The Odeon Online Obituary : The screen celebrities who passed away in August 2020.

In August, the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . Reni Santoni, Tom Pollock, Wilford Brimley, Leslie Randall, Brent Carver, Kurt Luedtke, Silvana Bosi, Linda Manz, Gary Cowling, Ben Cross, Benny Chan, Allan Rich, Lori Nelson, Caesar Cordova, David S. Cass Snr., Chadwick Boseman and Norm Spencer.

* Reni Santoni - born 21st April 1939, died 1st August 2020, aged 82. Santoni was American Actor of film and television who accumulated 103 screen acting credits to his career spanning six decades and launching with a small role in the drama film 'Strangers in the City' in 1962. Following a number of appearances in TV series over the following years, his next big screen roles came with 'Enter Laughing' in 1967, then 'A Great Big Thing' and 'Anzio' both in 1968, and 'Guns of the Magnificent Seven' in 1969. His next more notable big screen appearance same in 1971's 'Dirty Harry' with Clint Eastwood, then 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' with Steve Martin in 1982, 'Bad Boys' in 1983 with Sean Penn, 'Brewster's Millions' in 1985 with Richard Pryor and John Candy, 'Cobra' in 1986 with Sylvester Stallone, 'The Pick-up Artist' in 1987 with Robert Downey Jnr., 'The Package' in 1989 with Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones, '28 Days' in 2000 with Sandra Bullock with 'Clean Sweep' recently announced. In the meantime there were numerous appearances on single and multiple episodes of television series including 'The Odd Couple', 'The F.B.I.', 'Barnaby Jones', 'Lou Grant', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'The Rockford Files', 'Charlie's Angels', 'CHiPs', 'Hill Street Blues', on thirteen episodes of 'Sanchez of Bel Air', 'Moonlighting', 'Miami Vice', on seven episodes of 'Midnight Caller', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'NYPD Blue', on eleven episodes of 'Murder One' and its follow up mini-series 'Murder One : Diary of a Serial Killer', on four episodes as Poppie the unhygienic Restauranteur on 'Seinfeld', 'Judging Amy', 'Gray's Anatomy' with 'Franklin & Bash' being his final small screen role in 2012. He also broke into the field of voice over work providing expert characterisations whenever required, including on Eddie Murphy's 'Dr. Dolittle' film series.

* Tom Pollock - born 10th April 1943, died 1st August 2020, aged 77. Pollock was an American film Producer and studio executive. He started his career as an entertainment lawyer, before transitioning to a studio executive and film Producer. He was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute and a co-owner of The Montecito Picture Company which he formed in 1998 with film Director and Producer Ivan Reitman. He was Executive Producer on twenty-two films from 2000 onwards beginning with 'Road Trip' that year, and going on with 'Evolution', 'Killing Me Softly', 'Disturbia', 'I Love You, Man', 'Up in the Air', 'Chloe', 'Hitchcock', 'Draft Day', 'Ghostbusters' in 2016, 'Baywatch' and 'Father Figures' in 2017 being his final film executive produced, with 'Ghostbusters : Afterlife' due for release next year and 'Godmothered' currently in post-production.

* Wilford Brimley - born Anthony Wilford Brimley on 27th September 1934, died 1st August 2020, aged 85. Brimley was an American Actor of film and television who amassed seventy-seven screen acting credits throughout his career spanning five decades and launching with a small uncredited bit part in 1969's 'True Grit' and 1971's 'Lawman'. His first big screen outing in a credited role came opposite Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda in 'The China Syndrome' in 1979, followed by 'The Electric Horseman' that same year with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda again, then 'Brubaker' in 1980 with Robert Redford again too. 'Borderline' came next also in 1980 with Charles Bronson, then 'Absence of Malice' with Paul Newman in 1981, 'The Thing' in 1982 with Kurt Russell, 'Tender Mercies' in 1983 with Robbert Duvall, '10 to Midnight' with Charles Bronson also in 1983, 'Harry & Son' in 1984 with Paul Newman again, 'The Natural' with Robert Redford once more in 1984, 'Cocoon' in 1985 for Director Ron Howard, 'End of the Line' in 1987 with Kevin Bacon, 'Cocoon : The Return' in 1988, 'The Firm' in 1993 with Tom Cruise and 'Hard Target' with Jean-Claude Van Damme, 'In & Out' with Kevin Kline in 1997, 'Did You Hear About the Morgans' in 2009 with Hugh Grant and 'Cellophane' currently in pre-production at the time of his death. In the intervening years there were appearances on ten episodes of 'The Waltons', on forty-six episodes of 'Our House', on 'Homicide : Life on the Street', 'Walker : Texas Ranger' and 'Seinfeld' amongst others. He was also the long time face of of TV commercials for the Quaker Oats Company, and also worked on TV ads for Liberty Medical, the American Diabetes Association and Bryan Foods.

* Leslie Randall - born 19th October 1924, died 2nd August 2020, aged 95. Randall was an English Actor of television and film who enjoyed success in both the US and UK. During his career spanning six decades he notched up just twenty-four screen acting credits beginning with the 1952 made for TV movie 'Trial Gallop' with Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine. His first big screen role came in 1960 with 'Just Joe' followed by 'Mystery Submarine' in 1962, 'Billy Liar' in 1963 with Tom Courtney and Julie Christie then Derek Jarman's 'The Garden' in 1990 with Tilda Swinton, 'Goal!' in 2005 and its follow up 'Goal II : Living the Dream' in 2007 with 'Last Chance Harvey' in 2008 with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson being his final acting role. In the meantime there were appearances on 'The Monkees', 'I Dream of Jeannie', 'Family Affair', on thirteen episodes of his own comedy sketch show 'Joan and Leslie' which ran from 1969 to 1970 and which he also Directed, Produced and wrote for, 'Emerdale Farm', 'Casualty', 'Peak Practice', 'Doctors', 'According to Bex' and 'My Family'.

* Brent Carver - born 17th November 1951, died 2nd August 2020, aged 68. Carver was a Canadian Actor of cinema, television, and theatre who accumulated forty-six screen acting credits to his name throughout a career which began on a single episode of 'Beachcombers' in 1972. He followed this up with eight episodes on 'Inside Canada' in 1974 and his first big screen role came with top billing in 1983's 'The Wars', and then 'Cross Country' later that same year. 'Shadow Dancing' came next in 1988, then 'Millennium' in 1989, 'The Shower' in 1992, 'Lilies' in 1996, 'Deeply' in 2000, 'Ararat' in 2002, 'The Event' in 2003 and 'Romeo and Juliet' in 2014. In the meantime there were numerous made for TV movies and TV series appearances including 'The Pirates of Penzance', 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'The New Twilight Zone', 'Street Legal', 'Leonardo : The Dream of Flight', 'Deep South', 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', 'Deep in the City' and 'Save Me' most recently in 2017. He collected four award wins and another four nominations for his screen work, as well as a Tony Award win for his role in the stage show 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' in 1993. His other stage shows took in the likes of 'Hamlet', 'Cabaret', 'Cyrano de Bergerac', 'Richard II', 'Parade', 'Fiddler on the Roof', 'King Lear', 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Elephant Man', 'As You Like It', 'Twelfth Night' and 'The School for Scandal' in 2017. In 2014, Carver received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award - Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, for his lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre.

* Kurt Luedtke - born 28th September 1939, died 9th August 2020, aged 80. Luedtke was an American Screenwriter who generated just three writing credits throughout his career which were  'Out of Africa' in 1985 with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as it garnering another six Oscar wins and four other nods. He also wrote 1981's 'Absence of Malice' with Paul Newman and Sally Field, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, as well as 1999's 'Random Hearts' with Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott Thomas. All three films were Directed by Sydney Pollack.

* Silvana Bosi - born 23rd July 1934, died 10th August 2020, aged 86. Bosi was an Italian Actress of film and television who had forty-four acting credits to her name in a career that launched in 1989 with a role in the Italian comedy film 'Mortacci' with Malcolm McDowell. She went onto roles in more mainstream and widespread films including 1999's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' with Matt Damon, 2000's 'Bread and Tulips' with Bruno Ganz, 'Letters to Juliet' in 2010 with Amanda Seyfried and 'The American' that same year with George Clooney with her other screen credits being from her native Italy in locally made TV movies, feature films and television series appearances, with her last role coming in 2019.

* Linda Manz - born 20th August 1961, died 14th August 2020, aged 58. Manz was an American Actress of film and television who accumulated just twelve screen acting credits throughout her career which began with a small role in her debut feature film 'Days of Heaven' in 1978 Directed by Terrence Malick, and ended with David Fincher's 'The Game' in 1997. In between time there were other films including 'The Wanderers' in 1979, 'Boardwalk' in 1979 too and the made for TV movie 'The Orphan Train' also that same year, then the lead role in the Dennis Hopper Directed and starring 'Out of the Blue' in 1980, 'Longshot' in 1981 and then 'Gummo' in 1997. In between time she appeared in two TV series - on four episodes of 'Dorothy' in 1979 and on a single episode of 'Faerie Tale Theatre' in 1985. She appeared as herself in the 2016 documentary about the life of Dennis Hopper 'Along for the Ride'.

* Gary Cowling - born 4th November 1961, died 17th August 2020, aged 58. Cowling was an American Actor of stage, cinema and television who accumulated just seventeen screen acting credits to his name during his twenty year career in front of the camera. His first screen acting role came with a small part in 'What's Your Sign?' in 1997, followed by uncredited roles in 1998's 'Celebrity' and 1999's 'Sweet and Lowdown'. His next big screen role came with 'The Namesake' in 2006 with Cal Penn and Irrfan Khan, then 'Shooting Johnson Roebling' in 2007, and then 'The Accidental Husband' in 2008 with Uma Thurman and Colin Firth being his final feature film role. In the meantime, he appeared in 'Law & Order', 'The Sopranos', on three episodes of 'The Speed Creeper', 'One Life to Live', on seven episodes of 'Hustling' (of which he also Co-Produced or Produced twenty-seven episodes between 2011 and 2014), and an episode of 'Unproductive' in 2015 being his final screen appearance.

* Ben Cross - born Harry Bernard Cross on 16th December 1947, died 18th August 2020, aged 72. Cross was an English Actor of stage, screen and TV who amassed 104 screen acting credits to his name during a career that launched with the ten minute short film 'The Reprieve' in 1972. He then had a bit part in the 1974 TV movie 'Great Expectations' before his debut feature film role in 1977's 'A Bridge Too Far' with an all star cast. His breakout role came in his next feature film - 1981's 'Chariot's of Fire' in which he played the 1924 British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams. That film won four Oscars amongst its total haul of seventeen award wins and nineteen other nominations. His other big screen roles over the years that followed included 'The Assisi Underground' in 1985 with James Mason, 'Live Wire' in 1992 with Pierce Brosnan, 'First Knight' in 1995 with Sean Connery, 'Turbulence' in 1997 with Ray Liotta, 'The Venice Project' in 1999 with Dennis Hopper, 'Exorcist : The Beginning' in 2004 with Stellan Skarsgard, 'The Mechanik' in 2005 with Dolph Lundgren, 'War, Inc.' in 2008 with John Cusack, J.J. Abrams 'Star Trek' in 2009 with Chris Pine, 'A Common Man' in 2013 with Ben Kingsley with 'The Hurricane Heist' with Toby Kebbel in 2018, 'Wildlings' in 2019 and 'The Rest is Ashes' this year being his final big screen role. Over the years in between there were numerous made for TV movies and appearances on single and multiple episodes of TV series, taking in the likes of mini-series 'The Flame Trees of Thika', 'The Citadel', 'The Far Pavillions', 'The Potato Factory', 'Solomon', 'Spartacus' and 'Ben Hur' plus other episodes on regular TV series including twelve episodes on 'Dark Shadows', on twenty-one episodes of 'Banshee', '12 Monkeys' and on four of 'Pandora' as recently as last year. The following feature films were in various stages of production at the time of Cross' death : 'Last Letter from Your Lover' (in post), 'The Devil's Light' (filming), 'Resilient 3D' (pre) and 'Liberty' (pre).

* Allan Rich - born Benjamin Norman Schultz on 8th February 1926 and died on 22nd August 2020, aged 94. Rich was an American character Actor of film, television and theatre who amassed 132 screen acting credits throughout his six decade spanning career. He began his acting career at the age of just nine, and by the time he was in his late teens he was appearing in a number of Broadway productions. His small screen debut came in 1963 with appearances on 'Armstrong Circle Theatre', then 'Naked City', and 'East Side/West Side'. His first big screen role came in 1973 with Al Pacino in 'Serpico' and a year later with James Cann in 'The Gambler'. From here his other cinema outings took in the likes of 'The Frsico Kid' in 1979 with Gene Wilder, 'The Entity' in 1982 with Ron Silver, 'Betsy's Wedding' in 1990 with Alan Alda, 'Highlander II : The Quickening' in 1991 with Christopher Lambert, 'Guilty by Suspicion' also in 1991 with Robert De Niro, 'Quiz Show' in 1994 with Ralph Fiennes, 'Disclosure' that same year with Michael Douglas, 'Jack' in 1996 with Robin Williams, 'Amistad' in 1997 with Anthony Hopkins, 'Man in the Chair' in 2007 with Christopher Plummer with 'Wish I Was Here' in 2014 with Zach Braff being his final screen role. In the meantime there were numerous appearances on TV series including 'The Rockford Files', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'Kojak', 'Little House on the Prairie', 'Happy Days', 'CHiPs', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Magnum P.I.', 'Hill Street Blues', 'The Fall Guy', 'Chicago Hope', 'The Nanny', 'Judging Amy', 'NYPD Blue', 'House M.D.', and '2 Broke Girls'. Rich was also the co-founder of the not-for-profit organisation 'We Care About Kids', which produces educational short films for middle and high school kids, he became the personal manager to a number of Hollywood Actors, he mentored Rene Russo, and was the distributor and publisher of Hollywood photographic portraits taken by George Hurrell who contributed to the image of Hollywood glamour during the '30's and '40's.

* Benny Chan - born Benny Chan Muk-Sing on 7th October 1961, died 23rd August 2020, aged 58. Chan was a Hong Kong Director, Producer and Writer who throughout his three decade career amassed twenty-six Directing credits, twenty-five as Producer and ten as Writer. His Directorial debut came in the TV show 'The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain' of which he Directed thirty-seven of its forty episodes and wrote the screenplay for all forty episodes in 1985. His first big screen debut came in 1990 with 'A Moment of Romance' which he followed up in 1993 with 'A Moment of Romance II' and then came 'Big Bullet' in 1996 and in 1998 his first collaboration with Hong Kong martial arts action star Jackie Chan in 'Who Am I?'. His other outings with Jackie Chan were 2004's 'New Police Story' which picked up seven award wins and another twenty-two nods from around the awards and festivals circuit, then 'Rob-B-Hood' in 2006 and 'Shaolin' in 2011. In the meantime, some of his other works included 'Gen-X Cops' in 1999 and its follow up in 2000 'Gen-Y Cops' with Paul Rudd and Maggie Q, 'Heroic Duo' in 2003, 'Invisible Target' in 2007, 'City Under Siege' in 2010, 'The White Storm' in 2013, 'Call of Heroes' in 2016, and currently in post-production at the time of his death 'Raging Fire' with Donnie Yen. Chan won two awards and eleven other nominations during his career.

* Lori Nelson - born Dixie Kay Nelson on 15th August 1933, died 23rd August 2020, aged 87. Nelson was an American Actress and model who was most active during the 1950's and '60's. Throughout her career she amassed forty-three screen acting credits beginning with a role in the 1952 Western 'Bend of the River' with James Stewart and Rock Hudson. That same year she appeared in 'Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair' as Rosie Kettle - a role she would reprise a year later in 'Ma and Pa Kettle go to Waikiki'. She would follow this up with other features including 'The All American' with Tony Curtis, 'Tumbleweed' and 'Destry' both with Audie Murphy, then 'Underwater!' with Jane Russell, 'I Died a Thousand Times' with Jack Palance, 'Pardners' with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis with the low budget Sci-Fi horror 'The Naked Monster' being her final screen appearance in 2005. Meanwhile, she made appearances on TV series mostly through the late '50's and early '60's on thirty-nine episodes of 'How to Marry a Millionaire' from 1957 through 1958 and then 'Wanted : Dead or Alive', 'The Texan', 'Wagon Train', 'Sugarfoot', 'Tales of Wells Fargo', 'Laramie', 'Whispering Smith' and on two episodes of 'Armstrong Circle Theatre' being her final screen appearance in 1961 until a single episode on 'Family Affair' in 1971, and then nothing until 1991's 'Black Gaucho', 'Secret Sins of the Father' in 1994 and 'Mom, Can I Keep Her?' in 1998.

* Caesar Cordova - born 16th May 1936, died 26th August 2020, aged 84. Cordova was an American Actor of film and television born in Puerto Rico, who accumulated just seventeen screen acting credits to his name in a career spanning twenty years form 1973 to 1993. His first on screen role came with the TV series 'Toma' in 1973 on a single episode before his first feature film 'Shark's Treasure' in 1975 with Yaphet Kotto. His following big screen roles over the years took in 'Death on Credit' in 1980, 'Where the Buffalo Roam' that same year with Bill Murray, 'Cutter's Way' in 1981 with Jeff Bridges, 'Nighthawks' also in 1981 with Sylvester Stallone, 'Scarface' in 1983 with Al Pacino, and then 'Carlito's Way' with Al Pacino again in 1993 which was to be his final screen appearance. In the meantime they were roles on 'Baretta', 'Kojak', 'Police Woman', 'The A-Team', and 'Cagney & Lacey'.

* David S. Cass Snr. - born sometime in 1942, died 27th August 2020, aged 78. Cass was an American Actor, Stuntman, Director, Writer and occasional Producer who amassed ninety-four screen acting credits, seventy-eight stuntwork credits, forty-two as Director, six as Writer and four as Producer throughout his career which began as an extra on a single episode of 'Wagon Train' in 1965. His first big screen outing came in 1970 in 'Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came' followed by 'Dirty Dingus Magee' with Frank Sinatra, then 'Enter the Devil', 'Earthquake' with Charlton Heston in 1974, 'Two-Minute Warning' with Charlton Heston again in 1976, 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' with Burt Lancaster in 1977, 'The Goodbye Girl' with Richard Dreyfus that same year, 'Heaven's Gate' in 1980 with Kris Kristofferson, 'Tron' in 1982 with Jeff Bridges, 'Smokey and the Bandit Part 3' and 'Best Seller' in 1987 with James Woods being his last feature film appearance. In the intervening years there were numerous TV movies which he Directed, and appeared in, and TV series too including 'The Wild Wild West', 'The High Chaparral', 'Bonanza', 'Mission : Impossible', 'The F.B.I.', 'Gunsmoke', 'The Waltons', 'Police Woman', 'Starsky and Hutch', 'The Six Million Dollar Man', 'The Bionic Woman', 'Wonder Woman', 'Centennial', 'The Rockford Files', 'Benson', 'Fantasy Island', 'Knight Rider', 'Magnum P.I', 'Simon & Simon' with TV movies 'Hard Ground', 'Family Plan' and 'Mystery Woman : Oh Baby' being his final three screen roles coming in 2003, 2005 and 2006 respectively. His first foray into Directing came in 1999, which Cass concentrated on after his acting stint, with a prolific output in the first decade of the 21st Century and which did not let up until 'Happily Never After' in 2017 and the short film 'Sisters' in 2018.

* Chadwick Boseman - born 29th November 1976, died 28th August 2020, aged 43. Boseman was an American Actor, Producer, and the Director of two short films in 2008 and 2012. Wanting to originally write and Direct, he began to study acting to learn how to relate to actors, and in 2008 relocated himself from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to take up a career as an Actor. During his short yet distinguished career he accumulated thirty-five screen acting credits launching proper in 2003 on an episode of 'Third Watch'. His first big screen role came in the 2008 sports biographical film 'The Express' which was followed up by top billing in 2012's 'The Kill Hole', and then perhaps his breakout starring role as Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era, in the 2013 historical sports biopic '42' with Harrison Ford. Another sporting themed film followed in 2014 with 'Draft Day' with Kevin Costner, and then the biographical film in which he portrayed Rock 'n' Roll music legend James Brown in 'Get on Up' also in 2014. 'Gods of Egypt' came next, then his first outing as T'Challa the King of Wakanda (aka Black Panther) in the Marvel film 'Captain America : Civil War', a role he would reprise in the hugely successful standalone MCU film 'Black Panther' in 2018 and then again 'Avengers : Infinity War' that same year and in the even more successful and critical lauded 'Avengers : Endgame' in 2019. There has also been 'Message from the King' in 2016, 'Marshall' in 2017, '21 Bridges' in 2019, 'Da 5 Bloods' for Spike Lee earlier this year, with 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' recently completed but yet to be released on Netflix, 'Yasuke' in pre-production and the Marvel Studio's animated series 'What If . . . ?' to which Boseman lent his voice talents as Black Panther and due for release in 2021. Early on his career he also appeared in a handful of TV series including 'Law & Order', 'CSI : NY', 'ER', 'Cold Case', on nine episodes of 'Lincoln Heights' and on thirteen episodes of 'Persons Unknown' amongst others. He collected ten award wins and a further thirty nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. Boseman tragically died from complications from stage III Colon Cancer which he had been secretly battling for four years, and which earlier this year had progressed to stage IV.

* Norm Spencer - born 23rd February 1958, died 31st August 2020, aged 62. Spencer was a Canadian Actor and Voice Actor of film and television who notched up thirty screen acting roles throughout his career beginning with his voice work on 'Babar : The Movie' in 1989. For the following five years he had roles in live action TV series including 'E.N.G.', 'Top Cops', 'Katts and Dog' and 'Forever Knight' before landing perhaps his most well known voice role as Cyclops in the video game 'X-Men : Children of the Atom'. This was to be his signature role which he would reprise over the following years on the animated series of 'Spider-Man', 'X-Men vs. Street Fighter', then on sixty-eight episodes of 'X-Men', and on the video games 'Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter' and 'Marvel vs. Capcom 2 : New Age of Heroes'. In between time there were further live action roles on 'Due South', 'Earth : Final Conflict', 'Relic Hunter', 'Bait', 'Cradle of Lies', and on seven episodes of 'Majority Rules!' His final voice acting work was on thirty-two episodes of the animated series 'Rescue Heroes' closing out in 2013 but not before lending his voice talents also to the animated series 'The Busy World of Richard Scarry', 'Silver Surfer', 'The Dumb Bunnies' and the animated feature 'Rescue Heroes : The Movie'.

Seventeen deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, and that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As some governments the world over are easing up on their COVID-19 restrictions, others are enforcing further stages of lockdowns because of a second wave in cases, remember the basic principles still being advocated - maintain a safe distance, hand hygiene and wear a mask if you are unable to maintain a safe distance especially - together we can all beat this thing. Stay safe and remain healthy.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

DA 5 BLOODS : Monday 15th June 2020.

In these very trying and testing times for us all that has seen many cinema's, Odeon's, and movie theatres around the world close their doors for the foreseeable future because of the escalating threat of the COVID-19 Coronavirus taking an ever increasing hold on the world at large, many film and television productions halted in their tracks indefinitely, and new film releases pushed back to some future date when some sense of movie going normalcy is expected to resume, I have, needless to say, had to adapt to this new world order. And so with my usual Reviews of the latest cinematic releases being curtailed, instead I will post my Review of the latest release movies showing on Netflix until such time as the regular outing to my local multiplex or independent theatre can be reinstated.

In the last few weeks then, a number of new feature films have landed at Netflix - of which I review as below 'Da 5 Bloods' which went live on the streaming service on 12th June and which I saw from the comfort of my own home on Monday 15th June.

This latest Spike Lee Joint 'DA 5 BLOODS' comes from the acclaimed Director, who also Co-Produces and Co-Writes and was intended to be premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival before the world was gripped by COVID-19. Instead of then being shown at a select number of theatres soon thereafter, Netflix aired it in mid-June, to largely universal critical acclaim and ranking at the No. 1 spot on the streaming service in its first weekend following release. The film cost in the vicinity of US$40M to make - making it one of Spike Lee's most expensive movies.

The film opens up with a montage of images showing civil unrest, police brutality throughout mostly the '60's and '70's with black activists (Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Mohammed Ali) speaking out publicly about racial and cultural discrimination, the role of black soldiers in the Vietnam War and how during both WWII and the Vietnam War black American soldiers were fighting for their freedom. And yet they are still oppressed, still victimised, still discriminated against, still shackled by the white man, and far from free. We then open up to footage of a small squad of five black African American soldiers riding in a helicopter during the Vietnam War. There is the squad leader Norman 'Stormin' Norman' Holloway (Chadwick Boseman), Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Eddie (Norm Lewis) who affectionally call themselves the 'Bloods'. Their helicopter, in a remote part of the jungle, comes under fire by the Viet Cong, who ultimately take down the chopper forcing it to crash land. A fierce fire fight ensues but the Bloods fend off the insurgents killing most of them, while those remaining flee.

Their reasons for being there was to secure a crash site for a downed CIA aeroplane and to recover its cargo of gold bullion intended as a means of payment to the locals for battling the Viet Cong. Sitting on the chest of US gold bars, Norman speaks to his fellow Bloods about the often inhuman treatment of African Americans at the hands of the US Government throughout history, and how this is their collective opportunity to help right some of those wrongs. And so they decide to bury the gold, and return at a not too distant time, to recover it. Subsequently, however, in another Viet Cong attack, Norman is killed and as a result of a US napalm attack on the area any distinguishing landmarks are obliterated rendering their future search practically useless.

We then fast forward almost fifty years to the current day, at Ho Chi Minh City, where we meet Paul, Otis, Melvin and Eddie as they check into their hotel. After renewing lifelong albeit distant relationships, the four go out eating, drinking and clubbing in a very different city to the one they remember the last time they were there serving in the US Army. The next day they hire Vinh (Johnny Tri Nguyen), a local guide who agrees to take them up river to an area where a recent landslide had uncovered the tail of a crashed plane. Armed with this information, they hope to recover the fallen and still missing body of Norman, and to reclaim their stash of gold in the process too.

Otis visits his former Vietnamese girlfriend Tien (Le Y Lan) who has seemingly carved out a successful export business for herself, and she points him in the direction of a Frenchman who may be interested in buying their gold, and helping them realise its monetary value so they can access the funds once they're home. His name is Desroche (Jean Reno). Otis also comes to learn over dinner with Tien, that her daughter Michon (Sandy Huong Pham) is in fact their daughter whom he never knew about. When Paul gets back to the hotel he also discovers that his son David (Jonathan Majors) has secretly followed him, putting more of a strain on their long standing fractured relationship. The Bloods agree, reluctantly, to allow David to join them in their quest, but he will not share in any of the spoils.

Having agreed to a deal with Desroche, the next day Vinh leads the Bloods and David up river to a drop off point. Passing the small river craft of a floating market Paul gets into a very heated argument with a local who tries to sell him a live chicken, and who seemingly won't take no for an answer. The argument quickly escalates out of control, with Paul having to be physically restrained by the others, before the local departs hurling various expletives back. Paul admits that he suffers from PTSD and frequently sees ghosts at night in his dreams. He also blames himself for Norman's death.

Resting up for the night at a riverside hotel, David gets in to a conversation with a French woman - Hedy Bouvier (Melanie Thierry) who four years ago founded an organisation to clear landmines and unexploded bombs from the countryside of Vietnam. She is there with her colleagues Seppo (Jasper Paakkonen) and Simon (Paul Walter Hauser) who both view the American with suspicion and disdain, although David flirts with Hedy.

Vinh drops off the Bloods and tells them that he'll meet them at a designated meeting spot in a few days, and if they're late, no worries, he'll wait for them. During the first night, sleeping out in the open under the stars, Melvin while searching for bug spray uncovers a pistol from Otis's backpack while he is sleeping, and hands it to Paul. The pistol was given to Otis by Tien, and waking Otis and asking him to explain, the group become suspicious of Tien's (and therefore Otis's) motives. Paul hangs on to the pistol. The next day, while taking a break, David walks down a hillside to take a crap. Armed with a toilet roll and a shovel, he begins digging a hole in the ground. His shovel connects with something metallic, and digging it up, reveals a gold bar. Armed with a metal detector, they locate the majority of the gold bars strewn across the hillside and buried just beneath the surface. Norm's body must be close by. When the metal detectors sets off another signal, Paul starts to dig and reveals a buried rifle, and then a set of dog tags still wrapped around the neck of its owner - Norman. The group kneel and pray together for their fallen squad leader.

On the hike out, with each man carrying a stash of gold bars in their back packs, they come to a clearing to rest up. The group start arguing over sharing of the gold with Paul now saying that David should have a fair share. Eddie attempts to quell the argument, and inadvertently steps on a landmine. Both his arms and legs have been blown clean off, and Otis, who is also a medic, rushes to his side, but he quickly bleeds out and is dead within a minute. In the ensuing melee, David steps on a landmine too, but it fails to trigger. At this point, Hedy, Seppo and Simon show up. Paul, hatches a plan to yank David off the landmine with a sudden jolt of a rope tied around his chest, a trick he had seen done successfully during his earlier wartime service. The rescue of David is successful and straightaway afterwards Paul pulls the gun on the three interlopers fearful they will call the authorities and report Eddie's death and their stash of gold bullion. David is forced to tie up Hedy, Seppo and Simon. During the night, Seppo escapes into the undergrowth, and the remaining Bloods confiscate the gun from Paul.

The group make it to the meeting point where Vinh is waiting. Within a short time two trucks drive up with armed gunmen, demanding that the group hand over the gold, which is rightfully theirs, in exchange for releasing Seppo whom they have captured overnight. A fire fight unfolds, and as Seppo flees he steps on a landmine is killed instantly, and David is shot in the leg and incapacitated. The Vietnamese insurgents are all killed off except for one who drives off in a truck to round up his mates and return. The group assume that Desroche has double crossed them, Otis suggests calling Tien for assistance, Paul in turn accuses Tien of setting them up, and Vinh suggests hiding out at a nearby abandoned temple to better protect themselves from the inevitable returning gunmen.

Any trust that Paul had in his little band of brothers is now vanquished as he feels betrayed and let down by everyone, including his own son. He takes his share of the gold and heads out into the jungle alone, determined to make it on his own and not to share his stash of the gold with anyone. As he walks away he lets out a loud wail and recites Psalm 23 Verse 4 from the Lord is my Shepherd. He seemingly becomes increasingly unhinged, ranting to himself as he cuts his way through the undergrowth with a machete, all the while now being actively pursued by four gunmen. He gets bitten by a snake, falls down an embankment and his back pack gets stuck dangling from a bamboo branch hanging well out of his reach. He decides to cut his losses and continues to walk through a riverbed leaving his back pack containing his wealth in gold bars swinging from a branch. Melvin and Otis meanwhile offer Vinh, Hedy and Simon a share of their gold for their trouble.

As Paul rambles onward in his own little world of rage, he has a vision of Norman who reminds him that it was he who in fact shot and killed him, with a single shot to the stomach from his machine gun. But Norman goes on to qualify that he recognises that his shooting was an accident on Paul's part during an ambush from an enemy sniper. The pair embrace as Norman tells him to let go of his anger and his guilt, as Paul sobs. The four gunmen soon after catch up with Paul, and force him to dig his own grave in the soft sand. Paul, now guilt free and seemingly without a care in the world, sings as he digs as the gunmen demand to know where the gold is. Paul refuses to tell them, at which point each gunman opens fire with their semi-automatic weapons and unload on Paul, riddling him with bullets.

Meanwhile, back at the temple Desroche and his gun toting henchmen arrive. He advises Otis that Tien was innocent in all of this, and orders them to hand over the gold. Otis and Hedy carry out a back pack and place it at Desroche's feet. It is revealed to contain rocks, at which point Melvin and Vinh open fire, ultimately dispensing with all the gunmen. Desroche tries to make an exit in a 4WD but the driver is shot through the windscreen and the vehicle upends itself landing on its side. Desroche clambers out armed with a pistol and a hand grenade. He shoots Otis and attempts to finish him off with the grenade which he tosses in Otis' direction. Melvin sees this and jumps on the grenade sacrificing himself. As Desroche stands over an injured Otis pointing a gun at his head, a shot rings out from the temple as David takes down Desroche with a single bullet.

In the final analysis, Vinh helps Otis cash out the gold. Melvin's widow is given his share, and Eddie's share is given to a chapter of the Black Lives Matter organisation. Hedy and Simon donate their shares to her mines and bombs clearing company in Seppo's name. Norman's remains are finally brought home with full military honours to his family. Otis visits Tien and begins to forge a new relationship with his daughter Michon. David reads a letter from Paul, which was given to Otis to give to David in the event of his death. The letter states that while he was far from the perfect father and that David's upbringing was far from loving, he tells him that he will always love him.

Well Spike Lee has done it again with 'Da 5 Bloods'! Here he delivers a film that is both timely and timeless in its portrayal of the plight and the fight of black African Americans for acceptance, recognition and equality - a fight as relevant under the Johnson and Nixon administrations of the '60's and '70's Vietnam War years as it is under the Trump administration fifty years on. This film packs a punch on many levels with Lee never being one to shy away from delving into the racial and cultural discrimination at play in the USA, or voicing his opinions of political leaders or events in history, or interweaving footage from key historical moments to add weight to his storyline. And that punch continues with a standout performance by Delroy Lindo whom some pundits are already lauding for Oscar contention with his portrayal of a man on the edge, suffering from PTSD, battling his own inner demons, and still at war with himself and seemingly all those around him. The supporting cast are all equally strong especially Chadwick Boseman, Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Jonathan Majors who all bring an authenticity to their roles and proof positive that good stories about the Vietnam War can still be relevant in 2020. It's a mash up of genres with the full range of emotions and humour that bind men together, violence and gore, and with nods to Francis Ford Coppola, John Huston, Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris even and Lee's old alma mater Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. An engrossing relevant film and an entertaining watch even at a two and half hour running time that never leaves you wanting.

'Da 5 Bloods' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR - Monday 30th April 2018.

'AVENGERS : INFINITY WAR' which I caught earlier in the week has arrived, finally, into our cinemas after much hype, eager anticipation, and huge expectations. This is the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the sequel to 2013 'The Avengers' which grossed US$1.52B off the back of a US$200M Budget outlay, and 2015's 'Avengers : Age Of Ultron' which grossed US$1.4B off a Budget of US$267M. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo who also Directed 'Captain America : Winter Soldier', and 'Captain America : Civil War', as well as the post-credits sequence that rounded out 'Ant-Man' and featuring a huge A-List ensemble cast, the like of which has quite possibly never before been seen on the big screen to such an extent. The Russo Brothers are also Directing the as yet unnamed sequel to this film which is due for release in early May 2019 and which was shot back to back over a twelve month period from January 2017 through January 2018. The film cost somewhere northward of US$300M to make and is one of the most expensive films ever made, and Marvel's most costly to date. In its opening weekend the film took US$641M making it the highest grossing opening film of all time, with the tally standing at US$858M at the time of posting.

Here all The Avengers we have come to know, love and respect from the previous two instalments and their own stand alone films, plus a few ring-ins must unite two years following the events of 'Captain America : Civil War' and following on directly from the closing scene in 'Thor : Ragnarok'. Here we see the ship that Thor commandeered from The Grandmaster to take the survivors of a destroyed Asgard to the relative safe haven of Earth, all but destroyed by Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his 'children' Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary), Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) and Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw). All around are dead Asgardians save for a captive Thor (Chris Hemsworth) held in a vice like head grip by Thanos, an injured Heimdall (Idris Elba), a right as rain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

Thanos is already in possession of the first of six all powerful Infinity Stones, having secured the Power Stone already. He knows that someone on board the stricken ship has the Tesseract, which holds the Space Stone, and he is determined to get his hands on it. Thanos kills Heimdall but not before the revered sentry of Asgard summons the Bifrost sending Hulk back to Earth.

At this Loki tries to bargain with Thanos giving up the Tesseract in exchange for sparing Thor's life, but ultimately the Titan crushes Loki's throat with a single hand, squeezing all life from him, watched on by a helpless Thor. Thanos now armed with two Infinity Stones departs the stricken ship with his children, destroying it in the process.

Back down on Earth, Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) are going about their daily business in Strange's New York residence the Sanctum Sanctorum when crashing through the window and through the grand staircase of the household lands Hulk who has now reverted to Bruce Banner, via the Bifrost. Banner announces to an unsuspecting Strange and Wong that Thanos is coming and he's hellbent on destroying half the known universe. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) is contacted by Strange and their introductory encounter is a little strained, but distraction is provided by Maw and Obsidian who arrive via a giant rotating circular spaceship to take possession of Doctor Strange's Time Stone, which he ain't gonna give up for anyone!

A battle ensues in the streets of downtown New York which Peter Parker (Tom Holland) gets involved in too, swinging into action as our favourite web slinger, Spider-Man. With five Avengers against two Thanos thugs, the odds would be stacked in favour of the former, but not so. Maw takes Strange prisoner aboard his ship with the aim of removing the Time Stone, followed in hot pursuit by Iron Man and Spider-Man. Before doing so, Banner urges Tony Stark to contact Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) using the cell phone given to him after the pair fell out following the events of 'Captain America : Civil War'. Stark was reluctantly about to do so before the attack, and now he is gone heading into deep space somewhere. Banner retrieves the phone after the battle, and calls Rogers.

Meanwhile up in Scotland, seemingly away from the fray living their private lives Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are ambushed by Midnight and Glaive seeking to retrieve the Mind Stone from Vision's forehead. Coming to the rescue just in the nick of time are Rogers, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), who jet off to the new Avengers facility to meet with James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle). Vision offers to sacrifice himself by having Wanda Maximoff summons her powers to destroy the Mind Stone rather than letting it fall into the hands of Thanos. Rogers however, suggests an alternative strategy. That they fly to Wakanda as the only place equipped with the technology to remove the Mind Stone safely so allowing Vision to live, and Rogers has some connections there too.

In the meantime, somewhere in deep space The Guardians of the Galaxy have responded to a distress call from the stricken Asgardian ship, and rescue Thor. Following rather protracted introductions with a few laugh out loud one-liners, Thor surmises that Thanos is in pursuit of the Reality Stone, which is in the possession of The Collector (Benicio del Toro) located on Knowhere. Rocket (the Racoon, voiced by Bradley Copper)  and Groot (an extraterrestrial tree like humanoid voiced by Vin Diesel) accompany Thor to Nidavellir to locate a weapon that is capable of killing Thanos. There they find the industrial planet shut down, the lights are off and nobody's at home. Except for Eltri (Peter Dinklage) a weapons forger who crafted Thor's hammer Mjolnir. To forge a new weapon for Thor means restarting the giant turbines now frozen that heat the furnace that melts the metal to create The Stormbreaker, a magical battle axe with similar properties to Mjolnir. Job done, Thor, Rocket and Groot get outta there.

In the intervening period Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) arrive on Knowhere, but after Thanos has arrived and has his giant foot resting menacingly on The Collectors chest, with the Reality Stone already embedded in his gauntlet with the others. Gamora confronts Thanos, for she is his adoptive daughter, and she reluctantly reveals the location of the Soul Stone to save her adoptive sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) from torture at the hands of Thanos. Thanos and Gamora travel to the planet Vormir where Red Skull (Ross Marquand replacing Hugo Weaving) is the keeper of the Stone, which can only be retrieved by sacrificing someone he loves. With a tear in his eye and a heavy heart, Thanos throws Gamora over a steep cliff where she falls to her death, so securing him the Soul Stone.

Nebula is able to effect her escape from the clutches of Thanos, and establish contact with the remaining Guardians asking them to rendezvous with her on the now destroyed home planet of Thanos, Titan. Meanwhile Stark and Strange are are able to over power Maw with the help of Spider-Man and eject him out of the ship floating to his death in infinite space. They crash land the now stricken ship on Titan where they meet Quill, Drax and Mantis. After the initial introductions are dispensed with, they hatch a plan to relieve Thanos of his Infinity Gauntlet.

Thanos duly arrives and during a momentary lapse of concentration, Mantis subdues him using her empathic powers. Nebula draws the conclusion that Thanos has killed Gamora which he admits to while under the spell of Mantis. Quill, however, becomes enraged at this revelation and lashes out at Thanos breaking the hold that Mantis had on him. Quickly, Thanos gains the upper hand and overpowers the entire group, including the three Avengers (Spider-Man was hastily inducted as an bona fide Avenger by Stark after the trio dispensed with Maw) and impaling Iron Man with a long blade. Strange gives up the Time Stone in exchange for him sparing the life of Stark. Thanos departs for Earth.

Back on Earth in Wakanda, Rogers in reunited with an exiled Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). The Avengers seek that Shuri (Letitia Wright) extracts the Mind Stone from Vision using their cutting edge technology to save his life in the process. But time is ticking away and the army of Thanos is anticipated imminently. The army invades trying to break through the Wakandan force field. The Avengers, together with T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) mount a defensive attack together with the might and strength of the Wakandan forces. Thor, Rocket and Groot arrive and join the fray. Midnight, Obsidian and Glaive leading the charge of the invading army are killed in battle and their army flees when they succumb to the wrath of Thor and his new Stormbreaker Axe.

Thanos arrives, and at Vision's insistence Maximoff destroys his Mind Stone shattering it into a thousand fragments, preventing Thanos from securing the final Infinity Stone to complete the full set of brightly coloured all powerful gems. With the Avengers scattered having failed in their attempts to overpower Thanos, the Titan shows empathy towards Maximoff before activating the Time Stone and reversing her most recent actions to the time just a few minutes before. Vision lives, with the Mind Stone in tact, which Thanos plucks from his forehead, killing Vision in the process once and for all. At that Thor appears and impales Thanos with his Stormbreaker Axe. Just when you thought you could breathe a sigh of relief Thanos activates the now complete Infinity Gauntlet and is teleported off this little blue planet.

Thanos plans for the universe are thrown into motion with a click of his fingers as life begins to disintegrate quickly. Those first to disappear like ash in the wind are the likes of Strange and Parker, and Drax, Quill and Mantis still on Titan, then T'Challa, Barnes, Groot, Maximoff and Wilson in Wakanda. Stark and Nebula remain intact on Titan, as do Banner, Rogers, Thor, Okoye (Danai Gurira), Rhodes, Rocket and Romanoff on the battlefield of Wakanda. Meanwhile, Thanos has arrived on his home planet, walks into his mountain top home from home and watches a sun setting on another day as he recovers from his injury.

In the post credit sequence, we see Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) driving through a busy street when a car in front spins randomly out of control and collides with theirs. Getting out to investigate Hill sees that the car is driverless, just as a helicopter flying overhead spins recklessly out of control smashing into an office tower. Looking on, Hill begins to disintegrate, and as Fury sends a distress signal so he too begins to disintegrate.

The 'Avengers : Infinity War' is a movie of epic proportions and it certainly helps if you have sat through the previous instalments of the MCU that feature those characters portrayed in this film. This is not intended to be a standalone instalment, but rather a continuation and a culmination of the previous ten years, eighteen films and several MCU tie-ins and cross-overs. Directors the Russo brothers under the watchful gaze of Marvel Studios Producer Kevin Feige, have crafted a film that delivers on many levels - the action set pieces, of which there are plenty, are delivered effectively and expertly on a grand scale, there are moments of emotion and there are laugh out loud one liners too. Never does the ego of one Superhero get in the way of another, and each character is given sufficient latitude and screen time to advance their story arc just a little further without it being repetitive. Josh Brolin as Thanos gives a convincing performance as a giant of a man whose universe crushing outwardly persona gives way on more than one occasion to inner emotion and a level of thinking that reveal more than a cardboard cut out of an intergalactic arch villain. As for the rest of the cast, they too can be hardly faulted - after all we know them all well and have seen them conquer Earth based enemies and otherworldly foe too, but this time, have they met their match - it sure looks like it! As the closing credits says 'Thanos will be back' - one year from now. This fact of course may disappoint some viewers expecting closure, as will the death of several of their favoured characters, the omission of some others (most notably Hawkeye, Ant-Man or Valkyrie), the fact that every otherworldly planet visited has a breathable atmosphere and appears to have a temperate climate, and the elongated running time may be too big an ask for some. My advice however, if you are a follower of the MCU, then watch this film on the biggest screen and be prepared to sit through two and a half hours of solid Marvel movie entertainment at its biggest, boldest and brashest - you won't be disappointed.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-