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-

Birthday's to share this week : 21st-27th August 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Kristen Wiig does on 22nd August - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 43, 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 21st August

• Peter Weir - Born 1944, turns 72 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Carrie-Anne Moss - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
• Kim Catrall - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actress | Producer
• Hayden Panettiere - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Monday 22nd August

• Kristen Wiig - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Valerie Harper - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actress
• Honor Blackman - Born 1925, turns 91 - Actress
• Ty Burrell - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Richard Armitage - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actor
• Rodrigo Santoro - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor  

Tuesday 23rd August

• Alexandre Desplat - Born 1961, turns 55 - Composer | Conductor | Songwriter
• Roger Avery - Born 1965, turns 51 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Charley Boorman - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Scott Caan - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director  

Wednesday 24th August

• Rupert Grint - Born 1988, turns 28 - Actor
• James D'Arcy - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor
• Steve Guttenberg - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Stephen Fry - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actor | Television Personality | Writer | Producer | Director
• Kevin Dunn - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor
• Anne Archer - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actress | Producer  

Thursday 25th August

• Blake Lively - Born 1987, turns 29 - Actress
• Alexander Skarsgard - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor
• Tom Hollander - Born1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Tom Skerritt - Born 1933, turns 83 - Actor | Director
• Tim Burton - Born 1958, turns 58 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Animator
• John Savage - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
• John Badham - Born 1939, turns 77 - Director | Producer | Actor
• Sean Connery - Born 1930, turns 86 - Actor | Producer  

Friday 26th August

• Chris Pine - Born 1980, turns 36 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Macaulay Culkin - Born 1980, turns 36 - Actor
• Melissa McCarthy - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer  

Saturday 27th August

• Tuesday Weld - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actress
• Peter Stormare - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Tom Ford - Born 1961, turns 55 - Director | Producer | Writer | Fashion Designer
• Dean Devlin - Born 1962, turns 54 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Aaron Paul - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor | Producer 
• Ellar Coltrane - Born 1994, turns 22 - Actor 

Kristen Carroll Wiig was born in Canandaigua, New York to mother Laurie Johnston, an artist, and father Jon Wiig who managed a lakeside marina in Western New York. Her father is of Norwegian decent hence the surname which originates from a county in Western Norway. The family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania when Kristen was three years old, attending Nitrauer Elementary School and then Mannheim Township Middle School. At age thirteen the family moved to Rochester, New York where she attended Allendale Columbia School before graduating from Brighton High School. Undecided about her career aspirations she attended a local community college participating in a three month long outdoor living programme. She went on to the University of Arizona from where she majored in Art. Needing to complete her course programme she took acting classes and was persuaded by her teacher to continue the craft, whereupon she moved to Los Angeles to begin eeking out an acting career. She was nineteen years of age.

Upon arrival in LA she found work performing with the 'Empty Stage Comedy Theatre' and 'The Groundlings' - an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school located on Melrose Avenue in LA, feeling that improv. was more suited to her talents than straight acting. In 2003 she appeared on the reality television hoax show - 'The Joe Schmo Show' which ran for three seasons with her appearance as 'The Quack Marriage Counsellor' Patricia 'Dr. Pat' Lane. She was encouraged to try for 'Saturday Night Live' and she gained her debut in November 2005 on Season 31, and became a full member of the cast from Season 32 in 2006 through until 2012. Along the way she picked up Primetime Emmy Award nominations for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series' in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and in 2009 'Entertainment Weekly' voted her in their list of Top 25 Funniest Women in Hollywood.

Over the years Wiig has had numerous television series roles on single and multiple episodes. These have included 'The Drew Carey Show', '30 Rock', 'Flight of the Conchords', Bored to Death', 'The Cleveland Show', 'The Simpsons', 'Portlandia', 'Arrested Development', 'The Spoils of Babylon', 'The Spoils Before Dying' and made for TV movie 'A Deadly Adoption'. She was also the voice of Lola Bunny on the 'Looney Tunes Show' from 2011 until 2014.

Wiig got her big screen break in the 2006 Christmas film 'Unaccompanied Minors' for Director Paul Feig. 2007 brought 'Knocked Up' for Director Judd Apatow with Seth Rogen, and then 'Meet Bill' with Aaron Eckhart, 'The Brothers Solomon' with Will Arnett and Will Forte, and rounding out a year of comedy 'Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story' with John C. Reilly.

2008 saw more comedy fare with 'Semi-Pro', 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', 'Pretty Bird' and 'Ghost Town', and then in 2009 more of the same with 'Adventureland', 'Whip It' in Drew Barrymore's Directorial debut and 'Extract'. 2010 followed up with 'Date Night', 'MacGruber' before her first non-comedic offering 'All Good Things' with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst which made just US$645K back of its US$20M budget outlay. Sci-Fi comedy 'Paul' with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and then 'Bridesmaids' came next in 2011 which Wiig also wrote. That film became a critical and commercial success grossing US$289M off its US$33M budget with Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations forthcoming for Wiig in the Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay categories.

'Friends with Kids', 'Revenge for Jolly', 'Girl Most Likely', 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' for Director and Co-Star Ben Stiller and 'Anchor Man 2 : The Legend Continues' saw out 2013. 'Hateship, Loveship', 'The Skeleton Twins' and 'Welcome To Me' which Wiig also Co-Produced wrapped up 2014. A mixed bag of commercial success and failures here with 'Walter Mitty' bringing in US$203M and 'Anchor Man' US$174M compared to 'Friends with Kids' at US$12.2M, 'The Skeleton Twins' at US$5.7M, 'Welcome To Me' just US$625K and 'Hateship, Loveship' a very poor US$81K despite its strong cast including Nick Nolte, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hailee Steinfeld.

The next year brought 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl', 'Nasty Baby', 'The Martian', 'Zoolander 2' for Director and Co-Star once again Ben Stiller, the all girl 'Ghostbusters' for Paul Feig again with Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Lesley Jones and still out on general release, and 'Sausage Party' just released bringing us up to date.




Next up and due later this year is 'Masterminds' with Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudekis and 'Ghostbusters' Co-Stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Also due out this year is 'The Heyday of Insensitive Bastards' and 'Downsizing' with Matt Damon due in 2017. Wiig has lent her voice talents over the years to 'Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs', 'How to Train Your Dragon', 'Despicable Me', 'Despicable Me 2', 'Her', 'How to Train Your Dragon 2', 'Sausage Party' and is reprising her roles as Agent Lucy Wilde in 'Despicable Me 3' and Ruffnut Thorston in 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' due in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Also announced is 'Now That's What I Call' with Leonard Di Caprio and 'The Greatest Showman on Earth' with Hugh Jackman.

All up Wiig has 82 acting credits to her name, nine as Producer, three as a Writer, and, she can sing too. She has nine award wins and 59 other nominations including one Academy Award, one Golden Globe, one BAFTA and six Primetime Emmy nods. Wiig was married to Actor Hayes Hargrove from 2005 until 2009, and is currently dating Actor, Writer and Producer Avi Rothman. She is a vegetarian and is known for her love of chocolate.

Kristen Wiig - best known for her comedy track record, improv. skills and observational humour that puts her right up there as one of the best in the business; but, also carving out a reputation for more serious, dramatic and straight roles; has achieved much in ten years and is much in demand as a result; is keen to write her own material and to turn her hand at Directing; and is brutally honest with herself, about her fears and foibles and what she likes and what she doesn't. Keeping it real Kristen and keeping us well humoured and entertained as your star continues to rise - Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th August 2016.

With this weeks release of yet another 'Bad . . . ' movie, I got to thinking that surely those Screen Writers in Hollywood must be able to come up with some more original titles rather than those that seem to plague our cinemas with ever increasing regularity. So, I searched through the archives, to see how far back 'Bad . . . ' movies go, and it does seem to be a more recent phenomenon, although there are plenty of earlier films too with 'Bad' in the title, as the below list will demonstrate. Check them out if you will, and they're not all bad either! Let's us know too if there are some that you think have been missed off this list.

• 'Too Bad She's Bad' - 1955, starring Sophia Loren
• 'Tribute to a Bad Man' - 1956, starring James Cagney
• 'The Bad Seed' - 1956, starring Nancy Kelly
• 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' - 1966, starring Clint Eastwood
• 'Badlands' - 1973, starring Martin Sheen
• 'The Bad News Bears' - 1976, starring Walter Matthau
• 'Bad Blood' - 1982, starring Jack Thompson
• 'Bad Boys' - 1983, starring Sean Penn
• 'Bad Taste' - 1987, starring Peter Jackson
• 'Bad Influence' - 1990, starring James Spader
• 'Bad Lieutenant' - 1992, starring Harvey Keitel
• 'Bad Boy Bubby' - 1993, starring Nicholas Hope
• 'Bad Girls' - 1994, starring Madeline Stowe
• 'Bad Boys' - 1995, starring Will Smith
• 'Bad Day on the Block' - 1997, starring Charlie Sheen
• 'Bad Company' - 2002, starring Anthony Hopkins
• 'Bad Boys II' - 2003, starring Will Smith
• 'Bad Santa' - 2003, starring Billy Bob Thornton
• 'Bad Eggs' - 2003, starring Mick Molloy
• 'Bad Education' - 2004, starring Gael Garcia Bernal
• 'The Bad News Bears' - 2005, starring Billy Bob Thornton
• 'Superbad' - 2007, starring Jonah Hill
• 'Bad Lieutenant : Port of Call-New Orleans' - 2009, starring Nicolas Cage
• 'Bad Teacher' - 2011, starring Cameron Diaz
• 'Bad Words' - 2013, starring Jason Bateman
• 'Bad Grandpa' - 2013, starring Johnny Knoxville
• 'Bad Neighbours' - 2014, starring Seth Rogen
• 'Bad Neighbours 2 : Sorority Rising' - 2016, starring Seth Rogen
• 'Bad Moms' - 2016, starring Mila Kunis
• 'Bad Santa 2' - 2016, starring Billy Bob Thornton
• 'Bad Boys III' - 2017, starring Will Smith
• 'Bad Blood' - 2018, starring Jennifer Lawrence
• 'Bad Boys IV' - 2019, starring Will Smith

This week then to tease you out to your local Odeon, we have five new filmic offerings, starting with a trio of Mum's going off the rails to escape the routines of their seemingly otherwise perfect worlds with dramatic and comedic consequences for all, and those closest to them. Then an animated feature aimed squarely at the fifteen and above demographic that sees our humble grocery store supplies take on a life of their own as they wage war against mankind for fear of being eaten! Following on from this is a family reunion brought about by the death of the family wife and mother leaving the grieving father and sons to relive past memories and confront their feelings for each other. We then move to an Aussie dramedy set amidst the back drop of racial tensions in Sydney's south and the aftermath in the day that followed between two rival gangs on a collision course hellbent on retaliation . . . sounds hilarious! Then we wrap up the week with a foreign language film and one mans journey to get his affairs in order before he succumbs to cancer, aided by a mans best friend, and his best friend.

Remember too that when you have sat through your film of choice in the week ahead, that you are warmly invited to share your views and opinions of your movie going experience by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. We look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'BAD MOMS' (Rated MA15+) - over the years Hollywood has churned out plenty of 'Bad . . .' films of which only some have been 'good'! The likes of 'Bad Girls', 'Bad Boys', 'Bad Lieutenant', 'Bad Teacher', 'Bad Santa', 'Bad Neighbours', 'Bad Grandpa', and now we have the next offering in a long line of 'Bad . . . ' films with 'Bad Moms' made for US$20M, Directed and Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and so far returning US$57M since its Stateside release towards the end of July.

The story here is such that Amy (Mila Kunis) has a happy marriage, a loving husband, kids doing well at school, a great home, a successful career and the looks as well, but, behind all of that there is stress, exhaustion, anxiety and overbearing responsibilities. Something's gotta give! And it does when she discovers her husband cheating on her and promptly throws him out. Then she quits the school PTA in which she was an active member and heads off to a local bar for some well needed refreshment. There Amy meets up with two other mothers in a similar state - Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and the trio of new friends hang an all night bender which leads them to reassess their lives, commitments and priorities in favour of a more relaxed easy going approach. Along the way there are tussles with the PTA's domineering head and near perfect mother Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her followers Stacy (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo). Clearly there'll be messages in here about the power of friendships, parenting, forgiveness, doing the right thing with a few comedic laughs in there too no doubt. Bad . . . you decide!

'SAUSAGE PARTY' (Rated MA15+) - this computer animated adult feature film is based on a story by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jonah Hill, Written for the screen and Produced by the former two, is Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and stars an ensemble voice cast. Here we have a supermarket called 'Shopwell' in which reside groceries of all kinds dreaming of the day they will be handpicked and taken home by humans. However, one fine day the terrible truth will come crashing down on those groceries that they are destined to be consumed by those humans, and it falls at the feet of humble hot dog sausage, Frank (Seth Rogen) to forewarn his many grocery friends at the store of their frightening future outlook, and declare war on humans. Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Paul Rudd, Edward Norton and Salma Hayek amongst others lend their considerable voice talents.

'LOUDER THAN BOMBS' (Rated M) - this French/Danish/Norwegian co-production was entered into competition at Cannes in May 2015, shown at TIFF in September last year, and released in France, Norway and Denmark in December before the end of last year. Now eight months later it lands on Australian shores having cost US$11M to make, and so far having recovered just US$602K. Directed by Joachim Trier in his English language debut, it stars an impressive cast and has been positively received by critics despite its mediocre Box Office results so far. We join the Reed family as father Gene (Gabriele Byrne) prepares for a retrospective exhibition of his dead wife, Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert) acclaimed work as a war photographer, three years after her untimely death.  In so doing his two sons Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) returns home and is forced to spend more time with dad and younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) than he has in many years. In turn the three of them must reunite as new details surrounding Isabelle's death come to light, and they are forced to confront their differing feelings and memories that each of them hold for their departed wife and mother. Amy Ryan and David Strathairn also star.

'DOWN UNDER' (Rated MA15+) - back at Christmas 2005 the Cronulla Riots were beamed across the world as true blue Aussies clashed violently with largely Lebanese locals at the beachside suburb of Cronulla in southern Sydney. It was bloody and ugly with Riot Police in full force, drunken brawls, insults, jeering, flag waving, smashed up cars, homes attacked and roadside arrests. Hardly the best image of our beloved Sydney that we want beamed across the world's media, and at Christmas time too. Now, Abe Forsythe has turned that dark episode into a black comedy drama that he has both Written and Directed. Set the day after the riots two separate gangs in different parts of the city are preparing themselves for retaliation. In the Shire, the 'Skips' and in Lakemba, the 'Lebs' - two gangs of bumbling half arsed dim witted no hopers prepare to man up, boot up and tool up for a night of unadulterated violence amidst questions from gang members as to why, what and when with comedic overtones and the cost of racism and discrimination on human lives when the two groups do inevitably clash. Starring Lincoln Younes, Rahel Romahn, Michael Denkha, Alexander England, Damon Herriman, David Field, Fayssal Bazzi and Chris Bunton.

'TRUMAN' (Rated MA15+) - and so to our foreign language offering this week - that of Spanish/Argentian co-production 'Truman' as Directed and Co-Written by Cesc Gay which was shown at TIFF in September last year, the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the winner of five Goya Awards at Madrid earlier this year including Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The story here centres around Tomas (Javier Camara) who visits his long term friend Julian (Ricardo Darin) in Madrid. Julian is dying of cancer and has limited time left, and has resigned himself to his fate, refusing further treatment. Over the course of Tomas' visit the pair travel around Madrid as Julian seeks to put his affairs in order. One such detail is that of Julian's boxer dog, 'Truman' who is to be put up for adoption post his death, and for whom Julian seems to bestow much grater importance than on his own situation. Needless to say for the pair it's an emotional rollercoaster of a ride who along with loyal hound Truman will share moments of emotion, pathos, and reckoning brought on by Julian's complicated situation. The film has received positive reviews and has won 28 awards with a further 28 nominations from around the circuit, and also stars Dolores Fonzi and Eduard Fernandez.

With five more great reasons to get out to your local cinema in the week ahead, what's not to like here? Remember to share your cinematic thoughts when you have done so, and as always, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 12th - 18th April 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Seth Rogen does on 15th April - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 33, 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 12th April

• Saoirse Ronan - Born 1994, turns 21 - Actress
• Claire Danes - Born 1979, turns 26 - Actress | Producer
• Shannen Doherty - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Andy Garcia - Born 1956, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Ed O'Neill - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actor

Monday 13th April

• Ron Perlman - Born 1950, turns 65 - Actor | Producer
• Paul Sorvino - Born 1939, turns 76 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Edward Fox - Born 1937, turns 78 - Actor
• Peter Davison - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor

Tuesday 14th April

• Robert Carlyle - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Director
• Adrien Brody - Born 1973, turns 42 - Actor | Producer
• Peter Capaldi - Born 1958, turns 57 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Julie Christie - Born1941, turns 74 - Actress
• Sarah Michelle Gellar - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actress | Writer
• Abigal Breslin - Born 1996, turns 19 - Actress

Wednesday 15th April

• Emma Watson - Born 1990, turns 25 - Actress
• Emma Thompson - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actress | Director | Singer
• Claudia Cardinale - Born 1938, turns 77 - Actress
• Luke Evans - Born 1979, turns 36 - Actor
• Seth Rogen - Born 1982, turns 33 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director

Thursday 16th April

• Martin Lawrence - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Lukas Haas - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actor
• Ellen Barkin - Born 1954, turns 61 - Actress | Producer

Friday 17th April

• Rooney Mara - Born 1985, turns 30 - Actress | Producer
• Jennifer Garner - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actress | Producer
• Olivia Hussey - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actress
• Sean Bean - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor

Saturday 18th April

• David Tennant - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor
• Eli Roth - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Eric Roberts - Born 1956, turns 59 - Actor
• James Woods - Born 1947, turns 68 - Actor | Producer
• Rick Moranis - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Edgar Wright - Born1974, turns 41 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Hayley Mills - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actress
• America Ferrera - Born 1984, turns 31 - Actress | Producer

Seth Andrew Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to mother Sandy Belogus, a social worker and father Mark Rogen - a not-for-profit worker often in more senior managerial and executive positions.  He attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and then Point Grey Secondary School, although he did not graduate and instead move to Los Angeles. He was never interested in pursuing a 'proper' career instead he just wanted to make people laugh and chase a life as a comedian or a writer or a combination of the two.

He got his first exposure to the world of show business at the age of 12 when he enrolled in a comedy workshop and during his teenage years often performed stand-up routines at parties , bar-mitzvahs, and then graduating to bars & clubs.  At age 13 he wrote and early draft of 'Superbad' with his young friend and future collaborator Evan Goldberg, and during their time at school together they progressively polished up and fine tuned the script eventually releasing it as a movie in 2007.

At age 16 Rogen was already winning awards for his stand-up comedy routines - including the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest, and at about this time his Dad lost his job, his Mum quit hers, the house went on the market and overnight he became the main household bread winner. By now he had secured a role on Judd Apatow's acclaimed 'Freaks and Geeks' in 1999 and although the show was short lived it did enable him to hone his comedic skills and his improvisational abilities which he continues to use to great effect in many of his shows and films.

After 'Freaks and Geeks' folded there was a period when Rogen struggled to get traction in his career, landing roles in 2001's 'Donny Darko' and then the TV Series  'Undeclared' running from 2001-2003. In 2003 he secured a writing role on the US version of 'Ali G in da USA' with his friend and writing colleague Evan Goldberg and for their efforts they received an Emmy Award nomination and the chance to work with Baron Cohen. The next year in 2004 he secured a spot on 'Anchorman : The Legend of Ron Burgundy' and then a year later on Judd Apatow's Directorial debut with 'The 40 Year Old Virgin'.

 It was however, 2007's 'Knocked Up' that was to prove his break through. Playing the leading man opposite Katherine Heigl this US$30M film garnered critical and commercial success raking in US$220M at the global Box Office. His own co-written 'Superbad' followed with Rogen taking a supporting role to Apatow's Producer credit. 2008 was a year of voice work with Rogen lending his vocal talents to 'The Spiderwick Chronicles', 'Horton Hears a Who' and then the hugely successful 'Kung Fu Panda'. That same year was released 'Step Brothers', 'Pineapple Express' (Written and Produced by him too) and 'Zack & Miri make a Porno'.

In 2009 'Observe and Report', 'Fanboys' and 'Funny People' put Rogen in front of the camera again, with more voice work on 'Monsters vs. Aliens' that same year. 'The Green Hornet' was released in 2010 after years in development with Rogen acting as Writer, Producer and lead Actor with a production budget of US$120M. Although the film was not a critical success it did rake in US$225M and opened at #1 at the Box Office.

'Kung Fu Panda 2' came in 2011 to which Rogen gave his voice talents again to the character 'Mantis' and then 'Take this Waltz' and '50/50'  that year too. The next year saw 'The Guilt Trip' with Barbra Streisand, some TV work on 'Eastbound & Down', 'The Mindy Project', 'Arrested Development' before 'This is the End' in 2013 which once again he wrote and Produced too and which starred many of his movie buddies from over the years - James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, and Jay Baruchel. 'Bad Neighbours' came next in 2014, an uncredited role on '22 Jump Street', 'The Sound and the Fury' and then the much hyped controversial 'The Interview' with James Franco once again and which Rogen also took Writing, Producer and Director credits. In the meantime there was more TV work with the likes of 'The League', 'The Comeback', 'Saturday Night Live' and the 'Kroll Show'.

Coming up Rogen is working with Evan Goldberg on a screen adaptation of the book 'Console Wars : Sega, Nintendo and the Battle that Defined a Generation', as well 'Zeroville', 'Kung Fu Panda 3' and an as yet untitled 'Christmas Eve Project' - with the latter three currently in post-production. Filming there is 'B.O.O. : Bureau of Otherworldly Operations', 'Steve Jobs' in which Rogen plays Steve Wozniak,  and 'Sausage Party' due for release later in 2015 and 2016.

So far Rogen has 69 acting credits to his name, sixteen Writer credits, eighteen as Producer and three as Director. He has eight award wins and 24 other nominations. In 2011 Rogen married his long term girlfriend of seven years Lauren Miller who has starred in a number of his films too. He is active in speaking out about Alzheimer's Disease and raising awareness of it given that his wife's mother is a sufferer and he can speak therefore from first hand experience. He is a member of 'NORML' (National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws') and an open user.

Seth Rogen - talented movie multi-tasker; often plays unshaven, unkempt man child characters; can play it straight but more often finds himself in comedic situations that start out straight; collaborates often on screen and off it with his own Frat-Pack with whom he has risen through the ranks; and keeps his humour grounded and real and has been very successful in the process - Happy Birthday to you Seth from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-