CAUGHT STEALING : Tuesday 2nd September 2025.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'CAUGHT STEALING' earlier this week, and this American action crime thriller film is Co-Produced and Directed by Darren Aronofsky who made his feature film Directorial debut with 1998's 'Pi', and which he would follow up in the ensuing years with 'Requiem for a Dream' in 2000, 'The Fountain' in 2006, 'The Wrestler' in 2008, 'Black Swan' in 2010, 'Noah' in 2014, 'Mother!' in 2017 and 'The Whale' in 2022. This film is based on Charlie Huston's book of the same name, cost US$40M to produce, has so far grossed US$17M since its US and Australian release last week and has generated largely positive critical reviews.

In 1998, Henry 'Hank' Thompson (Austin Butler) is an alcohol-fuelled bartender living in New York City's Lower East Side, where his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz) works as a paramedic. He calls his mother in Patterson, California every day, especially to discuss their shared love of the San Francisco Giants, always signing off with 'Go the Giants'. Hank we learn was a rising star baseball prospect in high school, but now he has recurring nightmares about a drunken car crash that killed his friend Dale (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) and left him with a career-ending knee injury, before his career had even taken off.

Hank's British punk rock neighbour Russ Binder (Matt Smith) tells him he needs to return home to London quickly to see his ailing father, leaving Hank to care for his cat, Bud. Knocking on Russ's apartment door, two Russian mobsters, Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and Pavel (Nikita Kukushkin), viciously beat Hank when he claims not to know of Russ's whereabouts, resulting in Hank losing a kidney, as well as his ability to drink alcohol (as Yvonne tells him that the kidney's process toxins, and alcohol is a toxin, and without a kidney it could result in his death). After the Russians break into Russ's apartment, narcotics detective Elise Roman (Riegina King) questions Hank and reveals Russ is a drug dealer connected to notorious Hasidic brothers Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully (Vincent D'Onofrio) Drucker. 

Finding a key hidden in a fake cat turd in Bud's litter box, Hank notifies Roman when the Druckers search Russ's apartment. After spending a drunken night at Paul's Bar, Hank strips down to his jocks and leaves his clothes outside his building after he vomits over himself. The next morning he is interrogated by the Russians and their Puerto Rican associate Colorado (Benito Martinez Ocasio), Hank cannot remember what happened to the key, but the mobsters are interrupted by his neighbour Duane (George Abud) who threatens to call the Police. Hank leaves the injured Bud with Yvonne, and remembers taking the key to the bar and giving it to the bars owner Paul (Griffin Dunne), for safe keeping. Chased by the Druckers, he informs Colorado, who mentions Yvonne. Realising she is in danger, he races back to her apartment, only to find she has been killed, shot through the head at point blank range.

Hank is needless to say mortified by Yvonne's death and stricken with guilt confides in Roman who she tells him, has dreams of retiring to Tulum, Mexico. Colorado and the Russians arrive, in cahoots with the corrupt Roman, but claim they are not the group responsible for Yvonne's murder. Hank is taken to Paul's Bar, where Colorado kills regular Amtrak (Action Bronson), but Roman shoots him dead him before he can also murder Paul. Lying that the key is in the basement strongroom's safe, Roman tries to open the combination lock but fails, handing over to Paul to open it. In doing so, Paul emerges brandishing a shotgun but is shot dead in the ensuing chaos. Hank locks himself in the strongroom, forcing the others to leave empty-handed. 

Hank recovers the key from the homeless Jason (Will Brill), left in the trouser pocket he abandoned the night before. Russ returns home, but is hit in the head with a baseball bat when Hank mistakes him for an intruder. Russ explains that after selling drugs for the Druckers in Colorado's nightclubs, he was forced to involve Roman, who owes money to the Russians' boss. The key unlocks a storage unit with just over US$4M in cash that he was meant to split between the various parties on the day he left for London. Fearing for his life, Russ prepares to take the money and flee the country, leaving Hank as the fall guy, but Hank knocks him unconscious.

Hank and Russ drive in Russ' car to Flushing Meadows to meet with Roman and the Russians. Hank offers them Russ and the key in exchange for Bud. Russ in his concussed state panics, killing Aleksei with Pavel's gun before escaping with Hank and Bud, and suggests that Roman might have been the one who killed Yvonne. They escape through a crowd exiting a game at Shea Stadium onto the subway, where a severely concussed Russ succumbs to his injuries, and Hank jumps on a bus with Bud to Coney Island. 

Hank is woken early the next morning on the beach by a call from Roman, who has framed him for the various murders and threatens his mother by telling Hank her address, demanding he bring the key to the Russians' supper club. Calling to warn his mother, Hank surrenders himself to the Druckers. They agree to kill Roman in exchange for Hank leading them to the money, first bringing him to their mother's (Carol Kane) Shabbos (day of rest on the seventh day of the week) dinner. The Druckers then zip-tie Hanks hands to the car's steering wheel while the heavily-armed brothers storm the club, shooting and bombing the place up.

Seeing Roman fleeing from the unfolding scene at the club, Hank burns his restraints with the cars cigarette lighter and gives chase with a baseball bat that he purloined from a bunch of kids having a hit in the street. He subdues a vengeful Pavel with a swift one-two punch to the head and manages to injure Roman by impaling her foot with the broken baseball bat handle, at which point the Druckers arrive and shoot her dead. Hank reveals he hid the key in the bandage on Bud's leg, and the sympathetic brothers decide to let him live with a US$100K share of the money. 

They force him to drive for the first time since his fateful crash that cost Dale his life, when Hank notices that Lipa has Yvonne's unique pistol shaped cigarette lighter. Realising the implication, the brothers admit they killed Yvonne to send a message to Hank for evading them. Aware that he's the only one wearing a seat belt, Hank increases speed and purposefully crashes the car squarely into a steel pillar, mirroring the crash of his earlier life, this time killing the two brothers outright. 

Some time later, Hank poses as Russ, using his British passport to escape the country with Bud and half of the money. Calling his mother to let her know he is safe, Hank arrives in Tulum to begin a new life as he dreamed of doing, having mailed his mother (Laura Dern in an uncredited cameo) the other half of the money.

I really enjoyed 'Caught Stealing' and say what you will about Darren Aronofsky's back catalogue of movies, this film represents a marked departure from his previous works as he delivers us a grounded story set in late 1990's crime fuelled NYC, backed up by an ensemble eclectic cast led most notably by a stellar turn from Austin Butler, and a tightly wrought plot that is not short on attention grabbing violence and mayhem, but also delivers enough emotional heft and moments of humour to counter the numerous on-screen deaths and beatings. As far as crime thrillers go, you'ld be hard pressed to find a better film released so far this year.

'Caught Stealing' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE BIKERIDERS : Tuesday 9th July 2024

I saw the M Rated 'THE BIKERIDERS' earlier this week, and this American crime drama offering is Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols whose previous feature films include his debut in 2007 with 'Shotgun Stories' and then 'Take Shelter' in 2011, 'Mud' in 2012, and 'Midnight Special' and 'Loving' both in 2016. This film is inspired by the photo-book of the same name by Danny Lyon, and depicts the lives of the Vandals Motorcycle Club, a fictionalised rendering of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August last year and was released Stateside on 21st June having so far grossed US$30M off the back of a US$35M production budget and garnering generally positive critical acclaim.

The film opens up in 1965, Kathy Bauer (Jodie Comer) meets Benny Cross (Austin Butler), a hotheaded member of the Chicago-based Vandals Motorcycle Club, in the clubs local bar, and the pair get married just five weeks later. Photography student Danny Lyon (Mike Faist) travels with, interviews and photographs the Vandals over a number of years. He learns from Kathy, that the founder, Johnny Davis (Tom Hardy), was inspired to form the club after watching Marlon Brando's 1953 film 'The Wild One' on TV. Johnny's leadership is challenged when he rebuffs another Vandal's suggestion that new chapters should be allowed to form. They engage in a fist fight which Johnny wins, and so re-establishes his authority and grants permission to expand the club. New chapters begin to form across the American Midwest.

In 1969, Benny is sat at a bar drinking alone and is approached by two men for wearing his clubs colours. A fight breaks out and the three end up out on the street in an all out brawl with Benny copping a real beating, and his foot is nearly severed by one of the men bringing a shovel down just above the ankle during the fight. Johnny forces the owner to provide the names of the men, and then promptly orders the Vandals to burn down the bar, while they stand and watch while fire crews and the Police maintain a safe distance seemingly too frightened to approach. In hospital with his foot bandaged up, Benny urges Kathy not to allow the doctors to amputate his foot. 

While Benny is recovering from surgery some three weeks later, Johnny pressures him to come to a motorcycle rally before he is fully healed, much to Kathy's chagrin. At the rally, up rides Funny Sonny (Norman Reedus) from the Dead Devil's Club in California and says that he's heard there's a rally going on and so he thought he make the journey and join in. Later that evening Johnny offers Benny leadership of the club when he steps down, but Benny rejects it.

A 20-year-old delinquent known as 'the Kid' (Toby Wallace) asks Johnny to allow him and his own small motorcycle club to join the Vandals. Johnny initially dismisses them saying their all too young, but tests the Kid by allowing only him to join. When he expresses willingness to abandon his four friends, Johnny rejects him, saying that club members never leave their friends behind. The Kid attacks Johnny with a knife, who beats him and warns him not to come back.

Fast forward to 1973, and Lyon interviews Kathy about what became of the Vandals. She explains that Johnny became disheartened after the death of his lieutenant Brucie (Damon Herriman) in a vehicular accident, and the club grew increasingly violent after drug-addled Vietnam War veterans joined the club. At a party, longtime member Cockroach (Emory Cohen) is badly beaten up by new members when he drunkenly expresses a desire to leave the club to become a motorcycle Police Officer. Kathy is nearly raped while Benny is occupied taking Cockroach to the hospital, but she is rescued in time by Johnny. Furious that Benny wasn't at the party to protect her, she demands Benny quit the Vandals. Instead, he leaves her for several days. To allow Cockroach to safely leave the club, Johnny takes Benny to stage a break-in at his house, where they shoot him non-fatally in the leg. Concerned over the escalating violence of the club and again rejecting Johnny's offer of leadership, Benny quits and gets the hell outta Dodge, leaving Kathy high and dry.

The Kid, now a member of the Vandals Milwaukee chapter, challenges Johnny to a knife fight for leadership the next night which Johnny has no option but to accept. Johnny swings by Kathy's house to see if she has heard from or seen Benny, to which she responds in the negative. Johnny goes onto the designated meeting place for the challenge armed with a knife and a knuckle duster only for the Kid to pull out a gun and shoot Johnny dead. Kathy explains to Lyon that after the Kid took over the Vandals, they became a large criminal gang involved in drug trafficking, prostitution and even murder. The older members either toed the line, left to obtain legitimate jobs, or died.

Benny, upon learning of Johnny's death, returns home and breaks down with Kathy consoling him on their front steps. He and Kathy relocate to Florida where Benny works as a mechanic with his cousin and stopped riding motorcycles as soon as Johnny was killed. Kathy tells Lyon that they are happy, and Benny doesn't miss the biker fraternity. Outside, Benny hears motorcycles roaring nearby and flashes a wry smile at his wife.

'The Bikeriders' boasts captivating performances from Comer, Butler (channeling James Dean) and Hardy (channeling Marlon Brandon) and Writer and Director Nichols has here crafted a film that is grounded and convincing in its depiction of late 1960's and early 1970's counter culture, the rebellious and often violent history of motorcycle gangs, and all of the raw emotion and masculinity that lurks just below the surface. 'The Bikeriders' is certainly worth the price of your cinema ticket if your looking for a throwback to a bygone era interlaced with a thumping soundtrack, great cinematography and a solid enough storyline to maintain your interest for its almost two hour running time. The film also stars Michael Shannon and Boyd Holbrook in strong supporting roles.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ELVIS : Tuesday 28th June 2022.

I saw the M Rated 'ELVIS' at my local multiplex this week, and this Australian and US Co-Produced biographical musical drama film is Co-Written for the screen, based on a story, Directed and Co-Produced by Baz Luhrmann whose previous film making credits take in his debut 'Strictly Ballroom' in 1992, 'Romeo + Juliet' in 1996, 'Moulin Rouge!' in 2001, 'Australia' in 2008 and 'The Great Gatsby' in 2013. The film had its World Premier screening at the Cannes Film Festival on 25th May where it received a twelve minute standing ovation. Released in Australia and worldwide last week, it was originally scheduled to be released in early October 2021, before being delayed to early November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then later to last week. It cost US$85M to produce, has so far grossed US$52M from its opening weekend and a further US$13M since for a worldwide total so far of US$65M, and has garnered generally positive critical acclaim.

The film opens up in 1997 with Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) on his death bed recalling his memories of how he first discovered Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and how he led him on the path to worldwide superstardom as his manager, mentor, guardian and custodian. The film then takes us back to the late 1940's and a young Elvis (Chaydon Jay) had a largely poverty driven upbringing in Tupelo, Mississippi with his parents Vernon (Richard Roxburgh), who had served jail time, and Gladys (Helen Thomson). Elvis finds his personal means of escape and his own lifeline in music, and in particular gospel music, which he falls under the spell off as a young boy. In his late teens he is often ridiculed by his peer group because of his strong leaning towards African American music to be heard bellowing out from the clubs and bars on Memphis' Beale Street where the likes of B.B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jnr.) and Little Richard (Alton Mason) hang out at 'Club Handy'.

Parker grew up around the carnivals and travelling fair's turning a dollar on the gullibility on his audience night after night. He is also managing Hank Snow (David Wenham) and his son Jimmie Snow (Kodi Smit-McPhee) but as soon as Parker hears Elvis belting out his debut song on the radio he becomes determined to track the singer down and manage his affairs from here on in. Parker eventually meets and persuades Elvis to let him take control of his career by having Vernon and Gladys sign a contract with Vernon appointed as Elvis' Business Manager which begins a meteoric ascent. 

However, not all of the public is impressed with the young entertainer, labelling him 'Elvis the Pelvis' because of his trademark hips and legs wiggle. Many parents fear that his music is corrupting their children, especially the young and impressionable daughters, and racist politicians also attack him. He is asked to downplay the wiggle and stand up straight, not gyrate his hips, and wear a suit with tails onstage, which he does once under the guise of 'The New Elvis', but his fans rebel against this demanding they want 'The Old Elvis' back. After a violent incident at a stadium concert, Elvis finds himself facing a possible jail term because he gave the fans what they wanted to hear and see. However, it is suggested that Parker persuades the government to draft Elvis into the US Army in 1958 as a way of avoiding any further legal proceedings. During his time in the Army on a posting to Germany, Elvis learns that Gladys has died of alcoholism. He is distraught by the news and almost inconsolable. Parker comforts Elvis and Vernon in their hour of need and says to Elvis that while he is overseas seeing out his Army service that he will take care of all of his affairs and need not worry about a thing. 

While stationed in Germany, Elvis meets Priscilla Beaulieu (Olivia DeJonge), and upon his discharge, he resumes his career-making concert tours and Hollywood feature films while Parker's control of his life takes on an even stronger grip. Elvis is devastated by the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and Robert Kennedy also in 1968, and wishes to become more politically outspoken in his music while Parker merely wants him to sing family friendly frivolous songs that will be No.1 best sellers. He hires Jerry Schilling (Luke Bracey) and Steve Binder (Dacre Montgomery) to resurrect his ailing career (which they described as being 'in the toilet'), much to Parker's disliking. Schilling and Binder orchestrate Elvis' 1968 Comeback Tour which has massive television success and reestablishes the singer right back to his former glory years. 

The International Hotel is set to open on the Las Vegas strip, and while Elvis has plans to tour Europe Parker has other ideas. He downplays touring Europe based on the cost involved that would heavily eat into any profits made and the security risks associated with travelling to foreign lands. Instead, Parker suggests that The International Hotel would offer Elvis a six week residency at no cost, because they need a big name act to help establish the new hotel as a gaming and entertainment destination, and quickly. Afterwards, Parker says, he can tour overseas. But afterwards never comes, as Parker who is now heavily in debt to a casino for his gambling addiction, secretly and without any consultation with Elvis commits the singer to a residency term of five years in exchange for US$5M for Elvis, plus an unlimited line of credit and the waiving of all debts owed by Parker. 

Elvis puts his all into his sell out stage shows at The International Hotel, but eventually grows tired of Parker and attempts to fire him, only to be sued by the latter for more than US$8M for expenses incurred since day one of their relationship. Elvis chides Vernon as his Business Manager saying that he was supposed to oversee all of his finances, but Vernon only responds with the fact that he will have to sell Graceland and that sum will leave him broke and destitute. A vicious argument ensues between Elvis and Parker as he is about to leave for the airport and embark on a European Tour, but afterwards Elvis has to concede that he has no choice but to maintain his management from Parker, and instead embark on a fifteen city tour of the US instead. Ultimately, they grow apart and rarely see each other afterwards.

Following this, Elvis's life spirals on a seemingly ever downward trajectory as Priscilla takes their daughter Lisa Marie and leaves him over his prescription drug addiction, which grows even stronger after she is gone. They divorce in 1973. Later, as Elvis is about to board his private plane and bidding farewell to Lisa Marie at the airport, Priscilla jumps in the back of the limo and the pair share a private and tender moment. Elvis says to his former wife that he is approaching his fortieth birthday and that no one will remember him when he is gone. As the pair part company and Elvis boards his plane he mouths the words 'I will always love you' to Priscilla. Elvis died from a heart attack on 16th August 1977 at the age of 42. 

The final scene is one of Elvis's last shows which depicts him as being bloated and pale looking, while singing 'Unchained Melody' at the piano, with real footage from the concert as key moments from his life are shown, with Parker passing away old and alone in 1997. The closing credits reveal that Parker's financial and contractual abuse of Elvis was the subject of litigation by the Presley Estate after Elvis' death. Parker spent his last years gambling away his money on casino slot machines, while Elvis remains the best-selling solo artist of all-time and one of the most beloved entertainers in music history.

I sat in a packed out cinema theatre half full of baby boomers who would have been around in the '60's and '70's to see the real events unfold, with the other half being millennials who would have been there for the entertainment and education factors and to see the legendary King of Rock 'n' Roll writ large on the silver screen. What was unusual was the applause this film garnered from the gathered audience when the end credits rolled, which is telling in its own right! Unlike his previous 'The Great Gatsby' which for me was all style with little substance, in 'Elvis' Luhrmann has delivered an extravagant spectacular biopic that has style and substance in equal measure and that will keep you glued to the screen for all of its 160 minute run time. Austin Butler lives and breathes EP and his performance is near perfect in terms of his looks, his singing, his gyrating, his dancing and his persona in a role that we are unlikely to find as convincing this year. As for Tom Hanks in his fat suit and prosthetic face and nose made up to resemble Col. Tom Parker in all his manipulative, controlling illegal alien personality, it was at times hard for me to see behind the Mr. Nice Guy image that Hanks more often than not portrays in his film roles. That said though, I learned a lot about EP's Manager and their 20+ year relationship that turned toxic towards the end, even though Elvis kept coming back to him time after time like a lost puppy no matter how harshly he was treated. 'Elvis' is a brash film that will keep you pondering the King's life, and all of its twists and turns, ups and downs long after the credits have rolled. It's memorable for a whole bunch of reasons and has Luhrmann's trademark glitz and glamour written all over it while attempting to explain how a little kid growing up poor in Tupelo came to become the most successful solo music artist of all time and as popular still today some 45 years after his death, as he was when he was alive. 

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-