What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 14th August 2014.

Last week we had three new releases to tease you out in front of a big stereo surround sound screen, and so it is again this week - but these films could hardly be any different! For the week ahead we have food, family, friends and fanatics - all in some way doing battle with a foe that wants to see them undone! Our first offering is a tale of food across the miles and just across the street as two eateries do battle for custom, reputation and one-up-man-ship. Then we have a tale of youngsters growing up amidst the turmoil of their surroundings and with each other as they battle against everything that bombards and influences the teenage youth of today. And then the third instalment of a balls-out 80's throw back action adventure of epic gun toting proportions as the friendly fanatics do battle with an arch foe from old!

So if it's one of these new releases that tempts you out in the week ahead, or you are catching one or more of the great offerings still out there on general release, then drop me a line in the comments box of this Blog site, and let my other avid reader know that your paying attention, and having something to say about your movie experience. Happy viewing . . . whatever you see!

THE EXPENDABLES 3 (Rated MA15+) - Stallone, Statham, Schwarzenegger, Snipes, Gibson, Ford, Banderas, Lundgren, Li, Crews, Couture, Grammer and token female Ronda Rousey. Many of the cast and stalwarts from the previous two outings are reunited here with the exception of one Bruce Willis who is absent because he wanted a bigger pay cheque, and was refused, so he walked! With a screenplay co-written by Sylvester Stallone, the Director duties this time go to Australian, Patrick Hughes, in only his second feature film outing - but clearly he was thought up to the job and has the US re-make of 'The Raid' to film next.

Seeing all these old 80's action stars on screen has once again gotta be worth the price of a ticket alone! Joined by some younger talent hired to thwart original friend and co-founder of The Expendables - Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson) who in the intervening years became a rogue arms trader and was subsequently dispensed with by Barney Ross (Stallone)  . . . or so Ross thought, until now! Resurfacing  now after all these years, Stonebanks wants revenge and retribution and an end to The Expendables that he helped form. When Ross rounds up the Team he enlists new younger tech-savvy talent to support the older wiser experienced talent to dispense with Stonebanks once and for all. And so what follows is the most personal battle yet for The Expendables, and along the way you can expect big action set pieces, big guns, big explosions, big egos and big one-liners! Bring it on!

THE HUNDRED FOOT JOURNEY (Rated PG) - I read the Richard C. Morais book a couple of years ago, and liked it a lot. Hardly surprising that this should be snapped up and get the big screen treatment given our love of food porn on the silver screen, the compelling story, and this tale of east meets west kitchen rivalry. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom and starring Helen Mirren we have here an Indian family forced to flee their homeland only to settle in rural France and open an Indian Restaurant right across the street from a celebrated Michelin starred fine dining eatery much to the disgust and chagrin of acclaimed chef and owner Madam Mallory (Mirren). When the son of the Indian Restauranteur, Hasan Kadan (Manish Dayal), displays some extraordinary culinary talent he is taken under the wing of Madam Mallory to be taught in the ways of the French gastronomic kitchens and so embarks on a journey of life, love and success. Ruby Murray anyone?

PALO ALTO (Rated MA15+) - based on the semi-autobiographical short stories of James Franco and written for the screen and Directed by Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis, and niece to Sofia) this is the telling of four teenagers growing up in the Californian city of Palo Alto as they become bored, troubled, confused and drift from party to party in a daze of sex, drugs, alcohol, fast cars and pressure from their peers. The four teens in question are April (Emma Roberts), Teddy (Jack Kilmer), Fred (Nat Wolff) and Emily (Zoe Levin) who all go from turmoil, to confusion and to deeper angst in their search for love and acceptance. James Franco stars as a seedy soccer coach Mr. B hitting on April, and the other three all have their own challenges and demons to navigate past, and watch out for the brief cameo from Val Kilmer (presumably to keep a watchful eye on son Jack's turn as Teddy!) For her Directorial debut this is described as a worthy start backed up by solid performances albeit with a storyline you have doubtless seen before.

So again, three very different films to get you out amongst it and into your local movie theatre. Whatever you chose to see this week, enjoy the experience!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthdays to share this week : 20th - 26th July.

Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming week? 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 over the coming week. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Girl on 26th July, Helen Mirren, at the end of this feature.

Sunday 20th July

• Diana Rigg - Born 1938, turns 76 - Actress
• Sandra Oh - Born 1971, turns 43 - Actress
• Cormac McCarthy - Born 1933, turns 81 - Writer | Producer

Monday 21st July

• Michael Caton - Born 1943, turns 71 - Actor
• Josh Hartnett - Born 1978, turns 36 - Actor | Producer
• Robin Williams - Born 1951, turns 63 - Actor | Writer
• Charlotte Gainsbourg - Born 1971, turns 43 - Actress
• Jon Lovitz - Born 1957, turns 57 - Actor
• Norman Jewison - Born 1926, turns 88 - Director | Producer
• Ross Kemp - Born 1964, turns 50 - Actor | Producer 

Tuesday 22nd July

• Willem Dafoe - Born 1955, turns 59 - Actor
• Franka Potente - Born 1974, turns 40 - Actress
• John Leguizamo - Born 1964, turns 50 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Rhys Ifans - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actor
• David Spade - Born 1964, turns 50 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Albert Brooks - Born 1947, turns 67 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Danny Glover - Born 1946, turns 68 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Terence Stamp - Born 1938, turns 76 - Actor
• Paul Schrader - Born 1946, turns 68 - Director | Writer

Wednesday 23rd July

• Daniel Radcliffe - Born 1989, turns 25 - Actor
• Woody Harrelson - Born 1961, turns 53 - Actor | Producer
• Ronny Cox - Born 1938, turns 76 - Actor

Thursday 24th July

• Anna Paquin - Born 1982, turns 32 - Actress | Producer
• Rose Byrne - Born 1979, turns 35 - Actress
• Jennifer Lopez - Born 1969, turns 45 - Actress | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Lynda Carter - Born 1951, turns 63 - Actress
• Doug Liman - Born 1965, turns 49 - Director | Producer
• Gus Van Sant - Born 1952, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor | Actor

Friday 25th July

• Matt LeBlanc - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• D. B. Woodside - Born 1969, turns 45 - Actor

Saturday 26th July

• Kate Beckinsale - Born 1973, turns 41 - Actress
• Jason Statham - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actor
• Sandra Bullock - Born 1964, turns 50 - Actress | Producer
• Kevin Spacey - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Helen Mirren - Born 1945, turns 69 - Actress
• Susan George - Born 1950, turns 64 - Actress | Producer
• Olivia Williams - Born 1968, turns 46 - Actress
• Mick Jagger - Born 1943, turns 71 - Singer | Songwriter | Producer | Actor

Dame Helen Mirren was born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironoff in Chiswick, London. Her Grandfather was a Tsarist aristocrat doing business in London negotiating an arms deal during the First World War when he became stranded there with the advent of the Russian Revolution. He was subsequently joined by his wife and their son - the son who would become Mirren's father (Vasilily Petrovich Mironov) having met English woman Kathleen Rogers.

Mirren was brought up in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, and attended St. Bernard's High School for Girls in Southend-on-Sea where her interest in acting was first sparked through the school drama productions. From there she went to the New College of Speech and Drama in London, and from there the stage beckoned with her subsequently spending her lifetime treading the boards in between roles on the silver screen and the small screen. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the latter half of the 60's and into the 70's, during which time she secured her first credited film acting role 'Herostratus' in 1967, and then 'Age of Consent' with James Mason in 1969 - filmed in Australia. 

Throughout the 70's she starred in many TV Series and TV Movies but it was probably in 'Caligula' in 1979 that really started to bring her to the attention of the big screen moguls. I short succession came 'The Long Good Friday', 'Excalibur', 'Cal', '2010' and 'White Nights' to kick start the first half of the 80's. As that decade drew to a close came Peter Greenaway's 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' and then '91, '92 and 93' saw three successive Series of the mach acclaimed 'Prime Suspect' TV Detective Series in which Mirren played the lead role as DCI Jane Tennison.

Mirren is married to Actor and occasional co-star Taylor Hackford, and has been since 1997, although the two have been together since 1986. She holds the record for the second largest Best Actress Award sweep with 36 wins during her life time to date, surpassed only by Cate Blanchett with 38. She has played a Queen six times on screen, and became only the third actress to win two Golden Globes for acting in the same year - the others were Sigourney Weaver and Joan Plowright. She is also the only actress to play both Queen Elizabeth I, and, Queen Elizabeth II.

Her filmography on the silver screen and small screen takes in 117 credits to date including the likes of (not already mentioned) 'The Mosquito Coast', 'The Madness of King George', 'Gosford Park', 'Calendar Girls', 'State of Play', 'The Tempest', 'Love Ranch', 'The Last Station', 'RED' and 'RED 2', 'The Debt', 'Hitchcock', 'Arthur', 'Brighton Rock' and of course 'Elizabeth I' and 'The Queen'. Due for imminent release is 'The Hundred Foot Journey' with 'Woman in Gold' currently filming, and 'Trumbo' and 'Eye in the Sky' both in pre-production and due for release in 2015/16.

Her world wide haul of awards and nominations takes in 93 wins and 75 nominations with the Best Actress Academy Award for 'The Queen' and three other nominations. She has won three Golden Globes for Best Actress for 'Elizabeth I', 'The Queen' and 'Losing Chase' with nine other nominations. As for the BAFTA's she has won Best Actress also for 'The Queen' and for 'Prime Suspect', 'Prime Suspect 2' and 'Prime Suspect 3', and in 2014 was awarded the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, along with her seven other nominations.

With her acting career now in its sixth decade and still going strong she continues to straddle stage, screen and television, and is still much in demand. Honoured for her efforts by the Queen in 2003 Dame Helen Mirren continues to play diverse, interesting and at times surprising roles that prove her versatility, add too her appeal, and show us her rebellious streak that remains as strong now as it ever did.

Dame Helen Mirren Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-