You can tell it's fast approaching Easter, because there is another raft of new cinema content creeping into our multiplexes to get Mum's & Dad's, Son's & Daughter's, Husbands and Wives and kids of all ages out to the movie theatre's over the coming two week school holiday/long weekend period.
This week we have some serious gritty drama from war torn streets of a country divided for many years over its politics, religion and beliefs; an award winning foreign language film likely to cause a stir in its country of origin; a much loved animated classic given a fairytale live action makeover; a woolly stop motion animated feature from that English studio who have done this stuff before and have little left to prove; an animated feature of an alien invasion on our humble planet that goes awry and sees an unlikely partnership evolve that means so much more than either could have imagined; then a comedy about a hapless multi-millionaire who in convicted to do jail time but must learn to man-up on the outside or take the consequences on the inside (as it were!); a unlikely pairing of two male leads together for much of their lives and then torn asunder and rebuilding what they can of their fractured lives; and finally a film about a touchy subject and its ramifications on family and loved ones that doesn't take its subject matter too seriously nor too lightly.
With such a plethora of new films about to hit our Odeon's this week there really is something for everyone, and no excuse not to get out amongst it and sit in front of a big screen for a few hours and enjoy the film of you choice. When you have done so, share your thoughts, observations and opinions with the global audience at Odeon Online and make a Comment below this, or any Post. Enjoy your filmic experience!
'71 (Rated MA15+) - Written by Gregory Burke and Directed by French first timer Yann Demange, this film was released last week in Australia but to a limited showing only. Nonetheless is has received critical acclaim for its portrayal of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland, which began in 1969 and went through until 1997, from the perspective of a new recruit foot soldier effectively caught behind enemy lines and needing to get outta there before paying the ultimate price. With Belfast the centre of all the attention, the action and the troubles, we have here a city that is divided by Politics (the Loyalists on one side and the Republicans on the other) and Religion (the Protestants on one hand, and the Catholics on the other) and for almost thirty years opposing factions fought it out with guns, bombs, knives, death and destruction to make a point and gain the upper hand.
When teenager Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) joins up and is promptly dispatched to Belfast he and his new recruit grunts serving in the British Army are sent to an area of Belfast where these opposing factions live side by side. Supporting the Royal Ulster Constabulary in routine house inspections, the new squaddies are alerted to an ever increasing mob of angry protesters who are congregating outside a house under inspection. When things get out go hand it all goes pear shaped and Hook and his fellow troops come under attack with rocks, human faeces, knives and anything that will maim and impair. Hook is wounded and separated from the remaining troops who scatter and are collected up to return to base. Not Hook though - he is on foot, scared, injured and alone in an extremely hostile and volatile environment with little means to protect himself. How this plays out you'll have to see for yourself, but suffice to say Demange has (re)created a tight tense and taught drama which O'Connell delivers through his performance to make this real, believable and in the moment.
LEVIATHAN (Rated M) - from the streets of war torn Belfast, to the corrupt streets of a small Russian coastal town, this Golden Globe winning, and Academy Award and BAFTA nominated film, charts the story of Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov
), his wife Lilya (Elena Lyadova) and their teenage son Roma (Sergey Pokhodaev). When corrupt Mayor Vadim (Roman Madyanov) arrives in town he eyes Kolya's property and small business and wants it for himself and so sets in place a trumped up and highly suspect repossession order at a fraction of its worth. As relationships are tested, emotions strained and the fabric of the family ripped apart, so Kolya enlists the services of good friend and former Army colleague Dmitri (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) who now has a legal practise in Moscow, and the two mount their own campaign to stop the Mayor and dig up as much dirt on him as they can. As the fighting factions go head to head who will gain the upper hand, and what will Kolya have left at the end?
LOVE IS STRANGE (Rated M) - this film was released Stateside mid-last year sometime and has taken a while to reach our shores Down Under. That said, here we have two strong male leads playing a same-sex couple Ben and George - John Lithgow and Alfred Molina respectively. Having been together for 39 years the couple decide to get married and having done so, George, who is a Catholic School music teacher, advises his employer and when the Archdiocese gets wind of this news, he is promptly fired! No longer able to afford their New York apartment, the couple are forced to split and bunk up with various friends and family. Living apart but still together the couple must find time for themselves in their new surroundings and accommodate, and be accommodated by, the new people in their lives whilst finding a new, cheaper, place to live. A learning experience for everyone. Also starring Marisa Thomei and Written/Directed by Ira Sachs.
INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (Rated M) - Mark Ruffalo must be one of the busiest Actors in Hollywood right now, because here he is again this week in another offering - this time in the Maya Forbes Directed tale of Cameron Stuart a bipolar manic-depressive father who almost single handedly is raising his two daughters - Amelia and Faith (Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide respectively, and apparently both excellent!), whilst trying to win back the heart, confidence and respect of his wife (Zoe Saldana) by showing some control, responsibility and maturity. With strong performances from the principle players and very well crafted by Writer/Director Forbes this is tough subject matter told in a beautiful, nuanced, passionate thought provoking way that won't be for everyone, but is sure to find an audience as did
'Still Alice' and
'The Theory of Everything' more recently.
GET HARD (Rated MA15+) - Oh dear - what has Will Ferrell got himself into this time? I am sure that 14 years olds will flock to see this film of multi-millionaire hedge-funder James King (Will Ferrell) who has been convicted to serve ten years of hard labour in San Quentin jail for tax evasion. Looking down the barrel of hard jail time King enlists the help, support, advice and guidance of local car wash operative Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart) to prepare him for the trials and tribulations of life behind bars. Thinking that Lewis is a hardened criminal who has served time in the past, which of course he hasn't, King gets strung along because there is the promise of a pay cheque if Lewis can help protect him on the outside when he is on the inside. Lewis of course has never served time and is largely clueless to a life of internship, but plays along with the ruse acting up as the crim with a wrap sheet for his own material gain when really this is a case of the blind leading the blind, the dumb and dumber, and the stupid is as stupid does! One for the 14 years olds for sure! Enjoy seeing Ferrell mixing it up in Da Hood wit all da young dudes!
A LITTLE CHAOS (Rated M) - Here Alan Rickman stars in, and Directs his second feature film taking us back to the 1680's and the court of King Louis XIV, and most notably the completion of the grand gardens at the Palais de Versailles. Commissioning visionary landscape artist Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) who dismisses convention and prefers to act on her own modern instincts in the design of the gardens she comes to blows with the more classical designer Le Notre who has hired her to help complete the task in hand. In time she is drawn to Le Notre and must juggle her feelings for him, her own vision for the gardens and the etiquette of the Court of the King. She is however, made of sterner stuff which comes into its own when her fractured past is revealed, her feelings for Le Notre emerge and her need to garner support from the King and his followers becomes important to her own future success and well being. Starring Rickman as Louis XIV,
Matthias Schoenaerts as André Le Nôtre, and Stanley Tucci as Duke Philippe d'Orleans, this is a fictionalised historical story that might just diminish an otherwise solid period piece.
CINDERELLA (Rated G) - Kenneth Branagh gave up a second outing as Director of the
'Thor' franchise to Direct this live action retelling of the classic fairytale that was told way back when by Disney in the form of the ever popular animated feature film 65 years ago, in 1950 would you believe? Here we have an all star cast that possibly reboots that timeless tale for a whole new audience, that includes Lily James as Cinders herself, Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother, Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother, Richard Madden as Prince Charming, Stellan Skarsgard as the Grand Duke, Derek Jacobi as the King and a list of others ably supporting. You know the story all too well of that I am sure, so no spoilers here and no need to retread old ground, except to say that in Ken Branagh the story and Disney's investment should be in safe, secure hands given the man's track record of Directing, his firm grasp of historical period stories, his ability to frame a set piece, and his know-how on big spectacle. The film was made for US$95M and at the time of writing had already grossed worldwide US$256M.
SHAUN THE SHEEP : THE MOVIE (Rated G) - Shaun the Sheep first hit our screens and our subconscious in
'A Close Shave' - that Wallace & Gromit film of 1995. Since then Shaun has helmed his own spin off TV series which has seen his wool price soar, and now he arrives on our big screens courtesy of this talented stop-motion animators at Aardman. Here we seen Shaun taking a day off from grazing the farmland and in doing so bites off a little more than he can chew as he gets mixed up with the farmer, a caravan, a steep hill and the big city. Before you know it, it's Shaun to the rescue and with the help of his flock he needs to bring everyone home to the farm to live happily ever after. With the voice talents of Justin Fletcher as Shaun and Directed by Mark Burton and Richard Starzack this is a feel good, laugh out loud warm and fuzzy movie for young and young at heart that is likely to capture your attention from whoa to go and is unlikely to disappoint - especially if you have seen Aardman's previous Wallace & Gromit instalments that are now classics of the genre and the art.
HOME (Rated PG) - Directed by Tim Johnson for Dreamworks Animation this has many familiar elements but delivers on emotion, heart, substance and a moral lesson for perhaps the younger viewers, who should be dragged along by their parents to see this lesson in life whilst watching a cracking yarn that could be ranked as one of Dreamworks finest animated features yet. When Planet Earth is 'invaded' by the alien race 'Boov' led by Captain Smek (Steve Martin) who are on the run from their mortal enemy, they begin relocating the earthlings to a desert planet to make way for themselves. One bright young girl however, manages to evade capture - 'Tip' (voiced by Rhianna) who is now on the run and searching for Mum Lucy (voiced by Jennifer Lopez) when she is befriended by alien 'Oh' (voiced by Jim Parsons) who has been banished by the Boov for revealing the location of the alien race to their sworn enemy. As the two form an unlikely friendship many adventures ensue and they both come to realise that what makes them so different draws them together and from this they can both learn to adapt and accept and appreciate the true meaning of 'home'. Again, one for young and not so young and a lesson in life here that could well be worth the price of your ticket . . . and then some!
It's a big week then for movies that offers something for all ages going into the Easter Holidays. When you have seen your movie(s) of choice. don't be shy - share your thoughts, views, observations and opinions with us all and be interactive in Cyberspace and at Odeon Online.
Movies - see as many as you can!
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
I saw the award winning highly acclaimed Russian foreign language film 'LEVIATHAN' earlier in the week and enjoyed this grim, bleak, harrowing tale from Co-Writer/Director Andrey Zvyagintsev set on the edge of the Barents Sea in the small remote fishing community of Pibrezhny. Set in the present day we are given here a story of greed, corruption, desperation, hopelessness and loss as it arrives front & centre in this small little township and turns the lives of one family inside out and upside down with far reaching consequences for those involved.
Kolya wakes early one morning and makes for the local train station to meet a friend travelling from Moscow. We learn that the two are long term friends with history together going back to their time in the Russian Army - but Dmitri (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) is now a successful lawyer, and he has arrived to help old friend Kolya out of a spot of bother! It seems that the local Mayor, Vadim (Roman Madyanov), is trying to pull a fast one on Kolya and repossess his desirable town fringe sea frontage residence at a knock down price by the foulest low down dirty conniving means possible, then demolish it and build a grand palace of some description that is likely to be totally OTT. Vadim is an often drunken slob of a man, a mean bastard really - seriously overweight, vodka swilling and with a back story of vice, corruption, dirty deeds and doubtless blood on his hands!
What Vadim hasn't counted on though it seems is Kolya's big shot Moscow law man Dmitri who has being doing some digging on Vadim and has dished up a portfolio of dirt that could be enough to send him down, for good, with the key thrown yonder!. But this town is slap bang in the middle of no where and there are no rules except those which Vadim chooses to uphold or make up for himself as he sees fit.
With the court ruling against Kolya and Dmitri at every turn despite the obvious injustice and illegality of the whole sorry situation, it seems that all hope is slowly, surely and painstakingly ebbing away. Vadim for a short while is on the run shaken up by what Dmitri has uncovered about his unsavoury past and so we see a lot of huffing & puffing, table banging, chest beating and spit balling at his equally questionable colleagues in attempt to convey the magnitude of the pile of shit in fact they are all in . . . potentially! Fairly soon though the war of nerves and words picks up and Vadim muscles in and further threatens both Koyla (emotionally) and Dmitri (physically) seemingly now unperturbed about what Dmitri may or my not have on him. As this is going on Roma continues to rebel against his Dad and Stepmum, the pressure from Vadim boils over and lands Kolya in a jail cell, Dmitri and Lilya get it on, and a social shooting trip and vodka laced picnic out to the mountains doesn't end well for anyone!
With further court action and applications for injunctions and delays failing miserably, Kolya takes solace in bottle after bottle of vodka and packet after packet of cigarettes. He is powerless at every turn almost to beat the Russian system that is corrupt at every level and Vadim is determined to beat him into submission at almost any cost. With Vadim increasingly determined to grind the little guy down personal tragedy falls on the family that sends Kolya reeling and for which he pays dearly in the most unexpected way.
When the bulldozers move in on Kolya's home you know that he has lost everything and all hope is now vanquished. A poignant moment at the end as everything in the home is destroyed - memories, artefact's, possessions and the daily flotsam & jetsam of life as in time a church is built in its place so that Vadim can win further favour with the local Priest, and secure his place in the Kingdom of Heaven ultimately, despite his sins of the past (and present!).
