KING RICHARD : Tuesday 1st February 2022.

I finally got around to seeing the M Rated 'KING RICHARD' at my local multiplex this week. This American biographical drama film is Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green whose feature film debut came with 'Monsters and Men' with John David Washington in 2018 which he followed up in 2020 with 'Joe Bell' with Mark Wahlberg. The film was originally scheduled for release in late November 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ultimately premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in early September last year and was released in mid-November 2021 Stateside in cinemas and on HBO Max, and here in Australia on the 13th January. Having garnered largely critical acclaim, this has failed to materialise into Box Office receipts, having taken so far US$33M off the back of a production budget of US$50M. 'King Richard' has so far picked up twenty-nine award wins and a further 126 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, with many of those nods still pending a final outcome. 

Based on the true story, this film follows the journey of Richard Williams (Will Smith, who also Co-Produces here) living in Compton, California with his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), three step-daughters Tunde, Isha and Lyndrea, and his two daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). Richard has had a dream to nurture his two daughters into champion tennis players, and in fact has a written down 76 page plan charting their journey since before they were born. Richard and Brandy themselves coach Venus and Serena every day whilst keeping them grounded with their education, social interactions and family life. Richard works as a security guard at night, while Brandy works as a nurse during the day time. Richard is relentless in his pursuit of a professional coach for his two girls to the point where he creates his own brochures and promotional videotapes to advertise their tennis abilities, all to no avail.

Then one day, Richard takes the girls to an exclusive tennis club to see coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), who is practicing at the time with John McEnroe (Christopher Wallinger) and Pete Sampras (Chase Del Rey). Despite his initial reluctance, he agrees to watch the girls practice after McEnroe leaves the court and Sampras says its OK. After hitting some balls, Cohen is suitably impressed. However, Richard and Brandy cannot afford professional coaching, and Cohen refuses to coach both girls for free. 

He chooses Venus to receive his coaching, while Serena continues practicing with Brandy. Cohen encourages Venus to participate in juniors tournaments, as the natural progression to recognition, becoming a pro, and ultimate success. Venus quickly finds success, but Richard stresses to Venus and her sisters to remain humble in spite of their success. At one of Venus’s tournaments, and unknown to Richard Serena also signs up to play, with Venus winning the gold trophy and Serena silver. As both girls continue to succeed, the family are treated as outsiders among the mostly white, upper-class competition. Richard meets with high-profile agents Will Hodges (Dylan McDermott) and Laird Stabler (Andy Bean), but, fearing that his daughters will be taken advantage of, pulls them out of the junior competition circuit entirely. Cohen warns him that his decision will destroy the girls’ chances to turn professional, but Richard stands firm, firing Cohen as coach.

Coach Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) travels to Compton to watch the girls play at their local rundown municipal tennis courts. Impressed, he agrees to take on the girls, with Richard producing his own contract for Macci to sign with a full set of demands including a mobile home for them to make the journey from California to Florida where Macci's tennis training camp is located, plus a fully furnished family home, plus education for their four daughters (Tunde has recently graduated from high school as is staying in California to attend College). 

Then one day, Richard surprises Macci by reiterating that the girls will not play junior competitions, instead training and attending school like normal children. Over the next three years, questions arise from the media and from Macci about Richard’s strategy with the girls, and his seemingly insatiable appetite for media coverage. Venus tells Macci that she wants to turn pro, and asks him to speak with her father on her behalf. Richard reluctantly agrees, but later goes against his word, worrying that she will suffer a similar fate to Macci's star pupil Jennifer Capriati, who is allegedly suffering from burnout and has been arrested for marijuana possession in 1994 at the age of eighteen. The decision strains Richard’s relationships with Venus, Brandy, and Macci. 

After an argument with Brandy, he reconciles with Venus, agreeing to let her play in the upcoming Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California. Before the tournament, the family meets with a Nike executive, who offers them a major sponsorship deal worth US$3M. Macci urges them to accept, but Richard turns to Venus and says that the decision rests with her. She declines and Richard and Brandy agree, leaving Macci mortified by their decision (for his is on a 15% fee based on future earnings). Richard is of the firm belief that once Venus begins to play and the world sees what she is capable of, she will attract more worthwhile offers.

Venus struggles at first in her debut match as a professional against Shaun Stafford (Kaitlyn Christian), but eventually she wins the match. In her next match against top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Marcela Zacarias) she is considered very much the underdog, but against the odds Venus takes the first set and leads in the second before Vicario takes an extended bathroom break for nine minutes, placing a strain on  Venus that sees her lose her concentration and rhythm, so much so that Vicario recovers to win the second set and the match. 

Richard and Brandy comfort a dejected Venus in the changing room, telling her to be proud of what she has achieved. As the family exits the now empty stadium, a large crowd of supporters is waiting to cheer her on and get her autograph. Waiting outside Macci tells Richard that Nike have upped their offer to US$4M and that several other major shoe companies are keen to meet with Venus.

As the closing credits roll, we are told that some nine months later, at the age of fifteen Venus signed a contract with Reebok for US$12M, and that she would go on to win Wimbledon five times and become the first African American woman to be ranked tennis number one in the world. Serena, who joined Venus as a professional two years later, would become a 23-time Grand Slam champion and considered perhaps the greatest player in tennis history . . . just as Richard had predicted.

'King Richard' is a very entertaining and insightful film, and this is Will Smith's film make no mistake. He inhibits the character of Richard Williams that is about as far removed from his 'Bad Boys' character as you could probably get, with all the little nuances, expressions and ever so slight lisp that see him pronounce words like 'ask' as 'aks'. For all his dogged determination and unconventional stubbornness to keep the girls grounded and humble, he is at the core a loving, caring, just want what's best for my girls type of father following his plan for their future success in life and on the tennis court. As for the performances of Ellis, Sidney and Singleton these too are standouts, and like Smith's are sure to garner due recognition from around the awards and festivals circuit in the lead up to the 94th Oscars at the end of March. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green has here crafted an emotional, intelligent, crowd pleasing family sports drama that even for the naysayers of tennis, are sure to find this an engaging and interesting watch. At a run time of just shy of two-and-a-half hours this is a little over extended, but it never leaves you wanting. Both Venus and Serena Williams serve as Executive Producers here.

'King Richard' 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 13th January 2022.

And so the 2022 award season has officially launched following the postponement of the American Film Institute Awards on 7th and the Critics Choice Awards on the 9th January due to the ongoing ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards were held on January 9th honouring the very best in film and American TV from 2021 and as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. This year, the awards are marred by controversy as various media outlets including regular US broadcaster NBC, Netflix, Amazon, WarnerMedia, Actors, and other creatives planned on boycotting the ceremony over the HFPA's lack of action to increase the membership diversity of the organisation. The HFPA still went ahead with a ceremony behind closed doors. This marked the first time since the 36th Golden Globe Awards in 1979 that there was no telecast, and the 65th Golden Globe Awards in 2008 that there was no traditional ceremony. 

This years winners, grinners and also rans in the feature film categories are as given below :-

* Best Motion Picture, Drama - presented to The Power of the Dog, beating out Belfast, CODA, Dune and King Richard. 

* Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy - awarded to West Side Story, beating out Cyrano, Don't Look Up, Licorice Pizza, and Tick, Tick . . . Boom!.

* Best Motion Picture, Animated - presented to Encanto beating out Flee, Luca, My Sunny Maad and Raya and the Last Dragon.

* Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language - awarded to Drive My Car from Japan, beating out Compartment No. 6  from Finland, Russia and Germany, The Hand of God  from Italy, A Hero from France and Iran, and Parallel Mothers from Spain.

* Best Director, Motion Picture - presented to Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog, beating out Kenneth Branagh for Belfast, Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Lost Daughter, Steven Spielberg for West Side Story and Denis Villeneuve for Dune.

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama - awarded to Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos, beating out Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Olivia Colman for The Lost Daughter, Lady Gaga for House of Gucci and Kristen Stewart for Spencer.

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy - presented to Rachel Zegler for West Side Story, beating out Marion Cotillard for Annette, Alana Haim for Licorice Pizza, Jennifer Lawrence for Don’t Look Up and Emma Stone for Cruella.

* Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture - awarded to Ariana DeBose for West Side Story beating out Caitriona Balfe for Belfast, Kirsten Dunst for The Power of the Dog, Aunjanue Ellis for King Richard and Ruth Negga for Passing.

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama - presented to Will Smith for King Richard, beating out Mahershala Ali for Swan Song, Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos, Benedict Cumberbatch for The Power of the Dog and Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth.

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy - presented to Andrew Garfield for 'Tick, Tick . . . Boom!, beating out Leonardo DiCaprio for Don’t Look Up, Peter Dinklage for Cyrano, Cooper Hoffman for Licorice Pizza and Anthony Ramos for In the Heights.

* Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture - awarded to Kodi Smit-McPhee for The Power of the Dog, beating out Ben Affleck for The Tender Bar, Jamie Dornan for Belfast, Ciaran Hinds for Belfast and Troy Kotsur for CODA.

* Best Screenplay, Motion Picture - awarded to Kenneth Branagh for Belfast, beating out Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza, Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog, Adam McKay for Don’t Look Up and Aaron Sorkin for Being the Ricardos.

* Best Original Score, Motion Picture - presented to Dune by Hans Zimmer, beating out The French Dispatch by Alexandre Desplat, Encanto by Germaine Franco, The Power of the Dog by Jonny Greenwood and Parallel Mothers by Alberto Iglesias.

You can get the full low down on all the recipients and nominees of this years Golden Globe Awards in both the movie and television categories, by visiting the official website, at : https://www.goldenglobes.com/

Turning attention back on this weeks four new release movies, we launch with a biopic that tells the true story of how a pair of sibling tennis superstars became who they are after the coaching from their determined father. Next up is a spy drama about a top-secret weapon falling into mercenary hands, and so a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move. This is followed up by an Aussie survival thriller that tells the story of two men who uncover the biggest gold nugget ever found in the harsh Australian desert, who must then find a way to extract the nugget from the ground. And we close out the week with the fifth film in a slasher franchise that is set twenty-five years after the original series of brutal murders in Woodsboro, a new killer emerges, and a former resident and survivor must return to uncover the truth.

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

'KING RICHARD' (Rated M) - this is an American biographical drama film Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green whose feature film debut came with 'Monsters and Men' with John David Washington in 2018 which he followed up in 2020 with 'Joe Bell' with Mark Wahlberg. The film was originally scheduled for release in late November 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ultimately premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in early September last year and was released in mid-November 2021 Stateside in cinemas and on HBO Max. Having garnered largely critical acclaim, this has failed to materialise into Box Office receipts, having taken so far US$27M off the back of a production budget of US$50M. 'King Richard' has so far picked up twenty-one award wins and a further eighty-four nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, with many of those nods still pending a final outcome. 

Based on the true story, this film follows the journey of Richard Williams (Will Smith), an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever. Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard has a plan that will take Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) from the streets of Compton, California to the global stage as legendary icons of the tennis world. Also starring Jon Bernthal and Dylan McDermott. Will Smith also Co-Produces here with both Venus and Serena Williams serving as Executive Producers. 

'THE 355' (Rated M) - is an American spy film Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Simon Kinberg whose only other directorial credit is 'Dark Phoenix' (of the 'X-Men' franchise) in 2019. He has however, written and/or produced numerous other mainstream pictures taking in 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith', 'Sherlock Holmes', 'X-Men : Days of Future Past', 'The Martian', 'Deadpool', 'X-Men : Apocalypse', 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'The New Mutants'. Originally slated for a release in mid-January 2021 the film was delayed by a whole year to mid-January 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before moving up by a week to 7th January in the US and this week in Australia. The film cost in the region of US$70M to produce and has so have recovered just US$2M following mostly negative or average Reviews. When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild card CIA agent Mason Brown (Jessica Chastain) will need to join forces with rival German agent Marie (Diane Kruger), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Lupita Nyong'o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Penelope Cruz) on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve it, while also staying one-step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan), who is tracking their every move. As the action takes us around the world from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the opulent auction houses of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world, or get them killed. Sebastian Stan, Edgar Ramirez and Jason Flemyng also star. In case you were wondering, 'The 355' derives its name from the codename of a female spy for the Patriots during the American Revolution between 1765 and 1791. 

'GOLD' (Rated M) - this Australian survival thriller film is Directed, Co-Written, Co-Produced and also stars Anthony Hayes who has ninety screen acting credits to his name and five as Director taking in his debut feature in 2002 with 'New Skin' and then 'Ten Empty' in 2008, with 'Stingray' due for a future release. Filmed in South Australia, this tells the story of two men (Zac Efron and Anthony Hayes) who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever discovered while travelling through a remote desert. The two men hatch a plan to protect and excavate the nugget with one man leaving to secure the necessary equipment to pull it out of the earth. The other man remains and must endure harsh desert conditions, preying wild dogs and mysterious intruders, whilst battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his own fate. Also starring Susie Porter. 

'SCREAM' (Rated MA15+) - is an American slasher film Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett whose previous film making credits take in 'The Devils Due', 'Southbound' and 'Ready or Not'. It is the fifth instalment in the 'Scream' film series which began in 1996 and which over the first four films grossed US$605M off the back of combined production budgets of US$118M. Though billed as a relaunch of the film series, the film is a direct sequel to 2011's 'Scream 4' and the first in the series not to be directed by Wes Craven, who died in 2015. Set twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, California, a new killer wears the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past. The film stars franchise newcomers Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid, with Marley Shelton, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell, and Roger L. Jackson reprising their roles from previous instalments.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd September 2021.

The 46th annual Toronto International Film Festival took place between 9th and 18th September. The official TIFF website reads that this festival 'features ten days of exceptional international and Canadian cinema with close to two hundred films in its Official Selection and unparalleled events featuring acclaimed industry guests. Recognised as the world’s largest public film festival, TIFF is bringing the theatrical experience back to life and continues its reputation as both a leader in amplifying under-represented cinematic voices and a bellwether for programming award-winning films from around the globe'. This years Opening Film was 'Dear Evan Hansen' - the American coming-of-age musical teen drama film Directed by Stephen Chbosky, with the Closing Night film being 'One Second' - the Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yimou. 

The Gala Presentations section saw fifteen films in contention for the Peoples Choice Award. Those films and the winner, are as detailed below :-

* 'Belfast' - is British and Irish co-produced black-and-white coming of age drama film Written and Directed by Kenneth Branagh. It stars Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds, Colin Morgan, and newcomer Jude Hill. The film, which Branagh has described as his 'most personal film', centres on a young boy's childhood amid the tumult of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960's. The film won the Peoples Choice Award. 

* 'Bergman Island' - this internationally co-produced drama film, is Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Love. It stars Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, Mia Wasikowska and Anders Danielsen Lie.

* 'Dear Evan Hansen' - is an American coming-of-age musical teen drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky. The film's ensemble cast also includes Ben Platt in the title role, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever and Amandla Stenberg. World Premier screening.

* 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' - is a US and UK produced biographical film Co-Written and Directed by Will Sharpe. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones, Nick Cave, Taika Waititi, Richard Ayoade and Olivia Colman as the Narrator. 

* 'The Forgiven' - is a US and UK produced drama film Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by John Michael McDonagh. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Christopher Abbott, Abbey Lee, Alex Jennings and Caleb Landry Jones. World Premier screening.

* 'The Good House' - is an American comedy-drama film Directed by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky, who also co-wrote the Screenplay. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney and Beverly D'Angelo. World Premier screening.

* 'Jagged' - is an American documentary film Directed and Co-Produced by Alison Klayman and surrounds the life and career of musician Alanis Morissette centering on the release of her 1995 album 'Jagged Little Pill'. World Premier screening.

* 'Lakewood' - is a US and Canadian produced drama film Directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Naomi Watts. World Premier screening.

* 'Last Night in Soho' - is a British psychological horror film Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written based on a story by Edgar Wright. It stars Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Margaret Nolan and Rita Tushingham. 

* 'The Mad Women's Ball' - from France and Directed, Co-Written for the screen and starring Melanie Laurent. World Premier screening.

* 'Night Raiders' - is a Canadian and New Zealand science fiction apocalyptic film Written and Directed by Danis Goulet. The film stars Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, Brooklyn Letexier-Hart, Alex Tarrant, Amanda Plummer and Violet Nelson.

* 'One Second' - is a Chinese drama film Directed and Written by Zhang Yimou, and stars Zhang Yi and Fan Wei. 
* 'Silent Night' - this British and American comedy film is Written and Directed by Camille Griffin and stars Keira Knightley, Roman Griffin Davis, Matthew Goode, Annabelle Wallis and Lily-Rose Depp. World Premier screening.

* 'The Survivor' - this American biographical drama film is Directed and Co-Produced by Barry Levinson, and stars Ben Foster as Harry Haft, a real-life survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. Billy Magnussen, Danny DeVito, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Leguizamo co-star. World Premiere screening.

* 'The Worst Person in the World' - this Norwegian dark romantic comedy-drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Joachim Trier, and stars Anders Danielsen Lie and Renate Reinsve. 

The other winners included :- 

* Peoples Choice Award First Runner Up awarded to 'Scarborough' shown in the 'Discovery' section and is a Canadian drama film, Directed by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson.

* Peoples Choice Second Runner Up awarded to 'The Power of the Dog' shown in the Special Presentations section and this internationally co-produced drama film is Written and Directed by Jane Campion, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Keith Carradine, and Frances Conroy.

The festival presented the TIFF Tribute Awards, which were introduced in 2019 to honour Actors and filmmakers for distinguished achievements over the course of their careers. The first two honourees announced were the native American Canadian film maker and activist Alanis Obomsawin as the recipient of the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media and Denis Villeneuve as the winner of the Ebert Director Award. Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch were subsequently announced as the recipients of the Actor Awards. Dionne Warwick received the special tribute award, and filmmaker Danis Goulet was named the recipient of the Emerging Talent Award.

For the other awards and film sections from this years Toronto International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www. tiff.net

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another couple of weeks ending (at this stage) at the end of September, this means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. 

Turning attention back to this weeks new cinematic offerings coming to an Odeon near you, of which we have American, Danish, Italian, Belarusian and British films, we kick start with a true story of a small town, American working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the US to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay. This is followed by a Danish film about a soldier who goes home to his teenage daughter, after his wife dies in a tragic train crash, which at first appears to be an accident until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up. Then we turn to a story following a chance encounter with a man forgotten from his youth, this guy literally and metaphorically journeys into his past. Next up is an Italian film of how an accident forces a young woman and a man to come to a stop and try to reclaim their lives one minute at a time to start living in the present. We then have a Russian Belarusian film set during WWII where a young Jewish man pretends to be Iranian to avoid being executed in a German concentration camp; and closing out the week we have a concert documentary film featuring the mid-August 1996 gig at Knebworth Park when 250,000 young music fans converged to see Oasis play two record breaking, era defining shows.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new movies 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.

'JOE BELL' (Rated M) - is an American biographical drama road film Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green in only his second feature film outing following 2018's 'Monsters and Men' with John David Washington, with his third feature 'King Richard' with Will Smith playing the father, trainer and mentor to Serena and Venus Williams - his daughters, and due for release later this year. This film saw its World Premier screening at TIFF back in mid-September 2020 and was released in the US in late July this year having so far earned US$1.5M at the Box Office and mixed or average Reviews along the way. This film is Co-Produced by Mark Wahlberg and Cary Joji Fukunaga.

This films tells the intimate and emotional true story of an Oregonian father Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) who pays tribute to his gay teenage son Jadin (a breakout performance by Reid Miller), embarking on a self-reflective walk across America to speak his heart to heartland citizens about the real and terrifying costs of bullying. Also starring Connie Britton as Lola Bell (wife of Joe and mother to Jadin), Maxwell Jenkins as Joseph Bell (younger brother to Jadin) and Gary Sinise.

'RIDERS OF JUSTICE' (Rated MA15+) - this Danish action comedy film is Written and Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen whose previous feature film credits are 'Men & Chicken' in 2015, 'Adam's Apples' in 2005, 'The Green Butchers' in 2003 and 'Flickering Lights' in 2000, all starring Mads Mikkelsen who also leads the cast in this, his latest offering. Released in its native Denmark in mid-November last year, has taken US$8M off the back of a US$6.5M production budget and has garnered universal critical acclaim. The film follows recently-deployed soldier to Afghanistan Markus (Mads Mikkelsen), who is forced to return home to care for his teenage daughter after his wife is killed in a tragic train accident. But when a survivor of the wrecked train surfaces claiming foul play, Markus begins to suspect his wife was murdered and embarks on a revenge-fueled mission to find those responsible. Also starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Lars Brygmann, Nicolas Bro and Roland Moller.

'FLASHBACK' (Rated MA15+) - is a Canadian mystery thriller movie Written, Directed and Executive Produced by Christopher MacBride in only his second feature film offering after 2012's 'The Conspiracy'. The film saw its World Premier screening at Spain's Stiges Film Festival back in early October last year and was released in the US in early June to mostly mixed Reviews. Here then, Fredrick Fitzell (Dylan O'Brien) is living his best life, until that is, he starts having horrific visions of Cindy (Maika Monroe), a girl who vanished in high school. After reaching out to old friends with whom he used to take a mystery drug called Mercury, Fredrick realises the only way to stop the visions lies deep within his own memories, so he embarks on a terrifying mental odyssey to learn the truth. Also stars Hannah Gross and Emory Cohen.

'TIME IS UP' (Rated M) - this Italian romance film is Co-Written and Directed by Elisa Amoruso and tells the story of Vivien (Bella Thorne), a highly accomplished student, with a passion for physics and keen to get into a prestigious American university. She seems to live her own life as a mathematical formula that drives her to look at her own happiness as something to be postponed into the future. Roy (Benjamin Mascolo), by comparison, is a troubled and problematic young man who, due to a trauma suffered as a child, sees his desires continually hindered by a past that seems to constantly haunt him. But mathematics too has its variables and as often happens, life manages to weave events together in surprising and unexpected ways. When an accident forces Vivien and Roy to come to a stop and reclaim their lives, they finally learn to start living in a present that perhaps will prove to be more exciting than any predefined formula. 'Time Is Up 2' is already in pre-production apparently. 

'PERSIAN LESSONS' (Rated M) - this Russian and Belarusian drama film is Directed and Co-Produced by Vadim Perelman whose film making debut came with the multi-award winning and nominated 'House of Sand and Fog' in 2003 with Jennifer Connolly and Ben Kingsley, which he then followed up with 'The Life Before Her Eyes' in 2007 with Uma Thurman and Oscar Isaac and 'Buy Me' in 2018. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Berlin International Film Festival in late February 2020 before its release in China in mid-March of this year. It was selected as the Belarusian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the Oscar Ceremony earlier this year but was disqualified by the Academy, due to the majority of individuals involved in making the film not coming from Belarus. In 1942, in a German concentration camp, Gilles (Nahuel Perez Biscayart), a young Belgian man, narrowly avoids execution by swearing to the SS guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but then Gilles is assigned a seemingly untenable task to teach Farsi to Koch (Lars Eidinger), the officer in charge of the camp’s kitchen, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Gilles finds himself having to invent a language he doesn’t know, word by word. As the unusual relationship between the two men begins to incite jealousy and suspicion, Gilles becomes acutely aware that one false move could expose his swindle. 

'OASIS KNEBWORTH 1996' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Jake Scott (son of Ridley Scott) whose previous feature film credits take in 'Plunkett & & Macleane' with Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller, in 1999, 'Welcome to the Rileys' in 2010 with James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart and 'American Woman' in 2018 with Sienna Miller and Sky Ferreira plus a whole bunch of music videos for bands and artists including R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Radiohead, U2, The Strokes, George Michael, Lily Allen and the Rolling Stones amongst others. Here he Directs this documentary concert film staged on August 10th & 11th 1996, when 250,000 young music fans converged on Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire, England to see Oasis play two record breaking, era defining shows. The ear defining concerts sold out in under a day with over 2% of the UK population attempting to buy tickets. Featuring a setlist packed from beginning to end with classics, including 'Champagne Supernova', 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back In Anger', the Knebworth concerts were both the pinnacle of the band's success and the landmark gathering for a generation of concertgoers. 'Oasis Knebworth 1996' is the story of that weekend and the special relationship between Oasis and their fans that made it all possible. It is told through the eyes of the fans who were there, with additional interviews with the band and concert organisers and featuring exclusive never-before seen footage.

With six new release films 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 in the coming week, at your local Odeon, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-