AFTERBURN : Tuesday 16th December 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'AFTERBURN' earlier this week at my local multiplex, and this American post-apocalyptic action film is Directed by J.J. Perry in only his third Directorial outing following 'Day Shift' in 2022 and 'The Killer's Game' in 2024, although he has acted and performed stunt work and co-ordinated stunts and fight scenes in numerous feature films, TV movies and TV series over the years. This film is based on the Red 5 Comics graphic novel of the same name by Scott Chitwood, Paul Ens, and Wayne Nichols. The film has languished in development hell since 2008 when it was first announced that Tobey Maguire would Co-Produce 'Afterburn', and since then Antoine Fuqua, Tommy Wirkola and Jung Byung-gil have all been attached to Direct with J.J. Perry hired to Direct in early 2024. It was released in the USA in mid-September, cost US$57M to produce and has so far grossed US$833K.

Here, then we learn through the opening credits that six years ago a solar flare decimated the worlds technology, turned cities into gang ridden wastelands, toppled governments, and the rule of law no longer exists as we once knew it. We are first introduced to Jake (Dave Bautista) who pre-flare days was quite possibly the world's most acclaimed treasure hunter - there was nothing that he couldn't find, track down, and retrieve from land and sea. Then when the flare hit, he turned his very particular set of skills to working for the wealthy elite to continue his treasure hunting exploits for a hefty fee, with which he could fund his eventual escape from all the worlds ills on a sailing boat which he would live on, and sail around the world at his leisure. 

One such client is August Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), the self-proclaimed King of England, retrieving valuable pre-flare objects, which as the film opens sees Jake retrieving a prized Stradivarius Violin dating back to the late 17th or early 18th centuries from an abandoned and overgrown penthouse somewhere in London. As he blows open the vault to retrieve the violin and exits he is greeted by five men all dressed in Police uniforms, who threaten him unless he hands over the case. Jake says joking, 'you're not the real Police are you?' to which the goons respond with a definitely not. A fight ensues and Jake takes them all out without breaking a sweat. 

In exchange for having his men finish the necessary repairs to Jakes dream boat, August requests him to travel into France to retrieve the Mona Lisa with the help of Drea (Olga Kurylenko), a member of a rebellion against the tyrannical warlord General Volkov (Kristofer Hivju) who rules over part of northern France with an iron fist, aided by his right hand man Gorynych (Daniel Bernhardt). Whist Jake is initially very reluctant, he agrees and is parachuted into lawless France and is left to locate Drea. 

He locates Drea and she escorts him to a makeshift church inside an old warehouse led by Father Samson (Kevin Eldon), who is also a member of the rebellion. Meanwhile, one of Volkov's henchmen Bird Skull (Phil Zimmerman) has spotted two very dodgy looking characters weaving through the crowd and track down Jake and Drea to the church. Bird Skull pulls up with a small army in tow, and demands that whoever is inside, come out. Father Samson tells Jake and Drea to take his specially modified all terrain buggy that is fully bullet proofed and get the hell outta dodge, while he goes outside. Needless to say Father Samson is gunned down, while Jake and Drea escape and successfully evade numerous goons on motorbikes, in pursuit vehicles and in tanks. Later, Bird Skull is standing in the town square being questioned by Volkov and Gorynych, and is summarily executed on the spot for allowing two people to evade capture from his small army, and the might of his military hardware.

Chased by Volkov's forces, the two discover it in a vault at Ouvrage Simserhof, a fort on the Maginot Line. It's revealed that the Mona Lisa that Jake is after is actually an American atomic bomb, sister to Fat Man (the atomic device detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki) and Little Boy (used in the bombing of Hiroshima), sought by both August and Volkov. 

As Drea and her men are loading up Mona Lisa onto the back of a truck, they are approached by Volkov and Gorynych aboard their train which pulls up outside the vault. Opening fire and killing almost everyone, Volkov has Mona Lisa hauled up on to his train. 

After Volkov captures the Mona Lisa, Jake boards his train, and sets about killing most of Volkov's henchmen single handedly and with relative ease it seems. He steals the bomb's stop plug, as Drea detonates several blocks of C4 explosive to the support structure of a viaduct, causing the railway bridge to collapse as the train is on it. Drea looks on from a safe distance as the train collapses into the valley below and explodes in several balls of flame killing Volkov, and his remaining goons. Drea mourns the loss of Jake, as he appears behind her and the pair embrace. 

Jake brings the stop plug to August and urges him not to recover the bomb from the gorge where it had ended up. August keeps up his end of the deal and Jake sets sail with Drea with whom he had fallen in love. In a mid-credits scene, August visits a vault where he keeps his prized artefacts, and hangs the stop plug on the frame of the real Mona Lisa.

'Afterburn' is just like any other post-apocalyptic man on a mission who gets the girl in the end, action spectacle thrill ride that we have seen countless times before. The characters are cardboard cut outs, the CGI effects are questionable, the performances are exactly what you would expect, the script is mediocre at best, and the plot formulaic. At a run time of 145 minutes, if there is nothing better to see at your local Odeon you can opt for this one, leave your brain at the door, and sit in an empty theatre (as my movie buddy and I did) and be reasonably entertained, but be prepared to forget about it as soon as you exit the theatre. 

'Afterburn' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 : Tuesday 9th May 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3' at my local Odeon earlier this week. This hotly anticipated American superhero film is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, and is the sequel to 2014's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 2017's 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' and serves as the 32nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the second film in Marvel's Phase Five and more than likely the final instalment in this particular series. Written and Directed once again by James Gunn who recently jumped ship and now heads up, with Peter Safran, DC Studios as Co-Chairpersons and joint CEO's. Gunn's next Directorial outing is slated to be 'Superman : Legacy' due in July 2025. The film saw its World Premier screening at Disneyland, Paris on 22nd April and was released in the US, China, here in Australia and other territories last week. It has garnered generally positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$366M off the back of a production budget of US$250M. 

At their new home base on Knowhere, the Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel) are attacked by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), a Sovereign warrior created by their High Priestess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) who seems to answer to the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). After Adam overpowers them and seriously wounds Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), he is stabbed by Nebula (Karen Gillan) and forced to flee the scene. The Guardians are unable to tend to Rocket's wounds due to a kill switch attached to his heart, made by the company Orgocorp. They travel to Orgocorp's headquarters to find the override code, having at best 48 hours before Rocket dies. 

As Rocket lies unconscious, memories of his past life come flooding back. As a baby raccoon, he was experimented on by the High Evolutionary, an alien geneticist who sought to take what he viewed as lower life forms and enhance them into a perfect anthropomorphic species in order to create a Counter-Earth. 

After being modified Rocket befriended the High Evolutionary's other test animals: the otter Lylla, the rabbit Floor and the walrus Teefs. The High Evolutionary perfected the anthropomorphisation process with Rocket's advice but ordered Rocket's brain to be extracted for further research, and his friends incinerated. Rocket was able to free Lylla with an improvised electronic key card, only for the High Evolutionary to kill her, upon walking in and discovering Rocket's ruse. Rocket, enraged, mauled the High Evolutionary face and head and shot his guards, but Teefs and Floor were killed in the exchange of gunfire. Alone, angry and despondent Rocket steals a spaceship and flees. 

Meanwhile, the alternate version of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) who has joined the Ravagers led by the high ranking Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone), helps the Guardians infiltrate Orgocorp, which is owned by the High Evolutionary. 

They retrieve Rocket's file, but discover that the code has been removed. The group speculates that Theel (Nico Santos), one of the High Evolutionary's advisors, has it, so they depart for Counter-Earth. They are followed by Ayesha and Adam, who are ordered by their creator, the High Evolutionary, to capture at all costs Rocket for his brain.

Arriving on Counter-Earth the Guardians are helped by a family of local residents in tracing Theel to the High Evolutionary's ship. Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) remain with Gamora and Rocket as Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and Nebula (Karen Gillan) travel to the High Evolutionary's ship. Nebula is forced to wait outside by guards as Quill and Groot board. Drax and Mantis chase after Quill's group. 

The High Evolutionary sets off the destruction and planned recreation of Counter-Earth, which ultimately kills all life on the planet, including Ayesha. As his ship enters orbit, Quill and Groot leap off with Theel, landing back on Counter-Earth and retrieving the code from the computer implanted into the side of his head, just as Gamora arrives with their ship. In the meantime, Nebula, Mantis, and Drax board the High Evolutionary's ship in order to rescue Quill and Groot, not knowing that had recently and literally jumped ship. As Quill's group attempts to access the code, Rocket flatlines and has a near-death experience, where he is reunited with Lylla, Teefs, and Floor. Lylla tells him that his time has not yet come and that he still has work to do, as Quill uses the code to disable the kill switch and save Rocket's life. 

On the High Evolutionary's ship, Nebula, Mantis, and Drax come across hundreds of imprisoned humanoid children, before being captured. Quill's group sets out to rescue the three, who are placed in a chamber with monstrous Abilisks. Mantis connects with the Abilisks saying they only eat batteries, and so allowing the group to escape and reunite with Quill's group, together overcoming the High Evolutionary's army. Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Spacedog (voiced by Maria Bakalova) arrive back on Knowhere, and Cosmo creates a telekinetic bridge connecting Knowhere to the High Evolutionary's ship to free the captured children. Rocket discovers imprisoned animals on the ship before being attacked by the High Evolutionary, but the rest of the Guardians help subdue him, remove his mask revealing the seriously disfigured face of the man and leaving him to die on his ship. The Guardians rescue the animals and lead them aboard Knowhere. Quill nearly dies by freezing in deep space trying to cross over but is saved by Adam, who had a change of heart after being saved by Groot. 

Once the dust has settled, Quill announces that he intends to leave the Guardians, bestowing the captaincy to Rocket before leaving for Earth to reunite with his grandfather Jason. Mantis embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the Abilisks, Gamora reunites with the Ravagers and is welcomed back by Stakar Ogord, and Nebula and Drax remain on Knowhere to raise the saved children. 

There is no doubt that Director James Gunn has wrapped up his final instalment of the 'Guardians' trilogy with a lot of heart, a good dose of emotion, action set pieces aplenty, some witty dialogue, a thumping soundtrack, all the colour and grandeur of the galaxy that you could ever imagine, plus a whole zoo load of animals that would make any self respecting PETA advocate squirm in horror. And for the rag tag bunch of space heroes Gunn sees them all go off in their own directions to seek out new challenges and adventures, and as for some of them if you remain in your seat for a mid-credits sequence and right until the end credits have rolled you'll catch a glimpse of what the future (possibly) holds. My only criticism of this film, and it seems that thirty-two films in now, of the MCU at large, is that the CGI action spectacles are often so beautifully rendered that their screen busyness leaves the viewer wondering where to focus the attention for fear of missing out on something happening on another part of the screen. 

'Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KNOCK AT THE CABIN : Tuesday 7th February 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'KNOCK AT THE CABIN' at my local multiplex earlier this week. This American apocalyptic psychological horror film is Directed and written for the screen by M. Night Shyamalan, and is based on the 2018 novel 'The Cabin at the End of the World' by Paul G. Tremblay. Shyamalan's previous film output includes his breakout film with 'The Sixth Sense' in 1999, then 'Unbreakable' in 2000, 'Signs' in 2002, 'The Village' in 2004, then a period of less popular films before his resurgence with 'The Visit' in 2015, 'Split' in 2016, 'Glass' in 2019 and 'Old' in 2021. This film was released last week here in Australia and Stateside too, having seen its Premier screening in New York City on 30th January, garnering generally favourable critical reviews and has so far grossed US$28M from a production budget of US$20M.

The film opens up with young seven year old girl, Wen (Kristen Cui) catching grasshoppers outside a remote cabin in the woods somewhere in rural Pennsylvania. A short time later, a hulking figure of man sidles up and introduces himself as Leonard (Dave Bautista), saying that he wants to be Wen's friend and he helps her catch grasshoppers. Leonard goes on to explain that he needs to see her parents, Eric and Andrew (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge respectively), to help save the world. Soon afterwards three others show up on foot carrying makeshift weapons fashioned out of gardening tools. 

Wen becomes suspicious and flees back to the cabin to alert her parents, who immediately barricade themselves inside. A knock comes to the cabin door with Leonard speaking calmly through the bolted door, urging Andrew and Eric to let them in, saying that no harm will come to them, they just need to talk, about a matter of some urgency. When the parents refuse, Leonard with his three colleagues Redmond (Rupert Grint), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and Adriane (Abby Quinn) forcibly break in, tie up the parents but not before Eric is knocked to the ground in a scuffle and suffers a concussion.

With Eric and Andrew immobilised Leonard and his companions, first introduce themselves giving each a little of their own back story and then he states that they have never met before this day and have no intention of harming the family. However, over the course of the past week, they have been driven by visions and an unknown force to find their family. He goes on to explain that the group have each foreseen an impending apocalypse, in which he claims that the oceans will rise, a pandemic will spread, the sky will fall, and finally, an eternal darkness will envelop the earth. The only way to prevent this from happening is for the family to sacrifice one of their own, but that only they can make that decision. However, they are warned that, if they fail to make a choice, they will survive the apocalypse, but they will be the only survivors and forced to roam the Earth alone. Needless to say Eric and Andrew believe that they are lying and that this attack has been brought on by hatred and delusion.

When the family refuses to make a choice, the group have to sacrifice one of their own. Redmond is the first to go with the group beating him to death with their weapons. Eric, who is concussed, sees a figure of light as Redmond passes away. On the TV, news reports show devastating mega tsunamis caused by undersea earthquakes about seventy miles off the north-west American coast which Leonard calmly states is the start of the apocalypse. 

Andrew comes to realise that he recognised Redmond, whom he believes to be Rory O'Bannon, a homophobic man who had assaulted him years earlier in a bar when Andrew was professing his deep love for Eric. This ultimately led to Rory's imprisonment and six months of surgery rehabilitation for Andrew. Andrew thinks that Rory tracked him down for revenge. Leonard, Sabrina, and Adriane question Andrew's assumption and grapple with their guilt, but still lay claim to the validity of their visions. They reveal that Redmond's death has unleashed the first disaster. The following day, the intruders sacrifice Adriane in the same manner as the family are still indecisive. The next disaster looms, as a deadly flu virus, which is particularly dangerous for children, spreads rapidly across the globe.

Andrew insists that the disasters are coincidental and that the visitors were anticipating a pre-scheduled news broadcast, reporting on old news. Andrew manages to escape, and runs to his car, locking himself inside and retrieves his gun. He is followed by Sabrina, who smashes a side window and stabs Andrew as he shoots at her leading to her fleeing. He frisks Redmond's dead body to locate his wallet and proves to Leonard that he was in fact, as suspected, Rory O'Bannon. Injured from his attack and with their tyres slashed, Andrew believes the four came in a vehicle that must be parked nearby and suggests that they use it to escape. Now armed with a loaded pistol, Andrew and Eric lock Leonard in the bathroom. Sabrina breaks into the house and is shot fatally by Andrew. Leonard tricks Andrew into reentering the bathroom by making him think he escaped through the window, and then overpowers him, stealing the gun. 

Leonard sacrifices Sabrina in the same manner as Redmond and Adriane and the broadcast shows hundreds of aeroplanes literally dropping out of the sky all around the world. Realising their time is nearly up, Leonard leads the three out on to the back deck as the sky begins to darken. Leonard informs them that after his death, they will only have a few minutes to make a decision before slicing his own throat. Upon his death, violent lightning strikes cause numerous spot fires and more planes to crash - the news feed on the TV reports of seven hundred plus planes falling unexplained from the sky. Eric now believes that the events are real, and that the intruders represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Redmond was 'malice' for his homophobic attitudes and his past beating of Andrew; Sabrina was 'health' for her work as a nurse; Adriane was 'nourishment' for her work as a line cook; and Leonard was 'guidance' for he worked as a teacher. 

Not wanting Wen to grow up alone in a destroyed and desolate world, Eric offers himself as the sacrifice. He notes that during Redmond's sacrifice he saw a vision of Andrew and an adult Wen. Eric feels that their family was chosen to make the sacrifice because their love was pure. Reluctantly, Andrew shoots and kills Eric before lightning strikes, setting the cabin on fire and the five corpses contained therein. Andrew and Wen find the visitors' vehicle with various belongings from each of them that validated their individual stories. They drive to a crowded diner nearby, where they watch news reports confirming that the disasters have subsided. 

'Knock at the Cabin' is not a horror film in the true sense of the genre, as the horror when it does occur, does so off screen and by suggestion. However, as a tense psychological thriller this film more than delivers and demonstrates once again Shyamalan's gift for crafting an intimate taut and tense B-movie. Dave Bautista here plays his role as the gentle giant literally on a mission from God to save the world or die trying, delivers probably his career best performance to date, and the other cast members are all on point too, although I would have liked to see more of Rupert Grint other than the few sparse lines of dialogue he is granted here. The ending when it came, after an efficient one hundred minute run time, felt somewhat rushed, half baked and missing the Director's trademark twist, but that said, this is an effective, emotional and immersive film that shows Shyamalan's visual gift for bringing his audience a thrilling movie. 

'Knock at the Cabin' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GLASS ONION : A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY - Tuesday 29th November 2022.

I saw the M rated 'GLASS ONION : A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY' on its final day of its very limited theatrical run earlier this week. This American murder mystery film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Rian Johnson whose previous film making credits take in his big screen debut with 'Brick' in 2005, then 'The Brothers Bloom' in 2008, 'Looper' in 2012, 'Star Wars : Episode VIII - The Last Jedi' in 2017 and 'Knives Out' in 2019, to which this film is a standalone sequel. This film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September this year and is scheduled to have a one-week limited theatrical release from 23rd November before its streaming release on 23rd December by Netflix. The film saw the widest theatrical release ever for a Netflix film generating US$15M in Box Office receipts towards its production costs of US$40M and garnering universal critical acclaim. 

During the height of the 2020 COVID pandemic when the world is gripped by lockdowns, we are introduced to a group of individuals who all receive a large and strange looking wooden box, with no visible means of gaining entry to it. There is Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jnr.), the head scientist for global tech company Alpha Industries; Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), a former supermodel turned fashion designer; Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), the governor of Connecticut now running for the Senate; Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), a Twitch streamer and men's rights activist; and Cassandra 'Andi' Brand (Janelle Monae), Miles's ex-business partner. Lionel hooks up with the other recipients of the same identical box (for they are all close friends of one another) and together they are able to gain entry into the box revealing an elaborate number of puzzles and games contained therein, with the final reveal being an invitation from billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) and owner of Alpha Industries to attend his very own murder mystery weekend at his private estate 'Glass Onion' which is housed on his own private Greek island. Tagging along are also Peg (Jessica Henwick) Birdie's Assistant, and Whiskey (Madelyn Cline) Duke's girlfriend and Twitch channel Assistant. 

World renowned Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hired by Andi's identical twin sister, Helen, to investigate her sister's alleged suicide the previous week. Helen advises Blanc that Miles jettisoned Andi from her role as CEO of Alpha Industries after Andi categorically denied his request to release 'Klear', a  hydrogen-based alternative fuel that early tests have proven to be very dangerous under certain conditions. She lost a lawsuit against him due to her inability to prove that she conceived of the company and not Miles. Helen suspects that one of Miles's friends killed Andi after she found a cocktail napkin from the 'Glass Onion' bar that they all used to frequent back in the day, on which she scribbled Alpha's founding ideas, evidence that would discredit Miles. 

Blanc instructs Helen to take Andi's place for the weekend given that they were identical twins and news of Andi's death has still not hit the headlines. Arriving on the island to help him investigate undercover as though they are unknown to each other, Miles informs Blanc that he did not send him an invitation but allows him to stay, assuming that his presence was a joke arranged by one of the other guests. 

On the island, Helen sets about covertly searching for clues that could potentially lead to Andi's killer, but determines that Lionel, Claire, Birdie, and Duke are all suspects. Lionel and Claire had staked their professional reputations to support Klear, only to learn of its dangerous qualities afterward; Birdie was forced by Miles to take responsibility for hiring a sweatshop in Bangladesh to manufacture her clothing line; and Duke was attempting to coerce Miles into giving him a position at Alpha News by using Whiskey to seduce him. 

On the first evening with the weekend ahead of them, Miles lays out plans for his elaborate staged murder mystery in which he is the victim and his guests need to prove who the killer is. But Blanc, before the game has even started, solves the case much to Miles' frustration saying that he even had Gillian Flynn write his murder mystery game, and she doesn't come cheap! 

So the group parties with a number of guests considering returning home the next day. Duke suddenly collapses dead after inadvertently drinking from Miles's glass. The group begins to panic, suspecting the missing 'Andi' to be the killer and discovering that Duke's pistol (which he never goes anywhere without) is missing. Then at 10:00pm right on cue, all the lights across the island go out except for the lighthouse which intermittently illuminates the house and grounds. In the resulting chaos, the group splits up. Blanc bumps into Helen outside on the steps, who has been searching for Andi's cocktail napkin which she believes the killer stole. He instructs her to search Miles's office. An unknown assailant shoots Helen in the chest, but she survives unknown to anyone else but Blanc, due to Andi's diary in her jacket pocket having blocked the bullet. 

Blanc rounds up the remaining group in Miles's art room, where he deduces that Miles committed both murders. After Miles learned of the napkin's existence from Lionel, he had killed Andi to prevent her from revealing it to the public. Immediately following her murder, he was seen speeding away from her house by Duke who was nearly 'pancaked' on his motorcycle, and who deduced Miles's involvement with Andi's death during the party, when his newsfeed revealed her death, and as a consequence he attempted to blackmail Miles. This then prompted Miles to poison Duke with pineapple juice, which Duke was severly allergic to, before using Duke's pistol to shoot Helen. 

Helen finds the napkin in Miles's office and reveals her true identity to the group, but Miles burns the napkin with his cigar lighter as she is holding it. With no evidence against Miles and the group unwilling to side with her, Helen sets about smashing all of Miles's glass sculptures before triggering the Klear-powered mansion to explode. This destroys the Glass Onion and the Mona Lisa, which Miles had on loan from the Louvre, while it was shut due to the pandemic. With Miles's reputation now in tatters due to the worlds most famous painting's being destroyed and Klear being proven as dangerous, the group decides they will testify against him. Helen and Blanc sit on the beach as they watch the Police arrive by boat as the sun rises. 

'Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery' is very entertaining and I'm pleased to have seen it on the big screen at my local independent movie theatre (which was packed out I might add) rather than waiting for the small screen Netflix release at Christmas. The film shines in almost every aspect from the sun drenched Greek island setting, to all the trappings of a very wealthy tech billionaire, to the performances of the cast to the script, the humour and the direction laid on by Rian Johnson, it hardly misses a beat. This is more than a worthy follow-up to 2019's 'Knives Out' and with double the budget it is clear that no expense was spared in bringing together an ensemble cast lead by the returning Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, and the exotic location that undoubtedly contributed to the film being greater than the sum of its parts and a real crowd pleaser to boot. Also starring in cameo appearances Ethan Hawke, Angela Lansbury, Hugh Grant, Natasha Lyonne, Serena Williams and Stephen Sondheim, amongst a handful of others.

'Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

DUNE : Tuesday 7th December 2021.

'DUNE' which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week is an M Rated American epic Sci-Fi film Directed, Co-Written for the screen and Co-Produced by Denis Villeneuve whose previous feature film offerings take in 'Incendies' in 2010, 'Prisoners' in 2013, 'Sicario' in 2015, 'Arrival' in 2016 and 'Blade Runner 2049' in 2017. This film is based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert and is the first instalment in a planned two part adaptation with 'Dune : Part Two' now slated for an October 2023 release. Originally scheduled for a late November 2020 release, the film was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, instead having its World Premier at the Venice International Film Festival on 3rd September this year ahead of its international release in mid-September. It was then released in US cinemas and streaming on HBO Max on 21st October, and went on general release in Australia only last week. The film has so far generated largely positive critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$383M off the back of a US$165M production budget. 

Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) of House Atreides, the ruler of the planet Caladan, is assigned by the Emperor of the Universe Shaddam Corrino to replace House Harkonnen as fief rulers of the planet Arrakis. House Harkonnen have presided over Arrakis for the past eight hundred years and so this news comes as a bitter disappointment to them needless to say. Arrakis is a harsh desert planet and the only known source of 'spice' in the universe, a valuable substance that bestows its users greater vitality and expanded consciousness. It is also critical for interstellar travel as it allows Spacing Guild Navigators to use a limited form of foresight to safely navigate through interstellar space. The reality is however, that Shaddam is scared and jealous and intends to have House Harkonnen stage a violent and bloody coup to retake the planet with the aid of the Emperor's Sardaukar troops, eradicating House Atreides once and for all, whose influence threatens Shaddam's control. Leto is reluctant but but can see the political advantages of controlling the spice planet and forming an alliance with its native population, skilled desert dwelling fighters known as the Fremen.

Leto's mistress Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is a disciple of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive sisterhood whose members possess advanced physical and mental capabilities. As part of their centuries-long breeding regime, the Bene Gesserit instructed Jessica to bear a daughter whose son would become a male Bene Gesserit, a messianic superbeing with the power of second sight necessary to guide humanity to a better future. Instead she gave birth to a son, Paul (Timothee Chalamet). Throughout his life, Paul is trained by Leto's aides, Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), and the Mentat Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson), while Jessica trains Paul in the ways of the Bene Gesserit. 

Paul confides in Jessica and Duncan that he has recurring dreams of the future. Because of these dreams, the Emperor's Truthsayer the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) visits Caladan and subjects Paul to a deadly test to assess his impulse control, which he passes. Mohiam instructs House patriarch Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) to spare Paul and Jessica during his coup on Arrakis, to which he responds that he, will not harm them. 

Some two weeks later, House Atreides arrives at Arrakeen, the fortress stronghold on Arrakis, where Duncan and an advance party have been learning all they can about the planet and the Fremen. It is unknown who remained on Caladan to oversee and protect the Atreides home planet in the meantime. Leto negotiates with the Fremen's chieftain Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and meets the Imperial ecologist and Judge of Change Dr. Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster). Kynes informs Leto, Paul, and Halleck of the dangers of spice harvesting, including giant sandworms which can grow up to four hundred metres long and which travel under the desert sands and are attracted by vibrations and sounds on the surface. During a flight, they spot a sandworm approaching an active spice harvester with a stranded crew on board. Leto and his team rescue the workers with barely minutes to spare before the sandworm swallows the harvester. Paul's exposure to the spice-laden air triggers more intense visions of the future.

After an attempt on Paul's life by a Harkonnen agent, Leto places his army on high alert. Suk doctor Wellington Yueh (Chang Chen) disables Arrakeen's protective shields which allows Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops to overwhelm the Atreides forces, and ultimately destroy Arrakeen. Yueh incapacitates Leto and tells him he had no choice but to make a deal to deliver him to the Baron Harkonnen in exchange for freeing his captive wife. Yueh replaces one of Leto's teeth with a poison gas capsule and is killed by the Baron after delivering the Duke. As Leto lies naked in  chair at the end of a long table and in an incapacitated state he murmers, and the Baron leans in to listen. Leto bites down on the fake tooth and releases the poison gas, killing himself and members of the Baron's court almost immediately, but the Baron survives. 

Duncan escapes and steals an ornithopter (a flying machine with the body of a helicopter but the wings that oscillate rapidly like a dragon fly). Harkonnens soldiers capture Paul and Jessica and take them into the desert where they will be dumped to die. However, Paul and Jessica overpower and kill their captors using a Bene Gesserit ability known as 'the Voice', a means of controlling the actions of others through verbal commands. Finding a survival kit left for them by Yueh, Paul and Jessica spend the night in a tent, which by daybreak is buried under the sand. Paul experiences more dreams, this time of a 'holy war' raging across the universe in his name. The next morning, they make their way out of the buried tent and continue their journey in search of the Fremen.

The Baron, recovering from the poison gas attack, gives command of Arrakis to his over zealous nephew Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista) and orders him to sell spice reserves while the price is still at a peak and restart production to recover the cost of the coup. Paul and Jessica are found by Duncan and Kynes and head to an old unused aquifer station but are quickly tracked by Sardaukar. Duncan and a number of the Fremen sacrifice themselves to allow Jessica, Paul, and Kynes to escape the aquifer on foot. Kynes separates and is ambushed by three Sardaukar soldiers, so she lures a sandworm by thumping with her fist on the sand. The sandworm duly arrives and quickly devours them along with her. Paul and Jessica escape in an ornithopter and fly through an 800kph sandstorm, ultimately crash landing deep in the desert. 

Running to a rocky outcrop they manage to evade a sandworm and there meet a group of Fremen, among them Stilgar and Chani (Zendaya), the girl seen by Paul's in his dreams. Fremen warrior Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun) protests their admission into thier encampment and is killed by Paul in a ritual duel to the death. Against Jessica's wishes, Paul insists on joining the Fremen to fulfil his father's goal of bringing peace to Arrakis, and preventing a holy war spreading across the universe in his name. 

'Dune' is an epic film in just about every sense of the term. From the stunning visuals, the action set pieces, the character development, the cinematography, the ensemble cast, the world building and the Hans Zimmer composed thumping soundtrack this ticks all the boxes and must be seen on a big cinema screen to truly appreciate the scale and spectacle of what Director Denis Villeneuve has delivered. At over two-and-a half hours in length, sure the movie lags in places but it moves along at a swift pace and never leaves you wanting, and whilst some critics have commented that it only covers half of Frank Herbert's novel, that is the Director's intention as the opening credit says 'Dune : Part One'. Aside for being a Sci-Fi spectacle for the ages and all ages, the film has emotional heft and delves into the human psyche as much as it does the grandeur of the set designs and the manner in which the action scenes play out. For a universe set some eight thousand years into the future however, one thing that left me scratching my head was why, oh why, with all their advanced technology, world building prowess and interstellar travel capabilities, do they still go into hand to hand battle with swords and daggers? Clearly, ours is not to reason why . . . ! Bring on 'Part Two'.

'Dune' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-