THE NIGHTINGALE : Tuesday 3rd September 2019.

'THE NIGHTINGALE' which I saw earlier this week, is an MA15+ rated Australian period piece thriller Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Jennifer Kent in only her second film making outing following 2014's highly acclaimed horror offering 'The Babadook'.  This film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival back in September 2018 where it won the Special Jury Prize, had its Australian Premier at the 2018 Adelaide Film Festival, saw its US release earlier in August and in Australia last week after its screening at the recent Sydney Film Festival too. It has so far received generally positive Reviews, although has divided audiences with its graphic depictions of rape and murder. Kent subsequently defended the decision to depict such violence, claiming that the film contains historically accurate representations of the colonial violence and racism that took place against the Australian Indigenous people of that time (circa 1825). The film was produced in collaboration with Tasmanian Aboriginal elders who feel that this is an honest and necessary depiction of their history, and a story that needs to be told.

Set in Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) in 1825 and the early on-set of the Black War, Clare Carroll (Aisling Franciosi), a 21-year-old Irish convict is serving out her time working as a servant in some remote British military outpost overseen by Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin) and Sergeant Ruse (Damon Herriman). The unit is being visited by a commanding officer to determine if Hawkins is fit to be considered for promotion to the rank of Captain.

After her night shift has finished, with Clare serving the soldiers drinks and singing them a few songs, she asks Hawkins about her now long overdue letter of recommendation that would allow the family, husband Aidan (Michael Sheasby) and their baby child, their freedom. Hawkins takes her request as insolence and consequently rapes and beats her. The next night Aidan, liquored up, gets into a brawl with Hawkins, Ruse and a Private Jago (Harry Greenwood) while asking for the same letter of recommendation that Clare had enquired about the previous day. The commanding officer walks in on the brawl unfolding and bears witness to the whole sorry affair and determines that this, along with other acts of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour displayed by Hawkins and his small group of soldiers, deem him unfit for promotion.

Mightily pissed-off by this turn of events, Hawkins commands Ruse and Jago to gather supplies, a few extra convict men to help fetch and carry and a local black tracker named Charlie (Charlie Jampijinpa Brown) for an impromptu five day journey on foot through dangerous and near impenetrable bushland to the town of Launceston in order to secure his promotion via an officer contact he has there, and with whom he seems to have some sway. Before they leave early the next morning, the soldiers intercept the Carroll family attempting to flee. Hawkins taunts Aiden about the many occasions he’s had sex with Clare before he and Ruse gang rape Clare, shoot Aiden at point blank range in the neck, and Jago kills their baby and then knocks Clare unconscious with the butt end of his rifle. Clare comes round the next morning with the sight of her dead husband lying in a pool of blood and her baby's lifeless body on the hard stone floor by the door.

The next day Clare reports the incident to a suspicious Royal Military Police official, carrying the dead body of her baby, who is less than sympathetic - after all why should he believe the rantings of a convict woman over the story of Officers in the Army. She decides to seek out revenge for herself with a help of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) whom she entices with the promise of two shillings in payment. Clare is guarded about her motives and states that she wishes to catch-up with her soldier husband en route to Launceston. The travelling pair initially share a mutual hostility towards one another but begin to bond over stories about their tragic upbringings and shared hatred of the English.

Hawkins meanwhile en route with his small party takes a liking to one of the convicts, an eight year old orphan child named Eddie (Charlie Shotwell), and Ruse kidnaps an Aboriginal woman named Lowanna (Magnolia Maymuru) that he stumbled across in the bushland, to be used as a sex slave. The next day when a small group of Aboriginal men have located their missing Lowanna, they kill one of the convicts and injure Jago with a spear in the leg, in a rescue mission, but their attack proves unsuccessful as Hawkins shoots Lowanna in the back in retaliation. Clare and Billy stumble upon a limping and delirious Jago, and Clare corners and brutally kills him by stabbing him several times in the chest and smashing his face to a pulp with the butt-end of her rifle.

Billy has witnessed this and considers leaving Clare to her own devices in the dense forest, but works out her revenge motivations and decides to stay. Charlie meanwhile as the trusted tracker to Hawkins party, and as revenge for the soldiers' inhumanity, diverts the journey to a dead end on the summit of a mountain. Ruse kills Charlie but Hawkins chastises the rash decision and forces Ruse to be their guide on the way back down the mountain, handing over Ruse's former responsibilities to the eight year old Eddie. Clare and Billy come across Charlie’s body while tracing their steps, and Billy performs customary burial rites and informs Clare that he now seeks
revenge too for killing his Uncle figure.

Clare and Billy catch up with the group of four and hide behind a rocky outcrop. Armed with her rifle pointing directly at Hawkins, Clare freezes when she sees him, allowing Hawkins to retaliate fire grazing her shoulder with a shot from his rifle. Clare flees and the pair split up and are separated. Billy, however, is found and forced to be the new guide, replacing Charlie and a clueless Ruse. Billy reluctantly leads the soldiers to the main path to Launceston, at which point Hawkins commands Eddie to shoot Billy. The eight year old Eddie naturally hesitates, so allowing Billy to escape. Hawkins berates Eddie and turns his back on him saying that when he arrives in Launceston he will advise the local Police that there is a convict child running wild on the path into town. Eddie gets very upset by this threat and cries out for a second chance to prove his worth. Hawkins turns and shoots the boy dead to shut him up.

Having spent the night nestled under a tree in the forest hinterland of Launceston, Clare the next morning finds her way back onto the main path and reunites with Billy. While on their way, they come across what looks like an abandoned house. Entering they see a recently murdered couple in their bed having both suffered several gunshot wounds to the chest. From the house they take a rifle, some food and a change of clothes. Walking towards Launceston they encounter a chain gang of Aboriginals, led by three armed white fellas. In their native tongue Billy speaks of his origin and that he is seeking to reunite with his people in the north. One of the chained Aboriginals informs Billy that he is the last of his people, they had been wiped out and all killed. When the prisoner yells at his captors for their callousness, they shoot him and the others dead. Clare and Billy pass, on the pretext that Billy is Clare's prisoner and she is taking him to Launceston to see that justice is served on him.

In Launceston, Clare and Billy are sighted in the street by Hawkins and Ruse. Hawkins orders Ruse to notify the Police that a black boy is on the loose in town, and tells Clare that if he ever sees her again, he will have no hesitation in killing her. The newly promoted Hawkins joins his commanding officer in a men only bar for a welcome drink, at which point Clare bursts in and confronts Hawkins about his war crimes in front of a now silent bar full of fellow soldiers and officers all looking on. Billy watches through the window from a hiding spot. The two then flee town for the night. During the night while Clare is sleeping, Billy covers himself with white war paint and has carved two spears. He makes his way back to Launceston. By this time Clare has woken up and has given chase arriving in Launceston just as she spies Billy entering the hostel where Hawkins and Ruse are lodged. Billy first spears Hawkins right through the heart killing him instantly and then drives his second spear though Ruse's throat pinning him to a wall. Ruse however, before he died got off a single rifle shot wounding Billy in the stomach. Claire and Billy flee the commotion at the hostel on the back of Clare's horse which Hawkins has previously stolen from her. In time following the river, they arrive at a beach where Billy dances and declares himself a free man before slumping down on the wet sand as Clare sings a folk song and the two watch the sun rise over the horizon.

'The Nightingale' is a confronting film and at times an uneasy watch for its repeated rape scenes, violence and callous cold blooded murders of men, women and children mostly of native Australian origin, but also of white convicts for simply speaking up or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, in choosing to depict such scenes of human depravity Director and Writer Jennifer Kent has captured the essence of that era in a story that has to be told as it resonates as much today as it did back then. Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr give powerful and convincing performances, and Sam Claflin is definitely playing against type here and does so with a disturbing intensity. It's interesting to note that the depiction of the horrors that befell Australia's Indigenous population back in the days of early white settlement is particularly apposite given last weeks Reviewed 'The Australian Dream'. Kent has here shown that she is an Australian film maker to watch and that this is a very noteworthy follow up to her debut of five years ago, that will further cement her position as a master of her craft. My only criticism is that at a running time of 136 minutes, the film drags on for a little too long and consequently becomes a tad repetitive and predictable especially in the last half an hour, when shaving off 15 or 20 minutes in the editing suite would perhaps have served for greater coherence and less monotony.

'The Nightingale' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th August 2019.

Continuing with the coverage of the 76th Venice International Film Festival which launched on 28th August and runs through until 7th September, it was announced in the months preceding the festival that the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement by a Director would be awarded to Spanish Director Pedro Almodovar whose film making credits include his international break out film in 1983 'Dark Habits' and then over the following years 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' in 1988, 'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down' in 1989, 'All About My Mother' in 1999, 'Talk to Her' in 2001, 'Bad Education' in 2003, 'Volver' in 2006, 'The Skin I Live In' in 2011 and 'Julieta' in 2016. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement by an Actor or Actress is awarded to English Actress, Singer and Author Julie Andrews whose film acting credits include 'My Fair Lady' and 'The Americanisation of Emily' both in 1964, 'The Sound of Music' in 1965, 'Torn Curtain' and 'Hawaii' both in 1966, 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' in 1967, 'Star!' in 1968, 'The Tamarind Seed' in 1974, '10' in 1979, 'S.O.B.' in 1981, 'Victor/Victoria' in 1982, 'Duet for One' in 1986, 'The Princess Diaries' in 2001 and its sequel in 2004 and from there she lent her voice talents to the animated 'Shrek' and 'Despicable Me' film franchises.

This years Out of Competition entries take in works of fiction and non-fiction and special screenings. Included in these are :-
Out of Competition : Fiction 
* 'SEBERG' - from the USA and Directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Kristen Stewart, Jack O’Connell, Anthony Mackie and Vince Vaughn.
* 'THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY' - from the UK and Italy and Directed by Giuseppe Capotondi and starring Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Donald Sutherland and Mick Jagger.
* 'MOSUL' from the USA and Directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan and starring Suhail Dabbach, Adam Bessa and Is’Haq Elias.




* 'ADULTS IN THE ROOM' - from France and Greece and Directed by Costa-Gravas and starring Christos Loulis, Alexandros Bourdoumis, Ulrich Tukur, Daan Schuurmans, Josiane Pinson, and Aurelien Recoing.
* 'THE KING' - from the UK and Hungary and Directed by David Michod and starring Timothee Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Tom Glynn-Carney, Lily-Rose Depp, Thomasin McKenzie, Robert Pattinson and Ben Mendelsohn.

Out of Competition : Non-Fiction 
* 'ROGER WATERS US + THEM' - from the UK and Directed by Sean Evans and Roger Waters. The former Pink Floyd man toured across North America, the UK and Europe throughout 2017 and 2018, which saw Waters perform to over two million people worldwide. The film was captured during his four-night stop at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome on June 18th, 19th, 22nd and 23rd 2018, and features songs from his legendary Pink Floyd albums 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', 'The Wall', 'Animals' and 'Wish You Were Here', and from his last album, 'Is This The Life We Really Want?'
* 'CITIZEN K' - from the UK and USA and Direcetd by Alex Gibney and starring Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Putin, Leonid Nevzlin, Boris Berezovsky, Igor Malashenko, Anton Drel and Boris Yeltsin. In 2003, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the richest men in Russia, began a ten-year sentence for tax evasion. Many believed his downfall was challenging then newly elected president Vladimir Putin. During his time in a Siberian prison, Khodorkovsky became a world-famous dissident. Today, exiled in London, he continues to battle Putin’s 19-year hold on power.
* 'STATE FUNERAL' - from Holland and Lithuania and Directed by Sergei Loznitsa. Using mostly unseen archival footage from March 1953, the funeral of Joseph Stalin is seen as the culmination of the Dictator’s personality cult. The news of Stalin’s death on March 5, 1953, shocked the entire Soviet Union. The burial ceremony was attended by tens of thousands of mourners. This film bears witness to every stage of the funeral spectacle, and receives unprecedented access to the dramatic and absurd experience of life and death under Stalin’s reign.
* 'WOMAN' - from France and Directed by Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand. 'Woman' is a worldwide project giving a voice to some two thousand women across fifty different countries.  Based on first-person encounters, the project deals with topics such as motherhood, education, marriage or financial independence but also menstruations or sexuality discovering the voices of women as you have never heard them before.
* 'COLLECTIV' - from Romania and Luxembourg and Directed by Alexander Nanau and starring Narcis Hogea, Catalin Tolontan, Mirela Neag, Camelia Roiu, Razvan Lutac and Tedy Ursuleanu. In the aftermath of a tragic fire in a Romanian music club, more burn victims begin dying in hospitals from wounds that were not life threatening. A team of investigative journalists move into action to uncover massive corruption in the health system and other state institutions.
* '45 SECONDS OF LAUGHTER' - from the USA and Directed by Tim Robbins. A group of incarcerated men from Calipatria State Prison participate in a theatrical workshop with Tim Robbins’ theatre company, The Actors’ Gang. Defying racial barriers and gang affiliations, the men tap into emotions that have long been dormant while unexpected bonds emerge between former enemies, as they work towards a transformation and liberation unknown to their life behind bars.

For the full run down on all the screenings, the news and views from the 76th Venice International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2019

This week coming to your local Odeon, we have six new release movies starting off with an Australian period piece set back in 1825 that sees a young convict girl join forces with an Aboriginal tracker to hunt down a British Officer who raped her and killed her husband and young child. We then move to a story set in the '70's in New York's Hell's Kitchen of three wives who take on the mob to earn a crust while their husbands are locked up in prison serving time. This is followed by a modern day cops & robbers caper where two hardened career Detectives are suspended for their strong arm antics who jump to the other side of the fence in a bid to make some much needed cash until their suspensions are lifted. Next up is a true story of the failed attempts to rescue the crew of a stricken Russian nuclear submarine that sank to the bottom of the Berents Sea in 2000. We then move to an Italian foreign language crime drama telling the story of a meek and mild dog salon owner who goes up against the local petty crime bully with unexpected consequences, before closing out the week with a documentary of the 1972 recording of a live gospel album by a world renowned singer and songwriter who died last year.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'THE NIGHTINGALE' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian thriller is a period piece Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Jennifer Kent in only her second film making outing following 2014's highly acclaimed horror offering 'The Babadook'.  This film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival back in September 2018, its US release earlier this month and in Australia this week after its screening at the recent Sydney Film Festival, and has so far received generally positive Reviews, although has divided audiences with its graphic depictions of rape and murder. Kent subsequently defended the decision to depict such violence, claiming that the film contains historically accurate representations of the colonial violence and racism that took place against the Australian Indigenous people of that time. The film was produced in collaboration with Tasmanian Aboriginal elders who feel that this is an honest and necessary depiction of their history and a story that needs to be told.

Set in Tasmania in 1825, Clare (Aisling Franciosi), a 21-year-old Irish convict, is brutally raped and witnesses the murder of her husband and baby by Hawkins (Sam Claflin), a British officer, and his cohorts. Unable to find justice, she takes Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), an Aboriginal tracker, with her through the harsh and unforgiving wilderness to seek revenge on the soldiers, and gets much more than she bargained for. Also starring Damon Herriman and Ewen Leslie.

'THE KITCHEN' (Rated MA15+) - here we have an American crime film Written and Directed by Andrea Berloff, in her Directorial debut but whose previous film writing credits include 2006's 'World Trade Centre', 2015's 'Straight Outta Compton', '2016's 'Blood Father' and 2017's 'Sleepless'. It is based on the Vertigo comic book miniseries of the same name. The story here is of  the wives of three Irish mobsters, who take over organised crime operations in New York's Hell's Kitchen in the late '70's, after the FBI arrests their husbands while getting caught red handed robbing a convenience store, and they are sent down for three years apiece. The wives in question here are Kathy Brennan (Melissa McCarthy) married to Jimmy (Brian d'Arcy James), Ruby O'Carroll (Tiffany Haddish) married to Kevin (James Badge Dale) and Claire Walsh (Elisabeth Moss) married to Rob (Jeremy Bobb). Also starring Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Camp, Margo Martindale and Common, the film was made for US$38M, has so far recouped US$14M since its release Stateside earlier this month, and has received mostly negative Reviews. Sounds like a lot lesser version of Steve McQueen's 2018 film 'Widow's'.

'DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE' (Rated R18+) - this American neo-noir crime thriller is Directed and Written by Steven Craig Zahler whose previous Directing credits are 'Bone Tomahawk' and 'Brawl in Cell Block 99'. The storyline here follows two police detectives Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) who find themselves suspended by their Chief, Lieutenant Calvert (Don Johnson) without pay when a video of their strong-arm tactics is leaked to the media. With little money and no options, the embittered Policemen decide to use the criminal connections they have developed through their time in law enforcement to make cash that will sustain them until their suspensions are lifted, but as they descend into the criminal underworld they discover more than they wanted lurking in the shadows. Also starring Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White, Jennifer Carpenter, Udo Kier and Thomas Kretschmann, the film was made on a Budget of US$15M, saw its release at the Venice International Film Festival in September last year, a limited US release in March, has so far taken just US$306K and has garnered mixed or average Reviews so far.

'KURSK' (Rated M) - this French and Belgian Co-Produced English language drama film is Directed by Denmark's Thomas Vinterberg based on Robert Moore's book 'A Time to Die', surrounding the true story of when disaster struck the K-141 Kursk Oscar II-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy on 12th August 2000. The Kursk sank during a Russian naval exercise in the Barents Sea after two explosions within the submarine. Twenty-three sailors survived those initial explosions who desperately waited for help to arrive while their oxygen ran out steadily minute by minute. The Russian government refused help from foreign governments for five days before agreeing to aid from the British and Norwegian governments, by which time all 118 seamen on board had perished. This is that story, and features Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Lea Seydoux, Max von Sydow and Michael Nyqvist. This film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF in early September last year, went on release in France in November, in the US at the end of June and now gets a limited run in Australia following its showing at the recent Sydney Film Festival. The film costs US$40M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews.

'DOGMAN' (Rated MA15+) - is a 2018 Italian crime drama film Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written  by Matteo Garrone. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival where Marcello Fonte as the lead Actor won the award for Best Actor. Inspired by real events, it was selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. In a coastal village on the outskirts of an Italian city, where the only law seems to be survival of the fittest, Marcello (Marcello Fonte) is a slight, mild-mannered man who divides his days between working at his modest dog grooming salon (called 'Dogman'), caring for his daughter Alida, and being coerced into the petty criminal schemes of the local bully Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce), an ex-boxer who terrorises the neighbourhood. When Simoncino's abuse finally brings Marcello to a breaking point, he decides to stand up for his own dignity through an act of vengeance, with unintended consequences. The film was released in Italy in May 2018 and now sees a limited run in Australia having generated largely favourable Reviews.

'AMAZING GRACE' (Rated G) - American singer songwriter Aretha Franklin records her gospel album 'Amazing Grace' live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in 1972. She is accompanied by the Southern California Community Choir. Directed by Sydney Pollack the 'Amazing Grace' film was not released on schedule in 1972 due to difficulties syncing the audio tracks with the visual print and was relegated to a vault at Warner Bros. until 2007 when Producer Alan Elliott purchased the raw footage and attempted to sync it. The pared-down footage, now 87 minutes in length, was planned for a 2011 release. Franklin sued Elliott for appropriating her likeness without permission, however, and the release date passed. Elliott made another attempt to premiere the film in 2015 at the Telluride, Toronto and Chicago Film Festivals, but Franklin sued him again for unpublished reasons. After Franklin's death in 2018, her family made an arrangement to release the film which saw its Worldwide release back in April this year, and only now does it arrive in Australia, to widespread Critical acclaim.

With six new release movies 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 week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th June 2015.

You can tell that an extended mid-year school holiday is just around the corner because this week there is more kid-friendly film fare on offer down Australia way than there has been of late by way of two animated features, with a trio of doco style outings and a foreign language movie to round out the something for everyone approach this week.

With six films to make your choice from in the coming week, when you have visited your nearby multiplex or local independent cinema, share your thoughts with your fellow readers and record a comment, a view, an observation about your movie going experience with the like minded individuals who pour over this Blog every week. Use the Comments box at the end of this, and every, Post to do so. Enjoy your film.

INSIDE OUT (Rated PG) - in fact this was released last week, and here once again we have our creative talented friends at Pixar coming up with the animated goods yet again as they have done so may times before - 'Toy Story 1, 2 and 3', 'Up', 'Cars', 'The Incredibles', 'Finding Nemo', 'WALL-E' and 'Monsters Inc.' to name a few of their most highly successful genre defining features. Now we have another family oriented classic in waiting with 'Inside Out' - Directed by Pete Docter who wrote the Screenplay and came up with the story too. This is the tale of young Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) an early teenager who is confronted with the prospect of moving from her all too familiar mid-western town to San Francisco when her dad gets relocated there with his job. Inside her head are a series of mixed emotions all pulling her state of mind in different directions as they conflict with each other as she tries to come to terms with her new home situation, new school, new city and new friends.

Those emotions are made up of Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) who all spring to life as characters inside her head (aptly named 'Headquarters') when she is confronted with different situations and circumstances on the outside.  Joy is the glue that cements these emotions together but at times Joy can be overcome with Fear, Anger, Sadness and Disgust when life's sometimes treacherous journey veers from the path and speed humps are placed in the way - as often experienced by many a teenager who might be out of their comfort zone - as is Riley's case here. Also starring the voice talents of Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Lane, and Frank Oz amongst others. This film has already garnered much positive press, and it has the right pedigree and all the touchstones to be another classic from this hugely successful studio - for kids . . . of all ages!

MINIONS (Rated PG) - The 'Minions' first appeared in 2010's 'Despicable Me' full length animated feature which grossed US$543M off US$69M and gave us a sequel in 2013 with 'Despicable Me 2' which brought home US$971M from US$76M which in turn will give us 'Despicable Me 3' in June 2017. In the meantime though we have this prequel set in the 1960's before The Minions met up with Gru in the aforementioned films. In case you didn't know it Minions are small yellow creatures that have been kicking around our planet since the dawn of time, whose very existence is purely and simply to serve world domineering masters. In their wake they have left dead & buried the T-Rex, Napoleon, Count Dracula and Genghis Khan to name a few over the years and so they decide to hide away to Antarctica to regather and regroup, but without a master in the offing come the swinging sixties they alight to America in search of a master to serve. And so we follow Kevin, Stuart and Bob (all voiced by Pierre Coffin) to a villain convention where they meet Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock) and her husband Herb (John Hamm) and fight for the right to become her next henchmen as she seeks to rule the world! As the animated action advances from Antarctica to New York to London the minions learn that there is a far greater threat to the very existence of minions everywhere, that they must turn their attention to before it's too late.

THE NIGHTINGALE (Rated G) - this is a Chinese French film Directed and Written by Phillippe Muyl and set in China as an old man (Zhigen) and his spoiled granddaughter (Renxing) travel across the countryside in order to fulfil a promise to his late wife. That promise was to travel from Beijing to Yangshuo to set free a bird that has been his only companion in the city since she passed away. The old mans son (Chongyi) is a successful driven businessman and his wife (Qianying) equally successful and determined. As grandfather and granddaughter embark on their journey and learn to bond with each other along the way, so Chongyi and Qianying ponder their lives and what so motivated them to achieve the trappings of success and wealth the have . . . and at what cost. Featuring breathtaking scenery and strong performances you may have seen such films before, but the Chinese connection here might just make for a very different viewing experience.

WALKING THE CAMINO (Rated PG) - Directed and Produced by Lydia B. Smith this documentary follows a mixed bag of modern day pilgrims as they seek to walk the historic 1,000 year old Camino de Santiago trail, across northern Spain as it weaves its way westward along a 500 mile coastal route from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela where the remains of St. James are allegedly buried. With a film crew of 12, the six week hike gets up close & personal with six groups of travellers all experiencing their own voyage of discovery for differing reasons and motivations whilst enduring hardships, blisters, heat and cold equipped only with sturdy walking boots and their lives packed upon their backs. Filmed between 2008 & 2009 this walking talking documentary is sure to inspire anyone with a love of history, the rolling countryside and a spirit of adventure.

GOING CLEAR (Rated M) - Directed, Produced, Written and Narrated by Alex Gibney this film seeks to expose the truth behind Scientology, and is based on Lawrence Wright's book 'Going Clear : Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief'. The film delves into the world of founder L. Ron Hubbard, the religion he created, his beliefs, those of the many celebrity followers (Cruise & Travolta), testimony from a number of its ex-members (Director Paul Haggis included) , and the exploitation and abuse handed down to those ex-members that had been witnessed and experienced first hand. Flatly denied, rebuffed and rebuked by the Church of Scientology, the film has nonetheless been seen by almost six million viewers on HBO when it aired Stateside in March this year, and is a piece of brave film-making that has be told and has to be seen.

TANGERINES (Rated PG) - this Estonian-Georgian film is Directed, Produced and Written by Zaza Urushadze and is set during the War in Abkhazia in a rural village in Abkhazia (Georgia) in 1992/93. When the hostilities begin a tangerine farm is abandoned save for two Estonian men Ivo and  Markus who remain to harvest their crop. Caught in the cross fire of two small waring factions, the two men survive as do two others - each from either side of the attacking line - Ahmed a Chechen mercenary and Niko a Georgian volunteer, but both are injured. The two farmers however, give them shelter and care and make them agree to a pact to bring no harm to each other while in their care - to which the two wounded but recovering soldiers reluctantly agree. Needless to say the tension begins to mount as there recovery improves but in time they begin to see each others insecurities, failings, strengths and weaknesses and work up a mutual respect for each other putting aside their political, religious and cultural differences. When passing Russian soldiers drop by for a routine inspection it all goes horribly wrong with dire consequences for the four men that will have more far reaching consequences. The film was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe earlier this year and has garnered too eleven award wins and seven total nominations so is likely to be well worth a look.

There you have it - six films to surprise, delight, enthral and excite and give you every good reason to escape the cold Winter evenings and relocate to a warm movie theatre. Share your views afterwards and don't be backward in coming forward with your own movie Review at Odeon Online.

See you at the movies!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-