ANTEBELLUM : Tuesday 6th October 2020.

'ANTEBELLUM' which I saw earlier this week is a MA15+ Rated American horror film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz in their feature filmmaking debuts. Originally slated for an end of April release date, this was pushed back due to the impacts of COVID-19 to the 20th August before being temporarily suspended from the release schedule all together. Subsequently, the film was released through video on demand on 18th September in the US, and saw its theatrical release in Australia from last week. Costing US$15M, the film has so far recouped US$4M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews so far. 

The film opens up on a sun drenched day on a Louisiana cotton plantation sometime in the early 1860's during the American Civil War. Run by the Confederate States Army who treat the enslaved black workers with disdain, complete disrespect and with a harsh hand. The slaves are not permitted to speak unless given permission to do so, they are not permitted to speak with one another and any that dare try to escape are quickly captured, killed and then burned in a crematorium. Eden (Janelle Monae) is amongst a group of slaves who has clearly been there only for a short while. She is favoured by the Confederate General (Eric Lange) who treats her harshly and one night brands her on the lower back with a red hot poker, and chastises her for crying out in agony ordering her to stop her whimpering. 

Six weeks later a group of new slaves are carted on to the plantation. Among the new group is a pregnant woman whom the female owner of the plantation, Elizabeth (Jena Malone) calls Julia (Kiersey Clemons). She is placed under the care of Eden. Over the course of her first few days Julia asks Eden to plan their escape, but for Eden timing is everything and instead asks her to lie low and to keep her head down in compliance until the time is right. Shortly thereafter a big dinner is held for all the Confederate Soldiers with the slaves waiting on. 

The General says to his men that the women are there to cater for their every need and want and that they shall not refuse any request. A young and very nervous soldier named Daniel (Robert Aramayo) is introduced to Julia whom he takes a liking to. He is too nervous to talk to Julia so the General intervenes and orders Julia to take him back to her cabin. In the cabin Daniel beats and kicks Julia in the stomach for speaking to him without his permission. The next day Julia miscarries in the cotton field, and the day after that Eden finds Julia hanged from the rafters of her cabin. That night the General rapes Eden, and she falls asleep.

The next morning Eden wakes up to the sound of her mobile phone ringing, but she is not Eden, she is Veronica Henley, a renowned and highly qualified sociologist, and this now serves as the backstory as to how she came to be on a Louisiana cotton plantation in the early 1860's. That morning she is scheduled to fly out of home to Louisiana to speak at a seminar and launch her new book at the same time. Her loving husband Nick (Marque Richardson) and young daughter Kennedi (London Boyce) make a fuss over breakfast. After her presentation to a largely gathered group of black and Asian women, her friends Dawn (Gibourey Sidibe) and Sarah (Lili Cowles) take Veronica out for dinner. In the meantime, Elizabeth, posing as a company representative, sneaks into Veronica's room, rifles through some papers and steals one of her lipsticks. 

After dinner wraps up, the girls gather for a group selfie outside the restaurant just as two Uber's pulls up. Veronica climbs into one for she needs an early night as she has a plane to catch at 6:30am the next morning leaving Dawn and Sarah to catch the second Uber and party on elsewhere. Inside the Uber Veronica is attempting to speak to Nick but the music in the car is turned up high. She asks the driver to turn it down and then notices looking in the rear view mirror back at her it is Elizabeth. From behind, a hand grasps Veronica around the face and she is knocked unconscious by Elizabeth's husband Jasper (Jack Huston). 

Back now on the cotton plantation, Veronica wakes and now doggedly tells one of her fellow male captives Eli (Tongayi Chirisa) that they will attempt an escape later that night. Eli's wife had previously attempted to escape and she was killed and burned in the crematorium as a result. While the General is sleeping, Veronica steals his mobile phone that she had previously seen him angrily speaking into in the early hours of one morning. However, she drops the phone when Daniel is walking by with another soldier, both of whom are more than half drunk. Picking up the phone, the soldiers are perplexed that someone would defy orders by bringing a mobile phone on to the camp when it is strictly forbidden. Veronica and Eli hide in the undergrowth as the two soldiers approach having heard something. One soldier leaves having said it's nothing, leaving Daniel to take a leak. Eli kills Daniel with a hatchet. The pair quickly discover that the phone can only be unlocked with facial recognition, and so Veronica goes back to the cabin to find that the General is awake. 

A fight breaks out and Eli is killed by the General with the hatchet embedded into his heart while trying to protect her. Veronica manages to stab the General with his own sword before unlocking the phone and calling Nick and sending him her location so that he can alert the Police. She pulls down the Confederate flag flying in the grounds and wraps the General's body inside it. She then drags his limp body to the crematorium. Jasper by now has been alerted to the commotion and runs into her. Veronica lures him and another guard into the crematorium and locks the three of them firmly inside, before setting it alight, leaving the men to burn to death as she steals the General's horse and rides off.

Various soldiers all pursue Veronica on horseback shooting at her randomly. They all fall away or succumb to the dense undergrowth, except for Elizabeth who doggedly chases after her. Coming to a clearing Elizabeth reveals that she handpicked every slave on the plantation except for Veronica, whom she kidnapped at her father's insistence and that she would be his jewel in the crown. Veronica knocks Elizabeth off her horse, a fight breaks out with Veronica ultimately gaining the upper hand by putting a rope around her neck, and then dragging her along behind her horse at speed for several hundred meters until she hits the stone plinth of a Robert E. Lee statue, breaking her neck instantly. Veronica flees the pursuing soldiers into the chaos of a battle, revealing that the plantation is actually part of a Civil War lifelike reenactment park owned by the General under his real name, Blake Denton. Veronica escapes as the Police arrive to liberate her and the other captives and the park, named Antebellum, is bulldozed sometime thereafter.

I have to say that I enjoyed 'Antebellum' more than most critics it seems fair to say, did. Whilst hardly a horror film in the true genre meaning of the term, there are certainly moments that can be described as horrific as slaves are either killed or maimed without mercy by their overbearing Confederate masters, but then when a slave gains the upper hand she also meets out her own vengeance without mercy and with just as much violence. The first act labours somewhat as it sets the tone of what is to follow, but the second and third acts certainly make up for the earlier shortfalls as the plot twist comes more into focus. Janelle Monae certainly proves her acting chops in her first major lead role whilst Eric Lange, Jena Malone and Jack Huston all ham it up admirably tarred with the same brush. Gabourey Sidibe looks out of place arriving on the scene as though she has walked into a comedy film, all larger than life, gushing with self confidence, and totally out there (but then I guess she is playing a self help guru here!). There are parallel stories at play here with the cultural oppression and racial discrimination just as evident today as it was 160 years ago, and with this reenactment park being able to fly under the radar of any authorities and get away with murder most foul for God only knows how long, this is surely a metaphor for white supremacists and the BLM movement as it is raging through the US right now. First time Directors Bush and Renz certainly know how to capture and maintain the interest from the opening frames to the last, whilst asking you to suspend all belief that a place like Antebellum can even exist. 

'Antebellum' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 8th October 2020.

Now in its 16th year and having run from 24th September through until 4th October, the Zurich Film Festival provides a platform for the most promising filmmakers from around the globe. It aims to promote exchange between emerging Directors, successful film workers, the film industry and the general public. Every Autumn, the ZFF presents the years greatest discoveries and most anticipated films. The Zurich Film Festival began in October 2005 and became firmly established upon the national and international festival circuit within a very short period of time. The festival has continued to grow rapidly since that inaugural edition, and in 2019, the ZFF attracted approximately 117,000 cinemagoers and more than 1,500 accredited journalists and media professionals from around the world. 

The International Competition sees emerging filmmakers compete in three categories with their first, second or third directorial works for the coveted Golden Eye – the festival’s highest accolade. The ZFF’s 'Focus' competition section concentrates on the film-producing countries Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

The Feature Film Competition was this year won by 'Sin Senas Particulares'  ('Identifying Features') Directed by Fernanda Valadez in this Mexican and Spanish co-production. The drama revolves around Magdalena, who travels north through a desolate Mexican landscape in search of her son, who left for the United States and is presumed to be dead. Also in competition in this category were : 'Apples/Mila', 'Charter', 'Gagarine', 'Limbo', 'Moving On', 'Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always', 'Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time', 'Shithouse', 'Shorta', 'Slalom', 'Sweat', 'The Disciple' and 'Wildland'.

The Focus Competition was won by 'Hochwald'  ('Why Not You') Directed by Evi Romen in this Austrian and Belgian co-produced film. The film tells the story of Mario, who breaks out of his South Tyrolean homeland with his childhood friend Lenz and visits a gay bar in Rome with him. When Lenz falls victim during an armed attack, Mario returns to his home village, where his life gradually unravels. Also in competition in this category were : '80,000 Schnitzel', 'Beyto', 'Die letzten Osterreicher', 'Exil', 'Miraggio', 'NOT ME - A Journey with Not Vital', 'Oeconomia', 'One of These Days', 'Sami, Joe und Ich', 'Spagat' and 'Wood'. 

The Documentary Competition was won by 'Time' Directed by Garrett Bradley in this American film. The long-term documentary portrays Sibil and her husband Rob, who are said to have robbed a bank 21 years ago. While she got away with a minor sentence, he was sentenced to 60 years in a Louisiana State Prison. Sibil has been fighting for the pardon of her husband for two decades - and records family life with a video camera. Also in competition in this category were : '76 Days', 'Acasa, My Home', 'I Am Greta', 'Jacinta', 'King of the Cruise', 'La Mami', 'Maya', 'Mayor', 'Songs of Repression', 'The Earth Is Blue as an Orange' and 'The Painter and the Thief'. 

In addition, other awards included The Audience Award which this year went to 'Sami, Joe und Ich' by Director Karin Haberlein. This Swiss film tells the story of the three girls Sami, Joe and Leyla, who are confronted with various problems at the end of their school days together. The Critics Prize was awarded to the German documentary '80,000 Schnitzel' by Director Hannah Schweier charting the life of the 83-year-old landlady Berta and her granddaughter Monika, who are trying to save the family business in Upper Palatinate together. The Science Film Award went to Director Nathan Grossman for his Swedish documentary feature 'I Am Greta' which follows the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg on her mission to halt climate change.

For all the news and views coverage from this years Zurich Film Festival, you can visit the official website at : www.https://zff/com

Turning attention back to this weeks five latest release new movies coming to your local Odeon, we kick off with a film about the war in Afghanistan and how a small troop of US soldiers are pinned down by a seemingly overwhelming group of Taliban insurgents in this realistically recreated story of valour against all the odds. Next up is a story from New Zealand about gang culture as seen through the eyes of one man at three different stages in his life and how ultimately he must choose between his real family or his gang family. We then turn to an Australian film about a secret love affair that doesn't remain a secret for very long as our man here makes a bolt for a remote island off the Western Australian coast only to be pursued by the woman's jilted boyfriend. This is followed up with a story of a former pageant winning contestant who enters her daughter into the same pageant years later even though that daughter is very reluctant to follow in her mothers footsteps, and we close out the week with a tale of an ageing chain smoking grandma whose win at a local casino attracts the unwanted attention of some local gangsters. 

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 OUTPOST' (Rated MA15+) - this American and Bulgarian Co-Produced war drama film is Directed by Rod Lurie whose previous feature film making credits take in the likes of 'The Contender', 'The Last Castle', 'Nothing But the Truth', and 'Straw Dogs'. This film is based on the 2012 book 'The Outpost : An Untold Story of American Valor' by Jake Tapper about the Battle of Kamdesh during the war in Afghanistan. Due to see its Premier screening at South by Southwest in March of this year, when the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was released through Premium VOD and in selected US theatres in early July this year. Now its gets a release in Australia having earned just over US$1M at the Box Office so far and generated largely positive Reviews.

The film tells the true life story of the bravery of a small unit of fifty-three U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating located some fourteen miles from the border with Pakistan and at the base of three steep mountains. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 as that small platoon of men faced down on a force of some four hundred Taliban insurgents during Operation Enduring Freedom in a coordinated attack. Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conflict. Starring Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom and Milo Gibson. 

'SAVAGE' (Rated MA15+) - is a New Zealand drama film Directed and Written for the screen by Sam Kelly in his feature film debut. The film gets its inspiration from New Zealand's boys homes and the early history of gangs. Following Danny across three different periods in his life at important junctures that push and pull him towards and away from gang life. Each chapter is a complete short story set in a defining time for New Zealand gangs - from the abusive state-run boy’s homes of the sixties; to the emerging urban gang scene in the seventies where disenfranchised teenagers created their own families on the streets; to the eighties when gangs became more structured, criminal, and violent. Together the three chapters combine to create a closer examination of a boy who grows up to become the brutal enforcer of a gang and to understand how he got there. Danny is torn between his real family and his gang family, and must choose where he belongs. Starring Olly Presling at the young Danny, James Matamua as the teenage Danny and Jake Ryan as the adult Danny with John Tui, Seth Flynn and Chelsie Preston Crayford.

'DIRT MUSIC' (Rated M) - here this Australian romantic drama offering is Directed by Gregor Jordan whose prior film making efforts include 'Two Hands', 'Buffalo Soldiers', 'Ned Kelly', 'The Informers' and 'Unthinkable'. Based on the acclaimed 2001 Tim Winton novel of the same name, the film has generated mostly average press so far. Here, Georgie Jutland (Kelly Macdonald), becomes fascinated while watching a stranger, Luther Fox (Garrett Hedlund) attempting to poach fish in an area where nobody can maintain secrets for very long. Disillusioned with her relationship with the local fisherman legend Jim Buckridge (David Wenham) she concocts a meeting with the stranger and soon passion runs out of control between two bruised and emotionally fragile people. Their secret quickly becomes impossible to hide, and Jim wants revenge, whilst the poacher hikes north along the Western Australian coast to an island off the remote coast of Kimberley to escape a confrontation. 

'MISS JUNETEENTH' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Written and Directed by first-timer Channing Godfrey Peoples. The film saw its Premier showing at this years Sundance Film Festival back in  January, went on a VOD release in the US on the 155th anniversary of the Juneteenth public holiday across the United States -19th June, has garnered generally favourable Reviews and has taken so far just over US$100K. Turquoise Jones (Nicole Beharie), is a single mother in a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas. She is the former winner of the local Miss Juneteenth pageant which offers full scholarships to college. She enters her somewhat rebellious fifteen year old daughter, Kai (Alexis Chikaeze) in the same pageant despite her daughter's obvious lack of enthusiasm. Also starring Kendrick Sampson and Liz Mikel. 

'LUCKY GRANDMA' (Rated M) - Co-Written and Directed by Sasie Sealy in her feature film debut, this film is set in New York City's Chinatown where a local fortune teller Lei Lei (Wai Ching Ho) predicts a very special day in the future of Grandma (Tsai Chin) who then decides to head to the casino and goes all in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck and attracting the unwanted attention of some local gangsters. Desperate to protect herself, grandma employs the services of a bodyguard Big Pong (Corey Ha), from a rival gang and soon finds herself right in the middle of a local gang war. The film has generated mostly positive critical acclaim and has thus far collected two award wins and another three nominations from around the festivals circuit. 

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-

The Odeon Online Obituary : The screen celebrities who passed away in September 2020

In September, the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . Sue C. Nichols, Rodney Litchfield, Kevin Dobson, Ronald Harwood, Diana Rigg, Barbara Jefford, Michael Chapman, Michael Lonsdale, Ron Cobb, Alan Tomkins, Juliette Greco, Kevin Burns and Helen Reddy.

* Sue C. Nichols - born 10th June 1965, died 1st September 2020, aged 55. Nichols was an American Artist best known for her work with the Walt Disney Animation Studios having worked as a storyboard artist, a visual development artist, a production stylist, a character designer and a model designer on twenty-four film and television series that began with a designer credit on the 1986 TV series 'My Little Pony'. From here, her following animated feature film credits include 'Beauty and the Beast' in 1991, 'The Lion King' in 1994, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' in 1996, 'Mulan' in 1998, 'Fantasia 2000' in 1999, 'The Emperor's New Groove' in 2000, 'Lilo & Stitch' in 2002, 'Enchanted' in 2007, 'The Princess and the Frog' in 2009, 'Moana' in 2016, and 'UglyDolls' in 2019.  From 1986 until 1989 she also worked on fifty-eight episodes of 'Muppet Babies' and received Co-Writing credits on 'Aladdin' and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. 

* Rodney Litchfield - born sometime in 1939, died 5th September 2020, aged 81. Litchfield was an English Actor of film and television who notched up forty screen acting credits throughout his career which began on a single episode of 'Brookside' in 1984. Whilst the majority of his work was on the small screen, he did have a number of roles in feature films including 'Knights & Emeralds' in 1986, 'Testimony' in 1987, 'Pierrepoint : The Last Hangman' in 2005, 'Grow Your Own' in 2007 and 'The Last British Execution' in 2013 being his final screen appearance. In the meantime there were roles on numerous TV series taking in  'Juliet Bravo', 'All Creatures Great and Small', 'Last of the Summer Wine', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Heartbeat', 'Emerdale Farm', 'Casualty', 'The Bill', on twelve episodes of 'Early Doors' on twenty-three episodes of 'Coronation Street', 'Shameless' and 'My Family'. 

* Kevin Dobson - born 18th March 1943, died 6th September 2020, aged 77. Dobson was an American Actor of film, television and theatre who amassed sixty-seven screen acting credits during a career spanning six decades. His first screen appearance came with a single episode on 'One Life to Live' in 1968, followed by eight uncredited appearances on 'The Doctors' between 1969 and 1971. His first big screen role came with an uncredited bit part in 1971's 'Klute'. Other feature film roles followed including 'Midway' in 1976 with an all star cast, then 'All Night Long' in 1981, 'Restraining Order' in 1999, 'She's No Angel' in 2002, 'Crash Landing' in 2005, '1408' in 2007 and 'Dark Power' in 2013. In the intervening years there were numerous TV series on single and multiple episodes of 'The Mod Squad', 'Ironside', 'Cannon', 'Captain Kangaroo' then perhaps his break out role on 117 episodes of 'Kojak' between 1973 and 1978, followed by nine episodes in the title role of 'Shannon', and then across 291 episodes of 'Knot's Landing' between 1982 and 1993. These were followed up by twenty-two episodes on 'F/X : The Series', thirteen episodes on 'The Bold and the Beautiful', fifteen episodes on 'Days of Our Lives', then 'Hawaii Five-0', 'House of Lies', 'Anger Management' and the new series due to air in 2021 '12 to Midnight' which was being filmed at the time of his death. Dobson was the recipient of six award wins, all for his role on 'Knot's Landing' and three other nominations.

* Ronald Harwood - born Ronald Horwitz on 9th November 1934, died 8th September 2020, aged 85. Harwood was a South African-born British Author, Playwright, and Screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for 'The Dresser' in 1983 for which he was nominated for an Oscar, and 'The Pianist' in 2002, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was nominated also for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 2007's 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'. All up he won eight awards and was nominated a further thirty-two times for his works on movie Screenplays. Harwood accumulated forty-three screen writing credits throughout his career which took in a number of television movies, TV series, mini-series and feature films including 'A High Wind in Jamaica' with Anthony Quinn and James Coburn, 'Drop Dead Darling' with Tony Curtis, 'Eyewitness' with Mark Lester and Susan George, 'The Doctor and the Devils' with Jonathan Pryce and Timothy Dalton, 'A Fine Romance' with Julie Andrews, 'The Browning Version' with Albert Finney and Greta Scacchi, 'The Statement' with Michael Caine and Tilda Swinton, 'Being Julia' with Annette Bening and Michael Gambon, 'Love in the Time of Cholera' with Benjamin Bratt and Javier Bardem, 'Australia' with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman and 'Quartet' with Maggie Smith, Tom Courtney and Billy Connelly in 2012 being his final feature film scripting credit. Amongst his numerous recognitions for his achievements as a published author and a writer of theatre plays, films and television he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire by HRH the Queen in 1999.

* Diana Rigg - born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg on 20th July 1938, and died 10th September 2020, aged 82. Rigg was an English Actress of stage, film and television who amassed seventy screen acting credits to her name during a career spanning six decades right up until the time of her death. Her debut role came in a bit part in the made for TV movie of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in 1959, but it was in her breakout role in fifty-one episodes of 'The Avengers' between 1965 and 1968 as Emma Peel opposite Patrick McNee that really propelled Rigg into the limelight. From here she appeared in the feature film adaptation of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in 1968, then 'The Assassination Bureau' opposite Oliver Reed in 1969 and that same year as the Bond girl and wife of James Bond in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' opposite George Lazenby taking over the reins as 007 from Sean Connery for the first and final time. 'Julius Caesar' followed in 1970 with an all star cast, 'Theatre of Blood' with Vincent Price, 'A Little Night Music' with Elizabeth Taylor, 'The Great Muppet Caper', 'Evil Under the Sun' with Peter Ustinov playing Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, 'A Good Man in Africa' with Sean Connery, 'Parting Shots' with an ensemble cast of fine British acting talent, 'The Painted Veil' with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, 'Breathe' with Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield and 'Last Night in Soho' with Anya Taylor-Joy and Matt Smith in post production at the time of her death and due for release in 2021. In the intervening years there were many single and multiple episodes of TV series taking in the likes of fifteen episodes on 'Diana' in 1973/74, seven episodes of 'Bleak House' in 1985, on all five episodes in the title role of 'The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries' in 1998, on five episodes of 'You, Me and the Apocalypse' in 2015, on eighteen episodes of 'Game of Thrones' as Olenna Tyrell, on six episodes of 'Detectorists', on nine episodes of 'Victoria' and on the mini-series 'Black Narcissus' in post-production and due for release in due course. All up Rigg collected fifteen award wins and another sixteen nominations from around the awards circuit with many of those being for her role on 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Avengers'. She was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1988 and a DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1994 for services to drama by HRH the Queen. 

* Barbara Jefford - born Mary Barbara Jefford on 26th July 1930, and died 12th September 2020, aged 90. Jefford was a British Actress of radio, television, cinema and theatre - being perhaps best known for her stage work spanning six decades with The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo, London and London's National Theatre especially working alongside numerous world renowned actors and thespians including John Gielgud, Anthony Quayle, Richard Burton, Michael Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, Ralph Fiennes, Charles Dance, Albert Finney and Kenneth Branagh. She accumulated sixty screen acting credits throughout her career which launched in 1952 with the title role in the made for TV film 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. After a number of TV series appearances and uncredited voice dubbing work on 'From Russia with Love', 'Thunderball' and 'The Liquidator' she next appeared in 1967's 'Ulysses' for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Actress. Other feature films that followed included 'The Bofors Gun' with Ian Holm, 'The Shoes of the Fisherman' with Laurence Olivier, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with Diana Rigg, 'Hitler : The Last Ten Days' with Alex Guinness, 'Reunion' with Jason Robards, 'When the Whales Came' with Helen Mirren, 'Where Angels Fear to Tread' with Helena Bonham Carter, 'The Saint' with Val Kilmer, 'The Ninth Gate' with Johnny Depp, 'The Deep Blue Sea' with Rachel Weisz and 'Philomena' with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan being her final screen role in 2013. In the meantime, she also appeared in number of mini-series and single and multiple episodes of TV series taking in the likes of six episodes on 'The Canterbury Tales' in 1969, the mini-series across five episodes of 'The Visitors' in 1972, on all four episodes of the mini-series 'Porterhouse Blue' in 1987 and on twelve episodes of 'The House of Eliott' in 1991 amongst others. In 1965 she was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) and in 1977 the Jubilee Festival Medal by HRH the Queen. 

* Michael Chapman - born 21st November 1935, died 20th September 2020, aged 84. Chapman was an American Cinematographer, Director and Actor who amassed forty-five cinematography credits, fifteen camera operator credits, eighteen as an Actor and seven as a Director throughout his career spanning five decades. His first gig as an Assistant Camera Operator came in 1965 on the feature film 'Who Killed Teddy Bear'. His first Director of Photography credit came in 1973 on 'The Last Detail' for Director Hal Ashby and starring Jack Nicholson. He followed this up over the years with numerous credits for Philip Kaufman, Martin Scorsese and Ivan Reitman in particular. For Kaufman he worked on 'The White Dawn', 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', 'The Wanderers' and 'Rising Sun'. For Scorsese there was 'Taxi Driver', 'The Last Waltz', 'Raging Bull', 'Michael Jackson : Bad', and for Reitman there was 'Ghostbusters II', 'Kindergarten Cop', 'Six Days, Seven Nights' and 'Evolution'. In the meantime, other notable films included 'Klute', 'The Godfather', 'Jaws', 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid', 'The Man with Two Brains', 'The Lost Boys', 'Scrooged', 'Doc Hollywood', 'The Fugitive', 'Primal Fear', 'The Watcher', 'House of D', 'Eulogy' and 'Bridge to Terabithia' being his last work as a Cinematographer in 2007. As Director his credits took in 'All the Right Moves', 'The Clan of the Cave Bear', 'Annihilator', 'The Viking Sagas' and two concert films both from Peter Gabriel - 'PoV' in 1990 and 'Peter Gabriel : Live in Athens 1987' in 2013. Chapman was the recipient of five award wins and seven other nominations including two Academy Award nods for Best Cinematography on 'Raging Bull' and 'The Fugitive' and a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the American Society of Cinematographers. 

* Alan Tomkins - born sometime in 1939, died 20th September 2020, aged 81. Tomkins was an English film Art Director who amassed thirty-six credits as an Art Director and twenty other credits for his Art Department work as draughtsman or Assistant Art Director. His first credited role as Assistant Art Director came with the English comedy 'Mister Ten Per Cent' which he followed up with 'The Ballad of Tam Lin' in 1970 and 'The Devils' in 1971. His Art Director stints came with 'A Touch of Class' in 1973 and then 'The MacKintosh Man' that same year for John Huston, 'Juggernaut' in 1974 for Richard Lester, 'A Bridge Too Far' for Richard Attenborough in 1977, 'Star Wars : Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' in 1980 for Irvin Kershner, 'The Keep' in 1983 for Michael Mann, 'Lifeforce' in 1985 for Tobe Hooper, 'Memphis Belle' in 1990 for Michael Caton-Jones, 'Hamlet' in 1990 for Franco Zeffirelli, 'Natural Born Killers' for Oliver Stone in 1994, 'Kundun' for Martin Scorsese in 1997, 'Saving Private Ryan' in 1998 for Steven Spielberg, 'Die Another Day' for Lee Tamahori in 2002 and 'Batman Begins' in 2005 for Christopher Nolan being his final screen outing. He received an Oscar nomination for his work on 'The Empire Strikes Back' as well as another win and four further nods. 

* Michael Lonsdale - born Michael Edward Lonsdale-Crouch on 24th May 1931, died 21st September 2020, aged 89. Lonsdale was a British French Actor who amassed 241 screen acting credits to his name throughout a career which launched in 1956 in the French comedy feature film 'It Happened in Aden'. Over the years that followed his other numerous credits included 'The Trial' in 1962 for Orson Welles, 'Behold a Pale Horse' in 1964 for Fred Zinnemann, 'The Bride Wore Black' and 'Stolen Kisses' both for Francois Truffaut in 1968, 'The Day of the Jackal' for Fred Zinnemann again in 1973, 'The Romantic Englishwoman' in 1975, 'The Passage' in 1979, as the arch villain Hugo Drax in 1979's 007 outing 'Moonraker' for Lewis Gilbert, 'Chariots of Fire' in 1981, 'Enigma' in 1982, 'The Holcroft Covenant' for John Frankenheimer in 1985, 'The Name of the Rose' in 1986, 'The Remains of the Day' in 1993 and 'Jefferson in Paris' in 1995 both for James Ivory, 'Ronin' in 1998 for John Frankenheimer again, 'Munich' in 2005 for Steven Spielberg, 'Goya's Ghosts' in 2006 for Milos Forman, 'Of Gods and Men' in 2010 with 'Sculpt' in 2016 being his final screen acting role. Lonsdale won four awards and was nominated four times including a Caesar Award win for Best Supporting Actor on 'Of Gods and Men'. 

* Ron Cobb - born 21st September 1937, died 21st September 2020, aged 83. Cobb was an American born yet resided for the most part in Sydney, Australia, film Production Designer, Conceptual Designer, Conceptual Artist and one time Director. He worked on numerous major movies including John Carpenter's 'Dark Star' in 1974, 'Star Wars : Episode IV - A New Hope' in 1977 for George Lucas, Ridley Scott's 'Alien' in 1979, 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' for Steven Spielberg in 1981, 'Conan the Barbarian' for John Milius in 1982, 'Aliens' for James Cameron in 1986, 'The Abyss' for James Cameron again in 1989, 'Leviathan' also in 1989 for George P. Cosmatos, 'Total Recall' in 1990 for Paul Verhoeven, 'The 6th Day' for Roger Spottiswoode in 2000 and 'Southland Tales' in 2006 for Richard Kelly being his final film as Conceptual Artist. His one and only Directorial outing came with the Australian comedy 'Garbo' in 1992. In 1985 Cobb received credit as DeLorean Time Travel Consultant on 'Back to the Future', and during the early '90's, Cobb worked with Rocket Science Games, of which his designs can be seen most notably in 1994's 'Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine' and 1997's 'The Space Bar', for which he designed all the characters.

* Juliette Greco - born 7th February 1927, died 23rd September 2020, aged 93. Greco was a French Actress and singer. Her acting and singing career spanned seevn decades, with thirty-one screen acting credits to her name and thirty soundtrack credits beginning in 1947 with the French drama film 'Les freres Bouquinquant'. Over the years that followed she appeared in a mix of French and American films mostly active throughout the '50's and '60's with only five film roles from the '70's onward. In 1957 she appeared in 'The Sun Also Rises' with Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn and Ava Gardner, in 1958 in John Huston's 'The Roots of Heaven' with Errol Flynn again and Trevor Howard and Orson Welles, then 'Crack in the Mirror' in 1960 with Orson Welles again, 'The Big Gamble' in 1961 with Stephen Boyd, and 'The Night of the Generals' in 1967 with Peter O'Toole, Christopher Plummer, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay and Donald Pleasence. In 2001 she had a small role in 'Belphegor - Le fantom du Louvre' with Sophie Marceau and in 2002 her final screen role came opposite Klaus Maria Brandauer in 'Jedermanns Fest'. Greco was married three times and linked romantically to Sacha Distel, Darryl F. Zanuck, Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. She also inspired works by Jean-Paul Sartre, Ray Davis, Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

* Kevin Burns - born 18th June 1955, died 27th September 2020, aged 65. Burns was an American Executive Producer, Director and Writer mostly of documentary style films and TV series who amassed 111 Producer credits, forty Writer credits and thirty-six as Director throughout his career which began with the documentary short 'I Remember Barbra' in 1981. His next Director's gig came with 'The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen' in 1995 then the likes of 'A Hollywood Christmas', 'Hollywood Aliens & Monsters', 'Behind the Planet of the Apes', 'Lost in Space Forever', 'Cleopatra : The Film That Changed Hollywood', 'Playboy : Inside the Playboy Mansion', 'Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures', 'Star Wars : The Legacy Revealed', 'Star Wars : Star Warriors', 'Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest', 'The Godfather Legacy', 'How Playboy Changed The World', four episodes of 'The Curse of Oak Island', two episodes of 'Ancient Aliens' and 'Lost in Space : The Epilogue' being his final Directing role in 2015. Beyond this and more recently he also Executive Produced eighty-four episodes of 'The Curse of Oak Island', nine episodes of 'In Search of Monsters', sixteen episodes on 'The Curse of Civil War Gold', twenty episodes of 'Lost in Space', eleven episodes of 'The UnXplained with William Shatner', and 142 episodes of 'Ancient Aliens' right up until the time of his passing. Burns won six awards and was nominated another nine times. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Burns created and Executive Produced in excess of eight hundred hours of television programming.

* Helen Reddy - born 25th October 1941, died 29th September 2020, aged 78. Reddy was an Australian singer, Actress and activist who started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the Australian variety television program, 'Bandstand' in 1966. During the 1970's, Reddy enjoyed international success, especially in the United States where she placed fifteen singles on the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the Top 10 and three reached No. 1, including her signature hit 'I Am Woman'. She placed 25 songs on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart; fifteen made the Top 10 and eight reached No. 1, six consecutively. Of her acting credits she notched up just thirteen film and television appearances spanning through the early '70's right up until the present day. Of her feature film credits there was 'Airport 1975' with Charlton Heston, George Kennedy and Karen Black, Disney's 'Pete's Dragon' in 1977 with Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney and Shelley Winters; 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' in 1978 with Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Donald Pleasence and Peter Frampton; 'Disorderlies' in 1987; 'The Perfect Host' in 2010 and 'Senior Entourage' that has recently completed filming and also starring Edward Asner. In the meantime there were singular appearances on TV shows including 'The Love Boat', 'Fantasy Island', 'The Jeffersons', 'BeastMaster', 'Diagnosis Murder' and 'Family Guy'. She also picked up forty-four soundtrack acknowledgements. In the mid '80's, Reddy embarked on a new career on the stage. She mostly worked in musicals, including 'Anything Goes', 'Call Me Madam', 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood', and – both on Broadway and the West End in 'Blood Brothers'. She also appeared in four productions of the one-woman show 'Shirley Valentine'. Her song 'I Am Woman' played a significant role in popular culture, becoming an anthem for second-wave feminism. She came to be known as a 'feminist poster girl' and a 'feminist icon'. She won the Grammy Award in 1973 for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female for 'I Am Woman' - the first Australian performer to win a Grammy. 

Thirteen deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, and that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As some governments the world over are easing up on their COVID-19 restrictions, others are enforcing further stages of lockdowns because of a second wave in cases, remember the basic principles still being advocated - maintain a safe distance, hand hygiene and wear a mask if you are unable to maintain a safe distance especially - together we can all beat this thing. Stay safe and remain healthy.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

AN AMERICAN PICKLE : Tuesday 29th September 2020.

'AN AMERICAN PICKLE' which I saw at my local multiplex this week is a PG Rated American comedy drama offering Directed by first timer Brandon Trost, although he was worked as Cinematographer on numerous other Hollywood films including 2009's 'Halloween II', 'Ghost Rider : Spirit of Vengeance', 'This is the End', 'Neighbors', 'The Interview', 'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse', 'Neighbors 2 : Sorority Rising', 'The Disaster Artist', 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' and 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile'. Based on the 2013 short story 'Sell Out' by Simon Rich, it seems that Seth Rogan (who appears in dual roles and also Co-Produces here) and Rich began discussing the concept for a film back in 2007. Released digitally in the US in early August, and in theatres in the UK shortly thereafter, the film cost US$20M to produce, has so far taken just US$168K, and has received mostly mixed or average Reviews. 

The film opens up in 1919 with a man digging a long road side ditch, with grey skies overhead and looked upon by his horse nonchalantly. At first the wooden handle of the shovel he is using snaps. Then the wooden blade of the shovel breaks in two, leaving the man to get down on his knees and shovel out the wet dirt with his bare hands - such is his commitment to his task. He then returns home to his village of Slupsk where we see him digging another trench along the side of the road, when his eye is caught by a woman attempting to haggle with a market vendor over the price of smoked fish. Instantly we learn that the man, whose name is Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) is captivated by the fair maiden that in time he asks for her hand in marriage. And so Sarah (Sarah Snook) becomes Mrs. Greenbaum, and on the occasion of their wedding day in front of the gathered citizens of Slupsk, the Russian Cossacks invade the village killing almost everyone in sight and burning down many buildings. Only Herschel and Sarah seem to survive. 

As a result, the pair of struggling Jewish labourers, albeit happily married, decide to emigrate to America. Herschel lands a job at a pickle factory, with the task of killing as many of the rats that infest the property as he can possibly find. One day however, the rats appear to turn on him, and out of fright he falls backwards from on high into a vat of pickles immediately before the factory is condemned and closed down. The vat is sealed with a lid, and all the workers in the factory down tools and exit the premises as it is sealed shut. Before doing so however, Herschel was able to make one of Sarah's dreams come true, and that was that he was able to save up enough money to buy two grave plots at a Jewish cemetery. 

One hundred years later two lads while flying a drone, lose control of it and it flies into the now long abandoned derelict pickling factory. Venturing inside searching for their lost drone, they happen across the vat and lift off the lid. Almost immediately springing to life is Herschel, who has been pickled in brine for the past one hundred years, and as such is perfectly preserved just as the day he fell in. Having undergone a series of tests and attracted much media attention in the process, Herschel learns that Sarah died in 1939, but that he has one sole surviving relative living in Brooklyn - his great grandson Ben (Seth Rogen). 

Ben takes Herschel back to his apartment where he works from home as a freelance app developer and has been developing his own app 'Boop Bop' for the past five years. The app provides a service that checks companies' ethics when buying their products, and Ben is on the cusp of securing funding to take his app to the next level. Ben reluctantly agrees to go with Herschel to the cemetery where Sarah and his son are buried, together with Ben's parents also buried close by. Herschel is disgusted to find that the cemetery was left in complete disrepair and is now located underneath a freeway flyover along with a Russian vanilla vodka billboard overlooking it. This causes him to assault the construction workers putting up the billboard believing them to be Cossacks, which ultimately results in his and Ben's arrest.

Ben bails them out of jail using what little inheritance he has left over from his parents however, the investors he was courting for his app now withdraw their funding due to his new criminal record, causing him to disown Herschel, as that is five years of work down the drain. Herschel storms out of the apartment and decides to begin a pickle business in order to buy and take down the billboard overlooking the cemetery. Herschel's business in no time becomes a big success over social media, aided by his hipster looks and his real unique artisanal pickling and bottling process. 

However, Ben secretly calls the New York health department and tells them that Herschel has been using produce found in grocery store garbage bins, causing him to be forbidden from trading and fined US$12,000. A couple of local supporters, Christian and Kevin (Eliot Glazer and Kalen Allen respectively) tell Herschel that he could utilise the assistance of unpaid interns to pickle, bottle, promote and sell his briny cucumbers resulting in his business becoming even more successful and allowing him to upgrade the cemetery and remove the offensive billboard. Herschel's greater success leads to Ben envying him even more.

Next up Ben then taunts Herschel about Twitter, which Herschel is completely ignorant about, but his curiosity is sparked. And so he begins tweeting controversial statements, which he has his intern Assistant Clara (Molly Evensen) post on his behalf verbatim. While initially met with protests and boycotts, Herschel is quickly regarded as a master of free speech and empowerment. One day while Herschel is hosting a friendly debate, Ben shows up in disguise and using a false tone of voice questions his thoughts on Christianity. This leads Herschel to rant about Christianity, causing the public to turn on him and chase him down the street. His immigration papers also appear lost in time, causing the government to try and deport him.

Herschel breaks into Ben's apartment through the window, and pleads with Ben to get him across the border into Canada. Ben reluctantly agrees. Ten miles from the border with Canada and now on foot traipsing thorough the snow covered woodland, Ben and Herschel begin to reconcile their relationship. Ben comes clean that he deliberately sabotaged Herschel's business on three separate occasions, causing Herschel to admit that he is saddened that Ben is more committed to his app than his family's legacy. This leads to the pair getting into a fist fight. Herschel steals Ben's backpack, and uses his razor to shave and puts on his spare packed clothes to pose as Ben, alerting the police that the real Ben is Herschel. This causes the real Ben's arrest and deportation back to Slupsk.

Taking up residence at Ben's apartment, Herschel one evening is looking through an old photograph album of Ben's when out falls a picture hand drawn by a much younger Ben. On the picture he learns that the app's name, 'Boop Bop', was actually the nickname Ben gave to his late parents, leading Herschel to realise that family was in fact always close to Ben's heart. He returns to his home country to find Ben, who had taken refuge at a local synagogue. They reconcile, and sometime later return to Brooklyn, hoping to develop a pickle-selling website and take their salty pickled cucumber sales worldwide.

I have to say that I was a little surprised by 'An American Pickle' in that my fairly low expectations going in were easily surpassed. The satirical moments right from the opening frames is on point and made me chuckle to myself on numerous occasions. Whilst this film won't go down in history as one of the great comedies of our time, Seth Rogen here more than proves his acting chops in dual roles playing opposite sides of the same Yiddish coin creating two very different characters each with their own distinct idiosyncrasies. The script labours at times in its preposterousness, but is saved by the strong performances, the humour (which at times is far from PC), the sight gags and the questions it asks about the importance of family, their legacy and tradition, and how can we in the present learn from the lessons of the past to shape our future.  

'An American Pickle' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-