INTRUSION : Monday 27th September 2021.

With Greater Sydney still in COVID lockdown now until the 11th October at least, and as a result all cinema's closed until sometime after this date, I've been reviewing recently some the latest feature films released onto Netflix. One such film that I watched from the comfort of my own sofa at home this week is the American psychological thriller 'INTRUSION' which landed on Netflix on 22nd September. This film is Directed by Adam Salky who has nineteen Directorial credits to his name, although this is only his third feature film outing following 'Dare' in 2009 with Alan Cumming and Rooney Mara and 'I Smile Back' with Sarah Silverman in 2015. He has also Directed the documentary 'We Want You' in 2010, the made for TV movie 'The College Admissions Scandal' in 2019 and three episodes of 'Blindspot' amongst a number of short films in the meantime. 'Intrusion' has generated mostly unfavourable Reviews so far. 

The film opens up with a lone woman jogging along a dirt path towards a palatial architecturally designed house sitting literally in the middle of nowhere in very rural Corrales, outside Alburquerque, overlooking the mountains in the background and the dim city lights in the distance. The woman jogging, Meera Parsons (Freida Pinto) arrives home to be greeted by her doting husband Henry Parsons (Logan Marshall-Green). The couple used to live in Boston, where Meera had been diagnosed with cancer, during which time Henry helped nurse his ailing wife back to full health and strength. After designing the house they moved into two months ago, and supervised the construction, Henry and Meera decided to abandon the rat race and move to a small town community where they now happily reside. They decide to go out to a restaurant for dinner that night, and afterwards we see them playing Scrabble over a glass of wine while still sat at their table. They deliberately leave their mobile phones at home, having purposely become less reliant upon them since making the move. 

Upon returning home Henry suggests watching a movie, but it's not long before they discover that their house has been robbed and Henry's office has been turned upside down, amongst a few other areas of their home. The local Detective Steven Morse (Robert John Burke) is on the scene questioning Meera and Henry and learns that only their two mobile phones and Henry's laptop computer had been stolen. Over the next couple of days Henry repairs the damage, puts automatic locks on the doors controlled by their newly purchased mobile phones, instals sensor lights to the outside entry, and puts a tracking app on both phones so that they can both see where the other is at all times. 

A short time after, one night while sleeping Meera wakes and is disturbed by noises. She turns to her bedside clock and it's not working. She goes to turn on her bedside light and that too is not working. She wakes Henry telling him the power is out. Looks like rain must have tripped the circuit he says, but reluctantly he goes outside to check the generator. He sees that the generator has been sabotaged and then notices two torchlight flashes coming from within the house. Racing back, and fearing the worst, he discovers Meera bound and gagged at the foot of their bed. Untying her, they gingerly make their way downstairs and observe two men ransacking his office. Henry motions to Meera to stay put while he retrieves a hidden revolver concealed in a plant pot. Henry is set upon by one of the intruders while Meera makes a dash for it outside and into his car. Sat there fumbling with the keys two shots ring out inside the house. Henry emerges from the house with gun in hand, having shot one intruder inside the house, while the other, with a bullet wound to the stomach, stumbles outside and pleads with Meera for help before being shot dead in the back by Henry. 

The next day the pair are waiting in a local cafe for Detective Morse to arrive. Meera remains badly shaken by the events of the previous night and by her husband seemingly being unaffected. Morse explains that the intruders were Dylan Cobb (Mark Sivertsen) and Colby Cobb (Brandon Fierro), but the one baffling thing about them is that Dylan's daughter Christine (Megan Elisabeth Kelly) has been missing for sometime now. Dylan remains in hospital in intensive care, with his chances of survival being slim. A couple of nights later Henry goes to get supplies for a housewarming party they are throwing but leaves his wallet behind. Meera notices before he has even left the driveway and so calls him but gets his voicemail so she decides to drive after him to give it to him. But Henry doesn't go to the store as he had indicated and instead heads off in the direction of the local hospital. Before she can follow him to his real destination, her car in involved in a road traffic accident with a pick-up truck. Her car is towed to a local auto repair shop, she catches an Uber home by which time Henry is back home too. She explains what happened and asks why Henry veered off towards the hospital, to which he retorts that he wasn't concentrating and took a wrong turn. 

Since Meerra's car is in the shop for repairs, she takes Henry's car to work instead and uses the opportunity to scroll through his GPS listing, with suspicions raised over his recent behaviour and lies. One address is in the same trailer park where Detective Morse confirmed the two home invaders lived. Before she goes there, the Detective reveals that Dylan, who survived Henry's assault died in the hospital on Sunday night, the precise time Henry supposedly went to the store for their housewarming party supplies. Meera heads to the trailer park and while snooping around Dylan's house finds a crumpled letter on the floor from Henry's firm, revealing that the two were connected and that Henry had lied. She then goes to the local postal office and a box which she unlocks with a key found in Dylan's pick-up truck, retrieves a parcel containing a video camcorder. Before she is able to leave she is interrupted by a local guy Clint Oxbow (Clint Obenchain) who comes on strong telling her to stay away and that he saw her car there earlier in the week even though Meera had never been there before. He snatches the package from Meera's hands and slams it against the postal box several times. 

Meera returns home and views the footage on the camcorder of Henry, but the visuals and audio are badly compromised by the beating it took earlier. She searches Henry’s office where she finds a USB chip with pictures of Dylan Cobb working on the construction of their home, but is interrupted by Henrys return. Later that night while Henry sleeps she scrolls thru the USB and see more of the construction staff and Dylan, and also sees Christine, his missing daughter. The next morning she purchases on line a new camcorder of the exact make and model as the one destroyed and has it delivered to her work address. She goes to the Police station to possibly show what’s on the USB drive but is interrupted by a telephone call, and decides not to report her findings. She goes home and confronts Henry with what she has uncovered. He tells her that the Police found Christine's body and that they arrested a guy. He successfully manages to talk his way out of everything and she accepts this. 

A few days later they throw their housewarming party, and all appears to be going swimmingly. She goes into the lounge to tell two guys watching the TV that dessert is about to be served. The news comes on with a local headline that Clint Oxbow had been arrested for mistreating his dogs, showing images of bloodstains by their kennel, but no mention of Christine. This raises Meera's suspicions once again and as by now the new camcorder has been delivered so she secrets herself away temporarily to play the recording. It shows Dylan claiming that Henry has Christine locked up somewhere in the house, and the night of the break-in, to which they took their Alsatian dog, the dog was barking in Henry's office like there was no tomorrow. She goes to the office, and rifles through Henry's architectural drawings of the house and in particular his office. She uncovers a secret panel leading down into a basement, in which tied and bound to a chair is Christine. 

Henry finds them, a scuffle ensues and he ties Meera up, and then ventures back upstairs with a bleeding nose saying he slipped and sends the guests home. By now Meera has chewed through her bindings and untied Christine. A chase ensues, which culminates back down in the basement with Henry standing over Christine now tied again with a baseball bat raised. From behind Meera bashes him on the head with a heavy clock ornament from Boston and he falls back and slumps down on the chair that Christine was previously bound to. His body goes into spasms, and he dies where he sits. Some weeks later and Meera has sold the house and is seen packing the last of her belongings into a removal truck as she then drives off into the sunset. 

'Intrusion' is another domestic thriller potboiler that has become so popular in recent times on Netflix, and bears certain similarities to 'Aftermath' which I reviewed just a few weeks ago. But does that popularity of this home invasion sub-genre make this film any good? The plot here is familiar predictable stuff that many a viewer will I'm sure have deduced how it all pans out within the first fifteen minutes, and how Henry is the real antagonist here long before the gullible Meera has worked out all of his devious machinations. There are also a number of questions left unanswered including how does Clint Oxbow fit into all of this, how come Henry was so non-plussed about the break-in and the subsequent aftermath, and is Henry really dead at the end??? Logan Marshall-Green is the standout performance in this film as the husband harbouring a dark secret, and its clear that there's very little chemistry between him and Freida Pinto despite their deep rooted on-screen love for each other (another red herring here!). Like 'Aftermath' the film warns the audience never to let love cover over the cracks of what a partner is truly capable of and how oftentimes the most dangerous situations can come from within your own home - the place where you should feel the safest!

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 30th September 2021.

The 69th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival was held from the 17th through until 25th September. This category A film festival, as determined by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations), is held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastian in September each year, in the Basque Country. Since its creation in 1953 it has established itself as one of the fourteen 'A' category competitive festivals of which it has one of the lowest budgets. Although it was originally intended to honour Spanish language films, films of other languages became eligible for consideration in 1955, and has been acknowledged by the FIAPF as an A category festival since 1957. This years Opening Night film was 'One Second' from China, Directed by Zhang Yimou, and the Closing Night film was 'Las Leyes de la Frontera' from Spain and Directed by Daniel Monzon.

In the Official Selection, the main competition of SSIFF, the Official Jury must grant the following awards : Golden Shell for Best Film (for the Producer), Silver Shell for Best Director, Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance, Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance, Jury Prize for Best Cinematography and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay.  

Those films competing for the Official Selection awards this year, together with those winners, are as given below :-

* 'Arthur Rambo' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Laurent Cantet.

* 'Benediction' from the UK and Written and Directed by Terence Davies. The Jury Prize for Best Screenplay was awarded to Terence Davies.

* 'BlueMoon' from Romania and Written and Directed by Alina Grogore. Winner of the Golden Shell for Best Film.

* 'Camila Comes Out Tonight' from Argentina and Co-Written and Directed by Ines Barrionuevo.

* 'Fever Dream' from Peru, USA, Chile and Spain and Co-Written and Directed by Claudia Liosa.

* 'One Second' from China and Directed by Zhang Yomou.

* 'As In Heaven' from Denmark and Written and Directed by Tea Lindeberg. Winner of the Silver Shell for Best Director. The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance was equally awarded to Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl also for her starring role in this film.

* 'Earwig' from the UK, France and Belgium and Co-Written and Directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Winner of the Special Jury Prize.

* 'The Good Boss' from Spain and Written and Directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa.

* 'Undercover' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Thierry de Peretti. The Jury Prize for Best Cinematography was awarded to Claire Mathon.

* 'The Grandmother' from Spain and France and Directed by Paco Plaza.

* 'Maixabel' from Spain and Co-Written and Directed by Iciar Bollain.

* 'Fire on the Plain' from China and Directed by Zhang Ji.

* 'Who's Stopping Us' from Spain and Written, Directed and photographed by Jonas Trueba. The Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance was presented to this films cast ensemble.

* 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' from the USA and Directed by Michael Showalter. The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance was equally awarded to Jessica Chastain for her starring role in this film. 

* 'I Want to Talk About Duras' from France and Written and Directed by Claire Simon. 

For the details of the other awards presented at SSIFF - the New Directors Award, the Horizontes Award, the Audience Award and the others, together with the news, views and reviews from this years 69th festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sansebastianfestival.com

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another couple of weeks ending, all being well come mid-October, this means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. 

This week then there are four new films to tempt you out to your local Odeon, hailing from Australia, Germany, France and Ireland, kicking off with an Australian feature about the events leading up to the April 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania in an attempt to understand why and how the atrocity occurred. Next up is a German Swiss Sci-Fi set in the distant future, where a female astronaut, shipwrecked on the long-decimated Earth, must decide the fate of the wasteland's remaining population. This is followed by a French drama that sees a young woman leaving her Swiss homeland for Lebanon in the 1950's, where the best years of her life are overshadowed by a pending war. And closing out the week is a doco from Ireland on how a young black boy from working class 1950's Dublin, became Ireland's Greatest Rock Star and as the front man of Thin Lizzy, he was a songwriter, a poet, a dreamer, and a wildman.

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 week ahead.

'NITRAM' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian psychological drama film Directed and Justin Kurzel, whose previous feature film outings take in his acclaimed debut with 'Snowtown' in 2011, 'Macbeth' in 2015 with Michael Fassbender, 'Assassin's Creed' in 2016 with Michael Fassbender again, and the 'True History of the Kelly Gang' in 2019 with George MacKay. This film had its World Premier screening at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-July this year where lead Actor Caleb Landry Jones took out the Best Actor Award for his performance. It was subsequently screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in mid-August and at CinefestOZ in Western Australia in late August where it took out the Film Prize of AU$100K - the richest film prize in Australia. 'Nitram' has garnered generally favourable Critical Reviews. 

Nitram (spelled backwards of the real life figure's name Martin Bryant as played here by Caleb Landry Jones) lives with his mother (Judy Davis) and father (Anthony LaPaglia) in suburban Australia in the mid-1990's. He lives a life of isolation and frustration at never being able to fit in. That is until he unexpectedly finds a close friend in a reclusive heiress, Helen (Essie Davis). However, when that relationship meets a tragic end, and Nitram's loneliness and anger grows, he begins a slow descent that culminates in the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania on 28th and 29th April 1996 in which Bryant shot and killed 35 people and wounded another 23. This is the story of the events leading up to that fateful day. 

'THE COLONY' (aka 'TIDES' Rated MA15+) - is an English language German Swiss Co-Produced Sci-Fi thriller Directed and Co-Written by Tim Fehlbaum in only his third feature film offering following 'Not My Wedding' in 2004 and 'Apocalypse' in 2011. The film saw its World Premier screening at this years Berlin International Film Festival in March, has so far picked up four award wins and another eight nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, and has generated mixed or average Reviews. In the not too-distant future and following a global catastrophe that has wiped out almost all human life on Earth, Blake (Nora Arnezeder), an elite astronaut from Space Colony Kepler must make a decision that will seal the fate of the people on both planets. Also starring Iain Glen, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Joel Basman and Sabastian Roche. 

'SKIES OF LEBANON' (Rated PG) - this French drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Chloe Mazlo in her feature film making debut following ten years of making six short films. Chosen to be selected for the International Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 2020, the film was released in France at the end of June this year, and now gets a limited showing in Australia. Set in the 1950's and combining live action and animation, Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) a young woman decides to leave her native and tranquil Swiss mountain home for the sunny and buzzing shores of Beirut, where she meets and falls in love with with an astrophysicist Joseph (Wajdi Mouawad) intent on sending then first Lebanese national into space. As Alice builds a new life, fits in well with her new family and friends and starts a family, conflicts in the region begin to turn her previously blissful existence upside down. Ultimately, the couple are faced with a crucial question, should they stay in the country they love or leave? 

'PHIL LYNOTT : SONGS FOR WHILE I'M AWAY' (Rated M) - is an Irish documentary film Directed by Emer Reynolds following her three other documentary films 'Three Men Go to War' in 2012, 'Here Was Cuba' in 2013 and 'The Farthest' in 2017. This film centres on the life and music of Phil Lynott, telling the story of how a young black boy from working class 1950's Dublin became Ireland’s Greatest Rock Star. As lead singer of Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott was a songwriter, a dreamer, a wild man. Told extensively through the words of Phil himself and focusing on some of his iconic songs, the film gets to the heart of Philip, the father, the husband, the friend, the son, the rock icon, the bard, the dreamer. Featuring interviews with the likes of Adam Clayton, Huey Lewis, Midge Ure and Suzi Quatro, plus Thin Lizzy's former band members. The film has garnered critical acclaim. 

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 coming week, at your local Odeon, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

PREY : Monday 20th September 2021.

With Greater Sydney still in COVID lockdown now until the end of September at least, and as a result all cinema's closed until sometime after this date, I've been reviewing recently some the latest feature films released onto Netflix. One such film that I watched from the comfort of my own sofa at home this week is the German thriller 'PREY' which is Written and Directed by Thomas Sieben. This is Sieben's fourth feature film following 2009's 'Distanz', 2013's 'Staudamm' and 2018's 'Kidnapping Stella' and was released to Netflix on 10th September having generated mostly negative press along the way.

The film opens up with a young couple swimming underwater in the crystal clear ocean, and kissing before rising to the surface. We then cut to two canoe's occupied by five men, as the group idly paddle down a stream surrounded by dense forest, and taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful woodland around them. They come to an embankment, get out of the canoe's and then all frolic in the stream, as good mates do. It seems that the group of five friends are on a bachelor party for Roman (Davis Kross) who was the man seen swimming in the opening scene, and who is soon to be married. The others in the group are his older brother Albert (Hanno Koffler), Peter (Robert Finster), Vincent (Yung Ngo) and Stefan (Klaus Steinbacher). After getting out of the water Stefan has already set a fire as the men warm themselves and take in the sun. Suddenly the serenity of their surroundings is disturbed as a gunshot rings out, somewhere in the distance but close enough for the men to take heed. Dismissing it as someone on a hunting trip, they continue their idle chatter.

Stefan suggests a hike up to a look out where they can take in the sweeping vistas of the forest for as far as the eye can see. Stefan knows the forest as his father used to take him hiking there when he was much younger, so he knows the lay of the land reasonably well. After taking in the views the group amble back down to where their car was parked and head on to their next destination. 

Stefan arrives at the car opens up the boot, with Vincent trailing behind. A gun shot rings out aimed in their direction and the four men all cower behind the vehicle. Vincent remains standing at the edge of the clearing. He then realises that he has been shot in the upper arm and begins to panic. He is retrieved to the safety of their parked car, and Stefan bandages up his arm. Another shot rings out shattering a car window, and then another taking out a tyre. Left defenceless and exposed and no way of getting the hell outta Dodge, the five men decide to make a dash to the trees from whence they came. 

The men continue running for their lives until such time they decide to rest up and take stock of their situation. Stefan says that they should head for a roadway that is further away than the photograph he took from the lookout earlier would suggest. The group agree. Traipsing through the undergrowth, they eventually come across a woman standing down by the rivers edge with her back turned towards them. Stefan calls out to the woman but she is unresponsive. He calls again, and once more before the woman turns around to face them. She takes two steps forward, reaches down and picks up a rifle from the ground and plugs a bullet right between Stefan's eyes. The other four turn on their heels and run for cover, as more shots are fired in their direction. 

Evading the bullets the group of now four men come across a small general store and information kiosk in the forest. A young woman stands behind the counter as Albert attempts to explain their predicament and asks if there is a phone with which they can call the Police. The connection is ad hoc replies the woman but Albert is successful is dialling the Police and as he begins his conversation the woman is shot in the head from outside the window. Several more shots are fired in their direction, as the men cower for cover. Vincent meanwhile has taken another shot to the neck, and is crawling towards Roman and Albert holding on to his neck that is spurting blood. A final shot to the head finishes him off. The remaining three make a dash for it out of the back door running for cover in the trees once again. In doing so Albert stumbles and badly twists his ankle. 

Resting up momentarily Peter surveys Alberts badly twisted and now swelling ankle. They continue walking eventually finding the road. This leads them down into a long deserted campsite where A-frame cabins and children's playgrounds once bristled with life. They rest up. It turns out that Peter is Albert's business partner in a company that that they formed some years ago, and into which Roman is on the promise of a job subject to Board approval which is expected to come through before the wedding. Peter suggests that Albert remain at the camp because he can hardly walk, to which Albert takes umbrage and a fist fight breaks out between the pair, with Roman having to intervene. Peter walks off choosing to go it alone, leaving Albert sat feeling sorry for himself, and Roman disgusted by his older brothers attitude and behaviour. Roman walks off too, and comes across a long cabin that appears to be open and lived in. He gingerly ventures inside, having seen a makeshift memorial in the garden to an Anna. On a computer screen he sees a video clip of the shooter Eva (Maria Ehrich) down by the waters edge in the same spot as Stefan was killed. Eva is holding her baby. A drunken hunter is seen stumbling towards her carrying a rifle. Eva attempts to intervene and ward off the hunter and in the ensuing fracas a shot is fired which kills her baby. 

Roman returns to Albert and the pair struggle onward with their journey. Meanwhile Peter has reached the road again. Rounding a bend in the road Peter comes face to face with Eva. She shoots him in the leg, sending him backwards. She slowly motions towards him as Peter attempts to crawl away. He turns around as she plugs him with another shot to his other leg. Peter pleads with her saying that he has money, lots of money, if that's what she wants. She fires another round into his left shoulder, then another into his right shoulder, and then a final one between the eyes. From a distance Roman and Albert see Peter's dead body on the ground and Eva standing over him. 

The pair head off in the opposite direction. A short while later they see Eva tracking them but believe that she has not seen them. They stand motionless observing her before gingerly moving on, at which point Eva turns and fires in their direction, landing a bullet wound to Albert's shoulder. Now bleeding, with a badly twisted ankle and semi-conscious Roman and Albert rest up. Albert falls into a slumber, and Roman retrieves Albert's mobile phone from his pocket. There is no signal of course, but using Albert's thumb print to unlock his phone, he scrolls through his images and text messages. There he sees an image of Lisa (Livia Matthes) the woman swimming with Roman in the opening scene, and whom Roman is set to be married to. It turns out that Albert had an affair with Lisa recently as is seen in flashbacks throughout the film of their beachside holiday. When Albert comes round Roman is standoffish with his brother and asks him about Lisa. Albert says it just happened by accident and meant nothing, at which point Roman lands a punch squarely on Albert's jaw, and leaves.

Roman sees Eva in the distance heading off in the opposite direction. He decides to follow, but not before dragging Albert into the relative safety of a rocky overhang and out of sight. He pulls out Albert's pocket knife, cuts a square out of Albert's vest, folds it several times and presses it to his brothers shoulder wound. He returns to where he saw Eva walking towards, and enters a cave, in which is Peter's dead body and the bodies of two other slain victims. He climbs a makeshift ladder which emerges on top of a rocky outcrop at which Eva is standing gun raised looking out over a cliff edge through the sight of her rifle. Roman approaches with knife drawn, and comes within a few metres of Eva who turns with rifle raised. A standoff ensues in which Roman is shot in the leg. He then explains that he has seen the video and he knows what happened to baby Anna. He asks her to stop, and she momentarily lowers the rifle. At which point Roman lashes out with his other leg disarming Eva and the pair fight. Ultimately Roman gains the upper hand and has control of the rifle. He raises it and momentarily considers pulling the trigger but instead tosses the rifle away. Eva slowly backs away, one step, two steps, and then falls backwards over the edge of the cliff to her death some thirty or forty metres below. Roman sits down on the edge of the cliff, relieved that its all over.

Let me tell you that 'Prey' is no 'Deliverance'! I saw this film, which is overdubbed into English, and the one good thing about it, is its short running time at just 87 minutes. Too many questions get left unanswered, such as why is this lone sharpshooting woman picking off random guys in the forest aside from the fact that she's clearly now got it in for every male weekend warrior hiker in her neck of the woods; does Albert and/or Roman get out alive; what's her motivation for playing cat and mouse with these men when she could have popped them off all in one go; and as for a compelling back story that makes these characters relatable - forgeddaboudid! As a survival thriller in the woods you have seen this done hundreds of times before more often than not more effectively, and as such 'Prey' offers up nothing new or original. But, if that's your cup of tea then by all means go for it, and as one of the friends in the movie says to another whilst being stalked by an unknown assailant 'Who says it has to make sense?' . . . . . well he certainly got that right!

'Prey' merits one clap of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd September 2021.

The 46th annual Toronto International Film Festival took place between 9th and 18th September. The official TIFF website reads that this festival 'features ten days of exceptional international and Canadian cinema with close to two hundred films in its Official Selection and unparalleled events featuring acclaimed industry guests. Recognised as the world’s largest public film festival, TIFF is bringing the theatrical experience back to life and continues its reputation as both a leader in amplifying under-represented cinematic voices and a bellwether for programming award-winning films from around the globe'. This years Opening Film was 'Dear Evan Hansen' - the American coming-of-age musical teen drama film Directed by Stephen Chbosky, with the Closing Night film being 'One Second' - the Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yimou. 

The Gala Presentations section saw fifteen films in contention for the Peoples Choice Award. Those films and the winner, are as detailed below :-

* 'Belfast' - is British and Irish co-produced black-and-white coming of age drama film Written and Directed by Kenneth Branagh. It stars Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds, Colin Morgan, and newcomer Jude Hill. The film, which Branagh has described as his 'most personal film', centres on a young boy's childhood amid the tumult of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960's. The film won the Peoples Choice Award. 

* 'Bergman Island' - this internationally co-produced drama film, is Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Love. It stars Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, Mia Wasikowska and Anders Danielsen Lie.

* 'Dear Evan Hansen' - is an American coming-of-age musical teen drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky. The film's ensemble cast also includes Ben Platt in the title role, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever and Amandla Stenberg. World Premier screening.

* 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' - is a US and UK produced biographical film Co-Written and Directed by Will Sharpe. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones, Nick Cave, Taika Waititi, Richard Ayoade and Olivia Colman as the Narrator. 

* 'The Forgiven' - is a US and UK produced drama film Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by John Michael McDonagh. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Christopher Abbott, Abbey Lee, Alex Jennings and Caleb Landry Jones. World Premier screening.

* 'The Good House' - is an American comedy-drama film Directed by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky, who also co-wrote the Screenplay. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney and Beverly D'Angelo. World Premier screening.

* 'Jagged' - is an American documentary film Directed and Co-Produced by Alison Klayman and surrounds the life and career of musician Alanis Morissette centering on the release of her 1995 album 'Jagged Little Pill'. World Premier screening.

* 'Lakewood' - is a US and Canadian produced drama film Directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Naomi Watts. World Premier screening.

* 'Last Night in Soho' - is a British psychological horror film Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written based on a story by Edgar Wright. It stars Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Margaret Nolan and Rita Tushingham. 

* 'The Mad Women's Ball' - from France and Directed, Co-Written for the screen and starring Melanie Laurent. World Premier screening.

* 'Night Raiders' - is a Canadian and New Zealand science fiction apocalyptic film Written and Directed by Danis Goulet. The film stars Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, Brooklyn Letexier-Hart, Alex Tarrant, Amanda Plummer and Violet Nelson.

* 'One Second' - is a Chinese drama film Directed and Written by Zhang Yimou, and stars Zhang Yi and Fan Wei. 
* 'Silent Night' - this British and American comedy film is Written and Directed by Camille Griffin and stars Keira Knightley, Roman Griffin Davis, Matthew Goode, Annabelle Wallis and Lily-Rose Depp. World Premier screening.

* 'The Survivor' - this American biographical drama film is Directed and Co-Produced by Barry Levinson, and stars Ben Foster as Harry Haft, a real-life survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. Billy Magnussen, Danny DeVito, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Leguizamo co-star. World Premiere screening.

* 'The Worst Person in the World' - this Norwegian dark romantic comedy-drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Joachim Trier, and stars Anders Danielsen Lie and Renate Reinsve. 

The other winners included :- 

* Peoples Choice Award First Runner Up awarded to 'Scarborough' shown in the 'Discovery' section and is a Canadian drama film, Directed by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson.

* Peoples Choice Second Runner Up awarded to 'The Power of the Dog' shown in the Special Presentations section and this internationally co-produced drama film is Written and Directed by Jane Campion, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Keith Carradine, and Frances Conroy.

The festival presented the TIFF Tribute Awards, which were introduced in 2019 to honour Actors and filmmakers for distinguished achievements over the course of their careers. The first two honourees announced were the native American Canadian film maker and activist Alanis Obomsawin as the recipient of the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media and Denis Villeneuve as the winner of the Ebert Director Award. Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch were subsequently announced as the recipients of the Actor Awards. Dionne Warwick received the special tribute award, and filmmaker Danis Goulet was named the recipient of the Emerging Talent Award.

For the other awards and film sections from this years Toronto International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www. tiff.net

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another couple of weeks ending (at this stage) at the end of September, this means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. 

Turning attention back to this weeks new cinematic offerings coming to an Odeon near you, of which we have American, Danish, Italian, Belarusian and British films, we kick start with a true story of a small town, American working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the US to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay. This is followed by a Danish film about a soldier who goes home to his teenage daughter, after his wife dies in a tragic train crash, which at first appears to be an accident until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up. Then we turn to a story following a chance encounter with a man forgotten from his youth, this guy literally and metaphorically journeys into his past. Next up is an Italian film of how an accident forces a young woman and a man to come to a stop and try to reclaim their lives one minute at a time to start living in the present. We then have a Russian Belarusian film set during WWII where a young Jewish man pretends to be Iranian to avoid being executed in a German concentration camp; and closing out the week we have a concert documentary film featuring the mid-August 1996 gig at Knebworth Park when 250,000 young music fans converged to see Oasis play two record breaking, era defining shows.

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

'JOE BELL' (Rated M) - is an American biographical drama road film Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green in only his second feature film outing following 2018's 'Monsters and Men' with John David Washington, with his third feature 'King Richard' with Will Smith playing the father, trainer and mentor to Serena and Venus Williams - his daughters, and due for release later this year. This film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF back in mid-September 2020 and was released in the US in late July this year having so far earned US$1.5M at the Box Office and mixed or average Reviews along the way. This film is Co-Produced by Mark Wahlberg and Cary Joji Fukunaga.

This films tells the intimate and emotional true story of an Oregonian father Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) who pays tribute to his gay teenage son Jadin (a breakout performance by Reid Miller), embarking on a self-reflective walk across America to speak his heart to heartland citizens about the real and terrifying costs of bullying. Also starring Connie Britton as Lola Bell (wife of Joe and mother to Jadin), Maxwell Jenkins as Joseph Bell (younger brother to Jadin) and Gary Sinise.

'RIDERS OF JUSTICE' (Rated MA15+) - this Danish action comedy film is Written and Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen whose previous feature film credits are 'Men & Chicken' in 2015, 'Adam's Apples' in 2005, 'The Green Butchers' in 2003 and 'Flickering Lights' in 2000, all starring Mads Mikkelsen who also leads the cast in this, his latest offering. Released in its native Denmark in mid-November last year, has taken US$8M off the back of a US$6.5M production budget and has garnered universal critical acclaim. The film follows recently-deployed soldier to Afghanistan Markus (Mads Mikkelsen), who is forced to return home to care for his teenage daughter after his wife is killed in a tragic train accident. But when a survivor of the wrecked train surfaces claiming foul play, Markus begins to suspect his wife was murdered and embarks on a revenge-fueled mission to find those responsible. Also starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Lars Brygmann, Nicolas Bro and Roland Moller.

'FLASHBACK' (Rated MA15+) - is a Canadian mystery thriller movie Written, Directed and Executive Produced by Christopher MacBride in only his second feature film offering after 2012's 'The Conspiracy'. The film saw its World Premier screening at Spain's Stiges Film Festival back in early October last year and was released in the US in early June to mostly mixed Reviews. Here then, Fredrick Fitzell (Dylan O'Brien) is living his best life, until that is, he starts having horrific visions of Cindy (Maika Monroe), a girl who vanished in high school. After reaching out to old friends with whom he used to take a mystery drug called Mercury, Fredrick realises the only way to stop the visions lies deep within his own memories, so he embarks on a terrifying mental odyssey to learn the truth. Also stars Hannah Gross and Emory Cohen.

'TIME IS UP' (Rated M) - this Italian romance film is Co-Written and Directed by Elisa Amoruso and tells the story of Vivien (Bella Thorne), a highly accomplished student, with a passion for physics and keen to get into a prestigious American university. She seems to live her own life as a mathematical formula that drives her to look at her own happiness as something to be postponed into the future. Roy (Benjamin Mascolo), by comparison, is a troubled and problematic young man who, due to a trauma suffered as a child, sees his desires continually hindered by a past that seems to constantly haunt him. But mathematics too has its variables and as often happens, life manages to weave events together in surprising and unexpected ways. When an accident forces Vivien and Roy to come to a stop and reclaim their lives, they finally learn to start living in a present that perhaps will prove to be more exciting than any predefined formula. 'Time Is Up 2' is already in pre-production apparently. 

'PERSIAN LESSONS' (Rated M) - this Russian and Belarusian drama film is Directed and Co-Produced by Vadim Perelman whose film making debut came with the multi-award winning and nominated 'House of Sand and Fog' in 2003 with Jennifer Connolly and Ben Kingsley, which he then followed up with 'The Life Before Her Eyes' in 2007 with Uma Thurman and Oscar Isaac and 'Buy Me' in 2018. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Berlin International Film Festival in late February 2020 before its release in China in mid-March of this year. It was selected as the Belarusian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the Oscar Ceremony earlier this year but was disqualified by the Academy, due to the majority of individuals involved in making the film not coming from Belarus. In 1942, in a German concentration camp, Gilles (Nahuel Perez Biscayart), a young Belgian man, narrowly avoids execution by swearing to the SS guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but then Gilles is assigned a seemingly untenable task to teach Farsi to Koch (Lars Eidinger), the officer in charge of the camp’s kitchen, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Gilles finds himself having to invent a language he doesn’t know, word by word. As the unusual relationship between the two men begins to incite jealousy and suspicion, Gilles becomes acutely aware that one false move could expose his swindle. 

'OASIS KNEBWORTH 1996' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Jake Scott (son of Ridley Scott) whose previous feature film credits take in 'Plunkett & & Macleane' with Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller, in 1999, 'Welcome to the Rileys' in 2010 with James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart and 'American Woman' in 2018 with Sienna Miller and Sky Ferreira plus a whole bunch of music videos for bands and artists including R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Radiohead, U2, The Strokes, George Michael, Lily Allen and the Rolling Stones amongst others. Here he Directs this documentary concert film staged on August 10th & 11th 1996, when 250,000 young music fans converged on Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire, England to see Oasis play two record breaking, era defining shows. The ear defining concerts sold out in under a day with over 2% of the UK population attempting to buy tickets. Featuring a setlist packed from beginning to end with classics, including 'Champagne Supernova', 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back In Anger', the Knebworth concerts were both the pinnacle of the band's success and the landmark gathering for a generation of concertgoers. 'Oasis Knebworth 1996' is the story of that weekend and the special relationship between Oasis and their fans that made it all possible. It is told through the eyes of the fans who were there, with additional interviews with the band and concert organisers and featuring exclusive never-before seen footage.

With six new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the coming week, at your local Odeon, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KATE : Monday 13th September 2021.

With Greater Sydney still in COVID lockdown now until the end of September at least, and as a result all cinema's closed until sometime after this date, I've been reviewing recently some the latest feature films released onto Netflix. One such film that I watched from the comfort of my own sofa at home this week is the American action thriller 'KATE' Directed by the Frenchman Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. This is only Nicolas-Troyan's second feature film making credit following 2016's 'The Hunstsman : Winter's War' although he did perform Second Unit Director duties on 2012's 'Snow White and the Huntsman' and 2014's 'Maleficent'. Worthy of note is that David Leitch serves as Producer on this film - he who made his Directorial debut on the 2014 action film 'John Wick' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch then Directed the 2017 thriller film 'Atomic Blonde', followed by 2018's 'Deadpool 2', and then in 2019, 'Hobbs & Shaw', and sure enough his influence is clearly evident in the action set pieces and the stunt work seen in this film. Released onto Netflix on 10th September, the film has garnered mixed or average Reviews.

The film opens up with an aerial shot of a pink ice cream truck making its way around the streets of Osaka, Japan. The truck pulls up in a yard full of shipping containers. Inside the back of the truck is Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Varrick (Woody Herrelson) having a final conversation about her hit on a powerful yakuza officer. It turns out that Kate is an expert assassin and sniper who eliminates targets chosen by her trusted long term mentor, handler and father figure, Varrick. After she was left orphaned as a child, Varrick took her in and raised her giving her extensive training in weapons handling and combat techniques and eventually bringing her into his private team of those with a very particular set of skills. After dispensing with a pair of yakuza goons Kate prepares herself with her rifle in a prime position overlooking the expected point of arrival of a car. The vehicle duly pulls up and the syndicate member steps out of his car and presents himself as the target, but Kate resists taking the shot initially because a child has unexpectedly accompanied him. She hesitates, seeks clarification of the kill order and then asks once more before pulling the trigger and killing the target on Varrick's insistence. 

Fast forward ten months, and we are in Tokyo. While Kate's assignment was successful, she can't shake the fact that this breach of their personal code to not kill in the presence of children leaves her emotionally scarred. She tells Varrick that she will do one final mission, and then retire so she can start a new normal life. Varrick is none too pleased at this news and says that after two visits to Walmart she'll come hurrying back, but Kate is undaunted. Before her last mission Kate is relaxing in a hotel bar alone sipping on a glass of Margaux. A guy named Stephen (Michiel Huisman) sidles up and the pair strike up a conversation, which leads them to sharing a bottle of wine which leads them into bed. Afterwards and before Stephen has left she gets a text message from Varrick saying one last dance, tonight, at 11:00pm on the roof top of some tall city building. Up on the roof top of that building while preparing herself, she starts feeling dizzy and unable to focus causing her to miss the shot. She shoots again, and then again but by which time the mark has got away. Kate soon enough comes to the realisation that Stephen must have poisoned her. She steals a souped up car and after a high speed car chase through the streets of Tokyo followed by the goons guarding her failed mark, she ultimately crashes her car end over end landing on its roof. 

She comes round in a hospital and learns from the Doctor that she has acute radiation poisoning from Polonium 204 and only twenty-four hours or so to live. She steals injectable stimulant drugs and a gun and sets out to take out her revenge on whoever poisoned her. Kate traces Stephen and his girlfriend to their apartment, and threatening them both at gunpoint learns that they were strong-armed into poisoning her by Sato, a yakuza affiliated with the Kijima crime family. 

Kate finds Sato (Koji Nishiyama) at a luxury restaurant called The Black Lizard, and kills him along with dozens of armed yakuza (in a bloodbath action set-piece straight out of 'John Wick' or 'Kill Bill'). Sato's last man standing reveals that Kijima's niece Ani (Miku Martineau) might be able to tell her where the reclusive head of the crime family might be in hiding. Upon tracking down Ani to a nightclub Kate realises that Ani is the girl who stood beside her father during the opening Osaka mission. 

Kate uses Ani to lure Kijima out into the open. Renji (Tadanobu Asano) sees himself as the natural and younger successor to the older Kijima and so sends Shinzo (Kazuya Tanabe) and a bunch of goons to Kate's designated meeting place. After another action set piece in which Kate thwarts all manner of goons she ends up shooting Shinzo who was ready to dispense with Ani following Renji's orders. After this, Kate and Ani share a quiet moment in an alleyway as Kate cough's up blood and is physically exhausted. She decides to become Ani's protector upon learning that her family want her dead as part of an internal power struggle. So how to get to Renji? Ani suggests that his boyfriend Jojima (Miyavi) might be able to lead them to him and he can be found in their shared penthouse apartment. Upon arriving Jojima is not prepared to divulge Renji's whereabouts and a fight breaks out with Jojima gaining the upper hand over Kate, but he is ultimately killed by Ani with a swift blow to the head with a very heavy object. Kate uncovers a semi automatic assault rifle with laser sight and a hand gun concealed in the fridge door and so the pair go in search of Renji, which they are able to do by tracking his whereabouts on Jojima's mobile phone. 

Renji is ambushed in his car by Kate who kills the driver and another guard but lets Renji go free when he tells her that he doesn't know where Kijima is, except that he spending 'family time'. Ani however, knows that family time means time spent in his childhood home in the hills. And so, getting in a taxi they head to the hills and Kijima's family home. Kate calls Varrick from the taxi and bids her final farewell, telling him to collect her body from the hills. 

Upon arriving Kate is on her last legs and she tells Ani to beat it. Venturing into the house, Kate finds Kijima (Jun Kunimura) alone. They talk, with Kijima resigned to his fate, but not before he tells her that Renji made a deal with Varrick to incorporate his team into the syndicate in exchange for killing Kijima and all of his blood relatives. Varrick pulls up and outside Kijima's house meets Ani sat on the curbside. He proceeds to tell her that Kate killed her father in Osaka and is responsible for the deaths of almost her entire family. A single shot rings out from inside the house, implying that Kate has shot dead Kijima. When Kate emerges, a tearful Ani confronts her, raising a gun, pulling the trigger and shooting Kate sending her reeling backwards seemingly dead. Ani gets into the car with Varrick and the pair drive off. 

Soon afterwards Kijima appears and hands Kate an injectable stimulant which she plunges into her leg giving her an hour or so respite. Kijima, aware that Kate is close to death, provides her with a small army of his men to assault Renji's headquarters, where Varrick has taken Ani. Kate. Kijima and their small army arrive and following a fierce close quarter gunfight, all of Renji and Varrick's men are killed. Kijima personally slices the top of Renji's head off with a samurai sword for his betrayal. 

Kate locates Varrick, who is holding Ani at gunpoint. The two stand guns drawn facing each other. Both shoot at the same time with Kate caught a glancing blow and Varrick is fatally shot in the stomach, slumping down in a chair to die shortly afterwards. Ani then helps Kate walk outside to the roof, where Kate, finally at peace with herself, dies in Ani's arms looked on by Kijima. 

For a film that has it's roots in the 1950 feature film 'D.O.A' and then again in 1988 under the same name, there is very little that is new here in terms of the plot, except that the location has changed from California to modern day Japan, the chase and fight sequences are way more intense, the bad guys are considerably more disposable and the language is a lot more colourful. The staged action sequences are impressive thanks to the pedigree of Nicolas-Troyan on Director duty and Leitch serving as Producer and the cast are on top form - most notably Winstead who proves her action heroine acting chops, Harrelson is always watchable and newcomer Miku Martineau in her feature film debut and in only her third screen outing is surprisingly gifted. Aside from these positives, the film is predictable in its premise, is formulaic in its approach to the now often seen fight scenes and offers up nothing new that you haven't seen countless times before. It's not a bad movie but it's also not that great either, and if you enjoy your female assassins getting stabbed, punched, kicked, shot, bruised, battered, bloodied and barfing as she rapidly deteriorates from the inside as well but still managing to ably dispense with an army of yakuza no good bad dude types, then this movie is for you. 

'Kate' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-