Birthday's to share this week : 2nd July - 8th July 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Geoffrey Rush does on 6th July - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 66, at the end of this feature.

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

Sunday 2nd July

• Lindsay Lohan - Born 1986, turns 31 - Actress | Producer Singer | Songwriter
• Margot Robbie - Born 1990, turns 27 - Actress | Producer
• Larry David - Born 1947, turns 70 - Writer | Producer | Actor | Singer

Monday 3rd July 

• Tom Stoppard - Born 1937, turns 80 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Tom Cruise - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Singer 
• Patrick Wilson - Born 1973, turns 44 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Connie Nielsen - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actress 

Tuesday 4th July

• Eva Marie Saint - Born 1924, turns 93 - Actress 
• Neil Morrissey - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actor | Singer  

Wednesday 5th July

• Edie Falco - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actress   

Thursday 6th July

• Geraldine James - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress
• Jennifer Saunders - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actress | Writer | Singer | Producer
• Eva Green - Born 1980, turns 37 - Actress
• Burt Ward - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actor
• Sylvester Stallone - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Geoffrey Rush - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actor | Producer  
• Kevin Hart - Born 1979, turns 38 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer 
• 50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) - Born 1975, turns 42 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer | Writer | Composer

Friday 7th July

• Ringo Starr - Born 1940, turns 77 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor | Producer | Director
• Akiva Goldsman - Born 1962, turns 55 - Producer | Writer | Director | Actor  
• Shelley Duvall - Born 1949, turns 68 - Actress | Writer | Producer 

Saturday 8th July

• Anjelica Huston - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actress | Director | Producer
• Jeffrey Tambor - Born 1944, turns 73 - Actor 
• Kevin Bacon - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter
• Robert Knepper - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor
• Wally Pfister - Born 1961, turns 56 - Cinematographer | Cameraman | Director 
• Billy Crudup - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Singer
• Jaden Smith - Born 1998, turns 19 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter

Geoffrey Roy Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia (125kms west of the State's capital city, Brisbane) to mother Merle Bischof, a department store sales assistant and father Roy Baden Rush, an accountant for the Royal Australian Air Force. When young Geoffrey was just five, his parents divorced, and his mother relocated to Brisbane with the young lad. There, Geoffrey attended Everton Park State High School, and went on to graduate from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor's Degree in Arts. While at University he was spotted by a talent scout from the Queensland Theatre Company, which kick started his stage acting career appearing in seventeen subsequent productions. In 1975, Rush moved to Paris where he studied mime, movement and theatre at L'Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq.

Over the years, his stage acting career took in multiple Shakespeare plays, and notable others including 'The Importance of Being Earnest', 'The Marriage of Figaro' and 'Exit the King' in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. He took 'Exit the King' to Broadway in 2009 which was to be his debut there alongside Susan Sarandon, and for which he won numerous awards including the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

Rush made his small screen
debut in the 13 episode television series 'Menotti' about a progressive priest involved with issues within his inner-city Sydney community. His big screen debut came in 1981 with crime drama 'Hoodwink' with Judy Davis, Michael Caton, Colin Friels and John Hargreaves. This was followed up a year later with Gilliam Armstrong's musical comedy 'Starstruck'. His next screen appearance came five years later with a Shakespeare adaptation of 'Twelfth Night' and then 1995's comedy 'Dad and Dave : On Our Selection' with Leo McKern, Joan Sutherland, Barry Otto and Noah Taylor. It was, however, Rush's convincing portrayal of pianist David Helfgott in Scott Hicks bio-pic 'Shine' in 1996 that really catapulted Rush into the international spotlight, from which he has never looked back. For his performance Rush won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, the BAFTA and the SAG Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor. All up the film garnered 46 wins and another 49 nominations. 

Aussie Stalinist comedy drama 'Children of the Revolution' with Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh, Rachel Griffiths and F. Murray Abraham was released in 1996, followed by a turn as Narrator on Gilliam Armstrong's 'Oscar and Lucinda' with Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett in 1997, 'Little Bit of Soul' in 1998. 'Les Miserables' that same year with Liam Neeson, Claire Danes, and Uma Thurman, then came the highly acclaimed and multi-award winning 'Elizabeth' also in 1998 with Cate Blanchett in the title role as Queen Elizabeth I and an all star cast, and 'Shakespeare in Love' again in 1998 which once more was highly acclaimed and multi-award winning with Joseph Fiennes in the lead role as Will Shakespeare  and also featuring an ensemble cast. The lesser known superhero 'Mystery Men' film with Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear and Hank Azaria came next in 1999, and then horror mystery thriller 'House on Haunted Hill' saw out the decade.

'Quills' opened up the new decade and multi-award nominations for Rush in his portrayal of The Marquis de Sade in this Philip Kaufman Directed film also starring Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, and Billie Whitelaw. This was followed up by the likes of 'The Tailor of Panama' with Pierce Brosnan, 'Lantana' with Anthony LaPaglia, 'Frida' with Salma Hayek, 'The Banger Sisters' with Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon, 'Swimming Upstream' with Judy Davis again and Gregor Jordan's action adventure bio-pic 'Ned Kelly' with Heath Ledger in the title role. 

2003 saw the first instalment in the epic Disney theme park ride big screen adaptation of 'Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl' in which Rush plays Captain Hector Barbossa alongside Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. Over the following fourteen years Rush would reprise his role in the multi-award winning and huge Box Office draw card franchise in four successive films taking in 2006's 'Dead Man's Chest', 2007's 'At World's End', 2011's 'On Stranger Tides' and this years 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'. The five films in the franchise have so far taken close to US$4.4B at the worldwide Box Office off a combined budget outlay of US$1.3B, with the last film still on general release around the world.

In between time there has been Joel and Ethan Coen's 'Intolerable Cruelty' with George Clooney, 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers' with Rush playing Sellers for which he won the Golden Globe, the Primetime Emmy and the SAG Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor, and then Steven Spielberg's 'Munich' with Eric Bana, 'Candy' with Heath Ledger again, and then a reprisal of his role as Sir Frances Walsingham in 'Elizabeth : The Golden Age' with Cate Blanchett playing an older Queen Elizabeth I. Aussie musical comedy drama 'Bran Nue Dae' with Ernie Dingo and Jessica Mauboy saw out 2009.

2010 launched with Director Tom Hooper's highly acclaimed bio-pic 'The King's Speech' with Colin Firth playing King George VI and Rush playing his speech therapist Lionel Logue. The film won four Academy Awards including Best Actor for Firth and Best Director for Hooper, and for Rush an Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG nod and the BAFTA win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. The film garnered a total awards haul of 107 wins and a further 194 nominations.



'The Warrior's Way' came next also in 2010,  and then 'The Eye of the Storm' for Director Fred Schepisi and also starring Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis once again. 'The Best Offer' with Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland followed in 2013, then 'The Book Thief' with Emily Watson, 'The Daughter' in 2015 with Sam Neill, 'Holding the Man' that same year, and the Alex Proyas Directed 'Gods of Egypt' which was critically panned and clawed back US$150M from its US$140M production budget.

Next up for Rush is 'Final Portrait' for Actor, Screenwriter and Director Stanley Tucci, due for release in Australia in October this year, but released for its Australian Premier and special screenings at the recently closed Sydney Film Festival, and as already Reviewed by the owner of this Blog. Here Rush plays world renowned painter, sculptor and artist Alberto Giacometti. Currently in pre-production is 'Storm Boy' due for a 2018 release with Jai Courtney, and airing this year for National Geographic is anthology period drama 'Genius' following the life of Albert Einstein, in which Rush plays the older Einstein in five episodes of the season of eight.

In the meantime, Rush has lent his voice talents to numerous films including 'The Magic Pudding' with Sam Neill, John Cleese and Hugo Weaving; 'Finding Nemo' with Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and Willem Dafoe; '$9.99' with Anthony LaPaglia, Joel Edgerton, and Ben Mendelssohn; 'Legend of the Guardians : The Owls of Ga'Hoole' with Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham; on 'Green Lantern' as the voice of Tomar-Re, as the Narrator on sixteen episodes of comedy series centering around a hapless journalist in 'Lowdown', and as the Narrator also on 'Minions' with Sandra Bullock, Steve Carell and Jon Hamm.

All up Rush has sixty-four Acting credits to his name on screen, plus numerous others on stage, and two as Producer on 'The King's Speech' and 'Storm Boy'. He is the recipient of an Academy Award for his performance in 'Shine' and has been nominated three other times; he has won two Golden Globes and been nominated three other times; has won three BAFTA's and been nominated twice more; has won three Australian Film Institute Awards and been nominated three times also; and has won four SAG Awards and been nominated four times too. All up Rush has an Awards haul of 45 wins and 75 further nominations. Rush is also the youngest Actor to have won 'The Triple Crown of Acting' - these being an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, and he is also the first Actor to win the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, SAG Award and the Critics Choice Movie Award for a single performance in film for his role in 'Shine', for which as an accomplished pianist he needed no hand-double and played most of the musical pieces himself.

Rush has been married to Australian Actress Jane Menelaus since 1988 with whom he has two children, Angelica born in 1992 and James born in 1995 and they now reside in Melbourne, Victoria.

Geoffrey Rush - the founding President of AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts); was awarded by HRH Queen Elizabeth II The Australian Centenary Medal in the 2001 Queen's New Years Honours List; was awarded the 2012 Australian of the Year; appointed a 'Companion of the Order of Australia' in 2014 (Australia's highest civilian honour); has played real life characters convincingly, with conviction and often to critical acclaim - David Helfgott, Sir Francis Walsingham, Philip Henslowe, the Marquis de Sade, Leon Trotsky, Peter Sellers, Lionel Logue, Alberto Giacometti and Albert Einstein most recently. Your body of work continues to surprise and delight us and sending us out to the movies whether its playing a real life character, or a personality of fiction and across almost all genres. Keep up the great work Geoffrey, and a very Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

FINAL PORTRAIT : Saturday 17th June 2017.

Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman and printmaker who lived from 1901 until 1966, when he died in Paris, France from heart disease and chronic bronchitis. This film 'Final Portrait' by Director, Writer and Actor Stanley Tucci (in his fifth Directorial outing) tells the story of Giacometti over a three week or so period in 1964, when the world renowned artist asked his American art critic and biographer friend James Lord to sit for him for what turns out to be his final portrait. I saw this film as part of the Sydney Film Festival last weekend, having had its Australian Premier at the Festival on 10th June. It had its World Premier at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year, is due for release in the UK in early August, and not until early October for its general release in Australia. The film is based on the biography by James Lord 'A Giacometti Portrait', adapted for the screen by Stanley Tucci.

Set in Paris in 1964 we are told in voiceover by American biographer and art critic James Lord (Armie Hammer) of Alberto Giacometti (Geoffrey Rush) and his work as a celebrated world renowned sculptor, painter and artist, and that the famed Giacometti has asked him to pose for him, in order that he can paint his portrait. Of course, this is a great honour for Lord, and he can only but oblige his old friend by agreeing, even though he has a flight scheduled back home to the US in 48 hours.

After the first sitting, Giacometti says that his sitting may take a little longer than expected and if he could put his flight back 24 hours. Of course, easily done responds Lord - well, really what else can he say? However, Lord soon comes to realise that the work of a genius cannot be hurried, and it is Giacometti who decides on a whim when it is time for work, drink, food, doubt, destruction, flirtation or laughter in his studio. After the first three days have lapsed, Lord again is asked to delay his flight, but only for a few more days. 

Giacometti is an established artist whose works fetch record prices. When he is paid for his work he hides huge bundles of cash in his studio, fearing the banks as being untrustworthy. He often forgets where he has hidden his wads of cash. He is a man of modest means living in your average Parisian two up two down terrace house with a ramshackle studio. His nonchalant attitude to money is just one of the causes of many an altercation with his wife Annette (Sylvie Testud), another being that his young attractive prostitute mistress and quasi-muse Caroline (Clemence Poesy) receives all his attention. She is his reason for being, his motivation and his incentive to carry on with his life and his work, and she too is mid-way sitting for him for a portrait in progress. His brother Diego (Tony Shalhoub), is also an artist and working in an adjacent studio, is more than familiar with his idiosyncrasies, his mood swings, and his at times unpredictable temperament. 

As another week goes by, Lord is asked to postpone his flight home again due to slow progress with the painting, or it not being upto Giacometti's standard. Often, the artist will start to paint, and then interrupt proceedings with the desire to go for a walk to talk, or to visit the local bistro for something to eat, or drink, or to take rides in the car, or to meet with Caroline. Lord puts on a brave face but becomes increasingly frustrated by the slow progress his artist friend is taking - but what can he do, other than play along, and pacify those in the US who seek his return home. 

Meanwhile Lord has to postpone his flight once more, asking 'how long can this go on for'. By now we are two weeks in, and Diego who overhears Lords rhetorical question says months, years, perhaps for ever, as Alberto seeks perfection in his work, which he knows is in reality unattainable. As three weeks almost clock up and yet more flight postponements, the day comes when Lord has to bite the bullet and leave. Giacometti bids him farewell, Caroline has disappeared off somewhere else with her pimps, leaving the artist and his wife Annette to go about their business, and Giacometti to consider his unfinished portrait.

Here Rush inhibits the character of Giacometti, much as he did with his portrayal of pianist David Helfgott in 1996's 'Shine', and he makes his character study intricate, grounded and nuanced as we laugh at his jokes, relish at his idle gossip, his habits and his foibles, his inconsistent work routine, his preferred watering holes, his insistent chain smoking, his dishevelled appearance, the razor sharp wit of his conversation and his sarcasm and his down beaten studio where everything is presented to us looking in in various shades of black, white and grey. Armie Hammer puts in a subdued but nonetheless commendable performance as the subject of the artist, showing restraint, politeness and conservatism  even as time marches on and repeated postponements to his schedule. As for Stanley Tucci in his fifth turn as Director he here depicts Giacometti as a genius showing us his strengths and weaknesses of his chaotic work life, his self-doubt, and his inner strength to destroy that which he is not completely satisfied with and start over again. A comical, entertaining and engaging study of one of the great artists of the 20th Century, that has been highly praised by Critics.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES - Tuesday 30th May 2017.

The trailer for the latest in this hugely successful franchise 'PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES', which I saw last week, would have us believe, that, allegedly, this is the final voyage for the good ship Black Pearl and her merry band of seafaring pirates as led by the most infamous swashbuckling blaggard of them all Cap'n Jack Sparrow. And so here we have this fifth instalment in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series Directed by the Norwegian pairing of Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ronning for a cool US$230M budget outlay. This film has been in development since before the release of 'On Stranger Tides' in 2011 and went through extensive re-writes, filming delays and budget issues to ensure that the script and the production were just right to almost guarantee its commercial and critical success. It has been reported that Johnny Depp takes home a pay packet worth US$67M for reprising his role for the fifth time as our titular hero of the seven seas. This statistic would hardly seem surprising given that the first four films took a combined US$3,729B at the worldwide Box Office against a budget of US$1,044B together with a collective awards haul of 101 wins and 231 further nominations - not bad for a series of films based on a Disney theme park ride that was first launched fifty years ago. The film has so far taken US$508M since its release in the US, Canada, China and Australia at the end of May.

Here this story starts with a twelve year old Henry Turner (Lewis McGowan) who is in possession of a map that will tell him the exact offshore location of his now increasingly barnacled old man - the banished to sea as Captain aboard The Flying Dutchman, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), as seen at the end of 'At World's End'. Following a watery rendezvous at the bottom of the ocean Henry announces to his father that he knows of the means to break the curse which binds his father to Davy Jones Locker for all eternity, by way of the mythical Trident of Poseidon. Will of course will have nothing of this far flung fancy and tells his son that the Trident does not exist, and he should leave and forget about him. Henry vows to keep searching for the Trident and the means of setting his father free despite what he thinks or says.

We then fast forward nine years later and Henry is now a strapping young man (Brenton Thwaites) working for the British Royal Navy aboard a warship. While chasing down a pirate ship, Henry realises that his Captain is about to sail them straight into the jaws of the uncharted Devil's Triangle from which there is no return. Having an intimate knowledge of all things nautical, Henry is so convinced that they face certain doom, that he rebels against the Captain and his Officers, only to be locked up for his insolence and inciting a mutiny.

Sure enough, the Captain advances into The Devils Triangle and is quickly engulfed by a living shipwreck and its undead crew led by one Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem), who go about killing every man on board . . . except the incarcerated Henry, who just happens to have a wanted poster for Jack Sparrow in his cell. Salazar spares Henry's life so that he can deliver a message that certain death is coming after him!

Meanwhile, on the northeast Caribbean island of Saint Martin, a young woman names Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) has been sentenced to death by hanging because she has been branded a witch because of her intelligence, her knowledge of astronomy and of horology. She is able to briefly escape her captors and inadvertently runs into Jack Sparrow who has been caught red handed robbing a bank vault with his crew. After a long slapstick chase sequence through the main town that is pulled straight from a Buster Keaton movie, the crew come to realise that the vault is empty and all their hard efforts were for nothing. Saying that their Captain's luck and good fortune have finally run out, Jack's crew abandon him. Later Carina meets with Henry who has also been sentenced to death for his crimes against the Royal Navy. During their brief meeting Carina tells Henry that she knows how to locate the Trident. She helps to free Henry but in the process is captured herself.

By now Jack is feeling decidedly depressed and sorry for himself. He has lost his crew, his ship, The Black Pearl, is cursed and locked inside a bottle, and he has no money with which to even buy himself a drink. He lumbers into a tavern caked in mud from a booze induced fall, and trades in his mystical compass for a bottle of the landlords finest rum. In giving up his compass, this causes the Devil Triangle to crumble into the sea, and Salazar and his undead ship mates to roam the seas now freely. Before you know it, Jack is caught by the British Army and sentenced to death with Carina the Witch. He chooses the guillotine and she is to be hanged. However, just in time Henry comes to the rescue of them both, as do Jack's former shipmates and crew having been paid to do so by Henry.  What follows is another action set piece lifted straight out of the Keystone Cops, allowing Jack, Henry, Carina and the pirate crew to escape on Jack's ramshackle old ship 'The Dying Gull'.

Out on the ocean wave, Carina reveals to Henry and Jack that she is in possession of a map that will lead them to the whereabouts of the Trident, but that the map is hidden in the stars, and being an astronomer and a horologist, only she is qualified on board to navigate the course. She agrees to help Henry lift the curse on her father and Jack lift the curse of the revengeful Salazar in exchange for her realising the dream that was left to her by her father. Meanwhile, Salazar is free to sail the seas in search of Jack and is intent on dispensing with all pirate ships once again. He systematically wipes out Barbossa's fleet which has grown quite large and very wealthy, in his relentless search for Captain Jack. Barbossa meets with Salazar and bargains with him to spare his fleet in exchange for the delivery of Jack Sparrow to which the undead Captain reluctantly agrees.

Before long Barbossa delivers on his promise to Salazar by locating Jack's ship off in the distance. Jack, Carina and Henry make off to the safety of a nearby island in a rowing boat, leaving the crew aboard The Dying Gull to create a distraction. Salazar and his men, being undead, are all to nimbly walk on water and give chase to the rowboat. Fortunately Jack, Carina and Henry are able to evade Salazar and his men at the waters edge when it is realised that the ghost crew are unable to walk on dry land, having been banished for all eternity to a watery existence.

Jack, Carina and Henry head inland and are promptly captured by some local pirate types that have taken up residence having been abandon there long before. Jack is forced into marrying the fugly overweight daughter of their leader but is rescued from a fate worse than death by Barbossa. He breaks the miniaturised Black Pearl out of its bottle, so breaking its curse and returning it to its full size and former glory. Barbossa takes control of the ship, ties up Jack to the mast, and allows Carina to navigate them to the island where the Trident is allegedly hidden. In a moment of calm, Jack and Barbossa come to realise a tantalising secret about Carina's true parentage, that neither of them can speak of again.

Sometime later, the Black Pearl escapes being destroyed by a British Naval warship, the HMS Essex under the command of Lieutenant Scarfield (David Wenham), which is instead taken out by Salazar's ship. The crew of the Black Pearl then face off against the crew of Salazar's ship, and is able to break away arriving at the island as directed by a constellation of stars marking out a path. Upon activating a path to the Trident, Jack and Carina are sent careering down a pathway  to the ocean floor where the Trident is located. By now the ocean has formed a deep trench with a deep wall of water on either side making access for the living easy.

Meanwhile, Salazar has given chase, and his undead ghost possesses Henry so enabling him to walk on dry land, which in turn gives him access to the Trident on the now dry ocean bed, which he gets to first. Wielding its mighty power, Salazar impales Jack with the Trident. Henry is now free of Salazar's ghostly possession and realises that an earlier clue to breaking its curse upon the sea, is to 'divide' the Trident into two. Before Salazar is able to render the final blow to Jack, Henry intervenes, breaks the Trident and so returning Salazar and his shipmates to the realm of the living. Barbossa aids Jack, Carina and Henry to safety by way of the dropped anchor from the Black Pearl above, but time is running out as the divided sea walls now begin to cave in. As the anchor gradually lifts the three and Barbossa to safety with torrents of ocean water closing in, so Salazar makes a final last ditch attempt to thwart Jack, but ultimately is unsuccessful. Salazar and his crew mates are engulfed by the sea, drown and die, never to be seen again!

All ends happily after after, as Will Turner's curse is lifted and he is reunited with his wife Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Henry and Carina get it together, and Jack regains the mighty Black Pearl, a loyal crew, and his mystical compass back which points to their next heading, which might just be the teaser that 'Pirates 6' is more of a likelihood than the Studio Exec's would have us believe.

This is an OK entry into the 'Pirates' cannon, but delivers exactly what you would expect and largely what you have seen before. The action set pieces and the CGI are impressive enough, but delivered with a slapstick intent that has been overcooked in the four previous instalments, and as such there is really nothing new to see here. It is an entertaining enough romp - not a bad film but not a great one either, just about sufficient to keep you engaged and maintain your interest for its two hour running time. Johnny Depp plays the Cap'n with a predictable familiarity, that even his brief younger days back story provide little respite from. Rush and Bardem as Barbossa and Salazar respectively provide more of a spectacle and keep the momentum going providing a welcome break from Sparrow's trademark slapstick antics, forced smiles and die-hard one-liners. Watch out for the cameo by Sir Paul McCartney as locked up Uncle Jack, and the end credits sequence setting the scene for the next instalment . . . maybe, perhaps, possibly, and do we really need it!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th March 2016.

This year has already got off to a strong start in the big screen live action comic book adaptation department with Marvel's Co-Produced 'Deadpool' released earlier in February to big critical acclaim and substantial Box Office, returning so far US$684M off its US$58M Budget. If you haven't yet seen Ryan Reynolds in his fine fourth wall breaking, sarcastic, violent, no holds barred turn as Wade Wilson, I strongly recommend you do, and, you can read my Review between these pages. But what else can we expect in 2016 from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its counterpart the DC Extended Universe.

• 'Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice' - DC - release date 24th March - Directed by Zack Snyder for US$250M and starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill  as Batman & Superman respectively.
• 'Captain America : Civil War' - Marvel - release date 28th April - Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo and starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jnr., Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson and a whole bunch of familiar others.
• 'X-Men : Apocalypse' - Marvel - release date 19th May - Directed by Bryan Singer and starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and all our favourite X-Men.
• 'Suicide Squad' - DC - release date 4th August - Directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith, Jai Courtney, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and Joel Kinnaman.
• 'Doctor Strange' - Marvel - release date 27th October - Directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachael McAdams and Tilda Swinton.

So this year that 's Marvel 4 : DC 2. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe entering is Third Phase now and with a very successful proven track record to back it up, and DC just launching, the latter still has much to prove and will be pinning many of its future Extended Universe hopes and dreams on the critical and commercial success of its two outings this year. Time will tell, and only you can make a difference! 

This week we have four new release films coming to a cinema screen near you that traverse most genres - modern day action, historical horror,  family drama and animated animals in an imagined world. First up then is a follow up to a shoot 'em up, blow it up, all guns blazing do or die terrorist offering that first saw the light of day Stateside in 2013 and now makes it way Britside for more of the same crowd pleasing guns, bombs, destruction and terrorism writ large in another nations capital. Then an edge of your seat historical horror offering bringing something new to a sub-genre that has been largely left alone for sometime now in favour of more zombie type fare. This is followed up by a family drama of long buried secrets, an estranged son, a father to be remarried and a remote logging community facing up to the economic realities of life; and last up another animated classic in the making from the house of the mouse that is already doing great things.

In the week ahead when you have visited your favourite movie theatre and sat through your film of choice with your popcorn, bucket of brown fizzy sugar syrup, or choc top and marvelled at the sights and sounds of the big screen, remember to share your thoughts and opinions with your like minded movie going friends here at Odeon Online, by leaving a Comment in the box below this or any other Post.  In the meantime, enjoy your movie.

LONDON HAS FALLEN (Rated MA15+) - In 2013 two films were released concerning a terrorist attack on the White House - 'Olympus Has Fallen' and 'White House Down' - the former of which 'London Has Fallen' is the follow-up was Directed and Produced by Antoine Fuqua for US$70M and it made US$161M in the final analysis. This time around Babak Najafi is on Director duty with several Actors reprising their roles from that first film. Released on March 4th in the US this film cost US$60M to make and has so far recovered US$46M. Essentially what's going down here is another good excuse to blow shit up in London this time, with many notable landmarks and places of historical significance succumbing to them thar pesky no-good terrorist types.

This time it's a Pakistani arms dealer and terrorist leader Aamir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul) who is #6 on the FBI's Most Wanted List. He was believed to be dead, but not so, and he resurfaces in Yemen two years later with his son and right hand henchman Kamran Barkawi (Waleed Zuaiter) who swear revenge for that attack that wiped out members of the family, friends and relatives. Meanwhile many of the worlds leaders converge on London for the State Funeral of Prime Minister James Wilson. And so, US President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart reprising), Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Basset reprising) travel to the UK with Special Agent in charge of Presidential Protection Mike Banning (Gerard Butler reprising) as do the political leaders of Japan, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and the new British PM. It's not long before said political leaders start to get popped off and London goes into lock down as the place gets the shit blasted out of it en route to capturing the US President alive and executing him publicly in front of a global audience. Only one man can stand in the way, and riding his white steed down Whitehall is Agent Banning with all guns blazing. It's gonna be loud, proud and in yer face as Uncle Sam gets its can of whoop ass out once again and overcomes adversity. Morgan Freeman (reprising), Robert Forster (reprising),  Radha Mitchell (reprising), Melissa Leo (reprising) and Jack Earle Haley all star too.

THE WITCH (Rated MA15+) - in his Directorial debut and also Written by Robert Eggers this film has garnered much critical acclaim since its world premier at Sundance in January 2015, and its Special Presentation screening at TIFF in September last year. It then went out in cinema release in the US in February this year and has so far made US$21M off its meagre US$1M budget. Set in 1630 New England, the film tells the story of a remote Puritan living family of father, mother, and five  children whose life is thrown into disarray when the youngest child suddenly and mysteriously disappears, whilst under the watchful charge of the eldest daughter. Living on a farm on the edge of the woods there are evil forces at work that the family may feel are real, or they may be imagined. As things get progressively worse for the family, with the eldest daughter eventually being accused of witchcraft, the family is put to the ultimate test and their strength, loyalty, love and conviction is stretched to the very limit.

THE DAUGHTER (Rated M) - also in his Directorial debut and Written too for the screen by Simon Stone, this promising turn by the Australian Actor is based on the 19th Century Henrik Ibsen play 'The Wild Duck'. With an ensemble Aussie cast this film tells the story of the estranged son  Christian (Paul Schneider) living now in America summonsed home by his father Henry Neilson (Geoffrey Rush) to act as his best man at his forthcoming wedding to his former housekeeper Anna (Anna Torv). Arriving back at a no-name logging town in the present day Neilson also announced that he has to close the mill he owns as the economy closes in. What unfolds as Christian reconnects with old family and childhood friends is the disclosure of a long held family secret that has far reaching implications on Christian, Henry, Anna and those others on the periphery that include Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Ewen Leslie and Odessa Young. Can things be made right again in light of the revelations made?

ZOOTOPIA (Rated PG) - representing the 55th animated feature film from the house the mouse built - Walt Disney Animated Pictures and released to critical acclaim and Box Office records in many territories upon release, 'Zootopia' has so far made US$312M since it opened in early February in Europe. Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore and and Jared Bush, this film features the voice talents of Jason Bateman in a lead role as Red Fox Nick Wilde a seasoned con-artist who forges an unlikely alliance with a Rabbit named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) a newly appointed first rabbit Police Officer to the ZPD as they seek to thwart those behind several missing predatory civilians. Also starring the voice talents of J.K.Simmons, Idris Elba, Shakira and Octavia Spencer amongst others, this film is sure to resonate with young and old and has had much praise bestowed upon it for its strong script, voice work and CGI animation.

Four films this week stretching across action, horror, thriller and animation - what's not to like about this weeks latest releases? Something for everyone well and truly, so there can be no excuse for not catching a film in the week ahead. When you have done so, drop us a line or two - see you at the Odeon in the meantime!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : ON STRANGER TIDES - archive from 13th June 2011.

I saw 'PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : ON STRANGER TIDES' this afternoon in 3D which did very little to enhance the experience. This is the fourth outing for the high seas legend Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) following 2007's 'At World's End' which followed 2006's 'Dead Man's Chest' and which followed the series opener in 2003 'The Curse of the Black Pearl'. Directed by Rob Marshall and Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer this film cost a ridiculous US$378M to make but grossed US$1.05B putting it in the Top 15 highest grossing movies of all time. It is worth noting that the series of four films has so far cost US$1B to make and has raked in US$3.7B in receipts - with a fifth instalment currently in production . . . with those numbers under its belt that's hardly surprising!

It must be said that this film is reasonably entertaining, and there is something quite likable about lovable rogue, ocean going scoundrel and sea faring ladies man Captain Jack and his motley crew of salty sea dog miscreants. Johnny Depp is clearly very comfortable in the role and has made Sparrow all his own,  and we see him joined by his on screen old man for the second time now Keef Richards as Captain Teague.

In this instalment Jack's nefarious past catches up with him in the shape of former lover Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who like him is on the hunt for the Fountain of Youth. Angelica is the voodoo practising daughter of Blackbeard (Ian McShane), and she is able to control the ship, 'The Queen Anne's Revenge' by wielding a magical sword that she possesses. With a zombie crew the trio set sail to seek out the legendary mythical fountain, not knowing that Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) is also on the hunt and hot on their trail too, as is a mysterious Spanish galleon. At the same time Jack learns that The Black Pearl was in fact not sunk last time, but has been shrunken and is now displayed as a ship in a bottle together with a fleet of others seemingly in the possession of Blackbeard.

Along the way of course as they chart a course across the seven seas they must overcome adversity, pitched battles, challenges (including retrieving a mermaids tears), and revenge all interlaced with of lots of tongue in cheek humour. Many of the usual cohorts are there including Kevin McNally and Sam Claiflin, This is mildly entertaining with some ridiculous drawn out set pieces and you can easily leave your brain at the door, but hey, US$1.05B can't be wrong? Watch out for Chapter Five in this franchise due in 2017 - 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-