What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th January 2017.

Continuing with the Awards Season updates, the 43rd Annual People's Choice Awards were held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles on 18th January 2017, recognising the people and their work in popular culture as voted by the general public. In the film category (there are also music, television and digital categories amounting to a total 65 awards handed out on the night) there are sixteen awards given as highlighted below. The ceremony was hosted by Actor, Comedian, Writer, Producer and Television Personality Joel McHale.

* Favourite Movie and Favourite Family Movie : 'FINDING DORY'
* Favourite Thriller Movie : 'THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN'
* Favourite Drama Movie : 'ME BEFORE YOU'
* Favourite Action Movie : 'DEADPOOL'
* Favourite Comedy Movie : 'BAD MOMS'
* Favourite Movie Actor : Ryan Reynolds
* Favourite Movie Actress : Jennifer Lawrence
* Favourite Action Movie Actor : Robert Downey Jnr.
* Favourite Action Movie Actress : Margot Robbie
* Favourite Dramatic Movie Actor : Tom Hanks
* Favourite Dramatic Movie Actress : Blake Lively
* Favourite Comedy Movie Actor : Kevin Hart
* Favourite Comedy Movie Actress : Melissa McCarthy
* Favourite Animated Movie Voice : Ellen DeGeneres for 'FINDING DORY'
* Favourite Movie Icon : Johnny Depp

This week there are four new offerings coming to your local multiplex or independent theatre. We start off with a prohibition era gangster film charting one mans rise to the top of the heap as seen through the lens of this Actor who also Writes and Directs in this his fourth feature behind the camera. We then move to a hugely acclaimed coming of age drama charting the life of one lad from young boyhood to manhood and his sexual awakenings and the drug scene that makes him what he is. Next up is an intense psychological thriller of multiple split personalities and the kidnapping of three girls as Directed by the master of suspense and surprises, and a career defining performance from the lead Actor, before wrapping up with the sixth instalment in a huge video game adapted film franchise that features the undead, mutant monsters and an evil corporation hell bent on wiping out civilisation as we know it.

As always you are cordially invited to share your movie going insights, observations and opinions with your like minded Cinephiles here at Odeon Online by leaving your relevant, constructive and pertinent Comment below this or any other Post. Meanwhile, enjoy your film in the week ahead.

'LIVE BY NIGHT' (Rated MA15+) - acclaimed Actor, Producer, Screenwriter and Director Ben Affleck is back with his fourth Directorial offering after 2007's 'Gone Baby Gone', 2010's 'The Town' and 2012's 'Argo', but with this 1920's era gangster offering based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane he has so far garnered his most lacklustre Director reviews. With Affleck Directing and starring as well taking the script credit and a Co-Producer credit alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, featuring a strong cast and a budget of US$65M the film has grossed just US$16M since its US release at Christmas. Perhaps timing is everything given the time of the year the film is released, what it is up against at the Box Office and the awards seasons focusing attention on more critically acclaimed fare. All that said, there are positives to be had, including strong visuals, an impressive cast and an entertainment factor - just not in the same league as Affleck's other three award winning feature films.

Set in Prohibition era Boston initially where Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) has been raised by his father Thomas Coughlin (Brendan Gleeson) the head of the Boston Police Department. When Joe falls in love with Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), the mistress of Albert White (Robert Glenister) who is the figurehead of the Irish Gang of Boston, the rival Italian Mafia Boss blackmails Joe to kill White. When he refuses he flees to California with Emma and along the way commits a daring bank robbery in which three policemen are killed. When Joe is imprisoned on a lesser charge he falls into the clutches of the Mafia Boss and is sent to Tampa, Florida to protect the interests of his rum production empire. Joe himself starts to rise to (underworld) prominence by investing in clubs and casino's but is targeted by the Ku Klux Klan starting an all out war for dominance, but where and how will it all end? Also starring Chris Cooper, Elle Fanning and Zoe Saldana.

'MOONLIGHT' (Rated M) - Written for the screen and Directed by Barry Jenkins based on the play 'In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue' by Tarell Alvin McCraney, this film has gained universal acclaim since its release Stateside in October last year, has made US$16M from its US$5M budget outlay and has garnered an impressive 140 award wins and another 222 nominations including The Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture plus five other nominations, four BAFTA nominations with winners yet to be announced and the yet to be released Academy Award hopefuls. Telling the coming of age story in three distinct chapters, we here chart the life of young Chiron (Alex Hibbert) known as 'Little' because of his meek and mild personality and stature. He lives with his abusive drug addicted mother Paula (Naomi Harris) in Miami whom he hates. In the second chapter Chiron is now a teenager played by Ashton Sanders. Here Chiron has his first sexual encounter, and gets arrested as a result of being the victim of an initiation ritual. In the final chapter Chiron now known as 'Black' (played by Trevante Rhodes) is a drug dealer in Atlanta. Grappling with himself across three defining segments in his life, this films charts the pain and torment of growing up, the pleasure and beauty of love and the consequences of your actions on your own life and those around you. Disturbing, heartbreaking, personal, tender and insightful this is a grounded drama that should be on your must see list.

'SPLIT' (Rated M) - Written, Co-Produced and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan this is described as a psychological horror film, but for me it's fits more in the thriller domain and certainly is edge of the seat stuff as the story progresses. The film costs US$10M to make and represents a return to form for the Writer/Director following 2015's successful found footage horror offering 'The Visit' which cost just US$5M and returned US$99M and was well received by Critics. The film kicks off in a fast food restaurant where a bunch of teenage girls are wrapping up celebrating a birthday party. Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula) are wanting to go home with Dad who refuses to leave outsider Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) alone without a lift home. A few moments pass, and in the car park and into the drivers seat gets a stranger that none of the girls have seen before. Before you know it he sprays a chemical into each of the girls faces that instantly renders them unconscious. Dad is nowhere to be seen. The unknown captor drives off with the three girls. The character at the heart of the film is Kevin Wendell Crumb suffering from dissociative identity disorder whereby he frequently exhibits the personality traits of any one of 23 alternate personalities (all of them played out expertly by James McAvoy). As these characters manifest themselves they can be dangerous, monstrous, creepy, funny, harmless, young, old, male, female. What unfolds as these alternate personalities spring forth is the emergence of an all powerful, dominant, almost superhuman 24th personality known only as 'The Beast' which Kevin's analyst, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), can only begin to understand, and whilst the three held captive girls attempt to escape their captor. I caught an early viewing of this film a week before its Australian release, so check out my full Review posted on 20th January if you want more.

'RESIDENT EVIL : THE FINAL CHAPTER' (Rated MA15+) - this film sees the sixth instalment in the Sci-Fi action horror series that began its big screen life back in 2002 having been adapted for the screen from the popular video game of the same name. Back then Paul W.S. Anderson was hired to Write and Direct - a role he stuck with four of the films including the last three as Director, as Writer on all six and as Co-Producer on all six too. Milla Jovovich has played Alice, the #1 kick-ass leather clad protagonist in all six films fighting against the Umbrella Corporation, the main antagonist in the series - a bioengineering pharmaceutical company that creates bioweapons. Umbrella was responsible for the zombie apocalypse, which occurred after the corporation's T-virus infected the Earth's population. The first five films cost a combined US$250M to make, and so far those films have returned US$916M with 'The Final Chapter' earning so far US$35M since its release in Japan at Christmas. The film is released in the US on 27th January. Here the story takes place three weeks after the events closed out 'Resident Evil : Retribution' that sees Alice return to Raccoon City where it all began and where Umbrella Corporation are gathering forces and readying themselves for the final attack on the remaining survivors of the apocalypse. As Alice joins forces with some old allies and friends you can bet it will be a bloody brutal battle against marauding hordes of the undead and pesky mutant monster types. The films also stars Ruby Rose, Iain Glen, Ali Larter and Shawn Roberts.

For films aimed squarely at the late-teen market and above this week, but offering the undead, unhinged split personalities, prohibition gangsters, and one mans coming of age story with the back drop of the War on Drugs. What's not to like here? Get yourself out to a movie theatre in the week ahead and catch a film of choice as Previewed here, or as Reviewed previously. In the meantime, I'll see you in the coming week sometime, somewhere at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd November 2016.

It's good to see Mel Gibson back in the Director's Chair after an absence of ten years! The American born, Australian raised Actor, Director, Producer and Screenwriter has to a large extent been languishing in the Hollywood wasteland since his alcohol induced drink driving arrest and subsequent anti-Semitic rant back in mid-2006 which led to him being dropped by his agency and the movie offers well & truly drying up. With just six films made as an Actor in the last ten years including the recently released 'Blood Father', his last duty as Director came in 2006 with the acclaimed 'Apocalypto', with the much praised, commercially successful and controversial 'The Passion of the Christ' in 2004, the multi-award winning 'Braveheart' in 1995 and 'The Man Without a Face' in 1993. Being no stranger to multiple Academy Award and other noteworthy wins and nominations for his Directing efforts, Gibson is back in full force and it seems, finally once again, with the full blessing of Hollywood that appears prepared to forgive and hopefully forget those troubles of a decade ago now. This week sees the Australian release of his latest film behind the camera in the true story of WWII conscientious objector hero Desmond T. Doss who saved the lives of seventy-five or more men without firing a shot in anger, carrying a weapon or killing an enemy soldier. 'Hacksaw Ridge' was filmed entirely in Australia and largely in remote New South Wales where the battlefield scenes replicating the Japanese island of Okinawa were shot on a 500 hectare spread of cleared land near Bringelly, located about 70kms from the heart of Sydney. Featuring a who's who of Aussie acting talent and Andrew Garfield playing the lead role of Desmond Doss, 'Hacksaw Ridge' is already receiving much Oscar buzz. Marking thirty years since Gibson made a film in Australia ('Mad Max : Beyond Thunderdome' in 1985) lets hope that this latest offering puts Mel back in the driving seat, in demand, and doing what he does best - both in front and behind the camera.

This week there are  four new films to entice you out to your local Odeon kick starting with a true telling of a WWII hero who never fired a gun or killed another man but saved countless others, and is Directed by one of Australia's favourite sons - his first in ten years. This is followed up by a super smart mathematician (un)cooking the books for known criminals who discovers more than he bargained for when he takes on a seemingly legit company and bodies start dropping like flies. Up next is a teen coming of age story about the new found freedom of life on the road with a bunch of misfits travelling across the American mid-west discovering for themselves the good, the bad and the ugly of what the world has to offer. We then wrap up with an Australian post-WWI period piece of a couple desperate for a child, a baby thrust upon them and the decisions they make that in later years will have far more reaching consequences than they ever imagined.

With more adult fare on offer this week, there is plenty of choice with these films as Previewed below, and those Reviewed and Previewed in previous Posts throughout this Blog, and still out on General Release. When you have seen your film of choice, feel free to share your moviegoing thoughts, views and opinions by leaving a Comment below this or any other Post. As always, we'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, enjoy your film.

'HACKSAW RIDGE' (Rated MA15+) - Mel Gibson is back - finally - and in the Director's chair for the first time since his acclaimed 'Apocalypto' in 2006 which he also Co-Wrote and Co-Produced. Since then he has starred in six films only, and most recently 'Blood Father' released only a few months ago to critical praise but lacklustre Box Office. Hollywood turned their back on Gibson for reasons that are well known and well documented, and so too did the movie going public, but in 'Hacksaw Ridge' it seems the Actor, Director, Producer and Screenwriter has served his time and there has been widespread applause for this, his latest Directorial offering which Premiered at the Venice Film Festival in early September to a ten minute standing ovation. After languishing in film development hell for a very long time, and having turned down the film twice before, Gibson finally agreed to helm the movie in 2014. Made for US$40M and filmed entirely in Sydney and rural New South Wales, Australia, this film features a string of fine Australian acting talent, and is already touted for Academy Award recognition come next February.

The film is set in WWII and principally around the Battle of Okinawa, an island 550kms off the Japanese coast, that saw intense and ferocious fighting that lasted for 82 days and saw extensive casualties on both sides. In particular, the film surrounds the true story of US Army Medic Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) who was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and wanted to enlist and serve his country but refused to carry a weapon into battle or kill an enemy soldier. As a conscientious objector he single handedly saved the lives of more than 75 men under a barrage of constant enemy fire whilst upholding his firm religious beliefs. He was discharged from the US Army in 1946 and spent the next five years recovering from his own injuries (he was shot three times) and illness. He died in 2006 aged 87, having been awarded the Medal of Honour in November 1945 by President Harry S. Truman, as well as The Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and numerous others. This is his story, and the film also stars Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Ryan Corr, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer and Rachel Griffiths. Nominated for thirteen AACTA Awards, this is one not to be missed.

'THE ACCOUNTANT' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Gavin O'Connor for US$44M and so far making back US$84M this drama thriller film has garnered mixed Reviews, despite its strong cast with Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff in the lead role as a forensic Accountant - a maths savant with more in common with numbers than personalities. He works for a small town Certified Public Accountants Office in Illinois, which he uses as a cover to effectively uncook the books of dangerous underworld and criminal organisations. When Treasury Agent Raymond King (J.K.Simmons) starts to close in on Wolff, The Accountant takes on a legitimate Client, Living Robotics - a state of the art robotics technology company which he soon discovers has its own financial discrepancies amounting to millions of dollars. Before you know it, the body count starts to rise as Wolff gets closer to the truth, and with various antagonists closing in, The Accountant reveals his true colours and his particular set of skills acquired over the years from dealing with various shady characters and organisations. Also starring Anna Kendrick, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow.

'AMERICAN HONEY' (Rated MA15+) - Written and Directed by British film-maker Andrea Arnold, made for just US$3.5M and selected to compete for the Palme D'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival and winning the Jury Prize at Cannes, this film has so far garnered positive reviews albeit lacklustre Box Office recovering just US$1.3M since its release a month ago in the US, and mid-October in the UK. Telling the story of Star (newcomer Sasha Lane) who has grown up on the poverty line in an abusive home, decides to break free of those shackles, experience the world and try to make a different life for herself. On the verge of adulthood, she teams up with a group of similarly aged young adults peddling magazine subscriptions door to door across America's mid-west, headed up by Jake (Shia LaBeouf) and Krystal (Riley Keough). Jake invites Star to join them and its not long before she finds herself embroiled in the culture of life on the road with a bunch of new young misfit friends - hard drinking, drugs, partying, abusing the law, the trials of young love and the big cities they pass through with a hapless abandonment, adventure and joy despite the harsh realities of life. At a running time of just over 160 minutes, you'll need to be patient with this one, but that patience is likely to be rewarded.

'THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS' (Rated M) - this romantic drama period piece is based on the 2012 debut best selling novel of the same name by M.L. Stedman, is Directed by Derek Cianfrance and is set off the coast of Western Australia in the post WWI years (although filmed in New Zealand and Tasmania). Here Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) is a Great War veteran who after the war is hired as the lighthouse keeper at Janus Rock off the Western Australia coast. In 1921 he marries local lass Isabelle Graysmark (Alicia Vikander) and over the next few years Isabelle suffers two miscarriages, and wonders if she'll ever have a pregnancy go full term. After her second miscarriage, Tom discovers an abandoned rowing boat washed up on the shore near the lighthouse - contained therein is the dead body of an older man, and a young baby girl. The couple unofficially adopt the baby girl as their own and name her Lucy. Years later when they discover Lucy's true parentage they are faced with a moral dilemma and the consequences of their actions to raise the child as their own in secret. Also starring Rachel Weisz, Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown, the film has so far received US$16M from its US$20M budget outlay.

Four top choice films to tempt you out to your local multiplex in the week ahead, with decidedly adult oriented fare. When you have sat through your favoured screening, share your thoughts with us here. In the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-