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-
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