A HAUNTING IN VENICE : Tuesday 19th September 2023

I saw the M Rated 'A HAUNTING IN VENICE' earlier this week, and this American supernatural mystery film is Co-Produced, Directed and stars Kenneth Branagh and is based on the 1969 novel 'Hallowe'en Party' by Agatha Christie. The film serves as the sequel to 2022's 'Death on the Nile' which was itself a sequel to 2017's 'Murder on the Orient Express' in which Branagh portrays the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, as well as serving as Director on those two previous outings. The film was released in the US and here in Australia last week, has so far grossed US$42M off the back of a US$60M production budget and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.

The film opens with Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) waking up startled from a nightmare. He is living a life of retirement in 1947 Venice, Italy having become disillusioned with God and humanity having witnessed first hand the cruelty man can bestow upon his fellow man. Poirot employs local retired Police Officer Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio) as his bodyguard. Having visited the local market later that morning and procured himself his supply of breakfast pastries, there comes a knock at his apartment door. Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) is at the door - Poirot's long term friend and novelist who has penned thirty books so far of which twenty-seven were best sellers but the last three not so much. It is Halloween, and Oliver persuades Poirot to attend a seance at the palazzo of renowned opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) and help expose psychic medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) as a fake.

Later that night, Poirot, Ariadne and Vitale are all taken by gondola along the canals of Venice to Rowena's palazzo, where there is a children's Halloween party in full swing, and we learn through this that the palazzo is on the site of a former children's hospital at which there were numerous children's deaths and the ghosts of those children still haunt the place to this day. After the children have all left for the evening, the adults that remain are Rowena's guests for the seance - they are Joyce Reynolds who Rowena has hired to help her communicate with her daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson), who committed suicide after her fiance, chef Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen), broke off their engagement; Rowena's housekeeper Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin); the Drake family doctor Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan) and his nine year old son Leopold (Jude Hill) and Reynolds' assistant Desdemona Holland (Emma Laird). 

At midnight all the gathered guests assemble in Alicia's bedroom which has remained exactly as she left it the day she died. During the seance, Poirot quickly deduces that Reynolds has not one assistant but two, revealing Desdemona's half-brother Nicholas (Ali Khan) hiding in the chimney of Alicia's bedroom and manipulating a typewriter with a magnetic device that is all part of Reynolds ruse. Reynold's then speaks to Rowena in Alicia's voice, revealing that she was murdered, and states the killer is one of the guests present in the room. Poirot attempts to confront Reynolds about her act, who gives him the brush off and puts her mask and cloak on him and tells him to lighten up. Taking this advice and while attempting to bob for apples, while nobody is watching, Poirot is nearly drowned by an unknown assailant. Reynolds is then found impaled on a statue in the courtyard minutes later. 

Meanwhile, a storm gathers momentum outside, which ultimately cuts off the palazzo until such time as it subsides. Poirot therefore begins his investigations by interviewing the guests, during which time he hallucinates seeing Alicia's ghost, and hears the sound of a female singing, although no one else can hear it. The investigation yields baffling results, namely that Leslie, who is severely traumatised from his experiences at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, is secretly in love with Rowena. Leopold says he hears the voices from the spirits of children who were left to die back when the palazzo was a plague hospital.
Maxime, who was a last minute addition to the guest list broke off his engagement because he felt Rowena did not approve of him and that Alicia was obsessed with keeping her happy; and Nicholas and Desdemona, both Romani refugees, have been stealing from Joyce and intend to use the money to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, which they fell in love with after seeing the first half of the film 'Meet Me in St. Louis' at a displaced persons camp.

Shortly after, the guests come across a previously hidden basement containing the skeletal remains of the dead children, and Leslie suffers a panic attack and nearly kills Maxime. He is locked inside the music room to recover, with Rowena handing Poirot the only key. After examining Maxime's invitation, Poirot deduces Oliver sent it and that she and Vitale conspired to bring him to the palazzo. Vitale explains he investigated Alicia's death and fished her out of the canal, while Oliver admits she hoped to use Poirot's incapability of explaining the seance as a plot for her next book. Leslie is soon afterward found stabbed to death in the music room to which Poirot had the only means of access.

Poirot brings the remaining guests together, and exposes Rowena as the murderer. She was obsessed with keeping Alicia to herself and, after learning she planned to reconcile with Maxime, used honey extracted from poisonous rhododendron blooms to weaken her, using small doses at a time. When Olga unknowingly gave Alicia tea containing a large fatal dose, Rowena staged Alicia's suicide to prevent exposing herself. When she began receiving blackmail threats, Rowena suspected either Joyce or Leslie. She pushed Joyce to her death after mistakenly attempting to drown Poirot and forced Leslie into stabbing himself via the palazzo's internal phone line, threatening to kill Leopold if he refused. Rowena flees to the roof garden in an attempt to escape, followed by Poirot, but Alicia's ghost seemingly appears from behind and pulls Rowena down, causing her to fall to her death in the canal below. 

Come sun up and the case cracked open in a few short hours, Poirot bids goodbye to Oliver, elects not to turn Vitale in to the local Police for his involvement in the seance, and privately exposes Leopold as the blackmailer. Leopold explains he understood the poisoning signs his father missed and made the connection after realising Rowena's first starring role was in an opera whose lead character was known as the 'king of poisons'. Poirot suggests to Leopold and Olga that to clear their consciences they should use the blackmail money to help Desdemona and Nicholas start a new life in St. Louis before returning home to accept a new case.

Three Agatha Christie big screen adaptations in, and Director and lead Actor Kenneth Branagh has more than settled in to his routine of bringing Hercule Poirot to life, with all his eccentricities and idiosyncrasies firmly intact. Branagh has crafted a solid enough film here that is sure to please those that enjoy a good whodunnit, Venice is shot beautifully, the cast is more than up for the task, and this Gothic inspired supernatural thriller for me sits between 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'Death on the Nile' that offers the audience a more grounded view of Poirot's methods of deduction, even if at times it defies logic. All within the space of four of five hours Poirot is able to solve not one, not two, but three murders and tie up a whole bunch of loose ends very neatly before moving on to his next case before breakfast - if you can believe it!

'A Haunting in Venice' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th May 2016.

With the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe going head to head at your local Odeon with those Superhero types doing battle royale in both cinematic comic camps, I thought it a good time to review the Box Office haul of first Marvel, this week, and DC next. In terms of the thirteen official movies in the MCU canon, here are the stats for those that grossed over US$500M - ten out of the first thirteen.

• 'The Avengers' - May 2012 - US$1.519B and #5 highest ranking film of all time.
• 'The Avengers : Age of Ultron' - May 2015 - US$1.405B and #7 highest ranking film of all time.
• 'Iron Man 3' - May 2013 - US$1.215B, and #10 highest ranking film of all time.
• 'Guardians of the Galaxy' - August 2014 - US$771M.
• 'Captain America : Winter Soldier' - April 2014 - US$714M.
• 'Captain America : Civil War' - April 2016 - US$705M and still on general release. 
• 'Thor : The Dark World' - November 2013 - US$644M.
• 'Iron Man 2' - May 2010 - US$623M.
• 'Iron Man' - May 2008 - US$582M.
• 'Ant-Man' - July 2015 - US$519M.
• The MCU production budget for the combined films totalled US$2.33B, returning worldwide receipts of $9.77B which is sure to have brought a smile to Tony Stark's face given that he has featured in many of them, and Stan Lee also, in all. 

Added to this let's not forget those Marvel films that have so far sat outside the MCU that include the hugely successful 'X-Men' franchise that across seven so far released films have grossed US$3.05B with 'X-Men : Apocalypse' due for release later this month. Then, there is everyone's favourite young web slinger 'Spiderman' who across five films has spread his net far & wide grossing a staggering US$3.96B, and this years 'Deadpool' which in its own right did US$762M. Into the mix should go the less successful Blade Series, Fantastic Four Series, Ghost Rider Series, The (Incredible) Hulk Series, 'Daredevil', 'Elektra', 'Howard the Duck' and various others - all up amounting to 43 films grossing US$18.45B off a combined budget of US$5.35B. With Phase 3 of the MCU now live with the release of 'Captain America : Civil War' and going strong on general release worldwide right now, we can still look forward to 'Doctor Strange' in November this year, with 2017 bringing 'Guardian's of the Galaxy, Volume 2', 'Spider-Man : Homecoming', and 'Thor : Ragnarok' with 2018 and 2019 already filming or in pre-production that include two further 'Avengers' instalments, an 'Ant-Man' follow-up, and several standalone films introducing new characters from the rich source material. Get excited . . . get very excited!

This week, however, there is a mega-haul of seven new films to tempt, tease and delight audiences young and older, that cover just about every genre from action, to horror, to comedy, drama, documentary and animation covering all tastes and all bases. First up we have a French set terror based thriller involving two unlikely protagonists thrown together to thwart an unknown enemy on a day of national celebration that could turn very ugly for everyone. Then a wartime bio-dramedy exposing what those journo's really get up to when they are far way from home and when the bullets fly and people die. Next up a pair of horrors - one of the psychological kind set in an English mansion slap bang in the middle of nowhere with a nanny and a child of a very different kind, and the other of the neo-Nazi kind in backwater no-name last-hope rural America where it all goes pear shaped when a gigging punk-band get more then they bargained for when their tour comes to an end. Following this but sticking with Nazi's is a revenge film that sees an ageing dementia suffering terminator in a cross country search for the man who killed his family seven decades before. Slowing down the pace is a documentary insight of high fashion and art colliding at the haute couture event of the year, before wrapping up with the feature length animated film of a very popular video game series of some avian types with anger management issues.

With so much diversity heading your way with this weeks latest releases, you'll be hard pressed to limit your movie of the week to just one! When you have sat through your movie of choice, drop your like minded movie goers a line in the Comments section below this or any other Post and share your experience with those of us here at Odeon Online. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your film.

'BASTILLE DAY' (Rated M) - for the historians amongst us, you'll know the significance of 14th July to the French - for it is Bastille Day, marking the date in 1789 when troops stormed The Bastille - a medieval fortress and prison in Paris. It was an important event marking effectively the beginning of the French Revolution. It wasn't until 1880 however, that it officially became a national public holiday, and has as such been celebrated every year since then.  So, history lesson over, what about this film which mirrors recent tragic terrorist events in Paris but this is sheer coincidence as filming took place before those events in late 2014, with the movie in the can by Christmas that year. All that said, 'Bastille Day' is Directed by James Watkins, and stars Idris Elba in the main lead doing all he can to prove that he might be a shoe-in for James Bond when Daniel Craig sips his last shaken not stirred Martini.

Set in Paris around the Bastille Day celebrations, this is an action thriller that sees Sean Briar (Elba) - a maverick CIA Agent having to team up with an American pick-pocket and fast talking con-artist Michael Mason (Richard Madden) who steals a bag which contains more that he bargained for. When things go belly up Briar comes to realise that Mason is just a pawn in a much bigger game, and is also most likely to be his best and only asset in bringing down the crims and revealing the source of corruption that they are now both being hunted down for. Having to rely on each other, this mismatched pairing come to realise they are both targets in a game of cat & mouse that unfolds quickly aided by the power of the Internet and social media.  The film has so far received mixed reviews, but is likely to be a lot of shoot 'em up adrenalin packed fun as long as you don't go with higher expectations. Also stars Kelly Reilly and Jose Garcia.

'WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT' (Rated MA15+) - this biographical Iraq war dramedy is based on the Kim Barker memoir 'The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan' and is Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, was released in early March in the US and has so far grossed US$23M of its US$35M cost to bring to the big screen. Set back in 2002, we have here the true story of Kim Barker (Tina Fey) - a cable news producer who disillusioned with her going nowhere career, decides to shake things up and takes an assignment in war torn Kabul, Afghanistan. Like a complete fish outta water and dislodged from the comforts of her small cubicle office and her home, she is quickly adopted in the 'Kabubble' by Scottish photojournalist Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman) and Aussie reporter Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie) who show her the ways of the warlords, the militants, the battlefield tensions, and the night-time partying that she soon learns to adapt to, turn to her advantage, and grows to enjoy - turning herself into a successful correspondent in the process. As a result she outstays her original assignment, not by months, but by years - really, WTF? Also starring Alfred Molina and Billy Bob Thornton.

'GREEN ROOM' (Rated R18+) - Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulier this low budget limited release horror thriller has garnered much critical acclaim which has yet to transfer to big Box Office receipts, but nonetheless it should be one to watch out for.  The members of a young punk band 'The Ain't Rights' - Pat, Sam, Reece and Tiger (Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawcat, Joe Cole and Callum Turner respectively) are wrapping up a largely unsuccessful tour with a view that after their last gig they are all going to go their separate ways. Enticed into some one-horse backwater Oregon town by night club owner Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart) after the gig they witness the violent murder of a girl, and so the band lock themselves away in the Green Room with the friend of the victim Amber (Imogen Poots). What unfolds is a do or die fight to the death as the band strive to survive while Darcy and his neo-Nazi skinhead followers want them eliminated for what they have seen, and the harm they can therefore cause if not silenced. But, what they did not count on was four young punks with a particular set of skills who will not go silently into the night! Taught, riveting, and riotous - this will not be for everyone, but Stewart in particular is a delight playing evil for all its worth and clearly loving it.

'THE BOY' (Rated M) - sticking with the horror genre, here we have the psychological kind Directed by William Brent Bell and made for US$10M and so far returning US$64M since its late January release Stateside. Greta (Lauren Cohan) takes a job as a nanny for a well-to-do English family, after fleeing an abusive relationship back home in Montana. Upon arriving at the remote home of the Heelshire family, Greta is introduced to their 'child' Brahms. Greta is somewhat taken aback that Brahms is in fact  porcelain doll, life-size, but a doll nonetheless, that the Heelshire's treat like a child in memory of their son who died some 25 years earlier aged eight.  Before the Heelshire's depart for a family holiday they leave Greta with a strict set of rules that she must abide by when caring for Brahms. When she ignores these rules a series of unexplained and disturbing events occur that lead her to believe that Brahms is in fact alive and everything is not quite what it seems. Things will go bump in the night . . . and worse.

'REMEMBER' (Rated MA15+) - this German and Canadian drama thriller co-production is Directed by Atom Egoyan and receives a limited release only in selected cinemas, but is well worth seeking out for its intriguing story and strong performances from some of cinemas elder statesmen. Released at the Venice and then the Toronto International Film Festivals in September last year, in Germany on NYE and then the US in early March, it has only now reached our Australian shores. Telling the story of two Holocaust survivors from Auschwitz - Zev Guttman (Christopher Plummer) and Max Rosenbaum (Martin Landau) who now in their 90's live together in a New York nursing home, Max upon the death of Zev's wife, reminds him of the man responsible for the death of their families when they were imprisoned up in the camp seven decades ago. Max has drawn up a plan and convinces Zev despite his onset of dementia, to avenge their families by hunting down and finding the man responsible - Blockfuhrer Otto Wallisch who after the war came to America and adopted the name Rudy Kurlander (played by Bruno Ganz, Heinz Lieven and Jurgen Prochnow). What follows is a cross-country revenge story as this ageing terminator is intent of finding the right Rudy Kurlander and exacting his own form of justice.

'THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY' (Rated M) - the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art is the backdrop for this documentary film Directed by Andrew Rossi tracing the year long preparations leading upto the launch of their most attended fashion exhibition in history - 'China : Through The Looking Glass' - an exploration of the Chinese-inspired Western fashions of Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton. Andrew Rossi captures the impact of high fashion and celebrity at the Met Gala, one of the biggest hottest ticket global fashion events chaired every year by Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour. Featuring a veritable who's who of renowned artists in many fields such as fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano as well as a host of celebrity icons including Baz Luhrmann and Rihanna, the movie questions whether fashion should be seen as art.

'THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE' (Rated PG) - based on the popular video game of the same name this is an American/Finnish 3D animated feature co-production Directed by first timers Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly and Produced by Sony Pictures Imageworks for US$80M. The film was released in France on 5th May, is released in Finland on 13th May and gets its US release on 20th. With an all star voice cast that includes Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle, Jason Sudeikis as Red, Danny McBride as Bomb, Josh Gadd as Chuck, Sean Penn as Terrence, Bill Hader as Leonard, and Kate McKinnon as Stella the story revolves around Red, Chuck and Bomb who begin a quest to find out why their idyllic island home populated by happy flightless birds is invaded by mysterious green pigs. Although for these three outcasts who do not live such a happy idyllic life and are more temperamental, more angry, and more volatile than their easy going flightless feathered friends, the quest is on to uncover why the green little piggies have been so welcomed to the flock, when they are really getting under the skin of three angry feathered friends.

With so much great choice coming to a cinema near you, and so many other great films still doing the rounds there is no excuse not to get yourself out to see a movie in the week ahead. Share your thoughts when you have done so, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 7th January 2016.

The 73rd Golden Globe Awards will be announced at another lavish ceremony on 10th January at the Beverly Hilton Hotel hosted once more by Ricky Gervais. Up for grabs are a whole host of awards that for the eventual winners & grinners are often seen as a sure sign of success at the subsequent Oscar Ceremony to be held for the 88th time on 28th February. In the Best Film and Director categories this year the nominations for Best Film - Drama are : 'Mad Max : Fury Road', 'Room', 'Spotlight', 'Carol' and 'The Revenant'. Those nominated for Best Film - Musical or Comedy are : 'Trainwreck', 'Joy', 'Spy', 'The Martian' and 'The Big Short'; with Best Director going to one of the following : Todd Haynes for 'Carol', George Miller for 'Mad Max : Fury Road', Tom McCarthy for 'Spotlight', Ridley Scott for 'The Martian' and Alejandro Inarritu for 'The Revenant'. A number of these films only get there Australian release this month - those being 'The Revenant' as Previewed below on 7th January, with 'Carol' and 'The Big Short' on 14th and 'Room' and 'Spotlight' both on 28th. You can see the full list of nominees and hopefuls for all film and television categories at : goldenglobes.com

Turning then to this week there are just two new movies due for their Australian release - the first being a early American frontier story of survival and revenge from an accomplished Director and an acclaimed cast; and the second a sibling comedy with strong writing credentials and acting chemistry from the two female leads to ensure this finds an audience wanting to party!

And so, when you have seen any one of these films, or any one of the many top movies still out on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed previously amongst these pages, be sure to share your own views and opinions with your fellow readers by leaving your own critique in the Comments section below this or any other Post. Meanwhile, enjoy your movie.

THE REVENANT (Rated MA15+) - Acclaimed Director, Producer and Screenwriter Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is hoping to scoop his fourth Academy Award for this his seventh feature film after winning Best Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for last years 'Birdman' as well as the astonishing other 94 award wins and 124 nominations he so far has under his belt. This film which had its Worldwide Premier on December 16th, a limited release on 25th December and its worldwide release this week has already garnered seventeen award wins and another 88 nominations, many of which are still pending. I think on this basis we are in for the first must see movie of 2016 without doubt. In the event that you didn't know already, Wikipedia describes a revenant as 'a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorise the living'.

And so to this story which has its foundation on real events so we are told. Set way back in 1823 in the mid-west America, essentially this is a survival and revenge story after a group of hunters and trappers under the guidance of Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson)  are brutally attacked and ambushed by Arikara Indians. Fleeing the fray fur trapper Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is badly mauled by a Grizzly Bear and left for dead. As a result Glass's young son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), is killed by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Fitzgerald concocts a story that neither Glass nor his son could be saved from the ravages of the wilderness, but when Glass does in fact survive so begins a trail of revenge on the man who killed his son that takes in over 300 kms of Canadian wilderness, the harshest of Winter conditions, unforgiving terrain, blood thirsty natives, untrustworthy colleagues, and French soldiers. Shot largely using natural light, and allegedly in chronological order for a US$135M budget this film is likely to be as tense, gripping, raw, jaw dropping and emotional as any as you'll likely to see this year.

SISTERS (Rated CTC) - Directed by Jason Moore, written by Paula Pell and starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler this comedy was made for US$30M and has so far grossed US$69M since its December 18th opening Stateside. When sisters Maura and Kate Ellis (Poehler and Fey respectively) learn that their mother and father Bucky and Deana Ellis (James Brolin and Dianne Wiest respectively) are to put the family home in Orlando on the market and move into a Condo, and they have just one week in which to clear out their old bedroom. Sifting through the junk and the memories of their old home the recently divorced Maura and impetuous Kate decide to throw a last party in their former home to relive the good old bad old days with their former classmates and long lost friends. However, as the party to end all parties rages increasingly out of control the girls need to save themselves and the house from oblivion, otherwise, there may nothing left to sell when the fog clears. Also starring John Cena and John Leguizamo.

Just two new films for the week ahead and both at completely different ends of the cinematic spectrum. Once you have made your choice and sat through either of both of these, share your views - we'd love to hear from you.

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-