CHAOS WALKING : Tuesday 9th March 2021.

I saw 'CHAOS WALKING' at my local multiplex this week. This M Rated American Sci-Fi action adventure film is Directed by Doug Liman whose prior film making credits take in the likes of 'Swingers' in 1996, 'The Bourne Identity' in 2002, 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' in 2005, 'Fair Game' in 2010, 'Edge of Tomorrow' in 2014, and 'The Wall' and 'American Made' both in 2017. This film is based on the Sci-Fi trilogy 'Chaos Walking', adapting its first book, 2008's 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness. First announced in 2011, the film had undergone several rewrites with Liman later announced as the Director in 2016, with principal photography fully started and finished around 2017. Originally set for release on 1st March 2019, it was removed from schedule to accommodate the films' reshoots in April 2019 following poor audience test screenings. It saw its World Premiere in South Korea on 24th February this year and was released in the US and Australia last week. Costing US$100M to produce, the film has so far grossed US$7M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews. 

Our film opens up on a distant habitable world (not unlike planet Earth), known as New World in the year 2257 AD. We are first introduced to Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland) walking through the woods with his trusted dog in tow. On the path into Prentisstown, where he lives he comes across Aaron (David Oyelowo) a radical preacher riding his horse. Aaron gets down off his horse and thumps Todd squarely in the face sending him reeling backwards. This is because of 'The Noise' - a force that puts everyone's thoughts on display and for everyone to see and hear. Clearly Aaron was none too pleased at the noise emanating from Todds head. Aaron mounts his horse and heads onward, leaving Todd to collect his thoughts and continue into Prentisstown. Once there Davy Prentiss Jnr. (Nick Jonas) siddles up on horseback and chastises Todd who retaliates with the thought of huge snake rising up against him which causes Davy's horse to buck throwing him off. Appearing shortly afterwards is David Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen) the Mayor of Prentisstown, who tells the two young lads to stop playing, and commends Todd for his clever snake thought.  

Returning to his farm that night and over dinner with Ben Moore (Demian Bechir) and Cillian Boyd (Kurt Sutter) his adoptive fathers, Ben tells Todd that he is needed to work the farm the next day. The next morning while Todd goes to the barn in search for some tools, he spies a mystery figure dressed in orange jump out of a barn window and leg it into the woods. Todd gives chase and comes across the scene of a recently downed spacecraft whose wreckage is strewn over a large area. His thoughts are to immediately advise David Prentiss of his findings, who rapidly organises a search party for the mystery man. 

Returning to the crash site David Prentiss, Todd and a bunch of other men scour the scene salvaging what serviceable technology they can, whilst searching for a girl, Prentiss has quickly determined. Gingerly seeking out the mysterious figure Todd comes across a girl (Daisy Ridley), and is taken aback because he has never seen a girl before. It turns out that the alien species who inhabited New World, known as the Spackle, released a germ that killed all the women and unleashed 'The Noise' on the remaining men. Todd's own mother was killed by the Spackle shortly after he was born. The girl does not speak, but chooses to run in a bid to escape. 

It's not long before David Prentiss and his men catch up with the girl, and take her back to Prentisstown. There she is questioned and we learn that her spacecraft burned up on entry into New World's atmosphere and the rest of her crew all perished. David has ulterior motives for his line of questions - in particular his interest in the mother ship which carries four thousand people and its means to get them off New World. Following an incident in which the girl is left alone with Davy Jnr., the girl again escapes and from under the building where she is hiding she can easily overhear a conversation David is having with some others saying that it is in everyone's interests to capture the girl, to do it quickly before she is able to contact the mother ship, and that she poses a threat to them all. 

While David is off organising a search party, the girl lays low in the barn of Todd's farm, unbeknownst to him. He goes inside and discovers her, and tells her that he doesn't want to harm her, is there to help her and to remain out of sight. He then tells his fathers Ben and Cillian, who reluctantly agree to harbour the girl, but tell Todd that he needs to get far away from Prentisstown and to go to Farbranch another community some distance away. Ben shows him a map which Todd commits to memory, and is told not to tell anyone at Farbranch that they are from Prentisstown. It's not long however, before David arrives at the farm demanding to know the whereabouts the girl. Todd gives away the girls location in the barn through his noise. Inside the barn the girl has hot-wired a motorbike and makes her escape on it. Todd jumps on a horse and follows in hot pursuit, duly followed by a posse of David's men. David meanwhile shoots Cillian in the stomach and he lies there dying in Bens arms.

After falling down a steep gully in the woods, the motorbike is trashed and the horse suffers a broken leg which sees Todd put his trusted steed out of its misery. They continue on foot, and camp out in the rain overnight. The girl introduces herself to Todd as Viola Eade and says she has never seen or felt rain before. It took her mother ship sixty-four years to travel from Earth to New World. She was born on it, as were her parents who have subsequently died, and it was her grandparents who set forth from Earth all those years ago in search of new worlds to colonise. 

They venture deeper into the forest trying to find the path to Farbranch. They come across a clearing and a Spackle alien. Todd and the Spackle fight with Todd gaining the upper hand and holding the Spackle's head under the water of a nearby stream and stabbing away furiously at the alien. Viola urges Todd to stop. He does so reluctantly, as the Spackle gets up, recovers himself and walks away nonchalantly glancing back over its shoulder as it does so. 

Eventually they come to Farbranch and they are surprised to find a community that has sheep in a paddock, grapes growing on trellised vines, and a big contingent of women and girls. The mayor of the town is female too - Hildy Black (Cynthia Erivo) who takes in the pair and provides them with safe harbour, despite the ruling that any man from Prentisstown entering Farbranch will be given the rope (ie. hanged). When Todd lets slip through his noise that he is in fact from Prentisstown, the menfolk want to string him up immediately, but Hildy says that he's just a boy and therefore the rule doesn't apply. It's here we learn one evening that Ben slipped Todd's mothers journal into his pack before he set off. He confesses to Viola that he cannot read and was never taught, in the belief that hearing others mens thoughts was all the education he would ever need. So Viola reads the journal and it is revealed that David Prentiss engineered the execution of all the woman, because the menfolk couldn't bear the women knowing their every thought, while the men couldn't bear not knowing what their women were thinking. The next day David rocks up to Farbranch with his posse and a stand-off ensues with Hildy and her community. 

David demands to know the location of the girl, and sends Ben in to retrieve her from a storage facility. Ben uses his noise to project an image of Viola to appease David momentarily so giving her and Todd the opportunity to escape. Hildy had previously told Todd that the next community, Haven, contains a means of communicating with the mother ship, so they venture forth. In the meantime, Todd and Ben argue saying that he now knows the truth behind the slaying of all the women and why did Ben lie to him all these past years. Ben is distraught, and offers to make amends to allow their escape, even if it means sacrificing himself. They come to a river bank upon which is tied a two man barge. They see this as a means of evade their pursuers but Aaron catches up with them on horseback and follows them into the river. Viola can't swim, and approaching a set of rapids Aaron latches onto Viola and drags her off the barge with Todd attempting to beat off the preacher. In the white water Viola is dragged under the upturned barge and she is separated from Todd and Aaron. Todd resurfaces and rescues Viola while Aaron emerges on the other side of the embankment and holds Todd's dog under the water drowning it. 

Collecting themselves and gathering their thoughts, they continue onwards coming to the remains of a downed mother ship that was the first in the fleet that landed initially on New World years ago. It is half buried and completely wrecked, but Viola says that there is a means of communicating two levels down that will still be active. They both climb down into the bowels of the former ship and locate the communication device, but there is no signal as the antennae is down. Todd offers to climb up several levels to reconnect the antennae, which he does successfully, but from on high notices David's posse approaching. In the meantime Aaron has re-emerged and gets into a fight with Viola as she is attempting to reconnect. Needless to say its doesn't end well for Aaron who is last seen screaming that he has been baptised by fire - literally! Viola connects with her mothership once the antennae is restored. Todd has clambered down and is confronted by David. Todd attacks David with a knife, David shoots Todd in the shoulder as he is running for cover, and Viola appears and pushes David over the edge of a badly damaged wing sending him falling several storeys below into the guts of the spaceship - presumably to his certain death. 

Viola's mothership then appears in the sky above them. Todd comes round on the mothership having been out of it for several days, his shoulder wound having been treated and almost healed with Viola looking on. They both look down on New World and see a new community in the throes of construction. 

'Chaos Walking' isn't a bad film, but it's also not that great. For a start there is very little by way of world building here given that this film is set 230+ years into the future and New World has the look and feel of our very own planet Earth, even though it is supposedly sixty-four years away. And this Sci-Fi, dystopian action drama part Western is a muddled concoction of teenage angst, wannabe romance and a wilderness survival movie that is aided along by the pairing of two young talented screen actors in Holland and Ridley intent on going their own way following their big budget franchise outings of recent years. And Mads Mikkelsen who is always watchable despite his character being undercooked does manage to be the glue that binds the film together, with mostly surplus to requirement performances from Oyelowo and Erivo regrettably. As for the Spackle who supposedly inflicted the Noise on the male population, well they barely get a look in save for one sequence when a fist fight breaks out between Todd and an one armed indigenous alien that ends as quickly as it started - enough said (and seen) it seems! Doug Liman who has enjoyed many successes throughout his career here offers up an interesting premise, with well enough realised set pieces but it lacks energy, urgency and emotion and ends up being conventional, predictable and lacking in substance, clearly not helped by its troubled shoot and protracted delays. 

'Chaos Walking' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GRINGO : Tuesday 5th June 2018.

'GRINGO' which I saw this week at my local multiplex sat in a near empty theatre is brought to us by Aussie Stuntman, Actor and only second time Director of a full length feature film, Nash Edgerton who brings us this American comedy crime caper, which he also Co-Produced. Nash Edgerton is the older brother of Actor, Director, Writer and Producer Joel Edgerton. Nash's previous feature length Directing credit was the 2008 Australian thriller 'The Square', and he has worked as Stunt Coordinator or Stuntman in numerous Hollywood movies over the years and occasionally acts too. For this film Nash has assembled an all star cast that takes in David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Thandie Newton, Sharlto Copley, Harry Treadaway, Paris Jackson and brother Joel amongst others. The film was released in the US in early March, has received mixed or average Reviews, and has so far taken US$10M at the Box Office.

Here, hapless mild-mannered and unassuming Nigerian born U.S. businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) works for a Chicago based medical technology firm that has developed the 'weed pill' (a medical marijuana that has been simplified into a pill format). Harold's bosses, CEO Richard Rusk (Joel Edgerton) and Co-owner Elaine Markinson (Charlize Theron) are interrupted having office sex by a telephone call from a frantic Harold claiming that he has been kidnapped in Mexico and that his captors are demanding a ransom of US$5M. This news takes Richard and Elaine off guard who are understandably unprepared for such an eventuality, and cut the phone call short to buy them some thinking time.

We then rewind two days and find Harold going about his business for the company he works for, Promethium, seemingly happily married to his wife Bonnie (Thandie Newton). In a coffee shop meeting over a latte, Harold meets with his Accountant, who shows him that he is verging on bankruptcy largely because of Bonnie's reckless spending habits and her huge business overheads for servicing one single Client. The Accountant also alerts Harold to the fact that he shouldn't trust his employer and that the word on the street is that the company is going to merge with another.

Harold sees that all of a sudden his livelihood is at risk, despite his long lasting and close friendship with Rusk. Arriving back at the office Richard announces unexpectedly that he, Elaine and Harold are to fly down to Mexico the next day to attend an important business meeting with the manufacturer of the weed pill, and to cease supply to a Mexican drug lord which up to now has proved very lucrative for all parties, but it must now stop for fear of jeopardising the planed merger - a fact that Harold is unaware of officially, and when quizzed, Richard is very coy about.

Meanwhile, in a city guitar shop run by Sunny (Amanda Seyfried) and her boyfriend Miles (Harry Treadaway), Nelly (Paris Jackson, daughter of Michael, in her screen debut) enters the shop to tell Miles that someone down Mexico way wants him to smuggle a small consignment of drugs into the U.S. He refuses the initial offer of US$10K for the project and then reluctantly agrees when the ante is upped to US$20K, and decides to take Sunny with him.

Harold, Richard, and Elaine arrive in Mexico where they are met at the airport by Angel (Yul Vasquez), a friend of Harold's from his previous visits. They meet with their company rep named Celerino Sanchez (Hernan Mendoza). Richard and Elaine enter his office while Harold is ordered that his presence at the meeting is not required. Richard delivers the news to cut off, forthwith, any and all supply to the Cartel, and that he isn't afraid of the idle threats of some little wannabe drug lord. The meeting is over very quickly, although Sanchez is noticeably shaken by the prospect of having to deliver this news to the head of the Cartel.

Later that night, after a stilted and hastily abandoned dinner, Harold is on a Skype call with Bonnie, where she announces that she doesn't want to be married to him anymore, and that she has met someone else, but wouldn't disclose who. She hangs up the call, leaving Harold distraught. Elsewhere in the city, Sunny and Miles have arrived. Miles maintains contact with his Mexican connection, while Sunny is oblivious to his intentions. Sanchez drives out later that night to the estate of Cartel leader Villegas, aka 'The Black Panther' (Carlos Corona). Sanchez advises Villegas about the latest development by Promethium. The drug lord is led to believe that Harold is the boss of the company, and therefore the only person equipped to open the vault at their manufacturing facility. He orders his henchmen to go locate Harold after having them cut off Sanchez's toe with bolt cutters to show that nobody messes with The Black Panther.

With Richard and Elaine having departed for Chicago early the next morning, Harold is left in Mexico to attend to business, with the Cartel now hunting him down. Harold fakes his disappearance from the hotel leaving his clothes, mobile phone, laptop, suitcase and still made up bed in the room, as though he left in a hurry. He checks into a downbeat motel in the arse end of town run by a couple of young Mexican likely lad brothers whom he later convinces to create background threatening sound effects while he calls Richard with the news of his kidnapping. After their meeting down in Mexico the previous day, Richard and Elaine are now fearful that the Cartel are catching up with them, and believe Harold's story. Richard has a plan, and calls his brother Mitch (Sharlto Copley) who is experienced at taking people out and high level extractions having served as a mercenary, but now reformed and doing humanitarian work in Haiti. Mitch agrees to the safe extraction of Harold for US$200K.

Harold spends the night feeling sorry for himself in some local cantina getting steadily drunk. The bartender who has a connection to the Cartel, alerts them and soon afterwards two of Villegas's henchmen descend upon Harold and take him for a ride home. Being able to speak Spanish, Harold recognises the banter going on between his two new 'friends' and quickly comes to his senses, when he spies one of them with a pistol resting on his lap, poised to use it in the event of any trouble. Harold in a state of panic, struggles with the armed man for the gun causing a single shot to fire out killing the driver with a bullet to the head. The car veers out of control, crashes down an embankment and comes to rest in a crumpled heap. The next morning, Harold is limping dazed and confused down a country road, when who should happen by but Sunny and Miles driving their small little compact car. Sunny urges Miles to stop, and he reluctantly does so, just as Harold passes out on the roadside. Coincidentally, all three are staying in the same motel, which is how Sunny recognised Harold.

Back at the motel, Sunny nurses Harold back to consciousness and tends to a head wound. Sunny from this point on calls Harold, Harry, because there are more famous Harry's in the world than Harold's. At this point the two likely lads in charge of the motel, attempt to kidnap Harold to claim a reward for his delivery to Villegas. Wearing full face masks and at gunpoint, they storm Harold's room. Within no time, Mitch is on the scene taking out the two would be kidnapper brothers and Miles in the process. Mitch manhandles Harold outta there and reassures him that by this time tomorrow he'll be safely back in Chicago.

At the airport Harold does a runner just before checking in believing that he is being kidnapped again, and Mitch gives chase. Mitch catches up with him and takes him back to his room where he injects him with a nano tracking device to know where he is at all times. Mitch makes a deal with Harold to try and get Richard to pay a larger sum of money for Harold's return - a share of the US$2M kidnap insurance payout. When Mitch calls Richard to make that deal, Richard tells him that the company is planning to collect a life insurance claim on Harold if he were to end up dead which is valued at US$5M. Unbeknownst to Harold, Mitch agrees to take him up on that offer for a US$2M share. To celebrate their freedom and their insurance windfall, Harold and Mitch go out on the streets where they are seen by the two brothers from the motel. In a moment of clarity, Mitch admits Richard's plan with the insurance payout. Mitch is then struck by a car driven by the brothers and winds up face down in the river. Harold is then taken to see Villegas.

The brothers rock up to the Villegas estate with a bound Harold in tow. Villegas promptly shoots dead each of the brothers, and reassures that no harm will come to Harold, as they merely want access to the drug company's vault to take a stash of surplus weed pills for themselves. Meanwhile Miles, is making his way toward the same location for his own stash of what he came for. Upon arrival the Cartel henchmen get involved in a huge firefight with the Police and Security guards with casualties inflicted on all sides. Harold recognises Angel, who reveals himself to be an undercover DEA Agent who has infiltrated both the Cartel and Promethium and has nothing good to report about either organisation.

Making their getaway outta Dodge City, Harold and Angel are run off the road by Villegas henchmen with their car ending up on its roof by the side of the road on the outskirts of town. Harold and Angel crawl out of the upturned car just as the henchmen turn back towards them. Another firefight ensues in which Harold takes out one and Mitch (who has recovered from his near death experience) having tracked Harold, takes out another, only to be shot in the head by the first henchmen who was not quite dead yet, until Harold finishes him off. Harold gives Angel a stickdrive with the information he secretly uploaded from Richard's computer a few days earlier containing the data needed to take Richard down. Harold admits he can't return home since he no longer has a job or a wife to return to, now knowing that Richard was carrying on with Bonnie in a relationship that has subsequently gone south. Angel replies that people simply vanish in Mexico all the time, and that he will turn a blind eye to allow Harold to fake his own death. Harold briefly mourns over Mitch's lifeless body before taking the taxi he commandeered, which contained several rolls of US$100 bills and forged passports, one of which was ready for 'Harry' to skip Mexico under a new identity.

In the washup, Villegas and his Cartel, along with Miles, are all arrested by Angel and the local authorities. Harold is declared dead back home, and a funeral is held for him, which a now remorseful Bonnie attends. Richard is arrested and sentenced to fifteen years jail time, and Elaine takes over the company pleading ignorance to Richard's nefarious ways. Somewhere on the Mexican coast at a deserted beach Harry has opened up a bar. He maintains contact with Sunny and sends her a message on her birthday. He looks directly at the camera with a wry smile on his dial.

Despite its impressive cast which promises so much, the film under delivers and offers nothing new that we have not seen in other similar genre movies. The characters are largely lifeless, except for Charlize Theron's Elaine who has the pick of the rapid fire one liners and delivers some great dialogue that is too risqué to reproduce here, but great fun nonetheless and to see her so brazenly flaunt her sexuality as the take no prisoners, potty mouthed, full of herself, opinionated and super confident corporate exec. is the highlight of an otherwise predictable by the numbers film. There is a lot going on in this film as story threads get compounded and short changed, never being full fleshed out until everyone gets their payday in the last five minutes. In summary, the black comedy really failed to materialise for me, it's violent in places but not overly so, and its a crime caper of sorts only - all of which failed to manifest in any real meaningful way. You don't have to see this on the big screen and can easily wait for the BluRay, DVD, digital download or streaming service to catch it from the comfort of your own home.

'Gringo' merits two claps of the clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd December 2016.

As another year draws to a close I take this opportunity to wish my loyal and ever expanding Blog readership a very Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2017 to you all. Thank-you for your support of Odeon Online in the past twelve months - it makes the writing, the research, the time and countless hours spent in a dark place with a bunch of strangers worthwhile and all the more fulfilling. It's been a big year at the movies, and 2017 promises more of the same and as long as you keep reading, I'll keep watching and writing. Thanks again, and may your festive season he fun, relaxing, safe and cinematic in some way.

This week there are three new release films ahead of the Boxing Day rush, and all three are character studies centering around everyday couples living their everyday lives but challenged in some way. The first sees an aspiring prolific poet who loses his complete works, only to be given some sort of salvation by a Japanese mystery man when he least expected it. Then a true life drama bio-pic of inter-racial marriage when it was truly frowned up on by family, Governments and the laws of the land, and then next is a French film of a random encounter of two people that has far reaching and unexpected consequences for them both as they get to know each other.

Three films then to tempt you out to your local movie theatre in the lead up to Christmas, together with a haul of other great cinema content still out of general release and as Reviewed and Previewed between these pages. Remember too that your constructive, relevant, pertinent feedback is always warmly welcomed when you have sat through your film of choice in the week ahead. Simply leave a Comment below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you. In the meantime, enjoy your movie.

'PATERSON' (Rated M) - Written and Directed by Jim Jarmusch, this film competed for the Palme D'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival and it walked away with the Palm Dog Award for the performance of the dog, Marvin, who plays an important role in the film's story. Here we have Paterson (Adam Driver), a bus driver living in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, and the film charts a week in the life of the man who drives his bus and writes poetry in between shifts, or when inspiration takes him. He records his poetic thoughts in a notebook, based on his observations of life as he passes it by, and the idle chatter of his passengers. Each day after work he takes his dog Marvin for a walk around the block stopping off at his favoured jazz bar for a beer and to observe the conversations and the comings & goings of the other patrons to the bar with the owner Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley).

His wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) is his biggest fan of his poetry and she urges him to get his work published or at least copy his material. He finally relents and agrees to copy his work, but returning home one evening later in the week after the couple have shared a evening out together, they discover that Marvin has ripped to shreds Paterson's note book, destroying all of his poetry. The next day a forlorn Paterson takes solace at his favourite beauty spot overlooking The Great Falls of the Passaic River where he encounters a mysterious Japanese man who is reading the works of his own favourite Poet William Carlos Williams, and the mystery man hands him an empty notebook as a gift. Hailed as Driver's best performance to date, and one of Jarmusch's finest works also, this is a slow burn movie where very little happens, but it is an intense character study that is restrained, thoughtful and a celebration of a simple life.

'A UNITED KINGDOM' (Rated PG) - Directed by Amma Asante and based on the real life story of the inter-racial romance that developed in 1948 between Sir Seretse Khama who was born into one of the more powerful of the royal families of the then British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated in South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned, with a popular but controversial bride, Ruth Williams, a Lloyds of London clerk, to lead his country's race for independence. He founded the Botswana Democratic Party in 1962 and became Prime Minister in 1965. In 1966, Botswana gained independence and Seretse Khama became its first President. This is that story of Seretse (David Oyelowo) and Ruth (Rosmaund Pike) and how their love for each other was frowned upon by their respective families, and the Governments of South Africa and Great Britain at the time. Defying their families, apartheid and the British Empire the pair move from their exile back to their African Kingdom to take on the mantle of power following Botswana's independence. The film also stars Tom Felton, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Jessica Oyelowo. The film Premiered at TIFF in September, saw its UK release in November and is released Stateside in February 2017. The film has so far received generally positive reviews.

'ROSALIE BLUM' (Rated M) - this French foreign language film was released in late March this year in France and has been touring around the festival circuit ever since gaining much critical praise in the process. Although released officially this week, it has been showing for some weeks already at selected cinemas around the country. Based on the trilogy of graphic novels by Camille Jourdy and written for the big screen and also Directed in his debut by Julien Rappeneau this comedy/drama tells the story in three chapters of Vincent Machot (Kyan Khojandi) a 30+ year old hairdresser whose life revolves around his work, his overbearing mother and a cousin who is trying to set up Vincent with the prefect date. One day when running an errand for his mother, he happens on Rosalie Blum (Noemie Lvovsky) a grocery store worker and their eyes meet. Vincent is convinced they have met before, but knows not when, where or how. He becomes intrigued by Rosalie and starts obsessing about her, to a point where he begins following her. What ensues are a series of dramatic, adventurous and funny coincidences that ultimately bring the pair together and change their lives thereafter.

With three films taking us up to Christmas, and a slew of new releases coming your way on Boxing Day too. Keep watching for more Previews, Reviews and updates, and in the meantime, I'll see you sometime in the coming week, at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES : archive from 16th August 2011.

The image of Charlton Heston peering up at the half buried Statue of Liberty poking out of the sand, in the closing minute of the 1968 'Planet of the Apes' film would rank as one of the most iconic images in film history. Anyone who has seen this film nearly always refers to that one scene when Heston's character - George Taylor comes to the realisation that he is in fact on planet Earth at some undisclosed future date and there is every chance that he is stuck there with little or no way of getting back to his own world. This film spawned a movie franchise, a spin off television series, an attempted reboot courtesy of Tim Burton in 2001, and now a whole new imagining in 2011 - 43 years after Heston's future world offering.

And so, with great expectation and eager anticipation, I saw 'RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' last night. I have to say that this is powerful and respectable retelling of the classic 60's novel that has had so many big and small screen treatments go before it. But here, once again, we have a whole new audience who will know very little about that rich back catalogue, hence this new updated take. This origin story Directed by Rupert Wyatt, sets the tone for a new franchise updated for 2011 from the Apes perspective.

Here we have an ape - Caesar (Andy Serkis yet again proving he is the king of mo-cap and the king of the apes!) that is being raised in largely domestic surroundings in a San Francisco suburb by scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) who works for biotechnology company 'Gen-Sys'. Caesar's mother was killed in the lab some years earlier while being tested upon for a cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's using an experimental viral drug known as ALZ-112. The 112 virus was passed genetically onto Caesar who now growing, is showing increasing signs of intelligence and human-like ability.

Various events unfold that lead to Caesar being locked up in a shelter with other chimps where he is treated cruelly by the keeper, and the other chimps. But Caesar is no ordinary monkey and he learns quickly to break free from his cage, gain access to a common area and overcome the alpha male chimp. At the same time 'Gen-Sys' has taken the drug to the next level with ALZ-113 now in a gaseous form and ready for testing. Rodman takes several canisters home for intended use on his dying father in a last ditch attempt to save him from the ravages of age, cancer and Alzheimer's, and, is able also to have Caesar released with the intention of taking him home too, but Caesar escapes, gets there first, steals a number of the drug canisters and makes off.

The now motivated Caesar returns to the lock-up and sprays the other chimps and apes with ALZ-113 so enhancing their cognitive and intellectual powers overnight. They then escape releasing all from that compound and do likewise with all the simian inmates at San Francisco Zoo too. The set piece of the films is staged on the Golden Gate Bridge as ape and human armies collide with the police forces attempting to halt the apes path to the forested San Francisco hinterland. The apes however, having grown strong physically, in numbers, in their determination and in their motivation overcome the human barricade and flee to the hills but not before a path of destruction has been left in their wake.

As the film draws to a close we see and hear Caesar utter his first human words to Rodman who has given chase in an attempt to warn his ape friend that the humans will hunt them and kill them without mercy, and that Caesar should return home - to which Caesar replies 'Caesar is home!'. As the credits roll we see the neighbour of Rodman leave for work as an airline pilot. He was previously infected by the new ANZ-113 drug that has adverse effects on humans but not on apes. As he arrives at San Francisco International Airport for his flight to Paris, his nose drips blood onto the ground. The closing graphic shows the spread of the virus rapidly across the world via airline travel, and the consequences this will have on the future of humanity, and the rise of the apes!

Disturbing in some ways but compelling viewing & well executed in many others. James Franco, John Lithgow (as Charles Rodman - Will's father and tester of ALZ-112), Brian Cox (as John Landon - the manager of the primate shelter where Caesar finds himself holed up for a while) and David Oyelowo (as Rodman's boss at 'Gen-Sys') all do well, but Andy Serkis steals the show with his powerful take on Caesar, laced with solid storyline that comes to this updated telling with a fresh approach and the latest technology to take the series to the next level. Recommended viewing, and you can now catch 2014's 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' and watch the two back to back! 'Rise' was made for US$93M and grossed US$482M which when coupled with 'Dawn' at a US$709M take, make for a very successful franchise so far!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR : Saturday 7th March 2015.

On my search for a new movie theatre in downtown Adelaide I found two within one hundred metres of each other both owned & operated by the same independent Australian cinema chain . . . fantastic, and in the heart of cafe, bars, and eatery land - what could be better? And so last night, I saw 'A MOST VIOLENT YEAR' - this American dramatic period piece set in Noo Yawk in possibly one of its most violent, turbulent, corrupt and dangerous years in its more recent history - 1981.

Directed and Written by J. C. Chandor this film is a slow burn, it's a morality tale, and a story of the little guy going it alone against the bigger guys and overcoming adversity to ultimately rise the victor as he chases the American Dream. Oscar Isaac is Abel Morales who we rarely see out of his camel coat braving a harsh New York winter as he struggles to maintain the heating oil business he has built from the ground up in the last ten years. Times are tough, competition is strong and he and his drivers are seemingly under constant attack from rival companies . . . of which there are many covering the greater New York area.

As an immigrant family, Abel is married to Anna (Jessica Chastain) and he has a moral code the he will not deviate from. He is honest, caring, loyal, tries to do the right thing always, and believes in hard work, integrity, setting an example and chasing his dream. As the attacks of his drivers worsen and he has more and more oil stolen his wife urges him to fight violence with violence, but he resists every step of the way. Determined to buy a disused old storage plant on the river that would see him quickly rise to the top and overpower his competitors he puts down a significant cash deposit on the property with a commitment that he has 30 days and no more to close the deal, or lose it all.

Needing another $1.5M to secure the deal he is confident that the bank will support the loan as they have in the past . . . but, they don't count on Assistant District Attorney Lawrence (David Oyelowo) who has Morales under scrutiny for possible tax evasion, price fixing, and other illegal affairs that he and his rivals have been getting away with for years, despite Morales constant denial that he has done anything untoward to solicit such unwelcome attention. When this begins to surface, and more attacks occur on Morales business (Standard Oil) the bank gets edgy and pulls away from the loan leaving Morales high & dry . . . almost!

With only a matter of days before closure, Morales needs to raise significant funds to secure his future, and that of his wife and family. Seeking loans from his rivals, remortgaging a unit block he shares with his younger brother, and securing funding from a few other places it comes right down to the wire before the deal is done three days over due.

Before doing so though the DA is niggling away at Morales business affairs with a court case pending, the attacks continuing, home life under pressure (wife Anna is also the company book-keeper), and a former employee who has been attacked twice is now on the run himself and posing a threat to Morales ongoing business interests unless he can be brought in to the authorities.

There are some tense moments in this film and the performances are solid from both Isaac and Chastain as husband and wife double act, and so too from Albert Brooks as Andrew Walsh - long term close friend, advisor and lawyer to Standard Oil and Morales. With Morales striding about meaningfully throughout in his long camel coat I was reminded of a younger Al Pacino who I felt surely had some influence on Isaac's character traits here . . . not to mention appearance! The dialogue is solid; the performances grounded; the look, feel and tone is early 80's without question; but the story does plod a little and takes a long time to not go very far.

Despite the title do not expect much on-screen violence here - it is a character driven story of good overcoming evil and not buckling to pressure, external influences and the easy way out. There are hardships, adversity, personal and professional struggles, underscored by a deep rooted integrity and an unwavering belief to do the right thing that must be upheld at all times.

You don't need to see this on the big screen and you could easily wait for the DVD and BluRay, but, this film has garnered some excitement with one Golden Globe nominations and a total of eight award wins and 33 nominations off its US$20M production budget.

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SELMA : Wednesday 25th February 2015.

I got around to seeing 'SELMA' last night - the US$20M story that has so far grossed US$54M as Directed by Ava DuVernay recounting the true life events of the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965 that was a catalyst for positive change to  the equal voting rights of oppressed, victimised and harassed black African American citizens in the state of Alabama where this film is set, and where the events depicted in the film largely unfold. This film was nominated at the recent Academy Awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Original Song - for which it won the latter, and all up can boast a total awards haul of 35 wins and a further 71 nominations to date.

Telling the story of Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo in fine form as MLK) who after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 focuses on the racial hardships endured by black African Americans, particularly in Alabama where segregation, discrimination, and acts of violence were commonplace at that time. The small town of Selma has has its fair share of oppression handed down by its townsfolk, the local rangers and sheriff's office and the mayor himself toward any black individual who dares to register to vote or who does not follow the local acts of segregation - despite what the law might otherwise say. Extreme acts of violence are meted out on a frequent basis resulting in numerous deaths that go unpunished, unpublicised and largely unnoticed in the northern States. But as the civil rights movement gathers momentum, so King travels to Selma to support the oppressed locals and add weight to the cause, given his direct line to President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson).

President LBJ though has more important things on his agenda than helping out the personal crusade of MLK - he recognises what's going on down south, he recognises that it is wrong, and he recognise that something needs to be done -  but it is not on his priority list given that he had been in office only a matter of months and he has 101 things on his radar compared to MLK's one!

Supporting James Bevel (Common) who had called for a non-violent protest march from Selma to Alabama's capital, Montgomery (50 miles away) with the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference of which King was the leader) the first attempt was made on 7th March 1965 but ended violently when local Selma whites, the police, and rangers turned on the peaceful demonstrators with guns, batons, clubs, tear gas to squash the protest. This however, was televised to 70 million people including the President, MLK, J.Edgar Hoover, and George Wallace (Tim Roth in excellent form as the bigoted Governor of Alabama) who watched these events unfold on national television. 'Bloody Sunday' as it came to be known, and as tragic as it was, was a turning point in the civil rights movement.

Advocating at all times non-violent protest as a demonstration of force, will & sheer determination by the blacks, King as his growing followers in the wake of Bloody Sunday, regrouped and attempted to march again on 9th March 1965. Taking his ever expanding followers to Edmund Pettus Bridge that day, he halted the gathered group behind him and paused mid-way across the bridge. Kneeling down in prayer, his group followed suit and did the same at which King then stood, turned around and headed for whence he came, even though the law enforcement officers, local rangers and sheriff's department had retread this time. King was however, still fearful of reprisals and a repeat of Bloody Sunday despite the media coverage.

On 25th March 1965 the full march went ahead with the knowledge of LBJ and George Wallace who sat by and watched the huge non-violent demonstration march on Montgomery from Selma fifty miles away. By now the worlds media had turned their attention to this civil rights campaign that was joined by growing numbers of white sympathisers, clergy, dignitaries and celebrities of the time (Sammy Davis Jnr., and Harry Belafonte for example, are shown in real footage of the time). Upon arriving at the steps of state capitol building in Montgomery, King delivered another rousing speech that later became known as the 'How Long, Not Long' speech in which he states that equal rights for black African Americans would now be not far away.

As a result of this and the growing pressure on LBJ from MLK, his ever growing followers and advocates, and from escalating numbers of white followers in the aftermath of Black Sunday, the President of the United States passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to law on 2nd July that year and received an over whelming majority of support.

This is a solid film offering recounting that true story that changed the course of history. It is not an MLK bio-pic by any stretch, but, it educates, illuminates and demonstrates the black/white divide of the time, the violence of the era and the oppression suffered by so many who were just seeking what was constitutionally theirs anyway. The performances are top notch especially from David Oyelowo as MLK, from Carmen Egogo at MLK's wife Coretta Scott King, Common as James Bevel, Tim Roth as George Wallace, and Tom Wilkinson as LBJ. Along the way there are further lesser roles that nonetheless add gravitas including Giovanni Ribisi as Lee White (advisor and aide to LBJ), Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper, Cuba Gooding Jnr. as Fred Gray, Martin Sheen as Federal Judge Frank Minis Johnson and Dylan Baker as J. Edgar Hoover looking to discredit and unsettle the King family as only he knows best.

At times the film plods along, and at just over two hours running time, it could have perhaps been abbreviated just a little, but in the final analysis this is a strong, powerful, riveting and occasionally disturbing film that you should watch to see just how far we have come as we approach the 50th anniversary of that march, and just how far we have still left to go!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-