What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th September 2025.

The 73rd edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF) this year takes place from Friday 19th through until Saturday 27th September in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque Country. The festival was founded on 21st September 1953. It became a FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) accredited competitive international film festival specialising in colour films in 1955. In 1957, the FIAPF granted the festival the non-specialised competitive festival status ('A' category) for the first time, which it then held that status intermittently until 1985, and since then it has since held that status on a sustained basis.

This years Opening Night Film presentation is '27 Nights' from Argentina and Directed by and starring Daniel Hendler. The film tells the story of Martha Hoffman, an eccentric and wealthy patron who is committed to a psychiatric clinic by her daughters. The expert witness Casares investigates whether this is a scheme to control their mother’s fortune or if Martha truly suffers from a form of dementia that endangers her well-being and that of her family. The Closing Night Film is 'Winter of the Crow' from Poland, the UK and Luxembourg and is Co-Written and Directed by Kasia Adamik. Warsaw, Poland - December 13th 1981 - martial law is imposed and overnight shuts down the country just as British psychiatry professor Dr Joan Andrews (Leslie Manville) arrives as a guest lecturer at the University. As chaos engulfs the city, armed with her camera, she witnesses a brutal murder by the Secret Police. In mortal danger and trapped as Poland is closed down, Joan becomes a hunted fugitive running for her life.

Those feature films in competition within the Official Selection slate, include the following titles :-

* '27 Nights' - refer above.

* 'Ballad of a Small Player' - from the UK and this drama film is Co-Produced and Directed by Edward Berger, and is based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Starring Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton and Fala Chen.

* 'Couture' - from France and the USA and this drama film is Written and Directed by Alice Winocour. In the frenzy of Fashion Week, three women cross paths in Paris, grappling with the world’s tragedies and the questions of their lives: Maxine (Angelina Jolie), an American film Director in her forties, discovers she has cancer; Ada (Anyier Anei), a young South Sudanese model, escapes a predetermined destiny to be thrust into a deceptive universe and French makeup artist Angele (Ella Rumpf), a small hand working in the shadows of the catwalks, dreams of escaping her life.

* 'The Fence' - from France and this drama film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Claire Denis. Over the course of one night near a vast public works construction site in Senegal, West Africa a group of workers are confronted by a man seeking justice for his brother’s death at the site earlier that day. Starring Matt Dillon, Tom Blyth, Mia McKenna-Bruce and Isaach de Bankole.

* 'Franz' - from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, France and Turkey this Biographical film is Co-Produced and Directed by Agnieszka Holland, and stars Idan Weiss as Franz Kafka, following the author's life from his early teens in his hometown of Prague to his premature death in 1924 at the age of forty in Austria.

* 'Nuremberg' - from the USA and this historical drama film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by James Vanderbilt. During the Nuremberg trials (between 20th November 1945 and 1st October 1946, chief psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) interviews Nazi prisoners to determine whether they are fit to stand trial. There, he enters a 'battle of wits' against Adolf Hitler's right-hand man, Hermann Goring (Russell Crowe). Also starring Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Colin Hanks, Michael Shannon and Richard E. Grant. 

* 'Two Pianos' - from France and this romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Arnaud Desplechin. Starring Francois Civil as a virtuoso French pianist who returns from living in Asia for many years to experience an impossible love story in his hometown of Lyon. The cast includes Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Charlotte Rampling and Hippolyte Girardot.

The Donostia Award (an honorary award created in 1986 which is given every year to a number of Actors and filmmakers at the festival, and derives its name from Donostia, the Basque name of San Sebastian). this year goes to the Spanish Producer Esther Garcia for her career achievement, and to American Actress and Producer Jennifer Lawrence, together with a screening of her latest film 'Die, My Love' with Robert Pattinson, Lakeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte. 

For the other film strands being showcased, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in

Looking ahead to this weeks four new movies coming to your local Odeon, we launch with a romantic fantasy film that tells the story of a pair of strangers and the unimaginable journey that ties them together. Then we turn to an Aussie family comedy offering in which a pro surfer teams up with an eleven-year-old Indigenous girl to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned kangaroos in a remote community. Next up is a French biographical film about the life of musical composer Maurice Ravel during his preparation of his most famous ballet as commissioned by Ida Rubinstein. And closing out the week we have an animated film that is a sequel to an earlier film from 2022, that finds this rag tag bunch of bad guys struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as good guys, when they are pulled out of retirement.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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.

'A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY' (Rated M) - this American romantic fantasy film is Directed by Koganada in his third feature film outing following his debut in 2017 with 'Columbus' and then 'After Yang' in 2021, as well as Directing four episodes of TV series 'Pachinko' and two of 'The Acolyte'. 

Some doors bring you to your past. Some doors lead you to your future. And some doors change everything. Sarah (Margot Robbie) a free spirited artist running from the past, and David (Colin Farrell) a reserved historian searching for meaning in his life are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend's wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on A Big Bold Beautiful Journey - a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present . . . and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures. The film also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kevin Kline, Jodie Turner-Smith, Brandon Perea, Chloe East, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater and Billy Magnussen. The film is released this week too in the US.

'KANGAROO' (Rated PG) - is an Australian family comedy film Directed by Kate Woods in only her second feature film outing following 'Looking for Alibrandi' in 2000, although in the intervening years she has Directed numerous episodes of largely American TV shows including 'Janus', 'Changi', 'Without a Trace', 'All Saints', 'Suits', 'House', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'Bones', 'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Castle', 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.', 'The Umbrella Academy' and 'The Lincoln Lawyer'. Here, when Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr) becomes stranded on his way to Broome, in northern Western Australia, he teams up with a young girl named Charlie (Lily Whitely), forming an unlikely friendship. The two come together to help rehabilitate young injured kangaroos. Also starring Rachel House, Brooke Satchwell, Deborah Mailman and Ernie Dingo. The film is released this week here in Australia and New Zealand, and was released early in Germany and Austria toward the end of last month.

'BOLERO' (Rated PG) - this French biographical film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Anne Fontaine who has a long list of feature film Directorial credits and awards dating back to 1993, but more recently has helmed 'Adoration' in 2013, 'Gemma Bovery' in 2014, 'The Innocents' in 2016, 'Night Shift' in 2020, and 'Presidents' in 2021. Boundary-pushing Russian dancer and actress Ida Rubinstein (Jeanne Balibar) selects renowned French composer Maurice Ravel (Raphael Personnaz) to compose the music for her next ballet. Ravel ends up creating his greatest success ever - Bolero, in 1928. Also starring Doria Tillier and Emmanuelle Devos, the film saw its World Premiere screening at the Rotterdam International Film Festival back in late January 2024, was released in its native France in early March 2024, and only now does it get a limited release here in Australia. It has so far grossed US$3.4M.

'THE BAD GUYS 2' (Rated PG) - is an American animated heist comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Directed by Pierre Perifel, and is the sequel to 2022's 'The Bad Guys' also Directed by Perifel. Both films are loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Australian author Aaron Blabey. Reformed criminals Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) are trying very hard to be good. However, they soon find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes heist that's masterminded by a new team of delinquents they never saw coming - the Bad Girls, aka Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), Doom (Natasha Lyonne) and Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova). The film also stars Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, Richard Ayoade and Colin Jost; has garnered generally favourable critical acclaim, and has so far grossed US$201M from a production budget of US$80M since its release Stateside on 1st August. In June of this year, Director Perifel commented in an interview that a third film was in the early planning stages.

With four 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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 31st March 2022.

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honoured the best films released between 1st March and 31st December 2021, and was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on Sunday 27th March hosted by American Actresses Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.

Aside form the now infamous slap to the face given by Will Smith to Chris Rock which largely overshadowed the remaining proceedings, the winners of the golden statue and the also rans are as given below, by way of a recap :-

Best Picture

* Awarded to 'CODA', beating out 'Belfast', 'Don't Look Up', 'Drive My Car', 'Dune', 'King Richard', 'Licorice Pizza', 'Nightmare Alley', 'The Power of the Dog' and 'West Side Story'. 

Best Director

* Awarded to Jane Campion for 'The Power of the Dog', beating out Kenneth Branagh for 'Belfast', Ryusuke Hamaguchi for 'Drive My Car', Paul Thomas Anderson for 'Licorice Pizza' and Steven Spielberg for 'West Side Story'.

Best Actor

* Awarded to Will Smith for 'King Richard', beating out Javier Bardem for 'Being the Ricardos', Benedict Cumberbatch for 'The Power of the Dog', Andrew Garfield for 'Tick, Tick... Boom!' and Denzel Washington for 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'.

Best Actress

* Awarded to Jessica Chastain for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye', beating out Olivia Colman for 'The Lost Daughter', Penelope Cruz for 'Parallel Mothers', Nicole Kidman for 'Being the Ricardos' and Kristen Stewart for 'Spencer'.

Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to Troy Kotsur for 'CODA', beating out Ciaran Hinds for 'Belfast', Jesse Plemons for 'The Power of the Dog', J. K. Simmons for 'Being the Ricardos' and Kodi Smit-McPhee for 'The Power of the Dog'.

Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to Ariana DeBose for 'West Side Story', beating out Jessie Buckley for 'The Lost Daughter', Judi Dench for 'Belfast', Kirsten Dunst for 'The Power of the Dog' and Aunjanue Ellis for 'King Richard'.

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to 'Belfast' by Kenneth Branagh, beating out 'Don't Look Up', 'King Richard', 'Licorice Pizza' and 'The Worst Person in the World'.

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to 'CODA' by Sian Heder, beating out 'Drive My Car', 'Dune', 'The Lost Daughter' and 'The Power of the Dog'. 

Best Animated Feature Film

* Awarded to 'Encanto', beating out 'Flee', 'Luca', 'The Mitchells vs. the Machines' and 'Raya and the Last Dragon'. 

Best International Feature Film 

* Awarded to 'Drive My Car' from Japan, beating out 'Flee' from Denmark, 'The Hand of God' from Italy, 'Lunana : A Yak in the Classroom' from Bhutan and 'The Worst Person in the World' from Norway.

Best Documentary Feature Film

* Awarded to 'Summer of Soul (. . . Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised!)', beating out 'Ascension', 'Attica', 'Flee' and 'Writing with Fire'.

In the other awards, 'Dune' was presented with the Oscar for Best Original Score to Hans Zimmer; Best Sound; Best Production Design; Best Cinematography for Greig Fraser; Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling was awarded to 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye'; Best Costume Design was awarded to 'Cruella' and Best Original Song went to 'No Time To Die' from 'No Time To Die' by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell.

The Governors Awards were presented to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullman each with an Honorary Academy Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was presented to Danny Glover. 

 

For all the information, details, glitz and glamour of Hollywood's Night of Nights, you can visit the official website at : https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022

This week then to tempt you out to your local Odeon, we have four new movie offerings kicking off with a Superhero film based on a Marvel character that sees a biochemist who tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, inadvertently infecting himself with a form of vampirism instead. This is followed by a story set in 1961 in which a sixty year old taxi driver, steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. Next we have the sequel to a 2020 film about a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, and when his arch rival returns to Earth with a new ally, this hedgehog and his new friend is all that stands in their way. And we close out the week with an animated feature about a bunch of reformed yet misunderstood criminal animals who attempt to become good, with some disastrous results along the way.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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.

'MORBIUS' (Rated M) - this American Superhero film features the Marvel Comics character Morbius, the Living Vampire, and is the third film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe following 'Venom' in 2018 and 'Venom : Let There Be Carnage' in 2021. Directed by Daniel Espinosa whose previous feature film credits include 'Safe House' in 2012, 'Child 44' in 2015 and 'Life' in 2017, this film saw its World Premier screening in Mexico City on 10th March before its release in the US and Australia this week. Originally slated for a 10th July 2020 release, the film was delayed several times before ending up on this weeks schedule largely due to the impacts of COVID-19. Costing US$75M to produce, early critical reaction has been less than positive. 

Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, biochemist Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed in the form of vampirism. Will good override evil - or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges? Also starring Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson, Corey Johnson and Michael Keaton. 

'THE DUKE' (Rated M) - is a British biographical comedy drama film Directed by Roger Mitchell in his final film making capacity before his death in September last year. His other more noted Directing credits take in the likes of 'Notting Hill', 'Changing Lanes', 'Hyde Park on Hudson', 'My Cousin Rachel', and 'Blackbird'. In 1961, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery's history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television licenses. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun an intricate web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage - how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale. Also starring Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead and Matthew Goode, the film saw its World Premier screening way back in September 2020 at the Venice Film Festival before being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in the UK in late February and has garnered widespread critical acclaim.

'SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2' (Rated PG) - this American action-adventure comedy film is Directed by Jeff Fowler and based on the video game franchise published by Sega. The sequel to 2020's 'Sonic the Hedgehog' which grossed US$320M off the back of a production budget of circa US$90M that film was also Directed by Jeff Fowler, and features most of the cast returning for this second instalment. Following on from the events of the first film, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is determined to make his mark as a hero and decides to stay in Green Hills while Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) go to Hawaii for her sister Rachel's (Natasha Rothwell) wedding. When Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey) returns from the mushroom planet in search for the Master Emerald to conquer the world and exact revenge against Sonic with the help of Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba), Sonic and his new friend Miles 'Tails' Prower (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) set out to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands. This film is due for release in the US on 8th April. In February of this year, Sega and Paramount confirmed that a third Sonic film and a Knuckles spin-off series are in development.

'THE BAD GUYS' (Rated PG) - is an American computer-animated crime comedy film Produced by DreamWorks Animation and Scholastic Entertainment and is directed by Pierre Perifel (in his feature directorial debut) and based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey. After a lifetime of legendary heists, notorious criminals Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) are finally caught. To avoid a prison sentence, the animal outlaws must pull off their most challenging con yet - becoming model citizens. Under the tutelage of their mentor, Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), the dubious gang sets out to fool the world that they're turning good. In the meantime, a new villain emerges. Also starring the voices of Zazie Beetz, Lilly Singh and Alex Borstein. The film was released in Latin America on 17th March, goes on wide release in the US from 22nd April and has so far grossed US$8.5M. 

With four 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-