What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th August 2021.

This year the 74th Locarno Film Festival runs from 4th through until 14th August. Throughout its 73-year history, the festival has occupied a unique position in the landscape of the major film festivals. Every August, for eleven days the Swiss-Italian town of Locarno, right in the heart of Europe, becomes the world capital of auteur cinema. The official website reads : 'thousands of film fans and industry professionals meet here every summer to share their thirst for new discoveries and a passion for cinema in all its diversity. In Locarno they find a quality program, rich, eclectic, surprising, and where emerging talent rubs shoulders with prestigious guests'. Further, 'with eleven sections, three competitions and twenty awards, quality and variety are key. This is the framework of a Festival that explores cinema from every perspective, to discover in the present the filmmakers and films destined to have a future'. The main competition is the Concorso internazionale which features works shown primarily as World Premier screenings, coming from all around the world and competing for the prestigious Pardo d’oro (Golden Leopard). Showcasing established auteurs alongside the pleasure of discovery, storytelling and innovation, the Concorso internazionale is an open, inclusive place, which aims to mark the new territories of cinematic art. The Opening Night film was 'Beckett' Directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino and starring John David Washington, Boyd Holbrook, Vicky Krieps and Alicia Vikander due to be released on Netflix on 13th August. 

This year competing for the Concorso internazionale, the following prizes are awarded : the Golden Leopard being the grand prize of the festival of the City of Locarno for Best Film. The Special Jury Prize; the Pardo for Best Direction; and the Pardo for Best Actor and Best Actress are the other awards given in this section. There are seventeen films in competition within this section, with American Screenwriter, Director and Producer, Eliza Hittman serving as Jury President this year, those being :-

* 'After Blue' from France and Written and Directed by Bertrand Mandico in his second feature film set on a distant planet terrorised by a vicious killer. 

* 'Cop Secret' from Iceland and Directed and Co-Written by Hannes Thor Halldorsson in his debut feature film about a closeted undercover policeman who falls in love with his new partner.

* 'Gerda' from Russia and Directed by Natalya Kudryashova in her second feature film and is about a troubled young woman who is visited by a strange apparition. 

* 'The Giants' from Italy and Co-Written, Directed, Produced, Edited, lensed and stars Bonifacio Angius in his third feature film which follows a group of old friends who get together in a remote country house.

* 'Heavens Above' is a multi-national production Directed, Written and Co-Produced by the Serbian film maker Srdjan Dragojevic who here presents three stories about miracles that happen to individuals living in a post-communist society relearning Christianity after fifty years of atheism. 

* 'Ju-ju Stories' from Nigeria and France and Written and Directed by CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi, Abba T. Makama, Michael Omonua who together form Nigerian new wave cinema collective 'Surreal16'. Their film is an anthology exploring Nigerian folklore and urban legend.

* 'Luzifer' from Austria and Written and Directed by Peter Brunner here tells the story inspired by real events, of a man whose remote Alpine home is threatened by a tourist development.

* 'Medea' from Russia and Directed and Co-Produced by Alexander Zeldovich here the filmmaker transposes the titular classic Greek tragedy to contemporary Moscow, as jaded members of the city’s elite find a way to restore their youthful vigour.

* 'A New Old Play' from Hong Kong and France this feature film is Written, Directed and Edited by Qiu Jiongjiong who here explores 20th-Century China’s tumultuous history through the memories of a dying theatre clown as he prepares to enter the afterlife.

* 'The Odd-Job Men' from Spain and Directed, Co-Written and Co-Edited by Neus Ballus in her third film making offering follows three men, all non-actors playing themselves, over six days at a small plumbing and electrical company in Barcelona, as a young Moroccan apprentice must win over his experienced colleagues.

* 'Petite Solange' from France and Directed and Written by Axelle Ropert comes a story of a sensitive twelve-year-old girl who is rocked by her parent’s failing marriage.

* 'The Sacred Spirit' from Spain, France and Turkey and Written and Directed by Chema Garcia Ibarra in his feature film making debut tells the story of a ufology association whose beloved leader dies unexpectedly.

* 'Secret Name' from France and is Directed and Co-Written by Aurelia Georges in her third feature film offering about a WWI nurse who assumes the identity of a deceased wealthy woman.

* 'Soul Of A Beast' from Switzerland and Directed, Written, Co-Produced, Co-Edited and jointly lensed by Lorenz Merz, this film follows a young father who falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.

* 'The River' from Lebanon, France, Germany and Qatar and Directed and Written by Ghassan Salhab sees a couple reuniting after a long separation who take refuge on a mountain when war breaks out in Lebanon.

* 'Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' from Indonesia, Singapore and Germany and Directed by Edwin tells the tale of a tough Javanese fighter struggling to deal with his sexual impotence.

* 'Zeroes And Ones' from Italy, Germany and the USA and Directed by Abel Ferrara and sees Ethan Hawke playing a soldier navigating the world after a post-apocalyptic siege.

American Screenwriter, Director, Producer and Actor John Landis will be awarded the Leopard of Honour Award for lifetime achievement on 13th August. For the other competitions - 'Filmmakers of the Present', 'Leopards of Tomorrow', 'First Feature' and the 'National Competition', and the winners in each category, you can visit the official website at : https://www.locarnofestival.ch/

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another two weeks ending (at this stage) on Friday 27th August, this means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. 

And so we kick off this weeks latest new releases with a film about an oil working father who travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter, who has been in prison for four years for a murder she claims she didn't commit. We then have a Sci-Fi action comedy offering about a bank teller who realises he is a background character in an open world video game called Free City that will soon go offline. This is followed up by an action thriller set after a remote diamond mine collapses in far northern Canada, with ‘big-rig’ ice road driver having to lead an impossible rescue mission over a frozen sea to save the trapped miners. And closing out the week we turn to a French comedy about a young man who decides to make his dream of becoming Miss France come true.

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 week ahead. 

'STILLWATER' (Rated M) - is an American crime drama film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tom McCarthy whose feature film making debut came in 2003 with 'The Station Agent' which he followed up with 'The Visitor', 'Win Win', 'The Cobbler' and the multi-award winning 'Spotlight' in 2015. All up McCarthy has eight Directorial credits to his name, eleven as Writer, seven as Producer and forty-two as Actor, having collected seventy-seven award wins along the way and another ninety-nine nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premier screening at this years Cannes Film Festival in early July where it received an eight minute standing ovation having previously been scheduled for release in early November last year only to be scuppered by the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released Stateside two weeks ago now, has so far taken US$10.5M at the Box Office from a production budget of US$20M, is released this week in Australia and has garnered generally positive Critical acclaim.

An oil worker from Stillwater, Oklahoma Bill Baker (Matt Damon) travels from his home State to Marseille, France to visit his estranged daughter Allison (Abigail Breslin) who was imprisoned four years ago for a murder she claims she did not commit. Allison seizes on a new tip that could acquit her and presses Bill to engage her legal team headed up by defence lawyer Leparq (Ann Le Ny). But Bill eager to prove his worth and regain his daughters trust, takes matters into his own hands. Confronted by language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system until he meets a local Virginie (Camille Cottin), and mother to eight-year-old Maya (Lilou Siauvaud) who offers to lend assistance in return for a favour he helped her out with. Together, this unlikely friendship begin a journey of discovery, truth, love and liberation. Also starring Deanna Dunagan and William Nadylam.

'FREE GUY' (Rated M) - this American Sci-Fi action comedy film is Directed by the Canadian film maker, Producer and Actor Shawn Levy whose previous Directorial outings take in the likes of 'Big Fat Liar' in 2002, 'Cheaper by the Dozen' in 2003, 'The Pink Panther' in 2006, the three 'Night at the Museum' films in 2006, 2009 and 2014, 'Real Steel' in 2011 and 'This Is Where I Leave You' in 2014. He has also Directed two episodes in each of the three seasons of Netflix's 'Stranger Things'. This film was initially scheduled to be released in early July 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then moved to mid-December 2020, and then a month out from that date it was removed from its upcoming release schedule until further notice, before being moved to 21st May this year with a final release date settled on for this week in the US and Australia. And so here, in the open world video game 'Free City', Guy (Ryan Reynolds) is a non-player character working as a bank teller. Thanks to a program developed by programmers Millie (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery) inserted into Free City by the publisher Antoine (Taika Waititi), Guy becomes self-aware of his world being a video game, and takes steps to make himself the hero, creating a race against time to save the game before the developers can shut it down. Also starring Lil Rel Howery, with cameo appearances by Hugh Jackman, John Krasinski, Tina Fey and Dwayne Johnson. 

'THE ICE ROAD' (Rated M) - is an American action thriller Written and Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh whose previous film making credits take in his big screen debut with 'The Punisher' in 2004, then 'Welcome to the Jungle' in 2007 and 'Kill the Irishman' in 2011. This is his first film since his 2011 offering. The film was released by Netflix in the US and on Amazon Prime Video in the UK in late June, goes on a cinema release from this week in Australia and the film has received mixed critical Reviews having taken US$1.2M at the Box Office so far. After a remote diamond mine collapses in the far northern regions of Manitoba, Canada, an ice driver Mike McGann (Liam Neeson) leads an implausible rescue mission over a frozen sea to save the lives of twenty-six trapped miners despite thawing waters and a threat they never saw coming. Also starring Laurence Fishburne, Marcus Thomas, Holt McCallany, Martin Sensmeier, Benjamin Walker and Amber Midthunder.

'MISS' (Rated M) - is a French comedy film Co-Written and Directed by Ruben Alves, that was first released in its native France at the Alpe d'Huez International Comedy Film Festival in mid-January 2020 before its delayed national release there in late October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It now gets a limited run here in Australia. Here then, ever since childhood Alex (Alexandre Wetter) had wanted to enter the annual Miss France beauty pageant, despite being a boy. However, adolescence was not kind and Alex suffered huge blows to his self-esteem. When an unexpected encounter allows Alex to once more pursue his dreams, he does everything he can to transcend the traditional binary gender definitions that threaten to hold him back. Also starring Isabelle Nanty, Pascale Arbillot and Thibault di Montalembert. Ruben Alves had previously Written, Directed and starred in the 2013 feature 'The Gilded Cage'.

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 coming week, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SPOTLIGHT : Tuesday 2nd February 2016

'SPOTLIGHT' which I saw earlier this week is a truly compelling film account of the true life facts surrounding the systematic abuse of children by the Catholic Church spanning decades. Directed by Tom McCarthy and with an all star award winning ensemble cast, this film was made for US$20M and has so far made US$37M having premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in early September before general release in the US on 6th November and here in Australia on 20th January. Nominated for six yet to be announced Academy Awards, those being for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Supporting Actor and Actress, as well as three  also yet to be announced BAFTA nominations for Best Actor, Best Film and Best Screenplay. Additionally, it has garnered along the way 84 award wins and another 107 award nominations - not so bad at all, and, hardly surprising given the acting talent on display here, the story telling and the manner in which the subject matter is handled on screen.

And so to that subject matter which make this so compelling, and a story that had to be told, and that as a consequence, had much further reaching implications worldwide. The film opens with the appointment of a new Editor to The Boston Globe newspaper in 2001 - Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) who is quickly introduced to Walter 'Robby' Robinson (Michael Keaton) who heads up the famed 'Spotlight' Team for the newspaper. This small but experienced group of investigative journalists work tirelessly on hand picked cases to investigate and expose, often taking months and up to a year to bring their story and its findings to print. The Spotlight Team has been operating since 1970, and is the longest running continuous newspaper investigative team working in the US. Baron, of Jewish decent, picks up on a former case about a paedophile priest and a lawyer Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci) who knew that the Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law (Lou Cariou) knew of the priests sexual abuse of children but did nothing about it. This case was reported in Globe but only a few column inches were dedicated to it and it was quickly covered up and buried by the Church.

Gathering Robinson and Ben Bradlee (John Slattery) together who both work as investigators and Editors at The Globe and on the Spotlight Team, Baron tasks them with digging deeper and to investigate the story thoroughly putting whatever resources necessary toward their case. Robinson and Bradlee agree somewhat reluctantly believing there to be just one priest who has moved around through the years. And so the remaining team are each assigned tasks - Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo on fine form and noticeably slimmed down),  Matt Carroll (Brian d'Arcy James) and Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) begin to quickly uncover more than they bargained for.

Rezendes meets with Garabedian who has ongoing direct contact with such victims of abuse but has been banned for speaking about such cases by the Church - but he is a reliable source of information and history. Pfeiffer and Robinson meet up with a guy who leads a victims rights group and provides evidence of abuse and cover ups by the Church going back many years, but the group has dwindled to just a handful because some have moved on, many are embarrassed and ashamed, and many are too tired to pursue any action of recompense further. But, it provides further evidence for the investigative Team. In turn they track down attorney Eric MacLeish (Billy Crudup) who has defended a number of priests against such claims but is sworn to not disclose any matters relating to those cases. Pfeiffer and Carroll also start interviewing willing victims all of whom have their own shocking stories to tell of their younger years at the hands of their caring local neighbourhood priest.

As their digging deepens so it becomes evident that there have been cover ups by the Church for many many years, and indications lead to thirteen priests in all that now come under much closer scrutiny across the Boston area. The Team further learns through Richard Sipe (Richard Jenkins in telephone voiceover only), a former Benedictine priest of almost twenty years, and now professional psychotherapist who has worked with rehabilitating paedophile priests, that in his expert estimation there is likely to be 6% of the priesthood who are offenders, and therefore by his estimation that would be ninety priests in the Boston area. This statistic stuns the Team, but gels them into further intensity in their investigations.

In doing so The Spotlight Team soon uncover 87 names that they have determined are legitimate repeat child sex offenders and that Cardinal Law knew about this, and did nothing to stop it, and allowed further ongoing abuse . . . and so did a number of public officials, spanning decades. To support the case The Boston Globe wins the right to have a number of legally sealed evidentiary documents  released into the public domain, which provide firm conclusive proof that Cardinal Law knew of these activities and chose to ignore them. As a result the Team set about preparing their final work for release in the newspaper early in 2002.

As a consequence of their work on exposing this case and bringing it to the worlds attention, the Spotlight Team win The Boston Globe the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. This story which eventually saw over 240 priests exposed in the Greater Boston area (as the end credits tell us) had more far reaching implications around the world as more and more evidence of systematic Catholic Church child abuse came to light, and continues to do so. This film made be pleased not to be a Catholic!

This is a film that had to be told because we have heard these stories in the news all too frequently in more recent years, which of course make this all the more real, relevant and abhorrent. The performances of the Spotlight Team are first rate - nuanced, grounded, emotional and especially that of Ruffalo who has recreated his character with all the nervous energy, mannerisms and expressions and unique characteristics that are worthy of his award nominations, if not a win at least! A truly riveting film that unravels slowly as the Spotlight Team go about their investigative work uncovering more revelations, cover-ups and abuse by those supposedly closest to God! Tom McCarthy who wrote the script with Josh Singer has crafted a brave, relevant, compelling story that is one of this years must-sees!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 28th January 2016.

Well G'Day and I'm very pleased to return to these humble pages following a family holiday to Vietnam. Much has happened during that time in the movie world  including the Golden Globe Awards winners & grinners were announced on January 10th with 'The Revenant' picking up Best Drama Film, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and Best Director for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; 'The Martian' picked up Best Musical or Comedy Film and Best Actor for Matt Damon; Best Actress went to Brie Larson for 'Room' and Jennifer Lawrence for 'Joy' in each category; Best Supporting Actor went to Sylvester Stallone for 'Creed' and the Actress win to Kate Winslett for 'Steve Jobs'. We also mourned the very sad and premature passing of two film greats in David Bowie and Alan Rickman - the former on 10th January whose contribution as Singer/Songwriter first and foremost and then as an Actor is almost without equal; and Alan Rickman who passed on 14th January with 68 acting credits to his name and who can forget his Hans Gruber from 'Die Hard', Alexander Dane from 'Galaxy Quest' and Professor Severus Snape from the 'Harry Potter' series - both will be sorely missed, but their lasting legacy lives on. And of course the 'Star Wars' behemoth continues to roll on with global Box Office takings now nudging US$2B making it the third highest grossing film of all time. And finally, let's not forget that Odeon Online turned two years of age on 26th January - launched on Australia Day 2014, thanks to all for your well wishes, support and readership over that time.

There has also been a haul of new movie content released during that time, with a few others due out this week which include a long term abduction story of a mother and her son born into forced captivity whose only knowledge of the world is from within a 3x3 square shed, until they risk a bid for freedom, but at what cost to them both? Then we have a Catholic Church child sex abuse film uncovered by intrepid newspaper reporters determined to go to print with their findings whilst others in power will do what they can to prevent their cause; and finally an Australian family drama as a teenage girls goes missing.

When you have sat through your movie(s) of choice and wish to share your views and opinions with other like minded cinephiles, you can leave your own Review in the Comments section below this or any other Post, and let us know what you think. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

ROOM (Rated M) - I saw this film a few days before its Australian release, and have already Posted my Review earlier in the week, awarding this film Four Clapperboards. This is likely to be as much an emotional rollercoaster ride, a tear jerker and heart wrenching film as any you're likely to see this year that could easily be based on real life events, as have unfolded in the worlds media in very recent years. Already doing very well around the awards circuit with 54 wins and another 98 nominations including four Oscar nominations pending for Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress for Brie Larson who has already scooped the Golden Globe for her performance, this film is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and is based on the book of the same name by Emma Donoghue.

The story here centres around Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) known to her young five year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) as Ma. Joy would be in her mid-twenties and we quickly learn that for the last seven years she has been held captive in a room that measures no more than three metres square. It is a squalid room and this is the world for Ma and young Jack. There are four solid walls and the roof with only a skylight window which allows natural light in but cannot be opened, and the room is sound proofed and its only door is controlled by means of an electronic security keypad. For Jack, this is the world as he knows it, but turning five, his world is about to be turned upside down! 'Room' had its world wide premier at the Telluride Film Festival in early September last year and a limited US release in mid-October and reaches our shores this week. Made for just US$6M it has so far grossed US$9M and also stars Joan Allen, William H. Macy, and young Jacob Tremblay who is also receiving much awards attention as the young son to Brie Larson's mother character.

SPOTLIGHT (Rated M) - Directed by Tom McCarthy this film has an all star cast and tells the true story of the real 'Spotlight' Team who in 2001 working for The Boston Globe on a long term investigative journalism piece, uncover multiple child sex abuse allegations within the Catholic Church within the greater Boston area, and which has been going on for many many years. What they also uncover is that these activities have been going on under the full knowledge of the city's higher echelons of power, and that Catholic Priest offenders were allowed to re-offend. A slow burn investigative journalism offering that will piece together like a jigsaw puzzle in the end, but the fun is getting there in the first place! Starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and Rachel McAdams this film is in the running for six Oscars and has already picked up 79 award wins and another 105 nominations. Made for US$20M it has so far taken US$34M, and judging by the accolades bestowed up it, this is another to add to your must-see list!

LOOKING FOR GRACE (Rated M) - this little Australian family drama is Directed and Written by Sue Brooks and released on Australian Day (26th January) it clearly has the intention of attracting some home spun family drama from beneath the family barbecue. When teenage daughter Grace (Odessa Young) goes missing with Dad's cash savings so Mum Denise (Radha Mitchell) and Dad Dan (Richard Roxburgh) go in search of her but along lifes winding roads the journey reveals more about inner secrets than perhaps should be brought to the fore, given the circumstances!

That's it for this week, but of course there is also a whole heap of other great film content still out on general release and as either Reviewed or Previewed between these pages.  Do your bit and get out there to see a movie this week, and support the film industry in the process.

See you at the movies.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-