What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 10th February 2022.

The 51st International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), took place online from 26th January to 6th February. The festival was held online for the second consecutive year due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus across Europe, and opened with Amanda Kramer's film 'Please Baby Please' from the USA and starring Andrea Riseborough, Harry Melling and Demi Moore. The closing night film was 'Dragon Inn' from Taiwan and Directed and Written by King Hu. The International Film Festival Rotterdam offers a high quality line-up of carefully selected fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. The festival's focus is on recent work by talented new filmmakers. However, there is also room for retrospectives and themed programmes. IFFR actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent by providing a leading cultural platform accessible to all, that champions compelling cinema and audiovisual art. Through screenings, talks, exhibitions, and various networking opportunities, IFFR enables discovery, dialogue, learning and people coming together. Through IFFR’s distinct programming, it opens a space for ideas that captivate, engage and entertain, pushing creative boundaries that have the power to transform.

This years winners of the IFFR’s trade mark Tiger Competition celebrates the innovative and adventurous spirit of up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world. The Tiger Award is accompanied by a €40K cash prize, to be shared between the Director and Producer of the winning film. Two Special Jury Awards worth €10K are also presented for exceptional artistic achievement within the competition.

Tiger Award winner was 'EAMI' from Paraguay, and a Co-Production from Paraguay, Germany, Argentina, Netherlands, France and the USA, and Directed, Co-Produced and Written by Paz Encina.  

Special Jury Award presented to 'Excess Will Save Us' from Sweden and Directed, Written and starring Morgane Dziurla-Petit. 

Special Jury Award presented to 'To Love Again', from China and Directed, Written and Co-Edited by Gao Linyang. This film also won the FIPRESCI Award, which is given to the best film in the Tiger Competition. The jury assembles members of the Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique which consists of international film journalists.

The other films nominated in the Tiger Competition were : 'Achrome' from Russia and Directed by Maria Ignatenko; 'The Cloud Messenger' from India Directed by Rahat Mahajan, 'A crianca' from Portugal and Directed by Marguerite de Hillerin and Felix Dutilloy-Liegeois; 'Kafka for Kids' from Israel Directed by Roee Rosen; 'Malintzin 17' from Mexico and Directed by Mara Polgovsky and Eugenio Polgovsky; 'Met Mes' from the Netherlands and Directed by Sam de Jong; 'The Plains' from Australia and Directed by David Easteal; 'Proyecto Fantasma' from Chile Directed by Roberto Doveris; 'Le rev et la radio' from Canada Directed by Renaud Despres-Larose and Ana Tapia Rousiouk; 'Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish' from the USA Directed by Lei Lei and 'Yamabiku' from Japan and Directed by Yamasaki Juichiro. 

The Big Screen Competition bridges the gap between popular, classic and art house cinema. An expert audience jury composed of five film lovers, selects the winner. Together they determine which film they think deserves to be shown in film houses across the Netherlands and broadcast on television after the festival. The winner of the Big Screen Award wins a cash prize of €30,000, half of which goes to the distributor who decides to buy the film. 

This years Big Screen Award winner was 'Kung Fu Zohra' from France and Directed by Mabrouk el Mechri, beating out 'Assault' from Kazakhstan Directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov; 'Broadway' from Greece Directed by Christos Massalas; 'CE2 (Third Grade)' from France and Directed by Jacques Doillon; 'Daryn's Gym' from South Africa Directed by Brett Michael Innes; 'Drifting Petals' from Australia Directed by Clara Law; 'The Island' from Romania Directed by Anca Damian; 'Mi vacio y yo' from Spain Directed by Adrian Silvestri and 'Splendid Isolation' from the Netherlands Directed by Urszula Antioniak. 

For all the latest news, views and previews from the 51st International Film Festival Rotterdam, you can go to the official website at : https://www.iffr.com/en

This week with seven new movies to tempt you out to your local Odeon, we kick off the latest releases with a mystery thriller that sees this renowned super sleuth while holidaying on the River Nile, having to investigate the murder of a young heiress. This is followed with music superstars Kat and Bastian about to get married before a global audience of fans, but seconds before taking her vows Kat learns that her fiance has been unfaithful, so she decides to marry Charlie, a stranger in the crowd, instead. Next up is a story of a shadowy government agent who specialises in extracting operatives whose covers have been exposed, uncovers a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power. Then, we turn to a highly acclaimed Japanese film about an ageing, widowed actor looking for a chauffeur who turns to his go-to mechanic, who ends up recommending a 20-year-old girl, and despite their initial misgivings, a very special relationship develops between the two. Following on we have the sequel to a 2014 cult Aussie feature that sees a survivor of a zombie outbreak attempting to rescue his kidnapped sister from a psychotic doctor and his henchmen; before a story of a 17th-century nun who becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair, but it's her shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its very core. And we close out the week with a doco that shows for the first time in its entirety - The Beatles' last live performance as a group - the unforgettable rooftop concert on London's Savile Row.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'DEATH ON THE NILE' (Rated PG) - this mystery thriller is Directed, Co-Produced and stars Kenneth Branagh and is based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, is the follow up to Branagh's 2017 film 'Murder on the Orient Express', and is the third screen adaptation of the novel after the 1978 feature film and an episode on the TV series 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' aired in 2004. The film was originally set to be released on 20th December 2019, before being rescheduled to 9th October 2020. It was then pushed back two weeks to 23rd October and again to 18th December in response to the domestic box office during the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, the film was removed from its upcoming release schedule until further notice. The next month, the film was rescheduled to 17th September 2021and in March 2021, it was then moved to this week. 

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's (Kenneth Branagh) Egyptian holiday aboard the glamorous river steamer the S.S. Karnak turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this tale of unbridled passion and incapacitating jealousy features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travellers, any one of whom is a prime suspect in this whodunnit until the final shocking reveal of the identity of the culprit. Starring an ensemble cast, including Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Russell Brand, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo and Letitia Wright. 

'MARRY ME' (Rated PG) - is an American romantic musical comedy drama film Directed by Kat Coiro whose previous feature film making credits are her debut in 2011 with 'Life Happens', then 'And While We Were Here' in 2012 and 'A Case of You' in 2013. This film is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Bobby Crosby. Pop superstar Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) is about to get married before an audience of her loyal fans. However, seconds before the ceremony, she learns about her fiance's cheating ways and has a meltdown on stage. In a moment of inspired insanity, Kat locks eyes with a total stranger, Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) in the crowd and marries him on the spot. As forces conspire to separate the unlikely newlyweds, they must quickly decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love together. Also starring Maluma, John Bradley and Sarah Silverman. 

'BLACKLIGHT' (Rated M) - this American action film (shot in Australia), is Directed Co-Written for the screen and Co-Produced by Mark Williams in only his third film making outing following 2016's 'A Definitely Maybe' and 2020's 'Honest Thief'. Here, trust, identity, and the danger of unchecked power push a covert operative to the edge where Travis Block (Liam Neeson) lives and fights in the shadows (with his very particular set of skills). A freelance government 'fixer', Block is a dangerous man whose assignments have included extracting agents out of deep-cover situations. When Block discovers a shadowy programme called Operation Unity is striking down ordinary citizens for reasons known only to Block's boss, FBI chief Robinson (Aidan Quinn), he enlists the help of a journalist Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman), but his past and present collide when his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom) and granddaughter Natalie (Gabriella Sengos) are threatened. Now Block needs to rescue the people he loves and expose the truth for a shot at redemption. 

'DRIVE MY CAR' (Rated MA15+) - here, this Japanese road drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and is primarily based on Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name from his 2014 short story collection 'Men Without Women' while taking inspiration from other stories in it. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it won three awards, including Best Screenplay. It was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best International Feature Film at this years Academy Awards, making the December 2021 shortlist. At the Golden Globe Awards earlier in January, the film won Best Foreign Language Film, among its total haul so far of fifty-five wins and another eighty-two nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, with some of those nods still awaiting final outcome. Released in its native Japan in August last year, the film has so far grossed US$3M and has garnered widespread critical acclaim. Two years after his wife's unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theatre festival in Hiroshima. There, he meets Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production's premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koji Takatsuki (Masaki Okada), a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke's late wife Oto (Reika Kirishima). Forced to confront painful truths raised from his past, Yusuke begins, with the help of his driver, to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind. Be forewarned, that this film has a run time of just on three hours. 

'WYRMWOOD : APOCALYPSE' (Rated MA15+) - Directed and Co-Written by Kiah Roache-Turner this film is the sequel to 2014's cult Aussie post-apocalyptic zombie offering 'Wyrmwood : Road of the Dead', with Bianca Bradey, Jay Gallagher and Luke McKenzie returning for this second instalment. This film then, picks up on the action shortly after the events of the first film. Brother and sister duo Barry (Jay Gallagher) and Brooke (Bianca Brady) have joined forces with fellow rebels – sisters Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan) and Grace (Tasia Zalar). When Grace is captured by soldier Rhys (Luke McKenzie) and delivered to The Colonel (Jake Ryan) and his villainous leader, The Surgeon (Nicholas Boshier), Maxi and her new rebel friends must slaughter their way to her rescue. 

'BENEDETTA' (Rated R18+) - this biographical French drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Paul Verhoeven and is loosely based on the 1986 non-fiction book 'Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy' by Judith C. Brown. Verhoeven previous film making credits include 1987's 'RoboCop', 1990's 'Total Recall', 1992's 'Basic Instinct', 1995's 'Showgirls', 1997's 'Starship Troopers', 2000's 'Hollow Man' and 2016's 'Elle'.  Originally slated for its World Premier at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, this was subsequently postponed until 2020, because post-production had been delayed as Verhoeven was recovering from hip surgery. However, the release was delayed again to 2021, following the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival where the film was set to Premiere, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And so the film finally saw its World Premier at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival where it was in competition for the Palme d'Or, was released in the US in early December and this week is released in Australia, having so far grossed US$4.0M and generated largely favourable Reviews. Set during the 17th century, Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira), an Italian nun in the abbey of a convent in Tuscany was considered to be mystical and venerated by her religious entourage, and was finally arrested and judged for lesbianism. Also starring Charlotte Rampling and Lambert Wilson.

'THE BEATLES : GET BACK - THE ROOFTOP CONCERT' (Rated M) - here acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson's 'The Beatles : Get Back' is a unique cinematic experience that takes audiences back in time to The Beatles' intimate recording sessions during a pivotal moment in music history. The film showcases the warmth, camaraderie, and creative genius that defined the legacy of the iconic foursome. Shot on 30th January 1969, the Beatles performed an unannounced concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, within central London's office and fashion district. Joined by keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police asked them to reduce the volume. It was the final public performance of their career, and this film has been compiled from over sixty hours of unseen footage and more than 150 hours of unheard audio, all of which has been brilliantly restored. Although the concert was conceived just days before, the Beatles were planning a return to live performances throughout the early sessions for their 1970 album 'Let It Be'. They performed nine takes of five songs as crowds of onlookers, many of whom were on their lunch break, congregated in the streets and on the rooves of local buildings. The concert ended with the conclusion of 'Get Back'. Footage from the performance was used in the 1970 documentary film 'Let It Be' and the 2021 three-part documentary series 'The Beatles : Get Back' Directed by Peter Jackson and which aired on Disney+ from the 25th November last year.

With seven new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

MORTAL ENGINES : Tuesday 11th December 2018.

I saw 'MORTAL ENGINES' earlier this week, and here the supremely collaborative team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens get their creative minds around this latest post-apocalyptic steampunk adventure offering based on the book of the same name by Philip Reeve. The threesome here Co-Produce and between them penned the Screenplay of this American and New Zealand co-production that cost somewhere north of US$100M to bring to the big screen, is Directed in his debut by fellow New Zealander Christian Rivers, saw its Premier in London at the end of November, was released in New Zealand and Australia last week, and the US on 14th December. The film has so far recouped US$23M and has received mixed Reviews.

Set about one thousand years after civilisation was destroyed by a cataclysmic event known affectionately as the 'Sixty Minute War' what remains of humanity have regrouped and created mobile 'predator' cities that devour smaller mobile settlements across what was once Great Britain and continental Europe. 

The film opens up with a thrilling chase sequence as the mega city on wheels that is London (not as we know it albeit still containing some recognisable landmarks) hunts down a smaller mining community called Salzhaken. Eventually after admirably attempting to evade capture, Salzhaken and her people are captured in the giant jaws of London, under the very specific orders of Lord Mayor Magnus Crome (Patrick Malahide).

With the people of Salzhaken now inside London, they are assembled, processed and greeted by Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving) - the Head of the Guild of Historians, a popular Londoner and a man with a plan! Amidst the captured is Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmer) who wears a scarf to mask her face. Hester has spent six months hunting down Valentine. 

Meanwhile, Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan) a proud lower class London apprentice historian and collector of 'Old Tech' (toasters, computers, mobile phones as once used by 'the ancients') spies Hester through the crowd advancing menacingly towards Valentine. He sees Hester pull a blade and lunges towards Valentine, stabbing him in the side. Tom intervenes, and thwarts any further attempt by Hester to assassinate Valentine. Evading capture by the authorities, Tom gives chase through a now rapidly dismantling Salzhaken to be salvaged for scrap, anything of value, and fuel. 

Tom's chase of Hester comes to an abrupt halt at a giant rotating waste chute, down which Hester escapes but not before informing Tom that ten years ago Valentine killed her mother, and is responsible for the disfiguring scar on her face. Valentine, arrives to find no sign of Hester, and Tom explains that she escaped, and also what she said to him. Of course he denies the accusation, but then turns and kicks Tom in the chest sending him backwards into the chute to be ejected from the city with the waste. 

Tending to his wounds, Velnetine's daughter Katherine (Leila George) asks why the girl would want to kill him. He denies all knowledge of who she might be, but says that he'll send a scout ship out to search for Tom, as Katherine was clearly quite close to him. Needless to say, he's lying and has absolutely no intention of locating Tom.

Tom and Hester survived the fall from London and come round in the giant caterpillar tracks left by London as it continues its journey. The pair reluctantly team up as they seek to navigate the Great Hunting Ground with scavenger colonies on the look out for easy prey as night falls. Luckily, they narrowly escape on a hiding colony known as Scuttlebutt, but the owners lock the pair up with the intention of selling them as slaves once they reach their destination. While locked up and en route Hester confides in Tom some of her back story, and how Valentine killed her archaeologist mother Pandora Shaw (Caren Pistorius) after she discovered a piece of Old-Tech from a dig in the Dead Continent of America which he steals from her, whilst the young eight-year old Hester (Poppy MacLeod) escaped with an all seeing eye necklace her mother gave her moments before she died. This is why Hester wants revenge for her death.

Meanwhile, Valentine has hatched a plan to rid himself of Hester once and for all. He travels to an off shore floating prison colony which contains a dangerous and deadly cyborg inmate called Shrike (a barely recognisable Stephen Lang) - the last of an undead battalion of soldiers known as 'Stalkers', who were war casualties re-animated with machine parts and devoid of any memory of their past. Valentine's intention is to have Shrike hunt down and kill Hester, because of a broken promise the girl made to the cyborg.

Arriving at the slave market Tom and Hester are rescued by Anna Fang (Jihae) - a pilot and the leader of the Anti-Traction League, a resistance group standing against the mobile cities devouring Earth's resources and carving up the landscape. During the chaos that ensues, Tom and Hester are chased down by a relentless Shrike. Hester explains that Shrike had found and raised her after her mother was killed by Valentine, and Hester promised to allow him to turn her into a Stalker like himself, but she left six months ago upon learning that London was in the Great Hunting Ground. This is the broken promise that fuels Shrike's new found loathing for Hester, and why he wants his revenge for going back on her word . . . . but really, who can blame her?

Back on London, Katherine grows increasingly distant from her father, after learning from the eye witness account by Apprentice Engineer Bevis Pod (Ronan Raftery) that Valentine pushed Tom down the chute, and learns that her fathers energy project, which he has been spearheading for the last fifteen years in the secretly redeveloped St Paul's Cathedral, is a whole lot more than it seems.

Anna takes Hester and Tom on her airship the 'Jenny Haniver' to the sky city of Airhaven, joining up with other members of the Anti-Traction League. Tom, with his knowledge of old tech, figures out that what Pandora discovered is a super weapon called MEDUSA, that can wipe out entire cities almost instantly. This weapon is now in Valentine's hands and he is ready to use it having harnessed the energy source to do so. Shrike, in the meantime catches up with them and Airhaven is destroyed in a resultant fire. Shrike, however, is critically wounded, and coming to terms with the fact that Hester is in love with Tom he makes peace with Hester and frees her of her promise, before his lights go out for the last time.

Hester, Tom, Anna and the surviving Anti-Tractionists then travel to the 'Shield Wall' which protects an alternative civilisation comprising static permanent settlements in Asia. On London which is now rapidly advancing on the Shield Wall too seeking out fertile new territories to take over, Valentine kills Mayor Crome in a coup and drums up support from London's populace by pledging to destroy the Shield Wall using his new energy source. Arriving at the Shield Wall, Anna convinces the leader, Governor Kwan (Kee Chen) to unleash the Anti-Tractionist fleet of heavily armed aircraft to thwart London. But what they didn't count on was the sheer fire power of MEDUSA to destroy the airborne fleet in an instant and burn a gaping hole in the massive defencive structure of the Wall. 

Hester discovers that the all seeing eye pendant given back to her by Shrike at the time of his death, secretly contains a crash drive with a kill switch to disable and disarm MEDUSA permanently. All that the team now need to do is get back on London, infiltrate St. Paul's, get past Valentine and his guards and insert the crash drive before the next attack . . . simple! They head off leading an airborne attack raid on London's heavily fortified defences. 

Hester and Anna successfully land on London and quickly infiltrate St Paul's. Valentine fatally wounds Anna and she falls to her death from a high balcony. But, during this distraction Hester disables MEDUSA with the crash drive crippling the system forever. Still determined to bring down the Shield Wall, Valentine orders to ram the vast mobile city into the Wall. With Katherine's support, Tom steers the Jenny Haniver into the guts of the moving city to destroy London's engine. Valentine attempts to escape but Hester pursues and fights him on the roof of his own airship. Tom rescues Hester and shoots down Valentine's ship, where it is crushed under the weight of London's huge caterpillar tracks as the city grinds to a halt without any power. The surviving Londoners, led by Katherine, make peace with the Anti-Tractionists and are welcomed in by Governor Kwan. Tom and Hester embrace now that their work is done and fly off into the sunset in the Jenny Haniver to experience what the world has to offer.

'Mortal Engines' is a visual feast that delivers on spectacle and eye catching CGI, has some solid performances most notably from Robert Sheehan and Stephen Lang, and the constructed post-apocalyptic dystopian steampunk world that has been created here seems authentic and believable enough. But the story here lacks any real development, it is derivative predictable cookie cutter stuff that we have seen many times over in other franchises that this film seems to draw inspiration from - 'Star Wars', 'Terminator', 'Mad Max' etc. Young teenagers might enjoy this film more so than your self respecting adult might, and it is certainly worth seeing on the big screen for the action spectacle and the towering visuals of London on the move, but don't expect anything new or particularly genre groundbreaking here.

'Mortal Engines' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, out of a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online- 

Birthday's to share this week : 8th - 14th January 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Fran Walsh does on 10th January - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 58, 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 8th January

• John McTiernan - Born 1951, turns 66 - Director | Producer | Writer

Monday 9th January

• J.K.Simmons - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actor
• Imelda Staunton - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actress
• Joely Richardson - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actress  

Tuesday 10th January

• Fran Walsh - Born 1959, turns 58 - Producer | Writer | Songwriter
• Walter Hill - Born 1942, turns 75 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Wednesday 11th January

• Jason Connery - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Amanda Peet - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actress  

Thursday 12th January

• Kirstie Alley - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Anthony Andrews - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actor | Producer
• John Lasseter - Born 1957, turns 60 - Producer | Director | Writer | Animator | Voice Actor
• Oliver Platt - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actor
• Rob Zombie (aka Robert Bartleh Cummings) - Born 1965, turns 52 - Producer | Director | Writer | Actor | Singer | Songwriter | Composer  

Friday 13th January

• William B. Davis - Born 1938, turns 79 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Editor
• Bill Bailey - Born 1965, turns 52 - Writer | Actor | Television Personality | Singer | Composer
• Patrick Dempsey - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Michael Pena - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor | Producer
• Orlando Bloom - Born 1977, turns 40 - Actor | Producer
• Liam Hemsworth - Born 1990, turns 27 - Actor
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Saturday 14th January

• Faye Dunaway - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actress
• Emily Watson - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actress
• Carl Weathers - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actor | Director
• Steven Soderbergh - Born 1963, turns 54 - Producer | Director | Writer | Cinematographer | Editor
• L.L.Cool J (aka James Todd Smith) - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Jason Bateman - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor | Producer | Director

Frances Rosemary Walsh was born in Wellington, on New Zealand's North Island, and she attended Wellington Girl's College where she had intentions on becoming a fashion designer, eventually gaining a more active interest in music. She performed from time to time in a Punk Band, named 'The Wallsockets' and attending the Victoria University of Wellington majoring in English Literature and graduating in 1981. 

She gained her first screen writing debut on the 1983 made for television film 'A Woman of Good Character' which she followed up with scripts for the TV show 'Worzel Gummidge Down Under'. Walsh met up with a young Peter Jackson during the mid-'80's whilst he was putting the final touches to his debut feature - the 1987 splatter Sci-Fi horror comedy film 'Bad Taste'. Jackson's next film was the musical black comedy 'Meet the Feebles' released in 1989 which was the first film for Jackson that Walsh collaborated on taking a Co-Writer credit. In the meantime, Walsh had married Jackson in 1987 and the two have been partners ever since, at home and at work. Following this the two joined forces on the slapstick splatter zombie horror film 'Braindead' (released as 'Dead Alive' in the US) which Walsh also gained a screen writing credit for. Although the film was a critical and commercial dud upon release in 1992, it has since risen to the ranks of cult status.

In 1994 Walsh and Jackson explored new territory with the dramatic true story of the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case with 'Heavenly Creatures' which Walsh and Jackson Co-Wrote. The film features Kate Winslet's screen debut as Juliet Hulme in which her obsessive relationship with close teenage friend Pauline Parker result in them killing Parker's mother in 1954. The film was critically acclaimed picking up seventeen award wins and a further fourteen nominations including an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay.

Next up was more familiar territory with the horror comedy 'The Frighteners' in 1996 starring Michael J. Fox in his last lead role in a live action feature film after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991 aged just 29, and going public with it in 1998. Walsh and Jackson again Co-Wrote the Screenplay which Jackson Directed and Co-Produced, and it represented their first film with the backing of a major American studio. With so many ghosts appearing in the film, 'The Frighteners' was one of the most digital effects laden films up until that time, and proved to be a testing ground for Jackson's Weta Digital that had been in business just there years then. Walsh took an Associate Producer credit on the film too.

With Jackson looking at the fantasy genre for his next offering, in 1998 New Line Cinema agreed to back financially a trilogy adapted from Tolkien's classic books - 'The Lord of the Rings'. For the trilogy Walsh took Screenwriting credits, Producer credits and composer credits for certain songs appearing on the soundtrack for each film. The three films  - 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return of the King' were made for a combined US$281M and took an overall Box Office haul of US$2.91B. Additionally, the films received a collective 415 award wins and another 362 nominations including seventeen Academy Award wins in total. 

Following their success with 'The Rings Trilogy' Walsh and Jackson turned their attention back to a project they first muted in 1998 with Universal Studios - that of a remake of 'King Kong'. In 2005 Universal greenlit a remake of 'King Kong' with no hesitation, and so Walsh and Jackson took co-Writer and Co-Producer credits while Jackson Directed. The film cost US$207M to make and grossed US$551M at the global Box Office and starred Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow and Andy Serkis as Kong in motion capture. It picked up three Academy Award wins plus 39 other wins and 92 nominations.

'The Lovely Bones' followed in 2009 - a supernatural drama film based on the best selling novel of the same name from 2002 by Alice Sebold. Again Jackson Directed with Walsh and he carrying Co-Producer and Co-Screenwriting credits too. The film received mixed critical reviews but still picked up an Oscar nod, a Golden Globe nod and two BAFTA nods from its haul of ten award wins and forty other nominations, and it made back US$94M from its US$65M budget outlay.

Based on their prior success with 'The Rings Trilogy' it was almost inevitable that eventually Walsh and Jackson would turn attention to Tolkien's other notable works - 'The Hobbit'. Originally slated to be Directed by Guillermo del Toro over two instalments, Jackson stepped up to the Director's chair when del Toro exited stage left due to creative differences, and decided that three films was the go, however, del Toro still received a Screenwriters credit on all there films for his efforts. Once more Walsh and Jackson Co-Produced, Co-Scripted the works on 'The Hobbit' series, with Jackson Directing also. The three films were made for a combined US$690M and collectively took US$2.94B at the global Box Office, together with 31 award wins and  another 202 nominations.

Next up for Fran Walsh is the big screen adaptation of the Philip Reeve Sci-Fi steampunk novel of 2001 'Mortal Engines', the first in a series of four books. Co-Produced and Co-Written once again by Walsh and Jackson, this time Directed by Christian Rivers, the film is slated to hit our screens in December 2018 and is currently in pre-production.

All up Walsh has seventeen Screenwriting credits to her name, twelve as Producer, and seven Soundtrack credits as writer/lyricist on 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' films. She has so far amassed forty-four award wins, including three Academy Awards wins, one Golden Globe win, and two BAFTA wins, plus a further 57 nominations, including four Academy Award nods, and five BAFTA nods. It should be noted too that Walsh and Jackson have collaborated with Philippa Boyens on all their films since the 'The Rings Trilogy' and obviously shared in their collective success as Co-Writers and Co-Producers on all film projects including the upcoming 'Mortal Engines'. With Jackson she has two children, Katie (born in 1996) and Billie (born in 1995).

Fran Walsh - very private outside of the film making public eye, but one half of a truly great film production and scriptwriting family that has a proven track record dating back thirty years backed up by immense critical acclaim and huge commercial success with the accolades between them to prove it, and cement their places in cinema history. For your work behind the scenes that is so important to what we see on screen, Happy Birthday to you Fran, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 8th - 14th March 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Jamie Bell does on 14th March - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 29, 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 8th March

• Aidan Quinn - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor
• Micky Dolenz - Born 1945, turns 70 - Singer | Songwriter | Producer | Director | Writer | Actor
• James Van Der Beek - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actor
• Freddie Prinze Jnr. - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actor | Producer | Writer

Monday 9th March

• Oscar Isaac - Born 1980, turns 35 - Actor
• Juliette Binoche - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress

Tuesday 10th March

• Olivia Wilde - Born 1984, turns 31 - Actress | Producer
• Sharon Stone - Born 1958, turns 57 - Actress | Producer
• John Hamm - Born1971, turns 34 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Chuck Norris - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Paul Haggis - Born 1953, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Writer

Wednesday 11th March

• Terrence Howard - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Producer
• Johnny Knoxville - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Peter Berg - Born 1964, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Jerry Zucker - Born 1950, turns 65 - Director | Producer | Writer

Thursday 12th March

• Aaron Eckhart - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Liza Minelli - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actress | Singer

Friday 13th March

• Common - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Emile Hirsch - Born 1985, turns 30 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter
• William H. Macy - Born 1950, turns 65 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director

Saturday 14th March

• Michael Caine - Born 1933, turns 82 - Actor | Producer
• Billy Crystal - Born 1948, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Quincy Jones - Born 1933, turns 82 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Producer
• Wolfgang Petersen - Born 1941, turns 74 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Jamie Bell - Born 1986, turns 29 - Actor
• Ansel Elgort - Born 1994, turns 21 - Actor

Andrew James Matfin 'Jamie' Bell was born in Billingham, County Durham, England to mother Eileen Matfin and father John Bell, a toolmaker, who left his wife Eileen before Jamie was born. Jamie has an older sister Cathryn. The young Jamie Bell was a pupil at the co-educational Northfields School in Billingham, and his involvement with dance began when he accompanied his sister to her ballet class, and was eventually invited in to the class to take part.Whilst at school he also attended the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School - a global franchise providing training in dance, acting and singing to children aged 4-18. He was a member too of the National Youth Music Theatre.

His screen debut is the stuff of legend with his first role on film and television came with 2000's 'Billy Elliott' for which he was chose from 2000 hopefuls over seven different auditions. Director Stephen Daldry was looking for a young lad who could act, dance and carry the required northern English accent - and he found this in Bell.The film won 57 awards worldwide and a further 62 nominations - including three Academy Award nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, the BAFTA for Bell for Best Lead Actor and two other BAFTA wins and another nine nominations. Bell won fifteen awards for his role as Billy Elliott. The film cost just US$5M to make and grossed in the final analysis US$109M - a bona fide success on all levels!

Later that same year he starred in a single episode of televisions 'Close & True'. His next big screen appearance was in the 2002 British horror film 'Deathwatch' with Andy Serkis, and also that year an adaptation of the Charles Dickens book 'Nicholas Nickleby' which included amongst others Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent and Anne Hathaway. 'Undertow' came next in 2004 with Dermot Mulroney and Josh Lucas, and then three films in 2005 with 'Dear Wendy', 'The Chumscrubber' and Peter Jackson's remake of 'King Kong' with Andy Serkis again and Naomi Watts and Jack Black.

2006 brought another offering with big time Acting and Directing legend Clint Eastwood in 'Flags of our Fathers'. 'Hallam Foe' came along in 2007 with the Doug Liman Directed 'Jumper' in 2008 with Hayden Christensen, and then 'Defiance' for Edward Zwick with co-star Daniel Craig.

In 2011 we saw Bell in Kevin Macdonald's 'The Eagle' with Channing Tatum, 'Jane Eyre' with Mia Wasikowska, another British horror offering with 'The Retreat' and then with Steven Spielberg for 'The Adventures of Tintin' providing the voice of Tintin, alongside Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig once more. 'Man on a Ledge' came in 2012, 'Snowpiercer' in 2013 and 'Filth' that same year too, and Lars von Trier's 'Nymphomaniac : Vol II' also.

In 2014 he starred in the American period war drama television series 'Turn : Washington's Spies' now in its second season. Currently in post-production is the Marvel reboot of 'Fantastic Four' with Bell playing the role of 'The Thing' with this film due out later this year, with 'The Fantastic Four 2' announced recently for a 2017 release. In between time there will also be 'The Adventures of Tintin : Prisoner's of the Sun' in 2016 with Director Peter Jackson once more and Bell reprising his role as Tintin in providing his voice talents.

He started dating American Actress Evan Rachael Wood in 2005 but the two split in twelve months later. In 2011 the two rekindled their flame and in late October 2012 they married . . . but announced their separation in mid-2014. They have a son together born in July 2013.

Bell has sixteen award wins and seventeen other nominations to his name, from 26 acting credits so far. Only he and Christian Bale have won the Outstanding Performance by a Young Actor Award from the US National Board of Review.

Jamie Bell - still only 29 and so much achieved! Describing yourself as the Eminem of Northeast England, and not delusional, knowing that you are only 5'7" tall with slightly jug ears you nonetheless continue to make you mark with years of opportunity ahead with which to surprise and delight your audience - Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

TIN TIN : archive from 27th December 2011

Saw 'TIN TIN' this afternoon in 3D at my local multiplex. You have got to give it to Spielberg - he is a master story teller & expert film maker and has created computer generated animation magic with this offering. This is a classic story, first introducing us to this titular character and his faithful canine companion, Snowy as created by Herge. The animation is beautifully rendered, rich and deep graphics show just how advanced MoCap has become since 'The Polar Express' first hit the screen. Funny in places, great action & set pieces, pitch perfect voice casting and a story that nods at Indiana Jones all the way.

With a talented voice cast that includes Jamie Bell as Tin Tin, Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and his ancestor Sir Frances Haddock, Daniel Craig as Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine and Red Rackham, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg as one half each of the Thompson Twins and various others that complete the package. The film is Produced by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.

This story is a combination of 'The Crab with the Golden Claws', 'The Secret of the Unicorn' and 'Red Rackham's Treasure' and sees the intrepid Tin Tin hot on the trail of a lost family fortune - the whereabouts of which are written on three small scrolls which are hidden away in three models of the long since scuppered ship 'The Unicorn'. Tin Tin is in possession of one, Ivan Sakharine the other and the one remaining is believed to be in Morocco in the possession of a sheik. Sakharine has plans to retrieve the scroll from the third model at a concert by means most foul, and so completing the prized set as he has already stolen the scroll that Tin Tin was holding originally.

With the Thompson Twins also on the trail, and the bond between Tin Tin and Captain Haddock growing stronger given their now intertwined adversity and mission, the chase is on to prevent Sakharine completing the puzzle once he has all three scrolls, and so locating the hidden treasure in the real Unicorn that was sunken by Haddocks ancestor - Sir Frances Haddock some three hundred years earlier to prevent pirates at the time (led by Red Rackham) from getting their grubby little hands on it!

The film cost US$135M to make and grossed US$375M. It was nominated for Best Original Score by John Williams; was nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Special Visual Effects at the BAFTA's and won the Golden Globe for the Best Animated Feature Film. All up it garnered 27 award wins and a further fifty nominations. In December 2014 Peter Jackson indicated that the next film would certainly be happening, but timing remains unconfirmed due to Jackson's other film commitments which pre-date the next Tin Tin release. Spielberg also confirmed earlier that they knew which books were to be adapted for the next instalment, so I guess we can but wait!

Overall a great package and a delight to sit back and watch such a great animated film. 3D however, does little to enhance this movie would be my only reservation. Best of course to be seen on the big screen, but little chance of that happening now, so sit back in the comfort of your own home and watch it on DVD/Bluray if you haven't seen it already!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-