SPEAK NO EVIL : Tuesday 17th September 2024

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'SPEAK NO EVIL' earlier this week at my local multiplex, and this American psychological thriller film is Written for the screen and Directed by James Watkins whose previous film making efforts take in his debut in 2008 with 'Eden Lake', and which he would follow up with 'The Woman in Black' in 2012 and 'Bastille Day' in 2016. This film is a remake of the Danish film from 2022 Co-Written and Directed by Christian Tafdrup. Released in the US and here in Australia last week the film has garnered generally positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$24M from a production budget of US$15M.

The film opens up in the Italian countryside where we are introduced to an American holidaying family Louise and Ben Dalton (Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy respectively) and their eleven year old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). While there, they meet and become fast friends with British couple Paddy and Ciara (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi respectively) and their eight year old son Ant (Dan Hough). We learn that the Dalton family recently relocated to London for Ben to open an office for his Chicago based company, but at the last minute the job was shelved and he was made redundant and is now unemployed. Sometime later a postcard arrives from Paddy and Ciara inviting the Daltons to their remote farmhouse in the Devon countryside. The family decides to go, hoping the change of scenery will be good for them and for Agnes who suffers bouts of anxiety and is attached, despite her age, to a stuffed rabbit toy. 

After a long drive from London down to the West Country they finally arrive at the farmhouse after dark. The Dalton's are warmly welcomed but as they spend more time at the house, they begin to grow increasingly ill at ease by strange incidents and the passive-aggressive behaviour from their hosts that cross boundaries of what would be considered acceptable. Louise is also troubled by Paddy and Ciara's aggressive treatment of Ant whom they learn was born with a condition that left him with a smaller tongue and without the ability to speak. One evening, the adults go out for dinner, leaving Agnes and Ant in the care of a babysitter named Muhjid (Motaz Mulhees) which unnerves the Daltons. While playing hide and seek in the farmhouse with Muhjid, Ant shows Agnes a collection of watches Paddy has and a message written in a foreign language, but Agnes doesn't understand him. 

At dinner, Paddy questions Louise's vegetarianism and jokingly performs a sex act with Ciara, shocking their guests. Upon returning, Louise later that night discovers Agnes has been moved to share a bed with a drunken Paddy, Ciara and Ant. Horrified, the Dalton's steal themselves away very early the next morning, but are forced to return by Agnes who left behind her stuffed rabbit, and is having an anxiety attack in the back of the car.

Upon retrieving the toy, Paddy and Ciara who are awake by the time they return apologise for their behaviour and indirectly accuse the Daltons of judging them. The Daltons decide to stay in order to maintain the peace but the strange behaviour continues, unsettling the family. After an incident where Paddy throws a mug at Ant for repeatedly failing to keep time with a dance routine that he and Agnes had practiced, he steals a set of keys from a passed out Paddy and leads Agnes to a locked shed, with an underground bunker. Inside is a collection of luggage and the personal belongings of numerous families. Using a photo book, Ant reveals to Agnes that Paddy and Ciara are not his real parents but are serial killers who lure families to their farmhouse, rob and kill them before cutting out their children's tongue and using them to assist in luring their next victims. 

Ant shows Agnes a photo of his family depicting Ant with his tongue poking out and then motioning with his fingers a scissors action across his mouth, implying that this has happened to him and his family and that Paddy and Ciara intend to make the Daltons their next victims. Agnes fakes having her first period and manages to get Louise and Ben alone to explain the situation. Horrified, the family decides to leave, calmly so as not to arouse any suspicions and contact the Police to save Ant. 

Paddy and Ciara, realise that they have been figured out, and so puncture a tyre on the Daltons car, and hide Agnes's bunny high up in the guttering of the farmhouse to delay them, subtly mocking them as they do so. When the Daltons do finally drive off after Paddy repaired the tyre, Paddy throws Ant, who can't swim, into a pond. Ben sees this from his rear view mirror and jumps to the rescue of Ant before a gun-wielding Paddy and Ciara capture them. 

Paddy forces Louise to transfer their savings to their account, while Ciara holds Ben and Agnes at gunpoint before preparing to kill them and cut out Agnes's tongue. A struggle ensues, as Louise slashes at Paddy's face with a box cutter she found in the farmhouse. Paddy is injured and the family and Ant flee into the house. Paddy, Ciara, and their accomplice Mike (Kris Hitchen), hunt for the family. Mike locates Ben and is able to overpower him, but Louise manages to kill Mike by planting a claw hammer firmly into his skull and save Ben before the family flees to the roof. Ciara makes her way to the roof, attacks but falls to her death. 

As the family tries to escape, Paddy emerges, holding Agnes at gunpoint. Agnes manages to inject Paddy with a syringe of ketamine which was intended for her but dropped by Paddy when Louise slashed at his face, incapacitating him. As the family go to leave, Ant approaches Paddy who acknowledges his fate by saying to Ant 'That's my boy'. An enraged Ant sits on top of Paddy's chest and repeatedly beats him to death with a brick out of revenge, while screaming for all his lungs will allow, with the Daltons looking on in horror. The Daltons and Ant leave the farmhouse. While they drive, Agnes gives her stuffed bunny to Ant, who sobs quietly.

About half way in you'll come to realise that there is something dramatically unhinged, disturbing and twisted about James McAvoy's character Paddy. Here, like in 2016's 'Split' from Writer and Director M. Night Shyamalan McAvoy gives a compelling performance that goes from affable Mr. Nice Guy to downright gonzo batshit crazy much like Jack Nicholson's character of Jack Torrance did in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic 'The Shining'. Having not seen the original Danish film I cannot draw comparisons, but suffice to say James Watkins has here crafted a suspenseful thriller that slowly ramps up the tension and the danger factor to a more than satisfactory conclusion that ultimately sees those fish outta water city types win the day over those morally corrupt country bumpkin serial killers. Certainly worth the price of your movie ticket.

'Speak No Evil' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

IT : CHAPTER TWO - Tuesday 10th September 2019.

'IT : CHAPTER TWO' is Rated MA15+  and here it is - the sequel to the hugely popular and successful 'IT' supernatural horror film of 2017 based on the 1986 Stephen King novel of the same name, which I saw earlier this week. That first instalment raked in US$701M at the global Box Office off the back of a production budget of US$35M making it the highest-grossing R-Rated horror film of all-time, the highest-grossing horror film internationally and the highest-grossing horror film of all time. The film also received positive reviews, with many Critics calling it one of the best Stephen King adaptations, and along the way it picked up eight award wins and a further 43 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit. This film saw its Premier screening in Los Angeles at the end of August, and went on general release in the US and here in Australia last week. Off the back of a Production Budget of circa US$70M, the film has so far grossed US$221M and has generated for the most part positive Press. Both instalments have been Directed by Argentinian Andy Muschietti.

It is 2016 and we open up at the Derry Carnival at night, with fair ground rides, side stalls and attractions aplenty to occupy anyone and everyone. At the carnival we are introduced to Adrian Mellon (Xavier Dolan) and his boyfriend Don Hagarty (Taylor Frey) who are attacked by a group of homophobic youths on their way home. Beating the pair up on the street out of view from the general public, the youths man handle a semi-conscious Mellon over a bridge and into the fast flowing river below. Hagarty, distraught, gives chase to his struggling boyfriend only to see him rescued from the river by Pennywise, who in turn kills him. Hagarty looks on helpless and horrified from the opposite riverbank. And so, twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard), IT returns to terrorise the town of Derry, Maine once again. Later that same night Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) overhears the incident on a Police scanner of a dismembered body found down by the riverbank, and rushes to the scene.

Mike quickly realises that 'IT' has returned. He calls the other members of the Losers Club who have now all gone their separate and independent ways and have carved out successful careers for themselves away from Derry, all except Mike who has remained in Derry throughout all the passing years. He calls Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) now a successful mystery thriller writer based in LA and married to a famous Actress; Richie Tozier (Bill Hader) now a successful stand-up comedian also based in LA; Ben Hanscom (Jay Ryan) now a successful architect living in Nebraska and having slimmed down and toned up from the fat kid that he was; Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone) who is now a successful risk assessor working for a major firm in New York City; Stanley Uris (Andy Bean) who is now a successful accountant working in Atlanta; and Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain) who has become a successful fashion designer working in Chicago. They all take Mike's call, although need prompting to remember who Mike is as most are forgetful about their childhoods and disturbed by the calls, but agree to return given that they all swore a blood oath to reunite in Derry if Pennywise ever resurfaced. Stan, however, commits suicide after his call by slashing his wrists while taking a bath at home. Without knowing of Stanley's recent death, the Losers reunite at a local Chinese restaurant in Derry and slowly begin to remember their past over a few beers and a meal together, but then become terrified by a relentless onslaught of disturbing visions and horrific taunts implanted in their sub-conscious but seemingly very real, created by IT.

Once outside the restaurant after the horrifying visions have subsided, Beverly tries to connect with Stanley only to reach his distraught wife who informs her that he committed suicide. Richie and Eddie have already seen and heard enough, and decide to leave while Mike reveals to Bill that he met with a Native American tribe who showed him a vision of IT arriving to Earth from the stars decades ago, and informed him of the 'Ritual of Chud', the means to destroy IT forever. Bill and Mike are able to convince Richie and Eddie to stay and finish what was started. Henry Bowers (Teach Grant), having survived his apparent death, had been confined to a mental hospital for killing his father and two friends back in 1989, and with the help of IT, he escapes, intent of seeing off the Losers Club finally, one by one.

For the Ritual of Chud to be successful, each Loser must find an artifact of some personal significance from their past. Beverly goes to her old home and finds the love letter Ben wrote for her, though she still believes Bill wrote it. A Mrs. Kersh (Joan Gregson) now lives there - a seemingly sweet and gentle old lady who invites Beverly in for a nice cup of tea, but minutes later it turns out that Mrs. Kersh is anything but, as an insidious monster manifests itself and rampages through the house attacking Beverly who hallucinates other visions of Pennywise before finally escaping.

Bill meanwhile comes across a second hand shop where in the window is his old bike from when he was a kid. He goes into the store and is greeted by the shop keeper played in cameo by Stephen King who sells Bill back his bike for US$300 - steep, but as a successful author he knows that he can afford it. Bill then cycles back to his former house and goes to the storm drain where his younger brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) was killed in October 1988 and recovers his paper boat before meeting a boy named Dean (Luke Roessler), who tells Bill that he lives in Bill's old house and often hears voices coming up through the drain in the bath. 

Ben goes to the town's high school and finds his old yearbook page, which Beverly was the only person to sign. Eddie goes to a pharmacy and recovers an inhaler. Richie goes to an abandoned arcade where he finds a game token, but afterwards is confronted in the town's park by Pennywise whose taunts him with threats to reveal his dirty little secret to the world. After all have managed to evade individual encounters with IT, the Losers use a shower cap retrieved from their secret forest childhood clubhouse for Stan, and Mike finds the rock that started their fight against the Bowers gang all those years ago.

Back at the guesthouse where all but Mike are staying, Bill and Beverly share a kiss before a skateboard caked in blood and with a message written on the underside comes rolling down the staircase. Bill recognises the board from his earlier encounter with young Dean, and realises that IT is going after Dean, and chases him to the carnival in an attempt to save the boy. He sees Dean disappear into the Clown Funhouse, and into a maze of mirrors and glass panels. There he comes across Dean but on the other side of a glass panel and therefore out of reach, as Pennywise appears on the other side of Dean, also separated by a glass panel. Pennywise repeatedly slams his head against the glass panel so cracking it and so giving him access to the boy, who then devours him. 

Traumatised by his failure to save both Georgie and Dean, he returns to the run down abandoned house at 29, Neibolt Street, to murder IT alone. Bowers attacks and wounds Eddie by stabbing him in the face with his knife, but survives and in turn pulls the knife from his severely bloodied cheek and stabs Bowers in the chest. Mike is at the library waiting for the other Losers to rendezvous with him there, and is attacked by Bowers but is killed by Richie arriving just in time. The rest of the Losers depart for the Neibolt house to aid Bill, as they had always vowed to stick together to thwart IT.

Once inside the house, it is seen to have fallen further into a state of disrepair and seemingly horrors awaiting at every turn and in every decrepit room. After confronting various horrors all conjured up by IT, the group descends into an extensive cavern buried deep beneath the house and through the sewers in order to complete the Ritual. 

In forming a circle, holding hands and repeating a chant directed by Mike, the group seem to have early success, until IT reveals that he is able to withstand the Ritual, unaffected. IT takes on a giant, spider-like form with Pennywise's head, and pressures Mike into revealing to the Losers that the Natives who attempted the Ritual in the past all died in the process. 

The Losers are then all individually thrown into nightmarish scenarios that they must endure, but from which they all manage to escape from before arriving back inside the cavern from whence they came. Richie is hypnotised and elevated by IT's hypnotic 'deadlight' eyes and is about to be killed, but Eddie comes to his rescue and is immediately impaled by IT's razor sharp spider legs in the process. 

The Losers regroup and come to the realisation that IT can be killed if they stand up to IT, face their fears, show IT that they are no longer afraid and make IT feel smaller than he actually is. They surround and berate IT repeatedly with a barrage of insults making IT shrink physically and weaken mentally until they are able to tear out IT's heart and crush it so extinguishing all life from IT. At this point, the cavern begins to implode and Eddie dies from his injuries despite Richie's attempts to save him. The remaining group now need to race against time to exit the rapidly crumbling cavern and get back to the surface before it all comes crashing down around them and on top of them. They do so just about, and exit through the front door of 29, Neibolt Street, before the house collapses in on itself in a heap of old timbers and dust. 

The remaining Losers return to the quarry where they once swam together and jump in from the cliff top high above the lake to wash off the dust, the dirt, debris and blood. Sometime later, the Losers all individually receive posthumous letters from Stanley, detailing that he thought he would've held them back, but knew they could defeat IT if they were brave enough without him. Mike is seen to be packing up his belongings into his car as he decides to move out of Derry to start a new life.

Also starring as their younger selves are Jaeden Martell (aka Jaeden Lieberher) as the younger Bill,  Sophia Lillis as the younger Beverly, Jeremy Ray Taylor as the younger Ben, Finn Wolfhard as younger Richie, Chosen Jacobs as younger Mike, Jack Dylan Grazer as younger Eddie and Wyatt Oleff as younger Stanley. All those portraying their younger selves reprise their roles from the first film.

I did enjoy 'IT : Chapter Two', but not quite as much as Chapter One and felt that it meandered somewhat and at a running time of two hours and 49 minutes could have done with  little more scrutiny in the editing suite I thought. That said, Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise remains as menacing and as devilishly dastardly as he did in the first instalment, and the now adult members of the Losers Club are well cast and seem to share a nervous chemistry that just heightens their on-screen presence, interspersed with flashbacks to their younger selves that serves to recapture the essence of the first film. Director Andy Muschietti doesn't hold back on the gore, the monster effects, and the horror scares that you can see coming from a mile away but still deliver the necessary jolt to maintain the interest throughout. Certainly worth the price of your movie ticket to see the conclusion to the story that comes full circle, albeit a little too long, melodramatic at times and just a tad predictable in places.

'IT : Chapter Two' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GLASS : Tuesday 22nd January 2019.

'GLASS', which I saw at my local multiplex this week, will doubtless please fans of the 'Unbreakable series' (aka the 'Eastrail 177 Trilogy' following the derailment of the fictitious Eastrail #177 train in the first instalment of this series of now three) of films which launched in 2000 with 'Unbreakable', carried on with 2016's 'Split' and now sees its apparent conclusion with 'Glass'. All three films have been Directed, Written and Co-Produced by M. Night Shyamalan. 'Unbreakable' was made for US$75M and grossed US$248M, while 'Split' was made for just US$9M and grossed US$279M with both films being a critical success too. 'Glass' had a production budget of US$20M, and was released in the US and Australia last week, has so far grossed US$107M and has generated largely mixed or average Reviews. By way of a quick recap however, Samuel L. Jackson's character from 'Unbreakable', Elijah Price is a mass murderer and comic book theorist with Type 1 Brittle Bone Disease and superhuman intelligence. Bruce Willis's character also from 'Unbreakable', David Dunn, is a former college football prodigy turned security guard who possesses superhuman strength, stamina, and invulnerability as well as an extrasensory ability to see the crimes people have committed just by touching them. Dunn is the sole survivor of the Eastrail 177 train journey which killed all 131 other passengers on board, but left him completely unscathed - hence Unbreakable! Dunn turned Price into the authorities after discovering the full extent of his crimes. James McAvoy from 'Split' plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, a former Philadelphia Zoo employee with 23 different personalities whose body chemistry changes with each personality, resulting in a 24th personality known as 'The Beast'.

From 'Unbreakable' Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn and so does Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, aka Mr. Glass. From 'Split' we have James McAvoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb and the other 23 multiple personalities who reside within him, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with 'The Beast' (Kevin's 24th identity). Following the conclusion of 'Split' and about three weeks after that fact, we find David Dunn and his now adult son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) working together from the stockroom of David's Security shop to take down criminals whilst also attempting to home in on Kevin Wendell Crumb who has taken four cheerleaders captive somewhere across the city of Philadelphia. Crumb and his numerous persona's now collectively go by the name of 'The Horde', whereas Dunn's exploits have earned him the moniker 'The Overseer' on social media.

One day while out scouring a derelict part of the city, Dunn brushes up against Crumb in his nine year old 'Hedwig' persona, and using his powers of extra sensory perception is able to locate the cheerleaders whereabouts. He frees them, just as Kevin returns in the guise of 'The Beast' and immediately sets upon Dunn. The pair fight, with The Beast surprised at Dunn's strength and resilience. They crash through a window and fall to the ground several storey's below, but are captured by heavily armed Police authorities who escort the pair to the Raven Hill Memorial Psychiatric Hospital for observation and treatment.

Inside the heavily fortified psychiatric hospital, Dunn is placed into a room with powerful showers that will flood his room instantly in the event of an attempted escape, erratic behaviour or anything else that gives cause for concern. This is because Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) the head Doctor in charge of the facility, knows of Dunn's weakness when he is exposed to water. Similarly, The Horde are placed in a room with movement sensitive lights and cameras that flash on an off in an instant, so causing Crumbs multiple personalities to change with each flash of the high intensity bright lights, so effectively disarming The Beast. Staple's chosen field of medical expertise is in working with patients who claim to have special powers, and be superhuman, and to persuade them otherwise.

In the fullness of time, Staple assembles Elijah Price who has been confined to a wheelchair and remains mute and almost motionless the whole time, and who has been a long term resident of the hospital for some years now, with Crumb and Dunn in a room together. Her aim is to evaluate how the three interact with each other and debunk their theories that they are something special and convince them that are just normal human beings who may possess some kind of special skill but nothing extraordinary that can't be learned by anyone else. She also reveals that she has been given just three days to convince the three that they are normal, and if they can't be convinced then they'll have to suffer the consequences of a very long term stay in her facility under constant observation, scrutiny and treatment.

Meanwhile Joseph, Mrs. Price (Elijah's mother, played by Charlayne Woodard) and Casey Cooke all visit the hospital on separate occasions and meet individually with Staple and try to persuade her that Mrs. Price's son, Joseph's Dad, and Casey's former captor all have merits, are simply misunderstood and have good inside them. Staple is however, unconvinced.

The evaluation awakens something in Elijah, giving him the motivation to make his play. One night when the facility is quiet, the care staff are between shifts and otherwise distracted and security is at a minimum, Elijah breaks into The Hordes room wanting to meet with The Beast. After an introduction and time running out before the next care giver starts his shift, Elijah sets up a meeting for the next night, at which he will also see to it that David Dunn is freed too. Upon leaving the room, Crumb asks Elijah what he should call him, to which Elijah turns in his wheelchair and says 'first name Mister, last name Glass'. 

Staple has however, recently extended her comprehensive network of security cameras across the complex, and Elijah's movements were caught on camera. Knowing that he cannot be trusted, having managed to successfully pull the proverbial wool of everyone's eyes for so long, Staple announces to Elijah, (back in his catatonic state) that they are bringing forward to the next day surgery on him to render his alleged superhuman thinking redundant.

The next day, post surgery, Elijah slashes the throat of one of his care givers with a shard of glass taken from a picture hanging in his room. It is also revealed in flashback that Elijah sabotaged the laser device (used in his surgery) the previous evening by removing the lens rendering its power useless. He visits The Horde with the notion of awakening The Beast, with a plan to pitch The Beast against David Dunn in a grand showdown in full view of the media at the grand opening of the city's tallest skyscraper later that same day. Elijah taunts Dunn with his plan, saying that if he doesn't comply he'll destroy the tower and all those inside it. Consequently, Dunn breaks the reinforced steel door down with his third shoulder barge attempt, knocking it clean off its hinges.

Meanwhile, Mr. Glass and Kevin Wendell Crumb are making it out of the hospital using a network of basement tunnels. They are intercepted by several guards, who are quickly dispensed with by The Beast, while Mr. Glass continues to wheel himself out into the open, to be joined by The Beast when his work is done with the guards.

Outside in the hospital grounds, The Beast and David Dunn face off and are pretty evenly matched - The Beast's raw unfettered aggression against anyone and everyone pitched against Dunn's considered unbreakable brute strength and resilience and his unwavering desire to protect those at risk and ultimately use his skills for good.

Staple has by now arrived, as have Mrs. Price, Joseph and Casey Cooke. Armed Police arrive in riot gear. She orders four armed men to fend off The Beast and Dunn but they are no match for the duelling pair and are quickly subdued. Looking on from his wheelchair, Mr. Glass tells The Beast that water is Dunn's weakness, but Joseph comes between them and reveals to The Beast that Elijah orchestrated the train crash that killed Kevin's father, the same train crash from which Elijah came to meet up with Dunn.

In a seemingly moment of clarity, The Beast thanks Mr. Glass for creating him, but also tells him that his purpose was to protect Kevin and therefore he cannot trust Mr. Glass. The Beast breaks Glass' shoulder and punches him severely in the stomach causing him to topple off his wheelchair onto the hard road surface breaking further bones in his brittle body. The Beast then throws Dunn into a water tank and jumps in after him holding him beneath the surface. Despite the effects of the water, Dunn is able to break through the walls of the tank causing a torrent of water to flood the grounds in the immediate vicinity and wash them both out. Dunn survives but has been weakened by his drenching. As The Beast retreats having taunted Dunn to finish off their duel at the new skyscraper, Casey confronts him and coerces Kevin to take control of his body so returning to his normal human state and taking control away from The Beast.

Staple's men then fire on Kevin while he is weak with a single laser pointed gun shot to the stomach. Three others then set upon a now weakened Dunn and begin to drown him in a flooded pothole. Staple lets Dunn touch her as he is drowned, giving him a vision of her participation in a secret society trying to keep the existence of superhumans a secret. Mr. Glass dies of his multiple bone fractures looked over by his weeping mother. Kevin dies of his gunshot wound in the arms of Casey, and Joseph arrives after Dunn was drowned, and is distraught by the death of his superhuman father whom he idolised. Staple promptly wipes clean all the footage from the one hundred or so internal and external security cameras so destroying any and all evidence of superhuman behaviours and what went down earlier that day. She also reports that her mission had been a complete success.

However, what is unknown to Staple, is that all the cameras around the psychiatric hospital had been hacked by Mr. Glass earlier in the day and had been live-streaming that coverage to a private network. Subsequently, Mrs. Price, Joseph, and Casey all receive a copy of the footage. They choose to release that footage to the public at large, and sitting together on a bench in a busy train station, they watch people increasingly accessing their mobile devices to watch the footage so creating an awareness of the existence of superhumans, and before you know it, it makes the primetime television news channels too.

I enjoyed 'Glass' but not nearly a much as I would have hoped. The film meanders in the mid-section, regurgitates old tropes that we have seen before, short delivers on the action and suspense spectacle and the ending is something and nothing and lacks the punch of a grand finale to a trilogy that up until the final few frames of 'Split' nobody saw coming. McAvoy gives a fine turn once again flexing his multi-personality The Horde by switching from one persona to another without missing a beat. This is his film, and it is richer for his performance. As for Jackson - well he really does diddly squat for the first half except stare blankly at the screen in a near comatose state save for the occasional facial twitch; and Willis is the stoic, expressionless die hard character that he has played in a hundred movies. Paulson just keeps on repeating herself, and Taylor-Joy is also underplayed when her back story could have been explored more. There are a few twists and turns in the film, and any levity comes from McAvoy's rapid fire ever changing character voices, mannerisms, quirks and traits which he nails every time. And as for the trademark Shyamalan surprise at the end, well don't hold your breath this time, because when it does eventuate, its not up to the standard of some of his more noteworthy offerings. All that said, I would describe this glass as half full, rather than half empty.

As such, 'Glass' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd August 2017.

With the release this week of the foodies gastronomic road trip film 'The Trip to Spain' it got me to thinking about the history of food, cooking and eating in cinema over the years. And so as a result of some celluloid gourmet research, I cook up for you here my thoughts on the top feature films worth seeking out if you're looking for some food porn, culinary motivation, or cuisine inspired drama, thrills or laughs to entertain you for a night in front of your smart TV. This roll call deliberately leaves out the shopping trolley load of food related documentary films, that could easily constitute another listing in their own right.
* 'Tampopo' - 1985 : Directed by Juzo Itami; starring Tsutomu Yamasaki, Ken Watanabe, and Nobuko Miyamoto; country of origin - Japan.
* 'Babette's Feast' - 1987 : Directed by Gabriel Axel; starring Stephane Audran, Birgitte Federspiel and Bodil Kjer; country of origin - Denmark; Box Office US$5M.
* 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' - 1989 : Directed by Peter Greenaway; starring Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Tim Roth and Ciaran Hinds; country of origin - Britain and France; Box Office US$8M (US).
* 'Delicatessen' - 1991 : Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro; starring Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Dominique Pinon and Marie-Laure Dougnac; country of origin - France; Box Office US$12M.
* 'Like Water for Chocolate' - 1992 : Directed by Alfonso Arau; starring Lumi Cavazos, Ada Carrasco, Regina Torne and Marco Leonardi; country of origin - Mexico; Box Office - US$22M.
* 'Eat Drink Man Woman' - 1994 : Directed by Ang Lee; starring Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Chien-lien Wu and Yu-Wen Wang; country of origin - Taiwan; Box Office - US$7M.
* 'Big Night' - 1996 : Directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott; starring Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and Liev Schreiber; country of origin - USA; Box Office US$12M.

* 'Chocolat' - 2000 : Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss and Peter Stormare; country of origin - Britain and USA; Box Office - US$153M.
* 'Sideways' - 2004 : Directed by Alexander Payne; starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$110M.
* 'No Reservations' - 2007 : Directed by Scott Hicks; starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$93M.
* 'Ratatouille' - 2007 : Directed by Brad Bird; starring Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy and Peter O'Toole; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$621M.
* 'Soul Kitchen' - 2009 : Directed by Faith Akin; starring Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu and Birol Unel; country of origin - Germany.
* 'Julie & Julia' - 2009 : Directed by Nora Ephron; starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$130M.
* 'The Trip' - 2010 : Directed by Michael Winterbottom; starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; country of origin - Britain.
* 'The Lunchbox' - 2013 : Directed by Ritesh Batra; starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nakul Vaid; country of origin - India; Box Office - US$16M.
* 'The Trip to Italy' - 2014 : Directed by Michael Winterbottom; starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; country of origin - Britain.
* 'Chef' - 2014 : Directed by Jon Favreau; starring Jon Favreau, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jnr., John Leguizamo and Scarlett Johansson; country of origin - USA; Box Office US$46M.
* 'The Hundred Foot Journey' - 2014 : Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Dayal; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$89M.
* 'Burnt' - 2015 : Directed by John Wells; starring Bradley Cooper, Omar Sy, Daniel Bruhl, Sienna Miller and Emma Thompson; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$37M.
* 'The Trip to Spain' - 2017 : Directed by Michael Winterbottom; starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; country of origin - Britain.
* 'The Dinner' - 2017 : Directed by Oren Overman; starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall and Chloe Sevigny; country of origin - USA; Box Office - US$1M (recent US release only).

This week then there are just three new release movies coming to your local Odeon, multiplex, or independent picture house. We kick off with a throw back to the late Cold War era Berlin in this action spy thriller that has more in common with 'John Wick' than it does 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' supported by a kick-ass all action female protagonist, wide lapels and a thumping late '80's soundtrack. We then move to two likely English lads in this third course offering that sees them travelling along the Spanish coastline eating and drinking their way through the hot spot restaurants and hotels along the way as they verbally joust with each other, before moving to a RomCom that is inspired by the real life events of the lead actor and his wife in this cross-cultural, health challenged story of love, acceptance, and family.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three new releases 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 warmly 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 meanwhile, enjoy your cinematic experience in the coming week.

'ATOMIC BLONDE' (Rated MA15+) - is Directed by David Leitch in his first solo Directorial outing having served as the uncredited Co-Director on 'John Wick' with Chad Stahelski and having served his time over the years as Stunt Co-ordinator and Stuntman on more action films than you can poke a stick at, and in the capacity as Second Unit Director on a good many also, and occasional Producer and Actor too. Next up for this new Director is 'Deadpool 2' currently filming and due in 2018. This film, however, is based on the 2012 graphic novel titled 'The Coldest City' by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, stars a strong cast and a thumping '80's soundtrack and cost US$30M to make. The film has so far garnered generally positive Reviews and has taken US$26M at the Box Office since its US release at the end of July.

Set back in 1989 at the end of the Cold War and with the Berlin Wall about to be torn down, here sensual, sultry and savage when need be Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is at the top of the spy game in MI6, and an agent who's willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive to complete her mission at hand. Ordered by her superiors she travels into the heart of Berlin to locate and retrieve a valuable document hidden in microfilm in a wristwatch, identify a notorious double agent, and expose and eradicate an espionage ring. Upon arrival, she teams up with an embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy), but he too is not necessarily all he seems. Also starring Sofia Boutella, John Goodman, Toby Jones and Eddie Marsan this is a kick ass thriller in the same vein as 'John Wick', matched by a killer soundtrack and strong performances from the two leads - McAvoy who chews up every scene and Theron who proves herself as a genuine A-List action star.

'THE TRIP TO SPAIN' (Rated M) - in 2010 Director Michael Winterbottom released a film about two likely English lads, one a food writer for The Observer, Steve (Steve Coogan) and his best mate Rob (Rob Brydon) to tour the English countryside and report back on their gourmet eating experiences at the country's finest eateries. That film 'The Trip', spawned a sequel in 2014 also Directed by Winterbottom called 'The Trip to Italy' and starred the two same English likely lads doing exactly the same thing all over again, only this time on a road trip through Italy from Piedmont to Capri. Now in 2017 Winterbottom once again rolls out his two likely lads Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon to travel along the Spanish coastline sampling the culinary delights of the finest hotels and restaurants whilst trading banter, anecdotes, jokes, impressions, war stories and how age shall not weary them along the way all delivered with their usual aplomb. Bon appetite!

'THE BIG SICK' (Rated M) - this is a RomCom Directed by Michael Showalter who also spends his time acting, writing and producing. This film is Co-produced by Judd Apatow, and is written by husband and wife team Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon and is loosely based on the real life romance that blossomed between Nanjiani (a Pakistani American stand up Comedian, Actor and Writer) and Gordon (an American Writer and Producer). Here Kumail playing a version of himself meets an American student named Emily (played here by Zoe Kazan) at one of his stand-up gigs. As they get to know each other and their relationship starts to take hold, Kumail begins to wonder and worry about what he thinks his traditional Muslim parents will make of her. When Emily falls sick and is left in a coma as a consequence, Kumail finds himself having to navigate through the medical crisis and bond with her deeply concerned parents Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano respectively) in ways he never thought possible, whilst juggling the emotional tug of war between his family and what his heart is telling him. The film has received positive Reviews setting it above your standard sugar coated RomCom about cross-cultural love and personal heartache brought about by the couples true life experiences.

With three new releases this week to tempt you out on a cold mid-Winter evening, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-