What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st November 2024

The 28th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is currently taking place, having started on Friday 8th November and running through until  Sunday 24th November, in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Oode filmifestival, POFF) first took place in 1997. Since 2014, POFF is one of the fifteen A-list film festivals accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and whose accreditation is renewed every year. The aim of the festival is to present a comprehensive selection of world cinema from the last two years to a local and international audience, offering fresh film production with high artistic value. Today, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has grown into one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe and the busiest regional industry platforms. The festival is an important meeting point for a rapidly growing number of industry professionals from around the globe.

The Opening Night film was the World Premiere German offering 'Long Story Short' from Director David Dietl and tells the story of a group of close friends who celebrate parties over an extended period of time. They experience a lot of fun together, but also tragic moments that prove that love and friendship are the most important gifts of all our lives.

This year, those eighteen films in Official Competition, all vying for any one of numerous awards on offer including the Grand Prix for the Best Film which carries a cash prize of €20,000 shared by the Director and Producer, plus awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Script, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Score and Best Production Design, are as follows :-

* '100 Liters of Gold' - from Finland and Italy and Written and Directed by Teemu Nikki. 

* 'Buzzheart' - from Greece and the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Dennis Iliadis.

* 'Can I Get a Witness?' - from Canada and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ann Marie Fleming.

* 'Deaf Lovers' - from Estonia and Serbia and Written and Directed by Boris Guts. World Premiere.

* 'Empire of the Rabbits' - from Turkey, Mexico and Croatia and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Seyfettin Tokmak. World Premiere.

* 'Girl America' - from Czechia, Slovakia and Switzerland and Co-Produced and Directed by Viktor Taus.

* 'Pink Lady' - from Israel and Directed by Nir Bergman. World Premiere.

* 'Out of Control' - from France and Co-Written and Directed by Anne Le Ny. World Premiere.

* 'Pyre' - from India and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Vinod Kapri. World Premiere.

* 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' - from Italy and Israel and Co-Produced and Directed by Eran Riklis.

* 'Seed of the Desert' - from Colombia and Written and Directed by Sebastian Parra R. World Premiere.

* 'Silent City Driver' - from Mongolia and Co-Written and Directed by Sengedorj Janchivdorj. World Premiere.

* 'Some Nights I Feel Like Walking' - from the Philippines, Italy and Singapore and Written and Directed by Petersen Vargas. World Premiere.

* 'The Boy With Pink Pants' - from Italy and Directed by Margherita Ferri.

* 'The Exalted' - from Latvia, Estonia and Greece and Co-Written and Directed by Juris Kusietis. World Premiere.

* 'The Loop' - from the Republic of Korea and Written and Directed by Sang Beom Koo. World Premiere.

* 'The Mousetrap' - from Ukraine. World Premiere. 

* 'The Shadow' - from Estonia and Directed by Jaak Kilme.

For the full synopsis of these films mentioned above, plus the other competitive strands, and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://poff.ee/en/about/tallinn-black-nights-film-festival/

This week we have five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, kicking off with the first instalment in a two parter that sees Elphaba, an ostracised but defiant girl born with green skin, and Glinda, a privileged aristocrat born popular, become extremely unlikely friends in the magical Land of Oz, and as the two girls struggle with their opposing personalities, their friendship is tested as both begin to fulfil their destinies as Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West. Then we have a comedy about a father who seeks the help of his adult daughter to raise his young twins after his second wife leaves him. Next up is an Aussie drama about two estranged brothers who are forced back into each others lives when they're tasked with scattering the ashes of their recently deceased mother in the country town where she grew up. This is followed by a Vietnamese offering centring around a family's attempts to fraudulently pass off their daughter as a trophy bride for an elite family, aiming to secure their fortune; before closing out the week with a documentary film showing the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the unlikely alliance which develops between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist.

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

'WICKED' (Rated PG) - is an American epic musical fantasy film Directed by Jon M. Chu, whose prior feature film credits take in his debut with 'Step Up 2 : The Streets' in 2008 and then 'G.I. Joe : Retaliation' in 2013, 'Now You See Me 2' in 2016, 'Crazy Rich Asians' in 2018 and 'In the Heights' in 2021. This film is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which in turn was loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. Costing US$145M to produce, the film saw its World Premiere showcasing in Sydney on 3rd November and is released in the US this week too, with early critical reviews being very positive.

Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the plot covers the events of the musical's first act, following green-skinned Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) who studies at Shiz University and the beginning of her path to ultimately becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, alongside an unlikely friendship with a classmate Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande) who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Also starring Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Peter Dinklage. 'Wicked : Part 2' is slated for a November release next year. 

'GOODRICH' (Rated M) - this American comedy film is Written and Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer in only her second feature film Directorial outing following 'Home Again' in 2017. Art dealer Andy Goodrich's (Michael Keaton) life gets upended when his younger wife Naomi (Laura Benanti) leaves him and enters a 90-day rehab programme while also threatening divorce. Andy takes charge of their nine-year-old twins Billie and Mose (Vivien Lyra Blair and Jacob Kopera respectively), thrusting him into the world of modern parenthood for which he is deeply unprepared. With his career falling by the wayside, he soon leans on his 36 year old pregnant daughter from his first marriage Grace (Mila Kunis) for support, ultimately becoming the father she never had. Also starring Carmen Ejogo. Kevin Pollack and Andie MacDowell. The film was released in the US in mid-October, has so far grossed US$1.6M and has garnered largely favourable reviews.

'STRANGE CREATURES' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian drama film Written and Directed by Henry Boffin in his feature film making debut. Nate Taylor (Riley Nottingham) hasn’t spoken a word to his brother, Ged (Johnny Carr), in over four years after a mysterious falling out. But when their mother passes away from a sudden aneurysm, the brothers must set aside their differences in order to fulfil their mother’s final wish, to have her ashes scattered at the old family home in the country town of Narrabri, NSW some 520 kms northwest of Sydney. Setting out across Australia in the only vehicle available to them – a black hearse – the boys soon realise that the trip will be anything but plain sailing. Spurred on by Ged’s destructive behaviour and their intense dislike for each other, a set of unfortunate events threaten to derail them from ever reaching their goal. 

'THE TROPHY BRIDE' (Rated M) - this Vietnamese comedy drama thriller film is Directed by Ngoc Dang Vu whose previous film making efforts take in the likes of 'Lost in Paradise' in 2011 and 'Lost in Paradise 2' in 2017, 'Never Trust a Stranger' in 2015 and 'Dad, I'm Sorry' in 2021. Here then, in a desperate bid for fortune, a downtrodden and dysfunctional family of four risks it all as high-society fraudsters in a daring scheme to make their sole daughter the trophy bride of an elite family. The film was released in the US and the UK last week.

'NO OTHER LAND' (Rated M) - is a documentary film Written, Directed and Edited by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor in their Directorial debuts. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four activists as an act of resistance on the path to justice during the ongoing conflict in the region. A young Palestinian activist named Basel Adra has been resisting the forced displacement of his people by Israel's military in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank, since he was a child. He records the gradual destruction of his homeland, where Israeli soldiers are tearing down homes and evicting their inhabitants. He befriends Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist who helps him in his struggle. They form an unexpected bond, but their friendship is challenged by the huge gap between their living conditions, in that Basel faces constant oppression and violence, while Yuval enjoys freedom and security. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February this year and has so far collected twenty-nine award wins and another seven nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th October 2017.

The 2017 Adelaide Film Festival drew to a close on Sunday evening 15th October after eleven days of showcasing the finest in local South Australian, national Australian and international films either recently released or in many cases receiving the Australian or worldwide Premier screening. This year there were ten feature films in Official Competition which included six Australian Premieres and features from around the festival circuit including Cannes and Toronto. They were Boris Khlebnikov’s 'Arrythmia', Mikhail Red’s 'Birdshot', Ofir Raul Graizer’s 'The Cakemaker', Luca Guadagnino’s 'Call Me By Your Name', John Cameron Mitchell’s 'How To Talk To Girls at Parties', Rungano Nyoni’s 'I Am Not A Witch', Mahommad Rasoulof’s 'A Man Of Integrity', Pedro Pinho’s 'The Nothing Factory', Joachim Trier’s 'Thelma', and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner 'The Square'.

The closing night film this year was the Sophie Fiennes Directed documentary 'Grace Jones : Bloodlight and Bami'. IMDB summarises the noted film which also opened the Documentary section at TIFF earlier this year, as 'larger than life, wild, scary and androgynous - Grace Jones plays all these parts. Yet here we also discover her as a lover, daughter, mother, sister and even grandmother, as she submits herself to our gaze and allows us to understand what constitutes her mask.' It goes on to say 'in Jamaican patois, 'Bloodlight' is the red light that illuminates when an artist is recording and 'Bami' means bread, the substance of daily life. 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami' weaves together the layers of Grace Jones' public and private life, as she moves effortlessly between different facets: she is gypsy, artist and partying hedonist, warm and funny but also a fierce and tenacious businesswoman.'

In terms of official competition winners and grinners, these are :
2017 Adelaide Film Festival International Best Feature Fiction Award, presented to :
* 'I Am Not A Witch' closed TIFF this year, was shown in the Directors Fortnight at Cannes this year, and is the highly acclaimed Directorial debut of Zambian born Welsh raised Director and Screenwriter Rungano Nyoni. Telling the story of a nine year old orphan girl Shula (newcomer Maggie Mulubwa) who, following a banal incident in the village where she lives, is accused of witchcraft. After a hasty trial at which she is found guilty, she is banished and exiled to a camp in the middle of the nowhere desert, with mostly elderly women 'witches'. At the camp her initiation ceremony is where she is shown the rules surrounding her new life as a witch. Like the other resident witches, Shula is tied by a ribbon which is attached to a coil that is tethered to a large tree. She is told that should she ever cut the ribbon, she'll be cursed and transformed into a goat. Combining magic realism, social commentary and a deadpan sense of humour it is the talented cast of no-name Actors that persuaded the Jury, that this was the standout winner.

2017 Adelaide Film Festival Flinders University International Best Documentary Award, presented to :
* 'Taste of Cement' is Directed by Ziad Kailhoum in only his second documentary feature film outing, and was Written by him too. This film poignantly paints a picture of construction workers in exile. Described as an empathetic encounter with people who have lost their past and their future, locked in the recurring present. Here the Director has crafted a documentary of Syrian construction workers building new skyscrapers overlooking the city of Beirut out of the ruins created by the Lebanese civil war. At the same time their own homes are being bombed back in Syria. A curfew prohibits them from leaving the construction site after the days work is finished and so every night in their meagre and makeshift dwelling below the skyscraper the news from their homeland, the memories of the war and what they left behind plague them. Mute and imprisoned in the cement underground, they must endure until the new day arrives where the hammering and welding drowns out their nightmares, unable to construct any sort of life for themselves . . . only others, and in a country where they are alienated, unwanted and disenfranchised from society.

2017 AFTRS (Australian Film, Television and Radio School) International VR Award, presented to :
* 'Nothing Happens' Directed and Written by Michelle and Uri Kranot, this twelve minute animated short Virtual Reality film presents a new way of looking. It's a film about spectatorship, about watching and being watched. Its about being present.

Turning attention back to this week then, there are six new films to tease that movie going dollar from out of your wallet. We launch with a Norwegian set serial killer thriller chiller based on one of a hugely popular collection of novels; then we go to the mother of all cataclysmic climatic conditions that promises to wreak storm and tempest down on an unsuspecting world that only one humble man can prevent; before moving onto a Victorian England horror offering of murder most foul at the hands of a legendary creature. We then go to a RomCom  featuring a recently separated Mum of forty getting all jiggy with a twenty something year old lodger lad with far reaching consequences; and up next is a doco of the 1,200 mile pilgrimage of eleven Tibetans that takes seven months to traverse on foot, while lying down prone on the ground every seven or eight paces or so out of their faith and devotion to their God. We then wrap up with an animated feature of a young lads journey to connect with his long last Dad, and discovering more than he bargained for when he eventually does.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release films 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 here cordially invited 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 experience during the coming week.

'THE SNOWMAN' (Rated MA15+) - here we have the first in what may turn out to be new film franchise for this Norwegian crime fighting detective Harry Hole, based on the Oslo Crime Squad character created by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo in the popular series of novels that have been translated into forty languages and having sold over thirty million copies worldwide. Harry Hole appears in eleven novels so far, first launched in 1997 with 'The Bat', taking us up to 2017 with the release of 'The Thirst'. 'The Snowman' upon which this film is based is the seventh book in the series and was published in 2007. This film is Directed by Tomas Alfredson, whose previous Directing credits include the acclaimed 'Let The Right One In' and 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'.

Research reveals that Harry Hole (here portrayed by Micahel Fassbender) is a brilliant and driven detective prone to using unorthodox methods in his work, a classic loose cannon in the police force. Hole is unmarried and he has few close friends. He frequently makes enemies among his colleagues who, nevertheless, grudgingly respect him. He is a chain smoker and heavy drinker, although for the most part has his reliance on alcohol under control. The effects of his problems however, sometimes bring him into repeated conflict with his superiors, and some colleagues. Hole is also one of just a handful in the force to have undertaken special interrogation techniques and firearms training with the FBI. In this story Hole investigates the disappearance of a female victim during the first snowfall of Winter. He soon deduces that a serial killer, known as 'The Snowman' may be responsible and active only during the season. He teams up with talented recruit Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson) and together the pair must trawl through decades old cold cases to connect the dots to the latest killing spree if he is to thwart this elusive killer before another grisly murder is carried out. The film also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, Chloe Sevigny and James D'Arcy, has so far taken US$9M and has garnered less than favourable Reviews.

'GEOSTORM' (Rated M) - here Dean Devlin Co-Writes, Co-Produces and for the first time Directs this Sci-Fi disaster action film that was made for a budget of US$81M with principal photography beginning three years ago in October 2014. Come late 2015 and test screenings met with a generally poor response resulting in extensive reshoots occurring in late 2016 and into early 2017 with the added bonus of new Producer Jerry Bruckheimer coming on board to deliver the film that is released this week. Set in the near future when a bunch of satellites circle our planet controlling the weather conditions, it only takes an unforeseen malfunction to see the worlds climatic circumstances change with cataclysmic consequences. It takes Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) to don his space suit and launch himself headlong into the outer reaches to fix the problem with the satellites that he designed in the first place, before a storm event takes place like no other the world has ever seen. The film also stars Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia and Abbie Cornish.

'THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM' (Rated MA15+) - this British horror mystery film is Directed by Juan Carlos Medina, based on the 1994 novel 'Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem' written by Peter Ackroyd. The film had its world premier at TIFF way back in September 2016, and was only released in the UK on 1st September this year and now gets its limited Australian release this week. The story unfolds when a series of murders occurs in the Limehouse district of east London in Victorian England. These deaths shake the local community who believe that a mythical creature from the dark days - the legendary Golem - must be responsible. Leaving cryptic messages written in the blood of its victims, Scotland Yard assignes the case to Inspector Kildare (Bill Nighy), a seasoned detective, who is determined to crack the case. With a list of suspects narrowed down from a diary of the Golem's crimes supposedly hand written by the Golem itself, Kildare must rely of his sense of detection, the help of witnesses, and his instincts to bring the supposed Golem to justice and put an end to the murders. Also starring Eddie Marsan, Olivia Cooke, and Douglas Booth. The film has so far taken less than US$2M despite generally favourable Reviews.

'HOME AGAIN' (Rated M) - this RomCom is Directed by first timer Hallie Meyers-Shyer and Written by her too and stars Reece Witherspoon as Alice Kinney a recently separated mother of two young children who has relocated back to Los Angeles and moved in with her mother Lilian Stewart (Candice Bergen) and has designs on establishing her own interior design business. About to celebrate turning the BIG 4-Oh! Alice meets Harry, George and Teddy (Pico Alexander, Jon Rudnitski and Nat Wolff respectively) three aspiring film makers who all need some place to live. Alice decides to let the three men reside in the guesthouse temporarily, but complications soon begin to manifest themselves when Alice and Harry begin an affair and her new found freedom and happiness is on the verge of collapse when her ex-husband Austen (Michael Sheen) arrives on her doorstep carrying a suitcase. The film cost US$12M to make and has so far grossed US$30M and has garnered average Reviews since its Stateside release in early September.

'PATHS OF THE SOUL' (Rated PG) - this Chinese film was Written, Produced and Directed by Zhang Yang are premiered at TIFF back in 2015, before being presented an numerous film festivals on the circuit over the following two years or so. The film was released in China in June this year, and has been highly acclaimed by Critics and audiences alike. The film chronicles the journey of eleven ordinary Tibetans as they take the cross country pilgrimage of twelve hundred miles from their home village to Lhasa, prostrating themselves on the ground every seven or eight paces or so along a journey that lasts seven months. An extraordinary story of human devotion, faith and redemption featuring stunning vistas of Tibet through the seasons.

'THE SON OF BIGFOOT' (Rated PG) - is a Belgian and French co-produced CGI animated feature film Directed by acclaimed Belgian animator and CGI artist Ben Stassen, with Jeremy Degruson. This story tells of teenager Adam Harrison (Pappy Faulkner) who sets out on a journey to find his long lost father, only to discover that he is in fact the legendary Bigfoot. He has been in self imposed exile hiding in the forests for years to protect his family and himself from an unscrupulous company who want to exploit Bigfoot's DNA and conduct scientific experiments on him. As father and son begin to bond, young Adam discovers that like his father, he has been gifted with super powers that include being able to converse with animals. However, it's not long before the company who have been tracking Adam's whereabouts, close in on father and son with potentially dire consequences for them both. The film has met with critical acclaim for its top notch CGI animation, story telling, and production values. A film for kids of all ages.

With six new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, taking in a snowbound serial killer crime thriller; the mother of all weather conditions; a Victorian England horror mystery; a RomCom; a prostrating pilgrimage; and a family friendly animated feature suitable for kids of all ages. Remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-