Birthday's to share this week : 1st - 7th January 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Jeremy Renner does on 7th January - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 46, 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 1st January

• Frank Langella - Born 1938, turns 79 - Actor
• Verne Troyer - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor  

Monday 2nd January

• Todd Haynes - Born 1961, turns 56 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Cuba Gooding Jnr. - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer
• Tia Carrere - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actress | Producer 
• Paz Vega - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actress  
• Kate Bosworth - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actress 

Tuesday 3rd January

• Victoria Principal - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress | Producer
• Mel Gibson - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer  

Wednesday 4th January

• Julian Sands - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor 
• Dyan Cannon - Born 1937, turns 80 - Actress | Writer | Director
• Julia Ormond - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actress    

Thursday 5th January

• Diane Keaton - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Robert Duvall - Born 1931, turns 85 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Hayao Miyazaki - Born 1941, turns 75 - Animator | Director | Producer | Writer | Editor
• Roger Spottiswoode - Born 1945, turns 72 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor
• Clancy Brown - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Producer
• Vinnie Jones - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor
• Bradley Cooper - Born  1975, turns 42 - Actor | Producer | Director

Friday 6th January

• Rowan Atkinson - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actor | Writer 
• Norman Reedus - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Eddie Redmayne - Born 1982, turns 35 - Actor  
• Sylvia Syms - Born 1934, turns 82 - Actress
• Kate McKinnon - Born 1984, turns 33 - Actress | Writer

Saturday 7th January

• Linda Kozlowski - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actress  
• David Caruso - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actor | Producer
• Nicolas Cage - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor | Producer
• Irrfan Khan - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Jeremy Renner - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter

Jeremy Lee Renner was born in Modesto, California, USA to mother Valerie Tague and father Lee Renner who managed the the local bowling alley in Modesto during the 1980's. His parents were married as teenagers and divorced when the young Jeremy was just ten years of age. He attended the Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto and then Modesto Junior College where he studies criminology, computer science and psychology before being drawn to acting through an elective. Bitten by the acting bug, he decided to relocate himself to San Francisco to study at the American Conservatory Theatre, then moving to Hawaii and then onto Los Angeles in 1993. 

Upon his arrival in L.A. Renner dedicated much of his time to theatre productions with the highlight coming in 'Search and Destroy' which he starred in and Co-Directed to critical acclaim. In 1995 he secured his first big screen break in 'National Lampoon's Senior Trip'. From here he secured single episode appearances on televisions series 'Deadly Games', 'Strange Luck', 'To Have & to Hold', 'The Net', 'Time of Your Life' and 'Angel'. In the meantime there were a number of made for television films and features that included 'Paper Dragons' and 'A Friend's Betrayal' all seeing out the '90's.

In 2002 he secured his first starring role in 'Dahmer' playing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer - a complex role for which he was highly acclaimed. This in turn led to 'S.W.A.T.' with Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson - his first commercially successful action film. This led to 'The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things', then 'A Little Trip to Heaven' with Forest Whitaker, 'North Country' with Charlize Theron, '12 and Holding', 'Neo Ned', an uncredited turn in 'Lords of Dogtown' and 'Love Comes to the Executioner'.

2007 saw 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' with Brad Pitt, then the British zombie horror sequel offering'28 Weeks Later' with Robert Carlyle, then 'Take' with Minnie Driver before Kathryn Bigelow's highly acclaimed and six times Academy Award winning 'The Hurt Locker' in which Renner was nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance as maverick bomb disposal expert Staff Sergeant William James. The film picked up 120 award wins and another 121 nominations around the circuit including the Oscar for Best Film and Best Director. 

'Ingenious' came next with another critically acclaimed turn in the Ben Affleck Directed, Co-Written and starring crime drama 'The Town'. Renner was again nominated for an Academy Award for his role as James Coughlin in the Best Supporting Actor category. The film picked up nine award wins and a further 45 nominations in all.

The following years saw Renner embark on a series of hugely successful franchise offerings that started off with his uncredited role and first appearance as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in 2011's Avengers offering of 'Thor'. He would reprise his role in 2012's 'The Avengers', 2015's 'Avengers : Age of Ultron', 2016's 'Captain America : Civil War', the currently filming and due in 2018 'Avengers : Infinity War' and the recently announced 'Ant Man and the Wasp' also due in 2018.

The next franchise saw Renner star as intelligence analyst William Brandt opposite Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in the fourth instalment in the ever popular and successful 'Mission : Impossible' series of films with 2011's 'Ghost Protocol'. Again, he reprised his role in 2015's 'Rogue Nation' and is set to do so in 'M:I 6 - Mission Impossible' currently in pre-production for a 2018 release. Finally, Renner starred in a spin off of the acclaimed fast paced action Jason Bourne franchise but without Matt Damon. Renner played Alex Cross in 'The Bourne Legacy' for Director and Writer Tony Gilroy - a role he is set to reprise again in a recently announced Bourne sequel that may or may not see him playing alongside Matt Damon.

In between 'The Avengers', 'Mission:Impossible' and 'Bourne' franchise films he starred in a modern take on the German folklore fairy tale of Hansel & Gretel, in the fantasy action comedy outing of 'Hansel & Gretel : Witch Hunters' in which Renner starred as Hansel alongside Gemma Arterton's Gretel - siblings who now grown up work as a pair of witch exterminators for hire. The film made US$226M off its US$50M budget outlay. This was followed up by the James Gray Directed period piece 'The Immigrant' with Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix which was nominated for the Palme D'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Next up was the David O. Russell Directed criminal comedy drama film 'American Hustle' in 2013 which was nominated for ten Academy Awards, won  a total of 66 awards and was nominated a further 202 times. With an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and Michael Pena the film was a commercial success too bringing home US$252M at the Global Box Office from its US$40M budget.




2014 brought the true story of investigative journalist Gary Webb in 'Kill the Messenger' which saw Renner starring as Gary Webb and also taking his first Producer credit. With an all star cast that included Ray Liota, Oliver Platt, Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia, Barry Pepper, Robert Patrick, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the film was well received critically, albeit it failed to make back its budget outlay.

'Avengers : Age of Ultron', 'Mission:Impossible - Rogue Nation' and 'Captain America : Civil War' as mentioned previously bring us up to his most recent release at the end of 2016, 'Arrival' for Director Denis Villeneuve and starring Amy Adams, and Forest Whitaker. The film has so far made US$145M off its US$47M budget cost and has already picked up eighteen award wins and 111 nominations.





Next up for Renner is 'Avengers : Infinity War' due in 2018 and currently filming, the animated 'Arctic Justice : Thunder Squad' also due in 2018 to which Renner is lending his voice talents together with James Franco, Alec Baldwin, John Cleese, Michael Madsen, Omar Sy, Anjelica Huston and Heidi Klum. 'M:I 6 - Mission Impossible' is in pre-production for later in 2018, recently announced are a Bourne sequel and Marvel's 'Ant Man and the Wasp', with 'Wind River' in post-production for an early 2017 release and starring also Martin Sensmeier, Jon Bernthal, and Elizabeth Olson.

All up Renner has 54 Acting credits to his name so far, and four as Producer. He has two Academy Award nominations for his performances in 'The Town' and 'The Hurt Locker', one Golden Globe nomination for 'The Town' and one BAFTA nomination for 'The Hurt Locker'. So far he has garnered thirty award wins and a further 51 nominations along the way. As well as an active career as an Actor in demand, he is a singer/songwriter, guitarist, drummer and keyboard player, and has written and preformed songs for a number of films he has appeared in. Renner married Canadian model Sonni Pacheco in January 2014 and within a year she had filed for divorce. They have a daughter together, Ava Berlin, born in 2013.

Jeremy Renner - runs a house renovating business in his spare time restoring rundown iconic Hollywood homes; is a UN Goodwill Peace Ambassador helping raise awareness of mine-clearing efforts in Afghanistan; has studied both Filipino and Thai martial arts; often plays intense, emotional character driven roles, frequently tinged with violence or unstable traits; is a bona fide action star having played such recurring roles in three major film franchises to date; put also plays flawed, often complicated grounded roles that bring him acclaim critically to match his commercial success from the blockbusters he is perhaps better known for. Very watchable and keeping it real in front of the camera and away from it - Happy Birthday to you Jeremy, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KILL THE MESSENGER - Tuesday 18th November 2014.

I saw 'KILL THE MESSENGER' at my local suburban cinema earlier this week with a couple of movie buddies, and largely enjoyed this retelling of the late 90's US true story exposed across the national press that shook the nation, and the upper echelons of both the government and the CIA. Jeremy Renner stars in the lead role as noted investigative journalist Gary Webb, and the film is based on his book 'Dark Alliance' and Directed by Michael Cuesta. Jeremy Renner is very watchable, and puts in a convincing turn as the journalist for the San Jose Mercury News whose brief 15 minutes of fame is quickly torn from under him as the Washington power brokers do everything they can to stop the truth from getting in the way of a good story!

The films cast list reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood talent including Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Oliver Platt, Robert Patrick, Michael Sheen, Barry Pepper, Paz Vega - all of whom have relatively fleeting, but nonetheless very important, screen time with the exception of Oliver Platt who plays Jerry Ceppos who manages the paper where Gary works, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Anna Simons the newspapers Editor. The roles of the latter two are much more pivotal as Gary Webb goes from hero to zero as his story unfolds, gets a foothold and then starts to unravel. Of course, Webb's family of Susan Webb his wife, played by Rosemarie DeWitt, and the three children are brought into the fray too and all of the performances are solid, grounded and believable in the context of the unfolding story arc.

Essentially, working for small town newspaper the San Jose Mercury News, Gary Webb is contacted by the wife of a suspected drug smuggler (Paz Vega) with a hot lead, and evidence, that high ranking officials in the government are linked to bringing crack cocaine into the USA from South America, selling it on the streets for vast sums of money with which to buy arms for the Nicaraguan Contra Rebels. In the process the US is gripped by a drug crazed portion of the populace who are buying the shit quicker than the CIA can bring it in to the country! 

Of course the more and more digging that Webb does the more he uncovers that goes high up into the Whitehouse, the CIA and the drug enforcement authorities who all have a hand in these shenanigans. Feathers get ruffled, and the more they get ruffled the more Webb keeps searching - to the point when he is hauled into a room with high level CIA officers and told to back off in no uncertain times - although of course 'they would never do anything to bring harm to his family' smirks one Agent! This is the proverbial straw that broke the camels back for Webb, and with this and enough information now to go to print, he publishes his story with the blessing of Ceppos and Simons at the paper. 

In no time the story is syndicated around the world - on the TV, the radio, the big print media publications and of course the fledgling Internet, and suddenly Gary Webb is hotly in demand for TV appearances, radio interviews, and chat shows. Naturally, the government and the CIA quickly go into defence mode and deny everything, and with this starts a smear campaign against Webb digging up just about every bit of historical dirt no matter how small and insignificant it may seem and promptly going public to now not only discredit Webb as journalist of repute in the pursuit of truth, justice and transparency, but also smear him forever as a human being, a husband, a father and a hardworking man. It gets ugly as his world starts to cave in around him from all directions, and those that did support him now turn their backs!

As the final credits role we read that certain officials in the CIA and the government stand down in the resulting enquiries, and that largely the whole sorry matter gets swept under the carpet as news breaks across the world of Clinton and Lewinski's dalliance which makes for more newsworthy fodder. Sad but true! The way that Webb is ostracised is also very sad and very telling, and for many wrapped up in this either directly or indirectly it didn't end well needless to say.

A strong cast, a solid performance from Renner, a gripping story and well told . . .  but in the end I felt a little cheated by the brisk running time that left me wanting more. I felt more of this story could have been told, and what Webb did in the years following this, and how in the fullness of time he was vindicated and his story was accepted as more factual now 15 years hence than it was at the turn of the century. Webb too was a Pulitzer Prize winner for Journalism, and various other awards in his time.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 30th October 2014.

Another week and another slew of new cinema content being released for your enjoyment. In summary we have a mid-90's true life drug trafficking, gun running, politically incorrect journalism drama; we have an assassin coming out of retirement to right the wrongs done to him seeing a welcome return of this A-List actor doing what he does best; then there is a romantic tear-fest that will have you reaching for the Kleenex as lovers reunite and the story unfolds over two periods in time; a story of a ten year old boy genius who travels across the country to collect a prize for his smart thinking and invention; and finally a polar opposite from the UK that is another true story set in the valleys of South Wales in the mid-80's as an unlikely alliance is forged to combat Thatcher's grip on the Unions.

So, we could have something for almost everyone here again this week, but if there is nothing to hang your hat on in the week ahead, fear not, there is still plenty of content available at your local cinema to entertain all comers. When you have seen any one of those Previewed below, or featured in previous Previews/Reviews or news, drop me a line in the Comments Box following this, or any Post, and share your thoughts with the world - it's always good to get another opinion. Enjoy your movie!

KILL THE MESSENGER (Rated MA15+) - this is a true story set in the mid-1990's that you may remember from all the news coverage it garnered back then, making this film all the more remarkable for its theme and its far reaching implications. Based on the book ('Dark Alliance') by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who uncovered this hornets nest and went public with it, Gary Webb, it tells his story as he investigates alleged connections between the C.I.A., the Nicaraguan drug lords, the American political system at the time, and the crack cocaine pushers on the streets, and the ramifications of this on all those parties and himself ultimately.

Starring Jeremy Renner as Gary Webb with a strong supporting cast including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paz Vega, Oliver Platt, Andy Garcia, Michael Sheen, Ray Liotta, and Barry Pepper this is Directed by Michael Cuesta who takes us on a journey as Webb digs deeper and discovers more of the C.I.A's involvement in bringing crack cocaine into California to sell on the nations streets to finance arms sales to the Nicaraguan Contra Rebels. As Webb ignores the advice to cease his investigations and his news reports he experiences a smear-campaign against him and his family and spirals into self-doubt, near suicide, and the defence of everything he values and holds dear. A compelling film, taught, thought provoking and all deftly handled by its expert cast, and its subject matter that is sure to resonate.

JOHN WICK (Rated MA15+) - Keanu Reeves is back and doing what he does best! Playing retired assassin John Wick who has just lost his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan) to cancer, he receives a posthumous puppy as a gift from her. While bonding with his new found best friend he encounters three dodgy looking Russian dudes who offer to buy his car on the spot (a 1969 Mustang). When he refuses, they follow him to his home and return undercover of darkness to beat up John, kill his new dog and steal the car. What follows is not touted as your usual by the numbers revenge film, but a well cast, well handled, reasonably violent, cool action movie that is inventive, slick and relentless from beginning to end. Also starring Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane and John Leguizamo this should well please followers of the genre as being a cut above the standard fare!

PRIDE (Rated M) - the Brits do these films so well (think 'The Full Monty', 'Brassed Off', 'Billy Elliot' etc), this one is set in 1984 in Thatcher's Britain as Maggie was clamping down on the Trade Unions and the industrial heartland that made Britain great up to that point. The Coal Miners were striking; the gays were marching on 10, Downing Street; big chunks of industry infrastructure were being sold off to the private sector and the UK was in turmoil. It was a period of great unsettled change - I remember it well! This true story centres around an unlikely alliance forming between the Gay Pride Community of the time and the National Union of Mineworkers who (reluctantly at first), come out (excuse the pun!) in support of each other to rally against Thatcher and her plans for widespread pit closures. Starring always reliable Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West and Paddy Considine with a thumping 80's soundtrack and laughs aplenty, this has all the makings of another feel good movie that is sure to mean something with those Brits who grew-up in 80's England and witnessed these far reaching ramifications, and if you didn't - just enjoy the movie and the history lesson anyway!

THE BEST OF ME (Rated M) - based on a dramatic romance novel by Nicolas Sparks this tells the story of Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) who growing up were childhood sweethearts - but he came from a family on the wrong side of the tracks and she was born into wealth, happiness and plenty. Dawson has a checkered past with a man-slaughter charge that saw him serve time for four years and leave town upon release. They are reunited twenty or so years later at the funeral of Dawson's 'surrogate' father figure, and gradually over time the flame between them is rekindled. But, there are those still around today that remember their ill-fated relationship of the past, and seem intent on driving another stake between them to ensure that their reunion fails before it has chance to begin again. This tale could have you reaching for the Kleenex as the course of true-love must overcome much adversity to prevail!

THE YOUNG AND PRODIGIOUS T. S. SPIVET (Rated M) - based on 'The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet' by Author Reif Larson this big-screen adaptation is Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet in only his second English language film. Whilst this is about the adventures of a ten year old lad, make no mistake, this is not necessarily just a kids film. T. S. Spivet (Kyle Catlett) is a gifted, talented, resourceful ten year old living with his family on a farm in Montana. His Mother is a Scientist, his father a Cowboy and his Sister a Miss America wannabe. One day he is contacted by The Smithsonian Institute to advise that he has won a significant prize for his invention of a perpetual motion machine. He embarks on a lone journey without informing his parents to Washington D. C. where he is to collect his prize at a ceremony being given in his honour. En route however, his voyage of discovery leads to fun, adventure, suspense and revelations about a family tragedy that he did not fully comprehend at the time it occurred. Shot in 3D this film may just surprise and delight, much like Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' did in  2011. Also starring the gifted and versatile Helena Bonham-Carter and Judy Davis.

Five new films then to tempt you out on a balmy Spring evening. When you have sat through your chosen movie, drop us a Comment at Odeon Online and share you thoughts with other like minded cinephiles.

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-