What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th June 2025

The 42nd Munich International Film Festival this year is held from Friday 27th June through until Sunday 6th July in the German city of Munich. It is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July, and presents feature films and feature-length documentaries. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German Premieres and many are European and World Premieres. There are a dozen competitions with prizes worth over €250K which are donated by the festival's major sponsors and partners. With over 160 feature films and feature-length documentaries on more than eighteen screens, from fifty-four countries, Filmfest Munchen has an annual attendance of around 80,000. It accredits more than six hundred members of the international press and media as well as over 2,500 film industry professionals. Nearly fifty films will have their World Premieres at this year’s festival in the Bavarian capital, with such international stars as Stellan Skarsgard, Francois Ozon, Jay Duplass and Gillian Anderson, the American Actress, Writer, and activist, who will be honoured with the CineMerit Award for her outstanding contributions to the art of film, all giving personal appearances.

This years Opening Night film presentation is 'The Balled of Wallis Island' and Directed by James Griffiths and starring Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan and tells the story set on a remote island off the Welsh coast where old tensions resurface when former bandmates, who were former lovers, reunite for the first time in nine years for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire. 

The CineMasters Competition includes films from internationally acclaimed Directors (with the exception of Germany). The films are in competition for the ARRI/OSRAM Award for Best Film (non-German), and carries a services award from both of these companies worth €50K). Those feature films therefore competing are as follows :-

* 'Aicha' - from France, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia and Written and Directed by Mehdi M. Barsaoui. 

* 'Hard Truths' - from the UK and Written and Directed by Mike Leigh and starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin and David Webber.

* 'Sound of Falling' - from Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Mascha Schilinski. Winner of the Jury Prize at this years Cannes Film Festival.

* 'Kika' - from Belgium and Co-Written and Directed by Alexe Poukine. 

* 'Magellan' - from France, Philippines, Portugal, Spain and Taiwan and Written, Production Designed, Directed, Co-Photographed and Co-Edited by Lav Diaz, and starring Gael Garcia Bernal.

* 'Militantropos' - from France, Austria and Ukraine and Directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova and Simon Mozgovyi.

* 'Nouvelle Vague' - from France and Directed by Richard Linklater and starring Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin.

* 'Perla' - from Austria and Slovakia and Written and Directed by Alexandra Makarova.

* 'Promised Sky' - from France, Qatar and Tunisia and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Erige Sehiri. 

* 'Sirat' - from France and Spain and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Oliver Laxe. Winner of the Jury Prize at this years Cannes Film Festival.

* 'The Baltimorons' - from the USA and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jay Duplass.

* 'The Exposure' - from Switzerland and the UK and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Thomas Imbach.

* 'When Fall is Coming' - from France and Co-Written, Produced and Directed by Francois Ozon.

* 'Yes' - from Germany, France, Israel and Cyprus and Written and Directed by Nadav Lapid.

For the full synopsis of the aforementioned films being showcased within the CineMasters section, plus the other film strands including the CineVision Competition, the CineCoPro Competition, Spotlight, International Independents, New German Cinema and the Kinderfilmfest, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/

This week we have four new movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, launching with a sports drama film in which a semi-retired Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver. This is followed by a Sci-Fi horror sequel set two years after this child sized humanoid robot's rampage, her creator, resorts to resurrecting her infamous creation in order to take down a military-grade robot who was built by a defence contractor who stole the underlying tech from the original robot. Next up we have the first of two French offerings, with the story of a Paris food delivery cyclist and asylum seeker who has two days to prepare his story for a make-or-break interview to secure legal residency; and closing out the week and set on the sunny French Riviera, where a family revelation spirals into a mischievous journey brimming with love, vengeance and surprises.

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

'F1' (Rated M) - this American sports drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Joseph Kosinski whose prior feature film efforts take in 'Tron : Legacy' in 2010, 'Oblivion' in 2013, 'Only the Brave' in 2017, 'Top Gun : Maverick' in 2022 and 'Spiderhead' also in 2022. This film features the Formula One World Championship, created in collaboration with the FIA, its governing body, and is Co-Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt. The film is released internationally this week and cost US$200M to produce.

Here, dubbed 'the greatest that never was' Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was Formula 1's most promising driver of the 1990's until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he's a nomadic racer-for-hire driving in other motor sport disciplines, when he's approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling Formula 1 team Apex Grand Prix (APXGP) that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to Formula 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He'll drive alongside Joshua 'Noah' Pearce (Damson Idris), the team's hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny's past catches up with him and he finds that in Formula 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition, and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone. Also starring Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Shea Whigham plus all ten Formula One teams and their drivers in the 2023 season will appear as themselves.

'M3GAN 2.0' (Rated M) - is an American Sci-Fi horror film Written and Directed by Gerard Johnstone, and is a sequel to 2022's 'M3GAN' which was also Directed by Gerard Johnstone and grossed US$182M from a production budget of US$12M making this sequel inevitable. Here, set two years after the events of the first film Gemma (Allison Williams, who also Co-Produces here alongside James Wan and Jason Blum) has become an author and an advocate for the regulation of artificial intelligence while trapping a still-active M3GAN (Amie Donald with Jenna Davis providing the voice) in a small, harmless robotic doll. However, M3GAN's technology has been stolen and used by a defence contractor to create a military robot called AMELIA (Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android - Ivanna Sakhno), who becomes self-aware, turns on her creators, and attempts an AI takeover. Facing imminent destruction, Gemma's niece Cady (Violet McGraw) convinces her to rebuild M3GAN with advanced upgrades so she can fight Amelia. Also starring Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jermain Clement. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'SOULEYMANE'S STORY' (Rated M) - this French drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Boris Lojkine, and tells the story of Souleymane (Abou Sangare), a recent Guinean immigrant in Paris, whose every waking second is spent fighting against the clock, working as an e-bike rider for a food delivery service to make his quota, getting back in time to secure a bed at the shelter, filling out paperwork on a deadline as he tries desperately to get asylum in France, and with his interview in two days, he is ill prepared. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize. It was released in its native France in early October last year and only now is it released in Australia having garnered universal critical acclaim.

'RIVIERA REVENGE' (Rated M) - is a French comedy film Written and Directed by Ivan Calberac whose two most recent feature films were 2019's 'Venice Calling' and 2022's 'The Tasting'. Here, he tells the story of Francois Marsault (Andre Dussollier), a war veteran, who makes the most of his retirement alongside his wife Annie (Sabine Azema) with whom he has been married for five decades. Authoritarian and ruthless, Francois rules his family with an iron fist, but when he discovers that his esteemed wife cheated on him forty years ago, he files for divorce and confronts her former lover, who lives on the French Riviera. The film was released in France in late April 2024, and only now does it get a showing in Australia. 

With four 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 16th November 2023

The 68th Cork International Film Festival runs this year from Thursday 9th through until Sunday 26th November. Established in 1956, the festival presents 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. It is Ireland’s first and largest film festival and one of Cork’s most significant and popular annual cultural events. Cork International Film Festival is a local, national and international celebration of cinema, running annually in venues and online in November. Award-winning films from the international film festival circuit, new discoveries and cinema classics are selected to be premiered in cinemas in Cork and screened online via the Festival Digital Platform, available to viewers nationwide. 

This years Opening Night Gala presentation is 'Poor Things' Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Jerrod Carmichael and Ramy Youssef and tells the incredible story about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. The Closing Night film is 'The Holdovers' Directed by Alexander Payne and starring Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa about a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school who remains on campus during the Christmas break in the 1970's to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go.

The Festival presents twelve awards, including the CIFF Best New Irish Feature Award, Spirit of the Festival Award, Award for Cinematic Documentary, and two Audience Awards (for features and shorts). Its awards for Grand Prix Irish Short, Grand Prix International Short and Grand Prix Documentary Short Award are Academy Award qualifying, ensuring that the winners in Cork automatically join the Oscars long-list.

Those films competing for the Best New Irish Feature Award are :-

* 'So This Is Christmas' - Directed by Ken Wardrop this film illuminates the challenges often unseen beyond the toys, trees and tinsel, where characters in a small Irish village reflect on their difficult relationships with Christmas.

* 'One Night in Millstreet' - Directed by Andrew Gallimore. The St. Patrick’s weekend of 1995 witnessed an extraordinary thing, a world championship boxing match deep in the countryside of County Cork, between Super Middleweight Champion, Chris Eubank, and the hungry challenger from Cabra, Steve Collins. World Premiere.

* 'All You Need Is Death' - Directed by Paul Duane. Young couple Anna and Aleks collect folk ballads, the rarer the better, and the more money they can sell them for. Following a tip from a fellow collector, they secretly record a song so ancient that it is in a forgotten dialect. But once they begin to translate the song, they discover the terrifying reason why it was never meant to be passed on.

* 'Prospect House' - Directed by Paul Mercier. A group of protesters film a period re-enactment in a dilapidated 18th century house in a last ditch effort to save it from demolition.

* 'The Days of Trees' - Directed by Alan Gilsenan. An intimate beautifully wrought and deftly handled meditation on trauma, offering hope and insight.

The Spirit of the Festival Award comprises the following films :-

* 'The Girls Are Alright' - from Spain and Directed, Written, Co-Produced and starring Itsaso Arana. Four actresses and a writer spending a week in a secluded country house rehearsing a period play, chatting, and getting artistic inspiration from their own lives.

* 'Embryo Larva Butterfly - from Greece and Directed and Written by Kyros Papavassiliou. Penelope and Isidoro navigate their relationship in a world where time is non-linear, and past, present and future skip back and forth arbitrarily every time they wake.

* 'Animal' - from Greece, France and Poland and Directed by Sofia Exarchou. The team of dancers, singers and entertainers in an all inclusive tourist resort prepare for the upcoming season and we slowly get to know all the characters, including Kaila, natural leader of the group. As the summer heats up the make-up and facades begin to melt.

* 'Excursion' - from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, France, Norway and Directed by Una Gunjak. Iman is an ordinary teenage girl from Sarajevo that falls for an older boy and, in order to protect their half-imaginary relationship, comes up with a little white lie that spirals out of control.

* 'Negu Hurbilak' - from Spain and Directed by Colectivo Negu. At the end of the Basque conflict in 2011, when the ETA announces their ceasefire, a young woman goes on the run to escape political persecution, hoping to cross the border. She arrives at a quiet border village, Zubieta - a place where time appears to stand still, and she waits, as all the while the weight of her situation hangs around her.

* 'Camping du Lac' - from Belgium and France and Directed and starring Eleonore Saintagnan. Following her car breakdown in the middle of France, Eleonore has to make a stop at the mostly abandoned campsite with mobile homes and a view of a lovely lake. During her stay encounters interesting characters and searches for the mysterious lake monster.

For the full details of the other awards being presented; the remaining documentary, feature and short film strands being showcased; and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go the official website at : https://corkfilmfest.org/

So turning the attention then back to this weeks six new movies gracing a big screen Odeon close to home, we kick off with an offering from a second time Director about a young Oxford University student who becomes infatuated with his aristocratic schoolmate and his wealthy but eccentric family. This is followed by a prelude to a hugely popular and successful film franchise that sees a young Coriolanus Snow mentoring and developing feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th fight to the death for the teenage tributes from each of the twelve Districts. Next up we have slasher horror film that following a Black Friday riot which ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer goes on a murderous rampage in Plymouth, Massachusetts - the birthplace of the infamous holiday. Then we turn to a French full-bodied RomCom that tells the story of a fifty year old divorced bear-with-a-sorehead who runs a small rural wine shop, and despite numerous obstacles, finds true love in unexpected quarters thanks to a woman with her own set of issues. Moving on we have a Danish/Swedish documentary in which the filmmakers examine both humanity's obsession with the camera's image and its social consequences, from the first camera to the 45 billion existing worldwide today; before closing out the week with an Aussie doco that takes us into the world of this prominent Australian artist and peels back the layers of his intimate journey.

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

'SALTBURN' (Rated MA15+) - is a psychological thriller drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Emerald Fennel in her second feature film outing following the highly acclaimed 'Promising Young Woman' in 2020 which reaped 116 award wins and another 193 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival in late August and is set for release in the US, the UK and here in Australia from this week having so far generated mostly favourable reviews. 

Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a Summer never to be forgotten. Also starring Rosamund Pike as Elsbeth Catton and Richard E. Grant as Sir James Catton - Felix's mother and father respectively, and Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan and Paul Thys. 

'THE HUNGER GAMES : THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES' (Rated M) - this American dystopian science fiction action film Directed by Francis Lawrence, is based on the 2020 novel 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' by Suzanne Collins, serves as a prequel to 2012 film 'The Hunger Games' and is the fifth instalment in 'The Hunger Games' film series. Francis Lawrence Directed the last three films in the franchise with 'Catching Fire' in 2013 and 'Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2' in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Those first four films in the series grossed close to US$3B at the global Box Office off the back of combined production budgets of US$493M making this eventual prequel a no brainer. Set 64 years before the events of the first film, we here follow the events that eventually lead a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blythe) on the path to becoming the tyrannical leader of Panem (played by Donald Sutherland in the original films), including his relationship with the Hunger Games tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from the impoverished District 12 during the year of the 10th Hunger Games. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who's a songbird and who's a snake. Also starring Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis, the film is released in the US this week also, having cost US$100M to produce.

'THANKSGIVING' (Rated R18+) - is an American slasher horror film Directed by Eli Roth, and based on a story and the mock trailer that Roth created for the 'Grindhouse' film Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino in 2007. Roth who is no stranger to the genre also Directed such other features including his debut with 'Cabin Fever' in 2002 then 'Hostel' and 'Hostel : Part II' in 2005 and 2007 respectively, 'Knock Knock' in 2015, 'Death Wish' in 2018, and the documentary 'Fin' in 2021. Here then, after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious serial killer, known only as 'John Carver', comes to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the intention of creating a Thanksgiving carving board out of the town's inhabitants. The films stars Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Milo Manheim and Gina Gershon and is released in the US this week too.

'LA DEGUSTATION' (Rated M) - aka 'The Tasting' is a French comedy romantic drama film Written and Directed by Ivan Calberac whose previous feature film making credits take in his debut in 2002 with 'Irene', then 'Cheating Love' in 2006, 'Alternate Weeks (and Half the Vacation)' in 2009, 'The Student and Mr. Henri' in 2015 and 'Venice is not in Italy' in 2019. Jacques Dennemont (Bernard Campen) is divorced and runs a small wine shop, on the verge of bankruptcy. Hortense Le Bris (Isabelle Carre), determined not to end up single and an old maid walks into his store one day and decides to sign up for a tastings workshop. This film was released in its native France at the end of August 2022, and only now does it get a release in Australia having so far grossed US$2.2M at the Box Office. 

'FANTASTIC MACHINE' (Rated M) - is a Danish and Swedish documentary film Written, Produced and Directed by Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck that charts the history of the first camera to forty-five billion (and counting) cameras worldwide today. Here the film makers explore, explain and expose how our unchecked obsession with image has grown to change our human behaviour. From Camera Obscura and the Lumieres Brothers all the way to Youtube and the world of social media, the film chronicles how we went from capturing the image of a backyard to a multi-billion- euro content industry in just 200 years. After doing the rounds across the worldwide festivals circuit and collecting three award wins (including Berlin and Sundance) plus another eight nominations, the films goes on limited release here in Australia this week. 

'BROMLEY : LIGHT AFTER DARK' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary film is Directed by Sean McDonald in his Directorial debut. David Bromley found that art appeased the voices in his head and helped him find beauty in the world. So he made the life-changing decision to commit his whole being to something meaningful. This feature doco takes us into the world of this prominent Australian artist. With intimate access, we peel away the layers of anxiety, phobias and suicide survival, whilst embracing the humour, energy, and love that is ever-present in the Bromley world. The Director has here documented David and his wife Yuge for over five years, leading to this incredibly intimate and unique documentary on one of Australia’s most prolific and iconic artists.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-