What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th February 2021.

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from 28th January to 3rd February. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah with screenings held online as well as on screens and drive-ins in twenty-four states and territories across the United States. The culmination of the Sundance Film Festival is the awards ceremony that was presented by Actor and Comedian Paton Oswalt where seventy-three feature length and fifty short films — selected from more than 14,000 submissions — were showcased. Winning a Festival award can be life changing for a filmmaker and can bring attention to the impactful stories that might not have otherwise reached wider audiences. Films in both the documentary and dramatic competition categories are eligible for a variety of prestigious awards bestowed by the juries, made up of individuals with original and diverse points of view from the worldwide film community. Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 to foster independence, risk-taking, and new voices in American film, and the festival has grown over the intervening years to become the largest independent festival in the USA.

This years winners of this films in competition, are as given below :-

GRAND JURY PRIZES

* The US Grand Jury Prize : Documentary was presented to Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, for 'Summer Of Soul' (or, 'When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised')  from the USA and Directed by Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson.

* The US Grand Jury Prize : Dramatic was presented to Sian Heder, for 'CODA' ('Children of Deaf Adults') from the USA and Directed and Written by Sian Heder.

* The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize : Documentary was presented to Jonas Poher Rasmussen, for 'Flee' from Denmark, France, Sweden and Norway and Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.

* The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize : Dramatic was presented to Blerta Basholli, for 'Hive' from Kosovo, Switzerland, Macedonia and Albania and Directed and Written by Blerta Basholli.

AUDIENCE AWARDS

* The Audience Award : US Documentary was presented to Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson for 'Summer Of Soul' (or, 'When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised') from the USA and Directed by Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson.

* The Audience Award : US Dramatic was presented to Sian Heder, for 'CODA' ('Children of Deaf Adults') from the USA and Directed and Written by Sian Heder.

* The Audience Award : World Cinema Documentary was presented to Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, for 'Writing With Fire' from India and Directed and Produced by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh.

* The Audience Award : World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Blerta Basholli, for 'Hive' from Kosovo, Switzerland, Macedonia and Albania and Directed and Written by Blerta Basholli.

* The Audience Award : NEXT, was presented to Marion Hill, for 'Ma Belle, My Beauty' from the USA and France and Directed and Written by Marion Hill.

DIRECTING, SCREENWRITING and EDITING AWARDS

* The Directing Award : US Documentary was presented to Natalia Almada, for 'Users' from the USA and Mexico and Directed by Natalia Almada.

* The Directing Award : US Dramatic was presented to Sian Heder, for 'CODA' ('Children of Deaf Adults') from the USA and Directed and Written by Sian Heder.

* The Directing Award : World Cinema Documentary was presented to Hogir Hirori, for 'Sabaya' from Sweden and Directed and Written by Hogir Hirori.

* The Directing Award : World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Blerta Basholli, for 'Hive' from Kosovo, Switzerland, Macedonia and Albania and Directed and Written by Blerta Basholli.

* The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award : US Dramatic was presented to Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, for 'On the Count of Three' from the USA and Directed by Jerrod Carmichael, and Written by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch.

* The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award : US Documentary was presented to Editors Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno, for 'Homeroom' from the USA and Directed by Peter Nicks.

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS

* A US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast was presented to the cast of 'CODA' ('Children of Deaf Adults') from the USA and Directed and Written by Sian Heder. Cast : Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin.

* A US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Actor was presented to  Clifton Collins Jr. for 'Jockey' from the USA, Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Clint Bentley.

* A US Documentary Special Jury Award : Emerging Filmmaker was presented to Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt, for 'Cusp' from the USA Directed and Co-Produced by Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt.

* A US Documentary Special Jury Award : Nonfiction Experimentation was presented to Theo Anthony, for 'All Light, Everywhere' from the USA and Directed by Theo Anthony.

* A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award : Verite Filmmaking was presented to Camilla Nielsson, for 'President' from Denmark, the USA and Norway and Directed by Camilla Nielsson.

* A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award : Impact for Change was presented to Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, for 'Writing With Fire' from India and Directed and Produced by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh.

* A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award : Acting was presented to Jesmark Scicluna, for 'Luzzu' from Malta and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Alex Camilleri.

* A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award : Creative Vision was presented to Baz Poonpiriya, for 'One for the Road' from China, Hong Kong and Thailand and Directed and Co-Written by Baz Poonpiriya.

For the complete list of films, winners, grinners, runners-up and festival insights, you can visit the official Sundance Film Festival website at : https://www.sundance.org

This week we have six latest release new films coming to your local Odeon, kicking off with a highly acclaimed Danish film about four high school teachers who decide to consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives. Next up we turn to an Aussie comedy romance about a man who wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that every few minutes he's jumping forward to the next year of his life. Following this comes a story about a fussy celebrity caterer, a blind woman, a tour-bus guide and an inexperienced wedding planner all in search of love. We then have a Spanish offering about two couples who are neighbours in an apartment black, exploring the complexities of modern relationships over dinner; followed by a Sci-Fi horror drama surrounding two New Orleans paramedics' lives that are torn apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects. And we close out the week with a documentary examining how zoological organisations around the world are working to prevent one million species from becoming extinct.

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 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.

'ANOTHER ROUND' (Rated M) - Directed and Co-Written by Thomas Vinterberg whose previous film making credits include 'Kursk' in 2018, 'Far from the Madding Crowd' in 2015 and 'The Hunt' in 2012. Here this Danish comedy drama film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF back in early September 2020, was released in its native Denmark at the end of that same month, has so far accumulated twenty-six award wins and a further twenty-nine nominations from around the awards and festival circuit and has garnered universal critical acclaim. The film has been selected as the Danish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, and so far taken approaching US$6M at the Box Office. 

There’s a theory that we should be born with a small amount of alcohol in our blood, and that modest inebriation opens our minds to the world around us, diminishing our problems and increasing our creativity. Heartened by that theory, Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) and three of his friends Tommy, Peter and Nikolaj (Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe and Magnus Millang respectively), all weary high school teachers, embark on an experiment to maintain a constant level of drunkeness throughout their workday. Initial results are positive, and the teachers’ little project turns into a genuine academic study. Both their classes and their results continue to improve, and the group steadily begins to feels alive again! As the units are knocked back, some of the participants see further improvement and others go off the rails. It becomes increasingly clear that while alcohol may have fueled great results in world history, some bold acts carry consequences. 

'LONG STORY SHORT' (Rated M) - this Australian comedy romance film is Directed, Written, Co-Produced and stars Josh Lawson in only his second feature filmmaking outing after 2014's 'The Little Death' although he has thirteen Writer credits and fifty-six as an Actor to his name. Here, serial procrastinator Teddy (Rafe Spall) thinks he has all the time in the world, until he wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that every few minutes he’s jumping forward to the next year of his life. He must therefore learn, and very quickly, to use every precious moment wisely to keep from losing the love of his life, and to learn to love the life he's losing. Also starring Zahra Newman, Ronny Chieng and Noni Hazlehurst. 

'LOVE, WEDDINGS AND OTHER DISASTERS' (Rated M) - is an American romantic comedy film Directed, written for the screen and based on a story co-written by Dennis Dugan who is perhaps best known for his collaborations with Adam Sandler having Directed him in  'Happy Gilmore', 'Big Daddy', 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry', 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan', 'Grown Ups', 'Just Go with It', 'Jack and Jill', and 'Grown Ups 2'. This multi-story film is about the people who work on weddings to create the perfect day for a loving couple - while their own relationships are outlandish, odd, crazy and a long way from being perfect. Starring Jeremy Irons as the perfectionist and very demanding wedding planner Lawrence Phillips, Diane Keaton, Maggie Grace, Diego Boneta and Andrew Bachelor. The film was released Stateside on 4th December last year and has been demolished by Critics. 

'THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS' (Rated M) - is a Spanish comedy film Directed and Written by Cesc Gay which saw its World Premier screening at the San Sebastien International Film Festival back in September last year before its wide release in its native Spain at the end of October. In the meantime the film has picked up one award win and another twenty-one nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. And so Julio (Javier Camara) and Ana (Griselda Siciliani) are a couple who spend most of their time arguing. One night, Ana decides to invite their upstairs neighbours, Salva (Alberto San Juan) and Laura (Belen Cuesta), for dinner, despite the fact that Julio is not their biggest fan, not least because of the noise they make while having sex. As the night goes on, various secrets about the couple come to light. 

'SYNCHRONIC' (Rated MA15+) - this American Sci-Fi horror film is Directed, Co-Produced, and Edited by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, while Benson also wrote the film and Moorhead was Cinematographer. The film saw its World Premier showcasing at TIFF back in early September 2019, went of release in the US in late October 2020, has so far grossed US$1M, and has generated mostly favourable Reviews. And so when New Orleans paramedics and longtime best friends Steve Denube (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis Donnelly (Jamie Dornan) are called to a series of bizarre and gruesome accidents, they chalk it up to a mysterious new designer drug found at the scene, called Synchronic. But after Dennis' oldest daughter Brianna (Ally Ioannides) disappears, Steve stumbles upon a terrifying truth about the supposed psychedelic that will challenge everything he knows about reality, and the flow of time itself. 

'ESCAPE FROM EXTINCTION' (Rated PG) - released in the US in mid-October last year, this documentary film is Directed and Co-Produced by Matthew R. Brady and narrated by Helen Mirren. This film features rare footage of endangered animals and interviews with the world’s leading animal welfare specialists and conservation scientists, exploring the critical efforts of zoos and aquariums across the globe as they race to protect and preserve one million species on the brink of extinction from Earth's seven continents, its oceans, lakes and rivers.

With six new release films 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 11th August 2016.

With this weeks release of yet another 'Bad . . . ' movie, I got to thinking that surely those Screen Writers in Hollywood must be able to come up with some more original titles rather than those that seem to plague our cinemas with ever increasing regularity. So, I searched through the archives, to see how far back 'Bad . . . ' movies go, and it does seem to be a more recent phenomenon, although there are plenty of earlier films too with 'Bad' in the title, as the below list will demonstrate. Check them out if you will, and they're not all bad either! Let's us know too if there are some that you think have been missed off this list.

• 'Too Bad She's Bad' - 1955, starring Sophia Loren
• 'Tribute to a Bad Man' - 1956, starring James Cagney
• 'The Bad Seed' - 1956, starring Nancy Kelly
• 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' - 1966, starring Clint Eastwood
• 'Badlands' - 1973, starring Martin Sheen
• 'The Bad News Bears' - 1976, starring Walter Matthau
• 'Bad Blood' - 1982, starring Jack Thompson
• 'Bad Boys' - 1983, starring Sean Penn
• 'Bad Taste' - 1987, starring Peter Jackson
• 'Bad Influence' - 1990, starring James Spader
• 'Bad Lieutenant' - 1992, starring Harvey Keitel
• 'Bad Boy Bubby' - 1993, starring Nicholas Hope
• 'Bad Girls' - 1994, starring Madeline Stowe
• 'Bad Boys' - 1995, starring Will Smith
• 'Bad Day on the Block' - 1997, starring Charlie Sheen
• 'Bad Company' - 2002, starring Anthony Hopkins
• 'Bad Boys II' - 2003, starring Will Smith
• 'Bad Santa' - 2003, starring Billy Bob Thornton
• 'Bad Eggs' - 2003, starring Mick Molloy
• 'Bad Education' - 2004, starring Gael Garcia Bernal
• 'The Bad News Bears' - 2005, starring Billy Bob Thornton
• 'Superbad' - 2007, starring Jonah Hill
• 'Bad Lieutenant : Port of Call-New Orleans' - 2009, starring Nicolas Cage
• 'Bad Teacher' - 2011, starring Cameron Diaz
• 'Bad Words' - 2013, starring Jason Bateman
• 'Bad Grandpa' - 2013, starring Johnny Knoxville
• 'Bad Neighbours' - 2014, starring Seth Rogen
• 'Bad Neighbours 2 : Sorority Rising' - 2016, starring Seth Rogen
• 'Bad Moms' - 2016, starring Mila Kunis
• 'Bad Santa 2' - 2016, starring Billy Bob Thornton
• 'Bad Boys III' - 2017, starring Will Smith
• 'Bad Blood' - 2018, starring Jennifer Lawrence
• 'Bad Boys IV' - 2019, starring Will Smith

This week then to tease you out to your local Odeon, we have five new filmic offerings, starting with a trio of Mum's going off the rails to escape the routines of their seemingly otherwise perfect worlds with dramatic and comedic consequences for all, and those closest to them. Then an animated feature aimed squarely at the fifteen and above demographic that sees our humble grocery store supplies take on a life of their own as they wage war against mankind for fear of being eaten! Following on from this is a family reunion brought about by the death of the family wife and mother leaving the grieving father and sons to relive past memories and confront their feelings for each other. We then move to an Aussie dramedy set amidst the back drop of racial tensions in Sydney's south and the aftermath in the day that followed between two rival gangs on a collision course hellbent on retaliation . . . sounds hilarious! Then we wrap up the week with a foreign language film and one mans journey to get his affairs in order before he succumbs to cancer, aided by a mans best friend, and his best friend.

Remember too that when you have sat through your film of choice in the week ahead, that you are warmly invited to share your views and opinions of your movie going experience by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. We look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'BAD MOMS' (Rated MA15+) - over the years Hollywood has churned out plenty of 'Bad . . .' films of which only some have been 'good'! The likes of 'Bad Girls', 'Bad Boys', 'Bad Lieutenant', 'Bad Teacher', 'Bad Santa', 'Bad Neighbours', 'Bad Grandpa', and now we have the next offering in a long line of 'Bad . . . ' films with 'Bad Moms' made for US$20M, Directed and Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and so far returning US$57M since its Stateside release towards the end of July.

The story here is such that Amy (Mila Kunis) has a happy marriage, a loving husband, kids doing well at school, a great home, a successful career and the looks as well, but, behind all of that there is stress, exhaustion, anxiety and overbearing responsibilities. Something's gotta give! And it does when she discovers her husband cheating on her and promptly throws him out. Then she quits the school PTA in which she was an active member and heads off to a local bar for some well needed refreshment. There Amy meets up with two other mothers in a similar state - Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and the trio of new friends hang an all night bender which leads them to reassess their lives, commitments and priorities in favour of a more relaxed easy going approach. Along the way there are tussles with the PTA's domineering head and near perfect mother Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her followers Stacy (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo). Clearly there'll be messages in here about the power of friendships, parenting, forgiveness, doing the right thing with a few comedic laughs in there too no doubt. Bad . . . you decide!

'SAUSAGE PARTY' (Rated MA15+) - this computer animated adult feature film is based on a story by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jonah Hill, Written for the screen and Produced by the former two, is Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and stars an ensemble voice cast. Here we have a supermarket called 'Shopwell' in which reside groceries of all kinds dreaming of the day they will be handpicked and taken home by humans. However, one fine day the terrible truth will come crashing down on those groceries that they are destined to be consumed by those humans, and it falls at the feet of humble hot dog sausage, Frank (Seth Rogen) to forewarn his many grocery friends at the store of their frightening future outlook, and declare war on humans. Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Paul Rudd, Edward Norton and Salma Hayek amongst others lend their considerable voice talents.

'LOUDER THAN BOMBS' (Rated M) - this French/Danish/Norwegian co-production was entered into competition at Cannes in May 2015, shown at TIFF in September last year, and released in France, Norway and Denmark in December before the end of last year. Now eight months later it lands on Australian shores having cost US$11M to make, and so far having recovered just US$602K. Directed by Joachim Trier in his English language debut, it stars an impressive cast and has been positively received by critics despite its mediocre Box Office results so far. We join the Reed family as father Gene (Gabriele Byrne) prepares for a retrospective exhibition of his dead wife, Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert) acclaimed work as a war photographer, three years after her untimely death.  In so doing his two sons Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) returns home and is forced to spend more time with dad and younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) than he has in many years. In turn the three of them must reunite as new details surrounding Isabelle's death come to light, and they are forced to confront their differing feelings and memories that each of them hold for their departed wife and mother. Amy Ryan and David Strathairn also star.

'DOWN UNDER' (Rated MA15+) - back at Christmas 2005 the Cronulla Riots were beamed across the world as true blue Aussies clashed violently with largely Lebanese locals at the beachside suburb of Cronulla in southern Sydney. It was bloody and ugly with Riot Police in full force, drunken brawls, insults, jeering, flag waving, smashed up cars, homes attacked and roadside arrests. Hardly the best image of our beloved Sydney that we want beamed across the world's media, and at Christmas time too. Now, Abe Forsythe has turned that dark episode into a black comedy drama that he has both Written and Directed. Set the day after the riots two separate gangs in different parts of the city are preparing themselves for retaliation. In the Shire, the 'Skips' and in Lakemba, the 'Lebs' - two gangs of bumbling half arsed dim witted no hopers prepare to man up, boot up and tool up for a night of unadulterated violence amidst questions from gang members as to why, what and when with comedic overtones and the cost of racism and discrimination on human lives when the two groups do inevitably clash. Starring Lincoln Younes, Rahel Romahn, Michael Denkha, Alexander England, Damon Herriman, David Field, Fayssal Bazzi and Chris Bunton.

'TRUMAN' (Rated MA15+) - and so to our foreign language offering this week - that of Spanish/Argentian co-production 'Truman' as Directed and Co-Written by Cesc Gay which was shown at TIFF in September last year, the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the winner of five Goya Awards at Madrid earlier this year including Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The story here centres around Tomas (Javier Camara) who visits his long term friend Julian (Ricardo Darin) in Madrid. Julian is dying of cancer and has limited time left, and has resigned himself to his fate, refusing further treatment. Over the course of Tomas' visit the pair travel around Madrid as Julian seeks to put his affairs in order. One such detail is that of Julian's boxer dog, 'Truman' who is to be put up for adoption post his death, and for whom Julian seems to bestow much grater importance than on his own situation. Needless to say for the pair it's an emotional rollercoaster of a ride who along with loyal hound Truman will share moments of emotion, pathos, and reckoning brought on by Julian's complicated situation. The film has received positive reviews and has won 28 awards with a further 28 nominations from around the circuit, and also stars Dolores Fonzi and Eduard Fernandez.

With five more great reasons to get out to your local cinema in the week ahead, what's not to like here? Remember to share your cinematic thoughts when you have done so, and as always, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-