What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 28th October 2021.

By way of an early heads up, the 68th Sydney Film Festival launches on Wednesday 3rd November and runs through until Sunday 21st November and takes place in various cinema venues around Sydney and online over nineteen days and nights, showcasing the greatest, strangest and most exciting works that cinema has to offer. The Opening Night film is 'Here Out West' that brings stories from eight talented Western Sydney writers that intertwine poignantly through themes of family and place in a groundbreaking film that reframes the Australian experience, and is Directed by Fadia Abboud, Lucy Gaffy, Julie Kalceff, Ana Kokkinos and Leah Purcell who join the creative collaboration to bring the writers' unique stories to the screen. The Closing Night film is Writer, Director and Co-Producer Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' starring an ensemble cast led by Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Timothee Chalamet, Owen Wilson, Elizabeth Moss, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton and Saoirse Ronan amongst others. 

Twelve films are selected for the Official Competition, which celebrates 'courageous, audacious and cutting-edge' cinema with an AU$60K cash prize. Sydney Film Festival also presents seven other cash awards over the course of the festival. Those films in Official Competition are :-

* 'Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn' - from Romania, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and Croatia in Romanian with English subtitles this film is Directed and Written by Radu Jude. The film won the Golden Bear at this year Berlin International Film Festival in June, and is about a school teacher who faces a very public scandal after a personal sex tape goes viral.

* 'Drive My Car' - from Japan and Co-Written and Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi this film won three awards at this years Cannes Film Festival including Best Screenplay and the FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) Prize, and tells the story of a stage Actor and Director who seemingly is happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day she disappears.

* 'The Drovers Wife : The Legend of Molly Johnson' - from Australia and Directed, Written, Co-Produced and starring Leah Purcell in this period Western about a determined mother protecting her children – a searing reimagining of Henry Lawson’s classic with an Indigenous female viewpoint.

* 'Flee' - from Denmark, France, Sweden and Norway and Directed and Co-Written by Jonas Poher Rasmussen this documentary fuses animation and archival material to tell the story of a gay Afghan refugee in Denmark who kept his painful past a secret for two decades. This film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize : Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year.

* 'The Hand of God' - from Italy and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Paolo Sorrentino this deeply personal film is an exquisite reflection on family, sport, love, desire, tragedy and cinema against the backdrop of 1980's Naples. This film won the Grand Jury Prize, at the Venice International Film Festival in September.

* 'Limbo' - from the UK and Directed by Ben Sharrock this film centres on four asylum seekers who are staying on a remote island in Scotland, and taking cultural awareness classes, while awaiting the processing of their refugee claims. The film has won eight awards and a further fifteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

* 'Memoria' - from Colombia, Thailand, UK, Mexico, France, Germany, Qatar, and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul this film tells the story of a woman from Scotland (Tilda Swinton), while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance. The Director won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year. 

* 'Petite Maman' - from France and Directed and Written by Celine Sciamma about an eight-year-old girl, who has just lost her beloved grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. One day, her mother leaves suddenly, and the young girl meets a girl her age as she's building a tree house in the woods.

* 'Quo Vadis, Aida?' - is an international co-production Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jasmila Zbanic that here sees a UN translator in Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina attempting to save her family as conflict rages around them in 1995. The film has thus far collected twenty award wins and a further eighteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

* 'The Story of My Wife' - from Hungary, Germany, Italy and France this romantic drama film is Directed and Written by Ildiko Enyedi and tells the story of a sea Captain who makes a bet in a cafe with a friend, to marry the first woman who enters the place. Starring Lea Seydoux and Gijs Naber.

* 'There is No Evil' - from Germany, the Czech Republic and Iran, this film is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Mohammad Rasoulof, here four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedoms can be expressed under a despotic regime. This film has so far won fifteen awards and another nine nominations including the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival. 

* 'Undine' - is a German and French romantic fantasy drama production Directed and Written by Christian Petzold that here tells the story of Undine, who works as a historian lecturing on Berlin's urban development, and when the man she loves leaves her, an ancient myth catches up with her that tells her she must kill her former lover and return to the water. Starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski the film has collected eight award wins and another sixteen nominations including the FIPRESCI Prize and the Silver Bear for Paula Beer for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020.

For the complete programme of films and events and other goings-on at this years Sydney Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sff.org.au

Turning attention back to this weeks four new releases coming to your local Odeon, we launch with the twelfth instalment in this classic horror franchise, and a direct sequel to 2018's film which was a direct sequel to the very first instalment back in 1978 that sees that this nightmare isn't over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode's burning trap to continue his ritual bloodbath, but this time the masked slayer has the people of Haddonfield to contend with who are intent on ending his reign of blood soaked terror. Next up is another horror offering (it's that time of year after all!) set in small-town Oregon where a teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, discover that a young student is harbouring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences. Next up is a black and white film set in the 1920's that follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed lives. And closing out the week we have an animated feature about an awkward middle-schooler and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected robot device. Ron's malfunctions set against the social media age launch them on a journey to learn about the true meaning of friendship.

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

'HALLOWEEN KILLS' (Rated MA15+) - is the twelfth film in this franchise and a direct sequel to 2018's 'Halloween' which served as a direct sequel to John Carpenter's classic 1978 'Halloween' set forty years after Michael Myers killing spree. 2018's film was made for US$10M and returned a handsome US$256M at the global Box Office, making this instalment a no brainer. Like its predecessor, this film is again Co-Written and Directed by David Gordon Green, who shares a writing credit with Danny McBride and Scott Teems. 'Halloween Kills' saw its World Premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival on 8th September, following a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was released in movie theatres in the US two weeks ago on 15th October. The film has so far grossed US$92M off the back of a US$20M production budget and has generated mixed reviews from Critics. 

Set minutes after the events of the last film, here Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) locked-in and surely burning to death in Laurie's basement. Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself as a result of the fire brigade arriving on the scene in record time, his ritual bloodbath resumes, starting off with the very firefighters who were dispatched to save the house. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against the unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael's first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. Also starring Will Patton and Anthony Michael Hall. The third and final instalment 'Halloween Ends' is set for release on 14th October 2022. 

'ANTLERS' (Rated MA15+) - this supernatural horror film is Directed by Scott Cooper whose previous film making credits take in his debut feature 'Crazy Heart' in 2009 with Jeff Bridges whose performance won his the Best Actor Award at the Oscars, then 'Out of the Furnace' in 2013 with Christian Bale, 'Black Mass' in 2015 with Johnny Depp and 'Hostiles' in 2017 with Christian Bale again. Based on Nick Antosca's short story 'The Quiet Boy', the screenplay was Co-Written by him and Cooper and the film is Co-Produced by Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer. The film was previously set for a release date of mid-April 2020 but was removed from the release calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was subsequently rescheduled to mid-February this year before being removed from the release calendar again, and now it finally arrives this week in the US and Australia. Here then Julia Meadows (Keri Russell), a school teacher in a small town in Oregon, and her brother, Paul (Jesse Plemons), the local Sheriff, become concerned about one of her students, a young boy named Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) who is secretly keeping a supernatural creature inside his house. Also starring Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane and Amy Madigan. The film has garnered mixed or average reviews. 

'PASSING' (Rated PG) - is a black and white drama film Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by English Actress Rebecca Hall in her film making debut. This film is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, and the title of the film and the book refers to African-Americans whose skin colour was/is light enough to be perceived as 'white', the practice of which is referred to as 'passing'. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, gets a limited release in the US and Australia this week before streaming on Netflix from 10th November. Here then, mixed-race childhood friends reunite in middle class adulthood and become increasingly involved with one another's lives and insecurities. While Irene (Tessa Thompson) identifies as African-American and is married to a black doctor, Brian (Andre Holland), Clare (Ruth Negga) 'passes' as white and has married a prejudiced, but wealthy white man, John (Alexander Skarsgard). Also starring Bill Camp, the film has garnered universal Critical acclaim.

'RON'S GONE WRONG' (Rated PG) - Directed by Jean-Philippe Vine and Sarah Smith this computer animated Sci-Fi comedy film and is the first film from London based animation studios Locksmith Animation. The film saw its World Premier screening at the BFI London Film Festival in early October, went on release in the UK on the 15th of this month, followed by the US one week later and now this week is on release in Australia. Here, this is the story of Barney (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer), a socially awkward middle-schooler and Ron (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device, which is supposed to be his 'Best Friend out of the Box.' Ron's hilarious malfunctions eventually draws the attention of a shady executive who wants to protect his company's stock price at all costs, while set against the backdrop of the social media age, which launches the pair into an action-packed journey in which boy and robot come to terms with the wonderful messiness of true friendship. Also starring the voice talents of Olivia Colman, Ed Helms, Justice Smith, Rob Delaney and Kylie Cantrall, the film has generated mostly positive Reviews.

With four new release films 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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE GIFT : Sunday 30th August 2015.

New South Welshman and Aussie Joel Edgerton has Written, Produced, Directed and Stars in his latest offering and his Directoral debut, 'THE GIFT' which I saw over the weekend. Released about a month ago Stateside and made for just US$5M it has so far grossed US$39M and is already garnering much critical praise for Edgerton's Writing and his Directing prowess. This is mystery thriller that delivers one or two chills as the story meanders along and unfolds at the expense of the family unit.

Starring Jason Bateman as Simon and Rebecca Hall as his wife Robyn, this upwardly mobile professional couple relocate to Los Angeles from Chicago where they find a mid-century architecturally designed home in the suburbs as they seek to re-establish their lives with new jobs, a new home, a new city and a new beginning. Having found the perfect place to settle down in the hills, they set about buying furnishings and in doing so, one day Simon is reintroduced to a long forgotten school buddy by the name of Gordon 'Gordo' Moseley (Joel Edgerton).

After exchanging some social pleasantries they agree to contact each other in due course for a long overdue catch-up . . . so much to talk about. Seems harmless enough! The next day as Simon and Robyn return home there is a bottle of red wine tied with a bow waiting for them at the front door with a note from Gordo welcoming them to their new home and wishing them well. The next day Gordo rocks up unannounced to the house when Simon is at work, and he strikes up a conversation with Robyn and provides a list of local tradespeople and contact details in the event of an emergency. How neighbourly!

By now Gordo is getting fairly regular at dropping around when Simon and Robyn least expect it, and the couple get showered with more gifts. On one occasion Robyn gives him the tour of the new home, they have tea together and chat away a few hours, and he connects up their new flat screen big screen TV. Increasingly this is pissing Simon off and he believes that Gordo has the hots for Robyn and wants to break off Gordo's increasingly persistent intervention in their lives.

As Simon strives to climb the corporate ladder at work with a pending promotion in the offing, so Robyn's life at home starts to unravel with the stresses and strains of not knowing what has gone down in the past between her husband and Gordo, her lack of sleep, her secret dependency on a cocktail of pills, her desire to have a child and imaging that things are going on under her nose in her own home when she is home alone . . . and maybe they are! Gordo continues to make his presence felt which comes to a head after he invites the couple around to his place for dinner, which Simon sees as the opportunity to confront Gordo with enough is enough, now get nicked and leave us alone! Gordo gets the message and lets them go.

Until the next day that is, when Robyn returns home after her morning jog to find the koi carp (a gift from Gordo earlier) dead in the pond, and the dog, Mr. Bojangles missing. They alert the Police who really are powerless in the absence of any firm evidence, and so they resign themselves to carrying on in the hope that Gordo has now fled. Home alone a few days later Robyn hears noises in the house, collapses and wakes the next morning in bed having slept through since earlier the previous day, but how did she get there?

As this plays out Simon & Robyn's relationship becomes more strained and she seeks to uncover what really went down at school 25 years ago, and Gordo seems to fade into the background. Uncovering the truth from those that her husband went to school with, the truth about her husband begins to emerge and she questions what she really knows about the man she is married to. Things come full circle when Robyn gives birth, Simon's career prospects turn to shit, and Gordo delivered his final gift to the household - an infant cradle which contains three small packages inside marked 1, 2 &3 - one is the key to their house indicating that Gordo has had ease of access, the other is a CD with just about every conversation between them and about him recorded, and the last is a DVD which reveals more than Simon would care to know and sews grave seeds of doubt in his own mind about matters very close to him.

Revisiting the hospital where Gordo has since departed having wished Robyn his congratulations, Simon receives a call from Gordo taunting him further about the CD, the DVD and what may or may not have occurred that has bought the three of them to this point. By now the truth is revealed about what did occur between Simon and Gordo twenty-five years earlier, Robyn is looking for distance between the two of them content now she has a child, and Simon breaks down in the hospital corridor a broken man as Gordo walks away satisfied he has revenge and retribution after all this time.

Edgerton has written a solid story here and demonstrates that he has an eye for Directing that delivers a strong debut for the versatile multi-talented Actor. The story unravels at a good pace and there is enough going on around the periphery to hold the interest. But, I was looking for a few more chills and thrills than there were and a little more suspense and tension than was provided for here. I enjoyed the film and recommend it to you, but felt just a little short changed for these reasons and wanted more, but nonetheless Edgerton has once again proven what he's capable of and delivers in this film on many levels. With brother Nash on duty behind the camera when Joel was in front, there is clearly a strong partnership here.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'THE TOWN' : archive from 29th October 2010.

I saw 'THE TOWN' earlier this week and really enjoyed this latest Ben Affleck Directed heist film, that after his success with 'Gone Baby Gone' is proving that Mr. Affleck is a talent to be reckoned with as much behind the camera as in front of it. As well as being Directed by Affleck, he co-wrote and stars in this adaptation of the novel 'Prince of Thieves' by Chuck Hogan and does so with an intense gritty realism that sets it apart from other such films of the crime drama genre. The film was made for US$37M and grossed US$154M, and it garnered co-star Jeremy Renner an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

The opening voiceover tells us 'The Town', which is set in the one square mile of Charlestown in Boston, has the highest robbery rate in the USA with over 300 every year. If you do your research you'll find there is some poetic license in this statement, but nonetheless it serves to set the tone for the film you are about to see as four lifelong friends from the Charlestown neighbourhood rob a bank. These friends are Douglas 'Doug' MacRay (Ben Affleck), James 'Jem' Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan (George Carroll aka Slaine), and Desmond 'Dez' Elden (Owen Burke), and in robbing this bank they take the Manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage but release her soon afterwards, unharmed.

A short while later they learn that Keesey lives in their own neighbourhood, and so Doug follows her in an attempt to learn how much she has told the local Boston Police Department, and to protect her from Jem who would likely silence her as a material witness. Doug approaches her, they connect and in time a romance starts to blossom, but he keeps this from the other gang members.

As they get closer to each other Doug confides to Keesey that he continues to search for his long lost mother whom he believes is in Florida, that he gave up a lucrative career as a hockey player to pursue a life of crime and in doing so has followed in his fathers footsteps - father Stephen MacRay (Chris Copper) who is banged up in jail. Keesey advises Doug that she glimpsed a tattoo on one of the robbers during the raid on her bank, and would recognise it again should she see it. Knowing that the tattoo belongs to Jem and he would kill her to prevent her from revealing his identity, Doug persuades Keesey that the Police would not be able to protect her, so she should not step forward and reveal what she knows for her own safety. She heeds his advice.

Meanwhile Special Agent Adam Frawley (John Hamm) has the gang under surveillance because of their ties to a local crime boss Fergus 'Fergie' Colm (Pete Postlethwaite) who has another job for them in the Boston neighbourhood of North End. This robbery does not go according to plan, and the gang barely escape. Despite being interrogated by Frawley, the gang are released due to the lack of any evidence or a confession, and so Doug asks Keesey if she will leave with him to seek a better life, and track down his mother - she agrees, and quits her job. This raises the suspicions of Frawley who smelling a rat, wiretaps her phone and then reveals the truth about Doug and his associates to her. Reeling from the truth she is forced to co-operate and breaks it off with Doug.

With the next job pending Fergie threatens to kill Keesey if Doug does not proceed with a robbery on Fenway Park - the home of the Boston Red Sox - where there is a $3.5M haul to be had. With Frawley tipped off by Doug's ex-girlfriend Krista (Blake Lively) that there is a robbery going down at Fenway Park, the FBI surround the ground before the gang can get away. There is an intense firefight in which Gloansy, Dez and Jem are killed. Knowing that Keesey is still in danger and that his chances of escaping the life of crime are limited as long as Fergie is still calling the shots, Doug takes out Fergie and his bodyguard. Having escaped the firefight at the park Doug flees undercover leaving the money behind for Keesey to find and make better use of than he could.

I liked this film . . . a lot, for its gritty subject matter, its fast paced and well choreographed robbery sequences and subsequent fall-out, the performances which are strong and real, and for the deft touch in Direction which Affleck is displaying here once again. 'The Town' is up there with Michael Mann's 'Heat' and the other Boston set films of the same genre 'The Boondocks Saints', Scorsese's 'The Departed' and Eastwood's 'Mystic River'. The film picked up two award wins and another thirteen nominations around the traps and was hailed a critical and commercial success.

If you missed this at the movies catch it now on DVD, Bluray or download - you won't be disappointed - 'The Town' delivers on all levels.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

TRANSCENDENCE - Wednesday 30th April 2014.

I ventured out to my favourite movie theatre last night - the Cremorne Orpheum to see 'TRANSCENDENCE'. Starring Johnny Depp in the lead role it is hard to see his recognisable visage on screen not caked in greasepaint and make-up (think Jack Sparrow, Tonto, Charlie, Sweeney Todd, and The Mad Hatter etc.), although in this one he does mid-way through hide behind a computer screen with a decidedly green hue!

Here he plays Will Caster a highly intelligent tech expert who sits on the cusp of releasing ground breaking Artificial Intelligence technology upon the world. After a seminar in which he is the key note speaker he is gunned down by extremists hell bent on avoiding an A.I. dominated world. He escapes the gun shot wound but not the poison the bullet was dipped in, and so he has only five or so weeks to live. His dutiful wife and equally A.I. savvy work partner Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) decide that they have the technology to knit Caster's brain up to the A.I. technology that they have hitherto developed - it's a risk but one they are both prepared to take. And so physically Caster dies, is cremated and the ashes scattered - but Caster lives on inside the computer (P.I.N.N.) they have developed, and then he uploads himself to the internet and becomes practically all powerful, all seeing, all knowing and all evolving constantly whilst consuming a huge amount of power in the process. 

After this it all begins to go off the rails I have to say and the story plays out over the next five years as virtual Caster guides wife Evelyn to some hicksville one horse town in the middle of the desert in which to build their super underground computer complex, laboratories and home, and harness a huge amount of solar power capable of sustaining all this infrastructure. Along the way the hurt are healed and made stronger by new nano-technology, limbs can be grown, damaged organs repaired, dead plant matter brought back to life and rain created over a barren desert all in the name of demonstrating what A.I. can do for the planet in a ground breaking, make the world a better place, positive way. But of course the realisation soon dawns that none of this is really helping the average human being in the street and we are not machines to be controlled by some super computer, and so something has gotta change!

Directed by first timer Wally Pfister who was Chris Nolan's DoP on many films including 'INCEPTION' this has the latter's trademark visuals all over it. The film is well crafted, looks cool on screen, there is enough technological wizardry to please any new age geek, and the other cast members include Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany and Cillian Murphy, and the budget was doubtless substantial. 

The moral of this story is that technology has taken over our lives in many respects already, and it is developing at a pace that we cannot truly comprehend or keep apace with . . . so don't fuck with it, because if you do, it can take us back to the dark ages. This is hammered home in the opening and closing sequence where spent laptops, defunct mobile phones, redundant keyboards, idle computer screens, and useless motor cars litter the streets no longer capable of working because the internet is dead, as is everything that was driven by it.

Thought provoking stuff but the film just does not deliver despite everything else it has going for it. I was underwhelmed by this and the answers of man versus machine, science over religion, evolution against revolution hardly feature when there could have been more to this as seen in numerous other films in the same genre exploring very similar themes.

You don't need to see this on the big screen, and you mind find it all a load of hokum . . . or is it!


-Steve, at Odeon Online-