What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st November 2019.

Heralding in the movie industry's 2019 awards season, the 23rd annual Hollywood Film Awards took place earlier this month on Sunday 3rd November at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Santa Monica, California, and this year Hosted by American comedian and Actor Rob Riggle. 

In brief, this years winners and grinners and proud recipients of a Hollywood Film Award were :

* Hollywood Career Achievement Award, presented to Charlize Theron

* Hollywood Actor Award, presented to Antonio Banderas for 'Pain and Glory'

* Hollywood Actress Award, presented to Renee Zellweger for 'Judy'

* Hollywood Supporting Actor Award, presented to Al Pacino for 'The Irishman'

* Hollywood Supporting Actress Award, presented to Laura Dern for 'Marriage Story'

* Hollywood Blockbuster Award, presented to Kevin Feige and Victoria Alonso for 'Avengers: Endgame'

* Hollywood Song Award, presented to Pharrell Williams for 'Letter to My Godfather', from 'The Black Godfather'

* Hollywood Film Composer Award, presented to Randy Newman for 'Marriage Story'

* Hollywood Filmmaker Award, presented to Bong Joon Ho for 'Parasite'

* Hollywood Producer Award, presented to Emma Tillinger Koskoff for 'The Irishman'

* Hollywood Director Award, presented to James Mangold for 'Ford v. Ferrari'

* Hollywood Screenwriter Award, presented to Anthony McCarten for 'The Two Popes'

* Hollywood Breakout Actor Award, presented to Taron Egerton for 'Rocketman'

* Hollywood Breakout Actress Award, presented to Cynthia Erivo for 'Harriet'

* Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award, presented to Olivia Wilde for 'Booksmart'

* Hollywood Breakthrough Screenwriter Award, presented to Shia LaBeouf for 'Honey Boy'

* Hollywood Animation Award, presented to 'Toy Story 4'

* Hollywood Cinematography Award, presented to Mihai Malaimare Jnr. for 'Jojo Rabbit'

* Hollywood Editor Award, presented to Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland for 'Ford v. Ferrari'

* Hollywood Production Design Award, presented to Ra Vincent for 'Jojo Rabbit'

* Hollywood Visual Effects Award, presented to Pablo Helman for 'The Irishman'

This week, there are six latest release new movies coming to your local Odeon, kicking off with a autobiographical drama of a now British Actor's true life troubled mid-teenage years growing up with Nigerian parentage in a white working class family in Tilbury (25 miles east of London) and joining a white supremacist skin-head gang. Next up we have a documentary drama recounting the story of a leaked top secret memo from the US by a British Government intelligence operative in the wake of 9/11 and which may have contributed to the start of the War in Iraq. We then turn attention to an action drama film of an unorthodox cop who makes the decision to put Manhattan Island into complete lock down by sealing off all the bridges connecting it to the mainland as he goes in search of a pair of ruthless cop killers. This is followed by an Australian offering of a husband and wife pair of puppeteers in the 17th Century for whom tragedy and loss has irreversible consequences. Next is  feel good musical biographical comedy drama about a bunch of singing fishermen in England's South West who are given the chance of fame and fortune by a Record Exec., but do they really want it, and at what costs ultimately to all concerned. We close the week with an intimate look inside the lives of six die hard fans of a hugely influential British electronic rock band still going strong after nearly forty years combined with live recorded footage from a famed Berlin concert in 2018, and released in select cinemas worldwide for one night only.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'FARMING' (Rated MA15+) - this British autobiographical coming of age drama film is Directed and Written by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the British Actor, former Model and now turned Director in this his debut feature. The film charts the story of his own life based on his early childhood up until his late teen years. The film has divided audiences and critics, and while the film first Premiered at 2018's Toronto Film Festival it went on to win the Best British Feature Film Award at this years Edinburgh Film Festival back in June this year. Akinnuoye-Agbaje's previous Acting credits take in the likes of 'Congo' (his big screen debut in 1995), 'Ace Ventura : When Nature Calls', 'The Mummy Returns', 'The Bourne Identity', 'Killer Elite', 'The Thing', 'Bullet to the Head', 'Thor : The Dark World', 'Pompei', 'Trumbo', 'Concussion', 'Suicide Squad' as well as appearances on numerous TV shows including 'Lost' and 'Game of Thrones'. The film was released in the UK in early October and in the US in late October.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje was born in Islington, London, to Nigerian parents of Yoruba origin, who were students in the UK. When he was six weeks old, his biological parents gave him up to a white working-class family in Tilbury, Essex. This was a common practice in this era among Nigerian families, when parents sent young children to live in the UK (farmed out) with white foster parents in the hopes their children would have better lives. When he was eight years old, his biological parents brought him back to Nigeria but, as he was unable to speak the Yoruba language and forbidden by his parents to speak English, he was returned to Tilbury shortly thereafter. The brief exposure to Nigeria left him struggling to reconcile his heritage with the distinctly British culture and environment he was raised in. As a young boy, facing a cultural identity crisis, he joined a local skinhead gang led by a white supremacist in order to escape racial persecution at their hands. At 16 years old, having become a thief, his foster parents sent him to a boarding school in Surrey where he ultimately attempted suicide before coming to terms with his background and turning his life around. Also starring Damson Idris, Kate Beckinsale, John Dagleish, Jaime Winstone and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

'OFFICIAL SECRETS' (Rated MA15+) - this British and American Co-Produced documentary drama offering is Directed and Co-Written for the screen by Gavin Hood whose previous film making credits include 'Tsotsi', 'Rendition', 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine', 'Ender's Game' and 'Eye in the Sky' more recently. In 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) working for GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) located in Cheltenham, England, receives a memo from the NSA (National Security Agency of the US) with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain's help in collecting compromising information on U.N. Security Council members to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the top-secret memo to the press. The film also stars Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Rhys Ifans, Ralph Fiennes and Jeremy Northam. The film saw its World Premier screening at Sundance back in January this year, had its US release at the end of August, its UK release in  mid-October and now it finally arrives onto Australian shores. The film has so far taken close to US$6M.

'21 BRIDGES' (Rated MA15+) - here Irish television Director Brian Kirk directs only his second feature film after directing turns on such notable TV shows as 'Game of Thrones', 'The Tudors', 'Murphy's Law', 'Dexter', 'Luther' and 'Boardwalk Empire' amongst others. Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman) a seasoned New York Police Department Detective takes the somewhat unorthodox approach of shutting down all twenty-one bridges that connects Manhattan Island with the mainland, as he locks down the city and goes on the hunt for a pair of cop killers. Also starring J.K. Simmons, Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, Stephan James and Keith David, this film is released Stateside this week too.

'JUDY AND PUNCH' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian drama film is Directed and Written by Aussie film and TV Actress Mirrah Foulkes in her feature film Directorial debut. It's the mid-17th century in the anarchic town of Seaside which has spiralled into violence, mob rule and God-fearing hysteria. Amongst the chaos, one glimmer of artistry remains, that is, Punch and Judy's puppet theatre. Once a master puppeteer, the charismatic Punch (Damon Herriman) has fallen too much under the sway of whiskey, but his wife Judy (Mia Wasikowska) is a puppeteering genius and ensures that their shows are a hit with the baying crowds, whilst playing the dutiful and caring mother to their baby daughter. The story ratchets up a notch when a Punch bender goes disastrously and violently wrong, which results in Judy being beaten to near death, and presumed dead after an argument regarding their missing child. And so abandoned by Punch and his crime all but covered up, she seeks vengeance against her former husband and those that have wronged her, and the whereabouts of their daughter. The film saw its World Premier showing at Sundance Film Festival back in January this year.

'FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS' (Rated M) - here we have a British biographical comedy drama film Directed by Chris Foggin based on a true story about Port Isaac's 'Fisherman's Friends', a group of Cornish fishermen who were signed by Universal Records in 2010 and achieved a Top 10 hit with their debut album of traditional sea shanties. A fast living, cynical London music executive reluctantly heads to Cornwall on a colleague’s stag weekend where he’s pranked by his boss into trying to sign a group of sea shanty-singing fishermen. He becomes the ultimate ‘fish out of water’ struggling to gain the respect or enthusiasm of the unlikely ten piece (ageing) boy band who value friendship and community over fame and fortune. Attempting to overcome the fishermen’s scepticism about the music business, he finds himself drawn into their local community, has his integrity tested and ultimately is shown the meaning of loyalty, love and friendship, forcing him to take stock of what really matters in life. Starring Daniel Mays, James Purefoy, David Hayman, Noel Clarke and Tuppence Middleton.

'DEPECHE MODE : SPIRITS IN THE FOREST' (Rated CTC) - during 2017/2018 Depeche Mode embarked on their Global Spirit Tour, in which they performed to more than three million fans at 115 shows around the world. Directed by award-winning filmmaker and longtime artistic collaborator Anton Corbijn,  he here captures the energy and spectacle of the band’s performance from the tour along with a deeper look into how their music and shows have been woven into the fabric of their fans’ lives. Through the deeply emotional stories of six special Depeche Mode fans, the film shows not only how and why the band’s popularity and relevance has continued to grow over the course of their career, but provides a unique look into their music’s incredible power to build communities, enable people to overcome adversity, and create connections across the boundaries of language, location, gender, age, and circumstance. 'Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest' goes beyond the typical concert film, weaving together exhilarating musical performances, filmed at the final shows of the Global Spirit Tour in Berlin’s famed Waldbuhne ('Forest Stage'), with intimate documentary footage filmed in fans’ hometowns across the globe. Released in cinemas worldwide for one night only, on 21st November 2019.

With six new release movies 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 in the week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SUICIDE SQUAD : Tuesday 9th August 2016.

I saw 'SUICIDE SQUAD' earlier in the week, and after much hype and eager anticipation the long awaited third instalment in the DC Extended Universe with its assembled mad, bad, disparate antiheroes has burst on to our screens across the world last week. Made for a cool US$175M, Directed by David Ayer and Co-Produced by Zack Snyder this film stars an ensemble cast of Actors and Supervillains, poised at the ready to wreak havoc and bloody mayhem on an unsuspecting Midway City - seemingly nestled somewhere between Gotham City and Metropolis. These titular characters first appeared in 1959 published by DC Comics but received a make over and a modern touch in 1987 by John Ostrander, upon which this film is based, and having been written for the screen by David Ayer too (watch out for the visual nod to Ostrander too in the film). This latest version sees our anti-hero strike force of imprisoned nefarious supervillains operating covertly under the jurisdiction of the US Government on high-risk black-ops missions in exchange for leniency of their prison sentences . . . assuming they survive their missions of course. The film has so far made US$295M.

And so here we have a secret government intelligence agency headed up by Director Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) working for 'ARGUS' (Advanced Research Group for Uniting Superhumans) who creates a task force of our deadly, dangerous, despicable super villains under the banner of 'Task Force X' affectionately dubbed 'The Suicide Squad' by Deadshot, for a top secret mission to thwart an unknown but powerful enemy. Taking place after the events of  'Batman v. Superman' which sees Superman supposedly dead, and leaving Batman to clean up the streets, and he does, bringing in Deadshot/Floyd Lawton (Will Smith) an expert marksman, assassin and doting father to his eleven year old daughter, and Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie) a former psychiatrist who used to treat the inmates at Arkham Asylum until she turned as mad as those she was treating - especially The Joker (Jared Leto) whom she just happens to be 'madly' in love with.

Incarcerated in Belle Reve penitentiary with Deadshot and Harley Quinn are Captain Boomerang/Digger Harkness (Jai Courtney) an opportunistic thief and assassin who uses deadly boomerangs to dispense with his prey and now serving three life sentences; El Diablo/Chato Santana (Jay Hernandez) who can command flame at will and is serving time because in days gone by he couldn't contain this skill and he torched those closest to him and numerous others; Killer Croc/Waylon Jones (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) with a reptilian skin condition and an animalistic criminal with a tendency to eat his enemies - he spends a lot of time in the water; and Slipknot/Christopher Weiss (Adam Beach) an expert with chemically treated ropes and a skilled assassin.

We are quickly introduced to these characters individually, we get a little back story which Waller discusses with her advisors over dinner and her plan for them, and by way of bold text up on the screen which is all well & good but you need to be particularly adept at speed reading for the time that data scrolls out in front of you (David Ayer take note!). Under the pretext of wanting to protect the planet from possible otherworldly attack with someone of Superman's strength, a rag tag bunch of the worlds worst career criminals with nothing to lose are assembled under the command of Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) as the field leader of The Squad and seasoned special forces combat soldier applying the wishes of Waller, although not always agreeing with them. She gets approval to assemble her team, and what can the aforementioned gang do but to accept, and they do with promises of reduced sentences, special privileges, and the full arsenal of the US Government at their disposal . . . as long a they behave themselves. As a precaution, each has implanted in their necks a rice grain sized incendiary devise that will be deployed should they rebel, attempt to escape, not follow orders or step out of line - just once!

One other recruit is Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne) an archaeologist possessed by an evil ancient force that transformed her in to a powerful sorceress known as Enchantress. Rick Flag is in love with June Moone, but she is able to transform into the witch-goddess by simply whispering her name. She is under the control of Waller who holds her ancient heart in a brief case, enabling Waller to command the Enchantress at will knowing that for now she is fully subservient to her wishes and that she will comply. However, as if on cue the Enchantress quickly turns on everyone, deciding to wipe mankind off the face of our planet for imprisoning her for so long (literally thousands of years!) She summons up her brother, Incubus, to lend some much needed support, creates an army of humans transformed into deadly stone like orc monsters; begins building a super machine to destroy the planet and along the way gets her heart back from Wallers grasp.

Waller summons up the Squad on the basis that Midway City is under fierce attack from terrorists, and their mission is to extract a high-profile individual from the top of a tower block in the city centre. Just before leaving for their mission, the team are joined by Katana/Tatsu Yamashiro (Karen Fukuhara) an expert in martial arts and sword play wielding the mystical 'Soultaker' Samurai blade that captures the souls of those it kills. Katana has got Flags back. As the helicopter taking the Squad into the now evacuated city is en route it is attacked by Incubus and brought down, but all escape unscathed. However, they are attacked by hordes of the stone like orc monsters created by Enchantress once on foot, but are able to overcome them and make it to their final mark at the top of the tower block. Waller it turns out is the subject of the extraction, who quickly dispenses with her own immediate team with a well aimed pistol to several heads to cover up any involvement she has in what has just gone down. This shows Flag and Deadshot exactly what they are dealing with, and what Waller is capable of.

Meanwhile The Joker infiltrates the facility where the nano bombs are made that have been implanted into the Squads necks, and is able to disarm that which is in Harley Quinn's neck. He then makes off in his own helicopter to extract Harley Quinn from the others, by raining down rapid machine gun fire on Flag and his crew on foot below. Harley Quinn escapes up a rope thrown down by The Joker from the helicopter above, and they fly off into the night, but the aircraft is soon shot down by Wallers men. Harley Quinn escapes seemingly unhurt and rejoins her Squad members, but The Joker is believed perished in the wreckage. Immediately after, Waller is extracted by helicopter from the roof top, and her helicopter is shot down too, and she is carted of by the stone like orc creatures of the Enchantress.

With Waller now compromised, an all powerful evil force at work intent on destroying life as we know it, and the prospect of returning to incarceration The Squad decide enough is enough and they haul up in a deserted bar for some much needed refreshment and self consolation. Flag joins them, destroys the device that would activate the nano bombs in their necks, and says your free to go. But The Squad decide that they have a chance to prove themselves and do something worthwhile (like save the world!) and so they regroup. They track down Waller, Enchantress and Incubus to a deserted partially flooded subway station where they hatch a plan to destroy Incubus first as he poses the biggest threat. A NAVY Seals team intend to plant a bomb in the sewer below, but need Diablo to summons his set of particular skills with fire to help distract and thwart Incubus to position himself over the bomb at the point of detonation. This attempt is successful, but it costs Diablo his life in the process.

With Incubus gone, all attention centres on Enchantress who with her heart back is now all powerful. Ultimately she overcomes The Squad and offers them anything they can dream of in exchange for their submission, loyalty and honour. Harley Quinn gives in and sidles up to the Enchantress. Kneeling before her, and beside Katana's Samurai sword, which she lifts up and plunges into the stomach of the Enchantress ripping out her heart with her hands in the process. Killer Croc then throws an explosive package into the centre of the still functioning all powerful machine which Deadshot fires at with a well aimed shot so destroying the weapon of mass destruction, enabling everyone to live happily ever after (well, until the next global crisis anyway!) Flag takes the heart of Enchantress and crushes it to dust, so freeing June from the evil ancient curse. The Squad are returned to Belle Reve with ten years taken off their sentences and allowed certain special privileges, that include Deadshot being allowed access to his beloved daughter (see he is human after all), and Harley Quinn an espresso machine in her cell.

Just when you thought it was safe to look away, in bursts The Joker to spring his love, Harley Quinn from incarceration, much to her surprise and delight. In a mid-credits scene, we see Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) around the dinner table with Amanda Waller. He offers her protection from the backlash brought about by the shenanigans of the Enchantress in exchange for access to a Top Secret dossier that 'ARGUS' has on the ever increasing metahuman community and their known activities. He flicks through its files revealing, amongst others, Aquaman, and so setting up 'Justice League, Part One' due in November 2017.

I did enjoy 'Suicide Squad' for all the adverse press it has so far received, but I did feel let down by all the hype and expectation that went on months before its release. The film moves along at a cracking pace, has a thumping soundtrack, but there are plot holes and editing flaws in here aplenty as the story jumps around and in places is half-baked. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Will Smith at Deadshot carry this film without doubt and are both convincing and engaging in their roles, but many of the other characters are superfluous or simply under developed. Jared Leto plays a good Joker, but not in the same league as Heath Ledger's, and as someone sitting on the periphery of the Suicide Squad he adds little value to the story other than his relationship with Harley Quinn, or perhaps he's just in there for effect. There are several brief scenes with Batman/Bruce Wayne for continuity sake that do add value, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller portrays the formidable, ruthless and intimidating Director well too. The effects are well delivered, but really nothing we have not seen in other similar comic book adaptations and certainly nothing that stands out with a 'wow' factor. With 'Man of Steel' bringing in US$668M, this years 'Batman v. Superman' US$873M, the DC Extended Universe needs a sure fire winner at the Box Office. Will this third instalment in that universe be the commercial success needed despite the luke warm reviews so far received? One thing is certain . . . you can't believe the hype, and for me the guys at Marvel set the standard by which DC will be judged, and they have!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-