BLUE BEETLE : Tuesday 26th September 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'BLUE BEETLE' this week, and this American Superhero film is based on the DC Comics character Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle and serves as the 14th instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is Directed by the Puerto Rican Angel Manuel Soto, whose previous feature film offerings include 'The Farm' in 2015 and 'Charm City Kings' in 2020. 'Blue Beetle' saw its World Premiere screening on 15th August before its wide release in the US on 18th August, having so far grossed US$125M off the back of a production budget of US$104M, declaring it a Box Office bomb having been the lowest grossing film so far in the DCEU despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics.

The film opens in the remote frozen wasteland of Antarctica, where members of Kord Industries, led by the company's co-founder and CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), have located an ancient alien artefact known as the Scarab. In the meantime, recent college graduate from Gotham Law University Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) returns home to Palmera City full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it, and that his family is being evicted due to their financial challenges. Jaime's sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) manages to get him a job on the housekeeping team at Victoria Kord's lavish mansion. However, both are fired after Jaime halts a confrontation between Victoria and her niece Jenny (Bruna Marquezine). On the way out Jenny tells Jaime to meet her at Kord Tower the next day to discuss a 'job opportunity' as she is feeling guilty for them both getting sacked. 

The next day, Jenny infiltrates a lab and discovers that Victoria is using the Scarab for her One Man Army Corps (OMAC) project (cyborgs with human bodies transformed by a virus into living machines to assassinate any and all beings with superpowers and to establish Kord Industries as he global dominant player in defence manufacturing). Jenny steals the Scarab but when Kord Tower goes into lock-down following the reported security breach, she avoids the security detail by giving it to Jaime, hidden inside a Big Belly Burger take-out box, but tells him in no uncertain terms not to look inside. At home, Jaime's family convinces him to open the burger box. When Jaime touches the Scarab, it activates and fuses with him, encasing him in an armoured exoskeleton.

Jaime later rescues Jenny from Victoria's armed forces, takes her home and questions her wanting answers. She tells Jaime that the Scarab is a sentient weapon and that it has knowingly chosen Jaime to be its symbiotic host. With the help of Jaime's uncle Rudy (George Lopez), Jaime and Jenny break into Kord Tower to retrieve a smartwatch that once belonged to Jenny's father Ted, but are attacked by Victoria's bodyguard Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo), who has an OMAC prototype infused into his body. The Scarab is revealed to be named Khaji-Da. It takes over Jaime's body temporarily and fights with Carapax. Rudy and Jenny help incapacitate Carapax, then escape to Jenny's childhood home with Jaime, which has been left abandoned for the past fifteen years, since her mother died, and her father disappeared.

Jenny uses Ted's watch to gain access to his hidden laboratory and reveals to Jaime that Ted was originally a vigilante named Blue Beetle who dedicated his lifes work to studying Khaji-Da before mysteriously disappearing, leaving his company in Victoria's hands. When they notice Victoria's helicopter flying toward Jaime's home, Jaime summons Khaji-Da and returns to protect his family. As the family try to escape, Jaime's father, Alberto (Damian Alcazar), suffers a heart attack and dies, which distracts Jaime so allowing Carapax to capture him. Jaime is taken to an island fortress near Cuba, where he is strapped to a machine that downloads information from Khaji-Da to the OMACs. While unconscious, Jaime has a vision of his father, who tells him to embrace his destiny as the new Blue Beetle. Jaime comes around and escapes as Carapax's OMAC suit activates and evolves into a more powerful form.

Jenny, together with Milagro, Rudy, Jaime's mother Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo) and grandmother Nana (Adriana Barraza) use Ted's Bugship and its arsenal of both hi-tech and lo-tech weaponry to storm the island. Jaime is reunited with his family, but then encounters Carapax and battles him. Jaime ultimately has Carapax pinned down and is about to kill him, but Khaji-Da intervenes and reveals to Jaime memories of Carapax's enslavement by Victoria for the OMAC experiments, including Carapax's mother's death at Victoria's hands. This data was uploaded to Khaji-Da when Jaime was strapped to the machine unconscious and so leads Jaime to spare him. Carapax rebels against Victoria and sets his OMAC suit to explode, destroying the island, himself, and Victoria in retaliation for his own mothers death. As the Reyes family and Jenny escape from the island, they take time to mourn Alberto. 

A few days later when the dust has begun to settle, Jenny is appointed the new CEO of Kord Industries and promises to repair the damage caused to the Reyes family, by helping them rebuild their home. As the neighbours gather round what is left of the Reyes family's home and provide both emotional and physical support, Jaime kisses Jenny and then offers to fly her to the Kord Estate. Remain in your seat for a mid-credits sequence, although you won't be missing much if you don't. 

For me I found 'Blue Beetle' to be more of the same run 'o' the mill pedestrian superhero movies that the DCEU seem to churn out with increasing, and frustrating, regularity. There is little new in this film that we haven't seen countless times before, except for the Latino representation which makes for a welcome departure from the norm, but this film is aimed squarely at the family and early teens market for which, judging by the films lacklustre Box Office haul, is sure to find a limited audience. There is little by way of tension or real drama here, the action sequences have become all too predictable, and the storyline borders on the unremarkable. Superhero fatigue is rearing its ugly head!

'Blue Beetle' 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 28th September 2023.

The 31st 'Filmfest Hamburg' takes place between Thursday 28th September and Saturday 7th October this year. The first film festival opened in Hamburg, Germany in 1992. To date, around three thousand national and international film productions have celebrated their World, European or German Premieres at the festival, which has grown continuously over the years, with the number of visitors increasing tenfold since 1992. Every Autumn, Filmfest Hamburg attracts more than 45,000 cinema fans, and over the course of ten days around 130 national and international feature films and documentaries are showcased across fourteen screens. The programme spectrum in ten sections ranges from cineastically sophisticated art house films to innovative mainstream cinema and a colourful film and event programme for the youngest cinema-goers. As a platform for cultural exchange and dialogue, the majority of the films are presented by the filmmakers themselves in Hamburg. Numerous events make Filmfest Hamburg an important meeting place for cinema enthusiasts and the film industry alike.

The Opening Night film is 'Inshallah A Boy' from Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and is Co-Written and Directed by Amjad Al Rasheed in his debut feature film. Death and inheritance in a patriarchy - a dense, tightly-told story from Jordan of a widow fighting for her existence. The Closing Night film is 'Paradise is Burning' from Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden and is Co-Written and Directed by Mika Gustafson in her feature film debut. Three sisters aged 7 to 16, live alone after their mother vanishes for whole swathes of time, but when the social services demand a family meeting, oldest sister Laura plans to find a stand in for their mother. 

In ten sections, Filmfest Hamburg shows national and international feature films and documentaries as World Premieres, European or German Premieres. The programme spectrum ranges from sophisticated art house films to innovative mainstream cinema. Those sections are :-

* Grosse Freiheit - curtain up for German cinema from idiosyncratic to elaborate, this section brings together the debuts of young talents and the latest films by experienced Directors.

* Asia Express - sometimes spiritual, sometimes rebellious, the filmmaking from East and Southeast Asia presents itself as usual polyphonic and heterogeneous.

* Veto! - this selection with exclamation marks is not satisfied with the current state of the world and is entirely dedicated to political cinema.

* Transatlantik - the programme window for films from the USA and Canada features the creme de la creme of North American auteur and independent cinema.

* Vitrina - in this Spanish and Portuguese-language cinema, there are no limits to narrative and aesthetic diversity. There is room for everything from bank robber films to silent film collages.

* Voila! - Francophone contemporary cinema encompasses the film countries France, Belgium and Quebec and offers cinematic highlights by renowned filmmakers as well as many new discoveries.

* Kaleidoskop - this cinematographic journey across the continents stops in countries like Bulgaria, Iceland, Jordan and even Sudan and is a reservoir of the most diverse stories.

* Televisionen - here the festival brings TV productions to the cinema even before they are broadcast on television. Classic TV dramas meet series formats.

* Michel Children's & Youth Film Festival - within this section section Michel shows German and international feature and animated films in their original version, which are spoken live in German in the cinema hall and also subtitled in German.
* Hamburger Filmschau - films 'Made in Hamburg', as colourful and cosmopolitan as the city in which they were shot or produced.

For all the more detailed films featured in the aforementioned sections, plus the awards on offer and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.filmfesthamburg.de/en/

Kicking off this weeks six new release movies for your cinematic indulgence, we have a Sci-Fi actioner set against the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, where a former soldier must hunt and track down the secret weapon - a robot in the form of a young child. Next up we have the tenth offering in this hugely successful horror franchise that sees this infamous serial killer, armed with a newfound purpose following a scam to cure him of his cancer, uses deranged and ingenious traps to turn the tables on the con artists who wronged him. This is followed by an erotic thriller in which an unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a newly engaged couple's relationship to the brink. Then we turn to the true story of a young woman who arrives in Oxford with the singular goal of gaining her PhD, but through a turbulent friendship with a charming man awakens to the possibility of love. Following on we have a doco about the birth and rise of freeride mountain biking; before closing out the week with an animated sequel about a group of young pups who magically gain superpowers after a meteor strike, however, things take a turn for the worse when a former Mayor and a mad scientist steal their powers and turn themselves into supervillains.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six 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.

'THE CREATOR' (Rated M) - is an American Sci-Fi action thriller film that is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Gareth Edwards, whose previous feature film output take in his debut with 'Monsters' in 2010, then 'Godzilla' in 2014 and 'Rogue One : A Star Wars Story' in 2016. Having cost US$80M to produce, the film sees its World Premiere screening at Fantastic Fest on 26th September before its release in the US and here in Australia from this week. 

Set in the throes of a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces soldier grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war . . . and all of humankind. Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the heart of AI-occupied territory only to learn that the world-ending weapon he's been instructed to destroy is in fact an AI in the form of a young child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles). Also starring Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Gemma Chan and Sturgill Simpson. 

'SAW X' (Rated MA15+) - this American horror film is Directed and Edited by Kevin Greutert whose previous feature film outings take in his debut with 'Saw VI' in 2009, 'Saw 3D' in 2010, 'Jessabelle' in 2014, 'Visions' in 2015 and 'Jackals' in 2017. This film is the tenth offering overall in the Saw film series and serves as both a direct sequel to 2004's 'Saw' and as a prequel to 2005's 'Saw II'. The first nine films in the franchise have grossed US$1,017B at the global Box Office off the back of combined production budgets totalling just US$97M, so making this ongoing series a no-brainer. Here then, John Kramer aka 'Jigsaw' (Tobin Bell) travels to Mexico hoping for a miracle cure for his cancer. However, he soon realises that the entire operation is a fraudulent scheme targeting vulnerable individuals. Finding a new purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to putting con artists in his signature death defying traps. Reprising her role as Amanda, Shawnee Smith returns in her fifth instalment in the series.

'FAIR PLAY' (Rated MA15+) - is an American erotic thriller film Written and Directed by Chloe Domont in her feature film making debut. When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, once supportive exchanges between lovers Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) begin to sour into something more sinister. As the power dynamics irrevocably shift in their relationship, the couple must face the true price of success and the unnerving limits of ambition. Also starring Eddie Marsan and Rich Sommer. The film saw its World Premiere at this years Sundance Film Festival back in late January, has a limited cinematic release from this week before a streaming release on Netflix on 13th October.

'SURPRISED BY OXFORD' (Rated PG) - this romantic drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Ryan Whitaker in only his second feature film outing following 'After' in 2012. Based on the award-winning memoir by Carolyn Webber, this film is the incredible true story of Caro Drake (Rose Reid), a young, headstrong, brilliant but emotionally guarded American who lands a coveted scholarship to the University of Oxford for her postgraduate studies. Burdened with trust issues and intellectually hostile towards the abstract, Caro begins her time in Oxford with the singular goal of attaining her PhD. But through a turbulent friendship with a charming young man and the wise counsel of the college’s first female provost, Caro begins to open herself up to mystery, vulnerability, and the possibility of love. Also starring Simon Callow, Phyllis Logan and Mark Williams.

'NOTHING'S FOR FREE' (Rated CTC) - Directed by Derek Westerlund this is the real story of the birth and legacy of freeride mountain biking. Chronicling the blue-collar story and rise of a cult sport to a global phenomenon that put the race-driven sport of mountain biking on the map in the world of action sports and the mainstream. The narrative features the biggest names in mountain biking from the early pioneers of adventure to modern-day internet superstars like Danny Macaskill and Brandon Semenuk.

'PAW PATROL : THE MIGHTY MOVIE' (Rated PG) - this Canadian computer-animated superhero comedy film is based on the television series 'PAW Patrol' and is the sequel to 2021's 'PAW Patrol : The Movie'. It is Co-Written and Directed by Cal Brunker whose three prior feature film making credits are 'Escape from Planet Earth' in 2012, 'The Nut Job 2 : Nutty by Nature' in 2017 and 'PAW Patrol : The Movie' in 2021. And so, all of her life, Skye (voiced by Mckenna Grace) has felt like she has been unappreciated by the rest of the PAW Patrol. Eager to prove she can be an asset to the team, Skye gets a chance when a magical meteor crash-lands in Adventure City, giving her and the other PAW Patrol members superpowers as they become the Mighty Pups. In order to steal the pups' powers, Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo) escapes from prison and teams up with a meteor expert named Victoria Vance (Taraji P. Henson) to steal the pups' crystals. Also starring the voice talents of Marsai Martin, Christian Convery, Kim Kardashian, Chris Rock, James Marsden, Kristen Bell, Lil Rel Howery and Serena Williams. The film is released in Canada and the US this week also. 

With six 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-

A HAUNTING IN VENICE : Tuesday 19th September 2023

I saw the M Rated 'A HAUNTING IN VENICE' earlier this week, and this American supernatural mystery film is Co-Produced, Directed and stars Kenneth Branagh and is based on the 1969 novel 'Hallowe'en Party' by Agatha Christie. The film serves as the sequel to 2022's 'Death on the Nile' which was itself a sequel to 2017's 'Murder on the Orient Express' in which Branagh portrays the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, as well as serving as Director on those two previous outings. The film was released in the US and here in Australia last week, has so far grossed US$42M off the back of a US$60M production budget and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.

The film opens with Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) waking up startled from a nightmare. He is living a life of retirement in 1947 Venice, Italy having become disillusioned with God and humanity having witnessed first hand the cruelty man can bestow upon his fellow man. Poirot employs local retired Police Officer Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio) as his bodyguard. Having visited the local market later that morning and procured himself his supply of breakfast pastries, there comes a knock at his apartment door. Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) is at the door - Poirot's long term friend and novelist who has penned thirty books so far of which twenty-seven were best sellers but the last three not so much. It is Halloween, and Oliver persuades Poirot to attend a seance at the palazzo of renowned opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) and help expose psychic medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) as a fake.

Later that night, Poirot, Ariadne and Vitale are all taken by gondola along the canals of Venice to Rowena's palazzo, where there is a children's Halloween party in full swing, and we learn through this that the palazzo is on the site of a former children's hospital at which there were numerous children's deaths and the ghosts of those children still haunt the place to this day. After the children have all left for the evening, the adults that remain are Rowena's guests for the seance - they are Joyce Reynolds who Rowena has hired to help her communicate with her daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson), who committed suicide after her fiance, chef Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen), broke off their engagement; Rowena's housekeeper Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin); the Drake family doctor Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan) and his nine year old son Leopold (Jude Hill) and Reynolds' assistant Desdemona Holland (Emma Laird). 

At midnight all the gathered guests assemble in Alicia's bedroom which has remained exactly as she left it the day she died. During the seance, Poirot quickly deduces that Reynolds has not one assistant but two, revealing Desdemona's half-brother Nicholas (Ali Khan) hiding in the chimney of Alicia's bedroom and manipulating a typewriter with a magnetic device that is all part of Reynolds ruse. Reynold's then speaks to Rowena in Alicia's voice, revealing that she was murdered, and states the killer is one of the guests present in the room. Poirot attempts to confront Reynolds about her act, who gives him the brush off and puts her mask and cloak on him and tells him to lighten up. Taking this advice and while attempting to bob for apples, while nobody is watching, Poirot is nearly drowned by an unknown assailant. Reynolds is then found impaled on a statue in the courtyard minutes later. 

Meanwhile, a storm gathers momentum outside, which ultimately cuts off the palazzo until such time as it subsides. Poirot therefore begins his investigations by interviewing the guests, during which time he hallucinates seeing Alicia's ghost, and hears the sound of a female singing, although no one else can hear it. The investigation yields baffling results, namely that Leslie, who is severely traumatised from his experiences at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, is secretly in love with Rowena. Leopold says he hears the voices from the spirits of children who were left to die back when the palazzo was a plague hospital.
Maxime, who was a last minute addition to the guest list broke off his engagement because he felt Rowena did not approve of him and that Alicia was obsessed with keeping her happy; and Nicholas and Desdemona, both Romani refugees, have been stealing from Joyce and intend to use the money to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, which they fell in love with after seeing the first half of the film 'Meet Me in St. Louis' at a displaced persons camp.

Shortly after, the guests come across a previously hidden basement containing the skeletal remains of the dead children, and Leslie suffers a panic attack and nearly kills Maxime. He is locked inside the music room to recover, with Rowena handing Poirot the only key. After examining Maxime's invitation, Poirot deduces Oliver sent it and that she and Vitale conspired to bring him to the palazzo. Vitale explains he investigated Alicia's death and fished her out of the canal, while Oliver admits she hoped to use Poirot's incapability of explaining the seance as a plot for her next book. Leslie is soon afterward found stabbed to death in the music room to which Poirot had the only means of access.

Poirot brings the remaining guests together, and exposes Rowena as the murderer. She was obsessed with keeping Alicia to herself and, after learning she planned to reconcile with Maxime, used honey extracted from poisonous rhododendron blooms to weaken her, using small doses at a time. When Olga unknowingly gave Alicia tea containing a large fatal dose, Rowena staged Alicia's suicide to prevent exposing herself. When she began receiving blackmail threats, Rowena suspected either Joyce or Leslie. She pushed Joyce to her death after mistakenly attempting to drown Poirot and forced Leslie into stabbing himself via the palazzo's internal phone line, threatening to kill Leopold if he refused. Rowena flees to the roof garden in an attempt to escape, followed by Poirot, but Alicia's ghost seemingly appears from behind and pulls Rowena down, causing her to fall to her death in the canal below. 

Come sun up and the case cracked open in a few short hours, Poirot bids goodbye to Oliver, elects not to turn Vitale in to the local Police for his involvement in the seance, and privately exposes Leopold as the blackmailer. Leopold explains he understood the poisoning signs his father missed and made the connection after realising Rowena's first starring role was in an opera whose lead character was known as the 'king of poisons'. Poirot suggests to Leopold and Olga that to clear their consciences they should use the blackmail money to help Desdemona and Nicholas start a new life in St. Louis before returning home to accept a new case.

Three Agatha Christie big screen adaptations in, and Director and lead Actor Kenneth Branagh has more than settled in to his routine of bringing Hercule Poirot to life, with all his eccentricities and idiosyncrasies firmly intact. Branagh has crafted a solid enough film here that is sure to please those that enjoy a good whodunnit, Venice is shot beautifully, the cast is more than up for the task, and this Gothic inspired supernatural thriller for me sits between 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'Death on the Nile' that offers the audience a more grounded view of Poirot's methods of deduction, even if at times it defies logic. All within the space of four of five hours Poirot is able to solve not one, not two, but three murders and tie up a whole bunch of loose ends very neatly before moving on to his next case before breakfast - if you can believe it!

'A Haunting in Venice' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st September 2023.

The 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF) kicks off on Friday 22nd September and runs through until Saturday 30th September. Held in the coastal city of San Sebastian in the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain it lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay about 20kms south of the Spanish and French border. 

This year, Actor Javier Bardem was announced as a recipient of a Donostia Award, as well as Spanish Director Victor Erice and Japanese Director Hayao Miyazaki would also receive a Donostia Award, presented to him virtually, while the award for Bardem would be postponed to next year's festival due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which forbids the US-unionised Actor to attend to the media or to record thank-you videos. 

The Opening Night Film is the Japanese animated fantasy film 'The Boy and the Heron' Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The Closing Night Film is 'Dance First' and this UK, Hungarian and Belgian film is Directed by James Marsh and stars Gabriel Byrne and Aidan Gillan with the former starring as the literary genius Samuel Beckett.

In this years main competition, those films vying under the headlining Official Selection, there are sixteen titles, presided over by Jury President Claire Denis with members being Actress Fan Bingbing and Director Christian Petzold among others. Those films are :-

* 'All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Raven Jackson. A lyrical, decades-spanning exploration across a woman's life in Mississippi.

* 'A Journey in Spring' - from Taiwan and Directed by Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang. An old man with a limp has depended on his wife over the years, but when his wife suddenly passes away, he puts her into an old freezer and goes on living a seemingly peaceful life, until their long-estranged son and his new partner suddenly appears.

* 'Sultana's Dream' - from Spain and Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Isabel Herguera. Taking her inspiration from a feminist sci-fi short story written in Bengal in 1905, a woman sets out on a voyage of discovery around India in search of Ladyland, the Utopian land of women.

* 'Ex-Husbands' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Noah Ptrizker and starring Griffin Dunne, James Norton, Rosanna Arquette and Elsa Davis. Peter’s parents divorced after 65 years, his wife left him after 35, and his sons, Nick and Mickey, are off leading their own lives. When Peter flies to Tulum, crashing Nick's bachelor party hosted by Mickey, he realises he's not the only one in crisis.

* 'Fingernails' - from the USA and Co-Written and Directed by Christos Nikou and starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed and Luke Wilson. Anna and Ryan have found true love. It's been proven by a controversial new technology. There's just one problem, Anna still isn't sure. Then she takes a position at a love testing institute, and meets Amir.

* 'Great Absence' - from Japan and Co-Written, Directed and Edited by Kei Chika-Ura. Follows the story of the reconciliation of a father and son who had been estranged for many years among lost memories and dispersed pieces of lives.

* 'Kalak' - from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland and the Netherlands and Co-Wriiten, Directed and Co-Edited by Isabella Eklof. A man is on the run from himself after being sexually abused by his father. Living in Greenland with his little family, he yearns to be a part of the open, collectivist culture and become a Kalak, a 'dirty Greenlander'.

* 'Red Island' - from France and Belgium and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Robin Campillo. Set in Madagascar in the early 1970's, on one of the last air bases of the French army, where military families live the last throes of colonialism, a ten-year-old lad sweeps with a curious glance what surrounds him, while the world gradually opens up to a different reality.

* 'The Practice' - from Argentina, Chile, Portugal and Germany and Written and Directed by Martin Rejtman. Gustavo, an Argentine yoga instructor living in Chile, recently divorced from his Chilean wife, leaving him homeless and complicating his yoga company following a knee injury.

* 'The Successor' - from France and Directed by Xavier Legrand. Thirty year old Ellias Barnes, is the newly-announced Artistic Director of a famed Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pains. Unannounced, he is called back to Montreal to organise his estranged father's funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father's weak heart.

* 'MMXX' - from Romania, Republic of Moldavia and France and Written and Directed by Cristi Puiu. The film follows Oana Pfifer, her brother Mihai Dumitru, Oana's husband Septimiu, and Narcis Patranescu, an organised crime detective, showing moments that capture their wanderings.

* 'The Rye Horn' - from Spain, Portugal and Belgium and Written and Directed by Jaione Camborda. Maria earns her living fishing and also helps other women in their birth of their newborn babies. After an unexpected event, she is forced to flee and begins a dangerous journey that will make her fight for her survival.

* 'Puan' - from Argentina, Italy, Germany, France and Brazil and Written and Directed by Maria Alche and Benjamin Naishtat. This films tells the story of a philosophy teacher at a public university in Buenos Aires who must face a new reality when everything he knew begins to crumble.

* 'The Royal Hotel' - from Australia and Directed by Kitty Green and starring Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Hugo Weaving, Daniel Henshall and Toby Wallace. American backpackers Liv and Hanna take a job in a remote Australian pub for some extra money and are confronted by unruly locals and a situation that spirals out of their control.
* 'Un Amor' - from Spain and Co-Written and Directed by Isabel Coixet. Upon settling in the countryside village of La Escapa in deepest rural Spain, Nat accepts a disturbing sexual proposal by neighbour Andreas, paving the way for a self-consuming passion.

* 'A Silence' - from Belgium, France and Luxembourg and Co-Written and Directed by Joachim Lafosse, and starring Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Devos. Astrid is the wife of an acclaimed lawyer. Silenced for 25 years, her family balance suddenly collapses when her children initiate their search for justice. 

For the complete run down of all the other film strands being showcased and the awards being presented, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in/

This week there are just three new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, kicking off with a supernatural horror offering about an Indian-American teenager struggling with her cultural identity has a falling out with her former best friend and, in the process, unwittingly releases a demonic entity that grows stronger by feeding on her loneliness. This is followed by an action thriller surrounding a bank executive who receives a bomb threat while driving his children to school, saying that his car will explode if they stop and get out. And closing out the week we have a biographical doco exploring the work and life of Nam June Paik, who used technology as an artistic canvas and is called the father of video art.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three 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 coming week.

'IT LIVES INSIDE' (Rated M) - this American supernatural horror film is Written and Directed by Bishal Dutta in his feature film making debut, although he has enjoyed much former success Directing short films. This film saw its World Premiere screening at this years South by Southwest Film Festival in mid-March where it took out the Audience Award in the Midnighters section, and is released in the US this week too.

Here, Sam (Megan Suri) is an American high school student of Indian origin who lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother and her assimilated father. Sam grows to reject her Indian heritage in order to fit in at school, like everyone else. When a demonic spirit known as a Pishach (flesh-eating demons appearing in Hindu and Buddhist mythologies. A pishacha is a malevolent being that has often been referred to as the very manifestation of evil) latches onto her former best friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), she, her parents and a sympathetic teacher must band together to save Tamira and bring to an end the demon's reign of terror. 

'RETRIBUTION' (Rated M) - is an action thriller film Directed by Nimrod Antal who made his debut feature film 'Control' in 2003 and went on to Direct 'Vacancy' in 2007, 'Armored' in 2009, 'Predators' in 2010, 'The Whiskey Bandit' in 2017 with several episodes of 'Stranger Things' and 'Servant' in the meantime. Here then, while driving his kids to school, Berlin-resident and financier Matt Turner (Liam Neeson) is threatened by a mysterious bomber who calls him on a mobile phone. Turner and his son Zach (Jack Champion) and daughter Emily (Lilly Aspell) must stay in the car or the bomber will detonate a device under the driver's seat. Unable to exit the vehicle, he must now follow a series of twisted instructions while trying to figure out how to survive. The film was released Stateside at the end of August, has so far grossed US$14M from a production budget of US$20M and has generated mixed or average reviews. 

'NAM JUNE PAIK : MOON IS THE OLDEST TV' (Rated CTC) - this American biographical documentary film is Directed and Co-Produced by Amanda Kim in her screen debut, and tells the story of South Korean born Nam June Paik who lived from 1932 until his death in Miami, Florida in 2006 following complications from a stroke. Paik was the first video artist who experimented with electronic media and made a profound impact on the art of video and television. He coined the phrase 'Information Superhighway' in 1974, and has been called the 'father of video art'. He was a highly creative member of society, a provocative experimental artist and thinker whose ideas and performances made a profound effect on the art of video and television. Narrated and Executive Produced by Steven Yuen, the film contains testimonials from David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, John Cage and Ryuichi Sakamoto. 

With three 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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HAUNTED MANSION : Tuesday 12th September 2023

I saw the PG Rated 'HAUNTED MANSION' this week, and this American supernatural horror comedy film is Directed by Justin Simien in only his third feature film making outing following his debut in 2014 with 'Dear White People' and then 'Bad Hair' in 2020. This is the second cinematic adaptation of Walt Disney's theme park attraction 'The Haunted Mansion' following the 2003 film of the same name which although it was panned by critics at the time grossed US$183M off the back of a production budget of US$90M. This film has however, done the opposite garnering mixed reviews and having so far grossed US$106M off the back of a US$157M production budget making it a Box Office failure. It saw its World Premiere screening at the Anaheim Disneyland theme park in California in mid-July before its release in the US at the end of July and here in Australia from the end of August.

The film opens with Ben Matthias (LaKeith Stanfield), an astrophysicist who has worked on the development of a camera to film dark matter. He meets and marries Alyssa, a ghost tour guide, and becomes captivated by her belief in the supernatural, although he remains a firm non-believer himself. After Alyssa dies in a car accident, Ben gives up his career and continues to run her ghost tour in New Orleans, although his mind and his heart is barely in the work which he does mostly for the money.

Fast forward a few years and recently widowed doctor Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her nine year old son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) move from New York into the run down Gracey Manor in New Orleans with plans to renovate and upgrade it in order to turn it into a bed and breakfast, only to learn on the first night that it is haunted with an array of ghosts. 

Ben is later visited by priest and exorcist Father Kent (Owen Wilson) who hires him to photograph the ghosts at Gracey Manor. Ben is initially reluctant but goes through the motions for an upfront cash payment from Gabbie of US$2K, until he returns to his home and is followed there by a ghost Mariner who forces him to return to Gracey Manor. Upon his re-arrival Ben learns that Gabbie, Travis, and Kent have also fallen victim to hauntings, forcing them to also stay in the mansion. 

Ben and Kent go off in search of a medium and recruit Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), a psychic with seemingly genuine abilities, and steal blueprints to the mansion from haunted house historian Prof. Bruce Davis (Danny DeVito). Upon examining the blueprints back at the manor the assembled group locate a hidden seance room. Harriet is able to contact the spirit of Gracey (J. R. Adduci) who leaves a written message instructing them to talk to the legendary medium Madame Leota. Upon trying to do so, a mysterious entity forces Harriet out of the house and when Bruce arrives shortly afterwards he too is ousted from the house in the same manner as Harriet, resulting in him being admitted to hospital for a pre-existing heart condition he has. When a number of ghosts run amok at the hospital, Bruce, Gabbie and Ben get the hell outta there and make back to the manor. 

The group stays at the manor where they proceed to look for Leota's ghost. Ben ventures up into the roof space which contains all manner of old relics, ornaments and bric-a-brac where he runs into conflict with a ghostly bride, but finds a locked trunk that is shaking violently. Upon exiting the attic very unceremoniously and thereafter examining the contents of said trunk, they find a large crystal ball in which is trapped Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis). 

Leota explains that William Gracey purchased the mansion and recruited Leota to try and contact the spirit of his dead wife Eleanor every night for a full year, releasing hundreds of wayward ghosts into the manor. An evil entity then tricked Gracey into taking his own life and trapped Leota inside her crystal ball. Harriet attempts to perform a reverse seance for more answers but winds up giving Ben an out of body experience in which he comes across Gracey and the evil entity, known as the Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto). 

After Ben returns to the here and now, the next day Bruce takes Ben to get a Police sketch artist to draw up the Hatbox Ghost. He is identified as Alistair Crump, a rich heir who was abused by his father after his mother's death and eventually expelled from the home. Upon reaching adulthood and becoming successful himself, he killed his socialite friends out of revenge for being shunned by society, before being beheaded himself by his team of rebellious servants. 

The ghost of Crump proceeds to lock the mansion down but Ben, Kent, and Travis are able to escape. They find Crump Manor which is located only about an hour away, which has become a historical site and they join a tour of the house hoping to find an artifact that actually belonged to Crump. They learn from the Mariner (who followed them) that Crump needs someone to sacrifice their life and become the mansion's one-thousandth spirit in order to escape the mansion. Travis locates Crump's hat in a makeshift graveyard under the floorboards of the mansion, which they need to use as part of a ritual to banish Crump back to the afterlife.

The three make it back to the Gracey Manor where Ben and Kent rescue Gabbie, Harriet, and Bruce, but Crump burns the hat and plans to use Travis' grief over the death of his father to have him come to the other side and be the one-thousandth spirit. Ben finds Travis and manages to convince him to let go of his father as they and Gabbie confront Crump in the graveyard. 

Kent manages to convince the other ghosts to turn on Crump and join forces with them, and Bruce hands a remnant of the hat plucked from the fire to Harriet, who recites Leota's incantation to banish Crump, but needs to do so several times as Crump is not going down easily. Crump, as he is gradually getting sucked down into the depths of hell, attempts to get Ben to give up his life willingly to see Alyssa again, but Ben says that he is at peace with losing Alyssa before kicking Crump in the face and sending him back to the underworld. Many of the ghosts decide to remain at the mansion, now living in harmony with Gabbie and Travis. Harriet regains her full psychic abilities, Kent is ordainment as a real priest, and Bruce maintains his new friendships. Ben goes back to teaching and adopts a stray cat named Tater Tot, a nod to his wife's love for the Burger King snack. The group all join together the following Halloween for a party at the manor with the merry ghosts. 

'Haunted Mansion' is a mediocre offering from the Mouse House at best and at worst it failed to raise any laughs, has a half baked storyline, and has visual effects that seem plucked out of the 1980's 'Ghostbusters' movies and Peter Jackson's 1996 offering 'The Frighteners'. To me it seemed that in spite of the best intentions by Director Justin Simien and a top notch cast, this film seemed like a cash grab for Disney Studio's looking for a big pay day off the back of one of their more successful theme park rides while targeting a whole new audience of tweens and teens unfamiliar with the 2003 film or the ride itself, which perhaps in the final analysis will sell more tickets to Disneyland, and hence job done as a lost leader!

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-