GRAN TURISMO : Monday 14th August 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'GRAN TURISMO' at my local multiplex earlier this week, and this American biographical sports film is Directed by Neill Blomkamp whose prior feature film credits take in his debut with the acclaimed 'District 9' in 2009, then 'Elysium' in 2013, 'Chappie' in 2015 and 'Demonic' in 2021. This film is based on the PlayStation Studios video game series of the same name, and inspired by the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage Gran Turismo player aspiring to be a race car driver. Originally slated for a wide cinema release last week, this has been reduced to a limited release due to the SAG-AFTRA strike before its release proper from the 25th of this month. The film has garnered mixed critical acclaim and has so far grossed close to US$11M. 

The film opens in the home of the Mardenborough's in Cardiff, Wales with Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) a compulsive obsessive late teenager over his Gran Turismo simulated racing game for which he is a self-confessed expert having spent literally thousands of hours perfecting his skills and constructing and deconstructing his on-line vehicles to his specifications in order to eek out the necessary speed and handling advantages over his on-line opponents. On this particular day he receives a parcel in the post containing a brand new steering wheel which will help him take his gaming skills to the next level. Jann's brother Coby (Daniel Puig) berates him for having to save up his hard earned cash from his part-time job as a shop assistant for months, in order to buy the steering wheel, but Jann responds that it only took him one month of his wage. Jann and Coby's parents are Steve Mardenborough (Djimon Housou) a former professional football player who played for Cardiff City Football Club and his mother Lesley (Geri Halliwell), who berate Jann for spending all of his waking hours playing his game rather than getting a real job or going on to university.

In the meantime, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) a marketing executive for Nissan is in Tokyo pitching a plan to Nissan's Board for an opportunity for the world's best Gran Turismo driver to become a real race car driver, and progress through the ranks of the GT Academy to win a spot on Team Nissan and drive in race competitions globally, and in the process open up Nissan to potentially millions of car buying customers. When the Board give the thumbs up for the competition to go ahead, on the one proviso that it is absolutely safe to do so, Danny sets about calling all of his Chief Engineer contacts who will effectively mentor and monitor the group of ten hopefuls in the GT Academy and whittle those ten down to one outright winner who will progress. The last name on Danny's list after a whole bunch of rejections is Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former race car driver who could have been a world champion were it not for a crash in the 24 hour Le Mans race after which he lost his nerve. 

After sneaking out one night with Coby to go and see Jann's would be girlfriend Audrey (Maeve Courtier-Lilley) and taking their Dad's car without his permission, they get side swiped by another car driven by a group of teenagers on their way home. Both cars are pulled over the Police, and while the officer is questioning the driver of the other vehicle, Jann decides to push the peddle to the metal and drive off at speed with the Police car giving chase. Jann's driving skills manage to evade them being caught, but with a broken wing mirror and the side panels needing a paint job, Dad is waiting outside when they pull up outside their home. As penance, Dad insists that Jann join him at his work at a rail yard, given that Jann seems to have little motivation to find a real job and only has his sights set on a pipe dream of racing cars.

And so Jann is selected to compete in a Gran Turismo race at his local gaming arcade because he clocked the fastest time, and so leaving the rail yard and rebelling against his Dad he arrives just in the nick of time to take his seat at the console. Needless to say Jann wins the race and his place on the GT Academy, located at Silverstone Race Circuit, in Northamptonshire, England. There he is joined by nine other hopefuls and are introduced to Danny, Jack (recently recruited from his Chief Engineer role at Capa Racing) and executive members of Nissan.

And so Jack puts the hopefuls through their paces which involves physical exercises to strengthen their bodies to be able to withstand extreme G-forces and speeds, their mental dexterity to make split second decisions while driving at those extreme speeds, and of course time spent behind the wheel of the cars they may one day be racing. Over the course of six weeks they are put through their paces, with Jack and Danny ultimately reducing the number from ten down to five, with the top five having to race each other in a sudden death competition with the winner taking all. And so in 2011, Jann became the third and youngest winner of the GT Academy competition, beating out 90,000 other entrants, and has his sights set on a career as a professional race car driver.

The next day, Jann is on a private Leer Jet with Danny and Jack heading off to Vienna to take part in his inaugural race. There are five races left in the season and Jann must land in the top four in one race to be granted his FIA licence to be able to drive at the top level. In his first race Jann was a back marker, in his second he ranked 17th, in his third race he came 12th and in his fourth he did not finish and crashed out. However, in his fifth race he finished fourth and so was granted his FIA licence. 

And so the next season takes us to various race circuits around Europe where Jann is always in competition with the very opinionated and aggressively competitive Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski) who firmly believes that a simulator driver will never stand on the winners podium, and that they are not real race car drivers. As the season progresses, the action takes us to Germany's Nurburgring race track. With the race in full swing and Jann catching Capa, his Nissan GT-R Nismo caught air and cartwheeled end over end several times through the fence into spectators, leaving one spectator dead. Jann is rushed to hospital in a helicopter while his parents watch on from their home in Cardiff in disbelief. Jann eventually comes round in a hospital bed with Danny and Jack on hand. He asks what happened, and Jack explains, and then responds with 'was anyone hurt', to which Jack responds with one spectator died. Jann is mortified. It takes Jann a while to reconcile the events of that horror crash, but later on while driving around the Nurburgring with Jack behind the wheel of a Porsche he first recounts his own experience at the Le Mans 24 hour race years earlier and teases Jann with the words 'don't let the crash define who you are - how you respond to it will'. He then tells Jann to finish his lap, on the empty track, which he does. 

His final fixture of the season was to be the 24 hour Le Mans race. In the lead up everything is good, and Jann has made a good recovery, but during the early stages of the race he is closing in on a car when it veers out of control, off the track, into the tyre wall and bursts into flames. Jann is visibly shaken by the event which occurred directly in front of him and which he then caught in his rear view and wing mirrors, which brought back memories of his horrific accident. He slows down dramatically giving up his place as seventh and falling back to fifteenth in a crisis of confidence, with Jack and Danny beside themselves in the pit lane. Jack then plays Jann his favourite Kenny G and Enya songs, which he uses to relax and compose himself prior to a race, on the team radio which brings Jann back to the here and now. Fairly quickly with his mind back on the task in hand, Jann begins to recover his lost ground rising through the rankings and ultimately battling it out for third place with Nicholas Capa and just inching ahead of his arch rival as they cross the chequered flag in a photo finish, with Jann being declared in third place and a podium finish. 

'Gran Turismo' is an entertaining sports drama biopic that has emotion, excitement, exhilaration and energy that elevates it above many of the other video game adaptations that we have seen in recent times. The production values and clever use of graphics are top notch, and the racing sequences (of which there are plenty to satisfy any petrolhead) are expertly crafted from both inside, outside and above the cars. The performances from Harbour, Bloom and Madekwe are all on point and the Direction from Neill Blomkamp all help to create an underdog racing story, that if a little generic in its formula, has enough under the bonnet to maintain your interest for its 135 minute run time. This film won't be for everyone, but if fast cars racing around closed circuits is your thing, then this movie is for you. 

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 10th August 2023.

The 76th Locarno Film Festival this year takes place between Wednesday 2nd and Saturday 12th  August. The Locarno Film Festival was born in the aftermath of the Second World War. It offered a stage for revival, freedom of art and expression for talents from all over the world eager to tell stories in new, different ways. Since its inception, Locarno has been home to the most daring, avant-garde, irreverent and innovative forms of films – screened in their uncut, uncensored versions. Every year since 1946, we present international independent films carefully selected to inspire you, to surprise you, to make you question assumptions, to open your mind, to push you. Nestled in the mountains beside a lake, our remote Swiss-Italian town gives way to an intense eleven day celebration of cinema. The festival this year offers over 350 screenings of which 110 are World Premiere's, talks, events, conferences, concerts, art exhibitions, parties (and so much more!) - so reads the official website.

The Opening Film of the festival was 'Dammi' - from France and is Co-Written and Directed by Yann Mounir Demange and stars Riz Ahmed, the recipient of the years 'Excellence Award'. The Closing Film is 'Shayda' - from Australia and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Noora Niasari.

The Concorso internazionale features works shown primarily as World Premieres, coming from all over the globe and competing for the prestigious Pardo d’oro. Showcasing established auteurs alongside the pleasure of discovery, storytelling and innovation, the Concorso internazionale is an open, inclusive place, which aims to mark the new territories of cinematic art. This is where the best forms of contemporary cinema converge. The Pardo d'oro award offers the Grand Prize of the Festival to the best film with an award of CHF75K to be shared equally between the Director and the Producer. There are also awards for Best Direction, two prizes for Best Performance and a Special Jury Prize.

Those seventeen films in official competition for the Pardo d'oro (Golden Leopard) are :-

* 'Animal' - from Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus and Bulgaria and Written and Directed by Sofia Exarchou. 

* 'Essential Truths of the Lake' - from the Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland and the UK and Written, Co-photographed, Directed and Edited by Lav Diaz.

* 'Home' - from Portugal and Co-Written, photographed and Directed by Leonor Teles.

* 'The Human Surge 3' - from Argentina, Portugal, Netherlands, Taiwan, Brazil, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and Peru and Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Edited and Special and Visual Effect by Eduardo Williams.

* 'The Permanent Picture' - from Spain and France and Written and Directed by Laura Ferres.

* 'Lousy Carter' - from the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Bob Byington.

* 'Manga D'Terra' - from Switzerland and Portugal and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Basil Da Cunha.

* 'Critical Zone' - from Iran and Germany and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ali Ahmadzadeh.

* 'Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World' - from Romania, Luxembourg, France and Croatia and Written, Directed and Costumes designed by Radu Jude.

* 'Obscure Night - Goodbye here, anywhere' - from France and Switzerland and Written, photographed, Directed, Edited, sound engineered and Art Directed by Sylvain George.

* 'The Invisible Fight' - from Estonia, Latvia, Greece and Finland and Written and Directed by Rainer Sarnet.

* 'Patagonia' - from Italy and Co-Written and Directed by Simone Bozzelli.

* 'Rossosperanza' - from Italy and France and Written and Directed by Annarita Zambrano.

* 'Stepne' - from Ukraine, Germany, Poland and Slovakia and Co-Written, Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Maryna Vroda.

* 'Sweet Dreams' - from Netherlands, Sweden, Indonesia and Reunion and Written, Co-Executive Produced and Directed by Ena Sendijarevic.

* 'The Vanishing Soldier' - from Israel and Co-Written and Directed by Dani Rosenberg.

* 'Yannick' - from France and Written and Directed by Quentin Dupieux.

This years 'Excellence Award' goes to Riz Ahmed, the 'Leopard Club Award' goes to Stellan Skarsgard and the Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Renzo Rossellini. For the details on the other Special Award recipients, the other competitive sections and a whole lot more good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.locarnofestival.ch/home.html

This week we have five latest cinematic releases to tease you out to your local big screen Odeon, launching with a comedy drama offering from a Director known for his quirky movie offerings that sees world-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town in the mid-1950's. This is followed by a supernatural horror film about the crew of a cargo ship stuck in the middle of the ocean who must fight for their lives against a blood thirsty and terrifying unknown creature. Next up we have a high octane biographical sports drama film about a video  gamer's skills that wins him the chance to become a professional race car driver. Then we turn to a Sci-Fi comedy about how a man's quiet life gets upended when a UFO crashes in his backyard in rural Pennsylvania; before closing out the week with a drama about a movie location scout, while touring a repossessed chateau, falls for its flirtatious representative, who recounts the story of an influential book written there.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'ASTEROID CITY' (Rated M) - this American comedy drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Wes Anderson, whose previous film making credits include his debut in 1996 with 'Bottle Rocket' and then 'Rushmore' in 1998, 'The Royal Tenenbaums' 2001, 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' in 2004, 'Moonrise Kingdom' in 2012, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' in 2014, 'Isle of Dogs' in 2018, and 'The French Dispatch' in 2021. This film saw its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in late May this year, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It began a limited theatrical release in the US in mid-June before its much wider release a week later. It has so far grossed over US$47M worldwide off the back of a US$25M production budget and has received generally positive reviews.

The film follows Conrad Earp (Edward Norton), a legendary playwright on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever. Also starring an ensemble cast that takes in Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Jeff Goldblum, Hope Davis, Rita Wilson and Bob Balaban. The film serves as Anderson's homage to popular memory and mythology surrounding extraterrestrials and UFO's as reported in the Southwestern desert nearby to the atomic test sites during the post WWII period of the late 1940's and 50's in America.

'THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER' (Rated MA15+) - aka 'Dracula : Voyage of the Demeter' is an American supernatural horror film that languished in development hell for almost twenty years going through numerous Directors and lead Actors before eventually in 2019 Andre Ovredal was chosen to Direct. His previous feature film making credits take in 'Trollhunter' in 2011, 'The Autopsy of Jane Doe' in 2016, 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' and 'Mortal' in 2020. This film is an adaptation of 'The Captain's Log', a chapter from the 1897 Bram Stoker novel 'Dracula'. Here, strange and horrifying events befall the doomed crew of the merchant ship 'Demeter' as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage from Transylvania to London, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard - a legendary vampire known as Dracula. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck, with no trace of the crew. Starring Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian and Javier Botet as Dracula. It is released in the US this week too.

'GRAN TURISMO' (Rated M) - this American biographical sports film is Directed by Neill Blomkamp whose prior feature film credits take in his debut with the acclaimed 'District 9' in 2009, then 'Elysium' in 2013, 'Chappie' in 2015 and 'Demonic' in 2021. This film it is based on the PlayStation Studios video game series of the same name, and inspired by the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage Gran Turismo player aspiring to be a race car driver. Here then Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won him a series of Nissan-sponsored video game competitions in 2011 in which he became the third and youngest winner of the GT Academy competition, beating 90,000 entrants, to become an actual professional race car driver. Also starring Orlando Bloom, David Harbour, Djimon Hounsou, Gerri Halliwell, Thomas Kretschmann and Darren Barnet. Originally slated for a wide cinema release this week, this has been reduced to a limited release due to the SAG-AFTRA strike before its release proper from the 25th of this month. 

'JULES' (Rated CTC) - is an American Science Fiction comedy film Directed by Marc Turtletaub whose previous movie making credits take in his debut in 2013 with 'Gods Behaving Badly' and 'Puzzle' in 2018. although he has also accumulated thirty-four Producer credits, three as Writer and two as an Actor. Here then, Milton Robinson (Ben Kingsley) leads a quiet unassuming life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls 'Jules'. Things start to get complicated when two neighbours Sandy and Joyce (Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin respectively) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. The film is released Stateside this week also.

'AROUND THE SUN' (Rated M) - this 2019 drama film was released in the UK in early August 2020 and only now does it get a release in Australia. Directed by Oliver Krimpas in his feature film making debut, here the story tells of a movie location scout Bernard (Gethin Anthony) who, while touring a repossessed and in a state of disrepair chateau in northern France, falls for its owners flirtatious representative Maggie (Cara Theobold), who recounts the story of an influential popular science book written and set there. But is their connection for real, or just a projection of the book's 17th Century characters? The film has garnered generally favourable reviews. 

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-