What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd July 2021.

And so for another year the Cannes Film Festival, this year marking its 74th annual edition, drew to a close on Saturday 17th July. At the closing awards ceremony, the Jury President for the feature films in Official Competition, Spike Lee was joined by his other jurors Mati Diop, Mylene Farmer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hausner, Melanie Laurent, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Tahar Rahim and Song Kang-ho for the announcement of this years awards. These are as given below :-

In Competition

* Palme d'Or Award was presented by Spike Lee and Sharon Stone and awarded to 'TITANE' from Belgium and France and Written and Directed by Julia Ducournau. This drama triller stars Vincent Lindon and Agathe Rousselle and following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for ten years. Ducournau became only the second female Director to win the award and the first to win not jointly with another Director (in 1993 Jane Campion had won jointly with Chen Kaige for 'The Piano' and 'Farewell My Concubine' respectively).

* Grand Prix Award was presented by Oliver Stone and jointly awarded to 'A HERO' from Iran and Written and Directed by Asghar Farhadi, about Rahim who is in prison for defaulting on a debt he was unable to repay. During two-days of prison leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum, but things don't go as planned; and 'COMPARTMENT NO. 6' from Germany, Finland, Estonia and Russia and is Co-Written and Directed by Juho Kuosmanen about two strangers sharing a train journey up to the Arctic Circle that will change their perspective on life.

* Best Director Award was presented by Valeria Golino and awarded to Director and Co-Writer Leos Carax for 'ANNETTE' about a provocative stand-up comedian and his wife, a world-famous soprano, with their glamorous life taking an unexpected turn when their daughter Annette is born, a girl with a unique gift.

* Best Screenplay Award was presented by Andrea Arnold and awarded to  Directors and Co-Writers Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe for the Japanese drama film 'DRIVE MY CAR'. Yusuke Kafuku is a stage Actor and Director happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day the wife disappears.

* Best Performance by an Actress Award was presented by Lee Byung-hun and awarded to Renate Reinsve for her performance in the Norwegian film 'THE WORST PERSON INTHE WORLD' Directed and Co-Written by Joachim Trier, and centres around four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.

* Best Performance by an Actor Award was presented by Adele Exarchopoulos and awarded to Caleb Landry Jones for his performance in 'NITRAM' Directed by Justin Kurzel and is based on the Tasmanian Port Arthur massacre in 1996. 

* Jury Prize was presented by Rosamund Pike and jointly awarded to 'AHED'S KNEE' from Israel, France and Germany and Directed and Written by Nadav Lapid about an an Israeli filmmaker who throws himself into two battles doomed to fail, the first against the death of freedom, and the other against the death of a mother. And the internationally co-produced 'MEMORIA' Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul centres around a woman from Scotland, who while traveling in Colombia, begins to hear strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance.

Un Certain Regard

* Un Certain Regard Award presented to 'UNCLENCHING THE FISTS' is a Russian drama film Written and Directed by Kira Kovalenko about a young woman living in a former mining town in North Ossetia, who struggles to escape the stifling hold of the family she loves as much as she rejects.

* Un Certain Regard Jury Prize awarded to 'GREAT FREEDOM' is an Austrian drama offering Directed by Sebastian Meise and centres on a man in post-WWII Germany who is imprisoned for being gay, and develops a relationship with his cellmate.

Camera d'Or

* The Camera d'Or Award for best first feature film presented to 'MURINA' a co-production between the US, Brazil, Croatia and Slovenia and is Directed and Co-Written by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic and Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese. This film concerns a teenage girl who takes it upon herself to replace her commanding  father with his wealthy foreign friend during a weekend trip to the Adriatic Sea. 

Trophee Chopard

* The Chopard Trophy Award presented to two young Actors in order to recognise and encourage their careers were presented to Jessie Buckley and Kingsley Ben-Adir by Jessica Chastain.

For the other awards and all the latest news and views, including the the FIPRESCI Prizes, the Ecumenical Prize, the International Critics Week Awards, the Directors Fortnights Awards, the Queer Palm and a bunch of others, you can visit the official website of the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival at : https://www.festival-cannes.com

As I write this Greater Sydney, where I live, remains in COVID lockdown for four weeks now ending (at this stage) on Friday 30th July, which means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. As such, we launch the week with supernatural thriller about a holidaying family relaxing on an idyllic secluded beach somewhere in the tropics that is causing them to age rapidly. This is followed up by the third instalment in a franchise that takes us back to the origin of the ninja warrior who will become G.I. Joe. Next up is a comedy offering about a college student, who while attending a Jewish funeral service with her parents, runs into her sugar daddy. And we close out the week with a Spanish film about a woman caught up in the drama of her family and work decides to take charge of her life by getting married to herself.

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 week ahead.

'OLD' (Rated M) - is an American supernatural mystery thriller Directed and Written for the screen by M. Night Shyamalan and based on the 2010 graphic novel 'Sandcastle' by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. Shyamalan of course has Directed numerous feature films since his breakout film 'The Sixth Sense' in 1999, followed by his more notable offerings 'Unbreakable' in 2000, 'Signs' in 2002, 'The Village' in 2004, 'The Visit' in 2015, 'Split' in 2016 and 'Glass' in 2019. Principal photography officially began in late September 2020, in the Dominican Republic marking the first time Shyamalan has filmed entirely outside Greater Philadelphia, presumably because the US was in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Dominican Republic was relatively safe. Production wrapped in mid-November. The film is released Stateside this week too. 

And so here, a young family on a tropical holiday discover to their horror that the secluded beach they are relaxing on for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly, reducing their entire lives into a single day. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, and Thomasin McKenzie.

'SNAKE EYES : G.I. JOE ORIGINS' (Rated M) - this American Superhero film is Directed by Robert Schwentke, is based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe toy, comic, and media franchise, and is a reboot, and the third instalment in the 'G.I. Joe' film series following 'G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra' in 2009 and 'G.I. Joe : Retaliation' in 2013 with both of those films raking in a combined US$678M worldwide gross off the back of US$305M total production budgets. This third offering in the series serves as an origin story for the title character Snake Eyes. Robert Schwentke is a German film Director and Writer whose previous big screen credits include 'Flightplan' in 2005, 'The Time Travellers Wife' in 2009, 'Red' in 2011, and 'Divergent : Insurgent' in 2015 and 'Divergent : Allegiant' in 2016. A mysterious lone fighter, known only as 'Snake Eyes' (Henry Golding), is welcomed into and trained by a secretive ancient Japanese ninja clan called the Arashikage, but finds his loyalties are tested when secrets from his past are revealed, as he eventually goes on the path to become the famous G.I. Joe hero. Originally slated for release at the end of March 2020, it was pulled from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic after several delays, and rescheduled eventually for the end of October this year before being moved up to this week in the US and Australia. Also starring Samara Weaving, Andrew Koji, Peter Mensah and Iko Uwais. A follow on film is in development apparently.

'SHIVA BABY' (Rated M) - is a US and Canadian Co-Produced comedy film Written and Directed by Emma Seligman in her feature film debut and is adapted from her own 2018 short film of the same name. The film saw its World Premier screening at the South by South West Film Festival in March 2020, went on general release in Canada at the end of March this year and in the US in early April, has so far grossed US$150K off the back of a US$200K production budget, has garnered generally favourable Reviews and has collected five wins and sixteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. Here, Rachel Sennott stars as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her family. Other attendees include her successful ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon), and her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) with his wife Kim (Dianna Agron) and their screaming baby. It also features Fred Melamed and Polly Draper as Danielle's parents Joel and Debbie, as the events of the film take place almost entirely in real time and at one location as Danielle explores her romantic and career prospects under the intense watch of her family, friends, and judgmental neighbours.

'ROSA'S WEDDING' (Rated M) - here we have a Spanish comedy film Directed and Co-Written by Iciar Bollain who has eighteen Directing credits to her name, thirteen as Writer, three as Producer and thirty-two as an Actress who has also collected fifty-seven wins and another forty-seven nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit over the years. Rosa (Candela Pena), is on the cusp of turning forty-five as she combines her job as a seamstress in the movie business with the pressures of helping her demanding family. She comes to the conclusion that she has always lived her life to serve everyone else. Desperate, and near breaking point she plans to symbolically marry herself, and pursue her dream of starting her own business by leaving everything behind and focusing on herself. However, many obstacles, including her father, siblings and daughter, stand in the way of her joining herself in holy matrimony and beginning to live her life. The film has won eighteen awards and been nominated a further forty-three times. Also starring Sergi Lopez, Nathalie Poza, Ramon Barea and Paula Usero. 

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 in the coming week, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th April 2016.

Over the last few weeks, I have brought you my view of the Top 12 movies to watch out for this remaining year, and last week took that one step further with a 'Best of the Rest' listing another six taking us up to the mid-year this year, with the balance of six for the latter half of the year presented below for your consideration and scrutiny of their cinematic worthiness. These are naturally just my humble opinion for what it's worth and you are of course free to conduct your own research as movies are released into a theatre near you. Check the release dates nearer the time as these may vary of course depending on what territory you are in, and what the studio thinks near the time. Here they are - the remaining six 'Best of the Rest' :-

• 16th June - 'WARCRAFT' - Duncan Jones Directs this big screen adaptation of the world popular action fantasy videogame starring Travis Fimmel, Ben Foster, Toby Kebbell and Clancy Brown.
• 30th June - 'THE LEGEND OF TARZAN' - Directed by David Yates with Alexander Skarsgard in the role of the ever popular Edgar Rice Burroughs tree swinging character with Samuel L. Jackson, John Hurt, Christoph Waltz and Margot Robbie in the line up.
• 18th August - 'BEN HUR' - this Biblical epic has of course been made once before to great record breaking and award winning effect with the classic 1959 Charlton Heston adaptation.  Here Timur Bekmambetov Directs with all the latest 21st Century gadgetry and technology at his fingertips with Jack Huston in the title role with Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell and Rodrigo Santoro. Curiosity will drag you to this one I think, unless you have no idea what the 1959 film is all about and you go into it completely fresh and unknowing . . . as many will!
• October 14th - 'INFERNO' - no, not of the Towering kind, but of the Dante kind and the Dan Brown kind which sees Ron Howard Directing this authors best selling work once again with Tom Hanks reprising his role as Robert Langdon the intrepid symbolist, which sees our reluctant hero racing against time to shake of amnesia, clear his name and solve another intricate riddle across the streets, historical locations and hidden chambers of Florence. Felicity Jones, Omar Sy and Ben Foster also star.
• October 20th - 'JACK REACHER 2' - Edward Zwick Directs Tom Cruise in his second instalment as Jack Reacher - a former US Army Military Police Corps Officer and now a loner drifter, based on the Lee Child novel 'Never Go Back'. 
• December 15th - 'ROGUE ONE : A STAR WARS STORY' - Directed by Gareth Edwards this is a stand alone feature not part of any episode seen so far on the big screen, but fitting into the mythology before the time of 'A New Hope' with Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whittaker, Felicity Jones and Ben Mendelsohn starring.

This week there are three new cinematic offerings that kick off with the third instalment in a four-part franchise of teenage dystopia taking a new twist as our characters venture over the wall to save the world; then corporate greed coming undone in this comedy of the imprisoned wrongdoer trying to do right upon release; and then wrapping up an Aussie outback doco of music, kids and a teacher on a mission.

With these, and those out there still doing the rounds at your local multiplex, share your movie experience with your friends here at Odeon Online, by leaving your own critique in the Comments section below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you. Between now and then, enjoy your movie.

'ALLEGIANT' (Rated M) - the third instalment in the popular teenage dystopian Sci-Fi series of books by Veronica Roth follows on from 'Divergent' and last years 'Insurgent' which made US$289M and US$298M respectively off the back of a combined US$195M budget, so hardly blockbuster status. Like 'Potter', 'Twilight' and 'The Hunger Games' before it, the final book in the Divergent series is split into two films with the final piece of this puzzle 'Ascendant' due for release in June 2017. In the meantime, 'Allegiant' is Directed by Robert Schwentke, who also Directed 'Insurgent', and was made for US$110M and since its release in the US on 18th March has so far made US$137M. The film has so far received largely luke warm reviews, but is likely to find an audience for this so far following the exploits of Tris Prior & Co.

Here we see the same bunch of characters that you by now know, with Tris (Shailene Woodley) escaping the confines of a walled in Chicago of the future with Four (Theo James) for the first time, so leaving behind everything and (almost) everyone she knows and loves. Going in search of an end to the warring factions and the revelations that became known in 'Insurgent' to find a peaceful resolution, her discoveries on the 'outside' cast aside everything she thought she knew before as shocking truths are revealed and a new battle threatens their existence, and that of humanity. Having to work out quickly who they can & can't trust, Tris must also make difficult personal choices to ensure her own safety and future that surround courage, love, sacrifice and where her allegiances lie. Also starring once again, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Zoe Kravitz, Ashley Judd, Naomi Watts, Daniel Dae Kim and Maggie Q, with Jeff Daniels and Bill Skarsgard joining the crew too. 

'THE BOSS' (Rated MA15+) - Directed, Produced and Written by Ben Falcone (husband of Melissa McCarthy) and Produced, Written and starring Melissa McCarthy this film cost US$29M to make and also stars Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage and Kathy Bates. McCarthy is Michelle Darnell, a champion of industry with a reputation of always getting her way, until the day comes when she is convicted of insider trading and  sent down for a jail term. Having served her sentence, she is released broke, homeless and not liked at all by those she once knew. Tracking down Claire (Kristen Bell), a former employee who seems to be the only person pleased to see her, offers to help her old Boss get back on the gravy train. While staying with Claire and her daughter, Michelle hits upon a idea to launch a new business that will win over the hearts. minds and stomachs of the American people and bring them out on top again but with credibility, integrity and responsibility. But in so doing there are those who are former enemies and would like nothing more than to see Michelle fail.

'WIDE OPEN SKY' (Rated G) -  with the back drop of remote western New South Wales in Australia this is the outback with the highest proportion of 5-14 year olds in the State, has the highest proportion of indigenous children and 40% of the population are classified as low income earners. With little music education in the region, Michelle Leonard formed the Moorambilla Voices Choir some ten years ago - a choral based programme for children aged 8-18 from across the region and sourced from over 55 schools spread across 30 towns, teaching them contemporary, complex and original music rather than the more traditional music taught to most school choirs. The film charts Michelle's story together with that of four young children and an ensemble of 200 others who dare to dream big, who have faith in their teacher, and who want to be part of something bigger when they perform at a concert at Coonamble. Written, Produced and Directed by Lisa Nichol this will be an uplifting, heart warming, passionate story of how important music is, and how it can make such a difference to young lives.

With three new film this week, you can add these to your must-see list together with those still out there on general release and still doing the rounds. After you have sat through your movie(s) of choice, share your thoughts, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'RED' : archive from 10th November 2010.

There is a lot to like about action comedy 'RED' - which I saw last night and very entertaining it is too. Directed by Robert Schwentke and based on a limited comic book series of the same name this film was made for US$58M and made US$200M and stars Bruce Willis (always at his best in these actioners); John Malkovich (hamming it up & loving it); Morgan Freeman (as steady as ever); Helen Mirren (always delightful and to see her taking a bullet and toting a machine gun is worth the ticket price alone); Brian Cox, Karl Urban, Richard Dreyfus and Ernest Borgnine - what an all star line up and great fun.

The 'RED' here is the shortening for 'Retired and Extremely Dangerous' and refers to former black-ops CIA Agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) who is now happily retired and living the quiet life in suburban Cleveland. Chatting over the phone, as he does often, to Customer Service Agent Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) at the Pension Office who issue his monthly pension cheque which he promptly rips up just so he can call Sarah and chat away the day, he is later that night raided by a six-man hit squad that Frank quickly dispenses with. Realising that his phone has been tapped he gets over to Kansas City to protect Sarah, but when she refuses to leave with the guy she has only ever spoken to on the phone, he binds and gags her and so becomes his reluctant companion. Needing to uncover who is tracking him down and why, he turns to his former associates for help, while back at the CIA HQ Agent William Cooper (Karl Urban) is instructed to hunt down Frank and kill him.

Frank then heads off to New Orleans to see his CIA Mentor Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman) living in a nursing home who advises the same hit squad that attacked Frank, took out a New York Times Reporter. So Frank and Sarah head to New York looking for clues where they come across a hit-list, but not before Cooper has arrived on the scene and bungles his attempt to get to Frank and secure the list, resulting in his (temporary) arrest. From there they get to Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) also a former black-ops CIA Agent and now retired, but a deeply paranoid conspiracy theorist.

Upon reading the list Boggs comes to the realisation that all those shown therein are linked to an earlier 1981 Guatemalan covert operation in which Frank and Marvin were involved. One on the list is still alive and so he is tracked down and before being gunned down from an above helicopter reveals that the mission in Guatemala involved the extraction of an important individual who is now the Vice President of the free world (Julian McMahon), but back then was involved in the massacre of village civilians.

Along the way there are further altercations with Cooper in which Frank is injured but manages to escape, they seek safe haven in the home of former assassin Victoria (Helen Mirren) who joins the quest, and they secure a meeting with an illegal arms dealer (Richard Dreyfus) whose name is not on the list but whom they believe is linked in some way that they have yet to uncover. At this point the house is surrounded by Cooper and his CIA henchmen who open fire, but in the confusion and the hail of bullets our RED Team escape courtesy of ex-Russian Secret Agent and former lover of Victoria (Brian Cox).

This all leads to a fundraiser for the Vice-President back in Chicago which the RED Team infiltrate and successfully manage to kidnap the Vice-President which Frank now wants to trade for Sarah who was taken captive by Cooper during in the firefight back at Victoria's house. As all the protagonists come together the body count rises as the Vice President is killed by the arms dealer who is killed by Frank leaving Cooper to clean things up as he agrees to let the RED guys walk free no further questions asked!

'RED 2' was released in 2013 and with a  bigger budget at US$84M grossed close to US$150M reuniting the same surviving cast and joined by Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Thewlis, Tim Pigott-Smith and Neal McDonough. 'RED 3' is apparently in the works.

I really enjoyed this mash up of tongue in cheek humour and action, and commend you to see this if you haven't already, and on a dark cold wet evening sit in the comfort of your own lounge and watch 'RED 1 & 2' back to back - you won't be disappointed as the oldies kick-ass, and Mirren exhibits bad-ass sass! Great fun!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

INSURGENT - Saturday 28th March 2015.

The first book in the Veronica Roth dystopian post-apocalyptic world trilogy - 'Divergent' reached our big screens last year at a cost of production at US$85M and took a worldwide gross of US$289M, and on the basis of that success, and its entertainment value, I saw its follow-up last night - 'INSURGENT'.

For me this series so far tops the other in a similar vein - 'The Hunger Games' which is nearing the end of its run with the final instalment due later this year. 'Insurgent' gives us more grounded characters with back stories we can relate to, a more believable story line, greater complexity and improved production values. The entertainment factor here gives us so much more, and I enjoyed this offering and look forward to the final chapter, 'Allegiant' (also to be split into two instalments surprise surprise!) in March 2016.

Taking over from Neil Burger in the Directors chair, this time around we have Robert Schwentke who was given a US$110M budget to play with, which after a week of release has so far taken US$118M at the global Box Office.

As the film opens we are just literally hours down the track from where the first film left off and Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James), Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Peter (Miles Teller) are on the run through the forest eventually finding refuge in an Amity camp. They wait up there to let the dust settle and reacquaint themselves with the land and the company of various other divided Factions. Meanwhile Jeanine (Kate Winslet) has her foot soldiers sifting through the debris of the destroyed Abnegation Faction for an artifact buried therein that is believed to have its origins with the founders of the city and which contains the secrets to overcoming the Divergent's once and for all. Problem is, only a Divergent can open the mythical box, and so Jeanine orders that all Divergents be rounded up and bought in to open the said Pandora's Box of tricks! Eric (Jai Courtney) and Max (Mekhi Phifer) are dispatched to lead the search and bring back any and all Divergents who will be tested to open the box . . . at no matter what cost!

As Eric and Max close in, so begins another cat & mouse game with Tris &Co on the run and the four split further as loyalties are tested and it's every man for himself. Tris and Four remain together with Caleb in tow, with  Peter having betrayed them to Eric & Max. As they evade their foe and seek to head back to the city aboard a train, they are set upon by the Factionless and a fight breaks out. After, when the dust has settled Four reveals his names as Tobias Eaton, and is advised that he has been sought after for a very long time now. With safe passage back to the Factionless enclave deep in the bowels of the city Four is confronted by his estranged Mother, believed to have died when he was six. She now heads up Factionless and wants revenge on Jeanine, but she may have a hidden agenda to take control of what remains afterwards, and is seeking to amass an army to overthrow Erudite.

As Four rebels against his Mother, the next morning he leaves with Tris and Caleb for Candor to reunite with their Dauntless colleagues, but Caleb announces he cannot continue and is not cut out for such heroic acts of bravery, adventure, risk & derring-do! Leaving Tris and Four to continue their journey they arrive at Candor, and momentarily all is good in the world until overcome by leader Jack Kang (Daniel Dae Kim) who intends to send them both to Erudite to stand trial for their crimes, believing that Jeanine is true & just. Needless to say it's not long before he is proven wrong!

With several Divergents captured and tested to open the box at Jeanine's hands, the body count is rising and her patience is wearing thin. Ordering again a greater sweep of all Divergent's Tris comes to terms with the fact that the only way to stop the murdering is for her to give herself up and put an end to Jeanine's power crazy ways. Doing so against the wishes of Four she slinks away to Erudite and is promptly strung up with various cables, electronic gadgetry and mind control mechanisms that will test her to her limits in an attempt to open the box.

Being 100% Divergent it seems it's down to Tris to do or die and she is the only one who can open the box having been through all Faction 'sims' and been successful . . .  maybe! As it plays out Tris has to come to terms with her own history, the guilt she carries around, the burden of what she has become and what she may truly represent, and the love she has for Four. In the final set piece there are a few surprises in store, a number of questions are answered and there is the big reveal that sets up the next instalment quite nicely with just the right amount of action and without too much melodrama.

Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Zoe Kravitz, Maggie Q, Ashley Judd are all there too and the visuals of a war torn battle scared trashed and wrecked city skyline that once was Chicago now surrounded by an enormous wall is very well rendered and impressive in its imagery. This is a worthy follow up to last years 'Divergent' and sets up 'Allegiant' nicely with just the right air of expectation and the promise of new things for our characters who will continue their journey.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-