What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 18th October 2018.

As reported a couple of weeks ago now, the Adelaide Film Festival is now in full swing running from 10th through until 21st October 2018. The official website reads that the 'Adelaide Film Festival (ADL Film Fest) is an eleven-day celebration and exploration of Australian and international screen culture with a unique program of screenings, forums and special events. The event has rapidly established itself as one of the boldest and most innovative in the country and has made a name for itself internationally as a platform for exciting new talent in the Australian industry'. It goes on further to add 'the youngest but most dynamic national screen event, Adelaide Film Festival was established in 2003 and was placed in Variety’s list of “50 Unmissable Film Festivals”. It is Australia’s premier film event, launching new films, art and interactive projects to national and international audiences'. 

This year’s Adelaide Film Festival showcases seventeen World Premier screenings and thirty Australian Premieres, including four Venice Award Winners & Grinners and a solid representation of films from Australia's emerging talent pool of Directors. The full festival schedule consists of over 130 feature films, animated features, documentaries, short films, virtual-reality works and various installations, with well over forty percent of films being presented having been Directed by women.

The opening night film on 10th October was 'Hotel Mumbai' based on the 2008 terror attacks in that Indian city, with the closing night screening on 21st being 'Can You Ever Forgive Me' with Melissa McCarthy playing agents type as celebrity writer turned forger Lee Israel.

Other noteworthy screenings garnering much buzz around the festival circuit are : 

* 'Arctic' - Directed by Joe Penna and starring Mads Mikkelsen.
* 'At Eternity's Gate' - Directed by Julian Schnabel and starring Willem Dafoe, Mads Mikkelsen and Oscar Isaac.
* 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' - Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring an ensemble cast.
* 'Beautiful Boy' - Directed by Felix Van Groeningen and starring Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carell, and released in Australia next week.
* 'Celeste' - Directed by Ben Hackworth and starring Radha Mitchell.
* 'Emu Runner' - Directed by Imogen Thomas in her feature film debut and starring Rhae-Kye Waites.
* 'Ghost Stories' - Directed by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson and starring Andy Nyman and Martin Freeman, and released in Australia next week.
* 'I Am Mother Work In Progress' - Directed by Grant Sputore and starring Hilary Swank.
* 'Knife + Heart' - Directed by Yann Gonzalez and starring Vanessa Paradis.
* 'Lean on Pete' - Directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlie Plummer and Steve Buscemi, and released in Australia next week.
* 'Leave No Trace' - Directed by Debra Granik and starring Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster.
* 'The Nightingale' - Directed by Jennifer Kent and starring Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claiflin.
* 'The Old Man & the Gun' - Directed by David Lowery and starring Robert Redford, Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek.
* 'Puzzle' - Directed by Marc Turtletaub and starring Kelly Macdonald and Irrfan Khan.
* 'Roma' - Directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring Yalitza Aparicio.
* 'Shoplifters' - Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and starring Lily Franky and Sakura Ando.

You can of course gain a far greater insight into all the goings on at this years ADL Film Fest, and the full lo-down on the aforementioned films and all the others too, by checking out the official website at : https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/

Coming to your local Odeon in the week ahead then, we have three new release movies to tease you out to your nearby multiplex or independent theatre. We kick off the week with the fourth big screen adaptation of this film after the 1937 original and remakes in 1954, 1976 and now in 2018. Helmed by a first time Director and seasoned Actor and co-starring a hugely successful singer in her screen debut this film tells the story of a star that begins to shine brightly for one whilst it fades for the other and the life altering consequences for both. We then turn to a gritty Aussie drama about an outlaw motorcycle gang and the fallout after the leader is released from prison to discover a very different club to the one he left behind when he was sent down. And finally this week we wrap up with a documentary about a British fashion icon still going as strong today as she did when she helped ignite the Punk Rock scene in mid-'70's Britain.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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 coming week.

'A STAR IS BORN' (Rated M) - this much hyped musical romantic drama film is Directed by first timer Bradley Cooper who also Co-Produced, Co-Wrote and stars alongside Lady Gaga in her big screen debut. This is the fourth version of the original 1937 film production of the same name and starred Janet Gaynor and Frederic March, with remakes coming in 1954 by Director George Cukor with Judy Garland and James Mason in the lead roles, and then again in 1976 Directed by Frank Pierson and starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. The 1976 version of the film made US$80M from its US$6M Production Budget and won one Oscar and was nominated for three others, collected five Golden Globe wins and two BAFTA nominations amongst others. This film Premiered at the Venice Film Festival in late August, went on general release in the US two weeks ago, cost US$36M, and has received widespread Critical acclaim with particular praise for Cooper's and Gaga's performances and the chemistry between the pairing, the cinematography, the musical score and Cooper's Direction.  Box Office receipts currently stand at US$136M.

Here seasoned and successful musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers and ultimately falls in love with struggling singer Ally (Lady Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer until Jackson coaxes her out of a drag bar where she moonlights as a singer and into the spotlight at one of his own concerts. But, as Ally's career takes off and success comes knocking, the personal side of their relationship is taking its toll, as Jackson fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. Also starring Sam Elliott, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay and Alec Baldwin.

'1%' (Rated MA15+) - Written and starring Matt Nable, this outlaw motorcycle gang drama is Directed in his debut feature by Stephen McCallum and was first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival back in August 2017, and only now does it get its homegrown release in Australia. Filmed in Perth, Western Australia, the film tells the story of of hard as nails gang leader Knuck (Matt Nable) who is released from prison after serving three years. He returns as President of the Copperheads Motorcycle Club expecting to just pick up where he left off three years ago. But, in the intervening years, things have changed. The new pretender Paddo (Ryan Corr) is a generation younger than the old school Knuck, and has turned around the club from a raw, rough and tumble outfit to a well oiled smooth running and viable criminal business. With Knuck back on the scene and trying to stamp his Presidential authority on the gang once more, friendships will be tested, loyalties divided and the scene set for bloodshed, betrayal and a battle for supremacy. Also starring Aaron Pedersen, Abbey Lee, Simone Kessell and Josh McConville.

'WESTWOOD : PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST' (Rated M) - here this Documentary feature film is Directed by Lorna Tucker and charts the life and times of British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood. Released in the UK back in March this year and having been screened both at the Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals, the film now gets a limited release in Australia. Credited with lighting the touch paper in the mid-'70's on the British Punk Rock movement with ex-partner and Sex Pistols' Manager Malcolm McLaren, Dame Vivienne Westwood has been reworking and reinventing the British fashion scene ever since with many of the more distinctive looks of our time. Blending archival footage, thoughtful reconstruction, and revealing testimonials with Westwood's fascinating network of contributors we are taken on a journey from her years growing up in postwar Derbyshire to the runways of Paris and Milan that have coloured her success, whilst at the same time she fights to protect the integrity of the brand she has created, her unwavering principles and her legacy in a business driven by consumerism, profit and global expansion.

With three new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

AMERICAN ANIMALS : Tuesday 9th October 2018.

I saw 'AMERICAN ANIMALS' earlier this week. This true crime art heist drama is Written and Directed by British documentarian and now two time feature film maker Bart Layton in only his second feature making outing after 2012's 'The Imposter'. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, was released in the US back in early June, and in the UK in early September. It has so far taken just over US$3M and has received generally positive Press.




This real life telling jumps often during the film between talking heads interviews with the real four friends portrayed in the film and the perpetrators of said crime, and the events as they unfolded as portrayed by the Actors. The film opens up with a young man applying make up to his face and his eyes to make him look years older, and when done he dresses accordingly, sits on the edge of his bed, and waits. We then cut back eighteen months.

And so eighteen months earlier takes us back to mid-way through 2003, in Lexington, Kentucky. Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) is an art student who feels that his life has no meaning and he yearns for some excitement, something dramatic in his life to spur him on to greatness, just as many other tragic painters throughout history have had to live through their own personal challenges that have ultimately defined their work. Reinhard's good friend and fellow student is Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) who has a restless rebellious streak, and is at college on an athletics scholarship although is treading on thin ice because he rarely attends athletics training or practice, doesn't really care for the sport and is only there to please his family.

One day Reinhard is given a tour of the library at Transylvania University and in particular the special collections room that houses several rare and very valuable books of significant historical value. After the viewing, Reinhard hatches a notion to steal the books and sell them on to a private collector, estimated to be worth US$12M at least. The main book of note is by naturalist and painter John James Audubon and is titled 'The Birds of America' published in a number of sections between 1827 and 1838 and consisting of 435 hand coloured life sized prints.

After agreeing to rob the University of its prized collection of art history books, Lipka travels to Amsterdam to meet with two black market buyers he had been put in contact with via some mystery connection in New York. Lipka returns with the great news that they have a buyer for the books they have yet to steal, and the value runs into millions of dollars. Needless to say they are both very excited and wildly encouraged.

The pair soon come to the realisation that it is going to take more that just the two of them to pull of this heist. And so they approach Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) who is another student wanting to join the FBI, and so knows a thing or two about criminology. Once on board with their plan, he guides them through the logistics and practicalities of the heist, including the fact that it should be undertaken during broad daylight when security is more relaxed rather than at night time as was the original plan, when it will be heightened.

Next up they recruit Chas Allen (Blake Jenner) to be the getaway driver. He comes from a monied family, is physically fit and is entrepreneurial. Over the months that follow they stakeout the library to check on the comings and goings of the staff, they check entry and exit points, map out the lay of the land inside the library, plot their arrival and departure, and time the whole operation with almost military like precision. They also learn that the only person tasked with guarding the books is the Special Collections Librarian, Betty Jean Gooch (Ann Dowd).

By now we have arrived at December 2004. On the day of the robbery, in December, just a week or so before Christmas, each of the four disguise themselves as four elderly businessmen. It is a bright sunny day, and the four men enter the library, and split up. All are as nervous as each other about the task that lays ahead. After observing that Gooch has three other staff members in the Special Collections Library, the decision is made to abort the mission on the grounds that it is all too risky. Visibly shaken by the aborted mission, Reinhard wants to pull out saying that he is not cut out for such things, and that he needs to consider his family more. Lipka is mortified by this news having come so far, and having already put into motion what was Reinhard's plan in the first place.

Lipka after these first turn of events, has called the Library and asked for a private viewing the next day which is granted. Reinhard has a bit of an epiphany and comes back into the fold but only if he can act as look out from a distance. This time the robbery is back on again, with a change in roles, and they have decided to drop the aged disguises, and instead go in as well to do clean shaven successful young business men. Lipka and Borsuk enter the Library. Lipka tasers Betty Jean Gooch but she struggles and resists resulting in them both having to reluctantly bind and gag her. After fumbling around searching for keys, they gain access to the glass cabinet housing 'The Birds of America' and smash though various others to gain access to other noted historical works including 'On the Origin of Species'. 

By now this heist has descended into a farce as they mess up their exit from the building and blunder back through the library under the full gaze of dutiful studying students. In their blind panic, they drop the two huge and heavy volumes of Audubon's works and have to leave it behind. They do however, manage to escape with two other smaller books that are nevertheless rare and therefore in all likelihood valuable to the right buyer.

Dressed up as smart young business types again, Reinhard and Lipka take the books to Christie's Auction House in New York to have the two books authenticated and valued. This was a prerequisite of the Dutch buyers who have committed to taking the stolen merchandise off their hands, according to Lipka upon his return from that initial visit now some months ago. Having been told that they'll have to return tomorrow for a valuation and authentication they meet up with Borsuk and Allen waiting in the van parked on the street outside. Allen looses his cool and chastises everyone for their blatant stupidity. and they return to Lexington with the books. Shortly after, Reinhard comes to realise that the Police will be able to track them down from the e-mail trail used in setting up the heist and through his mobile phone number.

The gang of four begin to show signs of stress as they attempt to lie low, and the guilt sets in about the magnitude of their crime, and the harm they caused to Betty Jean Gooch. Lipka attempts to shoplift from a convenience store; Reinhard is involved in a rear end collision with another vehicle; and Borsuk starts a bar brawl. Almost inevitably, their homes are raided by the FBI and they are arrested. They each are sentenced and each serves over seven years for their crimes in federal prison.

Post serving jail time, the real-life rare book thieves talk of their regret for attempting the heist, stating how much pain they have put their families through. A pre-credits epilogue tells us of their lives after prison. Borsuk now lives in Los Angeles and works as a Writer; Allen has become a fitness coach in Southern California; Lipka is studying filmmaking at College in Philadelphia and Reinhard has remained in Lexington and is making a living as a jobbing artist, specialising in . . . . birds. Betty Jean Gooch, the Librarian, has remained at Transylvania University where she still works as the Special Collections Librarian. 

This is not your usual heist film where things invariably go well and the perpetrators get away in a hail of bullets, with screeching tyres and inept cops giving chase only to meet up at some secret location to celebrate their success and share their ill gotten gains. No, 'American Animals' is a wildly different kind of heist movie where the best laid plans go horribly wrong with emotional, tragic and traumatic consequences for both those directly and indirectly involved. This film is a perfect mix of narrative real life drama and insightful documentary that is never melodramatic but tells it like it is, despite some of the contradictions coming from the talking heads interviews concerning who said what, who did this, and who did that etc. Backed up by a thumping soundtrack, 'American Animals' is certainly worth the price of entry, but you'll have to determine for yourself if this glamourises true crime, or if its a story that had to be told and the criminals have paid their price, did repent of their sins, and are now fully integrated back into society, never to darken the doors of criminal activity again.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 11th October 2018.

In September the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . Burt Reynolds, Gary Kurtz, Al Matthews, Fenella Fielding and Christoper Lawford.

* Gary Douglas Kurtz : born July 27th 1940, died September 23rd 2018, aged 78. Kurtz was an American film Producer and Assistant Director who had seventeen Producer credits to his name, five as Assistant Director, four as Production Manager and two as Editor. His most notable film Production credits include 'American Graffiti', 'Star Wars : Episode IV - A New Hope', 'Star Wars : Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back', 'The Dark Crystal', 'Return to Oz' and 'Slipstream'. Over the years he collected thirteen award wins and eight nominations including two Academy Award nods for 'American Graffiti' in 1974 and 'Star Wars' in 1978. He began his career in the movie industry in 1965 as Assistant Director on the Jack Nicholson and Harry Dean Stanton Western 'Ride in the Whirlwind' and continued up until 2016 with 'Gangster Kittens'.
* Al Matthews : born Alexander Basil Matthews on November 21st 1942, died September 22nd 2018, aged 75. Matthews was a folk singer and songwriter and Actor with 36 acting credits to his name including 'Yanks', 'The Final Conflict', 'Superman III', 'Aliens' (perhaps his most famed role as Sergeant Apone), 'The Fifth Element' and 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. Matthews served for six years in the US Marine Corps taking in active duty in the Vietnam War and to that end his website reads 'I hold thirteen combat awards and decorations, including two purple hearts. I was the first black Marine in the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam to be meritoriously promoted to the rank of sergeant; I served with Kilo Battery, Fourth Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division, of that I am very proud'.
* Fenella Fielding : born Fenella Marion Feldman on November 17th 1927 and died September 11th 2018 aged 90. Fielding was an English theatre, film and television actress, popular in the '50's and '60's and having a reputation as 'England's first lady of the double entendre', she was known too for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice. With sixty Acting credits to her name, she got her break in 1957 on three episodes of British spy drama series 'Destination Downing Street' followed up two years later with her film debut in 'Follow a Star' with Norman Wisdom, John Le Mesurier, Ron Moody and Hattie Jacques. Over the ensuing years she appeared in the likes of 'Doctor in Love', 'The Old Dark House', 'Doctor in Distress', 'Doctor in Clover', 'Carry On Regardless', 'Carry On Screaming', 'Drop Dead Darling', 'Lock Up Your Daughters', 'Guest House Paradiso' and 'The All Together'. In between time she appeared in numerous television series across single and multiple episodes, as well as short films and voice work as recently as 2017 on the short film 'Frankula'. Fielding was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.
* Burt Reynolds : born Burton Leon Reynolds Jnr., on February 11th 1936 and died September 6th 2018 aged 82. Reynolds was an American Actor, Director and Producer but his career didn't start out that way. He attended Florida State University on a football scholarship and played halfback and he had hoped to be named to All-American teams and have a career in professional football; however, he injured his knee in the first game of his second season, and later that year lost his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident, so effectively ending his professional football aspirations. With 186 Acting credits to his name, fourteen Director credits and eleven as Producer he gained his first break in television in 1958 and from that point onward worked regularly throughout the next sixty years right up until the time of his death. His television works included multiple recurring appearances on 'Riverboat', 'Gunsmoke', 'Hawk', 'Dan August', 'B.L.Stryker', 'Out Of This World', 'Evening Shade' and more recently 'Hitting the Breaks'. His more notable big screen appearances over the years include his debut film role in 1961's 'Angel Baby', and then 'Navajo Joe', 'Sam Whiskey', 'Deliverance' (one of his most famed roles), 'The Longest Yard' (both the 1974 original and the 2005 remake), 'Gator', 'Nickelodeon', 'Smokey and the Bandit' (another famed role), 'Hooper', 'Smokey and the Bandit II', 'The Cannonball Run', 'Best Friends', 'Sharky's Machine', 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas', 'City Heat', 'Boogie Nights' (highly acclaimed and award winning role), 'The Dukes of Hazzard', the critically acclaimed 2017 drama 'The Last Movie Star' and 'Defining Moments' set for a Christmas release this year. Reynolds had 34 award wins (including two Golden Globes) to his name and a further 29 nominations (including one Oscar nod, five Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy and one BAFTA nomination).
* Christopher Lawford : born March 29th 1955, died September 4th 2018 aged 63. Lawford was an American author, actor, and activist. He was a member of the prominent Kennedy family, and son of actor Peter Lawford who had numerous film and television Acting roles from 1930 through until his death in 1984. One of the famous 'Rat Pack' he starred alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr., in the original 1960 'Ocean's Eleven'. After battling various drug and legal issues throughout his earlier life, Christopher turned to the movie business in 1988 and spent over fifteen years in the film and television business as an Actor, Lawyer, Executive, and Producer. He got his first film role in 1988 in 'The Suicide Club' which was to be the first of 45 Acting credits which over the years took in 'The Russia House', 'The Doors', 'The Confession', 'The 6th Day', 'Thirteen Days', 'Exit Wounds', 'Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines', 'The World's Fastest Indian'  and 'Slipstream' with 'Eavesdrop' being his last Acting credit in 2008. Lawford worked extensively in politics, government and the non-profit sector holding executive staff positions, and was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the California Department of Public Health Advisory Board.

Turning to this week we have three new filmic offerings to tease you out to your local Odeon. We launch (literally) with a biographical drama from a multi-award winning Director about mans greatest and most dangerous journey in the history of great and dangerous journeys to go boldly where no man had gone before. We then have a fictional story about a bunch of seemingly normal folk all harbouring their own secrets and lies who come together one rainy night at a hotel that straddles two States, and their last chance to find peace with themselves . . . or not as the case may be! And we then wrap up the week with another historical telling, this time of a series of terrorist attacks in India just ten years ago, as the victims fight for their survival seemingly against the odds.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'FIRST MAN' (Rated M) - this American biographical drama film is based on the 2005 book by James R. Hansen titled 'First Man : The Life of Neil A. Armstrong' and is Directed and Co-Produced by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle of 'Whiplash' and 'La La Land' fame. Made for US$60M the film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival back in August, and was subsequently screened at the Telluride Film Festival and then the Toronto International Film Festival in early September. It goes on general release in the US this week too having received generally widespread critical praise for Chazelle's Direction, the performances of Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy especially, the score and the cinematography.

The film tells the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon by the time the clock ticks over into 1970, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account exploring the sacrifices and the cost on Armstrong and on the nation of one of the most dangerous and ultimately triumphant missions in history - the Apollo 11 mission to conquer the Moon before the decade was out in 1969. Starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, Claire Foy as Janet Shearon (Armstrong's first wife), Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin, Ciaran Hinds, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas as Michael Collins, Shea Whigham, Brian d'Arcy James and Pablo Schreiber as Jim Lovell.

'BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE' (Rated MA15+) - here we have a 1960's set American thriller that is Directed, Written and Co-Produced Drew Goddard who wrote multiple episodes of popular television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', 'Angel', 'Alias', 'Lost', created and wrote two episodes of 'Daredevil' and wrote for the big screen too including 'Cloverfield', 'World War Z', 'The Martian', and 'Cabin in the Woods' which was also his Directing debut. After this outing Goddard is Writing and Directing Marvel's 'X-Force'. Back to this film though, and the storyline follows seven strangers who find themselves at the El Royale, a novelty hotel traversing the border of California and Nevada. But as the strangers — which include a priest Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a vacuum cleaner salesman Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm), a gangster from down south Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson), a former singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), and a charismatic cult leader Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth) all settle into their rooms for the night, they all get one last shot at redemption before discovering that something strange is afoot inside and outside the hotel, and everything goes pear shaped. Also starring Nick Offerman, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman and Russell Crowe.

'ONE LESS GOD' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian and Nepalese joint produced film is based on the real life events that unfolded in November 2008 when a small group of Islamic militants from Pakistan lays to siege the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, and another eleven coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai resulting in 164 deaths and 308 wounded. Not to be confused with the other, as yet to be released film of the same subject matter 'Hotel Mumbai' due for release in early 2019, this film is Directed, Co-Produced, Written and Edited in his feature film debut by Aussie Liam Worthington. The film had its Premier screening in completion at the 'Dances with Films' Festival way back in June 2017 where it took out the Grand Jury Award for Best Film as well as the Industry Choice Award. When the group of terrorists bomb the hotel with six separate explosions and threaten the lives of its guests and employees the Indian forces are powerless to overcome the perpetrators, and for a whole four days are unable to regain control. During which time the guests battle for their survival as the terrorists seek to drive them out of hiding. Starring Jospeh Mahler Taylor, Sukhraj Deepak, Kabir Singh, Kieren Kumar, Nathan Kaye and Mihika Rao.

With three new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE INSULT : Tuesday 2nd October 2018.

'THE INSULT' which I finally got around to seeing this week, some five weeks after its limited Australian release is an acclaimed Lebanese drama film which screened in the main competition at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this years Academy Awards. All up the film has garnered ten award wins and another fourteen nominations from around the festival circuit. Directed and Co-Written by Ziad Doueiri the film has so far taken less than US$2M but has received generally positive Reviews from Critics and audiences alike.

The film is set in present day Beirut. Tony Hannah (Adel Karan) is a Lebanese Christian living with his heavily pregnant wife Shirine (Rita Hayek) who is expecting their first child - a daughter. One day, building contractors engaged by the local government to remedy property defects around the city arrive in Tony's neighbourhood. Not wanting building contractors near his property when Shirine is there alone, Tony discovers contractors modifying the gutter on his balcony without his permission, to avoid water cascading down onto the street when it rains, or when he is hosing. Tony smashes the newly installed plastic guttering, to which the foreman Yasser Salameh (Kamal El Basha) calls Tony a 'fucking prick' from down on the street. Tony had previously recognised Yasser as a Palestinian refugee by his accent when he knocked on his apartment door seeking permission to fix the gutter in the first place, to which Tony declined very nonchalantly.

Tony watches anti-Palestinian propaganda, attends rallies, and is not backwards in coming forwards with his wishes for all Palestinians to leave his country. Although the balcony was in violation of building codes and the workers were fixing it by simply doing the job they are paid to do, Tony demands an apology for the 'fucking prick' remark from Yasser's manager and company. The employers bring Yasser to Tony's garage where he owns an auto mechanic workshop, to apologise in person, but when Tony states he wishes Israeli statesman Ariel Sharon had wiped out all Palestinians, Yasser punches him in the chest instead, breaking two ribs.

Tony is so enraged that he launches a lawsuit against Yasser, representing himself. However, upon questioning neither Yasser nor Tony can bring themselves to repeat what Tony said to Yasser about Sharon, and the judge dismisses the case on the grounds of inconclusive evidence. Angered, Tony shouts and is abusive towards the Judge saying that he is corrupt and biased, and is physically and forcibly removed from the courtroom but vows to appeal.

Earlier, when Tony was in hospital being treated for his two broken ribs, he was discharged on the basis that he should not work or lift anything heavy for at least eight weeks. One night being unable to sleep, he goes to work in his garage and lifts a heavy car battery. He collapses, and Shirine discovers him and helps pull him up and regain consciousness, but in the process brings on the early stages of childbirth. Coming round in the hospital, Tony learns that his wife gave birth by emergency Cesarean, but there are complications and the young child is placed on life support, allegedly due to contractions Shirine experienced when she pulled up her husband coupled with and emotional stress caused by Yasser's assault on her husband.

The case goes to retrial. Yasser risks conviction of manslaughter if Tony's baby dies. Wajdi Wehbe (Camille Salameh), a pro-Christian with memories of the Lebanese Civil War, and seemingly a prominent lawyer with a background of success, becomes Tony's new legal representative, while Wajdi's own daughter, Nadine Wehbe (Diamand Bou Abboud), who has far less memory of the war, and is fighting her first courtroom battle, takes Yasser's case. This time however, Tony's comments about Sharon are placed before the court, with the argument that emotional distress provoked the assault as well as Shirine's history of two prior miscarriages also being revealed.

The arguments in the courtroom go back and forth and inflame memories of the civil war, leading to clashes in the streets between Christians and Muslims. With Wajdi reinforcing the importance of Sharon, Tony is accused of Zionism and begins receiving death threats at home, and his garage is daubed with the Star of David. Wajdi tries to characterise Tony's comments as private and merely expressing a 'wish', arguing that this is not libellous but rather freedom of thought. The clashes on the streets continue to escalate with Police Riot Squad coming under attack. Tony and Yasser even have an audience with the Prime Minister who asks them both to turn the page and reconcile their differences to avoid a war erupting, but Tony declines his offer of mediation. Upon leaving the car park, Tony drives away in his old BMW, but Yasser's car won't start. Tony doubles back, and being the mechanic he is sticks his head under the bonnet, messes about with a couple of cables and in no time Yasser is fully mobile again. This simple gesture offers a glimmer of hope for the two warring factions.

Conducting further background research to underpin his case against Yasser, Wajdi is surprised to discover that Tony was born in Damour in 1970 and left in January 1976, a refugee of the Damour Massacre when the city fell to Muslim and left-wing militants with help from the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Tony had chosen not to reveal this to his own legal counsel, and breaks down with his father when Wajdi plays documentary footage of the event in the courtroom. Yasser and Tony later meet back at his garage, and when Yasser angrily remarks that Christian suffering in the civil war was minimal compared to the Palestinians', Tony punches him in the chest, and limping away Yasser apologises.

Back in court, the presiding Judge Colette Mansour (Julia Kassar) after hearing the closing comments from both sides, says that the panel of three Judges found this case really difficult, and that she nearly found both parties as equally guilty as the other. But in the end she had to go back to the root cause of the issue, and in doing so by two votes to one, finds Yasser not guilty. Tony's baby recovers, and in the closing scene we see him drive to Damour for the first time in forty years to visit the abandoned banana farm home of his childhood.

'The Insult' is a complex and thought provoking Middle Eastern political story that unwinds slowly around a familiar court room drama. What starts out as a simple heated exchange between two antagonists on either side of a political fence, soon escalates into street rioting and political unrest even involving the Prime Minister as we see a country divided and still licking its wounds from a war that ended over a generation ago. The performances are commendable and well grounded adding to the realism and the believability of the scenario that plays out both in and out of the courtroom. What Ziad Doueiri delivers here is film that explores the hostilities that exist in our modern society, a history lesson around a bitter conflict that unfolded in many of our lifetimes but which ultimately can be transcended by forgiveness, hope and understanding.

'The Insult' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 4th October 2018.

The Adelaide Film Festival goes live on 10th October and runs for eleven days up to and including 21st October. The Adelaide Film Festival, in its current guise, has run since 2002 and is described as an international film festival held over two weeks in mid October, in Adelaide, South Australia. The film festival has a strong focus on local South Australian and Australian produced content. This particular Festival featured in Variety Magazine's Top 50 unmissable film festivals around the world, saying 'Of the planet’s 1,000-plus film fests, only a select few pack industry impact. A few dozen more, by virtue of vision, originality, striking setting, audience zest and/or their ability to mine a unique niche, also rank as must-attends'.

This year, the opening night presentation is 'Hotel Mumbai' Directed by Anthony Maras telling the true story of 26th November 2008 when a wave of devastating terror attacks throughout Mumbai catapult the bustling Indian metropolis into chaos. In the heart of the city’s tourist district, Jihadist terrorists lay siege to the iconic Taj Palace Hotel, whose guests and staff become trapped in a heroic, days-long fight for survival. Starring Armie Hammer, Dev Patel and Jason Isaacs.

The closing night feature presentation is 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' Directed by Marielle Heller recounting the real life exploits of Lee Israel, a noted American author who became a literary forger and thief. The film stars Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel who made her living through the '60's, '70's and '80's writing profiles of high-achieving women such as Katharine Hepburn, cosmetics executive Estée Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen and charts her subsequent life as she attempts to revitalise her sagging writing career in the '90's by forging letters from deceased authors and playwrights. She died in 2014 aged 75. The film also stars Richard E. Grant as her loyal and trusted friend Jack Hock.

Of the 84 feature films being screened over the eleven days, the International Feature Film Award values idiosyncratic voices, bold storytelling, creative risk-taking and overall fabulous films. Those films in competition this year are : 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (USA); 'Beautiful Boy' Directed by Felix Van Groeningen (USA); 'Burning' Directed by Lee Chang-Dong (South Korea); 'Capharnaum' Directed by Nadine Labaki (France, Lebanon, USA); 'Celeste' Directed by Ben Hackworth (Australia); 'Emu Runner' Directed by Imogen Thomas (Australia); 'Girl' Directed by Lukas Dhont (Belgium); 'Memories of My Body' Directed by Garin Nugroho (Indonesia); 'Roma' Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Mexico) and 'The Seen and Unseen' Directed by Kamila Andini (Australia, Indonesia, Netherlands, Qatar).

Needless to say there's a whole lot more great movie stuff going on down Adelaide way during their Film Festival, which you can check out at the website at : adelaidefilmfestival.org

This week we have just three new release movies coming to your local Odeon. We kick off with a new Superhero from the Marvel stable that does not sit within the realms of the MCU but rather is supplementary to it, seeing this human host taken over by an alien liquid parasite where the two must live in a mis-matched symbiosis and dispense their own brand of justice. We then have an art heist film that tells the true story of four likely University lads who hatch a scheme to rob a Uni library of some of its most prized, most rare and therefore most valuable books. And we wrap up the week with a telling of a famed Anton Chekov play brought to the big screen with an all star cast. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and 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.

'VENOM' (Rated M) - a big screen version of this Marvel character has been in development since 1997 when David S. Goyer had penned a script with Dolph Lundgren set to star. That went nowhere, and then in 2007 with the release of Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man 3', Venom made an appearance with Topher Grace playing the role, with a spin-off film focused on Venom being announced mid-2007. Subsequently over the following years the project was on again, off again, with various Writers coming and going, various Directors being attached and varying views and opinions as to where Venom should sit - in his own movie, as part of the rebooted 'Spider-Man' franchise, or even in the 'Avengers' universe. And so, finally, Venom gets his own big screen treatment as anti-Superhero based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name first appearing in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' comic edition in May 1984. This film is Directed by Ruben Fleischer, cost US$100M to Produce and is intended to be the first film in Sony's Marvel Universe, adjunct to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the two are unlikely to cross over but will complement each other and featuring other Marvel characters to which Sony own the film rights. 

And so, following a scandal, investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) attempts to revive his career by investigating the Life Foundation which is headed up by genius inventor Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). Through his investigations he encounters an alien symbiote - an amorphous, liquid-like form, that requires a host, usually human, to bond with for its survival. After bonding with Eddie Brock, the symbiote bestows its enhanced powers upon him. When the Venom symbiote bonds with a human, that new dual-life form usually refers to itself as 'Venom', and in bonding with Brock, gives him super human powers and a horrific alter ego as long as they share the same body. Also starring Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Scott Haze and Reid Scott. Tom Hardy has already signed up for a further two 'Venom' films, and there could easily be a cross-over into the 'Spider-Man' franchise that sees the two face off against each other, and not for the first time in their history.

'AMERICAN ANIMALS'  (Rated MA15+) - this true crime drama is Written and Directed by Bart Layton in only his second film making outing after 2012's 'The Imposter'. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, was released in the US back in early June, and in the UK in early September. It has so far taken just over US$3M and has received generally positive Press. This real life telling sees Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan), Warren Lipka (Evan Peters), Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner) as four friends who live an ordinary and uneventful life in Kentucky. After a visit to Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, Reinhard and Lipka develop a notion to steal an extremely valuable edition of John James Audubon's 'The Birds of America' and other rare and valuable books from the university library by disguising themselves as much older businessmen. As one of the most audacious and daring art heists in U.S. history begins to materialise, the young men begin to question whether their attempts to add some excitement and meaning into their lives are simply misguided attempts at getting rich quick by selling their ill gotten gains to a black market dealer in Amsterdam. Also starring Ann Dowd as Betty Jean Gooch - the only person guarding the books in the special collections section of the library. 

'THE SEAGULL' (Rated M) - Directed by Michael Mayer, this American drama film is based on the acclaimed 1895 play of the same name by Russian dramatist Anton Chekov. Shown first at the Tribeca Film Festival in April this year and released in the US in mid-May the film has taken so far just US$1.3M and has garnered generally mixed Reviews. The story here unfolds with ageing actress Irina Arkadina (Annette Benning) who visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin (Brian Dennehy) and her son Konstantin Treplyov (Billy Howle) on a picturesque lakeside estate during the Summer months. On one occasion, she brings along Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), a successful writer and her lover. Nina Zarechnaya (Saoirse Ronan), an innocent girl on an adjoining estate who is in a relationship with Konstantin, falls in love with Boris. What will become of this developing love triangle? Also starring Elisabeth Moss.

With three new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-