Birthday's to share this week : 2nd-8th October 2016

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Jesse Eisenberg does on 5th October - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 33, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 2nd October

• Sting (aka Gordon Sumner) - Born 1951, turns 65 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor | Producer

Monday 3rd October

• Clive Owen  - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actor | Producer  
• Denis Villeneuve - Born 1967, turns 49 - Director | Writer
• Sean William Scott - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor | Producer 
• Neve Campbell - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Alicia Vikander - Born 1988, turns 28 - Actress | Producer

Tuesday 4th October

• Susan Sarandon - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Alicia Silverstone - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress | Producer 
• Dakota Johnson - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actress
• Armand Assante - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
• Christoph Waltz - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Liev Schreiber - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director  

Wednesday 5th October

• Bob Geldof - Born 1951, turns 65 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Writer | Humanitarian  
• Guy Pearce - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Singer
• Jesse Eisenberg - Born 1983, turns 33 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Jacob Tremblay - Born 2006, turns 10 - Actor 
• Karen Allen - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actress
• Kate Winslet - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actress 

Thursday 6th October

• Britt Ekland - Born 1942, turns 74 - Actress
• Elisabeth Shue - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actress | Producer
• Ioan Gruffudd - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actor  

Friday 7th October

• Marco Beltrami - Born 1966, turns 50 - Composer | Songwriter | Musician
• Tim Minchin - Born 1975, turns 41 - Singer | Songwriter | Musician | Writer | Actor | Producer | Director  

Saturday 8th October

• Paul Hogan - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Chevy Chase - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• Edward Zwick - Born 1952, turns 64 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Matt Damon - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Sigourney Weaver - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actress | Producer
• Kristanna Loken - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress | Producer  

Jesse Adam Eisenberg was born in Queens, New York to mother Amy Fishman, a teacher of cultural sensitivity in hospitals and before that a children's party clown, and father Barry Eisenberg, a one time taxi driver before becoming a sociology college professor. He has two sisters - Hallie Kate and Kerry Lea - both of whom have worked in acting. Eisenberg had a secular Jewish upbringing in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. He attended the East Brunswick Public Schools, then East Brunswick High School, and then moved to the High School of Performing Arts in New York, upon which the 1980 hit film 'Fame' was set. While in his senior year he secured his big screen debut in 2002 in 'Roger Dodger'. He went onto The New School in New York s Greenwich Village where he studied anthropology and contemporary architecture eventually majoring in liberal arts.

He first appeared on stage at age seven in a children's theatre production of 'Oliver', and at twelve he understudied for a 1996 Broadway Production of 'Summer and Smoke', and a year later he played the young Scrooge in a musical version of 'A Christmas Carol' at The Paramount Theatre. His first professional play came in 1999 at age sixteen in 'The Gathering' in an off-Broadway production at Playhouse 91.  His first small screen role came as Kenny Green in all 22 episodes of comedy drama series 'Get Real' from 1999 to 2000, and then made for television movie 'Lightning : Fire from the Sky' in 2001. 'Roger Dodger' came next in 2002 - his big screen debut opposite Campbell Scott, with 'The Emperor's Club' that same year with Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Paul Dano and Patrick Dempsey.

In 2004 Eisenberg secured a small role in M.Night Shyamalan's 'The Village'. He followed this up with the Noah Baumbach Written and Directed 'The Squid and The Whale' in 2005; Wes Craven's horror-comedy 'Cursed'; 'The Education of Charlie Banks' with Jason Ritter; 'The Hunting Party' with Richard Gere; 'Adventureland' with Kristen Stewart, and then probably his breakout role in 'Zombieland' - a horror-comedy with Woody Harrelson, for which a sequel is currently in the works.

The new decade saw four films in 2010 starting with 'Holy Rollers' in  which he starred alongside his sister Hailee, 'Camp Hell', 'Solitary Man' with Michael Douglas, and then as Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher's highly acclaimed and commercially successful 'The Social Network' for which Eisenberg received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.



The next year he voiced the lead character of Blu in the animated feature 'Rio' - a voice he would reprise again in 2014 in 'Rio 2', and then '30 Minutes or Less'. 2012 saw 'Why Stop Now', 'Free Samples', Woody Allen's ensemble cast in 'To Rome With Love', 'He's More Famous Than You' and 'Now You See Me' with an all star cast a year later in 2013. He would also reprise his role as one of The Four Horsemen, Danny Atlas in the 2016 sequel 'Now You See Me 2', with a third film already announced.

In between there has been 'Night Moves', 'The Double' with Mia Wasikowska, 'The End of the Tour', 'Louder Than Bombs', 'American Ultra' with Kristen Stewart again, and as Lex Luthor in this years Zack Snyder production of the DC Extended Universe in 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' with Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill back again as Superman. He has also had some guest television appearances on 'Saturday Night Live', 'The Newsroom', 'Modern Family' and 'Top Gear' as well as a number of theatre productions which he has also Written.

Next up is Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' due for its Australian release later this year with Kristen Stewart once more, and DC's 'Justice League : Part One' currently filming for Zack Snyder with Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman, with Eisenberg reposing his role as Lex Luthor again. Over the years he has also narrated numerous audiobooks as well as being the author of numerous short stories published in The New Yorker and in McSweeney's. His debut novel 'Bream Gives Me Hiccups' was released one year ago and includes these previously published pieces and more, and is being adapted for a television series with filming currently ongoing with Eisenberg Directing, Producing and Writing.

Eisenberg suffers from several forms of anxiety - obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety, social anxiety and depression which he still suffers from but was more pronounced in him during his childhood years. He has found that acting helped him cope. He is a vegetarian, has been involved in animal fostering programmes and has financially supported Middle Way House - a shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. He also supports 'Keep America Beautiful' and 'The Shoe Revolt' aimed at empowering youth to take up the fight against domestic sex trafficking. He also took part in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Agency video to increase awareness of the global refugee crisis.

All up Eisenberg has 38 Acting credits to his name, and one for Director, Producer and Writer on the upcoming 'Bream Gives Me Hiccups'. All up he has garnered twenty awards wins and a another 56 nominations with many of those being for his work on 'The Social Network'. He dated Anna Strout from 2002 to 2012 - a crew member and assistant on 'The Emperor's Club' when they first got together. They broke off in 2012 when Eisenberg dated his 'The Double' Co-Star Mia Wasikowska until 2015. He has since reunited with Anna Strout.

Jesse Eisenberg - trade mark curly hair, and often plays fast talking introverted shy anti-social neurotic characters. Certainly not one to be typecast having played across all genres and continuing to keep us entertained with his diverse roles - some real and some fictitious and always convincing. Happy Birthday to you Jesse and Best Wishes, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SNOWDEN : Wednesday 28th September 2016.

'SNOWDEN', which I saw earlier in the week, is a biographical political drama Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Oliver Stone and based on the books 'The Snowden Files' by The Guardian's foreign correspondent Luke Harding, and 'The Time of the Octopus' by Russian lawyer and Doctor of Law Anatoly Kucherena. The former is an in depth biography of Edward Snowden's story, and the latter is a story of a fictional American whistleblower seeking asylum in Russia. The film rights for both books were acquired by Oliver Stone and form the foundation of this account of Edward Joseph Snowden, who hit the international headlines in mid-2013 for leaking classified information from the National Security Agency to The Guardian in the June of that year. With an all star cast, Stone was so worried about filming in the US and reprisals from the NSA, that he shot the film mostly outside of the US in Munich and Hong Kong with some footage filmed in Washington D.C. and Hawaii. A controversial man and a controversial story with Snowden being hailed a whistleblower, a dissident, a hero, a freedom fighter, a patriot and a traitor - you'll just have to decide for yourself based on this 'dramatisation of true events' as the films opening titles tell us! The film was made for US$40M and has so far grossed US$19M since its release.

Featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden and Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, the film tells the story of this American computer professional, former Central Intelligence Agency employee and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked classified information from the NSA without any authorisation. The film charts Snowden's career from when he was first serving in the army, and was medically discharged to him applying for entry into the CIA and going through numerous rigorous tests to gain entry and prove himself worthy. It also explains how he first met his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, a tech-smart photographer, and how their relationship coped with the peaks and troughs of the stresses and strains of the highly secretive world in which he worked, and what he was exposed to.

Once accepted into the CIA he is introduced to Corbin O'Brian (Rhys Ifans) as a major high ranking CIA official who takes the new recruit under his wing recognising the inner geek and computer programming genius that is now in his midst. He also meets with Hank Forrester (Nicolas Cage) on his first day on the job at 'The Hill' (a closely guarded CIA Training Facility) who will be one of Snowden's instructors, and they share common interests in historical computers and code-cracking hardware before Forrester lets out a barrage of stories about highly secretive projects and the modern spying game. Forrester is somewhat jaded having developed an intricate computer programme to target known enemies of the state, that was dismissed before completion and handed over to a third party contractor for US$4B - more money than sense!

As Snowden becomes more entrenched with the CIA and in turn the NSA and gets ever closer to O'Brian having proven his capabilities and his worth repeatedly, so his responsibilities and his authorities increase. He is quickly introduced to the world of surveillance and how the NSA is keeping tabs on every mobile phone, every social media site, Internet activity, messaging service  and computer use across the world with the ability to peer into all and any users private lives with astonishing speed and accuracy and completely unhindered. He's uncomfortable with this revelation and so seeks to get on to field operations and sample the world of the international spy, and so teams up with CIA Agent Geneva (Timothy Olyphant) and is exposed to some dirty dealings that sits uneasily with him too. Increasingly we see Snowden questioning himself to the point when he resigns his job because the burden of responsibility and accountability is all getting too much. However, he comes back as a contractor hired by blue chip consulting firms to work with the CIA and NSA again - same shit, different bucket!

Throughout the film we are taken back & forth in time over the course of nine years culminating in a Hong Kong hotel room. We see his relationship with Lindsay ebb & flow as she struggles with the secrecy he is sworn to, and not being able to discuss his working life with him openly to help relieve the stresses and strains he is feeling as a result of his work.

After postings in some far away places that culminated in a secret NSA underground facility in Hawaii, Snowden downloads several hundred thousand files onto a USB drive while his superior, NSA Agent Trevor James (Scott Eastwood) is pre-occupied with an emergency crisis. Casually, Snowden walks out of the heavily guarded facility with the USB hidden inside a Rubik's Cube which he is rarely seen without, and out into the sunshine having taken his leave from his desk because he wasn't feeling so good.

After leaving his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii, Snowden flew to Hong Kong and is holed up in a Hotel Room with Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) an American documentary film Producer and Director who was in attendance by invitation from Snowden to record his testimony. In the room too was Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) - an American journalist and author also invited by Snowden to document his testimony for the world press, and most notably The Guardian. And, Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson) - a Scottish journalist working for The Guardian as defence and intelligence correspondent. So, is came to be that over the course of four days in June 2013 holed up inside that hotel room, Snowden spilled the beans and revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to the three journalists and confidants, which then appeared in The Guardian and The Washington Post, other newspapers including Der Spiegel and The New York Times and across global television networks. Watching these events unfold on national news are Lindsay at home with her parents, Corbin O'Brian, Hank Forrester, and assorted world leaders.

Snowden's disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and Governments across Europe. After being charged by the US Government on two counts of espionage and theft of classified information he flew to Moscow seeking asylum which he was granted for twelve months, subsequently extended to three years. He remains in Russia as of this date, and was subsequently joined there by Lindsay.

In a closing scene we see Snowden being interviewed live via an Internet link-up in front of a live studio audience. He is asked probing questions, and why he did what he did. As the camera pans around the monitor on which Snowden is speaking from his apartment somewhere in Russia, the image cuts from Edward Snowden as portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the real Edward Snowden who continues the discussion about peoples freedom, privacy and security and the violation of those basic human rights by President Obama. Edward Snowden co-operated in the making of this film.

I have to say I was fascinated about this film, and even if only 50% of what is depicted on the screen by Oliver Stone is true and correct, then that is a very scary prospect too - for all of us! Gordon-Levitt carries his character along with nuance and grace that makes him grounded, real and believable. There are no arousing speeches, chest beating, table thumping or over the top antics to be seen here, but rather a considered somewhat introverted but nonetheless highly intelligent man just doing what he believes in, and who has the courage of his convictions to speak out about what he believes in, and what he knows to be true. There was no personal gain here, no bag of gold at the end of this rainbow - for Snowden it was all down side - living in exile, the possibility of prison, labelled a traitor, alone and turning his back on his country, his family, his loved ones and the life he had thus far made for himself. One man against the world and prepared to blow open the lid. A riveting film based on fact that we cannot ignore, well delivered, very watchable and it will cause you to debate and discuss the subject at hand long after the credits have rolled.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th September 2016.

Antoine Fuqua's 'The Magnificent Seven' is released this week, but how many of us are familiar with the how far back the roots of this story goes. Japanese Director, Screenwriter, Producer and Editor Akira Kurosawa is regarded an one of the most influential and important film-makers in the history of cinema. During his career he Directed thirty films over 57 years of his working life, and one the most noted of those is 'The Seven Samurai' from 1954, starring Toshiro Mifune as one of the seven samurai, Kikuchiyo. Kurosawa Directed, Co-Wrote, and Edited the film set in a Japan of 1586 during a time of great political upheaval and unrest and tells the story of seven samurai recruited by a village elder to defend their village from marauding bandits intent on stealing their valuable crops following the years harvest. The villagers are meek and mild and do not have the smarts or the wherewithal to defend themselves and have been ground down after repeated attacks, and the prospect of another. Ultimately the villagers rise to the challenge and aid the seven samurai, who defeat the thieving bandits, but at a cost of four lives out of the seven. The film was highly acclaimed and went on to win five awards and eight nominations including two Academy Award nods, three BAFTA nods and various others from around the festival circuit. The film took a year to shoot on specially constructed authentic village sets, and its unedited running time stretches to 207 minutes. The film has been much copied, referenced, reworked and reimagined over the years and still stands on many 'Greatest' and 'Best' films of all time lists.

'The Seven Samurai' was the inspiration for the John Sturges Old West version of the film released in 1960 as 'The Magnificent Seven' with a setting down Mexico way. Here we see a group of oppressed villagers who suffer periodical rampaging attacks and theft of food and supplies at the hands of local bandit Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his henchmen. Seeking help they encounter Chris Adams (Yul Bryner) - a veteran gunslinger, who reluctantly agrees to help their cause. En route back to the Mexican village Chris recruits six others, consisting of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz, who with the help of the villagers overcome Calvera and his bandits, but at a cost of four lives out of the seven. The film took out one award win and scored six other nominations including an Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score by Elmer Bernstein for that iconic theme tune. The film spawned three sequels - 'The Return of the Seven' in 1966, 'Guns of the Magnificent Seven' in 1969, and 'The Magnificent Seven Ride' in 1972, and has influenced many other films too.

And so to the four new movies coming your way this week, kicking off with a gunslinging Western that is a remake of a early '60's classic that was in itself a remake of a mid-'50's classic. Then we have a fantasy adventure offering from the master of the genre about a young lad, a headmistress of a very special school, and a strange set of kids all with peculiar gifts. These are followed up by a female perspective on the inner workings of Wall Street in this financial drama that sees a talented investment banker go head to head in a male dominated world; before wrapping up with a documentary on autism and the power of the movies that saved this one young lad by teaching him valuable lessons in life.

As always, be reminded to share your thoughts and musings when you have seen your film of choice in the coming week, by leaving your Comment below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you and all contributions are welcomed. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' (Rated M) - in 1954 Akira Kurosawa Directed, Co-Wrote and Edited a Japanese historical drama adventure epic titled 'The Seven Samurai' set in 1586 during the Warring States Period of Japan. Telling the story of seven Ronin hired to defend a village of farmers from rogue bandits intent on stealing their valuable crops following harvest, the film went onto to be critically lauded and has appeared on numerous Greatest Films Lists ever since, and has been highly influential and often remade and reworked. In 1960 John Sturges Directed and Produced 'The Magnificent Seven' based on that Kurosawa story, but set his film in the Old West in Mexico where a band of seven gunslingers are hired to defend a village from a group of marauding bandits. Now fifty-six years later Antoine Fuqua has remade 'The Magnificent Seven' for a whole new audience likely to be unfamiliar with Kurosawa's inspirational film, or the Sturges Americanised version upon which this 2016 offering is based. Made for US$108M the film premiered at TIFF earlier this month, was the closing film at the Venice Film Festival and was released Stateside last week.

The story here has changed little in this Fuqua rendition. This time however, the action takes place not in Mexico but in some remote mining town three days ride from Sacramento, called Rose Creek. Here the simple townsfolk are besieged by a local heavy handed, ruthless and uncaring industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) intent on mining the area for gold and taking over the Rose Creek land by all and any force necessary. In an attack on the townsfolk by Bogue and his henchmen, the husband of Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) is killed and so eventually she enlists the support of Sam Chisholm (Denzel Washington) when he learns that Bogue is at the centre of their plight. Chisholm sets about recruiting a small group of guns for hire to confront and overcome Bogue, assist Cullen and do the right thing by the people of Rose Creek. Those six recruits are Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Martin Sensmeier, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Byung-hun Lee who all have a particular set of skills and are especially adept at wiping out a marauding horde of gun toting bad dudes. You can be sure there'll be a high body count and lots of stylised action and violence, but will it live up to its 1960 inspiration, or its 1954 source?

'MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN' (Rated M) - this dark fantasy adventure film is based on the 2011 book of the same name by Ransom Riggs, is adapted for the screen by Jane Goldman, Directed by Tim Burton and consists of an all star cast that includes Eva Green, Judi Dench, Terence Stamp, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris O'Dowd, Asa Butterfield, and Rupert Everett.  The story surrounds mid-teenage Jacob Portman (Butterfield) who after a tragedy at home is forced to travel to a mysterious island to determine exactly what happened, and here he comes across Miss Peregrine (Green) and her home for peculiar children. Here he learns that the fairytales he was told in his younger days may have more truth in them than he thought, and after a horrifying experience Jacob must make a life changing decision to protect those closest to him and from the no good Mr. Barron (Jackson) - the leader of The Wights - undead human creatures who hunt and kill the peculiar children using disguises and enhanced physical abilities. All of Tim Burton's touchstones contained herein, which is sure to please his followers.

'EQUITY' (Rated M) - it's good to see women getting some movie exposure to the dealings of inner Wall Street in this financial thriller Directed by Meera Menon and out on limited release despite the favourable Reviews it has so far garnered since its general release in the US at the end of July. Here we see senior investment banker Naomi Bishop (Anna Gunn) working in a very male dominated domain and needing to overcome a previous slur on her reputation and restore some credibility amongst the firm she works for and her colleagues. She elects to take on a new Tech IPO but quickly comes up against obstacles from colleagues and her Client that might just unhinge the future of the venture. Amongst this she has to contend with a double-dealing boyfriend, a Federal investment law prosecutor, and a betrayal by a trusted friend that might just unravel everything for her. James Purefoy also stars with Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas who also Co-Wrote and Co-Produced.

'LIFE, ANIMATED' (Rated PG) - this documentary has been around the festival circuit and has collected a number of award wins and nominations in that time, based on the book by Ron Suskind about his autistic son Owen, and Directed with a deft touch by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the story of how young Owen at aged just three developed autism. As Owen retreated within himself and stopped communicating his parents became increasingly concerned, almost losing all hope, as to how they could interact with their dear son in a way that had meaning. Ultimately that way manifested itself through animated films, and especially those from Disney which offered Owen a conduit to make sense of the world and at the same time create his own. The film traces Owen's growth from young child to teenager to the cusp of adulthood as he strives for independence learned from key teachings from the likes of 'The Lion King', 'Aladdin' and 'The Little Mermaid' that he was able to adapt to the world around him. An uplifting coming of age story that offers proof positive of the magic of cinema, the power of stories, and how hope can overcome adversity.

Four films this week to tempt you out to your local multiplex or independent picture house for two hours of great entertainment for just $20. You know it makes sense to do so. I'll see you therefore at the Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN : Sunday 25th September 2016.

I caught an advance screening of Antione Fuqua's Directed 'THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' at my local multiplex on Sunday evening four days before its official Australian release date. The inspiration for this film and its Old West predecessor from 1960 came from the 1954 Akira Kurosawa Directed, Co-Written and Edited Japanese historical drama adventure epic titled 'The Seven Samurai' set in 1586 during the Warring States Period of Japan. Telling the story of seven Ronin hired to defend a village of farmers from rogue bandits intent on stealing their valuable crops following harvest, the film went onto to be critically lauded and has appeared on numerous Greatest Films Lists ever since, and has been highly influential and often remade and reworked. In 1960 John Sturges Directed and Produced 'The Magnificent Seven' based on that Kurosawa story, but set his film in the Old West in Mexico where a band of seven gunslingers are hired to defend a village from a group of marauding bandits. Now fifty-six years later Fuqua has remade 'The Magnificent Seven' for a whole new audience likely to be unfamiliar with Kurosawa's inspirational film, or the Sturges Americanised version upon which this 2016 offering is based. Made for US$108M the film premiered at TIFF earlier this month, was the closing film at the Venice Film Festival and was released Stateside last week.

The story here has changed little in this Fuqua rendition. This time however, the action takes place not in Mexico but in some remote mining town three days ride from Sacramento, called Rose Creek. Here the simple townsfolk are besieged by a local heavy handed, ruthless and uncaring industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) intent on mining the area for gold and taking over the Rose Creek land by all and any force necessary. In an attack on the townsfolk by Bogue and his henchmen after breaking into a meeting held in the town church, the husband of Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) is killed together with various other innocent townsfolk just minding their own business and wanting a quiet life. Bogue very generously and graciously offer each family $20 for their house and land package, and if they refuse, he'll be back in two weeks to take it anyway!

Emma Cullen rides out with her good friend Teddy Q (Luke Grimes) to the nearest town to find some support to help defend Rose Creek from Bogue's pending return. There by chance they come across Sam Chisholm (Fuqua's go to man, Denzel Washington, dressed all in black just as Yul Bryner's character, Chris Adams, in the 1960 film version of the same film), a grizzled war weary bounty hunter who initially refuses Cullen's request, but relents when he learns that it is Bogue creating such a stink.

And so Chisholm, Cullen and Q head back for Rose Creek, and along the way recruit six other guns for hire, all with a shady past, but each in possession of a particular set of skills that might just serve them well for fighting a small army of Bogue's men. First to join the throng is poker gambling whiskey swilling cigar chewing gunslinger Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt). They in turn meet up with ex-Confederate sharpshooter soldier with 23 confirmed kills Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his sidekick the Asian knife wielding assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee). They happen across skilled trapper and a God-Fearing bear of a man Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio) and then Mexican on-the-run outlaw with nothing to lose Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), before joining up with native American-Indian and ostracised Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).

Later the seven ride into Rose Creek only to be greeted by a posse of Bogue's men headed up by his #1 standover enforcer guy McCann (Cam Cigandet). There's a standoff and some resultant gun play in which all of Bogue's men are killed, leaving McCann and the local Sheriff who is on the take from Bogue, still alive but ordered to ride out and tell Bogue to return in person to do his own dirty work. In the meantime, the seven conclude that they have about a week in which to ready the town, arm themselves, train the townsfolk how to shoot to kill, and prepare themselves before Bogue comes riding into town with his small army.

Over the course of the next week plans are hatched, preparations are made, and the good people of Rose Creek ready themselves for the imminent onslaught. Ditches are dug, explosives laid, traps set, and cover made all in an attempt to give them their best chance against Bogue. At this point Robicheaux gets cold feet as he is hiding some inner Demons about his days of killing on the battlefield, and bids Chisholm farewell under cover of night, saying that his fighting days are behind him. The seven are now down to six, but Cullen steps up to the cause.

The next morning at dawn, Bogue and his army of two hundred or so hired soldiers ride over the hill overlooking Rose Creek. Despite their laid traps, explosive charges, element of surprise and best efforts, there are severe casualties on all sides. When Bogue looks as though his army has been overcome, he rolls out a Gattling Gun and systematically tears the town to shreds with a full magazine of bullets and then another, killing more townsfolk and his own men in the process. Taking a last stand Faraday mounts his horse and rides out to where the Gattling Gun is positioned and with a stick of dynamite sacrifices himself to destroy the gun and the remainder of Bogue's men. In the meantime, Robicheaux who returned warning Chisholm about the Gattling Gun, Rocks and Horne have also been killed in the attack.

Bogue and his two remaining henchmen make for the town to finally mop up. Two are quickly dispensed by Chisholm, leaving Bogue to face off against Chisholm outside the burnt out remains of the towns Church. Chisholm shoots Bogue in the hand and then the leg, and limping into the Church seeking sanctuary and last minute forgiveness, Chisholm recounts to Bogue that he and his men raped and murdered his mother and sisters a few years back, and now it's pay back time. In the process Bogue reaches for a small pistol secreted away in his boot, but not before Cullen shoots Bogue dead from the door of the Church, saving Chisholm. In the closing scene Chisholm, Red Harvest and Vasquez ride out of town passing the four crosses marking the burial sites of their fallen colleagues, who have been hailed as legends by Cullen and the towns people.

In summary there is little new to see here. The plot is the same as for the films predecessors except that it has been updated for a new audience raised on stylised violence, big body counts, fast gun play and political correctness. The seven consist of a black dude, an Asian dude, a Mexican dude, a native American Indian dude, a God-Fearing bible bashing dude, a hard drinking and smoking gambling dude, and a dude fighting his inner Demons who all come to the rescue of a damsel in distress - all demographics are covered here. And all the Western cliches are there too - close ups of squinted eyes in the sun, cigar chewing bad guys, hands poised menacingly over holstered guns, the saloon scene where a tall dark stranger enters, bad guys getting shot off rooftops, the local undertaker doing great business with his pine boxes lined up outside his shop in readiness for the next stiff . . . it's all there, and then some! On the one hand it is good to see the Western genre getting some mileage but how about something fresh and original rather than simply dusting off a classic and rehashing it again for the sake of a new audience. The film has so far recouped US$42M and it is entertaining enough but predictable and we've seen it all before, and better!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Movie Review: “The Magnificent Seven”

*** out of 5
132 minutes
Rated PG-13 for extended and intense sequences of Western violence, and for historical smoking, some language and suggestive material
Sony Pictures

Article first published at TheReelPlace.com
If there’s one genre that’s still sputtering to take off again, it’s the western. While there have been a few that were better than others — The Proposition, True Grit, Bone Tomahawk, and Quentin Tarantino’s double whammy of Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight — it feels like Hollywood is going back to the drawing board by introducing a new generation to The Magnificent Seven. Unfortunately, not even the usually reliable Antoine Fuqua, or stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, can save the film from being modestly mediocre.

While you may feel like you’re having a good time watching, it’s instantly forgettable and pales in comparison to the original. The fact that the original theme song isn’t even used until the end credits should show you how much effort was put into this rehash. The saddest part is it’s just a reminder of how faithful Pixar’s A Bug’s Life was to Akira Kurosawa’s legendary Seven Samurai.

The story remains the same: in a small town — this time Rose Creek — the evil mining tycoon Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) has gunned down Emma Cullen’s (Haley Bennett) husband Matthew (Matt Bomer), a few other townsfolk, and set the local church on fire. He threatens the town that he’ll return in the fall when the last… leaf… falls… err, I mean in three weeks. The grieving Emma is left with no choice but to call upon bounty hunter Chisolm (Washington) for some good old revenge.

Chisolm has no plans to go at it alone, and soon enough, his misfit gang is in place to save the town. Along for the ride is the wiley Josh Faraday (Pratt), the drunken Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his Asian sidekick Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), the bearish Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), hispanic Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and American Indian Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeir). Together, they’ll all join forces to take Bogue down and return the town to its people.

If there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from Fuqua, it’s a little bit of technical razzle dazzle and a good amount of fun. After the pairing of him and Washington in The Equalizer and Training Day — which also starred Hawke — and the addition of Pratt, you’d think that we’d have one of the funnest westerns around. All we’re left with is a slapdash screenplay courtesy of Richard Wenk (The Equalizer) and Nic Pizzolatto (True Detective). They both clearly love the story, but kill the one thing that holds everything together: the town’s plight. Never once do we care about whether Rose Creek is saved from the Bogue varmint. Not once.

It’s a shame the only one who really seems to be having any fun is Lee. Try as Pratt might, even he doesn’t stand up to being the comic relief Fuqua clearly expected. Not that it’s his fault. The screenplay relies far too heavily on outdated racial slurs for comic effect and puts no effort into dialogue or situations. Even the action feels sloppy under John Refoua’s editing knife. Scenes either meander too long or feel extra rushed. Even some of our poor protagonists’ demises feel shortchanged as if they were merely extras.

My only hope is that Sony Pictures learns a thing or two from this Magnificent Seven blunder and give director Nikolaj Arcel the freedom to keep the western aspects of his adaptation of Stephen King’s magnum opus The Dark Tower as western as it should. While Magnificent Seven may not be of the same sorts of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, it’s at least not Jane Got a Gun bad. I would refuse to say it could be called Mediocre Seven, but doggone it, I just gone and done it.

Birthday's to share this week : 25th September-1st October 2016

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Naomi Watts does on 28th September - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 48, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 25th September

• Heather Locklear - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actress | Producer
• Catherine Zeta-Jones - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actress | Singer
• Michael Douglas - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actor | Producer
• Pedro Almodovar - Born 1949, turns 67 - Director | Producer | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Mark Hamill - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Michael Madsen - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Jason Flemyng - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Will Smith - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer | Songwriter  

Monday 26th September

• Jim Caviezel - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor
• Linda Hamilton - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actress
• Olivia Newton-John - Born 1948, turns 68 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress  

Tuesday 27th September

• Gwyneth Paltrow - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Denis Lawson - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Meat Loaf (aka Marvin or Michael Lee Aday)- Born 1947, turns 69 - Singer | Actor | Producer  

Wednesday 28th September

• Brigitte Bardot - Born 1934, turns 82 - Actress | Singer
• Mira Sorvino - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
• Naomi Watts - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actress | Producer
• Hilary Duff - Born 1987, turns 29 - Actress | Producer | Singer | Songwriter  

Thursday 29th September

• Ian McShane - Born 1942, turns 74 - Actor | Producer
• Luke Goss - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter
• Nicolas Winding Refn - Born 1970, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Friday 30th September

• Ezra Miller - Born 1992, turns 24 - Actor
• Eric Stoltz - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Director 
• Ian Ogilvy - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actor
• Angie Dickinson - Born 1931, turns 85 - Actress
• Victoria Tennant - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actress | Producer
• Fran Drescher - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
• Monica Bellucci - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress
• Marion Cotillard - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actress | Singer  

Saturday 1st October

• Brie Larson - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
• Julie Andrews - Born 1935, turns 81 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Randy Quaid - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actor | Producer
• Zach Galifianakis - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Tom Hooper - Born 1972, turns 44 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Naomi Ellen Watts was born in Shoreham, Kent, England to mother Myfanwy Roberts - a dealer in antiques and latterly a costume/set designer for film and television, and father Peter Watts who died at age 30 of an apparent heroin overdose. He was a sound engineer and road manager for British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Her parents divorced when the young Watts was just four years of age, and within three years her father was dead. The family, including older brother Ben then moved to North Wales where she attended Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni. Three or so years later her mother remarried and the family moved to Suffolk, in East Anglia where she attended the Thomas Mills High School. In 1980 she saw the hit song and dance film 'Fame' and seeing her mother perform live on stage cemented a career as an Actress in Naomi's mind. At age fourteen the family relocated to Sydney, Australia where mother Myfanwy established a career in the film and television business. Taking acting lessons and attending auditions she met up, and became good friends with young Nicole Kidman. In Sydney she attended Mosman High School and then North Sydney Girls High School, but failing to graduate she worked sundry jobs to pay her way. At eighteen she had a brief time with a modelling agency which proved unsuccessful. She then took part in a drama workshop by chance invitation, which reignited her interest in acting.

Watts secured her screen debut in the 1986 Australian film 'For Love Alone' Directed by Stephen Wallace and starring Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Keays-Byrne. After a period of absence her next gig was on the long running Australian comedy series 'Hey Dad' in 1990, and then five episodes of the six part mini-series 'The Brides of Christ' in 1991. That same year was John Duigan's 'Flirting' with Noah Taylor, Nicole Kidman and Thandie Newton in this sequel to the 1987 'The Year My Voice Broke' and was critically acclaimed. She followed this up with nineteen episodes on the Australian weekday soap opera 'Home and Away' in 1991 as the handicapped character Julie Gibson. She then took a 'gap year' and travelled to the USA and through Nicole Kidman's network sought to secure more acting work.

This led to small roles in the likes of Joe Dante's 'Matinee' with John Goodman in 1993 and then a return to Australia for three in a row with 'Wide Sargasso Sea' for John Duigan again, 'The Custodian' with Hugo Weaving and Anthony LaPaglia, and 'Gross Misconduct' with Jimmy Smits. Returning to the US Watts struggled to gain any traction with her acting work and became increasingly frustrated by the US film and television making machine. Encouraged to stick with it by good friend Nicole Kidman, she won a support role in 'Tank Girl' with Lori Petty, Ice-T and Malcolm McDowell.

The rest of the 90's saw small parts in feature length and made for television movies including 'Persons Unknown', 'Under the Lighthouse Dancing', 'Dangerous Beauty', 'and 'Strange Planet'. There was also 'Sleepwalkers' - a short-lived nine episode SciFi mystery drama series with Bruce Greenwood, and then perhaps her breakout role in 1999's David Lynch Directed 'Mulholland Drive' with Justin Theroux. Originally intended as a made for television film pilot for an extended TV series, it was never picked up by the networks. When it wasn't, Lynch completed the deliberately open ended pilot with a conclusion which he filmed in late 2000 and turned that into a feature length film released in 2001 to critical acclaim, picking up 46 award wins and another 57 nominations - many for Lynch's Directing, but also numerous for Watt's performance.

The American English language remake of the Japanese horror 'Ringu' with 2002's 'The Ring' receive further critical and commercial success with Watts in the lead role as investigative journalist Rachel Keller. Watts reprised her role in the 2005 follow up 'The Ring Two', but not the 2016 third film in the franchise 'Rings' still yet to be released but due before the end  of the year. The Australian bio-pic 'Ned Kelly' for Director Gregor Jordan with Heath Ledger in the title role alongside Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Joel Edgerton came in 2003, as did 'La Divorce', and the highly praised '21 Grams' for Alejandro G. Inarritu with Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro picking up 29 award wins and 73 nominations including an Oscar nod for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Watts.

'We Don't Live Here Anymore' with Mark Ruffalo, 'The Assassination of Richard Nixon' with Sean Penn, 'I Heart Huckabees' with Dustin Hoffman, 'Ellie Parker', 'Stay' with Ewan McGregor, and Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' remake with Adrien Brody and Jack Black in 2005 saw Watts playing the role of Ann Darrow made famous by Fay Wray in the 1933 version of the film. Jackson's film was another critical and commercial success story making US$550M from a US$207M budget and earning 45 award wins and another 92 nominations. For the balance of the decade highlights were David Cronenberg's 'Eastern Promises' with Viggo Mortensen, 'Funny Games' with Tim Roth, and 'The International' with Clive Owen.

The new decade kicked off in 2010 with Woody Allen's 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger', then Doug Liman's 'Fair Game' with Sean Penn again, Jim Sheridan's 'Dream Home' with Daniel Craig, Clint Eastwood's 'J. Edgar' with Leonardo DiCaprio, 'The Impossible' with Ewan McGregor again, 'Diana' as Princess Diana Spencer, and then Alejandro G. Inarritu's 'Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance' with Michael Keaton which garnered 186 award wins and another 265 award nominations. 'St. Vincent' followed in 2014 with 'While We're Young' with Ben Stiller, 'The Sea of Trees' with Matthew McConaughey, 'About Ray' and 'Demolition' with Jake Gyllenhaal bringing us up to date, save for her reprised role as Evelyn in 'Insurgent', 'Allegiant' and the 2017 release of 'Ascendant' - the final film in the 'Divergent' series.

Next up is 'The Bleeder' with Liev Schreiber, 'Shut In' due later this year, 'The Glass Castle' with Brie Larson currently filming, 'The Book of Henry' now completed filming, new television series 'Gypsy' with Billy Crudup, and the series return of the highly acclaimed 'Twin Peaks' in 2017. Australian animated outback adventure 'Larrikins' for Tim Minchin for which Watts is lending her voice talents is currently filming for a 2018 release, and 'Ophelia' has been recently announced also for 2018 too.

All up Watts has 76 acting credits to her name and nine as Producer. To date, she has amassed 52 award wins and another 81 nominations including two Academy Award, one Golden Globe and one BAFTA nod for her work on '21 Grams' and 'The Impossible'. Watts was romantically linked to Heath Ledger from 2002 until 2004, and then Liev Schreiber since 2005 with whom she has two boys - Alexander Pete (born in 2007) and Samuel Kai (born in 2008). In 2006, she became a goodwill ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and has supported many associated initiatives in the ensuing years.

Naomi Watts - considers herself as much Australian as English; good friends with Nicole Kidman, Simon Baker, Sean Penn, Kate Hudson, Mark Ruffalo et al; has worked with the best Actors and Directors in the business; has worked across just about every genre; has been voted on numerous 'Top Lists' in the last fifteen years; practices yoga, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is vegetarian; and continues to surprise and delight us with her film choices and her performances. Happy Birthday to you Naomi, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-