CRIME 101 : Wednesday 18th February 2026.

I saw the M Rated 'CRIME 101' this week, and this UK and US Co-Produced crime thriller film is Written for the screen and Directed by Bart Layton whose previous film credits take in the 2012 documentary 'The Imposter' and 2018's 'American Animals'. This film is based on the 2020 novella of the same name written by Don Winslow. The film premiered in London at the back end of last month, was released here in Australia and the US last week, has so far grossed US$30M from a production budget of US$90M and has generated largely positive critical reviews.

Set in Los Angeles, Mike Davis (Chris Hensworth) is an elusive and meticulously disciplined jewel thief who carefully plans his robberies to avoid violence, and leaving any signs of his DNA evidence while escaping via US Route 101 (a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the USA). Intercepting a diamond delivery carrying decoy gems, he steals US$3M in genuine diamonds, but is shaken after being grazed by an unexpected bullet fired by one of the men he is stealing from. As a result of being somewhat rattled, he calls off a planned robbery on a high end jewellery store in Santa Barbara, but his fence, Money (Nick Nolte), enlists volatile young biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan) in his place.

Meanwhile, LAPD Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) links the diamond theft to Mike's string of unsolved robberies and suggests a lone suspect is responsible, but his theory is dismissed by his partner Tillman (Corey Hawkins) and his superiors. Preparing another heist, Mike pays Devon (Devon Bostick), a hacker, for information on Sharon Colvin (Halle Berry), a high-end insurance broker to the super wealthy. Long undervalued by her firm with whom she has worked for eleven years and has been promised a promotion to Partner, which never seems to eventuate, Sharon is further frustrated when a new colleague closes a lucrative deal with the wealthy Steven Monroe (Tate Donovan). After Ormon violently carries out the Santa Barbara job on his own, Mike cuts ties with Money, who instructs Ormon to intercept Mike's next heist.

The lonely Mike strikes up a relationship with an attractive stranger, Maya (Monica Barbaro), after she rear-ends his car, while he had stopped at a red light. He realises he is being tracked by Ormon, who threatens Devon into revealing that Sharon is connected to Mike's plan. Sharon rejects Mike's attempt to recruit her as an accomplice, and Mike spots Ormon, confronting him in a 24/7 convenience store after a high-speed chase; realising he had been sent by Money, Mike warns Ormon to stay away. Separating from his unfaithful wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Lou finds himself joining Sharon's yoga class in an attempt to get fit, and just to try something new, and rents a new apartment by the beach. He discovers the car Mike used in the diamond robbery, and a microscopic trace of blood inside which is a match to Mike's juvenile record with his birth name, James.

Denied a promotion once more, Sharon reluctantly agrees to help Mike. Demanding a US$3M share, she provides inside information on an illicit diamond purchase Monroe has arranged to make with US$11M in cash, for his upcoming wedding at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Lou is suspended for refusing to help cover up the Police shooting of another jewel thief, but continues with his investigation and tracks down Mike's foster mother. Ormon breaks into Sharon's apartment and viciously interrogates her, who turns to Lou for help and admits everything, and quits her job after openly criticising her boss in front of the new female broker. Wary of Mike's secretive nature, Maya ends their relationship after he reveals he will be leaving town for an undisclosed period of time on business, as a 'software developer'.

The briefcase of diamonds arrives with a courier and Mike takes the place of Monroe's private security guard, completely unaware that Lou is posing as the courier himself. Driving to the hotel, the pair strike up a conversation about cars. Mike admits that he prefers the older American cars of the '60's and '70's, cars with character stating that his favourite films is Steve McQueen's 'Bullitt' and his Ford Mustang. Lou confides that his favourite McQueen movie is 'The Thomas Crown Affair', to which Mike replies that he missed that one. Arriving at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel the two of them deliver the briefcase to Monroe and his fiancee in the wedding suite. Mike seizes the cash at gunpoint, but Lou retrieves a concealed gun in the briefcase and reveals himself as a Police Officer. Their standoff is interrupted by Ormon, disguised as a hotel Butler delivering room service. Demanding the case, he shoots and wounds Monroe, but Mike kills Ormon before he can shoot Lou. Lou allows Mike to escape albeit empty-handed, and tells him to get out of town and to not come back, and then forces Monroe and his fiancee to support his story as he frames Ormon for Mike's string of robberies. 

Later after the dust has seemingly settled, Lou meets up with Sharon at their yoga class. Having stolen the decoy gems taken into evidence from Mike's earlier heist, Lou swapped them with real diamonds from the briefcase, which he gives to Sharon to start a new life. Mike had sent a text message to Sharon with a photo and an address for 'The Cop'. Showing Lou the photo he comments that he doesn't know where that is. Lou arrives at the apartment block and takes the elevator down to the parking garage, and discovers that Mike has left him his vintage Chevy Camaro. Easily finding the keys behind the sun visor, he turns on the engine and gingerly drives it out of the garage and onto the street where he opens it up, with a big grin on his face. Mike sends Maya a childhood photo which she receives at her desk at her place of work, asking her for a second chance. Realising that Mike must be in the building she rushes for the door.

'Crime 101' doesn't reinvent the west coast USA crime thriller noir playbook, but it does pay homage to the some of the classics from yesteryear including 'Heat', 'Thief' and 'To Live and Die in LA'. The characterisation and their respective back stories are well realised; the performances by Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Keoghan, Berry and Barbaro are all on point; the action set pieces are well choreographed; the story is well conceived and entertaining enough, and the Direction and Cinematography are stylish and assured. At 140 minutes, however, I felt that this elongated runtime could have been shortened by fifteen minutes or so, particularly as the film seemed to drag it heels somewhat in the mid-section, but that's my only gripe. 'Crime 101' is certainly worth the price of your cinema entry, and if a modern take on classic crime noir is your thing, then you won't be disappointed.

'Crime 101' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SALTBURN : Tuesday 21st November 2023

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'SALTBURN' at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this psychological thriller drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Emerald Fennell in her second feature film outing following the highly acclaimed 'Promising Young Woman' in 2020 which reaped 116 award wins and another 193 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival in late August and was released in the US, the UK and here in Australia last week having so far generated mostly favourable reviews and grossed US$1.7M at the Box Office. 

The films open up in 2006 with a collar, tie and blazer wearing Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) walking across the quad at Oxford University and into his ground floor dormitory as a first year freshman. He is looked upon with some disdain by many of the other jeans and T-shirt wearing students, some of which mildly abuse his attire. On his first night over dinner in the packed refectory he struggles to find a place to sit, and ends up opposite another equally displaced student Michael Gavey (Ewan Mitchell) who introduces himself as another 'Nigel Nofriends'. Oliver observes Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a charming, handsome, popular and clearly very well off student, who is attending Oxford with his American cousin, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), and who happens to be attending the same college. 

One day just before the summer break of 2007 Oliver lends Felix his bicycle so Felix can attend a class to which he is already running ten minutes late, as Felix's own bicycle has a punctured wheel. Felix is extremely grateful. As a result of this gesture, the two become fast friends and is invited into Felix's and Farleigh's inner circle of friends, which sees Oliver turn his back on Michael. Oliver becomes increasingly obsessed with Felix. Oliver tells Felix he is an only child with an alcoholic mother and a drug dependent father, and grew up in Prescot, near Liverpool. One day he announces that his father has suddenly died. Oliver's story garners Felix's sympathy, and so he invites Oliver to spend the summer with him and Farleigh at Saltburn, his wealthy family's sprawling estate in the country. Oliver accepts, albeit reluctantly at first.

Oliver arrives at Saltburn where he is greeted by the Butler of the house, Duncan (Paul Rhys), and after a whistle stop tour of the household Felix introduces him to his father, Sir James (Richard E. Grant), his mother, Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), and his sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver). Also at Saltburn is 'Poor Dear' Pamela (Carey Mulligan), Elspeth's friend, whom the family believes has now outstayed her welcome and actively encourage her to leave when she reveals that she has rented a new flat. Despite the family's initial eccentricities and over indulgent living standards, Oliver clearly relishes his time at Saltburn. Oliver begins lying to curry favour with the family so they can grow even more fond of him, firstly implying to Elspeth that Pamela made up her bizarre, tragic stories for the attention it brought her. Later in the summer, the family learns that Pamela has died, though Elspeth in nonplussed by the news.

Late one evening Oliver secretly watches Felix masterbating while taking a bath in their shared bathroom to which their bedrooms both adjoin. After Felix has brushed his teeth and bid his friend goodnight, Oliver drinks the last of the draining water from the bathtub and licks the plughole clean. Another night, he sees Venetia outside his bedroom window wearing a see through night gown. He performs oral sex on Venetia despite it being her time of the month to which Oliver retorts that its just as well he's a vampire. Farleigh observes this from his bedroom window overlooking the gardens. Farleigh tells Felix who is upset with Oliver, since a former friend of Felix's had also slept with Venetia last summer. Oliver convinces him that Farleigh was lying and that he was only comforting the moody Venetia, who he claims is interested in him. Later, Oliver overhears an argument between Felix and Farleigh over the latter milking Sir James' for financial support for his university studies. On another occasion during a party with a karaoke machine, Farleigh retaliates by tricking Oliver into performing the Pet Shop Boys song 'Rent' (whose lyrics mirror Oliver's current situation at Saltburn) to everyone. Later that night, Oliver threatens Farleigh and initiates a sexual encounter. The next morning, Farleigh is asked to leave Saltburn when he is said to have attempted to sell rare ceramic antique plates from Sir James' collection to Sotheby's. 

With Oliver's birthday approaching Elspeth and Sir James plan a fancy dress party for two hundred or so guests to celebrate. On the morning of his birthday Felix surprises Oliver with a road trip. Upon nearing their destination Oliver panics when Felix tells him that they are going to see his mother in Prescot in an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. However, it is revealed that Oliver's family lives in the upper-middle-class suburbs, his father is alive and very well, both his parents are kind and not substance abusers, and he is not an only child and in fact has two sisters. Felix is mortified by Oliver's deception, telling him to leave after the party that evening, while Oliver states that he only lied so Felix would be his friend. That evening, the party commences at Saltburn with numerous guests in attendance, including Farleigh, who threatens Oliver. Inside Saltburn's maze, Oliver attempts to reconcile with Felix, but Felix outright rejects him. The next morning, Felix is found dead in the maze.

Oliver and the Catton family mourn Felix's death, but Elspeth and Sir James try to put a brave face on the matter. Sir James cuts Farleigh off from his financial support, saying that he will not inform the Police but that is the last thing he will do for him, and forces him to leave Saltburn for good when Oliver suggests that Farleigh doing lines of coke at the party last night contributed to Felix's death. After Felix's funeral, Oliver privately breaks down as he strips down and penetrates Felix's newly dug gravesite in the driving rain. When Elspeth demands Oliver stay at Saltburn, Venetia later confronts him when Oliver barges in on her while she is taking a bath. It dawns on her that he has successfully latched himself onto her family and that Felix's death was a result. Venetia is found dead the following morning having apparently slashed her wrists in the bathtub, leaving Elspeth and Sir James in further despair. Fearing that Elspeth is growing too attached to him and becoming suspicious of his insistence on staying, Sir James opens his cheque book and asks Oliver how much does he want to leave Saltburn. Oliver responds that he can't leave Elspeth while she needs him most, but Sir James is insistent, and Oliver leaves having agreed a price. 

A number of years later and Oliver reads about the recent death of Sir James in the newspaper. Sometime shortly afterwards and Oliver is sat in a cafe typing away at his laptop when Elspeth walks in to buy a takeaway coffee. They are both surprised to see each other and Elspeth comments to Oliver how grown up he is and how pleasing it is to see him again. Oliver gives his condolences to Elspeth over the passing of her husband to which she responds that he never really recovered following the death of Felix and Venetia. She urges him to return with her her to Saltburn. 

Soon afterwards and Elspeth becomes fatally ill. On her deathbed, looking very proud of himself, Oliver reveals that he was responsible for all the tragic events that have fallen upon Saltburn having orchestrated his initial meeting with Felix, Oliver then murdered him by poisoning the bottle of Champagne that he drank from that night in the maze. He also subtly manipulated Venetia into killing herself by placing razor blades on the side of her bath, and sent the email that resulted in Farleigh's fast exit from Saltburn. Finally, he planned his encounter with Elspeth in the cafe, with flashbacks revealing that she subsequently left all of her financial assets to Oliver, including ownership of Saltburn. Oliver then kills Elspeth by forcefully removing her life support tube. Having now taken over the Saltburn estate and the Catton fortune and seemingly dismissed the Butler, maids and footmen, Oliver dances naked around the house to 'Murder on the Dancefloor' by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. 

'Saltburn' is a slow-burn thriller about those born with not one but two silver spoons firmly planted in their mouths, and those hangers-on who aspire to such dizzy heights and those even fewer who make it - by fair means or in this case by foul. Writer and Director Emerald Fennell has here delivered us a film of modern day British aristocracy that is conflicted by the out-of-touch staid and overly quirky mannerisms of the parents versus the next generation keen to mark its place in the world, and on that note Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike, Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan are all expertly cast in their roles of old school versus new school. The very black and often bleak humour is rendered with a deft touch that if you blink you'll surly miss some of the zingers that come hurtling by. Barry Keoghan gives a fearless performance in every respect from the mild mannered unassuming student we first meet at Oxford University to the cold calculating murderer we see at the end who relishes in his ill gotten gains - one for the ages for sure. 

'Saltburn' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN : Tuesday 27th December 2022.

I saw the M Rated 'THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN' this week, and this is a black tragicomedy film Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh, whose prior film making credits take in his debut in 2008 with 'In Bruges' and then 'Seven Psychopaths' in 2012, and the critically acclaimed 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' in 2017. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Venice International Film Festival on 5th September, where it received a fifteen minute standing ovation from the audience. Colin Farrell won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and Martin McDonagh won the Golden Osella for Best Screenplay. It was theatrically released in Ireland, the UK, the US at the end of October and was released in Australia this week, having generated widespread critical acclaim and bringing in so far US$20M in Box Office receipts. The film was named one of the best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review, and it has received a leading eight nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Director.

Towards the end of the Irish Civil War in 1923, on the remote Irish island of Inisherin, Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell) is devastated when his long term friend and drinking buddy Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. Padraic is generally liked well enough by the local islanders, but Colm announces that he finds him dull, and that he now wishes to spend whatever years he has left composing music, writing poetry and doing things for which he will be remembered when his time comes to move on from this mortal coil. 

Padraic is mortified by the sudden loss of one of his closest friends and becomes more and more distressed by the whole situation which he finds tough to reconcile in his own mind. Colm meanwhile becomes more determined to distance himself from his old friend as Padraic attempts to reason with him. One day at J.J.Devine's pub, and at which the pair used to meet at everyday at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon, Colm delivers Padraic an ultimatum. Every time Padraic bothers him or tries to talk with him, Colm will cut off one of his own left fingers with a pair of sheep shears that he has back at his cottage.

Padraic's caring sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) and local lad Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan) make attempts to defuse the whole sorry situation, but their efforts prove to be in vain. One night after Padraic has had a few too many Irish Whiskey's, he confronts Colm in the pub saying that he is 'nice' and he can't still understand why Colm no longer wants to be his friend. Colm responds saying that in ten years, twenty years ands fifty years from now no one will remember you for being 'nice', but people will remember your music, your poetry, your books, just as they remember Mozart from the 18th Century. The next day Padraic attempts to apologise for what he said, but Colm cuts off one of his fingers and throws the bloody digit at Padraic and Siobhan's front door. Later Padraic sees Colm meeting with a fiddler from the mainland, and laughing and chatting in the pub. Padraic sees the fiddler and offers him a ride on his horse drawn carriage and tricks the fiddler into returning home to the mainland by lying about his father's life threatening injuries after being hit by a milk cart. As the tensions grow increasingly bleak, local elder Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton) warns Padraic that death will come to the island soon. Meanwhile, Siobhan diplomatically rebuffs Dominic's romantic advances towards her, which whilst he accepts leaves him devastated. 

Dominic suggests to Padraic that he should stand up for himself and be more forthright. Padraic tells Dominic what he told the fiddler in order to get him off the island, and Dominic responds by walking away in disgust saying that he thought he was one of the nicest people on the island and the truth is that he's one of the meanest. And so the 'new' Padraic visits Colm to reprimand him for behaving so badly. Colm reveals that he has finished composing his song, which he calls 'The Banshees of Inisherin'. Having seemingly made their peace, and as the church bells ring at 2:00 o'clock Padraic suggests that he should go ahead to the pub and order them a couple of pints. Colm says that would be fine. Upon leaving Padraic turns and says that he might run into the fiddler he had run off the island and that perhaps all three of them could have drinks. Colm cuts off his remaining left fingers and thumb with the shears and throws them one by one at the door of Padraic and Siobhan's cottage. 

Come 4:00 o'clock and there is till no sign of Colm at the pub. Siobhan walks in and asks what he is doing there. She tells Padraic to come home immediately as there is something she needs to discuss with him. He gets up, albeit reluctantly and she tells him that she's leaving, that she's sick of life on the island and that she has landed a job as a librarian on the mainland. Devastated by this turn of events, Padraic waves farewell to his sister from atop the cliffs overlooking the harbour where Siobhan catches the ferry boat to take her away to her new life. Padraic comes home to find his pet donkey Jenny had choked on one of Colm's fingers and consequently died, leaving him doubly distraught. He bury's Jenny in the yard of their cottage. 

Heartbroken, Padraic blames Colm for Jenny's death. He confronts Colm to tell him he will burn his house down the next day at 2:00pm either with him inside or not. Following the Sunday church service and 2:00pm comes round, Padraic sets the house on fire as promised, taking Colm's dog to safety. As Padraic leaves he takes one final look inside through a window and sees Colm sitting inside the now burning building smoking a cigarette. The local Policeman, Dominic's abusive father Peadar (Gary Lydon), goes to Padraic's house to deliver him a beating after saying in the pub that he beats up and fiddles with Dominic. However, Peadar is diverted away by Mrs. McCormick, who silently leads him to a nearby lake where Dominic's corpse is floating face up.

The next morning, Mrs. McCormick finds a chair next to one of the windows in Colm's burnt-out and still smouldering house. She sits there as Padraic, with the dog, finds Colm standing on the beach. Colm apologises for Jenny's death and suggests that by destroying the house this has ended their feud and that they are now even, but Padraic advises his former friend that it only would have ended if he'd have stayed inside the house. As Padraic turns to leave, Colm thanks him for looking after his dog, to which Padraic replies, 'any time' and continues walking.

Given the rave reviews for 'The Banshees of Inisherin' I left the movie theatre feeling a little nonplussed. Make no mistake, the acting here by Farrell, Gleeson and Keoghan is top rate and you would be hard pressed to find more nuanced performances on the big screen this year; the dead-pan black and bleak humour when it lands created some real laugh out loud moments amongst the packed cinema audience I saw this with; the cinematography of this little corner of Ireland is beautiful; and Writer/Director Martin McDonagh has crafted a telling story of two lifelong buddies gone horribly wrong and from which the gravity of their situation escalates to a point of no return and from which they will suffer the consequences for as long as they both shall live. This film won't be for everyone, it's hardly uplifting and for some it will leave you feeling melancholy and depressed, while for others it may deliver a heartfelt message about human frailty and the importance of acceptance. 

'The Banshees of Inisherin' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ETERNALS : Wednesday 3rd November 2021.

I saw 'ETERNALS' earlier this week at an advanced screening at my local multiplex, and this M Rated much hyped, eagerly anticipated and long awaited epic superhero film is based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. This is the 26th film in the MCU and the third film in the MCU's Phase Four. Directed and Co-Written by Chloe Zhao whose prior film credits are 2015's 'Songs My Brother Taught Me' her debut, then 'The Rider' in 2017 and the critically acclaimed 'Nomadland' in 2020. Originally set for release on 6th November 2020, it was then moved back to 12th February 2021 and then to this week in the US, UK, Australia and other international territories due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following its World Premier in LA on 18th October. The film cost US$200M to produce and has so far generated mixed or average Reviews, and at the time of writing the film has grossed US$30M. 

The core Eternals team who landed on our little blue planet about seven thousand years ago, consists of ten characters, each with their own set of very particular skills and super powers. There is Sersi (Gemma Chan), who can transform objects into different elements, such as rock into sand, metal into water, wood into stone and so on; Ikaris (Richard Madden), has the ability to fly and fire cosmic laser beams from his eyes; Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), who can project energy blasts from his hands; Sprite (Lia McHugh), a twelve year old girl who can summon illusions at will ; Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), an inventor extraordinaire; Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), who is deaf but has superhuman speed; Druig (Barry Keoghan), with the ability to control many multiple minds at once; Gilgamesh (Don Lee) with super strength, and Thena (Angelina Jolie), the Goddess of war who can summon weapons of cosmic light; and leading the pack is Ajak (Salma Hayek), the 'Prime Eternal' who has the ability to heal herself and others and is able to communicate with the Celestial Arishem the Judge (voiced by David Kaye) as a surrogate mother and protector of the Eternals. 

And so the Eternals are an immortal alien race created millennia ago by the Celestials (their mythology is that they are members of the first lifeforms created in and by the original universe, and have contributed to the creation of the Multiverse, including the evolution of life therein) and who were sent to Earth to protect humanity from the Deviants (an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth instigated by the alien Celestials). In 5000 BC, the Eternals arrived on Earth from their home planet Olympia sent by the Celestial Arishem, where they have to fight the invasive Deviants and ultimately destroy them all. Over the ensuing millennia, they have protected humanity from the dangers posed by these mutant creatures, but were not permitted to stand in the way of the development of mankind. The last of the Deviants were seemingly killed off some five hundred years ago, at which point the group became divided, as views differed about their responsibility towards the world's growing population. They subsequently spent the next few centuries largely separated from each other, waiting for Arishem to send them back to Olympia.

Fast forward to present day London and Sersi and Sprite are living together. After Sersi was left by her partner Ikaris more than five hundred years previously, she now has a relationship with Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) who works at London's Natural History Museum. When the three are attacked one evening by the Deviant leader Kro, Ikaris appears and chases the creature away after observing that this Deviant was able to self heal. Sersi, Sprite and Ikaris decide to reunite all Eternals to prepare for the renewed danger. They round up the rest of the group, all except for Ajak who was seemingly killed by a Deviant. 

As the new leader of the group, Ajak gave Sersi the ability to communicate with Arishem. In a conversation with the Celestial, Arishem tells her that the overriding mission of the Eternals was not to fight the Deviants, but to prepare Earth for 'The Emergence'. Arishem further explains that for millions of years, the Celestials have been planting their seeds in populated planets so that a new Celestial can be born from them. Since the energy of innumerable individuals is required for this, the Celestials sent the Deviants, so that the respective apex predators of the planet could be eradicated therefore paving the way for the ongoing development of life. However, the Deviants evolved and became apex predators themselves, explaining why the Eternals were sent to thwart them. Arishem concludes that Earth has now reached the necessary population density so that The Emergence - the birth of the Celestial Tiamut and the consequent destruction of Earth - can occur. This fact was known by Ajak since the Eternals arrived, but she was sworn to secrecy, telling Ikaris a few centuries ago but only revealing in flashback seven days before The Emergence was due to begin. Arisham also reveals that there was no home planet, Olympia, from which the Eternals originally hailed, and that they are destined to die with The Emergence. 

The Eternals came to love and respect humanity, despite all their flaws, over the centuries gone by, and so they decide not to obey the will of Arishem and instead want to prevent The Emergence. Through the 'Uni-Mind' created by Phastos - a connection between all Eternals that brings their collective powers together in a single force, Druig is then meant to harness the necessary power to bring Tiamut to sleep by means of his mind control abilities. However, not all Eternals are satisfied with the plan and Kingo leaves the group because he does not want to face Arishem and Ikaris reveals himself as an opponent. It was he who had been informed of The Emergence by Ajak and who finally sacrificed the leader to the Deviants when she too spoke out in opposition to the destruction of the Earth.

Makkari sprints around the world at warp speed to locate the place of The Emergence at the foot of an active volcano. There, a fight between Ikaris and the Eternals breaks out. The Deviant Kro, who wants to take out his revenge on the Eternals and who had previously killed Gilgamesh, is also there. Together, the group are able to bring Ikaris under control, while Thena defeats Kro at the same time by slicing and dicing him up with the aid of a pair of swords of cosmic light. 

Phastos activates the Uni-Mind, which Ikaris also joins after he has rethought his life on Earth and his relationship with Sersi. Since Druig is too weak from the previous fight to face Tiamut, Sersi, who is able to manipulate and transform substances, takes on the job and kills Tiamut by transforming the molten lava flow into ice and then hardened rock, so solidifying the emerging Tiamut. Wracked by guilt, Ikaris flies off taking one last look at planet Earth before flying directly into the sun. Sersi grants Sprite human life so that she can grow into an adult and experience all the things that adults do, albeit knowing that she will some day die too; Phastos remains with his partner and husband Ben (Haaz Sleiman) and their adoptive son Jack (Esai Daniel Cross), Kingo returns to his life as a famous Bollywood Actor; and Sersi returns to London to be with Dane Whitman. Thena, Druig and Makkari fly into space aboard their spaceship to find other Eternals. 

One day when Sersi and Dane are out walking and talking about her recent exploits in saving the world on Hampstead Heath with the City of London in the background, Arisham arrives on the horizon and summons Sersi and the other still earthbound Eternals telling them that with their killing of Tiamut he is still yet to judge whether Earth's civilisation will live or die. Keep watching for a mid-credits and a post-credits sequence in which Thena, Druig and Makkari get an unexpected couple of visitors on board their spaceship, and Dane Whitman opens up an old chest inherited from his forebearers.  

In crafting 'Eternals' Director and Co-Screenwriter Chloe Zhao has thrown out the MCU how-to rule book and created a film that takes the near fifteen year old epic franchise in a new and fresh direction. This film has emotion, sex, homosexuality and a rag tag bunch of various nationalities, cultures and beliefs all wrapped up into one neat little package that is not short on the action set pieces, or the humour delivered for the most part by Kingo and Gilgamesh. That said, its hard to get truly invested in ten characters when there is so little time given to their respective back stories which span millennia; the film labours at the mid-section and at a running time of 157 minutes it is, for me at least, twenty minutes overcooked. There will be those that love this film, and those that hate it, and as for this Reviewer, well I sit somewhere in the middle. But credit has to go to Chloe Zhao for steeping foot outside of the tried and tested MCU formula and delivering us something different, which despite its flaws, paves the way for a perhaps invigorated Phase Four - only time will tell where these characters take us. 

'Eternals' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, from Odeon Online-

AMERICAN ANIMALS : Tuesday 9th October 2018.

I saw 'AMERICAN ANIMALS' earlier this week. This true crime art heist drama is Written and Directed by British documentarian and now two time feature film maker Bart Layton in only his second feature making outing after 2012's 'The Imposter'. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, was released in the US back in early June, and in the UK in early September. It has so far taken just over US$3M and has received generally positive Press.




This real life telling jumps often during the film between talking heads interviews with the real four friends portrayed in the film and the perpetrators of said crime, and the events as they unfolded as portrayed by the Actors. The film opens up with a young man applying make up to his face and his eyes to make him look years older, and when done he dresses accordingly, sits on the edge of his bed, and waits. We then cut back eighteen months.

And so eighteen months earlier takes us back to mid-way through 2003, in Lexington, Kentucky. Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) is an art student who feels that his life has no meaning and he yearns for some excitement, something dramatic in his life to spur him on to greatness, just as many other tragic painters throughout history have had to live through their own personal challenges that have ultimately defined their work. Reinhard's good friend and fellow student is Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) who has a restless rebellious streak, and is at college on an athletics scholarship although is treading on thin ice because he rarely attends athletics training or practice, doesn't really care for the sport and is only there to please his family.

One day Reinhard is given a tour of the library at Transylvania University and in particular the special collections room that houses several rare and very valuable books of significant historical value. After the viewing, Reinhard hatches a notion to steal the books and sell them on to a private collector, estimated to be worth US$12M at least. The main book of note is by naturalist and painter John James Audubon and is titled 'The Birds of America' published in a number of sections between 1827 and 1838 and consisting of 435 hand coloured life sized prints.

After agreeing to rob the University of its prized collection of art history books, Lipka travels to Amsterdam to meet with two black market buyers he had been put in contact with via some mystery connection in New York. Lipka returns with the great news that they have a buyer for the books they have yet to steal, and the value runs into millions of dollars. Needless to say they are both very excited and wildly encouraged.

The pair soon come to the realisation that it is going to take more that just the two of them to pull of this heist. And so they approach Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) who is another student wanting to join the FBI, and so knows a thing or two about criminology. Once on board with their plan, he guides them through the logistics and practicalities of the heist, including the fact that it should be undertaken during broad daylight when security is more relaxed rather than at night time as was the original plan, when it will be heightened.

Next up they recruit Chas Allen (Blake Jenner) to be the getaway driver. He comes from a monied family, is physically fit and is entrepreneurial. Over the months that follow they stakeout the library to check on the comings and goings of the staff, they check entry and exit points, map out the lay of the land inside the library, plot their arrival and departure, and time the whole operation with almost military like precision. They also learn that the only person tasked with guarding the books is the Special Collections Librarian, Betty Jean Gooch (Ann Dowd).

By now we have arrived at December 2004. On the day of the robbery, in December, just a week or so before Christmas, each of the four disguise themselves as four elderly businessmen. It is a bright sunny day, and the four men enter the library, and split up. All are as nervous as each other about the task that lays ahead. After observing that Gooch has three other staff members in the Special Collections Library, the decision is made to abort the mission on the grounds that it is all too risky. Visibly shaken by the aborted mission, Reinhard wants to pull out saying that he is not cut out for such things, and that he needs to consider his family more. Lipka is mortified by this news having come so far, and having already put into motion what was Reinhard's plan in the first place.

Lipka after these first turn of events, has called the Library and asked for a private viewing the next day which is granted. Reinhard has a bit of an epiphany and comes back into the fold but only if he can act as look out from a distance. This time the robbery is back on again, with a change in roles, and they have decided to drop the aged disguises, and instead go in as well to do clean shaven successful young business men. Lipka and Borsuk enter the Library. Lipka tasers Betty Jean Gooch but she struggles and resists resulting in them both having to reluctantly bind and gag her. After fumbling around searching for keys, they gain access to the glass cabinet housing 'The Birds of America' and smash though various others to gain access to other noted historical works including 'On the Origin of Species'. 

By now this heist has descended into a farce as they mess up their exit from the building and blunder back through the library under the full gaze of dutiful studying students. In their blind panic, they drop the two huge and heavy volumes of Audubon's works and have to leave it behind. They do however, manage to escape with two other smaller books that are nevertheless rare and therefore in all likelihood valuable to the right buyer.

Dressed up as smart young business types again, Reinhard and Lipka take the books to Christie's Auction House in New York to have the two books authenticated and valued. This was a prerequisite of the Dutch buyers who have committed to taking the stolen merchandise off their hands, according to Lipka upon his return from that initial visit now some months ago. Having been told that they'll have to return tomorrow for a valuation and authentication they meet up with Borsuk and Allen waiting in the van parked on the street outside. Allen looses his cool and chastises everyone for their blatant stupidity. and they return to Lexington with the books. Shortly after, Reinhard comes to realise that the Police will be able to track them down from the e-mail trail used in setting up the heist and through his mobile phone number.

The gang of four begin to show signs of stress as they attempt to lie low, and the guilt sets in about the magnitude of their crime, and the harm they caused to Betty Jean Gooch. Lipka attempts to shoplift from a convenience store; Reinhard is involved in a rear end collision with another vehicle; and Borsuk starts a bar brawl. Almost inevitably, their homes are raided by the FBI and they are arrested. They each are sentenced and each serves over seven years for their crimes in federal prison.

Post serving jail time, the real-life rare book thieves talk of their regret for attempting the heist, stating how much pain they have put their families through. A pre-credits epilogue tells us of their lives after prison. Borsuk now lives in Los Angeles and works as a Writer; Allen has become a fitness coach in Southern California; Lipka is studying filmmaking at College in Philadelphia and Reinhard has remained in Lexington and is making a living as a jobbing artist, specialising in . . . . birds. Betty Jean Gooch, the Librarian, has remained at Transylvania University where she still works as the Special Collections Librarian. 

This is not your usual heist film where things invariably go well and the perpetrators get away in a hail of bullets, with screeching tyres and inept cops giving chase only to meet up at some secret location to celebrate their success and share their ill gotten gains. No, 'American Animals' is a wildly different kind of heist movie where the best laid plans go horribly wrong with emotional, tragic and traumatic consequences for both those directly and indirectly involved. This film is a perfect mix of narrative real life drama and insightful documentary that is never melodramatic but tells it like it is, despite some of the contradictions coming from the talking heads interviews concerning who said what, who did this, and who did that etc. Backed up by a thumping soundtrack, 'American Animals' is certainly worth the price of entry, but you'll have to determine for yourself if this glamourises true crime, or if its a story that had to be told and the criminals have paid their price, did repent of their sins, and are now fully integrated back into society, never to darken the doors of criminal activity again.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-