What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 12th January 2017.

And hot of the press and kicking off Awards Season, comes the news of this years Golden Globe winners and grinners. Presented for the 74th year on Sunday evening 8th January at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills and hosted by Actor and Television Talk Show Host, Jimmy Fallon, the full force of Hollywood's glitterati and glamourati were out parading the red carpet in the lead up to the mind numbing sleep inducing three hour awards ceremony. 'La La Land' made Golden Globe history by winning an unprecedented seven awards - all those it was nominated for.

The winners in the film category are as given below :
* Best film - Drama : 'MOONLIGHT' (released in Australia on 26th January),
* Best film - Musical or Comedy : 'LA LA LAND',
* Best Animated Film : 'ZOOTOPIA',
* Best Foreign Language Film : 'ELLE',
* Best Actor Performance - Drama : CASEY AFFLECK for 'Manchester by the Sea' (released in Australia on 2nd February),
* Best Actress Performance - Drama : ISABELLE HUPERT for 'Elle',
* Best Actor Performance - Musical or Comedy : RYAN GOSLING for 'La La Land',
* Best Actress Performance - Musical or Comedy : EMMA STONE for 'La La Land',
* Best Supporting Actor Performance : AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON for 'Nocturnal Animals',
* Best Supporting Actress Performance : VIOLA DAVIS for 'Fences' (released in Australia on 9th February),
* Best Director : DAMIEN CHAZELLE for 'La La Land',
* Best Screenplay : DAMIEN CHAZELLE for 'La La Land',
* Best Music Score : JUSTIN HERWITZ for 'La La Land',
* Best Original Song : 'CITY OF STARS' for 'La La Land',
* The Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award - MERYL STREEP.

And so to this weeks latest release films coming to your neighbourhood cinema. We kick off with a biographical drama of America's First Lady following the traumatic and dramatic events that rocked the world in November 1963. We then lurch into a weepie drama of love, time and death featuring an ensemble gathering brought in to rescue a damaged man from himself, before centering on three kid friendly films for the tail end of the school holidays with a middle school adventure of one lads determination to break every rule in the school book, followed by a senior school lad who builds mega trucks powered by some otherworldly friendly speed freak beings (not the 'Transformers' kind either!), before closing with a delightful animated feature set in 1880's Paris and one girls dream to escape the shackles of an orphanage by dancing her way to fame and fortune.

As always, be reminded to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations when you have sat through your film of choice in the week ahead, by leaving a constructive and relevant Comment below this or any other Post. With five films out this week, and a whole raft of other great cinema content still doing the rounds and as Reviewed and Previewed here in previous weeks, you have every reason to get out to your local movie theatre and catch a film of choice. Enjoy your movie. in the meantime.

'JACKIE' (Rated MA15+) - this biographical drama film follows the week or so immediately following the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy in late 1963 through the eyes of his wife Jackie Kennedy as played here to much critical acclaim by Natalie Portman in a career defining role. Directed by Pablo Larrain the film Premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in early September where it was in competition for the Golden Lion, and went on a very limited US release from early December, with a wider release to coincide with its international release. Made for US$9M it has so far recovered that investment, and Natalie Portman was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. So far the film has garnered 29 award wins and a further 98 nominations.

Following her husband's assassination at which she is present in the back of the car beside President John F. Kennedy while driving in the cavalcade in Dallas, Texas on that fateful day in November 1963, wife Jacqueline Kennedy is heavily traumatised and shattered as her world comes crashing in around her in a split second as shots ring out fired by Lee Harvey Oswald. In the days that follow and reeling from grief and the sudden loss she must come to terms with, Jackie must console her two young children, plan her husbands state funeral in a manner befitting the stature of the great man and reconcile herself with vacating the White House that she had so painstakingly and lovingly restored, and which she had expected to inhabit for a few more years yet . . . and happily. All the while, she strives to fully determine how history will define the legacy that JFK left behind, and how she too will be remembered as America's First Lady of a truly beloved assassinated President. Also starring Peter Sarsgaard as Robert Kennedy, Greta Gerwig, Richard E. Grant, John Hurt and Billy Crudup.

'COLLATERAL BEAUTY' (Rated M) - Directed by David Frankel whose previous credits include 'The Devil Wears Prada', 'Marley & Me' and 'Hope Springs', made for US$36M and so far making US$60M and starring an ensemble cast, you would be mistaken for thinking this was going to be a sure fire hit - but, this tear jerking drama has been critically panned. Starring Will Smith as Howard - a brilliant, creative charismatic advertising executive who suffers the incomprehensible loss of his young daughter, and so retreats within himself shutting out the world almost to the point of suicide. He believes that humans are motivated by three things - Love, Time and Death (we long for love, we wish we had more time, and we fear death!). And so in his isolation, and to gain some solace in his now shattered world he begins writing letters to Love, Time and Death. While his friends and concerned work colleagues try to reach out to him, he begins receiving personal responses to his letters, and then Love, Time and Death manifest themselves to him in human form. Little does he know that Love, Time and Death are portrayed by three struggling Actors (Keira Knightley as Love, Jacob Lattimore as Time and Helen Mirren as Death) hired by his concerned work colleagues Michael Pena, Edward Norton, Naomi Harris and Kate Winslet. In time he begins to see that even in the most tragic of circumstances, there can emerge meaning, beauty and redemption.

'MIDDLE SCHOOL : THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE' (Rated PG) - this family comedy offering from Director Steve Carr was released in the US in early October and is already out on DVD and BluRay over there. It was made for US$9M, has so far grossed US$21M and is based on the book of the same name from 2011 by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts. The premise here is that quiet and imaginative teenager Rafe Khatchadorian (Griffin Gluck) is done with his new school's regime of strict rules compliance at the expense of creativity and freedom. Desperate to shake things up and rid the school of the burden of rules, rules and more rules, Rafe and his new friend Leo (Thomas Barbusca) decide to break every rule in the school book by concocting a cunning plan and letting their fellow school kids run riot. In the meantime tyrannical Principal Ken Dwight (Andy Daly) is hot on their heels trying to restore law and order to the school campus and deal with the miscreants, while Rafe is chasing the affections of Jeanne Galletta (Isabelle Moner), and battle a gang of school bullies.

'MONSTER TRUCKS' (Rated PG) - this is a family oriented live action combined with computer generated action comedy that is Directed by Chris Wedge, cost US$125M to bring to the big screen and has so far grossed just US$9M and a whole lot of largely negative reviews. The story here surrounds Tripp Coley (Lucas Till) who is a high school senior student looking at a way of beating his hum drum lifestyle and getting the hell outta Dodge for a life less ordinary. He builds monster trucks using redundant car parts, scrap metal and all manner of automotive bits and pieces he can cobble together. One day however, following an accident at a local oil drilling rig, a strange alien like creature is displaced from underground. It seems that this creature which Coley names Creech, has a penchant for speed and a talent to match, and from here on in the two form an unlikely friendship, that might just be their ticket outta Dodge and their one way ride to fame and fortune. Also starring Rob Lowe, Danny Glover, Barry Pepper, Jane Levy and Amy Ryan.

'BALLERINA' (Rated G) - this French/Canadian Co-Production is a computer animated musical fantasy adventure story Directed by Eric Summer and Eric Warin at a cost of US$30M and so far it has recovered US$19M since its release in France and Canada before Christmas and ahead of its US release on 3rd March under the title of 'Leap'. Telling the story of Felicie (Elle Fanning) who back in 1880's Brittany has dreams of escaping the orphanage where she lives and becoming a Ballerina in Paris. She runs away to Paris with her young friend and budding inventor, Victor (Dane DeHaan) but they become separated. Winding up at the acclaimed school of the Paris Opera Ballet she finds the harsh training regime and fitting in with more gifted young dancers challenging. But not to be out done she finds a gifted mentor willing to give her time and patience, Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen) a former prima ballerina who takes the young  Felicie under her wing and in to her tutelage. With the courage of her convictions and desperately wanting to turn her dreams into reality, she works hard to be successful in her audition for the forthcoming production of 'The Nutcracker'. The film has garnered solid reviews so far for its engaging story and quality animation.

With five new release films coming to a big screen near you this week ahead, remember to share your views and opinions of your movie going experience with us all here at Odeon Online, or any of those others doing the rounds and still out on general release. In the meantime, I'll see you somewhere, sometime in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 8th - 14th January 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Fran Walsh does on 10th January - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 58, 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 8th January

• John McTiernan - Born 1951, turns 66 - Director | Producer | Writer

Monday 9th January

• J.K.Simmons - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actor
• Imelda Staunton - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actress
• Joely Richardson - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actress  

Tuesday 10th January

• Fran Walsh - Born 1959, turns 58 - Producer | Writer | Songwriter
• Walter Hill - Born 1942, turns 75 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Wednesday 11th January

• Jason Connery - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Amanda Peet - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actress  

Thursday 12th January

• Kirstie Alley - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Anthony Andrews - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actor | Producer
• John Lasseter - Born 1957, turns 60 - Producer | Director | Writer | Animator | Voice Actor
• Oliver Platt - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actor
• Rob Zombie (aka Robert Bartleh Cummings) - Born 1965, turns 52 - Producer | Director | Writer | Actor | Singer | Songwriter | Composer  

Friday 13th January

• William B. Davis - Born 1938, turns 79 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Editor
• Bill Bailey - Born 1965, turns 52 - Writer | Actor | Television Personality | Singer | Composer
• Patrick Dempsey - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Michael Pena - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor | Producer
• Orlando Bloom - Born 1977, turns 40 - Actor | Producer
• Liam Hemsworth - Born 1990, turns 27 - Actor
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Saturday 14th January

• Faye Dunaway - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actress
• Emily Watson - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actress
• Carl Weathers - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actor | Director
• Steven Soderbergh - Born 1963, turns 54 - Producer | Director | Writer | Cinematographer | Editor
• L.L.Cool J (aka James Todd Smith) - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Jason Bateman - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor | Producer | Director

Frances Rosemary Walsh was born in Wellington, on New Zealand's North Island, and she attended Wellington Girl's College where she had intentions on becoming a fashion designer, eventually gaining a more active interest in music. She performed from time to time in a Punk Band, named 'The Wallsockets' and attending the Victoria University of Wellington majoring in English Literature and graduating in 1981. 

She gained her first screen writing debut on the 1983 made for television film 'A Woman of Good Character' which she followed up with scripts for the TV show 'Worzel Gummidge Down Under'. Walsh met up with a young Peter Jackson during the mid-'80's whilst he was putting the final touches to his debut feature - the 1987 splatter Sci-Fi horror comedy film 'Bad Taste'. Jackson's next film was the musical black comedy 'Meet the Feebles' released in 1989 which was the first film for Jackson that Walsh collaborated on taking a Co-Writer credit. In the meantime, Walsh had married Jackson in 1987 and the two have been partners ever since, at home and at work. Following this the two joined forces on the slapstick splatter zombie horror film 'Braindead' (released as 'Dead Alive' in the US) which Walsh also gained a screen writing credit for. Although the film was a critical and commercial dud upon release in 1992, it has since risen to the ranks of cult status.

In 1994 Walsh and Jackson explored new territory with the dramatic true story of the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case with 'Heavenly Creatures' which Walsh and Jackson Co-Wrote. The film features Kate Winslet's screen debut as Juliet Hulme in which her obsessive relationship with close teenage friend Pauline Parker result in them killing Parker's mother in 1954. The film was critically acclaimed picking up seventeen award wins and a further fourteen nominations including an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay.

Next up was more familiar territory with the horror comedy 'The Frighteners' in 1996 starring Michael J. Fox in his last lead role in a live action feature film after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991 aged just 29, and going public with it in 1998. Walsh and Jackson again Co-Wrote the Screenplay which Jackson Directed and Co-Produced, and it represented their first film with the backing of a major American studio. With so many ghosts appearing in the film, 'The Frighteners' was one of the most digital effects laden films up until that time, and proved to be a testing ground for Jackson's Weta Digital that had been in business just there years then. Walsh took an Associate Producer credit on the film too.

With Jackson looking at the fantasy genre for his next offering, in 1998 New Line Cinema agreed to back financially a trilogy adapted from Tolkien's classic books - 'The Lord of the Rings'. For the trilogy Walsh took Screenwriting credits, Producer credits and composer credits for certain songs appearing on the soundtrack for each film. The three films  - 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return of the King' were made for a combined US$281M and took an overall Box Office haul of US$2.91B. Additionally, the films received a collective 415 award wins and another 362 nominations including seventeen Academy Award wins in total. 

Following their success with 'The Rings Trilogy' Walsh and Jackson turned their attention back to a project they first muted in 1998 with Universal Studios - that of a remake of 'King Kong'. In 2005 Universal greenlit a remake of 'King Kong' with no hesitation, and so Walsh and Jackson took co-Writer and Co-Producer credits while Jackson Directed. The film cost US$207M to make and grossed US$551M at the global Box Office and starred Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow and Andy Serkis as Kong in motion capture. It picked up three Academy Award wins plus 39 other wins and 92 nominations.

'The Lovely Bones' followed in 2009 - a supernatural drama film based on the best selling novel of the same name from 2002 by Alice Sebold. Again Jackson Directed with Walsh and he carrying Co-Producer and Co-Screenwriting credits too. The film received mixed critical reviews but still picked up an Oscar nod, a Golden Globe nod and two BAFTA nods from its haul of ten award wins and forty other nominations, and it made back US$94M from its US$65M budget outlay.

Based on their prior success with 'The Rings Trilogy' it was almost inevitable that eventually Walsh and Jackson would turn attention to Tolkien's other notable works - 'The Hobbit'. Originally slated to be Directed by Guillermo del Toro over two instalments, Jackson stepped up to the Director's chair when del Toro exited stage left due to creative differences, and decided that three films was the go, however, del Toro still received a Screenwriters credit on all there films for his efforts. Once more Walsh and Jackson Co-Produced, Co-Scripted the works on 'The Hobbit' series, with Jackson Directing also. The three films were made for a combined US$690M and collectively took US$2.94B at the global Box Office, together with 31 award wins and  another 202 nominations.

Next up for Fran Walsh is the big screen adaptation of the Philip Reeve Sci-Fi steampunk novel of 2001 'Mortal Engines', the first in a series of four books. Co-Produced and Co-Written once again by Walsh and Jackson, this time Directed by Christian Rivers, the film is slated to hit our screens in December 2018 and is currently in pre-production.

All up Walsh has seventeen Screenwriting credits to her name, twelve as Producer, and seven Soundtrack credits as writer/lyricist on 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' films. She has so far amassed forty-four award wins, including three Academy Awards wins, one Golden Globe win, and two BAFTA wins, plus a further 57 nominations, including four Academy Award nods, and five BAFTA nods. It should be noted too that Walsh and Jackson have collaborated with Philippa Boyens on all their films since the 'The Rings Trilogy' and obviously shared in their collective success as Co-Writers and Co-Producers on all film projects including the upcoming 'Mortal Engines'. With Jackson she has two children, Katie (born in 1996) and Billie (born in 1995).

Fran Walsh - very private outside of the film making public eye, but one half of a truly great film production and scriptwriting family that has a proven track record dating back thirty years backed up by immense critical acclaim and huge commercial success with the accolades between them to prove it, and cement their places in cinema history. For your work behind the scenes that is so important to what we see on screen, Happy Birthday to you Fran, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ALLIED : Tuesday 3rd January 2017.

'ALLIED' which I saw earlier this week is Directed by Robert Zemeckis and Written by Steven Knight based on a story he had been told some thirty years ago during his days travelling around the US, which whilst not confirmed as being true, proved too good to be true not to make a film out of it. And so whilst the notion has been kicking around for thirty years or so, it is only now that his story has been committed to celluloid. Costing US$85M the film opened in the US in late November and has so far made back US$87M, and garnered mixed reviews since, although its two lead performances have been largely praised.

Here Royal Canadian Airforce Intelligence Officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) must travel to Casablanca to assassinate a German Ambassador. The film picks up with him parachuting into the French Morocco desert sometime in 1942, being picked up by a car en route to Casablanca to rendezvous with his 'wife', a new identity for the mission, and a suitcase full of secret agent stuff! He is partnered up with French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) who fled from France after her resistance group was compromised and killed. The couple masquerade as French husband and wife, under the guise that they are being reunited in Casablanca after a long period of absence from each other due to his career in remote phosphate mining. She is trusted by the German's who have a stronghold on the territory.

Their planned assassination is still ten days away, so the couple get acquainted and do the things that couple do - enjoy the streetside cafes, party with acquaintances, be seen together arm in arm, take machine gun shooting practice out in the desert, and make love in the cramped front seat of a car in the middle of a raging sandstorm the day before the assassination attempt (must be a metaphor in there somewhere methinks!), because hey, they both might be dead in 24 hours time if their plan doesn't pull off.

After their mission to kill the German Ambassador at a glitzy gathering goes according to plan, and they are able to escape unhindered, Max asks Marianne to join him back in England. She agrees, they marry, fall pregnant, they set up home in Hampstead and settle down to a life of domesticity with him still working for the British Government and reporting to Frank Heslop as his Commanding Officer (Jared Harris) and friend. In time Marianne gives birth to a baby daughter, Anna, during a bombing raid over London, and the three return to the family home in the suburbs and all is good in the world.

Fast forward a few more months and Max learns from a Special Operations Executive (SOE), that Marianne is in fact suspected of being a German spy, having assumed the identity of the real Marianne, now long since dead. The SOE intend to run a 'blue dye' test whereby at a given time (11:07pm) a phone call will be made to their home and Max is to write down a piece of false intelligence, where Marianne can easily find it. If the information is picked up from intercepted German transmissions within a few days, Max must personally execute her, or be hanged for treason. He is told otherwise to act normally, and not to discuss the matter with anyone. Max is needless to say distraught with this news, and believes it all to be a big mistake - after all Marianne shot and killed the German Ambassador!

Defying orders Max first confides in his sister Bridget (Lizzy Caplan) knowing that she will keep a secret. He then visits a former colleague in hospital who knew Marianne well, but he was blinded in battle and is therefore unable to identify a photograph of her, but points Max in the direction of someone who may be able to help. Ultimately, Max flies to France to meet with someone who knew Marianne and will be able to identify his wife from a photograph. Landing under cover of darkness he learns that his contact is in fact in a local Police cell for drunken and disorderly conduct. Knowing that time is running out and this is his last ditch attempt to clear his wife's name, he and some Resistance Fighters break into the Police Station and confront his contact, who coming out of a drunken stupor recalled that Marianne was an accomplished pianist.

Back in London, Max forcibly takes Marianne to a local pub after hours, but where he knows there is a piano. They break in, and Max orders Marianne to play the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, on the piano because he had been told that she can, and beautifully. Marianne confesses to Max that yes, she is a German spy but her feelings for Max had always been genuine. She advises that her handlers in London had threatened both her and Anna if she did not continue complying with orders. Max refuses to kill his wife as instructed, and instead kills her handlers en route to the local RAF airstrip so that the three of them can effect their escape before the SOE close in with the news that he now knows is inevitable. In the pouring rain at the airstrip their escape plans are foiled by Heslop who intercepts their plans to commandeer a plane. Heslop confirms that their suspicions are confirmed as the Military Police arrive. Marianne gets out of the car, having secured Anna in the back seat, confirms her love for them both, and then promptly shoots herself in the head. She slumps to the ground beside the plane dead. Heslop who witnesses this commands the Military Police that what they saw was Max execute his wife as per his orders, to avoid any repercussions on him.

I enjoyed this romantic war time drama because it is a throw back to the war time melodramas of yesteryear that seldom get made any more these days. Ever since the days of 'Saving Private Ryan' and right up to the recent 'Hacksaw Ridge' war time films have been about the horrors of war writ large in graphic detail of severed limbs, flayed bodies, psychological trauma, physical injury, bloodshed and pain. 'Allied' offers us some welcome respite from this - it is a simple enough story, but well told by Robert Zemeckis who has a track record of delivering great performances from his Actors. And so he does so with Pitt and Cotillard. The pair are well matched and well suited to this period piece both looking very dapper and debonair in their '40's uniforms and fashions, and the era is recreated well enough to make the film complete. Certainly worth the price of entry, and worth looking at in homage to those films this one pays tribute to, albeit with a few random acts of violence, sex and profanity that those films of yesteryear wouldn't have deployed. Nonetheless a good watch.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 5th January 2017.

The coming of age genre has been around for many decades and still endures to this day, as evidenced by the release this week of 'The Edge of Seventeen' as Previewed below. Often seen as a launchpad for young aspiring often teenage acting talent (think James Dean, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Matthew Broderick, Jonah Hill, John Cusack, James Spader, Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Molly Ringwood, Winona Ryder et al), the coming of age film fuelled by love, sex, heartbreak, insecurity, anxiety, violence and all the rites of passage associated with the lurch into adulthood, has found a lasting place in our hearts and minds, and still draws a crowd at the Box Office. I've listed a handful of some of my personal favourites from over the years, that you might like to revisit, and of course there are a whole lot more besides :-
* 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) - James Dean
* 'The Graduate' (1967) - Dustin Hoffman
* 'American Graffiti' (1973) - Harrison Ford
* 'Carrie' (1976) - Sissy Spacek
* 'Sixteen Candles' (1984) - Molly Ringwald
* 'The Breakfast Club' (1985) - Emilio Estevez
* 'The Goonies' (1985) - Josh Brolin
* 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' (1986) - Matthew Broderick
* 'Pretty In Pink' (1986) - James Spader
* 'Stand By Me' (1986) - Keifer Sutherland
* 'Dead Poet's Society' (1989) - Ethan Hawke
* 'Dazed and Confused' (1993) - Matthew McConaughey
* 'American Pie' (1999) - Jason Biggs
* 'Donnie Darko' (2001) - Jake Gyllenhaal
* 'Superbad' (2007) - Jonah Hill
* 'Boyhood' (2014) - Ellar Coltrane
* 'The Hunt for the Wilderpeople' (2016) - Julian Dennison

This week, there are three new release movies to catch at your local independent cinema or multiplex.  Kicking off with a Directorial debut with a coming of age story of a girl ill at ease with her image, her  life, her friends and all the teenage angst we have seen before but dealt with in a more mature, respectful and meaningful way than many similar genre films of this type. We next go to a documentary offering about the power of music and the force this can have in bringing people together across cultural divides, geographical borders and provide hope and inspiration for our future. We then wrap up with a Chinese action comedy featuring a very well known action star in this war time romp about a rag tag band of freedom fighters going up against the might of the Japanese army.

As always when you have sat through any of these, or those others still out on general release and doing the rounds as Reviewed and Previewed previously between these Blog pages, you are hereby cordially invited to share your constructive, relevant and pertinent thoughts and observations by leaving  a Comment below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and meanwhile, enjoy your movie.

'THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN' (Rated M) - Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, this coming of age dramedy story Premiered at the TIFF in mid-September and was released in the US in mid-November. Costing US$9M to make, it has so far taken US$15M at the Box Office and has garnered much critical applause for its sharp script and the performance of its lead Actress, Hailee Steinfeld. It has also picked up four award wins and another thirteen nominations, including a 2017 Golden Globe nod for Hailee Steinfeld.

Life's tough and often unfair, and even tougher if you're a teenage girl and nobody understands you, and you have just one parent because your loving Dad died a few years back and your only true friend in the world has started dating your brother and now you feel all alone in the world with no one to talk to and you think you're socially inept. Oh woe! The teenager in question is just seventeen Nadine Franklin (played by twenty year old Hailee Steinfeld), who lives with mother Mona (Kyra Sedgwick), and older brother Darian (Blake Jenner), who gets it on with Nadine's only friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), angering Nadine. These events and more, lead Nadine to tell her history teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson) that she is going to kill herself, and through flashback we see the events unfold that bring us to this conversation in the classroom. Despite her feelings of being hard done by, unloved, disliked, awkward and all the usual touchstones of being a teenager, this film deals with them in a mature respectful adult way without relying on all the usual genre cliches, and for this reason this a film and a Director to watch.

'THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS' (Rated M) - The website that accompanies the release of the documentary film states that over the past 16 years, an extraordinary group of musicians has come together to celebrate the universal power of music. Named from the ancient trade route linking Asia, Africa and Europe, The Silk Road Ensemble, an international collective created by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, exemplifies music’s ability to blur geographical boundaries, blend disparate cultures and inspire hope for both artists and audiences. The film follows an ever-changing lineup of performers drawn from the ensemble’s more than fifty instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they gather in locations across the world, exploring the ways that art has the power to preserve traditions and shape cultural evolution. Blending performance footage, personal interviews and archival film, Director Morgan Neville and Producer Caitrin Rogers focus on the journeys of a small group of Silk Road Ensemble mainstays from across the globe to create an intensely personal chronicle of passion, talent and sacrifice. Through these moving individual stories, the filmmakers paint a vivid portrait of a bold musical experiment and a global search for the ties that bind. This enlightening film about the force of music across cultural divides has been generally well received and has picked up three award wins and three nominations so far, having been released in the US in mid-2016.

'RAILROAD TIGERS' (Rated M) - this Chinese action comedy film stars Jackie Chan in the lead role, is Directed by Ding Sheng, cost US$50M to make and has since made US$76M following its release just before Christmas in its native China and in other territories subsequently. Set in 1941 and Japan is expanding its occupation into neighbouring Southeast Asia using a growing network of railway tracks as important military transportation routes. This is where Ma Yuan (Jackie Chan) comes in as the leader of a rag tag bunch of freedom fighters struggling against the oppressive military regime. Using his extensive knowledge and experience of the railway network Yuan and his crew ambush a train of Japanese soldiers and important food supplies to feed the hungry and starving Chinese. The unlikely heroes come to be known by the locals as The Railroad Tigers, but when the military send in reinforcements to thwart the saboteurs, Yuan must wage his most daring mission yet, by blowing up a strategic bridge that might just cripple the war effort, but it makes the military more determined to dispense with The Railroad Tigers once and for all. Cue all manner of creative stuntwork and improvised weaponry courtesy of Mr. Chan.

Three films to tempt you out to your local multiplex to catch these latest release films, or any of those others still out on general release. Share your thoughts when you have done so, and in the meantime, I'll see you sometime in the week ahead at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ASSASSIN'S CREED : Sunday 1st January 2017.

I saw 'ASSASSIN'S CREED' with my fifteen year old lad at my local multiplex on the day of its Australian release, and despite the largely damning Reviews that this latest video game adaptation to the big screen has so far received, I sat in a near full theatre with a mostly male audience of all ages. The hugely popular action adventure video game upon which this film is based first appeared on our gaming consoles back in 2007 courtesy of Ubisoft. Wikipedia describes the premise as being set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control, and their indirect relation to an ancient species pre-dating humanity, whose society, along with much of Earth's biosphere, was destroyed by a massive solar storm. The games feature predominantly a Desmond Miles, a bartender in the present day who is a descendant of several lines of prominent Assassins. Since its early days Assassins Creed has grown into a series of nine main games and a number of supporting games too. There have also been a number of short animated films, comics, novels, graphic novels and even an Encyclopedia. The games have sold approaching 100 million copies, and so conversion to the big screen seems like a logical step. And so kick starting 2017, we have a film, based on that game, Directed by Justin Kurzel and Co-Produced and starring in the lead role, Michael Fassbender. The film was made for US$125M and has so far taken US$49M since its release in the US and France just before Christmas.

The film starts off in 1492 somewhere in Spain where a group of gathered assassins are swearing in Aguilar de Nerha to pledge his undying allegiance to their secret group of deadly assassins who for centuries have fought against the Templar Order. We then fast track to 1986 somewhere in California where a young lad is riding through the dust and dirt on his bike, and arriving home is confronted by his newly murdered mother sat at the kitchen table, with blood still pouring down her arm from a recently inflicted knife wound to the neck. Looking on is the lads father who tells the boy, Callum, that his mother needed to die and for him to run and hide as the Police come bearing down outside. We then jump thirty years forward to 2016, and that young lad, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) now grown up is on Death Row for murdering a Pimp. He is visited by a Priest to give him some last moments of solace and to seek forgiveness for his crime, before he is shackled up and led to his execution. At 6:00pm exactly the lethal injections are administered, as Lynch sits strapped to his bench, nervously awaiting for those injections to have their lasting effect.

The next day and Lynch wakes up in a clinical room gazing into the eyes of Dr. Sophia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard) in the Madrid headquarters of Abstergo Industries - the modern day incarnation of the Templar Order, headed up by her father as CEO, Allan Rikkin (Jeremy Irons). Sophia explains who she is, what he is doing here and why he was rescued. She reveals to Lynch that he is descended from a long line of Assassins that for centuries fought against the Templar Order, and that he is directly related to Aguilar de Nerha (also payed by Michael Fassbender) - a 15th Century Spanish Assassin. Dr. Rikkin proposes that Lynch be hooked up to revolutionary new technology that they have developed - The Animus - that allows him to travel back in time to 15th Century Spain by unlocking genetic memories contained in his DNA. The purpose of sending Lynch back is to locate the missing 'Apple of Eden' which was last seen by Aguilar de Nerha back in the late 15th Century. This ancient artefact seeded the first sin of mans disobedience, and as a result led to all the violence in the world - a plague which the Templars are keen to eradicate and subjugate the human race and therefore end such corruption.

And so initially Lynch is forced into The Animus against his will and travels back to 1492, albeit not physically, but mentally and emotionally through unlocked memories. There he comes to blows with The Templars who have kidnapped the Prince Ahmed de Granada in an attempt to coerce his father the Sultan Muhammad to give up the Apple of Eden which he has in his possession. Needless to say the resulting chariot chase doesn't go quite according to plan as Templars and Assassins clash leaving Aguilar dangling over a cliff edge clinging onto the young Prince for dear life with. At which point The Animus is switched off, bringing Lynch back to the here and now.

In between resting up and recovering from his experiences in The Animus Lynch gets to know others in the Abstergo facility - the majority of whom seem to be other descendants of former assassins. Lynch has one on one sessions with Sophia in which the pair get to know each other, and Sophia reveals who her father is and that her mother was killed in similar circumstances to his own. Meanwhile Allan Rikkin has to report to the elders who fund his research facility to the tune of US$3B a year, headed up by Ellen Kaye (Charlotte Rampling) who advises Rikkin that funding will cease and the project pulled due to apparent lack of success. At which point Rikkin reveals he is close to retrieving the Apple of Eden but needs a little more time, putting pressure on Sophia to fast-track Lynch into The Animus again, despite the dangers associated with it.

Back in The Animus and Aguilar and his partner Maria (Ariane Labed) are scheduled for execution by being burned alive at the stake for their crimes against the strict beliefs of The Templars. They manage to escape and what ensues is an impressive and well executed roof top foot chase involving parkour techniques that would make any such aficionado swoon, whilst thwarting numerous enemy foot soldiers with close quarter hand to hand combat involving spears, knives, bows and flying fists and feet. Cornered the chase comes to halt with Aguilar and Maria performing a huge 'leap of faith' from a roof top tower to escape their enemy, at which point Lynch is extracted for The Animus.

Back in the present day Rikkin reveals to Lynch that his father Joseph (Brendan Gleeson) is still alive and living in the Abstergo facility. Lynch believed his father to be long dead and so confronts him with the aim of killing him there and then with the original wrist blade given to him by Rikkin. When Joseph explains that his mother was an assassin who chose to die by his hand rather than be captured by The Templars, Lynch relents. Joseph also advises his son that his and Aguilar's memories are merging, enabling Lynch to assimilate his ancestors combat abilities and skills.

This time Lynch goes voluntarily into The Animus to finish what he started. There Aguilar and Maria ambush a meeting where the Sultan Muhammad is about to hand over the Apple of Eden to The Templars in exchange for his sons life. A fight breaks out resulting in Maria's death, but Aguilar has in his possession the Apple of Eden. He escapes by taking another 'leap of faith' off a bridge. He resurfaces later on in Cadiz where he hands over the Apple of Eden to a staunch supporter of the Assassins, Christopher Columbus, where he vows to take the artefact to his grave to keep it safe. Fast forward five hundred years and armed with this knowledge the Rikkin's deduce that the Apple of Eden is buried with Columbus in his crypt, and so retrieve it!

Now back out of The Animus Lynch hallucinates about his mother and his ancestors all dressed in full Assassin attire, and this gives him a new found confidence about his lineage and his newly acquired skills and abilities assimilated from Aguilar. With his fellow associates now all ready to over throw the Templars Abstergo facility, they do so and ultimately converge on The Templars sanctuary in London where Rikkin is to be honoured for retrieving the Apple of Eden, and where its powers will be unlocked finally. Despite her scientific contribution to The Animus, Sophia is overlooked by Ellen Kaye at this time of glory in favour of her father, but is told 'your time will come'! As The Assassins all gather at The Templars sanctuary for the big reveal, Lynch confronts Sophia who has become disillusioned with her fathers beliefs. Knowing the reason why Lynch is there, she does nothing to stop him, culminating with Rikkin bleeding out on the floor with a knife wound to the throat, The Apple of Eden back in the hands of The Assassins, and The Templars fleeing in fright.

'Assassin's Creed' has received generally negative feedback which for film that boasts big name Hollywood stars - Fassbender, Cotillard, Gleeson and Irons, with the former also Co-Producing and a US$125M budget is a little surprising. On the plus side the action set pieces are well rendered, fast paced, inventive and well shot. The imagery too within the Abstergo facility is believable, and the scenic shots of 15th Century Spain are well delivered and help to enhance the look and feel of the film. On the minus side however, the action is very video game oriented, and the performances of the lead cast are a little dull, with Cotillard, Irons and Gleeson especially seemingly phoning in their roles from their on set trailers! The plot is confusing at times and The Apple of Eden is a simple McGuffin to advance the story beyond well choreographed fight scenes, chase sequences and solid visuals. However, all style over substance! The thumping soundtrack too by Jed Kurzel, the brother of the Director is at times deafening to the detriment of the action which it accompanies. A franchise is in the offing, with a second film already in the early stages of development - it had better be an improvement on this first one is all I will add.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Sunday 1st January 2017.

With the release of 'Assassin's Creed' this week and all the buzz around this big screen video game adaptation as supposedly re-setting the benchmark for the genre, I got to thinking about the genre and just how successful it has really been over the years. My research tells me that in terms of international success, some video game adaptations have fared reasonably well at the Box Office (taking that as a measure of audience critical acclaim) whilst for the most part the others have been complete duds. Here's a list of the good, and the not so good :-

#1 - 'Warcraft' released in 2016 - Global Box Office US$434M
#2 - 'The Angry Birds Movie' released in 2016 - Global Box Office US$350M
#3 - 'Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time' - released in 2010 - Global Box Office US$337M
#4 - 'Resident Evil : Afterlife' released in 2010 - Global Box Office US$297M
#5 - 'Lara Croft : Tomb Raider' released in 2001 - Global Box Office US$275M
#6 - 'Resident Evil : Retribution' released in 2012 - Global Box Office US$241M
#7 - 'Need for Speed' released in 2014 - Global Box Office US$204M
#8 - 'Pokemon : The First Movie' released in 1999 - Global Box Office US$164M
#9 - 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider : Cradle of Life' released in 2003 - Global Box Office US$157M
#10 - 'Resident Evil : Extinction' released in 2007 - Global Box Office US$148M

Of course for those that fared well enough there is your 'Super Mario Bros' (1993), 'Doom' (2005), 'BloodRayne' (2006), 'DOA : Dead or Alive' (2006), 'Postal' (2007), 'In the Name of the King' (2008), 'Far Cry' (2008), 'Tekken' (2010) and the animated 'Ratchet & Clank' (2016) that fared a whole lot worse and bombed both critically and commercially. Due for release early in the new year is 'Resident Evil : The Final Chapter', with a 'Tomb Raider' reboot due in 2018, 'Rampage' also due in 2018 and a 'Minecraft' movie due in 2019 amongst various others on the slate.

Starting off the new year we have just two new releases out this week, kicking off with a time travelling action adventure yarn based on a hugely successful video game franchise that melds the present day with 15th Century Spain; and then a Sci-Fi adventure set in deep space where those in deep sleep and are in deep trouble as two awakened souls strive to save their ship and all aboard it.

If action and adventure is your thing then this week is for you, and if it's not, then there are plenty of other films Reviewed and Previewed on these Blog pages in recent weeks that are still out on general release. When you have sat through your film of choice in the week ahead, remember that you are warmly invited to share your cinema going thoughts, opinions and observations with your fellow readers here at Odeon Online. Simply leave a relevant and constructive Comment below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, enjoy your movie.

'ASSASSIN'S CREED' (Rated M) - the hugely popular action adventure video game upon which this film is based first appeared on our gaming consoles back in 2007 courtesy of Ubisoft. Wikipedia describes the premise as being set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control, and their indirect relation to an ancient species pre-dating humanity, whose society, along with much of Earth's biosphere, was destroyed by a massive solar storm. The games feature predominantly a Desmond Miles, a bartender in the present day who is a descendant of several lines of prominent Assassins. All in all seems like a perfect script for a movie. Since its early days Assassins Creed has grown into a series of nine main games and a number of supporting games too. There have also been a number of short animated films, comics, novels, graphic novels and even an Encyclopaedia. The games have sold approaching 100 million copies. And so kick starting 2017, we have a film, based on that game, Directed by Justin Kurzel and Co-Produced and starring in the lead role, Michael Fassbender. The film was made for US$125M and has so far taken US$49M since its release in the US and France just before Christmas.

Here convicted criminal about to be executed Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is rescued by Abstergo Industries - the modern day version of the Templar Order. Heading up Abstergo is CEO Allan Rikkin (Jeremy Irons) whose daughter Dr. Sophia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard) is the organisations Chief Scientist. She reveals to Lynch that he is descended from a long line of Assassins that for centuries fought against the Templar Order, and that he is directly related to Aguilar de Nerha  (also payed by Michael Fassbender) - a 15th Century Spanish Assassin. Dr. Rikkin proposes that Lynch be hooked up to revolutionary new technology that they have developed - The Animus - that allows him to travel back in time to 15th Century Spain by unlocking genetic memories contained in his DNA. As he travels back and forth in search of a powerful ancient artefact he acquires the skills and learnings to fight against the modern day Templar Order operating under the guises of Abstergo in the present day. Also starring Brendan Gleeson as Joseph Lynch, Michael K. Williams as  Moussa/Baptitse a Haitian Assassin and Charlotte Rampling. The film has received generally negative reviews for its story and plot lines more than the performances from its lead characters, well choreographed fight sequences and stunning visuals, but, will it break the mould of dud video game adaptations?

'PASSENGERS' (Rated M) - Norwegian film Director Morten Tyldum who previously brought us 2014's 'The Imitation Game' here Directs this Sci-Fi adventure offering set in deep space. Made for US$110M and released in the US just before Christmas, the film has so far recovered US$57M and has received mixed critical reviews. The story here takes place aboard the starship 'Avalon', that is a state of the art vessel transporting 5,000 Earth inhabitants to colonise a far away planet called Homestead II. That planet is so far away from Earth that the journey takes 120 years, and those 'passengers' are in hibernation pods for the entirety of the journey. Except one, mechanical engineer Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) who awakens ninety years too early due to a malfunction in his pods system. After a year of traipsing around the ship all on his lonesome with no one except mechanical robot bartender Arthur (Michael Sheen) to keep him company, he happens upon Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) fast asleep in her forced hibernation. After some soul searching and deliberation he decides to wake up Aurora and in time the two fall for each other despite her initial feelings of being cheated out of her future life. In time however, they discover that the ship is in danger having been damaged in an asteroid collision two years earlier that has created multiple failures in the ships systems. Working against the odds and against time, Jim and Aurora must save the ship and its five thousand sleeping inhabitants on board. Also starring Laurence Fishburn and Andy Garcia.

Just two new releases kicking off the new year, but with a raft of other very recently released movies now out on general release, there are a whole bunch of reasons to get along to your local picture house. When you have done so drop us a line here at Odeon Online, and in the meantime, I'll see you sometime in the week ahead, at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-