What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 17th July 2025

This years Fantasia International Film Festival marks its 29th edition running from Wednesday 16th July through until Sunday 3rd August in the Canadian city of Montreal, Quebec. Fantasia is a cultural and professional destination point, and since its first edition, the festival’s ever-growing popularity has attracted the attention of the international film industry alongside a legion of attendees from across the world. Every facet of the filmmaking chain is increasingly represented with in-person delegates at the festival, from Directors, Actors, Producers, studio representatives, distributors and festival programmers, who get to experience the legendarily enthusiastic, taste-making audience of Fantasia. Since its beginnings, the Fantasia International Film Festival has explored the diverse realms of genre cinema, creating bridges between the cutting edge and the mainstream, and providing a festive but professional environment where emerging artists are given exposure alongside their more established counterparts, both locally and internationally, whilst showcasing the best in Canadian and world cinema, so reads the official website.

The Opening Night feature film is 'Eddington' Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ari Aster. In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in Eddington, New Mexico. Also featuring Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell, Michael Ward and Clifton Collins Jr. The Closing Night film presentation is the adult animated comedy film 'Fixed' Co-Written and Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. Here, Bull (voiced by Adam DeVine), an average, all-round good bloodhound dog who discovers he's going to be neutered in the morning! As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realises he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls! What could possibly go wrong...? Also starring the voice talents of Idris Elba, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen and Bobby Moynihan.

The Cheval Noir Competition is Fantasia's flagship juried competition, a global selection of varied genre works from new and established groundbreaking and unconventional auteurs. This year there are thirteen feature films in this competitive section, and these are given below :-

* 'Blank Canvas : My So-Called Artist's Journey' - from Japan, and this drama comedy film is Directed by Kazuaki Seki. 

* 'The Book of Sijjin and Illiyyin' - from Indonesia and this horror offering is Directed by Hadrah Daeng Ratu.

* 'Cielo' - from the UK and Bolivia and this drama fantasy film is Written and Directed by Alberto Sciamma.

* 'The Forbidden City' - from Italy and this dramatic romantic action film is Directed by Gabriele Mainetti.

* 'I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn' - from Japan and this comedy romance is Written and Directed by Kenichi Ugana.

* 'I Live Here Now' - from the USA and this thriller is Written and Directed by Julie Pacino. World Premiere.

* 'Mother of Flies' - from the USA and this dramatic horror fantasy feature is Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser. World Premiere.

* 'New Group' - from Japan and this horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Yuta Shimotsu.

* 'Stinker' - from Kazakhstan and this comedy Sci-Fi offering is Co-Written and Directed by Yerden Telemissov. 

* 'Terrestrial' - from the USA and this thriller comedy film is Directed by Steve Pink. World Premiere.

* 'The Verdict' - from South Korea and Indonesia and this drama thriller is Directed by Lee Chang-hee and Yusron Fuadi. World Premiere.

* 'The Well' - from Canada and this thriller offering is Co-Produced and Directed by Hubert Davis. World Premiere.

* 'The Woman' - from South Korea and this thriller film is Co-Written and Directed by Hwang Wook. World Premiere.

The Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award will be presented to Danny Elfman, who as a renowned film composer, his name merits mention in the same breath as Hermann, Morricone, Rota, and Barry. Danny Elfman has a particular perch among the pantheon, however, as the patron saint of movie music for the freaks, geeks, monster kids, and misfits among us - the very souls that haunt the darkened halls of Fantasia. Over the last forty years since his first feature film score, Elfman has set the mood, musically, for not only Tim Burton with whom he has collaborated on many films, but for a veritable honour roll of genre-film titans.

For the full synopsis of the aforementioned films, plus the other feature feature film strands, and the short film section, plus a whole bunch of other great stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://fantasiafestival.com/en

With just three new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to your home this week, we kick off with an American slasher horror offering that is the fourth film in this franchise and a sequel to the 1998 film, and here we find a group of friends who are terrorised by a stalker who knows about a gruesome incident from their recent past that the group would rather keep hidden. Then we turn to an American black comedy about a suburban dad who falls hard for his charismatic new neighbour, but his attempts to make an adult male friend soon threatens to ruin both of their lives. And closing out the week we have a French biopic about a French Actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who is at the height of her fame - an icon of her time and the world's first star, who is also a passionate, free-spirited and modern woman who defies conventions.

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.

'I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER' (Rated MA15+) - this American slasher film is Co-Written and Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, whose two prior feature film Directing offerings are 'Someone Great' in 2019 and 'Do Revenge' in 2022. This film is a sequel to 1998's 'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' and the fourth instalment in the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' franchise. The third film in the series 'I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer' from 2006 did not get a cinema release instead going straight to a DVD release. The first two films therefore grossed a combined global Box Office take of US$210M against a total production budget of US$41M.

After five friends - Danica, Ava, Milo, Teddy and Stevie (Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers and Sarah Pidgeon respectively) inadvertently kill a pedestrian in a car accident, they cover up their involvement to avoid consequences. A year later, as they try to move on with their lives, a stalker sends them taunting messages about their crime. Realising that the stalker is imitating a legendary serial killer, they seek help from survivors of the Southport massacre of 1997, Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jnr.). The film is released Stateside this week too.

'FRIENDSHIP' (Rated M) - is an American black comedy film Written and Directed by Andrew DeYoung in his feature film making debut, although he has a whole stack of Directorial credits for TV series and short films. Here, suburban dad Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson), a socially awkward marketing executive who obsessively yearns to be friends with his new neighbour Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd), a charismatic but unfulfilled weatherman, but his attempts to make an adult male friend soon threatens to ruin both of their lives. The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September last year as part of the festival's Midnight Madness section, and was released in the US in late May. It has received positive reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$16M. Also starring Kate Mara as Craig's wife, Tami and Jack Dylan Grazer as Craig's son, Steven.

'THE DIVINE SARAH BERNHARDT' (Rated MA15+) - this French and Belgian Co-Produced romantic biographical film is Directed by Guillaume Nicloux. Sarah Bernhardt (Sandrine Kiberlain), dubbed 'La Divine', became the first global celebrity. The acclaimed stage Actress broke social conventions through her bold character, leaving an indelible mark thanks to her daring personality and dramatic acting performances. The films depicts her long love affair with Actor Lucien Guitry (Laurent Lafitte) and her encounters with many famous people over three time periods in 1886, 1896 and 1916. She lived from 1844 until 1923 and died at the age of 78. The film was released in its native France in mid-December last year and has so far grossed US$3.1M.

With just 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-

JURASSIC WORLD : REBIRTH : Tuesday 8th July 2025

I saw the M Rated 'JURASSIC WORLD : REBIRTH' at my local multiplex earlier this week, and this American science fiction action film is Directed by Gareth Edwards whose previous feature film credits take in his Directorial debut in 2010 with 'Monsters' which he would follow up with 'Godzilla' in 2014, 'Rogue One : A Star Wars Story' in 2016, and 'The Creator' in 2023. This film is a standalone sequel to 2022's 'Jurassic World Dominion' the fourth 'Jurassic World' film and the seventh instalment overall in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise. The first six films in the series have grossed at the worldwide Box Office a total of US$6,076B against combined production budgets of US$1,143B - so long live the dinosaurs! The film was released in the US last week too, cost US$180M to produce, has so far grossed US$391M worldwide and has garnered mixed critical reviews.

The film opens seventeen years ago on the remote Atlantic Ocean island of Saint Hubert in a research laboratory owned and operated by InGen in which the scientists experiment on the creation of mutated dinosaurs. One such creation is a deformed six-limbed tyrannosaur called a  'Distortus Rex' that escapes containment, kills an employee and wreaks havoc, forcing the facility personnel to abandon the lab and flee the island leaving it deserted. We then fast forward seventeen years later and learn that the Earth's climate and ecology has proven largely inhospitable to sustain the de-extinct animals, and they are forced to reside in a band around the Equator, which is more akin to the climate in which their pre-historic ancestors lived and thrived. That area around the Equator is now marked as no-travel zones to anyone and everyone by international law.

Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), an executive at pharmaceutical giant ParkerGenix, recruits Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), an ex-military covert operative, to work with paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) on a top-secret mission to retrieve biomaterial samples from the three largest remaining prehistoric specimens, which hold the key to a new heart disease treatment. The kicker is that these three samples must be retrieved from live dinosaur specimens. In a bar in Suriname, Zora recruits her longtime friend Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to lead the expedition, and to provide the boat and the crew to get them to the island. He brings boat driver LeClerc (Bechir Sylvain), mercenary Nina (Philippine Velge), and the security chief Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein).

They set out to Saint Hubert Island to extract samples from the aquatic Mosasaurus, the land based Titanosaurus, and avian Quetzalcoatlus. They track the Mosasaurus, which has shipwrecked a family sailing in the mid-Atlantic Ocean in the no-travel zone - Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his older daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise) and her boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) and Reuben's younger daughter Isabella (Audrina Miranda). Duncan is intent on rescuing the family which is in the opposite direction of the island much to the displeasure of Martin and Bobby. 

With the family safely on board, Zora successfully extracts a sample from the Mosasaur. However, it returns with a group of Spinosaurus and attacks the ship, killing Bobby and Nina in the process. Teresa in a state of panic tries to alert the Coast Guard with a May Day call but Martin attempts to prevent her from radioing, to protect the mission's utmost secrecy, then refuses to help her when she and the Delgado's fall overboard. The Mosasaur forces the ship aground, stranding the team on the island, with the family becoming separated from the original ship's crew. Now on foot and trudging through the jungle, Zora informs the remaining crew that she engaged a rescue helicopter to circle the island at sundown the next day.

Zora successfully extracts the second sample from a Titanosaurus and the third and final sample from a Quetzalcoatlus egg, by abseiling down a sheer rock wall to access its nest located in a cave. Dr. Henry and Zora become trapped inside the cave when the adult Quetzalcoatlus returns to its nest, but is distracted by  LeClerc who ultimately is devoured by the giant winged beast. 

Meanwhile, the Delgado's are stranded elsewhere and search for the 'village'. They encounter various dinosaurs along the way including an infant Aquilops, which Isabella adopts and names Dolores, a Dilophosaurus feeding on the corpse of a Parasaurolophus and a sleeping Tyrannosaurus Rex, which awakens and chases the Delgados down a fast flowing river in an inflatable raft.

The Delgado's and the expedition group reunite at the abandoned laboratory for their planned helicopter extraction. Teresa confronts Martin for attacking her on the boat, and leaving her at the mercy of the ocean and the Spinosaurs. The group questions Martin about the attack and he pulls a gun on them, steals the samples from Zora, cuffs the case to his hand and attempts to flee to the helipad. A pack of mutated raptor/pterosaur hybrids, dubbed 'Mutadons' descends on the survivors who by now have taken refuge in a network of underground tunnels that ultimately lead to the harbour, to escape.

The rescue helicopter arrives and circles for two minutes as instructed to do so by Zora, but sees no sign of life so begins to leave. Henry lights a flare, which is seen by the retreating helicopter and it doubles back, but is destroyed by the Distortus Rex, which then turns on Martin and devours him, as the sample case is flung away and lands close to Zora with Martin's arm still attached. The survivors come to a locked gate at the end of the underground tunnel, and discover a motor boat on the other side. 

The D. Rex awaits outside by the boat, and the raptor/pterosaur hybrids are stalking them in the tunnels. Isabella is the only survivor small enough to fit through the gate, and she unlocks it. The group load themselves onto the boat, while Duncan diverts the D. Rex away using a flare, but Zora fears for his life when the flare is extinguished in the near distance.

Zora, Henry, Reuben, Teresa, Xavier and Isabella narrowly escape the D. Rex in the boat when a flare beams out across the night sky. Duncan is still alive wading out through the water and Reuben turns the boat to retrieve him. With the boat now skimming across the ocean and with samples in hand, Henry asks Zora what her intentions are now that she has possession. Zora and Henry agree to distribute the new medication without a patent, making it open-source for the whole world to take full advantage of.

What Gareth Edwards has delivered here is a fairly formulaic by the numbers dino offering that does hark back in some ways to the original 'Jurassic Park' film, and yet it still treads almost the same path as the majority of instalments that have gone before. And that is that a bunch of guys and gals venture into largely unknown dino territory on some sort of expedition and the bad guys (and you know who they are from the get go) all get chomped on and spat out, and the good guys come back victorious ready for the next film in the series. So it is here, and the script writers have here pushed the boundaries of what might seem fair and reasonable to the average movie goer too. That said Scarlett Johansson delivers an admirable performance as do the principle cast, and Gareth Edwards knows how to ramp up the action set pieces, which I guess is the main reason why you go to see a movie that features prehistoric dinosaur versus human interaction writ large, and on that note 'Jurassic World : Rebirth' delivers.

'Jurassic World : Rebirth' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 10th July 2025

The 37th Galway Film Fleadh this year takes place from Tuesday 8th July through until Sunday 13th July, and is a week-long international film festival that takes place every July on the western edge of Europe in Galway, Ireland. Founded in 1989 as a platform for Irish filmmakers to exhibit their work to their peers, the central goal of the Galway Film Fleadh remains unchanged - to be a platform for the boldest new films, and to bring audiences & filmmakers from around the world together, to celebrate our shared passion for film. The festival welcomes a diversity of filmmaking from all around the world, crossing all generations and cultural backgrounds, bringing luminaries of the craft and everyday cinephiles together to share in the wonder of cinema - so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Film presentation is 'Re-Creation' Written and Directed by David Merriman and Jim Sheridan and starring Vicky Krieps, Jim Sheridan, Aiden Gillen, Colm Meaney and John Connors. This docudrama tells the true story of the 1996 murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier at her vacation home in West Cork, and remains one of Ireland’s most shocking unsolved crimes. Ian Bailey was investigated by Irish authorities but never tried in Ireland, despite being convicted in absentia in France. 

The World Cinema Competition features films from Colombia, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Lebanon, South Korea, the UK, and Finland, and comprises eight films that have screened and won awards at Tribeca, Berlin, TIFF and other notable festivals. Those eight films are :-

* 'Khartoum' - from Sudan, UK, Germany and Qatar and Directed by Phil Cox, Anas Saeed, Snoopy Ahmed, Timeea Ahmed and Rawia AlHag. In 2022, four Sudanese filmmakers, along with a British Writer-Director began filming the lives and dreams of five very different citizens in Khartoum.

* 'Eel' - from Taiwan and Written and Directed by Chun-Teng Chu. On the outskirts of Taipei lies an isolated island, a place where time and memory dissolve into mist. Here, a mysterious young woman appears. When a young man later arrives, their lives intertwine, unravelling mysteries of longing, belonging, and transformation.

* 'The Blue Trail' - from Brazil, Mexico, Chile and the Netherlands and Directed by Gabriel Mascaro. Tereza, 77, has lived her whole life in a small industrialised town in the Amazon, until one day she receives an official government order to relocate to a senior housing colony. The colony is an isolated area where the elderly are brought to 'enjoy' their final years. Instead, she embarks on a transformative journey through the rivers and tributaries of the Amazon - a decision that will change her destiny forever.

* 'The Cowboy' - from Colombia and Australia, and Written and Directed by Emma Rozanski. Bernicia works in the ticket kiosk of a national park, doing odd jobs and loyally contributing to her family. One day, she finds a lost horse, and her life becomes profoundly connected to the animal. She experiences a great transformation – slowly channelling the persona of a cowboy.

* 'The Jacket' - from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Lebanon and Directed by Mathijs Poppe. What begins as an intimate portrait of Jamal Hindawi - a Palestinian artist doing political theatre in Beirut’s Shatila refugee camp - transforms into a captivating journey. We discover a Lebanon rarely seen, one where hope persists despite hardship, and where community transcends crisis.           * 'Welded Together' - from France, the Netherlands and Belgium and Written and Directed by Anastasiya Miroshnichenko. Katya is a young woman who works as a welder. Abandoned as a little girl, she embarks on a personal journey to reunite with her lost family - to weld it back together, just like she welds metal at work.

* 'Mother of Snow Cranes' - from Finland and Written and Directed by Iiris Harma. Over 90 years old, Ellen Vuosalo has lived many lives. First as a Finnish immigrant in Canada, then as an American citizen and student of zoology at UCLA, and finally as a Mother of Cranes in Iran.

* 'Winter in Sokcho' - from France and South Korea and Co-Written and Directed by Koya Kamura. In Sokcho, a small seaside village in South Korea, Soo-Ha lives in a bit of a rut, rhythmed by visits to her mother, a fishmonger, and her relationship with her boyfriend, Jun-Ho. When a French man named Yan Kerrand arrives in the boarding house where Soo-Ha works, it awakens questions within her about her own identity, and that of her French father, of whom she knows almost nothing.

* 'Dragonfly' - from the UK and Written and Directed by Paul Andrew Williams. The story of two neighbours who strike up an unlikely friendship, not always to the approval of others around them. Seeing the lack of care that her elderly neighbour Elsie is receiving from so-called professionals, Coleen takes it upon herself to care for her, finally finding meaning and purpose in life. When her motivations are brought into question, a tragic sequence of events leads to a shocking, and devastating end. Starring Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough.

For the full details of the other film strands being showcased at this years Galway Film Festival, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://www.galwayfilmfleadh.com/

Looking ahead then to this weeks five hot new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with the much anticipated first film in the DCU's Chapter One that sees this Superhero reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with that of his adoptive human family in rural Kansas. Then we have an American true crime action thriller about a father and son who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, who find themselves in a standoff with a Chief of Police that sets off a manhunt. Next up is a horror story about two boys who have spent their lives under the strict and overprotective rule of their father, unaware of his dark past, they struggle to understand his paranoia and increasingly erratic behaviour. This is followed by a RomCom that sees cultures collide when an introverted doctor brings his white boyfriend home to meet his traditional East Indian family; before closing out the week with a famous Japanese chef who decides to open a restaurant in Paris, seeking a third Michelin star, only to face challenges as outsider, including the sourcing of ingredients.

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.

'SUPERMAN' (Rated M) - this much hyped eagerly awaited American Superhero film is based on the much loved DC Comics character of Superman/Clark Kent, and is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by James Gunn, who in October 2022 became the new Co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran. This is the second reboot of the 'Superman' film series following on from the DC Extended Universe which kicked off with 'Man of Steel' in 2013, then 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' in 2016 and 'Justice League' in 2017 with Henry Cavill playing the titular role in all three outings. This film is set to be the first film of the DCU's Chapter One : Gods and Monsters, cost US$225M to produce and is released internationally from this week. 

Superman (David Corenswet) must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing in Smallville, Kansas as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned. Also starring Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White and Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as Jonathan and Martha Kent respectively. 

'SOVEREIGN' (Rated CTC) - is an American crime action thriller that is Written and Directed by Christian Swegal in his feature film making debut. Based off the events surrounding the West Memphis Police shootings in 2010 during which two Police Officers were shot multiple times and killed during a random traffic stop, the film follows a father  Jerry Kane (Nick Offernan) and his son Joe Kane (Jacob Tremblay) who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, as they venture across the country and find themselves in a standoff with a Chief of Police John Bouchart (Dennis Quaid) that sets off an intense manhunt with tragic consequences. Also starring Nancy Travis, Martha Plimpton and Thomas Mann. This film is released Stateside this week too.

'ABRAHAM'S BOYS : A DRACULA STORY' (Rated CTC) - this UK and US Co-Produced horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Natasha Kermani whose prior feature film credits are 'Shattered' in 2017, 'Imitation Girl' also in 2017 and 'Lucky' in 2020. This film follows the story of Abraham Van Helsing (Titus Welliver), and his family years after the fathers terrifying legacy with Dracula. In their new North American home, Abraham and his now wife, Mina (Jocelin Donahue), raise their two sons, Max (Brady Hepner) and Rudy (Judah Mackey). The family seems typical of the time, patriarchal, religious, tight-knit, but also emotionally cold and distant. When their haunting past creeps back into their lives, the Van Helsings’ secrets rise to the surface, forcing the boys to confront the terrifying legacy they were never meant to inherit.

'A NICE INDIAN BOY' (Rated M) - is an American RomCom Directed by Roshan Sethi in his third feature film offering following his debut in 2021 with '7 Days' and then 'World's Best' in 2023. The film follows Naveen (Karan Soni), an Indian-American doctor, who brings his fiance, Jay (Jonathan Groff), a white man and professional photographer adopted by Indian immigrant parents who have subsequently died, to meet his traditional family who must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist boyfriend and helping them plan the Indian wedding of their dreams. The film saw its World Premiere screening at SXSW in mid-March 2024, was released in the US in early April this year, has so far grossed US$903K and has garnered universal critical acclaim. 

'GRAND MAISON PARIS' (Rated PG) - this Japanese film is Directed by Ayuko Tsukahara is a sequel to the television series 'La Grande Maison Tokyo' and its special episode 'La Grande Maison Tokyo Special'. Years after La Grande Maison Tokyo was awarded three Michelin stars, Natsuki Obana (Takuya Kimura) and Rinko Hayami (Kyoka Suzuki) open a new restaurant named Grande Maison Paris in Paris, the home of French cuisine. Obana's longtime dream was to win three Michelin stars in Paris. However, it is difficult to obtain satisfactory ingredients in a foreign country. After a failure at a prestigious gala dinner, Obana makes a promise to his former mentor that if he does not win the three Michelin stars, he will quit the restaurant and leave France. The cuisine is supervised by Kei Kobayashi, chef of Restaurant KEI, which actually won three Michelin stars in Paris. The film was released at the end of December last year, has generated largely favourable reviews and has so far grossed US$27M as at early March at the end of its theatrical run in Japan.

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-

F1 : Tuesday 1st July 2025

I saw the M Rated 'F1' this week, and this American sports drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Joseph Kosinski whose prior feature film efforts take in 'Tron : Legacy' in 2010, 'Oblivion' in 2013, 'Only the Brave' in 2017, 'Top Gun : Maverick' in 2022 and 'Spiderhead' also in 2022. This film features the Formula One World Championship, created in collaboration with the FIA, its governing body, and is Co-Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt. The film was released internationally last week, cost somewhere between US$200 and 300M to produce, has so far grossed US$167M and has generated positive critical reviews.

The film opens with American racing driver and former Formula One (F1) prodigy, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), living nomadically in a camper van and earning a crust as a racer-for-hire in any car and in any discipline. He raced for Lotus in the 1990's, and was destined to become the next big thing, until severe injuries from a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1993 brought his F1 career to an abrupt halt. As a result, he became a gambling addict that cost him three marriages, disappeared from racing for ten years and even did a stint as a New York taxi driver. We see him win the 24 Hours of Daytona - the sports car endurance race for the Chip Hart Racing Team, with team owner Chip Hart (Shea Whigham) urging Sonny to stay on with the team after winning, but Sonny isn't interested and almost immediately exits the circuit in his camper van.

At a diner later that evening his former Lotus teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) tracks him down. Ruben is now the owner of the APXGP F1 Team, and offers him a test drive to fill their spare seat. Ruben states that his investors will sell the team unless APXGP, last in the World Constructors' Championship with no points and last in the Drivers Championship also with zero points, wins one of the nine remaining Grand Prix that year. Sonny reluctantly agrees after Ruben tells him victory will make him 'the best in the world', and places a first class airline ticket on the table to their UK HQ.

At the Silverstone test, Sonny meets team principal Kaspar Smolinski (Kim Bodnia), technical director Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon), and ambitious British rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who states that seven drivers turned down the opportunity to drive for Apex. Joshua quietly worries the potential sale will result in his replacement, believing he must beat at all costs his teammates to impress the investors. During his test, Sonny struggles with the set up of a modern F1 car, but very quickly after just one lap of the circuit identifies the car's weaknesses. Despite crashing out in his maiden test drive around the circuit, Kaspar recognises his talent behind the wheel and agrees to him being signed up.

Sonny returns at the British Grand Prix, where slow and fumbled pit stops lead the APXGP drivers to last position after a fairly promising start. Sonny ignores team orders to let Joshua by and they collide, both spinning out of control into the sand traps. 

In Hungary, Sonny mends his relationship with Joshua by exploiting F1 rules by colliding with other drivers to force safety cars onto the track on three separate occasions. He helps Joshua catch the midfield and score APXGP's maiden points finish with a ninth placing. Joshua adopts Sonny's old-school training practices, and Sonny emulates his simulator work, and later persuades Kate to redesign the car for 'combat'. 

During the rain-soaked Italian Grand Prix, Sonny encourages Joshua to remain on slick tires, which risks aquaplaning but vaults Joshua up to second place. Joshua ignores Sonny's advice to wait for a straight before attempting to overtake Max Verstappen. He hits a curb and his car becomes airborne flying over a barrier and immediately explodes in a ball of flame upon landing. Sonny pulls him from the fire and Joshua misses three races with his hands badly burnt. Sonny meanwhile claims consistent points over the next few races, and grows in popularity with the fans. Joshua becomes more determined than ever to defeat him upon his return.

In his comeback race at the Belgian Grand Prix, Joshua's aggressive driving results in a collision with Sonny, forcing him out of the race and angering him. Kate arranges a poker game between her, Sonny and Joshua in the bar of their hotel in Las Vegas where the winner gets favourable treatment at the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix. Joshua wins with a pair of fives but, after he leaves, Sonny reveals he intentionally folded with a winning hand of a pair of Kings. 

Impressed, Kate courts Sonny and they spend the night together. Ruben interrupts them early the next morning to reveal that an anonymous tip claimed Kate manufactured the 'combat' upgrades illegally. Kate denies any wrongdoing, but the FIA (the governing body of many international motorsport championships and disciplines, including Formula One) demand the upgrades be removed, or they cannot race. During the race, Sonny gets road rage and crashes out. As Sonny recovers in a hospital bed, Ruben learns his 1993 injuries permanently impaired him, and fires him for his own safety, and to protect the integrity of his team. 

As he is about to leave the circuit and his team behind, he is approached by APXGP Board member Peter Banning (Tobias Menzies) who reveals to Sonny that he orchestrated his signing and the complaint to the FIA so he could fire Ruben and sell APXGP, offering to promote him to team principal if the sale goes through, making him rich beyond his wildest dreams. His gives Sonny three days to consider his offer. 

Before the last race of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Joshua commits to being more responsible and disciplined, admitting to his mother Bernadette (Sarah Niles) that his crash in Italy was not Sonny's fault, but his own. Sonny persuades Ruben into letting him race and declines Peter's offer via text message with a simple emoji flipping him the bird. The FIA exonerates Kate, allowing APXGP to restore her upgrades. During the race, Joshua takes the lead by remaining on worn tyres, but is overtaken by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. 

A very welcome red flag is shown after a struggling Sonny, in fourth, collides with George Russell, causing all drivers to pit for ten minutes and for Sonny's car to be repaired and for both APXGP drivers to restart on a set of fresh tyres - a luxury the other drivers did not have because all the other teams used up their tyre allocations in practice and qualifying. After the ten minute pause and with just three laps remaining, Sonny passing Charles Leclerc, sacrifices his chance at victory by forcing Lewis to block his overtake instead of Joshua's. However, Lewis and Joshua collide on the final lap, clearing the way for Sonny's and APXGP's maiden victory, therefore preventing the sale of the team and cementing Ruben's position for another three years. 

Sonny and Ruben rejoice on the podium, exclaiming 'we are the best in the world'. Toto Wolff, team principal and co-owner of Mercedes offers Joshua a seat with his team at anytime, but Joshua gratefully declines. Sonny and Kate confirm their relationship, with the pair committing to see each other again 'down the road'. Joshua congratulates Sonny, who returns to his nomadic lifestyle, competing in the Baja 1000 - the annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula, with a course of up to about 850 or more miles. 

As with 'Top Gun : Maverick' here Director and Co-Producer Joseph Kosinski and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer have spared no expense and fine tuned every last detail to put the audience right slap bang in the middle of the action, and where the roar of the engines, the thrill of the race and the emotion of winning and losing is concerned, where else would you want to be? Together with Brad Pitt and seven time World Champion F1 driver Lewis Hamilton who also serve as Co-Producers, this team have crafted an authentic race movie as you'll ever likely to see. The race sequences are thrilling and exhilarating, and the principle cast led by Pitt, Idris, Bardem and Condon all add a sense of realism and believability to the proceedings, ably aided and abetted by numerous cameo appearances from the complete line up of F1 drivers from the 2023 and 2024 seasons plus a number of team principals and owners that serve to cement the authenticity. Whilst the plot is fairly thin on the ground and at the same time predictable, the spectacle of being in the drivers seat with Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce and seeing the race track flash past and in front at 200+ MPH is what this film is all about, and on that level it doesn't disappoint, and at a running time of 155 minutes it doesn't leave you wanting either.

'F1' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-