What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 20th January 2022.

The honourees of this years National Board of Review Awards were due to be held at a special gala event on Tuesday evening 11th January, but that event was postponed due to the ongoing ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever tightening grip that the Omicron variant seems to have on our world. That said, the winners of the 93rd National Board of Review Awards honouring the best in film from 2021, were announced on 2nd December 2021, and in case you missed it, those proud recipients of an award are as given below :-

* Best Film - awarded to 'Licorice Pizza'.

* Best Director  - awarded to Paul Thomas Anderson for 'Licorice Pizza'.

* Best Actor - awarded to Will Smith for 'King Richard'.

* Best Actress - awarded to Rachel Zeglar for 'West Side Story'.

* Best Supporting Actor - awarded to Ciaran Hinds for 'Belfast'.

* Best Supporting Actress - awarded to Aunjanue Ellis for 'King Richard'.

* Best Original Screenplay - awarded to Asghar Farhadi for 'A Hero'.

* Best Adapted Screenplay - awarded to Joel Coen for 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'.

* Best Animated Feature - awarded to 'Encanto'.

* Breakthrough Performance - awarded to Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman for 'Licorice Pizza'. 

* Best Directorial Debut - awarded to Michael Sarnoski for 'Pig'. 

* Best Foreign Language Film - awarded to 'A Hero'. 

* Best Documentary - awarded to 'Summer of Soul ( . . . Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).

* Best Ensemble - awarded to 'The Harder They Fall'.

* Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography - awarded to Bruno Delbonnel for 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'.

* NBR Freedom of Expression - awarded to 'Flee'.

* The Top Ten Films of the Year were given as 'Belfast', 'Don't Look Up', 'Dune', 'King Richard', 'The Last Duel', 'Licorice Pizza', 'Nightmare Alley', 'Red Rocket', The Tragedy of Macbeth' and 'West Side Story'.

* The Top Ten Independent Films of the Year were given as 'The Card Counter', 'C'mon C'mon', 'CODA', 'The Green Knight', 'Holler', 'Jockey', 'Old Henry', 'Pig', 'Shiva Baby' and 'The Souvenir Part II'. 

* The Top Five Foreign Langauge Films of the Year were given as 'Benedetta', 'Lamb', 'Lingui : The Sacred Bonds', 'Titane' and 'The Worst Person in the World'.

* The Top Five Documentaries of the Year were given as 'Ascension', 'Attica', 'Flee', 'The Rescue' and 'Roadrunner : A Film About Anthony Bourdain'. 

For the full details of the 93rd NBR Awards plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official website at : https;//www.nationalboardofreview.org/

Turning attention to this weeks five new releases, we kick off with a film inspired Princess Diana's decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles and leave the British royal family. This is followed up with a story of an ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words who hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is. Next up is a Chinese offering about a film fan who escapes from a labour camp and befriends a homeless female vagabond and possibly the best movie projectionist for miles around. We then close out the week with two animated feature films which couldn't be more different - the first is a new take on a classic story that sees a studious marmoset embarking on a wild adventure to travel around the planet in 80 days after accepting a challenge from a greedy frog, before closing out the week with a Japanese animated offering about a high school student who becomes a globally beloved singer after entering a fantastic virtual world, and soon embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of a mysterious beast.

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 week ahead.

'SPENCER' (Rated M) - this work of historical fiction is a psychological drama film Directed and Co-Produced by Pablo Larrain, whose prior film making credits include his 2006 debut 'Fuga' and then 'No' in 2012, 'Neruda' in 2016 and the critically acclaimed 'Jackie' in 2016 also with 'Ema' in 2019. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival in early September last year before its release in the US and UK in early November. Having generated largely positive Critical Reviews, 'Spencer' has so far recovered US$15M from its US$18M budget outlay, and has picked up twenty-eight awards and a further ninety-six nominations (many of which are still pending an outcome) from around the awards and festival circuit. 

Set during the Christmas holiday 1991 with the royal family at the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, where there's eating and drinking, shooting and hunting aplenty - Diana Spencer (Kristen Stewart) knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different. Diana, struggling with mental health issues and anxiety decides to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). 'Spencer' is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days. Also starring Timothy Spall, Sean Harris and Sally Hawkins. 

'NIGHTMARE ALLEY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American neo-noir psychological thriller film that is Directed, Co-Written for the screen and Co-Produced by Guillermo del Toro whose previous film making credits take in 'Hell Boy', 'Pacific Rim', 'Crimson Peak' and the Academy Award winning 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'The Shape of Water'. This film is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, and is the second feature film adaptation following the 1947 film starring Tyrone Power. Set in 1940's era New York, down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Copper) endears himself to a clairvoyant Zeena Krumbein (Toni Collette) and her mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival owned by Clem Hoately (Willem Dafoe). Using newly acquired knowledge, Carlisle crafts a golden ticket to success by swindling the elite and wealthy. Hoping for a big score, he soon hatches a scheme to con a dangerous tycoon with help from a mysterious psychiatrist Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formidable opponent yet. Also starring Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, Holt McCallany and Tim Blake Nelson. The film has garnered generally positive Reviews and has recovered US$9M in Box Office receipts from its US$60M production budget so far, having been released Stateside in mid-December last year. 

'ONE SECOND' (Rated M) - is a Chinese drama film that is Directed and and written for the screen by Zhang Yimou whose previous film making credits include his debut 'Red Sorghum' in 1987, 'Raise the Red Lantern' in 1991, 'Hero' in 2002, 'House of Flying Daggers' in 2004, 'The Flowers of War' in 2011, 'The Great Wall' in 2016 and 'Shadow' in 2018. Towards the end of the Cultural Revolution (circa 1976), when movies were one of the few cultural experiences available to China’s masses, the film’s nameless hero (Zhang Yi) is sent to a remote labour camp for taking part in a fight. He escapes, but instead of returning to crime, his one aim is to see a screening of a newsreel where his daughter has been captured briefly on screen, immortalised as a model student and worker. In this journey towards a fleeting, cinematic reunion with his beloved daughter, his unexpected companions include a scruffy orphan girl named Liu (Liu Haocun) — pursuing her own secret search for celluloid, and Fan (Fan Wei), who goes by Mr. Movie and is widely known as the best projectionist around. The film was released in its native China in November 2020, has generated mostly positive Critical acclaim and has grossed US$20M so far at the Box Office. 

'AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS' (Rated PG) - this French and Belgian Co-Produced animated feature film is Directed by Samuel Tourneux in his feature film making debut, and is based on the much adapted Jules Verne novel of the same name from 1872. Passepartout (voiced by Julien Crampon) is a young and scholarly marmoset who always dreams of becoming an explorer. One day, he crosses paths with Phileas (Damien Frette), a reckless and greedy frog, eager to take on a bet to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days and earn 10 million clams in the process. Seizing the opportunity of a lifetime to explore the world, Passepartout embarks with his new friend on a crazy and exhilarating adventure full of twists and surprises.

'BELLE' (Rated PG) - is a Japanese animated science fantasy film that is Directed and written for the screen by Mamoru Hosoda and is based on and inspired by the 1756 French fairy tale 'Beauty and the Beast' by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The film saw its World Premiere showcase in mid-July last year at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it was well-received by critics with a standing ovation that lasted fourteen minutes, the longest of any film shown at the festival. It was released in its native Japan a day after Cannes, and has so far grossed US$59M before its release in the US this week too and the UK in early February. Suzu Naito (Kaho Nakamura) is a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father (Koji Yakusho). For years she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters 'U', a virtual world of five billion subscribers on the Internet. There, she is not Suzu anymore but Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious dragon creature (Takeru Satoh) that is being pursued by vigilantes. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges, and love, in their quest of becoming who they truly are.

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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE GREAT WALL : Wednesday 22nd February 2017.

'THE GREAT WALL' is the most expensive Chinese movie ever made at a budget of US$150M, is the first English language film Directed by Zhang Yimou and is best described as an epic historical action adventure fantasy monster film. It was released in China in mid-December and has so far grossed US$300M since its release in Australia on 16th and the US on 17th February. Being a US and Chinese Co-Production, the original idea for the film came from Legendary Pictures CEO, Thomas Tull and Max Brooks who wrote 'World War Z'. ILM were responsible for the impressive digital visual effects and Weta Workshops the equally impressive practical effects. To coordinate such an international cast and crew on a Chinese set, Director Zhang Yimou had a team of one hundred translators available at all times to ensure that instructions were relayed and understood promptly and efficiently by the non-locals.

Set in the China of about a thousand years ago, European warrior William Garin (Matt Damon) and Pero Tovar (Pedro Pascal) and two others are all that remain of a mercenary group of twenty searching for a fabled black powder to secure their wealth back home, but they are pursued by bandits through the mountain terrain. Escaping the bandits they make camp for the night, but one of the men sustained an arrow wound and is in bad shape. Discussing their strategy to escape capture, secure a stash of black powder and high tail it outta there, Garin and Tovar have a private conversation, when they are attacked by an unknown force that quickly dispenses with the two other men leaving nothing but a trail of blood. When the unseen monster manifests itself Garin chops of its hand sending it tumbling dead into a ravine far below, leaving the two men questioning what the hell that have just witnessed. They decide to take the dismembered arm with them, and the next day are pursued once more by those pesky persistent bandit types leading the pair to the heavily fortified Great Wall, where they are taken prisoner.

Once inside the Great Wall they are questioned by General Shao (Zhang Hanyu) and Strategist Wang (Andy Lau) who preside over a secret military sect known as the Nameless Order. Inside Garins kit bag they find the severed arm and question him about it and how he came by it. At first they don't believe that one man alone could have killed such a monster, and reveal that this is one of a horde of ancient marauding monsters known collectively as the Tao Tei who attack just once every sixty years. Theres is the stronghold with which to repel the Tao Tei and prevent the horde from breaching the Great Wall and gaining access to the cities and the world beyond. The Nameless Order are a special military force commissioned by the Imperial Court. Believing that the first attack of the Tao Tei was still some weeks away, Shao and Wang deduce that an attack must now be imminent, and give orders to prepare accordingly at all speed.

As Garin and Tovar are taken up to the heavily fortified ramparts of the Great Wall, they are ordered to sit while a guard stands over them. The pair do not know what to expect. The Nameless Order is split into five special units each with its own distinctive colours - the melee-specialist Bear Troop, the acrobatic-specialist Crane Troop, the archer-specialist Eagle Troop, the siege engine-specialist Tiger Troop, and the horse-mounted Deer Troop. As the five distinct Troops ready themselves for battle, the two prisoners can only sit wondering what is about to unfold.

As the attack begins the various Troops are mobilised and the first Taoties (in the singular) clamber over the tall ramparts. Garin and Tovar are freed from their restraints by Sir Ballard (Willem Dafoe) and immediately go into fight against the Tao Tei onslaught holding their own, slaying several monsters and saving the lives of a number of soldiers. After sustaining casualties on both sides, the Queen of the Tao Tei recalls her drones and they retreat back to their mountain lair. After the battle Garin and Tovar are praised for their fighting skills earning them the respect of General Shao and Commander Lin (Jing Tian) the leader of the Crane Troop.

The pair are invited to freshen up, clean themselves, shave and prepare for dinner in a great hall. Before doing so they learn that Ballard arrived 25 years ago just as they did now, in search of the black powder. He was taken prisoner and told he could never leave, and so has been serving his time teaching English and Latin within the confines of the Wall in which he can move about freely. Ballard sees Garin and Tovar as his free ticket off the Wall, and agrees to help them escape if they take him with them, and enough black powder which he has stashed away to ensure their fame and fortune back home.

One night two Taoties make it to the top of the Wall and take out several watchmen, unusually leaving their corpses where they fell. Shao and Lin lead a small platoon of soldiers to investigate but are ambushed and Shao is badly injured, ultimately dying from his wounds. He passes over the baton of General to Commander Lin. The next day an envoy arrives with the news that the Tao Tei are pacified by magnets which also prevents them communicating with each other and their Queen. Garin suggests capturing a Taotie to test their theory, which thwarts Tovars plan for escape with Ballard.

The next day the Tao Tei attack again, leaving Lin no alternative but to use black powder rockets to overcome the attacking hordes of advancing monsters. She was reluctant to do so because black powder had been a closely guarded secret from Westerners up until now, believing its power will be put to no good. Garin and Tovar are able to capture a live Taotie under cover of the black powder bombardment and prove the theory. The captured Taotie is taken to the capital by the envoy, and in the meantime a tunnel is discovered through the mountain at the base of the Wall with which the Tao Tei have dug access through to the capital (clever critters!) At the same time Tovar and Ballard instigate their escape and render Garin unconscious for resisting their escape efforts. Garin is promptly arrested for aiding and abetting the other two, but is released upon the testimony of a witness. In the mountains having made their escape, Ballard and Tovar are overcome by them pesky persistent bandits again, costing Ballard his life when the unsuspecting captors play with black powder grenades and throw them into the fire! Tovar is recaptured by the Deer Troop and imprisoned back at the Wall.

Knowing that the Tao Tei are advancing on the capital Lin orders a mass advance on the city using people carrying but unstable hot air balloons. Despite being granted his freedom by Lin, Garin offers to join the final advance on the capital. Wang proposes to tie black powder explosive charges to the captured Taotie and feed it with meat which in turn it will feed to the Queen. Destroy the Queen, and you destroy the Tao Tei. With the Queen and her hordes of Taotie gathered below in the square Garin and Lin climb up a nearby tower which will give them a clear shot using a black powder rocket into the feeding Queen below. Two attempts fail, and then Garin throws a magnet into the feeding horde giving Lin a clear shot with her spear. Contact is made and the Queen is blown into a thousand pieces, and the marauding horde of Tao Tei monsters are frozen to the spot dead.

Back at the Wall, Lin offers Garin all the black powder he can carry home, or the freedom of his friend Tovar. Garin chooses the life of Tovar, and so the pair are given a cavalry escort back home, watched from the ramparts by General Lin as they ride off into the sunset.

I enjoyed 'The Great Wall', but perhaps not as much as I thought I would. The action set pieces are well executed, the monster Tao Tei are well realised, and the attention to detail in the production values is first rate. The story moves along at a brisk pace, but I felt ill at ease with Damon's performance, because I couldn't help feeling that he felt ill at ease in delivering his role - after all, he is carrying the weight of a Chinese epic production on his shoulders the like of which we have never seen before. No pressure Matt! Also, I couldn't reconcile why them marauding monsters would suddenly drop dead in their tracks upon the death of their Queen, and how a magnet would render the Tao Tei useless. The Chinese Actors portrayed their roles a lot more convincingly than their American counterparts, although Pedro Pascal puts in the best turn out of the three. Catch it on the big screen for all the immediacy of the battle sequences and the spectacle of the Wall.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 16th February 2017.

Continuing with all the glitz and glamour of Awards Season, Sunday evening 12th February saw the 70th BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards hosted for the twelfth year by Stephen Fry from The Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Attended by the Who's Who of the movie industry and a couple of Royal Blue Bloods as well (HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton), this years winners and grinners who walked away with the golden mask were :-

* Best Film : 'LA LA LAND'
* Best British Film : 'I, DANIEL BLAKE'
* Best Animated Film : 'KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS'
* Best Film not in the English Language : 'SON OF SAUL'
* Best Director : DAMIEN CHAZELLE for 'La La Land'
* Best Actor : CASEY AFFLECK for 'Manchester By The Sea'
* Best Actress : EMMA STONE for 'La La Land'
* Best Supporting Actor : DEV PATEL for 'Lion'
* Best Supporting Actress : VIOLA DAVIS for  'Fences'
* Best Original Screenplay : KENNETH LONERGAN for 'Manchester By The Sea'
* Best Adapted Screenplay : LUKE DAVIS for 'Lion'
* Best Original Music : JUSTIN HURWITZ for 'La La Land'
* The EE Rising Star Award : TOM HOLLAND
* BAFTA Fellowship Award : MEL BROOKS

In other categories 'Jackie' picked up Best Costume Design; 'Hacksaw Ridge' won Best Editing; 'La La Land' Best Cinematography; Best Hair and Make-Up went to 'Florence Foster Jenkins'; Special Visual Effects went to 'The Jungle Book'; Best Production Design was awarded to 'Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them'; Best Sound went to 'Arrival', and Best Documentary Film went to '13th'.

Turning to this week, we have five new cinematic offerings to tease you out to your local multiplex or independent movie theatre. We start off with a highly acclaimed feel good movie of the '60's Space Race era and how three coloured women proved that they were better than any computer of the time, and so rewrote the history books in the process by putting an man in orbit and ensuring his safe return. The stuff of legend! We then have another historical drama but this time of the Chinese fantasy adventure kind that sees a European arrow slinging warrior face off against the might of an ancient marauding creature foe. Next up is a passion project by a renowned Director taking us on a 17th Century tale of Catholicism in a far way land where it is forbidden, and our two protagonists have their faith tested to the limit as they search for their learned colleague and mentor. We then turn attention to the streets of Las Vegas in a crime drama that pits an undercover cop against the underworld mob as family, work and loyalty collide. Wrapping up is an English crime story of three generations of a crime family and the passing of the baton from father to son to grandson amidst a conflict of interest and a new way of thinking for the younger generation keen on escaping that old way of life.

Remember that you are warmly invited to share your thoughts, observations and personal critique with your fellow readers here at Odeon Online, when you have sat through your film of choice in the coming week. Leave you constructive, relevant and pertinent thoughts in the Comments section below this or any other Post - as always - we'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, enjoy your film experience in the coming week.

'HIDDEN FIGURES' (Rated PG) - this highly acclaimed historical biographical drama film is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by Thoedore Melfi, is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly and so far has gained three Academy Award nominations whose winners are yet to be announced, as well as a haul to date of 25 wins and a further sixty-one nominations. The film cost US$25M to make, and has so far grossed US$141M since its release Stateside at Christmas.

Beginning in 1961 at the start of the Space Race, mathematician Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) works as a human computer in a division of Langley Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia with her two colleagues Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) an engineer, and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) another mathematician and unofficial supervisor. After the Russians successfully launch a space satellite, so the race hots up to put a man into orbit. Katherine is quickly assigned by her supervisor Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst) to support the Space Task Group headed up by Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) and become the first coloured woman on the team. Over time the three woman prove their worth to the space race by helping to launch John Glenn into space and his successful and safe return after the newly installed and trusted IBM 7090 computer shows flaws in its calculations and Katherine has to step in with her brain power to save the day, and win the confidence of the nation, and indeed the world. These unsung heroes of the early days of space exploration crossed political, race and gender lines to create something bigger, more valuable and more important than they ever could have imagined and inspired a generation that came after, to dream big. Also starring Mahershala Ali and Jim Parsons, this is a crowd pleasing, uplifting, heart warming not to be missed true story and one to watch.

'THE GREAT WALL' (Rated M) - representing the most expensive Chinese movie ever made at a budget of US$150M, this film is the first English film Directed by Zhang Yimou and is best described as an epic historical action adventure fantasy monster film. It was released in China in mid-December and has so far grossed US$225M before its release in Australia on 16th and the US on 17th February. Set in the China of about a thousand years ago, European mercenary warrior William Garin (Matt Damon) is searching for black powder to secure his wealth, but is subsequently held captive within the Great Wall of China. He quickly becomes caught up in an epic battle with ancient marauding creatures who attack just once every sixty years and so his search for fame and fortune turns into a journey of strength, heroics and survival as he joins an elite team of highly trained warriors to thwart a formidable and seemingly unstoppable enemy. Also starring Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal, Andy Lau and Tian Jing. This film has received mixed Reviews and perhaps some unfair criticism but for an epic English language Chinese production the like of which we have never seen before, I think it's gotta be worth a look!

'SILENCE' (Rated MA15+) - this film has been a passion project for Martin Scorsese since reading the book back in 1988 and acquiring the film rights back in 1990. After approaching thirty years in gestation, this historical drama film is Directed by Martin Scorsese, Co-Written and Co-Produced by him too, and is based on the 1966 book of the same name by Shusaku Endo. Costing US$40M to make, the film was released in the US at Christmas and has so far earned back US$14M. The film follows two 17th Century Portuguese Jesuit Priests - Sebastiao Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) who travel from their home country to Japan to search for their mentor Father Cristovao Ferreira (Liam Neeson) who has renounced his faith after being tortured. At a time when Catholicism was outlawed and their very presence in Japan was forbidden, the two must face physical dangers and a test of their own faith in God before their journey and their quest can be complete. Also starring Ciaran Hinds as Father Alessandro Valignano who first hears news of Father Cristovao Ferreira. The film has a Cinematography nomination at the upcoming Academy Awards, and has so far picked up six award wins and another 35 nominations.

'SLEEPLESS' (Rated MA15+) - is a crime drama film Directed by Baran bo Odar, made on a budget of US30M, released Stateside mid-January, has so far recovered US$21M with generally poor Reviews along the way. Starring Jamie Foxx as Vincent Downes a Las Vegas Police Department undercover cop who partners up with Sean Cass (T.I.) to rob an incoming shipment of cocaine, belonging to Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney) whose in cahoots with Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy) who happens to be the son of a powerful underworld king pin. Rubin quickly establishes that Downes did the thieving and so kidnap his son, Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson) while dad is driving his son to soccer practise, demanding the return of his cocaine in exchange for the life of Thomas. What ensues is a high stakes game of corrupt cops, revengeful mobsters and internal affairs as the clock ticks down on a sleepless night to save himself, his son and ensure that justice is served.

'TRESPASS AGAINST US' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Adam Smith this family crime drama film has had a limited release in the US and opens in the UK on 3rd March. The film is set across three generations of the Cutler family, outlaws living in their own anarchic corner of Britain's richest countryside. Chad Cutler (Michael Fassbender) is heir apparent to his over bearing and dominant criminal father, Colby (Brendan Gleeson) and has been groomed to spend his life hunting, thieving and tormenting the Police. However, when his own son Tyson (Georgie Smith) steps over into adulthood, Chad soon finds himself at odds with his father over what the future holds for his young family. When Colby learns of Chad's dreams and aspirations for another life he sets out to tie his son and grandson into the archaic order that has shaped the Cutler family for generations and made them in to what they are today. Also starring Sean Harris, Rory Kinnear and Lyndsey Marshal.

With three historical and two crime dramas to choose from this week there's no better way to escape the record breaking heat of a scorching Australian Summer than to retreat to an air conditioned comfort of a movie theatre. Share your views afterwards with us here, and in the meantime I'll see you sometime, somewhere in the week ahead at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-