THE RUNNING MAN : Tuesday 18th November 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'THE RUNNING MAN' this week at my local multiplex cinema, and this American dystopian action thriller film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Edgar Wright, and is based on the 1982 novel written by Stephen King under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. It is also the second big screen adaptation following the 1987 film of the same name that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Directed by Paul Michael Glaser. Edgar Wright's previous feature film output takes in his feature debut with 1995's 'A Fistful of Fingers' and then 'Shaun of the Dead' in 2004, 'Hot Fuzz' in 2007, 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' in 2010, 'The World's End' in 2013, 'Baby Driver' in 2017, and 'Last Night in Soho' in 2021. The film was released here in Australia, the UK and the US last week, cost US$110M to produce, has so far grossed US$31M and has garnered mixed critical acclaim.

In the near future, the USA is a dystopian authoritarian state ruled over by a major media Network, where the majority of the population live in poverty with little access to even basic healthcare. The Network appease people with their trashy, violent reality and game shows through their FreeVee TV's, which are literally everywhere. The Network's most popular show is 'The Running Man', where three 'Runners' are selected from literally hundreds of other wannabes, and can win US$1B if they survive for thirty days while the Network's 'Hunters', led by the mysterious Evan McCone (Lee Pace), and ordinary citizens try to hunt and kill them, by any means possible. Given US$1K and a twelve-hour headstart, Runners are required to film themselves for ten minutes every day and post in their recoded message which is then played on air the next day, or else they'll forfeit the contest. 

Ben Richards (Glen Powell), is a blue-collar worker living in the slums of Co-Op city, is unable to afford influenza medicine for his two year old daughter, Cathy, after being fired from several of his former jobs for insubordination and is blacklisted. Over his wife, Sheila's (Jayme Lawson), objections, Ben tries out for the Network and following exhaustive physical and mental testing is selected for 'The Running Man'. 

Ben agrees to participate when Executive Producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), who can be very persuasive, offers him an advance for Cathy's medication and a safe house for his family. As the show begins with great fanfare, Ben acquires fake IDs and two disguises - one as an Executive Manager and the other as a Priest, from his associate Molie (William H. Macy). Ben travels to New York, where he watches live coverage on his TV from his hotel room where is is holed up as Runner Tim Jansky (Martin Herlihy) is found seemingly flaunting the rules and is gunned down in the street and killed by the Hunters.

He then flees to Boston and hides out at a hostel, but is soon afterwards located by the Hunters. An intense firefight ensues, which leads to an explosion that takes out the entire hostel block and kills eight network soldiers. Ben escapes through a sewer and is found and sheltered by Bradley Throckmorton (Daniel Ezra) and his family. Bradley, an anti-network activist, teaches Ben about the network's propaganda and deceit, which Ben relays in his next recording. Instead, the Network replaces him with a foul-mouthed deepfake, resulting in Ben being kicked out of the house by Bradley's mother. Bradley then directs Ben to a fellow activist in Derry, Maine, where he says he'll be safe. 

During his journey, he learns that second runner Jenni Laughlin (Katy O'Brian) has been killed having narrowly escaped from a casino in a pink convertible car but then crashing it into a barn whereupon she was torched by two flamethrower wielding young kids. Ben is now the sole remaining runner, and he has earned the support of the poor and working-class who plaster the slogan 'Ben Lives' on walls and placards, almost everywhere. On the fourteenth day, Ben arrives at the home of Bradley's friend, Elton Parrakis (Michael Cera), who believes Ben's survival can help fuel a rebellion against the Network. Elton gives Ben a map to a bunker built by his late father, where he can survive the full thirty days, even though its designed to sustain a life for three years. 

As he tries to leave early one morning, Ben is alerted by Elton's aged mother Victoria (Sandra Dickinson) who recognises Ben from her ardent watching of his TV programme and wants to alert the Network. He successfully averts her from doing so, but Elton alerts them anyway and within under five minutes the property is swarming with Hunters. However, Elton has booby trapped the entire house and successfully dispatches many of them. Ben and Elton escape in a buggy filled with explosives, but McCone kills Elton with a single shot to the head from a helicopter above, and another Hunter confronts Ben on a bridge. Driving towards each other at speed, Ben crashes the buggy into the Hunter which erupts in a ball of flame, while he escapes by jumping into the river below.

Traveling north as per the map provided by Elton, Ben discovers that the location of the bunker has been covered over by a new housing development still under construction. Ben is later caught on surveillance but escapes using the car of upperclass woman Amelia Williams (Emilia Jones), taking her hostage. Amelia initially believes the propaganda about the Hunters being there to safeguard her kind from Ben's violent unruly kind, until she witnesses on her in-car TV screen how the show's content differs from reality. They travel to an airfield guarded by McCone and the Network, where Killian instructs McCone to let them pass. Ben commandeers a plane on the pretext that he is wearing a suicide vest of Black Irish high explosive that would incinerate everyone within a half mile radius. and he want's it to take him and Amelia across the border into Canada. On the flight, Killian calls Ben to offer him a contract for his own network show and to become Hunter 6. When Ben refuses, Killian shows footage of McCone and the Hunters murdering Sheila and Cathy, which is played on the show to give him the audience's sympathy.

Ben realises the flight crew are McCone's remaining Hunters and fights them in the cockpit eventually killing them. When he fights McCone, he learns that the latter is a former runner who survived 29 days during the show's first season, having taken Killian's deal. After a violent fight, Ben kills McCone and gives a parachute to Amelia so she can escape. Killian again offers Ben his own show and a chance to speak on live TV, but Ben refuses again and tries to convince viewers to turn off their FreeVee. The Network redirects the plane to their headquarters and runs a deepfake of Ben threatening to crash into the building. The plane is shot down by a missile before it hits the building. Ben survives the attack by escaping in the plane's auto-eject pod, and later reunites with Sheila and his daughter, whose deaths were faked by Killian.

Sometime later, Amelia recovers the plane's black box flight recorder and leaks the uncensored recordings to the public. This turns public opinion against the Network and ultimately leads to a rebellion. As the next season of The Running Man begins, host Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo) senses the hostility in the audience and quits on the spot after leading the show for twenty years, leaving Killian to very reluctantly take over as host - to which he lasts less than a minute after the a riot breaks out among the audience. Running to get away, Killian looses his way during the audience frenzy and crashes through a screen backdrop onto the main stage. Lying flat on the ground watching the melee unfolding before him, Ben emerges from the crowd, and points McCoon's gun (inscribed with word 'Destiny' in block capitals) at him. Counting down 5-4-3-2-1 and Action, Ben shoots Killian, whom he had sworn at their very first meeting that he would fuck him over.

My two other movie buddies and I came away from 'The Running Man' having enjoyed Edgar Wright's apparently more faithful adaptation of the Stephen King novel, and praising Glen Powell's performance as the put-upon but nonetheless undefeated Ben Richards. This movie has something to say about out of control corporate capitalism, society's insatiable appetite for in your face and outlandish media offerings, and the great divide that exists between the wealthy and those living on or below the poverty line. Throw into the mix a good dose of well executed action sequences, a strong supporting cast, a fast paced thrill ride that will not leave you wanting, and the charm and charisma of the film's leading man, and you have a movie that is well worth the price of cinema entry, and is an improvement on the 1987 original. 

'The Running Man' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 13th November 2025

The 29th annual Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (BNFF), or POFF (Pimedate Oode FilmiFestival) kicked off on Friday 7th November and runs through until Sunday 23rd November, in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. POFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe, and in 2014, it was upgraded to an A-list festival by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations), ranking amongst other notable film festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Shanghai, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Venice, San Sebastian, Warsaw, Tokyo and Cairo. The aim of the festival is to present a comprehensive selection of world cinema from the last two years to a local and international audience, offering fresh film production with high artistic value. Today, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival with Industry @ Tallinn & Baltic Event and with the two sub-festivals, Just Film and POFF Shorts, has grown into one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe and the busiest regional industry platforms. The festival is an important meeting point for a rapidly growing number of industry professionals from around the globe . . . . . so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Film was 'They Will Be Dust' from Spain, Switzerland and Italy this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet. When Claudia, a vibrant septuagenarian, is diagnosed with an incurable illness, she decides to end her days in a Swiss clinic. Flavio, her inseparable husband of over forty years, feels unable to face life without her. This sets in motion their plan to end their lives together in Switzerland. Meanwhile, their daughter Violeta becomes an involuntary mediator between them while trying to clarify her own thoughts. The three embark on a fascinating and profound journey of love and self-discovery.

In the Official Selection Competition section are the following titles :-

* 'Veins' - from Canada and this thriller is Co-Written and Directed by Raymond St.Jean. 

* 'Hungarian Wedding' - from Hungary this musical is Co-Produced and Directed by Csaba Kael.

* '18 Holes to Paradise' - from Portugal, Italy and Argentina, this drama film is Directed by Joao Nuno Pinto.

* 'The Dashed Lines' - from Spain, this drama film is Written and Directed by Anxos Fazans.

* 'The Good Daughter' - from Spain, and this coming of age drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Julia de Paz Solvas.

* 'Think of England' - from the UK, this historical drama comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Richard Hawkins. 

* 'The Imaginary Dog and the Lying Cat' - from Japan, this drama film is Directed by Yukihiro Morigaki. 

* 'LifeLike' - from Turkey, Greece and Romania, this drama film is Written and Directed by Ali Vatansever.

* 'The Stories' - from Austria, France, Belgium, Egypt and Sweden, this drama film is Written and Directed by Abu Bakr Shawky.

* 'Versalles' - from Mexico, and this drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Andres Clariond.

* 'Duality' - from Iran, and this experimental film is Written, Produced and Directed by Abbas Nezamdoost.

* 'Mira' - from Morocco, and this drama film is Written, Produced and Directed by Nour-Eddine Lakhmari.

* 'No Comment' - from Norway, and this comedy film is Directed by Petter Naess.

* 'The Muralist' - from Mongolia, and this drama film is Written and Directed by Sengedorj Janchivdorj.

* 'The Fog and the Water' - from Germany, and this road movie is Co-Written and Directed by Thomas Stuber.

* 'The Moon is a Father of Mine' - from Luxembourg, Turkey, Georgia, Germany, Czechia and Bulgaria, this dramatic adventure thriller film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by George Ovashvili.

* 'Sisa' - from the Philippines, this drama is Written and Directed by Jun Robles Lana. 

For the full descriptors of the aforementioned films in Official Competition, plus the full details of all the other film strands being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://poff.ee.en

Turning the attention then back on this weeks eight new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with a remake of a 1987 film that is a dystopian actioner in which a man joins a hugely popular TV game show in which contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are pursued by 'hunters' hired to kill them. Next we have the third instalment in this heist franchise that sees a diamond heist reuniting the retired Horsemen illusionists with three new young performers as they target dangerous criminals. Then we turn to a horror offering where a wife becomes isolated in a secluded cabin and has to fend off an unspeakable evil. Following on, with her life crashing down around her, a woman tries to navigate her daughter's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Turning to a European historical drama offering set in 1937 in the USSR where a newly appointed prosecutor discovers an undestroyed letter from a prisoner that reveals corruption in the secret police, that results in his search for the truth becoming very dangerous. And finishing off the week we have three Aussie offerings - the first of which is a comedy thriller where  desperation meets opportunity, as two perpetually broke buddies fall headfirst into a black market teeming with macabre riches. And we wrap up the week with two Aussie doco's, the first of which chronicles the transformative journey, through the healing powers of song, of a small group of women from the Adelaide Women's Prison; and concluding with an Aboriginal elder's final year, preserving his culture, while his homeland is poisoned by asbestos, and his fight against cancer.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the eight latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'THE RUNNING MAN' (Rated MA15+) - is an American dystopian action thriller film that is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Edgar Wright, and is based on the 1982 novel written by Stephen King under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. It is also the second big screen adaptation following the 1987 film of the same name that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Directed by Paul Michael Glaser. Edgar Wright's pervious feature film output takes in his feature debut with 1995's 'A Fistful of Fingers' and then 'Shaun of the Dead' in 2004, 'Hot Fuzz' in 2007, 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' in 2010, 'The World's End' in 2013, 'Baby Driver' in 2017, and 'Last Night in Soho' in 2021. The film is released here in Australia, the UK and the US this week.

In a near future society The Running Man is the top-rated show on television - a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive for thirty days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward. Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show’s charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort. But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favourite, and a threat to the entire system. Also starring Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, William H. Macy, Jayme Lawson and Emilia Jones.

'NOW YOU SEE ME : NOW YOU DON'T' (Rated M) - this American heist film is Directed by Ruben Fleischer, and is the sequel to 2016's 'Now You See Me 2' which was Directed by Jon M. Chu and is the third instalment in the 'Now You See Me' film franchise. Those fist two films in the series grossed worldwide US$687M off the back of combined production budgets of US$165M. Ruben Fleischer's prior feature film output takes in his 2009 debut with 'Zombieland' which he would follow up with the likes of 'Gangster Squad' in 2013, 'Venom' in 2018, 'Zombieland : Double Tap' in 2019, 'Venom : Let There Be Carnage' in 2021 and 'Uncharted' in 2022. Here, The Four Horsemen - J. Daniel 'Danny' Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) reunite to recruit three skilled illusionists - Charlie (Justice Smith), Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa) and June (Ariana Greenblatt) for a high-stakes heist involving the theft of the world's largest queen diamond from a powerful family crime syndicate headed up by Veronika Vandenberg (Rosamund Pike). Morgan Freeman also stars reprising his role as Thaddeus Bradley. The film is also released in the US this week, and it has been reported that a fourth film is already in development, and is set to be Directed by a returning Ruben Fleischer. 

'KEEPER' (Rated MA15+) - is an American surrealist horror film Directed by Osgood Perkins who made his Directorial debut with 'The Blackcoat's Daughter' in 2015, and would follow this up with 'I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House' in 2016, 'Gretel & Hansel' in 2020, 'Longlegs' in 2024 and 'The Monkey' released earlier this year. Here, Liz (Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) head to a secluded cabin for their anniversary weekend. Liz, alone after Malcolm suddenly returns to the city, is approached by an evil entity that unveils the cabin's secrets. This film is released Stateside this week too.

'IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU' (Rated M) - this American psychological drama film is Written, stars and is Directed by Mary Bronstein in only her second feature film offering following 2008's 'Yeast'. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Sundance Film Festival in late January, and was released in the US in early October having so far grossed US$1M. With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) tries to navigate her daughter's (Delaney Quinn) mysterious illness, her absent husband Charles (Christian Slater), a missing person Caroline (Danielle Macdonald), and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist (Conan O'Brien). Also starring A$AP Rocky. At this years Berlin International Film Festival, Byrne won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance., and the film has garnered generally favourable critical reviews. 

'TWO PROSECUTORS' (Rated PG) - this European historical drama film is Written and Directed by Sergei Loznitsa, and is based on the novella of the same name by Georgy Demidov. In 1937, Kornyev (Aleksandr Kuznetsov), a young and naive prosecutor, receives a letter written in blood from a prisoner Stepniak/Pegleg (Aleksandr Filippenko) alleging that the state secret police have abused their power and tortured him. Determined to meet the sender and learn about what’s occurring behind the walls of the gulag, Kornyev journeys into the heart of Russian secrecy to bring the case to Moscow. But inside a system designed to intimidate and deter, this proves to be an almost impossible challenge with staggering repercussions. The film had its World Premiere in the main competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it won the Francois Chalais Prize. It has generated universal critical acclaim.

'SNATCHERS' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian comedy thriller film Written by, Co-Produced, starring, Co-Directed and Edited by Craig Alexander and Co-Produced and Co-Directed also by Shelly Higgs in their joint feature film making debuts. A pair of lifelong friends and hospital orderlies Wolfe 'Mac' MacFarlane (Craig Alexander) and Jason Fettes (Justin Hosking) try to make a quick buck by selling the organs of a fresh corpse, but get thrown a curve ball when she, Jane Doe (Hannah McKenzie) wakes up on the operating table in the not too distant dystopian future. The film premiered in London at the Raindance Film Festival in mid-June this year.

'SONGS INSIDE' (Rated M) - this Australian observational documentary film is Directed by Shalom Almond and follows the story of Singer / Songwriter Nancy Bates and her ground-breaking music programme to teach women in prison how to play an instrument and write songs about their experiences of incarceration, in the lead up to a performance with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra inside the prison, with two hundred other inmates, staff and special guests. The documentary aims to showcase how music can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation. The film had its World Premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival in late October last year where it was awarded the AFF Audience Award for Best Documentary and Sydney Film Festival's Documentary Australia Award.

'YURLU | COUNTRY' (Rated PG) - is an Australian documentary film Directed by Yaara Bou Melhem. Back in 1934, Australian industrialist Lang Hancock staked a claim for Blue Asbestos at Wittenoom Gorge near his childhood home of Mulga Downs Station in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The traditional owners of the land were not consulted and did not give approval, and today, 46,840 hectares of Banjima Country, including Hancock’s childhood home, is a toxic exclusion zone. Asbestos now paints the red rocky landscape black, and the people of the area, including proud Banjima elder Maitland Parker, are locked out of their lands. For Maitland, though, the damage to the land takes an even more personal toll as he fights to to heal his mining impacted homeland and preserve his culture for future generations. 

With eight new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO : Tuesday 23rd November 2021.

'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO', which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week, is an MA15+ Rated British psychological horror film Directed, Co-Produced, Written and based on a story by Edgar Wright, whose previous film making credits are 'A Fistful of Fingers' - his Directorial debut in 1995, then 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Hot Fuzz', 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World', 'The World's End', 'Baby Driver', and the doco 'The Sparks Brothers' released earlier this year. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Venice International Film Festival on 4th September 2021, before its release in the UK and US on 29th October. The film was originally slated for release at the end of September 2020, but was delayed to 23rd April 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being delayed again to 22nd October, then again to the following weekend, before being released in Australia last week. So far the film has grossed US$20M off the back of a US$43M production budget and has garnered generally favourable Reviews. 

Here, an aspiring fashion designer Eloise 'Ellie' Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) who has a love for everything from the Swinging Sixties relocates from her home town of Redruth in Cornwall to London to attend the London College of Fashion. Her mother was also a fashion designer, committed suicide, and whose ghost she sees from time to time in mirrors, although the apparition never speaks to her. She lives with her grandmother Margaret Turner (Rita Tushingham) in Cornwall. 

Once in London and located in the halls of residence, she is paired up with snobbish roommate Jocasta (Synnove Karlsen). It is only John (Michael Ajao) another student who shows Ellie any empathy. Ultimately, after one too many rowdy parties and put downs Ellie moves out and into a bedsit owned by the elderly Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg, in her last screen acting role before her death in September 2020).

That night, Ellie has a dream whereby she is transported back to 1965 London, and in particular Soho. At the famed and popular Cafe de Paris, she observes a confident young blonde woman, Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), making enquiries about becoming a singer at the club, saying that she will be the next Cilla Black. Sandie embarks on a relationship with the charming manager, Jack (Matt Smith). The next morning while in class at college, Ellie begins to design a dress inspired by Sandie and discovers an unexplained love bite on her neck.

The next evening in another dream, Sandie successfully auditions at a Soho nightclub, arranged by Jack, before returning to the same bedsit that Ellie has rented. Inspired by her visions of Sandie, Ellie dyes her hair blonde, changes her fashion style, uses her as an inspiration for her dress designs and gets a job at a pub in order to make ends meet and pay for her rent and the original '60's clothing she has purchased. She is observed by a silver-haired man, who recognises her similarities to Sandie. In other dreams, Ellie discovers Sandie is not living the life she had wished for, and Jack begins to pimp Sandie out to his mostly middle-aged male clientele.

Back in the present day Ellie is disturbed by more and more menacing apparitions that resemble Jack and the men who abused Sandie. John persuades her to go to a Halloween Party, from which she later flees after the spirits attempt to accost her. John returns with her to her bedsit, where she has a vision of Jack murdering Sandie. Ellie decides to track down the silver-haired man, who she believes is Jack. She goes to the Police, and recounts her story in full detail, but she is taken for an unhinged crank.

Ellie visits the university library to find newspaper reports about Sandie's murder but is unsuccessful, instead finding plenty of stories of local men who mysteriously vanished seemingly without a trace. The spirits again manifest themselves, and attempting to flee the scene again, she nearly stabs Jocasta in a blind panic believing she was stabbing a spirit, but was prevented from doing so by John who intervened. Believing she must avenge Sandie's death, Ellie confronts the silver-haired man, who regularly drinks at the pub where she works. He angrily denies killing Sandie but is hit by a London cab and killed while leaving the pub. The pub landlady (Margaret Nolan in her last screen acting role before her death in October 2020) reveals the man's name to be Lindsay (Terence Stamp), and Ellie recalls coming across him in her dreams (as portrayed by Sam Claiflin) when he was an undercover vice officer who tried to help Sandie escape her life of prostitution. 

Distraught, Ellie decides to leave London and return to her Grandmother in Cornwall. John offers to drive her there, but first he drives her back to Ms. Collins' house so she can tell her that she's leaving and collect her belongings. Ms. Collins tells her that a female detective came by earlier in the day asking about Sandie's murder before revealing that she is actually Sandie. She explains that Ellie's vision of Sandie's death was in fact a vision of Sandie killing Jack when he threatened her with a knife. She then lured the men she was pimped to back to her room and killed them, hiding the bodies under the floorboards and in the walls of the house. Ms. Collins also reveals that she drugged Ellie's tea with the intention of killing her to prevent the truth from getting out.

In the ensuing scuffle, a cigarette from Ms. Collins' ashtray falls into a box of '60's LP records and begins to smoulder and burn. John comes to Ellie's assistance but Ms. Collins stabs him in the stomach as she lets him in through the front door. Ellie, in a semi-conscious drugged up state by now, makes it up the stairs to her room, where the spirits of Sandie's victims beg Ellie to kill Ms. Collins, but she refuses. With flames now taking hold over the house Ms. Collins enters Ellie's room, where she too witnesses the spirits and is slapped by the ghost of Jack. With the Police outside, she attempts to slit her own throat saying she will not go to prison, but is stopped by Ellie, who tells her she understands why she killed those men. Ms. Collins, as Sandie, tells Ellie to save herself and John from the increasing fire. Sandie remains sat at the end of Ellie's bed as the fire rages out of control all around her. 

Later, Ellie enjoys success as her '60's inspired dresses are showcased at a fashion show. She is congratulated backstage by her grandmother, other college students and John, now her boyfriend. Ellie sees her mother's spirit in a mirror smiling at her, followed by a vision of Sandie, who waves at her and blows her a kiss.

Edgar Wright certainly knows how to create a genre bending film that is a nod to all things that London had to offer the Swinging Sixties; to the Hammer House of Horror movies that dominated cinema from the mid-'50's til the mid '70's; to time travel; the mix of Italian and British horror thrillers of the era; to the soundtrack straight out of the '60's songbook; the great performances from an ensemble cast of young players and senior practitioners; and the surprising plot twists and turns that in the final analysis I never saw coming. Whilst this is touted as a horror film, horror it might be in the 1960's sense of the term, but it never left me feeling on the edge of my seat, or biting my nails in eager anticipation of what comes next, or offers up anything that can be truly defined as scary. Additionally, the timing of the final fashion show sequence is a bit off, with Ellie's hand still bandaged up from being slashed by Ms. Collins/Sandie indicating it is just a week or two since, while John seems to have made a complete recovery from the stab wound to his gut. That said, the stunning visuals, the stylish thrills, and the mash up of genres make for a highly entertaining couple of hours spent in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers all gawping up at a giant screen. 

'Last Night in Soho' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th November 2021.

The 27th Geneva International Film Festival ran from the 5th through until 14th November. The official website reads, 'founded in 1995, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) is Geneva’s oldest film festival and one of the first in the world to include television in its programmes. A crossroads of genres and disciplines, a place of experimentation, encounters and celebration, it offers every year for ten days, films, series, interactive installations and virtual reality works to some 40,000 festival-goers. The largest space in Switzerland dedicated to immersive arts, the GIFF has become one of the major events in Europe in this field'. 

The International Features Competition showcases a selection of ten films that turn stylistic conventions upside down and pave the way for the cinema of tomorrow. The titles, all Swiss Premieres, compete for the Reflet d’Or with a cash prize worth CHF10K awarded by a Jury composed of a renowned filmmaker accompanied by film students. Those films in competition are :-

* 'Costa Brava, Lebanon' - this internationally co-produced drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Mounia Akl. Through the repeated crises that affect Lebanon, the Badri family takes refuge in a small corner of paradise. One day, trucks arrive to unload piles of rubbish in front of their windows. Surrounded, they will have to rethink the world of their tomorrows. This film took out the 2021 Reflet D'Or Award for the Best Feature Film.

* 'El Planeta' - from the USA this is Directed, Written, Co-Produced and stars Amalia Ulman. Fragile, funny, inseparable, a mother and daughter flee reality after a tragic event. In a ghostly Gijon, surviving as best they can the torments of the post-2008 crisis, they escape through jokes and magical thoughts. The multidisciplinary artist, who is also the lead actress, has cast her own mother in this memorable duo.

* 'Ghost Song' - from France, this music drama documentary is Directed and Co-Written by Nicolas Peduzzi. Houston City, Sodom and Gomorrah style. In a twilight atmosphere, OMB, rapper and ex-gang leader, hides herself away, while William, shattered and broken, drags his sadness through the streets. In a world on the verge of disintegration, hurricane Harvey approaches the city in 2017.

* 'I'm Fine (Thanks for Asking)' - from the US this dramatic thriller is Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Angelique Molina and Kelley Kali. Since the pandemic hit, the streets of Los Angeles have filled with many precarious workers and their children. In order to find her home, a young sunny woman will rollerblade through the streets of the San Fernando Valley to raise a handful of dollars that could change everything.

* 'Medusa' - from Brazil this fantasy drama is Directed and Written by Anita Rocha da Silveira. During devastating nightly sprees, masked evangelists stalk sinners. By day, they are 'Michelle and the precious ones' and produce goofy hits and dumb tutorials. Somewhere between giallo and political satire, behold a resolutely feminist fable.

* 'Mighty Flash' - from Spain and is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Ainhoa Rodriguez. In a small, deserted village in Extremadura, trapped by patriarchal traditions and the weight of religion, women await a resounding event that promises to challenge their lives, even save them.

* 'Petrov's Flu' - from Russia, Germany, France and Switzerland, this drama film is Directed and Co-Wriiten by Kirill Serebrennikov. In this virtuoso trip, the Director unfolds long sequence shots, live light changes, without recourse to any computer-generated images, to totally immerse the viewer in a reconstruction of his Soviet childhood. A punk opera from a filmmaker under house arrest.

* 'Poulet Frites' - from France and Belgium this documentary thriller is Directed and Written by Jean Libon and Yves Hinant. In this unusual, dramatic and staggering chess game, each character’s survival is at stake. The Police pose questions, the suspects are dodgy. Whatever the cost, the intrepid Judge Anne Gruwez leads the investigation. Direct, intuitive, terribly human. In her hands lies the fate of a man accused of a crime…

* 'The Great Movement' - is an international co-produced drama film Directed, Written, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by Kiro Russo. A seven-day hike takes miners to La Paz, Bolivia, the highest capital in the world at 3,600 metres above sea level. Dazed, they come across a shaman, a white wolf, and the legend of the black panther. This mesmerising, hybrid collage is a mystical ode to 'Nuestra Amada Senora de la Paz' and the city’s invisible workers.

* 'Theo and the Metamorphosis' - from France and Switzerland, this drama is Directed and Written by Damien Odoul. Reinventing one’s life, running the ultimate risk of changing, the risk of complete imbalance. Theo is on a path to become a samurai in a secret training camp for peaceful warriors in the heart of a forest populated by animals. Theo is free as a bird! A shattering poetic odyssey.

For the full details of the other competitions which ran at the 27th Geneva International Film Festival, plus a whole lot more besides, you can got to the official website at : https://2021.giff.ch/en/

To tempt you out to your local Odeon in the coming week we have four new cinematic releases to whet the movie going appetite. We kick off with a British drama mystery horror offering about an aspiring fashion designer who can mysteriously enter 1960's London where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, but the glitz and glamour is not everything it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something darker. Next up is an American offering about a Detroit waitress and part time stripper who, with a new friend in tow, embark on a wild road trip to sunny Florida for a weekend of stripping to earn some quick cash. This is followed up by a NatGeo doco about the daring rescue attempt of twelve boys and their coach from a flooded underwater cave in Northern Thailand just three years ago. And closing out the week is a life story of the famed Canadian songstress Aline Dieu based loosely on the life of Celine Dion. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO' (Rated MA15+) - this British psychological horror film is Directed, Co-Produced, Written and based on a story by Edgar Wright, whose previous film making credits are 'A Fistful of Fingers' - his Directorial debut in 1995, then 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Hot Fuzz', 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World', 'The World's End', 'Baby Driver', and the doco 'The Sparks Brothers' released earlier this year. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Venice International Film Festival on 4th September 2021, before its release in the UK and US on 29th October, having been originally slated for release at the end of September 2020, but was delayed to 23rd April 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being delayed again to 22nd October, then again to the following weekend. So far the film has grossed US$13M off the back of a US$43M production budget and has garnered generally favourable Reviews. 

Here, an aspiring fashion designer Eloise 'Ellie' Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) relocates from her home town of Redruth in Cornwall to London to attend the London College of Fashion. Moving into a bedsit owed by a Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg in her final role before her death in 2020) Ellie has a vivid dream and is mysteriously taken back to the 1960's, where she encounters a dazzling aspiring singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). However, the glamour is not all it appears to be, and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker. Also starring Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Sam Claiflin, Rita Tushingham, James and Oliver Phelps and Margaret Nolan (also in her final film role before her death in 2020). 

'ZOLA' (Rated MA15+) - this American black comedy crime film is Directed and Co-Written by Janicza Bravo and is based on a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by Aziah 'Zola' King and the resulting Rolling Stone article 'Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted' by David Kushner. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Sundance Film Festival way back in late January 2020, was released in the US in late June this year following a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zola received positive reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$5M from a production budget of US$5M. Here then, Zola (Taylor Paige), a Detroit waitress and part-time stripper, is seduced by her new friend Stefani (Riley Keough) into a weekend of stripping in Tampa, Florida for some quick cash, but the trip becomes a sleepless 48-hour odyssey involving a nefarious friend, her pimp and her idiot boyfriend. Also starring Nicholas Braun and Colman Domingo. 

'THE RESCUE' (Rated M) - this National Geographic documentary film is Co-Directed and Co-Produced by Academy Award winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. This film chronicles the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018 through the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand. Featuring never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews the film makers piece together the high stakes mission, highlighting the efforts of the Royal Thai Navy SEALs and U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and details the expert cave divers' audacious venture to dive the boys to safety. The film has garnered critical acclaim. 

'ALINE' (Rated M) - this unofficial music biopic is Directed, Co-Written and stars Valerie Lemercier in this quasi life story of the Canadian super songstress Celine Dion. Here the 57 year old singer, Actress and Film maker Valerie Lemercier plays Aline Dieu at all ages in her life span from twelve years of age onwards from which point she is taken under the wing of Producer Guy-Claude Kamar (Sylvain Marcel) who in the fullness of time becomes her husband. The film centres on the singers residency in Las Vegas, her marriage to Guy-Claude and her mother Sylvette (Danielle Fichaud) furiousness at their whole affair, her wild eating habits, her Academy Awards performance and the time when she was not permitted to speak due to her damaged vocal chords, and much more besides. The film saw its World Premier screening at this years Cannes Film Festival and has not surprisingly divided audiences. 

With four new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-