What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th September 2024

The sixth Cheltenham International Film Festival takes place in the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire from Friday 13th through until Sunday 22nd September. The Cheltenham International Film Festival is a non-profit charity committed to celebrating the culture of cinema and the art of filmmaking. Bringing the finest independent films from across the globe to the community, by hosting live events with both emerging and acclaimed filmmakers, and actively engaging with young people from diverse backgrounds. Now in its sixth year, the festival has showcased hundreds of films—ranging from features and documentaries to shorts—while organising masterclasses, workshops, and discussions that have involved and inspired audiences in Cheltenham, so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Film presentation is the British historical Sci-Fi romantic comedy film 'Timestalker' Written, Directed and starring Alice Lowe, and centres around Agnes (Lowe) as she falls in love with the wrong man and then gets reincarnated and falls in love with him over and over again, travelling through 1680's western Scotland, rural England in the 1790's, and 1980's Manhattan, and then an apocalyptic 22nd century. 

Cheltenham International Film Festival Best Film is open to emerging filmmakers with their first or second feature film on their C.V. The Best Film is selected by a jury made up of film professionals, media and local celebrities. This year the five films shortlisted for Best Film are as follows :-

* 'My Wonderful Stranger' - from Norway, France and Sweden this drama thriller is Directed by Johanna Pyykko. Ebba, a lonely 18-year-old who is looking after a luxurious house for a couple while they are on holiday, encounters a handsome man with a head wound at Oslo harbour. Upon learning that he is suffering from amnesia, she convinces him that they are lovers and brings him into her fantasy laden life. As he begins to regain his memory and dark facts about his past life emerge, the tables begin to turn. UK Premiere screening.

* 'Yurt' - from Turkey this drama film is Directed by Nehir Tuna in her feature film making debut. Set in the 1990's, we follow Ahmet, a 14-year-old from a privileged background, who is placed in a strict Islamic dormitory, a 'Yurt', to learn Muslim values. Ahmet’s sophisticated manners and attire alienate him from his peers, leading to tensions. However, his encounter with Hakan, a savvy street kid, becomes transformative. Together, they navigate the harsh environment of the dormitory, challenging its rigid masculinity and find joy and friendship outside its walls. UK Premiere.

* 'The Dreamer' - from France and Directed by Anais Tellenne in her first feature film outing. An eccentric artist finds beauty within the beast when her imposing, one-eyed caretaker becomes her muse – but their infatuation with each other manifests in very different ways.

* 'We Have Never Been Modern' - from Czechia and Slovakia this crime drama film is Directed by Matej Chlupacek. In 1930’s Czechoslovakia, the corpse of a newborn intersex child is found sitting in rubble at a newly built chemical plant. The factory director’s wife Helena sets out to solve the mystery, but as her investigation runs in parallel with her own pregnancy, her inquisitiveness places her in great danger as she links the body to a political cover up with implications for the whole community.

* 'Girls Will Be Girls' - from India and France this drama romance is Directed by Shuchi Talati in her filmmaking debut. Set in an Indian boarding school, this film explores the complex dynamic that evolves when A list head prefect Mira brings home her dashing study pal Sri. Her youthful mother Anila knows full well what is really going on, but tolerates their burgeoning relationship under her careful watch. Anila’s relationship with Sri soon turns flirtatious as she attempts to reignite a lost youth. A patriarchal society looks on with disapproval. 

For the full line up of all the films being showcased at this years Cheltenham International Film Festival, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://cheltfilm.com/

And so turning the attention back on this weeks seven new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a psychological thriller about how a dream holiday turns into a living nightmare when an American couple and their daughter spend the weekend at a British family's idyllic country estate. Then we turn to a Sci-Fi thriller in which a struggling father who purchases a domestic SIM to help care for his house and family, unaware she will gain awareness and turn deadly. Next up we have fantasy comedy film in which a curious four-year-old boy who, with his magic purple crayon, has the power to create a world of his own simply by drawing it. This is followed by a New Zealand offering following a woman who learns that life is not what it seems and a man who has closed himself off from the world; before an Aussie sports drama film set in the 1970's in Western Australia in the sweat-drenched world of tent boxing and centres around one boxers struggle to break free from the cycle of loss and regret. Up next is a French historical biographical drama film depicting the love story and romance between the painter Pierre Bonnard and his wife, model, and muse Marthe; before closing out the week with an American doco charting the seventeen day road trip across the US made by Will Ferrell and his long term good friend Harper Steele.

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 week ahead.

'SPEAK NO EVIL' (Rated MA15+) - this American psychological thriller film is Written for the screen and Directed by James Watkins whose previous film making efforts take in his debut in 2008 with 'Eden Lake', and which he would follow up with 'The Woman in Black' in 2012 and 'Bastille Day' in 2016. This film is a remake of the Danish film from 2022 Co-Written and Directed by Christian Tafdrup.

A dream holiday turns into a living nightmare when American couple Ben and Louise Dalton (Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis respectively) and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) are invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic countryside cottage of British family Paddy (James McAvoy) and his wife Clara (Aisling Franciosi). The film is released in the US this week too.

'SUBSERVIENCE' (Rated MA15+) - is a Sci-Fi thriller offering from Director S. K. Dale in only his second feature film following 'Till Death' in 2021. When his wife Maggie (Madeline Zima) becomes sick, a struggling father Nick (Michele Morrone) buys a lifelike AI gynoid (a feminine humanoid robot) named Alice (Megan Fox) to help with the housework. Things seem fine until Alice suddenly becomes self-aware and wants everything its new family has to offer, including the affection of its owner. The film is released Stateside this week too. 

'HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON' (Rated PG) - this American fantasy comedy film is Directed by Carlos Saldanha in his live action feature film debut, and is based on the 1955 children's book by Crockett Johnson. It serves as a sequel to the original book, in which the adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. When Harold (Zachary Levi) grows up with his magical purple crayon and draws himself off the book's pages and into the physical world, he soon learns his trusty crayon can set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. However, when the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of his creativity to save both the real world and his own. Also starring Lil Rel Howery, Zooey Deschanel, Jemaine Clement and Alfred Molina, it was released in the US in early August, has so far grossed US$27M off the back of a US$40M production back and has generated largely unfavourable critical reviews.

'STRANDED PEARL' (Rated CTC) - this New Zealand action adventure romance film is Directed by Ken Khan and Prashanth Gunasekaran in both their only second feature film making effort following Khan's 2008 debut with 'Love Has No Language' and Gunasekaran's 2013 'Destina'. Here, after a storm leaves Julia (Kristy Wright) stranded on an island paradise, she must learn to cooperate with the only other person there, a quiet man called Sid (Aunanda Naaido). Unbeknown to Julia, Sid is on the run from the New Zealand Police, and has closed himself off from the world.

'KID SNOW' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian sports drama film Directed by Paul Goldman who made his feature film Directing debut in 2002 with 'Australian Rules' and which he would follow up with the likes of 'All the Way' in 2003, and much more recently 'Ego : The Michael Gudinski Story' in 2023. Here, Kid Snow (Billy Howle) the down-and-out slugger with one last shot at the title on the tent boxing circuit after squandering his chance at glory in the Western Australia of the 1970's. Sunny (Phoebe Tonkin) is a single mother who walks into Kid’s life just as he’s offered a lucrative rematch with the champ who floored him ten years previously. The film saw its World Premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in early June this year. 

'BONNARD, PIERRE AND MARTHE' (Rated MA15+) - this French historical drama film is Written and Directed by Martin Provost whose previous feature film output includes 'Seraphine' in 2008, 'The Long Falling' in 2011, 'Violette' in 2013, 'The Midwife' in 2017 and 'How to Be a Good Wife' in 2020. Here, French painter, illustrator and printmaker Pierre Bonnard (Vincent Macaigne) wouldn't be the painter everyone knows if it weren't for his enigmatic wife, model and muse Marthe (Cecile de France). Indeed, the man nicknamed the 'Painter of Happiness' in his homeland portrayed his wife, a self-proclaimed aristocrat, in more than a third of his paintings. Devoted to Impressionism and abstraction, Bonnard founded the Nabis group with other artists in 1888. The film is set over four time periods - 'the early days' from when they first met in 1893, then 1914, 1918 and 1942. Pierre died in 1947 at the age of 79 and Marthe died in 1942 at the age of 72. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and was released in its native France in early January this year having so far grossed US$2.5M from a production budget of US$8.8M. 

'WILL & HARPER' (Rated M) - is an American documentary film Co-Written and Directed by Josh Greenbaum whose prior film credits include 'The Short Game' in 2013, 'Becoming Bond' in 2017, 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar' in 2021 and 'Strays' in 2023. When comedian, Producer and Actor Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years, writer Harper Steele, is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a seventeen day cross-country road trip across the USA to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship and transition. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Sundance Film Festival back in late January this year, with distribution rights subsequently acquired by Netflix. It has garnered generally positive critical reviews. 

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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

STRAYS : Tuesday 22nd August 2023

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'STRAYS' earlier this week, and this American adult comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Josh Greenbaum whose debut as a feature film maker was 'The Short Game' in 2013, which he would follow up with 'Becoming Bond' in 2017, 'Too Funny to Fail : The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show' in 2017 and 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar' in 2021. The film was released in the US and here in Australia last week, has so far grossed US$12.5M off the back of a production budget of US$46M and has generated mixed or average critical reviews. 

Reggie is an over trusting Border Terrier dog (voiced by Will Ferrell) living with his owner Doug (Will Forte), a down and out drug addict who spends his time smoking bongs, jacking off to internet porn and getting drunk. Despite Doug only keeping him around to spite an ex-girlfriend he himself cheated on, Reggie is under the impression that Doug really loves him and does everything he can to make him happy, much to Doug's constant frustration. 

After Doug is served an eviction notice on the run down shack he calls a home, Reggie accidentally knocks over some packing boxes and in the process destroys Doug's favoured bong. Doug makes several attempts to ditch Reggie in the wild, which Reggie views as a game called 'fetch and fuck' with Doug lobbing the ball into the bush for Reggie to 'fetch' and then he brings the ball home and drops it at Doug's feet he is always greeted with 'oh fuck!' And so Doug in a final attempt to rid himself of Reggie once and for all, drives a long way from home to a big city, lobbs the ball down an alleyway and then drives off as Reggie is chasing his ball. 

Losing track of Doug, Reggie runs into a street-wise Boston Terrier dog named Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx), who looks sympathetically upon Reggie and takes him under his wing. After a night out on the town as part of Reggie's initiation into the world of stray dogs with an Australian Shepherd dog named Maggie (Isla Fisher) and a therapy Great Dane dog called Hunter (voiced by Randall Park) who permanently wears a plastic cone around his head, Reggie gradually comes to realise that Doug was not the nice owner he believed him to be. And so Reggie decides to get revenge on Doug by ripping his dick off, with the other strays agreeing to join him for support. However, he hardly knows the way home, with his only clues being a giant hamster wheel (a county fair Ferris wheel), a giant cone (a hill), and a devil floating in the sky (a billboard advertising a picture of a mail delivery man).

During the journey, the group begin to bond as they get into a number of crazy situations, culminating in them getting caught by Animal Control after a hunger induced frenzy caused them to chow down on magic mushrooms which results in them hallucinating and mauling a family of rabbits to death, thinking they were stuffed toys. 

During their captivity, Bug admits that he used to have a family own him, but was forced to escape when they tried to put him down after he bit the daughter on the ankle after she trod on his paw (though he fails to comprehend what he did wrong). Following a rousing speech by Reggie to get all the other dogs in the pound to band together to hatch a plan to escape, they all shit on the floor knowing that Willy (Brett Gelman) the Animal Control Officer will be forced to enter the pound to clean up their mess. But Willy is overwhelmed by the smell and the sheer sight of all those dog turds that he slips up and ends flat on his back so leaving the all the strays the opportunity to make a bolt for it, and they do. 

After escaping the pound, Reggie's bad habits from Doug's abuse resurface when a hallucination of Doug from the high he experienced convinces him that his mistreatment was somehow his fault, leading to a falling out between Bug and him, with Maggie and Hunter left to witness the fallout. And so Reggie goes off in search of Doug to make amends, Bug ventures off on his own into the nearby forest, leaving Maggie and Hunter to begin the long walk home back to the big city. 

Reggie makes his way back to Doug, but Doug, having grown very tired of having to put up with the dog, does what he can to kill Reggie outright with a baseball bat. Fortunately, Bug, Hunter and Maggie arrive in the nick of time. Hunter shakes off his plastic cone and attacks Doug pining him down with his front paws while Maggie and Bug each grab a leg prising them apart so that Reggie can successfully rip Doug's dick off. Hunter turns round and takes a dump straight into Doug's mouth as he writhes around while Reggie bites on his dick. In the meantime, the house has ignited, and a bloodied Doug comes stumbling out the front door with his bloodied crotch, his face covered in dog poo and his house ablaze. The dogs decide it's time to get the hell outta Dodge, as a telegraph pole comes crashing down on Doug's pick-up truck.

In the aftermath, the strays begin to move on. Maggie begins training as a Police Dog and starts a relationship with Hunter, Bug is adopted by a missing Girl Scout he helped rescue, and Reggie resigns himself to being a stray and helps other new strays adjust to their life on the streets. In a mid-credits sequence Doug is seen in hospital all bandaged up. The Doctor says that they found faecal matter in his mouth and throat and that they were unable to reattach his penis, to which Doug shouts out 'oh fuck!'. 

'Strays' will not be for everyone, and for this movie you definitely want to be leaving the kids at home. This film is filled with more F-bombs and more dogs peeing and pooping and humping than anything I have ever seen before. Not that there's anything wrong with that if taken in the context of the film and the antics of these everyday stray mutts. As a dog owner myself I found myself chuckling at some of the sight gags and the one liners that I can easily relate to, but as for laugh out loud comedy then this film, for me, failed to hit those high notes. That said, this film has heart and an endearing emotional core that help elevate it above an also-ran movie, and with a brisk run time of 93 minutes it doesn't outstay its welcome - unlike Reggie! Also starring Josh Gad, Rob Riggle, Sofia Vergara and a cameo appearance by Dennis Quaid playing Dennis Quaid.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th August 2023.

The 76th annual Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) takes place this year from Friday 18th August through until Wednesday 23rd August. Established in 1947, in is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF showcases both UK and international films (all titles are World, International, European, UK or Scottish Premieres), in all genres and lengths. It also presents themed retrospectives and other specialised programming sections. 

This years Opening Night Film is 'Silent Roar' from the UK and Directed by Johnny Barrington in his debut feature film. A teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, this film has its World Premiere screening. The Closing Night Film is 'Fremont' from the USA and Directed by Babak Jalali. A deadpan dramedy about an insomniac Afghan woman unable to dream the American dream.

Awards are given for the following categories : The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film, with a £20K cash prize; The Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film; The Award for Best International Feature Film, with a £10K cash prize; The Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, with a £10K cash prize; The McLaren Award for Best New British Animation; The Award for Best Short Film; The Award for Creative Innovation in a Short Film; The Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution to a Short Film and The Audience Award.

In the New Feature Films section, the following titles are playing :-

* 'AFIRE' - from Germany and Directed by Christian Petzold. A procrastinating writer must face his insecurities in this sharp portrayal of creative hurdles, against the backdrop of a raging forest fire.

* 'ART COLLEGE : 1994' - from China and Directed by Liu Jian. Gnarly animation and slacker humour reign in this Chinese punk comedy.

* 'CHOOSE IRVINE WELSH' - from the UK and Directed by Ian Jefferies. Irvine Welsh in his own words, with Iggy Pop, Martin Compston, Danny Boyle and others paying tribute. World Premiere.

* 'CHUCK CHUCK BABY' - from the UK and Directed by Janis Pugh in her feature film making debut. Amid the vibrant neon lights of a chicken packaging factory, two women fall in love. World Premiere screening.

* 'FEMME' - from the UK and Written and Directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping in their feature Directorial debuts. Here this queer erotic revenge thriller is a tense neo-noir film about desire and self-loathing.

* 'THE FIRST SLAM DUNK' - from Japan and Directed by Takehiko Inoue. Exhilarating basketball action meets teenage guts in this anime adaptation of a world-popular manga series.

* 'IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?' - from the UK and Directed by Ella Glendining in her film making debut. A filmmaker examines questions of disability on a journey to find herself in others.

* 'JORAM' - from India and Directed by Devashish Makhija. Tough questions of land development and indigenous rights fuel this tense thriller featuring a woman hellbent on revenge.

* 'KILL' - from the UK and Directed by Rodger Griffiths.  Twisted grief and paranoia run through the veins of this gritty Scottish thriller.

* 'THE LYNDA MYLES PROJECT : A MANIFESTO' - from the UK and Directed by Susan Kemp. An exclusive, responsive, preview screening of Susan Kemp’s remarkable documentary in progress,  structuring this intimate and insightful portrait of Lynda Myles, invokes a form known to define, criticise, and shift paradigms in culture – the manifesto, an active document set to inspire anyone who programmes, produces or simply loves cinema today.

* 'ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY' - from France and Directed by Paul B. Preciado. Here the Director creates an electrifying work of fiction/non-fiction, a polyphonic retelling of Virginia Woolf’s 'Orlando'.

* 'PASSAGES' - from France and Directed by Ira Sachs. A love triangle makes for the thorniest and horniest film of the year. 

* 'PAST LIVES' - from the USA and Directed by Celine Song. A moving examination of South Korean diaspora told through a delicate tale of star-crossed friends.

* 'PROPERTY' - from Brazil and Directed by Daniel Bandeira. An unsparing new take on the home-invasion horror genre that will surprise and disturb.

* 'RAGING GRACE' - from the UK and Directed by Paris Zarcilla in her debut feature film. This smart, chilling debut merging gothic horror about an undocumented Filipina cleaner moving from house to house in London with her impetuous daughter Grace in tow, is saving up her meagre cash payments to get a visa and a more stable home for them both.

* 'SHOWING UP' - from the USA and Directed by Kelly Reichardt. Michelle Williams and Hong Chau star in this intimate drama exploring art-making, creativity and resilience.

* 'THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE' - from the UK and Directed by Hope Dickson Leach. Jekyll and Hyde trade London for Edinburgh in this cinematic retelling of the gothic classic from Robert Louis Stevenson. World Premiere showcasing.

* 'TRENQUE LAUQUEN: PARTS 1 AND 2' - from Argentina and Germany. Laura, a botanist, has disappeared. As the two men who felt they knew her best seek out clues to her whereabouts, they realise how little of Laura they ever really knew.
* 'UNGENTLE' - from the UK and Directed by Huw Lemmey and Onyeka Igwe. Histories of British espionage and male homosexuality intertwine in a mid-length film narrated by Ben Whishaw.

* 'YOUR FAT FRIEND' - from the UK and the USA and Directed by Jeanie Finlay. Here is a rousing portrait of author, activist and podcaster Aubrey Gordon, whose illuminating critique and lived experience as a queer fat woman powerfully interrogate the structures of anti-fat bias that damage and condescend to fat people on a daily basis.

For the full low down on the other film strands playing at the EIFF, you can go to the official website at : https://www.eif.co.uk/edinburgh-international-film-festival

Turning the attention then back to this weeks six new films coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick start with a biographical comedy drama that charts the story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone. This is followed up with an American psychological thriller that follows a dominatrix and her wealthy client, and the disaster that ensues when he tries to end their relationship. Next is a crime drama thriller about a group of environmental activists who plot a daring plan to disrupt an oil pipeline. Then we turn to an Icelandic and Danish film set at the end of the 19th century, in which a young Danish priest is sent to a remote part of Iceland, but the deeper he travels into the Icelandic landscape, the more he loses a sense of his own reality, his mission and his sense of duty. Following on we have an American adult comedy movie about an abandoned dog who teams up with other stray dogs to get revenge on his former owner; before closing out the week with a South Korean offering about a man who is left in space due to an unfortunate accident while another man on Earth struggles to bring him back safely.

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

'BLACKBERRY' (Rated M) - is a Canadian biographical comedy drama film Co-Written for the screen, Directed and also stars Matt Johnson. It is loosely adapted from Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff's book 'Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry'. Matt Johnson's two previous feature film offerings are 'The Dirties' in 2014 and 'Operation Avalanche' in 2016. This film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February before its Canadian release in mid-May, having so far grossed US$2.6M from a production budget of US$5M and garnering generally positive critical acclaim. 

The film is a fictional account of the creation of the BlackBerry line of mobile phones by co-founders, Douglas Fregin (Matt Johnson) and Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel), and investor, Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) - the three men who charted the course of the spectacular rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone. Also starring Martin Donovan, Saul Rubinek, Michael Ironside and Cary Elwes. 

'SANCTUARY' (Rated MA15+) - this American psychological thriller film is Directed by Zachary Wigon in only his second feature film outing following 2014's 'The Heart Machine'. This film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September last year and received a limited cinema release in the US from mid-May this year, having so far taken US$776K at the Box Office and receiving positive reviews from critics. Set over the course of one night in a single hotel room, the film tells the story of Rebecca Marin, a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and Hal Porterfield (Christopher Abbott), her wealthy client. About to inherit his late father's position as CEO and fortune as head of a hotel empire, Hal tries to end their relationship, but when his attempt to cut ties backfires, disaster ensues.

'HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE' (Rated M) - this American environmentalist action thriller film is Directed by Daniel Goldhaber, who also Co-Wrote the screenplay and Co-Produces here too. This is Goldhaber's second feature film following his debut in 2018 with the psychological horror film 'Cam'. This film relies on ideas advanced in Andreas Malm's 2021 book of the same name, where he examines the history of social justice movements and argues for property destruction as a valid tactic in the pursuit of environmental justice. Set for the most part in West Texas, the film follows a fictional group of eight young individuals who decide to blow up an oil pipeline at two key locations. It explores the moral validity of extreme actions in addressing the climate crisis, the question of terrorism, and the use of property damage and sabotage as activist tactics. Starring Ariela Barer, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Forrest Goodluck, Kristine Froseth and Lukas Gage. It saw its World Premiere screening at TIFF in mid-September last year, was released Stateside in early April this year, has generated largely positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$883K in Box Office sales. 

'GODLAND' (Rated M) - is an Icelandic and Danish Co-Production Written and Directed by Hlynur Palmason in his third feature film making outing after 'Winter Brothers' in 2017, and 'A White, White Day' in 2019. Set in the late 19th Century, here, Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), a Lutheran priest from Denmark is sent to Iceland to oversee the establishment of a new parish church, only to have his faith tested and challenged by the harsh conditions of rural life, including his inability as a monolingual Danish-language speaker to communicate with his assigned Icelandic guide, Ragnar (Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson). The film saw its World Premiere showcasing in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and had its North American Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year. The film has garnered universal critical acclaim and has generated just US$1.1M in Box Office receipts. 

'STRAYS' (Rated MA15+) - this American adult comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Josh Greenbaum whose debut as a feature film maker was 'The Short Game' in 2013, which he would follow up with 'Becoming Bond' in 2017, 'Too Funny to Fail : The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show' in 2017 and 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar' in 2021. When a gullible Border Terrier named Reggie (Will Ferrell) is abandoned on the streets by his selfish and ruthless owner Doug (Will Forte), an animal-hating drug addict who never wanted him, he teams up with other stray dogs including a street-wise Boston Terrier named Bug (Jamie Foxx), an Australian Shepherd named Maggie (Isla Fisher), and a therapy Great Dane named Hunter (Randall Park) to get revenge on Doug. Also starring Josh Gad, Rob Riggle, Sofia Vergara and Dennis Quaid. The film is released in the US this week also.

'THE MOON' (Rated M) - is a South Korean space survival film Written and Directed by Kim Yong-hwa, whose previous feature film output includes 'Oh! Brothers' in 2003, 2006's '200 Pounds Beauty', 'Take Off' in 2009 and 'Mr. Go' in 2013. Set in the not to distant future, Korea's first manned mission to the Moon ends in a tragic disaster when an explosion occurs on board. Five years later, a second human spaceflight is launched successfully but a strong solar wind causes it to malfunction. One astronaut, Sun-woo (Do Kyung-soo) is left stranded in space. Facing another fatal catastrophe, the Naro Space Centre turns to its former Managing Director Kim Jae-guk (Sol Kyung-gu) to help bring Sun-woo back home safely. With a production budget of about US$25M, 'The Moon' was pre-sold in 155 countries before its release date commencing with South Korea on 2nd August. 

With six 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-