What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th June 2015.

Another week and another raft of cinematic content coming your way, boosted Down Under by the Sydney Film Festival in full swing as I tap away at my keyboard to bring you the Previews of this weeks latest releases. With many films in competition and many getting their Premier at the SFF, this gives us six new movies that are a mash up of Hollywood Blockbuster, comedy, foreign language, documentary and drama from mainstream to independent. Once again this spells plenty of choice and diversity in the offing which can only be a good thing for the likes of you and me.

With this in mind, first up we have the reboot of a hugely successful prehistoric theme park franchise that has so far given us three successful films, and after an absence of fourteen years the gates are open once again. Then there is an action comedy offering what seems to be the usual cop on the run protecting some poor downtrodden waif pursued across the USofA by badass gun totting henchmen; then some big name stars relocated to small hicksville backwater outback town in far away country Australia where dust storms, lost kids and finger pointing are the order of the day; followed up by a Spanish entry into the canon as two very different detectives must unite to hunt down a serial killer before more women die; then a old wild west tale of a young lad out of his depth and out of his comfort zone searching for his love guided by a mystery high plains drifter through treacherous country; and finally a documentary examining the great divide in Great Britain.

With some solid offerings coming your way in the week ahead you can't not be tempted by what is on offer. Get yourself to your local movie theatre and do yourself a favour, and when you have sat through your movie of choice drop us a Comment or two afterwards in the box immediately following this or any other Post and share your thoughts, observations and opinions with the your friends at Odeon Online. Enjoy your film!

JURASSIC WORLD (Rated M) - Back in 1993 Steven Spielberg Directed the first in this hugely successful franchise that changed how we perceive animated creatures on screen forever. 'Jurassic Park' back then was made for US$63M and generated US$1.03B at the global box office and in after sales making it (at that time) the most commercially successful film of all time. In 1997 Spielberg followed this up with 'Jurassic Park : The Lost World' which he made for US$73M and it raked in US$619M, and in 2001 Joe Johnston made 'Jurassic Park III' for US$93M and it brought in US$369M - the least successful so far. Now, in 2015 (after about ten years in 'development hell') Colin Trevorrow has turned his Directing attention to the world of Jurassic Park, and with a budget of US$150M++, and Steven Spielberg on Producer duty, brings us to the all new, all singing, all dancing open for business 'Jurassic World'.

Set 22 years after the events of the last film the vision that John Hammond had back then for his dinosaur theme park is now fully realised back on Isla Nublar, off the Central American Pacific Coast. With a change of ownership to The Masrani Corporation, the park is attracting visitors aplenty and all is good at Jurassic World . . . for a little while at least! Of course any theme park needs to keep reinventing itself, need to refresh and reinvest and so it is at this one too. Ordered to create a new dinosaur with which to lure more crowds to visit, the scientists and geneticists set about engineering a hybrid dinosaur which they call 'Indominus rex'. Needless to say when Indominus decides to form its own opinion, wise up and get smart it runs amok and you just know it's gonna get ugly and there'll be people munching aplenty! It falls to on-site dino-trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Operations Manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), and InGen Security Head Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) to save the day as the body count start to rise, the carnage becomes more widespread and the lovely animals turn less so!

STRANGERLAND (Rated MA15+) - This is the Directorial debut for Kim Ferrant, and a film I saw in a test screening back at Fox Studios in Sydney last August. Here we have a typical family comprising pharmacist husband Matthew Parker (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Catherine (Nicole Kidman), and their two kids Lily (Madison Brown) and Tommy (Nicholas Hamilton). They have had to relocate to the desert outback escaping from the big smoke (which is explained later on as the film progresses) and so have wound up in Nathgari. It's a fresh start but hardly one that really any of them would wish for. They are a pleasant unassuming family who largely keep themselves to themselves living on the outskirts of the community. One day as a dust storm approaches the town the two young kids go walkabout and wander off into the desert - not to be seen again. As the dust storm engulfs the town so emotions rise and a search is mounted afterwards by the locals and the community cop David Rae (Hugo Weaving), but as the search proves fruitless and the temperature rises with the searing heat, so too does the rumour, suspicion, speculation and finger pointing as every day passes. The tension mounts and increasingly Matthew and Catherine find themselves at odds with each other, the townsfolk and what has become of their children.

MARSHLAND (Rated MA15+) - this is a Spanish film that was released in Spain back in September 2014 and it took out ten awards at the 'Goya Awards' in February this year honouring the best in Spanish film making. Directed by Alberto Rodriguez and set in 1980, this sees two detectives from Madrid with a very different set of ideals who must work together on a double murder case in the remote town on the Guadalquivir Marshes in Seville province, Andalusia, in southern Spain where the men have been sent following their reprimand back in Madrid. Working together they must put their differences aside to find the killer who has been preying on young girls for many years, and do so before he strikes again.

SLOW WEST (Rated M) - Writer and first time Director John Mclean has crafted an 1870's Colorado based frontier Western filmed in New Zealand and Scotland, that is out already on a very limited Aussie cinema release. Starring Michael Fassbender as Silas Selleck - a bounty hunter and chaperon to young lovelorn teenager Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who has made the trek from his native Scotland to the wild west frontier in search of his true love Rose Ross (Caren Pistorios) and her father John Ross (Rory McCann). Along the way there are various other bounty hunters, opportunists and miscreants all on the trail of Rose & John and a hidden agenda by Silas that add humour, violence, and sweeping scenery along the way. An award winner at this years Sundance Film Festival, for genre followers this is worth seeking out. Check out my full Review Posted earlier this week.

HOT PURSUIT (Rated M) - This film is Directed by Anne Fletcher and stars a couple of big name draw card female Actors that seriously make me think WTF are you doing in this? Made for US$35M is has already clawed that back since its US release one month ago, but I can't help thinking this is formulaic fluff that we have seen a hundred times before. Here we have intense, never-off-duty, workaholic Police Officer for the San Antonio PD Rose Cooper (Reece Witherspoon, who also Produces here) who is assigned to escort and protect a drug cartel informant Felipe Riva (Vincent Laresca) and his wife Daniella (Sofia Vergara) who are soon to testify against Vincente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio). Cooper is paired up with a Senior Detective Jackson and upon arriving at the Riva household there is a welcome committee and pretty soon Jackson and Felipe wind up dead! At this point Cooper and Daniella need to buddy up, quickly and get the hell outta there, and so they go on the run, getting chased down by the badass hoods while dodging crooked Coppers too, and bonding along the way as girls do in such circumstances until a double-cross gets thrown into the mix and it all goes pear shaped! Of course it's all good in the end as the baddies get thwarted, the goodies get rewarded, and those sat somewhere in between pay the price but come out smiling! Yawn!

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES (Rated M) - Written and Directed by the acclaimed Michael Winterbottom this Documentary seems to be in the style of that other Michael who has carved out a career poking a big stick into even bigger issues - Moore that is - and has done so successfully for the last fifteen years - gun laws, 9/11, healthcare and the world of high finance to name a few. And so it is Winterbottom's turn with confident orator/actor/comedian and spokesperson of the world Russell Brand in front of the camera. Here the subject matter is the great divide between the rich and the poor, the have's and the have not's, the privileged and the downtrodden and those travelling in first class and the schmucks back in economy! This film will attempt to probe into the world's economic centres and those pulling the strings within them, and ask what lessons were learned from 2008's GFC, what have we done as a result and why is the great divide growing increasingly greater by the year. Will this film gel you into action, make you think, create a difference and lead to a more balanced, equal and fair society for all - only you can decide, but if nothing else it is likely to be enlightening and entertaining all at once.

Six new release films then this week to get you out amongst it for a whole array of differing reasons not the least of which will be sheer unadulterated entertainment. When you have done so and pondered the enormity of your movie choice after the fact, share away and spread the word.

Movies - see another this week!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'SLOW WEST' : Monday 8th June 2015.

'SLOW WEST' which I saw this week has been out on a very limited release in Australian cinemas for a few weeks now, but it caught my interest because I don't mind a good Western, it has Michael Fassbender at its lead, and the reviews have generally been favourable. Directed and Written by first time Director John Mclean this is a slow burning action adventure Western set in 1870 Colorado and filmed in New Zealand and Scotland with the former doubling for the wild frontier. The film Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was awarded the Sundance Institute's World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic Winner.

The story surrounds late teenager Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit McPhee) - a Scottish lad who is in search of his true love Rose Ross (Caren Pistorios) and her father John Ross (Rory McCann) who both fled Scotland on a murder charge, and are now seeking to establish a new life in the new world. As Jay makes his way through hostile country fending for himself and getting by more through luck than judgement, he comes across Silas Selleck (Michael Fassbender) who is a drifter making a living as a bounty hunter - although he fails to disclose this to the young naive Jay. When Jay has a run in with three dodgy looking soldiers hunting down a native 'savage' it is Silas who comes to the rescue and offers his services as a chaperon to escort the young lad cross country in search of his true love.

For the sum of US$50 upfront and US$50 on delivery Silas is gainfully employed and so their journey continues. Along the way they encounter various other Desperados, opportunists and the gang of Payne (Ben Mendelsohn) with whom Silas used to be an associate in his younger days. Over a fireside chat in the woods one night with a cigar and a bottle of Absinthe Silas and Payne discuss the bounty that exists on the heads of John Ross and his daughter Rose, who the unknowing Jay is leading them to.

The next day after getting almost washed away in a storm the two continue their journey minus their guns which Payne has confiscated leaving them defenceless except for Silas' hunting knife. With Payne and his gang following but hanging back to just maintain a watchful eye, Silas and Jay eventually reach their destination spying the Ross household in the distance with a cornfield in the foreground and snow capped peaks in the background. Little do they know however, that there is another bounty hunter hot on the heels who has arrived at the homestead ahead of them.

Needless to say the showdown and the shoot out come to a head as three bounty hunters all converge almost simultaneously and the fate of the protagonists hang in the balance, and for most of them it doesn't end well. The reuniting between Rose and Jay is not without incident as the bullets fly, the blood flows, the cornfield burns, the household woodwork is peppered with holes and the body count mounts, but, amidst all this carnage, violence, death and destruction there is a happier ending!

At under a ninety minute running time this film delivers on the action but it is not overstated or stylised - it is what you would imagine of the hostile west where life is cheap, it's everyman for himself and survival of the fittest. The dialogue is sparse, the scenery epic, the story simple but reasonably well told and there are a few laugh out loud moments. The performances are solid enough although I am not convinced as to Smit-McPhee's casting as the still wet behind the ears, naive, innocent, lovelorn teenager trudging continent wide in search of his childhood sweetheart like some groundbreaking pioneer when in reality he's probably wary of his own shadow.

This is not a film you have to see on the big screen - the big screen in the comfort of your own home will suffice and so you could save yourself $20 and wait for the DVD and BluRay, but, it is well worth a look and ticks a number of boxes to the credit of John Mclean's Directorial debut and his writing prowess.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

'THE WAY BACK' - archive from 18th March 2011.

I saw 'THE WAY BACK' this week - the true story of a mixed bag of seven POW's who escape from a Siberian Gulag and hot foot it 4,000 miles to freedom across Russia, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Tibet & into India in 1941/2/3. A solid result from occasional Director Peter Weir who also Produced and wrote the Screenplay based on the book 'The Long Walk' by Slawomir Rawicz. Made for US$30M this film struggled to make back US$21M but generally it received positive reviews and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Make-Up, and all up garnered two award wins and five other nominations.

The story kicks off after the Soviet invasion of Poland during WWII where Polish Officer Janusz Wieszczek (Jim Sturgess) is held as a Prisoner of War and interrogated by The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) and is subsequently sentenced to serve twenty years in a Gulag labour camp in deepest, darkest, remotest, bloody cold Siberia.

Once transported and interned into his new home for the next two decades Janusz is introduced to his new living companions with whom he will hatch his plan for escape. This motley crew comprise Mr. Smith (Ed Harris), an American engineer; Khabarov (Mark Strong), an actor; Valka (Colin Farrell), a hardened Russian criminal; Tomasz (Alexandru Potocean), a Polish artist; Voss (Gustaf Skarsgard), a Latvian man of the cloth; Kazik (Sebastian Urzendowsky), a Pole suffering from night blindness; and Zoran (Dragoş Bucur), a Yugoslavian number cruncher.

Following some planning the crew take their leave under cover of darkness and a snow storm with which their tracks are covered. After a set back or two early on in the piece, en route to Lake Balkal they meet Irena Zielinska (Saoirse Ronan) who spins the men a yarn about Russian soldiers murdering her parents in order to gain favour, and convince the escapees to allow her to join them. Mr. Smith however, pretty quickly wises up to Irene's rouse and cautions her that they will accept no nonsense and as soon ditch her for their own safety and freedom.

From here they continue on to the border between the Soviet Union and Mongolia and then onto Ulan Bator before heading south across the Gobi Desert where they are plagued by diminishing water supplies, sandstorms, blistering heat, sunburn and sunstroke to which Irene ultimately succumbs. As the reduced group continue on their trek for freedom dwindling health drag the remaining group down until a source of water is found to refresh and rehydrate them.

Reaching the Himalayas again on the verge of death, a Tibetan Monk comes to their rescue and leads them to a Buddhist Monastery where they regain their strength and their resolve. From there Mr. Smith goes on alone to Tibet where he can then be smuggled out through China where he can establish contact with US Military authorities and from there back to America.The others continue through the Himalayas and into India.

This is a film of courage over adversity, determination of the human spirit, and unwavering strength and resolve underpinned with fine performances from the principle cast and of course some breathtaking scenery en route! This is worth hunting out now on DVD, BluRay or download especially given that the film is grounded in fact albeit perhaps embellished by poetic license across the years following the long walk. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

TOMORROWLAND : Wednesday 3rd June 2015.

I think that the great man himself, Walt Disney, would be very proud of his Studio's latest offering - the US$190M Sci-Fi futuristic utopian action adventure 'TOMORROWLAND' which I saw earlier this week. Directed by Brad Bird whose Directing credits also include 'Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol', 'The Incredibles' (and its long awaited sequel currently in the works) 'Ratatouille' and 'The Iron Giant', this film has the pedigree, the budget, the talent and the story to make this big, really big! Brad Bird also co-Produced, wrote the Screenplay and came up with the story too together with Damon Lindelof, based on the Disney theme park future world attraction that first appeared at Disneyland in the mid-50's.

And so to the film itself which is very impressive looking in its CGI imagery of a future utopian world where technology is so advanced that almost anything is possible. As the film opens we have a middle aged Frank Walker (George Clooney) talking to you as though into a camera filming a message to the world, but being interrupted by someone off screen who is constantly correcting his speech.

This sets the scene as we are then taken back to the 1964 New York World's Fair where a young Frank Walker as a budding inventor and child genius is seeking to present his own invention, a jet propelled back pack, to a panel of judges to win an inventors cash prize. The judge in question is David Nix (Hugh Laurie) who chides young Walker for his inventive failings and sends him on his way, but not before he has caught the sight of young Athena (Raffey Cassidy) who sees something in Walker that clearly Nix does not. She persuades the young lad to secretly follow her into the 'It's a Small World' ride after she has presented him with a small pin on which is embossed a stylised letter 'T'. On the ride his pin is scanned and he is transported to 'Tomorrowland' eventually and after some technological high jinks falls at the feet of Athena and Nix.

The action takes us forward next to the early 21st Century and to a suburb close to Cape Canaveral where resides Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) a teenage engineering genius of a girl who just 'knows how things work' and her father Eddie (Tim McGraw) a soon to be unemployed engineer decommissioning a NASA launchpad at The Cape, and younger brother Nate (Pierce Gagnon). Casey seeks to sabotage the decommissioning of the launchpad to prolong her fathers employment, and in doing so one evening comes across a similar pin to the one given to the young Walker forty years earlier. When she touches it she catches glimpses of 'Tomorrowland' which at first frighten her but then draw her in with her inquisitive, probing and adventurous mind.

Over several occasions she visits 'Tomorrowland' each time learning and experiencing more until the battery in the pin runs flat and she can visit no more. Needing to find a new battery she locates a toy memorabilia store in Houston and makes off with the pin and all the enthusiasm in the world, but at the store everything is not quite as it seems, resulting in the re-emergence of Athena who comes to Casey's rescue. At this point too we learn that Athena is also not all she seems to be, which in turn results in Casey meeting a world weary down trodden rejected and now much older Frank Walker.

What follows is an impressively realised chase sequence though the house and grounds of Walkers home as a bunch of US Secret Service Agents give chase with the aim of dispensing with both Newton & Walker because of what they both know of 'Tomorrowland' and those they have had recent dealings with (albeit unwittingly). Thwarting their quarry, they meet up with Athena again, and Casey learns from Walker the story behind 'Tomorrowland', his involvement with it and why he was forced to leave it all behind in the 80's. She also learns that there is a device invented by Walker that has the ability to see into the past and the future, and from that they know the world will end soon . . . very soon!

From here we are transported in an instant to Paris and the top of the Eiffel Tower, which is also not all it seems, and in fact is a launchpad for a steampunk type rocket that propels them out of Paris and in to the atmosphere only to plummet back to Earth but into another dimension, which takes them all to 'Tomorrowland'. Crash landing in a now desolate, largely abandoned futuristic landscape they are greeted by Nix who oversees 'Tomorrowland' and explains why Walker was banished all those years ago, and what is in store for Earth's future - ravaged by war, conflict, poverty, greed, obesity, famine, climate change, population growth and all that bad stuff!

Seeing this, Newton realises that this future vision is not certain, but more a prophecy of what might happen without intervention, and they have the means there now to intervene and save the world. Nix though has his own agenda and is not interested in saving the world - he is seeking to rebuild his perfect utopian world of 'Tomorrowland' instead. He seeks to arrest both Walker and Newton and have them returned to Earth through a portal bridge to see out their last days before the global apocalypse. A fight ensues which ultimately results in good overcoming evil, but not at any cost as Nix and Athena perish, but the world is saved, and 'Tomorrowland' can live on with a brighter future too.

On one level I really enjoyed this film - it has stunning visuals and effects, is a solid story albeit a tad disjointed at times, and a good adventure yarn, well delivered, fast paced, ambitious, and it raises a few morality questions that are worth debating after the credits have rolled. On the other though I found the Athena character very annoying as delivered by young Raffey Cassidy; teenage engineering genius Casey could have done with a little more teenage angst and rebellion; George Clooney looked at odds with his role too on occasion and I'm not sure he is entirely cut out for this type of action fare; and as for Hugh Laurie as the criminal mastermind of the piece he just didn't do it for me and we didn't get to learn enough of his back story and how he came to be what he is.

This film is worth seeing on the big screen for sure, and at the time of writing this the critics have been less than complementary about 'Tomorrowland' giving it a mixed bag of reviews, and it has so far grossed US$142M which is also below expectations. The film deserves to be so much more, but under delivers in the final analysis leaving me somewhat disappointed given the expectations around this Disney would-be blockbuster. As for Walt looking down on us all, he will be pleased I'm sure by this modern take on everything he believed in and which formed the foundation of his empire and his legacy.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

RANGO : archive from 20th March 2011.

With my young lad I saw 'RANGO' this afternoon as Directed and Produced by Gore Verbinski at a cost of US$135M. This animated action comedy Western feature went on to gross worldwide US$246M and along the way picked up the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Animated Feature Film together with another 44 award wins and 22 nominations.






With an all star line up lending their considerable voice talents there is lots to like about this film. Johnny Depp is Rango, a pet chameleon who lives a life of action and adventure, in his own mind, but when confronted with real life action & adventure when his owner loses him in the Mojave Desert and he winds up in the isolated town of Dirt, he must learn quickly to stand out from the crowd rather than blend in as a chameleon does. He meets up with armadillo Roadkill (Alfred Molina)  - who is searching for the mythical 'Spirit of the West', and iguana Beans (Isla Fisher) who join Rango en route to Dirt.

When he arrives at Dirt, Rango presents himself as a tough drifter and promptly has a run in with a Gila monster Bad Bill (Ray Winstone) but avoids a shoot out confrontation when Bad Bill is scared off by a sweeping vicious red tailed hawk. The resulting fracas sees the hawk dispensed with, which in turn leads to the town Mayor - a desert tortoise named Tortoise John (Ned Beatty) - electing Rango as the new Sheriff. There is however, anxiety amongst the townsfolk now that the red tailed hawk has been thwarted, believing that local gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) will return to do no good!

Dirt it is believed is a dusty dry desert dirt bowl of a town low on water reserves that one night gets robbed, to which Rango is an unwitting accomplice at the hands of a mole named Balthazar (Harry Dean Stanton). The next day with their precious little water supply gone Rango mounts a posse to go in search of the robbers and reclaim their water. After a chase through a canyon the robbers are caught but the water is gone!

Returning to Dirt the robbers are set to stand trial, but Rango has discovered that the Mayor has been buying up large tracts of land nearby, but the Mayor denies any wrong doing, instead claiming his intentions to build a new city to give them all hope, and a future. The Mayor though has a hidden agenda and so enlists Rattlesnake Jake to run Rango out of town. In the process Rango is humiliated and must confess that his high plains drifter image was a front to win favour. Turning his back on Dirt and its townsfolk he meets up with the mythical Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant) whom Rango pegs as The Man with No Name. The Spirit inspires Rango to return and finish what he started.

Teaming up with Roadkill again, Rango heads back into town but learns along the way that the towns water supply is being controlled by the Mayor by way of an emergency shut-off valve in the pipeline between Dirt and Las Vegas. Rango calls to Rattlesnake Jake for a shootout creating a diversion so that his assembled buddies can turn on the water supply, flood the town and free the wrongly accused robbers yet to stand trial.

Things though don't go quite according to plan and Rango and Beans are captured and thrown in the banks vault which when flooded will result in their demise. The Mayor turns on Rattlesnake Jake because he represents the Old West and he has plans for a New West that doesn't involve the low down snake. Luckily though the gun that the Mayor took from Rango is empty - the only bullet taken by Rango as a means of escape from the bank vault. As the flood comes so the Mayor and his men are washed away, Rattlesnake Jake is saved, Rango and Beans escape, Dirt is saved and refreshed with a new water supply, and Rango is hailed a hero.

This is a very entertaining and engaging film that features top notch animation that just gets better with every such creature feature. Watch out for the nods to others classics - 'A Fistful of Dollars', 'Mad Max', 'Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas' etc . . . see how many you can spot! Catch it now on DVD, Bluray or download - you won't be disappointed, and, it's a film for kids of all ages - young & old!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 7th - 13th June 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Chris Evans does on 13h June - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 34, 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 7th June

• Liam Neeson - Born 1952, turns 63 - Actor
• Karl Urban - Born 1972, turns 42 - Actor
• Ronald Pickup - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor
• Michael Cera - Born 1988, turns 27 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Bill Hader - Born 1978, turns 37 - Actor | Writer
• James Ivory - Born 1928, turns 87 - Director | Producer | Writer

Monday 8th June

• Jerry Stiller - Born 1927, turns 88 - Actor | Producer
• Griffin Dunne - Born 1955, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Frank Grillo - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actor

Tuesday 9th June

• Johnny Depp - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actor | Producer
• Michael J. Fox - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Producer
• James Newton Howard - Born 1951, turns 64 - Composer | Songwriter
• David Koepp - Born 1963, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Natalie Portman - Born 1981, turns 34 - Actress | Producer | Director

Wednesday 10th June

• Elizabeth Hurley - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actress | Producer
• Leelee Sobieski - Born 1983, turns 32 - Actress
• Jeanne Tripplehorn - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actress
• Gina Gershon - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actress
• Jurgen Prochnow - Born 1941, turns 74 - Actor

Thursday 11th June

• Gene Wilder - Born 1933, turns 82 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Hugh Laurie - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor | Writer | Director | Producer
• Shia LaBeouf - Born 1986, turns 29 - Actor
• Peter Dinklage - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Producer

Friday 12th June

• Dave Franco - Born 1985, turns 30 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Frances O'Connor - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actress

Saturday 13th June

• Ally Sheedy - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actress
• Kathy Burke - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress
• Stellan Skarsgard - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor | Producer
• Chris Evans - Born 1981, turns 34 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Malcolm McDowell - Born 1943, turns 72 - Actor | Producer
• Tim Allen - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actor | Producer
• Simon Callow - Born 1949, turns 66 - Actor
• Aaron Taylor Johnson - Born 1990, turns 25 - Actor
• Kodi Smitt-McPhee - Born 1996, turns 19 - Actor

Christopher Robert Evans was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Sudbury. His mother Lisa Capuano is an artistic Director at the Concord Youth Theatre, and his father Robert Evans is a dentist. He has two sisters - Carly and Shanna and a younger brother Scott. Raised as a Catholic he graduated from the Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School and then moved to New York to attend the famed Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

Although he enjoyed time in stage production at school, his first break came in 2000 in the television series 'Opposite Sex' followed up by one off appearances in 'The Fugitive' and  'Boston Public' with his film debut coming in 2000 too with 'The Newcomers' followed by 'Not Another Teen Movie', 'The Perfect Score' and 'Cellular' taking up the first five years of the new decade. His big break though came in 2005 playing Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the live action 'Fantastic Four' which made US$331M and so prompted a second outing in 2007 with 'Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer' which grossed another US$289M. 2007 also saw the release of 'London', 'TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)', 'Sunshine', 'The Nanny Diaries' and the animated Sci-Fi film 'Battle for Terra'  to which he lent his voice talents.

'Street Kings' followed  with Keanu Reeves and Forest Whittaker, 'Push' with Dakota Fanning and Djimon Hounsou, 'The Losers' with Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana, and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' Michael Cera and Anna Kendrick coming next.

Having starred in two comic book adaptations in recent years - 'The Losers' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'  his transition to Marvel Comic book fare with his own Superhero franchise was almost inevitable. And so in 2011 - 'Captain America : The First Avenger' was released grossing over US$370M as lead character Steve Rogers/Captain America.

That same year, 2011, there was RomCom 'What's Your Number' and the year after that the epic Marvel stable 'The Avengers' with his character now established alongside those of  Iron Man, Thor and Hulk. 'The Iceman' and 'Snowpiercer' followed before his cameo again as Steve Rogers/Captain America in 'Thor : The Dark World' in 2013 and then his own franchise vehicle once more in 2014 with 'Captain America : The Winter Soldier'  which grossed a very respectable US$715M.




Next up, Evans turned his hand for the first time to Directing and Producing himself in the modest US$3M 'Before We Go' before going back to his Team Mates in 'The Avengers :Age of Ultron' released earlier this year, and so far has made US$1.325B making it the sixth highest grossing film of all time after just a month or so on general release. His third instalment as Captain America comes in 'Captain America : Civil War' which is currently filming for a 2016 release with the next two 'Avengers' instalments - 'Infinity Wars Parts 1 & 2' due for release in May 2018 & 2019 respectively. After these, he says, he will turn his attention more to Directing and less to Acting.

Evans has 39 acting credits to his name, two Producer credits for last years 'Playing it Cool' and 'Before I Go' and a Director credit too for 'Before I Go'. He has had three award wins and 23 other nominations so far.

He dated Jessica Biel from 2004 to 2006, and Actress Minka Kelly in late 2012 but they split in 2013. He is close friends with Scarlett Johansson with whom he has so far starred in six films. He supports the LBGT movement (Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender) and takes an active interest in Buddhism.

Chris Evans - comic book hero, buffed up star still on the rise and tap dancing bachelor (which he does to relieve stress & anxiety, taught by his mother) - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 4th June 2015.

As the mercury falls in the thermometers across Adelaide, and the wind blows its chilling gusts straight up from Antarctica there is only one sure thing to do on a cold Winter's night (well OK then - two I guess!) and the first involves putting on a thick warm Winter coat and heading out to your local multiplex to a warm place, with a glowing light, a big screen, surround sound, a bucket of popcorn and other like minded cold weather dodgers!

And so with this excellent adventure in mind to lift the spirits, warm the heart and tickle your fancy there are two films out this week each fielding a stellar cast that are sure to be a draw card on any chilly Winter's day or night. First up there is the big screen treatment of a very successful long running small screen show of the same name featuring a bunch of mates living in and around a movie star buddy; and then there is DramedyRom set somewhere exotic where boy meets girl when the old girl resurfaces to throw the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons!

There's always plenty more great cinematic content doing the rounds than those Previewed here, and so when you have sat through your film of choice, share your thoughts, observations and opinions with your friends at Odeon Online by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. See you at the movies!

ENTOURAGE (Rated MA15+) - Written, Produced and Directed by Doug Ellin who also created the award winning hit series of the same name which ran for eight seasons up to 2011, the film 'Entourage' reunites the same cast and continues where the series left off. Executive Produced by Mark Wahlberg upon whose early Hollywood career the series is/was based, the film continues to chart the life of movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his entourage of close friends. Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is the new head of a movie studio who agrees to bank roll Vincent's film debut as Director for a budget of $100M, but when that film goes $15M over budget Ari needs to go and convince Texan billionaire Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton) and his son Travis (Hayley Joel Osment) to part company with the funds with which to complete the production.

Vincent and his 'bros' continue to live the high life and live it large every day as Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Drama (Kevin Dillon) take full advantage of Vincent and his trappings of success, while navigating their own little personal crises aided by the likes of Alan Dale, Kid Cudi and Martin Landau. The film also sports a huge array of cameo appearances including Warren Buffet, Jessica Alba, Gary Busey, Kelsey Grammar, Armie Hammer, Piers Morgan, Liam Neeson, Ed O'Neill, George Takei, Pharrell Williams and Mark Wahlberg of course all starring as themselves. Made for just US$30M it should easily recover that sum based on the success of the TV series alone!

ALOHA (Rated PG) - Written, Produced and Directed by Cameron Crowe for US$37M and with an all-star cast set amidst the back drop of Hawaii this dramatic comedy romance sees our hero of the piece and defence contractor Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper), returning to the place where he enjoyed his most successful career work as part of the US Space Programme. In doing so he is attracted to his hard nosed tough as nails watchdog assigned to look after him  - Captain Allison Ng (Emma Stone), but it's not long before Gilcrest meets up with former love interest Tracy Woodside (Rachael McAdams) and things begin to go a little haywire there on in. Also starring Bill Murray, Danny McBride and Liam Neeson with the tropical Hawaiian background this is likely to be on for the followers of the genre only! Bradley Cooper meanwhile looks as though he has stepped straight off the set of 'American Sniper' . . . perhaps he did!

That's it then for this week, but if you have the time, you may want to catch the 2015 Sydney Film Festival too starting on 3rd June with the opening night world premier of 'Ruben Gutherie' - Brendan Cowell's Directorial debut starring Patrick Brammall, Alex Dimitriades, Abbey Lee, Robyn Nevin and Jack Thompson - and described as "a hilarious, bittersweet love letter to Sydney, a beautiful city with a dark side". For the full details of what's screening, what's in competition, what to see when & where, and a synopsis of every film showing go to the website at : www.sff.org.au

Enjoy the movies, and see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-