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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th January 2017.

And hot of the press and kicking off Awards Season, comes the news of this years Golden Globe winners and grinners. Presented for the 74th year on Sunday evening 8th January at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills and hosted by Actor and Television Talk Show Host, Jimmy Fallon, the full force of Hollywood's glitterati and glamourati were out parading the red carpet in the lead up to the mind numbing sleep inducing three hour awards ceremony. 'La La Land' made Golden Globe history by winning an unprecedented seven awards - all those it was nominated for.

The winners in the film category are as given below :
* Best film - Drama : 'MOONLIGHT' (released in Australia on 26th January),
* Best film - Musical or Comedy : 'LA LA LAND',
* Best Animated Film : 'ZOOTOPIA',
* Best Foreign Language Film : 'ELLE',
* Best Actor Performance - Drama : CASEY AFFLECK for 'Manchester by the Sea' (released in Australia on 2nd February),
* Best Actress Performance - Drama : ISABELLE HUPERT for 'Elle',
* Best Actor Performance - Musical or Comedy : RYAN GOSLING for 'La La Land',
* Best Actress Performance - Musical or Comedy : EMMA STONE for 'La La Land',
* Best Supporting Actor Performance : AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON for 'Nocturnal Animals',
* Best Supporting Actress Performance : VIOLA DAVIS for 'Fences' (released in Australia on 9th February),
* Best Director : DAMIEN CHAZELLE for 'La La Land',
* Best Screenplay : DAMIEN CHAZELLE for 'La La Land',
* Best Music Score : JUSTIN HERWITZ for 'La La Land',
* Best Original Song : 'CITY OF STARS' for 'La La Land',
* The Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award - MERYL STREEP.

And so to this weeks latest release films coming to your neighbourhood cinema. We kick off with a biographical drama of America's First Lady following the traumatic and dramatic events that rocked the world in November 1963. We then lurch into a weepie drama of love, time and death featuring an ensemble gathering brought in to rescue a damaged man from himself, before centering on three kid friendly films for the tail end of the school holidays with a middle school adventure of one lads determination to break every rule in the school book, followed by a senior school lad who builds mega trucks powered by some otherworldly friendly speed freak beings (not the 'Transformers' kind either!), before closing with a delightful animated feature set in 1880's Paris and one girls dream to escape the shackles of an orphanage by dancing her way to fame and fortune.

As always, be reminded to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations when you have sat through your film of choice in the week ahead, by leaving a constructive and relevant Comment below this or any other Post. With five films out this week, and a whole raft of other great cinema content still doing the rounds and as Reviewed and Previewed here in previous weeks, you have every reason to get out to your local movie theatre and catch a film of choice. Enjoy your movie. in the meantime.

'JACKIE' (Rated MA15+) - this biographical drama film follows the week or so immediately following the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy in late 1963 through the eyes of his wife Jackie Kennedy as played here to much critical acclaim by Natalie Portman in a career defining role. Directed by Pablo Larrain the film Premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in early September where it was in competition for the Golden Lion, and went on a very limited US release from early December, with a wider release to coincide with its international release. Made for US$9M it has so far recovered that investment, and Natalie Portman was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. So far the film has garnered 29 award wins and a further 98 nominations.

Following her husband's assassination at which she is present in the back of the car beside President John F. Kennedy while driving in the cavalcade in Dallas, Texas on that fateful day in November 1963, wife Jacqueline Kennedy is heavily traumatised and shattered as her world comes crashing in around her in a split second as shots ring out fired by Lee Harvey Oswald. In the days that follow and reeling from grief and the sudden loss she must come to terms with, Jackie must console her two young children, plan her husbands state funeral in a manner befitting the stature of the great man and reconcile herself with vacating the White House that she had so painstakingly and lovingly restored, and which she had expected to inhabit for a few more years yet . . . and happily. All the while, she strives to fully determine how history will define the legacy that JFK left behind, and how she too will be remembered as America's First Lady of a truly beloved assassinated President. Also starring Peter Sarsgaard as Robert Kennedy, Greta Gerwig, Richard E. Grant, John Hurt and Billy Crudup.

'COLLATERAL BEAUTY' (Rated M) - Directed by David Frankel whose previous credits include 'The Devil Wears Prada', 'Marley & Me' and 'Hope Springs', made for US$36M and so far making US$60M and starring an ensemble cast, you would be mistaken for thinking this was going to be a sure fire hit - but, this tear jerking drama has been critically panned. Starring Will Smith as Howard - a brilliant, creative charismatic advertising executive who suffers the incomprehensible loss of his young daughter, and so retreats within himself shutting out the world almost to the point of suicide. He believes that humans are motivated by three things - Love, Time and Death (we long for love, we wish we had more time, and we fear death!). And so in his isolation, and to gain some solace in his now shattered world he begins writing letters to Love, Time and Death. While his friends and concerned work colleagues try to reach out to him, he begins receiving personal responses to his letters, and then Love, Time and Death manifest themselves to him in human form. Little does he know that Love, Time and Death are portrayed by three struggling Actors (Keira Knightley as Love, Jacob Lattimore as Time and Helen Mirren as Death) hired by his concerned work colleagues Michael Pena, Edward Norton, Naomi Harris and Kate Winslet. In time he begins to see that even in the most tragic of circumstances, there can emerge meaning, beauty and redemption.

'MIDDLE SCHOOL : THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE' (Rated PG) - this family comedy offering from Director Steve Carr was released in the US in early October and is already out on DVD and BluRay over there. It was made for US$9M, has so far grossed US$21M and is based on the book of the same name from 2011 by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts. The premise here is that quiet and imaginative teenager Rafe Khatchadorian (Griffin Gluck) is done with his new school's regime of strict rules compliance at the expense of creativity and freedom. Desperate to shake things up and rid the school of the burden of rules, rules and more rules, Rafe and his new friend Leo (Thomas Barbusca) decide to break every rule in the school book by concocting a cunning plan and letting their fellow school kids run riot. In the meantime tyrannical Principal Ken Dwight (Andy Daly) is hot on their heels trying to restore law and order to the school campus and deal with the miscreants, while Rafe is chasing the affections of Jeanne Galletta (Isabelle Moner), and battle a gang of school bullies.

'MONSTER TRUCKS' (Rated PG) - this is a family oriented live action combined with computer generated action comedy that is Directed by Chris Wedge, cost US$125M to bring to the big screen and has so far grossed just US$9M and a whole lot of largely negative reviews. The story here surrounds Tripp Coley (Lucas Till) who is a high school senior student looking at a way of beating his hum drum lifestyle and getting the hell outta Dodge for a life less ordinary. He builds monster trucks using redundant car parts, scrap metal and all manner of automotive bits and pieces he can cobble together. One day however, following an accident at a local oil drilling rig, a strange alien like creature is displaced from underground. It seems that this creature which Coley names Creech, has a penchant for speed and a talent to match, and from here on in the two form an unlikely friendship, that might just be their ticket outta Dodge and their one way ride to fame and fortune. Also starring Rob Lowe, Danny Glover, Barry Pepper, Jane Levy and Amy Ryan.

'BALLERINA' (Rated G) - this French/Canadian Co-Production is a computer animated musical fantasy adventure story Directed by Eric Summer and Eric Warin at a cost of US$30M and so far it has recovered US$19M since its release in France and Canada before Christmas and ahead of its US release on 3rd March under the title of 'Leap'. Telling the story of Felicie (Elle Fanning) who back in 1880's Brittany has dreams of escaping the orphanage where she lives and becoming a Ballerina in Paris. She runs away to Paris with her young friend and budding inventor, Victor (Dane DeHaan) but they become separated. Winding up at the acclaimed school of the Paris Opera Ballet she finds the harsh training regime and fitting in with more gifted young dancers challenging. But not to be out done she finds a gifted mentor willing to give her time and patience, Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen) a former prima ballerina who takes the young  Felicie under her wing and in to her tutelage. With the courage of her convictions and desperately wanting to turn her dreams into reality, she works hard to be successful in her audition for the forthcoming production of 'The Nutcracker'. The film has garnered solid reviews so far for its engaging story and quality animation.

With five new release films coming to a big screen near you this week ahead, remember to share your views and opinions of your movie going experience with us all here at Odeon Online, or any of those others doing the rounds and still out on general release. In the meantime, I'll see you somewhere, sometime in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-