Birthday's to share this week : 12th - 18th February 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Mahershala Ali does on 16th February - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 43, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 12th February

• Joe Don Baker - Born 1936, turns 81 - Actor
• Michael Ironside - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Josh Brolin - Born 1968, turns 49  -Actor | Producer
• Darren Aronofsky - Born 1969, turns 48 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Christina Ricci - Born 1980, turns 37 - Actress | Producer

Monday 13th February

• Kim Novak - Born 1933, turns 84 - Actress
• Stockard Channing - Born 1944, turns 73 - Actress
• Mena Suvari - Born 1979, turns 38 - Actress
• George Segal - Born 1934, turns 83 - Actor
• Neal McDonough - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer  

Tuesday 14th February

• Alan Parker - Born 1944, turns 73 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Simon Pegg - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Freddie Highmore - Born 1992, turns 25 - Actor  

Wednesday 15th February

• Matt Groening - Born 1954, turns 63 - Producer | Writer | Animator | Actor | Singer
• Claire Bloom - Born 1931, turns 86 - Actress
• Jane Seymour - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actress | Producer
• Jessica De Gouw - Born 1988, turns 29 - Actress  

Thursday 16th February

• Elizabeth Olsen - Born 1989, turns 28 - Actress
• Ice-T (aka Tracy Lauren Marrow) - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter | Composer
• Christopher Eccleston - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor
• Mahershala Ali - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actor   

Friday 17th February

• Hal Holbrook - Born 1925, turns 92 - Actor
• Lou Diamond Phillips - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Michael Bay - Born 1965, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Actor | Cameraman
• Dominic Purcell - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Jerry O'Connell - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Rory Kinnear - Born 1978, turns 39 - Actor
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Born 1981, turns 36 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director | Singer
• Renee Russo - Born 1954, turns 63 - Actress
• Denise Richards - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actress | Producer  

Saturday 18th February

• Cybill Shepherd - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Greta Scacchi - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actress
• Molly Ringwald - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actress
• Milos Forman - Born 1932, turns 85 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• John Travolta - Born 1954, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Matt Dillon - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Writer

Mahershalalhashbaz 'Mahershala' Gilmore was born in Oakland, California and was raised in Hayward, California in the East Bay area of San Francisco Bay. His mother Willicia Goines, was an ordained Christian Church Minister, and his father Phillip F. Gilmore, appeared in stage plays on Broadway. Raised a Christian, he converted to Islam and in so doing changed his surname from Gilmore to Ali. He attended St. Mary's College of California, a small private co-educational college in Moraga, about 15kms east of Oakland, on a basketball scholarship from which he graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in mass communication. He became disillusioned with a career in sport however, and so developed an interest in Acting after earning a role in 'Spunk' that led to him gaining an apprenticeship at the California Shakespeare Theatre upon graduating from St. Mary's. Having taken  a year off he landed a job at the long established 'Gavin Report' - a San Francisco based radio industry trade publication which subsequently closed down in 2002. He then enrolled in the New York University Graduate Acting Programme gaining a Masters Degree in 2000.

His first screen break came in 2001 scoring the role of Dr. Trey Sanders on nineteen episodes of 'Crossing Jordan'. This was quickly followed up with single episodes on television shows 'Haunted', 'NYPD Blue', 'CSI : Crime Scene Investigation', and 'The Handler'. Fifteen episodes on Homeland Security drama thriller series 'Threat Matrix' and 32 episodes on Sci-Fi drama mystery series 'The 4400' with comedy film offering 'Making Revolution' coming in between time.

2008 saw his first major big screen role in David Fincher's 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' alongside Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The film won three Oscar's and was nominated for another ten with an all up awards haul of 76 wins and 146 other nods. 'Crossing Over' followed in 2009 with Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Ray Liotta and Jim Sturgess with Sci-Fi actioner 'Predators' with Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburn, Danny Trejo, Topher Grace and Walton Goggins in 2010. In between time there had been more television work on 'Lie to Me' with Tim Roth, 'Law & Order : SVU', 'Lights Out' with Stacy Keach, and 'Alcatraz' with Sam Neill.

The Derek Cianfrance Directed crime drama thriller about a bank robbing motorcycle stunt rider 'The Place Beyond the Pines' with Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Ben Mendelsohn and Eva Mendes was released in 2012, before John Sayles Written and Directed 'Go for Sisters' and 'Supremacy' in 2014. 'The Hungers Games : Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2' released in 2014 and 2015 saw Ali play Colonel Boggs. These two films returned a Box Office haul of US$1.41B off a budget of US$285M.



In between big screen appearances there were further small screen roles on six episodes of post Hurricane Katrina drama 'Treme', and twelve episodes on Sci-Fi action drama series about humans with enhanced abilities 'Alphas', and then 33 episodes of the highly acclaimed, very popular and much awarded 'House of Cards' as Remy Danton with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

'Kicks' came next in 2016 with the Gary Ross Directed 'Free State of Jones' with Matthew McConaughey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and then the universally acclaimed 'Moonlight' which is nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor for Ali, Best Picture and Best Directing for Barry Jenkins. It is also up for four BAFTA Awards including again the Best Supporting Actor nod for Ali. Both the BAFTA and Academy Awards are yet to be presented at the time of writing. In the meantime Ali won the SAG Award for his Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category. The film cost just US$5M to make and has so far taken US$20M at the Box Office.

Since, he has starred in seven episodes of the Netflix small screen Marvel adaptation of 'Luke Cage' as Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes, before the pending release of the highly anticipated 'Hidden Figures' due in cinemas in Australia on 16th February and is also nominated for three Oscars and has so far picked up 25 wins and a total 64 nominations form around the traps. Next up is 'Roxanne Roxanne' due later this year and then Robert Rodriguez Directed and James Cameron Co-Written 26th Century action adventure offering 'Alita : Battle Angel' with Jennifer Connelly, Christoph Waltz, Ed Skrein and Jackie Earle Hayley bringing us up to date.

All up Ali has 37 Acting credits to his name so far, he has an outstanding nomination for this years Academy Awards and BAFTA's for his role in 'Moonlight' and he has 46 award wins in total and another 30 nominations. Not bad for someone you've probably only very recently heard of, or perhaps not at all! He married Amatus Sami-Karim in 2013, and in December 2016 the couple announced the pending arrival of their first child together.

Mahershala Ali - whose name hails from the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible and is a combination of four words 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz' meaning 'hurry to the spoils' or 'he has made haste to the plunder'. He is also a respected rapper in the hip-hop world, and aside from big and small screen appearances has appeared in numerous stage roles in both contemporary and classic plays. Get used to the name and seeing more of Mahershala as his star continues to rise and the spotlight is turned firmly in his direction. A very Happy Birthday to you Mahershala, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th August 2016.

With the release of another predatory shark offering to make you think twice about stepping foot back in the water with this weeks 'The Shallows' as Previewed below, it got me thinking how much we love seeing sharks chomping down on mere humans frolicking in the water, and for how long studios have been turning out B-Grade and C-Grade horror films of the shark genre to satisfy our appetite for swimmer versus shark in just about every conceivable form you care to think about. Looking back over the years, my research uncovers more than 80 killer shark films, and so below I list perhaps the more notable and more bizarre offerings that go back to 1969 right up to the present day, and there seems to be no let up in the production of such, or the top acting talent prepared to star in them!

• 'Shark!' - 1969 - Directed by Samuel Fuller, starring Burt Reynolds
• 'Jaws' - 1975 - Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Roy Schneider
• 'Jaws 2' - 1978 - Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, starring Roy Schneider
• 'Jaws 3-D' - 1983 - Directed by Joe Alves, starring Dennis Quaid
• 'Jaws : The Revenge' - 1987 - Directed by Joseph Sargent, starring Lorraine Gray
• 'Tintorera' - 1977 - Directed by Rene Cardona Jnr., starring Susan George
• 'The Deep' - 1977 - Directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Shaw
• 'Shark Attack' - 1999 - Directed by Bob Misiorowski, starring Casper Van Dien
• 'Deep Blue Sea' - 1999 - Directed by Renny Harlin, starring Samuel L. Jackson
• 'Open Water' - 2003 - Directed by Chris Kentis, starring Blanchard Ryan
• 'Red Water' - 2003 - Directed by Charles Robert Carner, starring Lou Diamond Phillips
• 'Shark Tale' - 2004 - Directed by Rob Letterman, starring Will Smith
• 'The Reef' - 2010 - Directed by Andrew Traucki, starring Zoe Naylor
• 'Sharktopus' - 2010 - Directed by Declan O'Brien, starring Eric Roberts
• 'Shark Night 3D' - 2011 - Directed by David R. Ellis, starring Katherine McPhee
• 'Jurassic Shark' - 2012 - Directed by Brett Kelly, starring Emanuelle Carriere
• 'Dark Tide' - 2012 - Directed by John Stockwell, starring Halle Berry
• 'Jersey Shore Shark Attack' - 2012 - Directed by John Shepherd, starring Paul Sorvino
• '2-Headed Shark Attack' - 2012 - Directed by Christopher Ray, starring Carmen Electra
• '3-Headed Shark Attack' - 2015 - Directed by Christoper Ray, starring Danny Trejo
• 'Bait' - 2014 - Directed by Kimble Rendall, starring Xavier Samuel
• 'Sharknado' - 2012 - Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, starring Tara Reid
• 'Sharknado 2 : The Second One' - 2014 - Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, starring Tara Reid
• 'Sharknado 3 : Oh Hell No!' - 2015 - Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, starring Tara Reid
• 'Sharknado 4 : The 4th Awakens' - 2016 - Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, starring Tara Reid.

There will be plenty more to add to this list that I have not mentioned including such gems as 'Ghost Shark', 'Dino Shark', 'Snow Shark', 'Sand Shark', 'Super Shark', 'Swamp Shark', 'Monster Shark', 'Shark Zone' and 'Shark Swarm'. And to further add to this list, those recently released in 2016 or still due for release this year are 'Atomic Shark', 'Dam Sharks', 'Ice Sharks', 'Planet of the Sharks', 'Ozark Sharks', 'In the Deep', with 'Sky Sharks' due in 2017, and 'Meg' due in 2018 with Jason Statham starring.

And so to the coming week with no less than seven new films to easily tempt you out to your local multiplex. Kicking off this weeks offerings is another tale of a giant menacing fish wanting to chow down on a poor unsuspecting surfer stranded out at sea. Then we have a couple of biographical dramas of the wartime kind but separated by about 150 years - the first the US Civil War and one mans quest to lead a rebellious uprising and stake his claim, and then the US war in Afghanistan with two young dudes profiting from the nefarious sale of arms to US allies under a legal contract that flew under the radar. From here we go to a mid-'70's apartment tower in a dystopian England as things go from very good to very bad as all order and civility crumbles amongst the residents. Then we go back to College in the early 50's as one student learns much about himself and those around him that has more far reaching consequences than he ever imagined. This takes us then to a New Zealand documentary that seeks to educate and expose an 'endurance sport' possibly like no other you have ever heard off; before wrapping up with an ancient Japanese stop-motion animated feature from a fairly new but an already acclaimed studio.

With seven new films to tempt, tease and tantalise your movie going tastebuds, remember that when you have sat through your movie of choice in the week ahead to share your thoughts and views by recording your own critique in the Comments section below this or any other Post. As always we'd love to hear from you. Enjoy your film.

'THE SHALLOWS' (Rated M) - ever since Steven Spielberg's seminal 'Jaws' burst on to our screens back in 1975, it seems there has been a wave of shark disaster movies year on year every year since, with the likes of several sequels following, with derivatives including 'Deep Blue Sea', 'Open Water', 'The Reef', 'Dark Tide', 'Jurassic Shark' and the 'Sharknado' franchise to name but a few. Just when we thought it was safe to get back in the water, along comes another shark gore fest involving a secluded idyllic beach, a bikini-clad surfing maiden and a monster shark intent on a lunchtime snack of that bikini-clad damsel in distress. It's an easy premise that any Screenwriter could conjure up, and here we have Spanish Director, Jaume Collet-Serra making 'The Shallows' for a meagre US$17M and so far returning US$76M since its US release at the end of June.

Here Blake Lively plays Nancy Adams a medical student, still mourning the recent death of her mother. She decides to take some time out and travels to a secluded beach where her mother used to surf at in her youth. She meets a couple of friendly locals, and apart from the three of them the beach is deserted. They surf for several hours, and on the final wave of the day, Nancy is bumped from beneath the surf by a Great White Shark whose attention has been drawn to the area by the corpse of a Humpback Whale floating nearby. Needless to say it doesn't end well for the two friendly surfers leaving Nancy stranded in the surf clinging to a buoy while the Great White circles menacingly. I am sure you can fathom out the rest, and suffice to say critics have been generally positive in their praise for this film, Blake Lively's convincing performance, and that too of one 'Steven Seagull' that Nancy befriends during her darkest hour out on the reef!

'FREE STATE OF JONES' (Rated MA15+) - Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Gary Ross, this American period piece tells the true story of Newton Knight who lived from 1837 until 1922 as is played here by Matthew McConaughey. Knight was a poor farmer living in Jones County, Mississippi, and during the American Civil War he worked as a battlefield medic in the Confederate Army. Having decided to desert and return home to his wife and children, he became disillusioned with the Confederacy (as did many soldiers) and so organises a militia to rise up against them in an armed rebellion that ultimately proves successful. Knight and his men capture a large tract of central south Mississippi which they call the 'Free State Of Jones' where they remain until after the end of the war. Also starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Keri Russell this film also charts how the Civil War plays out, slavery and its abolition, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and what becomes of Knights great-great-great grandson in Mississippi's miscegenation laws of the late 1940's/early 50's. Made for US$50M the film has so far recouped US$21M since its end of June release Stateside.

'WAR DOGS' (Rated M) - Directed, written for the screen and Co-Produced by Todd Phillips and based on a 'Rolling Stone' article later made into a book by Guy Lawson called 'Arms and the Dudes' this is a biographical war crime comedy that tells the story of two young 20 somethings who won a major US Government contract to sell arms to US allies in Afghanistan. Starring Jonah Hill as Efraim Diveroli and Miles Teller as his partner David Packouz who set up their company AEY Inc. to supply over US$200M in ammunition, assault rifles and sundry weapons to the Department of Defence as recently as 2007 - despite the fact that both were in their early 20's and had no credentials to do so. This leads them to some very shady places and some very dodgy characters as the pair get in way over the heads. Bradley Cooper also stars.

'HIGH RISE' (Rated MA15+) - based on the 1975 novel of the same name by J.G.Ballard this Sci-Fi dystopian drama film is Directed by Ben Wheatley and stars a roll call of fine English acting talent that includes Tom Hiddleston as neurologist Dr. Robert Laing, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy and Jeremy Irons as noted architect Anthony Royal as the designer of said 'High Rise' a forty storey tower block on the edge of London that represents the epitome of modern living during the 70's. On the upper floors live societies rich and elite, while on the lower levels reside more common middle classes. The upper levels offer its residents a gym, swimming pool, spa, supermarket, sculptured roof top gardens and a primary school giving residents no reason to leave other than for work. But things take a turn for the worse as a result of ever increasing power failures and tensions between the upper and lower levels mount to such a level that society within the high rise breaks down and violence and brutality become the new norm.

'INDIGNATION' (Rated M) - based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Philip Roth, this drama period piece set in 1951 Ohio is first time Directed, written for the screen and Co-Produced by James Schamus and stars Logan Lerman as Marcus Messner - a working class atheist Jewish student from New Jersey who is transplanted to the small and conservative Winesberg College in Ohio to avoid being drafted into the Korean War from which many of his friends have returned in pine boxes. Whilst there he experiences a sexual awakening with Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon), gets into a heated argument with his roommates that has repercussions on his living quarters, he clashes with College Dean Caudwell (Tracy Letts) over the role that religion plays in our society, and a revealing conversation with his mother Esther (Linda Emond) changes his life forever. Commended for style and substance, and the noteworthy performances this is one to watch out for if your like your films intellectual, meandering, heavy on well written dialogue and grounded in realism, then this one is for you.

'TICKLED' (Rated MA15+) - here is a film about a subject that you couldn't make up if you tried, but New Zealand 'light entertainment' television reporter stumbled across this subject matter and decided that it was worth digging deeper into. Seeing an online video about 'competitive endurance tickling' David Farrier partners with Dylan Reeve to Co-Direct this enlightening and startling documentary about young athletic men who are restrained and tickled by one another. Seeking to learn more, they uncover that Jane O'Brien Media is behind the production and being Los Angeles based, off the pair of intrepid tickling investigators head to learn more about the production company, and those who engage in such activities. Before you know it though Jane O'Brien Media begin to make legal threats and send representatives to New Zealand to coerce the pair into ceasing their investigative project. The more that Farrier and Reeve delve into this murky sport the more bizarre it gets.

'KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS' (Rated PG) - this stop motion animated fantasy action adventure feature from Laika Studios is Directed by Travis Knight and features an impressive voice cast that takes in Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei and Art Parkinson as young lad Kubo. Set in ancient Japan, young Kubo tends to his sick mother when inadvertently he summons up a vengeful evil spirit from the past. Now on the run he is befriended by Monkey (Theron) and Beetle (McConaughey) as they strive to unlock a secret legacy to locate a magical suit of armour once worn by Kubo's late father - the greatest Samurai warrior that ever lived. On their quest that meet up with new allies; come across enemies, demons and monsters including Raiden The Moon King (Fiennes) and the evil twin sisters (Mara) who must be defeated; and of course learn some valuable life lessons in the process before he can defeat the awakened evil spirit, be reunited with his family, and fulfil his destiny.

With a veritable bevvy of new cinema content coming your way in the week ahead, what's not to like about this dazzling array of films that offers just about something for everyone? When combined with those films already out on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed here on these humble pages, you just gotta get out amongst it and see a movie in the week ahead. Tell us what you thought when you have done so, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-