VERITY : Wednesday 21st October 2026.

I finally got around to seeing the MA15+ Rated 'VERITY' last week, and this American psychological erotic thriller film is Co-Produced and Directed by Michael Showalter whose previous feature film Directing credits take in the likes of his debut with 'The Baxter' in 2005 and which he would follow up with other titles including 'Hello, My Name Is Doris' in 2015, 'The Big Sick' in 2017, 'The Lovebirds' in 2020, 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' in 2021, 'The Idea of You' in 2024 and 'Oh. What. Fun.' in 2025. This film is based on Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name published in 2018. The film cost US$40M to produce, has so far grossed US$163M and has generated mixed critical reviews. 

The film opens with Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) giving a public reading of her latest crime novel in a New York book store to just a handful of rather bored looking customers. Her agent Corey (Ismael Cruz Cordova) calls her and says that she has an appointment at 3:00pm that same afternoon in the offices of her publisher, to not be late and to wear something flattering. On the walk over to the offices, she stops at a pedestrian crossing at a busy intersection, and witnesses a cyclist get hit by a car right in front of her, with the cyclists blood splattering all over her head, hair, neck and clothes. A passer by asks if she is OK and escorts her to a nearby cafe with restrooms in which she can clean up. In doing so, he offers her his shirt to wear as her blouse is all messed up. Once cleaned up, and before leaving they introduce themselves, with the guy saying his name is Jeremy (Josh Hartnett). They then go their separate ways.

Once at the offices she is met by Corey who leads her into a room, at which is seated Jeremy and two others representing Jeremy. They are looking for someone to help one of their bestselling authors finish a popular novel series. The author, Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), known for writing novels from the perspectives of immoral villains, has been left in a catatonic state after a near-fatal car accident, a fact hidden from the media to prevent fans from thinking the series is over. Verity's husband, Jeremy, is mourning the recent drowning of their young eight year old daughter, Harper, from a canoeing accident. He assures Lowen she will be the best candidate for the job, as Verity has read her work and enjoyed it. The publisher says that the current work needs finishing off and there is an expectation for two further novels, paying US$75K a piece. Jeremy asks the others to leave the room so that he can talk privately with Lowen. He says that they are low-balling her, and that she should tell her agent to ask for a million. 

Lowen takes on the job and moves in with Jeremy, Verity, and Harper's twin brother Crew (Brady Wagner) in the family's lavish lakeside Vermont home, together with Anna (Irina Dvorovenko), Verity's nurse. Verity's office is in the house, enabling Lowen to absorb herself in Verity's copious notes to help her plan the next novel in the series. Lowen comes across a flash drive and on it is an unfinished manuscript of Verity's autobiography, in which Verity describes her initial infatuation with Jeremy and eventual resentment toward her children, whom she perceived as competition for his love and attention. Disgusted and horrified, Lowen abandons the manuscript halfway through reading it. 

Despite Verity's inability to move or speak, Lowen starts to notice Verity looking at her when no one else is around, although she is unsure if these episodes are just hallucinations. Lowen successfully plans the next novel based on Verity's exhaustive, albeit muddled, notes and prepares to begin writing it. A mutual attraction grows between her and Jeremy, and they begin an affair. Over dinner in a German restaurant in the nearby town, Jeremy confesses that though Verity never read Lowen's book, he did, and felt a deep connection to her, but lied because he thought the validation would mean more coming from Verity. 

Lowen revisits Verity's autobiography, which contains a confession that Verity intentionally capsized the canoe in an attempt to drown her children and thus reclaim Jeremy's devotion; their son Crew only survived because of his ability to swim. The manuscript ends with a declaration that Verity plans to commit vehicular suicide to escape legal consequences for her actions. 

Lowen confronts Verity, threatening to expose her to the Police and take Verity's family and career for herself. She stabs Verity in the palm of her hand with a drawing pin, but the patient remains steadfastly catatonic just gazing straight ahead and unflinching. Later, Lowen asks Crew about Harper's death, and he refuses to answer, but implies that Verity speaks to him, despite her supposed catatonic condition. Lowen confides her findings to Jeremy. He angrily confronts Verity, who fearfully admits to faking her catatonia, and pleads with him to let her explain. He begins to strangle her, but Lowen stops him before suggesting that he suffocate her instead, by covering her mouth and pinching her nose but not to leave any physical marks, to make her death look like an accident. After he kills her, they dump her body in the lake and convince Police that she must have woken up from her catatonia, left the house in a state of confusion, and accidentally drowned.

Fast forward seven months, and Lowen has published the next novel in Verity's series and is pregnant with Jeremy's daughter. As they prepare to move out of the house, Lowen comes across a handwritten letter concealed under a loose floorboard from Verity, addressed to Jeremy in the event that she and Crew left him. The letter promises that the autobiography was merely a writing exercise to help her process her grief, and so by this account, she never resented her children, Harper's death was truly an accident, and she was not actually suicidal. It also tells how Jeremy discovered the manuscript, believed it to be true, drugged Verity, and put her in her car with a brick on the accelerator in an attempt to kill her and make it look like a suicide. She survived, but faked catatonia for fear that he would report her to Police or kill her if he thought she was capable of telling anyone what he did. Lowen decides not to tell Jeremy about the letter and continue her new life with Jeremy, Crew, and their unborn daughter, no longer sure which of Verity's stories to believe.

Make no mistake, 'Verity' is hardly going to win any Best Picture, Best Writing or Best Director Awards this season, but nonetheless this film is an enjoyable psychological erotic thriller that is light on eroticism and light on thrills and tension, and heavy on its predictability. The three lead Actors do the very best they can with the material they've been given, yet still manages to offer up the audience enough melodrama and plot twists and turns to at least maintain the interest of those viewers familiar with the source material, and for those who are not, a reasonably entertaining night at the movies. 

'Verity' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

WHALEFALL : Tuesday 20th October 2026.

I saw the M Rated 'WHALEFALL' earlier this week, and this American survival thriller film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Brian Duffield in only his third feature film offering following 'Spontaneous' in 2020 and 'No One Will Save You' in 2023. He has recently been linked to Write and Direct 'Crumble' for Laika Studios and that he would also Direct and Co-Write with Zach Cregger a film based on Trevor Henderson's internet phenomenon 'Siren Head'. This film is based on the 2023 novel of the same name by Daniel Kraus. The film saw its World Premiere screening in London on 5th October and was released Stateside and here in Australia last week having so far grossed US$19M from a production budget of US$40M and generating mixed or average critical reviews.

Mitt Gardiner (Josh Brolin), a local deep sea dive expert and dive-boat captain, is diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma. Refusing to succumb to the illness, Mitt leaves sealed farewell letters for his wife and three children in a cooler on his boat, while his good friend Hewey (John Ortiz) continues fishing fully aware of Mitt's intentions. After strapping diving weights to himself, he leaps into the ocean off Northern California’s Monastery Beach to end his life. Hewey sobs as he hears the splash of Mitt entering the water. His body is never recovered, leaving his family to mourn with an empty casket.

One year later on the anniversary of Mitt's death, college student Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) returns home to California from Iowa deeply traumatised with the loss of his father. The two had a argumentative relationship, and Jay refused to speak with Mitt during his terminal illness or read the letter he left behind. To seek emotional closure, and to give his mother Zara (Elizabeth Shue) and sisters Eva (Jane Levy) and Nan (Emily Rudd) a piece of their father to properly bury, Jay sets out on an unauthorised, solo scuba dive to retrieve his father's remains, carrying a tank with one hour of air. We learn that Mitt taught Jay everything he knew about scuba diving, so he's no stranger to the sport, although hasn't dived for some time. 

After about ten minutes from first entering the choppy sea conditions, Jay is deep underwater close to the edge of a submarine canyon, when he is caught in a battle between a giant squid and a sperm whale. When he tries to swim to the surface, the squid's tentacles wrap around his dive gear, and the whale sucks both the squid and Jay into its massive jaws before swallowing them.

Jay comes round inside the pitch-black, suffocating environment of one of the whale's four stomach chambers. He fights off the squid, which is then crushed to death by the powerful stomach walls. Determined to find a way out, Jay unknowingly crawls into the next chamber, where digestive juices and stomach acids begin to burn his hands and erode his dive gear, all while the squid's half-digested beak pierces his already dissolving hand. Realising this chamber is a point of no return with guaranteed death, Jay climbs back into the first chamber to plan another way to escape. With his oxygen depleting and surrounded by the whale's digestive system, Jay has a panic attack.

Jay pulls off the squids beak implanted in his hand and screams in excruciating pain in doing so. Improvising the squid's beak and the light of a recently swallowed bioluminescent jellyfish, Jay tries to climb up the whale's oesophagus to reach its mouth and escape to the ocean. When the creature briefly breaches the water to breathe, Jay desperately tries to call out to a nearby whalewatching tour boat, but his cries for help go unheeded. As the whale plunges down into the depths, the sudden downward momentum pins Jay against the stomach wall. The crushing water pressure punctures his eardrums and triggers bleeding from his nose, ears and mouth until he passes out.

Jay comes round again to discover he is almost completely out of time and almost out of oxygen. Giving up on a clear exit route, he furiously stabs the stomach wall with the squid's beak to force the whale to regurgitate him, but his efforts fail. Suddenly, the whale is ambushed by a pack of orcas. The predators' brutal onslaught prompts a nearby pod of sperm whales to gather around and drive the orcas away, leaving Jay's whale mortally wounded and slowly making its way up to the surface for more oxygen.

Deprived of his life saving oxygen and badly injured, Jay begins to accept the possibility of death and hallucinates conversations with his father. Jay apologises for failing to have deeper conversations with his Dad and for refusing to read his letter. The hallucination of his father gives him the mental clarity to remember a survival lesson. He realises that the whale’s internal decomposition and digestive tract have filled the stomach chambers with highly flammable methane gas. Jay constructs a makeshift explosive device using built up methane gas from the chamber, the mix of oxygen (at 79%) and nitrogen (at 21%) from his remaining scuba tank and a small bale of steel wool that he found earlier wrapped in a plastic bag inside the whale's gut, with batteries he brought down as dive weights to create an ignition spark. He uses the squid's beak to slice a hole into the stomach lining to wedge the makeshift explosive device in. The resulting blast blows a massive hole right through the side of the whale's stomach and body, that propels Jay up to the ocean's surface. He watches the whale's lifeless corpse sink out of view to the bottom of the ocean. A tour boat rescues him and tourniquets his left arm.

Some months later, Jay and his family are aboard Mitt's old boat. Jay, with scars to his face and neck and minus his left hand, finally reads the letter his father left him and is overcome with emotion, breaking down into tears while laughing. His mother calls out 'is it time to go home' to which Jay replies with 'yes'. 

On paper and even in the shorts for this film, the plot seemed to be both audacious and too far fetched to be taken too seriously, but I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the time the end credits rolled. The cinematography is top notch as are the visual effects of the whales innards, and Austin Abrams (fresh from the latest 'Resident Evil' movie), gives a noteworthy performance as the seriously put-upon scuba diver trapped in such a claustrophobic and alien environment, whose emotions are mostly seen in his eyes through his diving mask. Interspersed with all the action inside the guts of the whale, there are flashbacks to Jay's broken relationship with his father Mitt, and some of the lessons handed down from father to son that ultimately stand Jay in good stead, and are instrumental in his eventual survival, but these scenes are also peppered with a smattering of schmaltz. With a unique setting, and as a survival thriller film it works well enough if you are prepared to suspend all belief in the premise, and leave your brain at the theatre door.

'Whalefall' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd October 2026

The 39th annual Virginia Film Festival (VAFF) takes place this year from Wednesday 21st October through until Sunday 25th October, in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, and is a programme of the University of Virginia. Founded in October 1988, the intent was twofold - to stimulate economic development by encouraging film production in Virginia and increasing tourism, and to meld the creative interests and crafts of the American film industry with the intellectual resources of a nationally ranked university. Widely recognised as one of the leading regional film festivals in America, the VAFF is known for its commitment to taking audiences beyond the screen to explore some of the most important issues of our time. The five-day festival, attracting over 20,000 attendees, annually delivers more than one hundred films from around the world, combining special previews of some of the hottest titles of the festival season with an array of fascinating documentaries, exciting new voices on the independent film scene, the best of the international film scene and more . . . . . so reads the official website.

Playing in this years Gala Screenings section, there are fifteen titles, as outlined briefly below :-

* '1 15 41 Tragedy to Triumph' - from the USA and this sports documentary film is Directed by Greg Firth. The University of Virginia community, and the UVA football team suffered an unthinkable tragedy in 2022. Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and D’Sean Perry were killed in the first and only mass murder in college athletics. The remainder of the season was canceled, and the programme faced an uncertain future. Closing Night Gala Film presentation. World Premiere.

* '14th' - from the USA and this historical biographical documentary film is Directed by Ava DuVernay. The 14th Amendment fundamentally reshaped the USA with a promise declaring that anyone born on American soil is a citizen, yet the idea of who belongs has remained fiercely contested for 150 years. Ava DuVernay who previously examined the 13th Amendment, now turns her lens toward the ongoing struggle over American identity. Featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

* 'Behemoth!' - from the USA this musical romantic comedy drama film is Directed by Tony Gilroy. Alex, a gifted cellist returns home to Los Angeles after twenty years on the road. Finding work recording film scores, he immerses himself in every project, and long-held memories begin to resurface. As he reconciles with his past, he comes to terms with loves old and new, and reckons with his decision to flee not just LA, but the people closest to him. Starring Pedro Pascal, Will Arnett, Olivia Wilde and Matthew Lillard.

* 'Being Heumann' - from the USA, this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Sian Heder. In 1977, when Joseph Califano, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Mark Ruffalo), refuses to enact federally mandated protections for Americans with disabilities, Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley), the disability rights activist and hundreds of allies seize the government offices in San Francisco and refuse to leave, sparking the longest occupation of a federal building in American history. 

* 'La Bola Negra' - from Spain, and this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. The lives of a soldier drafted against his will, a young socialite navigating a culture of homophobia, and a historian grappling with family involvement in the Spanish Civil War collide in this sweeping tapestry of time-hopping vignettes.

* 'The Cashier' - from the USA and this dark comedy film is Directed by Andy Edmunds. This film centres on Glenda (Daphne Maxwell Reid), a humble cashier who stumbles upon a winning US$1.6B lottery ticket. Instead of smiling all the way to the bank, Glenda is concerned about the unfortunate soul who lost it.

* 'Club Kid' - from the USA and this comedy drama film is Directed by Jordan Firstman. After years spent in a haze of clubs, a party promoter whose life has dissolved into a decade of drug-blurred nights and perpetual adolescence, has his nightlife routine shattered when Arlo, the son he never knew he had, is dropped off on his doorstep. Forced into sudden guardianship, Peter is jolted out of the illusion that tomorrow’s problems can be postponed forever.

* 'The Debut' - from the USA and this comedy drama film is Directed by Jesse Eisenberg. Mona (Julianne Moore) is completely disregarded by everyone in her life. On a whim, and with no experience, she lands a role in a local musical. Under the guidance of Jerry (Paul Giamatti) the magnetic Director, Mona becomes spellbound and begins to lose herself in the glamour of the stage. Opening Night Gala Film.

* 'Elsinor' - from the UK and this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Simon Stone. Based on the real-life story of Ian Charleson (Andrew Scott), diagnosed with AIDS, he defies his doctor (Olivia Colman) to play Hamlet at the London National Theatre. As his body weakens, Ian confronts his mortality both offstage and on, channeling every ounce of courage into a theatre role that becomes intertwined with his real decline.

* 'I Play Rocky' - from the USA this historical biographical sports drama film is Directed by Peter Farrelly. Before writing and starring in one of the most influential sport films ever made, 29-year-old Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) was a struggling Actor waiting for his big break. Battling homelessness and poverty, Stallone decides it’s time to take a bet on himself.

* 'Ink' - from the UK and this historical biographical drama is Directed by Danny Boyle. Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce) recruits editor Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) to turn a failing newspaper into a sensation, unleashing a brash new brand of tabloid journalism where outrageous headlines and provocative stories drive circulation skyward, alongside a healthy dose of public scrutiny.

* 'The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd' - from the USA, this romance mystery thriller is Directed by Tim Blake Nelson. The film follows Karen (Amanda Seyfried), a teacher in a maximum-security prison who becomes entangled with Wilson Shedd (Scoot McNairy), a death-row inmate whose unexpected warmth pierces right through her. As Shedd’s execution nears, Karen risks everything for a chance at his freedom, and her own escape from an abusive marriage. Gala Centrepiece Film presentation.

* 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' - from the USA, the UK, Australia and Ireland, this drama film is Directed by Jonathan Kent. Set on one single day in August 1912 at the family’s Connecticut seaside home, the story follows the Tyrone family as it faces the looming dual spectres of Edmund’s potentially fatal consumption diagnosis alongside his mother Mary’s increasingly fragile and anxious state of mind. Starring Jessica Lange, Ed Harris and Ben Foster.

* 'The Social Reckoning' - from the USA and this historical biographical mystery thriller film is Directed by Aaron Sorkin. Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), a Wall Street Journal reporter, going to dangerous lengths to expose the social network’s most guarded secrets. Starring Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg.

* 'Wild Horse Nine' - from the UK and the USA and this comedy mystery drama film is Directed by Martin McDonagh. Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). As the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies amongst the Island’s iconic statues, Chris’ newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.

For the complete low down on the other film series and themes, and the ten recipients of this years Awards, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.virginiafilmfestival.org

Looking ahead to this weeks eight new movies coming to your local Odeon, we kick off with a body horror psychological thriller film in which a rising Hollywood Actor descends into a horrifying revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity. Then we have a British time travel drama film where two desperate men take jobs aboard an old fishing boat that mysteriously reappears after vanishing thirty years before. Next up is dystopian Sci-Fi offering that has an artificial friend who finds a deep bond with a troubled young girl, bringing light and hope to a grieving family through her unwavering devotion. This is followed by a South Korean romance drama film where hidden desires emerge when a laid-off worker and his wife cross paths with a documentary filmmaker and her husband. We then turn to a British comedy film that sees Hip-hop journalist Ali G return after twenty years to make a documentary with real people, as cameras follow him for over a year as he takes classes, walks the streets, and appears on shows, often with his pregnant girlfriend. Up next is an American horror film where a group of friends venture into a remote forest in Texas to search for a missing friend and sister, where they discover an eerie, abandoned cabin that traps them inside a supernatural prison. Following on there is an Italian RomCom in which a lonely and gluttonous real estate agent meets his soulmate through their shared passion for Sicilian pastries; before closing out the week with a stop-motion animated dark fantasy film where a girl sets off into a dangerous yet magical hidden forest to find her kidnapped brother.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the eight 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.

'CLAYFACE' (Rated MA15+) - this American body horror-psychological thriller film is based on the titular character from DC Comics. Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, it will be the third film in the DC Universe (DCU), and is part of the DCU's 'Chapter One: Gods and Monsters'. James Watkins prior feature film output include his debut with 'Eden Lake' in 2008, which he would follow up with 'The Woman in Black' in 2012, 'Bastille Day' in 2016, and 'Speak No Evil' in 2024. The film is released this week too in the USA, and cost in the region of US$30M to produce.

After being brutally disfigured by a local mob boss, a rising movie star named Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) volunteers as a test subject of scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) to restore his original face but experiences a series of horrifying psychological and physical side effects that transform his body into living clay. Also starring Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan and David Dencik.

'ROSE OF NEVADA' (Rated M) - is a British time travel drama film that is Written, Directed, photographed, Edited and Scored by Mark Jenkin whose prior feature film output includes 'The Midnight Drives' in 2007, 'Bait' in 2019 and 'Enys Men' in 2022. Here, a fishing boat named the 'Rose of Nevada' mysteriously reappears in a struggling, economically depressed Cornish village three decades after vanishing at sea with all hands. Nick (George MacKay), a local man desperate to support his family, and Liam (Callum Turner), an enigmatic drifter, board the boat alongside a veteran captain for a voyage. After heading out through rough waters, they return to harbour with a good sized catch, only to find they have traveled thirty years back in time to 1993 and are mistaken for the original crew. The film had its World Premiere at last years Venice International Film Festival at the end of August 2025, and was released in the UK in late April this year, has so far grossed US$1.5M and has garnered universal critical acclaim.

'KLARA AND THE SUN' (Rated M) - this dystopian science fiction film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Taika Waititi and is based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2021 novel of the same name. Taika Waititi's previous Directorial output includes his feature film debut with 2007's 'Eagle vs Shark', and which he would follow up with 'Boy' in 2010, 'What We Do in the Shadows' in 2014, 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' in 2016, 'Thor : Ragnarok' in 2017, 'Jojo Rabbit' in 2019, 'Thor : Love and Thunder' in 2022, and 'Next Goal Wins' in 2023. Here, set in a dystopian future where technological advances in genetic engineering have divided humans into strict, isolated social classes, an obsolete companion android named Klara (Jenna Ortega) tries to bond with Josie (Mia Tharia), a sick girl for whom she was purchased. Also starring Amy Adams, Aran Murphy, Natasha Lyonne, Steve Buscemi and Rachel House. The film is released Stateside this week too. 

'POSSIBLE LOVE' (Rated M) - is a South Korean and US Co-Produced drama film that is Co-Written and Directed by Lee Chang-dong, who made his feature film debut with 'Green Fish' in 1997 and went on to Direct 'Peppermint Candy' in 1999, 'Oasis' in 2002, 'Secret Sunshine' in 2007, 'Poetry' in 2010 and 'Burning' in 2018. This film tells the story of two married couples - a laid-off worker and his spouse, and a documentary filmmaker and her spouse, who cross paths to film a documentary, and facing their different lives and hidden desires. Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. The film Premiered in the main competition at this years Venice International Film Festival in early September where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize. It was released in South Korea on 23rd September, followed by the USA and here in Australia this week before its worldwide release by Netflix on 6th November, having generated universal critical acclaim.

'ALI G : WHO IZ I? (Rated MA15+) - this British comedy film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Sacha Baron Cohen in his feature film making debut as Ali G. It is based on the character he originally played on the Channel 4 comedy series 'The 11 O'Clock Show' and 'Da Ali G Show', and this film is a sequel to 2002's 'Ali G Indahouse'. After spending twenty years "chillin', tokin' and bonin'", Ali G learns that his long-term girlfriend, Julie (Morgana Robinson), is eight months pregnant. Faced with the reality of supporting a child, Ali G decides to travel to America to reclaim his former cultural glory. Presented as a documentary-style project, the film follows Ali G over the course of a year as he interacts with real people, takes random classes, appears on TV shows, and encounters various adversaries who threaten him and his child. 

'YOU CAN'T LEAVE' (Rated M) - this American horror thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Windhauser whose previous Directorial credits are 2017's 'Dead Trigger', then 'Cops and Robbers' also in 2017, 'Death in Texas' in 2020, 'Deep Six' in 2024 with 'Disavowed' currently in pre-production. Here then, a search for a missing sister and friend Gabby (Cameron Inman) turns into a supernatural nightmare. In a dark forest, an abandoned cabin hides an ancient evil. As night falls, friends James (Spencer Boldman), Sophia (Taylor Murphy), Will (Thomas Bauer) and Olivia (Paola Andino) must survive pursuit, escape the shadows, confront both physical and psychological terror, and uncover the truth as they attempt to escape before it's too late. 

'HOLY CANNOLI' (Rated M) - is an Italian RomCom that is Co-Written, Directed and also stars Pierfrancesco 'Pif' Diliberto, and is based on Pif's own best selling novel of the same name. Pif made his feature film Directing debut with 'The Mafia Only Kills in Summer' in 2013, and would follow this up with 'At War with Love' in 2016, and 'On Our Watch' in 2021. Here then, Arturo (Pierfrancesco Diliberto) is a sweet-toothed, cynical real estate agent in Palermo with a deep passion for local desserts, especially cream-filled choux buns. He falls in love with Flora (Giusy Buscemi), a devoutly Catholic pastry chef who wants to open her own patisserie. To win her over, Arturo fakes being a pious Catholic and tries to live strictly by the Gospel, which leads to an absurd situation where he gains an imaginary or unexpected spiritual advisor - the Pope (Carlos Hipolito).

'WILDWOOD' (Rated M) - this American stop-motion animated dark fantasy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Travis Knight, whose previous Directorial offerings take in his 2016 debut with 'Kubo and the Two Strings' and which he would follow up with 'Bumblebee' in 2018 (as part of the 'Transformers' franchise) and then 'Masters of the Universe' in 2026. This film is based on Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis's 2011 novel of the same name, and is Produced by Laika Animation Studios of which Knight is the current President and CEO. Here, Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay) are drawn into a hidden magical forest near Portland in an attempt to save Prue's abducted infant brother Mac (Arthur Knight) from the crows, who are led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra (Carey Mulligan). Also starring Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jermaine Clement, Tom Waits, Richard E. Grant, Rob Delaney and Blythe Danner. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month, and is released Stateside and here in Australia this week. 

With eight 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-

THE SOCIAL RECKONING : Tuesday 13th October 2026.

I saw the M Rated 'THE SOCIAL RECKONING' earlier this week, and this American legal thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Aaron Sorkin, whose prior feature film making credits are 'Molly's Game' in 2017, 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' in 2020 and 'Being the Ricardo's' in 2022. He is also credited as the Writer for such films as 'A Few Good Men', 'The American President', 'The Social Network', 'Moneyball' and 'Steve Jobs'. This film is the sequel to 2010's biographical drama film 'The Social Network' Directed by David Fincher and portrays the founding of the social networking website Facebook, and stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. That film cost US$40M to produce and went on to gross worldwide US$225M. This film saw its World Premiere screening in London on 29th September and was released Stateside and here in Australia last week having so far grossed US$10M at the Box Office against a production budget of around US$40M, and has garnered mixed or average critical reviews.

The film opens with a lone woman standing beside her parked car on a busy freeway, seemingly talking into her mobile phone and seemingly oblivious to the speeding vehicles passing her by. Two Police Officers pull up in their patrol vehicle and start to question the woman, who immediately becomes aggressive while streaming the whole episode live to her Facebook feed, claiming she is being victimised, harassed. and punished for minding her own business. Eventually the Officers bundle the woman into their patrol car kicking and screaming, after she threatens to kill them. 

We then meet Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) who has recently joined the Civic Integrity Team as a data engineer at Facebook. Despite her steadfast belief in Facebook's core mission of connecting people, Frances discovers that leadership at the company is prioritising engagement and advertising sales over user safety. Facebook Media Relations Executive Teddy Marks (Billy Magnussen) holds a briefing session to the Civic Integrity Team on efforts by journalists to gain company information from Facebook employees. Frances plans to bring her concerns to Teddy publicly, but the forum ends before she can ask her question and is dismissed by other members within her team.

The Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) joins the paper's San Francisco Bureau and is assigned to cover Facebook. Jeff, a political reporter by trade, is wary of Facebook's role in American life rather than as a social media platform. Jeff contacts every member of the Civic Integrity Team via LinkedIn, eventually hearing from just one, Frances, who plans to meet with him despite her fear of violating her non-disclosure agreement. When Jeff and Frances meet for the first time, Frances shares the concerns she attempted to bring to Teddy and her colleagues. Frances explains her childhood friend, Kayleigh (Portia Doubleday), was a political progressive who became radicalised after spending 9+ hours a day on Facebook, which led to her being arrested, by the two Police Officers at the top of this story. While Jeff is interested in Frances's claims, he doesn't have enough to publish a story, and needs factual documented evidence. Frances dismisses this notion and tells Jeff that he'll need to do his own research.

Frances accompanies a small handful of her colleagues to deliver a presentation to Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong). Members of the team explain to Mark that Facebook’s algorithms are amplifying hate speech and divisive content. Unconvinced by suggestions to make changes to the platform, Mark cuts the presentation short and dismisses them. 

Fearing that Civic Integrity will be dissolved, Frances becomes more willing to sharing documents with Jeff. She begins meeting with him at his hotel. Civic Integrity is officially dispensed with following the 2020 US Presidential election. At a farewell party, Frances attempts to convince her colleague, Morgan (Anna Lambe), to sign an open letter she has written intending to send it directly to Zuckerberg, but Morgan tells her to delete it. Morgan later visits Frances at her apartment, delivering her a flash drive containing an internal study on Instagram's (which Facebook now owns) impacts on teen mental health and suicides.

Frances, it is revealed suffers with coeliac disease, and decides to temporarily relocate herself to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to take advantage of the warmer climate which will ease her coeliac condition, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeff travels to San Juan to continue working with her. Armed with enough information from the documents, Jeff begins publishing stories in the Facebook Files series. Frances is called back to the San Francisco offices after Facebook's human resources department determines that she cannot work remotely from another US territory. She becomes concerned that Facebook will find out she is the leak and halts all contact with Jeff.

In 2021, Mark, aided by crisis management consultant Raya (Wunmi Mosaku), former Facebook investor Charlie Garrigan (Bill Burr), and a group of assistants, prepares to testify before the US Senate. Raya attempts to prepare Mark for difficult questions on content moderation and Facebook’s role in American elections. Charlie challenges Facebook’s policies on free speech and the fact-checking of political advertisements, but Mark states in no uncertain terms that the platform serves as a 'public square'. 

Preparation for Mark's Senate testimony is interrupted by reports of the January 6th US Capitol siege. Urged to ban President Donald Trump from Facebook after he fails to call off the protesters, Mark temporarily seems at a loss with what course of action to take. Under pressure from Raya and Charlie, Mark makes the decision to block Trump from posting on Facebook's platforms. 

After meeting with Jeff and his colleagues - Kris (Betty Gilpin) the bureau chief and Jeff's boss, and Andy (Gbenga Akinnagbe) Jeff's Editor, Frances commits to gaining whistleblower protection and testifying before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. News of Jeff’s reporting reaches Mark and his team. Jeff meets with Teddy to interview him on background before publishing another entry in the Facebook Files. Teddy says that he knows that Frances is the whistleblower, and she's done in this town and will be lucky to get a job in a cafe when they're through. Jeff responds with three questions, and gives Teddy 72 hours with which to respond. Upon leaving Teddy asks Jeff what Frances is hoping to achieve, as Facebook is bigger than the US Senate, to which Jeff simply replies 'she disrupting!'

Frances and Jeff meet in Washington, D.C., prior to the start of her testimony. After making her opening statement and upon leaving the senate the two share a moment of recognition, as Frances punches the air in a sign of gratitude and joy that she had done the right thing. The film ends with pre-credit title cards, highlighting that Facebook changed its name to Meta immediately following the Senate's ruling against it, that it eliminated its fact-checking programme, and that 43% of Americans receive their news from Facebook. 

'The Social Reckoning' is a passable entry in this two film franchise, and as an investigative journalistic movie it works well enough, but gets bogged down by Sorkin's wordsmithery and at times humorous techno babble script. The principle cast all nail their characters well enough and their performances are on point. Ultimately though, this history lesson into the recent past of Facebook's misdeeds, seems to have served little purpose other than a cursory slap on the wrist of this social media giant, and now five years after the fact what has really changed - other than the name above the door? This film is all style with very little substance, and perhaps if David Fincher had returned to the Director's chair, this would have been a very different film, and more akin to 2010's 'The Social Network'. 

'The Social Reckoning' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-