NIGHTCRAWLER - Wednesday 3rd December 2014.

As an Actor, I like Jake Gyllenhaal, and I think he is amassing a fine body of work that takes in 'Donny Darko', 'Source Code', 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Zodiac', last years 'Prisoners' and now 'NIGHTCRAWLER' which I saw last night. This is Directed by first timer Dan Gilroy, who is not new to the world of big screen entertainment having written 'The Bourne Legacy', 'Two for the Money' 'Real Steel' and the Screenplay for this film too amongst others. As a first outing in the Director's chair, Gilroy can be very proud of his achievement putting together a taught, tense thriller that delivers on many levels - not the least of which is in the story itself and more notably the outstanding performance of his star - Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role. Made for just US$8.5M it has already taken over US$35M at the global Box Office at the time of writing.

The story centres around Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) who when we are introduced to him is stealing scrap metal for on selling to a merchant. In the process we see him overcome a Security Guard and rob him of his expensive looking wrist watch. He asks the scrap metal merchant for a job but is told they don't hire 'thieves' even though the merchant buys his (stolen) wares. He later steals a very expensive road racing bicycle which he moves on at a pawn shop, and this is how Lou Bloom makes his money - living day to day hand to mouth in a very modest apartment on the outskirts of LA. We know nothing of his back story, and it's not important. We can assume however, that he is a loner cobbling together a very meagre existence.

One evening while driving home on the freeway he pulls over at the scene of a horrific car accident, where two Police Officers are frantically pulling a woman out of wrecked blazing car. This accident is being filmed by two hungry news hounds - one of which is Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) capturing footage of the car wreck and its aftermath from every angle. The next morning this scene of devastation is being blurted out in graphic detail on the early morning TV news, and so a plan is hatched by Lou Bloom that this is a world too in which he could excel and start-up with minimal investment. And so, using the funds from the pawn shop and store credits from the sale of the road bike - he secures a camcorder and a Police Scanner and is in business!

That night tuning into the Police frequencies he gets the early heads up on motor vehicle accidents, crime scenes, shootings, stabbings, fires, murders, attacks and drug busts and quickly races off to be amongst the first at the scene to capture as much of the death, destruction, blood and violence as he can for the local TV channels who are hungry for such 'exclusive' footage. After initially stumbling through his video capture efforts he becomes more savvy and astute and gets to the scene either before or at the same time as his competitor Joe Loder who has been 'night crawling' for 14 years and is a veteran - telling Lou in passing that 'if it bleeds, it leads'!

Having some early success he begins selling his nightly video footage to a local TV channel, and forging a working relationship with morning news Director Nina Romina (Rene Russo), who pay him on the spot for worthy footage. He wants to take the relationship much further he tells her over a Mexican dinner one evening that will leave you cold as his diatribe spews forth, but she is having none of it! As the story progresses Lou gets more adept at searching out the more newsworthy incidents, and so his success grows. He buys a new fast car, invests in new camera equipment, Police Scanners, GPS and has already taken on an Assistant, Rick (Riz Ahmed) a young almost homeless guy desperate for money who accepts a wage of $30 a night cash oblivious to the dangers involved - much to his chagrin later on.

Lou has big plans for his fledgling business given the success he is garnering and his sometimes unscrupulous tactics at securing his footage. He is not afraid to manipulate crime scenes or the scene of an accident to accentuate the drama and spectacle for the viewers - for he knows that this gains viewers, improves the ratings, makes him more bankable and more powerful with the TV channels. Lou is very well spoken, chooses his words wisely, is confident, brash and not backward and coming forward. He is also cold, calculating, creepy and slightly unhinged and he goes through his personal and new found business life with an icy determination, a steely resolve and an almost win at all costs commitment - which we see in all its glory as his big news story comes to a very graphic conclusion.

The story is fast paced and Gyllenhaal as our anti-hero delivers what could be described as a career defining performance. He shed 20lbs in weight for this role and despite his gaunt, drawn and wiry physical presence he more than balances this with his disturbing thought processes, wide piercing eyes, articulate dexterity and acutely serious but slightly comedic persona that in many lines of well written dialogue is edgy, sinister and disturbing.

With our ever increasing insatiable appetite for true crime, murder, mishaps, mayhem, incidents, accidents, violence and death delivered almost instantly to our TV screens and across the Internet, this film delivers an insight told chillingly and thrillingly about those who curb that appetite and quench our thirst for more telling headlines and graphic images above the feel good news stories that increasingly fade into the background, and occupy less column inches and screen time. One of the films of the year!

    

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 27th November 2014.

With Australian Summer Time starting officially next week on 1st December there is lots to look forward to in cinemas over the coming season aside from the great outdoors and the sunshine, surf, sand, longer days, clear blue skies, hot barbecues and cold beers. Forgive my ramblings, but there really ain't no better place that Australia in the Summertime, and to cap it all off with some great movie content heading our way it's sure to be a crowd pleaser!

For the last week of Spring then we have another veritable mixed bag of offerings that include a period piece set in the American mid-east coast in the 1930's; then there is an American middle-class tale of a family obsessing over their technology, social media, the Internet and how all this stuff at their fingertips impacts their little lives; next up is an American tale set in LA charting the clandestine camerawork of a would-be news hound in the small wee hours; then a story of another camera wielding reporter working in very different conditions and the implications this has on the family after a near death experience whilst on the job; and finally there is an Australian offering that, for me, almost defies explanation and stands for everything Aussie we would rather forget about - but it will doubtless find an audience . . . somewhere!

Five films therefore coming your way very soon. When you have chosen your pick (or two) of the bunch this week, drop me a line in the Comments Box following this Post, or any other, and let my global readership know what you thought - it's goof to share! Enjoy your filmic experience in the week ahead!

NIGHTCRAWLER (Rated MA15+) - this film is touted as possibly Jake Gyllenhaal's finest to date with him starring in the title role as Lou Bloom - the LA 'Nightcrawler' in question. This Nightcrawler however, does not belong in a Superhero movie, but here he is a drifter roaming the streets at night in search of gainful employment. Stumbling upon a camera crew shooting footage of a car accident he has a flash of inspiration and decides this is the career move he is looking for. Procuring a camcorder and a  Police radio scanner he starts trawling the streets at night looking for footage to film and to hopefully on-sell to the local TV channels. Striking up a rapport with one such local TV station his paths cross with Nina Romina (Rene Russo) - the Director of the early morning news. She takes his early tapes and stipulates the more violent, bloody and upmarket the footage is, the better, and this sets in motion for Lou a quest for more daring footage, greater risk taking and at times playing with the truth and the facts for the sake of a good story and the sell.

Written and Directed by Dan Gilroy in his Directorial debut for a modest US$8.5M this is a tense, gripping, psychological drama played out by a strong cast with a solid lead, a taught storyline and the graininess of a violence fuelled night-time urban setting witnessed to a large extent through the lens of a camcorder. There's a lot of buzz about this film, and the trailers seen so far make this a must see going into the Christmas Season, and already since it's release on 31st October stateside it has grossed US$33.5M.

SERENA (MA15+) - this is our American mid-east coast period piece set in the 1930's in North-Carolina and starring two of Hollywood's hottest properties right now - Bradley Copper as George Pemberton - a well-to-do privileged socialite intent on building a timber empire, and his soon-to-be wife and heiress Serena Shaw (Jennifer Lawrence). Based on the book of the same name by Ron Rash this also stars Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones and Sean Harris and is helmed by Danish Oscar winning Director Susanne Bier who won with Danish language 'In a Better World' at the 2011 Academy Awards. When George learns that his new wife Serena cannot bear him children things start to get complicated for the couple with more far reaching implications. The making of this film has been marred with difficulty with various edits before finding a distributor resulting in lengthy release delays before its arrival in our cinemas. In the final analysis the critics have not be kind to 'Serena' the film, although Cooper's and Lawrence's performances are passable but perhaps not enough to save the script and the somewhat wayward production. Maybe wait for the DVD release - your call!

MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN (Rated M) - this American dramedy is Directed by Jason Reitman and based on the book of the same name by Chad Kultgen. Charting the story of four social media addicted, Internet porn addled, sex hungry teenagers all suffering from their school, sport, social stresses and anxieties, and their associated parents who have similar challenges of their own in this technology gripped all ruling world. Starring the voice talents of Emma Thompson narrating, with Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler, Ansel Elgort, Rosemarie DeWitt, Dennis Haysbert, Judy Greer and Dean Norris amongst others we see lives collide at our fingertips, intertwine and situations created of our own doing that often cannot be undone in cyberspace. A morality tale perhaps on the good and evil the Internet has spawned, how we interact with it, what it means to us and how we have become so dependant on it - for better and for worse! This could be a wake up call for the tech savvy, Internet dependant age . . . or just a load of self-absorbent tosh!

A THOUSAND TIMES GOODNIGHT (Rated M) - Rebecca (Juliette Binoche) is a photo journalist who has carved out a career and a reputation for her photographic news coverage of war torn hotspots around the world. When in Afghanistan filming with a  group of female suicide bombers, a premature detonation leaves her badly injured. Returning home to Ireland to recover she is delivered an ultimatum by her husband Marcus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and daughter Steph (Lauryn Canny) asking her to choose once and for all between them as her family, or her work as a photographer. Needless to say she chooses the former, but later when accompanying her daughter to Kenya for a spot of humanitarian work, the village in which they are staying is savagely attacked by rebels, and once again Rebecca's is thrust into her former life recording the actions on camera as she used to, only this time putting herself and her daughter in the line of fire. This film won the Special Grand Prix Jury Prize at the 2013 Montreal World Film Festival amongst others so far, and is said to be a morality tale too of the fine line that exists between family and career and what happens when one is consumed by the other!

FAT PIZZA vs. HOUSOS (Rated MA15+) - brought to us by Writer, Director and Actor Paul Fenech this brings the 'Fat Pizza' and 'Housos' TV series together for the big screen where bogans rule, cultures clash and just about everyone is on the take for something or other. When pizza chef Bobo Gigliotti is released from jail after 15 years for a chainsaw assault on a Health Inspector he sets up shop again in the only place he can afford - Sunnydale. What unfolds is a clash of the titans as bogans, bikies, cultures and ethnic minorities collide over a turf war, local disagreements and who can get one over on the next man in the quickest most efficient manner. There will be pizza, thongs, trackie-dacks, burnouts, fisticuffs, Ugg boots and all manner of politically, morally and socially incorrect banter that you might find entertaining . . . or not!

There it is - another melting pot of five varied and diverse film offerings to tempt your movie going dollar in the week ahead. Check one out at least, share your thoughts and enjoy your big screen outing.

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-