What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 30th January 2020.

The 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards were presented on 19th January 2020 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. These awards are determined by the 160,000 strong American Screen Actors Union as voted by the Actors for the Actors.

Additionally, the 72nd Directors Guild of America Awards were held on 25th January at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles, California and hosted once again by American film maker, Actor and Comedian, Judd Apatow. These awards honour the outstanding Directorial achievement in feature films, documentary, television and commercials of 2019.

This years awards winners and nominees from both ceremonies are as given below :-

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS
* Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Presented to JOAQUIN PHOENIX for 'Joker' beating out Christian Bale for 'Ford v Ferrari', Leonardo DiCaprio for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', Adam Driver for 'Marriage Story', and Taron Egerton for 'Rocketman'.

* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Presented to RENEE ZELLWEGER  for 'Judy' beating out Cynthia Erivo for  'Harriet', Scarlett Johansson for 'Marriage Story', Lupita Nyong'o for 'Us' and Charlize Theron for 'Bombshell'.

* Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Presented to BRAD PITT for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' beating out Jamie Foxx for 'Just Mercy', Tom Hanks for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood', Al Pacino for 'The Irishman' and Joe Pesci for 'The Irishman'.
* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Presented to LAURA DERN for 'Marriage Story' beating out Scarlett Johansson for 'Jojo Rabbit', Nicole Kidman for 'Bombshell', Jennifer Lopez for 'Hustlers' and Margot Robbie for 'Bombshell'.

* Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Presented to 'PARASITE' beating out 'Bombshell', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'The Irishman', and 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.

* Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Presented to 'AVENGERS : ENDGAME', beating out 'Ford v Ferrari', 'The Irishman', 'Joker' and 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.

* The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

Presented to ROBERT DE NIRO.


DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARDS
* Feature Film Award
Presented to SAM MENDES for '1917', beating out Taika Waititi for 'JoJo Rabbit', Quentin Tarantino for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', Bong Joon-ho for 'Parasite' and Martin Scorsese for 'The Irishman'.
* Documentary Award
Presented to STEVEN BOGNAR and JULIA REICHERT for 'AMERICAN FACTORY' beating out Feras Fayyad for 'The Cave', Alex Holmes for 'Maiden', Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska for 'Honeyland' and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang for 'One Child Nation'.


* First Time Feature Film Award
Presented to ALMA HAR'EL for 'HONEY BOY' beating out Mati Diop for 'Atlantics', Melina Matsoukas for 'Queen & Slim', Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz for 'The Peanut Butter Falcon' and Joe Talbot for 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco'.

For all the latest news and views of both these awards ceremonies, you can visit the official websites at : https://www.sagawards.org and https://www.dga.org

And so this week then we have five new release movies coming to your local Odeon. Kicking off with a WWII drama that sees an epic naval battle in the North Pacific that ultimately proved to be one of the most crucial of the war, and a turning point in the war against the Japanese. Next up we have the fourth instalment in a supernatural horror franchise that sees the ghosts of previously murdered victims come back to wreak bloody mayhem and death on those that would cross the threshold into one certain house. We then turn to another WWII drama but this one centering on an Austrian peasant farmer and his family who refuses to swear allegiance to Hitler and to fight for the Nazi's, and the subsequent consequences upon him, his family and his local rural community. This is followed by a biopic of a famed Actress of the '60's who was targeted by the FBI because of her connections with The Black Panther movement of the time; and we close out the week with a comedy drama about a young man with Down Syndrome who follows his dreams aided and abetted by an unlikely coach and ally - a petty criminal on the run.

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.

'MIDWAY' (Rated M) - this is a remake of the 1976 film of the same name which charts the Battle of Midway following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Directed and Co-Produced by that master of disaster Roland Emmerich whose previous screen outings take in the likes of 'Independence Day', 'Godzilla', 'The Day After Tomorrow', '10,000BC', '2012', 'White House Down', and 'Independence Day : Resurgence' most recently. The film has been a passion project of Emmerich's since the mid-'90's, but he had trouble getting the necessary financial backing for the film before finally fundraising most of the budget of US100M and officially announcing it in 2017. With that sort of budget, this film is one of the most costly independent films of all time. Released in the US in early November last year, the film has so far taken US$123M at the Box Office and has received generally mixed or average Reviews so far.

On 7th December 1941, Japanese forces launch a devastating attack on Pearl Harbour, the U.S. naval base in Hawaii. Six months later, the Battle of Midway commences on 4th June 1942, as the Japanese navy once again plans a strike against American ships in the Pacific. For the next three days, the U.S. Navy, their leaders, soldiers and a squad of brave fighter pilots engage the enemy in one of the most important and decisive battles of World War II. Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean is roughly equidistant between North America and Asia and is an unorganised, unincorporated territory of the United States and has been since 1867. Midway continues to be the only island in the Hawaiian archipelago that is not part of the state of Hawaii. Starring an ensemble cast that includes Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Alexander Ludwig, Mandy Moore, Tadanobu Asano and Etsushi Toyokawa.

'THE GRUDGE' (Rated MA15+) - here we have the fourth instalment in the supernatural horror film franchise that first launched in 2004 which was in fact a remake of the original Japanese horror film from 2002 'Ju-On : The Grudge'. 'The Grudge 2' followed in 2006, with 'The Grudge 3' in 2009. The first three films grossed at the global Box Office a total US$297M off the back of a combined US$35M budget outlay, and so far this film has grossed US$41M since its US release in early January off the back of a US$12M budget. Directed by Nicolas Pesce in only his third feature film after 2016's 'The Eyes of my Mother' and 2018's 'Piercing' this film has been in development since 2011, and was originally intended as a reboot of the 2004 American remake and the original Japanese film, but ended up being a 'sidequel' that takes place during and after the events of the 2004 film and its sequels. After a young mother murders her family in her own house, a Police Officer attempts to investigate the mysterious case, only to discover that the house is cursed by a vengeful ghost. Now targeted by the demonic spirits, investigating the seemingly unrelated cases but all connected to one particular house, the detective must do whatever is necessary to protect herself and her family from harm. Starring Andrea Riseborough, Damian Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, Jacki Weaver, William Sadler and Frankie Faison.

'A HIDDEN LIFE' (Rated PG) - here Writer and Director Terrence Malick brings us this historical drama film set during WWII and based on real events. Malick's previously acclaimed films include 1973's 'Badlands', 1998's 'The Thin Red Line', 2005's 'The New World', 2011's 'The Tree of Life', 2015's 'Knight of Cups' and 2017's 'Song to Song'. This is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jagerstatter (August Diehl), a rural Austrian peasant farmer working his land when war breaks out. Franz is called up for basic training and is away from his beloved wife Franziska (Valerie Pachner) and children for months, but after France surrenders and the end of wars looks imminent, Franz returns to his rural farm and tends the land with his family. However, as the war rages on the able-bodied men in the village are called up to fight. Their first requirement is to swear an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Franz refuses to do this and refuses to fight for the Nazis and when faced with incarceration and the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Franziska and children that keeps his spirit alive. Also starring Michael Nyqvist, Bruno Ganz, Jurgen Prochnow and Matthias Schoenaerts, the film cost in the region of US$8M to produce, has so far taken US$3M since its World Premier Screening at Cannes back in May 2019 and its US release in mid-December, and has garnered generally positive Press so far.

'SEBERG' (Rated M) - this American political thriller offering is Directed by Benedict Andrews, the Australian born but now resident in Iceland theatre Director turned film maker who released his feature film debut 'Una' in in 2016. He follows this up with this look at the life and scandal surrounding American Actress Jean Seberg who lived from 1938 until 1979 and died of probable suicide, and who amassed thirty-five film credits during her career. Set during the latter half of the '60's, American born yet French resident new wave Actress Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart) becomes the target of the FBI through the COINTELPRO surveillance programme due to her support of the civil rights movement and her romantic involvement with Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie) a Black Panther activist. She soon finds her life and career in jeopardy as the overreaching surveillance and harassment starts to take a toll on everything she holds dear. The FBI surveillance programme against Seberg used techniques to harass, intimidate, defame, and discredit her. The FBI's stated goal was an unspecified 'neutralisation' of Seberg with a subsidiary objective to 'cause her embarrassment and serve to cheapen her image with the public', while taking the 'usual precautions to avoid identification of the Bureau' according to FBI inter-office memos subsequently made available. The film also stars Jack O'Connell, Margaret Qualley, Colm Meaney, Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughn, Stephen Root and Ser'Darius Blain, had its World Premier screening at Venice back in late August, was released in the UK earlier this month, in the US in late February and cost US$8M to make.

'THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON' (Rated M) - is an American comedy drama film Written and Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz in their feature film debuts, and has been described as a modern day Mark Twain style adventure story. Telling the story of Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a twenty-two year old man with Down Syndrome, who runs away from his residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending the professional wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). A strange turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a small time outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak's unlikely coach and mentor. Together they wind through deltas, evade capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), a kind nursing home employee charged with Zak's return, to join them on their journey. Also starring Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal and John Hawkes, the film premiered at SXSW in March last year, went on limited release in the US in early August, has so far made US$22M off the back of a US$6M budget investment, has generated mostly favourable Reviews and has picked up eighteen award wins and another thirteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit.

With five new release films 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-

BOMBSHELL : Tuesday 21st January 2020.

'BOMBSHELL' which I saw earlier this week is an M Rated American biographical drama film Directed by Jay Roach whose previous Directorial credits take in 'Blown Away', the three 'Austin Powers' instalments, 'Mystery, Alaska', 'Meet the Parents', 'Meet the Fockers', 'Dinner for Schmucks', 'The Campaign' and 'Trumbo' more recently. The film was released in the US in mid-December, has received generally positive Reviews, and has so far grossed US$35M from its US$32M production budget. Among its haul of fifteen award wins and 53 other nomination so far, the film has at the 92nd Academy Awards, earned three nominations: received two nominations at the 77th Golden Globe Awards; four at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards and three at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards.

Here, the film centres upon the female Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), and journalist and television commentator Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) in Manhattan, and their sexual harassment allegations on 6th July 2016 against the founder of Fox News Roger Ailes (John Lithgow). Ailes heads up Fox News, the #1 ranking conservative news channel on television which he built from the ground up. Kelly is one of the most popular newscasters on primetime news and is a co-moderator of the 2016 Republican Presidential debate, in which Trump is running, supported by Ailes and the Fox News channel.

On the day of the debate, Kelly becomes physically sick and vomits several times. She rests up in her hotel bedroom for five hours before the debate goes live. Awake and somewhat refreshed she questions Donald Trump on several recorded derogatory comments he has made about women in the past. In retaliation, he Tweets insults about her, and other supporters of Trump follow suit. One reporter sneaks into Kelly's back yard at their home to photograph her daughter through the closed windows, prompting Kelly's husband, Douglas (Mark Duplass), to see off the intruder. Later when Kelly is recounting this to Ailes in his office he says that perhaps someone tried to poison her on the day of the debate by spiking her Starbucks coffee. Fox then hires a security crew for Kelly.

Carlson meanwhile is removed unceremoniously from the popular daily morning show 'Fox and Friends' and relegated to a much less popular afternoon timelsot with a cut in her pay too. Swamped by sexist comments on and off the air, Carlson meets with lawyers who tell her how Rudi Bakhtiar (Nazanin Boniadi) - a Fox News Channel general correspondent, reporting on major international news stories was fired after accusing Brian Wilson (Brian d'Arcy James) - a former anchor reporter for Fox News Channel of sexual harassment back ten years ago, and the matter was largely swept under the carpet by Ailes. At Carlson's behest, they plan to file a harassment suit against Ailes but tell her that she'll need evidence and testimony from other women who have been similarly harassed over the years.

Kayla Pospisil (an amalgam of real life Fox News characters for the purpose of the film as portrayed by Margot Robbie) is Fox's newest hire, who works with Carlson, but soon accepts a job on 'The O’Reilly Factor'. Bill O'Reilly (Kevin Dorff) fires her on her first day on the job. Feeling sorry for herself she gets drunk and sleeps with Fox's Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon) after a night on the town in which Carr offers Pospisil plenty of inside advice on how to navigate the cutthroat world of television news. When they wake up, Pospisil says she's not a lesbian and is surprised to see Carr's Hillary Clinton poster stuck to her fridge door. Asked why a liberal lesbian would work for Fox, Carr says she applied for numerous jobs over the years, but Fox hired her, and now no one else will.

Pospisil later is invited to Ailes' office, for an impromptu 'interview'. Ailes one condition in fast tracking a career is that he asks for undivided loyalty from his people, and he asks Pospisil to consider a way in which she can demonstrate her loyalty. He asks her to stand up and do a 'twirl' and then makes her lift her skirt to show him her underwear, on the basis that TV news is a 'visual medium'. He compliments her on her figure. She later tells Carr, who says she can't get involved for fear of drawing undue attention to herself as a lesbian in the very male dominated and conservative workplace.

Carlson broadcasts on air that she supports the semi-automatic assault weapons ban, although a news poll live to air indicates that 89% of the audience do not, prompting Ailes to summons her. She's fired and is given no clear reasons for why. She decides to sue Ailes. He meets with his wife, Beth (Connie Britton), and attorneys Susan Estrich (Allison Janney) and Rudy Giuliani (Richard Kind), and naturally vehemently denies the absurd allegations. All female staff members are asked to stand with Fox, and most do, but Kelly doesn't comment, secretly weighing up her options.

When the law suit is filed and made public in the newspapers and on the news channels around the country, Carlson's hopes and expectations are quickly splintered when no other women come forward. Viewers quickly turn on her saying that her allegations are made up hearsay and carry no weight. Kelly however, attempts to find other women, including Pospisil, who were sexually harassed by Ailes or O’Reilly.

Pospisil over the phone to Carr one evening says she obeyed Ailes sexual advances to safeguard her career but now has regrets and wants to come forward. Kelly in turn speaks up about her own sexual harassment claims against Aisles and learns that 22 other women will too. Estrich is called out of the room expecting Carlson to settle out of court, but returns confronting Ailes and his wife, with the news that Carlson has secretly recorded their conversations over the course of a whole year, and on that basis she will win the case against him. 

Ailes meets with Fox co-creator Rupert Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell) and his two sons Lachlan (Ben Lawson) and James (Josh Lawson), who tell him he'll be fired, and hands him a written note with a severance payment as a first and final offer, no further discussion. Ailes asks to break the news with Murdoch back at the office in front of his team personally, but Rupert refuses. When Murdoch arrives at the Fox News Offices, stands up in front of the gathered staffers and says he's taking over Fox as interim CEO, Carr remains silent. Pospisil, knowing she'll be fired, walks out the door and quits on the spot.

Meanwhile, Carlson is awarded US$20M in damages and an apology from Fox but cannot speak about her case. The closing credits reveal that Fox paid out a further US$50M in compensation to the Fox victims of sexual harassment and abuse, and that between them Ailes and O'Reilly received US$65M in severance payments. Ailes died on 18th May 2017.

This is a thought provoking, darkly satirical, yet infinitely entertaining and informative film about the horrific events of years of bigotry and sexual harassment that unfolded at Fox News just a few short years ago, which makes it all the more relevant, all the more fresh in the mind and all the more compelling to watch. The four key cast members are all excellent in their roles, with Theron nailing her portrayal of Kelly in every detail, Robbie outstanding as the enthusiastic young gun who gets in way too far over her head, Kidman stoic as the determined put upon Carlson who is short changed as a character and could have done with more screen time with Theron and Robbie, and of course Lithgow as the morally corrupt and all powerful big boss of them all, and who ultimately gets his comeuppance. The production values are first rate, the script smart, the dialogue snappy and the film moves along at a good pace. Director Jay Roach here weaves a true story that needs to be told, and one that needs to be seen as the launchpad for the #MeToo movement that was also the subject of a seven part TV miniseries last year 'The Loudest Voice' with Russell Crowe in a highly acclaimed portrayal of Roger Ailes. Certainly worth the price of your cinema ticket.

'Bombshell' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd January 2020.

In case you missed all the buzz of this years 77th Golden Globe Awards honouring the very best in film and American television from 2019, which were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 5, 2020, with Ricky Gervais hosting the ceremony for the fifth and allegedly final time, below is the run down of all the winners, grinners and also rans from the world of cinema.

* Best Motion Picture : Drama.
Awarded to '1917', beating out 'The Irishman', 'Joker', 'Marriage Story' and 'The Two Popes'
* Best Motion Picture : Musical or Comedy
Awarded to 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD', beating out 'Dolemite Is My Name', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out' and 'Rocketman'.

* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Drama | Actor
Awarded to JOAQUIN PHOENIX for 'JOKER', beating out Christian Bale for 'Ford v. Ferrari', Antonio Banderas for 'Pain and Glory', Adam Driver for 'Marriage Story' and Jonathan Pryce for 'The Two Popes'.
* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Drama | Actress
Awarded to RENEE ZELLWEGER for 'JUDY', beating out Cynthia Enviro for 'Harriet', Scarlett Johansson for 'Marriage Story', Saoirse Ronan for 'Little Women' and Charlize Theron for 'Bombshell'.
* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Musical or Comedy | Actor
Awarded to TARON EGERTON for 'ROCKETMAN', beating out Daniel Craig for 'Knives Out', Roman Griffin Davis for 'Jojo Rabbit', Leonardo DiCaprio for 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' and  Eddie Murphy for 'Dolemite Is My Name'.
* Best Performance in a Motion Picture : Musical or Comedy | Actress
Awarded to AWKWAFINA for 'THE FAREWELL', beating out Ana de Armis for 'Knives Out', Cate Blanchett for 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette', Beanie Feldstein for 'Booksmart' and Emma Thompson for 'Last Night'.

* Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture : Actor
Awarded to BRAD PITT for 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD', beating out Tom Hanks for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood', Anthony Hopkins for 'The Two Popes', Al Pacino for 'The Irishman' and Joe Pesci for 'The Irishman'.
* Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture : Actress
Awarded to LAURA DERN for 'MARRIAGE STORY', beating out Kathy Bates for 'Richard Jewell', Annette Benning for 'The Report', Jennifer Lopez for 'Hustlers' and Margot Robbie for 'Bombshell'.

* Best Director
Awarded to SAM MENDES for '1917', beating out Bong Joon-ho for 'Parasite', Todd Phillips for 'Joker', Martin Scorsese for 'The Irishman' and Quentin Tarantino for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.
* Best Screenplay
Awarded to QUENTIN TARANTINO for 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD', beating out Noah Baumbach for 'Marriage Story', Bong Joon-ho for 'Parasite', Anthony McCarten for 'The Two Popes' and Steve Zaillian for 'The Irishman'.
* Best Foreign Language Film
Awarded to BONG JOON-HO for 'PARASITE', beating out 'The Farewell', 'Les Miserables', 'Pain and Glory' and 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire'.
* Best Animated Feature Film
Awarded to 'MISSING LINK', beating out 'Frozen II', 'How to Train Your Dragon : The Missing World', 'The Lion King' and 'Toy Story 4'.
* Best Original Song
Awarded to '(I'M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN' from 'ROCKETMAN' by ELTON JOHN and BERNIE TAUPIN.




* The Cecil B. De Mille Award which is an honorary Golden Globe Award bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for 'outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment' was awarded to TOM HANKS.
* The Carol Burnett Award which is also an honorary Golden Globe Award bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for 'outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen' was awarded to ELLEN DEGENERES.

For the full run down on the film and television awards presented, the nominees, the winners, the pics and the inside word, you can also visit the official website at : https://www.goldenglobes.com

Turning attention back to this weeks six latest release new movies to grace your local Odeon screen, we start off with a biographical drama film centering on America's most beloved neighbour and highly acclaimed pre-school television programme host as he is interviewed by a journalist hoping to uncover some dirt only to find none and ultimately coming to terms with his own inner demons. Next up we have a Sci-Fi horror adventure about the crew of a vessel stranded seven miles down on the ocean floor only to come under attack by mystery creatures awakened by an underwater earthquake. We then have a true story of a man wrongly accused of murder, sentenced to death and the young upstart defence lawyer who battles against the odds to clear his name. This is followed up by a comedy centering on two female business partners who run their own successful beauty products business but have financial woes, and an industry mogul who wants to buy out their business - sounds too good to be true, and it might just be as the two life long friends relationship is put to the test. We then close out the week with two very different biographical docos - the first charting the fifteen year journey of an Australian heavy metal band as they strive for recognition at some of the worlds largest music festivals; and finally charting the life, times and influences on Mexico's most famous painter and artist who died in 1954 but has since found the acknowledgement, acceptance and recognition for her many artworks and what she stood for.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six 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 week ahead.

'A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD' (Rated PG) - is a 2019 American drama film directed by Marielle Heller and inspired by the 1998 article 'Can You Say ... Hero?' by Tom Junod, published in Esquire. Heller is an American Director, Writer and Actress of film, television and theatre whose previous film making credits include the highly acclaimed and multi-award winning 'Can You Ever Forgive Me' in 2018, based on the confessional memoir of Lee Israel as portrayed my Melissa McCarthy. This film is about the beloved television icon Fred Rogers who lived from 1928 through until 2003 and who was an American TV personality, musician, puppeteer, writer, Producer, and Presbyterian Minister. He was the creator, showrunner and host of the preschool TV series 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood', which ran from 1968 to 2001. His work in children's television has been widely lauded, and he received over forty honorary degrees and several awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.

Here Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) is an investigative journalist who receives an assignment to profile Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks). He approaches the interview with scepticism, as he finds it hard to believe that anyone can have such a good nature. But Roger's empathy, kindness and decency from America's most beloved neighbour soon chips away at Vogel's jaded outlook on life, forcing the reporter to reconcile with his own painful past. Also starring Chris Cooper, Susan Kelechi Watson, Maryann Plunkett and Enrico Colantoni, the film has been praised by critics, has won three awards and been nominated for another 55 so far, many of which are still pending decisions, and has grossed US$61M off the back of its US$25M production budget since its release in the US in late November.

'UNDERWATER' (Rated M) - here this underwater action adventure Sci-Fi horror offering is Directed by William Eubank in only his third feature film outing as Director following 2011's 'Love' and 2014's 'The Signal', both of which were also Sci-Fi features. Set 5,000 miles from land and seven miles below the surface of the ocean, the crew of underwater researchers who are looking at a month long stay on the ocean floor, must scramble to safety and navigate their way across that ocean floor after their subterranean laboratory is destroyed by an earthquake that has awakened some kind of mysterious and ravenous creatures that appear to be none too pleased by their seemingly unwelcome presence. Staring Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, T.J. Miller,  John Gallagher Jnr., Gunner Wright and Mamoudou Athie. The film cost US$80M to make, and was released Stateside earlier this month, and has so far taken US$27M.

'JUST MERCY' (Rated M) - this American true story legal drama is Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton in his fourth feature film after 2012's 'I Am Not a Hipster', 2013's 'Short Term 12' and 2017's 'The Glass Castle'. Following this outing Cretton is slated to Direct 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' for the MCU Phase 4 due for release in 2021 and currently in pre-production. This film tells the true story of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who, with the help of young defence lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), appeals his murder conviction having been wrongfully imprisoned for the 1986 murder of eighteen year old Ronda Morrison in Monroeville, Alabama. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury, and in the 1988 trial, the judge imposed the death penalty, even though the jury imposed a sentence of life imprisonment. From 1990 to 1993, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals turned down four appeals and in 1993, after McMillian had served six years on Alabama's death row, the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that he had been wrongfully convicted. This is his story. Also starring Brie Larson, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, O'Shea Jackson Jnr. and Rob Morgan, the film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF in early September last year, went on limited release on Christmas Day in the US (to qualify for awards season recognition), has garnered generally favourable Reviews so far, has taken US$23M at the Box Office before its much wider release from mid-this month. 'Just Mercy' is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name, written by Bryan Stevenson.

'LIKE A BOSS' (Rated M) - Directed by Puerto Rican film maker Miguel Arteta whose previous big screen offerings include 2002's 'The Good Girl', 2011's 'Cedar Rapids', 2014's 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day', 2014's 'Beatriz at Dinner' and 2018's 'Duck Butter' most recently, here brings us this American comedy film about best friends Mia Carter (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel Paige (Rose Byrne) who run their own cosmetics company called appropriately 'Mel & Mia's', which is a business they founded from nothing. But their business is also struggling financially, and the prospect of a buyout offer from industry titan Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) proves too tempting to pass up. The beauty business takes a turn for the worse when their benefactor starts stealing from them, and Mia and Mel's lifelong friendship is put to the ultimate test. Also starring Jennifer Coolidge and Billy Porter, the film was released in the US earlier this month to largely negative Reviews and so far recouped US$19M from its US$29M budget outlay.

'VIVA THE UNDERDOGS' (Rated MA15+) - Directed, lensed, written and edited by Allan Hardy in his first full length film, this documentary film follows the self-managed Australian heavy metal band 'Parkway Drive' on their fifteen year long underdog journey, to see if they can go from small-town surf rats to international festival headliners. From searching out surf spots and sleeping on the streets for their first international tour to evolving their sound and re-setting the benchmark in metal with every new album, the five high-school bandmates have always done it their own way, chasing adventures, having fun and breaking boundaries year after year.  Now, Parkway Drive put it all on the line to create the biggest most explosive show for their loyal fan base. Self-funded, self-managed and committing to over one hundred tour dates, with a forty strong crew and six semi-trailers filled with cutting edge audiovisual equipment & pyrotechnics, is it enough for the five high-school mates to defy the odds and earn their spot at the top of the world’s biggest rock festivals? A decade of behind the scenes personal footage, coupled with unprecedented access to the bands most explosive live tours and world’s biggest music festivals, this doco offers up an incredibly honest and candid look at Parkway Drive’s journey, good-times, battles, triumphs and sacrifices. The current and long term band members are Winston McCall on vocals, Jeff Ling on lead guitar, Luke Kilpatrick on rhythm guitar, Jia O'Connor on bass guitar and Ben Gordon on drums.

'FRIDA : VIVA LA VIDA' (Rated CTC) - this biographical documentary is Directed and Written by Italian Giovanni Trolio and highlights the two sides of Frida Kahlo’s spirit on one side, the revolutionary, pioneering artist of contemporary feminism and on the other; the human being, victim of her tortured body and a tormented relationship. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her numerous portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. She lived from 1907 until 1954 and Kahlo's work has subsequently been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for what is seen as its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form. With acclaimed Italian Actress and Director Asia Argento providing the narration, the two faces of the artist are revealed by pursuing a common thread consisting of Frida’s own words as captured in letters, diaries, and private confessions. The film alternates interviews with original documents, captivating reconstructions, and Frida Kahlo’s own paintings kept in some of the most amazing museums in Mexico. This film is not to be confused with the 2002 biographical drama film 'Frida' with Salma Hayek portraying Frida Kahlo in her Academy Award nominated role as the famed artist.

With six new release films 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-

1917 : Tuesday 14th January 2020.

'1917' which I saw this week is an MA15+ Rated First World War film Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by Sam Mendes, based on a 'fragment' of an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes, who was a Trinidad and Tobago novelist and short-story writer who lived from 1897 until 1991 and who served in the 1st Rifle Brigade during WWI and fought for two years in Flanders, along the Belgian Front. He was awarded a Military Medal for distinguishing himself on the battlefield. Sam Mendes is of course the highly acclaimed English Director of film and stage whose previous film making credits include 'American Beauty', 'Road to Perdition', 'Jarhead', 'Revolutionary Road', and the two most recent Bond releases 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre'. This film was released in the US on Christmas Day, and in Australia and the UK last week, has received widespread critical acclaim, and has so far raked up 72 awards wins and another 142 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, with many of those nominations still awaiting a final outcome. The film cost US$90M to make, and has so far grossed US$72M, and is lensed by the multi-award winning and nominated Roger Deakins and scored by the equally multi-award winning and nominated Thomas Newman.

It is 6th April 1917 - at the height of the First World War in northern France, and two young British soldiers, Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), are given a seemingly impossible mission by General Erinmore (Colin Firth) to personally deliver a hand written message to a Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) of the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment which will warn of an ambush of some sixteen hundred British troops at the hands of the German Army in a calculated attack soon after the German tactical retreat to the new Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich. Included in those 1,600 men is Blake's older brother, Lieutenant Joseph Blake (Richard Madden).

The two young soldiers have no alternative but to accept their mission, which is expected to take them about eight hours on foot across enemy lines. And so Schofield and Blake cross no man's land and reach the now abandoned original German trenches. Scouring the bunkers for any signs of life, or food, it turns out that the myriad of underground tunnels contain tripwires, which a rat scavenging for scraps of food in the darkness, triggers. The ensuing explosion almost kills Schofield who is buried under rocks, rubble and dust, but Blake digs him out and leads him temporarily blinded out of the collapsing bunkers to safety.

The pair arrive at an abandoned destroyed farmhouse, where they witness a dogfight in the skies nearby involving two British aircraft and one German. The German plane plunges into the farm and explodes. Schofield and Blake attempt to save the partially burned pilot by pulling him out of the cockpit with his legs on fire. Schofield proposes they mercy kill him, but Blake has Schofield instead fetch water for the pilot to drink. Meanwhile, the pilot stabs Blake in the stomach, and is promptly shot dead by Schofield, who comforts Blake as he dies, promising to complete the mission, find his brother, and write to his mother saying he loves her.

Schofield is picked up by a passing British unit led by Captain Smith (Mark Strong) who lets him ride in the back of a troop carrier. A destroyed bridge near the bombed-out village, Ecoust-Saint-Mein, prevents the British lorries from crossing, meaning they must make a six mile detour. Schofield racing against the clock decides to go it alone and bids Captain Smith farewell. Smith offers some advice to Schofield that when he presents the letter to Mackenzie he does so in front of several witnesses, as some men just like to fight!

So Schofield crosses a canal alone by clinging on to the remnants of the bridge. He immediately comes under fire from a German sniper, but manages to get across the canal and returning fire takes out the sniper perched in the upper floor of a tall building, only to be knocked out by a ricocheting bullet and falling backwards down some steps.

Schofield comes round at night, with the back of his head all bloodied, but proceeds on. Fired upon by a chasing German soldier through the bombed out streets and buildings of Ecoust, Schofield stumbles into the dimly lit hiding place of a French woman Lauri (Claire Duburcq) with an infant. Recognising that they are both allies of each other, she tends to his head wound, and he leaves fresh cows milk he found at the abandoned farm earlier in the day for the infant and his own rations for her. Continuing his mission through the rubble and burning buildings all around him, Schofield is twice discovered by German soldiers. He strangles one of them and escapes under gunfire by jumping into a raging river of white water and fast flowing rapids. Eventually, rising to the surface, he is thrust over a waterfall into more steady flowing waters below where he clings to a log to catch his breath while he is carried down stream.

Schofield reaches an embankment of the river which is blocked by a fallen tree and numerous dead bodies floating in the river trapped in front of the downed tree trunk. He scrambles across the dead bodies to clamber up the shoreline, where he collapses sobbing and exhausted. In the distance he can hear the faint sound of someone singing. He ventures forth, and comes across a battalion of soldiers all sitting on the ground intently listening to a single fellow soldier singing a ballad.

After the singing stops, the soldiers all stand up and recognising that Schofield is not one of their own, asks him if he's alright, judging by his drenched uniform and decidedly dishevelled appearance. He responds by asking which regiment they are, and they reply the Devons . . . the ones he is looking for.

Failing to stop the start of the attack, he scours through the dug out trenches searching for Mackenzie's whereabouts. Told he is still 300 yards away along a two man wide at best trench, he climbs over the top of the trench and sprints across the battlefield as the charging British infantry are bombarded by a barrage of German artillery.

He ultimately forces his way into meeting the commander of the battalion, Colonel Mackenzie, and hands him the note from General Erinmore. After some bluster and initially being dismissed by the Colonel, Schofield says that the Germans have been planning this attack for months, at which point the attack is called off and the men are ordered to stand down.

Schofield then goes in search of Joseph and is directed to the infirmary tent, and who was among the first attack wave but is unhurt. He delivers the news of his younger brothers death. Joseph is saddened by the news, but thanks Schofield for his efforts. Schofield asks to write to Blake's mother to inform her about his heroism, to which Joseph agrees. Joseph tells him to go to the mess tent to get something to eat. Instead, Schofield walks away and sits under a nearby tree, able to rest at last after completing his mission. From his pocket he pulls several photographs revealing he has two young daughters and a wife at home waiting for him to return safely.

'1917' is a film that begs to be seen on the big screen. It is a truly immersive cinematic experience that lensman Roger Deakins delivers with his seemingly one take approach as the camera ducks, dives and weaves from open countryside, to the claustrophobia of underground bunkers, to the tight squeeze of the trenches, through bombed out towns and down raging torrents of rivers as our two heroes of this piece dodge bombs, mortars, bullets and human remains to realise their mission. As the first truly mechanised war in human history, this is a simple story, deftly and very impressively told by Sam Mendes that does not over complicate war but serves as a timely reminder of the horrors of war and the pain, suffering and devastation that man can inflict on his fellow man. Tense, emotional, moving and gripping all at once '1917' easily stands up there with Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan' for its set design, production values, focus on authenticity, visceral storytelling, action sequences and cinematography, not to mention the two relatively unknown lead Actors who won't be so unknown for much longer and the strong cast of support Actors in various cameo roles. Despite some flaws in its storytelling and a stretching of the imagination in a few places, '1917' is a must see at a movie theatre and for followers of the genre, as it redefines the scope and scale of the depiction of trench warfare and the realities of open armed combat in the last one hundred years for the 21st Century.

'1917' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-