What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th May 2025.

The 28th Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) this year runs from Friday 30th May through until Sunday 8th June. BFF, a non-profit organisation, is an International, competitive festival. BFF's mission is to provide a public forum in Brooklyn in order to advance public interest in films and the independent production of films. To draw worldwide attention to Brooklyn as a centre for cinema. To encourage the rights of all Brooklyn residents to access and experience the power of independent filmmaking, and to promote artistic excellence and the creative freedom of artists without censure. Award-winning films from the Brooklyn Film Festival have gone on to be nominated and awarded at the British Academy Awards (BAFTAs), the American Academy Awards (Oscars), and the Canadian Screen Award.

This year there are 145 films divided into forty-two film programmes and in six categories - Feature Narrative, Documentary Feature, Short Narrative, Doc Short, Experimental and Animation. In the Feature Narrative section, the Opening Night film presentation is 'This Will Never Work' from the USA and is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Marina Tempelsman and Niccolo Aeed. This film is about a Black family coming together to have an intervention for Amanda's drinking problem. They've hired a therapist named Trevor, written emotional letters, and now they sit and wait for Amanda to arrive. But when she does, Trevor realises that the family hasn't exactly been honest with him. World Premiere screening.

The other films being showcased in the Narrative Feature section are :-

* 'Alice-Heart' - from the USA and is Written and Directed by Mike Macera. Alice-Heart is an aimless college student residing in Philadelphia. She aspires to be a successful writer but drops out of school in her last semester of senior year on a whim. Immediately cut off from her disappointed Filipino mother and dumped by her studious boyfriend, she finds that she has to pay bills on her own for the first time.

* 'The Courageous' - from Switzerland and Directed by Jasmin Gordon. In a small town on the edge of wild country, an eccentric and delinquent mother has had enough of the rules. Crushed by her mistakes and by a society that doesn’t give a damn, or a second chance, to people like her, she’ll do anything to prove to her children, and to herself, that she still is a good person.

* 'Difference & Repetition, 2020' - from the USA, Peru and Argentina and Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Co-Edited and Scored by Mav Block. In March 2020, an Argentine woman flees New York with her Peruvian husband for his family’s empty beach house outside of Lima, whereupon an unplanned pregnancy precipitates the destruction of her marriage. In the present day, she rips the moments of this narrative from their context, and reconstructs her story to reckon with her profound feeling of loneliness and the experience of time in which it has trapped her. World Premiere screening.

* 'Domestic Animals' - from the USA and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Scored by Juan Pablo Daranas Molina. On the brink of their thirties, five longtime friends reunite for a farewell getaway, but their idyllic retreat turns sour when they lose their beloved dogs in the woods. World Premiere showcasing.

* 'Era' - from Kosovo and Written and Directed by Parta Kelmendi. Set in Kosovo in 1990, and after a series of unfortunate events, Era and her family are forced to move from Pristina to the village of her grandmother. She will need to leave behind her friends, her boyfriend, and her life as she knows it and at the same time comply with the village rules. As she tries to adapt to her new reality the dynamics in her life change, redefining her relationship with her parents, her youth, and her future. World Premiere.

* 'Foul Evil Deeds' - from the UK and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Richard Hunter. A dark comedy showcasing the wide variety of evil behaviour human beings are capable of.

* 'I See The Demon' - from the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jacob Lees Johnson. After seeing a strange object floating in the sky, Lucy comes home to a surprise birthday party with all of her favourite people. She’s overjoyed, but when asked about her day, she realises she can’t remember anything about it. Her loved ones assure her it’s nothing to worry about, but as more unsettling things occur that only she seems to notice, they keep telling her to relax... enjoy the party... there’s nothing to worry about... we’ll take care of you...

* 'Intruders' - from France and Written and Directed by Reza Serkanian. Some foreign minors take refuge on the farm of a caring lady. They are looking for a home but get involved in the story of a broken family. The situation escalates when the lady mysteriously disappears. A family investigation suspects the young migrants, who are hiding something out of fear and ignorance of their rights. During a traditional initiation ceremony, secrets come to light.

* 'Mouse' - from the USA and Directed and starring by Kenny Riches. Between stealing bicycles and breaking into cars, Denny’s only social outlet is spending time with his mother who loves reading correspondence from their Japanese family overseas. Denny’s loneliness pushes him to sign up for a penpal service from a classified-ad. He begins writing letters to a woman named Tess, whom he develops feelings for, but lies to about his nonexistent wealth and success. Unbeknownst to Denny, the penpal service is a scheme Tess and her real-life boyfriend, Maury, run to take advantage of the lonely. Tess and Maury find themselves in financial trouble of their own and decide to travel to Denny to take him for all he’s worth. World Premiere.

* 'The Rabbit Hole' - from the USA and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Sam Jonas. Isaac, a neurotic tree-hugger, builds a god-like supercomputer in order to save the natural world. But, when the machine comes to life and his existence begins to crumble, Isaac is forced to choose between destiny and the person he loves most. World Premiere.

* 'The Snare' - from the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Merlin Camozzi. Eighteen year old Dani lives on the edge of lower-middle class America - working fast food, caring for her younger brother, and ignoring letters from her incarcerated father. Her one shot at escape is a scholarship to a state school. But when she’s caught with a few MDMA tabs bought from twenty year old Marty - a small-time dealer to whom she feels deeply drawn, the future she’s worked for begins to collapse. The Police offer her a deal - help them catch someone bigger, and they’ll forget the drugs. Dani agrees, keeping the deal secret from everyone, including Marty. 

* 'Stationed at Home' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Daniel V. Masciari. On a clear and frigid Christmas Eve in 1998, in a small, forgotten city, a solitary taxi driver on the graveyard shift breathlessly awaits the sight of the International Space Station. As the hours count down, a parade of offbeat misfits derail his plans, propelling the story to its exhilarating climax. US Premiere.

* 'Violent Butterflies' - from Mexico and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Adolfo Davila. A graffiti artist and the singer of a punk band, meet in an atmosphere of profound social crisis and discontent. Their idealist and revolutionary minds seek a world of justice and they are willing to fight for it. Music and street art, unite them and serve as their weapons. Naive and innocent, they are unaware of the power of impunity and injustice until they fall victims to Police brutality. US Premiere screening.

* 'White Flash' - from the Netherlands and Co-Written and Directed by Laura Hermanides. This is the story of Aagje, Toon and their forty-two year old son Rick, who suffers from psychotic episodes, depression and severe headaches. We follow their journey in the last six weeks leading up to the death of Rick. A journey proving that letting someone so close to us go, is the most extreme expression of love. US Premiere.

For the full synopsis of the other films featured in all sections of this years Brooklyn Film Festival, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.brooklynfilmfestival.org/

This week there are just three new movie offerings to tempt you out to your local Odeon, starting off with a story of one of the richest men in Europe, his family and the family business which he bequeaths to his only daughter which soon attracts the unwanted attention of assassins and terrorists alike. This is followed by an Aussie horror film in which a brother and sister witness a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother; before closing out the week with a French romantic drama film in which a local rebellious teenager falls for his schoolmate but gang violence leads him down a darker destructive path.

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

'THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME' (Rated M) - is a US and German Co-Produced espionage black comedy film Produced, Written and Directed by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola. Anderson's previous feature film credits take in the likes of his debut in 1996 with 'Bottle Rocket', and which he would follow up with other offerings including 'The Royal Tenenbaums' in 2001, 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' in 2004, 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' in 2009, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' in 2014, 'Isle of Dogs' in 2018, 'The French Dispatch' in 2021, and 'Asteroid City' in 2023. This film Premiered in the main competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May and is released in the USA and here in Australia this week.

Wealthy businessman and derring-do multi-millionaire Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) who has survived six plane crashes and fathered nine sons, appoints his only daughter, a nun, Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as sole heir to his estate. With tutor Bjorn Lund (Michael Cera), they embark on a quest to secure the future of Korda’s business ventures, and as Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins. Also starring a cast of notable A-listers including Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Hope Davis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham and Charlotte Gainsbourg. 

'BRING HER BACK' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian horror film is Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou and Co-Written by Danny Philippou, whose debut feature film was the critically acclaimed and commercially successful 'Talk to Me' in 2023. The brothers are known together online as RackaRacka, and are Australian twin filmmakers, YouTubers, and stunt performers, and are known for their horror comedy YouTube videos. Here then, following the death of their father, a brother Andy (Billy Barratt) and sister Catherine (Mischa Heywood) are introduced to their new sibling Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) by their foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins), only to learn that she has a terrifying secret at their new secluded home. This film is released Stateside too this week. 

'BEATING HEARTS' (Rated MA15+) - is a French and Belgian Co-Produced romantic drama film that is Co-Written and Directed by the French Actor and occasional film maker Gilles Lellouche, and is based on the 1997 novel 'Jackie Loves Johnser OK?' by Irishman Neville Thompson. Here, seventeen year old Clotaire (Malik Frikah) falls for his schoolmate the fifteen year old Jackie (Mallory Wanecque), charmed by her fearless spirit and sharp wit. As first love blossoms between the two, and they grow into adults (Francois Civil as the 27 year old Clotaire, and Adele Exarchopoulos as the 25 year old Jackie) gang violence entices him into a darker path and destroys everything when he is charged with a crime he didn't commit. The film had its World Premiere in main competition at the Cannes Film Festival in late May 2024, where it received mostly negative reviews from critics. It was released in cinemas in mid-October last year in its native France and only now is it released here in Australia having so far grossed US$36M from a production budget of US$40M.

With three 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-

WE'LL END UP TOGETHER : Tuesday 18th August 2020.

'WE'LL END UP TOGETHER' ('NOUS FINIRONS ENSEMBLE' to give this its original French title) is an M Rated film which I saw at my local independent movie theatre earlier this week. This film is the long awaited follow up to 2010's acclaimed 'Little White Lies' that is once again Written and Directed by the French filmmaker, Actor, Writer and Producer Guillaume Canet. With seventy acting credits to his name, eleven as Writer, twelve as Director and seven as Producer, Canet is currently in pre-production with his latest offering 'Asterix & Obelix : L'Empire du Millieu' in which he stars, writes and Directs. This film opened in France on 1st May 2019 where it went on to become the second highest grossing film in that country of that year, and was only released in Australia on 6th August and has garnered generally positive press so far.

The years have passed by since middle-aged restaurateur Max (Francois Cluzet) has welcomed his friends at his idyllic summer house in the chic beach community of Cap Ferret. The group have generally reconnected there for his birthday, but since things didn’t exactly go to plan last time around, they haven’t seen much of one another in the intervening years. Max is busy tidying up his beach side home away from home as the film opens up. He is alone, he sleeps a restless sleep waking up with a start, and continues cleaning inside and out. Then he hears a noise coming from outdoors and goes to investigate. To his surprise, all crouched under a window, are his long time albeit somewhat absent friends who have rocked up unannounced to help Max celebrate his 60th birthday. But, their collective presence is not altogether a welcome one.

Those close friends are Marie (Marion Cotillard), Eric (Gilles Lellouche) with his hapless buddy turned assistant Antoine (Laurent Lafitte), together with Eric's young daughter Mila and her domineering and over bearing nanny Catherine (Tatiana Gousseff), Vincent (Benoit Magimel), Alex (Mikael Wattincourt), Isabelle (Pascale Arbillot) and Sabine (Clementine Baert), Max's new love interest. In the intervening years - Marie still mourns the loss of the love of her life Ludo and drinks and smokes heavily, tells crass jokes and says that her seven year old son Nino represents 'everything she hates in the world', Eric has become a famous Actor but is strapped with his child because the mother is wasted on MDMA in Ibiza and is worse than useless, Antoine is a child trapped in a man's body who is at the beck and call of Eric, physiotherapist Vincent and his wife of fourteen years Isabelle have split and he is now gay and with choreographer Alex, Isabelle has since come out of her shell and is now a much more confident care free fun loving woman, and Sabine as Ludo's mother cares deeply for Max. After trying to dismiss all of his friends saying that it's not convenient, they weren't invited, they're taking advantage, and that he has nothing to celebrate anyway he finally relents and says that they can stay for two nights. Meanwhile, a Real Estate Agent calls around to inspect the property, because Max is wanting to sell, but Max wants this done on the hush hush and doesn't want his friends to know, or his ex-wife Vero (Valerie Bonneton) finding out.

And so having renewed acquaintances and said their hello's with lukewarm embraces, they begin to eat, drink, catch-up on old times and make merry. Max however, is teetering on a knife edge, barely able to adjust to his new found company for the weekend. In an aside conversation that Max has with Eric (having both buried the hatchet after all these years following Eric's accusations at their last meeting which resulted in Max turning his back on them all), we learn that Max is bankrupt having had to sell his hotel, his restaurant and his yacht to finance some investment that went south with all of his money and hard earned savings. His is now practically penniless hence the reason for his depressive state and for needing to sell the beach house. To take the pressure of the weekend off Max, Eric rents a nearby property right on the waters edge that has enough accommodation to house them all, plus a heated swimming pool and all the comforts of home and is within easy reach of Max's place. And so the next day, the group all decamp there, under the guise that Max has rented the place so they can be more comfortable.

That afternoon, when the group are all lounging about, Max goes back to his place to collect some wine for dinner. There he notices a 'For Sale' sign up on his front gate which he gave strict instructions not to be posted for another week. In passing Alain (Jose Garcia) pulls up with two other mates who are visiting the area for the weekend by chance. Alain is a business rival of Max's and he notices the 'For Sale' which Max abruptly pulls down. Max has no time for Alain, and after a curt conversation Max departs. Later on Veronique arrives with a friend and they are interrupted by Alain and his two buddies traipsing through the property on their own private inspection, with a view to Alain possibly buying it. Veronique enquires what they're up to and Alain lets slip that the house is for sale. Veronique is livid of course and she calls Max to vent. Max is livid that Veronique now knows. Alain suggests to Veronique that they should have a drink, and the five of them drink plenty of Max's stash of aged wines and the pair end up spending the night together.

Max's group after a hearty dinner, go out clubbing until closing time, and by the time the next morning has rolled around Vincent has slept with his ex-wife Isabelle, Eric and Marie have spent the night together and Veronique and Alain have got it on. The next morning Max, Antoine and Marie go tandem sky diving, and all three of them have the time of their life doing it, except Max wet his pants on the way down, for which he is seriously derided by the others over lunch. Max demands to pick up the tab for lunch but when he goes to pay his credit card is declined. Fortunately the restaurant manger is understanding and says to pay later, when he has the money. Some of the group then depart and go and pay Veronique a visit. Suspecting something is not quite right Max walks along the beach and peers through the fence of his property to see his friends enjoying Veronique's company and her new found friends. This sends Max into a spiral of depression, and arriving back at Eric's rented house, he throws himself off the jetty with a noose around his neck. But his attempted suicide is thwarted by a rope that is too long, a jump that is too short, and the water that is too shallow. Back on dry land, Max explains to the group his current state of affairs and his state of mind, and the group all rally round reaffirming their deep rooted friendship and love for their friend in his time of personal crisis.

Later that afternoon Vincent and Alex have fallen out because Alex suspects that Vincent got it on with his ex-wife the night before, and three teenage boys and Marie's young lad Nino go out on a catamaran without advising their respective parents. A search party is hastily arranged resulting in the boys capsized catamaran being discovered in choppy seas with the three teenagers clinging to the upturned vessel but no signs of Nino who got swept out in the current. Marie is distraught, spots him and jumps into the swell with Eric in tow, eventually rescuing the seven year old boy. That night, over dinner and a game of 'Charade's' everyone is in a much lighter mood, guards are let down, and there is an air of relaxed contentment amongst the group of friends.

The next day after a walk along the beach, the group all depart for the respective homes, each going their separate ways. Max and Sabine head for their house to meet with the Real Estate Agent and the new owners who made an on the spot offer. The new prospective buyers are down from Paris, fell in love with the place and have already hatched plans to put in an outdoor swimming pool, pull down fences, and make all manner of alterations. Their two young boys swing on the branch of a tree snapping it, and fall to the ground, unharmed. Sat around the dining table, the Real Estate Agent begins to read out the terms of the contract of sale. Max's mind begins to wander and he has a vision of his friends all rocking up, with bottles of wine in tow, begging him to come outside. Sabine sits at the end of table looking pensive. Max looks up, stops the Real Estate Agent in his tracks, and says that he's not selling, and hastily escorts the would be buyers and the Agent off his property. Sabine smiles, relieved. As they drive away from the property, Max calls his friends asking 'where are you?'

This film is an easy watch, and anyone who has been away for a weekend either to the coast, or the mountains or the wineries with friends and stayed in a big old rambling house together will be able to relate to the relationships, the dynamics, the emotions, the eating and drinking, the games and the exploits shared amongst a particular group. In that respect 'We'll End Up Together' is not unlike Rachel Ward's 2019 Australian offering 'Palm Beach' - beautiful beach side locale, check; rich mostly successful middle class long time friends, check; a dose of drama, discontent and redemption, check; plenty of wine, food and cigarettes, check again; and moments of laugh out loud humour, raw emotion and quirks that are quintessentially French, check once more! The cast all give top notch performances that are grounded in reality and believable and in particular Francois Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Gilles Lellouche and Benoit Magimel are all standouts, and all the characters look as though they are having a genuinely good time during production. On the down side this is an all Anglo-Saxon white cast with not a single person of colour to be seen, and the only minority group shown here is represented by Vincent who has jumped the fence, but has no problem it seems jumping back to whence he came. There is no political unrest, threats of terrorism going on in the background which have thwarted France in recent years, in fact everything is all sunshine and rainbows in Cap Ferret, save for the situations and circumstances of the groups own making during their weekend away at the coast. But I guess the message amongst all the angst, bickering, emotion and inevitable make-ups is that true friends stick by your side no matter what, and in this regard, the films message is unmistakable.

'We'll End Up Together' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

LITTLE WHITE LIES : archive from 19th June 2011.

Saw 'LITTLE WHITE LIES' last night expecting something hum drum from this French subtitled movie but was engaged throughout and pleasantly surprised. This film was Written and Directed by French Actor/Writer/Director Guillaume Canet, who is also the other half of acclaimed Actress Marion Cotillard, and on a budget of just over US$15M brought home US$87M from this comedy drama of friends, anxieties, tortured relationships, fractured lives and lost opportunities amidst the backdrop of a holiday in a comfortable but fairly modest beach house.

If you have been away for the weekend, or longer, with a bunch of mates then here is something for you. This is richly cast, with strong performances that deliver emotion, humour and multi-layered personalities that both attract and repel. This in turn makes for a relateable film on many levels with laugh out loud moments and a tear jerker at the end. The French title of the film (refer poster left) is 'Les Petits Mouchoirs' meaning 'the small handkerchiefs' - -as in to keep something hidden in your pocket from view by using a handkerchief to conceal it!

The film opens with Ludo (Jean Dujardin) hanging an all-nighter in some Paris nightspot with girls, booze and drugs only to jump on his scooter for the ride home just as day breaks to get blindsided by a truck and sent into a coma. His long term friends all visit him in hospital on the cusp of their annual beach break away together to kick-start the holiday season -  ritual they have upheld for years. Deciding that they should still proceed with their planned holiday - because it's what Ludo would have wanted - they set off for their destination in the sun and by the sea to Cap Ferrat.

The beach house in question is owned by successful Restauranteur Max (Francois Cluzet) who brings along the wife and kids and is we learn, controlling, obsessive, and short tempered. This manifests itself throughout the holiday period when he is driven to his wits end by the sound of termites gnawing away in the cavities of his beach house, and when emotions clash because his good friend and practising chiropractor Vincent (Benoit Magimel) announces that he is in love with him - even though he too is married with children, and doesn't consider himself gay!

Then there is Marie (Marion Cotillard) who is the former girlfriend of Ludo now languishing in a hospital bed in a near death state. She is an anthropologist who recently returned from a trek around the Amazon Rain Forest, but cannot commit to anyone, because she is unable to commit to herself - she doesn't know if she's Arthur or Martha (literally). Her close friend is Eric (Gilles Lellouche) who is a minor small screen Actor but constantly tries his hand with the ladies and is always hitting on Marie, although she will have none of it.

As your would expect though most of the dialogue, the action and the comedic drama rests with the men . . . or should I say boys . . . who strut their stuff, big themselves to their mates, brush of their emotions, and dispel their insecurities whilst the womenfolk look on with ever increasing disdain. all of this more and more pressure on their friendships as tensions mount, emotions ride high, and the stress and strain of each others company begins to show. 

Of all the colourful disjointed emotionally charged characters in this film there will almost certainly be one you can relate to the most. There are laugh our loud moments and those too you will cringe at as worlds collide and long hidden truths revel themselves. This is an engrossing film that at a 154 minute running time will flash by quickly, pull you in and capture your interest throughout. If you missed this first time around, do yourself a favour and grab it now on DVD or BluRay.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-