What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th January 2023.

The 80th Golden Globe Awards honouring the best in film and American television of 2022, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was held on Tuesday 10th January from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The American stand-up comedian, Actor, Writer and film maker Jerrod Carmichael hosted the ceremony. 

In the films categories, the winners, grinners and also rans are as highlighted below :-

* Best Motion Picture : Drama - presented to 'THE FABELMANS', beating out 'Avatar: The Way of Water', 'Elvis', 'Tar' and 'Top Gun: Maverick'.

* Best Motion Picture : Musical or Comedy - presented to 'THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN', beating out 'Babylon', 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', 'Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery' and 'Triangle of Sadness'.

* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Drama, Actor - presented to AUSTIN BUTLER for 'Elvis', beating out Brendan Fraser for 'The Whale', Hugh Jackman for 'The Son', Bill Nighy  for 'Living' and Jeremy Pope for 'The Inspection'.

* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Drama, Actress - awarded to CATE BLANCHETT for 'Tar', beating out Olivia Colman for 'Empire of Light', Viola Davis for 'The Woman King', Ana de Armas for 'Blonde' and Michelle Williams for 'The Fabelmans'.

* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Musical or Comedy, Actor - presented to COLIN FARRELL for 'The Banshees of Inisherin' beating out Diego Calva for 'Babylon', Daniel Craig for 'Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery', Adam Driver for 'White Noise' and Ralph Fiennes for 'The Menu'.

* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Musical or Comedy, Actress - awarded to MICHELLE YEOH for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out Lesley Manville for 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris', Margot Robbie for 'Babylon', Anya Taylor-Joy for 'The Menu' and Emma Thompson for 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande'.

* Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture : Actor - awarded to KE HUY QUAN for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', beating out Brendan Gleeson for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Barry Keoghan for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Brad Pitt for 'Babylon' and Eddie Redmayne for 'The Good Nurse'.

* Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture : Actress - presented to ANGELA BASSETT for 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever', beating out Kerry Condon for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Jamie Lee Curtis for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', Dolly de Leon for 'Triangle of Sadness' and Carey Mulligan for 'She Said'.

* Best Director - awarded to STEVEN SPIELBERG for 'The Fabelmans', beating out James Cameron for 'Avatar : The Way of Water', Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', Baz Luhrmann for 'Elvis', and Martin McDonagh for 'The Banshees of Inisherin'.

* Best Screenplay - presented to MARTIN MCDONAGH for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', beating out Todd Field for 'Tar', Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', Sarah Polley for 'Women Talking' and Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner for 'The Fabelmans'.

* Best Score - presented to JUSTIN HURWITZ for 'Babylon', beating out Carter Burwell for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Alexandre Desplat for 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio', Hildur Guonadottir for 'Women Talking' and John Williams for 'The Fabelmans'.

* Best Animated Feature - presented to 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio', beating out 'Inu-Oh', 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On', 'Puss in Boots : The Last Wish' and 'Turning Red'.

* Best Non-English Language Film - awarded to 'Argentina, 1985' from Argentina, beating out 'All Quiet on the Western Front' from Germany, 'Close' from Belgium, 'Decision to Leave' from South Korea and 'RRR' from India.

 

For all the other television category winners, and the full details on Eddie Murphy's win of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, you can go to the official website at : https://www.goldenglobes.com

This week then, we have five new release movies doing the rounds, kicking off with an elite spy who must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by a billionaire arms broker, while recruiting Hollywood's biggest movie star, to help them on their globe-trotting mission to save the world. This is followed by a horror story about a robotics engineer at a toy company who builds a life-like doll that begins to take on a life of its own. Next up we have a historical biographical drama film that imagines the transformative, exhilarating, and uplifting journey to womanhood of a rebel and a misfit, one of the world's most famous, enigmatic, and provocative writers who died too soon at the age of thirty. Next up is a microbudget Canadian horror film that sees two young children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. And closing out this weeks latest releases is an animated film about a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of talking rats, but when he and the rodents reach the stricken town they meet a bookworm and their little scam soon turns pear shaped.

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

'OPERATION FORTUNE : RUSE DE GUERRE' (Rated M) - this American spy action comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Guy Ritchie whose previous film making credits take in the likes of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch', 'Sherlock Holmes', 'Sherlock Holmes : Game of Shadows', 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.', 'Aladdin', 'The Gentlemen' and 'Wrath of Man' in 2021. It was originally slated for release at the end of January last year and then mid-March 2022. In mid-February 2022, the film was pulled from the release schedule without comment by the studio. Reports indicate the film was pulled from release, not due to the COVID-19 pandemic as before, but because it featured gangsters of Ukrainian nationality as the main antagonist's henchmen. The film's Producers thought it would be of bad taste, in light of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War sparking global outrage, for the movie to present 'Ukrainian baddies'. 

Here then, super spy Orson Fortune (Jason Statham, who also Produces here) and his team of top operatives recruit Hollywood's biggest movie star, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), to help them on an undercover mission to stop billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant) from selling a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Also starring Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone and Eddie Marsan. This film is Ritchie's fifth collaboration with Jason Statham. 

'M3GAN' (Rated M) - is a Sci-Fi horror film Directed by Gerard Johnstone and based on a story Co-Written by James Wan and Produced by James Wan and Jason Blum. This is only Johnstone's second feature film making outing following 2014's 'Housebound'. This film saw its World Premier screening in Los Angeles in early December before its wide release Stateside last week, has so far recovered US$48M from its US$12M production budget and has garnered largely positive critical reviews. Gemma (Allison Williams), is a roboticist working at a toy company. She uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android), a lifelike dancing doll programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. After unexpectedly gaining custody of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) when the child's parents die in a car accident, Gemma enlists the help of the M3GAN prototype (Amie Donald with Jenna Davis as the voice), a decision that has horrific consequences when the doll becomes self-aware and overprotective of Cady, leading her to become hostile towards anyone that gets in her way of 'protecting' Cady and Gemma. A sequel is apparently already planned.

'EMILY' (Rated M) - this biographical drama film is Written and Directed by the British born Australian Actress Frances O'Connor in her feature film making debut. The film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF in early September last year before its UK release in mid-October, in Australia from this week and with no firm date for a US release yet set. The film imagines Emily Bronte’s (Emma Mackey) own Gothic story that inspired her seminal novel 'Wuthering Heights'. Haunted by the death of her mother, Emily struggles within the confines of her family life and yearns for artistic and personal freedom, and so begins a journey to channel her own romantic catastrophe on to the page giving us a timeless tale of desire, longing and heartbreak. Also starring Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Adrian Dunbar and Gemma Jones. 

'SKINAMARINK' (Rated CTC) - is a Canadian horror film Written, Directed and Edited by Kyle Edward Ball in his feature film Directorial debut. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Fantasia Film Festival in late July last year, and is set for a release in the US and here in Australia from this week. It cost CA$15K to produce which was mostly crowdfunded and filmed using borrowed equipment from the Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta. Here then, two children, four-year-old Kevin (Lucas Paul) and six-year old Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault), wake up in the middle of the night to find that their father (Ross Paul) has disappeared, along with all the windows, doors and other objects in the house. It has generated largely positive reviews, and will be released at a later date on streaming service, Shudder. 

'THE AMAZING MAURICE' (Rated PG) - this computer-animated fantasy comedy film is Directed by Toby Genkel and Co-Directed by Florian Westermann, and is based on the 2001 book 'The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents' by Sir Terry Pratchett. The film had its World Premiere at the Manchester Animation Festival in mid-November last year and was released in the UK in mid-December having received received generally positive reviews from critics. Released here in Australia this week and in the US from 3rd February the film has so far recovered US$107K from a production budget of US$17M. The story follows Maurice (voiced by Hugh Laurie), a goofy streetwise cat, who has the perfect money-making scam. He finds a dumb-looking kid who plays a pipe and has his very own horde of rats, who are strangely literate (voiced by Rob Brydon), but when Maurice and the rodents meet a bookworm called Malicia (voiced by Emilia Clarke) their little con soon goes down the drain. Also starring the voice talents of David Thewlis, Himesh Patel, Gemma Arterton, David Tennant and Hugh Bonneville. 

With five new release movie offerings 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 at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st April 2021.

Last week the 73rd Writers Guild of America Awards and the 32nd Producers Guild of America Awards were held on 21st and 24th March respectively, and both via virtual ceremonies. The former honours the best writing in film, television and radio of 2020, while the latter honours the best film and television Producers of 2020.

In the film categories, the winners and the grinners, and the also rans are as given below :-

WGA Awards

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN' written by Emerald Fennel, beating out 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Palm Springs', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to 'BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM' written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman and Lee Kern, beating out 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'News of the World', 'One Night in Miami' and 'The White Tiger'.

Best Documentary Screenplay

* Awarded to 'THE DISSIDENT' written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel, beating out 'All In : The Fight for Democracy', 'Herb Alpert Is . . . ', 'Red Penguins' and 'Totally Under Control'. 

PGA Awards

Daryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

* Awarded to 'NOMADLAND' Produced by Frances McDormand, Chloe Zhao, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey, beating out 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'Mank', 'Minari', 'One Night in Miami', 'Promising Young Woman', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

* Awarded to 'SOUL' Produced by Dana Murray, beating out 'The Croods : A New Age', 'Onward', 'Over the Moon' and 'Wolfwalkers'.

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures

* Awarded to 'MY OCTOPUS TEACHER' Produced by Craig Foster, beating out 'David Attenborough : A Life on Our Planet', 'Dick Johnson Is Dead', 'Softie', 'A Thousand Cuts', 'Time' and 'The Truffle Hunters'. 

For the complete run down of all the awards as bestowed by the WGA and the PGA, plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official websites for the WGA at : https://awards.wga.org and for the PGA at : https://producersguild.org 

This week then there are five latest release new films coming to an Odeon near you. And we kick off with a critically lauded film about a man who refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages, and as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality. This is followed by a true story of a Cold War spy, Greville Wynne, and his Russian source who attempt to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Next up we have an all out actioner that follows a man who helps a stranger being harassed by a group of men, only to become the target of a vengeful drug lord, who then utilises a very particular set of skills to win the day. And we then close out the week with two animated features, both sequels - the first seeing a chaotic battle unfold between arch enemies Jerry Mouse, who has taken refuge in NYC's Royal Gate Hotel, and Tom Cat, who is hired to drive him away before the day of a big wedding; and finally a tale of two misfit castaways who are adrift on a raft following a storm and who later struggle to reunite an unconventional family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate peace on a creaking Ark.

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

'THE FATHER' (Rated M) - this French and British Co-Produced film is Directed and Co-Written for the screen by the acclaimed French novelist, playwright and Director Florian Zeller in his feature film making debut, and is based on his own play 'Le Pere' which premiered in 2012. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2020, had a limited release in the US from the end of February, is released in Australia this week, and in the UK on 11th June. The film cost US$20M to make, has so far recovered US$2M and has received the highest praise from Critics picking up twenty-one award wins so far and another 135 nominations including six Oscar nods, six BAFTA nods and two SAG nominations, all of which remain pending at the time of writing. The performances of the two lead actors - Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman have been singled out for particular praise.

Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is 80, mischievous, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), encouragingly introduces. Yet help is also becoming a necessity for Anne as she is unable to make daily visits anymore and Anthony’s grip on reality is steadily diminishing. As we experience the ebb and flow of his memory, how much of his own identity and past can Anthony cling to? How does Anne cope as she grieves the loss of her father, while he still lives and breathes before her? Also starring Imogen Poots, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams and Rufus Sewell. 

'THE COURIER' (Rated M) - this historical drama film is Directed by Dominic Cooke whose prior film making outings take in two 'National Theatre Live' performances for 'The Comedy of Errors' in 2012 and 'Follies' in 2017 with 'On Chesil Beach' in 2017 and three episodes of the TV mini-series 'The Hollow Crown' in 2016. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival way back in January 2020, was released Stateside in the US on 19th March, in the UK not until 17th May and here in Australia this week having generated US$3M at the Box Office so far and generally favourable critical Reviews. Telling the true story of the British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) who helped MI6 penetrate the Soviet nuclear programme during the Cold War. Wynne is approached by a spy from MI6 and a spy from the CIA and asked to pose as a business partner of Russian  Oleg Penkovsky (codenamed Ironbark, and played by Merab Ninidze) in order to gain intelligence relating to Soviet missiles being transported to Cuba. Ultimately, Wynne and his Russian source, provided crucial intelligence that brought an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also starring Jessie Buckley, Rachel Brosnahan and Angus Wright. 

'NOBODY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American action thriller Directed by the Rissian musician and filmmaker Ilya Naishuller whose only previous feature film was 2015's 'Hardcore Henry' for which he also Produced, Wrote, acted in, composed the music for and also lensed. Released in the US on 26th March, the film has so far grossed US$3M and has generated favourable Reviews. And so, here Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) fails to defend himself or his family when two thieves break into his suburban home one night. The aftermath of the incident soon strikes a match to his long-simmering rage. In a barrage of fists, knives, gunfire and squealing tyres, Hutch must now save his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), son Blake (Gage Munroe) and daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) from a dangerous Russian drug lord Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksei Serebryakov), and ensure that he will never be underestimated again as a nobody. Also starring Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside and RZA. 

'TOM AND JERRY' (Rated G) - here, this American live-action/computer-animated comedy film is based on the cartoon characters and animated theatrical short film series of the same name created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It is the second theatrical film based on the characters following 1992's 'Tom and Jerry: The Movie' and is Directed by Tim Story whose previous directorial outings include his 1992 debut 'One of Us Tripped', then 'Fantastic 4' in 2005 and its 2007 follow up 'Fantastic 4 : Rise of the Silver Surfer', 'Hurricane Season' in 2009, 'Ride Along', 'Ride Along 2' and the recently announced 'Ride Along 3' with 'Shaft' in 2019. And so a legendary rivalry reemerges when Jerry Mouse moves into New York City's finest hotel on the eve of the wedding of the century, forcing the desperate event planner Kayla Forester (Chloe Grace Moretz) to hire Tom Cat to get rid of him. As mayhem ensues, the escalating cat-and-mouse battle soon threatens to destroy her career, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself. Tom and Jerry are voiced by William Hanna, Mel Blanc, and June Foray via archival recordings, alongside Frank Welker and Andre Sogliuzzo, with additional voices provided by Bobby Cannavale, Lii Rel Howery with live action provided by Michael Pena, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong. The film was released in the US at the end of February, cost US$70M to produce, has so far recouped US$78M and has generated largely negative press. 

'TWO BY TWO : OVERBOARD' (Rated PG) - this follow up to 2015's 'Two by Two' (aka 'Ooops! Noah is Gone') is once again Directed by the pairing of Toby Genkel and Sean McCormack, with this animated adventure comedy offering seeing the young Nestrian Finny (voiced by Max Carolan) and his best mate Leah (voiced by Ava Connolly), a Grymp, accidently fall off the ark and are swept out to sea. Out on their own on a raft, they get separated by a storm. While Finny finds a whole colony of Nestrians underwater, Leah lands on a beautiful island that seems to shake regularly and smoke pours from the top of the mountain. As these two misfit castaways struggle to reunite an unorthodox family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate a peace deal on a creaking Ark, they also have other dangers and adventures to face along the way. 

With five new release films 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-