Eli Wallach - dies aged 98 - R.I.P.

Eli Herschel Wallach was born in Brooklyn on December 7th 1915 and died earlier this week in Manhatten on June 24th 2014 - aged 98. Married to wife and at times fellow acting companion Anne Jackson since 1948, they had three children together Peter, Katherine and Roberta.

Wallach's first acting role was in 1949 and his stage, TV and film career spanned six decades taking in almost 170 acting credits and 90 movies during that period. He studied under the famed Lee Strasberg and was one of the founding members of 'The Actors Studio' and subsequently went on to become one of cinema's greatest character actors. His film career saw him work alongside many of cinema's greats including the likes of Gable, Monroe, Wayne, Widmark, Fonda, Peck, O'Toole, McQueen, Brynner, Eastwood, Nicholson and Pacino. Starring too in numerous TV films and TV series he also played 'Mr. Freeze' in the mid-60's Batman TV show.

In 2011 he was honoured by the Academy with an Honorary Award 'For a lifetime's worth of indelible screen characters'. All up he was the recipient of eight award wins and a further six nominations including in 1957 the Golden Globe nomination for 'Baby Doll', and that same year a BAFTA win for the same film for 'Most Promising Newcomer'.

His film and acting credits are numerous, but perhaps he is most recognisable as 'Tuco', the Ugly one in Sergio Leone's classic 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. In addition there was 'Baby Doll', 'The Lineup', 'The Misfits', The Magnificent Seven', 'How the West Was Won', 'Lord Jim', 'How to Steal a Million', 'Mackenna's Gold', 'The Deep', 'The Hunter', 'The Two Jakes', 'The Godfather III',  and a little more recently 'Mystic River' and 'Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps'. In demand right up to the end, his filmography lives on with over sixty years of varied contribution.

Eli Wallach - Rest In Peace
1915-2014

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthdays to share this week : 29th June - 5th July.

Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming week? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with over the coming week. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Boy on 3rd July, Tom Cruise, at the end of this feature.

Sunday 29th June

• Gary Busey - Born 1944, turns 70 - Actor

Monday 30th June

• Vincent D'Onofrio - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Mike Tyson - Born 1966, turns 48 - Boxer | Actor | Producer

Tuesday 1st July

• Liv Tyler - Born 1977, turns 37 - Actress
• Pamela Anderson - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actress | Producer
• Genevieve Bujold - Born 1942, turns 72 - Actress
• Deborah Harry - Born 1945, turns 69 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actress
• Dan Aykroyd - Born 1952, turns 62 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Trevor Eve - Born 1951, turns 63 - Actor | Producer

Wednesday 2nd July

• Margot Robbie - Born 1990, turns 24 - Actress
• Lindsay Lohan - Born 1986, turns 28 - Actress | Producer
• Jerry Hall - Born 1956, turns 58 - Actress | Supermodel
• Larry David - Born 1947, turns 67 - Writer | Producer | Actor

Thursday 3rd July

• Tom Cruise - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actor | Producer
• Connie Nielsen - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actress
• Patrick Wilson - Born 1973, turns 41 - Actor
• Kurtwood Smith - Born 1943, turns 71 - Actor
• Tom Stoppard - Born 1937, turns 77 - Writer | Producer
• Kevin Hart - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actor | Writer | Producer

Friday 4th July

• Neil Morrissey - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actor
• Gina Lollobrigida - Born 1927, turns 87 - Actress

Saturday 5th July

• Eva Green - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actress
• Huey Lewis - Born 1950, turns 64 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor

It seems that there are two types of people in this world! There are those who love Tom Cruise and there are those that loathe him. There are those who will pay the price of a cinema ticket upon his latest cinematic outing, and there are those that wouldn't part company with a brass razoo if it was the last movie to screen on Earth, ever, anywhere! For me, as your favoured movie Correspondent, I like Tom Cruise and would pay, and do pay, to see his latest releases despite his quirks, his foibles, his idiosyncrasies and his Scientology stuff! Tom is the man - rated as one of the Top 100 movie actors of all time . . . so he must be doing something right, despite all the misgivings and the shite that the movie going celebrity bashing tall poppy crunching public bestow upon him.

It is the Cruisemeister's birthday this coming week, so let's put all the BS aside and celebrate the mans career, his life and his achievements, and help to raise his Profile just a little further as a mark of respect on his special day!

So, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born in Syracuse, New York and upto age fourteen was studying in a Fransiscan Seminary in Cincinatti with his sights set on a life in the priesthood. Living with fairly nomadic periods who divorced when he was eleven years of age, he spent his first fourteen years in and out of fifteen different schools. His remarried mother settled with her new husband in Glen Ridge, New Jersey from where he graduated from High School in 1980, and it was at High School that he started to develop  keen interest in acting. By the time he reached 18 he was off to New York with thoughts of the priesthood behind him and an acting career firmly on the radar.

His first film role came in 1981 in 'Endless Love' . . . and the rest as they say, is history! He moved onto 'Taps' that same years starring alongside the likes of Sean Penn and already established screen legends including Ronny Cox, Timothy Hutton and George C. Scott. Already with only two film acting credits under his belt, this young kid was already well on his way.

The ensuing thirty years has seen a meteoric rise to stardom. To put this into perspective, he has become one of the highest paid actors in the world earning an average US$15M per movie. For 'Taps' in 1981 he received a pay cheque for US$50K and for both the first instalments of his 'Mission : Impossible' franchise he has earned a staggering US$70M per picture! He is the first actor in history to star in five consecutive US$100M grossing films - 'A Few Good Men', 'The Firm', 'Interview with the Vampire', 'Mission : Impossible' and 'Jerry Maguire'. Since 1986 ('Top Gun') only six of his feature films have failed to reach a global box office take of US$100M . . . not bad out of 37 already released! Such is his clout that he has worked with most of Hollywood's finest Directing talent - Kubrick, De Palma, Coppola, Howard, Mann, Redford, Stone, Scorsese, Scott and Spielberg. To date the global box office haul from his films is approaching US$8B.

When working he prefers to perform his own stunts; he has a pilots license which he gained in 1994; is vegetarian and does not drink alcohol. He has been described as 'one of the most powerful - and richest - forces in Hollywood', and acting as Producer (for Cruise/Wagner Productions) now on numerous films has very astutely negotiated some of the most lucrative deals in Hollywood. He also took over the management of United Artists in late 2006 with Paula Wagner in which Cruise acts as Producer and Actor in United Artists released movies.

His private life has always featured heavily in the world's media. He has been married three times - to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990; to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001 with whom he has two adopted children; and to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012 with whom he has one child. From 2001 to 2004 he was associated with Penelope Cruz. It was his first wife, Mimi Rogers, who initially introduced him to The Church of Scientology with whom he has been closely linked ever since, and to which there has always been an air of mystery and intense speculation given Cruise's high profile celebrity status.

With 37 film credits to his name so far, aside from those mentioned already, there is 'Risky Business', 'All the Right Moves', 'Legend', 'Rain Man', 'Born on the Fourth of July', 'The Firm', 'A Few Good Men', 'Far and Away', 'Eyes Wide Shut', 'Vanilla Sky', 'Magnolia', 'The Last Samurai', 'Collateral', 'War of the Worlds', 'Minority Report', 'Tropic Thunder', 'Rock of Ages', 'Jack Reacher', 'Oblivion', and most recently 'Edge of Tomorrow', whilst not forgetting four hugely successful 'Mission : Impossible' outings. Currently in pre-production is 'Mission : Impossible 5' with 'Van Helsing', 'Top Gun 2' and 'Jack Reacher : Never Go Back' announced for future release.

In terms of awards success Cruise has 39 wins and a further 56 nominations to his credit. The Academy Award has thus far eluded him although he has been nominated three times for 'Magnolia', 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'Jerry Maguire'. He does have three Golden Globe wins for those aforementioned films plus another five nominations, and a BAFTA nomination for 'Born on the Fourth of July'.

Tom Cruise - at times quirky, always passionate and energetic, confirmed screen legend, proven astute businessman, often derided but always a force to reckon with on screen and off - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 26th June 2014

We've just had the shortest day marking mid-Winter here in Australia, meaning that it's all down hill now to Summer, and what better way to spend a mid-Winter's afternoon or evening holed-up in your local picture palace with a mate or loved one checking out one of this weeks three new releases to hit our silver screens. Just in time for our school holidays is a mega-budget big action blockbuster that you've seen three previous times but is still sure to please the teenagers amongst us! Then we have a couple of offerings to please the more discerning adults amongst us that give us an insightful bio-pic  into the realms of one of the 20th Century's most influential designers; and finally a French foreign language natural disaster film impacting on two individuals who's mutual dislike for each other must be overcome to achieve their collective goal!

Sound interesting . . . I thought so! Get out to your local movie theatre this coming week and check out one of these, or any one of a raft of quality material still on general release - and then let me know your thoughts! Pleasant viewing!

TRANSFORMERS : AGE OF EXTINCTION (Rated M) - let out for their fourth instalment of this franchise Michael Bay is once again bombarding us with bigger, bolder, brassier, budget busting transforming action delivered on an epic scale . . . but, does this make it any better? The cast has changed and out goes Shia LaBeouf and in comes Mark Wahlberg who is unwittingly destined to save the world aided and abetted by a gang of Autobots and one Optimus Prime. Theses latter Transformers however, have not changed, and all the usual mechanised galacticly engineered hunks of metal are back once again, with some additional never before seen mechanised galacticly engineered hunks of metal. This time though there is a new ancient foe to do battle with and wreak havoc over from one corner of our world to the other - and of course they are strong, fearless, determined, won't take shit from anybody and won't take no for an answer! But, they haven't met Mark Wahlberg and we all know he can be a badass when he wants to be! So right on cue there will of course be intense battle scenes, eye popping CGI, inventive explosions, creative deaths, more destruction on a scale only seen in the last epic disaster flick to hit our screen just fifteen minutes ago, a little bit of gratuitous eye candy, and a story that is probably paper thin! How long can this series go on for I wonder, given that each outing is just a pumped up hyped up reinvented version of the one that went before! In short the answer comes down to the movie going public and its global box office haul at the end of the day. To be enjoyed by teenagers the world over. Bring on Transformers 5!

YVES SAINT LAURENT (Rated M) - The story of the man himself, the haute couture designer that shaped the fashions of the latter half of the 20th Century, and whose influence is still seen today. Tracing his rise to fame from the mid-50's and the following twenty years that were not without incident, his relationship with lover Pierre Berge, and all the glitz, glamour, creativity, fashions and vision of this fashion icon. Starring Pierre Niney in the title role, this film has been made as authentically as possible and with the full cooperation and endorsement of the Foundation of Yves Saint Laurent. Directed by Jalil Lespert, this film gives us an insight into YSL's homosexuality and that relationship with Berge that probably saved him ultimately from his over indulgent drug & alcohol abuse at the time. For lovers of well crafted bio-pics, those with an interest in fashion and those who clothed a generation (or two or three), then this should be a must-see for you.

THE VOLCANO (Rated M) - Here we have bitterly divorced couple, Alain and Valerie (played by Dany Boon and Valerie Bonneton respectively) who share a mutual hatred for each other in every sense being forced together to get to their daughters wedding on a Greek island after being grounded at the airport thanks to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull. With their singular mission in mind - to get to the wedding by almost any means possible - they resort to travelling by planes, trains and automobiles and anything else they can muster to complete their journey successfully from Paris to Greece and be with their daughter on her special day. Along the way they fight, beg, borrow, steal, fight some more, shout abuse, try to bury the hatchet, shout more abuse and then fight again as their journey progresses. Directed by Alexandre Coffre, the team behind this movie also brought you 'The Intouchables' and 'Heartbreaker', and this is currently the #1 at the French box office. Not your average volcanic disaster film, but looks good entertaining fun nonetheless.

Once more, three very different movies to entice you out this coming week for a couple of hours of escapism, entertainment and excitement on the silver screen. Enjoy your experience, and drop me a line with your own Review.

Movies, see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY - Tuesday 24th June 2014

Back to my favourite movie theatre last night - the Cremorne Orpheum Picture Palace, to see recently released 'THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY' based on a Patricia Highsmith novel first released in 1964. The scene is set and we are escorted back to 1962 Athens and straightaway we have a film that feels of that era - character driven, sharp suits, stylish locales, sun drenched scenery, glamorous couple, playful rogue and thoughtful dialogue. Almost Hitchcockian, but written and Directed by Hossein Amini in his first such outing, following his penning of the impressive 'Drive'.

Here he has assembled Viggo Mortensen and wife Kirsten Dunst (Chester and Colette MacFarland respectively) and Oscar Isaac (as Rydal) - the three linchpins of this tale. Holidaying Long Island residents husband and wife Chester and Colette meet US tour guide to the hapless tourists, Rydal, in the vicinity of The Acropolis, and so begins an unlikely relationship that unfolds over a week or so between Athens, Crete and Istanbul.

Following 24 hours or so of social niceties and tours of the real Athens, Rydal inadvertently catches Chester in a somewhat compromising position. What ensues is an unfolding story of misdemeanours, misadventures and mistrust as we get to know the three protagonists, and they all seek to gain the upper hand for fear of exposure, and the consequences that would inevitably follow. Out of desperation the action takes us from Athens via ferry boat to Crete where further misfortune awaits, and then onto Istanbul for the final chapter and the conclusion of the story.

The plot here is engaging enough, the acting is solid and believable, the screen lights up with images of ancient Mediterranean lands, but I did feel that at times this plodded somewhat. Not to the point of boredom, but almost predictability! This film is condensed into a running time of just 96 minutes, and it passed by quickly, but I wanted more! We get just the bare nuggets of character back story which could have been fleshed out a little more, and when the long arm of the law eventually catches up with them I was left wondering almost, how? Viggo Mortensen plays it solidly as he always does (think 'LOTR', 'A History of Violence' and 'Eastern Promises') and he would be one of my favourites - constantly chewing on a dart here and swilling back the Whisky - he does it so well, and really inhabits his character.

All of that said, it is enjoyable enough and it presents well on the big screen and there are a lot of positives here that do outweigh the less so. You don't need to see this on the big screen and can easily wait for the dvd/Blu-Ray in a few months.

As a foot note, films like this don't seem to get made so often anymore, and as such it is worthy of your viewing as a throw back to those of that era - good story, exotic locations, good acting, believable characters and enough suspense and intrigue to maintain your attention.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GANGSTER SQUAD - archive from 16th January 2013.

Saw 'GANGSTER SQUAD' last night and was expecting big things from this 'inspired by real events' telling of the Mickey Cohen story of the late 1940's underworld of an emerging LA. 

Directed by Ruben Fleisher and starring a huge cast including Sean Penn as the violence obsessed gangster kingpin Mickey Cohen; and Josh Brolin, Robert Patrick, Ryan Gosling, and Giovanni Ribisi as the Gangster Sqaud; Nick Nolte as the Chief of Police, and with Emma Watson as the love interest, this has all the elements you would expect of a film of this type. 

Mickey Cohen has moved into town and is intent on controlling all underworld activity in LA and has bought the Police, the Judges, and just about anyone else in authority that might get in the way of his goal . . . or he just wipes 'em out completely instead! Wanting to settle down to a family life in the burbs (yeah right!) he begins to think that some local competition is trying to muscle in on his turf as his business interests get hit, but, soon he comes to realise that in fact it's the Cops. And so the revenge fest begins, the bullets fly and people die! Despite all this, I felt shortchanged as this relies on bullet ballet, exaggerated Tommy Gun fire, moments of extreme violence, stylised action, and slow-mo close-ups to deliver the thrills. 

Sean Penn hams it up as Mickey Cohen with prosthetic nose and sufficient menace, and all those supporting add weight, but if you are expecting 'The Untouchables, or 'LA Confidential' then you'll be disappointed - as I was. Entertaining enough but too many copy-cat nods to 'The Untouchables'' to make this just a tad Ho-Hum!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

X-MEN : DAYS OF FUTURE PAST - Sunday 22nd June 2014.

It's overdue I know considering that this film was released in Australia on 22nd May! And so, four weeks late I saw 'X-MEN : DAYS OF FUTURE PAST' (finally!) at the weekend at my local multiplex who are running this as their discounted 'movie of the week'.

This time around for the seventh 'X-MEN' outing Bryan Singer is back in the Directorial chair with the biggest budget yet that would easily sustain a small third world country for a year or two. What can US$230M get you? Well, a whole lotta X-Men shit going down that's for sure! Be prepared for  time travel; there are mind games; there are massive explosions, death, destruction and mayhem; there is impressive CGI; there is a rewriting of history; and there are quips, jibes, period jokes all intertwined in a solid story.

Bryan Singer helmed the first two films in this franchise - way back in 2000 we had 'X-MEN' and in 2003 we had 'X2' and in the intervening period he has been off doing other stuff like 'SUPERMAN RETURNS', 'VALKYRIE' and 'JACK THE GIANT SLAYER', but this represents a return to form for Singer, and the franchise. He has assembled the star cast that we have become accustomed to, as well as introducing a bunch of new mutant characters that get an inkling of screen time as a possible set up to future instalments (the young Quicksilver easily the best of that bunch and good fun too!) Hugh Jackman is back as Logan/Wolverine of course, as is Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy (as the older and younger Professor X respectively), Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender (as the older and younger Magneto) and then we have the always dependable Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique, Halle Berry with an all too brief appearance as Storm, Anna Paquin as Rogue and the vertically challenged Peter Dinklage as Dr. Bolivar Trask the originator of the 'Sentinels' . . . who have a lot to answer for!

The plot line is fairly straightforward and doesn't require too much thought process to get your head around. Interesting to note that whilst this film is designed to follow on from its predecessors and re-group after the sub-division of the previous 'X-MEN : THE LAST STAND', you can see this as a stand alone film if coming new to the franchise, and then fill in the back story and the blanks by viewing those that have gone before.

That said, essentially it goes like this - it's 2023 and the mutant population have been systematically hunted down to within an inch of extinction by the 'Sentinels' that were first developed back in the 70's following America's pasting in Vietnam. The Sentinels were developed by diminutive weapons engineering expert Dr. Bolivar Trask designed specifically to eradicate mutants and any human possessing a mutant gene that could be passed on to future generations. In 2023 only the last vestiges of the mutants remain and so Professor X and Magneto have joined forces to find a solution. It seems the only way is to send someone back in time to 1973 to deal with Trask before he develops the Sentinel project and so prevent a future war from happening. Of course the only mutant who can go back is Wolverine because he can self-heal and withstand any manner of crapola thrown at him. He will not be going back physically though you understand (this is only 2023 after all, and that technology does not yet exist!). Instead his 2023 mind will go back to his 1973 body, and from there it's upto Logan to find the younger Professor X and Magneto and thwart Trask and the Sentinel project, and all those involved - mutants, humans, the odd President and other global leaders of the time!

It, however, is not as simple as that of course! This is a race against time in both the 2023 and the 1973 worlds, there are much stronger forces at play that seek to prevent success, and there is a conflict of interest in 1973 from the 'youngsters' who don't know what their older selves know fifty years hence.

For lovers of this series, followers of the Marvel canon, and enthusiasts of the genre you should go and see this on the big screen while it is still doing the rounds. This is a solid offering from Bryan Singer, Screenwriter Simon Kinberg, and the actors who have made each 'X' character their own over the last seven outings.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

    

DJANGO UNCHAINED - archive from 30th January 2013.

Saw 'DJANGO UNCHAINED' last night at the local independent picture house. There is no doubt that QT has done it again, this time with a gritty slave trading western that punches well above its weight with a no holds barred perspective of the late 1850's southern slave trade, those who perpetuated it and those who rebelled against it. 

Jamie Foxx is expertly cast as our Hero, Christophe Waltz as his friend, mentor and saviour Dr. King Shultz and Leo DiCaprio as the deliciously diabolical Calvin Candie, whilst not forgetting one of QT's favourites - one Samuel L. Jackson cast as ageing butler and man servant to Candie, Stephen. There are a host of other names in this film that your will instantly recognise, including Bruce Dern, Jonah Hill, his favourite NZ stunt woman Zoe Bell, and our very own John Jarratt. The dialogue is trademark QT, the soundtrack eclectic and pitched perfectly, the cast nail it (except a QT cameo as an Aussie cowboy. . . forgiven already!), the climatic bullet ballet bloodbath is deftly handled, violent and the claret flows in bucketloads and there is well placed humour to provide relief from the underlying violence, abuse and treachery that has left its indelible mark on American history. 

This is up there as one of QT's best and a must see if you follow his filmography and those that have influenced him, the genre, the Oscar nominees on this cast list, or a balls out revenge flick! 

Subsequently this film garnered five Academy Award nominations in 2013, and walked away with two - for Christoph Waltz as Best Supporting Actor and for Quentin Tarrantino himself for Best Original Screenplay. Both the Golden Globes and the BAFTA's that same year were in agreement with the Academy and awarded both their statues similarly. Along the way this filmed picked up a global haul of 48 award wins and 69 nominations.

Enjoy, as I did.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthdays to share this week : 22nd - 28th June.

Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming week? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with over the coming week. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Girl on 22nd June, Meryl Streep, at the end of this feature.

Sunday 22nd June

• Meryl Streep - Born 1949, turns 65 - Actress
• Bruce Campbell - Born 1958, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Lindsay Wagner - Born 1949, turns 65 - Actress
• Kris Kristofferson - Born 1936, turns 78 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter | Composer
• Uwe Boll - Born 1965, turns 49 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Cyndi Lauper - Born 1953, turns 59 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress
• Prunella Scales - Born 1932, turns 82 - Actress
• Dan Brown - Born 1964, turns 50 - Writer | Producer

Monday 23rd June

• Joel Edgerton - Born 1974, turns 40 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Selma Blair - Born 1972, turns 42 - Actress
• Joss Whedon - Born 1964, turns 50 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Frances McDormand - Born 1957, turns 57 - Actress
• Bryan Brown - Born 1947, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
• Russell Mulcahy - Born 1953, turns 61 - Director | Producer

Tuesday 24th June

• Peter Weller - Born 1947, turns 67 - Actor | Director
• Nancy Allen - Born 1950, turns 64 - Actress
• Curt Smith - Born 1961, turns 53 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor

Wednesday 25th June

• Ricky Gervais - Born 1961, turns 53 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Anthony Bourdain - Born 1956, turns 58 - Writer | TV Personality | Producer
• Timur Bekmambetov - Born 1961, turns 53 - Director | Producer | Writer
• George Michael - Born 1963, turns 51 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer

Thursday 26th June

• Jason Schwartzman - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter
• Chris O'Donnell - Born 1970, turns 44 - Actor
• Paul Thomas Anderson - Born 1970, turns 44 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Chris Isaak - Born 1956, turns 58 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor
• Robert Davi - Born 1951, turns 63 - Actor | Producer

Friday 27th June

• J. J. Abrams - Born 1966, turns 48 - Director | Producer | Writer | Composer
• Tobey Maguire - Born 1975, turns 39 - Actor | Producer

Saturday 28th June

• John Cusack - Born 1966, turns 48 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Mary Stuart Masterson - Born 1966, turns 48 - Actress | Producer
• Mel Brooks - Born 1926, turns 88 - Writer | Director | Producer | Actor | Songwriter
• Kathy Bates - Born 1948, turns 66 - Actress | Director
• Bruce Davison - Born 1946, turns 68 - Actor

Where do you start with 'the greatest living actress'? These few short paragraphs certainly won't do her justice! Mary Louise Streep was born in Summit, New Jersey and in her early life had a leaning to Opera for which she studied at age 12. Upon graduation from Vassar College in 1971 where her first interest in acting was sparked, she joined The Yale School of Drama. Her film debut came in 1977 in 'Julia' with a solid performance that brought her to attention of the studio exec's. and 'The Deer Hunter' followed in 1978 for which she garnered her first Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Academy.

That same year she married Don Gummer a sculptor with whom she still remains and with whom she has four children - one son and three daughters. 

She is truly an acclaimed and accomplished actress, and has received the most Oscar nominations of any actress in history with eighteen nominations as of this year. She holds also the same record with The Golden Globes for which she has a staggering 28 nominations to date. She is only one of four actors/actresses to receive acting honours from the Academy in each of five successive decades - the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's and 10's. She is described as the consummate professional, a true perfectionist, meticulous in her preparation, and totally focused in her research and delivery of her every character. 

So far she has 74 acting credits to her name from 1977 to the present day, and is still very much in demand. She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress three times for 'The Iron Lady', 'Sophie's Choice' and 'Kramer vs. Kramer' and has 15 other nominations.  The Golden Globe haul is equally as impressive with wins for 'The Iron Lady', 'Julie & Julia', 'The Devil wears Prada', 'Angels in America', 'Adaptation', 'Sophie's Choice', 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' and 'Kramer vs. Kramer', plus 20 additional nominations. The BAFTA's have given her wins too for 'The Iron Lady' and 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' plus 12 other nominations, and she has won two Emmy's for 'Angels in America' and TV mini-series 'Holocaust' plus one  other nominations. All up her award credits total a truly outstanding 137 wins and a further 179 nominations.

Aside from the film credits mentioned above her filmography also includes the likes of 'Manhatten', 'Plenty', 'Ironweed', 'A Cry in the Dark', 'Postcards from the Edge',' Death Becomes Her', 'The River Wild', ' The Bridges of Madison County', 'The Hours', 'A Prairie Home Companion', 'Mamma Mia', 'Lions for Lambs', 'Doubt', 'Hope Springs' and more recently 'August : Osage County'. In the can and currently in post production and due for release later in 2014 and 2015 there is still to come 'The Homesman', 'Suffragette', 'The Giver', 'Into the Woods' and 'Ricky and The Flash'. Streep has also lent her impressive voice talents to such films as 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox', 'Ant Bully' and 'A.I. : Artificial Intelligence'. 'Mamma Mia' represents Streep's biggest box office haul to date with a worldwide gross of US$603M.

Streep aside from her impressive acting talents and accolades is a spokesperson for the National Women's History Museum, and a supported of Gucci's 'Chime for Change' campaign aiming to spread female empowerment.

Meryl Streep - talented actress beyond doubt, acclaimed and awarded thespian, in demand and in command, versatile, diverse, and making it real - a very Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-