KATE : Monday 13th September 2021.

With Greater Sydney still in COVID lockdown now until the end of September at least, and as a result all cinema's closed until sometime after this date, I've been reviewing recently some the latest feature films released onto Netflix. One such film that I watched from the comfort of my own sofa at home this week is the American action thriller 'KATE' Directed by the Frenchman Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. This is only Nicolas-Troyan's second feature film making credit following 2016's 'The Hunstsman : Winter's War' although he did perform Second Unit Director duties on 2012's 'Snow White and the Huntsman' and 2014's 'Maleficent'. Worthy of note is that David Leitch serves as Producer on this film - he who made his Directorial debut on the 2014 action film 'John Wick' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch then Directed the 2017 thriller film 'Atomic Blonde', followed by 2018's 'Deadpool 2', and then in 2019, 'Hobbs & Shaw', and sure enough his influence is clearly evident in the action set pieces and the stunt work seen in this film. Released onto Netflix on 10th September, the film has garnered mixed or average Reviews.

The film opens up with an aerial shot of a pink ice cream truck making its way around the streets of Osaka, Japan. The truck pulls up in a yard full of shipping containers. Inside the back of the truck is Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Varrick (Woody Herrelson) having a final conversation about her hit on a powerful yakuza officer. It turns out that Kate is an expert assassin and sniper who eliminates targets chosen by her trusted long term mentor, handler and father figure, Varrick. After she was left orphaned as a child, Varrick took her in and raised her giving her extensive training in weapons handling and combat techniques and eventually bringing her into his private team of those with a very particular set of skills. After dispensing with a pair of yakuza goons Kate prepares herself with her rifle in a prime position overlooking the expected point of arrival of a car. The vehicle duly pulls up and the syndicate member steps out of his car and presents himself as the target, but Kate resists taking the shot initially because a child has unexpectedly accompanied him. She hesitates, seeks clarification of the kill order and then asks once more before pulling the trigger and killing the target on Varrick's insistence. 

Fast forward ten months, and we are in Tokyo. While Kate's assignment was successful, she can't shake the fact that this breach of their personal code to not kill in the presence of children leaves her emotionally scarred. She tells Varrick that she will do one final mission, and then retire so she can start a new normal life. Varrick is none too pleased at this news and says that after two visits to Walmart she'll come hurrying back, but Kate is undaunted. Before her last mission Kate is relaxing in a hotel bar alone sipping on a glass of Margaux. A guy named Stephen (Michiel Huisman) sidles up and the pair strike up a conversation, which leads them to sharing a bottle of wine which leads them into bed. Afterwards and before Stephen has left she gets a text message from Varrick saying one last dance, tonight, at 11:00pm on the roof top of some tall city building. Up on the roof top of that building while preparing herself, she starts feeling dizzy and unable to focus causing her to miss the shot. She shoots again, and then again but by which time the mark has got away. Kate soon enough comes to the realisation that Stephen must have poisoned her. She steals a souped up car and after a high speed car chase through the streets of Tokyo followed by the goons guarding her failed mark, she ultimately crashes her car end over end landing on its roof. 

She comes round in a hospital and learns from the Doctor that she has acute radiation poisoning from Polonium 204 and only twenty-four hours or so to live. She steals injectable stimulant drugs and a gun and sets out to take out her revenge on whoever poisoned her. Kate traces Stephen and his girlfriend to their apartment, and threatening them both at gunpoint learns that they were strong-armed into poisoning her by Sato, a yakuza affiliated with the Kijima crime family. 

Kate finds Sato (Koji Nishiyama) at a luxury restaurant called The Black Lizard, and kills him along with dozens of armed yakuza (in a bloodbath action set-piece straight out of 'John Wick' or 'Kill Bill'). Sato's last man standing reveals that Kijima's niece Ani (Miku Martineau) might be able to tell her where the reclusive head of the crime family might be in hiding. Upon tracking down Ani to a nightclub Kate realises that Ani is the girl who stood beside her father during the opening Osaka mission. 

Kate uses Ani to lure Kijima out into the open. Renji (Tadanobu Asano) sees himself as the natural and younger successor to the older Kijima and so sends Shinzo (Kazuya Tanabe) and a bunch of goons to Kate's designated meeting place. After another action set piece in which Kate thwarts all manner of goons she ends up shooting Shinzo who was ready to dispense with Ani following Renji's orders. After this, Kate and Ani share a quiet moment in an alleyway as Kate cough's up blood and is physically exhausted. She decides to become Ani's protector upon learning that her family want her dead as part of an internal power struggle. So how to get to Renji? Ani suggests that his boyfriend Jojima (Miyavi) might be able to lead them to him and he can be found in their shared penthouse apartment. Upon arriving Jojima is not prepared to divulge Renji's whereabouts and a fight breaks out with Jojima gaining the upper hand over Kate, but he is ultimately killed by Ani with a swift blow to the head with a very heavy object. Kate uncovers a semi automatic assault rifle with laser sight and a hand gun concealed in the fridge door and so the pair go in search of Renji, which they are able to do by tracking his whereabouts on Jojima's mobile phone. 

Renji is ambushed in his car by Kate who kills the driver and another guard but lets Renji go free when he tells her that he doesn't know where Kijima is, except that he spending 'family time'. Ani however, knows that family time means time spent in his childhood home in the hills. And so, getting in a taxi they head to the hills and Kijima's family home. Kate calls Varrick from the taxi and bids her final farewell, telling him to collect her body from the hills. 

Upon arriving Kate is on her last legs and she tells Ani to beat it. Venturing into the house, Kate finds Kijima (Jun Kunimura) alone. They talk, with Kijima resigned to his fate, but not before he tells her that Renji made a deal with Varrick to incorporate his team into the syndicate in exchange for killing Kijima and all of his blood relatives. Varrick pulls up and outside Kijima's house meets Ani sat on the curbside. He proceeds to tell her that Kate killed her father in Osaka and is responsible for the deaths of almost her entire family. A single shot rings out from inside the house, implying that Kate has shot dead Kijima. When Kate emerges, a tearful Ani confronts her, raising a gun, pulling the trigger and shooting Kate sending her reeling backwards seemingly dead. Ani gets into the car with Varrick and the pair drive off. 

Soon afterwards Kijima appears and hands Kate an injectable stimulant which she plunges into her leg giving her an hour or so respite. Kijima, aware that Kate is close to death, provides her with a small army of his men to assault Renji's headquarters, where Varrick has taken Ani. Kate. Kijima and their small army arrive and following a fierce close quarter gunfight, all of Renji and Varrick's men are killed. Kijima personally slices the top of Renji's head off with a samurai sword for his betrayal. 

Kate locates Varrick, who is holding Ani at gunpoint. The two stand guns drawn facing each other. Both shoot at the same time with Kate caught a glancing blow and Varrick is fatally shot in the stomach, slumping down in a chair to die shortly afterwards. Ani then helps Kate walk outside to the roof, where Kate, finally at peace with herself, dies in Ani's arms looked on by Kijima. 

For a film that has it's roots in the 1950 feature film 'D.O.A' and then again in 1988 under the same name, there is very little that is new here in terms of the plot, except that the location has changed from California to modern day Japan, the chase and fight sequences are way more intense, the bad guys are considerably more disposable and the language is a lot more colourful. The staged action sequences are impressive thanks to the pedigree of Nicolas-Troyan on Director duty and Leitch serving as Producer and the cast are on top form - most notably Winstead who proves her action heroine acting chops, Harrelson is always watchable and newcomer Miku Martineau in her feature film debut and in only her third screen outing is surprisingly gifted. Aside from these positives, the film is predictable in its premise, is formulaic in its approach to the now often seen fight scenes and offers up nothing new that you haven't seen countless times before. It's not a bad movie but it's also not that great either, and if you enjoy your female assassins getting stabbed, punched, kicked, shot, bruised, battered, bloodied and barfing as she rapidly deteriorates from the inside as well but still managing to ably dispense with an army of yakuza no good bad dude types, then this movie is for you. 

'Kate' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) : Tuesday 11th February 2020.

'BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)' is an MA15+ Rated American all female superhero film based on the DC Comics team 'Birds of Prey' that has appeared in comic books form, miniseries and special editions since 1996. Directed by Chinese American film maker, Producer and Screenwriter Cathy Yan in only her second Directorial outing following her 2018 Shanghai based 'Dead Pigs', this film is intended to be the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and a follow-up spin-off to the 2016 David Ayer Directed film 'Suicide Squad'. Despite that films Box Office haul of US$747M from a production budget of US$175M and it winning seventeen awards and another 39 nominations, it garnered mostly negative press from Critics. 'The Suicide Squad' (aka 'Suicide Squad 2') also starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in what will be her third outing as the character, is currently in post-production and is Directed by James Gunn, sees the cast from the previous film return except for Will Smith as Deadshot and Jared Leto as The Joker, and is set for a 6th August 2021 release date. This film was released in the USA on 7th February following its Mexico City World Premier on 25th January, cost in the region of $85M to produce and has so far performed below Box Office expectations with a worldwide haul of US$87M and has generated mixed or average Reviews with Critics praising Robbie's and McGregor's performances, Cathy Yan's Direction and its visual aesthetic, but less positive for the Screenplay.

Following on from the events of 'Suicide Squad', Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) in the opening sequence narrates an animated update from the point of her conception to her childhood years, her time as a former qualified psychiatrist working in Arkham Asylum to the time very recently that she broke up with The Joker (played by Jared Leto in that film) and he cast her out on the streets of Gotham. She is promptly taken in by the well meaning and warm hearted Doc (Dana Lee), the elderly owner of a Chinese restaurant, as the only person to ever show her any kindness. Slowly getting over her abusive relationship, Harley cuts her hair, adopts a spotted hyena (whom she names after Bruce Wayne), takes up roller derby, and hijacks a fuel tanker truck and drives it headlong into the Ace Chemicals plant where she pledged herself originally to the clown prince of crime, and blows the place to kingdom come.

At a nightclub owned by gangster Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), Harley drowns her sorrows by drinking heavily and popping pills, cripples Roman's driver and meets burlesque singer Dinah Lance (aka 'Black Canary' - Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Dinah later rescues an intoxicated Harley from an attempted abduction. Looking on Roman is so impressed by Dinah's fighting skills that he appoints her as his new driver. Meanwhile, Gotham City Police Department Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) investigates a series of mob killings carried out by the so called 'Crossbow Killer' vigilante. Finding Harley's 'J' necklace at the scene of the Ace Chemicals explosion, Montoya notes that Harley must now be in danger from numerous quarters without the security of The Joker to protect her.

Sionis sends Dinah and his sadistic right-hand-man Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) to retrieve a diamond encrypted with the account numbers to the multi-billion dollar fortune of the Bertinelli crime family, who were all massacred fifteen years previously. Young teenage pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) steals the diamond from the pocket of an unsuspecting Zsasz, but is arrested and promptly swallows the valuable rock while en route to the Police Station. 

Harley, involved in a cross city foot chase trying to evade Montoya and several other low life crims she has wronged, is captured by Sionis's men. Zsasz informs Sionis that Cassandra has the diamond, and Dinah calls Montoya alerting her about Cass. As Sionis prepares to have Harley killed by the hand of Zsasz who is rather adept with a sharp instrument in peeling off the faces of his victims, she hurriedly offers to recover the diamond for him. Roman agrees putting a midnight tonight time line on her attempt, and also for added security puts out notification of a US$500K bounty on Cass. 

Having tracked down Cass to the GCPD, she storms her way in and using  a colourful array of non-lethal grenade launcher rounds, she is able to free the young pick-pocket and the pair escape to the evidence warehouse. Upon an ambush by goons seeking Cass' bounty, Harley seeks cover behind a pallet load of impounded cocaine which is promptly shot up sending plumes of the white powder into the air all around her. She unintentionally inhales so heightening her reflexes and fighting abilities and dispenses with them all. She and Cassandra then steal a shopping trolley loaded up with groceries from a local supermarket and bond over a bowl of cereal and cartoons on the TV while hiding out at Harley's apartment.

Soon afterwards Doc is approached in his restaurant for information by the 'Crossbow Killer', who is revealed to be Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Having survived her family's massacre fifteen years prior, as a young child she vowed revenge on the death of her entire family and so trained as an assassin. When the time was right (and that time is now) Helena has been targeting each of the gangsters responsible for the murders of her family, and has successful taken out many of them one by one using her crossbow skills. Harley's apartment is bombed by criminals looking for Cass, after Doc betrayed Harley and sold them out, stating in the aftermath, that 'it's just business' and how now he can relocate and open a real Chinese restaurant!

Harley has a moment of clarity following Doc's 'business' revelation and calls Sionis and offers to turn Cassandra over in exchange for his future protection, agreeing to meet at an abandoned amusement park. Dinah notifies Montoya of the rendezvous, while Zsasz notices Dinah's treacherous text message en route to the park, orders Dinah to pull over and contacts Sionis with this latest update. Devastated by Dinah's betrayal, Roman puts on his face mask from which he gets his villainous pseudonym 'Black Mask' and makes for the amusement park. At the park, Harley has Cass taped to the toilet having plied her with laxative so that she can shit out the diamond. Montoya confronts Harley but is knocked out of a window. Zsasz arrives and tranquilizes Harley before holding Dinah at gunpoint and ordering that she slice open Cass' stomach with a knife to retrieve the diamond. He is promptly killed by an arrow to the neck delivered by Helena, who reveals that Zsasz was the last on the hit list of her family's killers. Montoya climbs back through the window just as the effects of Harley's tranquilizer is wearing off. 

A stand-off ensues with Cass now holding the women at gunpoint out of anger and frustration more than anything, saying that Dinah was about to slice her open, and Harley was about to trade her in to the evil Sionis. The women then observe that Sionis has arrived with a small army of face mask wearing goons all out to claim the bounty on Cass' head. Using Harley's old gear conveniently found in a trunk in the room where they are all standing, the makeshift team of women successfully withstand and fend off their attackers, while safeguarding Cass, in an area of the amusement park that is suddenly illuminated and looks brand new like it was last used yesterday and a far cry from being abandoned and disused.

During the battle, Cass is captured by Sionis, while Montoya is shot, but survives due to her wearing Harley's bulletproof bustier. Dinah reveals her metahuman capability of hypersonic-level screaming, so instantly wiping out the additional goons sided with Sionis. Harley chases after Sionis' car on roller skates, and with assistance from Helena riding a motorcycle, the pair pursue him and Cass. At a nearby pier also fallen into disrepair, the final showdown takes place. Shooting at a shadowy figure masked by the nighttime mist, whom she believes to be Sionis, Harley uses her last bullet as Sionis appears from behind a statue, having missed. Sionis holds Cassandra hostage and is poised to kill her. However, Cassandra pulls the ring from a grenade she had taken from Harley’s weapons trunk earlier, slipping the grenade into Sionis' jacket. Harley drop kicks Sionis backwards sending him toppling into the harbour just before the grenade detonates and blows him into tiny pieces with body parts flying in all directions.

In the aftermath with Sionis criminal regime now destroyed, Montoya quits the GCPD. With the money from the accounts encrypted inside the diamond, she joins forces with Dinah and Helena in setting up a team of vigilantes, who call themselves the 'Birds of Prey'. Harley and Cassandra sell the diamond to a pawnshop, start up their own business, and are seen driving off in a convertible with a recovered Bruce the hyena in the back, and the pair biting into Harley's favoured fried egg and cheese sandwiches.

'Harley Quinn : Birds of Prey' as it has been renamed for the American audience it would seem is not a bad film, but its also not that good either. In the grand pantheon of comic book big screen Superhero movies, of which there have been many, I would rate this somewhere in the bottom half. What is it with the DCEU that they just can't emulate what the MCU have done numerous times over already with their finely crafted storytelling, intricate world building, deep rooted characters with empathy and a meaningful back story that we can relate to, and action set pieces delivered with aplomb. Here Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn steals the show with her unhinged and unpredictable emotions, her acts of extreme violence, moments of pathos and her live for the moment attitude. And Ewan McGregor as villain Roman Sionis seems to be relishing in his role as the dastardly underworld kingpin. As for the Birds of Prey as they come to be known, they are relegated to the final fifteen  minutes of the film and Harley ultimately isn't even one of them! This is certainly a colourful film with a thumping soundtrack and some moments of originality for sure, but the action sequences are frenetic, delivered all too often seemingly to grab the attention and maintain interest but look as though they have been lifted straight out of the Looney Tunes Cartoon playbook. How we are supposed to suspend all belief in seeing Harley and her three other female pals thwart a small army of crims of all shapes and sizes hellbent on a big bounty payday and armed with all manner of hardware really is beyond all comprehension. I guess 'stupid is as stupid does' as someone once said! And in between all the cartoonish action, in the brief moments of relative calm the script is left wanting punctuated with effing and blinding aplenty and what amounts to a fairly shallow storyline.

'Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'  merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GEMINI MAN : Tuesday 15th October 2019

'GEMINI MAN' which I saw at my local independent Odeon earlier this week is an M Rated American Sci-Fi actioner 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 was released in the US last week too, and has so far generated relatively poor Reviews and has grossed US$72M at the Box Office from its Production Budget of circa US$150M.

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. Having shot an alleged terrorist on a moving bullet train from a distance of two kilometres away, Henry has become somewhat disillusioned after 72 confirmed kills and decided that it really is time to retire. While settling down to the free and easy life at his rural home, he one day meets Dani (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is the recently appointed boat rental manager at his local wharf, and they strike up a conversation before Henry takes his boat out for a spot of mackerel fishing. Henry rendezvous with a former colleague aboard his lavish luxury yacht and they enjoy a beer. Henry's friend confides that the alleged terrorist that he killed was in fact an innocent, as advised by an informant named Yuri. Henry has his friend arrange a meeting with Yuri so that he can learn more. Upon leaving Henry looks up at the bright blue cloudless sky and notices a reflection of a drone flying high overhead. Later that night, Henry's friend and former colleague is killed aboard the luxury motor yacht and his body, together with that of his female companion, are thrown overboard.

Spying in on that conversation is Clay Varris (Clive Owen) the ruthless Director of a secret black-ops unit named 'Gemini' and Janet Lassiter (Linda Emond) the Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). They determine that because Henry is now potentially on their trail, that he needs to be eliminated. Varris has his own ideas of how this should be done, but is overruled by Lassiter. Varris reluctantly agrees, but if her plan all goes south, then Varris will step in and do the job his way using his resources.

Upon arriving back at the harbour Henry asks Dani out for a drink at a dock side bar a couple of days later. He rocks up with a bunch of flowers and a copy of Dani's DIA security clearance having done some investigative work to confirm his suspicions that she was/is a fellow agent sent to survey him. Later that night, Henry is woken from his sleep by heavily armed snipers who had tripped an alarm system surrounding the perimeter of his home. Henry quickly and efficiently dispenses with the four armed men, and calls Dani to warn her that they'll likely be after her too by power of association. Sure enough, while commandeering a speed boat at the harbour, Dani is attacked but is able to disarm her assailant, tie him up and knock out a couple of his teeth in the process. The pair then meet up with trusted former colleague, and long time friend Baron (Benedict Wong) who flies them down to the safety of his own home in Colombia to collect their thoughts and plan their next move to meet up with Yuri.

In the meantime, after Lassiter's attempt to neutralise Henry and Dani, Varris intervenes and sends his own top assassin to kill Henry. The pair get involved in a frenzied attack involving automatic weapons, grenades, knives and a frenetic motorcycle chase sequence through the streets of Cartagena culminating in the assassin gaining the upper hand until the local Police arrive to save the day, and save Henry so allowing the assailant to flee. Henry is locked up but is released following the intervention of Dani in her official capacity as a DIA Agent.

During the chase, Henry noticed that the younger man bore an uncanny resemblance to himself and possessed a similar set of skills, but quickly dismissed it. Similarly, arriving back at a safe house, the assassin is revealed to be Clay's adopted son named Junior (Will Smith), who also asks questions about his similarities to Henry's, but his questions are quickly dismissed by Varris who just orders Junior to do his job and take out Henry once and for all. Dani in the meantime has suspicions of her own regarding the connection between the two.

Borrowing a Gulfstream Jet from a good friend, Baron flies Henry and Dani to Budapest to meet with Yuri. There, Dani has a local run a DNA test on a baseball cap left behind by Junior and a blood sample from a bandage used to treat Henry. The test results come back, proving conclusively after three separate assessments, that Junior's and Henry's DNA is identical - a 100% match. They deduce therefore that Junior is a clone of Henry. Later Henry meets Yuri Kovacs (Ilia Volok), who informs him of the cloning project and that the man Henry killed was one of the project’s Scientists. Having designed a method to produce clones devoid of pain or emotion, the Scientist attempted to distance himself from the project and was killed upon being discovered.

In an attempt to get Junior to turn away from Clay's nefarious intentions, Henry calls Janet Lassiter, who agrees to send Junior to bring Dani safely back to the United States. Collecting Dani from a designated historical site in Budapest, Junior sets up a trap for Henry with the intention of this being their final showdown. Strip searched, bound and gagged Dani is still able to forewarn Henry via a covert listening device in her mouth. Ambushing the younger assassin and gaining the upper hand this time, Henry explains to Junior that he is a clone, convincing him by revealing their similar secret traits no one else could know. Escaping back to Gemini HQ, a heartbroken Junior confronts Varris, who claims that he is better than Henry, is still his son, and that the mission must still go on.

Meanwhile Henry, Dani and Baron have flown on the Gulfstream Jet back to the US with Henry getting some much needed repairs to his bruised and bloodied body and sleep en route. Junior by now is less than convinced about Varris' justification for his actions and intentions, and having sneaked out of Gemini HQ locates the three and decides to form a partnership to bring down Varris. The four travel by SUV to the extensive Gemini HQ and are greeted by a small platoon of heavily armed guards with enough fire power to destroy a small town. The SUV is targeted and all but Baron manage to escape as the vehicle explodes in a ball of flame. Henry and Dani escape into a nearby auto shop and Junior makes for a rooftop where he can gain a better view. Varris comes up to the rooftop, there is an exchange of heated words, a brief fist fight, and Junior knocks Varris out cold, retreating to the shop where Henry and Dani are under intense fire, taking out the Gemini goons in the process. 

With the Gemini operatives all killed, the three next face off against another assassin who is seemingly considerably more agile and resilient to bullets, fire, pain and emotion. However, after setting this assassin on fire and Dani plugging him with three high powered semi-automatic bullets directly to the chest at close range, his body lays motionless. Pulling off his full face helmet and visor another younger clone of Junior/Henry is revealed. At this point Varris enters and sees his latest and totally unique creation dead on the ground, and attempts to justify his actions to the three survivors. Junior, is poised to shoot Varris at point blank range, but Henry persuades Junior otherwise, and instead, he kills Varris himself.

Ensuring there are no more clones in existence, that they are finally free from harms way, and that Gemini has been closed down, Henry and Dani six months later meet with Junior, who has enrolled into College under a new identity. Junior has taken the name Jackson, after his mothers surname, and Brogan, Henry's surname.

I didn't like 'Gemini Man', but I didn't loathe it either. My impression of this relative by the numbers fairly formulaic offering sits some where mid-stream. Sure it's entertaining enough, the action set pieces maintain the interest for all the extensive choreography that must have gone into them; Will Smith at age 51 beating up, or getting beaten up by Will Smith at age 23 is interesting and for the most part well executed; and Brogans back up team of Winstead and Wong add some gravitas and levity to the otherwise predictable storyline that we have seen in countless movies before, and more often than not with sharper dialogue. Ang Lee's use of a 120 frames per second renders the film with a clarity of image that you'll either appreciate for what it is or hate it, and this is something that has divided the Critics the world over - some praising the Directors ingenuity and for embracing the technology while others have lambasted him. And then there is the de-aging process seen here with Will Smith the younger and younger still which has also divided audiences and yet is steadily becoming commonplace having seen this used with Samuel L. Jackson in 'Captain Marvel' recently and with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in the upcoming 'The Irishman'. Ang Lee is certainly not one to shy away from the use of cutting edge technology in his films - both in front and behind the camera, but a little more thought to the plot, imbuing the film with a little more humour and a little more attention to the script could have made this film greater than the sum of its parts.

'Gemini Man' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

10, CLOVERFIELD LANE : Monday 4th April 2016.

I finally got around to seeing '10, CLOVERFIELD LANE' earlier this week after procrastinating for a long while about seeing it . . . and I'm pleased I did see it, because it is worth it! This Sci-Fi psychological thriller is Directed by Dan Trachtenberg in his Directing debut, and Produced by J.J.Abrams and is described by him as being the spiritual successor to 2008's found footage 'Cloverfield' which made US$171M off its US$25M budget, was critically well received, and was also Produced by J.J.  This latest film was released in early March Stateside and has so far grossed US$85M off its US$15M budget, and has also has received critical praise.

The film opens with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) packing up her belongings and leaving home with her engagement ring left on the side table and a tear in her eye. As she drives through the night her mobile phone rings and it is Ben (voiced by Bradley Cooper) her boyfriend/fiance pleading with her to come home and not to over react because they had an argument. She answers the phone but doesn't speak, just allowing Ben to say a few words before hanging up on him. A few moments later, and Ben calls back, and as she reaches down to the phone, her car receives a direct hit from a passing vehicle sending her car tumbling end over end through a crash barrier and down a ravine, landing upside down.

She wakes sometime later on a mattress on the floor in an enclosed room behind a bolted door bandaged, and chained to a railing. She panics not knowing what has happened, when, why or how she got there.  Through the door enters big burly Howard (John Goodman) calling for her to rest up, take the medication he is offering and to give him thanks for saving her life and pulling her from the wreckage of her vehicle.  She has no memory of this.  She demands that he allows her to call her parents who will be worried sick, that her boyfriend will be out looking for her, and that she should get proper medical aid at a hospital. Howard then tells her that its is useless - no one is looking, there are no hospitals, and that she is in an underground bunker - safe from the world above that no longer exists as she remembers it - the result of an attack, but of which kind he is uncertain - nuclear, chemical or alien, or maybe all three.

Shortly afterwards we are introduced to Emmett (John Gallagher Jnr.) who is also holed up in the bunker but is there voluntarily as he originally helped Howard build the thing, and when the attack came - which he witnessed - he forced his way inside. Inside the bunker therefore are the three of them and we learn that Howard is an ex-Navy man, with conspiracy theories aplenty but had been planning and building his Doomsday Bunker for years knowing that such a day would come . . . and it did, very recently, and they could be down there for two years until the air above clears and becomes breathable once more. Michele doesn't know if she can believe him as his story seems too fantastical.

For a while some relative normalcy is resumed below ground with enough supplies, running water, power and the comforts of home to keep them occupied for a long while. Michelle however, hatches an escape plan which sees her get so close only to be confronted with a heavily skin infected woman hammering at the outer door of the bunker demanding to be let in. Michelle dare not let her in given what she is witnessing as Howard pleads with her not to go outside. Could he be telling the truth after all?

As time progresses a few truths are uncovered by Michelle and Emmett that lead them to hatch a second escape plan, but this is partially uncovered by Howard, who takes his anger out on Emmett who concocts a cover up story. Needless to say is doesn't end well for Emmett involving a gun shot at point blank range and a tub of perchloric acid. This is the catalyst for Michelle to take things into her own hands and act quickly now or face Howard's unhinged state.

Ultimately Michelle escapes after turning the tables, and the perchloric acid on Howard which results in the bunker exploding in a ball of flame and the old fella buying the farm. Outside using a makeshift biohazard suit and gas mask that she has fashioned together from a shower curtain and plastic drinks containers, Michelle is free and notices a flock of birds flying overhead - proof then that the atmosphere cannot be polluted. As she stands on the roof of Howard's car looking over the corn fields she spies in the near distance the awful truth about the outside world, and the claims that Howard was making. Needless to say it doesn't end there as Michelle is confronted with the truth up close & personal, and needs to think and act quickly if she is to survive.

This film is well crafted and the tension delivered by the three actors is at times palpable. There are a few jump scares too along the way which help maintain the attention and build the suspense, and the story twists and turns and it's not until the end that we discover if Howard was really telling the truth. You'll just have to catch it for yourself to find out . . . I don't think you'll be disappointed.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-