What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 7th November 2024

The 69th Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) takes place this year from Thursday 7th through until Sunday 17th November, in the Irish city of Cork, and is a local, national and international celebration of cinema. CIFF’s mission is to present Ireland’s most exciting, diverse, and ambitious annual film festival, connecting and stimulating audiences and artists through a carefully curated selection of the best films, to create a unique shared cultural experience, rooted in Cork, open to the world. It is also Ireland’s first and largest film festival and one of Cork’s most significant and popular annual cultural events. Award-winning films from the international film festival circuit, new discoveries and cinema classics are selected by an experienced curatorial team, to be premiered in cinemas in Cork and screened online via the Festival Digital Platform, available to viewers nationwide.

The Opening Night Gala film presentation is 'Conclave', the mystery thriller film Directed by Edward Berger and stars Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence who organises a papal conclave to elect the next Pope, and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about each candidate. The Closing Night Gala film is 'Rumours' and this black comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Guy Maddin that has world leaders who meet at the G7 Summit but get lost in the woods whilst trying to compose a joint statement on an unspecified global crisis. Beset by thick fog and menaced by undead bog bodies and a giant brain, they navigate the tortured passions between them. 

Those films competing for the Spirit of the Festival Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay are as follows :-

* 'Arcadia' - from Greece and Bulgaria, and Directed by Yorgos Zois this fantasy drama film has psychologist Katerina having to confront her worst suspicions as she accompanies Yannis, a once-respected doctor, to identify the victim of a tragic car accident at an off-season seaside resort.

* 'Gloria!' - from Italy and Switzerland this historical musical film is Directed by Margherita Vicario. Here, Teresa, a maid in eighteenth-century Venice, works at a girls' musical institute. As the Pope's visit approaches, she discovers the piano amid the institute's preparations.

* 'The Imminent Age' - from Spain, this drama is Directed by Clara Serrano Llorens and Gerard Simo Gimeno and tells the story of eighteen year old Bruno, whose life is becoming increasingly limited by the growing dependence of his 86 year old grandmother Natividad, the only family he has ever known. When the opportunity to take her to a nursing home arises, both will have to deal with a decision they had not allowed themselves to consider before.

* 'Julie Keeps Quiet' - from Belgium and Sweden this psychological drama film is Directed by Leonardo Van Dijl and is about Julie, a star player at an elite tennis academy. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club's players are encouraged to speak up. But Julie decides to keep quiet.

* 'Lesson Learned' - from Hungary, this drama film is Directed by Balint Szimler and tells the story of a young teacher who rebels against archaic school methods as Palko, a new foreign student, struggles to adapt to Hungary's demanding education system.

* 'Loveable' - from Norway and Directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir, this drama offering sees Maria juggling four children and a demanding career while her second husband, Sigmund, travels all the time. One day they get into an ugly argument which gives rise to Sigmund eventually asking her for a divorce.

* 'Rabia' - from France, Germany and Belgium and Written and Directed by Mareike Engelhardt, this drama film has Jessica and her best friend leave their home in France for Syria to join Daech. Driven by the promise of a new life, when they arrive, they find themselves locked up in a women's house run by the authoritarian and charismatic Madame.

* 'Under the Volcano' - from Poland and is Co-Written and Directed by Damian Kocur. This drama film sees a Ukrainian family of four are enjoying the last day of their holiday on the island of Tenerife, Spain. However, upon arriving at the airport, they quickly learn that their flight has been canceled, as Russia has invaded Ukraine. Trapped on the island, the tourists become refugees.

* 'The Village Next to Paradise' - from Austria, Germany, France and Somalia, this drama is Written and Directed by Mo Harawe, and tells of a newly formed family confronting challenges while pursuing individual goals and facing the intricacies of modern life, relying on love, trust, and resilience to guide them.

For the other film strands being presented, including the Best New Irish Feature, World Tour, Culinary Cinema and more, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://corkfilmfest.org/

This week, with six new movie offerings coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, we launch with an American drama film set in 1936 Pittsburgh, in which this black American family grapples with family legacy and difficult decisions as they determine the fate of their heirloom piano, exploring deeper themes along the way. Then we have an American Christmas action adventure film that sees Santa Claus getting kidnapped, and so the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with the world's most infamous bounty hunter in a mission to save Christmas. Next up we have an American absurdist fantasy drama film about a family of four Sasquatches living in the dense forests of North America who find themselves on a collision course with the ever changing world around them. And following these we have a trio of Aussie films starting with a comedy about a self-appointed Mother of the Year who sees an opportunity when her daughter falls into a coma and assumes her daughter's identity. And closing out the week we have two Aussie doco's - the first traces a year in the life of probably Australia's most iconic beach side swimming pools and what it means to the local and more far reaching community; and the second tells the story of a former world #4 tennis star who rose through the ranks while surviving war, bullying and extreme domestic violence.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'THE PIANO LESSON' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Co-Written and Directed by Malcolm Washington (son of Denzel) in his feature film Directorial debut, and is adapted from the 1987 play by August Wilson. This the third big screen adaptation of an August Wilson play - the first 'Fences' was Directed and starred Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in 2016 and the second 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' starring Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis and was Produced by Denzel Washington in 2020. Denzel Washington has shepherded the films and has vowed to continue Wilson's legacy by adapting the rest of his plays into films for a wider audience. Washington said, 'the greatest part of what's left of my career is making sure that August is taken care of'. This film is once again Co-Produced by Denzel Washington. 

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Corey Hawkins, Ray Fisher and Danielle Deadwyler, the film saw its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August, is released here in Australia and the USA from this week before streaming on Netflix from 22nd November onward.

'RED ONE' (Rated PG) - this American Christmas action adventure comedy film is Directed by Jake Kasdan whose previous feature film credits take in his debut with 'Zero Effect' in 1998, then 'Orange County' in 2002, 'Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story' in 2007, 'Bad Teacher' in 2011, 'Sex Tape' in 2014, and the last two 'Jumanji' reboots in 2017 and 2019. Here then, when Santa Claus, Code Name : RED ONE, (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world's most infamous bounty hunter, Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas. Also starring Lucy Liu and Bonnie Hunt, the film cost a reported US$250M to produce and is released in the UK this week too, and the US from next week.

'SASQUATCH SUNSET' (Rated MA15+) - is an American absurdist fantasy drama film Co-Produced, Co-Directed and Co-Edited by Nathan and David Zellner, with David also writing the screenplay. In the misty wilderness forests of Northern California, a family of four nomadic Sasquatches, quite possibly the last of their enigmatic kind, embark on an absurdist, epic, hilarious, and ultimately poignant journey over the course of one year. These shaggy and noble giants fight for survival as they find themselves on a collision course with the ever-changing world around them. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough and Nathan Zellner, the film saw its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in mid-January this year, was released Stateside in mid-April, in the UK in mid-June, has so far collected US$1M at the Box Office and has garnered generally favourable reviews.

'AUDREY' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Natalie Bailey in her feature film debut although she has a career spanning some 25 years Directing TV series. Here then, following self-appointed Mother of the Year, Ronnie Lipsick (Jackie van Beek), who is living a life she never wanted, with a derailed career, a husband whose love for life has gone limp (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) and two daughters who she struggles to connect with (Josephine Blazier and Hannah Diviney). When an accident lands her eldest daughter Audrey (Josephine Blazier) in a coma, Ronnie gets a second chance at life by taking on her daughter’s identity – only she’s not the only one in the family who sees Audrey’s comatose state as an opportunity.

'THE POOL' (Rated M) - is an Australian documentary film Directed by Ian Darling that showcases Bondi Icebergs Club and its most photographed pool in the world. For nearly a century this spectacular fifty metre stretch of sparkling blue water at the southern end of Bondi Beach has occupied a special corner in the hearts of millions. This is where generations of children have learnt to swim, where the diehard have braved the frigid waters of one hundred winters, where the young and beautiful have come to bond and bake in the hot sun, and where sightseers from around the world have taken refuge during the scorching heights of endless Australian summers. Icebergs is at once a meeting place, a resting place, a workout place and a place of romance and ritual, capturing the lives of those who gather there, and revealing how this iconic space fosters a deep sense of community, connection, and belonging.

'UNBREAKABLE : THE JELENA DOKIC STORY' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary film is Written and Directed by Jessica Halloran and Ivan O'Mahoney, and tells the true story of how Jelena Dokic overcame extraordinary odds, and of her ultimate triumph in the face of poverty, bullying and extreme brutality. It’s about how she survived as a refugee, twice. How she survived on the tennis court as she ascended to become world No.4. But most importantly, how she survived the unimaginable abuse by Damir Dokic, her violent father and manager. The man whose love she craved most. It’s a story of growing up – never being alone, but always lonely. Ultimately, it’s the story of how the tennis world and a nation of fans chose to look away when Jelena needed them most. The film features firsthand testimony from Jelena, Australian and international tennis greats, including Pam Shriver and Lindsay Davenport, as well as former WTA officials and journalists.

With six new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

LEE : Monday 28th October 2024

I saw the M Rated 'LEE' earlier this week, and this British biographical drama film is Directed by Ellen Kuras in her feature film making debut, and is based on the 1985 biography 'The Lives of Lee Miller' written by Antony Penrose. It saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September 2023, was released in the UK in mid-September this year, in the US at the end of September, has so far grossed US$15.5M and has garnered generally positive reviews. The film was a passion project for lead Actress and Co-Producer Kate Winslet, who started developing the film, and in October 2015, the project was officially announced with Ellen Kuras on board to Direct from mid-2020.

The film opens up during the late 1930's, as Hitler rises to power in Germany. Elizabeth 'Lee' Miller (Kate Winslet) leaves her artistic circle of friends and life behind in France, including Solange d'Ayen (Marion Cotillard), Paul Eluard (Vincent Colombe) and Nusch Eluard (Noemie Merlant), and travels to London after falling madly, and very quickly, in love with the artist Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgard), to whom she describes herself as being done 'living a life as the model, the muse, the ingenue, and only good at drinking, having sex, and taking pictures'.

The two embark on a passionate relationship, just as war breaks out in Europe. Already a well regarded photographer, Lee lands a job completing assignments for British Vogue magazine, where she takes photographs of the London Blitz by bringing the chaos and urgency of those air raids to the pages of a popular and well regarded fashion publication. However, she is shocked by the restrictions placed on female photographers, and the attitude of Cecil Beaton (Samuel Barnett) a British fashion, portrait and war photographer also working for British Vogue magazine at the same time. 

As Hitler’s regime takes over large swathes of Europe, Lee becomes increasingly frustrated that her work is constrained by rules dictated by men. Determined to be where the action is, she defiantly pushes back against the establishment and, with the blessing of her friend and Vogue Editor Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough), Lee overcomes enormous obstacles to get herself to the frontline of World War II, by using the excuse that as an American citizen she is not governed by stuffy British rules about what women should and shouldn't do. 

And so sent over to Normandy following the D-Day invasion of 1944, Miller was tasked with reporting on what she was told was the newly-liberated town of Saint-Malo. She traveled there only to find that the town was still being heavily fought over. Miller's military accreditation as a female war correspondent did not allow her to enter an active combat zone, but rather than leave she decided to stay, and spent five days on the front lines photographing as much of the Battle of Saint-Malo as she could. Her photographs included the first recorded use of napalm. 

Compelled to document the truth, she turns her lens in the direction of suffering, and slowly begins to reveal the horrific loss of life due to Hitler’s diabolical crimes against the innocent victims of his regime. Miller teamed up with American photojournalist David Scherman (Andy Samberg), a Life magazine correspondent, on many assignments, including the liberation of Paris, the Battle of Alsace, and the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. 

Scherman's iconic photograph of Miller sitting in the bathtub in Adolf Hitler's private apartment in Munich, with the dried mud of that morning's visit to Dachau on her boots deliberately dirtying Hitler's bathmat was taken in the evening on 30th April 1945, coincidentally the same day that Hitler committed suicide with his wife Eva Braun in his bunker in Berlin. 

Upon returning to London after the end of the war, her husband returns home bearing the latest edition of Vogue magazine in which she expected to see her photographic account and accompanying article on the horrors of what she witnessed in Germany, but there are none. She hurries across to the Vogue offices to see Audrey Withers for an explanation but she is not there, and so tears through a filing cabinet seeking out the negatives of all the images she sent back, and promptly sets about ripping them up and cutting them up with scissors. Audrey appears and explains that she was not allowed to go to print with her images as they were way too graphic. Miller breaks down, and storms out. A short time later sat on the steps outside the Vogue offices Miller speaks of a profoundly traumatic experience when she was just seven years old when she was left home alone with an adult male friend of her family. She says that she has had to live with that shame, fear, and fury, for all of these years and has never told anyone as she was raised to keep secrets. 

Throughout the film we return to 1977 and Miller's home at Farley Farm House, in Chiddingly, East Sussex where she is being interviewed by Antony Penrose (Josh O'Connor) about her time as a WWII photojournalist and recounting the stories behind some of the most influential photographs of that era. Miller is somewhat distant of Penrose only opening up when he agrees to tell her something about his life. At the end Miller says it's your turn and it's then that we realise that Antony Penrose is in fact her son, who tells her that growing up she always was distant, disconnected from him, and almost an obstacle to her life. Miller remarks 'that's disappointing'. She pulls out a box containing a lock of his hair from his very first hair cut, the first book she ever read to him, and the first picture he ever painted. As the camera pulls away, Miller is not there, but spread all over the floor are Lee's photographs that Penrose only discovered after her mothers death in 1977, when he came across them in the attic of Farley Farm House by chance. 

Lee Miller carried out this dangerous work for the sake of the female readers of Vogue magazine, from whom the reality of war was largely kept hidden, and in the process yielded an indelible series of photographs which to this day continue to shape how we view these events.

'Lee' is a fairly detailed character study of this icon of WWII photojournalism that charts her story from the late 1930's through until just after the end of the war. It is at times harrowing, emotional, thought provoking and funny, and Kate Winslet shines in the role of the conflicted, yet thoroughly determined Lee Miller, and appears in almost every scene. Ellen Kuras as former Cinematographer turned Director has crafted a biopic of a woman you may not have previously heard of, but through this film her enduring legacy is granted a new life which she so rightly deserves. Alexander Skarsgard is miscast as Roland Penrose and his dialogue comes across as stilted and barely interested, and Josh O'Connor comes across as the floundering Prince Charles - the role he played in 'The Crown'. Andrea Riseborough, Marion Cotillard and Andy Samberg are all first rate in their roles. 

'Lee' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 31st October 2024.

The 38th Leeds International Film Festival takes place this year from Friday 1st November through until Sunday 17th November. Founded in 1987, this annual film festival is hosted in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is the largest film festival in England outside of London. LIFF features five programme sections - Official Selection, Retrospective, Cinema Versa, Fanomenon and Short Film City. LIFF is a qualifying film festival for the Academy Awards. 

'The world’s first films were made in Leeds in 1888 by Louis le Prince and today the city is a leading national centre for film culture. Leeds film culture includes fantastic new and historic cinemas, exciting film festivals throughout the year, special film events in landmark locations, four universities and colleges with dedicated film departments, a dynamic movement of societies and individuals organising their own film activities, and much more. Home to Channel 4 and Screen Yorkshire, Leeds is a major hub for film and television production and for talent development' - so reads the official website.

LIFF's Opening Film this year is 'The Ties That Bind Us' from Writer and Director Carine Tardieu, this French and Belgian drama is about what brings people together in unsettling times and the new kinds of ties that can bloom unexpectedly. UK Premiere screening. The LIFF Central Film is 'All We Imagine As Light' from India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy, is Directed by Payal Kapadia and paints a portrait of the lives, loves, and longings of three women working in the Mumbai Hospital. The Closing Film presentation is 'All The Long Nights' from Japan and Directed by Sho Miyake. The film follows Misa, a young woman with debilitating PMS that manifests in volatile outbursts.When she leaves her corporate job for a gentler workplace, a company making scientific toys, she encounters the shy Takatoshi, a co-worker struggling with panic disorder. Through mutual support and small acts of kindness, the two discover a world outside themselves. UK Premiere showcasing.

Constellation is the new name for the main programme section where many of the most talked about films of the year are previewed, and UK Premieres of films are presented from exciting new filmmakers in the feature film competition. There are eight film in Competition, these being :-

* 'The Fable' - from India and the USA and Directed by Raam Reddy. UK Premiere.

* 'The Editorial Office' - from Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and Directed by Roman Bondarchuk. UK Premiere.

* 'Simon of the Mountain' - from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and Directed by Federico Luis. UK Premiere.

* 'Pierce' - from Singapore, Thailand and Poland and Directed by Nelicia Low. UK Premiere.

* 'East of Noon' - from Egypt, Netherlands and Qatar and Directed by Hala Elkoussy. UK Premiere.

* 'Betania' - from Brazil and Directed by Marcelo Botta. UK Premiere.

* 'Ivo' - from Germany and Directed Eva Trobisch. UK Premiere.

* 'Toxic' - from Lithuania and Directed by Saule Bliuvaite. UK Premiere.

The Opening and Closing films of Constellation this year are both much-anticipated comedy dramas, featuring stand-out lead performances with Kieran Culkin in Jesse Eisenberg’s 'A Real Pain' and Amy Adams in Marielle Heller’s 'Nightbitch'. There are a further thirty-two films being showcased in the Constellation section. 

For the full programme of feature films and short films being showcased, plus the summaries of the aforementioned films, you can visit the official festival website at :- https://www.leedsfilm.com/

Looking ahead to this weeks six new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, and we kick start with a drama offering from an acclaimed Director in which multiple generations of couples and families inhabit the same home over the course of a century. This is followed by a biographical drama film that sees tensions run high as the Producer and a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers prepare for the first ever broadcast of 'Saturday Night Live'. Next up we turn to a pair of Aussie horror offerings, the first of which sees a young mother becoming increasingly unstable when she is terrorised by a malevolent spirit she believes is trying to take her children; and then a creature feature set in the remote outback town of Axehead, where terror takes the form of Rippy, a monstrous giant zombie kangaroo. Then we have an Italian film set in postwar 1940's Rome, that follows a working mother, wife and carer breaking traditional family patterns and aspiring to a different future, after receiving a mysterious letter; before closing out the week with an action thriller that has a former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'HERE' (Rated M) - this American drama film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Robert Zemeckis, and is based on the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire. Zemeckis has a long and varied career as a Writer, Producer and Director with his more notable feature film output including his 1978 debut with 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' to 'Romancing the Stone' in 1984, 'Back to the Future, Parts I, II and III' in 1985, 1989 and 1990 respectively, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' in 1988, 'Death Becomes Her' in 1992, 'Forrest Gump' in 1994, 'Contact' in 1997, 'Cast Away' in 2000, 'The Polar Express' in 2004, 'Flight' in 2012, 'Allied' in 2016 and 'Pinocchio' in 2022. This film saw its Premiere at the American Film Institute Festival on 25th October and goes on wide release this week too in the USA.

'Here' is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the most relatable of human experiences, with Richard Young (Tom Hanks) and his wife Margaret (Robin Wright) starring in a tale of love, loss, laughter and life, all of which happen in a single spot of land spanning from the past and well into the future. Also with Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Dockery. 

'SATURDAY NIGHT' (Rated MA15+) - is an American biographical comedy drama film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jason Reitman whose previous feature film making credits include his debut in 2005 with 'Thank You for Smoking', then 'Juno' in 2007, 'Up in the Air' in 2009, 'Labour Day' in 2013, 'Tully' in 2018, 'The Front Runner' in 2018 also, and 'Ghostbusters : Afterlife' in 2021. Here then, at 11:30pm on 11th October 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television, and culture, forever. Based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the ninety minutes leading up to the first broadcast of 'Saturday Night Live'. Full of humour, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn't, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words delivered by Chevvy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) 'Live from New York. It's Saturday Night!' The film stars Gabriel LaBelle as Producer Lorne Michaels, with amongst an ensemble cast that includes Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson, Willem Dafoe as David Tebet, J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, Matt Wood as Jim Belushi and Tracy Letts as Herb Sargent. The film had its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in late August, and went on general release in the US on 11th October on the 49th anniversary of the show's premiere. It has received positive reviews from critics and has grossed US$7M from a production budget of about US$28M.

'THE MOOGAI' (Rated M) - this Australian horror film is Written and Directed by Jon Bell and is based on his own 2020 fifteen minute short film of the same name, which won the Midnight Shorts Grand Jury Award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, as well as Best Director at the 2021 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Here, A young Aboriginal couple bring home their second baby. What should be a joyous time takes a sinister turn, as the baby's mother starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her baby. The film includes Indigenous Australian themes related to the Stolen Generations (a government policy of forced removal of Aboriginal children from their parents) and The Dreaming. Moogai is the Bundjalung word for 'ghost'. The film saw its World Premiere in the Midnights section of this years Sundance Film Festival toward the end of January, and had its Australian Premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in June of this year. 

'THE RED' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian horror comedy film Co-Written and Directed by Ryan Coonan in his feature film making debut, and develops the story taken from his own short film 'Waterborne'. Set in a remote Queensland community of Axehaed, terror takes the form of Rippy, a giant red Zombie Kangaroo. As the undead-roo leaves a trail of carnage in its wake, the only hope lies in local young sheriff Maddy (Tess Haubrich) who is trying to live up to her dead father's legacy finds herself tested when locals start being found ripped to shreds, forcing her to face her past as she works with her eccentric uncle in a battle for survival and a desperate mission to defeat the beast. Also starring Michael Biehn and Aaron Pedersen.

'THERE'S STILL TOMORROW' (Rated M) - this Italian period comedy drama film is Co-Written, Directed and stars Paola Cortellesi in her Directorial debut. Set in May of 1946 in Rome, Italy with Allied troops still roaming the streets in Jeeps, Delia (Paola Cortellesi) plays exclusively the roles of wife and mother to her three children while her husband, Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea), is the head of the family. Between domestic engagements she nurses her sullen father-in-law Ottorino (Giorgio Colangeli) and does occasional sewing for various city stores, as well as laundry for the wealthy. One day, Delia receives a mysterious letter, and the woman is able to imagine a better future for herself. The film cost US$5.5M to produce, has so far grossed US$50M, has collected twenty award wins and a further eighteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, and has garnered positive critical acclaim. The film was shot in black-and-white in the neorealist style of the 1940's and '50's.

'WEEKEND IN TAIPEI' (Rated MA15+) - is a French and Taiwan action film Co-Written by George Huang who made his Directorial debut with 'Swimming with Sharks' in 1994, and who has largely Written or Produced since then, up until this film, which is also Co-Written and Co-Produced by Luc Besson. John Lawlor (Luke Evans), a committed American Drug Enforcement Administration agent, fell in love with Joey (Gwei Lun-mei), a Taipei-based transporter, but was forced to separate due to the disruption of criminal and corruption activities. Fifteen years later, the pair is reunited when Lawlor is on a mission in Taipei. The film was released in its native France and Taiwan in early September, is released this week in Australia and in the US on 8th November. 

With six new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KNOX GOES AWAY : Tuesday 22nd October 2024.

I saw the M Rated 'KNOX GOES AWAY' aka 'ASSASSIN'S PLAN' aka 'A KILLER'S MEMORY' earlier this week, and this American crime thriller film is Co-Produced, Directed and starring Michael Keaton who made his Directorial debut in 2008 with 'The Merry Gentleman'. This film saw its World Premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023, had a limited cinema release in the US in mid-March this year, has so far grossed US$654K and has garnered mixed critical reviews.

The film follows a contract killer John Knox (Michael Keaton), who is estranged from his wife and son and lives alone, only interacting with other members of his industry and Annie (Joanna Kulig), the Polish sex worker who comes to visit him once a week on a Thursday, has done so for the past four years, and who shares his love of books. One night Knox meets up with his partner Thomas Muncie (Ray McKinnon) and announces that he has to cut their dinner short as he has to go to the airport to fly out to San Francisco for personal reasons and will be back in 24 hours. Muncie presses him for the reasons behind his flight but Knox just reiterates that it's personal. 

There Knox has an appointment with a specialist doctor and is diagnosed with a rapidly evolving form of dementia called Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Knox asks him how long has he got, and the Doctor responds with weeks only. Back home, Knox quickly makes arrangements to cash out and retire from the business. Before that, he undertakes one last job with Muncie. 

During the job, after successfully killing his target but also unintentionally killing the woman who was with him in the shower, Knox accidentally kills Muncie in his dementia-induced state. He hurriedly stages the scene and leaves. Later that night, he is unexpectedly visited by his estranged son who he hasn't seen or heard from for many years, Miles (James Marsden), who tearfully admits to killing a man for raping his sixteen year old daughter Kaylee (Morgan Bastin), Knox's granddaughter. Miles is fully aware of what his dad does for a living, and so believed that his father was the only man he could turn to under the circumstances. Knox tells his son to clean up thoroughly in the shower, while he bags up all of Miles clothes.

Knox instructs his son to remain quiet to the authorities and to go about his normal business as usual. Knox later that night arrives at the crime scene and meticulously removes evidence that may incriminate Miles, while mysteriously storing them away for later use. Meanwhile, determined detective Emily Ikari (Suzy Nakamura) is on both murder cases, and resolves to track down the killer.

Knox later visits his long term friend Xavier Crane (Al Pacino), a former thief. Together, they hatch a plan to set Knox's family up for life while leaving the business behind, all while Knox battles his fading mental capabilities. Meanwhile, Detective Ikari links both crimes to a single perpetrator. 

She questions Knox with little or no clarity, and he later plants the evidence he had previously stored away around his son Miles' home, in an apparent act of betrayal. Miles is arrested for the murder of his daughter's rapist, and is visited by Knox in prison, where Knox accuses his son of ratting him out to the IRS in a tax evasion case several years prior, for which he spent six years in prison. 

Knox visits a cabin in the woods that he used to own but which his son sold two years prior. He breaks in and removes a stone tile from under a wood burning stove to retrieve a small pouch of diamonds. He then wanders off into the woods and gets lost but is picked up by a kindly hiker who calls Crane to come and collect him. Crane drives him home. 

Upon reaching home, he is confronted by a group of three heavy set burglars and Annie, who had become aware of Knox's dementia and the fact that he had been cashing out and ratted him out as a result. Overpowering them all and finishing them off each with a couple of rounds Knox confronts Annie at gunpoint and informs her that she would have gotten a one third share anyway, with the other two thirds going to Miles and his ex-wife Ruby (Marcia Gay Harden).

Despondent, Knox calls Xavier, who wishes him all the best before calling the Police as part of their plan, and telling them that Knox is at home with three dead bodies. He is arrested by Detective Ikari. The Police later discover signs that the evidence found at Miles house may have been tampered with, and planted there by Knox, leading to the conclusion that Knox may have framed his own son for the murder. When asked by Ikari on a possible motive, Miles, recalling his father's accusation of him in prison, responds accordingly, shifting the blame on to Knox. He is then released.

A few weeks weeks later, Miles visits his father in prison. Knox, now having fully lost his mental faculties, does not recognise his own son and is later moved from prison to a medical facility, having only weeks left to live. Miles and his mother receive equal shares of Knox's fortune now split just two ways, ensuring the completion of his retirement plan. Annie, who is spared, is shown receiving Knox's library and opening the cover of 'A Tale of Two Cities'. Knox is seen staring out of a window in a catatonic state. 

'Knox Goes Away' is a slow burn neo-noir crime thriller that doesn't feature explosions, car chases, or OTT gun play or close quarter combat. Instead, Director and star Keaton has delivered a character study that is engaging and nuanced, tautly wound and clever all at once, while eeking out top notch, albeit low key performances from its cast. As for the storyline, it's a little convoluted and almost bordering on the unbelievable, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying this race against the clock for this hitman with rapid onset dementia to redeem himself to the people he cares most about. 

'Knox Goes Away' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

    

-Steve, at Odeon Online-