer (Emily Blunt) who is tasked with chasing down a Mexican drug lord. She is operating under the watchful eye of an undercover assassin with a mysterious and questionable past and who is almost beyond the law, Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), and has been engaged by a special government task force to fight the ever escalating war on drugs, led by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). As the Team get deeper and deeper into the war between duelling drug lords, so Agent Mercer must question her own moral compass, the fine line between right and wrong, and all the things she believes in to survive the battle she has been thrust in to. A must watch, and slated as one of the films of the year.

THE VISIT (Rated M) - M. Night Shyamalan has failed to ignite the success of his early offerings with  'The Sixth Sense' and 'Unbreakable', and so this time around he has Written, Produced and Directed and taken his destiny into his own hands with this dark horror thriller comedy that he made for a lean US$5M of his own hard earned cash and has so far realised a return of US$39M. The film sees brother and sister Tyler and Becca respectively (Ed Oxenbould and Olivia DeJonge) who get packed off to outback Pennsylvania to spend a week with their maternal grandparents Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) and Nana (Deanna Dunagan) whom they have never met, while Mum (Kathryn Hahn) sails off into the sunset on a cruise with the new boyfriend. Once grandparents and grandkids get acquainted, all is going swimmingly until things start to go bump in the night and some strange happenings with the oldies start to occur, that make the young kids wonder if they'll ever make it home.

LONDON ROAD (Rated MA15+) - From 'Fury Road' to 'London Road' with 'Locke' and 'Legend' in between Tom Hardy is snapping up just about every role there is going - action epic, violent bio-pic, small independent and now art-house musical murder mystery. Directed by Rufus Norris, 'London Road' tells the true life story of a street in Ipswich, in England that back in 2006 became the centre of attention across the nation for all the wrong reasons. When the bodies of five women were found in Ipswich the residents of London Road found themselves at the centre of a multiple murder case - in their own back yards and on their doorsteps! The events that unfolded during the investigations surrounding the serial killing murders of five prostitutes who used to work the nearby streets, and the arrest and subsequent conviction of Steve Wright were picked up by the National Theatre and turned into a stage play that was originally Directed by Norris, who has now committed the story to celluloid and turned it into a musical - but not perhaps the kind you would expect! Using word for word dialogue of those real residents embroiled at the centre of the murder case and interviewed at the time, their stories come together through conversation, emotion, observation and anecdotes to showcase how they rallied around and came out the other end. Tom Hardy stars with Olivia Coleman and Anita Dobson.

CUT SNAKE (Rated MA15+) - This Australian thriller is Directed by Tony Ayres and takes its title from the Aussie saying 'as mad as a cut snake' - meaning stay away because that critter is mightily pissed off! And so it is here, as this film takes us back to the mid-70's Melbourne where Sparra Farrell (Alex Russell), a young guy in his mid-20's living a quiet life, working an honest job and has hooked up with a lovely young girl Paula (Jessica de Gouw). Things are going well as he tries to put his violent, darker past behind him and build a new life . . . until Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) turns up. This ex-cell mate is a charismatic, foreboding man who quickly turns Sparra's life on its head and he finds himself heading into those bad old ways he has earlier turned his back on, and all the while he has Paula to consider and what she means to him.

THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed by Marielle Heller and based on the semi-autobiographical graphic novel of the same name by Phoebe Gloeckner this takes us back too to the mid-70's but this time San Francisco, where 15 year old would-be cartoonist Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) gets it on for the first time with her mothers boyfriend Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard), and despite the twenty year age difference between them she relishes her first sexual experience, the awakening within her, and her desire for more. This coming of age story in the time of free-love, sex, drugs, and the American way she records in an audio diary and through her animated scribblings which move this unique story along in a non-judgemental emotional funny and provocative way. Krsiten Wiig stars as Charlotte - Minnie's mother. This has already garnered much positive press for its strong storyline, it's fresh approach to the teenage sexual awakening genre, solid performances and it has won several awards around the festival circuit on its way to our cinemas.

PAN (Rated PG) - Director Joe Wright has taken US$150M and turned this Peter Pan story into an origin tale that takes us way back when young twelve year old Peter (Aussie newcomer Levi Miller) was wet behind the ears and totally clueless about the ways of the world and what fate held in store for him. Whisked away to Neverland, Peter finds fun, adventure, excitement and danger around every corner but he meets new friends James Hook (no hook as yet, Garrett Hedlund) and Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) who will help him thwart the pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) whilst discovering his true identity and purpose in life so sending him on his way as the much loved Peter Pan.

Six cracking reasons to get out amongst a bunch of like minded strangers to a warm dark place with a bright light, deafening surround sound, pre-show ads that go on for way too long, and a candy bar full of sugary tasty snacks that you don't really want, but you'll buy anyway. When you've done all this, share your thoughts . . . and then do it all over again next time!

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-