Birthday's to share this week : 4th - 10th June 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Paul Giamatti does on 6th June - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 50, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 4th June

• Geoffrey Palmer - Born 1927, turns 90 - Actor
• Bruce Dern - Born 1936, turns 81 - Actor 
• Sean Pertwee - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor 
• Russell Brand - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Angelina Jolie - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actress | Director | Producer | Writer

Monday 5th June

• Kathleen Kennedy - Born 1953, turns 64 - Producer
• Mark Wahlberg - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter  

Tuesday 6th June

• Robert Englund - Born 1947, turns 70 - Actor | Director | Producer
• Jason Isaacs - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor | Producer 
• Paul Giamatti - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Producer
• Jonathan Nolan - Born 1976, turns 41 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Sandra Bernhard - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actress | Writer 

Wednesday 7th June

• James Ivory - Born 1928, turns 89 - Director | Writer | Producer 
• Ronald Pickup - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actor 
• Liam Neeson - Born 1952, turns 65 - Actor | Producer
• William Forsythe - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Karl Urban - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actor
• Bill Hader - Born 1978, turns 39 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer
• Michael Cera - Born 1988, turns 29 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer | Composer | Singer

Thursday 8th June

• Jerry Stiller - Born 1927, turns 90 - Actor | Producer
• Griffin Dunne - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actor | Producer | Director   

Friday 9th June

• James Newton Howard - Born 1951, turns 66 - Composer | Orchestrator | Songwriter
• Michael J. Fox - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Aaron Sorkin - Born 1961, turns 56 - Writer | Producer | Actor | Director
• Johnny Depp - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• David Koepp - Born 1963, turns 54 - Writer | Director | Producer 
• Eddie Marsan - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor 
• Natalie Portman - Born 1981, turns 36 - Actress | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer  

Saturday 10th June

• Gina Gershon - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Jeanne Tripplehorn - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actress 
• Elizabeth Hurley - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actress | Producer
• Leelee Sobieski - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actress | Producer
• Jurgen Prochnow - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actor | Producer

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born in New Haven, Connecticut, USA to mother Toni Marilyn Smith, a housewife and English teacher who taught at the private co-ed Hopkins School in New Haven, and who had previously done some Acting, and father Angelo Bartlett Giamatti, a Yale University Professor who went on to become the President of the University and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. He is the youngest of three children, having an older brother Marcus, an Actor, and an older sister Elena a designer of jewellery. He attended the co-ed private Foote School in New Haven and in 1985 graduated from the Choate Rosemary Hall private boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut. From there he attended Yale University where he was active in the theatre scene working with fellow students and aspiring Actors, Edward Norton and Ron Livingstone. In 1989 he graduated from Yale with a bachelor's Degree in English. He subsequently earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. During the late '80's and early '90's he appeared in many stage productions, including a period on Broadway before television and film roles started to come his way.

Giamatti scored his first role in the television movie 'She'll Take Romance' in 1990, and followed this up a year later with 'Past Midnight' with Rutger Hauer and Clancy Brown, and then Cameron Crowe's Written and Directed 'Singles' with Bridget Fonda and Kyra Sedgwick the year after. 'Mighty Aphrodite' came next for Woody Allen starring, writing and Directing in 1995, and Sydney Pollack's 'Sabrina' that same year with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. Mike Newell's 'Donnie Brasco' with Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen followed in 1997, then the autobiographical film based on the life of Howard Stern, 'Private Parts', followed by the likes of 'My Best Friend's Wedding', 'Deconstructing Harry' for Woody Allen again, Peter Weir's 'The Truman Show', Steven Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan', F. Gary Gray's 'The Negotiator', Tim Robbins all star historical political drama 'Cradle Will Rock' and Milos Forman 'Man on the Moon' saw out the '90's. In between there were appearances on television shows including 'NYPD Blue', 'New York News', 'Homicide : Life on the Street' and 'American Experience'.  

The new decade launched with 'Big Momma's House' and 'Duets' in 2000 before Tim Burton's reimagining of 'Planet of the Apes' in 2001. Shawn Levy's 'Big Fat Liar' was released in 2001 and followed up with 'Thunderpants', 'Confidence' and then the critically acclaimed 'American Splendour' which really put Giamatti on the map with several awards nominations from around the circuit. John Woo's actioner 'Paycheck' with Ben Affleck followed and then another highly acclaimed role as the Pinot Noir loving, Merlot hating Miles in Alexander Payne's California wine country road trip comedy drama film 'Sideways'. The film garnered much critical praise and secured more award wins and nominations for Giamatti including a Golden Globe nod. Ron Howard's 'Cinderella Man' was also highly praised picking up an Oscar and a Golden Globe nod for Giamatti's role as Joe Gould alongside Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, plus a swag of other wins and nominations along the way. 

'The Hawk is Dying' came in 2006, and then 'The Illusionist' opposite Edward Norton and Jessica Biel, 'The Lady in the Water' for Writer and Director M. Night Shyamalan, 'Shoot 'Em Up' with Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci, 'The Nanny Diaries' with Scarlett Johansson, 'Fred Claus' opposite Vince Vaughn, Paul Schneider's comedy 'Pretty Bird', 'Cold Souls', Tony Gilroy's Written and Directed 'Duplicity' with Clive Owen again and Julia Roberts, and then Russian historical drama 'The Last Station' with Helen Mirren and James McAvoy saw out the decade. In between time there was also the seven part television mini-series 'John Adams' in which Giamatti plays the second President of the United States and one of its founding fathers, John Adams, in the country's first half century.

This past decade to date has brought a diversity of roles kicking off in 2010 with the title role in 'Barney's Version' opposite Rosamund Pike, then in 2011 a swathe of films that started with the sporting drama Written and Directed by Tom McCarthy, 'Win Win' and that same year the 13th Century England action adventure 'Ironclad' in which Giamatti portrays the tyrannical King John alongside an ensemble cast, followed by 'The Hangover, Part II', the George Clooney Written, Directed and starring 'The Ides of March' and Curtis Hanson's 2008 biographical drama made for television film 'Too Big to Fail' in which Giamatti plays Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve at the time of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

Horror Sci-fi followed in 2012 'John Dies at the End', then David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis', and 'Rock of Ages' with Tom Cruise, 'The Congress', Steve McQueen's highly acclaimed '12 Years a Slave', 'Parkland' recounting the events at the Dallas Parkland Hospital on the day that President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed, 'Saving Mr. Banks', 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2', 'Madame Bovary', the Beach Boys biopic about Brian Wilson 'Love & Mercy' and then disaster epic 'San Andreas'. Working for Director F. Gary Gray again on NWA mid-'80's Hip-Hop biopic 'Straight Outta Compton', and then baseball story 'The Phenom' and 'Morgan' bring us up to date. In the intervening years Giamatti has also lent his voice talents to many an animated character including on such films as 'Ratchet & Clank', 'The Little Prince', 'The Ant Bully', 'Turbo', 'Robots' and the English language versions of 'April and the Extraordinary World', 'Asterix and the Vikings' and 'Ernest & Celestine'.

Two successful seasons already aired is financial drama set in New York, 'Billions', with Giamatti starring as US Attorney Chuck Rhoades who has hedge fund king, Bobby 'Axe' Axelrod (Damian Lewis) in his sights and wants to bring him down in this tale of two powerful personalities pitched against each other. Season three goes to air in 2018. Currently in post-production is 'The Catcher Was A Spy' about a major league baseball player who lived a double life also working for the Office of Strategic Services and also starring Guy Pearce, Mark Strong, Paul Rudd, Connie Nielsen and Sienna Miller, and so too is 'Private Life' about a strained husband and wife relationship as a result of the wife undergoing multiple fertility treatments in an attempt to get pregnant.

All up Giamatti has one hundred Acting credits to his name and five as Producer. He has garnered throughout his career to date 45 award wins and another 59 nominations including an Academy Award nomination for 'Cinderella Man', three Golden Globe nods and two wins for 'Barney's Version' and 'John Adams', three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a win for 'John Adams' and three SAG Awards nominations and four win for 'Sideways', 'John Adams', 'Cinderella Man' and 'Too Big to Fail'. Giamatti is also an occasional stage actor having appeared in a number of productions over the years including 'The Iceman Cometh' and 'Hamlet' more recently.

Giamatti has been married to Elizabeth Cohen since 1997, and together they have a son, Samuel, born in 2001, who is raised by his wife's religion of Judaism, whereas he is an atheist.

Paul Giamatti - master of the hang-dog expression, is renowned for playing unscrupulous business men, or the reasonable other half of the protagonist, has played historical figures, has played in small independent features and big screen epics too and has worked for just about every major movie Director you care to poke a stick at. We love your work and your versatility, whether playing some character from the history books, the good guy, the bad guy, the loser, no hoper, the downtrodden, the visionary or the man of success we'll keep watching as long a you keep turning it on. Like a good bottle of wine that has been stored sideways and under ideal conditions, you just keep maturing with age. Happy 50th Birthday to you Paul, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th November 2016.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Hogwarts, along comes what is said to be the first in a five film franchise spin-off of that hugely successful 'Harry Potter' universe. Created by J.K.Rowling over seven novels and eight films that have seen Rowling go from rags to riches in a relatively short period of time, amassing her a personal fortune, it is reported, somewhere close to £600M from her book sales and film rights for which she retained final script approval and creative license on the 'Deathly Hallows' instalments. Her 'Harry Potter' books have become the best selling book series in history selling a combined 400 million copies, worth in the UK alone close to £240M making her the UK's best selling living author. Now in 2016 we return to the 'Potterverse' with 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them' written by Rowling under the pseudonym of Newt Scamander and first published in March 2001. Set in a New York City of 1926 where Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is visiting some seventy years before Harry Potter's story first started, but which is referenced in 'Philospsoher's Stone'. It is Scamander who researches, rescues, and documents said fantastic beasts, exotic creatures, and strange animals. Directed by David Yates who helmed the final four 'Harry Potter' films to critical and commercial success, it seems that 'Fantastic Beasts' is in safe and familiar hands, and waiting for you to find them!

This week there are four new films aimed largely at a more mature audience that range from epic blockbuster to small independent fare and across action fantasy, Sci-Fi horror, buddy cop black comedy and social drama. Starting off with the return to all things wizardry that takes us in a familiar yet new direction in this prequel to a much loved critically acclaimed and commercially successful series of books and films, that might just go the same way. Then we have a buddy cop movie of two crooked detectives who get the tables turned on them when they least expect it - delivered by a noted Director who likes his comedy served black and cold. We then move to a Sci-Fi horror offering of a synthetic being running amok and a consultant sent in to decide what to do before it goes all pair shaped for everyone! And then we wrap up, with a social drama with something to say about the state of Britain's welfare and wellbeing system.

Whether you choose to see any of the four films as Previewed below, or those as Previewed in prior weeks or Reviewed here within these humble Blog pages, remember to share your views and opinions of your own movie going experience, with your like minded cinephiles here. Leave your Comment below this or any other Post - you'll always get a response, and of course, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Meanwhile, enjoy your film.

'FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM' (Rated M) - takes place in the 'Potterverse', albeit some 70 years or so before the advent of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Grainger and their exploits at Hogwarts across eight groundbreaking films taken from the seven source novels by one J.K.Rowling. 'Fantastic Beasts . . . ' was written by J.K.Rowling and published in 2001 under the the pseudonym of the fictitious author Newt Scamander about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe. It claims to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook of the same name as referenced in 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' - required reading for first year students to Hogwarts. The Screenplay for the film was written by Rowling in her screenwriting debut, and Co-Produced by her too. This is the first spin-off of the Harry Potter series and said to be the first of five films. Directed by David Yates who also Directed to critical acclaim and huge commercial Box Office receipts 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', '. . .  and the Half Blood Prince' and '. . .  and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2', this film was made for US$180M and goes on general worldwide release this week.

Set in 1926 New York and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in The Big Apple nearing the end of his travels around the world to seek out, rescue and document the fantastical and magical creatures that share our world, albeit generally hidden from view. He's in NYC for only a brief time, but his plans are scuppered when he encounters a No-Maj (American for 'Muggle') named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) who inadvertently lets several of Newt's fantastic beasts escape from his deceptively nondescript leather brief case. This is in breach of the Statute of Secrecy which comes to the attention of Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) a downtrodden and demoted member of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) who sees this latest development as a chance to regain her former place in that hallowed organisation. Little does she know that Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) who is the Director of Magical Security at MACUSA is suspicious of both Newt and Tina. Joining forces with Newt, Tina and Jacob is Queenie (Alison Sudol), Tina's younger sister. The four fugitives from the law must now track down and recapture the escaped beasts before they come to harm, but little do they also know that their mission puts them on a collision course with the dark forces that could have more far reaching consequences for them all. Also starring John Voight, Ron Perlman, Johnny Depp, Ezra Miller and Samantha Morton amongst other fantastic beasts - if you know where to find them.

'WAR ON EVERYONE' (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed by John Michael McDonagh, who brought us the excellent 'The Guard' and 'Calvary', has delivered here another black comedy but instead of being set in Ireland as were those two features, here this time the action takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The film was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year, was released in the UK and Ireland in early October, and now arrives in Australian cinemas. Telling the story of two corrupt buddy cops in Albuquerque, Detectives Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) and Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) who set up to frame and blackmail every criminal low life that makes the sorry mistake of crossing their paths. However, things take an unexpected turn for the worse when the two Detectives come across a perpetrator in the form of a British 'Lord', James Mangan (Theo James) who just happens to be more dangerous and more scheming than they are. Also starring Tessa Thompson and Paul Reiser.

'MORGAN' (Rated MA15+) - this Sci-Fi horror offering is helmed by first time Director Luke Scott (son of Sir Ridley, who takes a Producer credit), was released in early September in the US and UK, cost US$8M to make, has so far made US$9M and has received average Reviews only. Telling the story of Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), a synthetic bioengineered being, who started walking and talking after just one month in existence, much to the surprise and delight of its creators. When Morgan violently attacks one of its handlers, corporate troubleshooter Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) is sent in to the secluded, remote and ever so secret facility to investigate. Weather's task it to observe and make a determination to keep Morgan alive or not based on calculated risk. When Morgan breaks free and tries to evade capture using her particular set of skills, the facility goes into lockdown and the staff find themselves at the mercy of an unpredictable and dangerous synthetic being. Also starring Toby Jones, Brian Cox, Paul Giamatti, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rose Leslie. Said to be beautifully shot, with strong performances from the gathered ensemble cast, but we may just have seen this done better in last years 'Ex Machina'.

'I, DANIEL BLAKE' (Rated MA15+) - eighty year old English film and television Director Ken Loach has been making films with social messages at their heart for five decades, and he came out of self-imposed retirement to make this film - his 26th feature film - which won the Palme D'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival and from around the festival circuit has so far picked up five other wins and a nomination. Using non-professional acting talent Loach has crafted a warts and all look at the British welfare system, job prospects and being cast aside before even hitting the ripe old age of sixty. Here stand-up comedian Dave Johns is Daniel Blake a 59 year old carpenter and widower living in England's north-east when he suffers a major heart attack. His cardiologist orders him not to work for fear of him developing an irregular heart beat which could be life threatening. Daniel is an active kind of chap, and in seeking Employment and Support Allowance, but is told be some joker masquerading as a healthcare professional that he is in fact fit for work. Caught between a rock and hard place, Blake takes on the bureaucratic red tape in an attempt claim Jobseekers Allowance. At the same time he befriends single mother Kate (Hayley Squires) who is in a similar situation but with two children in tow. Together the pair go the distance fighting the system, but not without its challenges! Raw, revealing and relevant this is a film of contemporary Britain in all its sad social injustice.

Four very different films to choose from then to keep you entertained in the week ahead. Share your views with us here, when you have sat through your movie of choice, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon sometime in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-