NUREMBERG : Tuesday 9th December 2025

I saw the M Rated 'NUREMBERG' this week at my local multiplex, and this American psychological thriller historical drama film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by James Vanderbilt in only his second Directorial outing following his 2015 'Truth', although he is perhaps best known as a prolific script writer and Producer of many Hollywood blockbusters and has worked with numerous top Directors. This film is based on the 2013 book 'The Nazi and the Psychiatrist' by Jack El-Hai. The film had its World Premiere in the Gala Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival in early September this year where it received a four-minute standing ovation, one of TIFF's longest standing ovations ever, and was released theatrically in the US in early November having received generally positive reviews from critics, and has so far taken US$20M at the Box Office.

The film opens on 7th May 1945, one day before Nazi Germany surrenders to the Allied forces, Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering (Russell Crowe), Hitler's former second-in-command, surrenders with his family to US forces in Austria. At the same time, Associate Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) is informed of Goering's arrest, which prompts a discussion with his secretary, Elsie Douglas (Wrenn Schmidt), about establishing an international tribunal to charge the surviving Nazi leadership with war crimes. Initially, the US is reluctant to support Jackson's plans preferring instead summary executions by hanging, however, Jackson persists by winning the support of Pope Pius XII (Giuseppe Cederna) by implying his knowledge of the latter's controversial relationship with the Nazi regime back in 1933.

Meanwhile, US Army psychiatrist Major Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) is summoned to Bad Mondorf, Luxembourg, to evaluate the mental health of twenty-two Nazi leaders who are being held under Allied custody, including Goering, who have been selected for prosecution. Reporting to the Warden, Col. Burton Andrus (John Slattery), Kelley begins his assignment with the assistance of interpreter Sergeant Howard Triest (Leo Woodall). While initial meetings with Goering are civil, other prisoners such as Robert Ley (Tom Keune) and Julius Streicher (Dieter Riesle) respond with contempt and anger. Personally, using a series of cognitive tests and through conversation Kelley appraises Goering as intelligent yet highly narcissistic, and plans to use his notes of those discussions and meetings to write a tell-all book for personal gain, once his assignment is complete.

In time, Jackson and British barrister Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (Richard E. Grant) are made prosecuting counsels for the newly-established International Military Tribunal to be held in Nuremberg, Germany - which in turn, charges the detainees with crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity and conspiracy. In the lead up to the trial, Kelley and Goering interact well. Goering even helps Kelley examine former-Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess (Andreas Pietschmann), in exchange for being allowed to write to his wife Emmy (Lotte Verbeek) and daughter Edda (Fleur Bremmer). Kelley also develops a rapport with them, acting as a courier for the exchange of letters between them and Goering. In private, Kelley is approached by Jackson to report the prisoners' legal defence to him in order to help steer the prosecution in the right direction. Kelley responds with the argument of Doctor and patient privilege, but is persuaded to comply with Jackson's wishes on the basis of the greater good.

Before the trial begins, Ley commits suicide by strangling himself in his cell. As a result Andrus summons psychologist Gustave Gilbert (Colin Hanks) to provide a second opinion. At the trial's beginning, Jackson delivers a strong opening statement highlighting the need for accountability, while Goering is silenced and instead ordered to enter a plea, to which he and the other prisoners plead not guilty. During adjournments, Kelley learns that Goering's family had been arrested in connection with his reported art thefts and requests Andrus to intervene. Goering later learns of this development from Gilbert, causing his and Kelley's relationship to sour. Outside the cell, in a specially designed enclosed walkway for the prisoners, Kelley and Gilbert get into a fist fight, and are hauled in front of Andrus, who asks Gilbert if he wishes to press charges against Kelley, to which he responds with a 'no'. 

When the trial recommences, the prosecution shows film footage displaying the regime's atrocities committed inside its numerous concentration camps, causing an upset Kelley to confront Goering, who had previously denied any knowledge of such actions. Goering continues his stance of unawareness, and resorts towards denying the atrocities or comparing them with alleged crimes committed by the Allies. Dismayed, Kelley proceeds to get drunk and unwittingly reveals his private discussions with Goering to Lila (Lydia Peckham), a journalist with The Boston Globe, who subsequently publishes the information as headline front page news. Infuriated, Andrus relieves Kelley and orders him out, but not before revealing that he was able to get Emmy and Edda released. 

While waiting at the train station to leave back to the US Kelley meets Triest who reveals that he is a German-born Jew, who grew up in Germany but was given a one way ticket to the US aboard a ship as a teenager to stay with a cousin in New York before settling in Detroit. After the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbour he waited to be called up, which eventually came in 1943, and he actively joined the war effort landing on the Normandy beaches two days after D-Day. While his younger sister was able to escape to Switzerland, his parents were sent to Auschwitz in 1942 and never survived.

Triest warns that the regime's cruelty went unchallenged because of a general impassivity towards evil, which compels Kelley to stay and submit all his private notes on Goering to Jackson and Fyfe - predicting that Goering plans to use the trial to defend the regime's conduct. True to his predictions, Goering is able to elude Jackson's cross-examination of him, and proceeds to declare that his decree of the Final Solution was actually intended as a 'complete and total solution' focused on the emigration of Germany's Jews rather than extermination. In turn, Jackson's ire towards Goering earns him a stern disapproval by the tribunal, prompting Fyfe to take over. Fyfe exploits Goering's vanity and goads him into overtly admitting his continued loyalty to Hitler despite the atrocities, which finally corners him. At the end of the trial, Goering, together with the remaining prisoners, are all sentenced to death by hanging.

Kelley pays Goering a final visit before leaving, where he comes to terms with Goering's true nature. On 15th October 1946, the night before his scheduled execution, Goering commits suicide by ingesting a cyanide capsule, much to Andrus' anger. The remaining executions proceed as scheduled with two journalists for the US (one of which is Lila), two from the UK, two from France and two from Russia being allowed to sit in and witness the proceedings. Streicher meanwhile, suffers a nervous breakdown in his cell, before Triest comes to his aid, and who had yearned to reveal his Jewish heritage to Streicher before his execution, but is instead compelled to gently assist him to the gallows.

Kelley, traumatised by his experiences at Nuremberg, returns to the US and publishes his tell-all book, '22 Cells in Nuremberg', and in a live radio broadcast loses his cool warning about the possibility of a future regime parallel to the Nazis in the US or any other country around the world. When he is marched out of the studio one of the presenters says to Kelley that disrespecting your country is no way to sell your book. The film's closing credits reveal that Kelley resorted to alcoholism, that his book was a failure and that he committed suicide in 1958 by ingesting cyanide just as Goering did. Triest managed to reunite with his sister and died at the age of 93 in 2016. Jackson's prosecutorial efforts at Nuremberg laid the foundation for international prosecution of war crimes.

'Nuremberg' is a well executed historical drama offering that is underpinned by an on point ensemble cast, with particular standout performances by Russell Crowe especially, and Michael Shannon and Richard E. Grant. As for Rami Malek's performance I can't help feeling he may have been miscast with his permanently pursed lips, almost vacant facial expression, his wild staring eyes and his magic tricks - where did that come from? Director James Vanderbilt has delivered us a gripping true story account of a trial that changed the course of history that is made all the more effective by including actual archival footage of the horrors uncovered when the Concentration Camps were liberated, which is central to the story here. The film serves as a timely reminder, 80 years on, of the horrors of war, and whether as a global community we have really learned anything from it, given the current geopolitical situation we currently finds ourselves in. 'Nuremberg' is certainly well worth the price of your movie ticket as a history lesson, for Russell Crowe's compelling performance, and as a conversation starter as I did with my 24 year old son. 

'Nuremberg' merits 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 4th December 2025

This years Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF) takes place between Wednesday 3rd and Sunday 7th December in the resort city of Sun Valley in the western USA, in Blaine County, Idaho. Since 2012, the Sun Valley Film Festival has invited fans and filmmakers to connect through the power of cinema in Hollywood’s original ski Shangri-la. Annually, SVFF celebrates with a slate of cutting-edge film and television premieres, engaging Coffee Talks with entertainment luminaries, thought-provoking discussions and unforgettable parties. Outside of the Festival, SVFF enhances the cultural fabric of the community through its Monthly Movies, filmmaker discussions and educational programmes. In 2025 SVFF moves to December, and positions itself as a 'must-stop' on the industry awards circuit and not-to-be missed kick off for the holiday season.

The festival will screen sixteen narrative and documentary features and thirty-two shorts, including the Opening Night Film presentation 'The Brotherhood' from the US and Directed by Mandon Lovett this documentary feature film follows the trailblazing National Brotherhood of Snowsports – the first all-Black ski group. Once shut out of a sport built for the privileged, Black athletes carved their own path and created a thriving community that now spans 50+ chapters and thousands of members. The Closing Night Film 'Is This Thing On?' from the US and Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and starring Bradley Cooper. As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.

The other titles in the Narrative Feature strand are :

* 'Above the Line' - from the US and this action comedy is Co-Written and Directed by Jeffrey Scott Collins. On Christmas Eve, six fledgling Hollywood hopefuls get a mysterious knock at their door and an envelope of $$$ at their feet. It contains the 'opportunity of a lifetime' - to go burglarise a mutually despised Producer that once screwed them over. Who organised this holiday heist? Who will go through with this preposterous plan? Will these desperate idiots pull it off? World Premiere.

* 'Carolina Caroline' - from the US this romantic action thriller is Co-Produced and Directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier. Samara Weaving stars as Caroline, living her small life in a small town, caring for her father. When she observes a handsome drifter pulling a sly con for a few bucks, her curiosity sparks an introduction which begins as an apprenticeship and soon blooms into a passionate romance. The duo leave a wave of crime and passion behind them as they hustle their way through the Southeast, robbing banks. Starring Kyle Gallner, Kyra Sedgwick and Jon Greis.

* 'Dead Man's Wire' - from the US and this action thriller film is Directed by Gus Van Sant. On the morning of 8th February 1977, Indianapolis entrepreneur Anthony G. 'Tony' Kiritsis entered the office of Richard O. Hall, President of the Meridian Mortgage Company, and took the man hostage with a sawn-off 12-gauge shotgun wired to his head, and follows Tony’s misbegotten attempt to seek retribution from the Hall family for cheating him out of what he felt he was owed. Starring Bill Skarsgard, Al Pacino, Cary Elwes, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo and Myha'la. 

* 'Is This Thing On?' - refer above.

* 'The Plague' - from Romania and the USA and this thriller is Written and Directed by Charlie Polinger. At an all-boys water polo camp, a socially anxious twelve-year-old is pulled into a cruel tradition targeting an outcast with an illness they call 'The Plague'. But as the lines between game and reality blur, he fears the joke might be hiding something real. Starring Joel Edgerton, Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin and Kenny Rasmussen.

* 'The Testament of Ann Lee' - from Hungary, Sweden and the USA this docu drama is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Mona Fastvold. The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers, stars Amanda Seyfried as the Shaker's irrepressible leader, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers. The film captures the ecstasy and agony of her quest to build a utopia. Also starring Thomasin Mckenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Viola Prettejohn and Jamie Bogyo.

* 'Train Dreams' - from the US and this drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Clint Bentley. Orphaned at a young age, Robert Grainier grows into adulthood (Joel Edgerton) among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the national railroad empire during the early 20th Century, alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Felicity Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled. Also starring Nathaniel Arcand, Clifton Collins Jr., John Diehl, Paul Schneider, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy and narrated by Will Patton. US Premiere.

Arnold and Patrick Schwarzenegger will be among the honourees at this year’s Festival. The father and son duo will receive the Vision Award and Rising Star Award, respectively; Gus Van Sant will also receive the Vision Award; while Clint Bentley and Co-Writer Greg Kwedar will be honoured with the Disruptor Award for 'Train Dreams'.

For more information on the other film strands being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://www.sunvalleyfilmfestival.org

Turning the attention then back on this weeks five new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with a psychological thriller historical drama offering that tells the story as the Nuremberg trials are set to begin, with a US Army psychiatrist locking horns in a dramatic psychological showdown with accused Nazi war criminal Hermann Goring. This is followed by a fantasy RomCom about a woman who must choose between two men with whom to spend eternity in the afterlife. Next up we have a supernatural horror offering that is a sequel set one year after the original film that finds young Abby Schmidt sneaking out to reconnect with her animatronic friends, leading to events that reveal the true origin of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Then we turn to a UK doco about a UK model and cultural icon, real name Lesley Lawson, whose career kickstarted in the swingin' '60's; and closing out the week we have a musical comedy spanning three decades, about the turbulent relationship between a composer and his two lifelong friends, a writer and a lyricist and playwright.

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 coming week.

'NUREMBERG' (Rated M) - is an American psychological thriller historical drama film that is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by James Vanderbilt in only his second Directorial outing following his 2015 'Truth', although he is perhaps best known as a prolific script writer and Producer of many Hollywood blockbusters and has worked with numerous top Directors. This film is based on the 2013 book 'The Nazi and the Psychiatrist' by Jack El-Hai. The film had its World Premiere in the Gala Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival in early September this year where it received a four-minute standing ovation, one of TIFF's longest standing ovations ever, and was released theatrically in the US in early November having received generally positive reviews from critics, and so far taking US$16M at the Box Office.

The film tells the story of the eponymous Nuremberg trials held by the Allied Forces against the defeated Nazi regime between 20th November 1945 and 1st October 1946 in which twenty-two of the most important surviving leaders of Nazi Germany in the political, military, and economic spheres, as well as six German organisations were tried. Centering on American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), who is tasked with determining whether Nazi prisoners are fit to stand trial for their war crimes and finds himself in a complex battle of wits with Hermann Goring (Russell Crowe), Hitler's right-hand man. Also starring Michael Shannon, Richard E. Grant, Colin Hanks, John Slattery, Leo Woodall, and Lydia Peckham. 

'ETERNITY' (Rated M) - this American fantasy romantic comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by David Freyne who made his feature film Directorial debut with 2017's 'The Cured' and would follow this up with 'Dating Amber' in 2020. In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with Larry Cutler (Miles Teller) and her first love and husband Luke (Callum Turner), who died young in war and has waited decades for her to arrive. The film had its World Premiere screening at TIFF in early September this year, was released Stateside last week, has so far grossed US$5.5M and has garnered generally favourable reviews.

'FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2' (Rated M) - is an American supernatural horror film based on the video game series 'Five Nights at Freddy's' and is the sequel to the 2023 film adaptation. The film is Directed by Emma Tammi who also Directed the first film and who made her feature film making debut in 2018 with 'The Wind'. Here, one year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The stories about what occurred there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town's first ever Fazfest. Former security guard Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) and Police Officer Vanessa Shelly (Elizabeth Lail) have kept the truth from Mike's 11-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), concerning the fate of her animatronic friends. But when Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, it will set into motion a terrifying series of events, revealing dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy's, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades. Also starring Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard and Mckenna Grace. The film cost US$51M to produce and is released this week too in the US.

'TWIGGY' (Rated M) - this UK documentary film is Co-Produced and Directed by Sadie Frost in only her second feature length film offering following 'Quant' in 2021, although she has acted in and Produced numerous movies, TV series and short films in her decades long career. An intimate, star-studded dive into the birth of an icon, born Lesley Hornby in a working class home, and everything that followed. A look inside the life of the greatest it-girl of all time, who changed her name to Twiggy as a teenager and whose career began in the swingin'-'60's in the world of fashion, that morphed into movies and back again. Featuring contributions from Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Lulu, Joanna Lumley, Sienna Miller, Brooke Shields, Zandra Rhodes and many more, the film is an exploration of the model's upbringing, career, relationships, and everything else that has made her the woman she is today, and the first time the icon has told her story first-hand. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the BFI London Film Festival in mid-October 2024 before going on general release in the UK and Ireland in early March this year, and only now is it released here in Australia having generated largely positive critical acclaim.

'MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG' (Rated M) - is an American musical comedy film Directed by Maria Friedman. Spanning three decades, and told in reverse order, the film charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard (Jonathan Groff) and his two lifelong friends - Writer Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez) and lyricist and playwright Charley Kringas (Daniel Radcliffe), as he abandons his career and friends in New York and heads to Hollywood to Produce movies. The 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, and originally adapted into a Broadway stage production in 1981, then becoming an inventive cult classic ahead of its time, the musical features some of Stephen Sondheim's most celebrated and personal songs. The 2023-2024 Broadway production, directed by Maria Friedman, redefined the show for a new era, bringing Stephen Sondheim's intricate score and George Furth's book to vivid life with extraordinary depth and clarity. This film is not to be confused with another film based on the success of the 2022 Off-Broadway production of 'Merrily We Roll Along' which led Director Richard Linklater to undertake a film adaptation, of the same name starring Paul Mescal, Beanie Feldstein, and Ben Platt, and which is currently in production and is being filmed over the course of twenty years.

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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-