What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd November 2022.

The 30th Raindance Film Festival this year is being held from Wednesday 26th October through until Saturday 5th November. The Raindance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the UK. Holding the 30th festival in 2022, Raindance is based in the heart of London’s buzzing West End film district. The Festival is officially recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences USA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the British Independent Film Awards. 

The Festival Sections comprise world-renowned programme of the best UK and international independent films; House of Raindance consisting of talks and panel discussions; Raindance VRX programme for virtual reality and new media and networking events. Each year, Raindance attracts 16,000 visitors including 500 industry professionals into London.

The Opening Night film was the International Premier of 'Corner Office' Directed by Joachim Back and starring Jon Hamm as Orson, a corporate drone trying to move up in his entry-level job, discovers a secret room in his drab, soul-crushing office building on his first day in the job - a discovery that causes problems with his new colleagues. The Closing Night Gala film presentation is the International Premier of 'Pinball : The Man Who Saved the Game' Directed by Austin and Meredith Bragg in their feature film debuts. This is the story of journalist Roger Sharpe who has mastered one thing in life - pinball. But when a police raid destroys the only machines he can find in 1970's New York City, he learns the game is illegal. Roger reluctantly fights the ban while falling in love with a single mother. Inspired by true events.

Included in this years strands are :

Debut Features

* 'Broadway' - from Greece, France and Romania and Directed by Christos Massalas. Having escaped from her wealthy and controlling family, Nelly, a dancer in a strip club, is rescued by charismatic gangster Markos. The two soon become lovers until he’s arrested and imprisoned, and a mystery man, wanted dead by Athens’ most dangerous mafia, takes an important place in the gang. UK Premier.

* 'Pamfir' - from Ukraine, France, Poland, Germany and Chile and Directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. In western Ukraine, on the eve of a traditional carnival, Pamfir returns to his family after months of absence. When his only child starts a fire in the prayer house, Pamfir must reconnect with his troubled past to repair the damage – a risky path with irreversible consequences. UK Premier.

* 'Roving Woman' - from the USA and Poland and Directed by Michal Chmielewski. The driver Sara, has been kicked out of her home amidst a break-up, steals a car, then seemingly falls in love with its owner setting out on a road trip to find him. International Premier.

* 'Falcon Lake' - from France and Canada and Directed by Charlotte Le Bon. Bastien and Chloe spend their summer vacation with their families at a lake cabin in Quebec, haunted by a ghost legend. Ready to overcome his worst fears to earn a place in Chloe’s heart, the holiday becomes a turbulent pivotal moment for the young boy. UK Premier.

* 'Gentle' - from Hungary and Germany and Directed by Laszlo Csuja and Anna Nemes. Edina, a female bodybuilder, is ready to sacrifice everything for the dream she shares with life partner and trainer Adam: to win the world championship. Expensive steroids and supplements, force her to take a job as an escort which makes her realise the difference between her aspiration and true self. UK Premier.

Homegrown

* 'Swede Caroline' - from the UK and Directed by Finn Bruce and Brook Driver. In this British mockumentary, we follow Caroline, a competitive giant vegetable grower, as she readies herself for the big annual National Veg Championship. However, Caroline finds her life turned upside down when her prized marrow plants are stolen and the two private detectives she’s hired are kidnapped. World Premier.

* 'Goldfish' - from the UK and Directed by Pushan Kripalani. A young woman in her early 30's returns home after much time away to help her mother deal with the onset of dementia, despite their troubled relationship. Aided by a community she once shunned, she discovers her mother anew. European Premier.

International Features

* 'To Leslie' - from the USA and Directed by Michael Morris. A West Texas single mother wins US$190K in the lottery and squanders it just as fast, only learning the value of sharing after she’s drank all her cash away. Leaving behind a world of heartbreak, and with her charm running out, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption. UK Premier.

* 'Una Femmina - The Code of Silence' - from Italy and Directed by Francesco Costabile. Rosa is a restless girl who lives with her mother’s relatives in a remote South Italian village. When the truth emerges about her mother’s mysterious death, Rosa seeks revenge against her own blood. However, when your family belongs to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, a single failed step can lead to death. UK Premier.

* 'Swallow' - from South Korea and Directed by Hee-il Leesong. When Hoyeon’s mother inexplicably disappears, he is forced to abandon his mundane corporate life to search for her. What he is not prepared for are the details of his mother’s violent and revolutionary past which he uncovers along the way. World Premier.

For the full details of the other strands being showcased, the official competition nominees, plus a whole host of other great stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://raindance.org/festival/

This week there are six new movie releases to tease out to your local picture palace, starting with a deeply personal coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream, set in 1980 New York. This is followed by a story of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a psychological thriller, and a tale of love pitted against evil. Next up is an Aussie drama horror offering about an Instagram influencer who doesn’t just have a follower count – she’s also got a body count. And we close out the week with three films from New Zealand, these being a biographical film about a trailblazing Maori leader who spends her life breaking boundaries, speaking for the rights of Maori, and fighting for the land. Then we turn to a comedy drama about an anxiety fuelled young woman  on her way from Wellington to New York for an internship at a prestigious architecture firm when a moment of panic causes her to miss her flight, and closing out this weeks releases we have a documentary examining the widespread abuse inside an infamous west coast Christian Community cult and the institutional failures that have allowed it to continue.

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.

'ARMAGEDDON TIME' (Rated M) - this American period drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by James Gray, whose previous film making credits take in the likes of 'Little Odessa' in 1994, 'The Yards' in 2000, 'We Own the Night' in 2007, 'The Immigrant' in 2013, 'The Lost City of Z' in 2016, and 'Ad Astra' in 2019. This film saw its World Premier showcasing at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May this year and received a seven minute standing ovation from the gathered audience. It was released Stateside last week, cost US$15M to produce and has generated favourable reviews.

Set in 1980 Queens, the film follows Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), a sixth grader who dreams of becoming an artist. As Paul builds a friendship with classmate Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb), who’s mercilessly targeted by their racist teacher, he finds himself increasingly at odds with his parents Esther and Irving Graff (Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong respectively), for whom assimilation is key to the family’s Jewish-American identity. Paul feels on firmest ground with his kind grandfather Aaron Rabinowitz (Anthony Hopkins), whose life experiences have granted him a weathered compassion. Also starring Jessica Chastain. 

'THE WONDER' (Rated M) - is a period drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Sebastian Lelio whose previous film making credits include the multi-award winning 'Gloria' in 2013, the multi-award winning 'A Fantastic Woman' in 2017 which also won the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Academy Award, 'Disobedience' in 2017 with Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessando Nivola and 'Gloria Bell' in 2018 with Julianne Moore and John Turturro. Here then, it is 1862 Ireland and eleven year old Anna O'Donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy) has stopped eating but remains miraculously alive and well. English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) is brought to a tiny village to observe the young girl. Tourists and pilgrims mass to witness the girl who is said to have survived without food for months. Is the village harbouring a saint 'surviving on manna from heaven' or are there more ominous motives at work? Also starring Tom Burke, Toby Jones and Ciaran Hinds, the film saw its World Premier at the Telluride Film Festival in early September, is release in the UK, the US and here in Australia this week before streaming on Netflix from the 16th November. The film has garnered generally positive reviews. 

'SISSY' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian drama horror offering is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes who also Co-Directed 'For Now' in 2017, and also stars Hannah Barlow. Cecilia and Emma were tween-age BFFs who were going to grow old together and never let anything come between them, until Alex arrived on the scene. Twelve years later, Cecilia (Aisha Dee) is a successful social media influencer living the dream of an independent, modern millennial woman . . . until she runs into Emma (Hannah Barlow) for the first time in over a decade. Emma invites Cecilia away on her bachelorette weekend at a remote cabin in the mountains, where her high school bully Alex (Emily De Margheriti) proceeds to make Cecilia's weekend a living hell. The film has generated favourable critical Reviews.

'WHINA' (Rated PG) - is a New Zealand biographical film Co-Written and Directed by James Napier Robertson and Paula Whetu Jones. The film tells the story of Dame Whina Cooper, the beloved Maori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. Flawed yet resilient, Whina is the story of a woman formed by tradition, compelled by innovation, and guided by an instinct for equality and justice whose legacy as the Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation) was an inspiration to an entire country. Starring Miriama McDowell as the young Whina, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne as the teenage Whina and Rena Owen as the older Whina Cooper, and also with James Rolleston and Vinnie Bennett. The film has generated positive critical acclaim since its release in New Zealand in late June. 

'MILLIE LIES LOW' (Rated MA15+) - this New Zealand comedy drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Michelle Savill is her feature film making debut. When a broke and anxiety-ridden architecture graduate, Millie Davies (Ana Scotney), misses her flight from Wellington, New Zealand to New York for a prestigious internship, she decides to fake having made it to New York, while lying low in her home town until she can come up with the cash to buy another ticket. Meanwhile Millie must convince everyone she really is in the Big Apple and not living in a tent in her Mum’s Wellington backyard, via an elaborate series of antics and evasions. The film has generated critical praise since its release in its native New Zealand in early November last year. Also starring Rachel House, 

'GLORIAVALE' (Rated M) - this New Zealand documentary film is Produced and Directed by Fergus Grady and Noel Smyth and is Written, lensed and Edited by Noel Smyth too. The pairing of Grady and Smyth previously helmed 'Camino Skies' in 2019. This film documents and examines the Gloriavale Christian Community located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island where it has a population os some six hundred members. The filmmakers follow the story of the Ready family, who were excommunicated from Gloriavale, and begin mounting a legal case against the leaders of the community for the widespread abuse experienced there by many current and former members. The film saw its debut screening at the New Zealand International Film Festival in early August before its wide release in New Zealand later that month. 

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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th April 2019.

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) which this runs form Wednesday 24th April through to  Sunday 5th May is a prominent film festival held in the Tribeca neighbourhood of Manhattan, showcasing a diverse selection of independent films. Since its inaugural year in 2002, it has become a recognised outlet for independent filmmakers in all genres to release their work to a broad audience. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by Jane Rosenthal (Film Producer), Robert De Niro (Film Actor, Producer and Director) and Craig Hatkoff (Real Estate Investor and Philanthropist), reportedly in response to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre and the consequent loss of vitality in the Tribeca neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, although there are reports that its founding was underway prior to the events of 9/11. From its humble beginnings, the festival now draws an estimated three million people, including often-elusive celebrities from the worlds of art, film, and music and generates US$600M annually.

Amongst the top picks of this years feature length screenings, are :-
* 'BUFFALOED' - Directed by Tanya Wexler and starring Zoey Deutch, Judy Greer, Jermaine Fowler and Jai Courtney.
* 'CHARLIE SAYS' - Directed by Mary Harrow and starring Matt Smith, Suki Waterhouse, Hannah Murray, Sosie Bacon and Marianne Rendon.
* 'COME TO DADDY' - Directed by Ant Timpson and starring Elijah Wood.
* 'CROWN VIC' - Directed by Joel Souza and starring Thomas Jane and Luke Kleintank.
* 'DREAMLAND' - Directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and starring Margot Robbie, Finn Cole, Travis Fimmel, Kerry Condon and Garrett Hedlund.
* 'EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE' - Directed by Joe Berlinger and starring Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Haley Joel Osment, Kaya Scodelario, Jeffrey Donovan and John Malkovich.
* 'GEORGETOWN' - Directed by Christoph Waltz and starring Christoph Waltz, Annette Bening, Vanessa Redgrave and Corey Hawkins.
* 'IN FABRIC' - Directed by Peter Strickland and starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hayley Squires, Steve Oram and Gwendoline Christie.
* 'THE KILL TEAM' - Directed by Dan Krauss and starring Nat Wolff, Alexander Skarsgård and Adam Long.
* 'LOST TRANSMISSIONS' - Directed by Katharine O'Brien and starring Simon Pegg and Juno Temple.
* 'LUCE' - Directed by Julius Onah and starring Kelvin Harrison Jnr., Tim Roth, Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer.
* 'ONLY' - Directed by Takashi Doscher and starring Frieda Pinto, Leslie Odom Jnr. and Chandler Riggs.
* 'THE PLACE OF NO WORDS' - Directed by Mark Webber and starring Mark Webber, Teresa Palmer, Bodhi Palmer, Eric Olsen, Sarah Wright Olsen and Phoebe Tonkin.
* 'SKIN' - Directed by Guy Nattiv and starring Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Daniel Henshall, Bill Camp, Mike Colter, Mary Stuart Masterson and Vera Farmiga.
* 'STANDING UP, FALLING DOWN' - Directed by Matt Ratner and starring Billy Crystal, Ben Schwartz, Eloise Mumford and Kevin Dunn.
* 'TWO/ONE' - Directed by Juan Cabral and starring Boyd Holbrook, Song Ang and Beau Bridges.
* 'WHITE AS SNOW' - Directed by Anne Fontaine and starring Lou de Laage and Isabelle Huppert.
* 'YESTERDAY' - Directed by Danny Boyle and starring Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, and Ed Sheeran.

You can visit the official website for much greater detail on all the films and entertainment featured in this years festival, commencing this week, at : https://www.tribecafilm.com/

This week then to tempt you out to your local Odeon we have seven new release movies, kicking off with what is probably the most keenly awaited film of the year that sees the culmination of eleven years and twenty-one previous films in this particular universe as our remaining hero survivors of a universal apocalypse seek to undo a dastardly deed by an alien with a God complex and restore balance, harmony and half the worlds populace who were turned to dust. Next up we have a drama about an outgoing divorcee who finds love on the dancefloor; followed up by an Aussie drama about a retired opera singer living in rainforest Queensland mourning the death of her husband and preparing for her farewell concert only to be visited by her late husbands now adult son, whom she asks an impossible favour of. We then turn to a semi-biographical work set in the 1920's of a famed Actress and Dancer who as a teenager is accompanied to her New York Dancing School by a guardian to ensure she stays on the straight and narrow and doesn't succumb to the temptations of a big city. This is followed up by a story of two cousins who have big plans to lay a fibre optic cable half way across the US in order to help their efforts in the high stakes game of trading the financial markets where that game is won or lost in a matter of milliseconds. Then we have a story set in the mid-'80's surrounding a son who returns home after an absence of three years living in the big city to confront his parents with the some shocking news; and closing out the week is a story of a hapless Police Officer who loses just about everything and undergoes a nervous breakdown set to the soundtrack of his late mothers favourite song by a rock legend.

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

'AVENGERS : ENDGAME' (Rated M) - as if you didn't already know it, the direct sequel to 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity War', a sequel to 2012's 'The Avengers' and 2015's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe 'Avengers : Endgame' arrives this week following much hype, eager anticipation from legions of fans across the world, and plenty of record breaking buzz despite the plot secrecy from Marvel Studios, Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and the principal cast and crew. Following on immediately from where 'Infinity War' left off the film picks up after half of all life in the universe was killed due to the actions of Thanos once he had amassed all six infinity stones and placed them strategically in his Infinity Gauntlet. The remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert those actions in one final stand to restore balance to the universe and save all humanity . . . or half of it at least!

With an ensemble cast that consists all of our much loved superheroes and a few nefarious intergalactic villains too, and the conclusion of eleven years of MCU story telling that has so successfully interwoven individual standalone films with cross-over episodes to drive a franchise that we're invested in, Box Office records could well & truly be smashed here. Advance ticket sales seem to indicate that this blockbuster is going to be huge, with the potential to top the worldwide Box Office takings of US$2.05B as seen for 'Infinity War'. At a running time of three hours and two minutes, strap yourselves in for a wild ride as Thanos faces off against all the might and power that the Avengers and their allies can muster. The wait is over people!

'GLORIA BELL' (Rated M) - having had its World Premier screening at TIFF back in September last year, this American drama film is Directed, Co-Produced, Co-Written for the screen by Sebastian Lelio and based on a story by him too, which he Directed first time around back in 2013 in the Spanish/Chilean film titled 'Gloria'. Since then Lelio has Directed 'A Fantastic Woman' in 2017 and in 2018 'Disobedience'. This film was released in the US back in early March and now it gets a showing in Australia. Starring Julianne Moore in the title role the film tells the story of a free-spirited divorcee who spends her nights on the dance floor, joyfully letting loose at clubs around Los Angeles. She soon finds herself thrust into an unexpected new romance with Arnold (John Turturro), filled with the joys of emerging love and the challenges of dating. Also starring Michael Cera, Sean Astin, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Rita Wilson, the film has garnered generally positive Press.

'CELESTE' (Rated M) - Directed and Co-Written by Ben Hackworth this Australian drama film stars Radha Mitchell in the tile role as an early 40 something Celeste, a renowned opera diva who retired early for the man she loved and to relocate herself to a crumbling yet beautiful estate in the heart of the Far North Queensland, Australia, rainforest. Ten years after the tragic death of her husband, Mateos, in a boating accident, Celeste prepares to return to the stage for her farewell appearance. Her late husband's now estranged son Jack (Thomas Cocquerel), now 26, is still haunted by the past and arrives amidst the preparations for the performance and finds Celeste is as he remembered - beautiful, intoxicating and dangerous all at once. Celeste is keen for Jack to stay at the estate, but needs him to perform one last request in the shape of an impossible favour, to which the secrets that drove them apart will explode back to life. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival back in August last year and also stars Odessa Young and Nadine Garner.

'THE CHAPERONE' (Rated PG) - this partially based on a true story film is Directed by Michael Engler and is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Laura Moriarty. The film had its World Premier at the Los Angeles Film Festival in September last year and went on release in the USA at the end of March to generally mixed or average Reviews, having so far accumulated just US$223K at the Box Office. The story centres on the teenage Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson) - a famed American Actress and Dancer of the 1920's and '30's who lived from 1906 until 1985 having starred in seventeen silent movies and eight sound films before retiring in 1938. She is granted an opportunity to travel to New York City to study dance at the Denishawn School, headed up by Ruth St. Denis (Miranda Otto) - an American modern dance pioneer who lived from 1879 until 1968, and the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts. But, in venturing to the Big Apple, she is to be accompanied by a chaperone in the form of Norma (Elizabeth McGovern), whose life is ultimately changed forever by the experience. Also starring Blythe Danner, Victoria Hill and Geza Rohrig.

'THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT' (Rated M) - Written and Directed by Canadian Kim Nguyen here he explores the ruthless under current of our ever increasing digital world. Cousins from New York, Vincent Zaleski (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgård) are players in the high-stakes financial markets game of High Frequency Trading, where winning the game is measured in milliseconds. The pair have a dream to build a fibre-optic cable straight between Kansas and New Jersey, and in so doing making them millions. But nothing is as straightforward as it would seem for this flawed pair. Anton is the brains, Vincent is the brawn, and between them they push each other and those around them to breaking point on their idealistic journey. Constantly riding their backs is their former boss Eva Torres (Salma Hayek) a powerful and manipulative trader who is relentless in her determination to come between them and their plans. No matter what the cost, Vincent and Anton are determined to cut a fibre-optic cable through America, only to find redemption at the end of their line, not through money, but through family and reconnecting to the land. The film had its World Premier showing at TIFF back in September 2018, was released Stateside in mid-March, has so far taken US$492K, and has generated mixed our average Reviews so far.

'1985' (Rated M) - here this American drama film is Directed, Written, Co-Edited and based on a 2016 short film of the same name by Yen Tan. The film has been highly regarded and has picked up five award wins and a further nine nominations from around the festival circuit having Premiered at South By Southwest in March 2018. Set in 1985, in Texas, here Adrian Lester (Cory Michael Smith) hasn’t been home for three years, an absence he justifies as the price of his success claiming he just keeps climbing the corporate ladder at a prominent New York advertising agency. However, we soon enough learn that all is not as it seems with Adrian, who is clearly uncomfortable in returning to the locale of his devoutly Christian lower-middle-class family outside Fort Worth and confronting his father Dale (Michale Chiklis) and his mother Eileen (Virginia Madsen) with the tragic news that he is dying from AIDS. Also starring Aidan Langford and Jamie Chung.

'THUNDER ROAD' (Rated M) - this American comedy drama film is Directed, Written, stars, is Co-Edited and the music is also produced by one Jim Cummings based on his previous 2013 award winning short film of the same name. The film Premiered at South By Southwest back in March 2018 where it took out the Grand Jury Prize, cost a mere US$200K to make, has so far grossed US$355K, has picked up a bunch of award wins and nominations from around the festival circuit, and has received widespread critical acclaim. Following a Texan Police Officer, Jim Arnaud (Jim Cummings) who loses his mother, his marriage to Rosalind (Jocelyn DeBoer), custody of his daughter Crystal (Kendal Farr), and eventually his job. Inspired by one of the greatest songs ever written - 'Thunder Road' by Bruce Springsteen, we see officer Arnaud apply this lullaby of his mother's to his life during his ongoing and at times hilarious nervous breakdown. The film also stars Macon Blair.

With seven new release movies 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 week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : 14th June 2018.

The 65th annual Sydney Film Festival is in full swing this week, having opened its doors last week on 6th June with the opening film being the New Zealand 'The Breaker Upperers'. The festival winds up on Sunday 17th June with the USA offering 'Hearts Beat Loud'. The official SFF website states as an overview 'The world’s best new films come to Sydney every June for 12 days and nights of inspiring and entertaining premieres, talks and parties. Be among the first in Australia to see the greatest, strangest and most exciting work that cinema has to offer. Sydney Film Festival takes place at our flagship venue the State Theatre, as well as cinemas in the CBD, Newtown, Cremorne, Western Sydney and more, screening more than 200 films you won’t usually find in the multiplex. 12 films are selected for the Official Competition, which celebrates “courageous, audacious and cutting-edge” cinema with a $60,000 cash prize'. The Festival Patrons are : Gillian Armstrong, Cate Blanchett, Bryan Brown, Jane Campion, Jan Chapman, Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann, Dr. George Miller, Sam Neill, Phillip Noyce, Rachel Ward and Hugo Weaving.

Last week I reported on the twelve films in Official Competition at the SFF, so this week I turn attention to the 45+ feature films being showcased across the Festival and in particular those that are more than likely to get a wider release in Australia in the fullness of time. These are :
* 'Beirut' - Directed by Brad Anderson and starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike in this '70's and '80's set complex and intelligent political thriller. Australian Premier.
* '1%' - Directed by Stephen McCallum and starring Ryan Corr, Abbey Lee and Matt Nable about an outlaw motorcycle gang leader who is released from prison after three years to find the man who has been holding the reins in his absence has carved out his own niche that doesn't sit well with the returning gang leader.
* 'The Children Act' - Directed by Richard Eyre and starring Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci and Fionn Whitehead about a High Court Judge specialising in family law and presiding over a case involving a just under eighteen year old Jehovah's Witness boy who refuses a blood transfusion to save his own life, and the decision that the Judge must make to determine the young lads fate. Australian Premier.
* 'Disobedience'  - as Previewed below.
* 'Lean on Pete' - Directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlie Plummer, Chloe Sevigny, Travis Fimmel and Steve Buscemi about the inseparable bond that is forged between a young neglected boy and a racehorse called 'Lean on Pete'.
* 'Puzzle' - Directed by Marc Turtletaub and starring Kelly Macdonald and Irrfan Khan is a romantic drama that sees a whole new world open for a suburban contended albeit taken for granted mother when she discovers that she has an uncanny gift for completing jigsaw puzzles. Australian Premier.
* 'The Seagull' - Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Annette Benning, Elisabeth Moss and Saoirse Ronan based on the classic Anton Chekov play set over the course of one weekend at an idyllic country estate that sees romantic games played out between the principle cast that leave them either enamoured, or devastated. Australian Premier.
* 'Searching' - Directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring Debra Messing and John Choo in a tense thriller about the search for a missing daughter using all the available online tools at the disposal of the father and a Detective exploring how we communicate and interact with each other in this modern switched on technologically orientated world we live in, to track down the whereabouts of the girl. Australian Premier.
* 'The Second' - Directed by Mairi Cameron and starring Vince Colosimo, Susie Porter and Rachael Blake about a successful author struggling to deliver her highly anticipated second novel.
* 'Tyrel' - Directed by Sebastian Silva and starring Jason Mitchell, Michael Cera and Caleb Landry Jones in this story about a boys weekend away that turns uncomfortable and awkward for the only black man in the group, a man named Tyler. Australian Premier.

You can find out a lot more about the goings on and screenings at this years Sydney Film Festival by visiting : sff.org.au

This week we have four new big screen offerings to tempt you out on a cold Winter's evening to your local Odeon. We start with the long awaited sequel to an animated Superhero movie that collected numerous award accolades and did well at the Box Office back in 2004, and introduced us to your average suburban family who secretly harbour super powers but have been forced underground, until they are forced out of the shadows to save the world. This follows on directly from where that first instalment left off. We then move to an action comedy offering that sees a bunch of mates playing 'catch me if you can' as they chase each other around the USofA in an attempt to thwart for the first time in their games history the friend who has never yet been caught, and this surprisingly, is based on a true story. Next we turn to a man given super powers courtesy of a very rich dude and the insertion of an experimental micro-chip into that man to wreak bloody revenge and mayhem into those who killed this wife; and we then wrap things up with a drama of the unfolding, somewhat complicated and secretive relationship within London's Orthodox Jewish community between two women years after they were forced apart.

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 and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here cordially invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'INCREDIBLES 2' (Rated PG) - and finally after a hiatus of fourteen years comes the long awaited sequel to 2004's 'The Incredibles' - that highly praised computer animated Superhero film from Pixar that took US$633M at the global Box Office and picked up two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing, as well as the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the first entirely animated film to win the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Brad Bird wrote and Directed the first film, and it's no surprise that he reprises those two earlier roles for this second instalment, as do the majority of the principle voice cast. The film is released in the US this week too.

'Incredibles 2' takes off where 'The Incredibles' finished, with the introduction of the mole like villain The Underminer (John Ratzenberger). The Parr family struggles to maintain a degree of normalcy in their lives, while Mum Helen (Holly Hunter), as Elastigirl, continues to fight crime and campaign for the return, acceptance and acknowledgement of 'Supers'; while Dad Bob (Craig T. Nelson), aka Mr. Incredible, stays at home caring for their children Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner) and baby Jack-Jack, discovering the little one's secret powers in the process. Also, the Parrs and their ally Frozone aka Lucius Best (Samuel L. Jackson) find they must battle a new villain, who goes by the name of Screenslaver. Also starring the voice talents of Brad Bird as Edna Mode, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener and Isabella Rossellini. If this film is anything like the first instalment, it will be a blast, and worth the price of your ticket for kids of all ages from the young to the young at heart.

'TAG' (Rated M) - this American comedy offering is Directed by Jeff Tomsic and is based on a real-life group of friends known for playing a month-long game of tag. The group was profiled in The Wall Street Journal in January 2013, after which the group began receiving offers to adapt their story into a movie. They sold the rights to their story the next month, which has been subsequently Co-Produced, Co-Written for the Screen and based on a story by Mark Steilen. And so the premise for this film is that for one month every year, five highly charged and competitive mates hit the ground running for a no-holds-barred game of tag, risking their lives, their livelihood and their relationships to take one another down in a chase that takes them far and wide cross country. This time though, the game happens to coincide with the wedding of the only undefeated player, Jerry (Jeremy Renner). What should be an easy target soon becomes an all-out war as he knows they're coming to get him. The four other mates comprise Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson and Hannibal Buress with Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones, Annabelle Wallis and Brian Dennehy also starring. The film is released in the US this week too.

'UPGRADE' (Rated MA15+) - here we have an Australian Sci-Fi body horror action film mash-up, filmed in Melbourne, Directed and Written by Aussie Leigh Whannell who also acts and Produces in his spare time. This is only his second Directorial outing after 2015's 'Insidious Chapter 3' but his is also responsible for the hugely successful 'Saw' franchise in which he served as Actor, Writer and Producer; Actor and Writer on all four 'Insidious' films; and various other horror offerings before, and after. Set in a not too distant future world where a brutal and merciless mugging has left Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) paralysed and hospitalised, and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure by way of an experimental Artificial Intelligence implant called STEM that will cure him of his injuries and upgrade his body. He accepts the offer and against the odds soon is able to walk again. Trace also discovers that he has suddenly acquired superhuman strength and agility and a particular set of new found skills that he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life. The film was released in the US last week, and also stars Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, Clayton Jacobson and Melanie Vallejo. This film has received largely positive Reviews and off the back of a US$5M budget has so far grossed US$10M.

'DISOBEDIENCE' (Rated MA15+) - this drama offering is Directed and Co-Written for the screen by Chilean film make, Producer, Writer and Editor Sebastian Lelio who most recent highly acclaimed credit was this years Oscar winning Best Foreign Language Film 'A Fantastic Woman'. Here he adapts the 2006 novel of the same name by British Author Naomi Alderman which is set in the London suburb of Hendon. Telling the story of Ronit Krushka (Rachel Weisz), a 32 year old non-practicing Orthodox Jewish woman who returns to the strict Orthodox community after working as a photographer in New York. The death of her estranged father, a powerful Rabbi, brings her back to her childhood home from which she was sent away from after her teenage romance with a female school friend was revealed. Discovering that her cousin Dovid Kuperman (Alessandro Nivola), who is also her father's chosen successor, is married to her former lover, Esti (Rachel McAdams), forces Ronit to rethink what she left behind whilst reigniting that old flame for her former close friend. The film Premiered at TIFF back in early September last year, was released in the US late in April this year, gets a limited release in Australia this week and is not released in the UK until late November this year. Generally favourable Reviews and a Box Office take of just over US$2M so far.

With four new release films out 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. Meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd February 2018.

The 71st Annual BAFTA Awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) were held on Sunday evening 18th February at London's Royal Albert Hall, and hosted for the first time by film and television personality Joanna Lumley (taking over from Stephen Fry who enjoyed a twelve year period of tenure). Awards are given for best feature length film and documentary, and for those that make them happen both behind and in front of the camera, for any nationally screened across Great Britain throughout 2017. The winners and grinners, in case you missed it, are as given below, in the main categories :-

* Best Film : 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'.
* Outstanding British Film : 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'.
* Best Animated Film : 'Coco'.
* Best Documentary : 'I Am Not Your Negro'.
* Best Film Not In The English Language : 'The Handmaiden'.
* Best Director : Guillermo del Toro for 'The Shape of Water'.
* Best Actor in a Lead Role : Gary Oldman for 'The Darkest Hour' as Winston Churchill.
* Best Actress in a Lead Role : Frances McDormand for 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' as Mildred Hayes.
* Best Actor in a Support Role : Sam Rockwell for 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' as Jason Dixon.
* Best Actress in a Support Role : Alison Janney for 'I, Tonya' as LaVona Golden.
* Best Original Screenplay : Martin McDonagh for 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'
* Best Adapted Screenplay : James Ivory for 'Call Me By Your Name'.
* Best Cinematography : Roger Deakins for 'Blade Runner 2049'.
* Best Original Music : Alexander Desplat for 'The Shape of Water'.
* Best Production Design : 'The Shape of Water'.
* Best Costume Design : 'Phantom Thread'.
* Best Special Visual Effects : 'Blade Runner 2049'.

* The Rising Star Award : Daniel Kaluuya.
* The BAFTA Fellowship Award : Ridley Scott.

Turning attention then to the films of 2018, and specifically those released this coming week, we launch with a true story of a turn of the 20th Century haunted house, but this is no ordinary house and these are no ordinary hauntings. We then move on to time repeating itself like its 'Groundhog Hog Day' all over again, but this is a Sci-Fi thriller involving an air traffic controller, his girlfriend and a wrinkle in time. Next up is a Chilean Foreign Language offering about a transgender woman, her dead lover, and being ostracised by just about everyone who suspects she had a hand in his death. Then there is a black comedy action film about a friends weekly game night taking on more than a touch of realism when one gamer decides to Host a Murder! This is followed up with a feel good tale of a true blue Aussie and his love for all things barbecue, that leads him to an international barbecue show down to win back his reputation and his honour. We then wrap up with a New Zealand film about two girls in their last year at University - one maintaining the straight and narrow pathway of no boyfriends and no going out and the other charged with looking after her best friend so she doesn't succumb to temptation.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six new release films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here 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 big screen Odeon experience during the week ahead.

'WINCHESTER' (Rated M) - this based on a true story supernatural horror film is Directed by the Australian Spierig brothers - Michael and Peter - whose previous credits include the excellent 2014 'Predestination'. The 'Winchester' in question here refers to one Sarah Winchester who was the widow and recipient of her late husbands fortune - William Wirt Winchester - the firearm magnate of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 43 in 1881. After his death, Sarah rose to notoriety for building the property in San Jose, California, that came to be known as the Winchester Mystery House - a Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion that was/is renowned for its size, its architectural curiosities, and its lack of any master building plan. Since its construction began in 1884, the property and mansion were claimed by many to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed with Winchester rifles. Under Sarah Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its 'from-the-ground-up' construction proceeded around the clock, by some accounts, without interruption, until her death in early September 1922, at which time work immediately ceased. The house today stands as a tourist attraction, is privately owned, and is a Californian registered historical landmark.

History lesson over and so to the film. Said to be the most haunted house in the world, the Winchester House sits on an isolated stretch of land that's about fifty miles outside of San Francisco on about 160 acres. Built by Sarah Winchester (Helen Mirren starring in her first horror film in her illustrious forty+ year career) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it stands seven stories tall and contains some 160 rooms including forty bedrooms, two ballrooms as well as 47 fireplaces, over ten thousand panes of glass, seventeen chimneys, two basements and three elevators. To an outsider, it looks like a monstrous monument to a disturbed woman's madness. But Sarah is constructing a prison, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters. The Winchester company is fearful for Sarah's state of mind and her ability to run the company so they engage Doctor Eric Prince (Jason Clarke) to assess Sarah's state of mind. What follows is a tale of things that go bump in the night, visions of nether worldly spirits, and sightings of ghouls & ghosts that is sure to make any turn of the century sceptic hide under the bed sheets. Also starring Sarah Snook, the film was made for a very modest US$3.5M, has so far recouped US$22M but has garnered generally lacklustre Reviews.

'2:22' (Rated M) - here we have a thriller Directed by Australian Paul Currie that saw its cinematic release in the US back last June 2017 at a budgeted cost of US$3.5M pulling in a domestic gross Stateside of just US$422, making it the lowest grossing theatrically released film in 2017. The storyline here tells of two planes that almost collide in the skies above JFK International Airport after a blinding flash of light paralyses air traffic controller Dylan Branson (Michiel Huisman) for a few seconds at exactly 2:22pm. Suspended from his job, Dylan starts to notice a recurrence of sounds and events in his life at exactly the same time every day. With each passing day, the flash that hit Dylan at JFK begins to reveal itself as ripples in time, and an underlying pattern soon unfolds, drawing him into New York's Grand Central Station daily at 2:22pm. Now drawn into a complex relationship with a woman, Sarah (Teresa Palmer), Dylan must figure out a way to break the power of the past and take control of time itself. Also starring John Waters and Kerry Armstrong.

'A FANTASTIC WOMAN' (Rated M) - Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival back in February 2017 where it was in competition for the Golden Bear for Best Film, but walked away with the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay, it is also in competition for Best Foreign Language Film at this years upcoming Academy Awards. This universally acclaimed Chilean film is Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Sebastian Lelio and tells of Marina (Daniela Vega) and Orlando (Francisco Reyes) who are in love and planning for their future together. Marina is a young waitress and aspiring singer. Orlando is thirty years her senior and owns a printing company. After celebrating Marina's birthday one evening, Orlando falls seriously ill and dies shortly afterwards upon arrival at the hospital. Instead of being able to mourn her lover, suddenly Marina is treated with suspicion by Orlando's family, the Doctor's, and the Police who don't trust her and believe that she may have been involved in Orlando's death somehow. Marina is however, transgender, and is looked down upon by Orlando's family as a perversion, and so now she must also battle against these prejudices for the right to be herself.

'GAME NIGHT' (Rated MA15+) - this black comedy action film is Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and is about a bunch of couples who meet regularly once a week for a night of fun and frivolity - their game night. On one such night Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie's (Rachel McAdams) weekly game night moves up a dimension when Max's brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) arranges a murder mystery party complete with fake crims and officers of the law. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it's all supposed to be part of the game, right? As the competitors set out to solve the case, they begin to realise that the game nor Brooks are what they appear to be. The friends soon find themselves in over their heads as each new twist leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one chaotic evening. Also starring Jesse Plemmons, Michael C. Hall, Jeffrey Wright and Danny Huston.

'THE BBQ' (Rated PG) - Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written by Aussie Stephen Amis, this Australian comedy offering sees true blue loveable Aussie suburban rogue everyman Dazza (Shane Jacobsen) who has a passion for the barbecue, give his neighbours an accidental dose of food poisoning at his regular Saturday barbie. With his reputation and dignity at risk, Dazza seeks to make amends by enlisting the support of a head strong and opinionated Scottish Chef known as 'The Butcher' (Magda Szubanski) that ultimately sees him entering an international barbecuing competition, where he comes face to face with some of the world best barbecue Chef's. With a guest appearance by Australian/French celebrity chef and co-host of the popular television series 'My Kitchen Rules' Manu Feildel as Dazza's barbecuing rival Andre Mont Blanc, this should get the tastebuds watering a you drool over some barbecue food porn.

'HIBISCUS AND RUTHLESS' (Rated PG) - Samoan Writer and Director Stallone Valaoga-Ioasa here offers us a comedy set in Auckland, New Zealand about two childhood friends who are both in their final year at University. The story focuses on Hibiscus (Suivai Autagavaia) as she struggles to complete her Engineering degree without any distractions. Her demanding and overbearing mother (Lafitaga Mafaufau) commands that there shall be no going out and no boyfriends and that her final year of study and her exams are the singular most important thing in her life and her focus on that needs to be her top priority. As guys start to come on strong to Hibiscus and her attention is drawn to their advances, Hibiscus enlists the support and guidance of her good friend Ruth (Anna-Maree Thomas) to keep her focused.

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 cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-