What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 7th May 2026.

This years 52nd Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is held from Thursday 7th May up to Sunday 17th May, in the the US city of Seattle in Washington state. Beginning in 1976 with the annual Seattle International Film Festival, then expanding into year-round programming, SIFF envisions a thriving arts ecosystem where film discovery encourages a more empathetic, joyful, and connected world. In its three theatres, SIFF offers year-round screenings, Film Talks and a series of spotlight festivals throughout the year. SIFF also serves the community through educational programmes and SIFFsupports, a partnership programme that hosts and provides technical support to a variety of special screenings and festivals. The festival traditionally attracts nearly 150,000 attendees to celebrate films from more than eighty countries and regions around the world. Many of the features, short films, and documentaries screened will not have a return to US cinemas, making it an amazing event to discover new and underrepresented voices and stories . . . . . so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night film presentation is 'I Love Boosters' from the USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Boots Riley. A fearless crew of inventive young women turns shoplifting into a radical act of defiance. Led by Corvette, they move across Oakland, boosting coveted goods as both survival and protest—challenging a system built on exclusion and excess. When their exploits draw unwanted viral attention and their feud with fashion mogul Christine Smith turns personal, the Boosters plan one final, audacious heist. Starring Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, Eiza Gonzalez, Taylour Paige and Poppy Liu. The Closing Night movie is 'The Invite' from the USA and Directed by Olivia Wilde. Two couples (Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen, and Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton) drop into the crucible of a seemingly innocuous dinner with their neighbours, where awkward small talk unearths insecurities, codependencies, failed aspirations, and deep sexual FOMO.

Films in the Official Competition demonstrate some of the finest filmmaking this year from around the world. Spanning a variety of genres, these films advance themes of worldwide resonance, like friendship, coming of age in times of political turmoil, and the challenges inherent to romantic and familial relationships. The Official Competition jury, comprised of filmmakers, journalists, and industry professionals, selects the winning film, which will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards on 17th May and awarded a cash prize of US$5K. Those films are as follows :-

* 'Burn' - from Japan and Written and Directed by Makoto Nagahisa. When runaway teen Ju-Ju is embraced by a tribe of misfit youths in Kabukicho, she finds belonging for the first time - until betrayal and despair twist her haven into a prison.

* 'The Friend's House is Here' - from Iran and the USA and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Co-Directed by Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei, and Edited by Hossein Keshavarz. Pari and Hanna are best friends and active participants in Tehran’s vibrant underground arts scene. But the risk of running afoul of the government is omnipresent, forcing difficult decisions.

* 'Lady' - from the UK and is Co-Written and Directed by Samuel Abrahams. In this absurdly hilarious mockumentary, a young filmmaker agrees to film the behind-the-scenes vanity project of the obnoxiously entitled aristocratic Lady Isabella (Sian Clifford) at her imposing country estate, Ravenhyde Hall, only for something unseen and quite strange to happen. North American Premiere.

* 'Marama' - from New Zealand and Written and Directed by Taratoa Stappard. This anti-colonial psychological horror story confronts the brutal legacy of British oppression and its attempts to fracture culture, while honouring the strength, resilience, and enduring leadership of Maori women.

* 'Silent Friend' - from Germany and Hungary and Written and Directed by Ildiko Enyedi. The film unfolds across three time periods - 2020, 1972 and the early 1900's at a historic German university in Marburg, with loosely connected narratives anchored by the presence of a single ginkgo tree.

* 'Sundays' - from Spain and Written and Directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azua. At 17, Ainara faces a life-changing choice - after high school, she considers becoming a nun. Her decision unsettles her family, especially her aunt Montse, who fears it means losing freedom.

For the details of the other competitive strands being showcased - the Short Films Competition, the New Directors Competition, the New American Cinema Competition, the Ibero-American Competition and the Documentary Competition, plus the other sections being screened, and a whole bunch of other good stuff too, you can visit the official website at : http://www.siff.net

Looking forward to this weeks five new movies coming to your local Odeon, we kick off with the second film in this rebooted franchise based on a popular video game series in which an ageing Hollywood martial artist joins other fighters in the ultimate, no-holds-barred battle to defeat the dark rule of a powerful tyrant who threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders. This is followed by a story of a fifteen-year-old boy from a remote Macedonian village who escapes into music amidst parental expectations, societal conservatism, and forbidden love for a promised girl. Next up we turn to a mystery comedy film where a flock of intelligent sheep, who love listening to mystery novels, must solve the murder of their beloved shepherd. Then we have a film captured during this singers sold-out world tour - a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D. And closing out the week we have a musical doco charting this bands five decades in the business from their humble beginnings playing the pubs and clubs in East London to their headlining gigs in some of the worlds biggest stadiums and arenas. 

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.

'MORTAL KOMBAT II' (Rated MA15+) - is an American martial arts fantasy film that is a sequel to 2021's 'Mortal Kombat' and the fourth instalment in the Mortal Kombat film series, both based on the video game series 'Mortal Kombat'. The live action film series launched in 1995 with 'Mortal Kombat' Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and was followed up in 1997 by 'Mortal Kombat Annihilation' Directed by John. R. Leonetti. Simon McQuoid Directed the rebooted 'Mortal Kombat' in 2021, and he returns to the Directors chair for this offering. The first three films in the series have grossed US$204M off the back of combined production budgets of US$103M. The film is released in the US this week too, and allegedly a third film is already in development.

Following the events of Mortal Kombat, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) tasks Earthrealm champions to find new warriors to prepare the upcoming tournament against Outworld as they attempt to resist the rule of Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) whose rise threatens the survival of Earthrealm and its defenders. One such recruit is an ageing Hollywood martial artist, Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). Also starring Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks and Damon Herriman. 

'DJ AHMET' (Rated PG) - this North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatian Co-Produced drama film is Written and Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski in his feature film making debut. The film centres around the life of 15-year-old boy, Ahmet (Arif Jakup), who falls in love for the first time, desires to be a DJ, and contends with the conservatism of his rural village in North Macedonia. It saw its World Premiere screening at the Sundance Film Festival in late January 2025 where it was in the World Cinema Competition ultimately taking home the Audience Award, among its total haul of nine award wins and another ten nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. The film had garnered positive critical reviews and has so far taken US$1.1M at the Box Office.

'THE SHEEP DETECTIVES' (Rated PG) - is a UK and US Co-Produced mystery comedy film that is Directed by Kyle Balda who Co-Directed 2012's 'The Lorax' and went onto helm 2015's 'Minions' then 2017's 'Despicable Me 3', and 2022's 'Minions : The Rise of Gru'. This film is based on the 2005 novel 'Three Bags Full' by Leonie Swann. Here, George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can't possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, and George winds up mysteriously dead, the sheep realise they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers. Also starring Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson, with a voice cast that includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein and Rhys Darby. The film is released this week too in the USA and has generated positive critical acclaim.

'BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT' (Rated PG) - this American 3D concert film is Produced, Directed and stars acclaimed Director James Cameron and acclaimed singer and songwriter Billie Eilish. The film stars Eilish and features performances from her seventh headlining 2025 concert tour at the Co-Op Live venue and filmed over four nights during her 'Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour', in Manchester, England. It is Eilish's second concert film after 'Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles' which was Directed by Robert Rodriguez. The production utilised virtual reality 3D technology, via a partnership with Meta Platforms and Cameron's Lightstorm Vision, for a release on Meta Quest headsets. The film is released Stateside too this week. 

'IRON MAIDEN : BURNING AMBITION' (Rated M) - is a US and UK Co-Produced biographical musical documentary film that is Directed by Malcolm Venville whose previous feature film credits are '44 Inch Chest' in 2009, 'Henry's Crime' in 2010, and the sports documentary film 'And We Go Green' in 2019. The film chronicles the band’s five-decade journey from East London pubs to sell-out global stadiums. Featuring exclusive interviews with band members and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, fan stories and archival footage, as well as all-new animated sequences of the band's legendary mascot, Eddie, the film offers a rare and intimate look at Iron Maiden's uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their truly global army of fans. The film is released worldwide this week. 

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-

AVATAR : FIRE AND ASH : Tuesday 23rd December 2025

I saw the M Rated 'AVATAR : FIRE AND ASH' earlier this week, and this American epic Sci-Fi film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by James Cameron, and is the sequel to 2022's 'Avatar: The Way of Water'. This is the third instalment in the Avatar film series, which began with 'Avatar' in 2009, with those first two films grossing a total US$5.267B off the back of a combined production budget of US$587M. James Cameron made his feature film debut with 'Piranha II : The Spawning' in in 1982 which he would follow up with 'Terminator' in 1984, 'Aliens' in 1986, 'The Abyss' in 1989, 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day' in 1992, 'True Lies' in 1994, and 'Titanic' 1997 before embarking on this monolithic film franchise. The film was released worldwide last week, with two additional sequels, 'Avatar 4' and 'Avatar 5', in various stages of production and scheduled to be released in 2029 and 2031, respectively. With a production budget of US$400M+ the film has so far recouped US$545M at the global Box Office, has garnered generally favourable critical reviews and has so far won thirteen awards and been nominated a further thirty-three times from around the awards and festival circuit.

A year after settling in with the Metkayina clan, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldana) family grapples with grief after their first son and oldest child Neteyam's (Jamie Flatters) death in battle in the previous film. Neytiri has developed a strong disliking and a mistrust toward humans. When a fleet of flying merchant ships arrive, the Wind Traders led by Peylak (David Thewlis), Jake and Neytiri decide Spider (Jack Champion) the teenage human son of Colonel Miles Quaritch who was formerly rescued from Quaritch by Jake and Neytiri, and who have been raising him like one of their own, must leave the Metkayina, but that the family will accompany him on the trip to return him to the humans. 

After departing the Metkayina clan, the Wind Traders convoy is ambushed by the Mangkwan, an aggressive Na'vi tribe who reject Eywa (the divine, globally connected consciousness of Pandora, a vast biological network linking all life, worshipped by the Na'vi as the Great Mother). Led by their spiritual leader Varang (Oona Chaplin), the Mangkwan set fire to the ships, looting them and killing survivors. The family becomes separated and are chased down by the Mangkwan. 

Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and Corporal Lyle Wainfleet (Matt Gerald) find Jake, and they reluctantly work together to find the children. Spider's oxygen mask runs out of power, and he collapses from asphyxiation. Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) connects her queue to the ground and goes into a trance. After his body is infused with mycelia, Spider later wakens with the ability to breathe Pandora's atmosphere unaided.

Eventually, the children are trapped by the Mangkwan. Quaritch and Jake arrive, and Quaritch ventures to the Mangkwan encampment and teaches Varang how to use guns and flamethrowers. Kiri commands the flora to kill their guards, enabling her family's escape. Kiri learns that she was born of Eywa, but is blocked from connecting with her. Quaritch travels to the Mangkwan's village, bringing them plentiful supplies of firearms and flamethrowers. He convinces them to form an alliance, and begins a relationship with Varang.

Kiri helps Spider bond with the wildlife, but the two are ambushed and Spider is taken by Quaritch. Quaritch invades the Metkayina village with the Mangkwan, demanding Jake. Jake surrenders himself to avoid war, and he and Spider are taken to the RDA (Resources Development Administration) base, Bridgehead City, where the Mangkwan now reside. In captivity, Spider is subjected to many tests, and after examining Spider, Dr. Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) and Dr. Max Patel (Dileep Rao) discover the mycelia organism inside his body, which they realise could be reverse engineered to allow every human to breathe on Pandora. Spider is also growing a neural queue on his head, allowing him to connect to Pandoran fauna just like the Na'vi do. Meanwhile, Jake is chained, locked up and called out as a traitor by the people of Bridgehead City. 

Looking for Payakan (a young bull Tulkun [large highly intelligent marine whale-like species native to the oceans of Pandora] that has been labeled as an outcast by not only the Metkayina clan, but the larger Tulkun community also). Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) the second son of Jake and Neytiri, is attacked by a group of giant squid, but he is rescued by Tulkun whales. Hundreds of Tulkun begin to congregate for an annual mating event, which could bring substantial profit when hunted for their amrita (a naturally occurring substance in the creature's brains which has the medical power to stop human ageing). RDA biologist Dr. Ian Garvin (Jemaine Clement) opposes the plans, but his advice is ignored.

With Jake scheduled to be executed at 6:00am the next morning by firing squad, Neytiri infiltrates the base, and Ian steals a giant bulldozer to free Jake. Spider escapes the RDA laboratories, and knowing they cannot afford to kill him, acts as a human shield to protect the pair as they make their escape. After fleeing to safety, Jake and Neytiri argue over Spider's liability to the potential human conquest of Pandora. Jake takes Spider into the forest and readies to kill Spider by slitting his throat, but stops at the last second. Neytiri who initially wanted to abandon Spider is now remorseful, and she finally accepts Spider into her family.

Back at the Metkayina village, the Tulkun council hear Jake's warning of an incoming massacre, but decide not to change their pacifist ways. Lo'ak brings Payakan and Tan'ok, the disfigured sole survivor of a human attack on Payakan's pod, and the Tulkun elders reconsider their stance. Jake re-bonds with the apex aerial predator Toruk and rallies the Na'vi clans to battle. 

The next day, as the RDA fleet arrives for the hunt, the Tulkun and Na'vi ambush them. The Mangkwan and Quaritch suddenly attack, inflicting heavy casualties, including Rotxo (Duane Evans Jnr.). Metkayina spiritual leader Ronal (Kate Winslet) is mortally wounded and dies in childbirth, with Neytiri taking her baby, Pril and vowing to take care of the newborn infant, but she is captured and taken to the RDA flagship. 

Kiri unlocks her ability to communicate with Eywa and asks for help. The Pandoran wildlife attacks the rest of the RDA forces. Varang tries to kill Neytiri, but she is rescued by Kiri, leading her to flee. Jake's Toruk destroys the RDA flagship as it is sucked up into a magnetic flux. Jake and Quaritch are thrown into the flux and fight each other, with Spider following. Spider shoots Quaritch with an arrow into his arm, but he falls off a floating rock, only for Quaritch to catch him. Jake reluctantly pulls them both up, and Neytiri and her children arrive. Outnumbered, clearly at a disadvantage and knackered from his intense fight with Jake, Quaritch leaps off the rock, presumably to his death.

After the battle, Spider and the Metkayina clan members connect to the underwater spirit trees, where he meets all the deceased Na'vi. Kiri introduces Spider to her mother, Grace (Sigourney Weaver), and they initiate him into the Na'vi people. 

James Cameron with 'Avatar : Fire and Ash' has once again solidified his place as a master storyteller with his Pandoran world building, the character arcs, and the sheer spectacle of Pandora's flora and fauna. This is a film that has to be seen on the biggest screen possible, and in glorious 3D to really appreciate the quality of the technical workmanship that went into rendering the amazing imagery presented on screen, and for that Cameron can't be faulted. That said, the plot is really more of the same as seen in the first two instalments, and the dialogue is at times clunky and repetitive (I lost count of the number of times 'you got this' and 'we can do this' popped out of a characters mouth!). As for the performances, Oona Chaplin's Varang adds a new dimension to Pandora's darker side, ably aided and abetted by Stephen Lang's Quaritch, with many of the returning Actor's anchored more convincingly by the advances in motion capture technology in the sixteen years since the first film hit our movie theatres. At the longest runtime of the series so far at three hours and seventeen minutes, the immersion in the films spectacle did not leave me wanting, and the battle sequences and fight scenes are expertly staged and rendered to maintain interest and propel the story along. Also starring Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco and Brendan Cowell. As an extra bonus see if you can spot the nods to Brian De Palma's 1987 film 'The Untouchables' and Mel Gibson's 1995 film 'Braveheart'. 

'Avatar : Fire and Ash' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th December 2025

The National Board of Review announced its full line up of award honourees on Wednesday 3rd December for a gala presentation ceremony due to take place in New York City on Tuesday 13th January 2026. Founded in 1909, each year the NBR and its select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals and academics view over 250 feature films and take part in enlightening conversations with Directors, Actors, Producers and Screenwriters before announcing their choices for the best work of the year. 

This years winners and grinners are as given below :

* Best Film - 'One Battle After Another'.

* Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson for 'One Battle After Another'.

* Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio for 'One Battle After Another'.

* Best Actress - Rose Byrne for 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You'.

* Best Supporting Actor - Benicio Del Toro for 'One Battle After Another'.

* Best Supporting Actress - Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for 'Sentimental Value'.

* Breakthrough Performance - Chase Infiniti for 'One Battle After Another'.

* Best Directorial Breakthrough - Eva Victor for 'Sorry, Baby'.

* Best Original Screenplay - Ryan Coogler for 'Sinners'.

* Best Adapted Screenplay - Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar for 'Train Dreams'.

* NBR Freedom of Expression Award - 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk'.

* Best Animated Feature - 'Arco'.

* Best International Film - 'It Was Just An Accident'.

* Best Documentary - 'Cover Up'.

* Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography - Autumn Durald Arkapaw for 'Sinners'.

* Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry - 'Mission : Impossible - The Final Reckoning'.

For the Top 10 films, the Top 5 international films, the Top 5 documentaries and the Top 10 independent films being recognised, plus a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://www.nationalboardof review.org/award-years/2025/

Turning the attention then back on this weeks three new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with an epic Sci-Fi action adventure film that is the third in the series which sees Jake and Neytiri's family grappling with grief after Neteyam's death, encountering a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the fiery Varang, as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges. This is followed by the story of two young men during World War I who set out to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen. And closing out the week we have an animated biblical musical drama film that charts the journey from his mother's songs to his clash with Goliath, this young lad's story from humble shepherd to anointed king tests the limits of faith, courage, and love-culminating in a battle for the soul of a kingdom.

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 week ahead.

'AVATAR : FIRE AND ASH' (Rated M) - this American epic Sci-Fi film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by James Cameron, and is the sequel to 2022's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' and the third instalment in the Avatar film series, which began with 'Avatar' in 2009, with those first two films grossing a total US$5.267B off the back of a combined production budget of US$587M. James Cameron made his feature film debut with 'Piranha II : The Spawning' in in 1982 which he would follow up with 'Terminator' in 1984, 'Aliens' in 1986, 'The Abyss' in 1989, 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day' in 1992, 'True Lies' in 1994, and 'Titanic' 1997 before embarking on this monolithic film franchise.

A year after settling in with the Metkayina clan, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldana) family grapples with grief after Neteyam's death. They encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang (Oona Chaplin), who has allied with Jake's enemy, Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences. Also starring Sigourney Weaver, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement and David Thewlis. The film is released in the US this week too, with two additional sequels, 'Avatar 4' and 'Avatar 5', are in various stages of production and are scheduled to be released in 2029 and 2031, respectively. This instalment has the longest runtime of the series so far at three hours and seventeen minutes. 

'THE HISTORY OF SOUND' (Rated M) - is a period romantic drama film that is Co-Produced and Directed by Oliver Hermanus who made his feature film making debut with 'Shirley Adams' in 2009 which he would follow up with 'Beauty' in 2011, 'The Endless River' in 2015, 'Moffie' in 2019 and 'Living' in 2022. This film is based on the two short stories written by Ben Shattuck 'The History of Sound' and 'Origin Stories', with Shattuck also writing the Screenplay for this film. The film begins in 1917 and follows two young men - Lionel Worthing (Paul Mescal) and David White (Josh O'Connor), in the shadows of WWI who are determined to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen. As they begin to log the events, the pair fall in love. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing in the Palme D'Or competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May, before being released in the US in mid-September having so far grossed US$1M and garnering generally positive critical reviews.

'DAVID' (Rated PG) - this animated biblical musical drama film features the character of David from the Book of Samuel in the Old Testament, and is Written and Directed by Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham. It is a follow-up to the five-part TV miniseries 'Young David' (there voiced by Brandon Engman, who reprises his voice role here), which tells the story of a young Israelite shepherd, poet and warrior (voiced by Phil Wickham) who is predestined to become the new King of Israel and embarks on a journey from beyond the shadow of an evil Philistine giant Goliath (Kamran Nikhad) to prove to his people that true power lies not in Saul's kingship (Adam Michael Gold) but in faith and freedom. The film is released Stateside too this week.

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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online- 

AVATAR : THE WAY OF WATER - Tuesday 20th December 2022.

I saw the M Rated 'AVATAR : THE WAY OF WATER' earlier this week, and in case you've been hiding under a rock for the last decade or so, this American epic Sci-Fi film is the eagerly anticipated, long awaited, much hyped sequel to that groundbreaking record busting highest grossing film of all time, 'Avatar' from 2009. This film, as with the first instalment, is Directed, Co-Written, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by James Cameron. That first film in what is slated to be a five film series, grossed US$2,923B at the global Box Office off a production budget of US$237M and collected eighty-nine award wins and another 131 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit including three Academy Award wins, two BAFTA wins, ten Saturn Award wins, two Golden Globe wins and six Visual Effects Society Awards, amongst its total haul. 'The Way of Water' was originally muted for a 2014 release, however, the addition of three more sequels (to this one) and the necessity to develop new technology in order to film performance capture scenes underwater, a feat never before achieved, led to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, preproduction, and visual effects. The film was released worldwide last week, with the following three sequels to be released, respectively, in the Decembers of 2024, 2026 and 2028, though the latter two would depend on the commercial reception of 'The Way of Water' as 'Avatar 3' has already wrapped filming and was shot simultaneously in Wellington, New Zealand. With a production budget somewhere in the vicinity of US$350-400M it is one of the most expensive films of all time, and needs to recoup in the region of US$2B just to break even, having grossed at the time of writing this US$610M. Cameron's back catalogue of feature films include 'The Terminator', 'Aliens', 'The Abyss', 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day', 'True Lies' and 'Titanic' so if major box office success is anything to go by, then this film should be a shoe-in. Time will tell.

Here then, set ten years after the events of the first film and in the mid-22nd Century, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) lives with his newfound Na'vi family on the planet of Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. Sully is now the chief of the Omaticaya clan of forest dwellers and he raises a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), which includes his sons, Neteyam (James Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), his biological daughter, Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), his adopted daughter, Kiri (born from Grace Augustine's inert Na'vi avatar, both played here by Sigourney Weaver), and a human boy named Spider (Jake Champion), the son of Colonel Miles Quaritch who was born on Pandora and was unable to be transported back to Earth in cryostasis due to him being an infant at the time of Quaritch death in the first film. The opening scenes see Sully and his family living a near prefect existence in the lush rainforests of Pandora. We then fast forward a year and Sully and Neytiri are enjoying a peaceful moment gazing up at the stars one night, when Sully sees a number of bright lights in the sky approaching Pandora, which he surmises can only mean one thing - the return of humans to rape and pillage their planet. And sure enough, the humans return and set about building a new operating base named Bridgehead City to prepare Pandora for human colonisation, as Earth is slowly dying. Among the new arrivals are recombinants, Na'vi avatars with the minds and memories of deceased RDA (Resource Development Administration) marines, with Quaritch's (Stephen Lang) recombinant as their commander.

Their arrival spurs Sully into instigating various guerilla attacks against the RDA supply routes. Quaritch and his recombinants conduct a counterinsurgency mission against Sully, capturing his children. Sully and Neytiri arrive and are able to free most of them, but Spider is taken by Quaritch, who recognises him as his son. After an unsuccessful interrogation attempt by General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco) Quartich decides to spend time with him in order to gain Spider's trust and confidence and in turn, Spider teaches Quaritch about Na'vi culture and language. 

Aware of the danger Spider's knowledge of his whereabouts poses to their safety, Sully and his family seek exile for themselves from the Omaticaya and retreat to the Metkayina reef people clan located on hundreds of small islands on Pandora's eastern seaboard, where they are given safe haven, even though some tribesmen consider them to have 'demon blood' from their genetic human heritage, and ill equipped physically for a life in the ocean. The family learns the ways of the reef people and 'the way of water'. Kiri develops a spiritual bond with the sea and its creatures, and Lo'ak befriends Tsireya (Bailey Bass), the daughter of clan chief Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife Ronal (Kate Winslet).

Despite telling his children not to cause any upset amongst the Metkayina people, Lo'ak gets into a fight with Tsireya's brother Aonung (Filip Geljo). When Lo'ak returns to apologise at Sully's insistence, Aonung and his friends entice him to a trip beyond the reef and out into the open ocean to a place called the three brothers - a territory of a dangerous sea predator, and then promptly leave him stranded there with no idea on how to get back to the village. Lo'ak is saved by and befriends Payakan, a tulkun, a highly intelligent whale like species whom the Metkayina consider their spiritual family. Payakan takes Lo'ak back to his village and upon his return, Lo'ak takes the blame on himself, winning Aonung's friendship, but is told that Payakan is an outcast among his species, which Lo'ak vehemently denies. 

On a trip to the Metkayina's Spirit Tree, Kiri links with it to meet her mother Grace Augustine, but then suffers a violent seizure. She is healed by Ronal, but when Sully calls on Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) and Max Patel (Dileep Rao) for help, Quaritch is able to track them to the cluster of islands where the reef people live. Bringing Spider with him, he commandeers a whaling vessel which is hunting tulkuns to harvest their brain enzymes for creating an age halting remedy named amrita, that is worth US$80M for a flask sized vile back on Earth. 

Quaritch begins to brutally question the indigenous tribes about Sully's location, and when his line of questioning fails he torches the villages and orders the whaling crew to wantonly kill the tulkuns in order to draw Sully out from hiding. Lo'ak mentally links with Payakan and learns that he was cast out because he went against the ways of his species and attacked the whalers who killed his mother. 

The Metkayina are alerted of the tulkun killings, and Lo'ak takes off to warn Payakan, followed by his siblings, Tsireya, Aonung, and Rotxo (Duane Evans Jnr.). They find Payakan being chased by the whalers, and Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Tuk are captured by Quaritch and cuffed to a railing of the whaling ship. With their children in danger, Sully, Neytiri, and the Metkayina set out to confront the humans. Quaritch forces Sully to surrender, but seeing his soul brother in danger, Payakan attacks the whalers and their ship, triggering a fight that kills most of the crew and critically damages the vessel, ultimately resulting in it listing and then sinking. Neteyam rescues Lo'ak, Tsireya and Spider, but is fatally shot when diving overboard to make his retreat. Sully confronts Quaritch, who uses Kiri as a hostage holding her with a knife to the neck. When Neytiri does the same with Spider, Quaritch at first denies his relationship with him but relents when Neytiri cuts Spider across the chest. 

Sully, Quaritch, Neytiri, and Tuk end up trapped inside the capsizing vessel with the water levels raising all around them. Sully strangles Quaritch into unconsciousness in an underwater fight and is rescued by Lo'ak and Payakan, and Kiri summons sea creatures to help her save Neytiri and Tuk. Spider finds and rescues Quaritch, but quickly turns against him for his cruelty, and rejoins Sully's family, unaware that Quartich is still alive. After Neteyam's funeral, sully informs Tonowari and Ronal of his decision to leave the Metkayina. Tonowari, however, respectfully identifies him as part of their clan and invites his family to stay. Sully and his family accept and forge a new life at sea, with Sully vowing to continue his fight against the human invaders.

'Avatar : The Way of Water' is truly a visual feast - from the magnificent 3D spectacle that Cameron has created both above and below the waterline, the flora and fauna of the forest and the ocean, the action set pieces, the emotion on both a family and a friendship bonding level and the expansion of Pandora from land to sea. This is a film that must be seen on the biggest screen possible and in 3D to really appreciate what Cameron has achieved and his painstaking attention to the minutest of details that make this an enthralling cinematic experience that is among the years best. My only gripe is not at the three hours and twelve minute run time, which seemed to pass by in half the time, but by some of the drawn out sequences and in particular the scenes with the Sully's upon first arriving at the Metkayina people learn the ways of water and experience their new underwater world for the first time. But then again, I guess this is the Director showcasing all his technical wizardry and based on the budgeted cost of this movie, who can blame him for wanting to get the most bang for his buck! The cast are all on point, although I was a little disappointed to not see more of Giovanni Ribisi (who appears only fleetingly as Parker Selfridge from the first film) and Edie Falco in particular. 

'Avatar : The Way of Water' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 15th December 2022.

The 12th annual AACTA Awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) were presented on the evening of Wednesday 7th December at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion by Hosts's for the evening Amanda Keller and Rove McManus. The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, both locally and internationally, including the Producers, Directors, Actors, Writers, and Cinematographers. It is the most prestigious awards ceremony for the Australian film and television industry. They are generally considered to be the Australian counterpart of the US Academy Awards and the UK BAFTA Awards. The awards, previously called the Australian Film Institute Awards or AFI Awards, began in 1958, and involved thirty nominations across six categories. They expanded in 1986 to cover television as well as film. The AACTA Awards were instituted in 2011. 

In the cinema categories, the winners and grinners of an AACTA Award are as given below :-

* Best Film - presented to 'ELVIS', beating out 'Here Out West', 'Sissy', 'The Drovers Wife : The Legend of Molly Johnson', 'The Stranger' and 'Three Thousand Years of Longing'.

* Best Indie Film - awarded to 'A STITCH IN TIME', beating out 'Akoni', 'Darklands', 'Lonesome', 'Pieces' and 'Smoke Between Trees'.

* Best Director - awarded to Baz Luhrmann for 'ELVIS', beating out Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes for 'Sissy', Leah Purcell for 'The Drover's Wife : The Legend of Molly Johnson', Thomas M. Wright for 'The Stranger' and George Miller for 'Three Thousand Years of Longing'.

* Best Screenplay in Film - presented to Thomas M. Wright for 'THE STRANGER'.

* Best Lead Actor - awarded to Austin Butler for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Lead Actress - presented to Leah Purcell for 'THE DROVERS WIFE : THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON'.

* Best Supporting Actor - awarded to Sean Harris for 'THE STRANGER'.

* Best Supporting Actress - presented to Olivia DeJong for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Cinematography - awarded to Mandy Walker for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Editing - awarded to Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Original Music Score - presented to Cezary Skubiszewski for 'FALLING FOR FIGARO'. 

* Best Sound - presented to David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Production Design - awarded to Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy and Beverley Dunn for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Costume Design - presented to Catherine Martin for 'ELVIS'. 

* Best Hair and Makeup - awarded to Shane Thomas, Louise Coulston, Mark Coulier and Jason Baird for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Visual Effects or Animation - presented to Tom Wood, Fiona Crawford, Julian Hutchens, Joshua Simmonds and Adam Hammond for 'ELVIS'.

* Best Asian Film - awarded to 'DRIVE MY CAR'.

* Audience Choice Award for Best Film - presented to 'ELVIS'.

In addition, the recipient of the Longford Lyell Award was costume, production and set designer Catherine Martin, with the recipient of the Trailblazer Award being Actor Chris Hemsworth.

For the other details of all the nominees plus the TV awards presented at the 12th AACTA Awards this year, you can go to the official website at : https://www.aacta.org/

This week there is just one new movie coming to a big screen Odeon near you, and who can blame any self respecting Box Office conscious film studio for not wanting to go head to head and toe to toe with the sequel to the highest grossing film of all time that has been more than thirteen years in the making and features, once again, an array of groundbreaking special effects. Here then, this follow up film tells the story of the Sully family, the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to survive, and the tragedies they have to endure along the way. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it the single latest release new film 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.

'AVATAR : THE WAY OF WATER' (Rated M) - in case you've been hiding under a rock for the last decade or so, this American epic Sci-Fi film is the eagerly anticipated, long awaited, much hyped sequel to that groundbreaking record busting highest grossing film of all time, 'Avatar' from 2009. This film, as with the first instalment, is Directed, Co-Written, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by one, James Cameron. That first film in what is slated to be a five film series, grossed US$2,923B at the global Box Office off a production budget of US$237M and collected eighty-nine award wins and another 131 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit including three Academy Award wins, two BAFTA wins, ten Saturn Award wins, two Golden Globe wins and six Visual Effects Society Awards, amongst its total haul. 'The Way of Water' was originally muted for a 2014 release, however, the addition of three more sequels (to this one) and the necessity to develop new technology in order to film performance capture scenes underwater, a feat never before achieved, led to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, preproduction, and visual effects. The film's theatrical release has been subject to repeated delays, with the latest occurring in mid-July  2020. The film is released worldwide this week, with the following three sequels to be released, respectively, in the Decembers of 2024, 2026 and 2028, though the latter two would depend on the commercial reception of 'The Way of Water' as 'Avatar 3' has already wrapped filming and was shot simultaneously in Wellington, New Zealand. With a production budget somewhere in the vicinity of US$350-400M it is one of the most expensive films of all time, and needs to recoup in the region of US$2B just to break even. No mean feat that! Cameron's back catalogue of feature films include 'The Terminator', 'Aliens', 'The Abyss', 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day', 'True Lies' and 'Titanic' so if major box office success is anything to go by, then this film should be a shoe-in. Time will tell.

Here then, set ten years after the events of the first film and in the mid-22nd Century, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and the army of the Na'vi race to protect their planet. Also starring Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Jermaine Clement, Edie Falco, Cliff Curtis and Brendan Cowell. This film has a run time of 190 minutes. 

With just one new release movie offering 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-