What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th November 2024

The 32nd Camerimage Festival takes place this year from Saturday 16th through until Saturday 23rd November in the Polish city of Torun. The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography recognises and rewards the best in cinematography in film, television and music videos, and is described as being dedicated to the art of cinematography and its creators - cinematographers. The unconventional format of the Festival, which awards films according to their visual, aesthetic and technical values, has turned out to be an alternative to traditional film festivals.  

Steve McQueen's historical war drama 'Blitz' will serve as the festival's Opening Film, while the first half of Jon M. Chu's two-part musical fantasy film 'Wicked' will be the Closing Film. Both films will be honoured with special awards for their Director and Production Designer, respectively.

Australian Actress Cate Blanchett was announced as the Jury President for the Main Competition, with the Golden Frog Award where the idea behind the award is to present the feature films where the image significantly contributes to the way a story is told. There are twelve films in the main competition section, these being :-

* 'Blitz' - from the UK and the USA and Directed by Steve McQueen, with Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux.

* 'The Brutalist' - from the UK and Directed by Brady Corbet, with Cinematographer Lol Crawley.

* 'Cabrini' - from the USA and Directed by Alejandro Monteverde, with Cinematographer Gorka Gomez Andreu.

* 'Conclave' - from the UK and the USA and Directed by Edward Berger, with Cinematographer Stephane Fontaine.

* 'The Devil's Bath' - from Austria and Germany and Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, with Cinematographer Martin Gschlacht.

* 'Dune : Part Two' - from Canada and the USA and Directed by Denis Villeneuve, with Cinematographer Greig Fraser.

* 'Emilia Perez'  - from France and the USA and Directed by Jacques Audiard, with Cinematographer Paul Guilhaume.

* 'The Fire Inside' - from the USA and Directed by Rachel Morrison, with Cinematographer Rina Yang.

* 'The Girl with the Needle' - from Denmark, Poland and Sweden and Directed by Magnus von Horn, with Cinematographer Michal Dymek.

* 'Gladiator II' - from the UK and the USA and Directed by Ridley Scott, with Cinematographer John Mathieson.

* 'Small Things Like These' - from Ireland, Belgium and the USA and Directed by Tim Mielants, with Cinematographer Frank van den Eeden.

* 'Vermiglio' - from Italy, France and Belgium and Directed by Maura Delpero, with Cinematographer Mikhail Krichman.

For the full synopsis of the aforementioned films in the main competition, plus the other competitive strands and a whole lot more good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://camerimage.pl/en/energacamerimage-2024/

Looking ahead then to this weeks six new movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with the sequel to a hugely popular and successful film from 2000 by an acclaimed Director that in this instalment sees our hero forced to enter the Colosseum, after his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people. This is followed by the story of a woman employed as a social worker who leads a simple and structured life, which is blown wide open when a man follows her home from their high school reunion, and their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past. Then we turn to the first of two Christmas comedy dramas - the Balsano family and a few close friends are together for what is likely to be their final family Christmas in their ancestral home, however, two of the younger members of the family escape for teenage rebellion; and then, nobody is ready for the mayhem and surprises that ensue when six of the worst youngsters disrupt the town's annual Christmas performance. Next up we have a Filipino offering that after fighting for their love to conquer the time, distance and a global shutdown that kept them apart, this couple meet again in Canada but realise that they're now very different people; before closing out the week with an Aussie doco that takes us back to May 1973, when 10,000 artists, activists, hippies, radical students, gurus and visionaries descended on a small dairy town for ten days of social and cultural exploration that changed a generation.

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.

'GLADIATOR II' (Rated M) - is a US and UK co-produced epic historical action film that is Co-Produced and Directed Ridley Scott and is the sequel to Scott's classic 'Gladiator' from 2000, which grossed US$465M off the back of a production budget of US$103M and which won five Academy Awards from twelve nominations among a total awards haul of sixty wins and a further 104 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. The film is released here in Australia and New Zealand this week, in the UK on 15th and the USA on 22nd November. A further sequel 'Gladiator III' is reportedly in the early stages of development. 

Over two decades after the events of 'Gladiator', Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and Maximus (Russell Crowe from the first film), lives with his wife and child in Numidia - a Roman province on the North African coast. Roman soldiers led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) invade, killing his wife and forcing Lucius into slavery. Inspired by Maximus, Lucius resolves to fight as a gladiator under the teaching of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave who plots to overthrow the young emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn). Also starring Derek Jacobi, Lior Raz, Tim McInnerny, Rory McCann and Matt Lucas.  

'MEMORY' (Rated MA15+) - this American and Mexican co-produced drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Michel Franco whose previous feature film credits include 'Chronic' in 2015 and 'Sundown' in 2021. The film had its World Premiere at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival where lead Actor Peter Sarsgaard won the Volpi Cup for his performance. Social worker Sylvia's (Jessica Chastain) structured life is blown apart when Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter profoundly impacts both of them as they open the door to the past. Also starring Merritt Weaver, Jessica Harper, Elsie Fisher and Josh Charles. It was released Stateside in late December last year, is only released here in Australia this week having so far grossed US$2M and has garnered generally favourable critical reviews.

'CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER'S POINT' (Rated M) - is an American Christmas comedy drama film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tyler Thomas Taormina. Here, a rambunctious extended family descends upon their small Long Island hometown on Christmas Eve for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. Before the evening is over, and as generational tensions arise, two teenage cousins take advantage of the chaos to sneak out into the wintry night and make the holiday their own. Starring Michael Cera, Sawyer Spielberg, Francesca Scorsese, Elsie Fisher, Matilda Fleming and Ben Shenkman.  The film saw its World Premiere at this years Cannes Film Festival and was released in the US last week.

'THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER' (Rated G) - this American comedy drama film is Directed by Dallas Jenkins and is based on the 1972 novel by Barbara Robinson. The Herdmans are six juvenile delinquent siblings who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world. However, when they take over the local church pageant during the holidays, they just might teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas. Starring Judy Greer, Pete Holmes with Beatrice Schneider, Mason D. Nelligan, Matthew Lamb, Ewan Wood, Essek Moore and Kynlee Heiman as the Herdman clan. The film was released in the US last week and has received generally positive reviews. 

'HELLO, LOVE, AGAIN' (Rated PG) - is a Philippine romantic drama film Directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana and is the sequel to the 2019 film 'Hello, Love, Goodbye'. After fighting for their love to conquer time, distance and a global shutdown that kept them apart, Joy (Kathryn Bernardo), a nurse working in Canada who previously worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, and Ethan (Alden Richards), a bartender working in Hong Kong, meet again in Canada but realise that they have also changed a lot, individually. 

'AQUARIUS' (Rated M) - this Australian historical documentary film is Co-Written and Directed by Wendy Champagne in only her second feature doco after 'BAS! Beyond the Red Light' in 2009. In May 1973, the small northern New South Wales dairy town of Nimbin was the perfect location, surrounded by farmland and rainforest. The inhabitants (all 300 of them) hoped the event would bring young people to their struggling town. Thousands arrived, all willing to contribute to the Aquarius Festival, whether by playing instruments or digging drains. It wasn’t quite all saunas, nudity, acrobatics, and chilled-out bliss however, as festival goers faced down Police interference, internal chaos, drugs and personal dramas. Nonetheless, countless participants found kinship as well as a blueprint for a sustainable life. 

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-