What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st April 2021.

Last week the 73rd Writers Guild of America Awards and the 32nd Producers Guild of America Awards were held on 21st and 24th March respectively, and both via virtual ceremonies. The former honours the best writing in film, television and radio of 2020, while the latter honours the best film and television Producers of 2020.

In the film categories, the winners and the grinners, and the also rans are as given below :-

WGA Awards

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN' written by Emerald Fennel, beating out 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Palm Springs', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to 'BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM' written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman and Lee Kern, beating out 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'News of the World', 'One Night in Miami' and 'The White Tiger'.

Best Documentary Screenplay

* Awarded to 'THE DISSIDENT' written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel, beating out 'All In : The Fight for Democracy', 'Herb Alpert Is . . . ', 'Red Penguins' and 'Totally Under Control'. 

PGA Awards

Daryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

* Awarded to 'NOMADLAND' Produced by Frances McDormand, Chloe Zhao, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey, beating out 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'Mank', 'Minari', 'One Night in Miami', 'Promising Young Woman', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

* Awarded to 'SOUL' Produced by Dana Murray, beating out 'The Croods : A New Age', 'Onward', 'Over the Moon' and 'Wolfwalkers'.

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures

* Awarded to 'MY OCTOPUS TEACHER' Produced by Craig Foster, beating out 'David Attenborough : A Life on Our Planet', 'Dick Johnson Is Dead', 'Softie', 'A Thousand Cuts', 'Time' and 'The Truffle Hunters'. 

For the complete run down of all the awards as bestowed by the WGA and the PGA, plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official websites for the WGA at : https://awards.wga.org and for the PGA at : https://producersguild.org 

This week then there are five latest release new films coming to an Odeon near you. And we kick off with a critically lauded film about a man who refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages, and as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality. This is followed by a true story of a Cold War spy, Greville Wynne, and his Russian source who attempt to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Next up we have an all out actioner that follows a man who helps a stranger being harassed by a group of men, only to become the target of a vengeful drug lord, who then utilises a very particular set of skills to win the day. And we then close out the week with two animated features, both sequels - the first seeing a chaotic battle unfold between arch enemies Jerry Mouse, who has taken refuge in NYC's Royal Gate Hotel, and Tom Cat, who is hired to drive him away before the day of a big wedding; and finally a tale of two misfit castaways who are adrift on a raft following a storm and who later struggle to reunite an unconventional family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate peace on a creaking Ark.

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.

'THE FATHER' (Rated M) - this French and British Co-Produced film is Directed and Co-Written for the screen by the acclaimed French novelist, playwright and Director Florian Zeller in his feature film making debut, and is based on his own play 'Le Pere' which premiered in 2012. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2020, had a limited release in the US from the end of February, is released in Australia this week, and in the UK on 11th June. The film cost US$20M to make, has so far recovered US$2M and has received the highest praise from Critics picking up twenty-one award wins so far and another 135 nominations including six Oscar nods, six BAFTA nods and two SAG nominations, all of which remain pending at the time of writing. The performances of the two lead actors - Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman have been singled out for particular praise.

Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is 80, mischievous, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), encouragingly introduces. Yet help is also becoming a necessity for Anne as she is unable to make daily visits anymore and Anthony’s grip on reality is steadily diminishing. As we experience the ebb and flow of his memory, how much of his own identity and past can Anthony cling to? How does Anne cope as she grieves the loss of her father, while he still lives and breathes before her? Also starring Imogen Poots, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams and Rufus Sewell. 

'THE COURIER' (Rated M) - this historical drama film is Directed by Dominic Cooke whose prior film making outings take in two 'National Theatre Live' performances for 'The Comedy of Errors' in 2012 and 'Follies' in 2017 with 'On Chesil Beach' in 2017 and three episodes of the TV mini-series 'The Hollow Crown' in 2016. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival way back in January 2020, was released Stateside in the US on 19th March, in the UK not until 17th May and here in Australia this week having generated US$3M at the Box Office so far and generally favourable critical Reviews. Telling the true story of the British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) who helped MI6 penetrate the Soviet nuclear programme during the Cold War. Wynne is approached by a spy from MI6 and a spy from the CIA and asked to pose as a business partner of Russian  Oleg Penkovsky (codenamed Ironbark, and played by Merab Ninidze) in order to gain intelligence relating to Soviet missiles being transported to Cuba. Ultimately, Wynne and his Russian source, provided crucial intelligence that brought an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also starring Jessie Buckley, Rachel Brosnahan and Angus Wright. 

'NOBODY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American action thriller Directed by the Rissian musician and filmmaker Ilya Naishuller whose only previous feature film was 2015's 'Hardcore Henry' for which he also Produced, Wrote, acted in, composed the music for and also lensed. Released in the US on 26th March, the film has so far grossed US$3M and has generated favourable Reviews. And so, here Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) fails to defend himself or his family when two thieves break into his suburban home one night. The aftermath of the incident soon strikes a match to his long-simmering rage. In a barrage of fists, knives, gunfire and squealing tyres, Hutch must now save his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), son Blake (Gage Munroe) and daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) from a dangerous Russian drug lord Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksei Serebryakov), and ensure that he will never be underestimated again as a nobody. Also starring Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside and RZA. 

'TOM AND JERRY' (Rated G) - here, this American live-action/computer-animated comedy film is based on the cartoon characters and animated theatrical short film series of the same name created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It is the second theatrical film based on the characters following 1992's 'Tom and Jerry: The Movie' and is Directed by Tim Story whose previous directorial outings include his 1992 debut 'One of Us Tripped', then 'Fantastic 4' in 2005 and its 2007 follow up 'Fantastic 4 : Rise of the Silver Surfer', 'Hurricane Season' in 2009, 'Ride Along', 'Ride Along 2' and the recently announced 'Ride Along 3' with 'Shaft' in 2019. And so a legendary rivalry reemerges when Jerry Mouse moves into New York City's finest hotel on the eve of the wedding of the century, forcing the desperate event planner Kayla Forester (Chloe Grace Moretz) to hire Tom Cat to get rid of him. As mayhem ensues, the escalating cat-and-mouse battle soon threatens to destroy her career, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself. Tom and Jerry are voiced by William Hanna, Mel Blanc, and June Foray via archival recordings, alongside Frank Welker and Andre Sogliuzzo, with additional voices provided by Bobby Cannavale, Lii Rel Howery with live action provided by Michael Pena, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong. The film was released in the US at the end of February, cost US$70M to produce, has so far recouped US$78M and has generated largely negative press. 

'TWO BY TWO : OVERBOARD' (Rated PG) - this follow up to 2015's 'Two by Two' (aka 'Ooops! Noah is Gone') is once again Directed by the pairing of Toby Genkel and Sean McCormack, with this animated adventure comedy offering seeing the young Nestrian Finny (voiced by Max Carolan) and his best mate Leah (voiced by Ava Connolly), a Grymp, accidently fall off the ark and are swept out to sea. Out on their own on a raft, they get separated by a storm. While Finny finds a whole colony of Nestrians underwater, Leah lands on a beautiful island that seems to shake regularly and smoke pours from the top of the mountain. As these two misfit castaways struggle to reunite an unorthodox family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate a peace deal on a creaking Ark, they also have other dangers and adventures to face along the way. 

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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th March 2021.

The 26th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on 7th March 2021, at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport, California, together with its television awards, honouring the finest achievements of 2020 filmmaking. The ceremony saw American Actor, Singer and Producer Taye Diggs return to host for the third consecutive time. 

Better late than never, the winners of this years film awards are as shown below :-

Best Picture

* Awarded to 'NOMADLAND' beating out 'Da 5 Bloods', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'Mank', 'Minari', 'News of the World', 'One Night in Miami', 'Promising Young Woman', 'Sound of Metal' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Director

* Awarded to CHLOE ZHAO for 'Nomadland', beating out Lee Isaac Chung for 'Minari', Emerald Fennell for 'Promising Young Woman', David Fincher for 'Mank', Regina King for 'One Night in Miami', Spike Lee for 'Da 5 Bloods' and Aaron Sorkin for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Actor

* Awarded to CHADWICK BOSEMAN for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' beating out Ben Affleck for 'The Way Back', Riz Ahmed for 'Sound of Metal', Tom Hanks for 'News of the World', Anthony Hopkins for 'The Father', Delroy Lindo for 'Da 5 Bloods', Gary Oldman for 'Mank' and Steven Yeun for 'Minari'.

Best Actress

* Awarded to CAREY MULLIGAN for 'Promising Young Woman', beating out Viola Davis for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Andra Day for 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday', Sidney Flanigan for 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always', Vanessa Kirby for 'Pieces of a Woman', Frances McDormand for 'Nomadland' and Zendaya for 'Malcolm & Marie'.

Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to DANIEL KALUUYA for 'Judas and the Black Messiah', beating out Sacha Baron Cohen for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', Chadwick Boseman for 'Da 5 Bloods', Bill Murray for 'On the Rocks', Leslie Odom Jr. for 'One Night in Miami' and Paul Raci for 'Sound of Metal'.

Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to MARIA BAKALOVA for 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', beating out Ellen Burstyn for 'Pieces of a Woman', Glenn Close for 'Hillbilly Elegy', Olivia Colman for 'The Father', Amanda Seyfried for 'Mank' and Youn Yuh-jung for 'Minari'.

Best Young Actor/Actress

* Awarded to ALAN KIM for 'Minari' beating out Ryder Allen for 'Palmer', Ibrahima Gueye for 'The Life Ahead', Talia Ryder for 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always', Caoilinn Springall for 'The Midnight Sky' and Helena Zengel for 'News of the World'.

Best Acting Ensemble

* Awarded to 'THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7' beating out 'Da 5 Bloods', 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', 'Minari' and 'One Night in Miami'.

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to EMERALD FENNELL for 'Promising Young Woman' beating out Lee Isaac Chung for 'Minari', Jack Fincher for 'Mank', Eliza Hittman for 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always', Darius Marder and Abraham Marder for 'Sound of Metal' and Aaron Sorkin for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to CHLOE ZHAO for 'Nomadland' beating out Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies for 'News of the World', Kemp Powers for 'One Night in Miami', Jonathan Raymond and Kelly Reichardt for 'First Cow', Ruben Santiago-Hudson for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' and Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton for 'The Father'.

Best Cinematography

* Awarded to JOSHUA JAMES RICHARDS for 'Nomadland'.

Best Editing

* Awarded to ALAN BAUMGARTEN for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' tied with MIKKEL E.G. NIELSEN  for 'Sound of Metal'.

Best Costume Design

* Awarded to ANN ROTH for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'.

Best Production Design

* Awarded to DONALD GRAHAM BURT and JAN PASCALE for 'Mank'.

Best Hair and Make-Up

* Awarded to 'MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM'.

Best Score

* Awarded to JON BATISTE, TRENT REZNOR, and ATTICUS ROSS for 'Soul' beating out Alexandre Desplat for 'The Midnight Sky', Ludwig Goransson for 'Tenet', James Newton Howard for 'News of the World', Emile Mosseri for 'Minari' and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for 'Mank'.

Best Visual Effects

* Awarded to 'TENET' beating out 'Greyhound', 'The Invisible Man', 'Mank', 'The Midnight Sky', 'Mulan' and 'Wonder Woman 1984'.

Best Comedy

* Awarded to 'PALM SPRINGS' beating out 'The 40-Year-Old Version', 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', 'The King of Staten Island', 'On the Rocks' and 'The Prom'.

Best Foreign Language Film

* Awarded to 'MINARI' being out 'Another Round', 'Collective', 'La Llorona', 'The Life Ahead' and 'Two of Us'.

For the complete run down of the 26th Critics Choice Awards including the Television category winners, grinners and also rans, you can visit the official website at : https://www.criticschoice.com/

This week there are five latest release new movies to tease you out to your local Odeon, and we kick start with an epic battle royale as a giant ape and a colossal lizard go head to head for supremacy. This is followed up by a story of a vigilante border patrol that turns fatal, with a man fleeing on horseback to Mexico, seeking forgiveness from the victim's father. Next up is a true story of a soldier who investigates a renowned Dutch artist who is accused of conspiring with the Nazis; and then there is a Russian-Jewish couple whose work dries up in the early '90's and so they immigrate to Israel to find a better life. And we close out the week with a classic tale of a mischievous rabbit who bored with life in the garden, goes to the big city, where he meets shady characters and ends up creating chaos for his whole family.

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.

'GODZILLA vs. KONG' (Rated M) - Directed by Adam Wingard this American monster film is a sequel to 2019's 'Godzilla : King of the Monsters' and 2017's 'Kong : Skull Island' and is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures MonsterVerse. The film is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. Wingard's previous film making outings usually revolve around the horror genre and take in the likes of his 2007 debut 'Home Sick' and 'Pop Skull', 2010's 'A Horrible Way to Die', 2011's 'You're Next', 2016's 'Blair Witch' and 2017's 'Death Note'. After being delayed from a November 2020 release date due to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film is scheduled to be released in international theatres from this week, and in the US on 31st March where it will be released simultaneously in theatres and on HBO Max. The film cost in the region of US$180M to produce.

And so, here legends collide as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction around the world. The epic clash between these two titans, initiated by unseen forces, is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth. Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Julian Dennison, Demian Bechir and Kyle Chandler.

'NO MAN'S LAND' (Rated M) - is an American modern day Western film Directed and Co-Produced by Conor Allyn whose prior film making credits take in 'Java Heat' in 2013 with Mickey Rourke, 'Pocket Listing' in 2015 with Burt Reynolds and Rob Lowe, 'Forsaken', 'ExPatriot' and 'Walk. Ride. Rodeo'. Here, US and Mexican border vigilante Bill Greer (Frank Grillo) and his son Jackson (Jake Allyn) are on patrol when Jackson accidentally kills a Mexican immigrant boy. Bill tries to take the blame but Texas Ranger Ramirez (George Lopez) sees through the lie, spurring Jackson to flee south on horseback across the Rio Grande to become a gringo 'illegal alien' in Mexico. Chased by Texas Rangers and Mexican federal law enforcement, Jackson journeys across deserts and mountains to seek forgiveness from the dead boy's vengeful father Gustavo (Jorge A. Jimenez), as he falls in love with the land he was raised to hate. Also starring Andie MacDowell and Alex MacNicoll. The film was released Stateside at the end of January, has so far taken US$140K at the Box Office and has garnered mixed or average Reviews along the way. 

'THE LAST VERMEER' (Rated M) - this American drama film is Directed by Dan Friedkin and is based on the book published in 2008 'The Man Who Made Vermeers' by Jonathan Lopez. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Telluride Film Festival way back in August 2019, was released in the US in November 2020, and now gets a limited showing in Australia. It has so far grossed US$684K and has generated largely mixed or average Reviews. While Joseph Piller (Claes Bang), a Dutch Jew, was fighting in the Resistance during the Second World War, the witty, debonair art lover Han van Meegeren (Guy Pearce) was hosting hedonistic parties and selling Dutch art treasures to Hermann Goring and other top Nazis. Following the war, Piller becomes an investigator assigned the task of identifying and redistributing stolen art, resulting in the flamboyant van Meegeren being accused of collaboration — a crime punishable by death. But, despite mounting evidence, Piller, with the aid of his assistant Minna Holberg (Vicky Krieps), becomes increasingly convinced of Han's innocence and finds himself in the unlikely position of fighting to save his life.

'GOLDEN VOICES' (Rated M) - this Israeli romantic dramedy is Directed, Co-Written and Edited by Evgeny Ruman and tells the story of Victor and Raya Frenkel (Vladimir Friedman and Mariya Belkina) who were the golden voices of Soviet film dubbing for decades. All the western movies that reached Soviet screens were dubbed by them. In 1990, with the collapse of Soviet Union, the Frenkels decided to immigrate to Israel, just like hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews. There's no need in Israel for Russian speaking dubbing artists, and Victor's and Raya's attempts to use their talent will cause bizarre and unexpected events during their first months in Israel, and turn the beginning of the new chapter of their life into an amusing, painful, and absurd experience. Released in Israeli cinemas in late September 2019, in the USA in early November 2020 and now on limited screens in Australia from this week, the film has so far picked up six award wins and another thirteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

'PETER RABBIT 2 : THE RUNAWAY' (Rated G) - this computer animated and live action comedy sequel to 2018's successful 'Peter Rabbit' which grossed US$351M off the back of a US$50M budget investment, is once again Directed, Co-Produced, and Co-Written for the screen by Will Gluck, and is based on the beloved characters created by Beatrix Potter at the turn of the twentieth century. Here live action characters Bea (Rose Byrne), Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson) and Percy McGregor (David Oyelowo) and the rabbits have created a makeshift family, but despite his best efforts, Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Cordon) can’t seem to shake off his mischievous reputation. Adventuring beyond the garden, Peter discovers a world where his mischief is appreciated, but when his family risks everything searching for him, Peter must figure out what kind of bunny he really wants to be. Also starring the voice talents of Margot Robbie as Flopsy, Elizabeth Debicki as Mopsy, Colin Moody as Benjamin, Lennie James, Sia, Sam Neill, Ewen Leslie and Damon Herriman. After facing numerous delays from its original February 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film is finally released in Australia this week, and in the US and the UK on 14th May.

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-

ANOTHER ROUND : Tuesday 16th March 2021.

'ANOTHER ROUND' which I finally got around to seeing this week following its Australian release on 11th February, is an M Rated Danish comedy drama film Directed and Co-Written by Thomas Vinterberg whose previous film making credits include 'Kursk' in 2018, 'Far from the Madding Crowd' in 2015 and 'The Hunt' in 2012. This film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF back in early September 2020, was released in its native Denmark at the end of that same month, has so far accumulated thirty-five award wins and a further fifty-one nominations from around the awards and festival circuit and has garnered universal critical acclaim. The film has been selected as the Danish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, and so far taken just over US$2M at the Box Office off the back of a US$4M production budget.

Teachers, colleagues and long term friends Martin (Mads Mikkelsen), Tommy, Peter and Nikolaj ((Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe and Magnus Millang respectively) all work at the same Copenhagen High School for fifteen to nineteen year old students. All four of them have become jaded to say the least and struggle in their tuition of the seemingly unmotivated student cohort, believing that over the years they have become boring and stale in both their professional and personal lives. Martin lives with his wife Anika (Maria Bonnevie) and two teenage sons, but hardly sees or speaks with his wife because she works at night, and he during the daytime, and when he asks her outright if he has become boring, she replies saying that he is not the Martin that she met and fell in love with years ago, before hurriedly rushing out the door to go to work.

One day while at work Martin is told that a delegation of parents and their sons and daughters want to meet with him later that afternoon. Martin teaches modern history and his students feel that his teaching style and the learnings he is trying to convey aren't working, are confusing, and thus failing to register with the largely uninterested class. Something has got to change. One night over dinner to celebrate Nikolaj's 40th birthday, at which an opening bottle of expensive Champagne is first cracked followed by caviar and an equally expensive Vodka, Martin says that he'll stick with mineral water as he has a busy day at school tomorrow and he has still to prepare when he gets home that night. However, Nikolaj starts to discuss the noted Norwegian psychiatrist, psychotherapist, author and Professor Finn Skarderud, who theorises that having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05 makes you more creative and relaxed. Martin soon gets into the vodka, and the red wine and opens up to his friends about the situation he was confronted with earlier in the day and the troubles in his marriage. His friends tell him not worry, that he is made of sterner stuff and how everything will work out just fine. 

Initially, the group dismissed the notion of Skarderud's theory but Martin is inspired and the next day takes a bottle of vodka into school, and downs a couple of nips before his morning class. And the end of that day Martin feels he cannot drive home as he would be over the limit and has Nikolaj drive him home instead. En route Martin mentions to his friend that he had several drinks during the course of the day and he feels great as a result, and his students have become more participative. Upon hearing this, Nikolaj calls Peter and Tommy and the four meet. Ultimately they decide to join in, considering the ordeal an experiment to test Skarderud's theory, and write a paper which they will later publish with their test results. They agree to a set of rules, namely that their BAC should never be below 0.05 and that they should not drink after 8:00pm weekdays and not at all at weekends. 

Within a short period of time, all four members of the group find both their work and private lives more enjoyable. Martin's class have become more responsive, more motivated, and more interested in his teachings and he also finally manages to reconnect with his wife and children, taking them on a canoeing trip and camping out in tents at night by the edge of a lake. Such is the success of their experiment, that they all agree it should be taken to the next level and so they increase their daily BAC limit to 0.10. 

With their lives continuing to improve, the group decides to attempt binge drinking to observe how their bodies and minds respond. Initially Martin is reluctant and says that he is done with their experiment while the other three prepare an Absinth based cocktail and start to dance around the room in Nikolaj's house. Preparing to leave, Martin turns and sinks an Absinth cocktail, then another, then something else. The group has a fun filled night, ending up in a bar, with Peter playing the piano almost naked, Martin dancing on the tables, and Tommy stealing two bottles from behind the bar to send them on their way. After coming home totally wasted, both Martin and Nikolaj are confronted by their families early the next morning. Martin's family state their worries that he is descending into alcoholism, revealing that he has been visibly drunk for weeks. After a heated argument, during which Anika admits to an affair, Martin demands the she leaves the house and the pair separate. The group as a consequence abandon the experiment on the basis that it is leading to alcoholism. 

Some months down the track, all the members of the group have stopped drinking during the day except for Tommy, who has become an alcoholic. Martin has reached out to Anika seeking a reconciliation, but she is seemingly not interested. A few days later Tommy arrives at work under the influence and is barely able to stand up or string a sentence together. Martin helps Tommy home that night, puts him to sleep, and cleans up his apartment of empty beer bottles and spent wine bottles and prepares a pasta meal for the both of them. Tommy is grateful but after tells Martin that he and his friends don't need to come around every day and check in on him - he's fine. Tommy boards his boat with his dog, gets frustrated trying to put on a life jacket so discards it and motors out on the ocean. The next time we see the boat bobbing up and down in the harbour later that evening, only the dog is on board whining and there is no sign of Tommy. 

The three remaining members of the group go out to dinner after Tommy's funeral and toast their departed friend with a beer. They ask themselves what Tommy would do under such circumstances, and so they go back to the restaurant where their experiment kicked off several months ago, and order that same Champagne to kick off with. While dining, Martin receives a text message from his wife who states that she misses him and says 'a lot' in a subsequent text and appears willing to give their marriage a second chance. In the meantime the recently graduated students drive by in an open top bus. Martin, Peter and Nikolaj join them in celebrating, dancing and drinking down by the harbour side. 

Martin, who in a previous life trained as a jazz ballet dancer, dances with the rest of the partying students, which he had refused up to this point despite the repeated requests to do so by his colleagues. As his dance moves become more and more frenetic he is last seen diving head first into the harbour, fully clothed.

It is easy to see why 'Another Round' ('Druk' in its native Denmark) has garnered such widespread critical acclaim. On the one hand this tragicomedy speaks to four friends all dealing with a mid-life crisis in their own way but connected through alcohol; it also deals with loss - of a marriage (well almost!), and the death of a close friend; and how a bunch of male friends behave when they come together with a joint goal in mind. On the other hand, it also deals with the excesses of drinking culture on the student age group depicted in this film from the opening scene to the closing sequence; and finally it tells a story of how with every action there must be a reaction, as the lives of these four men (and their students) are changed forever as a result of their drinking experiment. The four principle characters all give top notch performances that are believable, relatable, credible and confronting - especially Mads Mikkelsen who always gives his all with his grounded, nuanced and keeping it real portrayal of a man at a cross-roads in his life. Director and scribe Vinterberg has here crafted a thought provoking film that won't be for everyone (given its at times confronting subject matter), but nonetheless this is an emotional, sobering and heartfelt film that is sure to lift the spirits, and raise a smile without detracting from the ills caused by over consumption. I'll drink to that, cheers!

'Another Round' 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 18th March 2021.

The 10th annual AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) International Awards were held on Friday 5th March. Typically the awards ceremony is held in Los Angeles, but this year the awards were presented via a highlights package of acceptance speeches, debuting on AACTA’s YouTube channel. The AACTA International Awards honour achievements in screen excellence, regardless of geography, across seven feature film categories and for the first time this year across four television series categories too. The Awards add a uniquely Australian voice to the international awards season alongside the Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmy’s and Golden Globes.

In the feature film category this year, the winners and nominees are as listed below :-

AACTA International Award for Best Film

* Awarded to 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN', beating out 'The Father', 'Minari', 'Nomadland' and 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

AACTA International Award for Best Director

* Awarded to CHLOE ZHAO for 'Nomadland', beating out Pete Docter for 'Soul', Emerald Fennell for 'Promising Young Woman', David Fincher for 'Mank' and Aaron Sorkin for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'.

AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay

* Awarded to 'THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7' written by Aaron Sorkin, beating out 'The Father', 'Mank', 'Promising Young Woman' and 'Nomadland'. 

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actor

* Awarded to CHADWICK BOSEMAN for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', beating out Riz Ahmed for 'Sound of Metal', Adarsh Gourav for 'The White Tiger', Anthony Hopkins for 'The Father' and Gary Oldman for 'Mank'.

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress

* Awarded to CAREY MULLIGAN for 'Promising Young Woman', beating out Viola Davis for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Vanessa Kirby for 'Pieces of a Woman', Frances McDormand for 'Nomadland' and Eliza Scanlen for 'Babyteeth'.

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to SACHA BARON COHEN for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', beating out Chadwick Boseman for 'Da 5 Bloods', Ben Mendelsohn for 'Babyteeth', Mark Rylance for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' and David Strathairn for 'Nomadland'.

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to OLIVIA COLEMAN for 'The Father', beating out Maria Bakalova for 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', Saoirse Ronan for 'Ammonite', Amanda Seyfried for 'Mank' and Swankie for 'Nomadland'.

For the complete run down of this years 10th AACTA International Awards plus a whole lot more, you can visit the official website at : https://www.aacta.org/

This week we have five latest release new films coming to your local Odeon, kicking off with a movie about a drug trafficker who organises a smuggling operation while a recovering addict seeks the truth behind her son's disappearance. Next up is a story about a widowed New York socialite and her aimless son who move to Paris after she spends the last of her husband's inheritance. And this is followed up by the story of a vital national protest movement - Rock Against Racism, formed in 1976 when a group of music artists united to take on the National Front across the UK. Then we turn to a sports drama offering about the game of Lacrosse and how it transforms the lives of Inuit students when they learn how to play the game; and we wrap up the week with an Aussie doco about professional surfer Laura Enever who departs from the WSL Championship Tour to explore the unpredictable world of big-wave surfing.

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.

'CRISIS' (Rated MA15+) - this crime thriller is Directed, Produced, Written and also stars Nicholas Jarecki in only his second feature film making outing following 2012's 'Arbitrage'. The film was released in the US in late February, and in Canada and Australia this week, having gained mixed or average Reviews along the way and so far grossing US$387K at the Box Office. Featuring an ensemble cast that takes in the likes of Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Lily-Rose Depp, Indira Varma, Kid Cudi and Martin Donovan.

Centring around three stories about the world of opioids and how these are on a collision course that sees a drug trafficker arranging a multi-cartel Fentanyl smuggling operation between Canada and the US, an architect recovering from an OxyContin addiction who tracks down the truth behind her son's involvement with narcotics, and a university professor who battles unexpected revelations about his research employer - a drug company with deep government influence bringing a new supposedly 'non-addictive' painkiller to market.

'FRENCH EXIT' (Rated M) - is a surreal comedy Directed by Azazel Jacobs whose previous film making credits include 'The GoodTimesKid' in 2005, 'Momma's Man' in 2008, 'Terri' in 2011 and 'The Lovers' in 2017. This film is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt, who also wrote the Screenplay. Here a widowed New York socialite, Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her aimless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) move to Paris with their cat in tow (who also happens to be her reincarnated husband Franklin, voiced by Tracy Letts) after she spends the last of her husband's inheritance. The film saw its World Premier screening at the New York Film Festival back in mid-October last year, was released in Canada in mid-February and gets its wide released in the US in early April. It has generated mixed or average Reviews so far although Michelle Pfeiffer's performance has been critically acclaimed and she was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Satellite award. Also starring Imogen Poots, Danielle Macdonald, Susan Coyne and Valerie Mahaffey.  

'WHITE RIOT' (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed by Rubika Shah in her first full length documentary and based upon her 2017 nine minute short doco 'White Riot : London', this documentary music film charts the rise of 'Rock Against Racism' which was formed in the UK in 1976, prompted by Eric Clapton to unite punk, ska, reggae and new wave against the National Front in the latter years of the '70's culminating in a glorious and massive free concert in Victoria Park, east London. It blends fresh interviews with archive footage to recreate a hostile environment of anti-immigrant hysteria and National Front marches. With neo-Nazis recruiting the nation's youth, RAR's multicultural punk and reggae gigs provided rallying points for resistance. Featuring the music of X-Ray Spex, Steel Pulse, The Clash, The Tom Robinson Band, Sham 69, The Specials and more.

'THE GRIZZLIES' (Rated M) - this Canadian sports drama offering is Directed and Co-Produced by Miranda de Pencier in her feature film making debut, saw its World Premier showcasing way back at TIFF in October 2018, was released in its native Canada in April 2019, has garnered generally favourable Reviews, has so far taken US$520K at the Box Office and now gets a limited release in Australia. Based on a true story and set in the small Arctic community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island, it is the westernmost community in Nunavut, near the border with the Northwest Territories. Here, struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America, a group of Inuit students' lives are transformed when they are introduced to the sport of lacrosse. Starring Ben Schnetzer, Paul Nutarariaq, Booboo Stewart, Anna Lambe and Emerald Macdonald. 

'UNDONE' (Rated PG) - Directed by Steve Wall and Emily O'Connell this is a remarkable story of personal endeavour following Australian female professional surfer, Laura Enever who leaves a comfortable place on the WSL Championship Tour to explore the unpredictable world of big-wave surfing. In a life altering change of course, Laura spends the southern winter breaking into a male dominated sport by pursuing some of the most dangerous and remote waves on the planet.

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-

CHAOS WALKING : Tuesday 9th March 2021.

I saw 'CHAOS WALKING' at my local multiplex this week. This M Rated American Sci-Fi action adventure film is Directed by Doug Liman whose prior film making credits take in the likes of 'Swingers' in 1996, 'The Bourne Identity' in 2002, 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' in 2005, 'Fair Game' in 2010, 'Edge of Tomorrow' in 2014, and 'The Wall' and 'American Made' both in 2017. This film is based on the Sci-Fi trilogy 'Chaos Walking', adapting its first book, 2008's 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness. First announced in 2011, the film had undergone several rewrites with Liman later announced as the Director in 2016, with principal photography fully started and finished around 2017. Originally set for release on 1st March 2019, it was removed from schedule to accommodate the films' reshoots in April 2019 following poor audience test screenings. It saw its World Premiere in South Korea on 24th February this year and was released in the US and Australia last week. Costing US$100M to produce, the film has so far grossed US$7M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews. 

Our film opens up on a distant habitable world (not unlike planet Earth), known as New World in the year 2257 AD. We are first introduced to Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland) walking through the woods with his trusted dog in tow. On the path into Prentisstown, where he lives he comes across Aaron (David Oyelowo) a radical preacher riding his horse. Aaron gets down off his horse and thumps Todd squarely in the face sending him reeling backwards. This is because of 'The Noise' - a force that puts everyone's thoughts on display and for everyone to see and hear. Clearly Aaron was none too pleased at the noise emanating from Todds head. Aaron mounts his horse and heads onward, leaving Todd to collect his thoughts and continue into Prentisstown. Once there Davy Prentiss Jnr. (Nick Jonas) siddles up on horseback and chastises Todd who retaliates with the thought of huge snake rising up against him which causes Davy's horse to buck throwing him off. Appearing shortly afterwards is David Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen) the Mayor of Prentisstown, who tells the two young lads to stop playing, and commends Todd for his clever snake thought.  

Returning to his farm that night and over dinner with Ben Moore (Demian Bechir) and Cillian Boyd (Kurt Sutter) his adoptive fathers, Ben tells Todd that he is needed to work the farm the next day. The next morning while Todd goes to the barn in search for some tools, he spies a mystery figure dressed in orange jump out of a barn window and leg it into the woods. Todd gives chase and comes across the scene of a recently downed spacecraft whose wreckage is strewn over a large area. His thoughts are to immediately advise David Prentiss of his findings, who rapidly organises a search party for the mystery man. 

Returning to the crash site David Prentiss, Todd and a bunch of other men scour the scene salvaging what serviceable technology they can, whilst searching for a girl, Prentiss has quickly determined. Gingerly seeking out the mysterious figure Todd comes across a girl (Daisy Ridley), and is taken aback because he has never seen a girl before. It turns out that the alien species who inhabited New World, known as the Spackle, released a germ that killed all the women and unleashed 'The Noise' on the remaining men. Todd's own mother was killed by the Spackle shortly after he was born. The girl does not speak, but chooses to run in a bid to escape. 

It's not long before David Prentiss and his men catch up with the girl, and take her back to Prentisstown. There she is questioned and we learn that her spacecraft burned up on entry into New World's atmosphere and the rest of her crew all perished. David has ulterior motives for his line of questions - in particular his interest in the mother ship which carries four thousand people and its means to get them off New World. Following an incident in which the girl is left alone with Davy Jnr., the girl again escapes and from under the building where she is hiding she can easily overhear a conversation David is having with some others saying that it is in everyone's interests to capture the girl, to do it quickly before she is able to contact the mother ship, and that she poses a threat to them all. 

While David is off organising a search party, the girl lays low in the barn of Todd's farm, unbeknownst to him. He goes inside and discovers her, and tells her that he doesn't want to harm her, is there to help her and to remain out of sight. He then tells his fathers Ben and Cillian, who reluctantly agree to harbour the girl, but tell Todd that he needs to get far away from Prentisstown and to go to Farbranch another community some distance away. Ben shows him a map which Todd commits to memory, and is told not to tell anyone at Farbranch that they are from Prentisstown. It's not long however, before David arrives at the farm demanding to know the whereabouts the girl. Todd gives away the girls location in the barn through his noise. Inside the barn the girl has hot-wired a motorbike and makes her escape on it. Todd jumps on a horse and follows in hot pursuit, duly followed by a posse of David's men. David meanwhile shoots Cillian in the stomach and he lies there dying in Bens arms.

After falling down a steep gully in the woods, the motorbike is trashed and the horse suffers a broken leg which sees Todd put his trusted steed out of its misery. They continue on foot, and camp out in the rain overnight. The girl introduces herself to Todd as Viola Eade and says she has never seen or felt rain before. It took her mother ship sixty-four years to travel from Earth to New World. She was born on it, as were her parents who have subsequently died, and it was her grandparents who set forth from Earth all those years ago in search of new worlds to colonise. 

They venture deeper into the forest trying to find the path to Farbranch. They come across a clearing and a Spackle alien. Todd and the Spackle fight with Todd gaining the upper hand and holding the Spackle's head under the water of a nearby stream and stabbing away furiously at the alien. Viola urges Todd to stop. He does so reluctantly, as the Spackle gets up, recovers himself and walks away nonchalantly glancing back over its shoulder as it does so. 

Eventually they come to Farbranch and they are surprised to find a community that has sheep in a paddock, grapes growing on trellised vines, and a big contingent of women and girls. The mayor of the town is female too - Hildy Black (Cynthia Erivo) who takes in the pair and provides them with safe harbour, despite the ruling that any man from Prentisstown entering Farbranch will be given the rope (ie. hanged). When Todd lets slip through his noise that he is in fact from Prentisstown, the menfolk want to string him up immediately, but Hildy says that he's just a boy and therefore the rule doesn't apply. It's here we learn one evening that Ben slipped Todd's mothers journal into his pack before he set off. He confesses to Viola that he cannot read and was never taught, in the belief that hearing others mens thoughts was all the education he would ever need. So Viola reads the journal and it is revealed that David Prentiss engineered the execution of all the woman, because the menfolk couldn't bear the women knowing their every thought, while the men couldn't bear not knowing what their women were thinking. The next day David rocks up to Farbranch with his posse and a stand-off ensues with Hildy and her community. 

David demands to know the location of the girl, and sends Ben in to retrieve her from a storage facility. Ben uses his noise to project an image of Viola to appease David momentarily so giving her and Todd the opportunity to escape. Hildy had previously told Todd that the next community, Haven, contains a means of communicating with the mother ship, so they venture forth. In the meantime, Todd and Ben argue saying that he now knows the truth behind the slaying of all the women and why did Ben lie to him all these past years. Ben is distraught, and offers to make amends to allow their escape, even if it means sacrificing himself. They come to a river bank upon which is tied a two man barge. They see this as a means of evade their pursuers but Aaron catches up with them on horseback and follows them into the river. Viola can't swim, and approaching a set of rapids Aaron latches onto Viola and drags her off the barge with Todd attempting to beat off the preacher. In the white water Viola is dragged under the upturned barge and she is separated from Todd and Aaron. Todd resurfaces and rescues Viola while Aaron emerges on the other side of the embankment and holds Todd's dog under the water drowning it. 

Collecting themselves and gathering their thoughts, they continue onwards coming to the remains of a downed mother ship that was the first in the fleet that landed initially on New World years ago. It is half buried and completely wrecked, but Viola says that there is a means of communicating two levels down that will still be active. They both climb down into the bowels of the former ship and locate the communication device, but there is no signal as the antennae is down. Todd offers to climb up several levels to reconnect the antennae, which he does successfully, but from on high notices David's posse approaching. In the meantime Aaron has re-emerged and gets into a fight with Viola as she is attempting to reconnect. Needless to say its doesn't end well for Aaron who is last seen screaming that he has been baptised by fire - literally! Viola connects with her mothership once the antennae is restored. Todd has clambered down and is confronted by David. Todd attacks David with a knife, David shoots Todd in the shoulder as he is running for cover, and Viola appears and pushes David over the edge of a badly damaged wing sending him falling several storeys below into the guts of the spaceship - presumably to his certain death. 

Viola's mothership then appears in the sky above them. Todd comes round on the mothership having been out of it for several days, his shoulder wound having been treated and almost healed with Viola looking on. They both look down on New World and see a new community in the throes of construction. 

'Chaos Walking' isn't a bad film, but it's also not that great. For a start there is very little by way of world building here given that this film is set 230+ years into the future and New World has the look and feel of our very own planet Earth, even though it is supposedly sixty-four years away. And this Sci-Fi, dystopian action drama part Western is a muddled concoction of teenage angst, wannabe romance and a wilderness survival movie that is aided along by the pairing of two young talented screen actors in Holland and Ridley intent on going their own way following their big budget franchise outings of recent years. And Mads Mikkelsen who is always watchable despite his character being undercooked does manage to be the glue that binds the film together, with mostly surplus to requirement performances from Oyelowo and Erivo regrettably. As for the Spackle who supposedly inflicted the Noise on the male population, well they barely get a look in save for one sequence when a fist fight breaks out between Todd and an one armed indigenous alien that ends as quickly as it started - enough said (and seen) it seems! Doug Liman who has enjoyed many successes throughout his career here offers up an interesting premise, with well enough realised set pieces but it lacks energy, urgency and emotion and ends up being conventional, predictable and lacking in substance, clearly not helped by its troubled shoot and protracted delays. 

'Chaos Walking' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-