What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 30th June 2016.

At the mid-way point in the year now, I got to thinking about the big blockbuster fare we have seen so far in 2016, and where these sit in the grand scheme of Box Office rankings. Judging by the Top 10 released so far this year with their current all time placing and total haul as shown, a couple of things seem to ring true. Firstly, we appear to have an insatiable appetite for comic book heroes, secondly, we have an almost unquenchable thirst for well made animation and CGI, and finally only one of these is based on a real story. In order of all time Box Office rankings so far, taken from Box Office MoJo, there is :-

• 'Captain America : Civil War' - #12 with US$1.148B
• 'Zootopia' - #25 with US$1.017B
• 'The Jungle Book' - #37 with US930M
• 'Batman v. Superman : The Dawn of Justice' - #46 with US$873M
• 'Deadpool' - #62 with US$779M
• 'The Revenant' - #141 with US$533M
• 'X-Men : Apocalypse' - #146 with US$524M and still on general release.
• 'Kung Fu Panda 3' - #150 with US$519M and still on general release.
• 'Warcraft : The Beginning' - #218 with US$412M and still on general release.
• 'Finding Dory' - #228 with US$398M and still on general release.

For your further interest those films released in late 2015 but still doing the rounds into 2016 that also made a significant contribution were 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' at #3 with US$2.068B, 'Spectre' at #43 with US$881M, 'The Hunger Games : Mockingjay Part 2' at #96 with US$654M and 'The Martian' at #101 with US$630M. A big year so far with big films doing big things at the Box Office. With more comic books heroes and more animation and cutting edge CGI coming our way in the latter half of the year, we'll have to go see for ourselves and pay our money to determine what's hot and what's not at the movies as the year plays out. 

To this weeks new release films then. These kick-off with three master story tellers - combining their talents as Author, Director and Studio to bring us a tale of good versus evil, little and large, young and old coming together where the real world clashes with one of fantasy in this live action rendition of this much loved childrens classic. Then, an action comedy buddy teaming where a couple of unlikely school buddies reunite after two decades to thwart an evil enemy to save the world, before wrapping up with two foreign language films about two women of different generations in Sicily connected by one absent man and a game of cat and mouse that ensues as they begin to bond; and a story of one mans struggle to find work in recession struck France, support his family and the moral questions he has to deal with when he does eventually get a job.

Four films offering something different once again, which when combined with those still out on general release and doing the rounds equates to plenty of choice across all genres and all age groups. When you have sat through your movie of choice in the coming week, share your thoughts and observations by recording your Comment below this or any other Post - good, bad or ugly - there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the movies - just the emotion it stirs up in you and the entertainment/enjoyment factor you gained as  a result. Meanwhile, enjoy your film.

'THE BFG' (Rated PG) - The childrens book upon which this film is based was released in 1982 by Roald Dahl and since its release has sold in excess of 40 million copies in the UK alone and sits in the 'Top Lists' of must read children books in many countries. In 1989 the book was made into an animated feature film by Cosgrove Hall Productions, with the voice of David Jason as the 'Big Friendly Giant'. It has since been made into a theatre production, and now in 2016 it gets the full Disney treatment with master story-teller Steven Spielberg on Director duty with a budget of US$140M to bring this beloved story to the big screen in this live action version. The film Premiered out of competition at the recent Cannes Film Festival, and is released in the US on 1st July, and here in Australia the day before. With three key ingredients - Dahl, Disney and Spielberg - this has to be a recipe for success methinks!

The story here surrounds ten year old orphan girl Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill) who encounters the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance), and whilst initially scared at first by the towering giants 24 foot tall frame, soon comes to realise that he is in fact a gentle giant, quite charming, kind hearted and means her no harm, unlike the other giants who have a habit of eating children. As a result this BFG is ostracised by the other giants, and as the relationship between the young girl and the towering giant grows so the unwelcome attention of lesser meaning giants is drawn. These include 'Bloodbottler' (Bill Hader) and 'Fleshlumpeater' (Jemaine Clement) amongst others. The two decide that they must travel to London to meet with The Queen (Penelope Wilton) and convince her to rid the world of the bad giants, who have been attacking the human world, once and for all, but before they can do so they must travel through the wonders and perils of Giant Country.

'CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE' (Rated M) - Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and Co-Wriiten for the screen by him too, this action comedy buddy film was made for US$50M, has so far grossed US$84M and stars as its leads Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, so promises quite a lot, but the film has divided critics. The film follows two guys - one being the guy most likely to succeed at school in the form of athletic wisecracking liked by everyone Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) and the other Robbie Weirdicht (Dwayne Johnson) as the overweight downtrodden bullied klutz that nobody likes and everybody hassles because they can. Fast forward twenty years and Calvin is married to his high school sweetheart and works as an accountant, which he hates and gets passed over for promotion. Robbie meanwhile goes by the name now of Bob Stone, has worked out the gym everyday of his life, and is a hulking mass of muscle working for the CIA. The two come together again as a result of a pending High School Reunion, and subsequently Stone enlists Calvin's accounting skills to break some satellite codes, and prevent these falling into the wrong hands. As a result of their pairing, you can count on shoot outs, explosions, bad guys getting wasted, cars getting trashed, and stunts aplenty as the action and the comedy collide, and the world is saved . . . once again! Also tarring Amy Ryan, Aaron Paul with cameos from Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.

'THE WAIT' (Rated M) - this Italian drama film ('L'ATESSA') was Premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September last year, released in Italy later than month, in France in December and now reaches Australian cinemas. Directed and Co-Written for the screen by Piero Messina and based on two works by Luigi Pirandello, this tells the story of young woman Jeanne (Lou de Laage) who arrives unexpectedly at the large rambling Sicilian villa of Anna (Juliette Binoche) under the auspices of spending the Easter break with her  boyfriend Giuseppe. Anna is Giuseppe's mother and is not expecting Jeanne, and furthermore Giuseppe is not there and is not expected, but this truth is kept from Jeanne. Whilst Jeanne is invited to stay and wait for her boyfriend, the two begin to form a bond as they both come out from under their respective shells . . . but where is Giuseppe, and why is he not responding to Jeanne's calls and left messages? Binoche's performance especially has been critically hailed, as has the backdrop of the Sicilian scenery, so this could be one to watch out for if you like your foreign language films intense, emotional and with a few surprises in store.

'THE MEASURE OF A MAN' (Rated M) - this French drama film ('LA LOI DU MARCHE') Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2015 where it was in competition for the Palme D'Or. Directed and Co-Written by Stephane Brize, it tells the story of Thierry (Vincent Lindon) who at age 51 was laid off his job as a factory worker. After eighteen months without work and being given the runaround by recruitment companies, training providers, and employment agencies he secures a job as a store detective. Having struggled to make ends meet and support his disabled son who is in need of round the clock care, he finds himself in a position in his new line of work of having to make decisions about people in very similar situations as his own, with all the moral dilemma's this throws up in working class France. A humbling film of very real life situations experienced by many, for which Lindon has received several Best Actor Awards for his portrayal of Thierry, and the film has garnered all up seven award wins and another seven nominations from around the traps.

Four films this week to tempt you out to your local movie theatre on a cold Southern Hemisphere winter evening to sit in a warm dark place and be entertained for two hours for just $20 or your local equivalent. What's not to like about that prospect? I'll see you at the Odeon in the week ahead!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-