What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th December 2024

This years Red Sea International Film Festival launches on Thursday 5th December and run through until Saturday 14th December. It is the fourth edition of the festival. Launched in 2019, the Red Sea International Film Festival represents the Red Sea Film Foundation’s main initiative, to offer an international Saudi platform that celebrates excellence in film, opening its doors to the world. The annual event embraces the vibrant creative energy of Jeddah, the Kingdom, and the Arab region as a whole, presenting programmes for film lovers, filmmakers, and the industry at large. Each year, the Festival adopts a dedicated theme, all geared towards the art of film and culture, making it a new destination for Arab and international cinema with lively, diverse programmes designed around the audiences. There is something for everyone - from local creatives, cinephiles, and families, to international industry professionals.

The Red Sea Competition features sixteen films, these are :-

* 'To Kill a Mongolian Horse' - from Malaysia, Hong Kong, USA, South Korea, Japan and Thailand and Written and Directed by Xiaoxuan Jiang.

* 'To a Land Unknown' - from the UK, Palestine, France, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Mahdi Fleifel.

* 'Superboys of Malegaon' - from India and Co-Produced and Directed by Reema Kagti.

* 'Songs of Adam' - from Iraq, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and USA and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Oday Rasheed.

* 'Snow White' - from Egypt and Written and Directed by Taghrid Abouelhassan.

* 'Sima's Song' - from Netherlands, France, Spain, Taiwan and Afghanistan and Co-Written and Directed by Roya Sadat.

* 'Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo' - from Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Co-Written and Directed by Khaled Mansour.

* 'Saify' - from Saudi Arabia and Written and Directed by Wael Abu Mansour.

* 'Saba' - from Bangladesh and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Maksud Hossain.

* 'Red Path' - from Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Lotfi Achour.

* 'My Friend An Delie' - from China and Co-Written, Directed and starring Dong Zijian.

* 'Moon' - from Austria and Written and Directed by Kurdwin Ayub.

* 'Hanami' - from Switzerland, Portugal and Cape Verde and Co-Written and Directed by Denise Fernandes.

* 'Bin U Bin, Elsewhere the Border' - from Algeria and France and Co-Written and Directed by Mohamed Lakhdar Tati.

* 'Aicha' - from Tunisia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Written and Directed by Mehdi M. Barsaoui.

* '6 AM' - from Iran and Turkey and Written and Directed by Mehran Modiri.

For the full descriptors of the films mentioned above, plus the details of the other film strands being showcased, plus a whole lot more, you can go to the official website at : https://redseafilmfest.com/en/

Turning the attention then back to this weeks six new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a Western by an acclaimed Actor in only his second Directorial outing about two pioneers who must fight for their lives and their love on the American frontier during the Civil War. Next up we have a dark comedy horror that sees the leaders of seven wealthy democracies get lost in the woods while drafting a statement on a global crisis, facing danger as they attempt to find their way out. Following on is an action horror film about two scientists who try to stop a mutation that turns people into werewolves after being touched by a super-moon the year before. Then we turn to a French romantic drama offering that sees a famous screen Actor in a moment of career crisis retreating to a coastal spa town, where an encounter with an old flame stirs up unresolved feelings from the past. This is followed by the story of a seventy-year-old woman who has lived a solitary life since the death of her husband thirty years ago, until now, and chooses to revive her love life, when a chance encounter becomes an unforgettable evening. And closing out the week we have an animated biographical documentary comedy charting the life and career of American musician Pharrell Williams.

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 DEAD DON'T HURT' (Rated M) - this Canadian, Danish and Mexican Co-Produced Western film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed, Scored and also stars Viggo Mortensen and is Mortensen's second feature film making outing following 'Falling' in 2020. This film saw its Premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September 2023, had its cinema release in the US at the end of May this year and was released in Denmark on 13th June, having received generally favourable reviews from critics, and so far taken US$1.9M at the Box Office.

Set in the US wild west frontier of the 1860's, Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel with him to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada, where they begin a life together. The outbreak of the Civil War separates them when Olsen decides to fight for the Union. This leaves Vivienne to fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston) and his unscrupulous business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt). Alfred's violent, wayward son Weston (Solly McLeod) aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances. When Olsen returns from the war some five years later, he and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become.

'RUMOURS' (Rated M) - is a black comedy film Written and Directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson with the trio having previously helmed 'The Green Fog' together in 2017. Here, world leaders meet at the G7 summit but get lost in the woods whilst trying to compose a joint statement on an unspecified global crisis. Beset by thick fog and menaced by undead bog bodies and a giant brain, they navigate the tortured passions between them. Starring Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, Denis Menochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira, Zlatko Buric, and Alicia Vikander. The film had its World Premiere at this years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May, and has received generally positive critical reviews. It was released Stateside in mid-October and has so far grossed US$572K.

'WEREWOLVES' (Rated MA15+) - is an American action horror thriller film Co-Produced and Directed by Steven C. Miller who made his feature film debut with 'Automaton Transfusion' in 2006 and he would go on to Direct the likes of 'Silent Night' in 2012, 'Marauders' in 2016, 'First Kill' in 2017, 'Escape Plan 2 : Hades' in 2018 and 'Line of Duty' in 2019. Here then, a supermoon event triggered a latent gene in every human on the planet, causing anyone exposed to the moonlight to transform into werewolves killing millions overnight. A year later, the world attempts to prepare for another supermoon. Starring Frank Grillo and Lou Diamond Phillips. The film is released in the US this week too.

'OUT OF SEASON' (Rated M) - this French romantic drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Stephane Brize whose prior film making credits include 'The Measure of a Man' in 2015, 'A Woman's Life' in 2016, 'At War' in 2018 and 'Another World' in 2021. Laurent (Guillaume Canet), is approaching fifty, and a well-known Actor who lives in Paris. Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) is a forty-something piano teacher who lives in a small seaside town. They fell in love about fifteen years earlier, but then broke up. Time has passed, each of them went their separate ways, wounds have healed and anger has subsided. When Laurent tries to drown his sorrows in a Jacuzzi at a spa, he finds Alice by chance. The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at last years Venice International Film Festival, where it Premiered in early September 2023. It was released in cinema's in France in late March this year, and has garnered generally positive reviews. 

'MY FAVOURITE CAKE' (Rated M) - is an international Co-Production between Iran, France, Sweden and Germany and is Written and Directed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, with the latter also Co-Producing and Co-Editing. Seventy year old Mahin (Lily Farhadpour) lives alone in Tehran since her husband’s death some thirty years ago, and her daughter’s departure for Europe, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life. But as Mahin opens herself up to new romance, what begins as an unexpected encounter with Faramarz (Esmail Mehrabi) quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening. The film saw its World Premiere screening in mid-February this year at the main competition for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and has generated positive critical acclaim.

'PIECE BY PIECE' (Rated CTC) - this American animated biographical documentary comedy film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, and Directed by filmmaker Morgan Neville in his animated Directorial debut. It follows the life and career of American musician Pharrell Williams, who stars in the film, through the lens of Lego animation, and marks the sixth theatrical Lego-based released film. As well as Williams and Neville, the film also stars the voices of Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg. The Lego Group created minifigure pieces that better represent the styles of African-American culture, as well as Williams's frequent collaborators, and designed new pieces for music equipment. Williams, who also Produces, wrote five original songs for the film. 'Piece by Piece' saw it premiere at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August this year and was released in the US and Canada in mid-October, having received generally positive reviews from critics, but became a box office bomb grossing US$10M from a US$16M production budget.

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-

GREEN BOOK : Tuesday 29th January 2019.

'GREEN BOOK' which I saw this week is a highly acclaimed comedy drama offering Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by Peter Farrelly. The film had its World Premiere showing at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year, where it won the People's Choice Award, and was released in the US in mid-November. It has received positive Reviews and was selected by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2018, as well as one of the Top 10 by the American Film Institute, and, has so far won 46 awards and a further 87 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, including five Oscar nods and four BAFTA nods. For some historical context, the film is named after 'The Negro Motorist Green Book', that was published from 1936 through to 1966 and was a guidebook for African-American road trippers written by Victor Hugo Green, to help them find motels and restaurants that would accept them in an age when in America's deep south especially, open and often legally prescribed discrimination against non-whites was widespread. The film has garnered generally positive Reviews and has grossed US$62M from its US$23M production budget so far.

The film opens up in the Copacabana Club, a busy New York nightclub, where Frank 'Tony Lip' Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) is employed as a bouncer, sometime during the early '60's. Tony is a hard working family man of Italian decent who loves his wife dearly and their two young sons. He also smokes heavily, eats a lot, gambles from time to time to supplement his income, and chats non-stop, having gained the nickname Tony Lip when he was a young lad because of his bullshitting prowess. He is pretty well connected in the Italian-American circles around the Bronx where he has lived his entire life, and held in high regard by his employer who calls upon Tony's special set of skills when customers get too boisterous, step over the line and need a heavier hand to help them out the door and onto the street. Tony however, and his other nightclub working colleagues find themselves out of work temporarily when the Club shuts down for major refurbishments in the two months leading up to Christmas. Tony is not too worried about finding work as he is 'flush' at the moment, despite being offered some questionable work assignments by family and friends within his community.

Tony gets wind of a driving job and is invited to an interview with 'Doc' Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) a world-class Jamaican-American jazz pianist and composer, who is about to embark on an eight week concert tour in America's deep southern States in 1962, with a plan to return home by Christmas Eve. The Doc (he earned a Doctorate of Music, Psychology and Liturgical Arts) lives in a plush apartment directly above Carnegie Hall. On the strength of his references Don offers Tony the driving gig on US$100 per week plus expenses, which Tony negotiates up to US$125 plus expenses.

A few days later Don's record company deliver a brand new hire car to his house, together with an explicit set of instructions for Tony to look after Mr. Shirley. They pay Tony half the money up front with the other 50% balance when the pair return home successfully having made each one of Don's tours dates. Tony bids his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini) and his two lads farewell, and he sets off in convoy with another identical vehicle driven by the two other members of the Don Shirley Trio. Tony swings by Carnegie Hall to collect his Client, load up the car and off they go on their two month road trip of America's Deep South, armed with a copy of the 'Green Book' - a guide for black travellers to find motels, restaurants, and filling stations that would serve coloureds.

And so the long road trip begins, with Tony chatting away, smoking heavily and eating behind the wheel, while Don sits comfortably in the back seat taking in the scenery, trying to read, and enjoy a relaxing journey. Tony and Don initially do not see eye to eye as Tony feels ill at ease in being asked to act in a more refined and dignified manner which is alien to this brash Italian, while Don is disgusted by Tony's eating and smoking habits and constant chatter.

As the tour moves ever onward into the deep southern States, Tony becomes more and more impressed with Don's talent on the piano, and equally more and more appalled by the discriminatory treatment that the very talented concert pianist receives by their hosts and the general public when he is not performing on stage.

One night when staying in a less than desirable hotel for coloured folk, Don takes his leave to find a bar. A group of white men threaten Don's life in a bar and Tony is called by the other two members of the trio to rescue him. Tony successfully faces off against the four would be attackers, and out in the car park he instructs Don not to go out without him for the rest of the tour, as it is too unsafe for him to do so in these parts. Don reluctantly agrees.

Upon leaving New York, Dolores asked Tony to send letters updating her and the boys on his journey, and the experience. Throughout the journey, Tony pens the letters and sends them home. Eventually noticing this, Don intervenes and asks to help. Tony agrees and with Don's help the letters become more sentimental and loving which deeply impact Dolores. Tony learns through idle conversation that Don has a brother whom he has become estranged from. Tony suggests that Don should reach out and get in touch but Don is reluctant, stating that he has become isolated by his demanding professional life and what he has been able to achieve.

At another stopover Don is found in the custody of a pair of local Policemen at a YMCA swimming pool, where he had a gay liaison with a young white man. Tony makes a donation (rather than bribing, because that would be illegal) to the two officers to prevent Don's arrest by utilising some of his quick witted fast paced convincing chatter that earned him his name in the first place. Don is mortified that Tony 'rewarded' the officers for their treatment by offering to purchase the men two brand new suits from a tailor in town that Tony and Don had stopped at earlier in the day. 

Later, the two are arrested after another pair of Police Officers pull them over late at night in the pouring rain while cruising through a sundown town lost. One of the Officers insults Tony who punches him to the ground. While they are locked up in a holding cell, Don asks to call his lawyer, but instead uses the opportunity to use his clout and reach out to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who orders the senior Police Officer in charge personally to release them. Tony is amazed by this turn of events and Don's friends in high places, while Don is humiliated. This results in an argument where Tony angrily considers himself 'blacker' than Don. Having reached his breaking point, Don laments that his wealth and success has prevented him from identifying with people of his own race while his race prevents him from being accepted by white people, making him feel truly isolated and alone in the world.

With the end of the road in sight, the pair pull into Birmingham, Alabama for the final performance of their two month tour. They pull up to a stately looking and grand hotel and are welcomed at the front door by the Hotel Manager like they are royalty. They are escorted through the hotel's back of house areas where Don is shown his 'dressing room' - no more than a broom cupboard just adjacent to the kitchen. Tony is shown to his room and he mentions to Don that he'll meet him in the restaurant for a quick dinner before that night's performance. Tony is suited and booted and already eating when Don arrives. But Don is refused entry by the Maitre 'd into the whites-only restaurant, yet he is good enough to be treated like royalty upon arrival, and good enough to play for the paying white guests, but not good enough to share their dining space. Tony threatens the Hotel Manager and Don refuses to perform.

Checking out earlier than planned and more abruptly, Tony takes Don to get dinner at a predominantly black Blues Bar where Don is encouraged to play the piano used by the house band. He gets the gathered crowd dancing and raises the roof with his Rock & Roll rendition of Little Richard. Afterwards, Tony and Don decide to head back to New York and try to make it home by Christmas Eve seeing as though they made an earlier than planned getaway. As they get further north a snow storm sets in and driving through blizzard conditions, Don eventually takes over driving duty when Tony almost falls asleep at the wheel. They make it in time for Tony's family Christmas Eve get together, to which he invites Don. The latter returns to his apartment above Carnegie Hall but ends up returning to Tony's apartment armed with a bottle of festive Champagne where he is welcomed by everyone. Following a brief moment of silence Dolores gives Don a big hug and whispers her thanks in his ear for helping Tony write his letters.

'Green Book' is a delightful film thanks to the two strong performances of its leads and the obvious chemistry that exists between the pairing, the nuances that Mortensen and Ali imbue their characters with, and the deft touch by Director Peter Farrelly. In many respects this is a road trip film that you have seen countless times before and perhaps most notably in 'Driving Miss Daisy' only this time around its a white man who is the chauffeur, and personal Butler, hired muscle and general problem solver to a black man who is considerably more educated, articulate, sophisticated, detailed, well groomed and well off than his driver. It's a story of how polar opposites attract, both racially and culturally, and while there is the initial friction between the pair, they both ultimately learn from each other, grow to respect each other for their differences and forge a long lasting friendship, and from this too you can reference all the bi-racial buddy cop movies of the '70's, '80's and '90's - think 'Lethal Weapon', '48 Hours', 'Beverly Hills Cop', 'Men In Black' and even 'Pulp Fiction'. This a crowd pleaser of a film that delivers a strong message that is as relevant today as it was back then, and if a little cliched in places, is underpinned by performances from the two leads that deserve all the accolades bestowed upon them, and a Director whose usual stable of adult comedic gross out offerings here takes a back seat and delivers a quieter paced film that is subtle in its comedy offerings underpinned by a dramatic and at times emotional true story.

'Green Book' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 15th - 21st October 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Viggo Mortensen does on 20th October - check out my tribute to this Actor, Author, Musician, Photographer, Painter and Poet Birthday Boy turning 59, 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 15th October

• Tanya Roberts - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actress
• Michael Caton-Jones - Born 1957, turns 60 - Director | Producer
• Todd Solondz - Born 1959, turns 58 - Director | Writer
• Dominic West - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor | Director

Monday 16th October

• Tim Robbins - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Gary Kemp - Born 1959, turns 58 - Songwriter | Actor 
• Flea (aka Michael Peter Balzary) - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actor | Songwriter
• Kenneth Lonergan - Born 1962, turns 55 - Writer | Director | Actor
• Angela Lansbury - Born 1925, turns 92 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Tuesday 17th October

• Felicity Jones - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actress
• Lawrence Bender - Born 1957, turns 60 - Producer | Actor
• Rob Marshall - Born 1960, turns 57 - Director | Producer | Choreographer
• Eminem (aka Marshall Bruce Mathers III) - Born 1972, turns 45 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer | Writer
• Matthew Macfadyen - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actor 

Wednesday 18th October

• Howard Shore - Born 1946, turns 71 - Composer | Songwriter | Orchestrator | Conductor
• Jean-Claude Van Damme - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director 
• Zac Efron - Born 1987, turns 30 - Actor | Singer  
• Freida Pinto - Born 1984, turns 33 - Actress

Thursday 19th October

• John le Carre - Born 1931, turns 86 - Writer | Producer | Actor
• Michael Gambon - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actor
• John Lithgow - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actor | Producer | Singer 
• Jon Favreau - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Trey Parker - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director | Singer | Songwriter 
• Jason Reitman - Born 1977, turns 40 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor 

Friday 20th October

• Timothy West - Born 1934, turns 83 - Actor 
• Thomas Newman - Born 1955, turns 62 - Composer | Singer | Songwriter | Orchestrator | Conductor
• Danny Boyle - Born 1956, turns 61 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Viggo Mortensen - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter  
• Snoop Dog (aka Calvin Cordozar Broadus) - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter | Producer | Composer | Writer | Director 
• John Krasinski - Born 1979, turns 38 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer

Saturday 21st October 

• Ken Watanabe - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor | Producer
• Catherine Hardwicke - Born 1955, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Production Designer | Writer

Viggo Peter Mortensen Jnr. was born in New York City to mother Grace Atkinson, and father Viggo Peter Mortensen Snr. She is American, and he Danish. The couple met in Norway. The family moved to Venezuela , then onto Denmark and then Argentina, where the young Viggo attended primary school and where he became fluent in Spanish. At age eleven, his parents separated and so Viggo Jnr. returned to New York with his mother  where he spent his remaining childhood years attending Watertown High School, in New York and from where he graduated in 1976. He then went on to study at St. Lawrence University in New York graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish Studies and Politics. That was 1980, and thereafter he spent time living in Spain, Denmark and England where he took menial jobs to pay his way before returning to the US to take up an acting career.  He has two younger brothers, Walter and Charles, both of whom work as geologists. 

In 1984 Mortensen appeared in the television mini-series 'George Washington' with the likes of Beau Bridges, Robert Stack, Hal Holbrook, James Mason and Trevor Howard, and the following year appeared in a single episodes of the long running day time television serial 'Search for Tomorrow'. It was also in 1985 that the aspiring Actor gained this first feature film role in Peter Weir's 'Witness' alongside Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas and Danny Glover. This gave way to a single episode on 'Miami Vice' then a few movies seeing out the '80's including Renny Harlin's horror crime drama 'Prison', then 'Fresh Horses' with Molly Ringwood, Ben Stiller, and Andrew McCarthy and then 'Tripwire'. 

From 1990 Mortensen scored regular feature film work year on year kicking off with 'Leatherface : Texas Chainsaw Massacre III' and then action Western 'Young Guns II' with Keifer Sutherland, Emilio Estevez, Christian Slater, Lou Diamond Phillips and James Coburn. Horror thriller 'The Reflecting Skin' and then the Sean Penn Directed drama 'The Indian Runner' with David Morse, Charles Bronson, and Dennis Hopper. 'Ruby Cairo' with Liam Neeson, 'Boiling Point' with Wesley Snipes, 'The Young Americans' with Harvey Keitel, led to the Brian de Palma Directed 'Carlito's Way' with Al Pacino in 1993.

The years that followed upto the end of the decade saw Mortensen star in a host of 'B' grade movies whilst others shared more notable mainstream success. Included in the latter were Tony Scott's 'Crimson Tide' with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington; Jane Campion's 'The Portrait of a Lady' with Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich; the Kevin Spacey Directed 'Albino Alligator' with Matt Dillon and Faye Dunaway; the Rob Cohen Directed 'Daylight' with Sylvester Stallone; Ridley Scott's 'G.I. Jane' with Demi Moore and Anne Bancroft; the remake of Hitchcock's 'Dial M for Murder' with 'A Perfect Murder' starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow; and Gus Van Sant's frame by frame remake of the classic Hitchcock thriller 'Psycho' with Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore seeing out the '90's.

2000 saw comedy drama offering '28 Days' with Sandra Bullock and Dominic West, before what is best described as his breakout roll in 2001 as Aragorn in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy 'Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring' which was followed up with 2002's 'Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers' and in 2003 by 'Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King'. The three films went on to huge commercial and critical success winning a combined sixteen Academy Awards plus another 425 award wins and 384 further nominations. In terms of worldwide Box Office the three films cost a total US$281M to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's books to the big screen, and raked in a combined US$2,92B.

Following the four year 'LOTR' trilogy hiatus, Mortensen remained in the saddle (literally) with the Joe Johnston Directed historical biographical action adventure offering 'Hidalgo' with Omar Sharif. His first collaboration with Director David Cronenberg came in 2005 with 'A History of Violence' also starring Ed Harris and Maria Bello. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and walked away with another 37 award wins and 78 nods. Spanish historical adventure drama 'Alatriste' came next in 2006, followed by his second outing for Cronenberg with crime drama 'Eastern Promises' with Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel for which Mortensen was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award from its total award haul of 28 wins and another 71 nominations.

Next up for Mortensen in 2008 was the Ed Harris, Co-Written, Directed and starring crime drama Western 'Appaloosa' with Renee Zellweger, Jeremy Irons and Timothy Spall, followed by WWII drama 'Good' with Jason Isaacs and Mark Strong. This in turn led to the Cormac McCarthy adaptation of his post-apocalyptic adventure drama 'The Road' as Directed to Critical acclaim by John Hillcoat and also starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce.

2011 saw Mortensen's third collaboration with David Cronenberg in the historical biographical drama 'A Dangerous Method' in which Mortensen plays Sigmund Freud opposite Michael Fassbender's Carl Jung. The film also starred Keira Knightley, and Vincent Cassel and collected 18 award wins and a further 28 nominations from around the traps. 'On the Road' followed a year later with an ensemble cast in the adventure drama film also starring Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Elisabeth Moss, Kirsten Dunst, Terrence Howard and Steve Buscemi. The Argentinian crime thriller 'Everybody Has a Plan' followed also in 2012, and then the romantic thriller 'The Two Faces of January' with Oscar Isaac and Kirsten Dunst in 2014.

2014 also saw the historical drama offering 'Juaja', and then the French drama film 'Far from Men'. This took us up to 2016 and Mortensen's turn in the highly regarded 'Captain Fantastic' as Written and Directed by Matt Ross and also starring Frank Langella, Steve Zahn and a cast of six child Actors all portraying Mortensen's somewhat dysfunctional children raised in remote woodlands totally isolated from the world for ten years, only to have to reintegrate into mainstream society as a result of the tragic and unexpected death of their mother. The film received generally positive Reviews and Mortensen was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG for his performance out of its total fourteen wins and 43 other nominations.

Next up for Mortensen is 'Unabomb' currently in pre-production and telling the story of an FBI Agent who leads an unconventional team on the hunt for notorious Theodore (Ted) John Kaczynski (aka 'The Unabomber') who between 1978 and 1995 killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide bombing campaign, and who is now serving eight consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.  In between time Mortensen established his own publishing company - 'The Perceval Press' to help other artists by publishing their works that may not ordinarily find a home in more mainstream traditional publishing houses. He also uses his own company to publish many of his own personal artistic projects in the areas of photography, poetry, music and literature. His credits as an author on numerous books of poetry, photography and painting extend from his initial collection of poems - 'Ten Last Night' released in 1993 that take in a further seventeen publications right up to 2015. He also combines his love of poetry with music and he also boasts an extensive discography taking in seventeen released CD's between 1994 and 2013.

All up Mortensen has 57 Acting credits to his name, three as Producer, three Soundtrack credits and one as Composer. He has 32 Award wins under his belt and a further 93 nominations including two Academy Awards and two BAFTA nominations for 'Captain Fantastic' and 'Eastern Promises', three Golden Globe nominations for 'Captain Fantastic', 'Eastern Promises' and 'A Dangerous Method', and four SAG nods for Captain Fantastic', 'Eastern Promises', 'LOTR : The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' and a win for 'LOTR : The Return of the King'. 

Mortensen was married to Actress and Singer Exene Cervenka from mid 1987 through until 1992, becoming officially divorced in 1997. They have a son together, Henry Blake Mortensen born in January 1988. Since 2009, Mortensen has been romantically linked to Spanish Actress Ariadna Gil.

Viggo Mortensen - fluent in English, Spanish, Danish and French, understands Norwegian and Swedish and can converse in Italian; is a fan of soccer, baseball (the New York Mets), ice hockey (the Montreal Canadiens), American football (the New York Giants); is an accomplished horse rider; has appeared on numerous 'Top' lists over the years including 100 Sexiest Movie Stars, 15 Sexiest Men, 25 Most Intriguing People, the Hottest Hotties and 50 Most Beautiful People; and turned down the role of Aragorn until his son convince him to take it on . . . . thankfully he made the right decision! Known for his cleft chin, soft mellow voice and for portraying rugged anti-heroes with absolute conviction, you are acclaimed in a multitude of artistic endeavours, and you never disappoint. Happy Birthday to you Viggo, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 8th September 2016.

This week sees the release of Clint Eastwood's 35th feature film as Director. Of those 35 films he has Co-Produced 27, starred in 23 of those and mostly in the lead role, composed the music score for six, and either performed the song or written the words and/or music for sixteen of them. Certainly multi talented and still going strong after seven decades in the acting business having gained his first credited acting role in 1955. For his efforts he won the Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards for 'Unforgiven' and for 'Million Dollar Baby' plus he has seven other Oscar nominations together with his total awards haul of 140 other wins and 143 nominations for Acting, Directing, Producing and music. A genuine movie making all-rounder. Below is a summary of his Directing credits to date :-

 * 1971 - 'Play Misty for Me' - starring Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter and Donna Mills
 * 1973 - 'High Plains Drifter' - starring Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom and Marianna Hill
 * 1973 - 'Breezy' - starring William Holden
 * 1975 - 'The Eiger Sanction' - starring Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy
 * 1976 - 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' - starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke
 * 1977 - 'The Gauntlet' - starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke
 * 1980 - 'Bronco Billy' - starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke
 * 1982 - 'Firefox' - starring Clint Eastwood and Freddie Jones
 * 1982 - 'Honkeytonk Man' - starring Clint Eastwood and Kyle Eastwood
 * 1983 - 'Sudden Impact' - starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke
 * 1985 - 'Pale Rider' - starring Clint Eastwood and Michael Moriarty
 * 1986 - 'Heartbreak Ridge' - starring Clint Eastwood and Marsha Mason
 * 1988 - 'Bird' - starring Clint Eastwood and Forest Whitaker
 * 1990 - 'White Hunter, Black Heart' - starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Fahey
 * 1990 - 'The Rookie' - starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen
 * 1992 - 'Unforgiven' - starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman
 * 1993 - 'A Prefect World' - starring Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner and Laura Dern
 * 1995 - 'The Bridges of Madison County' - starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep
 * 1997 - 'Absolute Power' - starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris
 * 1997 - 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' - starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey
 * 1999 - 'True Crime' - starring Clint Eastwood, James Woods and Isaiah Washington
 * 2000 - 'Space Cowboys' - starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland
 * 2002 - 'Blood Work' - starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels and Angelica Houston
 * 2003 - 'Mystic River' - starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins
 * 2004 - 'Million Dollar Baby' - starring Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman
 * 2006 - 'Flags of Our Fathers' - starring Ryan Phillippe and Barry Pepper
 * 2006 - 'Letters from Iwo Jima' - starring Ken Watanabe
 * 2008 - 'Changeling' - starring Angeline Jolie and Amy Ryan
 * 2008 - 'Gran Torino' - starring Clint Eastwood and Bee Vang
 * 2009 - 'Invictus' - starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman
 * 2010 - 'Hereafter' - starring Matt Damon
 * 2011 - 'J.Edgar' - starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Judi Dench
 * 2014 - 'Jersey Boys' - starring Christopher Walken and John Lloyd Young
 * 2014 - 'American Sniper' - starring Bradley Cooper
 * 2016 - 'Sully' - starring Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart.

Turning to the week ahead, we have six new movie offerings coming to an Odeon near you. Kicking off with a superhero film of a different kind that sees a mere mortal father with strong beliefs living well & truly off the grid with his six kids in remote woodland that eventually have to confront the real world with lasting consequences on them all. Then another hero story based on real events surrounding a quick thinking pilot, a flock of geese and the chilly waters of a major waterway; a quirky Australian coming of age drama; and then a couple of documentaries - one into a weird and wacky Church that seems swathed in secrecy and hell bent on covering up its antics, and the next about a campaign to bring about equality and gay marriage rights in a country that you would least expect to blaze such a trail. And then we wrap up with an animated feature of domestic animals doing their own thing when their owners and human friends are out from 9-5.

With another big selection of diverse cinematic content to choose from in the coming week, plus those other films as Reviewed and Previewed between these humble pages that are still doing the rounds on general release, you are invited as always to share your thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your own Comments below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your film.

'CAPTAIN FANTASTIC' (Rated M) - no, this is not a Marvel or DC Extended Universe offering up there with 'Captain America' or another reboot of 'The Fantastic Four', but instead an independently produced comedy drama film Directed and Written by Matt Ross that has garnered much critical acclaim since its release. Having premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, screened in competition at Cannes in May in the 'Un Certain Regard' category and won the Best Director Prize, and released in early July in the US, this film now arrives at a cinema near you and calls for your attention.

Starring Viggo Mortensen as father of six Ben Cash who lives with his family well and truly off the grid in the Pacific Northwest in remote Washington State. His wife Leslie (Trin Miller) has a history of mental illness and is hospitalised with bipolar disorder and then he receives news that she has committed suicide. Having brought up their six children Bodevan - 18 (George Mackay), twins Kielyr - 15 (Samantha Isler) and Vespyr -15 (Annalise Basso), Rellian - 14 (Nicholas Hamilton), Zaja - 8 (Shree Crooks) and Nai - 6 (Charlie Shotwell) in isolation of the outside world, schooled at home in the ways of critical thinking, physical training, mental agility, being an one with nature and living without any 21st century conveniences or technology, he must embark on a road trip to New Mexico to attend the funeral. This however, means taking his children into the outside world for the first time,  and confronting Leslie's parents who threaten him with arrest if he attends the funeral. Their journey of discovery and the ways the children respond differently to it and what they encounter en route, causes Ben to re-evaluate the choices made in their upbringing and his own beliefs. Also starring Frank Langella and Anne Dowd as Leslie's parents, and Kathryn Hahn and Steve Zahn as Ben's sister and her husband respectively.

'SULLY' (Rated M) - this is real life story of Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger who captained the US Airways Flight 1549 on January 15th 2009 that soon after departing New York's LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, hit a flock of geese crippling both engines of the Airbus A320. Three minutes into the flight, still at low altitude and with no airport to divert to quickly Sully (Tom Hanks) and his First Officer Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) make the decision to ditch the stricken aircraft in the near freezing waters of the Hudson River saving every one of the 155 passengers and crew on board. This against the odds story tells how 'The Miracle on the Hudson' as it came to be known unfolded, how Sully is made a hero in the press and in the media, but soon afterwards an investigation unfolds that sees Sully's life turn upside down as he must defend his actions on that day, his family and his reputation. Directed and Co-Produced by Clint Eastwood with Lara Linney starring as Sully's wife Lorraine. This film is based on Sully's autobiography 'Highest Duty'.

'GIRL ASLEEP' (Rated M) - this little Australian coming of age drama was filmed in Adelaide, South Australia and premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2015 where it took out the Audience Award for Most Popular Feature Film being bestowed upon Director Rosemary Myers and Producer Jo Dyer. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival, and has garnered much critical praise around the festival circuit before arriving back home for a general, albeit fairly limited release. This tells the story of Greta Driscoll (Bethany Whitmore) who is about to turn fifteen sometime during the mid-70's in Australian suburbia. She is content to live in the shadows, be the underdog, and let life pass her by as she clings onto the last vestiges of childhood where there is familiarity, safety, belonging and all the comforts she is used to. She meanders around with her only friend Elliott (Harrison Feldman) until her parents throw a surprise birthday party and invite just about anyone and everyone within the school and whereupon she is flung into a parallel world where we journey through the whimsical, scary, beautiful mind of a young teenage girl.

'MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE' (Rated M) - quirky and brave documentarian Louis Theroux has sought for a number of years to make a doco about the Church of Scientology but was refused access, permission and any right to do so by Church officials. In 2011 Theroux and his Producer, Simon Chinn, got together with Director John Dower and started planning this film, but not in the traditional talking heads and archival footage sense. Here we see Theroux combine with former senior Scientologist Mark Rathburn to create dramatic reconstructions of incidents and actions using Actors as Church Officials. Here they portray claims of violent behaviour by the Head of the Church David Miscavige at its international headquarters at Gold Base in Riverside County, California. It is not long however, before the Church retaliates on Theroux and his film making crew with their own camera surveillance as though turning the film making tables on the film maker, in a kind of Mexican camera stand-off, which is all documented here, together with supposedly accurate and faithful reconstructions Directed by Scientology Whistleblower Rathburn for authenticity. The funny, revealing and absurd film premiered at the London Film Festival last October and is likely to leave you asking more questions than those answered into exactly what are they hiding?

'THE QUEEN OF IRELAND' (Rated M) - another documentary this time charting the life and times of world renowned Irish drag queen and LGBTIQ rights activist Panti Bliss aka Rory O'Neill, as Written and Directed by Conor Horgan. As Panti fights for equality in her native Ireland, we join her on the campaign trail which ultimately led to the country becoming the first in the world to sanction gay marriage as voted by the people in early 2015, which would have been an unimaginable concept ten years ago. As she becomes a passionate, powerful and persuasive public figure at a time that Ireland perhaps needed it the most, the message within this film is likely to resonate in particular with Australian audiences who are engaged in much debate about the very same topic. When the film opened in Ireland in October 2015, it had the highest grossing opening weekend for an Irish documentary film ever.

'THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS' (Rated G) - this animated feature from Illumination  Entertainment was Directed by Chris Renaud, released in the US in early July, cost US$75M to make and has so far grossed US$767M making it the highest grossing non-Disney original animated feature film, ever! In a nutshell, the film tells the story of the things our beloved pets get up to when us adults and kids are out at work or at school during the day. Featuring an impressive voice cast that includes Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Albert Brooks, Steve Coogan and Louis C.K. You can be sure that this includes the latest in animation design, sight gags, a witty script, loveable creatures, annoying critters,  pesky animals and adorable pets that is sure to please the child in us all.

With six very different films to choose from this week, there is something for just about everyone, so no excuses - get yourself out to your local movie theatre, watch a film, and share your views here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 30th July 2015.

Rolling into the first week of August already and it continues to be cold & wet in South Australia's Adelaide, but hey, Spring is just a month away with the promise of warmer days and shorter nights and plenty of great movie stock coming our way. And so speaking of which, this week ahead there are just three new movies with which to tempt, tease and tantalise the movie going dollar from out of your wallet, so get to your local theatre, park yourself in a seat and gear up for some movie goodness!

This week we have the fifth instalment in a huge action franchise that has its roots in a 60's  & 70's TV Series; then there is a North African story set in the mid-50's that just could be a career defining performance from a fine Actor well versed in big screen epic adventure; and wrapping up, a true story of children rights campaigner looking to make a difference in a war ravaged country.

Of course, you can share your movie thoughts of the week with your like minded film buffs here at Odeon Online by recording a Comment below this Post or any other that relate to your film of the week, or any of those others still on general release. Enjoy your movie.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE : ROGUE NATION (Rated M) - 'The Mission Impossible' film franchise based on the successful television series that ran from 1966 to 1973 and was then reprised from 1988 to 1990 has so far, over four films, grossed US$2.1B from a combined budget of US$500M. Given the success of the first four films this one too is almost assured even before its release, and, is likely to get a further boost as a result of Paramount Pictures bringing the release date forward from Christmas 2015 to July 30th so it wouldn't go head to head with 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' and 'Spectre'. Probably a wise move!

Once again Tom Cruise is back at Ethan Hunt and this time the IMF Agency is under attack from the mythical 'Syndicate' who harbour a bunch of international highly trained and skilled rogue operatives and assassins who kill to order. When the IMF faces being wound-up for good at the hands of the Syndicate, Hunt assembles his Team for possibly their most dangerous mission to date - to prove that the Syndicate really exists, and then to bring them down once and for all by whatever it takes. Once more starring Ving Rhames as Luther Stickel, Simon Pegg at Benji Dunn, Jeremy Renner as William Brandt with this time Alec Baldwin as Alan Hunley too, and Directed by Christoper McQuarrie, you can see the Cruisemeister doing all his own stunts - including this shot of him hanging precariously from the doors of a plane in take off! The man can sure boast a pair!

FAR FROM MEN (Rated M) - Directed by David Oelhoffen this French produced film stars Viggo Mortensen as schoolteacher and ex-French Army soldier Daru. Set in 1954 Algeria, Daru has to accompany accused murderer Mohamed (Reda Kateb) across the Atlas Mountains to a regional Police station for trial. Along their journey a series of incidents and truths come to pass that lead Daru  to question his own loyalties, his morals and his friendships. Set amidst the backdrop of stunning scenery, a gripping story, strong performances, a Nick Cave soundtrack, this already acclaimed film is old west inspired adult fare that is sure to please lovers of mature well crafted independent film making.

NOBLE (Rated M) - This film was released in Ireland way back in mid-2014 having premiered back in January 2014 at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and has made it to Australian shores this week. Telling the true story of Irish born Christina Noble who was raised in poverty on the streets of Dublin in the 50's and 60's and then the UK, but grew up using those life forming experiences to change the fate of similar children growing up in a war ravaged Vietnam in the late 80's. Directed by Stephen Bradley and starring Deirdre O'Kane as Noble with support from Sarah Greene, Brendan Coyle and Liam Cunningham this film is likely to be fairly confronting yet inspirational and emotional showing the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity for good, and show that one individual can make a difference. Her efforts led to the creation of the Christina Noble Children's Foundation - an international non-governmental organisation whose focus is on helping the worlds oppressed children - in Vietnam and Mongolia especially.

Three movies this week to stir the emotions and all for varying reasons, but sure to please on different levels. With mid-Winter keeping us inside in the Southern Hemisphere, and Summer time and School Holidays providing amusement in the Northern Hemisphere, you can escape to a movie theatre wherever you are for air-conditioned warmth or to cool down in a darkened room, with a white light and a bunch of strangers.

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-