SPRINGSTEEN : DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE : Tuesday 28th October 2025

I saw the M Rated 'SPRINGSTEEN : DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE' this week, and this American biographical musical drama film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Cooper who made his Directorial debut with the critically acclaimed 'Crazy Heart' in 2009 and would go on to Direct 'Out of the Furnace' in 2013, 'Black Mass' in 2015, 'Hostiles' in 2017, 'Antlers' in 2021 and 'The Pale Blue Eye' in 2022. This film is based on the 2023 book 'Deliver Me from Nowhere' by Warren Zanes. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August with its US and Australian release last week. It has received mixed reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$18M from a production budget of US$55M.

The film opens in 1957 with a young Bruce Springsteen (Matthew Anthony Pellicano) driving in his family car with his mother Adele (Gaby Hoffman) to a local bar, where Bruce is told to go inside and get his father Douglas (Stephen Graham) to come home. He gingerly taps his father, sitting at the bar, on his back and tells him its time to come home. Douglas turns around and tells him to go and wait outside. Fast forward to 1981 and Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) reaches the end of his latest sold-out concert tour. Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), his manager and record producer, rents a house for Bruce to lay low from his growing fame, near Freehold, New Jersey where he grew up. 

Bruce's friend and mechanic Matt Delia (Harrison Gilbertson) drives him to the house in Colts Neck, New Jersey and Bruce buys his first new car - a Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Playing with local bands at the Stone Pony (a live music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey), he meets Faye Romano (Odessa Young), an old classmate's younger sister. On the heels of his first top-ten song, 'Hungry Heart', his record label has high expectations of another hit album, and Bruce suggests trimming studio costs, which he had hitherto funded largely himself, by preparing a demo himself. 

Locked away in his retreat at Colts Neck he reads the works of Flannery O'Connor (an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist), Bruce catches the 1973 Terrence Malick Directed film 'Badlands' on TV with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek, and is drawn to research the crime spree of Charles Starkweather who killed eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming between late 1957 and early 1958. Inspired, he writes a song in the killer's own voice, and later takes Faye on a first date to Asbury Park.

At the house, Bruce enlists the support of his guitar technician Mike Batlan (Paul Walter Hauser) to turn the bedroom into a makeshift studio, with a four-track recorder to arrange the demo themselves. As Bruce's relationship with Faye grows, he writes a collection of stark, somber songs with a blue-collar viewpoint, influenced by his childhood memories, especially of his father with whom he had a complicated and less that ideal relationship. Jon informs Bruce of other opportunities piling up, including a possible movie role written by Paul Schrader and set to star Robert De Niro called 'Born in the U.S.A.' but Bruce is committed to his new music. Recording his new tracks unaccompanied, he makes the risky choice to embrace an imperfect, unvarnished sound quality.

Later, Mike personally delivers to Jon the only copy of the completed demo, a single cassette tape, and Jon confides in his wife about the unexpectedly darker and very personal sounding songs. Now living in California, Adele calls Bruce for help with an increasingly erratic Douglas, who has been fired from his job and is off his medications. After visiting his father, Bruce arrives in New York City to record the new album, reuniting with the E Street Band. They lay down several successful tracks, including 'Born in the U.S.A.' which he wrote for the soundtrack to his abandoned movie offer, but Bruce is unhappy with the overall full-band studio sound of the record.

Following another two weeks of recording and Bruce is still not satisfied with his acoustic vision for the album. Abandoning Faye, he insists on shelving the potential hits ('Born in the U.S.A.', 'Glory Days' and 'I'm On Fire') until he is satisfied. Jon agrees to use Bruce's raw demo, unchanged, as the new record, suspecting Bruce fears losing himself in the face of success. Using older equipment to recreate the demo tape as a vinyl master recording, Bruce's original sound is successfully preserved for the new album, 'Nebraska'.

Columbia Record Executive Al Teller (David Krumholtz) is dismayed by this new stylistic approach, and the absence of any prospective hit singles, but Jon defends Bruce's artistic vision and decision to let the album speak for itself, with no singles, tours, or press appearances, not even his face on the cover to promote the album. Bruce tells Faye that he is moving to California alone, and that he has purchased a house in Los Angeles. She tearfully accuses him of refusing to face his fears. He suffers a mental breakdown as Matt drives him across the country, but they reach his new home in LA. Thinking about suicide, Bruce reaches out to Jon, who urges him to seek professional help, and Bruce visits a therapist and breaks down emotionally.

Ten months later, Bruce is back on tour with Jon's support, and is visited by his proud parents. Douglas asks the 32-year-old Bruce to sit on his lap for the first time, reconnecting with his son and acknowledging that he had not always been a good father but that he is very proud of his son. The pair embrace. An epilogue reveals that 'Nebraska' reached number three on the Billboard charts, while the hits included on Bruce's following album 'Born in the U.S.A.' launched him to global superstardom, as he continued to suffer bouts of depression, but now always with help and hope. 

Make no mistake, this is Jeremy Allen White's film in the way he embodies Bruce Springsteen's mannerisms, his emotions, his working class roots and his raw energy when he's belting out those songs on stage, or in the quieter moments when he's writing his songs and laying them down himself on his four-track recorder in his bedroom. Whilst this film is sure to please the Springsteen fans among us, for me concentrating purely on the recording of one of his least commercially successful albums (despite going to #3 on the album chart), was perhaps a misstep, and I would have preferred to see a little more of his later years, and his rise to legendary status. That said, 'Springsteen : Deliver Me From Nowhere' is worthy of your attention, although you can wait to catch it on your favoured streaming service in due course, but be warned, this is no 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or 'Rocket Man' or 'Elvis'.

'Springsteen : Deliver Me From Nowhere' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd October 2025.

The 12th annual Doc'n Roll Film Festival takes place this year from Thursday 23rd October through until Sunday 9th November. Doc'n Roll is a women-led film agency that platforms and champions marginal voices in the music industry - we are passionate about independent film and music of all genres. Our mission is to celebrate music subcultures by providing a unique platform to support creative, compelling and unforgettable documentaries that celebrate the performers, labels, scenes and stories. Doc'n Roll began life in 2013, when we launched the UK's Music & Arts Documentary Film Festival as an arts discovery film fest, convinced it was time to show some love to outlier music, arts and subculture documentaries that were all too often ignored by risk-averse film programmers. Now some 10+ years on, via our now UK-wide annual festival, one-off events and special screenings, we provide our audience with the opportunity to watch these killer documentaries in ace cinemas, as they were designed to be watched : LOUD. Doc'n Roll programmes encore event screenings and special one-off premieres year-round in the UK. Additionally, Doc'n Roll screens in Dublin, Amsterdam, New York City, San Francisco and Dubai. The 12th edition of Doc'n Roll Film Festival UK & Ireland, our headline festival, runs across ten of the city's best-loved cinemas. It will open at Barbican Cinemas and close at BFI Southbank, with additional screenings in Dublin and Brighton . . . . so reads the official website.

The feature films being showcased at this years Doc'n Roll Film Festival are as follows :-

* 'Butthole Surfers : The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt' - from the USA and Directed by Tom Stern. The film traces how two accounting students from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, found solidarity in their shared strangeness, gathered a tribe of like-minded outsiders - queers, weirdos, and nonconformists, including the unforgettable naked performance artist/dancer Kathleen Lynch - and launched one of the most radical and unpredictable paths in rock history. UK Premiere.

* 'A Way To Die : The Short-Films of COIL' - from France and Directed by Xavier Laradji and Maxime Lachaud. After paying tribute to and introducing the photographic and pictorial work of Peter Christopherson (1955-2010) and John Balance (1962-2004) to a larger audience, founding members of the cult formation COIL, Timeless editions have had the duo’s filmed archives restored, from their early films in adolescence in the early 1970's to the more accomplished works of the 1980's/90's, uncovering a first-rate cinematic body of work. UK Premiere.

* 'I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol' - from the USA and Directed by Nick Mead and Andre Relis. A compelling filmic setting for the wry, honest and often hilarious firsthand stories of Glen Matlock, the founding member of the Sex Pistols who co-wrote ten of the twelve iconic songs on their only studio album, 'Never Mind the Bollocks', only to have his contributions later downplayed. Hear his account of the Pistols’ rise in a frank, insightful portrait of a group of malcontents determined to change the music business and attack society’s hypocrisy and stale conventions. UK Premiere.

* 'Big Mama Thornton : I Can't Be Anyone But Me' - from the USA and Directed by Robert Clem. Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton was a major figure in American popular music for forty years. From a rural Alabama background, she defied gender norms, wore jeans, a cowboy hat and boots, stood over six feet tall and weighed as much as 300 pounds. Mike Stoller tells us it was her demeanor - and the two scars on her forehead - that inspired him and Jerry Lieber to write 'Hound Dog' expressly for her. After Hound Dog became a #1 R&B hit in 1952, she won acclaim in Europe as part of the American Folk Blue Festival. She was a major part of the US blues revival in the late 60's and 70's with her unique style of performing, her humour and her rawness were a hit at festivals and clubs all over America and in Europe. UK Premiere.

* 'Para Vivir : The Implacable Times of Pablo Milanes' - from Mexico, Spain and the USA and Directed by Fabien Pisani. A deeply personal portrait of Cuban music icon Pablo Milanes, captured in self-imposed exile during his final years. Milanes, co-founder of the Nueva Trova movement with Silvio Rodriguez, was a major voice in Cuba's revolutionary cultural movement. This film combines interviews with musical luminaries such as Serrat, Chico Buarque, Harry Belafonte and Fito Paez, alongside intimate moments of Milanes in his final years, looking frail and reflecting on the fading Cuban Utopia.

* 'Sound of a Dream : Lee Burridge' - from the USA and Directed by Hoj Jomehri. This intimate portrait follows underground DJ Lee Burridge, whose lifelong goal has been to bring people together through music. Blending cinematic storytelling, rare archival footage and access to Burridge’s inner world, the film traces a 40-year journey from a small seaside village in Dorset to some of the world’s most iconic stages, from Fabric London to Burning Man and Coachella. Burridge’s story is one of persistence and passion, and also impermanence. World Premiere.
* 'In Time : Donal Lunny' - from Ireland and Directed by Nuala O'Connor. Donal Lunny is one of Ireland’s most outstanding artists, and this is the first film account of his life - a portrait that reveals his peerless contribution to Irish culture and music. A founding member of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, Lunny played a central role in reviving and transforming Irish traditional and folk music for new generations. International Premiere.

* 'Felix Dare to Dream' - from Italy and Directed by Valerio Bariletti and Morgan Bertacca. The story of Felix Leu is one of defiance, creativity, and the search for freedom. A fascinating story of an existential journey - that of Felix Leu, artist, pioneer of modern tattooing, and patriarch of one of the most iconic and respected families on the international scene - the Leu Family, a bohemian clan that turned freedom and creativity into their way of life. UK Premiere.

* 'Nash the Slash Rises Again' - from Canada and Directed by Tim Kowalski. In the late 1970s, Nash the Slash emerged as one of music’s true enigmas, an electric violinist and sonic alchemist blending classical finesse with punk rebellion. From scoring Un Chien Andalou live to mesmerising audiences with his analog arsenal, Nash pushed the boundaries of performance and sound. His singular vision drew him to the UK, signing with Richard Branson’s DinDisc alongside Gary Numan, yet his refusal to compromise collided with the industry’s demands. Returning to Toronto, he embarked on wild adventures with Iggy Pop and forged a path beyond rock, composing for films, installations, and silent cinema. World Premiere.

* 'The Big Johnson' - from the USA and Directed by Lola Rocknrolla. Dean Johnson was a famous New York drag queen, rock star, sex party promoter and late in life escort. In 2007 Dean went on a job and never came back. Was it just an accidental OD, Dean had a history of drug use or was it something more sinister? Another escort died in the same apartment four days earlier. The mystery of his death is only part of Dean Johnson's wild life. Dean was the first in many things, the first bald drag queen, the first to throw sex parties in the 80's during the AIDS crisis, the first openly gay singer on Island records (which cost him his record deal). The first and only person to throw a LGBTQ party at the iconic rock club CBGBs. International Premiere.

* 'Monk in Pieces' - from the USA, Germany and France and Directed by Billy Shebar and David C. Roberts. Meredith Monk - composer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist – is one of the great artistic pioneers of our time, yet her profound cultural influence is largely unrecognised. With Monk’s music at its centre, and featuring interviews with Bjork and David Byrne, Monk in Pieces is a mosaic that mirrors the structure of Monk’s own work, and illuminates her wildly original vocabulary of sound and imagery. UK Premiere.

* 'Tony Foster : Painting at the Edge' - from the USA and Directed by David C. Schendel. Award-winning visual artist Tony Foster has spent nine of the past thirty-five years living in a tadpole tent, using his art as a platform to advocate for the conservation of wild land and raise awareness of climate change. Part explorer, part artist, he routinely risks his life to find the perfect undiscovered landscape. He does not use photography or sketches but paints on site, often in the most difficult weather and uncomfortable circumstances. World Premiere.

* 'Chasing Rainbows : My Visual Duet with Jimmy Scott' - from the USA and Directed by Storm Di Scozia. A 30-years in the making duet between a legendary American jazz singer (Jimmy Scott) and a Scottish rock singer (Storm Di Scozia) in 2014, setting in motion an incredible adventure that will shed light on the extraordinary career and life of Cleveland's most beloved singer, Jimmy Scott, and his biggest fan, Scottish rock singer Storm Di Scozia. UK Premiere.

* 'A Beautiful Place - Lebanon Hanover' - from the Netherlands and Directed by Isolde Woudstra. Taking us on an intimate journey with darkwave icons Lebanon Hanover during their 2024 tour. As the enigmatic duo, William Maybelline and Larissa Iceglass, traverse Europe playing electrifying shows in Bristol, London, Paris, and Berlin, the film unveils the raw emotion behind their haunting sound while exploring the deep, symbiotic bond between the band and their devoted fans, capturing the essence of melancholy, passion, and connection. UK Premiere.

* 'Pieces of Heaven : Porridge Radio' - from the UK and Directed by Ella Margolin. Filmed at the Centre Pompidou in 2024 to mark the release of the band’s final album, 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me'. Led by songwriter Dana Margolin, it moves through inertia, heartbreak and dysphoria as she distils over a decade of music into one unforgettable hour. World Premiere.

* 'Boy George & Culture Club' - from the USA and the UK and Directed by Alison Ellwood. A provocative, chaotic and impossibly fun look at one of music’s most groundbreaking bands. An intimate portrait of Culture Club’s rise to fame, dramatic split, and remarkable reunion for the film. For the first time, Boy George, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss come together to share their story, offering candid insights into their creative process and personal relationships, and the band’s towering cultural impact. UK Premiere.

* 'Move Ya Body : The Birth of House' - from the USA and Directed by Elegance Bratton. A celebration of the new sound that emerged from the underground clubs of Chicago’s South Side, which sparked a global movement of joy, freedom and radical togetherness. Young Chicagoan Vince Lawrence embarked on a journey that would change music history. From his father’s record store to the underground clubs of the South Side, Vince and a group of visionary friends experimented with drum machines and synthesisers, crafting a revolutionary new sound - house music.

* 'Scab Vendor : The Life and Times of Jonathan Shaw' - from the USA and Directed by Mariana Thome and Lucas Barros. Scab Vendor is a documentary exploring the extraordinary life of Jonathan Shaw whose youth was marked by rebellion against his glamorous lineage and his mother’s alcoholism. After a near-fatal heroin overdose in his 20's, Shaw embarked on a transformative journey by hitchhiking from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, honing his craft under legendary old-school tattoo masters, and ultimately redefining tattoo culture. UK Premiere.
* 'Rockers Don't Stop : The Revival of Rockers Revenge' - from the USA and Directed by Arthur Baker. A comeback story with grit and groove. New York's 1980's Dance pioneers Rockers Revenge reunite decades later to finally record their debut album, transforming nostalgia into a powerful journey of friendship, resilience, and unfinished dreams. From the front lines of New York’s COVID crisis to the pulse of Black Lives Matter, their music channels loss, hope, and defiance. World Premiere.

* 'How Tanita Tikaram Became a Liar' - from the UK and Directed by Natacha Horn. Revealing the maverick music icon as never before, Tikaram delivers, in her own words, a raw, political, and personal account of life as a brown, queer woman growing up in the UK - echoing the themes of her new album LIAR (Love Isn’t A Right), the sequel to her multi-million selling debut Ancient Heart. World Premiere.

For the details of the Short Film also being screened, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.docnrollfestival.com

Turning the focus back on this weeks six hot new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we launch with a gothic Sci-Fi film based on a classic early 19th Century novel that has been made into countless movies over the last almost one hundred years and surrounds a brilliant albeit self obsessed scientist who creates a living breathing monster that ultimately leads to the undoing of both of them. Next up is a biographical musical drama charting the early years of this New Jersey Rocker while crafting his 1982 album 'Nebraska', which emerged as he recorded 'Born in the USA' with the E Street Band. Then we turn to a drama set in the 1970's in a sedate corner of Massachusetts, an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief plans his first big heist, but when things go haywire, his life unravels. This is followed by a psychological black comedy about two men who lost their respective twin brothers develop a growing friendship after meeting in a support group. Up next is a drama offering from a first time Director about an octogenarian woman who transitions to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship to herself and her caregivers; before closing out the week with a romantic drama film that centres on the strained relationship between a young mother and her teenage daughter, exacerbated by the mothers husbands tragic death.

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

'FRANKENSTEIN' (Rated MA15+) - is an American gothic Sci-Fi film that is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Guillermo del Toro and is based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of the same name. del Toro's previous feature film output includes his feature film debut in 1992 with 'Cronos' and then the likes of 'Mimic' in 1997, 'The Devil's Backbone' in 2001, 'Hellboy' in 2004, 'Pan's Labyrinth' in 2006, 'Hellboy II : The Golden Army' in 2008, 'Crimson Peak' in 2015, 'The Shape of Water' in 2017, 'Nightmare Alley' in 2021 and 'Pinocchio' in 2022. This film had its World Premiere in the main competition at this years Venice International Film Festival in early September, is followed by a limited cinema release from 17th October and a global release on Netflix on 7th November. 

A brilliant but egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. Also starring Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance, Lauren Collins, Ralph Ineson and Burn Gorman. The film has generated largely favourable critical reviews, and cost US$120M to produce.

'SPRINGSTEEN : DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE' (Rated M) - this American biographical musical drama film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Cooper who made his Directorial debut with the critically acclaimed 'Crazy Heart' in 2009 and would go on to Direct 'Out of the Furnace' in 2013, 'Black Mass' in 2015, 'Hostiles' in 2017, 'Antlers' in 2021 and 'The Pale Blue Eye' in 2022. This film is based on the 2023 book 'Deliver Me from Nowhere' by Warren Zanes. This film chronicles the making of Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album 'Nebraska' when he was a young musician (Jeremy Allen White) on the cusp of global superstardom, struggling to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past. Recorded on a 4-track recorder in Springsteen's New Jersey bedroom, the album marked a pivotal time in his life and is considered one of his most enduring works, servings as a stark, somber acoustic record portraying the lives of blue-collar workers who try to succeed in life but fail at every turn, while searching for a deliverance that never comes. Also starring Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffman and Marc Maron. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August with its US and Australian release this week. It has received positive reviews from critics.

'THE MASTERMIND' (Rated M) - is a US and UK Co-Production that is Written, Directed and Edited by Kelly Reichardt who made her feature film Directorial debut with 'River of Grass' in 1994 and went on to Direct the likes of 'Old Joy' in 2006, 'Meek's Cutoff' in 2010, 'Night Moves' in 2013, 'Certain Women' in 2016, 'First Cow' in 2019 and 'Showing Up' in 2022. In a sedate Massachusetts suburb circa 1970, unemployed family man, carpenter and amateur art thief James Blaine Mooney (Josh O'Connor) sets out on his first heist. With the museum cased and accomplices recruited, he has an airtight plan to steal four paintings. Or so he thinks. When holding onto the art proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney is relegated to a life on the run. Also starring Alana Haim, Hope Davis, Bill Camp, John Magaro and Gaby Hoffman. The film had its World Premiere at the main competition of this years Cannes Film Festival in late May, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It was released Stateside last week, has received generally positive critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$104K.

'TWINLESS' (Rated MA15+) - this American psychological black comedy film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars James Sweeney in only his second feature film outing following 2019's 'Straight Up'. Here, two young men meet in a support group for twinless twins and form an unlikely friendship. Roman (Dylan O'Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney) both search for solace and an identity without their other halves and soon become inseparable outside the group. But when Roman meets Dennis' ebullient co-worker, Marcie (Aisling Franciosi), all is revealed to be not what it seems, as each man harbours secrets that could unravel everything. The film saw its World Premiere in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in late January this year where it won the Audience Award, went on release Stateside in early September, has so far grossed US$1.3M and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.

'FAMILIAR TOUCH' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sarah Friedland in her feature film making debut. The film follows an octogenarian woman Ruth Goldman (Kathleen Chalfant) as she transitions to life in an assisted living facility contending with her relationship to herself and her caregivers while dealing with cognitive decline. It had its World Premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in early September 2024 in the Horizons section, where Director Sarah Friedland won the Luigi de Laurentiis Lion of the Future prize for best first film, alongside the Best Director award, while Kathleen Chalfant won the Best Actress award. It was released in the US in mid-June this year, has so far grossed US$258K and has garnered universal critical acclaim.

'REGRETTING YOU' (Rated M) - this romantic drama film is Directed by Josh Boone in his fourth feature film making effort following his debut in 2012 with 'Stuck in Love', then 'The Fault in Our Stars' in 2014, and 'The New Mutants' in 2020. This film is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover. Here, Morgan Grant (Allison Williams) and her daughter Clara (Mckenna Grace) whose relationship is already strained, are forced to explore what's left behind after a devastating accident resulting in the tragic death of Morgan's husband Chris (Scott Eastwood), reveals a shocking betrayal and forces them to confront family secrets, redefine love, and rediscover each other. Also starring Dave Franco, Mason Thames, Willa Fitzgerald and Clancy Brown. The film is released in the US this week too.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd December 2022.

Once again, Christmas is upon us and as such it would be remiss of me not to wish my global readership all the very best wishes for a Merry, Happy and safe Christmas, wherever you are in world, whoever you share it with and whatever it is you do to celebrate the occasion. Thanks for your continued support over the past twelve months - it is your readership that makes my reviews and previews of the latest release new movies all worthwhile, and I look forward to doing more of the same throughout the coming year. Until then, Merry Christmas, best wishes and complements of the season, from Sydney, Australia.

This week then we have just two new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you. Kicking off with an American thriller that sees a world weary detective hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet in 1830. And closing out the week we have a Hong Kong film that is based on a shocking case in real life when a young man partnered with his friend to murder and dismember his parents, and the court case that followed.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the two 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.

'THE PALE BLUE EYE' (Rated MA15+) - this American thriller film is written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Cooper and is adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard. Scott Cooper's previous film making credits include his debut in 2009 with 'Crazy Heart' starring Jeff Bridges in his Academy Award winning role, then 'Out of the Furnace' in 2013 with Christian Bale, 'Black Mass' in 2015 with Johnny Depp, 'Hostiles' in 2017 with Christian Bale again and 'Antlers' in 2021 with Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons. This film is released this week, before streaming on Netflix from 6th January and cost US$72M to produce. 

Here then, Christian Bale (who also serves as Co-Producer) stars as world weary veteran detective Augustus Landor who is tasked with investigating a series of murders at the US Military Academy, West Point, in New York in 1830. But after the body arrives at the morgue, tragedy becomes savagery when it is discovered the next morning that the young man's heart has been skilfully removed. Disheartened by the cadets code of silence, Landor enlists in his investigations one of their own - an eccentric young cadet with a disdain for the rigours of the military and a passion for poetry, Edgar Allen Poe (Harry Melling). Also starring Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Timothy Spall and Robert Duvall. 

'THE SPARRING PARTNER' (Rated MA15+) - this Hong Kong true life crime drama film is Directed by Cheuk Tin Ho in his feature film making debut. This tense and compelling true-story based on the shocking 2013 trial of a young man, Henry Cheung (Yeung Wai-lun) who brutally murdered, dismembered, and cooked his parents in a microwave oven with the help of a friend Angus Tong (Pui Tung Mak). Pleading not guilty in a trial which dominated local headlines, this searing drama explores the events which unfolded as lawyers clashed and nine jurors grappled with the truth, trying to understand this tragic event which took the media by storm. The film has garnered generally positive Reviews. 

With two 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 28th October 2021.

By way of an early heads up, the 68th Sydney Film Festival launches on Wednesday 3rd November and runs through until Sunday 21st November and takes place in various cinema venues around Sydney and online over nineteen days and nights, showcasing the greatest, strangest and most exciting works that cinema has to offer. The Opening Night film is 'Here Out West' that brings stories from eight talented Western Sydney writers that intertwine poignantly through themes of family and place in a groundbreaking film that reframes the Australian experience, and is Directed by Fadia Abboud, Lucy Gaffy, Julie Kalceff, Ana Kokkinos and Leah Purcell who join the creative collaboration to bring the writers' unique stories to the screen. The Closing Night film is Writer, Director and Co-Producer Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' starring an ensemble cast led by Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Timothee Chalamet, Owen Wilson, Elizabeth Moss, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton and Saoirse Ronan amongst others. 

Twelve films are selected for the Official Competition, which celebrates 'courageous, audacious and cutting-edge' cinema with an AU$60K cash prize. Sydney Film Festival also presents seven other cash awards over the course of the festival. Those films in Official Competition are :-

* 'Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn' - from Romania, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and Croatia in Romanian with English subtitles this film is Directed and Written by Radu Jude. The film won the Golden Bear at this year Berlin International Film Festival in June, and is about a school teacher who faces a very public scandal after a personal sex tape goes viral.

* 'Drive My Car' - from Japan and Co-Written and Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi this film won three awards at this years Cannes Film Festival including Best Screenplay and the FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) Prize, and tells the story of a stage Actor and Director who seemingly is happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day she disappears.

* 'The Drovers Wife : The Legend of Molly Johnson' - from Australia and Directed, Written, Co-Produced and starring Leah Purcell in this period Western about a determined mother protecting her children – a searing reimagining of Henry Lawson’s classic with an Indigenous female viewpoint.

* 'Flee' - from Denmark, France, Sweden and Norway and Directed and Co-Written by Jonas Poher Rasmussen this documentary fuses animation and archival material to tell the story of a gay Afghan refugee in Denmark who kept his painful past a secret for two decades. This film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize : Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year.

* 'The Hand of God' - from Italy and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Paolo Sorrentino this deeply personal film is an exquisite reflection on family, sport, love, desire, tragedy and cinema against the backdrop of 1980's Naples. This film won the Grand Jury Prize, at the Venice International Film Festival in September.

* 'Limbo' - from the UK and Directed by Ben Sharrock this film centres on four asylum seekers who are staying on a remote island in Scotland, and taking cultural awareness classes, while awaiting the processing of their refugee claims. The film has won eight awards and a further fifteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

* 'Memoria' - from Colombia, Thailand, UK, Mexico, France, Germany, Qatar, and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul this film tells the story of a woman from Scotland (Tilda Swinton), while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance. The Director won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year. 

* 'Petite Maman' - from France and Directed and Written by Celine Sciamma about an eight-year-old girl, who has just lost her beloved grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. One day, her mother leaves suddenly, and the young girl meets a girl her age as she's building a tree house in the woods.

* 'Quo Vadis, Aida?' - is an international co-production Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jasmila Zbanic that here sees a UN translator in Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina attempting to save her family as conflict rages around them in 1995. The film has thus far collected twenty award wins and a further eighteen nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

* 'The Story of My Wife' - from Hungary, Germany, Italy and France this romantic drama film is Directed and Written by Ildiko Enyedi and tells the story of a sea Captain who makes a bet in a cafe with a friend, to marry the first woman who enters the place. Starring Lea Seydoux and Gijs Naber.

* 'There is No Evil' - from Germany, the Czech Republic and Iran, this film is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Mohammad Rasoulof, here four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedoms can be expressed under a despotic regime. This film has so far won fifteen awards and another nine nominations including the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival. 

* 'Undine' - is a German and French romantic fantasy drama production Directed and Written by Christian Petzold that here tells the story of Undine, who works as a historian lecturing on Berlin's urban development, and when the man she loves leaves her, an ancient myth catches up with her that tells her she must kill her former lover and return to the water. Starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski the film has collected eight award wins and another sixteen nominations including the FIPRESCI Prize and the Silver Bear for Paula Beer for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020.

For the complete programme of films and events and other goings-on at this years Sydney Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sff.org.au

Turning attention back to this weeks four new releases coming to your local Odeon, we launch with the twelfth instalment in this classic horror franchise, and a direct sequel to 2018's film which was a direct sequel to the very first instalment back in 1978 that sees that this nightmare isn't over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode's burning trap to continue his ritual bloodbath, but this time the masked slayer has the people of Haddonfield to contend with who are intent on ending his reign of blood soaked terror. Next up is another horror offering (it's that time of year after all!) set in small-town Oregon where a teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, discover that a young student is harbouring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences. Next up is a black and white film set in the 1920's that follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed lives. And closing out the week we have an animated feature about an awkward middle-schooler and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected robot device. Ron's malfunctions set against the social media age launch them on a journey to learn about the true meaning of friendship.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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 coming week.

'HALLOWEEN KILLS' (Rated MA15+) - is the twelfth film in this franchise and a direct sequel to 2018's 'Halloween' which served as a direct sequel to John Carpenter's classic 1978 'Halloween' set forty years after Michael Myers killing spree. 2018's film was made for US$10M and returned a handsome US$256M at the global Box Office, making this instalment a no brainer. Like its predecessor, this film is again Co-Written and Directed by David Gordon Green, who shares a writing credit with Danny McBride and Scott Teems. 'Halloween Kills' saw its World Premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival on 8th September, following a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was released in movie theatres in the US two weeks ago on 15th October. The film has so far grossed US$92M off the back of a US$20M production budget and has generated mixed reviews from Critics. 

Set minutes after the events of the last film, here Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) locked-in and surely burning to death in Laurie's basement. Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself as a result of the fire brigade arriving on the scene in record time, his ritual bloodbath resumes, starting off with the very firefighters who were dispatched to save the house. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against the unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael's first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. Also starring Will Patton and Anthony Michael Hall. The third and final instalment 'Halloween Ends' is set for release on 14th October 2022. 

'ANTLERS' (Rated MA15+) - this supernatural horror film is Directed by Scott Cooper whose previous film making credits take in his debut feature 'Crazy Heart' in 2009 with Jeff Bridges whose performance won his the Best Actor Award at the Oscars, then 'Out of the Furnace' in 2013 with Christian Bale, 'Black Mass' in 2015 with Johnny Depp and 'Hostiles' in 2017 with Christian Bale again. Based on Nick Antosca's short story 'The Quiet Boy', the screenplay was Co-Written by him and Cooper and the film is Co-Produced by Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer. The film was previously set for a release date of mid-April 2020 but was removed from the release calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was subsequently rescheduled to mid-February this year before being removed from the release calendar again, and now it finally arrives this week in the US and Australia. Here then Julia Meadows (Keri Russell), a school teacher in a small town in Oregon, and her brother, Paul (Jesse Plemons), the local Sheriff, become concerned about one of her students, a young boy named Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) who is secretly keeping a supernatural creature inside his house. Also starring Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane and Amy Madigan. The film has garnered mixed or average reviews. 

'PASSING' (Rated PG) - is a black and white drama film Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by English Actress Rebecca Hall in her film making debut. This film is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, and the title of the film and the book refers to African-Americans whose skin colour was/is light enough to be perceived as 'white', the practice of which is referred to as 'passing'. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, gets a limited release in the US and Australia this week before streaming on Netflix from 10th November. Here then, mixed-race childhood friends reunite in middle class adulthood and become increasingly involved with one another's lives and insecurities. While Irene (Tessa Thompson) identifies as African-American and is married to a black doctor, Brian (Andre Holland), Clare (Ruth Negga) 'passes' as white and has married a prejudiced, but wealthy white man, John (Alexander Skarsgard). Also starring Bill Camp, the film has garnered universal Critical acclaim.

'RON'S GONE WRONG' (Rated PG) - Directed by Jean-Philippe Vine and Sarah Smith this computer animated Sci-Fi comedy film and is the first film from London based animation studios Locksmith Animation. The film saw its World Premier screening at the BFI London Film Festival in early October, went on release in the UK on the 15th of this month, followed by the US one week later and now this week is on release in Australia. Here, this is the story of Barney (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer), a socially awkward middle-schooler and Ron (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device, which is supposed to be his 'Best Friend out of the Box.' Ron's hilarious malfunctions eventually draws the attention of a shady executive who wants to protect his company's stock price at all costs, while set against the backdrop of the social media age, which launches the pair into an action-packed journey in which boy and robot come to terms with the wonderful messiness of true friendship. Also starring the voice talents of Olivia Colman, Ed Helms, Justice Smith, Rob Delaney and Kylie Cantrall, the film has generated mostly positive Reviews.

With four 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 at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BLACK MASS : Saturday 10th October 2015.

BLACK MASS which I saw over the weekend is a true crime true life American drama thriller as Directed by Scott Cooper and based on the life and times of the Boston based Irish American mobster James Joseph 'Whitey' Bulger as portrayed here by Johnny Depp. Born in 1929, this films kicks off in 1975 by which time we learn that Bulger had already served time in his youth in juvenile detention and then nine years on Alcatraz and Leavenworth Prisons having been released in 1965. It would be another 46 years before Bulger would see the inside of a prison cell again. This film was made for US$53M and at the time of writing has made US$56M. The story is based on the 2001 book 'Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob' as written by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill.

We open up with Jimmy Bulger a small time but nonetheless reasonably powerful mobster who has control over the underworld activities of South Boston in the mid-70's and has grown up amidst a life of crime. He has moved up to control the Winter Hill Gang with his henchmen Stephen Flemmi (Rory Cochrane), new kid on the block Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemmons) and his associate hit-man Johnny Martorano (W. Earl Brown). His hold over 'Southie' is under challenge from the Italian American Angiulo Brothers from Boston's North End. Whilst Bulger is keen at almost any cost to oust the Angiulo's, the FBI have an active interest too, and it is here that an unlikely alliance is forged.

Bulger grew up in Southie on the same street as John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) who now has recently returned to Boston as a high ranking Agent in the F.B.I. Connolly is keen to make a name for himself and sees that taking down the Angiulo Crime Clan is his ticket. Bulger, his Brother William 'Billy' Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is now in high office as the President of the Massachusetts State Senate, and Connolly grew up on the streets together and there is a strong bond that binds the three despite the different directions their lives have taken.

To aid him in his pursuit of the Angiulo's he strikes a deal with Bulger to turn over evidence that will help bring down that crime family in exchange for him being allowed to go about his business on the condition that there are no murders caused either directly or indirectly by his own hand, and no criminal activity linked to him. Needless to say with Bulger's pedigree it is highly unlikely that he'll be able to comply.

As Connolly clashes with his Boss at the Bureau, Charles McGuire (Kevin Bacon) because leads to the Angiulo's are thin on the ground and Bulger is increasingly getting away with murder. Connolly's loyalties over time become divided and he finds himself becoming deeper and deeper entrenched in Bulger's underworld activities which continue to grow from strength to strength as time progresses, and his reach extends further afield. It's a fine line that starts to impact on Connolly's family life and his wife, Marianne (Julianne Nicholson) who is disapproving of the time that her husband spends with those criminal types and enjoying some of the trappings of Bulger's criminal success.

As Bulger gets deeper and deeper into more far reaching activities down in Florida with an embezzlement scheme around the World Jai Alai series, and with an arms smuggling effort back to Ireland to support the Provisional IRA, so the spotlight tunes on Bulger when a new District Attorney Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll) is appointed to the local branch of the FBI where Connolly is stationed. Questions begin to be asked about Bulger and why it is that for so long he has evaded arrest, and why Connolly has allowed this to happen.

As time progresses Wyshak and McGuire dig deeper into Connolly's former records and discover a trail of misinformation, cover ups and falsified statements to take the scent off Bulger and protect his own interests. Former colleague of Connolly, John Morris (David Harbour) knows that by association  he too will be under very close scrutiny and could potentially go down for the part he has played in covering for Bulger (and Connolly) over the years, so he confides in a tell-all interview with The Boston Globe newspaper. This hits the headlines in the days that follow with Bulger making front page news as an F.B.I. informant since 1975. Bulger knows that the writing is on the wall for him and that this will mark the beginning of the end.

As the final chapter draws to a close Connolly, Weeks, Martorano and Flemmi are arrested and serve various sentences we are advised in the closing credits. Budget however, evades arrest and goes on the run in the mid-90's and again the closing credits tell us there were several sightings of him around the world in the ensuing years, but in 2011 he was tracked down and arrested outside his Santa Monica apartment. For sixteen years Bulger went on the run, and during this time his former henchmen turned evidence against him in order to seek reduced sentences, immunity, and protection. Billy Bulger meanwhile plays the close caring and stoic brother maintaining his family ties with visits to the ageing mother, dinner parties and family get togethers, but is largely in denial over his brothers criminal dealings lest it gets in the way of his political career.

This film gives Depp a chance to step out of the mould that we have become more accustomed to since he stepped into his 'Pirates' mantle and has worked with Tim Burton. He cold steely blue eyes are piercing and menacing, his slicked back hair, and pale complexion tells us that this is a man not to be crossed or messed with. Many that did paid the ultimate price, even those closest to him and the fact that this is real, within our own life times and that the man himself is still alive and locked up for his remaining life at United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida, adds to the weight of the story and its resonance.

All that said, despite the strong performances from Depp, Cumberbatch and Edgerton especially who are the standouts here, the story is repetitive and lumbering. We see Bulger kicking, beating, strangling, shooting his way through the film time after time and after several of these I am wondering what is this all about as it becomes jumbled and labouring. I am wondering how the F.B.I. can be so incompetent, and how did no other authorities at the time even catch a sniff of what Bulger was up to so as to raise some suspicion. After all there were 19 or so murders with which he has been linked both directly or indirectly, and these all went undetected??

For the Depp, Cumberbatch and Edgerton performances this film is worth seeking out, but we join the film when Bulger is already 46 when the film opens and we then track his life for 20 years at his height before it all goes pear shaped and he goes on the run for 16 years, with the last four years in custody. I felt a little short-changed by lack of the before and after story which is given a very cursory glance over only. You can catch this on the big screen, or wait for the DVD or BluRay.



Steve, at Odeon Online-