What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd August 2017.

With the release this week of the foodies gastronomic road trip film 'The Trip to Spain' it got me to thinking about the history of food, cooking and eating in cinema over the years. And so as a result of some celluloid gourmet research, I cook up for you here my thoughts on the top feature films worth seeking out if you're looking for some food porn, culinary motivation, or cuisine inspired drama, thrills or laughs to entertain you for a night in front of your smart TV. This roll call deliberately leaves out the shopping trolley load of food related documentary films, that could easily constitute another listing in their own right.
* 'Tampopo' - 1985 : Directed by Juzo Itami; starring Tsutomu Yamasaki, Ken Watanabe, and Nobuko Miyamoto; country of origin - Japan.
* 'Babette's Feast' - 1987 : Directed by Gabriel Axel; starring Stephane Audran, Birgitte Federspiel and Bodil Kjer; country of origin - Denmark; Box Office US$5M.
* 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' - 1989 : Directed by Peter Greenaway; starring Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Tim Roth and Ciaran Hinds; country of origin - Britain and France; Box Office US$8M (US).
* 'Delicatessen' - 1991 : Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro; starring Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Dominique Pinon and Marie-Laure Dougnac; country of origin - France; Box Office US$12M.
* 'Like Water for Chocolate' - 1992 : Directed by Alfonso Arau; starring Lumi Cavazos, Ada Carrasco, Regina Torne and Marco Leonardi; country of origin - Mexico; Box Office - US$22M.
* 'Eat Drink Man Woman' - 1994 : Directed by Ang Lee; starring Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Chien-lien Wu and Yu-Wen Wang; country of origin - Taiwan; Box Office - US$7M.
* 'Big Night' - 1996 : Directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott; starring Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and Liev Schreiber; country of origin - USA; Box Office US$12M.

* 'Chocolat' - 2000 : Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss and Peter Stormare; country of origin - Britain and USA; Box Office - US$153M.
* 'Sideways' - 2004 : Directed by Alexander Payne; starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$110M.
* 'No Reservations' - 2007 : Directed by Scott Hicks; starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$93M.
* 'Ratatouille' - 2007 : Directed by Brad Bird; starring Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy and Peter O'Toole; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$621M.
* 'Soul Kitchen' - 2009 : Directed by Faith Akin; starring Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu and Birol Unel; country of origin - Germany.
* 'Julie & Julia' - 2009 : Directed by Nora Ephron; starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$130M.
* 'The Trip' - 2010 : Directed by Michael Winterbottom; starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; country of origin - Britain.
* 'The Lunchbox' - 2013 : Directed by Ritesh Batra; starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nakul Vaid; country of origin - India; Box Office - US$16M.
* 'The Trip to Italy' - 2014 : Directed by Michael Winterbottom; starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; country of origin - Britain.
* 'Chef' - 2014 : Directed by Jon Favreau; starring Jon Favreau, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jnr., John Leguizamo and Scarlett Johansson; country of origin - USA; Box Office US$46M.
* 'The Hundred Foot Journey' - 2014 : Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Dayal; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$89M.
* 'Burnt' - 2015 : Directed by John Wells; starring Bradley Cooper, Omar Sy, Daniel Bruhl, Sienna Miller and Emma Thompson; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$37M.
* 'The Trip to Spain' - 2017 : Directed by Michael Winterbottom; starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; country of origin - Britain.
* 'The Dinner' - 2017 : Directed by Oren Overman; starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall and Chloe Sevigny; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$1M (recent US release only).

This week then there are just three new release movies coming to your local Odeon, multiplex, or independent picture house. We kick off with a throw back to the late Cold War era Berlin in this action spy thriller that has more in common with 'John Wick' than it does 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' supported by a kick-ass all action female protagonist, wide lapels and a thumping late '80's soundtrack. We then move to two likely English lads in this third course offering that sees them travelling along the Spanish coastline eating and drinking their way through the hot spot restaurants and hotels along the way as they verbally joust with each other, before moving to a RomCom that is inspired by the real life events of the lead actor and his wife in this cross-cultural, health challenged story of love, acceptance, and family.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three new releases 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 warmly 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 meanwhile, enjoy your cinematic experience in the coming week.

'ATOMIC BLONDE' (Rated MA15+) - is Directed by David Leitch in his first solo Directorial outing having served as the uncredited Co-Director on 'John Wick' with Chad Stahelski and having served his time over the years as Stunt Co-ordinator and Stuntman on more action films than you can poke a stick at, and in the capacity as Second Unit Director on a good many also, and occasional Producer and Actor too. Next up for this new Director is 'Deadpool 2' currently filming and due in 2018. This film, however, is based on the 2012 graphic novel titled 'The Coldest City' by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, stars a strong cast and a thumping '80's soundtrack and cost US$30M to make. The film has so far garnered generally positive Reviews and has taken US$26M at the Box Office since its US release at the end of July.

Set back in 1989 at the end of the Cold War and with the Berlin Wall about to be torn down, here sensual, sultry and savage when need be Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is at the top of the spy game in MI6, and an agent who's willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive to complete her mission at hand. Ordered by her superiors she travels into the heart of Berlin to locate and retrieve a valuable document hidden in microfilm in a wristwatch, identify a notorious double agent, and expose and eradicate an espionage ring. Upon arrival, she teams up with an embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy), but he too is not necessarily all he seems. Also starring Sofia Boutella, John Goodman, Toby Jones and Eddie Marsan this is a kick ass thriller in the same vein as 'John Wick', matched by a killer soundtrack and strong performances from the two leads - McAvoy who chews up every scene and Theron who proves herself as a genuine A-List action star.

'THE TRIP TO SPAIN' (Rated M) - in 2010 Director Michael Winterbottom released a film about two likely English lads, one a food writer for The Observer, Steve (Steve Coogan) and his best mate Rob (Rob Brydon) to tour the English countryside and report back on their gourmet eating experiences at the country's finest eateries. That film 'The Trip', spawned a sequel in 2014 also Directed by Winterbottom called 'The Trip to Italy' and starred the two same English likely lads doing exactly the same thing all over again, only this time on a road trip through Italy from Piedmont to Capri. Now in 2017 Winterbottom once again rolls out his two likely lads Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon to travel along the Spanish coastline sampling the culinary delights of the finest hotels and restaurants whilst trading banter, anecdotes, jokes, impressions, war stories and how age shall not weary them along the way all delivered with their usual aplomb. Bon appetite!

'THE BIG SICK' (Rated M) - this is a RomCom Directed by Michael Showalter who also spends his time acting, writing and producing. This film is Co-produced by Judd Apatow, and is written by husband and wife team Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon and is loosely based on the real life romance that blossomed between Nanjiani (a Pakistani American stand up Comedian, Actor and Writer) and Gordon (an American Writer and Producer). Here Kumail playing a version of himself meets an American student named Emily (played here by Zoe Kazan) at one of his stand-up gigs. As they get to know each other and their relationship starts to take hold, Kumail begins to wonder and worry about what he thinks his traditional Muslim parents will make of her. When Emily falls sick and is left in a coma as a consequence, Kumail finds himself having to navigate through the medical crisis and bond with her deeply concerned parents Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano respectively) in ways he never thought possible, whilst juggling the emotional tug of war between his family and what his heart is telling him. The film has received positive Reviews setting it above your standard sugar coated RomCom about cross-cultural love and personal heartache brought about by the couples true life experiences.

With three new releases this week to tempt you out on a cold mid-Winter evening, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th June 2015.

Another week and another raft of cinematic content coming your way, boosted Down Under by the Sydney Film Festival in full swing as I tap away at my keyboard to bring you the Previews of this weeks latest releases. With many films in competition and many getting their Premier at the SFF, this gives us six new movies that are a mash up of Hollywood Blockbuster, comedy, foreign language, documentary and drama from mainstream to independent. Once again this spells plenty of choice and diversity in the offing which can only be a good thing for the likes of you and me.

With this in mind, first up we have the reboot of a hugely successful prehistoric theme park franchise that has so far given us three successful films, and after an absence of fourteen years the gates are open once again. Then there is an action comedy offering what seems to be the usual cop on the run protecting some poor downtrodden waif pursued across the USofA by badass gun totting henchmen; then some big name stars relocated to small hicksville backwater outback town in far away country Australia where dust storms, lost kids and finger pointing are the order of the day; followed up by a Spanish entry into the canon as two very different detectives must unite to hunt down a serial killer before more women die; then a old wild west tale of a young lad out of his depth and out of his comfort zone searching for his love guided by a mystery high plains drifter through treacherous country; and finally a documentary examining the great divide in Great Britain.

With some solid offerings coming your way in the week ahead you can't not be tempted by what is on offer. Get yourself to your local movie theatre and do yourself a favour, and when you have sat through your movie of choice drop us a Comment or two afterwards in the box immediately following this or any other Post and share your thoughts, observations and opinions with the your friends at Odeon Online. Enjoy your film!

JURASSIC WORLD (Rated M) - Back in 1993 Steven Spielberg Directed the first in this hugely successful franchise that changed how we perceive animated creatures on screen forever. 'Jurassic Park' back then was made for US$63M and generated US$1.03B at the global box office and in after sales making it (at that time) the most commercially successful film of all time. In 1997 Spielberg followed this up with 'Jurassic Park : The Lost World' which he made for US$73M and it raked in US$619M, and in 2001 Joe Johnston made 'Jurassic Park III' for US$93M and it brought in US$369M - the least successful so far. Now, in 2015 (after about ten years in 'development hell') Colin Trevorrow has turned his Directing attention to the world of Jurassic Park, and with a budget of US$150M++, and Steven Spielberg on Producer duty, brings us to the all new, all singing, all dancing open for business 'Jurassic World'.

Set 22 years after the events of the last film the vision that John Hammond had back then for his dinosaur theme park is now fully realised back on Isla Nublar, off the Central American Pacific Coast. With a change of ownership to The Masrani Corporation, the park is attracting visitors aplenty and all is good at Jurassic World . . . for a little while at least! Of course any theme park needs to keep reinventing itself, need to refresh and reinvest and so it is at this one too. Ordered to create a new dinosaur with which to lure more crowds to visit, the scientists and geneticists set about engineering a hybrid dinosaur which they call 'Indominus rex'. Needless to say when Indominus decides to form its own opinion, wise up and get smart it runs amok and you just know it's gonna get ugly and there'll be people munching aplenty! It falls to on-site dino-trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Operations Manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), and InGen Security Head Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) to save the day as the body count start to rise, the carnage becomes more widespread and the lovely animals turn less so!

STRANGERLAND (Rated MA15+) - This is the Directorial debut for Kim Ferrant, and a film I saw in a test screening back at Fox Studios in Sydney last August. Here we have a typical family comprising pharmacist husband Matthew Parker (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Catherine (Nicole Kidman), and their two kids Lily (Madison Brown) and Tommy (Nicholas Hamilton). They have had to relocate to the desert outback escaping from the big smoke (which is explained later on as the film progresses) and so have wound up in Nathgari. It's a fresh start but hardly one that really any of them would wish for. They are a pleasant unassuming family who largely keep themselves to themselves living on the outskirts of the community. One day as a dust storm approaches the town the two young kids go walkabout and wander off into the desert - not to be seen again. As the dust storm engulfs the town so emotions rise and a search is mounted afterwards by the locals and the community cop David Rae (Hugo Weaving), but as the search proves fruitless and the temperature rises with the searing heat, so too does the rumour, suspicion, speculation and finger pointing as every day passes. The tension mounts and increasingly Matthew and Catherine find themselves at odds with each other, the townsfolk and what has become of their children.

MARSHLAND (Rated MA15+) - this is a Spanish film that was released in Spain back in September 2014 and it took out ten awards at the 'Goya Awards' in February this year honouring the best in Spanish film making. Directed by Alberto Rodriguez and set in 1980, this sees two detectives from Madrid with a very different set of ideals who must work together on a double murder case in the remote town on the Guadalquivir Marshes in Seville province, Andalusia, in southern Spain where the men have been sent following their reprimand back in Madrid. Working together they must put their differences aside to find the killer who has been preying on young girls for many years, and do so before he strikes again.

SLOW WEST (Rated M) - Writer and first time Director John Mclean has crafted an 1870's Colorado based frontier Western filmed in New Zealand and Scotland, that is out already on a very limited Aussie cinema release. Starring Michael Fassbender as Silas Selleck - a bounty hunter and chaperon to young lovelorn teenager Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who has made the trek from his native Scotland to the wild west frontier in search of his true love Rose Ross (Caren Pistorios) and her father John Ross (Rory McCann). Along the way there are various other bounty hunters, opportunists and miscreants all on the trail of Rose & John and a hidden agenda by Silas that add humour, violence, and sweeping scenery along the way. An award winner at this years Sundance Film Festival, for genre followers this is worth seeking out. Check out my full Review Posted earlier this week.

HOT PURSUIT (Rated M) - This film is Directed by Anne Fletcher and stars a couple of big name draw card female Actors that seriously make me think WTF are you doing in this? Made for US$35M is has already clawed that back since its US release one month ago, but I can't help thinking this is formulaic fluff that we have seen a hundred times before. Here we have intense, never-off-duty, workaholic Police Officer for the San Antonio PD Rose Cooper (Reece Witherspoon, who also Produces here) who is assigned to escort and protect a drug cartel informant Felipe Riva (Vincent Laresca) and his wife Daniella (Sofia Vergara) who are soon to testify against Vincente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio). Cooper is paired up with a Senior Detective Jackson and upon arriving at the Riva household there is a welcome committee and pretty soon Jackson and Felipe wind up dead! At this point Cooper and Daniella need to buddy up, quickly and get the hell outta there, and so they go on the run, getting chased down by the badass hoods while dodging crooked Coppers too, and bonding along the way as girls do in such circumstances until a double-cross gets thrown into the mix and it all goes pear shaped! Of course it's all good in the end as the baddies get thwarted, the goodies get rewarded, and those sat somewhere in between pay the price but come out smiling! Yawn!

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES (Rated M) - Written and Directed by the acclaimed Michael Winterbottom this Documentary seems to be in the style of that other Michael who has carved out a career poking a big stick into even bigger issues - Moore that is - and has done so successfully for the last fifteen years - gun laws, 9/11, healthcare and the world of high finance to name a few. And so it is Winterbottom's turn with confident orator/actor/comedian and spokesperson of the world Russell Brand in front of the camera. Here the subject matter is the great divide between the rich and the poor, the have's and the have not's, the privileged and the downtrodden and those travelling in first class and the schmucks back in economy! This film will attempt to probe into the world's economic centres and those pulling the strings within them, and ask what lessons were learned from 2008's GFC, what have we done as a result and why is the great divide growing increasingly greater by the year. Will this film gel you into action, make you think, create a difference and lead to a more balanced, equal and fair society for all - only you can decide, but if nothing else it is likely to be enlightening and entertaining all at once.

Six new release films then this week to get you out amongst it for a whole array of differing reasons not the least of which will be sheer unadulterated entertainment. When you have done so and pondered the enormity of your movie choice after the fact, share away and spread the word.

Movies - see another this week!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-