CREED II : Tuesday 4th December 2018.

I saw 'CREED II' earlier this week, and this sports drama film probably needs little introduction. After all it is the sequel to 2015's highly acclaimed 'Creed' film as Directed and Written by Ryan Coogler and Co-Produced and starring Sylvester Stallone in his seventh turn as our titular pugilist hero Rocky Balboa. That film cost US$40M to make, grossed US$174M and picked up a whole slew of awards and nominations along the way. Now the team reunite for 'Creed II' the eighth film in the 'Rocky' franchise, but this time Directing duties are given over to Steven Caple Jnr. in only his second feature film outing as Director. Ryan Coogler takes an Executive Producer credit and Sylvester Stallone takes on the role once more as Rocky Balboa, Co-Wrote the Screenplay and also Co-Produces. Released in the US on 21st November, the film has so far recovered US$100M from its US$50M Budget investment, and has generated generally positive Reviews.

The film opens up somewhere in a drab and dreary Ukraine. It is early morning, and woken up from his slumber on the sofa is Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). The man who did the wake up call is his father Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) as he looks out of his apartment window on to the grey city scape before him. We then cut to Las Vegas and a bout at the MGM Grand involving Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and Danny 'Stuntman' Wheeler (Andre Ward) for the WBC (World Boxing Council) World Heavyweight Championship title. His trainer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) gives Adonis a final pep talk, before his girlfriend Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson) has the final word. Needless to say Adonis wins the title and is crowned World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

With his new found fame, Adonis decides to propose marriage to Bianca, which she accepts. Bianca later suggests to Adonis that they move away from Philadelphia and return to Los Angeles where she can concentrate on her escalating singing career, and he can still train and be based there. However, Philadelphia has been good to him, he is established, is known, and furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, Rocky lives there, and there is a great sense of loyalty between the pair.

In the meantime, Ivan Drago, a former Russian boxer who killed Adonis's father, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers seen in flashback), in the ring thirty-three years earlier, sees a chance to regain the glory that was taken from him as a result of his loss to Rocky Balboa in Moscow later that same year by pitting his son, Viktor Drago, against Adonis. Boxing Promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby) has been maintaining a watchful eye on Viktor's progress in the ring in recent times, and when he feels that Viktor is ready, he pitches the idea to both sides.

Ivan and Viktor both arrive in Philadelphia even though the bout has not yet been agreed to. Ivan visits Rocky in his restaurant one evening unannounced. The pair eye off against each other for the first time in more than thirty years. Ivan says that he returned to Russia a broken man after his fight in which he lost to Rocky, and that Russia turned its back on him. He has nothing . . . . except his son now. Ivan goads Rocky by saying that his son Viktor will break his boy. When Adonis mentions the idea to Rocky, he refuses to support the notion, and says that he'll be going into the ring without him therefore. Feeling betrayed and dejected, Adonis leaves with Bianca for LA where they take out a luxurious apartment overlooking the city skyline, and close to Apollo's widow and Adonis' adoptive mother Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad).

The day of the bout with Drago is quickly upon them. Adonis has been training in LA with Tony 'Little Duke' Evers (Wood Harris), the son of Apollo's, and later Rocky's, trainer. Bianca meanwhile has announced that she is pregnant. With so much going on his life - marriage proposal, baby on the way, recently relocated to LA, newly crowned World Champ, new trainer, no Rocky - Adonis rushes into his world title defence bout with Drago.

Drago is clearly the far superior Boxer, in terms of his height, weight, reach, strength and build. Adonis is ill prepared and comes off worse, and badly injured as well. Maintaining a bedside vigil, Bianca and Little Duke receive news that the Boxing Governing Body has upheld the decision to disqualify Drago for punching Adonis while he was still down, so allowing the World Champ to still retain his crown. Viktor and Ivan return to Russia where their popularity soon grows on a wave of national support.

Afters several weeks of recuperation in hospital Adonis is released with a frenzy of the media in waiting. Back at his apartment over the following weeks and months he becomes increasingly distant from Bianca. His body is still hurting, his confidence has taken a blow, and his mind is on other things. Mary Anne reaches out to Rocky in the hope that with his support and advice he will pull through his personal crisis. Rocky arrives at Mary Anne's palatial house, and waits for Adonis to arrive expecting to meet with his mother. Instead the pair say a few candid words to each other and make up their differences. Rocky agrees to train Adonis in preparation for a rematch with Drago which the Boxing Governing Body are putting pressure on Adonis to name an opponent or forfeit his title, due to the time that has now lapsed between world title contests.

Meanwhile back in Russia at a grand dinner at which Viktor and Ivan are the centre of attention by the gathered guests and dignitaries, in waltzes Ludmilla Drago (Brigitte Neilsen), the former wife of Ivan and mother to Viktor, who deserted them both soon after Ivan's loss to Rocky. Viktor can hardly contain himself out of anger towards seeing his mother all proud, glamorous and clearly well off while they have nothing. He walks out of the dinner quickly followed by Ivan, much to the chagrin of the other guests. Meanwhile back in LA Bianca has given birth to a girl, whom they name Amara.

Viktor continues to goad Adonis, while Ivan puts his son through a relative pedestrian albeit fairly brutal training regime. Rocky, on the other hand, drives Adonis out to the middle of the Californian desert to a run down dust bowl of an outdoor gym with makeshift equipment and a boxing ring. Rocky tells Adonis, that it is a place where fighters come to be 'reborn'.

What follows is the obligatory training montage that sees Adonis beating the sand and the dust with a sledgehammer with all his might, running to keep up with Rocky driving the car ahead, getting pummelled to the stomach with a medicine ball, strengthening his neck by lifting weights with his head, shadow boxing with the camp fire at dusk and sparring with an opponent in the ring with each man having to maintain a foot inside a tyre. This brutal regime goes on for seemingly a few weeks, but eventually Adonis has got his mojo back, he's in great shape and ready for the fight of his life (predictably).

The rematch is staged in Moscow, amidst all the glitz and glamour that Russia can muster and in front of a capacity crowd all cheering on Drago. Early on Adonis, in a more controlled and focused manner that his first bout against Drago, is on an equal footing with the Russian, exchanging blows one for one. Drago wins the second round by punches landed and the number of times Adonis falls to the mat.

And so it continues, into Rounds three, four, five and six. Drago has always won his fights by a knock out early on, and so is unaccustomed to going the distance with a worthy adversary, and someone who can take a pummelling and still keep coming back. A fact that Adonis plays to his advantage. In Round 10, after being floored again, Adonis gets mightily pissed off at himself and barely rising up off the mat musters the strength and the inner rage to let his punches rain down on Drago, sending him to the mat twice.

Ludmilla, who had been sitting ringside with other supporters of Viktor, departs when the fortunes of this title bout start leaning very much in Adonis' favour. Viktor sees this and is caught off-balance emotionally. Ivan also noted her prompt departure, but has now seemingly reconciled the fair-weathered nature of those supporters who had run Ivan out of Russia originally thirty years before. With Viktor cornered and Adonis landing multiple strikes without any retaliation by his opponent, Rocky watches in disbelief as Ivan steadily inches his way to where his son is cornered and throws in the towel, conceding the fight to Adonis to ensure his son isn’t seriously injured or worse.

Though Viktor is ashamed by his defeat, Ivan embraces his son motioning that it's OK that he lost and that he put up an admirable fight. Bianca, also watching from a ringside seat enters the ring to celebrate with Adonis who motions for Rocky to join them. Rocky stops himself from joining the celebrations telling Adonis that it is 'his time' and so he takes a seat and watches them from outside the ring. Sometime after the fight and back in LA, Adonis visits the gravesite of his father to make peace with him and for carrying the heavy burden of his legacy. Ivan and Viktor are seen jogging through the streets back in Ukraine. Rocky visits his estranged son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia) in Vancouver and meets with his young grandson Logan, for the first time. 

For the eighth film in the 'Rocky' franchise this instalment is light on genuine surprises and follows a tried and tested, and predictable, formula. Champion Boxer has crisis of confidence, check; has inner demons he must overcome, check; gets beaten up, loses and has a rematch, check; must face off against a formidable opponent against the odds, check; undergoes a brutal training regime seen in montage, check; goes the full ten rounds in the World Title fight despite being battered, bruised, bloody and broken, check; slo-mo body and facial blows, check; but wins the day and is victorious, check; and the principle characters all have their own little side story to deal with along the way too, check! Despite the predictable formulaic nature of this franchise as described, it is nonetheless a well executed sequel to 'Creed' that has strong performances from Jordan and Stallone once more especially, the fight scenes are well choreographed and excitingly shot from a myriad of angles, and the film has heart and conviction that invests you in the characters, their lives, challenges, triumphs and emotions. Certainly worth the price of your ticket.

'Creed II' warrants 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 29th November 2018.

The tenth annual AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) Governors Awards were presented in a scaled back presentation ceremony on Sunday 18th November out of respect for those that perished, are still missing, were injured and/or lost their homes in the recent devastating Californian wild fires. Held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Centre in Hollywood, the event was nonetheless attended by a Who's Who of the film industry who amassed for the presentation of the three Honorary Oscars and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

The three Honorary Oscars were presented to :
* Cicely Tyson, Actress. At 93 years of age, Cicely Tyson has 91 Acting credits to her name gained over a career spanning seven decades, and still going strong.
* Lalo Schifrin, Film Composer. This Argentinian born composer has written the soundtrack to over 130 film and television shows since starting out his career in the early '60's.
* Martin Levy, Publicist. For getting films out there, known and recognised by the film going public, the Critics and the people that matter. Levy has worked with Director Steven Spielberg for forty years.

The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award was presented to :
* Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, Film Producers. In 1981, Kennedy co-founded the production company Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and future husband Frank Marshall whom she married in 1987. In 1992, she co-founded The Kennedy/Marshall Company with her husband Frank Marshall, and in 2012, she became the President of Lucasfilm after The Walt Disney Company acquired the company for over US$4B. Earlier this year, her contract was renewed for three more years.

Turning attention to this weeks four latest releases movies coming to an Odeon near you, we kick off with a pugilists eye view of one of the greatest boxing rematches in sports movie history set 33 years after that initial bout cost a champion his life. Now his son is back in the ring determined to make amends and settle the score with an age old foe, and his son in turn. Next up is a French film about how a small peaceful yet struggling farming community is given an opportunity to take part in a photo shoot . . . with a difference! We then turn to a no holds barred offering from an acclaimed documentarian exploring what it must be like to live in a relationship with more than one partner, as seen from the perspective of one American city where such behaviour is becoming increasingly commonplace. Wrapping up the week and just ahead of the Christmas rush, is a CGI animated feature about a children's favourite character and how he intends to steal Christmas and all the good cheer that goes with it.

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

'CREED II' (Rated M) - this sports drama film probably needs little introduction. After all it is the sequel to 2015 highly acclaimed 'Creed' film as Directed and Written by Ryan Coogler and Co-Produced and starring Sylvester Stallone in his seventh turn as our titular pugilist hero Rocky Balboa. That film cost US$40M to make, grossed US$174M and picked up a whole slew of awards and nominations along the way. Now the team reunite for 'Creed II' the eighth film in the 'Rocky' franchise, but this time Directing duties are given over to Steven Caple Jnr. in only his second feature film outing as Director. Ryan Coogler takes an Executive Producer credit and Sylvester Stallone takes on the role once more as Rocky Balboa, Co-Wrote the Screenplay and also Co-Produces.

Back in 1985, in 'Rocky IV', the Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) killed former heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) during an exhibition match in Las Vegas. Later that year, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) defeated Ivan Drago at a match on Christmas Day in the Soviet Union. Now 33 years later, Apollo Creed's son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), with Rocky's training, advice and guidance, seeks to avenge his father's death by fighting Drago's son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) while at the same time, Ivan hopes to avenge his honour through Viktor. Also starring Tessa Thompson, Brigitte Neilsen, Phylicia Rashad, Evander Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard and various other personalities from the boxing fraternity to add authenticity. The film was released in the US last week, cost US$50M to Produce, has so far recovered US$59M and has received generally positive Reviews from Critics.

'NORMANDY NUDE' (Rated M) - this French foreign language offering is Directed by Philippe Le Guay who also Co-Wrote the Screenplay based on his own original idea. Here the peaceful, quiet and very rural farming community town of Le Mele-sur-Sarthe, in Normandy, France is experiencing a crisis. Dairy and livestock prices have fallen through the floor because of cheap imports, and the local farmers are being threatened by the banks to deliver on their debts or face foreclosure. The Mayor Georges Balbuzard (Francois Cluzet) is doing his utmost to thwart the banks and raise awareness of their collective plight. But the media is hardly interested in such a small community. Until that is, a world famous photographer, Newman (Toby Jones) happens to stumble through the village and spies the perfect backdrop for his next shoot. Seeing a rare opportunity, Balbuzard needs to convince his fellow villagers, all two hundred or so of them, to unite for the purposes of a photograph. But, there is of course more to this simple photo than meets the eye, and the well intentioned Mayor will have some convincing to do to persuade the locals to participate en masse.

'LOUIS THEROUX : LOVE WITHOUT LIMITS' (Rated M) - acclaimed documentary Writer and Producer Louis Theroux travels to Portland, Oregon, which sits pretty much at the heart of a campaign seeking to re-write the rule book in terms of how we conduct intimate relationships and manage family life. For Portland, whose city motto is Keep Portland Weird, is seen as the US capital of polyamory and ethical non-monogamy - the practice of clearly and openly having multiple relationships that stretch beyond just sex. Louis entrenches himself with families who have committed to open up their relationships in a number of different ways; whether inviting others into existing relationships or allowing partners to seek romance with others. He discovers that for many, more partners means more love and more happiness, while for some, multiple relationships have led to jealousy, upset and broken hearts. This is the first part of a trio of documentary films under the banner of 'Altered States' and gets a limited theatrical release in Australia this week.

'THE GRINCH' (Rated G) - here we have those people at Illumination Animation bringing us this Christmas computer animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss 1957 book 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' that was also made into a live action film in 2000 with Jim Carrey in the lead role. Directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney here the story surrounds The Grinch (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) and his loyal dog, Max, who live a solitary life inside a cave on Mount Crumpet. The Grinch's main source of displeasure unfolds over the Christmas period when the good people of Whoville celebrate the holidays in style. When young Cindy Lou Who and her mother Donna Lou Who (Cameron Seely and Rashida Jones respectively) decide to make this Christmas bigger and brighter than any that have gone before, the disgruntled Grinch hatches a plan to rain on their parade and gain some peace and quiet. With help from his trusted canine friend Max, the grumpy green Grinch dreams up a scheme to pose as Santa Claus, steal the Christmas gifts and silence the Whos' holiday cheer once and for all. Also starring Angela Lansbury and Pharrell Williams as the Narrator, this film cost US$75M to make, has so far grossed US$218M since its release in the US on 9th of this month, and has generated largely average Reviews so far.

With four new release films 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-