What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th April 2021.

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoured the best films of 2020 and early 2021. The awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles, at both the Dolby Theatre and Union Station, on 25th April, two months later than originally planned, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, thereby extending the eligibility period for feature films through to 28th February. The eligibility criteria had already been modified to account for films originally intended to have a cinematic release, but which were ultimately released directly on to streaming platforms. 

The winners, grinners and also rans at this years Oscars ceremony, are as given below :-

Best Picture

* Awarded to 'NOMADLAND' Directed by Chloe Zhao, beating out 'The Father', 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Mank', 'Minari', 'Promising Young Woman', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Director

* Awarded to 'CHLOE ZHAO' for 'Nomadland', beating out Thomas Vinterberg for 'Another Round', David Fincher for 'Mank', Lee Isaac Chung for 'Minari' and Emerald Fennell for 'Promising Young Woman'.

Best International Feature Film

* Awarded to 'ANOTHER ROUND' Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, beating out 'Better Days', 'Collective', 'The Man Who Sold His Skin' and 'Quo Vadis, Aida?'

Best Animated Feature Film

* Awarded to 'SOUL' Directed by Pete Docter and Dana Murray, beating out 'Onward', 'Over the Moon', 'A Shaun the Sheep Movie : Farmageddon' and 'Wolfwalkers'.

Best Documentary Feature

* Awarded to 'MY OCTOPUS TEACHER' Directed by Pippa Ehrlich, Craig Foster and James Reed, beating out 'Collective', 'Crip Camp', 'The Mole Agent' and 'Time'.

Best Actress 

* Awarded to FRANCES MCDORMAND for 'Nomadland', beating out Viola Davis for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Astra Day for 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday', Vanessa Kirby for 'Pieces of a Woman' and Carey Mulligan for 'Promising Young Woman'.

Best Actor

* Awarded to ANTHONY HOPKINS for 'The Father', beating out Riz Ahmed for 'Sound of Metal', Chadwick Boseman for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Gary Oldman for 'Mank' and Steven Yuen for 'Minari'.

Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to YOUN YUH-JUNG for 'Minari', beating out Maria Bakalova for 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', Glenn Close for 'Hillbilly Elegy', Olivia Colman for 'The Father' and Amanda Seyfried for 'Mank'.

Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to DANIEL KALUUYA for 'Judas and the Black Messiah' beating out Sacha Baron Cohen for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', Leslie Odom Jr. for 'One Night in Miami...', Paul Raci for 'Sound of Metal' and Lakeith Stanfield for 'Judas and the Black Messiah'.

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN' by EMERALD FENNELL, beating out 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Minari', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to 'THE FATHER' by FLORIAN ZELLER and CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON, beating out 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', 'Nomadland', 'One Night in Miami...' and 'The White Tiger'.

Best Production Design

* Awarded to 'MANK' for Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale, beating out 'The Father', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'News of the World' and 'Tenet'. 

Best Cinematography

* Awarded to 'MANK' for Erik Messerschmidt, beating out 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'News of the World', 'Nomadland' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Editing 

* Awarded to 'SOUND OF METAL' for Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, beating out 'The Father', 'Nomadland', 'Promising Young Woman' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Sound

* Awarded to 'SOUND OF METAL' for Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Philip Bladh, Carlos Cortes and Michelle Couttolenc, beating out 'Greyhound', 'Mank', 'News of the World' and 'Soul'.

Best Make-Up and Hair Styling

* Awarded to 'MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM' for Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, beating out 'Emma', 'Hillbilly Elegy', 'Mank' and 'Pinocchio'.

Best Costume Design

* Awarded to 'MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM' for Ann Roth, beating out 'Emma', 'Mank', 'Mulan' and 'Pinocchio'.

Best Visual Effects

* Awarded to 'TENET' for Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson, David Lee and Andrew Lockley, beating out 'Love and Monsters', 'The Midnight Sky', 'Mulan' and 'The One and Only Ivan'.

Best Original Score

* Awarded to 'SOUL' for Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste, beating out 'Da 5 Bloods', 'Mank', 'Minari' and 'News of the World'.

Best Original Song

* Awarded to 'FIGHT FOR YOU' from 'Judas and the Black Messiah' with Music by D'Mile and H.E.R. and lyrics by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, beating out 'Hear My Voice' from 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', 'Husavik' from 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga', 'Io sì (Seen)' from 'The Life Ahead' and 'Speak Now' from 'One Night in Miami...'.

For the full run down on this years 93rd Academy Awards, you can go to the official website at : https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021

Turning attention back to this weeks four latest release new films coming to an Odeon near you in the week ahead, we kick off with an action thriller centering around a cold and mysterious character working at a cash truck business responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around LA each week. This is followed by a story of a local hunter who brings a grieving lawyer back from the brink of death after she retreats to the harsh wilderness of the Rockies. Next up a psychotic oil matriarch leaves the whole industry exposed when she attempts to outfight a bullish farmer whose water has been poisoned, and we close out the week with a highly acclaimed film about a skilled cook travelling west who joins a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. 

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.

'WRATH OF MAN' (Rated MA15+) - this American action thriller offering is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Guy Ritchie and is based on the 2004 French film 'Cash Truck' Directed by Nicolas Boukhrief. The lead star of this film is Jason Statham, with whom Ritchie has worked on three previous occasions - 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch' and 'Revolver' with a fifth collaboration currently in the works on spy thriller 'Five Eyes'. Originally slated for a mid-January release but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic, this is now released in Australia one week ahead of its US cinema release and not until 23rd July in the UK.

Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard Harry 'H' (Jason Statham) begins work for a cash truck operator responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week, and who surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to hunt down the people behind the murder of his son. Also starring Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Eddie Marsan, Scott Eastwood, Post Mallone, Andy Garcia and Rob Delaney. 

'LAND' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Directed by the Actress Robin Wright in her Directorial debut, and saw its World Premier screening at this years Sundance Film Festival at the end of January. It went on release in the US in mid-February, has so far made US$3M at the Box Office and has generated largely positive critical acclaim. After experiencing an unspeakable tragedy, middle aged woman Edee Mathis (Robin Wright), finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, Wyoming wilderness. Surviving hardship, a near-death experience in which local hunter Miguel (Demian Bichir) brings her back from the brink of death, and a surprise friendship, she must become comfortable living again. Also starring Kim Dickens.

'THE DEVIL HAS A NAME' (Rated M) - this American dark comedy film is a fictionalised drama of real life events surrounding California's Central Valley water contamination wars. Directed, Co-Produced and also starring Edward James Olmos who has 123 screen acting credits to his name, seven as Director, and sixteen as Producer as well as a raft of award wins and nominations throughout his career. The film Premiered at the August 2019 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, and was then released in the US in selected cinemas, through video on demand, and on digital platforms in mid-October 2020. An ambitious oil executive Gigi Cutler (Kate Bosworth) leaves the whole industry exposed when she tries to outwit a recently widowed farmer, Fred Stern (David Strathairn) whose land has been poisoned. Also starring Alfred Molina, Martin Sheen, Haley Joel Osment, Katie Aselton, Pablo Schreiber and Michael Hogan. 

'FIRST COW' (Rated PG) - is an American drama film Directed by Kelly Reichardt, from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's 2004 novel 'The Half Life'. Reichardt's previous film making credits take in her debut in 1994 with 'River of Grass' and then 'Wendy and Lucy' in 2008, 'Night Moves' in 2013 and 'Certain Women' in 2016. The film had its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in late August 2019, was theatrically released in the US in early March 2020, and subsequently released through VOD in July 2020 to acclaim from critics. Here, two travellers, Otis 'Cookie' Figowitz (John Magaro) a quiet chef, and King-Lu (Orion Lee) a Chinese immigrant, are on the run from a band of vengeful hunters in the 1820's Northwest. They dream of striking it rich, but their tenuous plan to make their fortune on the frontier comes to rely on the secret use of a landowner's, Chief Factor (Toby Jones) prized dairy cow. 'First Cow' has so far collected twenty-two award wins and another 139 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, and on a budget of just US$2M has so far recouped US$101K. Also starring Ewen Bremner, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer and Renee Auberjonois (in one of his final film roles).

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-

WONDER WOMAN 1984 : Tuesday 5th January 2021.

'WONDER WOMAN 1984' is the M Rated ninth instalment in the DCEU which finally arrived in Australian cinemas on 26th December 2020. This sequel to 2017's 'Wonder Woman' which grossed US$822M off the back of a production budget of about US$140M, is once again Directed by Patty Jenkins, and has been the subject of numerous delays to finally get us to this point. Originally announced for release on 13th December 2019, before being moved up to 1st November 2019, then it was delayed to 5th June 2020 and delayed again to 14th August 2020 while the world rode out the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, a further delay saw the film's release pushed to 2nd October 2020, before it was moved to this Christmas date. The film also streamed on HBO Max in the US and through Premium VoD in Canada from the same day as its theatrical release in those countries, while the rest of the world can enjoy the big screen cinematic release from anytime between Christmas 2020 and the end of January 2021. Costing US$200M to make the film is not expected to be profitable, needing to take US$500M to break even after marketing costs are factored in. That said, this sequel has generated mixed or average Reviews, and at the time of writing has grossed US$119M. A third film in the franchise was greenlit on 27th December 2020 set in the present day with Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot returning. 

The film opens up with the young child Diana Prince (Lilly Aspel) taking part against much older Amazon contestants in an athletic race on Themyscira. Looking on, but secretly not holding out much hope for her young daughter is the Queen of Themyscira, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and her sister Antiope (Robin Wright). After being knocked off her horse having led the race up to this point, Diana takes a short cut to make up for lost ground and to remount her horse which has run on ahead, riderless. However, just as Diana re-enters the stadium and is about to throw the final javelin through a target making her the winner, she is grabbed from behind by her Aunt, Antiope, and lectured that any goal must be achieved through honest effort and truth comes above everything else.   

We then fast forward to 1984 and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot who also Co-Produces here) works at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. In between her routine work at the Institute she also saves and rescues people often from life threatening situations, wearing her WWI outfit. One such set piece comes in a busy shopping mall when a gang of four thieves rob a jewellery store of various ancient artefacts, but are quickly foiled by Wonder Woman. 

Following this Diana introduces herself to the hapless Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) - a highly insecure geologist and gemologist recently started at the Institute, who most of her co-workers ignore because she is socially awkward, unassertive and just plain. Barbara befriends Diana whom she comes to admire and envy because she represents everything she isn't. The next day Barbara is asked by the FBI to identify several stolen and recovered artefacts from the robbery that Diana had foiled at the Shopping Mall. Barbara and Diana notice one artefact in particular which contains an inscription written in Latin claiming that anyone holding it will be granted one wish. Diana unknowingly uses the stone to wish her deceased lover Steve Trevor back to life, while separately having been saved by Diana from an attempted sexual assault, Barbara wishes upon the stone to become like Diana. 

Meanwhile failing businessman Maxwell 'Max Lord' Lorenzano (Pedro Pascal) visits the Smithsonian Institute under the guise of being a wealthy donor. He had previously arranged for the stolen artefact with the Latin inscription, known as the 'Dreamstone' to be delivered to him in the hope of using its power to save his struggling oil company, BlackGold Cooperative. Diana uncovers a connection between Max and the stone and attends a gala at the Smithsonian to investigate. There, she is reunited with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), whose soul inhabits another man's body, but only Diana can see him as Steve. 

Attending the gala himself, Max seduces Barbara to gain access to her office and steal the Dreamstone. With the Dreamstone now securely in his possession he later that night uses the stone to 'become' the stone and gains its wish-granting powers, along with the ability to take whatever he desires from others in return. Max very quickly becomes a successful and powerful figure whose oil business takes off, and who is hell bent on assuming control of his competitors oil business, ultimately taking over half the world's oil production. In his wake however, he leaves a trail of destruction and chaos and his powers create instability on a global scale. 

With Barbara's help, Diana and Steve discover that the Dreamstone was created by Dolos, the God of lies, treachery, deception, and mischief and is referenced in various historical records down through the ages. The stone grants a user their wish but exacts a toll, and the only way to reverse the exchange is by renouncing the wish or destroying the stone. As the stone crumbled to dust when Max was granted his wish to become the human embodiment of the stone, there is no chance of now destroying it. Steve quickly comes to the realisation that his existence comes at the cost of Diana's power, while Barbara's newfound life has taken away her humanity. Neither woman is willing to renounce her wish.

With every wish that Max grants, so his new found powers begin taking a toll on him physically as his body slowly deteriorates. He bleeds form the nose, the ears and the eyes and his behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic and unhinged. He learns from the President of the United States (Stuart Milligan) of a satellite system that broadcasts communication signals globally, using a technology that touches every electrical communications device on the planet - telephones, computers, televisions. Max plans to use it to grant wishes to the entire world simultaneously to rid himself of his power and restore his health. Diana and Steve confront him at the White House, only for Barbara to joins forces with Max. She defeats Diana, allowing Max's escape. 

Steve convinces Diana to renounce her wish and to let him go, restoring her strength and discovering an ability to fly. Diana returns to her apartment and dons the gold winged protective suit of armour of legendary Amazon warrior Asteria. She then heads to the satellite headquarters and confronts Barbara, who has mutated into a cheetah-like creature after wishing to become an 'apex predator'. After defeating Barbara in a closely fought battle, Diana confronts Max and uses her Lasso of Truth to communicate with the world through him, convincing everyone to renounce their wishes. She also shows Max visions - first of his own unhappy childhood, then as a teenager at College and then of his young son, Alistair (Lucian Perez), wandering the streets crying for his father amid the chaos he has created. Max renounces his wish and reunites with Alistair, promising to be a better father, and one day to make his son proud. 

Some months later, in a street market at Christmas time, amidst a light flurry of snowfall, Diana encounters the man whose body Steve possessed, providing her with some closure and a determination to continue safeguarding humanity. Meanwhile, in a mid-credits sequence Asteria (Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970's television series) is revealed to be secretly living among humans, having saved a young child from a falling power pole, and saying to the startled but grateful mother that it's only weight displacement and she has years of experience.

'Wonder Woman 1984' suffers from sequel-itis as it fails to live up to the expectations set so handsomely in the 2017 first instalment. Sure many of the usual characters are there for the purposes of continuity and familiarity, and they all perform their respective roles with aplomb as do the two baddies in the piece played by Wiig and Pascal who both add weight to the storyline which at times falls into cheesy territory. The action set pieces are well choreographed, the look and feel of 1984 is reasonably well recreated, but I was left wanting to see more action from this woman of wonder and less corn (after all she learns she can fly in this sequel - a la the man of steel, and, render inanimate objects - as large as a jet fighter - invisible just by rubbing her hands together!!) 'WW84' is entertaining enough even if it does plod along in places labouring in at an elongated 151 minutes run time, and it has enough emotional heft and escapism to be engaging, but the storyline leaves much to be desired and we have seen it played out many times before in both the DCEU and MCU when nefarious ne'er do well megalomaniacs try to take over the world and eventually succumb to our trusty superhero/ine who is on hand to save the day beyond the eleventh hour and restore some semblance of status quo.  

'Wonder Woman 1984' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a possible five claps.       

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BLADE RUNNER 2049 : Tuesday 10th October 2017

'BLADE RUNNER 2049' which I caught earlier in the week in 3D, is released 35 years after the original neo-noir Sci-Fi film 'Blade Runner' as Directed by Ridley Scott which upon release polarised critical opinion and took lacklustre Box Office takings of just US$34M from its US$28M production budget. Here then, and finally, we have the long awaited, eagerly anticipated, much hyped sequel, set thirty years after that first film. The intervening years have been kind to the original movie, now elevated to cult status with many Critics hailing the film as one of the best all time Science Fiction movies, also bringing to prominence the work of Philip K. Dick upon whose book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' the film is loosely based. Starring Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah and M. Emmet Walsh, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, won three BAFTA's and was nominated for a further five amongst its total haul of eleven wins and eighteen nominations. Set in a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019, 'Blade Runner' depicts a future in which bioengineered androids known as 'Replicants' are manufactured by a powerful company to work on off-world colonies. When a renegade group of Replicants led by Roy Batty escape back to Earth in an attempt to prolong their lives, burnt-out LA cop Rick Deckard reluctantly agrees to one last assignment to hunt them down and 'retire' them.

And so this film, which has been in development for approaching twenty years with Ridley Scott on again off again and various storylines coming and going, has finally landed with Director Denis Villeneuve at the helm, Roger Deakins on Cinematographer duty and Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard all for a production budget of somewhere in the vicinity of US$175M. Released in the US and Australia last week, the film has so far taken US$93M at the Box Office and early Reviews of the film have met with widespread universal acclaim, with many Critics gushing about the production values, cinematography, CGI, music score, and performances of the principal cast.

Set in a dystopian Los Angeles of 2049, thirty years following the events of the original film, bioengineered humans called 'Replicants' have now been integrated into Earth's general population. Working for the LAPD, K (Ryan Gosling) a more up to date model who is programmed to obey orders and works as a Blade Runner, whose purpose is to hunt down older rogue Replicants and 'retire' them from service.

As the film opens we see K descending in his vehicle on what appears to be a farm where he 'retires' Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista) the farmer breeding synthetic protein maggots on a large scale. There, buried under a large dead tree, he discovers a military strong box which is taken back to LAPD for analysis. Inside there are human remains - carefully preserved bones and hair. Forensics reveal that the remains are of a female Replicant who died from complications from what appears to be an emergency Caesarian Section operation. Further examination reveals a tiny serial number engraved on a bone, revealing this to be definite Replicant remains. K is perplexed as pregnancy amongst Replicants was always believed to be impossible. Later, K returns to the farm for further examination. At the base of the tree he uncovers an engraving of a date which seems to correspond with a date in his own childhood memory about a hand engraved wooden horse which he hid in a redundant incinerator in the orphanage in which he was raised. Before leaving the farm, he torches it, destroying all evidence from those that might come afterwards.

Meanwhile K is ordered to destroy all evidence in relation to this case before word gets out, by his commanding officer Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright). She holds the belief that knowledge of Replicants being able to reproduce is dangerous to the new world order and could potentially incite war. K does not necessarily subscribe to this point of view, but he goes along with it. He visits the Headquarters of Replicant manufacturer Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) and is introduced to his Replicant Assistant Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) who helps him identify the body as Rachael, an experimental older model Replicant, but history is scant given the thirty years or so that have lapsed. There is a brief recorded transcript of a former Blade Runner Rick Deckard and Rachael, from which K deduces there was some romantic interest. Wallace who wants Rachels remains for his own analysis, orders Luv to steal the remains from LAPD and follow K as he goes in search of the child, from which he can then engineer Replicant reproduction for the expansion of his off-world operations beyond the nine worlds he currently inhabits.

K visits the orphanage in old Los Angeles where the child is thought to have been raised. There he meets Mister Cotton (Lennie James) who presides over hordes of young orphaned kids whom he sets to work stripping down electrical appliances for spare parts and salvage to sell. There his childhood memory comes rushing back, and searching the incinerator he finds his carefully wrapped up wooden horse, implying that his memory is in fact real, whereas all along he had believed these to be implants. While searching through the birth records for that year (2021) with his holographic female companion Joi (Ana de Armas) he comes across an anomaly in that twins were born that day with identical DNA except for the sex chromosome, but only the boy is listed as being still alive.

K seeks out Dr. Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) a prominent memory designer who advises him that it is illegal to programme Replicants with real human memories, leading K to deduce that he is in fact Rachel's son. K has the wooden horse analysed by Doc Badger (Barkhad Abdi) who finds traces of radiation that lead him to the apocalyptic landscape of old Los Angeles.

There he locates Deckard living the lonely life in an abandoned casino with nothing but books, Whisky and a loyal dog (real or otherwise) to occupy his time. Deckard tells K that he was forced to muddle up the birth records and was forced to leave a pregnant Rachel with the Replicant Freedom Movement to protect both her and their unborn child.

Luv arrives with several henchmen, having tracked K with a homing device planted in his pocket, and having previously killed Lieutenant Joshi. They intend to take Deckard hostage, who has being lying very low for the past thirty years, in the belief that he will lead them to his child to allow Wallace to engineer reproductive Replicants. Deckard and K put up a fight but are no match for the high tech fire power of Luv and her men.

They cart off Deckard, leaving K for dead only for him to be rescued by the Replicant Freedom Movement who take him to their safe house and nurse him back to some semblance of health and strength. Their leader Freysa (Hiam Abbass) tells K that Deckard's child is a girl, shattering K's hopes that he was their child. From this news K surmises that Ana Stelline must be Deckard's daughter given her abilities with implanting the memory into him. Freysa's instructions to K are to prevent Wallace from getting even remotely close to discovering the secrets of Replicant reproduction, by all and any means possible, even if it means taking out Deckard!

Deckard comes around in Wallace's plush HQ surroundings and refuses to co-operate with him, even when prompted to do so by a Replicant duplication of Rachael, which he dismisses because of her eye colour not being of her original green. Luv transports Deckard to one of Wallace's off world colony's to be interrogated and tortured for information that will lead Wallace to his child's whereabouts, even though Deckard really has no clue. K intercepts their fleet of three vehicles bringing down two security vehicles in a blaze of fire and smoke and forcing Luv's vehicle to crash land at the base of a dam, about to release a torrent water supply. Deckard is shackled to his seat while K and Luv fight it out in the rapidly rising waters. Ultimately K overcomes Luv and kills her, allowing Deckard and K to swim to safety. K says that he will report that Deckard drowned in the vehicle so safeguarding him from Wallace and other no good Replicants. K accompanies Deckard to Stelline's laboratory offices to meet his daughter. As Deckard gingerly enters and sees his daughter for the first time, a badly injured K waits outside reclining on the steps in the falling snow looking up.

I liked 'Blade Runner 2049' a lot! The film retains the all the touchstones that made the 1982 film such a classic, and expands upon them without diluting any of what has gone before. It both compliments the earlier film, and stands alone in its own right, and as a companion piece it has the continuity that melds the two films together from the giant neon advertising billboards promoting now defunct organisations 'Atari' and 'PanAm'; through to the Origami paper folding of Gaff (Edward James Olmos who reprises his role very briefly); through to recollections of Rachael. The film is visually stunning down to the smallest details, and the CGI enhances the already solidly smart storyline with visions of a dystopian neon lit, hologram filled future Los Angeles (where it now snows); an apocalyptic garbage dump wasteland that is San Diego; and all the future world gadgets, gizmo's, tech and Sci-Fi notions that you can imagine. A worthy sequel that Villeneuve has made worth waiting for, that will quickly become the cult classic that its predecessor has long since done so, with gritty and convincing performances from its cast, and top notch production values throughout. At a running time of over two and half hours, the film does not outstay its welcome, although it must be said that 'Blade Runner : The Final Cut' has a running time of under two hours.  Earlier this month Villeneuve reportedly said that a third film may be made if '2049' proved a success, and Ford commented that he would be happy to reprise his role if the script added up. Watch this space!

-Steve, at Odeon Online- 

WONDER WOMAN : Tuesday 6th June 2017.

'WONDER WOMAN' which I saw last week had her beginnings as 'Wonder Woman' first appearing in the October 1941 edition of All Star Comics #8. Her origin story tells us that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and given life by Aphrodite, along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek Gods. The character is a founding member of the Justice League, demigoddess, and warrior princess of the Amazonian people. In her homeland, she is Princess Diana of Themyscira, and outside of it, she is known by her civilian identity Diana Prince. And so now 'Wonder Woman' gets her very own feature length stand alone movie, having taken seventy years to first appear in 2016's 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' although by then Diana Prince was a fully formed bona fide Superhero. This stand alone feature Directed by Patty Jenkins takes us back one hundred years or so to the origins of the character at the time of the First World War, albeit she is an immortal warrior thousands of years old. The film cost US$149M to make, has so far grossed US$436M, and is the first Superhero film to be Directed by a woman with a female protagonist. 'Wonder Woman' is the fourth film in the DC Extended Universe after 'Man of Steel', the aforementioned 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' and 'Suicide Squad'.

Our film opens up in present day Paris, at The Louvre's Department of Antiquities which Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) presides over as Curator.  She receives a special package from Wayne Industries and inside is a hand written note from Bruce Wayne saying that he came across this old WWI era photographic plate and that one day, in her own time, she might tell him her story, and this photographic plate sets in the motion the Diana Prince/Wonder Woman back story. Whilst the photograph is one hundred years or so old, it shows a Diana Prince as fresh, young and attractive today, as she was back then.

Diana was born and raised on the secretly shrouded and hidden island of Themyscira, home to the Amazon race of warrior women created by the gods of Mount Olympus to protect humankind against the corruption of Ares, the God of War. Here Diana is an eight year old girl being raised by her mother Queen Hippolyta  (Connie Nielsen). Diana is the only child on the island, and there are no men - for they were forbidden to ever step foot on Themyscira by Aphrodite's Law. In the past Ares turned against his Gods and slew them all, but he was struck down by his mortally wounded father Zeus. Before dying of his sustained injuries Zeus left the Amazons a weapon that was capable of killing Ares - a sword, 'The Godkiller', for fear that one day he might return. Despite the young Diana being a feisty, energetic, and overly enthusiastic child she is forbidden by her mother to attend warrior training school with her Aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright). We then fast forward to Diana as a twelve year old, still feisty, still energetic and still enthusiastic but ever more determined to take up warrior training, for which she shows a keen aptitude. We then fast forward again and Diana is a fully grown woman and by now has enjoyed years of warrior training with her Aunt and with the reluctant blessing of her mother.

One day after contemplating another good day of warrior training, Diana witnesses a plane hurtling through the sky above the island, and sees it ditch in the ocean off shore and begin sinking to the depths below. She rescues the pilot, a Steve Trevor, (Chris Pine), a Captain with the American Expeditionary Forces who was working undercover to infiltrate a German deadly gas programme led by Chief Chemist Isabel Maru aka Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya), under the command of General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston). He managed to steal a notebook from the chemist containing formula's, plans and jottings which he needs to deliver to his superiors in London. The island is soon under attack by German forces hot on the tail of Steve Trevor. The Amazons fight back and win the day but not before Antiope is killed by a bullet intended for Diana. 

After the fracas, Steve Trevor is interrogated using the Lasoo of Truth, in which he reveals that he was acting as a spy against the Germans and that a world war is raging beyond the shores of the island in which tens of millions of men, women and child and being slaughtered needlessly across Europe. Diana is outraged by this and wants to act but is forbidden to intervene by her mother. Believing that Ares is behind the war, Diana takes The Godkiller sword, and sails off into the night with Steve Trevor, in an attempt to singlehandedly bring an end to the war time atrocities, death and destruction, and to dispense with Ares once and for all. 

The pair arrive in London, and after some much needed change of clothes and quick cultural lessons of the period, they deliver Maru's notebook to Steve's superiors, including Sir Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis), who is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany. Diana translates Maru's notes and reveals that the Germans plan to release a new highly deadly gas at the warfront to reverse the German war effort in their favour. The commanding officers forbid Steve Trevor's intervention, but the pair decide to go anyway. Given limited funds to secure their passage and engage some much needed support, they enlist the services of French Moroccan spy Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), Scottish sharpshooter Charlie (Ewen Bremner) and native American smuggler Chief (Eugene Brave Rock).

Reaching the Western Front in Belgium, the team are halted from advancing by relentless enemy machine gun fire. Diana goes over the top anyway, pushing through the enemy lines despite the rapid gun fire and mortar bombs exploding all around her. The team and Allied Forces follow her, seeing that she is making headway, and together they liberate the village of Veld, celebrating with the locals who are now free of German occupation. It is here that the photograph is taken of Diana, Steve, Chief, Charlie and Sameer.

The team learns that a Gala Dinner is to be held at a close by German High Command headquarters. Steve, under disguise as a German Officer gains access to the party with the intention of locating the deadly new gas and destroying it. Diana, against Steve's wishes, also gains access to the party, and believing that Ludendorff is in fact Ares, goes armed with The Godkiller to dispense with the General, but Steve intervenes and halts her from doing so. Ludendorff meanwhile unleashes the deadly gas on Veld, wiping out all of its inhabitants. Diana blames Steve for the massacre at Veld, saying that he should not have stopped her from killing Ludendorff when she had the chance. 

Diana pursues Ludendorff to an air base where the gas is being loaded onto a bomber bound for London. She corners the General in a tower overlooking the airstrip. A fight breaks out and Diana is successful in killing The General with her sword. But the war did not end as its should have done with the death of Ares! How can this be? Diana is shocked and stunned. Sir Patrick emerges and reveals to Diana that he is in fact Ares. Diana retrieves the sword from Ludendorff's lifeless body and attempts to kill Ares with it, but he destroys it, saying the Diana is the real 'Godkiller'. The two do battle, and in the meantime the team destroy Dr. Maru's laboratory. Steve flies off into the moonlight in the bomber containing the consignment of gas, so ensuring that the gas never reached its destination nor had its desired effect. Ultimately good overcomes evil, and Diana overpowers Ares  and destroys him once and for all.

I was pleasantly surprised by 'Wonder Woman' and the origin story that traces Diana's somewhat secluded and naive view of the world as a would be warrior Princess to an intense inspirational Superhero of the modern world. The film moves along at a strong pace, looks good and delivers some messages about feminism and the futility and horrors of war, and is less about blockbuster apocalyptic end of the world annihilation than we have come to expect from other comic book Superhero franchises. Gadot and Pine are on fine form and share a screen presence that carries the film along in a believable and relatable way that is of the era in which the action is set, and Huston and Thewlis also add gravitas to their roles and the plot. Less can be said for Steve's team, who are really surplus to requirement and add little value other than plugging holes and filling time. Patty Jenkins has crafted a fine film, that looks and feels appropriate for WWI war torn Europe, interlaced with an origin story that remains true to the source material underpinned with solid performances from the principle cast, not least Gal Gadot in the title role whose looks and moves do Wonder Woman justice.  The film is Co-Produced by Zack and Deborah Snyder and the story was Co-Written by Zack Snyder. Wonder Woman will also be back in this November's release of 'Justice League'. This film is all upside for the DCEU, and long may it continue!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-