What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 8th June 2017.

Celebrating its 64th year, The Sydney Film Festival launches on Wednesday 7th June and runs for twelve days up until, and including,  Sunday 18th June. This year features four hundred sessions screened at selected cinemas in and around Sydney and 288 films shown in and out of competition as part of the programme. The Opening Night film is the world premier of Warwick Thornton's 'We Don't Need A Map' in which the film maker investigates our relationship with The Southern Cross as we journey through this five-star constellation's astronomical, colonial and Indigenous history to the present day. The Closing Night film is Korean Director Bong Joon-ho's 'Okja' starring Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Daniel Henshall and Steven Yuen about a young girl who fights to save her best friend of the past ten years - a giant animal named Okja - from an unscrupulous corporate business that have different plans. Seven recently added films to this years programme come straight from the recent Cannes Film Festival -  including Palme d'Or winner 'The Square', and 'Im Not A Witch', 'Jupiters Moon', 'Good Time' and 'A Man of Integrity'. Of the twelve films in Official Competition, the winning feature film is presented with a AU$60K award in recognition of the most courageous, audacious and cutting-edge new cinema. These films include 'The Beguiled', 'Happy End', 'I Am Not Your Negro', 'On Body and Soul', 'Una' 'The Untamed', 'Wolf and Sheep', 'We Don't Need a Map' and 'Felicity'. For full details of the Festival Programme, go to www.sff.org.au

This week we have four new movies about to do the rounds, kicking off with a reboot of a successful  ancient Egyptian action adventure franchise of the late '90's/early'00's, but which has its history in the movies going back more than eighty years, then a bio-pic of sorts that shows some poetic license over the real life events that unfolded before a significant turning point in WWII as the British Prime Minister at the time ponders over the go/no go implications of his decision. We then turn to a period piece based on a notable book of 1951 and its last big screen adaptation of 1952, of family intrigue, drama and emotion, before wrapping up with a CG animated action thriller based on a hugely popular shoot 'em up video game that has spawned this third animated feature plus a live action franchise too.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four as Previewed below, or those as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, be reminded 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 cinema experience this week.

'THE MUMMY' (Rated M) - this ancient Egyptian action adventure film is a reboot of the late '90's franchise that saw Brendan Fraser portraying the 1923 American explorer Rick O'Connell as  he battles against the revived corpse of an Egyptian Priest, Imhotep, as he rises back into a force to be reckoned with and intent on destroying the world as we know it. That 1999 film Directed and Written by Stephen Sommers went on to spawn two sequels - in 2001, 'The Mummy Returns' and in 2008 'The Mummy : Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'. The three films were made for a combined budget of US$323M and raked in at the global Box Office a collective US$1.42B. These films also saw a spin-off series kick starting with 'The Scorpion King' in 2002 with Dwayne Johnson in the title role and three direct to video follow-ups in 2008, 2012 and 2015. Of course the Mummy has a long history in film lore, going back most notably to 1932's 'The Mummy' Directed by Karl Freund and starring one Boris Karloff as our bandaged from head to toe ancient antagonist. Now in 2017, 'The Mummy' is once again resurrected, dusted off and brought out to play. This time Directed by Alex Kurtzman and Co-Written by David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie this is the first instalment in 'The Dark Universe' series of films that will subsequently see reboots of 'Bride of Frankenstein' in 2019, 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' also in 2019, 'The Invisible Man' in 2020, 'Van Helsing' and 'Wolf Man' both thereafter.

Here we see Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) in the present day as a marauding soldier of fortune plundering ancient artefacts for sale to the highest bidder. When things go awry for Nick and his partner somewhere in the Middle East as a result of uncovering an ancient tomb housing Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) - a betrayed Egyptian Princess who has been mummified and entombed for thousands of years, and has grown mightily pissed off during that time. Once resurrected from her forced incarceration, she sets in motion a plan to make the world her own by destroying everything that mankind has built up in the ensuing couple of millennia. Only Morton and his cohorts, it seems, can save the world from this evil no good monster as the action and adventure takes us from the ancient ruins of Egypt to the streets of modern day London. Also starring Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, Courtney B. Vance, Jake Johnson and Annabelle Wallis. The film Premiered in Sydney on 22nd May, goes on general release in the US and Australia this week, and cost US$125M to bring to our screens.

'CHURCHILL' (Rated M) - here Australian Writer and Director Jonathan Teplitzky, whose previous credits include 2013's 'The Railway Man' with Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth, once again turns his hand to historical drama, based on a story written by British historian and author Alex von Tunzelmann. Set during the four days in the lead up to the Allied Invasion of the Normandy D-Day landings of June 6th 1944, here the film centres on Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) trying to reconcile the demons of the ill fated Gallipoli landings in 1915, before making any rash decisions to go head to head against the German forces on the beaches of northern France. Approaching 70 years of age, Churchill here wants his legacy to be that of a war hero, a great historical figure, the mastermind behind Britain's greatest wartime victory, rather than the man who orchestrated the mindless and needless slaughter of thousands of young men. With General Dwight Eisenhower (Tony Slattery) and Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery (Julian Wadham) growing increasingly frustrated and impatient with Churchill's indecision to mount an attack or not, as the long pre-determined date approaches, it seems that only his wife Clementine (Miranda Richardson) has the presence of mind to steer Churchill to the best course of action and halt his physical and mental collapse after years of war mongering and political uncertainty. Also starring James Purefoy as King George VI.

'MY COUSIN RACHEL' (Rated M) - based on the Daphne du Maurier book of the same name first published in 1951, this is the first big screen adaptation of that novel since the 1952 film of the same name starring Richard Burton as Philip Ashley and Olivia de Havilland playing Rachel Ashley. Here Roger Michell wrote the Screenplay and Directs this latest adaptation with Rachel Weisz as Rachel and Sam Claflin as Philip who plots revenge against his beautiful cousin for allegedly murdering his guardian. But as time wears on Philip finds himself drawn to the mysterious Rachel as he falls under her charming spell and his feelings toward her become ever more complicated. Also starring Iain Glen and Holliday Grainger, this film is released in the US and the UK this week too.

'RESIDENT EVIL : VENDETTA' (Rated MA15+) - this Japanese 3D animated action-thriller film is part of the 'Resident Evil' franchise, and takes place in the same dimension (unlike the live action offerings starring Milla Jovovich) as the hugely popular and successful video games series. The film features the principle characters Chris Redfield (Kevin Dorman), Leon S. Kennedy (Matthew Mercer) and Rebecca Chambers (Erin Cahill) and is the third CG movie, after 2008's 'Resident Evil: Degeneration' and 2012's 'Resident Evil: Damnation' and was Written by Makoto Fukami and Directed by Takanori Tsujimoto. Set sometime between the events of 'Resident Evil 6' (the action adventure third person video game) and 'Resident Evil 7' (the survival horror first person video game) here Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agent Chris Redfield enlists the support of American government agent Leon S. Kennedy and Professor Rebecca Chambers to halt Glenn Arias (Alexander Polinsky), a death merchant who is on a mission of vengeance, from spreading a new deadly zombie virus on New York City. The film was released in Japan at the end of May, and goes on release in selected Australian cinemas this week and likewise in the US as of 19th June.

Once again, there are four very different movie offerings released this coming week, three of which tender something historical - fantasy adventure, fictional drama and poetic license biographical, and the fourth, futuristic video game action thrills. Whatever your taste is over the following seven days, be sure to share your film going musings with your like minded cinephiles here at Odeon Online. Meanwhile, I'll see you sometime, somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th August 2016

This week sees the US$100M budget release of 'Ben-Hur' - the fifth adaptation of the 1880 book by Lew Wallace - 'Ben-Hur : A Tale of the Christ'. The third big screen adaptation was made back in 1959 and stands the test of time to this day still as one of the classic all time swords and sandals epics. Back in its day the Bible and tales of the Roman Empire provided rich source material with other noteworthy epics of that era being 'Quo Vadis' in 1951, 'The Robe' in 1953, 'The Ten Commandments' in 1956, 'Spartacus' in 1960, 'Cleopatra' in 1963, 'The Bible' in 1966 and more recently of course we have had 'Gladiator' in 2000 and 'Exodus : Gods and Kings' and 'Noah' both in 2014 with a raft of others in between time.

The 1959 production of 'Ben-Hur' was Directed by William Wyler, was budgeted at US$7M and blew out to US$15M and was the most expensive film ever made for its time, and used 1.1 million feet of film for principal photography, that was edited down to 19,000 feet for the final cut. The theatrical release ran for 212 minutes, and used a cast of thousands, literally, including 200 camels, 2,500 horses, 10,000 extras with 365 Actors having speaking parts. Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Paul Newman, Marlon Brandon and Leslie Neilsen were all considered for the role of Judah Ben-Hur which went to Charlton Heston on a salary of US$250K for the thirty week shoot plus expenses. The film opened to huge critical acclaim and delivered US$74M in Box Office receipts delivering MGM Studios over US$20M in profits and saving it from bankruptcy. The film was nominated in 12 categories at the 1960 Academy Awards and won an unprecedented eleven for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Sound Design and Best Music Score. It also won four Golden Globes and one BAFTA - all up 27 wins and 13 nominations. It's Oscar wins have not yet been surpassed, matched only by 'Titanic' in 1998, and 'Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King' in 2004. Will Timur Bekmambetov's 2016 retelling of this classic tale live up to those heady expectations - both critically and commercially - you'll have to decide for yourself!

This week there are four new movie openings that offer comedy, drama, horror and a Biblical retelling of a highly acclaimed classic. Kicking off there is a much loved office manager from the small screen taking his musical aspirations on the road and to the big screen that is sure to have you cringing in your seat. Then a reimagining of a classic swords and sandals epic featuring one of the most famed race sequences in cinema history; with a good old Aussie outback horror story featuring a scary monster, missing persons, and the stuff of legend! Then we wrap up the week with an offering of opposites attracting as one young girl cares for an older man through a deep rooted connection that binds them both and from which they both find benefit in their own way.

Four different offerings this week which when combined with those released in previous weeks and still out on general release, give you plenty of reasons to catch a movie in the coming week. When you have done so, share your thoughts, views and opinions with your like minded cinephiles here at Odeon Online by posting a note in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your film of choice.

'DAVID BRENT : LIFE ON THE ROAD' (Rated MA15+) - back in 1982 a very young Ricky Gervais teamed up with good mate Bill Macrae and formed new wave band 'Seona Dancing' which is best described as a mash up of sound and imagery heavily influenced by the styles of David Bowie, Gary Numan and the Wham boys - George and Andrew. They had two singles which charted at their highest point at #79 on the UK Singles Chart, and as a result of that lacklustre performance the band split two years later. What the band did however, was give Gervais his first experiences of entertaining to a live audience, and in front of the camera. Following this Gervais spent the next fifteen years working in offices, including that of UK Radio Station 'XFM' where he met his future writing collaborator Stephen Merchant. In time he was made redundant from the radio station and he began playing the egotistical self-opinionated buffoon version of his own office self that eventually was pitched to the BBC. The rest is comedy history with the Gervais character David Brent of 'The Office' running for just twelve episodes from 2001 through until 2002 over two seasons, with two Christmas specials in 2003, and 'The Office Revisited' a short film for Comic Relief in 2013. The series has been widely acclaimed, the recipient of many awards and nominations, remade in numerous countries and sold to over 80 countries worldwide, and, it made a superstar of Ricky Gervais.

Now in 2016 that character of David Brent is back with a camera crew returning to Slough to hook-up with the former 'Wernham Hogg' Regional Manager, who has been demoted and now works for 'Lavichem' as a travelling salesman flogging cleaning materials and female sanitary products. Brent however, still craves musical stardom and so takes leave of absence from work on a self funded national tour with his band 'Foregone Conclusion' in the hope of realising his dream and all the trappings that come with rock & roll fame. Having to fund the tour out of his own pension fund because of minimal ticket sales and needing to pay his band members and crew, we learn that the intervening years after leaving Wernham Hogg have been less than kind to Brent as the following camera, dialogue and documentary spotlight will reveal as the tour progresses. Written, Produced, Directed and starring Ricky Gervais, here we see the now 55 year old man-child Brent in all his sad, hopeless, excruciating yet ever hopeful persona quite possibly for the last time.

'BEN-HUR' (Rated M) - this is fifth big screen adaptation of the 1880 source novel 'Ben-Hur : A Tale of the Christ' by Lew Wallace. First made in 1907 in the form of a fifteen minute film, it was remade in 1925 in an epic silent film, the classic William Wyler Directed epic of 1959 with Charlton Heston and an animated feature in 2003 starring the voice of Charlton Heston and made by his production company. And so for a whole new audience possibly unfamiliar with the source material or the earlier films, comes this US$100M production Directed by Timur Bekmambetov with Jack Huston playing Judah Ben-Hur - a Jewish Prince of Jerusalem who is falsely accused of treason by his long standing childhood friend and adoptive brother Messala (Toby Kebbell) - a Roman nobleman. Surviving slavery for five years under Roman rule, Ben-Hur swears revenge on Messala for betraying him and his family, and so is taken in by Sheik Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) who trains him to become a charioteer for a show-down in The Colosseum which will see the two arch-rivals battle it out to the death, but not before a number of life changing encounters with Jesus (Rodrigo Santoro). The film has so far taken US$22M and has received average reviews at best.

'RED BILLABONG' (Rated MA15+) - Aussie's know how to create good quality horror thrillers on a tight budget that look and feel way more expensive than they really were to produce, and it seems that in this latest offering to join the genre we have another such case in point. Written and Directed by first timer Luke Sparke, this tells the outback story of two estranged brothers Nick and Tristan Marshall (Dan Ewing and Tim Pocock respectively) who are called back to their grandfathers property when it is left to them following his death. It is Nick's first time back in ten years having left the family home where he grew up because of a scandal that he ran away from. Tristan is the younger brother who has an axe to grind against Nick for leaving in the first place, but when a development company offer big money for the property Tristan needs to reach out to Nick for advice and guidance. As the two brothers are forced together by these circumstances, so they are drawn apart by the choices they need to make and what they learn of the property they have inherited and all of its dark, sinister secrets. As close friends and acquaintances start to go missing, and there are strange goings on around them they learn more of what will change their lives forever - but is it all real, mythical legend, a simple story or elaborate hoax that is lurking out there and seemingly stalking them all?

'THE CARER' (Rated MA15+) - Hungarian Writer and Director Janos Edelenyi has created an acclaimed comedy drama centring around Sir Michael Gifford (Brian Cox) a noted Shakespearean Actor suffering from Parkinson's disease with just one desire - to be left in peace and to be left alone to see out his days. Meanwhile, Dorottya (Coco Konig) a young and beautiful Hungarian Actress refugee has one desire too - to make it big on the English stage. The two are brought together by Gifford's daughter Sophia (Emilia Fox) after various caregivers have failed, and she needs to find someone who will offer stability, empathy and genuine care to look after her father and attend to his daily requirements. Needless to say, you can guess I'm sure that the two will hit it off forging a strong relationship that benefits both parties based on their mutual love and respect for Shakespeare, whilst those on the sidelines looking in will feel threatened and alienated by the new kid on the block muscling in on a sick old man with a hidden agenda (probably!) A predictable story but one that has been lauded for its nuanced performances particularly from Brian Cox and newcomer Coco Konig, as well as its strong dialogue and noteworthy support cast that include Anna Chancellor, Karl Johnson and Roger Moore.

With four new reasons to get out amongst it this week to your local movie theatre, be sure that you do, and don't pass up on the chance to see any one of these or those other films on general release as Reviewed and Previewed at this Blog. Then, share your thoughts with your fellow readers. In the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'RED' : archive from 10th November 2010.

There is a lot to like about action comedy 'RED' - which I saw last night and very entertaining it is too. Directed by Robert Schwentke and based on a limited comic book series of the same name this film was made for US$58M and made US$200M and stars Bruce Willis (always at his best in these actioners); John Malkovich (hamming it up & loving it); Morgan Freeman (as steady as ever); Helen Mirren (always delightful and to see her taking a bullet and toting a machine gun is worth the ticket price alone); Brian Cox, Karl Urban, Richard Dreyfus and Ernest Borgnine - what an all star line up and great fun.

The 'RED' here is the shortening for 'Retired and Extremely Dangerous' and refers to former black-ops CIA Agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) who is now happily retired and living the quiet life in suburban Cleveland. Chatting over the phone, as he does often, to Customer Service Agent Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) at the Pension Office who issue his monthly pension cheque which he promptly rips up just so he can call Sarah and chat away the day, he is later that night raided by a six-man hit squad that Frank quickly dispenses with. Realising that his phone has been tapped he gets over to Kansas City to protect Sarah, but when she refuses to leave with the guy she has only ever spoken to on the phone, he binds and gags her and so becomes his reluctant companion. Needing to uncover who is tracking him down and why, he turns to his former associates for help, while back at the CIA HQ Agent William Cooper (Karl Urban) is instructed to hunt down Frank and kill him.

Frank then heads off to New Orleans to see his CIA Mentor Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman) living in a nursing home who advises the same hit squad that attacked Frank, took out a New York Times Reporter. So Frank and Sarah head to New York looking for clues where they come across a hit-list, but not before Cooper has arrived on the scene and bungles his attempt to get to Frank and secure the list, resulting in his (temporary) arrest. From there they get to Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) also a former black-ops CIA Agent and now retired, but a deeply paranoid conspiracy theorist.

Upon reading the list Boggs comes to the realisation that all those shown therein are linked to an earlier 1981 Guatemalan covert operation in which Frank and Marvin were involved. One on the list is still alive and so he is tracked down and before being gunned down from an above helicopter reveals that the mission in Guatemala involved the extraction of an important individual who is now the Vice President of the free world (Julian McMahon), but back then was involved in the massacre of village civilians.

Along the way there are further altercations with Cooper in which Frank is injured but manages to escape, they seek safe haven in the home of former assassin Victoria (Helen Mirren) who joins the quest, and they secure a meeting with an illegal arms dealer (Richard Dreyfus) whose name is not on the list but whom they believe is linked in some way that they have yet to uncover. At this point the house is surrounded by Cooper and his CIA henchmen who open fire, but in the confusion and the hail of bullets our RED Team escape courtesy of ex-Russian Secret Agent and former lover of Victoria (Brian Cox).

This all leads to a fundraiser for the Vice-President back in Chicago which the RED Team infiltrate and successfully manage to kidnap the Vice-President which Frank now wants to trade for Sarah who was taken captive by Cooper during in the firefight back at Victoria's house. As all the protagonists come together the body count rises as the Vice President is killed by the arms dealer who is killed by Frank leaving Cooper to clean things up as he agrees to let the RED guys walk free no further questions asked!

'RED 2' was released in 2013 and with a  bigger budget at US$84M grossed close to US$150M reuniting the same surviving cast and joined by Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Thewlis, Tim Pigott-Smith and Neal McDonough. 'RED 3' is apparently in the works.

I really enjoyed this mash up of tongue in cheek humour and action, and commend you to see this if you haven't already, and on a dark cold wet evening sit in the comfort of your own lounge and watch 'RED 1 & 2' back to back - you won't be disappointed as the oldies kick-ass, and Mirren exhibits bad-ass sass! Great fun!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES : archive from 16th August 2011.

The image of Charlton Heston peering up at the half buried Statue of Liberty poking out of the sand, in the closing minute of the 1968 'Planet of the Apes' film would rank as one of the most iconic images in film history. Anyone who has seen this film nearly always refers to that one scene when Heston's character - George Taylor comes to the realisation that he is in fact on planet Earth at some undisclosed future date and there is every chance that he is stuck there with little or no way of getting back to his own world. This film spawned a movie franchise, a spin off television series, an attempted reboot courtesy of Tim Burton in 2001, and now a whole new imagining in 2011 - 43 years after Heston's future world offering.

And so, with great expectation and eager anticipation, I saw 'RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' last night. I have to say that this is powerful and respectable retelling of the classic 60's novel that has had so many big and small screen treatments go before it. But here, once again, we have a whole new audience who will know very little about that rich back catalogue, hence this new updated take. This origin story Directed by Rupert Wyatt, sets the tone for a new franchise updated for 2011 from the Apes perspective.

Here we have an ape - Caesar (Andy Serkis yet again proving he is the king of mo-cap and the king of the apes!) that is being raised in largely domestic surroundings in a San Francisco suburb by scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) who works for biotechnology company 'Gen-Sys'. Caesar's mother was killed in the lab some years earlier while being tested upon for a cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's using an experimental viral drug known as ALZ-112. The 112 virus was passed genetically onto Caesar who now growing, is showing increasing signs of intelligence and human-like ability.

Various events unfold that lead to Caesar being locked up in a shelter with other chimps where he is treated cruelly by the keeper, and the other chimps. But Caesar is no ordinary monkey and he learns quickly to break free from his cage, gain access to a common area and overcome the alpha male chimp. At the same time 'Gen-Sys' has taken the drug to the next level with ALZ-113 now in a gaseous form and ready for testing. Rodman takes several canisters home for intended use on his dying father in a last ditch attempt to save him from the ravages of age, cancer and Alzheimer's, and, is able also to have Caesar released with the intention of taking him home too, but Caesar escapes, gets there first, steals a number of the drug canisters and makes off.

The now motivated Caesar returns to the lock-up and sprays the other chimps and apes with ALZ-113 so enhancing their cognitive and intellectual powers overnight. They then escape releasing all from that compound and do likewise with all the simian inmates at San Francisco Zoo too. The set piece of the films is staged on the Golden Gate Bridge as ape and human armies collide with the police forces attempting to halt the apes path to the forested San Francisco hinterland. The apes however, having grown strong physically, in numbers, in their determination and in their motivation overcome the human barricade and flee to the hills but not before a path of destruction has been left in their wake.

As the film draws to a close we see and hear Caesar utter his first human words to Rodman who has given chase in an attempt to warn his ape friend that the humans will hunt them and kill them without mercy, and that Caesar should return home - to which Caesar replies 'Caesar is home!'. As the credits roll we see the neighbour of Rodman leave for work as an airline pilot. He was previously infected by the new ANZ-113 drug that has adverse effects on humans but not on apes. As he arrives at San Francisco International Airport for his flight to Paris, his nose drips blood onto the ground. The closing graphic shows the spread of the virus rapidly across the world via airline travel, and the consequences this will have on the future of humanity, and the rise of the apes!

Disturbing in some ways but compelling viewing & well executed in many others. James Franco, John Lithgow (as Charles Rodman - Will's father and tester of ALZ-112), Brian Cox (as John Landon - the manager of the primate shelter where Caesar finds himself holed up for a while) and David Oyelowo (as Rodman's boss at 'Gen-Sys') all do well, but Andy Serkis steals the show with his powerful take on Caesar, laced with solid storyline that comes to this updated telling with a fresh approach and the latest technology to take the series to the next level. Recommended viewing, and you can now catch 2014's 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' and watch the two back to back! 'Rise' was made for US$93M and grossed US$482M which when coupled with 'Dawn' at a US$709M take, make for a very successful franchise so far!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-