SKYSCRAPER : Tuesday 17th July 2018.

'SKYSCRAPER' just has American action drama written all over it with none other than all conquering hero Dwayne Johnson as the hunk of beef cake set to save the world, or the skyscraper in question at least, from a bunch of gun toting, no good pesky terrorist types. Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Rawson Marshall Thurber whose previous Directing credits include 'DodgeBall : A True Underdog Story', 'We're the Millers', and 'Central Intelligence' also with Dwayne Johnson, the film went on general release in the US and Australia last week. Described by many a Critic, including this Blogger, as a fusion of 'Towering Inferno' from 1974 and 'Die Hard' from 1988, the film cost US$125M, has so far grossed US$74M and has received mixed Reviews, although Dwayne Johnson's performance has been largely praised. The film is released in the China market on 20th July.

The story here surrounds former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) who in the opening segment set ten years before, is engaging in a night time hostage situation with a crack team of Special Op's personnel. A father has taken his wife and children hostage and is holed up at home threatening to kill 'em all. In bursts Sawyer through the wall and we see the father with his back to us, holding his young son and sobbing. Sawyer lowers his weapon, because he can see that the father is unarmed, and asks the perpetrator to stand down. At which point, the father releases the child, turns around and is seen to be wearing an explosive vest with the detonator in his hand, which he releases, and . . . . kaboom! Next up, the badly injured Sawyer is being stretchered into hospital, with an attractive female surgeon looking on saying that everything's gonna be just fine!

We next meet Sawyer in the present day. He is an amputee having lost a lower leg in that bomb blast ten years previously, who now assesses security and safety for skyscrapers for a living. He's on assignment in Hong Kong with his family living in the said skyscraper, known as 'The Pearl' - the world tallest building at 220 storeys. The construction process is nearing completion, although the upper floors from 94 onwards remain uninhabited, save for Sawyer and his wife Sarah who just happens to be the attractive female surgeon who patched him up ten years ago (Neve Campbell), daughter Georgia (McKenna Roberts) and younger son Henry (Noah Cottrell), who have been put up temporarily while Will conducts his business within the property.

Sawyer is that day to present his safety findings to Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han) a local multi-gazilionaire and owner of the skyscraper, for the purposes of finalising the buildings insurance requirements. Sawyer passes all the elements of his assessment except for the control base located a mile away in a secure facility, which he has not yet been able to inspect, but is set to do so the next day.

Later that night, when Sawyer is on the ground with a former colleague from his FBI days, who as it turns out has double crossed his friend and wound up dead at Sawyers hands after a confrontation involving close hand to hand combat within the confines of an apartment, an international terrorist kingpin Kores Botha (Roland Moller) and his group of merry men break into the building. The mercenaries torch the 96th floor which blocks access to the upper floors, while at the same time switching off all the hi-tech cutting edge fire suppressant devices so allowing the flames to spread rapidly to upper levels. Pretty soon the building is burning out of control and with the flames rising quickly.

The local Police spring into action headed up by Inspector Wu (Byron Mann) who suspect that Sawyer is in fact the main ring leader in the terrorist attack, because only he had access to security data contained on a tablet given to him earlier by Zhao to access the control base in order to review the security and safety protocols.

However, that tablet was stolen from Sawyer by Botha's ground based partners headed up by Xia (Hanna Quinlivan) who have in the meantime gained access to the control base, taken out everyone working there and disabled and over ridden all systems within the tower. The Police needless to say are hot on Sawyer's heels and chasing him down. Sawyer has meanwhile evaded arrest at the base of the skyscraper and is looking upward in disbelief at the inferno that has erupted high above the ground, and in which his family are trapped.

Sawyer spies a nearby crane on an adjacent construction site and heads for it, planning on getting close. He ascends perilously with the Police giving chase and the world's news camera's and the gathered crowds looking on. Now high above the ground, Sawyer takes a giant leap of faith that defies all the odds off the extended crane arm into a shattered window to gain access . . . which of course he does successfully, by his fingertips!

Sawyer is soon reunited with his family who have fled from their apartment floor and were making their way through a giant greenhouse atrium occupying several floors and housing lush greenery, waterfalls and natural features. This area is also rapidly becoming engulfed in flame but the family, now reunited, manage to escape, except for daughter Georgia who is being chased down by two of Botha's goons. Sawyer is able to get his wife and son to an elevator who use it to free fall to safety engaging the emergency brakes to stop their rapid decent just at the right moment of course. They get to the ground unscathed and help the Police identify Botha as a result of an encounter with him earlier in the day.

Meanwhile as Sawyer is rescuing his daughter from Botha's henchmen, he is caught by Botha himself and ordered to gain access to a solid titanium door behind which Zhao has retreated for safety and to safeguard an all important memory stick. That stick contains incriminating evidence against the kingpin terrorist concerning extortion running into millions and money laundering on a global scale. If Sawyer is unable to gain access as the leading security expert on the job, then Botha will throw his daughter off the roof - 220 storeys up!

This leaves no alternative for Sawyer but to comply, but to gain access he must override the security access controls hidden behind the massive air conditioning turbines that drive the properties carbon neutral heating and ventilation system. To do this, he must scale the outside of the building, using a length of rope secured from a window fitting and good ol' duct tape which he tapes sticky side out to both his hands and feet for extra grip. Clever stuff! He overrides the system thereby opening the door to Zhao's inner sanctum, temporarily.

Sawyer narrowly makes it back inside when his planned journey back goes awry and he is left dangling upside down with a rope yanking on his prosthetic leg, which of course gives way. But our hero can't plunge to his death from nearly 200 storeys up, so some quick thinking and deft manoeuvring sees Sawyer clamber back inside, and wedge his kevlar leg in the now closing doors of Zhao's strong room for him to gain access. The two hatch a plan to thwart Botha and rescue Georgia from the roof top, where Botha and his goons plan to parachute off to make their getaway.

In a close quarter gun fight inside the actual 'Pearl' Sawyer is able to overpower all the goons and dispense with them using his own particular set of skills, leaving the last man standing, Botha. The terrorist now uses Georgia to negotiate his own escape, but is kicked out of the building through a hole in the floor while holding a hand grenade. He is blown to pieces seconds later. Sawyer holds onto his daughter while flames lick all around them and there is nowhere left for them to escape to. On the ground Sarah retrieves the stolen tablet after a shoot out with the Police and overpowering Xia and the mercenaries at the parachute landing site. She realises that she can override the shutdown of the hi-tech fire extinguishing system built into the skyscraper by rebooting the computer system. This she does, and the system kicks in dousing the flames quickly, so saving Sawyer and his daughter from certain death. The family are reunited back on the ground and everyone is happy.

This is a fairly predictable by the numbers all action thriller that offers no surprises and really is straight out of the 'Towering Inferno' and 'Die Hard' play book. There are even some scenes that are direct obvious derivatives of those two films that clearly has inspired this film, not that the Director need apologise for this fact, as I guess there will be a whole new audience out there who are unfamiliar with those two movies. In Sawyer, we have a hero who clearly knows no fear, who's bravado knows no bounds, and is prepared to spray a can of Whoop Ass on anyone getting in the way of his family. And to this end he muttered the lines 'I love you' to his wife and kids about a hundred times during this film, which I found just a little OTT and clearly the scriptwriter here was struggling for meaningful dialogue amidst all the action set pieces when it was Sawyer all alone against the world! Johnson is clearly the big draw card here and it is his film alone, unlike Newman and McQueen in 'The Towering Inferno' and Willis and Rickman in 'Die Hard' who paired off against each other admirably and shared equal screen time. You need to see this on the big screen for all the vertigo inducing action, but as for the story and the originality, there is very little new to see here that hasn't been done already.

'Skyscraper' merits two claps of the clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th July 2018.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in the spa town of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe’s leading film event. Wikipedia reports that the pre-war dream of many enthusiastic filmmakers materialised in 1946 when a non-competition festival of films from seven countries took place in a neighbouring spa town of Marianske Lazne in the Karlovy Vary Region, and Karlovy Vary. Above all it was intended to screen the results of the recently nationalised Czechoslovak film industry. After the first two years the festival moved permanently to Karlovy Vary. The Karlovy Vary IFF first held an international film competition in 1948. Since 1951, an international jury has evaluated the films.

This years event, which marked the 53rd year, ran from 29th June through until 7th July, with the annual awards ceremony taking place on Saturday 7th July. The statistics from this years festival reveal that according to event organisers, the festival was attended by just over thirteen thousand accredited visitors. Of that number almost eleven thousand had Festival Passes, four hundred were filmmakers, nearly twelve hundred were film professionals, and there were 630 journalists. From the industry, close to fourteen hundred were film buyers, sellers, distributors, film festival programmers, representatives of film institutions, and other industry professionals with 550 coming from overseas. Thirty-five films saw their world premiere, while eight had their international premiere and seven their European premiere.

The Grand Prix award which is accompanied by a Crystal Globe statuette and US$25K in prize money went to 'I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians' and is a Co-Production between Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Bulgaria, and is Directed by Romanian film maker and Screenwriter Radu Jude. The film attempts to comment on this quote spoken in the Council of Ministers during the Summer of 1941 which started the ethnic cleansing on the Eastern Front.

The Special Jury Prize went to 'Sueño Florianópolis' a Argentina, Brazil and French Co-Produced comedy Directed by Ana Katz, for which Mercedes Moran also won the award for Best Actress, and is also picked up the Award of International Film Critics. Other awards went to Barry Levinson for his 1988 film 'Rain Man' as voted under the Pravo Audience Award, and also both Barry Levinson and Tim Robbins were awarded a Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema. Robert Pattinson also collected the Festival Presidents Award.

For more information, you can go to the official website at : www.kviff.com

This week we have three new cinematic offerings coming to your local Odeon, kick staring with a high rise action thriller that seems to be a mash up between earlier action disaster flicks aided and abetted by the worlds most bankable action star of the moment. We then move to a duo of Aussie films - the first is a psychological thriller tale of writers block as experienced by a hugely successful first time novelist now struggling with her follow up novel, and how the arrival of long lost friend over a quiet weekend retreat digs up secrets from the past that were perhaps best being kept hidden. And secondly, a Sci-Fi action offering of alien invasion taking occupation of our humble little blue planet, but did them pesky space invader types count on a rag tag bunch of gun totting Aussies to make life difficult for them?

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new movies 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 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.

'SKYSCRAPER' (Rated M) - this just has American action drama written all over it and none other than all conquering hero Dwayne Johnson as the hunk of beef cake set to save the world, or the skyscraper in question at least, from a bunch of gun toting, no good pesky terrorists types. Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Rawson Marshall Thurber whose previous Directing credits include 'DodgeBall : A True Underdog Story', 'We're the Millers', and 'Central Intelligence' also with Dwayne Johnson, the film goes on general release in the US and Australia this week.

The story here surrounds former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader, U.S. war veteran and amputee Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) who now assesses security for skyscrapers for a living. He's on assignment in Hong Kong with his family living in the said skyscraper, known as 'The Pearl'. When he finds the tallest, safest building in the world suddenly under attack by terrorists and he's the head of security, Sawyer must spring into action, However, the situation is complicated more when he's accused of masterminding the attack and has been framed for it. A wanted man on the run inside a monster building, Sawyer must track down those responsible, clear his name and somehow rescue his family, who are now trapped inside the building, above the line of fire. Sounds like a mash up of the first 'Die Hard' instalment and 'Towering Inferno'. Prepare to suspend all belief. Also starring Neve Campbell and Noah Taylor, the film cost US$125M.

'THE SECOND' (Rated MA15+) - this is the first original feature length film put out by those streaming people at Stan, and is released in cinemas concurrently. This Australian film, shot in Queensland, was shown at the recent Sydney Film Festival and is Directed by first timer Mairie Cameron. Described as a steamy psycho-thriller, the like of which you would ordinarily hardly call your typical Aussie movie, here the film centres on an unnamed Writer and author of a worldwide best selling sexually charged autobiographical first novel (Rachael Blake), but crafting her second novel is far from as straightforward. Now the Writer has everything - fame, fortune and a doting new boyfriend . . . and writers block! Attempting to meet her deadline, the Writer and her publisher boyfriend (Vince Colosimo) take a long weekend retreat to her family's country estate. However, when a beautiful friend from the past arrives on the scene unexpectedly (Susie Porter) a secret history shared between the two presents a challenging predicament with potentially dangerous consequences. Over the weekend, the women straddle from tenderness to hostility and back again, as rivalry, teenage memories and a dark secret from their history all come to bear. Also starring Martin Sacks and Susan Prior.

'OCCUPATION' (Rated M) - this Australian made action Sci-Fi is Written and Directed by Luke Sparke and follows his feature film Directorial debut of 2016, 'Red Billabong', with 'Occupation 2' already in the works and slated for a 2019 release, before even the release of this first instalment in Australia this week and the US next week. Following the annihilation of their small remote Australian community by an overwhelming airborne attack, a rag tag group of civilians evade capture but quickly come to the realisation that they are now among the last remaining survivors of an alien invasion that has taken over the planet. As what is left of humanity falls under global occupation, they form a domestic army to retaliate against a vastly superior enemy foe. On the front lines of the battle for Earth, they may just be our last hope and salvation. Starring Dan Ewing, Temuera Morrison, Jacqueline Mackenzie and Stephanie Jacobsen.

With three new release films out 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 in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 30th August - 5th September 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Noah Taylor does on 4th September - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 46 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 30th August

•  Cameron Diaz - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actress | Producer
•  Michael Chiklis - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actor | Producer | Director

Monday 31st August

• Richard Gere - Born 1949, turns 66 - Actor | Producer
• Chris Tucker - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor | Writer
• Marc Webb - Born 1974, turns 41 - Director | Producer | Editor
• Jonathan LaPaglia - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Producer
• Jack Thompson - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor | Producer

Tuesday 1st September

• Craig McLachlan - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Lily Tomlin - Born 1939, turns 76 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer

Wednesday 2nd September

• Salma Hayek - Born 1966, turns 49 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Keanu Reeves - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Mark Harmon - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor | Producer | Director

Thursday 3rd September

• Garrett Hedlund - Born 1984, turns 31 - Actor
• Charlie Sheen - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Noah Baumbach - Born 1969, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Jean-Pierre Jeunet - Born 1953, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Pauline Collins - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actress

Friday 4th September

• Noah Taylor - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor
• Wes Bentley - Born 1978, turns 37 - Actor | Producer
• Damon Wyans - Born 1960, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer

Saturday 5th September

• George Lazenby - Born 1939, turns 76 - Actor
• Paddy Considine - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actor | Director | Writer
• Werner Herzog - Born 1942, turns 73 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Michael Keaton - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor | Producer
• Raquel Welch - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actress | Producer
• Carice van Houten - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actress | Producer
• Rose McGowan - Born 1973, turns 42 - Actress | Director

Noah George Taylor was born in London, England, to Australian parents - mother Maggie Miller, a book editor and journalist, and Paul Taylor a copywriter and journalist also. At age five the family returned to Australia where he grew up in Melbourne. His parents divorced when he was fourteen, and at sixteen he left both home and school with little intention on pursuing a career in acting. At the suggestion of a friend and for want of something to do, he gave acting a go at St. Martin's Youth Theatre in Melbourne's South Yarra. Here he came to the attention of Director John Duigan who gave him a role in 1987's 'The Year My Voice Broke' and then in its 1991 follow-up 'Flirting' with a young up & coming Nicole Kidman.

For his performances in these two films he picked up a couple of awards, and being typecast as the gawky, geekish, gloomy unaware young adult he was cast as the young David Helfgott in Scott Hicks highly acclaimed 1996 'Shine' with Geoffrey Rush playing the older pianist. For his role here too he picked up further awards.









Before 'Shine' however, there were a number of other appearances including television shows the likes of which were three episodes of the mini-series 'Bangkok Hilton', two episodes of 'A Country Practise', and then 'Boys from the Bush', 'Inspector Morse', and 'G.P.'. Films included 'Lover Boy' in 1989, 'Dead to the World' in 1991, 'Secrets' and 'The Nostradamus Kid' in 1992, and 'Dad and Dave : On Our Selection' in 1995.

The late 90's saw 'Frontier', 'True Love and Chaos' with Ben Mendelsohn, Hugo Weaving and Miranda Otto; 'Woundings' with Guy Pearce, Emily Lloyd, and Ray Winstone'; 'Life in the Fast Lane' with Tea Leoni and Patrick Dempsey; 'Simon Magus' with Rutger Hauer, Ian Holm and Toby Jones; and closing out the decade 'Mauvaise pass' with Ben Whishaw, Keith Allen and Darrel Auteuil.

As 2000 notched over so came more notable fare including Cameron Crowe's 'Almost Famous' with its all star line up of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, and Zooey Deschanel. After this was a turn with Angeline Jolie in 'Lara Croft : Tomb Raider' in 2001 and its follow up in 2003 'The Cradle of Life'. There was also 'He Died with a Felafel in his Hand'; 'Vanilla Sky' with Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz and Directed by Cameron Crowe once again, and then 'Max' with John Cusack, in which Taylor starred as the young art student Adolf Hitler.

Since then there has been further diversity in his acting choices with some big budget offerings, more independent fare and quirky Directors that presented him with Wes Anderson's 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' and an all star cast once more; Tim Burton's remake of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Submarine' for Richard Ayoade and starring Paddy Considine; 'The Proposition' Directed by John Hillcoat; Terrence Mallick's 'The New World' with Ben Mendelsohn again and Christian Bale and Colin Farrell; and then 'The New Daughter' with Kevin Costner and next 'Red, White and Blue'.

The last five years have brought highly acclaimed and much loved 'Red Dog', 'Lawless', 'The Double' for Richard Ayoade again, 'Anna' and one of my favourite films of 2014 - 'Predestination' with Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook. There was also 'Edge of Tomorrow' with Tom Cruise once more, and in between time there have been episodes of television series 'Rake', 'The Borgias', 'Game of Thrones', 'Peaky Blinders', 'Powers' and 'Then There Were None' with 'The Menkoff Method' due for imminent release and 'Free Fire' filming for a 2016 release and starring Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy and Directed by Ben Wheatley.

All up Taylor has 63 Acting credits, with seven award wins and a further nine nominations. In his acting down time when he's not in front of the camera he likes to paint, draw and play music being skilled and accomplished with the viola, French horn, guitar and piano. He sings and plays in his own bands and lists Lou Reed and Johnny Cash as his inspiration. In late 2012 he married Aussie fashion designer Dionne Harris and the two live in Brighton, East Sussex, England. Taylor has a daughter born in 2007, Martha, from a former relationship.

Noah Taylor - often mistaken for a younger Nick Cave, often plays strong and pivotal supporting roles, has garnered more fame and acclaim in recent years and overseas than he has Down Under, but continues to add gravitas, be in demand and add originality and believability to his roles. Happy Birthday to you Noah, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

RED DOG : archive from 4th October 2011.

Finally got around to seeing the much talked about, the much hyped 'RED DOG' that is still doing the rounds at select cinemas after weeks of general release. A genuine ocker Aussie feel good family movie that deserves your attention to support Australian movie making, watch a piece of history committed to celluloid, and witness some great screen acting performed by a very talented dog. Directed by Kriv Stenders and based on a short story by Louis de Bernieres this is a simple story of the great Aussie outback with heart! It was shot for AU$8.5M and made AU$21M in Australia this film captured the imagination in its native homeland, but failed to enjoy the same acclaim in other territories.

The film is set in the late 70's early 80's in Dampier, a mining port in remote northern Western Australia where American guy John Grant (Josh Lucas) has arrived to work the mines as a bus driver for those working below ground. John won over 'Red Dog' and the two became devout friends over a couple of years and travelled everywhere together. In time John started dating a secretary at Hamersley Iron, Nancy Grey (Rachael Taylor) and on the night of their engagement John orders Red Dog to stay at his own cabin until he gets back, but is then killed tragically in a freak accident on his motorcycle riding back to his camp from Nancy's caravan.

As the days pass, everyone has all but forgotten about Red Dog - caught up in the tragedy and aftermath of John's death, until three days later he is found still waiting where he was ordered to wait. As the weeks pass Red Dog waits, and waits and waits, and skulks around forlorn. In time Red Dog decides to launch his own search campaign for his master, and so begins the search that takes him all across the Pilbara Region and from Perth in the south to Darwin in the north and just about everywhere in between. It is even rumoured that Red Dog jumped a ship to Japan in search for his true master.

In time, exhausted Red Dog makes it back to Dampier and finds Nancy back at her caravan, who is naturally delighted to see her old four legged friend once again. As we come back to the present day from the above story narrated by the town publican Jack Collins (Noah Taylor) to Thomas (Luke Ford) a truck driver, a conversation breaks out in the bar between the locals who say that Dampier should have a statue erected to commemorate someone who truly represented the town, rather than the proposed William Dampier statue who established the place as a fly infested mining port ultimately. As the conversation continues Red Dog slinks out of the bar unnoticed, eventually being found dead lying besides the grave of John Grant.

One year later Thomas is back in Dampier driving his truck and out of the cabin jumps a puppy - a new Red Dog, and shortly afterward the town unveils their statue . . . of Red Dog - which still stands to this day as the embodiment of what the town best represents to the people that live there.

The film picked up ten award wins and fifteen further nominations including the AACTA Award for Best Film in 2012. A follow up film is supposedly currently in production charting the early life of Red Dog up in Western Australia's Pilbara Region in the earlier 70's and will be called 'Blue Dog'. Koko - the Kelpie that starred as Red Dog in the movie died after the films release.

This is a simple, engaging story that is entertaining, humorous, tragic and dramatic and ticks all the boxes, and it sure beats some of the shoot 'em up, scare their pants off stuff out there currently. If you haven't seen this yet, you can rent it now on DVD and BluRay and sit down with the whole family and enjoy the (true) story!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

PREDESTINATION - Tuesday 2nd September 2014.

Earlier this week I saw 'PREDESTINATION' at the Cremorne Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, and now I commend this film to you as amongst one of the best of 2014! This is truly an original, inventive,  and innovative piece of film making by Queensland's Director, Producer and Screenplay writing Spierig Brothers, who have delivered us a gripping story, twists & turns aplenty, memorable performances, a visual feast and an intricate plot that will keep you talking and pondering long after the credits have rolled.

Based on the Robert A. Heinlan short story 'All You Zombies' and filmed in Melbourne, Victoria on a modest budget, this erstwhile film punches well above its weight. This is a Sci-Fi time travelling movie - but not as you know it! 'Looper' was the last decent time travel film I saw, and this bears no resemblance! This film is based in the past - the recent past - with the action never taking us beyond the early-1990's, with the bulk of the action occurring in the 1960's and 70's with the occasional jaunt 'back home' into the 80's. I won't be giving too much away when I tell you that time travel was invented in 1981 for the purposes of this film, as we are told in one line of dialogue.

The principal cast is Ethan Hawke (as 'The Bartender'), Noah Taylor  (as Mr. Robertson) and Sarah Snook (as 'The Unmarried Mother') and the bulk of the action and dialogue is delivered by these three - all of whom are on fine form. Special mention however, must go to Sarah Snook who delivers a simply stunning performance that is sure to catapult her onto the radar of every Hollywood Casting Director from this film forward. Her performance is nuanced, brave and laid bare before us and the film is so much richer for it - simply put - she is brilliant!

And so to the plot! The film opens with a mysterious man attempting to diffuse a ticking bomb in an underground chamber somewhere in New York in 1975. This bomb we learn was set by a notorious bomb terrorist known as 'The Fizzle Bomber' and his actions continue to add to an ever increasing body count. During the attempted diffusing things go awry and our mystery man is injured and his face and head are badly burned. He wakes up seven or so years later in a hospital bed bandaged up, which when later removed reveal a reconstructed face (belonging to Ethan Hawke). We learn he is a 'Temporal Agent' - one of only a select few who are able to travel through time to alter the outcomes of certain events for a better future. He operates as part of a secret organisation under the watchful eye of Mr. Robertson - a sharp suited man, intelligent, dry, but also one of the select few! He has unfinished business with The Fizzle Bomber, which means he must go back to 1975 to prevent what has already occurred and in doing so save the lives of thousands of New York's citizens . . . but at what cost?

In going back he assumes the identity of a Bartender where he engages in a deep and meaningful conversation with a male patron one evening whom we learn is a writer of 'True Confessions' - pulp magazine fiction, under the nom du plume of 'The Unmarried Mother' (Sarah Snook). During this lengthy bar-set dialogue (which in itself is gripping) we learn of his back-story, and the key elements that must be deciphered to understand the twists and turns, the convolutions, the time travelling to-ing and fro-ing, and the possibilities surrounding the relationship between each of the three main characters. All of this will set your head buzzing with a visual and mental feast that will keep you guessing right up to the closing frames of the film, and thereafter as you debate the possibilities of what you have seen on screen.

To tell you more in this Review will be to give away too much - suffice to say this in intelligent, thoughtful, stylish film-making at its best, and one of the must-see movies of this year. I loved this film, and I am confident you will too!

   

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

EDGE OF TOMORROW - Tuesday 10th June 2014.

I checked out the latest Tom Cruise actioner last night at my local multiplex - 'EDGE OF TOMORROW' with a few movie buddies - and I liked this Doug Liman Directed offering - a lot!

Based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka's novel 'All You Need Is Kill', this film charts the story of an invaded Europe following an alien attack, in which the said aliens have taken up residence and are marauding across Europe advancing on the UK leaving death, destruction and devastation in their wake. Set in the not too distant future Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage - a stationed US military PR guru working with the UK based 'United Defence Force' in London - headed up by Brendan Gleeson's General Brigham. We learn early on that Cage is a graduated desk jockey great with words and spin, but no good with a gun out in the field when the going gets tough. He is cowardly, weak and weaselly and when 'ordered' to go into battle by Brigham does everything he can to worm his way out of it. This duly gets him drugged and demoted down to the rank of Private and he awakes at Heathrow Airport - now the forward base for the allied United Defence Force push into Europe to conquer (or so they believe) the advancing aliens. What follows is a lot of kicking, screaming and gnashing of teeth as Cage meets his fellow grunts and cannon fodder for a quick PT session and kit-out before the advance the next morning. Scarred shitless and wearing his newly developed exo-suit with rapid fire technology that he cannot grasp, he is next flying high above Normandy Beach ready to descend into battle. He lands in the thick of it and is clueless what to do whilst his fellow foot soldiers die in immense numbers and horribly all around him. It is only a question of time before an attack by a fast moving multi-tentacled ferocious alien (called 'Mimics) takes Cage out but not before a few rounds have killed the beast causing it to land on top of Cage and bleed black acid blood all over him - dissolving his face and head in an instant - and so Cage is dead!

This 'blood on blood' encounter though gives Cage the ability to distort time and he awakes again back at the Heathrow Airport forward base yesterday when he was first dumped there in his new found position as Privateer. Now, you'll be thinking 'Groundhog Day' and you could be forgiven for that because there are similarities here with reliving every day until you can effect meaningful and purposeful change. And so it is with this film! Cage goes through the same routine every day, gets killed and reawakens yesterday to go through it again, and again and again countless times. The difference though is that every time he gets killed in battle he learns and experiences different things that allow him to avoid situations and advance with new found knowledge, in an attempt to ultimately thwart the Mimics.

It is unclear how many times Cage dies - but it would be in the hundreds and as we progress he knows what to expect, it becomes mundane, boring and predictable and at times he welcomes it because it allows him to 'reset' and start again stronger, wiser, more confident in success. This is what moves the story along aided and abetted by his trainer Rita Vrataski (played with conviction by Emily Blunt) who herself has been in the same position as Cage and can therefore relate to what he is going through every day - but she is now clean as a result of a blood transfusion to save her life - and she is national hero thanks to a win against the Mimics in the battle of Verdun which she spearheaded.

Cruise gives a strong, solid and convincing performance here that would rank as one of his best in a long while; Doug Liman handles the action astutely and the sweeping vistas of Normandy Beach, Heathrow Airport and central Paris with a toppled Eifel Tower are rendered very well. The story line moves along at a good pace, there are moments of humour, the Mimics are well realised and a little different to your everyday intergalactic insectoid interloper, the close quarter battle scenes are big and impressive enough, and Bill Paxton and our own Noah Taylor ably support the cast.

In the final analysis, Cage's multi-repeated deaths and his learnings as a result serve to save the day in the climatic central Paris face off set in the depths of a flooded La Louvre underground car park. There is a little twist at the end which you'll have to see for yourself, but it did leave me with a question for Mr. Liman . . . will it for you too?
I saw this in 3D which serves to sharpen and define the imagery on screen, but 2D will easily suffice. See it on the big screen - it's worth it!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-