What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 13th October 2022.

The 60th annual New York Film Festival kicked off on Friday 30th September and runs through until Sunday 16th October. Since its launch in 1963 the New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema, featuring top films from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. Since its inaugural year the New York Film Festival has brought new and important cinematic works from around the world to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to the Main Slate official selections, the festival includes Currents, Spotlight, Revivals, and Talks.

Noah Baumbach's film 'White Noise' was selected to be the Opening Night Film of the festival, while Laura Poitras' documentary 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' was chosen to be NYFF's Centerpiece. Elegance Bratton's 'The Inspection', was selected to be the festival's Closing Film, while James Gray's 'Armageddon Time', was selected to be the festival's celebration movie to mark its 60th anniversary.

Among the Main Slate of films being showcased are the following titles :-

* 'Aftersun' - from the UK, Directed by Charlotte Wells and starring Paul Mescal and Francesca Corio as a divorced father and his daughter whose close bond is quietly shaken during a brooding weekend at a coastal resort in Turkey.

* 'Alcarras' - from Spain and Italy and Directed by Carla Simon about a rural family in present-day Catalonia whose way of life is rapidly changing. North American Premier.

* 'Corsage' - from Austria, Directed by Marie Kreutzer and starring Vicky Krieps as Empress Elizabeth of Austria, who begins to see her life of royal privilege as a prison as she reaches her fortieth birthday. US Premier.

* 'Decision to Leave' - from South Korea and Directed by Park Cahn-wook. A Busan detective is increasingly obsessed with a murder suspect in a puzzling new case - that of a middle-aged businessman who has mysteriously fallen to his death and his wife might be to blame.

* 'Enys Men' - from the UK and Directed by Mark Jenkin about an isolated middle-aged woman who spends her days conducting an environmental study on an uninhabited, windswept, rocky island off the coast of Cornwall in southwest England, yet she’s also increasingly haunted by her own nightmarish visitations. US Premier.

* 'EO' - from Poland and Italy and Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film floows the travels of a peripatetic donkey named EO who begins as a circus performer before escaping on a pastoral trek across the Polish and Italian countryside. US Premier.

* 'The Eternal Daughter' - from the UK and US and Directed by Joanna Hogg and starring Tilda Swinton as a middle-aged filmmaker, who together with her elderly mother take an eerie, emotional trip to the past when they stay at a fog-enshrouded hotel in the English countryside.

* 'Master Gardener' - from the US and Directed by Paul Schrader about dormant violence and the possibility of regeneration, surrounding on a horticulturist (Joel Edgerton) who works for the imperious owner (Sigourney Weaver) of a wealthy estate. North American Premier.

* 'No Bears' - from Iran and Directed by Jafar Panahi with the Director appearing as himself, relocated to a rural border town to remotely oversee the making of a new film in Turkey, the story of which comes to sharply parallel disturbing events that begin to occur around him. US Premier.

* 'One Fine Morning' - from France and Directed by Mia Hansen-Love and starring Lea Seydoux as a professional translator and single mother at a crossroads, torn between the romantic desire she feels for a married man and her obligation towards her sick father. 

* 'Pacifiction' - from France, Spain, Germany and Portugal and Directed by Albert Serra about a French bureaucrat drifting through a fateful trip to a French Polynesian island with increasing anxiety. US Premier.

* 'R.M.N.' - from Romania and France and Directed by Christian Mungiu in this portrait of a rural Transylvanian town riven by ethnic conflicts, economic resentment, and personal turmoil. US Premier.

* 'Return to Seoul' - from Cambodia, France, Germany, South Korea and Belgium and Directed by Davy Chou. A young French woman finds herself spontaneously tracking down the South Korean birth parents she has never met while on vacation in Seoul. US Premier.
* 'Saint Omer' - from France and Directed by Alice Diop. A successful journalist and author attends the trial of a young Senegalese woman, who has allegedly murdered her own baby daughter. US Premier.

* 'Showing Up' - from the US and Directed by Kelly Reichardt and starring Michelle Williams for this portrait of a sculptor’s daily work and frustrations in an artist’s enclave in Portland. North American Premier.

* 'Stars at Noon' - from France and Directed by Claire Denis about a dissolute young American journalist (Margaret Qualley) and an English businessman (Joe Alwyn) with ties to the oil industry, who meet by chance while on different, mysterious assignments in modern-day Nicaragua and tumble into a whirlwind romance. North American Premier.

* 'Stonewalling' - from Japan and Directed by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka. A young flight-attendant-in-training’s plans to finish college are thrown into doubt when she discovers she’s pregnant. Not wanting an abortion, she hopes to give the child away after carrying it to term, while staying afloat amidst a series of dead-end jobs. US Premier.
* 'TAR' - from the US and Directed by Todd Field with Cate Blanchett as the fictional character Lydia Tar, and one of the greatest living composer/conductors, and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra and her gradual unravelling.

* 'Triangle of Sadness' - from Sweden, France, UK, Turkey and Germany and Directed by Ruben Ostlund, this film follows two hot young models (Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean) who rub elbows with the super-rich on a luxury cruise gone very wrong, with Woody Harrelson as the Captain of the ship. 

* 'Unrest' - from Switzerland and Directed by Cyril Schaublin sees an anarchist and socialist philosopher who experiences a quiet revolution in the hushed environs of the Swiss watchmaking town of Saint-Imier in the 1870's. US Premier.

* 'Walk Up' - from South Korea and Directed by Hong Sang-soo. Here, a successful middle-aged filmmaker drops by to visit an old friend, the owner of a charming apartment building, only to find his life taking a series of unexpected turns. US Premier.

For the other strands being screened : Spotlight - NYFF’s showcase of the season’s most anticipated and significant films; Currents - complementing the Main Slate, tracing a more complete picture of contemporary cinema with an emphasis on new and innovative forms and voices; and Revivals - showcasing important works from renowned filmmakers that have been digitally remastered, restored, and preserved, you can go to the official website at : https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2022/

Turning back to this weeks new release movies, of which there are nine, which hail from Germany, the US, New Zealand, France, Denmark and South Korea, there is sure to be something for everyone amongst this weeks mammoth haul of latest offerings. Kicking off, we have a young German soldier's terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I. Next up the saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode comes to a spine-chilling climax in this final instalment of the franchise . . . or is it? This is followed by a girl with unusual powers who escapes from a mental asylum and tries to make it on her own in New Orleans. Then we turn to a New Zealand offering of a Police Sergeant who is forced to choose between his job and his people when the government pulls off an armed raid in his community. Next we have a Danish film about a couple who sacrifice everything to get a coveted Michelin star for their popular restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. Following on is a French film about a Crime Squad investigating a murder victim's complex life and relations, but what starts as professional soon turns into an obsession for the Captain of Police. Then there is a South Korean movie that follows dangerous criminals on a cargo ship who are transported from the Philippines to South Korea, as they unleash a sinister force after an escape attempt leads to a riot; and the second of our French entries this week sees a hopeless romantic finds his life in danger when he falls in love with a beautiful mermaid. And closing out the week, we have a story of a young man's comfortable world that is turned upside down when his birthmother unexpectedly reaches out to him, longing to meet the 18-year-old son she's only held once.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the nine latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT' (Rated MA15+) - is a German anti-war film based on the 1929 novel of the same name written by Erich Maria Remarque. This is the third screen adaptation of the acclaimed novel - the first being the 1930 film which won two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director (Lewis Milestone), and the second a 1979 made for TV movie which won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Made for Television and also picked up one Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Film Editing plus a further six nominations. This 2022 version saw its World Premier screening at last months Toronto International Film Festival, is set for its release on Netflix from the 28th of October and is Directed by Edward Berger whose prior big screen offerings include 'Jack' in 2014 and 'All My Loving' in 2019. 

It is 1917. Wartime in Germany. Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer) lies about his age so that he can enlist together with his friends, all of them very young men filled with romanticised patriotic notions of soldiers going off to win the war. The reality of war almost immediately dismantles their euphoria and very quickly Paul is thrown into a trench, with little equipment, minimal training, and the swiftly repaired uniform of another soldier on his back. Paul and his fellow comrades soon experience first hand how the initial exuberance of war transcends into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches of the Western Front. Also starring Daniel Bruhl, the film has so far garnered generally favourable Reviews. 

'HALLOWEEN ENDS' (Rated MA15+) - this American slasher horror film is Directed and Co-Written by David Gordon Green and is a sequel to the 2021 film 'Halloween Kills', is the thirteenth instalment in the 'Halloween' film franchise, and the final film in the 'H40' trilogy that commenced with the 2018 film 'Halloween' and which serves as a continuation of the original 1978 film's storyline disregarding all the other screen offerings that came in between up to 2018. The 2018 and 2021 films generated a combined worldwide Box Office haul of US$387M off the back of a total US$30M production budget, making this final instalment a no brainer. Four years after her last encounter with masked killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle), Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is living with her granddaughter Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak) and trying to complete her memoir. Myers hasn't been seen since, and Laurie finally decides to liberate herself from rage and fear and embrace life. However, when a young man stands accused of murdering a boy that he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that forces Laurie to confront the evil she can't control. 

'MONA LISA AND THE BLOOD MOON' (Rated MA15+) - is an American fantasy thriller film Written and Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour whose previous two feature film outings are 'A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night' in 2014 and 'The Bad Batch' in 2016. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival back in September 2021 and was released in the US at the end of September this year having garnered generally favourable Reviews. When a struggling single-mother Bonnie (Kate Hudson) befriends a mysterious mental institute escapee, Mona Lisa Lee (Jeon Jong-seo), with supernatural powers, she sees a lucrative opportunity to make some fast cash. But when they draw the attention of a detective Officer Harold (Craig Robinson), their luck starts to run out as the cops close in on their crime-spree. Also starring Ed Skrein. 

'MURU' (Rated MA15+) - this New Zealand action drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Tearapa Kahi in only his second feature film offering following his 2013 drama 'Mt. Zion'. The film was released as the Opening Night film of the New Zealand International Film Festival at the end of July this year, and now is released in Australia having received positive Reviews so far. Inspired by actual events, this film is the story of a local Police Sergeant 'Taffy' Tawharau (Cliff Curtis), who must choose between his badge and his people, when the Government launches an armed raid through his Ruatoki community, on a school day in 2007. Also starring Jay Ryan, Manu Bennett and Simone Kessell. 

'A TASTE OF HUNGER' (Rated M) - this Danish culinary drama romance film is Co-Written and Directed by Christoffer Boe whose previous feature film credits take in his 2003 debut with 'Reconstruction' then 'Allegro' in 2005, 'Offscreen' in 2006, 'Everything Will Be Fine' in 2010, 'Sex, Drugs & Taxation' in 2013 and 'Journal 64' in 2018. Here then, a power couple within the Danish gourmet scene, Carsten (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Maggie (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal) run the popular restaurant Malus in Copenhagen. The couple is willing to sacrifice everything to achieve their dream - gaining a coveted Michelin star. The film has garnered generally positive Reviews.

'THE NIGHT OF THE 12TH' (Rated M) - is a French and Belgian Co-Production Co-Written and Directed by Dominik Moll whose prior feature films include the multi-award winning and nominated 'Harry, He's Here to Help' in 2000, 'Lemming' in 2005, 'The Monk' in 2011 and 'Only the Animals' in 2019. In the corridors of the criminal police, it is said that all the investigators have a crime that haunts them. It starts spinning in their heads to the point of obsession, but they don't always know why. Young and ambitious Captain Vivss (Bastien Bouillon) has just been appointed group leader at the Grenoble Criminal Squad when Clara’s murder case lands on his desk. Vives and his team investigate Clara’s (Lulu Cotton-Frapier) complex life and relations, but what starts as a professional and methodical immersion into the victim’s life soon turns into a haunting obsession. One interrogation follows another and the list of suspects continues to grow. Only one thing is certain, however … the crime occurred on the night of the 12th. The film saw its World Premier screening at this years Cannes Film Festival back in May and has generated positive press. 

'PROJECT WOLF HUNTING' (Rated R18+) - this South Korean Sci-Fi action thriller is Written and Directed by Kim Hong-sun whose prior big screen Directing offerings include his 2012 debut with 'Traffickers', then 'The Con Artists' in 2014, 'The Chase' in 2017 and 'Byeonshin' in 2019. During what would normally be described as a routine prisoner transport voyage by cargo ship covering the 1630 miles from Manilla in the Philippines to Busan in South Korea, a group of dangerous criminals unites to stage a coordinated escape attempt. As the jailbreak escalates into a bloody, all-out riot, the fugitives and their allies from the outside exact a brutal terror campaign against the special agents onboard the ship. The film cost US$8.5M to produce and has so far recouped about US$3M following its local South Korean release on 21st September and its US release last week and has generated largely positive Reviews.

'A MERMAID IN PARIS' (Rated M) - is a French fantasy romantic comedy film Co-Written and Directed by Mathias Malzieu in only his second Directorial outing following the animated feature 'Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart' in 2013. Gaspard (Nicolas Duvauchelle), a man who has gone through many relationship breakups in the past, believes he has no more love to give. One day, he crosses paths with an injured mermaid, Lula (Marilyn Lima), by the Seine in Paris and takes her home to heal in his bathtub, but learns that any man who falls in love with her dies. Initially immune to her endearing charm, Gaspard slowly falls in love with Lula, who also truly falls for him. Also starring Tcheky Karyo and Rossy de Palma. The film was released in its native France way back in mid-March 2020 and only now does it get a limited release in Australia have taken so far just US$631K at the Box Office. The film has attracted generally positive Reviews.

'LIFEMARK' (Rated PG) - is an American Christian drama film Co-Written, Directed and Edited by Kevin Peeples in only his second feature film outing following 'Like Arrows' in 2018 although he has Directed three Documentaries between 2013 and 2016. As a pregnant teenager in 1993, Melissa (Marisa Hampton) is preparing for an abortion to end her unwanted pregnancy, when at the very last minute "She told the doctor, 'I can’t do this.'" Instead, she chooses to deliver her son and place him for adoption, where he is adopted by Jimmy and Susan Colton (Kirk Cameron and Rebecca Rogers Nelson respectively) of Louisiana. Eighteen years later, Melissa (Dawn Long) reaches out to David (Raphael Ruggero) through the adoption agency, leading to their connection on social media and ultimately meeting face-to-face. The film was released in the US in early September, has so far grossed US$5M and has received mixed Reviews. 

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

FALL : Tuesday 27th September 2022

I saw the M Rated 'FALL' at my local multiplex last week and this US and UK Co-Produced survival thriller film is Co-Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Scott Mann whose prior feature film making credits include his 2005 debut with 'Down Amongst the Dead Men', 'The Tournament' in 2009 with Robert Carlyle, Ving Rhames and Liam Cunningham, then 'Heist' in 2015 with Robert De Niro, Dave Bautista and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and 'Final Score' in 2018 with Dave Bautista, Pierce Brosnan and Ray Stevenson. This film was released in the US in mid-August, here is Australia on 22nd September has so far taken US$15M off the back of a production budget of US$3M and has garnered generally positive critical acclaim. 

The film opens up with three climbers ascending a sheer rock wall - two aided by ropes and harness - Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and her husband Dan (Mason Gooding) and the other free climbing Hunter (Virginia Gardner), who is also Becky's best friend. As Dan attempts to secure a clamp into a small cavity in the rock face a bat flies out and distracts him, causing him to fall. Still secured by the clamp he is left dangling some fifty feet below and his attempts to swing towards the rock to gain purchase prove fruitless and only serve to dislodge the clamp. As Becky and Hunter try to rescue him the clamp dislodges completely and Dan falls to his death. 

Fast track to fifty-one weeks later and Becky has sought solace in alcohol while distancing herself from her father, James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), because he dared to suggested that Dan was not the good guy that Becky had made him out to be. James pleads with her to move on with her life, after catching her drunk outside a bar and trying to drive herself home. Becky refuses his pleas and shouts after him to leave her alone. She later contemplates suicide by overdosing on prescription medication washed down with a good dose of whisky. However, she is interrupted by a knock on the door and Hunter standing outside her home. Hunter invites her to climb the 2,000 feet tall B67 TV tower in the desert which is located about a six hour drive away from where they are. Becky is very reluctant but changes her mind the next morning,  and decides to go along so she can finally move on from Dan's death and scatter his ashes from the top of the tower. Arriving in the vicinity of the tower, while eating at a diner the night before the climb, they learn it was decommissioned years ago, and is set to be pulled down the next year.

The next morning, the girls reach the tower and Becky gets cold feet, but Hunter persuades her to climb it anyway and to stop living in fear. About halfway up, Becky suffers a panic attack and again tries to turn back, but Hunter tells her to keep going. The first 1,800 feet are climbed inside the triangular shaped tower but the last 200 feet must be climbed on an exterior ladder, which is corroded and loose. After almost reaching the top, Hunter jokingly shakes the ladder, causing Becky to freak. Unbeknownst to them, that shaking has resulted in several restraining bolts securing the ladder to the main frame of the tower are shaken loose. At the top, the girls celebrate their big achievement, with Becky proud of herself for accomplishing the climb in spite of her fears. Becky says a few loving words in memory of her Dan and scatters his ashes from the top of the tower, finally letting him go. 

As they begin their climb back down, however, the ladder collapses, nearly killing Becky in the process. Hunter manages to pull Becky up with the rope, and the girls are excited to still be alive, until it dawns on them that the remaining ladder is on the cage structure hundreds of feet below the narrow platform on which they now perch. With only fifty feet of rope and no way of reaching the first platform, the two girls are stranded at the top. Worse yet, their bag with their water has fallen on a communications dish about sixty feet below the platform they are stranded on. Hunter is ever confident that emergency services will have heard the crash of the ladder on the ground and are on their way, but after five hours or so, they conclude that no help is coming. The girls both have mobile phones with them, but don't have reception to be able to call for help. They try to lower the phone on the rope about fifty feet down but are still unable to get a signal. There is a flare gun in an emergency compartment with a pair of binoculars, but they do not want to use the flare until it gets dark. Becky notices a deep gash on her upper leg from where she fell when the ladder first broke away, and vultures, smelling her blood, begin to circle around the tower. Hunter realises that they had service at the base of the tower, so they send a message for help and drop it off the tower in one of Hunter's shoes, but due to the height of the tower and insufficient padding in the shoe, the mobile phone is smashed to pieces on impact with the ground.

Becky and Hunter observe through the binoculars that there is a campervan close by with two men. They wait until it gets dark and fire off the flare. The men notice them, but they steal Hunter's 4WD instead of helping them. Night falls and Becky notices a tattoo on Hunter's ankle she had not seen before. The tattoo is a numerical code, 1-4-3 that Dan used to tell Becky 'I Love You'. Hunter regretfully admits to a four-month affair with Dan that he drunkenly initiated and carried on right up until their wedding day, when Hunter broke it off. Hunter claims that this is why she distanced herself from Becky after Dan's death, and her remorse for this is why she wanted to bring Becky up the tower. The next day, Hunter offers to climb down and get the water before they die of thirst. Hunter is unable to reach it, though, as the rope is not long enough to reach the satellite dish. Hunter attempts a risky jump and manages to reach it, and has to jump to get back up on the platform. 

Hunter encourages Becky to use the drone to carry a written message for help to the diner a few miles away, but the drone's battery is failing rapidly and so they retrieve it. Hunter suggests to Becky to climb to the top of the antenna to siphon power from the aircraft warning light, a further thirty feet up. This she does and is clinging on for dear life at the very pinnacle of the tower for about a hour while the battery charges to full capacity. 

After successfully charging up the drone, she sends it on its way with a handwritten note attached, but it is hit by a truck about thirty seconds before it reached the diner. Becky confides to Hunter that she has accepted that she will likely die on the tower. Hunter reveals to Becky that she has been dead since she climbed to get the bag, having fallen on the satellite dish and bled out from a wound to the side of her head and to her stomach with vultures pecking away at her corpse. Becky, unwilling to be alone and delirious from the lack of food and water, hallucinated Hunter's presence on the tower with her for the last day or so. Becky records a video on her phone for James, saying how sorry she is for her behaviour towards him and that he was right about everything. The next morning, Becky, unwilling to give up, coaxes a vulture towards her and kills it, eating morsels of its flesh to give her some sustenance. Having used both of her own shoes in a vain attempt to signal help from the campers, Becky observes that Hunter still has one shoe left on her corpse, albeit perched on the satellite dish some sixty feet below.

She makes one last ditch attempt at survival by climbing down and jumping across to the satellite dish in order to send a text message to her father for help. Becky lodges her phone in Hunter's shoe and then jams the shoe in to the stomach cavity that the vulture had been chowing down on, and then pushes her body off the tower so it can cushion the phone and receive a signal at ground level and send the message. Becky sits on the dish and waits for help, only for the dish to also start breaking away from its restraints. James, having made numerous attempts to contact his daughter, rushes to the tower and arrives later that night, with the tower surrounded by medical and rescue personnel he alerted earlier. When James finally arrives, he sees Hunter's corpse being wrapped in a body bag and thinks it is Becky's, causing him to recoil in shock. However, he sees that Becky is alive and well and in the care of paramedics, as the two tearfully reconcile and embrace.

'Fall' is a film that absolutely most definitely needs to be seen on a big cinema screen to fully appreciate the spectacle and vertigo inducing heights that these two girls and the occasional vulture ascend to. Director Scott Mann has demonstrated his worth in delivering us a film that has action, suspense, drama, tension, emotion and a clear head for heights with just two female leads that carry this film squarely on their shoulders for just about 99% of the 107 minute run time, with stunning cinematography, commendable stunt work and spot-on special effects and all on a budget of a mere US$3M. 'Fall' is a simple story, told effectively and if you're afraid of extreme heights (as I am), then this film will leave you with sweaty palms and holding your breath for perhaps longer than you should, before the final credits role and you can blissfully exhale. However, all that positivity said, I felt short changed by the rushed ending and the unanswered question of how did Becky get down from that rickety satellite dish 1,940 feet up??

'Fall' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

The Odeon Online Obituary : Remembering the screen celebrities who passed away in September 2022.

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 . . . . . Pauline Stroud, Just Jaeckin, David A. Arnold, Marsha Hunt, Gwyneth Powell, Mark Miller, Jack Ging, Harry Landis, Jack Charles, Jean-Luc Godard, Irene Papas, Henry Silva, Marva Hicks, John Hamblin, Louise Fletcher, Zack Estrin, Rita Gardner, Venetia Stevenson, Joan Hotchkis and Coolio.

* Pauline Stroud - born 21st March 1930, with her death being reported on 4th September 2022, aged 92. Stroud was a British Actress who notched up twenty-eight screen acting roles during her career which ran from 1951 until 1972 kicking off with her debut in the feature film 'Bikini Baby' (previously titled 'Lady Godiva Rides Again') in 1951 with Diana Dors and Dennis Price. From here, she would follow this up with other films including 'Her Three Bachelors' in 1953, 'Room 43' in 1958 with Diana Dors and Herbert Lom, 'Life in Emergency Ward 10' in 1959 with an uncredited role in 'The Heart of a Man' in 1959 with Frankie Vaughan and Anne Heywood being her last big screen appearance. There were other small screen roles taking in the likes of ten episodes of 'Skyport' in 1960, 'Harpers West One', 'Ghost Squad', '24-Hour Call', 'Mogul', 'The Beverly Hillbillies', 'New Scotland Yard' and 'Dead of Night' in 1972 being her final screen credit. She was under a five-year contract to make films from 1951 onwards but her fiance at the time wanted her to give up acting, and although she later broke off that engagement, she had already broken her film contract which harmed her future career prospects.

* Just Jaeckin - born 8th August 1940 and died 6th September 2022, aged 82. Jaeckin was a French Director, Writer and infrequent Actor who generated just eleven screen Directing credits to his name which kicked off with 'Emmanuelle' in 1974 and which launched the career of Sylvia Kristel. He would follow this up with 'The Story of O' in 1975, 'Madame Claude' in 1977, 'The Last Romantic Lover' in 1978, 'Girls' in 1980, 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' in 1981 with Sylvia Kristel again, and 'The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak' in 1984 being his last feature film outing. His final film credit came with a segment in the documentary film 'The King of Ads' in 1991 - a collection of European TV commercials Directed by a variety of well-known Directors from across Europe and the US. Jaeckin was also a successful photographer, with his pictures having appeared in such glossy fashion magazines as 'Vogue', 'Elle', and 'Harpers Bazaar'. When he retired from film making he concentrated his efforts on photography and sculpture. 

* David A. Arnold - born 15th March 1968 and died 5th September 2022, aged 54. Arnold was an American stand-up comedian, Writer, Producer, Director and Actor who accumulated twenty writing credits, seventeen as an Actor, ten as Producer and three as Director whose career began in the 1999 feature film 'Whiteboyz'. Following a couple of video movies his first turn at Directing, Writing, Producing and starring came along with the thirty minute short film 'Because My Stand-Up Is Not Enough!!' in 2004, which he would follow up with other films taking in 'Camden' in 2005, 'Something Like a Business' in 2010 with Kevin Hart and 'Bad Ass' in 2012 with Danny Trejo and Ron Perlman being his last feature film. In the meantime and since he also wrote and produced multiple episodes of 'Meet the Browns', 'House of Payne', 'The Rickey Smiley Show', 'Bigger', 'Fuller House', 'Side Hustle', and 'That Girl Lay Lay'. He also had two stand-up comedy specials on Netflix, 'David A. Arnold : Fat Ballerina' and 'It Ain't For The Weak'.

* Marsha Hunt - born Marcia Virginia Hunt on 17th October 1917 and died 7th September 2022, aged 104. Hunt was an American Actress, model and activist, who generated 116 screen acting credits throughout her eight decade spanning career which launched in 1935 in the feature film 'The Virginia Judge'. She would follow this over over the ensuing years in other features including 'The Arizona Raiders' in 1936 with Buster Crabbe, 'Born to the West' in 1937 with John Wayne, 'The Hardys Ride High' in 1939 with Mickey Rooney, 'Pride and Prejudice' in 1940 with Laurence Olivier, 'Unholy Partners' in 1941 with Edward G. Robinson, 'Pilot #5' in 1943 with Gene Kelly, 'The Valley of Decision' in 1945 with Gregory Peck, 'Bombers B-52' in 1957 with Karl Malden and Natalie Wood, 'Johnny Got His Gun' in 1971 with Donald Sutherland, with 'Chloe's Prayer' in 2006 being her final feature film appearance. In the meantime, there were also numerous TV movies, short films and TV series roles taking in fourteen episodes on 'Peck's Bad Girl', 'Laramie', 'The Americans', 'Gunsmoke', 'The Outer Limits', 'The Twilight Zone', 'Ironside', 'Police Story', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'Star Trek : The Next Generation' and the TV movie 'Empire State Building Murders' in 2008 being her final screen appearance. Nine days after her 30th birthday, HUAC (House Un-American Activities Commission) ordered her and 151 other Hollywood Actors, Directors, and Screenwriters to testify about 'Communist influences' in the movie industry. She, Dalton Trumbo, and seventeen others refused to participate. She was blacklisted at age 32 and had trouble finding film roles afterwards, although she did make the transition to television and theatre reasonably successfully. Following her blacklisting, she championed humanitarian causes, forging a new career as one of Hollywood's first celebrity activists. Hunt identified as a political liberal and was very concerned with such issues as global pollution, worldwide poverty, peace in Third World nations, and population growth.

* Gwyneth Powell - born 5th July 1946 and died 8th September 2022, aged 76. Powell was an English Actress of film and television who amassed fifty-four screen acting credits during her career which launched on a single episode of 'Rogue's Gallery' in 1969. Her first big screen role came in 1976 in 'Face of Darkness' followed by 'Loophole' in 1981 with Martin Sheen and Albert Finney, then 'A Kind of Hush' in 1999, 'Back to the Secret Garden' in 2000 with Joan Plowright, with 'Piccadilly Cowboy' in 2007, being her final film outing. In the years in between and since there have been many TV series and made for TV movies including eleven episodes on 'The Guardians', on six of 'Couples' and six of 'Emmerdale Farm', 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'Coronation Street', 'The Gentle Touch' and then on 169 of perhaps her best remembered role as Headmistress Mrs. McClusky on 'Grange Hill' between 1980 and 1991. Then came the likes of 'A Touch of Frost', 'Peak Practice', 'Holby City', on eleven episodes of 'Echo Beach', 'Heartbeat', on ten of 'House of Anubis', on twenty-four of 'Man Down', 'Doctors' and 'Grace' as recently as this year.

* Mark Miller - born Claude Herbert Miller Jnr. on 20th November 1924 and died 9th September 2022 aged 97. Miller was an American Actor of stage, film and television and Writer, who amassed fifty-one screen acting roles and eleven writing credits throughout his career which kicked off on a single episode of the TV series 'The Inner Flame' in 1954. His first big screen role came in the English language Swedish film 'Blonde in Bondage' in 1957, followed by 'The Hook' in 1963 with Kirk Douglas, 'Youngblood Hawke' in 1964 with James Franciscus and Suzanne Pleshette, 'Ginger in the Morning' in 1974 with Sissy Spacek, 'Mr. Sycamore' in 1975 with Jason Robards and Jean Simmons, 'Dixie Dynamite' in 1976 with Warren Oates, 'Christmas Mountain' in 1981 with Slim Pickens and 'Savannah Smiles' in 1982 being his final feature film outing and for which he also wrote the screenplay. In the intervening years there were also roles on TV series taking in the likes of thirty-eight episodes on 'Guestward Ho!', 'The Twilight Zone', 'General Hospital', on fifty-eight episodes of 'Please Don't Eat the Daises', 'The Invaders', on thirteen of 'Bright Promise', 'The F.B.I.', 'Kung Fu', 'The Waltons', and on seventeen of 'The Days of Our Lives' being his last small screen appearance between 1975 and '76. Miller segued into writing TV scripts from 1966 and also co-wrote the screenplay for the Keanu Reeves 1995 RomCom 'A Walk in the Clouds'. In 2010, he authored the romantic comedy play 'Amorous Crossings' starring Loretta Swit, which had a four-week run at the Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida, performing to packed audiences. 

* Jack Ging - born 30th November 1931 and died 9th September 2022, aged 90. Ging was an American Actor who accumulated 111 screen acting credits throughout his career which spanned five decades and which kicked off on a single episode of the TV series 'The Rough Riders' in 1958. His first big screen role, albeit uncredited, came also in 1958 in 'Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!' with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Joan Collins. He would follow this up with other appearances in feature films including his debut credited role in 'Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow' in 1959, then 'Sniper's Ridge' in 1961, 'Intimacy' in 1966, 'Mosby's Marauders' in 1967 with Kurt Russell, 'Hang 'Em High' in 1968 with Clint Eastwood (although uncredited), 'Play Misty for Me' in 1971 for and with Clint Eastwood again, 'High Plains Drifter' in 1973 with and for Clint Eastwood once more, 'That Man Bolt' also in 1973 with Fred Williamson, 'Another Man, Another Chance' in 1977 with James Caan and Genevieve Bujold (again in an uncredited role) with 'Die, Sister Die' in 1978 being his final feature film role. In the meantime and the years since there have been numerous TV mini-series, made for TV movies, and series taking in the likes of 'Wanted : Dead or Alive', 'The Twilight Zone', on fourteen episodes of 'The Tales of Wells Fargo', 'Perry Mason', on fifty-nine episodes of 'The Eleventh Hour', 'Gunsmoke', 'Bonanza', 'Hawaii Five-O', 'The Virginian', 'Lassie', 'Mission : Impossible', 'The F.B.I.', 'The Magician', 'Mannix', 'The Six Million Dollar Man', 'The Bionic Woman', 'The Waltons', 'Kojak', 'Starsky and Hutch', 'Fantasy Island', 'Barnaby Jones', 'Hart to Hart', 'The Fall Guy', on thirty-one episodes of 'Riptide', on eight of 'The A-Team' and with his final screen role coming in 1994 on a single episode of 'Wings'. Aside from his acting career, Ging had a prosperous sideline in real estate and was known as an expert golfer and a one-time Clint Eastwood Celebrity Tennis tournament champion.

* Harry Landis - born 25th November 1931 and died 12th September 2022, aged 90. Landis was a British Actor of film and TV who amassed 112 screen acting roles throughout his seven decade spanning career, which kicked off on three episodes of 'The Prince and the Pauper' in 1955. His first feature film came the following year in 1956 with 'Hell in Korea' with Stephen Boyd, and he would follow this up with other films including 'Dunkirk' in 1958 with Richard Attenborough and John Mills, 'The Terrorists' in 1974 with Sean Connery and Ian McShane, 'Edge of Sanity' in 1989 with Anthony Perkins with 'Edge of Tomorrow' in 2014 with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt being his final film appearance. In the meantime, and since there were numerous TV series and mini-series taking in the likes of 'Oliver Twist', 'The Avengers', six episodes on 'The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling', 'The Saint', 'Z Cars', seven episodes on 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'A Woman of Substance', 'Bergerac', 'Jeeves and Wooster', 'Minder', 'Lovejoy', on fifty-three episodes of 'EastEnders', 'The Bill', 'Holby City', 'Friday Night Dinner', 'Doctors' and 'Casualty' being his last screen role in 2018. Landis was President of the Actor's union Equity from 2002 to 2008 and between 1994 and 2001 he also served as Director of the Equity Charitable Trust. He was also an accomplished theatre Director and after directing a few productions at the Unity Theatre, including a well-received production of 'Death of A Salesman', he became the Artistic Director of the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, where he directed some forty plays and two pantomimes. He went on to direct national tours of 'The Long and The Short and the Tall' and 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes'.

* Jack Charles - born 5th September 1943 and died 13th September 2022, aged 79. He was one of the 'Stolen Generations' - Australian indigenous children forcibly taken from their parents as part of a government policy to 'assimilate' Aboriginal children into white families. He was taken from his mother when he was four months old. Charles was an Australian Actor, musician and Aboriginal Elder who notched up forty-seven screen acting credits during his almost six decade spanning career, starting off in 1973 in a big screen recording of 'Dimboola : The Stage Play'. His other big screen roles included Fred Schepisi's 'The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith' in 1978, then 'Bedevil' in 1993 and 'Blackfellas' that same year, 'Tom White' in 2004 with Colin Friels, 'Mystery Road' in 2013 with Hugo Weaving and Aaron Pedersen, 'The Darkside' also in 2013, 'Pan' in 2015 with Levi Miller and Hugh Jackman, 'True History of the Kelly Gang' in 2019 with George Mackay, Nicholas Hoult and Russell Crowe with the animated Netflix film 'Back to the Outback' in 2021 featuring an all star Australian voice cast and 'Life After Man' currently in post-production awaiting a future release. In the intervening years there were short films, TV mini-series, made for TV movies and TV series roles on the likes of eleven episodes of 'Ben Hall', 'Woodley', 'Problems', 'The Gods of Wheat Street', 'Wolf Creek', 'Rake', 'Cleverman', 'Rosehaven' and on six episodes of 'Preppers' as recently as 2021. Charles was the subject of a remarkable 2008 documentary 'Bastardy', which followed his life for seven years. The film's tagline described him as an 'Addict. Homosexual. Cat burglar. Actor. Aboriginal'. The film was an official selection for the Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and Sheffield Doc/Fest film festivals. In 2014, Charles received a Lifetime Achievement award from Victoria's Green Room Awards, being the first Indigenous recipient, and in 2019, he was awarded the Red Ochre Award from the Australian Council for the Arts. This award is presented to an outstanding Indigenous Australian artist for lifetime achievement. He also had roles in a number of stage plays in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and internationally. Charles' memoir, 'Jack Charles : Born-Again Blakfella' was published in August 2020.

* Jean-Luc Godard - born 3rd December 1930 and died 13th September 2022, aged 91. Godard was a French-Swiss film Director, Screenwriter, Editor, Producer, Actor, Cinematographer and film critic who rose to prominence as a pioneer of the 1960's French New Wave film movement and was arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era. His screen credits take in an enormous back catalogue of feature films, documentaries, short films, and TV series encompassing 131 Directing credits, ninety-eight as Writer, fifty-four as editor, forty-seven as Actor, twenty-nine as Producer and nine as Cinematographer. His career began with an uncredited actor part on the film 'The Glass Castle' in 1950, which he would follow up that same year with his first credited Actor and Producer role in the forty minute short film 'The Quadrille'. His first Directing credit came in 1955 with the short ten minute film 'A Flirtatious Woman' in 1955 with his debut feature film 'Breathless' in 1960 with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg with won Godard the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1960 for Best Director. He would follow this up with other notable feature films including 'A Woman Is a Woman' in 1961 with Anna Karina (with whom he was married to from 1961 until 1967) and Jean-Paul Belmondo, 'Le Petit Soldat' in 1963 with Anna Karina, 'Contempt' also in 1963 with Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance, 'Band of Outsiders' in 1964 with Anna Karina, 'Alphaville' in 1965 with Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina, 'Pierrot le Fou' with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina in 1965, 'Tout Va Bien' in 1972 with Yves Montand and Jane Fonda, 'Every Man for Himself' in 1980 with Isabelle Huppert and Nathalie Baye, 'King Lear' in 1987 with an uncredited cast of A-list talent with 'Goodbye to Language' being his final feature film credit in 2014 and 'The Image Book' his final documentary film in 2018. All up Godard was the recipient of fifty-one award wins and another seventy-six nominations from around the awards and festivals circuits.

* Irene Papas - born Eirini Lelekou on 3rd September 1929 and died 14th September 2022, aged 96. Papas was a Greek Actress and singer who notched up eight-five screen acting credits during her seven decade spanning career which launched in the 1948 feature film 'Fallen Angels'. She would follow this up over the subsequent years with the likes of 'Dead City' in 1951, 'The Unfaithfuls' in 1953 with Gina Lollobrigida, 'The Man from Cairo' that same year with George Raft, 'Attila' in 1954 with Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren, 'Tribute to a Bad Man' in 1956 with James Cagney, 'The Guns of Navarone' in 1961 with Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, 'Antigone' and 'Electra' in 1961 and 1962 respectively in which she played the lead character, 'Zorba the Greek' in 1964 with Anthony Quinn again, 'The Brotherhood' in 1968 with Kirk Douglas, 'Z' in 1969 with Yves Montand and Jean-Louis Trintignant, 'A Dream of Kings' also in 1969 with Anthony Quinn once more, 'Anne of the Thousand Days' in 1969 with Richard Burton, 'The Trojan Women' in 1971 with Katherine Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave, 'The Message' in 1976 with Anthony Quinn again, 'Bloodline' in 1979 with Audrey Hepburn and James Mason, 'The Lion of the Desert' in 1980 with Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed, 'The Assisi Underground' in 1985 with Ben Cross and James Mason, 'High Season' in 1987 with Jacqueline Bisset, Kenneth Branagh and James Fox, 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' in 2001 with Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz, 'A Talking Picture' in 2003 with John Malkovich and 'Ecuba' in 2004 being her final screen role and which she also Co-Directed. All up Papas won six Awards and one nomination from around the awards and festivals circuit including the National Board of Review win for Best Actress in 'The Trojan Women'. She also released an number of albums - 'Songs of Theodorakis' in 1969, 'Odes' in 1979 and 'Rapsodies' in 1986. 

* Henry Silva - born 23rd September 1926 and died 14th September 2022, aged 95. Silva was an American Actor of film and TV who amassed 140 screen acting roles during his six decade spanning career, which launched on a single episode of the 'Armstrong Circle Theatre' titled 'It's Only a Game' in 1950. His first big screen role came with an uncredited appearance in 'Viva Zapata!' in 1952 with Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn, which he followed up in 1956 with his first credited role in 'Crowded Paradise'. Over the ensuing years there were roles in numerous other feature films including 'A Hatful of Rain' in 1957 with Eva Marie Saint, 'Ride a Crooked Trail' in 1958 with Audie Murphy, 'Ocean's Eleven' in 1960 with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr., 'Sergeants's 3' in 1962 with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr. again, 'The Manchurian Candidate' also in 1962 with Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh, 'A Gathering of Eagles' in 1963 with Rock Hudson, 'Johnny Cool' also in 1963 in which Silva played the title role, 'Shoot' in 1976 with Cliff Robertson and Ernest Borgnine, 'Contract on Cherry Street' in 1977 with Frank Sinatra, 'Love and Bullets' in 1979 with Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland, 'Sharky's Machine' in 1981 with Burt Reynolds, 'Cannonball Run II' in 1984 with Burt Reynolds, 'Dick Tracy' in 1990 for and with Warren Beatty, 'Mad Dog Time' in 1996 with Gabriel Byrne, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Dreyfus and Burt Reynolds, 'The End of Violence' in 1997 with Gabriel Byrne and Bill Pullman, 'Ghost Dog : The Way of the Samurai' in 1999 with Forest Whitaker and a bit part in 'Ocean's Eleven' in 2001 with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts being his final screen role. In the years in between, there were many appearances on TV shows taking in the likes of 'The Untouchables', 'Dr. Kildare', 'The Outer Limits', 'Wagon Train', 'Tarzan', 'Laredo', 'The High Chaparral', 'Mission : Impossible', 'Hawaii Five-O', 'The F.B.I.', and providing the voice of Bane on 'Batman : The Animated Series', 'The New Batman Adventures' and 'Superman : The Animated Series'. Between 1966 and 1977 he starred or co-starred in 25+ movies, the majority of which were Italian Eurocrime films, where he normally played the villain or hitman, or the dark hero, or a combination of the two. These included 1972's 'Manhunt', 'Il Boss' in 1973 and 'Almost Human' in 1974. In 2012 he contributed to 'Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films that ruled the 70's', a feature-length documentary Directed by Mike Malloy.

* Marva Hicks - born 5th May 1975 and died 16th September 2022, aged 47. Hicks was an American R&B singer and Actress who generated twenty-four screen acting credits throughout her career beginning with her first role on the feature film 'Enemy Territory' in 1987. She would follow this up with other films including 'Bodies, Rest & Motion' in 1993 with Phoebe Cates, Tim Roth, and Bridget Fonda, 'Virtuosity' in 1995 with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, 'Asunder' in 1999 with Blair Underwood with 'Labor Day' in 2013 with Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet being her final film role. In the meantime, and since, there have been episodes on TV shows and made for TV movies taking in the likes of 'One Life to Live', 'L.A. Law', 'Mad About You', 'Sister, Sister', 'Babylon 5', 'Star Trek : Voyager', 'House of Cards', 'Daredevil', 'The Blacklist' and 'Madam Secretary' being her last screen appearance in 2019. Hicks was also an accomplished singer, being one of Michael Jackson's back-up singers on his last world tour, and has also toured with Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and James Ingram.

* John Hamblin - born 18th March 1935 and died 21st September 2022, aged 87. Hamblin was an English born Australian children's TV presenter and Actor of stage and screen, who amassed thirty-six screen acting credits throughout his six decade spanning career which began in 1959 on the TV miniseries 'Quatermass and the Pit'. His first big screen role came with an uncredited appearance in 'Season of Passion' in 1959 with Ernest Borgnine, John Mills, Angela Lansbury and Anne Baxter, with his only other feature film credit being 'A Street to Die' in 1985. In the years in between and since there were roles on TV miniseries and shows taking in the likes of 'Riptide', 'Number 96', on 383 episodes of 'Class of '75', on nine of 'Case for the Defence', on 116 on 'The Restless Years', 'The Young Doctors', 'A Country Practice', 'Sons and Daughters', 'All Saints', 'Love My Way' and his final screen role coming in the 2009 twelve minute short film 'There's a Heaven Above You'. Hamblin, is however, perhaps best known for being one of the presenters for twenty-nine years on the Australian children's programme 'Play School' from 1970 to 1999 across 357 episodes. In 2016, he returned briefly for a special guest appearance as part of 'Play School's' 50th Anniversary special. Hamblin suffered a heart attack in 2003, and five years later, he published his memoirs 'Open Wide, Come Inside' with Peter Richman. 

* Louise Fletcher - born Estelle Louise Fletcher on 22nd July 1934 and died 23rd September 2022, aged 88. Fletcher was an American Actress of cinema and television who accumulated 137 screen acting credits throughout her seven decade spanning career which began in 1958 on a single episode of 'Flight'. Her debut feature film role came with 'A Gathering of Eagles' in 1963 with Rock Hudson, and she would follow this up over the ensuing years with other features including 'Thieves Likes Us' in 1974 for Robert Altman, then perhaps her most highly regarded role in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' in 1975 with Jack Nicholson which won her the Academy Award, the BAFTA and the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched. Next came 'Exorcist II : The Heretic' with Richard Burton in 1977, 'Brainstorm' in 1983 with Christopher Walken, 'Firestarter' in 1984 with Drew Barrymore, 'Flowers in the Attic' in 1987 with Victoria Tennant, 'Best of the Best' in 1989 with Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones, 'Blue Steel' in 1990 with Jamie Lee Curtis, 'The Player' in 1992 for Robert Altman again and with Tim Robbins, 'Virtuosity' in 1995 with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, '2 Days in the Valley' in 1996 with Teri Hatcher and Jeff Daniels, 'Cruel Intentions' in 1999 with Ryan Phillippe and Reece Witherspoon with 'A Perfect Man' in 2013 with Liev Schreiber and Jeanne Tripplehorn being her final feature film role. In the meantime there were numerous TV movies and TV series appearances taking in the likes of 'Lawman', 'Maverick', 'The Untouchables', 'Wagon Train', 'The Twilight Zone', 'Tales from the Crypt', 'Picket Fences', 'The Practice', 'Fantasy Island', on fourteen episodes of 'Star Trek : Deep Space Nine', 'ER', 'Heroes', 'Shameless' and two episodes of 'Girlboss' in 2017 being her final screen credit. All up Fletcher was the recipient of thirteen award wins and a further ten nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

* Zack Estrin - born sometime in 1971, died 23rd September 2022, aged 51. Estrin was a Writer and Producer of TV series and the occasional film who accumulated eighteen Producer credits and fifteen as Writer throughout his career which began with Executive Producer credit on the film 'Stranger than Fiction' in 2000. From here he would go on to have Co-Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive and Executive Producer on multiple episodes of the likes of 'Charmed', 'Dawson's Creek', 'Miracles', 'Tru Calling', 'Prison Break', 'The Good Guys', 'No Ordinary Family', 'Zero Hour', 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland', 'The Whispers' with his final Producer and Showrunner credit being on three seasons of the Netflix show 'Lost in Space'. He also wrote numerous episodes of the aforementioned TV series too. 

* Rita Gardner - born 23rd October 1934 and died 25th September 2022, aged 87. Gardner was an American Actress and singer of theatre, cinema and television who notched up twenty-seven screen acting roles during her career which launched in the feature film 'One Plus One' in 1961. She would go on to have appearances on five episodes of 'The Doctors' in 1963 and then just a small handful of roles up to 2000, after which she reprised her acting career with feature films including 'The Perfect You' in 2000, 'Marci X' in 2003 with Lisa Kudrow, 'The Good Student' with Hayden Panettiere in 2006, 'P.S. I Love You' in 2007 with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, 'Tiger Lily Road' in 2013 with Tom Pelphrey with 'Shiva Baby' with Rachel Sennott in 2020 being her final film role. In the meantime and since there have also been roles on 'Law & Order', 'Law & Order : Criminal Intent', 'Law & Order : SVU', '30 Rock', 'The Last O.G.', and on four episodes of 'Little Voice' being her final screen role in 2020. She also appeared in a number of Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions including her breakout role in the original cast of 1960's 'The Fantasticks'.

* Venetia Stevenson - born Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson on 10th March 1938 and died 26th September 2022 aged 84. Stevenson was an English born American Actress who was the daughter of film Director Robert Stevenson and actress Anna Lee. The family moved to Hollywood within a year of her birth after her father signed a contract with film Producer David O. Selznick. She notched up just twenty-two screen acting credits throughout her relatively short lived Hollywood career which began on the TV series 'Cavalcade of America' in 1954 with her first big screen role coming in 1958 in 'Darby's Rangers' with James Garner. Stevenson would follow this up with other feature films including 'Island of Lost Women' in 1959, 'Day of the Outlaw' also in 1959 with Robert Ryan, 'Jet Over the Atlantic' also in 1959 with Virginia Mayo and George Raft, 'The City of the Dead' in 1960 with Christopher Lee, 'Seven Ways from Sundown' in 1960 with Audie Murphy with 'The Sergeant Was a Lady' in 1961 being her final screen acting role. Stevenson in the meantime appeared on television in episodes of 'Cheyenne', 'Colt .45', '77 Sunset Strip', 'The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet', 'Lawman', 'The Millionaire' and 'The Third Man'. She did however, venture back into film production during the 1980's working as Executive in charge of Production on the films 'Take This Job and Shove It' in 1981, 'Southern Comfort' also in 1981, 'Born American' in 1986 and 'Hollywood Vice Squad' that same year being her final credit in this arena. She did return with her sole Producer credit in 1991 on 'Servants of Twilight' with Bruce Greenwood. 

* Joan Hotchkis - born 21st September 1927 and died 27th September 2022, aged 95. Hotchkis was an American Actress of stage, television and cinema, writer, performance artist and lifetime member of the Actors Studio and Dramatists Guild of America. During her five decade spanning acting career she accumulated thirty-nine screen roles which began in 1954 on a single episode of 'The Secret Storm', with her first feature film role coming in 1971 with 'The Late Liz' with Anne Baxter. She would follow this up with other films including 'Breezy' for Clint Eastwood in 1973 with William Holden and Kay Lenz, 'Legacy' in 1975 which she also wrote, 'Ode to Billy Joe' in 1976, 'Old Boyfriends' in 1979 with Talia Shire and John Belushi with 'The Last Game' in 1984 being her final feature film appearance. In the intervening years and since there have been made for TV movies and roles on TV series taking in the likes of twenty-six episodes of 'My World and Welcome to It', 'Bewitched', on eleven episodes of 'The Odd Couple', 'Mannix', 'The F.B.I.', 'Executive Suite', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Lou Grant', on sixty-five of 'The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts', 'St. Elsewhere' and her final TV role was in the made for television movie 'The Disappearance of Christina' in 1993. She also worked as a part-time paraprofessional in aggression training at the Institute of Group Psychotherapy in California, and was the CEO of Tearsheets Productions, Inc., whose HQ was in Santa Monica, California.

* Coolio - born Artis Leon Ivey Jnr. on 1st August 1963 and died 28th September 2022, aged 59. Coolio was an American rapper and Actor who garnered 109 screen acting roles during his film and TV career which began (following several of his own music video productions) with a single episode on the 1995 TV series 'Martin'. His first feature film was 'Phat Beach' in 1996, followed by small parts in the likes of 'Dear God' with Greg Kinnear that same year, then 'Batman & Robin' in 1997 with George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, 'Gangland' in 2001, 'Daredevil' in 2003 with Ben Affleck (although in the Director's Cut only), 'Dracula 3000' in 2004 with Casper Van Dien, 'Three Days to Vegas' in 2007 with George Segal and Rip Torn, with 'Nina' in 2017 and 'Bobcat Moretti' being his final feature film that has recently completed filming and is set for a future release date. In the years in between there were also small roles on TV series including 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch', 'The Nanny', 'V.I.P.', 'Arli$$', 'Charmed', 'Star-ving', 'Futurama' and 'Teachers'. Coolio was the recipient of six award wins and a further thirteen nominations from around the awards and festival circuit mostly for his music video work and his rapping. Coolio launched his book, 'Cookin' with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price' in 2009, which would become a New York Times bestseller. This move expanded his audience base from the screen and the stage to kitchens across the globe. Branding himself as the 'ghetto gourmet', he used his creativity and the inspiration of his mother to refine old-school recipes into accessible, fresh and healthy options.

With twenty deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As many of us the world over are now learning to live with COVID, despite many countries, including Australia, now gripped by its third wave and in some cases a fourth wave. As life reverts almost back to normalcy, we should all, however, continue to be cautious by remembering the basic principles that continue to be advocated and together we can all beat this thing and keep on top of it. Stay safe and remain healthy wherever you are in the world. R.I.P. you screen legends.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 6th October 2022.

The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than three hundred films, documentaries and shorts from approximately fifty countries, this year runs from Wednesday 5th October through until Sunday 16th October and is now in its 66th year. 

The Opening Night Gala film presentation is 'Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical' Directed by Matthew Warchus and starring Emma Thompson, Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough. The Closing Night Gala film is 'Glass Onion : A Knives Out Mystery' Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jnr., Jessica Henwick and Dave Bautista. 

The BFI London Film Festival Awards are a celebration of the most exciting, innovative new films and cinematic storytelling. Creative, beautiful and often provocative, the nominees showcase an incredible range of talent from across the world.

The Official Competition comprises eight feature films, which briefly are :-

* 'Argentina, 1985' - from Argentina and Directed by Santiago Mitre and starring Ricardo Darin. This uncompromising political drama, thrillingly recreates one of Argentina’s most legendary trials, which sought to bring the country’s military dictatorship to justice.

* 'Brother' - from Canada and Directed by Clement Virgo and is a bold and breathtaking story of brotherly love, set over three separate time periods, in Toronto’s West Indian community.

* 'Corsage' - from Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and France and Directed by Marie Kreutzer and starring Vicky Krieps. Faced with a future of strict ceremonies and royal duties, Empress Elisabeth of Austria rebels against her public image and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.

* 'The Damned Don't Cry' - from France, Belgium and Morocco and Directed by Fyzal Boulifa. Fatima-Zahra and her teenage son Selim move from place to place, forever trying to outrun the latest scandal she's caught up in. When Selim discovers the truth about their past, Fatima-Zahra vows to make a fresh start.

* 'Enys Men' - from the UK and Directed by Mark Jenkin and starring Mary Woodvine, Edward Rowe and Flo Crowe. Set in 1973 on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast, a wildlife volunteer's daily observations of a rare flower turn into a metaphysical journey that forces her to question what is real and what is nightmare.

* 'Godland' - from Denmark, Iceland, France and Sweden and Directed by Hlynur Palmason. In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, his mission and morality.
* 'Nezouh' - from the UK, Syria and France and Directed by Soudade Kaadan. Even as bombs fall on Damascus, Mutaz refuses to flee to the uncertain life of a refugee. His wife, Hala, and daughter, Zeina, must make the choice whether to stay or leave.

* 'Saint Omer' - from France and Directed by Alice Diop. The film follows Rama, a novelist who attends the trial of Laurence Coly at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court to use her story to write a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea, but things don't go as expected.

Other award strands include the First Feature Competition with The Sutherland Award recognising the most original and imaginative directorial debut. Here the eight films are '1976', 'Blue Jean', 'Jeong-sun', 'Joyland', 'Medusa Delux', 'Our Lady of the Chinese Shop', 'Robe of Gems' and 'Rodeo'. 

In the Documentary Competition, The Grierson Award recognises feature-length documentaries with integrity, originality and social or cultural significance. The eight films are 'All That Breathes', 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed', 'Casa Susanna', 'The Future Tense', 'Kanaval : A People's History of Haiti in Six Chapters', 'Lynch/Oz', 'Name Me Lawand' and 'What About China?'

In addition there is also the Short Film Competition, the Immersive Art and XR Competition and the Audience Awards for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film. 

For the full details of all the films being showcased at the years 66th BFI London Film Festival, plus a whole lot more besides, you can go to the official website at : https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp

This week, to tease you out to your local Odeon, we have three new movies kicking off with three friends, a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer, who become the prime suspects in a murder in the 1930's. This is followed with a 1950's housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community who begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets. And closing out the week we have an Aussie offering about two men who meet on a plane and strike up a conversation that turns into friendship, and for one, worn down by a lifetime of crime and hard labour, this is his dream come true.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'AMSTERDAM' (Rated MA15+) - this mystery comedy film is Written, Directed and Co-Produced by David O. Russell whose previous feature film making credits include 'Three Kings' in 1999, 'I Heart Huckabees' in 2004, 'The Fighter' in 2010, 'Silver Linings Playbook' in 2012, 'American Hustle' in 2013 and 'Joy' in 2015. This film saw its World Premier showcasing in New York City on 18th September and is released in the US and here in Australia from this week, having cost US$55M to produce.

Set in the 1930's, the film follows three friends - Burt Berensden (Christian Bale), Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie) and Harold Woodman (John David Washington) who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history. Also starring an ensemble cast that takes in Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro.

'DON'T WORRY DARLING' (Rated M) - is an American psychological thriller film Directed, Co-Produced and starring Olivia Wilde in only her second Directorial outing following the highly acclaimed 'Booksmart' in 2019. This film saw its World Premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival in early September and was released in the US in late September, having generated mixed Reviews from Critics and costing in the region of US$30M to produce. Here then, Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Harry Styles) are a young, happy couple in the 1950's, living in the seemingly perfect company town of Victory, California, which has been created and paid for by the mysterious company for which Jack works. Curiosity about the nature of her husband's work on the secret 'Victory Project' begins to consume Alice. Cracks then begin to form in their utopian life as her investigation into the project raises tensions within the community. Also starring Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll and Olivia Wilde. 

'THE STRANGER' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian crime thriller film is Written and Directed by Thomas M. Wright in only his second feature film following 2018's 'Acute Misfortune'. The film saw its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May of this year before its cinema release here in Australia this week, and then streaming worldwide on Netflix from 19th October. After a friendship forms between two strangers who first meet on a plane, for Henry Teague (Sean Harris), worn down by a lifetime of physical labour and crime, this is a dream come true. His new friend Mark (Joel Edgerton) becomes his saviour and ally. However, neither is who they appear to be, each harbour secrets that threaten to ruin them, and in the background, one of the nation's largest police operations is closing in.

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

-Steve, at Odeon Online-