WONKA : Tuesday 19th December 2023.

I saw the PG Rated 'WONKA' earlier this week, and this musical fantasy film is Co-Written, based on a story and Directed by Paul King in his fourth feature film outing following his 2009 debut with 'Bunny and the Bull', then 'Paddington' in 2014 and 'Paddington 2' in 2017. This film tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 iconic novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl - one of the best selling children's books of all time. It had its World Premiere showcasing in London on 28th November, and was released in the UK on 8th December and here in Australia and the US last week, cost US$125M to produce, has so far grossed US$162M and has generated largely positive reviews.

Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), an aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier, arrives by boat in Europe to establish his chocolate shop at the famed Galeries Gourmet. Burning through his meagre savings of just twelve silver sovereigns on his first day in the big city, he is offered an overnight stay at Mrs. Scrubitt's (Olivia Colman) boarding house by her henchman Bleacher (Tom Davis), and signs a lengthy contract despite orphan Noodle's (Calah Lane) warning about the need to read the fine print, which he merely glances over and duly signs. The cost of his one night stay is one silver sovereign, which Wonka commits to paying the next night and then he'll be on his way. 

To pay off his debt, the next day Wonka introduces 'hoverchocs' chocolates that make his customers fly at Galeries Gourmet. Facing mockery from three rival chocolatiers - Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) who call the Chief of Police (Keegan-Michael Key) to confiscate his earnings for disrupting their businesses and conducting his business without a chocolate shop. 

Returning to Mrs. Scrubitt's later that evening with not a penny to his name and unable to pay for his board and lodging, Mrs. Scrubitt announces that the cost of Wonka's one night stay has escalated to 10,000 silver sovereigns due to the fees and penalties imposed on him under the terms of the agreed contract as signed by him. Wonka is therefore ordered to work in a launderette in the bowels of the her building from which there is no escape, and for the next twenty-seven years being the length of time it will take him to pay of his debt. He therefore joins five other captives all locked up for similar reasons, including Noodle. He learns of a 'Chocolate Cartel' from Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter) an accountant as one of the other five, of a plot involving the rival chocolatiers. Wonka makes Scrubitt and Bleacher fall in love by faking a story of how Bleacher is in fact an Austrian Prince, and facilitates his escape to sell chocolate with the help of Noodle, who will receive a lifetime supply of chocolates for her efforts. 

The Cartel exploits the Chief of Police's weakness for chocolate to force Wonka to leave town while Wonka tells Noodle that his passion for chocolate stems from his late mother (Sally Hawkins), who gave him one last chocolate bar, and vowed to be there with him when he became successful. Wonka tells Noodle about the theft of his chocolates by an enigmatic orange man with green hair who steals them from him at night and has been doing so for about the last four years. To produce his signature chocolate, Wonka needs a supply of giraffe milk, and so joined by Noodle, the pair visit the local zoo at night and once they have befriended and calmed Abigail the giraffe, Wonka begins milking her, filling up a small urn. 

Together with the other four captives, the group embark on selling chocolates to ultimately pay off their debts while using the underground storm drain covers to evade Scrubitt, the Cartel and the Chief. Trapping an Oompa Loompa named Lofty (Hugh Grant) as the thief in a upturned glass bell jar, Wonka discovers that the Oompa Loompa seeks pay back for the four cocoa beans Wonka took years ago under Lofty's watch while he napped on the remote island home of the Loompas. Lofty ingeniously dupes Wonka, so facilitating his escape.

Using the monies raised from selling his chocolates, the group of captives open Wonka's dream chocolate shop in the Galaries Gourmet opposite the three owned by the Cartel, The Chief and the Chocolate Cartel, informed of Wonka's endeavours and now unable to arrest him since he has a legitimate shop, denounce him to Scrubitt. Infusing his chocolates with Yeti sweat, Scrubitt incites chaos among the customers through a side effect being the rapid growth a multi-coloured facial hair among men, women and children. The customers quickly revolt, leading to the complete destruction of Wonka's new store. 

Facing much adversity, Wonka reluctantly agrees to the Cartel's offer to leave town by ship to pay off everyone's debts, and never to make chocolate again. Everyone is released from the launderette except for Noodle. Cartel member Slugworth pays Scrubbit to keep her there indefinitely. Before jumping off the dynamite rigged boat with Lofty, Wonka has a conversation with him during which in dawns on him that Noodle is Slugworth's niece. Noodle, who was reported dead to her birth mother Dorothy, was sold by Slugworth to Scrubitt in order to eliminate her claim to the family fortune. After rescuing Noodle with the help of the group, they devise a strategy to obtain the Cartel's incriminating set of real accounts rather than the fake set. 

The group set up a distraction at the local cathedral involving Father Julius (Rowan Atkinson) - a priest in cahoots with the Cartel and who is also addicted to chocolate, and Abigail who crashes a funeral for a local dignatory. This enables Wonka and Noodle to infiltrate the Cartel's base located directly under the cathedral, where they are confronted by the Cartel and almost drowned in thousands of gallons of released melted chocolate. Through the use of hoverchocs, Wonka enables Lofty to rescue them and unveils the Cartel's misdeeds. Exposing their actions to the authorities and the public, they release the Cartel's chocolate reserves through a fountain, which Wonka sprinkles his unique ingredients into, and so wrecking the Cartel's business once and for all. 

The Cartel, levitated uncontrollably by the super strength hoverchocs, meet their downfall, and the Police arrests their now seriously overweight Chief for his part in their business dealings, as duly recorded in the official set of accounts. The crowd revels in tasting Wonka's chocolate fountain, and Wonka has a vision of his mother in the crowd as they blow each other a kiss. He then unwraps his mother's chocolate bar, discovering a Golden Ticket with a message that says chocolate is best shared. Sharing his mother's chocolate with friends, Wonka helps Noodle reunite with her mother Dorothy whom they traced to a library close by and settles his debt with Lofty. 

With Lofty now ready to return to his island home, Wonka ask him to join him as his Chief Taster and to enjoy a lifetime of free chocolate, to which Lofty readily agrees. Wonka then acquires an abandoned castle to commence building a new chocolate factory. In a mid-credits scene, we see what became of the five members of Wonka's group and how Scrubitt and Bleacher are arrested after their attempt to destroy evidence of sabotaging Wonka's shop backfires.

I have to say that I had fairly low expectations going in to see 'Wonka' but came out having been pleasantly surprised. Here Director Paul King has crafted an origin story worthy of its predecessors with top rate production values, song and dance routines that don't feel over bloated or simply space fillers but help move the story along and showcase Timothee Chalamet's singing and dancing abilities that only serve to prove his versatility as a notable screen presence. This soft centred film has heart, whimsy and has genuine moments that made me chuckle even if the plot is a little thin on the ground, but that said you'll be hard pressed not to be carried along by this live action family friendly film that is a perfect fit for the festive season. 

'Wonka' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 14th December 2023

The 15th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival this year runs from Saturday 16th through until Saturday 23rd December. Founded in 2009, the festival takes place every year in December, during the opening week of the ski season, in Les Arcs ski resort located in Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French department of Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of southeastern France. The theme of this year's festival is 'Cinema as therapy: mental health, in front of and behind the screen'. It's an opportunity to find out more about and understand this subject, which is emerging in all areas of our society. The Arcs Film Festival is also a socially committed festival, with social issues at the heart of its programming. Debates on gender equality and the ecological transition in cinema will be at the heart of the festival. 

With over one hundred films being showcased, this years Opening Night film is 'Making Of', from France and Directed by Cedric Kahn and centres around Simon as he begins shooting a movie about a workers’ struggle to save their factory. He soon feels overwhelmed by the sneaky Producer, the capricious Actors, and the angry technical team. His only ally in this chaotic shooting is the young extra in charge of the making-of of the film. The Closing Night film is 'Vivants' from Belgium and France and Directed by Alix Delaporte and charts the story of Gabrielle who has joined a prestigious news programme. With no formal training, she must prove herself and find a place among an experienced team of special correspondents.

This year there are nine feature films in Official Competition, these being :-

* 'Animal' from Greece and Written and Directed by Sofia Exarchou. National Premiere.

* 'Explanation For Everything' from Hungary and Co-Written, Directed, Co-Edited and Co-Scored by Gabor Reisz.

* 'Holly' from Belgium and Written and Directed by Fien Troch.

* 'The Teachers' Lounge' from Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Ilker Catak.

* 'The Successor' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Xavier Legrand. National Premiere.

* 'Through the Night' from Belgium and Written and Directed by Delphine Girard. 

* 'Slow' from Lithuania and Written and Directed by Marija Kavtaradze.

* 'The Hypnosis' from Sweden and Co-Written and Directed by Ernst De Geer.

* 'Sweet Dreams' from the Netherlands and Written and Directed by Ena Sendijarevic.

For the synopsis of the nine aforementioned films in Official Competition, plus the other film strands being showcased; the two Guests of Honour attending this years festival, the French Argentine Actress Berenice Bejo and the Swedish film maker Ruben Ostlund; and Alice Rohrwacher announced as the winner of the 2023 Sisley-les Arcs 'Femme de Cinema' Award!, you can go to the official website at : https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en

This week there are just three new movies gracing your local Odeon before the slew of new Christmas week releases, launching with a musical fantasy offering focusing on a young chocolate-maker extraordinaire, and how he came to meet the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures. Then we have an action thriller film about a former FBI agent who left to become a bricklayer, and is asked to step in and help stop a criminal operation who are demanding a series of ransom payments; before closing out the week with a Chinese remake centring around a young businessman who wakes up in a locked hotel room next to the body of his dead lover, and then hires a prestigious lawyer to defend him, and over the course of one night, they work together to find out what happened.

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.

'WONKA' (Rated PG) - this musical fantasy film is Co-Written, based on a story and Directed by Paul King in his fourth feature film outing following his 2009 debut with 'Bunny and the Bull' then 'Paddington' in 2014 and 'Paddington 2' in 2017. This film tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl. It will have its World Premiere showcasing in London on 28th November, and is scheduled to be released in the UK on 8th December and in the US on 15th December, and cost US$125M to produce.

Based on the extraordinary character at the centre of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', Roald Dahl’s most iconic children's book and one of the best-selling children's books of all time, 'Wonka' tells the wondrous story of how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) - chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time, proving that the best things in life begin with a dream. Also starring Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant. 

'THE BRICKLAYER' (Rated MA15+) - is an action thriller film Directed by Renny Harlin whose previous screen credits take in the likes of 'Die Hard 2' in 1990, 'Cliffhanger' in 1993, 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' in 1996, 'Deep Blue Sea' in 1999, 'Driven' in 2001, 'Cleaner' in 2007, 'Skiptrace' in 2016 and 'The Misfits' in 2021. This film is based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Noah Boyd, and follows a rogue insurgent blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it appear the agency is responsible. As other nations begin turning against the US the CIA must lure Steve Vail (Aaron Eckhart) - their most brilliant and rebellious operative out of semi-retirement working as a bricklayer. With an elite and deadly skill set, Vail is tasked with helping clear the agency's name, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unraveling an international conspiracy. Also starring Nina Dobrev, Tim Blake Nelson and Clifton Collins Jnr. The film is slated for a US release sometime early next year.

'THE INVISIBLE GUEST' (Rated M) - this crime fiction drama film is a Chinese remake of the Spanish film of the same name from 2016 and is Directed by Raymond Yip Wai-man and Cheng Wei-hao. Here, young and beautiful entrepreneur Joanna (Janine Chang) is accused of being the culprit in a locked-room murder case, where the victim is her lover Minghao, during a time when her life and career are flourishing. In order to clear her name, she slowly gathers clues with the police officer Zheng Wei (Greg Hsu). As they investigate the case together, they discover another murder case that Joanna and Minghao had committed together. The truth gradually comes to light . . . 

With just 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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st December 2017.

The lesser known British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) this year celebrated its 20th year with its awards ceremony on 10th December, hosted by Writer, Producer and Actor Mark Gatiss at Old Billingsgate in London. BIFA celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and film making talent by recognising merit and achievement in independently funded British films, honouring new talent and promoting British films and filmmaking to a wider public audience. There are sixteen award categories and three honorary awards given each year. For 2017, the main winners and grinners were :-

* Best British Independent Film awarded to : 'God's Own Country' beating out 'The Death of Stalin', 'I Am Not A Witch', 'Lady Macbeth' and 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'.
* Best Foreign Independent Film awarded to : 'Get Out' beating out 'The Florida Project', 'I Am Not Your Negro', 'Loveless' and 'The Square'.
* Best Director : Rungano Nyoni for 'I Am Not a Witch'.
* Best Actress : Florence Pugh for 'Lady Macbeth'.
* Best Actor : Josh O'Connor for 'God's Own Country'.
* Best Supporting Actress : Patricia Clarkson for 'The Party'.
* Best Supporting Actor : Simon Russell Beale for 'The Death of Stalin'.
* Most Promising Newcomer : Naomi Ackle for 'Lady Macbeth'.
* Best Screenplay : Alice Birch for 'Lady Macbeth'.
* Best Cinematography : Ari Wegner for 'Lady Macbeth'.
* Best Music : Carter Burwell for 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'.
* The BIFA Richard Harris Award : Vanessa Redgrave.
* The BIFA Variety Award : Gary Oldman.

'Lady Macbeth' walked away with five awards in total, 'God's Own Country' and 'The Death of Stalin' each took home four with 'I Am Not A Witch' clinching three and 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' two. Congratulations to those award winners and nominees. For more information, you can go to : www.bifa.film

This week in the lead up to the mega haul of new releases in Christmas week, we have just two new offerings to tease you out to you local Odeon, independent theatre or multiplex. We kick off with the sequel to a 2014 live action/CGI animated film about a cute and cuddly bear with a marmalade addiction, who this time around lands himself in hot water and the wrong side of the law and winds up in jail, leaving his adoptive family to do what they must to prove his innocence, clear his name and send down the real perp. Then we have a critically acclaimed small independent feature about the manager of a budget hotel and his dealings with a young mother and her young daughter living hand to mouth and trying to make ends meet in the shadow of the seemingly utopian Disney World Resort in Florida.

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

'PADDINGTON 2' (Rated G) - the story of Paddington the Bear first emerged onto our big screens as a live action/CGI animated comedy offering back in 2014. Telling the story of a cute Peruvian native bear with a penchant for marmalade, transplanted into modern day London based on the much loved children's books by Michael Bond, that film grossed US$268M at the global Box Office from its US$50M budget outlay. That film, about a bear character with the name of Paddington because he was discovered by the Brown family at London's Paddington Station, was Directed, written for the screen and based upon a story by Paul King, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. Now some three years later, we have this sequel that is again Co-Written and Directed by Paul King and once again stars an ensemble cast, was released in the UK in early November, has so far taken US$77M at the Box Office and has been universally acclaimed by Critics and audiences alike.

Here Paddington Bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) has settled into life with the Brown family in London's Windsor Gardens and has become a popular figure in the local community. Wanting to purchase a rare book for Aunt Lucy's 100th Birthday, Paddington finds himself on the wrong side of the law and in the process gets himself thrown in jail for a crime he did not commit. On the outside, it falls down to the Brown family to find the real perpetrator of said crime, clear Paddington's name, and effect his release from prison while sending down the actual criminal. Also starring  Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Joanna Lumley, Noah Taylor, Tom Conti and Richard Ayoade. A third instalment has already been confirmed by Production Company StudioCanal.

'THE FLORIDA PROJECT' (Rated MA15+) - here Sean Baker Directs, Co-Produces and Co-Wrote this independent film which Premiered during the Directors Fortnight at this years Cannes Film Festival and was released Stateside in early October. Costing just US$2M the film has so far taken almost US$5M and has garnered widespread universal acclaim picking up numerous award wins and nominations for Best Director, Best Film, and for Willem Dafoe as Best Supporting Actor. The film tells the story of six year old Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) who lives with her young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) in a budget motel called The Magic Castle located in Kissimmee, near Orlando in Florida on a stretch of freeway not far from Disney World. The Hotel is managed by Bobby Hicks (Willem Dafoe). Halley is the rebellious type, and unemployable and depends on petty scams and schemes to make a buck to help ends meet whilst trying to stay out of trouble. However, whilst Moonee's days are filled with childhood innocence, big adventures, day dreams and all the joy of Summer making the best of the world they have been thrust into, her mother is forced to explore more dangerous means of keeping the small family unit afloat in order to provide for her daughter. The films title is derived from the early name for the Walt Disney World Resort and Theme Park which is located close by to where the film is set.

With two new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, with the continuing tale of everyone's favourite marmalade munching bear and his exploits now that he has settled into the domestic world of a kindly London family; and followed up by the Summertime exploits of a young mother and daughter settled into a budget motel struggling to make ends meet. Remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 11th December 2014.

After last weeks mega haul of new releases, comes a more limited offering of just three new films to satisfy our hunger for new exciting cinema content. With the start of Summer in Australia taking on a decidedly tropical feel in Sydney with hot spells interspersed with all to predictable torrential downfalls, cold snaps and high humidity, you can rest assured that solace and relief can easily be found at your local picture house.

To tempt us therefore we have a cuddly retelling of an all too familiar furry friend with a penchant for marmalade and mayhem; we have a French foreign language film about an empty nest couple battling the hum-drum life in Normandy when an invitation to Paris reveals more adventure than bargained for; and finally a Hollywood comedic sequel about corporate life, managers you would rather do without and what happens when you try to go it alone against the big boys!

And so family, foreign and farcical is what we have on offer this week, and when you've seen your chosen film drop me a line at Odeon Online in the Comments Box at the end of this Post, or an one for that matter, and share your own Review with our growing and valued readership at Odeon Online. Enjoy your film!

PADDINGTON (Rated G) - now at 56 years of age it's probably about time that Paddington Bear got the big screen makeover, since being released on an unsuspecting world in 1958 thanks to Author and story teller Michael Bond. With over 30 million books sold, three different television series, and even a stage show under his trademark blue duffle coat, Paddington Bear, having arrived from Peru now gets the big screen treatment, and from what I have researched he can be very proud. Directed by Paul King, this live action film stars a CGI Paddington Bear that is beautifully rendered in his slightly more bear-like appearance than you may recall, and voiced by Ben Whishaw, with some big names adding gravitas to the cast list.

Lured by images of Britain, Paddington Bear arrives in London - the city of his dreams, only to discover quickly that perhaps it is not all that he had imagined. With a tag around his neck proclaiming 'Please look after this Bear. Thank-you' he is taken in by the kindly Brown family (Hugh Bonneville as Mr., Sally Hawkins as Mrs., and Madeline Harris as daughter Judy, and Samuel Joslin as son Jonathan) who offer him somewhere to stay temporarily. Because the Brown's found him at London's Paddington Station, they call him 'Paddington' and so a story begins that gets Paddington into all sorts of comedic situations, pratfalls, danger and needless to say mayhem. Things are going relatively well for Paddington until he is discovered by museum taxidermist Millicent (a sinister Nicole Kidman, channelling Cruella DeVille maybe) and from there the chase is on from those who want to stuff him and put him on display; those he has ostracised so far; and those who are not quite what they seem. Starring the voice talents too of Michael Gambon and Imelda Staunton (as Paddington's Peruvian Aunt & Uncle), and Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Matt Lucas and Geoffrey Palmer this looks as though it is sure to please children . . . of all ages!

HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (Rated MA15+) - you would have to ask yourself why, oh why, roll out another one of these that is sure to go the same way as 'The Hangover' 2, and 3 for that matter, but, having made US$210M off a US$35M budget in its first instalment, this sequel is hardly surprising.  This time with a US$42M budget we have the same bunch of corporate middle managers who all hate their boss and decide to go it alone with their own company and their own new to market invention - a soap dispensing shower head called 'The Soap Buddy'. When it goes belly up for them at the hands of a double-crossing investor they take the law into their own hands and misguided misadventure and mishaps are soon to follow! Starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, Chris Pine, Christophe Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston and Directed by Sean Anders, this has big ticket names assigned to it, but is it enough to clean up . . . even with The Soap Buddy?

FOLIES BERGERE (Rated M) - Directed by Marc Fitoussi this French language subtitled film tells the story of Brigitte (Isabelle Huppert) and Xavier (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) - a husband and wife team cattle farming in rural Normandy. They are empty nesters whose children are grown and have moved on from the family home. Normalcy, routine and predictability have set in to their lives, and so when Brigitte accepts an invitation to a party in Paris with friends she accepts, only to find a younger suitor in tow, Stan (Pio Marmai) and then later a charming older gentleman Jesper (Michael Nyquist) also showing interest. Wanting more from life Brigitte gets more than she bargained for as things don't go quite according to plan.

Three to choose from, something for everyone, and if you can't find something that grabs you this week, check out all the other great movies still showing at your local picture house as Previewed/Reviewed at Odeon Online previously. Enjoy your film(s) and let the world know what you think . . . right here in the Comments Box below!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-