THE COMEBACK TRAIL : Tuesday 17th November 2020.

'THE COMEBACK TRAIL' which I saw this week is an M Rated American crime comedy film Written and Directed by George Gallo who has twenty-two Writer credits, ten as Producer and sixteen as Director to his name including 'Double Take', 'Local Color', 'Homeland Security', 'Middle Men', 'Columbus Circle' and 'The Poison Rose'. This film is a remake of the 1982 film of the same name Directed by Harry Hurwitz. Featuring an ensemble cast, this film saw its Premiere screening at the 43rd Mill Valley Film Festival in California in mid-October this year and now gets a run in Australia ahead of its originally slated release Stateside in mid-December which has subsequently been pushed back to sometime next year. 

The film opens in 1974 Hollywood with grindhouse movie Producer Max Barber (Robert De Niro) sat at a cafe table with his business partner and nephew Walter Creason (Zach Braff) reading the latest Review for their new movie about to have its World Premier screening at a cinema just down the street. That movie is titled 'Killer Nuns' and lobbying the theatre in protest is a group of nuns parading up and down the street with placards chanting to boycott the film. They have sold no tickets to the World Premier event and Walter coyly says to Max that perhaps its time to give up on the movie making business. But Max is an old hand at the film game and he reminds his nephew that their company 'Miracle Motion Pictures' lives by the motto 'If it's Good, It's a Miracle' and as miracles happen every day they just need to watch out for one to land their way, and it will, such is Max's optimism.  

When Max arrives back at his home, which is right under the flightpath of an airport so the house shakes violently every time a plane lands or takes off, he is greeted by Reggie Fontaine (Morgan Freeman) a mob boss whom he is indebted to to the tune of US$350K for financing 'Killer Nuns'. As the movie has bombed, Reggie wants his money back and straight away. After exchanging some dialogue about classic movies and Actors, Reggie gives Max three days to come up with the money, otherwise he's dead meat!

In the office of 'Miracle Motion Pictures' Max and Walter contemplate their futures and their next production. Walter picks up a script of a movie called 'Paradise' which Max wrote years ago, and which rival film producer James Moore (Emile Hirsch) who once worked for Max, has been keen to get his hands on for years, and is prepared to pay handsomely for it. But Max is very attached to 'Paradise' saying that it is Oscar material, the dialogue is top notch and that he has in mind certain production values and certain casting decisions to make the film - only he can't possibly afford the US$1M+ price tag to put his movie and his script into production. Max visits James Moore at his lavish home and asks for a loan of US$350K to pay off his debt to Reggie. Moore is prepared to write a cheque on the spot for the US$350K on one condition! And that is that Max sells him the rights to his 'Paradise' screenplay for which after some bidding toing and froing Moore ups the ante to US$1M, with the US$350K as a downpayment. Max is tempted, but still refuses to budge on his beloved script. 

After visiting the set of Moore's latest US$1M action movie starring the much loved and highly regarded Hollywood Actor Frank Pierce (Patrick Muldoon), at which Max and Moore are still at loggerheads over his 'Paradise' script, they witness Pierce fall to his death from six storeys up while preparing for a stunt. Later back home, the news of Pierce's deaths is all over the news channels, saying that as the Actor performed all his own stunts the studio will receive a US$5M pay out from the insurance company. Whilst Max is livid at Moore's good fortune in financing a film that had a budget of US$1M, he's going to get back US$5M and had less that one days film footage in the can. But, a light goes on inside Max's head. 

Enter Duke Montana (Tommy Lee Jones) a washed up aging depressed old drunk who back in the day was a renowned Actor famed for playing a gun totting fearless cowboy. Now he resides all alone in a nursing home for retired Actors and once every day puts a single bullet in his six shooter pistol, spins the chamber and places the gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger, thus far unsuccessfully. Max and Walter track down Duke and offer him the lead role in their new upcoming movie 'The Oldest Gun in the West'. 

Unbeknownst to Walter however, is the fact that Max has an ulterior motive in hiring Duke. Willing to perform all his own stunts, Max intends to kill off Duke during a stunt, and claim a hefty insurance payout. After hiring a suitable Director to helm the film project, Megan Albert (Kate Katzman), and bringing Reggie in on the scam just as his three day deadline is about to lapse, the movie goes into production. 

Reggie calls Max after the first day of filming to enquire about Duke's demise, but Duke survived his first stunt when his horse stalled at a burning wagon tossing him through the flames sending him crashing down to the ground on the other side, on fire. On the second day, Reggie calls again hoping for more favourable news that the lead Actor is well and truly dead, but Max reports that Duke survived another stunt involving a sabotaged rope bridge across a deep ravine with a fast flowing river below. On the third day after receiving further similar news of another survived stunt, Reggie decides to take the law into his own hands and visit the set and kill the sucker himself.  

In the meantime Max and Walter review the dailies and with Megan agree that the footage in the can so far has 'hit' written all over it. Walter is more excited about the prospect of them having their first sure fire hit on their hands than Max is, whose only interest is in killing off his star and claiming the insurance. In the meantime, Max just about survives a number of very near misses himself including getting kicked in the chest by Duke's stunt horse, Butterscotch. 

Reggie and a couple of his henchmen arrive on the set just as Duke is about to shoot a crucial scene involving him and a bunch of native Indian Americans standing off against a town's Sheriff, with both sides poised to draw their guns. Reggie walks straight in on the scene as Megan calls 'cut' with his own pistol drawn ready to gun down Duke for real. Sensing the commotion, Duke mounts Butterscotch, hauls up Max onto his back and gallops off, leaving Reggie to give chase in his car. They arrive at an abandoned drive in movie theatre where Max ordered Walter to grab a roll of film and project it on to the screen, so that Reggie could see some of the unfinished footage for himself. At the crucial moment the film rolls, and Reggie gazes up at the screen with a big smile on his dial. He also thinks that the film is going to be a hit, and orders Max to finish the movie. 

With the film in the can, we fast forward some months to the World Premier of 'The Oldest Gun in the West' with the audience at capacity and the media in attendance conducting red carpet interviews with cast and crew. Max, Walter, Reggie, Megan and James Moore are all present with Reggie interrupting an interview with Max saying that he is from this point forward going to Co-Produce every one of Max's movies. Duke arrives on his trusted steed, but refuses to be interviewed or to watch the World Premier screening saying that he doesn't like big crowds or being couped up indoors. He'd rather be outside riding his horse, and off he gallops as we see him riding through the foothills under the Hollywood sign. 

This film seemingly has pretty much divided audiences and Critics alike, and its easy to see why. On the one hand it has a strong cast of De Niro, Jones, Freeman, Braff and Hirsch who don't deliver any laugh out moments but do manage to raise a chuckle every so often, and who genuinely look as though they're having a good time on screen by hamming up the movie industry of yesteryear with cornball jokes and pratfalls. On the other hand the script is a little ho hum, the plot is predictable but at a fairly brisk running time of just over one hundred minutes, the film moves along at a good pace. It's not great, but it's not that bad either. 

'The Comeback Trail' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th November 2020.

The 65th Cork International Film Festival launched this week on Wednesday 4th November and runs through until Sunday 15th November. This years CIFF2020 is a 'blended' festival, showcasing the latest and best film both in cinemas (from 4th-8th November) and to audiences nationwide online (from 9th-15th November). The official website reads 'Cork International Film Festival’s mission is to present Ireland’s most exciting, diverse, and ambitious annual film festival, connecting and stimulating audiences and artists through a carefully curated selection of the best films, to create a unique shared cultural experience, rooted in Cork, open to the world'. The 'Cork International Film Festival is a local, national and international celebration of cinema, running annually for eight days in November. Award-winning films from the international film festival circuit, new discoveries and cinema classics are selected by our experienced curatorial team, to be premiered online via the Festival Digital Platform, available to viewers nationwide'. The first film festival in Cork 'was recognised by the International Federation of Film Producers Association, one of only five globally to be approved at their 1950 Congress in Cannes where this Film Festival’s spark was ignited, travelling from Cannes to Cork; our influence, nearly 65 years later, reaches from Cork to Hollywood'.

This years showcasing of international fiction feature films in cinema screenings include:

Opening Gala on Wednesday 4th

* 'Nomadland' from the USA by Director Chloe Zhao and starring Frances McDormand.

Irish Gala on Thursday 5th

* 'The Bright Side' from Ireland in its World Premier from Director Ruth Meehan and starring Gemma-Leah Devereux.

Documentary Gala on Friday 6th 

* 'Castro's Spies' from Ireland in its World Premier from Directors Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon.

Family Gala on Sunday 8th

* 'Soul' from the USA this animated Pixar/Disney production is Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers and stars the voices of Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey.

65th Anniversary Gala on Sunday 8th

* 'The Racer' from Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium is Directed by Kieron J. Walsh and stars Louis Taipe.

* 'Working Girls' from Belgium and France and Directed by Frederic Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich and stars Sara Forestier, Noemie Lvovsky and Annabelle Lengronne.

* 'A Common Crime' from Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Switzerland and Directed by Francisco Marquez and stars Elisa Carricajo.

* 'The Salt of Tears' from France and Switzerland and Directed by Philippe Garrel and stars Logann Antuofermo, Oulaya Amamra, Louise Chevillotte and Souheila Yacoub.

* 'Luxor' from Egypt and the UK and Directed by Zeina Durra and stars Andrea Riseborough and Michael Landes.

* 'Rascal' from France and Directed by Peter Dourountzis and stars Pierre Deladonchamps.

* 'My Brother Chases Dinosaurs' from Italy and Spain and Directed by Stefano Cipani and stars Alessandro Gassmann and Isabella Ragonese.

* 'The Trouble With Being Born' from Austria and Germany and Directed by Sandra Wollner and stars Lena Watson and Dominik Warta.

* 'Another Round' from Denmark and Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and stars Mads Mikkelsen. 

* 'The Edge of Chaos' from Ireland and Directed by Sam Uhlemann and stars Aoibhinn McGinnity, Sean Mahon and Gerry Cannon. 

* 'Summer White' from Mexico and Directed by Rodrigo Ruiz Patterson and starring Sophie Alexander-Katz, Fabian Corres and Adrian Ross.

* 'H is for Happiness' from Australia and Directed by John Sheedy and stars Daisy Axon, Richard Roxburgh, Emma Booth, Miriam Margolyes and Alessandra Tognini.

* 'The Castle' from Ireland and Lithuania and Directed by Lina Luzyte and stars Barbora Bareikyte, Gabija Jaraminaite, Martyna Peszko and Andrei Ciopec.

* 'Undine' from Germany and France and Directed by Christian Petzold and stars Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski.

* 'Into Dad's Woods' from Belgium, France and Switzerland and Directed by Vero Cratzborn and stars Leonie Souchaud, Ludivine Sagnier and Alban Lenoir.

* 'The Last Shift' from the USA and Directed by Andrew Cohn and stars Richard Jenkins, Ed O'Neill, Shane Paul McGhie and Da'Vine Joy Randolph. 

* 'Honeymood' from Israel and Directed by Talya Lavie and starring Abigail Harari and Ran Danker.

* 'County Lines' from the UK and Directed by Henry Blake and starring Conrad Khan and Ashley Madekwe.

* 'Wildfire' from Ireland and Directed by Cathy Brady and starring Nora-Jane Noone and Nika McGuigan.

* 'Falling' from the US and Canada and Directed by Viggo Mortensen and starring Lance Henriksen and Viggo Mortensen.

* 'My Name Is Baghdad' from Brazil and Directed by Caru Alves de Souza and starring Grace Orsato.

* 'All The Dead Ones' from Brazil and France and Directed by Marco Dutra and Caetano Gotardo and stars Mawusi Tulani, Clarissa Kiste, Carolina Bianchi, Thaia Perez and Agyei Augusto.

* 'A L'Abordage' from France and Directed by Guillaume Brac and stars Salif Cisse, Asma Messaoudene and Soundos Mosbah.

* 'Bad Tales' from Italy and Switzerland and Directed by Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo and stars Elio Germano and Barbara Chichiarelli. 

* 'Games People Play' from Finland and Directed by Jenni Tolvoniemi and stars Laura Birn, Emmi Parviainen and Eero Milonoff.

* 'Siberia' from the USA and Directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Willem Dafoe.

For the complete programme guide and all the details and the news from this years Cork International Film Festival, you can visit the official website at : https://corkfilmfest.org/the-65th-cork-film-festival-2020/

This week there are four latest release new movies coming to your local Odeon, and we kick off with a story about an aging down on his luck Producer, indebted to the Mob who'd decides to make a film and kill off his lead Actor to claim the insurance money and pay down his debt, but things don't go quite according to plan! This is followed up by a horror comedy about a senior high school girl who inadvertently swaps bodies with the towns mysterious serial killer on the eve of her schools Homecoming and with just 24 hours to swap back again before the arrangement becomes permanent, the clock is counting down as the bodycount goes up. Next up we have a film from an acclaimed Director about a former Marine and Yale Law student who returns home to his low income working class roots in southern Ohio to deal with a family crisis. And closing out the week we have an Aussie film about a man returning to Sydney following eighteen months in Syria to see his sick mother, but first he must overcome the many questions posed by his immediate family.

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.

'THE COMEBACK TRAIL' (Rated M) - is an American crime comedy film Written and Directed by George Gallo who has twenty-two Writer credits, ten as Producer and sixteen as Director to his name including 'Double Take', 'Local Color', 'Homeland Security', 'Middle Men', 'Columbus Circle' and 'The Poison Rose'. This film is a remake of the 1982 film of the same name Directed by Harry Hurwitz. Featuring an ensemble cast, this film saw its Premier screening at the 43rd Mill Valley Film Festival in California in mid-October this year and now gets a run in Australia ahead of its originally slated release Stateside in mid-December which has subsequently been pushed back to sometime next year. 

Here, grindhouse movie Producer Max Barber (Robert De Niro) is in debt to mob boss Reggie Fontaine (Morgan Freeman) after his latest film bombs. In order to save his skin, Max decides to produce a dangerous new film, with the intention of killing off his lead in a stunt so he can rake in the insurance. But when Max casts Duke Montana (Tommy Lee Jones), he never expects the washed up aging and depressed old drunk to be revitalised by being in front of the camera. Unable to kill Duke in a basic stunt, Max puts him into ever more dangerous situations. And as Duke survives stunt after stunt, Max ends up making the best movie of his career. Also starring Emile Hirsch, Zach Braff and Eddie Griffin. 

'FREAKY' (Rated MA15+) - Co-Written and Directed by Christopher Landon (the son of Actor, Writer, Director and Producer Michael Landon who died in 1991) whose previous film making credits take in 'Burning Palms', 'Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones', 'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse', 'Happy Death Day' and its follow-up 'Happy Death Day 2U' most recently in 2019. Due for a release in the US this week too, this supernatural slasher comedy film has so far garnered generally positive Reviews. And so, here tormented high school student Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) becomes the newest target of Barney Garris (Vince Vaughn), an infamous albeit aging serial killer known as the 'Blissfield Butcher', during her senior year. When the killer's magic dagger causes her to swap bodies with him, Millie discovers she has only one day to reverse the switch before it becomes permanent. Hunted by the police, who are determined to catch the infamous Butcher, Millie must find Garris, who is using her body to target her classmates at the schools Homecoming celebrations. Also starring Katie Finneran and Alan Ruck. 

'HILLBILLY ELEGY' (Rated M) - this American drama film is Directed and Co-Produced by Ron Howard and is based on the memoir of the same name from 2016 by J. D. Vance. The film gets a limited theatrical run before being released on Netflix on 24th November and costs US$45M to bring to the screen. The story follows J.D. (Gabriel Basso), a former U.S. Marine and Yale Law student from southern Ohio who comes home to his working class low income family in the Appalachian region of the US to deal with a family crisis involving his mother, Bev (Amy Adams), who is living with addiction, struggling to find work and living with a multi-generational family. He also has flashbacks to his grandmother, Mamaw (Glenn Close). Also starring Haley Bennett, Freida Pinto and Bo Hopkins. 

'THE LION RETURNS' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian drama offering is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and also stars the second time Aussie film maker Serhat Caradee following his 2009 debut feature 'Cedar Boys'. The story centres around Jamal Alamein (Tyler De Nawi) who has just returned to Australia after spending the past eighteen months in Syria. No-one knows what he did or who he was with. He's back in Sydney and wants to see his terminally ill mother Manal (Helen Chebatte), however has to deal with his strong minded older brother Omar (Danny Elacci), his wife Heidi (Jacqui Purvis) and their young son, but most importantly his unforgiving father Yusef (Taffy Hany). But why has Jamal really come back?

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 in the coming week, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-