DEADPOOL 2 : Friday 18th May 2018.

'DEADPOOL 2' which I saw hot on the heels of its Australian release on Friday evening in a packed theatre, is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name who first appeared in the 1991 publication of 'The New Mutants'. Here we have the sequel to the Critically and financially successful 2016 antihero Superhero film 'Deadpool' which off the back of a budget of US$58M grossed worldwide US$783M and collected 28 award wins and another 75 nominations from around the awards circuit. Despite the first films success, plans were already underway for a follow up film even before the release of the initial 'Deadpool' introductory instalment, with 'Deadpool 3' already in development. That first film was Directed by Tim Miller, although he did not return for this segment due to creative differences with Co-Producer, Co-Writer and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds. Instead David Leitch signed on to Direct (whose previous Directorial outings include 'Atomic Blonde' and the upcoming 2019 'Fast & Furious' spin off 'Hobbs & Shaw'). Although a Marvel Comics character, Deadpool does not belong in the world of The Avengers or the MCU, but rather sits within the 'X-Men' franchise, and as such this is intended to be the eleventh film in that series. The film cost US$110M, and at the time of writing has grossed US$426M, and received positive press.

And so Ryan Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson/Deadpool as the wisecracking potty mouthed physically scarred practically invincible fourth wall breaking mercenary who for the last couple of years, since the end of the first film, has spent his time globetrotting his way around the world killing bad dudes as a one man army. However, one of his key targets gets away, as Deadpool is preoccupied with thoughts of his anniversary with his girlfriend and fiancee Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). That night, having agreed to start a family together, the target who got away tracks down Wilson to his apartment with all guns blazing. In the firefight Vanessa is fatally wounded by the target, who in turn is reduced to mincemeat by an oncoming truck in an act of revenge. Wilson though blames himself for Vanessa's death, and six weeks later blows himself and his apartment to oblivion.

Wilson's body parts are picked up and put back together by Colossus (Stefan Kapicic, returning as the mutant who can transform his body into organic steel) at the X-Mansion (cue various nods to the 'X-Men' film franchise and a blink and you'll miss it cameo appearance by several key X-Men players, and see if you can spot the bust of Stan Lee). Recovering and healing at the stately X-Mansion, Wilson (now a trainee X-Man), Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand, also returning, as the mutant who can detonate atomic bursts from her body), respond to an alert involving the Police authorities and an unstable young teenage mutant Russell Collins, aka Firefist (Julian Dennison, who made his last appearance in 2016's New Zealand feature 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople') who has the ability to violently generate and command fire and flame from his hands.

The standoff is taking place outside an orphanage (aka a Mutant Reeducation Centre) where Russell has been raised and tortured by the Headmaster (Eddie Marsan) and the staff. Russell is threatening revenge for the years of abuse and torture he and the other kids have suffered. Deadpool kills one of the staff, and is then prevented from harming anyone else by Colossus. Wilson and Russell are arrested and fitted with collars which prevent their mutant powers from manifesting themselves, and then locked up in a special mountain prison for mutants, known affectionately as The Icebox. Meanwhile, in a future world, a man returns home to find his house and wife and daughter incinerated.

That man is a time travelling cybernetic mutant soldier named Nathan Summers, aka Cable (Josh Brolin, enjoying his second outing in as many weeks as a Marvel antagonist hot on the heels of his portrayal as Thanos in 'Avengers : Infinity War'). He is out for revenge, for reasons that at this point are unclear to us, by his quarry is young Russell, locked up in the slammer with Wilson. Cable, with all his hi-tech futuristic weaponry and half 'Terminator' style cyborg (which Wilson describes as 'a grumpy old fucker with a Winter Soldier arm') is able to break into the prison with relative ease. Wilson attempts to defend Collins as much as he can with his diminished powers, and ultimately Wilson and Cable blow themselves out of the prison wall sending them cascading down a frozen mountain side. Before hand, Russell overhears Wilson exclaiming that he has no care for the young mutant lad. As Wilson crashes through a frozen lake and sinks to the bottom, he has a vision of Vanessa saying to him to look after the young boy and help him, before dragging himself out of the freezing depths.

With The Icebox semi-destroyed, the authorities have to transport a number of inmates to another facility. Wilson and Weasel (T.J. Miller returning as Wilson's best friend and owner of the bar often frequented by him and other like minded mercenaries) recruit a 'crack' team of other mutants with super powers of some description which he tables as being 'forward thinking and gender neutral' and aptly names the 'X-Force'.

On the new team are Bedlam (Terry Crews who can generate electricity at will), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan, an alien with martial arts skills), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard who has acidic breath), Neena Thurman aka Domino (Zazie Beetz who can manipulate luck), Vanisher (Brad Pitt who is invisible) and Peter aka Peter (Rob Delaney a caring husband and beekeeper who has no superpowers but came along responding to the ad. because he thought it sounded fun and exciting).

The newly formed X-Force mount a daring mission to break Russell out of the prison convoy while preventing Cable from gaining access. They parachute in from a plane, but while coming in to land in gusty conditions, all but Deadpool and Domino are killed in laugh out loud grisly comedic circumstances during their decent or immediately upon landing. Deadpool and Domino mount the truck, chased by Cable who soon makes his way on board.

Immediately a close quarter hand to hand fight breaks out with Domino at the wheel of the now rogue truck and Cable and Deadpool punching, kicking, shooting and stabbing each other out the back. Russell meanwhile is able to break free from his confinement and he sets fellow inmate Cain Marko aka Juggernaut (voiced and acted through MoCap by Ryan Reynolds as a mutant with superhuman strength, durability and healing powers) who agrees to repay the young lad by helping him to kill the abusive Headmaster at the orphanage. Juggernaut destroys the truck hurling them all asunder.

Domino 'luckily' is catapulted into a giant inflatable panda which breaks her fall, Cable winds up under a heap of rubble, and Deadpool is literally ripped in two at the waist by Juggernaut, leaving Russell and his new friend and ally Juggernaut, to escape and make their way to search out the Headmaster. Russell, knowing that he doesn't have a friend in Deadpool having overheard that previous conversation, gives him the two finger salute with the royal fuck you, before existing stage left with his new all powerful best mate.

Being carried home by Domino, back pack style, Wilson is forced to patiently wait for his new legs to grow, which sets up another laugh out loud comedic routine as he sits on the couch with Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) with baby legs setting up a Sharon Stone 'Basic Instinct' moment all of his own. Cable emerges in the room calling a truce to their hostilities and explains why he is hunting down Russell. It seems that in the future, it was the adult Firefist, who killed Cable's wife and daughter by incinerating them in their apartment. Now Cable wants revenge and to kill Russell before his first kill gives him the taste for more, and to prevent him from that merciless future act.

Cable agrees to give Wilson thirty seconds to convince Russell not to kill the Headmaster, otherwise Cable will kill Russell this time. Deadpool, Domino, Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and her girlfriend Yukio (Shiori Kutsuna, a female ninja, ronin and samurai of Japanese origin who wields a fierce electric whip) arrive to thwart Russell and Juggernaut, but are overpowered by the might of Juggernaut, while Russell begins torching the orphanage and hunting down the Headmaster. During the fracas as Colossus goes head to head and toe to toe with Juggernaut, Cable and Deadpool are given time to try and reason with Russell.

After Deadpool's arguments seem to fail, Cable takes a shot at Russell, but Deadpool jumps in front of the oncoming bullet and takes it for the team. He dies because he has the collar around his neck which diminishes his powers to self heal. Meanwhile, Juggernaut has been dispensed with into a swimming pool, with a sixty thousand volt electricity cable rammed up his arse. Seeing the sacrifice that Deadpool made to save Russell, the young mutant does not kill the Headmaster, so altering the future, so that Cable's family lives.

Cable then uses the last charge he has available to return himself to the future by turning it back in time just a few minutes to the time when they all arrived at the orphanage. Cable surreptitiously places a lead commemorative coin over his heart. That coin had previously belonged to Vanessa which she gave to Wilson on their anniversary night, and which Deadpool had lost to Cable during their fight at The Icebox. This time, when Deadpool takes the bullet intended for Russell, he will be saved by the strategically placed coin. The Headmaster witnesses this and continues to rant and rave abuse at Russell and the gathered X-Force team. Russell is beginning to have a change of heart towards killing the Headmaster, when he is mowed down at speed by Deadpool's good friend, taxi-driver and wannabe Superhero Dopinder (Karan Soni) in his yellow cab. The group leave the scene of devastation, with Cable remaining on as a new recruit to the X-Force. As they do, Juggernaut is seen in the background lifting himself out of the swimming pool.

In true Marvel tradition, there are not one, not two, three or four even but five no less mid-credits sequences. The first sees Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio repair Cable's time-travelling device for Wilson, handing it over and saying that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He uses it to save the lives of Vanessa and X-Force member Peter; kill the much maligned and misrepresented 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine's' version of Deadpool; and then kill actor Ryan Reynolds while he has just finished reading the script for his 2011 film 'Green Lantern' with the outgoing words 'You're welcome Canada!'

I did enjoy 'Deadpool 2' but not quite as much as the first instalment. Maybe because that first feature was so new and fresh and unlike any Superhero film we had seen before, and this second film treads familiar territory and we know what to expect from the wise arse quick witted invincible Deadpool. That said, this is funny, crass, politically and socially incorrect, graphically violent and there are plenty of cleverly placed dialogue wisecracks that poke nods to numerous other movies that would serve any geek well, including 'RoboCop', 'Yentl', 'Basic Instinct', 'Logan', 'Interview with the Vampire' and references aplenty to other Superhero films in both the MCU and the DCEU. This film belongs naturally to Ryan Reynolds who proves himself again to be a comedic talent and action hero all in one and both Josh Brolin and Julian Dennison who are both cast very well and who both veer off in different directions when you least expect it, proving that the bad guys can turn out good, and the good guys can turn out bad. There is also plenty of other character development too in the form of Domino, Dopinder and even Weasel whose limited screen time is utilised to maximum effect to advance the story plot rather than provide simple window dressing. This is as rapid fire as the first film but with added villains; a better story; some moments of emotion; lots of tongue firmly planted in cheek outrageous humour; and a bucket full of gory bloody violence and dismembered body parts to satisfy all lovers of the genre . . . . and if this isn't for you, then stay away! Josh Brolin has signed on for four films in this franchise, which may include 'Deadpool 3' if it gets made and a planned 'X-Force' spin off series. Watch this space!

This film is worthy of four claps of the clapperboard, out of a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

LOGAN : Tuesday 7th March 2017

I caught 'LOGAN' last week at my local multiplex. Hugh Jackman has been playing the character of James 'Logan' Howlett aka 'Wolverine' aka 'Weapon X' for the past seventeen years and has appeared in nine 'X-Men' films including this latest release which he says will be his last outing as the titular wisecracking adamantium clawed Superhero. He first appeared in 2000's 'X-Men' and then in 2003's 'X2', then in 2006 in 'X-Men : The Last Stand'. In 2009 Logan got his first stand alone feature in 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine' and was Directed by Gavin Hood bringing in US$374M at the global Box Office. 'X-Men : FirstClass' followed in 2011, then 'The Wolverine' in 2013 another stand alone feature Directed by James Mangold and bringing in US$415M in worldwide receipts. 'X-Men : Days of Future Past' was released in 2014, and 'X-Men : Apocalypse' in 2016. All up those first eight 'X-Men' films in which Wolverine/Logan has appeared have generated US$3.6B at the Box Office from a budget outlay of US$1.2B. Now 'Logan' is back in his final instalment (allegedly) and is once again Directed by James Mangold and this time on a US$97M budget in this third stand alone offering and the tenth film in the 'X-Men' franchise. Early reports have been very positive, with some saying it is the best 'X-Men' film to date, and so far the film has taken US$439M at the global Box Office.

Set in a near future world of 2029, where the mutant population is dwindling, with no new mutant births in over twenty years. With it Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) dreams of a brave new world featuring a new stage of mutant evolution, but those dreams have slowly died. James Howlett aka Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has settled into a life as a hard drinking limo driver somewhere on the Mexican border. He scrapes together a meagre living while hustling medication for an increasingly infirm and ageing Professor X whom he cares for in a ram shackle abandoned smelting plant shared with Caliban (Stephen Merchant) who also looks after and attends to the ailing Professor whose strong telepathic powers have now become unstable and unpredictable with his advancing years. Logan too is ageing and his powers aren't what they used to be, as the adamantium fused to his bones is slowly poisoning him and working against his healing powers. Caliban is an albino mutant who has the ability to sense and track other mutants, but is adverse to sunlight as it burns his fragile skin.

After some introductory scuffles in a car park where Logan's prized stretched limo is being carjacked by a bunch of heavies, Logan proves that he still has what it takes to dispense with pesky criminal types. A short time later we see him being approached by Gabriella (Elizabeth Rodriguez) a former nurse at Alkali-Transigen (a biotech company responsible for the Weapon X programme). She wants Logan to escort her and an eleven year old girl, Laura (Dafne Keen) across the border and over to a place in North Dakota called 'Eden'. She is prepared to pay and offer Logan US$20K cash up front with the balance of US$30K on safe delivery at the other end. Logan is very reluctant and refuses at first.

In the meantime Logan is tracked down by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), Transigen's relentless, calculating and cybernetically enhanced Head of Security, who seeks Logan's support in locating the young girl and returning her to Transigen. Logan refuses Pierce too.

After accepting the job from Gabriella, Logan finds her dead at their designated pick up point and no sign of Laura. Logan takes the cash anyway and disappears back to his secluded hideaway. Tending to an ailing Charles Xavier, they are interrupted by Pierce and his bunch of similarly cybernetically enhanced heavies, The Reavers. Laura appears having stowed away in the boot of Logan's limo, and disappears into the now long redundant smelting plant quickly followed by three Reavers. What follows is Laura proving who and what she really is - a mysterious young mutant who is very much like Logan, which is hardly surprising given that she was cloned from his blood, and using Logan's DNA Transigen weaponised clones of him. And so Laura quickly dispenses with the three goons, emerging carrying the head of one of those Reavers.

With Caliban captured, the three narrowly escape in Logan's limo leaving a trail of bloodshed, death and destruction in their wake. But Pierce, using Caliban's mutant tracking powers to follow them, is never far behind them. In a quiet moment, Logan and Xavier watch a video on Gabriella's phone showing that she hatched a plan to evacuate as many children out of the Tnansigen facility as she could, Laura included. They were breeding mutant children using DNA samples from several mutants, but as the children grew up and became stronger and more powerful, so they were increasingly harder to control. As that project became obsolete, so the order was given to terminate this children, hence the escape plan.

Taking the action to Oklahoma City en route to North Dakota, the three stop off at a hotel casino to freshen up, acquire a change of clothes and change their bullet hole ridden limo for a vehicle less obvious. There Logan finds one of Laura's comic books of the 'X-Men' and inside notices a reference to a safe haven for mutants known as 'Eden'. He deduces that no such place can exist as it is a place of fiction appearing in a common book and the work of someones imagination.

When returning from sourcing a new car, the Reavers and Pierce have caught up with the three mutants in the hotel, during which time Xavier suffers a seizure and telepathically freezes all those within the hotel casino and in the immediate vicinity. Logan is able to battle through Xaviers freezing seizure and inject him with a suppressant, but not before taking out all the gathered Reavers in the room where Xavier and Laura were being held.

While on the road having left the carnage of Oklahoma City behind them, they encounter a family on the highway who have a road traffic accident involving several horses they were carrying in a trailer behind. The threesome help by rounding up the horses, and out of gratitude the family invite them back to their homestead for dinner. Logan is keen to avoid this type of interaction, but is overruled by Xavier in favour of a comfortable charitable evening of home cooked food and a a warm welcome.

Logan and the husband of the family are distracted by a burst water main that take them off property to fix it. In the meantime, Pierce and his goons have caught up with the family and a real clone of Logan, X-24 (also played by Hugh Jackman in a younger version of himself) takes out the entire family and stabs Xavier through the chest inflicting life threatening wounds. Logan appears as X-24 is carrying off Laura heavily shackled. Logan and the feral clone of himself go head to head in an intense close quarter fight sequence, that sees the X-24 impaled on a combine harvester by the husband of the family who discovered his slaughtered wife and children, before succumbing to X-24's razor sharp claws himself.

Caliban meanwhile sacrifices himself by detonating two hand grenades in the back of the truck where he is being held captive by Pierce and Dr. Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), the brains behind the Transigen projects, and whose father Logan killed when he escaped from the Weapon X programme at Alkali Lake.

Laura and Logan bury Xavier, and then Logan collapses exhausted. He wants to abandon the worthless trip to Eden, but Laura convinces him to see his commitment out. X-24 is far from dead meanwhile having been administered a regeneration serum to aid and speed up his healing process. Logan and Laura duly arrive at Eden and are greeted by the other escaped mutant children. Logan is nursed back to a degree of health through two days of almost solid sleep and small doses of a healing serum administered by one of the teenage children, Rictor (Jason Genao).

At this point Logan agrees to part company with the group of mutant children, and waking the next morning from his deep slumber he finds Eden deserted and the children gone. Through a telescope perched high in a look out he spies the Reavers in the forest in the distance in hot pursuit of the children. He has no alternative but to go to their aid. Gaining ground and in close proximity, Logan injects himself with an overdose of the healing serum which sends him into a rage, in which he quickly dispenses with many Reavers before the serum wears off. Leaving only Rice, Pierce, X-24 and a few remaining Reavers, the children use their combined powers to dispense with Pierce and the last of the Reavers. Logan shoots Rice and kills him, and then goes head to head with X-24 in a brutal bloody battle to the end.

The upshot of all of this, is that the mutant children make it to safety we have to assume as they cross the border in search of a new beginning, and those that will give them safe harbour.

The critics and the audiences have praised 'Logan' and deservedly so. This is not your usual run 'o' the mill Superhero movie. The performances from Jackman, Stewart and Keen especially are all first rate. Jackman portrays Logan as the broken, weakened, vulnerable ageing man - a shadow of his former cigar munching wise cracking invincible self that represents probably his best performance as Wolverine/Logan in his seventeen year run. Stewart too lets down his guard completely as an equally broken man no longer in control of his emotions or his senses, rambling on, unsteady on his feet, and devoid of any greatness that he portrayed in previous 'X-Men' instalments. And as for young Keen - she could turn on a dime from sweet innocent young girl to menacing strength and ruthless killer in a heartbeat, and delivers her role convincingly. The story is well conceived, brutally acted out with slice and dice action sequences that deliver a high body count but not in the traditional Superhero way, but in a more grounded realistic way, and decidedly more adult oriented fare that delivers on just about every level. Catch it on the big screen while you can - you won't be disappointed.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 2nd March 2017.

The 89th annual Academy Awards were held on Sunday evening 26th February 2017 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California hosted for the first time by Television Personality Jimmy Kimmel. Awards were presented in 24 categories in front of a global audience of several hundred million viewers, with the who's who of film and television talent announcing the winners on the night including Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Halle Berry, Mark Rylance, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, Seth Rogen, Michael J. Fox, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, Samuel L. Jackson, Warren Beatty, and Faye Dunaway. The night was not without incident, which will go down in Oscar history, when the wrong Best Picture Winner was announced after the Producers of 'La La Land' were into their acceptance speeches and had to hand their golden statues to the Producers of 'Moonlight' as the rightful recipient of this most prestigious and coveted award. All that aside, the usual glitz and glamour was on show for all the world to see on this Hollywood Night of Nights, which yielded the following list of winners & grinners in the main categories:-

* Best Picture : 'Moonlight' (eventually!)
* Best Director : Damien Chazelle for 'La La Land'
* Best Animated Feature Film : 'Zootopia'.
* Best Foreign Language Film : 'The Salesman' (from Iran)
* Best Actor : Casey Affleck for 'Manchester by the Sea'
* Best Actress : Emma Stone for 'La La Land'
* Best Supporting Actor : Mahershala Ali for 'Moonlight'
* Best Supporting Actress : Viola Davis for 'Fences'
* Best Original Screenplay :  'Manchester by the Sea' by Kenneth Lonergan
* Best Adapted Screenplay : 'Moonlight' by Barry Jenkins
* Best Original Score : 'La La Land'
* Best Original Song : 'La La Land' - 'City of Stars'
* Best Visual Effects : 'The Jungle Book'.

All up 'La La Land' took out six Oscars out of the fourteen it was nominated for, with Best Cinematography and Best Production Design in addition to those four mentioned above; 'Moonlight' took out three; 'Manchester by the Sea' and 'Hacksaw Ridge' each took out two, with the latter picking up Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing gongs.

This week there are five new release films kicking off with an ageing ailing Superhero action offering that sees a popular mutant character bow out for the last time, together with his mentor, but he won't go down without a fight! Then we turn to an Australian period piece coming of age drama set in remote Western Australia and based on  much loved book; then a modern political intrigue thriller set in the corridors of power in Washington D.C.; followed by a WWII couple trying to turn the tide against Hitler's onslaught by writing postcards, and wrapping up with Groundhog Day revisited for this student who has a few things to work out.

Remember too that you are cordially invited to record your own relevant and constructive movie going thoughts and observations by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and meanwhile, enjoy your movie experience this week.

'LOGAN' (Rated MA15+) - Hugh Jackman has been playing the character of James 'Logan' Howlett aka 'Wolverine' aka 'Weapon X' for the past seventeen years and has appeared in nine 'X-Men' films including this latest release which he says will be his last outing as the titular wisecracking adamantium clawed Superhero. He first appeared in 2000's 'X-Men' and then in 2003's 'X2', then in 2006 in 'X-Men : The Last Stand'. In 2009 Logan got his first stand alone feature in 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine' and was Directed by Gavin Hood bringing in US$374M at the global Box Office. 'X-Men : First Class' followed in 2011, then 'The Wolverine' in 2013 another stand alone feature Directed by James Mangold and bringing in US$415M in worldwide receipts. 'X-Men : Days of Future Past' was released in 2014, and then 'X-Men : Apocalypse' in 2016. All up those first eight 'X-Men' films in which Wolverine/Logan has appeared have generated US$3.6B at the Box Office from a budget outlay of US$1.2B. Now 'Logan' is back in his final instalment (allegedly) and is once again Directed by James Mangold and this time on a US$127M budget in this third stand alone offering and the tenth film in the 'X-Men' franchise. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival a few weeks ago and gets its worldwide release this week. Early reports have been very positive, with some saying it is the best 'X-Men' film to date.

Set in a near future world where the mutant population is dwindling, with no new mutant births in over twenty years. With it Professor X's (Patrick Stewart) dreams of a brave new world featuring a new stage of mutant evolution have slowly died. Logan (Hugh Jackman) has settled into a life as a limo driver somewhere on the Mexican border and scrapes together a meagre living while hustling medication for an increasingly infirm and ageing Professor X whom he cares for in a ram shackle home shared with Caliban (Stephen Merchant) who looks after and attends to the ailing Professor whose telepathic powers have now become unstable with his advancing years. Logan too is ageing and his powers aren't what they used to be. Logan's efforts at lying low and trying to escape his legacy are thwarted with the sudden arrival of mystery woman Gabriella (Elizabeth Rodriguez) who seeks his help for Laura Kinney (Dafne Keen) a young eleven year old girl with powers very similar to Logan's own - after all, she is a female clone created from his blood. Dark forces are hot in pursuit of young Laura and so Logan is drawn back into the centre of the action as he seeks to protect the young girl despite his failing abilities. Richard E. Grant and Boyd Holbrook also star.

'JASPER JONES' (Rated M) - based on the 2009 book of the same name by author Craig Silvey, this Australian drama film was made for AU$5.5M, is Directed by Rachel Perkins, and stars a line up of fine Aussie acting talent. Set in the mid 1960's in a remote Western Australian mining town, Charlie Butkin (Levi Miller) a bookish early teenage lad is visited unexpectedly on Christmas evening by Jasper Jones (Aaron L. McGrath) - a mixed white/Aboriginal rebellious outcast in the community who pleads with Charlie for his help. Jasper leads Charlie to a clearing in the bush where hanging from a tree, very dead and battered is Jaspers girlfriend. With Jasper fully aware that he is likely to be blamed for the girls death, he plans a cover up with Charlie. What ensues over the following week is an investigation, finger pointing, speculation and suspicion that will consume the whole community. Meanwhile, Charlie's coming of age story involves him facing up to the tragedy of his family break-up, him meeting his first true love and what it means to be really courageous. Also starring Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving, Matt Nable, Angourie Rice and Dan Wyllie.

'MISS SLOANE' (Rated M) - this political thriller set in Washington D.C. is Directed by John Madden, cost US$13M to make, was released Stateside in late November last year and has received generally positive Reviews and garnered its lead actress, Jessica Chastain, a Golden Globe nomination. Set amidst the power play of political activists, Elizabeth Sloane (Chastain) is revered as a political lobbyist without equal, who always wins and is known for her cunning and her never say die attitude. However, when she is confronted by the most powerful political opponent of her career, she comes to realise that perhaps there is more to life than winning. Also starring John Lithgow, Mark Strong, Sam Waterston and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

'ALONE IN BERLIN' (Rated M) - this WWII fictionalised drama is based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Hans Fallada which is based on real life couple Otto and Elise Hempel, is Directed by Vincent Perez and Premiered at the February 2016 Berlin International Film Festival and began its staggered worldwide release in Germany in September last year, eventually arriving Down Under this week. Telling the story of Otto and Anna Quangel (Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson respectively) who upon learning of the death of their only son, begin their personal quest to undermine the Nazi's and Adolf Hitler. The couple start writing postcards with messages urging people to stand and protest against Hitler and his Nazi's, and then placing the cards in prominent places where they will attract the most attention. Police Inspector Escherich (Daniel Bruhl) is tasked with finding the originator of the postcards, and seeing that justice is served as only the Gestapo know how to serve it.

'BEFORE I FALL' (Rated M) - based on the 2010 book of the same name by Lauren Oliver, this drama film is Directed by Ry Russo-Young and surrounds Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutsch), a high school senior student who on 12th February, discovers that she may be living the last day of her life over and over and over again, until she gets it right! Knowing that you only had one day left on this mortal coil, what would you do, where would you go, who would you see, what would you say. Amidst all of these questions and others, she must unfathom the mystery surrounding her death and discover the true meaning of everything she may yet lose over the course of one inexplicable week. The film has received generally positive Reviews.

That's it for this week! Five films to tempt you out to your local movie theatre with a comic book adaptation, three book adaptations and a work of fiction  Plenty of varied choice then, and remember to share your views with your like minded cinephiles. In the meantime, I'll see you somewhere, sometime at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 4th-10th December 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Nicholas Hoult does on 7th December - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 27, at the end of this feature, and, deserving of an Honorary Mention is screen legend Kirk Douglas turning 100 years young on 9th December.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 4th December

• Marisa Tomei - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress | Producer
• Jeff Bridges - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Singer  

Monday 5th December

• Nick Stahl - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor | Producer
• Frankie Muniz - Born 1985, turns 31 - Actor | Producer  

Tuesday 6th December

• Tom Hulce - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer
• Nick Park - Born 1958, turns 58 - Writer | Producer | Director | Animator 
• Judd Apatow - Born 1967, turns 49 - Writer | Producer | Director | Actor
• JoBeth Williams - Born 1948, turns 68 - Actress | Producer | Director 

Wednesday 7th December

• Ellen Burstyn - Born 1932, turns 84 - Actress | Producer
• Emily Browning - Born 1988, turns 26 - Actress | Singer
• Jeffrey Wright - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Jeff Nichols - Born 1978, turns 38 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Jack Huston - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actor | Singer
• Nicholas Hoult - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actor  

Thursday 8th December

• Rick Baker - Born 1950, turns 66 - Make-Up Artist | SFX Artist | Actor
• Dominic Monaghan - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Matthias Schoenaerts - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Kim Basinger - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actress
• Teri Hatcher - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress  

Friday 9th December

• Kirk Douglas - Born 1916, turns 100 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Beau Bridges - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actor | Producer | Director
• John Malkovich - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Judi Dench - Born 1934, turns 82 - Actress | Singer  

Saturday 10th December

• Kenneth Branagh - Born 1960, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Xavier Samuel - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actor  

Nicholas Caradoc Hoult was born in Wokingham, Berkshire, England to mother Glenis Brown, a piano teacher, and father Roger Hoult, a former pilot for British Airways. He is the third of four children - younger to brother James born in 1977 and sister Rosanna born in 1984, but older than Clarista born in 1992. Both James and Rosanna took an active interest in acting and dancing early on, and young Nicholas' interest was sparked by their interest. He also practiced ballet with his two sisters to the point where he was involved with 'Swan Lake' and 'The Nutcracker' productions with The National Ballet. He attended the Combes Nursery School in Arborfield close to the family home and then Arborfield Church of England Junior School. From there, and with a number of acting credits to his name already he went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London - a specialist performing arts school. At fourteen he joined the Ranelagh School in Bracknell, Berkshire to concentrate on his education free of the pressures of film and television and because he wasn't yet ready to make a life out of acting, despite the success he had enjoyed up to that point. He went onto the Sixth Form College, in Farnborough, Hampshire in 2006, and quit in 2008 to pursue a career in acting to which he had now made up his mind.

Hoult's acting life began at age five in the English London drama film set in the 1950's - 'Intimate Relations' in 1996 with Julie Walters and Rupert Graves, and from there he landed roles in television series including 'Casualty', 'Silent Witness', 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries' and the made for television film 'Mr. White Goes to Westminster'. These appearances saw out the '90's by which time he was still only ten ten years of age. The new decade launched with episodes on 'The Bill', 'Holby City, 'Doctors', 'Waking the Dead' and 'Murder in Mind' before his breakout role at age just eleven in 2002 in 'About A Boy' with Hugh Grant and Toni Collette. The film was a critical and commercial success gaining numerous accolades, and importantly, Hollywood exposure for the young Actor.

His next big screen role came in the Richard E. Grant Written and Directed 'Wah-Wah' with Gabriel Byrne and Emily Watson. This was followed up quickly also in 2005 with the American drama film 'The Weather Man' Directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine. 'Kidulthood' came next in 2006, and BBC television film 'Coming Down the Mountain' a year later, before being cast by Tom Ford in his highly acclaimed multi-award winning Directorial debut 'A Single Man' with Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. For his role, Hoult earned a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination, and Tom Ford made him the face of his eyewear collection in 2010. 

In between time, Hoult scored one of the defining roles of his early career in the much acclaimed 'Skins' television series in the role of Tony Stonem across the first nineteen episodes of the first two seasons. The show ran for seven seasons from 2007 through to 2013. He followed this up with an episode on 'Wallander'.

'Clash of the Titans' opened in 2010 with Hoult playing Eusebios alongside an all star cast as Directed by Louis Leterrier. Although the film was poorly received critically, it performed well at the Box Office picking up close to US$500M. 'X-Men : First Class' as Directed by Matthew Vaughn saw Hoult's first outing in the re-booted 'X-Men' franchise as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast - a genius scientist with mutant abilities similar to that of the great apes. Hoult reprised his role in 2014's 'X-Men : Days of Future Past' and in this years 'X-Men : Apocalypse'. The three films took a combined worldwide Box Office haul of US$1.65B.

The ZomRomCom 'Warm Bodies' and 'Jack the Giant Slayer' came next in 2013, 'Young Ones' in 2014, 'Dark Places' in 2015 and then the critically lauded George Miller re-boot of his Max Rockatansky creation made famous by Mel Gibson back in the day with 'Mad Max : Fury Road'. 'Kill Your Friends' closed out 2015. This year has seen 'Equals' with Kristen Stewart, and the as yet to be released 'Collide' with Ben Kinglsey, Anthony Hopkins and Felicity Jones.

Next up is Iraq War drama 'Sand Castle' with Henry Cavill currently in post-production; historical biopic 'The Current War' with Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Tom Holland; and 'Rebel in the Rye' with Kevin Spacey and Hoult playing J.D. Salinger the author of acclaimed 1951 novel 'The Catcher in the Rye' - both are in pre-production for a 2017 release. Currently filming is the animated television mini-series 'Watership Down' for BBC Television and Netflix to which Hoult is lending his voice talents in the voice of 'Fiver' alongside Ben Kingsley, James McAvoy, John Boyega and Gemma Arterton. 

So far Hoult has 43 acting credits to his name, and he has picked up three award wins and another eleven nominations. He has worked with several charities over the years including the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), The Teenage Cancer Trust, The Save the Children Fund, The Small Steps Project and the Jeans for Refugees Project.

Nicholas Hoult - former choirboy, former basketball player, avid motorsports fan particularly the F1, and partakes in go-karting and both on and off track motorcycling. His middle name means 'The Beloved One' in Welsh, and his great aunt was acclaimed English Actress of the '30's, '40's and '50's Dame Anna Neagle. A star very much on the rise and one to watch out for having achieved so much already in his 27 years - Happy Birthday to you Nicholas, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-