What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th December 2019

The AACTA Awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) - formerly the AFI Awards (Australian Film Industry) have honoured screen excellence in Australia for over 60 years, since the first AFI Awards were held in 1958. Held annually in Sydney in recognition and celebration of Australia's highest achievements in film and television, the AACTA Awards present over 55 awards across two major ceremonies. AACTA also recognises screen excellence, regardless of geography, through the AACTA International Awards, held annually in January in Los Angeles. The peer-assessed AACTA Awards are a world-class marker of screen excellence alongside the Academy Awards and the BAFTAs, and are the only Australian industry body to honour practitioners across all crafts and industry sectors, including feature film, documentary, short film, television, online, visual effects and animation, according to the official website.

The 2019 awards ceremony was held at Sydney's Star Casino on Wednesday evening 4th December and hosted by Australian film, television and comedy personality Shane Jacobsen. Shown below, is the full run down of the winners and grinners for this years AACTA Awards from the world of film :-

* AACTA Award for Best Film.

Presented to 'THE NIGHTINGALE', beating out 'The King', 'Ride Like A Girl', 'Top End Wedding', 'Judy & Punch' and 'Hotel Mumbai'.

* AACTA Award for Best Direction.

Presented to Jennifer Kent for 'THE NIGHTINGALE', beating out David Michod for 'The King', Anthony Maras for 'Hotel Mumbai' and Mirrah Foulkes for 'Judy & Punch'.

* AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor. 

Presented to Damon Herriman for 'JUDY & PUNCH', beating out Baykall Ganambarr for 'The Nightingale', Timothee Chalamet for 'The King', Dev Patel for 'Hotel Mumbai' and Hugo Weaving for 'Hearts and Bones'.  

* AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress.

Presented to Aisling Franciosi for 'THE NIGHTINGALE', beating out Teresa Palmer for 'Ride Like A Girl', Mia Wasikowska for 'Judy & Punch', Miranda Tapsell for 'Top End Wedding' and Nazanin Boniadi for 'Hotel Mumbai'. 

* AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Presented to Joel Edgerton for 'THE KING', beating out Ben Mendelsohn for 'The King', Damon Herriman for 'The Nightingale', Michael Sheasby for 'The Nightingale' and Andrew Luri for 'Hearts and Bones'. 

* AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Presented to Magnolia Maymuru for 'THE NIGHTINGALE', beating out Hilary Swank for 'I Am Mother', Tilda Cobham-Hervey for 'Hotel Mumbai', Bolude Watson for 'Hearts and Bones' and Ursula Yovich for 'Top End Wedding'.

* AACTA Award for Best Documentary.

Presented to 'THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM', beating out 'The Final Quarter', 'Mystify : Michael Hutchence', 'In My Blood It Runs' and 'The Eulogy'. 

* AACTA Award for Best Screenplay.

Presented to Jennifer Kent for 'THE NIGHINGALE', beating out David Michod and Joel Edgerton for 'The King', Mirrah Foulkes for 'Judy & Punch' and Anthony Maras and John Collee for 'Hotel Mumbai'.

* AACTA Award for Best Cinematography.

Presented to Adam Arkapaw for 'THE KING', beating out Radek Ladczuk for 'The Nightingale', Nick Remo Matthews for 'Hotel Mumbai' and Ben Nott for 'Danger Close : The Battle of Long Tan'.

* AACTA Award for Best Production Design.

Presented to Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton for 'THE KING', beating out Alex Holmes for 'The Nightingale', Josephine Ford for 'Judy & Punch' and Steven Jones-Evans for 'Hotel Mumbai'.

* The AACTA Award for Best Editing was presented to Anthony Maras and Peter McNulty for 'HOTEL MUMBAI'; for Best Sound to Liam Egan, Craig Walmsley, Alicia Slusarski, Robert Sullivan, Tony Murtagh and Les Fiddess for 'DANGER CLOSE : THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN'; for Best Original Score to Francois Tetaz for 'JUDY & PUNCH'; for Best Costume Design to Jane Petrie for 'THE KING'; for Best Casting to Nikki Barrett for 'THE NIGHTINGALE'; for Best Visual Effects or Animation to 'SPIDER-MAN : FAR FROM HOME' and for Best Asian Film to 'PARASITE'. 

* The Longford Lyell Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sam Neill.

For the complete list of all winners and nominees for all film and television categories, you can go to the official website at : https://www.aacta.org

This week we have six new filmic offerings with which to tease you out to your local Odeon, and we launch the week with a family comedy that sees a group of muscle bound hardened firemen having to babysit three young siblings - probably their toughest job yet . . . let the hilarity begin! We then have a change of pace completely with this present day remake of a remake of the same name of a festive season slasher horror picture, set on a snowbound college campus with a group of student girls are stalked by a masked killer on the rampage and hungry for blood. Next up is a French foreign language film based on a true story of a 19th century postman who takes 30+ years to build a palatial home for the love of his life; and this is followed by a Chinese foreign language crime film about a man on the run, a mystery woman he encounters, his family back home and the decisions confronting him. And we wrap up the week with two animated films - the first about a favoured royal household dog who goes missing and is then reunited with his special owner, but not before an adventure of self discovery; leading into the story of a popular pre-teens building toy and its characters, three of whom buddy up to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of citizens from across different lands.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'PLAYING WITH FIRE' (Rated PG) - here this American family comedy offering is Directed by the filmmaker, film Producer, Screenwriter, TV Director, TV Producer, and theatre Director Andy Fickman, who's previous Directorial outings include the comedies 'She's the Man', 'The Game Plan' with Dwayne Johnson, 'Race to Witch Mountain' again with Dwayne Johnson, 'You Again' with Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver, 'Parental Guidance' with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, 'Paul Blart : Mall Cop 2' with Kevin James and 'The Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse' with Tye Sheridan most recently. The film was released in the US in early November, has so far recovered US$50M from its US$30M budget outlay, and despite its impressive cast list, has garnered generally unfavourable Reviews.

When straight-laced, stoic up and down fire superintendent Jake Carson (John Cena) and his elite team of firefighters consisting Mark Rogers (Keegan-Michael Key) and Rodrigo Torres (John Leguizamo) come to the rescue of three siblings, they quickly realise that no amount of training could prepare them for their most challenging job yet - that of babysitting. As their lives, jobs and station get turned upside down and inside out, the three men soon learn that children, much like fires, are wild, unpredictable and at times can be uncontrolled. Also starring Dennis Haysbert, Brianna Hildebrand and Judy Greer.

'BLACK CHRISTMAS' (Rated M) - for all things festive, we need a good horror slasher offering to help nudge us into the season of good will! And so it is with this film which is a remake of the 1974 Canadian slasher film 'Black Christmas' which starred Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder and John Saxon and the 2006 movie of the same name which starred Mary Elizabeth Winstead amongst others. This film is Directed and Co-Written by Sophia Takal and is Co-Produced by the lean mean horror machine Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions. Here, Hawthorne College is settling down for a peaceful and joyous Christmas holidays. However, one by one, the remaining sorority girls on campus are being killed by a menacing lurking stalker. But the killer is about to discover that this generation's empowered women aren't willing to become hapless victims as they fight back for their survival. The film was shot in New Zealand, around Dunedin and Oamaru on the South Island, with the University of Otago providing the setting, stars Imogen Poots and Cary Elwes and is released in the US this week too.

'THE IDEAL PALACE' (Rated PG) - based on the remarkable true story of the French postman Joseph Ferdinand Cheval, here filmmaker Nils Tavernier delivers this stunning and engrossing account of love and dedication. Set in the south of France in 1879, Cheval (Jacques Gamblin) leads an unassuming life, seemingly revelling in the solitude of his twenty mile delivery routes and daydreaming about the world of wonders that he only sees through the postcards and magazines he delivers. He meets and falls in love with the breathtaking Philomene (Laetitia Casta), and the arrival of their baby daughter, Alice, causes him to look at things in a different way. He sets about building a castle for Alice – one fit for a princess – that consumes the next 33 years of his life. This castle eventually becomes recognised as an enduring and important French historical monument. Cheval lived from 1836 until 1924 and his Palace is regarded as an extraordinary example of naive art architecture.

'THE WILD GOOSE LAKE' (Rated MA15+) - is a Chinese crime drama film Written and Directed by Chinese Director, Writer and occasional Actor Diao Yinan in his fourth film making outing following 'Uniform' in 2003, 'Night Train' in 2007, and his winner of the Golden Bear at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival 'Black Coal, Thin Ice'. This film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where the film saw its World Premier Screening. Fleeing from the law as a result of a row with some local gangsters which results in the inadvertent death of a Police Officer, fresh out of prison mid-tier gangster Zenong Zhou (Ge Hu) crosses paths with an innocent enough looking woman named Aiai Liu (Lun-Mei Kwei). Unknown to Zhou, she holds a significant secret. Heading for the uncharted territory of Wild Goose Lake to escape the bounty on his head, Zhou must then confront the limits of what he is willing to sacrifice both for this stranger and for the family he left behind. The film has thus far received generally positive Reviews.

'THE QUEEN'S CORGI' (Rated PG) - this English language Belgian Produced animated feature film is Co-Directed by Ben Stassen and Vincent Kesteloot, and also Produced by the former. Here, Rex (voiced by Jack Whitehall), one of Queen Elizabeth's most beloved and favoured corgis, is lured from Buckingham Palace under false pretences by another of the Queen's corgis - the jealous Charlie (Matt Lucas). Finding himself lost, Rex winds up in an animal shelter, with only a group of scrappy dogs to rely on. Forced to find his way back to his favourite Monarch and his former palatial home, Rex begins an epic journey that will help him discover who he truly is, and his destiny in life. Also starring the voice talents of Julie Walters, Sheridan Smith, Ray Winstone and Tom Courtenay, the film costs US$20M to make, has so far grossed US$25M, was initially released in France and Belgium back in April this year, and has garnered mostly negative Press so far.

'PLAYMOBIL : THE MOVIE' (Rated G) - this English language French Produced animated action adventure comedy film is Directed by American animator, voice Actor and first time Director Lino DiSalvo and is based on the German building toy 'Playmobil' and a story written by DiSalvo. Here, an impressive voice cast must thwart a top secret organisation that has caused citizens from different lands to vanish into thin air. The dashing and charismatic secret agent Rex Dasher (Daniel Radcliffe) must partner with smooth-talking food truck driver Del (Jim Gaffigan) and Marla (Anya Taylor-Joy) a smart, savvy civilian with her own secret agenda, to rescue them. Against unthinkable odds, the trio go on a fantastic journey across stunning new worlds as they gather clues for their rescue mission. Also starring the voice talents of Gabriel Bateman, Adam Lambert and Meghan Trainor, the film costs US$40M to make, has so far recovered US$13M, was released in France in early August and has so far generated mostly unfavourable Reviews.

With six new release movies 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 in the week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th October 2017.

The 2017 Adelaide Film Festival drew to a close on Sunday evening 15th October after eleven days of showcasing the finest in local South Australian, national Australian and international films either recently released or in many cases receiving the Australian or worldwide Premier screening. This year there were ten feature films in Official Competition which included six Australian Premieres and features from around the festival circuit including Cannes and Toronto. They were Boris Khlebnikov’s 'Arrythmia', Mikhail Red’s 'Birdshot', Ofir Raul Graizer’s 'The Cakemaker', Luca Guadagnino’s 'Call Me By Your Name', John Cameron Mitchell’s 'How To Talk To Girls at Parties', Rungano Nyoni’s 'I Am Not A Witch', Mahommad Rasoulof’s 'A Man Of Integrity', Pedro Pinho’s 'The Nothing Factory', Joachim Trier’s 'Thelma', and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner 'The Square'.

The closing night film this year was the Sophie Fiennes Directed documentary 'Grace Jones : Bloodlight and Bami'. IMDB summarises the noted film which also opened the Documentary section at TIFF earlier this year, as 'larger than life, wild, scary and androgynous - Grace Jones plays all these parts. Yet here we also discover her as a lover, daughter, mother, sister and even grandmother, as she submits herself to our gaze and allows us to understand what constitutes her mask.' It goes on to say 'in Jamaican patois, 'Bloodlight' is the red light that illuminates when an artist is recording and 'Bami' means bread, the substance of daily life. 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami' weaves together the layers of Grace Jones' public and private life, as she moves effortlessly between different facets: she is gypsy, artist and partying hedonist, warm and funny but also a fierce and tenacious businesswoman.'

In terms of official competition winners and grinners, these are :
2017 Adelaide Film Festival International Best Feature Fiction Award, presented to :
* 'I Am Not A Witch' closed TIFF this year, was shown in the Directors Fortnight at Cannes this year, and is the highly acclaimed Directorial debut of Zambian born Welsh raised Director and Screenwriter Rungano Nyoni. Telling the story of a nine year old orphan girl Shula (newcomer Maggie Mulubwa) who, following a banal incident in the village where she lives, is accused of witchcraft. After a hasty trial at which she is found guilty, she is banished and exiled to a camp in the middle of the nowhere desert, with mostly elderly women 'witches'. At the camp her initiation ceremony is where she is shown the rules surrounding her new life as a witch. Like the other resident witches, Shula is tied by a ribbon which is attached to a coil that is tethered to a large tree. She is told that should she ever cut the ribbon, she'll be cursed and transformed into a goat. Combining magic realism, social commentary and a deadpan sense of humour it is the talented cast of no-name Actors that persuaded the Jury, that this was the standout winner.

2017 Adelaide Film Festival Flinders University International Best Documentary Award, presented to :
* 'Taste of Cement' is Directed by Ziad Kailhoum in only his second documentary feature film outing, and was Written by him too. This film poignantly paints a picture of construction workers in exile. Described as an empathetic encounter with people who have lost their past and their future, locked in the recurring present. Here the Director has crafted a documentary of Syrian construction workers building new skyscrapers overlooking the city of Beirut out of the ruins created by the Lebanese civil war. At the same time their own homes are being bombed back in Syria. A curfew prohibits them from leaving the construction site after the days work is finished and so every night in their meagre and makeshift dwelling below the skyscraper the news from their homeland, the memories of the war and what they left behind plague them. Mute and imprisoned in the cement underground, they must endure until the new day arrives where the hammering and welding drowns out their nightmares, unable to construct any sort of life for themselves . . . only others, and in a country where they are alienated, unwanted and disenfranchised from society.

2017 AFTRS (Australian Film, Television and Radio School) International VR Award, presented to :
* 'Nothing Happens' Directed and Written by Michelle and Uri Kranot, this twelve minute animated short Virtual Reality film presents a new way of looking. It's a film about spectatorship, about watching and being watched. Its about being present.

Turning attention back to this week then, there are six new films to tease that movie going dollar from out of your wallet. We launch with a Norwegian set serial killer thriller chiller based on one of a hugely popular collection of novels; then we go to the mother of all cataclysmic climatic conditions that promises to wreak storm and tempest down on an unsuspecting world that only one humble man can prevent; before moving onto a Victorian England horror offering of murder most foul at the hands of a legendary creature. We then go to a RomCom  featuring a recently separated Mum of forty getting all jiggy with a twenty something year old lodger lad with far reaching consequences; and up next is a doco of the 1,200 mile pilgrimage of eleven Tibetans that takes seven months to traverse on foot, while lying down prone on the ground every seven or eight paces or so out of their faith and devotion to their God. We then wrap up with an animated feature of a young lads journey to connect with his long last Dad, and discovering more than he bargained for when he eventually does.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here cordially invited 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 experience during the coming week.

'THE SNOWMAN' (Rated MA15+) - here we have the first in what may turn out to be new film franchise for this Norwegian crime fighting detective Harry Hole, based on the Oslo Crime Squad character created by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo in the popular series of novels that have been translated into forty languages and having sold over thirty million copies worldwide. Harry Hole appears in eleven novels so far, first launched in 1997 with 'The Bat', taking us up to 2017 with the release of 'The Thirst'. 'The Snowman' upon which this film is based is the seventh book in the series and was published in 2007. This film is Directed by Tomas Alfredson, whose previous Directing credits include the acclaimed 'Let The Right One In' and 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'.

Research reveals that Harry Hole (here portrayed by Micahel Fassbender) is a brilliant and driven detective prone to using unorthodox methods in his work, a classic loose cannon in the police force. Hole is unmarried and he has few close friends. He frequently makes enemies among his colleagues who, nevertheless, grudgingly respect him. He is a chain smoker and heavy drinker, although for the most part has his reliance on alcohol under control. The effects of his problems however, sometimes bring him into repeated conflict with his superiors, and some colleagues. Hole is also one of just a handful in the force to have undertaken special interrogation techniques and firearms training with the FBI. In this story Hole investigates the disappearance of a female victim during the first snowfall of Winter. He soon deduces that a serial killer, known as 'The Snowman' may be responsible and active only during the season. He teams up with talented recruit Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson) and together the pair must trawl through decades old cold cases to connect the dots to the latest killing spree if he is to thwart this elusive killer before another grisly murder is carried out. The film also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, Chloe Sevigny and James D'Arcy, has so far taken US$9M and has garnered less than favourable Reviews.

'GEOSTORM' (Rated M) - here Dean Devlin Co-Writes, Co-Produces and for the first time Directs this Sci-Fi disaster action film that was made for a budget of US$81M with principal photography beginning three years ago in October 2014. Come late 2015 and test screenings met with a generally poor response resulting in extensive reshoots occurring in late 2016 and into early 2017 with the added bonus of new Producer Jerry Bruckheimer coming on board to deliver the film that is released this week. Set in the near future when a bunch of satellites circle our planet controlling the weather conditions, it only takes an unforeseen malfunction to see the worlds climatic circumstances change with cataclysmic consequences. It takes Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) to don his space suit and launch himself headlong into the outer reaches to fix the problem with the satellites that he designed in the first place, before a storm event takes place like no other the world has ever seen. The film also stars Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia and Abbie Cornish.

'THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM' (Rated MA15+) - this British horror mystery film is Directed by Juan Carlos Medina, based on the 1994 novel 'Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem' written by Peter Ackroyd. The film had its world premier at TIFF way back in September 2016, and was only released in the UK on 1st September this year and now gets its limited Australian release this week. The story unfolds when a series of murders occurs in the Limehouse district of east London in Victorian England. These deaths shake the local community who believe that a mythical creature from the dark days - the legendary Golem - must be responsible. Leaving cryptic messages written in the blood of its victims, Scotland Yard assignes the case to Inspector Kildare (Bill Nighy), a seasoned detective, who is determined to crack the case. With a list of suspects narrowed down from a diary of the Golem's crimes supposedly hand written by the Golem itself, Kildare must rely of his sense of detection, the help of witnesses, and his instincts to bring the supposed Golem to justice and put an end to the murders. Also starring Eddie Marsan, Olivia Cooke, and Douglas Booth. The film has so far taken less than US$2M despite generally favourable Reviews.

'HOME AGAIN' (Rated M) - this RomCom is Directed by first timer Hallie Meyers-Shyer and Written by her too and stars Reece Witherspoon as Alice Kinney a recently separated mother of two young children who has relocated back to Los Angeles and moved in with her mother Lilian Stewart (Candice Bergen) and has designs on establishing her own interior design business. About to celebrate turning the BIG 4-Oh! Alice meets Harry, George and Teddy (Pico Alexander, Jon Rudnitski and Nat Wolff respectively) three aspiring film makers who all need some place to live. Alice decides to let the three men reside in the guesthouse temporarily, but complications soon begin to manifest themselves when Alice and Harry begin an affair and her new found freedom and happiness is on the verge of collapse when her ex-husband Austen (Michael Sheen) arrives on her doorstep carrying a suitcase. The film cost US$12M to make and has so far grossed US$30M and has garnered average Reviews since its Stateside release in early September.

'PATHS OF THE SOUL' (Rated PG) - this Chinese film was Written, Produced and Directed by Zhang Yang are premiered at TIFF back in 2015, before being presented an numerous film festivals on the circuit over the following two years or so. The film was released in China in June this year, and has been highly acclaimed by Critics and audiences alike. The film chronicles the journey of eleven ordinary Tibetans as they take the cross country pilgrimage of twelve hundred miles from their home village to Lhasa, prostrating themselves on the ground every seven or eight paces or so along a journey that lasts seven months. An extraordinary story of human devotion, faith and redemption featuring stunning vistas of Tibet through the seasons.

'THE SON OF BIGFOOT' (Rated PG) - is a Belgian and French co-produced CGI animated feature film Directed by acclaimed Belgian animator and CGI artist Ben Stassen, with Jeremy Degruson. This story tells of teenager Adam Harrison (Pappy Faulkner) who sets out on a journey to find his long lost father, only to discover that he is in fact the legendary Bigfoot. He has been in self imposed exile hiding in the forests for years to protect his family and himself from an unscrupulous company who want to exploit Bigfoot's DNA and conduct scientific experiments on him. As father and son begin to bond, young Adam discovers that like his father, he has been gifted with super powers that include being able to converse with animals. However, it's not long before the company who have been tracking Adam's whereabouts, close in on father and son with potentially dire consequences for them both. The film has met with critical acclaim for its top notch CGI animation, story telling, and production values. A film for kids of all ages.

With six new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, taking in a snowbound serial killer crime thriller; the mother of all weather conditions; a Victorian England horror mystery; a RomCom; a prostrating pilgrimage; and a family friendly animated feature suitable for kids of all ages. Remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-