BALLERINA : Tuesday 10th June 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'BALLERINA' earlier this week, and this American action thriller film is the fifth film in the 'John Wick' franchise, and serves as a spin-off instalment that is Directed by Len Wiseman, whose prior feature film making credits are 'Underworld' in 2003, 'Underworld : Evolution' in 2006, 'Live Free or Die Hard' in 2007 and 'Total Recall' in 2012, as well as Producing 'Underworld : Rise of the Lycans' in 2009, 'Underworld : Awakening' in 2012, and 'Underworld : Blood Wars' in 2016. This film is also Co-Produced by Chad Stahelski who Directed the first four 'John Wick' films. The film was released here in Australia and the US last week, having so far grossed US$57M from a production budget of US$90M and has generated largely positive critical reviews. Allegedly as far back as March 2023 the studio announced it has plans to develop a sequel with de Armas returning to her role. 

The film opens with a young Eve Macarro (Victoria Comte) playing at ballet dancing with her father Javier (David Castaneda) in their lavish seaside villa. Javier is/was an assassin, a Kikimora for the Ruska Roma, and when Eve was younger he went on the run with his daughter to escape a Cult his wife was heavily involved with, which ultimately led to her death. The Cult's Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) wants to retrieve Eve, and so undercover of darkness the Cult lays siege to their residence, killing the guards and fatally wounding Javier, who helps Eve escape. New York Continental Hotel owner Winston Scott (Ian McShane) brings Eve to the Ruska Roma, where Eve meets their Director (Anjelica Huston) and agrees to join them.

Over the course of the ensuing twelve years Eve (Ana de Armas) trains as a ballerina and a Kikimora assassin/bodyguard under the Director and her mentor Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster). Eve graduates as a Kikimora after killing a fellow Kikimora, as a final test to truly assess that she has what it takes. After completing a contract some two months later, Eve is attacked by an assassin, whom she kills and identifies as a Cultist from a scar of a cross burned onto his wrist. She asks the Director about the Cult, wanting revenge. The Director forbids Eve from chasing down the Cult due to a centuries old truce between the Cult and the Ruska Roma.

Eve disobeys the Director and visits the New York Continental, where Charon, the Hotel Concierge (Lance Reddick, in his final screen appearance following his death in March 2023, aged 60) grants her a meeting with Winston. Winston reveals that one Cultist, Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus), is staying at the Prague Continental with a US$2M bounty on him, so Eve travels there and books a room directly next to his. Several Cultists are also there, led by Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno), waiting for the bounty's fulfilment. 

Eve infiltrates Pine's room, discovering his young daughter Ella (Ava McCarthy), whom Pine reveals is hiding from the Cult, having escaped from them. When the Cult sees that Eve has not killed Pine, Lena increases the bounty to US$4M. The Cultists and other mercenaries attack Pine on Continental grounds. Eve assists him and he entrusts Ella to her. Cultist Dex (Robert Maaser) shoots Pine, while Lena incapacitates Eve and takes Ella. The Prague Continental staff spare Eve for not breaking Continental rules but execute two captured Cultists/mercenaries for their attack.

While in Prague Eve goes to purchase a stash of weapons from arms dealer Frank (Abraham Popoola), but the Cult henchmen attack his shop. After Eve kills every last one of the Cult's heavies, Frank helps her narrow down the location of the Cult's base and provides her with a car so that she can drive herself to their location. 

Eve's search leads to the town of Hallstatt in Upper Austria, where she quickly comes under attack as all the townspeople are of the Cult and many are assassins, some of whom the Cult has offered safe haven to. Eve is eventually captured and brought to the Chancellor, who discovers her ties to the Ruska Roma. Eve reveals her revenge plot, while he reveals that Pine is his son and Ella his granddaughter. The Chancellor remembers Eve, informing Lena that she is Eve's older sister, whom Eve believed to be dead. Eve breaks free before being cornered by Lena, who reveals their kinship. Lena tells Eve that Javier abandoned her during his escape due to fearing that the Cult had already indoctrinated Lena. Hearing of Eve and Lena talking, the Chancellor orders their deaths. The Cult's attack kills Lena while Eve escapes.

The Chancellor calls the Director with a declaration of war between their factions due to Eve's relentless actions, despite the Director repeatedly stating that Eve had gone rogue. To satisfy the Chancellor, the Director sends John Wick (Keanu Reeves) to take out Eve as a compromise, which the Chancellor accepts. 

The Chancellor orders a temporary stand-down of the townsfolk once John arrives at Hallstatt, where he finds and defeats Eve, repeatedly sparing her and imploring her to leave Hallstatt. Eve pleads for her revenge, so the sympathetic John gives her the remaining twenty-eight minutes until midnight, when the stand-down orders end, to kill the Chancellor. If she fails to kill the Chancellor by then, he will have no choice but to see out his contract to its foregone conclusion.

Eve continues fighting against the Cult across Hallstatt, with John killing Dex to save Eve. Some Cultists attack John, who in turn kills them. When the Cult loses track of John, the Chancellor attempts to flee with Ella in a SUV, but Eve shoots the driver causing the vehicle to come to an abrupt halt, and corners the Chancellor. The Chancellor exits the car and attempts to reason with Eve, but Eve executes him where he stands, and rescues Ella. John calls the Director who asks if 'she' is dead, but John simply responds by stating that 'he' is dead.

Ella is reunited with an alive and recovering Pine at the New York Continental where Eve takes refuge. Now exiled from the Ruska Roma, Eve watches former Kikimora trainee and friend Tatiana's (Juliet Doherty) Swan Lake ballet performance. The Cult places a US$5M bounty on Eve, and being alerted to this development on her mobile phone, as were several other members of the audience, she quickly exits the theatre.

'Ballerina' has all the trademarks of the four previous 'John Wick' instalments, which I guess is down largely to the involvement of Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves, from the bullet ballet choreography, the intense close quarter fight scenes, the creative kills, and a strong cast who really give it their all. Director Len Wiseman has done a very respectable job of steering this franchise in a relatively new direction whilst maintaining the many touchstones, characters, top notch cinematography, relentless pace and everything we have come to expect from the series so far. Ana de Armas gives a solid performance as the Ballerina in question here, and seems to slip easily enough into the role as the gun totting, arse kicking, flame thrower wielding, ice skate launching, grenade lobbing assassin Eve Macarro, and it's good to see Keanu Reeves reprise his role as John Wick even if only for a couple of scenes in the last fifteen minutes or so. 

'Ballerina' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE BIKERIDERS : Tuesday 9th July 2024

I saw the M Rated 'THE BIKERIDERS' earlier this week, and this American crime drama offering is Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols whose previous feature films include his debut in 2007 with 'Shotgun Stories' and then 'Take Shelter' in 2011, 'Mud' in 2012, and 'Midnight Special' and 'Loving' both in 2016. This film is inspired by the photo-book of the same name by Danny Lyon, and depicts the lives of the Vandals Motorcycle Club, a fictionalised rendering of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August last year and was released Stateside on 21st June having so far grossed US$30M off the back of a US$35M production budget and garnering generally positive critical acclaim.

The film opens up in 1965, Kathy Bauer (Jodie Comer) meets Benny Cross (Austin Butler), a hotheaded member of the Chicago-based Vandals Motorcycle Club, in the clubs local bar, and the pair get married just five weeks later. Photography student Danny Lyon (Mike Faist) travels with, interviews and photographs the Vandals over a number of years. He learns from Kathy, that the founder, Johnny Davis (Tom Hardy), was inspired to form the club after watching Marlon Brando's 1953 film 'The Wild One' on TV. Johnny's leadership is challenged when he rebuffs another Vandal's suggestion that new chapters should be allowed to form. They engage in a fist fight which Johnny wins, and so re-establishes his authority and grants permission to expand the club. New chapters begin to form across the American Midwest.

In 1969, Benny is sat at a bar drinking alone and is approached by two men for wearing his clubs colours. A fight breaks out and the three end up out on the street in an all out brawl with Benny copping a real beating, and his foot is nearly severed by one of the men bringing a shovel down just above the ankle during the fight. Johnny forces the owner to provide the names of the men, and then promptly orders the Vandals to burn down the bar, while they stand and watch while fire crews and the Police maintain a safe distance seemingly too frightened to approach. In hospital with his foot bandaged up, Benny urges Kathy not to allow the doctors to amputate his foot. 

While Benny is recovering from surgery some three weeks later, Johnny pressures him to come to a motorcycle rally before he is fully healed, much to Kathy's chagrin. At the rally, up rides Funny Sonny (Norman Reedus) from the Dead Devil's Club in California and says that he's heard there's a rally going on and so he thought he make the journey and join in. Later that evening Johnny offers Benny leadership of the club when he steps down, but Benny rejects it.

A 20-year-old delinquent known as 'the Kid' (Toby Wallace) asks Johnny to allow him and his own small motorcycle club to join the Vandals. Johnny initially dismisses them saying their all too young, but tests the Kid by allowing only him to join. When he expresses willingness to abandon his four friends, Johnny rejects him, saying that club members never leave their friends behind. The Kid attacks Johnny with a knife, who beats him and warns him not to come back.

Fast forward to 1973, and Lyon interviews Kathy about what became of the Vandals. She explains that Johnny became disheartened after the death of his lieutenant Brucie (Damon Herriman) in a vehicular accident, and the club grew increasingly violent after drug-addled Vietnam War veterans joined the club. At a party, longtime member Cockroach (Emory Cohen) is badly beaten up by new members when he drunkenly expresses a desire to leave the club to become a motorcycle Police Officer. Kathy is nearly raped while Benny is occupied taking Cockroach to the hospital, but she is rescued in time by Johnny. Furious that Benny wasn't at the party to protect her, she demands Benny quit the Vandals. Instead, he leaves her for several days. To allow Cockroach to safely leave the club, Johnny takes Benny to stage a break-in at his house, where they shoot him non-fatally in the leg. Concerned over the escalating violence of the club and again rejecting Johnny's offer of leadership, Benny quits and gets the hell outta Dodge, leaving Kathy high and dry.

The Kid, now a member of the Vandals Milwaukee chapter, challenges Johnny to a knife fight for leadership the next night which Johnny has no option but to accept. Johnny swings by Kathy's house to see if she has heard from or seen Benny, to which she responds in the negative. Johnny goes onto the designated meeting place for the challenge armed with a knife and a knuckle duster only for the Kid to pull out a gun and shoot Johnny dead. Kathy explains to Lyon that after the Kid took over the Vandals, they became a large criminal gang involved in drug trafficking, prostitution and even murder. The older members either toed the line, left to obtain legitimate jobs, or died.

Benny, upon learning of Johnny's death, returns home and breaks down with Kathy consoling him on their front steps. He and Kathy relocate to Florida where Benny works as a mechanic with his cousin and stopped riding motorcycles as soon as Johnny was killed. Kathy tells Lyon that they are happy, and Benny doesn't miss the biker fraternity. Outside, Benny hears motorcycles roaring nearby and flashes a wry smile at his wife.

'The Bikeriders' boasts captivating performances from Comer, Butler (channeling James Dean) and Hardy (channeling Marlon Brandon) and Writer and Director Nichols has here crafted a film that is grounded and convincing in its depiction of late 1960's and early 1970's counter culture, the rebellious and often violent history of motorcycle gangs, and all of the raw emotion and masculinity that lurks just below the surface. 'The Bikeriders' is certainly worth the price of your cinema ticket if your looking for a throwback to a bygone era interlaced with a thumping soundtrack, great cinematography and a solid enough storyline to maintain your interest for its almost two hour running time. The film also stars Michael Shannon and Boyd Holbrook in strong supporting roles.

'The Bikeriders' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 31st December 2017 - 6th January 2018.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Norman Reedus does on 6th January - check out my tribute to this Actor, Producer, Director and Writer Birthday Lad turning 49, 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 have 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 31st December

• Anthony Hopkins - Born 1937, turns 80 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Composer | Singer | Songwriter
• Ben Kingsley - Born 1943, turns 74 - Actor | Producer 
• James Remar - Born 1953, turns 64 - Actor 
• Val Kilmer - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer 
• Barbara Carrera - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actress   

Monday 1st January

• Angourie Rice - Born 2001, turns 17 - Actress 
• Frank Langella - Born 1938, turns 80 - Actor 
• Verne Troyer - Born 1969, turns 49 - Actor 

Tuesday 2nd January 

• Todd Haynes - Born 1961, turns 57 - Director | Writer | Producer | 
• Cuba Gooding Jnr. - Born 1968, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Taye Diggs - Born 1971, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Dax Shepard - Born 1975, turns 43 - Actor | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Singer  
• Tia Carrere - Born 1967, turns 51 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Paz Vega - Born 1976, turns 42 - Actress 
• Kate Bosworth - Born 1983, turns 35 - Actress | Producer

Wednesday 3rd January

• Victoria Principal - Born 1950, turns 68 - Actress | Producer
• Florence Pugh - Born 1996, turns 22 - Actress
• Dabney Coleman - Born 1932, turns 86 - Actor 
• Mel Gibson - Born 1956, turns 62 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer  
• Matt Ross - Born 1970, turns 48 - Actor | Director | Writer 

Thursday 4th January

• Graham McTavish - Born 1961, turns 57 - Actor | Singer
• Julia Ormond - Born 1965, turns 53 - Actress | Producer  

Friday 5th January

• Diane Keaton - Born 1946, turns 72 - Actress | Director | Producer | Singer
• January Jones - Born 1978, turns 40 - Actress 
• Robert Duvall - Born 1931, turns 87 - Actor | Producer | Director 
• Hayao Miyazaki - Born 1941, turns 77 - Writer | Director | Animator | Producer | Editor | Songwriter | Voice Actor
• Roger Spottiswoode - Born 1945, turns 73 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor
• Clancy Brown - Born 1959, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Vinnie Jones - Born 1965, turns 53 - Actor | Singer
• Bradley Cooper - Born 1975, turns 43 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer  

Saturday 6th January

• Rowan Atkinson - Born 1955, turns 63 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• Norman Reedus - Born 1969, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer 
• Eddie Redmayne - Born 1982, turns 36 - Actor | Singer 
• Sylvia Syms - Born 1934, turns 84 - Actress 
• Kate McKinnon - Born 1984, turns 34 - Actress | Writer | Singer

Norman Mark Reedus was born in Hollywood, Florida, USA to mother Marianne Yarber, a teacher, and father Ira Norman Reedus. In his teenage years he worked in a Harley-Davidson dealership in Venice, California and through his artwork interests was a regular contributor to various shows exhibiting his painting, photography, sculpting and video work skills. His first taste for the acting craft came in the stage play 'Maps for Drowners' at The Tiffany Theatre on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. He was discovered at a Los Angeles party when he started screaming wearing huge sunglasses, and another party guest asked him if he wanted to act in a play. And the rest as they say, is history!

Reedus gained his big screen debut in Guillermo del Toro's horror Sci-Fi offering 'Mimic' in 1997 with Josh Brolin, F. Murray Abraham, Jeremy Northam and Mira Sorvino. This was followed up that same year by coming of age romantic drama 'Floating', then the comedy crime drama 'Six Ways to Sunday' with Debbie Harry and Adrien Brody, and then the likes of 'I'm Losing You', 'Dark Harbour', 'Reach The Rock', 'Davis is Dead', 'Let The Devil Wear Black' before Joel Schumacher's mystery thriller '8MM' with Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini and Peter Stormare. This in turn led to action crime thriller 'The Boondocks Saints' in 1999 with Willem Dafoe, Billy Connolly and Sean Patrick Flanery. Reedus plays brother Murphy MacManus to Flanery's Conor MacManus in this Boston set underworld revenge and retribution offering, which saw Reedus, Flanery and Connolly reprise their roles in the 2009 sequel 'The Boondocks Saints II : All Saints Day'.

The new decade in 2000 opened with 'Beat' with Keifer Sutherland, 'Gossip' with James Marsden and Lena Headey, 'Bad Seed', 'Sand', 'Beatnicks', Luster' and Guillermo del Toro's action Sci-Fi horror sequel 'Blade II' with Wesley Snipes, Ron Perlman and Kris Kristofferson. 'Deuces Wild', 'Nobody Needs to Know', 'Tough Luck', 'Octane' and 'Until the Night' closed out 2004. In the meantime there had been two episodes on television series 'Charmed'. 

2005 saw 'Antibodies', historical biography 'The Notorious Bettie Page' with Gretchen Mol in the title role, then 'A Crime' in 2006 with Harvey Keitel and Ridley Scott's acclaimed 'American Gangster' in 2007 with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. 'Moscow Chill' was released also in 2007, then 'Hero Wanted' with Cuba Gooding Jnr., horror thriller 'Red Canyon', 'Cadillac Records' in 2008 with Adrien Brody and Sci-Fi action horror offering 'Pandorum' with Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid seeing out 2009 with the aforementioned 'The Boondocks Saints II : All Saints Day'.

2010 saw another busy year with numerous release films including 'Meskada', the Robert Redford Directed 'The Conspirator' with James McAvoy, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, Toby Kebbel and Robin Wright, then 'Hello Herman', mystery horror offering 'Night of the Templar', 'Sunlight Jr.' with Matt Dillon and Naomi Watts, followed by 'Pawn Shop Chronicles' with Matt Dillon again and Elijah Wood, Paul Walker, Brendan Fraser and Vincent D'Onofrio, and then 'Stretch' in 2014 with Patrick Wilson, Ed Helms, Ray Liotta, David Hasselhoff and Jessica Alba.

In between time Reedus was cast as the motorcycle riding crossbow wielding Daryl Dixon in the hugely popular and highly acclaimed AMC post zombie apocalypse television series 'The Walking Dead' which has aired for seven seasons so far, with Season Eight due in 2018, and spanning 115 episodes in which Reedus has appeared in 113 of those episodes to date. The series created by Frank Durabont based on the graphic novels by Robert Kirkman have so far garnered 66 award wins and 183 nominations, including three award wins and three nods for Reedus as Best Supporting Actor in the series. He stars beside Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Lauran Cohan, Danai Gurira and Steven Yuen as the principle cast.

2015 saw another outing for the Griswold clan in 'Vacation' with Ed Helms, Chevy Chase, Chris Hemsworth, Christina Applegate, and Leslie Mann, followed up by Sci-Fi drama 'Air' with Djimon Hounsou, and then the drama 'Sky' with Diane Kruger. 2016 brought along John Hillcoat's Police crime drama film 'Triple 9' with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Kate Winslet, Gal Gadot and Teresa Palmer. Meanwhile there had been several one off appearances on 'American Dad', 'Turbo FAST', 'Robot Chicken' and 'Voltron' with several video games to which Reedus had lent his voice including 'The Walking Dead : Survival Instinct', 'The Walking Dead : No Man's Land', 'Iron Man : Rise of Technovore' and currently filming is the video game 'Death Stranding' also featuring Mads Mikkelsen and Guillermo del Toro.

Bringing us up to date, is 'Ride with Norman Reedus'. The series follows the Actor and motorcycle enthusiast where he and a guest of the week travel across to a different destination on a motorcycle while exploring the city's biker culture and checking out various locales. The travel series Premiered on AMC in mid-2016, with a second season going to air in late 2017, with a third season commissioned for 2018.

All up Reedus has 72 acting credits to his name, two as Producer, two as Writer and two as Director. He has garnered so far four award wins for his work on 'The Walking Dead' and 'Floating' and a further five nominations.

Aside from his successful acting career, Reedus has modelled over the years for the likes of Prada, Levi's and Lexus, and has also appeared in numerous music videos for prominent recording artists including Keith Richards, Bjork, The Goo Goo Dolls, Ugly Kid Joe, R.E.M. and Radiohead, and more recently Lady Gaga, Hilary Duff and Tricky. He has also showcased his painting, sculpting and photographic works in galleries in New York, Berlin and Frankfurt.

Reedus was in a five year relationship with supermodel Helena Christensen from 1998 through until 2003 with whom they have a son Mingus Lucien Reedus (Born in 1999). In 2005 Reedus was involved in a bad motorcycle accident in Germany resulting in him needing a nose reconstruction with the aid for four screws and a new left eye socket made from titanium.

Norman Reedus - heavily tattooed; reconstructed like a Terminator; collects masks for a hobby; multi-talented; has worked across multiple genres; has his own New York based Production Company called 'Bigbaldhead' (as in the sun rising up like a  . . . ); and is often seen wearing sun glasses, donning a beard or goatee, carrying a weapon of some kind, and speaking in his trademark deep husky voice. We love you in 'The Walking Dead' and watch out for your other productions too with much interest and anticipation. Happy Birthday to you Norman, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 11th - 17th September 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Andrew Lincoln does on 14th September - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 43, 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 11th September

• Brian De Palma - Born 1940, turns 76 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Tony Gilroy - Born 1956, turns 60 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Harry Connick Jnr. - Born 1967, turns 49 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer  

Monday 12th September

• Ian Holm - Born 1931, turns 85 - Actor
• Hans Zimmer - Born 1957, turns 59 - Composer | Songwriter | Musician
• Rachel Ward - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actress | Writer | Director
• Linda Gray - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actress  

Tuesday 13th September

• Jacqueline Bisset - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actress
• Frank Marshall - Born 1946, turns 70 - Producer | Director | Actor
• Colin Trevorrow - Born 1976, turns 40 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Wednesday 14th September

• Sam Neill - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director | Winemaker
• Joon-ho Bong - Born 1969, turns 47 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Andrew Lincoln - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actor  

Thursday 15th September

• Tommy Lee Jones - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director  
• Oliver Stone - Born 1946, turns 70 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Tom Hardy - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Writer | Producer

Friday 16th September

• Mickey Rourke - Born 1952, turns 64 - Actor | Writer
• Amy Poehler - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer  

Saturday 17th September

• Baz Luhrmann - Born 1962, turns 54 - Director | Producer | Writer | Songwriter
• Paul Feig - Born 1962, turns 54 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Bryan Singer  - Born 1965, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Kyle Chandler - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Neill Blomkamp - Born 1979, turns 37 - Director | Producer | Writer | VFX Artist  

Andrew James Clutterbuck was born in London, England to mother, a South African nurse and father, a civil engineer. At eighteen months old the family moved to Hull, Yorkshire, and then at age eight to Bath, Somerset where he attended Beechen Cliff School - a secondary school for boys. It was while at school at age fourteen that he got his first taste of acting, in a school production of 'Oliver' playing The Artful Dodger. He spent a summer break at London's National Youth Theatre where his interest in acting as a career was cemented. Following school he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London which is when, wisely, he adopted the stage name Andrew Lincoln.

He gained his first television appearance in a single episode of Channel 4's 'Drop the Dead Donkey' series in 1994. A year later he was cast in his first full length feature film - 'Boston Kickout' - a British drama Written and Directed by Paul Hills and starring John Simm. Two episodes on 'Over Here' and one on 'Bramwell' followed in 1996, before 32 episodes on the BBC drama series 'This Life' which ran for two series from 1996 to 1997. He followed these up with the BBC's 'Woman in White' in 1997, and then feature film 'Human Traffic' for Director Justin Kerrigan and starring John Simm again. The film was a commercial and critical success and has since achieved cult status.

2000 saw British crime drama 'Gangster No. 1' for Director Paul McGuigan with Malcolm McDowell, Paul Bettany, David Thewlis, Eddie Marsan and Saffron Burrows. Up next was 'Offending Angels' which tanked at the UK box office taking less than one hundred pounds sterling, and received very mixed reviews despite it doing well on the film festival circuit. Made for television movies 'A Likeness in Stone' and 'State of Mind' came next with 'Understanding Jane' before Richard Curtis' 2003 'Love Actually' with a who's who of British acting talent including Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emma Thompson and Keira Knightley. Lincoln's role as Mark in the film, gained him wider recognition.

From 2001 to 2003 Lincoln starred as Simon Casey in Channel 4's 'Teachers' - a television comedy drama series that ran for four seasons, with Lincoln appearing in two of those seasons. The show was nominated for six BAFTA's during its time, and charted the lives of a bunch of secondary school teachers both in and out of the classroom.

Over the next few years Lincoln dipped in between television and films with appearances on 'The Canterbury Tales' for the BBC with John Simm once more, James Nesbitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters and Billie Piper, then 'Holby City', 'Lie With Me', 'Afterlife' for its two seasons over fourteen episodes, and the two part ITV adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights' with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley. Feature films during this period included 'Enduring Love' with Daniel Craig, Bill Nighy and Samantha Morton, 'These Foolish Things' with Terrence Stamp, Lauren Bacall and Angelica Huston, the French comedy 'Hey Good Looking!' and 'Scenes of a Sexual Nature' with Ewen McGregor, Tom Hardy and Hugh Bonneville. Made for television movies included 'Things I Haven't Told You', 'Play or Be Played' and 'Moonshot' closed out the decade.

2010 launched with 'Heartbreak' with Vanessa Paradis, and 'Made in Dagenham' with Bob Hoskins, Rosamund Pike, Sally Hawkins, Andrea Riseborough and Geraldine James. Also that year he appeared in five episodes of 'Strike Back'. He also appeared in several stage plays over the years, radio productions, and voice over work for documentaries, advertisements and governmental campaigns.

This of course brings us up to the present day, to Lincoln's lead role in the highly acclaimed 'The Walking Dead' television series for AMC Productions in the role of Rick Grimes. With Season Seven going to air in the US in late October, this show has run to huge success since its launch in 2010, and has now seen 99 episodes (including the yet to air Season Seven), has won 48 awards and been nominated for another 142, and, it has the highest Nielsen ratings in cable television history. Lincoln has won three Best Actor Awards for his portrayal of Rick Grimes and been nominated a further ten times.

Lincoln has 41 Acting credits to his name and one Director credit for two episodes of 'Teachers' back in 2003. He has four award wins and another thirteen nominations so far under his belt. He married Gael Anderson in 2006, the daughter of Ian Anderson, the lead singer of Jethro Tull. Together they have two children Matilda (born in 2007) and Arthur (born in 2010). Lincoln has an older brother, Richard.

Andrew Lincoln - good friends with Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon on 'TWD'); has a distinctive raspy voice; has successfully moved between stage, screen and TV over the years; and has given us a character now ingrained in popular culture that we love you for, and love your work. Happy Birthday to you Andrew, from Odeon Online, and, from a fellow former Bath resident who lived just a mile up the road from where you went to school.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

TRIPLE 9 : Friday 4th March 2016.

'TRIPLE 9' which I saw over the weekend as Directed and Co-Produced by Australian John Hillcoat, is a crime drama that might get you thinking about 'The Town' or 'Heat'. With an ensemble cast and made for just US$20M this was released in the US at the end of February and so arrives fresh in Australia only this week having so far brought in US$10M.  Early on many other names were attached to this project including Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz and Charlie Hunnam - but they all dropped away giving way to the line up that now makes this film.

The film opens with an impressive bank robbery set piece in broad daylight when three criminal types - Michael Attwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Russell Welch (Norman Reedus) and his brother Gabe (Aaron Paul) and two corrupt cops Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jnr.) retrieve a strong box from the bank vault, in downtown Atlanta, and in the process Gabe helps himself to a stash of new dollar bills sitting on a nearby trolley. With only minutes allowed to execute their plan which they have timed to perfection, they make their getaway in various vehicles undercover of plain sight. In doing so, the cash money picked up by Gabe during the heist explodes in one of the getaway vehicle spraying the crims with red dye and engulfing the inside of the car with red smoke, as they speed along a busy highway. They are forced to stop after several collisions and exit the car resulting in a bullet ballet shoot out on the city freeway. Needless to say the gang do get away before the police can descend upon them.

Having robbed a safety deposit box which contains information which could overturn the recent conviction of a Russian Mob kingpin, Michael delivers the said box to the mobsters wife Irina Vlasov (Kate Winslet) who withholds their reward money demanding that they do one more job involving a further heist to secure data which will support her husbands cause for freedom. This time though they have to infiltrate a secure closely guarded government building. To ensure that the gang get the message of just how serious she is, she orders the murder of Russell, leaving the gang shocked and Gabe traumatised. That said, they have no choice but to comply, and for Michael there is an added complication in that he has a son with Irina's sister Elena (Gal Gadot), and if he fails to co-operate it might prevent him from seeing the young lad again . . . or worse.

Having agreed to do the plan, we are quickly introduced to Chris Allen (Casey Affleck) and his wife Michelle (Teresa Palmer) as he joins the local PD and is assigned to partner up with Marcus. Arriving on the scene to investigate the bank robbery in the aftermath, is Sergeant Detective Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson) - who also happens to be the uncle of young Chris. Marcus and Chris do not get off to the most promising partnership in police history and things go arse up on their first day out together when Marcus heatedly questions Chris when he seeks to gather information from a local gang over a gang-related murder.

By now Michael, Marcus and Franco are hatching their plan to steal the data needed by Irina, but have concerns about the time needed to get in, lift the merchandise and get out - requiring ten minutes or more, which is plenty of time for the police to converge on the scene of the crime once the alarm is raised - which they know it will be. What to do? Gabe meanwhile has been linked to the robbery by Jeffrey and still grieving the death of his brother tries to stop the robbery from proceeding.

To give the gang the time necessary to pull of the heist, they decide to pull a 'Triple 9' - which is an officer down call, that sends all police to the scene of an incident, so potentially detracting the police from the scent of the crims who can go about their business largely unhindered, and buying the time required to complete the job and get the hell outta there.

As the time approaches Marcus and Chris are out on patrol and arrive at a rundown projects estate to meet with an informant. This is where the Triple 9 call will originate from so allowing Franco and Michael to complete the robbery. Things go awry inside the darkened derelict building, resulting in a shoot out involving Gabe, Chris, Marcus and a gang member on the run that had been involved in earlier questioning by Chris. The Triple 9 call is made, but who is the officer down, and what are the far reaching consequences of this on Franco, Michael, Irina and Jeffrey?

In the final analysis it does not end well for the crims and the corrupt cops in this piece who all get their comeuppance in this cops & robbers tale. With such a strong cast and a grounded story I was expecting more, and in this case the sum of its parts does not make a whole. The films looks good and the premise is sold enough, but, this is certainly not up there with 'Heat' or 'The Town'. Whilst there are some redeeming features I felt let down as the story seemed to run out of steam until the final five minutes when the conclusion is rushed as it races towards the credits - perhaps an extended DVD/Bluray release will deliver more. The ensemble line up is strong, and good to see many of them playing against type, although for me Winslet does not quite meet my expectations of a menacing, cold, callous, show no mercy, take no prisoners Russian Mafia mob wife, but, the principle male leads did well.

You don't need to see this on the big screen, and hopefully the DVD/Bluray release will tease out more to make for a more rounded complete film ultimately.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-