Birthday's to share this week : 21st - 27th May 2017

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Jacki Weaver does on 25th May - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 70, 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 21st May

• Mr. T (aka Laurence Tureaud) - Born 1952, turns 65 - Actor 
• Judge Reinhold - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Nick Cassavetes - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor | Director | Writer | Producer  

Monday 22nd May

• Gary Sweet - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor
• Maggie Q - Born 1979, turns 38 - Actress | Producer  

Tuesday 23rd May

• Joan Collins - Born 1933, turns 84 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Melissa McBride - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actress
• Drew Carey - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Television Personality | Producer | Writer | Director
• Tom Tykwer - Born 1965, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Writer | Composer | Songwriter  
• John Ortiz - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer

Wednesday 24th May

• James Cosmo - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actor 
• Roger Deakins - Born 1949, turns 68 - Cinematographer | Cameraman
• Jim Broadbent - Born 1949, turns 68 - Actor | Writer
• Alfred Molina - Born 1953, turns 64 - Actor | Producer
• John C. Reilly - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• Priscilla Presley - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actress | Producer
• Kristin Scott Thomas - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actress | Director  

Thursday 25th May

• Jacki Weaver - Born 1947, turns 70 - Actress 
• Octavia Spencer - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Director 
• Ian McKellen - Born 1939, turns 78 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• Frank Oz - Born 1944, turns 73 - Actor | Director | Producer | Singer | Writer
• Mike Myers - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer | Songwriter | Director
• Neil Marshall - Born 1970, turns 47 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor
• Cillian Murphy - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor | Producer

Friday 26th May

• Alex Garland - Born 1970, turns 47 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Matt Stone - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter
• Pam Grier - Born 1949, turns 68 - Actress | 
• Helena Bonham Carter - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actress | Singer   

Saturday 27th May

• Louis Gossett Jnr. - Born 1936, turns 81 - Actor | Producer
• Joseph Fiennes - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Director | Producer
• Paul Bettany - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director 

Jacqueline Ruth Weaver was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to mother Edith Simpson and father Arthur, a Sydney based solicitor. She attended Hornsby Girls High School, in Sydney's Upper North Shore, and then gained a scholarship to study sociology at University, but instead chose to pursue a career in acting. She began her acting career on the stage in 1962 in a production of 'A Wish is a Dream' followed up in 1963 in 'Once Upon a Surfie'. In 1964, she gained her first role on the made for television film 'Split Level' and in 1966 she first appeared in the ABC Television children's science fantasy series 'Wandjina!' and then on nine episodes of the long running police procedural television series 'Homicide' in 1967. Single episodes on television series 'Riptide', 'Division 4', 'Woobinda, Animal Doctor', 'The Godfathers' and 'Spyforce' all came before her first big screen role in 1971. 

Her debut feature film appearance came in 1971 in 'Stork' based on the David Williamson play, and for which Weaver won her first Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress. From here there was no looking back for the young Actress with numerous roles on the big screen, small screen and stage throughout the '70's. More notable roles came in the form of 'Alvin Purple' in 1973, 'Petersen' in 1974, Peter Weir's critically acclaimed 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' in 1975, 'Caddie' in 1976 for which Weaver won her second Best Actress Award at the Australian Film Institute Awards. In between time there were episodes on TV series including 'Matlock Police', 'The Last of the Australians', 'Water Under the Bridge' and stage appearances in 'Love's Labour's Lost', 'The Seagull' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.

The '80's and '90's were leaner times for Weaver with sporadic film and television appearances only, with the likes of 'Squizzy Taylor' in 1982, 'The Perfectionist' in 1987, 'Cosi' in 1996, and TV mini-series 'The Challenge'. There was stage work during this time that included 'The Real Thing', 'Blithe Spirit', 'Emerald City', 'Away' and 'After the Ball'.

2007 saw television film 'Hammer Bay', then 'Three Blind Mice' before her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated performance in David Michod's Written and Directed 2010 Melbourne crime family drama 'Animal Kingdom' in which Weaver stars as family matriarch Janine 'Smurf' Cody alongside Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton and Ben Mendelsohn. The film won a total of 38 awards and a further 55 nominations. 'Summer Coda' followed that same year with Rachael Taylor, Alex Dimitriades and Susie Porter.

RomCom 'The Five-Year Engagement' with Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and Chris Pratt came next in 2012 and served as Weaver's Hollywood debut film, with the highly acclaimed David O'Russell Written and Directed 'Silver Linings Playbook' coming next, with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, for which Weaver gained her second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. All up the film picked up 88 award wins and another 145 nominations and returned US$237M from its US$21M budget outlay.

2013 saw psychological thriller 'Stoker' with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney and Mia Wasikowska, then historical drama film about the events that unfolded following the assassination of John F. Kennedy 'Parkland' with Billy Bob Thornton, Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, James Badge Dale with Weaver starring as Marguerite Oswald, the mother of infamous assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. A change of pace and genre followed with 2013 horror offering 'Haunt'. 

The next year, 2014, saw drama thriller 'Reclaim' with John Cusack, Ryan Phillippe and Louis Guzman, then black comedy horror offering 'The Voices' with Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick and Gemma Arterton; then Woody Allen's 'Magic in the Moonlight' with Colin Firth and Emma Stone and to follow 'Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks' with Gena Rowlands. 'The Last Cab to Darwin' followed in 2015, as did Sci-Fi romantic drama 'Equals' with Nicholas Hoult, Kristen Stewart and Guy Pearce.

2016 saw Aussie outback murder mystery 'Goldstone' with David Wenham, Aaron Pedersen, Alex Russell and David Gulpilil with television film 'Sister Cities' following. Coming up and yet to be released in Australia is 'Polka King' with Jack Black; Netflix Produced crime thriller 'Small Crimes' with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Robert Forster and Gary Cole; 'The Disaster Artist' with an all star cast recounting the making of Tommy Wiseau's infamous 2003 film 'The Room'; 'Zeroville' Directed and Starring James Franco with Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Dave Franco and Megan Fox; cheerleading retirees comedy 'Poms' with Diane Keaton in pre-production currently; and in post-production are 'Irreplaceable You' with Christopher Walken, Steve Coogan, Michael Huisman and Gugu Mbatha-Raw; with comedy 'Life of the Party' due in 2018 with Melissa McCarthy. Currently filming and due for release in 2018 is 'Widows' for Director Steve McQueen with Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson and Robert Duvall.

In between this filmic output there has been television series and mini-series 'Gracepoint', 'Secret City', and 'Blunt Talk' over the last few years and further stage appearances most notably with the Sydney Theatre Company in 'A Hard God', 'Entertaining Mr. Sloane' and 'Uncle Vanya' with Cate Blanchett. This brings us up to date. All up, Weaver has 72 acting credits to her name and she is the recipient of twenty award wins and a further 31 nominations, including two Oscar and one Golden Globe nod. Weaver was married to David Price from 1966 to 1970, to Max Hensser from 1975 to 1977, to radio and television personality Derryn Hinch from 1983 to 1996 and again from 1997 until 1998 and most recently to actor Sean Taylor whom she married in 2003. She has a son Dylan, born in 1969, with her partner at the time John Walters.

Jacki Weaver - has been in the film, stage and television business for six decades spanning fifty-one years; has a second bite of the cherry in the last ten years and is making the most of her critical acclaim; is short in stature barely reaching five feet tall, yet is big in personality and gives it all to the characters she portrays; is more in demand now than she ever was; and continues to surprise and delight us with her roles and film choices. Happy 70th Birthday to you Jacki, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GOLDSTONE : Tuesday 12th July 2016.

'GOLDSTONE' which I saw this week opened the Sydney Film Festival on 8th June and had its World Premier then, before going on general release in Australia last week. Directed and Written by Ivan Sen who also acted as Cinematographer, Editor and wrote the music score, this is the standalone sequel to his highly acclaimed and multi-award winning and nominated 2013 film 'Mystery Road' which also opened that years Sydney Film Festival. Here, Sen has written a taught, atmospheric and relevant story with the backdrop of a barren sun scorched dusty outback land that stretches for mile upon mile of vast nothingness that is further heightened by widescreen shots taken from afar, or from a birds eye view looking down.

This film sees Aaron Pedersen reprising his role as Indigenous Detective Jay Swan from 'Mystery Road', who drives half-drunk and semi-conscious into the Australian outback mining town of Goldstone (shot in the very remote, sparsely populated western Queensland) where he is promptly picked up by the only cop in this one horse town, Josh Waters (Alex Russell). Asking for a breath test Swan blows positive and is promptly handcuffed, thrown in the back of the Police car and given a 'room' and 'bed' for the night at the local Police Station to sober up and cool down. Whilst sleeping, Josh rifles through Swan's kit bag and comes across a Police issue Glock pistol and Swan's Police ID. The next day, Swan's 4WD is delivered by tow truck to the Police Station, and off he goes to find accommodation in a local caravan park (aka 'The Diggers Rest Motel'). Later, while sleeping, he is rudely awaken by two biker types outside his caravan peppering the side of his temporary home with bullets. Swan escapes unhurt, but it is not long before Josh is on the case asking questions and doing some digging of his own. Swan reveals what he is doing in Goldstone - sent on the search for a young missing Asian girl under authority from the Federal Police. Josh quickly dismisses the notion that anyone is missing, and that he should return post haste from whence he came.

With his accommodation shot up Josh moves Swan out to a remote cabin on the outskirts of town. Swan meanwhile goes about his investigations visiting the local Aboriginal community and meeting up with the local elder Jimmy (David Gulpilil) before coming across the fenced off boundary of the Furnace Creek Gold Mine with dire warnings to keep out. Siddling up to a rocky outcrop within the boundary area at dusk he spies an incoming light plane and witnesses Asian women getting on and off the aircraft. Returning to his parked car he is set upon by armed Security Guards, who promptly cart him off for an audience with local mine manager Johnny (David Wenham) who questions him and cautions him that it would be in his own best interests if he gets out of town, asks no more questions and doesn't look back.

By now the local Mayor, Maureen (Jacki Weaver) is asking questions and seeking a private meeting with Swan. Maureen has been married five times before we learn and came to Goldstone to escape the world and live her life as she wanted. She now oversees the community as a smiling assassin - turning a blind eye to the goings on below the surface while feathering her own nest off the back of the prospects the gold mine presents her on a personal level. She bakes Swan a welcoming apple pie, but tells him in no uncertain terms to stop his meddling in business that doesn't concern him.

None of this puts Swan off the scent and his quest for the missing girl. Seeing a link between the Asian girls flown in and his missing person investigation, as well as his meeting with Johnny and more recently with Maureen, he questions Josh as to whether he is on the take? Josh flatly denies this, but really who would know, but the question does make Josh look inwardly, and so he visits 'The Ranch' - the local bar & knocking shop where Asian girls are sold. He questions the four girls who were recently flown in. They remain silent, but Josh suspects there is more to this, and returns on  number of occasions under the guise as a 'customer' to question one girl, May (Michelle Lim Davidson) in particular who takes Josh into her confidence over successive visits.

In the meantime Jimmy is the lynchpin in the signing over of more Aboriginal land rights to Furnace Creek Mining Group to exploit the resources within the Goldstone catchment. The FCMG management are in attendance and talking up the benefits to the local gathered community by way of education, training, jobs, security and wealth but Jimmy can see right through this and leaves ashamed, just as the final papers are to be executed. Johnny and Maureen catch wind of this and meet in secret to discuss what can be done - Maureen threatens to dispense with Jimmy so that the next in line gains authority to sign the deed, but Johnny wants none of this. Maureen tasks local Land & Environment Officer Tommy (Tom E. Lewis) to attend to this.

When a local hermit contacts Swan unexpectedly by mobile phone and arranges a discreet meeting way out of town, a passport is handed over belonging to the missing girl that Swan is searching for. Protecting his anonymity initially, Swan tracks the loner down who leads him to where he found the passport. This sets off the final chain of events that culminates in a shoot out at the Furnace Creek mining village with Swan and Jay joining forces, donning bullet proof vests, and righting the wrongs perpetrated by Johnny and Maureen ultimately, with a few henchmen casualties along the way. Not everyone however, gets their comeuppance as Johnny flies off into the sunset having made a quick getaway with a stash of cash; Maureen has shredded all documentary evidence of her untoward nefarious activities and skipped town; but the ring of prostitution is broken; the missing girl is found although it didn't end well for her; and at the local Aboriginal community justice is served.

This modern day outback Aussie Western is well crafted and packs a punch. Addressing issues such as Aboriginal environmental land rights, corporate greed, corruption, politics, human trafficking, the sex trade and indigenous culture, underpinned with strong performances from the principle cast and the back drop of the vast emptiness of the barren, hostile yet beautiful Queensland outback this is worthy of your attention and commands the price of your ticket. Ivan Sen is proving on the quiet that he is a multi-tasking force to be reckoned with, and a talent to look out for.




-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 7th July 2016.

Last week I reported on the first six months Box Office success stories from 2016 and their ranking in the all time Box Office league table. So this week I thought I'd analyse our local Australian market to see what we as a nation have so far favoured this year, and where we spent our hard earned dollar. Once again, taken from Box Office MoJo, the Top 10 films that Australian audiences flocked to see, with how much we spent, are listed below :-

• #1 - 'Deadpool' - released February - $33,314M
• #2 - 'Captain America : Civil War' - released April - $25,699M
• #3 - 'Finding Dory' - released June and still on general release - $22,916M
• #4 - 'The Jungle Book' - released April, and still showing in limited theatres - $22,534M
• #5 - 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' - released March - $22,517M
• #6 - 'Zootopia' - released March - $21,242M
• #7 - 'The Revenant' - released January - $15,255M
• #8 - 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' - released March - $11,697M
• #9 - 'X-Men : Apocalypse' - released May, and still showing in limited theatres - $11,392M
• #10 - 'Kung Fu Panda 3' - released March - $9,808M

Those sitting below but still in the Top 50 so far this year, and worthy of note are 'The Conjuring 2' at #13; 'The Angry Birds Movie' at #15; 'Now You See Me 2' at #18; 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' at #19; 'Independence Day : Resurgence' at #20; 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' at #23; 'The Hateful Eight' at #24; 'Warcraft : The Beginning' at #32; 'Spotlight' at #38; 'The BFG' at #48. Many of these are still on general release, and some only very recently so. What this shows once again is that we have an overwhelming appetite for comic book Superheroes, action fantasy, SciFi & CGI; the animated features do well for the kids dragging Mum & Dad along too; and well made drama will always find an audience.

Turning attention to this week then, there are five new movies coming to a cinema near you. Starting off with a hero who has seen plenty of film action over the last one hundred years, this is the first live action feature this century and with an all star cast and an accomplished Director, the jungle drums are beating, the wildlife is circling, and there's familiar yell through the trees that can only mean one man has returned. Then we go to the great Aussie outback that has a search for a missing girl amidst crime, corruption and cover-ups in a small mining community; followed up by a New York love triangle story that seems sure to raise more moral questions than it answers. We then have a true story surrounding the Revolution in Iran of 1979, and the impact on one particular family who went from hero to zero overnight and the lengths they went to in order to secure their safety & security when all about them was in turmoil; and wrapping up with two brothers needing to secure responsible, respectable dates with which to attend a family wedding, but needless to say things don't go quite according to plan.

With action, drama, comedy and romance on this weeks agenda, plus the raft of other great cinematic content still on general release and as Reviewed or Previewed between these pages, there is no excuse not to get out to your local movie theatre. When you have done so, be sure to drop your thoughts and film experience into the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear your views. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'THE LEGEND OF TARZAN' (Rated M) - this tree swinging, loin cloth wearing, ape loving jungle hero turned 100 years old in 2012 - having first emerged as the subject of a novel 'Tarzan of the Apes' immortalised by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. The first full length feature film appeared in 1918 with 51 subsequent live action and animated films since then right up to 2005. Perhaps the most memorable and loved Tarzan was played by Johnny Weissmuller - a record breaking swimmer and winner of five Olympic Gold medals at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics in Paris and Amsterdam respectively. His first film 'Tarzan the Ape Man' was released in 1932 and all up he made twelve appearances as the jungle hero. Buster Crabbe, another Olympic Swimmer of 1928 and 1932 appeared in 1933's 'Tarzan the Fearless' with Lex Barker starring in five films and Gordon Scott in six. By the 1970's Tarzan had largely had his time, albeit John Derrick's 'Tarzan the Ape Man' in 1981 with Miles O'Keefe; 'Greystoke : The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes' in 1984 with Christopher Lambert; 'Tarzan in Manhattan' and 'Tarzan Returns' in 1987 and 1996 both with Joe Lara, and then 'Tarzan and the Lost City' with Casper Van Dien in 1998 saw the last of the live action offerings. There have been four animated features since then - three from Disney Studios and as recently as 2005. Tarzan has a rich and colourful history taking in a multitude of films, television series, radio shows, theatre productions, novels, comic books, video games and action figures. And, there is a San Fernando Valley neighbourhood named 'Tarzana' established around a former ranch owned by the characters creator.

With the history lesson over how will this latest live action offering go in an era of Marvel dominated Superheroes, hi-technology, advanced gadgetry and otherworldly enemies? David Yates Directs an all star cast headed up by Alexander Skarsgard as our planet of the apes man for a cool US$180M that sees John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke (aka Tarzan) return to the African Congo from his home in London to thwart Captain Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) a corrupt and ruthless Belgian officer sent by his King to search for diamonds and take control of the Region. He teams up with Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou) who controls the diamond trade and the Region but has a vendetta against Tarzan. Meanwhile, Tarzan and his wife Jane Porter (Margot Robbie) travel to the Congo with George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson) to investigate stories of locals being enslaved. When paths cross, and the animal kingdom go on the rampage at the will of Tarzan, it will invariably come down to the survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle, and my money is on the loin cloth clad ape man! Jim Broadbent also stars.

'GOLDSTONE' (Rated M) - this film opened the Sydney Film Festival on 8th June and had its World Premier then, before going on general release in Australia this week. Directed and Written by Ivan Sen who also acted as Cinematographer and wrote the music score, this is the sequel to his highly acclaimed and multi-award winning and nominated 2013 film 'Mystery Road'. This films sees Aaron Pedersen reprising his role as Detective Jay Swan who rolls half-drunk and semi-conscious into the Australian outback town of Goldstone where he is promptly picked up by the only cop in this one horse town, Josh (Alex Russell). The two form an unlikely partnership as they in go in search of a missing girl, whilst coming up against various road blocks put in their way by the town's Mayor (Jacki Weaver) and the local mining company boss (David Wenham) that only add to the web of intrigue and unravel a mass of crime and corruption in this remote community. David Gulpilil also stars.

'MAGGIE'S PLAN' (Rated M) - Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Rebecca Miller this dramadeyrom stars Greta Gerwig as Maggie, a young intellectual New Yorker who decides to have a child without the burden of a man. She inseminates herself with the aid of Guy (Travis Fimmel) a former college friend and then promptly falls for John (Ethan Hawke) - an unhappy author married to Georgette (Julianne Moore)  - a Columbia University Professor. John and Georgette's marriage is however, on the slide. Fast track a few years and John and Maggie are now married, but Maggie is fast falling out of love with her husband, and so she hatches a plan to reunite her husband with his ex-wife. The film Premiered at TIFF in September last year, and was subsequently shown at the New York Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival in February before its official US release in May. It has so far grossed US$2.2M.

'SEPTEMBERS OF SHIRAZ' (Rated M) - based on Dahlia Sofer's 2007 novel 'The Septembers of Shiraz' this is a true story Directed by Wayne Blair set in the lead up to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Before that time Iran was a prosperous country where there was tolerance of all religions and people could live and flourish. But come the Revolution and life changes for many in an instant, including that of the prosperous Jewish family led by Isaac Amin (Adrien Brody) - a successful jeweller based in Tehran. One morning, for no apparent reason he is arrested, carted off and interrogated leaving his distraught wife Farnez (Selma Hayek) to make sense of it all, secure the release of her husband and get him and their family the hell outta Dodge! A searing insight into how quickly lives can change, and how much pain and anguish can be endured to save those closest to you.

'MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES' (Rated MA15+) - well, here, once again, we have Zac Efron playing . . . well, Zac Efron! Stuck it seems in type cast Hell judging by his more recent fare, here he plays David, surprise surprise half of a delinquent brother duo to Michael (Adam DeVine) who have a reputation for trashing and upsetting family gatherings because of their hi-jinx and dangerous antics. With their sisters wedding on the horizon planned for Hawaii their parents order the boys to secure responsible, respectable wedding dates. After placing an ad. on social media which quickly goes viral, and then the boys appear on the daytime infotainment talk show - 'The Wendy Williams Show' to promote themselves, they catch the eyes and the ears of Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) who appear to be everything that Mike and Dave's parents could wish for. However, when the foursome arrive in Hawaii with family and guests in tow, the girls shows their true colours and the boys find themselves outsmarted, out-partied and outdone at every turn by the uncontrollable and unhinged girls. Directed by Jake Szymanski.

Five new filmic offerings for the week ahead, so get on out to your local multiplex and treat yourself to some movie goodness. Remember to share your thoughts with this Blog after your movie of choice, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-