EQUALIZER 3 : Tuesday 5th September 2023.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE EQUALIZER 3' at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this American action thriller film is Directed and Co-Produced by Antoine Fuqua and is the sequel to 2018's 'Equalizer 2' and the third and final instalment in the 'Equalizer' trilogy. Those first two films, also Directed by Antoine Fuqua grossed US$383M off the back of combined production budgets of US135M, and is loosely based on the TV series which ran for a total of eighty-eight episodes over four seasons from 1985 through until 1989 and starred Edward Woodward as the titular Equalizer, Robert McCall. This film has so far grossed US$75M from a production budget of US$70M since its release last week, and has generated mixed or average reviews. Earlier last month, Antoine Fuqua is reported to have commented that there have been discussions to develop a prequel movie detailing the origins of Robert McCall, and later that while internally talks were had about this being the final film chronologically, he would be interested in returning as Director for a future instalment if Denzel Washington was interested in returning to the role. 

The film opens with a drone shot of a Land Rover driving along country lanes in Sicily surrounded by row upon row of grape vines, until the car pulls up outside a secluded winery. Out steps Lorenzo Vitale (Bruno Bilotta), leaving his young son in the passenger seat, having first retrieved his revolver from the glove box. Vitale is greeted by another man, carrying a semi-automatic weapon who tells him that he was ordered to wait outside. Vitale gingerly makes his way in the through door and down into the depths of the winery stepping over numerous dead bodies along the way, who have all seemingly died very violent deaths. Sitting in the basement is Robert McCall (Denzel Washington, who also Co-Produces here) held captive by two of Vitale's henchmen. McCall gives Vitale nine seconds to consider his options before all hell breaks loose and McCall kills the three surviving henchmen and finishes off a badly injured Vitale with a bullet to the head. McCall then removes a bunch of keys from Vitale's belt to gain access to the winery's vault and recoup money stolen in a cyber-heist (the reason he is there which is revealed later). 

On leaving the winery however, McCall is shot in the back by Vitale's young son. Slumping down on a step after the boy has fled, he considers suicide due to his injury, but instead takes the ferry back to the mainland. Later that night, McCall's car is seen pulled over somewhere on the Amalfi Coast with the lights on, and the drivers door wide open with McCall unconscious from shock. He is found and rescued by Gio Bonucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea), a local Carabiniere, who takes him to Altamonte, a remote coastal Italian town, where he is treated by the local doctor Enzo Arisio (Remo Girone) who removes the .22 calibre bullet, and stitches McCall back up. 

McCall makes a steady albeit slow recovery, having to use a walking cane and initially struggling to use the stairs, but, he is determined to get his previous strength back. He becomes acquainted with the townsfolk, including a waitress named Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro), and becomes fond of the town and its people. He makes an anonymous phone call to CIA Agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) to tip her off about the winery's role in the illegal drug trade under the guise of day to day business transactions in Sicily. Collins and other CIA operatives including her superior officer Frank Conroy (David Denham) later arrive at the winery and find millions in cash along with bags of Captagon tablets hidden inside hundreds of fake wine bottles within a storeroom, confirming McCall's suspicions. She later tracks down McCall at his local cafe, who is evasive about his identity. She tells him that he is a 'person of interest' in her investigations, to which he replies that he's just an 'interesting person'. 

In the meantime, members of the local Camorra clan harass and kill villagers in an attempt to coerce them out of their housing and take over Altamonte for the purpose of building hotels, resorts and casinos in the coastal town. McCall overhears Marco Quaranta (Andrea Dodero), a high-ranking Camorra member, beat up a local seafood storeowner named Angelo (Daniele Perrone) for payments when he is unable to make his weekly dues. To make an example, the Camorra firebomb Angelo's fish store as the townsfolk attempt to douse the flames and watch on. Bonucci reviews video of the firebombing and places a call in to Italian central Police with an inquiry on the van involved. He is later attacked by the Camorra in his own home while his wife and two young daughters are forced to watch on held at gunpoint. Later, while McCall is having dinner at a local restaurant, Marco and two of his henchmen burst in and demand that Bonucci, who is also dining with his family, set up a boat for them. Overhearing them, McCall requests Marco to move their operations to a someplace else, however, when Marco refuses, McCall kills him and his goons outside in a quiet street.

The Naples' head of Police is threatened and tortured by Marco's brother and head of the local clan Vincent (Andrea Scarduzio) to find who killed him. Vincent has Collins' car rigged with a bomb, but she narrowly escapes with non-life threatening injuries after McCall warns her. Vincent later threatens to shoot Bonucci in front of the entire town if McCall doesn’t reveal himself. McCall does, but before Vincent can kill him, the gathered townsfolk begin to record the unwinding scenario on their mobile phones, causing Vincent and the rest of the Camorra clan to flee, as Police sirens are heard approaching. Later that night, McCall stealthily infiltrates Vincent's heavily guarded home and one by one executes his henchmen leaving Vincent to last but not before he has seen the extent of the carnage that McCall has bestowed upon his home. He binds Vincent to a pillar with wire around his neck and his hands and forcible feeds him a handful of the Captagon tablets. When Vincent comes around already foaming at the mouth McCall undoes his bindings and tells him he has six minutes to live before the overdose kills him. Vincent stumbles to his legs and drags himself out of his home and into the streets before finally falling on his back and succumbing to the very drugs he peddles. 

McCall later visits Collins in hospital with a back pack containing US$366,400 in cash that he had previously retrieved from the winery, saying that it is for an elderly couple living in Boston who had their life's pension fund hacked at the touch of a button, leaving them with nothing. Later Collins, visits that couple and delivers the back pack containing the cash. Back in Langley, Virginia, Collins receives a promotion for her role in ending the Altamonte drug trade. With the Quaranta brothers dead, McCall celebrates with the locals after their team wins a football game. 

With 'The Equalizer 3' Director and Co-Producer Antoine Fuqua has delivered another offering in this franchise that follows a similar well trodden formula to its two predecessors, but this time switches the setting from Boston, Massachusetts to the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. Apart from that one glaring factor, very little has changed from the previous two offerings, except that Washington has grown older, wiser and still has the ability to dispense with them bad dudes with violent aplomb in all manner of brutal ways, and, turn on the charm and the emotion when its warranted. The mid-section of the film labours a little while McCall hobbles about with the aid of a walking cane and gradually recuperates while under the watchful eye of Fanning's Collins, but is book ended by two scenes of graphic violence that show off McCall's very particular set of skills that he uses to unflinching effect to dispense with them pesky baddies. And in the closing scene all is good in the world, as Collins gets the promotion, and McCall is embraced by the locals in his new Italian home on the south coast. A fitting end to a fairly predictable run of the mill third instalment that is rescued by Washington's gravitas.

'The Equalizer 3' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 31st August 2023.

The 80th Venice International Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday 30th August and runs through until Saturday 9th September. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organises retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

This years Opening Film will be 'Comandante' from Italy and Written and Directed by Edoardo De Angelis and telling the story of an episode during the Battle of the Atlantic, when the Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini sunk the Belgian ship Kabalo, and Cappellini's commander Salvatore Todaro decided to disobey orders and to rescue the Kabalo's crew, being forced to navigate in emersion for three days, making the ship an easy target for enemies. The Closing Film is 'Society of the Snow' from Spain, Uruguay and Chile and Co-Written and Directed by J.A. Bayona and is about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster. 

This years main competition is presided over by Damien Chazelle, aided by other members of the jury including Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Love, Martin McDonagh and Laura Poitras. Those films selected for the main international competition, of which there are twenty-three titles this year, include :-

* 'Comandante' - from Italy and Written and Directed by Edoardo De Angelis.

* 'Dogman' - from France, this action drama film is Written and Directed by Luc Besson. World Premiere.

* 'Ferrari' - from the USA, this biographical drama film is Co-Produced and Directed by Michael Mann with Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Jack O'Connell and Patrick Dempsey. World Premiere.

* 'The Killer' - from the USA, this psychological action thriller is Directed by David Fincher and stars Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard and Tilda Swinton. World Premiere.

* 'Maestro' - from the USA, this biographical drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Bradley Cooper as the famed American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1990 aged 72, with Carey Mulligan as his Costa Rican Actress wife Felicia Montealegre, Maya Hawke as Jamie Bernstein and Sarah Silverman as Shirley Bernstein. World Premiere.

* 'Memory' - from Mexico and the USA, this drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Michel Franco and stars Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard and Merritt Wever. World Premiere.

* 'Origin' - from the USA and Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Ava DuVernay and stars Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman and Connie Neilsen. World Premiere.

* 'Poor Things' - from Ireland, the UK and the USA and Co-Produced and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, and stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Abbott, Margaret Qualley and Jerrod Carmichael. World Premiere.

* 'Priscilla' - from the USA and is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Sofia Coppola and stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley. World Premiere.

Italian Director Liliana Cavani and Hong Kong Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai will both receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement during the festival.

Foe all the details of the other film strands and awards being presented at this years 80th Venice International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2023

This week with seven new movies to tempt you out to your local big screen Odeon there is sure to be something for everyone in this weeks line up, kicking off with the third and final offering in this vigilante action thriller that sees our titular hero retired to Southern Italy where he must take on the Sicilian mob in order to protect his new found friends. Next up we have a horror comedy offering based on a popular theme park ride that sees a woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. This is followed by a romantic drama film about a reunion between two childhood friends as they contemplate their relationship and their own lives. Then we turn to a German offering that sees emotions run high as a group of friends gather in a holiday home by the Baltic Sea as the parched forest around them catches fire. Following this, a retired sea captain and his daughter must reassess their strained relationship after he begins a new romance with a widowed housekeeper. And we close out the week with a pair of documentaries - the first from France that follows patients and caregivers at a psychiatric centre with a unique floating structure located in the middle of the River Seine in central Paris; and the second an Aussie doco about a legend of the Australian music scene who formed his own record label in 1972 and went on to promote local, national and international music artists to the world right up to his passing aged 68 in 2021.

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

'THE EQUALIZER 3' (Rated MA15+) - this American action thriller film is Directed and Co-Produced by Antoine Fuqua and is the sequel to 2018's 'Equalizer 2' and the third and final instalment in the 'Equalizer' trilogy. Those first two films, also Directed by Antoine Fuqua grossed US$383M off the back of combined production budgets of US135M, and is loosely based on the TV series which ran for a total of eighty-eight episodes over four seasons from 1985 through until 1989 and starred Edward Woodward as the titular Equalizer, Robert McCall. 

Here then, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington reprising his role from the previous two instalments and who also Co-Produces here), since giving up his life as a Government assassin, moves to Southern Italy to escape from the horrifying things he's done in the past, but later discovers that his new friends are under the control of the Sicilian Mafia crime bosses. As events turn deadly, Robert unleashes his very particular set of skills to protect his new friends. The film also stars Dakota Fanning and David Denman, and is released Stateside this week too. 

'HAUNTED MANSION' (Rated PG) - is an American supernatural horror comedy film Directed by Justin Simien in only his third feature film making outing following his debut in 2014 with 'Dear White People' and then 'Bad Hair' in 2020. This is the second cinematic adaptation of Walt Disney's theme park attraction 'The Haunted Mansion' following the 2003 film of the same name which although it was panned by critics at the time grossed US$183M off the back of a production budget of US$90M. This film has however, done the opposite garnering mixed reviews and having so far grossed US$80M off the back of a US$157M production budget making it a Box Office failure. Here then, a recently-widowed doctor Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) move from New York into Gracey Manor, New Orleans with the view of turning it into a bed and breakfast, only to learn that it is haunted with ghosts. Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest and a historian to help exorcise her newly bought mansion. Also starring LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto and Tiffany Haddish.

'PAST LIVES' (Rated M) - this American romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Celine Song in her feature film Directing debut. The film saw its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival toward the end of January this year and was released in the US in early June having received universal critical acclaim and so far grossing US$11M at the Box Office. Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are separated after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Some twenty years later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life. Starring Greta Lee as the adult Nora, Teo Yoo as the adult Hae Sung and John Magaro as Arthur, Nora's husband. 

'AFIRE' (Rated MA15+) - this German drama film is Written and Directed by Christian Petzold who made his feature film Directorial debut in 2000 with 'The State I Am In' and he would follow this up with the likes of 'Yella' in 2007, 'Jerichow' in 2008, 'Transit' in 2018 and 'Undine' in 2020. This film won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its World Premiere in late February this year before its release in Germany at the back end of April, having generated universal critical acclaim and US$1.5M so far at the Box Office. In a holiday cottage on the Baltic Sea not far from Ahrenshoop in north east Germany in a hot, dry summer, a group of four friends get together. There is a forest fire nearby and slowly and unnoticeably they are enclosed by the walls of flame. Trapped, they get closer, and then the desire, love and sex overtakes them. 

'MY SAILOR, MY LOVE' (Rated PG) - is a Finnish, Irish and Belgian Co-Produced drama film Directed by Klaus Haro whose prior feature film credits include 'Elina' in 2003, 'Mother of Mine' in 2005, 'Letters to Father Jacob' in 2009 and 'The Fencer' in 2015. Howard (James Cosmo), a retired sea captain and widower lives in a house by the sea and refuses any help from his adult daughter Grace (Catherine Walker). When she hires Annie (Brid Brennan) as domestic help for him, the reclusive and stubborn Howard unexpectedly falls in love. Grace has her own crisis to unravel and finds her father's romance difficult. Annie must face the complex father-daughter relationship, while Howard and Grace must realise their own imperfections. The film has generated largely positive critical reviews. 

'ON THE ADAMANT' (Rated MA15+) - this French language documentary film is Directed and photographed by Nicolas Philibert. It won the Golden Bear at this years Berlin International Film Festival, where it saw its World Premiere at the end of February this year. The film is a portrait of the L'Adamant Day Centre in Paris, France - a floating building located at the foot of the Charles de Gaulle Bridge on the right bank of the River Seine. The unique daycare centre welcomes adults with mental disorders and offers patients a daily routine that is structured in terms of time and space and helps them to regain their footing in everyday life with therapeutic workshops and psychosocial rehabilitation support. The Adamant team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, specialist educators, psychomotor specialists, care coordinators, hospital staff, and various external artists and art therapists. The film has received generally favourable reviews and was released in its native France in mid-April.

'EGO : THE MICHAEL GUDINSKI STORY' (Rated M) - is an Australian documentary film Directed by Paul Goldman whose prior feature film credits take in his debut in 2002 with 'Australian Rules' which he would follow up with the likes of 'All the Way' in 2003, 'Suburban Mayhem' in 2006 plus a bunch of music videos for Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Danii Minogue, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Ross Wilson, and a couple of music doco's since. This film charts the life and times of Michael Gudinski who was an Australian record executive and promoter and a leading figure in the Australian music industry. In 1972 he formed the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records through which he signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers ranging from MacKenzie Theory, the Skyhooks, The Choirboys, Kylie Minogue, and New Zealand's Split Enz to newer artists such as Eskimo Joe, Evermore and others. The film includes commentary from Kylie Minogue, Dave Grohl, Sting, Jimmy Barnes, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. Gudinski was considered to be 'one of the most significant and powerful players' in the Australian music landscape. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Melbourne International Film Festival earlier this month. Gudinski died on 2nd March 2021, aged 68.

With seven 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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE GUILTY : Wednesday 6th October 2021.

With Greater Sydney still in COVID lockdown now until the 11th October, and as a result all cinema's closed until this date, I've been reviewing recently some the latest feature films released onto Netflix. One such film that I watched from the comfort of my own sofa at home this week is the American crime thriller 'THE GUILTY', Directed and Co-Produced by Antoine Fuqua, whose previous film making credits take in the likes of 'Training Day' in 2001 with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, 'Shooter' in 2007 with Mark Wahlberg, 'Olympus Has Fallen' in 2013 with Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart, 'The Equalizer' and 'The Equalizer 2' in 2014 and 2018 respectively both with Denzel Washington, 'Southpaw' in 2015 with Jake Gyllenhaal and 'Infinite' this year too with Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor. This film is based on the 2018 Danish film of the same name Directed and Co-Written by Gustav Moller who also serves as an Executive Producer here. It saw its World Premier screening at TIFF in mid-September this year, had a limited US theatrical release from 24th September and was then released onto Netflix on 1st October. It has garnered mostly positive Critical Reviews. 

Here then, Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is working the night shift at a 911 call centre, while he awaits to attend court the next day for an incident that occurred eight months ago while he was on duty patrolling the streets of Los Angeles with his partner. He has subsequently been demoted to the call centre pending the outcome of his court case. Out of control wild fires rage across large tracts of California and are steadily encroaching upon LA. We see Baylor fielding several calls, including a business executive, Matthew Fontenot (voiced by Paul Dano), stranded inside his rented BMW 7 series held captive by a pink haired voluptuous Hispanic prostitute; then from a crashed cyclist with a knee injury; then from a woman whose house is on fire; and a guy calling from a nightclub. 

In the meantime he takes an unexpected call on his mobile phone from a reporter from the Los Angeles Times wanting his side of the story in advance of his court appearance tomorrow, which he in no uncertain terms rebuffs. He also attempts to call his recently separated and soon to be ex-wife Jess (voiced by Gillian Zinser) wanting to say goodnight to his young daughter. 

He then answers a call from a young woman named Emily Lighton (voiced by Riley Keogh) who tells him in a high state of anxiety that she has been abducted. Baylor keeps her talking, making out that she is speaking with her young daughter, and learns that she and her abductor are traveling in a white van, but Emily is forced to hang up before she can provide more details. Baylor calls the California Highway Patrol (voiced by Da'Vine Joy Randolph) but they cannot locate the van because of the heavy smoke haze from approaching wild fires and the unknown license plate number. 

Desperate to get more information, Baylor calls Emily's home phone number and Abby answers, Emily's six year old daughter (voiced by Christiana Montoya) who is seemingly home alone with her younger brother Oliver who is sleeping. Abby is distraught telling Baylor that her Mum left them home alone after going off with their Dad, Henry. Abby provides Henry's mobile phone number from which he is able to look up the van licence plate number and get more details on Henry's record of assault and his time in prison. He relays the licence plate details to the CHP, and contacts his former Sergeant Bill Miller (voiced by Ethan Hawke) asking him to send a patrol car around to Emily's house and to check on Abby and Oliver.  He calls Henry (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), threatens him and demands to know his intentions with Emily, but Henry hangs up on him. Baylor then calls his former partner Rick (voiced by Eli Goree) and asks that he visits Henry's house to gather whatever clues he can as to where Henry may be taking Emily. On that phone call, at 2:00am in the morning, Rick expresses concern to Baylor about the testimony he is to give at tomorrows court hearing.

Baylor takes a call from Abby in a panic when two LAPD officers arrive at the door, and he tells her to let them in. Over the phone, he overhears that the officers notice blood on Abby's hands and nightdress and find Oliver in the bedroom seemingly dead. Joe calls Emily back and tells her to pull the handbrake, which she does, but it fails to crash the van. Henry puts Emily into the back of the van. When Henry stops the van and tries to remove Emily from the back, she hits him with a brick and flees.

In the meantime, Rick has gained entry into Henry's house and finds documents from a psychiatric treatment facility where Emily had been a patient. Joe calls back Henry, who explains he was taking Emily back to the facility and that she had been off her meds for a few weeks because they couldn't afford them and, during a psychotic episode, unintentionally hurt Oliver. Henry says he did not report the incident to the authorities because he wanted to protect Emily and has no faith in the 'system'.

Emily calls Baylor back from somewhere on the freeway, implying that she is preparing to commit suicide by jumping off an overpass because she believed Oliver had 'snakes in his stomach' and that she 'took them out'. Joe directs the CHP to her location while attempting to talk her down. He attempts to distract her and keep her talking by revealing that he killed a 19-year-old boy while on duty because he was angry and wanted to punish him for hurting someone. He pleads with Emily that Abby loves and needs her and that he promised Abby that she would come home. Over the phone, Baylor hears patrol cars and officers arrive, as the line is cut off.

Soon afterwards the CHP calls Baylor to inform him that they got Emily down safely, and Sergeant Denise Wade (Christina Vidal) sticks her head around the door to advise that Oliver is alive and in the Intensive Care Unit. As she leaves she says to Baylor 'broken people help broken people, as a back handed compliment. A short time later, in the mens room, a distraught Baylor vomits before calling Rick and tells him to tell the truth at the hearing. Rick says he can't and if he does it will be years before he sees his daughter again. Sobbing, Baylor tells Rick again what he must do at the hearing. He then calls the LA Times reporter to tell her that he intends to plead guilty at the trial. News reports after the hearing indicate that Baylor is only the fourth Police Officer to be sentenced to prison for manslaughter. 

I never did see the original Danish film from 2018 of which this is a Hollywood remake, and as such I can't draw any comparisons between the two. Suffice to say, this taught, tense and emotional drama which takes place over a single night shift in a sparsely manned Police call centre, maintained my interest throughout, and while Gyllenhaal is in just about every frame for its ninety minute running time, he inhibits the role of fractured Joe Baylor, puts in a very convincing and powerful performance and proves his worth again as one of the finest Actors of his generation. Shot within the confines of two rooms, over the course of just eleven days and in the middle of a pandemic Antoine Fuqua has proven here too his ability to make a lot out of a little particularly when you have an Actor of Gyllenhaal's stature doing the heavy lifting supported by the equally convincing voice of Riley Keogh on the other end of the phone. If you haven't seen the original, then you could do worse than hunt this remake out as it will keep you on the edge of your seat from the get go.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE EQUALIZER 2 : Tuesday 24th July 2018.

'THE EQUALIZER 2' (aka 'EQ2') which I saw at my local multiplex earlier this week, is the follow up to the 2014 Antoine Fuqua Directed first big screen adaptation of the popular '80's TV series 'The Equalizer' with Denzel Washington portraying the one man vigilante army out of retirement, Robert McCall (played by Edward Woodward in the television series of the same name). That film cost US$73M to make and grossed US$193M at the global Box Office, and even before its release this sequel had already been announced. This film marks the fourth big screen collaboration between Fuqua and Washington with the first being 2001's 'Training Day', the second being the aforementioned film in this series, the third 'The Magnificent Seven' remake from 2016 and now 'EQ2'. This film cost US$62M and so far raked in US$51M following its release in the US last week too. Having so far garnered generally mixed or average Reviews, Critics have praised Washington's performance and the gritty and well choreographed action scenes, but have largely dismissed the storyline and plot development.

The film opens up with Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) masquerading as an American Turkish cleric aboard a train about an hour and a half outside Istanbul. As the train traverses the mountainous countryside McCall follows a man through to the dining car, having left his wife and child sleeping in their seat. Ordering a pot of hot water from the attendant the man sparks up a conversation with McCall asking him if he is American and how he comes to be on the train. McCall responds with a statement that he is searching for a man, a violent angry man, who has abducted his young daughter from the United States and has against her will, and that of her mother, taken her back to Turkey. Would he know of anyone who would do such a thing? Of course, this is a hypothetical question because that man, is the very same man that McCall is talking to. The man returns to his seat and orders his three goons to dispense with McCall, but naturally, it is the other way around, and within thirty seconds the three goons are dead, and McCall offers the man a choice.

Within a couple of days, McCall has returned the young girl to her elated mother back in Massachusetts, where McCall is living in an apartment complex and working as a 'Lyft' driver picking up both random and regular passengers and transporting them to and fro. When he's not driving for a living, McCall comes to the rescue of those less fortunate or in need of some special skills. Only his old friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) who works for the Defence Intelligence Agency, is aware of McCall's extra curricular exploits and helps him out with intelligence gathering when she can. One day, Susan is called upon to investigate an apparent murder suicide of one of her undercover operatives in Brussels, Belgium. She is accompanied by Dave York (Pedro Pascal), a former college of McCall's, to review the scene of the crime, collect what evidence they can, and return quickly. After their investigations have concluded, they return to their hotel before their departure early the next morning. Plummer is followed into her room by two young backpacker goons who attack her. She puts up a good fight, but is ultimately killed by the assailants.

Meanwhile back home, and McCall befriends a young lad who is a gifted painter and sketcher, but has fallen in with the wrong crowd. The kid, Miles Whittaker (Ashton Sanders) is also living in the same apartment block as McCall, and one day returns home from school to find the vegetable garden lovingly tended to by another resident, Fatima (Sakina Jaffrey) has been vandalised and a garden mural overpainted with graffiti. McCall takes it upon himself to look out for Miles and keep him on the straight and narrow, offering him $250 to make good the mural and the vegetable garden.

Hearing about the death of Susan Plummer from her husband Brian (Bill Pullman), McCall reaches out to Dave York to join forces and go after whoever did this. However, York attended McCall's funeral seven years ago as did the rest of his group, and since then have all gone their separate ways while McCall changed his identity and went underground. York agrees to do whatever it takes out of their mutual respect and friendship for Susan.

Later on, McCall is driving one of his regular Lyft shifts and collects a dodgy looking passenger claiming to be en route to his six year old daughters birthday. While driving, his fare attempts to kill McCall but thanks to some evasive driving skills and his adept self defence capabilities, McCall overpowers the assailant, who has now made it into the passenger seat, shooting him through the head at very close range with his own gun. McCall dumps the body and torches the car but not before retrieving the dead mans mobile phone.

The next day, McCall drops in on the York family home under the pretext that he needs some assistance in cracking the military grade encrypted code within the assailants retrieved phone. However, McCall already suspects that York is caught up with the dead assailants plans by linking him to the retrieved mobile phone. McCall confronts York with what he believes to be the truth and that in fact it was York who finished off Plummer in Brussels having pieced together the video surveillance of the events leading up to her attack, and the fatal wound inflicted on her body, which could only have been administered by a professionally trained assassin. York comes clean and states that following McCall's staged death, all the others members of his team were disbanded and forced to take up paid contract work as assassins for hire. Plummer became a target because eventually she would have suspected that the attack in Brussels came from within her own ranks of former operatives which would invariably have led back to York, so she became a necessary loose end that needed to be tied up. And now with McCall hot on the trail he too has become a loose end.

Outside the York home, McCall is confronted by his former Team members - Resnik (Jonathan Scarfe), Ari (Kazy Tauginas) and Kovac (Garrett Golden) with York. Those team members say that they'll be coming after McCall, but McCall counters with the fact that he'll be coming after them and his one regret is that he'll only get to kill them each once! Later the next day, with the rains pouring down and a hurricane starting to whip up, York and Kovac break into McCall's apartment where Miles is redecorating the kitchen. Miles hears them approaching and hides behind a bookcase concealing a secret room while on the phone to McCall alerting him. McCall calls York while watching him remotely from the CCTV cameras set up in his home. He invites York to come get him - as he knows where he'll be. York and Kovac abandon their search having deduced where McCall is headed to, but not before capturing the now emerged Miles from his hiding hole.

As a hurricane gale force winds take hold, McCall returns to his seaside hometown, which has been evacuated. Kovac, Ari, and Resnik follow in search of McCall on foot and heavily armed, as York locates himself at the top of the town's watchtower assuming the sniper's position. As the storm whips up a frenzy with torrential rains pouring down, big gusts of wind and huge waves crashing on the shoreline, so McCall takes out Kovac, Ari and Resnik one by one in well executed and deadly efficient close quarter combat, all the while looked on by an increasingly agitated York. Enraged that McCall has gained the upper hand York shoots at the boot lid of his car, which is revealed to be concealing a bound and gagged Miles.

Gale force winds knock York off his feet and he is momentarily stunned and distracted, so allowing McCall to gain access to the roof top of the watchtower.  The two fight it out, but York is no match for McCall, who stabs his assailant and kicks him off the watchtower blooded and beaten. He crashes on to the rocks below and his corpse is quickly washed away by an incoming wave. McCall rescues Miles from the boot of the car and escorts him back to his house where he treats a gun shot wound to his leg.

Back home in Boston, Miles has returned to school and in concentrating on his artistic talents. The garden and the mural are now returned to their former glory, thanks to Miles, and as for McCall, he has returned to his former beachside home and is seen looking out across a calm and still ocean.

'EQ2' is a fairly pedestrian film that lacks the punch and pace of the first instalment. This is almost a stand alone Robert McCall origin story that traces back his roots as a former CIA Agent, mercenary and assassin - how he had to fake his own death seven years previously; the loss of his loving wife and the emotional scars that he still carries around with him; the burden of his former life and the number of lives he took in the line of duty; the death of the one person in the world he could call a true and trusted friend and ally; and the life he now chooses to lead, all alone and seemingly devoid of any other family members or close friends. All of this is going on, interweaved with McCall's particular brand of justice dispensed with his very own special set of skills; and long lingering shots of McCall deep in thought with pursed lips contemplating his next move or what he's going to say. The film plods along for the most part with the occasional action sequence to jar you awake. Whilst worthy and watchable as always Washington's portrayal of McCall as a likeable character who imparts his worldly wise sage advice upon his cornered criminal types before beating the living crap out of them, or worse, is sadly not enough to keep you fully invested. You can easily wait for the Bluray, digital download or streaming service to watch this from the comfort of your own home and save yourself the $20+ cost of cinema entry. 'John Wick 2' or 'Taken 2' this film ain't, although cut largely from the same cloth.

This film scores a rating of two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th July 2018.

With the release of the Dwayne Johnson starring disaster epic feature flick 'Skyscraper' last week that cost the best part of US$130M to bring to the big screen and has so far received mixed Critical Reviews, as well a being widely likened to a mash up of 'Die Hard' meets 'The Towering Inferno' got me to thinking about classic '70's disaster movies, of which 'The Towering Inferno' would rank right up there amongst the best of 'em. Here's a trip down memory lane then to recount that genre that largely came into its own in the '70's and has barely looked back since. In date of release order, here are the disaster epic milestone's of the '70's, according to this humble Critic.

* 'Airport' (1970) - Directed by George Seaton, starring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin and George Kennedy. Made for just over US$10M the film grossed over US$100M, won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Helen Hayes plus nine other nominations amidst a total haul of four award wins and another nineteen nominations. The plot surrounds a bomber aboard an aeroplane, an airport snowed in and various emotional and personal problems faced by the airline crew and some of its select passengers. The film spawned numerous sequels, including the comedy classic 'Airplane'.
* 'The Poseidon Adventure' (1972) - Directed by Ronald Neame and staring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Roddy McDowell, Red Buttons, Leslie Nielsen, Shelley Winters and Stella Stevens. Made for less than US$5M the film grossed US$127M, won two Academy Awards and was nominated in seven other categories from a total haul of five award wins and another thirteen nods. The film centres around the S.S. Poseidon, a luxury liner that capsizes mid ocean when struck by a tsunami and a group of surviving passengers struggling to survive and escape when the ship turns upside down with only their wits to save them. The film saw a sequel in 1979 and a remake in 2006.
* 'The Towering Inferno' (1974) - Directed by John Guillermin and starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughan, Robert Wagner and Dabney Coleman. The film cost US$14M to make and grossed close to US$160M, picking up three Academy Award wins plus five other nominations from a total awards haul of twelve wins and another thirteen nominations. The film tells the story of a newly completed skyscraper, the world tallest at the time, and how the construction company took short cuts with the architects plans too save money. These short cuts lead to a fire which breaks out and rapidly takes hold that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it. This film inspired 'Skyscraper'.
* 'Earthquake' (1974) - Directed by Mark Robson and starring Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Richard Roundtree, Walter Matthau, Victoria Principal, Ava Gardner and Genevieve Bujold. Made for US$7M the film grossed US$85M, and collected two Academy Awards and three other nominations form a total haul of three award wins and seven other nominations. This film, as the name implies, centres on an earthquake of colossal magnitude that hits Los Angeles, and the aftermath of various interconnected people all struggling to survive. This film inspired 'San Andreas'.
* 'The Swarm' (1978) - this disaster horror offering was Directed by Irwin Allen and stars Michael Caine, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, Henry Fonda, Slim Pickens, Fred MacMurray, Ben Johnson, Katherine Ross, Olivia de Havilland and Lee Grant. The film cost US$21M to make and grossed just about one-third of that sum and has been hailed as one of the worst movies of all time - so bad it's good in fact! The film tells the story of a rampant swarm of killer bees that have made their way to Texas from Africa via South America. The said pesky bees in question have a deadly venom and attack randomly and without reason. It rests with a scientist type and the military might of Uncle Sam to destroy the bees before they destroy us.
* 'Meteor' (1979) - Directed by Ronald Name and starring Sean Connery, Karl Malden, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Richard Dysart and Natalie Wood, the film cost US$16M to make and just about recovered that sum and was poorly received by Critics. Here scientists discover an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, who in turn struggle with Cold War politics in their efforts to destroy the asteroid and prevent a disaster of Earth shattering consequence from occurring. This film inspired 'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact'.
* 'The China Syndrome' (1979) - Directed by James Bridges and Produced and starring Michael Douglas, Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Peter Donat and Wilfred Brimley, the film cost US$6M to make, grossed US$52M and picked up seven award wins and another 15 monitions including four Oscar nods, five Golden Globe nods, two BAFTA wins for Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda and two other nominations, and was hailed a success by Critics. This film's story concerns a news reporter and her cameraman who are unintentional witnesses to a SCRAM incident, an emergency core shutdown procedure at a nuclear power plant in California. The crew helps prevent a disaster, but the plant supervisor begins to fear that the plant is contravening safety standards, and tries desperately to bring it to the attention of the public, believing that another such incident will result in an atomic melt down.

Turning attention to this weeks latest release movies of which there are three coming to an Odeon near you, these are categorised as two sequels and a remake. We kick off with the sequel to the big screen adaptation of a popular 80's small screen television series in which a one man vigilante army with 'a particular set of skills' seeks his very own brand of justice on those who would do wrong on the helpless and innocent. We then turn to a song and dance number set in the idyllic Greek isles that is another sequel to a massively popular first instalment ten years ago based on the back catalogue of songs put out by one of the world's most popular groups that were at the height of their fame in the '70's and '80's, but have since endured to be as popular now as they were back then. And then we wrap up with a remake of another '80's comedy featuring back then a real life couple who well & truly fall overboard for each other, although one is clueless as to the how and why and is being played along by the other.

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

'THE EQUALISER 2' (Rated MA15+) - in 2014 Antoine Fuqua Directed the first big screen adaptation of the popular '80's TV series 'The Equalizer' with Denzel Washington portraying the one man army out of retirement vigilante Robert McCall (played by Edward Woodward in the television series of the same name). That film cost US$73M to make and grossed US$193M at the global Box Office, and even before its release this sequel had already been announced.

In this follow on offering Denzel Washington once again portrays Robert McCall who wakes up one day to learn that one of his long term friends and former colleague Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) has been murdered. Armed with a very particular set of skills, McCall embarks on a journey of revenge dishing out his own brand of vigilante justice to the crims who perpetrated the crime, and any other miscreants who happen to get in the way. Also starring Pedro Pascal as a former CIA partner of McCall's, and Bill Pullman as the husband to the murdered Susan Plummer. The film's release was pushed back form a September 2017 scheduled date, eventually ending up at this mid-July date for release in the US this week also.

'MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN' (Rated PG) : ten years ago, 'Mamma Mia' the song and dance musical based on the hugely popular stage show of the same name based on a whole collection of ABBA songs from yesteryear took a staggering US$616M off the back of a US$52M Budget. Hardly any surprise then that in 2018 it's time to launch a sequel to an eagerly awaiting audience of die hard ABBA fans the world over. This time Directed and Written for the Screen by Ol Parker sees the familiar cast members return reprising their roles together with a few new additions. Set ten years after the events of the first film and back on the Greek island of Kalokairi, Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is pregnant expecting Sky's (Dominic Cooper) child while running the villa for her mother, Donna Sheridan-Carmichael (Meryl Streep). Her relationship with Sky has been far from ideal and she expresses self doubt about bringing up a child without her mother around. However, help is at hand but with Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) to guide and advise her, but in so doing Sophie will find out more of Donna's past - how she fronted 'The Dynamos', came to set up her villa on the island from scratch, met each one of Sophie’s dads Harry Bright, Sam Carmichael and Bill Anderson (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgard respectively), and raised a daughter as a single Mum without a mother to guide her. And to cap it all an unexpected visit from someone she had never met: her grandmother, Ruby Sheridan (Cher). Also starring Andy Garcia, Lily James and Celia Imrie, this film cost US$70M to bring to the big screen, and is released in the US and UK this week too.

'OVERBOARD' (Rated PG) - thirty one years ago way back in 1987, real life partners in love and life Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell under the Directing stewardship of Garry Marshall released the original film upon which this remake is based. That film cost US$22M to make and recovered that sum and then some, and now in 2018 we have that same story that has been dusted off, repolished and presented in a nice little gift box for an unknowing audience. This time around Rob Greenberg Directs and he also Co-Wrote the Screenplay, but put out this movie for less than half the sum of its original. At $12M the film has so far grossed US$87M and has received mixed Critical feedback for really adding nothing new to the already tried and tested storyline which centres around Kate Sullivan (Anna Faris) who is a single, working-class Mum of three who's hired to clean a luxury yacht that is owned by Leonardo Montenegro (Eugenio Derbez) a selfish, spoiled and very rich Mexican playboy. After firing Kate for some petty misdemeanour, Leonardo falls off the boat and wakes up with no recollection of who he is. To get payback and seizing the opportunity, Kate rocks up to the hospital and convinces the confused amnesiac that they are in fact husband and wife. As Leonardo attempts to realign his life to one of manual labour and his new found family, Kate starts to ponder just how long she can maintain the ruse with her new fake husband. Also starring Eva Longoria and John Hannah.

With three new release films out 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-