What's new in Odeon's this week : 30th April 2015.

Last week when Reviewing the latest cinematic releases to grace our big screens I spoke of opposites, but in a very different context to this weeks opposites - just two films that are diametrically opposed and vastly different to each other in just about every conceivable way. But that then is the draw card of cinema is it not? Not everything is created equal, and one man's meat is another's poison . . . as someone once said - profoundly!

Being resident now in South Australia's capital city, Adelaide, it is always pleasing to support a local offering and so it is with this low budget indie psychological thriller that has been creating quite a stir Stateside - let's hope it does here too! And then there is a love story of a couple in their twilight years discovering each other, their lives and that they can still have fun . . . together!

And so with just two new movies to choose from in the week ahead, you can choose either one of these or any of the great content still doing there rounds as Reviewed and Previewed in previous weeks and previous Blog Posts. Whatever you catch, be sure to drop us a line under this or any other Post and share your cinematic observations, thoughts and opinions with the rest of the world in the Blogosphere. Enjoy your film.

ONE EYED GIRL (Rated MA15+) - Directed by first timer Nick Matthews for about AU$1M and shot in and around Adelaide in South Australia and most notably in Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills, this is an intense, thought provoking, stirring and perhaps disturbing psychological thriller that picked up the Jury Prize at the 21st annual Austin (Texas) Film Festival. Our story here surrounds a troubled young psychiatrist Travis (Mark Leonard Winter) whose mental state is on the brink of collapse following the recent untimely death of Rachel (Kate Cheel) with whom he had more than just a doctor/patient relationship. As he prescribes various medicines for himself to get him from one day to the next he finds himself increasingly unable to cope with life.

He encounters Grace (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) handing out pamphlets at a train station and becomes infatuated with her, but not enough that it prevents him from attempting suicide. First though he attends a self-help group as touted by Grace in the pamphlets she is distributing, and comes to the attention of Father Jay (Steve Le Marquand) - the charming leader of the group. Travis is then brought to an isolated community on Adelaide's outskirts to rest, rejuvenate and recover where he has to engage in various unsavoury rituals to become cleansed and rehabilitated from all the evils of the world and those living under his skin and inside his brain! When this 'cult' comes under the media spotlight Travis has to muster all his physical and emotional strength to rescue himself, Grace and his soul from burning damnation . . . well, maybe!

ELSA AND FRED - (Rated M) - set in New Orleans and Directed by Michael Radford this romantic comedy drama sees ageing but independent neighbours thrust together and forging a relationship, reluctantly at first, but as time passes it offers so much more. With Christopher Plummer as 80 year old Fred Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine as 74 year old Elsa Hayes the two are opposites but as we know opposites attract and in time they fall in lurve! Fred has all but accepted his life of inactivity, bitterness and resentment whilst Elsa is an outgoing, fun loving, vivacious, adventurous and romantic woman at heart. In coaxing and cajoling Fred from out under his rock, Elsa makes up several stories about her life to snare him in and keep him engaged, including that Picasso once paitned a picture of her which is now locked away for safe keeping, but, she has lost the key! Elsa also has a dream on the top of her bucket list, and that is to visit Rome and place  few coins in The Trevi Fountain, just as Anita Ekberg did in 1961's 'La Dolce Vita'. Does she make it and does she do so with Fred - you'll just have to watch? Scott Bakula, George Segal, James Brolin, and Marcia Gay Harden also star.

Two films only this week but plenty out there in moviedom to choose from. Share your thoughts of your film experience with the rest of our world, and do your bit to keep cinema alive - I know you will!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BLACK SEA : Monday 20th April 2015.

I saw 'BLACK SEA' earlier in the week which has been out on a limited release for some time now, and was keen nonetheless to see this as the cast is strong, the story seemingly taut & tight and it's Directed by Kevin Macdonald whose career highlights include 'Touching the Void', 'The Last King of Scotland', 'The Eagle', 'State of Play', 'How I Live Now' and the bio-pic 'Marley' amongst others. This time around we have a story set inside a rust bucket tin can submarine seeking sunken Nazi gold in the depths of . . . yes, you guessed it . . . the Black Sea.

As the film opens we know this is going to be a bleak grim tale. Robinson (Jude Law) is a gritty downtrodden divorced sub mariner northerner sitting in front of some young upstart kid who has to deliver the news that after 12 years with a northern English deep sea salvage firm his job has been made redundant. But Robinson is a contractor with little employment entitlements, and so as a gesture of good will for his years of service, and for being so good at what he does he is generously being given 8,000 pounds by his employer . . . but clear your desk today and leave your keys on the way out! Thanks very much . . . for nothing!

With very few prospects and unemployment levels high in da hood, Robinson ponders on his future, his broken marriage, and what is to become of him. As one door closes, another one opens and during a session at the pub with his former work mates he learns of a sunken Nazi U-Boat rumoured to be carrying a bullion of gold en-route from the WWII Russians to Ze Germans! Of course the sub never reached its destination and was torpedoed without a trace sometime during WWII. The company for which Robinson was working got wind of this, was able to locate it, but could never salvage it because of where it is located, the politics involved and the sums at stake that would generate too much unwanted publicity and all the wrong attention.

But, there is a wealthy un-named dude who is prepared to fund a salvage mission if Robinson can assemble a crew, find a vessel and has the gonads big enough to captain a voyage to the bottom of the sea. Of course he does, because this is what Robinson does best and what he has been doing all his life. With a 60% stake of whatever he can salvage he is motivated and sees that he is likely to be up for an equal share with his crew that will net him an estimated 2M quid! On the way he recruits a half English, half Russian crew and locates a rusting ageing submarine tube that is to be their home and their salvation . . . potentially.

With Daniels (Scoot McNairy) forced by his un-named backer to join the crew much to his claustrophobic chagrin, together with expert diver Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn), Tobin (Bobby Schofield) a young 18 year old no hoper that Robinson takes pity on, and Grigoriy Dobrygin as Morozov amongst a dozen or so others the crew set their depth gauge for the deepest darkest recesses of the Black Sea and their bountiful target. But of course, in any such undersea adventure, things never go quite according to plan. And so it is with this motley crew as the English contingent get more & more agitated with their Russian crew counterpart and tensions, emotions and attitudes mount with ultimately dire consequences on both sides.

As greed takes hold, cultural differences emerge, tempers rise and the stresses and strains of their underwater tin can trapped captivity reaches breaking point, the body count begins to escalate and the fever to reach the gold, salvage it, and get it to the surface reaches obsession levels. Just about everything that can go wrong does go wrong whether it is man made, mechanically made or naturally made and all of this plays out rather predictably in the final analysis that really adds little that we have not seen before.

This film moves along at a good pace, and there are a few twists & turns along the way, but it is fairly predictable stuff and it does have some redeeming features, but at times I thought the sub was the Tardis - small on the outside, huge on the inside and hardly instilling any sense of claustrophobic foreboding like 'Das Boot' did. Jude Law puts in a solid turn, as does Ben Mendelsohn and Grigoriy Dobrygin and various others that all add weight to the overall experience, but there is something lacking from this outing, and maybe it is the anti-climatic ending that is a little ho-hum, leaving you wanting more, as almost all perish in the deep dark lurking depths of the Black Sea as you would probably expect! Check it out while still on general release, but not essential on the big screen.

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : ON STRANGER TIDES - archive from 13th June 2011.

I saw 'PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : ON STRANGER TIDES' this afternoon in 3D which did very little to enhance the experience. This is the fourth outing for the high seas legend Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) following 2007's 'At World's End' which followed 2006's 'Dead Man's Chest' and which followed the series opener in 2003 'The Curse of the Black Pearl'. Directed by Rob Marshall and Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer this film cost a ridiculous US$378M to make but grossed US$1.05B putting it in the Top 15 highest grossing movies of all time. It is worth noting that the series of four films has so far cost US$1B to make and has raked in US$3.7B in receipts - with a fifth instalment currently in production . . . with those numbers under its belt that's hardly surprising!

It must be said that this film is reasonably entertaining, and there is something quite likable about lovable rogue, ocean going scoundrel and sea faring ladies man Captain Jack and his motley crew of salty sea dog miscreants. Johnny Depp is clearly very comfortable in the role and has made Sparrow all his own,  and we see him joined by his on screen old man for the second time now Keef Richards as Captain Teague.

In this instalment Jack's nefarious past catches up with him in the shape of former lover Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who like him is on the hunt for the Fountain of Youth. Angelica is the voodoo practising daughter of Blackbeard (Ian McShane), and she is able to control the ship, 'The Queen Anne's Revenge' by wielding a magical sword that she possesses. With a zombie crew the trio set sail to seek out the legendary mythical fountain, not knowing that Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) is also on the hunt and hot on their trail too, as is a mysterious Spanish galleon. At the same time Jack learns that The Black Pearl was in fact not sunk last time, but has been shrunken and is now displayed as a ship in a bottle together with a fleet of others seemingly in the possession of Blackbeard.

Along the way of course as they chart a course across the seven seas they must overcome adversity, pitched battles, challenges (including retrieving a mermaids tears), and revenge all interlaced with of lots of tongue in cheek humour. Many of the usual cohorts are there including Kevin McNally and Sam Claiflin, This is mildly entertaining with some ridiculous drawn out set pieces and you can easily leave your brain at the door, but hey, US$1.05B can't be wrong? Watch out for Chapter Five in this franchise due in 2017 - 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 26th April - 2nd May 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Channing Tatum does on 26th April - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 35, 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 26th April

• Channing Tatum - Born 1980, turns 35 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Kevin James - Born 1065, turns 50 - Actor | Producer
• Jet Li - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actor | Producer
• Joan Chen - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actress | Producer | Director | Writer

Monday 27th April

• Kevin McNally - Born 1956, turns 58 - Actor | Writer

Tuesday 28th April 

• Jessica Alba - Born 1981, turns 34 - Actress | Producer
• Penelope Cruz - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actress | Producer
• Bridget Moynahan - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actress

Wednesday 29th April

• Michelle Pfeiffer - Born 1958, turns 57 - Actress
• Uma Thurman - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actress | Writer
• Daniel Day-Lewis - Born 1957, turns 58 - Actor
• Jerry Seinfeld - Born 1954, turns 61 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Television Personality
• Philip Noyce - Born 1950, turns 65 - Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer

Thursday 30th April

• Kirsten Dunst - Born 1982, turns 33 - Actress
• Lars von Trier - Born 1956, turns 59 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Jane Campion - Born 1954, turns 61 - Director | Producer | Writer

Friday 1st May

• Joanna Lumley - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actress | Producer
• James Badge Dale - Born 1978, turns 37 - Actor
• Wes Anderson - Born 1969, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Jamie Dornan - Born 1982, turns 33 - Actor

Saturday 2nd May

• Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor | Producer
• David Suchet - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actor | Producer
• Stephen Daldrey - Born 1961, turns 54 - Director | Producer

Channing Matthew Tatum was born in Cullum, Alabama to mother Kay Faust, an airline employee and Glenn Tatum, a construction worker. When he was six years of age the family moved to to Mississippi where he lived rurally close to the great river. He grew up engaging in many athletic sports including soccer, American football, basketball, track and martial arts - even practising the latter under the tutelage of a 10th dan. His teenage years were mostly spent in Tampa where he attended Gaither High School, and thereafter Tampa Catholic High School from which he graduated in 1998. From there he attended Glenville State College in West Virginia on a football scholarship but dropped out to return home to work assorted odd jobs. These included working as a roofer before starting as a male stripper under the alias 'Chan Crawford'.

His first gig as a dancer was in Ricky Martin's 2000 music video for 'She Bangs' for which he earned $400. Having done some work in the fashion industry he began modelling for Armani and Abercrombie & Fitch, and then television commercials for Pepsi and Mountain Dew, and then in turn for Nautica, Dolce & Gabana, American Eagle and Emporio Armani.

His screen acting debut came in 2005's 'Coach Carter' with Samuel L. Jackson, although it was 'Step Up' a year later that gave him wider acclaim, and it was on this film that he met his future wife. In between time there was 'Havoc', 'Supercross', a small part in Steven Spielberg's 'War of the Worlds'  and then 'She's the Man'.

'A Guide to Recognising your Saints' followed in 2008 with a large ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jnr., Shia LeBeouf, Chazz Palmenteri, Rosario Dawson and Eric Roberts, and then 'Battle in Seattle' and 'Stop Loss' with Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt about soldiers returning from the Iraq War, followed up with a cameo reprisal of his role as Tyler Gage in 'Step Up 2 : The Streets' in the meantime.

Then came 'Fighting' in 2009 after which he teamed up with Director Michael Mann on 'Public Enemies' with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, playing Pretty Boy Floyd, and then the actioner  'G. I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra' and 'Dear John'. From this point forward he became determined to Produce the films in which he was starring which led him to 'Haywire' Directed by Stephen Soderbergh with again an ensemble cast with the likes of Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas and Bill Paxton. There was also 'The Vow' '21 Jump Street' with Jonah Hill, and 'Magic Mike' based on his own experiences as a Florida male stripper.

Following some busy years in 2011 and 2012 which also took in 'The Dilemma' and 'The Eagle', 2013 was to prove no different with 'Side Effects' once more for Stephen Soderbergh, the reprisal of his role as Duke/Conrad Hauser in 'G.I. Joe : Retaliation' then a cameo in 'This is the End' and 'White House Down' and a cameo in 'Don Jon' too rounding out the year. 2014 brought '22 Jump Street' with Jonah Hill again and then the highly acclaimed 'Foxcatcher' and the less well received 'Jupiter Ascending' earlier this year. 

Next up for Tatum is 'Magic Mike XXL' continuing the story of Michael 'Magic Mike ' Lane due for release later this year, and Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight' also due in late 2015. 'Hail Caesar' is in post-production for Joel & Ethan Coen and starring Josh Brolin and George Clooney amongst an all star line-up and due in 2016, as is '23 Jump Street' and 'X-Men : Apocalypse' currently in pre-production for release later in 2016 also. In the latter he'll play the character 'Gambit' which it is announced will get it's own spin-off in 'Gambit' in 2016/17.

Tatum has so far 42 acting credits and nine Producer credits to his name, with a Writer credit too for 'Magic Mike XXL'. He has garnered nineteen award wins and 48 other nominations. He has two Production Companies - '33andOut Productions' and 'Iron Horse Entertainment'. He is married to Jenna Dewan whom he met on 'Step Up' and they celebrated their wedding in July 2009 - together they have a daughter - Everly Elizabeth Maiselle, born in May 2013. He admits to suffering ADD and dyslexia as a child and has developed a drinking habit which he states as being too much.

Channing Tatum - athletic, physical, muscular, deep voiced and often playing tough guys roles but equally at home in softer emotional roles, your rise in the last ten years has been steady but steep and is set to continue doing so - we'll keep watching! Happy Birthday to you Channing, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd April 2015.

Life is full of opposites! As I sit here in Adelaide it is a cool near Winter evening trademarked by clear night skies, a chill in the air and a slight breeze to drop the temperatures a little more; but my friends and family back home in Sydney are gripped by storms, floods, winds, rain and all manner of apocalyptic tempest to mark the end of the world as they know it . . . well almost! And so it is with this weeks new release films - opposites!

Kick starting your week is the eagerly awaited, highly anticipated and much hyped follow up to the third highest grossing movie of all time, and with it comes huge expectations on the studio behind it, the Director, the stellar cast and all the minions behind the camera that give us movie magic . . . no pressure then, you collective lot! Then we have a story of a music teacher pushing a young lad to discover his talent against all the odds (sound rather like another movie of a very similar ilk that did well on last years awards circuit!), and to wrap things up a WWI period piece recounting the coming of age of a young girl during those troubled years in Britain and what this ultimately inspires her to do post-war.

With such diverse and different films gracing our big screens in the coming weeks, together with those still on general release and as Previewed and Reviewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, there is no excuse not to get out in the bleak mid-Autumnal months and experience some great filmic entertainment to warm the soul and stir the emotions. When you have done so, leave a Comment below this or any other Blog Post and share your cinematic thoughts with our ever growing readership. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

THE AVENGERS : AGE OF ULTRON (Rated M) - Director Joss Whedon helmed the first 'The Avengers' film back in 2012 and in fact came up with the storyline and wrote the Screenplay too, and managed to lash out US$220M to make the film that went on to gross an incredible US$1.52B making it the third highest grossing film of all time - not bad for a bunch of comic strip characters! Since that first instalment, the inhabitants of The Marvelverse have been waiting eagerly for the release of the second film to see if Joss Whedon can weave his magic once more, using and even greater stash of cash that this time is estimated at US$250M+

Our favourite Marvel characters are back with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Heimdall (Idris Elba) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) all joined by some new super-characters and the grand-daddy of them all 'Ultron' (James Spader). The latter was created by Tony Stark as a peacekeeping programme and is a self aware, self teaching A.I. who having laid dormant for some time is reactivated by Stark so that our merry band of superheroes can stop saving the world by eradicating violence, crime and megalomaniacs once and for all. But when Ultron is reactivated things don't go quite according to plan and our man/machine Ultron decides it would be a good idea to wipe out humanity and destroy the world as we know it. And so our superhero friends need to team up, tool up, and boot up to save the world again and thwart Ultron in the process, whilst crossing paths with various new action heroes along the way . . . some good and some, not so good! Be prepared for action on a grand scale, and for things to go bad, very bad, before they get better!

BOYCHOIR (Rated PG) - here we have another American musical drama film involving a talented young musician, and older experienced teacher and a rise to the top whilst overcoming adversity, personal challenges and a troubled life. If this sounds like 'Whiplash' think again because here we have a drum kit traded for a young boys choir and a lad whose vocal talents open doors of opportunity that lead to acknowledgement, appreciation and acceptance - three things he has never experienced before. Directed by Francois Girard this is a film about eleven year old Stet (Garrett Wareing) whose single mother is killed in a car accident on the same day that his school Principal Ms. Steel (Debra Winger) persuades Headmaster Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman) of the fictitious American Boychoir School, to audition for their elite chorister programme. Stet's Dad, Gerard (Josh Lucas) is in a relationship with another woman but he has neglected to tell her about Stet's very existence. When Carvelle recognises a raw talent in Stet that he has never seen before, he is offered a place which Gerard promptly accepts and writes big cheques for, in order to send his estranged son away and maintain the peace at home. At the ABS Stet is out of his depth as he is not from a privileged background like many of the other boys, nor is he particularly disciplined enough for the school staff. But he works hard and is committed and quickly rises through the ranks as he shows increasing promise as one of the best choristers. Touted as an emotional, feel good family drama with strong performances that will tug at your heart strings, and maybe your vocal chords, this could well be up there with that aforementioned drum beating music school drama of earlier this year. Also starring Eddie Izzard and Kathy Bates.

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH (Rated M) - Directed by James Kent, this is a true story based on the book by Vera Brittain, about her own recollection of growing up in the lead up to, during and after The Great War. After a fairly privileged upbringing in the English countryside Vera (Alicia Vikander) who shares a close bond with family and especially brother Edward (Taron Egerton) are torn asunder when her fiancé Roland Leighton (Kit Harington), and close friends Victor (Colin Moragn) and Geoffrey (Jonathan Bailey) and Edwards are sent off to fight on the front line. Having sacrificed so much her male friends and loved ones now do battle for King and Country in far away war torn lands that she decides to follow suit and so leaves her Oxford college education and joins the Voluntary Aid Detachment and travels as a nurse from London to Malta to France witnessing first hand and at close quarters the horrors of war and the implications on those closest to her. Following the war Brittain becomes a writer, a pacifist and a feminist - she died in 1970. The film also stars Dominc West and Emily Watson as Mr. & Mrs. Brittain respectively, Miranda Richardson and Hayley Attwell.

Three films to get you out and amongst it at your local independent theatre or multiplex in the coming week, and when you have done so and sat through your cinematic experience share your views and be a co-contributor to Odeon Online - we'd love to hear from you!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE AGE OF ADALINE : Sunday 19th April 2015.

On a cold Wintry Sunday evening in Adelaide I decided to see 'THE AGE OF ADALINE' having seen the shorts for it a couple of weeks ago and thought that this romantic epic fantasy story spanning many decades looked interesting. And sure enough, I wasn't disappointed! Not being one for weepy, sappy, saccharine romantic movies myself, I was pleasantly surprised because this film is not that, and it comes with fantasy elements, spans one hundred years or so, is an engaging story, well cast, and it poses a few questions that you may ponder over one evening with friends.

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger, the film opens with the young girl Adaline (Blake Lively) shortly after the turn of the 20th Century growing up in the burgeoning American economy. She meets a handsome young guy, marries, has a daughter and then one evening driving home in a storm through winding country roads an unlikely snow storm in California's Sanoma County causes her to veer off the road, through a crash barrier and into the river below. Her life in an instant changes forever!

With the car upturned, water rushing in, snow falling and the temperature dropping Adaline is knocked unconscious and slips beneath the icy water, her life ebbing away. Her almost lifeless body battles to stay alive as her heartbeat drops dramatically and her vital organs begin to shut down. A freak lightning strike on the car after two or so minutes sends a huge electric current through the car and through Adaline jolting her back to life, warming her body instantly and giving her back the strength to crawl from the wreckage onto the riverbank. From this accident although she survives, she from this point forward never age beyond the 29 years she was at the time of this freak accident.

The voiceover talks us through the 'science' of this extraordinary life altering event and the consequences this has had upon Adaline's life through the decades that follow. As we fast forward now to the early 21st Century we see Adaline going about her daily routine in her San Francisco apartment, caring for her dog, going to work and leading almost a 'normal' life - still not a day over 29 even though she is in reality now 100+. Aside from her daughter no one else knows her 'secret' and Adaline has spent the last eighty or so years changing her identity (she now goes by the name of Jenny), never establishing any roots, and not getting involved with anyone who may expose her secret - she even shies away from photo's and giving out her address in case someone should find out more about her unique history and therefore expose her as a 'curiosity', or a 'novelty' or someone who should be closely researched.

Things change however, when Ellis Jones (Michael Huisman) comes into her life. He is a wealthy philanthropist who like Jenny shares a love for the arts, literature, history and he falls hopelessly for her. She reciprocates his feelings but is frightened about getting too close. It is her daughter though, Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) who is now old enough to be Jenny's Grandmother who urges her to find true happiness for once in her life, and to finally stop running. Cautiously and somewhat reluctantly Jenny heeds the advice of her daughter.

As the relationship grows Ellis announces that he needs to travel home for the weekend for his parents 40th wedding anniversary celebrations and he would like Jenny to join him - to which she accepts. Upon meeting Dad, William Jones (Harrison Ford) and Mum Connie (Kathy Baker), William instantly recognises Jenny as Adaline and is knocked for a home run, because 40 years ago he had intended to propose. They were 'very close' having met in England and then returned home to the US together after a whirlwind romance. She broke it off and left him standing never to be seen again, until now. Jenny says that Adaline was her mother which is why the resemblance is so striking, but reveals to a shocked and surprised William that her mother died six years ago.

This appeases William, for now, and whilst almost speechless by this turn of events is accepting of the smoke & mirrors story fabricated by Jenny. As the weekend progresses however, we learn more of the relationship through flash back and the means by which William can reveal Jenny's true identity as his first love Adaline. She bolts when the truth and Ellis' love become too much to bear and disappearing into the night behind the wheel of his car she is involved once again in a near fatal car accident that sends her again into hypothermia and has her battling for her life as it gradually slips away in her unconscious state. Brought back from the brink by the paramedics and a defibrillator, she is saved again as she was almost eight decades ago.

Waking in the hospital with Ellis looking on, she reveals her 'secret' as daughter Flemming arrives, who at first introduces herself as Jenny's Grandmother. By now though Ellis is in the picture, and from here on it's all smiles, sunshine and rainbows! In the final frames there is one more little twist that will bring a smile as true love always finds a way!

This is a US$25M feel good, heart warming and emotional story of love overcoming adversity amidst the most obscure fantastical circumstances. The cast are strong and believable as the central couple keep it grounded and real. The only adverse feedback for me surrounds the voice over commentary which I felt a little jarring at times and perhaps too much, but this is a minor detail only. Get out there with a loved one, or for a girls night out, as this is better than you might think and certainly a cut above your usual romantic fare.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

LITTLE WHITE LIES : archive from 19th June 2011.

Saw 'LITTLE WHITE LIES' last night expecting something hum drum from this French subtitled movie but was engaged throughout and pleasantly surprised. This film was Written and Directed by French Actor/Writer/Director Guillaume Canet, who is also the other half of acclaimed Actress Marion Cotillard, and on a budget of just over US$15M brought home US$87M from this comedy drama of friends, anxieties, tortured relationships, fractured lives and lost opportunities amidst the backdrop of a holiday in a comfortable but fairly modest beach house.

If you have been away for the weekend, or longer, with a bunch of mates then here is something for you. This is richly cast, with strong performances that deliver emotion, humour and multi-layered personalities that both attract and repel. This in turn makes for a relateable film on many levels with laugh out loud moments and a tear jerker at the end. The French title of the film (refer poster left) is 'Les Petits Mouchoirs' meaning 'the small handkerchiefs' - -as in to keep something hidden in your pocket from view by using a handkerchief to conceal it!

The film opens with Ludo (Jean Dujardin) hanging an all-nighter in some Paris nightspot with girls, booze and drugs only to jump on his scooter for the ride home just as day breaks to get blindsided by a truck and sent into a coma. His long term friends all visit him in hospital on the cusp of their annual beach break away together to kick-start the holiday season -  ritual they have upheld for years. Deciding that they should still proceed with their planned holiday - because it's what Ludo would have wanted - they set off for their destination in the sun and by the sea to Cap Ferrat.

The beach house in question is owned by successful Restauranteur Max (Francois Cluzet) who brings along the wife and kids and is we learn, controlling, obsessive, and short tempered. This manifests itself throughout the holiday period when he is driven to his wits end by the sound of termites gnawing away in the cavities of his beach house, and when emotions clash because his good friend and practising chiropractor Vincent (Benoit Magimel) announces that he is in love with him - even though he too is married with children, and doesn't consider himself gay!

Then there is Marie (Marion Cotillard) who is the former girlfriend of Ludo now languishing in a hospital bed in a near death state. She is an anthropologist who recently returned from a trek around the Amazon Rain Forest, but cannot commit to anyone, because she is unable to commit to herself - she doesn't know if she's Arthur or Martha (literally). Her close friend is Eric (Gilles Lellouche) who is a minor small screen Actor but constantly tries his hand with the ladies and is always hitting on Marie, although she will have none of it.

As your would expect though most of the dialogue, the action and the comedic drama rests with the men . . . or should I say boys . . . who strut their stuff, big themselves to their mates, brush of their emotions, and dispel their insecurities whilst the womenfolk look on with ever increasing disdain. all of this more and more pressure on their friendships as tensions mount, emotions ride high, and the stress and strain of each others company begins to show. 

Of all the colourful disjointed emotionally charged characters in this film there will almost certainly be one you can relate to the most. There are laugh our loud moments and those too you will cringe at as worlds collide and long hidden truths revel themselves. This is an engrossing film that at a 154 minute running time will flash by quickly, pull you in and capture your interest throughout. If you missed this first time around, do yourself a favour and grab it now on DVD or BluRay.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE GUNMAN : Thursday 16th April 2015.

I like a Sean Penn movie, and think his versatile acting talents are a drawcard in an age where often we have cardboard cut out characters, predictable personalities, and genre specific typecasting that can be summed up and pinned down in a 90 second trailer. And so it was that I saw Penn's latest offering 'THE GUNMAN' earlier in the week on its Australian opening night at my local multiplex. Directed by Pierre Morel who introduced the world to the Liam Neeson franchise 'Taken', in this film, based on the early 80's book 'The Prone Gunman' by Jean-Patrick Manchette, Penn takes a Screenwriting, Producing and Acting credit and doubtless chipped in with the US$40M production budget too.

The 54 year old Actor is looking more & more grizzled as every year passes with his weather beaten features, his lived in face and his increasingly rugged complexion, and maybe for this reason he is well cast as the ageing now retired ex-soldier Jim Terrier who eight years ago assassinated the Minister of Mining in the very fragile, politically unstable and economically retarded Congo.

Times are tough down Congo way in 2006 when the film opens, and so Terrier is part of a team supposedly acting as security on the construction of a new airstrip for use by a mining company who are exploiting various minerals, metals and mining opportunities from the resources rich country. But, Terrier is really part of an elite squad who have a particular set of skills that might just come in handy when the Minister of Mining decides to cancel all multi-million dollar mining contracts and put them up for grabs again in this corrupt economy. And so orders are given for Terrier and his team to take out the Minister and skip the continent pronto, with the job falling to Terrier to pull the trigger and get outta Dodge City leaving behind his love interest Annie (Jasmine Trinca) and his pals.

Eight years later Terrier has carved out a new life and decides to return to the Congo working for an NGO digging water wells to help the still downtrodden locals. A death squad arrive and seek to take out Terrier for reasons that at this point are unclear to him, but of course armed with his particular set of skills he dispenses with his quarry quick smart. Skipping Dodge City once again he ends up within 24 hours in London and seeks out his former employer for some advice, guidance, support and insight into who might be after him after all this time.

From this point forward the hunt is on as Terrier uncovers more unscrupulous former colleagues, more dodgy dealings, and foils more attempts on his life as the truth behind his part in the killing of the Minister in 2006 is revealed. From here the cat and mouse game takes us to Barcelona and then Gibraltar and then back again with scenes that are reminiscent of 'Bourne', 'Taken' and many others of this type. That said, the hand to hand fight scenes, the close quarter gun fire, and the action sequences are well handled but in reality nothing that you haven't seen before . . . probably many times.

The cast is strong and add gravitas to the story line including Javier Bardem as former colleague Felix who hooks up with Terrier's former love interest Annie after he moved on in 2006; then there is Ray Winstone as Stanley as long term friend and former colleague going back long before the events of the Congo unfolded. Idris Elba is DuPont, the CIA Agent investigating dodgy mining companies, dodgy security contractors and dodgy third world services providers and the one that gave the orders for Terrier's kill in the first place; and Mark Rylance as Cox the former head of Terrier's elite squad and now head of one such service provider on the cusp of winning a new mega contract but needs first to ensure there are no loose ends leading back to the events of 2006 . . . and Terrier is a loose end!

All of this adds up to a familiar tale of revenge & retribution, thrills & spills, fast paced action, and Sean Penn toned up, buffed up, and pumped up adding kick-ass action to his Resume just as Willis, Washington, Neeson, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger continue to do well into their 50's and 60's. In the final analysis you don't have to see this on the big screen and could easily wait three months for the DVD & BluRay release, but there are redeeming features and you could find worse things to spend your $20 on. If formulaic genre type action films of this type are up your alley then you're likely to enjoy this, and Penn does a solid job trying to stay alive throughout, kicking butt, and looking grizzled, toned and stoic as the body count rises.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-