What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th December 2024.

Christmas has arrived once again, and as such it would be remiss of me not to wish my worldwide readership all the very best for a Merry, Happy and safe Christmas, wherever you are in world, whatever it is you do to celebrate the occasion, and whoever you share it with. Thanks for your continued support over the last year - it is your viewership that makes my reviews and previews of the latest release new films all the more worthwhile, and I look forward to doing more of the same throughout 2025. Until then, Merry Christmas, happy holidays and complements of the season, from Sydney, Australia.  

This week with seven hot new releases to tease you out to your local Odeon, we kick off with an English language Spanish drama film about two grown up middle aged women who were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine, and who after years of being out of touch, meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet circumstance. This is followed by a story of two mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved late grandmother. Then we turn to a semi-autobiographical film based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of a British pop superstar. Next up is an American romantic comedy drama that follows the beleaguered marriage between a young sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch. Following on we have an Italian and French film about an Italian woman who searches for happiness during the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her city and its many memorable characters. Then we have an international co-production set in Mumbai, where a nurse's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband, while her younger roommate tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. And closing out the week we have the third instalment in this video game adaptation franchise that sees Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles ally with Dr. Robotnik to defeat a new enemy.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven 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.

'THE ROOM NEXT DOOR' (Rated M) - is a Spanish drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Pedro Almodovar, whose prior feature film credits include 'All About My Mother' in 1999, 'Talk To Her' in 2002, 'Volver' in 2006, 'Broken Embraces' in 2009, 'The Skin I Live In' in 2011, 'Julieta' in 2016, 'Pain and Glory' in 2019 and 'Parallel Mothers' in 2021. This film is based on the 2020 novel 'What Are You Going Through' by the American writer Sigrid Nunez, and is Pedro Almodovar's English language full feature length debut. It was awarded the Golden Lion, the top prize of the Venice Film Festival where is saw its World Premiere in early September this year. The film was released in its native Spain in mid-October, in the US last week, has so far received generally favourable critical reviews and has grossed US$9M. 

Here, Ingrid Parker (Julianne Moore) and Martha Hunt (Tilda Swinton) were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war correspondent, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation. Also starring John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola.

'A REAL PAIN' (Rated MA15+) - this American and Polish Co-Produced comedy drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Jesse Eisenberg in only his second Directorial outing following 'When You Finish Saving the World' in 2022. Here mismatched and hitherto disconnected American Jewish cousins David Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother and to connect with their heritage. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Also starring Will Sharpe and Jennifer Grey. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, was released in the US in early November, has garnered universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$8M against a production budget of just US$3M. It has so far picked up twenty-two award wins and a further forty-one nominations from around the awards and festival circuit with a number of those nominations still pending an outcome. 

'BETTER MAN' (Rated MA15+) - is a semi-autobiographical film about the British singer and songwriter Robbie Williams, and is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Michael Gracey whose previous feature film credits are 'The Greatest Showman' in 2017 and the documentary film 'Pink : All I Know So Far' in 2021. This film charts the life story over three decades of pop singer Robbie Williams stardom, but with Williams portrayed as a chimpanzee (voiced by Robbie Williams with Jonno Davies as the young Robbie) because, as he puts it, he always felt 'less evolved' than other people. Also starring Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, Anthony Hayes and Kate Mulvaney. The film was shot in Melbourne and London, has generated mostly positive reviews, saw its Premiere screening at the Telluride Film Festival in early September and is released this week too in the US.

'ANORA' (Rated MA15+) - this American romantic comedy drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Sean Baker whose prior film making credits include his debut in 2000 with 'Four Letter Words', 'Take Out' in 2004, 'Starlet' in 2012, 'Tangerine' in 2015, 'The Florida Project' in 2017 and 'Red Rocket' in 2021. Here then, Anora 'Ani' Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is a 23 year old sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Ivan 'Vanya' Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire Nikolai Zakharov (Aleksei Serebryakov) and his wife Galina Zakharova (Darya Ekamasova). However, when Vanya's parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May and won the Palme d'Or Award, was released Stateside in mid-October, has garnered universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$29M off the back of a production budget of US$6M. 

'PARTHENOPE' (Rated MA15+) - this Co-Produced Italian and French film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino. Set in the sundrenched coastal Italian city of Naples, the smiling Parthenope  (Celeste Dalla Porta, with Stefania Sandrelli as the older Parthenope) recalls her childhood, in which her brothers were obsessed with her. Her anthropology professor finds her a brilliant student. She considers becoming an actor, but is not inspired by her eccentric acting coach. She wonders about becoming an aesthete, and meets the drunken writer John Cheever (Gary Oldman), whose work she admires. Or perhaps she could have a romantic fling with the ugly bishop who attends the miracle of the dried blood that turns liquid each year, the phenomenon she is studying in anthropology. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May where it saw its World Premiere and received a near ten minute standing ovation, but has subsequently garnered mixed or average critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$8M. It was released in Italy in late October, is released in France 12th March and the US on 7th February. 

'ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT' (Rated M) - is an international Co-Produced film involving companies from France, India, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy, and is Directed by the Indian film maker Payal Kapadia in her feature film debut. The film had its World Premiere at this year Cannes Film Festival in late May and was the first film from India to compete in the main competition since 1994, and won the Grand Prix. The film centres on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital - head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha), plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam). Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family and Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. It was released in limited theatres in India in late September before going wide there in late November and in France in early October. A US release date has not yet been confirmed. It has met with widespread critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$1.9M at the Box Office. 

'SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3' (Rated PG) - this US and Japanese Co-Produced action adventure comedy film is based on the Sega video game series of the same name, and is Directed by Jeff Fowler who also Directed the previous two instalments in the franchise in 2020 and 2022, and which grossed a combined US$725M off the back of a total US$190M production budget. Here then, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) face a powerful and mysterious new adversary, Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves). The trio form an unlikely alliance with Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) in the hope of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet. However, the stakes become raised when Robotnik is reunited with his thought-to-be-long-lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik (also Jim Carrey), who seems to have his own sinister plans for Shadow. Also starring James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Krysten Ritter and Natasha Rothwell. The film was released last week in the US and the UK, has generated positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$28M off the back of a US$122M production budget. 'Sonic the Hedgehog 4' is slated for an early 2027 release.

With seven 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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Tuesday 26th December 2017.

Once again Christmas is upon us, and 'tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la and all that stuff! With this in mind and before introducing the slew of big screen cinematic entertainment being released this week, it would be remiss of me not to wish my global readership all the very best for a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year, and to thank-you all for your interest in my movie Blog Post ramblings, thoughts and opinions of the last twelve months. So, be safe; have fun; eat, drink, be merry; and in the immortal words of that great late Irish comedian Dave Allen, 'may your God, go with you'. Best wishes for the festive season, and for 2018 too . . . and we'll do it all again next year.

This week then in the big slot Christmas week, we kick off with a sequel to a jungle adventure film that pays homage to the big name and dearly departed actor and comedian who starred in the original 1995 offering upon which this film is based. We then move to a song and dance offering charting the rise to fame and fortune of a 19th century circus impresario; an animated feature themed around Mexico's Day of the Dead national holiday; with up next a film about good things coming in small packages and a group of pioneers who agree to groundbreaking miniaturisation technology with irreversible consequences. These are followed by an early '80's coming of age story set in the idyllic Northern Italian countryside during one Summer of discovery; a biopic of a pioneer for the disabled in Britain and around the world using his own experiences to bring hope and inspiration to others; before winding up with a French foreign language offering about a man in search of his biological father that takes him in all sorts of unexpected directions.
 
Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven latest release films 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 here cordially invited 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 experience during the week ahead.

'JUMANJI : WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE' (Rated PG) - in 1995 the fantasy adventure film 'Jumanji' was released as Directed by Joe Johnston based on the 1981 children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. That film starred the late great Robin Williams as Alan Parrish trapped inside the Jumanji board game while playing with his friend in 1969. 26 years later Parrish is released by two unwitting new players who free the now adult Alan. After tracking down his friend whom he played the game with originally, the foursome must now complete the game in order to reverse all the destruction and mayhem it has caused. Off a production budget of US$65M that film grossed US$263M despite generally lacklustre Reviews, and despite its cutting edge CGI at the time. Now in 2017, we have a standalone sequel to that earlier film in the form of this action adventure comedy offering that is said to be a tribute to Robin Williams who died in 2014. Directed by Jake Kasdan and Co-Written for the screen by him too and costing US$90M the film has so far taken US$30M, was released in the US last week and has so far received mixed Reviews.

The plot follows four teenagers - Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), Anthony Johnson (Ser'Darius Blaine) and Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner) who are transported into the video game world of Jumanji, and, playing as the characters they chose - Dr. Smolder Gravestone (Dwayne Johnson) as Spencer's avatar, Professor Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black) as Bethany's avatar, Moose Finbar (Kevin Hart) as Anthony's avatar and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) as Martha's avatar. Transported into the game and into a remote jungle the foursome must beat the game and every obstacle it can throw at them, in order to return to the real world. Also starring Colin Hanks and Bobby Cannavale.

'THE GREATEST SHOWMAN' (Rated PG) - the beginnings of this film date back to 2009 when the project was first announced with Hugh Jackman headlining the cast and Michael Gracey slated to Direct in 2011. Since then the film has stalled with studios not wanting to take the risk on an original musical, until now. And so this biographical musical drama film is Directed by Australian Michael Gracey in his feature film debut, cost US$84M to bring to the screen, was released Stateside on 20th December and is nominated for three Golden Globes due to be presented in early January - those being Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Song. The story here surrounds how Phineas Taylor Barnum (aka P.T. Barnum who lived from 1810 until 1891) played by Hugh Jackman, started the Barnum & Bailey Circus and in so doing kick started show business. Charting the life of the man who rose from nothing to create a circus spectacular that went onto become a worldwide sensation that ran from 1871 through until 2017 (closing its doors for the final time six months before the Premier of this film), and the myriad of artists who performed under the Big Top and within the travelling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Also starring Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Fergusson, and Zendaya, the film has so far grossed US$8M.

'COCO' (Rated PG) - here Pixar Animation have pulled out all the stops to bring us a big budget CG animated musical fantasy film at a cost of US$175M, and is the first film with such a price tag to feature an all-Latino cast. Directed, and based on an original notion by Lee Unkrich, the film is based on the Mexican national holiday The Day of the Dead, and here follows a twelve year old lad named Miguel Rivera (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) who despite his family's generations-old ban on music, dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colourful Land of the Dead. After meeting a charming trickster named Héctor (Gael Garcia Bernal), the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history, while seeking the help of his musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living. The film Premiered at Mexico's Morelia International Film Festival and was released there the weekend before The Day of the Dead, and went on to become the highest grossing film in the country's history. It has been nominated for two Golden Globes to be announced in early January - Best Song and Best Animated Motion Picture and has so far garnered thirteen award wins and another 47 nominations, as well as taking US$463M at the global Box Office to date. 'Coco' has been Critically acclaimed in particular for its strong voice cast, quality of animation, songs and score, its emotionally driven storyline and its overarching respect to the culture of Mexico.

'DOWNSIZING' (Rated M) - this Sci-Fi comedy drama film is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Alexander Payne, whose previous credits include 'Election', 'About Schmidt', 'Sideways', 'The Descendants' and 'Nebraska', had its world Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival in late August and went on release in the US just last week. The film tells the story of a possible solution of over population, by shrinking humans to a height of just 13cms (five inches) after scientists in Norway discover a safe way of doing so. The procedure however, cannot be reversed. When stressed out Omaha living couple Paul and Audrey Safranek (Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig respectively) sign up for the procedure and the chance to move to a new experimental community and establish a new life for themselves, whilst learning to adapt to their radically changed circumstances, a whole new world of adventure and discovery ensues. Also starring Christoph Waltz and Jason Sudeikis. The film cost US$68M to make, and has so far received generally favourable Reviews.

'CALL ME BY YOUR NAME' (Rated M) - this universally acclaimed film by Director and Co-Producer Luca Guadagnino was written for the screen by James Ivory and is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Andre Aciman. Set during the Summer of 1983 in Lombardy in Northern Italy, the film chronicles the unfolding coming of age romantic relationship between Jewish/American boy Elio Perlman (Timothee Chalamet) a seventeen year old introspective bibliophile and musical prodigy, and Oliver (Armie Hammer) an American/Jewish carefree and outgoing graduate student employed by Elio's archaeological professor father Samuel Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg) to help the young lad with his academic studies. Amid the sun filled splendor of their environment, the beauty of the Northern Italian landscape, and the emotional bond that is forged between the two, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a Summer that will impact their lives forever. The film was made on a shoestring budget of just US$3.5M and has so far recovered that sum since its release in the UK in late October and the US in late November. The film had its world Premier at last January's Sundance Film Festival and has so far picked up 31 award wins and another 79 nominations including three Golden Globe nods and a SAG nod to be announced early in 2018. The majority of these award wins and nominations have been for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Timothee Chalamet and Best Supporting Actor for Armie Hammer and Michael Stuhlbarg.

'BREATHE' (Rated M) - here we have Andy Serkis Directing this biographical drama film based on the life of Robin Cavendish who lived from 1930 until 1994, and who at the age of 28 developed polio and was paralysed from the neck down. Despite being initially given only three months to live, Cavendish was able to breathe only with the use of a mechanical respirator, and became a tireless advocate for disabled people, instrumental in organising the first records of the number of 'responauts' (those reliant on a mechanical respirator to breathe) in Britain and helping to develop numerous devices to provide independence to paralysed people. The film tells the very personal story of Robin's early life, his paralysis and how he became a pioneering advocate for the disabled, through his travels around the world with his devoted wife Diana giving inspiration and hope to others just like him, all the while defying medical experts by becoming one of the longest living polio survivors in Britain. Andrew Garfield stars as Robin Cavendish, Claire Foy as his wife Diana, with Tom Hollander and Hugh Bonneville too.

'JUST TO BE SURE' (Rated M) - this French romantic comedy offering screened in the Directors Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, is Directed by Carine Tardieu and has garnered positive Reviews by Critics and audiences alike. When 45-year-old widower Erwan (François Damiens) discovers by accident that that man who raised him isn’t in fact his real father, he begins a search for his biological one. Thanks to a local lesbian private detective he soon locates the mischievous, 70-something Joseph (Andre Wilms), whom his mother knew briefly. Erwan soon falls not only for his charm, but that of the impetuous Anna (Cécile de France), who has ties to them both. But the conflicting loyalties become complicated by the pregnancy of his own daughter, who defiantly refuses to name the father, referring to him only as Zorro whom she met briefly at a fancy dress party. Very soon Erwan’s families begin to collide, to unexpected, hilarious and moving effect. The film cost US$6M to make and has so far grossed US$5.5M.

With seven new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-