CRISIS : Tuesday 30th March 2021.

'CRISIS', which I saw at my local multiplex this week, is an MA15+ Rated crime thriller Directed, Produced, Written and also starring Nicholas Jarecki in only his second feature film making outing following 2012's 'Arbitrage' with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth. The film was released in the US in late February, and in Canada and Australia two weeks ago now, having gained mixed or average Reviews along the way. Featuring an ensemble cast that takes in the likes of Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Lily-Rose Depp, Indira Varma, Kid Cudi and Martin Donovan the film has so far grossed US$986K at the Box Office. 

And so the film opens up with an action sequence that sees a white clad camouflaged drug runner pulling a makeshift sleigh thorough a forest and in the snow only to be ambushed and subsequently arrested by Police in a helicopter and on snowmobiles while trying to smuggle Fentanyl across an unpatrolled stretch of the Canadian border, about forty miles south of Montreal.

Meanwhile, back in Detroit, following the arrest, Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer) goes into damage control with a pair of Armenian gangster associates Minas (Michael Aronov) and Armen (Adam Tsekhman). He then risks blowing his cover to visit his drug addled younger sister Emmie (Lily-Rose Depp) seemingly recovering in a rehab facility, but largely non compos mentis. Kelly, who we subsequently learn is in fact an undercover DEA Officer, holds a briefing with his colleagues to bring them up to speed with his operations, which he has been working on for over a year now to infiltrate the Armenian's and gain their confidence that he is on the level. 

While this is going on the second story strand launches with architect Claire Reimann (Evangeline Lilly) attending a drug users survivors meeting recounting her former acute addiction to OxyContin, without realising just how close to home the trade has become in illicit drugs when her sixteen year old mad sports keen fan son David (Billy Bryk) goes missing, and winds up very dead seemingly overdosed on OxyContin. 

The third strand unravels in the hallowed halls of a university campus where charismatic professor of biology Dr. Tyrone Brower (Gary Oldman) teaches a captivated lecture theatre, but may be about to compromise his integrity in his lab by conducting drug trials directly sponsored for the last seven years by a major pharmaceutical company. When Brower’s lab assistants come to the realisation that a new wonder drug, Klaralon, is three times more addictive than other painkillers on mice (and fatal when taken to excess, although claimed to be non-addictive), he’s torn by what to do with this revelation. 

Enter Big Pharma Executive Dr. Bill Simmons (Luke Evans) to offer Brower’s department a US$780K grant in exchange for enhanced nondisclosure terms, updating and making even more watertight those signed seven years previously. But then the Principal of the University, Dean Talbot (Greg Kinnear) basically intervenes and tells him not to worry about the results on the mice, to sign the non-disclosure statement and take the much needed funding to enable Brower to continue with his research. This turn of events puts Brower in an even greater quandary.

In the meantime, Jake Kelly and his DEA partner Stanley Foster (Nicholas Jerecki) are under pressure to bring their undercover operation to a close within the next two weeks, otherwise it will be shut down. Kelly has a meeting with Supervisor Garrett (Michelle Rodriguez) at which this news is broken. Kelly arranges a meeting with the drug smuggling kingpin, known only as Mother (Guy Nadon) in an attempt to fast track a US$3M cash trade for two truck loads of Fentanyl, hidden inside vitamin bottles. Mother is initially reluctant, but ultimately agrees to the manufacture of the drug in the volume required and the sale of it to Kelly. 

At the same time, Claire Reimann is recovering from the tragic loss of her son, smells a rat as a result of the autopsy revealing a substantial bruise to his head, and the manner in which he died. She starts to do some of her own digging, which leads her to Derrick Millebran (Duke Nicholson), a former at arms length associate of her son, where it is revealed that David didn't even know he was acting as a mule for a stash of Fentanyl that he was carrying in his back pack while cycling home. He was poisoned by Mother by forcing on overdose of the drug down his throat.

Brower, after wrestling with his conscience decides to expose the pharmaceutical company to the FDA as a Whistleblower. Talbot and he have a falling out, with the Principal saying that such tests on mice are deemed inconclusive anyway, and as the pharmaceutical were in the final stages of human trials anyway it really didn't matter. Needless to say, the University and the big pharma company begin dredging up dirt on Brower to discredit him which ultimately costs him his job and his twenty plus year friendship with Dean Talbot. Brower's wife Madira (Indira Varma) is however, very supportive of her husband and remains stoic throughout. After his dismissal from the university, he is attending the FDA hearing with his contact their Ben Walker (Kid Cudi) where basically his findings are dismissed, he is not permitted to speak to give his viewpoint, Klaralon is passed and authorised for public use, Walker is 'reassigned', and the big pharma company walks away with all the spoils, overseen by Dr. Bill Simmons, Meg Holmes the CEO of the company (Veronica Ferres) and the two owner brothers of the company Lawrence (Martin Donovan) and Harold Morgan (Marcel Jeannin).   

Reimann has in between time hired a Private Investigator to do some digging on Mother (bacause as an ordinary citizen she wouldn't have access to the type of intelligence that a PI would of course), and at the same time provide her with a gun, as it has become blatantly obvious that she intends to kill the man responsible for her sons death. Kelly has set up the deal with Mother for him to manufacture the pills, bottle and label them in vitamin canisters, in exchange for US$3M - US$1M of which he has been authorised by Garrett to use, with the other US$2M coming from his Armenian contacts Minas and Armen. A time is set for the exchange in an abandoned warehouse with Stanley Foster in a surveillance truck on standby with the cavalry waiting in the wings poised ready to pounce given the signal. But of course these things never go according to plan and a firefight breaks out with Kelly getting shot cleanly in the chest by Mother who then makes his escape. In the firefight, Kelly recovers having been wearing a bullet proof vest of course, but Foster is shot in the neck, bleeds out and dies in Kelly's arms. Kelly gives chase to Mother but he is gone having been whisked away in a car. 

The PI calls Reimann on her mobile phone and informs her that Mother owns a seaplane that is kept down at the docks, and in all likelihood he'll be headed for there to make his getaway. Kelly meanwhile, sits in front of his Chief with Garrett to be told that the case is now being closed down. Needless to say he in none to pleased at this prospect given that the killer of his partner is still free. He runs off to the bar which Mother owned, beats up on the barman demanding to know where Mother is. Under duress and at gunpoint the barman says that Mothers owns a seaplane down at the docks and that is probably where he's headed. As Kelly pulls up and parks amongst the stacked containers and out of sight, he notices Reimann also parked there, patiently awaiting the arrival of Mother. A car pulls up and out steps Mother and another. Reimann gets out of her vehicle and points her weapon at Mother and calls out to him. He turns and she hesitates, giving him time to pull his weapon. She fires three or fours rounds at Mother killing him, but not before being shot herself in her arm before he went down. Kelly takes care of the other man as he runs to Reimann to lend her assistance. 

With both Mother and his associate dead on the ground, Kelly exchanges Mother's pistol for Reimann's, picks up all the dead rounds from Reimann's gun and places them on the ground next to Mother, and then they both drive off in her car. In a hotel room Kelly is bandaging up Reimann's arm. She asks Kelly if he is now going to take her off to prison, at which he responds with a no.

A lot of comparisons have been drawn between 'Crisis' and 2000's Steven Soderbergh Directed 'Traffic' which tells the story of the lives of four people which intertwine because of the drug trade in America. Each experiences personal loss and despair in the ongoing war on drugs, but is helpless. Sure enough there are similarities but that film was made twenty+ years ago and the war on drugs has moved on since then and there is a whole new audience out there probably unfamiliar with that multi award winning and nominated feature film. Here the plot moves along at a good pace, has certainly got something to say about opioid addiction, and the performances of the principle cast is spot on - particularly that of Evangeline Lilly whose grief stricken role is believable and relatable. The film doesn't take us in a new direction and the third act lurches into predictable familiar territory, but nonetheless this is a solid enough story from second time Director Jerecki that makes this film worth the price of your cinema entry.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th March 2021.

The 10th annual AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) International Awards were held on Friday 5th March. Typically the awards ceremony is held in Los Angeles, but this year the awards were presented via a highlights package of acceptance speeches, debuting on AACTA’s YouTube channel. The AACTA International Awards honour achievements in screen excellence, regardless of geography, across seven feature film categories and for the first time this year across four television series categories too. The Awards add a uniquely Australian voice to the international awards season alongside the Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmy’s and Golden Globes.

In the feature film category this year, the winners and nominees are as listed below :-

AACTA International Award for Best Film

* Awarded to 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN', beating out 'The Father', 'Minari', 'Nomadland' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

AACTA International Award for Best Director

* Awarded to CHLOE ZHAO for 'Nomadland', beating out Pete Docter for 'Soul', Emerald Fennell for 'Promising Young Woman', David Fincher for 'Mank' and Aaron Sorkin for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay

* Awarded to 'THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7' written by Aaron Sorkin, beating out 'The Father', 'Mank', 'Promising Young Woman' and 'Nomadland'. 

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actor

* Awarded to CHADWICK BOSEMAN for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', beating out Riz Ahmed for 'Sound of Metal', Adarsh Gourav for 'The White Tiger', Anthony Hopkins for 'The Father' and Gary Oldman for 'Mank'.

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress

* Awarded to CAREY MULLIGAN for 'Promising Young Woman', beating out Viola Davis for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Vanessa Kirby for 'Pieces of a Woman', Frances McDormand for 'Nomadland' and Eliza Scanlen for 'Babyteeth'.

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to SACHA BARON COHEN for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', beating out Chadwick Boseman for 'Da 5 Bloods', Ben Mendelsohn for 'Babyteeth', Mark Rylance for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' and David Strathairn for 'Nomadland'.

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to OLIVIA COLEMAN for 'The Father', beating out Maria Bakalova for 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', Saoirse Ronan for 'Ammonite', Amanda Seyfried for 'Mank' and Swankie for 'Nomadland'.

For the complete run down of this years 10th AACTA International Awards plus a whole lot more, you can visit the official website at : https://www.aacta.org/

This week we have five latest release new films coming to your local Odeon, kicking off with a movie about a drug trafficker who organises a smuggling operation while a recovering addict seeks the truth behind her son's disappearance. Next up is a story about a widowed New York socialite and her aimless son who move to Paris after she spends the last of her husband's inheritance. And this is followed up by the story of a vital national protest movement - Rock Against Racism, formed in 1976 when a group of music artists united to take on the National Front across the UK. Then we turn to a sports drama offering about the game of Lacrosse and how it transforms the lives of Inuit students when they learn how to play the game; and we wrap up the week with an Aussie doco about professional surfer Laura Enever who departs from the WSL Championship Tour to explore the unpredictable world of big-wave surfing.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies 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.

'CRISIS' (Rated MA15+) - this crime thriller is Directed, Produced, Written and also stars Nicholas Jarecki in only his second feature film making outing following 2012's 'Arbitrage'. The film was released in the US in late February, and in Canada and Australia this week, having gained mixed or average Reviews along the way and so far grossing US$387K at the Box Office. Featuring an ensemble cast that takes in the likes of Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Lily-Rose Depp, Indira Varma, Kid Cudi and Martin Donovan.

Centring around three stories about the world of opioids and how these are on a collision course that sees a drug trafficker arranging a multi-cartel Fentanyl smuggling operation between Canada and the US, an architect recovering from an OxyContin addiction who tracks down the truth behind her son's involvement with narcotics, and a university professor who battles unexpected revelations about his research employer - a drug company with deep government influence bringing a new supposedly 'non-addictive' painkiller to market.

'FRENCH EXIT' (Rated M) - is a surreal comedy Directed by Azazel Jacobs whose previous film making credits include 'The GoodTimesKid' in 2005, 'Momma's Man' in 2008, 'Terri' in 2011 and 'The Lovers' in 2017. This film is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt, who also wrote the Screenplay. Here a widowed New York socialite, Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her aimless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) move to Paris with their cat in tow (who also happens to be her reincarnated husband Franklin, voiced by Tracy Letts) after she spends the last of her husband's inheritance. The film saw its World Premier screening at the New York Film Festival back in mid-October last year, was released in Canada in mid-February and gets its wide released in the US in early April. It has generated mixed or average Reviews so far although Michelle Pfeiffer's performance has been critically acclaimed and she was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Satellite award. Also starring Imogen Poots, Danielle Macdonald, Susan Coyne and Valerie Mahaffey.  

'WHITE RIOT' (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed by Rubika Shah in her first full length documentary and based upon her 2017 nine minute short doco 'White Riot : London', this documentary music film charts the rise of 'Rock Against Racism' which was formed in the UK in 1976, prompted by Eric Clapton to unite punk, ska, reggae and new wave against the National Front in the latter years of the '70's culminating in a glorious and massive free concert in Victoria Park, east London. It blends fresh interviews with archive footage to recreate a hostile environment of anti-immigrant hysteria and National Front marches. With neo-Nazis recruiting the nation's youth, RAR's multicultural punk and reggae gigs provided rallying points for resistance. Featuring the music of X-Ray Spex, Steel Pulse, The Clash, The Tom Robinson Band, Sham 69, The Specials and more.

'THE GRIZZLIES' (Rated M) - this Canadian sports drama offering is Directed and Co-Produced by Miranda de Pencier in her feature film making debut, saw its World Premier showcasing way back at TIFF in October 2018, was released in its native Canada in April 2019, has garnered generally favourable Reviews, has so far taken US$520K at the Box Office and now gets a limited release in Australia. Based on a true story and set in the small Arctic community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island, it is the westernmost community in Nunavut, near the border with the Northwest Territories. Here, struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America, a group of Inuit students' lives are transformed when they are introduced to the sport of lacrosse. Starring Ben Schnetzer, Paul Nutarariaq, Booboo Stewart, Anna Lambe and Emerald Macdonald. 

'UNDONE' (Rated PG) - Directed by Steve Wall and Emily O'Connell this is a remarkable story of personal endeavour following Australian female professional surfer, Laura Enever who leaves a comfortable place on the WSL Championship Tour to explore the unpredictable world of big-wave surfing. In a life altering change of course, Laura spends the southern winter breaking into a male dominated sport by pursuing some of the most dangerous and remote waves on the planet.

With five 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-