Quick Takes : The movies I saw in January 2025.

Although I was off-line throughout January enjoying the heat of an Aussie summer, as well as some much needed summer rain, this didn't stop me from enjoying my weekly trip to my local movie theatre to catch a film of choice. Below are my quick takes of the latest films seen this past month.

'NOSFERATU' (Rated M) - Tuesday 7th January 2025.

This American supernatural horror film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Robert Eggers whose prior feature film making credits take in his debut in 2015 with 'The Witch', and he followed this up with 'The Lighthouse' in 2019, and 'The Northman' in 2022. This film is a remake of the classic silent film of 1922 of the same name by Director F.W. Murnau and an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel 'Count Dracula'. This film saw its World Premiere screening in Berlin, Germany in early December, was released in the US on Christmas Day, in Australia on New Years Day having garnered widespread critical acclaim, has so far grossed US$167M from a production budget of US$50M and has collected thirty-two award wins and another 164 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, with a number of those award nods still pending an outcome.

Set in 1838 in the town of Wisborg, Germany, the film follows estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) as he travels to Transylvania's Carpathian Mountains for a fateful meeting with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), a prospective client who wants to sell his run down old castle in the mountains and relocate to Wisborg. In his absence, Hutter's new bride, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), is left under the care of their friends, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Emma Corrin) Harding. Plagued by horrific visions and an increasing sense of dread, Ellen soon encounters an evil force that's far beyond her control. Also starring Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson and Simon McBurney. 

In his fourth feature film outing Writer, Producer and Director Robert Eggers here has delivered us a very worthy remake of the 1922 and 1979 (Directed by Werner Herzog) films with an updated version that is a chilling, macabre, Victorian era horror story from which he eeks out first rate awards worthy performances from Depp, Hoult and Dafoe while lensman Jarin Blaschke adds a foreboding sense of dread and fear to the films aesthetic. 

'Nosferatu' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

'DEN OF THIEVES : PANTERA' (Rated M) - Tuesday 14th January 2025.                              This American heist film is a sequel to the 2018 film 'Den of Thieves' and is Written and Directed once again by Christian Gudegast in only his second feature film making outing. The film was released here in Australia and the US on 9th and 10th January respectively, has so far recovered US$48M from its US$40M production budget and has generated mixed or average reviews. Here then, Nicholas 'Big Nick' O'Brien (Gerard Butler, who also serves as Co-Producer here) the recently divorced LASD Sheriff is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson who also Co-Produces), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world's largest diamond exchange in Nice, Southern France. Also starring Evin Ahmad. Gerard Butler has already indicated his willingness to make a third film in the franchise and not to leave it too long for the next instalment. 

I have to say that I went into this viewing with fairly average expectations, but came out just a little more than surprised by what Writer and Director Christian Gudegast has delivered. The two lead Actors in Butler and Jackson have a natural on screen chemistry, the sun drenched locations of the French Riviera, the well executed action sequences and the staging of the heist on the World Diamond Centre all amount to a well crafted film, albeit one that you can leave your brain at the door, and is fairly predictable run of the mill fare. In the final analysis you know exactly what you're gonna get from this follow up instalment that adds nothing new to the heist genre, but does it in an acceptable fashion.

'Den of Thieves : Pantera' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

'WOLF MAN' (Rated MA15+) : Tuesday 21st January 2025 - is an American horror film Co-Written and Directed by Leigh Whannell, whose three prior feature film credits are 'Insidious : Chapter 3' in 2015, 'Upgrade' in 2018, and 'The Invisible Man' in 2020, with his Writing and Executive Producer credits taking in the majority of the 'Saw' franchise films, plus a few others in between time. The film was first muted in mid-2014 and was to be part of the Dark Universe, a shared cinematic universe surrounding the Universal Studios Monsters. However, following the critical and commercial failure of 2017's 'The Mummy' Universal moved its focus to standalone films, although the success of Whannell's 2020 'The Invisible Man' reignited Universal's interest in the Monsters franchise. This film serves as a reboot of the 1941 film 'The Wolf Man', has garnered mixed or average critical reviews and has so far grossed US$28M from its production budget of US$25M. 

Here, Blake (Christopher Abbott), his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and their young daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) are attacked by an unseen animal in rural Oregon and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside Blake's inherited remote farmhouse as the creature stalks the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognisable that soon places his family in grave danger. Leigh Whannell's 'Wolf Man' I would describe more as a thriller than a horror offering that is light on jump scares, edge of your seat tension, nail biting emotion and dramatic punch. That said the performances of Abbott and Garner are on point, the visuals from the PoV of a transformed Blake add a fresh dimension, but I found the transformation of Blake into the titular Wolf Man to be sub-par when compared to the John Landis classic 1981 'An American Werewolf in London' which set the standard by which all other lycanthropic films are judged . . . and that was 44 years ago! 'Wolf Man' is an OK film albeit a fairly predictable one.

'Wolf Man' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

'A COMPLETE UNKNOWN' (Rated M) : Tuesday 28th January 2025. This American biographical drama film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by James Mangold, whose prior film making credits take in the likes of 'Cop Land' in 1997, 'Girl, Interrupted' in 1999, 'Walk the Line' in 2005, '3:10 to Yuma' in 2007, 'The Wolverine' in 2013, 'Logan' in 2017, 'Ford v Ferrari' in 2019 and 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' in 2023. This film is based on the 2015 book 'Dylan Goes Electric!' by Elijah Wald, and is about the early formative years of singer and songwriter Bob Dylan. The film has so far grossed US$75M from a production budget of about US$60M, has garnered generally positive critical reviews and has so far collected sixteen award wins and a further 109 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit with many of those nods still pending a final decision. 

The film opens up in New York City in 1961, where amidst the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet, who also Co-Produces here) from Minnesota arrives with his acoustic guitar, harmonica and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village including a very sick and in ill health in hospital Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and later Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking and controversial performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival at which Dylan and his band were the closing act, that reverberates worldwide. Also starring Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, Dylan's girlfriend at the time. Chalamet is a compelling watch in the biopic of the great American singer/songwriter, more than ably supported by especially Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro. Mangold's deft Direction and his superlative attention to the early 1960's production values, when coupled with Chalamet's commitment to learning to play the guitar and harmonica, and, master Dylan's voice over a five year period all add up to a film that is more than worthy of your attention, and the price of your movie ticket. My only criticism is that at times Chalamet's voice is a little too gravelly and verging on the indecipherable. Nonetheless, Chalamet and Mangold deserve all the accolades they get.

'A Complete Unknown' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-