NO HARD FEELINGS : Tuesday 27th June 2023.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'NO HARD FEELINGS' earlier this week, and this American coming of age sex comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Gene Stupnitsky in only his second feature film Directorial offering following 2019's 'Good Boys'. This film was released here in Australia and in the US last week, has generated mixed or average reviews and has so far grossed US$30M off the back of a US$45M production budget.

The film is set in Montauk on the eastern end of the South Shore, Long Island, New York, where Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence, who also Co-Produces here), is a 32 year old woman working as an Uber driver and bartender. She is facing bankruptcy after her car is repossessed and towed away by a former boyfriend Gary (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), for not paying her taxes to the IRS on the home she has lived in all her life, and which she inherited from her recently deceased mother. Standing out on the street in her dressing gown with her Italian lover stood by, she watches helpless as her car is towed away.

Without a car with which to work her job as an Uber driver she is left stranded and having to rollerblade everywhere during the usual very busy summer holiday season in Montauk. One day her friend Sarah (Natalie Morales) comes across a somewhat unusual posting on a classified advertising website. The ad calls for a mid-20 year old woman to date the son of a wealthy couple in exchange for which the payment in kind comes in the form of a Buick Regal car which is sat in the driveway of their lavish home as clean and tidy as the day it rolled off the production line. And so Maddie responds to the ad and rollerblades over to the home of wealthy couple Laird Becker (Matthew Broderick) and his wife Allison (Laura Bananti) and the brief is for Maddie to become their introverted 19-year-old son's 'girlfriend'. 

Even though they are seeking a woman in her mid-20's Maddie explains that she has the maturity and experience that younger 'girls' just can't offer, which seems to satisfy Laird and Allison. Their son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) has had no experiences with girls, drinking, parties or sex, and he can't drive either, and his parents hope to boost his confidence before he attends Princeton University in the autumn. Maddie agrees to become their son's 'girlfriend', to 'date his brains out', and help him to join adult life, on the condition that this remains a firm secret between the three of them and under no circumstances must Percy become aware of their ruse. 

The next day Maddie makes her move on Percy by attempting to seduce him at the animal shelter he volunteers at. She offers him a ride home, but upon arriving at her house he mistakenly thinks that she is attempting to kidnap him and sprays a can of mace in her face. Despite this, they agree to go on a date the following day. 

Maddie and Percy meet at a bar the next night and then Maddie suggests they go skinny dipping at the beach. While they are in the water, their clothes, keys and phones are stolen by a group of two young men and a young woman. Maddie fights them in the nude retrieving their possessions, but a frightened Percy demands to be taken home. Maddie tries to leave without him and he jumps on her car bonnet, naked, as they are chased by a Police patrol car which they outrun at a train crossing. Back at Maddie's house the pair attempt to have sex, but Percy develops a rash all over his back and shoulders from his anxiety, so Maddie gently nurses him with an easing ointment.

Over the following days Maddie and Percy continue to date, learning more about each other and forging a friendship. Both reveal that they never went to prom, so they imitate a prom night and go to a fancy restaurant for dinner, driven there in a stretched limo. There, Percy meets an old school acquaintance who invites him to a party later that night, while Maddie gives the girl very much the cold shoulder. After Percy and Maddie have a disagreement about their long-term plans, he goes to the party and winds up in bed with that acquaintance, while Maddie frantically searches for him. She eventually finds him after he took an ibuprofen washed down with alcohol, and so Maddie drags him out of bed and shoves his head down the toilet and her fingers down his throat inducing him to vomit. In the car back to her house Percy confesses his love for Maddie.

Percy stumbles across the truth about Maddie's deal with his parents when he intercepts a phone conversation between her and them. After inviting her to dinner with his parents, he crashes her Buick into a tree trashing it royally, they attempt to have sex but this fails miserably, and then he ends their relationship. Maddie takes the damaged car, has it repaired to its former almost as new condition and uses it to pay off her debts, and then decides to sell the house to her friends, Jim (Scott MacArthur) and the heavily pregnant Sarah, because they were going to relocate themselves to Florida where house prices are markedly cheaper than in Montauk. And so selling the house to her friends for a bargain price that they can afford, Maddie decides to relocate herself to California. She reunites with Percy at a Princeton mixer where she gets more than an unwelcome reception from him. He attempts to exit the scene and so Maddie climbs on the bonnet of his car and drives at speed culminating in him driving onto a beach, through a barbecue at which Maddie's clothes catch fire, and into the ocean. Percy pulls Maddie out of the water, and afterwards they promise to remain friends.

Later, Percy is at home packing up his belongings into suitcases to go to Princeton. Bidding his farewells to his parents, Maddie is parked outside who drives Percy to Princeton, while she herself is on the way to California. She reveals that she has a new boyfriend, the rescue dog named Milo, a former Police dog addicted to cocaine who lived at the shelter Percy volunteered at, and whom Maddie met the first time she and Percy met. 

Jennifer Lawrence plays it fearless as Maddie in 'No Hard Feelings' even going the full frontal nudity for her art, and she also proves her comedic acting talents here in this for adults only coming of age romp for a seemingly mismatched couple at opposite ends of the spectrum. Andrew Barth Feldman as the all too innocent, sweet as cherry pie late teenage dweeb Percy is also on point, but Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti both have the kind of expression on their faces that make you think they signed up for something more challenging and interesting than their one dimensional characters portray here. As for the laughs, they are thin on the ground and certainly won't have you rolling around the aisles, but that said this film does have an emotional undercurrent at its core. 

'No Hard Feelings' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

RED SPARROW : Tuesday 6th March 2018.

'RED SPARROW' which I saw this week, here sees Francis Lawrence Directing this American spy thriller based on the 2013 book of the same name by former CIA operative Jason Matthews. Francis Lawrence is no stranger to big screen spectacle having Directed, amongst others, 'Constantine' with Keanu Reeves, 'I Am Legend' with Will Smith, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' with Jennifer Lawrence and 'The Hunger Games : Mokingjay Parts 1 and 2' also with Jennifer Lawrence. Here he teams up with his namesake Jennifer Lawrence once again with the film going on general release around the world just over a week ago having cost US$69M, and having garnered mixed and average Reviews at best so far. The film has so far grossed US$55M in Box Office receipts.

The film centres around Russian and American espionage, the central figure of which is Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) a former prima ballerina forced into an uncertain future as a result of an injury that brings her chosen career to an abrupt halt. She lives with her ailing mother Nina (Joely Richardson) in a very modest apartment which is funded, together with her mothers medical expenses, by the ballet company for whom Dominika dances.

After corrective surgery to her lower leg, and feeling spent, she is approached by her Uncle Ivan (Matthias Schoenaerts) who works for the Russian Secret Service. He tasks her with seducing Russian Politician Dimitri Ustinov (Kristof Konrad) and switching his mobile phone with an identical state provided one, in exchange for which she can continue living in her apartment with her mother and all medical expenses covered, when this line of charity runs dry from the ballet company. Dominika must follow a fairly simple set of instructions, which she does. This leads to her being raped by Ustinov in her hotel room, but this is cut short by a garrotte around Ustinov's neck delivered at the hands of Simyonov (Sergej Onopko) slicing his throat open and killing him. After making a quick escape on motorcycle, Ivan reveals to Dominika that he had always intended to kill Ustinov and that she performed her job very well. But, Russian Intelligence rule that there can be no witnesses to such acts, and so she has a choice to make - either be executed, or begin a new career with Russian Intelligence.

Meanwhile Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) is a CIA operative working in Moscow. While meeting with a Russian asset (codenamed Marble) at night in Gorky Park, their meeting is interrupted by a random drive-by Police car. To protect his asset from detection, Nash creates a diversion in order that they can both evade capture and questioning. After a foot chase through the streets of downturn Moscow, Nash narrowly escapes, and is sent packing back to the US to explain his actions, and to be grounded. Nash spent three years nurturing his relationship and building up trust with Marble who has now gone underground and contact lost. As a result, Nash is reassigned to Budapest to reconnect with Marble.

In the meantime Dominika is packed off to 'Sparrow School' having made the correct decision. Here young men and woman are trained to seduce their targets using physical, mental and emotional cues to do so. Dominika excels at her studies largely at the hands of the 'Matron' - the Head of Sparrow School (Charlotte Rampling), although rebels at some of the elements of her training, including stripping naked in front of her classmates, and her willingness to being raped by a fellow trainee. Despite this she shows promise and is singled out by General Vladimir Korchnoi (Jeremy Irons) overseen by Colonel Zacharov (Ciaran Hinds) and assigned to Budapest to seek out Nate Nash, gain his confidence by whatever means necessary, and learn the identity of his asset.

In Budapest, Dominika shacks up with Marta (Thekla Reuten) and quickly makes contact with Nash at a local swimming pool where Nash regularly swims laps for his afternoon exercise. Nash works out pretty quickly that she is a Russian Intelligence operative, and she reveals her true identity to him and that she is wanting to gain the identity of his asset. One day while Marta is out, Dominika takes the opportunity to snoop through her bedroom. She uncovers a notebook in which is recorded the name of Stephanie Boucher (Mary-Louise Parker), a Chief-of-Staff for a US Senator and a sum of US$250,000, whom Marta is working with to gather information from.

Later, following a surprise visit from her Uncle Ivan, Dominika reveals her plan to secure secrets from Boucher, which is overheard by Marta who believes that she is trying to take control over her planned assignment. A few days later, Marta winds up very dead in her bathtub at home - her tortured mutilated murdered body laying blood soaked for Dominika to discover. Simyonov creeps up behind Dominika and reveals that he killed Marta as a warning not to divulge Russian secrets.

Dominika offers her services to Nash to work with the CIA as a double agent. She sees through Marta's planed assignment with Boucher and sets up a covert meeting in a London hotel room where several disks containing sensitive information will be exchanged for US$250,000 in cash, all the while monitored covertly by Nash and his team. The meeting goes off well, Boucher leaves the hotel room with her swag bag of cash, but is spooked by CIA operatives who move in too quickly and without the command, and is killed outright when she steps into the road and is mown down by a passing truck.

Dominika's Russian handler sees that the mission has been compromised, and she is whisked away quickly to Heathrow, then back to Russia where she is interrogated and tortured for seemingly compromising Boucher. She repeatedly denies this, and is subject to more beatings and torture. Ivan enters the room to deliver an ultimatum, but Dominika convinces her Uncle that her interrogation will give her credibility with the CIA, and as such she should be allowed to return to the field to complete her assignment. She returns to Budapest, and meets with Nash stating her desire to defect to the US with her mother.

Nash and Dominika spend the night together. The next morning Dominika awakens alone in bed, but with muffled sounds coming from the next room. She investigates to find Nash bound to a chair with Simyonov standing over him, demanding the identity of Marble or suffer the consequences at his torturous hands. Simyonov unravels and array of sharp instruments of torture. Dominika goes along with the ruse to show support of Simyonov and takes part in the torture, lulling him into  false sense of security, before she administers a crashing blow to his temple sending him reeling backwards. In the ensuing scuffle, Nash is able to free himself but by now Simyonov is on his feet slashing wildly away with a surgical blade at them both. Ultimately Dominika gains the upper hand and after repeatedly stabbing Simyonov administers the final blow with a blade into his neck.

Later, Dominika comes round in a hospital bed, with her wounds dressed. She ventures out of her private room to take stock of her location, and is greeted by General Korchnoi who reveals to her that he is in fact the mole, codenamed Marble. He explains that his anger and frustration by the deep rooted and ongoing corruptness of Russia led him to becoming a secret double agent. He further adds that she should reveal his identity to her Uncle, Ivan, and that her outing such a high ranking official will gain her instant promotion and set her up for a high profile career in Russian Intelligence, as well as continuing the work with the CIA that they are both secretly engaged in too. Back on Russian soil, Dominika makes contact with her superiors and advises them who the mole is, but instead of outing Korchnoi, she frames her Uncle Ivan instead who ultimately dies with a bullet to the head during a prisoner exchange overseen by Nash and the CIA. Dominika gains her reward of promotion and the recognition that goes with it, and returns home to care for her mother in the same apartment.

'Red Sparrow' joins the ranks of Russian/American international espionage thrillers that we see all too often, and in some cases done better. This offering does stand up on its own two feet, but be prepared to pay attention throughout as the plot twists and turns every which way and you'll need to concentrate on who's side who is on, why and when. The film is graphic in its violence and sexual violence and seems to rely all too heavily on putting the Jennifer Lawrence character through just about every degradation possible from torture through interrogation through rape (twice and almost a third time) through multiple beatings in between and bearing witness to some pretty grisly murders. The film at 140 minutes is also too long for the subject matter and could have been easily paired back to two hours without the padding and a little more straightforwardness. Despite this the films redeeming points are its cast, and this is Lawrence like we have never seen her before as she bares all (literally) to join the ranks of Angelina Jolie ('Salt') and Charlize Theron ('Atomic Blonde') as an action heroine, joined by an ensemble cast of fine acting talent that help levitate the film above a by the numbers offering. This is potentially the first film in a franchise of three, as author Jason Matthews has penned two further novels in the series. We'll see if the lessons learned from this first film transfer to any subsequent follow-up.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st March 2018.

Before the film industry awards season comes to its momentous climax with the 90th Academy Awards on 4th March, a series of three lesser known but nonetheless long standing awards ceremonies have recently taken place by various 'Guilds of America' honouring the best in film and television. These are of course The Producers Guild of America, The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America, who over three separately held events in late January and early February hand out limited awards to the best that the film industry had to offer in the previous year. Here is a quick summary of those winners and grinners in case you missed these headlines :-

The 29th Producers Guild of America Awards, hosted on 20th January 2018 honouring the best film and television Producers of 2017, were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California.
* The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of a Theatrical Motion Picture, awarded to Guillermo del Toro for 'The Shape of Water'.
* Outstanding Producer of an Animated Theatrical Motion Picture, awarded to Daria K. Anderson for 'Coco'.
* Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture, awarded to Brett Morgen, Bryan Burk, Tony Gerber, and James Smith for 'Jane'.

The 70th Directors Guild of America Awards, hosted on 3rd February 2018 honouring the outstanding Directorial achievement in feature films, documentary, television and commercials of 2017, were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and hosted by Judd Apatow.
* Feature Film Award to Guillermo del Toro for 'The Shape of Water'.
* Documentary Film Award to Matthew Heineman for 'City of Ghosts'.
* First Time Feature Film Award to Jordan Peele for 'Get Out'.



The 70th Writers Guild of America Awards, hosted on 11th February 2018 honouring the best in film, television, radio and video-game writing of 2017, were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and the Edison Ballroom, New York City, New York and hosted by Patton Oswalt and Amber Ruffin respectively.
* Best Original Screenplay Award to Jordan Peele for 'Get Out'.
* Best Adapted Screenplay Award to James Ivory for 'Call Me By Your Name'.
* Best Documentary Screenplay Award to Brett Morgan for 'Jane'.

This week then with four new release films coming to your local Odeon, we kick off with a spy thriller about a specially trained operative with a particular set of deadly skills caught between the east and the west and one man who tries to win her trust, but at what cost? We then move to a satirical foreign language offering about a respected curator of an art museum who as a result of some questionable decisions sees his personal and professional life imploding; before moving onto a biographical film about a fading Hollywood Actress and her relationship with a young English Actor in the 1970's. We then close out with a biblical story of a man with superhuman strength betrayed by his love that ultimately has tragic consequences for more than just the two of them.

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 and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here cordially invited to share your cinematic 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 experience during the week ahead.

'RED SPARROW' (Rated MA15+) - here Francis Lawrence Directs this American spy thriller based on the 2013 book of the same name by former CIA operative Jason Matthews. Francis Lawrence is no stranger to big screen spectacle having Directed, amongst others, 'Constantine' with Keanu Reeves, 'I Am Legend' with Will Smith, 'The Hunger Games : Catching Fire' with Jennifer Lawrence and 'The Hunger Games : Mokingjay Parts 1 and 2' also with Jennifer Lawrence. Here he teams up with his namesake Jennifer Lawrence once again with the film going on general release around the world this week, and having garnered mixed and average Reviews at best so far.

The film centres around Russian and American espionage, the central figure of which is Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) a former prima ballerina forced into an uncertain future as a result of an injury that brings her chosen career to an abrupt halt. Coerced by her uncle, Ivan Egorova (Matthias Schoenaerts) to undergo training at the Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service where she and other gifted men and women were trained in how to seduce the enemy using their minds and bodies as weapons. Egorova emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after successfully completing a rigorous and demanding training programme which earns her the codename 'Red Sparrow'. Coming to terms with her newly learned skills and abilities, Red Sparrow must navigate the world of high stakes international espionage while negotiating with various others including 'Marble' (Jeremy Irons) a Russian double agent who provides intelligence to the CIA, and Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) a CIA internal-operations officer who recruits and handles intelligence assets for the agency, and who tries to win her confidence as the only person she can truly trust. Also starring Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Joely Richardson, Ciaran Hinds and Bill Camp.

'THE SQUARE' (Rated MA15+) - this Swedish, French, German and Danish Co-Produced satirical drama film is Directed by Ruben Ostlund and was shown in competition for the Palme d'Or at The Cannes Film Festival in May last year where it took out that prestigious award. It subsequently screened at The Sydney Film Festival last June, TIFF in September, and went out on a limited release in the UK last August, and the US in September. Only now does it get its release in Australia having done the festival circuit and picking up 21 award wins and a further 35 nominations in the meantime. It is also in the running for the Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, just a few weeks away now. Here Christian (Claes Bang) is the respected curator of a prestigious contemporary art museum in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next exhibit is 'The Square', an installation which supposedly reminds the viewer of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, art does not imitate life as Christian's foolish response to the theft of his smartphone and his wallet drags him into a shameful and regrettable situation. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency tasked with stirring up enthusiasm for the exhibit has created an unexpected campaign for 'The Square' which it releases on YouTube and social media attracting much publicity of the wrong kind by the media, church groups and the general public sending Christian, as well as the museum, into a crisis of confidence and controversy. Also starring Elisabeth Moss, Terry Notary and Dominic West.

'FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL' (Rated M) - is based on the memoir of the same name by Liverpool born Actor, Writer and Director Peter Turner. Directed by Paul McGuigan this biographical film tells the story of Turner's relationship with fading Hollywood Actress Gloria Grahame in the 1970's, upto the time of her death from breast cancer and peritonitis in 1981 aged 57. Premiering at the Telluride Film Festival last September, and opening in the UK last November and then the US at the end of December, the film only now goes on release in Australia. Costing US$10M to make it has so far grossed US$2M, has received generally positive press and has so far garnered two award wins and fifteen other nominations including three BAFTA nods. Here Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) who was born in Liverpool in 1952, during the 1970's falls for American film stage and television Actress and Singer Gloria Grahame (Annette Benning). Grahame's first big screen debut came in 1944 and she subsequently amassed 64 acting credits including 'It's a Wonderful Life', 'Crossfire' for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, 'The Greatest Show on Earth', 'The Bad and the Beautiful' for which she won an Academy Award, 'The Big Heat', 'Oklahoma' and 'Melvin and Howard'. When her career took a downturn she returned to the stage, in England and the US, picking up support roles in films and television series in the ensuing years. It was in England that she met the young Peter Turner and found romance and happiness before being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974, which went into remission less than a year later and Grahame returned to work. In 1980, the cancer returned but Grahame refused to accept the diagnosis or seek treatment. Choosing instead to continue working, she travelled to Britain to appear in a play. Her health, however, declined rapidly and she developed peritonitis after undergoing a procedure to remove fluid from her abdomen in September 1981. She returned to New York City where she died in October 1981. This is their story. Also starring Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Walters, Frances Barber, Stephen Graham and, Peter Turner.

'SAMSON' (Rated M) - in 1949 Cecil B. DeMille Directed and Produced the romantic biblical drama film 'Samson and Delilah' starring Victor Mature as Samson and Hedy Lamarr as his love, Delilah. Now, almost seventy years later Bruce Macdonald, here Directs this retelling of Samson the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible and one of the last of the leaders who 'judged' Israel before the institution of the monarchy. The biblical rendition states that Samson was a Nazirite, and that he was awarded great strength to help him against his enemies and permit him to perform superhuman feats, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and massacring an entire army of Philistines using only the jawbone of an ass. However, if Samson's long hair was cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated, and he would lose his strength. This is the story of Samson's (Taylor James) youthful ambition which leads to a tragic marriage that ends in the death of his love at the hands of a cruel Philistine prince. The all-powerful Samson mounts a quest for vengeance that sees him in direct conflict with the might of the Philistine army. As his brother mounts a tribal rebellion, Samson's relationship with a Philistine temptress Delilah (Caitlin Leahy) who betrays him sapping him of his strength, and his final surrender to God will help turn enslavement into a final victory . . . but at what cost? Also starring Billy Zane, Rutger Hauer, Jackson Rathbone and Lindsay Wagner the film has taken less that US$3M at the Box Office and received generally negative press.

With four new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

mother! : Tuesday 19th September 2017

'MOTHER !' is a psychological horror film Written by Darren Aronofsky in just five days, and is Co-Produced and Directed by him too. His previous screen Directing credits include 'Requiem for a Dream', 'The Fountain', 'The Wrestler', 'Black Swan' and 'Noah' and so far during his career to date he has amassed 35 award wins and 79 other nominations. The film had its worldwide Premier at the very recent Venice Film Festival where the film was both booed and received a standing ovation at the same time, was released in the US and in Australia on the 15th September, and it would be fair to say that this film has polarised audiences the world over. Some have praised it for the performances of the principle Actors and for Aronofsky's Direction, whilst others have criticised it for its story, disturbing scenes, muddled mixed messages and its metaphorical narrative. The film cost US$30M to make and has so far recovered US$26M.

The film opens up with a blackened landscape ravaged by fire, homing in on a grand stand alone colonial style house that is burnt out, but still standing. A man, Him (Javier Bardem), places a large crystal like object on a three pronged pedestal in his study, and immediately the house begins to reform to its former glory, with all signs of fire damage washing away, and in turn the burnt out landscape surrounding the home is restored to a lush green gardens bordered by verdant woodland. A form rises out of the bed from the ashes on a bright sunlit morning, and up sits Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) who calls after Him, her husband. She ventures down stairs searching for Him, opening the front door on a new day, when he suddenly appears behind her. He is an acclaimed author and poet with a severe case of writers block that he is seemingly unable to shake off, and she goes about her daily routine of restoring the property after the fire - an ongoing work in progress making steady and sure progress. However, Him's creative blockade begins to undermine their peaceful country living existence, and soon Mother begins having visions around the house of things that unnerve and unsettle her.

One day, a Man (Ed Harris) rocks up at the door, claiming that he was told that their property was a Bed & Breakfast, and he is looking for somewhere to stay having recently moved into the area. Almost immediately Him is taken in by the Man, and as it is approaching the evening Him offers to let the Man stay for the night. Mother agrees albeit very reluctantly. She witnesses the Man having severe bouts of coughing fits to the point where he is physically sick. The two men stay up late into the night drinking, chatting and laughing like long lost mates. The next day, there is another knock at the door, and the Man's wife, Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) arrives to take up residence, marching on in believing the place to be a Bed & Breakfast too.

Fairly quickly Mother becomes frustrated by Man and Woman's presence around her home, invading their privacy, offering unwanted advice, and making a very unwelcome nuisance of themselves. Mother wants them gone, but Him says that their presence makes the house feel lived in and alive. Furthermore, Him reveals that Man is dying and he has learned that they are big fans of his work, and that Man wanted to meet Him before he dies. Later, Man and Woman take it upon themselves to go into Him's private study that is out of bounds to visitors. In doing so they are intrigued by the crystal object and while handling it, they let it fall to the floor shattering it into a thousand pieces. Him is furious and can hardly contain himself. Him and Mother agree to ask them to leave.

While preparing to leave there is another knock at the door and in barge to feuding young men - Man and Woman's grown up boys - the Oldest Son (Domhnall Gleeson) and his Younger Brother (Brian Gleeson). They are arguing and shouting at each other over the recently discovered will of their father which leaves everything to the Younger Brother. They fight in an all out brawl that sets tables and chairs sent flying and household objects trashed. The Younger Brother is accidentally mortally injured at the hands of the Oldest Son, who flees upon seeing blood oozing form the back of his brothers head, leaving Man and Woman to take their youngest son to the nearest hospital, accompanied by Him. When Him returns, he reveals that Younger Brother has died and has been subsequently buried. Later that evening a horde of people arrive at the house for the wake immediately making them selves at home and further frustrating Mother for their blatant disregard of her household, their possessions and their privacy. She reaches breaking point, when a couple who deliberately break a kitchen sink that has not yet been set, flood the lower house when they break the plumbing and water gushes out of every service pipe. When all the 'guests' have left Mothers berates Him for allowing so many unwanted and unwelcome people into their home. The couple argue fiercely, which turns into them having sex. The morning after, Mother announces that she his pregnant.

This news fills Him with a joy and an elation that motivates and inspires his creative juices. Suddenly Him has rediscovered his writing mojo and frantically puts pen to paper. In due course he lets Mother read the final pages of his work and then announces that his latest work has been published already. To celebrate, Mother prepares a romantic dinner for two, by now increasingly pregnant. As she is about to serve up dinner, Him is outside on the front veranda surrounded by a growing multitude of his fans all wanting an autograph and a piece of him. More fans arrive, and then more, and pretty soon, these fans are wanting to use the toilet, the telephone, helping themselves to the dinner spread she had so lovingly prepared earlier, and in due course ransacking the house of the couples possessions as mementos and keepsakes of their author hero. The house soon descends into chaos as armed Police arrive, and a disoriented Mother who is heavily pregnant, stumbles from one room to another seeking safe refuge, but none is to be found.

Him's Publisher arrives, The Herald (Kirsten Wiig) who at first is sympathetic to Mother and seeks to safeguard her, but soon takes part in the unfolding madness by executing at point blank range several of his fans before more are lined up for the same outcome. Then the military arrive in force to protect Mother and the house quickly becomes a war zone with the onset of her labour. She finds her husband who leads her up to his study where she gives birth to a boy. Outside the study door it has gone eerily quiet. Mother refuses to give up her child to Him, fearful for what he may do, and can she now trust him given everything she has seen and experienced. He says that the crowd beyond the door just want a glimpse of the newborn child, but she refuses. Then she falls asleep cradling the baby, and when she wakes and the baby is no longer in her arms she runs outside the door to see the child being crowd surfed across the room downstairs. Needless to say it doesn't end well for the baby or Mother, with Mother turning on the crowd and slicing and dicing those within easy reach with a broken shard of glass. The crowd turn on her, ripping at her clothes, forcing her to the ground and punching and kicking her to within an inch of her life. Him intervenes and stops the crowd. Mother is able to get away to the cellar where the oil tanker is located that fuels the furnace that heats the house. Despite her husbands pleas, Mother ignites the fuel oil so sending the house, the gathered crowds, herself and the immediate surrounding countryside up in ball of flame.

Both Mother and Him survive the explosion. Mother however, is badly burned all over, her skin charred black. Him, however, is untouched despite his very close proximity to the explosion. Placing her on a bench he asks her for whatever love she has left for him, and she agrees to give it. He then places his hands on her chest and digs in with both his hands pulling out her heart. In his hands the heart turns to charcoal which he crushes in his hands to reveal a crystal like object, identical to the one destroyed previously by Man and Woman. He places the crystal on a three pronged pedestal in his study and immediately the house begins to regenerate from burnt out war torn husk to a newly renovated home, and with it the gardens and surrounding countryside return to their lush green foliage. A new Mother forms in bed out of the ashes, rises up and calls after her husband.

It is easy to see why this film has been so divisive. It is the sort of film you'll either love for its original story telling, bold Direction and strong performances, or you'll hate it for its pretension, its steady descent into complete chaos, its graphic imagery, and its mixed messages. This is not a horror film in the traditional sense, but that doesn't make the film any less terrifying. The horror here too is in the confusion that rains down on Mother and the feeling of helplessness she feels when her peaceful lovingly renovated home is invaded by various individuals on multiple occasions. There are those that will interpret Aronofsky's work here as a metaphorical Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Mother Earth and a God like figure all playing out to the climax of the film where the Earth is cleansed of all sin and everything is made new again. Or the power of a mans relationship over his wife, or some other hidden meaning! But that's OK, because that's what Aronofsky wants - to promote discussion, debate and dialogue about his film - good, bad and indifferent! This is a visually stunning, bold and audacious, original film set within the confines of a large isolated country house, that will provoke further thought and discussion long after the credits have rolled, but, it won't be for everyone!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

PASSENGERS : Tuesday 10th January 2017.

'PASSENGERS' which I saw this week is from Norwegian film Director Morten Tyldum who previously brought us 2014's 'The Imitation Game'. Here he Directs this Sci-Fi adventure offering set in deep space. Made for US$110M and released in the US just before Christmas, the film has so far made US$181M and has seemingly fared less well with critics whose general response has been mixed at best, than it has with the movie going public. Having read the negative press, I was pleasantly surprised by the film, and feel it fares better than the critics give it credit for.


The story here takes place during some undisclosed future date aboard the starship 'Avalon', a state of the art vessel transporting 5,000 Earth inhabitants and some 250 crew to colonise a far away planet called Homestead II. That planet is so far away from Earth that the journey takes 120 years, and those 'passengers' and crew are in hibernation pods for the entirety of the journey, with the super advanced spacecraft on autopilot. The intention is that the passengers will awaken four months before arrival at Homestead II, and the crew one month before them, in order for everyone to assimilate to each other, their new surroundings, the prospect of life in a galaxy far far away, to learn new skills and to prepare for a fresh start at life. There is no going back.

Early on we see Avalon pass through a meteor cloud, and using its defensive shield manages to get through largely unscathed until we see a huge chunk of space rock the size of a football stadium come into view and headed on a collision course. It impacts and is deflected, but the jolt to the ships infrastructure causes a malfunction in one hibernation pod - that of mechanical engineer Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) who awakens thinking that he has arrived at Homestead II already, and the requisite 120 years has passed. After a day or two however, he comes to realise that nothing could be further from the truth, largely by the absence of anyone else. He searches through the mighty Avalon looking for others, interacting with various holographic beings passing out information, instructions and intelligence and learns too that the ship left earth only thirty years ago, and its destination is still ninety years away. How is this possible?

Resigned to his fate, Preston goes about his daily routines using all the facilities available to the passengers once they have woken up from their hibernation - restaurants, cinema, basketball gym, and the bar where he is able to interact with mechanical robot bartender Arthur (Michael Sheen) for some kind of companionship.

He also investigates the ships every corner to ascertain what he is dealing with, what resources are available and if there is a means of re-hibernation, but there is not. However, some areas are beyond his ability to access given that he is a lowly mechanical engineer who gained free passage to Homestead II on account of his necessary skills. One such area that 'is beyond his pay grade' is the main deck where the ships controls and diagnostic systems are housed, which he tries fruitlessly to access for a prolonged period, but to no avail.

Contemplating suicide after traipsing around the ship all on his lonesome for many months, he happens upon the hibernation pod of Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). He reads her digital profile and we learn she is a journalist, a writer, her family history, and Preston instantly becomes infatuated by her. After some soul searching and deliberation over many weeks he decides to wake up Aurora, but keep the truth from her about how her pod opened, other than it was another malfunction.

Initially Lane goes through the same emotions that Preston did over a year ago now, seeking ways to re-hibernate, or turn the ship around, but when she can see that everything she suggests has already been attempted by him, she resigns herself to her fate. In time the two fall for each other and become lovers. She starts writing a book, and the pair take full advantage of their seclusion, their surroundings and everything they have available to them.

This carries on for a year, with the two making the most of their lives abroad the Avalon, until Arthur inadvertently lets out that it is the anniversary of Preston waking up Lane. At first Lane cannot believe what she is hearing, and then her anger turns physical and emotional as she deliberately distances herself from Preston, accusing him of what is tantamount to murder.

Shortly after this as Preston is trying to explain himself over the Avalon's PA system, they hear the voice of Chief Deck Officer Gus Mancuso (Laurence Fishburn) who has been woken by another pod malfunction. Mancuso has higher authority and so gains them access to the main deck which earlier Preston had spent tireless hours trying to access. Using the ships diagnostic systems they learn of multiple failures in the ships infrastructure and systems, which if not repaired will have catastrophic effects. They learn that the damage was done two years ago during the meteor storm that initially woke up Preston, and so now it becomes a race against time to locate the damage and effect repairs. Mancuso meanwhile is in ill health and in the ships infirmary in the Autodoc (an automated medical diagnostics and treatment pod) they learn that he has just hours to live thanks to the manner in which his hibernation pod was opened and what he was exposed to in the process. Before he dies, he hands over his ID wrist band giving the pair unrestricted access to all areas.

As the ships systems increasingly fail putting at risk over five thousand souls, so the hunt is on for the damage. They locate several holes in the ships hull that caused damage to the computer that administers the ships reactor. Knowing that there are spare parts on the ship for every conceivable necessity, Preston retrieves a new computer bank to replace the damaged one. In doing so however, it causes further damage to the reactor. Preston realises that the fusion reactor needs to be vented, but this cannot be done from the inside due to damaged systems infrastructure, and so he needs to do so from outside the ship. Lane is reluctant to let him go knowing that she may never see him again, and she couldn't abide that thought despite her previous feelings of being cheated out of her future life.

With Lane inside and Preston outside the ship but in constant communication with each other, the reactor is successfully vented, but in the process he is ejected by the blast with such a force that it snaps his tether causing him to drift helplessly. With his spacesuit also damaged he is loosing oxygen rapidly and the temperature inside his suit begins to plummet. He apologies to Lane and bids his farewell. Not having any of it, Lane dons a spacesuit and ventures out to retrieve her man, eventually doing so. She slams him into the Autodoc where he is pronounced dead on arrival. Using the diagnostics and treatment functions she throws everything at Preston to revive him.

Eighty-eight years later the crew of the Avalon awaken as they approach Homestead II. Upon opening the doors to the main concourse area, Captain Norris (Andy Garcia) is greeted with a landscape of lush green vegetation, tall trees, and a small wooden house that Preston promised he would build Lane if they were together on Homestead II. Lane completed writing her book revealing that she elected to stay with Preston and finish writing her story of adventure and love aboard the Avalon where the two of them lived happily until they died.

There are nods aplenty to other films, including '2001:A Space Odyssey', 'Prometheus', 'The Martian', 'Gravity' and 'Titanic', and like all of these films 'Passengers' does not disappoint on the visuals which are stunning and expertly realised. With a small handful too of individuals battling against the odds; a story that you can relate to; and a chemistry between the two leads that make you believe, this is ultimately a love story wrapped up in a disaster epic where loss and despair give way to love and hope. I found Preston just a little too worldly wise as a lowly mechanical engineer who is able to craft metal trinkets, reprogramme robots, sidestep complex computer systems, design an eco system, and know how reactor fusion works amongst other things to be just a little too convenient and a little to MacGuiver esque. Preston's motives for waking up Lane are at the core of the film, and it is a matter for debate as to what you would do confronted with a lifetime of no other human contact, and ultimately her reaction and reconciliation to this is equally questionable. I enjoyed 'Passengers' much more than I thought I would, and I think you will too. It is worth seeing on the big screen for all the spectacle, complexity and the enormity of a sterile, untarnished brand spanking new floating mega shopping mall and entertainment complex hurtling through space on its 120 year journey to go boldly where no man has gone before!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-