THE DEATH OF STALIN : Tuesday 24th April 2018.

'THE DEATH OF STALIN' which I finally got around to viewing this week is a highly acclaimed political satire Directed by the Scottish satirist, Writer, Producer and Director Armando Iannucci based on the French graphic novel 'La mort de Staline' by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin. Starring an ensemble cast, the film was shown at TIFF back in early September last year, went on release in the UK in late October, the US in early March, and here in Australia at the end of March. The film has taken US$16M at the Box Office to date, and has picked up eleven award wins and eighteen nominations including two BAFTA nods, and has been banned in Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan . . . . can't think why!

It is 1953 and the film starts off with a Mozart piano recital by Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko) which is broadcast live over Russian Radio from Moscow. Mid way through the recital Comrade Andreyev (Paddy Considine) who is overseeing the live broadcast of the concert, receives a phone call from a mystery speaker asking him to call Joseph Stalin in seventeen minutes, exactly. Unable to contain himself, partly out of fear and partly out of excitement, seventeen minutes clicks over and the numbers are dialled. Stalin asks for a recording of the concert just as it ends, which will be picked up later that evening from the studio. Needless to say the broadcast was not recorded, so in a mad panic Andreyev orders the gathered and and already rapidly departing guests to be reseated, while he reassembles the accompanying orchestra and Maria Yudina. But many of the audience have already left the building, the Conductor has passed out, and Maria wants nothing of it. So Andreyev brings in passersby off the street to replicate the acoustics, hurriedly replaces the Conductor with another of some repute, and bribes the disgruntled lead pianist, and restarts the whole shebang for the purposes of a single recording for one man . . . but of course, Stalin is no ordinary man!

As the recording is handed over, Maria Yudina slips a hand written note in the sleeve of the record telling Stalin he has ruined the country, that he is a Dictator and that she wishes him dead. As Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) reads it in his country residence, he is stricken and collapses from a cerebral hemorrhage. He is discovered the next day, laying where he fell and the members of the Central Committee are alerted. The first to arrive are NKVD (the interior ministry for the Soviet Union) head Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale), who discovers Yudina's note, and Deputy General Secretary Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor). As Malenkov panics given that he is now elevated to Acting General Secretary, Beria guides him to take leadership, hoping to use him as a puppet for his own ends. Then the Moscow Party Leader Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) arrives with the rest of the Committee, except for Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (Michael Palin) whom Stalin had added to his hit list only the night before.

The Committee together call upon a number of Doctors to confirm whether Stalin is in fact dead, and if so, the cause of death. However, because Stalin had all the top class Doctors in Moscow killed, the Committee is forced to seek out any third rate Doctors they could find that were still alive. In the meantime Beria shuts down Moscow, orders the NKVD to take over the city's security duties from the Soviet Army, and replaces Stalin's enemy hit list with his own, granting Molotov a reprieve in the process. With Stalin on his death bed overseen by the Committee, the Doctors and Stalin's composed daughter Svetlana (Andrea Riseborough), and mentally unstable son Vasily (Rupert Friend), the ailing Dictator comes around momentarily, before finally popping his clogs. At which point the Committee members with Svetlana and Vasily, hurry back to Moscow as the NKVD pillage through Stalin's country residence, ransack the place and execute its staff and any onlookers.

Later Khrushchev goes to Molotov's home and attempts to secure his support, only to be visited by Beria at the same time seeking Molotov's loyalty by releasing his wife Polina from prison. Malenkov is in due course named Head of Government although his strings are being pulled by a controlling Beria. At the inaugural Committee Meeting in the wake of Stalin's death, Beria sidelines Khrushchev by suggesting he should take charge of Stalin's funeral much to Khrushchev's disdain but he is over-ruled by a unanimous vote (all votes are carried unanimously BTW, again largely out of fear for the possible repercussions of disagreeing). Beria also puts forward many of the liberal reforms which Khrushchev had planned to introduce, as his own ideas winning him further support from the Committee.

While Stalin's body lies in state for three days in the Hall of Columns, Beria's proposals swing into action including the release of many political prisoners, and the restrictions imposed on the Russian Orthodox Church - both of which earn Beria further support from the masses. Meanwhile, Field Marshall Georgy Zhukov (Jason Isaacs) arrives on the scene demanding answers as to why his Soviet Army troops have been sidelined, relieved of their duties and confined to barracks. Khrushchev then quietly approaches Zhukov, who agrees overwhelmingly to provide the Army's support in a coup to overthrow Beria, but only if the whole Committee concurs.

To undermine Beria's growing popularity, Khrushchev orders the trains back into Moscow so enabling thousands of mourners to travel into the city and to pay their last respects to their former leader by filing past his open casket, around which the Committee stand guard of honour. As he planned, the NKVD guards surrounding the Hall firing on the crowd, killing some fifteen hundred innocents. 

The Committee suggests laying the blame at lower ranking NKVD officers as Beria feels that blame associated with his security services will tarnish his reputation. In retaliation, he angrily threatens the Committee with incriminating documented evidence he has on them all. Molotov is the next to fall in line offering his secret support to overthrow Beria, but again, only if the entire Committee agree to it, including Malenkov. 

The day of Stalin's funeral arrives. Khrushchev tells the Committee and Zhukov that he has Malenkov's support, although at this point this is not true. Zhukov and his men overwhelm the NKVD guarding Beria and arrest him. Khrushchev convinces Malenkov into signing the papers for Beria's trial, which he does reluctantly calling that Beria deserves a fair trial. The entire Politburo find Beria guilty of treason, sexual assault, mass murder and countless rapes in a trumped up on the spot court that descends into a screaming match as Beria accuses the Politburo of hypocrisy. Beria is shot dead in the head by one of Zhukov's men, and petrol is immediately poured over the body and it is ignited where he fell. The ashes are later scattered in the wind. 

In the closing scene and some years later when Khrushchev is now the Leader of the Soviet Union (from 1958 until 1964) he is in attendance with his wife at a concert given by the pianist Maria Yudina, while future leader Leonid Brezhnev (who later succeeds him) watches over his shoulder.

There is no doubt that Iannucci has crafted a fine example of dark historical political satire at its most comically absurd and ludicrous. He has assembled a great cast too that pull off their characters dialogue and actions without missing a beat, and all delivered without a single Russian accent in sight (hearing Stalin speak with an east London accent, or Zhukov with a Merseyside accent only adds to the incongruous comedic effect). The jockeying for position by those within Stalin's inner circle immediately following his death, is both farcical and revealing in the depths that those power hungry schemesters will sink to in order to get ahead, and to stay alive, with Beria being the worst of a bad bunch and rotten to the core. Whilst this is a dark satire, it is based loosely on the political machinations of the totalitarian state at the time where paranoia, fear, famine, poverty, labour camps and widespread executions were the status quo. Naturally, these are hardly topics that would inspire mirth and merriment, but maybe that is Iannucci's end game here - to poke fun at a regime that is a blot on the historical political landscape and for some, still within living memory. And this he does, save for the final ten minutes when the comedy falls away to a more serious tone and the main protagonist gets his comeuppance in no uncertain terms. Worth a look for sure to see a fine assembled cast playing it straight, keeping it grounded and making it believable with farcical and at times frightening consequences.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th April 2018.

In the week ahead we have the 19th film in Marvel's Cinematic Universe, with the arrival of the first instalment in a two parter, that concludes in May 2019. The first eighteen films in this Superhero shared universe launched ten years ago in 2008, when Robert Downey Jnr. burst onto our screens as Tony Stark, aka 'Iron Man'. Currently there are a further fourteen films all at various stages of development going through to the mid-2020's, and this is hardly surprising given that the first eighteen films have raked in a grand total Box Office haul of US$14.83B off combined Budgets of US$3.3B. The headliners contributing to this world beating film franchise are 'The Avengers' (2012) grossing US$1.52B and ranking #5 of all time highest ranking films; 'Avengers : Age of Ultron' (2015) brought home US$1.40B standing at #7; released earlier this year, 'Black Panther' (2018) currently stands at US$1.31B and occupies the #10 spot; and 'Captain America : Civil War' (2016) took US$1.15B and stands at #16. In the meantime, there have been three standalone 'Iron Man' features, three of 'Thor', three of 'Captain America', three for 'The Avengers' including that which is released this week; two for 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and one so far for each of 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Doctor Strange', 'Ant-Man', 'Spider-Man' and 'Black Panther'.

And what does the future hold for the MCU and its ardent followers the world over? Hot on the heels of this years recently released 'Black Panther' and the upcoming 'Avengers : Infinity War', in 2018 we still have yet to come 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' due for release in July as Directed by Peyton Reed; in March 2019 there is 'Captain Marvel' Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Then in May 2019 is the follow up and as yet untitled follow up to 'Avengers : Infinity War'; and in July 2019 sees the return of 'Spider-Man' in an also untitled sequel to 'Homecoming' Directed by John Watts, and 2020 sees 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3' Directed once more by James Gunn. Two other untitled films are due also in 2020, with three films slated for 2021 and 2022 also. Let's also not forget the upcoming release of 'Deadpool 2' in May this year too, which although not part of the MCU, is a Marvel creation nonetheless and fits more into the 'X-Men' series.

This week with five new release movies coming to an Odeon near you. There is the eagerly awaited Superhero extravaganza, the third instalment in this story line and the 19th film in this particular universe, and its gonna be massive as our ever expanding group of superheroes must band together to overcome the super badass of all time from trashing Earth and possible half the known universe. We then go to an ultra low budget psychological horror film shot on a iPhone by an alleged retired Director, and starring The Queen no less (well perhaps not quite!) This is followed up by a tale of three Vietnam Vets who reunite after thirty years to bury a soldier son killed in Iraq, and the road trip of reacquaintance, rediscovery and retelling of old war stories that accompanies their journey. Then we move to a Russian foreign language offering of a parents very bitter divorce and their twelve year old son caught in the middle; before closing out with a Doco about a highly acclaimed Australian indigenous singer and musician who on the cusp of global fame died just three days after this film was in the can.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here warmly invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and meanwhile, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'AVENGERS : INFINITY WAR' (Rated M) - and so finally after much hype, eager anticipation, and huge expectations comes the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the sequel to 2013 'The Avengers' which grossed US$1.52B off the back of a US$200M Budget outlay, and 2015's 'Avengers : Age Of Ultron' which grossed US$1.4B off a Budget of US$267M. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo who also Directed 'Captain America : Winter Soldier', and 'Captain America : Civil War', as well as the post-credits sequence that rounded out 'Ant-Man' and featuring a huge A-List ensemble cast, the like of which has quite possibly never before been seen on the big screen to such an extent. The Russo Brothers are also Directing the as yet unnamed sequel to this film which is due for release in early May 2019 and which was shot back to back over a twelve month period from January 2017 through January 2018. The film cost somewhere northward of US$300M to make and is one of the most expensive films ever made, and Marvel's most costly to date.

Here all The Avengers we have come to know, love and respect from the previous two instalments and their own stand alone films, plus a few ring-ins must unite two years following the events of 'Captain America : Civil War', to thwart their most powerful enemy yet, the evil Thanos (Josh Brolin). Arriving on Earth on a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to bend reality at his will. He is an intergalactic despot from Titan who wants to rebalance the universe using the Infinity Stones after his home planet was destroyed because he believes the universe is becoming overpopulated, and wants to ensure that such an occurrence never happens again. The fate of our little blue planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything The Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment. Starring, and forgive me if I miss some off the list, Robert Downey Jnr. as Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Paul Bettany as Vision, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, Benicio del Toro as The Collector, the collective known as The Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana) and also featuring the likes of Elizabeth Olsen, Karen Gillan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Danai Gurira, Cobie Smulders, Angela Bassett, Jon Favreau, Letitia Wright, Terry Notary and of course Stan Lee. It's gonna be big!

'UNSANE' (Rated MA15+) - here we have an American psychological horror film shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus by that 'retired' Director, Editor and Cinematographer Steven Soderbergh, and released through his own Production Company too. Clearly being very budget minded, this film cost a mere US$1.5M to make, has so far grossed US$12M since its World Premier screening at the Berlin International Film Festival in late February and its US release in late March, and has garnered generally positive press. Here Claire Foy plays Sawyer Valentini (in a role about as far removed from her award winning turn as HRH QEII in 'The Crown' as you can possibly imagine) who relocates from Boston to Pennsylvania to escape from the man who's been stalking her for the past two years, David Strine (Joshua Leonard). While engaging with a victims support group, she consults with a therapist, resulting in Valentini unwittingly signing herself up for a voluntary 24-hour commitment to the Highland Creek Behavioural Centre. Her stay at the facility soon gets extended to a week when doctors and nurses begin to question her sanity. It soon dawns on Valentini that one of the staffers is her stalker and she'll need to resort to whatever means necessary to stay alive and fight her way out. Also starring Juno Temple, Matt Damon and Amy Irving.

'THE LAST FLAG FLYING' (Rated M) - this American comedy drama film is Directed by Richard Linklater and Co-Written for the screen by him too in conjunction with Darryl Ponicsan, who wrote the 2005 novel of the same name upon which the film is based, which in turn is described as an unofficial sequel to his earlier 1970 work 'The Last Detail' which was adapted into a film in 1973 starring Jack Nicholson. The film here surrounds Vietnam War vets, the recently widowed Larry 'Doc' Shepherd (Steve Carell), Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and the Rev. Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburn) who reunite thirty years after serving together during that War, but this time for a very different type of mission: to bury Doc's son, a young Marine killed in Iraq. Deciding to bypass a military burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Doc and his old buddies take the casket on a bittersweet trip up the coast to New Hampshire. Along the way, the three men find themselves reminiscing about their previous wartime exploits and adventures, whilst coming to terms with the shared memories of a war that continues to shape their lives. The film was released in the US in early November, has so far taken just US$1.5M at the Box Office and has met with generally positive Reviews.

'LOVELESS' (Rated MA15+) - is a Russian language film Directed and Co-Written for the screen by Andrey Zvyagintsev (whose previous credits include 2014's 'Leviathan'). This film was entered in to official competition at the May 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it took out the Jury Prize, and it was also nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at this years 90th Academy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe and BAFTA nods in the same category. The film was released in Russia in mid-2017, has since taken US$4.5M at the Box Office, has garnered seventeen award wins and a further thirty nominations from around the festival circuit and has received much Critical acclaim. The story here is about a missing twelve year old lad Alyosha (Matvey Novikov) and his parents, father Boris (Aleksey Rozin) and mother Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) who are going through a bitter divorce, in which young Alyosha is caught up in front and centre. Feeling unloved, unheard, unhappy and unwanted by either side, Alyosha carries an enormous weight upon his shoulders. So much so that his constantly fighting parents don't even register his disappearance until 48 hours after the fact. Both parents have moved on with their lives and are with different partners, but the young boys disappearance forces them back together as they struggle to come to terms with his missing, and whether he is alive, dead or simply on the run and rebelling against them.

'GURRUMUL' (Rated PG) - Directed and Written by Paul Williams this Bio-Pic of celebrated Australian Aboriginal artist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was one of the most important and acclaimed voices to ever come out of Australia as well a being a talented musician and multi-instrumentalist playing the drums, guitar, keyboard and didgeridoo. Blind from birth, he found purpose and meaning through songs and music inspired by his community and country on Elcho Island in far North East Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory. Living a traditional Yolngu life, his breakthrough album ‘Gurrumul’ released in 2008 and going triple platinum on the ARIA Charts brought him to a crossroads as audiences and artists around the world began to embrace his music. This is a portrait of an artist on the brink of global reverence, and the struggles he and those closest to him faced in balancing that which mattered most to him and keeping the show on the road. Gurrumul approved the final version of this film just three days before his death from liver and kidney disease on 25th July 2017.

With five new release films out this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ISLE OF DOGS : Tuesday 17th April 2018.

'ISLE OF DOGS' which I saw earlier in the week is a film by Wes Anderson who has been Directing, Producing, Writing and at times Acting in films since 1996 when he launched himself onto the movie making world with 'Bottle Rocket'. Since then there has been 'Rushmore', 'The Royal Tenenbaums', 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou', 'The Darjeeling Limited', 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', 'Moonrise Kingdom', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and now 'Isle of Dogs' on which he Directs, Co-Produces, wrote the Screenplay and came up with the original storyline in tandem with Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. The film was in competition at the recent 68th Berlin International Film Festival where it was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director, before going on limited release in the US in late March before its much wider release last week, and here in Australia too. The film has been universally acclaimed for its stop motion animation, storyline and deadpan humour. It has so far taken US$30M at the Box Office.

Starring an ensemble cast of voice talent, the film here centres on a dystopian near-future Japan, in which a 'dog flu', 'snout fever' and 'canine saturation' virus spreads throughout the dog population. When, by executive decree, handed down by the ruthless Mayor of Megasaki City, Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura), all dogs are exiled to a vast rubbish tip located just off the Japanese mainland called Trash Island. This public announcement comes despite Professor Watanabe (Akira Ito) indicating to the gathered crowd that he is close to finding a cure for the pandemic spreading through the dog population.

The first dog to be banished to Trash Island, is Spots (voiced by Liev Schreiber) the household pet and watchdog of Kobayashi, who belonged to Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin) - the twelve year old orphaned nephew and ward of the Mayor.

Some six months later on, and young Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop aeroplane and flies across the narrow stretch of sea in search of Spots. After a crash landing, in which Atari is injured but not critically so, he is rescued by a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Duke (Jeff Goldblum), Boss (Bill Murray) and Chief (Bryan Cranston). The pack of dogs decide to help Atari locate Spots, although Chief is reluctant to help the human boy, because he is a stray and has had bad experiences with humans earlier in the life when he was a household pet.

At the start of their journey they come across a cage in which they believe the skeleton of a dog contained therein is Spots. With the cage door still firmly locked shut there would have been no means of escape, and a broken name tag with the letters 'SPO' cements their opinion that the poor dog must have perished. However, they learn a short time afterwards that there was a mix up and the skeletal animal in the cage was 'SPORT' and not Spots, indicating that he may still be alive on the island somewhere.

Following a stand-off with a rescue team sent to retrieve Atari form the island, and some practical advice from a purebred show dog named Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson), Chief has a change of mind and decides to accompany Atari on his quest to locate his dog. En route they come across two wise dogs - Oracle (Tilda Swinton) and Jupiter (F. Murray Abraham) who point the pack to a remote part of the island where a cannibal tribe of dogs gather.

In the meantime, Professor Watanabe has found a cure, but is poisoned by Kobayashi to keep the cat loving Mayor from having to return the dogs from Trash Island in order that they can integrate back into society. American female foreign exchange student Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) suspects that something is not quite right in Dodge City and suspects a conspiracy behind Watanabe's death, and tries to call it out. She confronts a distraught Assistant Scientist to Watanabe, Yoko Ono (Yoko Ono) who confirms Tracy's suspicions and hands over the last remaining bottle of the cure.

Along the way to locate Spots, Atari and Chief are separated from the rest of the pack. Resting up, Atari decides to give Chief a much needed bath having noticed that he is of the same breed as his beloved Spots. In so doing Chief's coat returns to its natural white and black flecked colours rather than the filthy black that he had become. Later they catch up with the remaining pack but are set upon by an ambush of Kobayashi's men again. Spots arrives with a small army of dogs and helps fend off the attackers. In flashback we learn that Spots was rescued by the so called cannibal tribe of dogs and over the following months became the leader of the pack. Spots also advises that Chief is in fact his brother, and they are now almost identical. Spots asks Atari to transfer his guard dog responsibilities over to Chief, to which the pair agree.

Atari and his new found canine friends learn by way of an owl, that Kobayashi intends to exterminate all dogs on Trash Island as a ploy to win support in the upcoming elections. Atari and many of the pack decide to head back to Megasaki City to prevent this from happening. At the election ceremony as Kobayashi is about to give the order to exterminate, Tracy Walker steps up with an impassioned speech and announces that a cure has been found, and that their is hard evidence of corruption in Kobayashi's ranks. At this point Atari and his dog pack arrive confirming that the cure serum works.

Kobayashi sees the error of his ways but his henchman Major Domo (Akira Takayama) has different views and plans to proceed with the extermination. A fight breaks out between Atari, his dogs and the perpetrators resulting in the big red 'Execute' button being depressed. A hacker friend of Tracy's has however, intervened, and reversed the poison gas injection back on the dogs captors so allowing the Trash Island dogs to escape death and go free.

During the fight however, Atari and Spots are badly injured. So much so that Atari's only remaining kidney fails. Out of guilt Kobayashi agrees to donate one of his kidney's to save the life of his young nephew (with the operation scene shown from above probably being a world first stop motion kidney transplant from one patient directly to another!) With Kobayashi serving time in a Japanese jail cell, by law the mantle of Mayor falls to Atari who quickly decrees that all dogs be allowed to reintegrate with society and their former owners. Tracy and Atari become close friends, and Chief teams up with Nutmeg and assumes the position of guard dog for Atari. Spots recovers from his injuries, and raises his puppies somewhere peaceful and quiet hidden away within the grounds of the Kobayashi household.

The quality and level of detail in the stop motion animation is what really stands out in this film, together with the impressive voice cast who really inhibit their canine (and human) characters and bring them to life. The storyline is essentially Spots recovery over a seemingly post-apocalyptic garbage filled wasteland interspersed with moments of legend and dog character back story; clashes between canines and humans involving cotton wool clouds of dust from which periodically emerge paws, snouts and clenched fists and wayward legs; and moments of deadpan humour which won't make you laugh out loud but rather chuckle under your breath. In a way this is a sad film about the way mankind treats his 'best friend' but its also relevant for today's political landscape with fake news, dictatorships, deportation and social and cultural divide. All that said, the beauty here is in the scrappy, dirty, flea ridden dogs scavenging around the garbage heap (that upon closer inspection reveals hidden gems) seeing out their final days offered a last chance at redemption at the hands of a twelve year old lad. On the less favourable side Anderson takes liberties with his somewhat skewed view of Japan; and having the humans all speak the native Japanese (save for Tracy Walker) with subtitles when it suits, detracts from the story arc; there are a few holes in the plot along the way too and in places the film really failed to hold my attention. It's worth seeing, but you can easily wait for the BluRay, digital download or the PayTV screening. Also starring the voice talents of Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Ken Watanabe, Fisher Stevens, Roman Coppola, Anjelica Huston and Courtney B. Vance.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th April 2018.

The 'South By Southwest' Festival (aka 'SXSW') is a yearly amalgamation of film, interactive media, music festivals and conferences that takes place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, USA every year since its inaugural event in 1987. It has continued to grow in both scope and size year on year ever since. The SXSW Film Festival runs for nine days, concurrently with the SXSW Film Conference, and celebrates raw innovation and emerging talent both behind and in front of the camera. The SXSW Film Conference spans five days of conference panels and sessions, and welcomes filmmakers of all levels. The programme comprises keynote speakers, workshops, mentor sessions, panels and more with expert filmmakers and industry leaders taking part. This year, guest speakers included U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders; entrepreneur Elon Musk; Actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger; Mayor of London Sadiq Khan; and film Producers/Directors Barry Jenkins, Darren Aronofsky and Steven Spielberg amongst a host of others.

This year countless films saw their World Premier across various categories. Included were :
* Narrative Feature Competition : featuring ten World Premiers and ten unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. These were 'Family', 'First Match', 'Jinn', 'The New Romantic', 'SADIE', 'Shotgun', 'Summer '03', 'Thunder Road', 'The Unicorn' and 'Write When You Get Work'.
* Documentary Feature Competition : featuring ten World Premiers and ten real world stories that demonstrate innovation, energy and bold voices. These were 'Chi-Town', 'Garry Winograd : All Things are Photographable', 'The Gospel of Eureka', '!Las Sandinistas!', 'People's Republic of Desire', 'Social Animals', 'This One's For The Ladies', 'TransMilitary', 'Weed The People' and 'The World Before Your Feet'.
* Headliners : big names, big talent featuring four World Premiers. These were 'A Quiet Place', 'Blockers', 'Boundaries', 'PARADOX', 'Final Portrait' and 'Isle of Dogs'.
 * Narrative Spotlight : high profile narrative features and twenty films of which sixteen received their World Premier screening. These were '6 Balloons', 'All Square', 'A Bluebird In My Heart', 'The Breaker Upperers', 'Brother's Nest', 'Fast Colour', 'First Light', 'Galveston', 'The Legacy of a Whitehall Deer Hunter', 'Most Likely To Murder', 'Support The Girls', 'Unlovable', 'A Vigilante', 'Wild Nights With Emily', 'WILDLING' and 'You Can Choose Your Family'.
* Visions : these filmmakers are audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema environment who demonstrate raw innovation and creativity in documentary and narrative filmmaking. Fifteen films showcased with thirteen receiving their World Premier viewing. These were '1985', 'Don't Leave Home', 'Elizabeth Harvest', 'Friday's Child', 'Meow Wolf : Origin Story', 'More Human Than Human', 'Perfect', 'Pet Names', 'Prospect', 'Relaxer', 'Thy Kingdom Come', 'Wild Honey Pie!' and 'Wobble Palace'.
* Midnighters : scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features with ten films showcased of which six saw their World Premier. These were 'Blood Fest', 'Untitled Blumhouse-Bazelevs' thriller, 'Field Guide to Evil', 'The Ranger', 'Upgrade' and 'What Keeps You Alive'.
* 24 Beats Per Second : Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music & musicians, with an emphasis on documentary. Twelve films of which seven were World Premiers. These were 'Being Frank : The Chris Sievey Story', 'Elvis Presley The Searcher', 'Heavy Trip', 'If I Leave Here Tomorrow : A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd', 'Rapture', 'Ruben Blades Is Not My Name' and 'A Tuba to Cuba'.

Other categories included Global : a diverse selection of international filmmaking talent, featuring innovative narratives, artful documentaries, premieres and festival favourites; Narrative Shorts : showcasing a selection of original, well-crafted films that take advantage of the short form and exemplify distinctive and genuine storytelling; Documentary Shorts : described as slices of life from across the documentary spectrum; Animated Shorts : being an assortment of stories using traditional animation, computer-generated effects, stop-motion, and everything in-between; Midnight Shorts : billed as morsel-sized bits for all of your sex, gore, and hilarity cravings. And more besides too!

This week we launch with the big screen treatment of a bestselling novel about a book written about the exploits of a group of locals on a British Channel Island during the German occupation of WWII. This is followed up by comedy offering of an average everywoman who as a result of a knock on the head comes around with a new found confidence and the rigid belief that she is the next great Supermodel. Next up is a comedy sequel seventeen years in the making about a hapless bunch of State Troopers assigned to stand guard and protect a disputed border between the USA and Canada; before wrapping up with a animated feature about a teenage vampire, his mate, their families and overcoming a perilous foe intent on destroying them all.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here warmly invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and meanwhile, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY' (Rated M) - this British historical drama offering set just after the end of WWII is based on the 2008 New York Times Bestselling book of the same name by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and is Directed by Mike Newell (whose previous film credits include 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', 'Donnie Brasco'. 'Pushing Tin', 'Mona Lisa Smile', 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', 'Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time' and 'Great Expectations' amongst others. The film has been in gestation for eight years with various Directors and lead Actresses linked to the project including Kenneth Branagh and Kate Winslet respectively.

Beginning in London, 1946, and Juliet Ashton (Lily James), is a charismatic and free-spirited writer who receives a letter from a member of a mysterious book club started in the Nazi-occupied Channel Island of Guernsey. Exchanging letters with the local residents on the island, ultimately her curiosity is piqued, so that Juliet decides to visit the island to find out more. There she meets the delightfully eccentric members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, including Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman), the rugged and intriguing farmer who wrote her the initial letter. As the secrets from their wartime occupation unfold, Juliet's growing connection to the island, the book club and her affection for Dawsey will change the course of her life forever. Also starring Matthew Goode, Tom Courteney, Penelope Wilton, Katherine Parkinson, Glen Powell and Jessica Brown Findlay. The film is released in the UK this week too.

'I FEEL PRETTY' (Rated M) - here we have an American comedy film Written and Directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein and starring Amy Schemer as Renee Barrett, an ordinary woman who struggles on a daily basis with feelings of insecurity, low self esteem and inadequacy that prevents her from moving forward with her life. Taking a bad fall during an exercise class, she later wakes up believing she is suddenly the most beautiful supermodel and capable woman in the world. With this new found confidence, she becomes empowered to live her life without fear, flawlessly and infinitely positively, but, what will happen when she realises her appearance never changed? Also starring Michelle Williams, Rory Scovel, Aidy Bryant, Busy Philipps, Tom Hooper, Lauren Hutton and Naomi Campbell, and the film goes on general release in the US this week too.

'SUPER TROOPERS 2' (Rated MA15+) - in 2001 the pre-cursor to this film was released 'Super Troopers' which on a budget of US$1.2M grossed US$23M garnered it generally mixed or average Reviews at best. But not to be put off, and seventeen years later we have this sequel Written by the same team who brought us the first gripping instalment, and involving the same Director who also stars (Jay Chandrasekhar), as do the Writers who masquerade under the collective title of 'Broken Lizard' (being an American comedy troupe consisting of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske). The film sees five wacky, unorthodox and unconventional State Troopers having to establish a new Highway Patrol Station in the disputed area between the USA and Canada when an international argument erupts between the two nations over the borderline separating the two countries. And so its up to Troopers Mac (Lemme), Thorny (Chandrasekhar), Foster (Soter), Rabbit (Stolhanske) and Farva (Heffernan) to save the day, maintain the peace and restore relations - hilarity will doubtless ensue! Also starring Brian Cox, Lynda Carter and Rob Lowe.

'THE LITTLE VAMPIRE' (Rated PG) - this animated children's vampire story is Directed by Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich and based on the stories created by German Writer Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. Here the story surrounds Rudolph (voiced by Rasmus Hardiker), a young teenage vampire, whose family is threatened with extermination by a notorious and cruel vampire hunter named Rookery (Jim Carter). As luck and good fortune would have it, he meets Tony (Amy Saville), a mortal of the same age, who has a fascination for old castles, graveyards and vampires. Rudolph brings his new friend Tony along on his adventure, which takes the two boys to Transylvania, so bringing their two families together, and helping them overcome their prejudices towards each other. En route, they face numerous dangerous challenges, and both vampires and humans must show courage and ingenuity in the face of adversity. Also starring the voices of Tim Pigott-Smith and Miriam Margolyes.

With four new release films out this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

A QUIET PLACE : Tuesday 10th April 2018.

'A QUIET PLACE' which I saw this week, is an American modern horror film Co-Written, Directed and starring John Krasinski that has already received much critical acclaim since its Premier at the annual South by Southwest Festival held in Austin, Texas on 9th March, before its US, UK and Australian release last week. Krasinski, perhaps best known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC hit sitcom 'The Office' is no stranger to the world of film and television acting having amassed so far 46 acting credits, as well as eleven Producer credits and four as Director and four as Screenwriter picking up six award wins and another 24 nominations along the way. Here he stars with his real life wife Emily Blunt, in this film that cost US$17M to make and has so far grossed US$89M.

The premise of the film is quite simple. A family of four living in a post-apocalyptic upstate New York community scavenge for essential supplies in a deserted town. It is 2020, and the opening credits tell us it is about the tenth week since the apocalypse hit and the worlds population was nearly wiped out - but by what exactly we don't yet know, except for a newspaper headline blowing in the wind on a newsstand proclaiming 'It's sound!'

Mum Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt), Dad Lee Abbott (John Krasinski), deaf teenage daughter Regan (the actually deaf Millicent Simmonds) who communicates with her family via American Sign Language, son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and their youngest lad Beau (Cade Woodward) snoop around the empty ransacked remains of a general store seeking supplies, all the while remaining deathly quiet, not whispering a sound and walking around on barefoot. Young Beau takes a fancy to a model of the Space Shuttle, but father Lee takes it from him motioning that its sounds will be too loud. Lee removes the toys batteries and leaves them and the Space Shuttle model on the counter top, and they leave to go home while it's still daylight.

Regan returns the toy to Beau who secrets it away under his coat and brings up the rear of the family unit, but before doing so, grabs the batteries too. On the walk home, crossing a bridge, young Beau inserts the batteries and turns on the toy. It springs to life with flashing lights and sounds that instantly attracts an alien creature approaching at lightning speed. In an instant Beau is gone, dead, while the other four family members look on in horror.

We next fast forward to day 472, and the family of four has settled into a routine of silence on their  farmstead. By now we have learned that the Abbott's must fight for their survival without making a sound for fear of being attacked, killed and possibly eaten by lightning fast blind spidery like extra terrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. Being blind, the only way these creatures can survive, is to locate their prey by sound. The family has learned to communicate by necessity with their deaf daughter Regan by way of American Sign Language which possibly accounts for their survival when their friends and neighbours have all perished. Evelyn is also heavily pregnant and expecting the birth of their next child within a matter of weeks.

Lee takes his son, Marcus on a fishing trip. His son is very reluctant to go for fear of the creatures, and Regan pleads to go instead, But it is Marcus' turn to go, and go he must, leaving Regan to stay at home and look after her expectant Mum, while Marcus learns the skills of survival to help safeguard his future. Feeling rejected, Regan goes off in a huff to visit Beau's memorial cross where he fell prey to the creature at the entry to the bridge the year before. She remains there until nightfall. Meanwhile father Lee explains to his son, that the sounds of the rushing river will drown out any sounds that the pair make, and therefore they are safe from attack. Having caught their fish, they walk back through the woods and come to an abandoned house.

In the grounds they confront an old man standing over his limp lifeless and recently torn body of his wife. The old man is emotional, and Lee motions to him to control himself and remain silent, but he cannot and he screams out loud so attracting a creature which charges and kills him. Lee picks up his son and runs for cover behind a tree. Marcus is visibly upset by the scene and the sounds of the attack and is restrained by his father. When the coast is clear, they continue with their journey home.

In the meantime, Evelyn is home alone not noticing Regan's absence. She goes about her business hanging out the washing, and visiting their former home on the farm, for they now live in a converted barn a short distance away that is more suitable for their needs. Inside the house she sits in the bedroom of her youngest son, weeps and dozes off. Coming round, it is approaching the early evening. Walking down the stairs, her waters break with the onset of labour. Walking down the stairs to the basement, which is Lee's surrogate control and communications centre, she steps barefoot on a protruding nail, that she snagged inadvertently earlier in the day. She screams out in pain, drops a glass picture frame and attempts to conceal her screams, but to no avail. One of the creatures has heard the commotion, and comes charging toward the house.

Evelyn switches the external lights from white to red to alert Lee and Marcus of danger at the farm, all the while struggling to control her contractions and the agony of her foot injury. Arriving at the farm house and seeing the red lights Lee instructs a visibly frightened Marcus to go and create a diversion using already primed fireworks, while Lee runs off to locate his wife.

Evelyn has taken refuge in a bath tub upstairs desperately trying to conceal her cries of alarm and from the pain of her increasingly frequent contractions. A creature makes its way upstairs sensing she is close by, only to then be diverted by the sound of the explosive fireworks outside. Lee finds Evelyn cowering in the shower cubicle swaddling their newborn son. He carries mother and baby to the soundproof basement that he constructed specifically for the baby, lays the baby to sleep in a soundproof box, and tends to his wife's wounds and settled her down to sleep.

Regan returns to the farm having also been alerted by the fireworks in the distance. She locates Marcus and they both take refuge on top of a grain silo, lighting a fire to draw their father's attention, but it quickly goes out. Regan grows inpatient and refuses to wait around for her Dad, while Marcus pleads with her to stay. Pacing around the roof top of the silo, a hatch door gives way causing Marcus to fall in, and he quickly begins to sink beneath the grain deposits. Regan jumps in to rescue her young brother and they both cling to the fallen hatch door to avoid being pulled under the grain again. The noise from this has drawn a creature to the silo which bursts its way in through the side wall and attacks them. By now the children are cowering under the upturned hatch door to afford themselves some protection. Earlier in the day Lee had given Regan a repaired cochlear implant with the hope of restoring her hearing to some degree, which had failed to work as planned (again!). In proximity to the creature, Regan's makeshift repaired implant emits a very high frequency and ear piercing sound that quickly wards off the creature, so allowing the children time to escape the silo and reunite with their father.

The creature returns and Lee stands his ground, so allowing the children to take refuge in a pick up truck. He attacks the creature with an axe, but is tossed away like a rag doll. The creature diverts its attention to the pick up truck and its human contents. Lee rises to his feet, signals his message of love for his daughter and son in sign language and then yells out loud so drawing the creature away from the children and sacrificing himself in the process. The children make it back to the farmhouse and their mother.

The creature returns to the farmhouse in search for its prey. Reagan is down in the basement with the rest of the family, amidst her fathers security monitors, radio broadcast equipment, her fathers notes, newspaper clippings and his equipment for repairing her cochlear implants. The creature makes its way down the stairs to where the family is hiding in absolute silence. It dawns on Regan from her previous experience in the silo, that the power of the boosted feedback from her implant fed through a microphone would ward off the creature. She ramps up the amp, turns up the microphone and places her implant to the mic sending the creature into a painful frenzy from which it collapses in a heap on the floor before them. The creature however, rises again, and so Regan repeats the process so further disorienting the creature long enough for Evelyn to blast it with a shotgun to the head, killing it dead. The images on the security monitors show two other creatures approaching at speed towards the farmhouse, but this time Evelyn and Regan know what to do!

The Sound Production guys must have had a field day coming up with creative ways to convey silence on this film, and they have succeeded on just about every level in a film almost entirely devoid of dialogue, save for about a dozen lines of conversation. This film is easily up there with the recent 'Get Out' and 'Don't Breathe' and here Krasinski has proved himself a master of Direction, Screenwriting and Acting in this tense, taught, tightly woven suspenseful frightener that delivers an original story matched with strong, grounded and believable performances, pitched against  a convincing creature feature that would easily match the 'Alien' in any bar brawl. This is a must see film for many reasons and you won't be disappointed - its a simple story of local survival amidst an global wipeout, told convincingly and intelligently, with characters you can relate to, enough scares to keep you on the edge of your seat, and to prompt further thought after the credits have rolled.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-