What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 2nd July 2015.

It's July, and we've reached the mid-point in the year already and what a first six months we've had cinematically! With big budget epic fare, small independent offerings, some great foreign language films, action, adventure, tragedy, comedy blockbusters, sleeper hits and those that have flown under the radar. What will the next six months bring - well, you'll just have to get out there to you local cinema.  But, rest assured, it all starts here, and it does so with a bang with an action adventure hero who once muttered those immortal lines 'I'll be back!' . . . and he is - here, this week!

First up we have one of the most highly anticipated, eagerly awaited films of the year that is a welcome return of a cyborg hero in this fifth instalment of a hugely successful franchise that also spawned a TV Series - you know what I'm talkin' about! Then, we have a doco about a famed British songstress who departed this mortal coil way too early, and finally a short film assured to gain cult status as it pays homage to the martial arts comedy police action films of the 80's.

With three offerings out & about at your local movie theatre this coming week paired up with the solid offerings still out on general release, you once again have plenty to choose from, so get out amongst it and go see a movie! When you have, drop your friends and like minded readers a line or two in the Comments box immediately below this, or any other Post and share your thoughts on your filmic experience. Enjoy your movie!

TERMINATOR : GENISYS (Rated M) - in 1984 a young film maker made a movie that was to find its way into our popular culture and cinema sub-conscious. His name was James Cameron, and in releasing 'The Terminator' he also established the career of an immigrant Austrian bodybuilder determined to make his name and his fortune in the Hollywood movie business - his name was Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the intervening years there have three further sequels - 'T2 : Judgement Day' in 1991 with Cameron helming again, 'T3 : Rise of the Machines' in 2003, 'T4 : Salvation' in 2009 and the most lacklustre of the franchise, and now we have a return to form with Arnie back playing our titular cyborg hero Directed by Alan Taylor on a US$170M budget. Those first four films were made for a combined US$509M and returned collectively US$1.4B.

And so to this latest iteration. This films owes more to the first two films than is does the latter two. Here John Connor (Jason Clarke) is leading the human resistance against Skynet, and sends back Kyle Reece (Jai Courtney) to 1984 to safeguard his mother Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) from a Terminator killer hunting her down. Unexpected events create an altered timelines and when Reece arrives back in 1984 he is met by a skilled confident combat ready Sarah Connor supported by a Terminator Guardian - a reprogrammed T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Hot on the heels however, are dangerous new enemies and unexpected allies as the timeline darts between 1984, to 1997 (the eve of Judgement Day), to 2017 with a T-1000, a T-3000 and a T-5000 all emerging to thwart Sarah, Kyle and the Guardian Terminator while Reece seeks to reset the future, and prevent the Genisys application from going live on-line with potentially disastrous implications for humankind. J.K. Simmons also stars. Watch it on the big screen methinks!

AMY (MA15+) - In 2010 British film maker Asif Kapadia bought us the excellent Documentary film charting the on and off track life of F1 racing great Ayrton Senna with the highly acclaimed 'Senna'. Now in 2015 his subject matter is once again the tragically short life of a another famed personality - this time from the world of music - Amy Winehouse. Featuring previously unseen footage, previously unheard tracks that the singer had recorded before her death on 23rd July 2011 from alcohol poisoning, and the content taken from over 100 interviews that Kapadia had with close family and friends, this films charts the singers early life, her influences, her relationships, the media attention, and her drug & alcohol addiction that led to her untimely death. If 'Senna' is anything to go by, this is likely to be compelling viewing.

KUNG FURY (Rated M) - Directed, Written and Starring David Sandberg this is a 31 minute crowd funded Swedish Produced English language film that pays homage to the martial arts police action movies of the 80's. Set in 1985, Kung Fury is the meanest, baddest, toughest martial arts cop in the Miami Police Force, and he is sent back in time to thwart the worst killer of all time - Kung Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, and end the Nazi grip on a war torn Europe. Full of camped up slapstick martial arts green screen silliness, this is likely to become a cult classic before you know it!

That's it then for the week ahead - two time travelling kick-ass movies both at complete opposite ends of the movie spectrum, and a doco sure to provide an intimate look inside the mind and life of a talented young artist plucked from us too soon. Whatever you choose to view in the week ahead, enjoy your film.

See you at the Odeon soon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 28th June - 4th July 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Margot Robbie does on 2nd July - check out the tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 25, 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 28th June

• John Cusack - Born 1966, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Mel Brooks - Born 1926, turns 89 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Bruce Davidson - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actor | Director
• Kathy Bates - Born 1948, turns 67 - Actress | Director
• Mary Stuart Masterson - Born 1966, turns 49 - Actress | Producer | Director

Monday 29th June

• Nicole Scherzinger - Born 1978, turns 37 - Actress | Singer
• Gary Busey - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actor

Tuesday 30th June

• Vincent D'Onofrio - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer

Wednesday 1st July

• David Gulpilil - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actor | Writer
• Dan Aykroyd - Born 1952, turns 63 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• David Prowse - Born 1935, turns 80 - Actor
• Trevor Eve - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor | Producer
• Liv Tyler - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actress
• Pamela Anderson - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actress | Producer
• Genevieve Bujold - Born 1942, turns 73 - Actress | Writer

Thursday 2nd July

• Margot Robbie - Born 1990, turns 25 - Actress
• Lindsay Lohan - Born 1986, turns 29 - Actress | Producer

Friday 3rd July 

• Connie Nielsen - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actress
• Tom Cruise - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actor | Producer

Saturday 4th July

• Gina Lollobrigida - Born 1927, turns 88 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Director
• Eva Marie Saint - Born 1924, turns 91 - Actress

Margot Elise Robbie was born in Dalby, Queensland, Australia to mother Sarie Kessler, a physiotherapist, and her father a former farm owner. She was raised by her single mother on Queensland's Gold Coast with her sister and two brothers, spending her childhood between the beach on the Gold Coast and her grandparents farm in Dalby. She attended the private Somerset College in Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast where she studied drama, and after graduating in 2007 she moved to Melbourne to begin her professional acting career.

Within a year the young Robbie has starred in two Aash Aaron Directed films - 'Vigilante' and 'I.C.U.' From here her attentions and opportunities were drawn to television work with the initial episode of the ABC's 'Review, with Myles Barlow', and then two episodes on 'The Elephant Princess', and one on 'City Homicide' before the role that really set her on a career path with over 300 episodes of 'Neighbours' between 2008 and 2011. During this time too she appeared in various Channel Ten programmes including 'Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'.

Leaving 'Neighbours' behind in 2011 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career Stateside where she auditioned for the new TV Series of 'Charlie's Angels' but missed out, instead clinching ABC's 60's drama 'PanAm' with Christina Ricci. The series ran for just 14 episodes and was cancelled after its first season due to declining ratings despite its positive reviews.

From here Robbie returned to the big screen securing a role in the Richard Curtis Directed romantic comedy drama 'About Time' with Bill Nighy, Domhnall Gleeson and Rachael McAdams. The film was generally a critical success and fared well commercially bringing in US$87M off US$12M to make. In turn this led to Martin Scorsese casting her as the wife to Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort in 'The Wolf of Wall Street' in 2013. Her role as Naomi Lapaglia was highly praised and garnered her an MTV Movie Award nomination and an Empire Award win. The film became Scorsese's biggest commercial success to date.

'Focus' came next earlier this year with co-star Will Smith playing a rookie grifter, and although the film received mixed reviews, her performance was again praised. Although released at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year 'Z for Zachariah' has yet to be released in Australia. This Sci-Fi thriller filmed in New Zealand is Directed by Craig Zobel and also stars Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Due this year too is 'Suite Francaise', a WWII drama romance Directed by Saul Dibb and co-starring Kristen Scott Thomas and Michelle Williams. Coming up too is the David Yeats big screen adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burrows 'Tarzan' with Robbie starring as Jane Porter alongside Alexander Skarsgard in the title role with Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Djimon Hounsou and John Hurt and due for a mid-2016 release. 

'The Taliban Shuffle' (aka 'The Fun House') is a comedy set within the backdrop of a war stricken Afghanistan and Pakistan and co-stars Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Tina Fey and Alfred Molina and is also due in mid-2016. Filming right now too is the DC Comics adaptation of Supervillain offering 'The Suicide Squad' as Directed by David Ayer with Robbie playing Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn - the first live action outing for this character. The film will also star Will Smith, Jared Leto, Joel Kinsman, Jai Courtney and Viola Davis and is set for August 2016. Also confirmed are her roles in 'Dangerous Odds' and 'Violent Talent' due further down the track. 

To date Robbie has 15 acting credits and a Producer credit on her early 'I.C.U.' offering. She has one award win for the 'Wolf of Wall Street' and eight other nominations including the BAFTA Rising Star Award this year.

Robbie lives in London with a bunch of mates and is romantically linked to Tom Ackerley - a British Assistant Director.

Margot Robbie - blond, blue eyed, beautiful - a star on the rise and increasingly in demand - as a little girl from country Queensland you done good! Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

WILD TALES : Sunday 21st June 2015.

'WILD TALES' is a Spanish & Argentinian collaboration released earlier this year and has been on a limited release in Australia for a few weeks now. Having seen the shorts I felt compelled to see this very black comedy film consisting six separate short stories that are linked only by the common theme running throughout. Directed by Damian Szifron this film cost US$3.5M to make and has so far grossed US$30M+ along the way picking up a swag of film awards and nominations - 23 and 42 respectively, including the Oscar nod for Best Foreign Language Film at this years ceremony.

Six films within a film then that are not linked, only by a common theme that connects them all. That theme is one of extreme acts of random violence, and what drives everyday individuals to conduct such acts. Whilst the subject matter is bleak, it is delivered in an intense, urgent, and at times comedic style that makes for compelling viewing and will leave you thinking about the characters, the situations they find themselves in and the actions they take as a result - often with dire consequences - well after the credits have rolled.

Those six subjects are 'Pasternak' - the first playing out in the opening sequence. Two passengers on a plane strike up a random conversation across the aisle from each other and as their conversation unfolds we learn they have a mutual acquaintance - Gabrielle Pasternak. One by one all passengers discover they are all linked in some way to Pasternak and so a state of mild panic breaks out at 30,000 feet, when the trolley dolly announces that Pasternak is the purser in the cockpit and he has locked the door as the plane nose dives towards a suburban house.

Then we have 'The Rats' - as a lone drivers pulls up to a road side diner late at night, wanting to eat. As the waitress takes his order she recognises him as a loan shark who ruined her family with tragic consequences. Telling the story to the cook back in the kitchen, the cook offers to put rat poison in the diners eggs and chips but the waitress declines the offer fearing the repercussions . . . but the cook does it anyway and he tucks in to his supper. Then the diners son arrives and tucks into some of the chips. As the waitress tries to retrieve the plate and prevent them from eating more, the diners gets aggravated and angry, and so the cooks stabs him multiple times with a Chef's Knife. The son looks on, and vomits!

Next up in 'The Strongest' set along a fairly deserted winding and beautiful mountain road. Behind the wheel of a new Audi Coupe is a corporate type approaching some local hillbilly driving a shit box who refuses to let the Audi pass. Eventually, the Audi squeezes by shouting abuse out of the window and giving the hillbilly the bird. Further down the road the Audi blows a tyre and pulling up to the side of the road the driver gets out to replace the tyre, as the hillbilly ambles by, reversing his car up right to the front of the Audi so that it cannot be driven away. Fearing the worst the Audi driver gets back into his car and engages the central locking. By now the hillbilly smashes the windscreen with the car jack and then takes a crap and a piss over the broken windshield. What follows is a tit for tat exchange of words and actions that results in one of the most real, raw, intense, urgent and immediate close quarter fight scenes that I have seen on screen for a very long time. The consequences of this do not end well for either, and for me, this segment was the highlight of the film.

'Little Bomb' comes next that sees an explosives demolition expert pushed to the edge as a result of a parking infringement in which his car is towed away from an unrestricted zone he believes. Seeking recompense from the towing company by way of a refund for the fine and payment in respect of his lost time, inconvenience that caused him to miss his daughters birthday, his crumbling marriage and the sheer injustice of it all that no one it seems is prepared to accept. Creating a storm that is captured on CCTV and then makes news headlines he is fired from his job, and going for an interview his car gets towed again. Knowing something about explosives he hatches a plan that will give him the revenge he is seeking on the towing company, and so engineers for his car to be towed once more.

'The Proposal' sees a BMW returning home early one morning with a broken grille and a dislodged and bloodied number plate. A young man was behind the wheel and we learn later in the day that a hit & run driver has killed a pregnant woman in the early hours of the morning - the husband swears revenge on live TV. Distraught, the grieving young man confesses to his father - a wealthy businessman, who immediately calls his lawyer. They hatch a plan convincing the long term family gardener to take the rap for the crime to save the son . . . in exchange for $500K and a likely sentence of just a few years. The prosecuting officer believes that things don't add up with the gardener, and so offers to cut a deal with the father and his lawyer . . . in exchange for a large sum of money. With the other parties all wanting more money because of the growing risk and the son then deciding to confess to the press, the father gets jack of it all and takes the money off the table. Some intense negotiations follow and as the gardener is bundled out to a waiting police car with his head covered the grieving husband awaits clutching a hammer.

Finally 'Until Death Do Us Part' rounds out this package and is the story of a woman scorned . . . on her wedding day. Celebrating with family and friends at the Reception the bride discovers that her new husband may have had some previous shenanigans with a very attractive work colleague who just happens to be a guest at the wedding. Not too impressed with this news the tensions in front of the gathered guests become more and more strained as the evening wears on resulting in a violent clash on the dance floor between new wife and former lover. Swearing to make her new husbands life a living hell for all eternity, it's get worse before it gets better - and better it does in a most public way!

This is a great film that I really enjoyed and could relate to in terms of the situations that led to the extreme acts that unfold on screen. Strong stories, believably acted, deftly Directed and delivered with irony and satire that lifts this film to another level still. Catch it soon - you won't be disappointed. 'Wild Tales' is another very sold offering in this years foreign language films released so far.









-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'TRON : LEGACY' - archive from 30th December 2010.

'TRON : LEGACY'  - saw it last night - and you should too if you missed seeing it on the big screen back in 2010. 28 years and US$170M in the making, 64 days to shoot, 68 weeks post production, this is the follow up to Disney's 1982 cult classic. Back then when computers and video games were just beginning to get introduced to our lives, the fist instalment was made for a mere US$17M and grossed just US$33M. Hardly a smash hit, but the years have been kind to that film and so now we have a long awaited sequel. Following on from the US$400M Box Office haul of this film Disney announced 'Tron : Destiny' and went into pre-production posting a 3 minute teaser trailer on YouTube in November 2014, but in March 2015 announced they were now not progressing, claiming it was never greenlit anyway. C'est la vie!

In 1989 software engineer, builder of video-games and CEO of ENCOM International Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared leaving his young son behind. Fast track twenty years and that young son is now 27 years of age, and is the primary shareholders of the company his father left behind. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is asked by an ENCOM Executive to investigate a signal coming from a deserted video arcade owned by his father. As Sam investigates the empty building he comes across a hidden basement housing a large computer. Messing about with the computer (as you would) he is transported to 'The Grid' - a virtual reality world that was created by his father and which exists within ENCOM's mainframe.

Pulled into the same world in which his father has been trapped for twenty years, early on Sam is captured and drawn into 'The Games' where he is forced to fight a masked programme called Rinzler (Bruce Boxleitner), who realises when Sam lies injured and bleeding, that he is a human user and so takes him to CLU (Codified Likeness Utility - Jeff Bridges in younger form) - The Grid's ruling programme. In a light cycle match CLU takes out Sam and nearly kills him, before being rescued by Quorra (Olivia Wilde) who is an apprentice of Flynn and knows of his whereabouts in a hideaway outside of CLU's reach.

As father and son are reunited, Kevin reveals to Sam that over the years he has been working on a perfect computer system with CLU and Tron (also Bruce Boxleitner). What unfolds thereafter is the reason why Flynn the elder became trapped in The Grid, how Sam was lured into The Grid for ulterior motives, and what the Flynn's must do to save themselves and escape back to the real world through a portal that is closed, and can only be opened with Kevin's identity disc. Of course things get more complicated and more dangerous before they get better with the Flynn's battling it out against CLU, with Sam and Quorra getting back through the portal to the other side before it is again closed . . . but as for Kevin Flynn, you'll just have to watch for yourself!

'Tron : Legacy' is up there with 'Avatar' - a Sci-Fi epic that is a visual & aural feast. Directed by Joseph Kosinski this has amazing visuals, a storyline that stacks up, and a kick-ass sound track from Daft Punk. This movie does not disappoint & rewrites the rule book on all future Sci-Fi wannabes. From the House of the Mouse - see it soon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th June 2015.

This week with the mid-year school holiday upon us there are a few limited offerings in the week ahead that are for a more mature audience it must be said, but there is a heap of action and animated fare out there for the youngsters, the teenagers and kids of all ages that have been Previewed here in previous weeks, and are still out there on general release.

Three offerings then this week that offer a range of films that take us from a sequel of a not so cute & cuddly animated kids toy in a grown mans world; an adaptation of a classic English novel getting its big screen remake after 50 or so years; and then a musical bio-pic of a legend of the 60’s becoming a troubled man in the 80’s.

As always, when you have seen your movie of choice in the week ahead, you are invited to record your own critique here in the Comments Box below this, or any other Post, and share your thoughts and observations with your friends at Odeon Online. Enjoy your film.

TED 2 (Rated MA15+) - The 2012 comic cuddly and not so cute 'Ted' movie was Directed, Produced, Written  and Starred Seth MacFarlane and was made for US$50M and went on to gross US$550M worldwide in the final analysis. It also garnered an Academy Award nomination, 13 awards wins and 26 other nods, so it was inevitable that a sequel would follow. Here we are then three short years later and 'Ted 2' has arrived at our screens with the same Seth McFarland input as before and the same Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett, Jessica Barth as Tami-Lynn, Giovanni Ribisi as Donny and a host of other names to add gravitas  . . . apparently!

This next instalment sees Teddy Bear Ted marrying Tami-Lynn, his girlfriend from the first film, and wanting to have a child together this is where complications naturally set in. When Ted asks life long friend and thunder buddy John to be a sperm donor for artificial insemination purposes, the couple must prove in a court of law that Ted is in fact human and therefore suitable to have custody of the future child. No doubt there will be gross-out humour, hilarity aplenty, pratt falls and comedic misadventure to make this one another sure fire success with Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson also involved.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (Rated M) - Based on the 1874 book of the same name by Thomas Hardy this was adapted for the big screen most notably in 1968 and Directed by John Schlesinger and starred Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. Now in 2015 we have this version and the fourth big screen outing for this story as Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene a young headstrong farm owner in Victorian England. Attracting the attention and the passions of three very different suitors there is Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) a sheep farmer; William Boldwood (Michael Sheen) a wealthy bachelor; and Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge) a reckless and care free Sergeant. What's a girl to do, other than fly in the face of tradition and social expectations and check them all out one by one, have some fun along the way and carve out her our own life path. Strong performances are deftly handled by Vinterberg this is sure to please lovers of the genre, and those who know the source book.

LOVE & MERCY (Rated M) - Directed and Produced by Bill Pohlad this is a bio-pic of 'Beach Boys' creative legend, driving force and front man Brian Wilson who was the mop-haired surf singing musical maestro back in the 60’s when the band of beach brothers were riding the crest of a wave, and before the younger Wilson started to lose his grasp on reality. Here the 1960’s Brian Wilson, enjoying hit after hit record success, is played by Paul Dano, and for his middle aged 1980’s persona it is John Cusack playing the broken unstable confused psycho analysed singer/songwriter. Playing his manipulative psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy is Paul Giamatti, and as his future wife Melinda Ledbetter is Elizabeth Banks determined to be the saviour of Wilson against Landy's controlling ways. Not your average or typical musical bio-pic this features strong performances from Paul Dano especially, and a master-stroke of casting to have the two Actors playing the one man and two very different personalities.

That wraps up this weeks movie releases leaving you a few more possibilities to ponder for your big screen entertainment. When you have enjoyed your movie of choice, let us know and don't be shy!

See you at the Odeon!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

JURASSIC WORLD : Wednesday 17th June 2015.

'JURASSIC WORLD' - the fourth film in the popular 'Jurassic' franchise has arrived with a record breaking new story twenty-two years after Steven Spielberg first bought us 'Jurassic Park' in 1993 that in itself grossed in excess of US$1B after the release of the 2013 20th Anniversary 3D Edition. In 1997 'Jurassic Park : The Lost World' followed, again Directed by Spielberg and in 2001 'Jurassic Park III' came along this time with Joe Johnston on Director duty. Those first three films made US$2,02B from combined budgets of US$229M. For fourteen years the idea and various scripts came and went languishing in development hell, until Colin Trevorrow came on board in 2013 with the resulting fourth instalment which I saw earlier this week.

This film is set twenty-two years after the disastrous events of 'Jurassic Park' took place with a now fully functioning dino theme park 'Jurassic World' open for business on the island of Isla Nublar off the Central American coast - the location of the first film too. As the film opens brothers Zach & Gray Mitchell (Nick Robinson & Ty Simpkins respectively) are being packed off for a VIP trip to Jurassic World where Aunt Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) oversees the entire operation. Arriving via plane, ship & monorail on Isla Nublar the gates open on the new luxury theme park to hordes of eager tourists and sightseers keen to experience the biggest, scariest, baddest beasts of yesteryear roaming around wild and free (albeit captive on the island). When they arrive Claire is too busy to give them any attention and sends them off with VIP passes to go enjoy themselves. See ya later!

The park is operated by InGen and today the owner of said park, one of the world's richest men, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) of the Masrani Corporation is visiting to check out his latest, and yet to be revealed, exhibit. Back in the lab Masrani converses with Chief Geneticist Dr. Henry Wu (B.D.Wong) returning from the series opening film but since promoted (big time). With the need to showcase new, big, exciting attractions to satisfy the tourists, secure additional sponsorship dollars and encourage more & more visitation Wu has engineered 'Indominus rex' from several predatory dinosaur genes as well as those from other modern animals (although Wu keeps the gene cocktail a closely guarded secret). Before Masrani shows off his latest greatest dinosaur creation he calls for Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) - the parks Velociraptor trainer, to check out Indominus and its purpose built enclosure for readiness, and presumably safety.

Meanwhile InGen's Head of Security Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) has a view that Grady's trained Velociraptor's could be trained for military purposes so creating an army of intelligent, agile, killing dinosaurs that could thwart any foe. After some Velociraptor shenanigans that show us what Grady has achieved with his four 'trained' reptiles, we move to the Indominus enclosure where Grady and Dearing are assessing its preparedness for opening. This is the first time that Grady sets eyes upon the engineered dinosaur, and quickly learns that this is one intelligent badass MoFo not to be toyed with. Needless to say that inspection doesn't go well and Indominus escapes leaving a trail of death and destruction quickly in its wake, and setting the scene for mayhem and misfortune aplenty.

Across the island 22,000 visitors on the day are enjoying interacting with dinosaurs large & small, friendly and vicious, carnivores and herbivores all. Oblivious about the fate that awaits, Dearing swings into action to close off the section of the island where Indominus is now roaming and doing its thang! We are talking about an intelligent agile animal here though with various abilities built into its engineered make-up, as well as its sheer scale, brute force and its basic need to eat. With various heavily armed security patrols sent out to capture and contain Indominus their fate too is not pretty and short-lived. The Mitchell brothers meanwhile check out the island in a gyrosphere sweeping across the grassland dodging non-dangerous dinosaurs and enjoying the spectacle. Until of course they venture across Indominus!

By now the island is in lock down and all tourists make there way back to the central hub to take shelter and prepare for evacuation . . . all 22,000 of them! As the dino-crap hits the fan Masrani (a chopper pilot in the making) takes off with two machine gun totting soldiers to track down Indominus from the air and end its trail of destruction. If only it were that simple! The rampaging animal smashes through into the pterosaur aviary unleashing a flock of vicious swooping winged killers, that as they escape take out Masrani's helicopter and head for the islands central hub and a tasty lunch . . . of the human kind.

With Masrani gone Hoskins assumes command of the island and the situation convincing Grady to use his four trained Velociraptors to hunt down and kill Indominus. Clearing out the lab of precious embryos Hoskins gets Wu off the island quickly with a bunch of safely secured samples (nicely setting up the sequel), and finishes off helping pack up more, when they are confronted by Grady, Dearing and the Mitchell brothers amidst all the carnage. Hoskins admits to them that Jurassic World is merely a vehicle with which to cultivate and engineer a super-army of genetically modified dinosaurs, at which point he is promptly munched upon by a Velociraptor.

This then sets the show down between Indominus, the Velociraptors and a T-Rex released deliberately to thwart the larger beast. More mayhem and destruction ensues across the central hub as night time descends on the park leaving Grady, Dearing and the Mitchells to dodge wrecked building debris and flying dinosaur bodies as the final fight to the death unfolds before us writ large, loud & proud on screen.

When the dust settles, the visiting public are evacuated back to Costa Rica and the island stands calm, peaceful and empty - except for the one victorious dinosaur and all those others that escaped and now roam free, and free of any human intervention.

This is a very respectable fourth film in the franchise and is well handled by Director Colin Trevorrow. The story is solid enough, it moves along at a good pace, the action set pieces are very well handled, the creature effects are first rate and the nods to the original film are a nostalgic touch. You should see this on the big screen, and given that this instalment has generated already US$760M as of 20th June and smashed a whole bunch of records, you can bet that another film will follow and that Chris Pratt will also star, having signed up for more Jurassic World outings.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'TRUE GRIT' - archive from 6th February 2011.

I saw the remake of  'TRUE GRIT' in the week - the reworking of the 1969 classic that nabbed John Wayne his only Oscar for his depiction of U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn. That film also starred Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper and was based on the book of the same name released the year before by Charles Portis. That film back in 1969 brought in a global Box Office haul of US$31M and now in 2011 the production budget for this one was US$38M - that's inflation for you!!



Here we have Joel & Ethan Coen Directing Jeff Bridges, taking on the lead role and is convincing as Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn the grizzled, boozing, trigger happy and allegedly meanest, U.S. Marshall. Looking to hire a man with 'true grit' he is engaged by young teenager Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) whose father has been murdered and she is seeking justice for the killer to be hanged back in Arkansas. That killer is Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Meanwhile Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) has ridden into town on the hunt for the same killer who is also wanted for the murder of a Texas State Senator.

After some reluctance the three hook up together on the trail of the Pepper Gang led by 'Lucky' Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper) whom Chaney is travelling with. There are disputes along the way that sees LaBoeuf leave but he remains on the trail wanting his Reward naturally. As the three split and then their paths cross again several times intertwined with Chaney and Ned Pepper incurring various casualties along the way as they navigate through Choctaw country where their quarry is in hiding, and where the story mostly plays out.

Chaney gets his comeuppance at the hands of young Mattie, after which she is bitten on the hand by a rattlesnake. Coming to the rescue Cogburn rides through the day & night to get Mattie to a doctor, but not before her horse carrying them both, collapses from exhaustion. On foot Cogburn then carries Mattie to safety and a doctor.

We then fast track twenty five years to the turn of the 20th Century, and we learn through Mattie's narrative that her arm was amputated years earlier as a result of that snake bite. She had not seen Cogburn since he left her safe to be treated by a doctor all those years ago. She tracks him down to a Wild West Show that Cogburn stars in, and arrives but learns that he passed away only days earlier. She never saw LaBoeuf either, but would have liked to.

'True Grit' was nominated for ten Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards winning Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins and all up 49 wins and another 142 nominations. The Coens have done it again, with a Box Office take of US$252M - rent it now on DVD or BluRay or download it and watch this gem of a Western in the comfort of your own home.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-