What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th October 2023.

Having only just returned from a three week holiday in England where I visited for ten days my former home town of Bath, it would be remiss of me not to cover the FilmBath Festival which is running from Friday 20th of this month until Sunday 29th, and is in its 33rd year. Back in 1990, Bath’s film world was a very different place. Back then Bath's three cinema's were launching an experiment. They would screen a huge number of films in a short space of time, right in the heart of Bath. Together with the festivals trustees, volunteers, and supporters, it has managed not simply to keep the festival going for this long, but to make it a truly outstanding regional film festival. The programme has developed over the years to become the envy of others, for the simple reasons that it only show films it believes in and distributors trust it with top-tier previews. The goal of the festival is to continue changing the face of film in Bath and challenge notions of what a great regional film festival looks like. By championing and showcasing diversity on screen and behind the camera, it is also continuing to inspire other exhibitors to programme more diverse films, both in the UK and beyond.

This year there are forty films being showcased, some of the highlights therein, are :-

* 'Poor Things' - from Ireland, the UK and the US and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Chrsitopher Abbott and Margaret Qualley. Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents.

* 'Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry' - from Georgia and Directed by Elene Naveriani. A single Georgian woman finds passion with a married man in this award-winning story about desire and independence.

* 'The Bikeriders' - from the USA and Directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer. A Midwestern motorcycle club begins as a group of outsiders who are united by good times, rumbling bikes and respect for their strong, steady leader.

* 'The Pot-au-Feu' - from France and Directed by Anh Hung Tran and starring Juliette Binoche. A mouth-watering film about a chef in a late 19th-century restaurant.

* '20,000 Species of Bees' - from Spain and Directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. Told from the perspective of an eight year old who was born as a boy but is convinced that a mistake has been made and that she is really a girl.

* 'Typist Artist Pirate King' - from the UK and Directed by Carol Morley and starring Monica Dolan, Kelly Macdonald and Gina McKee. This film is about resurrecting the standing of an artist whose circumstances and gender prevented her from achieving the acclaim she deserved in her life.

* 'Neptune Frost' - from Rwanda and the USA and Directed by Anisia Uzeyman and Saul Williams. This Burundi-based film is in a genre of its own, combining music, dance, poetry, sci-fi and dreams.

* 'How To Have Sex' - from the UK and Directed by Molly Manning Walker and starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, Enva Lewis and Lara Peake. The film follows Tara, Ema and Skye during their post-exam holiday that holds the explicit objective of getting wasted and pulling – the latter felt more insistently by Tara, who hasn’t yet lost her virginity.

* 'The Other Child' - from South Korea and Directed by Jin-young Kim. A scary, unsettling but profound meditation on life, death, loss and grief.

* 'Love Life' - from Japan and Directed by Koji Fukada. Taeko and her husband live peacefully with her young son Keita until a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park, back into her life.

* 'Rodeo' - from France and Directed by Lola Quivaron. A film about a young woman trying to be accepted by an all male world of biker outlaws.

* 'Totem' - from Mexico and Directed by Lila Aviles. A tender and sensitive story about a seven-year-old girl visiting her aunts to celebrate what may be her father's last birthday.

* 'Brother' - from Canada and Directed by Clement Virgo. Sons of Caribbean immigrants, Francis and Michael face questions of masculinity, identity and family amid the pulsing beat of Toronto's early hip-hop scene.

* 'L'immensita' - from Italy and Directed by Emanuele Crialese and starring Penelope Cruz. In 1970's Rome, preteen Andrea rejects her name and identity, ultimately deciding to convince everyone that she is a boy.

* 'You Can Live Forever' - from Canada and Directed by Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts. When lesbian teen Jaime is sent to live in a Jehovah's Witness community, she falls hard for a devout girl, leading the two down a complicated path.
* 'Lost in The Stars' - from China and Directed by Rui Cui and Liu Xiang. A mans wife disappears while they’re on holiday. The police couldn’t care less. He wakes up in their hotel the next morning to find a woman next to him in bed. His wife? Well, she says she is, and she has the evidence to prove it. But he is convinced that it’s not his wife, and becomes increasingly agitated when she says she is.

* 'The Old Oak' - from the UK and Directed by Ken Loach. A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub while local resentment against Syrian refugees increases.

* 'Monster' - from Japan and Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. The film centres around an accusation made by a ten-year-old boy that his teacher assaulted him. The teacher denies the accusation, and the school – like all institutions in such situations – is more concerned with preserving its reputation than investigating fully.

* 'All of Us Strangers' - from the UK and Directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, Andrew Scott and Jaime Bell. A screenwriter meets his peculiar neighbour, and is subsequently pulled back to his childhood home where his long-dead parents, are alive and well and looking the same age as they were when they were killed.

For the details also of the Documentary films being screened and the IMDB Script to Screen Award and the IMDB New Filmmaker Award, plus a whole lot more good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://filmbath.org.uk/

This week then to tease you out to you local Odeon, we have five new movie offerings, kicking off with the a neo-noir action thriller about a titular assassin who gets embroiled in an international manhunt after a hit goes wrong. Then we turn to a supernatural horror centring around a troubled security guard who begins working at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, and while spending his first night on the job, he soon realises the late shift won't be so easy to make it through. Following on we have an Aussie Sci-Fi thriller about a disgraced journo who becomes a podcaster who discovers a strange artefact that leads her to believe in an alien conspiracy. Next up we have an Aussie doco about Nick Cave and his first band, The Birthday Party, who offer up an unfiltered, intimate, and immersive exploration of their post-punk success onto the global stage; before closing out the week with an Aussie animated fantasy adventure film about a young girl, whose world is shrouded in darkness, must overcome her fears and travel to a mysterious city of light, save her father from a dangerous scientist and prevent the destruction of her planet.

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

'THE KILLER' (Rated MA15+) - is an American neo-noir action thriller film Directed by David Fincher, the man who brought us the likes of 'Alien 3' his debut feature in 1992 which he would follow up with 'Se7en' in 1995, 'Fight Club' in 1999, 'Zodiac' in 2007, 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' in 2008, 'The Social Network' in 2010, 'Gone Girl' in 2014 and 'Mank' in 2020, as well as helming multiple episodes of TV series 'House of Cards' and 'Mindhunter' in between, amongst others. This film is based on the French graphic novel series of the same name written by Alexis 'Matz' Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon. The series was published in thirteen albums between 1998 and 2014 and was translated into English with each album being turned into two comic books. The film Premiered at this years Venice International Film Festival in early September, is scheduled for a limited cinema release this week before streaming on 10th November on Netflix. It has garnered generally favourable critical reviews.

Solitary, cold, methodical and unencumbered by scruples or regrets, a killer (Michael Fassbender) waits in the shadows, watching for his next target. Yet, the longer he waits, the more he thinks he's losing his mind, if not his cool. And so, after a fateful near miss, this assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal. Also starring Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Sala Baker and Sophie Charlotte. 

'FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S' (Rated M) - this American supernatural horror film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Emma Tammi in only her second feature film outing following 'The Wind' in 2018 and with 'Dollhouse' currently in pre-production set for a release date sometime in 2024. This film is based on the video game franchise of the same name created by Scott Cawthon who also Co-Wrote the screenplay and Co-Produces with Jason Blum. Here then, Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a troubled security guard, accepts a night-time job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a once-successful but now abandoned family entertainment centre, where he discovers its four animatronic mascots, Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, move and kill anyone that is still there after midnight. Also starring Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard and Mary Stuart Masterson, the film cost US$25M to produce and depending on the success of this film a second and third film is on the cards following the events of the second and third video games.

'MONOLITH' (Rated M) - is an Australian Science Fiction thriller film Directed by Matt Vesely in his feature film debut after helming a number of short films since 2009 with his first 'A Load of Buckshot'. A headstrong yet disgraced journalist turns to podcasting in an attempt to salvage her career, whose investigative podcast uncovers a strange artefact that she believes points to an alien conspiracy, and the lies at the heart of her own story. Starring Lily Sullivan as the only on screen Actor in the film with the voices of Erik Thomson, Damon Herriman, Terence Crawford and Kate Box, the film saw its Australian Premiere screening at last years Adelaide Film Festival at the end of October 2022 before its official World Premiere showcasing at SXSW in mid-March this year. The film has generated positive critical acclaim.

'MUTINY IN HEAVEN : THE BIRTHDAY PARTY' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian documentary film is Directed by Ian White who made his first feature film with 2015's 'Before the Fall'. This film is the first fully authorised account of the history of 'The Birthday Party', one of underground music's most notorious and influential bands who were active in the post-punk era between 1977 and 1983. Narrated exclusively by the original band members, this film delves deep into a band's psyche, chronicling how Nick Cave and his school friends startled audiences with their confrontational performances, primal screams, outlaw gothic horror, and anarchic lifestyle. Featuring never-before-seen personal footage from band members Nick Cave, Phil Calvert, Mick Harvey, Rowland S. Howard and Tracy Pew, dynamic animation sequences, and jaw-dropping concert clips, the film provides a sweaty, electrifying front-row seat to one of the most legendary live acts in rock history.

'SCARYGIRL' (Rated PG) - is an Australian animated fantasy adventure film that is Directed by Ricard Cusso and Tania Vincent. Here, free spirited and cheerful Arkie (voiced by Jillian Nguyen) lives with her adoptive octopus father, Blister (Rob Collins), on a flourishing, colourful peninsula. Together they help regenerate plant life using their magical tentacles, with the help of friendly mechanical bees powered by the rays of the sun. That’s until space bandits invade and kidnap Blister – so that an evil scientist, Dr Maybee (Sam Neill), can use his powers to sap the planet’s life force and discover the key to immortality. Can Arkie rescue Blister in time to save her home from devastation? Also starring the voice talents of Tim Minchin, Dylan Alcott and Deborah Mailman. 

With five 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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th October 2023.

The Adelaide Film Festival runs this year from Wednesday18th until Sunday 29th October, in Adelaide, South Australia. An independently financed Adelaide International Film Festival (AIFF) had been held from 1959 to 1980. The idea of a new film festival to stimulate the local film industry and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the South Australian Film Corporation was raised in 2002, with the inaugural Adelaide (International) Film Festival being held from late February to early March 2003. It ran a programme of screenings, special events and forums in a number of cinemas across Adelaide, and was the first film festival in Australia to introduce an international competition, and also the first to create an investment fund specifically for film production. After its first edition, the festival ceased to use 'International' in its title, denoting a withdrawal from FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) membership.

This years Opening Night Gala film presentation is 'The Royal Hotel' Co-Written and Directed by Kitty Green and starring Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Hugo Weaving, Toby Wallace and Daniel Henshall. The film was shot in South Australia. The Closing Night Gala film is 'My Name's Ben Folds - I Play Piano' Directed by Scott Hicks and starring Ben Folds and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Northey. 

This years Feature Fiction Competition sees six films that are a selection of almost entirely first features capturing imagined worlds both rooted in the real or entirely visionary. Those films are :-

* 'Blaga's Lessons' from Bulgaria and Germany and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Stephan Komandarev. Seventy-year-old Blaga is mourning the recent death of her husband and is  stretched financially to cover the costs of his grave. When she falls for a phone scam and is stripped of her savings, she is humiliated and desperate. Aged out of the job market, she becomes a driver for some shady figures, and on track to collide with the criminals who preyed on her. Australian Premiere.
* 'Embryo Larva Butterfly' from Cyprus and Greece and Written and Directed by Kyros Papavassiliou. Penelope and Isidoros exist in a universe where one day they can be young lovers, and the next older and divorced. Their relationship is stretched into new dimensions as their shared and individual recollections are in constant flux. However, somewhere next to their world is another where time is linear. Australian Premiere.

* 'Empty Nets' from Germany and Iran and Written and Directed by Behrooz Karamizade. Amir loves Narges, but they are at the opposite ends of the economic order. As the sanctions against Iran begin to bite, the poor are the first to be bitten, and Amir finds that his only way of making money is to join a group of fishermen who augment their meagre income through an illegal poaching operation. Australian Premiere.

* 'On the Go' from Spain and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Maria Gisele Royo and Julia de Castro. Milagros, a free-spirited woman who wants to have a child, is joined by Jonathan, a Grindr-loving criminal with a past, and a mermaid sporting a broken crown. The group hits the road in a ’67 Chevrolet Corvair, careening from one wild encounter to another. Australian Premiere.

* 'Sahela' from Australia and Co-Written and Directed by Raghuvir Joshi. To their respective conservative Indian parents, Vir and Nitya are a happily married couple living in Parramatta, Sydney. They love to play the sitar together, she is a successful dentist, and he is studying for his accounting exam. However, as the cultural expectations ingrained into them from childhood start to take their toll, they both struggle to keep up appearances. Australian Premiere.

* 'You'll Never Find Me' from Australia and Co-Produced and Directed by Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell, Written by Indianna Bell and Edited by Josiah Allen. Strange hermit Patrick lives in an isolated caravan park. During a violent thunderstorm, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while he begins to question his own grip on reality. 

In addition, there are six films in the Feature Documentary Competition, which are 'Apolonia, Apolonia', 'Hollywoodgate', 'Lakota Nation vs United States', 'Mutiny in Heaven : The Birthday Party', 'Seven Winters in Tehran' and 'The Mountains'. 

Those films being screened as part of the Special Presentations strand that are a selection of the most talked about films of the year that promise to excite and delight. They are 'Fingernails', 'Uproar', 'All Of Us Strangers', 'Foe', 'Poor Things', 'Saltburn', 'Hot Potato : The Story of The Wiggles' and 'Strange Way of Life'.

For the complete synopsis of these latter films, plus a whole lot more good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/

This week there are no less than eight new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, and we kick start with an epic Western about members of the Osage tribe in the US who are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920's, sparking a major B.O.I. (F.B.I.) investigation. Next up we have a biographical offering telling the story of a sixty-four-year-old marathon swimmer who attempts to become the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida. Then we have a French film about a woman who is sucked into a world of secrets and betrayal as the battle over her estranged father's massive estate reveals him to be more than the genial patriarch she'd assumed. We then turn to an Aussie doco concerning a man who experiments with disconnecting from his smartphone and social media for thirty days to see what the impact is upon him and the people around him. This is followed by a second Aussie doco charting the great Aussie rivalry between two leading car manufacturers and the impact on the Australian psyche both on the racetrack and off it. Up next we have a Filipino movie telling the story of how after a ruthless firing and its devastating aftermath, a determined woman embarks on a strategic revenge plot against a chic, rich retail mogul. And our third Aussie offering this week is a comedy romance about a successful romance writer who takes a post-breakup vacation to the tropical island where she meets a handsome stranger and starts to fall for him - only to find out that he's actually a Prince; and we close out the week with a Dutch animated film about a young girl, and a piglet gifted to her by her grandfather, who has ulterior motives for doing so. 

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

'KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON' (Rated MA15+) - is an American epic Western crime drama film Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Martin Scorsese, who needs no introduction I'm sure, and is based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name by David Grann. The film, which cost a reported US$200M, had its World Premiere screening in late May this year at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim, and goes on worldwide release this week. It marks the sixth feature film collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the tenth between Scorsese and De Niro. 

Set in 1920's north eastern Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the 'Reign of Terror'. Sparking a major Bureau of Investigation (which became the FBI in 1935) inquiry directed by a 29-year-old J. Edgar Hoover and a former Texas Ranger Tom White (Jesse Plemmons) into the deaths of some sixty or more wealthy, full-blood Osage Indians who were reported killed from 1918 to 1931. Also starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Scott Shepherd and Sturgill Simpson. 

'NYAD' (Rated M) - this American biographical sports drama film is Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin in their feature film debuts and is based on Diana Nyad's autobiography 'Find a Way'. The film tells the story of how, three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of sixty, Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her - the 110 mile open water swim from Cuba to Florida. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) and a dedicated sailing team. Also starring Rhys Ifans, the film saw its World Premiere screening at the Telluride Film Festival in early September, and is released in the US this week too before streaming on Netflix from 3rd November. 

'THE ORIGIN OF EVIL' (Rated MA15+) - this French and Canadian Co-Produced thriller drama film is Written and Directed by Sebastien Marnier whose first feature film was 'Faultless' in 2016 and which he followed up with 'School's Out' in 2018. Here, Stephane (Laure Calamy), a fish cannery worker discovers that she is the biological daughter of wealthy businessman Serge (Jacques Weber), and is being introduced to his established family despite their unwillingness to accept her. As Stephane embarks on an extended visit in hopes of getting to know Serge, she also becomes entangled with the hostile women who share a tense existence in his beautifully appointed mansion by the sea, and all of whom are clearly unsettled by the arrival of Serge's newly announced heir. But Stephane is a confident liar with secrets of her own. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the early September 2022 Venice Film Festival and only now is it released in Australia having completed the film festivals circuit and so far taking just US$1M at the Box Office and generating largely positive reviews.

'DISCONNECT ME' (Rated PG) - is an Australian documentary film Written, Directed and starring Alex Lykos in only his second feature length film after his debut in 2019 with the comedy 'Me & My Left Brain'. This film focuses on Alex who experiments with disconnecting from his smartphone, all of his electronic devices and social media for thirty days, while examining the ever-pervasive role that technology plays in our daily lives. How will this impact his life both personally and professionally? How will he and those around him react? Along the way, Alex investigates the social impacts of the smartphone and social media, interviewing children, teenagers, adults and academics asking the question 'why are we so addicted to technology?'

'FORD V. HOLDEN' (Rated CTC) - this Australian documentary film is Written by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios, narrated by the Aussie Actor, Writer and Producer Shane Jacobson, and is Produced by Universal Pictures. The film explores the decades-long competition between two of Australia’s most iconic car brands, Ford and Holden. From the early days of the automobile industry to the present, here we delve into the history, technology, and culture of these rival companies and their impact on the Australian psyche and automotive landscape.

'A VERY GOOD GIRL' (Rated M) - is a Philippine dark comedy film Directed by Petersen Vargas whose debut feature film was '2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten' in 2016 and then 'An Inconvenient Love' in 2022. Here, following a heartless firing triggers a chain of unfortunate events, as Philo (Kathryn Bernardo) plots a meticulous revenge against retail mogul Mother Molly (Dolly de Leon), aiming to dismantle her empire and seize the ultimate payback. This time, there is no mercy. The film has so far grossed US$1.3M since its release at the end of September in the Philippines and its release Stateside earlier this month, and has garnered generally positive press.

'A ROYAL IN PARADISE' (Rated G) - this Australian comedy romance film is Co-Written and Directed by Adrian Powers in only his second feature film outing following 'Battle Ground' in 2013 with 'Love Is in the Air' released on Netflix towards the end of September. Olivia Perkins (Rhiannon Fish), a New York Writer struggling with writer's block after a recent break up, takes a tropical holiday in hope of some inspiration and meets Prince Alexander (Mitchell Bourke), who needs some distance from his mother, Queen Patricia (Andrea Moor), who expects him to marry royalty. 

'OINK' (Rated PG) - is a Dutch stop motion animation film based on the book 'The Revenge of Oink' by Tosca Menten. It was the first stop motion feature film ever made in the Netherlands, and is Directed by Mascha Halberstad. Here, nine-year-old Babs (voiced by Hiba Ghafry) is gifted a pig named Oink as a present from her Grandpa Tuitjes (Kees Prins). She convinces her parents to keep it under the condition that Oink follows puppy training. But her parents are not the biggest threat to Oink because actually her grandfather is secretly taking part in a sausage making competition organised by The Society for Meat Products from Fresh Pigs. The film had its World Premiere at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival, and it went on to win three Golden Calves at the Netherlands Film Festival for Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Production Design, making it the first animated film to ever win these awards. Following its success, it was announced that a twenty minute short film prequel is being made and will take place 25 years before the events of the first film. Titled 'King Sausage' it follows the parents of Babs.

With eight 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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th October 2023.

The 50th edition of Film Fest Gent launched on Tuesday 10th October and runs through until Saturday 21st October. Since its first edition in 1974, Film Fest Gent has grown into the largest film festival in Belgium with more than 100,000 visitors every year. For decades, Film Fest Gent has put the spotlight on film music, which makes it unique on the film festival calendar. Since 2001, Film Fest Gent has presented the World Soundtrack Awards, a series of prizes for the best soundtrack for films and television. The festival propagates film and visual culture to a broad audience and supports film and film music talent. Each year, those people who visit the city of Ghent are offered a challenging programme of films, talks, concerts and much more. Film Fest Gent highlights filmmakers and the collective experience of cinema. Presenting their films to a diverse audience of professionals and film lovers, the festival offers a platform to upcoming and established talent.

The Opening Night Film of the festival is 'Holly' from Belgium and Directed by Fien Troch and offers an intriguing portrait of a 15-year-old girl named Holly. After she seems to have predicted a deadly school fire, people begin to seek out Holly for consolation. The Closing Night Film is 'The Boy and the Heron' from Studio Ghibli and is Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Here, A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning.

There are twelve films in the Official Competition, and these are detailed in brief below :-

* 'All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt' - from the USA and Directed by Raven Jackson in her feature film debut. The film tells the story of an African-American woman from Mississippi who moves gently through a poetic mosaic of memories.

* 'Astrakan' - from France and Directed by David Depesseville in his feature film making debut. A naturalistic character study that exposes the uneasy growing pains and tensions between a taciturn orphan boy and his adoptive family in the French countryside.

* 'Omen' - from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, South Africa, The Netherlands and Germany and Directed by Baloji in his feature length debut. This film explores the weight of Congolese belief systems on the fate of four so called 'devil children' accused of being witches and sorcerers, who, banned from their social circles, engage in a fiery battle to throw off that hellish label.

* 'Critical Zone' - from Germany and Iran and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Ali Ahmadzadeh. Here, we follow a good-hearted drug trafficker in Tehran by night, a city desperate for redemption and furious in its resistance to the current regime.

* 'The Delinquents' - from Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Luxemburg and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Rodrigo Moreno. Not stealing to be rich, but to be free. An Argentine bank employee takes the risk of his life in this twisty, mild crime comedy.

* 'Here' - from Belgium and Written and Directed by Bas Devos. Here, the filmmaker casts his patient and human gaze upon a Romanian construction worker strolling through Brussels and its nature. A surprising city symphony that pays tribute to the invisible, and to mosses.

* 'Io Capitano' - from Italy, Belgium and France and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Matteo Garrone. The film follows two Senegalese teenagers as they transit from Dakar to Sicily. A hallucinatory odyssey through the hopeful eyes of the young migrants.

* 'Past Lives' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Celine Song in her feature film debut, and starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro. The film shows the power of human connection - romantic or otherwise and muses on the choices made and not made.

* 'Poor Things' - from the USA, Ireland and the UK and Co-Produced and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, and starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo. Focusing on a young Victorian woman who, after being crudely resurrected by a scientist following her suicide, runs off with a debauched lawyer to embark on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation.

* 'The Siren' - from Belgium, France, Germany and Luxemburg and Directed by Sepideh Farsi. Banned from her homeland Iran, the Director returns to a conflict from her teenage years, the Iran-Iraq War that plunged the port city of Abadan into state of besiege in 1980. But even in times and places where everyone and everything threatens to be destroyed, there is hope. A 14-year-old boy and a wooden boat make sure of that.

* 'Smoke Sauna Sisterhood' - from Estonia and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Anna Hints. In the darkness of the sauna, women share their most intimate secrets. The drops of sweat that glide off their bodies, take away their shame and while they rinse off their stories from the past they regain a sense of community that strengthens them for the outside world.

* 'Sweet Dreams' - from Indonesia, The Netherlands, France and Sweden and Written and Directed by Ena Sendijarevic. Tumultuous events triggered by the death of a Dutch sugar plantation owner who ends up leaving his Indian Ocean island estate to his young illegitimate son - the child of his Indonesian housemaid.

Film Fest Gent seeks to offer a platform to all kinds of films. Short films and feature films, fiction films and documentaries, brand new high-profile projects and classics that have earned their place in film history, small competition films and big audience pullers . . . opposites that complement each other and each has its own section of the festival to inhabit. For more, you can go to the official website at : https://www.filmfestival.be/en

This week there are six new cinematic releases coming to a big screen Odeon near you, kicking off with a French offering that is set in the 1930's, and follows an Actress who gains notoriety after getting acquitted of murder for self-defence. This is followed by another French film about an author who returns to his hometown of Cognac for the first time in 35 years to help promote a distillery, and, he is also there to face the memories of his first love, with the people and places he returns to evoking many feelings from the past. Then we turn to a music film experience of the Eras Tour concert, performed by the one and only global singing and songwriting icon that is Taylor Swift. Following on from this we have a British horror offering about mysterious and violent incidents that occur during a family's 1938 cruise aboard a famed ocean liner whose events strangely connect to another family's fate on the same cruise ship in the present. Next up we have an Australian film about a rogue journalist who unearths the sordid secrets of an infamous socialite family for the scoop of a lifetime whilst unwittingly dredging up family trauma of his own; before closing out the week with an Aussie doco that charts the highs and lows of our nation alongside our most celebrated individual tennis tournament.

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 coming week.

'THE CRIME IS MINE' (Rated MA15+) - is a French crime comedy film Written and Directed by Francois Ozon whose first feature film was 'Sitcom' in 1998 although he had been making short films and documentaries since 1988. His other more notable features include 'Criminal Lovers' in 1999, 'Water Drops on Burning Rocks' in 2000, '8 Women' in 2002, 'Swimming Pool' in 2003, 'Potiche' in 2010, 'In the House' in 2012, 'Frantz' in 2016 and 'Everything Went Fine' in 2021. This film is a loose adaptation of the 1934 play 'Mon crime' by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, which has been adapted into two American films, 1937's 'True Confession' and 1946's 'Cross My Heart'. It has garnered positive reviews and cost US$14.5M to produce.

Set in 1930's Paris, France Madeleine Verdier (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), a pretty, young, penniless and talentless Actress, is accused of murdering a famous movie Producer. Helped by her best friend Pauline Mauleon (Rebecca Marder), a young unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defence. A new life of fame and success begins, until the truth comes out. Also starring Isabelle Huppert and Dany Boon. 

'LIE WITH ME' (Rated M) - is a French film Co-Written and Directed by Olivier Peyon whose previous feature film credits take in his 2006 debut with 'Les petites vacances' and which he would follow up with the likes of 'Latifa : A Fighting Heart' in 2017 and 'Tokyo Shaking' in 2021. This film is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Philippe Besson. Here, novelist Stephane Belcourt (Guillaume de Tonquedec) agrees to be the guest of honour at a celebration for a famous brand of Cognac, even though he doesn't drink alcohol. When Stephane returns to his home town, Charente, for the first time in 35 years, he meets Lucas (Victor Belmondo), the son of his first love, Thomas Andrieu (Julien De Saint Jean). Stephane and Lucas go on a sometimes painful journey of discovery about who Thomas really was and why he did what he did throughout his life. The film has generated largely positive press.

'TAYLOR SWIFT : THE ERAS TOUR' (Rated PG) - this American concert film documents 'The Eras Tour', a 2023/2024 concert tour by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Directed by Sam Wrench, Produced by Taylor Swift, it is scheduled to have its World Premiere on 11th October and be released in theatres worldwide this week. Costing about US$15M to produce, the film was met with significant ticket demand, amassing a record US$37M in its first day of pre-sales in the US, and going on to generate US$100M in global pre-sales as of 5th October, becoming the most profitable concert film in history. The Eras Tour is the sixth headlining concert tour by Swift which began in Glendale, Arizona, on 17th March this year and is set to conclude in 2024. The show spans over three hours, with a set list of 44 songs divided into ten distinct acts that conceptually portray Swift's ten studio albums. The film was recorded at the first three of six Los Angeles shows of the tour from 3rd to 5th August this year at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

'HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY' (Rated R18+) - is a British horror film Co-Written and Directed by Gary Shore in only his second feature film making outing following 2014's 'Dracula Untold'. This film explores the mysterious and violent events surrounding one family's voyage on Halloween night in 1938, on the ocean going luxury cruise liner The Queen Mary, and their interwoven destiny with another family onboard the infamous ocean liner in the present day. Starring Alice Eve, Joel Fry and Lenny Rush, the film was first released in Italy in mid-July, then in the UK from mid-August and has garnered mostly positive reviews.

'SLANT' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian comedy mystery drama film is Produced and Directed by James Vinson in his feature film making debut. Set in Melbourne, Victoria in late 1999, here career-crazed journalist Derek Verity (Michael Nikou) is tasked with writing his first expose piece on the mysterious disappearance of a mother-turned-infamous-socialite. But when a dark family secret of his own threatens to destabilise his career, the scribe’s ambition drives him to get the scoop at all costs, causing his personal and professional lives to violently collide. Also starring Sigrid Thornton, Pia Miranda, Kate Lister, Ryan A. Murphy and Ra Chapman. The film won the Best Australian Feature Film at the 2022 annual Melbourne Monsterfest.

'AUSTRALIA'S OPEN' (Rated M) - is an Australian documentary film Co-Written and Directed by Ile Bare whose previous documentary offerings are 'The Silent Epidemic' in 2010, and and 'The Leadership' in 2020. Every January in the blistering heat of Melbourne, Victoria, the Australian Open tennis tournament commands global attention, but when off-court drama steals the show, Australia itself becomes part of the spectacle. The film charts the tournament’s rise as it inadvertently reveals Australia’s divisions to the world. Through telling archive, compelling play and heavy-hitting interviews, this documentary captures the poetry and power of the tournament - because at the Australian Open, there is always more than a game at stake.

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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th October 2023.

The 67th British Film Institute London Film Festival this year runs from Wednesday 4th October through until Sunday 15th October. Held in London, England for two weeks in October every year, it is estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than seventy countries are screened at the festival each year.

This years Opening Night Gala Film is 'Saltburn' written, Co-Produced and Directed by Emerald Fennel and starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant and Archie Madekwe. The film is set in the mid-2000's, and follows a young university student who becomes infatuated with his aristocratic schoolmate and his wealthy but eccentric family. The Closing Night Gala Film is 'The Kitchen' Directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya and also Co-Written and Co-Produced by Kaluuya, and sees a dystopian future London where all social housing has been eliminated, where a man and a young lad fight to navigate the world as residents of The Kitchen - a community that refuses to abandon their home.

The following films were selected for the Galas section, which screens World, European, and British Premieres of the most anticipated films :-

* 'All of Us Strangers' is a British fantasy drama film Written and Directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy.

* 'One Life' is a British biographical drama film Directed by James Hawes and stars Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Pryce, and Lena Olin.

* 'Chicken Run : Dawn of the Nugget' is a British stop motion animated comedy film Directed by Sam Fell and is a sequel to 2000's 'Chicken Run'. Starring the voice talents of Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton and Miranda Richardson.

* 'The Bikeriders' from the USA is Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols and stars Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus, Boyd Holbrook and Damon Herriman.

* 'The Book of Clarence' from the USA and is an epic biblical comedy drama film Written, Co-Produced, Directed and scored by Jeymes Samuel and starring LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, James McAvoy and Benedict Cumberbatch.

* 'The Holdovers' from the USA and this comedy drama film is Directed by Alexander Payne and stars Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph.

* 'The Killer' is from the USA this neo-noir action thriller is Directed by David Fincher and stars Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Tilda Swinton and Arliss Howard.

* 'Killers of the Flower Moon' from the USA and this epic Western crime drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser.

* 'Maestro' from the USA and is a biographical drama film that is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and starring Bradley Cooper with Carey Mulligan, Maya Hawke and Sarah Silverman. 

* 'May December' is from the USA and this romantic drama film is Directed by Todd Haynes and stars Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton.

* 'Nyad' from the USA and this biographical sports drama film is Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and stars Annette Bening, Jodie Foster and Rhys Ifans.

* 'Poor Things' from the UK, Ireland and the USA this steampunk dark comedy fantasy film is Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael and Margaret Qualley.

In Competition, celebrates the highest creative achievements of British and international filmmakers, of which there are awards for Best Film, First Feature awarded for Directorial debut, Documentary feature film and Short Film. Most of the out-of-competition films have been organised into strands, each based on a different mood or emotion - these being Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Experimenta, Family and Treasures. 

For the full run down on the aforementioned films, those films competing for awards and the films strands being showcased, plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official website at : https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp

Turning the attention then back to this weeks slew of new movies to grace a big screen Odeon near you, of which there are six, we kick start with the fourth offering in this action franchise that sees this team of elite mercenaries go head to head with a ruthless terrorist intent on igniting WWIII. Next up we have a horror film that is a direct sequel to a classic 1973 film that sees a 12-year-old girl and her friend possessed by a mysterious demonic entity, forcing her father to seek the help of two priests, and the only person who has witnessed such events before, to save her. This is followed by a biographical comedy drama film about a group of rag-tag investors who banded together to put the squeeze on at least two hedge funds that had bet that GameStop shares would fall. Then we turn to a Norwegian offering about a young woman who becomes increasingly overshadowed by her boyfriend's recent rise to fame as a contemporary artist creating sculptures from stolen furniture, so she hatches a vicious plan to reclaim her rightfully deserved attention within the milieu of Oslo's cultural elite. Following this up, we have an Aussie drama about a young Iranian mother and her six year old daughter who find refuge in an Australian women's shelter over the two week period of the Iranian new year festivities; before closing out the week with an Aussie music drama film about a terminally ill forty-something year old musician who forms an unlikely bond with a teenage runaway.

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 coming week.

'THE EXPEND4BLES' (Rated MA15+) - this American action film is Directed by Scott Waugh whose previous feature film offerings include 'Act of Valor' in 2012, 'Need for Speed' in 2014, '6 Below : Miracle on the Mountain' in 2017 and 'Hidden Strike' released on Netflix earlier this year. This is the fourth instalment in 'The Expendables' film series, following 2014's 'The Expendables 3' and the previous two films released in 2010 and 2012. Those first three films in the franchise grossed worldwide US$804M off the back of combined production budgets of $US275M, with this fourth, and seemingly final instalment so far grossing US$40M off the back of a budget of US$100M since its release in the US on 22nd September. The film has generated largely unfavourable reviews.

Armed with just about every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world's final line of defence and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give 'new blood' a whole new meaning. The cast takes in returning Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture joined by that new blood, Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio and Andy Garcia. 

'THE EXORCIST : BELIEVER' (Rated MA15+) - is an American supernatural horror film that is Co-Written and Directed by David Gordon Green whose prior feature film making efforts take in his debut in 2000 with 'George Washington' and then the likes of 'Pineapple Express' in 2008, 'Our Brand Is Crisis' in 2015 and then 'Halloween', 'Halloween Kills' and 'Halloween Ends' in 2018, 2021 and 2022 respectively. This film is the sixth instalment in 'The Exorcist' franchise, and serves as a direct sequel to 1973's 'The Exorcist'. When his daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett), and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum), show signs of demonic possession, it unleashes a chain of events that forces single father Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jnr.) to confront the nadir of evil. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, reprising her role from the first film), the only person alive who's witnessed anything like it before. The film is released this week too in the US and is the first in a new trilogy of films, with the second 'The Exorcist : Deceiver', also to be Directed by Green, due for release in mid-April 2025.

'DUMB MONEY' (Rated MA15+) - this American biographical comedy drama film is Directed by Craig Gillespie whose prior feature film making credits take in his debut with 'Mr. Woodcock' in 2007 and 'Lars and the Real Girl' also in 2007 and then 'Fright Night' in 2011, 'Million Dollar Arm' in 2014, 'The Finest Hours' in 2016, 'I, Tonya' in 2017 and 'Cruella' in 2021. This film is based on the 2021 book 'The Antisocial Network' by Ben Mezrich. Based on the true story  of everyday people who turn the tables on Wall Street and get rich by turning GameStop into one of the world's hottest companies in January and February of 2021. In the middle of everything is Keith Gill (Paul Dano), a regular guy who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock. When his social media posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets wealthy, until the billionaires fight back and both sides find their worlds turned upside down. The film saw its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September and was released in the US in limited theatres a week later before expanding into a wider release on 29th September. The film garnered generally favourable reviews and stars Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogan and Dane DeHaan. It has so far grossed US$8M against a production budget of US$30M.

'SICK OF MYSELF' (Rated MA15+) - is a Norwegian film Written, Directed and Edited by Kristoffer Borgli. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and was released in its native Norway in early September last year, and only now does it get a limited showing in Australia, having so far grossed US$1M at the Box Office and having garnered generally favourable reviews. Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) and Thomas (Eirik Saether) are in an unhealthy, competitive relationship that takes a vicious turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist. In response, Signe makes a desperate attempt to regain her status by creating a new persona hell-bent on attracting attention and sympathy.

'SHAYDA' (Rated M) - this Australian drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Noora Niasari in her feature film debut having Directed a number of short films and the documentary 'Antunez House' in 2017. The film had its World Premiere screening at this years Sundance Film Festival in late January where it won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and has subsequently been selected as the Australian entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 2024 Academy Awards. Here, a young Iranian mother Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) and her six-year-old daughter (Selina Zahednia) find refuge in an Australian women's shelter during the two weeks of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz) while trying to escape the manipulations of her separated, abusive husband. Also starring Leah Purcell and Osamah Sami. The film has garnered widespread critical acclaim.

'THREE CHORDS AND THE TRUTH' (Rated M) - this Aussie music drama film is Written and Directed by first time feature film maker Claire Pasvolsky, and is inspired by the real life story of singer and songwriter Jackie Marshall. If Angie (Jackie Marshall) wasn't so self-sabotaging, she could have been one of Australia's leading musicians. Now in her forties, she finds herself terminally ill and alone. She struggles financially and plays in a seedy downbeat pub to help finance the recording of her final album. When Angie meets Ruby (Maisie Owens), a teenage runaway, the two form an unlikely bond when Angie teaches her to play guitar and write songs, but as Ruby becomes increasingly dependent on Angie, it becomes unbearable for Angie to tell her new young friend that she only has months to live.

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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-