What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 20th November 2025

Established in 1987 and marking its 38th year this year the Foyle Film Festival is Northern Ireland's longest running film festival. Taking place from Wednesday 19th through until Sunday 30th November in venues across Derry~Londonderry, the festival aims to bring the best of international cinema and industry players to the city. Over twelve days in November, Foyle Film Festival brings together all the expertise in film, music, creative learning and culture, in a unique celebration of local, national and international cinematic excellence. The festival also delivers screenings, events and workshops throughout the year, as well as Educational and Community Outreach Screenings. The prestigious Light In Motion (LIM) competition is open to filmmakers and animators across the world, with winners qualifying for consideration in the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories of the Academy Awards and BAFTA . . . . . so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Gala film presentation is 'Trad' from Ireland and Written and Directed by Lance Daly. The film follows gifted fiddle player Shona McAnally (Megan Nic Fhionnghaile) and her young brother (Dallan Woods) as they leave their home in the Donegal Gaeltacht and take to the road with a troupe of wandering musicians on a cross-country journey of adventure, romance, and musical exploration. The Closing Night Gala film screening is 'Rental Family' from Japan and the USA and is Written and Directed by Hikari. Set in modern-day Tokyo, the film follows an American Actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig - working for a Japanese 'rental family' agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.

In the World Cinema section of this years festival are the following seven titles :-

* 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' - from Tunisia, France and the USA and is Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. On 29th January 2024, Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A six-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Using actual call recordings and scripted re-enactments based on first-hand testimony, Oscar nominated Director Kaouther Ben Hania blends documentary and fiction to devastating effect.

* 'Alpha' - from France and Belgium and Directed by Julia Ducournau. Alpha (Melissa Boros), a troubled thirteen-year-old lives with her single mother (Golshifteh Farahani). Their world collapses the day she returns from school with a tattoo on her arm. Blending coming-of-age story, melodrama and Ducournau’s trademark body horror, Alpha features a trio of mesmerising central performances including Tahar Rahim as Alpha’s uncle Amin and with supporting cast including Emma Mackey and Finnegan Oldfield.

* 'Romeria' - from Spain and Germany and Directed by Carla Simon. Marina, eighteen and orphaned at a young age, must travel to Spain’s Atlantic coast to obtain a signature for a scholarship application from the paternal grandparents she has never met. She navigates a sea of new aunts, uncles, and cousins, uncertain whether she will be embraced or met with resistance. Stirring long-buried emotions, reviving tenderness, and uncovering unspoken wounds tied to the past, Marina pieces together the fragmented and often contradictory memories of the parents she barely remembers.

* 'The Love that Remains' - from Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and France, and Directed by Hlynur Palmason. Though in the throes of splitting up, Anna and Magnus still spend time together for the sake of their three children, Ida and twins Porgils and Grimur. While there are clear indications of why the separation is happening, there's also the familiarity of a long-held love and a glimmer of a chance of reconciliation.

* 'Nouvelle Vague' - from France and the USA and Directed by Richard Linklater. After several years writing for Cahiers du cinema, a young Jean-Luc Godard decides making films is the best film criticism. He gets producer Georges de Beauregard to fund a low-budget feature, creating a treatment with fellow new-wave icon Francois Truffaut about a gangster couple. This is the story of Jean-Luc Godard making the 1960 influential film 'Breathless' told in the style and spirit in which Godard made that film.

* 'A Private Life' - from France and Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. When renowned Paris-based psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) learns of the death of one of her patients, she is deeply troubled. Convinced that it was murder, she decides to investigate with help from her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), tumbling further down the rabbit hole in the process, as the mystery unravels with unexpected results.

* 'It Was Just an Accident' - from Iran, France and Luxembourg, and Directed by Jafar Panahi. What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences. Vahid, an Azerbaijani auto mechanic, was once imprisoned by Iranian authorities. During his sentence, he was interrogated while blindfolded. One day, a man named Eghbal enters his workshop. His prosthetic leg creaks, and Vahid thinks he recognises one of his former torturers.

For the other film strands being showcased including the Light In Motion Competition, and the Documentary and Irish Films sections, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.foylefilmfestival.org

This week there are four new movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, kicking off with a coming of age comedy drama film about a famous movie Actor who embarks on a journey of self discovery confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager. This is followed by a wartime action film about a man who returns to dismantle his family's house, where they were murdered in war, to rebuild it elsewhere, but when the killer, a Red Army commander, tracks him down, a brutal cross-country pursuit begins. Next up is a musical fantasy sequel that follows Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North; before closing out the week with a documentary film that offers an intimate, first-hand perspective of life in war torn present day Gaza, told through a series of video calls between the filmmaker and a young Palestinian photojournalist.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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 week ahead.

'JAY KELLY' (Rated M) - this coming of age comedy drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Noah Baumbach whose prior feature film making credits take in his debut with 'Kicking and Screaming' in 1995, and which he would follow up with the likes of 'The Squid and the Whale' in 2005, 'Greenberg' in 2010, 'Francis Ha' in 2012, 'While We're Young' in 2014, 'The Meyerowitz Stories' in 2017, 'Marriage Story' in 2019 and 'White Noise' in 2022. This film had its World Premiere in the main competition of this years Venice International Film Festival in late August where it was nominated for the Golden Lion. It is released in select theatres from mid-November, followed by its global release on Netflix on 5th December. The film has generated largely favourable critical reviews.

Here, we follow famous movie Actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as they embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they've made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they'll leave behind. Also starring Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Jim Broadbent, Stacy Keach, Patrick Wilson, Greta Gerwig, Emily Mortimer, Isla Fisher, Lenny Henry and Alba Rohrwacher.

'SISU : ROAD TO REVENGE' (Rated MA15+) - is a Finland and US Co-Produced war action film that is the sequel to 2022's 'Sisu' and like the first film is once again Written and Directed by Jalmari Helander. Here, after returning in 1946 to Soviet-occupied Karelia, where his family was brutally murdered toward the end of World War II, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) aka 'the man who refuses to die', dismantles his old family house, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honour. When the Red Army discovers Korpi's arrival on their soil, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the man who killed his family, comes back hellbent on finishing the job, by killing the legendary ex-soldier by any means necessary. Also starring Richard Brake as the KGB Officer who sends Draganov to capture Korpi. The film cost US$12M to produce, has so far grossed US$2M, saw its World Premiere screening at Fantastic Fest in late September, was released in its native Finland in late October, is released in the US and here in Australia this week and has garnered universal critical acclaim. 

'WICKED : FOR GOOD' (Rated PG) - this American musical fantasy film is is a direct sequel to 2024's 'Wicked' which grossed US$756M off the back of a production budget of US$150M and, like this film, was also Directed by Jon M. Chu. This film adapts the second act of the 2003 stage musical, which was loosely based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, a reimagining of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and its 1939 film adaptation. Here then, years after the events of 'Wicked', Elphaba Thropp, now known as the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), continues her fight for animal rights while living as a fugitive. Meanwhile, Glinda Upland, now recognised as the Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande), is a public figure watched over by the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). As they face the consequences of their actions, their relationship is put to the test by a series of events, which includes the surprising arrival of Dorothy Gale from Kansas, that will change the Land of Oz forever. Also starring Jonathan Bailey, Peter Dinklage, Colman Domingo and Marissa Bode. The film saw its World Premiere in Sao Paolo, Brazil on 4th November, is released in the US and here in Australia this week and cost US$150M to produce.

'PUT YOU SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK' (Rated M) - is a French, Palestine and Iran Co-Produced documentary film that is Co-Produced, photographed, Directed, stars and Edited by Sepideh Farsi. The film depicts life in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli military campaign, captured through Farsi's year long video calls with a young female Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna living there, who was interviewed by Farsi for the film, and was killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside nine members of her family on 16th April 2025, the day after the film was selected for the ACID parallel section of this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where the film had its World Premiere showcasing. 

With four 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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 27th July 2023.

The 32nd Woods Hole Film Festival is taking place in Woods Hole, in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The festival this year runs from Saturday 29th July through until Saturday 5th August and is an eight day showcase of independent film featuring daily screenings, workshops, panel discussions, special events, master classes, parties, awards ceremony and more. It is the oldest independent film festival on Cape Cod and the Islands. As a not-for-profit organisation, the Woods Hole Film Festival is supported by donations, sponsorships, grants, and event admissions to produce and present the excellent programming enjoyed by attendees and the film community at large.

This year, there are twenty narrative feature films, twenty-six documentary films and ten short films in the make up of the programme. A brief synopsis of the narrative feature films being showcased is given as below :-

* '7000 Miles' - from the USA and Directed by Amy Glazer. Jo Standish, a passionate young pilot, is challenged by her grandmother to live her life on her own terms, but she finds herself at a crossroads when that could mean revealing her grandmother’s long-buried secrets.

* 'A Kind of Kidnapping' - from the UK and Written and Directed by D.G. Clark. Brian and Maggie, a struggling couple, decide to kidnap London MP Richard Hardy while visiting their local area. Hoping for a big payout, they’re disappointed when Hardy’s wife refuses to pay the ransom. US Premiere.

* 'All Men Are Wicked' - from the USA and Directed by Peggy O'Sullivan and Michael Hansen. After a run in with the local hangman, a young outlaw finds himself bound and dangling by the ankles from an old ranch gate. He’s accused of robbing a stagecoach and making off with $1200 worth of bank bonds. And he isn’t alone. Strung up beside him are two others, accused of the same crime.

* 'Ariel - Back to Buenos Aires' - from Argentina and Canada and Written and Directed by Alison Murray. This is the story of a brother and sister who return to Argentina, the country of their birth, for the first time in their adult lives. Against the backdrop of the glamorous tango clubs of Buenos Aires, they uncover dark family secrets and the reason why their parents emigrated to Canada. World Premiere.

* 'Bolan's Shoes' - from the UK and Directed by Ian Puleston-Davies. This film takes us on a tumultuous journey from the height of T. Rex mania in 1970's Liverpool to the present-day poignancy of what would have been Marc Bolan’s 75th birthday. 

* 'Coyote' - from Canada and Directed by Katherine Jerkovic. A cook in his heyday, Camilo is now a worn-out fifty-year-old who works for a cleaning company. He is looking for a way to get back on track when an opportunity to rediscover his culinary passion finally presents itself.

* 'Earlybird' - from the USA and Directed by Martin Kaszubowski. A struggling theatre owner resuscitates his ailing business with off-the-wall productions, all the while losing sight of why he chose this life at all.
* 'Eden' - from Spain and Directed by Estefania Cortes. Four strangers come to Eden, a clandestine company in the middle of nature, to escape the troubles that plague them once and for all, but is it so simple to escape from the deepest trials of life? North American Premiere.

* 'Everybody Wants To Be Loved' - from Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Katharina Woll. On a blisteringly hot summer day, psychotherapist Ina notices something about her is amiss. But she doesn’t have time to worry about it, and although she wants to please everyone, a life-altering discovery changes everything.

* 'Intermedium' - from the USA and Directed by Erik Bloomquist. When an obsessive-compulsive teenager discovers her new home is haunted by the ghost of its previous occupant, she searches for a way to help him move on, only to discover they have far more in common than expected. World Premiere.

* 'Jess Plus None' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Mandy Fabian. Following a miserable breakup, Jessica must now play Maid-of-Honour at her best friend’s off-the-grid wedding in the woods, where she will be confronted by her more successful friends from college, her perfect ex-girlfriend, and every bad decision she’s made in life so far.

* 'Know Your Place' - from the USA and Directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi. Set in present-day Seattle, WA. Robel Haile, a fifteen year old Eritrean-American boy, embarks on an errand to deliver a huge and heavy suitcase across town destined for a sick family member in his parents’ homeland. He enlists the help of his best friend, Fahmi Tadesse. An unexpected turn transmutes his simple task into an odyssey across the city of Seattle.

* 'Lakelands' - from Ireland and Directed by Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney. Taking place in a small town in the midlands of Ireland – the sort of place where Gaelic football is religion and identity is defined by what one can do on the pitch. Here, Cian Reilly, a young Gaelic footballer who struggles to come to terms with a career-ending injury after a violent attack on a night out, but then he begins a friendship with Grace, a nurse who is back in town to look after her ailing father.

* 'Let's Meet Half Way' - from the USA and Directed by Max Schmitz and Dana Dveris. A long-distance couple meet in a small town between them once a month in an attempt to save their relationship. Over the course of six months, they begin to lose grip on what they once had.

* 'My Love Affair With Marriage' - from the USA and Directed by Signe Baumane. More than anything 8-year-old Zelma wants love. Only love will make her complete, the Mythology Sirens insist. But love is elusive when you are an outcast at school and a loner at home. Zelma’s story into adulthood represents a journey of all women who try to fit in – to be the best woman they could be according to standards they did not set.

* 'Pacific Coast' - from the USA and Directed by Mark Kiefer. In this coming-of-middle-age comedy, two brothers make a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles in order to move their somewhat estranged father into a retirement home.

* 'Scrap' - from the USA and Directed by, and starring Vivian Kerr. Beth has recently been laid off work and struggles to maintain the appearance of a successful middle-class lifestyle as she bounces around Los Angeles. Hoping to land a new job and change her situation before her estranged older brother Ben finds out, Beth must confront her own pride in order to reconnect with him and provide for her young daughter, Birdy.

* 'Somewhere Quiet' - from the USA and Directed by Olivia West Lloyd. After escaping a kidnapping, Meg travels with her husband, Scott, to his family’s isolated compound in Cape Cod. When they arrive, they discover they are not alone on the property. Scott’s odd aristocratic cousin, Madelin, is staying next door. Soon, Madelin’s presence is inescapable and Meg and Scott’s already fragile relationship begins to fracture.

* 'The Banality' - from the USA and Directed by Michael Stevantoni and Strack Azar. A small town reels from the sudden and mysterious death of 'Feral Boy', a local legend since his discovery in the woods as a child. Father Moss, a priest with a loose grip on the faith, attempts to counsel the forlorn couple that raised the boy.

* 'The Harvest' - from the USA and Directed by Caylee So. After a car accident leaves his family in need of his help, Thai returns home to Southern California, only to find his whole world in disarray. With mounting medical bills and secrets of their own, the family watches as Cher, a tough and stubborn Hmong father, suffers through the devastating effects of kidney failure.

For the full details of the Woods Hole Film Festival, the other film strands being showcased, and a whole lot more besides, you can go to the official website at : https://woodsholefilmfestival.org/festival-2023/

To tempt you out to your local big screen Odeon during the coming week, we kick start this weeks new movies with a WWII action thriller from Finland that sees an ex-Commando who discovers gold in the Lapland wilderness and tries to take his find to the nearest city some 560 miles away but first he must do battle with a group of Nazi soldiers led by a brutal SS officer. Next up we have a Sci-Fi thriller set in the near future in which a humanoid A.I.'s attempt at winning a grieving widow's heart puts it in the path of a government agent trying to stop the rise of machine consciousness. This is followed by an Aussie supernatural horror film about a group of friends who learn how to connect with the dead through an embalmed hand, ultimately unleashing terrifying supernatural forces. And closing out this week, we have a highly acclaimed Spanish offering centering around this family who has made a living from the summer harvest of their peach orchard in the Catalan town of Alcarras for generations, however, after the death of the owner of the property, his heir wants to sell the land to make way for a solar farm. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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 week ahead.

'SISU' (Rated MA15+) - is a Finnish historical action thriller Written and Directed by Jalmari Helander in his third feature film making outing following 'Rare Exports : A Christmas Tale' in 2010 and 'Big Game' in 2014. This film has garnered generally favourable reviews, has so far grossed US$13M off the back of a US$6.5M production budget and saw its World Premier at TIFF in early September last year before its release in its native Finland in at the end of January and in the US at the end of April. 

During the last desperate days of WWII, a former legendary Finnish Commando and solitary gold prospector, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. The word 'Sisu' is a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness, and is held by Finns themselves to express their national character. And so this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means, and no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back, even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path.

'SIMULANT' (Rated M) - this Canadian Sci-Fi thriller film is Directed by April Mullen whose prior feature film making credits take in her debut with 'GravyTrain' in 2010 followed by the likes of 'Dead Before Dawn' in 2012, '88' in 2015, 'Farhope Tower' also in 2015, 'Badsville' in 2017 and 'Wander' in 2020. Here, a woman named Faye (Jordana Brewster) tries to replace her newly deceased husband, Evan (Robbie Amell), with a humanoid simulator. That humanoid has to enlist a global hacker in order to remove all restrictions on his thoughts and capabilities, triggering an A.I. uprising and a government manhunt to eliminate the rise of the machine consciousness. Also starring Simu Liu and Sam Worthington. The film was released in its native Canada in early April, in the US in early June and this week here in Australia having garnered mixed or average reviews along the way.

'TALK TO ME' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian supernatural horror film Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou in their feature film making debut. When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. Starring Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto and Zoe Terakes the film saw its Preview Screening at last years Adelaide Film Festival as the Closing Night Film and had its World Premiere showcasing at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, before its release in the US and here in Australia from this week, and has garnered generally favourable reviews. 

'ALCARRAS' (Rated M) - is a Spanish Italian drama film Co-Written and Directed by Carla Simon in only her second feature film offering following 'Summer 1993' in 2017. This was film is set and was shot in the town of Alcarras in north western Spain in Catalonia, is spoken in the Catalan language and features a cast on non-professional Actors. Here, the story surrounds a family battling against the disappearance of their agricultural activities, revolving around the intention to install solar panels in an agricultural plot hitherto occupied by a peach orchard, bringing the members of the Sole family to a stand off. The film has generated universal critical acclaim, has picked up eighteen award wins, including the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival, plus a further fifty-five nominations from around the awards and festival circuit. It has so far grossed US$3.1M. It saw its release in its native Spain in late April last year, in late May in Italy and only now is it released in Australia. 

With four 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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-