Birthday's to share this week : 31st July - 6th August 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

M.Night Shyamalan does on 6th August - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 46, 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 31st July

• J.K.Rowling - Born 1965, turns 51 - Writer | Producer
• Geraldine Chaplain - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actress | Writer 
• Michael Biehn - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Wesley Snipes - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actor | Producer
• Dean Cain - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director 

Monday 1st August

• Adrian Dunbar - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Demian Bichir - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Sam Mendes - Born 1965, turns 51 - Producer | Director
• Jason Mamoa - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Jack O'Connell - Born 1990, turns 26 - Actor  

Tuesday 2nd August

• Simon Kinberg - Born 1973, turns 43 - Writer | Producer
• Kevin Smith - Born 1970, turns 46 - Writer | Producer | Director | Actor | Editor
• Sam Worthington - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor | Producer
• Edward Furlong - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Producer
• Mary-Louise Parker - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress  

Wednesday 3rd August

• Evangeline Lilly - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress
• Steven Berkoff - Born 1937, turns 79 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Martin Sheen - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actor | Producer | Director
• John Landis - Born 1950, turns 66 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Stuntman
• John C.McGinley - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Producer
• Max Landis - Born 1985, turns 31 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor  

Thursday 4th August

• Billy Bob Thornton - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Daniel Dae Kim - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor
• Greta Gerwig - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
• Abigail Spencer - Born 1981, turns 35 - Actress | Writer | Producer  

Friday 5th August

• John Jarratt - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Mark Strong - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor
• James Gunn - Born 1970, turns 46 - Writer | Producer | Director | Actor | Songwriter  

Saturday 6th August

• M.Night Shyamalan - Born 1970, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Barbara Windsor - Born 1937, turns 79 - Actress
• Michelle Yeoh - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Vera Farmiga - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress | Director
• Melissa George - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress  

Manoj Shyamalan was born in Mahe, Pondicherry in south west India to mother Jayalakshmi, an obstetrician and gynaecologist , and father Nelliate C. Shyamalan a graduate with a medical degree from the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, located in Pondicherry. In the 60's following the birth of their first child, Veena, the parents relocated to the USA, with the mother returning to India during the latter half of her pregnancy with Manoj to be at the family home in Chennai. Following his birth, the young lad spent the first six weeks in Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry) and was raised thereafter in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. He was raised a Hindu and attended Waldron Mercy Academy - a Roman Catholic grammar school in Philadelphia, and then the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pennsylvania. From here he gained a New York University Merit Scholarship in 1988 and attended the Tisch School of Arts in Manhattan from where he graduated in 1992. It was at this time that he gave himself the 'Night' as a middle name.

The young Shyamalan had always fancied himself as a film maker having been given a Super 8 camera as a young boy. By age 17, he had made forty-five or so home movies, and was an ardent fan of Steven Spielberg. His first film was made while studying at University - 'Praying with Anger' - a semi-autobiographical film released in 1992 which he wrote, Produced, Directed and starred in at a cost of US$800K, and it returned US$1.4M from its limited release. His next film came in 1998 with 'Wide Awake' which he wrote and Directed for US$6M and starred Denis Leary, Robert Loggia, Rosie O'Donnell and Julia Stiles - again only with a limited release it made just US$306K, but this comedy drama offering picked several award nominations on the circuit.

This was followed up by the critically acclaimed and commercially successful 'The Sixth Sense' with Bruce Willis, Toni Collette and Hayley Joel Osment. Made for US$40M it returned US$673M and remains Shyamalan's most commercially successful film to date. The film picked up 32 awards wins and 53 further nominations including six Academy Award, two Golden Globe, four BAFTA and one SAG nomination. The film was Written and Directed by Shyamalan. He followed this up quickly with 'Unbreakable' in 2000 which he again wrote, Directed and Co-Produced too. Starring Bruce Willis again with Samuel L. Jackson with Robin Wright this film returned US$248M from its US$75M budget and was hailed both a critical and commercial success picking up two award wins and another twelve nominations.

This success was followed up in 2002 with 'Signs' with Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix and Rory Culkin. Made for US$72M it made US$408M and was again critically acclaimed and a commercial hit picking ups three award wins and a further thirty nominations. 2004's 'The Village' which was Writen, Produced and Directed by Shyamalan fared less well with the critics but commercially was worthwhile returning US$275M from US$60M and starred Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Adrien Brody and Bryce Dallas Howard.

'Lady in the Water' in 2006 was Shyamalan's poorest performing feature film both critically and at the Box Office yielding just US$72M from its US$70M outlay. 'The Happening' came next which fared better at the Box Office making US$164M against a budget of uS$48M but less so critically. 'The Last Airbender' in 2010 represented more big budget family oriented action fantasy adventure fare at a cost of US$150M - it returned US$320M but was panned by the critics and picked up five Razzie Awards.

2013 brough 'After Earth' with Will and Jaden Smith and Zoe Kravitz based on a story by Will Smith, and written for the screen, Produced and Directed by Shyamalan. It returned US$244M from a budget cost of US$130M but it too was slated by the critics. This was followed up in 2015 by the found footage horror film 'The Visit' that Shyamalan wrote, Co-Produced and Directed out of his own US$5M to fund the film. It retuned a tidy US$99M based on that meagre investment and was hailed positively by the critics stating that Shyamalan had returned to form - lets's hope so!

Next up and due in January 2017 is 'Split' - a psychological horror thriller with James McAvoy that again is Written, Produced and Directed by Shyamalan. In the meantime he has had various television network productions on the go or in the pipeline including 'Proof' for Syfy, 'Lost Horizon' for NBC and 'Wayward Pines' which has just finished its second season with Matt Dillon in the lead role for Fox. There was also 'Devil' a 2010 film which he wrote and Produced, and the new television series of 'Tales from the Crypt' recently announced for 2017 which he is writing and Directing for. Next up is 'Labour of Love' just announced for a 2018 release and starring Bruce Willis.

All up Shyamalan has seventeen Writer credits to his name, fourteen as Producer and fourteen as Director with nine cameo appearances in his own films. He has twelve award wins and 36 other nominations including two Academy Award nods for Direction and Writing on 'The Sixth Sense', one Golden Globe and two BAFTA's for the same film.  He has been married to Bhavna Vaswani since 1993 whom he met while studying at New York University, and with whom he has three daughters. He set up his own Production Company with Ashwin Rajan - 'Blinding Edge Pictures' which has produced all his films since 'Unbreakable' in 2000.


M.Night Shyamalan - the lord of the plot twist ending that often we never see coming; still commanding our attention largely because of his more notable early cutting edge body of work; always place ordinary everyday people in extraordinary circumstances; Writes, Produces, Directs and often cameo's in his own films; and is a big fan of Spielberg and Hitchcock and you can see their touchstones in much of his work. Despite the very mixed views about his career and film making choices, his films have grossed US$2,85B from a combined US$800M budget - so that's not such a bad statistic, and this humble Blog Writer remains a fan! Happy Birthday to you Manoj - from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

JUNKIE HEAVEN : Wednesday 27th July 2016

I was invited to view the 18 minute short film 'JUNKIE HEAVEN' some time ago by Writer Lee Kolinsky, and it is only now, and after a repeat viewing, that I finally put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to record my Review for you here. Released a year ago now by Steve Sage Productions and Directed by Steve Sage Goldberg and Written by the aforementioned Lee Kolinsky, this short film has been around the festival traps and has had some success on the awards circuit, picking up five wins and four other nominations so far. Part drama, part Sci-Fi, part horror but all drug addled heroin addicted damnation for the lead character Doyle Burkett (Joseph A. Halsey) who literally wakes up dead after a night of shooting up.

We learn early on that Doyle is an Iraq War veteran having served two tours of duty. He killed two guys in friendly fire and is no longer allowed to be around guns. He is suffering from PTSD and proclaims that 'stealing and scoring - it's an addiction, but it's mine'! He is prepared to do anything for his next fix, such is his condition having sunk to the depths of the food chain with no hope and nothing to live for. But, he finds solace in his drug of choice - heroin, which gives him a means of escape and numbs the pain of the here and now. He shoots up what proves to be a lethal dose of smack with a bloodied needle protruding from his arm. He wakes to find a man standing at the base of his bed - a well dressed well spoken man that might be the Angel of Mercy or the Grim Reaper - Alexander (Sal Rendino) - who states that he is here to make a deal and offer Doyle his 'only chance for peace in the afterlife', while Doyle looks down on the dead version of himself in his makeshift bed. Alexander can bring him back for just long enough to retrieve a mythical knife that may help turn the tide of an ancient war, and he is 'looking for someone with your set of skills'. But, the knife needs to be retrieved from some unsavoury underworld characters, led by one Tommy Combs (Chris Cardona), that might help make a difference to Doyle in the afterlife.

Having agreed to take up the offer as Doyle puts it 'you become my tour guide to Heaven, or I can turn into cosmic dust and go to Hell', we follow Doyle on his mission to secure the knife and return it to Alexander. Along the way we meet Doyle's equally spaced out girlfriend Faz (Nicole Vogt-Lowell) who warns Doyle of the bad-shit given to them the day before, not yet realising that her boyfriend is lying dead on the bed and it's too late for words of wisdom. We move quickly to a boxing gym where Tommy and his cronies are playing poker in a back room. A shoot out ensues at the hands of Doyle proving that he is still handy with a pistol despite not having handled a weapon seemingly since being discharged from military service.

With Tommy's henchmen dead, we move to a boxing ring bout with Doyle dressed in his fatigues going hand to hand with Tommy, who clearly has the strength to overpower him. At stake is the knife in question, which when downed Doyle grabs and getting to his feet thrusts the knife into Tommy's stomach, at which point his mortal body vaporises. Tommy returns to his digs with the knife and is greeted by an expectant Alexander, and after some toing and froing about life and death and the choices Doyle made, the knife is handed over in exchange for Doyle second chance at life.

If you get the chance to search out this low budget, independent short film then you would be wise to do so. The production values are solid, the story engaging, and the performances particularly from Joseph A. Halsey as Doyle first rate. The depiction of drug addiction here is grounded in a realism rarely seen in the glamorised versions we see from mainstream Hollywood pictures, and Halsey's performance is gritty, grim, desperate, convincing and worthy of the wins he has garnered from the role. The film will leave you asking questions as to whether this is all played out in Doyle's drug induced state of mind, or is it real. You'll have to see for yourself, but to invest eighteen minutes of your time for a convincing thrill ride of story telling, performances and gritty realism is well worth it.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 28th July 2016.

Last week for a bit of fun I counted up to 30 using movie titles with numbers in their title from 'Zero Dark Thirty' to '30 Days of Night'. This week, continuing in that same vein I've listed those upto 100. This is just my view of the cinematic universe and there'll be those I've missed and plenty more too besides those I have given below. See what you think?

• '31 North 62 East' - 2009 - Directed by Tristan Loraine, starring John Rhys-Davies,
• 'Miracle on 34th Street' - 1947 - Directed by George Seaton, starring Maureen O'Hara,
• '35 Up' - 1991 - Directed by Michael Apted, starring Michael Apted,
• 'The 39 Steps' - 1935 - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Robert Donat,
• 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' - 2005 - Directed by Judd Apatow, starring Steve Carell,
• '42' - 2013 - Directed by Brian Helgeland, starring Harrison Ford,
• 'Movie 43' - 2013 - Directed by Peter Farrelly amongst others and starring a Who's Who of Hollywood's A-listers,
• '44 Inch Chest' - 2010 - Directed by Malcolm Venville, starring Ray Winstone,
• '47 Ronin' - 2013 - Directed by Carl Rinsch, starring Keanu Reeves,
• '48 Hours' - 1982 - Directed by Walter Hill, starring Eddie Murphy,
• 'Ladder 49' - 2004 - Directed by Jay Russell, starring John Travolta,
• '50 First Dates' - 2004 - Directed by Peter Segal, starring Adam Sandler,
• 'Planet 51' - 2009 - Directed by Jorge Blanco, starring Dwayne Johnson,
• '52 Pick-Up' - 1986 - Directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Roy Schneider,
• '54' - 1998 - Directed by Mark Christopher, starring Ryan Philippe,
• '55 Days at Peking' - 1963 - Directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Charlton Heston, 
• 'Passenger 57' - 1992 - Directed by Kevin Hooks, starring Wesley Snipes,
• 'Gone in 60 Seconds' - 2000 - Directed by Dominic Sena, starring Nicolas Cage,
• '61*' - 2001 - Directed by Billy Crystal, starring Barry Pepper,
• 'Roadhouse 66' - 1984 - Directed by John Mark Robinson, starring Willem Dafoe,
• ''71' - 2015 - Directed by Yann Demange, starring Jack O'Connell,
• 'Winchester '73' - 1950 - Directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart,
• 'Around the World in 80 Days' - 1956 - Directed by Michael Anderson, starring David Niven,
• '84 Charing Cross Road' - 1987 - Directed by David Jones, starring Anthony Hopkins,
• '88 Minutes' - 2008 - Directed by Jon Avnet, starring Al Pacino, 
• 'United 93' - 2006 - Directed by Paul Greengrass, starring Christian Clemenson,
• '99 Homes' - 2015 - Directed by Ramin Bahrani, starring Michael Shannon,
• '100 Rifles' - 1969 - Directed by Tom Gries, starring Raquel Welch.

All that said, and turning to more current affairs, there are four new films to grace our cinema screens in the week ahead kicking off with the fifth instalment in this popular action spy franchise that sees a return to form for this pairing of Actor and Director for a third outing, as this character comes in from the cold after an absence of ten years still seeking answers whilst thwarting enemies on both sides of the law. Then there is a down on his luck salesman trying to close the deal of his life in a far away country while licking his wounds resulting from a broken marriage, a lost home and family upheaval. Next up historical fact and fiction combine in this critically acclaimed foreign language film shot in the depths of the South American jungle as a tribal elder helps two scientists separated by thirty years, seek out a mythical plant. And then we wrap up with a tale of all things bread like with one added secret ingredient that helps boost sales and helps two opposites combine their talents on a micro scale with an underlying macro message.

Remember, that when you have sat through your movie of choice in the week ahead, be sure to return to these humble pages and share your thoughts and observations on the movie you have just seen by leaving a note in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We would love to hear from you. Until then, enjoy your film, and get a taste for this weeks latest releases from my Previews as below.

'JASON BOURNE' (Rated M) - this action spy thriller series of films based on the books and the character created by Robert Ludlum first burst onto our screens in 2002 in 'The Bourne Identity' with Matt Damon playing the title character of a CIA assassin suffering extreme memory loss who chases across the world to uncover the secrets of his past and claim back his identity. The first film was Directed by Doug Liman, with the second and third instalments - 'The Bourne Supremacy' in 2004 and 'The Bourne Ultimatum' in 2007 both Directed by Paul Greengrass. In 2012 'The Bourne Legacy' was Directed by Tony Gilroy with Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross on the run as a result of Bourne's actions in 'Ultimatum', and although Damon declined to return as our titular hero, he does appear in archival photographs and dialogue as the storylines overlap. Those first four films were made for a combined US$370M and grossed worldwide US$1,222B and collectively were hailed as both critical and commercial successes. Now almost ten years after last playing the character, Matt Damon is back and reunited with Paul Greengrass in this further instalment - made for US$120M with the screenplay written by Greengrass and both Damon and Greengrass acting as Co-Producers on this film.

After ten years of laying low following the events at the conclusion of 'Ultimatum', CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to lure our man Jason Bourne out of self imposed exile and assigns Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) to track him down and bring him out of the shadows. Lee however, suspects that Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) - a former CIA Operative and ally of Bourne, is also searching for him. So begins another game of cat & mouse as the action ramps up and Bourne finds himself front & centre as he and Parsons get caught up in a sinister network leveraging terror and technology to build a global power base, whilst evading the CIA who have their own agenda for wanting to bring him in, and Bourne attempts to uncover further answers about his past and his family. Vincent Cassel also stars.

'A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING' (Rated M) - written for the screen and Directed by Tom Tyker and based on the 2012 book of the same name by Dave Eggers, this comedy drama film starring Tom Hanks in the lead role was released in the US on 22nd April having cost US$30M to make and so far it has realised a return of just US$4.7M, representing Tom Hank's lowest grossing film in which he has top billing for thirty years. Set in 2010, the film tells the story of Alan Clay (Tom Hanks) - a washed up, depressed, down at heel corporate salesman who lost his home and divorced his wife during the Global Financial Crisis. He travels to Saudi Arabia with the intention of selling a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi Government for a pending development in the King's Metropolis of Economy and Trade. As he goes about his business he is assisted by new acquaintances in the form of a beautiful doctor Zahra (Sarita Choudhury) and a smart arse cab driver Yousef (Alexander Black). Also starring Tom Skerritt and Ben Whishaw.

'EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT' (Rated M) - this film has been critically lauded the world over, and is the proud recipient of 24 Award wins and another twenty nominations including the Best Foreign Language Film nomination at this years Academy Awards, and the winner of the Arts Cinema Award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight. Filmed entirely in the Amazonia region of Colombia and Directed by Ciro Guerra, the films tells two stories separated by thirty years both centering upon an Amazonian Shamen, Karamakate (played by Nilbio Torres as the younger, and Antonio Bolivar as the older). He is the sole survivor of his tribe, and he accompanies two scientists - the German ethnologist and explorer Theodor Koch-Grunberg (1872-1924) played by Jan Bijvoet in 1909, and American biologist Richard Evans Schultes (1915-2001) played by Brionne Davis in 1940 as they each search for a rare and sacred plant - the Yakruna - said to possess healing and psychedelic properties. Mixing both fact and fiction in glorious monochrome with the backdrop of the Amazonian rainforest with the emergence of Colonialist enforcers and the ensuing destruction of tribal lands, culture, history, beliefs, people and nature on a scale that still continues, Guerra delivers a haunting, dramatic, revealing and thought provoking film on a multitude of levels - a must see.

'DOUGH' (Rated M) - Directed by John Goldschmidt this film tells the story of an ageing Jewish baker Nat Dayan (Jonathan Pryce) single handedly running his little bakery shop and finding it all a little too much as the strains and struggles of early mornings, heavy lifting & kneading and hot baking ovens begin to creep into his old age whilst trying to maintain a viable business. Persuaded, albeit reluctantly, to take on a young seemingly no-hope Muslim immigrant apprentice from Darfur Ayyash Habimana (Jerome Holder) things begin to take a turn for the better when the young lad drops cannabis into the dough mixture, and suddenly the bread shop is much in demand and its products sought after as demand outstrips supply. This is a film that explores the power of relationships, acceptance, tolerance and support for the little guy who overcomes adversity from the big guy - with a little help from some weed, luck and good fortune. Pauline Collins and Phil Davis also star.

Four films for mid-Winter that once again offer a mixed bag of new cinematic content for your movie going choice in the week ahead. Share your thoughts when you have done so, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GHOSTBUSTERS : Thursday 21st July 2016.

For nostalgic reasons I saw 'GHOSTBUSTERS' last week having been undecided about viewing this all female reboot given the mixed publicity it has so far received. The original 'Ghostbusters' film was released in 1984 and was Directed and Produced by Ivan Reitman, Written by Dan Aykroyd who also starred as Ray Stanz, and starred Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler and Bill Murray as Peter Venkman - making up the threesome of parapsychologists, ghost hunters and spectre busters. That film was made for US$30M and returned US$295M and was also a critical success having been nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Ray Parker Jnr's. signature tune as Best Original Song. Based on this success 'Ghostbusters II' was released in 1989 with the same cast reprising their roles for US$37M and returning US$215M. During its time there were also two animated television series, a number of video game releases, a comic book adaptation, merchandise, and the film has seen several cinematic re-releases in more recent years. And now, in 2016, we have a reboot for a whole new audience, but this time with a budget of US$144M, and Paul Feig in the Directors chair and Co-Scripting, with Ivan Reitman Co-Producing, with both Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd appearing in cameo roles. So far the film has made US$123M.

Here we have an all female cast of ghost hunters and catchers continuing the work laid out by Stanz, Venkman and Spengler 30 years ago, although you wouldn't know it, and still in Noo Yawk City. This time, paranormal researcher Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and physicist Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) are largely unsuccessful and uncared about authors who believe that ghosts are real and are among us in everyday society having written a book about it years earlier. Fast track a few years and Gilbert lands her dream job at Columbia University, and Yates continues here work at a Technical College ably assisted by whacky & other worldly engineer Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon). When her book resurfaces unexpectedly Gilbert tries to deny all knowledge and distances herself from that earlier now frowned upon publication. She searches out her estranged friend and co-author Yates to halt further sales and publicity of the book for fear that it might cost her the hard earned job at Columbia, and her reputation.

When their meeting doesn't quite go according to plan the three girls are called out unexpectedly to a sighting of a ghost at New York's longest standing still intact inside and outside historical homestead that is believed to be haunted but never confirmed . . . until now that is! When the presence of a real life nether worldly spectre is confirmed and it's none to friendly, the video footage evidence is posted to social media but is quickly debunked as a fake. Gilbert's belief in the paranormal is however, reignited, but it costs her the position at Columbia that she had fought and studied so hard for. When Yates and Holtzmann seek additional funding for their research now that they have concrete evidence, the rug is also pulled from under them, and they find themselves out on the street too. With their new found proof and belief in life hereafter, the three team up and open 'The Department of Metaphysical Examination' above a Chinese Restaurant.

They newly formed team settle in and Holtzmann sets about quickly upgrading their ghost hunting equipment. At the same time they advertise for an office administrator and receptionist. The only applicant is Kevin Beckman (Chris Hemsworth) - a dim-witted, clueless but handsome and well meaning type that immediately catches the eye of Gilbert, and within a heartbeat he is hired. Shorty afterwards the office receives a call of a ghostly presence in the subway. Going to investigate they meet up with New York 's finest long standing and long suffering MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) Attendant Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) who takes them into the subway at the location of the sighting, and sure enough - there they encounter, but fail to capture, another ghost. However, they have captured more photographic evidence and tested out Holtzmann's latest proton containment laser device, but again their evidence is dismissed as fake by one world authority on such matters Martin Heiss (Bill Murray).

The team carry on unabated and none too worried about their lack of concrete evidence or the naysayers who dismiss their findings. Holtzmann continues to develop more sophisticated ghost hunting and containment gizmo's, and the team, now joined by Tolan because of her historic and geographical knowledge of NYC, is able to borrow a hearse from an Uncle, which the team have customised to suit their needs and call it 'Ecto-1'. By now the media are referring to the team as the 'Ghostbusters' as their presence on the streets becomes more frequent and there are increasing reports of other worldly spectres and poltergeists running amok.

What the team don't know yet is that one lowly hotel janitor, Rowan North (Neil Casey) has been dabbling in the occult for sometime and using Gilbert & Yates book as a source of reference to bring about a cataclysmic apocalypse that will see the dead rise up and bring an end to the world as we know it. He plants a devise at a heavy metal rock concert (watch out for the Ozzy Osbourne cameo) to summons an evil ghost to show the world what he is capable of, and set the scene for the start of his apocalypse. As the concert gets underway the evil spirit is released, the Ghostbusters are called in and using their latest developed ghost containment technology, they capture their first ghost - in front of hundreds of concert goers.

The Ghostbusters are then quickly escorted off to see Mayor Bradley (Andy Garcia) who thanks them for their support & assistance and advises that Homeland Security were well aware of New York's ghost problem, but must debunk their work and brand them as fraudsters to avoid panic in the streets, whilst in private supporting their efforts. The team come to realise that North is has been planting various ghost release devises along New York's ley lines which come to intersect at The Mercado Hotel in Times Square which has historical significance as a place riddled with paranormal activity. It is here that North works as a janitor, and in the basement he has built a portal to the other side, and at the flick of a switch the ghosts and evil spirits will cross over into our dimension. Cornered in the basement by the Ghostbusters North electrocutes himself to avoid capture, but this is part of his cunning plan to return as an all powerful ghost to rule over those he has released. Before doing so though his spirit first possesses Yates then Beckman who flicks the switch in the basement so releasing those ghosts and ghoulish entities upon an unsuspecting New York City.

With the Ghostbusters mobilised once again and armed to the teeth with more hurriedly assembled technologically advanced ghost busting weaponry, the team of four gals go head to head with all manner of evil spirits intent on trashing the city, as they seek to get to the portal and close it. Meanwhile, North has manifested himself into a giant evil form of the Ghostbusters logo, and begins trampling all over the city and tearing at its tower blocks and skyscrapers whilst commanding a legion to thwart the ghost busting girls. Needless to say four tooled up girls is enough to overcome hundreds of evil malevolent larger than life ghosts, ghouls and spectres on any day, and of course they do, so allowing them to reach the portal and drive Ecto-1 with its roof mounted nuclear reactor into the portal so creating a total protonic reversal and returning everything back to normality and the ghosts, ghouls, phantoms and spectres back to their own nether worldly dimension.

Having saved the city from near certain doom, Mayor Bradley secretly agrees to fund without question and without limitation their continued research, whilst publicly denouncing them as fraudsters. The Ghostbusters relocate to a much larger premises in a disused fire station, and in a closing scene the team congregate on the roof top of their new premises to see the city light up with messages of thanks and gratitude from the people of the New York. Wait for the closing credits sequences to see the set up for a possible sequel and another cameo, from Sigourney Weaver joining Dan Aykroyd who appears as a cab driver and proclaims "I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!"

Judging by the mixed reviews this film has received I went in with fairly low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. That said, the film presents exactly what you would expect from this reboot for an audience probably unfamiliar with the original films. There is little new here, except the advances in movie making technology and FX that allow for bigger, bolder, better ghost busting and ghost capturing effects than we saw thirty years ago. There are a few laugh out loud moments in the film, but these are few and far between, and the banter between Yates and Gilbert began to grate on me after several of their one on one interchanges that just weren't funny. Hemsworth's Beckman does well enough with some dim-witted gags at his own expense, but seems to be just added eye-candy to balance out the four female leads. The focus is very much on Yates and Gilbert with Tolan and Beckman left wandering around the periphery with brief moments of action and dialogue, and Holtzmann basically quickly whipping up weapons of ghost mass destruction with little other purpose to serve - wasted talent here I think too! Worth a look on the big screen, but equally you can see it on your big screen at home and wait for the DVD/BluRay release.

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 24th - 30th July 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Rose Byrne does on 24th July - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 37, 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 24th July

• Jennifer Lopez - Born 1969, turns 47 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress | Producer
• Rose Byrne - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress
• Anna Paquin - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actress | Producer
• Lynda Carter - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actress | Singer
• Gus Van Sant - Born 1952, turns 64 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor
• Doug Liman - Born 1965, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer  

Monday 25th July

• Matt LeBlanc - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• D.B.Woodside - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor  

Tuesday 26th July

• Kevin Spacey - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Jeremy Piven - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
• Jason Statham - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer
• Helen Mirren - Born 1945, turns 71 - Actress | Director
• Sandra Bullock - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Olivia Williams - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actress
• Kate Beckinsale - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress  

Wednesday 27th July

• Julian McMahon - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Producer  

Thursday 28th July

• Randall Wallace - Born 1949, turns 67 - Writer | Director | Producer  

Friday 29th July

• Stephen Dorff - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actor | Producer
• David Warner - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actor  

Saturday 30th July

• Peter Bogdanovich - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer
• Arnold Schwarzenegger - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Producer
• Jean Reno - Born 1948, turns 68 - Actor
• Frank Stallone - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Richard Linklater - Born 1960, turns 56 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Laurence Fishburn - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Terry Crews - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor
• Simon Baker - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Christopher Nolan - Born 1970, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer
• Lisa Kudrow - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Vivica A. Fox - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress | Producer
•  Hilary Swank - Born 1974, turns 42 - Actress | Producer | Singer

Mary Rose Byrne was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Australia to mother Jane - a primary school administrator and father Robin, a semi-retired market researcher and statistician. She is the youngest of four - with an older brother George (born in 1976), and two sisters, Alice (born in 1973) and Lucy (born in 1972). She attended Balmain Public School, and then Hunters Hill High School - a public co-educational secondary day school. From the age of eight she took a keen interest in acting and joined the Sydney based Australian Theatre for Young People (whose noted alumni include Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Rebel Wilson and Baz Luhrmann), and from there the University of Sydney. In 1999, she studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre Company in Manhattan founded in 1985 by David Mamet and William H. Macy.

Her first film role came at just thirteen years of age, cast in the Australian film 'Dallas Doll' with Sandra Bernhard and released in 1994. Over the next few years she appeared in single episodes of several Australian television drama series including 'Echo Point', 'Fallen Angels', 'Wildside', 'Big Sky' and 'Heartbreak High'. Her next big screen role came with Gregor Jordan's 'Two Hands' in 1999 with a young Heath Ledger and Bryan Brown and Susie Porter.

From here the new decade launched with the award winning comedy drama 'My Mother Frank' with Sam Neill, and 'The Goddess of 1967' which won Byrne a Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival for her role as BG - a blind girl on an outback Aussie road trip with a Japanese IT worker and occasional computer hacker. Next up was here role as Dorme - a handmaiden to senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) in 'Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones' in 2002. After this came 'City of Ghosts' with Matt Dillon who also wrote and Directed, 'I Capture the Castle' with Bill Nighy, 'The Night We Called it a Day' with Dennis Hopper, 'The Rage in Placid Lake' with Ben Lee, 'Take Away' with Vince Colosimo, and the Wolfgang Petersen Trojan War epic 'Troy' with Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom.

In 2006 Byrne was cast by Sofia Coppola in the historical drama 'Marie Antoinette' with Kirsten Dunst and then 'Sunshine' for Danny Boyle, and post apocalyptic zombie horror '28 Weeks Later' with Jeremy Renner, Idris Elba and Robert Carlyle. 'Just Buried' with Jay Baruchel, 'The Tender Hook' with Hugo Weaving', 'Knowing' with Nicolas Cage, and 'Adam' with Hugh Dancy saw out the decade. In the meantime there were further television series appearances on 'Murder Call', 'Casanova', and the full five seasons over 59 episodes on US legal thriller series 'Damages' with Glenn Close which ran from 2007 until 2012.

2010 saw 'Get Him to The Greek' with Russell Brand, followed by the James Wan supernatural horror 'Insidious', as Renai Lembert - a role she would reprise in 2013 in 'Insidious : Chapter 2'. The first film returned US$97M from its US$1.5M budget outlay, and the second US$162M from US$5M. Byrne did not return for the prequel released in 2015. Turning from horror to comedy , next up was Paul Feig's 'Bridesmaids' in 2011 with Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson, and Melissa McCarthy before her first outing as geneticist Moira MacTaggert in 'X-Men : First Class', and again in this years 'X-Men : Apocalypse'.

'The Place Beyond the Pines' with Ryan Gosling came next in 2012 and the British comedy 'I Give It a Year' with Rafe Spall, and then 'The Internship' with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. 2014 kicked off with 'Bad Neighbours' starring alongside Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, and her role as Kelly Radner she would reprise in 'Bad Neighbours 2 : Sorority Rising' earlier this year. Also that year was 'Adult Beginners', 'This Is Where I Leave You', the third cinematic offering of 'Annie' and documentary 'Unity' in which Byrne is one of one hundred Actors providing the narrative exploring humanity's transformation shown across five segments - 'Cosmic', 'Mind', 'Body, 'Heart' and 'Soul'.

'Spy' came next with Melissa McCarthy again, and then 'The Meddler' opposite Susan Sarandon earlier this year. Next up is the made for television movie 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' and 'Home Again' both in pre-production, and 'Larrikins' due in 2018 and currently filming, to which Byrne brings her voice talents together with this of Margot Robbie, Naomi Watts, Jacki Weaver, Hugh Jackman and Ben Mendelsohn in this Australian animated feature Co-Directed by Tim Minchin.

All up Byrne has 56 acting credits, and she has so far accumulated twelve award wins and another 24 nominations. She was the face of Max Factor from 2004 until 2009, became the face of Australia's Oroton in 2014, has made numerous 'Most Beautiful People' lists over the years, is a supporter of UNICEF Australia and is an ambassador of Sydney's NIDA Young Actors Studio. She was in a six year relationship with Brendan Cowell that ended in early 2010, and in 2012 she began dating Bobby Cannavale with whom she has a child Rocco Robin born in February this year.

Rose Byrne - highly valued, much in demand and widely sought after; able to turn it on for drama, comedy, horror, Sci-Fi, period piece and thrillers and definitely not one to be pigeon holed or type cast; regards Australia as her emotional home, New York her second home but also owns a place in London with her sister; and despite failing at an 1988 audition for 'Home and Away' has done pretty well for herself. Good on ya Rose, and Happy Birthday to you - from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online- 

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st July 2016.

Here's a bit of fun to get you thinking and while away a few minutes. I was thinking about movies with a number in the title and how far I could count before reaching a stumbling block. I've just included one for each digit, but of course there are many more, and reading through my list you'll be able to add many of your own I'm sure. I made it up to thirty but must confess I struggled with 18 and 26 and had to refer to Professor Google.

• 'Zero Dark Thirty' - 2013 - Kathryn Bigelow Directs, Jessica Chastain stars,
• 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' - 1976 - Milos Forman Directs, Jack Nicholson stars,
• 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' - 1998 - Guy Ritchie Directs, Jason Statham stars,
• 'Three Kings' - 1999 - David O. Russell Directs, George Clooney stars,
• 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' - 1994 - Mike Newell Directs, Hugh Grant stars,
• 'Five Easy Pieces' - 1970 - Bob Rafelson Directs, Jack Nicholson stars,
• 'Six Degrees of Separation' - 1993 - Fred Schepisi Directs, Will Smith stars,
• 'The Magnificent Seven' - 1960 - John Sturges Directs, Yul Brynner stars,
• 'The Hateful Eight' - 2015 - Quentin Tarantino Directs, Kurt Russell stars,
• 'District 9' - 2009 - Neill Blomkamp Directs, Sharlto Copley stars,
• 'Ten Little Indians' - 1965 - George Pollock Directs, Shirley Eaton stars,
• 'Ocean's Eleven' - 1960 - Lewis Milestone Directs, Frank Sinatra stars,
• '12 Monkeys' - 1996 - Terry Gilliam Directs, Brad Pitt stars,
• 'Assault on Precinct 13' - 1976 - John Carpenter Directs, Austin Stoker stars,
• '11:14' - 2003 - Greg Marcks Directs, Patrick Swayze stars,
• 'Fifteen Minutes' - 2001 - John Herzfeld Directs, Robert De Niro stars,
• 'Sixteen Candles' - 1984 - John Hughes Directs, Molly Ringwald stars,
• '17 Again' - 2009 - Burr Steers Directs, Zac Efron stars,
• '18 Again' - 1988 - Paul Flaherty Directs, George Burns stars,
• 'K-19 : The Widowmaker' - 2002 - Kathryn Bigelow Directs, Harrison Ford stars,
• 'Halloween H20' - 1998 - Steve Miner Directs, Jamie Lee Curtis stars,
• '21 Grams' - 2003 - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Directs, Sean Penn stars,
• 'Catch 22' - 1970 - Mike Nichols Directs, Alan Arkin stars,
• 'The Number 23' - 2007 - Joel Schumacher Directs, Jim Carrey stars,
• '24 Hour Party People' - 2002 - Michael Winterbottom Directs, Steve Coogan stars,
• '25th Hour' - 2002 - Spike Lee Directs, Edward Norton stars,
• 'Special 26' - 2013 - Neeraj Pandey Directs, Anupam Khur stars,
• '27 Dresses' - 2008 - Anne Fletcher Directs, Katherine Heigl stars,
• '28 Days Later' - 2002 - Danny Boyle Directs, Cillian Murphy stars,
• 'Track 29' - 1988 - Nicolas Roeg Directs, Gary Oldman stars,
• '30 Days of Night' - 2007 - David Slade Directs, Josh Hartnett stars.

For the week ahead there are four new features to give you another gold plated excuse to get out to your local Odeon, that stretch across all genres - except for the younger kids perhaps. We kick off with an intergalactic film franchise going boldly now on its thirteenth voyage to the big screen and celebrating 50 years since it ventured onto our small screens but still much anticipated and eagerly awaited since being successfully rebooted seven years ago. Then a horror offering that will make you think twice about switching off the lights at night as things go more than 'bump'; with a Jane Austen adaptation that is likely to be quite different to any other costume drama of that period you have seen (other than 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' perhaps); before wrapping up with a faithful true to the source material animated DC Comics adaptation that sees the Dark Knight of Gotham and the Clown Prince of Crime go head to head - but who will have the last laugh?

As always, you are cordially invited to leave your own thoughts and opinions in the Comments section below this or any other Post, when you have sat through your movie of choice in the week ahead. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'STAR TREK : BEYOND' (Rated M) - 'Star Trek' as we know it had its humble beginnings as an NBC television series back in 1966, which ran for just three seasons - having been cancelled in 1969 because of declining ratings. Series creator Gene Roddenberry always wanted to continue the series in film first pitching the idea in 1969, but it would be another ten years before the small screen series made it to the big screen - largely off the back of syndicated series re-runs during the 70's which proved to be a whole lot more popular second time around. Released in time for Christmas 1979, the first film 'Star Trek : The Motion Picture' reunited the television cast for US$35M, returning a worldwide gross of US$139M. Throughout the 80's there were a further five films up until 1991with 'The Next Generations' taking over in 1994 and running though until 2002, culminating with 'Nemesis' - the worst performing film of the franchise to date making just US$67M from its US$60M outlay. Then in 2009 Director J.J.Abrams got hold of the franchise for an overdue and much needed reboot with 'Star Trek' and followed this up in 2013 with 'Star Trek : Into Darkness' - the latter proving the most successful of the franchise so far yielding a return of US$467M from its US$185M budget. The first twelve films were made for a combined US$540M and returned a collective US$1,931B, with this film, the thirteenth, made for US$150M and released in the 50th anniversary year of that original television series going to air.

And so to this next instalment. Co-Written by Simon Pegg - a self confessed Trekkie and Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise, Scottie, and Directed by Justin Lin who Directed the 'Fast & Furious films 3, 4, 5 and 6' to huge Box Office success, with J.J.Abrams taking a Producer credit on this one. Here the rebooted crew are reunited once again as we find them mid-way through their five year journey to go boldly where no man has gone before, en route to dock with the deep-space starbase 'Yorktown' when the Enterprise is attacked by a seemingly unstoppable force of unknown aliens that results in Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) ordering all to abandon ship. Stranded on an unknown planet, separated and with no means of communication or getting home, the crew of the Enterprise find themselves pitted against a new and ruthless enemy in the form of Krall (Idris Elba) who has an axe to grind against The Federation and Kirk and his crew, and will stop at nothing to realise his ultimate dastardly plan. Also starring Zachary Quinto (as Spock), Karl Urban (as McCoy), Zoe Saldana (as Uhura), John Choo (as Sulu), Anton Yelchin (as Chekov) and new alien being Sofia Boutella (as Taylah). 'Star Trek 4' has just been announced, with expectations the crew will return together with Chris Hemsworth as Captain Kirk's father, George Kirk.

'LIGHTS OUT' (Rated M) - this supernatural horror film was made for a paltry US$5M by Director David Sandberg based on his own original three minute short film that went viral on the net, and Co-Produced by horror maestro James Wan (his Directed 'The Conjuring 2' is still out on general release). Telling the story of Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) who leaves home believing her childhood fears are now a thing of the past, having grown up never quite sure of what lurked in the dark when the lights were turned off at night. Now, several years later her younger brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) has begun to experience similar terrifying events and unexplained fears that put her own safety and sanity at risk once again as when she was growing up. Looking to uncover what goes bump in the night (and worse), Rebecca begins to unlock the truth about a mysterious and terrifying supernatural entity that has connections to her mother Sophie (Maria Bello) that ultimately puts the entire family in danger.

'LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP' (Rated PG) - based on the 1871 published epistolary novel by Jane Austen, 'Lady Susan' as Directed, Co-Produced and adapted for the Screen by Whit Stillman, this film had its Australian Premier as the closing night film at the Sydney Film Festival on 19th June. The film premiered at Sundance in January this year, was released Stateside in mid-May and has so far made US$13M off its US$3M budget outlay. Telling the story set in the 1790's here widow Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale playing against type as an upper-crust devilishly scheming seductive and manipulating anti-heroine) is trying to marry off her less than favoured daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clarke) to wealthy no-hoper Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett), and also finding herself a well to do with means suitor in the form of Reginald DeCourcy (Xavier Samuel), whilst harbouring affections for the dashing but married Lord Manwaring (Lochlann O'Mearain). Enlisting the support and sage advice of her close American friend Alicia Johnson (Chloe Savigny) this gets complicated as the love triangle plays out between mother and daughter and numerous male hangers-on. Stephen Fry also stars.

'BATMAN : THE KILLING JOKE' - (Rated MA15+) - goes on very limited theatrical release only before being released in digital and DVD/BluRay formats at the end of July/early August, this 95 minute full length animated feature film is released by Warner Bros. and based on the DC comics graphic novel of the same name. Having escaped Arkham Asylum The Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) tracks down Commissioner Gordon (voiced by Ray Wise) and tortures him having shot his daughter Barbara (voiced by Tara Strong) in order to prove a point about his own fall into insanity. As Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) attempts to get to the bottom of the Jokers past before the Clown Prince of Crime puts an end to one of Gotham's finest, the two adversaries and arch rivals will go head to head before the Joker can prove that just one bad day can turn anyone as insane as he is! Directed by Bruce Timm and Sam Liu. Worth hunting out on the big screen while you can.

Four films this week offering Sci-Fi escapism, supernatural horror, animated comic book Superhero and Villain, and period piece costume drama - so what's not to like about this weeks assortment of movie goodness? Get yourself to your local picture house and lash out $20 on some riveting big screen entertainment - you know it makes sense! See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-