HYPNOTIC : Tuesday 16th May 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'HYPNOTIC' at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this American Sci-Fi action thriller is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Edited and scored by Robert Rodriguez. His previous film making credits include his 1992 debut with 'El Mariachi', then 'Desperado' in 1995, 'From Dusk till Dawn' in 1996, the 'Spy Kids' franchise which has so far spawned four films with a fifth reportedly in development for Netflix, 'Sin City' in 2005 and 'Sin City : A Dame to Kill For' in 2014, 'Planet Terror' in 2007, 'Machete' in 2010 and 'Alita : Battle Angel' in 2019. This film saw its 'work-in-progress' World Premier at SXSW in late March this year, was released Stateside last week too and cost in the region of US$65M to produce and has so far grossed just US$3.5M having garnered mixed reviews. It is reportedly the worst Box Office opening for any Rodriguez film and Ben Affleck led feature, and was partly blamed on the lack of marketing by the studio behind this production. 

The film opens up with Austin Police Detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) recounting to his therapist (Nikki Dixon) the abduction of his young daughter Minnie (Lonie Nieves) which ultimately led to the break-up of his marriage. Afterwards, he is collected by his partner, Nicks (J.D. Pardo), who advises him they have received an anonymous tip that a safety deposit box at a bank is about to be robbed. 

At the stakeout, they observe a mysterious man give unheard instructions to a civilian woman, a bank teller, and two armed Police officers who seemingly without question follow his instructions as he enters the bank. Rourke beats him to the targeted safety deposit box, unlocks it and finds a solitary photograph of Minnie inside with the handwritten message 'Find Lev Dellrayne' on it. Rourke chases the man to a parking lot rooftop, where he witnesses him command two Police officers to shoot each other as he escapes, by seemingly jumping off a tall building much to Rourke's astonishment.

Rourke believes the heist has something to do with the disappearance of his daughter, and so he starts digging around. Forensics lead Rourke to the address of fortuneteller and hypnotist Diana Cruz (Alice Braga) who it turns out was the anonymous caller of the bank heist earlier in the day. After he describes the man from the heist, a client of Cruz's, under the control of the man from the bank, drives a motorcycle through Cruz's shop window before killing himself. Rourke takes Cruz into custody. She explains that the mysterious man from the bank is named 'Lev Dellrayne' (William Fichtner), and that both he and her are escaped 'Hypnotics' - powerful hypnotists trained by a secretive government 'Division' to control people's minds. Rourke is mysteriously immune to their control, more than likely caused by a block in his mind brought about by a traumatic or emotional experience in his life. Meanwhile Dellrayne, outside the station, commands Nicks to attack Rourke and Cruz, which he does with Cruz putting a bullet between his eyes to stop his onslaught.

Rourke and Cruz flee to Mexico now that they are on the TV news for the slaying of Nicks. There, they learn from a former Division contact Jeremiah (Jackie Earle Haley) that Dellrayne is looking for 'Domino', a powerful weapon developed by the Division, stolen, and hidden by Dellrayne when he escaped. 

Dellrayne then wiped his own memory leaving behind certain 'triggers' allowing him to gradually recall Domino's location and regain his own hypnotic power. Dellrayne eventually reveals himself to be Jeremiah in disguise and pursues Rourke and Cruz through a hypnotically constructed environment before Rourke taps into his own previously unknown hypnotic power and so giving them the chance to escape.

Cruz seeks out River (Dayo Okeniyi) a reclusive Division hacker, with Rourke who discovers Rourke's wife Vivian in a Division database. Later, Rourke investigates River's database himself, and discovers that Minnie is in fact Domino, the daughter of two of the most powerful hypnotics - Rourke and Cruz (who it turns out is Vivian). As 'Cruz' interrupts him, Rourke comes to the realisation that the room he is sat in and all of the events up to this time have been constructs. He wakes up in a large room populated by Division agents, all of whom he has seen or interacted with throughout the carefully constructed story, including Nicks, Dellrayne and even his therapist. 

Vivian and Dellrayne explain that Rourke and Vivian are both hypnotics, and their daughter Minnie was born and raised within the Division. He however, escaped with her to stop her from becoming their weapon. Hiding her and then wiping his memory, Rourke no longer remembers where she is, and the Division has been putting him through constructs of the search for her to make him remember, on twelve previous occasions. Rourke is plugged back into the construct for the thirteenth time now, where he repeats the session with his therapist and the stakeout at the bank heist. However, Rourke escapes using his own powers and flees as the Division realises that 'Find Lev Dellrayne' refers not to a person but a place - 'Deer Valley Lane' the location of a ranch where Rourke's foster parents have been hiding Minnie.

Rourke arrives at the ranch and is reunited with Minnie (Hala Finley), who has now aged by three years and has grown to have full control of her powers. The Division arrive en masse and surround the ranch but it is all revealed to be another construct this time of Minnie's creation. Minnie restores Vivian's memories that she was involved in Rourke and Minnie's escape, but wiped her memory so that when Minnie was powerful enough to defeat the entire Division at once, Vivian could unwittingly lead them to her. Minnie forces the Division agents to turn on each other so taking themselves out, including Dellrayne who turns his own gun on himself and plugs three bullets into his chest, after which she, her parents, and Rourke's foster parents embrace in their newfound freedom. In a mid-credits sequence, Dellrayne is shown to have survived, having constructed Rourke's foster-father Carl (Jeff Fahey) to look like him during the fight with Minnie. He is seen walking back to the helicopter from whence he came. 

'Hypnotic' is entertaining and watchable enough and at a brisk 92 minutes run time it never outstays its welcome. Here the maestro of B-grade movies Robert Rodriguez channels the likes of Christopher Nolan and Alfred Hitchcock dabbling in the worlds of Sci-Fi and thrillers with a good dose of action thrown in to keep viewers motivated enough to sit through this picture's preposterous premise which is slow to get off the ground but once the momentum builds it delivers a reasonably satisfying conclusion. Ben Affleck phones his performance in, as the grizzled square-jawed actor can see with his eyes closed that this barely above average thriller is hardly going to cause a stir in the pantheon of genre bending films of a similar ilk. 

'Hypnotic' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th May 2023.

The Seattle International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 11th May and runs through until Sunday 21st May, is held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, and is among the top film festivals in North America. SIFF believes in film’s unique power to share original stories, diverse perspectives, and rich emotional journeys. Beginning in 1976 with the annual Seattle International Film Festival, then expanding into year-round programming, the festival has offered experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world for nearly five decades. Our audiences allow us to take risks, host complex conversations, and truly appreciate film, according to the official website. SIFF traditionally attracts in the region of 150,000 attendees to celebrate films from more than eighty countries and regions around the world. Many of the features, short films, and documentaries screened will not have a return to US cinemas, making it an amazing event to discover new and underrepresented voices and stories.

This years Opening Night film is 'Past Lives' and this American romantic drama film is Written and Directed by Korean Canadian Celine Song in her feature film making debut. The Closing Night film is the Canadian comedy drama film 'I Like Movies' Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Chandler Levack in her feature film debut. 

In Official Competition this year there are eight films with work spanning the world, and that illustrate some of the finest filmmaking this year. Many of the films discuss themes that resonate worldwide—themes of friendship, coming of age in times of political turmoil, and the complications of family and love. Those eight films are :-

* '20,000 Species of Bees' from Spain and Written and Directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. A gender-questioning eight-year-old and their mother spend a summer in the country with their family’s widowed matriarch, where tending to the beehives leads to illuminating and deeply personal revelations.

* 'Ingeborg Bachmann - Journey into the Desert' from Switzerland and is Written and Directed by Margarethe von Trotta. A stately biopic about the rocky romance between Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann and Swiss playwright Max Frisch. Starring Vicky Krieps. 

* 'Let the River Flow' from Norway and Written and Directed by Ole Giaever. A teacher accidentally becomes part of the Sami revolution that rose up amid the Alta Conflict of 1970's-’80's Norway.

* 'Opponent' from Sweden and Written and Directed by Milad Alami. When an Iranian refugee decides to rejoin the wrestling world, rumours spread that threaten to ruin his family’s safety.

* 'Plan 75' from Japan and Written and Directed by Chie Hayakawa. Three interlocking stories set in an alternate modern Japan, where the elderly are given the option to euthanise themselves to stave off the country’s economic woes in return for a final sum of money they can spend however they wish.

* 'Pretty Red Dress' from the UK and Written and Directed by Dionne Edwards in her feature film making debut. A family of Black Londoners have their world shaken by the purchase of a lovely rhinestoned red dress.

* 'The Quiet Migration' from Denmark and Co-Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Malene Choi. A thoughtful and semi-autobiographical film about a South Korean adoptee raised on a dairy farm in the Danish countryside.

* 'To Kill a Tiger' from Canada and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Nisha Pahuja. An Indian rice farmer stands up to his village and demands justice for his young daughter, the victim of a terrible sexual assault.

The other competitive strands playing out at this years Seattle International Film Festival are the Documentary Competition, the Ibero-American Competition, the New American Cinema Competition, the New Directors Competition and the Short Films Competition. For the full details of these competitions, plus a whole lot more good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.siff.net/

Turning to this weeks slate of new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a Sci-Fi crime horror mystery that sees a married couple enjoying an all-inclusive luxury beach vacation at a five star resort when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors. Next up we have a Sci-Fi action thriller that has a detective investigating a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government programme. This is followed by a French crime drama thriller offering portraying the first five days into the heart of the French anti-terrorism services during the hunt for suspects after the 13/11/2015 attacks in Paris. And we close out the week with two American RomCom's - the first being a sequel to a 2018 film that follows the new journey of four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had, and last but by no means least is a story of a young woman who tries to ease the pain of her fiance's death by sending romantic texts to his old cell phone number, and forms a connection with the man the number has been reassigned to.

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

'INFINITY POOL' (Rated R18+) - this Sci-Fi crime horror mystery film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Brandon Cronenberg (son of David), whose previous feature film offerings are his debut in 2012 with 'Antiviral' and 'Possessor' in 2020. This film saw its World Premier at the Sundance Film Festival in late January this year and was released in cinema's in its native Canada at the end of January to generally positive reviews, having so far grossed US$5.2M.

While staying at the isolated island resort of Li Tolqa, James (Alexander Skarsgard) a struggling writer and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth), they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime - either you'll be executed, or, if you're rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead. Also starring Jalil Lespert and Thomas Kretschmann. 

'HYPNOTIC' (Rated M) - is an American Sci-Fi action thriller that is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Edited and scored by Robert Rodriguez, whose previous film making credits include his 1992 debut with 'El Mariachi', then 'Desperado' in 1995, 'From Dusk till Dawn' in 1996, the 'Spy Kids' franchise which has so far spawned four films with a fifth reportedly in development for Netflix, 'Sin City' in 2005 and 'Sin City : A Dame to Kill For' in 2014, 'Planet Terror' in 2007, 'Machete' in 2010 and 'Alita : Battle Angel' in 2019. Here then, when detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) learns that his missing daughter Dominique (Hala Finley) and a string of high profile bank robberies might be connected, he must go on a mind-bending journey to find his daughter and stop the secret government agency behind the madness. Also starring Alice Braga, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner. The film saw its 'work-in-progress' World Premier at SXSW in late March this year, is released Stateside this week too and cost in the region of US$70M to produce. 

'NOVEMBER' (Rated M) - is a French crime drama thriller film that is Co-Written and Directed by Cedric Jimenez whose previous feature film credits are his debut with 'Paris Under Watch' in 2012, then 'The Connection' in 2014, 'The Man with the Iron Heart' in 2017 and 'The Stronghold' in 2020. This film depicts the investigations and the interventions of the Police (in particular of the anti-terrorist sub-directorate) during the five days which followed the attacks of Friday 13th November 2015 where a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb of Saint-Denis. The attackers killed 130 people, including ninety at the Bataclan theatre, where a group of 1,500 were watching an Eagles of Death Metal concert. Another 416 people were injured, almost one hundred critically. Seven of the attackers were also killed. The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War. The film stars Jean Dujardin, Sandrine Kiberlane and Jeremie Renier, has garnered generally positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$19.4M off the back of a production budget of US$16.5M.

'BOOK CLUB 2 : THE NEXT CHAPTER' - (Rated M) - this American RomCom is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Bill Holderman and is the follow-up film to 2018's 'Book Club' also Directed by Holderman and which grossed US$105M off the back of a production budget of US$14M making this sequel inevitable. Four elderly best friends - Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) take their book club to Italy for the fun girls' trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure. Also starring Andy Garcia, Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson. The film is released in the US this week too.

'LOVE AGAIN' (Rated M) - is also an American RomCom Written and Directed by James C. Strouse whose prior film making credits take in his debut with 'Grace Is Gone' in 2007, then 'The Winning Season' in 2009, 'People Places Things' in 2015 and 'The Incredible Jessica James' in 2017. This film is an English-language remake of the 2016 German film 'SMS fur Dich', which is itself based on a novel by Sofie Cramer. Here, Mira Ray (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) who is struggling to cope with the death of her fiance, unintentionally sends a sequence of romantic messages to his old cell phone number, which has been reassigned to Rob Burns (Sam Heughan) as his new work phone. As a journalist, Rob is captivated by the honesty in Mira's beautifully written texts. When he is tasked with writing a profile on the famous singer Celine Dion (Celine Dion in her screen acting debut) he seeks her assistance in finding a way to meet Mira in real life, and ultimately win her affection. Also starring Celia Imrie and Russell Tovey. The film was released in the US last week. 

With five 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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ALITA : BATTLE ANGEL : Tuesday 19th February 2019.

I saw 'ALITA : BATTLE ANGEL' earlier in the week. This American cyberpunk action film is Directed by Robert Rodriguez, and Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by James Cameron based on the Japanese manga artist Yukito Kishiro graphic novel 'Gunnm' (aka 'Battle Angel Alita'). Going back to 2000, Kishiro's manga was brought to the attention of James Cameron by Guillermo del Toro who so liked what he saw and read that he immediately registered a domain name for the film, and by 2003 was announced as Director on a feature length live action film. Then Cameron's 'Avatar' got in the way and it was then slated for a 2009 release. In 2010 Cameron stated that the film was still in development but no plans existed as to a release date. In 2013 he set a Production start date of 2017 and in the meantime Robert Rodriguez was in discussions to Direct if he could condense Cameron's script and sizeable notes into a workable Screenplay. Filming began in late 2016 with Rodriguez Directing with Cameron Producing, and a budget of somewhere between US$150 and 200M. Digital effects were provided by Peter Jackson's New Zealand based Weta Digital, amongst others. The film was released in the US last week too, has so far recouped US$156M of its circa US$180M production budget, and has generated largely mixed or average Reviews so far. If the film proves commercially successful ultimately, this will be the first instalment in a franchise that will see at least two sequels reportedly.

Set some five hundred years in the future, following the catastrophic global war known at 'The Fall' of some three hundred years previously, the abandoned disembodied 'core' of a female cyborg, with a still intact human brain, is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor. Ido takes the remnants of the upper body back to his workshop come lab and fits her out with a new body, one he had previously built for his disabled daughter, who died before he was able to give it to her.

When the girl awakens in an upstairs bedroom, she is surprised by her fully functioning body and takes a few moments to find her feet and get accustomed to her new and strange surroundings. She ventures downstairs and is greeted by Ido and his assistant. The cyborg girl has no recollection of her past life at all, not even her name. Ido calls her Alita (Rosa Salazar) - after his dead daughter.

Ido takes Alita out into the street where she gets her first taste of her new world and all the hustle and bustle of the metropolis that is Iron City. Pretty quickly Alita befriends Hugo (Keean Johnson), who harbours dreams of moving to the wealthy sky city of Zalem that hovers just a few kilometres above Iron City. A few days later Hugo introduces her to the competitive sport of Motorball - the street version as opposed to the grand spectator arena battle royale race where cyborgs fight to the death (kind of a more up to date take on 1975's 'Rollerball').

One day Ido comes home with a badly injured arm. A few nights later, Alita follows Ido as he leaves the house carrying a huge case and subsequently discovers that Ido is a 'Hunter-Warrior' when they are set upon by three cyborg assassins led by Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley). In the ensuing attack Ido is injured. Alita's instincts click in and she attacks the cyborgs, killing two of them and severely damaging Grewishka, who retreats underground. Despite Alita re-igniting her skill in the ancient martial art of 'Panzer Kunst', Ido discourages her from becoming a Hunter-Warrior. 

Later, out on an expedition with Hugo and two of his friends to the outskirts of the city and through a forest Alita is taken to a downed space ship resting overgrown and half submerged in a lagoon. Hugo tells her that it is a relic of 'The Fall' but Alita is drawn to the ship, jumps in the lagoon and seeks to gain entry. She does and emerges on the inside where the controls of the ship spring to life as if Alita is a charged battery needed to power it up. In it, she finds and brings home to Ido a 'Berserker body' which Alita begs Ido to fit onto her. Ido refuses, saying it is a relic of the past, she now has a new life and besides its an unknown quantity that could do more harm than good. This angers Alita, so she promptly registers herself as a Hunter-Warrior.

Alita and Hugo then make for the Kansas Bar, a local hang-out for the Hunter-Warrior community to ask others to help her take out Grewishka, but they refuse. There Zapan (Ed Skrein) an acclaimed cyborg Hunter-Warrior picks a fight with Alita and comes off worse. As a fight breaks out and mayhem ensues across the crowded bar, an upgraded Grewishka storms into the bar and challenges Alita to a rematch, stating that he had been ordered by Nova, his boss, to destroy her. At the same time Ido arrives on the scene.

Despite her bravery and proven fighting skills, Alita's body is sliced up by Grewishka's bladed fingers before she blinds him with her left arm. Ido, Hugo, and McTeague (Jeff Fahey), another Hunter-Warrior who leads a pack of robot killer dogs, force him to retreat. Ido has no option now but to transplant Alita onto the Berserker body, which automatically begins to interface with her core system.

Kitted out with her brand new shiny all singing all dancing Berserker body, Alita enters a Motorball tryout race as a means to send Hugo to Zalem with the winners proceeds. Ido discovers that the other contestants are Hunter-Warriors and wanted cyborgs hired by Vector (Mahershala Ali), an entrepreneur working under Nova, a powerful Zalem scientist, to kill her. He warns Alita, and as the race gets underway, she dispenses with many of the contestants with her superior combat skills and evasive techniques.

Meanwhile, Hugo is being hunted by Zapan, after he frames Hugo for murdering a cyborg - a charge punishable by death. Hugo calls on Alita for help. She locates Hugo just as Zapan arrives and reveals to her that Hugo has been attacking cyborgs and stealing their body parts for Vector to transplant onto other contestants in his Motorball games. Zapan mortally wounds Hugo and cordially informs Alita that Hunter-Warrior law dictates that she must either now kill Hugo or let Zapan finish him off.

Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), Ido's ex-wife, also a master cyborg engineer and in cahoots with Vector as a means to relocate herself to Zalem, is looking on, and is prompted by a flood of emotion to save Hugo by attaching his head to Alita's all powerful cyborg heart in order to keep his brain functioning. Zapan attempts to stop Alita from leaving and she slices part of his face off with his prized sword, which she claims as her own.

Back at Ido's cyborg surgery, he transplants Hugo's head onto a cyborg body, and then promptly advises Alita that Hugo's actions were based on the fact that he would be able to eventually buy his way into Zalem, which quite simply was not the case. Ido confides that this was a lie fabricated by Vector for his own ends, and that citizens of Iron City are unable to gain entry into Zalem unless they become a Motorball champion. Alita decides to confront Vector, who is being mind-controlled by Nova. Alita arrives at Vector's high rise penthouse suite and through Vector, Nova reveals to Alita that Chiren has been harvested for her vital organs and then orders Grewishka who has scaled up the outside of the building to reach them, to kill her. Alita battles Grewishka again and this time, thanks to her new powerful Berserker body, finally kills him by slicing his re-modified body clean in half, then stabs Vector, communicating with Nova through Vector's dying eyes that he made the mistake of underestimating her.

Ido communicates to Alita that Hugo has fled and is desperately attempting to climb one of the supporting tubes that binds Zalem to Iron City, in a seemingly vain attempt to reach the place of his dreams. Alita gives chase, catches up and pleads with Hugo to return with her. Hugo ventures ever upward and in doing so Nova releases a razor spiked defencive ring that slices through Hugo's body sending his various body parts into the air. Leaping after him, Alita is unable to prevent Hugo from falling to his death. Some months later, and Alita is the star champion of the Motorball arena. As she walks into the packed stadium greeted by the cheering crowd of spectators, she points her sword towards Zalem, while Nova (unmasked for the first time to reveal Edward Norton in an unspeaking cameo role) watches her from above. 

There is no doubt that 'Alita : Battle Angel' is a feast for the senses, a visual spectacle, and an achievement in world building that offers the audience all the latest in CGI technology writ large with enough slicing and dicing violence and flailing body parts to keep any genre die hard fan in clover.  And, on that level the film delivers in spades. Rosa Salazar puts in a convincing enough performance too as our rebirthed and then born again protagonist Alita, but as for the other human characters they are under cooked, and the others are nothing more than human heads perched atop various heavily customised cyborg killing machines. The story is nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before and as such plays out predictably saved only by various digitally rendered action set pieces to help things move along apace. All that said, this film is a worth a look and worth catching on the big screen - just don't go in with too high an expectation. Michelle Rodriguez and Jai Courtney also cameo.

'Alita : Battle Angel' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th February 2019.

In January the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . Carol Channing, Windsor Davies, and Andrew Vajna.

* Carol Channing - born January 31st 1921, and died January 15th 2019, aged 97. Channing was an American Actress, singer, dancer and comedienne whose lifetime credits take in eight decades of stage, screen and television appearances that began in 1941 in a New York stage production from which she would never look back. From there she moved to Broadway and secured regular work on various stage productions and in 1948 she picked up the Theatre World Award which really launched her career as a star player. In the latter half of the '50's she worked with George Burns on his television comedy show, and in 1961 she gained a Tony Award nomination for 'Show Girl' and in 1964 won the Tony Award for her portrayal of Dolly Levi in the smash Broadway musical comedy 'Hello, Dolly!'. Channing had 37 film and television credits to her name throughout her career which launched with the feature film 'The First Travelling Saleslady' in 1956 opposite Ginger Rogers, Clint Eastwood, Barry Nelson and James Arness. In 1967 she starred in 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' for which she won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Oscar in the same category. This was followed up a year later with 'Skidoo' with an all star cast taking in Jackie Gleason, Frankie Avalon, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney and Groucho Marx. She also lent her voice talents to various animated feature films and animated television series episodes over the years. Her last film role was in a 2011 documentary of her life 'Carol Channing : Larger than Life' and on television in 2016's 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. She released her autobiography 'Just Lucky I Guess' in 2002. All up Channing won seven awards including four Tony Awards, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe and further six nominations.

* Windsor Davies - born August 28th 1930, and died January 17th 2019, aged 88. Davies was a Welsh born Actor who starred in many British films and television series between 1962 and 2004. Perhaps his best known role was over 56 episodes spanning eight seasons of the hit British sitcom 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' starring as Battery Sergeant Major Williams which ran from 1974 through until 1981. He also appeared in television series 'The Onedin Line', 'Callan', 'Never The Twain' and 'Oh, Doctor Beeching!'. Of his film appearances, he had roles in 'The Pot Carriers' in 1962 his first feature film, and then the likes of 'Murder Most Foul', 'The Alphabet Murders', 'Drop Dead Darling', 'Adold Hitler : My Part in His Downfall', 'Carry On Behind', 'Carry On England', 'Confessions of a Driving Instructor', 'Grand Slam' and 'Old Scores'. All up Davies had 128 Acting credits to his name, and a UK Number One record with 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' co-star Don Estelle in 1975 with 'Whispering Grass'. He also worked extensively on television commercials adding his distinctive Welsh accented voice.

* Andrew Vajna - born Andras Gyorgy Vajna on August 1st 1944 and died January 20th 2019, aged 74. Vajna was a Hungarian born American film Producer. After various ventures in the Far East and Hong Kong including a film acquisition and distribution business, he met Lebanese Film Producer Mario Kassar at Cannes in 1975 and the pair went on to form Carolco a company specialising in the financing, sales and distribution of films worldwide. In less than four years, Carolco became one of the top three foreign sales organisations in the motion pictures industry. In 1982 Vajna and Kassar made their film production debut with 'Rambo: First Blood', starring Sylvester Stallone. The film was a critical and commercial success giving rise to numerous sequels over the years. At Carolco the pair also Produced 'Rambo : First Blood Part II' and 'Rambo III' as well as 'Angel Heart', 'Total Recall', 'Air America' and 'Jacob's Ladder'. In late '89, Vajna sold his interest in Carolco to form  Cinergi Productions for the financing, development, Production and distribution of major event releases. 'Medicine Man', 'Tombstone', 'Color of Night', 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' 'Judge Dredd', 'Nixon' and 'Evita' were among Cinergi's Productions. Never forgetting his Hungarian background, Vajna played a significant role in many films being shot in Budapest including 'Evita', 'Escape to Victory', 'Read Heat' and 'I Spy'. In the late '90's Vajna reteamed with his former business partner Mario Kassar and in 2003 Produced 'Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines' and thereafter also acted as Executive Producer on 'Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles' and 2009's 'Terminator Salvation'. From 2011 Vajna worked as the Government Commissioner in charge of the Hungarian film industry where he conceived the Hungarian National Film Fund since which time the Hungarian film industry has won more than 130 international awards while the number of foreign films produced in Hungary has increased significantly.

This week there are six latest release movies coming to your local Odeon. We launch with a Sci-Fi epic based on a popular Japanese manga set five hundred years hence where a dismembered cyborg is taken in by a good doctor and given a new body only to awaken with no recollection of who she is or where she is. Her journey to discover who she really is reveals much more than anyone bargained for.  We then turn to an already highly acclaimed romantic drama film set in the early '70's surrounding a couple and the challenges faced by both which need to be resolved before the birth of their child. Next up is a biographical drama charting the last years of a famed but troubled painter up to his death in 1890, followed by a story of survival in the frozen depths of the Arctic Circle as one man struggles  against the elements to find salvation and civilisation. Then we have a remake of a successful 2000 film that gives one lucky lady the ability to hear mens thoughts, but this in itself creates more challenges than she bargained for. And wrapping up the week we have a horror sequel about a girl stuck in a time loop who must die time and time again in order to save her friends and thwart a maniacal masked killer.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'ALITA : BATTLE ANGEL' (Rated M) - this American cyberpunk action film is Directed by Robert Rodriguez, and Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by James Cameron based on the Japanese manga artist Yukito Kishiro graphic novel 'Gunnm' (aka 'Battle Angel Alita'). Going back to 2000, Kishiro's manga was brought to the attention of James Cameron by Guillermo del Toro who so liked what he saw and read that he immediately registered a domain name for the film and by 2003 was announced as Director on a feature length live action film. Then Cameron's 'Avatar' got in the way and it was slated for a 2009 release. In 2010 Cameron stated that the film was still in development but no plans existed as to a release date. In 2013 he set a Production start date of 2017 and in the meantime Robert Rodriguez was in discussions to Direct if he could condense Cameron's script and sizeable notes into a workable Screenplay. Filming began in late 2016 with Rodriguez Directing with Cameron Producing, and a budget of somewhere between US$150 and 200M. Digital effects were provided by Peter Jackson's New Zealand based Weta Digital, amongst others. The film is released in the US this week too.

Set some five hundred years in the future, the abandoned disembodied 'core' of a cyborg, Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious Alita to his clinic and fits her out with a new body. When Alita wakes, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the post apocalyptic world destroyed by a technological meltdown that she now finds herself in. They soon discover that Alita is more than what she seems and has an extraordinary past. As she learns to navigate her new life, and the often deadly streets of Iron City she battles other machines who are empowered with skills, while Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past. Also starring Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Michelle Rodriguez and Casper Van Dien. If successful, this will set up a series of films.

'IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK' (Rated MA15+) - here we have another acclaimed offering doing very well around the awards and festival circuit with 73 wins so far and another 138 nominations including three Oscar nominations, yet to be announced. Directed, Co-Produced and Written for the screen by Barry Jenkins (of 'Moonlight' fame), based on the 1974 novel by American author James Baldwin. The title of the book is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song 'Beale Street Blues', named after Beale Street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The film saw its World Premier showing at TIFF back in September, went of general release in the US in mid-December, and has so far recovered US$15M from its US$12M production budget outlay. And so this American romantic drama film is set in early 1970's Harlem. Daughter and wife-to-be Clementine 'Tish' Rivers (KiKi Layne) vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt (Stephen James), who goes by the nickname 'Fonny'. Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a lasting future together, but their plans go awry when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit. With the support of close family and friends Tish seeks to clear Fonny's name and prove that he is innocent, before the birth of their child. Also starring Regina King, Brian Tyree Henry, Colman Domingo, Ed Skrein, Finn Wittrock, Diego Luna, Perdro Pascal and Dave Franco.

'AT ETERNITY'S GATE' (Rated PG) - this biographical drama film is Directed and Co-Written by American painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel and has already done much around the awards and festival circuit. It saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival back in  early September and was released in the US in mid-November and only now does it get a showing in Australia. Garnering generally positive Press, the film has so far picked up three award wins and another fifteen nominations mostly for Lead Actor Willem Dafoe in his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh, including an Oscar nod. The film primarily focuses on the painters latter years from 1888 when he based himself in Arles in the south of France and during which time he broadened his subject matter to include series of olive trees, wheat fields and sunflowers in a much brighter colour palette. Then in 1890 van Gogh discharged himself from a psychiatric hospital and relocated himself to  Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris where he was cared for by a homeopathic doctor. His bouts of depression and anxiety continued right up until late July 1890 when van Gogh shot himself in the chest, from which he died two days later aged 37. The film also stars an ensemble cast including Oscar Isaac as Paul Gaugin, Rupert Friend as Theo van Gogh, Mathieu Amalric, Mads Mikkelsen and Vincent Perez, and has so far taken US$7M at the Box Office.

 
'ARCTIC' (Rated M) - this Icelandic Arctic Circle survival thriller Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year where it competed for the Camera d'Or and is Directed and Co-Written by Brazilian musician and filmmaker Joe Penna. Following an aeroplane crash, Overgard (Mads Mikkelsen) is stranded in the Arctic. About to receive a long-awaited rescue, the helicopter that finds him crashes in a blizzard. The pilot is killed with the passenger, a young woman, severely injured (Maria Thelma Smaradottir). He must now decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp in the stricken aeroplane and again wait it out until the next rescue attempt, if there is to be one, or to embark on a potentially deadly trek through the unknown snow covered and harsh wilderness in the hope of making it out alive. Made for just US$2M this film was released in the US on 1st February. Filmed over the course of nineteen days in Iceland, Mikkelsen later commented that it was the most difficult shoot of his career.

'WHAT MEN WANT' (Rated M) - if this title sounds familiar it's because this is a remake of the 2000 Nancy Meyers Directed film 'What Women Want' which starred Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt and off the back of a US$70M production budget grossed US$374M. Here this fantasy comedy offering is Directed by Adam Shankman and centres around Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson), a successful sports agent who is repeatedly left out by her male counterparts. When Ali is by-passed for a well-earned promotion, she begins to wonder what more she needs to do to succeed in a male dominated world. Hoping to find some direction from a psychic, Ali drinks a strange potion that allows her to hear mens thoughts. Using her newfound skill, Ali starts to outsmart her boisterous obnoxious male colleagues while racing to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best mates, and a potential new love interest, to the test. Also starring Tracy Morgan, Aldis Hodge, Kellan Lutz and Richard Roundtree. Also released in the US this week.

'HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U' (Rated M) - Jason Blum, of Blumhouse Productions knows a thing or two about the horror genre and how to create a winning formula, clearly having proved himself on numerous occasions over recent years. Here he is at it again, in this sequel to 2017's 'Happy Death Day' which cost a tad less than US$5M to make and grossed US$126M. Blum once again takes a Producer credit, with Christopher Landon once again in the Directors chair on this horror slasher offering that reunites some of the characters from the first instalment and plants them a couple of years on from the first film. And so trapped in a time loop once more, college student Theresa 'Tree' Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) must die over and over again to save her friends from a psychotic masked killer. Determined to escape the time loop now that she has learned that her friends are also involved, and that the original masked killer Lori Spengler (Ruby Modine) has been murdered, Tree must now face a new killer threat, uncover its identity and break free now once and for all. Also starring Israel Broussard and Suraj Sharma. The film is released in the US this week too, and cost US$9M to bring to the screen.

With six 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 in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 28th August - 3rd September 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Salma Hayek does on 2nd September - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 50, 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 28th August

• David Soul - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actor | Producer | Director | Singer
• Luis Guzman - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Producer
• David Fincher - Born 1962, turns 54 - Director | Producer
• Billy Boyd - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer
• Jason Priestly - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Jack Black - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Armie Hammer - Born 1986, turns 30 - Actor  

Monday 29th August

• William Friedkin - Born 1935, turns 81 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Elliott Gould - Born 1938, turns 78 - Actor | Producer
• Joel Schumacher - Born 1939, turns 77 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Lenny Henry - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Writer | Television Personality
• Rebecca De Mornay - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Tuesday 30th August

• Cameron Diaz - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Michael Chiklis - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Director 

Wednesday 31st August

• Jack Thompson - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actor | Producer
• Richard Gere - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Jonathan LaPaglia - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Chris Tucker - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actor
• Marc Webb - Born 1974, turns 42 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Thursday 1st September

• Craig McLachlan - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Lily Tomlin - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer  

Friday 2nd September

• Salma Hayek - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actress | Producer | Director | Singer
• Mark Harmon - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Keanu Reeves - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actor | Producer | Director  

Saturday 3rd September

• Jean-Pierre Jeunet - Born 1953, turns 63 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Charlie Sheen - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Noah Baumbach - Born 1969, turns 47 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Garrett Hedlund - Born 1984, turns 32 - Actor | Singer
• Pauline Collins - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actress  

Salma Hayek Jimenez was born in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico to mother Diana Jimenez Medina, an opera singer and talent scout, and father Sami Hayek, an oil company executive and owner of an industrial equipment company. She was raised a devout Roman catholic in a happy wealthy family, although has more recently admitted that she is no longer as devout in her faith as she once was. She attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart - an independent Catholic School for girls in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, from the age of twelve where she was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. She went on to study International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. In 1991 she moved to Los Angeles to study acting at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

In 1989 Hayek gained her first credited acting break on the small screen in 'Teresa' in the lead role of this Mexican telenovela that made her an overnight star in her home country. Her big screen debut came in 'Mi Vida Loca' (aka 'My Crazy Life') with 'Roadracers' following up in 1994 as Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez in what would prove to be a long lasting and fruitful screen relationship. This was followed up in 1995 by the Mexican film 'Midaq Alley' (aka 'The Alley of Miracles') which picked up 27 award wins and a further fourteen nominations and the most awarded film in the history of Mexican cinema.

Up next Robert Rodriguez cast her in 'Desperado' with Antonio Banderas, with 'Fair Game' following that same year, together with 'Four Rooms' starring in the Robert Rodriguez segment 'Room 309 : The Misbehavers' with Antonio Banderas again. 1996 brought 'From Dusk till Dawn' again with Robert Rodriguez based on a Quentin Tarantino Screenplay and with George Clooney and Harvey Keitel.

Seeing out the 90's there were amongst others 'Fled' with Laurence Fishburn and Stephen Baldwin, 'Fools Rush In' with Matthew Perry, 'Breaking Up' with Russell Crowe, '54' with Ryan Phillippe, 'The Faculty' with Elijah Wood and once more Directed by Robert Rodriguez, 'Dogma' for Director Kevin Smith and with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and 'Wild Wild West' with Will Smith and Kevin Kline.

In 2000 Hayek established her own film production company 'Ventanaroca'. Her first film as Producer was 1999's 'No One Writes to the Colonel' which was selected as Mexico's entry to the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category. This was followed up by the Mike Figgis experimental four-way split screen film 'Timecode' featuring a huge ensemble cast, and then Steven Soderbergh's highly acclaimed 'Traffic' with Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas and James Brolin. 'Hotel' came next again for Mike Figgis and with another ensemble cast, and then 'In the Time of the Butterflies' which Hayek also Co-produced.

'Frida' came next with Hayek in the title role of Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo which she also Co-Produced to much critical acclaim which included two Academy Award wins and four other nominations amongst a total haul of sixteen wins and 42 nominations.





Two films followed for Robert Rodriquez in quick succession, with 'Spy Kids 3-D : Game Over' and the third and final instalment in his Mexico Trilogy with 'Once Upon A Time in Mexico' with Antonio Banderas once more and Johnny Depp. 'After the Sunset', 'Ask the Dust', Bandidas' opposite Penelope Cruz, 'Lonely Hearts', 'Across the Universe' and 'Cirque du Freak : The Vampires Assistant' saw out the decade. In the meantime there had been numerous television appearances on the likes of 'Dream On', 'The Sinbad Show', 'The Hunchback', 'Action', 'Ugly Betty' which she also Executive Produced and '30 Rock'.

'Grown Ups' with Adam Sandler came along in 2010, then 'Americano', Oliver Stone's 'Savages', 'Grown Ups 2', 'Everly', 'Some Kind of Beautiful' with Pierce Brosnan, 'Septembers of Shiraz', 'Tale of Tales' and 'Sausage Party' bring us up to date. During this time there were also animated features which Hayek lent her voice talents to - 'Puss in Boots', 'The Pirates! : Band of Misfits', 'The Prophet' and 'Sausage Party' most recently.

Next up and currently in post-production is 'Drunk Parents' with Alex Baldwin, 'The Hitman's Bodyguard' with Ryan Reynolds, Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson for a mid-2017 release, 'How to be a Latin Lover' with Kristen Bell, Raquel Welch and Michael Cera also due in mid-2017, and 'Beatriz at Dinner' in pre-production with Chloe Sevigny and John Lithgow. All up Hayek has 68 Acting credits to her name, six as Producer, two as Director and six soundtrack acknowledgements. She has twelve award wins, 38 nominations including one Academy Award, one Golden Globe, one BAFTA and two Primetime Emmy nods.

Hayek married Francois-Henri Pinault - the CEO of French luxury goods holding company 'Kering', in February 2009, and she gave birth to their daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault in September 2007. Hayek in her time has been a spokesperson for Revlon, Avon since 2004 and has modelled for Chopard and Cartier. She has worked with UNICEF to promote funding for vaccines against maternal and neonatal tetanus; works to support awareness of violence against women; is a board member of V-Day; and supported International Women's Day in 2014 to campaign for Women's Rights in Afghanistan.

Salma Hayek - often plays strong, independent, forthright women; is curvaceous and buxom; has been voted on numerous Most Beautiful/Sexiest/Stylish Women lists over the years; is best friends with Penelope Cruz; a frequent collaborator with Rodriguez and Banderas; a lover of dogs; a firm believer in self and just being who and what you are; and whose Christian name in Arabic means calm or peace. Salma Hayek - a very Happy 50th Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-