EYE IN THE SKY : Saturday 2nd April 2016.

'EYE IN THE SKY' which I saw last weekend is about as up to date a take on modern day drone warfare as your gonna get. Set with the backdrop of the Nairobi shopping centre terrorist attack back in 2013, this film is current, significant and very relevant as it dissects the cost of war, and the far reaching implications of it. Directed by Gavin Hood, Co-Produced by Colin Firth the film had a limited US release in early March after Premiering at the TIFF in early September last year, before a wider release elsewhere last week, and its UK release on 8th April. This film is also one of two films to be released starring Alan Rickman who died in January - the other being his voice work as Absolem, the Caterpillar in the May release of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'.

As the film opens it is very early in the morning and military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) wakes from her slumber and ventures to her office at home, adorned with several computer screens, intricately detailed pin board and the wherewithal to keep on top of her work even when she is not at it. Switching on her computer screens her intelligence tells her that numbers 2, 4 and 5 on West Africa's most wanted list will be together in a Kenyan safe house in a Nairobi township later that day - and one of these is a turned British citizen, a woman Susan Danford/Ayesha Al-Hady - whom Powell has been chasing down for six years.  She speaks with Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) and he wishes her luck today in finally capturing her quarry - all members of the al-Shabaab extremist group.

We next cut to Powell arriving at her underground bunker - her control centre, where she oversees the operation aided by several others all starring into their screens and looking down on the Nairobi house through an overhead drone capturing the necessary visuals in real time, and feeding back the necessary data for them to move in on their capture. At the onset this is to be a capture, coordinated on the ground by a crack team of trained Kenyan military aided by Jamah Farah (Barkhad Abdi) - a Kenyan undercover agent. In the US, the drone keeping watch on the safehouse is being piloted by Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) and Carrie Gershon (Phoebe Fox). Back in England, Benson assembles in a cabinet room with various political hierarchy to watch the proceedings unfold on another screen in real time, and untimely give the go/no go signal to those on the ground in Nairobi and those piloting the drone at a remote US Air Force base.

The scene is set and we quickly get thrust into the situation as it unfolds from the perspective of Powell controlling the operation, Benson in the command room with the necessary authorities to proceed, Watts piloting the drone which is the 'eye in the sky', and Farah on the ground and in the thick of it. With the use of a tiny flying remote controlled camera made to look like a dung beetle Farah sends his camera into the safe house when the assembled personalities have arrived, and from this are able to confirm the presence of the three most wanted, and various others. Inside the house the dung beetle camera comes to rest and those sat surveying the unfolding matters from far away can make an assessment of what to do next. Powell orders Farah to survey the rest of the house, and at this point it is revealed that two new recruits are being fitted up with suicide vests for an imminent attack.

This changes things dramatically, and so the order changes from capture to kill!  For Powell, she is black and white that they must now proceed with a 'hellfire' missile attack from the drone on the safe house, given that two terrorist suicide attacks could potentially take out 80 civilians or more. She seeks the necessary authority from Benson in his command centre who is also in full agreement, but needs the final word from those in the room that include the Home Secretary, legal representations and various other political seniors. They however, as less so inclined with the gung-ho approach of Benson & Powell and want to know the more far reaching impact of taking out the safehouse given its location on the edge of a market and a busy intersection within the township. All the while the tension mounts as Powell & Benson know full well that the clock is ticking on the Top 3 getting out of there, and the suicide bombers completing their preparations.

The powers that be in the room don't want to be faced with that decision, particularly when a nine year old girl living in the house next door ambles onto the street corner immediately outside the target zone to sell bread, that her mother has just baked. This presents a moral and very real dilemma of what to do now - risk one young innocent life to save eighty or so, or sacrifice a few to save many ultimately. The gathered authorities cannot make that call and procrastinate for seemingly hours while the whole situation unfolds in front of their eyes. They go back and forth with the arguments to proceed or not, finally bowing to the Foreign Secretary for advice, who suffering from a bout of food poisoning in his hotel room hand balls the situation to the US Secretary of State who is playing ping pong while on an official visit to China - a metaphor here perhaps for the matters at hand. As far as he is concerned it's a go, just do it, and why are the British even troubling him over such a matter.

And so the order is given with Watts piloting the drone and his finger on the trigger. He has never had to fire a shot in anger before let alone release a hellfire missile on a house taking out six highly wanted individuals, two suicide bombers and the potential collateral damage from it too on countless innocent bystanders, including potentially the young girl still selling her bread. He wavers and seeks another assessment of the potential kill zone, much to the chagrin of Powell, Benson and his commanding officer, although he does have the right. Only if there is less than a 50% chance that the girl will be killed will they strike, and so it is determined by Powell's assessor that there is a 45-65% chance - not good enough, reassess and make it 45% orders Powell. Needless to say the assessment comes back and a 45% risk factor is given, and so the order is confirmed for the strike.

With the trigger pulled it is an agonising fifty seconds before impact during which time the tension mounts further, as the young girl sells the last of her bread, packs up and moves off, but will she be clear in time? When the attack comes, it does so with devastating precision and in no uncertain terms. When the dust clears the eye in the sky zooms in to identify the bodies - or what is left of them - dismembered legs, arms, hands, feet are strewn across the rubble from the direct point of impact, but Susan Danford/Ayesha Al-Hady still moves. Powell's #1 target lives, and so she orders in quick succession another missile strike directly upon her - Watts pulls the trigger a second time and we wait another fifty seconds for impact. Meanwhile, the young girl was thrown well clear by the blast and lies motionless face down - her father come running, and then the mother. Their daughter lives but is badly injured. Within seconds the final missile makes impact.

This is a considered, thought provoking and relevant film that clearly demonstrates the power of technology upon modern war and the war on terror, and therefore is front & centre within our society today, and we see it every day on our own TV screens. It resonates on many levels, taking you inside the detached players that oversee, determine and execute such actions, all from afar and all in isolation to each other bound together only by a computer screen and a phone. In the final analysis is it best to sacrifice a few to save many as was the case as presented here, or the opposite? It is a moral & ethical dilemma that confronts the power brokers and those that serve militarily every day, while us sat in front of the TV at home with our cups of tea and going about our daily lives largely do so knowing that those decisions rest with someone else and we can sleep safe tonight . . . but at what cost ultimately? Perhaps it's better that we don't really know!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 28th January 2016.

Well G'Day and I'm very pleased to return to these humble pages following a family holiday to Vietnam. Much has happened during that time in the movie world  including the Golden Globe Awards winners & grinners were announced on January 10th with 'The Revenant' picking up Best Drama Film, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and Best Director for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; 'The Martian' picked up Best Musical or Comedy Film and Best Actor for Matt Damon; Best Actress went to Brie Larson for 'Room' and Jennifer Lawrence for 'Joy' in each category; Best Supporting Actor went to Sylvester Stallone for 'Creed' and the Actress win to Kate Winslett for 'Steve Jobs'. We also mourned the very sad and premature passing of two film greats in David Bowie and Alan Rickman - the former on 10th January whose contribution as Singer/Songwriter first and foremost and then as an Actor is almost without equal; and Alan Rickman who passed on 14th January with 68 acting credits to his name and who can forget his Hans Gruber from 'Die Hard', Alexander Dane from 'Galaxy Quest' and Professor Severus Snape from the 'Harry Potter' series - both will be sorely missed, but their lasting legacy lives on. And of course the 'Star Wars' behemoth continues to roll on with global Box Office takings now nudging US$2B making it the third highest grossing film of all time. And finally, let's not forget that Odeon Online turned two years of age on 26th January - launched on Australia Day 2014, thanks to all for your well wishes, support and readership over that time.

There has also been a haul of new movie content released during that time, with a few others due out this week which include a long term abduction story of a mother and her son born into forced captivity whose only knowledge of the world is from within a 3x3 square shed, until they risk a bid for freedom, but at what cost to them both? Then we have a Catholic Church child sex abuse film uncovered by intrepid newspaper reporters determined to go to print with their findings whilst others in power will do what they can to prevent their cause; and finally an Australian family drama as a teenage girls goes missing.

When you have sat through your movie(s) of choice and wish to share your views and opinions with other like minded cinephiles, you can leave your own Review in the Comments section below this or any other Post, and let us know what you think. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

ROOM (Rated M) - I saw this film a few days before its Australian release, and have already Posted my Review earlier in the week, awarding this film Four Clapperboards. This is likely to be as much an emotional rollercoaster ride, a tear jerker and heart wrenching film as any you're likely to see this year that could easily be based on real life events, as have unfolded in the worlds media in very recent years. Already doing very well around the awards circuit with 54 wins and another 98 nominations including four Oscar nominations pending for Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress for Brie Larson who has already scooped the Golden Globe for her performance, this film is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and is based on the book of the same name by Emma Donoghue.

The story here centres around Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) known to her young five year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) as Ma. Joy would be in her mid-twenties and we quickly learn that for the last seven years she has been held captive in a room that measures no more than three metres square. It is a squalid room and this is the world for Ma and young Jack. There are four solid walls and the roof with only a skylight window which allows natural light in but cannot be opened, and the room is sound proofed and its only door is controlled by means of an electronic security keypad. For Jack, this is the world as he knows it, but turning five, his world is about to be turned upside down! 'Room' had its world wide premier at the Telluride Film Festival in early September last year and a limited US release in mid-October and reaches our shores this week. Made for just US$6M it has so far grossed US$9M and also stars Joan Allen, William H. Macy, and young Jacob Tremblay who is also receiving much awards attention as the young son to Brie Larson's mother character.

SPOTLIGHT (Rated M) - Directed by Tom McCarthy this film has an all star cast and tells the true story of the real 'Spotlight' Team who in 2001 working for The Boston Globe on a long term investigative journalism piece, uncover multiple child sex abuse allegations within the Catholic Church within the greater Boston area, and which has been going on for many many years. What they also uncover is that these activities have been going on under the full knowledge of the city's higher echelons of power, and that Catholic Priest offenders were allowed to re-offend. A slow burn investigative journalism offering that will piece together like a jigsaw puzzle in the end, but the fun is getting there in the first place! Starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and Rachel McAdams this film is in the running for six Oscars and has already picked up 79 award wins and another 105 nominations. Made for US$20M it has so far taken US$34M, and judging by the accolades bestowed up it, this is another to add to your must-see list!

LOOKING FOR GRACE (Rated M) - this little Australian family drama is Directed and Written by Sue Brooks and released on Australian Day (26th January) it clearly has the intention of attracting some home spun family drama from beneath the family barbecue. When teenage daughter Grace (Odessa Young) goes missing with Dad's cash savings so Mum Denise (Radha Mitchell) and Dad Dan (Richard Roxburgh) go in search of her but along lifes winding roads the journey reveals more about inner secrets than perhaps should be brought to the fore, given the circumstances!

That's it for this week, but of course there is also a whole heap of other great film content still out on general release and as either Reviewed or Previewed between these pages.  Do your bit and get out there to see a movie this week, and support the film industry in the process.

See you at the movies.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 26th March 2015

You can tell it's fast approaching Easter, because there is another raft of new cinema content creeping into our multiplexes to get Mum's & Dad's, Son's & Daughter's, Husbands and Wives and kids of all ages out to the movie theatre's over the coming two week school holiday/long weekend period.

This week we have some serious gritty drama from war torn streets of a country divided for many years over its politics, religion and beliefs; an award winning foreign language film likely to cause a stir in its country of origin; a much loved animated classic given a fairytale live action makeover; a woolly stop motion animated feature from that English studio who have done this stuff before and have little left to prove; an animated feature of an alien invasion on our humble planet that goes awry and sees an unlikely partnership evolve that means so much more than either could have imagined; then a comedy about a hapless multi-millionaire who in convicted to do jail time but must learn to man-up on the outside or take the consequences on the inside (as it were!); a unlikely pairing of two male leads together for much of their lives and then torn asunder and rebuilding what they can of their fractured lives; and finally a film about a touchy subject and its ramifications on family and loved ones that doesn't take its subject matter too seriously nor too lightly.

With such a plethora of new films about to hit our Odeon's this week there really is something for everyone, and no excuse not to get out amongst it and sit in front of a big screen for a few hours and enjoy the film of you choice. When you have done so, share your thoughts, observations and opinions with the global audience at Odeon Online and make a Comment below this, or any Post. Enjoy your filmic experience!

'71 (Rated MA15+) - Written by Gregory Burke and Directed by French first timer Yann Demange, this film was released last week in Australia but to a limited showing only. Nonetheless is has received critical acclaim for its portrayal of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland, which began in 1969 and went through until 1997, from the perspective of a new recruit foot soldier effectively caught behind enemy lines and needing to get outta there before paying the ultimate price. With Belfast the centre of all the attention, the action and the troubles, we have here a city that is divided by Politics (the Loyalists on one side and the Republicans on the other) and Religion (the Protestants on one hand, and the Catholics on the other) and for almost thirty years opposing factions fought it out with guns, bombs, knives, death and destruction to make a point and gain the upper hand.

When teenager Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) joins up and is promptly dispatched to Belfast he and his new recruit grunts serving in the British Army are sent to an area of Belfast where these opposing factions live side by side. Supporting the Royal Ulster Constabulary in routine house inspections, the new squaddies are alerted to an ever increasing mob of angry protesters who are congregating outside a house under inspection. When things get out go hand it all goes pear shaped and Hook and his fellow troops come under attack with rocks, human faeces, knives and anything that will maim and impair. Hook is wounded and separated from the remaining troops who scatter and are collected up to return to base. Not Hook though - he is on foot, scared, injured and alone in an extremely hostile and volatile environment with little means to protect himself. How this plays out you'll have to see for yourself, but suffice to say Demange has (re)created a tight tense and taught drama which O'Connell delivers through his performance to make this real, believable and in the moment.

LEVIATHAN (Rated M) - from the streets of war torn Belfast, to the corrupt streets of a small Russian coastal town, this Golden Globe winning, and Academy Award and BAFTA nominated film, charts the story of Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov), his wife Lilya (Elena Lyadova) and their teenage son Roma (Sergey Pokhodaev). When corrupt Mayor Vadim (Roman Madyanov) arrives in town he eyes Kolya's property and small business and wants it for himself and so sets in place a trumped up and highly suspect repossession order at a fraction of its worth. As relationships are tested, emotions strained and the fabric of the family ripped apart, so Kolya enlists the services of good friend and former Army colleague Dmitri (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) who now has a legal practise in Moscow, and the two mount their own campaign to stop the Mayor and dig up as much dirt on him as they can. As the fighting factions go head to head who will gain the upper hand, and what will Kolya have left at the end?

LOVE IS STRANGE (Rated M) - this film was released Stateside mid-last year sometime and has taken a while to reach our shores Down Under. That said, here we have two strong male leads playing a same-sex couple Ben and George - John Lithgow and Alfred Molina respectively. Having been together for 39 years the couple decide to get married and having done so, George, who is a Catholic School music teacher, advises his employer and when the Archdiocese gets wind of this news, he is promptly fired! No longer able to afford their New York apartment, the couple are forced to split and bunk up with various friends and family. Living apart but still together the couple must find time for themselves in their new surroundings and accommodate, and be accommodated by, the new people in their lives whilst finding a new, cheaper, place to live. A learning experience for everyone. Also starring Marisa Thomei and Written/Directed by Ira Sachs.

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (Rated M) - Mark Ruffalo must be one of the busiest Actors in Hollywood right now, because here he is again this week in another offering - this time in the Maya Forbes Directed tale of Cameron Stuart a bipolar manic-depressive father who almost single handedly is raising his two daughters - Amelia and Faith (Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide respectively, and apparently both excellent!), whilst trying to win back the heart, confidence and respect of his wife (Zoe Saldana) by showing some control, responsibility and maturity. With strong performances from the principle players and very well crafted by Writer/Director Forbes this is tough subject matter told in a beautiful, nuanced, passionate thought provoking way that won't be for everyone, but is sure to find an audience as did 'Still Alice' and 'The Theory of Everything' more recently.

GET HARD (Rated MA15+) - Oh dear - what has Will Ferrell got himself into this time? I am sure that 14 years olds will flock to see this film of multi-millionaire hedge-funder James King (Will Ferrell) who has been convicted to serve ten years of hard labour in San Quentin jail for tax evasion.  Looking down the barrel of hard jail time King enlists the help, support, advice and guidance of local car wash operative Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart) to prepare him for the trials and tribulations of life behind bars. Thinking that Lewis is a hardened criminal who has served time in the past, which of course he hasn't, King gets strung along because there is the promise of a pay cheque if Lewis can help protect him on the outside when he is on the inside. Lewis of course has never served time and is largely clueless to a life of internship, but plays along with the ruse acting up as the crim with a wrap sheet for his own material gain when really this is a case of the blind leading the blind, the dumb and dumber, and the stupid is as stupid does! One for the 14 years olds for sure! Enjoy seeing Ferrell mixing it up in Da Hood wit all da young dudes!

A LITTLE CHAOS (Rated M) - Here Alan Rickman stars in, and Directs his second feature film taking us back to the 1680's and the court of King Louis XIV, and most notably the completion of the grand gardens at the Palais de Versailles. Commissioning visionary landscape artist Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) who dismisses convention and prefers to act on her own modern instincts in the design of the gardens she comes to blows with the more classical designer Le Notre who has hired her to help complete the task in hand. In time she is drawn to Le Notre and must juggle her feelings for him, her own vision for the gardens and the etiquette of the Court of the King. She is however, made of sterner stuff which comes into its own when her fractured past is revealed, her feelings for Le Notre emerge and her need to garner support from the King and his followers becomes important to her own future success and well being. Starring Rickman as Louis XIV, Matthias Schoenaerts as André Le Nôtre, and Stanley Tucci as Duke Philippe d'Orleans, this is a fictionalised historical story that might just diminish an otherwise solid period piece.

CINDERELLA (Rated G) - Kenneth Branagh gave up a second outing as Director of the 'Thor' franchise to Direct this live action retelling of the classic fairytale that was told way back when by Disney in the form of the ever popular animated feature film 65 years ago, in 1950 would you believe? Here we have an all star cast that possibly reboots that timeless tale for a whole new audience, that includes Lily James as Cinders herself, Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother, Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother, Richard Madden as Prince Charming, Stellan Skarsgard as the Grand Duke, Derek Jacobi as the King and a list of others ably supporting. You know the story all too well of that I am sure, so no spoilers here and no need to retread old ground, except to say that in Ken Branagh the story and Disney's investment should be in safe, secure hands given the man's track record of Directing, his firm grasp of historical period stories, his ability to frame a set piece, and his know-how on big spectacle. The film was made for US$95M and at the time of writing had already grossed worldwide US$256M.

SHAUN THE SHEEP : THE MOVIE (Rated G) - Shaun the Sheep first hit our screens and our subconscious in 'A Close Shave' - that Wallace & Gromit film of 1995. Since then Shaun has helmed his own spin off TV series which has seen his wool price soar, and now he arrives on our big screens  courtesy of this talented stop-motion animators at Aardman. Here we seen Shaun taking a day off from grazing the farmland and in doing so bites off a little more than he can chew as he gets mixed up with the farmer, a caravan, a steep hill  and the big city. Before you know it, it's Shaun to the rescue and with the help of his flock he needs to bring everyone home to the farm to live happily ever after. With the voice talents of Justin Fletcher as Shaun and Directed by Mark Burton and Richard Starzack this is a feel good, laugh out loud warm and fuzzy movie for young and young at heart that is likely to capture your attention from whoa to go and is unlikely to disappoint - especially if you have seen Aardman's previous Wallace & Gromit instalments that are now classics of the genre and the art.

HOME (Rated PG) - Directed by Tim Johnson for Dreamworks Animation this has many familiar elements but delivers on emotion, heart, substance and a moral lesson for perhaps the younger viewers, who should be dragged along by their parents to see this lesson in life whilst watching a cracking yarn that could be ranked as one of Dreamworks finest animated features yet. When Planet Earth is 'invaded' by the alien race 'Boov' led by Captain Smek (Steve Martin) who are on the run from their mortal enemy, they begin relocating the earthlings to a desert planet to make way for themselves. One bright young girl however, manages to evade capture - 'Tip' (voiced by Rhianna) who is now on the run and searching for Mum Lucy (voiced by Jennifer Lopez) when she is befriended by alien 'Oh' (voiced by Jim Parsons) who has been banished by the Boov for revealing the location of the alien race to their sworn enemy. As the two form an unlikely friendship many adventures ensue and they both come to realise that what makes them so different draws them together and from this they can both learn to adapt and accept and appreciate the true meaning of 'home'. Again, one for young and not so young and a lesson in life here that could well be worth the price of your ticket . . . and then some!

It's a big week then for movies that offers something for all ages going into the Easter Holidays. When you have seen your movie(s) of choice. don't be shy - share your thoughts, views, observations and opinions with us all and be interactive in Cyberspace and at Odeon Online.

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-