MUTINY : Tuesday 25th August 2026

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'MUTINY' earlier this week at my local Multiplex, and this UK and US Co-Produced action thriller film is Directed by Jean-Francois Richet, whose previous feature film making credits take in his debut with 'Inner City' in 1995, and which he would follow up with the likes of 'Assault on Precinct 13' in 2005, 'Blood Father' in 2016, 'The Emperor of Paris' in 2018 and 'Plane' in 2023. This film was released in the US and the UK last week too, has so far recovered US$17M from its production budget of US$40M and has garnered mixed or average critical reviews. 

The film opens in Bangkok and we are introduced to Cole Reed (Jason Statham, who also Co-Produces here) who is a former English Police Officer and Commando now working for the past five years as bodyguard for billionaire shipping magnate and CEO of cargo shipping company KMG, Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram). 

One evening after playing a game of chess with Tibu at his palatial Bangkok residence, Reed and Tibu go on a drive before being ambushed. Reed kills all the attackers, but Tibu dies from a stray gunshot on the backseat of his car, and with his dying words Tibu's tasks Reed with taking care of his son, Kameron (Chaneil Kular). Reed is instantly framed for Tibu's murder.

After learning that Tibu's assassins will be boarding a cargo ship named Artemis due to leave the port at midnight that same night, Reed assumes the identity of a dead assassin and secrets himself aboard the ship. Reed encounters another KMG employee named Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis), who was summoned to the ship last minute to replace the assassin Reed assumed the identity of. Once the ship is out to sea, Reed starts to covertly inspect the ship, discovering a container on the lower deck filled with the victims of a human trafficking operation. He explains that he will get water, food and medical supplies for the victims and tells them to wait. Angie who has heard Reed from an upper deck goes to investigate and also comes across the same container. She releases the victims and reports to the Captain of the Artemis Marko Madsen (Roland Moller). 

Reed frees the hostages and leads them to a life boat, before killing a crew member who attacks him after finding the hostages escaping. After discovering that the crew is complicit in the trafficking, Angie sends out a distress signal from the ship that is intercepted by the US Coast Guard before being shot in the shoulder and subdued. The hostages are recaptured.

Reed realises that the ship's Captain takes orders from Jaran Daniles (Simon Kluth), the person responsible for ordering Tibu's assassination, and that they had Tibu killed to delay the sale of KMG, and to have Kameron sell the company to them. Meanwhile, Reed and Angie have teamed up, with Reed extracting the bullet from Angie's shoulder down in the engine room, and dressing the wound. 

After killing most of the crew in a hail of bullets and close quarter knife play, Reed fights with Marko and kills him by shooting him through the head with a harpoon gun. The Coast Guard arrive at the ship's coordinates after Captain Adam Spencer (Adrian Lester) deduced that something wasn't quite right with the intelligence he was being given by the Artemis' Captain, and having his own men research the Artemis crew, and Cole Reed. 

They surround Reed, believing he is responsible for Tibu's death but are stopped by Angie, who lies that Reed died on the ship and that his body was thrown overboard. Angie leaves to return to her six year old daughter in the US while Reed, no longer on the run due to being declared dead, returns to Thailand in a motorboat to find and kill Daniles.

At Tibu's funeral, Reed confronts Kameron, who claims he was used by Daniles and the human traffickers and that they attempted to pressure him into selling KMG to them. Reed reprimands Kameron, saying that he should have informed him of his situation, and that Kameron will have to live with the knowledge for the rest of his life that his carelessness caused his father's death. Reed leaves to find Daniles.

Later, at night Reed intercepts a car with Daniles inside, crashes into it sending it flipping end over end before coming to rest right side up. He kills the driver, and interrogates Daniles. Daniles reveals that Tibu's death gave the company to Kameron, and that he planned on having Kameron sell KMG to him so he could inherit the company's wealth and assets. Daniles attempts to bribe Reed in exchange for having his life spared, saying 'what do you want' but Reed smashes his head into the car and shoots him dead with a bullet to the head, and avenging Tibu just as he responded 'vengeance' before walking away.

With 'Mutiny' you know exactly what you're in for the moment you purchase your movie ticket. Jason Statham does what he does best with his fists and his legs and the available hardware at his disposal, and on that level the action sequences and the close quarter combat scenes don't disappoint. That said, this film doesn't offer us anything new that we haven't already seen before, and is best summed up as 'Die Hard on a Cargo Ship', offering up mindless, albeit serviceable B-movie style entertainment, while proving that the Stath still has what it takes in the butt kicking creative kills department. You can easily however, save yourself the price of your cinema ticket and wait a few weeks to catch this film on your streaming service of choice. 

'Mutiny' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 20th August 2026.

The 54th edition of the Norwegian International Film Festival is held this year from Saturday 22nd August through until Friday 28th August in the town of Haugesund in Rogaland County, Norway, on the southwest coast of the country. The town, with a population of 47,000, lies about 60 kms north of the city of Stavanger and about 120 kms south of the city of Bergen. The festival goes back to 1973 and is therefore the oldest one in Norway, and as such has for several decades celebrated film and film art by being a meeting place for the Norwegian and Nordic film industry and the general public. The festival is an arena for film-professional and film-political discussions and a display window for national and international cinema.

The Opening Film presentation is the Norwegian film 'Beloved' Directed by Erik Poppe and centres around Asle and Gerd who meet in a small coastal town on Norway's westernmost edge, facing the open sea. They have a son, and for a time their happiness seems complete. But Asle, a sailor, is restless and drawn back to the sea, while Gerd remains in the village, alone with their child. The distance between them grows, raising the question - how much distance can love endure?

Amanda, the national film award, saw the light of day in 1985. At the outset it was a film and TV award, but from 2005 and onwards it became a pure film award. For the first 20 years the ceremony was – except for the Nordic Amanda in 1993 – a co-operative effort between the Norwegian International Film Festival and the TV channel NRK. The awards recognise achievements across Norwegian cinema, including Acting, Directing, Screenwriting and technical filmmaking disciplines. The Amanda competition covers Norwegian feature films, theatrical documentaries and short films made for public exhibition. The Amanda Award consists of a statuette designed by the sculptor Kristian Kvakland.

There are six films in competition for the Amanda Award as follows :-

* 'A Mouse Hunt for Christmas' - this comedy family film from Norway is Directed by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken. A family from the city has borrowed their aunt's abandoned house to celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas in the country, unaware that the house is already inhabited! A very unusual family of mice have also decorated and are ready for Christmas, and they are not interested in visitors. So there is only one thing to do - set the traps, sharpen your senses and defend the house with whiskers, clever inventions and mouse powers.

* 'Don't Call Me Mama' - from Norway this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Nina Knag. Eva, a respected teacher and married to the town's Mayor, has her life turned upside down when she meets the young asylum seeker Amir, a talented poet who awakens feelings she cannot control. What begins as a mentorship develops into a forbidden relationship with increasingly serious consequences. What will happen to Eva's family, career and reputation?

* 'Flophouse America' - from Norway and the Netherlands, this documentary film is Directed by Monica Stromdahl. In a rarely intimate portrait, we meet 12-year-old Mikal, who was born and raised in the hotel room he shares with his substance-addicted parents. Mikal's greatest wish is for them to stop drinking. But what does it take for someone to truly change? As a result of the housing crisis in the USA, many move into cheap, dilapidated hotels—the so-called 'flophouse' hotels. Three years of footage have become an uncompromising and unforgettable film, dedicated to children in vulnerable situations.

* 'Seasiders - Tales from a Rugged Coast' - from Norway this documentary film is Directed by Elin Sander, Elisabeth Kleppe, Henrik Hylland Uhlving, and Produced by Elin Sander and Elisabeth Kleppe. This is a nostalgic, witty, and wild tribute to life along the Norwegian coast, and to the people who have clung to islands, islets, and fishing villages since time immemorial, and has been assembled from unique archival treasures spanning nearly a hundred years.

* 'Sentimental Value' - from Norway, this drama film is Directed by Joachim Trier. Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. Nora turns it down, but soon discovers he's given the part to an eager young Hollywood star. The two siblings must now navigate a complicated relationship with Gustav while dealing with an American actress dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics. Starring Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning. Academy Award winner.

* 'Trango' - from Norway and this documentary film is Co-Produced and Directed by Christopher Carvasal. Inspired by one of the greatest feats in climbing history, the legendary climber Robert Caspersen and his team embark on an adventure to the Himalayas with a dream of being the first to ascend one of the world’s highest cliffs, Trango Pulpit. The Norwegian expedition of 1984 was groundbreaking - a milestone in international climbing history - but it also had a dark side that would cast a shadow over the entire climbing community. Trango chronicles two expeditions 15 years apart, exploring the extreme risks, personal sacrifices, and the lifelong pursuit of achieving impossible dreams in the world’s most brutal mountain terrain.

For the complete line-up of feature films, documentaries and short films being showcased, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : http://www.filmfestivalen.no

Turning the focus back to this weeks big haul of nine new movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we begin with a neo-Western crime thriller in which this beekeeper, musician, and anchor of his community, reunites with former foster daughter after many years apart, and fends off threats to his honey producing business. Then we have a biographical psychological drama film from a first time Director where a woman, after an abusive childhood, escapes into competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before finding her voice through writing. Next up we have an Icelandic family comedy drama offering that captures a year in the life of a family as the parents navigate their separation. Following on we have a biographical comedy drama film that sees nineteen-year-old Anthony Bourdain stumble into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that shapes the course of his life. Then we turn to an action thriller where, framed for the murder of his billionaire boss, a vengeful man uncovers an international conspiracy as he battles a gang of thugs aboard a cargo ship. Next is a comedy film that has three friends going on a spa weekend that descends into chaos when their disastrous friend joins. To follow we have a supernatural horror offering that is the sixth instalment in this franchise and here sees a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in, discovers she can travel into a place where she possesses an ability to bring what lives there back to the real world. And closing out the week we have two musical films - the first a coming of age road trip comedy in which three buddies drive cross-country in a van, causing mayhem and mischief while racing to LA for their big break - opening for Green Day on New Year's Eve; before wrapping up with a doco that explores the world of Metallica through the lives of their fans, including the band members themselves. 

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

'THE RIVALS OF AMZIAH KING' (Rated M) - this American neo-Western crime thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Andrew Patterson in only his second feature film offering following 2019's critically acclaimed 'The Vast of Night'. This film had its World Premiere screening at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in mid-March 2025 and is scheduled for a wide cinema release in the US this week also. It has generated largely favourable critical reviews. 

Set deep within the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, charismatic and musically gifted Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. He is also the unofficial Mayor of his rural community. When Amziah's estranged foster daughter Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass) unexpectedly returns, Amziah leaps at the possibility to renew connection and create a family business. But the honey game is ruthless, and Amziah's rivals threaten to destroy everything he has built. Also starring Kurt Russell, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, Tony Revolori, Cole Sprouse and Owen Teague. 

'THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER' (Rated R18+) - is an American biographical psychological drama film Co-Produced, Written and Directed by Kristen Stewart, in her feature film Directorial debut, and is based on the 2011 memoir of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch. Here, a young woman, Lidia Yuknavitch (Imogen Poots) finds escape from an abusive home through competitive swimming in the 1980's. After her athletic dreams are derailed, she navigates love, loss, addiction, sexuality, and her own self-destructive impulses while discovering her voice, and healing, through the transformative act of writing, and the power of water to heal. Also starring Thora Birch, Michael Epp, Earl Cave, Tom Sturridge, Charlie Carrick, Jim Belushi and Susannah Flood. The film had its World Premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of last years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May 2025, was released Stateside in early December last year, in the UK in early February this year, has so far grossed US$363K and has received generally positive reviews from critics.

'THE LOVE THAT REMAINS' (Rated MA15+) - this Icelandic family comedy drama film is Written, photographed and Directed by Hlynur Palmason who made his feature film Directorial debut in 2017 with 'Winter Brothers' and thereafter 'A White, White Day' in 2019 and 'Godland' in 2022. Here, Anna (Saga Garoarsdottir), an artist, and Magnus (Sverrir Guonason), a fisherman, live with their three children and charismatic sheepdog (Panda) in the quiet grandeur of the Icelandic countryside. As the fractures in their marriage come to the surface, the couple try to hold onto the afterimages of a life together and make sense of a deep and lingering devotion. The film had its World Premiere in the Cannes Premiere section of the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May 2025, where the lead animal Actor, Panda, won the Palm Dog Award. It was released in its native Iceland in mid-August last year and only now does it get a showing in Australia, having generated positive critical reviews.

'TONY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American biographical comedy drama film that is Co-Written and Directed by Matt Johnson whose prior film making credits take in his debut in 2013 with 'The Dirties' and which he followed up with 'Operation Avalanche' in 2016, 'BlackBerry' in 2023 and 'Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie' in 2025. In 1975, a 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) wants to be a writer but takes a summer job at a Cape Cod restaurant in Provincetown, Massachusetts, learning under the tutelage of a Brazilian-born restaurateur, known only as Chef (Antonio Banderas). The film is based on the early chapters of Bourdain's 2000 memoir 'Kitchen Confidential'. Also starring Emilia Jones, Rich Sommer and Leo Woodall. The film saw a limited release in the US from 7th August before going wide from this week also, and has generated positive critical reviews.

'MUTINY' (Rated MA15+) - this UK and US Co-Produced action thriller film is Directed by Jean-Francois Richet whose previous feature film making credits take in his debut with 'Inner City' in 1995, and which he would follow up with the likes of 'Assault on Precinct 13' in 2005, 'Blood Father' in 2016, 'The Emperor of Paris' in 2018 and 'Plane' in 2023. Here, after witnessing his billionaire boss's murder and being framed for the crime, Cole Reed (Jason Statham, who also Co-Produces here) boards a cargo ship on a one-man crusade to avenge his boss's death only to discover an international conspiracy. Also starring Annabelle Wallis, Jason Wong and Adrian Lester. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'SPA WEEKEND' (Rated M) - is an American comedy film Written and Directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore whose previous Directorial pairing have given us '21 & Over' in 2013, 'Bad Moms' in 2016, 'A Bad Moms Christmas' in 2017 and 'Jexi' in 2019. This film follows three best friends, Jane (Leslie Mann), Coco (Michelle Buteau) and Sophie (Anna Faris), as they embark on some much needed and welcome pampering during a luxury spa break in Palm Springs. But when their train wreck friend, Mel (Isla Fisher), turns up, the relaxation quickly descends into chaos with hilarious consequences. The film is released this week too in the US.

'INSIDIOUS : OUT OF THE FURTHER' (Rated M) - this American supernatural horror film is Written and Directed by Jacob Chase, who made his feature film debut with 'The Four-Faced Liar' in 2010 and which he would follow through with 'Come Play' in 2020, and 'Bad Boy' in 2025. This film serves as a sequel to 2023's 'Insidious : The Red Door', and is the sixth instalment in the 'Insidious' franchise, with the first five films in the series grossing a total US$732M at the worldwide Box Office off the back of combined production budgets amounting to just US$43M. Gemma (Amelia Eve), a young mother raising her daughter in her childhood home, discovers she can travel into the Further, a purgatorial realm of lost souls. When something evil comes after her, she realises she can bring what lives there back to the real world. Once the demons realise her power, our world becomes their playground. Also starring Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson Sellers and Lin Shaye, and is released this week also in the US.

'NIMRODS : A GREEN DAY COMEDY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American coming of age road comedy film that is Written and Directed by Lee Kirk who made his feature film debut with 'The Giant Mechanical Man' in 2102 and would follow this up with 'Ordinary World' in 2016. This film is based on 'Green Day's' limited success as an American rock band before the release of their breakout album 'Dookie' in 1994. In the film, three teenagers travel from Kansas City to Los Angeles under the false pretense that their band 'Analog Dogs' is opening for Green Day on New Year's Eve. The film stars Mason Thames, Mckenna Grace, Fred Armisen, and Green Day as themselves - Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, had its World Premiere screening at TIFF in mid-September last year, was released in the USA last week, and has garnered generally positive reviews.

'METALLICA SAVED MY LIFE' (Rated CTC) - this documentary film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed. by Jonas Akerlund - a Swedish filmmaker and musician who is best known for his work in music videos, and for helming a number of concert and documentary films plus the feature films 'Spun', his debut, in 2002, 'Horsemen' in 2009, 'Small Apartments' in 2012, 'Lords of Chaos' in 2019 and 'Polar' in 2019. This film documents die-hard fans of Metallica and how the band give each of them a sense of identity and hope. It covers four decades of fandom and the found family each has from other Metallica 
fans. What connects them all together is the sense of community, and one fan summarises it as 'Metallica is all of us together. It belongs to all of us'. The film also covers some of the struggles the band has gone through, like James Hetfield's (the bands singer and guitarist) insecurity and time in rehabilitation. Also starring other band members Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo. The film Premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in mid-June 2025, and only now does it get a limited showing in Australia. 

With nine 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-

BLOOD FATHER : Wednesday 21st September 2016.

It's good to see Mel Gibson back in a leading role in the recently released 'BLOOD FATHER', and for the first time since 2012's 'Get The Gringo' which he also Co-Wrote and Co-Produced and which whilst hardly a Box Office sensation was a welcome return to form for the former Hollywood A-List Actor, Writer, Producer and Director who had fallen from grace since 'Apocalypto' in 2006. Now in 2016, Gibson is back and playing a bad-ass grindhouse rescue and revenge type in this Jean-Francois Richet Directed film based on the book of the same name by Peter Craig. Gibson has received much praise for his role in this B-Grade movie that for the Actor seeking to make his comeback might be seen as a case of art imitating life. Watch out too for Mel's return to Directing duty with WWII drama 'Hacksaw Ridge' due in November this year. 'Blood Father' had its world premier at this years Cannes Film Festival in May, and was released Stateside in early August, before its Australian release on 1st September.

Mel's character John Link is a Vietnam War Veteran, an ex-convict out on parole and a former alcoholic still sharing the love at regular AA meetings and trying to live off the grid in the outback desert so as not to draw any unnecessary attention to himself with the local authorities. He lives in a beat up caravan trailer on the edge of a hicksville community eeking out a living as a tattoo artist, whilst under the watchful eye of his sponsor and parole officer Kirby (William H. Macy) whom he seems to have a pretty solid relationship with based on mutual respect, and an understanding of their fractured lives that have brought them both to this point.

Essentially we join Link celebrating two years of being off the booze and ably supported by his friend Kirby. Link is fighting plenty of inner demons, one of which is having lost all contact with his sixteen year old daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) who has got tied up with all manner of low life nasty criminal types down Mexico way. Her boyfriend manages 'stash houses' for the local drug cartel, and discovers that some residents renting one such stash house have stolen a stash of cash hidden in the walls of a remote rental property. This boyfriend, Jonah (Diego Luna) who has designs on becoming a drug kingpin rocks up to his stash house with every intention of making the residents pay for their misdemeanours, with Lydia and his entourage in tow. Jonah orders Lydia to shoot and kill the woman of the house to prove her love for him, but Lydia can't bring herself to commit the act, despite having just snorted a nose full of cocaine. In the ensuing melee, Lydia turns the gun on Jonah and shoots him in the neck accidentally, and promptly bolts out the door, believing her boyfriend to now be dead.

As a result she goes on the run from both the local police and the drug cartel with only her estranged Dad to turn to. Out of desperation she calls her Dad, asking for a loan of $2,000 in cash so that she can make a fresh start and lie low until the heat subsides. John is surprised to hear from her after such a prolonged period of absence and the two agree to meet in Santa Monica, where John will pick up his daughter and bring her back to his trailer in the desert where he hopes they will reconnect and make up for lost time. In doing so he under estimates her drug induced and alcohol fuelled state, and the fact that her boyfriends posse will be hot on her trail seeking retribution. The two get reacquainted over a few days, before one night Jonah's posse arrives looking for Lydia and make a damn nuisance of themselves that results in John's trailer getting shot to pieces and overturned. However, Kirby and his own trailer park posse arrive to save John and Lydia from certain death, allowing the two to go on the run before the local Police arrive.

And so the two hit the road to evade the Police and those pesky drug cartel types aided by some they come up against and hindered by others. John is reasonably well connected and we learn that he served prison time to cover the misdeeds of Preacher (Michael Parks) who is a former friend. The passing of time and the fact that Preacher is now living in a near state of poverty provides a different motivation for Preacher and his wife Cherise (Dale Dickey) who know that there is a $30,000 reward on Lydia's head and they are both on the run from the law. John feels that he is owed something for remaining silent while in prison all those years. Escaping from gun point at the hands of Preacher and his wife, John and Lydia make their getaway on John's old Harley-Davidson Softail, which Preacher had been minding all this time. On the highway John and Lydia are pursued by two motorcycle riding hitmen, who are both subsequently killed.

Father and daughter then check into a local motel. John shaves off his beard and Lydia dyes her hair blond, while the news channels are full of reports of the two fugitives on the run. John visits an old contact in prison to gather information on Jonah and his family and cartel connections to check exactly what he is dealing with, while Lydia is to sit tight. However, Lydia receives a call from Kirby advising her that she is in imminent danger and make her way to a public place where she will be safe, such as a movie theatre. We subsequently learn that Kirby has been captured by Jonah's henchmen and is giving these instructions under duress. Lydia is called out of the movie theatre and confronted by Jonah - very much alive but sporting a gaping bullet wound in the neck, from her hand.

Lydia is taken captive and used as bait to entrap John with a rendezvous at some secluded spot in the desert off the highway. While John is speaking with Jonah over the phone receiving his set of meeting instructions, he hears the gunshots in the background dispensing with Kirby. Before making off for the meeting point now mightily pissed off, John returns to Preachers place to pick up some munitions that he knows are stashed away - a landmine and some hand grenades. He drives off to the agreed meeting place and parks his motor cycle in the path on the dirt track blocking the access of Jonah's SUV, and props up his bike using the landmine which becomes armed in the process. With John and Lydia is in the back of the Jonah's SUV awaiting certain death, two of the henchmen have to clear the Harley-Davidson out of the road. Needless to say, dislodging the landmine and KaBoom! two down three to go!

In the ensuing fracas inside the SUV John overpowers one of the henchmen, but Jonah escapes after an exchange of fire power having been shot. He limps off into the sunset, leaving a professional hitman to dispense with John and Lydia from an overlooking hill top. In the duel that follows, both John and the hitman shoot each other. The hitman dies instantly, and John falls besides the car to be comforted in his death throes by his daughter.

Soon afterwards, the Highway Patrol arrive en masse and pick up Jonah wandering aimlessly in the desert, although I have to say I am not sure who would have alerted the local Police, or how they would have known this shit was going down in some remote hidden away location in the desert! In the closing scenes Jonah is wearing a prison issue orange suit and is surrounded by Johns former prison mates who know that their friend died because of the new incarcerated inmate. We then fast forward a year, to find Lydia at that same AA meeting spot where her father attended stating she has been clean for a year now, and how she misses her Dad.

I enjoyed this simple yet well told story of revenge, retribution and family reconnection. Gibson is on fine form as the father figure given an unexpected second chance to make amends with his estranged daughter and prepared to go to any lengths to protect her so that she can make something of her life, and learn from his own mistakes. Featuring plenty of gun play, chase sequences, emotion and a grizzled world weary lead character dispensing his own brand of justice none of this is over the top for the sake of cheap thrills, but are shown in the context of a grounded father/daughter relationship prevailing at any cost. Catch it while you still can on limited release and give Mel Gibson a second chance - I don't think you'll be disappointed!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st September 2016.

Two thirds of the way through the year and I got to thinking about the movie remakes and reboots we have seen this year so far together with those still slated for release in 2016. This year has been no exception to the number seen, but it does seem that once again we have our fair share of movies from way back, and more recently, that are getting rebooted, reimagined and remade for a whole new audience perhaps unfamiliar with the source material, or is it simply that the studios are devoid of sufficient new ideas with which to commit to celluloid? Here's a bunch from this year alone that have been dug up, dusted down and had the makeover treatment :

• 'Point Break' - originally released in 1991 with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze and Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
• 'Steve Jobs' - originally released in 2013 as 'Jobs' with Ashton Kutcher and Directed by Joshua Michael Stern.
• 'Zoolander 2' - originally released in 2001 with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson and Directed by Ben Stiller.
• 'The Jungle Book' - originally released in 1967 as a Disney animated feature Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman.
• 'Mt Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' - originally released in 2002 and Directed by Joel Zwick.
• 'Ghostbusters' - originally released in  1984 with Bill Murray, Dan Aykrord and Harold Ramis and Directed by Ivan Reitman.
• 'Jason Bourne' - originally released as a trilogy in 2002, 2004 and 2007 as 'The Bourne Identity', 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'The Bourne Ultimatum' with Matt Damon and Directed by Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass.
• 'The BFG' - originally released in 1989 as a Cosgrove Hall animated feature Directed by Brian Cosgrove.
• 'The Legend of Tarzan' - 52 live action and animated feature films since 1918, with the last live action film being 1998's 'Tarzan and the Lost City' with Casper Van Dien and Directed by Carl Schenkel.
• 'Independence Day : Resurgence' - originally released in 1996 as 'Independence Day' with Will Smith and Directed by Roland Emmerich.
• 'Ben Hur' - originally released in 1959 with Charlton Heston and Directed by William Wyler.
• 'Mechanic : Resurrection' - originally released in 1972 as 'The Mechanic' with Charles Bronson and Jean-Michael Vincent and Directed by Michael Winner.

With those still coming up for release before the end of the year :

• 'The Magnificent Seven' - originally released in 1960 with Yul Bryner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz and Brad Dexter and Directed by John Sturges.
• 'Pete's Dragon' - originally released in 1977 as a Disney animated feature Directed by Don Chaffey.
• 'All Quiet on the Western Front' - originally released in 1930 and Directed by Lewis Milestone.

Turning to this week, there are no fewer than seven new films to tease you in to the first week of an Australian Spring, kick starting with a return to form for this Actor in this rescue and revenge story that sees an ageing dad trying to do the right thing by his estranged daughter and dispensing his own style of justice on those who would do her harm. Then we go to a biographical drama of drug cartels, money laundering and how one man brought it all crashing down for an infamous kingpin and his empire in the mid '80's. Next we turn attention to this weeks horror offering in the form of a home invasion set up featuring three opportunistic thieves who under-estimate their target and what he is capable of, despite his disability. Then a sequel to a 2011 remake of a classic 1972 film that sees a man with a particular set of skills come out of retirement to save his girlfriend - but at what cost? Then these are followed up by a teen adventure tale of on-line truth or dare but with a twist for the tech-savvy on the go attention seeking adrenalin junkie youthful types. This then takes us to the Korean War with a top ranking US General calling the shots with the local South Koreans to infiltrate  the North Koreans to help reverse the fortunes of the UN allies; before wrapping up with another period piece set on the Scottish north east coast in the lead up to WWI and one young farm girls coming of age story based on a much loved Scottish literary piece dating back to 1932.

For the full Previews see below, and if these help with your movie going choice in the week ahead then be sure to leave your thoughts and opinions of your film experience by recording a Comment below this or any other Post. We would love to hear from you! In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'BLOOD FATHER' (Rated MA15+) - it's good to see Mel Gibson back in a leading role for the first time since 2012's 'Get The Gringo' which he also Co-Wrote and Co-Produced and which whilst hardly a Box Office sensation was a welcome return to the form for the former Hollywood A-List Actor, Writer, Producer and Director who had fallen from grace since 'Apocalypto' in 2006. Now in 2016, Gibson is back and playing a bad-ass grindhouse rescue and revenge type in this Jean-Francois Richet Directed film that sees his character John Link as a Vietnam War Veteran, an ex-convict out on parole and an former alcoholic still sharing the love at regular AA meetings. Based on the book of the same name by Peter Craig, Gibson has received much praise for his role in this B-Grade movie that for the Actor seeking to make his comeback might be seen as a case of art imitating life. Watch out too for Mel's return to Directing duty with WWII drama 'Hacksaw Ridge' due in November this year.

Essentially we join Link celebrating two years of being off the booze and ably supported by his friend and sponsor Kirby (William H. Macy). Link is fighting plenty of inner demons, one of which is having lost all contact with his sixteen year old daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) who has got tied up with all manner of low life nasty criminal types down Mexico way. So much so that she accidentally shoots her boyfriend and drug kingpin Jonah (Diego Luna) in the neck. As a result she goes on the run from both the local police and the drug cartel with only her estranged Dad to turn to. It's not long before the two hit the road to evade the police and those pesky drug cartel types aided by some they come up against and hindered by others. Featuring plenty of gun play, chases sequences, sharp dialogue and a grizzled world weary lead character dispensing his own brand of justice. Catch it soon and give Mel Gibson a second chance!

'THE INFILTRATOR' (Rated MA15+) - this autobiographical crime drama is Directed by Brad Furman and is based on the book of the same name by US Customs Special Agent Robert Mazur who  during the '80's went deep undercover as a corrupt businessman to bust Pablo Escobar's money laundering organisation. Here Bryan Cranston plays Robert Mazur (aka Bob Musella) who goes undercover to infiltrate the drug trafficking network of drug lord Escobar by working with Agents Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) and Emir Abreu (John Leguizamo) and gaining the confidence and trust of Escobar's right hand man Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt). Building a case against a vicious criminal underworld where any wrong move or word out of place could cost him his life, Mazur gathers sufficient hard evidence to bring about indictments against 85 drug lords and the bankers who cleaned and redistributed their money whilst bringing about the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International - one of the world's largest money laundering banks. Also starring Amy Ryan, Jason Isaacs and Olympia Dukakis.

'DON'T BREATHE' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Fede Alvarez who brought us 'The Evil Dead' reboot in 2013 this home invasion horror film has received positive reviews since its release and has made US$31M off its US$10M budget outlay. Here three Detroit living thieves Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) decide to burgle the home of a blind old veteran (Stephen Lang) who has recently come into a substantial sum of money as a result of a cash settlement following the death of his only child. Living in a quiet secluded house in a largely abandoned neighbourhood the gang of three pick this as an easy target and a quick in and out job . . . they couldn't be more wrong! Finding themselves trapped inside the house the three must keep their wits about them as they fight for their lives having encountered what the blind man is capable of and the secret he is harbouring.

'MECHANIC : RESURRECTION' (Rated MA15+) - the remake of Michael Winner's 1972 classic 'The Mechanic' with Charles Bronson and Jean-Michael Vincent in 2011 as Directed by Simon West with Jason Statham in the title role as Arthur Bishop made US$62M off its US$40M budget making a sequel hardly a sure thing! But here we are five years later with the franchise resurrected as Arthur Bishop has been forced out of retirement as a contract killer when the love of his life Gina (Jessica Alba) is kidnapped by some unscrupulous types demanding he complete three seemingly impossible hits, otherwise the girls gets it! Our man is forced to traverse the world to do what he does best using his particular set of skills - make his assassinations look like accidents! Made for US$40M again and this time Directed by Dennis Gansel, and also starring Michelle Yeoh and Tommy Lee Jones.

'NERVE' (Rated M) - described as a teen techno thriller adventure, this film is based on the 2012 book of the same name by Jeanne Ryan and is jointly Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, was made for US$20M and so far grossed USA$48M. Here we have young Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts) a high achieving senior high school student who is quickly becoming bored with the hum drum ho-hum of life. Coming under some pressure from her friends to come out from under her shell, she joins 'Nerve' a popular on-line game that challenges its participants to a game of dare that starts out simply enough but soon escalates at every stage into something way more challenging, dangerous, and adrenaline fuelled. Are you a 'Player or a Watcher' as the game launches with the promise of big cash prizes and Internet fame, but as Vee moves through her addictive challenges so the game takes a more sinister turn where the stakes are increasingly high, and she joins forces with Ian (Dave Franco) who may or may not be a participant in the game and can he be trusted? Right up every teenagers street this film of Internet gaming on the move is both topical and relevant, if a little far fetched . . . or is it?

'OPERATION CHROMITE' (Rated MA15+) - this South Korean film has a limited Australian release and tells the true story of The Battle of Inchon as Directed by John H.Lee (Lee Jae-han), which lasted from 15th September though to 19th September 1950 involving an amphibious invasion during the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favour of the United Nations. The operation involved 75,000 or so troops and 260 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul shortly afterwards. Here General MacArthur (Liam Neeson) oversees a team led by South Korean Special Naval Forces Captain Jang Hak-soo (Lee Jung-jae) and seven of the Korean Liaison Office to infiltrate under the guise of a North Korean Inspection unit the North Korean Army Command Centre in Inchon and complete three key tasks which involve gathering significant military intelligence, the kidnapping of the a high ranking officer, and the signalling to the UN forces on D-Day to haul ass and move on in. Made for about US$12M the film has so far made US$19M since its release.

'SUNSET SONG' (Rated M) - based on the highly acclaimed Scottish 1932 Lewis Grassic Gibbon novel of the same name, this film is Directed by Terence Davies and was released in the UK in early December last year, and only now reaches Australian shores on a limited release. Set at the turn of the 20th Century on the fictional Estate of Kinraddie in north-east Scotland the film centres around Chris Guthrie (Agyness Deyn) a young girl growing up in rural and remote Aberdeenshire whose rites of passage see love and loss, toil and hardship, happiness and sorrow, peace and war, but, this is what defines her as a a growing woman and what prepares her for adulthood and the dawning of a new world. Generally this film has received very positive reviews for its beauty and brutality, its dialogue (written for the screen by Davies too) and its performances from Deyn and the supporting cast of Peter Mullan (as father John Guthrie) and Kevin Guthrie (as Ewan Tavendale) especially. One for you, if intense thought provoking period dramas are your thing.

With seven new films out in the week ahead, these are decidedly adult fare, but when combined with those films out on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed here at this Blog, then there is no reason not to get out to your local cinema and celebrate Springtime with a latest release movie. I'll see you at the Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-