TENET : Tuesday 1st September 2020.

'TENET' which I saw this week is an M Rated much hyped eagerly awaited spy drama film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Christopher Nolan, who I'm sure needs no further introduction, other than his film Directing credits have amassed global Box Office returns of about US$4.7B and he has won 137 awards and been nominated 228 other times, so I guess he must be doing something right! Originally slated for a 17th July release, this was subsequently pushed back because of COVID-19 to 31st July, then 12th August and saw its release in seventy countries from last week, before its release in the US and China this week. Costing somewhere in the region of US$220M to make, the film has garnered mostly favourable Reviews from Critics, and has so far recouped US$54M. Riffing off James Bond with exotic locations, extravagant action set pieces, international espionage, a Russian bad guy hell bent on bringing about the end of the world as we know it, and the good guys working for a covert secret outfit this is sure to please . . . if you can get your head around the premise.

The film opens up with all guns blazing setting the scene for the action set pieces to follow. A CIA Agent takes part in an undercover SWAT mission at the Kyiv National Opera in the Ukraine, where he rescues an exposed spy and recovers a strange artefact, but not before members of the performing orchestra are shot and killed and the entire audience is put to sleep with gas. Another masked soldier with a red tag on his back pack rescues the Agent from being shot, but at this point it remains unclear as to their identities. The Agent (John David Washington) comes around tied to a chair on a railway line with a colleague also bound, with a bunch of nasty looking henchmen counting down the time until a train comes hurtling down the tracks to kill them both.

The Agent swallows a cyanide capsule, bur he later wakes to be told that the capsule was fake, his colleagues are all dead, and congratulations, he passed the test - no others before him have got that far. The Agent's superior, Victor (Martin Donovan) tells him that one word 'Tenet' will open doors for him, but to be wary because other doors will be slammed in his face with potentially life threatening consequences, and he is to use several markers to begin his journey.

His journey eventually leads him to Laura (Clemence Poesy), a scientist studying bullets and other retrieved artefacts whose make up has been 'inverted' so that they move backwards through time, demonstrated when the Agent catches the bullet in the chamber of the gun, rather than discharging it. Studying the make up of the bullets, the Agent traces the bullets to Priya (Dimple Kapadia), an arms trafficker living in Mumbai, and also affiliated to Tenet.

Now simply going by the handle of the Protagonist, The Agent is supported by a local named Neil (Robert Pattinson) and they both successfully infiltrate Priya's heavily guarded high rise home, by reverse bungee jumping up the tower, and learn that the bullets are supplied by Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) a Russian Oligarch who is able to communicate with the future. The Protagonist meets with Sator's estranged wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), an art auctioneer. He learns that Sator is blackmailing her over a forged Goya painting that she sold him for US$10M, but he discovered her ruse and threatened to hand her over to the authorities if she doesn't comply with his wishes, and at the same time keeping her at arms length from her beloved young son. Kat comments that the last time the couple were truly happy together was on board his super yacht in Vietnam, from which she saw a mystery woman dive when she was leaving on a motor tender with her son.

The Protagonist and Neil work with fixer Mahir (Himesh Patel) to steal the fake Goya painting from the Freeport storage facility (a tax free haven used by investors to secretly store their art works that is heavily fortified, securely guarded and tightly controlled) at Oslo Airport, by crashing a cargo jet into the adjoining hangar as a diversion. By doing so Sator would no longer have a hold over Kat, and she would effectively be free. Inside the facility, they locate a machine from which two masked men emerge, one of which is inverted. After unmasking the normal one, Neil stops the Protagonist from killing the inverted one. Priya later explains that the machine was a 'Turnstile', a time inversion device developed in the future, and that the two masked men were in fact the same person.

The Protagonist subsequently tells Kat that the painting was destroyed in the resultant fire at the Freeport, and she arranges a meeting with Sator who reveals that he had the painting moved before the crash. Sator by now is on to the Protagonist and has him captured, and threatens to kill him. However, the Protagonist mentions the events at the Ukranian Opera, at which Sator has a change of heart - for now. Kat attempts to drown Sator during a boat race but the Protagonist jumps in and saves him. Sator now feels indebted to the Protagonist and so the Protagonist offers to steal a case of plutonium that Sator desires in exchange for Kat's freedom.

The Protagonist and Neil steal the plutonium in an intricately planned and executed highway heist from an armoured convoy in Estonia, but realise upon opening the carry case that it is in fact another artefact. An inverted Sator captures both the Protagonist and Kat, and shoots her with an inverted bullet, forcing him to reveal where the artefact is. A team of Tenet operatives led by Ives (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) frees the Protagonist forcing Sator to flee. To save Kat's life (for being shot by an inverted bullet is far more deadly that being shot by a conventional bullet), the Protagonist and Neil take her through Sator's Turnstile. They travel back to the Oslo Freeport crash the previous week to un-invert themselves inside the Turnstile there. As they re-infiltrate the airport, the inverted Protagonist fights his non-inverted self, before reaching the Turnstile and un-inverting himself.

Travelling back to Mumbai, Priya explains the artefacts (of which there are nine in total) are parts of a future-developed 'Algorithm' capable of catastrophically inverting the entire world, and that future humans are using Sator to activate it in order to prevent the effects of global warming. Kat advises that Sator is dying from inoperable pancreatic cancer. They conclude that he aims to trigger the Algorithm through suicide and through a dead man's switch, believing the world should die when he does. Kat has suspicions that Sator will choose to die on that day on his yacht in Vietnam when they were last at their happiest together.

Kat inverts back in time to delay Sator's death, while Tenet tracks the assembled Algorithm to an abandoned Soviet closed city and commences a 'temporal pincer movement', meaning that half of their troops move forward in time to the blast zone (the red team led by the Protagonist and Ives), while the other half moves backwards (the blue team led by Neil and Wheeler (Fiona Dourif)). The Protagonist and Ives are prevented from reaching the Algorithm stored underground by a locked gate, until an inverted masked corpse with a red tag on its rucksack springs to life, saving the Protagonist from a gunshot and unlocking the gate. The pair fight with a henchmen, who is intent on sending the assembled component parts of the Algorithm into a chasm below and detonating it, but is prevented from doing so with a bullet to the head. Neil driving an armed vehicle above ground drops a line down into the hole in the ground directly above where the pair are located. Clinging on the assembled Algorithm device they are winched up by Neil, just as the ground below them explodes. 

Meanwhile Kat has lured Sator into a false sense of well being and security on board his yacht in Vietnam. She shoots Sator in the chest and then drops him off the side of the yacht from an upper deck as he tumbles end over end crashing against the side of the boat before landing face down in the sea. Kat then dives from the yacht's deck, where she is witnessed by her past self. Kat calls the Protagonist to let him know that she shot and killed her husband prematurely, hoping that they rescued the Algorithm in time, to which he responds with a yes. The Protagonist, Neil and Ives break up the Algorithm's component into three equal sections each vowing to store them away secretly and without the knowledge of anyone else. The Protagonist notices a familiar red tag on Neil's rucksack, and asks him how he came to be recruited by Tenet. Neil reveals that a future version of the Protagonist recruited him to Tenet years earlier, and this mission is the end of a long friendship that the Protagonist has yet to experience. Neil and Ives depart in a helicopter, leaving the Protagonist on the ground.

Sometime later, and in London, Priya attempts to kill Kat while she is picking her son up from school, but is killed by the Protagonist in the passenger seat of the car where she sat.

I liked 'Tenet' a lot, and this is one film that you need to watch on the big cinema screen where you can immerse yourself in the never before seen stunning visuals, the action set pieces, the surround sound while trying to get your head around the meaning of the inversion of time, that is the core of this films premise. Here Christopher Nolan, who allegedly spent the past two decades or so mulling over the story and his Screenplay, has crafted perhaps his most ambitiously bold and audacious film yet; the lead characters all do a fine job with particular nods to John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh in perhaps his most evil and villainous role yet. The physics of inversion aren't fully explained and as Clemence Poesy's character Laura explains 'don't try to understand it, feel it', you'll leave the cinema having been wowed by the sheer size and spectacle this film offers up, but scratching your head trying to grapple with the science behind it. This epic film is supposedly going to re-establish the movie going experience in a Post-COVID world, and in this respect Nolan has delivered a wildly entertaining thrill ride of a movie that deserves all the success it can muster, and repeat viewings to understand it.

'TENET' meets four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 27th August 2020.

The 24th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is taking place right now between 20th August and 2nd September in Montreal, Canada. The official Fantasia website states that its Mission 'since its beginnings, has been to explore the diverse realms of genre cinema, creating bridges between the cutting edge and the mainstream, and providing a festive but professional environment where emerging artists are given exposure alongside their more established counterparts, both locally and internationally. We showcase the best in Canadian and world cinema, discovering and nurturing exciting new talents and offering a platform through which artists and audiences can connect'. 

This years festival is conducted entirely online with no in-person screenings, workshops or special presentations. Nonetheless, the virtual lineup includes one hundred feature films and one hundred and eighty short films accessible to movie lovers across Canada with an eclectic mix of screenings, panel discussions, and workshops. The festival opens with the screening of Neil Marshall’s 'The Reckoning' - a poignant and horrific period thriller set in 1665 against the backdrop of the Great Plague and the subsequent witch hunts in England. In addition, the festival is also presenting a masterclass with legendary film maker John Carpenter, as well as awarding him a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award. Amongst the World Premier movies showing at this years virtual festival is 'Undergods', 'The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw', 'Hunted', 'Kriya', 'The Undertaker's Home', 'Come True', '#ShakespearsShitstorm', 'Unearth' and 'Tiny Tim : King for a Day'. You can check out the full schedule of events, session times and a whole lot more at the official website, at : https://fantasiafestival.com

This week then there are four latest release new films coming your way at the local Odeon. We kick start with a highly anticipated film from an acclaimed Director that is reportedly going to re-launch the cinema going experience and convince the movie industry that there remains a healthy appetite for blockbuster films to be seen on the big screen. That film pits the fate of the world squarely on the shoulders of one man and his handler as they travel the world looking to overthrow a Russian Oligarch while playing with time itself. Next up we have a Chinese film about a war time siege on a warehouse as the Chinese Army seek to defend it from advancing Japanese troops. We then have a French film set in the aftermath of the 2018 World Cup and the escalation of Police violence especially amongst the poorer and younger ethnic communities of Paris, and we close out the week with an Aussie biopic of a famed songstress of the '60's and '70's who also became the poster girl for the second wave feminist movement.

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.

'TENET' (Rated M) - here, finally, is the much hyped eagerly awaited spy drama film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Christopher Nolan, who I'm sure needs no further introduction, other than his film Directing credits have amassed global Box Office returns of about US$4.7B and he has won 137 awards and been nominated 228 other times, so I guess he must be doing something right! Originally slated for a 17th July release, this was subsequently pushed back because of COVID-19 to 31st July, then 12th August and now gets a release in seventy countries from this week, before its release in the US and China next week. Costing somewhere in the region of US$220M to make, the film has garnered mostly favourable Reviews from Critics. Riffing off James Bond with exotic locations, extravagant action set pieces, international espionage, a Russian bad guy hell bent on bring about the end of the world as we know it, and the good guys working for a covert secret outfit this is sure to please . . . if you can get your head around the premise.

Here, going only by the moniker of The Protagonist (John David Washington) is working for a secret organisation known as 'Tenet'. His handler is Neil (Robert Pattinson) and between them they are tasked with over throwing a power crazy Russian Oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) intent on world destruction by starting WWIII. And so with the fate of the entire world hanging in the balance The Protagonist must  journey through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that unfolds in something beyond real time, not time travel, but time inversion! Also starring Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clemence Poesy, Michael Caine and Martin Donovan.

'THE EIGHT HUNDRED' (Rated CTC) - this Chinese historical war time drama film is Directed by Guan Hu who made his feature film debut in 1994 with 'Dirt' - a portrayal of Beijing's rock music scene. Since then he has made 'Cow' in 2009, 'The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel' in 2013, 'Mr. Six' in 2015, plus segments in the anthology films 'Run for Love' in 2016 and 'My People, My Country' in 2019. Initially slated for a July 2019 release, the film was subject to controversy and possible government interference, before being moved to a 21st August release date in its native China, and a limited release in Australia from this week. Off a budget of US$80M the film has so far grossed US$116M. The story here unfolds on 13th August 1937, as the Imperial Japanese Army invades Shanghai, Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan (Du Chun), of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, leads more than 400 young officers, soldiers and draft dodgers to guard the Sihang Warehouse complex in Shanghai over a four day siege just as Japanese forces are beginning to overwhelm China.

'LES MISERABLES' (Rated MA15+) - here this French drama film has absolutely nothing to do with the famed 1862 novel by Victor Hugo other than the fact that this film is set in the commune of Montfermeil and Hugo's novel was written and partially set in that same place. This is the feature film Directorial debut of Ladj Ly and based on his short film of the same name from 2017. It had its World Premiere showing at the May 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It was released in France in late November 2019 and received critical acclaim, earning twelve nominations at the Cesar Awards and winning four including Best Film. All up the film collected nineteen award wins and a further forty-eight nominations including an Oscar nod for Best International Feature Film. The film has so far grossed US$19M and has generated largely favourable Reviews. Set during the aftermath of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and based on a real-life occurrence of Police violence which took place in the city on October 14th 2008, and was observed and filmed by Ly. The story follows several characters within the commune, as a theft from a teenager spirals into the threat of a larger crisis. The film depicts abuses against poor citizens, especially teenagers of sub-Saharan African or Maghrebi ethnicities, thus emphasising the ongoing plight of the poor in Montfermeil.

'I AM WOMAN' (Rated M) - is an Australian biographical film offering Directed and Co-Produced by Unjoo Moon that saw its World Premier screening at TIFF back in September last year, before its very limited theatrical release in Australia this week and before it streams throughout Australia from 28th August onward on Stan. In 1966 aged 24, Helen Reddy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) arrives in New York with her three-year-old daughter, a suitcase and just US$230 in her back pocket. Promised a recording contract which the company then renegs on, she is left stranded in the Big Apple without a visa but she decides to stay and pursue a singing career. Then she meets with influential rock music journalist Lillian Roxon (Danielle Macdonld) and within five years she had become one of the biggest superstars of her time, with close to thirty number one US singles, her own hourly TV show and an icon of the '70's feminist movement, which adopted her power anthem 'I Am Woman'. She also meets Jeff Wald (Evan Peters), a young up & coming talent manager who ultimately becomes her agent and husband. Whilst Wald helps her get to the top of her profession, he also suffers from a drug addiction, which gradually turns their relationship toxic. The film has been largely praised.

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 in the week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Odeon's closed, productions halted, movies delayed : the impact of the coronavirus!

Usually on a Wednesday I would report on the latest release new movies coming to an Odeon near you in Australia during the week commencing tomorrow. But as cinemas all around the country and elsewhere are temporarily closed, this week and for the foreseeable future this is not to be. So, as the world remains in lockdown, self isolation is the new de rigueur, and all but twenty of the worlds countries are suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that has seen large social gatherings forbidden, stores and businesses shut their doors indefinitely, millions of people now working from home or stood down, the global economy on an ever descending downward spiral, borders closed, airlines grounded, and all but essential services and retailers still operating. And, as at the time of writing, there is no end in sight! All that we know is that this global pandemic will pass . . . eventually, but who knows when, and who knows what the world will look like on the other side?

In Australia, movie theatres across the land closed their doors some three weeks ago now, as they did in many other countries around the world. At around about the same time television and film productions were halted indefinitely or cancelled altogether and the Studios who had their movies slated for imminent release have moved back those scheduled release dates to later in the year, or next year, or to some future unspecified date.

So, in case you were wondering what the status is of the big movies originally scheduled for release during the coming months, here is what we know of them so far :-

* 'THE HUNT' - this Blumhouse produced horror thriller is Directed by Craig Zobel and stars Betty Gilpin, Amy Madigan, Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, Ethan Suplee, and Ike Barinholtz and was released Stateside on 13th March. One week later it was pulled from any further theatrical releases and it was then made available on digital streaming services.

* 'A QUIET PLACE : PART II' - the follow up film to John Krasinski's hugely successful 2018 horror  thriller film is Directed and Written once again by John Krasinski, and stars his wife Emily Blunt with Cillian Murphy, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Djimon Hounsou and Krasinski in newly film flash backs. The film was scheduled for an 19th March release, and has since been delayed until 4th September 2020.

* 'PETER RABBIT 2 : THE RUNAWAY' - this live action computer animated comedy film is based on the characters created by Beatrix Potter over one hundred years ago, and is the sequel to 2018's 'Peter Rabbit'. Directed by Will Gluck and starring in live action roles are Domhnall Gleeson, Rose Byrne and David Oyelowo with voices provided by James Cordon, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, Lennie James, Sam Neill, Ewen Leslie and Damon Herriman. This film was also scheduled for a 19th March release and has since been put back until 15th January 2021.

* THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD' - this comedy drama offering based on the original story by Charles Dickens was released in the UK in late January, and is Directed, Co-Produced, and Co-Written for the screen by Armando Iannucci, and stars Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw, Paul Whitehouse, Benedict Wong, Aneurin Barnard, Gwendoline Christie, and Morfydd Clark. The film was scheduled for a release in Australia on 26th March. Earlier that month the film was pulled from its further release schedule, and a re-release date has yet to be confirmed. This Reviewer saw an early screening of the film however, back in February at Sydney's Open Air Cinema, so you can check out my Review, to see what you missed.

* 'MULAN' - this Disney live action remake of their 1998 animated feature film was initially scheduled for a 26th March release, but that has now been pushed back to an unspecified future date. Directed by Niki Caro and starring Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Jet Li, and Tzi Ma.

* 'THE NEW MUTANTS' - this Superhero horror film intended to be an instalment of the 'X-Men' franchise has been plagued by release date delays, but the most recently publicised date was for an 3rd April release time frame which has now been pushed back to an unspecified date, although expected to be some time in later 2020. Directed by Josh Boone and starring Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga as the five new young mutants.

* 'ARTEMIS FOWL' - this Sci-Fi adventure offering is a Disney film based on the 2001 book of the same name by Eoin Colfer, Directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Ferdia Shaw in the title role with Josh Gad, Colin Farrell and Judy Dench. Scheduled for a 3rd April release, this film has been pulled from its cinematic release and will instead air on Disney+ at an as yet undisclosed date.

* 'NO TIME TO DIE' - the 25th instalment in the James Bond franchise is Directed by Cary Fukunaga and starring Daniel Craig for the final time as Bond with Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux, Naomi Harris, Ana de Armas, and Rory Kinnear. Originally slated for a 9th April release this latest instalment has been pushed back officially to 12th November 2020.

* 'ANTLERS' - this supernatural horror offering with Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer both taking Co-Producer credits was due for a release on 16th April, but has subsequently been pushed back to some future undisclosed date in 2020. Directed by Scott Cooper and starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemmons, Amy Madigan, Graham Greene and Jeremy T. Thomas.

* 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN' - is a black comedy drama offering Directed, Co-Produced and Written by Emerald Fennell and starring Carey Mulligan, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Alfred Molina. Originally set for a 16th April release, this film is still publicised for this date, but that seems highly unlikely at this stage, pending advice from the distributor.

* 'ANTEBELLUM' - is an American horror drama film that was slated for release on 24th April, but a new date for its release has yet to be announced. Directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz and starring Janelle Monae, Jena Malone, Jack Huston and Gabourey Sibide.

* 'BLACK WIDOW' - this MCU Superhero gets her own standalone film despite being killed off in 'Avengers : Endgame'. With Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, with Florence Pugh, David Harbour, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, Rachel Weisz and Robert Downey Jnr as Iron Man/Tony Stark. Directed by Cate Shortland this is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and launches the MCU Phase Four and is set after the events of 'Captain America : Civil War'. Originally set for a 1st May release, this film has been pushed back with as yet, no date specified.

* 'SPIRAL' (aka 'SPIRAL : FROM THE BOOK OF SAW') - is a horror film that is the ninth instalment in the 'Saw' franchise and is Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Written by Chris Rock and also starring him too alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella. It was due for release on 15th May, but has since been pushed back indefinitely.

* 'THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW' - this psychological thriller is Directed by Joe Wright, and written for the screen by Tracy Letts who also stars together with Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Julianne Moore. Originally scheduled for a 15th May release, but has been pushed back to an as yet undisclosed date.

* 'F9' (aka 'FAST & FURIOUS 9') - this ninth instalment in the hugely successful and popular action franchise is this time around Directed by Justin Lin and reunites Vin Diesel with Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren amongst others and introduces John Cena as the bad guy. Due for a 22nd May release, but this has now be delayed until 2nd April 2021.

* 'WONDER WOMAN 1984' - this sequel to 2017's successful 'Wonder Woman' film and the ninth film in the DCEU, is Directed as before by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/ Diana Prince with Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen. Slated for a 5th June release but has now been pushed back to 14th August 2020.

* 'GREYHOUND' - this WWII American war film was written for the screen by Tom Hanks and also stars him too in the lead role as Commander Ernest Krause in this story of The Battle of the Atlantic which took place in early 1942 - only a few months after the US entered WWII. Directed by Aaron Schneider and also starring Stephen Graham, Elisabeth Shue, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Rob Morgan. Initially scheduled for a 11th June release, this film has been pushed back indefinitely with no date as yet publicised.

* 'CANDYMAN' - is a supernatural slasher film Directed by Nia DaCosta and Co-Written by Jordan Peele, and is a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and the fourth film in the 'Candyman' franchise, based on the short story 'The Forbidden' by Clive Barker. Initially slated for an 11th June release, the film has since been put back to 25th September 2020.

* 'TOP GUN : MAVERICK' - this follow up to 1986's 'Top Gun' film with Tom Cruise as Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell sees the intrepid Navy pilot return in this sequel that was originally scheduled for a 24th June release that has since been delayed until 23rd December 2020. Directed by Jospeh Kosinski and also starring Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer and Jennifer Connelly.

* 'FREE GUY' - this Sci-Fi action comedy film is Directed by Shawn Levy and stars Ryan Reynolds (who also Co-Produces) and Taika Waititi, Joe Keery and Lil Rel Howery. Slated for a 3rd July release, this has now been pushed back until 11th December 2020.

* 'GHOSTBUSTERS : AFTERLIFE' - this supernatural comedy offering is a direct sequel to 'Ghostbusters' from 1984 and 'Ghostbusters II' from 1989, and the fourth film in the franchise. Directed by Jason Reitman and starring Mackenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Bokeem Woodbine, Tracy Letts, and reprising their roles from the first films Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver. Set for a release date of 10th July, this has now been pushed back to 5th March 2021.

* 'MORBIUS' - based on the Marvel Comics Superhero character of the same name this is the third film in Sony's Marvel Universe that was intended for a July release date, but this has now been put back until 19th March 2021. Directed by Daniel Espinosa and starring Jared Leto as Michael Morbius with Matt Smith, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson and Michael Keaton.

* 'TENET' - this action thriller film is Directed, Co-Produced and Written by Christopher Nolan with an all star cast taking in John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Clemence Poesy, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. It remains at this time still scheduled for a 17th July release - being the fifth Nolan film to be released in the third weekend of July, which has been hailed as his 'lucky date ' as his prior four projects went on to achieve strong box office returns. This of course remains to be seen, or if indeed 'Tenet' will also get pushed back.

* 'THE FRENCH DISPATCH' - is a comedy drama film Directed and Co-Written by Wes Anderson with an all star ensemble cast including Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Elisabeth Moss, Frances McDormand, Lea Seydoux, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz, Owen Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan. The film was originally scheduled for a July 24th release, but has since been postponed until 16th October 2020.

* 'JUNGLE CRUISE' -  is an action adventure film based on the Disney theme park attraction of the same name. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Dwayne Johnson (who also Co-Produces), Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, and Jesse Plemmons this film was scheduled for a 24th July release date which has since been pushed back to 30th July 2021.

* 'MALIGNANT' - this horror film is Directed, Co-Produced, and Co-Written by James Wan and stars Annabelle Wallis, Jacqueline McKenzie and Mckenna Grace, and was slated for an 14th August release, which has now been pushed back indefinitely.

* 'ETERNALS' - this Superhero film exists in the MCU and is Marvel's 25th entry into their cinematic universe, Directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Barry Keoghan, Angelina Jolie and Kit Harrington as some of the 'Eternals' amongst others - an immortal alien race created by the 'Celestials' who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years, and who reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the 'Deviants'. Originally scheduled for a 6th November release, and subsequently moved back to 12th February 2021.

And so this just about brings you up to date with many of the movie postponements that have so far been announced, doubtless with more to follow depending on how long this pesky virus thing continues to hang around for. Next week, we'll report on the movie productions that have been halted in their tracks for the imminent future and what this means for their planned release schedule. Stay tuned, keep it here and remain safe . . . indoors!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-