THE EQUALIZER 2 : Tuesday 24th July 2018.

'THE EQUALIZER 2' (aka 'EQ2') which I saw at my local multiplex earlier this week, is the follow up to the 2014 Antoine Fuqua Directed first big screen adaptation of the popular '80's TV series 'The Equalizer' with Denzel Washington portraying the one man vigilante army out of retirement, Robert McCall (played by Edward Woodward in the television series of the same name). That film cost US$73M to make and grossed US$193M at the global Box Office, and even before its release this sequel had already been announced. This film marks the fourth big screen collaboration between Fuqua and Washington with the first being 2001's 'Training Day', the second being the aforementioned film in this series, the third 'The Magnificent Seven' remake from 2016 and now 'EQ2'. This film cost US$62M and so far raked in US$51M following its release in the US last week too. Having so far garnered generally mixed or average Reviews, Critics have praised Washington's performance and the gritty and well choreographed action scenes, but have largely dismissed the storyline and plot development.

The film opens up with Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) masquerading as an American Turkish cleric aboard a train about an hour and a half outside Istanbul. As the train traverses the mountainous countryside McCall follows a man through to the dining car, having left his wife and child sleeping in their seat. Ordering a pot of hot water from the attendant the man sparks up a conversation with McCall asking him if he is American and how he comes to be on the train. McCall responds with a statement that he is searching for a man, a violent angry man, who has abducted his young daughter from the United States and has against her will, and that of her mother, taken her back to Turkey. Would he know of anyone who would do such a thing? Of course, this is a hypothetical question because that man, is the very same man that McCall is talking to. The man returns to his seat and orders his three goons to dispense with McCall, but naturally, it is the other way around, and within thirty seconds the three goons are dead, and McCall offers the man a choice.

Within a couple of days, McCall has returned the young girl to her elated mother back in Massachusetts, where McCall is living in an apartment complex and working as a 'Lyft' driver picking up both random and regular passengers and transporting them to and fro. When he's not driving for a living, McCall comes to the rescue of those less fortunate or in need of some special skills. Only his old friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) who works for the Defence Intelligence Agency, is aware of McCall's extra curricular exploits and helps him out with intelligence gathering when she can. One day, Susan is called upon to investigate an apparent murder suicide of one of her undercover operatives in Brussels, Belgium. She is accompanied by Dave York (Pedro Pascal), a former college of McCall's, to review the scene of the crime, collect what evidence they can, and return quickly. After their investigations have concluded, they return to their hotel before their departure early the next morning. Plummer is followed into her room by two young backpacker goons who attack her. She puts up a good fight, but is ultimately killed by the assailants.

Meanwhile back home, and McCall befriends a young lad who is a gifted painter and sketcher, but has fallen in with the wrong crowd. The kid, Miles Whittaker (Ashton Sanders) is also living in the same apartment block as McCall, and one day returns home from school to find the vegetable garden lovingly tended to by another resident, Fatima (Sakina Jaffrey) has been vandalised and a garden mural overpainted with graffiti. McCall takes it upon himself to look out for Miles and keep him on the straight and narrow, offering him $250 to make good the mural and the vegetable garden.

Hearing about the death of Susan Plummer from her husband Brian (Bill Pullman), McCall reaches out to Dave York to join forces and go after whoever did this. However, York attended McCall's funeral seven years ago as did the rest of his group, and since then have all gone their separate ways while McCall changed his identity and went underground. York agrees to do whatever it takes out of their mutual respect and friendship for Susan.

Later on, McCall is driving one of his regular Lyft shifts and collects a dodgy looking passenger claiming to be en route to his six year old daughters birthday. While driving, his fare attempts to kill McCall but thanks to some evasive driving skills and his adept self defence capabilities, McCall overpowers the assailant, who has now made it into the passenger seat, shooting him through the head at very close range with his own gun. McCall dumps the body and torches the car but not before retrieving the dead mans mobile phone.

The next day, McCall drops in on the York family home under the pretext that he needs some assistance in cracking the military grade encrypted code within the assailants retrieved phone. However, McCall already suspects that York is caught up with the dead assailants plans by linking him to the retrieved mobile phone. McCall confronts York with what he believes to be the truth and that in fact it was York who finished off Plummer in Brussels having pieced together the video surveillance of the events leading up to her attack, and the fatal wound inflicted on her body, which could only have been administered by a professionally trained assassin. York comes clean and states that following McCall's staged death, all the others members of his team were disbanded and forced to take up paid contract work as assassins for hire. Plummer became a target because eventually she would have suspected that the attack in Brussels came from within her own ranks of former operatives which would invariably have led back to York, so she became a necessary loose end that needed to be tied up. And now with McCall hot on the trail he too has become a loose end.

Outside the York home, McCall is confronted by his former Team members - Resnik (Jonathan Scarfe), Ari (Kazy Tauginas) and Kovac (Garrett Golden) with York. Those team members say that they'll be coming after McCall, but McCall counters with the fact that he'll be coming after them and his one regret is that he'll only get to kill them each once! Later the next day, with the rains pouring down and a hurricane starting to whip up, York and Kovac break into McCall's apartment where Miles is redecorating the kitchen. Miles hears them approaching and hides behind a bookcase concealing a secret room while on the phone to McCall alerting him. McCall calls York while watching him remotely from the CCTV cameras set up in his home. He invites York to come get him - as he knows where he'll be. York and Kovac abandon their search having deduced where McCall is headed to, but not before capturing the now emerged Miles from his hiding hole.

As a hurricane gale force winds take hold, McCall returns to his seaside hometown, which has been evacuated. Kovac, Ari, and Resnik follow in search of McCall on foot and heavily armed, as York locates himself at the top of the town's watchtower assuming the sniper's position. As the storm whips up a frenzy with torrential rains pouring down, big gusts of wind and huge waves crashing on the shoreline, so McCall takes out Kovac, Ari and Resnik one by one in well executed and deadly efficient close quarter combat, all the while looked on by an increasingly agitated York. Enraged that McCall has gained the upper hand York shoots at the boot lid of his car, which is revealed to be concealing a bound and gagged Miles.

Gale force winds knock York off his feet and he is momentarily stunned and distracted, so allowing McCall to gain access to the roof top of the watchtower.  The two fight it out, but York is no match for McCall, who stabs his assailant and kicks him off the watchtower blooded and beaten. He crashes on to the rocks below and his corpse is quickly washed away by an incoming wave. McCall rescues Miles from the boot of the car and escorts him back to his house where he treats a gun shot wound to his leg.

Back home in Boston, Miles has returned to school and in concentrating on his artistic talents. The garden and the mural are now returned to their former glory, thanks to Miles, and as for McCall, he has returned to his former beachside home and is seen looking out across a calm and still ocean.

'EQ2' is a fairly pedestrian film that lacks the punch and pace of the first instalment. This is almost a stand alone Robert McCall origin story that traces back his roots as a former CIA Agent, mercenary and assassin - how he had to fake his own death seven years previously; the loss of his loving wife and the emotional scars that he still carries around with him; the burden of his former life and the number of lives he took in the line of duty; the death of the one person in the world he could call a true and trusted friend and ally; and the life he now chooses to lead, all alone and seemingly devoid of any other family members or close friends. All of this is going on, interweaved with McCall's particular brand of justice dispensed with his very own special set of skills; and long lingering shots of McCall deep in thought with pursed lips contemplating his next move or what he's going to say. The film plods along for the most part with the occasional action sequence to jar you awake. Whilst worthy and watchable as always Washington's portrayal of McCall as a likeable character who imparts his worldly wise sage advice upon his cornered criminal types before beating the living crap out of them, or worse, is sadly not enough to keep you fully invested. You can easily wait for the Bluray, digital download or streaming service to watch this from the comfort of your own home and save yourself the $20+ cost of cinema entry. 'John Wick 2' or 'Taken 2' this film ain't, although cut largely from the same cloth.

This film scores a rating of two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

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

'The Land of the Long White Cloud' (aka New Zealand) may be famed for Peter Jackson's epic productions of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies, as well as that world famous egg white and cream dessert Pavlova, and of course the sheer number of sheep that inhabit the countryside, but it also has a growing reputation for producing some genre bending, off the wall, quirky and often quietly unique comedy films. Taking a look back at the highlights of more recent years, here is my synopsis of my pick of the bunch :-
* 'The Breaker Upperers' - released 2018, and Previewed below.
* 'Pork Pie' - released in 2017, Directed and Written by Matt Murphy and starring Dean O'Gorman, James Rolleston and Ashleigh Cummings the film was generally well received although failed at the Box Office recouping just US$798K from its US$3.8M budget outlay. This film is a remake of the 1981 New Zealand film 'Goodbye Pork Pie' and tells the story of three accidental outlaws on the run who travel the length of New Zealand with the Police and the media in tow in a stolen orange coloured Mini Cooper.
* 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' - released 2016, Directed by Taika Waititi, and starred Julian Dennison and Sam Neill. Critically acclaimed and a firm favourite with moviegoers, the film tells the story of the mishaps and adventures of a fourteen year old lad and his foster father who become the subjects of a national man hunt after becoming lost in the New Zealand wilderness. The film picked up twenty award wins and another 25 nominations from around the circuit and took US$23M at the Box Office off the back of a US$2.5M budget investment.
* 'What We Do In The Shadows' - released 2014, Directed, Co-Produced, Co-Written and Starring Taika Waititi and Jermain Clement this was film was highly regarded by Critics and did well with audiences favouring vampire horror comedy. Here four centuries old Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead, whilst trying to navigate the mundane aspects of life in the 21st Century. The film collected 25 award wins and a further eighteen nominations from around the festival traps, and took US$7M from its US$1.6M production budget.
* 'Boy' - released 2010, Directed, Written and Starring Taika Waititi and James Rolleston. Critically lauded and a hit with audiences alike, the film broke all New Zealand Box Office records at the time of its release, and picked up thirteen award wins and another nine nominations and took US$9M at the Box Office. Set on New Zealand's east coast back in 1984, the film tells the story of an eleven year old boy who is a devout Michael Jackson fan, who gets the chance to reconnect with his absentee criminal father who has returned home to dig up a bag of ill gotten cash that he buried years ago. But, to the boys surprise his father is far from the hero and adventurer he imagined him to be.
* 'Black Sheep' - released in 2007, Directed and Written by Jonathan King, the film collected five award wins and five nominations and took US$5M at the Box Office. Sheep-averse Henry returns to his brother's New Zealand farm, hoping to be bought out for his share of the property. However, upon arrival what he discovers are genetically altered sheep that prey on humans and turn their victims into undead, woolly killers. Rampaging madness follows as Henry, a local animal-rights activist and a farmhand set out to stop the marauding flesh eating animals.

This week we have five latest release movie offerings to tease you out to you local Odeon, four of which are decidedly female driven. The first however, is a thriller set in the early 80's during the Lebanese Civil War that sees a former US Diplomat return to Beirut after ten years following the killing of his wife there. We then turn to a New Zealand comedy offering by a pair of likely girls who Direct, Write and Star in this film about a small but successful business they have established around breaking couples up - for better or for worse! Then we have a British drama comedy set in the '70's and '80's about one women's journey to establish herself as a stand up comedian doing the rounds of the tough and prejudiced Northern England Working Men's Clubs scene. And we wrap up with two bio-pics - the first of a highly acclaimed, widely successful and hugely popular songstress who died tragically back in 2012; and the second about a highly acclaimed and popular Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court that in all likelihood you've never heard of, but this is a compelling insight into the life, times and beliefs of this still practising 85 year old icon of the American legal system.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies 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 most welcome 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 in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'BEIRUT' (Rated MA15+) - this American espionage thriller offering received its Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year and was released Stateside in early April. Directed by Brad Anderson whose credits include numerous television series episodes and feature films including 'The Machinist', 'Transsiberian', 'The Call' and 'Stonehearst Asylum', and is Co-Produced and Written by Tony Gilroy of the 'Bourne' series fame amongst many notable other scripting credits including 'Rogue One', 'Michael Clayton', 'Duplicity' and 'State of Play'. The film has received generally favourable Reviews and has so far taken just US$7M at the Box Office.

Set in 1982, in Beirut, Mason Skiles (John Hamm) was a former U.S. diplomat to Lebanon who ten years previously was living in Beirut with his Lebanese wife, Nadia, who was killed in a gunfight during a party at their home. Fast forward to 1982 and Skiles has crawled inside a bottle and is working as an industrial relations arbitrator in New England. However, out of the blue, he is called back into service to save a colleague from the group that is possibly responsible for his own family's death. Meanwhile, a CIA field agent Sandy Crowder (Rosamund Pike) who is working under cover at the American embassy is tasked with keeping Skiles alive, and ensuring that the mission is a success.

'THE BREAKER UPPERERS' (Rated M) - this New Zealand comedy was Directed, Written and stars the pairing of Madeline Sami and Jackie van Beek who some fifteen years prior we find Mel (Madeleine Sami) and Jen (Jackie van Beek) coming to the realisation that they were being two-timed by the same man. Bitter and twisted they became instant friends and formed 'The Breaker Upperers', a small-time business breaking up couples for cash. Now in their late-thirties and business is going great guns. They're a platonic, codependent couple who keep their cynicism alive by not getting emotionally involved with anybody else. But when they run into an old victim, Mel develops a conscience and their friendship is well & truly tested. Also starring James Rolleston and Executive Produced by Taika Waititi, the film Premiered at SXSW back in March before its initial release in NZ in May and its more recent screening at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

'FUNNY COW' (Rated MA15+) - this English comedy drama film is Directed by Adrian Shergold and tells the story of a female comedian's rise to stardom by doing the hard yards of her stand up routine in the working mens club circuit across the north of England throughout the turbulent '70's and '80's when prejudice, sexism, racism and bigotry were rife. Told from the perspective of the unnamed Funny Cow (Maxine Peake) as we learn of her troubled childhood through to her rollercoaster adult relationships that have influenced and inspired her comedic routine as she struggles to pave her way in very much a mans world. Tony Pitts wrote the story and also stars as her violent soul mate Bob, Paddy Considine stars as her lover Angus, and Stephen Graham plays her father. Alun Armstrong, Vic Reeves and Kevin Rowland also star. The film Premiered at the London Film Festival in October last year, and has been described as both hilarious and heart-breaking all at the same time, and Peake's performance has come in for particular praise.

'WHITNEY' (Rated M) - this no holds barred documentary film is Directed and Written by Kevin Macdonald and charts the life of the legendary American singer Whitney Houston, who died so tragically at the age of 48 on February 11th 2012 from accidental drowning in the bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel brought about by heart disease and cocaine use. Whitney broke more music industry records than any other female singer in history, became the only artist to have seven consecutive U.S. number one singles and had over two hundred million album sales to her credit. Friends, family and colleagues talk about her lifestyle both in front of and behind the cameras, in a life marred with scandals, struggles and eventual tragedy. The film Premiered at Cannes this year, went on release in the US earlier this month, and has received generally positive Reviews. A poignant, emotional and compelling look inside the troubled life of a musical icon.

'RBG' (Rated PG) - this American documentary is Co-Directed and Co-Produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen and tells of the life and career of Supreme Court of the United States Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A career that has spanned many decades, and how Ginsberg developed a legal legacy while becoming prominent within pop culture for her lifelong battle against gender discrimination. The film presents a biographical depiction of the Supreme Court Justice from her birth in Brooklyn, New York in 1933 through her rise to the Supreme Court up to the present day in which she remains active at the age of 85. The film was released in the US in early May, has met with generally favourable Critical Reviews and has taken US$13M at the Box Office.

With five new release films out this week to tempt you 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-

SKYSCRAPER : Tuesday 17th July 2018.

'SKYSCRAPER' just has American action drama written all over it with none other than all conquering hero Dwayne Johnson as the hunk of beef cake set to save the world, or the skyscraper in question at least, from a bunch of gun toting, no good pesky terrorist types. Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Rawson Marshall Thurber whose previous Directing credits include 'DodgeBall : A True Underdog Story', 'We're the Millers', and 'Central Intelligence' also with Dwayne Johnson, the film went on general release in the US and Australia last week. Described by many a Critic, including this Blogger, as a fusion of 'Towering Inferno' from 1974 and 'Die Hard' from 1988, the film cost US$125M, has so far grossed US$74M and has received mixed Reviews, although Dwayne Johnson's performance has been largely praised. The film is released in the China market on 20th July.

The story here surrounds former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) who in the opening segment set ten years before, is engaging in a night time hostage situation with a crack team of Special Op's personnel. A father has taken his wife and children hostage and is holed up at home threatening to kill 'em all. In bursts Sawyer through the wall and we see the father with his back to us, holding his young son and sobbing. Sawyer lowers his weapon, because he can see that the father is unarmed, and asks the perpetrator to stand down. At which point, the father releases the child, turns around and is seen to be wearing an explosive vest with the detonator in his hand, which he releases, and . . . . kaboom! Next up, the badly injured Sawyer is being stretchered into hospital, with an attractive female surgeon looking on saying that everything's gonna be just fine!

We next meet Sawyer in the present day. He is an amputee having lost a lower leg in that bomb blast ten years previously, who now assesses security and safety for skyscrapers for a living. He's on assignment in Hong Kong with his family living in the said skyscraper, known as 'The Pearl' - the world tallest building at 220 storeys. The construction process is nearing completion, although the upper floors from 94 onwards remain uninhabited, save for Sawyer and his wife Sarah who just happens to be the attractive female surgeon who patched him up ten years ago (Neve Campbell), daughter Georgia (McKenna Roberts) and younger son Henry (Noah Cottrell), who have been put up temporarily while Will conducts his business within the property.

Sawyer is that day to present his safety findings to Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han) a local multi-gazilionaire and owner of the skyscraper, for the purposes of finalising the buildings insurance requirements. Sawyer passes all the elements of his assessment except for the control base located a mile away in a secure facility, which he has not yet been able to inspect, but is set to do so the next day.

Later that night, when Sawyer is on the ground with a former colleague from his FBI days, who as it turns out has double crossed his friend and wound up dead at Sawyers hands after a confrontation involving close hand to hand combat within the confines of an apartment, an international terrorist kingpin Kores Botha (Roland Moller) and his group of merry men break into the building. The mercenaries torch the 96th floor which blocks access to the upper floors, while at the same time switching off all the hi-tech cutting edge fire suppressant devices so allowing the flames to spread rapidly to upper levels. Pretty soon the building is burning out of control and with the flames rising quickly.

The local Police spring into action headed up by Inspector Wu (Byron Mann) who suspect that Sawyer is in fact the main ring leader in the terrorist attack, because only he had access to security data contained on a tablet given to him earlier by Zhao to access the control base in order to review the security and safety protocols.

However, that tablet was stolen from Sawyer by Botha's ground based partners headed up by Xia (Hanna Quinlivan) who have in the meantime gained access to the control base, taken out everyone working there and disabled and over ridden all systems within the tower. The Police needless to say are hot on Sawyer's heels and chasing him down. Sawyer has meanwhile evaded arrest at the base of the skyscraper and is looking upward in disbelief at the inferno that has erupted high above the ground, and in which his family are trapped.

Sawyer spies a nearby crane on an adjacent construction site and heads for it, planning on getting close. He ascends perilously with the Police giving chase and the world's news camera's and the gathered crowds looking on. Now high above the ground, Sawyer takes a giant leap of faith that defies all the odds off the extended crane arm into a shattered window to gain access . . . which of course he does successfully, by his fingertips!

Sawyer is soon reunited with his family who have fled from their apartment floor and were making their way through a giant greenhouse atrium occupying several floors and housing lush greenery, waterfalls and natural features. This area is also rapidly becoming engulfed in flame but the family, now reunited, manage to escape, except for daughter Georgia who is being chased down by two of Botha's goons. Sawyer is able to get his wife and son to an elevator who use it to free fall to safety engaging the emergency brakes to stop their rapid decent just at the right moment of course. They get to the ground unscathed and help the Police identify Botha as a result of an encounter with him earlier in the day.

Meanwhile as Sawyer is rescuing his daughter from Botha's henchmen, he is caught by Botha himself and ordered to gain access to a solid titanium door behind which Zhao has retreated for safety and to safeguard an all important memory stick. That stick contains incriminating evidence against the kingpin terrorist concerning extortion running into millions and money laundering on a global scale. If Sawyer is unable to gain access as the leading security expert on the job, then Botha will throw his daughter off the roof - 220 storeys up!

This leaves no alternative for Sawyer but to comply, but to gain access he must override the security access controls hidden behind the massive air conditioning turbines that drive the properties carbon neutral heating and ventilation system. To do this, he must scale the outside of the building, using a length of rope secured from a window fitting and good ol' duct tape which he tapes sticky side out to both his hands and feet for extra grip. Clever stuff! He overrides the system thereby opening the door to Zhao's inner sanctum, temporarily.

Sawyer narrowly makes it back inside when his planned journey back goes awry and he is left dangling upside down with a rope yanking on his prosthetic leg, which of course gives way. But our hero can't plunge to his death from nearly 200 storeys up, so some quick thinking and deft manoeuvring sees Sawyer clamber back inside, and wedge his kevlar leg in the now closing doors of Zhao's strong room for him to gain access. The two hatch a plan to thwart Botha and rescue Georgia from the roof top, where Botha and his goons plan to parachute off to make their getaway.

In a close quarter gun fight inside the actual 'Pearl' Sawyer is able to overpower all the goons and dispense with them using his own particular set of skills, leaving the last man standing, Botha. The terrorist now uses Georgia to negotiate his own escape, but is kicked out of the building through a hole in the floor while holding a hand grenade. He is blown to pieces seconds later. Sawyer holds onto his daughter while flames lick all around them and there is nowhere left for them to escape to. On the ground Sarah retrieves the stolen tablet after a shoot out with the Police and overpowering Xia and the mercenaries at the parachute landing site. She realises that she can override the shutdown of the hi-tech fire extinguishing system built into the skyscraper by rebooting the computer system. This she does, and the system kicks in dousing the flames quickly, so saving Sawyer and his daughter from certain death. The family are reunited back on the ground and everyone is happy.

This is a fairly predictable by the numbers all action thriller that offers no surprises and really is straight out of the 'Towering Inferno' and 'Die Hard' play book. There are even some scenes that are direct obvious derivatives of those two films that clearly has inspired this film, not that the Director need apologise for this fact, as I guess there will be a whole new audience out there who are unfamiliar with those two movies. In Sawyer, we have a hero who clearly knows no fear, who's bravado knows no bounds, and is prepared to spray a can of Whoop Ass on anyone getting in the way of his family. And to this end he muttered the lines 'I love you' to his wife and kids about a hundred times during this film, which I found just a little OTT and clearly the scriptwriter here was struggling for meaningful dialogue amidst all the action set pieces when it was Sawyer all alone against the world! Johnson is clearly the big draw card here and it is his film alone, unlike Newman and McQueen in 'The Towering Inferno' and Willis and Rickman in 'Die Hard' who paired off against each other admirably and shared equal screen time. You need to see this on the big screen for all the vertigo inducing action, but as for the story and the originality, there is very little new to see here that hasn't been done already.

'Skyscraper' merits two claps of the clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

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

With the release of the Dwayne Johnson starring disaster epic feature flick 'Skyscraper' last week that cost the best part of US$130M to bring to the big screen and has so far received mixed Critical Reviews, as well a being widely likened to a mash up of 'Die Hard' meets 'The Towering Inferno' got me to thinking about classic '70's disaster movies, of which 'The Towering Inferno' would rank right up there amongst the best of 'em. Here's a trip down memory lane then to recount that genre that largely came into its own in the '70's and has barely looked back since. In date of release order, here are the disaster epic milestone's of the '70's, according to this humble Critic.

* 'Airport' (1970) - Directed by George Seaton, starring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin and George Kennedy. Made for just over US$10M the film grossed over US$100M, won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Helen Hayes plus nine other nominations amidst a total haul of four award wins and another nineteen nominations. The plot surrounds a bomber aboard an aeroplane, an airport snowed in and various emotional and personal problems faced by the airline crew and some of its select passengers. The film spawned numerous sequels, including the comedy classic 'Airplane'.
* 'The Poseidon Adventure' (1972) - Directed by Ronald Neame and staring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Roddy McDowell, Red Buttons, Leslie Nielsen, Shelley Winters and Stella Stevens. Made for less than US$5M the film grossed US$127M, won two Academy Awards and was nominated in seven other categories from a total haul of five award wins and another thirteen nods. The film centres around the S.S. Poseidon, a luxury liner that capsizes mid ocean when struck by a tsunami and a group of surviving passengers struggling to survive and escape when the ship turns upside down with only their wits to save them. The film saw a sequel in 1979 and a remake in 2006.
* 'The Towering Inferno' (1974) - Directed by John Guillermin and starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughan, Robert Wagner and Dabney Coleman. The film cost US$14M to make and grossed close to US$160M, picking up three Academy Award wins plus five other nominations from a total awards haul of twelve wins and another thirteen nominations. The film tells the story of a newly completed skyscraper, the world tallest at the time, and how the construction company took short cuts with the architects plans too save money. These short cuts lead to a fire which breaks out and rapidly takes hold that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it. This film inspired 'Skyscraper'.
* 'Earthquake' (1974) - Directed by Mark Robson and starring Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Richard Roundtree, Walter Matthau, Victoria Principal, Ava Gardner and Genevieve Bujold. Made for US$7M the film grossed US$85M, and collected two Academy Awards and three other nominations form a total haul of three award wins and seven other nominations. This film, as the name implies, centres on an earthquake of colossal magnitude that hits Los Angeles, and the aftermath of various interconnected people all struggling to survive. This film inspired 'San Andreas'.
* 'The Swarm' (1978) - this disaster horror offering was Directed by Irwin Allen and stars Michael Caine, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, Henry Fonda, Slim Pickens, Fred MacMurray, Ben Johnson, Katherine Ross, Olivia de Havilland and Lee Grant. The film cost US$21M to make and grossed just about one-third of that sum and has been hailed as one of the worst movies of all time - so bad it's good in fact! The film tells the story of a rampant swarm of killer bees that have made their way to Texas from Africa via South America. The said pesky bees in question have a deadly venom and attack randomly and without reason. It rests with a scientist type and the military might of Uncle Sam to destroy the bees before they destroy us.
* 'Meteor' (1979) - Directed by Ronald Name and starring Sean Connery, Karl Malden, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Richard Dysart and Natalie Wood, the film cost US$16M to make and just about recovered that sum and was poorly received by Critics. Here scientists discover an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, who in turn struggle with Cold War politics in their efforts to destroy the asteroid and prevent a disaster of Earth shattering consequence from occurring. This film inspired 'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact'.
* 'The China Syndrome' (1979) - Directed by James Bridges and Produced and starring Michael Douglas, Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Peter Donat and Wilfred Brimley, the film cost US$6M to make, grossed US$52M and picked up seven award wins and another 15 monitions including four Oscar nods, five Golden Globe nods, two BAFTA wins for Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda and two other nominations, and was hailed a success by Critics. This film's story concerns a news reporter and her cameraman who are unintentional witnesses to a SCRAM incident, an emergency core shutdown procedure at a nuclear power plant in California. The crew helps prevent a disaster, but the plant supervisor begins to fear that the plant is contravening safety standards, and tries desperately to bring it to the attention of the public, believing that another such incident will result in an atomic melt down.

Turning attention to this weeks latest release movies of which there are three coming to an Odeon near you, these are categorised as two sequels and a remake. We kick off with the sequel to the big screen adaptation of a popular 80's small screen television series in which a one man vigilante army with 'a particular set of skills' seeks his very own brand of justice on those who would do wrong on the helpless and innocent. We then turn to a song and dance number set in the idyllic Greek isles that is another sequel to a massively popular first instalment ten years ago based on the back catalogue of songs put out by one of the world's most popular groups that were at the height of their fame in the '70's and '80's, but have since endured to be as popular now as they were back then. And then we wrap up with a remake of another '80's comedy featuring back then a real life couple who well & truly fall overboard for each other, although one is clueless as to the how and why and is being played along by the other.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new movies 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 most welcome 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 in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'THE EQUALISER 2' (Rated MA15+) - in 2014 Antoine Fuqua Directed the first big screen adaptation of the popular '80's TV series 'The Equalizer' with Denzel Washington portraying the one man army out of retirement vigilante Robert McCall (played by Edward Woodward in the television series of the same name). That film cost US$73M to make and grossed US$193M at the global Box Office, and even before its release this sequel had already been announced.

In this follow on offering Denzel Washington once again portrays Robert McCall who wakes up one day to learn that one of his long term friends and former colleague Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) has been murdered. Armed with a very particular set of skills, McCall embarks on a journey of revenge dishing out his own brand of vigilante justice to the crims who perpetrated the crime, and any other miscreants who happen to get in the way. Also starring Pedro Pascal as a former CIA partner of McCall's, and Bill Pullman as the husband to the murdered Susan Plummer. The film's release was pushed back form a September 2017 scheduled date, eventually ending up at this mid-July date for release in the US this week also.

'MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN' (Rated PG) : ten years ago, 'Mamma Mia' the song and dance musical based on the hugely popular stage show of the same name based on a whole collection of ABBA songs from yesteryear took a staggering US$616M off the back of a US$52M Budget. Hardly any surprise then that in 2018 it's time to launch a sequel to an eagerly awaiting audience of die hard ABBA fans the world over. This time Directed and Written for the Screen by Ol Parker sees the familiar cast members return reprising their roles together with a few new additions. Set ten years after the events of the first film and back on the Greek island of Kalokairi, Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is pregnant expecting Sky's (Dominic Cooper) child while running the villa for her mother, Donna Sheridan-Carmichael (Meryl Streep). Her relationship with Sky has been far from ideal and she expresses self doubt about bringing up a child without her mother around. However, help is at hand but with Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) to guide and advise her, but in so doing Sophie will find out more of Donna's past - how she fronted 'The Dynamos', came to set up her villa on the island from scratch, met each one of Sophie’s dads Harry Bright, Sam Carmichael and Bill Anderson (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgard respectively), and raised a daughter as a single Mum without a mother to guide her. And to cap it all an unexpected visit from someone she had never met: her grandmother, Ruby Sheridan (Cher). Also starring Andy Garcia, Lily James and Celia Imrie, this film cost US$70M to bring to the big screen, and is released in the US and UK this week too.

'OVERBOARD' (Rated PG) - thirty one years ago way back in 1987, real life partners in love and life Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell under the Directing stewardship of Garry Marshall released the original film upon which this remake is based. That film cost US$22M to make and recovered that sum and then some, and now in 2018 we have that same story that has been dusted off, repolished and presented in a nice little gift box for an unknowing audience. This time around Rob Greenberg Directs and he also Co-Wrote the Screenplay, but put out this movie for less than half the sum of its original. At $12M the film has so far grossed US$87M and has received mixed Critical feedback for really adding nothing new to the already tried and tested storyline which centres around Kate Sullivan (Anna Faris) who is a single, working-class Mum of three who's hired to clean a luxury yacht that is owned by Leonardo Montenegro (Eugenio Derbez) a selfish, spoiled and very rich Mexican playboy. After firing Kate for some petty misdemeanour, Leonardo falls off the boat and wakes up with no recollection of who he is. To get payback and seizing the opportunity, Kate rocks up to the hospital and convinces the confused amnesiac that they are in fact husband and wife. As Leonardo attempts to realign his life to one of manual labour and his new found family, Kate starts to ponder just how long she can maintain the ruse with her new fake husband. Also starring Eva Longoria and John Hannah.

With three 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-

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP : Tuesday 10th July 2018.

'ANT-MAN AND THE WASP' which I saw this week keeps the Marvel machine grinding forever onwards churning out superhero fare for us to spend our $20 or so on at the local multiplex. And so it is too with this sequel to 2015's 'Ant-Man', which off the back of a US$110M Budget grossed US$520M at the global Box Office, was generally well received by Critics and audiences alike, and picked up three award wins and another 33 nominations from around the circuit. This 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Directed by Peyton Reed once again, who came on board one month after the release of the first instalment. This film was released in the US last week too, but not in the UK until early August. Paul Rudd, who plays Ant-Man/Scott Lang also takes a Co-Writer credit this time around. The film cost US$162M to make, has so far grossed US$185M and has been generally well received. This is the first MCU film to have the name of a female Superhero protagonist in its title . . . . about time methinks!

Set two years following the events that unfolded with 'Captain America : Civil War' and prior to the events that came to pass just recently in 'Avengers : Infinity War' and now under house arrest (explaining his absence from 'Avengers : Infinity War') Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) struggles with balancing his choices as both a father to young Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) and a responsible superhero. Having had to put his mantle of 'Ant-Man' on ice for the last two years for being caught in the middle of the Avengers fight which was in violation of the Sokovia Accords, Lang is now only three days away from being able to step foot outside his own home. He has been patient, compliant and responsible, while Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) - a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, entomologist, and physicist who became the original Ant-Man way back when, have gone underground, are also in hiding and have cut all ties these past years with Lang.

Then one day, Hope and Pym are able to open a portal through to the Quantum Realm where Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) was lost back in 1987, has not been seen since and is presumed dead. At that same precise moment Lang has a vision of Janet with whom he became entangled when he himself was in the Quantum Realm two years earlier and from which he was able to successfully return. Lang calls Pym for the first time in two years to explain his vision, but gets Hank's voicemail. A short time later Hope kidnaps Lang, miniaturises them and sets a decoy back at his house so as not to arouse suspicion by the FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) that he has broken the terms of his house arrest.

Pym believes that Lang's vision was a message that Janet is still alive, albeit trapped within the Quantum Realm. Needing a piece of hi-tech equipment to create a stable tunnel through which to access the Quantum Realm, Hope meets with her 'supplier' - a black market arms trader named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins). But Burch has other plans for Hope when he realises the potential of what she is working on, and he wants in on the action. A fight breaks out between Hope, who by now has assumed the powers of her alter-ego 'The Wasp' and is able to thwart Burch and his goons, but not so with a mysterious figure come to be known as 'Ghost' (Hannah John-Kamen) for her power to be able to travel through solid matter.

In the fracas Ghost escapes with Pym's miniaturised laboratory causing him, Hope and Lang to visit the one man they think can help them retrieve it - Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburn), a former partner of Pym's but they fell out decades before and had not spoken in thirty years. Reluctantly, Foster helps Pym locate his lost laboratory at Ghosts place of residence. Gaining entry Ghost is able to easily overpower the threesome and reveals that her name is Ava Starr and she has suffered from molecular instability since she was a child when her father, also a former partner of Pym's, died in an explosion with her mother too, while conducting a Quantum experiment which resulted in Ava's unstable condition. Foster reveals that his is in cahoots with Ava and is in fact her guardian, and is determined to make Ava better by harnessing Janet's Quantum energy. But Pym will have none of this as he believes that this would kill Janet, and so they escape with the aid of some giants ants.

With their laboratory back Pym and Hope resume their plan to fire up the tunnel. They are able to contact Janet through Lang, who gives them detailed coordinates with which to locate her in the Quantum Realm. But time is of the essence and they only have a limited window of two hours before the opportunity is lost for a century or so. Burch meanwhile has reassembled his gang of goons and through Lang's security company 'X-Cons' and his partners Luis (Michael Pena), Dave (Tip 'T'.I.' Harris) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) are able to locate Pym's lab. Burch calls an FBI Agent he has on the payroll, who in turns contacts Woo and alerts them to Lang's presence while supposedly under house arrest. Lang hot foots it back to his house just in time for Woo to walk in expecting to catch him out - but not so. However, with Ant-Man indisposed, the FBI converge on Pym's lab and arrest him and Hope leaving Ghost to once again steal the miniaturised lab.

Lang let off the hook by Woo, is able to come to the rescue of Pym and Hope and help them escape custody, and they locate the lab in a well executed and at times completely over the top car chase sequence through the streets of San Francisco as Ant-Man goes from being very little to very large. Lang and Hope divert Ava while Pym enters the Quantum Realm to retrieve Janet. Luis, Dave, and Kurt help apprehend Burch, so Lang and Hope can stop Ava who has already begun sapping Janet of her energy. Pym and Janet arrive back safe from the Quantum Realm, and Janet voluntarily grants some of her energy to Ava to temporarily stabilise her.

Lang returns home once again, just in time for a now suspicious Woo to unbuckle his ankle bracelet at the end of his house arrest period. Ava and Foster go into hiding, with Foster vowing to find a cure for her. Wait for the mid-credits sequence, which brings us right up to date, and naturally Stan Lee's obligatory laugh out loud one liner cameo.

It's good to see some levity arriving in the MCU in the form of 'Ant-Man and The Wasp' after the more depressing and distressing 'Captain America : Civil War' and 'Avengers : Infinity War' episodes. Here the more light handed approach works well with the storyline that is not overly complicated and delivers just the right amount of humour to keep it grounded. The action set pieces are well executed and work best when Ant-Man and The Wasp are reduced down to their insect size or conversely Ant-Man grows to be a towering giant of some sixty feet. Both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly have settled well into their roles and despite their occasional verbal sparring, feel comfortable around each other and with their gifted super powers. Michelle Pfeiffer's role is a little under cooked, and Walton Goggins is half baked, but these are minor criticisms of a worthy and respectable sequel that is fast paced, good humoured, light hearted and still packs a punch.

'Ant-Man and The Wasp' merits four claps of the clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-