AVENGERS : AGE OF ULTRON - Tuesday 28th April 2015.

The first outing for the assembled 'Avengers' way back in 2012 was Directed by Joss Whedon and made by Marvel Studios for a lean mean lazy US$220M and grossed a record beating US$1.52B making it the third highest grossing film of all time. With that, a sequel was a foregone conclusion, and so over the ensuing years Joss Whedon set to work again on the next instalment which was made for US$280M this time, and has just been released, grossing US$287M within the first two weeks after it's so far limited global release only. And so I saw 'THE AVENGERS : AGE OF ULTRON' earlier this week, and can recommend this to you as a worthy sequel that further expands the Marvel Universe, reunites the Team and introduces a few new characters along the way.

Our film opens up with a Bondesque pre-credit tongue in-cheek but nonetheless well executed opening action sequence as The Avengers mount a raid on the Hydra mountain hide away in the eastern European country of Sokovia. Here Baron Wolfgang von Strucker is conducting human experiments using the sceptre retrieved from Loki, Thor's estranged intergalactic brother. Needless to say the mere Hydralings are no match for the mighty force of The Avengers who now are a lean mean focused fighting machine determined to rid the world of otherworldly foes, world domineering megalomaniacs, and various crims intent on stirring up a shit storm. Von Strucker though has a few ideas of his own including the Maximoff twins - Pietro (Aaron Taylor Johnson) who can move at superhuman speed and his sister Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) who has the ability to harness magic and control telekinesis and hypnosis. With their powers they can thwart The Avengers and so they team up with Ultron as the story progresses.

As far as Ultron is concerned, it is a former programme that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) was developing to create a safe world where The Avengers services were no longer required or necessary. Stark's thinking is that he can retire peacefully and sip Pina Colada's by the beachside without a care in the world - yeah, dream on Iron Man! With the Loki sceptre retrieved from the Hydra hide-away and now at Avengers HQ safe & sound, Stark and Banner (Mark Ruffalo) seek to reinstate Ultron using the artificial intelligence they have discovered within the gemstone encased within the sceptre. Of course they have no idea what they are dealing with and while The Avengers and gathered guests are celebrating their win over Hydra, Ultron secretly springs to life sucking up all of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s (Paul Bettany) intelligence in the process. Keep an eye out here for Stan Lee's ever dependable cameo!

When Ultron manifests itself in A.I. robot form all hell breaks out in Avengers HQ setting up the second set piece where an unprepared Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) face off against their unsuspecting newly formed foe. Needless to say they survive to fight another day.

When the other Avengers discover that Stark & Banner sought to reinstate Ultron they are none too pleased and so dissent in the ranks starts to manifest itself, while Ultron is out there running amok, growing more intelligent by the day, replicating an army of mini-Ultrons with which to annihilate the world as we know it, and take down The Avengers . . .  and Stark first & foremost, front & centre!

Before all this goes down Wanda bends the minds of our Avengers friends and causes them to hallucinate and lose track of who, what & where they are, With this Banner goes into overdrive, morphs into the Hulk and promptly trashes a few city blocks - his first public show of strength which shows the world watching on TV that he is a menace to society! To calm him down it is Iron Man to the rescue which sees our third set piece as as few city blocks get trashed well & truly and Iron Man in his souped up Hulk busting suit 'Veronica' go head to head with no due care whatsoever for life, property or city & public wellbeing.

Eventually The Avengers reunite, regroup and re-examine what they stand for and how they stand, but not before Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has made an appearance and sets them back on the straight and narrow in the name of truth, justice, integrity and the American way! As Ultron continues to replicate itself on his path of destruction and world domination by wiping it out so that it can rebuild itself, The Avengers seek an alternative saviour through an Internet connection that might just be their salvation. Whilst J.A.R.V.I.S. was banished to cyberspace oblivious in the mind of Ultron, his blueprint still remains hidden in the deep, dark recesses of the inter web, which of course Tony Stark is able to uncover, and reboot his former stablemate and trusted cyber-companion.

This all leads us to the final set piece back in Sokovia where it all began with the final showdown between Ultron and his amassed army of replicants, and The Avengers which by now have been joined by Quicksilver (AKA Pietro Maximoff), Scarlet Witch (AKA Wanda Maximoff), War Machine (Don Cheadle) and perhaps more importantly by Vision (AKA the former J.A.R.V.I.S.) now rebooted into almost human form, that Ultron had previously wanted for his own form.

It's all impressively executed, albeit perhaps a tad too long and drawn out but these are minor faults only. It is fairly predictable, but nonetheless enjoyable, well executed fare with a solid story line that is up there with the first instalment in 2012, backed up with tried & tested performances. I am not sure if this will do well as the first but it is solid, very well realised, well crafted and well acted by all the principle characters we have come to know & love. Catch it on the big screen soon - I know you won't be disappointed.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd April 2015.

Life is full of opposites! As I sit here in Adelaide it is a cool near Winter evening trademarked by clear night skies, a chill in the air and a slight breeze to drop the temperatures a little more; but my friends and family back home in Sydney are gripped by storms, floods, winds, rain and all manner of apocalyptic tempest to mark the end of the world as they know it . . . well almost! And so it is with this weeks new release films - opposites!

Kick starting your week is the eagerly awaited, highly anticipated and much hyped follow up to the third highest grossing movie of all time, and with it comes huge expectations on the studio behind it, the Director, the stellar cast and all the minions behind the camera that give us movie magic . . . no pressure then, you collective lot! Then we have a story of a music teacher pushing a young lad to discover his talent against all the odds (sound rather like another movie of a very similar ilk that did well on last years awards circuit!), and to wrap things up a WWI period piece recounting the coming of age of a young girl during those troubled years in Britain and what this ultimately inspires her to do post-war.

With such diverse and different films gracing our big screens in the coming weeks, together with those still on general release and as Previewed and Reviewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, there is no excuse not to get out in the bleak mid-Autumnal months and experience some great filmic entertainment to warm the soul and stir the emotions. When you have done so, leave a Comment below this or any other Blog Post and share your cinematic thoughts with our ever growing readership. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

THE AVENGERS : AGE OF ULTRON (Rated M) - Director Joss Whedon helmed the first 'The Avengers' film back in 2012 and in fact came up with the storyline and wrote the Screenplay too, and managed to lash out US$220M to make the film that went on to gross an incredible US$1.52B making it the third highest grossing film of all time - not bad for a bunch of comic strip characters! Since that first instalment, the inhabitants of The Marvelverse have been waiting eagerly for the release of the second film to see if Joss Whedon can weave his magic once more, using and even greater stash of cash that this time is estimated at US$250M+

Our favourite Marvel characters are back with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Heimdall (Idris Elba) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) all joined by some new super-characters and the grand-daddy of them all 'Ultron' (James Spader). The latter was created by Tony Stark as a peacekeeping programme and is a self aware, self teaching A.I. who having laid dormant for some time is reactivated by Stark so that our merry band of superheroes can stop saving the world by eradicating violence, crime and megalomaniacs once and for all. But when Ultron is reactivated things don't go quite according to plan and our man/machine Ultron decides it would be a good idea to wipe out humanity and destroy the world as we know it. And so our superhero friends need to team up, tool up, and boot up to save the world again and thwart Ultron in the process, whilst crossing paths with various new action heroes along the way . . . some good and some, not so good! Be prepared for action on a grand scale, and for things to go bad, very bad, before they get better!

BOYCHOIR (Rated PG) - here we have another American musical drama film involving a talented young musician, and older experienced teacher and a rise to the top whilst overcoming adversity, personal challenges and a troubled life. If this sounds like 'Whiplash' think again because here we have a drum kit traded for a young boys choir and a lad whose vocal talents open doors of opportunity that lead to acknowledgement, appreciation and acceptance - three things he has never experienced before. Directed by Francois Girard this is a film about eleven year old Stet (Garrett Wareing) whose single mother is killed in a car accident on the same day that his school Principal Ms. Steel (Debra Winger) persuades Headmaster Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman) of the fictitious American Boychoir School, to audition for their elite chorister programme. Stet's Dad, Gerard (Josh Lucas) is in a relationship with another woman but he has neglected to tell her about Stet's very existence. When Carvelle recognises a raw talent in Stet that he has never seen before, he is offered a place which Gerard promptly accepts and writes big cheques for, in order to send his estranged son away and maintain the peace at home. At the ABS Stet is out of his depth as he is not from a privileged background like many of the other boys, nor is he particularly disciplined enough for the school staff. But he works hard and is committed and quickly rises through the ranks as he shows increasing promise as one of the best choristers. Touted as an emotional, feel good family drama with strong performances that will tug at your heart strings, and maybe your vocal chords, this could well be up there with that aforementioned drum beating music school drama of earlier this year. Also starring Eddie Izzard and Kathy Bates.

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH (Rated M) - Directed by James Kent, this is a true story based on the book by Vera Brittain, about her own recollection of growing up in the lead up to, during and after The Great War. After a fairly privileged upbringing in the English countryside Vera (Alicia Vikander) who shares a close bond with family and especially brother Edward (Taron Egerton) are torn asunder when her fiancé Roland Leighton (Kit Harington), and close friends Victor (Colin Moragn) and Geoffrey (Jonathan Bailey) and Edwards are sent off to fight on the front line. Having sacrificed so much her male friends and loved ones now do battle for King and Country in far away war torn lands that she decides to follow suit and so leaves her Oxford college education and joins the Voluntary Aid Detachment and travels as a nurse from London to Malta to France witnessing first hand and at close quarters the horrors of war and the implications on those closest to her. Following the war Brittain becomes a writer, a pacifist and a feminist - she died in 1970. The film also stars Dominc West and Emily Watson as Mr. & Mrs. Brittain respectively, Miranda Richardson and Hayley Attwell.

Three films to get you out and amongst it at your local independent theatre or multiplex in the coming week, and when you have done so and sat through your cinematic experience share your views and be a co-contributor to Odeon Online - we'd love to hear from you!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-