What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 13th July 2017.

Over the last couple of weeks I have shared with you some of the more notable film titles coming our way on a week by week basis over the latter half of 2017. Here in this closing feature segment, I offer you the Best of the Rest of those other movies that just might make their mark critically, commercially or even both, and which might warrant a visit to your local multiplex if you feel so inclined.
* 03rd August : 'Atomic Blonde' - Directed by David Leitch and starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan and Sofia Boutella about an undercover MI6 Agent sent to Cold War Berlin to track down a list of double agents being smuggled into the west.
* 17th August : 'Logan Lucky' - Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Seth McFarlane, Sebastian Stan, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes and Katherine Waterston in this NASCAR heist dramedy on the Charlotte Motor Speedway just before the biggest race of the year - The Coca Cola 600.
* 24th August : 'The Lost City of Z' - Directed by James Gray and starring Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller about the real life drama surrounding British explorer Colonel Percival Fawcett who disappeared while searching for a mysterious and mythical Amazonian city during the 1920's.
* 7th September : 'The Dinner' - Directed by Oren Overman and starring Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Chloe Sevigny about two struggling families who come together over the course of a dinner that reveals certain family secrets resulting in decisions made that will be the hardest of their lives.
* 14th September : 'Victoria and Abdul' - Directed by Stephen Frears and starring Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, and Simon Callow about an unlikely friendship that develops between Queen Victoria and a young Indian clerk.
* 12th October : 'Mother' - Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Domhnall Gleeson, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in this drama about a couples relationship being tested when uninvited guests arrive at the home disrupting their otherwise tranquil lifestyle.
* 19th October : 'Geostorm' - Directed by Dean Devlin and starring Gerard Butler, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia, Jim Sturgees and Abbie Cornish in this end of the world catastrophic event that only one man can prevent by being sent into outer space.
* 26th October : 'American Pastoral' - Directed by Ewan McGregor and starring Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connolly, David Strathairn, Rupert Evans and Dakota Fanning about how a successful businessman's happy contented life starts to unravel when he learns that his teenage daughter has become radicalised in reaction to the Vietnam War.
* 02nd November : 'Jigsaw' or 'Saw : Legacy' - Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig and starring Tobin Bell, Laura Vendervoort, Matt Passmore, and Mandela Van Peebles in the eighth instalment in this hugely successful horror franchise that continues a decade after the death of Jigsaw.
* 09th November : 'Detroit' - Directed by Katherine Bigelow and starring John Boyega, Will Poulter, Anthony Mackie and Jack Reynor set against the backdrop of the 1967 Detroit riots.
* 30th November : 'Granite Mountain' - Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connolly and Andie MacDowell about the true story of the 2013 Yarnell Fire in Arizona and how an elite crew of fire fighters lost 19 of their own during this intense and relentless blaze.
* 26th December : 'Breathe' - Directed by Andy Serkis and starring Claire Foy, Andrew Garfield and Hugh Bonneville in this real life drama about a handsome, adventurous and brilliant young man whose life is turned upside down and inside out when he contracts polio and is paralysed, and how his devoted, determined wife helps him to transcend his disability ultimately helping others.
* 26th December : 'Jumanji : Welcome to the Jungle' - Directed by Jake Kasdan and starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan in this continuation of the 1995 film that sees four young teenagers get sucked into a video game version of the board game and in an alternative place and time they become avatars of themselves needing to thwart dangers and misadventure along the way in order to complete the game and get back to whence they came.
* 26th December : 'Downsizing' - Directed by Alexander Payne and starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Alec Baldwin, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig in this social satire about a man who realises that his life would be so much more simple if he were to shrink himself.

This week then there are four very adult offerings from which to choose your movie outing this week ranging from historical drama with the backdrop of the American Civil War when a small group of southern sophisticated ladies take in an injured Union soldier; to a high speed heist drama with a young getaway driver of repute, fuelled by a cracking soundtrack; to a hi-tech thriller when a new recruit is taken under the wing of the company's founder only to learn that there is more at stake than she bargained for; to a modern ghost story that is light on chills and thrills but heavy on emotion and our reason for being.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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 most 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 in the meantime, enjoy your cinematic experience in the coming week.

'THE BEGUILED' (Rated M) - this reinterpretation, remake, reimagining (call it what you will) of the 1971 film of the same name this time Directed, Co-Produced and Written for the screen by Sofia Coppola, is based on the 1966 Southern Gothic novel written by Thomas P. Cullinan, originally titled 'A Painted Devil'. That 1971 feature was Directed and Produced by Don Siegal and starred Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page in the two lead roles. That film was also one of five cinematic collaborations between Siegel and Eastwood that began with 'Coogan's Bluff' in 1968 and continued with 'Two Mules for Sister Sara' in 1970, and then 'Dirty Harry' in 1971 and 'Escape from Alcatraz' in 1979. The earlier offering was generally well received by Critics but fared unfavourably at the Box Office because for the time the Studio behind the Production, Universal, were unsure how to market a film with Eastwood playing against type.

And so to this 2017 offering which Premiered in official competition for the Palme d'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival. Coppola was awarded Best Director, making her only the second female Director in the history of the Festival to win the coveted award and the first female in 56 years to do so. Starring Colin Farrell as injured and on the run deserter from the Union Army, Corporal John McBurney, who winds up in the care of Miss Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) who runs a select girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War aided by the only teacher, Edwina Morrow (Kirsten Dunst) and five students played by Elle Fanning, Angourie Rice, Oona Laurence, Emma Howard and Addison Riecke. All the other staff, students and slaves have fled for fear on the impact of War. The students and two staff at the school seem more than willing and able to aid the injured Corporal, even concealing him from Confederate soldiers who arrive at the premises. Fairly soon, the sexual tension that grows between McBurney and the women lead to tense rivalries as they tend to his wounded leg and allow him to convalesce while offering him comfort, companionship and an unexpected turn of events. The film cost US$10M to make and has so far grossed just over US$8M from its fairly limited release.

'BABY DRIVER' (Rated MA15+) - and so this action thriller getaway driver heist offering comes to us with its pedal pushed firmly to the metal. Directed and Written by Edgar Wright whose previous Directing and Writing credits take in 'The Three Flavours Cornetto' trilogy with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Hot Fuzz', and 'The World's End' and hot on the heels of his aborted 'Ant-Man' for Marvel Studios which ended up being taken over by Peyton Reed due to creative differences. In his first non-comedic big screen offering, and in film that has been in gestation for over twenty years, Wright has here crafted a stylish musical action heist thriller that features thirty classic music tracks with which our lead character of Baby (Ansel Elgort) the young talented Atlanta getaway driver, listens to in order to drown out the 'hum in his drum' of the severe tinnitus as a result of a motor vehicle accident that he was involved in as a young lad, and that killed both his parents. Now at age 22, and needing to pay off a debt, he works as the preferred getaway driver of choice to criminal kingpin Doc (Kevin Spacey) who uses a different team each time to rob some bank, credit union or post office. Having paid of his debt to Doc, he is coerced into doing another job which ultimately puts his life, his love and his freedom in danger, as that one last job goes horribly wrong for all involved. Also starring Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Lily James and Eliza Gonzales this film has largely received positive Reviews and has so far recovered US$73M from its US$34M budget since its release in the UK and the US at the end of June.

'THE CIRCLE' (Rated M) - this techno-thriller is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by James Ponsoldt, in collaboration with Dave Eggers, the author of the 2013 book of the same name upon which this film is based. Made for US$18M and Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in April this year, the film has so far grossed US$30M since its US release at the end of April and has garnered generally negative press. Here Mae Holland (Emma Watson) gets the chance of a lifetime to join the world most powerful social media and technology giant 'The Circle', headed up by Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks). Encouraged to join a groundbreaking experiment by Bailey that pushes Holland to the extremes of the consumers rights to privacy, ethical conduct and personal freedom, she soon begins to realise that the decisions she makes has a lasting impact upon her family, her friends and indeed potentially the whole of humanity. Also starring John Boyega, Ellar Coltrane, Karen Gillan, and the late Bill Paxton and Glenne Headley.

'A GHOST STORY' (Rated M) - is a supernatural drama film Written and Directed by David Lowery, shot on a micro budget and in secret with a large portion of the film being set within a single house, which was chosen by the Director because it closely resembled the first house he lived in with his wife. The house was scheduled for demolition and so the film crew were allowed to use it for free. Furthermore, it was reported that the project was shot in secret as they did not know how the final product would turn out. The film Premiered at this years Sundance Film Festival, had its Australian Premier at the recent Sydney Film Festival on 13th June, and now goes on general release this week in Australia one week behind its US release last week. Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara play happily married couple 'C' and 'M' respectively living in their small Texan suburban home. One day C is killed outside his home in a car accident. At the morgue, C awakens as a ghost covered in a white sheet with two large black holes for eyes. As a spectral entity C returns to his former home to comfort his wife in her time of grieving, only to come to the realisation that he has become unstuck in time and is only able to watch passively as the life and love he once knew gradually slide away. What unfolds as time marches on and as other families come and go through his former home, is a metaphor for love, loss, grief, the passage of time and the enormity of our existence in this haunting, thought provoking and definitely unscary film.

With four films this week all covering differing genres - historical American Civil War drama to burning rubber pedal to the metal crime drama to hi-tech thriller to a somewhat unique ghost story there are plenty of reasons to get out amongst it at your local multiplex or independent theatre. Remember to share your thoughts afterwards with your like minded cinephiles here at Odeon Online, and in the meantime, I'll see you somewhere sometime in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

LION : Tuesday 24th JANUARY 2017.

'LION' which I caught earlier this week is a drama film Directed by first timer Garth Davis and is based on the autobiographical book 'A Long Way Home' by Saroo Brierley and tells the story of his life as played out by Sunny Pawar as the young Saroo back home in India, and Dev Patel as the older Saroo at home in Australia. Already highly acclaimed by critics the world over, the film was made for just US$12M and has so far grossed US$28M plus twenty-two award wins and a further 67 nominations including the yet to be announced winners for this years BAFTA's for which it has five nominations as well as this years Academy Award nods for which it has six including Best Film and Best Supporting Actor/Actress nods for Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman respectively. After premiering at TIFF in early September, the film went on a limited release in the US in late November before its wider release from January onward.

The story here starts with brothers Saroo (Sunny Pawar) and his older brother Guddu (Abhisek  Bharate) in 1987 stealing coal from a moving train, so that they can purchase farm fresh milk from the local market to take home to their mother and young sister. It's all pretty innocent stuff and the two boys are the closest of siblings - looking out for each other, larking around and getting in and out of mischief. There is a genuine love for each other that is warmly displayed by the two young child Actors here, but most notably by the five year old Sunny Pawar who has a screen presence to behold, and you can't help but be captivated by his every move.

When Guddu wakes one night to go to work in a neighbouring village Saroo pleads with him to allow him to go along, showing off his strength and manual lifting prowess. Against his mothers wishes Guddu relents and the two disappear into the night. They arrive at a train station where Guddu orders Saroo to remain on a bench until he returns with orders for work. Saroo is fighting to stay awake and dozes off. Sometime later, Saroo wakes and it is still dark but there is no sign of his brother. He calls after Guddu repeatedly and marches up and down the platform and the tracks searching for his older brother but to no avail. He climbs onto a train and promptly falls asleep in a deserted carriage. He wakes later and the empty train is travelling at speed through unfamiliar territory. And so the train keeps travelling for 1,600kms with little Saroo its only passenger, eventually coming to a halt in far away Calcutta.

Saroo gets off the train hungry, thirsty and a long way from home, but still he calls out for Guddu and his Mum, not comprehending the enormity of the distance he has travelled or where he is. He cannot even speak the local dialect (Bengali) because he speaks Hindi. He is however, quick to adapt to his surroundings and proves to be quite resourceful, ever confident that he will someday be reunited with his Mum and his his brother, and how they too will be eagerly searching for him. Along the way over the several months that pass Saroo narrowly escapes being abducted, and then falling into the hands of a kindly gentleman who is not all who he seems. He eventually is handed over to the Police who after questioning place him into the hands of an orphanage where he remains being fed, watered and reasonably well cared for over several more months.

One day, the time comes when he is given the news that he has been adopted by an Australian family living in Tasmania - Sue and John Brierley (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham respectively). This is backed up by the news that the local authorities have searched in vain for his Mother, so far as posting photo's of young Saroo in the newspaper that has a readership of fifteen million. Later, we see Saroo board the plane with his carer, arrive in Hobart and receive a warm welcome by his new adoptive Mum and Dad. Saroo adapts well to his new family, and the three of them bond beyond anyone's expectations. A year or so later Sue and John adopt another young Indian lad, Mantosh, (Keshav Jadhav) who settles in less well to his new surroundings and rebels by self-harming.

Fast track two decades and Saroo is a grown adult living at home with his Mum and Dad and has plans for his life, while Mantosh has rebelled against the establishment and lives in a hut somewhere in Hobart's forest hinterland. Saroo is about to leave for Melbourne University where he is to study Hospitality Management with designs on owning his own hotel one day. Once in Melbourne he quickly befriends a number of Indian students and American girl Lucy (Rooney Mara). One evening over dinner at a student house, Saroo remembers a certain food from his childhood that is served, and in turn he confides in the group that he was adopted at a very young age and whilst he has a strong desire to trace back his family, he has scant memories and wouldn't know where to start. One of the students suggests that Saroo should use the new Google Earth application to search out his family and where he hailed from. It is 2008.

Meanwhile, Saroo and Lucy fall for each other, but as time progresses and Saroo's search draws nothing but blanks, so he retreats further inside himself at the expense of his relationship with Lucy. He breaks off his relationship, and in the meantime has said nothing to his parents Sue and John about his search for his birth mother, for fear that they will be offended, and that he would appear to them to be ungrateful. Sensing that Saroo is so pre-occupied and has distanced himself from his family, causes Sue to fall into a prolonged state of ill health. Later on Saroo visits his parents and in a touching moment he expresses his sorrow at Sue's inability to bear children. Unknown to him however, Sue was not infertile as Saroo had believed, but she and John all along chose to help other less fortunate children through adoption, rather than bolstering the worlds burgeoning population further.

By now several years have passed by since Saroo started his search on Google Earth. His room is adorned with maps of India, train timetables from the time, notes and random scribblings that his vague memories have revealed. One evening while feeling frustrated and helpless, he randomly scrolls though the Indian landscape on Google Earth, and notices a formation of rocks that held a familiarity to the place his mother worked. He narrows down the search zooming in on the landscape from above and discovers the place where he lived - a town called Khandwa, with the specific area known as Ganesh Talai. He reveals to his parents that he has found the location of his town and in his head he can retrace the steps exactly to his former home. He tells Lucy too, asking for her to wait for him to return. He boards a flight bound for India to complete the final leg of his 25 year search.

By now it is 2012, and Saroo arrives in Khandwa and sure enough is able to retrace those steps he took many many times as a young lad all those years ago. But his former family home is now a run down stable for goats and sundry livestock. Disheartened he comes across an English speaking local who understands him and beckons him to follow. Out onto the street he follows and is greeted by a procession of colourful Sari wearing women of all ages. At the front is Saroo's birth mother, Kamla Munshi (Priyanka Bose) and his sister. Their re-connection after all this time is emotional to say the least. A crowd gathers round and cheer as the three embrace, knowing that Kamla never gave up hope that her son would one day return.

In the closing sequence we see real footage of the Brierly's visiting Kamla in Khandwa in 2013. We also learn that Saroo had been mispronouncing his name his entire life, and that in fact it is 'Sheru' - a derivative Hindi word for 'Lion'.

This really is a remarkable true story that avoids all the talking heads and voiceovers you might expect from such a production. It is a simple story told with a deft touch by this first time Director, underpinned by strong, grounded and believable performances from its cast - not the least being young Sunny Pawar who is the standout here caught between two very different worlds. But credit where it's due too to Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman for their performances also that keep it real and emotional. The second half labours in places, but this is only a minor criticism - after all, just how interesting can you make someone else relentless Google Earth search? Take a box of tissues for this uplifting weepie tale of loss, hope, belonging and identity. You won't be disappointed!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO : archive from 13th January 2012.

I saw 'THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO' last night on opening night. From the very impressive opening titles sequence you know this is Hollywood and David Fincher all over. You would have to wonder why though would Fincher retell this story just two years after the European original came out Directed by Niels Arden Oplev making Noomi Rapace almost a household name and propelling her career ever northward - together with that of Michael Nyqvist too it must be said. In their respective performances as Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomkvist respectively, they made their roles their own well and truly, but the three originals combined made just US$215M whereas Fincher's alone made US$232M . . . I guess that's why in the final analysis, and proof positive for the studio that backed it!

It must be said that Fincher has done a good job at retelling this blockbuster story again with Daniel Craig passing in a solid performance as Blomkvist (and as far removed from Bond as you could possibly get) and Rooney Mara as Salander playing it more youthful especially early on when she is having all manner of shit thrown at her, but when retribution comes knockin' she is confident, astute, brutal and very much a woman in control of her emotions.

There is a strong support cast here too (which would account for the US$90M budget) including Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger - the man who hires Blomqvist to investigate the disappearance 40 years ago of his young niece whilst not discounting the "thieves, misers, bullies - the most detestable collection of people you will ever meet . . . my family"! There is Stellan Skarsgard as Martin Vanger, Joely Richardson as Anita Vanger, Robin Wright as Erika Berger, Steven Berkoff, Goran Visnjic and Geraldine James amongst others all adding weight to the supporting cast.

You know the story and quite possibly have seen it before in the earlier rendition of this Stieg Larson's highly acclaimed first book in this 'Millennium' series. As such there are no surprises here, but it is well shot, well executed and moves along just fine - and, we know that David Fincher has a strong pedigree for hard nosed thrillers of this type

A strong cast backs up the story well but I did feel that Noomi Rapace made Salander her own and was edgier, grittier, and more determined than Mara proved to be, although she settles in well as the tattooed new age punk cyber hacker as the film progresses. This film won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Film Editing and was nominated in the Best Actress in a Leading Role, Cinematography, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing categories. It also picked up two Golden Globe nominations and two BAFTA nominations with a total haul of 29 award wins and 67 other nominations.

Certainly well worth your ticket price, but Fincher just fails to pull anything different out of the bag in a story that has already been very well executed and you know what's coming. I'm still left asking 'why'? You be the judge!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-