What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th June 2023.

The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs this year from Friday 30th June through until Saturday 8th July, and is held annually in the spa city of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. The festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe's leading film event. Each year, the festival presents some two hundred films from all over the world. Many of the films are exclusively shown at the festival, while others make it into Czech or foreign distribution, onto television, or into other festivals thanks in part to their screening in Karlovy Vary. Except for films shown as part of retrospectives, all the presented works were made during the preceding year and are shown for the first time ever in the Czech Republic – many of them as World, International, or European Premieres.

There are two competitive sections as the KVIFF, these being The Crystal Globe Competition which is a non-specialised international competition of feature-length fiction and documentary films presented as World or International Premieres. The Proxima Competition offers space to the world’s new voices from across the vast cinematic spectrum. Showcasing works by upcoming filmmakers and adventurous works by renowned auteurs, it aims to complement the Crystal Globe Competition by celebrating contemporary cinema with a collection of forward-thinking and exciting discoveries. Feature-length fiction and documentary films presented as World or International Premieres are eligible.

Those films competing for the Crystal Globe are as given below :-

* 'Blaga's Lessons' - from Bulgaria and Germany and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Stephan Komandarev. This drama film has its World Premiere.

* 'Citizen Saint' - from Georgia, France and Bulgaria and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili. This drama film sees its World Premiere screening.

* 'Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano' - from Germany and Lebanon and Co-Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Cyril Aris. This documentary film sees its World Premiere.

* 'Empty Nets' - from Germany and Iran and Written and Directed by Behrooz Karamizade. This drama films has its International Premiere.

* 'Fremont' - from the USA and Co-Written, Directed and Edited by Babak Jalali. This comedy film sees its International Premiere.

* 'The Girls Are Alright' - from Spain and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and starring Itsaso Arana. This comedy drama film has its World Premiere showcasing.

* 'The Hypnosis' - from Sweden, Norway and France and Co-Written and Directed by Ernst De Geer. This drama comedy film sees its World Premiere screening.

* 'Red Rooms' - from Canada and Written and Directed by Pascal Plante. This thriller film has its World Premiere.

* 'A Sensitive Person' - from the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic and Co-Written and Directed by Tomas Klein. This film sees its World Premiere showing.

* 'We Have Never Been Modern' - from the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic and Co-Produced and Directed by Matej Chlupacek. This drama film has its World Premiere.

* 'Where the Wind Blows' - from Italy and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Marco Righi. This drama films sees its World Premiere.

Actor and Director Russell Crowe will be presented with the Crystal Globe for his outstanding artistic contribution to world cinematography at the opening of this year’s Karlovy Vary Festival, and thereafter he and his new Indoor Garden Party project will then appear at the opening concert.

For all the other details of the Proxima Competition and the other film strands playing at this years Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.kviff.com/en/homepage

This week then there are four new movies doing the rounds at a big screen Odeon near you, kicking off with the fifth and final instalment in a much loved action adventure franchise that sees our archaeologist hero racing against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history. This is followed by a drama offering based on a true story of a former American intelligence specialist being handed down the longest prison sentence for the unauthorised release of government information to the media about Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential elections via an email operation. Next up is the story of Sleeping Beauty where upon Princess Aurora sleeps for one hundred years and wakes up in the modern world; and we wrap up the week with a French film about a ten year old city lad who spends his summer in the mountains and there befriends a giant dog with a big heart who has been mistreated by his owner, and the unbreakable friendship that develops between the two. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new films 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.

'INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY' (Rated M) - this long awaited and highly anticipated American action adventure film is Co-Written and Directed by James Mangold, whose previous film making credits take in his 1995 debut with 'Heavy' followed by the likes of 'Cop Land' in 1997, 'Girl, Interrupted' in 1997, 'Walk the Line' in 2005, '3:10 to Yuma' in 2007, 'The Wolverine' in 2013, 'Logan' in 2017 and 'Ford v Ferrari' in 2019. This film is the sequel to 2008's 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' and the fifth and final instalment in this five feature film franchise that began in 1981 with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', then 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' in 1984 and 1989's 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. Those first four films grossed worldwide US$1.99B off the back of combined production budgets of US$279M with each of those films being Directed by Steven Spielberg, who this time around takes an Executive Producer credit. With an estimated production budget of nearly US$300M it is the most expensive film in the Indiana Jones franchise, as well as one of the most expensive films ever made. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it received a five minute standing ovation, and is released worldwide this week. 

In 1944, American archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford in his fifth and final outing as Indy) helps colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) against Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a Nazi, from obtaining a mysterious dial known as the Antikythera. Twenty-five years later in 1969, Jones is uneasy over the fact that the United States government has recruited former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union in the competition to make it to space. He is about to be forced into retirement from his teaching position because of his opposition to the practice. Surprisingly, his goddaughter, Basil's daughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), accompanies him on his journey for the Dial. Meanwhile, Voller, now a NASA member and ex-Nazi involved with the Apollo Moon-landing programme, wishes to make the world into a better place as he sees fit. Also starring Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Kretschmann and Karen Allen. 

'REALITY' (Rated M) - this American drama film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Tina Satter is her Directorial debut, and is based on the stage play 'Is This a Room' also by Tina Satter. On 9th May 2017, Reality Winner (Sydney Sweeney) watches Fox News coverage on the firing of James Comey by President Donald Trump on the TV at her office. 25 days later, on 3rd June Winner returns to her Georgia home from grocery shopping where she is confronted by FBI agents Taylor (Marchant Davis) and Garrick (Josh Hamilton), who explain they have a warrant to search her house and her belongings. As a team of agents arrive and begin searching the house, Winner engages in casual conversation with the agents, all of which is picked up by a recording device, and as the cryptic conversation begins Reality's life quickly begins to unravel. The film saw its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February this year, was released in the US at the end of May, has so far grossed just US$173K but has garnered universal critical acclaim. 

'MATTHEW BOURNE'S SLEEPING BEAUTY' (Rated PG) - Directed by Ross MacGibbon and Matthew Bourne, the British choreographer whose work includes ballet, contemporary dance, dance theatre and musical theatre, here marks the tenth anniversary of his gothic romance, with a brand-new filmed recording of 'Sleeping Beauty'. The production was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, in January 2023. Here, Bourne sets the first part of the story in 1890, the year in which Tchaikovsky completed his version of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale, with Beauty pricking herself on the poisoned rose in 1911 and awakening one hundred years later very much in the modern world.

'BELLE & SEBASTIAN : THE NEXT GENERATION' (Rated PG) - this French family action adventure drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Pierre Core whose previous feature film making credits are his 2017 debut with 'Sahara', and 2020's 'The Fantastic Journey of Margot & Marguerite'. Ten year old Sebastien (Robinson Mensah Rouanet) reluctantly spends his summer holiday in the Pyrenees mountains with his grandmother and aunt. Helping them with the sheep is hardly an exciting prospect for a city boy like him - but that is without considering his encounter with Belle, a huge dog mistreated by her owner. Ready to do anything to fight injustice and to protect his new-found friend, Sebastien will spend the craziest summer of his life. Also starring Alice David, Caroline Anglade and Michele Laroque the film was released in its native France in mid-October last year, and has so far grossed US$5.7M. This film is an up to date follow on from the original trilogy of films that saw 'Belle & Sebastian' released in 2013, 'Belle & Sebastian : The Adventure Continues' in 2015 and 2017's 'Belle & Sebastian : Friends for Life' that each saw Felix Bossuet in the title role of Sebastian.

With four new release movie offerings 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 at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-