What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 2nd July 2026

The 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) this year runs from Friday 3rd July through until Saturday 11th July, whilst also celebrating its 80th anniversary since its inception. It is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and the most prestigious such festival in Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the oldest A-list film festivals (i.e., non-specialised festivals with a competition for feature-length fiction films), a category it shares with the festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, San Sebastian, Montreal, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Every year, the festival presents some 200 films from around the world, and regularly hosts famous and important filmmakers. The Karlovy Vary festival is intended for both film professionals and the general public, and offers visitors a carefully designed programme, excellent facilities and a broad range of other services . . . . . so reads the official website.

The festivals Opening Film is the Argentinian sports documentary film 'The Match' Written and Directed by Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco, and which chronicles the historic 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and England, famous for Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal, while framing the match within the geopolitical tensions of the Falklands War. The Closing Film presentation is a crime thriller film Written and Directed by Noah Segan 'The Only Living Pickpocket in New York', about an aging career pickpocket Harry Lehman (John Turturro) who is forced into a desperate, high-stakes race against time through the streets of his city.

This years Crystal Globe Competition features twelve films, all vying for the US$25K Grand Prix Award. In addition, within this category there is US$15K Grand Jury Prize and Awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress, Those films are detailed in brief as follows :-

* 'Behind the Rain' - from Chile and Directed and Sound Engineered by Valeria Sarmiento. World Premiere.

* 'Black Money for White Nights' - from Bulgaria and Greece and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. World Premiere.

* 'Five Years, Four Months' - from Colombia and the USA and Written and Directed by Esteban Hoyos Garcia and Juan Miguel Gelacio, and Co-Produced by Esteban Hoyos Garcia. World Premiere.

* 'Fruit Gathering' - from Myanmar, Czech Republic and France and Written and Directed by Aung Phyoe. World Premiere.

* 'The Guest' - from Denmark and Co-Written and Directed by Mads Mengel. World Premiere.

* 'A Happy Family' - from Switzerland and Co-Written and Directed by Jan-Eric Mack. World Premiere.

* 'Hijamat' - from Germany and Written and Directed by Nader Saeivar. World Premiere.

* 'Chica Checa' - from Czech Republic, France and the Slovak Republic, and Written, Directed and scored by Simon Holy. World Premiere. 

* 'The Lion at My Back' - from Cyprus, Luxembourg and Greece and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tonia Mishiali. World Premiere.

* 'Only Beautiful Things to Look At' - from the Slovak Republic, Czech Republic and Hungary and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky. World Premiere.

* 'Pipes' - from Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and photographed by Karim Kassem. World Premiere.

* '3 Weeks After' - from Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Luxembourg and Co-Written and Directed by Miroslav Terzic. World Premiere.

At the opening ceremony of this year’s Festival, the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema will be presented to legendary Actor, and two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman. At the closing ceremony of the Festival, the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema will be presented to the winner of an Oscar, a Cesar, and four European film Awards, French Actress Juliette Binoche. Also at this year’s 60th edition of the Festival, the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema will go to world-renowned Cinematographer Robert Richardson, winner of three Academy Awards and recipient of seven additional Oscar nominations. And in addition, the Festival will present the President’s Award to Actor Jeffrey Wright.

For the more detailed synopsis of the above mentioned films in the Crystal Globe Competition, plus the other competitive strands being showcased, and the whole line up of films being screened, together with a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.kviff.com

Focusing the attention back to this weeks five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to your home, we launch with a black comedy thriller in which a married couple abduct a 19-year-old criminal and try various methods to rehabilitate him. Then we have a historical fantasy romance film where a woman whose neglectful husband leaves her alone for a hundred days to test her fidelity, as she becomes entangled in a love triangle with her loyal maid and her husband's seductive friend. Next up is a satirical drama that follows three millennial couples whose relationships are thrown into disarray when they descend on a luxury Southern Highlands farmstay for a birthday weekend they'll never forget. This is followed by a historical drama film chronicling three distinct human experiences perceived by a ginkgo tree at the University of Marburg Botanical Garden in 1908, 1972, and 2020; before closing out the week with this sixth instalment in the series that follows the Jackass crew as they perform their final series of dangerous stunts and pranks, marking the end of the franchise.

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

'THE GOOD BOY' (Rated MA15+) - aka 'HEEL' is a Polish and UK Co-Produced black comedy thriller film Directed by Jan Komasa, whose previous feature film output include 'Suicide Room' in 2011, 'Warsaw 44' in 2014, 'Corpus Christi' in 2019, 'The Hater' in 2022 and 'Anniversary' in 2025. This film is Komasa's first English language feature. It had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September last year, was released in the USA in late March, has received generally positive critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$1.2M at the Box Office. 

The film follows 19-year-old hooligan Tommy (Anson Boon), who revels in a life of drugs, parties, and violence. One night, on a bender with his reckless friends, he becomes separated from the group and is abducted by an unknown figure. Though he is no stranger to inflicting violence, he is enraged and horrified when he wakes to find himself chained in the basement of the isolated suburban family home of Chris (Stephen Graham), his wife Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), and their young son Jonathan (Kit Rakusen). The family sets out to reform Tommy's unruly behaviour, forcing him to comply with their relentless mind games or seek escape at any cost. Also starring Monika Frajczyk and Savannah Steyn. 

'100 NIGHTS OF HERO' (Rated M) - is a UK and US Co-Produced historical fantasy romance film that is Written and Directed by Julia Jackman in only her second feature film outing following 'Bonus Track' in 2023. This film is based on the graphic novel 'The One Hundred Nights of Hero' by Isabel Greenberg, which in turn was based on the Middle Eastern folktale 'One Thousand and One Nights'. It follows a woman, Cherry (Maika Monroe) whose neglectful husband Jerome (Amir El-Masry) leaves her alone for a hundred days to test her fidelity, as she becomes entangled in a love triangle with her loyal maid Hero (Emma Corrin) and her husband's seductive friend Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine). The film also stars Charli XCX, Richard E. Grant and Felicity Jones. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the Venice International Film Festival in early September last year, was released Stateside in early December last year, in the UK in early February this year and only now is it released here in Australia, having so far grossed US$472K from a production budget of US$5.3M and has garnered generally favourable critical reviews.

'THE BIRTHDAY TRIP' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian satirical drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed, photographed and Edited by James Robert Woods in his feature film debut. To celebrate their joint thirtieth birthdays, lapsed high-school besties Clare Lapsley Smith (Nicola Frew), Angie Olsson (Josephine Starte) and Isabel McDonald (Annelise Hall) organise a luxury weekend away at the six-star Lothian Gate farmstay in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, with their partners in tow (Luke Jacobz, David Quirk and Ben Gerrard). While the women share a nostalgic bond, the men are strangers, and the simmering social machinations test the couples' loyalty. Meanwhile, across the perfectly manicured grounds, the fraught relationship between the farmstay's conflicted caretaker Felix Doyle (Robert Preston) and his partner Sapphire Phoenix (Sapphire Blossom) threatens to derail the weekend. 

'SILENT FRIEND' (Rated M) - is a German, French, Hungarian and Hong Kong Co-Produced historical drama film Written and Directed by Ildiko Enyedi, whose prior feature film making credits take in her debut in 1989 with the Cannes Camera d'Or winner 'My 20th Century' which she would follow up with the likes of 'Simon, the Magician' in 1999, 'On Body and Soul' in 2017 and 'The Story of My Wife' in 2021. Here then, the film follows a single ginkgo tree dating back to 1832 through three loosely connected stories in different eras - 1908, 1972, and 2020, taking place in the old university town of Marburg, Germany. Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Lea Seydoux, Luna Wedler, Martin Wuttke, Johannes Hegemann, Marlene Burow and Enzo Brumm. It saw its World Premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival in early September last year, was released in Germany in mid-January this year and has generated universal critical acclaim.

'JACKASS : BEST AND LAST' (Rated MA15+) - this American reality slapstick comedy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Jeff Tremaine who helmed all the previous 'Jackass' instalments from 'Jackass : The Movie' in 2002, through to 'Jackass Forever' in 2022.  It will be the sixth and final main instalment in the 'Jackass' film series, with those first five films in the series grossing US$560M at the worldwide Box Office off the back of combined production budgets totalling US$62M. This film is a compilation of stunts, skits, and pranks, intercut with on-set talking heads with its cast. The movie will be a mix of old and new footage, bringing back the biggest stunts and pranks from the franchise, as well as brand new ones, and never-before-seen footage. The film stars original 'Jackass' members Johnny Knoxville (who once again Co-Produces here), Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Dave England, and Danger Ehren, along with Poopies, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, and Rachel Wolfson. The film was released Stateside last week. It was released across Europe and the USA on 25th and 26th June respectively, has so far grossed approaching US$12M from its production budget of US$10M and has received positive critical reviews.  

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

TUNER : Tuesday 23rd June 2026.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'TUNER' earlier this week, and this USA and Canadian Co-Produced crime thriller film is Co-Written and Directed by Daniel Roher in his debut narrative fiction film following his documentaries 'Once Were Brothers : Robbie Robertson and the Band' in 2019 and the Academy Award winning 'Navalny' in 2022, and 'The AI Doc : Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist' which Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year and is scheduled for release later on in 2026. The film had its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in late August last year, was released in the US towards the end of May, has garnered generally positive critical acclaim, and has so far recouped US$10M at the Box Office from its US$7M production budget outlay. 

The film opens with a montage of Niki White (Leo Woodall), the very capable assistant of New York City piano tuner Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman) a friend of his late father, going from one NYC upmarket residence to another tuning the piano's of the mostly rich, and in some cases, famous. Once a gifted musician, Niki has hyperacusis (an increased sensitivity to sound and a low tolerance for environmental noise) and can no longer play piano, wearing ear protection at all times against loud noises. After Harry forgets the combination to his safe, Niki teaches himself to open it with the aid of search engine tutorials and his heightened sense of hearing, discovering a talent for safe-cracking.

One day, while tuning a grand piano at a music conservatory, Niki meets Ruthie Waymon (Havana Rose Liu), a determined student pianist. At a wealthy client’s home that is being refurbished where Niki is told to return after 8:00pm when the place will be free of tradesmen and their associated noise, he is disturbed by a trio of Israeli thieves and breaks into the safe for them under false pretences, earning a job offer from their leader, Uri (Lior Raz). 

With Harry’s encouragement, Niki strikes up a romance with Ruthie after repairing her treasured piano that her aunt left her when she passed away. Niki explains that it took years of exposure therapy to manage his sensitivity to sound, and that he has perfect pitch. After Harry is hospitalised after a heart attack, Niki accepts Uri’s offer, determined to save Harry and his wife Marla from debt. Proving himself on Uri’s own safe, Niki joins him, his accomplice Yoni (Gil Cohen), and nephew Benny (Nissan Sakira) as they use their security company to rob wealthy homes, but only stealing what the owners are unlikely to miss. Overcoming Ruthie’s misgivings about their relationship, Niki gives her a stolen watch which he says he bought at a market, that it wasn't expensive, and that is almost identical to a second heirloom left to her by her aunt, and which Ruthie said she lost on a bus. Niki introduces Ruthie to Marla (Tovah Feldshuh) and the bedridden Harry in hospital, secretly paying down their hospital bills which amount to US$36K, in US$10K instalments. 

With Niki now on the fairly lucrative payroll of Uri, he enlists Niki to open a safe for a pair of Korean gangsters, retrieving the seed phrase to their uncle’s cryptocurrency wallet. The uncle arrives, holding everyone at gunpoint and forcing Niki to eat the only copy of the twelve word password, but is shot dead by Benny. Niki flees in agony as the gun shot was fired directly over his head. Later that evening Niki logs into the Cryto account and had memorised the twelve word passcode discovering that the wallet holds close to US$18M. Harry dies, and Uri surprises Niki at shiva, demanding his help to steal the digital key to the uncle’s money, or failing that Ruthie might befall a tragic accident to her hands. 

A grieving Niki decides not to join the robbery, but Ruthie’s anxiety about her upcoming performance and his own resentments of his long foregone musical career lead them to lash out at each other. Storming out of her apartment saying that he was a far better piano player that she has ever hoped to be, Niki is captured by Uri’s crew in the apartment car park. Disoriented by an air horn blasted in his ear by Uri, he is forced to open the uncle’s safe before racing to Ruthie’s performance of her original work, with renowned composer Marius Maissner (Jean Reno) in the audience. Maissner invites Ruthie to join a new project as his assistant in Europe, but recognises her watch as his own grandmother’s heirloom, which survived the Holocaust alongside his grandfather’s watch before they were both stolen from his safe. Niki arrives and is confronted by Ruthie, and admits the truth to Maissner. Assuring him that Ruthie is blameless, Niki offers to recover his grandfather’s watch in exchange for not involving the Police, to which Maissner reluctantly agrees.

Later, on a Saturday night when Uri's security company warehouse is used to host dance parties, Niki is caught breaking into Uri’s safe. Bundled outside and beaten up, Niki begs for the watch and reveals its Holocaust history. He convinces Benny and Yoni, but Uri viciously beats him and ruptures his eardrums in the process again using the air horn which he holds as close to his ear as he can get and blasts away. Waking up in hospital, Niki discovers that doctors successfully repaired his earlobe damaged by Yuri, and that he is now partially deafened, but no longer needs earplugs to tolerate noise. Uri has also left him the watch. Leaving Marla almost US$1M which he syphoned off from the crypto account, remembering what Uri told him to only take what the owner is unlikely to miss. Niki delivers the watch to a grateful Maissner stating that he is absolved, and who leaves him and Ruthie alone together. As an emotional Ruthie looks on, Niki gives a virtuoso piano performance for the first time in years, before declaring that the E flat is off. 

In his narrative feature debut Daniel Roher has delivered us a mash up of the heist movie, with RomCom elements, great virtuoso piano work, and a melodramatic buddy film, which may sound as though he's bitten off more than he can chew here, but it works, and it does so convincingly. All of these separate ingredients don't compete with each other, rather they complement one another to make for an enjoyable movie experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. Leo Woodall as the Tuner Niki has proven his leading man status here, ably supported by all too brief screentime played out by Hoffman and Reno. I wasn't so convinced by the relationship between Ruthie and Niki however, as I'm not sure that such a driven and determined musical talent as Ruthie would let a relationship get in the way of her ultimate goal. That said, this little film is a rare delight, that offers up something for almost everyone. See it on the big screen with the best immersive sound system you can - you won't be disappointed. 

'Tuner' 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 25th June 2026.

The 43rd Munich International Film Festival will take place this year from Friday 26th June to Sunday 5th July. It is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second in size and importance to the Berlinale, and has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July. It presents around 150 feature films and feature-length documentaries on more than eighteen screens, and the festival has an annual attendance of around 80,000. It accredits more than six hundred members of the international press and media as well as over 2,500 film industry professionals. It has always been a popular meeting place for industry insiders throughout Germany and Europe. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German, European and World Premieres. There are a dozen competitions with prizes worth over EU€250K which are donated by the festival's major sponsors and partners.

This years Opening Film presentation is the Polish, German, Italian and French Co-Produced 'Fatherland' that is Co-Written and Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Starring Sandra Huller and Hanns Zischler as Erika Mann and exiled German novelist Thomas Mann respectively, as they embark on a road trip from Frankfurt, West Germany, to Weimar, East Germany, during the Cold War in 1949. The film had its World Premiere in the main competition at this years Cannes Film Festival on 14th May, where Pawlikowski won the Award for Best Director. 

This years competition for the best international film presents new works of master Directors from all over the world - in this competition they will be presented to the Munich audience long before the official German theatrical release. They compete for the CineMasters Award which is endowed with EU€10K. In this section there are twelve films all competing, as given in brief below :-

* 'All of a Sudden' - from Belgium, Germany, France and Japan, and Co-Written and Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and starring Virginie Efira. 

* 'Chasing Summer' - from the USA and Directed by Josephine Decker and starring Iliza Shlesinger.

* 'Two Pianos' - from France and Co-Written and Directed by Arnaud Desplechin and starring Francois Civil and Charlotte Rampling.

* 'Gentle Monster' - from Germany, France and Austria and Written and Directed by Marie Kreutzer and starring Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve. 

* 'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning' - from the UK and Directed by Clio Barnard and starring Anthony Boyle and Joe Cole.

* 'If I Go They Will Miss Me' - from the USA and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Walter Thompson-Hernandez and starring Danielle Brooks and J. Alphonse Nicholson.

* 'Double Freedom' - from Argentina, Chile, Germany, Luxembourg and the UK, and is Written and Directed by Lisandro Alonso and stars Misael Saavedra and Catalina Saavedra.

* 'Landmarks' - from Argentina, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands and the USA, and Co-Written and Directed by Lucrecia Martel.

* 'Forever Your Maternal Animal' - from Belgium, France and Mexico and Written and Directed by Valentina Maurel, and starring Daniela Marin, Mariangel Montero, Marina De Tavira and Reinaldo Amien.

* 'The Man I Love' - from the USA and Co-Written and Directed by Ira Sachs, and starring Rami Malek, Luther Ford, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Tom Sturridge and Rebecca Hall.

* 'The Sun Rises On Us All' - from China and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Shangjun Cai, and starring Zhilei Xin, Songwen Zhang and Shaofeng Feng.

* 'Shame and Money' - from Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia and Belgium, and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Visar Morina, and starring Astrit Kabashi, Flonja Kodheli, Kumrije Hoxha, Fiona Gllavica and Alban Ukaj.

For the brief synopsis of the aforementioned films, plus the details of the other competitive film sections being showcased including Cinecopro Competition (for best international co-production), the Cinevision Competition (best international debut film), the Cinerebels Competition (for extraordinary films), and the Cinekindl Competition (intelligent entertainment not only for children) and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/

Looking to this weeks five new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with the second offering in the DCU as Kara Zor-El joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary strikes too close to home. Then we have a comedy drama in which after 35 years in Chicago, Donal reluctantly returns to the Scottish Highlands to reconcile with his estranged older brother and owner of the 200 year old family whisky distillery. Next up is a French fantasy drama where a fifteen-year-old orphan witnesses the shoot for a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its lead Actress. This is followed by a French comedy drama film that has an unexpected road trip bringing a dysfunctional family together for one last journey with their elder matriarch, sparking moments of connection, joy, and reconciliation; and closing out the week, we have the seventh instalment in this hugely successful animated comedy franchise that sees the Minions banding together to save the day after unleashing monsters upon an unsuspecting world in the Hollywood of old.

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

'SUPERGIRL' (Rated M) - is an American superhero film and is based on the titular character from DC Comics. The film is Directed by Craig Gillespie and is the second film in the DC Universe (DCU), following 2025's 'Superman' which was Written and Directed by James Gunn - the joint CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran, and starred David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. Craig Gillespie's prior feature film making credits take in his 2007 debut with 'Mr. Woodcock', and which he would follow up with the likes of 'Lars and the Real Girl' also in 2007, 'Fright Night' in 2011, 'I, Tonya' in 2017, 'Cruella' in 2021 and 'Dumb Money' in 2023. This film forms part of the DCU's 'Chapter One: Gods and Monsters', and as recently as last month Peter Safran commented that Supergirl would have a major role in the future of the DCU beyond her return in the Superman follow-up film 'Man of Tomorrow' scheduled for release on 9th July 2027.

Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) celebrates her 23rd birthday by traveling across the galaxy with her dog Krypto. Along the way, she meets the young Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) and encounters a tragedy that leads her on a 'murderous quest for revenge'. Also starring Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet and Jason Momoa. The film is released this week too in the US.

'GLENROTHAN' (Rated M) - this British comedy drama film is Directed by Brian Cox in his feature film making debut, although he will be well known the world over for his screen acting achievements in his seven decade spanning career in the theatre, in film and in television. Here then, set in the Scottish Highlands, two headstrong brothers Donal and Sandy (Alan Cumming and Brian Cox respectively), who last got together on the day of the mothers funeral in which they had a violent exchange with their father, are brought back together at the country home of their 200-year-old family whisky distillery after Donal relocated himself to Chicago, USA thirty-five years previously. Sandy needs Donal to take over the family's whisky distillery or he will be forced to sell and give up on the family's legacy. But their reunion forces the brothers to confront the past and the real reason Donal left Glenrothan. Also starring Shirley Henderson and Alexandra Shipp. The film saw its Premiere screening at TIFF in mid-September last year, was released in the UK in mid-April this year and has received average reviews at best.

'THE ICE TOWER' (Rated M) - is a French, German and Italian Co-Production that is Co-Written and Directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic whose prior feature film making efforts take in her 2004 critically acclaimed debut 'Innocence' and then 'Evolution' in 2015 and her English language debut 'Earwig' in 2021. Set in the 1970's, the enigmatic Actress Cristina (Marion Cotillard) is shooting a film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale 'The Snow Queen', in which she plays the title character. At the same time, Jeanne (Clara Pacini), a runaway teenage orphan, takes refuge in the studio where the film is being shot and falls under Cristina's spell, and a mutual fascination grows between them. Also starring August Diehl and Gaspar Noe. The film had its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February 2025, where it won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution. It was released in its native France in mid-September last year, has so far grossed US$46K at the Box Office from a production budget of US$5.6M and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.

'BON VOYAGE, MARIE' (Rated M) - this French comedy drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Enya Baroux in her feature film debut, although she has helmed a number of short films and a TV series since 2017. Marie (Helene Vincent) is 80 years old and has a plan that she dares not confess. When her irresponsible son Bruno (David Ayala) and granddaughter Anna (Juliette Gasquet) insist on knowing why she wants to travel to Switzerland, Marie improvises an incredible story - an inheritance forgotten in a bank. What starts out as a white lie turns into a crazy family trip in an old motorhome, joined by Rudy (Pierre Lottin), a social worker they barely know, who is caught up in the adventure against his will. Along the way, amidst reproaches, laughter and secrets, this unexpected trip will bring three generations together again . . . even if that’s not what they were looking for. The film was released in its native France in mid-March 2025, and has so far grossed US$3.9M at the Box Office. 

'MINIONS & MONSTERS' (Rated PG) - is an American animated comedy film Co-Written and Directed by Pierre Coffin and Produced by Illumination. It is the third instalment in the 'Minions' prequel series and the seventh instalment overall in the 'Despicable Me' franchise. The first six films in the franchise grossed a total Box Office haul of US$5.46B off the back of combined production budgets of US$479M making the continuation of the series a no-brainer. Pierre Coffin Directed the first three 'Despicable Me' films in 2010, 2013 and 2017 and the first 'Minions' film in 2013. And so, this is the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered 1920's Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created. Starring the voice talents of Pierre Coffin as the Minions, and Zoey Deutch, Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr and Trey Parker. The film Premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this week and will be released in the USA on 1st July.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

DISCLOSURE DAY : Tuesday 16th June 2026.

I saw the M Rated 'DISCLOSURE DAY' earlier this week at my local multiplex, and this American Science Fiction film is based on an original story, Co-Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg, who I'm sure needs no introduction. Spielberg is no stranger to the world of Sci-Fi having helmed 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' in 1977, then 'E.T.' in 1982, 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence' in 2001, 'Minority Report' in 2002, 'War of the Worlds' in 2005 and 'Ready Player One' in 2018. This film saw its Premiere screening in Paris early this month, went on world wide release last week, has generated positive critical reviews and has so far recovered US$121M at the global Box Office from a production budget of US$115M.

The film begins with a staged wrestling match, and in the audience sits Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) watching nonchalantly, while the rest of the crowd rise to their feet enthusiastically to cheer on the champion. From behind a man pulls a revolver and jabs it into Kellner's side, telling him to stand up and release his back pack next time the crowd stands and cheers. He does so, the back pack is removed and he is taken outside. It is quickly revealed that Kellner is a cybersecurity specialist who up until that day had spent the prior eight years working for the Wardex Corporation, a secret arm of the US government, and that he had stolen a piece of extraterrestrial technology and dozens of related files, detailing various events of human and alien contact dating back to the Roswell incident, some 79 years ago, and right up to the very recent past. Wardex CEO Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) discovers the theft and has Daniel branded a foreign spy, making him the target of federal authorities. Once outside, Scanlon and Kellner come face to face, but Kellner is able to thwart his would be captors by revealing that he is in possession of one of three very powerful alien devices, and so Scanlon reluctantly chooses to let him go. He goes into hiding at a convent with his girlfriend, Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson), a former noviciate of the convent before she lost her calling three years earlier. 

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, television meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is preparing for work at home when a cardinal bird flies in through her kitchen window, briefly observes her, and is then chased away through the window by Margaret's boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell), a jobbing musician. The incident awakens latent psychic abilities, so giving Margaret the ability to understand the thoughts and emotions of others, and unconsciously converse in foreign languages she has never learned. 

After the two news anchors have finished their story of an imminent World War III currently unfolding, they cross to Margaret's live weather broadcast, during which she unexpectedly begins speaking in an unknown language, and then collapses on the studio's stage. Footage of the broadcast goes viral and draws the attention of Wardex, which identifies the language as extraterrestrial in origin. After being hospitalised and nearly captured by Scanlon's agents, Margaret also goes into hiding with Jackson in tow.

Having been extracted from the convent by Dave Santiago (Tommy Martinez) and taken to a remote safe house, Kellner reveals the stolen files to Jane, explaining that Wardex has been experimenting on live alien captives and reverse engineering their technology for years, and states his intention to make the information public, and how the world deserves to know the truth. Jane while horrified by the footage seen on the laptop, is reluctant to broadcast this news to the world because of her religious beliefs. Kellner learns of Margaret and discovers that he is the only one who can understand the alien language she spoke in the broadcast. 

Through one of the three alien devices that grants him telepathic capabilities, Scanlon forms a psychic bond with Jane and uses it first to make her attempt to kill Daniel and to track them to the remote safe house, and then to track them to a hotel. Jane escapes with the alien device in Kellner's possession, but Kellner is captured. Meanwhile, as her abilities evolve, Margaret has visions of him and follows them to a black site where he is being held. 

They escape when Margaret learns how to use her abilities to empathetically influence their pursuers into standing down. Scanlon's head of security Casper Boyd (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), intentionally rams their car into the side of a passing speeding freight train, and the pair are dragged along in their vehicle by the train into the path of an oncoming train. Kellner pulls Margaret out just in time for them to climb onto the train and make their way to safety. Margaret has a panic attack once inside the safety of a carriage, and Kellner calms her down. 

Margaret and Kellner are rescued by a team of a dozen or so Wardex employees who have become whistleblowers. Their leader, Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), who has been working with Kellner and in regular communication with him, shelters them in a warehouse containing a near exact reconstruction of Margaret's childhood home and encourages her to recover suppressed memories connected to the extraterrestrial phenomenon. 

Inside, Margaret remembers that she and Kellner were both abducted by extraterrestrials as ten year old children and subjected to experiments that gave them their powers. Kellner was given almost superhuman mathematical capabilities which made him a shoe-in for his cyber security role at Wardex recruited by Wakefield. And Margaret was bestowed with the ability to speak and understand any language and taps into people's minds. She also learns that the unusual animals that have appeared throughout their lives are extraterrestrials, assuming harmless forms to observe them, such as a moose, a fox, a racoon and that cardinal bird. 

Margaret and Kellner, accompanied by Wakefield and the other whistleblowers, return to Margaret's television studio to make a public broadcast they name 'Disclosure Day'. Scanlon and his team arrive en masse and attempt to halt their broadcast, disabling the power grid and the station's backup generator, but Jane arrives and gives her device to Margaret, who uses it to restore the power. Defeated, Scanlon decides to watch instead of continuing to stop them, but Boyd leaves in anger, with most of his team leaving with him. The transmission reveals to the stunned world historical evidence of alien encounters and the ensuing government cover-ups. As the broadcast reaches a global audience, halting the imminent war, the whistleblowers reveal one of the extraterrestrials, whom they freed. The alien privately communicates a message to Kellner, who is the only one who understands their language as though it is English, who in turn relays it to Margaret. With the world transfixed to their TV screens and their phones and computers, Margaret prepares to deliver the alien message, saying, 'Listen'.

With 'Disclosure Day' here Director Spielberg has delivered his audience another masterful story that could act as a companion piece to his seminal 1977 movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. While this film doesn't quite reach those same lofty heights, what it does deliver is a thrilling chase movie laced with plenty of expertly choreographed action sequences, conspiracy theories, emotional heft, and perhaps a career best performance from Emily Blunt, and while we're at it Josh O'Connor puts in a convincing turn too. Make no mistake, this is a blockbusting effort from the master storyteller, that will have pondering over that timeless question of whether we are alone in the infinite universe, and if ever, or whenever, the truth does eventually come out, will we be prepared for it and what will the consequences be? See it on the big screen, you won't be disappointed, and at a run time of 145 minutes it doesn't outstay its welcome. 

'Disclosure Day' warrants 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 18th June 2026.

The 34th annual Raindance Film Festival takes place this year from Wednesday 17th June through until Friday 26th June in central London, England. Raindance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the UK and is based in the heart of London’s buzzing West End film district. The festival was established in 1992 and showcases feature film and shorts by filmmakers from around the world to an audience of film executives and buyers, journalists, fans and filmmakers. Each year, Raindance attracts some 16,000 visitors including about five hundred industry professionals into London. Raindance Film Festival is officially recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences USA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the British Independent Film Awards. Selected shorts will qualify for Oscar and BAFTA considerations. 

This year the festival will open with the UK Premiere of Michel K. Parandi’s Sci-Fi thriller 'April X', and close with the European Premiere of Kirsty Bell’s documentary 'Eddie Cochran: Don’t Forget Me', with a further eighty-three narrative and documentary features, 112 short films and twenty-seven immersive projects. Forty-eight of the features, 56% of the total, come from first-time Directors.

In the Best International Feature category, are the following ten films :-

* 'April X' - from the USA and Romania and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Michel K. Parandi. A high octane, near future thriller about twins Bax and April. When April goes missing, Bax searches every dark corner of the post Soviet cityscape trying to find her, ultimately descending into madness. 

* 'Born to Lose' - from the USA and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Joseph Zentil. A young biker grapples with his father's troubled legacy and escalating debts to a local gangster. As he races to restore a vintage motorcycle to save himself, he must confront family secrets and forge his own identity. International Premiere.

* 'Frank' - from Estonia and Written and Directed by Tonis Pill. Following a serious domestic violence incident, 13 year old Paul arrives in an unfamiliar town where in his pursuit of happiness he makes one bad decision after another. His seemingly inevitable downfall is thwarted, however, by a strange disabled man. UK Premiere.

* 'Jardines Del Bosque' - from Mexico and Co-Written and Co-Directed by Alex Barragan, Diego Barragan, and Co-Produced and scored by Alex Barragan and Edited by Diego Barragan. Three friends remember the summer of 2014 when they were preteens and an older girl from their neighbourhood disappeared one day without a trace. As their search intensifies, what began as an innocent game of detectives slowly turns into a dark mystery that changes them forever. World Premiere.

* 'Lost Land' - from Japan, France, Malaysia and Germany and Written, Directed and Edited by Akio Fujimoto. The film follows four-year-old Shafi and his nine-year-old sister Somira, Rohingya refugees, who embark on a perilous journey from a refugee camp in Bangladesh to Malaysia to reunite with their family. UK Premiere.

* 'My Daughter's Hair' - from Iran and Directed by Hesam Farahmand. Tohid and his wife and children have an average life. Until a very simple event shatters the story of their lives. UK Premiere.

* 'No Lastname' - from Iran and Written and Directed by Mohammed Reza Sattari. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an undocumented family living on society's margins struggles with poverty, grief and emotional collapse. As death and desperation close in, fragile relationships begin to fracture. World Premiere.

* 'PARO - The Untold Story of Bride Slavery' - from India and the USA and Co-Written and Directed by Gajendra Ahire. Sold at thirteen, stripped of her children, and betrayed by every promise of safety, Chand’s final act of defiance transforms unimaginable suffering into a powerful call for justice and change. UK Premiere.

* 'Silent Rebellion' - from Switzerland and Co-Written and Directed by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo. 15-year-old Emma, pregnant after a rape, defies her repressive rural Protestant community to carve a path of self-determination, transforming trauma into a catalyst for emancipation while confronting the moral hypocrisy of the village and the spectre of World War II around her. UK Premiere.

* 'Tokyo Nightfall' - from Japan and Written, Directed and Edited by Yuto Shimizu. After his sister Anna dies by suicide following a traumatic encounter in high school, Amenashi drifts through grief and guilt. Drawn to a clandestine mass-suicide gathering in Tokyo, he enters a nightclub where he and two friends confront entrapment, despair, and the buried emotions that bind them to life. World Premiere.

For the full line up of all the feature narratives, documentaries, short films, animated films, the other award categories, and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : http://www.raindance.org/festival

Looking ahead to this weeks five new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with an American thriller in which an aged Robin Hood grapples with his past life while in the hands of a mysterious woman after being critically injured. Next up we have an American animated adventure comedy drama film that sees another sequel to this hugely popular franchise, in which Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs get exponentially harder when they go head-to-head with a new threat to playtime. Then we turn to an Australian coming of age romantic supernatural horror film where two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most - each other. This is followed by a French offering in which a wealthy heiress whose plan to stage a landmark concert is derailed by the clashing egos of the virtuosos recruited for the performance. And closing out the week we have a real life drama about Supermodel Kate Moss who embarks on a journey of self-discovery when acclaimed artist Lucian Freud offers to paint her portrait.

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.

'THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD' (Rated MA15+) - this American thriller offering is Written and Directed by Michael Sarnoski who made his first feature in 2021 with the multi-award winning film 'Pig' and which he would follow up with 'A Quiet Place : Day One' in 2024. He is set to Write and Direct a live-action film adaptation of the video game 'Death Stranding', which is currently in active development with a release date yet to be announced. This film is a dark adaptation of the 17th-Century ballad 'Robin Hood's Death', by an unknown Writer.

After being seriously injured in a brutal battle that he thought would be his last, Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) finds himself being nursed back to health by a mysterious woman, Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer). As he recovers, he begins to reckon with his violent past of crime and murder, and as feelings of regret set in, Robin finds an unexpected chance at salvation. Also starring Bill Skarsgard as Little John, with Murray Bartlett and Noah Jupe, The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Sydney Film Festival earlier this month and is released here in Australia and the US from this week.

'TOY STORY 5' (Rated G) - is an American animated adventure comedy-drama film Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, and is Co-Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton, whose prior feature film making credits take in his 2003 debut with 'Finding Nemo' and which he would follow up with 'WALL-E' in 2008, 'John Carter' in 2012, 'Finding Dory' in 2016 and 'In the Blink of an Eye' released earlier this year. This film is the fifth main instalment in Pixar's 'Toy Story' film series and the sequel to 2019's 'Toy Story 4'. Including the spin-off film 'Lightyear' from 2022, those five films have grossed almost US$3.3B at the worldwide Box Office from combined production budgets of US$720M. Here then, after Woody (voiced again by Tom Hanks) left Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) to help abandoned toys find owners, Jessie (Joan Cussack) becomes the leader of Bonnie's room, with Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) as her second-in-command. However, a now-eight-year-old Bonnie has become enamoured of her new favourite plaything, a frog-like tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee). Also starring the voice talents of Conan O'Brien, Tony Hale, Bonnie Hunt, Ernie Hudson and Keanu Reeves. The film is released Stateside this week also.

'LEVITICUS' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian romantic coming of age supernatural horror film is Written and Directed by Adrian Chiarella in his feature film Directing debut. The film explores the dark consequences of religious fanaticism when two teenage boys - Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen), subjected to a radical conversion therapy ritual, are hunted by a supernatural entity that takes the form of the person they desire most - each other. Also starring Mia Wasikowska, Ewen Leslie and Nicholas Hope. It saw its World Premiere showcasing at this year Sundance Film Festival at the end of January, and is released here in Australia and the USA this week, having garnered universal critical acclaim.

'THE MUSICIANS' (Rated PG) - is a French musical comedy drama film Co-Written and Directed by Gregory Magne in only his third feature film making outing following 'L'air de rien' in 2012 and 'Perfumes' in 2019. Wealthy heiress Astrid Carlson (Valerie Donzelli) finally succeeds in fulfilling her late father’s dream - to bring together four Stradivarius (two violins, a viola and a cello) for a unique concert, eagerly expected by music lovers around the world. But Lise Carvalho (Marie Vialle), George Massaro (Mathieu Spinosi), Peter Nicolescu (Daniel Garlitsky), and Apolline Dessartre (Emma Ravier), the four virtuosos recruited for the occasion, are incapable of playing together. The rehearsals are one ego crisis after another. With no solution in sight, Astrid decides to go and find the only person who, in her eyes, can still save the event, Charlie Beaumont (Frederic Pierrot), the composer of the score. The film was released in its native France in early May 2025, and only now does it arrive in Australian cinemas thirteen months hence.

'MOSS & FREUD' (Rated MA15+) - this UK and New Zealand Co-Produced real life drama film is Written and Directed by James Lucas in his feature film making debut, although he is acclaimed for his Writing and Executive Producing his Academy Award winning short film 'The Phone Call' in 2013. Here, in 2002, at age 28, Kate Moss (Ellie Bamber) is already the greatest fashion icon of our time. Endlessly watchable, never predictable, always natural and utterly unpretentious. Kate shaped a generation. Yet she still yearns to be seen, truly seen. In a bold move, Kate enters Lucian Freud's (Derek Jacobi) the famed British painter and draughtsman, who is regarded as one of the foremost 20th Century English portraitist -  studio. Two British cultural titans converge, and Kate bares herself. Freud's genius explores Kate's hidden depths. Her complexity unfolds. A mesmerising rapport develops. The wild party scene fades whilst self-discovery takes centre stage. Tension mounts. Truths emerge. Kate finds her voice, her strength, her true self. Kate blossoms from supermodel to eternal muse. This is a journey into the heart of an icon. After sittings over the course of many months, the resultant painting was auctioned in 2005 for £3,928,000. The film had its World Premiere screening at the BFI London Film Festival in mid-October last year, was released in the UK in late May, and arrives in select Australian cinemas this week. 

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-