NOVOCAINE : Tuesday 8th April 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'NOVOCAINE' earlier this week, and this American action comedy film is Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen whose prior feature film Directing collaborations take in 'Body' in 2015, 'Stake Land II' in 2016, 'Villains' in 2019 and 'Significant Other' in 2022. This film has received generally positive reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$32M from a production budget of US$18M since its US release in mid-March.

We meet mild-mannered and introverted Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) as his morning alarm gets him out of bed on 23rd December. After his early morning routine he arrives at his place of work as the Assistant Manager at a Trust Credit Union in San Diego. Sherry Margrave (Amber Midthunder) is a co-worker who seemingly is more romantically interested in Nathan that he is of her. She invites him out for lunch that day and reluctantly he agrees. He orders a milk shake and she orders the last slice of cherry pie, which she says is the best on the west coast. She offers him a bite but he refuses, saying that he suffers from congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA) which basically means he cannot feel pain, and if he were to bite his tongue off while chewing it could be fatal for him. She persuades him to take a bite, which he reluctantly does and his face lights up. 

Later that evening the pair agree to meet up at a local bar, where they chat idly over a drink when Nathan is approached by his middle-school bully, who calls him 'Novocaine'. Sherry gets revenge for Nathan by tricking the bully into drinking a shot of extra hot chilli sauce. The pair leave the bar and head back to Nathan's apartment where they have sex.

The next morning Nathan is on cloud nine like he has just lost his cherry for the first time. It is Christmas Eve, and a gang of three robbers dressed up in Santa suits led by Simon Greenly (Ray Nicholson) rob the Credit Union. Simon murders Nathan's boss Nigel (Craig Jackson) when he won't divulge the combination to the vault, and takes Sherry as a hostage, as the Police show up in force and an intense shoot-out ensues. Nathan impulsively steals a cop car in pursuit of the car in which Sherry is being held, but he follows the wrong car and ends up in a confrontation with another robber, Ben Clark (Evan Hengst), in a restaurant kitchen. He eventually shoots Ben dead through the head, but not before severely burning his hand while retrieving Ben’s gun from a deep fat fryer. 

Ben had a distinctive tattoo on his upper arm, which Nathan takes a photo of, and asks his only friend, Roscoe Dixon (Jacob Batalon), a gamer whom he has never met in person, to help him find the artist. He successfully tracks down the artist, Zeno (Garth Collins) a man three times the size of Nathan and built like a brick out house, and unsuccessfully asks him for Ben's address, hoping to find Sherry. Sensing something is not right with Nathan's line of questioning he turns on Nathan and the pair fight it out. After a brawl, Nathan manages to get Ben's last name from Zeno, and he calls a colleague to find Ben's home address using his loan documents. 

Andre (Conrad Kemp), Ben's brother, has become agitated that Ben has not shown up at their rendezvous and so tells Simon that he's going to Ben's place to see if there is any sign of his brother there. Meanwhile, Nathan has arrived at the house to find it booby-trapped, and ends up stuck upside down dangling in a snare. Out of desperation he calls Roscoe to come and rescue him. A short time later Andre enters the house and finds a hanging by one leg Nathan and begins to torture him, who fakes (somewhat unconvincingly) feeling pain. Roscoe arrives, and together they overpower and kill Andre. Police Officers Mincy Langston (Betty Gabriel) and her partner Coltraine Duffy (Matt Walsh) arrive at the house and arrest Roscoe who made off on his Vespa, thinking they had Nathan with whom he had switched clothes.

Nathan tracks down Sherry and Simon at an auto repair shop and discovers she is Simon's sister and an accomplice to the robbery. She originally had intended to seduce Nathan to learn the bank vault code but developed real feelings for him (and was horrified that Simon needlessly murdered her boss, Nigel). Simon tries to kill Nathan against Sherry's protests, but he is shot by an arriving Coltraine, while Sherry and Nathan are arrested. Simon rises from his bullet wound and shoots Coltraine dead and wounds Mincy with a bullet to her lower side, and then makes a daring escapee in the ambulance holding a handcuffed Nathan to a stretcher. Sherry frees herself from the handcuffs, and she chases the ambulance while Roscoe takes a wounded Mincy to the hospital. 

Nathan regains consciousness, and breaks free from the handcuffs by dislocating his thumb so that his hand slips through the cuffs. He then uses a defibrillator device on Simon, causing him to crash, with the pair fighting it out in the back of the ambulance which has come to rest on its side. Having had enough of Nathan, Simon breaks his arm in a compound fracture that sees about six inches of bone protruding out of Nathan's lower arm. Sherry arrives, and she gets into a brutal fight with her brother, and as soon as he is about to plant a bullet in her head, Nathan injects himself with a syringe of adrenaline and kills Simon by sticking his exposed arm bone through Simon's jaw before falling unconscious, finally plum tuckered out from his many injuries.

Nathan comes round two weeks later on 11th January in a hospital bed bandaged up from neck to toe, with Roscoe by his side. Mincy enters the room and says that she has just returned from the courthouse where he has been sentenced to six months of house arrest and five years of probation instead of a lengthy prison sentence due to his saving the life of the cop whose car he took to pursue Sherry. One year later and Nathan has fully recovered and he visits Sherry in prison, who has eight months left to serve for her role in the robbery. They share a cherry pie to mark the one year anniversary of their first date, as the prison guard calls time on their visit and leads Sherry back to her cell, Nathan chews on the pie with a big grin on his face.

With 'Novocaine' Directors Berk and Olsen have delivered us a film with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek, with a lighthearted romcom masquerading as an action thriller that ramps up the pain threshold to 11 for everyone else except Nathan, while giving him every excuse to up the ante on the bloodletting, the violence, gore and the manner in which our protagonist here gets injured and just carries on regardless. This is a film straight out of the Looney Tunes playbook and is story that I'm sure got its inspiration from Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, but nonetheless it is entertaining enough, and the two leads in Quaid and Midthunder are both right on the money here that help elevate this film above the also rans in the action genre. 

'Novocaine' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd April 2025

In 2025 the Doha Film Institute presents QUMRA Festival in its eleventh year (although in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak the festival was cancelled and went online) and runs this year from the 4th to the 9th April. Qumra is a unique initiative dedicated to providing mentorship, nurturing talent, and fostering hands-on development for filmmakers from Qatar, the region and beyond. 

Celebrating the art of cinema with a curated selection of remarkable feature-length films from the region and across the world, each film is supported by Doha Film Institute and reflects a commitment to championing diverse voices and fostering cultural dialogue. Audiences will embark on a cinematic journey through compelling stories that inspire, entertain, and unite.

This year, Qumra is honoured to share six remarkable feature-length films from the region and beyond. This years programme is a true celebration of the power of storytelling—offering original and unique perspectives on cultures, experiences, and ideas that help us see the world in new ways. Those six films are :-

* 'East of Noon' - from the Netherlands, Egypt and Qatar, and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Hala Elkoussy. The films follows 19-year-old Abdo, a musical prodigy who dares to challenge the rigid order of his elders. The eccentric showman Shawky rules their isolated community through a theatrical blend of performance and fear, while Galala, the village storyteller, offers solace with fables of the sea - an unseen place that exists only in myth. As Abdo's rebellious spirit grows, he begins to use music as a weapon of resistance, disrupting the fragile balance of power and exposing the system's vulnerability to the unrelenting force of youth.

* 'Demba' - from Senegal, Germany and Qatar, and Directed and Written by Mamadou Dia. Demba is about to retire after 30 years of service at the city hall in his small town in Northern Senegal. That hot summer, as the two-year anniversary of his wife's passing approaches, he realises he just can't 'shake it off'. As his mental health deteriorates, he discovers a new connection with his once-estranged son.

* 'Moondove' - from Lebanon, the Netherlands and Qatar and Directed, Written, Produced and photographed by Karim Kassem. Three stories in the mountains of Lebanon metaphysically converge to illustrate stories of memory, loss and love. A remote village faces an uncertain future - their harvest is over, but a relentless drought threatens both the land and their very way of life. As the community prepares for its annual play, this year the almost prognostically titled 'Departures', the performance takes on a deeper meaning - reflecting their fears of change, loss, and the possibility of leaving behind all they have ever known.

* 'Rising Up at Night' - from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso and Qatar, and Directed, Written and photographed by Nelson Makengo. Kinshasa, the capital city of seventeen million people, is plunged into darkness and insecurity as its inhabitants struggle to access the light. In a relentless quest, Kudi mobilises the people of his neighbourhood, Kisenso, to buy the stolen cable so that electricity can be restored in time for the festivities. At Christmas, Kudi turns into Santa Claus. Flashes of light and hope illuminate the streets of Kinshasa. On Mount Mangengenge, a sacred site, Pastor Gedeon preaches the light of Christ as the way to faith and light. Meanwhile, young Davido is looking for shelter after his house was flooded by the Congo River. He kills time by working out and waiting for the river to recede from his neighbourhood.

* 'MA - Cry of Silence' - from Myanmar, South Korea, France, Singapore, Norway and Qatar, and Directed and Co-Produced by The Maw Naing. In 2022, Myanmar remains engulfed in civil war following the military coup of 1st February 2021. Mi-Thet, a young Burmese woman, is working in a garment factory in Yangon, far from her native village. Wages have not been paid for the past two months, and a group of workers are leading a strike. But soon, the strikers are attacked by the henchmen of the military regime, leaving Mi-Thet terrified by her past trauma.

* 'Red Path' - from Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Lotfi Achour. In the ruggedly beautiful, yet isolated arcadian landscape of central Tunisia, 14-year-old Ashraf's life is suddenly shattered when a group brutally murders his cousin and forces him to carry a horrific message back to his family. As he struggles to process his internal trauma, he finds himself completely abandoned externally by the authorities and the very people who should protect him. Alone in his grief, Ashraf is left to make sense of a world that offers neither justice nor solace - only silence.

For more information on the above named six films being featured, plus the Industry Programme, the Master Classes being held plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official website at : https://www.dohafilminstitute.com/qumra

Looking then at this weeks four new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to your home, we launch with an action comedy of when the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, this mild-mannered everyman turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back. This is followed by a fantasy adventure comedy offering that sees four misfits suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination, but to get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a quest with an unexpected, expert crafter. Next up we turn back to the late '70's where a teenager discovers the underground post-punk music scene in Christchurch, New Zealand, and looking to impress someone, he attempts his own songs. And closing out the week we have an animated film about a half dog and half man, who is sworn to protect and serve as he doggedly pursues the feline supervillain Petey the Cat.

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

'NOVOCAINE' (Rated MA15+) - is an American action comedy film Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen whose prior feature film Directing collaborations take in 'Body' in 2015, 'Stake Land II' in 2016, 'Villains' in 2019 and 'Significant Other' in 2022. This film has received generally positive reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$29M from a production budget of US$18M since its US release in mid-March.

When the girl of his dreams Sherry Margrave (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman and assistant manager at a San Diego credit union Nathan 'Novocaine' Caine (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back after she is kidnapped on Christmas Eve by a bunch of thugs dressed in Santa suits. Also starring Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh. 

'A MINECRAFT MOVIE' (Rated PG) - this fantasy adventure comedy film is Directed by Jared Hess, whose previous film making output includes 'Napoleon Dynamite' in 2004, 'Nacho Libre' in 2006, 'Don Verdean' in 2015, 'Masterminds' in 2016 and the animated 'Thelma the Unicorn' in 2024. Here, four misfits - Garrett 'The Garbage Man' Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks), find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld - a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Jack Black). The film was originally set for a release date in late May 2019 but in late April of that year the film was delayed until early March 2022. Then in early October 2020 it was removed from the release schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in early April 2023 after being undated for over two years, the film was given its current release date of this week here in Australia and the US. It cost US$150M to produce, and was filmed in New Zealand. 

'HEAD SOUTH' (Rated MA15+) - is a New Zealand coming of age comedy film Written and Directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, whose prior feature film offerings take in 'Emulsion' in 2006, 'The Tender Hook' in 2008, and 'Lone Wolf' in 2021. In 1979, Angus (Ed Oxenbould), alone for a couple of weeks with his world-weary father, is drawn into the underground post-punk music scene in Christchurch, New Zealand. Desperate to fit in with this magnetic but fickle subculture, Angus distances himself from his true friends and lies about his musical abilities to his new 'friends'. Caught out by his own deceit he must become the musician he pretended to be. With the support of his friends, especially the talented Kirsten (Benee), Angus navigates self-doubt, derision, harmful behaviour and a family tragedy to take the stage for the first time with his band 'The Daleks'. The film saw its World Premiere screening as the Opening Night Film at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in late January 2024 and was released in its native NZ at the end of October last year. Also starring Marton Csokas.

'DOG MAN' (Rated G) - this American animated film is Written for the screen and Directed by Peter Hastings and is based on Dav Pilkey's children's graphic novel series 'Dog Man'. It is a spin-off and story within a story of 2017's 'Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie' and the second film in the 'Captain Underpants' franchise. Hastings made his feature film Directorial debut with the Disney animated 'The Country Bears' in 2002, and he has also Written and Directed many animated TV series episodes in the intervening period. When a police officer and his faithful police dog get injured in the line of duty, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together, and Dog Man is born (voiced by Peter Hastings). As Dog Man learns to embrace his new identity, he must stop feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson) from cloning himself and going on a crime spree. Also starring the voice talents of Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Root. It has garnered generally favourable critical reviews and has so far grossed US$132M from a US$40M production budget since its release Stateside at the end of January. 

With four new release movie offerings 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 at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-