PARASITE : Tuesday 2nd July 2019.

I saw 'PARASITE' at my local independent theatre earlier this week, and fresh of his success with competition wins at both the Cannes Film Festival and the recent Sydney Film Festival, acclaimed South Korean Director and Screenwriter Bong Joon-ho here follows up his previous films that include 2006's 'The Host', 2013's 'Snowpiercer' and 2017's 'Okja'. The dark comedy film was released after its World Premier screening at Cannes in mid-May, in its native South Korea at the end of May, saw its release in Australia last week, and not in the USA until early October. The film has garnered largely universal critical praise and was made for about US$15M. The film has so far grossed US$77M.

Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), is an unemployed driver, who lives with his wife Choong-sook (Jang Hye-jin) and two college age children in a downtrodden basement apartment. The family are all unemployed and together they struggle to make ends meet by folding pizza boxes to earn a meagre living and survive from one day to the next. One day, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), the son, is socialising with a friend who, whilst studying at University, is also employed as an English tutor for the daughter of a rich family. He is leaving to study abroad and suggests that Ki-woo should take his place as he's been studying English for the University entrance exam for the last four years unsuccessfully, and yet is more qualified that most of the other student 'pricks' in his year.

Ki-woo is subsequently interviewed at the extremely luxurious and spacious mansion of the Park family by the wife and mother of the household Yeon-kyo Park (Cho Yeo-jeong) to tutor one-on-one their daughter, Park Da-hye (Jung Ji-so). He gets the job and as he’s leaving the house observes the paintings of the young son of the family, Park Da-song (Jung Hyun-joon). Noticing that his artistic prowess should be nurtured, he suggests that the family employ his sister Ki-jeong (Park So-dam) as an art tutor - lying about her qualifications and photo-shopping fake University degree certificates to add to the authenticity, his family connection and even giving her the false name of Jessica.

In the fullness of time, both Dad and Mum also manage to infiltrate their way into the employ of the Park household. Ki-jeong designs a plot to get Mr. Park’s (Lee Sun-gyun) driver fired and replaced with her dad Ki-taek. Once Ki-taek is employed, he manages to get the final Kim family member, his wife, Choong-sook, employed as the housekeeper after getting the current one Gook Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun) fired by concocting a story that her allergic reaction to peach skin is in fact tuberculosis. In no time at all, the four family members have seen a complete reversal in their fortunes, are each in full time employment and being paid a pretty penny too, and are able to celebrate in moderate style.

One weekend, the Parks announce that they are leaving to camp in the countryside. They pack up the car and the four of them leave. Ki-taek and his family take full advantage of this opportunity to get comfortable in the Park household, get drunk on the expensive liquor, and treat the place as if it were their own. In a sudden downpour of thunder, lightning and near torrential rain the former housekeeper, Moon-gwang visits claiming that she came to retrieve something from the basement that she was unable to take when she left the house in haste. It is soon revealed that behind a wall unit in the basement is a secret doorway that leads down into a fully self contained bunker, and that the former housekeeper’s husband has been living down there for the past four years, hiding from the loan sharks he borrowed money from for a number of failed business ventures. A fight breaks out as Moon-gwang and her husband learn the truth about the Kims nefarious plans and the fact that they are all one family. Ki-taek and his family manage to confine the couple in the basement bunker, seriously wounding Moon-gwang in the process.

Amidst all this commotion, Mrs. Park calls Choong-sook to tell her to prepare a meal as the rain forced the cancellation of their camping weekend and they'll be returning to the house in eight minutes according to their in-car GPS. Ki-taek, Ki-jeong and Ki-woo all hurriedly hide in the house and as quickly as they can do their best to clean up their near drunken mess, almost getting caught several times, but finally manage to escape undetected later that night by hiding under a low level lounge table. The three successfully make their escape, in the pouring rain, down several steep stairways, through road tunnels and eventually back to their own poor neighbourhood. There they discover waist-high water and raw sewage has enveloped entire blocks of apartments in the neighbourhood, including their own semi-basement home. Ki-woo wades through the apartment to retrieve a large rock gifted to him earlier by his friend. The three, along with many other families made homeless, sleep in a gymnasium overnight.

The next day, Mrs. Park decides to throw an impromptu birthday party for her son and invites many of their friends, gets the caterers in, stage manages the whole lavish affair and also invites the whole Kim family to take part in the celebrations. Mrs. Park meanwhile remains completely ignorant to the fact that the Kim family are now homeless and near destitute, and have to accept hand-me-down clothes to be able to attend. Ki-woo, who feels responsible for the turn of events, goes down to the bunker, carrying with him the large rock and soon discovers the former housekeeper has died from her wounds. Her husband attacks Ki-woo and manages to get out of the basement and in the process knocks Ki-woo unconscious with the rock.

He takes a large kitchen knife, searches the small crowd for the Kims and attempts to stab them. He fatally wounds Ki-jeong. Park's young son faints from the scene unfolding right in front of him. Moon-gwang's husband then attacks Choong-sook. As Ki-taek is attending to his dying daughter and preparing to help his wife against the attacker, Mr. Park attempts to flee with his unconscious son, yelling at Ki-taek to throw him the car keys. Choong-sook manages to kill Moon-gwang's husband with a large metal barbecue skewer. Turning over the corpse to retrieve the car keys thrown by Ki-taek, Park pinches his nose, pulling back hastily from the smell of the dead man's body. Ki-taek previously overheard the Parks describing his own body odour as disgusting and invasive. Witnessing Mr. Park's recoil, Ki-taek stabs Park with the same kitchen knife, killing him.

Ki-taek escapes unnoticed by his own family members, the Park's, the quickly exiting guests, and any other loitering witnesses. He doubles back inside the house through the open garage door and goes into hiding in the bunker, taking the place of Moon-gwang’s husband, oblivious also to the next incoming family who purchased the property. Ki-woo, following brain surgery as a result of his injuries sustained is arrested along with Choong-sook but are found not guilty. In the months that follow, Ki-woo visits the house and spies on it from afar and one night notices the lights of the house are sending him a message in Morse Code from his father still living and surviving in the bunker.

In 'Parasite' Director and Writer Bong Joon-ho has crafted a grippingly watchable and blackly comedic suspense drama film that weaves effortlessly between opposite sides of the social tracks exploring the great divide between the haves and the have-nots, the inequality that exists between the rich and the poor, the meaning of social status and ultimately the greed, the envy and the tragedy that unfolds when these two unsuspecting families come together. The cast are all uniformly top rate, and despite its 130 minute run time, this film never leaves you wanting - instead lurching the viewer from one dramatic episode to a laugh out loud moment to unfolding family tragedy to surprise twists and turns and then back again. It's an unrelenting joy ride that proves that Bong Joon-ho is at the top of his game, and in this era of big bold Hollywood blockbusters it's refreshing to see this little South Korean foreign language film performing so well both commercially and critically.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 4th July 2019.

In June 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 . . . . William D. Wittliff, Sylvia Miles, Franco Zeffirelli, Bill Collins, Bryan Marshall and Max Wright.

* William Dale Wittliff was born on 21st January 1940 and died on 9th June 2019, aged 79. He was an American Screenwriter, Producer, one time Director, Author and Photographer with fifteen writing credits to his name, and eleven as Producer. His film writing credits included 'The Black Stallion', 'Raggedy Man', 'Barbarosa', 'Country', 'Red Headed Stranger' (which he also Directed), 'The Cowboy Way', 'Legends of the Fall', 'The Perfect Storm' and most recently 2013's 'A Night in Old Mexico'. During his career he was honoured with four award wins, three further nominations, in 1996 he was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award, and in 2001, Wittliff was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

* Sylvia Miles - born 9th September 1924 and died on 12th June 2019, aged 94. She was an American Actress who began her stage career back in 1947 and her film and television career in 1954. Miles had 47 acting credits to her name including the likes of 'Murder, Inc' in 1960 - her big screen debut, followed up by 'Midnight Cowboy', 'The Last Movie', 'Farewell, My Lovely', '92 in the Shade', 'The Sentinel', 'Evil Under the Sun', 'Critical Condition', 'Wall Street' and its sequel 'Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps', 'Crossing Delancey', 'She-Devil', 'Go Go Tales', and 'Japanese Borscht' which was filming at the time of her death. She was the recipient of two award wins and two other nominations, both Academy Awards for her supporting roles in 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Farewell, My Lovely'.

* Franco Zeffirelli - born Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli on 12th February 1923 and died 15th June 2019, aged 96. He was an Italian Director, Writer and Production Designer of film, television and opera with 25 film and TV Directing credits to his name, fifteen as Writer, and twenty as Production Designer, in addition to his numerous credits for theatrical productions. His 1967 Directorial debut with 'The Taming of the Shrew' starring the pairing of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton remains to this day the best known adaptation of the Shakespeare play. The following year in 1968 he adapted another Shakespeare play 'Romeo & Juliet' for the big screen, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination, and which still holds up today. He followed this up with two religious offerings - 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon' about the life of St. Francis of Assisi in 1972, and then in 1977 the television mini-series 'Jesus of Nazareth' with Robert Powell in the lead role and an all star cast. He followed this up with the mainstream 'The Champ' with Jon Voight and Faye Dunaway and after that 'Endless Love' with Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt. His next and final Academy Award nod came in 1983 with his big screen adaptation of the classic opera 'La Traviata' with Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas. Next came another operatic adaptation with 'Otello' in 1986 before turning attention back to Shakespeare with 'Hamlet' starring Mel Gibson in the title role with Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, Alan Bates and Ian Holm. His last three big screen productions came with 'Jane Eyre' in 1996, 'Tea with Mussolini' in 1999 and 'Callas Forever' in 2002.  All up Zeffirelli had nineteen award wins and another fourteen nominations to his name including two Academy Award nods, one Golden Globe nomination, two Primetime Emmy wins, one BAFTA win and another four BAFTA nods. He also served as a Senator from 1994 till 2001 for the Italian centre-right Forza Italia party, and in 2004 he received an honorary British knighthood.

* Bill Colllins was born William Roderick Collins on 4th December 1934 and died on 20th June 2019 aged 84. He was an Australian film critic and film historian, radio and television presenter, journalist, author and lecturer best known for presenting Hollywood films on television in Australia. He specialised in the Classical Hollywood cinema and was well known for his association with televisions Network 10, presenting 'Bill Collins' Golden Years of Hollywood' for fifteen years, and later with Foxtel, presenting movies on the cable channel FOX Classics from 1995 to 2018. He was widely recognised in Australia for his passionate enthusiasm for films, and his profile allowed him to meet and become acquainted with a range of film makers from the 'Golden Age of Hollywood'. As well as his TV work, he lectured at the University of Sydney on film and allied topics, and in 1987, he published a book of film reviews and essays, 'Bill Collins Presents "The Golden Years of Hollywood"'. In 1987, Collins was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to film and television.

* Bryan Marshall - born 19th May 1938 and died 25th June 2019, aged 81. He was an English Actor whose career launched in the mid-'60's with uncredited roles in films 'Rasputin the Mad Monk' and 'Alfie' before his first credited big screen role in 1966 'The Witches'. His subsequent feature film outings included 'Quatermass and the Pit', 'The Tamarind Seed', 'The Spy Who Loved Me', 'The Long Good Friday', 'BMX Bandits', 'The Man from Snowy River II', 'The Punisher', 'Country Life' and 'Selkie'. His small screen credits over the years are numerous but include 'The Forsyte Saga', 'Vanity Fair', 'Z Cars', 'The Saint', 'Warship', 'Rooms', 'Out', 'Prisoner', 'Neighbours', 'Embassy', 'Water Rats', 'Home and Away' and 'All Saints'. In 1983 Marshall emigrated to Australia where he continued to work extensively in Australian film and TV productions, splitting his time between Australia and his native England. In total he had 126 Acting credits to his name.

* Max Wright - born George Edward Maxwell Wright on 2nd August 1943, died 26th June 2019, aged 75. He was an American Actor of film, television and stage, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Willie Tanner on the hit sitcom 'ALF' which ran for 102 episodes between 1986 and 1990. His big screen credits included 'All That Jazz', 'Reds', 'The Sting II', ''Soul Man', 'The Shadow', 'Grumpier Old Men', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'Snow Falling on Cedars'. His television roles over the years took in the likes of 'Hart to Hart', 'WKRP in Cincinnati', 'Taxi', 'Cheers', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Dudley', 'Friends', 'Mad About You', and on 49 episodes of 'The Norm Show'. All up Wright had 66 acting credits to his name.

This week we have just three new release films coming to an Odeon near you. We launch with yet another instalment in the MCU and the follow up to a successful reboot of this Superhero franchise from 2017, that sees our favourite webslinger taking a European vacation with his school mates but called back into the line of duty to help thwart a group of four otherworldly aliens with superpowers of their own intent of destroying our humble little world. We then move to a biographical documentary charting the life and times of an Australian rock icon who sadly passed away in 1997 but who's legacy still lives on today. And wrapping up the weeks three new movies we have an Argentinian foreign language film about a couple who become new found empty nesters when their son moves away from home to study abroad, and their decision consequently to consciously uncouple themselves from each other after twenty+ years of marriage.

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.

'SPIDER-MAN : FAR FROM HOME' (Rated M) - here this twenty third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a direct sequel to 2017's 'Spider-Man : Homecoming' and follows on shortly after the events of 'Avengers : Endgame'. Directed once again by Jon Watts this film had a budget of US$160M, compared to 'Homecoming' which had a budget of US$175M and grossed worldwide US$880M, and is released in the US this week too, one day after its Australian release earlier this week on Monday 1st July.

Following on from the events that unfolded in 'Avengers : Endgame', Peter Parker (Tom Holland), who is mourning the death of his mentor Tony Stark, goes on a school trip to Europe with his classmates. While abroad, he is recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to team up with Quentin Beck (aka Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a master of trickery and illusion, to battle the Elementals - four extradimensional humanoids who became immortals with power over natural forces and who ruled a kingdom on Earth before the rise of the original Atlantis. They are Hydron, lord of the waters; Magnum, master of the earth; Hellfire, wielder of flame; and Zephyr, mistress of the winds. Also starring Zendaya as Michelle 'MJ' Jones, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon and Marisa Tomei all reprising their roles from previous MCU instalments and 'Homecoming'.

'MYSTIFY : MICHAEL HUTCHENCE' (Rated M) - is a biographical documentary charting the life and times of INXS frontman and lyricist and occasional actor Michael Hutchence. Here Australian Director, Screenwriter and Co-Producer Richard Lowenstein, who incidentally, Directed many of both INXS and Michael's music videos and the 1986 feature film, 'Dogs in Space', in which Michael played the lead, recounts the musicians life which ended so tragically in Sydney on 22nd November 1997. A complex and shy man who spent the majority of his life under the public gaze, rarely revealing his true nature to anyone except his very close friends and family. Combining rarely seen archival footage and insights from Hutchence himself, his friends, family, lovers and colleagues portray his life from his fractured family background to the pinnacle of rock stardom and into the depths of despair following a freak accident in Copenhagen in 1992 which resulted in almost a complete loss of the sense of smell and significant loss of taste, seriously impacting his ability to deal with his unravelling personal and professional life. A must see for anyone with the remotest interest in this enigmatic Australian musician whose twenty year career with INXS brought him worldwide stardom and record sales in excess of sixty million.

'AN UNEXPECTED LOVE' (Rated M) - this Argentinian foreign language film took the local Box Office by storm when it was released in its native country back in August 2018. Written, Produced and Directed by Juan Vera the film here centres around Ana (Mercedes Moran) and her husband Marco (Ricardo Darin), who arrive at the airport to farewell their son Luciano, who is leaving his Argentinian homeland to study in Spain. They are satisfied that they have both done well as parents. However, his departure leaves a gaping hole in their everyday lives, and after more than twenty years of marriage, both reluctantly come to admit that their feelings for each other have moved somewhat. So as if it were one last project together, Ana and Marco decide to ‘consciously uncouple’, and begin to explore the surprising and sometimes wonderful world of the newly-single, with hilarious and unexpected consequences.

With three new release movies 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-

NEVER LOOK AWAY : Tuesday 25th June 2019.

'NEVER LOOK AWAY' which I saw this week is a 2018 German drama film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose previous works include the highly acclaimed 2006 Oscar and BAFTA winner 'The Lives of Others' and the three time Golden Globe nominated 2010 romantic thriller 'The Tourist' with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. 'Never Look Away' was nominated for a Golden Lion at the 75th Venice International Film Festival where it saw its World Premier screening in September last year, and for a Golden Globe by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. It was also nominated for two Academy Awards earlier this year in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography categories amongst its total haul of four award wins and another thirteen nominations from around the festival and awards circuit. With a running time of just over three hours, the film has been lauded by audiences and Critics alike with some stating that it is the best movie they have ever seen! The film saw its Australian release just last week.

And so to the story, which is based only partially on the early life of famed German artist Gerhard Richter (and without his authority or approval apparently), here portrayed as Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling as the adult Kurt) whom we are first introduced to at the tender age of six (with Cai Cohrs as the young Kurt). As a young lad in Nazi era Germany, Kurt visits the travelling exhibition titled 'Entartete Kunst' ('Degenerate Art') in Dresden with his attractive and at times eccentric young aunt Elisabeth (Saskia Rosendhal). During the guided tour of the exhibition Kurt is especially taken in by the sculpture 'Girl with Blue Hair', by Eugen Hoffmann. When they get home, Kurt sees Elisabeth playing the piano in the nude and tells the young boy to 'never look away' because 'everything that is true holds beauty in it'. This advice will resonate with him for the rest of his life, even when his aunt is 'euthanised' by the Nazis because she is suspected of being a low level schizophrenic, and therefore not worthy to exist when more needy healthier patients are in need of medical treatment and valuable hospital bed space.

The doctor who orders her forced sterilisation in the first instance and then promptly signs her death warrant to a concentration camp is gynaecology Professor Carl Seeband (Sebastian Koch), the Director of the Dresden Women's Clinic and considered the country's foremost expert in women's health, and also a high-ranking member of the SS medical corps. Following the war with Dresden almost completely bombed out, Seeband is arrested by the Russians and placed in a prison camp for his crimes in systematically wiping out so many innocents. While there, he volunteers to help a Russian officer's very distressed wife during a complicated birth and ultimately saves the child's life. The grateful Russian officer, Major Murawjow (Evgeniy Sidikhin) protects Seeband affording him a new set of clothes, his own personal sleeping quarters and effectively releases him under supervision, destroying the records of his crimes against humanity.

As the years progress, Kurt enrols at the Dresden Art School. There he meets and falls in love with a young fashion design student Elizabeth 'Ellie' Seeband (Paula Beer) who bears a not too dissimilar resemblance to his aunt and shares similar personality traits. In order to safeguard Ellie's reputation after sleeping with her for the first time, he escapes through her bedroom window when her mother and father return home unexpectedly late one evening. Kurt is caught stark naked clambering down a tree outside Ellie's bedroom by her mother Martha (Ina Weisse), who does not disclose their activity to her father knowing that he would disapprove in an instant. What Kurt does not know is that Ellie is the daughter of the same Nazi doctor who sanctioned his aunt's murder all those years ago.

Kurt continues with his art studies, but is forced to undertake paintings that depict socialist realism, a notion and field of his chosen art form that he cannot reconcile with. Even though he excels at it, he knows that he can never find his own true voice through this kind of art. Eventually, his growing relationship with Ellie means that Kurt must meet with her father. Carl Seeband has left his Nazi past behind him and now treads the socialist path of East Germany. Seeband does not approve of his daughter's relationship with Kurt, whom he regards as being genetically inferior and a no hope painter. He goes to great lengths in his attempts to destroy the relationship, to the point where he conducts an at home abortion on his daughter when she announces that she is three months pregnant with Kurt's child, and in the process sabotages her womb to keep her 'pure' and to prevent her from ever bearing children again. Despite her fathers best efforts, Kurt and Elizabeth's love grows ever stronger and eventually the two get married.

When the Russian KGB officer who protected him is transferred back to Moscow, Carl Seeband, fearing capture and prosecution, flees East Germany for West Germany with his wife Martha. Sometime thereafter, Kurt and Elizabeth also flee to West Germany with nothing but their clothes on their backs and what they can carry in their pockets. Still unsure of what kind of art he wants to make, he does know however, that socialist realism is not it.

Kurt by now is fast approaching his thirtieth birthday and as such he has to lie about his age to be admitted to the famous Dusseldorf Art Academy where the ceiling for admittance is 26. Here he can study and practice his art much more freely than in socialist East Germany. His teacher, Professor Antonius van Verten (Oliver Masucci) signs off on his admittance papers and grants Kurt his own studio within the Academy. He also recognises Kurt's deep personal life experiences, but also sees that he is struggling to find his own artistic voice, having been trained only in figurative painting, a medium considered outdated by the standards of the Academy and the more liberal and free thinking west.

One evening after a disjointed private dinner in a restaurant with Carl, Kurt comes across a newspaper article about a captured Nazi doctor, Werner Blaschke (Hinnerk Schonemann) Seeband's former SS boss. From this he come to realise his artistic awakening. He starts using his figurative painting skills to copy black-and-white photographs onto canvas, starting off with the newspaper photograph of Blaschke, adding a mysterious smoke like blur to achieve a more believable image. He also paints Seeband's passport photographs, and photographs of his aunt from his own family album.

Late one afternoon, Carl arrives unannounced at Kurt's studio and sees a collage painting of Kurt's aunt Elisabeth, the Nazi-doctor Blaschke and himself. He flees hurriedly, distraught, not being able to grasp how his despised son-in-law was able to discover his greatest secret. However, Kurt may not have understood what he was painting or the hidden significance in his art, at least not on a conscious level. He does realise however, that when you are true to your artistic talents, you can attain a truth that perhaps your intellect could never hope to reach.

After resigning themselves to the fact that they will never have children, Elisabeth falls pregnant and is beyond the three month danger zone. Kurt celebrates the moment she told him by painting her nude and getting her to pose for the camera on an internal staircase of the deserted Academy one Sunday. Kurt gets his first public art show where his photo realistic paintings impress the critics even though they misunderstand and misinterpret it. But, he has finally found his artistic voice, and that's what really counts.

Despite its three hours+ running time, 'Never Look Away' never drags, or skips a beat, instead captivating the interest and holding the attention for the duration. von Donnersmarck here has crafted a story spanning four decades of pre-WWII Germany, the bombing and near flattening of Dresden, the Nazi SS euthanasia campaign, the rise of Communism and the repression in East Germany, through to the free thinking and liberal lifestyle of West Germany in the 1960's, and all largely seen through the eyes of a struggling young artist trying to come to terms with the purpose behind his chosen art form. The performances especially from Tom Schilling and Sebastian Koch are top rate and when they occupy the screen either together or separately, the result is compelling. The cinematography is also top notch, the musical accompaniment isn't half bad either and the remainder of the cast also pull their weight to all add up to the complete package that is compulsive viewing for a film that intertwines war, love, loss, art, history, freedom and hope for new beginnings, and it doesn't disappoint on any of these fronts. Catch it on the big screen while you can - you'll be glad you did.

'Never Look Away' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, out of a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 27th June 2019.

Nestled neatly between the Sydney International Film Festival which wrapped up on 16th June, and the Melbourne International Film Festival which runs from 1st August through until 18th August, the 23rd Revelation Perth International Film Festival this year runs from 4th July through until 17th July. The official website reads 'Revelation commenced its formal life in 1997 and was designed to showcase ideas 'at point' in contemporary independent film and find a place for them in a conservative cinema and social environment. Today, the event includes over 120 international films presented at cinemas, galleries, cafes and bars across Perth. It attracts 12,000 patrons and 50 national and international guests over 13 days. It sees over 500 films submitted for selection from local and international filmmakers and features world and Australian premiere films of all genres. It has a particularly strong representation in experimental and documentary films. Revelation maintains its focus on signature driven works and embraces audiences of all ages, tastes and backgrounds. Like the films it presents, the event maintains a vitality and enthusiasm for the industry quite unlike any other film festival in the country'.

The opening night film is the Thomas Vinterberg Directed 'Kursk' based on the true story of the sinking of the Kursk submarine during Russian naval exercises in August 2000. After a catastrophic explosion on board, the vessel rapidly sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea where it lay awaiting rescue. The film stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Max von Sydow, Michael Nyqvist and Lea Seydoux.

Among the other 26 feature films being showcased during the festival, you may want to watch out for :-
* 'All the Gods in the Sky' - from France, Directed by Quarxx and starring Jean-Luc Couchard and Melanie Gaydos. Australian Premier.
* 'A Knight's Tour' - from the USA, Directed by Marvin Choi and starring Joseph Price and Darnell Powell. Australian Premier.
* 'Chained for Life' - from the USA, Directed by Aaron Schimberg and starring Jess Weixler and Adam Pearson. Australian Premier.



* 'Dragged Across Concrete' - from the USA, Directed by S. Craig Zahler and starring Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn.
* 'Happy New Year, Colin Bursted' - from the UK, Directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Neil Maskell, Bill Paterson, Richard Glover, Sam Riley, Charles Dance and
Hayley Squires.
* 'Hot Mess' - from Australia, Directed by Lucy Coleman and starring Sarah Gaul and Marshall Campbell. Australian Premier.
* 'Locusts' - from Australia, Directed by Heath Davis and starring Ben Guerens, Jessica McNamee, Nathaniel Dead, and Justin Rosniak.
* 'Monos' - a Co-Production from Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, Holland and Sweden, Directed by Alejandro Landes and starring Julianne Nicholson and Moises Arias.
* 'Savage Youth' - from the USA, Directed by Michael Curtis Johnson and starring Grace Victoria Cox, Chloe Levine, Sasha Feldman and Mitchell Edwards. Australian Premier.
* 'Sheeple' - from Iran, Directed by Houman Seyyedi and starring Navis Mohammadzadeh, Farhad Aslani and Marjan Ettefaghian.
* 'The Juniper Tree' - from Iceland, this seldom seen and newly restored 1990 film is Directed by Nietzscka Keene and stars Bjork. Australian Premier.
* 'The Wedding Guest' - from the UK, Directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Dev Patel and Radhika Apte.
* 'The Wind' - from the USA, Directed by Emma Tammi and starring Caitlin Gerard, Ashley Zukerman, Julia Goldani Telles and Dylan McTee.
* 'Tumbbad' - from India and Sweden and Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi and Adesh Prasad and starring Sohum Shah and Mohammad Samad. Australian Premier.
* 'Zoo' - a Co-Production from Denmark and Sweden, Directed by Antonio Tublen and starring Zoe Tapper and Ed Speelers. Australian Premier.

For all the latest details concerning these feature films and the others, plus the documentaries and short films being screened over the duration of the festival, you can visit the official website at : https://www.revelationfilmfest.org/

Turning attention to the imminent release of this weeks three new movies coming to your local Odeon, we launch with a highly acclaimed South Korean Director bringing us this tale of two families on completely opposite sides of the wealth spectrum who by chance are thrown together and come to be dependant on each other, but ultimately with disastrous consequences. We then have a change of pace with this feel good fantasy musical comedy about the Fab Four who no one ever knew existed except one struggling musician who uses their material to carve out a successful career for himself, but at what cost ultimately? And wrapping up the week we have the third instalment in a hugely successful supernatural horror franchise that sees a demonic possessed doll run amok with other evil spirits lurking in the household of their supposed captors.

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.

'PARASITE' (Rated MA15+) - fresh of his success with competition wins at both the Cannes Film Festival and the recent Sydney Film Festival, acclaimed South Korean Director and Screenwriter Bong Joon-ho here follows up his previous films that include 2006's 'The Host', 2013's 'Snowpiercer' and 2017's 'Okja'. The dark comedy film was made for about US$12M, was released after its World Premier screening at Cannes in mid-May, in its native South Korea at the end of May, gets its release in Australia this week, and not in the USA until early October. The film has garnered largely universal critical praise. Made for about US$12M the film has so far grossed US$68M.

Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), is an unemployed driver, who lives with his wife Choong Sook (Jang Hye-jin) and two college age children in a downtrodden basement apartment. The family are all unemployed and together they struggle to make ends meet by folding pizza boxes to earn a meagre living and survive from one day to the next. One day, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), the son, is socialising with a friend who is employed as an English tutor for the daughter of a rich family. He is leaving to study abroad and suggests that Ki-woo should take his place. Ki-woo is subsequently interviewed at the extremely luxurious and spacious mansion of the Park family. He gets the job and as he’s leaving the house observes the paintings of the young son of the family. Noticing that his artistic prowess should be nurtured, he suggests that the family employ his sister Ki-jeong (Park So-Dam) as an art tutor, lying about her qualifications and his family connection. In the fullness of time, both Dad and Mum also manage to infiltrate their way into the employ of the Park household. And so within a short period of time the whole Kim family are employed by the Park family who remain completely oblivious to their family connection. However, it's only a question of time before greed and class discrimination drive a wedge between the two families with earth shattering consequences.

'YESTERDAY' (Rated M) - here this musical fantasy comedy is Directed by Danny Boyle (of 'Trainspotting', 'The Beach', 'Slumdog Millionaire', '127 Hours', '28 Days Later' and 'Sunshine' fame amongst others), and is written by Richard Curtis (he of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', 'Notting Hill', 'Love Actually', 'The Boat That Rocked', 'War Horse' and 'About Time' fame also amongst others). Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer-songwriter from Clacton in Essex located in eastern England, whose dreams of musical fame and fortune are rapidly in decline, despite the unwavering devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James). Following a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up in another world, where The Beatles have never existed. And so Jack begins performing those songs by a band that no one has ever heard of before, and as his popularity rises his hard as nails American agent, Debra (Kate McKinnon) helps to propel him to stardom. However, as his star rises, he risks losing Ellie — the one person who always believed in him. Also starring Ed Sheeran and James Corden as themselves, the film has so far received mixed or average feedback from Critics.

'ANNABELLE COMES HOME' (Rated M) - this supernatural horror film is the third instalment in the 'Annabelle' franchise and the seventh offering in 'The Conjuring Universe' series. A direct sequel to 2014's 'Annabelle'  and 2017's 'Annabelle : Creation' about a possessed demonic rampaging doll, called, believe it or not, Annabelle. Directed by Gary Dauberman in his film making debut and written for the screen (as were the previous two) and based on a story by him and James Wan, these first two films grossed a combined US$564M at the worldwide Box Office off the back of a meagre US$22M budget investment making the continuation of the saga a no brainer. Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking even more mayhem, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively and crossing over from 'The Conjuring' series and 'The Nun') bring the possessed doll to the behind locked doors artifacts room in their home, placing her 'safely' behind sacred glass and enlisting Father Gordon's (Steve Coulter) holy blessing. But an unholy night of terror beckons as Annabelle wakes the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target - the Warren's ten-year-old daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace), her friends and their young babysitters (Madison Iseman and Katie Sarife). The film is released in the US this week also.

With three new release movies 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-

MEN IN BLACK : INTERNATIONAL - Tuesday 18th June 2019.

'MEN IN BLACK : INTERNATIONAL' which I saw earlier in the week is the fourth film in the ever popular science fiction action comedy franchise and is Directed by F. Gary Gray whose previous Directorial outings take in the likes of 'The Negotiator', 'The Italian Job', 'Be Cool', 'Law Abiding Citizen', 'Straight Outta Compton' and 'The Fate of the Furious'. The first three films in the series were Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, in 1997, 2002 and 2012, grossed collectively approaching US$1.7B on the back of combined production budgets of US$495M and starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as our alien crime fighting duo Agent J and Agent K respectively. This instalment is a sort of sequel, sort of spin-off that cost around about US$100M, was released Stateside last week too, has so far recovered US$113M in Box Office receipts and has garnered generally lacklustre critical Reviews so far.

Back in the mid-'90's and young Molly Wright sees her parents being neuralysed by a couple of Men in Black Agents who are on the hunt for a pesky up to no good alien, that Molly helps escape. Molly herself escapes being neuralysed by averting her eyes from her bedroom window up above the street where her parents are talking to the Agents. Fast forward some twenty years and Molly (Tessa Thompson) is unsuccessful in her attempts to join the FBI and the CIA on the basis of her wild conclusions that alien life forms live among us, and she really wants to help combat them having made it her life goal to do so.

Molly is able to track down a crashed alien space craft and follows the MiB vehicles with captured alien in custody, back to their secret headquarters. She successfully manages to infiltrate the HQ but is captured by the hi-tech security scanning devices and is subsequently questioned by Agent O (Emma Thompson) upon whom Molly makes a sufficient enough impression to be granted probationary agent status as Agent M, and is instantly assigned to the London branch of the MiB. Once there she is quickly introduced to High T (Liam Neeson) who heads up the UK Division.

There Agent M is assigned to Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) the most highly regarded Agent working out of the London Office who saved the world back in 2016 with High T atop the Eiffel Tower when they prevented 'The Hive' from gaining access through a wormhole there with potentially catastrophic consequences for our planet.

Later that evening both Agents meet up with Vungus the Ugly (Kayvan Novak) in night club. Vungus is a member of an alien Royal Family who is a long term good friend of H. Upon leaving, Vungus' car is attacked by alien twins ('Les Twins' aka Larry and Laurent Bourgeois) who are able to harness the power of pure energy making them almost indestructible. Vungus is seriously wounded, but on this occasion the twins are thwarted (but only temporarily) by the might of the high tech weaponry readily available to our pair of protagonists from their vehicle.

Moments before dying Vungus passes a multi-dimensional purple coloured crystal on to M, claiming that he cannot trust H with it as he has changed since they last met some years ago. In a debrief meeting in High T's office Agent C (Rafe Spall) openly shows his contempt for H's actions. M however, has concluded that only a handful of people knew Vungus' location when he was attacked, which leads her to believe that Vungus' location was betrayed by one of their own agents. Reeling at the impact of a traitor within the MiB ranks, High T assigns C and M to conduct an investigation while H is assigned to driving his desk. Further investigations seem to determine that the twins may have had DNA traces of the Hive, a parasitic race who invade other planets by merging with the DNA of the conquered species. M learns that H and High T were responsible for driving off a Hive invasion in Paris in 2016, but since then H's attitude has gone downhill, showing a slack approach to his work and seemingly only holding on to his job because of his relationship with High T and his past track record.

H convinces M to join him in chasing up a lead in Marrakesh, where they come across 'Pawny' (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani), the sole survivor of a small group of aliens who were attacked by the Twins. Pawny pledges his loyalty to M, as his new Queen, but they are then attacked by MiB agents coordinated by C, who has recovered CCTV footage of Vungus handing the crystal to M, and as a result now believes that she is the traitor in their midst.

Helped by one of his alien contacts, H is able to acquire a rocket-powered hover bike and escape with M and Pawny. Successfully evading their marauding colleagues, they crash land on the dunes out in the desert, where they learn that the crystal Vungus gave M actually conceals an all powerful weapon generated by a compressed blue giant. As they repair the damaged bike, H's alien contact who had stowed away in a drink bottle, manages to steal the crystal and take it to Riza Stravos (Rebecca Fergusson), an alien arms merchant with whom H had a relationship in the past.

Having repaired the jet propelled hover bike, the gang of three travel by speed boat to Riza's island fortress where they attempt to infiltrate the base and recover the weapon, but are caught by Riza and her bodyguard. M gets caught in a fight with Riza while H gets beaten up in no uncertain terms by the alien bodyguard, but always somehow miraculously manages to get back up (just like Thor!) However, this bodyguard turns out to be the very same alien that M rescued as a child, and recognising each other, he returns the favour by allowing them to leave while he keeps Riza apprehended. While attempting to get off the island the three are attacked by the Twins once again, but they are killed by High T and a group of Agents freshly arrived on the scene.

And so case closed, or is it? Back at London MiB HQ at a celebratory party, both H and M have a moment of clarity and realise that the Twins' passing comments could mean that they wanted the weapon to use against the Hive rather than to use it for them. This resonated especially when the only evidence of Hive DNA was provided by High T. Agent C concedes that the evidence points to the notion of a deception by High T, and so permits H and M to follow High T to the Eiffel Tower. En route to the wormhole, M questions H's memory of his defeat of the Hive revealing that he was probably neuralysed, which is confirmed when they confront High T atop the Eiffel Tower. The Hive transformed High T into one of their own and neuralysed H so that he could be seen as the 'hero' and to mask their true intentions. The High T/Hive 'hybrid' manifests itself and is able to launch a wormhole that will draw the Hive to Earth. As H and the hybrid fight it out, H is able to draw out High T's true personality just long enough for M to use the weapon to destroy High T and the encroaching Hive infestation.

With the case now well and truly closed, Agent O joins H and M in Paris, where she grants M full agent status and appoints H as probationary Head of MiB's London branch until such time as a new head is found.

Aside from the fairly obvious chemistry that Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson share together on screen, and Hemsworth flexing his emerging comedic chops once again, there is little else going for this effects laden albeit pedestrian, play it safe, by the numbers fourth instalment in this flagging franchise. I honestly had expected more from 'Men in Black : International' but emerged from the theatre feeling totally underwhelmed by a film that relies all to heavily on its CGI set pieces, which have by now all become far to commonplace to create any point of difference here, at the expense of any real storyline, and what thinly veiled storyline there is you can see coming from ten miles away. This is predictable fluff that does nothing for the franchise other than seal its fate like the final nail in the coffin, and its disappointing to see fine acting talent like Hemsworth, Thompson, Thompson, Neeson and Spall succumb to the dredging that this film has so far garnered, despite the best intentions no doubt of F. Gary Gray. All style over substance.

'Men in Black : International' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, out of a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-