COCAINE BEAR : Tuesday 28th February 2023.

I saw the M Rated 'COCAINE BEAR' earlier this week, and this American dark comedy action film is Co-Produced and Directed by the American Actress, Producer, Writer and Director Elizabeth Banks in her third feature film making effort following 2015's 'Pitch Perfect 2' and 2019's 'Charlie's Angels'. Released in the US and Australia last week, the film has so far grossed US$34M from a production budget of US$35M and has garnered mixed or average Reviews. 

This film is inspired by real events that occurred in December 1985, and opens up with Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys) hauling duffel bags filled with cocaine from his light aircraft. As he is preparing himself to parachute out of the aircraft carrying a duffel bag loaded with coke, he inadvertently knocks himself out on the door frame, falls out of said aeroplane and lands in a crumpled heap, very dead, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The body of Thornton is recognised by Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jnr.) a local Detective who deduces that the drug stash he was carrying is from a Syd White, operating out of St. Louis. In the meantime, somewhere in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia, an American Black Bear consumes some of the cocaine and as a consequence becomes very aggressive and sets upon two hikers, Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra) and her partner Olaf (Kristofer Hivju), killing Elsa. 

Middle schooler Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) lives with her mum, Sari (Keri Russell), a nurse. Dee Dee bunks of school with her best friend Henry (Christian Convery) to paint a picture of the falls in the forest. On the trail to the falls, the pair finds a lost brick of cocaine, and try eating some before they are attacked by the bear. 

Sari goes into the forest to search for the kids with Park Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a wildlife activist. The three find Henry half way up a tree clinging on for dear life, hiding from the bear. The bear attacks, first of all homing in on Henry, while Peter stumbles through a pile of cocaine, and slashing Liz on the butt cheek in the process. Attracted to a cocaine-coated Peter, who has now also climbed a nearby tree, the bear clambers up and kills him, ignoring Henry. While the bear dispenses with Peter, Henry climbs down and he and Sari flee deeper into the forest, and Liz sends for help.

In St. Louis, Syd (Ray Liotta in one of his final film appearances before his untimely death in May 2022, aged 67) sends his fixer Daveed (O'Shea Jackson) to recover the remaining cocaine. Daveed travels to Georgia with Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), Syd's son, who is depressed following the death of his wife and has abandoned his son. They arrive in Georgia, as does Bob. At the forest station, Daveed gets into a brawl with the Duchamps gang, three delinquents who cause trouble in the forest, overpowering them easily. One of the members, Stache (Aaron Holliday), takes Daveed and Eddie to recover some of the cocaine he stashed in a gazebo. 

Liz arrives back at the station, pursued by the bear. Liz accidentally shoots one of the Duchamps in the head killing him outright before the bear slaughters the other. Paramedics Beth (Kahyun Kim) and Tom (Scott Seiss) arrive and collect Liz who has been further slashed to the shoulder after a brief skirmish with the bear. They leave with Liz in an ambulance, but the bear pursues and jumps into the back of the vehicle, which ultimately results in the death of all three.

Sari and Henry discover that Dee Dee has left them a trail of paint and clothing, with which they are able to track her. Daveed and Eddie arrive at the gazebo with Stache, but find Bob there stranded on the roof with a duffel bag stashed full of cocaine. The bear appears but Bob distracts it with the bag of coke which it swallows whole. Bob is suddenly fatally shot by Syd, who reveals that he is under a huge amount of pressure by his superiors to retrieve the cocaine. 

Sari and Henry come across Olaf mourning over the loss of Elsa. He leads them to Dee Dee’s hiding place in a cave containing the bears two cubs, revealing that the bear is a mother. Olaf leaves and is killed by the bear returning to her cave. Syd, Eddie, and Daveed also find the cave, which leads out to a ledge behind the falls. The bear returns to the cave. Sari, Henry, and Dee Dee jump into the water below to safety, followed by Eddie and Daveed - who have chosen to quit the drug business together - and they all survive. However, Syd refuses to leave the duffel bag of cocaine found in the cave. He shoots and wounds the bear but is unsuccessful in killing it and is shortly thereafter disemboweled by the bear and her cubs.

With 'Cocaine Bear' what you're gonna get is exactly what's written on the side of the tin - a bear stoned on cocaine, just like those other aptly named movies 'Snakes on a Plane' and 'Sharknado' for instance. Director Elizabeth Banks takes a lot of liberties with this story inspired by real events - sure an American black bear did consume a duffel bag full of cocaine dropped from a light aeroplane somewhere over north Georgia in late 1985 but that's where the similarities end. The real 'Cocaine Bear' did not go on a murderous rampage and no one got killed as a result, and the bear wound up dead three months later, found beside dozens of opened containers of cocaine. All of that said, this film is entertaining enough with the emphasis more on comedy than on horror, although there is plenty of blood and gore to satisfy the gore hounds amongst us, but the plot is silly and contrived despite the A-list cast doing the best they can with what they've been given and the lean 95 minute run time just about ensures this film does not outstay its welcome. 

'Cocaine Bear' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd February 2023.

The 76th British Academy Film Awards, also known as the BAFAs (or BAFTAs), were held on 19th February, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2022. The ceremony was held at the Royal Festival Hall within London's Southbank Centre, and was hosted by Richard E. Grant and from back-stage by Alison Hammond. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 2022.

This years list of winner, grinners and the also-rans, are as given below :-

* Best Film : awarded to 'ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT', beating out 'The Banshees of Inisherin', 'Elvis', 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', and 'Tar'. 

* Best Director : presented to Edward Berger for 'All Quiet on the Western Front', beating out Park Chan-wook for 'Decision to Leave', Todd Field for 'Tar', Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', Martin McDonagh for 'The Banshees of Inisherin' and Gina Prince-Bythewood for 'The Woman King'.

* Best Actress in a Leading Role : presented to Cate Blanchett for 'Tar', beating out Viola Davis for 'The Woman King', Ana de Armas for 'Blonde', Danielle Deadwyler for 'Till', Emma Thompson for 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande' and Michelle Yeoh for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'.

* Best Actor in a Leading Role : awarded to Austin Butler for 'Elvis', beating out Colin Farrell for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Brendan Fraser for 'The Whale', Daryl McCormack for 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande', Paul Mescal for 'Aftersun' and Bill Nighy for 'Living'. 

* Best Actress in a Supporting Role ; awarded to Kerry Condon for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', beating out Angela Bassett for 'Black Panther : Wakanda Forever', Hong Chau for 'The Whale', Jamie Lee Curtis for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', Dolly de Leon for 'Triangle of Sadness' and Carey Mulligan for 'She Said'.

* Best Actor in a Supporting Role : presented to Barry Keoghan for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', beating out Breandan Gleeson for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', Ke Huy Quan for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', Eddie Redmayne for 'The Good Nurse', Albrecht Schuch for 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and Micheal Ward for 'Empire of Light'.

* Best Original Screenplay : presented to Martin McDonagh for 'The Banshees of Inisherin', beating out 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', 'The Fabelmans', 'Triangle of Sadness' and 'Tar'.

* Best Adapted Screenplay : awarded to Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell for 'All Quiet on the Western Front', beating out 'Living', 'The Quiet Girl', 'She Said' and 'The Whale'.

* Best Animated Film : awarded to 'GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO', beating out 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On', 'Puss in Boots : The Last Wish' and 'Turning Red'.

* Best Documentary : presented to 'NALVANY', beating out 'All That Breathes', 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed', 'Fire of Love' and 'Moonage Daydream'.

* Best Film Not in the English Language : presented to 'ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT', beating out 'Argentina, 1985', 'Corsage', 'Decision to Leave' and 'The Quiet Girl'. 

* Outstanding British Film : awarded to 'THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN', beating out 'Aftersun', 'Brian and Charles', 'Empire of Light', 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande', 'Living', 'Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical', 'See How They Run', 'The Swimmers' and 'The Wonder'. 

* Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer : awarded to Charlotte Wells for 'Aftersun', beating out 'Blue Jean', 'Electric Malady', 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande' and 'Rebellion'.

* Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Original Score : were all presented to 'ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT'.

* Best Casting, Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up and Hair : were all awarded to 'ELVIS'.

* Best Editing : presented to 'EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE'.

* Best Production Design : awarded to 'BABYLON'.

* Best Special Visual Effects : presented to 'AVATAR : THE WAY OF WATER'.

* The Rising Star Award : presented to Emma Mackey who portrays Maeve Wiley in the acclaimed TV series 'Sex Education' and was seen in feature films 'Eiffel', 'Death on the Nile' and 'Emily' most recently. 

For further details on this years BAFTA Awards you can go to the official website at : https://www.bafta.org

Turning the attention then back to this weeks new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a highly acclaimed film from a first time Feature Director that tells the story of an eleven year old girl as she reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. This is followed by a film inspired by real events as a hulking American black bear consumes a significant amount of cocaine and embarks on a drug-fueled rampage, leaving an eccentric gathering of cops, criminals, tourists, and teenagers to assemble in a Georgia forest to either be mauled alive or outwit that pesky bear. Next up is a drama thriller that after her mother goes missing in Colombia, a young woman tries to find her from home in Los Angeles, using tools available to her online. Then we turn to a sequel that follows on from the success of their first album, but this group of singing fishermen struggle to adjust to their new-found fame and work towards a second album. Next we have a big screen adaptation of a multi-award winning TV series that sees this brilliant but disgraced detective break out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer who is terrorising London. And closing out the week we have a Chinese offering that tells the true story of a disgraced ping pong team and how their head coach must recruit a team capable of winning the world championships in the mid-'90's. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six 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 coming week. 

'AFTERSUN' (Rated M) - this UK and US Co-Produced drama film is Written and Directed by Charlotte Wells in her feature film making debut. The film saw its World Premier showcasing at last years Cannes Film Festival where it won a Jury Prize, and thereafter did the rounds at numerous American, European and Australian film festivals ultimately winning sixty-five awards and a further 156 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 'Aftersun' was released in the US towards the end of  October last year and in the UK in mid-November, having garnered widespread critical acclaim and earning US$5M at the Box Office so far. 

At a fading Turkish vacation resort in the early 2000's, eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal) on the eve of his 31st birthday. As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's (Celia Rowlson-Hall) tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't.

'COCAINE BEAR' (Rated M) - is an American dark comedy action film that is Co-Produced and Directed by the American Actress, Producer, Writer and Director Elizabeth Banks in her third feature film making effort following 2015's 'Pitch Perfect 2' and 2019's 'Charlie's Angels'. This film is inspired by real events that occurred in December 1985, and tells the story of a 230kg (500lb) American black bear who, after ingesting a duffel back full of cocaine that was dropped off by a light aeroplane because it was carrying too heavy a load, goes on a killing rampage in a small Georgia town where a group of locals and tourists must join forces to survive the attack. Starring Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson, Alden Ehrenreich, Isiah Whitlock Jnr., and Ray Liotta, the film is released Stateside too this week and cost US$35M to produce. 

'MISSING' (Rated M) - this American screenlife thriller film is Written and Directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson in their feature film Directorial debuts, and is a standalone sequel to 2018's 'Searching'. Here then, when her mother disappears while holidaying in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June's (Storm Reid) search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it's too late. However, as she digs ever deeper, her digital sleuthing soon raises more questions than answers. Also starring Nia Long, Ken Leung, Daniel Henney, and Joaquim de Almeida, the film saw its Premier at the Sundance Film Festival in mid-January, was released in the US shortly thereafter, has so far grossed US$28M off the back of a US$7M production budget and has garnered generally positive reviews. 

'FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS : ONE AND ALL' (Rated PG) - this British musical comedy drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft and is the sequel to the 2019 film 'Fisherman's Friends'. Following the unexpected success of the band's debut album 'No Hopers, Jokers and Rogues' we re-join them almost a year later, struggling with the pressures, pitfalls and temptations of their newfound fame. We continue the journey with the loveable 'buoy band', as they navigate the choppy waters of fame, second album syndrome, and performing on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury. Starring  James Purefoy, David Hayman, Dave Johns, Sam Swainsbury, Maggie Steed, Jade Anouka and Ramon Tikaram, with Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May making her acting debut. The film was released in the UK in mid-August last year. 

'LUTHER : THE FALLEN SUN' (Rated MA15+) - is a British crime thriller Directed by Jamie Payne and follows on from the hugely popular BBC police procedural TV drama series 'Luther' which has so far aired over five seasons and twenty episodes between 2010 and 2019, with Jamie Payne Directing the last season of four episodes. In this continuation of the multi-award winning and nominated TV saga, a gruesome serial killer, David Robey (Andy Serkis) is terrorising London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther (Idris Elba, who also Co-Produces here) sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath, who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary. Also starring Cynthia Erivo and Dermot Crowley, the film is set for release on limited cinema screens from this week, and on streaming service Netflix from 10th March. 

'PING PONG : THE TRIUMPH' (Rated PG) - this Chinese Mandarin language drama film based on a true story is Directed by Chao Deng and Baimei Yu, and tells the story of how in the early 1990's, when the Chinese men's table tennis team is perhaps at its lowest ebb, head coach Cai Zhenhua (Chao Deng) is tasked with forming a new team to fight its way to the top at the 1995 World Table Tennis Championship in Tianjin, China. And so, he puts together a rag tag team of dynamic personalities, whom he must inspire and rally to rise to their best against the face of incredible competition during the championships.

With six 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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th November 2019.

The 3 Continents Film Festival launches its 41st year in its native Nantes, in France on Tuesday 19th and runs through until Tuesday 26th November 2019. The official website states that 'every year since 1979 in Nantes, at the end of November, the Festival des 3 Continents offers feature films (fiction and documentaries) from Africa, Latin America and Asia. This specialisation in geographical terms, which was pioneering at the time, does not do justice to the identity of the Festival. It is just one of the elements which gives it life and makes it distinctive, along with passion and curiosity, a taste for discovery and meeting, a love of films from the South and a desire to serve them. Since it was created, the Festival des 3 Continents has constantly shown a certain flair in its programming, with many tributes having been historical milestones, the Competition having moments of glory, and it remains a place for discovery and meeting, for exchanges and passion'.

For its 41st edition, the Festival des 3 Continents will be presenting a resolutely different programme, composed of 93 films, including 23 short films, often previously unseen, and covering all forms of cinema : past, present, popular, spectacular, original.

The Opening Ceremony sees a co-production with Skene Productions and Angers Nantes Opera, of an original creation showcasing the atypical work of the great Japanese filmmaker Koji Yamamura titled 'Japanese Parade'. This cinema opera, in two movements, is put to music and lyrics, and Directed by Catherine Verhelst and Herve Tougeron, backed by the Opera choir. The first movement is composed of two animated films by Koji Yamamura, 2016's 'Satie’s Parade' and 2017's 'Water Dream'. The second is a fragment preserved from the exceptional sword movie 'Chokon' by Ito Daisuke, dating from 1926.

Some of the highlights from the rest of the festival are as given below :
* '143 Sahara Street' - Directed by Hassen Ferhani and is an Algerian, French and Qatar Co-Produced film that sees its French Premier screening. In Arabic.
* 'When the Persimmons Grew' - Directed, Written, Filmed, Edited and starring Hilal Baydarov, this Azerbaijan and Austrian Co-Production films has its French Premier. In Azerbaijani.
* 'Land of Ashes' - Directed and Written by first timer Sofia Quiros Ubeda this Costa Rican, Argentinian and Chilean Co-Produced film is in Spanish.
* 'In the Heart of the World' - is Co-Directed and Co-Written by the pairing of Gabriel and Maurilio Martins and is a Brazillian Production, that has its French Premier. In Portuguese.
* 'Piqueuses' - is Co-Directed and Co-Written by Kate Tessa Lee and Tom Schon in their feature film debut, and is a Mauritius and German Co-Production that sees its World Premier screening. In Creole and French based pidgin.
* 'Nina Wu' - Directed and Co-Written by Midi Z, this Taiwanese film is in Mandarin Chinese.
* 'The Tree House' - Directed, Written and Edited by Minh Quy Truong this Vietnamese, French, German, Chinese and Singaporean Co-Produced film has its French Premier showing. In Vietnamese.
* 'Present.Perfect.' - Directed, Written and Edited by Shengze Zhu this documentary feature film is a China, US and Hong Kong Co-Production. In Mandarin Chinese.
* 'Talking About Trees' - Directed and Written by Suhaib Gasmelbari this Sudan, French, German and Chad Co-Produced film has its French Premier, and is presented in Arabic.
* 'No. 7 Cherry Lane' - Directed and Written by Yonfan this Hong Kong animated film sees its French Premier and is in Mandarin Chinese.
* 'Nafi's Father' - Directed and Written by first timer Mamadou Dia this Senagalese Produced film is presented in Fulah.
* 'The Valley of Souls' - Directed and Written by Nicolas Rincon Gille this Colombian and Belgian Co-Production has its French Premier showing and is presented in Spanish.
* 'Ondog' - Directed and Written by Quan'An Wang this Mongolian and Chinese Co-Produced offering sees its French Premier screening, and is presented in Mongolian.
* 'Height of the Wave' - Directed by Jung-Bum Park this South Korean film gets its French Premier and is presented in Korean.
* 'You Will Die at Twenty' - is Directed and Co-Written by Amjad Abu Alala and is a Sudanese, French, German, Norwegian, Qatar and Egyptian Co-Produced film that is presented in Arabic.
* 'Let it Be Law' - Directed by Juan Solanas this Argentinian, French and Uruguay Co-Produced documentary is presented in Spanish.
* 'Photograph' - Directed and Written by Ritesh Batra this Indian, German and US Co-Produced film is Presented in Hindi and is the closing night film. A Muslim street photographer in Mumbai is obliged by his matriarchal grandmother to find himself a wife. Caught in a trap, he decides to invent his own love story, using photos he has taken of a young unknown woman. Can he convince himself to fall in love with these images? What truth do they reveal?

For the full Programme, you can visit the official website at : https://www.3continents.com

So turning attention to this week, we have six new release films coming to your local Odeon. We kick off with the continuing story of an all female team of daring do or die private investigators out to save the world that first saw its big screen outings in 2000 and 2003 based on a long running and much loved TV series from the late '70's and early '80's. Next up we have a biographical drama telling of the real story between two automotive greats - one an American mainstream manufacturer and the other an Italian sports car legend, with the former determined to topple the latter at Le Mans back in the mid-'60's. We then turn to a documentary drama surrounding the investigation post 9/11 into the CIA's interrogation methods on suspected terrorists and attempts to cover up any wrong doing. This is followed by a comedy drama offering telling the story of a crumbling marriage as told through the eyes of a couple on a road trip from coast to coast USA. Then we have a limited screen showing of a remastered rock concert from 1991 at London's Wembley Stadium featuring one world famous Aussie rock band and their legendary front man; and we close out the week with a documentary featuring the first year in the life of an Arctic reindeer as it learns to traverse the snowy wilderness of Lapland with its mother before joining the herd.

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

'CHARLIE'S ANGELS' (Rated M) - here Elizabeth Banks Directs, Co-Produces, wrote the Screenplay and also stars in this third instalment of the 'Charlie's Angels' film franchise which began with 'Charlie's Angels' in 2000, continued in 2003 with 'Charlie's Angel's : Full Throttle' which were adapted from the original successful television series which aired from 1976 though to 1981 over five seasons comprising 110 episodes. Development of the film began four years ago back in late 2015 with Sony Pictures opting to reboot the franchise following the negative reception and cancellation of the 2011 television reboot, however, after filming wrapped, Banks revealed that the film should not be regarded as a reboot but a continuation of the franchise story. The film is released Stateside too this week, cost US$48M to make, and early Reviews have given the film a mixed or average rating.

Charlie's Angels have always provided security and investigative skills to private clients. Now the Townsend Agency has expanded internationally with the smartest and most highly-trained women from all around the world with multiple teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosley's, completing the toughest missions worldwide. When a young systems engineer blows the whistle on a dangerous technology, these Angels are called into action, putting their lives on the line to protect us all. Starring as our three titular Angel heroine's are Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart), Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott) and Jane Kano (Ella Balinska), all managed by a team of Bosley's comprising Susan Bosley (Elizabeth Banks), Sam Bosley (Djimon Hounsou) and Stan Bosley (Patrick Stewart), with Sam Claflin, Noah Centineo and Jonathan Tucker.

'FORD v FERRARI' (Rated M) - is an American biographical drama film Directed and Co-Produced by James Mangold, whose previous film making credits include 'Cop Land', 'Girl, Interrupted', 'Walk the Line', '3:10 to Yuma', 'Knight and Day', 'The Wolverine' and 'Logan'. In 1963, Enzo Ferrari was approached by the Ford Motor Company about a possible buyout of Ferrari. Talks were halted indefinitely by Ferrari when Enzo realised that the deal included the purchase of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari's racing program that had won the 24 Hours Le Mans endurance race in 1958 and every year from 1960 through 1965. Le Mans is the world's oldest active sports car race, held annually since 1923. Upset at being rebuffed, Henry Ford II directed his racing division to build a car to beat Scuderia Ferrari. The film tells the story of an eccentric, determined team of American engineers and designers, led by automotive visionary Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and his British driver, Ken Miles (Christian Bale), who are dispatched by Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) and Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) with the mission of building the Ford GT40, a new racing car with the potential to finally defeat the perennially dominant Ferrari racing team at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Also starring Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Ray McKinnon, Benjamin Rigby and Remo Girone as Enzo Ferrari. The film cost US$98M to make, is released in the US this week too having seen its World Premier showing at Telluride in late August, and has garnered generally positive press so far.

'THE REPORT' (Rated M) - this American docudrama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Z. Burns in only his second feature film after 2006's 'PU-239', although he has written numerous Screenplays including 'The Bourne Ultimatum', 'The Informant', 'Contagion', 'Side Effects', 'The Mercy', the recently released on Netflix 'The Laundromat' and the upcoming 25th Bond outing 'No Time To Die'. Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked with leading an investigation into the CIA's systematic torture of terrorist suspects in the years following the September 11 attacks. The investigation concludes that the so-called 'enhanced interrogation techniques' used by the CIA were brutal, immoral, and ineffective forms of torture, and that the CIA routinely misrepresented these facts to policymakers. When the Senate Intelligence Committee attempts to publish their findings, they have to contend with the CIA and White House's attempts to block and undermine Jones's 6,700 page report covering more than a decade's worth of real-life political intrigue. Also starring Annette Benning, Jon Hamm, Tim Blake Nelson, Michael C. Hall, Douglas Hodge, Ted Levine and Corey Stoll, the film is released in the US this week too, following its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, before becoming available on streaming platform Amazon Prime on 29th November.

'MARRIAGE STORY' (Rated M) - here we have an American comedy drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Noah Baumbach, whose previous Directorial outings include 'The Squid and the Whale', 'Greenberg', 'Frances Ha', 'While We're Young', and 'The Meyerowitz Stories' most recently. The film charts the story of a Stage Director, Charlie Barber (Adam Driver) and his Actress wife Nicole Barber (Scarlett Johansson) struggling through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes. Also starring Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty and Merritt Wever, the film cost just US$9M, and has received universal Critical acclaim so far. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival in late August, and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September where it was first runner-up for the People's Choice Award, was in the Centerpiece selection at the New York Film Festival in early October and the BFI London Film Festival at the same time. It is scheduled for a limited release from this week before digital streaming on 6th December through Netflix.

'INXS : LIVE BABY LIVE' (Rated M) - is a live video of Australian rock band INXS's performance at Wembley Stadium Directed by the prolific British Director of music videos and concert films, David Mallet. The concert was the second-last of a string of concerts in London for INXS's Summer XS Tour. The band played to a sold out crowd of over 72,000 fans, and the performance was held on 13 July 1991, on the six-year anniversary of the original Live Aid concert at the same venue, London's Wembley Stadium. The original video footage was shot with sixteen 35mm cameras that included one in a helicopter that circled the venue. Now in 2019 'Live Baby Live' has been remastered in 4K resolution accompanied with newly restored sound at Abbey Road Studios and presented in Dolby Atmos. It is scheduled to be released in cinemas for one-night-only in Australia and New Zealand on 14th November 2019, an international release on 27th November and North and South American release on 9th December. Featuring of course the original line up of Garry Beers, Andrew Farris, Tim Farris, Jon Farris, Kirk Pengilly and the enigmatic and legendary frontman, the late great Michael Hutchence.

'AILO'S JOURNEY' (Rated CTC) - Directed and Written by Guillaume Maidatchevsky and narrated by Donald Sutherland, this film takes us to the snowbound and frozen wilderness of Finland's Lapland where we follow the journey of baby Ailo, a newborn reindeer as he navigates his first year of life amidst the snowy landscapes. Frail and vulnerable, Ailo must learn to walk, run, leap and hide to ensure he survives the long, treacherous journey with the herd. 'Ailo's Journey' is an inspirational story, in which a bleak wilderness is warmed by a mother's endless love as she watches over Ailo in his incredible adventures with other creatures of the Arctic. The film took eighteen months to shoot, and features no other human Actors or CGI - nothing more than wild animals surviving in a beautiful wilderness.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BRIGHTBURN : Tuesday 28th May 2019.

I saw 'BRIGHTBURN' this week, and here we have something new and seemingly fresh - a superhero horror film as Directed by David Yarovesky, Written by Mark and Brian Gunn (cousin and brother of James Gunn respectively) and Co-Produced by James Gunn. Costing US$7M to bring to the big screen, has so far taken US$19M since its release in the US last week too, and has so far garnered generally mixed or average Reviews.




The film opens up in 2006 and we are introduced to Tori and Kyle Breyer (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman respectively) who after a difficult struggle with fertility, have their dreams of parenthood come unexpectedly true with the arrival of a mysterious baby boy who crash lands on Earth somewhere in the vicinity of Brightburn, small-town Kansas, from another world it appears. Upon finding the infant, in the woods behind their farm, the couple decide to keep their discovery a secret and adopt the child as their own, calling him Brandon.

Fast forward twelve years and now approaching his teenage years Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) hears strange voices inside his head late one night. Over the next few days Brandon comes to the realisation that he has some very special powers, including a high degree of invulnerability to any pain or injury. This is evidenced when Kyle asks Brandon to mow the grass out in the paddock. Frustrated with getting the motor started on the mower, Brandon yanks so hard on the starter cable that he sends the mower flying skyward about one hundred meters into the distance. It lands in an upturned state with the rotor blades exposed and still running. Brandon saunters up to the mower, and promptly sticks his hand into the rapidly rotating blade, which brings the mower to an abrupt halt with the blade buckled beyond repair, and nary a scratch to young Brandon's hand.

Later that night, Brandon sleepwalks to the barn, and is seen trying frantically to open a chained and bolted trapdoor in the floor which contains the wreckage of the alien spacecraft that brought him to Earth. Tori was awakened by a red glowing light emanating from the barn and went to investigate. She sees Brandon crouched down at the trapdoor and wakes him, at which he is startled and doesn't know what he is doing there.

Over the ensuing days Brandon become more distant from his parents, more disobedient and more disrespectful of them. One morning over breakfast, Brandon is distracted by other thoughts and begins chewing on his fork, mangling it. Kyle witnesses this, and begins to suspect that something is not quite right with his son. That night Brandon visits the bedroom of fellow classmate Caitlyn (Emmie Hunter) and stares at her from behind the curtains until she notices him. She screams out, and when her mother enters the room he is gone. The next evening, when Kyle is securing the barn for the night, he hears a commotion from the adjacent chicken coup. Going to investigate he comes across Brandon glaring menacingly at said chooks. Later that night Kyle is woken by the sound of the chickens giving it all they've got. By the time he reaches the coup, all the chickens have been slaughtered. Tori claims it was the work of a wolf, but Kyle is more convinced it was the work of Brandon.

The next day at school, during a trust fall exercise Brandon is placed in the centre of the ring with his fellow classmates all tasked with catching him as he falls backwards. When Brandon is passed in the direction of Caitlyn she allows him to fall by stepping aside as she did not want to touch him after their previous episode. Brandon bangs his head on the ground but is unhurt. Caitlyn is tasked by the teacher to help Brandon get up. Reluctantly she stretches out a hand, which Brandon grabs and promptly crushes so breaking her hand. In a meeting of the parents in the Principal's Office, Brandon who has risen to the ranks of star pupil at the school, is suspended for two days by the Principal, and orders him to meet with his aunt Merilee McNichol (Meredith Hagner), the school Counsellor, afterwards.

A few nights later Tori finds her son levitating above the open glowing bright red trapdoor containing the hidden spaceship, repeating the words 'take the world' in an alien language that he hears inside his head again. Her interruption results in him falling and cutting his hand against a jagged piece of the spaceship - the first time in his life he has ever been injured or bled. Tori returns Brandon to the farmhouse and tends to his injury and then reveals the truth to him about his arrival on Earth. Despite her explanation and placing a positive spin on those events and his upbringing, Brandon leaves in a rage, claiming that they lied to him all these years.

Brandon visits Caitlyn once again at her house, who tells him that her mother has forbidden her from talking to him. Furious, a masked Brandon murders Caitlyn’s mother in the town’s diner where she works. During the first of the counselling sessions at the school, Merilee becomes concerned about Brandon's lack of remorse about his injuries to Caitlyn, and tells Brandon that she is required to report his progress to the local Police. 

Later that evening Brandon appears at Merilee's home unannounced to intimidate her into not reporting her concerns to the Police. A short time later, her husband Noah (Matt Jones) returns home after shooting some pool and enjoying a few beers at the local bar with Kyle and other friends. Noah finds Brandon hiding in their closet and furiously attempts to return him to his parents. Brandon attacks Noah in the driveway of their home, but escapes in his car. Its not long however, before Brandon catches up with the fleeing vehicle and kill Noah by wrecking his car - levitating it, turning it upside down and dropping it from a significant height with him inside. 

Tori and Kyle learn of Noah's death the next morning and are alarmed when Brandon does not emotionally react to the news of the death of his favourite uncle. Kyle attempts to explain to Tori that Brandon must've killed Noah, but she won't have any of it, so leading to a rift in their relationship. To make amends, Kyle plans a hunting trip with Brandon the following weekend under the guise of repairing his relationship with his son. While in a secluded woodland area, Kyle shoots Brandon in the back of the head only to have the bullet bounce off, unharming Brandon. Heartbroken and distraught, Brandon overpowers his father and using his laser vision burns through Kyle's eyes and straight out of the back of his head, dead!

Meanwhile, Tori is visited by the local Sheriff, Deputy Deever (Gregory Alan Williams) who shows her photographs of a symbol found at both the diner and Noah's accident scene - Brandon's signature mark. After sending the Sheriff away without a warrant, Tori searches through Brandon's room and finds his notebook, which contains drawings depicting graphic acts of violence and the various murders in addition to his repeated scribblings of his now familiar signature mark. Finally coming to terms with the full extent of Brandon’s involvement in the recent deaths, Tori frantically attempts to call her husband only for Brandon to answer his phone and inform her that her husband is dead.

Brandon returns home and begins destroying the house around Tori. She manages to find some temporary refuge to call the Police. Upon the Sheriff's arrival Brandon is seen to be levitating above the house. He sweeps in and brutally murders the Sheriff and then another responding officer. Escaping through a bedroom window, and landing awkwardly, and limping Tori makes it to the barn where the spaceship is located. Having remembered that it cut him, Tori arms herself with a sharp piece of the spaceship that she breaks off to use as a makeshift dagger.

Brandon finds Tori in the barn, who tries to settle him down. Tori assures Brandon that she still loves him no matter what, and that she has every confidence that there still remains good inside him. Once they embrace, Tori tries to stab him from behind with the makeshift dagger but fails. Enraged by her betrayal, Brandon holds onto Tori and flies her high above the clouds and then lets her fall to her to her death as a plane approaches him. Brandon crashes that plane into the Breyer farm, killing everyone onboard.

In the aftermath, news reports about the deaths of Brandon's parents and his other victims are attributed to the crash. Brandon is seen eating a cookie from the back of an ambulance, with his trademark signature inscribed on the planes fuselage in blood. Final reports show Brandon, nicknamed 'Brightburn' in the media, creating havoc, destroying buildings, setting forests ablaze, killing numerous people and leaving his signature on the landscape - seemingly afraid of no-one and nothing - because after all, he's only a young lad!

Basically 'Brightburn' is an alternative twist on 'Superman' with our red caped mild mannered Superhero out to save the world and do good by all of humankind is replaced by a similarly red caped evil inclined Superhero out to destroy the world and bring all of humankind to its knees. They both crash landed somewhere near small town America from some far away solar system, on a farm, were raised by good well meaning gentle folk, and from a young age came to the realisation that they were both special and possessed super powers - bullet proof, super human strength, stamina, speed, the ability to fly, laser vision, and an invincibility to anything man made. One chose to do good with his powers and the other pure evil. It's an interesting premise, that I was pleasantly surprised by given the average Reviews read prior. The film doesn't stop short on the gory aspects of Brandon's extreme acts of violence towards his victims, and at a lean 91 minutes running time the film moves along a good pace. The supporting characters are however, one dimensional, and in Brightburn it seems no-one is intelligent enough to spot a no-good early teen wreaking murder and mayhem most foul in the local community - not the Counsellor, nor the Sheriff, and not even his parents until it costs them their lives.  That said, it's good to see an alternative Superhero offering in this day and age of Superhero overload, and view the crowded genre from the other side of the tracks. You don't need to watch this on the big screen and can easily wait for the BluRay, download or your streaming service to catch it from the comfort of your own couch or mobile device. If successful the Producers have hinted at a sequel already, which was partially set up in a mid-credits sequence starring Michael Rooker as The Big T, an online TV channel conspiracy theorist and broadcaster.

'Brightburn' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-