What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th December 2024.

Christmas has arrived once again, and as such it would be remiss of me not to wish my worldwide readership all the very best for a Merry, Happy and safe Christmas, wherever you are in world, whatever it is you do to celebrate the occasion, and whoever you share it with. Thanks for your continued support over the last year - it is your viewership that makes my reviews and previews of the latest release new films all the more worthwhile, and I look forward to doing more of the same throughout 2025. Until then, Merry Christmas, happy holidays and complements of the season, from Sydney, Australia.  

This week with seven hot new releases to tease you out to your local Odeon, we kick off with an English language Spanish drama film about two grown up middle aged women who were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine, and who after years of being out of touch, meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet circumstance. This is followed by a story of two mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved late grandmother. Then we turn to a semi-autobiographical film based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of a British pop superstar. Next up is an American romantic comedy drama that follows the beleaguered marriage between a young sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch. Following on we have an Italian and French film about an Italian woman who searches for happiness during the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her city and its many memorable characters. Then we have an international co-production set in Mumbai, where a nurse's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband, while her younger roommate tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. And closing out the week we have the third instalment in this video game adaptation franchise that sees Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles ally with Dr. Robotnik to defeat a new enemy.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven 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 ROOM NEXT DOOR' (Rated M) - is a Spanish drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Pedro Almodovar, whose prior feature film credits include 'All About My Mother' in 1999, 'Talk To Her' in 2002, 'Volver' in 2006, 'Broken Embraces' in 2009, 'The Skin I Live In' in 2011, 'Julieta' in 2016, 'Pain and Glory' in 2019 and 'Parallel Mothers' in 2021. This film is based on the 2020 novel 'What Are You Going Through' by the American writer Sigrid Nunez, and is Pedro Almodovar's English language full feature length debut. It was awarded the Golden Lion, the top prize of the Venice Film Festival where is saw its World Premiere in early September this year. The film was released in its native Spain in mid-October, in the US last week, has so far received generally favourable critical reviews and has grossed US$9M. 

Here, Ingrid Parker (Julianne Moore) and Martha Hunt (Tilda Swinton) were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war correspondent, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation. Also starring John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola.

'A REAL PAIN' (Rated MA15+) - this American and Polish Co-Produced comedy drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Jesse Eisenberg in only his second Directorial outing following 'When You Finish Saving the World' in 2022. Here mismatched and hitherto disconnected American Jewish cousins David Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother and to connect with their heritage. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Also starring Will Sharpe and Jennifer Grey. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, was released in the US in early November, has garnered universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$8M against a production budget of just US$3M. It has so far picked up twenty-two award wins and a further forty-one nominations from around the awards and festival circuit with a number of those nominations still pending an outcome. 

'BETTER MAN' (Rated MA15+) - is a semi-autobiographical film about the British singer and songwriter Robbie Williams, and is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Michael Gracey whose previous feature film credits are 'The Greatest Showman' in 2017 and the documentary film 'Pink : All I Know So Far' in 2021. This film charts the life story over three decades of pop singer Robbie Williams stardom, but with Williams portrayed as a chimpanzee (voiced by Robbie Williams with Jonno Davies as the young Robbie) because, as he puts it, he always felt 'less evolved' than other people. Also starring Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, Anthony Hayes and Kate Mulvaney. The film was shot in Melbourne and London, has generated mostly positive reviews, saw its Premiere screening at the Telluride Film Festival in early September and is released this week too in the US.

'ANORA' (Rated MA15+) - this American romantic comedy drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Sean Baker whose prior film making credits include his debut in 2000 with 'Four Letter Words', 'Take Out' in 2004, 'Starlet' in 2012, 'Tangerine' in 2015, 'The Florida Project' in 2017 and 'Red Rocket' in 2021. Here then, Anora 'Ani' Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is a 23 year old sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Ivan 'Vanya' Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire Nikolai Zakharov (Aleksei Serebryakov) and his wife Galina Zakharova (Darya Ekamasova). However, when Vanya's parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May and won the Palme d'Or Award, was released Stateside in mid-October, has garnered universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$29M off the back of a production budget of US$6M. 

'PARTHENOPE' (Rated MA15+) - this Co-Produced Italian and French film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino. Set in the sundrenched coastal Italian city of Naples, the smiling Parthenope  (Celeste Dalla Porta, with Stefania Sandrelli as the older Parthenope) recalls her childhood, in which her brothers were obsessed with her. Her anthropology professor finds her a brilliant student. She considers becoming an actor, but is not inspired by her eccentric acting coach. She wonders about becoming an aesthete, and meets the drunken writer John Cheever (Gary Oldman), whose work she admires. Or perhaps she could have a romantic fling with the ugly bishop who attends the miracle of the dried blood that turns liquid each year, the phenomenon she is studying in anthropology. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May where it saw its World Premiere and received a near ten minute standing ovation, but has subsequently garnered mixed or average critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$8M. It was released in Italy in late October, is released in France 12th March and the US on 7th February. 

'ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT' (Rated M) - is an international Co-Produced film involving companies from France, India, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy, and is Directed by the Indian film maker Payal Kapadia in her feature film debut. The film had its World Premiere at this year Cannes Film Festival in late May and was the first film from India to compete in the main competition since 1994, and won the Grand Prix. The film centres on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital - head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha), plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam). Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family and Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. It was released in limited theatres in India in late September before going wide there in late November and in France in early October. A US release date has not yet been confirmed. It has met with widespread critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$1.9M at the Box Office. 

'SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3' (Rated PG) - this US and Japanese Co-Produced action adventure comedy film is based on the Sega video game series of the same name, and is Directed by Jeff Fowler who also Directed the previous two instalments in the franchise in 2020 and 2022, and which grossed a combined US$725M off the back of a total US$190M production budget. Here then, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) face a powerful and mysterious new adversary, Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves). The trio form an unlikely alliance with Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) in the hope of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet. However, the stakes become raised when Robotnik is reunited with his thought-to-be-long-lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik (also Jim Carrey), who seems to have his own sinister plans for Shadow. Also starring James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Krysten Ritter and Natasha Rothwell. The film was released last week in the US and the UK, has generated positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$28M off the back of a US$122M production budget. 'Sonic the Hedgehog 4' is slated for an early 2027 release.

With seven 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-

ZOMBIELAND : DOUBLE TAP - Tuesday 22nd October 2019.

'ZOMBIELAND : DOUBLE TAP' which I saw this week at my local multiplex, is the long awaited MA15+ Rated ZomCom sequel to 2009's 'Zombieland' film which was Directed by Ruben Fleischer, starred Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, and was a critical and commercial success grossing US$103M off the back of a US$24M production budget. Apparently a sequel was muted even before the release of the first film, but then things languished in development Hell for a number of years before being officially green lit in early 2018. This sequel was released in the US last week too, cost US$45M to make, has so far grossed US$39M and has generated mixed Reviews so far.

And so in this next instalment set ten years after the events of the first film, and following an opening narrative to bring us duly up to speed with the passing events of the last decade, we open up with a zombie showdown involving Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) going head to head with a bunch of marauding zombies on the now overgrown lawn of the White House. Needless to say its a complete bloodbath as our four intrepid zombie killing heroes win the day using assault rifles, pump action shotguns, crowbars and pistols to thwart their flesh hungry aggressors.

Taking up residence in the deserted White House, Columbus decides to propose to Wichita and uses the First Lady's Hope Diamond ring to seal their engagement. Meanwhile Little Rock has thoughts of escaping her surrogate family and finding a man, settling down and starting her own family, but these notions are quickly rebuffed by her father figure Tallahassee. Early the next day, Tallahassee finds a brief hand scribbled note from Wichita and Little Rock, stating they have left because Little Rock feels Tallahassee still treats her like a child, and Wichita’s fear she has become far too attached to Columbus.

A few weeks later, resigned to their new found female-less lives, Tallahassee and Columbus are riding Segwey's around a desert shopping mall, when Columbus comes across Madison (Zoey Deutch) who has spent the last ten years or so of her life living inside the freezer of a frozen dessert restaurant chain. Madison pretty quickly manages to put Tallahassee off side, but she warms to Columbus, who invites the dumb ass blonde bimbo to come live with them at the White House, much to Tallahassee's chagrin. That first night Madison seduces Columbus.

The next morning Wichita returns to the White House alone and upon discovering that Columbus slept with Madison is none too pleased. Wichita goes on to explain that Little Rock left for Graceland with a hippie named Berkeley (Avan Jogia), and commandeered Tallahassee's prized modified Presidential limousine affectionately known as 'The Beast' with them. She also informs the group of more agile and durable 'super zombies' that she has come across, who are stronger, faster and able to withstand multiple attempts at killing them. Fearing for Little Rock's safety, the group head toward Graceland in a beat up minivan much to Tallahassee's disgust.

En route, the gang thwart a pack of zombie's while trying to commandeer a luxury RV, but come across one such super zombie that takes multiple shots to the head and body to eventually kill it - Columbus calls this new breed of zombie the T-800 (after the original 'Terminator'). Back in the minivan, because the RV blew its front tyres after inadvertently driving over road spikes, Madison begins to show sign of zombiefication, forcing Columbus to shoot her in the head somewhere off road and in the woods.

And so the remaining three continue their journey to Graceland, expecting to find Little Rock and The Beast, but there is no sign of either. They drive out of town and come across an Elvis themed motel, in whose driveway is parked The Beast. Venturing gingerly inside, Tallahassee is floored by Nevada (Rosario Dawson) pointing a gun in his face. When Nevada realises that they are friendly she advises that Little Rock and Berkley left for an outpost hippie commune called Babylon. Bonding over their shared love of all things Elvis Presley, Nevada and Tallahassee spend the night together.

The next morning, the pair are awoken by a ruckus coming from outside, only to find a monster truck has crushed The Beast and literally parked on top of it in the driveway. Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) alight from their vehicle and instantly it is recognised that the pair strongly resemble Tallahassee and Columbus in their personalities, traits and foibles. A pack of super zombies arrive on the scene and Albuquerque and Flagstaff, decide to fend them off alone showing the others 'how it's done'! They seemingly successfully overcome the horde, only to reveal within a few minutes that they were both bitten. Turning rapidly into super zombies themselves they are eventually thwarted and killed with Nevada's help, but not before trashing the place.

Saying farewell to Nevada to venture onto Babylon, en route the three come across Madison on the road driving an ice cream truck. They pull her over and she explains that she had an allergic reaction to the nuts contained within the trail mix she was eating when she had her episode, and Columbus spared her life by shooting over her head to scare her away. At Babylon, Little Rock and Berkley arrive and are greeted with a no guns policy as they are a peace loving community, and so their guns are instantly melted down to make peace medallions. A few days later the reunited group of four arrive at Babylon and reluctantly agree to give up their stash of weapons too in order to gain entry.

The group are reunited with Little Rock. Realising she is now a young adult and no longer needing his protection, Tallahassee leaves, as the commune celebrate the group’s arrival with a display of fireworks. While driving away, Tallahassee comes across a massive horde of super zombies who have been attracted by the fireworks, and returns to warn the commune. Left without guns, Tallahassee comes up with a two pronged attack plan. Firstly, using fireworks to attract the zombies into an enclosed area directly outside the communes walls, and exploding a tank of biodiesel when they are all contained. Secondly, to arm the members of the commune with makeshift barricade shields to corral the zombies off the skyscraper roof that houses the commune, baited by himself.

The first plan has only limited success when the zombie horde is larger than expected, and the unarmed group finds themselves seriously outnumbered and surrounded. Contemplating their fate Nevada arrives in the monster truck, rescuing the group by mowing down randomly every zombie left standing, of which there are many. The truck flips over on to its side, forcing them to exit the confines of the truck and journey on foot up the skyscraper chased by the horde. The commune members use their pre-prepared makeshift shields to create a single path off the edge of the tall building. Pursued by the zombies, Tallahassee jumps off the building, catching the hook of a construction crane as the horde falls to their deaths like lemmings. Two zombies grab at Tallahassee's leg and hold on left dangling precariously, but Little Rock shoots them with a forgotten custom made pistol once owned by Elvis, given to her by Tallahassee as an early Christmas present, so saving his life.

Little Rock reconciles with Tallahassee, Wichita finally accepts Columbus’ marriage proposal, Little Rock splits up with Berkeley, who then immediately hooks up with Madison who then stay behind at Babylon as the original group of four, joined now by Nevada, leave the commune in a dusky pink 1950's Cadillac convertible.

'Zombieland : Double Tap' has plenty going for it that will make it an enjoyable couple of hours spent at your local movie theatre, but at the same time it doesn't steer too far away from the original premise that made the first instalment so critically and commercially successful. The story is coherent enough, the zombie bloodletting is gore inspiring and there are enough undead kills to satisfy the most die hard fan, the chemistry between the lead characters is clearly evident, the comedic humour yields a number of laugh out loud moments, and there is the occasional tongue in cheek emotional interlude to counter balance the manic zombie attacks. What lets this film down is that it is largely simply a rehash of what went before, going through the all too familiar motions for the sake of fountains of blood spatter and gory zombie deaths, interspersed with the odd laugh, and a plot that is a thinly veiled road movie of reckoning on various levels, and that's about it. It is worth staying in your seat for the funniest element of the film that comes as a mid credits sequence featuring Bill Murray promoting 'Garfield 3'.

'Zombieland : Double Tap' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 2nd-8th October 2016

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Jesse Eisenberg does on 5th October - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 33, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 2nd October

• Sting (aka Gordon Sumner) - Born 1951, turns 65 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor | Producer

Monday 3rd October

• Clive Owen  - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actor | Producer  
• Denis Villeneuve - Born 1967, turns 49 - Director | Writer
• Sean William Scott - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor | Producer 
• Neve Campbell - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Alicia Vikander - Born 1988, turns 28 - Actress | Producer

Tuesday 4th October

• Susan Sarandon - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Alicia Silverstone - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress | Producer 
• Dakota Johnson - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actress
• Armand Assante - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
• Christoph Waltz - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Liev Schreiber - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director  

Wednesday 5th October

• Bob Geldof - Born 1951, turns 65 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Writer | Humanitarian  
• Guy Pearce - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Singer
• Jesse Eisenberg - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Jacob Tremblay - Born 2006, turns 10 - Actor 
• Karen Allen - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actress
• Kate Winslet - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actress 

Thursday 6th October

• Britt Ekland - Born 1942, turns 74 - Actress
• Elisabeth Shue - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actress | Producer
• Ioan Gruffudd - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actor  

Friday 7th October

• Marco Beltrami - Born 1966, turns 50 - Composer | Songwriter | Musician
• Tim Minchin - Born 1975, turns 41 - Singer | Songwriter | Musician | Writer | Actor | Producer | Director  

Saturday 8th October

• Paul Hogan - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Chevy Chase - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• Edward Zwick - Born 1952, turns 64 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Matt Damon - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Sigourney Weaver - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actress | Producer
• Kristanna Loken - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress | Producer  

Jesse Adam Eisenberg was born in Queens, New York to mother Amy Fishman, a teacher of cultural sensitivity in hospitals and before that a children's party clown, and father Barry Eisenberg, a one time taxi driver before becoming a sociology college professor. He has two sisters - Hallie Kate and Kerry Lea - both of whom have worked in acting. Eisenberg had a secular Jewish upbringing in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. He attended the East Brunswick Public Schools, then East Brunswick High School, and then moved to the High School of Performing Arts in New York, upon which the 1980 hit film 'Fame' was set. While in his senior year he secured his big screen debut in 2002 in 'Roger Dodger'. He went onto The New School in New York s Greenwich Village where he studied anthropology and contemporary architecture eventually majoring in liberal arts.

He first appeared on stage at age seven in a children's theatre production of 'Oliver', and at twelve he understudied for a 1996 Broadway Production of 'Summer and Smoke', and a year later he played the young Scrooge in a musical version of 'A Christmas Carol' at The Paramount Theatre. His first professional play came in 1999 at age sixteen in 'The Gathering' in an off-Broadway production at Playhouse 91.  His first small screen role came as Kenny Green in all 22 episodes of comedy drama series 'Get Real' from 1999 to 2000, and then made for television movie 'Lightning : Fire from the Sky' in 2001. 'Roger Dodger' came next in 2002 - his big screen debut opposite Campbell Scott, with 'The Emperor's Club' that same year with Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Paul Dano and Patrick Dempsey.

In 2004 Eisenberg secured a small role in M.Night Shyamalan's 'The Village'. He followed this up with the Noah Baumbach Written and Directed 'The Squid and The Whale' in 2005; Wes Craven's horror-comedy 'Cursed'; 'The Education of Charlie Banks' with Jason Ritter; 'The Hunting Party' with Richard Gere; 'Adventureland' with Kristen Stewart, and then probably his breakout role in 'Zombieland' - a horror-comedy with Woody Harrelson, for which a sequel is currently in the works.

The new decade saw four films in 2010 starting with 'Holy Rollers' in  which he starred alongside his sister Hailee, 'Camp Hell', 'Solitary Man' with Michael Douglas, and then as Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher's highly acclaimed and commercially successful 'The Social Network' for which Eisenberg received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.



The next year he voiced the lead character of Blu in the animated feature 'Rio' - a voice he would reprise again in 2014 in 'Rio 2', and then '30 Minutes or Less'. 2012 saw 'Why Stop Now', 'Free Samples', Woody Allen's ensemble cast in 'To Rome With Love', 'He's More Famous Than You' and 'Now You See Me' with an all star cast a year later in 2013. He would also reprise his role as one of The Four Horsemen, Danny Atlas in the 2016 sequel 'Now You See Me 2', with a third film already announced.

In between there has been 'Night Moves', 'The Double' with Mia Wasikowska, 'The End of the Tour', 'Louder Than Bombs', 'American Ultra' with Kristen Stewart again, and as Lex Luthor in this years Zack Snyder production of the DC Extended Universe in 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' with Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill back again as Superman. He has also had some guest television appearances on 'Saturday Night Live', 'The Newsroom', 'Modern Family' and 'Top Gear' as well as a number of theatre productions which he has also Written.

Next up is Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' due for its Australian release later this year with Kristen Stewart once more, and DC's 'Justice League : Part One' currently filming for Zack Snyder with Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman, with Eisenberg reposing his role as Lex Luthor again. Over the years he has also narrated numerous audiobooks as well as being the author of numerous short stories published in The New Yorker and in McSweeney's. His debut novel 'Bream Gives Me Hiccups' was released one year ago and includes these previously published pieces and more, and is being adapted for a television series with filming currently ongoing with Eisenberg Directing, Producing and Writing.

Eisenberg suffers from several forms of anxiety - obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety, social anxiety and depression which he still suffers from but was more pronounced in him during his childhood years. He has found that acting helped him cope. He is a vegetarian, has been involved in animal fostering programmes and has financially supported Middle Way House - a shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. He also supports 'Keep America Beautiful' and 'The Shoe Revolt' aimed at empowering youth to take up the fight against domestic sex trafficking. He also took part in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Agency video to increase awareness of the global refugee crisis.

All up Eisenberg has 38 Acting credits to his name, and one for Director, Producer and Writer on the upcoming 'Bream Gives Me Hiccups'. All up he has garnered twenty awards wins and a another 56 nominations with many of those being for his work on 'The Social Network'. He dated Anna Strout from 2002 to 2012 - a crew member and assistant on 'The Emperor's Club' when they first got together. They broke off in 2012 when Eisenberg dated his 'The Double' Co-Star Mia Wasikowska until 2015. He has since reunited with Anna Strout.

Jesse Eisenberg - trade mark curly hair, and often plays fast talking introverted shy anti-social neurotic characters. Certainly not one to be typecast having played across all genres and continuing to keep us entertained with his diverse roles - some real and some fictitious and always convincing. Happy Birthday to you Jesse and Best Wishes, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

NOW YOU SEE ME - THE SECOND ACT : Wednesday 8th June 2016.

'NOW YOU SEE ME : THE SECOND ACT' is the follow up to 2013's first instalment in this magic heist adventure offering that was Directed by Louis Leterrier, comprised an all star cast, and despite its largely mixed critical reviews it made US$352M from its US$75M production budget and was therefore hailed a commercial success at least. Three short years later, and as if by magic we have a sequel up our sleeve, this time Directed by Jon M. Chu with much of that original line up reprising their roles. This film had a bigger budget than the first at US$90M and was released in Australia largely ahead of the rest of the world with its Stateside release on 10th June and the rest of the world thereafter. As long ago as a year, Lionsgate Films announced that 'Now You See Me 3' was already in the planning stages, so its very much looks like our intrepid, daring 'Four Horsemen' will survive to ride another day, and perform more sleight of hand for your disbelieving pleasure with plenty more tricks up their sleeves.

Essentially one year on from cleverly outwitting the FBI with a grand illusion to end all grand illusions whilst winning over the confidence, respect, support and adulation of the general public, 'The Four Horsemen' (no, not those from 'X-Men : Apocalypse') - Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and new girl on the block replacing Isla Fisher, Lula (Lizzy Caplan) reappear for an encore performance in the hopes of exposing the unethical dealings of a tech magnate who is about to launch a new smart phone on the world that will gobble up all your personal and private data and use it for seemingly unscrupulous means to become all controlling. Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) meanwhile leads The Four Horsemen covertly whilst 'working' for the FBI in supposedly tracking down The Four Horsemen, but along the way sending those authority figures on a merry hunt half way around the world to maintain their cover, their disappearing act for over a year now, and allowing them to go about their business largely unhindered.

Assembled, and with another grand illusion at the ready, The Four Horsemen prepare to make their mark on a Conference/Exhibition Hall where this latest smart phone is to be revealed on an unsuspecting world. When things go awry and Rhodes plan is scuppered by the FBI, the illusionists need to make a quick exit stage left. In doing so, they escape via a roof top and slide down a construction shute that is meant to exit them in an awaiting truck several stories below . . . but instead they emerge in a Chinese looking kitchen with surprised Chefs rattling the pans all around them. They walk out of the kitchen dazed and confused into a bustling restaurant and quickly learn that they are in downtown Macau - WTF just happened they exclaim looking totally bewildered.

As they quickly gather their thoughts, they are welcomed by Chase McKinney (Woody Harrelson) - the estranged twin brother of Merritt, and who has a serious axe to grind against his brother, and vice versa. Suffice to say there is no love lost between them. The four get loaded up into an obligatory black 4WD and taken off across town to meet devious tech wizard Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe). Meanwhile Rhodes is back on the other side of the world wondering where the hell his Four Horsemen are, and their phones are unresponsive.

Mabry announces that he engineered their 'abduction' to Macau and explains how he preformed that trick, and reveals that in exchange for their freedom from his clutches and those of the FBI, he requires them to steal a micro-chip embedded in a playing card sized sliver of plastic. The chip has the ability to hack into any computer in the world, decrypt any code, break any password and reveal the most secret, sensitive information to the holder of said chip. Of the four, only Atlas agrees and so the others are forced to go along with the plan, and have 24 hours to do so. They swing into action visiting the worlds oldest magic store which just happens to be there is Macau, for some essential supplies with which to pull off this daring heist from a heavily guarded technical fortress.

Meanwhile back on American soil, Rhodes receives a phone call from Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who is locked up in a prison cell, having been put there by Rhodes himself as a result of his antics in the first film. With Rhodes now being chased down by the FBI who have worked out his cunning agenda, he reluctantly reaches out to Bradley who claims he knows the whereabouts of The Four Horsemen, and will reveal their location in exchange for a 24 hour leave pass. Bradley and Rhodes arrive in Macau after the Four Horsemen have deftly and with remarkable sleight of hand acquired the microchip, with Atlas waiting in a downtown market to hand over the merchandise to Mabry and his henchmen. At that point Atlas is intercepted by Rhodes, and a fight breaks out as Atlas gets away with the chip leaving Rhodes to fend off the others after Mabry reveals his intentions towards them were hardly genuine.

When the dust settles Rhodes and The Four Horsemen reunite to ponder their next move. Aided by the magic shop owner and her son, they devise a cunning plan to beat Mabry at his own game - in London on New Years Eve where they will stage their greatest illusion yet, and they let the world know of their imminent arrival. In the meantime, we have learnt that Mabry is the illegitimate son of Arthur Tressler (who The Four Horsemen tricked out of millions of dollars in the first film), and so he has his own agenda to rid the world of Rhodes and his four magicians, and has Bradley on side too.

As the action moves to London on NYE The Four Horsemen assemble at various points across the city and each gather a crowd of expectant on lookers ready to see their magical mastery up close & personal. Behind the scenes the FBI has gathered ready to nab Rhodes and The Four Horsemen when they appear. Mabry & Tressler have also touched down still hunting the chip, and so they too are in hot pursuit. What follows is a cat and mouse game across a busy London on NYE as the FBI close in but as usual are one step behind the bad guys who have captured Rhodes, Atlas, McKinney, Lula and Wilder and intend to make off with them by private jet and dispose of them once the chip is in their safe hands. But of course, the gang of grand illusionists have a few tricks up their sleeve which ensures the downfall of Mabry, Tressler and Chase in front of a worldwide audience.

In the final analysis, Rhodes, Atlas, McKinney, Wilder and Lula convene in Greenwich when the dust has settled and the FBI are off their scent. There Rhodes meets with Bradley who reveals his true identity as a close friend and business partner to Rhodes' father, Lionel Shrike (Richard Laing) who died when the young Dylan was just eight years of age performing an illusion that went horribly wrong. Also revealed are three other members of 'The Eye' who we were introduced to earlier in the film, as Bradley bids his farewells from his office headquarters.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It moves along at a cracking pace and the cast are strong enough both individually and as an ensemble to complete this magic circle and make it greater than the sum of its parts. The illusions and the magic are well orchestrated if somewhat stretched in their plausibility, but then hey, this is a film about master illusionists writ large and their ability to perform feats of magic on a grand scale, so you'll need to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride. The one flaw in this tale for me is the ability for the gang to perform their illusions on such a grand scale so quickly using very limited time and resources and pull everything off so successfully. There's no months, not even weeks, of pre-planning, preparations, rehearsals, assembling a crew, fine tuning, checking and double checking that everything works and is at it should be . . . but then I guess this is the magic of Hollywood, and why let practical details get in the way of a good story. It is worth the price of your ticket, it delivers exactly what you would expect from the first film, and as sequels go, it ain't bad!

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BATMAN v SUPERMAN : DAWN OF JUSTICE - TUESDAY 22nd March 2016

I was lucky enough to see the Australian Premier of 'BATMAN v SUPERMAN : DAWN OF JUSTICE' at a local Multiplex two days ahead of its official Australian release date on Tuesday last week. This much hyped, long awaited, eagerly anticipated and initially controversial next instalment in the DC Extended Universe is finally here, as Directed by Zack Snyder and made for a cool US$250M. This is the second instalment in the DC Extended Universe following 2013's 'Man of Steel' also Directed by Zack Snyder and which made US$668M off its US$225M production budget, and sees once again Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent. This film features some big name acting talent and also unites for the first time on the big screen in a live action movie a number of favoured characters from the DC canon - some of whom will get their own big picture outing in future years. All that said, it seems that this film is already dividing critics the world over with some making a scathing attack on the movie and others rating it well. Ultimately you will have to decide, and while the fate of the world rests in the hands of Batman and Superman, the fate of Batman and Superman rests in yours.

As the film opens we see Superman battling it out above the city skyline with an alien foe assumed to be the tail end of his epic battle with General Zod as seen at the end of 'Man of Steel'. There is mass destruction everywhere and innocent lives lost including those close to Bruce Wayne as he tears through the city streets gazing in disbelief at the sight of crumbling buildings and collateral damage in front of his very eyes, and all at the hands of Superman. All around him the citizens stare in disbelief at the carnage all around, and flee to safety, fearful for their own lives. Fast forward two years or so after these events and many of Metropolis's inhabitants, and indeed the world, are left feeling helpless, angry and fearful that Superman is not everything he is cracked up to be and in fact that he may even be a threat to humanity, especially if he continues to go unchecked. Equally though there are those who consider Superman as God like and their saviour given his superhuman powers. The media is in a frenzy as the debate rages on, and often on the front page of The Daily Planet newspaper where Clark Kent works with the love of his life Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and supervised by Editor Perry White (Laurence Fishburn).

Those who doubt Superman and see him as a threat include billionaire Bruce Wayne aka Batman (Ben Affleck) who takes it upon himself to wage a one man war against Superman to rid the Earth of him, so that its citizens can rest easy once more. This Batman however, is an ageing Superhero whom we learn through trusty and loyal Butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons) is 'too old to die young' and has been battling villains for over twenty years now. We are beyond the Nolan films, the age of Robin here, and Wayne Manor is a derelict abandoned wreck of a building now and a fading memory of what it used to stand for. Wayne is still a rugged handsome man about town and astute businessman loaded with more wealth than you can imagine, but his focus has shifted from capturing villains and locking them up (a reference here to the upcoming 'Suicide Squad' perhaps) to thwarting Superman once and for all. Affleck plays it well, looks the part with his chiseled features and lends a certain gravitas to this ageing Batman knocking on the door of fifty, and still living with his trusted family Butler, who has been seriously up-skilled from his former film appearances to a role much more emotionally advanced and tech. savvy.

In the wings however, watching and waiting is Lex Luthor (Jessie Eisenberg) who also has plans for Superman, and is working on weaponising Kryptonite which he has come to possess from the downed alien spacecraft carrying General Zod some two years earlier. He wants to create an intergalactic warning system that acts as a deterrent to potential invading alien kind, but he needs to get it through the Senate, and Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) ain't gonna let that happen for fear that such a weapon may be used for less noble means than intended. Angry that this is likely to be the case Luthor takes out his revenge on the Senate just as Superman descends to give evidence for the first time in a landmark hearing. It doesn't end well for anyone, and as a result Superman goes into hiding believing he was the root cause for the death of hundreds.

When Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne come together at a charity event hosted by Lex Luthor their initial reception is less than warm, as they both go on the defensive about their alter-egos, whilst not knowing yet who and what those alter-egos are. At this event, Wayne attempt to tap into LexCorp's mainframe and does so successfully only for the drive to be 'stolen' before he can reclaim it by a sultry mystery antiques dealer Diana Prince (Gal Gadot). Later tracked down by Wayne who confronts her, she explains that she has returned the drive to the glove box of his car, but that she believed that Luthor also was in possession of files relating to herself, which she wanted to retrieve. Later that day Wayne decrypts the drive and whilst scouring its contents learns that Diane Prince is some kind of immortal warrior as evidenced by photographs of her taken from the early 20th Century.

Meanwhile Luthor ramps up his activities to bring down Superman and is successful in retrieving a sizable rock of Kryptonite which he brings into Metropolis under cover of night. Batman is watching Luthor's every move and uncovers the impending shipment and so lays in wait to intercept the cargo for his own means to ultimately thwart Superman. Following a well executed action chase sequence through the docks of Gotham in which Batman follows the Kryptonite truck in his Batmobile, the dark knight is halted in his tracks when he comes face to face with Superman, who gives him a warning to cease his one man vigilante activities immediately or face the consequences of his wrath.

Eventually, while Luthor is caught napping, Batman retrieves the Kryptonite and sets about building himself a powerful new exoskeleton Batsuit and waeponises the Kryptonite to use against Superman. Cue the obligatory training montage of a ripped Batman prepping himself for the ultimate standoff. 'Who Will Win' indeed?? In the meantime, Luthor must revert to 'Plan B' and with access granted to General Zod's downed scout ship which rests in Metropolis, he splices his own DNA with that of General Zod in the ships Genesis Chamber. Still intent on destroying Superman, Luthor brings Lane to the helipad on top of LexCorp as a means of luring Superman there with a blackmailed threat that leads him to face off against Batman in an epic battle that sees one rise victorious . . . well almost, and potentially!

Whilst that battle royale is going on, the mutated creature that Luthor has concocted in the Genesis Chamber using his own DNA and that of Zod's together with some alien reproductive technology is coming to life, and larger than it! With the power to outdo Superman, 'Doomsday' as Luthor affectionally has called it, engage in head to head combat that sees whole city blocks destroyed, land laid to waste, and a nuclear war head pound straight into them both far above the Earth's atmosphere from which they both recover quickly only to return to the ground where Batman and now Wonder Woman (aka Diana Prince aka Gal Gadot) join the fight. Needless to say, good overcomes evil, but, at a cost!

As the story draws to an end we see Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince talking about the formation of a 'Justice League' that unites the other metahumans seen by him in Luthor's decrypted files - those being Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg, and now their attention must turn to tracking them down and helping to protect the world from further threats. With Luthor safely locked up in maximum security for all of his criminal activities, he is visited by Batman who says that he will now be forever watching him should he ever step out of line.

As of 27th March, the film has grossed of US$424M setting it at the fourth biggest opening of all time and the biggest Superhero movie opening of all time, with the film needing to take as a minimum US$800M to make it the commercial success needed to recover its US$250M production budget and its US$150M or so marketing & promotion costs. Those 'experts' claim that it is likely to take US$1B given the media frenzy and what its has done so far in its first four days since opening. As far as this Blogger is concerned, I hope it does well. I was pleasantly surprised by the film and think it deserves better than many critics are citing. The lead performances are strong and considered (Affleck, Cavill, Gadot, Eisenberg), the story is solid enough, the action set pieces are well executed, and the film maintains the attention for all of its 151 minutes running time. Chris Nolan was on board as an Executive Producer and he gave it the thumbs up.

This film is not as dark and brooding as any of Nolan's hugely successful trilogy, but we do see Batman and Superman in a different light here and for me that was refreshing, and we are introduced to a new character, and fleetingly, some new ones too in readiness for the next instalment. Despite many of the naysayers, this film is worthy of your attention and it's a must see on the big screen, and it stands up well as a singular offering, and as a follow on from Nolan's films (albeit some years later given that Affleck's Batman is ageing and not afraid to admit it) but without the intensity. I saw it in 3D which is unnecessary in my opinion, but give the film a go and you decide - you could do a lot worse with your $20 spent on the cost of entry.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-