Birthday's to share this week : 23rd - 29th April 2017

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Dev Patel does on 23rd April - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 27, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 23rd April

• Lee Majors - Born 1939, turns 78 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Michael Moore - Born 1954, turns 63 - Producer | Director | Writer
• John Hannah - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actor | Producer
• John Cena - Born 1977, turns 40 - Actor | WWE Wrestler
• Dev Patel - Born 1990, turns 27 - Actor | Producer  
• Judy Davis - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actress

Monday 24th April

• Shirley MacLaine - Born 1934, turns 83 - Actress | Singer | Producer | Writer | Director
• Barbra Streisand - Born 1942, turns 75 - Actress | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Richard Donner - Born 1930, turns 87 - Director | Producer | Actor | Writer
• Dijon Hounsou - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Director  

Tuesday 25th April

• Al Pacino - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Hank Azaria - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Talia Shire - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Renee Zellweger - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer  

Wednesday 26th April

• Joan Chen - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actress | Producer | Director | Writer
• Jet Li - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Kevin James - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Channing Tatum - Born 1980, turns 37 - Actor | Producer | Singer  

Thursday 27th April

• Kevin McNally - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer  

Friday 28th April

• Ann-Margret - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actress | Singer
• Bridget Moynahan - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actress 
• Penelope Cruz - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer
• Jessica Alba - Born 1981, turns 36 - Actress  

Saturday 29th April

• Michelle Pfeiffer - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Uma Thurman - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Phillip Noyce - Born 1950, turns 67 - Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer | Actor
• Daniel Day-Lewis - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor
• Jerry Seinfeld - Born 1954, turns 53 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer

Dev Patel was born in the north-west London borough of Harrow to mother Anita, a care worker and father Raj an IT consultant. His parents are of Indian Hindu descent, both born in Nairobi and emigrated to England separately in their teenage years, first meeting in London. Dev attended Longfields Middle School and there he experienced his first acting role in a school production of 'Twelfth Night'. From there he attended the state secondary Whitmore High School in Harrow and graduated with top marks in his Drama General Certificate of Secondary Education. He then completed the Advanced Subsidiary Level qualification in Drama in 2007, whilst working on his acting debut for the television teen drama series 'Skins' in which he starred as Anwar Kharral, a British Pakistani Muslim teenager in the first two seasons. At this point Patel had no professional acting experience, and gained the role because his mother saw a casting advertisement in the newspaper and took him along to audition. The show ran for seven seasons and was critically acclaimed, picking up seven award wins and thirty other nominations.

On the strength of his performance in 'Skins' he was cast after five auditions in his big screen debut in 2008 in the role of Jamal Malik, the main character in Danny Boyle's highly acclaimed 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Made for US$15M the film grossed US$378M and the film picked up eight Academy Award wins including Best Picture and Best Director from its total haul of 151 award wins and 120 further nominations. The film well and truly put Patel on the map after only his first big screen outing, with numerous award wins and nominations coming forth too for his performance.

This was followed up in 2010 by M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender' in the role of Zuko, based on the animated television series 'Avatar : The Last Airbender'. The film garnered generally negative press and Patel was nominated for a Razzie Award, even though critically his performance was seen as one of the films redeeming features. Made for US$150M the film grossed US$320M and despite the adverse Reviews was a commercial success.

Next up was an eight minute short film 'Commuter', also starring Charles Dance and Pamela Anderson, and filmed entirely on a Nokia E8 smart phone in HD to promote the launch of the phone in the UK. This gave way to 2012's 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Directed by John Madden and with a cast that included Bill Nighy, Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Ronald Pickup. Patel starred as Sonny Kapoor the young man who has designs on owning and managing his own retirement hotel in India. The film cost US$10M to make and grossed US$137M at the worldwide Box Office and it picked up four award wins and another 22 nominations. Patel and the ensemble cast would reprise their roles in the follow up film in 2015 also Directed by John Madden and adding David Strathairn and Richard Gere into the mix. 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' was again made for US$10M and grossed US$86M at the Box Office.

Between these two 'Exotic Marigold Hotel' films there was the Stephen Elliott Written and Directed 'About Cherry' in 2012 with James Franco and Heather Graham about the San Francisco porn industry, and then 'The Road Within' in 2014 also starring Zoe Kravitz, Robert Patrick and Kyra Sedgwick, about the young teenage inmates in a behavioural facility to cure the main characters of various ailments ranging from Tourette Syndrome, to OCD to eating disorders, how they escape and take a road trip as a consequence. 

This was followed up by the HBO Produced 'The Newsroom' television series which ran over three seasons from 2012 through to 2014 and 25 episodes. Patel starred as Neal Sampat in all 25 episodes alongside Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Emily Mortimer and Olivia Munn amongst others. The show was well regarded and picked up nine award wins and another 32 nominations. 2015 saw Neill Blomkamp's near future, Johannesburg set 'Chappie' also starring  Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, and Sharlto Copley as the mechanical Police droid 'Chappie' and Patel as its designer and engineer Deon Wilson.

2015 also saw 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' - the biographical drama telling the story of the pioneer Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan as portrayed by Patel and his friendship with his mentor at Cambridge University during WWI, Professor G.H.Hardy as played by Jeremy Irons. The film also starred Toby Jones, Kevin McNally, Stephen Fry and Jeremy Northam and received positive Reviews.

'Lion' came next in 2016 and is still to be found playing in some cinemas. Directed by Garth Davis and telling the true story of five year old Saroo who gets separated from his beloved brother in Khandwa, India and is inadvertently transported 1,500kms to Calcutta. After several adventures, later he is adopted by a Tasmanian couple played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham and grows into young adulthood, attending Hospitality Training College in Melbourne having lost all contact and connections with his family and his native homeland. This is his story of how the grown Saroo Brierly retraces his roots to relocate his family back in India using Google Earth. The film was made for US$12M and has so far grossed US$135M and has been critically acclaimed having been nominated for six Academy Awards including Patels first nod as Best Supporting Actor, four Golden Globes including Patels nod as Best Supporting Actor too, five BAFTA's including the win for Patel as Best Supporting Actor, two SAG nominations including Best Supporting Male Actor and five AACTA's including the win again for Patel for Best Supporting Actor. The film picked up 31 award wins and another 75 nominations. 

Next up for Patel is 'Hotel Mumbai' currently in post-production for a release later this year. Directed by Anthony Maras and Co-starring Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs this films tells the true story of the victims and survivors of the devastating attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India in 2008. 

All up Patel has seventeen Acting credits to his name and one as Producer on the upcoming 'Hotel Mumbai'. He has so far accumulated seventeen award wins for 'Lion', 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'The Road Within' and a further 32 nominations. Patel was in a long term relationship with his 'Slumdog Millionaire' Co-Star Freida Pinto from 2009 through until 2014.

Dev Patel - Taekwondo champion having achieved a bronze medal at the 2004 Action International Martial Arts Association World Championships in Dublin; has already achieved much in just nine years of screen time and without any professional acting tuition; is a grounded Londoner who knows his strengths and weaknesses, and keeps it real as evidenced by his accolades garnered so far. Happy Birthday to you Dev, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th May 2016.

This Sunday - 8th May - it is 'Mother's Day' - the day we celebrate our Mothers and the valuable contribution they make to our lives, our love for them, and how on this one day of the year they get the attention and the recognition they so rightly deserve, and which we often neglect for the other 364 days. With this in mind, if you want some 'me & my Mum' time, what better way than to curl up on the sofa at home and watch a feel good movie for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. Here's a few suggestions, in no particular order :-

• 'STEPMOM' - 1998 - Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris.Nominated for one Golden Globe.
• 'TERMS OF ENDEARMENT' - 1983 - Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson  and five Academy Awards and four Golden Globes including Best Picture.
• 'THE PARENT TRAP' - 1998 and a remake of the 1961 original. Starring Lindsay Lohan, Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid.
• 'THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT' - 2010 - Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Annette Benning, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson. Nominated for four Academy Awards, four BAFTA's, three SAG's, and won two Golden Globes including Best Picture.
• 'MERMAIDS' - 1990 - Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci. Nominated for one Golden Globe.
• 'MAMMA MIA' - 2008 - Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard and all the ABBA music you can muster and an idyllic Greek island. Nominated for two Golden Globes and three BAFTA's.
• 'THE SOUND OF MUSIC' - 1965 - Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and rolling Austrian mountains. Winner of five Academy Awards and nominated for five others; winner of two Golden Globes and two further nominations, and nominated for one BAFTA.
• 'STEEL MAGNOLIAS' - 1989 - Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, and Sam Shepard. Nominated for one Academy Award, one Golden Globe and won one too, and one BAFTA.
• 'FREAKY FRIDAY' - 1976 or 2003. Go the original for a very young Jodie Foster switching bodies with Mum Barbara Harris, or Lindsay Lohan doing so with Jamie Lee Curtis in the more updated version.
• 'BEACHES' - 1988 - Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey and Directed by Garry Marshall who has just released 'Mother's Day'. Nominated for one Academy Award.
• 'MOTHERS DAY' - 2016 - Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Timothy Olyphant and Directed by Garry Marshall - on general release now at the Odeon.
• 'AUGUST : OSAGE COUNTY' - 2013 - Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor and Sam Shepard. Nominated for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, three SAG's and one BAFTA.

This week there are five new release movies to get you out on an Autumnal night, and if none of these appeal then there are plenty of others to choose from still out on general release and as Previewed and Reviewed within these Posts. First ups we have two bio-pics recounting the stories of two extraordinary individuals from the same era that couldn't be more different if they tried. First up was an opera singer wannabe who believed she was great - but alas, no one else did, but, she still managed to sell out a famed Concert Hall; an then an Indian maths genius relocated to an English University whose legacy still lives on today. Coming back down to Planet Hollywood is a sequel to a successful comedy of two years back featuring new parents, rowdy student types, and a once peaceful neighbourhood. Then our foreign language film featuring a named Hollywood star that is a film within a film and how art and life collide with the Director on the edge; and wrapping up a nostalgic documentary about a man who saved a horse from the knackers yard and both rose to fame and fortune as a result.

Let your fellow readers and cinephiles know what you thought when you have sat through this weeks film of choice, by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. In the meantime, enjoy the movies - and see as may as you can.

'FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS' (Rated PG) - the lady upon whom this film is based was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in July 1868 and she died in New York City aged 76 in November 1944. She is described as an American socialite and amateur operatic soprano who was known and ridiculed for her lack of rhythm, pitch, and tone; her aberrant pronunciation; and her generally poor singing ability . . . but it nonetheless made her famous and the subject of two movies released within a matter of weeks of each other. This one, and the French feature released in Australia on April 21st 'Marguerite' with Catherine Frot in the lead role playing a character based loosely on FFJ. This film version is Directed by Stephen Frears and stars Meryl Streep in the title role and Hugh Grant as stage actor, manager and partner of 36 years St. Clair Bayfield. Simon Helberg plays Cosme McMoon who was a pianist and composer and musical accompaniment to FFJ from the late 1920's onward. The film premiered in London in early April, is released in the UK this week too, and gets its US release in August.

FFJ firmly believes she is a good enough opera singer to wow a paying audience at New York's Carnegie Hall. She takes regular singing lessons, engages a pianist to provide the necessary accompaniment and would often entertain at home to gathered guests, or in recital halls to a growing audience captivated and secretly very amused by her tone deaf, rhythmless, pitchless rendition of some of opera's greatest aria's. No one had the gall to tell her just how bad she was - least of all her husband who would go along with her dreams and even bribe the critics to publish positive reviews of her latest performances. Reaching notoriety for all the wrong reasons she did sell out Carnegie Hall - this is the story of how she got there and why despite her complete lack of musical talent, which not even money could buy her.

'THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY' (Rated PG) - Directed by Matthew Brown this biographical telling of Indian mathematician genius Srinivasa Ramanujan is based on the book of the same name released in 1991 and written by Robert Kanigel. The man in question played by Dev Patel was born in Madras, India in December 1887 and died there aged 32 in April 1922. In the meantime, he earned a place an Trinity College, at Cambridge University during WWI where he became a pioneer of mathematical theories under the tutelage of mathematician G. H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), and whose work remains as relevant today as it did one hundred years ago. Also starring Toby Jones, Stephen Fry and Jeremy Northam this is likely to do for maths on the big screen what 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'Good Will Hunting' did before it.

'BAD NEIGHBOURS 2 : SORORITY RISING' (Rated MA15+) - in 2014 the original film was released at a cost of US$18M with Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, James Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse in the lead roles, and the movie walked away with a Box Office haul of US$271M. Therefore, it was just a question of time before that band wagon came rolling by once again, and so here just two short years later, is the follow-up. Directed once again by Nicholas Stoller, and starring largely the same crew except for Mintz-Plasse who has been replaced with Grace-Moretz. This time with their second child on the way, Mac & Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) go head to head with the sorority sisters who have moved next door headed up by Shelby (Chloe Grace-Moretz). Enlisting the help of Teddy (Zac Efron) with whom Mac is now on good terms, the three need to devise whatever schemes they can to get the party-hard disruptive girls off the block so that peace can be restored and the young parents can enjoy a quiet life. But of course, the sorority girls next door won't go lightly into the night but will do so kicking & screaming and not without a fight.  Sounds hilarious!

'MIA MADRE' (Rated M) - this French/Italian drama offering is Directed, Produced, Written and stars Nanni Moretti and was released in France in December, in Italy in April and is selected in completion for the Palme D'Or at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival later this month. So far the film has picked up eight award wins and another 24 award nominations from around the circuit. Margherita (Margherita Buy) is a film Director working on her next project - a social-realist film about a factory strike. The film stars American/Italian Actor Barry Huggins (John Turturro) as the owner of the factory. Margherita is in conflict with Barry because he keeps fumbling his lines and is proving unreliable; the other Actors in the cast are anxious because they get poor Direction; she splits from her boyfriend who is also an Actor in the film; she is divorced from the father of her daughter; and her brother Giovanni (Nanni Moretti) has quit work to care for their hospitalised mother who has failing health issues. In crisis mode where life imitates art (or is it the other way round?) Margherita is torn between the busy unrelenting demands of her work and her beloved mother who may not be around for too much longer. Highly acclaimed combining sadness, humour, pathos, and emotional turmoil, this is described as Moretti's best film in years.

'HARRY AND SNOWMAN' (Rated G) - the Harry of this documentary is Dutch immigrant to the US Harry deLeyer who travelled there after WWII  having grown up on a family farm in Holland. He was offered a job as a riding instructor at the exclusive Knox School on Long Island, New York. By chance Harry happened on an Amish plough horse who was on its way to the glue factory, and so Harry purchased the old nag for just $80 and called him 'Snowman'. Within two short years, Snowman won the show jumping Triple Crown in 1958, appeared on the Johnny Carson show thereafter, had a growing fan club, was profiled in 'Life' magazine, had three best selling books written about him and in 1992 was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame - eighteen years after his death. Harry went on to become one of the most respected trainers and riders in the country, represented his country in Sweden in 1983, and today aged 85 is still active working out of his Virgina farm and affectionally known as the 'Galloping Grandfather'. This is their story, and is Written and Directed by Ron Davis, and so far has won six awards.

With five new offerings coming your way in the week ahead, and a whole bunch of other great content still out there, as always, feel free to share your comments and observations when you have sat through your movie of choice in the coming week - we'd love to hear from you. In the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-