* 'A Year of School' - from Italy and France and is Co-Written and Directed by Laura Samani. Set in 2007 in Trieste, Italy, the film follows a seventeen year old Swedish girl 'Fred' (Stella Wendick) who enrols in an Italian high school and befriends three of her all male classmates.
* 'Bearcave' - from Greece and Written and Directed by Krysianna Papadakis and Stergios Dinopoulos. A mystical cave, a nettle pie and an unexpected betrayal spur a romantic adventure between two childhood friends.
* 'Six Weeks On' - from Germany and Co-Produced and Directed by Jacqueline Jansen. After the death of her mother, Lore must deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in her small former home town in Western Germany, whilst navigating bureaucracy, red tape and traditional family beliefs, all the while finding a path to her own grief and paying her final respects.
* 'The Girl in the Snow' - from France and Directed by Louise Hemon. On the cusp of the 20th century, schoolteacher Aimee arrives at a remote hamlet located on the edge of the Alps. Her goal is to educate the young children of the isolated community, one which is steeped in ancient folklore and tradition. Soon, the winter grows harsher, and the locals grow suspicious of the young teacher.
For the details of the other competitive strands and all the sections being showcased, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://corkfilmfest.org
'TRAIN DREAMS' (Rated M) - this American drama film is Directed by Clint Bentley in only his second feature film Directorial outing following 'Jockey' in 2021, although he wrote the screenplay and Produced 'Sing Sing' in 2023. Bentley Co-Wrote this screenplay also with Greg Kwedar and is based on the 2011 novella of the same name written by Denis Johnson. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at this years Sundance Film Festival in late January, is scheduled for a limited cinema release here in Australia and the US from this week before streaming globally on Netflix on 21st November. The film has garnered universal critical acclaim.
Logger Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) works to develop the railroad across the United States at the turn of the 20th Century in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, causing him to spend vast amounts of time away from his wife Gladys (Felicity Jones) and daughter, and is struggling with his place in a rapidly changing world. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled. Also starring Clifton Collins Jnr., Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Paul Schneider and Will Patton as the Narrator.
'DIE, MY LOVE' (Rated MA15+) - is an American psychological black comedy drama film Directed by Lynne Ramsay, from a screenplay she Co-Wrote based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Ariana Harwicz. Lynne Ransay's previous feature film Directing credits are her debut in 1999 with 'Ratcatcher', which she would follow up with 'Morvern Callar' in 2002, 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' in 2011 and 'You Were Never Really Here' in 2017. Grace (Jennifer Lawrence, who also Co-Produces here) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson), a young couple who move from New York City to Jackson’s rural childhood home in Montana, are in search of a quieter life. As they adjust to their new surroundings and become parents, Grace begins to struggle with feelings of isolation and psychological distress. Her deteriorating mental health gradually drives their marriage into unsettling and unpredictable territory. Also starring LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek, the film saw its World Premiere showcasing at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it received a nine-minute long standing ovation, has garnered generally positive critical reviews, and is released this week too in the USA.
'PREDATOR : BADLANDS' (Rated M) - this American Sci-Fi action film is based on a story by, Co-Produced and Directed by Dan Trachtenberg who made his feature film Directing debut with '10 Cloverfield Lane' in 2016 and then three films in the 'Predator' franchise, including 'Prey' in 2022 and the animated film 'Predator : Killer of Killers' released earlier this year, and this latest instalment. Set in the future on a remote, isolated and deadly planet, a young Predator, named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) outcast from his clan for being a runt, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Elle Fanning) a damaged Weyland-Yutani (Wey-Yu) synth, and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary. The film is released in the US this week also, and Trachtenberg has already stated that depending on the success of this film, he has in mind to Direct a third instalment.
'STONE COLD FOX' (Rated CTC) - is an American neo-noir action thriller film that is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sophie Tabet in her feature film Directorial debut. Here, set in the 1980's, Fox (Kiernan Shipka) breaks out of an abusive commune, but when the queenpin Goldie (Krysten Ritter) kidnaps her little sister and sends a crooked cop, Sergeant Billy Breaker (Kiefer Sutherland) after her, Fox has no choice but to infiltrate the very place she escaped from. The film also stars Karen Fukuhara, Lorenza Izzo, Mishel Prada and Jamie Chung and is released Stateside this week too.
'FWENDS' (Rated M) - this Australian comedy drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Sophie Somerville in her feature film making debut, and tells the story of old friends Em (Emmanuelle Mattana) and Jessie (Melissa Gan) who reconnect for a weekend in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, as they explore the city and share their stories. Their conversations flow naturally, covering light topics and deep emotions. They represent a generation of resilient young women navigating life's ups and downs with honesty and humour. The film has premiered internationally at various film festivals including Berlin in mid-February, in Sydney and Melbourne in June and August respectively, in London in early October and in Hawaii in mid-October.
'PRIME MINISTER' (Rated M) - is a US and New Zealand Co-Produced Documentary film Directed by Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe that documents the five years of Jacinda Ardern's tenure as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023, including both her political and private life. It contains audio recordings of the Political Diaries project of the Alexander Turnbull Library and home videos recorded by Ardern's husband Clarke Gayford. The film includes information on the Christchurch mosque shootings in which fifty-one people were killed and eighty-nine others were injured, including forty by gunfire; the 2019 Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption in which twenty-two people died and another twenty-five suffered injuries; and her science backed approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film saw its World Premiere at this years Sundance Film Festival in late January where it won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary, was released in the US in mid-June, in New Zealand in late September and this week in Australia, having garnered generally favourable critical reviews.
Homing back on this weeks six hot new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with a drama offering about a logger who lives all of his years in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, working on the land, helping to create a new world at the turn of the 20th Century. This is followed by a black comedy drama film about a writer and young mother, who slowly descends into madness, and while isolated in an old house in Montana, her increasingly agitated and erratic behaviour leaves her husband worried and helpless. Next up is a Sci-Fi actioner about an alien hunter cast out from its clan, and an unlikely ally who embark on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary. Then we turn to an action thriller in which a woman must infiltrate a commune she had escaped from in order to rescue her captive sister. Following on we have an Aussie comedy drama about two young women who reunite in Melbourne for a weekend together as they try to navigate life's ups and downs; before closing out the week with a New Zealand doco that chronicles Jacinda Ardern's tenure as New Zealand PM, navigating crises while redefining global leadership through her empathetic yet resolute approach.
Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead. And BTW, the reason I'm posting this two days ahead of my usual Wednesday release, is because I'm taking a short break down the south coast where there is limited internet access, however, normal service will be resumed next week.
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-
