THE AMATEUR : Tuesday 15th April 2025

I saw the M Rated 'THE AMATEUR' earlier this week at my local independent movie theatre, and this American vigilante action spy thriller film is Directed by James Hawes and is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell, which was previously adapted into a Canadian film that same year with John Savage, Christopher Plummer and Marthe Keller. James Hawes previous feature film making effort was 'One Life' in 2023, although he has Directed numerous TV series since the early 2000's, including multiple episodes of 'Doctor Who', 'Merlin', 'Penny Dreadful', 'Black Mirror', 'Snowpiercer' and 'Slow Horses'. The film was released in the US last week too, has so far grossed US$35M from a production budget of US$60M and has garnered mixed or average reviews. 

Here then, Charles 'Charlie' Heller (Rami Malek, who also Co-Produces here), is a brilliant yet deeply introverted CIA cryptographer, who as the film opens up is seen carefully unwrapping parts to restore an old Cessna single prop plane that was gifted to him by his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan). Later that same day Sarah departs for London where she is attending a four day conference. She asks him to join her, but as usual he declines saying that he has too much important work to do at Langley. At the CIA's Decryption and Analysis division, Charlie has befriended a field agent nicknamed 'the Bear' (Jon Bernthal), and an anonymous source codenamed 'Inquiline'. 

Inquiline sends Charlie highly classified and heavily encrypted files that reveal Special Activities Centre Director and Charlie's boss Alex Moore (Holt McCallany) altered politically-motivated drone strikes as suicide bombings. Later that evening Charlie tries calling Sarah but he only goes through to her voicemail. The next morning Charlie subsequently is brought to CIA Director Samantha O'Brien (Julianne Nicholson), who informs him that Sarah has been killed in a terrorist attack in London. Charlie is disbelieving until he sees raw footage displayed on a TV screen in her office downloaded from a security camera in close proximity to the hotel where Sarah was shot execution style.

A grieving Charlie soon afterwards presents his own findings to Moore and his CIA Deputy Caleb Horowitz (Danny Sapani). After an arms deal gone wrong, four assailants took Sarah and others hostage, killing her before escaping. Charlie identifies the suspects, Belarusian criminal Mishka Blazhic (Marc Rissmann), South African ex-special forces operative Ellish (Joseph Millson), former Armenian intelligence officer Gretchen Frank (Barbara Probst), and elusive mastermind Horst Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg), Sarah's killer. However, Moore and Horowitz insist they are working to take down Schiller's entire network, and as such tell Charlie to keep out. Determined to avenge Sarah, Charlie confronts Moore and Horowitz with his incriminating orders, which caused hundreds of civilian and allied casualties. Initially Moore brushes off the evidence laid before him, but Charlie then threatens to leak the information to the CIA Director and then the news channels. Charlie demands the available CIA resources to personally hunt down the four terrorists.

And so Charlie is sent off to train with Col. Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) at Camp Peary. The gun-shy Charlie excels at bomb-making, but Henderson lays it out clearly on the line that he is simply not capable of killing anyone. Meanwhile, Moore and Horowitz mobilise a team of CIA operatives to search Charlie's home, office and anywhere he may have visited recently. They discover a CD he hid in a bar's jukebox, but realise he was bluffing when the CD is examined. Henderson is ordered to eliminate Charlie, who bugged the files he left in Moore's office, but he had already vacated his room and was on his way out of the country on a flight bound for London and then a train to Paris, using the fake ID documents he had been given by the CIA.

Charlie tracks down Gretchen Frank in Paris, following an on-line lock-picking tutorial to break into her apartment. He discovers Gretchen's appointment at an asthma and allergy clinic and takes a gun, but cannot bring himself to shoot her when she returns to her home. The next day he buys up all the lilies at a street florist shop, and he traps Gretchen at the clinic in a hypobaric chamber that he fills with the pollen extracted from the lilies. Charlie demands to know Schiller's location, but is unwilling to let Gretchen die and releases her. The pair fight, but she escapes to the street, followed in hot pursuit by Charlie, and is fatally struck by a passing van. Taking Gretchen's phone, Charlie catches a bus to Marseille where Henderson corners him in a bar, but he sets off an explosion in the mens rest room and escapes. 

He requests Inquiline's help and is smuggled to Istanbul, where Inquiline (Caitriona Balfe) reveals herself as the Russian widow of a murdered ex-KGB officer, having taken his place as Charlie's source some six years prior. They trace Blazhic to a luxury hotel in Madrid, while O'Brien learns Moore has sent Henderson after Charlie, and sends her own operative.

In Madrid, Charlie confronts Blazhic as he swims alone in the hotel's rooftop infinity pool perched sixteen storey's up between two towers. He has rigged scuba equipment to decompress the air between the pool's sheets of glass. When Blazhic refuses to answer any questions, Charlie at the press of a button shatters the glass and sends him plummeting to his death. He is nearly apprehended once again by Henderson, who is attacked by O'Brien's operative. In the ensuing struggle, Henderson is shot but kills the operative, allowing Charlie to escape once more. Horowitz realises that Charlie is communicating with someone by spotting an earpiece he is wearing in CCTV footage from the hotel. He tracks down Inquiline and sends a strike team from the CIA Field Office in Istanbul, and Inquiline is killed in a hail of rapid gun fire as she flees with Charlie in a car.

Charlie tracks down Ellish in Romania under the pretence of selling him missiles and traps him with an improvised explosive device that has a remotely activated motion sensor, forcing him to reveal that Schiller operates from a ship on the Baltic Sea. He takes Ellish's phone and leaves him to die in the explosion. Charlie arrives in Primorsk to spy on Schiller's operation. Bear confronts him in a dock side cafe, but Charlie refuses to end his personal vendetta, and so he leaves Charlie pondering his fate.

Charlie is captured and is taken aboard Schiller's ship, coming face-to-face with Sarah's killer. Schiller offers him a loaded gun and the chance to take his revenge. Standing over Schiller with the pistol pointed squarely at Schiller's head and within point blank range, he drops the gun and takes a seat. Charlie reveals that he just had to keep talking long enough as he hacked the ships control systems, steering it to the Gulf of Finland where Schiller and his crew are taken into custody by Finnish Police and Interpol. O'Brien goes public with her revelations about Moore and Horowitz who are later arrested for their unsanctioned operations. After being visited by a recovered Henderson, Charlie is seen taking his restored Cessna plane for its first flight.

With 'The Amateur' Director James Hawes has here delivered a fairly predictable by the numbers spy action thriller that is straight out of the Bourne, or Bond or M:I playbook, with locations spread far and wide, well choreographed action set pieces, but a plot that leaves a lot to be desired. That said it is still entertaining enough and Malek does his best at his portrayal of the CIA computer nerd thrust into a world that he is ill equipped to handle but nonetheless his very particular set of skills at the keyboard enable him to win the day over those bad terrorist types. It has a strong supporting cast with Holt McCallany and Laurence Fishburne as dependable as ever, but Jon Bernthal is wasted with about as much as three minutes in total of screen time out of a total run time of just a nudge over two hours. You can either choose to watch it at your local big screen Odeon or wait to catch it via streaming - either way you could do worse!

'The Amateur' warrants 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 10th April 2025

The 23rd annual Boston International Film Festival this year runs from Thursday 10th April until Tuesday 15th April and is a film festival in the USA held in Boston, Massachusetts which showcases over ninety films annually. Established in 2003 by film Producer Patrick Jerome, the festival features independent films from around the world and the US. The programme includes feature films, short films and documentaries. The BIFF is proud to be able to serve the city of Boston, by sharing films from over sixty countries, and enabling filmmakers from every continent to come together to share their art.

This years Opening Night movie screening is 'Monsieur Aznavour' Written for the screen and Directed by Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade (aka Fabien Marsaud). The film follows the beginnings of the iconic French-Armenian singer, songwriter and Actor, Charles Aznavour, from zero to fame, and stars Tahar Rahim as Charles Aznavour. 

The other feature films being showcased take in the following titles :-

* 'One Stupid Thing' - from the USA and Co-Written and Directed by Linda Yellen. A harmless game takes a fatal turn, and the course of their lives change forever. They keep what they did a secret until the following winter break when they meet a girl who helps them uncover what really happened that night.

* 'Thirsty' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Emily Abt and starring Kyra Sedgewick, Thora Birch and Sung Kang. A tenacious woman embarks on a high stakes campaign with her complicated family in tow. As election day approaches, she must reconcile the seduction of the political game with her own moral compass or risk losing it all.

* 'Urban Ed' - from the USA and Written and Directed by Wade Wofford. When their charter school is shut down in the middle of the year, a group of inner city students comes up against America’s broken education system and a world full of contradicting lessons.

* 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' - from Italy and Directed by Eran Riklis and starring Golshifteh Farahani. Azar Nafisi, a former professor at Tehran University, secretly gathers seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden western classics. As fundamentalists seize control, the women remove their veils, speak about their intimate hopes, loves and disappointments, their femininity and their search for a place in an increasingly oppressive society. By reading Lolita in Tehran, they celebrate the liberating power of literature in revolutionary Iran and form their own future.

For the full list of all the short films being showcased, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://www.bostoniff.com/biff-2025

Turning attention then back to this weeks six new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with an action spy thriller that sees a CIA cryptographer who manages to blackmail his agency into training him to let him go after a group of terrorists who killed his wife. This is followed by a historical drama film telling the story of how in 1985 a local coal merchant uncovers disturbing secrets in a small Irish town that's controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. Next up is a comedy horror offering that has a father and daughter pairing hit a unicorn with their car en route to the wilderness retreat of a mega-wealthy pharmaceutical CEO. Then we turn to a thriller in which a group of seniors of an entrepreneurial high school team up to take down a rigged college admissions system. Following on we have a French historical action adventure offering that after escaping from an island prison where he spent fourteen years for being wrongly accused of state treason, Edmond Dantes returns to exact revenge on the men who betrayed him; before closing out the week with an animated Christian film about the story of our Lord Jesus Christ as told by Charles Dickens and seen through the innocent eyes of a child.

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.

'THE AMATEUR' (Rated M) - is an American vigilante action spy thriller film Directed by James Hawes and is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell, which was previously adapted into a Canadian film that same year with John Savage, Christopher Plummer and Marthe Keller. James Hawes previous feature film making effort was 'One Life' in 2023, although he has Directed numerous TV series since the early 2000's, including multiple episodes of 'Doctor Who', 'Merlin', 'Penny Dreadful', 'Black Mirror', 'Snowpiercer' and 'Slow Horses'. The film is released in the US this week too.

Here then, after Charles Heller (Rami Malek, who also Co-Produces here), a brilliant yet deeply introverted CIA cryptographer, loses his wife in a London terrorist attack, he realises his bosses will not act due to conflicting internal priorities. Having blackmailed the agency to train him as a field operative, he embarks on a one-man mission to hunt down his wife's killers. Also starring Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany. Julianne Nicholson and Adrian Martinez.

'SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE' (Rated M) - this Irish and Belgian Co-Produced historical drama film is Directed by Tim Mielants who made his feature film debut with 'Patrick' in 2019 and would follow this up with 'Wil' in 2023. This film is based on the 2021 novel of the same name written by Claire Keegan. The film takes place over Christmas in 1985, when devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy, who also Co-Produces here, alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) discovers startling secrets kept by the convent in his town, along with some shocking truths of his own. The film reveals truths about Ireland's Magdalene Laundries, horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions from the 1820's until 1996, ostensibly to reform 'fallen young women'. Also starring Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley and Emily Watson, saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Berlin International Film Festival back in February 2024, was released in Ireland, the UK and the USA in early November, has so far grossed US$11M and has generated universal critical acclaim.

'DEATH OF A UNICORN' (Rated MA15+) - is an American comedy horror film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Alex Scharfman in his feature film Directorial debut. Here, a father Elliot Kintner (Paul Rudd) and his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant) seeks to exploit the creature's miraculous curative properties - only to be hunted down by the parents of the downed unicorn with horrific results. The film saw its World Premiere screening at SXSW in early March, has garnered mixed critical reviews and has so far grossed US$11M form a production budget of US$15M since its release Stateside at the end of March. Also starring Tea Leoni and Will Poulter.

'BAD GENIUS' (Rated M) - this American heist thriller film is Co-Written and Directed by J.C. Lee in his Directorial debut, and is an English language remake of the 2017 Thai film of the same name. The film follows Lynn Kang (Callina Liang), a brilliant scholarship student, who devises an ingenious cheating scheme to help her friends ace their exams. As their underground cheating operation expands, Lynn finds herself at the centre of a high-stakes game that tests her morals and pits her against the American education system. Also starring Benedict Wong. The film was released in the US in mid-October last year and has received generally positive reviews.

'THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO' (Rated M) - is a French historical action adventure film based on the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas, and is written for the screen and Directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patelliere. Edmond Dantes (Pierre Niney) becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After fourteen years in the island prison of Chateau d'If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte-Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at last years Cannes Film Festival in in late May, before its release in its native France towards the end of June, having so far grossed US$100M and receiving generally favourable reviews.

'THE KING OF KINGS' (Rated PG) - this American animated Christian film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Seong-ho Jang, and is loosely inspired by the children's book 'The Life of Our Lord' by Charles Dickens. The film follows Charles Dickens, (voiced by Kenneth Branagh) a young author who narrates the biography of Lord Jesus Christ (Oscar Isaac). Together, he and Walter Dickens (Roman Griffin David) embark on an adventure as the master storyteller engages his youngest son's vivid imagination. Also starring the voice talents of Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Pierce Brosnan, Forest Whitaker and Ben Kingsley. 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 coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-