HAMNET : Tuesday 3rd March 2026

I finally got around to seeing the M Rated 'HAMNET' this week, some six weeks after its Australian release on 15th January. This biographical period film is Directed and Co-Edited by Chloe Zhao, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Maggie O'Farrell, and is based on the 2020 novel by O'Farrell. Chloe Zhao's previous feature film output takes in her 2015 debut with 'Songs My Brother Taught Me', which she would follow up with 'The Rider' in 2017, 'Nomadland' in 2020 and 'The Eternals' in 2021. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival on 29th August last year and received a limited cinema release in the USA and Canada at the end of November, before going wide on 5th December, and was released in the UK on 9th January this year. It has garnered widespread universal critical acclaim, has so far grossed US$93M from a US$35M production budget and has collected eighty-six award wins and a further 298 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, with some of those award nods still pending a final outcome. The film is also Co-Produced by Steven Spielberg and Sam Mandes.

An opening card states that in Stratford, England in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries the names Hamnet and Hamlet were considered the same, and interchangeable. We then cut to the opening scene in which Agnes (Jessie Buckley) wakes from a slumber curled up in the root of a giant tree, under which appears to be mystery cave. She then rises to her feet and summons to a hawk from high up in the tree tops to come to her landing on her falconry gloved hand. She also gathers up herbs. 

Meanwhile, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) works as a tutor to young children to help pay off family debts which his father John (David Wilmot) incurred. He leaves his students after seeing Agnes coming out of the forest and they share a brief moment of tenderness. William's mother, Mary (Emily Watson), tells him of rumours that Agnes is the daughter of a forest witch who taught her herbal lore, which Agnes later uses to heal a small cut to William's forehead. 

William later visits Agnes in the forest. Agnes foretells William of a successful future for him, and two children at her deathbed, by pressing down on the fleshy part of his hand between thumb and forefinger. The pair consummate their relationship, impregnating Agnes, leading her family to disown her and forcing her to move into the Shakespeare household. The two marry, and Agnes gives birth to Susanna in the woods.

Seeing William's frustration with what we would call today writers block, Agnes suggests to her brother Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn) to send him to London for a theatrical career, leaving her and Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) in Stratford. Later, a pregnant Agnes tries to go outside to give birth, but William's family restrain her in the house, where she gives birth to twins Hamnet and Judith, the latter at first appearing to be stillborn. Remembering being kept from her mother's deathbed, and despite the midwife (Laura Guest) wanting to take the infant away, Agnes demands to hold the baby, and Judith stirs and wakens.

Eleven years later, William has found success and fortune in London and returns intermittently while the children grow up very close. Agnes foretells that Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), who wishes to join his father's theatre company, will flourish. Agnes's hawk dies and is buried in the forest, and she tells the children to make a wish to the hawk's spirit, who she says will carry them in its heart. Returning to London, William wanders the streets during an outbreak of bubonic plague. In Stratford, Judith (Olivia Lynes) falls gravely ill with the plague. Hamnet evokes the tale of the hawk to encourage her to get better, and lies beside her, proclaiming he wants to take her place, to trick death. Judith recovers, but Hamnet in turn falls gravely ill and dies a painful death in Agnes' arms. 

William rushes home and is ecstatic that Judith has seemingly made a full recovery, but that turns to despair when he sees Hamnet lying at rest. His continued absence places his marriage to Agnes under pressure as they cope with Hamnet's death in their own ways. William buys the largest house in Stratford and departs for London again. Agnes holds his hand and says she now sees nothing. William rehearses Hamlet in London, but is frustrated by his Actor's flat delivery. In despair, one night while out walking, he leans over the edge of a jetty on the River Thames, contemplating ending his life, and recites his 'To be, or not to be . . . that is the question' monologue from the play. 

Agnes's stepmother Joan (Justine Mitchell) shows her a playbill for a production of 'Tragedie of Hamlet' in London and chastises her for marrying William, but Agnes berates her. Agnes and Bartholomew travel to London to see William. Finding him absent from his modest attic residence, they decide to attend the first performance of Hamlet at the Globe Theatre. 

Making their way to the very front of the stage, when the production begins Agnes is initially offended, thinking her son's name is being taken in vain, however, upon seeing William as the ghost of Hamlet's father, she realises the play is a tribute to Hamnet, and is moved to tears by the scene involving Hamlet and his father. 

Backstage, William, having noticed Agnes, breaks down in tears while listening to the play unfold, and returns to see Agnes from the wings. The play progresses through scenes of sword-fighting, fulfilling Hamnet's dream of such a role. During Hamlet's (Noah Jupe) death scene, Agnes reaches forward for the actor's hand as she had held William's when they first met, and the rest of the audience reaches out toward him also. She sees her son Hamnet on the stage, seen earlier as his dying vision. He moves from sadness to a smile before disappearing into the backstage, through a doorway resembling the forest cave opening under the tree from where Agnes woke in the opening scene. For the first time since Hamnet's death, Agnes laughs and smiles.

Director and co-scribe Chloe Zhao has here delivered us a film for the ages, one that resonates with heartfelt emotion that is underpinned by a powerful screenplay, top notch cinematography, high end production values, and first rate performances by Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and a young Jacobi Jupe. This is a film that serves as a testament to life and death, and to love and grief, in equal measure that culminates in a real tear jerker of an ending that will remain with you long after the end credits have rolled. See it on the big screen, you won't be disappointed. The film deserves all the accolades bestowed upon it. 

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th March 2026.

The 32nd Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, honour the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2025, and was presented on Sunday 1st March at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California. Actress Kristen Bell hosted the ceremony for the third time, after previously hosting in 2018 and 2025. This was the first ceremony in which the awards are titled the 'Actor Awards'. The official website stated that 'changing its name to better reflect its true spirit and position as the only industry honour given to Actors, by Actors'. 

In the film categories, the winners and grinners, and the also rans, were as follows :-

* Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - awarded to Michael B. Jordan for 'Sinners', beating out Timothee Chalamet for 'Marty Supreme', Leonardo DiCaprio for 'One Battle After Another', Ethan Hawke for 'Blue Moon' and Jesse Plemons for 'Bugonia'. 

* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - awarded to Jessie Buckley for 'Hamnet', beating out Rose Byrne for 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You', Kate Hudson for 'Song Sung Blue', Chase Infiniti for 'One Battle After Another' and Emma Stone for 'Bugonia'. 

* Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - presented to Sean Penn for 'One Battle After Another', beating out Miles Caton for 'Sinners', Benicio del Toro for 'One Battle After Another', Jacob Elordi for 'Frankenstein' and Paul Mescal for 'Hamnet'.

* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - awarded to Amy Madigan for 'Weapons', beating out Odessa A'zion for 'Marty Supreme', Ariana Grande for 'Wicked : For Good', Wunmi Mosaku for 'Sinners' and Teyana Taylor for 'One Battle After Another'.

* Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - presented to the cast of 'Sinners', beating out 'Frankenstein', 'Hamnet', 'Marty Supreme' and 'One Battle After Another'.

* Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture - awarded to 'Mission : Impossible - The Final Reckoning', beating out 'F1', 'Frankenstein', 'Sinners' and 'One Battle After Another'. 

The SAG-AFTRA Award (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) for Lifetime Achievement was presented to Harrison Ford, by Woody Harrelson.

For the full run down of the television awards and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.actorawards.org

Turning back then to this weeks slate of eight new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we begin with a black comedy thriller in which a mild-mannered blue collar worker needs to dispense with seven relatives to claim his right to a staggering US$28B family fortune which was denied to him at birth. Then we turn to a Gothic romance film set in 1930's Chicago where a groundbreaking scientist brings a murdered young woman back to life to be a companion for Frankenstein's monster. Next up we have a Taiwanese supernatural horror offering that has a VR video game designer who finds a partially damaged clay doll and takes it home, with potentially deathly consequences for him and his expectant wife. This is followed by a drama film that sees an older couple on a reflective trip to Amsterdam that uncovers long-held secrets; followed by a romantic drama thriller telling the story of a promising undercover agent who is assigned to lure and arrest gay men, and who defies professional orders when he falls in love with a target. Up next is a Tunisian and French highly acclaimed docudrama that follows the Red Crescent response during the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, by the Israel Defence Forces during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Following on there is a mockumentary about a rising pop sensation who navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressures while preparing for her arena tour debut; and closing out the week we have an Aussie doco that tells the story of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, 25 years after its darkest chapter in 1998, when six sailors lost their lives.

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 week ahead.

'HOW TO MAKE A KILLING' (Rated M) - this French and UK Co-Produced black comedy thriller film is Written and Directed by John Patton Ford in only his second feature film making outing following 'Emily the Criminal' in 2022. This film is based on the Roy Horniman 1907 novel 'Israel Rank : The Autobiography of a Criminal' which in turn was used as the basis of the Screenplay of the highly-regarded 1949 black comedy 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' with Alec Guinness playing all eight members of the family whom he must kill off to inherit the family fortune. This film was released in the US in mid-February, is released in the UK on 11th March 2026, and in France on 25th March. The film has so far received mixed or average critical reviews, and has grossed US$6M from its US$15M production budget.

Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance of US$28B, and with seven relatives standing in his way, only his close friend, the affluent Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley) may be his only get out of jail free card. Also starring Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Ed Harris, Topher Grace and Zach Woods. 

'THE BRIDE' (Rated MA15+) - is an American Gothic romance film that is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal in only her second Directorial outing following 2021's 'The Lost Daughter', although she has acted in numerous film, television and theatre roles over the years, and has been recognised in many award wins and nominations too. The film draws inspiration from the 1935 film 'Bride of Frankenstein', which was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein'. Set in 1930's Chicago, Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale) asks Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. Together, they give life to a murdered woman known as 'the Bride' (Jessie Buckley), sparking romance, Police interest and radical social change. Also starring Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal and Penelope Cruz. The film had its World Premiere in London, on 26th February and is released Stateside and here in Australia this week, having cost US$80M to produce.

'MUDBORN' (Rated M) - this Taiwan supernatural horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Meng-Ju Shieh in his feature film making debut. Here, a video-game designer Xu Chuan (Yo Yang) will is tested when he accidentally brings home a broken clay doll from a haunted house while developing a new horror VR game, only for a mysterious spirit to infiltrate his new family and threatens the life of his expecting wife (Cecilia Choi). The film was released in its native Taiwan in early October last year, and has so far grossed US$643K. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles.

'MIDWINTER BREAK' (Rated M) - is a UK and Netherlands Co-Produced drama film Directed by Polly Findlay in her feature film making debut although she has Directed eight productions for the National Theatre and four for the Royal Shakespeare Company. This film is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Bernard MacLaverty. Here then, longtime married and retired couple Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciaran Hinds) realise that their relationship has reached a crossroads while on a midwinter break in Amsterdam. While there, after so much time and so many memories, long-held promises and deeply concealed wounds, forces them to examine the promises they once made together. As lies and secrets are revealed, their trip together becomes a life-changing moment that threatens to pull everything apart, as they confront their future. The film was released in the USA in late February, is released here in Australia this week and in the UK on 20th March having garnered mixed or average reviews and so far grossing US$1M.

'PLAINCLOTHES' (Rated MA15+) - this US and UK Co-Produced romantic thriller drama film is Written and Directed by Carmen Emmi in her feature film Directorial debut. A young Police Officer, Lucas Brennan (Tom Blyth) works undercover to lure and arrest men who display lewd behaviour in public restrooms. However, he soon finds himself torn between duty and desire when he develops a secret connection with one of his targets, Andrew Waters (Russell Tovey), a married pastor with children, ultimately becoming emotionally attached. The film had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January 2025, was released Stateside in mid-September last year, in the UK in mid-October, has so far grossed US$260K and has generated largely positive critical reviews.

'THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB' (Rated M) - is a Tunisian and French Co-Produced docudrama film that is Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Kaouther Ben Hania whose prior two feature film outings are 'Beauty and the Dogs' in 2017, and 'The Man Who Sold His Skin' in 2020, with her previous documentary films including 'Four Daughters' in 2023. Here, on 29th January 2024, Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A six-year-old Palestinian girl is trapped in a car under fire from the Israeli Defence Force during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab. The film had its World Premiere screening in the main competition of the Venice International Film Festival in early September last year, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and six other parallel prizes. It was released in Tunisia in mid-September, in France in late November, has garnered universal critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$5M. 

'THE MOMENT' (Rated MA15+) - this American mockumentary film is Co-Written and Directed by Aidan Zamiri in his Directorial debut, and is based on an original idea by the British singer, songwriter and Actress Charlie XCX. As her arena tour debut looms, a pop star on the rise to fame and fortune (Charlie XCX) finds herself caught inside the afterglow of a breakout summer under the mounting pressure from within the music industry of what it costs to stay on top. The film also stars Rosanna Arquette, Alexander Skarsgard, Jamie Demetriou, Kate Berlant, Hailey Benton Gates and Kylie Jenner.  It Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival toward the back end of January this year, was released in the USA at the end of January, has so far grossed US$5M from a production budget of US$4M and has received mixed reviews from critics.

'TRUE SOUTH' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary film is Directed by Thierry Bled and Dave Klaiber, and marks eighty years of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race through a story of family, grief, endurance, and the lifelong friendship between Herman Winning and Nathan and Peter Dean, whose bond was forged long before the sea would test it. The Sydney to Hobart yacht race occupies a rare place in Australian cultural history. It is one of the great ocean yacht races, and for several days each year starting at 1:00pm on Boxing Day, the nation follows the sailor’s journey south to Tasmania. The country follows the fleet into the Bass Strait, one of the world’s most treacherous bodies of water, where shifting weather systems can turn elite competition into a fight for survival. Filmed 25 years after the race's darkest chapter in 1998, in which six sailors lost their lives, when a violent East Coast Low struck the fleet, generating ninety-foot seas and claiming the lives of those intrepid crewmen, including John Dean, father to Nathan and Peter, and a deeply loved figure across both families. Twenty-five years later, Herman, Nathan, and Peter return to the race together - an act of extraordinary bravery that becomes the emotional backbone of the film. The film is narrated by the Australian film and television Actress Sigrid Thornton.

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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

WAR MACHINE : Tuesday 24th February 2026

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'WAR MACHINE' at my local multiplex earlier this week, and this Australian and US Co-Produced Sci-Fi action thriller is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Patrick Hughes whose previous feature films efforts take in his debut with 'Red Hill' in 2010, which he would follow up with 'The Expendables 3' in 2014, 'The Hitman's Bodyguard' in 2017, 'The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard' in 2021 and 'The Man from Toronto' in 2022. This film was released two weeks ago in Australia before streaming on Netflix from 6th March onward, and has so far grossed US$29K.

The film opens up on the outskirts of Kandahar, Afghanistan where a small platoon of soldiers arrive in their Humvee's and armoured vehicles. The soldiers all exit their vehicles and a nameless combat engineer (Alan Ritchson) saunters up to his younger brother (Jai Courtney) who is under the bonnet on another vehicle with a can of 'Stop Leak' trying to fix it with a colleague. The pair embrace after some playful banter, and one of other soldiers asks if the pair know each other. We're brothers comments one,  as seen by the matching tattoo's running down their arms 'DFQ' in a rectangular box outline - standing for 'Don't Fucken Quit'. The younger brother then comments that the pair should be out there on the front lines rather than nurse maiding the locals, and how about they join the Ranger Assessment and Selection Programme (RASP) with a chance to gain entry into the 75th Ranger Regiment, as they talked about when they were younger. The older brother says that those days are gone and he's too old for that, but then he reluctantly agrees. As he turns away, the Taliban strike them hard with rapid mortar fire, destroying a number of vehicles and killing just about all the platoon. The older brother has a large shard of shrapnel embedded in his leg, which he pulls out, gets to his feet and surveys the carnage all around. He finds his brother still barely alive, lifts him up over his shoulder and limps away. 

Fast forward two years, and the older brother is on a bus with a whole bunch of other hopefuls making his way through the Colorado wilderness to the RASP training camp. Upon entry, all recruits are assigned a number by which they'll be recognised, his is #81, and they are told that throughout their eight week rigorous training programme they will be subjected to physical, mental and emotional hardship, and only the strongest of the two hundred or so hopefuls will make it through to the final test of their abilities - The Death March. And so what follows is a montage of each of those eight weeks of training as the recruits are put through their paces, and we see the mud, blood, sweat, tears, orders barked through a loud hailer and the sheer exhaustion etched on the face of the ever dwindling number of recruits as week on week many are rejected and are sent packing. 

In the final week of training the recruits left are given an exercise to carry two heavy dumb bells underwater in a swimming pool for as far as they can walk and hold their breath. All of the other recruits succumb fairly early on and rise to the surface gasping for air. Not #81, however. He continues but blacks out having had a recurring vision of him carrying his dying brother through the desert in Afghanistan. He is yanked out of the pool unconscious, but is revived. This results in him being hauled in front of the Camp Commanding Officer Major Sheridan (Dennis Quaid) and Army Officer Torres (Esai Morales), who both tell him that despite his impressive history of service he is a potential liability, and quite frankly is too old to be leading a crack team of Rangers potentially. Sheridan gives him a pre-written letter of voluntary discharge, and asks him to sign his release paper. #81 stands up and says that he just want's to get across the finish line after the Death March, to which Torres responds that 'it's not the finish line, it's the starting line'. #81 responds with that he's going to join his other recruits on parade.

And so ten or so recruits make it through to the final test of strength, stamina, strategy and support for one another - The Death March. Given their orders they have 24 hours to make it back and #81 is assigned team leader, before being choppered in on two Blackhawk helicopters. A few hours after they are dropped off, they rest up for 20 minutes. During their resting they are startled by a sudden eruption of sound and blinding light travelling at great speed along a river, before all trace of the disruption is gone. Continuing their mission they soon come across the possible cause of the commotion. What appears to be some sort of huge metallic like structure lies half buried in the river bed. Thinking that it is some new Army tech, that the enemy Cadre have planted there as part of their mission, they decide to blow a hole into it using explosives to gain entry. Retreating to a safe distance they detonate but when the smoke clears there is not even a scratch on the surface. At which point the heavily armoured, mechanised and standing upright the towering machine unleashes all hell on the recruits, at first scanning the area for signs of life and then delivering with pin point accuracy a hail of high tech bullets, fire and bombs.

What follows is a mission to survive this marauding monster killing machine, as a number of recruits are taken out, or die when falling end over end down a steep cliff face or attempting to traverse a fast flowing river, or driving through a steep rocky valley while being chased down by said machine that is hell bent on taking out every last one of them. In the end it is #81 who saves the day at a mine site using a giant bulldozer and several sticks of dynamite to thwart the machine once and for all, and he does so successfully . . . of course! 

Walking back to camp carrying another recruit #7 (Stephan James) who suffered a compound fracture to his leg he slumps down at the finish line, but the 24 hour period has since long lapsed. He is greeted by Sheridan and Torres who explain that they lost 75% of their men in an attack by these machines and that they have appeared the world over destroying everything and everyone in their wake. Sheridan asks #81 if he can shed any light on how to overcome these machines, to which he responds in the affirmative saying that if you block off the top of the machine with rocks or sand for example, just as he did at the mine site, then this causes them to over heat dramatically, and ultimately explode. Sheridan says that he may just have saved the planet. 

#81 is seen then giving a pep talk to a team of Rangers to motivate them as they go into battle to save Earth, before joining them aboard a Blackhawk helicopter, and promptly falling asleep as the pilot asks the other Rangers if anyone knows his name.

With 'War Machine' Writer and Director Patrick Hughes hardly reinvents the wheel here, but he does lean heavily into the macho all guns blazing man versus otherworldly being movies that trademarked the late 1980's and early 90's, and in particular I'm thinking the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner 'Predator' here. Alan Ritchson plays the stoic no-nonsense by the book DFQ wannabe Ranger with a sense of realism and believability, and the action sequences are staged in real terrain to add to the authenticity of the scenes being played out. This is not an original film by any stretch, but it does offer the viewer 107 minutes of blood, sweat, tears, explosions and high octane action to warrant your consideration, if this kind of movie floats your boat. and is polished enough to satisfy the harshest critic in this era of green screen technological wizardry that seems to bombard our screens all too frequently these days. 

'War Machine' 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 26th February 2026

The Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is an annual film festival held in Glasgow, Scotland, and this year runs from Wednesday 25th February through until Sunday 8th March. Now in its 22nd year, the festival began in 2005. By 2015, the festival had seen audience figures top 40,000 for two consecutive years. It is now considered one of the top film festivals in the UK. Each year GFF screens hundreds of titles spanning the spectrum of cinema, from all over the world. The programme is packed with international Premieres and unmissable event cinema, where the audience can see the latest films from modern cine-masters, classics in a fresh new light, and be introduced to the most exciting new voices in world film.

This years Opening Gala film presentation is 'Everybody to Kenmure Street', this UK documentary film is Co-Produced and Directed by Felipe Bustos Sierra. Anti-establishment struggles and activism run in the veins of Glasgow's populace. So when in May 2021, a UK Home Office raid is launched at dawn on the first day of Eid (the end of Ramadan), it triggers one of the most spontaneous acts of civil resistance in recent memory. In Scotland’s most diverse neighbourhood, hundreds of residents rush to Kenmure Street to stop the deportation of their two Muslim neighbours, in a stand-off that lasted eight hours and which demonstrated the power of peaceful solidarity. The Closing Film is 'California Schemin'' and this biographical musical film is Directed and stars James McAvoy in his Directorial debut, and tells the true story of Silibil N' Brains, a rap duo from Dundee who, for three years, pretended to be American in order to be taken seriously by the record industry and ended up touring with Eminem. 

This years programme includes sixteen World, European and International Premieres, sixty-eight UK Premieres, and eighteen Scottish Premieres. The Audience Award, which is the only award presented at the GFF, comprises the following titles :-

* 'Live A Little' - from Sweden, Norway and Denmark this road drama film is Written and Directed by Fanny Ovesen.

* 'Atropia' - from the USA is a war satire film Written and Directed by Hailey Gates, and starring Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Chloe Sevigny, Chloe East, Tim Blake Nelson, Channing Tatum and Tim Heidecker.
* 'Bouchra' - from Italy, Morocco and the USA and this adult computer-animated arthouse drama film is Co-Written, Co-Directed and Co-Stars Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani.

* 'First Light' - from the Philippines and Australia, this drama film is Directed by James J. Robinson
* 'The Last One For The Road' - from Italy and Germany this drama road film is Co-Written and Directed by Francesco Sossai.
* 'Nino' - from France and this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Pauline Loques.
* 'On A String' - from the USA this musical drama comedy film is Written, Directed and also stars Isabel Hagan.

* 'Rebuilding' - from the USA, this neo-Western drama film is Written and Directed by Max Walker-Silverman and stars Josh O'Connor, Lily LaTorre, Meghann Fahy and Amy Madigan.
* 'A Place For Her' - from France and is Written and Directed by Melisa Godet.
* 'Pasa Faho' - from Australia this comedy drama film is Written and Directed by Kalu Oji.

For more details on the above named films, the other film sections being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff too, you can visit the official website at : http://www.glasgowfilmfest.org

With five new release movies to tease you out to your local Odeon this coming week, we kick off with the seventh films in this slasher horror franchise in which a new Ghostface killer targets Sidney Prescott's daughter. Then we have a drama film where a man and his son arrive at a rave lost in the mountains of Morocco - they are searching for their daughter and sister, who disappeared months ago. Next up there is a romantic comedy drama film that tells the story of a man, who after being left at the altar in Rome, decides to go on his honeymoon alone, ultimately with life changing consequences. This is followed by a historical musical drama offering whereby a woman, revered by her followers as the female Christ reborn preaches gender and social equality as the founder of the devotional sect the Shakers; before closing out the week with an Aussie doco about the northern New South Wales town of Lismore, prone to acute flooding and its most recent disaster in 2022 that has many residents asking should I stay, or should I go?

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

'SCREAM 7' (Rated MA15+) - this American slasher horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Kevin Williamson who also penned 'Scream', 'Scream 2' and 'Scream 4' in 1996, 1997 and 2011 respectively. Those first six films in this franchise grossed worldwide a total US$912M from combined production budgets of US$177M, with this instalment costing US$40M to produce.

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life for herself in the quiet town of Pine Grove, Indiana, having survived several Ghostface murder sprees in the past, until a new Ghostface killer begins to target her daughter Tatum Evans (Isabel May), forcing her to face her past to end the killings once and for all. Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Courteney Cox all reprise their roles from the previous films. The film is released in the US, the UK and here in Australia this week. 

'SIRAT' (Rated M) - is a Spanish and French Co-Production that is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Oliver Laxe whose prior feature films are 'You Are All Captains' in 2010, 'Mimosas' in 2016 and 'Fire Will Come' in 2019. Here, a father Luis (Sergi Lopez) and his son Esteban (Bruno Nunez Arjona) arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They are searching for Marina, daughter and sister, who vanished five months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. Surrounded by electronic music and a raw, unfamiliar sense of freedom, they hand out her photo again and again. Hope is fading, but they push through and follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert. As they venture deeper into the burning wilderness, the journey forces them to confront their own limits. The film had its World Premiere showcasing in mid-May last year in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It was released in Spain in early June 2025 and in France in mid-September 2025, and is released this week here in Australia having so far grossed US$11M from a production budget of US$7.5M and garnering universal critical acclaim having so far collected twenty-nine wins and a further 104 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, with some of those nods still pending a final outcome.

'SOLO MIO' (Rated PG) - this American romantic comedy drama film is Directed by two of the eight brothers Chuck and Dan Kinnane and Written by two more Patrick and John Kinnane with Kevin James, who also stars, and is Edited by a fifth brother Pete Kinnane. Here then, after a wedding disaster leaves a groom Matt Taylor (Kevin James) stranded in Rome, having been jilted at the alter by his fiancee Heather (Julie Ann Emery) he is left heartbroken, down trodden and all alone in the world's happiest city. However, with help from a determined local Gia (Nicole Grimaudo) and a few meddling couples, his ruined honeymoon becomes an adventure that he never expected. The film was released Stateside earlier this month, has so far grossed US$22M from a production budget of just US$4M and has garnered mixed or average reviews.

'THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE' (Rated M) - is a historical musical drama film that is Co-Written and Directed by Mona Fastvold in only her third feature film Directorial outing following 2014's 'The Sleepwalker' and 'The World to Come' in 2020. Based on real events, Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), the founding leader of the devotional sect known as the Shaker Movement in the late 18th Century, is proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers. This film depicts her establishment of a utopian society in New England, USA, and the Shakers' worship through song and dance. Also starring Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, Christopher Abbott and Tim Blake Nelson. The film Premiered in the main competition at last years Venice International Film Festival in early September where it was nominated for the Golden Lion, was released in the US on Christmas Day, and here in Australia and the UK this week, having garnered positive critical reviews and so far recovering US$3M from its US$10M production costs.

'FLOODLAND' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary is Co-Written and Directed by Jordan Giusti in his first feature length film. Lismore in northern New South Wales is situated 734kms north of Sydney and 200kms south of Brisbane in Queensland, and is Australia’s flood capital, priding itself on historic resilience in the face of immeasurable deluge. In 2022, in the face of persistent flooding the people and properties of Lismore are shattered by the most expensive climate disaster in Australia’s history. But as the climate crisis rises tides, uncomfortable truths boil to the surface, leaving residents wondering if their precarious way of life can survive a changing world. Following a rich cast of characters through the aftermath, hope arrives with new love and the founding of a groundbreaking First Nations trauma centre. However, as the adrenaline fades, residents living on the floodplain are pushed to breaking point. Politicians, councillors and grassroots activists clash over the fate of Lismore. Inequality fractures the tight-knit community as a government buyback scheme stalls, and the resilience of the town is tested. In the struggle for the soul of Lismore, however, Bundjalung leaders emerge with a different vision, where First Nations knowledge plays a vital role in healing, planning and respecting the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed Rivers. At a crossroads, the residents must choose whether to grit it out, adapt, or abandon Lismore altogether.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

CRIME 101 : Wednesday 18th February 2026.

I saw the M Rated 'CRIME 101' this week, and this UK and US Co-Produced crime thriller film is Written for the screen and Directed by Bart Layton whose previous film credits take in the 2012 documentary 'The Imposter' and 2018's 'American Animals'. This film is based on the 2020 novella of the same name written by Don Winslow. The film premiered in London at the back end of last month, was released here in Australia and the US last week, has so far grossed US$30M from a production budget of US$90M and has generated largely positive critical reviews.

Set in Los Angeles, Mike Davis (Chris Hensworth) is an elusive and meticulously disciplined jewel thief who carefully plans his robberies to avoid violence, and leaving any signs of his DNA evidence while escaping via US Route 101 (a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the USA). Intercepting a diamond delivery carrying decoy gems, he steals US$3M in genuine diamonds, but is shaken after being grazed by an unexpected bullet fired by one of the men he is stealing from. As a result of being somewhat rattled, he calls off a planned robbery on a high end jewellery store in Santa Barbara, but his fence, Money (Nick Nolte), enlists volatile young biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan) in his place.

Meanwhile, LAPD Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) links the diamond theft to Mike's string of unsolved robberies and suggests a lone suspect is responsible, but his theory is dismissed by his partner Tillman (Corey Hawkins) and his superiors. Preparing another heist, Mike pays Devon (Devon Bostick), a hacker, for information on Sharon Colvin (Halle Berry), a high-end insurance broker to the super wealthy. Long undervalued by her firm with whom she has worked for eleven years and has been promised a promotion to Partner, which never seems to eventuate, Sharon is further frustrated when a new colleague closes a lucrative deal with the wealthy Steven Monroe (Tate Donovan). After Ormon violently carries out the Santa Barbara job on his own, Mike cuts ties with Money, who instructs Ormon to intercept Mike's next heist.

The lonely Mike strikes up a relationship with an attractive stranger, Maya (Monica Barbaro), after she rear-ends his car, while he had stopped at a red light. He realises he is being tracked by Ormon, who threatens Devon into revealing that Sharon is connected to Mike's plan. Sharon rejects Mike's attempt to recruit her as an accomplice, and Mike spots Ormon, confronting him in a 24/7 convenience store after a high-speed chase; realising he had been sent by Money, Mike warns Ormon to stay away. Separating from his unfaithful wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Lou finds himself joining Sharon's yoga class in an attempt to get fit, and just to try something new, and rents a new apartment by the beach. He discovers the car Mike used in the diamond robbery, and a microscopic trace of blood inside which is a match to Mike's juvenile record with his birth name, James.

Denied a promotion once more, Sharon reluctantly agrees to help Mike. Demanding a US$3M share, she provides inside information on an illicit diamond purchase Monroe has arranged to make with US$11M in cash, for his upcoming wedding at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Lou is suspended for refusing to help cover up the Police shooting of another jewel thief, but continues with his investigation and tracks down Mike's foster mother. Ormon breaks into Sharon's apartment and viciously interrogates her, who turns to Lou for help and admits everything, and quits her job after openly criticising her boss in front of the new female broker. Wary of Mike's secretive nature, Maya ends their relationship after he reveals he will be leaving town for an undisclosed period of time on business, as a 'software developer'.

The briefcase of diamonds arrives with a courier and Mike takes the place of Monroe's private security guard, completely unaware that Lou is posing as the courier himself. Driving to the hotel, the pair strike up a conversation about cars. Mike admits that he prefers the older American cars of the '60's and '70's, cars with character stating that his favourite films is Steve McQueen's 'Bullitt' and his Ford Mustang. Lou confides that his favourite McQueen movie is 'The Thomas Crown Affair', to which Mike replies that he missed that one. Arriving at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel the two of them deliver the briefcase to Monroe and his fiancee in the wedding suite. Mike seizes the cash at gunpoint, but Lou retrieves a concealed gun in the briefcase and reveals himself as a Police Officer. Their standoff is interrupted by Ormon, disguised as a hotel Butler delivering room service. Demanding the case, he shoots and wounds Monroe, but Mike kills Ormon before he can shoot Lou. Lou allows Mike to escape albeit empty-handed, and tells him to get out of town and to not come back, and then forces Monroe and his fiancee to support his story as he frames Ormon for Mike's string of robberies. 

Later after the dust has seemingly settled, Lou meets up with Sharon at their yoga class. Having stolen the decoy gems taken into evidence from Mike's earlier heist, Lou swapped them with real diamonds from the briefcase, which he gives to Sharon to start a new life. Mike had sent a text message to Sharon with a photo and an address for 'The Cop'. Showing Lou the photo he comments that he doesn't know where that is. Lou arrives at the apartment block and takes the elevator down to the parking garage, and discovers that Mike has left him his vintage Chevy Camaro. Easily finding the keys behind the sun visor, he turns on the engine and gingerly drives it out of the garage and onto the street where he opens it up, with a big grin on his face. Mike sends Maya a childhood photo which she receives at her desk at her place of work, asking her for a second chance. Realising that Mike must be in the building she rushes for the door.

'Crime 101' doesn't reinvent the west coast USA crime thriller noir playbook, but it does pay homage to the some of the classics from yesteryear including 'Heat', 'Thief' and 'To Live and Die in LA'. The characterisation and their respective back stories are well realised; the performances by Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Keoghan, Berry and Barbaro are all on point; the action set pieces are well choreographed; the story is well conceived and entertaining enough, and the Direction and Cinematography are stylish and assured. At 140 minutes, however, I felt that this elongated runtime could have been shortened by fifteen minutes or so, particularly as the film seemed to drag it heels somewhat in the mid-section, but that's my only gripe. 'Crime 101' is certainly worth the price of your cinema entry, and if a modern take on classic crime noir is your thing, then you won't be disappointed.

'Crime 101' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-