What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th February 2016.

This year the 69th annual British Academy Film Awards presented by BAFTA will be held on Sunday evening 14th February at the Royal Opera House in London and hosted once again by Stephen Fry. Recognising the best in film performance and production the main contenders in the top categories are : Best Film - 'The Big Short', 'Carol', 'Spotlight', 'The Revenant' and 'Bridge of Spies'. Best Direction  - Adam McKay, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Todd Haynes and Alejandro Inarritu.  Best Actor - Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Eddie Redmayne, Bryan Cranston and Michael Fassbender.  Best Actress - Maggie Smith, Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander and Saoirse Ronan. Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, Idris Elba, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Rylance and Benicio del Toro. Best Supporting Actress - Kate Winslet, Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara, Julie Walters and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Of course there are a whole bunch of other Awards that take in all the usual categories - Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Costume Design, Hair & Make-up, Editing, Animated Film, British Film etc. 'Bridge of Spies' and 'Carol' each have nine nominations - the most this year, 'The Revenant' has eight, 'Mad Max : Fury Road' has seven, 'Brooklyn' and 'The Martian' have six, 'The Danish Girl', 'Ex Machina' and 'The Big Short' each carry five, and 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' has four. You can see more at www.bafta.org and, you can read the Reviews of most of these within this Blog. Good luck, best wishes and well done to all nominees.

And so what of this weeks latest release movies, of which one is released in Australia this week just in time for the aforementioned BAFTA and Academy Awards and tells the story of a young Irish migrant woman venturing forth to New York in search of a new life; then there is a haute couture spoof sequel that has been sixteen years in the making and reuniting that comedy classic cohort staring down right at you; followed up with the first Marvel offering of 2016 with the first feature dedicated to this character even though we have seen him before; and finally to tantalise your tastebuds there is a story of food, food and more food and a certain world renowned Chef's obsession with it!

A diverse mix of films to choose from in the coming week with plenty of great offerings still on general release and as either Reviewed or Previewed between these humble Blog Posts.  Remember to share your views and don't be backward in coming forward with your opinions of your film experience by sharing a Comment below this or any Post. Enjoy your movie this week.

DEADPOOL (Rated MA15+) - this is the next instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will also see 'X-Men : Apocalypse' later this year and another 'Captain America' instalment. This is not the first time we have seen 'Deadpool' on the big screen, with the character making his first appearance in 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine' in 2009 when Ryan Reynolds portrayed this character back then too. Development of this first film kicked off way back in 2004 passing through several Studios and Writers along the way, although Tim Miller was hired to Direct in 2011 with filming starting in Canada in early 2015. Reynolds had always wanted to play the character of Wade Wilson/Deadpool since 2003, and stated that this adaptation of the Superhero character would be more authentic than the role he portrayed in the earlier 2009 'Wolverine' outing.

And so Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a special forces operative who  undergoes an experimental regenerative operation to cure his cancer. Things don't go quite according to plan and as result he is left badly scarred with disfigured skin and with borderline insanity, a dark twisted sense of humour,  but with the ability to heal himself . . . and quickly. Armed with new abilities and a new identity, Wilson goes on the hunt for the man who almost destroyed his life. Ed Skrein stars as Francis/Ajax, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Stefan Kapicic as Peter Rasputin/Colossus, T.J.Miller as Weasel, Morena Baccarin as Wilson's girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle, and watch out for the trademark Stan Lee cameo.

BROOKLYN (Rated M) - another Academy Award nominated film in the race for three golden statues - Best Actress, Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Colm Toibin. Premiered at Sundance in early 2015, the film was released in the UK and US in early November , with its Australian release this week just days before the BAFTA's for which it is nominated for six Awards and the Oscar's two weeks later. Directed by John Crowley and starring Saoirse Ronan as Eilis Lacey - a young Irish woman who relocates herself to 1950's Brooklyn in the hope of finding a better life. She quickly falls for local lad Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen) and begins to feel more settled in her new home town until the day comes when she must choose between the two countries and the two lives that have become intertwined. Also starring Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters and nominated for six BAFTA's, three Academy Awards, and has won 23 accolades already with another 109 nominations.

2OOLANDER (Rated M) - in 2001 Ben Stiller introduced the world to his creation of Derek Zoolander in a satire of the fashion industry that he wrote, Directed, Produced and starred in for US$28M that he turned into US$61M. Having created a comedy cult character it was almost inevitable that a follow up would eventuate, and so here 15 years later is the follow up that he also wrote, Directed, Produced and stars in, with his stablemates from that earlier film - Hansel (Owen Wilson), Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell), Matilda Jeffries (Christina Taylor) and a few others. This instalment centres around the 'worlds most beautiful people' being systematically assassinated  all wearing Derek's famed 'Blue Steel' look as their death mask. Needing to bring the arch criminals behind the killings to justice, Derek and Hansel are  put on the case by Interpol, but in the meantime  Mugatu is released from jail and is after Derek now and seeking revenge. Also starring Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Kanye West, Benedict Cumberbatch and a host of cameo's including Sting, Billy Zane, Justin Bieber and others. If this is anywhere near as good as the first, then it will be hit for sure.

NOMA : MY PERFECT STORM (Rated M) - if you consider yourself a foodie, a gourmand, a lover of food porn and a follower of gastronomy then this is the film of the week for you! Voted Best Restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, Rene Redzepi's famed Copenhagen eatery 'Noma' barely knows no equal. This documentary film charts Redzepi's journey from humble beginnings to rise to the very top of the food chain as Chef and joint owner of this restaurant -  voted the world's best four times and to which people will travel from the world over to dine at. Charting the story of what drives the man to extraordinary lengths of culinary excellence, his determination, his vision, his sacrifices and what it takes to reach the very pinnacle of fine dining . . . and stay there! Directed by Pierre Deschamps, starring the great Chef, his kitchen brigade and some great food!

Four very different films to tempt you out to a movie theatre in the week ahead. When you have dined out on your movie of choice remember to drop us a line and share your experience - we'd love to hear from you! In the meantime, see you at the Odeon!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-