What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st October 2020.

The 58th New York Film Festival is currently in full swing having opened on 17th September and running through until 11th October. This years opening film is Director Steve McQueen's 'Lovers Rock', with Chloe Zhao's already acclaimed 'Nomadland' being the Centrepiece and 'French Exit' by Azazel Jacobs being the closing night film. The festival presents a mix of in-person and virtual screenings, partnering with various local institutions to offer drive-in screenings. Maintaining pace with global film culture amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the festival brings a more streamlined and eclectic mix of shorts, experimental cinema, documentaries and auteur films.

This years Main Slate of films also includes another twenty two new features from around the world. Included in this line up are :-

* 'Mangrove' - Directed also by Steve McQueen as an anthology of five films about the lives of black people living in Great Britain that he has made under the 'Small Axe' heading that launched with festival opener 'Lovers Rock'. Recounting the true story of Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), the Trinidad-born owner of the Notting Hill 'Mangrove' restaurant who was arrested for protesting the police’s countless acts of intimidation and brutality. This is a vivid and gripping dramatisation of these events and the resulting landmark 1970 court case of Crichlow and the other defendants, who came to be known as the Mangrove Nine.

* 'Red, White and Blue' - also Directed by Steve McQueen as an anthology of five films he has made under the 'Small Axe' heading that launched with festival opener 'Lovers Rock', continued with 'Mangrove' and concludes with this feature, with 'Education' and 'Alex Wheatle' not shown at this festival. John Boyega plays real-life figure Leroy Logan, a member of the London Metropolitan Police Force who both witnessed and experienced firsthand the organisation’s fundamental racism. The film captures Logan’s growing awareness of a system that he would one day try to dismantle from the inside, while also homing in on his relationship with his father, a victim of white police brutality who initially refuses to accept his son’s decision to enter the police force.

* 'Beginning' - in her striking feature debut, Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili tells the devastating story of a persecuted family of Jehovah’s Witness missionaries in a remote village outside of Tibilisi from the perspective of a traumatised wife and mother Yana (Ia Sukhitashvili).

* 'City Hall' - here Director, Producer and Editor Frederick Wiseman takes an in depth look at the function and practice of community, policy, and civic engagement and how this is shaping Americans’ everyday lives. This time, Wiseman trains his gaze on the inner workings of the city of Boston, taking viewers into the public and backroom discussions that can either inspire or stall municipal action.

* 'The Disciple' - Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane’s here Directs a finely crafted labor of love set in the world of Hindustani classical music, starring singer, and remarkable first-time actor Aditya Modak, as a man living in Mumbai who tries to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a maestro in the Khayal raag music tradition.

* 'I Carry You With Me' - Directed by Heidi Ewing this film unexpectedly and brilliantly incorporates documentary elements into the story of a burgeoning romance between two men - Ivan (Armando Espitia), a semi-closeted young father and restaurant worker, and Gerardo (Christian Vazquez), a high school teacher who has come to terms more fully with his sexuality - who cross the border from Mexico to the U.S. in search of a new life together and new work opportunities.

* 'Malmkrog' - from Romanian Director Cristi Puiu this turn-of-the-20th-century Christmas Eve gathering among five members of the European elite at an elegant Transylvanian estate becomes the setting for an increasingly intense succession of conversations on good and evil, Jesus and the Devil, war and peace in this at times frightening vision of the simmering violence beneath the colonialist’s veneer of courtesy and formal politeness.

* 'MLK/FBI' - throughout his history changing political career, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement authorities like an enemy of the state. In this virtuosic documentary, Director Sam Pollard lays out a detailed account of the FBI surveillance that dogged King’s activism throughout the 1950's and ’60's.

* 'Night of the Kings' - here Ivory Coast filmmaker Philippe Lacote tells the story of a pickpocket (Kone Bakary), newly arrived at the Maca correctional facility in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan, who, in order to stay alive, must keep his fellow inmates entertained with wild tales over the course of a night.

* 'The Salt of Tears' - Director Philippe Garrel here tells the story of handsome Luc (Logann Antuofermo) who aggressively courts Djemila (Oulaya Amamra) on a Paris suburb metro in this precise and economically told moral tale, but she isn’t destined to be his one and only.

* 'Time' - examines the tireless twenty year campaign of Louisiana woman Fox Rich to secure her husband’s release after he received a  sixty year prison sentence for robbery becomes a delicate work of nonfiction cinematic alchemy in the hands of Director Garrett Bradley.

* 'Tragic Jungle' - in the 1920's, Agnes (Indira Andrewin) escapes from the white British landowner she doesn’t want to marry into the deep thickets of the tropical forest along the Rio Hondo River. Mexican filmmaker Yulene Olaizola has here crafted a gripping adventure and a contemplative rumination on the brutality and splendour of nature.

* 'The Truffle Hunters' - this revelatory, earthy documentary is Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw who immerse the viewer in the forests of Northern Italy where dogs, accompanied by their elderly and often irascible human owners of modest means, seek the precious white Alba truffle.

* 'Undine' - from German Director Christian Petzold, this melodrama centres around a pair of star-crossed lovers, Undine (Paula Beer), a historian and museum tour guide specialising in urban development, and Christoph (Franz Ragowski), an industrial diver—linked by their shared love of the water.

* 'The Woman Who Ran' - divided into three casually threaded yet distinct sections, South Korean film maker Hong Sangsoo’s latest offering sees Gamhee (Kim Minhee) as she travels without her husband for the first time in years, reconnecting with a succession of friends, on purpose and by chance.

For more news on this years 58th New York Film Festival you can visit the official website at : https://www.filmlinc.org/

This week then we have four new cinema releases to tease you out to your local Odeon. We kick off with two horror films - one from the US and the other from Russia. The first is a story that intertwines the modern day with the nineteenth century slave plantations of the deep south, but which one is reality for this successful sociologist who must face her past, present and future in order to survive. The second is set in the Russia of 1983 and how a young doctor works to save the life of a cosmonaut who has returned from space with a mystery organism living inside him. Next up we turn to a legal drama that in 1969 and 1970 saw seven protesters held to account for inciting riots, that was to become one of the most notorious trials in history. And we close out the week with a New York woman and her impulsive, larger than life father trying to find out if her husband is having an affair.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or 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.

'ANTEBELLUM' (Rated MA15+) - is an American horror film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz in their feature filmmaking debuts. Originally slated for an end of April release date, this was pushed back due to the impacts of COVID-19 to the 20th August before being temporarily suspended from the release schedule all together. Subsequently, the film was released through video on demand on 18th September in the US, but now gets a theatrical release in Australia from this week. Costing US$15M, the film has so far recouped just under US$2M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews so far. 

In the present day successful African American sociologist Veronica Henley (Janelle Monae) finds herself trapped in the horrifying reality of a nineteenth century Southern Confederate slave plantation overseen by a harsh Confederate General (Eric Lange) that forces her to confront the past, present and future - before it's too late. Also starring Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons and Gabourey Sidibe. 

'SPUTNIK' (Rated MA15+) - this Russian Sci-Fi horror film is Directed by Egor Abramenko in his feature film debut. Due to have seen its World Premier screening at the Tribeca Film Festival in April of this year, when the festival was cancelled due to COVID-19 the film was released through video on demand in late April in its native Russia, and now gets a limited run in select cinemas in Australia from this week. Having cost less that US$3M to make, the film has so far grossed US$23K, and has received generally favourable critical acclaim. Set in 1983, here Tatyana Yuryevna Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) a young doctor and neurophysiologist is recruited by the military to assess a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and returned to Earth with a dangerous extra terrestrial life form living inside him, which has created a symbiotic relationship with its host. Also starring Fyodor Bondarchuk and Pyotr Fyodorov. 

'THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7' (Rated MA15+) - here we have an American legal drama film Directed and Written by Aaron Sorkin in only his second film making outing following 2017's 'Molly's Game' although he has written the screenplays for the likes of 'A Few Good Men', 'The American President', 'Charlie Wilson's War', 'The Social Network', 'Moneyball' and 'Steve Jobs' amongst others. Costing US$35M to make, the film was initially slated for a limited cinema release from 25th September before a much wider release in mid-October. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the film now gets a limited run before streaming on Netflix from 16th October onward, and has garnered positive Reviews. Based on the real life story of the Chicago Seven, a group of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy in 1969 and 1970, for inciting riots, and other charges related to anti-Vietnam War, countercultural protests and crossing state borders that took place in Chicago, Illinois, on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Those seven were Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron-Cohen), Jerry Ruben (Jeremy Strong), David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch), Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), John Froines (Daniel Flaherty) and Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins). Also starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance and William Hurt. 

'ON THE ROCKS' (Rated M) - this American comedy drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sofia Coppola whose previous film making credits include 'The Virgin Suicides', 'Lost in Translation', 'Marie Antoinette', 'The Bling Ring' and 'The Beguiled' most recently. The film saw its World Premier screening at the New York Film Festival on 22nd September before a limited cinematic release this week and before steaming on Apple TV+ on 23rd October. Here Laura (Rashida Jones) thinks she’s happily married with two daughters, but when her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) starts putting in late hours at the office with a new co-worker, Laura begins to suspect the worst. She turns to the one man whom she feels may give her the insight she is looking for - her charming and impulsive father Felix (Bill Murray), who insists they investigate the situation. As the two begin prowling New York at night, bouncing from uptown parties to downtown hotspots, they discover at the heart of their journey lies their own relationship. The film has generated mostly favourable Reviews. 

With four 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-

THE TRANSLATORS : Tuesday 22nd September 2020.

'THE TRANSLATORS' ('Les Traducteurs') is an M Rated French thriller that I saw at my local independent cinema earlier this week. Directed and Written by Regis Roinsard in only his second feature film making outing since 2012's 'Populaire', this film has garnered mixed or average Reviews so far since going on general release in its native France at the end of November last year.

Our film opens up with the camera homing in on various people who seems to be travelling from all over Europe to ultimately congregate somewhere in France, as three stretched limo's all pull up outside some huge lavish chateau in the French countryside, out of which alight a mixed bunch of nine different nationalities. At the same time, Eric Angstrom (Lambert Wilson), announces in a media conference that his publishing house has been granted the rights to publish the third book in a massively popular and best selling 'Dedalus' trilogy series. Following the international success of books one and two 'The Sting of Rebecca' and 'The Poisoned Kiss', this third title 'The Man Who Did Not Want To Die' by author Oscar Brach is keenly awaited and hotly anticipated the world over. The next step in the process is to have the heavily guarded manuscript translated in to multiple languages for a simultaneous worldwide release on the same day sometime in the first quarter of the following year. 

And so arriving at the chateau there are nine translators from England, Russia, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, China and Greece. They are met and welcomed to their new hideaway home for the next two months by Rose-Marie Houeix (Sara Giraudeau), Angstrom's Assistant, who shows them the swimming pool, the ten pin bowling alley, where they'll eat with food provided by a five star chef, drink wine from the extensive cellar, and how each of the ensuite rooms is bigger than her apartment. However, each of the translators is to surrender their mobile phones, any recording devices or other technology, internet access is blocked, and there are to be no comings or goings from the chateau for the duration of their stay. They are in complete lockdown, shut off from the outside world. Their focus for the first month is to translate all four hundred or so pages of the manuscript and for the second month to review and fine tune their translations. For eleven hours a day they will work on their translations, surrounded by a stacked library full of reference books, all the while closely monitored by armed guards. They'll be done and home by Christmas. 

And so the nine are made up of a Russian woman, Katerina Anisinova (Olga Kurylenko) claiming to be a Dedalus #1 fan and channeling the doomed heroine of the series Rebecca; the flamboyant Italian, Dario Farelli (Riccardo Scarmarcio); the depressed Dane who harbours a deep seated grudge against her family and who ever only wanted to write but is no good at it, Helene Tuxen (Sidse Babett Knudsen); the stuttering Spaniard, Javier Casal sporting a broken wrist with it in plaster (Edouardo Noriega); the punk Portuguese girl, Telma Alves (Maria Leite); the oldest of the group and a Marxist Greek, Konstantinos Kedrinos (Manolis Mavromatakis); the Chinese pragmatist, Chen Yao (Frederic Chau); the uptight German, Ingrid Korbel (Anna-Maria Sturm); and finally the youngest of the bunch and also claiming to be a #1 fan whose aim in life is to meet the author is the English lad Alex Goodman (Alex Lawther).

And so the gang of nine settle down to their translation task at hand, and initially everything appears to go swimmingly. Progress is made, the group bond over dinner, and end up collectively singing 'What the World Needs Now, is Love Sweet Love', they swim, use the exercise equipment, and ten pin bowl together, while drinking wine and champagne. Then the next day, Angstrom receives a e-mail on his mobile phone stating that some undisclosed person has the first twenty pages of the manuscript which will be leaked online unless he pays up the ransom money of €5M within 24 hours. Immediately, the finger of suspicion points at one of the nine - for who else has had access to the manuscript, but how did they get it out, and who has the technology at hand to send out an e-mail of demands. Angstrom is none too pleased to say the very least, and immediately tasks his security detail to raid each room of the nine translators and turn it upside-down to uncover any clues as to the identity of the culprit. Beds and pillows are upturned and torn apart, minibar fridges are emptied all over the floor, and personal belongings are ransacked. 

Needless to say, Angstrom calls the culprits bluff, and when the 24th hour clicks over, he has the team of nine stripped down to their underwear all lined up against a bookcase to see how one of the nine will send an e-mail while under such scrutiny. But under his watchful gaze, an e-mail is received saying that the next one hundred pages will now be released online and the ransom has now increased to €20M. He's furious of course and gradually the dynamic within the group begins to implode with fingers being pointed at likely suspects, nationalities are insulted, cultures questioned, the lights and heat are turned off and ultimately guns are raised and inevitably shots are fired. 

The reveal comes about mid-way through in a fast forward sequence set in a police interview room, where Angstrom is asking questions of the perpetrator in an attempt to understand his/her motives. The latter half then reveals who the perpetrator is, how he/she made it work in flashback, and introduces us to the author George Fontaine (Patrick Bauchau), who publishes under the pseudonym Oscar Brach, who owns a small book store in some small coastal town in northern France. Again in flashback, we see Angstrom collecting the manuscript from Fontaine and initially the meeting is very civil, until Fontaine reveals that he is also courting other publishers and that he never signed an exclusive deal with Angstrom's publishing house anyway. Needless to say it doesn't end well for Fontaine. 

We then go back to the chateau and phase two of the ransom deadline has now past, and Angstrom receives another e-mail saying that the next one hundred pages of the manuscript will be released online and the ransom has now increased to €80M. Out of desperation he orders his colleagues back at his publishing house to release the funds from his own account and to liquidate his stocks and shares to cover the ransom demand.

Fast forwarding to that same interview room with Angstrom wearing a hidden wire with the Police authorities intently listening in, the perpetrator comes clean as to his/her true identity, but very cleverly leans over to be right in Angstrom's face and places his hand on his chest so silencing the hidden microphone at that crucial moment. When he's done, he leans back in chair removing his hand just as Angstrom blurts out that he killed Fontaine, believing him to be the author, when all along it's the person sat opposite him. The Police burst in as Angstrom is straddling the perpetrator on the desk with his hands around their neck. Angstrom has got his comeuppance as a greedy manipulator of literary fortunes, and a murderer, and has lost all of his wealth in the process. And the real author walks free, job done as was his/her plan all along. 

'The Translators' feels like something straight out of an Agatha Christie novel, except the usual super sleuth detective is here replaced by a somewhat nefarious publishing tycoon, and if you liked Rian Johnson's 'Knives Out' from last year, your sure to be suitably impressed by this whodunnit. The script is strong enough to keep you guessing right up until the ending with plenty of red herrings, twists, turns and jumps forwards and backwards in time to maintain the interest and make the 105 minute running time never leaving you wanting. For its reported fairly meagre US$10M budget, the production values are solid. The international cast give strong and convincing performances, albeit that some their back stories are barely touched upon which given the twelve principle characters here is hardly surprising really, but its a tough ask to become invested in a character when you know so little about them. This is a tense thrilling ride that goes off course just a little in the second act but reclaims that lost ground in the final act when the big reveal, the motives, and the back story all come together. 

'The Translators' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 24th September 2020.

In recent weeks two major film festivals have been held - the Venice International Film Festival which ran from 2nd through 12th September, and the Toronto International Film Festival which ran from 10th until 20th September. Both festivals this year were in an abridged format, and relied heavily on the online delivery of its filmed content, and interactive digital experiences and events.  

For this years 77th annual Venice International Film Festival, the opening night film was the Italian romantic drama film 'The Ties' and the closing night film, also Italian, the drama thriller 'You Came Back'. The Jury President for this years selected films in Main Competition was the Australian Actress Cate Blanchett, ably supported in her role by American Actor Matt Dillon, British Director and Screenwriter Joanna Hogg, Austrian Director and Screenwriter Veronica Franz, German Director and Screenwriter Christian Petzold, Italian author Nicola Lagioia and French Actress and model Ludivine Sagnier. 

The winners and grinners, carrying off the prestigious awards were as follows :-

* The Golden Lion - awarded to the American drama 'Nomadland' Directed, Written, Co-Produced and Edited by Chloe Zhao and starring Frances McDormand and Davis Strathairn. 

* The Grand Jury Prize - awarded to the Mexican/French art dystopian thriller 'New Order' Directed, Written, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by Michel Franco and starring Naian Gonzalez Norvind and Diego Boneta.

* The Silver Lion - awarded to the Japanese Historical romantic drama 'Wife of a Spy' Directed and Co-Written by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and starring Yu Aoi and Issey Takahashi. 

* The Volpi Cup for Best Actress - awarded to Vanessa Kirby for the American/Canadian drama 'Pieces of a Woman' Directed by Kornel Mundruczo and also starring Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Snook, Molly Parker, Benny Safdie and Ellen Burstyn.

* The Volpi Cup for Best Actor - awarded to Pierfrancesco Favino for the Italian coming of age drama 'Padrenostro' Directed and Co-Written by Claudio Noce.

* The Special Jury Prize - awarded to the Russian historical drama 'Dear Comrades' Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Andrei Konchalovsky. 

* The Marcello Mastroianni Award - awarded to the child Actor Rouhollah Zamani for the Iranian drama 'The Sun', Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Majid Majidi. 

* The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement - awarded to the Scottish Actress Tilda Swinton and the Hong Kong Director, Producer, Writer and Actress Ann Hui. 

For this years 45th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the opening night film was the American concert film 'American Utopia' by Spike Lee. The closing night presentation was the BBC Television UK /India drama miniseries 'A Suitable Boy' Directed by Mira Nair. 

The winners and grinners in a reduced line up of awards this year, were :

* The People's Choice Award - went to the American drama 'Nomadland' Directed, Written, Co-Produced and Edited by Chloe Zhao and starring Frances McDormand and Davis Strathairn.

* The People's Choice Award : First Runner-Up - awarded to the American drama 'One Night in Miami' Directed by Regina King and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jnr., Lance Reddick and Beau Bridges. 

* The People's Choice Award : Second Runner-Up - awarded to the Canadian drama 'Beans' Directed and Co-Written by Tracey Deer and starring Kiawenti:io Tarbell and Paulina Jewel Alexis and Violah Beauvais. 

* The People's Choice Award : Documentaries - awarded to the Canadian documentary 'Inconvenient Indian' Directed and Written by Michelle Latimer.

* The People's Choice Award : Midnight Madness - awarded to the American action horror 'Shadow in the Cloud' Directed and Co-Written by Roseanne Liang and starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson and Callan Mulvey. 

* Best Canadian Feature Film : awarded to the Canadian documentary 'Inconvenient Indian' Directed and Written by Michelle Latimer.

For more information on all the news and views from this years Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, you can visit the official websites at : https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2020 and, https://www.tiff.net

This week, to tempt you out to your local Odeon, we have three new release films coming your way. We kick start the week with a music scene comedy drama about a hugely successful albeit ageing singer in the twilight of her career and her young PA who has dreams of breaking into music production and the lifeline they are both thrown that could change the lives forever. Next up we have the third instalment in a film franchise that sees the truce that exists between cats and dogs potentially cast asunder by the machinations of a rogue parrot intent on both species of our favoured domestic pets going back to their old habits as sworn enemies. And we close out the week with a documentary charting the life and times, and message for future generations, from an icon of the natural world who over six decades has visited every corner of the globe from land, sky and sea to bring us awe inspiring documentary films and TV series from the plant and animal kingdom.  

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

'THE HIGH NOTE' (Rated M) - this American comedy drama film is Directed by Nisha Ganatra whose previous feature film credits take in 'Chutney Popcorn', 'Cake' and 'Late Night' last year with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, plus a number of short films, made for TV movies and single episodes on multiple TV series. Released in the US in selected cinemas and through Premium Video On Demand at the end of May this year, the film now gets a limited release in Australia having taken US$2.1M at the Box Office off the back of a circa US$20M budget investment and has garnered mixed or average Reviews so far. 

Set in the dazzling world of the Los Angeles music scene comes the story of Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights even though she has not released any new material for the past ten years or so. Maggie Sherwoode (Dakota Johnson) is Grace's overworked personal assistant who's stuck running chores and errands for the singer, but has her own aspirations of becoming a music producer. When Grace's manager Jack Robertson (Ice Cube) presents her with an option that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever. Also starring Kelvin Harrison Jnr., Bill Pullman, Eddie Izzard, Diplo and Melanie Griffith. 

'CATS & DOGS 3 : PAWS UNITE' (Rated G) - Directed by Sean McNamara who has amassed fifty-two Producer credits, seventy-three Director credits, twenty-six as an Actor and twelve as a Writer, this third instalment in the franchise follows on from 2001's 'Cats & Dogs' and 2010's 'Cats & Dogs 2 : The Revenge of Kitty Galore'. Here Gwen the Cat (voiced by Melissa Rauch) and Roger the Dog (voiced by Max Greenfield) are secret agents who covertly protect and save the world without humans ever finding out. Their partnership is due to the Great Truce, which put an end to cat and dog hostility for the past ten years. But the long-established peace regime is threatened when a supervillain parrot called Pablo (voiced by George Lopez) discovers a way to manipulate wireless frequencies that only dogs and cats can hear. It's down to our canine and feline heroes to prevent a cat-as-trophic event from unfolding thanks to the nefarious deeds of a foul fowl. 

'DAVID ATTENBOROUGH : A LIFE ON OUR PLANET' (Rated PG) - in a broadcasting career spanning more than six decades, one man has seen more of the natural world than any other. This unique feature documentary is his witness statement. In his 93 years, David Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and grandeur for us to watch in wonder from the comfort of our own homes. Now, for the first time he reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime as a naturalist and the devastating changes he has seen. Honest, revealing and urgent, this film is a powerful first-hand account of humanity's impact on nature and a message of hope for future generations. Created by award-winning natural history filmmakers and global conservation organisation WWF, the film is Directed by Alastair Fothergill, Jonnie Hughes and Keith Scholey. The film gets its worldwide cinematic release on Monday 28th September for a limited time only, before being released on Netflix shortly thereafter. 

With three 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-

BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC : Tuesday 15th September 2020.

'BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC' which I saw earlier this week is the PG Rated long awaited third instalment in the 'Bill & Ted' franchise following 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' in 1989 and 'Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey' in 1991. Both of those films combined generated US$79M at the worldwide Box Office off the back of production budgets amounting to US$27M. This Sci-Fi comedy film is Directed by Dean Parisot whose previous feature film credits take in 'Galaxy Quest', 'Fun with Dick and Jane' and 'RED 2', was released in the US on 28th August and last week here in Australia, cost US$25M to produce and has so far grossed US$3.5M. It has generated largely positive Reviews.

Here Alex Winter reprises his role of William S. 'Bill' Preston Esq. and Keanu Reeves his role as Ted 'Theodore' Logan. Following a montage of the history of the Wyld Stallyns and their rise to meteoric super stardom and their inevitable fall from grace as they failed to write that one song that would unify the world, their CD sales took a sharp nosedive and the pair were destined to play low level gigs in dive bars in front of largely stoned or drunk patrons, Bill and Ted have remained surprisingly upbeat. Now in 2020, they are initially seen making a speech and then playing their latest song at the wedding of their mother/step mother (it's complicated) which goes horribly wrong and sounds like a cacophony of disjointed uncoordinated musical instruments all fighting against each other to be heard. 

After the failed wedding gig in front of family and friends, Ted confides in Bill that he thinks they well never write the prophesied song, and a local music store has offered him $6,500 for his Les Paul guitar which he is seriously considering taking up. However, their young daughters Theadora 'Thea' Preston (Samara Weaving) and Wilhelmina 'Billie' Logan (Brigette Lundy-Paine) have great faith in their fathers and are their greatest supporters. They egg them on with words of encouragement. 

Meanwhile, Kelly (Kristen Schaal) the now grown up daughter of their earlier time travelling guide Rufus, arrives from seven hundred years in the future to take them to 2720, where they meet with The Great Leader (Holland Taylor), who is also Kelly's mother who advises them that they have until 7:17pm that evening to write the song that will unite the universe and prevent all reality from collapsing once and forever. 

Realising that it will be almost impossible for them to write such a song in just over seventy minutes they use Rufus's time travelling phone booth to steal the song from their future selves. Landing back home but two years hence in 2022, they learn that their future selves are even more unsuccessful than they were, and that their wives have left them. With Bill and Ted missing, the Great Leader sends a time-traveling robot named Dennis Caleb McCoy (Anthony Carrigan) to kill them, hoping therefore to restore balance to the universe. Kelly travels back to the present to warn them, but instead meets their daughters, Billie and Thea, who decide to help their fathers create the song. Using Kelly's time machine, Billie and Thea recruit musicians Jimi Hendrix (DazMann Still), Louis Armstrong (Jeremiah Craft), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Daniel Dorr), Ling Lun (the legendary founder of music in ancient China, played by Sharon Gee), and Grom (a drummer from before recorded history, played by Patty Anne Miller).

Bill and Ted travel to five years down the track to 2025, where they have seemingly become successful. However, they are tricked by their future selves, who try to pass off a song by Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures) as their own. Billie, Thea, and their newly recruited band members from across time return to the present day to meet up with Kelly and a time-displaced Kid Cudi (Kid Cudi), but Dennis inadvertently kills them and sends them all to Hell. In the ensuing fracas Bill and Ted jump forward to 2030 and discover that their future selves are incarcerated in prison and have become ripped, muscle bound heavily tattooed inmates who now have an axe to grind with their past selves for leaving them at the mercy of the Police authorities during the bust at Dave Grohl's place, which led to their imprisonment. When their future selves get into a brawl with other inmates, Bill & Ted make a quick exit and jump forward to 2067.

There they find a much older Bill and Ted on their deathbeds in a hospital. The aged Bill and Ted give their younger selves a USB drive containing the fabled song written by Preston/Logan, stating that it must be performed at 7:17pm at 'MP 46'. Upon saying their final farewells and exiting the hospital, Dennis appears, but stands down upon learning Bill and Ted have the song, and painfully informs them that he killed their daughters, and every member of their band too. In an attempt to coax Dennis into killing them so they can rescue their daughters in Hell, Bill snaps the USB drive in half and tosses it away. This backfires as a distraught Dennis full of remorse, turns his killer laser beam weapon on himself, but Bill and Ted throw themselves in the way of the beam, so sending all three to their deaths and the depths of Hell. There Bill and Ted locate their daughters and the band. With the help of Billie and Thea, Bill and Ted square away their differences with their old bandmate Death (William Sadler) to return everyone alive to 2020.

The group arrive on a busy freeway at the 'MP 46' sign post as reality is collapsing all around them, and with only a matter of minutes left until 7:17pm. Bill and Ted realise that the 'Preston/Logan' hand written on the USB drive retrieved by Dennis, actually refers to Billie and Thea, and that the song must be performed by everyone across time and space. They are joined by their wives, Princess Elizabeth Logan (Erinn Hayes) and Princess Joanna Preston (Jayma Mays), who have both come to the realisation they are happiest in their current time period. The four use Rufus' phone booth to create infinite copies of themselves across time and space, handing instruments to everyone who ever lived. Everyone across reality performs the song together, with Billie and Thea producing, while Bill and Ted lead the band on guitar. The universe is repaired and everyone returns to their proper dimensions in time and space.

I would have to say that my expectations going into this film were not particularly high, and I came out not feeling surprised or disappointed either. This film largely hit my mark, and as the third instalment in the franchise with a 29 year hiatus between films two and three it does a largely respectable job of maintaining the quirkiness, the wackiness and the idiosyncrasies that made those first two instalments so popular and unique for their time. Keanu Reeves comes across as being just a little bored and non-plussed about the whole affair but Alex Winter more than makes up for him with his zeal, energy and innate positivity, while William Sadler gets undoubtedly the best lines in the little screen time he is afforded. Samara Weaving and Brigitte Lundy-Paine also put in a respectable turn as Bill and Ted's chips off the old blocks. The film has heart, is goofy, effects laden and there are no bad guys here, only a couple of aspiring muso lunkheads caught up in their own time warp trying to do the right thing by just about everyone they come into contact with, and living by their own credo to 'Be Excellent To Each Other'! A phrase worth heeding in these uncertain times! For lovers of 'Excellent Adventure' and 'Bogus Journey' this final instalment is sure to please and deftly recreates the silliness of those first two films. For everyone else, if you're not expecting too much, then you won't be disappointed.

'Bill & Ted Face the Music' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th September 2020.

The 45th Toronto International Film Festival is currently being held from 10th through 21st September. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, organisers have acknowledged that the event will 'look different' than in previous years, primarily by incorporating an online streaming component, but have indicated that current plans still include some form of physical festival taking place bearing in mind the social distancing guidelines still in place. 'American Utopia' by Spike Lee was announced as the festival's opening film. Festival organisers indicated that due to the smaller than normal programme, a smaller number of awards would be presented this year. The People's Choice Award will continue with online voting. The Gala Presentations and Special Presentations categories take in the following feature films :

Gala Presentation

* 'Ammonite' is a UK and Australian Co-Produced romantic drama film Directed by Francis Lee and starring Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones and Fiona Shaw. 

* 'Bruised' is an American sports drama film Directed by Halle Berry in her film making debut. Halle Berry also takes the lead role with Shamier Anderson, Adan Canto and Sheila Atim.

* 'Concrete Cowboy' is an American Western drama film Directed by Ricky Staub in his film making debut and starring Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin and Method Man.

* 'American Utopia' is an American concert film Directed by Spike Lee featuring a live recording of a Broadway performance of a modified version of the album 'American Utopia' by David Byrne, featuring Byrne alongside eleven musicians.

* 'Good Joe Bell' is an American drama film Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starring Mark Wahlberg, Gary Sinise, Connie Britton and Maxwell Jenkins. 

* 'I Care a Lot' is an American thriller film Directed and Written by J. Blakeson and starring Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza Gonzalez, Chris Messina, Diane Wiest, Isiah Whitlock Jnr., and Macon Blair.

* 'Nomadland' is an American drama film Written, Directed, Edited and Co-Produced by Chloe Zhao and starring Frances McDormand and David Strathairn. 

* 'One Night in Miami' is an American drama film Directed by Regina King is her film making debut and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jnr., Lance Reddick and Beau Bridges.

* 'Pieces of a Woman' is an American and Canadian Co-Produced drama film Directed by Kornel Mundruczo and stars Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Molly Parker, Sarah Snook, Benny Safdie and Ellen Burstyn. Martin Scorsese is an Executive Producer.

Special Presentation 

* 'Another Round' is a Danish drama film Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Mads Mikkelsen. 

* 'The Disciple' is an Indian drama film in the Marathi language of Western India. Written, Directed and Edited by Chaitanya Tamhane and starring Aditya Modak, Arun Dravid, Sumitra Bhave, Deepika Bhide Bhagwat, and Kiran Yadnyopavit. Alfonso Cuaron is an Executive Producer.

* 'Falling' is a US, UK and Canadian Co-Produced drama film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Viggo Mortensen in his feature film making debut, and starring Viggo Mortensen, Lance Henriksen, Laura Linney and David Cronenberg.

* 'The Father' is a UK and US Co-Produced drama film Co-Written and Directed by Florian Zeller starring Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Olivia Williams, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots and Rufus Sewell.

* 'Penguin Bloom' is an Australian and UK Co-Produced drama film Directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver and Leeanna Walsman. 

* 'Summer of 85' - is a French and Belgian drama film Written and Directed by François Ozon. It stars Felix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, and Isabelle Nanty.

* 'True Mothers' is a Japanese drama film Directed by Naomi Kawase and stars Hiromi Nagasaku, Arata Iura, Aju Makita and Miyoko Asada. 

The other categories are : Contemporary World Cinema, TIFF Docs, Discovery, Short Cuts, Midnight Madness, Planet Africa, Primetime, Wavelengths and Special Events plus the Industry Selects programme for films seeking commercial distribution - this section is available on the festival's industry platform and not for the general public on the commercial platform. For more information on all the news and views from this years Toronto International Film Festival, you can visit the official website at : https://www.tiff.net

Turning to this weeks five latest release new movies, we kick off with a tale of man who back in 1919 falls into a vat of pickles and wakes up one hundred years later perfectly preserved but needing to adjust to life in the 21st Century, which he does with the help of his sole surviving descendant. Next up we have a whodunnit surrounding a long awaited book launch, those tasked with translating the heavily guarded manuscript into nine different languages, and someone who threatens to leak the first ten pages on the internet. This is followed by the fifth big screen telling of this classic childrens novel about a young orphan sent away to an English Lord's estate where she soon discovers a hidden garden with magical powers. We then turn to a RomCom about a jilted young woman who opens a gallery showcasing the artefacts and paraphernalia left behind after relationships has gone belly up, and we close out the week about a story of four young siblings and a surprising new friend they make while on holiday with their parents, but they need to beware of their uncle who has his own plans for the kids new friend.  

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 or 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.

'AN AMERICAN PICKLE' (Rated PG) - is an American comedy drama offering Directed by first timer Brandon Trost, although he was worked as Cinematographer on numerous other Hollywood films including 2009's 'Halloween II', 'Ghost Rider : Spirit of Vengeance', 'This is the End', 'Neighbors', 'The Interview', 'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse', 'Neighbors 2 : Sorority Rising', 'The Disaster Artist', 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' and 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile'. Based on the 2013 short story 'Sell Out' by Simon Rich, it seems that Seth Rogan (who appears in dual roles and also Co-Produces here) and Rich began discussing the concept for a film back in 2007. Released digitally in the US in early August, and in theatres in the UK shortly thereafter, the film cost US$20M to produce, has so far taken just US$168K, and has received mostly mixed or average Reviews. 

Here Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) and his wife Sarah (Sarah Snook) are struggling Jewish labourers who flee their home town and emigrate to America in 1919. Herschel lands a job at a pickling factory, and one day by accident falls into a vat of pickles just as the factory is about to be shut down. Having been pickled in brine for one hundred years and long since disappeared and presumed dead, he wakes up in modern day New York City in 2019. Learning that his sole surviving relative is his great grandson Ben (also Seth Rogen) he must attempt to fit in with 21st Century life with the assistance of his last remaining descendant, although soon enough trouble brews between the two that causes each to question the others values resulting in a rift that can only be repaired when the pair realise that blood is thicker than brine. 

'THE TRANSLATORS' (Rated M) - this French thriller is Directed and Written by Regis Roinsard in only his second feature film making outing since 2012's 'Populaire'. Here the third novel in a massively popular and best selling trilogy 'Dedalus' is keenly awaited the world over. Nine translators from England, Russia, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, China and Greece are all confined to a bunker located under a French Chateau to simultaneously translate the manuscript into their respective languages so that the book can be released worldwide on the same day. In complete lockdown, with mobile phones confiscated for the duration, internet access blocked, and no comings or goings, despite the secrecy, when the first ten pages of the novel are leaked and a hefty ransom is sought within 24 hours the suspicion immediately falls to one of the nine. And so the whodunnit is on! Starring Lambert Wilson, Alex Lawther, Olga Kurylenko and Sidse Babett Knudsen.

'THE SECRET GARDEN' (Rated PG) - this fifth feature film adaptation of the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett, following those earlier renditions in 1919 (a silent version), 1949, 1987 and 1993 is Directed this time around by Marc Munden. This British fantasy drama offering tells the story set in England during 1947, when a young orphan girl Mary Lennox (Dixie Egerickx) who, after being sent to live with her uncle Lord Archibald Craven (Colin Firth) on a remote country estate in Yorkshire, England, discovers a hidden magical garden on the grounds of his estate. Also staring Julie Walters, this film cost US$20M to make, has so far recovered US$1.5M following its release Stateside in early August and has so far generated largely positive Press. The film is released in the UK in late October. Colin Firth also appeared in the 1987 film. 

'THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY' (Rated M) - is an American RomCom Written, Directed and Executive Produced by Natalie Krinsky in her feature film debut. This film follows the always unique Lucy Gulliver (Geraldine Viswanathan), a twenty-something art gallery assistant living in New York City, who also happens to be an emotional hoarder. After being dumped by her latest boyfriend, Lucy is inspired to create The Broken Hearts Gallery, a pop-up space for the items love has left behind. Word of the gallery spreads, encouraging a movement and a fresh start for all the romantics out there, including Lucy herself. Also starring Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon and Suki Waterhouse the film has garnered mixed or average Reviews, and was released in the US last week. 

'FOUR KIDS AND IT' (Rated PG) - is a British fantasy film Directed by Andy De Emmony and is based on the novel 'Four Children and It' by Jacqueline Wilson which in turn is based on the 1902 novel 'Five Children and It' by Edith Nesbit. While on holiday in Cornwall, the Trent children Robbie, 'Smash', Ros and Maudie (Billy Jenkins, Ashley Aufderheide, Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen and Ellie-Mae Siame respectively) discover a mysterious creature, Psammead (voiced by Michael Caine) with magical powers. It doesn't take long before the kids find out that their wicked uncle Tristan Trent (Russell Brand) plans to use the creature's wishmaking for his own nefarious deeds. Also starring Paul Patton as Mum Alice Trent and Matthew Goode as Dad David Trent. The film was released in the UK in early April, gets a limited showing here in Australia from this week and has so far received mixed or average Reviews. 

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-