ARGYLLE : Tuesday 6th February 2024.

I saw the M Rated 'ARGYLLE' earlier this week at my local multiplex, and this spy action comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Matthew Vaughn whose previous feature film Directorial credits include his debut with 'Layer Cake' in 2004, then 'Kick-Ass' in 2010, 'X-Men : First Class' in 2011, 'Kingsman : The Secret Service' in 2014, 'Kingsman : The Golden Circle' in 2017 and 'The King's Man' in 2021. The film was released last week too in the US, cost about US$200M to produce, has so far recovered just US$41M, has garnered generally negative critical reviews and is apparently the first in a trilogy of films, with a third trilogy of films coming from Vaughn's Marv Studio that will see a crossover with the 'Kingsman' franchise.

Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), is the reclusive and introverted author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie (whom she adores and takes everywhere with her). She has just completed the draft of her fifth book in the hugely successful 'Argylle' series and calls her mother Ruth (Catherine O'Hara) for her opinion. Her mum read through the draft the previous night and thought is was great but the closing chapter needed more work, rather than leaving it as a cliffhanger for the sixth book in the series. Elly travel by train to visit her Mum so that they can complete the story together with a more concrete ending.

On the train journey, Elly is saved from an ambush by an actual spy, Aidan Wylde (Sam Rockwell), who explains to her that a devious organisation, known as the Division, has targeted her because her Argylle novels seem to have an uncanny knack of predicting their future. Aidan travels with a reluctant Elly to London, England in a private jet (with Elly admitting that she has a deep rooted fear of flying and it is her first time in a plane), hoping that her next chapter will reveal how to stop the Division. 

Once in London, the pair search for a Masterkey' that would help expose the Division that Elly had also referenced in her novels. After fending off a small and very well equipped army of the Division's agents, the pair decamp to a run down hotel to rest up and get refreshed. While Aidan is in the bathroom supposedly taking a shower, Elly overhears him on the phone speaking to someone about how he wants to put a bullet in her head. Elly calls her parents for help who get on the first plane bound for London, and agree to meet in a suite at The Savoy Hotel. As Ruth and Barry Conway (Bryan Cranston) arrive, Aidan reveals that they are in fact both operatives working for the Division sent to capture her, forcing him and Elly to fend them off before fleeing the scene, chased down by a group of the Division's agents. 

Escaping to France, Aidan and former CIA Deputy Director Alfred Solomon (Samuel L. Jackson) who resides in a high tech winery, reveal that Argylle is not entirely fictional and that Elly is in fact agent Rachel Kylle who was captured and brainwashed by the Division five years ago by the two people masquerading as her parents. She put her suppressed memories into her novels. With the latest Argylle novel, Elly was about to reveal the whereabouts of the Masterkey before her cover was blown.

Aidan and Rachel travel to Saudi Arabia, where they retrieve the Masterkey from Saba Al-Badr, the Keeper of Secrets (Sofia Boutella) but are soon cornered by the Division and are knocked out and brought to the Division's base. Ritter (Bryan Cranston), the Division's Director, reveals that Rachel was one of their most loyal assets, after which she offers to interrogate Aidan, subsequently shooting him in the chest. She also locates Alfred for them, but reveals that she in fact sent him the Masterkey, betraying the Division. Ritter stops the transmission and she and a surviving Aidan (after he has plugged himself with four shots of adrenalin) fight their way through the base, which turns out to be an oil tanker far out to sea, eventually killing him. Ruth, who pretended to be Rachel's mother previously, uses a mental trigger code to turn her on Aidan, until she is killed, after which Alfred finally receives the message at his French winery.

Agents Argylle, Wyatt (John Cena) and Keira (Ariana DeBose) the fictional agents from her novels are seen aboard a speedboat fleeing the oil tanker before it explodes into a ball of flame, with Elly's voiceover saying that for the first time Agent Argylle was free. In the closing scene Rachel resumes her novelist persona, and publishes her final novel in the series, where at a reading, the real Argylle reveals himself, much to her shock and confusion. In a post-credit scene, set some twenty years prior, a young Argylle is seen to be ordering a drink at The King's Man pub, where he is revealed to be a Kingsman agent, with the first novel being based on his life.

I didn't hate 'Argylle' but then I also didn't love it, and it some how manages to traverse the line between 'John Wick' (creative action aplenty) and 'Get Smart' (spy comedy romp) aided by some questionable CGI effects, an overly convoluted plot with more twists and turns than you could ever hope to poke a stick at, an excessive run time of two hours twenty minutes, but is just about saved by an ensemble cast who seem to be all in on the silliness most notably Howard, Rockwell and Cavill. Mathew Vaughn here once again demonstrates his skill at the colourful over-the-top action set pieces, but there is really very little new here that we haven't already seen in his previous 'Kingsman' and 'Kick-Ass' franchises, and so Mr. Vaughn, perhaps it's time for a radical rethink of your future filmography. 

'Argylle' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st February 2024.

The 47th Goteborg Film Festival this years runs from Friday 26th January through until Sunday 4th February in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. It has developed and grown strong for more than forty years and is today the largest film festival in the Nordic countries and the most important annual meeting place in the Nordic film industry. Today, the film festival is also one of the biggest cultural events in Sweden and the audience’s response testifies to the fact that the event has found its place in both hearts and minds. What once started as a bold dream of two cinephiles has become a stable and appreciated part of Swedish cultural life and a significant player in the international film industry. The festival runs for eleven days over late January and early February and attracts around 270,000 visitors, in cinemas and online. During the festival period, about 250 films from some eighty countries will be shown across seven hundred or so screenings.

The Dragon Awards are the main thrust of the competitive festival, and which are presented in the following categories : Dragon Award Best Nordic Film; Dragon Award Best Acting; Audience Dragon Award Best Nordic Film; Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary; Dragon Award Best International Film; Honorary Dragon Award; Nordic Honorary Dragon Award and Dragon Award Best Swedish Short.

Those films competing in the International Competition are given below :-

* 'Days of Happiness' - from Canada and Directed by Chloe Robichaud. 

* 'Woman of . . . ' - from Poland and Sweden and Directed by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert.

* 'There's Still Tomorrow' - from Italy and Directed by Paola Cortellesi.

* 'Girls Will Be Girls' - from India, France, US and Norway and Directed by Shuchi Talati.

* 'The Reeds' - from Turkey and Bulgaria and Directed by Cemil Agacikoglu.

* 'La chimera' - from Italy, France and Switzerland and Directed by Alice Rohrwacher.

* 'Banel & Adama' - from France, Senegal, Mali and Qatar and Directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy.

* 'Do You Love Me?' - from Ukraine and Sweden and Directed by Tonia Noyabrova.

* 'Great Absence' - from Japan and Directed by Kei Chika-ura.

* 'Sujo' - from Mexico, France and US and Directed by Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero.

* 'Totem' - from Mexico, France, Denmark and the Netherlands and Directed by Lila Aviles.

* 'Ichiko' - from Japan and Directed by Akihiro Toda.

* 'The Universal Theory' - from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and Directed by Timm Kroger.

* 'Red Island' - from France, Belgium and Madagascar and Directed by Robin Campillo.

* 'Fremont' - from the US and Directed by Babak Jalali.

* 'Blaga's Lessons' - from Bulgaria and Germany and Directed by Stephan Komandarev.

* 'Puan' - from Argentina, Italy, Germany, France and Brazil and Directed by Benjamin Naishtat and Maria Alche.

* 'Animal' - from Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus and Bulgaria and Directed by Sofia Exarchou.

The films in the Nordic Competition comprise the following titles :-

* 'The Missile' - from Finland and Estonia and Directed by Miia Turvo. World Premiere.

* 'My Wonderful Stranger' - from Norway, France and Sweden and Directed by Johanna Pyykko.

* 'Eternal' - from Denmark, Iceland and Norway and Directed by Ulaa Salim.

* 'Handling the Undead' - from Norway, Sweden and Greece and Directed by Thea Hvistendahl.

* 'The Hypnosis' - from Sweden and Norway and Directed by Ernst De Geer.

* 'Madame Luna' - from Sweden, Italy and Denmark and Directed by Daniel Espinosa.

* 'Mother, Couch' - from US, Sweden and Denmark and Directed by Niclas Larsson. Starring Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans and Lara Flynn Boyle.

* 'The Promised Land' - from Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Norway and Directed by Nikolaj Arcel. Starring Mads Mikkelsen.

* 'Solitude' - from Iceland and Slovakia and Directed by Ninna Palmadottir.

* 'Kalak' - from Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Greenland and Directed by Isabella Eklof.

In addition, Ewan McGregor is to be presented with the Honorary Dragon Award and Danish Actress Sidse Babett Knudsen is to be presented with the Nordic Honorary Dragon Award.

For the synopsis of the afore mentioned films in competition, plus the details of the other competitive strands and the full programme of films being showcased, you can go to the official website at : https://goteborgfilmfestival.se/en/

Turning then to this weeks four new movies gracing a big screen Odeon near you, we launch with an American spy action comedy offering about an introverted spy novelist who is drawn into the activities of a sinister underground syndicate, where the line between the written word of fiction and reality become increasingly blurred. Then we have an American drama about how after twenty years following their notorious tabloid romance, a married couple buckle under the pressure when a Hollywood Actress meets them to conduct research for a film about their past. Next up is a story of a Korean single mother who raises her teenage son in the suburbs of 1990's Canada, determined to provide a better life for him than the one she left behind; before closing out the week, and for two nights only in select cinema's, is a concert film of a greatest hits tour by an English synth-pop duo who formed in 1981 and who recorded this film on 7th July 2023 at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.

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

'ARGYLLE' (Rated M) - this spy action comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Matthew Vaughn whose previous feature film Directorial credits include his debut with 'Layer Cake' in 2004, then 'Kick-Ass' in 2010, 'X-Men : First Class' in 2011, 'Kingsman : The Secret Service' in 2014, 'Kingsman : The Golden Circle' in 2017 and 'The King's Man' in 2021. The film is released this week too in the US, cost about $200M to produce and is apparently the first in a trilogy of films, with a third trilogy of films coming from Vaughn's Marv Studio that will see a crossover with the 'Kingsman' franchise. 

Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), is the reclusive and introverted author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly's fictional books, which revolve around a secret agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate, begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organisation, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aidan (Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly's fictional world and her real one begins to muddle. Also starring an ensemble cast that takes in Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, Richard E. Grant and Sofia Boutella. 

'MAY DECEMBER' (Rated MA15+) - is an American drama film Directed by Todd Haynes whose prior feature film making credits take in his debut in 1991 with 'Poison' then the likes of 'Velvet Goldmine' in 1998, 'Far from Heaven' in 2002, 'I'm Not There' in 2007, 'Carol' in 2015, 'Dark Waters' in 2019 and 'The Velvet Underground' in 2021. Here, set in comfortable and picturesque Savannah, Georgia, twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe, twenty-three years younger than her, (Charles Melton) brace themselves for their twins to graduate from high school. When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) comes to spend time with the family to better understand Gracie, who she will be portraying in a film, family dynamics unravel under the pressure of the outside gaze. Joe, never having processed what happened in his youth, starts to confront the reality of life as an empty-nester at thirty-six. And as Elizabeth and Gracie study each other, the similarities and differences between the two women begin to ebb and flow. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at last years Cannes Film Festival, where it Premiered in late May, before being released in select cinema's in the US from mid-November and before streaming on Netflix from 1st December. It has gained universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$809K from a production budget of US$20M. 

'RICEBOY SLEEPS' (Rated M) - this 2022 Canadian drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Anthony Shim in his second feature film making effort following 2019's 'Daughter'. This film saw its World Premiere screening in the Platform Prize programme at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September 2022, where it claimed the top prize in this category, and then saw its International Premiere at the Busan International Film Festival in October 2022, before its release in its native Canada in mid-March last year. Only now is it released here in Australia, having so far collected twenty-nine award wins and another nineteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit and generating widespread critical praise. Here then, So-Young (Choi Seung-yoon) is a Korean single mother raising her adolescent son Dong-Hyun (Ethan Hwang) in the suburbs of Canada during the 1990's. Determined to provide a better life for him than the one she left behind in her native country, she does her best to overcome the constant racial and cultural challenges that confront them. As Dong-Hyun grows into his teenage years, he becomes increasingly curious about his Korean heritage and in particular, about his deceased father – a topic that So-Young refuses to address. Instead, she is set on continuing to build on her new life which now includes a relationship with a kind Korean-Canadian man who is eager to take on the role of Dong-Hyun’s surrogate father. This only exacerbates the tense relationship between her and Dong-Hyun. Then, sudden devastating news prompts the mother and son to return to South Korea for the first time since their initial departure with hopes of reconnecting to their roots and reconciling their tragic past.

'PET SHOP BOYS : DREAMWORLD' (Rated G) - The Pet Shop Boys bring their critically-acclaimed greatest hits tour, 'Dreamworld', to movie theatres worldwide for two nights only! Captured live at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe put on an exhilarating performance, featuring a lavish stage show, full back-up band and mesmerising visual backdrops, in front of an exuberant, sold-out audience. With film direction from leading live performance Director David Barnard in a fourteen-camera shoot, this brand new concert film includes all of Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits including 'West End Girls', 'Suburbia', 'Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)', 'Left to My Own Devices', 'Rent', Domino Dancing', 'Love Comes Quickly', 'Always on My Mind', 'What Have I Done to Deserve This' and 'It's a Sin'.

With four new release movie offerings 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 at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE KING'S MAN : Tuesday 11th January 2022.

I saw 'THE KING'S MAN' at my local multiplex this week and this MA15+ Rated spy action film is Directed, written for the screen, based on a story and Co-Produced by Matthew Vaughn, and is based on the 2012 comic book series created by Mark Miller and Dave Gibbons known as 'The Secret Service'. This film serves as a prequel to 2014's 'The Kingsman : The Secret Service' and 2017's 'Kingsman : The Golden Circle' both Directed also by Matthew Vaughn which between them grossed US$826M off the back of combined production budgets of US$195M. This film was released on 22nd December in the US, on 26th December 2021 in the UK and was last week released in Australia having been delayed several times from an original November 2019 release date, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received mixed reviews from critics, grossing US$75M so far. 

At the turn of the 20th Century Orlando, the Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes), his wife Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara) and young son Conrad (Alexander Shaw) visit a concentration camp in South Africa during the Boer War while working for the Red Cross. Emily is killed during a Boer sniper attack on the camp, causing pacifist Orlando to determine that the world needs someone to head off such conflicts before they arise. Fast forward twelve years, and Orlando has recruited two of his servants, Shola (Djimon Hounsou) and Polly (Gemma Arterton), into his spy network dedicated to protecting the United Kingdom and the British Empire from the imminent Great War. Conrad (Harris Dickinson) is eager to fight on the front line but is forbidden to join up by his protective father, who persuades his close friend Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War (Charles Dance), not to let him join the army. 

Upon the express wishes of Lord Kitchener, Conrad and Orlando ride with Orlando's friend Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Ron Cook) through Sarajevo, and Conrad saves the Archduke from a bomb thrown by Gavrilo Princip (Joel Basman), a rebel intent on sparking a war. Later, Princip runs into the Archduke's entourage again, this time succeeding in fatally shooting Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. Orlando's group learn that Princip was part of a plot to pit the German, Russian, and British empires against each other. The group, headed by the mysterious Shepherd from a secret mountain-top headquarters, have their own network of agents, including the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), a trusted adviser to Tsar Nicholas (Tom Hollander) of Russia. Rasputin, working under the direction of the Shepherd, manipulates Tsar Nicholas by poisoning his young son, and only curing him when the Tsar agrees to leave the war. 

Conrad is notified of Rasputin's manipulation by his cousin Felix Yusupov (Aaron Vodovoz). Knowing the Western Front will be left vulnerable if Russia exits the war, Conrad delivers this information to Kitchener and his personal assistant Major Morton (Matthew Goode), who embark for Russia on a steam ship. Their ship is torpedoed by a submarine, which is split in two and sinks rapidly in a ball of flame apparently killing them both. Word of Kitchener's death reaches Orlando, spurring him to head to Russia with Shola, Polly, and Conrad to put an end to Rasputin once and for all. At a Christmas party hosted by Prince Yusupov, Orlando, Shola, Conrad, and Rasputin get into a fight with the skirmish only ending when Polly shoots Rasputin between the eyes and kills him.

Again, at the Shepherd's insistence, Erik Jan Hanussen (Daniel Bruhl), an adviser to Kaiser Wilhelm II (Tom Hollander), sends a secret diplomatic communication that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico, hoping to sidetrack Britain and the USA. Although the message is intercepted by British intelligence and given to the United States, President Woodrow Wilson (Ian Kelly) refuses to join the war without absolute proof. The Shepherd recruits Vladimir Lenin (August Diehl) and orders his Bolsheviks to overthrow the Tsar and remove Russia from the war, and sending an assassin to kill off the Romanovs.

Now nineteen years of age, Conrad is free to join the war effort without intervention from his father. He is commissioned into the Grenadier Guards against his father's wishes. Orlando meets with King George V (Tom Hollander) who agrees to give his son an administrative pen pushing desk job and thus summons Conrad back to Britain. Conrad sends back a young soldier in his place named Lance Corporal Archie Reid (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), giving him the codename 'Lancelot' to send a message to his father. Disguised as Archie, a member of the Black Watch, Royal Regiment of Scotland, Conrad volunteers for a mission into No-Man's Land to retrieve information from a British agent wounded there, but is mistaken for a German spy upon his return and executed at point blank range with a bullet to the head. However, the information he retrieved from the spy is the proof President Wilson required to enter the war. Orlando is devastated by the news of his sons death, and crawls inside a bottle of Scotch to drown his sorrows, refuses to eat, shave, and leave the house for weeks on end. It takes King George to visit Orlando and present him with a Victoria Cross medal awarded posthumously to Conrad for gallantry and valour and Polly to finally make him come to his senses, after she resigns from his service, which he ultimately refuses to accept. 

Orlando's group learns that President Wilson is being blackmailed with a film of him being seduced by one of the Shepherd's agents, Mata Hari (Valerie Pachner). Orlando locates her at the American Embassy and after overpowering her recovers her cashmere scarf, made from rare wool only found in one specific mountainous region. Having identified this location as the Shepherd's base of operations, Orlando, Shola, and Polly head there and fight their way inside. Morton, who had faked his own death and sunk the battleship, is revealed to be the Shepherd (Matthew Goode). Orlando and Shola fight and kill the Shepherd while Polly recovers the original film negative of Wilson's seduction and returns it to the American President, who promptly burns it on the open fireplace in the Oval Office, so allowing his country's forces to mobilise, and ultimately bring an end to the Great War.

Fast forward twelve months after the end of the war, and Orlando has purchased the Kingsman Tailor Shop as a front for his organisation. Gathered around the table as Orlando announces the formation of the original Kingsman are Polly (codenamed Galahad), King George (Percival), Archie Reid (Lancelot), and US Ambassador Chester King (Stanley Tucci as Bedivere) as Shola enters the room late and is given the codename Merlin, with Orlando taking the name of Arthur - all from the legend of King Arthur in honour of Conrad. Remain in your seat for a mid-credits sequence in which Hanussen has assumed the mantle of the Shepherd and in talks with Lenin introduces him to the Romanovs assassin - one young Adolf Hitler (David Kross).

Like Quentin Tarantino's movie 'Inglorious Basterds' did with reimagining the outcome of WWII, here Matthew Vaughn reimagines the outcome of WWI and does so with a comic book style that helps keep the narrative fresh and at times surprising. The action set pieces, of which there are plenty, are well handled but offer up nothing new that we haven't seen a hundred times before, but which are nonetheless likely to satisfy fans of the first two films in the series. Whilst there are some moments of humour in this film, the storyline here offers up more emotion, and greater sincerity than its predecessors which helps in keeping the wild running plot grounded and relatable . . . just! Ralph Fiennes is dependable as ever in his role as the main protagonist here and playing largely against type just as Colin Firth did in the first two instalments, and proving just how adept he is at close quarter hand to hand combat, and maintaining that stiff British upper lip whilst dressed in the best threads of the era. The remaining ensemble cast all deliver too, especially Rhys Ifans in his over the top camp performance as Rasputin, who ultimately gets his comeuppance that isn't too far removed from the truth it seems. All up, 'The King's Man' is an enjoyable enough romp through an alternate WWI history, is an acceptable origin story, has some standout performances but fails to deliver on what made 'Kingsman : The Secret Service' so memorable and fresh, and is only just a notch or two above 'Kingsman : The Golden Circle'. 

'The King's Man' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 6th January 2022.

As the film and television awards season really begins to heat up in the lead up to Hollywood's night of nights, culminating with the Oscars Ceremony, at the start of 2022 is as good a time as any to mark in your diaries when the main events in the celebratory calendar fall. As such, detailed below are the main milestones :

* January 7th - the annual 23rd AFI (American Film Institute) Awards - subsequently postponed due to COVID concerns.

* January 9th - the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards (subsequently postponed due to COVID concerns).

* January 9th - the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards.

* January 11th - the National Board of Review Awards.

* January 15th - the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) Governor's Awards.

* January 26th - the 11th AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) International Awards.

* January 31st - the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

* February 26th - the 33rd annual PGA (Producers Guild of America) Awards.

* February 26th - the 49th annual Annie Awards.

* February 26th - the 72nd annual ACE (American Cinema Editors) Awards.

* February 26th - the 53rd NACCP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) Image Awards.

* February 27th - the 28th annual SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards.

* March 2nd - the 13th annual AAFCA (African American Film Critics Association) Awards.

* March 6th - the 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards.

* March 12th- the 74th annual DGA (Director's Guild of America) Awards.

* March 13th - the 75th annual BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards.

* March 20th - the 75th annual WGA (Writers Guild of America) Awards.

* March 20th - the 36th annual ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) Awards.

* March 27th - the 94th annual Academy Awards.

This week then we have four new movies coming to an Odeon near you, kicking off with a much delayed spy action film that sees how one man must race against time to stop history's worst tyrants plotting a war together that could wipe out millions. Next up we have the story of a washed-up porn star who clashes with his estranged wife after returning to his small coastal hometown in Texas. This is followed by an Aussie doco celebrating the life and career of the news making cricket spin bowler and scandal magnet Shane Warne; before closing out the week that sees this kooky and spooky family get tangled up in more wacky adventures and find themselves involved in hilarious run-ins with all sorts of unsuspecting characters as they embark on a road trip in their haunted camper van across America.

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

'THE KING'S MAN' (Rated MA15+) - is a spy action film Directed, written for the screen, based on a story and co-produced by Matthew Vaughn and is based on the 2012 comic book series created by Mark Miller and Dave Gibbons known as 'The Secret Service'. This film serves as a prequel to 2014's 'The Kingsman : The Secret Service' and 2017's 'Kingsman : The Golden Circle' both Directed also by Matthew Vaughn which between them grossed US$826M off the back of combined production budgets of US$195M. This film was released on 22nd December in the US, on 26th December 2021 in the UK and is this week released in Australia having been delayed several times from an original November 2019 release date, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received mixed reviews from critics, grossing over US$48M so far. 

Set in the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against a cabal of history's worst and most devilish criminal masterminds from plotting a war to wipe out millions of people and destroy humanity as we know it. Starring and ensemble cast taking in Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Bruhl, Djimon Hounsou, Charles Dance, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Stanley Tucci and David Kross.

'RED ROCKET' (Rated MA15+) - this American comedy drama film is Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Sean Baker whose prior film making credits take in his debut in 2000 with 'Four Letter Words' to 'Take Out' in 2004, 'Tangerine' in 2015 and 'The Florida Project' in 2017. The film saw its World Premier screening at last years Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or and was released in limited cinema's in early December 2021 in the US and now gets a release in Australia. Here, Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), a formerly successful but now near penniless adult entertainer who, in 2016, returns to his Gulf Coast hometown of Texas City after a seventeen year absence and arrives on the doorstep of the modest home shared by his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) and her mother Lil (Brenda Deiss). After trying unsuccessfully to land a job at a local diner and a variety store he persuades Leondria (Judy Hill) a pot dealer to give him his old job back. Ultimately Mikey cares less about people's affection and acceptance over persuading them to do what he wants, with the local townsfolk bearing witness to his various schemes and scams. The film has picked up five award wins and another fifteen nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, has generated largely positive critical acclaim and has so far recovered US$710K from its production budget of just US$1M.

'SHANE' (Rated M) - this Australian, UK and Northern Ireland co-produced documentary film is Directed by Jon Carey and Adam Darke. Mastering the difficult art of spin bowling after being kicked out of Australian rules football for not being a good enough player proved a pivotal choice for 19-year-old Shane Warne – declared unfit and fat, he transformed himself. When success came, so did fame and adulation, money, and prestige but a betting scandal, drugs scandal, and affairs that cost him his marriage and threatened to derail his career. From the lows of a twelve month ban he rebuilt his cricket, his career, and his reputation as seen when he travels the world revealing all aspects of his extraordinary life and career. 'Shane' celebrates the life and career of one of Australia’s most iconic sports personalities, and features interviews with Lord Ian Botham, Sachin Tendulkar, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Isa Guha, Ian Chappell, Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, Shane and his family.

'THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 : ROAD TRIP' (Rated PG) - is an American computer animated supernatural black comedy road film that is the sequel to 2019's 'The Addams Family' that grossed US$204M off the back of a US$24M production budget, and is Directed once again by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan. This film was released on 1st October last year and has so far grossed US$110M - only now getting its cinematic release in Australia. Here we find Morticia (voiced by Charlize Theron) and Gomez (Oscar Isaac) distraught that their children are growing up, skipping family dinners, and totally consumed with 'scream time'. To reclaim their bond they decide to cram Wednesday (Chloe Grace Moretz), Pugsley (Javon Walton), Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll) and the crew into their haunted camper and hit the road for one last miserable family vacation. Their adventure across America takes them out of their element and into hilarious run-ins with their iconic cousin, Itt (Snoop Dogg), as well as many new kooky characters. What could possibly go wrong? Also starring Bette Midler, Bill Hader, Conrad Vernon and Wallace Shawn. The film has generated mostly negative Reviews so far.

With four new release movie offerings 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 at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KINGSMAN : THE GOLDEN CIRCLE - Tuesday 26th September 2017.

'KINGSMAN : THE GOLDEN CIRCLE' which I saw earlier last week, is the follow up film to 2014's first instalment in this growing action spy comedy franchise 'Kingsman : The Secret Service' which was both a critical and commercial success taking in US$415M from its US$81M budget outlay. Now some two years later Matthew Vaughn returns to the Director's chair for this hotly anticipated, eagerly awaited, much hyped sequel, on which he also Co-Produces and Co-Writes the Screenplay based on the comic book series of the same name by Mark Miller and Dave Gibbons. Released in the UK and the US at the same time as in Australia, the film cost US$104M, has so far taken US$193M, and has garnered mixed Reviews from Critics largely about the ensemble of new characters, the heavily stylised action sequences, the overly long running time and the lack of originality that heralded the first film. Vaughn has confirmed that he has a treatment already in mind for a third film in the franchise and has indicted Dwayne Johnson might be the ideal candidate to play the arch villain next time around.

This instalment takes place some twelve months following the death of Harry Hart (aka Galahad) at the hands of Richmond Valentine in the previous film. Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) has subsequently taken on the mantle of Galahad and is shacking up in some well to do mews house in London with Princess Tilde of Sweden (Hanna Alstrom). The action ramps up from the get go with a kinetic car chase sequence as Eggsy's private Kingsman issue London cab is ambushed by former Kingsman trainee turned rogue Charlie Hesketh (Edward Holcroft) who lost an arm and his vocal chords during the final climax that saw an end to Valentine and his plans. As the two wrestle in a well choreographed, albeit well over the top, car chase and in vehicle close quarter fight sequence across the night time streets of London, Eggsy is able to thwart his adversary and effect his getaway. He dispatches his adversary through the windscreen of his London cab, although far from dead, leaving behind his bionic arm attached to the hand grip above the door. Eggsy disappears into the River Thames as his cab assumes submarine qualities and enters an underwater subterranean access hatch deep within the bowels of Kingsman London HQ.

Hesketh's dismembered bionic arm however, can be remotely accessed, and so it hacks into the cabs on board computer system and downloads every piece of intelligence from the Kingsman's servers. While Eggsy is otherwise engaged with his Princess meeting her parents for the first time in Sweden, a co-ordinated missile attack takes out the Kingsman HQ and all of the Agents scattered around the British countryside. Only Eggsy survives having been out of the country, and Merlin (Mark Strong) whose pay grade kept him off the Kingsman files.

Following the Doomsday Protocol which Merlin is aware of, leads them to reveal a secretly stashed bottle of aged 'Statesman' Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. The pair drown their sorrows and toast their dearly departed colleagues downing almost the entire contents of the bottle, when the Kingsman insignia is revealed on the reverse side of the label. Seeing this as a vital clue, they head for Kentucky, recognising that there is some kind of connection here.

Arriving at the Statesman Whiskey distillery they are greeted by Agent Tequila (Channing Tatum) who treats them with suspicion and starts to interrogate them, revealing that Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is in fact alive having survived the gunshot wound to his head, but is suffering from acute amnesia. Agent Ginger Ale (Halle Berry) intervenes and confirms their identities as allies from Britain. In turn they are introduced to Champagne ('Champ' for short) (Jeff Bridges) who heads up Statesman and he briefs Eggsy and Merlin about a terrorist organisation known as The Golden Circle which they are investigating.

Tequila develops a mysterious blue rash that covers his body, and so is taken off the case and is replaced by Agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal). Eggsy and Whiskey's first mission is to trace Hesketh's girlfriend Clara Von Gluckfberg (Poppy Delevingne) which takes them to the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, and plant a tracking device on her. Mission accomplished Eggsy returns to Kentucky to see if he can get Harry to snap out of his amnesia. Eggsy manages to successfully trigger Harry's memories by threatening to shoot a Yorkshire Terrier puppy that reminds Harry of his dearly beloved former companion pet Mr. Pickles that has subsequently moved on to the great kennel in the sky.

Meanwhile, back in some remote Cambodian jungle hideaway sits Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore) who heads up the largest single drug cartel in the world, is as a result the worlds richest woman and an aspiring megalomaniac, but is firmly off everyone's radar and she's not to happy about that! She broadcasts a message around the world that she has placed a toxin in every recreational drug available on the market and which she so successfully peddles. This toxin causes a blue rash to develop at first passing through another three phases - manic behaviour, paralysis and ultimately death most hideous. She has a fast acting antidote however, in plentiful supply, and offers it to the world if the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) ends his War on Drugs and offers her and her business interests immunity from the law. The President decides to quarantine every effected user across the USA by racking, stacking and packing 'em high in cages in stadia around the country. Included in those, is his Chief of Staff, Fox (Emily Watson).

Merlin intercepts a phone call from Clara to Hesketh saying that she is infected and has the blue rash. Hesketh orders his girlfriend to meet in Italy where he will give her the antidote. Eggsy and Whiskey infiltrate the mountain top hideaway where the antidote is being stored by the millions in single serve viles. There Eggsy steals a single sample for duplicating and in their hasty retreat down the snowy mountain in a cable car, he and Whiskey fall victim to Hesketh's remote control trickery as the cable car goes rogue, breaks free of its cable and plummets down the mountain towards a ski lodge. Needless to say Eggsy saves the day, and retreating to a safe house they are quickly discovered by Poppy's henchmen.

In the exchange of gun fire Whiskey causes the sample bottle to smash to the ground. Harry shoots Whiskey in the head at point blank range believing that there is something not quite right about that Statesman. Eggsy is mortified by Harry's actions and quickly administers an alpha-gel pack to Whiskey's head, as they did with Harry when he was shot, to preserve the integrity of the brain as much as possible and begin the healing process by using rapid acting nano technology. Later, Princess Tilde calls Eggsy in a state of desperate panic saying that she has developed a blue rash!

Later the three amigos discover the secret jungle hideaway of The Golden Circle at 'Poppy Land' in deepest darkest Cambodia, and so they fly via Statesman private plane to that destination - absolute first class all the way with all the amenities and 'toys' on hand. Upon landing Eggsy treads on a concealed land mine in the undergrowth on the edge of Poppy Land. Merlin rescues him using a freezing spray, but in so doing treads on another and has no freeze spray stuff left, and so chooses to do the noble thing and sacrifice himself while taking out the armed security guards in the process. It's a tearful farewell as Eggsy and Harry look on.

Storming the compound Eggsy and Harry first take out the numerous henchmen. Hesketh with his bionic arm confronts Eggsy, but ultimately the good guy wins the day, while Harry tussles with two fierce robotic canines that are Hell bent on ripping him to shreds. With Hesketh dead and the two dogs defunct, the two Kingsman turn attention to Poppy and retrieving the briefcase and the access code that will mobilise the drones around the world sending the antidote to rescue all those blue rashed individuals knocking on death's door. Eggsy injects Poppy with a stronger dose of her own toxin cooked up by Merlin, and as a result she succumbs to the accelerated effects very quickly and dies on the floor, but not before muttering the access code password.

Before Eggsy and Harry can activate the access code in drops Agent Whiskey, fully recovered from his head shot thanks to the fast acting alpha-gel treatment administered by Eggsy earlier. It turns out that Whiskey has an ulterior motive for working against the Kingsman and the Statesman in that he lost his pregnant wife to two drug users when she got caught in an exchange of gun fire, and now he is on a personal crusade working rogue to eliminate all drug users. Eggsy and Harry fight with Whiskey until the latter is man handled upside down into a meat grinder, coming out as prime mincemeat the other end. They key in the access code to the briefcase console, so activating thousands of drones around the world to carry the antidote to save millions of lives.

In the wash up, Chief of Staff Fox has the President impeached for conspiring to commit genocide on an unprecedented scale against all drug users, Champagne makes an announcement that the Statesman have purchased a Scottish whisky distillery to help rebuild Kingsman and in the process offers either one of them the opportunity to step into Whiskey's empty shoes, but they both decline. Ginger Ale steps up and is accepted as Whiskey's replacement. Eggsy marries his blushing Swedish bride, and Agent Tequila joins the Kingsman.

There's a lot to like about this film! If you're a follower of Saville Row gentlemen's fashion, kinetic over the top stylised action sequences, tongue in cheek wise-crack humour, spy type gadgetry aplenty, watching a couple of blokes get minced (literally) and another two cut/torn in half, a plot that has takes leave of itself, an A-list cast and all the spit and polish that a US$100M+ budget affords, then this film is for you. But, this films lacks the originality and the creativity of the first instalment that made that offering so fresh and such a success, and at a running time of approaching two hours twenty minutes it is easily twenty minutes too long. Seeing Colin Firth again playing against type is a joy it must be said and he does so with a suave debonair grace that harks back to Sean Connery's Bond, and Mark Strong's Merlin adds a touch of grounded realism to the unfolding proceedings. As for Taron Egerton's Eggsy he's all over the place and it's hard to take him seriously, and the American Statesman crew are all relegated to bit parts that really serve little purpose other than offer friendly and formidable hands across the Atlantic in a time of crisis. An enjoyable spy genre romp that riffs of 'Bond', 'Bourne', 'Mission : Impossible' and all others that have gone before, but fails to reach the dizzy heights of its predecessor. Also starring Michael Gambon, Sophie Cookson and Elton John.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-