What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 10th March 2016.

With the 2015 film award season now well & truly done and the dust having settled on the recent Academy Awards and the BAFTA's and the Golden Globes before that, it is perhaps time to take a reflective look back at the top films of last year, and how they fared individually on both a critical and commercial level. So, in no particular order, here are the Top 12 films of last year if award wins, nominations and Box Office haul are anything to go by :

• THE REVENANT : 65 award wins | 135 nominations | 3 x Oscars, 5 x BAFTA's, 1 x SAG, 3 x Golden Globes and 1 x AACTA | US$430M Box Office | US$135M Budget
• THE BIG SHORT : 31 award wins | 66 nominations | 1 x Oscar and 1 x BAFTA | US127M Box Office | US$28M Budget
• THE MARTIAN : 30 award wins | 147 nominations | 2 x Golden Globes | US$627M Box Office | US$108M Budget
• THE HATEFUL EIGHT : 27 award wins | 86 nominations | 1 x Oscar, 1 x BAFTA and 1 x Golden Globe | US$146M Box Office | US$44M Budget
• THE DANISH GIRL : 26 award wins | 62 nominations | 1 x Oscar and 1 x SAG | US$54M Box Office | US$15M Budget
• SPOTLIGHT : 107 award wins | 112 nominations | 2 x Oscars, 1 x BAFTA, 1 x SAG  and 1 x AACTA | US$64M Box Office | US$20M Budget
• ROOM : 76 award wins | 115 nominations | 1 x Oscar, 1 x BAFTA, 1 x SAG and 1 x Golden Globe | US$24M Box Office | US$6M Budget
• BROOKLYN : 28 award wins | 126 nominations | 1 x BAFTA | US$53M Box Office | US$11M Budget
• CAROL : 56 award wins | 193 nominations | 2 x AACTA's | US$36M Box Office | US$12M Budget
• BRIDGE OF SPIES : 23 award wins | 73 nominations | 1 x Oscar, 1 x BAFTA and 1 x AACTA | US$165M Box Office | US$40M Budget
• MAD MAX : FURY ROAD : 170 award wins | 155 nominations | 6 x Oscars, 4 x BAFTA's, 1 x SAG and 10 x AACTA's | US$378M Box Office | US$150M Budget
• STAR WARS : THE FORCE AWAKENS : 17 award wins | 53 nominations | 1 x BAFTA | US$2.05B Box Office | US$200M Budget

This just goes to show that critical acclaim and award wins does not always equate to Box Office success and bums and seats, and neither is the opposite true. Only you as the paying cinema goer can make that determination. 

And so with that in mind, what of this weeks latest release films. First up we have two brothers separated in early childhood and individually put up for adoption only to be reunited thirty years later with potentially world shattering consequences - it's gonna be a laugh a minute! Also new this week is a horror thriller centered around a trio of survivalists in an underground bunker living in fear of what lurks above the ground, until one of them hatches a plan to escape! The  we have a doco drama recounting the recent Olympic adventures of an Aussie aerial skier and her determination to go where no woman has gone before; and closing out the week there is a German film about a Spanish girl, four young men, a bank job, a getaway car all caught in a single tracking shot!

With four new and four very different films to choose from this week, and a whole heap of other great cinema content still out on general release, there is no excuse not to get yourself in front of a big screen. When you have done so, share your thoughts and opinions with your like minded fellow readers here at Odeon Online and leave a Comment below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you! In the meantime, enjoy your movie!

GRIMSBY (Rated MA15+) - aka 'The Brothers Grimsby' Stateside, was Written, Produced and stars Sacha Baron Cohen and is Directed by Louis Leterrier, and judging by the shorts I have seen of this film has SBC's gutter humour of his previous outings, although perhaps just a little more plot substance this time around. Released in the UK on 24th February, 'Grimsby' gets its Australian and US release on the same day, and so far critics have only had average things to say about this comedy action film, so I guess it is just as well that it has a running time of just 83 minutes!

The film tells the story of two brothers separated at birth and both consequently being forced into very different directions in life. Norman 'Nobby' Butcher (Sacha Baron Cohen) lives in the large seaport town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England and is a bona fide beer swilling football hooligan, father of eleven, and the elder brother of Sebastian (Mark Strong) - one of the best MI6 agents and assassins in the business. Since their separation and subsequent adoption by two different families Nobby has spent close to thirty years tracking down his younger sibling. Upon learning of his whereabouts, Nobby tracks down Sebastian unaware that his young brother is an MI6 agent, and that he has also just uncovered a plot that puts the world in grave danger. When Sebastian has to go on the run and deep undercover having been wrongly accused, he comes to realise too that to save the world he needs to enlist the support of his hapless older brother, with what I'm sure will be dire consequences for everyone concerned . . . and the world as we know it! Also starring Rebel Wilson, Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE (Rated M) - if you are thinking this is the follow up to 2008's found footage film 'Cloverfield' then you are mistaken, although also Produced by J.J.Abrams and 'Bad Robot Productions' he says that this is a 'blood relative' and a 'spiritual successor' to that earlier film but certainly not a sequel. In his Directorial debut, Dan Trachtenberg, shot this for about US$5M only, and stars a very limited cast that consists John Goodman as Howard Stambler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle and John Gallagher Jnr. as Emmet - three people living in an underground bunker which is where the majority of the film takes place. Michelle does not know how she wound up there although knows she survived a car accident, and believes she may have been abducted by a survivalist and that the world underwent a chemical attack rendering the outside environment uninhabitable. She doesn't know what to believe, but plans her escape to discover what truth really lies above the surface despite the unknown dangers she may face.

THE WILL TO FLY (Rated G) - made for just US$1M and Produced and Directed by Katie Bender and with Leo Baker as Director and Cinematographer this tells the true story of Australian Lydia Lassila who as a young gymnast had her sights set on the Olympics. But, struck by injuries and missed opportunities that chance was missed, however, aerial skiing gave her another stab at her Olympic dream, and so through her own courage, determination and overcoming adversity she came back to win the 2010 Winter Olympics with a world beating score that still holds today. Fuelled by her success she was determined to reach still greater heights and so returned to the 2014 Winter Olympics to perform the most complex aerial acrobatic manoeuvre usually only the domain of her male counterparts - the quadruple twisting triple somersault. An inspirational story of determination, vision and strength from a four time Olympian who never gave up on her dream.

VICTORIA (Rated MA15+) - Directed, Produced and Written by Sebastian Schipper, this German production has garnered much international acclaim and awards including at the  65th International Berlin Film Festival where it took out the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution in Cinematography. Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this film is that it was filmed in one continuous tracking shot although it took three attempts to do so. With a script that was just twelve pages long, a cast of largely unknowns, and dialogue (much of it improvised) that is realistic as any likely to be seen on film this year. The story surrounds Victoria (Laia Costa) a young Spanish girl who has recently moved to Berlin. After partying all night until 4:00am she meets up with four young guys - Sonne, Boxer, Blinker and Fuss who ask her if she wants to join them as they hit the town, she agrees, but little does she know the plans the men have for a bank robbery and for her to the the getaway driver. Whilst denied entry to the most recent Academy Awards for the Foreign Language Film category because of its high percentage of English dialogue, this film could already be the best foreign language offering of the year for a whole multitude of reasons.

Four films new this week and plenty more still out there on general release to tempt you to your local movie house. Share your views, keep the movies alive and I'll see you at the Odeon sometime in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HUGO : archive from 23rd January 2012.

Saw 'HUGO' tonite at my local multiplex. Martin Scorsese's first family film and he has created a layered, beautiful, rich, rewarding film that easily ranks up there with his earlier master works 'Goodfellas', 'Casino', 'The Departed' and 'Taxi Driver' but for very different reasons.

A great cast including child actors Asa Butterfield in the lead role at Hugo Cabret and Chloe Grace Moretz as his young friend Isabelle ably supported by Ben Kingsley in the role as the historically cinema significant Georges Melies, Jude Law as Hugo's father, Sacha Baron Cohen as Gustave, the Train Station Inspector, and various other names including Christopher Lee, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths and Ray Winstone.

Set in the 1930's Paris we see the young orphaned Hugo living in the train station  maintaining the clocks to ensure they run on time and are kept in good working order - a kills he learned from his mechanically minded father and uncle. He leads his live in secret, living in the tunnels and passageways that wind their way through the labyrinth that is the busy Gare Montparnasse train station. The one thing that connects Hugo with his dead father (Law) is the automaton that his father began work on but never completed. Over the years Hugo has salvaged the necessary parts to almost complete the task but the one piece needed to bring it back to life is still missing and it's crucial whereabouts remain unknown - the heart-shaped key to restore (mechanical) life.

Working in the train station is an old toy marker, George Melies (Kingsley) who runs a small shop, and who Hugo has a brush with resulting in him being introduced to his god-daugher Isabelle (Grace Moretz). What follows is a series of coincidences that sees Melies contribution to modern cinema finally realised after almost 30 years, the heart-shaped key located and the automaton beautifully restored to 'life', the discovery of who really invented the automaton, and a wonderfully realised final set-piece that (almost) restores faith in humanity.

This film is Scorsese's nod to the early history of cinema focusing on Georges Melies enormous contribution to the craft bound together by early friendships, a Paris train station, machines, magic, tragedy & loss. The opening tracking shot is stunning and captures you from the get-go, and from this point on we are on a beautifully realised joy ride that will surprise and delight with every frame.

Oscar worthy for sure and this will not disappoint. At a cost of about US$160M to bring to the screen, this just about recovered it's budget with a haul of US$186M. At the awards ceremonies though for that year it garnered five Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction, as well as five other nominations including Best Direction for Martin Scorsese, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also picked up the Best Director Award at the Golden Globes and two other nominations, and at the BAFTA's is picked up Best Production Design and Best Sound Awards and eight other nominations. All up 'Hugo' collected 62 award wins globally and a further 138 nominations.

Fantastic film making proving Scorsese is a master story teller at the top of his game, and for me it was one of the top films of the year. At the time my recommendation was to catch this on the big screen, but you'll now have to make do with the biggest small screen you can find at home and watch it on DVD/Bluray.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-