Birthday's to share this week : 1st - 7th February 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? 
George A. Romero does, on 4th February - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 75, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? 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 in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 1st February

• Linus Roache - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actor
• Peter Sallis - Born 1921, turns 94 - Actor | Director

Monday 2nd February

• Gemma Arterton - Born 1986, turns 29 - Actress
• David Jason - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director

Tuesday 3rd February

• Isla Fisher - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actress
• Michael Cimino - Born 1939, turns 76 - Director | Writer | Producer

Wednesday 4th February

• Gabrielle Anwar - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actress
• Natalie Imbruglia - Born 1975, turns 40 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress
• George A. Romero - Born 1940, turns 75 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor 
• Alice Cooper - Born 1948, turns 67 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor
• Patrick Bergin - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter

Thursday 5th February

• Jennifer Jason Leigh - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Barbara Hershey - Born 1948, turns 67 - Actress
• Charlotte Rampling - Born1946, turns 69 - Actress
• Laura Linney - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress | Producer
• Michael Mann - Born 1943, turns 72 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Michael Sheen - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Producer
• Tom Wilkinson - Born 1948, turns 67 - Actor

Friday 6th February

• Rip Torn - Born 1931, turns 84 - Actor
• Patrick Macnee - Born 1922, turns 93 - Actor
• Kevin Whately - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor
• Jim Sheridan - Born 1949, turns 66 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor

Saturday 7th February

• James Spader - Born 1960, turns 55 - Actor | Producer
• Ashton Kutcher - Born 1978, turns 37 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Chris Rock - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Eddie Izzard - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Writer

George Andrew Romero was born in The Bronx district of New York City to a Cuban born father working as a commercial artist and a Lithuanian American mother. He attended Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University and graduated in 1960 whereupon he began shooting short films and television commercials, although he had started making short films from the age of 14 using a Super 8mm camera.

With friends he formed 'Image Ten Productions' in the early 60's, each of them investing US$10K to start up their fledgling company, and soon they went on to produce one of the most celebrated horror films of all time - 'Night of the Living Dead' in 1968. It was filmed in black and white, cost US$114K to make and has so far grossed over US$30M making it one of the most successful horror films of all time commercially, and quickly established itself as a cult classic of the genre.

Always keeping his films relevant with the zeitgeist of the era, social comment and political commentary he went on to make 'There's always Vanilla' in 1971, 'Hungry Wives' in 1972, 'The Crazies' in 1973, 'Martin' in 1977 and then back to the zombie gore fare to follow up 'Night' with 'Dawn of the Dead' in 1978. This film took Romero back to his cult classic cinematic crescent with a production budget of US$650K and a return of US$55M and much critical acclaim among lovers of the genre, and garnering cult status too along with it's predecessor.

This was followed up by 'Knightriders' in 1981 starring the young emerging Ed Harris, and then 'Creepshow' in 1982 written by horror master Stephen King. His next return to the 'Dead' series came in 1985 with 'The Day of the Dead' which was less well received by the critics and the fans, and whilst made for a much bigger budget this time of US$3.5M it still grossed ten times that at US$34M. 'Day' also introduced the world to Greg Nicotero who worked as actor and make up artist on the film and went onto to provide make up expertise on many Hollywood horror and mainstream films, and most recently has been seen Directing, Producing and making-up on televisions hugely successful 'The Walking Dead' series now in its fifth season.

'Monkey Snines' came next in 1988, 'Two Evil Eyes' in 1990, 'The Dark Half' in 1993 again penned by Stephen King, and then 'Bruiser' in 2000. Next in line in the 'Dead' franchise came in 2005 with 'Land of the Dead' this time attracting some bigger name stars including Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo and Asia Argento. The production budget this time was ramped up to US$15M and it grossed US$47M. 

'Diary of the Dead' came along in 2007 trying to take the series in a different direction albeit set in the same time. This time Romero independently Produced the film for just US$2M and it made less than US$6M despite reasonable reviews and all of his usual touchstones. 'Survival of the Dead' came in 2009 which cost US$4M but tanked critically and commercially.

Since then there has been talk of other back to back films in the series, other non-zombie horror offerings and TV series based on similar themes. He continues to Produce, to Write and is active in these areas if not Directing at this time.

He was married to his first wife Nancy Romero from 1971 to 1978 with whom they have a son Cameron who is himself active in the movie business. He then married Christine Forrest in 1981 with who he has a daughter Tina and another son Andrew - Tina is also active in the movie business. In 2011 he married Suzanne Desrocher whom he met while filming 'Land of the Dead'. He lived in Pittsburgh for much of his life and would shoot many of his earlier films in and around the city and throughout Pennsylvania. He now also has Canadian citizenship and lives in Toronto - where he also shoot his movies.

Romero has 12 Award wins to his name and a further four nominations. He has 27 Writer credits, 19 Director credits, 15 Actor credits, 12 Producer credits and nine Editor credits to his name so far. A number of his films have subsequently been remade more recently for a new audience and a whole new treatment of the blood, gore & viscera.

George Romero - the Master of horror, the Grand Daddy of gore, the Chancellor of carnage and the Captain of creeps, shocks and the undead - and all with something to say and a social conscience. We applaud your achievements and your legacy - Happy Birthday from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

The AACTA Awards - Thursday 29th January 2015.

Sydney's 'The Star' Hotel and Casino played Host yesterday to the 4th Annual AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards at which the glitterati and glamourati turned out in all their finery to honour and acknowledge the last twelve months and all that is best in the Australian world of film & TV. Hosted this year by Cate Blanchett and Deborah Mailman with 'guest' appearances throughout by AACTA President Geoffrey Rush, it would be fair to say that (in this reviewers humble opinion) there were a few glaring omissions and some questionable decisions in the final analysis of the movie achievements for the 2014 year, as shown below.

Two things though that I was particularly pleased about were referenced by our Hosts in their opening address to the gathered crowd, the viewing nation and the world at large streaming it live or watching it delayed on TV or via the Internet. Two very simple messages that were 1) the illegal downloading of movies from the Internet and watching pirated copies is just that . . . illegal, and it will kill the industry in the fullness of time! And 2), as film loving Aussie's we need to support our own movies much more than we do. What a tragedy that last year we saw some great home grown cinema content get only a limited release and then disappear almost without a trace because no one went to see them! Tragic indeed! It seems that overseas viewers have more confidence in Australian films that we do living here! That's  pretty sad state of affairs!

Nonetheless, here is the list of the winners & grinners from the 4th Annual AACTA Awards :

Best Film : shared between 'The Babadook' and 'The Water Diviner'
Best Direction : Jennifer Kent for 'The Babadook'

Best Lead Actor : David Gulpilil for 'Charlie's Country'
Best Lead Actress : Sarah Snook for 'Predestination'
Best Supporting Actor : Yilmaz Erdogan for 'The Water Diviner'
Best Supporting Actress : Susan Prior for 'The Rover'


Best Original Screenplay : 'The Babadook'
Best Adapted Screenplay : 'The Railway Man'

Best Editing : 'Predestination'
Best Cinematography : 'Predestination'
Best Production Design : 'Predestination'
Best Costume Design : 'The Water Diviner'

Best Sound : 'The Rover'
Best Original Music Score : 'The Railway Man'
Best Visual Effects or Animation : Animal Logic for 'The LEGO Movie'

Inaugural 'Trailblazer' Award - Rose Byrne 

By my estimation then this gives 'Predestination' four awards and rightly so, and there is no question that Sarah Snook was the best choice as recipient of the Best Lead Actress Award for her work in this great film, and one of this Critic's favourites of the year. In my mind too it should have won Best Film or tied with 'The Babadook' as it is streets ahead of 'The Water Diviner' and deftly handled too by the Spierig Brothers on joint Director duty.

I have not seen 'The Babadook' as it got such a limited release here in Australia, but everything I have read and heard about this little South Australian filmed horror chiller thriller that cost just US$2M to produce, has been top notch, and it is good to see something of this genre getting the exposure it has/is. These three awards will only help further.

I was surprised to see a lack of other great Aussie fare missing from the list of nominations - films such as Joel Edgerton's Written, Produced and Starring 'Felony' picked up a solitary nomination for Best Sound only, and the Zak Hilditch Directed 'These Final Hours' didn't get a single look in! 'Healing' got a single nomination for Best Original Music, and 'Tracks' did well out of the nominations with four for Best Film, Cinematography, Costume and Lead Actress for Mia Wasikowska, but failed to score a gong!

Closing out the Awards Season we have the BAFTA's up next on 8th February and then the Academy Awards on 22nd February - stay tuned for more, and remember . . . support your home grown Aussie movies in 2015!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

AMERICAN SNIPER : Tuesday 27th January 2015.

Nominated for six golden statues at the upcoming 2015 Academy Awards, I saw 'AMERICAN SNIPER' earlier this week at my local multiplex with a bunch of mates. Like the other films that this one is up against in the Best Motion Picture and Best Actor categories this is a very solid screen telling of this true story set against the back drop of the War in Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11. Directed by Clint Eastwood, this was at first attached to Steven Spielberg, and I have to say I think this would have been a very different film had Spielberg not passed it up, despite his success with the likes of 'Private Ryan' and 'Schindler's List' - his other dramatic war time fare.

Here Eastwood has returned to the form we have not seen in a while, demonstrating his prowess behind the camera with a deft touch that sticks to the fundamentals of the story, does not over dramatise, and concentrates on the main character traits of his key subjects against a backdrop that is gritty, intense, emotional and immediate. Having not read the book upon which this film is based, I am told by those that have that there are some key departures from those written words - but hey, that's Hollywood and sometimes you can't let the truth get in the way of a good story!

And so this is the story of Chris Kyle (played out brilliantly by Bradley Cooper and never better) - a small town Texan kid growing up in a disciplined environment with his subservient Mum & strict God fearing authoritative Dad, and younger brother with dreams of becoming a cowboy. He attends church, respects his parents and his elders and learns to shoot from a young age - killing his first deer on a hunting trip with his father when he is about ten years of age. Growing up he leads a country life as a cowboy with his brother, drifting in & out of relationships, drinking beer, and riding rodeo. In the lead up to his 30th birthday he sees news footage on the TV of a terrorist attack against Americans on foreign soil from an unknown enemy - this prompts him to join the Navy SEALS to help safeguard his beloved country.

What follows is the obligatory training camp montage where he is trained to within an inch of his life, and toward the end of this he meets Taya (Sienna Miller) in a bar, and they eventually marry. Their marriage comes in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and following the wedding and a brief honeymoon he disappears off to Iraq on his first tour of duty as the 'American Sniper' of the title.

His first kill on active duty is a young boy who exits a building with his mother - beneath her clothing she conceals a large looking anti-tank grenade which he identifies through his rifle sights. The woman mishandles the device as they move toward advancing US soldiers and an oncoming tank amongst the rubble of a war torn city. The boy runs with they grenade lurching toward the tank but is taken out by Kyle, and then the lads mother, in quick succession before the missile can reach its intended target. This sets the tone and tells us we are witnessing a cool, calculating, conscience free soldier doing what he does best, and protecting his colleagues, his country and his family ultimately, and can do so without hesitation. As his first tour progresses Kyle gains a reputation for his sharp shooting and in so doing saving the lives of countless fellow soldiers who all feel a debt of gratitude toward him, earning him the moniker of 'The Legend'.

He returns home after his first tour and Taya is pregnant with their first child. Following their son's birth, Kyle returns to Iraq for his second tour for more of the same - taking out insurgents with sharp shooting military precision time and time again. He does so a third time and then a fourth and amassing a confirmed kill record of 160, making him the most successful sniper in US military history! But each time he returns home, the emotional scars of battle are deeper. Kyle is fractured, distant, uncommunicative and clearly the strain of his job, what he has witnessed and the pressure to live up to the expectations of a 'hero' are a very heavy burden takings its toll on Taya, his young son and his second child, a daughter.

He is a driven man - driven by his his duty to God, to his country and to his family - in that order, and, to take out an insurgent sniper who is acting against him, and who is intent too on taking out Kyle. This sniper has become Kyle's own private obsession and partly the reason why he feels compelled to return because he stands in the way of a high-level evil drilling killing lunatic of a man known as 'The Butcher' and has been responsible for killing many of Kyle's buddies in the line of active duty. We learn that the insurgents have placed a significant bounty on Kyle's head, and so it is his personal crusade to either kill or be killed.

All of this continues to take it's toll on Kyle's mental and emotional state that he bottles up inside him as each tour comes & goes and he witnesses more & more the horrors of modern day combat and close quarter warfare. Eastwood doesn't spare the body count either on each side as friends and foe are sacrificed all in the name of freedom, but, there are no political statements here, no flag waving, no Uncle Sam spraying Iraq with a can of whoop ass! This story is Kyle's story, told through his eyes and the impact of war upon one man and the repercussions of it on those closest to him. Cooper gives a bold and convincing turn as the war torn, battle scared, emotionally fractured soldier just doing what he thinks is right. Sienna Miller too is solid as the left at home wife and mother torn between her love of her husband and her family but unable to reconcile what he does, why he does it, and for whom ultimately.

A must-see film that ranks up there with 'The Hurt Locker', but seen from a very different perspective, and probably one of the boldest accounts we have yet seen on the silver screen of the Iraq War and its direct and indirect impacts.

   

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE : GHOST PROTOCOL - archive from 21st December 2011.

Saw 'MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL' last night. The Tom Cruise actioner now in it's forth instalment is Directed by Brad Bird in his first live action feature film and does a solid job bringing the 'anything goes' premise of animation to live action and pulling it off well. 'No Plan, No Back Up, No Choice' is what the tag line tells us and it seems that our crack team of impossible mission colleagues are up the proverbial creek this time without a paddle . . . or are they? Knowing they have been in a tight squeeze before, and up against it, what does this latest outing offer us the viewer?

With Ethan Hunt (Cruise, as if you didn't know) and his crack team of IMF operatives implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin and now being touted as international terrorists, they have been disavowed by the US Government and the President has initiated the 'Ghost Protocol'. Their only choice is to go underground, to disappear off the radar, and seek out all means in which to clear their names and the organisation for whom they work. No longer do they have the resources usually at their disposal or the backup to safeguard their wellbeing, and Hunt and his small team is forced to join up with other IMF agents whose motivation might not be quite the same as their own. Who can he trust?

Needless to say this will be no easy task as the action takes us from Moscow to Dubai to Mumbai with cohorts Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton) in tow - with Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames in a cameo) appearing at the end.

Uncovering plans to kick start a nuclear war, the IMF boys need to thwart this plan, the villains perpetrating it and led by Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) a Russian nuclear strategist and prove their innocence in a high stakes game of high-tech gadgetry, daring-do, stunt high-jinks at the top of the worlds tallest building (the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai) amongst other things and a cat & mouse chase to far flung places of interest, all the while engaged in a race against the clock.

Worth the price of a ticket to see how well Cruise has now settled into the role, and how well Brad Bird delivers on the several action set pieces that have become the trademark of this franchise, and another long standing English spy series of a similar ilk by comparison. Made for US$145M this instalment brought in US$695M in its Box Office and after sales haul and made it the most successful film so far in the M:I series, and Tom Cruise's biggest commercial success up to this point. It garnered four Award wins and a further 26 nominations in the final analysis, and therefore collectively cemented 'M:I 5' - due for release in December 2015. Available now on BluRay and DVD.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 29th January 2015.

And so across Australia the end of the school Summer holidays has arrived, and with it so have the rains and the cooler temperatures in Sydney at least. This though gives any ardent movie lover every opportunity to escape the world of temporary grey skies and rain to a darker warmer place with a silver screen, surround sound and high definition digital imagery to catch up on latest release film fare, of which there is plenty of choice.

Speaking of which, this week we have five movie releases with which to tempt and tease the film goer, of which three are in Academy Award contention and have already done well this Awards Season, and the other two are definitely not! To start with and in Oscar mode - we have the true life tale in the lead up to an Olympic Games and the tragedy surrounding a disenfranchised billionaire pinning his hopes on two wrestling champion brothers; there is also the true life story of an influential genius of a man still very much in our midst and how his life of tragedy plays out inspirationally from a young age to the present; next up we have a tale of the growing impact of a debilitating disease on a middle aged woman and those closest to her; then a comedic aristocratic spy-spoof jolly that you are likely to have seen before but updated here based on a series of books and with some big names stars certain to bring home  a high degree of success . . . maybe; and finally a unfolding bromance between a groom and his best man for hire on the eve of the wedding is likely to go down with hilarious consequences for all . . . or perhaps not!

FOXCATCHER (Rated M) - the first of this weeks movies in Academy Award contention, 'Foxcatcher' is nominated in five categories including Direction, Lead and Support Acting. Directed by Bennet Miller who brought us the excellent 'Moneyball' with Brad Pitt in 2011, this is another true-life sports drama this time surrounding the world of Olympic Wrestling. Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is a champion Olympic Wrestler having done well at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and other notable events. He is hired by John du Pont (Steve Carell, playing it straight and with prosthetic nose) a billionaire and heir to the du Pont family fortune to lead his wrestling team to glory at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games.

Recruiting Schultz to du Pont's privately owned training facility at his 'Foxcatcher Farm' Estate where his training takes off and he begins to excel, soon Mark is joined by older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) where relationships begin to unravel and ultimately life changing events unfold for everyone. A sad and compelling true story of tragedy over triumph, obsession, disjointed personalities, fractured relationships and paying the ultimate price. Also starring Sienna Miller as Nancy Schultz (Dave's wife) and Vanessa Redgrave as Jean du Pont (mother to John) this film has so far been nominated for 37 Awards and has won eleven already with the Oscar's, the BAFTA's and the AACTA's still pending.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (Rated PG) - next up in the list of Oscar contenders we have Eddie Redmayne giving the performance of his life in this James Marsh Directed story of the life of Professor Stephen Hawking. Based on the memoir of Hawking's first wife Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) this film starts us off in 1963 at Cambridge University where the completely able bodied young astrophysics student Stephen Hawking (Redmayne) first meets Jane at a party. The two bond almost immediately and whilst studying mathematics and physics he begins to ponder about 'time', 'black holes' and the creation of the universe. As his studies at Cambridge continue he begins to lose balance, and visiting a hospital he is told he has the early onset of motor neurone disease and is given two years to live. In time he will lose control of his muscles meaning he will be unable to walk, talk, move and eat but, his brain will remain unaffected. Needless to say we know that he survives well beyond those two years and is still very much alive today and a world authority on his chosen subject . . . and a few other things too! Hawking goes on to have three children, marries and divorces Jane Wild, marries and divorces Elaine Dawson, travels the world giving lectures, writes the highly acclaimed 'A Brief History of Time' and is honoured many times over. Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and Best Lead Actor and Actress there are a total 83 award nominations for this film and 18 wins already with the Oscar's, the BAFTA's and the AACTA's still pending.

STILL ALICE (Rated M) - based on the book by Lisa Genova, 'Still Alice' tells the story of Columbia University Linguistics Professor Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) as she begins to become increasingly forgetful, repetitious and distant with the early on set of Alzheimer's Disease. As with the two films Previewed above, 'Still Alice' is also in Oscar contention with a nomination for it's female lead in the Lead Actress category for Julianne Moore (for which she has already won the Golden Globe and the SAG Award). This then is the unfolding story of Alice struggling on with her career role at University, her role as wife and mother and her role as an accomplished individual in her own right as all of these things become increasingly fractured and a fading memory. With little to do except watch on as the despair and desperation of Alzheimer's takes its grip on the family unit comprising husband John (Alec Baldwin) and daughters Lydia (Kristen Stewart), Anna (Kate Bosworth) and son Tom (Hunter Parrish) the ties that bind them together will be tested as never before. Nominated for one Academy Award, there are a total 14 award nominations for this film and 21 wins already with the Oscar's, the BAFTA's and the AACTA's still pending.

MORDECAI (Rated M) - Directed by David Koepp this stars Johnny Depp in the lead role as Charles Mordecai, and is based on a trilogy of books by Kyril Bonfiglioli. Aristocratic, debonair, dashing, charming and handsome Mordecai is an art dealer who is almost down on his luck and down on his funds to support his lavish lifestyle. He falls foul of the bodged sale of a rare vase, and is then approached by friend and Mi5 officer Alistair Maitland (Ewen McGregor) to find find a missing Goya painting. Accepting the task he embarks on a journey to locate the painting and in doing so comes up against unsavoury Russian individuals, an international terrorist, an American heiress, and the Mi5 who all want to get the grubby hands on the painting for assorted reasons - not the least being that it is said to contain a code marking out the location of a stash of hidden Nazi gold. Also starring Gwyneth Paltrow as Johanna Mordecai, Paul Bettany as Mordecai's faithful ever trusting man servant and hired hand Jock Strapp, and Jeff Goldblum as Milton Krampf this could almost be a 2015 version of Austin Powers methinks, and, could well be a franchise in the making!

THE WEDDING RINGER (Rated MA15+) - we've had 'The Wedding Singer' now meet 'The Wedding Ringer' as Directed by Jeremy Garelick. This is the story of soon to be wed Doug Harris (Josh Gad) who is about to marry the girl of his dreams, but he is a socially inept 'Nigel Nofriends' and so can't find any mate to act as Best Man come the big day. What to do? Well, you go hire one I guess from Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart) - owner and CEO of 'The Best Man Inc.' to do the deed on the day with the rings, make a speech about what a great mate you are and a loyal friend, and talk you up at the ensuing Reception to the Bride, her family, her entourage and all the other gathered guests. What could possibly go wrong? Well, it seems quite a lot as personalities clash, the deception is revealed, other truths are uncovered, Grandma is set on fire and the Groom, his fake Best Man and his fake Groomsmen all fly off into the sunset to party hard after the wedding has fallen in  heap! Hilarious stuff . . . that you have seen a thousand times before!

Five films then for your week ahead. When you have seen any one of these, or any one of those still out on General Release and Reviewed/Previewed in previous weeks, then drop a Comment below this or any other Post and share your thoughts with the Odeon Online World - we'd like to hear from you, and it's good to share! Enjoy your film!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Odeon Online - turning one year old on Australia Day!

Today, 26th January 2015 marks the first anniversary of the launch of your favourite Movie Blog - Odeon Online. As such, I am pleased to wish myself as writer, reporter, chief correspondent, editor, researcher and producer a very Happy Birthday, and to say a very big thanks to my worldwide readership for your support, comments and interest over the past twelve months.




From very humble beginnings just one year ago this Blog has had fast approaching 12,000 views with 36% of the readership audience coming from the USA, 30% from within Australia, 6% from the UK, 6% from France, 4% from Turkey, 3% from Germany and the balance from everywhere else and some fairly remote unexpected places too.

I have posted 53 movie Reviews; pulled out and updated another 60 archival Reviews from pre-Odeon Online times; written 214 Previews for new release movies; celebrated the Birthdays of numerous well known movie personalities with a tribute profile; reviewed a few books; and provided updates on the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, AACTA Awards, BAFTA Awards and the Sydney Film Festival and, I'm sad to say, written a number of obituaries too! All up 243 Blog Posts (including this one) written for you, and because I love the movies and what goes on in them, around them and because of them!

My Odeon Online Blog Posts are also posted to Twitter, Facebook and on LinkedIn through the Groups 'World Cinema Critics', 'Movie Lovers' and 'Movie Addicts'. Keep going to the the movies, keep watching films, continue reading this Blog and support the others out there too and, do your bit to help keep the industry and all those in it and around it alive and prospering!

Thanks again for your support, interest and interaction in my first year of Odeon Online Blogging, and I look forward to bringing you more great movie news, reviews and previews in the year ahead.


Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 25th - 31st January 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? Christian Bale does, on 30th January - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 41, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? 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 in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 25th January

• Tobe Hooper - Born 1943, turns 72 - Director | Producer | Writer

Monday 26th January

• David Strathairn - Born 1949, turns 66 - Actor
• Scott Glenn - Born 1941, turns 74 - Actress
• Ellen DeGeneres - Born 1958, turns 57 - Television Personality | Writer | Producer | Actress
• Odeon Online - Born 2014, turns 1 - Movie Blog of choice!

Tuesday 27th January

• Mimi Rogers - Born 1956, turns 59 - Actress | Producer
• Bridget Fonda - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress
• James Cromwell - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor | Producer
• Frank Miller - Born 1957, turns 58 - Writer | Producer | Director | Actor
• Alan Cumming - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer

Wednesday 28th January

• Alan Alda - Born 1936, turns 79 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Frank Darabont - Born 1959, turns 56 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Elijah Wood - Born 1981, turns 34 - Actor | Producer
• Rosamund Pike - Born 1979, turns 36 - Actress

Thursday 29th January 

• Katherine Ross - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actress
• Oprah Winfrey - Born 1954, turns 61 - Television Personality | Actress | Writer
• Heather Graham - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Tom Selleck - Born 1945, turns 70 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Edward Burns - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Marc Singer - Born 1948, turns 67 - Actor

Friday 30th January

• Christian Bale - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actor
• Gene Hackman - Born 1930, turns 85 - Actor
• Phil Collins - Born 1951, turns 64 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor
• Vanessa Redgrave - Born 1937, turns 78 - Actress | Producer

Saturday 31st January

• Minni Driver - Born 1970, turns 45 0 Actress | Producer
• Portia de Rossi - Born 1973, turns 42 - Actress
• Justin Timberlake - Born 1981, turns 34 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer
• Anthony LaPaglia - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Philip Glass - Born 1937, turns 78 - Composer | Songwriter
• Dexter Fletcher - Born 1966, turns 49 - Actor | Writer | Director | Producer

Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales to English parents. His mother Jenny James was a circus performer and his father David Charles Howard Bale was a commercial pilot and talent manager. His childhood years were spent in various locations from Wales to southern England to Portugal to the United States. He attended Bournemouth Boys Grammar School and left at 16. The next year he moved to Los Angeles with his father when his parents divorced in 1991. 

His first screen acting role came in a fabric softener television commercial in 1982 and then a 'Pac-Man' breakfast cereal advertisement a year later. In 1984 he played for the first time in a theatre production opposite Rowan Atkinson in 'The Nerd' on London's West End. With work coming in as an up & coming Actor he auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the Central School of Speech and Drama and was offered a place by all three institutions to study his craft but was convinced by his parents at the time to continue working - a decision he regrets still to this day!

His big screen debut came in in 1986 in the television film 'Anastasia : The Mystery of Anna' which quickly led to a starring role in in the television mini-series 'Heart of the Country', and then the fantasy film 'Mio in the land of the Faraway' opposite Christopher Lee. It was the 'Anastasia : The Mystery of Anna' movie that brought the young Bale to the attention of Steven Spielberg who cast him in his breakout role in 1987's 'Empire of the Sun'. This brought Bale much critical acclaim, winning too the inaugural award by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures for the Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor.

The success of 'Empire of the Sun' Bale found hard to adjust to and almost gave up acting as a career choice there & then. Kenneth Branagh however, convinced him to take a role in the 1989 big screen telling of Shakespeare's 'Henry V' with a critically acclaimed all star cast. From there he starred with Charlton Heston in 'Treasure Island', in Disney's 'Newsies' with Robert Duvall, 'Swing Kids' with Kenneth Branagh again, and then 'Little Women' with Wynona Ryder who introduced Bale to his future wife in 1994. He returned to Disney in 1995 to provide the voice for Captain John Smith in the animated feature 'Pocahontas' and in 1997 he played alongside Ewen McGregor in 'Velvet Goldmine'.

He saw out the decade and saw in the new with another big screen adaptation of Shakespeare in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with again an all star cast and 'All the Little Animals' with John Hurt. This was followed up by his turn as Patrick Bateman in 'American Psycho'. In it Bale inhibited his character of the deranged murdering Wall Street executive for which he trained obsessively to develop his body and prepare his mental state to match that of his character as depicted in the Brett Easton Ellis book.

Next up came 'Shaft' alongside Samuel L. Jackson, 'Captain Correlli's Mandolin' with Nicolas Cage and then in quick succession came 'Laurel Canyon', 'Reign of Fire' and 'Equilibrium'. 2004 saw Bale back to prominence as Trevor Reznik in 'The Machinist' - a role for which he slimmed down drastically by 63lbs (27kgs) to a body weight of just 128lbs (55kgs) by taking a crash diet and going without sleep for prolonged periods.

His next role was the polar opposite requiring Bale to regain all those lost kilos and bulk up considerably gaining 105lbs (45kgs) in muscle in six months to play the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's 2005 'Batman Begins'.  The success of this brought two hugely successful sequels in 2008 with 'The Dark Knight' and then again in 2012 with 'The Dark Knight Rises'. The three films together and as a complete package, and singularly, were received to both critical and commercial acclaim generating US$2.5B in Box Office and after sales receipts off a total production cost of US$585M.

In the meantime, and since, there has been 'The New World' and 'Harsh Times' in 2005; 'Rescue Dawn' and 'The Prestige' in 2006; '3:10 to Yuma' and 'I'm Not There' in 2007; and then 'Terminator : Salvation' and 'Public Enemies' in 2009. 'The Fighter' in 2010 with Mark Wahlberg brought more critical success, leading to 'The Flowers of War' in 2011, 'Out of the Furnace' and 'American Hustle' in 2013 and most recently 'Exodus : Gods and Kings' with Director Ridley Scott in 2014 and still on general release. Next up is Terrence Malick's 'Knight of Cups' with Cate Blanchett due for release later this year, and an as yet untitled project for the same Director which is currently in post-production. Then will come 'Creed of Violence' and 'Jungle Book : Origins' for 2016/17.

Bale has 48 acting credits to his name and a total 59 award wins and a further 58 nominations. He won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for 'The Fighter' and was nominated for Best Actor for 'American Hustle'. The same was true of the Golden Globes and he was nominated similarly at the BAFTA's.

He has been married to Sandra 'Sibi' Blazic since 2000 and together they have a daughter Emmaline born in 2005 and a son born in mid-2014. He is an active supporter of 'Greenpeace', the 'World Wildlife Fund' and he and his wife sit on the Board of Trustees of the 'Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation'.

Christian Bale - intense character Actor going to extraordinary lengths to portray the physical, mental and emotional states of his roles; often teams up with Christopher Nolan and Terrence Malick; a natural at putting on an accent - American especially; and often plays either historical roles or those of fractured, obsessive, detached and lonely characters and always with conviction and intensity. Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-