EXTRACTION : Monday 27th April 2020.

In these very trying and testing times for us all that has seen many cinema's, Odeon's, and movie theatres around the world close their doors for the foreseeable future because of the escalating threat of the COVID-19 Coronavirus taking an ever increasing hold on the world at large, many film and television productions halted in their tracks indefinitely, and new film releases pushed back to some future date when some sense of movie going normalcy is expected to resume, I have, needless to say, had to adapt to this new world order. And so with my usual Reviews of the latest cinematic releases being curtailed, instead I will post my Review of the latest release movies showing on Netflix until such time as the regular outing to my local multiplex or independent theatre can be reinstated.

In the last few weeks then, a number of new feature films have landed at Netflix - of which I review as below 'Extraction' which went live on the streaming service on 24th April and which I saw from the comfort of my own home on Monday 27th April.

'EXTRACTION' is Directed, in his first feature film, by Stuntman, Actor, Editor, and Writer Sam Hargrave whose impressive line up of movie stunt work takes in the likes of 'Avengers : Endgame', 'Deadpool 2', 'Avengers : Infinity War', 'Thor : Ragnarok', 'Suicide Squad', 'Captain America : Civil War', and three of the 'Hunger Games' films amongst many others. This film is based on the comic 'Ciudad' by Ande Parks and the story was developed by him and Joe and Anthony Russo, written for the screen by Joe Russo, and Co-Produced by the Russo brothers and Chris Hemsworth. Needless to say Hargarve, Hemsworth and the Russo's have much history together having worked with each other on the final two 'Avengers' offerings. The film was made for US$65M and has garnered largely mixed or average Reviews so far, although as the lead, Chris Hemsworth has been praised for his performance.

The film opens up with young boy Ovi Mahajan Jnr. (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) being kidnapped and held for a hefty ransom by Bangladesh's biggest drug lord Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli). Next we see Saju (Randeep Hooda), meeting the young lads father Ovi Mahajan Snr. (Pankaj Tripathi) in prison to tell him that his son has been kidnapped by his arch rival and nemesis Asif. Ovi Snr. is behind bars because he is India's biggest drug lord and kingpin. Saju is a former Para (Special Forces) operative and the right hand man of Ovi Snr. who was under explicit instructions to never let Ovi Jnr. out of his sight and to keep him closely guarded at all times. Major fail here on Saju's part, who is told in no uncertain terms to locate Ovi Jnr. and bring him home safely by any means necessary or suffer the consequences which Ovi Snr. is still able to wield even from inside prison.

We then cut to three likely lads in the Australian Kimberly Ranges, one of whom is a dozing in the shade thirty metres above a natural rock pool, with a beer in his hand - Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth). He comes around having been taunted by his two mates, gets up and nonchalantly walks straight up to the edge and launches himself into the clear waters thirty meters below. He then sits on the bottom on the lake for several minutes, as a memory of footprints on a sandy beach flash in his mind. Returning to his isolated cabin, there is a helicopter in the paddock, and inside the house is his handler and fellow mercenary Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani). It turns out that Tyler Rake is a former Special Air Services Regiment soldier and now a black market mercenary for hire. Khan tells Tyler that his services are required in India to extract a young kidnapped kid and there's a hefty pay day in it for him, to meet up at a pre-determined point in the morning, but only if he's sober.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh Tyler meets with the 'extraction' team, receives his briefing and heads to the city centre awaiting his next move. He takes a call on his mobile phone and walks across the street and is hastily bundled into the back of a van and taken to a house bound and blindfolded. With a room full of goons, Tyler is held at gunpoint and asked to hand over the ransom money. Tyler responds coolly with wanting proof of life first, and after seeing the bound and hooded boy in a neighbouring room is carted off to arrange for the ransom money to be transferred. Needless to say before Tyler has even exited the building three of his captors are dead, and he's back knocking on the door all guns blazing to take out the rest of the goons and rescue the boy. With the young lad in tow, they make a get away in a car and then traipse a couple of kilometres through a forest on foot to make a rendezvous with a boat that will get them outta Dodge.

What they didn't count on was Saju, with his own agenda to rescue young Ovi from Tyler, who is hot on their tail and determined to make life as uncomfortable for Tyler as possible, for fear of Ovi Snr. taking retribution on his own family if he is unsuccessful and because he cannot pay the ransom because all of his money and assets have been frozen. Meanwhile, Asif has ordered a complete lockdown on Dhaka, through the Colonel of the Bangladesh Elite Force (Shataf Figar) who Asif has in his pocket. All the while Tyler is in radio contact with Khan, who advises that the plan has gone south rapidly as more of Asif's henchmen and Elite Force are converging on the boat, and to get the hell outta there.

After various other close run ins with the Police, Elite Force, Saju and Asif's goon squad involving lots of creative gun play, close quarter hand to hand combat, car chases, explosions and an ever rising body count the pair find safe haven for a couple of hours at night in the run down office of some manufacturing plant. However, their R&R is interrupted when they attempt to exit by Farhad (Suraj Rikame) a teenage boy who wishes to prove himself to Asif by killing Tyler, and his merry band of gun totting youngsters. Tyler beats off the boys but spares them their lives. Taking temporary refuge in a rat infested sewer, Tyler contacts Khan and tells her to contact Gaspar, a former team mate, now living in Dhaka, who owes his life to Tyler.

Sometime later and Gaspar (David Harbour) picks the pair up and drives them to his home, where Tyler and Ovi shower, freshen up, Tyler tends to his wounds, Ovi sleeps and the two friends share a whisky and talk about old times, before Gaspar leaves. Tyler takes food upstairs to Ovi, and the pair talk about Tyler's ex-wife whom he hasn't seen in years and his six-year-old son who died of lymphoma. When Gaspar returns, he tries to convince Tyler to give up Ovi for the US$10M bounty on his head which would set them both up for life and reveals to him that Asif is actually his friend whom he cannot cross. He and Tyler get into a fist fight and Ovi finds the two mid-fight. Gaspar starts to explain and approaches Ovi who is holding a pistol. Ovi ends up shooting Gaspar twice in the chest sending him reeling backwards slumping down in an easy chair where he draws his last breaths before dying. Ovi is shaken and collapses on the stairs crying and is comforted by Tyler.

Despite Tyler beating the crap out of Saju in an earlier fist and knife fight and then mowing him down with a truck, he calls Saju and asks for his help, forcing them to team up against the Police and Elite Force in order to escape Dhaka. Tyler creates a diversion away from Saju and Ovi using a rocket launcher, and rapid machine gun fire, as the two attempt to make their way through a bridge checkpoint. The pair are separated when their identities are revealed - with Saju pinning down the advancing Police with gunfire and Ovi taking refuge in an abandoned bus. Tyler makes his way back towards the bridge along with Khan's extraction team of mercenaries in an advancing helicopter as Asif watches from afar.

During the ensuing firefight, Saju is sniped and killed by Asif's Colonel who is then in turn sniped and killed by Khan. Rake continues to cover the extraction now with more Police and Elite Force advancing and is severely wounded in the shootout. He instructs Ovi to run towards the now landed and waiting helicopter and continues firing until the last of the Police and the Elite Force are dispensed with, with the intent to follow. Ovi watches alongside Khan as Tyler makes his way towards the helicopter, only to be shot in the side of the neck by Farhad. Tyler drags himself to the side of the bridge and falls over the barrier backwards into the river below, but not before seeing a clear vision of his son playing by the waters edge on a pristine beach. 

Ovi, Khan and the extraction team escape to Mumbai, as Asif watches the departing helicopter from the distance. Eight months later, and Asif is in a lavish restaurant, and taking a toilet break he is shot clean through the head at point blank range by Khan, who then shoots his lifeless body again in the head for good measure before exiting the mens washroom. Ovi at school again, jumps into his school's swimming pool from a diving platform and submerges himself to the bottom for a prolonged period of time. As he surfaces we see a white man watching over him, that could possibly be Tyler.

With 'Extraction' Stuntman turned Director Sam Hargrave has more than proven his ability behind the  camera as well as in front of it, with this heavily stylised, violent, bloody, take no prisoners approach to the fast paced action genre, just as Chad Stahelski did with the hugely popular and successful 'John Wick' franchise. And much of the fist fights, the gun play, the close quarter combat and the ever mounting body count as seen throughout 'Extraction' come straight out of the 'John Wick' playbook and there is nothing wrong with that, as Oscar Wilde once said 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery . . . '. This film is two hours worth of relentless action that doesn't let up for too long before the next set piece that Hargrave delivers with a keen eye for the detail, the authenticity and for keeping his target audience duly entertained. And Chris Hemsworth as the emotionally drained, world weary, kill or be killed hardened combat soldier gives a convincing performance that gives John Wick a run for his box office money. And with that ending, the Russo's, Hargrave, Hemsworth and Netflix might just have found the next action hero franchise. 

'Extraction' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online- 

THE DECLINE : Monday 20th April 2020

In these very trying and testing times for us all that has seen many cinema's, Odeon's, and movie theatres around the world close their doors for the foreseeable future because of the escalating threat of the COVID-19 Coronavirus taking an ever increasing hold on the world at large, many film and television productions halted in their tracks indefinitely, and new film releases pushed back to some future date when some sense of movie going normalcy is expected to resume, I have, needless to say, had to adapt to this new world order. And so with my usual Reviews of the latest cinematic releases being curtailed, instead I will post my Review of the latest release movies showing on Netflix until such time as the regular outing to my local multiplex or independent theatre can be reinstated.

In the last few weeks then, a number of new feature films have landed at Netflix - of which I review as below 'The Decline' which I saw from the comfort of my own sofa on Monday 20th April.

'THE DECLINE' is a Canadian thriller drama offering from first time feature film Director Patrice Laliberte, whose previous short films have included the 2015 TIFF award winning 'Overpass' for Best Canadian Short Film. This is the first Quebec film produced as a Netflix Original and saw its theatrical release on 28th February at the Rendez-vous Quebec Cinema Festival, and landed on Netflix later in March. The film is overdubbed into English, with the original cast dubbing their own dialogue so ensuring that the English accent of French speaking Quebecers would be more authentically represented.

The film opens up with a man carrying a torch through various rooms in a house late at night. He wakes his daughter, saying its time to go. She complies, meets him at the foot of the stairs, puts on a coat and a back pack and meets her mother. They go to the garage, torches extinguished, open the door and drive the family SUV out into the night, timing their effort as they do so. They pull up beside a harbour and congratulate each other saying that they were quicker by two minutes than last time. The next day the family watch an online video presented by a middle aged man named Alain (Real Bosse), a survivalist giving helpful hints from his own remote self contained and self sufficient camp in remotest isolated Canada on how to survive a downturn in civilisation as we know it - either through a pandemic, social unrest, economic collapse, all out war, irreversible climate change or some other more than plausible reason.

A few days later we see the husband and father Antoine (Guillaume Laurin) driving alone across snow swept frozen landscapes, with a telephone voiceover from Alain, saying that he has had a last minute cancellation at his multi-day survivalist training camp, and he would like Antoine to attend if he is so inclined. Whilst the pair have not met before, a pre-existing kindred relationship exists, presumably through prior telephone or email contact, and Antoine's due regard for the survivalist messages that Alain is advocating. Upon arrival Antione is greeted by Alain, and the pair travel on a snowmobile with trailer to the camp - a journey which takes some time. Antoine is blindfolded so as not to give away Alain's camp location, housed on his own personal 500 acre plot of wilderness.

Arriving at the camp Antoine is introduced to the other five survivalism enthusiasts all there for the same training camp - there is Rachel (Marie-Evelyne Lessard), Sebastien (Guillaume Cyr), Anna (Marilyn Castonguay), Francois (Marc-Andre Grondin) and David (Marc Beaupre). On a tour of the camp, they learn that they'll eat in Alain's very comfortable cabin, they'll sleep together in a large tent, and that Alain has solar panels, batteries, a generator, a greenhouse, a chicken coup, seasoned wood for burning, and the complete wherewithal to live as normal a life, and defend himself, come the apocalypse (whatever form that may take!). After dinner they sit around the camp fire until curfew at 9:30pm, discussing the reasons for them being there, drinking beers and wrestling each other with Rachel gaining the upper hand in all cases due to her being ex-military.

Alain takes his students on a cross country run, trains his students in handgun and rifle drills, snaring and field dressing small animals and planting seedlings in his greenhouse. One evening over dinner he tells his students that one day, when society collapses (and it is sooner that you may think!), he can live in his camp and supply his own needs to completely sustain himself indefinitely. He also tells them about his own survivalist philosophy, and later alone with Antoine he invites him to consider establishing himself and his family at the camp at some future date - such is the strength of their shared beliefs.

The next day Alain teaches the students how to make pipe bombs, saying that if a large contingent of machete wielding migrants try to raid his camp, then rifles will be hardly sufficient, but a pipe bomb can take out twenty at a time - much more effective! When the students have made their pipe bombs, they test a number of them in controlled explosions. At the end of the day Alain and Sebastien go off to prepare dinner, leaving the others to pack away everything from the day to its rightful place. In so doing Francois is packing away a box and it explodes, ripping his chest, arms and face to shreds. He dies a short time afterwards of his wounds. 

Gathered around the table with Francois' body under a blood soaked sheet, most of the students want to call the Police and report the accident. Alain and David have different ideas, saying they will all be charged with domestic terrorism or manslaughter, imprisoned, and Alain will lose his survival camp. Alain asks that they all sleep on it and that they'll reassess in the morning. Later that evening Alain burns the dead body with petrol on the camp fire, which naturally draws the attention of the others. All of the remaining students, except for David try to flee the camp. Alain shoots Anna in the leg as a warning to the others, who by now have made a dash for it through the trees and booby trapped snow covered trails late at night. Sebastien is quickly dispensed with when he is garrotted by a noose snare trap. In the meantime, Alain has dragged Anna into the kitchen kicking and screaming, and ties a tourniquet around her leg in an attempt to stem her blood loss, and cable ties her hands to the kitchen table.

Antoine and Rachel continue their journey treading very gingerly through the undergrowth, eventually coming upon Alain's back-up bunker containing arms, foodstuffs and essential supplies. They make off with a small cache of supplies including a hand gun and a semi-automatic assault rifle just before Alain and David arrive.

The next day, crossing a frozen lake on foot, Rachel falls in when the ice gives way under her feet. Antoine tries frantically to crack the ice as Rachel is swept downstream, managing to do so just in time. She has lost the assault rifle, but is safe, albeit cold to the bone. After resting up the night and huddling together under a space blanket, the pair continue their journey, eventually making it back to where their cars are parked. Getting into Antoine's SUV, the pair are ambushed by David in a hail of assault rifle bullets, killing Antoine. Rachel, using her hand gun has a shoot out with David, injuring him with a leg wound and then beating him to death with repeated blows to his head with the butt of her pistol. Rachel heads back to the camp with David's assault rifle. Alain arrives sometime later to see both David's and Antoine's lifeless bloodsoaked bodies.

Arriving at the cabin, Rachel sees the body of Anna who was cable tied to the kitchen bench and has subsequently died from her wounds. She sets fire to the greenhouse by dousing it in petrol, and then goes to an upper floor of the cabin to lie in wait for Alain. When Alain approaches on his snowmobil, she fires at him, pinning him down. He uses smoke grenades to mask his location and gets to the cabin. She disarms him when he enters the upper room, and they have a brutal close quarter hand-to-hand fight. Finally, even though she is injured, she incapacitates him, by repeatedly stabbing him in the leg and breaking his arm (skills she learned in her earlier military life, having seen active duty). Rachel loads the wounded Alain onto a sled attached to the snowmobile and drives out of the camp, as he pleads with her to just leave him there.

For its brisk running time of just 83 minutes 'The Decline' does not leave you wanting. The film packs a punch right from the get go as it becomes not so much a question whether our students and their mentor will survive a global catastrophe, but more of will they survive each other. The characters, whilst barely touching on their back stories, are all relatable and convincing in their portrayals of citizens wanting to believe in life after the apocalypse and their survival at almost any cost. As such you feel invested in the seven principle cast, but can easily spot those who will get popped off before the final showdown comes. The film is pertinent especially for these times when the world is in the grip of a global pandemic, and as such the hysteria and paranoia that so rapidly engulfs the camp after the initial deadly accident shines through in spades, interspersed with a few moments of extreme violence that are also grounded in stark reality. The film is deftly and efficiently crafted, with moments of suspense and terror that will maintain the interest throughout, and the cinematography is top notch too with stunning vistas of frozen lakes and rivers, snow covered hilltops and mountains, and narrow snow blanketed trails through the surrounding pine forest. I was very pleasantly surprised by 'The Decline', and think you will be too. Worth searching out if you subscribe to Netflix.

'The Decline', merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

A FALL FROM GRACE : Monday 13th April 2020.

In these very trying and testing times for us all that has seen many cinema's, Odeon's, and movie theatres around the world close their doors for the foreseeable future because of the escalating threat of the COVID-19 Coronavirus taking an ever increasing hold on the world at large, many film and television productions halted in their tracks indefinitely, and new film releases pushed back to some future date when some sense of movie going normalcy is expected to resume, I have, needless to say, had to adapt to this new world order. And so with my usual Reviews of the latest cinematic releases being curtailed, instead I will post my Review of the latest release movies showing on Netflix until such time as the regular outing to my local multiplex or independent theatre can be reinstated.

In the last few weeks then, a number of new feature films have landed at Netflix - of which I review as below 'A Fall from Grace' which I saw from the comfort of my sofa at home on Monday 13th April.

'A FALL FROM GRACE' - is an American thriller offering Directed, Written, Co-Produced and starring Tyler Perry which landed on Netflix in the US as an original film on 17th January 2020. The film was shot over the course of just five days, and as a consequence has been criticised for its lack of continuity and extras staring straight at the camera (case in point - observe two diners in the background as the main lead couple in the film enjoy their first date together at a restaurant). The film has garnered generally unfavourable reviews, and was according to Netflix statistics viewed by an audience of 26 million in its first week of screening on the streaming service.  

The film opens up with Police Officer on the beat Jordan Bryant (Matthew Law) who is seen one night attempting to coax an elderly woman down from the roof of a house where she is threatening to throw herself from. A helicopter emerges, shining a bright light on the woman, which prompts her to jump to her death. Early the next morning as day breaks, he climbs into bed and snuggles up to his wife, Jasmine (Bresha Webb), just as she wakes up to seize the day as a 26 year old recently graduated from law school attorney working for the Public Defenders Office.

Upon arriving at her place of work she is summonsed into the office by her boss, Rory Garraux (Tyler Perry) and handed a case file for one Grace Waters (Crystal Fox) who wants to plead guilty to the murder of her husband Shannon DeLong (Mehcad Brooks). Jasmine, who up until this point has only taken plea deals in her small town Virginia, visits Grace in prison to confirm her wish to plea bargain, and then to raise the necessary paperwork to that effect and to gain her signature. Grace's only request is that she be housed in a local prison so that she can remain close to her son Malcolm (Walter Fauntleroy) and his newborn child.

Jasmine, who is a bit of a wet blanket of a defence lawyer who has never tried a case before and lacks the fortitude, the resilience, and seemingly any ounce of experience is ready to roll over and push for the plea bargain, but the prosecuting lawyer Bradley Tankerton (Adrian Pasdar) will have none of it, claiming that she is guilty 110%, has confessed to the murder, and rightly deserves to be locked up for life. When confronted with a number of road blocks in the case all stacking up against Grace, she retreats within herself, cries like some spoiled child, seeks solace in her husband who basically tells her to toughen up, and is ready to give up her law career before it's even started!

As Jasmine digs deeper in to the case she is troubled by the pattern of blood pooling at the bottom of the stairs leading down to Grace's basement, plus the fact that Shannon's body was never recovered. Rory meanwhile, becomes increasingly agitated by Jasmine's belief that Grace may in fact be innocent after all, but presses the young attorney to pursue the signed confession so that the case can be wound up. His office does not have the funding to pursue a court case, and doesn't need the media frenzy who already by the court of public opinion has found Grace guilty as all hell. He visits Grace in prison with Jasmine to push for her to sign, by which time, Grace has made up her mind to have her day in court at the hands of the inexperienced still wet behind the ears Jasmine.

Jasmine, visits the home of Grace's best friend Sarah Miller (Phylicia Rashad), who recounts in flashbacks that following Grace's divorce she became more introverted, withdrawn and sorrowful for her current circumstances as a middle aged woman. Sarah urged Grace to get out, live a little and maybe she'll meet someone new. This leads her to the opening night of a photographic exhibition at a local art gallery where she meets Shannon, the exhibitor of his photographic works of Ethiopia. He almost immediately homes in on Grace, with his suave, sophisticated words and compliments. At first Grace keeps her distance, but Shannon showers her with roses, photos from his exhibit, wine, dinner, constant compliments, and eventually she falls for his charming ways. In three months the pair get married and for a short while their lives are all sunshine and rainbows.

Gradually Shannon's charming ways give way to cruelty as he seemingly keeps secrets from her. Grace is fired instantly from her long standing and respected job at the bank when it is discovered that some US$350K is missing from the accounts she manages. Thinking someone has stolen her identity, Grace soon discovers that Shannon has stolen from her accounts using her passwords, and has also mortgaged her house to the tune of US$370K with forged documents. When confronted with this, Shannon's retorts that he needed the money to pay off some debts, and that Grace's house is now their house, and in this State, when a couple are married all wealth and assets pass into joint names and as such he had every right to remortgage the house. When Grace and Sarah visit a lawyer seeking advice and guidance about prosecuting Shannon, they are told that any case will take years to come to court, cost a small fortune, with no certainty over the outcome.

The last straw comes when Grace arrives home to find Shannon in their bed with another woman, and he forces Grace out of the room asking for their privacy. He parades the young woman down the stairs in front of Grace like some trophy, with the woman saying that she never realised that your mother would be home, and next time to make sure she is out of the house. That evening as Shannon is sat in the lounge talking smugly at Grace with his back to her, Grace becomes increasingly angry and beats Shannon with a baseball bat multiple times over the head splattering his blood all over the place and all over her too. She then throws his limp lifeless body down the stairs into her basement. Grace then drives for hours into the middle of nowhere to call her friend Sarah and tell her she killed her husband.

Sarah further explains that following that phone call she went to Grace's house and witnessed her son Malcolm leaving the house. She found Shannon's body to be missing, believing that Malcolm helped Grace dispose of it somewhere in remote bushland. In court, Jasmine fails miserably at proving that Grace is innocent. Calling Sarah as a witness backfires because the prosecution reveals phone records showing numerous phone calls between the women on the night of the murder. Jasmine tries to claim that the phone records are inadmissible because she had no prior knowledge of their existence, but the prosecutor alleges that she did and that she just overlooked them. A decision that the Judge upholds in favour of the prosecutor. Sarah finally admits in the witness box after repeated questioning that Grace confessed to killing Shannon to her. Grace is found, hardly surprisingly, guilty by the jury.

Feeling sorry for herself, Jasmine stops by Sarah's house which also doubles as a residence for old ladies and notices that an elderly frail and confused woman named Alice (Cicely Tyson) is trying to flee from the house. Alice wants to leave, but Jasmine ushers her back inside. Alice reveals that other women have died there, including Shane Fieldman (Jordan's victim from the beginning of the film, and the real photographer behind the exhibition where Grace first met Shannon). Jasmine hears a sound coming from the basement and goes off to investigate. There she discovers there are numerous elderly women all shackled and chained up in the basement. She is grappled from behind, tied up and gagged and locked in a small room. Jordan meanwhile is sent various files to his patrol cars on board computer revealing Sarah's criminal history, and hurriedly goes off in search for his wife. Shannon turns out to be alive and further that he is Sarah's son. Jordan bursts into the house, grapples with Sarah, handcuffs her and then searches for Jasmine as Sarah makes her obvious getaway, albeit cuffed. Jordan and Shannon fight in the darkened basement as Jasmine tries to break free. Shannon is shot at close range three times in the chest by Jasmine who has broken free from her restraints, and is presumably dead, second time around, as a result.

Shortly after, the Police arrive and the elderly ladies are all freed. Grace is released from jail with a full pardon and an apology from the court, and is reunited with her son Malcolm. Jasmine's work on the case is applauded by her colleagues, the media and her boss Rory. Sarah and Shannon’s real names are revealed to be Betty and Maurice Mills, and or the past twenty years the two have been conning older women out of their money and social security across numerous States, and that Maurice is wanted in various States for bigamy.

'A Fall from Grace' certainly grabs the attention from the get go, but, for all the wrong reasons! Jasmine is so half baked, so lacking in confidence, so unwise and unknowing to the point that her ineptitude and just go with the flow attitude is laughable. The story twists and turns verge from the sublime to the ridiculous as Perry seems intent on throwing every conceivable obstacle and plot development at his cast of largely downtrodden Black characters who must have been racing against the clock every time the camera rolled to complete their lines so that the Writer/Director could shout 'cut'. And as for the courtroom drama at the centre of this film, that is delivered in a predictable by the numbers manner that anyone could see coming from ten miles away - there are certainly no surprises here. When the end finally comes it's a hurried affair that quickly lunges into horror territory without delivering on any scares, but by the end of its two hour run time, it can't really come quickly enough. And lets not mention the extras again in the background, or the shonky set design, or the lack of attention to detail that is all heightened by Perry's desire to wrap this shoot in under a week - and it shows!

'A Fall from Grace' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Odeon's closed, productions halted, movies delayed : the impact of the coronavirus - Part 2

Usually on a Wednesday I would report on the latest release new movies coming to an Odeon near you in Australia during the week commencing tomorrow. But as cinemas all around the country and elsewhere are temporarily closed, this week and for the foreseeable future this is not to be. So, as the world remains in lockdown, self isolation is the new de rigueur, and the vast majority of the worlds countries are suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that has seen large social gatherings forbidden, stores and businesses shut their doors indefinitely, millions of people now working from home or stood down, the global economy on an ever descending downward spiral, borders closed, airlines grounded, and all but essential services and retailers still operating. And, as at the time of writing, there still remains no end in sight! What we do know, as history tells us, that this pandemic will pass, eventually, but who knows when, and who knows what the world will look like on the other side?

And so last week I reported on all the latest big movies that were slated for release over the next six months or so, that have subsequently been pushed back to some future date either later on this year, or next year, or at an as yet undisclosed date. This week I turn attention to all of those movies that were in production at the time the global pandemic was announced and as a consequence have taken a hiatus from their filming schedule until such time as a sense of normality is restored.

So, in case you were wondering what the production status is of the big movies that were filming at the time the outbreak took hold, here is what we know of them so far :-

* KING RICHARD' - is a biographical drama film Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and stars Will Smith as Richard Williams, Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams, Demi Singleton as Serena Williams with Jon Bernthal, Liev Schreiber, and Dylan McDermott. Filming commenced in Los Angeles in January, but was halted temporarily in March. The film remains slated for a 25th November 2020 release.

* 'THE LAST DUEL' - this historical drama thriller film is Directed by Ridley Scott, and is based on the book 'The Last Duel : A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France' by Eric Jager. The screenplay is Co-Written by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener and stars Matt Damon in the lead role supported by Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck. Filming began in France on 14th February and was due to move to Ireland in March, but production was halted on the 13th March for an unidentified period. The film is due for release 8th January 2021.

* 'SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS' -  is a Superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios it is intended to be the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi (Marvel's first film with an Asian lead Actor). Also starring Tony Leung, Awkwafina and Ronny Chieng. Filming began in Sydney, Australia in February but was halted on 13th March, with a release date now scheduled for 7th May 2021.

* 'THE MATRIX 4' - is a Sci-Fi action film and the fourth instalment in 'The Matrix' franchise beginning with 1999's 'The Matrix' and continuing with two sequels, 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Matrix Revolutions' (both in 2003). The film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Lana Wachowski, one of the two Wachowskis who Directed the previous three films. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson reprise their roles from previous films in the series. Production began in San Francisco on 4th February, but later on in March production was halted. The film is set for a release date of 21st May 2021.

* 'JURASSIC WORLD : DOMINION' -  is a Sci-Fi adventure film Directed, Co-Written for the screen and based on a story by Colin Trevorrow, who also Directed 2015's 'Jurassic World'. This sequel to the 2018's 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom', it is the sixth film in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise and the final film in the 'Jurassic World' trilogy. The film stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, Isabella Sermon, and B.D. Wong who all reprise their roles from previous instalments. Principal photography began on 24th February in British Columbia, then moved to England, and on 13th March production was halted for an indefinite period. The film is due to be released on 11th June 2021.

* 'THE BATMAN' -  this Superhero film is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, who we all know and love. Produced by DC Films it is developed as the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and a reboot of the 'Batman' film franchise. Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Matt Reeves the film stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman with  Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. Filming began in London, England in late January but was halted indefinitely. The film is slated for a 25th June 2021 release.

* MISSION : IMPOSSIBLE 7' - this action spy film is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Christopher McQuarrie, and starring Tom Cruise, who reprises his role as Ethan Hunt once again. It is the seventh installment of the 'Mission : Impossible' film franchise and the third film to be Directed by McQuarrie after 2015's 'Rogue Nation' and 2018's 'Fallout'. The cast includes Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Vanessa Kirby, all of whom reprise their roles from the previous films, along with Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Nicholas Hoult, who will join the franchise. Filming was due to begin on 20th February in Venice for three weeks before moving to Rome for another six weeks however, due to the coronavirus pandemic becoming more pronounced in Italy, production in the country was suspended. The film is due to be released on 23rd July 2021.

* 'ELVIS' - this Biopic is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by Baz Luhrmann and charts the life and career of Rock 'n' Roll legend Elvis Presley. Starring Austin Butler as Elvis with Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker and Olivia DeJonge, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rufus Sewell. Filming began in Australia in January, but was subsequently put on hold when Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were both positively diagnosed with Covid-19. The film is scheduled for release on 1st October 2021.

* 'FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 3' - this third instalment in the fantasy spin-off and prequel series to the 'Harry Potter' franchise is Written by J.K.Rowling and Directed once more by David Yates. Starring Eddie Redmayne as our young wizarding hero Newt Scamander with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Zoe Kravitz and Jessica Williams reprising their roles from the previous films. Production was due to begin in late March, with much of the schedule being filmed in Brazil. However, photography didn't even get started and has been delayed until an undisclosed date. The release however, is still slated for 12th November 2021.

* 'UNCHARTED' - based on the popular action adventure video game series that launched in 2007, the main series of games follows Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who travels across the world to uncover various historical mysteries. The film is Directed by Ruben Fleischer and stars Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan with Antonio Banderas. Filming was due to start in Berlin, Germany in mid-March but was halted for a minimum of six weeks when much of Europe closed its borders and countries were forced into lock down. The film is now slated for release on 8th December 2021.

* 'AVATAR 2 and 3' - these epic Sci-Fi films are the first two of four planned sequels to the hugely successful 2009 film 'Avatar' and is once again Directed, Co-Produced, Co-Written, and Co-Edited by James Cameron. Featuring an all star cast many of whom are reprising their roles from the first film, namely Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang, with Sigourney Weaver returning in a different role, joined by the likes of  Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Vin Diesel, and C. J. Jones. 'Avatar 2' started production and began preliminary shooting in mid-August 2017, with Manhattan Beach, California as the main shooting location, and principal photography started in late September 2017, simultaneously with 'Avatar 3'. On November 14, 2018, Cameron announced filming with the principal performance capture cast had been completed. It was then reported that live-action filming for 'Avatar 2 and 3' would commence in New Zealand in the spring of 2019. Filming for 2019 concluded in late November, and would continue in 2020 in New Zealand. Come mid-March this year and it was announced that the filming of the Avatar sequel films in New Zealand had been postponed indefinitely and that production would remain in Los Angeles. However, virtual production will continue in Manhattan Beach, California while visual effects will continue at Weta Digital in Wellington. 'Avatar 2' is set for a release date of 17th December 2021, and 'Avatar 3' on 22nd December 2023.

* 'NIGHTMARE ALLEY' - is a psychological thriller film Directed, Co-Produced, and Co-Written for the screen by Guillermo del Toro and based on the 1946 book of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. Featuring an all star cast that takes in Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Rooney Mara, David Strathairn, and Holt McCallany, filming began on 21st January and was halted on 13th March indefinitely. No release date for the film has yet been publicised.

* 'RED NOTICE' - is an action comedy thriller film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot filming began in Atlanta, Georgia in January and was then due to move to Italy. When the pandemic became more virulent in Italy it was announced on 14th March that production would be shut down for at least two weeks . . . and counting! Originally scheduled for a June 12th 2020 release, this subsequently got moved to 13th November 2020, the film was then picked up by Netflix who have as yet not revealed a planned release date.

* 'THE LITTLE MERMAID' - this live action remake of Disney's classic animated feature film from 1989 which gave rise to a direct-to-video sequel, a prequel film, a spin-off television series, a musical, several video games, theme park attractions, and other merchandise is Directed by Rob Marshall. Based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson and starring Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Idris Elba, Megan Fox, Alan Cumming, Halle Berry, Lupita Nyong'o amongst others, filming was due to commence in April, but was halted in March, with no planned release date yet announced.

* 'HOME ALONE' - this reboot of the 1990 classic Christmas comedy film of the same name will be the sixth instalment in the franchise which saw the first two, and undoubtedly the most successful in the series, Directed by Chris Columbus and starring Macauley Culkin in the lead role as the eight year old kid left 'home alone' during the Christmas holidays. Filming was due to take place in Montreal between February and April but come mid-March and Disney announced a wholesale halt to its production schedule until further notice. Archie Yates has been cast in the lead role, with allegedly a reprisal of the Kevin McCallister character by Macauley Culkin also making an appearance. No release date has yet been announced.

And so this just about brings you up to date with many of the movie productions whose filming has been temporarily halted for who knows how long that this pesky virus thing continues to hang around for. Stay tuned, keep it here and remain safe . . . indoors!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE OCCUPANT : Monday 6th April 2020.

In these very trying and testing times for us all that has seen many cinema's, Odeon's, and movie theatres around the world close their doors for the foreseeable future because of the escalating threat of the COVID-19 Coronavirus taking an ever increasing hold on the world at large, many film and television productions halted in their tracks indefinitely, and new film releases pushed back to some future date when some sense of movie going normalcy is expected to resume, I have, needless to say, had to adapt to this new world order. And so with my usual Reviews of the latest cinematic releases being curtailed, instead I will post my Review of the latest release movies showing on Netflix until such time as the regular outing to my local multiplex or independent theatre can be reinstated.

In the last few weeks then, a number of new feature films have landed at Netflix - of which I review as below 'The Occupant'  which I saw from the comfort of my own home on Monday 6th April.

'THE OCCUPANT' is a Spanish thriller (overdubbed into English) Directed and Written by David and Alex Pastor, and is a Netflix Original film that was released on the streaming service on 25th March.

The film opens up with Javier Munoz (Javier Gutierrez), a middle aged suggest closer to retirement than not, former advertising executive being interviewed by a couple of young gun media types. We quickly learn that Javier has enjoyed a highly successful and well regarded career in the world of advertising and is able to boast many milestone campaigns. But now, sat in the interview room with two young bucks he is being looked down upon as washed up, no longer relevant, and out of touch. He is politely told that the job they are seeking to fill is for a young up and comer and that this job would be beneath him. Obviously feeling dejected he puts on a brave face and leaves. When he gets home he tells his wife Marga (Ruth Diaz) that the interview went well and and he'll expect to hear in a couple of weeks. The couple live with their early teenage son in a very lavish penthouse apartment with sweeping views out across Barcelona, Javier drives a BMW, and their son goes to a private school - all the trappings of his successful and monied career.

But, with no money coming into the household, Javier and Marga are forced to face reality. Marga takes a job as a retail sales assistant and Javier continues unsuccessfully on the interview circuit. They sell up their apartment, much to Javier's disgust and move into a smaller unit in a far less well to do area of the city. They also have to let their cleaner go, which Javier does one evening while driving her home in the pouring rain. The final straw comes when Javier asks her for the keys to his apartment, which she throws at him and storms out of the vehicle in tears and swears at him.

As the weeks pass, Javier is also forced to advertise his beloved BMW for sale. He takes a number of calls of enquiry but tells all would be buyers that the car has been sold already. One day after another unsuccessful interview, Javier is in the car park and kicks in the side passenger door repeatedly out of sheer frustration at not being able to land a job. He immediately is remorseful for the damage caused to his pride and joy and opening up the passenger door he comes across the set of keys that the cleaner had thrown at him previously. A plan hatches in his mind.

The next day, using the keys to his former apartment he enters through the underground car park for which he still has the clicker to activate the door, takes the lift up to level five and lets himself in. He pokes around the apartment to see how the new owners have furnished the place, opens up the fridge, sits on the sofa eating a bowl of cereal, plays music, uses the toilet and leaves. He repeats this process on numerous occasions thereafter, each time digging deeper into the lives of the new owners by accessing their home computer and looking up diary bookings, historical files, photographs and sundry correspondence. He learns that the new residents Tomas (Mario Casas), his wife Lara (Bruna Cusi) and their young daughter Monica (Iris Valles) were involved in a car accident in which Lara and Monica sustained non-life threatening head injuries a few years back as a result of his drink driving for which Tomas has enlisted in an AA group and has been sober for over a year now.

Javier, through Tomas's diary inserts learns that he has an upcoming meeting in a church and ventures there in an attempt to uncover more of his story. Tomas enters a back room, and is sighted by a lady who ushers him in too. Initially, ill at ease, Javier soon goes with the flow and takes a seat in the circular formation of chairs, directly opposite Tomas. Javier remains silent until the very end, when the convenor asks if anyone wants to speak before wrapping up the evening. Javier stands on his feet and introduces himself as being new to Barcelona, that he has tried unsuccessfully on four separate occasions to kick his drinking habit, and the group has given him the strength too start afresh with a renewed focus for which he offers his sincerest thanks. After the meeting Tomas introduces himself to Javier and tells him that they seem to share similar stories. The pair then head off to a local cafe for a coffee to get to know each other some more.

What follows is Javier slowly and stealthily finagling his way into Tomas's life through access to the family computer calendar, a somewhat opportunistic and nosey gardener who comes to a sticky end when he attempts to blackmail Javier, his crashed BMW trashed by his own hand to garner sympathy from Tomas and to get closer to Lara, an impromptu dinner meeting at Tomas's apartment to meet Lara, a Spanish champion rhythmic gymnast that he worked on a media campaign for a few years ago and is able to pull some strings to get Lara and Monica (who is a budding young gymnast herself) to meet during a training session, and a manufactured email sent by Javier to himself using Tomas's email on his smartphone saying that he had relapsed and was seeking Javier's help, which proves to be the final straw for Lara in what was already a fragile relationship. Javier also learns in a one on one conversation with Tomas that he is extremely allergic to peanuts, and if he even comes close to a single peanut, it would more than likely kill him.

Things come to a head with Tomas as Javier visits him at his offices (he is the Vice President of his father-in-laws trucking empire and is desperately unhappy there) and Tomas punches Javier repeatedly in the face for driving a massive wedge between him and Lara. This gives Javier the ammunition he needs to confront Lara with the 'truth' about her unhinged, back on the bottle husband (even though in reality he is not), and gain her sympathy. At all times Javier portrays the caring, kind hearted friend who Lara can call upon at anytime 24/7, and gradually she is being won over, as is Monica. Knowing that at some point Tomas will return to the apartment and in all likelihood create a stink with Lara, Javier gives Lara a bottle of pepper spray, which he has secretly laced with peanut essence, which she can use to defend herself.

And so inevitably that day comes and Tomas gets sprayed with that can of whoop ass and hits the deck almost immediately with anaphylactic shock. Lara calls Javier out of desperation, who just happens to be in the neighbourhood and comes round knowing exactly what to expect. He orders Lara into Monica's bedroom to shield the events from her daughter and not to come out while he calls the Police and an ambulance. Tomas shows signs of life, but Javier quickly suffocates him, expelling any life from his already ailing body.

We then fast forward a few months and Javier has a top job back at a successful advertising firm, he is driving a smart new saloon car, and is residing in a very plush house with Lara and Monica. Life is all good, and he has left his old life behind and has very successfully worked his way upward and into a new life, with a new ready made family with all the trimmings thanks very much. As for Marga, well she appears at Javier's new place of work one day and announces that she has worked out Javier's scam and is going to the Police. But Javier threatens to halt his sons trust fund and cast her and her son out on the street by selling the apartment she is living in which has his name on the deeds, and with the proceeds he will engage very, very expensive defence lawyers. Marga is beaten into submission, out of protecting the interests of herself and her son.

I have to say that I enjoyed 'The Occupant' more than I was expecting to. This has certain similarities to Bong Joon-ho's big time Oscar winner 'Parasite' in as much as here is a man trying to better his status in life by any means necessary, and ultimately succeeding, but, this is where the similarity ends. Whereas 'Parasite' has an intelligent script, deeply dark humour, style and substance, emotional weight, and a strong cast, 'The Occupant' barely scratches the surface of these attributes. That said Gutierrez gives a solid performance but the other characters sit on the periphery and are under cooked in terms of their contribution to Javier's motivations, or their own back stories which either don't exist or are barely touched on. The story though moves along at a fair pace, it certainly grips the attention, and the ending offers an unexpected twist as the good guy turned bad wins the day, gets the girl and drives off into the sunset seemingly content in his new life.

'The Occupant' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-