Birthday's to share this week : 8th-14th May 2016

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Domhnall Gleeson does on 12th May - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 33, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 8th May

• David Attenborough - Born 1926, turns 90 - Television Personality | Writer | Producer | Conservationist
• Michel Gondry - Born 1963, turns 53 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Melissa Gilbert - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress

Monday 9th May

• Glenda Jackson - Born 1936, turns 80 - Actress | Politician
• Candice Bergen - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress | Producer
• Rosario Dawson - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress | Producer
• Albert Finney - Born 1936, turns 80 - Actor | Producer
• James L. Brooks - Born 1940, turns 76 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Allan Bennett - Born 1934, turns 82 - Writer | Producer | Actor  

Tuesday 10th May

• Bono - Born 1960, turns 56 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Producer | Actor
• Maureen Lipman - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress
• Meg Foster - Born 1948, turns 68 - Actress  

Wednesday 11th May

• Holly Valance - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actress
• Frances Fisher - Born 1952, turns 64 - Actress
• Tim Blake Nelson - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director  

Thursday 12th May

• Gavin Hood - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Jason Biggs - Born 1978, turns 38 - Actor | Producer
• Domhnall Gleeson - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actor | Writer
• Emilio Estevez - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Gabriel Byrne - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Stephen Baldwin - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Ving Rhames - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Producer
• Emily VanCamp - Born 1986, turns 30 - Actress  

Friday 13th May

• Zoe Wanamaker - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actress
• Robert Pattinson - Born 1986, turns 30 - Actor | Producer
• Harvey Keitel - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor | Producer
• Joe Johnston - Born 1950, turns 66 - Director | Producer
• Tim Pigott-Smith - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actor
• Stephen Colbert - Born 1964, turns 52 - Television Personality | Writer | Producer | Actor  

Saturday 14th May

• Tim Roth - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Director
• George Lucas - Born 1944, turns 72 - Writer | Producer | Director | Editor
• Robert Zemeckis - Born 1952, turns 64 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Danny Huston - born 1962, turns 54 - Actor | Director
• Cate Blanchett - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Sofia Coppola - Born 1971, turns 45 - Writer | Producer | Director | Actress

Domhnall Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, to mother Mary Weldon and Actor father Brendan Gleeson. He is the eldest of four sons - the others being Fergus, Ruairi and Brian, also an Actor. He attended Malahide Community School - a co-educational school located in Malahide, County Dublin and subsequently graduated from the Dublin Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media Arts.

After graduating Gleeson started to Write and Direct screenplays for films and plays for the stage. In 2001 he gained his small screen debut in the mini-series 'Rebel Heart' - the story of Ireland moving towards independence following the Easter Uprising of 1916 through to Civil War in 1922. Next up he gained a part in the short film 'Six Shooter' which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. His feature length debut came in 2005 with a small part in teen zombie comedy horror 'Boys Eats Girl'. That same year he appeared in three episodes of the Irish television series 'The Last Furlong', with 'Studs' a year later in which Gleeson Jnr. starred for the first time with Gleeson Snr.

He then spent a couple of years treading the boards in a Charles Dickens adaptation of 'Great Expectations' at Dublin's 'The Gate Theatre', and 'American Buffalo' at the same playhouse that year. Gleeson also starred in the Broadway play 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' for which he received a Tony Award nomination. In 2008 he starred with Jeff Bridges in television movie 'A Dog Year' and also 'Perrier's Bounty' - a Dublin set crime thriller starring Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Gabriel Byrne and Jim Broadbent.

After comedy sketch show in which Gleeson played various roles over six episodes on 'Your Bad Self', there came 'Never Let Me Go' written for the screen by Alex Garland, Directed by Mark Romanek, and starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Charlotte Rampling.  Whilst the film failed to recover its budget outlay, it was hailed a critical success. That same year came the chance to work with the Coen Brothers on 'True Grit' with Jeff Bridges once again and Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, J.K.Simmons, Barry Pepper and the young Haileee Steinfeld. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, eight BAFTA's and two SAG Awards. Also in 2010, was 'Sensation' and his first outing as Bill Weasley in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1' with 'Pt. 2' following up a year later.

Sci-Fi actioner 'Dredd' followed in 2012 with Karl Urban in the title role as the judge, jury and executioner based on the comic book 'Judge Dredd'. This was followed up by polar opposite 'Anna Karenina' as Directed by Joe Wright with Jude Law, Keira Knightly once again, Alicia Vikander and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The film won an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Costume Design and a further 27 wins and 52 other nominations. 'Shadow Dancer' was up next with James Marsh at the helm and starring Clive Owen, Gillian Anderson and Andrea Riseborough in this early 90's Belfast set drama.

The Romantic dramedy 'About Time' followed in 2013 as Directed by Richard Curtis with Bill Nighy, Rachael McAdams and Margot Robbie. It made US$87M off its US$12M budget.

In 2014 there was 'Frank' with Michael Fassbender, Scoot McNairy and Maggie Gyllenhaal, then 'Calvary' with Brendan Gleeson again, Chris O'Dowd, Dylan Moran, Aidan Gillan and Kelly Reilly. War time survival story 'Unbroken' for Director/Producer Angelina Jolie followed starring Jack O'Connell, Jai Courtney and Garret Hedlund. The film was a critical and commercial success bringing in US$163M and picking up thirteen award wins and 27 other nominations from around the circuit.

2015 saw 'Ex-Machina' for Director Alex Garland with Alicia Vikander again and Oscar Isaac, with 'Brooklyn' and Saoirse Ronan, Jim Broadbent once more and Julie Walters.  Next up came the much hyped and eagerly awaited 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' in which Gleeson starred as General Hux - the ruthless First Order Starkiller Base Commander - hugely successful that really needs nothing else said about it! And then there was this years 'The Revenant' with Leonard DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Will Poulter for Director Alejandro G. Inarritu - also hugely successful more critically than commercially but still bringing in a very tidy US$527M in Box Office receipts so far before even hitting the home entertainment market which it does from later this month.


Next up for Gleeson is 'Crash Pad' due later this year with Christina Applegate and Thomas Haden Church, 'Mena' in post-production for 2017 with Tom Cruise and Jesse Plemmons as Directed by Doug Liman, 'A Futile and Stupid Gesture' with Seth Green and Will Forte currently filming and 'Star Wars : Episode VIII' also filming.







All up Gleeson has 35 acting credits, five award wins and another nine nominations. In 2015 every film he appeared in received multiple Academy Award nominations, and he has appeared in three films nominated for Best Picture - 'True Grit', 'Brooklyn' and 'The Revenant'.  With his father and brother Brian he co-founded the 'Immaturity for Charity' sketches which the three star in to raise funds for St. Francis Hospice in Dublin.

Domhnall Gleeson - like father like son; Director and Writer of several short films; you could say almost Irish royalty; and clearly increasingly sought after with an impressive recent track record and more great stuff in the pipeline - Happy 33rd Birthday Domhnall from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th February 2016.

This year the 69th annual British Academy Film Awards presented by BAFTA will be held on Sunday evening 14th February at the Royal Opera House in London and hosted once again by Stephen Fry. Recognising the best in film performance and production the main contenders in the top categories are : Best Film - 'The Big Short', 'Carol', 'Spotlight', 'The Revenant' and 'Bridge of Spies'. Best Direction  - Adam McKay, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Todd Haynes and Alejandro Inarritu.  Best Actor - Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Eddie Redmayne, Bryan Cranston and Michael Fassbender.  Best Actress - Maggie Smith, Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander and Saoirse Ronan. Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, Idris Elba, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Rylance and Benicio del Toro. Best Supporting Actress - Kate Winslet, Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara, Julie Walters and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Of course there are a whole bunch of other Awards that take in all the usual categories - Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Costume Design, Hair & Make-up, Editing, Animated Film, British Film etc. 'Bridge of Spies' and 'Carol' each have nine nominations - the most this year, 'The Revenant' has eight, 'Mad Max : Fury Road' has seven, 'Brooklyn' and 'The Martian' have six, 'The Danish Girl', 'Ex Machina' and 'The Big Short' each carry five, and 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' has four. You can see more at www.bafta.org and, you can read the Reviews of most of these within this Blog. Good luck, best wishes and well done to all nominees.

And so what of this weeks latest release movies, of which one is released in Australia this week just in time for the aforementioned BAFTA and Academy Awards and tells the story of a young Irish migrant woman venturing forth to New York in search of a new life; then there is a haute couture spoof sequel that has been sixteen years in the making and reuniting that comedy classic cohort staring down right at you; followed up with the first Marvel offering of 2016 with the first feature dedicated to this character even though we have seen him before; and finally to tantalise your tastebuds there is a story of food, food and more food and a certain world renowned Chef's obsession with it!

A diverse mix of films to choose from in the coming week with plenty of great offerings still on general release and as either Reviewed or Previewed between these humble Blog Posts.  Remember to share your views and don't be backward in coming forward with your opinions of your film experience by sharing a Comment below this or any Post. Enjoy your movie this week.

DEADPOOL (Rated MA15+) - this is the next instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will also see 'X-Men : Apocalypse' later this year and another 'Captain America' instalment. This is not the first time we have seen 'Deadpool' on the big screen, with the character making his first appearance in 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine' in 2009 when Ryan Reynolds portrayed this character back then too. Development of this first film kicked off way back in 2004 passing through several Studios and Writers along the way, although Tim Miller was hired to Direct in 2011 with filming starting in Canada in early 2015. Reynolds had always wanted to play the character of Wade Wilson/Deadpool since 2003, and stated that this adaptation of the Superhero character would be more authentic than the role he portrayed in the earlier 2009 'Wolverine' outing.

And so Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a special forces operative who  undergoes an experimental regenerative operation to cure his cancer. Things don't go quite according to plan and as result he is left badly scarred with disfigured skin and with borderline insanity, a dark twisted sense of humour,  but with the ability to heal himself . . . and quickly. Armed with new abilities and a new identity, Wilson goes on the hunt for the man who almost destroyed his life. Ed Skrein stars as Francis/Ajax, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Stefan Kapicic as Peter Rasputin/Colossus, T.J.Miller as Weasel, Morena Baccarin as Wilson's girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle, and watch out for the trademark Stan Lee cameo.

BROOKLYN (Rated M) - another Academy Award nominated film in the race for three golden statues - Best Actress, Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Colm Toibin. Premiered at Sundance in early 2015, the film was released in the UK and US in early November , with its Australian release this week just days before the BAFTA's for which it is nominated for six Awards and the Oscar's two weeks later. Directed by John Crowley and starring Saoirse Ronan as Eilis Lacey - a young Irish woman who relocates herself to 1950's Brooklyn in the hope of finding a better life. She quickly falls for local lad Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen) and begins to feel more settled in her new home town until the day comes when she must choose between the two countries and the two lives that have become intertwined. Also starring Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters and nominated for six BAFTA's, three Academy Awards, and has won 23 accolades already with another 109 nominations.

2OOLANDER (Rated M) - in 2001 Ben Stiller introduced the world to his creation of Derek Zoolander in a satire of the fashion industry that he wrote, Directed, Produced and starred in for US$28M that he turned into US$61M. Having created a comedy cult character it was almost inevitable that a follow up would eventuate, and so here 15 years later is the follow up that he also wrote, Directed, Produced and stars in, with his stablemates from that earlier film - Hansel (Owen Wilson), Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell), Matilda Jeffries (Christina Taylor) and a few others. This instalment centres around the 'worlds most beautiful people' being systematically assassinated  all wearing Derek's famed 'Blue Steel' look as their death mask. Needing to bring the arch criminals behind the killings to justice, Derek and Hansel are  put on the case by Interpol, but in the meantime  Mugatu is released from jail and is after Derek now and seeking revenge. Also starring Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Kanye West, Benedict Cumberbatch and a host of cameo's including Sting, Billy Zane, Justin Bieber and others. If this is anywhere near as good as the first, then it will be hit for sure.

NOMA : MY PERFECT STORM (Rated M) - if you consider yourself a foodie, a gourmand, a lover of food porn and a follower of gastronomy then this is the film of the week for you! Voted Best Restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, Rene Redzepi's famed Copenhagen eatery 'Noma' barely knows no equal. This documentary film charts Redzepi's journey from humble beginnings to rise to the very top of the food chain as Chef and joint owner of this restaurant -  voted the world's best four times and to which people will travel from the world over to dine at. Charting the story of what drives the man to extraordinary lengths of culinary excellence, his determination, his vision, his sacrifices and what it takes to reach the very pinnacle of fine dining . . . and stay there! Directed by Pierre Deschamps, starring the great Chef, his kitchen brigade and some great food!

Four very different films to tempt you out to a movie theatre in the week ahead. When you have dined out on your movie of choice remember to drop us a line and share your experience - we'd love to hear from you! In the meantime, see you at the Odeon!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-