HELLBOY : Tuesday 16th April 2019.

'HELLBOY' which I saw this week is a reboot of a franchise that first launched back in 2004 when Writer and Director Guillermo del Toro first brought us his rendition of the Dark Horse Comics Graphic Novel 'Hellboy' starring Ron Perlman in the title role as an immensely powerful Demon who works for the governmental organisation, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (B.P.R.D.). That initial instalment was generally well received by Critics and took US$100M at the Box Office off the back of a US$66M production budget. Then four years later in 2008 Guillermo del Toro returned to the Directors chair with 'Hellboy II : The Golden Army' with Ron Perlman once again portraying our titular hero. That film was equally well received by Critics and scored US$161M off the back of a US$85 budget. Then in 2009 a third instalment was in development with del Toro returning once more to helm a film titled 'Hellboy III : Dark Worlds'. However, due to funding challenges that film was subsequently scrapped, in favour of this reboot which was released last week. Directed this time around by Neil Marshall whose previous film making credits include 'Dog Soldiers', 'The Descent', 'Centurion' and two episodes of 'Game of Thrones', this film stars David Harbour in the title role, after Ron Perlman refused to return to the franchise without del Toro's involvement. So far this film has recouped US$26M of its US$50M production budget and has received generally negative Reviews.

During World War II, Hellboy as an infant child was summoned from Hell by Nazis looking for an edge in the latter days of the war. He was instead adopted by the US, and raised under the auspices of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (an agency founded by Hellboy's adoptive father Trevor Bruttenholm, played by Ian McShane) to help fend off paranormal threats. One such threat comes in the form of an ancient medieval sorceress named Nimue, the Queen of Blood (Milla Jovovich) who was betrayed by her coven, beheaded by King Arthur and dismembered by both Merlin and his King in fifth century England. King Arthur then ordered that the various parts of Nimue's body - her head, her arms, her legs and torso be secured in separate iron crates and taken to various far reaching parts of England never to be unearthed again.

We then fast forward to England via Tijuana where the now adult Hellboy (David Harbour) gets into a wrestling match with a former colleague that has turned Vampire. Hellboy reluctantly kills the Vampire in the ring by impaling him on a post, and in his last dying moments turns back into his human form warning that the apocalypse is coming.

A few weeks later, Hellboy returns to the B.P.R.D HQ in America whereupon he is dispatched to England by his father, and in particular the Osiris Club (an ancient English outfit dedicated to uncovering supernatural mysteries) to hunt down and dispense with three giants who have been running amok across the English countryside. Hellboy joins the giant hunters but is ultimately betrayed by them in an ambush. However, the giants arrive and slaughter the hunters leaving Hellboy to fend off the giants and overthrow each of them, which he does of course using his particular set of skills.

In the meantime, Gruagach (Stephen Graham and Douglas Tait), a hog like beast who has a score to settle with Hellboy seeks advice from Baba Yaga (Emma Tate and Troy James), a one eyed ancient witch who lives in a house propped up by chicken legs, who suggests restoring Nimue to her all powerful former self by reconnecting each of her body parts. Baba Yaga knows of the secret location  of where her head is housed, and once secured the awoken Nimue will reveal after 1500 years where her other body parts are located.

After falling unconscious following his battle with the three giants Hellboy comes around in the apartment of Alice Monaghan (Sasha Lane), whom he shares a connection with since her childhood, when she was kidnapped by fairies and subsequently acquired powerful skills as a medium. Bruttenholm descends upon the apartment with a SWAT Team and reveals that someone has located Nimue's remains and will more than likely find her last piece housed at the Osiris Club. Heading up the SWAT Team is M11 Agent Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), whom Hellboy now joins forces with, aided by Alice with her very own particular set of skills.

Upon arriving at the Osiris Club, the three find everyone well and truly slaughtered. Alice connects with the lifeless body of the clubs resident seer Lady Hatton (Sophie Okonedo), whose spirit is still present. Her spirit manifested through Alice reveals that Nimue has plans to find a King so that they can together raise the apocalypse. In the corridors of the building Hellboy runs into Gruagach holding onto Nimue's dismembered lower arm. Gruagach escapes however, after Hellboy is distracted by a vision of Nimue appealing to the powerful force that they could be together.

Daimio takes them to M11's headquarters, located deep underground in an old WWII bunker once used by Winston Churchill, and secretly hidden under a fish and chip shop. While Daimio secretly acquires a special bullet to kill Hellboy when the opportunity presents itself, Hellboy has a heated exchange of words with Bruttonholm over his 'adoption' and upbringing. Dissatisfied with the answer, Hellboy leaves but is magically transported to Baba Yaga's house - the one that walks on chicken legs. In exchange for an eye, the ancient witch reveals the location where Nimue plans to restore herself - the site of an ancient oak tree high up on craggy outcrop at Pendle Hill - the very place where she was slain by King Arthur and Merlin centuries ago. Hellboy reneges on the agreement to give up an eye, and Baba Yaga curses him.

At Pendle Hill Nimue has assembled with Gruagach and her coven of witches which she kills all but one. Hellboy, Alice and Daimio make haste for Pendle Hill only to be confronted by an army of the dead rising up to thwart them. Leaving Alice and Daimio to fend off their undead attackers, Hellboy makes haste to the old oak tree, where he is subdued by Nimue. In making her escape after Alice and Daimio arrive, Nimue poisons Alice with a thorn taken from her crown. 

The surviving witch directs the team to Merlin, believing that only he can save her. Finding Merlin hidden deep within a remote coastal cave system, the old wizard is woken from centuries of slumber and cures Alice. He then tells Hellboy that his mother was human and a direct descendant of King Arthur. As such, Merlin (Brian Gleeson) offers him Excalibur, but Hellboy refuses it after seeing a vision of himself using the sword to raise the apocalypse. Nimue meanwhile attacks London with her plague-like powers, and later unleashes all manner of demons to wreak havoc and mayhem across the capital city violently killing many in the process.

The three return to M11 headquarters, where they find everyone dead and Bruttenholm missing. They reach St Paul's Cathedral, where Nimue is in hiding, and to be confronted by Gruagach. Daimio, who earlier revealed to Alice that when he was a soldier deep in some dense jungle territory tracking down a man hunting animal that he was the sole survivor of a were-jaguar attack which left him permanently scarred to his face. Seeing Hellboy and Graugach go head to head, Daimio transforms into his jaguar form and jumps to support Hellboy in the fight. Nimue kills Graugach and then pleads with Hellboy to side with her. 

After he refuses, she sends him crashing down into a hidden crypt, revealing King Arthur's tomb and Excalibur, partially encased in stone. After Nimue kills Bruttenholm, Hellboy pulls Excalibur, causing him to assume his true form. Nimue further appeals to Hellboy, but Alice channels Bruttenholm's spirit, who manifests itself and appeals to Hellboy's inner sense of humanity. Hellboy then decapitates Nimue, sending all the demons and Nimue's head back to the very depths of hell. Hellboy and Bruttenholm exchange their final farewells, and Daimio tosses away the bullet he had manufactured to kill Hellboy. 

Lobster Johnson (Thomas Haden Church) is a vigilante who has a reputation for violence, such as killing mobsters and burning his trademark lobster claw symbol into their foreheads with the palm of his gloved hand. Lobster was there when the Nazi's summonsed the young Hellboy in the closing days of WWII, and helped thwart, together with Trevor Bruttonholm, the Nazi's plan. The ghost of Lobster also appears to Hellboy in a mid credits sequence as he mourns his late father by his graveside comforted by a bottle of his favourite whisky. Watch out too for an end credits scene involving Baba Yaga. 

I have to say that I was underwhelmed by this version of 'Hellboy'. Once you get past the extreme violence, the viscera, the entrails, the blood, guts and gore, the hacked limbs, the gouged eyes and the almost relentless carnage which I guess is all delivered in the context of a mightily pissed off demonic centuries old queen, the storyline here is disjointed, most of the humour fails to land, and ultimately it's all (CGI rendered) style over substance. The film moves along at a frenetic pace from one action set piece to the next giving the viewer hardly time to catch up on the plot with its gaping holes and impossible time lines. David Harbour puts in a convincing performance as does Milla Jovovich and Daniel Dae Kim, but I am left wondering what Ian McShane was thinking, and the CGI and creature effects are mostly delivered well, but those are the only redeeming features in this sub-par offering when compared to del Toro's earlier offerings.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th April 2019.

In just a couple of weeks the most highly anticipated, eagerly awaited and much hyped film of 2019 will hit our movie theatres, with expectations already reaching fever pitch. As if you didn't already know it, the direct sequel to 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity War', a sequel to 2012's 'The Avengers' and 2015's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe 'Avengers : Endgame' will arrive at an Odeon near you on 25th April.

Following on immediately from where 'Infinity War' left off the film picks up after half of all life in the universe was killed due to the actions of Thanos once he had amassed all six infinity stones and placed them strategically in his Infinity Gauntlet. The remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert those actions in one final stand to restore balance to the universe and save all humanity.

With an ensemble cast that consists all of our much loved superheroes and a few nefarious intergalactic villains too, and the conclusion of eleven years of MCU story telling that has so successfully interwoven individual standalone films with cross-over episodes to drive a franchise that we're invested in, Box Office records could well & truly be smashed here. On April 4, industry tracking projected the film would gross US$200–250 million in the US during its opening weekend, although some insiders saw those figures as conservative and expect a $260–300 million debut, with  a potential worldwide debut of approaching US$850M. The first trailer of the film released in December 2018 generated 289 million views in its first 24 hours, and the second trailer released in March 2019 garnered 268 millions views in its first 24 hours. Advance ticket sales seem to indicate that this blockbuster is going to be huge, with the potential to top the worldwide Box Office takings of US$2.05B as seen for 'Infinity War'. At a running time of three hours and two minutes, strap yourselves in for a wild ride as Thanos faces off against all the might and power that the Avengers and their allies can muster. Can't wait!

This week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, we have five new cinematic releases coming your way. Kicking off with the third instalment in this graphic novel franchise that returns with a new Director at the helm and a new Actor playing our titular summonsed from the very depths of Hell lead character, to battle an ancient sorceress intent on destroying life as we know it. This is followed up by a 1946 set just post-WWII drama about an English couple relocating themselves to Hamburg to help rebuild the war torn city to find themselves shacking up with a German widower in his grand home - a situation that has a profound impact on each of them. We then turn to a drama film about a pre-school teacher who comes to realise that one of her young pupils is a child prodigy and over time tries to nurture his talents - but at what costs ultimately to herself, the boy and his parents? Then, next up is a fantasy comedy offering about a ruthless corporate executive who one day finds herself reliving her life as her younger self; and we then wrap up the week with an Aussie feel good sporting offering about a teenage girl caught in the wrong place at the right time and how she uses her science skills to overcome adversity in a soccer final.

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

'HELLBOY' (Rated R18+) - in 2004 Writer and Director Guillermo del Toro first brought us his rendition of the Dark Horse Comics Graphic Novel 'Hellboy' starring Ron Perlman in the title role as an immensely powerful Demon who works for the governmental organisation Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence. That initial instalment was generally well received by Critics and is took US$100M at the Box Office off the back of a US$66M production budget. Then four years later in 2008 Guillermo del Toro returned to the Directors chair with 'Hellboy II : The Golden Army' with Ron Perlman once again portraying our titular hero. That film was equally well received by Critics and scored US$161M off the back of a US$85 budget. Then in 2009 a third instalment was in development with del Toro returning once more to helm a film titled 'Hellboy III : Dark Worlds'. However, due to funding challenges that film was subsequently scrapped, in favour of this reboot which is released this week. Directed this time around by Neil Marshall whose previous film making credits include 'Dog Soldiers', 'The Descent', 'Centurion' and two episodes of 'Game of Thrones'. This film stars David Harbour in the title role, after Ron Perlman refused to return to the franchise without del Toro's involvement.

And so to this story. During World War II, Hellboy (David Harbour) was summoned from Hell by Nazis looking for an edge in the latter days of the war. He was instead adopted by the US, and raised under the auspices of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (an agency founded by Hellboy's adoptive father Trevor Bruttenholm, played by Ian McShane) to help fend off paranormal threats. One such threat comes in the form of an ancient medieval sorceress named Nimue, the Queen of Blood (Milla Jovovich) who has risen, and is threatening to wipe out London by turning everyone to dust and laying the nations capital to siege while unleashing an evil most foul. Also starring Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim and Thomas Haden Church.

'THE AFTERMATH' (Rated M) - this drama film is Directed by James Kent and is based on the 2013 book of the same name by Welsh novelist and Screenwriter Rhidian Brook. The film saw its Premier screening at the Glasgow Film Festival in late February, went on release in the UK on 1st March, in the US on 15th March and has so far collected less that US$4M at the Box Office. Now it gets a run in Australia from this week. Set in the aftermath of a postwar Germany in 1946, Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrives in the bombed out ruins of Hamburg in the middle of a bitterly cold winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke), a Colonel of the British Forces Germany tasked with rebuilding the broken city. As they set off for their new home however, Rachael is stunned to learn that Lewis has made the unexpected decision that they will be sharing their grand new home with its former owners, a German widower Stefan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgard) and his troubled daughter. In this fraught atmosphere, hostility and grief ultimately pave the way to passion and betrayal. The film has so far receive mixed or average Reviews.

'THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER' (Rated M) - Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2018, released in the USA in mid-October last year, and now getting a limited release in Australia, this drama film is Directed by Sara Colangelo and is based on the 2014 Israeli film of the same name. Here Lisa Spinelli (Maggie Gyllenhaal), is a kindergarten teacher from Staten Island, who struggles with feelings of dissatisfaction in her life. Lisa attends a poetry class every week chaired by Simon (Gael García Bernal), but her poetry is dismissed as derivative. One of Lisa's students, Jimmy (Parker Sevak) is regularly collected late from school by the babysitter. One day, as Jimmy waits to be picked up, Lisa overhears him reciting a poem he wrote. Lisa reads the poem at her poetry class, where her fellow classmates and Simon are struck by it and compliment Lisa on her poetic talent. Lisa thereafter decides that Jimmy is a prodigy, and begins to dedicate her time to nurturing his talent, but at what cost ultimately? Also starring Rosa Salazar, the film has generated generally favourable Reviews.

'LITTLE' (Rated PG) - this American fantasy comedy offering is Directed and Co-Written by Tina Gordon, cost US$20M and is released Stateside this week too. In it, a ruthless tech mogul, Jordan Sanders (Regina Hall) soon faces an unexpected threat to both her personal life and her working career when she is given the opportunity to relive the life of her younger thirteen year old self (Marsai Martin) at a time in her life when the pressures of adulthood become too much for her to bear after a girl she offended wishes she was little. Jordan receives help from her overworked and long suffering Personal Assistant, April (Issa Rae), to find a way to return her boss to her normal self.

'BACK OF THE NET' (Rated G) - here we have another true blue Aussie sporting offering that sees the underdog wrong kid in the wrong place at the right time. Directed by Louise Alston, this film charts the story of young teenage science geek Cory Bailey (Sofia Wylie) who gets on the wrong bus and winds up at The Harold Soccer Academy instead of The Harold Academy Australian Semester at Sea. Like a fish outta water Cory must stay put while her parents are overseas volunteering in India. It's not long before Cory makes friends at her new temporary home, but she butts heads with Evie (Tiarnie Coupland) who just so happens to be the academy's star soccer player.  When Cory learns that the Academy is playing host to a National Soccer Championship, Cory is determined to pitch her scientific prowess and her own teams various soccer skills to beat Evie at her own game and get her shot at the tournament finals.

With five new release movies 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 in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

JOHN HURT - dies aged 77 - R.I.P.

John Vincent Hurt - the acclaimed Actor of stage and screen died at his home in Cromer, Norfolk, England following a long battle with pancreatic cancer on 25th January - three days after his 77th Birthday.  Born in Chesterfield, Derby, England on 22nd January 1940 he had a strict upbringing by his amateur Actress mother Phyllis Massey and his Church of England clergyman father Arnould Herbert Hurt. They lived opposite a cinema but his parents forbade him from watching films there or mixing with other local children. He attended St. Michael's Preparatory School in Orford, Kent where his interest in acting was first sparked. He then attended Lincoln Grammar School, and at seventeen he enrolled in the Grimsby Art School to study art. Two years later he won a scholarship to Saint Martin's School of Art in London, and in 1960 he gained a scholarship to London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he studied for two years.

His first screen role came in the classic early '60's police drama series 'Z-Cars' on a single episode in 1962. His first big screen role came later that same year in 'Young and Willing' with his first major screen performance and perhaps his breakout role being as Richard Rich in the widely acclaimed 1966 film 'A Man For All Seasons' opposite Orson Welles, Robert Shaw, Leo McKern, Vanessa Redgrave and Susannah York. He gained his first BAFTA nomination for playing Timothy Evans, the man accused to be hanged for the murders committed by his landlord John Christie in the real life drama '10, Rillington Place' in 1971. A few years later in 1975, Hurt secured his first BAFTA win for his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in 'The Naked Civil Servant' - the story of the outrageous and flamboyant homosexual Crisp's coming of age and his elder years in a very conservative England. A year later, Hurt's prominence continued to rise with his acclaimed performance in the BBC television mini-series 'I, Claudius' as Roman Emperor Caligula opposite Derek Jacobi's Claudius.

1978 saw another award worthy performance in the Alan Parker Directed and Oliver Stone Written 'Midnight Express' about an American College student played by Brad Davis caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey where upon he is promptly thrown in a Turkish prison left to rot and subject to all manner of woes by his captors. The film garnered Hurt a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and his first Academy Award nomination. 1979 saw his iconic role as Kane in Ridley Scott's 'Alien' - with his alien chest busting scene being hailed by many as one of the most memorable in cinematic history. For this role he gained another BAFTA Best Supporting Actor nomination. Continuing with his run of successes, 1980 saw Hurt play John Merrick in David Lynch's 'The Elephant Man'. This role secured the Actor another BAFTA win for Best Actor, as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

1980 also saw a role in Michael Cimino's 'Heaven's Gate' hailed at one time as being the biggest commercial and critical flop in film making history, but since then time has been kinder to this production. 1984 saw the big screen adaptation of George Orwell's '1984', and in 1989 he starred in 'Scandal' the retelling of the Profumo Scandal of 1963 that shook the British Government at the time involving the Minister of War and an exotic dancer.

The mid-'90's saw historical dramas 'Rob Roy' with Liam Neeson, 'Dead Man' with Johnny Depp, 'Wild Bill' with Jeff Bridges and then Sci-Fi offering for Robert Zemeckis 'Contact' with Jodie Foster. The new decade saw 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' and his first appearance in the Harry Potter franchise as Mr. Ollivander - the wand maker in 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' - a role he would reprise in 'The Deathly Hallows : Parts 1 and 2'. In 2004 he starred in Guillermo del Toro's 'Hellboy' and again in its sequel 'Hellboy : The Golden Army' in 2008 and in the meantime there was the historical Australian Western 'The Proposition', then 'V for Vendetta'  and 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. More than thirty years after his award winning turn as Quentin Crisp he reprised the role for 2009's 'An Englishman in New York' for which he was again nominated for a BAFTA Award.

'44 Inch Chest', a remake of the classic Graham Greene novel 'Brighton Rock', the highly acclaimed big screen adaptation of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' and then swords and sandals epic 'Immortals', horror comedy 'Only Lovers Left Alive', the acclaimed Sci-Fi action drama 'Snowpiercer' and then another swords and sandals retelling of 'Hercules' closed out 2014. 'ChickLit', 'The Journey' and the recently released 'Jackie' bring us up to date. In the meantime, Hurt lent his considerable voice talents to numerous films, television programmes, and documentaries over the years including the likes of 'Watership Down' and 'Lord of the Rings' as Aragorn both in 1978, Disney's 'The Black Cauldron' in 1985, Disney's 'The Tigger Movie' in 2000, Lars von Trier's 'Dogville' in 2003 and 'Manderlay' in 2005 for the same Director, and 'Perfume : The Story of a Murderer' in 2006. There were also innumerable television series including 'The Storyteller', 'Watership Down', 'The Alan Clarke Diaries', 'The Confession', 'The Hollow Crown', 'Labyrinth', 'Merlin', 'Doctor Who' as The War Doctor, and 'The Last Panthers' most recently.

Still to come and due for release throughout 2017 are 'That Good Night' which is complete, 'Damascus Cover' currently in Post-Production, and so too is 'My Name Is Lenny' and currently filming is 'Darkest Hour' in which Hurt played former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, opposite Gary Oldman's Winston Churchill.

All up over seven decades Hurt had accumulated 204 acting credits to his name, garnered two Academy Award nominations for 'Midnight Express' and 'The Elephant Man', gained one Golden Globe Award for 'Midnight Express' and a nomination for 'The Elephant Man', and won three BAFTA Awards for 'The Naked Civil Servant', 'Midnight Express' and 'The Elephant Man' plus four other nominations and the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema in 2012.

He was married four times during his life - from 1962 until 1964 to Actress Annette Robertson; he lived with French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot from 1967 through until 1983 and who was tragically killed in a horse riding accident; from 1984 until 1990 to Donna Peacock; from 1990 to 1996 to Joan Dalton with whom he had two children - Alexander 'Sasha' John Vincent Hurt born in 1990, and Nicholas 'Nick' Hurt born in 1993. Following this he was in a seven year relationship with Sarah Owens a presenter and writer. From 2005 up until the time of his passing he was married to Producer and Casting Director Anwen Rees-Myers. Upon marrying Rees-Myers he gave up smoking and drinking, putting his alcoholic days behind him.

In 2004 Hurt was honoured in the Queen's New Years Honours List with a Knighthood for services to drama by being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He also received various other accolades including The John Hurt Centre in his name being an education and exhibition space in Cinema City, Norwich. He was also a patron of the Proteus Syndrome Foundation (thought to be the affliction that affected John Merrick - the character he portrayed in 'The Elephant Man'), and he was also a patron of Project Harar working with Ethiopian children affected by facial disfigurements.

John Hurt - so many memorable performances, so many iconic roles, such an instantly recognisable deep gravel like voice, in demand for 55+ years - your legacy will live on forever recorded on celluloid and in the hearts and minds of the movie going public and the television audiences you served so well right up until the time of your passing.

John Hurt - Rest In Peace
1940 - 2017.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 18th - 24th January 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? John Hurt does, on 22nd January - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 75,  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 18th January

• Kevin Costner - Born 1955, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Jason Segel - Born 1980, turns 35 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• John Boorman - Born 1933, turns 82 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Dave Bautista - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | WWE Wrestler

Monday 19th January

• Antoine Fuqua - Born 1966, turns 49 - Director | Producer
• Nash Edgerton - Born 1973, turns 42 - Stuntman | Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Editor
• Shawn Wyans - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Composer
• Logan Lerman - Born 1992, turns 23 - Actor
• Tippi Hedren - Born 1930, turns 85 - Actress

Tuesday 20th January

• David Lynch - Born 1946, turns 69 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Skeet Ulrich - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actor
• Tom Baker - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actor

Wednesday 21st January 

• Martin Shaw - Born 1945, turns 70 - Actor | Producer
• Geena Davis - Born 1956, turns 59 - Actress | Producer

Thursday 22nd January

• Diane Lane - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actress
• Linda Blair - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actress
• Piper Laurie - Born 1932, turns 83 - Actress
• John Hurt - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor
• Matthew Newton - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Jim Jarmusch - Born 1953, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Actor | Writer | Editor | Composer

Friday 23rd January

• Rutger Hauer - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actor | Producer
• Richard Roxburgh - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Ewen Bremmer - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor

Saturday 24th January

• Ed Helms - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Natasha Kinski - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actress

John Vincent Hurt was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England to Phyllis Massey - an amateur actress and engineer, and Arnauld Herbert Hurt - a mathematician and later Anglican clergyman. He has an older brother - Michael - who became a Roman Catholic monk and writer and adopted the name Brother Anselm. He also has an adopted sister - Monica. He had a fairly strict upbringing - interestingly being forbidden to watch films at the nearby local cinema, or to mix with other children because they were considered beneath him, and the family.

He attended St. Michael's Preparatory School in Otford, Kent and from age 12 he moved to Christ's Hospital School in Lincoln where he boarded. By this time he had already developed a keen interest in acting as a possible career but his parents discouraged the notion leading him instead toward art teaching. Even his Headmaster dismissed the idea telling the young Hurt he would never stand a chance in such a profession! At 17 he joined Grimsby Art School, and two years later gained a scholarship to St. Martin's School of Art in London, and a year after that he secured another scholarship to RADA where he trained for two years.

In 1961 & '62 he successfully secured small parts in the television series 'Z-Cars' and 'Probation Officer' with his film debut coming in 1962's 'Young and Willing'. Throughout the fist half of the 60's he appeared in many theatrical plays whilst securing the occasional film and television role - first came 'The Contact', then 'This is my Street', and in 1966 'A Man for all Seasons' with an all star cast. Theatre continued to play and active role in his acting career, whilst at the same time carving a name for himself in television productions too.

It was probably his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in 1975's 'The Naked Civil Servant' that brought him to real prominence for his outstanding and very real performance as the troubled gay writer and raconteur which gained him a Best Actor Award at the British Academy Television Awards. This was followed up by his turn as Emperor Caligula in the much acclaimed television series 'I Claudius' with Derek Jacobi. Then came 'Midnight Express' in 1978 for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe, following this up a year later with Ridley Scott's 'Alien' stealing the film with the alien chest bursting scene which has been acclaimed as one of the most memorable scenes in film history.

After this came his turn as John Merrick opposite Anthony Hopkins in 'The Elephant Man' for which he won another BAFTA Award, as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. He also starred in Michael Camino's much maligned and commercially disastrous 'Heaven's Gate', followed up by Sam Peckinpah's 'The Osterman Weekend', and then in the big screen adaptation of George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty Four'. In 1989, came 'Scandal' and then the likes of 'The Field' with Richard Harris, 'King Ralph' with John Goodman, 'Rob Roy' with Liam Neeson, 'Dead Man' with Johnny Depp, 'Wild Bill' with Jeff Bridges, 'Contact' with Jodie Foster, and 'All the Little Animals' with the young up & coming Christian Bale in the 1990's.

As the new century turned over the demand for his acting talents continued unabated with films including 'Lost Souls', 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', 'Hellboy' and its sequel 'Hellboy II', 'The Skeleton Key', 'The Proposition', 'V for Vendetta', 'The Oxford Murders', 'Outlander' and '44 inch Chest', not to mention his roles in two epic film franchises - 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull', and his turn as the wand maker in three 'Harry Potter' instalments.

Turning 70 he continued very much in demand with roles in the remake of the classic Graham Green novel 'Brighton Rock', and then 'Melancholia', 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', 'Immortals', 'Only Lovers Left Alive', 'Snowpiercer' and most recently 'Hercules' opposite Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Throughout, his television series appearances have included 'Crime and Punishment' in 1979, 'The Storyteller' from 1987-88, 'Watership Down' from 1999-2000, 'The Alan Clark Diaries' from 2004-06, 'The Confession' in 2011, 'Merlin' from 2008-12, and 'Doctor Who' in 2013. He has lent his voice talents to numerous productions over the years including both 'Watership Down' and 'Lord of the Rings' in 1978, 'The Black Cauldron' in 1985, 'Thumbelina' in 1994, 'The Tigger Movie' in 2000, 'Dogville' in 2003, 'Valiant' in 2005, 'Charlie Countryman' in 2013 and more. He has 'AKA Nadia' and 'ChickLit' in post-production for a 2015 release, 'Tarzan' currently filming for 2016, and 'Damascus Cover' and 'The man who killed Don Quixote' currently in pre-production.

Hurt has 196 acting credits to his name spread over six decades so far. He has 23 award wins and another thirteen nominations including two Academy Award nominations for 'The Elephant Man' and 'Midnight Express'; a Golden Globe win for 'Midnight Express' and a nomination for 'The Elephant Man'; and BAFTA wins for for 'The Naked Civil Servant', 'Midnight Express', 'The Elephant Man' and in 2012 the Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, plus four other nominations.

He was married to Annette Robertson from 1962-64; to Donna Peacock from 1984-90; to Joan Dalton from 1990-96 with whom he has two sons - Alexander John Vincent (born 1990) and Nicholas (born 1993), and to Anwan Rees-Myers from 2005 to the present day. It was upon his fourth marriage that he gave up alcohol. He is a patron of the Proteus Syndrome Foundation (thought to be the condition his character John Merrick suffered from) and Project Harar to provide aid relief to Ethiopia for children with facial disfigurements and Derby QUAD - an arts centre in Derby. He was honoured with the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2004, and Knighted by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in the 2015 New Years Honours List for services to drama.

John Hurt - totally diverse character actor keeping it real in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Cops & Robbers, Westerns, Comedies, period pieces, drama, thrillers, horror, animation and children's fare; known for an instantly recognisable deep gravelly voice; and often playing authoritative characters or those racked by physical torment -  you have left an indelible mark on the history of modern cinema that remains ongoing and that continues to keep us entertained and enthralled. Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-