What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd October 2026

The 39th annual Virginia Film Festival (VAFF) takes place this year from Wednesday 21st October through until Sunday 25th October, in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, and is a programme of the University of Virginia. Founded in October 1988, the intent was twofold - to stimulate economic development by encouraging film production in Virginia and increasing tourism, and to meld the creative interests and crafts of the American film industry with the intellectual resources of a nationally ranked university. Widely recognised as one of the leading regional film festivals in America, the VAFF is known for its commitment to taking audiences beyond the screen to explore some of the most important issues of our time. The five-day festival, attracting over 20,000 attendees, annually delivers more than one hundred films from around the world, combining special previews of some of the hottest titles of the festival season with an array of fascinating documentaries, exciting new voices on the independent film scene, the best of the international film scene and more . . . . . so reads the official website.

Playing in this years Gala Screenings section, there are fifteen titles, as outlined briefly below :-

* '1 15 41 Tragedy to Triumph' - from the USA and this sports documentary film is Directed by Greg Firth. The University of Virginia community, and the UVA football team suffered an unthinkable tragedy in 2022. Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and D’Sean Perry were killed in the first and only mass murder in college athletics. The remainder of the season was canceled, and the programme faced an uncertain future. Closing Night Gala Film presentation. World Premiere.

* '14th' - from the USA and this historical biographical documentary film is Directed by Ava DuVernay. The 14th Amendment fundamentally reshaped the USA with a promise declaring that anyone born on American soil is a citizen, yet the idea of who belongs has remained fiercely contested for 150 years. Ava DuVernay who previously examined the 13th Amendment, now turns her lens toward the ongoing struggle over American identity. Featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

* 'Behemoth!' - from the USA this musical romantic comedy drama film is Directed by Tony Gilroy. Alex, a gifted cellist returns home to Los Angeles after twenty years on the road. Finding work recording film scores, he immerses himself in every project, and long-held memories begin to resurface. As he reconciles with his past, he comes to terms with loves old and new, and reckons with his decision to flee not just LA, but the people closest to him. Starring Pedro Pascal, Will Arnett, Olivia Wilde and Matthew Lillard.

* 'Being Heumann' - from the USA, this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Sian Heder. In 1977, when Joseph Califano, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Mark Ruffalo), refuses to enact federally mandated protections for Americans with disabilities, Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley), the disability rights activist and hundreds of allies seize the government offices in San Francisco and refuse to leave, sparking the longest occupation of a federal building in American history. 

* 'La Bola Negra' - from Spain, and this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. The lives of a soldier drafted against his will, a young socialite navigating a culture of homophobia, and a historian grappling with family involvement in the Spanish Civil War collide in this sweeping tapestry of time-hopping vignettes.

* 'The Cashier' - from the USA and this dark comedy film is Directed by Andy Edmunds. This film centres on Glenda (Daphne Maxwell Reid), a humble cashier who stumbles upon a winning US$1.6B lottery ticket. Instead of smiling all the way to the bank, Glenda is concerned about the unfortunate soul who lost it.

* 'Club Kid' - from the USA and this comedy drama film is Directed by Jordan Firstman. After years spent in a haze of clubs, a party promoter whose life has dissolved into a decade of drug-blurred nights and perpetual adolescence, has his nightlife routine shattered when Arlo, the son he never knew he had, is dropped off on his doorstep. Forced into sudden guardianship, Peter is jolted out of the illusion that tomorrow’s problems can be postponed forever.

* 'The Debut' - from the USA and this comedy drama film is Directed by Jesse Eisenberg. Mona (Julianne Moore) is completely disregarded by everyone in her life. On a whim, and with no experience, she lands a role in a local musical. Under the guidance of Jerry (Paul Giamatti) the magnetic Director, Mona becomes spellbound and begins to lose herself in the glamour of the stage. Opening Night Gala Film.

* 'Elsinor' - from the UK and this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Simon Stone. Based on the real-life story of Ian Charleson (Andrew Scott), diagnosed with AIDS, he defies his doctor (Olivia Colman) to play Hamlet at the London National Theatre. As his body weakens, Ian confronts his mortality both offstage and on, channeling every ounce of courage into a theatre role that becomes intertwined with his real decline.

* 'I Play Rocky' - from the USA this historical biographical sports drama film is Directed by Peter Farrelly. Before writing and starring in one of the most influential sport films ever made, 29-year-old Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) was a struggling Actor waiting for his big break. Battling homelessness and poverty, Stallone decides it’s time to take a bet on himself.

* 'Ink' - from the UK and this historical biographical drama is Directed by Danny Boyle. Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce) recruits editor Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) to turn a failing newspaper into a sensation, unleashing a brash new brand of tabloid journalism where outrageous headlines and provocative stories drive circulation skyward, alongside a healthy dose of public scrutiny.

* 'The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd' - from the USA, this romance mystery thriller is Directed by Tim Blake Nelson. The film follows Karen (Amanda Seyfried), a teacher in a maximum-security prison who becomes entangled with Wilson Shedd (Scoot McNairy), a death-row inmate whose unexpected warmth pierces right through her. As Shedd’s execution nears, Karen risks everything for a chance at his freedom, and her own escape from an abusive marriage. Gala Centrepiece Film presentation.

* 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' - from the USA, the UK, Australia and Ireland, this drama film is Directed by Jonathan Kent. Set on one single day in August 1912 at the family’s Connecticut seaside home, the story follows the Tyrone family as it faces the looming dual spectres of Edmund’s potentially fatal consumption diagnosis alongside his mother Mary’s increasingly fragile and anxious state of mind. Starring Jessica Lange, Ed Harris and Ben Foster.

* 'The Social Reckoning' - from the USA and this historical biographical mystery thriller film is Directed by Aaron Sorkin. Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), a Wall Street Journal reporter, going to dangerous lengths to expose the social network’s most guarded secrets. Starring Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg.

* 'Wild Horse Nine' - from the UK and the USA and this comedy mystery drama film is Directed by Martin McDonagh. Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). As the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies amongst the Island’s iconic statues, Chris’ newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.

For the complete low down on the other film series and themes, and the ten recipients of this years Awards, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.virginiafilmfestival.org

Looking ahead to this weeks eight new movies coming to your local Odeon, we kick off with a body horror psychological thriller film in which a rising Hollywood Actor descends into a horrifying revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity. Then we have a British time travel drama film where two desperate men take jobs aboard an old fishing boat that mysteriously reappears after vanishing thirty years before. Next up is dystopian Sci-Fi offering that has an artificial friend who finds a deep bond with a troubled young girl, bringing light and hope to a grieving family through her unwavering devotion. This is followed by a South Korean romance drama film where hidden desires emerge when a laid-off worker and his wife cross paths with a documentary filmmaker and her husband. We then turn to a British comedy film that sees Hip-hop journalist Ali G return after twenty years to make a documentary with real people, as cameras follow him for over a year as he takes classes, walks the streets, and appears on shows, often with his pregnant girlfriend. Up next is an American horror film where a group of friends venture into a remote forest in Texas to search for a missing friend and sister, where they discover an eerie, abandoned cabin that traps them inside a supernatural prison. Following on there is an Italian RomCom in which a lonely and gluttonous real estate agent meets his soulmate through their shared passion for Sicilian pastries; before closing out the week with a stop-motion animated dark fantasy film where a girl sets off into a dangerous yet magical hidden forest to find her kidnapped brother.

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.

'CLAYFACE' (Rated MA15+) - this American body horror-psychological thriller film is based on the titular character from DC Comics. Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, it will be the third film in the DC Universe (DCU), and is part of the DCU's 'Chapter One: Gods and Monsters'. James Watkins prior feature film output include his debut with 'Eden Lake' in 2008, which he would follow up with 'The Woman in Black' in 2012, 'Bastille Day' in 2016, and 'Speak No Evil' in 2024. The film is released this week too in the USA, and cost in the region of US$30M to produce.

After being brutally disfigured by a local mob boss, a rising movie star named Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) volunteers as a test subject of scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) to restore his original face but experiences a series of horrifying psychological and physical side effects that transform his body into living clay. Also starring Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan and David Dencik.

'ROSE OF NEVADA' (Rated M) - is a British time travel drama film that is Written, Directed, photographed, Edited and Scored by Mark Jenkin whose prior feature film output includes 'The Midnight Drives' in 2007, 'Bait' in 2019 and 'Enys Men' in 2022. Here, a fishing boat named the 'Rose of Nevada' mysteriously reappears in a struggling, economically depressed Cornish village three decades after vanishing at sea with all hands. Nick (George MacKay), a local man desperate to support his family, and Liam (Callum Turner), an enigmatic drifter, board the boat alongside a veteran captain for a voyage. After heading out through rough waters, they return to harbour with a good sized catch, only to find they have traveled thirty years back in time to 1993 and are mistaken for the original crew. The film had its World Premiere at last years Venice International Film Festival at the end of August 2025, and was released in the UK in late April this year, has so far grossed US$1.5M and has garnered universal critical acclaim.

'KLARA AND THE SUN' (Rated M) - this dystopian science fiction film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Taika Waititi and is based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2021 novel of the same name. Taika Waititi's previous Directorial output includes his feature film debut with 2007's 'Eagle vs Shark', and which he would follow up with 'Boy' in 2010, 'What We Do in the Shadows' in 2014, 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' in 2016, 'Thor : Ragnarok' in 2017, 'Jojo Rabbit' in 2019, 'Thor : Love and Thunder' in 2022, and 'Next Goal Wins' in 2023. Here, set in a dystopian future where technological advances in genetic engineering have divided humans into strict, isolated social classes, an obsolete companion android named Klara (Jenna Ortega) tries to bond with Josie (Mia Tharia), a sick girl for whom she was purchased. Also starring Amy Adams, Aran Murphy, Natasha Lyonne, Steve Buscemi and Rachel House. The film is released Stateside this week too. 

'POSSIBLE LOVE' (Rated M) - is a South Korean and US Co-Produced drama film that is Co-Written and Directed by Lee Chang-dong, who made his feature film debut with 'Green Fish' in 1997 and went on to Direct 'Peppermint Candy' in 1999, 'Oasis' in 2002, 'Secret Sunshine' in 2007, 'Poetry' in 2010 and 'Burning' in 2018. This film tells the story of two married couples - a laid-off worker and his spouse, and a documentary filmmaker and her spouse, who cross paths to film a documentary, and facing their different lives and hidden desires. Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. The film Premiered in the main competition at this years Venice International Film Festival in early September where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize. It was released in South Korea on 23rd September, followed by the USA and here in Australia this week before its worldwide release by Netflix on 6th November, having generated universal critical acclaim.

'ALI G : WHO IZ I? (Rated MA15+) - this British comedy film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars Sacha Baron Cohen in his feature film making debut as Ali G. It is based on the character he originally played on the Channel 4 comedy series 'The 11 O'Clock Show' and 'Da Ali G Show', and this film is a sequel to 2002's 'Ali G Indahouse'. After spending twenty years "chillin', tokin' and bonin'", Ali G learns that his long-term girlfriend, Julie (Morgana Robinson), is eight months pregnant. Faced with the reality of supporting a child, Ali G decides to travel to America to reclaim his former cultural glory. Presented as a documentary-style project, the film follows Ali G over the course of a year as he interacts with real people, takes random classes, appears on TV shows, and encounters various adversaries who threaten him and his child. 

'YOU CAN'T LEAVE' (Rated M) - this American horror thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Windhauser whose previous Directorial credits are 2017's 'Dead Trigger', then 'Cops and Robbers' also in 2017, 'Death in Texas' in 2020, 'Deep Six' in 2024 with 'Disavowed' currently in pre-production. Here then, a search for a missing sister and friend Gabby (Cameron Inman) turns into a supernatural nightmare. In a dark forest, an abandoned cabin hides an ancient evil. As night falls, friends James (Spencer Boldman), Sophia (Taylor Murphy), Will (Thomas Bauer) and Olivia (Paola Andino) must survive pursuit, escape the shadows, confront both physical and psychological terror, and uncover the truth as they attempt to escape before it's too late. 

'HOLY CANNOLI' (Rated M) - is an Italian RomCom that is Co-Written, Directed and also stars Pierfrancesco 'Pif' Diliberto, and is based on Pif's own best selling novel of the same name. Pif made his feature film Directing debut with 'The Mafia Only Kills in Summer' in 2013, and would follow this up with 'At War with Love' in 2016, and 'On Our Watch' in 2021. Here then, Arturo (Pierfrancesco Diliberto) is a sweet-toothed, cynical real estate agent in Palermo with a deep passion for local desserts, especially cream-filled choux buns. He falls in love with Flora (Giusy Buscemi), a devoutly Catholic pastry chef who wants to open her own patisserie. To win her over, Arturo fakes being a pious Catholic and tries to live strictly by the Gospel, which leads to an absurd situation where he gains an imaginary or unexpected spiritual advisor - the Pope (Carlos Hipolito).

'WILDWOOD' (Rated M) - this American stop-motion animated dark fantasy film is Co-Produced and Directed by Travis Knight, whose previous Directorial offerings take in his 2016 debut with 'Kubo and the Two Strings' and which he would follow up with 'Bumblebee' in 2018 (as part of the 'Transformers' franchise) and then 'Masters of the Universe' in 2026. This film is based on Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis's 2011 novel of the same name, and is Produced by Laika Animation Studios of which Knight is the current President and CEO. Here, Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay) are drawn into a hidden magical forest near Portland in an attempt to save Prue's abducted infant brother Mac (Arthur Knight) from the crows, who are led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra (Carey Mulligan). Also starring Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jermaine Clement, Tom Waits, Richard E. Grant, Rob Delaney and Blythe Danner. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month, and is released Stateside and here in Australia this week. 

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-