Birthday's to share this week : 26th February - 4th March 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

James Wan does on 26th February (although some publications claim 27th) - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 40, 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 26th February

• James Wan - Born 1977, turns 40 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Teresa Palmer - Born 1986, turns 31 - Actress | Producer | Writer 

Monday 27th February

• Kate Mara - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actress
• Timothy Spall - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer  

Tuesday 28th February

• John Turturro - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer  

Wednesday 1st March

• Roger Daltry - Born 1944, turns 73 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer
• Dirk Benedict - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actor | Director | Writer
• Ron Howard - Born 1954, turns 63 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Zack Snyder - Born 1966, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Javier Bardem - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor | Producer  
• Lupita Nyong'o - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actress

Thursday 2nd March

• Rebel Wilson - Born 1980, turns 37 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Bryce Dallas Howard - Born 1981, turns 36 - Actress | Writer | Director
• Jon Bon Jovi - Born 1962, turns 55 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor
• Daniel Craig - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer  

Friday 3rd March

• George Miller - Born 1945, turns 72 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Miranda Richardson - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actress
• Jessica Biel - Born 1982, turns 35 - Actress | Producer  

Saturday 4th March

• Patsy Kensit - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actress  
• Adrian Lyne - Born 1941, turns 76 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Paul W.S. Anderson - Born 1965, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Len Wiseman - Born 1973, turns 44 - Director | Producer | Writer

James Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia and is of Malaysian Chinese descent. He relocated to Perth in Western Australia at age seven and ultimately became an Australian citizen. He attended the Lake Tuggeranong College in the Australian Capital Territory for Years 11 and 12 students (aged 16 - 18 years), moved back to Perth and then relocated himself to Melbourne, Victoria where he attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. By this time his mind was made up that he wanted to be a film maker (a decision he had in fact come to at age eleven), and while studying he had already begun making short films and music videos. It was whilst at RMIT that he met fellow would-be film maker Leigh Whannel, with whom he would collaborate on a number of his feature length movie projects over the ensuing years.

Wan made his first feature length film in 2000 for which he also wrote the Screenplay - 'Stygian' which won the young Director the 'Best Guerrilla Film' Award at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Following this Wan and Whannel had begun writing up a script for a horror film, and upon completion of the script they wanted to film an excerpt which they could then tout around the movie studios in the hope that a production company would pick up their story and run with it. That ten minute short film was titled 'Saw' and it was 2003. In 2004, having been picked up by a Lionsgate 'Saw' was released on an unsuspecting world and was an overwhelming success. Starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Tobin Bell and Leigh Whannel to minimise production costs, the film was shot rapidly at a cost of just US$1.2M. The film returned US$104M and spawned a franchise that has become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time that has seen all seven films gross worldwide US$874M off the back of a combined budget of US$64M. Wan served as Executive Producer on 'Saw II, III, IV, V, VI' and 'Saw 3D : The Final Chapter' released every year from 2005 through to 2010, and he also wrote the story for 'Saw III'. Wan is also Executive Producer on 'Saw : Legacy' currently in post-production for an October release this year and as Directed by the Spierig brothers.

2007 saw Wan Direct two films. The first was supernatural psychological horror 'Dead Silence' Written by Wan and Whannel and starring Ryan Kwanten and Donnie Wahlberg. The film received generally negative Reviews and just about recovered its US$20M budget outlay. This was followed up by action drama 'Death Sentence' - described by Wan as a 'raw and gritty, '70's styled revenge thriller' that starred Kevin Bacon as the protagonist with Garrett Hedlund, John Goodman, Kelly Preston and Leigh Whannel. This film also received generally unfavourable Reviews and recovered just US$17M of its US$20M production budget.

After serving as Executive Director on a string of 'Saw' sequels, Wan Directed the supernatural horror film 'Insidious' in 2010 that was written by Leigh Whannel, and starred Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey and Whannel. That film cost US$1.5M to make and returned US$97M ensuring its success as a franchise with 'Insidious : Chapter 2' being released in 2013. Again Directed by Wan that saw the cast from the first film return, on a budget of US$5M generating US$162M. 'Insidious : Chapter 3' was again Written by Whannel and Produced this time by Wan with Whannel on Directing duty for the first time. This film that served as a prequel to the previous two, was made for US$10M and returned US$113M. 'Insidious : Chapter 4' is currently in post-production for a release later this year and is Directed by Adam Robitel with Wan taking a Producer credit and Whannel Screenwriter and acting credits on the film.

Next up was supernatural horror film based on real events 'The Conjuring'. Recounting the story of the Perron family who experience increasingly disturbing events in their Rhode Island farmhouse in 1971 and paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who come to the assistance of the distressed Perron family. Starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson the film was a commercial and critical success taking US$318M from its US$20M budget, making it one of the highest grossing horror films of all time. 'The Conjuring 2' was released in 2016 as a sequel to that first film that saw Wan act as Director, Co-Producer and Co-Writer in this follow up set in 1977 as the Warren paranormal investigators (Farmiga and Wilson reprising) travel to London to investigate the case that became known as the 'Enfield Poltergeist'. That film returned US$321M from its US$40M budget costs.

In the meantime in 2014, there had been a spin-off prequel to the popular 'The Conjuring' film inspired by the doll named 'Annabelle' that had been recounted by Ed and Lorraine Warren during their investigations. Wan took a Producer role on 'Annabelle' that received less critical acclaim but nonetheless was a commercial success raising US$260M in Box Office receipts against a US$6.5M outlay. A follow up film is in post-production for an August release this year that focuses on the dollmaker and his wife and stars Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto, that is again Produced by Wan.

Taking a step aside from supernatural horror thrillers Wan Directed fast cars action drama film 'Furious 7' in 2015 starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou and Michelle Rodriguez. The film was a massive worldwide hit taking US$1.52B from its US$176M budget and standing currently as the sixth highest grossing film of all time, and the most successful in the franchise to date. 

Meanwhile Wan also had time to Produce supernatural horror 'Demonic' with Maria Bello in 2015, and in 2016 'Lights Out' with Teresa Palmer. He also Directed one episode of the rebooted television series 'MacGyver' and has served as Producer on sixteen episodes to date.

Next up for Wan is 'The Nun' which is a spin off film from the 'Annabelle' series which is a spin off film from 'The Conjuring' series and is currently in pre-production for a mid-2018 release with Wan Producing and Writing. Also in pre-production with filming due to commence soon is 'Aquaman' for the DC Extended Universe with Wan on Director duty and taking a Writing credit too. The film will star Jason Mamoa in the lead role with Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, and Temuera Morrison all attached, and is due for release in October 2018. 'Mortal Kombat' has been announced for a reboot recently and Wan is set to Produce this remake of the 1995 initial video game adaptation offering.

All up Wan has seventeen Producer credits to his name, fourteen as Writer and thirteen as Director.  He also has ten award wins and nine other nominations under this belt. In 2011 he released his own graphic novel too written with Michael Nelson, 'Malignant Man' which 20th Century Fox acquired the film rights for in 2014. Wan is adapting his source material for the big screen, the adaptation of which he will Produce, with Brad Peyton signing on to Direct.

James Wan - wrote himself into the history books and redefined the genre with several hugely commercially and critically successful horror franchises, and an epic seventh film in a street racing heist fuelled action franchise, and, is about to launch a new stand alone ocean based Superhero as part of the DCEU. When he's not Directing, he's Producing or he's Writing and he's even been known to tackle all three at once! Clearly very much in demand and proving he can jump from his trademark scare the bejeezus out of us supernatural horror offerings to big budget epic fare, and back again. A very Happy 40th Birthday to you James, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 2nd October 2014.

With the Australian School Holidays drawing to a close but a long weekend looming, there are three new films this week to entice you out from in front of the small screen to take a comfy chair in front of a big screen with all the surround sound, Hi-Def audio visual mastery that you know and love at the movies! Coming your way then this week is a supernatural horror chiller that is a spin-off from an earlier supernatural horror chiller that takes the story back to its origins; then we have a retelling of a very well established horror icon of the big screen and popular culture mashed up with a whole lot of action, fantasy and drama along the way; and then there is a long awaited murder mystery thriller from an acclaimed Director and starring an acclaimed Director and Actor in its lead.

Some solid new content here for the coming week, and much more equally solid viewing that has been released in recent weeks and still going strong at the Box Office. This weeks choices are however, for a more mature audience methinks. When you have seen your movie of the week, or any of those Reviewed/Previewed in prior weeks, drop a line in the 'Comments' section immediately following this or any other Post, and let me and my other ardent Reader know what you think! Enjoy your Odeon experience!

GONE GIRL (Rated MA15+) - Directed by the acclaimed David Fincher, and written for the screen by the author of the book, Gillian Flynn, 'Gone Girl' tells the story of seemingly happily married couple Nick and Amy Dunne (Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike respectively). On their fifth wedding anniversary Nick Dunne returns home during the day to see signs of a violent struggle in the household, and reports that wife Amy is missing. With mounting pressure from the Police who suspect kidnapping or worse, and the media on his doorstep creating a frenzy at every turn, the picture of a seemingly beautiful, happy, loving marriage starts to crack, and the main suspect here is husband Nick.

The media attention is because wife Amy is the famous inspiration behind a children's book, and Nick is behaving in a way that is uncharacteristic of someone in his position. But, is he just being stoic and putting on  brave face while his world crumbles around him, or, is he hiding his secret relief that he may finally be rid of her? Also starring Neil Patrick Harris as former lover of Amy, Desi Collings, you'll have to watch this film as it twists and turns, and perhaps, not everything is quite as it seems. With strong performances from its principle cast, an acclaimed Director, a gripping story and critical acclaim so far heaped upon it, 'Gone Girl' is a must see in the week ahead!

ANNABELLE (Rated MA15+) - frequent Cinematographer but only third time Director, John R. Leonetti brings us 'Annabelle' a horror chiller spin-off and prequel origin story to 2013's 'The Conjuring'. A regular collaborator with Australian Director, Producer and Screenwriter James Wan who bought us 'Saw', 'Insidious' and is Directing 'Fast & Furious 7', we should have a strong pedigree here. This film sees John Form (Ward Horton) and his wife Mia (Annabelle Wallis) expecting their first child together. John buys a beautiful rare vintage china doll adorned in a white wedding gown as a present for expectant Mia, much to her surprise and delight. Soon afterwards the house is invaded by a group of satanists who violently attack John and Mia, and their neighbours leaving a trail of blood and destruction in their wake. John and Mia survive and relocate to another house to put that awful memory behind them. What they don't realise though, is that the satanic miscreants conjured up a demonic force to inhabit Annabelle with such evil malevolence that their lives will quickly descend into Hell on Earth!

DRACULA : UNTOLD (Rated M) - Dracula has been around in the movies for almost as long as the movies have been around. In 2014 he gets a makeover, but not so much of the horror kind, but more of the dramatic action fantasy kind. The 1922  'Nosferatu', Directed by F.W. Murnau still stands tall as the probable originator of Dracula on screen with Max Schrek delivering more than a convincing turn as the fanged menace. Tod Browning's 1931 'Dracula' with Bela Lugosi raised the bar equally high, and that has been rarely attained again. Don't expect any of that mastery from this retelling of the story underwritten by a US$100M budget and more green screen CGI effects that you can wave a silver crucifix at. This is based on the legendary Bram Stoker character and takes the Transylvanian Prince back to his 15th Century roots and how he became Count Dracula in the first place. Vlad Teppes (Luke Evans) is the Prince and troubled ruler struggling to protect his family, his people and his lands from Sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper) who demands 1,000  of the kingdom's boys (including Vlad's own son) for his army. To save his son and his family, Vlad journeys to Broken Tooth Mountain where lives Caligula (Charles Dance) an ex-Roman Emperor and now ancient sorcerer where a deal is struck that will give Vlad the strength of 100 men, the power to thwart his enemies, and the speed of a falling star. But all of this comes at a price - including a thirst quenching appetite for human blood. Rallying against his enemies, Vlad must accept his destiny that will eventually see him rise up for all eternity as 'Dracula'.

Once again, there you have it - not quite something for everyone, but certainly something for the more discerning and the more mature viewer this week. Check out a film, and share your views and opinions right here with the rest of the movie going world!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-