What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 10th October 2019.

The 57th New York Film Festival is currently in full swing having opened on Friday 27th September and running through until Sunday 13th October 2019. This is an annual film festival held every autumn in New York City, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Centre and is described as one of the longest running and most prestigious film festivals in the US. The non-competitive festival is centred around a 'Main Slate' of typically twenty to thirty feature films, with sidebars for experimental cinema, shorts, revivals and retrospectives, and recently introduced documentary and trans-media sections.

This years 'Main Slate' section features 29 films from around the world. These include :

* 'THE IRISHMAN' - screened as the Opening Night film, Directed and Co-Produced by Martin Scorsese, this American epic crime drama film stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Graham, Ray Romano, Jesse Plemmons, Jack Huston and Anna Paquin.
* 'MARRIAGE STORY' - Directed by Noah Baumbach is an American comedy drama film starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta.




* 'MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN' - Directed by Edward Norton, this American crime drama film stars Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
* 'ATLANTICS' - Directed and Co-Written by Mati Diop, this supernatural romantic drama film stars Mame Bineta Sane, Amadou Mbow and Ibrahima Traore. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, at which Diop made history when the film premiered at Cannes, becoming the first black woman to direct a film featured in official competition at the festival for which the film won the Grand Prix.
* 'BACURAU' - Directed and Written by Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Dornelles, this Brazillian weird western film stars Udo Kier and Sonia Braga.
* 'BEANPOLE' - Directed and Co-Written by Kantemir Balagov this Russian historical drama film stars Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina, and won the Un Certain Regard Best Director Award and the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
* 'FIRST COW' - Directed and Co-Written for the screen by Kelly Reichardt this American drama stars John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner and Alia Shawkat.
* 'MARTIN EDEN' - Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Pietro Marcello, this Italian historical romantic drama film stars Luca Marinelli who won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the recent Venice International Film Festival.
* 'THE MONEYCHANGER' - Directed by Federico Veiroj, this Uruguayan comedy film stars Dolores Fonzi, Benjamin Vicuna and Daniel Hendler.
* 'PAIN AND GLORY' - Directed and Written by Pedro Almodovar, this Spanish drama film stars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, and at the Cannes Film Festival Banderas won the award for Best Actor and Alberto Iglesias won for Best Soundtrack.
* 'PARASITE' - Directed and Co-Written by Bong Joon-ho, this South Korean dark comedy thriller film won the prestigious Palme d'Or award at this years Cannes Film Festival.
* 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE' - Directed and Written by Celine Sciamma this French historical drama film won the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and Sciamma won the award for Best Screenplay. Starring Noemie Merlant, and Adele Haenel.
* 'SATURDAY FICTION' - Directed by Lou Ye this Chinese drama film stars Gong Li, Mark Chao and Tom Wlaschiha.
* 'SIBYL' - Directed and Co-Written by Justine Triet, this French comedy drama film stars Virginie Efira, Adele Exarchopoulos and Gaspard Ulliel.
* 'TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH' - Directed and Written by Kiyoshi Kurusowa this Japanese drama film stars Atsuko Maeda.
* 'THE TRAITOR' - Directed, Co-Written and based on a story by Marco Bellocchio this Italian biographical drama films stars Pierfransesco Favino and Maria Fernanda Candido.
* 'WASP NETWORK' - Directed and Written for the screen by Olivier Assayas this drama film stars Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez and Gael Garcia Bernal.
* 'THE WILD GOOSELAKE' - Directed and Written by Diao Yinan this Chinese crime drama film stars Hu Ge, Liao Fan, Gwei Lun-mei and Wan Qian.
* 'YOUNG AHMED' - Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, this Belgian drama film stars Idir Ben Addi. The film was chosen to compete for the Palme d'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival, where the brothers won the award for Best Direction.
* 'ZOMBIE CHILD' - Directed and Written by Bertrand Bonello who also wrote the music, this French drama film stars Louise Lebeque, Wislanda Louimat, Mackenson Bijou and Adile David.

For the rest of this, plus what's hot and happening at this years New York Film Festival, you can visit the official website at : http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff

This week we have four latest release movies coming to your local Odeon, and we kick off with a Sci-Fi action thriller from an acclaimed Director starring an acclaimed Actor portraying both older and younger versions of himself as the latter must hunt down and take out the former. We then turn to a crime drama offering featuring a group of strippers who go rogue and fleece their affluent Wall Street clients post the GFC. Next up is an Israeli foreign language film about a married mother of three who rejoins the workforce in a new industry and soon proves herself to be successful much to the chagrin of her struggling restaurateur husband, while attracting the somewhat unwelcome attention of her new boss. And we close out the weeks new release movies with an Aussie doco about  medicinal cannabis and the efforts of two men to be bring much needed aid to those suffering who have no where left to turn.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'GEMINI MAN' (Rated M) - this American Sci-Fi actioner is Directed by the acclaimed and multi-award winning Taiwanese film maker Ang Lee whose previous credits include 'Eat Drink Man Woman', 'Sense and Sensibility', 'The Ice Storm', 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Life of Pi' and 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' most recently. The film is also Co-Written and based upon a story by David Benioff - he who is the much lauded Co-Writer and Showrunner of that lesser known HBO series 'Games of Thrones'. The original story for the film was first pitched way back in 1997 and then went through development hell for the ensuing twenty years with various well known A-Grade Directors and Actors assigned to the project coming and going. The film is released in the US this week too, and has so far generated relatively poor Reviews.

Here Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is an elite, albeit ageing government assassin seeking to end his career and enter a life of relaxation and blissful retirement. However, he finds himself going up against a mysterious younger operative, who as it turns out is a clone of himself named Junior (also Will Smith), who's able to predict his every move, and who is faster and more agile than he is. With no other choice, Henry must uncover the truth behind Junior's creation and save him from going down the same dark path he did, meanwhile fighting against a corrupt system determined to 'retire' him at all costs. Also starring Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong, and seems to be of a similar ilk to Rian Johnson's 2012 Sci-Fi actioner 'Looper' with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing older and younger versions of the same character respectively.

'HUSTLERS' (Rated MA15+) - here we have an American crime drama offering Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria and based on the 'New York' magazine article from 2015 titled 'The Hustler's at Scores' by Jessica Pressler. The film saw its World Premier screening at the recent TIFF and was released Stateside earlier this month. It cost US$21M to make, and has so far grossed US$111M and been largely praised by Critics. And so, working as a stripper to make ends meet, single mother Destiny (Constance Wu) sees her life change forever when she becomes friends with Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) the club's top money earner. Ramona soon shows Destiny how to manipulate her way around the wealthy Wall Street clientele who frequent their club. But when the 2008 economic collapse cuts into their profits, the girls and two other dancers devise a daring scheme to take their lives back and reinstate the wealth they had enjoyed prior to the financial downturn. Also starring Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B.

'WORKING WOMAN' (Rated MA15+) - is a Hebrew language Israeli film that is the second fiction feature film offering from the Israel Director, Screenwriter and Producer Michal Aviad. This drama film was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, only now does it go on limited release in Australia having garnered mostly positive Critical reaction and has collected one award win and eleven other nominations from around the festival and awards circuit. Here Orna (Liron Ben-Shlush) is a married mother of three. Her husband, Ofer (Oshri Cohen) has only recently opened a restaurant, and is struggling financially already. She decides to pursue a new career in real estate development, working as a coordinator and Project Manager for Benny (Menashe Noy), a successful property developer. As Orna connects with her emerging talents and abilities in her newly chosen field, and feels she is growing and succeeding as a person, at the same time she has to come to terms with her husband's jealousy for now being the main breadwinner of the household, and Benny's growing advances towards her, and accompanying abuse of power.

'GREEN LIGHT' (Rated M) - in Australia, two men are working to provide the last vestige of relief, and in some cases a cure for thousands suffering chronic and terminal illnesses. Directed by Ned Donohoe, this documentary is his debut film, showing the two providing black market medicinal cannabis for people who have nowhere else to turn. Though increasingly accepted as having hugely beneficial medical benefits, cannabis is still not a legal way to treat chronic conditions. 'Green Light', seen from the point of view of two mavericks, explores the exceptional lengths these two men are willing to go to improve, and in some cases save, the lives of those with nowhere else to turn while running the risk of losing everything to help sick people in need.

With four new release movies 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 in the week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th May 2016.

Last week I ran the introduction to the latest releases segment with a small feature on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Box Office successes, with the promise that I would do likewise with the DC Extended Universe this week. With 'Batman v. Superman' for DC now at a worldwide Box Office haul of US$870M and 'Captain America : Civil War' for Marvel at US$957M, and both still out on general release, the stakes are high in both camps, and the expectations of what is to come even higher. With that in mind here is the low down on the DC filmography with the Superman and Batman franchises reigning supreme and underpining that universe, here are the numbers :-

• 'Superman' - December 1978 - US$300M - with Christopher Reeve in the title role.
• 'Superman II' - June 1981 - $101M - with Christopher Reeve.
• 'Superman III' - June 1983 - US$60M - with Christopher Reeve.
• 'Superman IV' - July 1987 - US$11M - with Christoper Reeve.
• 'Superman Returns' - June 2006 - US374M - with Brandon Routh in the title role.
• 'Man of Steel' - June 2013 - US$668M - with Henry Cavill in the title role.
• 'Batman' - June 1989 - US$409M - with Michael Keaton in the title role.
• 'Batman Returns' - June 1992 - US$267M - with Michael Keaton.
• 'Batman Forever' - June 1995 - US$336M - with Val Kilmer in the title role.
• 'Batman and Robin' - June 1997 - US$238M - with George Clooney in the title role.
• 'Batman Begins' - June 2005 - US$359M - with Christian Bale in the title role.
• 'The Dark Knight' - July 2008 - US$1,003B - with Christian Bale and #24 highest ranking film of all time currently.
• 'The Dark Knight Rises' - July 2012 - US$1,085B - with Christian Bale and the #16 highest ranking film of all time currently.
• 'Batman v. Superman' - March 2016 - US$868M - with Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in the title roles and the #45 highest ranking film of all time currently.
• Outside of these, there have been 'Catwoman', 'Constantine', 'Watchmen', 'Jonah Hex', 'Green Lantern' and 'The League of Extraordinary Gentleman' plus a host of other characters from the equally rich source material, some of which have performed reasonably well at the Box Office while others have not. Additionally, there have been numerous animated feature films, television films, short films and television series dating all the way back to the early 40's.

What does the future hold for the DC Extended Universe - already either due for imminent release, filming, in pre-production of on the slate there is : 'Suicide Squad' due August this year; 'Wonder Woman' due in June 2017; 'Justice League : Part One' due in November 2017; 'The Flash' due in March 2018; 'Aquaman' due in July 2018; 'Shazam' due in April 2019; 'Justice League : Part Two' due in June 2019; 'Cyborg' due in April 2020; and 'The Green Lantern Corp.' due in July 2020. Much to get excited about.

And so what is coming your way in the week ahead? Four new films, that's what! First up is another Marvel offering, but outside of their Cinematic Universe, but nonetheless #9 in a hugely successful franchise that sees the resurrected grand-daddy of all mutants go head to head in the world of the 20th Century, and there's only one team that can stand up and save the world. Then we have a film of transferred memories and the hunt for a package that will save the world, starring three fellas who were last together on the big screen in Oliver Stone's 'JFK'. Following on from this we have a comedy drama about a mother/daughter relationship that sees well meaning Mum going too far with the smotherly love only to be told back off - and so she channels its elsewhere, with surprising consequences; and wrapping up a doco of the musical kind definitely with strings attached!

With four new offerings, and still great content on general release as Reviewed and Previewed between these pages, get out amongst it this week to your local cinema, and when you have sat through your movie of choice, feel free to share your thoughts, observations, and ratings below this or any other Post in the Comments Box below. Enjoy your film.

'X-MEN : APOCALYPSE' (Rated MA15+) - the eagerly awaited ninth film in the hugely successful 'X-Men' franchise is now upon us with high expectations given how the more recent films in the series have performed. With Bryan Singer back in the Director's chair having also Directed the series opening two films 'X-Men' and 'X2' in 2000 and 2003 respectively, with 2014's 'Days of Future Past' too, it seems that this instalment is in safe and confident hands. In the meantime there has been 'The Last Stand', 'Origins : Wolverine', 'First Class', 'The Wolverine' and this years 'Deadpool'. Counting those previous eight films, the series has so far made US$3.82B from a combined Budget of US$1.08B, with 'Apocalypse' costing US$234M to bring to the big screen. 'Deadpool' has be the most lucrative so far returning US$762M from an outlay of just US$58M compared to 'Days of Future Past' as the next best which returned US$748M from a US$200M outlay.

And so to this next instalment we see 'Apocalypse' (Oscar Isaac) - the first and most powerful mutant worshipped as a God since time began is both immortal and invincible having amassed the power of many other mutants along the way to becoming all powerful. Having been betrayed by his worshippers, he was entombed for centuries and his followers 'The Four Horsemen' destroyed. Now waking from a forced restful slumber in 1983, the newly energised Apocalypse soon realises that the world has forgotten him, and it has changed in ways that are far from his liking. Deciding to destroy the world and rebuild it to his own vision, he enlists four new horsemen - Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Archangel (Ben Hardy), and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) to support his cause and bring about the destruction needed to rebuild a new world order. With the fate of our little blue & green planet hanging in the balance, Professor X (James McAvoy) and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) lead a young team of X-Men to thwart their evil foe and save the Earth. Also starring Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, Kodi Smith-McPhee as Nightcrawler with Rose Byrne, Hugh Jackman and Lucas Till. Let the battle commence!

'CRIMINAL' (Rated MA15+) - this action thriller Directed by Ariel Vromen has seen mixed reviews from around the traps for its US$32M Budget for which it has so far returned US$27M having been released Stateside in mid-April, and given the ensemble cast that stars. Essentially CIA Agent Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds) is killed on the job while escorting a hacker informant to a safe house. Desperate to find this hacker who it seems can engage all the worlds nuclear warheads at will, Pope's next line of command Quaker Wells (Gary Oldman) reaches out to Dr. Mahal Franks (Tommy Lee Jones) a pre-eminent neurosurgeon who has developed a way of transplanting the memory of a dead man into a living one. Franks believes there is only one person who can undergo such treatment, and that person is convicted criminal Jericho Stewart (Kevin Costner). And so begins a cat and mouse game involving implanted memories, the CIA, a dead mans family, and an anarchist on the hunt for a package hidden somewhere safe that only the dead man's memory can reveal. Sounds completely plausible and rational. Also starring Gal Gadot as the dead Agents wife.

'THE MEDDLER' (Rated M) - Witten and Directed by Lorene Scafaria this is a dramedy that was Premiered at TIFF in September 2015, released in the US towards the end of April, has received strong critical acclaim, but this is yet to transfer into anything resembling serious Box Office takings. Nonetheless, here we have Lori Minervini (Rose Byrne in her second release this week) a still single  successful screenwriter living in LA when her recently widowed beloved Mother Marnie (Susan Sarandon) decides to up sticks and relocate from New Jersey to LA to be closer to her darling daughter. When Mum comes on too strong with the positive advise, interference and persistent meddling in Lori's life, it is time to draw the line, and so Marnie finds new ways to channel her positivity, optimism and generosity to help others change their lives for the better, with surprising results for all concerned. Also starring J.K.Simmons.

'HIGHLY STRUNG' (Rated M) - Scott Hicks latest foray into the world of music and cinema opened the Adelaide Film Festival in October last year, and this week gets its general release. Fitting that it should premier in Adelaide as this is where the Australian String Quartet are based and have been going strong there for the last 30 years. Hicks explores the world of stringed instruments, the power and the passion behind those that play them, the desire of those to own them, how they are made, what they stand for, where and how they sound the best, and the function that each member of the quartet holds. It's a story of drama and beauty, passion, obsession and possession into a world of classical music that many of us would otherwise pass by.

With four very different films once again, promising (almost) something for everyone, there'll be no reason not to catch a movie in the week ahead. When you have done so, share your thoughts, and until then - I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-